Anderson, Kevin J - Gamearth 01 Read Online Free

the bone fall from his mouth, snorting menacing clouds of smoke. His chain clanked as he took one step forward. With the instincts of a fighter, Delrael assessed how long it took for Gairoth's reflexes to react.
    The ogre dropped his meat and scrabbled for the club.
    The man paid them no heed as he swaggered into the clearing, whistling to himself. He sat down and faced the astonished expressions of both the ogre and the dragon. "Howdy, neighbors."
    Taken aback, Gairoth rubbed his thumb on the wood of his club and took one step forward. "What you be?"
    "What you mean?" Delrael blinked his eyes innocently. He lowered his voice, speaking with a gruff and thick-lipped accent.
    "Be you human ?" The ogre's face brightened for an instant, then he frowned again. "You plenty bigger than him." He jerked his thumb over to waterlogged Bryl hanging from the tree.
    Delrael laughed. "Naw ¯ me not be human. Me be ogre , like you be."
    He smiled broadly, knowing Gairoth could never have seen his own reflection in the scum-covered cesspools. He held his impulses in check ¯ his arms wanted to grab for the sword, lunge forward and hack at the ogre. But he knew his uncle Cayon had failed, and if a fighter like Cayon had not been able to defeat an ogre with his strength, then Delrael had little chance.
    Gairoth looked down at his dirty furs, brushing off cakes of dried mud.
    He scratched his scalp as he glared at the young man's own mud-stained clothes, the leather armor. Gairoth's mouth hung open as if he were going to say something but hadn't found the words yet. Delrael beat him to it.
    "Gairoth's furs better than mine be. Me bonked another human, took his clothes. But don't worry. Me ogre too."
    The ogre blinked his eyes. "Uh..."
    Delrael jabbed a finger at himself. "Me be in swamp all these years.
    Never bothered to say Howdy! Watched you long time, though, Gairoth. Uh, I be ¯ " (Gairoth, Rognoth ... what's in a name?) "Delroth."
    The ogre hadn't moved or relaxed his grip on the club. "How come you talk , Delroth?"
    Delrael paused a moment. "Huh?"
    "You be no ogre ¯ you talk!"
    "Ha!" Delrael felt a cold sweat. "You talk, Gairoth. You be ogre. How come you talk?" Judging from the monster's expression, Delrael saw he had struck a point of pride.
    "Gairoth be an in-tell-ee-gent ogre. My Paw was Sorcerer, but he dead now. Paw give Gairoth smarts ¯ Maw give Gairoth muscles!"
    To emphasize his statement, he bashed his club against the dirt.
    The stench from the rancid meat made Delrael feel queasy. Vailret had told him once how, near the end of their centuries-long wars, the desperate and dying Sorcerers had interbred with humans, whom they had created, to restore the strength of their race ¯ but Delrael had no idea the Sorcerers had been driven to breed with their other creations, especially something so foul and ugly as a female ogre!
    But the laws of probability allowed even the most unlikely dice rolls, given enough turns.
    Delrael forced a yawn, trying to appear at ease. He looked at the grayish form of Bryl, hanging from the nearby tree. "What that be, Gairoth?
    Dessert?"
    The ogre spoke around a dripping mouthful of meat. "Naw ¯ he be Sorcerer, too. He teach Gairoth how to use magic Stone." With his elbow, he indicated the gleaming diamond in the tiny skull's eye. Delrael saw the diamond and decided that it must be the Air Stone Vailret had gotten so excited about. He looked back at the half-Sorcerer.
    "He be dead?" Delrael brushed a fly away from his face.
    "Naw. He be awake soon enough."
    "You feeds him to the thing in the cesspool? What for?"
    The ogre shrugged. "Keeps him from running away. And makes him skeered of Gairoth."
    "Thing don't hurt him? Just hold him there?"
    Gairoth reached for his club again. "Questions! Talk!" He spat.
    Delrael spread his hands. "Gairoth be in-tell-ee-gent ogre. You gots answers."
    That did the trick. "Aaahhh. I dips him into a pitcher plant afore I feeds him to that thing. Jellyfish can't digest