So in this short chapter, the crew hashes out their problems...but what does their captain have in store, and does his project have anything to do with it? find out now! Also featuring Diyha's Quest...
Chapter 20
The family meeting
House of Wings- dining room...
At the dining table, four of the crew sat, awaiting their captain and Lucien to get there, three of them nervous for obvious reasons. Recorder at this point was getting antsy, groaning in frustration, "Where the hell is he? he's the one who called for this!"
"It's fine, my friend," Inigo cut in with, "I'm sure, he's just getting what he needs, he can take all the time in the world,"
Erik gave him a smug grin, "Yeah, I'm sure you're saying that now..."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Inigo snapped, ears going laying down.
"What it means "Spree shooter" is that even though he can take his time, this is still going down," The Nord retorted.
Inigo bared his teeth, ready to jump until Yuri slammed her hand down.
"Look, you two can have the biggest dick-measuring contest when it's over, for now, let's keep our cool," She growled, glaring at both of them.
Inigo shook his head, but sighed in defeat, "Whatever...seriously though, what's is taking them so long?"
Right as he said that, the door to the dining room opens, with Lucien stepping in, carrying a large case and sitting it down, nervous...
"Oh, it's just you Lucien," Yuriana sighed in relief, "So what's going on? is he coming?"
The imperial nodded, "Yeah he'll be in a few minutes, just finishing his shower now..."
"Ah, but why do you look nervous?" Erik asked, raising an eyebrow.
Lucien sighed deeply, "I have...no idea how this is going to go once he gets here, but it should be soon,"
After waiting for nearly twenty minutes, the door to the room clicks, and Traysek steps in with a neutral cold stare.
"And speak of the devil..." Recorder murmured, frowning at his wet hair, "You couldn't use a blow dryer first? or dragon fire?"
The Redguard gave her a look, "The hell's a "blowdryer?" if you're referring to why my hair's still wet, I want to get this over with," picking up the case Lucien sat down, "Thanks for bringing this in," before taking a seat at the table, laying the brief it in front of him, "So...I know a few of you have questions on why I've called for this meeting, some may not know but," cutting his eyes to Lucien, Inigo, and Yuriana, "I know most of you do..."
The three in question, looked away nervously, as Lucien let a cough out.
"Perhaps...we...should've been...more honest, about what uh...happened back there...with uh...Gnolls" Lucien said, not looking him in the eyes.
Traysek gave them a hard stare, sneering "Yeah...you definitely should've been...even gave you the chance to be..." in a growl, "But, me being me, I'm going to give all a chance to explain, how that all happened...and THIS time, no leaving anything out...because I know what I know, but I want your side of it..."
Inigo cleared his throat, "We...we were doing the contract, investigating what had been happening around there...which was the gruesome deaths of the panda people's animals..."
"Okay, so it was an investigation...please...continue," The captain urged.
"The first night we were there, staying at a residence we've been sent to...Before we could turn in for the night, I heard something from outside and when I got there, one of them was standing over the poor animal with a knife raised,"
The Redguard slowly nodded, "And that's what led you to shoot first, correct?"
"Y-yeah...it started off as a warning shot to the shoulder, I figured he would just take off and leave, but more showed up instead, and...that's when things escalated..."
"Since when's a warning shot ever been to the shoulder...?" Traysek facepalmed, turning to Lucien and Yuriana, "And let me guess, you two backed him up when more showed up, am I right?"
Yuriana nodded, "That's...correct, I was the second person out there fighting...at the time, we didn't know they were..."
"So your answer to that is to kill them all?" Recorder gasped, finally catching on.
"Again, none of us knew that they had their own culture, as we were concerned, they were a part of the black dogs," Lucien defended with, "Though we should've been more diplomatic in that approach, we still didn't know until later..."
"That still doesn't excuse the number of people they lost...that's no different than someone doing it to us!" Erik cut in.
Traysek held up a hand, stopping them from continuing, "So, more show up and you three fight them...did some try to get away?"
"Yeah...Inigo went after them, fought and beat this big one called Razzfang, who seemed to be leading the others..." The Redhead woman pointed.
Hearing all of that, The Redguard thought over all of it and put it together, "Okay...so what I have so far, is that, Inigo caught one of them out there about to commit the act and shot him, and more showed up to help the other guy and you all ended up fighting...killing over...how many again? twenty? thirty?"
"Thrity-five to forty, sir," Erik answered.
