Durgen, not for the first time, woke up in a groggy state. He was getting really tired of waking up this way. He hasn't even opened his eyes yet and there's already muffled shouting. Begrudgingly he opened them, finding himself in a sitting position on a wooden chair, which was different. What quickly grabbed his attention however was pointy earz and the derff having a shouting match on the other side of the room. The derff was pointing something at him. It was exotic looking, long and primarily wooden with a hollow metal tube on top and sporting a curved axe head on the end, specifically designed for chopping and thrusting. Images of something much larger came to mind, as well as fires and explosions. He didn’t know what it was the derff was pointing at him with, but he didn’t want to be at the wrong end of it.

The two were still shouting at each other and hadn’t noticed him yet so he took this moment to look around. The brightness of the room did bother his eyes a bit, but he could tell it was small with two one-man beds with a nightstand in between them on the other side and a desk in the corner. There actually wasn’t much to look at and Durgen was okay with it. The source of the brightness was too much to bare at the moment and closed his eyes again, letting them rest as he tried to listen in on what the two were saying.

“Because he’s a bloody fuckin orc that’s why!”

“Okay and!? He saved me and that has to account for something! Who was it that pulled you out of the rubble?”

“This is different ya daft cunt! He could kill and rob us in our sleep! This is way bigger than your whole cat nonsense! Do you really expect me to believe that Bill’s cat snuck out of her crate and out of the inn just to slice your throat? Or that other cats are out to get you? How many huh? Are they all out for your skinny ass? Honestly Kael, you need help!” A surprised gasp followed and Durgen made sure to remember that name.

“How dare you!? If it weren’t for me, you’d be left for dead! I came to you in my time of need, and this is how you repay me!?”

“Kael it’s not that I don’t care about ya, but the whole thing is just so hard to believe. I thought that it was just an excuse to get out of town and I went with it, at least until you busted in and plopped this green bastard on the chair.”

“Again! He. Saved. My. life!” Kael shouted, punctuating each word. “I couldn’t leave him out there. Who knows what will happen, I don't even know how he got here.”

“Ah, so, where’s your proof then? Show me!” the derff shouted.

“Just look at him! He is covered in scratches and clumps of BLACK CAT HAIR! What else do you need!?” At this point Durgen decided that it was time for him to speak, however the only sound that tumbled out of his mouth was a low grumble, but it was enough for the derff to curse and pointy earz to yelp in surprise. Now that he had their attention, he said the first thing that came to his mind.

“Yur muzics were pre’ey.” Durgen said with a cough and winced as a stabbing pain pulsed in his chest, figuring that he cracked a rib at some point. “Bad cat tried tah gut ‘em, I wazin’t gonna let it, not if I could ‘elp it.” The cuts along his exposed skin stung as the delayed pain settled in. Glancing at his health, he saw that he was at a whopping one-hundred twenty-two health out of two-hundred, which the system helpfully summarized as sixty-one percent. The derff raised an eyebrow at him, but didn’t lower his “gun,” the word coming to Durgen’s mind with little meaning, but still got the gist of its function. Point and death comes out, as he understood. This time Kael spoke up, his silky-smooth voice calm and reassuring.

'So you liked our songs so much that you risked your life trying to save mine? A complete stranger to you?” he asked. Durgen nodded, the decision was actually pretty easy for him now that he thought about it. Aside from the scratches and bruises, what was there to risk when you can simply come back to life? Of course, these two didn’t need to know that. Kael continued speaking. “Then your bravery has earned my respect and I am indebted to you. As my friend should be!” He said, more so towards the derff than to Durgen. “My name is Kaeldrin Taser, but you may call me Kael as my friends do, the one over there is called Oscar and I apologize for his hostility.” Oscar stuttered frantically for a few moments before relenting.

“BAH! FOINE! But if we wake up with our throats slit because of ‘em I will hunt your spooky ghost ass down just to tell you I told you so!” He promised while lowering the gun. “Now tell me ya cheeky cunt, what happens naow?” He asked while waving an open hand towards Kael’s direction, be he only glowered at him. Clearly their argument wasn’t quite over. Instead of answering, Kael calmly strode over to Durgen and knelt beside him, gently resting a hand on his shoulder.

