>Be me, Anon, early twenties white guy.
>Driving home from work listening to classic rock in my old beat up car.
>As the last of Enter Sandman fades away it gets replaced by the news.
>Same old, same old.
>Talks about the portals and beings from the world beyond them.
>Heightened crime in parts where Orcs and goblins have come through.
>More kidnappings and murders with Dark Elf areas.
>The usual, portals have been here for a while now, not sure how long, haven't really kept track.
>Slow down at a red light and watch as a couple of Wood Elves dash across the four lane to. the convenience store on the other side.
>We got lucky down in Alabama with mostly an influx of Wood elves and human sorcerers. from the other side with occasional kobolds.
>Most are fine and keep to themselves, some even adapt to life over here rather well.
>Kobolds usually get shot on sight though.
>Thieving little wretches.
>Anyway the news lady on the radio was talking to some environmental expert on how Earth had gotten bigger and had new ecosystems introduced to it after the portals emerged.
>Some had just popped up and stayed as a doorway to the other world.
>Some though, had just flashed up and swapped parts of their world with ours but that was a rare occurrence.
>I'd hate to be one of the places that had a portal open up with a bunch of Orcs or goblins pouring through.
>Most of the portals were left unattended due to whiny political officials and snowflakes talking about how it was xenophobic to police them and so on.
>I wonder if any of them changed their mind after an orc cleaved their friend in half or set fire to their house.
>"Whatever, you reap what you sew." I say to myself
>I pull up to my small little house in this small little town and hop out of my old Honda Accord.
>The sun is starting to drift down in the sky as I walk into my living room and look at my gear I have laid out on the table and couch and go over my check list.
>Spiritus Lv119 with D3 chestrig? Check.
>Ranger green for aesthetic.
>Level 4 plates? Check.
>I don't know if they have gotten a lot of gun culture over there yet, not much is known still about the other world but I'm not taking any chances.
>Large olive drab pack with hydration bladder as well? Check.
>Rifle Mags loaded and ready? Check.
>Hornady SST loads for good lethality.
>Glock 17 with TLR-1HL and kydex holster, also check.
>Pistol mags? Check.
>Hornady critical duty for them.
>Various medical supplies? Check.
>Large fixed blade knife for knife things, Esee 6HM.
>And to top it off, my favorite rifle.
>An AK in 7.62x39 built from a Polish parts kit
>Black polymer furniture, Radom barrel, Echo 93 light mount on the lower handguard with weapon light and a micro red dot on a RS Regulate mount.
>Various bits of fire crafting and some MREs, a one person tent, sleeping bag, spare ammo, and a spare canteen round out the gear.
>I go to my room and grab my electronic earpro and some spare batteries for them and the light and red dot and toss them in the pack.
>Grab a couple spare sets of clothes and toss them in the pack too along with some baby wipes to bathe with.
>No one likes to smell themselves amirite?
>Grab a shower, make myself a quick dinner of a sandwich and chips and then dress up in some old jeans and boots with a OD green t-shirt and light jacket.
>Put on old Dickies ball cap.
>Throw the gear into the trunk of my car outside and walk back up to the front door.
>I take one last look at the house before I close the door and lock it.
>There is a new portal about two hours drive from town out in the woods set near a cliff.
>Heard some locals talking about it at the hardware store while I was ringing them up.
>One of their buddies went to check it out while hunting and never came back.
>Put up posters and notified the local PD and Sheriff but never turned up.
>I had made up my mind that I wanted to experience the new world for myself and this was like a sign.
>Other people had gone through the portals and some had good success.
>Now it was my turn to try.
>Or die trying.
>Hopefully not die, that would put a damper on things.
>Only plan to stay a couple of days anyway then come back home.
>Hop in the car and crank the rock while I start the long drive.
>Seems to go by faster than I expected.
>I guess the nerves from what might happen when I get to the other side kept my mind occupied.
>Pull up to the small grassy lot where people usually park their cars.
>Area is a big forested area people use for camping and fishing.
>Portal is supposed to be about forty minutes walk from first fishing pond, about three hundred yards into the woods from the lot.
>Pop the trunk on my Honda and put on the plate carrier and clip the chest rig into it, put on the backpack and holster the Glock.
>Sling my AK around my shoulder and close the truck, check to make sure the car is locked and then begin my journey.
>After a lot of walking and some getting lost I finally find the portal.
>Stumbled onto it really if I'm being honest.
>By this time it's already dark.
>Full moon is shining through the trees.
>Walk up to the gateway.
>It's a shimmering large portal like they talk about in the news all time.
>Looks about one story tall, maybe about six or seven feet wide.
>Wonder if that's standard size or what?
>I just stare at it for a minute before steeling my resolve and step forward toward the portal.
>Then stop a few feet from it and rethink my decision a bit more.
>Then run and jump through it before I change my mind again.
>Feel a weird sensation as I get pulled through the forces of the portal.
>Seems almost instantaneous for me to wind up on the other side.
>Trip on my own feet coming out of the portal and face plant on the ground.
>Operator_operating_operationally.gif
>Pick myself up and take in my surroundings.
>A heavily wooden area sprawls out before me.
>It's nearly dark here too; seems like the time more or less is the same as back home.
>Unsling my AK and shine the weapon light around the woods looking for any signs of movement.
>I don't see anything but hear the typical sounds of nature.
>Wind rustling the leaves on trees, birds chirping, and what sounds like cicadas
>Funny, I don't see any candy stands around here I think to myself.
>Anyway...
>Take one last look at the portal as I click the light off and then turn and press on.
>The moon is out here too lazily drifting across the night sky.
>Enough light to walk through the forest without the weapon light on.
>Should have brought a headlamp in case I need light so I don't have to hold up my AK all the time...
>Oh well, live and learn.
>Trudge through the woods slowly, weaving around trees and bushes.
>Breaking limbs or carving arrows in tree trunks along the way to mark my path back to the portal in case I need to beat a hasty retreat.
>Breadcrumbs are for noobs.
>Heart beating like a Slav's hard bass music.
>Being alone in strange woods on a different world has got me a bit scared, not gonna lie.
>Walk cautiously for what seems like about two hours before finding a small clearing.
>Stand there for a moment when all of a sudden...
>Nothing happens!
>I thought I would have been attacked by now or met some elf cutey or something.
>Single life is lonely.
>Gotta admit I was hoping to shoot some goblins or orcs or something.
>Sit down for a moment to rest my legs and back.
>Sling off backpack and take out my electronic ear pro.
>No reeeeee for my ears thank you.
>Slip them on and hear the power on tone as I flick the dial to adjust the volume.
>Sit and listen for a bit, hear nothing still but the animals and wind.
>Drink some water from the bladder in my backpack as I think about what to do next.
>It's kinda late and after working a full shift, then driving home, then up to the park has got me feeling tired.
>Decide to set up tent near the clearing in the middle of a cluster of bushes to help hide it.
>The tents rain fly is woodland camo so it should blend in with the area a little better.
>Pitch the tent up in five minutes and put my backpack at the foot inside the tent and go around near my makeshift camp's perimeter to make sure I'm alone before calling it a night.
>No one, and nothing here.
>Forever alone.jpg
>Crawl into tent and lie down on the sleeping bag.
>It's warm enough to not need to sleep in it or need a fire.
>Nerves have ruined my appetite so I skip dinner and just lay there clutching my AK.
>Finally feel weariness start to overtake me so I take off my earpro, turning them off and lay them beside me.
>Drift off to an uneasy sleep in this new world.
>Bolt awake with AK pointed at the zippered door of the tent.
>The rain fly fully covers it so nothing can see in but I can't see out either.
>Realize it's already morning.
>Sunlight is filtering in through the trees and birds are chirping happily as the rays warm their feathers.
>Heart rate drops slowly as I realize I'm not in any danger.
>Yawn as I unzip the door and fly.
>Step out and stretch with AK slung across chest.
>"Didn't think I'd actually sleep at all," I think aloud.
>Immediately wish I'd brought some coffee with me.
>Let the sum warm my skin for a few minutes while I take in the forest around me.
>The trees here are pretty big, yuge even.
>Lots of hardwoods it seems.
>Get started rolling up sleeping bag and packing up tent.
>Check all my gear, consider leaving my earpro off, but decide against it.
>Don't wanna run the batteries down, so leave the mic off and just let the muffs do their thing.
>Take a deep breath of the fresh air and keep heading in the direction I was working with the night before.
>Walked for a while in a somewhat East direction for a couple hours with nothing noteworthy happening.
>Saw some familiar wildlife, rabbits and birds of different kinds.
>Stop and lean against a tree to rest for a minute and hydrate.
>Taking a swig of water from the bladder's drinking tube when I hear a faint grunting off in the distance about 200 yards through the tall grass and trees to ahead to my left.
>Cut on earpro's mic to hear better.
>Definitely grunting, sounds like a big hog.
>Clip drinking tube back to shoulder strap and bring AK to low ready.
>Pork, it's what's for dinner.
>Following the sounds to the source, I get closer and the grunting and squealing gets louder.
>Sounds like a big one.
>Ease through some tall grass about chest high into a small clearing.
>Porker spotted.
>It's a huge boar complete with sizeable tusks.
>Wonder if those would make a good knife handle.
>It hasn't seen me yet, too busy being fat and rooting around for grub.
>Raise the AK and put the red dot on the hog's head.
>Breathe, aim, squeeze, kill, breathe again.mov
>SST smacks against the piggies head right above it's left eye.
>Drops like a sack of bricks.
>Killed for his ivory.gif
>Smile and think of the nice juicy porkchops I'll have for dinner tonight.
>Might actually stay here longer if I can keep finding big game like this to kill for meat.
>Walk over and survey my kill.
>Looks to be about 250 or so pounds.
>Sling Ak on back and start to pull out my large knife to gut my kill when I hear deeper, angry grunting behind me.
>Slowly stand up and turn around.
>HUGE boar standing about 30 feet from me.
>Thing's as big as a pick-up truck.
>Tusks as long as my forearm.
>Look over my shoulder and put two and two together.
>That big sucker was a piglet and this hoss must be the mother.
>Sow starts to paw the ground and snorting at me.
>Run.vinememe
>Turn and bolt as fast as my legs can carry me.
>Hear it gain on me in a matter of seconds.
>Get tackled from behind and tossed into the air like a rag doll.
>Fall down and get the wind knocked out of me.
>Pick myself up and realize I dropped my knife.
>Bring my AK around to my front and up on target as the boar slows and turns to run me down again.
>It charges and I fire off three hasty shots in panic.
>One graze and two misses.
>I just made it angrier.
>Turn and run again, this time weaving in between trees and breaking left and right to throw the behemoth off from getting a straight bead on me.
>Feeling tired and getting a stitch in my side.
>I should do more cardio.
>Run another three steps and trip over something.
>Face meet ground again.
>Feel something jerk me backward and up off the ground.
>'This is it' I think to myself, believing the boar had caught up to me and was about to gore me.
>Instead to my confusion I get pulled up into the air vertically and dangle there about fifteen feet off the ground.
>Here a loud crash as a giant log attached to rope crashes through the tree tops down to the ground.
>Look at my ankle and see a rope looped around it.
>I just triggered someone's snare.
>See giant sow running at me; it's even more scary upside down.
>It's makes it about ten feet from me and then trips on a rope and falls forward.
>Large stake tied to a bent limb I didn't see whips around and plunges into the pig's neck.
>It lets out a loud squeal; turns into a gurgle then goes quiet.
>Contemplate for a second what that would have done to me if I had stepped on it instead of the snare.
>Try to figure out how I'm going to get myself out of this mess when I hear rustling of grass to my right.
>Attempt to rotate around to see what new threat awaits as I bring my AK to my shoulder.
>...It's not there
>Look down and see it laying on the ground below me.
>"Well crap..."
>From the wood line emerges five figures.
>Four tall muscle-bound males with green skin and dark hair approach, tusks jutting up from their lower lips and blue stripes tattooed on their bodies in various places.
>Simple clothes made from furs and leathers adorn their bodies.
>Orcs.
>Could it get any worse?
>I notice they have some old, rusty, beat-up bolt-action rifles with them as well as some clubs.
>Rifles look bent and warped slightly like they've been smacked against a tree.
>They all but ignore me and approach the mass of tusks and fur and commence to beating it with said rifles.
>That explains it.
>One actually chambers a round and sticks the muzzle to the sows and pulls the trigger.
>*Click*
>Either it has no ammo, or it's so rusted it won’t fire.
>Rapidly trying to think of a way out of this when a fifth figure comes running up out of the tree line breathing heavy.
>To my surprise, it's a female carrying a spear.
>Another orc, I think...
>She has the green skin like the others, and small tusks barely poking up over her bottom lip.
>But she's short, even by human standards and more so for an orc if the males are typical.
>They seem about 6'1" or taller, but the female is only about 5'7" or 5'8" maybe.
>Maybe that's typical for the females of this tribe?
>And that's not all that set her apart.
>Where the males had normal-ish looking ears, hers were long and pointed; almost like an elf's I thought.
>Wonder for a moment if she is a half breed.
>She catches her breath and walked over to the now thoroughly dead pork roast and poked it lightly with the stone tip of her weapon.
>The males shoo her away as if they don't want her around grunting something at her in what I assume is Orcish.
>She lets out a heavy sigh and walks away as if she is sulking.
>She notices me finally.
>She turns to look at me and I notice her eyes are very different from her kin.
>Theirs looked human, with dark brown irises.
>Hers are an amber color with slit pupils.
>She walked up to me stopping a few feet from me as she looked me over with a look of disdain.
>Feel an odd chill run up my spine as I look into her eyes.
>She walks over and lays her spear on the ground to pick up my AK.
>Starts to fumble with it while constantly sweeping me with the muzzle.
>Hoping she won't ND into me.
>Decide to ask very nicely to be more careful.
>"Hey uh...can you not do that...please?"
>Completely ignored as she continues to look over the weapon.
>As she is turning the rifle over she slips a finger into the trigger guard and bumps the trigger.
>Everyone jumps as the unexpected shot cracked through the air.
>Female orc drops my AK as she clutches her ears gritting her teeth.
>Male orcs just laugh at her.
>I just break out in nervous sweats.
>She yells at them and they just wave her off.
>Glad I had my earpro on.
>The mystery female orc glares at me like it's my fault she didn't have proper trigger discipline.
>I just stare at her blankly, beginning to get dizzy as the blood is flowing to my head and making it throb.
>She must have noticed because she walked over the the giant log and pulled a small knife she had tucked into her leather skirt's waistline and cut the rope.
>I hit the ground hard on my side and see stars for a moment before they get replaced with leather and green skin.
>The orc female is standing just a couple feet from me now and I can get a better look at her.
>She has scars of various shapes and sized all over her body; some look old and faded while others look fresh.
>She has the same lines and stripes as the males do tatted across her body here and there.
>A lock of hair is braided on the right side of her head and a few small clasps adorn her ears.
>"Mo'grah thuk zul?"
>She actually has a pretty voice.
>Also...
>I have no idea what she is trying to say to me.
>Think fast brain.
>"Uh...Lok'tar?"
>She just stares blankly at me for a moment before smacking me on the top of my head with the haft of her spear.
>"Well up yours too."
>The males have tied some ropes around the wild boars tusks and front legs after dislodging the large wooden stake and gutting it and are now dragging the corpse behind them.
>They seem to be paying us no mind.
>Whether it's because they think I'm not a threat or they don't care what happens to us is uncertain.
>I'm a little offended either way.
>The female takes my AK and loops the sling around her neck letting the rifle dangle across the left side of her body before motioning me to stand up.
>I do so slowly while calculating if it would be wise to try and shoot her and take my AK back and run off or see where they take me.
>I feel my Glock still in it's holster on my hip and slowly move my hand toward it.
>Ms. Orc must have figured out what I was up to.
>She pushed the tip of her spear up to my throat and pulled my Glock out of the holster sticking it Mexican carry style into her waistband.
>Mission failed, we'll get 'em next time.
>Motioning with her head toward the group hauling the kill she grunts at me and I get the gist of it that I am supposed to follow.
>I trudge forward as she takes up behind me jabbing me with the spear every so often.
>A few hours of walking and constant prodding from the female orc and we arrived at what I assume is their home.
>A vast area of the forest had been cleared out haphazardly to make their village.
>Trees had been hacked low and the scorched stumps dotted the landscape, the grass had been trampled to the point of death, marking well used pathways.
>Don't tell the elves.
>Some of the timber had been used to make a fortified fence that surrounded the village.
>Looks like they stacked the logs and tied them off with ropes, fence looks like it's about fifteen feet tall.
>A big gate marked the entrance to the village, guarded by a couple of orcs with rusted, worn out break action shotguns.
>Does no one here know how to clean and oil a gun?
>They bark something at someone on the other side and begin to pull the gate open as we approach.
>They slap the group hauling the giant hog on the backs with hearty chuckles.
>This seems to irritate the little orc behind me, as I hear her sigh heavily.
>They say nothing to her and just give me menacing looks as we move past.
>I walk through the gate with my hands holding on to my back pack straps to look as non-threatening as possible.
>Don't want one of these muscle brains to shoot me.
>I think for a second why they kept me alive instead of killing me back in the forest.
>Orcs aren't known to be all that smart, though they knew how to set up those snares and traps.
>What reason could they have for keeping me alive?
>My mind wandered back to a favorite movie series of mine about a group trying to walk across an entire continent to melt a ring.
>Then it hit me.
>They were going to eat me.
>Start nervously looking for ways to escape; the only way being out through the gate.
>Or somehow scaling the walls of the fence.
