A Dire Warning
It had only been an hour since they departed Frontier Town Governor's mansion in order to prepare an ambush for whatever bandits were lurking in the forest surrounding his estate, but the Silver ranked adventurers and lone guard currently underneath Heavy Warrior's command were already growing impatient as they waited for Commissar to draw their enemies attention. As for the giant sword wielder himself, he was content with waiting for Commissar to call them into action. The man had impressed Heavy Warrior during their bout at the Guild Hall, so much so that the brash adventurer had silently agreed to remain silent until The Hero of the Imperium told them it was safe to communicate between groups again.
The same could not be said about Heavy Warrior's party, all of which had been unable to overhear their new orders directly and were trying to occupy themselves through whatever means were available to them. Female Knight and the guard, Retired Adventurer, had started an argument that Witch was trying to end, or possibly continuing for her own amusement. Those three were behaving themselves quite well compared to Spearman, who had spent most of the day grumbling about how his newfound rival had been granted command of a squad instead of him.
Trying to focus on the quest, as boring as the wait had become, was his sole duty, and Heavy Warrior felt that the entire world was tempting him to abandon the one job he had been given. Despite the icy stares and other failed attempts to wordlessly silence Spearman, Heavy Warrior had had enough of the arrogant adventurer's nonsense and finally spoke up against him.
"Don't you ever shut up?" Heavy Warrior interrupted Spearman in the middle of whatever he was ranting about.
"Oh come on, you agree with me too don't you?" The cocky spear user pleaded, the person he was talking to failing to remember what his point was, if there even was one to begin with.
"No, I can't say that I do." Heavy Warrior said dismissively.
"You really think that there is nothing strange about a random noble from a far off empire no one has ever heard of appearing out of nowhere, winning a duel against a Silver ranked adventurer, and having another noble request him specifically for a special quest isn't weird?" Spearman asked him.
Heavy Warrior, although loath to admit man was right, he could not but help to agree with Spearman's assessment of Commissar.
"When you put it like that, there are a few things that don't make sense." He reluctantly conceded, before adding, "But aren't you just jealous of Commissar?"
Spearman narrowed his eyes after hearing Heavy Warrior's question. "What do you mean by that?"
"Commissar and Witch do seem to spend a lot of time together in the Guild Hall…" The sword wielder whispered, careful to prevent Witch from overhearing what he was saying.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Spearman asked.
Heavy Warrior could only shake his head at how oblivious the cocky adventurer could be sometimes. Almost everyone else in Frontier Town who had seen the two together knew about the way the curvaceous magic caster looked at her partner, yet the man of her desires somehow remained completely blind about the way she felt. It was almost funny, seeing how Spearman could be just as terrible as reading the people around him as Goblin Slayer.
Heavy Warrior was preparing to point out the obvious to his fellow companion, but was abruptly interrupted by the comm-bead in his hear crackling to life with Commissar's frantic voice.
"Heavy Warrior, Veteran Soldier, get the frak out of there now!" He shouted. "Horus take you, the two of you better say something! I will not let your deaths be by my hands!"
Hearing the once stalwart man's desperate plea instantly drove Heavy Warrior into action. He quickly pulled the comm-bead out of his ear and turned up what he hoped was the volume on the device as high as it could go so the rest of his squad could hear what had Commissar so concerned. The adventurers who had formerly been enthralled in their own little world the instant they noticed Heavy Warrior snap to attention, quickly unsheathing their weapons as they prepared themselves for the unknown.
"What's going on Commissar? Did you manage to find the bandit's camp?" Veteran Soldier asked Commissar. His voice was loud, fuzzy, but still clear enough to be understood by everyone in Heavy Warrior's party.
"Commissar, what's wrong?! Are you under attack?"Heavy Warrior yelled at the comm-bead in his hands, hoping he had been loud enough for the small device to pick up his words.
"Did something… happen to… the others?" Witch inquired, voicing the same question the other assembled adventurers had.
