Chapter Text
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Harrison ignored the mission notification and turned back to the Orc. He had a feeling that if they tried to ignore the Orc that it would attack them.
"We can't just wait for it to attack," said Harrison, "Or let it run back to its tribe."
Al nodded, "You're right. If it reports back to the tribe, they could attack. I can't let that happen."
"What do we do?" Asked Darius, "Orcs have higher defense and speed than humans. We can't fight it directly."
Harrison frowned, "What are its weaknesses? Does it have any?"
"It's weak to fire," answered Al, "And the only way we could do any real damage is if we were a higher rank."
Fire huh? Harrison had an idea.
"XIII," he called, "Take Darius and get the cart away from here. Take the horses. Try not to spook them."
"Why?"
"Just do it."
XIII shrugged and followed the older man. Al turned and frowned at him.
"What are you doing, kid?" He questioned.
"I have a plan," he said, "I can use a Fire Spell."
"A beginner spell isn't enough to stop an Orc," scoffed the large man.
Harrison didn't care what the older man thought. He had a feeling Incende was different from what anyone expected.
"Just wait," he said.
He turned to face the Orc. Storm moved forward and stood at his side. Harrison held his hand up and took a deep breath.
"Incende," he shouted there was a flare of pain in his palm.
Fire appeared and was thrown at the Orc. A blast hit the Orc in the chest. The Orc cried out in pain and fell to the ground.
A check of his status screen didn't show a change in his mana. What? Why didn't he use any magic power.
"Fuck," cursed Al, "He's not dead."
Sure enough the Orc was getting up. There was a burned patch on his chest and his hair was singed. It was pissed and glaring right at him.
"Incende," another wave of pain but he ignored it.
Fire blasted into the Orc again. This time the Orc fell. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air. This time it didn't get up.
There was a ping from his bracelet. Notification that the quest was complete and he accepted the rewards.
"What the fuck was that?" Asked Al, "What was that fireball?"
"That was a low level fire spell," lied Harrison, "Incende. My mana is low."
"Kid," slowly said Al, "I've been around a long time. I've never heard of that spell."
"Maybe it's a branch spell," said Darius, "Those aren't rare."
Al gave the old man a look, "You have a point. A branch spell isn't too hard to believe. I'll let it go this time."
"Thanks," said Harrison.
Al walked over and knelt by the corpse. He pulled out his dagger and started to cut.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting the materials," he answered, "You can get a lot from an Orc. Teeth, claws, horns, hide, and a couple other things. We could get a decent amount of money for these."
"Can't the Adventure's Guild pay you for the Orc corpse?"
"Yes but that wouldn't be worth the trouble," answered Al, "They don't need the materials. I have a contact who does. He's a merchant and a friend."
"Interesting."
Al worked and after a little bit he had everything packed up. They decided to move now rather than risk sleeping. The rest of the trip was without incident.
The village was small and surrounded by a wooden fence. A farmer was the one to open the gate.
"You made it," the old man looked relieved, "We were worried the storm would keep you. How was the journey? Did anything happen?"
"A stray Orc wandered near our camp," said Al, "But the two Adventures here killed it. No other problems at all. The roads are good and no bandit activity."
"Good," he smiled, "Thank you. Please, come inside and we'll feed you before you continue on your way."
Al accepted. Their party followed the man and they entered the town. Most of the buildings were simple wood and had smoke coming out of the chimney. People waved and smiled.
The village was friendlier than their home even during festival periods. Everyone was kind and greeted the visitors. They were taken to a larger building where everyone else was eating.
"Here we are," said the old man, "Go and eat. Then you can find somewhere to sleep for the night. Tomorrow you can continue your journey."
"Thank you," said Al.
Al and the driver went inside and Harrison followed. Storm trailed after him and everyone looked over. The villagers paused, the food forgotten.
"Is there a problem?" Asked Al.
"What's with the dog?" Questioned a villager.
"This is a wolf pup," declared Harrison protectively, "He's my familiar."
"A familiar?" The person tilted his head, "I didn't know Arcanists could have familiar. Is he well behaved?"
"Of course," answered Harrison somewhat offended.
One of the other villagers huffed, "Aren't Arcanists a weaker battle class than Mages or Warlocks?"
"That is true," answered the first man, "Arcanists are much weaker in combat. Mainly because they to study magic rather than fight. Though they have their uses."
"How can he even fight like that then?"
Harrison felt a surge of annoyance at their audacity. They were talking about him like he wasn't even there.
"I don't see how that's relevant," snapped Al, "His class has nothing to do with the job he took."
"It doesn't," agreed the old man, "I would ask that you don't speak badly about someone while they're still in the room."
The villagers were silent. They shifted under the old man's glare.
"Sorry," muttered a few of them.
The old man nodded and turned back to his food. Storm was looking at him. His blue eyes were glowing faintly and he could sense amusement.
"Behave," hissed Harrison.
Storm cocked his head, the amusement increasing.
"Don't act innocent," whispered Harrison, "You know what you're doing."
The wolf just looked at him. Harrison glared but knew that there was no winning against the wolf.
"Here," Al handed him a bowl of stew and bread.
"Thank you," he accepted and the four ate in peace.
The people had returned to their own conversations and seemed to be ignoring them. Once they were finished eating Harrison and XIII retired away from the others. They were given a room to share with two beds.
"Do you have an idea of why the Orc was wandering so far from its tribe?" Asked XIII as he removed his armor.
"No," admitted Harrison, "My guess is something bad is going on."
"Like?"
"A rebellion? The leader could have died and there is a new one trying to gain control. Or maybe the old tribe leader is sick or dying. The Orcs could be splitting into different tribes. I've never dealt with them personally so I can't say for sure. I'm not a historian or politician. All I can say is that the situation is bad. The orcs aren't known to cross human territory."
"If a new war is coming..."
"It's not," interrupted Harrison, "We would have known by now. It's just one scout."
"If you say so," XIII didn't sound convinced.
"Let's just go to bed," said Harrison, "Tomorrow will be easier."