>Don't have long to think about it as another shove from orc-let behind me forces me to keep walking.
>The orcs towing the pig pull it off to the side and start butchering it, sometimes cutting raw strips off and eating it.
>Looks like meats back on the menu boys.
>Would be better cooked with some seasoning rub and Dale's sauce.
>Orcette and I continue on toward the back end of the village where a large house sat.
>It looked better built than the rest and bigger than the other houses and huts scattered throughout the village.
>Must be the head honcho's house I surmise.
>As we make our way there I scan the surroundings.
>Some orcs are cutting wood for a fire, pilling it near the carcass.
>A few are staring at me and the female orc.
>Others are just going at it out in the open.
>That was just a bit creepy.
>We get up to the house and go inside.
>Get greeted by the sight of a bulked orc with a little bit of grey in his beard and a jagged scar running down his left eye.
>Also see a woman standing behind him in a loin cloth and a thin strip of leather covering her chest.
>Notice she has pointy ears.
>An elf? Here?
>I've seen enough internet memes to put two and two together.
>Poor thing.
>The old orc stands up and looks at the young female orc then to me before speaking.
>"Why you come here?"
>...
>Oh great he has the English capacity of a three year old.
>"Uh...I didn't intend to but she forced me to," I reply, pointing to the orc girl to my right.
>"Daughter, why bring human here? Why not kill?" he asked
>Daughter? They look nothing alike.
>Then look over at the elf girl again.
>If elves live incredibly long lives here like they do in the fairy tales, maybe she was the girls mother?
>"Bring him alive, show my strength. Even kill large tusk too. Get blooded now and become accepted member of tribe."
>So it was some kind of power play to get her elevated status?
>I'm just a bargaining chip, this sucks.
>"Not enough to get blooded. Still too weak. Kill stronger opponent then get blooded, maybe."
>The orc girl looks crestfallen.
>I can almost see tears starting to form in her eyes but she blinks them away.
>Well this is awkward.
>Wonder why her dad doesn't want to make his kid blooded.
>Look over and notice the elf girl staring me down intently.
>What's her deal?
>The chief notices his daughter having my Glock stuck in her waistband and my AK slung over her shoulder.
>"Akash, give gun. Want see."
>So her name is Akash? Odd name, wonder who picked that out.
>Please don't take my gats Mr. Orc sir they are the only family I have.
>Akash sighs with contempt as she hands over her bounty to her father.
>He looks over the AK first, fiddling with the rear sight leaf.
>He pushes the slider all the way to the 1000 meter mark looking puzzled.
>"Wench, what thing do? Tell about gun."
>The elf girl behind him clears her throat and beings to tell him about the wonderful invention of Sir Mikhail Kalashnikov
>"It's a Russian made rifle. It's junky and inaccurate."
>Hold up what did you just say?
>First of all it's Polish.
>"The slider on the top controls the power of the gun. Pushing it all the way to the end makes it shoot harder."
>Did she get her education from some African warlord or something?
>"It's Russia's greatest export, after vodka, caviar and suicidal novelists."
>Now I know she's heard one too many movie quotes.
>"Hmm...me not like. You can keep, pup."
>He tosses the AK back to his daughter who thankfully catches it.
>Though she nearly fumbled it.
>"Tell about small gun elf wench."
>This ought to be good.
>"That is a Glock 7. It's a porcelain gun made in Germany. It doesn't show up on humans airport X-ray machines and it costs more than what the whole tribe makes in a month."
>That's a steaming pile of crud, even Bruce Willis knew that.
>"Mmm fancy gun. I take as tribute, daughter. Now leave, must get ready for big feast tonight."
>He stands up and shoves the Glock into his waistband, finger on the trigger, and ND's into his foot.
>We all flinch at the sudden pop of gunfire indoors, especially the elf.
>I still have my earpro on thankfully but it still makes me jump from the unexpected shot.
>He stiffens at the sudden pain and turns to us.
>I can smell the marinara from here.
>"Meant to do that."
>No you didn't you moron.
>"Elf, heal foot. You two go now."
>Tex Grebner's green cousin shoo us out the door with a wave of his hand.
>We turn and leave as the elf crouches down and chants something.
>See her hands cast a light green glow as the wound begins to heal.
>What have I gotten myself into?
>Exit the house feeling worse than ever about the dumb, no trigger discipline having, orc smoothbrain taking my Glock.
>Look at my AK still slung across the back of the smol orc girl.
>My_heart_bleeds_for_you.mp3
>Just glad they haven't thought to take my plate carrier or pack yet.
>"Hey, so you can understand me right? Why didn't you say anything before?"
>Get the cold shoulder treatment from her.
>"This is going to be a long night...if I survive it."
>She prods me once again with her spear to get me moving and we head to the village center where there is a huge fire roaring.
>They have the boar-hemoth speared on a small tree and roasting on the fire.
>The smell of wood smoke and roast pork makes my stomach growl.
>My mood starts to lighten up a little as I think we are going to get dinner, and I won't be it.
>But that all goes down the drain when she pushes me down on the ground and forces me against a wooden pole.
>Orc girl takes some nearby rope and loops it around my torso, tying it behind me.
>With a sinking feeling in my heart I watch as she walks over to a wooden table and bench a few feet away and un-slings the AK off her shoulder and starts to tinker with it, setting her spear beside her on the bench.
>"Please be careful with that!"
>My pleas seem to go on deaf ears.
>She turns it over in her hands for a moment before trying to figure out if it's loaded.
>She does this by looking down the bore from the muzzle end, with her thumb stuck in the trigger guard.
>I'd be a bit more concerned if the safety wasn't on, but I still screamed internally.
>She manages to not an hero and to my surprise finds the magazine catch and removes the mag from the rifle.
>Then she locates the safety after fiddling with the rifle some more and flicks it down.
>She flags me twice while trying to think of how to get the round out of the chamber.
>"I'm going to die here..."
>Nervous_sweating.exe.
>She sees the charging handle sticking out of the side of the bolt carrier and decides it needs to be pulled on, which she does.
>Racks it back to the rear of the gun and the round ejects from the chamber.
>I'm actually impressed by this point as none of the other orcs I have met this far have seemed this smart.
>It's just basic stuff sure, but I'm impressed none the less.
>She picks up the unfired casing and tries to put the round back in the magazine, backwards at first, then realizing her mistake.
>She doesn't press it down all the way and it pops out of the feed lips to her annoyance.
>I watch as she sets it aside and looks at the gun, turning it over in her hands again.
>She tucks the stock under her arm and looks through the red dot seemingly sweeping it around the village while pointing it at random passers-by.
>She spends the next five minutes trying to find the way to take off the optic, first by just pulling up on it and then prying it from the side with her hand.
>"I'm going to have to make sure it's still zeroed after this," I say to myself.
>After a few more minutes of her struggle I decide to give her some instruction.
>Mostly because I don't want her to damage my optic or mount.
>"Pull that small lever on the side out, it'll slide off."
>She grunts at me in frustration and turns away from me, but does as I say.
>The mount and optic come off and she looks through it again before setting it down on the table.
>Then she proceeds to field strip the rifle slowly, first taking off the dust cover with relative ease and no guidance from me.
>She then plays with the recoil spring for a moment before learning she has to push it down and lift up to remove it.
>She pushes it as far forward as it will go then lifts up.
>And lets go of it.
>It flies out and smacks her in the eye.
>I can't help but chuckle hard to myself.
>A couple nearby orcs watching her laugh and point at her.
>Her cheeks flush red for a moment and she looks more hurt than anything, rubbing her watering eye where the spring hit it.
>I feel a little bad for her. A little.
>She was holding me hostage and getting my guns taken away by her and her dad.
>Over the next thirty grueling minutes and one more snippet of help from me she has managed to fully field strip my AK without shooting me or herself.
>There might be more intelligence in that brain of hers than I thought.
>A thought hits me.
>I look around at the the other orcs with their clubs, spears, and rusted beat to death guns.
>Then I think back to the snares and spear trap that the boar-hemoth and I set off back in the woods.
>Two and two click together and I realize that it was Akash that had set them up.
>She looks up from her tinkering with my AK and I notice a flash of intelligence in her eyes I didn't see before.
>She takes her time but she manages to put the gun back together again by herself; only having trouble with seating the dust cover over the recoil spring button.
>"Not bad. A few more repetitions and you'll have it down."
>Why am I complementing my would-be captor.
>She just grunts at my comment and seats the loaded mag back in the magwell leaving the chamber empty to my relief.
>My stomach is trying to eat my back bone at this point and my throat is dry from the smoke and long walk to the village.
>"Hey, I'm hungry, and thirsty. Can I at least get something to eat and drink from my pack?
>With a huff she gets up and walks over to me shoving my head out of the way as she unties the ropes.
>"Not try to run. Kill you if you run."
>"Don't worry, I'm not going to go anywhere."
>Not like I could scale the wall anyway, or open the heavy gate by myself.
>I rummage around in my pack and pull out the MREs I had stored.
>Beef chili mac and chicken and dumplings from Mountain House.
>She watches with mild curiosity as I take a small steel pot out of my pack and pour some water into it from my canteen to boil it near the fire.
>I set the pot in the hot coals of the bon fire and step back to let it boil, wiping the sweat from my brow from the heat of the flames.
>"How use water to make food?" she asks.
>"It's freeze dried, you'll see." 
>She watches for a moment before pulling out her knife and moving closer to the boar to cut some meat from it.
>One of the near by orcs sees her and comes over to stop her, pulling her hand back from the pig and swiping the sliver of pork from her hand pushing her down to the dirt.
>"Not for you whelp. Only strong eat big tusk."
>He plops the morsel into his mouth with a smirk.
>Akash gets up and is pissed.
>She starts to breathe hard and she is trembling with anger.
>Her fists are clenched so tight her knuckles are turning pale green.
>It looks as if her eyes are slightly changing color too.
>This can't be good.
>"I kill big tusk, I get to eat too!"
>The big mean green turns his whole body to her scowling.
>Dude looks six plus and is ripped like Hogan.
>I start to back away slowly to get clear of what ever may happen.
>"You whelp, weakling, you not eat anything."
>He just turns and walks away laughing to himself.
>Akash is still breathing heavy and clenching her fists.
>My water is boiling by this point and I don't want it all to evaporate so I inch over to it to remove it from the coals.
>At my slightest bit of movement Akash whips around to me knife poised.
>I freeze in my tracks as a shiver goes down my spine.
>Her eyes are different but I can't place exactly why.
>"I-i'm just getting my water..." I squeak out.
>She stares at me for a few moments before calming down and putting her knife back in its sheath tucked in her waistband.
>I take the water and pour it in the separate pouches for the two meals and seal them back up to let the water re-hydrate the food.
>Akash is just staring at the pig on the spit.
>Her stomach lets out a loud growl and she looks at the ground in anger and defeat.
>I was going to eat both meals cas I was that hungry but despite better logic I offer her the chicken and dumplings meal.
>"Here, it isn't as good as fresh wild pork but it'll do."
>She looks at it for a moment before snatching it out of my hand.
>I hand her a spork from my pack and dig in to my chili mac meal.
>Mmm...not bad after a day of being held captive by violent blood thirsty neanderthals.
>The orc girl eyes it suspiciously for a moment taking a small spork full of it.
>She starts to chew and her eyes light up a bit as she starts to shovel one mouthful after another into her gullet.
>Within a few minutes we are both done with the meals, licking the sporks clean and tossing them into the fire to burn away the trash.
>She still seems upset about being denied from the boar meat so I try to make some conversation with her to lift her mood.
>Maybe if I'm nice to her she won't let the others kill me.
>Or kill me herself.
>"Not bad for human food from the other side eh? Not as good as fresh food but it's nice in a pinch."
>She just huffs at me again and crosses her arms over her small chest looking away from me.
>"...Thank..."
>I'll take it.
>"Don't mention it."
>We stand there for a moment listening to the crackling and popping of the logs on the fire and the ambient noise of the village life.
>"Time to tie up again," she says out of the blue.
>It's my turn to sigh with annoyance as I walk back to the wooden post and plop down on the ground.
>She ties the ropes back around me and leaves me to my own devices and walks back over to the table where she was tinkering with my AK before and sits down, leaning forward and resting her head on her arms atop the table.
>I try to get comfortable as it seems my sleeping arrangements have been made for me.
>It's certainly going to be a long night.
>As I lean my head back and try to drift off to sleep I dare to ask her one last question.
>"So...what happens to me then?"
>She doesn't answer for a moment then lifts her head to look at me.
>"Don't know, that up to chieftain to decide."
>Well that's great.
>It was a long night for sure.
>Barely got any sleep at all being tied up to an uncomfortable wooden stake all night.
>That and the coming and going of the local Orc denizens kept waking me up.
>Laughing and drinking, fighting over the remaining barbecued boar-hemoth, having loud humping sessions in their huts or just out side in the open.
>Freaking orcs.
>The once roaring fire had died down to little flickers of flame and then glowing coals just barely producing any light.
>Even woke up at one point to one of the females standing over me with a rusty knife and a bottle of some kind of liquor in her hands.
>Though standing is being generous, more like swaying like a leaf in the breeze.
>She was nothing like Akash, or rather Akash was nothing like the rest of her kin.
>This female, like the others I had seen around the village, was tall and built like a semi truck with larger tusks protruding from her lower gum and rippling muscles everywhere.
>I thought she was going to kill me while no one was looking.
>'This is how I die,' I thought.
>She chugged the last of the alcohol in the bottle and tossed it behind her then lifted her skirt to expose her nethers.
>Oh no...please don't rape me! I don't wanna catch Fankasia STDs.
>She stepped up closer to me and hiked her skirt higher.
>'This is how I die," I thought again.
>Instead she just belched loudly and started to take a leak right next to me.
>She missed me thankfully but the stench was horrible.
>I'm just glad the ground sloped downward away from me so her stream didn't pool over to where I was sitting.
>She took a leak long enough to impress anyone then stumbled off into the night.
>It was probably very early in the morning when that happened and I couldn't fall back asleep so I just stayed awake and looked around the village wondering about my fate.
>I looked up at the night sky and watched the stars for a while and gazed at the moon.
>There was no air or light pollution here so the sky was clear and vibrant like it had just been created yesterday.
>It was a relaxing sight and beautiful too.
>There were millions of stars to be seen, far more than you could see back home on Earth and the moon seemed larger and more pale than on the other side of the portal.
>It was so full and luminous.
>Shame I couldn't get to my phone to take a picture.
>After staring into the sky for what seemed like an hour I noticed a feeling of being watched.
>That sensation of prickling on the back of your neck and uneasiness.
>I looked at the table where my captor lay.
>She was dead asleep slumped over on the roughly made table with my AK resting in her lap.
>You'd think she was dead at first glance if not for her arms and legs twitching every now and then.
>I couldn't see anyone else around who was giving me any looks.
>Most were either passed out by now or making their way back to their huts.
>I shook it off as being paranoid and tired.
>I sat like that for the rest of the early morning until the light of the cresting sun spilled over the landscape.
>Riseandshine.morning
>As the rays of the sun washed over the orc village Akash stirred from her slumber.
>She jolted upright suddenly looking to see if I was still wrapped up around the hitching post.
>To her relief I hadn't managed to slip off in the middle of the night.
>Good for her, not so much me.
>She gave me her usual blank stare for a moment before stretching and yawning.
>Glad you had a good nights rest; must be nice.
>As she stretches I can't help but notice her flat and toned stomach.
>It has just the faintest bit of muscle tone to it.
>Not gonna lie it was cute, for an orc.
>She must have seen me looking because she stopped stretching and chucked a small rock at me, saying something in Orcish.
>"Yeah yeah, good morning to you too small fry."
>She stands up and slings my AK on her shoulder looking around at her home.
>There are very few other orcs milling about right now and she seems to perk up just slightly.
>She scans the area briefly and then darts over to the remains of fire pit.
>I turn and watch her as she quickly pulls her knife from her belt and slices off a small morsel of what little meat remains on the picked over carcass.
>She quickly devours the meat and slices off a little more, swapping between chewing and looking around for anyone who might give her trouble.
>Shame the good times never last though.
>As she stuffed another piece in her mouth one of the orcs from the hunting party she was with rounded the corner of the hut right as she was slicing off another sliver of meat from the bone.
>The same one who had pushed her away from the hog the other night.
>Without warning he let out a bellow and charged her raising a spiked club he had grasped in his right hand.
>"YOU NOT EAT, WEAKLING!"
>She jumped at the sudden noise and turned to see her would be assailant bounding down the middle of the open ground.
>I thought she might turn and run but to her credit she turned and faced him.
>I saw her tense up her body as she readied to fight the green mountain of muscle.
>She grabbed for her spear.
>And it wasn't with her.
>It was over by the table where she had left it.
>Too late did she realize her mistake and I think this is not going to end well for her.
>The big brute slams into her and sends her tumbling backward into the dirt with an audible grunt of pain.
>My AK goes clattering off her shoulder across the ground as she does.
>She manages to roll over just as the angry orc slams his spike club into the ground where she was laying.
>She rolled away from him and got to her feet obviously dazed from the hard blow but pulling her knife out of the sheath in her waistband.
>As the big guy charges she jumps to her left and jabs her knife into his upper arm.
>He doesn't seem to notice and back hands her in the hand knocking her down.
>She isn't as fast to get up this go around.
>The orc dude pulls her knife from his arm and tosses it to the ground away from him with red blood dripping from it.
>Looks like she didn't stab deep enough.
>He walks over to her and grabs her by the throat as she is trying to stand back up.
