Diamond another day

As Dokan wanders unmolested, around the delineated orc sub-camps, he feels the demonic part of him whisper...

‘So many orcs! So much easy wealth to be had!’

This is no surprise to him. It’s the price he has to pay for his bisected soul.

A Tiefling Paladin.

Oddly, he is not that unusual amongst his people.

A rarity to be sure but not unheard of.

He wonders what the amassed army of orcs and their gnomish ‘helpers’ would think if they knew about his meeting with the young dragon?

Narcissus had behaved exactly as he’d expected him to act…

Arrogance was a trait that all dragons shared.

As a dragon prince in line to the throne of all of Fissa; how could he be anything else?

Dokan’s mind wanders back to the list of names on the Black cloaks scroll:

The dead Morten had been on it.

5,000 gold pieces worth of diamonds for a head they already had!

It’d be so easy to claim.

Aurelius and Bodan, the two other orcs that had fought for the right to rule the 'Broken-lance' clan were also on the list.

Another 5,000 gold pieces for Aurelius and double that for the hulking Bodan.

In conversation he’d also heard mention of some of the other ‘wanted’ names in the other camps.

‘Auzoux’ had already been crowned Chief of the ‘Blood-bottlers’ and ‘Knut’ and ‘Ragnar’ were due to be coronated chiefs of the ‘Meat-drippers’ and the ‘Flesh-lump-eaters’.

Looking around the thousands of orcs, Dokan was pretty sure the other named orcs would also be near somewhere. Possibly within the ranks of the remaining reformed clan, the ‘Bone-crunchers’.

‘Unger’, ‘Harang’, ‘Stig’ and ‘Viggo’.

20,000 gold pieces just for those four!

Then, despite his wishes, Dokan's thoughts stray to the hundred and sixty eight decapitated orc heads, sitting ready in a wagon by ‘Mallyx’ the, now dead, black dragon-born’s camp.

That’s 1,680 gold pieces worth of diamonds, just sitting there!

Closing his eyes and shaking his horns, Dokan forces the thought from his head.

Giving in to temptation is not the way of paladins.