FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The dungeon was quite different from the one he'd been through before. The walkway went from stone to an open forest, he could swear he heard birds chirping and other animals moving through the forest. It didn't seem likely, but who knew how dungeons worked?

He moved through the room and explored it cautiously. His companions before had experience with going through dungeons, or so he believed. So he investigated everything at a slower pace since he wasn't being rushed like before.

Whenever he approached where animal sounds came from, they suddenly went silent but picked up once more when he was far enough away. Strange. Appraisal gave him no information either, it was like nothing was there, and he had it at max rank.

He took to exploring each room carefully. At least, it felt like rooms, the trees bent over at doorways, making for distinct-looking archways, and if they were connected like a normal building, well then they'd be rooms and hallways. It only looked like a forest, with trees, and all one would expect.

His axe found no purchase when used to attempt to fell a tree, the blade simply bounced off the trees. His first challenge came when he happened upon a group of wolves further in. There was a larger one in the center with smaller ones on either side. He focused carefully, channeling his mana, storm clouds appeared overhead, then a sudden bolt from the sky came down and split the air with a loud crack, the beasts hit by the blast dropped to the ground.

Gurak gave the room a careful once over but found nothing of significance. Each room got more intricate, the enemies a little tougher than the last. From wolves to bears, and then to larger beasts yet, some he didn't recognize, his flame arrow or sky bolt seemed to be working just fine in dealing with the enemies he faced.

This next room had a chimera, and behind it, the forest stopped, just beyond the chimera was a rock wall, seemingly, this dungeon went from a bright forest to the inside of a mountain. Were they mines, naturally formed stone, or perhaps man, or even beast made?

Regardless, he needed to get past this beast, and using appraisal told him that the chimera was resistant to magic. So he had to focus on melee attacks now. He unfastened his chakram blades, the staff portion at his side, in compact mode.

He started the combat by throwing one of the twin blades, it whistled through the air as he ran forward with the other in his hand, swinging it at the beasts face, narrowly missing with each swing. The goat's head reared back, the lion's head roaring and the snake snapping in his direction, the second axe head came circling back, and just as the snake's head was about to strike, his blade connected, severing the snake's head from the chimera's body.

He took this chance, the blade in his hand, taken and reattached to the staff that extended when unfastened. Gurak held the blade and clicked it into place within the top of the staff to turn the staff into a proper two-handed blade weapon. Then as he came down, brought the axe down with him, the sharp blade sinking into the skull of the lion. It roared, in anger and frustration at being bested, and the goat's head flailed just behind it.

Gurak pulled the axe out with a grunt, and came around with the blade once again, severing the chimera's goat head as well, the severed piece of the beast falling to the ground with a dull thump.

Gurak slumped back, falling onto his backside with a few rough breaths. "That was a little more nerve-wracking than I thought it would be." He said to himself. Unlike most of the other beasts, not only in the world but in this dungeon, the chimera started to melt away, once the bubbling and sizzling ceased, there was a chunk of stone, almost like a gemstone where the beast had been. It was a little bigger than a baseball from Earth, hard and brownish.

Appraised, it said it was a 'mana cryst' a remnant of the mana energy of a beast strong enough to absorb and compress mana inside of their bodies. It was used in item creation, and enchanting, it could also be sold for a good amount of coin, depending on the quality. Specifically, the mana cryst could be used to empower an item when enchanting. Adding the enchanter's mana to the cryst increased its power significantly.

He'd probably focus on it another time. While he did want to learn to enchant, now wasn't the best time to try and worry about it. Gurak would have plenty of time to practice or experiment with enchanting later. He pocketed the cryst for now, he'd not come prepared with a lot of space to carry anything, and as far as he knew there wasn't a pocket space for items. Not that he'd encountered anyway. It wasn't in his adaptive sub-menu, and it wasn't an innate skill he had, Naguk hadn't heard of it either, so he'd have to look for either someone who had the skill, or an item that could do it and replicate the ability that way.

