The sun was just beginning to peak over the eastern horizon, coloring the sky with pastels of blue, pink, and purple, all flaring out from an orange glow. As it crept over the flat horizon, the plains that run north of the city of Mossglenn were bathed in a golden light. Long shadows stretched toward the group from the few trees that populated the plains, as well as the occasional house overseeing a vast farm. The shadows cut shorter and shorter as the sun continued its indomitable rise.

As the sun's light stretched its way across the vast farmlands and hit the group of six trudging their way through fields, Devin called their first halt. They had been marching all night after crawling out of the sea. Mossglenn Depot was no longer visible behind them, the lights having disappeared into the darkness hours ago. Looking back, Devin could not even see a smudge on the horizon to suggest the presence of the city. They were far enough away he felt comfortable allowing a brief rest.

“I’ll keep the first watch,” he said as he dropped his pack onto the ground. The group followed suit and sat down against a large tree, laying against its trunk and enjoying the warmth the autumn sun brought. Fields of wheat, golden and near ready to harvest, surrounded them, effectively hiding them from view of anyone nearby. This also had the effect of hiding anyone else who might be around from their view.

Devin took a sip from his canteen, the water now tepid. He grimaced a little at the lukewarm and metallic taste, then found himself chuckling. Earlier that night he had been shivering and swimming through frigid water, and here he was now, upset his drinking water was not nearly as cold as it was when they crawled out. Glancing over, he saw everyone except Griff sound asleep, sharing the packs as makeshift pillows against the gnarled tree trunk. He guessed it was an oak, due to its size, but did not know. He’d never had much education in anything except fighting and contracts.

“Not going to take a moment to sleep?” Devin asked the large man. Griff took a swig of his own canteen and shrugged.

“Too much,” he said, tapping the side of his head. Devin nodded. He didn't think he would be able to sleep either. Too many thoughts racing around in his head. Would they make it? What happens when they get there? Would the orcs accept the humans, dwarf, and half elf? Daisy did not seem to be on good terms with Dahlia, would that extend to the orcish society as well? Devin felt a small pang of guilt about Dahlia. They had no idea where she was or if she even made it out. An image of her being tortured in an Argenti prison floated in his mind before he pushed it out.

“Yeah, me too,” He leaned against the tree next to Griff and looked out over the wheat fields.

The grass stood about chest high to him, painting everything a wondrous shade of gold. The road was somewhere to the east, hopefully miles away from them at this point. They’d made an active effort to keep along the coast as much as they could, before it started to get too rocky and treacherous in the night, venturing inland once they were far enough away they would not encounter frequent patrols or other guilds returning to town.

“Trust her?” Griff’s voice floated up to him, low and hushed. He nodded toward Daisy, snoring softly as she lay with her head at an awkward angle on a bag with Teryn. She looked so much younger when she was asleep. Devin had no idea how orcs grew up or even their life spans, but she couldn't be any older than his 27, probably closer to Shia’s 19.

“I don’t really see any other choice at this point. She has a way out for us, we have to take it. Heading back towards town,” he jerked his head south, “Would mean certain imprisonment now, probably death if we were lucky.”

Griff nodded, taking another sip of his water. The large man's face was as impassive as ever, though his brown eyes sparkled with intelligence Devin had seen him reveal only a few times.

“Do you trust her?” he asked.

Griff kept watching the stalks of wheat for a few moments, not saying anything or giving any sort of indication he had even heard the question.

“Yeah,” he finally said. His eyes met Devin’s for a brief second, then went back to the fields. “I do.”

The two men sat in silence, letting the others sleep peacefully. After the sun had fully crept over the horizon and began its ascent into the sky, Devin turned back to his friend.

“If you don't mind me asking, why don't you talk much? I know you’re intelligent. Hell, you are probably the smartest one here. You always have answers and solutions, but only speak when absolutely necessary.”

Griff didn’t answer for a while. He kept watching the sunrise of the wheat fields, something turning over and over behind his unreadable eyes. He chewed on his tongue for a moment before opening his mouth to speak.

“I used to talk more. I used to talk more than Murton does.” A small smile escaped Devin’s lips. He had a difficult time imagining anyone talking more than the rambunctious dwarf did.

“It was used against me, though,” Griff continued, his eyes still locked on the rising sun. Devin frowned. Were those tears beading at the corner of the impassive man's eyes?

