Ash sat off to the side as Lukon and Alyana helped the recently arrived Fellowship forces secure the surviving slavers and start aiding the prisoners he had helped rescue. Thankfully it seemed there wasn't much, if any, abuse of them, though that was likely more a combination of not wanting to damage the merchandise and a focus on getting away from Fellowship's territory than any actual decency on their part.

Ash wasn't really seeing the proceedings, though, simply staring at his hands, which he hadn't been able to clean beyond a quick wipe with a cloth he'd been given while his shoulder wound was being tended to. The red on them kept his entire attention as his mind kept replaying the way that slaver had died, choking and struggling on the ground for what seemed like forever before he'd finally expired, drowning as his lungs filled with his own blood.

His pokemon were gathered around him, unable to hide their concern as they did their best to comfort him. Pikachu rested on his best friend's shoulder, nuzzling his cheek with his own, while Snivy sat on his other shoulder caressing the hair on the side of his head. Quilava was curled up on his lap, her warm body resting against his body to try to offer some comfort, while Lycanroc rested his head on his knee, whining softly. Totodile sat at his feet, resting his head against his shin, leaving Heracross behind his trainer, gently running his claws along the human's beck in an effort to soothe him.

Alyana observed all of this with concern. It wasn't hard to figure out that this was Ash's first kill, or at the least the first one done with his own hands, and considering what she knew of him it had to be hitting him hard.

"From what he has told us, his world seems to be much more peaceful in general than ours." She turned to see her master standing behind her, having evidently finished his conversation with the leader of the Fellowship soldiers that had come to assist them, the drow woman now busy preparing to transport both the prisoners and the rescued civilians, who had been given clothes and a meal.

"At the very least, lethal conflict between people is uncommon, and most don't need to learn combat skills for anything other than sport and exercise." He continued, large arms crossed as he gazed at Ash as the boy continued to contemplate his red hands.

"And if for some reason there is conflict, they usually have pokemon to assist them." Alyana finished for him as she turned back to the human and his friends. Biting her lip she glanced up at the orc, who nodded, and nodded back before beginning to make her way over to the group.

She slowed briefly as one of Pikachu's dark eyes focused on her, but it wasn't just wariness that prompted the pause. She was considering what to do in this situation in order to help pull Ash out of whatever mindset he'd fallen into.

Seeing how he was continuing to stare at his red hands she pulled a cloth out of one of her pouches before wetting it with her waterskin. Then she resumed her approach, watching as Pikachu said something to his fellow pokemon, prompting those that needed to to get out of her way. Not that Ash seemed to really notice, focused as he still was with his bloodied hands.

Alyana slowly knelt in front of him before gently taking one of his hands in hers and beginning to wipe the blood away with the wet cloth. The action reminded her of doing something similar for her younger brother decades ago, when he'd fallen and scraped his hands while they were playing. This wasn't quite so simple or innocent, unfortunately.

Her actions got Ash to react, finally drawing his gaze from his hands as he lifted his head to look at her. He didn't say anything, however, which the elf didn't mind. It gave her a chance to day something that needed to be said.

"I know it might be scant comfort, but you did what you had to." She said in a gentle, soothing tone born of being a big sister for longer than the boy's mother had been alive. "When the only choice you have is kill or be killed, there is no shame in choosing the former. Particularly in circumstances like those, where the other person is an evil man, and your death would have resulted in innocent people being harmed."

Ash was silent for several moments as she continued gently cleaning his hands, switching from one to the other once she was satisfied she'd gotten all the red off. Finally he spoke. "Part of me knows that. I've been in enough life threatening situations against evil people, some of whom have died, some of those because of something I did. But it was never…" He trailed off, apparently having trouble articulating further.

Alyana nodded as she finished her cleaning, setting the now red cloth aside to be dealt with later as she took both his hands in hers. "You're a good person, Ash. The fact that you're reacting this way says as much. Just don't lose yourself in it. This world isn't as kind as yours appears to be. This probably won't be the last time you will end up having to do something similar as you search for a way home."