He huffs softly but continues. Into the cavern within the mountain now. The mood of the dungeon shifted almost, it went from sunshine and pleasant forest, to dark and murky. An icy chill came across his skin. Something changed in the world, but he couldn't imagine what, all he knew was a sudden sense of dread filled him.

He could smell the moisture off the cavern walls. The temperature dropped somewhat as well, the next chamber opened up into an elongated room, with nearly a dozen orc-like individuals. He sighed a breath of relief and called out hand raised.

However, the others did not greet him in the manner he expected. Their faces twisted, their skin loose, bones showing in various places, these were not orcs as he knew them. These were undead. They didn't pose much of a threat to Gurak. He unsheathed his axe heads, throwing the first high, the second cutting low. The blades spiraled through the air towards the undead, cutting through the flesh easily enough, it wasn't hard to do with something so clearly rotten. After the first blade tore through their heads or necks, the second took out the legs of most, making sure if the first had failed to stop the undead, the second, while not lethal, would have at least slowed them to a literal crawl.

Gurak followed this up with fire magic, incinerating the bodies till nothing remained. A quiet prayer to Aethos to guide their souls to the afterlife of this world. If they were ever even living in the first place.

Gurak continued. Room by room, the beasts got fairly tough as he traveled. Each made things difficult in a different way. They weren't immune to his magic, but they got increasingly resistant to his magical abilities. He had to get more creative in his means of dispatching the beasts. Though, none were so strong as to have a mana cryst within.

As he ventured further, he found a doorway. It wasn't the same as the dungeon he and the others had cleared before, but it was similar. With a huff and grunt, pushing the door open, it creaked loud and angrily in resistance. The doorway led into a stairway that led downward, glints of light coming up every few steps from a small assortment of moss along the steps and wall.

Finally, he came to a room, water about ankle deep. The sloshing of his feet through the water was the only noise, slight as it was. As he walked into the room, moss under the water started to light up. It was bio-luminescent and provided ample light, but as the room lit up, he realized what was in the center of the room. A pile of scales, with two vestigial wings sticking out, more akin to fins, than true wings. As the light spread, more and more of the wyvern became visible. Its scales were light blue, and there seemed to be patches of fur on the beast here and there, the specific biological use for it was lost on the orc at the moment.

Right now, he had to focus on it waking up, looking in his direction, and preparing for battle. Gurak started his assault by throwing an axe-chakram, the blade wasn't sharp enough, as it simply bounced off the wyvern's scales and returned to his hand.

The wyvern reared his head back, and a torrent of water erupted from its mouth. Gurak's shield expanded from his forearm, spreading out, and did its best to deflect the water attack, but it was a higher tier in power than what the shield was designed for. It reduced the damage, but it didn't stop it. Gurak felt the sting as the water hit him.

The orc side quickened his steps, turning his shield to deflect some of the force, and started running. He knew he couldn't beat this thing head-to-head. So, Gurak lobbed his axe once again, arcing it and it missed the wyvern entirely. The beast stopped and regarded the axe, if it could have laughed, Gurak was sure it would have. The axe whistled through the air and planted itself in the far wall.

Gurak took his breaths in slowly and was unable to call back the first axe head, it was lodged too firmly in the wall. He kept running around the wyvern and threw the second axe-chakram. This one hit the target, though it bounced off the wyvern's scales like before, adding to that, the wyvern swatted its tail while the axehead was in the air, and launched the axehead into another portion of the wall.

Gurak was unable to call this one back either. He kept running around the beast but dared not stop to try and pry one of the axe heads loose, he knew it wasn't going to be as easy as healing a friend wounded. His last ditch effort was to turn slightly, throw his staff as hard as he could at the stone wall and sink his staff into the wall, the metal in it pierced the stone. It was slightly over his head, so he had to jump up to grab ahold of it, feet dangling, and with his free hand, he channeled lightning magic.