"Retreat to the governor's estate now!" It isn't bandits attacking the caravans travelling through the forest, it's something worse! Emperor's Bowels! How did I not notice it sooner?" Commissar cried out.
"What could be worse than a dozen or two bandits?" Veteran Soldier inquired.
"Yeah, a couple of bandits are nothing to me." Spearman boasted, receiving an armored gauntlet to the back of his head from Female Knight in response.
"Shut up and listen." She chastised him.
"If the traces of our enemy that I found aren't meant to mislead us, then we could very well be dealing with a horde of greenskins numbering in the hundreds, all of them ready to tear us apart limb from limb." Commissar answered incredibly calmly given the strength of the enemy.
"Greenskins… you mean goblins?" Heavy Warrior mumbled in disbelief, the adventurers around him looking equally as confused at this revelation.
"Wait, Commissar is scared of a couple of goblins?" Spearman snorted. "And here I thought Goblin Slayer was the craziest-"
"No, not goblins, Orks." Commissar clarified, interrupting the arrogant adventurer before the attack on his reputation could be finished.
The accent he used when discussing the enemy, while peculiar, didn't sound too alien to the gathered adventurers. There was a fairly common race of demihumans that went by the same name, Non-Prayer Characters with a somewhat infamous reputation for attacking frontier villages. In groups, they hardly posed a threat to a party of Silver ranked adventurers, and alone, none of them could see a reason for the Commissar's concern.
"That's a lot of orcs, but not something we can't handle." Female Knight said confidently, the guard beside her failing to mirror the same cocky attitude she had.
"What's an Ork?" Veteran Soldier inquired.
"They're sort of like lizardmen, but without all the scales and stuff, right?" Retired Adventurer supplied, struggling to see why she or anyone else should be worried about an admittedly large tribe of barbarians.
"I don't know, but it doesn't sound like he's talking about the tribes of demihumans sharing the same name." Heavy Warrior countered, silently cursing to himself when he remembered the comm-bead more than likely picked up his idle comment.
"Unless the orcs you are talking about stand taller than two and a half meters at their shortest, are stronger than an ogryn, and can ignore most injuries so long as they are presented with a target to kill, then I doubt any of us are prepared to fight the army of greenskins that have claimed this forest for themselves." Commissar answered, immediately sending a cold shiver down the spine of anyone who heard him.
"Did… did he just say those things were as strong as an Ogre?" Spearman mumbled, his previous bravado having faded the moment he heard Commissar's description of their enemy.
"And half… the size." Witch confirmed.
"SHIT!" Heavy Warrior shouted.
"Try to stay calm, make as little noise as possible, and immediately head back to the governor's estate so we can regroup and call in reinforcements to properly face this threat." Commissar told the other squads, his serene voice sounding forced, although no one dared to call him out for his well justified fear. "Every second counts, so don't wait for me, I'll-"
Before he could finish ordering the retreat for the three squads, a beastial roar pierced through the air, the deep warcry consuming the idle chatter that had only just sprouted between the adventurers about the unexpected twist to what should have been a simple quest.
"WAAAAAAGGGGHHH!"
"FRACKING WARP! Where did that bloody thing come from?!" The Commissar shouted, before the familiar sound of the weapons he and Gunner used attempted to drown out the cry of what the gathered adventurers could only assure to be the Ork attacking him.
"SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT!" He continued to scream, the sound of lasfire quickly overpowering his voice.
The thunderous warcry didn't have much of an effect on the experienced adventurers. The faint echo they could hear in the distance, the source which sounded far closer than Heavy Warrior or anyone else expected it to be, did have a much more noticeable effect on the adventurers who were already starting to march back to the safety provided by Frontier Town Governor's estate. The enemy was close, and if the Commissar was right about their numbers, then they had no hopes of surviving an encounter against them.