>By this time more of the orcs have woken up and come out to see what all the noise was and had started to make a wide loose circle around the spectacle.
>He proceeds to pick Akash up and slam her small frame into the ground over and over.
>It was at this moment I started to get scared she might actually be killed; though if it was for her well being or my own I wasn't sure.
>The first few times she tries to punch and kick at him to free herself but she might as well have been hitting a brick wall.
>She started to go limp and her eyes rolled back in her head slightly.
>My heart began to beat rapidly as I watched helplessly while the green skin pummeled his fellow orc into a pulp.
>If only I could get free, maybe I could help somehow.
>I jerked forward and as if on cue I felt the ropes give way.
>I didn't have time to think how that might have happened as I bolted up and ran for my AK laying over on the ground.
>I scoop it up, flick the safety off, rack a round into the chamber and shoulder it.
>"Hey you hulking fag!"
>Yeah anon, that'll show him.
>He drops the now motionless orc girl and stands to turn and face me.
>He has a few moments to contemplate what is happening before I put the dot center mass and dump all thirty rounds of SST into his chest.
>I work the trigger as fast as my finger can go, sending projectiles downrange and filling the morning air with loud cracks of rifle fire.
>The multiple impacts make him jerk and twitch as red mist sprays from his torso and mouth.
>He slumps over and falls to the ground lifeless in a crimson pool.
>I hastily grab another mag from my chest rig on my plate carrier and do a reload as smooth as I can.
>Adrenaline and fright has got me shaken up bad and I have the motor skills of a new born.
>Never killed anyone before and it's a scary feeling.
>I rock in the mag finally and rack the charging handle to chamber another round before tapping the angry orc in the back twice for good measure.
>"...I can't think of anything cool to say," I mutter to myself.
>Pull my eyes away from my kill over to the orc girl.
>Oh, right!
>Run over to Akash and drop down to one knee.
>She isn't moving at all.
>Pull off my ear pro and press my head to her chest to listen for heartbeat.
>It's faint but I hear a steady thump.
>Her breathing is slow and shallow.
>Not sure how bad her injuries are so I don't want to move her.
>The other orcs who were watching the fight start to close in a little at a time to get a better view of whats going on.
>A little blood is trickling from Akash's mouth where the big orc back handed her during the fight.
>I look at it in confusion for a moment before blinking and looking again.
>It's not red like normal...it's black.
>Curiosity gets the better of me.
>Slowly reach over to the unconscious Akash with my right hand to wipe some of the black blood off her mouth onto my finger to get a better look at it.
>My hand is shaky, as is my whole body, from the adrenaline dump.
>Suddenly her hand flies up and grabs hold of my wrist.
>JumpScare.gif
>Her grip is way stronger than I expected, it actually kind of hurts my wrist.
>She has her eyes open now and she is staring at me with a wild look.
>Not one of fear or embarrassment.
>One of pure murderous rage; it sends a cold shiver through my body and I try to pull away from her grip to put distance between us.
>Her grip on my wrist strengthens it's hold.
>It feels like she is about to crack my bones.
>I look into her eyes for any sign of sanity and that's when I notice it.
>Her eyes are different now, just slightly.
>There is the slightest tint of red in her iris where they were typically a golden color.
>We lock eyes and seems like we just stare at each other forever though it must have been only a few moments.
>I start to break out in a cold sweat.
>I felt like I was in serious danger; even more than when I had to run from the boar-hemoth or when I encountered the group of orcs in the forest.
>Then just as soon as it came it was gone.
>The orc girl's eyes seemed to gloss over for a moment and then sharpen again.
>She realized she was on her back, with me standing over her with my rifle and flung my arm away from her, rolling to her stomach and pushing herself up off the ground frantically.
>She quickly grabs the nearest weapon, a large rock, in her hand and lifts it above her head.
>I slowly stand up and sling the AK over my neck to let it dangle as I lift my hands in the air.
>She's breathing pretty heavy and it sounds labored too.
>Probably some cracked ribs if I had to guess.
>She lowers the rock but still keeps it clutched in her hand.
>Then she starts to look for the orc who attacked her after she feels I'm not a threat.
>Turning around she sees his corpse behind her on the ground in a pool of his own blood and spots the spent casings on the ground.
>She looks back to me with an expression I'd say was somewhere between anger and surprise.
>Hadn't occurred to me till now but I realized I had just gunned down one of her clan, in front of the whole village.
>I'm a dead man...
>She hobbles over to him and nudges him with her foot.
>She then kneels down beside him letting the rock drop from her hand.
>With a single finger she starts to poke the bullet wounds in his torso, even going as far as to sink it down to her second knuckle.
>Gross.
>Seems to be interested in how the bullets worked.
>I start to look around nervously at all the villagers encircling us expecting to get swarmed and torn apart.
>It doesn't happen much to my surprise.
>Not that I'm complaining.
>Eventually my arms get tired and I just ease them down slowly to my side; don't dare touch my AK right now.
>Akash wipes the orc's red blood off her finger onto the ground and stands up to face me.
>She strides over to me obviously angry.
>She slugs me in the eye faster than I realized what was happening.
>It stings a lot, not gonna lie.
>"You take kill! MY FIGHT! MY KILL! DISHONORABLE!"
>She just starts yelling at me in front of everyone.
>I just put my hand over my eye for a moment and listen to her yell in her broken child level English.
>Get angry at her for being ungrateful for what I did even though it could get me killed; still not sure it won't.
>"I just saved your life! You'd be dead if I hadn't shot him!" I yell.
>"Not matter! My fight!"
>I just roll my one good eye at her and her 'logic'.
>"Honor doesn't do you much good if you're dead."
>She just huffs and raises her fist to slug me again but she gets interrupted by the last person I wanted to show up though it was going to happen.
>"What all the noise!? Who shoot in village?"
>The orc chieftain comes striding up the square pushing through the crowd.
>He gets through the last of the on lookers and comes into view, female elf in tow.
>Has a large twin bladed axe in his right hand with some small chips in it but looks to be in pretty good shape otherwise.
>Looks sharp too...
>I imagine for a moment what a wound from that would be like.
>It ain't pretty.
>Notice he still has a bit a limp on his right foot, and my Glock still tucked into his waistband.
>Good shooting Tex.
>He sees the dead orc lying on the ground full of obvious bullet holes and looks to me with my AK.
>The he looks to his daughter standing in the midst of it.
>He peers hard at her face and Akash seems to finally notice she is bleeding from her mouth.
>She quickly wipes her odd colored blood onto her fur bracers staining the hide.
>"Akash, what happen? Human kill clan mate? Answer now!"
>The chief gestures with his large axe as he demands an explanation from his daughter.
>He just looks at me with a disgusted look as Akash attempts to tell him what happened.
>As she finishes up her brief summary in front of everyone the chieftain looks around at the other villagers for confirmation.
>None of them speak up to protest what she had said.
>They seem to be taking it rather well a human just killed one of their own.
>The elf woman behind the chief speaks up timidly.
>"Chieftain Bloodsworn, I think they are telling the truth."
>He just huffs at her remark and goes quiet for a moment.
>"Elf wench, can heal clan mate?" he asks solemnly.
>The dude's got thirty slugs in him and has been dead for a few minutes at least.
>"I'm sorry chieftain, I can't bring someone back from the dead. I don't have that kind of power," she replies.
>She doesn't seem to upset about it, can't blame her.
>The old orc sighs and barks orders at a few of the crowd in orcish.
>They walk over to the dead orc and pick up his body to carry him off somewhere into the village.
>He then looks back to Akash and I while tightly gripping his axe.
>NervousSweats.exe
>"Follow back to home, we talk whelp," he spits at Akash.
>Her shoulders slump as her demeanor goes from angry to somber.
>I let out a sigh of relief.
>She moves over to me and relieves me of my AK, again, before collecting her spear and knife from the ground before we follow behind the orc and the elf woman back to the chieftain's house.
>So...they call themselves Bloodsworn?
>Clan Bloodsworn...has a nice ring to it I'll admit.
>We get back inside the chieftain's house and he sits down on his throne chair resting his large axe against the arm.
>"Why you start fight whelp? You always causing trouble with other clan mates," he asks with a tired tone like this sort of thing has happened before.
>"I not start, he attack me, I fight back! I just try to get some of left over meat!"
>The orc just stares at her blankly while she tries to defend her position.
>"You not even win fight. Small human you somehow capture kill clan mate!" he says with a dismissing wave of his hand.
>"Not ask him to, he interfere!"
>'I saved your life,' I think to myself.
>"Your human kill clan mate regardless. You loose fight, that what I see. Always loose fights, you want to get blooded but you weak."
>He really doesn't cut her any slack.
>She just hangs her head though I notice she is clenching her fists pretty hard.
>The old orc chieftain is quiet for a time before speaking again.
>"Akash, you want to be blooded? Become recognized member of clan?"
>At this her head shoots up, eyes wide open.
>"Yes, want to be member of clan! Be welcome here."
>Chieftain Bloodsworn thinks to himself for a moment before continuing.
>"Should kill your human for killing clan mate. You responsible for him, could have you flogged," he starts and both me and the orc girl tense up at the words.
>"But have better idea! You leave village and seek out worthy opponent, kill and bring back head to village. Do this and I make you blooded member. And take the human with you," he finishes.
>The elf woman standing beside the chieftain jumps slightly at the words leave village.
>Akash is still as a stone.
>She seems a little taken back by this proposal.
>To me it kinda sounds like he is just trying to get rid of us.
>The orc girl is quiet for a moment before answering slowly.
>"I accept, will find and kill strongest foe and take it's head."
>"Good!" the orc chieftain claps his hands together, "Get things together, you leave today when you ready."
>Sheesh he isn't even going to give her time to prepare really.
>As we are about to turn and leave the elf girl stalls us by clearing her throat.
>"Um chieftain, wouldn't it be good for them to have a guide? The human has obviously never been through the portal before, and your daughter has never been beyond the edges of your domain."
>She looks over to us with a pleading look.
>Or at me mostly.
>I don't think I have much sway in this miss.
>"Not let best healer leave, you stay here."
>The elf girls looks like she is about to break down and cry.
>Akash doesn't seem to think one way or the other about it.
>I can't help but feel bad for the elf, no telling what she's gone through while living here.
>I think quick and come up with a plan.
>"Hey, uh..Chieftain Bloodsworn! What about trading her to us?" I propose.
>It's a long shot but who knows, maybe it will work.
>"You not have anything I want human," he replies.
>"What about these?"
>I reach into the pistol mag pouches on my D3 rig attached to my plate carrier and the pouch on my belt and remove my remaining Glock mags.
>I doubt I'll be getting my Glock 17 back so it's not worth having these with me.
>Who knows when I'll run across another one in this new world.
>I hold up three mags in total as my offer.
>The chieftain seems to perk up at my proposal, standing up and walking over to take them from me before looking back at the elf.
>"Mmm...fine, I give you elf wench. I find another one eventually anyway."
>That has a dark foreshadowing to it.
>He just sticks the mags into a leather pouch hanging off his belt and pulls a small key from another one.
>He moves over to the elf and crouches down.
>I hadn't noticed them before, but she has two small metal bands around her ankles.
>They look like shackles but there aren't any chains on them; that's weird.
>And no keyhole either.
>The orc just taps the end of the key on the metal bands and they unclasp with a metallic click and fall to the floor.
>The elf just looks down at her feet in disbelief for a moment before kneeling down to rub her ankles where her odd restraints just were.
>"You all be ready to leave soon, before dark," the chieftain says plainly before sitting down on his throne chair to fiddle with the Glock.
>I look over to the elf and see that she is beaming a huge smile at me.
5/6/2020
>As we turn to leave the chieftain’s house he yells back at Akash.
>”Come back with head of worthy opponent, or don’t come back!”
>Man this guy is a real dick.
>The elf girl comes trotting up behind us nearly knocking me down.
>”Oh thank the gods! I thought I was going to be left there until I died!”
>Just kind of shrug it off.
>”Anyone would have done the same thing, it’s no big deal.”
>”No one has bothered until now, though we haven’t gotten any human visitors in a long time. The last who were here, well…they’re dead now.”
>Well that explains it.
>”Ah that’s…terrible.”
>Not sure what else to say here, kinda awkward.
>”I promise I’ll pay you back in full for your kindness dear sir! I owe you my life!”
>”Don’t sweat it alright?”
>Don’t really feel comfortable having that kind of pressure on me, just glad I could help her out.
>We exit the chieftain’s house and go to the center of the grounds where I collect my bag and it’s contents, checking to make sure none of the greenskins have taken anything.
>”Master Anon! Let me carry that for you as thanks!”
>This elf girl is really not going to let this life debt thing go.
>”It’s cool, I’ve got it. It isn’t all that heavy.”
>”Are you sure? I’ll do anything I can to help. Anything you need me to master!”
>That is just weird to hear…
>”Thanks but I can manage, and it’s just Anon, you don’t need to call me master. It feels kind of weird.”
>She looks a little saddened by the response but perks right back up.
>”Of course! Anything you say Anon, anything at all.”
>Right…anyway.
>Akash just turns and walks away as I finish getting my things and begins walking toward what I assume is the direction of her own hut.
>Every orc I’ve seen in this village has had a building of varying size for living quarters, makes sense she would have one too.
>”So which way to your house…Akash?”
>She doesn’t answer me at all, just huffing in annoyance and continuing on.
>”I bet your house is nice since you’re the chieftain’s daughter huh?”
>Again I get nothing for my query but a cold shoulder.
>”If I may Anon, the orcs here build houses once they have killed a worthy opponent and brought back a trophy as proof.”
>”Ah ok, seems to fit with the idea I had of orcs.”
>”Yes, very. My name is Arieth by the way dear Anon.”
>Just shrug off the ‘dear’ part.
>”It’s nice to meet you.”
>”Likewise Anon, I hope to be of help during our journeys together.”
>We keep walking to what seems like the furthest corner of the walled in village and turn a corner to see Akash’s house.
>House is a generous term…very generous…
>It’s a scrap wood lean-to shack with a raggedy sheet for a door.
>There are huge gaps in the half rotten planks that make up the walls and the roof has holes in the rusted out tin big enough to fit your fist in.
>Wow that is honestly a little sad.
>Feel slightly bad for the greenskin girl, but only a little since she did get my Glock taken away and still has my AK.
>She pulls the ratty sheet back and goes in to her ‘house’ to get her belongings for the trip.
>I peer inside when she has her back turned.
>Nothing but a small fur roll for a bed and a hole in the corner where she has another piece of tin laid over now ashen cold coals to cook on.
>A small stone knife with a wooden handle lies next to her bedroll which she picks up and slides into her waistband.
>Just kind of stare for a moment before she gets up and tosses what little she had into a small rolled up pack tied together with old cordage.
>She exits the living space and walks passed us without saying a word.
>”Well I don’t have anything to collect so I guess we can be on our way!” says Arieth upbeat.
>Arieth doesn’t seem the least bit wary about traveling with an orc and a human she has never met before.
>I guess when you’re enslaved by a bunch of violent and savage brutes any change in company is welcomed.
>Give her a once over with my eyes, just to take in the situation of course.
>All she has is a thread bare light brown tunic about knee length and some worn out looking mid-calf leather boots.
>She has long silky dark blonde hair and blue-green eyes though, and they aren’t difficult to look at if I’m being honest.
>She notices me looking and smiles brightly with her hands behind her back.
>I know what I’m thinking of tonight in my tent.
>Looking over to our orcish companion she is simply wearing a small, supple cloth top held up by a tie around her back and a slim cord running through a ring attached to the top tied behind her neck.
>It really shows her small bit nicely shaped chest and her firm stomach.
>…
>Make that two things I’ll think about tonight.
>Some fur lined wrapped around with leather cord cover her forearms.
>Probably for warmth, they seem too thin to really protect against anything.
>Her ensemble is complete with a dark brown cloth skirt unevenly cut and tied around her right hip.
>Not even any shoes or foot wraps.
>It’s going to be a long journey for her.
>But I guess not my problem, I’m in this mess partially because of her anyway.
>As we make our way through the village I occasionally glance over to my AK she has slung across her back in longing.
>I’ve lost my knife, pistol, and my rifle within two days of being here.
>This sucks.
>Feel naked and vulnerable.
>Start thinking of ways I can get my AK back.
>Wait for me my sweet.
>Anyway, we get to the front of the village by the large gated entry way and the chieftain and what seems like the entire village is there waiting for us.
>Looking around at all of them more clearly now really puts into perspective how small Akash is compared to her kin.
>As we approach the gates the crowd starts to throw jeers and taunts at us, or maybe just at Akash?
>Most were in the form of ‘weakling’, ‘welp’, ‘pup’, and oddly ‘book lover’.
>Have to ask her about that later if I can.
>Probably have better luck getting oil from a waterspout though.
>The chieftain stops us for a moment before letting us through the gate.
>”Remember welp, find worthy foe and kill, if you can. Bring head for proof. Or don’t come back to village. No room for weak orcs here.”
>Can feel the embarrassment and shame permeating off Akash from a few feet away.
>”Will come back! Kill strong foe and prove not weak! Maybe kill dragon even!”
>If they weren’t laughing at her before, they were now.
>Some were rolling on the ground in tears.
>Her cheeks flushed a darker green than her skin at the display.
>”Doubt. You go now and kill foe if you can.”
>With that the orc chieftain yelled in orcish at the guards by the gate and the heaved it open with a grunt allowing us passage out of the village proper.
>With that we exited the orc’s home and stepped foot out into the forest surrounding their abode.
>Freedom at last!
>I breathed in the fresh air.
>And my own b.o.