The wyvern realized, all too late what his plan had been from the start. The two axe heads were buried in the wall behind it. The orc hanging from the wall is grounded and safe. Gurak's hand raised, palm flat and he unleashed bolts of charged electricity. "Arcing current, blessing of Thuellor, seek metal and bind your lightning! Connective Strikes!" Lightning arced from his hand struck the water, and arced across it, aiming specifically at the axe heads buried in the far wall.

However, the ground was covered in water, conducting the lightning magic through it time and time again. Arcing all over the room trying to get to the metal and surging through the wyvern time and time again as it sought out its target.

The wyvern roared in anger, it howled in pain, then after several seconds, the slumped to the ground, arcs of lightning damage apparent across the wyvern's scales, burns of magical damage across its body. He came to its body as it was melting away. He knelt and scooped up the mana cryst, it was larger than the others, and light blue in appearance. A pair of fins wrapped around it, giving it a wyvern-like appearance. He pocketed the mana cryst into his pouch, and the clink of the two crysts touching was heard. Before he felt the room's lighting shift, a doorway opposite the stairs he'd come down opened up. He knew there was a time limit to the treasure chamber and so went to grab as much as he could.

He entered the room, and it was similar to the last he had seen. The first thing he spotted was a larger pack. The pack seemed to hold more than it should, and Gurak immediately thought of a bag of holding from tabletop games he'd played, was this something similar? He picked it up and carried it, loading it up with various treasures. Bracelets rings, and, he found a tome and a scroll, he knew they were especially powerful rewards, Naguk had told him as much before.

Tomes were known to house unique skills, and potent abilities that could change the course of a battle or negotiation. The scroll housed a divine spell. For lack of a better term, he'd describe it as an S+ rank spell. Something above and beyond what a mortal was normally capable of casting on their own. Unfortunately, such spells were beyond the ability of his 'Adaptive' skill to duplicate. The only way he could attain such a spell was to read a scroll.

The backpack being there was a godsend, and gave him ample space to carry many things his pockets weren't big enough for. He was still stuffing his bag, with more coins than he cared to count. When the room started to dissipate, and as he was grabbing at more gold coins, his hand phased through and he knew there was nothing else he could grab. The coins in his fingers remained, but any that slipped through were lost, phasing out of existence as they fell away.

After the dungeon disappeared. He looked around and realized it was already evening. So much time had been spent inside the dungeon, he needed to get back home. First to let everyone know he'd found and cleared a dungeon on his own, but also to share all of the treasure he'd gotten.

It wasn't uncommon for a hunter or warrior to stay out after sunset, nor would it be uncommon for Gurak himself to stay out all night. But he was excited to share the news and treasure. This would allow them to trade with the other races and get materials only they had access to.

The dwarves were known for their ability to find ore, elves for their fruit, and herbs, typically used for healing. Humans for their ability to weave fabric and create intricate handmade items. The orcs were known for their weapons, give an orc dwarven ore and you'd have a beast of a weapon. Beastfolk was best known as merchants, they were a nomadic people, and never really settled anywhere, it made sense for the race chosen by the goddess of wind to be nomadic, but it still felt a little sad to Gurak. Goblins were known for their inventions. Machining and creating complex machinations, typically they blew up in the face of their inventor, but that never seemed to deter goblins as a whole, with lightning-quick intellect, they were best suited for technological advancements, coupled with intricate magic work.

Gurak wasn't sure what the Archas and Devis were known for. He'd never really asked, as it hadn't come up in normal conversation. He'd ask his parents tonight, say he saw or read something in the dungeon that mentioned them and see what they'd share with him.

Though the closer he got to the village, the...weirder it felt. There was usually noise. He'd hear them speaking, celebrating, doing something. It was...quiet, terribly quiet.

