The orc scanned the area around her, sneering at the fleeing pedestrians and cowering street urchins. She locked her eyes with Malcolm and grunted. The gulp Malcolm made was so audible it was nearly cartoonish. He took a step back, holding his hands out in front of him. On reflex he examined her.

<>Name: Shyla Gripentrog. Level: 12. Race: Half Orc. Disposition: Enraged

Info: Half Orcs are not as savage as their full-blooded cousins, but still quick to anger. They all share the familiar racial traits of tusked teeth and orcish pig-like ears. Most Half Orcs are exiled from their homes and must find acceptance elsewhere. State distribution varies depending on the other race they are mixed with.

Oh wow, a half orc huh? And she's level 12? Malcolm frowned. He'd be a liar if he said it wasn't getting a tab bit annoyed seeing how nearly everyone was at higher levels than he was at. When I find Darion, I absolutely must get down to grinding my level up.

He quickly looked the half orc, Shyla, up and down. She had a more eye pleasing stature than the orcs he had first bumped into. She was built like a female weightlifter, thick muscle-bound arms and legs, but still had luscious womanly curves. Even Malcolm was finding it difficult not to stare at her large breast that seemed to be close to spilling out of the tank top she had on. Her head was shaved on one side and braided into cornrows that tied into a ponytail on the other side, thick bushy eyebrows hugged close to her intense yellow eyes

"Calm down," Hand held out like he was trying to placate a raging bull. He tried to keep his shield up, but it winked out like a dying lightbulb. He had wasted quite a lot of mana when he was fighting off the effects of the Rouge leaders spell. So as carefully as possible he took a grip of his hammer, feeling the cold rush up his arm was now a pleasing sensation. "No need to get dirt-ah!"

Before he could even lift his hammer or dodge to the side, the orc closed in on him and wrapped her big beefy arms around him. She squeezed him, and Malcolm wheezed, he was certain he would soon be feeling his ribs being crushed. "Lorne! Help! I... huh?"

Nothing happened. Instead of being crushed to death in an intense bear hug, he was just being hugged. Wait? Huh? The orc woman wept into his chest, big tears streaming down her pale green cheeks and soaking into his cloak.

"Thank you! Thank you!" She bawled, tightening her hug and lifting Malcolm off his feet. "I was stuck in that damn keg for days. Days!"

Malcolm slapped her shoulder like he was tapping out of a UFC fight. "Ease up a bit, She-Hulk." He gasped for air.

The orc quickly released him and began spouting out countless apologies, all the while still thanking him for freeing her. "Who? Oh, my name is Shyla. Sorry for the ambush hug, I'm just so thankful... I don't do so well with small spaces." She then bowed before him. "I'm in your debt! If there is anything, I can do for you, just name it!"

"How about you drop your weapons and raise your hands in the air?" A voice called from behind the orc.

Turning around they came face to face with guards, a whole squad of them. Each of them had their weapons drawn and stood ready to fight. The lead guard stood at the front, one hand rested on her sword hilt while the other was held outward, fingers splayed. Malcolm could sense mana concentrating in the woman's finger tips.

It was a strange sensation, but he could see the element-less mana emanating from her hand. It reminded him of the air ripples you’d see on a hot asphalt street.

"Well, hello... Tekla. Your name was Tekla, right?" Malcolm said as he held up his hands in a pacifying manner. Now that he wasn't looking down at her from the wagon like when they had first met, he could now see that her stature was quite petite. He was nearly two heads taller than her, though their difference in height didn't seem to daunt her in the slightest.

The female guard locked eyes on him. "You! I should have known." Her sharp face screwed up in an expression of disgust. "Leave it to a human to start trouble."

"Before you start accusing me of something I didn't do," Malcolm said with a clenched fist. "Perhaps you'll like to listen to what actually happened!"

"So, you can just spin me a lie?" Tekla spat. "You humans are full of lies."

Malcolm bristled. If there was one thing that was a sure way to tick him off, it'd be being accused of crimes he didn't commit. He got enough of racial profiling back on Earth. But now the guard was just adding grease to fire with her blatant racism towards humans. "Now you listen here, you little..."

"Wait!" The orc woman called out. She stood between Malcolm and Tekla, her sheer girth and muscular frame towering over them both. "He wasn't the cause of the commotion; it was the Rogues."

"The Rogues?" Tekla lowered her hand by a fraction. Then understanding seemed to dawn over her as she visibly relaxed and the mana in her palm dissolved. "Of course, it was the Rogues, this is their territory after all."

"They took my friend!" Malcolm clenched his fist in frustration. "Some dark elf named Lysander and a couple of goons. Please, I need your help too..."

"Lysander?” Tekla let out a heavy sigh as she sheathed her weapon and nodded to her fellow guards to do the same. "Sorry but if your friend was taken by the Rogues there's nothing, we can do about that."

"What!?" Malcolm stared at the petite elf woman in disbelief, a powerful wave of anger crashed into him as he stomped closer to the woman. Thankfully Shyla was still standing between the two of them, preventing him from doing anything stupid. "What the hell do you mean? I just told you that they took my friend! Aren't you a guard for this city? Isn't it your fucking job to help and protect the people who visit and live here!? Don't you..."

"I can't!" Tekla snapped and threw Malcolm off his rant. "I-I am sorry your friend was taken but... We just lack the man power to take on the Rogues." Her face wrinkled in a pained expression.