>I want a shower now; I’ll settle for a not too cold stream though.
>I start to wonder where we will head off to first seeing as I don’t know the lands at all but Akash made that decision for us as she began to briskly stride off into the woods in a seemingly random direction.
>”I guess we’re heading in a …that way direction then,” I say aloud.
>”Hehe, it’s south-west silly,” Arieth informs me as we began to follow after our guide.
>”How can you tell? The trees are so thick here I can’t see the sun well enough.”
>”I’m an elf Anon, we’ve just got a natural knack for that sort of thing,” she responded.
>Makes sense, I guess.
>”So what was life back on Earth where you come from?”
>Since we have nothing better to do for now, I begin to tell her about my life back home on Earth before the convergence.
>My boring nine to five job, my failed relationships, my family who I barely ever see or talk to, my lack of friends, etc.
>Then we start getting into music, television, video games, vehicles we use for transportation, the whole nine yards.
>She was very fascinated with the ability of air travel seeing as how only dragons, harpies and the like can fly.
>”There are magics that can give you the ability of flight for a short while but you have to be incredibly skilled in the arts to do so. It would take most beings a couple hundred years to learn and hone the ability. You can also buy amulets or rings that have been imbued with the magic, but they would cost a kingdom’s amount of gold and are very rare.”
>We continue talking about magic for a while with me asking her questions about how it works, who can do it and so on.
>Then the conversation comes back around to me and somehow my experience with romance as she put it.
>”I’ve had a few girlfriends, but it never worked out in the end. They usually just wanted money, or our ideals didn’t match up,” I explained casually.
>”That’s a shame, you seem like such a nice person anon,” She continued.
>”Thanks.”
>”And you’re quite handsome too, hehe.”
>”Thanks, yeah it-“
>Ay yo hol’ up…
>Brain catches up to what she said, look over to her kind of surprised.
>She’s just smiling while looking at me with an innocent expression.
>Never considered myself handsome before, decent looking, maybe even attractive, but not handsome.
>We’ve known each other what…two days and she’s hitting on me already?
>Nah can’t be it, she’s just being friendly because I saved her from the orcs and she just wants to show gratitude.
>Pick up where I left off before she can realize I’m spilling spaghetti like a clumsy Italian.
>”-it happens. Just have to move on with life.”
>”Have you ever considered courting another race?” she asks bluntly.
>Think for a moment how to respond to her brazen inquiry.
>”I haven’t thought about it really. The convergence happened about two years ago on Earth but there weren’t many people from this world in my hometown. You and the orcs are the first people I’ve had more than a couple words with.”
>”I see! Well I certainly hope we didn’t give you a bad first impression of our peoples. Well, I don’t know if you would call orcs people, but that’s a different matter,” Arieth continued.
>Akash must’ve overheard her and looked back with mild annoyance on her face.
>A bit harsh I think, seeing as how they hadn’t just killed me outright, but then she was trapped there for who knows how long in the orc’s camp.
>”Yeah…anyway other than another elf girl that worked at a produce stand at the farmer’s market in town I didn’t know any other non-humans until now.”
>”Another elf? What was her name?”
>”I can’t remember, we didn’t really speak more than a few words to each other in total. Why?”
>”I was just wondering if we may have known one another is all,” she answered plainly.
>She must miss being around her own kind after having been separated from them for so long.
>During this whole time Akash hasn’t said one word to either of us and had just been keeping a steady pace through the woods putting distance between us and her home.
>Realize then that the elf and I had been talking for a few hours already.
>Being used to driving most everywhere back on Earth has made me soft to having to walk so much.
>Probably going to have to do a lot of that here…
>In hindsight I should have done cardio and daily walking to build up my legs and toughen my feet before I came here.
>Oh well, too late now.
>We walk another couple of hours in silence mostly, with Arieth or I asking the other the odd question.
>It was probably near noon when we left out and now it was nearing about 4p.m. Earth time according to my watch.
>Which brought up the question if this world and Earth had a similar calculation of time, and Arieth confirmed it did have one like Earth’s after some explaining.
>Convenient.
>We walk for a short spell longer in silence as the sun lazily drifts down to the horizon.
>The next few hours are spent in silence as each of us three are left with our thoughts while walking through this old forest.
>It was late in the afternoon nearing evening as best as I could tell.
>As the light dimmed and the shadows of the trees grew longer, I began to think about setting up camp for the night.
>"Hey, we should probably stop for the day. It'll be dark soon and should rest."
>Arieth perks up at this notion and joins in on my side.
>"Yes! I agree with Anon, rest and food would be good for us. I'll go gather wood for the fire and see if I can find some edible plants!"
>With that she bounds off into the forest with a smile and wave towards me.
>If all elves are this friendly it'll make my time here a lot easier.
>Start to wonder if elves will like guns or be more of the bow superiority type from another mythos.
>The orc girl seems to realized that she is outnumbered here and relents, taking off her back pack and letting it fall to the ground and setting my AK beside it.
>Try to think of how I can get it back, she seems to like it a lot and I don't want to try and steal it back from her.
>That could just make her hostile towards me.
>That's the last thing I need right now.
>She rummages through her own pack and pulls out her bedroll, setting it on the ground and smoothing it out.
>I follow suit and begin to go through my own pack, pulling off my one-man tent and sleeping bag and inflatable pad.
>As I'm setting up the tent Akash takes notice and sits on her bedroll watching me intently while I press stakes into the ground and run out the guy lines.
>Feels like I'm being watched by a predator on the hunt right now.
>Get the tent set up and inflate the pad setting it inside the tent, then tossing the sleeping bag in for extra comfort.
>Once it was all done, I stood back and admired my handy work.
>It was just a simple OD green one-man tent from Amazon, but it has suited me well on previous camping trips and it would be nice for some privacy.
>Little did I know how wrong I was.
>Soon as I was done setting everything up and stepped back Akash walked over and poked her head inside the unzipped doorway.
>"Uh...can I help you?"
>"This mine now. Sleep in here. You stay outside, human."
>Hold on a minute.
>Nah that ain't happening
>"Now wait here! That tent is mine and I'm not going to give it up just because you want it for yourself!"
>I reach forward and place a hand on her shoulder to show I mean what I say.
>That wasn't the right thing to say.
>Or do either.
>With that little provocation she whipped around and smacked me across the head with the butt end of her spear.
>I stumbled back a little and saw stars for a moment before gaining my composure.
>She stood up fully and leveled the spear at me.
>That's an awfully pointy piece of stone...
>Even though I still had my plate carrier on, the rest of me could be skewered.
>That doesn't sound like a good idea.
>I had tourniquets in my IFAK but nothing to fight off infection if the wound festered.
>Decide it's not worth risking death over a tent.
>"Fine, take it then. See if I care."
>I cared a lot.
>With her victory she puffed out her chest a little and crawled into her new sleeping arrangements.
>She even took her bedroll in there with her.
>Guess it's the ground for me.
>This is going to suck.
>Spend the next fifteen minutes or so raking back leaves and twigs with a small branch broken off a tree to clear my sleeping area of any rocks and critters then piling the leaves back up to soften the area and give me some added warmth.
>About that time, Arieth returns with a large bundle of small sticks and dry leaves in her arms.
>Notice she has a bulging pouch in her mouth, and her ragged dress looks even more ragged now as well as a tad shorter.
>She dumps the bundle down on the ground and takes the pouch from her teeth while looking around the camp.
>"Wow Anon great looking tent! We'll have someplace nice to sleep tonight huh?"
>Tell her it has already been claimed by miss hostile.
>"It only holds one person anyway; it'd be cramped with two people in it."
>"Well that wouldn't be so bad still..." she says bluntly
>She just kind of blushes lightly giving an innocent smile.
>Feel my cheeks get a little warm.
>"So anyway, I guess you and I get the forest floor for a bed tonight. Oh! I manage to find lots of dead fall and some delicious blood berries. Try some anon!"
>She unfolds the pouch and holds it out for me to see.
>"Blood berries?"
>I look at the contents and see dark red berries the color of, you guessed it, blood.
>They're about the size of grapes and look like black berries.
>"They are very delicious!"
>She takes one and places it in her mouth, rolling it around with her tongue and lips.
>Doesn't break eye contact with me.
>Finally sucks it in and chews for a moment then swallows.
>Starting to think it's more than just friendliness...
>I take one and bite into it.
>It's juicy and sweet with a dark red flesh.
>Tastes kind of like a mix between a strawberry and a peach.
>"Wow, they're really good!"
>"I'm glad you like them! Our kind makes wonderful jams and deserts with them."
>Akash comes out of my...her...tent and sees us enjoying some food.
>"Oh...would you like some dear friend?"
>Arieth offers her the pouch and Akash takes a handful of the berries and tosses them in her mouth.
>She chews for a moment then gulps them all down in one go.
>"Haha...save some for us now..."
>Arieth and I take a handful ourselves before Akash eats them all and we sit down on to eat and talk while nightfall comes.
>Akash walks back over to the tent and crawls in to lie down.
>"So Anon, tell me about your family back on this Earth you come from."
>"We'll there isn't much to tell. Both my parents are still living, but I don't talk to them much. maybe once a month or so. And I'm an only child."
>Spend the next half hour going over family and friends, life back home, and the usual lanes of discussion.
>Learn Arieth's last name is Wildthorn and that her family runs a popular bakery back in her hometown. She didn't say the name of it though.
>Don't think much of it.
>It's well into the night now and I start to feel myself eyelids get heavy.
>I yawn and stretch, moving to position my pack under my head as a makeshift pillow.
>"I guess we better turn in for the night in case our 'leader' wants to get an early start tomorrow."
>"Orcs aren't known to be early risers," Arieth says with a chuckle.
>She reclines back on her elbows looking up at the stars through the small openings in the tree canopy.
>Can't help but notice it accentuates her modest bust.
>I really wish I had that tent right now, and not the one in my pants.
>”Haha, yeah they didn’t seem like the kind to get up with the rising sun.”
>Awkwardly shift to hide boner.
>”And how about where you come from? The humans where you live are early risers?”
>More than you know.
>”Some are, some aren’t. It really depends on the individual.”
>There is a pause in the conversation and I see my chance.
>Roll over on to my side facing away from her to hide my own one-man tent.
>”Well, it is pretty late. We should get to sleep so we can get an early start tomorrow.”
>”Ah, yes! Good idea Anon. Rest well, I will see you with the morning light.”
>”You too.”
>Smooth Anon.
>I close my eyes and listen to the alien yet familiar sounds of nature as I drift off to sleep.
>Wake up during the middle of the night to nature's call.
>Drank too much from my water bladder...
>Remember to hydrate folks!
>Anyway, wake up and roll over for a moment to fight the urge to get up from my makeshift bed.
>Eyes lazily scan the area for a moment before I realize Arieth is gone.
>Maybe she had to go too.
>Sit up and yawn then reach for my AK for protection before I stumble off into the woods to take a leak.
>Remember Akash still has it and huff in anger.
>Get up and cautiously walk away from the camp in a straight line about a hundred yards away.
>Pick out a tree and fumble sleepily with my fly.
>Finally get out my junk and feel the great sense of relief as I water the grass.
>Looking around the darkened forest for any signs of danger, not that I could see all that well.
>Just little patches of moonlight trickle in through the canopy here and there.
>About mid-stream I see a flicker of movement out of my peripheral vision; quick and low to the ground.
>Roughly eighty yards away from me to my right.
>Looked like it went right to left darting from a bush to behind a tree.
>Freeze up and clinch to stop flow.
>Stare like a hawk at the area for a few minutes while occasionally darting back and forth.
>Watch the area for what seems like an eternity.
>Don't see any other movement and the pressure in my bladder from holding it in is killing me.
>Decide it's safe and let loose the gates again.
>Probably just my half-awake mind and the shadows playing tricks on me.
>Zip up my fly and walk back to the camp the way I came, more quickly this time.
>As I clear the camp, I see a figure emerge from the trees off in front of me to my left.
>Nearly panic until it calls out to me.
>"Anon! By the gods, you startled me just now!"
>It's just Arieth
>Heart about to beat out of my chest.
>"Sorry, I had to pee. Didn't mean to scare you. You gave me quite a fright as well."
>We both have a quiet chuckle.
>"So where you over that way just a few minutes ago?" I ask, pointing in the direction I came from.
>"No, I was just coming up from this direction. There is a small stream about twenty minutes’ walk from our camp. Why do you ask?"
>"I thought I saw something earlier, but I guess it was just my imagination. I'm still half asleep," I reply letting out a yawn.
>"I thought I too saw something when I was walking the woods earlier. I was drinking from the stream and thought I saw something lurking in the growth across the bank downstream from me.
>Immediately go to Defcon 3.
>No way we both thought we saw something sneaking around while we were alone, and at opposite ends of the camp.
>"Did you hear anything? Elves are supposed to have very good hearing, aren't they?" I asked a little worried.
>"We do, but I wasn't really paying attention until I suspected something. But I heard nothing."
>Well that doesn't help our situation any.
>"Maybe we should wake the orc girl up and keep watch for a couple hours before we try to go back to sleep. Both of us seeing things is not something to ignore."
>"She seemed tired, we should let her rest. It's probably nothing Anon."
>Hesitate for a moment as I contemplate the possibility of getting smacked again with the haft of that spear.
>No, we should all be made aware of the potential danger.
>"I'll wake her up anyway, she should know."
>Walk back over to the tent and kneel down at the vestibule.
>"Hey uh...Akash, you awake? I think there is something out in the woods you might want to know about."
>....
>No reply.
>"Hello?"
>....
>Still no reply.
>Look over to Arieth who seems worried about the situation and shrug to her.
>She just shakes her head and shrugs in return.
>Think to myself for a moment and thunk 'screw it, she can get mad if she wants'
>Reach up and unzip the vestibule to poke my head in and shake her awake.
>...
>She isn't in there...
>I stand and turn around only to find some hideous mutilated thing floating in front of my face.
>"AH WHAT THE HECK IS THAT!"
>Scream like a little girl while fumbling for my glock.
>Akash steps out from behind the creature smirking slightly at her successful attempt to scare me, letting the...thing....plop down on the ground between us.
>I now realized she had it impaled on her stone spearhead.
>Blood is starting to pool out of it and looking closer it has green skin and yellowish eyes like Akash's, though this things entire eye is yellow, except for it's weird shaped black pupil.
>Look up to Akash, bewildered, and realize she is splattered with blood and gore as well.
>"Uh, are you alright?"
>"Fine. Kill scout sneaking around camp, slew other in woods."
>She puffs out her chest a little, which I liked the sight of not gonna lie.
>She looks to me with an expression of wanting praise.
>"Uh...good job?"
>"Mm."
>A regular thesaurus, this one...
>Arieth walks over to us after watching the scene unfold and gently prods the dead creature with a stick.
>"A goblin scout? That's not a good sign, we might be near their nest."
>"So that's what a goblin looks like?" I ask while rolling over the corpse with my foot.
>"Yes, vile creatures they are. Rape, murder, kidnapping plundering villages; they do just about anything. It's worse when they grow into a large horde."
>Akash pulls her spear from the back of the goblin with a slight squelch of the wound, slinging it to clear some of the gore off it.
>I notice that she still has my AK with her, slung across her back.
>I want my Kalashnikov back.
>"Why didn't you just shoot them? Would have been easier, y'know?"
>She points to the rifle slung across her back with a questioning expression
>"Loud, let enemy know."
>Oh. That makes sense.
>Plus I only have a limited amount of ammo anyway.
>Best to conserve it all we can.
>"So," Arieth chimes in, "I say we go ahead and pack up camp and leave out before daybreak. It wouldn't be wise to linger here now that we know goblins roam this area and they are scouting us."
>"Yeah, that's probably a good idea."
>Arieth perks up at this and smiles wide at my taking her side.
>"Plus we don't even know where-"
>Get cut off mid-sentence by Akash like it's the Soprano's.
>"Found nest where scouts come from, that direction. Cave hidden by large rock in forest. We go clear out goblins."
>She points in the direction Arieth came from the woods.
>"I don't think that's a good idea! There could be dozens in the nest and we aren't well equipped to handle very many foes at the moment."
>I'm quick to chime in with Arieth.
>"Arieth is right, it would be suicidal to try and fight in a cave at night with only myself having a flashlight to see in the dark. Plus we only have a spear and my rifle between the three of us."
>"Don't need human fire-less torch, can see in dark fine. Can't you?" Akash asks quizzically.
>Surprised she knows what a flashlight is; I must not be the first human she's encountered.
>"Well, no. I can't see in the dark, not without equipment."
>Look over to Arieth for support.
>She see's the look in my eyes.
>"Well, us elves can see in the dark very well too, actually."
>This isn't helping matters at all...
>"But Anon is right about we three having few weapons, and I only know minor healing spells. Nothing that will help with combat."
>"We go to nest. I kill goblin leader and take hoard, get higher standing in clan."
>I forgot for a moment why we were doing any of this to begin with.
>This isn't why I came through the portals to begin with either.
>This sucks.
>Arieth and I look at each other then back to Akash with a look of annoyance and worry.
>"Look Orc girl, I don't want to go headlong into a situation I don't even know how to handle, being from Earth and-"
>"We go now! I take human weapon from other side and kill many goblins. You give all quivers to me for weapon."
>She accentuates this demand by pointing her very sharp looking spear right at my face.
>Quivers. Never heard a mag called that before, /k/ will love this if I live long enough to post on that board again.
>"Alright! Alright, here."
>Really starting to get pissed at losing all my stuff after not even a week here.