As Gurak cleared the tree line and approached his village, there was....little left of it. Just debris. The huts were piles of wood and cloth, scorched, but soaked. There were signs of battle. Bodies everywhere, orcs.

Water magic damage was obvious in a lot of places, but there were also structures made of ice, melting after who knows how long they'd sat there. He recognized a lot of the faces, his heart was pounding hard in his chest as he came to his family's hut, it was knocked over, and after investigating inside, there were no bodies inside, but that didn't mean anyone was safe.

The only signs of really anything even close to clues were the types of magic used. Water and ice. But why would humans and elves do this? Surely they hadn't found the dungeon. No one else was there when he cleared it, he would have seen them when it disappeared. No, this was while he was in the dungeon, it had to have been. Meaning there was another cause, something else brought this about.

He heard shouting up ahead near the chieftain's hut, so he got low and kept hidden as best he could manage amidst the ruins of his people's village. It was a pair of elves, and orcs were lined up, on their knees, in front of the chief's hut. Bodies spread out all around, orcs again. The elves were asking questions about the orcs still alive. The chief was alive, and last in line. There were two before him. The elf didn't like the answer that the orc gave and with a quick movement, his elven blade sunk into the chest of the orc, pulling free and leaving him to drop and bleed out. To the orc's credit, he didn't shout out, he didn't give the elf that pleasure. He fell without a sound, denying the elf his death cry.

Gurak couldn't stay his hand. His anger, his rage overpowered his reason, he stepped out, and with a quick movement, both chakram blades were loosed, whistling through the air, before they met their target, the first elf didn't see it in time, and the blade sunk deep into his back, the front of it piercing all the way through, the second elf shouts and turned to face the attacker.

He didn't have long to wait as Gurak descended upon him with incredible speed. The staff twirling his hands, knocking the elven blade aside, and then coming down hard on the elven arm a satisfying crack was heard. The elf's other arm raised though and fired off a streak of blue, it sailed up into the sky and exploded. A spell cast without incantation. It wasn't an attack, it was like a flare made of ice, likely to call everyone else should there be trouble.

Damnation, if any other elves were nearby, they'd see it. Gurak didn't have time to fight a whole army if that's what it was. He brought his hand down and covered the elf's face, this wasn't a time for mercy and he unleashed a pulse of flame, scorching the elf beyond recognition and killing him in the process. Another spell without incantation, but it wasn't intended as anything more than a quick blast of flame.

Gurak set about freeing the orc and chieftain, but despite his power to heal, it was too late for the one who had been executed. He could close the wound, but there was no replacing the blood that had escaped and cost the orc his life.

The chief looked at him and smiled. "I knew you were safe. I felt it in my heart. Your parents yet live. They are heading south, to the nearest clan. We thought they'd already taken you." He states softly. The orc, a shaman's apprentice, and Gurak helped the chief to stand and they started walking, they couldn't stand around, they didn't have time. The chief continued as they made their way. "We must follow south. Find another clan, we, our clan is dead. It is shameful to flee, but death without meaning is more shameful. I sent your parents to the south, they protested, loudly, but I knew if they had you, we couldn't rescue you on our own." He looked to Gurak and smiles. "They said they had you. The elves, the humans, had caught you and were going to kill you. How did you escape Gurak?"

Gurak shook his head. "I was never caught. I'd headed east to my training ground, a dungeon appeared, and I went inside alone. I cleared it. I br....I brought treasure and things for all of you." His heart hurt, he stuttered and had difficulty finding his words.

The chieftain smiled and shook his head. "You take it, you keep it. You'll need it as you travel. To the south is a human city, we have good terms with them, I still believe. None of the humans that attacked us, were familiar and they came from the north, the elven lands. So you must go south. They knew you Gurak. Not by name, but by reputation. Your magic, your innovations, as you called them, they were angry. Furious, orcs aren't meant to change the world.." He laughs softly.