"Thank you, Erik," Traysek nodded, turning to them, "Thirty-five to forty...all for one animal, it would've been different if they were doing that to people opposed to an animal...that's not fucking fair, I would be LIVID if I was her, hell, she was when she caught up to me and Erik, you pissed them off that much...which brings me to the next topic..." narrowing his eyes, "Since you confirmed it already for me, that you fought Razzfang, you tried to shove a tracker into him?"
"It wasn't the first plan, but with how stubborn he was being, it was the last option we had at our disposal..." Lucien spoke.
"Right...so that's what they meant about that...godsdammit guys, never mind the fact you had killed up enough of them, but you tried to bug one of them like a collared animal and wonder why they growl at us...Genius! it really is!" he retorted sarcastically, "So what was this act of disrespect then? you trying to justify yourselves to them or something?"
Yuriana sighed, shaking her head, "No...Inigo stuck his chest out during the blood payment and got what he got..."
"Wait...really? you stuck your chest out in an "I can take it" kind of way...?" Traysek asked him darkly, "Inigo...that's disrespectful even where we come from...you should know from the bandits that have tried it...it didn't go well for them, why would you think it would for you?"
"I thought...if I showed them, I was willing to take it, it wouldn't make me a coward...that's what my aim was, not to say she was nothing..." Inigo pointed, with a sullen expression.
Traysek stared at him for a moment, facepalming after "By the gods, Ini..." coming out with a neutral stare "Okay, fine, maybe I get what you were trying to do there...maybe it WAS a show of fortitude, but everyone doesn't take it like that, and in some cultures, you would've ended up dead, you can't do that all time...I'm not saying we have to be politically correct about how we handle our businesses or turn you all into Milk-drinking pacifists," slamming his fist down, "But could you think for once?! before you shoot, THINK GODDAMMIT! we are NOT in Skyrim anymore where we have an established reputation, even then, the guards there still try it if they're having a bad enough day..." taking a deep breath, "The only reason they DON'T, is because I'm Dragonborn, with the connections of both the dark brotherhood and thieves guild under my belt...meaning I can either end them financially or in actuality...Here? We don't have that here...no guild to back us up, no kingdom to hide away in... our actions matter in this world, you go around acting like jackasses, that's how you're going to be treated...and if we are to make connections and friends, we aren't going to be able to do that, if we have to look over our shoulder because you made poor choices,"
Lucien gulped, nodding, "I can see your point there...it pays to have more friends than enemies..."
"Always! That's never been the other way around..." The Redguard pointed, "Can I get your assurances, that this will never happen again..?" in a dark growl.
The three gulped and nodded.
"Y-yeah, I'm really sorry, we were out of pocket there..." Inigo nervously apologized.
"Of course, boss, we'll...be more careful than how we've...been..." Yuriana said, rubbing her neck.
Lucien sat a large folder down, "Not to worry sir, I've taken the time to study on the tribes outside of here...compiled them into notes to avoid any more tragedies like this..." sliding it to him.
He took the folder and scanned, "Not too bad there Lucien, I'll make copies of these when I can..." turning to the others, "I accept your apologies, only because you didn't mess it up to bad, I have to go back to the desert one of these days for a blood pact, but when I do, I'll go alone to keep tensions down...after I fix things between us with the Gnolls, you fuck up after that? you're on your own, am I clear?"
Outside, two Dark Blades were leaning on the wall, listening to what saw said.
"Who gave the order?" one of the two asked.
"A member of the council." the second one answered, "He wanted some sort of proof that humans are scumbags."
"Are we going to give it to them?" the first one asked.
"Not until we get the approval of the General." the second one replied as she was writing on a scroll, "Let's move."
And the two disappeared like they weren't there.
"Y-yeah, I got it," Inigo answered, eyes drooping.
"No complaints from me," Lucien chimed in.
"Of course, boss," Yuriana added with a sigh, "Don't mess up with the Gnolls again, or any other tribe, got it..."
Traysek took a deep breath, "Now, with that settled, time for the other half of the meeting" Reaching for the case, "Since we've been here for a while, and we're going up against Gods knows what in the future, I thought it was time we stepped up our hardware," opening it up, revealing flintlocks and what set them apart from ordinary flintlocks, was the materials they were made from...the metal from their world, Steel, glass, ebony, dwarven, Stalrhim, Daedric, and lastly Dragonbone.
He laid two of each on the table, the Crew marveling at the new hardware.