>Reluctantly hand her the remaining mags I had on my person which was four in total, not counting the empty one I dumped into the orc back at her village.
>Wonder how she intends to carry them with no kind of LBE.
>She answers my unspoken question by stuffing the mags in her waistband and tightening down the ends of her makeshift hide skirt.
>That's not going to last long I think to myself.
>She unslings the AK from her back and holds it across her chest like she was in a parade, handing me her spear.
>"Here human, you take. Maybe kill goblins if not die first."
>"Gee thanks."
>Take the blood matted spear in my hands while longingly looking at my AK.
>"Come, we go now!"
>"Hey! What about me?" Arieth half shouts, half whines at our fearless leader.
>Akash rolls her eyes, much to Arieth's ire, and looks around for a moment before picking up a softball sized jagged rock and tossing it to her.
>Arieth looks to Akash then to me for help.
>I thought I had it bad with the spear.
>"We. Go. Now."
>And with that we were very hesitantly following this overzealous orc into what could be a deathtrap.
>Fumbling and weaving through the dark and overgrown woods we eventually came to a small opening in the side of a small rocky hillside.
>It looked to have been dug out by hand with picks and shovels, the entryway leading down into the underground.
>I peered into the murky dark and couldn't see much of anything, but our eager 'leader' seemed to not care too much.
>"Good... find goblin home. We go and crush enemies and take plunder."
>This orc girl is getting a little ahead of herself.
>"I can't even see down into the tunnels, how am I supposed to go moving around down there? Unless you want me to use a light."
>"No! No torches, warn enemy we are coming."
>Thankfully Arieth chimed in to help me out.
>"Don't worry Anon, I can see in the dark rather well, I'll help you navigate once we are inside.
>Without giving us time to even come up with a plan Akash just signals us to follow her and starts walking into the tunnel with my AK held horizontal to the ground, stock tucked up under her arm.
>"I don't have a good feeling about this...."
>But I step into the darkness, barely making out the form of the girl in front of me, sticking near to Arieth beside me as we make our way into the goblin tunnels.
>I stop for a second, signaling Arieth to wait a moment while I fish my earpro out of my bag and slip them on, rotating the dial until I hear the sounds get louder than normal hearing for me.
>We continue on for another five or ten minutes, Arieth and Akash seemingly having no trouble navigating the pitch black, while I have to rely on nudges and pulls from Arieth to keep me from running into a wall or tripping over rocks.
>Or what I hope are rocks.
>These tunnels are pretty big for gobins, if they are all the same size as the scout the orc girl killed near our camp.
>I don't think much of it though, being more thankful I don't have to hunch over to walk in this winding route.
>The air is getting more foul smelling as we delve deeper into the goblin's nest.
>We round a corner and see a small, flickering torch stuck about four feet tall stuck into the ground  ahead of us.
>It illuminates another entry way which seems to go into a larger chamber.
>Ms. fearless holds up her hand and Arieth and I stop just at the bend of the corner as the orc slinks up to the carved out entryway to peek inside.
>She can be pretty quiet when she wants to be...
>Arieth is relaying to me what Akash is doing since I still can't make out what is going on very well with just the one torch flickering in the distance.
>"She is just looking around at the moment...she's slipping in through the entryway...I can't see her now..."
>I wait beside Arieth around the dark side of the tunnel, poking my head out around the bend to see if I can make out anything.
>I listen to Arieth through my earpro as she whispers what she sees.
>I strain my ears and eyes to spot or hear any sign of danger but it doesn't do much good.
>I can't see much at all, and my earpro's microphone can only pick up the crackling of the torch and Arieth's whispers next to me in this cave.
>Suddenly Arieth speaks again, grabbing me by the wrist and gently tugging me forward.
>"She is motioning us to move up to where she is, let's go."
>We try to quietly make our way down the corridor to Akash's position, all the while my heart is pounding in my chest for fear of rounding a corner and coming face to face with a mob of goblins.
>But oddly enough we haven't encountered any resistance yet despite roaming through this expanse of tunnels for about a half hour.
>We meet up with our green skinned companion and wait to see what her next move is.
>The dim light of the torch behind us illuminates her face slightly as the flickering of the flames dance across the cave walls casting shadows and light here and there.
>Her eyes glow a little under the ambient light, reflecting it like that of a cat or an owl back on Earth.
>Must be how she sees so well in here.
>"Not see any goblins."
>She seems a little let down at this observation.
>"Small chest in back of room, probably have gold! We take it and leave before others find out."
>Sounds simple enough, and I'll be glad to leave this stinking pit.
>"We should make sure that there are no-"
>Arieth starts to warn about being to eager but Akash ignores her and starts sprinting to the center of the room towards the back wall.
>We followed in behind her more cautiously.
>The entry spilled out into a large dome shaped room where in the middle sat a crude looking throne chair atop an earthen mound.
>Littered around it were skeletons of varying sizes, most looking like they belonged to various animals.
>Some where clearly human, or humanoid at least.
>The ceiling of the dome seemed to stretch about fifteen or twenty feet tall, with the width of the room sprawling out about four times that.
>The light from the torch outside down the corridor barely reached inside.
>I hoped that Arieth and Akash were keeping an eye out for danger.
>Arieth and I stopped near the throne chair as Akash hurried over to the small chest, eager to claim her boon.
>She all but reaches it and kneels down to fiddle with the lock when it glows a faint red.
>That can't be good...
>And then we all hear it at once.
>The sound of dozens of feet pounding the packed earth and growls echoing off the stone walls of the throne room.
>"Oh no..." was all I got out.
>I fished the flashlight out of my pocket and shined it around the room trying to see where they might be coming from.
>It sounded like all around us.
>The beam of light splashed on recessed entryways of tunnels hidden from view in the shadows of the room.
>"Fight! Get ready!"
>Akash had stopped fiddling with the locked chest and ran over to us, the ambient light from my flashlight illuminating her face causing her to squint a little at the once near dark room.
>She was smiling a wide smile that showed off her small tusks.
>"How can you be happy about this?! We're about to be ambushed"
>"Fight! Prove strength, get honor!" was her simple reply
>Arieth and I both back up and turn to run back the way we came when they start to pour out from the corridor we were just walking in, and from all sides of the hidden passages leading into the throne room.
>There must have been about twenty to thirty of them around us, vile looking goblins armed with rusty swords, daggers, pick axes, and other makeshift weapons.
>Then to make things worse a large goblin about nine feet tall wielding what looked like a big cleaver lumbered in from one of the side tunnels.
>The other smaller goblins made way for him as he came to the front of the ring of combatants to see who had stumbled into their trap.
>"What is that thing?!"
>Yeah I was panicking, I'm not gonna lie.
>"It's a hob goblin," Arieth explained, "Like a giant goblin, stronger and a little more intelligent."
>Why does this sound so familiar to me?
>No time to think about television right now, I need to focus on how I'm getting out of here alive.
>...Yeah right, I have a spear, and the bonehead who barely knows how to use the one tool that might save us isn't willing to share it.
>And the other has a rock.
>Good luck charlie.
>It seems like we spend a few minutes just staring at each other before Akash decides she's had enough and kicks off things.
>"FIGHT!"
>And with that she lets rounds rip from my AK, slingling lead downrange in the direction of some of the smaller goblins nearer to her.
>The sudden flashes of light and loud concussion from the muzzle of the rifle catch everyone off guard and Arieth takes the opportunity to chant a short spell to cast a small sphere of light  to float up near the ceiling.
>At this the horde starts to run at us and I nearly vomit from fear.
>I'm not ashamed to admit that.
>Another short chant from Arieth causes small vines to grow from the soil, tripping some of the faster goblins reaching us and she moves to crack them in the head with her rock taking their weapons as she goes along.
>I snap to and go to stabbing any I can reach with the old spear or swinging it around to keep the others at bay.
>Akash is still firing with the rifle, filling the cavern with the smell of burnt powder and muzzle flash.
>She actually manages to change magazines from her waist when the current mag runs empty after fumbling for a second or two.
>I look back behind me to see how she is doing.
>There are a lot more dead bodies in front of her than us, though watching her for a moment shows she lets them get nearly point blank before shooting.
>At least she knows how to make up for her lack of experience.
>I turn back around in time to see a goblin's rusty dagger swipe at my shin, tearing open my pant leg and sawing into my thigh.
>Glad it's a rusted piece of junk or it might have gone a lot deeper.
>It still hurts and I yelp, half if pain half in surprise as I swat the goblin over the head with shaft of the spear knocking him for a loop before skewering him with the spear head.
>But before I can pull it out another swings at the wooden pole with a large club and snaps it in half leaving only about a four foot section splintered shaft to use for a weapon.
>I do the only thing I think of and chuck it as hard as I can at the goblin.
>He's too dumb to duck and it catches him in the nose with a thud.
>It does little more than bloody his nose a little and tick him off.
>"Anon catch!"
>Arieth yells to get my attention as she throws a wooden club my way which I barely manage to catch out of the air.
>I swing it full force at the nearest goblin and catch him in the jaw with a crunch as he goes sprawling in the dirt.
>I'm getting winded now, not being used to this kind of exertion.
>I can hear Arieth panting heavily near me too.
>There seems to be no end to the goblins no matter how many we kill.
>After what seems about only a few minutes the big one decides it's time to step in.
>He starts to lumber over to Akash and raises his large cleaver shaped blade to swing it down at her.
>She turns at hip fires at his face sending a hail of rounds grazing him on the left side.
>His aim is thrown off at the unexpected barrage and he barely misses Akash's neck.
>It instead falls short, hitting my AK in her hands instead and jerking it out of her grasp.
>The giant cleaver crashes into the ground with a loud thud and puff of smoke.
>My rifle lays beneath it bent and warped in a "u" shape.
>"My gun!"
>I am so pissed I catch the next goblin and clobber his head into the dirt until it's mush.
>Arieth is sweeping a pair of old, rust pitted swords around as she tries to cut through the mass of goblins surrounding the door we came through.
>I guess she must have realized that we were loosing this fight, because Akash made a mad dash for the wooden chest and began to sprint for the open we came through.
>"RUN!" was all she said as she bolted passed us.
>"Close your eyes Anon!" Arieth yelled.
>She cast another quick spell, shooting a burst of blinding light into the room temporarily blinding the enemy.
>"Let's go Anon, move it!"
>We took the brief lull in the fight to haul it out of the broken ring and back down the corridor, winding our way back through the tunnels to the outside entrance of the nest.
>One thing is sure, even if you're out of shape, nothing will get you running than fearing for your life.
>We made it outside heaving and soaked in sweat.
>I doubled over and vomited for real this time.
>Arieth turned and faced the opening to the goblin's nest and began to chant a longer spell.
>As goblins could be heard nearing the entrance and I thought we were about to get surrounded again, large cracks began to form in the mouth of the cave.
>Rocks and chunks of the tunnel began to collapse and sealed off the entrance trapping those inside behind it.
>"Uh...is that going to hold them?"
>"I don't know, maybe?"
>....
>"Let's get out of here before we find out!"
>Akash turns and faces us with an angry expression.
>"We stay, fight!"
>We both look at her dumbfounded before turning back to the woods and high tailing it away from the cave.
>Akash just stares blankly at our backs for a moment before looking back at the cave entrance.
>A loud, thundering impact sends some of the rock blocking the cave's mouth flying a few feet opening a small hole.
>The huge hob goblin shoves his hand out of the small opening reaching for us and snarling.
>Akash finally decides it's time to leave and turns to follow us sprinting to catch up with us.
>"We run! Fight later!"
>Look who finally came to reason.
>We ran back through the woods in the direction we were headed before we made camp for the night.
>We didn't even bother going back for our camp gear, no time and we didn't want to give the gobbos time to break out and catch up.
>We spent the rest of the night haphazardly running through the forest, snagging our clothes on briars and branches, tripping over tree branches and crossing shallow creeks.
>By the time we stopped it was early morning before first light.
>We were exhausted, cut up, scraped, and soaked.
>"This has been one failure after another since I crossed the portal..." I think to myself.
>I collapse on the ground and lay down, my tired body not wanting to go any further.
>"Does anyone even know where we are?"
>Everyone is just laying down and shivering from the adrenaline and wet clothes in silence.
>After a few minutes of heavy breathing and groaning Arieth speaks up
>"I think there is a town about three days walk from here, to the southwest."
>"How certain are you?"
>"Um...not very."
>Great, we could walk three more days and be no closer to whatever this primitive world considers civilization.
>"It's better than staying here any longer."
>I slowly pick myself up off the ground and the others do the same.
>Akash hasn't let go of her scowl since we fled from the horde of green midgets.
>She'll thank us later.
>Maybe.
>The next few days were full of misery and despair.
>The first day we walked all day and part of the night with no food and what little water I had in the bladder on my plate carrier.
>I'm glad I slept with it on, it would have sucked to leave it back at the camp site.
>Our clothes had mostly dried by the end of the day.
>Only for a torrential downpour to occur the next day and keep us soaked all day and through the night.
>Arieth and I decided to sleep with our backs to one another for some warmth but it didn't help much.
>Kept smelling some kind of berries all night too.
>What's up with that?
>Akash slept up against a tree glowering at us most of the time, holding onto the small wooden chest she snatched from the goblin cave.
>By the third day we were starved, dehydrated, bloody and dangerously sleep deprived.
>The three of us had nearly given up hope that we were going to find a settlement of some sort when Arieth stopped us by holding up her hand.
>She turned her head slightly as if listening.
>Arieth, what do your elf ears hear?
>"What is it Arieth?"
>"I hear...a wagon! And horses!"
>We all perked up at that news and followed behind Arieth as she sprinted with renewed vigor.
>The three of us darted out into a dirt road in front of a horse drawn covered wagon.
>The horses started rearing and kicking the air causing the driver to cus and yell.
>Turns out running into the road looking like hammered crap is a bad thing to do.
>The driver, a dwarf we now see, pulls out a blunderbuss with a muzzle that looks like it could fit a cantaloupe in.
>He's an older looking dwarf, with a few streaks of grey in his otherwise light brown beard that hung down to his rather round belly.
>He had on some worn looking overalls and a plain cotton shirt with a big tobacco pipe clenched between his teeth.
>"Get away from me wag'n 'for I turn you inta corpses!"
>He levels the huge gun at us and my life flashes before my eyes.
>"Wait! We're not robbers!"
>Arieth holds her hands up and takes a few steps towards the wagon.
>"That's close enough lass."
>The dwarf tightens his grip on his firearm.
>"We were traveling the road when we were ambushed by a large horde of goblins and a Hob. We've been on the run for three days now."
>The dwarf relaxes a little as Arieth bends the truth somewhat to help out our story.
>You gotta do what you gotta do.
>"There be green wretches around here?"
>He scans the area and his eyes go wide when he spots Akash.
>"There's one of them green wretches now!"
>He raises his blunderbuss and takes aim at Akash who is looking like she is about to pounce at the dwarf.
>I step in front of her, for no logical reason I can think of at the time, and raise my hands.
>I wonder if level 4 plates could stop whatever the dwarf is packing.
>Probably not.
>"She's with us! She's an...ally."
>The dwarf looks us over slowly, still keeping the blunderbuss leveled at us.
>"We are just trying to make our way to the nearest village to rest and resupply."
>He stares at us for a moment before speaking again.
>"Swear on the mountain that you're tellin' th' truth."
>Wut?
>"Uh...we swear. It's the truth."
>Arieth nods her head in agreement and Akash begrudgingly does the same after I nudge her with my foot.
>"...Swear..."
>The dwarf lowers his gat and sets it on the seat next to him.
>"Well then, since we are all friendly now, th' names Bussby. And you are?"
>Bussby? Wonder how he got that name...
>"This is Arieth, Akash, and I'm Anon."
>"You're one o' them k'mmando's, from the other side of the portals, aren't ya son?"
>Guess the Earth clothing and gear gives it away.
>"Yeah, long story."
>"Well you can tell it to me while we ride to town, it's about three hours ride from here."
>The three of us nearly tear up as we start to climb up on to the wagon.
>I sit in the drivers bench up front with Bussby while Arieth lays down on one of the benches in the back of the wagon and immediately falls asleep.
>He holds his hand up as Akash tries to climb into the wagon.
>"Hold on, I don't like orcs. You really trust her enough to not stab us in the back lad?"
>Honestly, I'm not sure.
>"Yes, she's trustworthy."
>He gives me and Akash a quick look before relenting.
>"So be it. Your responsible fer what happens."
>We rode in relative comfort for the rest of the way to the town thankful for the chance to rest our legs and relax.
>Arieth and Akash slept in the back of the wagon most of the way there.
>I passed the time recounting my story to Bussby and nodding in and out of consciousness.
>"That's a rough time lad. You shoulda brought some o' yer friends with you before crossing the portal."
>We finally arrived at the town, the guards at the entrance waving to Bussby as he approached the gates.
>"Found another one of the other worlders Bussby?"
>They're a couple of humans in a mix of plain clothing and leather armor.
>Notice they have pistols on their hips, looks like a couple of snubby revolvers.
>"Ah found 'em on the road a ways back, they were chased by a band of goblins."
>"That explains a lot."
>Hey, screw you pal.
>Let's see how you look after going through what we did.
>"Well we won't hold you up any longer, I'm sure the folks at the tavern will be happy to see you."
>One gaurd turns to the other to talk, hear him say something about telling the local guild about roaming goblins.
>With that we enter the town and make our way down the road.
>The town is fairly big with people of different walks of life milling about here and there.
>Most of the buildings are made of wood with a few made of nicely carved stone.
>We pull up to a large three story building I assume is the tavern the guard spoke of and I turn to the back of the wagon to wake up Arieth and Akash.