Gurak saw that the chieftain was wounded, probably beatings he'd taken. They took time to get to the safety of the forest, before he focused his healing magic, repairing the wounds of both the apprentice and the chieftain. "I'm so sorry chieftain, I never...I never meant to bring this down on us."

The chieftain shook his head, his breathing stable, and strong. He stood and squeezed Gurak's shoulder. "If it was not this, they would have found another excuse. We're orcs, they see us as lesser. Do not take this guilt into your heart. They didn't need a reason." He stands and started walking under his power now, the three of them moving quickly. Getting inside the chieftain's hut, wasn't the safest place, but it was the closest place to get out of sight. "I'll stay behind, I'll look for others of our kin. They attacked us suddenly from the trees, we didn't have time to mount a defense. But I'll make sure any of our kin that yet live, will see tomorrow. We'll find who we can and come south to the tribe there. It's five days ride by horse, nearly triple that by foot. But, we are orcs and we are strong."

Gurak nodded his head softly. "Are you certain chieftain? I could be a significant help." Gurak questioned, he was sure the Chieftain was competent, but two powerful fighters were always better than one.

He nodded, the chief patting Gurak's shoulder. "I am sure. Your destiny lies elsewhere. Your parents are waiting for you. You are still meant to change the world Gurak, it's already decided. We need you to live so that our children might see a better world. Gurak had heard that all his life by this point. He wasn't too keen on hearing it over and over. It might be a nice change of pace to go somewhere new, a place that didn't feel the need to remind him he was their champion, and destined to lead his race into the future.

Gurak eventually relented, but he did infuse both the apprentice and chieftain with regeneration, a spell he'd crafted with light magic. The healing effect lingered for at least an hour after being cast, before he departed. It might not last the whole night, but an hour of increased healing would certainly help them should they encounter any other issues.

Gurak started along the path, while the chieftain and the shaman apprentice sat in the hut, resting for the time being. The apprentice looked to the chieftain once Gurak was out of sight. "Why did you lie to him chieftain?" He asked.

The chieftain looked to the apprentice, and then to the last place he saw Gurak. "Because if he knew his mother and father died in battle here, protecting me, he'd stay. He'd focus on revenge, and perhaps die here as well. I want revenge, with all my heart, it burns in me like an uncontrolled fire. But he is meant for greater things. He's meant to do more, his life can't end here. Ours might. But Gurak needs to be somewhere safe, to learn, to grow. The night of his birth, I had a vision, given to me by Aethos. A fire, like none I had ever seen, came into the world, it shifted five colors. I thought I'd just imagined it at first, but then on the day our shaman used the appraisal glass, I felt it in my gut. Gurak was that fire. A day might come when I would have to shield him from the world that sought to snuff out his flame. Today is that day I think. I hope he can forgive me."

The chieftain turns to the shaman's apprentice. "Can you summon?" The apprentice nodded his head softly. "Good, call up something that moves swiftly. I need to send a message to the clan to the south before Gurak arrives. So they know he's coming and...so I can apologize to him. He deserves the truth and to hear it from me. If not my voice, by my hand."

The apprentice focused his energy, calling one of his tamed beasts, a hawk. He scribed two letters, and attached them to the bird's legs, before sending it off, southward.

Down the road, Gurak saw the bird fly overhead, thinking it was from the chieftain, likely a letter to the clan south, to expect him and to his parents, so they'd know he was both safe and on the way.

Gurak turned his gaze south. He stopped back by his family's hut to gather his things, proper armor, and foodstuff left behind. If there were any elves nearby, they hadn't gotten here yet, but he wasn't about to sit around and wait for them to find him and instigate another fight. Then he set out, southward, his first stop was to be the human settlement a day's journey south, then further, to the orcish clan where his family should be waiting.

The trip southward was mostly uneventful. He kept off the roads, continued his journey southward, and stayed as hidden as he could. The weekly trips into the woods with his father had taught him a great deal about hunting, tracking, and keeping hidden. Not just so he could hunt, but so he couldn't be hunted.