Ash closed his eyes before taking a deep breath and nodding firmly. They both knew this talk simply resolved the issue, and that Ash would be dealing with the repercussions of this day for a while, but it was a start. Alyana smiled gently and gave his hands a squeeze before standing up and leaving him to the comfort of his friends.

Ash was better by the time the small caravan of Fellowship forces, citizens and prisoners reached the city itself some days later. He'd had time to come to terms with what had happened, at least somewhat, something that had been helped by talking to the people he'd helped rescue. They had all been very appreciative, glad that such a capable group of adventurers had shown up to stop the slavers.

Ash hadn't really considered himself an adventurer like Lukon and Alyana, but after a bit of discussion with them he'd decided that the way he'd lived his life on the road was close enough in enough ways that it wasn't an incorrect descriptor.

During the trip he had begun keeping his pokemon out of their balls almost all the time, both for the protection of the group, and the enjoyment of the children among the former captives. The kids were fascinated by the, to them, strange creatures, and the pokemon were more than happy to keep them entertained once Lukon assured the adults and the soldiers that it was safe.

Quilava and Snivy were popular amongst the younger girls, receiving pets and what small treats the children had access to, much to the satisfaction of Snivy in particular.

Lycanroc and Pikachu had the boys' attention, particularly when they saw the two sparring once. The ability to launch electricity in massive blasts that left Alyana pouting at the sheer firepower displayed added a lot to the coolness factor of even a cute and harmless looking rodent, which was something Ash well knew.

Totodile was simply popular with everyone, his upbeat attitude and joyous dancing attracting all sorts of attention, while Heracross was of great interest to the martial set of the group, especially once he began sparring with anyone interested in doing so.

Speaking of training and sparring, Ash had eventually approached Lukon about needing to learn how to fight for himself, being well aware that he'd gotten lucky in that cave. He'd been given one of the swords that had been taken from the slavers before the orc had begun showing him a few forms, promising he'd find him a dedicated trainer once they reached their destination.

Along with the sword Ash had been given some of the money that had been looted from said slavers, Lukon knowing the teen had no local currency to help him get by on his own. It was a total of about ten gold, twenty three silver and seventeen copper. He wasn't rich by any means, but it should last him a bit if he was careful. Of course, with that came a lesson in expected prices for goods, to keep him from being swindled.

Eventually, however, they reached their destination, and Ash paused with Lukon, Alyana and his pokemon atop a small hill to take it in.

"Welcome to Fellowship, Ash Ketchum. May you ever find peace and sanctuary within its walls." Lukon stated with an air ritual to the words while his face showed a smile as he watched Ash take in the sight of the city.

Fellowship was bigger than he was expecting, the large, sturdy walls set in a semicircle set against the sheer face of a very large cliff that towered over even the tallest buildings. The farthest point of the walls seemed to be at least a mile from the cliff, if not more, leaving a lot of room within them for the city to grow. Despite that it seemed to be densely packed with eclectic architecture, and there was additional sprawl outside of the walls, seeming to become more rural the farther out it became.

Catching the eye almost as much, however, was the large cave entrance set in the cliff face, at a central point between the walls. From talking to Lukon and Alyana, not to mention the rest of the Fellowship forces, Ash understood that to be the entrance to Fellowship's 'Nightside', which was where the races more acclimated to darkness, such as the drow and duergar, made their homes. It was apparently just as large and sprawling as the 'Lightside', and the large doors that currently stood open indicated it could serve as a shelter for the citizens when needed.

He was drawn out of his thoughts when Alyana clapped him on the back with a smile on her pretty face. "Come on, let's get moving. I could do with a nice hot bath and a warm meal." She said, more than a bit of eagerness in her voice.

Ash smiled in return and nodded before beginning to follow the rest of the group, definitely looking forward to both of those things. He may be used to roughing it, but some basic amenities rarely went amiss. Not to mention that he should hopefully be pointed in the direction of a way home once he visited the temple of Selûne.