"By the nine, I'm liking how the Daedric looks," Yuriana said, picking it up, and inspecting it "And a bit heavier than the other guns, but not unmanageable," aiming down the sights at the air.
Traysek nodded, "And because of your...Mistakes earlier, we created plenty of non-lethal rounds as we did Lethal," giving Lucien a nod.
The imperial sat a large bag on the table, opening it, the ammunition inside neatly packed, pulling out a green glowing round.
"This is a calming round, best for stopping attackers, no matter how angry, as you can imagine, it's non-lethal," Lucien explained, before pulling up a firey crimson round, "Daedric rounds, fires off in a slicing energy wave...completely lethal," reaching down, grabbing a strange dart, showing it off, "Paralytic poison rounds, from the name alone, you can imagine what it does, paralyzes your target with a shot, the best part is that they last longer than a paralysis spell, meaning, the assailant shot with this will be down for more than ten minutes," putting it away.
Next came up a gold glowing bullet, "My personal favorite, the healing pellets, simple enough, shoot them at allies and it'll heal them up, infused from the boss's and mine restoration magic...should prove more than useful in case we can't use our own magic," going for the next round, going for baby purple round, "These are sleeping rounds, which I don't need to explain what that'll do, long as you use only ONE round, they won't sleep forever...they'll be out for a good six hours before they wake up with a headache," he chuckled, putting it away,
He grabbed one more and this one had a soul gem tip, "Soul bullets, very lethal, and work like soul trap if the target dies, I'm sure I don't have to explain that," with a chuckle, nervously putting it away, "The rest are pretty simple, elementals like fire, ice, and lighting have been made into rounds, as well as the standard bullets...there are more, but we lack the materials to make those,"
The others nodded, Yuri putting the gun back on the table with a sigh.
"So...do they function like the other flintlocks? One shot only?" She asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Not exactly," Traysek began with, grabbing the dragon bone pistol, and popping it open from the barrel, revealing a chamber, "Unlike traditional flintlocks these were custom-made throughout, instead of one shot, it's five before your next reload, and even that has been made simplified, we don't need black powder to reload these, they can operate without, just keep it clean and it won't jam up on you..." closing it with a loud click and sitting it back down on the table.
Inigo nodded in agreement, "I see, so they're very unique, it's no bow, but I could use one of these," with a grin, "Whose getting what style though?"
The Redguard laughed, "Well, that's why I made plenty of models, I wanted that choice to go to you, but be warned, once you make your choice, if you want another one, you're making it yourself, we left the books to do it in the cellar at the station, I urge you all to read it, so you'll know how to care for them, I don't want to have to do for you,"
"And because I helped make them, I was told I get first pick," Lucien added in, standing up and heading to the guns, choosing both of the Dwemer models, "I think I'm going to love these..." with a grin.
Traysek grinned, turning to the others, "Go ahead and choose, just understand that I've already claimed the Dragonbone and Daedric, why's it one of each on those, other than that, have at it,"
And the crew did just that, going for the choices of guns they wanted, Recorder being next in choosing steel and ebony.
"I think I made my choice, but what about rifles?" She asked with a confused expression.
"There's a way to craft those too, but for now, I want to see how we all do with the smaller arms before we move on to that, and if these prove more effective than our last hardware Then I'll make them, along with the blunderbusses," The Redguard explained.
Yuriana rose an eyebrow, "Wait...you can make a blunderbuss? I WANT a blunderbuss,"
"I'm sure you do, but once again, and for now, these are the only guns we're making, so choose," Traysek deadpanned.
She made her choice, taking only one Stalhrim pistol, before going back to her seat.
"A little lighter than the Daedric flintlock, I think I can use this just fine..." Yuri grinned, putting it away.
Inigo made his choice, taking the other of ebony flintlock, "Not usually my style, I'll take one for now, give it a try, thank you, my friend!"
Erik struggled over what to choose, going for the between Stalhrim and Orcish, before Traysek stopped him.
"Actually, Erik, I made something specifically for you..." he told him, reaching into a haven bag, and coming out with what looked look like two Dawnguard axes, "I know you feel about guns in general and managed to do a hybrid between that and your favorite kind of weapon," with a warm smile, "I figured you deserved a reward of your own after how you conducted yourself, enjoy them, the axe blades are still sturdy and lethal enough to do damage,"
Like receiving a Christmas present, Erik took the gun axes with glee, "By the nine, I...don't know what to say...thank you, sir!"
