Burning Embers Part I: Origins [Arc 1-5]

Arc 3 Chapter 3

It had been an eternity, and yet there had been no sign of any hostile activity. Nat rummaged through his pack, finding his waterskin and taking a few sips. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and all he wanted was to go home as every bone in his body seemed to ache. He sat with his back to the wall, at the very back of the chamber. Zero and Lediga had completely blockaded the alternate entrance using orc bodies, which, Nat had observed, had already begun to rot. They had also removed the piece of human flesh from the fire, relighting it and readying some torches. Zero hadn't been idle for a single second, and even now, had picked up a barrel in the corner and carried it towards the blockade of orc corpses.

"What're you doing?" Lediga inquired.

"Oil. Orcs care little for their fallen comrades, and they will tear through these corpses if that's what it takes. We need another deterrent."

Ah, so that's what he wants to do. The oil made it obvious, even more so as Zero began to pour it over the dead orcs. If it came down to it, he would use on of the torches and light them up, ensuring no enemies came in from the side to flank them. The phalanxeer had also made a pile of whatever orc weapons he could salvage, citing that they might need a new weapon at any time, and orc blood caused weapons with no enchantments to rust and wither very quickly. For some reason, the blood had no special effects on living flesh, but reacted with iron and steel. In fact, Lediga's sword had already been put out of commission now, and he instead wielded a wickedly curved orc-blade.

Zero himself now rummaged through the pile, picking up a dual-edged sword and tossing it to the crusader. "Swap," was all he needed to say as Lediga threw the curved sword towards him. I see, I see. Nat was the sort of person who spent more of his childhood reading stories about adventurers, and daydreaming about them. He had a similar fascination with knights, and his knowledge regarding weapons and fighting styles was vast, surpassing even Sean's. 

As such, he knew exactly what Zero was trying to do. Lediga was accustomed to fighting with straight swords; stabbing weapons, so giving the dual-edged sword to him made sense. At the same time, Zero wanted a secondary weapon, as he seemed to want to wield it in his weaker hand while he used his strong hand to swing around his short-spear. A spear was not very effective when fighting off multiple foes, and having a curved, cutting blade in the other hand would allow him to better cover his flanks.

The torch was in Kotori's hand, as she stood closest to their makeshift blockade, having increased everyone's stats using her magic. Her job was far from done however; the coming battle would hardly be bloodless, and she'd have a lot of patching up to do. Luuk sat close to Nat, sharpening his dagger, his staff leaning against the wall. Ever since the last fight, something had been on Nat's mind, and he had been meaning to ask the elven exorcist.

"Hey Luuk?"

The elf turned around slowly, regarding Nat with a cold expression. "Yes?" Nat unconsciously gulped.

"Well, I didn't know you could fight."

Luuk smiled bitterly. "Long ago, there were many of us, and my people were the dominant force on this continent." He paused, staring off into nowhere, deep in thought. "With the coming of Wrath, and the First Great War, everything changed. I lived once in a peaceful elven city, until it was destroyed and burned down by an overwhelming number of orcs."

Ah... Nat felt foolish for even asking such a personal question now, and opened his mouth to speak, but Luuk raised his hand to stop him. His eyes were lit up by a fire Nat had never seen before. "Only a few thousand, maybe only a few hundred elves remain now, after our losses during the Second Great War, but those of us left are bound by blood-oath to kill any servants of Wrath where we see them, no matter what. Orcs have always, and will always, serve her."