The Commissar's transmissions to them only emphasized how dangerous their opponents were. The forest fell calm for a brief moment, but the silence that rose in the wake of the distant sound of lasfire did not last for long. Following the defeat of the first Ork to assault them, the forest seemed to come to life as the sounds of dozens, if not hundreds of greenskins rallied around the call to WAAAGH!, the dying screams of the guards from Commissar's squad occasionally overpowering the bloodthirsty shouts coming from nearby.
"Damn, we're surrounded! Why didn't those guards stay by the carriage? Damn it all to the Warp!" Commissar lamented over the still open vox-channel.
"Commissar? Your vox is still-"
"No time Jurgen! Follow my lead, I think I have a plan! Either it'll work, or we'll be taking as many greenskins with us when we arrive before the Golden Throne..."
Commissar and his aide fell silent after giving his aide a final few words of encouragement, leaving Heavy Warrior, along with everyone else who had overheard the ambush the Hero of the Imperium walked into, to fear the worst had happened to them.
Heroes of Another Story
Back in the Guild Hall, a familiar scene its patrons had seen time and time again was playing out once more. It was already late in the morning, the most profitable quests of the day already taken by those who had arrived in time to undertake their ideal adventure, and only a few adventurers and Guild Staff still lingered outside of the bar area. As few adventurers willingly chose the low paying goblin slaying quests that seemed to never run out, it came to no one's surprise that Frontier Town's resident goblin expert was currently registering as many quest forms as he could carry over at the quest counter.
Guild Girl was as eager to help him as always, quickly filling out the proper paperwork to send the unsung hero on his way. She would have let the grime covered adventurer leave without saying a word, as was typical of him, but not today. For the second time this week, she had a personal request for him, one that she hoped he would accept for his sake and that of the other person involved.
"Goblin Slayer, please wait!" Guild Girl called out to him.
The young man stopped the moment he heard his name, but did not turn to see what she wanted from him.
"What is it?" He asked, not out of annoyance nor malice, but genuine surprise.
"There is an adventurer that said they would like to join you on your next quest." Guild Girl explained.
"Is that so?" Goblin Slayer hummed, finally letting his curiosity guide his footsteps back to the quest counter.
"Yes." Guild Girl answered him. "I'm sure they will be glad to see at least one of the people they wanted to party with were willing to accompany them."
"So it isn't Commissar or Gunner?" The filthy adventurer asked, clearly dismayed but not abandoning the Adventurers Guild quite yet.
Guild Girl was shocked to hear Goblin Slayer sound so disappointed about his prospective partner not being either of the two foreigners, but recovered her composure quickly once the moment came to pass. "I'm afraid they are on an urgent quest on behalf of Frontier Town Governor along with several other adventurers." She informed him.
"I see." He mused, falling silent as he lost himself in thought.
Although Guild Girl could not see the face hidden behind the visor of Goblin Slayer's helmet, a constant addition to his defenses that he never saw fit to remove, even for meals, she easily noticed how excited the young man looked. Of course, given how concerned she was for the lone adventurer's well being, that also could have been her own relief tainting her vision of him as well. Regardless, the fact that Goblin Slayer was still willing to wait and see who requested to accompany him said a lot about how eager he was to work with someone when he could have spent that time killing goblins instead.
The grimy adventurer didn't have to wait long for the adventurer who requested to party with him to arrive, as Priestess ran through the doors of the Adventurers Guild after only a few minutes of waiting. The frail little girl took a moment to catch her breath after reaching her destination, oblivious to the odd looks her frenzied entrance received, her usual bubbly attitude resurfacing once she recovered.
"Sorry I'm late, Guild Girl. How long until Goblin Slayer arri-" Priestess' enthusiasm promptly evaporated into embarrassment as he noticed him staring at her from his seat by the quest counter. "Oh, sorry."
"You're the one that wanted to form a party with me?" Goblin Slayer asked her, approaching the girl with the same measured steps he took wherever he went.
Priestess, intimidated but not so frightened as to give up the idea of working with him, stood frozen in place. "Y-yes, s-sir!" She stammered.