"Don't mention it, thank you for letting me handle it back there," Traysek nodded, turning to the others, "So with the new gear, given that we have PLENTY of non-lethal ammo, we'll start arming ourselves accordingly for now...if the danger is low, we go as such, if not...it depends...that'll help with keeping conflicts to a minimum...not saying that shit doesn't happen, but it's even greater chance than just winging it on equipment...but before then, I suggest you practice with your new toys, we have plenty of practice ammo, so you'll have enough time to get a good enough grasp with them..." he finished with a sigh, "Any further questions?"
The crew said nothing, confirming their agreement with it.
"Good, then meeting adjourned," Traysek concluded with a grin, yawning, "Now if you all excuse me, I'm going to bed, we spent hours working on this and my fatigue is finally settling in...so I bid you all good night," before getting up and leaving the table, exiting the dining room.
Once he left them in there, the rest of the crew all stood up, stretching.
"Well, that meeting didn't go so bad, even though we got chewed out, still got new toys to try," Inigo chuckled, holstering them, "Standing up, I'm going to that cafe' you guys talked about...for the food...yeah,"
Yuriana rolled her eyes, "Inigo it's obvious your going because of the maids there, we're not stupid, just don't get arrested,"
After that, he got up and left the room, closing the door behind him. Once Inigo left, the others soon followed out, going...wherever they were going, be it in the house or outside...
Greil worked in his office until the two Dark Blades entered.
"Sir, someone asked us to spy on the outsiders to see if they can't use them to kick the humans out." one of them said.
Greil sighed before replying with, "I feel like I know who..." he then took the scroll and read it, "I see..." he then burned it before adding, "Don't give him anything, just say that there was nothing."
The two Dark Elves assassins nodded before exiting the room.
"General Greil!" his calling stone illuminated as Mayek spoke, "We arrested a group of mercenaries that tried to take a child away from the village."
"Which one?" Greil asked with a concerned voice.
"The child of the Blacksmith," Mayek answered.
"I see..." Greil closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Execute them, if we let them go, we may end up with more troubles."
"The mayor said that they should be executed publicly to appease some villagers." Mayek pointed.
"Just do it mercifully." Greil sighed, "We must keep in mind that we shouldn't demonstrate monstrosity toward our enemies, that we are the most human ones."
"Yes sir!" he then cut the transmission.
"What are you planning?" he mumbled before taking an empty scroll, "I need to send these to Swain, he needs to know about the Dogs' recent moves."
Back at the house...
In the master bedroom, Traysek went over the notes Lucien had compiled before yawning again, getting up from the desk and flopping into the bed, closing his eyes, and was soon out, with light snores.
...
He opened his eyes and found himself in some sort of plain that has a lot of bones and rotting plants.
Traysek furrowed his brow, sitting up, glancing around, "What kind of dream is this...? and why is it so...clear? like I'm actually here?" noting the bones and rotting plants, 'hmm...skulls, bones, and the plants are rotting away...there's a strange feeling of death here too...just what is this place? seems like the one Endra was talking about, if this is the plane of the dead, then I'm actually here...but how? last thing I remember was going to sleep back at the house...did someone pull me here?' standing up, getting a feel of his surroundings, until...
"How could you...how could you do this to me...? killing me at my wedding...Murderer!" a familiar, but angry female voice ran out, putting him on edge.
"Wait...was that...? No that's impossible, that sounded like Vici, but..." Traysenk paused, looking around, "I don't see her around, weird..."
A strange shadow took the form of the emperor's cousin, as well as other shadowy forms began to appear.
"You ruined everything! I was close to being the greatest necromancer in Nirn, and you took that away from me, over THAT girl!" this time a man's angry voice came out, revealing a bald man in black mage robes.
'Jack the mad...I'm actually glad I killed you...what tried to do to Yuri and the rest of the girls was sick, I'm surprised your here and not in hell...' Traysek mused, as more of the shadows appeared.
"I believed in you, worshipped you, only for you to abandon me!" another voice, more depressed than angry, revealing it to be one of his soldiers in blades armor.
"Pirate bastard! I hope Volt flays your treacherous ass!" this one belonging to a black dog.
Soon, Traysek found himself trapped between them, the insults becoming more hurtful and vicious as they closed in.
"First You murdered my son, now me? I hate you, you bastard! death to you and your guild of killers! " turning into commander moro.