“Tell me my friend, what might your name be?” Kael asked and Durgen didn’t hesitate to answer.

“Me namez Durgen an’ me village' was under attack. I don’ know wat ‘appened. I got a quest to warn otha’s but I don’ know ‘ow!” Tears welled in his eyes as he finished, the feeling of being powerless washing over him. He tried not to sob for fear that the pain in his chest would flair up again, but he did anyway. Now that he finally felt safe the reality of his situation finally sunk in and weighed heavily in his chest. For all he knew, everyone he even remotely cared about was gone. “Mama!” he bellowed, tears and bloody snot streaming down his face.

Oscar finally decided to put his beloved Piper away, putting her in her special case and latching it closed. He turned to the orc as he sobbed like a baby, actually feeling sorry for the poor thing. He knew genuine tears of lose when he saw them, having dropped a few himself. Honestly if it weren’t for Kael keeping him going, he would have kicked the stool by now. He wanted to tare his eyes away from the sight but couldn’t, watching someone rumored to be a savage weeping with remorse felt surreal. He patted his cheeks to steal himself, now wasn’t the time to gawk, it was time to act! He reached into his old knapsack and fished out a potion. He had been saving it for emergencies and it was half empty, but it was about to spoil so it needed to get used anyway. Hopefully, this would make the greenskin stop whining! He marched over and waited patiently until he had their attention, handing the bottle to Durgen who took it cautiously, a pained expression on his face. “Well come on! Drink ya milk ya blubbering wankstain, we haven’t all day!” This seemed to snap the young orc out of his stupor, and he gingerly grabbed it and drank it down, he watched as the cuts slowly closed and the bruises faded. “Good. Naow here’s what's gonna happen mate, we can sneak ya outta here away from town, and once we’re midway to the next, we’re kickin ya out. Is that understood, mate?”

“Now hang on, Oscar!” Kael interjected. “We can't just abandon him in the middle of the road!”

“This isn’t a dog, mate, this is a tribalistic orc! We can't just take him with us naow can we?”

“Why not? We managed to take you along and no one grabbed torches and pitchforks yet. Where is he going to go? Plus, I’m indebted to him, so like or not if he decides to stay with us for the time being, he stays.” Kael finished crossing his arms, it was clear that he wasn’t budging.

“Okay, what about Bill? You think he’ll be up for riding with an orc for a week? Oh! Let’s not forget that his cat almost sliced your fuckin throat!” This finally seems to give Kael pause, giving Oscar the opportunity to drive it home. “If this bloke doesn’t off us in our sleep, then you know she will! We know about her now and there’s no way she’s gonna let us get away with that and knowing Bill we won’t going anywhere if that thing goes missing, if you know what I mean.” Oscar finished, so sure that he won the argument and hopefully made Kael understand the danger they were in. Unfortunately, Kael had a counterpoint.

“well, that’s true, Barby isn’t going away, but isn’t that all the more reason to have an extra pair of eyes on her? If we keep her in her crate until we part ways, then surely there’s no need to fear.” Oscar racked his mind for a counter argument but came up short. Damn this elf and his stupid high charisma! How dare he use logic! He was in the process of piecing another argument together, but his train of thought was interrupted by a deep, guttural snore. They both turned their heads to the young orc, sleeping on the chair with his head lolled to one side. Kael stretched his arms and let out a yawn. “Someone’s got the right idea. We’ll just have to figure this out in the morning. Goodnight.” Kael said before climbing into bed.

“Night.” Oscar replied simply before climbing on his own bed, clutching at the dagger underneath his pillow, unable to sleep.

*****

Durgen woke to the sound of knocking on wood and slowly opened his bleary eyes. He had hoped that it was all a weird dream, and he was somewhere back at the village, probably laughing about it with his mum later, but unfortunately, once his vision cleared and the rapping of the door continued, he realized that this is the new reality for him now. Homeless, but not alone. Kael groaned and stirred in his bed and Oscar quickly flew the sheets off himself and hurled them towards his direction.

“Hide!” he whispered before quietly rushing to the door. Panicked, Durgen draped the thin sheet over himself, trying to look like the chair, sitting as still as he could. Light peaked in the room as the door creaked open, and Durgen could see a faint outline of a figure in the doorway.