>Arieth is awake and looking around the town from the open end of the wagon.
>Akash is asleep, sprawled out to take up as much space as was left in the back of the wagon.
>Now notice that there are a ton of large barrels in the back where the two are.
>Hear a lot of sloshing now that I think listen closely.
>"What do you do for a living Bussby? The guards said that that innkeep would be happy to see you?"
>"Aye laddy, ah make and sell some of th' finest ales and meads you'll ever drink!"
>He points a thumb behind us proudly to his stock of barrels.
>Wonder if Dwarves are as big on drinking as we've been led to believe back on Earth.
>As we get off the wagon I circle around to the back shake Akash awake, from a safe distance this time as a short portly man, a hobbit or some such person comes walking out of the tavern to meet with Bussby.
>"I didn't think we would actually make it to a town."
>Arieth hops out of the back of the wagon nimbly.
>She looks around for a moment before wrapping me in a quick hug.
>I feel elf boobs.
>And no bra.
>This is nice, I could get used to this.
>"Let's get a room here at the tavern and finally have a warm soft bed to sleep in. And a bath!"
>That does sound nice, really nice.
>Only one problem though.
>"Uh...I'm broke to be honest. I didn't think Earth money would be good here. So, I don't suppose you have in money?
>"Well, no. It's not like I have anywhere to store it either."
>She gestured to her ragged tunic she was wearing, the threadbare fabric barely covering her frame.
>She perks up suddenly with a snap of her fingers.
>"What about that chest the cheiftain's daughter got from the goblin cave? Surely it has a little bit of money in it at least, or some gems worth a small sum. Goblins do like to horde wealth."
>Oh yeah. I had forgotten about that, Akash had snatched it right before we bolted out of the cave.
>Reach into the back of the wagon and wake up Akash who is quietly breathing in a deep sleep.
>Grab her foot and shake it slightly, flinching as she kicks at my general direction before jumping up in a hurry with her fists balled up.
>"Calm down, we've made it to town. Let's see that chest you grabbed from the cave, maybe we can get some rooms and food for the night."
>Akash perks up at the mention of food and climbs down out of the wagon, looking around for a bit with the chest tucked under her arm.
>Passersby regard her with fear or disgust and give her a wide berth.
>Understandable, she is an orc even if she doesn't resemble her more brutish looking kin.
>"Okay so let's open up that chest and see what's inside."
>"I hope it's lots of silver and gold coins, or gems! I'm starving!"
>Akash reluctantly takes the chest and sets it on the ground grabbing a nearby rock to smash the rusty lock off.
>"I get biggest share. My find!"
>Yeah yeah, whatever just open the thing already.
>"Fair is fair," Arieth says with an annoyed tone.
>Akash raises the rock and brings it down on the lock.
>It shatters with relative ease with a couple hits.
>We all squat down closer to peer inside the chest as Akash opens the lid.
>Que Zelda chest opening theme.
>We look into the chest to see three silver coins and a rolled up piece of paper.
>HeartbreakSounds.mp3
>No one says anything for a long moment while Bussby and the tavern owner talk business.
>Arieth breaks the silence among us.
>"Well that's disappointing..."
>I reach into the chest and pull out the rolled up piece of paper whill Akash swipes the coins from the chest to examine them.
>Straightening up I unroll the item and examine it.
>It's a cover page from a porno magazine 'Elven Sluts for BHC: Bondage edition'.
>It has an elf woman with long red hair in a braid in leather garb tied and blindfolded with a ballgag while a nude human male holds her leash.
>"What is it Anon?"
>Arieth leans over to see what the loot was and goes beet red.
>"O-oh my...that's...wow..."
>I just roll it back up and place it back into the chest.
>Seems things are getting along here quicker than I thought they would...
>Keep squatting to hide my hard on.
>Smell that berry smell again, like I did back at our campsite, but stronger now.
>Akash looks up from the coins and glares at Arieth.
>"Elf slut."
>Not sure what she is talking about but put it to the side of things to bring up later.
>Bussby comes around to the back of the wagon after finishing up talking with the tavern owner and sees us three staring at a mostly empty chest with looks of despair.
>"Hmm...ya be low on funds ah take it?"
>What gave it away?
>"Yeah...we snagged this chest from the goblin cave we got chased out of but it didn't have much in it. I don't even know how much this is worth."
>Point at the coins Akash has in her hand for emphasis.
>"Well a few silver coins will get yah a couple nights stay here at Thomnas's tavern, if yah three don't mind sharin a room. Might throw in breakfast too."
>At least there is some good news finally.
>"Yah might want to try the local guild too. They post jobs ev'ry day on the board inside th' lobby, it's what a lot of yah 'kommandos' as yah call yerselves like to do for a living."
>Well it can't go any worse than the whole goblin fiasco.
>Remember that I lost my glock to green Tex Grebner and his spawn here got my AK crushed by the huge goblin.
>Try not to cry in front of the group.
>"Thanks Bussby, we'll give it a look tomorrow. Right now I think we could all use some sleep."
>"Understood, Ah'll be in town fer a couple o' days to rest before goin' back to mah home to brew more o' me drink."
>With that he nodded his head and hopped in his wagon to carry it to the nearby stables.
>"Well it seems like we don't have much choice with what to do."
>I reach over for the coins but Akash swats my hand away.
>"Mine, keep as loot from fight."
>If I had my guns right now I would probably shoot you.
>Maybe.
>You did spare my life, but still.
>"This is not the time to be stingy!"
>"I leader of group, I get biggest share. That tradition!"
>Her eight year old level of speech is really starting to get to me.
>Think for a moment.
>"If you want to prove yourself to your dad, you'll need to be in the best shape for your travels. And that means getting proper meals and a decent nights sleep. We can't do that if you keep the money all to yourself."
>She seems to think about it for a moment, looking at the silver in her hands.
>"Help with getting honor, yes?"
>"Yeah, food and good sleep will help."
>"Can just sleep on ground, keep more money."
>This girl...
>"You won't sleep well that way though."
>"Used to it, always sleep like that."
>Think back to her rickety lean-to and feel bad remembering that she probably never had a bed.
>"This will help you much more than sleeping on the ground, you'll feel a lot stronger, right Arieth?"
>She quickly plays along and nods enthusiastically.
>"Yes, most definitely!"
>Akash thinks it over a bit longer before finally agreeing to our pleading.
>"Okay, we get room tonight."
>I let out a big sigh of relief alongside Arieth as we nearly drool over the thought of having a bed, even if we have to share it.
>Think to myself, does this count as sleeping with two girls if we all still have our clothes on?
>Too tired to care really.
>An elf, an orc, and a human walk into a tavern...
>We enter the tavern and find Thomnas and pay for a room for the night.
>"The three of you? In one room?"
>"Yeah...we don't have enough money to get seperate boarding."
>He nods his understanding, must be a lot of broke adventurers that come through here.
>"I'll see if I have a room with a larger bed for you then."
>We follow him up to the third story and down the hall to a door on the end.
>He opens it up and hands us a key to the lock.
>"Breakfast is early in the morning, the guild across the street usually has jobs of various sorts for adventurers like yourselves, though it seems like you might want to start on something easier..."
>With that slight insult he bids us a good night and heads back down to the ground floor to tend to customers.
>Aren't hobbits supposed to be nice and inviting?
>You lied to me Tolkien.
>We stumble into the room exhausted, filthy, and hungry, but alive and with a warm place to sleep.
>There was a small window with wooden shutters and a little wooden table with a couple of candles on it next to the large bed.
>The bathroom was set to the left side of the main room, with the fireplace on the right.
>We spend the next hour taking turns in the bathroom taking a quick bath and washing our clothes.
>Well Arieth and I did, Akash just put her clothes back on after getting out of the bath.
>I let the girls go first, since I'm a southern gentleman like that, and I wanted to get a fire started in the fireplace to keep the room warm.
>It felt good to finally get out of my plate carrier and literally take the weight off my shoulders.
>Finally my turn to bathe.
>It was just a large brass basin that was filled with water heated from elsewhere but it was a welcomed comfort.
>Soaked in the tub and took my time until the water started to get cold.
>We hung our clothes up to dry by the fire place on chairs while we each stayed wrapped in towels.
>Once our clothes were dried well enough we finally got to lay down in bed, just boxers and a shirt for me.
>It was large enough for us three to have a few inches of space between us, and the matress was just stuffed with grass, but it beat the cold hard ground by miles.
>We all basically just fell into the bed and pulled the cover up over us and let sleep take us.
>Finally, wonderful sleep.
>Wake up a couple hours later with Akash's head in my side and Arieth's arm across my chest.
>There's that berry scent again...
>Akash keeps lightly headbutting me in her sleep, mumbling something to herself.
>Arieth is just twitching slightly.
>And her face is a little red.
>Hope she isn't getting sick.
>Decide to slip out of bed and have a late night leak.
>Drain my bladder leisurely and try to slip back into bed.
>Akash has now taken my portion of the bed over so I just nudge her over carefully and ease under the covers.
>Sigh somewhat contently as I drift off to sleep again.
>Morning arrives to my dismay as I wake to the sounds of the townsfolk in and around the tavern going about their morning routine.
>"Good morning Anon..."
>Look over and see Arieth next to me where I thought Akash was last night.
>Has her arm on my chest, looking up at me innocently.
>Damn girl we just met a few days ago.
>Sit up and see Akash backwards on the bed, head on the footboard and halfway off the mattress.
>No idea how she managed that.
>"G'morning Arieth, sleep well enough?"
>"Yes, it was great having a real bed again. I've missed little things like that."
>"Yeah it was nice despite it being a little cramped with three people."
>"Especially with this one moving around all night and talking in her sleep."
>Arieth pokes Akash in the side and she jumps, sitting up to rub her eyes.
>"Not wake, too early, sleep more!"
>She starts to lie back down as the smell of meat and bread wafts into our room.
>As if on que there is a knock at our door and we hear Thomnas' voice through the thick wood.
>"Breakfast is ready dear customers, I've saved you three some plates!"
>Food, real food, and not some MRE I brought along or a meager handful of berries.
>Start to get up before I realize that one part of me is wide awake already.
>"Uh can one of you get the door?"
>"I'll get it Anon!"
>Arieth shoots up and runs to the door, flinging it open with much enthusiasm.
>"Here you are! Just leave the plates on the table, I'll come by and get them later."
>With that Thomnas leaves us be and Arieth brings in the tray of food.
>Platters of salty bacon, a fried egg, and a large hunk of bread is fixed for each of us.
>Akash tries to snatch the whole tray for herself before Arieth and I pull our plates away.
>"Give! Need to have energy for fights today!"
>"Yeah, and we need some food too so we don't die of starvation. Lay off."
>She just huffs and turns her back on us after giving Arieth and I an angry expression.
>We all tear into our food like ravenous wolves only stopping to breath or burp.
>The three of us finish our food with a satisfied sigh and stack the plates on the nearby table to be collected later.
>No one talks for a long few minutes as we bask in the great feeling of a non-empty stomach.
>"So...what should we do now?"
>I think about Arieth's question for a moment before Akash answers it for me.
>"We find enemy and kill for honor and strength!"
>Does this girl ever ease up on the whole fight thing?
>Must be cas she's an orc, or whatever.
>"And how do you plan to do that with no weapons? You got my rifle destroyed back at the goblin cave!"
>Yell a little at the memory of my rifle.
>I'm not going to let it go.
>"...Don't know."
>At least she can admit it.
>"How about we go to the guild hall across the street and see if they have any...less dangerous jobs for us to take on?"
>Arieth has a good point, Bussby had mentioned something like that last night.
>"That's a good idea, let's go check it out!"
>"Fine, we go look. Half of money go to me for tribute!"
>We need to have a serious talk about her treatment of us soon.
>Like, what are we, slaves?
>With a lot of sighing from Arieth and I we go downstairs, waving at Thomnas as we exit the
Tavern.
>Notice the sign atop the main door.
>'Riverton Inn&Tavern'
>I guess that's the name of the town then?
>We stroll across the street, looking like a rag-tag bunch of vagrants and getting odd looks from people.
>Not that I can blame them.
>We really need to get Arieth some better clothes that don't scream 'I was a prisoner of orcs for a very long time'.
>And gear for them both.
>And new guns for all of us...
>I'm not going to let go of that for a long time.
>Anyway we make our way to the guild building, a large three story brown brick structure with a dark grey ceiling.
>Large double wooden doors creak slightly as we open them and enter.
>There are a few random persons in the lobby making small talk amongst themselves or talking to a woman behind the desk.
>"That must be the job postings over there."
>Arieth points to the board where a man is standing there with an FAL slung across his back and a couple companions with him looking at pieces of parchment.
>Stare for a moment admiring his battle rifle before the woman behind the desk clears her throat.
>The guy turns to look at the receptionist before following her troubled gaze over to us.
>Awkward, hope he didn't notice me staring.
>It's a nice gun.
>The soft chattering of the handful of people in the large lobby goes silent as they all notice us, most of them letting their gaze fall on Akash.
>Almost all of them immediately reach for their guns before the receptionist stands and yells at them.
>"No shooting in the lobby! We just got the walls repaired from the last time!"
>Slowly raise hands to pacify everyone.
>"The orc's with us everyone, calm down."
>I hope they don't shoot me just for saying that.
>"Not! You with me, I leader of war party!"
>This orc is going to be the death of me yet...
>Jab her in the arm stiffly and hiss at her under my breath.
>"Don't piss off the heavily armed folks you moron."
>She responds by slugging me in the ribs.
>"You moron."
>Just roll my eyes at her.
>Arieth chimes in quickly to help diffuse the tense situation.
>"That's just what she calls us, we're not here to start trouble hahaha silly orcs am I right?"
>Akash huffs loudly at her remark, crossing her arms over her chest but the group lowers their guns.
>"So...can I help you with something?"
>The receptionist sits back down at her desk rubbing her temple slightly.
>She's really cute, a human with long red hair in a thick braid with glasses and a dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose.
>"Ah..yeah. We were looking for work, an acquaintance told us you might have something for us."
>I move over to the desk with Arieth and Akash standing next to me trying to look harmless.
>Well Arieth is anyway, Akash is staring hard at people's guns.
>"Ah, well...we do have some listings on the board over there, but at our local branch we usually only let members of the guild or well known contractors take on jobs. It's a rule the local guild master put in place after a...small incident some years back."
>Hitting a snag in the plan already.
>"But you three look like you could use some new clothing, and food."
>"It shows huh?"
>She just smiles faintly, politely avoiding answering.
>"I can make an exception for you though. We have a couple listings for extra laborers for the local farm just outside the town. And there is one for clearing out a small goblin nest nearby."
>She shuffles through the papers looking over some notes and leaflets.
>"We'll take the laborer job then, we've not had good luck with goblins recently."
>"Right, so here is the listing for the job, I was just about to put it up on the board when your group walked in."
>She hands it over to me to review.
>A week's work to help with the crops and livestock, ten silver plus boarding and meals.
>Doesn't sound bad, need to learn about the currency rates for this world.
>Make a mental note to do that later.
>The receptionist speaks up after a moment.
>"I'll put you down in our logs as accepting the job then, yes? I'll need a name for our records."
>"Oh...it's Anon, these are my companions Arieth, and Akash."
>"A lot of people named Anon from your world..." she says quietly as she jots down my name.
>She makes a noting of the time and date and closes the ledger, setting the quill back in the inkwell.
>"The farm is located a few miles from the edge of town to the west, talk to the owner when you arrive and show him that listing. He'll know you're sent by us."
>I thank her for her help and turn to leave, having to pull Akash by her arm to get her to stop gawking at a girls AUG.
>We set out for the farm after stopping by the inn and confirming with Thomnas that we'd be staying there for the time being.
>Bump into Bussby as we are leaving and he offers to carry us there in his wagon since he's heading by the farm to drop off a barrel of his brew, lucky us.
>"It's not any tr'ble for me tah carry you there, gotta drop off a barrel for Farmer Maclure anyhow, so it works out perfect."
>We thank him abundantly as we load up into his wagon and start off to the farm.
>I climb up into the front and take a seat on the bench with Bussby while Arieth and Akash climb into the back.
>Akash sits near the back of the wagon, looking out the end with an annoyed expression while Arieth kneels behind Bussby and I.
>Bussby gives the reigns a light whip and the horses start to pull the wagon.
>It creaks and shifts slightly as we make our way to our destination, the hard wooden bench making my back and tailbone stiff.
>We three make small talk about the weather and Arieth and I tell Bussby more about our trip turned sour as the horses and wagon lazily move down the cobble stone road in town and out to a dirt road leading away from the town.
>He laughs at us without hesitation for going into a goblin nest with little to no experience and nothing but one firearm.
>"Shouldn't have let tha wee orc girl take yer rifle, son!"
>"Yeah well, she can be persuasive when she is angry," I say as I rub my weeks old stubble. "She gets violent and her eyes start turning red..."
>Bussby gives me a sideways look as he stirs the team of horses down the dirt path.
>"Red?" he mutters quietly, "Never heard o' that before..."
>I look at him questioningly with an eyebrow cocked but he doesn't say anymore about it and we move onto to a different subject.
>We arrive at the farm in about an hour or so with Akash not even moving from her seat; her back to us the entire time we rode along.
>We exit from the forest's tree line to see a vast plot of flat, cultivated land stretching on for what looks like a few hundred acres.
>Various crops and herd animals are seen laid out in rows and meandering around in fenced in portions of the homestead.
>"That be Farmer Maclure's place," Bussby said with a nod. "He's kind of ornery, but ah good man, an' ah long time customer o' mine, heh."