"I was close to becoming the richest man of the thieves guild, and you got in my way, curse you, curse you forever more you dragon bastard!"
Another shadow became Astrid, "My family and I would still be alive today if it wasn't for you, all you had to do was DIE! Was that too hard to ask?"
The Redguard tried to back away as they inched closer, getting grabbed from behind, the shadows turning out to be his past crew.
"Those elves tortured us and you just sat there, as we died one by one...you can't save anyone, not your new friends, not even yourself!"he heard the one behind him say, turning out to be an old friend.
As they inched closer and closer, one of the shadows grabbed him by the face and held him to it.
"You let us die... Both me and...your unborn child, I thought you loved us, why...?" making his eyes go wide when he heard who, becoming someone he KNEW was long gone...his old captain and lover...
"By the nine, what is...this?" Traysek uttered, trying to swallow the feeling of dread until he remember something, 'That's right, Endra mentioned something about this...I think this is THAT place because I can hear a mix of people that I knew before they died...good and bad...'
"We could've ruled Nirn together as the two Dovahkiin of legend, but you chose to serve the Joor, how's that working out for you, now?" The last appears to be Mirrak, in full mask form.
However, with the phantoms closing in and him locked in place, all he could do was watch as the vengeful dead, made their way to him, intent on making him pay for killing them, some looking as gruesome as he left them...
They were getting closer and closer until...
"What an interesting amount of apparitions." a cold, metallic, and dead voice said as the phantoms stopped their march, "Some deserving to die, others no."
Traysek reopened his eyes to find the phantoms unmoving, him now able to while frowning at the voice, "Wait...that's not a voice I recognize..." Looking around, 'I don't see any more phantoms appearing...' as he scanned around, "Is someone...there?"
"You claim to be a hero, but your past actions are saying the opposite." green energy formed a skeletal being with four arms and wearing a purple robe with sick decaying gold ornaments.
"I am the God of Death, and I have to say, Dragonborn Traysek... you ruined quite an amount of lives as I can see." a book flew to him and opened on a page, "All those people that you killed, and that were innocent."
Traysek blinked twice, looking over the page, nearly going pale when he saw the names...those of his enemies, his past targets, and those that he had let down or couldn't save...they were all there...he didn't know what to make of it, but one thing's for certain...there was no lie that he could tell here, not with everything on the page, especially those he had slain during his darkest time...
With his eyes shadowed over, "I know the things I've done, I never ran from that fact, who could with a count this high?" looking around, before a small smile appeared, "It's...strange this, I've never been actually held accountable for these...not even during my days as a brotherhood member...do I feel regret for some? I do...but many others I don't feel anything for them...they were vile, twisted, cruel or just evil..." glancing at the shade of Mirrak, before back to the mysterious figure, "Was I to let THEM live? to continue hurting, killing or enslaving others? I couldn't..."
"I do agree that some deserved to die... as it was their fate to be slain since their actions meant the overflown of the world of the dead ones." the creature then turned to a shadow in the form of Gaius Maro, "But others, regulated the flow of the dead by making sure that only those that enjoy killing would die and go to the world of the dead." he then looked at Traysek in the eyes, "Who can promise me that you won't do the same here? How can I be sure that you won't go on a rampage?"
The Redguard actually thought on this, he had gone nuts a couple of times, the storehouse being an indication and how he started it off, then nearly on Mayek for the destruction of that village, he then remembered the Earthmother's warning to him, nodding, "I can see where your concern is...with my power, that's not hard to accomplish..." sighing after "Ever since the last assassination I did, that being the emperor... I've had a different perspective on the act itself...I don't relish in killing...not unless they've got it coming, I don't plan on changing that..." his eyes turning serious, "But these black dogs and their conspirators? they've got it coming and I think we both know that,"
"There's still one problem..." Multiple shadows appeared from the ground and took the form of Gnolls, "They weren't destined to die at that time, and yet here they are." another book flew to Traysek and opened on a specific page, "This led to a change in your friend's destiny."
The page showed an armored figure holding the head of a decapitated Lucien, which made him pale completely, regaining a calming breath...
'By the nine...is this...really going to happen to him...?' Traysek gasped mentally, in a cold sweat "I knew them doing this had consequences...by the gods, there's no way to avoid this, is it?" eyes going darkening.
"This is what destiny choose, and it can't be changed." the book closed are returned to the bone creature, "However, if you could show that you're not going to upset the balance between life and death, my sister can change it if she's satisfied with the result."