“Morinin’ Oscar!” said a cheery voice. “Guess what! The Inn is offering us a free continental breakfast with all you can eat pancakes!” The voice gave out a high pitched squeal in delight, causing Durgen to cringe.

“That’s great, Bill, we’ll meet you down in a few more minutes. We’re still lil’ groggy from last night.”

“Oh, Oh! Right! Sorry! I’ll have them bring up some coffee for you then. I’ll meet you downstairs.” the other man said just before the door closed. Oscar turned and sighed in relief. Durgen took it as an “all clear” and removed the sheet from his face, tearing it slightly as it caught on his iron jaw. He looked to find Oscar glowering at him and shaking his head.

“Did I hear something about pancakes?” Kael said drearily as he rolled to the other side to face them.

“Wut’r pancakes?” Durgen asked, now curious. They sounded really good despite not knowing what they were. His stomach rumbled at the prospect of food.

“Oh my green friend you are in for a treat!” Kael replied, swinging his legs over and standing in a stretch. At some point he had removed his clothes and was down to his hearted boxers.

“Oh, like this bloke is just gonna just waltz right in and grab some? We're gonna throw a parade for him too?” Oscar scoffed.

“Do parades come with pancakes?” Durgen asked, apparently his serious tone earned a snicker from Kael.

“No, we can just bring some up, you must be hungry after a long night. We can invite Bill up and we can negotiate something.”

“Negotiate fuckin what!? ‘Oi mate, we found this orc, can we keep it? I will feed him and pet him and I will call him lil’ Georgy.’ Yeah, I’m sure that’ll go great!” Kael’s features seemed to sharpen as he shot a contemptuous look of his own at the derff.

“Just give me ten minutes. After I get dressed of coarse.” Was all Kael said before heading out the door. Durgen opened the clock and moved it to the side of his vision and sat quietly while they waited. Any attempts to make small talk with Oscar was met with silence with hints of disdain so he gave up. Apparently, you can’t make friends with anybody right away and Durgen wasn’t sure if we wanted to make friends with him to begin with. Oscar has been hostile since they met and from the looks of it, that won’t change anytime soon. Regardless, it was clear that he was friend’s with Kael, who was in stark contrast to him. Welcoming Durgen with open arms despite the risks. Durgen was aware his people raided caravans from time to time and couldn’t imagine how bloody they’d be. With that in mind, he supposed he couldn’t blame Oscar for his hostility. He would be too if he were in his place. Durgen decided to be as polite as he could, just to prove him wrong.

Finally, Durgen heard footsteps coming from outside the room along with the familiar muffled voices of Kael and what Durgen could only assume was “Bill.” Not long after the door slowly swung open, flooding the dark room with light from the hall. Kael was the first to step in, shifting one white plate from the crevasse of his elbow to his hand. A stack of light brown disks stood on each plate drizzled in a brown liquid, the alluring smell invaded his nostrils. A shorter portly man soon followed behind, also carrying two plates. When their eyes met, they both froze, but Kael was quick to defuse the tension, his calming voice ensuring peace.

“Bill this is Durgen, my new friend I was telling you about. As you can see, he is far from ordinary. Durgen this is William le Vieil Homme Triste, he is the one funding our journey. His big heart is taking him across the world to find peace and possibly women.” Kael introduced and Bill couldn’t help but smile.

“Oh, please! Just call me Bill!” He said giddily, handing Durgen the plate of pancakes and shaking his now open hand. “Any friend of Kael’s is a friend of mine! He’s already told me much about you! I hear you need a ride?”

'Wait that’s it!?” Oscar said, speaking for the first time since Kael left. “You just met the guy an’ just like that you’re pals?”

'Sure! The more the merrier!” Bill replied cheerfully. “I used to work with orcs all the time in Rockport, they’re not that uncommon you know.” Once again, Oscar fell silent. “Durgen, if you ever need a job, I can pull a few strings and set you up with good pay.” Durgen smiled and nodded politely, but internally dismissed the offer. It was good to know that he had options, assuming Bill was serious about his offer.

“So Bill, Do I take it that you’ll let Durgen rise with us?” Kael asked after swallowing a bite of his pancakes.