Goblin Slayer appeared to consider her answer for a moment, letting out an indistinctive grunt as he started to inspect her from head to toe. Priestess blushed at how close he was when studying her, his gaze focusing mostly around her shoulder, sounding staff, and torso.
"Why?" He suddenly asked her.
"Eep!" Priestess squeaked at his question, startled from the sudden sound of his rough voice. She took one deep breath, then another before finding something to say to him. "W-why what?"
"Why do you want to be in a party with me?" He asked again, clarifying his original question moments before Guild Girl could chew him out for his rudeness.
"I wanted to help you, both as a way of saying thanks for saving me and the others from those goblins and because I thought you might like someone to accompany you on your adventurers." She rapidly explained, her staff shaking faintly as she clutched onto.
"I see." Goblin Slayer said.
Before he or Priestess could say anything, Guild Girl walked up to the armored adventurer and laid a less than friendly hand on his shoulder. "Goblin Slayer, can I interrupt you for a moment and have a word with you please?" She asked him, giving her a smile that even the Demon Lord would have cowered before.
As muted as most of his reactions might have been, Priestess could still hear the small gasp that came from Goblin Slayer as he was dragged off behind the quest counter by Guild Girl for 'a moment'. The other Guild staff made sure to give the two some room as Guild Girl spoke with the grime-covered adventurer, careful to not be the next victims to fall to her wrath.
"Goblin Slayer, what do you think you are doing?" She asked him, her voice coming out tense and conflicting with the faint smile she pointed towards him.
Seeing the obvious danger that would arise from a careless answer, Goblin Slayer took a moment to review everything he said to Priestess and, failing to find anything wrong, answered Guild Girl truthfully. "I wanted to make sure she was ready." He told her.
"Ready? For what?" Guild Girl asked. She was surprised to hear his answer, but not enough to let him go with such a simple answer.
"Goblin slaying." He replied. "She wasn't ready to fight goblins when I met her last time, but she still did better than most other adventurers I've found in goblin nests."
Guild Girl grimaced at the thought of what condition he typically 'found' those adventurers in, the men usually butchered to the point that they would be unidentifiable without their tags, and the women suffering the same fate as Fighter and Wizard, usually without the good fortune of being rescued before they could add to the goblin's numbers. Goblin Slayer's reasoning made sense to her, but that didn't mean she particularly liked how he was approaching his potential partner.
"Do you think she is ready?" Guild Girl asked him, turning back to glance back at Priestess who was adjusting her robes carefully, the blush on her face faint but still visible at a distance.
"I don't know, but I intend to find out." Goblin Slayer answered.
"That's great!" Guild Girl cheerfully replied, happy with his answer for the time being. "Just be sure to be friendlier with her, okay? I don't want you to scare her off because you were being mean to her, and you don't want me to see you scare her off either."
Goblin Slayer groaned underneath Guild Girl's hostile gaze as she made her point clear. "I understand."
"Good, now don't keep Priestess waiting any longer." She said, ushering him back towards the shy blonde standing by the door.
The frail girl fell silent as he walked up to her, looking down in her eyes and deep into her soul in complete silence. The two of them stayed there, Priestess awkwardly waiting for Goblin Slayer to say something before passing by her. She let out a sigh of disappointment, thinking he refused her, until his gruff voice grabbed her full attention.
"Let's go." Goblin Slayer called out to her. "We have goblins to slay."
Priestess stood still in shock as she tried to process what he told her. "I thought you didn't want me to join you." She told him.
"Did I say that?" He asked her.
"N-no…"
"Do you want to be in a party together?"
"No! I-I mean, yes!" Priestess quickly stammered.
"Then let's go. We have work to do." Goblin Slayer said, holding the door open for.
"Okay, Goblin Slayer, sir." She replied, running out of the Guild Hall with as much enthusiasm as she entered. Goblin Slayer silently followed her, the door to the Adventurers Guild giving the few patrons inside who had been fortunate enough to witness the unexpected pair walk side by side to wherever their quest would take them.