Traysek took a breath, looking up at the creature, "I see...So in order to change this fate, you don't want me being a hired blade to an innocent life, any of us," nodding, "I think we can come to an agreement, as I said, I've don't relish in senseless murder...assuming we'd ever start THAT guild here and I could, as the listener, we'd still go after more dangerous criminals and prices would be high in a range between noble and common people, that way folks wouldn't use us to hurt each other..." The smile returned, "But since we're not, I'll just give you my word that we'll keep our blades away from those undeserving,"
The creature went through some pages before saying, "It would prove to be fruitless as there's a group that exists there that commits murder to aid others, and they don't spill innocent blood unless I agree with the god of murder that came from another world. While I don't offer my blessing since it comes from him, I do offer them my wisdom. You, on the other hand, will have no help from a deity of this world. My younger sister, the one you call Earthmother, won't offer you her help. And even then, none of those that control the city will accept it except for one person." he closed the book before saying, "Let's see if you can adapt yourself to this new world with its own order." then a sick blueish green mist ate Traysek.
Back at the house
Traysek woke up in cold sweat, sitting, and rubbing his head, 'The hell? what kind of dream was that? felt like I was there...' Then it came back to him in flashes, his meeting with the death god and those he had slain, both guilty and innocent, 'No...that wasn't a dream...I was there, but how? I didn't even feel myself leave the plane...' finding himself to be sweating, "Hmm...adapt myself to this world huh?" looking out the window, "Easier said than done..."
Swain's estate...
Swain looked at some papers as Dihya was sitting in front of him.
"You know that you may not survive," he warned.
"If I need to go beyond this... this state that I fell in, I must do this," Dihya replied with a down tone.
"This kind of travel to the inner self is too much to handle," Swain warned again.
"And I'm ready to face whatever's in the deepest part of my soul," Dihya responded.
Swain sighed before getting up and moving toward her, "I won't be able to help you once there."
"I know..." Dihya's tone showed all the determination needed.
Swain sighed before putting a hand on her head, "Good luck." he mumbled as he activated some sort of magic that got the Redguard woman unconscious, "I wish you luck to survive whatever will be there... in your soul..."
...
Dihya awoke on top of solid ground. When she got up on her feet, she noticed that the ground was part of a group of flying castles that were connected by stone bridges.
"Now... to fight what resides deep in my soul..." she walked forward, looking around and on guard.
Near the village of Ulak, a group of Dark Elves priestesses exited a temple, one of them turned around, "Make sure to close the door when you get out, Keelia."
"Yeeees." a young woman that has orc skin, violet eyes, and teeth that are sharper replied as she was tiding a group of books.
...
Not too far, Bruk'Daz exited the inn with the company of the village chieftain.
"We produced more than last time." she beamed as she held the Orc's arm.
"This means that the statue is doing its work, now we need to do our work," Bruk'Daz replied.
"That's a crude way to point it." the chieftain smirked, "But you're the type who's honest to the core, aren't you?"
It came to a halt when they saw hooded strangers.
"Well well~ didn't think we'd catch both of you out here...two people want to hurt the most..." the lead hood chuckled, taking his down, revealing it to be the merc that attacked him before, "You didn't really think we wouldn't pay you back for the stunt at the bar, did you?"
As more hooded mercs showed up, surrounded them with their weapons out.
"This time, we're fucking you up, got a few new toys ourselves..." The leader said, pulling out a strange-looking spear, "Get him, boys!"
"This is tiresome." the Orc's markings began to glow as he evaded one merc and broke his arm before taking the weapon and plunging it in his head. The second one, had a mace and tried to hit him in the head, only to have a sword plunged in the neck, "It seems that you'll never learn."
The other thugs pulled out crossbows and began firing at him, some firing three at a time, as more of the dogs rushed at the orc with bloodlust in their eyes.
The leader sat back, smirking as his spear built up purple lightning, 'any minute now...'
"My curse makes that I can go on a rampage while risking a little by going beyond mortal boundaries," Bruk'Daz said as he evaded the bolts that were thrown at him. He spun once, cutting the throat of five mercs before taking the mace and smashing the head of three with a good swing before throwing it at the head of one of the crossbow users before doing his best to avoid the other bolts.
The leader noticed the number dropping, 'Hmm, those boys need to hurry up, or he'll catch on!' before charging the spear to its full strength, "it's almost time to wrap this up," slowly advancing to him, oddly confident.