“Well yeah! Why not? We could use the extra muscle and he looks like he’s travelin’ pretty light. But the question is, Does Durgen want to ride with us?” Durgen froze mid bite of his pancakes. His mouth hung open as he scanned the room, all eyes fell on him. Putting his fork down, he cleared his throat, choosing his next words as carefully and politely as he could.

“If itz not too much trouble and you’z will ‘ave me...” he said trailing off, unsure what else to say. He realized he had to make a lot of important decisions lately. Hopefully, he was making the right ones.

“Splendid! So, its settled then!” Kael said, reaching an open hand out to him with a big smile on his face. “Welcome aboard!” Durgen grasped it and they shook.

“Oi! I'm still not onboard with this!” Oscar piped. “What if he’s more trouble than he’s worth?” Kael’s grin did not falter, but it did radiate a hint of smugness.

“Then how about we just form a party? I have the Party-Chat add-on in my system, so we’ll have open communication while outside of combat.” Oscar was stump once again, then out of nowhere the two bumped fists, then Kael walked over and did the same thing with Bill, then to Durgen. Copying the motion, a new prompt appeared in his vision.

Kaedrin has invited you to join his party!

Accept /// Decline

Naturally, Durgen hit accept and even more things appeared in his vision. On the left side below his health bar, portraits of everyone were listed, along with their health, stamina, and mana bars if they have it. A small crown was on top of Kael’s portrait, indicating that he was the party leader. On the bottom left a transparent window labeled “Party Chat” hovered. While he was trying to absorb this new information, a message popped up.

Kael: See! It’s not so bad!

Bill: OOO! HI KAEL! HI GUYS! I'M IN A PARTY!

Oscar: We know, mate. You got your caps lock on

Bill: HOW DO I TURN IT OFF? OH NEVERMIND

Durgen: qwertyuiop

Kael: You guys know you can just think the words and the system will type the words for you, right?

Durgen: ‘ello? Oh! Dat’s awesome!

Oscar: Oh great, now I can barely understand you in text aswell

Bill: Oh! It has happy faces! 😊 😊 😊

Oscar: Good job, Bill

Durgen: Ooo! Where?

Thankfully Durgen was able to pick up the think to chat function rather quickly. He tried the in system “Keyboard” as it was labeled, but all the letters seemed to be scattered all over the place and it took him a minute to find each one. Eventually he just ran a finger along a column and hit send, just to test it. After a few minutes of playing with the chat while they ate, Kael announced that it was time to pack up and check out.

Smuggling Durgen out was rather easy; he pulled his hood over his head and the doors were wide open while someone was installing a new handle. Bill separated saying that he was going to check them out and get his deposit back, whatever that meant. Durgen helped load the heavier boxes onto the back of the wagon while Kael pushed them to the front, each box going to a specific spot. Oscar had finished strapping the horses when Bill finally arrived, finishing off some sort of pastry in his hand and the cat carrier in the other, his mouth too full to speak so he gave a thumbs up. Once everyone was onboard, they were off.

Durgen and Kael sat inside the wagon while Bill and Oscar were upfront. The cat glaring at Durgen from the front so Kael covered the carrier in a blanket. Out of sight out of mind. Durgen peaked from behind the rear flap as they moved, the town growing smaller with every second. Thoughts of his own village came to mind, now probably razed. He hoped that whatever attacked them got a proper beating. Kael cleared his throat from behind.

"So Durgen, I noticed you have a mana bar, are you a caster, by chance?” He asked.

“Uh no, I just got it actually, I don’ even ‘ave a class yet.” He admitted.

“Oh! May I ask what level you are?”

“A lil’ ova nine, an’ I’z still don’ know wat to pick. Wat class are you’z?”

“I’m a level sixteen Bard and level nine Illusionist.” Kael said proudly. “So, level twenty-five in total.”

“Wait, you can ‘ave more den one class?” Durgen asked, surprised by this new revelation.

“Sure! Once you reach level ten you are given a list of options for classes that you qualify for. You can put all your levels into one class, or you spread them out and multi-class. If you want to, you can put one level in each class but I wouldn’t recommend it, you don’t wanna spread yourself too thin. You having mana opens up a lot more options for you.” Durgen listened with rapt attention, his eyes going wide as new ideas and possibilities formed in his mind. He had to tear himself away from his thoughts as Kael continued with his wealth of knowledge. “When you reach level thirty, you unlock specialty classes, where you can evolve your current one or even try to combine them! That’s what I plan on doing at least.”