"Shouldn't we wait for Commissar Cain and Gunner?" Priestess asked Goblin Slayer as they left Frontier Town.
"No. They received an urgent quest from someone yesterday along with a few other Silver ranked adventurers." He answered her.
"Oh, why didn't you join them?"
"The quest didn't say there would be any goblins." He told her, Priestess struggling to hold back a laugh at how childish his answer sounded.
That, of course, raised another question in Priestess' mind. "I thought they were in a party with you? Commissar made it sound like you two worked together before." She said.
"We were." He said. "I found him in a goblin nest on his first quest. The one he joined you for was his second."
Priestess waited for him to elaborate, but after walking side by side in silence for a couple of seconds, it was clear that Goblin Slayer had nothing else to say on the matter.
"Maybe we should ask Commissar Cain and Gunner if they would like to join us for a quest sometime." Priestess idly mused, wondering if the heroic looking man and his… interesting aide would accept the offer.
"Maybe we should." Goblin Slayer said in agreement, his unexpected answer causing Priestess to let out a yelp in surprise.
"Do you think he would form a party with us?" He asked her, looking to Priestess to see what she thought.
"I'm not sure, but that doesn't mean we can't ask him anyways." She offered, hoping Goblin Slayer would be the one to approach him.
"Is that so?"
O' Orky Boyz Finkin' 'bout Sum Krumpin'
Away frum da krumpin goin' on wit' da other boyz, dere wuz two gitz tryin' to fink' 'bout fings. Deze boyz wuz bof kommandoz, not da sma'test bunch o' gitz in dere WAAAGH!, but zoggin' gud when it cumz to krumpin' da 'umies when dey ain't 'xpectin' it. 'Cept, instead of bein' put wit' da other boyz who wuz lootin' and dakka'in da Commissar wit' da fancy hat, dey wuz watchin' da flank fo' anyfing sneaky-like.
"Ey, Biggas Choppa, wut does you fink da othas iz gunna do wit' da loot frum da 'umies dis time?" Da bigga Ork asked da smalla boy next to 'em. "Fink da Boss iz gunna let us git da gud stuff?
"No zoggin' way, Nazz Blasta, we'z ain't gettin' even a toof frum da 'umies theyz krumpin' dis tiem." Biggas Choppa said as 'e swung iz choppa at a few trees, smashin' da weak fings with eaze an' 'avin' a propa laugh 'bout it.
"WAAAAAAGH-T?!" Biggas roared. "Den why we 'ere when we culd be krumpin' sum 'umies wit' da other boyz? I gotta git summa da gud flashy bitz dis tiem!"
Nazz Blasta laffed at da stupid git nex' to 'im. "Yeh, 'n why don't yous tell da Boss 'hoo kan krump wot? Dat weird boy kan make yur 'ead al 'splodey liek da 'ardboyz 'hoo tried to leeve. E'd kill ya an' a coupla otha boyz 'hoo were too cloze tos ya when ya ask'n 'im."
"Dis ain't zoggin' rite." Biggas groaned. "We'z nevr shoulda left Ghazghkull after 'e almost got krumped 'gain by dat one 'umie wit' da-"
"Shut yur zoggin' mouth ya stupid git!" Naz whispa'd to 'is boy. "Dat 'umie mighta followed uz 'ere. 'Sidez, you know 'ow da otha boyz git when dey even see anotha 'umie drezed like Evul Eye."
"Yeh, dey go crazier den da grotz 'round 'ere." Biggas said, shiverin' at da thought o' dem creepy fings. "Dere sumthin wrong wit' dose snots. Dey jus' ain't orky like dey shuld be."
"Yeh, an' you can be da one to tell 'em to wurk for us 'gain if you 'ate Boss Brain Busta so much." Nazz laffed.
