Restlessness had overtaken his body as he strode down the path towards the village gate. Both guards and friends alike waved and greeted him, glad to see a familiar face up and kicking again. The burned houses had almost entirely been taken down and some of the houses were being reconstructed, having stone be a more integral part of construction.
Approaching the gate, the previous scorch marks left by the fireballs had been cleaned and remade in to brighter material, showing the evident battle that took place here. Right now, it's only a reminder to the blood that was shed but will in later years be a memory of a battle fought for both this village and country.
Once outside the village walls, the grass that had once been green without a single patch of dirt or gravel was now littered with holes and arrows that had yet to be picked up. Getting closer to the forest line, a disgusting smell made it's way through Ace's nostrils - one that reeked of decomposing bodies.
The elves having been in a hurry to get rid of the foul scene, only cared to move the bodies out of sight and not more. If anything, this would discourage the nearby wildlife to even think about approach the village, the smell being a perfect deterrent.
A dozens of minutes walk later and a sign pointing in three directions was seen. One pointed towards Ace saying "Kealon." And two others pointing away from Kealon. "Lakehost" pointing left and "Iminore" pointing right.
Without stopping, Ace chose to continue left. An irresistible urge to keep moving, pushing him forwards. Over the span of half an hour of walking in a brisk pace showed the surrounding nature turn more and more desolate. The trees would shrink in size and the grass became less dense. The whole nature shtick Kealon village had was totally gone.
A turn down the road showed three orcs hitting a carriage with their fists. A dead coachman laid on the ground behind the orcs and beside him, two dead horses. The carriage wasn't a fancy one as it only had what looked like a tarp, flung over it. These types of carriages often used to export raw goods in crates or barrels, with a passenger and coachman to drive and protect it. If anything, the horses seemed to be worth more than the carriage itself.
Ace quickly ran towards the orcs, unsheathing his dagger when he heard a woman's loud screech pierce his ears. The orcs ignorant to the danger they were in, kept on bashing the carriage with their abnormally large hands.
With feet feeling like they were running on clouds and body movements that moved like a cat in the night, the first orc died in just a few seconds. A clean slice through the orc's neck had left the two other orcs quiet, shocked. However, they weren't the only ones confused. The usually ragged dagger cut through the skin and flesh with little to no trouble.
The corpse collapsed and the two orcs turned towards Ace who looked at them. The usually fast heartbeat and uneven breath was now even and calm. The extreme change left Ace in awe, sending his thanks with prayers to Iliqen for the skill scroll. While laying in bed and being in a half-woken coma for a couple of weeks, had been a terrible experience, he'd do it all again if it meant these kinds of improvements.
The woman inside the carriage had turned quiet from the sound of the corpse collapsing and the bashing stopping. While the orcs stood eyeing the fierce opponent, the woman could be heard moving around the wooden floor of the carriage.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Asked Ace while slowly moving towards a dazed orc.
"I-I'm okay!" She responded. Her voice trembled in fear.
The orc who'd been moving slowly started a full on sprint towards Ace, growling and snarling, saliva flying everywhere. The other orc decided against his companion to rush for the hill not too far away.
As the raging orc was coming closer, Ace couldn't help but notice the orc's movements becoming more obvious. As if time itself slowed time. When the orc had gotten close enough, Ace forced the dagger into it's skull, the orc losing it's life instantaneously, dropping to the ground.
Chills sprung up Ace's back. It had become too easy to take an orc's life. Before, he at least ran the risk of being hurt in the process. Now though, with this new ability, it was easier than ever.
He shook his head, dismissing his thoughts. In the distance, an orc could be seen looking at him but as they locked eyes, the orc turned and continued running. Ace picked up the pace and was soon catching up to the orc.
The green creature flailed its' arms, almost screaming in terror as the elf figure was getting gaining ground. The creature was panicked and instead of turning to fight or continue fleeing, he stopped dead in his track, turned around and sat down to beg.
Ace had seen the green creature do something he never thought he'd see, to instinctively beg for mercy. Listening to the green orc's muttering and crying, he almost felt bad for killing it's friends.
Blood trickled to the ground from the blade as Ace contemplated if he really should kill the creature. That's when he he thought it wasn't up to him, but the woman who'd been attack in the carriage.
"Hey woman! It's safe, you can come out." Ace yelled and soon after, she left the carriage. He waved her over. Ace had to wait for a bit because it seemed she didn't want to get close to the green creature. After maybe a minute or two, she walked up to them, still visibly shaken.
"So I was about to kill this orc when he suddenly stopped and did this." Ace said and pointed at the orc with his dagger. "What do you think. Do you want him dead?" He asked
The woman only stared at Ace dumbfounded. Never had she thought this situation would occur when she woke up this morning, but here she was. A blonde young elf offering to kill the orc who'd attacked her carriage just a few minutes ago. The nonchalant elf made everything seem unreal. Like nothing had impact because it was a dream.
"I-I..." The human woman stuttered.
"I'll make the cut clean if you want him dead. I can also make it a slow and agonizing pain if that's what you'd prefer."
"K-kill him!" The woman shouted after taking one last look at the orc. And so Ace did. One move from his arm severed the head from the orc's body, the head rolling away slightly.
The grass stood still and the sun had moved only a bit since when earlier, casting shadows from the trees in the distance.
"My name's Ace. An elf rogue." He held out his hand. The woman nodded and shook his hand and said, "I'm Etrise. I work as a maid in an inn not far from here." She ended the sentence but was reminded by the corpse behind Ace, "oh, and thank you for saving me. I don't know what would have happened if you didn't appear."
"No worries. You wouldn't happen to work in Lakehost?" He asked.
"I do. There's an inn that's called
The carriage had seen better days. With the horses and coachman dead, as well as two wheels broken, there was no way it would make it in time.
"I have to tell my boss about this. If the materials aren't sent there today, I'm not sure they'll be happy to continue our deal." Etrise covered her head, a headache knocking at her front door.
A sudden wind came and hair covered Etrise's face. They spoke briefly and decided to hide the barrels and crates nearby for now and then head back to Lakehost. Ace wasn't against the idea of being hired as a mercenary to guard Etrise. He didn't have any money as things stood and he would need it in the future, that, he was sure of.
About an half an hour later and the carriage emptied out, they started their way towards Lakehost. The village wasn't far away, from what Etrise told him anyway. The journey there was an uneventful one. They didn't happen upon a single soul.
They soon approached Lakehost and just like Kealon, the village was surrounded by a wall made of stone. Behind the village wall was open water. Boats' masts peeked over the stone walls. Some boats further out, just then leaving or arriving.
"Welcome to Lakehost." Etrise said as they approached the gate.