It was a dark basement full of stuffy air. If that wasn't creepy enough, there were various noises varying from rattling to snoring. As the tribe's number one curious young, Gurln had ventured nowhere other than the prison, he hoped to speak to the outsiders of their conditions.
In other words, he was trying to find out if his traitorous thoughts and conflicting ideals had a solid foundation, if not then perhaps his thinking was the one with flaws.
His light steps thus echoed in the dark, as he tried to conceal his presence. He needed to pick a target of conversation but unfortunately, none of the orcs that were awake seemed friendly.
They either had imposing figures or were making threatening noises. That was to be expected as Gurln was outside the cells and they were inside. Clearly opposing sides. If there was anything surprising it was that some of the orcs still managed to fall asleep under these conditions.
It could be said that they were rather simple but Gurln's goal was not to judge the orcs. Well, it was. He would judge their lifestyle and customs.
Gurln thus mustered some courage and stood next to a cell with a tall figure.
"Pst, I want to ask you some questions…" Gurln first announced his presence, although the orc had already noticed it, as well as his intention.
"Hahahaha, what sort of interrogation method is this? F*ck off!" A laugh incited followed by an angry slur. Gurln was left both shocked and embarrassed. He remained stunned in place. But what was he expecting?
"Not f*cking off yet?!" The orc said harshly with a piercing glare. Even under the cover of the dark, Gurln could see the wrath on the orc's expression by the way his face contorted.
He backed off wondering if he should give up when he heard someone calling.
"Pst, hey!" It was the feminine voice of an orc. Gurln glanced over and managed to spot a slim robe-wearing figure behind the orc iron bars. Curious, he made his way over.
"What do you want to ask?" The figure inside asked as soon as Gurln was within whispering range. Somewhat surprised, Gurln decided to answer,
"I want to know about your tribe" Gurln said with a hint of expectancy.
"Why?" Instead of an answer, however, Gurln received a question.
"Be- Because…" Was he supposed to admit that he doubted his tribe's culture?
Both figures remained silent until Gurln decided to further expand on his answer.
"I- I'm curious. I- I don't want my sister to die…" Gurln's answer was met by another short bout of silence.
"Hm… How about this, you tell me what you don't like, I'll tell you if it's different." The orc woman inside proposed.
"Ok" Gurln didn't hesitate to agree.
"My sister was chosen as a sacrifice…" The orcs in the sacred tribe would hold a monthly sacrificial ritual. The purpose being food of course, but also to bless the tribe. To allow the executed to be freed of sin and become one of god's angels.
"We don't do that, we fight each other and the victor is rewarded with god's blessing." The woman inside said pensively.
"Well... " Gurln continued to explain his doubts. Like the state of the women in the settlement and the teaching of the cathedral. Women were not used in combat and were instead considered extremely precious. They were depicted as holy mothers capable of flourishing life.
Gurln always found it to be a curious point but most of all, it saddened him that his sister would be put through such a thing. To be honest, that wasn't his only sibling. His sister was his twin sister. The rest were random strangers that just so happened to have the same mother.
There was some more silence. As if the orc woman he was talking to found everything a bit incredible.
"We definitely don't have that" The response was expected. The very fact that he was talking to an orc woman who was captured as a captive made the question redundant but… Gurln was still unsure if he could do anything with this new information.
"Ca- Can you do me a favor?" Gurln unexpectedly asked while showing a tinge of reluctance.
"...Sure" Although skeptical, there was an agreement.
"Take my sister with you" The unexpected query was naturally followed with an unexpected request.
There was a short silence but a reply did indeed come.
"You are letting me go?" Truthfully, she had answered the young orc's questions hoping for such a result but… hadn't it been too easy?
"I- Erm, Yes." Gurln answered even while feeling a mix of shame and lament. He felt ashamed of his betrayal and lamented his shame.
The sacred tribe had nurtured him to his current fit state, they had done the best they could yet he was dealing with the enemy. These feelings made him feel ashamed but the way his sister was being treated made him feel he lacked mental fortitude. He planned to remedy that.