“She would let me talk and talk, then use what I said against me. She would twist it and turn it, using it to manipulate me and control me.” Griff turned to Devin now, a single tear rolling down his cheek. “Physical wounds are so much easier to bear than emotional ones, Devin. A cut, stab, or break, all of that can heal. Yeah, it sucks, and it hurts, but you know it will heal. Emotional wounds never truly do. They scar up, get buried deep, but it only takes a look or word for it to be ripped open again in all its pain and torment.”

“Mona,” Devin whispered. Griff nodded, wiping the tear from his face.

“Yeah, her. I used to love her so much, you know. Fuck, I still do.”

“But why? If she hurt you so badly why do you still love her?”

“You ever been in love?” Griff asked.

“Maybe once, I’m not entirely sure.”

“You’d know if you were,” Griff shook his head. “It's a feeling unlike any other. And once you truly fall in love with someone, you’ll understand why you can't just stop, why they can keep hurting you once they know how to use it against you.”

The two men watched the sun rise until the pinks, oranges, and purples were replaced by a light blue streaked with thin clouds.

“I suppose it’s time to wake everyone up. We should get a move on and can take another break in a little bit if we need it,” Devin said. Griff grunted in agreement.

As Devin walked over to the sleeping group, Griff reached out and grabbed his arm. “I trust you won't tell anyone else about this.”

“Of course,” Devin smiled at the large man. Griff let go of him and Devin extended his arm to help him up. Griff took the offered hand and pulled himself up, nearly toppling Devin in the process. Griff snorted in amusement and clapped Devin on his back.

“You’re a good man Devin Tenfingers.”

“Thanks Griff, it means a lot to hear that coming from you.” Devin turned toward the sleeping group and started to prod them awake. He gave them each a small shake on the shoulder, letting them know it was time to go. After much grumbling and eye rubbing, he eventually had everyone up.

“How long were we out?” Murton asked groggily.

“Couple of hours, we let the sun come up a bit but we need to get moving again. The sooner we get to Grinnish, the better,” Devin answered. Shia let out a large yawn, her jaw popping audibly, as Teryn stretched.

They packed up the bags and divided them up again, this time giving Devin and Griff a respite for the packs since they weren’t too heavy and they had not slept during the break. With a final deep breath, Devin plunged the group back into the wheat fields that surrounded them, keeping the rising sun to his right, making sure they were heading north. Once they got further, he would have to rely on Daisy’s knowledge of where the hell to find this orc city.

After a few hours of walking the sun was beating down on them. Though it was late autumn, the temperature slowly climbed, making them all sweat under the warm clothes they had packed for themselves.

“Some strange weather for this time of the year,” Shia said. “I wonder how the farmers and crops are handling it. Maybe they are gambling on the warm weather, letting the crops grow a bit more before the first frost to increase their yield…”

She seemed to be talking to herself more than anyone else, something to keep her mind busy in the long walk. No one in the group had talked much with each other, focusing on whatever thoughts were spinning in their own heads.

Devin’s mind kept wandering back to Dahlia. What had happened to her? He had to trust they would run into each other at Grinnish, they certainly could not go back and try to find her. It would defeat everything they had done so far, and her final command as they were escaping the Argenti.

His gaze drifted over Daisy, the small orc woman who was walking tall with the bag nearly the size of her strapped to her back. Her eyes were bright as she looked around, though a frown seemed to be deepening on her face with every hour that passed. Something had happened between her and Dahlia, something Devin intended to learn more about before they reached the city.

He took a few steps to his left, reaching her. Daisy looked over at him and flashed a grin, her broken tusk still jutting like a worn down peak of some long forgotten mountain chain. He gave a small nod back, slowing his steps to distance himself from the group a little. Teryn glanced back, saw them falling behind slightly, and gave Devin a small nod. She would keep the others from coming back to interrupt or investigate.

“Do you mind if I be a little forward with you?” Devin asked.

“Only if you’ll grant me the same liberty,” Daisy said.

He nodded. “I wanted to ask you about your sister.”

His question was immediately met with a scowl. “Of course. Whenever anyone comes to me for something, it's always about perfect little Dahlia, wonder gem of the orcish kind.”

“What? No, I mean, you obviously have some difficulties with her. I just wanted to make sure we weren’t going into some kind of civil war or family feud type situation that was sure to get us killed when we stepped in with you.”