>The wagon made it's way along the road to the building I assumed was Maclure's house in the distance.
>Arieth and I took in the sights as we passed by, asking about the multitude of crops and animals he had grown and raised.
>There were chickens and cows and pigs to my surprise, no different from back on Earth, as well as some weird half goat, half alpaca looking things that were raised for wool.
>Arieth excitedly told me how many elves raised them for their clothing because the animals wool was of fine quality and they were fairly docile.
>I shielded my eyes from the sun with a hand as I took in the scenery around us, shifting slightly on the now very uncomfortable wooden seat.
>The house grew larger as we neared it showing off it's simple hand-built, but rugged structure.
>It was made of rough cut lumber walls with a rock foundation and wooden shingles for a roof.
>A large front porch extended out from the front door with a roof jutting out to shield it from the sun and rain.
>All in all a pretty cozy home I think to myself as the group starts to climb off the wagon.
>"Maclure! Ya here!?" Bussby shouts as his short figure hops off the wagon, blunderbuss in his left hand.
>"Of course I'm here, where else would I be? Ain't no one else going to tend to the crops and livestock are they?" a gruff male voice says with a huff.
>We turn around to see an older man in probably his mid fifties exit the doorway of a small barn near the house and come walking up across the yard.
>He's got light brown hair, more gray than not, cut short and a short beard to match.
>His frame is wiry, but strong looking from a long life of farm work, and his sun tanned face is lined with wrinkles.
>He wipes his hands on his mud and grass stained pants before shaking Bussby's.
>I offer my hand in politeness but he passes it up like I wasn't there.
>I stick my hands back in my pockets with a sigh of irritation as Bussby and Maclure carry on with one another.
>"Ah brought ya yer order o' my best stout, on time as usual. I'm thinkin' this may be one o' mah best batches yet!" Bussby exclaims proudly.
>"We'll let's have a tasting then, here's your pay for the delivery and the keg."
>Farmer Maclure fishes out a small pouch of coins from his trousers and hands it to Bussby who accepts it with a nod before slipping it into his own pants pocket and hurrying over to the back of the wagon.
>He climbs up into the back and rolls the barrel out to the edge before hopping down and lugging it down to the ground with a huff.
> Taking a wooden mug from his pack, Bussby turns the spout on the keg and pours a half glass for Maclure with a smile, handing him the golden brown mixture
>"Much thanks," Maclure says, accepting the cup and downing the drink with a loud gulp.
>He savors the taste for a moment with his eyes closed, licking his lips before smiling and handing it back.
>"It's great as ever you old dwarf! You've out done yourself this time."
>They share a smile and a short chuckle, happy to be praised and enjoy the fruits of labor.
>"Ah let it soak in with some fresh cut apples fer a few days 'fore straining it fer delivery, turned out well Ah'd say."
>Maclure nodded his in agreement before finally turning his attention to us three.
>"So, who are your companions Bussby?" Maclure says with a distrusting tone, leaning close to the dwarf. "They look a little...rough."
>If I had a dollar for every time we got a look or snide remark for that I'd be rich.
>We just stood there awkwardly, staring at Maclure with blank expressions save for Arieth who was smart enough to try and smile politely.
>Akash seemed to be looking around the place for something to plunder, not paying any mind to the rest of us.
>I hope she doesn't cause trouble for us while we are here.
>"These three come from town, lookin' to help you with yer wanted ad at tha Guild."
>He eyes us for a moment in silence spending some time Arieth and Akash.
>"They trustworthy enough?"
>Hey now, we're right here you know?
>"Aye, they seem like good enough folk. Bumped into 'em on tha road to Riverton. Seems they met with a group o' goblins during their travels and lost most everything."
>"Well, if Bussby says you can be trusted then I'll take his word on it. You three ever do farm work before?"
>"I've help raise and harvest wool from the algots back in my home village!" Arieth speaks up warmly.
>Akash and I just shake our heads no.
>I was raised in the country, but not on any farm.
>"Well, I'll show you the ropes then and if you can keep up you can stay on for a bit until I get my crops harvested and so on," Maclure explained.
>"We get paid right? The ad said ten silver with room and board?"
>"Aye, it's ten silver coins, for the lot of you that is."
>Oh...
>"And you'll be sleeping in the barn loft, I don't have any accommodations in my house for guests either."
>Double oh...
>At least we'll have a roof over our heads.
>"If you accept the terms then follow me, I'll get you started on the chores and then we can move on to the hard work."
>"Well Ah'll bid you farewell Anon, a pleasure tah make yer acquain'ce. Ah'm going back to Riverton to rest up and then Ah reckon tah head back home tah start another batch o' brews."
>Bussby and Arieth and I shook hands with one another, with him politely declining to shake hands with Akash and climbed up into his hard wooden seat.
>With a snap of the reigns he was off down the road from where we came, being engulfed by the large forest once again.
>"Y'all comin' or you just gonna stand there and waste daylight?!" Maclure yelled from across the yard.
>I rolled my eyes and turned to follow after him with Arieth and Akash falling in behind.
>Maclure started dishing out some old pairs of gloves for us and gave me an old leather tool belt with various hand tools and pouches for holding nails and the like.
>"You," Maclure said pointing to me, "are going to help me mend the fence near the back of the property. Had some trouble with kobolds recently trying to steal my harvests and some of the chickens."
>Think back briefly to what a kobold is, wonder if they are lizards or those rat things from other games.
>Hope we don't find out anytime soon...
>I slip the old belt around my waist and run the tongue through the metal loop and fasten the tab into one of the holes while Maclure starts rattling off tasks for the girls.
>"You said you were good with animals right? I figured you would be, what with bein' an elf and all."
>Arieth smiles brightly at him as she nods.
>"Yes, I took care of many of the animals my family raised back-"
>Farmer Maclure cuts her off with a wave of his hand, straightening up spitting in the dirt.
>"That's nice but I don't need to know your story right now. If you know what your doing, then take some shears from the wall over there and some bags and start harvesting the wool from the algots." He motions to a loft in the large wooden barn with several stuffed bags sitting in a pile. "Put them there when you're done and come find me."
>Arieth nods kindly, obviously a bit annoyed at the man's coarse nature, and moves over to the wall where a vast number of tools and things lay hung on nails or hooks.
>She collects the necessary things and begins half walking half skipping to the pasture where the algots are grazing lazily with her hair lightly blowing in the breeze.
>Farmer Maclure watches her for a moment before turning back to us.
>"And you, orc..." he says with a somewhat distrusting tone.
>Akash just looks at him sideways with her arms crossed over her chest, a pouting expression stuck on her face.
>"You just get the feed sacks from the grainery over yonder and start tossing out some scratch for the chickens and ducks. Even an orc should be able to do something that simple."
>Maclure points at buckets and sacks of dried corn and grain then just stares at Akash with a bitter look before snapping at her.
>"Well!? You gonna work or you gonna get on down the road?"
>Akash just glares back at him with a detestable looks and breathes slow and deep.
>She's obviously pissed and I don't want this to turn out bad before we even get the first day over with.
>I just sort of stare at the two back and forth while they have their awkward silence.
>She turns to me after a moment with a hateful look.
>"Not leave clan to work on farm! Leave to fight and prove worth, this not that!"
>She's yelling pretty loud all of a sudden and now I'm suddenly the bad guy too.
>Didn't she agree to this by coming along with us?
>Whatever, I need to get her to understand the situation before Maclure grabs the nearest sharp object and starts swinging.
>"Look, Akash-"
>Leader! Am leader of group!"
>Start getting temperamental myself, feel my face reddening in anger as I raise my voice too.
>"Look...leader, we can't go off and start fighting everything we come across just because you want to. We need certain things for that and to get that we need money. To get money we have to work!"
>"Just take what need! Orc way, always worked before," she yells back at me.
>FarmerMaclure_didn't_like_that.reference
>"You steal from me, wench, and I'll chop you into chum and toss you in the fish pond!" Maclure threatens, hefting up a large axe that had been resting against the wall.
>His eyes are widened with anger and he has large beads of sweat rolling down his brow as he grinds his teeth.
>Has a death grip on the haft of the axe with both hands, knuckles white from the strain.
>Damn this dude is scary to be so old and weathered looking.
>Raise my hands in a placating gesture, again, to calm down the axe wielding old timer, heart beating kinda fast.
>"Woah! Woah! No one is stealing from anyone here boss. She didn't mean it, right?"
>I look over to Akash for confirmation but all she does is turn her back on us.
>Grit my teeth in mild contempt.
>This girl...I swear.
>"I'll make sure she stays out of trouble Mr. Maclure. Don't worry about it, ok?" I say as I turn back to Maclure.
>He just looks at me from the corner of his eye before he lets out a slow breath.
>"Fine, but if she starts any trouble it'll be the last she does. I don't much care for orcs."
>As if that wasn't obvious...
>He sets the axe back against the wall and starts loading rough cut boards and rolls of wire into a small hand pulled wagon, pushing it out of the barn.
>"Get to work, orc, or you won't get any supper tonight! And you boy, follow me, we got work to do."
>He starts heading across the field to where I assume the fence has been damaged, grumbling about 'youngsters' and 'non-humans' and so on.
>"Just do like he says and we'll get done here sooner and can leave ok?"
>I turn to Akash again trying to get her to play along but she just huffs and turns her back to me once more.
>Decide it's pointless to argue and leave her to her own devices while I run after Maclure.
>The day goes by pretty smoothly after we all part ways to do our given chores.
>The fence had been broken in several places, either boards smashed into pieces or wire cut open to let the intruders through.
>"Blasted lizard wretches wrecking my property..." Maclure would grumble every so often, wiping the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief as he nail up new boards or twisted wire together with new lengths.
>"Lizards huh? So the kobolds here are like humanoid lizards then?"
>"What else would they be boy?" Maclure asks with a dumbfounded look.
>"I don't know...thought maybe they might be like big human-rat things." I reply a bit embarrassed.
>"Figures you don't know much, bein' one of those other worlders from the portals. You must be thinking of Skaven," Maclure explains as I hold up a board for him to nail to the post.
>"Big, ugly, and disease ridden creatures, walk on two legs. Better be glad we don't have them around these parts, least not yet."
>The farmer continues on for a few minutes as we slowly move down the fence line replacing boards and wire here and there.
>I nod as he talks, running the back of my hand across my forehead before my sweat gets in my eyes.
>I really should have taken off my plate carrier and backpack, but I still don't feel comfortable without them on in the new and dangerous world.
>After what seems like a few hours we finish up with a large section of the fence and Farmer Maclure walks to a nearby shade tree and sits on the ground with a tired sigh, taking a skin from his belt and having a drink.
>I join him for a break and lean up against the tree, wiping my face and neck on my shirt tail.
>The warm sun feels good with a light breeze cooling the sweat on our backs and chest as we enjoy the sounds of the farm.
>Animals grazing and cackling and the wind blowing through the trees surrounding much of the west and north of the estate.
>Looking across the large fields I squint and shield my eyes, spotting Arieth in the distance, still shearing some of the algots.
>Glad she can be relied on to not cause any trouble at least.
>Speaking of, where is Akash? Haven't seen her since the yelling match earlier.
>I scan the area but I don't see her anywhere around the house or barn, and not near any of the livestock either.
>She seems like she's going to be more trouble than I thought...
>Maclure breaks the silence after a few minutes of resting, stretching and standing up.
>"So, what made you come from your world over here, youngin'?"
>"Ah well...I just wanted to experience something once in a lifetime before I die, I guess."
>And I had heard how you can make a lot of money by knowing a thing or two about guns on this side of the portal, but I didn't want to say that just yet.
>"Hmm...well I can understand that, I reckon."
>He just half nods, running his hand through his thinning hair to slick it back before putting his big straw hat back on.
>"Well, daylight's a wasting, we've got more fence to mend, then we got to go harvest some of the crops that are coming in, and we need to catch some fish for tonight's dinner, and then..."
>The old timer went on for a moment about all the other things that needed to be done around the place as we got back to repairing the last of the fence.
>I just hope I can make it through the day; I haven't worked this hard in my life.
>Respect for the old man doing all this on his own.
>The rest of the day goes by fairly smooth, and mostly without incident.
>Except I hit my thumb with the hammer while putting up a board for the fence.
>And I put my foot through the roof of Farmer Maclure's house when we were replacing some old boards that were starting to leak, so we(I) had to replace those too.
>And I dropped the hammer a few times while on top of the house and had to climb back down and get it.
>"You not do this kind of work back where you're from, huh boy?"
>What's with this 'boy' stuff?
>Who are you supposed to be, some god of war?
>"Well, no I didn't admittedly, but you know what they say! Perseverance is what matters!"
>"Or just not being clumsy," he retorted.
>Well...can't argue with that.
>Ended up letting a few fish escape from the net we were using to get dinner so we had to spend a longer time catching more.
>By the time we're officially done for the day the sun has already begun it's descent and long shadows stretch across the ground as we pack everything up in the barn.
>The deep orange globe of the sun slowly sinks downward in the sky, easing day into night.
>A soft breeze rustles the grass and tree tops while crickets and lightning bugs bring the creeping nightfall to life with their songs and flickering.
>Arieth comes walking up, struggling to carry the multiple large bags full of wool, setting them in the barn with a huff
>She looks like she's had a long day, sweat and a little dirt here and there on her face and hands; it took her all day to shear the algots and because of Akash being a no show, we didn't get everything done that we needed.
>Hope that doesn't cut into our pay...
>...Crud
>Decide to pick up Akash's slack and grab the feed sacks from the barn and toss some scratch and what not to the animals while Maclure cleans the fish we caught.
>Set the feed sacks back inside as I finish up and spot Arieth coming over.
>"All done for the day Anon?" Arieth asks cheerily as see walks over to see how I'm doing.
>"Yeah, had to feed the animals last minute. I never saw our 'leader' after went about our jobs for the day. I think she skipped out on us."
>I huff a big sigh as I think of how to deal with her, if I can at all, should she keep up with this way of pitching a fit when she doesn't get what she wants.
>"Oh, I think I saw her head into the forest early on in the day, but I don't know what she was doing," Arieth admits as she stretches and arches her back with a relaxed sigh.
>Steal a peak at her from the corner of my eye.
>Her curves stand out pretty well, not surprising since she's wearing so little.
>Her long blonde hair hangs low, well past her shoulders and stopping just above her butt, which looks pretty toned.
>I can smell the light scent of fresh hay and pine drifting from her and it makes me reminisce of home for a moment.
>Glance down at her feet, which are covered in dirt and look a little worse for wear and feel really horrible.
>We really need to get better clothes and equipment as soon as we can.
>"See something you like, Anon?" she asks playfully.
>Crap...stared too long.
>"Uh...I was just thinking we should get you and Akash some better clothes with this money we're making."
>"Oh? That all? Nothing else?" Arieth inquires, the teasing tone all too evident in letting me know she knows as she turns her front toward me, arms still outstretched above her head.
>"I just feel terrible since you have to go around barefoot. I promise we'll get you some proper clothes and shoes once we're back in town."
>She smiles sweetly at my concern, lowering her arms to her side behind her back.
>"That's sweet of you anon, but don't worry too much. I can weave some weak magic to toughen up my feet for a few hours at a time so it isn't so bad. But thank you for caring," she replies, beaming at me with bright green eyes.
>Cuteness overload, I can feel my face turning red from it. 
>"Anyway, I really want a bath, it'd be good to change into some clean clothes too..."
>Feel bad for saying that, since I'm really the only one who has spare clothing.
>I guess I could let them each have a shirt of mine, but I don't have any spare pants.
>...
>I wonder if either of them wear underwear?
>Put that thought aside for later.
>We go find Maclure to see if there is a near by stream we can bathe in for the night and luckily we are surprised with some good news.
>Farmer Maclure shows us to a small bath house he built next to his house so we could clean up for the day, then headed inside to clean and cook the fish we had caught.
>Poking my head in briefly, calling it a bath house is generous.
>It's really just a big wooden shed with wood floors and a large metal basin to hold the water and a small, stone lined hole below with a trench for air intake to heat the water up with wood and a small chimney to let excess smoke out.
>"Much better than a cold river to bathe in, don't you think Anon?" Arieth pipes up happily, peaking over my shoulder
>"Yeah, I'll say. It'll make working here easier to bear."
>"I think the basin might be big enough for two, no?" she suggests coolly, leaning in to almost whisper it in my ear.
>I can feel her sweet smelling breath tickle my skin and know my face is definitely reddened.
>She gently swats my arm with a laugh at my reaction smiling ear to ear.
>Which is quite the feat for an elf.
>"You should see your face! I was only teasing Anon, we've only been traveling together for a little over a week now you know?"
>"Ha, right, I knew you were joking," I lie.
>Arieth and I collect water with buckets from a smaller empty pond behind Maclure's house and carry it back to bathe with, emptying the contents with a slosh into the basin and taking some kindling and bigger pieces of wood to warm the water.
>Arieth chants some kind of spell in what I assume is Elvish and small sparks shoot from her fingertip.
>The kindling starts to smolder for a minute or so then finally catches light and soon the wood is burning enough to warm the bath.
>That's handy, have to see if I can learn to do that in case I lose my ferro rod.
>Letting Arieth go first because I'm a southern gentleman like that, I tromp back to the barn and finally take my plate carrier and gun belt off, setting them beside my backpack and rolling my shoulders in satisfaction to have the weight off finally.
>Massaging my shoulders and neck for a bit, I hear a creak behind me, like the sound of a barn door opening up.
>I whip around to see Akash standing in the doorway, a sullen and exhausted expression across her face.