"Zog off." Biggas grumbled. "Dem snots iz da 'umies problem. Let 'em fight da grots wit' dere weaklins so's we can krump da fun 'umies in a propa waagh."
"If da boss let's uz…" Biggas kept on whinin' like a zoggin 'umie.
"Maybe we'll git lucky an-" Nazz suddenly stopped and pulled out his Dakkagun. "You 'ear dat?"
"All I herd iz dat we gotz sum'n to krump." Biggas swung iz choppa again, cummin' zoggin' close ta given' dere Painboy anotha victim.
"Me too." Nazz said.
Da two Orky boyz used dere stealfy colurz to dizappeer all sneaky-like, da two of dem movin' slowly to da sound dat dey 'eard. Dey wanted to run ova to da sound, but dey wuz real kunnin so's dey culd be brutal when dey found sumfin to krump. What dey found waitin' for 'em nearby was a 'umie, one wearin' blak wifout any 'air like da 'umies wit' da extra muscles 'ad. It wuz weird, but so's wuz 'umies. Da kommandos din't fink dat da 'umie wit' no 'air was weird. Dey jus' saw a 'umie dat needed a gud krumpin' an' dey 'ad a gud krumpin' to giv 'er.
Wit' botha da boyz droppin' dere camoflogs, dey bof shouted "WAAAGH!"an' charged da weak 'umie. Da 'ooman did sumfin weird, an' made 'er self all glowy, but dat wasn't da weird part. Da weird part 'appen'd when da' dakka frum Biggas' biggas dakkagun din't do nuffing to da 'umie. All da dakka jus' ran away frum 'er, makin' Biggas try to shoot moar dakka as da Orks charged.
Jus' when da boyz wuz 'bout to give 'er a gud krumpin, moar 'umies popped outta da trees to krump dem! Da kommandos culdn't do nuffin 'bout da weird 'umie, cos dere wuz four 'umies wit' tiny choppas tryin ta krump 'em to bitz. Da sneaky boyz got out sneaked, but dey wuzn't gunna let sum puny 'umies git ta winnin' jus 'cos dey wuz stealfier. Da 'umies wanted a foight, an' de boyz wuz 'appy to give 'em one.
Nazz took da 'umies dat were bigga 'cos 'e was da 'arda ork, an 'cos dey came to krump 'im first. 'Twas only propa dat 'e gave 'em da krumpin' thez wuz askin' for. Da boy tried to dakka 'em wit 'is dakkagun, but liek wit da otha 'umie, dese boyz dat wuz tryin' to krump 'im weren't gettin' krumped by da dakka.
Biggas swung iz choppa at da 'oomas he was fightin', da puny long 'aired girlies bof slidin' under da spinnin' teef of 'is axe. 'Cos da orky boy wuz big 'n 'ard, when da 'umies tried to krump 'im wit' dere tiny stabby sticks, da zogggin' fings din't even scratch 'is armur. Feelin like a right git lettin' sum 'umies scratch 'is paint, Biggas swatted 'em liek dose big bugs wit' da unchopy side o' 'is axe, smackin' 'em away. Da girlies din't get krumped, pro'lly 'cos o' da 'ard stuff dey wuz usin' but Biggas lieked dat. Dat jus' meant dese 'umies wuz gunna be fun to krump.
"Are you zoggin' me?!" Nazz yelled dat da humies dat were'nt gettin filled ful o' dakka. "How're dese gitz not gettin' dakka'd? Get zoggin' krump'd ya bludy gitz!"
"Everfing on dis planet iz weird." Biggas shouted az da boyz an' 'umies circled each otha. "But dat jus' means dey kan put on a gud WAAAGH!"
An' wif da final roar, da boyz charged dere 'umies one las' tiem to krump 'em gud o' start krumpin' wif Gork and Mork. Nazz swung iz dakkagun at da bigga 'umie, 'xpecting' to crush da bleedin' git wif liek dose bugz 'e lieked foightin' so much. Da 'umie swung 'is orky choppa stick at da dakka gun, an' da 'ooman's big choppa sliced clean fru da fing. Nazz culdn't do nuffin as da 'umie wif da long stabby stick tried to poke 'im wif da sharp end of da fing, stabbin' da orky boy in da neck wif it.