Malcolm's face softened as he saw the shame on the woman's face.

"We tried to take them down in the past..." She went on. "But they slaughtered us and basically ran the Adventures Guild out of town. Now we are in a sort of truce, they do their business and we turn a blind eye to it... We've called for more reinforcements from the capital, but we..."

"Fine." Malcolm gently patted her on the shoulder. "Just tell me where they'd take him."

Tekla blinked up at him, her green eyes becoming wide. "You'd go there alone? That's basically suicide!"

"He won't be alone!" The orc suddenly spoke up, a grin on her lips. "I owe those bastards a beating for drugging me and tossing me in a damn keg! I won't even count this as the favor I owe you for saving me."

Malcolm was caught off guard for a moment, but then beamed up at the orc. "Thank you, Shyla, your help will be greatly appreciated."

"You're both idiots." A deep voice huffed. They all turned to see Captain Khel approaching them. His thick white moustache perfectly framing the frown of his stern face. “To attack the Rogues head on is pure suicide.”

“Sir!” Tekla and her men threw up a quick salute

Malcolm found it eerie how the dark elf had managed to sneak up on them all, especially while clad in that thick heavy armor.

I'm not able to scan you with the analyze skill directly, but your armor should be fair game!

Leering over the Captions armor, Malcolm’s jaw dropped at the sheer number of stat bonuses and the armor rating made his own armor look like miscellaneous bit of scrap armor he’d found on the desert floor. He frowned when he realized that was exactly what his armor was.

I really need to make my way over to a blacksmith

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Shyla stomped her feet. “Leave his friend to be auctioned off piece by piece!?” The half orc was working herself up into a rage as she began to shout. “And let my honor stay tarnished? No! Those bastards must pay! I’ll go in alone if I have to!”

Captain Khel ignored the tantrum and instead addressed Malcolm. “Going in alone won’t do you or your friend any good.”

“That’s your opinion,” Malcolm stared into the captains’ intense gaze. “But I don’t care. I’m going to go rescue my friend.”

Captain Khel’s eye’s widened by a fraction, a part of him was moved by the young man’s determined look. Never in his long life had he come across a human so adamant in his goals. Though Captain Khel could sense something unnatural about the young man’s gaze, especially the way his grey eyes seemed to glint with a strange intensity.

“Captain Khel!” Tekla shouted as she straightened her stance. “I have a plan.”

They all turned to the small wood elf in surprise. Captain Khel cocked an eyebrow and after a moment of staring down at his comrade he sighed.

“So, you’re getting determined as well?” He huffed. “Well come along, let’s hear this plan of yours at the barracks.”

Malcolm watched as both Tekla and Khel began to walk off down the street. Shyla shifted on her feet beside him, no doubt waiting for him to decide. Malcolm knew that storming the Rogue stronghold would be idiotic, he just didn’t want his friend to get hurt. But he also knew that it’d be easier to attack the Rogues with the guards if possible.

“Let’s see what this plan is all about, Shyla.” Malcolm grunted. “Having help would be beneficial.”

Shyla snorted then spat out a wad of saliva. “As long as I get to crush some heads, I’m fine either way!”

Malcolm smiled at her eagerness as they both began to follow the guards to their barracks.

The plan Tekla had formulated was a simple one, a basic pincer assault. Over the past year the guards had tried numerous times to chase out the Rogues from Azmar’s Bay, each time they had failed. The plan was for the guards to stage yet another frontal attack against the Rogue stronghold as a distraction, while Malcolm and Shyla snuck behind to their flank.

“Just the two of us?” Malcolm questioned as he studied the city map laid out of the large oak table. He noted that the Rogue’s stronghold was set on an old shipyard. They only way for him and Shyla to sneak around to flank would be to either swim up river or by boat. “No other guards can come with us?”

Tekla nodded. “Yes. Lysander, the leader of the Rogues, no doubt knows how many guards we have. He’s a crafty one. If we didn’t show up with all the guards, he’d grow suspicious. My hope is for him to assume that we are staging yet another all-out attack against them.”

“While Malcolm and Shyla press against their flank and locate the captives.” Khel tugged at his bushy moustache. “This is a decent plan, Sergeant. It might work.”

“It has to!” Tekla pounded her fist into the table. “This might be our last chance to get those thieving murderers out of my city!”

Malcolm stared at Tekla in surprise. He knew that she had a spark of determination within her, but he had failed to see the hungering blaze for revenge set into her core. A part of him admired and understood that feeling, it wasn’t long ago when he had felt it while fighting against the orc slavers.

“Quite right,” Khel slowly nodded. “But it depends on these two.” He turned to face Malcolm and Shyla; his brows furrowed. “Are you two up for the task?”

A new Quest is Available!

Title: Flank the Plank!

Info: The city guards of Azmar’s Bay would like you to help attack the Rogue stronghold. This may be their last chance to rid the city of their stench! This may also be your only chance to rescue your companion! Are you up for it?

Rewards: 2500XP, Disposition increase with all Azmar’s Bay guards, and Special Gift from Captain Khel.

Malcolm accepted the quest without a moment of hesitation. He turned to Shyla and saw her grinning with a wild light in her eyes. She was just as eager as he was. The female warrior had her pride tarnished by the Rogues ambush that led her into being captured. Malcolm just hoped she’d be able to control herself while on their mission. One small misstep and we’re dead.