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After an hour of walking, we are finally arriving at the base of the resistance. And thanks to the lights of their camp, we can already see the shadows of some people moving between the large tents that they seem to use as living quarters.
"Who's there?" We hear someone shouting suddenly, and we see a silhouette pointing a bow at us, to which quickly soon joined by 10 more, attracted by the shout.
"It's me, Charity." says the orc girl, raising her hands in the air to show that she is unarmed, and moving closer to let them see her more clearly "Put down your weapons. The theory about the other continent was true. We made it and came back with help."
"Stay where you are!" shouts the voice, and in a lower but perfectly audible tone, says to one of the silhouettes pointing at us, "Go call Angnir. This may be a trap. It's best that he decides what to do."
"Calm down... This will be taken care of in a moment," Charity says quietly as she steps back and looks at us with an apologetic expression.
"It's normal for them to be wary. It's been months since we left. They probably left us for dead." says Deirdre, also in a low voice.
"It's okay. We understand," replies Lilian on behalf of our group.
As we wait, I think to myself that it's lucky we didn't come flying on Azur, as I had proposed. If they saw a dragon approaching their base, they probably would have attacked first and asked later.
After a while, we see the archer come back with another silhouette. His companion has an imposing height. He must be easily two and a half meters tall, and yet he moves with a fluidity and lightness that look odd for his large size.
"Is it true what this boy tells me? Is it you, Charity?" asks the newcomer in a low, raspy voice akin to a growl.
"Yes. It's me. And Deirdre is coming with me. We bring help. Lots of help," she says again, moving a little closer to the light so they can see her better "But we're tired. Could we go over and sit down somewhere and talk more calmly?"
"Hmm," says the figure, raising a hand to indicate to Charity to stop "I see that it's certainly you.... Hmm… but how can I be sure you're telling the truth? It's been too long since you left, and..."
"Are you really asking me this stupid question, you flea-bitten old dog?" asks Charity with a grin, pulling her mace from one of the pouches around her waist. "I think you got a little cocky while I was gone. But don't worry, I'm going to beat you up to remind you why there's no point in distrusting me."
To which Deirdre, Lilian, and the soldiers look at the orc girl in panic. After all, we have about 30 people aiming at us, as more and more archers have been arriving while we've been waiting. But Azur doesn't care, and neither do I.
I don't think their arrows can do anything to us or Deirdre, as from this distance, I'm sure she and I could avoid them.
"Hahahaha," says the silhouette, with a laugh that at times sounds like the bark of an animal "Easy, my dear, it was just a joke. You seem to have lost your sense of humor when you left here. You can come in, so don't do anything foolish and put that thing down… please."
Charity puts the weapon away, and approaches the elderly therian. After which, to our surprise, they give each other a hug and start talking quietly in a friendly tone while laughing.
"This is 'the wolf' you guys mention so much, I guess, isn't it?" I whisper to Deirdre as I see the marked lupine features of the fellow as we approach the light, followed by Lilian and her group, who don't seem too pleased with the way we were greeted.
"What?" asks Deirdre, confused by my question, and then she starts laughing "No, no. He's Angnir, the leader of the resistance. The wolf is an orc, like Charity. The physical appearance has nothing to do with his title. It is a symbol that represents his fight against the oppression we enslaved races suffer."
"Ahh. Is it normal for some therians to have such pronounced animal features? I mean... you look almost like a human, if it weren't for the fur, your eyes, ears, and.... the tail," I say, thinking that none of the therians I saw so far had such animal looks. But as I try to explain what I mean, I realize how stupid and offensive that might sound, and I blush with embarrassment.
Deirdre laughs even harder at my flushed face and mockingly replies, "I don't know if that last comment was an attempt at flattery or what, but if so, let me tell you that you need more practice, master. And in answer to your last question. No. Angnir is special. It must be because of his unique class."
"HIS WHAT??!! Did you say that..." I start to ask, forgetting the embarrassment of a moment ago due to the great surprise of the information I just heard, but I am interrupted.
"Shh. It's better to continue talking about this later. Charity is beckoning us to follow her," says the little therian, and I see that she is right.
As we walk, following Charity, to one of the large tents in the camp that we have apparently been assigned to rest in, I think about Deirdre's words.
'Certainly, Angnir's class is 'Druid', according to what my inspection skill shows me, which surely means that he possesses a singularity. But I can't be sure since I don't know much about this continent.'
I know that the races on this side of the sea have some different classes from ours, because I have already seen some of them among the refugees and in the orcs that attacked the capital of Liones.
In the refugee, I have seen the Shaman and Martial Artist classes, which do not exist on our continent. And in the orcs Engineer, which is a class I had never seen before either. And as I saw many people with those classes, I know that they are not singularities.
'If I don't see some other 'Druid' in this camp, it means that Angnir's class is indeed a singularity. But I still don't understand how Deirdre now seems to know about the classes? And if she knew about them, why didn't she tell me before?'
We enter a tent that is spacious enough for all of us to have a place to sleep, and we see that its furnishings consist of a few chairs, a small table, and little else. In the center of the tent is a small fire that illuminates the inside of the tent. And as I look up at the ceiling, surprised that the smoke does not accumulate inside, I see that the conical center of the tent ends in a circular section without fabric, where the smoke comes out.
We settle around the campfire and pull out things to eat while Charity explains to us what she discussed with the resistance leader.
But due to my current state of mind, I don't care about the conversation, and I ignore the voices around me while I think about what else my companion has been hiding from me.
Azur seems to think the subject is unimportant, but I don't think so.
'I thought she trusted me, but it turns out I was wrong.'
As I continue to think about these things, suddenly I hear the hum of a very strong gust of wind, and before I can reflect on how strange this phenomenon is on a night when there is not the slightest breeze, a tall, thin orc enters through the entrance of the tent, his face covered by a black half-mask that covers the upper half of his face. His clothes are dark, the same color as his mask, and he does not appear to have any weapons with him.
Charity gets up in a hurry, and I start to get up as well. Since, based on the orc girl's reaction and the fact that we are in an unfamiliar place, it is possible that this is an enemy.
But...