"So, wat iz a bard?” Durgen asked hesitantly, only now realizing that he had no idea what that meant. Thankfully, Kael was in full lecture mode.

“A bard is a support class that casts spells through their instruments.” Kael said, pulling out another instrument, a much more basic looking one than from last night. After a couple of test strums and adjusting the little knobs at the top, his fingers danced along the strings, playing a fast-paced melody. “Now this is called a lute, right now I’m just messing around with it, but when I pour some mana into it…” His hands glowed an iridescent light that seemed to shift between colors as sparkles swirled up the strings and the sound became clearer and softer, as if playing directly into Durgen’s head. A notification appeared in his vision.

Buff gained: Song of the Forest

+5 wisdom

Duration: 9 minutes 56 seconds

“This type of unique casting is called Mew-gic.” Kael continued. “It’s a form of ritual casting. Notice that buff you just got? If I give it more mana I can increase the power, but then it’ll only last as long as I can play. Oscar is a true bard at level forty-one and his buffs are insane!”

“I wanna try.” Durgen said reverently, his mouth hanging open.

“Oh this? Sure, just, handle with care, okay?” Durgen nodded and the lute was carefully handed to him. He held it with both hands on the body as he examined it. He flicked the strings a few times, making a less than pleasant sound. “It’s not as easy as it looks, isn’t it?” Kael asked. “Unfortunately, you can’t just pick up an instrument and become a Bard. You must devote much of your time for study and practice even if you put a few levels in.”

“Can you teach me?” Durgen asked, determination in his voice. Kael raised his eyebrows, obviously not expecting to hear that question. He then smiled warmly.

“How could I say no?” He said before going into a different lecture, walking Durgen through the motions such as how to hold it when sitting or standing and pointing out all the parts of the lute. “This is the neck, see these ridges spaced out along it? Those are called frets. You push down on the strings behind them and when you strum, they make a slightly different sound.” Kael went on. Durgen was given a spare guitar pick, his large fingers having a hard time plucking the strings individually. He noticed that when Kael played, he would strum with his thumbnail, purposely longer than the other and made a mental note to grow out his. “Each string has its own name, from the thickest on top its E, A, D, G, B and E again, the highest one.” Kael continued, plucking each string. “Notice that when you pluck the two E’s, they are the same note but an octave apart. Oh! An octave is a different tone. Now your fingers are numbered one through four starting with your pointer finger, that’s one, two, three, and four. This is important for when you are learning chords.” He went on while Durgen tried to absorb as much information as he could, chastising himself for not putting more points in intelligence. After what felt like an hour of lecture, Durgen finally learned the D chord and a new skill.

New skill learned: Musicianship Novice 1

Description: You pluck a string, slap a drum, or blow into a hollow tube like a pro!

+10% proficiency when playing music

The tips of Durgen’s fingers stung and he could see where the strings had dug into them. Kael had said that he would develop calluses over time the more he played. The journey became long, and the days grew slow. It was only after a couple days when Durgen realized he didn’t know where they were going. When they stopped for the night and he asked Bill, he was told that they were going to a place called Darlington, which was two more days westward. There, Bill would separate from the group to a place called Ravenport, where hopefully, he would catch a boat to some other country called Eshington and live there with his cat. The same cat that gave the rest of the group death glares whenever Bill put a harness on her to take her out to poop or whatever.

Durgen made a point to get to know his new friends as much as possible. Apparently once they get to Darington they would travel North to Thunderstruck Keep, and he decided that he’d like to come along if he could. He grew to enjoy seeing the world outside the mountains and “Thunderstruck Keep” sounded awesome! Despite Oscar’s protests Kael agreed to let him come with. Oscar made it apparent that he still didn’t like him, regardless of Durgen’s kind gestures. Surprisingly, bringing back a deer during a rest didn’t translate as a gesture of friendship. Maybe it was because he left it on his knapsack. He didn’t want him to miss it! Despite that, he didn’t glower or scald him as much, so Durgen assumed he was making progress. Speaking of progress, over the course of four days, he managed to get his musicianship skill to novice three! Just in time for the party to reach the high gates of Darlington.