It was time to earn our money… Raoul and I were ready to head out, while the closer the time came the more nervous we got. "Okay lets get this done as quickly as possible, we just need to count the orcs without getting noticed and observe the big guy to figure out what makes him different." I decided to state what exactly we needed to do to lighten the mood a bit. Raoul nodded and we both headed out.
We got to the gate leading outside the walls and we waited for them to fully open to let us out. "Look man lets not be heroes, lets get the mission done and get out of their, were gonna need to be as quite as possible and cover our smell somehow so we're not easily noticed by the orcs." This was the first thing Raoul had said to me since we left the house, which helped to show just how nervous he was; we both were.
We stepped outside the walls and began our walk towards the tree line off in the distance, hiding the orcs from sight. "We should stop at that farm on the way, as much as its gonna suck we can roll around in the fertilizer a bit to cover our smell." I quickly agreed with Raoul, after all what matters more hygiene or our lives. The closer we got to the farm the worse the smell was which was both nauseating and reassuring. Nauseating because the smell was so bad, we both had to clog our noses with torn pieces of our clothing. Reassuring because it helped to show just how much this was going to cover our scent from the orcs.
Once we were both properly covered we walked to the edge of the woods and began the hardest part yet. It was pitch black, now that the sun was down, with the only light coming from a huge campfire deep inside the forest. We walked slowly through the woods trying our best to be as quiet as possible, avoiding sticks and leaves on the floor as much as possible.
As we neared the orc campsite, we could hear the sound of grunts and laughter. The orcs were speaking orcish, which no one outside of them understood. We began counting the orcs when Raoul pointed to something off in the distance. It was a big metal chest plate, set down near a huge sleeping bag with the "captain" in it. We both left as quickly and quietly as possible to report our findings back to camp. Once we were beyond the forest line we both heaved a sigh of relief and Raoul spoke to me "Do you know what this means? That captain really is different like the army suspected… normally a hybrid is a mix of a giant and a regular orc. That was a mix of a giant and a battle orc." I tried to comprehend what he had just said
"Wouldn't we all be dead if they were a mix of battle orcs and giants? Also isn't it impossible for those two to mix?" the reason battle orcs don't mix with giants is because they're prone to fighting. In addition their highly against breeding with a race of lesser importance to them… lesser importance being all races outside dragons which would never mix with an orc.
Raoul reassured me "You're right had they all been a mix with battle orcs we would all be dead. But, it seems the captain is the only one to be a mix with battle orcs which is likely the reason their in charge. And no it's not impossible just unusual given battle orcs prefer to stick with their own race rather than breeding with inferior races." As if we had decided before hand we both became silent and walked towards the wall of the village.
Upon our arrival we had to report our findings to a commanding officer. So we were both escorted to a large pavilion area where we sat waiting for the officer to show up so we could be rid of this crazy mission.
"Hey kid glad to see your not hurt anymore, those nurses are getting better everyday you don't even have a scar like me." I looked up to see why this voice seemed so familiar and in front of me stood Ulrick the man who had saved my life twice upon my arrival in this new world.