Nazz roared when da 'umie cracked 'is hard armur an tried to git da bludy blue git offa 'im. It only tuk one punch to git da 'umie offa 'im, but dat was one punch to late. Nazz never saw da bigga 'umie tryin' ta chopp iz legs off, but da boy knew jus' who krump'd iz legs an' made 'im luk liek a stupid grot 'cos of it.
As Nazz fell to da ground wif no legz, Biggas wuz bizzy wif da otha 'umies wif da 'ard stuf dat din't let 'im krump 'em. Da orky boy wuz laffin' as he kept on beatin' at da girlies wif 'iz biggas choppa, da spinny teef tearin' at dere 'ard stuff an' makin' a gud noize evry' tiem. Fings wuz goin' gud for Biggas, 'till da 'umie decided to be kunnin' but brutal.
Da 'umie wif da yelow 'air raizd 'er tiny choppa stick in da air an made it glow all shiny-like. Biggas saw da yellow 'n 'new sumfin big an' splodey wuz comin, so's he leaped at da 'umie to krump 'er so's 'e culd steal 'er 'splodey stuf. Dat wuz da last mistake Biggas made.
Da shiny 'umie wif 'er glowin' choppa stick pointed it at da orky boy, makin' a big shiny dakka fly at Biggas 'hoo culdn't do nuffin' 'but see if 'e wuz 'ard enuf. Da shiny dakka hit 'em in iz chest, 'splodin' a zoggin' big 'ole in da boyz chest day wuz big 'nuf for boffa da 'umies he was foitin' to crawl fru. Biggas wuz krumped 'fore 'e even 'it da ground, but dat din't stop da 'umie da krumped 'im frum choppin' off da gitz 'ead off to keep 'im krumped for gud.
Nazz saw 'iz boy git krumped by da 'umies, an knew 'e wuz gunna be krumped too. But dat din't mean 'e wuz gunna go down liek a zoggin' grot! Even wifout 'iz legs, 'e was still taler den da 'oomans dat wuz tryin' to krump 'im. Da 'umie wif da orky choppa stick tried to chop iz 'ead off, but da orky boy blocked da choppa wif 'iz arms. Dey were 'ard enuf to stop da choppa, keepin' da bigga 'umie in front of 'iz teef where 'e could be muched on.
Da boy tried to bite da 'umie, but 'stead got 'iz a coupla teef punched out for tryin'. Nazz howled at losin' sum of 'iz bigga teef and tried to pull 'imself to da 'umie dat broke 'iz mazive chompas. Da 'umie swung at one of 'iz arms 'gain, cuttin' dat one clean off, but got cot by da otha one. Wif dere bein' nuffin' da 'umie culd do to Nazz, da stupid git wa finkin' he culd crush da 'umie wif jus' one hand an' krump da othas when 'e wuz dun.
Nazz jus' started squezin' da 'umie when 'e felt sumfin tiklin' his 'ead. He din't fink 'bout it for a bit, but when da git lost 'iz eye, 'he dropped da big 'umie an tried to luk for da otha one dat blinded 'im.
"Aight ya zoggin' git! Who'z da 'umie dat wants a piece of Nazz Blasta?" Da las orky boy shouted, twistin' and turnin' to find out where da bleein' 'umie 'hoo wuz foightin' im wuz 'idin'.
Da git was gettin' tired now, nevr finkin' wif 'iz 'ead, an' still yellin' at da otha 'umies as he searched for da one wif da dakka dat wuz tryin' to krump 'im. "You fink yur 'ard enuf to foight me? I'll showz yu jus' how tuf I am… you… zoggin'..."