Daisy shot Devin a glare, her eyes narrowed. She searched his face and eyes for a few moments, and the scowl broke slightly. “You’ll have to forgive me. All my life, anytime anyone approached me for anything, work, friends, lovers, anything, they were always looking for a way to get to Dahlia, and use me in the process.”

She took a deep breath and continued, “I’m going to give you the fast track version, since the whole thing would take too much time and piss me off too much to tell. Basically, we were born into a fairly wealthy family of traders. We had everything we could ever want. Well, at least Dahlia did.”

“I always grew up in her shadow. She was perfect, excelling at everything. Everything I did after her was just not good enough. As she was first born, she was set to take over the family business when my parents retired.”

“What do they do?” Devin asked.

“Hmm? Oh, my parents? They run a series of iron mines known for making great steel. They also run steel manufacturers that create some of the best blades money can buy.”

“Hmm,” Devin said. He would have to look into these blades since his own were missing. If their blade making was as good as she seems to think it was, maybe they could craft specialty daggers for him to use.

“Anyway,” she continued, “I decided I’d had enough and told them I was going to join ORC. For a rich family to have a child join ORC isn't unheard of, but it tends to be considered beneath them. Military service, no matter how specialized, is for the poor and lower middle class in the elite’s eyes.”

“Really?” Devin blurted out in confusion before he could stop himself. “I’m sorry, I don't mean to infer-”

“No, it's fine,” Daisy interjected. “We know the stereotype of bloodthirsty beings who only love war. We have stereotypes about you humans too, so it's only fair you’d have them about us.”

“What kind of stereotypes do other races say about it?” Devin asked.

“Well, for starters, you all tend to live less time than the rest of us. So, you act quickly without thinking most times. You are seen as impulsive, vain, and obsessed with making a mark of your own on the world around you, no matter what everyone else wants or the world may want. Also, you are obsessed with yourself and view yourselves as the best possible race out there.”

Devin scratched at his chin, where a little bit of stubble was peeking through. He hated when hair grew on his face, it always came in patchy and ridiculous looking. He would have to find a way to shave it as soon as he got to the city.

“Fair enough,” he responded. “We are pretty ridiculous and obsessed with image. It's the driving factor in my life, creating a guild that everyone would remember. Or at least, it was.”

“What drives you now?”

He let a short laugh out. “Right now? Surviving. Other than that, seeing more of this continent. I want to learn more about the other people living here. It never even crossed my mind that there were other cities or other races. I’d been around humans so long, I just kind of assumed the only cities were ours.”

Daisy nodded thoughtfully and kept walking with him. They let a few moments pass in silence, digesting each other's thoughts, before she started talking again.

“After I announced I would join ORC and the family went through their congratulations, Dahlia let exactly one day pass before she announced she was joining too. Since she was older, she would get in sooner. Everyone turned against me immediately. My parents blamed me for her joining, saying it was my fault and she felt compelled to do it.”

“How could it possibly be your fault?” Devin asked incredulously. “She’s her own person, she can make her own choices!”

“I ask myself that everyday. They never gave me a straight answer. I’ve come to think I was just a scapegoat for their disappointment in her choice. They couldn’t possibly blame their darling child, so they turned their anger and frustration on me.”

“But,” she continued, “To cut a long and terribly depressing story short before I babble on and descend into a puddle of hate and self loathing, Dahlia graduated with top honors, I joined a year after her. I did well, not the top, but well. She picked me for the shittiest missions, the worst of the worst, but I kept doing well in them. Eventually she sent me to spy on Bronn and his crew, along with the Silver Queen. Somebody tipped them off.”

Disgust flitted across the orc woman’s face. She stared at the ground as they continued to walk, kicking any rock that came across her path angrily to the side.

“I waited in that damned dungeon for months. No rescue came, absolutely nothing. I really think she set me up to be captured to get rid of me. Why? I have no idea, but that has always been her way.” Her eyes came up to meet Devin’s, pools of mossy green imploring him. “Please don’t trust her upfront. She has a lot of power and say, but you will be a means to an end for her, nothing more.”

Devin chewed on the inside of his mouth, regarding the small orc in front of him. He could see the depth and complexity of emotions that ran through her as she told him this. This was only one side of the story though. He was heading into an entirely new pace, somewhere he didn't even know existed until a day ago. How could he trust her version was entirely correct and she wasn't misleading him? He would have to go with what his gut told him. It usually didn't fail him. Usually.

“I won't,” he said simply.