I then sat up from leaning against the tree both shocked and angry. "What?! Why that of all things?! I'm already a man! Are you saying I'm not?!" Theodius shook his head. "As I said before, I will provide further instructions later. That's just the first part of what you need to do for this test. Now, come this way. Saniel is waiting to fly you there." He turned around after he finished speaking and started to walk away from us.
May then stood up and returned the map to her satchel as she followed him. "Isn't this exciting Dedrin? We're going to an orc village! I heard their culture is very vibrant." I raised an eyebrow as I stood up and walked after her. "Orcs, huh?" May nodded. "Yep. I can't wait! The suspense of this test is great!" I crossed my arms again as we followed Theodius into another clear area of forest. "What quest are you on? You say that like it'll be a surprise party instead of a death trap like it always is."
May skipped ahead of me. "You're so negative, Dedrin." I dropped my arms as I stopped next to her. "No. I'm realistic. What I don't get is why I have to ask to become a man when I already am." I turned to Theodius who was standing next to Saniel and he laughed a little. "You'll see. Anyway, I'll send you two on your way then. See you there." He disappeared into blue fire without another word and May looked behind her back. "Hey, my wings are dry! Yay! It must've been the spell that did that."
She then flew up to Saniel and hugged his neck. "We missed you, Sany!" It was then I realized that Saniel's scales looked a lot like Razerous's. I wondered since Saniel sounded a lot like Razerous's brother from how sassy he was, and how he had a lot of the same features other than having blue eyes and a blue stomach instead of red. I shrugged and looked up at him. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know someone named Razerous, would you?"
Saniel's eyes widened for a second but then he shook his head slowly. I didn't know whether he was telling the truth or not but didn't question him further and climbed onto his back behind May. "Let's go." Saniel spread his wings in response and took off into the sky. May said that the village wasn't far away from where we were and that we'd arrive in a few hours. I was glad that we wouldn't be stuck on a long road trip again, yet the suspense of not knowing what I had to do for the next test was starting to get to me.
We had made good headway on our flight, at least until May made us stop and land halfway because she found out I hadn't eaten yesterday. I've never seen her move so fast when cooking, and she shoved delicious food in my mouth without letting me speak between mouthfuls. I was angry at first until the food she gave me melted my mouth with its taste. After she fed me we returned to flying over the hills in the direction of the orc village.
After a while, I saw something in the distance and once I got a closer look I knew we had arrived. Saniel landed on the dirt path in front of the gates and closed his wings as I slid off of his back. May flew down to hover next to me as I walked toward the wall of thin carved tree trunks that were tied together and sticking out of the ground with a sharp point at the top of each. They made a wall surrounding the village that was tall enough to block the view of the inside but didn't reach the height of the trees around us. The gate was shaped from carved wood as well, but there was a large slab of stone as the door.
Two orc guards stood on either side of it and I was intrigued at their appearance from never seeing an orc before. They were seven feet tall and had green skin and yellow eyes. Their features were sharp and masculine, and they wore pelts and leather clothing around their shoulders and waists. Their clothes were very tribal, and they each carried spears with large blades at the top of each staff. Their ears were pointed, and two large teeth stuck out of their mouth from either side of their bottom jaw.
They had many piercings and necklaces made from large teeth and beads, and they also had tattoos of symbols on their arms and torsos. One of them was taller and very muscular, and he had long black hair falling over one side of his head as the other side was shaved. The other orc was rounder but looked just as muscular, and his head was shaved completely. Once they spotted us they took their spears with both hands and pointed them at us. "Who goes there?!" The shorter one shouted.
We stopped in front of their spears and May answered them, joyfully. "Hello! I'm CherryMay, and this is Dedrin! It's so nice to meet you!" The orcs seemed confused by her happy tone and after a moment they stood straight again and lifted their spears away from us. The taller one then spoke deeply. "State your business." May nodded and turned to me. "Of course. Go ahead, Dedrin." I crossed my arms in annoyance and May nudged me. "Come on. Don't be shy."
I really didn't want to say it but I wasn't in a position where it could be avoided. "...Fine. I... want to become... a man." I barely forced the sentence out and I felt disgusted for saying such a thing. Both of the orcs then showed shock on their faces and an entire minute passed before the taller one leaned closer as if he didn't know if he heard me correctly. "...Are you sure?"
I was confused by his question but nodded regardless. "Yes." The orc stood up again and shrugged as he turned to the gate. "Alright, it's your funeral. Right this way." He then moved the stone slab to the side with one hand like it was nothing and the other followed him through the entrance. I paused to their response. "Did he say funeral?" May shrugged and went through the gate and I went in behind her.
The shorter orc stayed behind on the other side to close the door after we entered and followed us as we continued on the path. I looked around as we walked to see that all the houses in the village were tents lined with symbols. There were carpets outside as well as on the inside of them, and clotheslines hung occasionally from wooden poles that held up the cloth of each house.
The orcs of the village turned to look at us as we passed by, and I pretended not to notice their stares. The children were thin and wore few necklaces and only loincloths whereas the adults were muscular and tough. They carried scars, earrings, and other piercings and wore thick furs. Even the women were just as intimidating as the men.