As they approached the gates of the city Ash returned his pokemon, deciding it was best not to take any chances that the guards might react badly. Lukon and Alyana had told him about how many rangers had animal companions, which were rarely barred from cities or settlements, but considering that he had the only pokemon in this world, as far as he was aware, at least, he figured they might not be as accommodating as they would be for something more familiar.

Ash watched as the prisoners were taken away to the local jail while the slavers' former captives were led to the local temple of Raei, which from what he understood served as a sort of hospital, since many of the clerics of that goddess focused on healing others. Once those higher priorities were dealt with Lukon led the way into the city passed the guards, who nodded to the orc respectfully.

"We'll be staying at the home of one of my sisters, Moleri." The orc told Ash as he led the curious young man through the streets of Fellowship while he and Pikachu looked around with interest, taking in the clean streets and large variety of interesting looking races living and working around them.

Ash nodded in understanding, dredging up what Lukon had told him about his family, since it was going to be relevant now.

Lukon's grandfather had been the leader of the original orc founders of Fellowship, the Ok'ul clan having originally joined the endeavor to act as the main part of the security forces. Even now, most of the city's guards and soldiers were descended from those original orcs, even if not all of them were pureblooded, interbreeding being more widely accepted in Fellowship than in most other places.

Lukon had six siblings between his own mother and two stepmothers, as the chiefs of his clan were polygamous by clan tradition. Lukon had joked that his father often lamented that he would have preferred just the one wife rather than being outnumbered and henpecked, but he could tell the older man did love his wives.

Lukon and his eldest sister were the only two pureblooded orcs, his father's other wives being an elf and a tiefling, and said eldest sister had been the sibling chosen to take their father's seat on the council, which he'd inherited from his own father, once he retired, though Lukon himself would eventually be chief. Lukon had a brother and two other sisters by his tiefling stepmother, while his last, half-elven sibling was the one they were going to be staying with. He apparently also had five nieces and nephews so far.

Ash had asked why Lukon was going to be chief of the clan even though his sister, Gelra, was going to be the representative on the council, and had been told it was simply because his clan was patriarchal, and no matter how much things may have changed since Fellowship was founded, clan traditions such as those were slow to do so. Though apparently Gelra wasn't complaining at all, not wanting to deal with the dual roles of clan chief and council representative like their father did anyway, which Ash imagined was fair enough. Just one of those positions sounded like a lot of work, considering how much both the city and the clan had apparently grown over the years.

Eventually they reached a modest but very nice house near the market district. Charms and decorations hung from the open windows, shining in the light of the noonday sun, and the scent of a cooking meal wafted out invitingly. There was a small yard off to the side, with a small herb garden on one side and a well worn training dummy on the other. If Ash needed to describe the two story home, it would be 'cozy'.

He stood back as Lukon knocked on the door, scratching Pikachu's ear as he waited and tried to ignore how his stomach was growling. Breakfast had been a simple affair of some trail rations, and had been a while ago, so the smells coming from inside were having an effect. He could see that Alyana was biting her lip as she 'subtly' sniffed the air, mind obviously in the same place.

Eventually the door opened, and a pretty woman appeared in the doorway. Ash would normally estimate her to be in her mid twenties, but considering she was half-elven he wouldn't trust that estimation. She was tall and slim, dressed in a simple skirt and blouse that still flattered her form. Her green skin was a shade paler than Lukon's, and her exceptionally long black hair had streaks of blonde in it. Her face was very pretty, with large, green eyes and a button nose, her own tusks notably smaller than her brother's, though Ash didn't know if that was due to her not being a full blooded orc, a difference between orcish men and women, or both. Her ears were noticeably longer than her half brother's, however, and much more pointed.