The ork never did get to finish his final cry of defiance, and collapsed to ground without ever realizing that Spearman had leaped onto his head and had been stabbing his weapon through the brutish xenos' skull for quite some time. The top of the ork's head had been completely covered with stab wounds by the time the beast finally succumbed to its injuries, allowing the victors of the battle a moment to recover from the random encounter.
Female Knight and Witch quickly ran to their partners in order to tend to their wounds. Spearman, flung into a nearby tree when his attempt to kill the smaller ork with a single strike failed, brushed off his partner's concern. He claimed that he was fine after being lucky enough to land on his feet, but happily accepted the stamina potion she offered him.
Heavy Warrior wasn't as fortunate, the large man needing the support of his partner and Retired Adventurer to stand back up. One miracle from the gods later, and he was at least able to walk on his own. The swordsman was still sporting a slight limp, but confidently brushed aside his party's concerns saying that a little rest was all he needed to recover.
With the fight over and their wounds mostly tended to, the party of five looked back to the two heavily armored corpses of the Orks Commissar had warned them about earlier. Heavy Warrior and Spearman were hesitant to approach the bodies, both of them having experienced just how resilient the brutish greenskins could be. Female Knight and Witch were slightly less cautious than their partners but even then, they were only willing to inspect the beheaded Ork. Retired Adventurer was the only one of them brave enough, or perhaps foolish enough, to come close enough to touch the bodies of the enormous monsters.
"Those are the biggest goblins I have ever seen." Retired Adventurer blurted out in amazement.
"Not goblins, Orks." Spearman corrected her. "I will eat my spear if these are the kinds of monsters Goblin Slayer fights every day."
"No wonder Commissar sounded so worried once he discovered who our 'bandits' were." Female knight said.
"We… were lucky." Witch purred as she walked over to the bisected dakkagun one of the fallen Orks had been using. "Deflect Missile… protected us from… the projectiles they… were using. I didn't know… if it would work."
"Forget about their weapons, did you see how many times I had to stab that ork until it finally died!" Spearman shouted.
"They might not be as tough as an Ogre, but they are just as much of a pain to kill as them. It's a good thing you guys had us with you when we found these two." He continued, his boasts doing little to endear him to the rest of his party, with the notable exception of Witch allowed a chuckle to escape her lips.
The other adventurers, although unwilling to let it show, did feel some relief that they faced only two of the giant greenskins. The taller of the two had been almost twice Heavy Warrior's size, the smaller one a head shorter, but no less ferocious. It was this latter thought that did not allow Heavy Warrior to bask in their victory with the others.
"Didn't Commissar say there was an army of these things in the forest?" He asked his party, causing each of the adventurers and lone guard to grimace at the thought of fighting hundred of those Orks at once.
"Oh shit." Spearman groaned.
"We have to get back to the governor's mansion." Retired Adventurer said. "We have to prepare our defenses there in case these monsters decide to attack the governor."
"What about Commissar? We can't just leave him out here with those things." Heavy Warrior countered, unwilling to leave.
Female Knight was about to tell her partner the likely fate that befell their newfound friend, none of them eager to be the ones to say what they all were certain to be true, but before she could speak an unexpected voice cut her off.
"I'll be fine, just worry about yourselves until you can regroup with the others. A few greenskins are nothing that Jurgen and I can't handle." The Commissar said, the once dormant comm-bead crackling to life and inspiring hope within his allies once more.
Author's Corner:
Gork 'n Mork, dat Orky bit wuz zoggin' awful to rite, but I fink dat's 'nuf o' dat, eh gitz?
*AHEM*
My apologies for my all-out assault on the English language and making this chapter an intermission instead of focusing solely on Cain's exploits, but I figured it would be nice to show some of the other character's perspective on things from time to time. I know I liked showing more than Cain's claims to greatness and Jurgen's idolization of the man…
One last thing, the next few chapters will likely be delayed thanks to a wonderful little thing called 'indefinite overtime'.
