Our path through the forest was rough as it was unpaved, but we luckily had Ghyurl and his orcs who were used to navigating this forest. Although they did not travel this exact path often, they were still able to hack their way through the forest. Luckily enough though, the forest flora was not thick enough to hinder our ability to walk at normal speed. Yet, unfortunately, the forest, and especially its deeper parts, was full of beasts – and while the small ones would likely run from a group of 26, we had to stay on guard for the bigger ones which would be attracted to the noise. So, we moved stealthily.

This was the first time I have walked this much ever since I opened my eyes to this world – so, naturally, I was exhausted by walking the entire day. We had left our basecamp soon after the sunrise and expected to arrive at the orc camp by tomorrow noon. So, we needed to set up a camp in the forest and be fully cautious of the dangers it had in store for us.

Throughout the day, blue goblins who were faster than others took on the responsibility to hunt for hares and collect fruits and berries to feed the group while the orcs carried them. We had brought some fruits from the basecamp with us as provisions, although only as a precaution.

As the sunset closed in and it started getting darker, we built a camp and lit a fire. Unfortunately, we did not have the equipment to build tents, so all of us had to sleep in open air. The weather was not too cold, but it was surely chilly. Covering myself with the big leaves I snatched from the nearby trees was only a temporary solution: the leaves were thin as expected and provided little to no isolation for me. At the cost of making our camp a better attraction site for beasts of the forest, I flared up our campfire to fight the breeze.

3 orcs stood guard, always on alert for threats and ready to wake our group in case of an attack. As the campfire grew and I was hugged by the rising temperature, I closed my eyes. When I opened them, the morning sun was lazily rising over the mountains, brightening the forest up.

Cooking the prizes of yesterday’s hunts in the now dying fire, we filled our stomachs the first thing in the morning. After everyone was full, we got up and continued our way to the orc camp.

When the sun rose up to its highest point in the sky, we had already reached the orc camp. This camp, unlike Ghyurl’s, had no wall surrounding it for protection, but was built in an open area and had orcs standing guard and a watchtower. The moment they saw us, armed orcs started approaching us with suspicion. Soon, they were tens of orcs with axes standing between us and the village. Moreover, two of them were riding big wolf-like creatures.

“Ghyurl – is that you?”

“Lthrok. I have news for you.”

“Surely, you do. Bringing here goblins and a human, you better have a good explanation, or I have no choice but to consider you a threat to my tribespeople.”

“The Caller has come.”

“Do not tell me you still believe in that child’s tale. There is no Caller. There has never been one and there will never be one. It is a tale told to children to give them hope, but it is not even realistic enough for them to believe – yet, you are here with bunch of outsiders for this? To bring me this “news”?”

“It is not a child’s tale, Lthrok. I brought him here. He is the human, my Chief.”

Lthrok, who was almost as big and muscular as Ghyurl had a sceptical expression. I could tell by the difference in physique of not only Lthrok but all the other orcs that stood in front of us that they were more agile yet a little less strong than the Ghyurl’s tribespeople.

Lthrok, whom I figured out to be the chief of this camp was one of the two orcs riding the big wolves, which looked as agile as their riders if not more. The wolves had thick fur and sharp fangs and were strong enough to carry an orc without flinching.

When he fixed his eyes on me, I could read from his expression that he had no faith in the caller’s prophecy. Perhaps Ghyurl also had no faith in it until the moment I opened a gate in front of them. Maybe that is what I should do now as well.

The moment I reach my hand out the orcs take an offensive stance. I hear Ghyurl shouting to stop them:

“Just watch!”

Soon the gate appears out of nowhere, stupefying the crowd of orcs including Lthrok. The looks of suspicion turn into looks of surprise as orcs and goblins march in through the gate the other end of which we cannot see. Soon, a hundred monsters swarm the space between us and the orcs and the gate close in cold silence.

I hear small words drip from the mouth of the orc chief Lthrok:

“The Caller…”