The woman's eyes lit up at the sight of her half-brother, and she quickly threw her arms around him with a happy laugh, holding him tight as he returned the favor. "Lukon! I wondered when you'd come back. It's been far too long since you were home." She stepped back and took his large face in her dainty hands, turning him from side to side, inspecting him. "You look well, at least." Letting him go she turned to Alyana next. "And Alyana. You're also looking well, dear. I'm looking forward to you telling me everything my big brother's been up to." She said with a smile before turning her attention to Ash, gaze flitting to Pikachu on his shoulder curiously once or twice. "And hello there. I don't believe we've been introduced."

"Mol, this is Ash Ketchum and Pikachu. We ran into them a little over a week or so ago. I'll tell you more once we're inside. Ash, Pikachu, this is Moleri, my sister." Lukon said with a smile.

"Pleased to meet you, Ms. Moleri." Ash said with a smile of his own as Pikachu gave his own greeting.

"The pleasure is all mine, but please, just call me Moleri." She returned as she reached out to lightly pet Pikachu, who let out happy noises at the attention.

"Alright Moleri, then just call me Ash." He said, pleased that she didn't seem hesitant around Pikachu the way he'd seen some others be.

"I take it we arrived in time for lunch?" Lukon asked lightly, redirecting his sister's attention.

Moleri stopped pampering Pikachu and turned to her brother. "Indeed. I made a hearty soup with a salad and some soft, warm bread. And afterwards you can all have some nice, hot baths."

Alyana moaned in an almost indecent fashion at that. "Yes please, Moleri. I haven't gotten to enjoy hot water in months."

Moleri laughed lightly as she motioned for them all to follow her inside. "You adventurers. I could never stay away from home that long. I can't imagine how Mika is going to manage once she leaves on her own journey. She loves her baths."

"Mika?" Ash asked as he followed into the house, taking it all in. Much like he'd thought of the outside, 'cozy' seemed like the best descriptor of it. All the furniture was sturdy and well made out of various woods, and more of those charms and decorations were hung about. There was a small bookcase in a corner full of various books, though Ash couldn't see what they might be. He assumed it would probably be mostly fiction, however. For a society without any of the conveniences that he was used to, like TVs or computers, he imagined reading had to be a big pastime.

Moleri led them to the dining room, where a large table meant to seat at least ten, and seemingly weather a full scale battle, sat ready. "My daughter." The woman said with a smile as she motioned for them to sit, going into what Ash assumed was a kitchen and returning shortly with a pitcher full of some sort of chilled juice and some well made wooden mugs to serve it in. "She should be home any moment now from her training at the Temple of Kord." She added.

"How is that going?" Lukon asked as she served him a drink first, then Alyana, and finally Ash, who shared with his pokemon, much to their host's apparent surprise, though she didn't say anything about it, focusing instead on her brother's question.

"She's doing well." Moleri said with a smile as she got another mug and handed it to Ash, who promptly poured some of his juice into it for Pikachu to enjoy. "I'm told she's the best monk trainee at the temple. She's doing last minute training before she takes her trials in a few days." She said with obvious pride, which was mirrored on Lukon's face a moment later.

"Excellent, then we arrived just in time to attend." He said as he sipped his drink. "I'll have to think of a gift to give her once she passes. Does she still intend to begin adventuring with her friends once she does?" He asked, to which his sister nodded.

"Yes. She's been trying to figure out which direction she wants to go first, but she has no firm plans yet. Her favorite uncle's advice would surely be welcomed." Moleri replied before she turned and headed back into the kitchen to check on the meal's progress.

"I'll have to spar with her sometime." Alyana said with a smile as she sat back with her drink. "I want to see how much she's improved since the last time we had one."

Ash sat and relaxed as he watched Lukon and Alyana discuss the man's niece and her skills. From what he'd understood of what little he'd been told, monks were usually specialists in some form of hand to hand combat, focused on using their internal energies to bolster their abilities. In that way he envisioned them somewhat like the Fighting type pokemon he was familiar with, especially since some could apparently even use elemental attacks, depending on how they specialized.