"I am" He spoke with conviction.
"Ok, I'll take your sister out of the village" She had no reason to deny. The boy had charisma. The boy also seemed rather foolish. Who would trust a person they just met? Who would leave important duties and ask for favors from their enemy?
Gurln undid a series of latches and cut apart a rope. The metal cell door swung open and Gurln was now able to enter the cell to remove some more bindings. This time, on the slender well-endowed orc woman.
The rope that tightly bound Sharog's wrist was made quick work of thanks to the dagger Gurln carried.
"Where is your sister?" Sharog decided to ask while stretching her lethargic body. She had plans to escape using magic but a better opportunity came around. Even so, she didn't intend to go back on her word.
"The houses behind and beside the cathedral are the home of the orc women. You can just ask for Lash." Gurln promptly answered before turning to leave.
Sharog couldn't hold back her curiosity as she saw the boy's retreating figure.
"Where are you going?" While stuck inside, Sharog was still able to understand that something had to have happened outside.
There would usually be guards in the prison which had prevented her from explicitly using magic but they all ran out not too long ago.
"I'm going to go fight" He replied and hurriedly left. Sharog no longer paid him any attention as she shifted her gaze at the other locked cells. It was time for her and the others to make their escape.
***
Ed had continued down the tunnel even as the temperature lowered with each step. If anything, the lowering temperature piqued his curiosity and arouse worry.
A loud explosion then suddenly occurred shaking the ground beneath Ed's feet. The cold that prickled his skin was gone as a short blast of heat blew down the icy tunnel.
Ed pressed forward with steady steps and his eyes adjusted to the brightness he chased after revealing a wide room illuminated by white crystals. The cold atmosphere was likely a doing of said crystals.
More importantly… Ed lifted the ground and formed the shape of a dagger. He swung his axe cleanly gifting him a dagger which he dexterously grabbed and threw at a distant figure.
[Adept Throwing has leveled up]
"Argh!" A distant orc exclaimed as a dagger pierced through his chest. The orc turned with a grim expression towards Ed before thudding on the ground. The throw had likely pierced a critical location.
Ed was used to assessing the surroundings before taking action but as soon as he saw an orc crouching next to a blue boulder he knew he had to do something. It wasn't hard to put the explosion and the boulders together.
"Sunuguk!" Another orc who Ed had not seen then exclaimed as he peered from beside the boulder.
The orc wore an old dirtied robe. He held a brush in one hand and a container on the other.
'The array expert!' Ed's eyes twinkled as if he had found another treasure. The orc from before seemed like nothing but a layman so Ed quickly took care of him. He couldn't do the same for this one though, be it for his knowledge or for his body, this orc held some value!
"Who are you?! Are you the one who killed Lagakha?" The orc expert roared from a distance while tightly gripping his brush threatening to crush it.
"I am Ed, nice to meet you… Herewaruk" Ed replied with a scary smile.
[Herewaruk (Sacred Tribe Orc)]
The guardian of knowledge, Herewaruk. Adept mage. An expert with arrays and a close friend of the deceased chieftess.
"You-!? How did you know my name?!" Herewaruk was instantly alarmed. He didn't know how a trespasser made it that far never mind how that trespasser knew his name.
"That doesn't matter, are you going to surrender?" Ed avoided the question and made a prompt of his own. One arguably filled with arrogance. Of course, Ed had said it with good intentions.
"Are you mocking me?" But to Herewaruk, the guardian of knowledge, the expert on arrays, the experienced mage, was that not an insult? Who could know his name but not his might?
"Is that a no?" Ed asked for a second time this time with a glare as he assessed his mana pool. He held no doubts that the amount was below a hundred. But he also felt that amount was sufficient.
"Of course!" Herewaruk said with ire before dropping his brush and container to bring out a wand from his robe.
"Don't regret it" Ed replied as he prepared to rush towards his enemy.. He had been meaning to try something for a while now anyway.