Using his wind magic made his strides quicker, and harder to track, or so he hoped. He kept up a steady pace for a few good hours. Stopping for a few hours now and then to rest a bit, recuperate and then continue. He kept this up until he came to a clearing that had recently seen some combat, a few bodies were strewn about, thankfully, none of them orcs, but they wore armor. Heavy armor with a sigil unfamiliar to him. A cursory scan of the area found five corpses, and one person very severely wounded. He made sure to disarm the individual before he crouched down and focused his energies on healing magic.

The wounds were extensive, and the damage deep. Punctured lung, broken bones, ribs specifically, and a fair amount of internal bleeding. Once the wounds were taken care of, he took a small needle and punctured the affected lung, blood had been pooling inside of it, the bloodloss was honestly harrowing, but he knew that leaving it to pool in a place it wasn't meant to be could be dangerous. This armored person just needed to rest a bit once the healing magic had taken effect.

Gurak set about removing the armor, the helmet and chest were the first to be taken off, now that the danger had passed. The individual was a feline beast folk, he looked like a lion, though he was quite young, his mane had barely even started to come in, or it was trimmed short intentionally.

Regardless, the orc set about making a fire and getting the heavy armor off of the guy. It was set to the side and kept together. A few hours passed before the fella woke. He jumped up as much as he could in his condition and swung his arms around.

Gurak sat a few feet away, the fire illuminating the area around them. The lion glanced around, reached down, touching his blood-soaked shirt, before looking at the orc. "I....I died....didn't I?" The lion man said, looking quite surprised to be alive.

Gurak shook his head lightly, watching the beast folk. "You were seriously wounded, but you survived your companions, I wasn't quick enough for. My sincere condolences. I can heal a lot, but, I can't bring the dead back." He lowers his gaze and looks into the fire.

The lion sat up slowly, groaning, likely in pain. He can heal wounds, but blood loss and soreness weren't something healing could do anything for. The man scooted closer to the fire, wanting to enjoy its heat. "I was part of the squad sent here to investigate some slave traders in this area. I volunteered, my brother went missing from back home, and we suspected it was slavers." He growled, anger welling up inside of him.

"They ambushed us. We found their base of operations, an abandoned fort not too far from here, and we were heading back to get reinforcements. They jumped from the trees, daggers ready, we didn't have a chance. The captain was the first to fall, he was kind and just human." He keeps his gaze on the fire. "Oh uh, I'm Towen. No surname, just Towen."

Gurak nodded his head softly. "Gurak. Son of Naguk, from the northern orc tribe. We were attacked by humans and elves. Saved a few orcs, chieftain gave me a quest to head south and find my family he'd sent ahead. Guess asking your order of knights isn't on the table." He sighs quietly. "Tell me about your brother Towen. And where this base of operations is. I have a lot of pent-up anger and I need a productive target to focus on."

Towen was about to argue, staring hard at the orc for a few seconds. "I will once I've healed up some and, we'll go together. It's still my mission, even if I'm the only one left alive to carry it out. The goddess Anemabe hasn't forsaken me, and I have another chance, I'm not going to go in unprepared. Give me a few more hours."

Gurak nodded. He came over closer to the lion-man and focused his healing magic on him once again. Towen looked surprised but didn't pull away. Feeling the gentle energy course through him, short bursts of healing were more effective than prolonged healing. The body can heal itself, but it can't keep it up for a long time. Using magic to supplement the natural healing, while allowing both the caster and target of the healing to rest between castings was the most efficient way. Healing someone too long could cause trauma to the one who was wounded in the first place.

A few more hours passed. Gurak left briefly to hunt, he came back before long, a small deer his prize. He cleaned it, before setting about cooking it over the fire. Towen watched, pretty surprised by the skill of the orc at his craft. "You have the magic of a shaman, but the hunting and cleaning skills of a hunter..."

