Tantunula

• Mason Lange, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2018

A long time ago after the war of orcs and elves a great kingdom was formed, a magnificent castle, with buildings around it that made a it a city. The first king named this place tantunula, and ancient word meaning “place of freedom.” This great city had always been a place of joy and peace until now…the people of tantunula were in a time of great distress, dagger the death bringer, the new orc king, crowned after his father’s death. His orcs needed more land and the only kingdom left was Tantunula the strongest of the eight kingdoms. He had been sending waves of war orcs at the city walls. They had managed to capture an orc, it seemed old and after a beating it agreed to tell them everything and anything they wanted to know.
In five days the king was due to arrive and begin the questioning, it was decided by the supreme commander that the orc could not be held in the prison as other orcs would try to free it. So deep in the wood was the cabin where it was being guarded by General Octavius himself. So far the orc had only spoken its name “Gib.”
The days spent waiting for the king, were peaceful and no attacks came, the next morning the king arrived on a dusty white horse named tug. He had had it since he was a teenager, now in his early twenty’s the horse was only about 7 years old “Hello Octavius” said the king, “hello Duncan,” replied Octavius. “So” said King Duncan “anything from the orc yet.’ ‘Nope he has only spoken his name, it’s quiet, a little too quiet, I don’t like it,’ sneered Octavius. ‘You don’t like anything brother,’ Duncan smiled back at him. The next two days were spent picking the brain of the orc about daggers war plans and how they planned to attack, as the king had expected the orcs did have a grand plan for attack.
The king left three days after he arrived to bring the news to his war planners and the general and Gib were to make the journey to the kingdom that evening in the cover of darkness. In the evening they set off and did not go long until they had to stop, Octavius stopped dead in his tracks and looked at all the bodies around him, just three feet away from a pile of orcs was his brother with a long spear shaft in his side, he was still breathing. The general ran to him and heard him say just before he died that ‘it’s a trap’ and then he was dead, he heard a long roar and instinctively turned around and drew his sword, there was at least 100 orcs staring back at him, the one in front was Gib, he had somehow broken out of his chains, the general lifted his sword and pulled his shield onto his arm, ‘for my brother’ he screamed.