Noticing the strange aura around the merc, Bruk'Daz narrowed his eyes and took a sword that he threw at him.
The lead merc quickly dodged the blow, ducking and going for a charge and leap, seemingly going for his head, "Let's see how you deal with this!" feigning the blow and slammed it into the ground, causing a violent blast of gravity to strike down harshly, nearly rendering the orc to his knees, followed by the second one that did send him on them, before the final one seen from outside of the village, struck down last with a loud thundering boom.
At the temple, Keelia exited the place and closed the door while humming. she then began heading toward the village until she noticed the bushes move.
"Is someone here?" she asked as she narrowed her eyes, after a moment a squirrel exited the bush, "It was just a cut animal, what was I thinking?" she sighed not noticing the large shadow behind her.
"What's a pretty little thing like you doing all alone~? why not talk to us for a bit...?" A gruff voice behind her whispered.
More mercenaries began to surround the poor girl, chuckling while staring their lusts into her, making her shiver.
"She's a cutie for an orc, ain't she?" another said, "No wonder that chieftain's been looking for you, why don't you come with us, sweetie~ I promise we won't hurt you,"
The other thugs snickering, some licking their lips...
"S-S-Stay away from me!" she summoned a dreamcatcher with a burst of fire, "I-If you get close I'm going to hurt you!"
The mercs seemed to back up, before the lead of the group stepped forward with a grin, "Oh what's that? Your little baby toy?" getting cackles from the group, "Here's how this is going to go, you can do this the easy way, or...you can do this the hard way, which is my favorite...please do, I love a good struggle" with a dark smirk.
At this point, they were starting to salivate, like actual dogs over a gourmet meal...
"I want to touch those ample legs of yours," Another merc chimed, fatter than the others.
The Half-Orc waited for the right moment before exploding the head merc with a burst of fire from within.
The other mercs freaked out, backing away...
"Holy shit!"
"She blew him apart!"
"This orc bitch knows magic?!"
This shock between them was all she needed before she broke off into a run.
"She's getting away, get her!" she heard one of them shout.
And the chase was on, the dogs whooping, howling, and cackling as the young girl fled for her life from them into the forest.
She ran until someone caught her by the neck.
"You can't do anything without me, huh?" when she looked down she saw a smirking Volt, "Hello there, little lady, but we're going to use you to get the orcs on our side. Thank you very much for accepting to help us."
The young orc struggled under his grip, "I-I didn't agree to anything! Let me go!"
"This is why it takes a real man to deal with this." Volt sighed before putting a runic collar on the Half-Orc's neck, "Now, let's go meet your new king." Volt smirked as he was dragging the girl behind him.
She tried to struggle and stop him from pulling her, "N-no! Stop! Let me go, father, FATHER!" as she was dragged into the darkness with the dog leader...
The Orc warrior caught the spear as his eyes turned pure blood red and yanked the weapon so violently that the arms were ripped off.
"AAAAHHHHH! MY ARMS!" the leader screamed, backing away and ending up on the ground, with blood shooting from the stubs, "Teach this fucker a lesson!" going into shock.
The mercs all jumped him even more viciously, going for the kill with bloodlust in their eyes, unbeknownst to the danger before them...
As the weapons were about to make contact with his skin, he roared, emitting a wave that threw the assailant away. He swiftly plunged the spear in one's head before moving to the other one. A third one got up, only to have the spear going through his head, upon seeing this, the fourth tried to slash the back of the Orc, only to see the wound healing rapidly. The Orc turned the pulled the beating heart out of his chest before throwing it in front of the unit leader.
The armless man looked at the heart, before sighing in defeat, laughing as the orc neared him, "Heh...it's not like I didn't expect this...but, we still won in the end..." giving him a bloody smile, "You'll never see your little girl again...the next...time you do...she'll be...under Xunaakt's arms...might even let us have a go, who can say, right?"
Bruk'Daz plunged his hand into the merc's neck before pulling both the throat and the tongue.
"Keelia..." he mumbled before roaring with all of his lungs.
To be continued...
So into another Arc we go, no Omake this time, I'm trying to keep these chapters apart so I don't wear them out, they'll either be there or not, depending on the ending of the chapters...that said, stay tuned, part one of orc's daughter is coming sooner than usual... also since I didn't get any recommendations, I'm just having DB wing it...with a cast this large (And still growing) it's getting harder and harder for a pairing...who knows?
Stay safe and may the gods watch over your stories... :)