There were a few quests in the next month that helped the group learn to operate as a team, but there was surprisingly little fighting: the Dragon they were sent to drive off wound up convincing them that their employers were the wrong-doers, and they'd abandoned the job, after giving the dark creature an amulet of protection; when they escorted the royal family of Ilorro to visit their neighboring monarchs a kingdom over, the worst they'd run into was Tao, who had let them off with a toll, because he knew them; and when they were hired to destroy blood-drenched sword of Ulfram the Slaughterer, Regis had taken it out with one blast of magic. The first real opportunity for combat came when they decided to cut through the Black Wood, to cut some time off their journey.

Regis and Seira were nervous, because they had just discovered that there were creatures called 'Orcs' and that their party was cutting through their territory. According to Yuna, Orcs rivaled Elves in their power, so they two of them were wary.

Anyway, they were walking down the path, when they saw a party of Orcs in the distance; they stepped off to walk alongside the road.

"This is their territory," said Ikhan. "It never hurts to show respect. Though, I doubt we'll get past them without a sparring match or two. Shinwoo and Suyi have had no one to fight but each other for the past three months," he shrugged. "Things could definitely be worse."

Regis raised an eyebrow. "Is that wise?" he asked. "The Orcs are significantly more powerful than you are, from what you've told us."

"Yeah? Well, so are you." He shrugged. "It'll be fine. It's not like we've never done this before; they're an honorable people. They like a good fight as much as the next person, but they do know when to pull their punches."

"How can you four know so much about these so-called 'Creatures of Darkness' and still not be able to recognize an Elf when you see one?"

Ikhan laughed. "We focused on researching the people we would be fighting. Elves and Dwarves, we've got tentative alliances with. Probably the fact that there're so many Balrogs around Escoria that got us started on it, but we were curious about the other races, and what conflict-avoidance techniques worked best when facing them."

Yuna was curious: "What I want to know is why you two never heard of the Creatures of Darkness before leaving home. Didn't your parents ever tell you stories?"

"Our parents died eighty years ago."

"Oh."

"We were raised by Regis' Grandfather. He took good care of us, but he left our education to the books we'd find."

"Seira's mother had a gigantic library we'd read in, but we never saw any information on any culture or people besides our own."

Seira shrugged. "Regis isn't allowed in court until after his ceremony, and I'm not going until he can come as well, so I've never heard of us having political relations with them."

"What about friends?"

The two of them looked away.

For a few paces, there was silence.

"I was the same way," offered Yuna. "I didn't grow up around other kids. I was six the first time I interacted with kids my own age and I didn't know any of the slang or the games or anything really. For a good six months, I was on the outside of every joke, but after that, it was like I suddenly knew everything. Some things, you just have to learn by diffusion. There's no way around it, but there's also surprisingly little effort involved. Just give it time."

"And remind us to tell you about the other six Creatures of Darkness later," said Shinwoo.

"There are six more?" Regis started to ask, but then he saw that the Orcs were close to hearing range, and so decided to shut up. There were close to a score of them.

The leader of the Orcs, however, decided to speak to them. He was an impressive man, and tall for an Orc, so that meant he was close to eight feet. "What are you doing in our woods, Creatures of Light?"

Suyi made a small bow to show her respect. "We were hoping to cut through the Black Woods on our way to Weston. Lord Kallingar still allows travelers, does he not?"

The leader seemed a bit suspicious at their knowledge of Orc culture. Most Humans simply turned and ran when they saw them, and those who didn't tried to kill them.

"Yes..." he said, unsure what to make of this new situation. Suyi nodded. "Good travels to you, Commander."

"...Good travels to you," he said. The two parties started to move past each other, and they would have, if not for...

"Hey, Shinbone! Soupy!"

One of the Orcs had called out to them.

Everyone in both parties, save Yuna and Ikhan, was surprised at the Orc's words. His commander made to reprimand him, when...

"That's Shinwoo and Suyi to you, ugly!"

Regis and Seira were starting to fear for the worst.

"Stupid Humans, why do you have such moronic names?"

"Oh, like yours is any better. What was it again? "Forty-four?"