Gurak shook his head softly. "Ahh, I'm just lucky. My father was a hunter, and I was blessed with light magic." He chuckles softly. "Please trust me when I say, I have spent a lot of time training, and I learn quickly." Gurak wanted to share everything, but he didn't know this lion, and he had to be cautious, the memory of his village being put in danger because of him and what he'd done. He didn't want to endanger a stranger.

Towen nodded his head softly. Not broaching the subject further. He quietly waited for his meal and ate it, followed up with some water from his flask and flasks of his fallen comrades. Towen wasn't happy that Gurak had looted their bodies but understood the reasoning behind it. Gurak had at least been honest and showed everything to Towen, he hadn't kept anything of theirs, besides rations and the water flasks. He'd left their money alone, Gurak had more than enough and didn't feel the need to steal from the dead.

Gurak waited till sunrise, they'd spent the night resting on and off, taking turns being on guard. Gurak didn't need quite as much rest as Towen had, so once Towen was able to move without difficulty, they packed up the camp, and moved onward to the compound that Towen knew about. The lion led him forward through brush and forest.

Once they were within sight of it. Gurak placed his hand on Towen's shoulder. "This is far enough. Stay here and rest. I'm gonna head inside."

Towen shook his head. "No, this is still my mission. I'm coming."

Gurak frowned softly. "I promise, I'll save your brother. What's his name?"

Towen shook his head a second time, still arguing. "I'm not letting you go alone. I understand your anger, but they must be taken into custody. Given a fair trial and put into prison"

Gurak grunted. "Towen, I appreciate your offer, and I know you mean it in the kindest way possible. But right now, I'm full of rage, and I will save your brother and any other victims I find inside. But you being there would only get in my way, I don't want to have to hold back and watch out for you. I'm a skilled warrior. Please, place your trust in me, I won't prove unworthy of it." A faint blue glow, a glow that Gurak had seen before when speaking to his father, convinced him to do what he wanted. This had to be his charismatic skill triggering, and convincing the other to do things his way.

Towen looked like he wanted to argue, but he relented. "Fine....fine. This isn't common knowledge, but, in the field, in extraneous circumstances, we can execute justice at our discretion. Gurak, as a knight of the order of the fathomless shield, I authorize you to meet out justice on my, and my comrade's behalf." He sighed as he slumped against the ground. "He's a lizard-folk, his scales are dark, they're uncommon, it's likely why he was targeted. Dark scales in lizard-folk are an omen of good things in our people. We're not blood-related, but he's my brother in every way that matters. Please, save him. His name is Rulu. We were orphans, there were several of us, and the tribe took us in, we traveled with them till we came of age, I went and joined the knights, Rulu was learning to hone his magical talents when he disappeared suddenly." Towen felt in his heart a stirring he'd not known before. Looking at this orc, he felt....something. He couldn't put it into words, but he had a longing he'd never known before, a strange knot in his stomach.

Gurak nodded his head softly, he had an urge as well. He couldn't describe it, however. He stared at Towen, surprised by this sudden feeling. He shook his head softly. Clearing the momentary fog in his head, before he pats Towen's shoulder. "I give you my word. I'll find him and bring him back to you, and I'll make every slaver in that complex pay in blood."

Gurak unclasped his axe from his hip and extended the staff to its full-length axe form, pulling one axe-chakram from its place as he approaches the compound from the front. He didn't seem concerned when the guards out front started shouting and readying their weapons.

Gurak didn't care. He was angry, he was hurting, and these people. They weren't good people, they hurt others for a living, so he felt no sympathy as he went on an aggressive blood-spilling spree. Normally, he'd have felt sorry for them or tried to take them into custody like Towen asked, but his anger was too great, the pain in his heart too deep. Only violence would sate him right now and if he had to do violence, at least it was against people who weren't deserving of his mercy. Aethos forgive him for not being able to quell his rage this day.

