The orc stumbled, but he managed to catch himself on the board. He glanced down at his hand. His claws were covered with what must have been thousands of drawings that were likely the runes that Vell had spoken of.

He slowly moved his weight onto his feet. This time, the ground was steady beneath him. Vaugh-Arek took a deep breath and let it out.

The orc didn’t get any more time to himself. Vell returned with his two team members in tow. The man large man gave Vaugh-Arek a suspicious frown, while the man that had caught Vaugh-Arek still wore the hood low over his face. It was impossible to tell what was thinking.

“What have you done, Vell?” The big man asked.

“This is Vaugh-Arek,” Vell said proudly. “I have removed his orc battle rage and numbed his emotions until he can adjust to his new life.”

“His new life being…?” The hooded man queried.

“Our new party member,” Vell said. “He’s a perfect fit. He’s already a powerful fighter, and I’ve given him magic through the runes on his claws. He can become the perfect killing machine. Think about it! The might of a warrior and the powers of a mage. Isn’t it fantastic?”

“I’m right here, you know,” Vaugh-Arek said.

“Forgive me,” Vell said. “I get carried away sometimes. I am very passionate about my research. The big man beside me is Holt, and the cloaked one goes by Flint.”

“It’s nice to meet you on better terms,” Vaugh-Arek said, searching for the proper words. “I think Vell has helped me greatly, even if I didn’t appreciate it when he was working.”

Holt grunted. Then he gave Vaugh-Arek a small nod.

“Welcome to the team,” he finally said. “If you haven’t noticed, Vell is our leader. We’ve been looking for a fourth person for a while, so it’s good to have you.”

“You’ll have to make him something that lets him pass normally in cities,” Flint said, crossing his arms. “If you don’t, he’ll get killed by another adventuring team before we can stop them.”

“That won’t be a problem,” Vell said, waving his hand with a careless grin. “I can do that in a few hours.”

“Good,” Flint said. “I hope there’s no hard feelings from last night, Vaugh-Arek. Is there anything you’d like us to do with the bodies of your comrades?”

“They died in combat,” Vaugh-Arek said, shaking his head. “That’s what they would have wanted. Leave them for the scavengers or my tribe. They’ll be coming through here within a few days.”

“Very well,” Flint said. “Welcome to the team, Vaugh-Arek.”

“That’s terrible,” Malissa said, shaking her head in disbelief. “It sounds like Vell tortured you!”

“Vell never cared about anything other than his research,” Arek replied. “It just took us all some time to realize that. He did whatever he could to achieve it, and the feelings of others were of no value to him. However, I suppose I must thank him. No matter his methods, I do appreciate what he did for me. I just don’t appreciate what I had to do after it.”

“What do you mean?” Ming asked.

“At a later date,” Arek said, shaking his head. “It is a dark topic, and I do not wish to speak of it today. The time I spent with Vell’s team started off wonderful, but it descended quickly into darkness. I do not feel like sullying today any further.”

“That’s fine,” Malissa quickly said. “You’ve said a lot already. It was already very kind of you to share this much.”

Ming nodded in agreement and they lapsed into silence. The group had been walking for several hours now, and the sun was starting to set in the sky. Belmont hadn’t said a word since Arek had started speaking. The armored healer chewed his lip as they walked, clearly lost in thought.

The map the shopkeeper had given them wasn’t particularly accurate, but they soon learned why it didn’t need to be.

Far in the distance at the edge of the horizon, an enormous mountain reached up through the clouds. It was so big that it looked more like a wall that stretched as far as the eye could see.

“That’s huge,” Ming breathed in awe. “Red Mount is on top of that?”

“That’s what the map says,” Belmont said, finally breaking his silence. “And we should probably set up camp.”

“Why? I can already see the mountain!” Ming protested.

“It’s huge, Ming,” Malissa said. “It’s going to take us easily a week just to get up to the base of the mountain, much less find a way up it.”

“Does that mean we have to eat stale jerky and cheese the whole way over?” Ming asked, groaning.

“Don’t worry,” Arek said, grinning at her tantrum. “I’ll see if I can find some ingredients to make something with in the coming days. I think the map said there was a forest at the base of the mountain, so I’m sure we can find something there.”

“Okay!” Ming said, her mood completely shifting. “Should we set up camp now?”

Belmont looked out at the sprawling hills surrounding them. Then he shrugged.

“We might as well,” he said. “It’s not like this hill is going to be any different from the next one, and the sun is already getting low. It would be best to be fully set up before we have to use firelight to see.”

They stopped their trek and started to set up camp on the top of the rather large hill. It was flat enough that setting the tents up wasn’t too much of a problem. Arek’s was significantly more wrinkly than everyone else’s, as he’d had it stuffed into his bag instead of an extradimensional space.

Once they’d all set their tents up, Belmont pulled a bundle of kindling from his bag and set it up on the ground. They tore up the grass surrounding it and Arek summoned a tiny flame upon it. The fire spread through the wood as the campfire crackled to life.