Journey To Hellspost (TXT X READER)

26

Yeonjun wished it was his idea to have the horses. He wished he had thought of it in the first place, but rather it was the dwarves hospitality that allowed them to travel with such haste. He was already sore from riding the horse, but he was grateful for the haste they moved with. Had they still been on foot, they would still see the mountain, but it was long behind them. The mountainous land had long since shifted to rolling hills and the journey was less perilous.

Of course, this meant that it was too easy. Much too easy.

They rode in silence, all topics of discussion exhausted for that day. The rogue, who had taken the night watch, was dozing off as her horse followed closely behind Taehyun's. She kept slipping into a dizziness that cradled her closer and closer to unconsciousness. Taehyun watched fondly as her head fell to and fro. He reached out a hand to help her, possibly make an offer for her to sit on the back of his horse and use his back as a pillow, but before he could do so, her head snapped up and her eyes searched the rolling hills with pure awareness. Her eyes were narrowed as she searched the terrain.

"What is it?" Taehyun murmured, following her gaze, his eyes narrowing on the hills that could hide most anything.

"Orcs," she muttered, her eyes narrowing further as she searched the hills. Their voices were getting clearer now, and the others could hear them. "I do not like to judge based on race," she began, pausing as her eyes locked onto their position. "But they do not seem to have friendly intent.

The harsh sounds of the dark speech could be heard from their direction as their clinking metal grew closer. The rogue dismounted her horse, drawing a dagger. The others looked to her, with confusion, not having noticed the orc pack growing nearer. They were within sight now, their ashy grey skin and pale white and yellow eyes, their harsh black steel weaponry and their patchy balding hair. Each one was different, born from a different patch of sludge in the ground. Some had green tinges to their skin, others a sickly pale white. Their teeth were sharp and their mouths, no doubt, were moist as they spat harsh words of dark speech to each other. Some of their skin was slathered with thick blood from other enemies they'd met along the way. The rogue could only hope that those enemies were not the friendly dwarves from the mountain.

The pack of orcs paused for a moment as the others in the company dismounted their steeds, reading their weapons. Beomgyu muttered lowly, and as if the horses understood his command, they retreated quickly. Taehyun murmured a spell, his hand lifting to reveal a staff he had summoned made out of beautifully carven wood. It was something the rogue wished to know about when the situation wasn't so dire.

The pause that the orcs had taken did not last long as they rushed to the group of five with a confidence that was unrivalled. They spat words at each other, none of which the company could understand. Soobin nocked an arrow and raised his bow with haste, taking no time to fire his first shot. It hit an orc towards the back of the pack, leaving the rest unhindered. Soobin wasted no time in nocking another and shooting until the orc pack was mere steps away. Beomgyu took a deep breath, distancing himself from the group. This was something he had not done since his home was in ruins. He felt his bones shifting as he manipulated his state of being. He felt the nerves and muscles in his body changing. He felt his bones growing and changing until he took the form of a bear, large and ferocious. The rogue looked to him in shock. She was the closest to him, yet she could not even begin to rival his size. She could smell flesh on his breath, knowing it must have been a trait that comes with the form he took.

Beomgyu threw himself into the pack of orcs. There were no less than fifty of them, each having their own weaponry and armour, but Beomgyu made them look pathetic as he tore through their armour and flesh, spraying their dark blood over their comrades. Soobin took a further stance, continuing to shoot at them with his bow. Yeonjun and drawn his sword and was in combat with more than one orc. His regal stature made it easy to forget he had been trained with weaponry. He slashed an orcs arm, making it screech with a shrill voice as it raised its arm in attempt to strike Yeonjun while he had his back turned, thrusting his sword into the throat of a different orc.