The Dark Sire Issue 3 (Spring 2020) | Page 62

fettering the more difficult-to-handle beasts. After days of brutal training and little food, the worgs had been beaten into submission. In their exhaustion, they allowed the orcs to mount them bareback. The beasts snarled and snapped weakly, but were lashed for their trouble, chunks of bloody fur ripped from their hide. Too weak to fight back, they let their masters ride them to quick exhaustion. Shortly thereafter the beasts were moved to a separate cave, where their diet would be increased as they responded better to training. He had moved to where further training was taking place and watched as those from his own brood were taught to handle the vicious, semi-intelligent beasts whose dispositions matched well that of their orc riders. When the last of the worgs had been penned for the day, Wank waited for the cave to be vacated before also getting up to leave. A few low growls from the pens, however, had caught his attention. The orc warriors hollered incoherently from an adjacent cavern and dismissed the disturbance. But soon the growls grew to loud snarls and then yipping and all out barking and howling. This pack of beasts had been fed, had regained some of their strength. Several orc warriors returned in haste then, their shouts drowned out by the activity in the pen. When they finally opened the gate, a mad and bloodied worg, fur 60