Towen wanted to go with Gurak. He had this burning desire to aid this orc, whom he'd only just met. But seeing him walk off, great axe in one hand, chakram-blade in the other, he felt a chill across his body, that the orc was sincere, the lion would only get in the way. It was only a few minutes after Gurak had disappeared that he could hear the compound alerted to the orc's presence. A few shouts about an orc approaching, but it was just one, probably another refugee from the village to the north.

Towen then heard screams, like he'd never heard them before. Firey explosions lit up the still-dim, morning sky, smoke soon rising upward as Gurak unloaded an indescribable amount of rage from his heart. Towen, if he could've felt pity for these bandits, would have. But he was hurting too, and unable to avenge his comrades. He took solace in knowing Gurak wouldn't let any of them go without paying for their crimes. He'd wanted them to face trial, and spend years in prison. But, with just the two of them, it wasn't a reasonable goal though, and time was running out for Rulu.

Maybe an hour passed before Gurak returned. Little worse for wear. His armor was torn in a few places and burns around the orc's hands were barely noticeable. Though the orc was exhausted, sweat beading off his body in various places, and at least a dozen men and women, wearing rags and whatever weapons they'd picked up. Towen's expression brightened seeing his brother, Rulu was a few inches shorter, a little slimmer, but fairly muscular as well, it was especially noticeable with the lizardman in such scant clothing. Not that Gurak was looking.

Once the excitement settled, and everyone was accounted for, Towen and Gurak went back to gather up his fallen comrades. Gurak had brought a horse and buggy back from the compound, and they'd use it to transport the fallen, as well as the survivors.

The small band of unlikely allies continued southward. By horse-drawn buggy, it was a much shorter, though, more dangerous road, at least for Gurak, but there was safety in numbers, and he'd exhausted a lot of his mana wiping out the bandits in the compound. It was about midday when they finally arrived at the human town, it wasn't large like Gurak was expecting, but it was a bustling city compared to his orcish home. There were brick houses, stores, stalls, and people everywhere. Walls around the city, and guards up on the wall.

They had some issues getting inside the city at first. With such a varied assortment of people. It took Towen speaking to the guards, explaining their situation, and each of them being interviewed by the guards before they were allowed entry.

Once inside, Towen took everyone to the garrison from which he was posted. They were all taken inside, Gurak included, and they were questioned again. Gurak tried to be vague and humble, but the others all spoke quite highly of his skill in combat. Uncommon valor in a trained soldier, let alone a bumpkin from some orcish village in the middle of nowhere.

Towen spoke on their behalf as well. Everyone was able to talk to some knights, and get help. Those who were taken from their families, or villages, were going to be given aid to return home. In most cases, a knight from the order would personally escort them back home. Leaving only Towen, Rulu, and Gurak, once all was said and done.

They'd offered to induct Gurak into the knights, with full rank and privileges. The orc politely declined. They'd looked him over and couldn't discern anything, with an appraisal glass. The humans referred to it as a 'Viewer', a magical tool created to view another person's abilities. Not impossible to create, but, not something common among commoners.

Towen and Rulu, made an exceptionally big scene about, at the very least, buying Gurak dinner, and lodging for the night. That night, in the tavern, Towen drank a little too much and celebrated quite loudly, but he made it clear that Gurak was the hero of the day. Vrose, the city in which they found themselves would hear about Gurak's heroism for days to come if the lion had anything to say about it.

Towen and Rulu had convinced Gurak to at least go speak to the adventurer's guild, to sign up and perhaps start adventuring, besides his already decided path. Gurak hadn't said he would, but he did at least agree to hear the guild out and see what benefits they offered. He'd need information, and means of supporting himself while he headed southward to discuss his future with his parents, and heading out in the world proper.

The night ended with the three all helping each other up the stairs to their room. Towen didn't think they needed separate rooms and only booked one with three beds. Gurak didn't drink much, nor did Rulu, Towen drank enough for the whole group.