"It's 'Twenty-four', you repulsive little pukes."

Suyi waved a dismissive hand. "Same thing!"

"Stupid Humans and their stupid memories..."

The Orc commander was genuinely unsettled. "You know these children, soldier?" he asked.

"Not the Elves," M-24 said. "Met the Humans once while on a scouting mission." He pointed at Shinwoo and Suyi. "Those two can't fight," he said, a huge grin on his face.

Shinwoo scowled. "Two can play at that game." He turned to Regis and Seira. "That's 24," he said. "He can't navigate."

"And he's got more enemies than any one person should have," added Suyi.

Ikhan shook his head. "Shinwoo, you can't navigate either," he said. Then he spoke to the Orc. "Nice to see you again."

"Hi, M-24."

The Orc nodded. "Ikhan, Yuna."

"Oh, come on!" Suyi was angry.

"You remember their names, but not ours!" Shinwoo protested.

M-24 shrugged. "They annoy me less." He sharpened his claws against his sword. "Speaking of things which annoy me, how have you two been? Managed to learn anything about swords yet?"

Shinwoo grinned and unsheathed his blade. "Just try us, old man!"

M-24 looked to his commander. "Permission to engage in combat, sir?"

The commander looked as though he couldn't quite believe what was happening. "Carry on, soldier."

The Orc drew his sword, and Shinwoo and Suyi rushed him.

It really was an impressive display of swordsmanship on 24's part, because the two humans were no slouches when it came to fighting. What struck the Orc commander was the fact that neither of the two Humans seemed to be nervous in the least. They weren't bothering to protect themselves from rush attacks or use of claws, because they seemed to trust that M-24 would keep things on the level of a teaching fight.

It was amazing to watch.

The commander met the eyes of the two Elves across the fight, and they seemed to be in much the same state he was in.

After a few minutes, M-24 was looking very self-satisfied. Shinwoo and Suyi's swords were flung off to the side. "Not bad," he said. "Keep improving like that, and next time I may even use my claws."

Suyi was panting heavily, but that didn't stop her from scowling. "Darn...you...Twenty...four..." she said between breaths.

Ikhan smiled brightly. "Well, that was fun. We don't want to keep you though. Come on, guys, let's let the soldiers get back to their work."

The paladins retrieved their swords. Shinwoo gave an obscene gesture at their opponent. "We'll win next time!" he proclaimed.

Ikhan was annoyed, and he grabbed Shinwoo's hand to stop him from embarrassing their party further. "Come on, it's time to go. You're making us look stupid."

The Orc Commander, however, had something to say. "The Black Woods are not the most hospitable of places," he said. "Are you certain you can make it out before nightfall? It's unwise to make camp here."

"Oh, we know," said Ikhan. "We found that out last time we cut through here. We're just going to walk through the night and we should be out before morning. We can catch up on sleep in Weston." He shrugged. "It saves us five days of travel, so it's worth it."

The commander was considering something. "You know of Lord Kallingar. His abode is not far from here. You could stay in the guard-barracks with us for the night, if you'd like. You'll still come out ahead in time."

The Humans weren't expecting the offer.

"Won't that get you in trouble with your superiors? As far as you know, we could be saboteurs."

He raised an eyebrow. "Somehow, I think saboteurs would be more discreet."

Ikhan flinched. "You're probably right." He looked back at his teammates. "What do you think?"

"I'm for it," said Yuna. "Regis gets downright mean when he's sleep-deprived."

"No I don't," said the Elf. "Letting discomfort get the better of one is inelegant."

"Any objections?"

"How much do you want for lodging?" asked Shinwoo. "If it's more than an inn, we'd probably want to walk it."

"Ten silver pieces," said the commander.

Ikhan thought about it. "That's fair," he said. "All right, we'll take it. Thanks for your hospitality."

The commander nodded.

"So, then. Want us to walk your rounds with you? Or should we find somewhere quiet to wait?"

"So long as you can keep from fighting with M-24, you may accompany us. We've got another three hours before our shift ends."

"Three hours of keeping Suyi and Shinwoo in line. Oh, happy day..."