Perhaps this Mika girl would be interested in sparring with Heracross. The large beetle could use a new training partner, especially now that they were far from anyone he could simply challenge to a battle. And a different kind of opponent might hopefully help the monk improve as well.

Speaking of whom, the door opened a short while after their arrival as Moleri was setting the food on the table, Alyana helping out, and Ash turned to see who had entered.

His first impression of the girl that could only be Mika was that she was surprisingly short, considering how tall her mother and uncle were. Not tiny, but about an inch shorter than Ash's current five foot nine. If he had to guess based on her appearance she was probably his age, give or take.

Her skin was the same shade of green as her uncle's, but other than some rather cute little tusks sticking out of her bottom lip she didn't seem to have many other orcish traits, though Ash supposed he didn't know enough about orcs in the first place to make that determination. Still, something told him her father hadn't been one.

Her face was just a bit sharper than her mother's, her nose slightly more angular, jade green eyes just a touch narrower. Her ears weren't as long, but they were sharply pointed. Her hair was darker than her mother's without the golden highlights, but not nearly as long, reaching her mid back in a tight ponytail bound close to the base of her skull, with only a few strands loose and framing her face. She was slim, but unlike her mother it was in the hard, wiry way of someone in peak physical fitness, every muscle sharply defined, belly flat and taught with lines of definition, arms corded with muscle, all of which was obvious as her upper body was only covered by a simple wrap that tightly bound what were probably A-cup breasts. Her lower body was covered by a somewhat loose set of what Ash would consider classic martial artist's pants like out of some of the movies he'd seen, but considering the rest of her body he didn't doubt her legs were exceptionally toned as well. She was barefoot, but that didn't seem to bother her, dainty green feet hitting the floor almost silently.

All in all, Ash could admit to himself that she was a very attractive girl, and he had met more than his share on his travels.

Mika paused at the entrance to the dining room, eyes widening as she saw Lukon standing to greet her, a happy grin appearing on her lips. "Uncle Lukon!" She practically squealed, launching herself at him and wrapping her arms across his much broader form.

Lukon laughed and hugged her back, lifting her up and swinging her around as he did so, the girl laughing as well as she kicked her feet happily. "Mika! It's so good to see you again!" He said loudly in response. Ash couldn't help but smile at how happy the girl obviously was to see her uncle.

Lukon finally put his niece down after they almost hit Moleri as she was bringing some of the soup out, the woman giving them a look of amused exasperation. Both of them were grinning as they separated, Lukon giving the girl a look over as he rested his hands on her shoulder. "You're looking well. I see your training is paying off."

Mika straightened up proudly. "And you're looking good as well, uncle. Not too many new scars. Either you've gotten better, or you've been taking it easy." She joked with a grin, prompting him to roll his eyes and ruffle her tightly bound hair, making her yelp and try to cover her head.

Alyana was laughing lightly. "What, no hello for me? I'm hurt."

Mika turned to the elf after giving her uncle a look of playful annoyance, a grin back on her face. "It's good to see you too, Alyana. Been looking forward to seeing how I fare against your magic lately. It's good training."

Alyana rolled her eyes. "Of course." Despite her words, her smile widened.

Mika finally seemed to notice Ash and Pikachu, as she gave them a curious look. "I'm sorry, you are?"

Ash stood up and held out his hand in greeting. "Hi. I'm Ash Ketchum, and this is Pikachu. Your uncle helped me out when I was in trouble."

Mika studied him for a moment before smiling and taking his hand and shaking it. "Nice to meet you, Ash. I'm Mika. I'm glad Uncle Lukon could help you out." Then she turned to Pikachu and reached out to pet him, going slow in order to give him ample opportunity to warn her away. When he didn't she began petting his head. "And it's nice to meet you too, Pikachu. You're an interesting one, aren't you?"

"Chaa…" Pikachu sighed in response, clearly enjoying the pampering.