>She looks like she's had a rough day of it too, despite not being seen doing any chores.
>She has some fresh dirt on her fur boots and knees and fresh, albeit minor, scratches on her arms and face.
>Plucking a small twig and some leaves from her braid, she sighs heavily and walks past me without saying a word, curling up on some of the dry, clean hay in the corner of the room.
>"Hey, where did you go today? You left without saying anything and dumped your work on the rest of us," I say to her back, my anger welling up in my voice.
>She doesn't say anything and instead just curls up and ignores me.
>I ball up my fists, nails digging into my palms slightly before I just breathe out and wave her off.
>I rummage through my backpack and take out another clean pair of socks and boxers and a plain black athletic t-shirt and toss it across my shoulder.
>Think for a moment and dig out the last clean shirt I have, a sage green cotton t-shirt and toss it on top of the other one before standing and heading to the barn door.
>Glance back at Akash to see she hasn't moved at all, probably already asleep.
>Just roll my eyes and walk back to the bathhouse.
>Knocking loudly on the door, I open it an inch and feed my hand through the crack.
>"Hey Arieth, um, I had an extra t-shirt in my pack so...I thought you could have it until we get back to town. It's clean."
>Listen for her response but don't hear anything but the crickets chirping and the gentle splash of water.
>Suddenly feel wet hands clasp around my own and gently take the shirt from it.
>Arieth opens the door slightly and pokes her head through, shooting me a grin.
>"Thanks Anon! I'm almost done, so you can have the next bath."
>Arieth gives me a warm smile, holding the shirt up to her chin.
>"Cool, no rush. I'll go get some more water for the baths while you wrap up."
>"Baths?" Arieth asks quizzically, raising an eyebrow.
>"Yeah, Akash just came back from...where ever. She's asleep in the barn right now I think," I reply with a shrug, pointing my thumb over my back to the old barn.
>"Ah, alright then, I was wondering if she would show back up at all."
>Arieth eases the door closed again and I hear a light splash as I collect the buckets from beside the door frame and trudge back down to the pond.
>Kneeling down beside the bank I dip the buckets into the cold clear water, watching as the ripples distort the reflection of the pale moon on the pond's surface.
>I look up to the night sky to take in the view for the first time since I came through the portals.
>The air is so clear here with no pollution and smog you can see millions of stars; far more than you could see in most places back on Earth.
>Even the moon, waxing and bright, seems more full and untouched.
>I enjoy the sight for a moment longer as I savor the peace and quiet before returning to my task.
>By the time I get both heavy wooden buckets filled and walk them back to the bathhouse careful not to slosh the water out, Farmer Maclure is standing on the front porch of his house waving me over.
>Setting the buckets down where I got them from, I tiredly walk over to see what he wants.
>"Dinner is ready, you lot can come get it when you're ready," he informs me with a tired tone of his own. "Did your green friend ever feed the animals like she was told?"
>Think about telling him she didn't; maybe her getting chewed out will make Akash think twice the next time she wants to shirk her chores.
>Then again she is very confrontational...
>"Yeah, she finally got around to it," I lie hoping it doesn't show.
>I fed them, eventually, so no harm done right?
>He runs his hand over his chin and jaw, scratching at his beard while eyeing me for a moment, making me start to think he knows.
>"Well, alright then, if you say she did then I'll take your word. Was going to give you and your elf woman her share of the day's catch if she had ditched," Maclure says with a slight edge in his voice.
>He nods his head and goes back inside his house, letting the door swing shut behind him as I sigh with relief.
>"You owe me one," I say under my breath, breathing out with annoyance at covering for her again.
>One favor and a gun.
>Two actually.
>No I haven't let it go.
>"Anon! I'm done with the bath!" Arieth calls out to me, waving as she approaches from behind.
>I turn to see she has washed her loincloth as best she could, and replaced the strip of leather she had across her chest with my t-shirt, which is a size or so bigger on her frame.
>She took the tail of the shirt and tied it off on the side just above her waist so it didn't droop down so much.
>It's a cute look, not gonna lie.
>"Thank you again for the shirt Anon, I'll pay you back as soon as I'm able!" she states as she gives me a hug unexpectedly.
>She smells more strongly of pine and a warm summer breeze, the kind that carries the scent of far off rain and storms.
>It's a little intoxicating, breathing it in as she holds on tightly.
>I just try to hug her back, somewhat embarrassed and just pat her on the back.
>The crickets add to the otherwise quiet night, chirping and answering back as lightning bugs dance around in the dark, illuminating the area with their flickering.
>Pulling back from the hug somewhat reluctantly I nod my head towards Farmer Maclure's house.
>"Mr. Maclure said dinner was ready, so I'll probably eat then get my bath afterwards. I'm going to go tell Akash to come get her food."
>"If she can't be bothered to come get it herself she should do without, I think. You did her work for her too," Arieth answers with a glance back at the barn.
>"Yeah," I start with a shrug, "But if she's going to help us out tomorrow then she'll need something for energy."
>"Suit yourself," the elf replies with a shrug of her own before heading into the house.
>Walking back to the barn I step through the partially opened door and start to call out for Akash to come get her dinner when I spot her over by my backpack going through my belongings.
>She's squatted down next to it, her left side towards the door, digging through the main compartment making small expressions of curiosity as she examines various items.
>She pulls out my spare magazines and ammo I had for my AK, setting the boxes down beside her and rummaging around more looking for who knows what.
>I watch her for a moment gritting my teeth angrily as she keeps rifling through the pack.
>She finds my ferro rod and striker connected to each other with a long loop of paracord.
>Holding it up she looks it over in the moonlight spilling through the small window on the floor level of the barn, making a face that relays her confusion and curiosity at the strange object.
>Not sure if she is trying to steal from me or just being nosy.
>Either way, it's pretty annoying.
>I try to think of the best way to handle the situation as my temper starts to slowly rise again.
>Barging in and yelling won't solve anything and just letting her do as she pleases will just let things continue to stay the same at best.
>Akash shifts to sitting on the floor of the barn cross legged and brings the two items close to her face to look them over more carefully, seemingly paying close attention to the scrape marks on the ferro rod.
>To my astonishment she brings the striker to the rod and runs it down the length gently then with more force a second time.
>Not getting any sort of reaction she seemed to be hoping for she presses down rather hard with a frown, lips pursed in frustration, and scrapes the striker with greater force sending a shower of hot sparks off the end.
>The light from the sparks, however brief and dim, light up Akash's face, revealing her surprised and fascinated look.
>I'm taken back a little at how fast she learns things seeing as how all the others in her clan back at the village seemed like a bunch of idiots.
>As she continues to strike the rod and send sparks everywhere like a child playing with a new toy I decide to make myself known before she scrapes the rod down to nothing.
>Or sets the barn on fire...
>That would definitely cut into our pay.
>Pushing open the barn door a ways and clearing my throat I enter with what I hope is a calm but stern look on my face.
>"Hey, didn't anyone ever tell you not to mess with things that aren't yours?"
>Akash stands up with the ferro rod still in her hands and an innocent looking expression in her eyes as if she has done nothing wrong as she dusts off her backside and knees.
>"Not take anything, just look," she says with a tone of voice that indicates she thinks just that.
>I sigh heavily trying to get my growing temper to cool down while I rub my forehead in annoyance.
>"You can't just go through someone else's things without asking first, it's rude. And what if you had lost or broken something?" I explain though I don't know if it will do any good.
>She just looks at me with an expression that seems to say 'So what?'.
>"If not want me to, why not say something sooner?" Akash asks plainly.
>"Well I was actually waiting at the door watching to see what you were going to do," I say with a slight smirk.
>Hope I can catch her off guard by letting her know I was watching the whole time.
>Akash raises an eyebrow at my words, cocking her head to the side slightly while peering at me with those amber colored irises.
>"Know."
>...
>Smirk has left the chat.
>"What do you mean 'know'?" I ask confused.
>"Heard you by door, heard you walk up. Breathe loud too. Why not say sooner?" she replies like it was a pointless question.
>Man, she must have really good hearing...
>Well there goes my plan I think as I let out a defeated sigh and  bury my face in my hands for a moment.
>"Look, just put my stuff back in my pack and leave it alone. And come get dinner, we've got some fish cooked up for-"
>I don't even get finished before she has thrown everything back in my pack and sprinting past me on her way out of the barn with a small smile on her face.
>"Food!" is all I hear from her as she disappears like a flash towards Maclure's house, following her nose.
>Her feet making a dull, quick thud as Akash makes a bee line to the source of her desire with her small braid flailing in the breeze.
>I fall in behind her shaking my head, making a mental note to check the contents of my pack later to make sure everything I had is still there.
>Getting to the porch I let myself in and follow the lit candles for light to the kitchen where Maclure has some wooden plates set out for us with the fish we caught.
>The kitchen is fairly small but cozy, with an old wood stove for heat nestled into the corner with a couple of eyes on top of it for cooking and a pipe running out of the top and through the wall to vent the smoke from the wood fuel.
>A neatly arranged rack with hooks on the far side of the wall hosts the few pots and pans Maclure owns along with typical cutlery one would find in a kitchen.
>Mugs carved from a mix of wood and animal horn sit upside down to keep dust out on top of a table with spare plates and bowls stacked on top of one another sitting in another corner of the closed off room.
>He and Arieth are already sitting at the dinner table, small and square shaped made of wood stained and weathered with time and use like it's owner.
>"I was wondering if you were coming or not," Maclure grumbles through a mouth of fish, "Your food's gettin' cold."
>"Sorry, got held up. This looks great, thanks for the meal!" I reply unceremoniously as I take a seat and look at the plate in front of me.
>Some kind of greens that smell sort of like spinach and what I think are some kind peas accompany the fish along with a hunk of bread.
>A mug of cold milk rounds out the meal.
>Picking up a fork with just two prongs and a knife I start to dig in to my food when I realize Akash standing back from the table awkwardly looking around, her hand holding her opposite arm close to her side.
>"Where mine?" she asks after a moment while hungrily watching Arieth and Maclure eat their dinner.
>I look over the table and notice there isn't a fourth plate set for her nor another chair.
>I scan the room and look at the other two hoping there has been some kind of mix-up because I don't want Akash to cause another spat, especially in Maclure's own house.
>A lot of sharp and pointy objects lying around.
>Maclure looks up at Akash with mild annoyance for a moment before answering.
>"I said I'd feed you lot, but I don't want no orcs eating at my table. You can take your plate over there and go eat back at the barn."
>Arieth doesn't even acknowledge what's going on, simply continuing to eat her supper with a gentle etiquette that boasts of a proper lady.
>I just shut my eyes and furrow my brow in anticipation for what is sure to come next, not even wanting to look in Akash's direction.
>But to my surprise there isn't any yelling or arguing coming from Akash.
>I open my eyes and watch as she just walks over to the smaller side table where her plate is sat and picks it up, turning to walk out of the kitchen with a blank look on her face.
>As she makes it past the doorway she turns to look back at the three of us sitting around the table.
>No one looks up from their plate except for me as I meet her gaze.
>I recognize a sad pain in her eyes as ours lock on to one another before she disappears from the room.
>The front door of the house opening and closing back seems like thunder compared to the quiet of the kitchen with the only other sounds coming from the light clinking of cutlery or the loud smacking from Maclure as he eats.
>I feel like I've been made part of something unpleasant without warning and suddenly my food doesn't look as appealing.
>Neither Maclure nor Arieth say anything else as they finish their meals and I just shovel food into my mouth not really caring to taste any of it.
>We stack our dishes in a metal wash basin no bigger than a typical sink and Arieth starts to wash them with an old looking bristle brush and just plain water.
>"I'll take care of this Anon, you can turn in for the night ok?" Arieth offers as she starts cleaning while humming some sort of slow and soothing song.
>I don't argue and just turn to leave, thanking Maclure again for the food and just getting a nod and a grunt from him in return as he sits back and takes out a small tobacco pipe and a match to light it.
>Arriving back at the barn I open the door and step through using the moonlight to help me over to my pack.
>I open my pack up and take out a small flashlight and my jacket I had stuffed in the main compartment earlier and zip it back up.
>Moving over to the corner of the barn where the hay for our beds is using I spot Akash curled up in the corner her plate sat away from her.
>The fish is gone along with the bread, but the greens and peas are still present.
>Shaking my head more out of mild annoyance than anything I shine the light on Akash for a moment.
>"Hey, you shouldn't waste food ya know?" I say trying to sound playful in the hopes she doesn't get angry with me again.
>But she doesn't answer me and instead just curls up tighter with her back to me.
>"If you don't eat it I will," I announce, trying to coax a response from her.
>But she just continues to lay there in silence.
>"Fine then."
>I take the plate and her fork lying on top of it and scrape the food into my mouth before setting it back down; I'll clean it tomorrow morning I tell myself.
>I lie down on the hay and drape my jacket over me for some warmth and click the flashlight off, setting it next to my side in case I need it before dawn.
>The night is just a little cool but comfortably so, and I fall asleep within a few minutes despite the less than preferable bedding.
>All that work must have exhausted me more than I realized because I don't remember waking up at all during the night.
>Sun is just creeping over the horizon when I crack my eyes open.
>Feel something pressed up against me.
>Turn my head to see Arieth laid next to me curled up halfway under my jacket.
>I don't even know when she came back to the barn last night.
>Man she is quiet when she wants to be.
>Not that I mind a cute girl next to me while I sleep it just feels a bit odd since we don't know each other all that well.
>Gently slide her off of me as I sit up and stretch with a yawn.
>Look over and notice that Akash is gone already with no idea when she left either.
>Looks like I'm going to be doing her chores again today on top of my own.
>Stand and quietly dust the hay off my clothes and hair before walking outside leaving Arieth to sleep for a bit longer.
>Get some feed sacks out and throw some out for the chickens so Maclure won't know that Akash hasn't been doing her share of the work.
>Not sure why I'm helping her, she's annoying and temperamental and has a big attitude.
>Put the thought out of my mind as I head back to the barn and set the feed sack down.
>Arieth is just waking up and stretching as I enter.
>She smiles and stands walking over to me bright and cheery as ever.
>Must really be a morning person.
>"Good morning Anon! Sleep well?"
>"Yeah, I slept alright," I answer as nod my head.
>Not going to bring up the almost spooning bit to save us both some embarrassment.
>"Where is our green companion at this morning?" Arieth asks looking around the barn as the morning light spills in through an open window.
>"I'm not sure where she is, she was gone when I woke up."
>Haven't heard any screaming and arguing this morning either yet so I guess that is a good sign.
>"Oh well," Arieth answers with an unconcerned tone, "It's more peaceful with her not around anyway."
>Yeah I guess but where could she be and what is she doing if she isn't around the property?
>Just let it go and exit the barn with Arieth following beside me.
>Maclure comes out of his house a moment later stretching and yawning slightly as he looks at the sun rise.
>"Mornin' hope you slept well 'cas we got a lotta work to do today. Come on, follow me youngins."
>We both sigh quietly as Arieth and I fall in behind Maclure as he starts rattling off chores that need to be done.
>The days seems to go by in a blur of working, eating, and sleeping with not much else in between.
>We get up each morning and start working while Maclure makes a cold breakfast for us consisting of milk, bread, honey, and some fruit, then we work until the afternoon just long enough to suck down a small lunch, and work again until nearly dark and have dinner, bathe, and sleep.
>Rinse and repeat basically.
>Maclure occasionally asks where 'the orc' is at, never bothering to use her name.
>Not even sure if he knows it, or cares to.
>Just tell him that I saw her here or there feeding animals or what not.
>He never gives her different chores and I just do them in the early morning or at night before I go to bed.
>Probably doesn't trust her to do anything else.
>It's getting pretty tiresome to cover for her all the time though and my temper is about at its limit.
>Before I know it an entire week has passed since we came to Maclure's homestead.
>All this physical labor and healthier diet is starting to make me slim down and tone.
>Nice.
>Getting a nice farmer's tan too while I'm at it, in between sunburns which Arieth just so happens to be able to heal quickly with her magic.
>Makes the redness and sting lessen a lot and I usually develop a light tan the next couple of days.
>Double nice.
>Despite the trouble of covering for Akash things are going well enough.
>One day while taking a break from work I ask why Maclure seems to hate orcs so much, despite the obvious.
>"Not much to tell. An orc killed my wife years ago, hated them since."
>He never said much else on the matter, and I left it at that since I didn't want to pry into what was clearly a personal matter.
>The same routine would happen with Akash also, disappearing all day, returning at nightfall from who knows where, eating, and sleeping.
>Don't say much to her since I don't want to have another yelling match, but something is going to have to give sooner rather than later.
>And it's getting more difficult to keep my temper in check.
>We'd been at Maclures farm for about a week and a half when something unexpected happened.
>It had been raining all day, with seemingly no stop to the turn in weather.
>Heavy rainfall and strong winds meant staying inside pretty much all day with nothing to do.
>Boredom.exe
>We had spent the day napping or staring out of the window of Maclure's house.
>He had told us to just wait inside with him until the rain had passed so we wouldn't have to come in and out for food and track his house up with mud.
>We'd just started to sit down for lunch when Akash burst through the door and ran into the kitchen to find us.
>She was drenched with rain and mud was splattered all over her legs and feet.
>Wet leaves and blades of grass clung to her skin like glue as drops of water rolled off her frame onto the wooden floor of the dwelling.
>We all stared at her in surprise, half for seeing her in the day time, and half for her current condition.
>She looked at all of us through her rain soaked hair covering her eyes slightly, with a big grin on her face.
>"Found kobold nest!"