"Go wash up for lunch, Mika." Moleri told her daughter. "You can interrogate your uncle once we've begun eating."

Mika playfully saluted before rushing off to what Ash guessed was the washroom. She returned as her mother was sitting down, quickly taking her own seat and beginning to dig in, seemingly famished.

"So… what's the… story… Uncle… Lukon?" She asked between mouthfuls of soup, prompting Moleri to sigh in exasperation at her manners.

Lukon chuckled at his niece and began talking about how he met Ash and his pokemon, prompting Ash to join in and explain his side of the story, along with the basics of pokemon and pokemon training. Mika was fascinated and asked a lot of questions, especially when Ash told her that Heracross was a Fighting type that he thought might make an interesting sparring partner for her.

The conversation lasted a good hour, Mika still asking questions well after all the food was eaten, and Ash found himself enjoying it a lot.

"So you're thinking Ash should ask for some guidance at the temple of Selûne?" Mika asked after inquiring as to Ash's next steps and having her uncle answer. She hummed in thought. "That shouldn't be a problem, I don't think. I can take him over there tomorrow, if you want. I was going to go check on how Tiriel is doing with her training anyway."

"Tiriel?" Ash asked, as he idly petted a dozing Pikachu.

"One of my best friends." Mika said with a smile. "She's a cleric of Selûne, a very dedicated one. I haven't seen her much lately because she's been focused on her studies, which is why I was going to go see her."

"I don't have any problem with that if Ash doesn't." Lukon said. "There are some friends I want to see now that I'm in town anyway."

Mika turned to Ash. "Does that sound good to you?" She asked.

Ash nodded. "If you have a friend in the temple, I don't see why not. You know the place better than I do, after all."

"Mind if I join you?" Alyana asked. "I double Master Lukon wants me tagging along when he's visiting his friends, and I wouldn't mind hanging out with either of you for the day."

"Sure thing." Ash said with a smile. "The more the merrier."

Mika grinned toothily. "Sounds like a plan. Now, mind if I see the rest of your pokemon team?"

The rest of the afternoon passed in pleasant conversation as Ash showed off his pokemon and told more stories with the help of the many pictures and videos saved to his phone. By the time it was time for bed he was pleasantly clean, full and content. Laying on the comfortable bed in the guest room he thought that things seemed to be going well. He only hoped his visit to Selûne's temple the next day would go well.

If nothing else, he at least seemed to have made a new friend. He could use all the ones he could get in this strange, new world he'd found himself in.

'Ello all.

I hope you all enjoyed the latest chapter of this fic, with the introduction of both the city of Fellowship and Mika the Monk.

I think it's safe to spoil that Mika is the first of Ash's new party members, even if they haven't partied up just yet. A skilled frontline fighter like her, backed up by Ash's pokemon, and the rest of the party, will definitely be a big help.

As for Fellowship itself, it's a concept I've had in mind as a place in a fantasy setting for ages. I plan to explore it some more in the coming chapters, so I hope you look forward to that.

Can't think of much else to say about it, so I'll get to my usual reminder.

I am, as always, truly grateful for those of you who are willing to send a buck or two my way out of the kindness of your heart. I relied on all of you when I wasn't working, and it definitely still helps even now that I'm gainfully employed. Thanks to you I have more of a cushion to get things I still need or pay essential bills. Like caring for my kitten. Her name is Rin, and she's a little hellion that I love and adore.

I used to have a poll on what to update there to incentivize donations, but I recently realized that part of the reason I have trouble motivating myself to write is that I've been letting others dictate what I write, so that's no longer a thing. I apologize, but as of now, I don't have anything to really reward patrons with other than my gratitude.

If you'd like to send a few cents my way anyway, I'm at Pat A Ron dotcom /athanmortis. However, if you'd rather donate a one-off amount rather than a monthly sub, I also have a Ko-Fi. That's ko-fi dotcom /athanmortis78653 .

That's all for this chapter. Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, and till next time. Bye.