Chapter 19: Chapter 18: Questions

Kenshiro froze, his gaze locked on the arrowhead pointed directly at his face. The archer, her skin rough and stone-gray, held her bow steady, the arrow nocked and ready. She was built much like the other dru’ven he had disposed of in the temple. Elephant-like gray skin, large forehead, and long fingers. This one however had features sharp and uncompromising, and her eyes were dark as coal, calculating.

Sombra growled, low and quiet, her shadowy figure bristling as she lowered herself protectively in front of Kenshiro, her edges shifting and rippling as if barely contained within her form.

“Shhh!” Kenshiro hushed the summon.

The dru’ven’s eyes flicked from Kenshiro to Sombra, studying the beast with something between wariness and contempt. “A shadow wolf. It’s not every day you find a Summoner wandering around these woods.” Her voice was low, gravelly, and skeptical. “So tell me, stranger, what are you doing this far out from the village?”

Kenshiro swallowed, lifting his hands slowly in a gesture of surrender. “Look, I’m not here to cause any trouble. Just… trying to find the nearest town. Maybe find some food?” His voice wavered slightly. Despite his adrenaline pumping, he could feel the exhaustion in his ears, blood pumping in his ragged state. As he pushed his senses to stay focused Kenshiro felt a large hand press onto his shoulder from behind.

“I recommend unsummoning your beast, then we can have a civil conversation eh?” A voice boomed behind him.

Kenshiro turned to see a person maybe seven foot tall, dark green skin, small tusks protruding from their lower lip with intricate tattoos around their eyes in a deep purple. Kenshiro used Identify without even thinking.

Fel’Tal Leftra (M)

Race: Orc

Rank: 2

Class: Brawler

“Orc?!” was all Kenshiro could get out before a third voice echoed from behind the bow wielding dru’ven.

“Oh come off it Ingot, he is obviously scared, no reason to hurt the young man. And Fel’Tal, really?! Sneaking up behind someone who is obviously lost.” A higher pitched feminine voice that still sounded a bit raspy chidded.

As the new voice spoke Kenshiro’s eyes never left the orc. Fel’Tal’s gaze--irises that glared into him like a wolf watching a rabbit. Yet, despite himself, Kenshiro glared back. He didn’t glare back out of some sense of misplaced rebellion or strength. He stared back because he simply refused to be cowed for no reason. He had done nothing wrong, and if Kenshiro had anything that ticked him off it was getting in trouble for no reason.

As he eyed the orc holding his shoulder in a vice grip, Kenshiro suddenly felt naked, like a cold breeze had blown through the trees and exposed him to the three beings surrounding him. The orc smiled as Kenshiro suddenly got goosebumps. He looked away, feeling exposed.

Trying to regain some composure, Kenshiro spoke up again as ‘Ingot’ the dru’ven woman with the bow, slowly made her way from the trees followed by a short human woman with red curly hair, freckles on her face, a mousey nose, and simple brown and green leather looking armor with an insignia of four circles overlapping. The dru’ven, wore similar attire but she had a quiver attached to a belt, a short thick coat, and a helmet also made of some thick animal skin.

Kenshiro used Identify on each of them.

Ingot Mendref (F)

Race: Dru’Ven

Rank: 2

Class: Dervish - Hunter

Myrtle Kendrake (F)

Race: Human

Rank: 2

Class: Sage

“I’m just trying to find my way to whatever city or village is downriver. I’m lost and trying to find any civilization. I promise If I am on your land or have trespassed somewhere I shouldn’t have, I apologize. Simply direct me away and I will leave… I really” Kenshiro protested while reading the Identify provided information.

Ingot, the dru’ven, spoke up, interrupting him. “No manners either I see… Well. At least you get to learn my name before I…”

Myrtle interrupted Ingot as Kenshiro felt exposed again, the cold breeze of magic revealing him to everyone to see. It was unnerving and very uncomfortable as Kenshiro again cast his eyes to the ground.

“Ingot stop! I don’t think he knows what he is even doing… He is an outworlder.” Myrtle, the human, shouted. Touched her hands to her face in a considering gesture, head resting on her hand while tapping her chin with her index finger.

Hearing this, Ingot paused and Fel’Tal relaxed his grip a little bit.

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Kenshiro yanked his shoulder out of the orc’s grip and whirled to the side to face the three as he clenched his fists and brought them up to defend himself. Sombra also interposed herself between the Rank 2 beings and Kenshiro.

“Ah. See! Tell her Fel’Tal” Myrtle said, clapping her hands together. Fel’Tal nodded to Ingot who finally relaxed her bowstring.

“Outworlder? Out here, really? We haven’t seen an outworlder surge in over two hundred years?” an exasperated Ingot looked at Kenshiro. “If you two say so. That doesn’t entirely explain why he is out here though. Unless he just came over.” She said as she placed the arrow back in her quiver at her side.

“What? What are you three talking about?” Kenshiro said, still on edge yet the tiredness made his peripheral vision start to blur a bit. Sombra growled.

“She is trying to get an idea of what is going on. Are you alone? Are you injured?” Myrtle asked as she walked over.

Kenshiro was tired and confused. He fumbled, trying to put his hand into his hoodie pocket and pull out the knife but ended up dropping it upon taking it out. The knife bounced off the ground and was picked up by Myrtle who had made her way across the opening amongst the trees. Picking the small knife up by the blade offered it back to Kenshiro. Sombra looked up at him, as he took the blade back and looked at the woman, his mind a haze.

“I’m sorry for the confusion. Won’t you please come sit down?” Myrtle said, speaking quietly as if soothing a child.

Kenshiro took a step forward to grab the dagger and tripped only to be caught by the orc man, Fel’Tal who set him back on his feet. “He is exhausted” Fel’Tal said to Ingot who was still standoffish.

“Fine. Bring him to camp.” The dru’ven woman said before turning around and walking back into the trees.

Kenshiro stumbled back into the trees with the three. The adrenaline in his system was gone and he was running on fumes.

Kenshiro trudged alongside the trio, each step feeling heavier as the last reserves of adrenaline drained from his system. The forest around them was alive with faint noises—rustling leaves, distant animal calls, and the occasional crack of a branch underfoot. Sombra walked close, her shadowy form eerily silent despite the underbrush. Every now and then, she glanced up at him, her eyes glinting with a faint dull light.

The camp appeared as they approached a small clearing in the trees, the camp was well hidden and seemed as though it had been summoned by the forest itself. Two tents and a makeshift hammock strung between trees encircled a small, charred fire pit. Ingot set down her quiver and began gathering kindling from a nearby pile while Fel’Tal wordlessly hoisted Kenshiro down onto a log, his grip surprisingly gentle for someone with hands the size of dinner plates.

Myrtle knelt beside him, her soft features alight with concern. She handed him a piece of dried meat, which he accepted without thinking. The flavor was bland, but he devoured it hungrily, not realizing how ravenous he had become until the first bite.

Fel’Tal smirked as he stoked the fire. "Slow down, little outworlder. We’ve got more, but choke and you’ll save us the trouble of deciding what to do with you."

“Fel’Tal,” Myrtle chastised, shooting the orc a glare before turning back to Kenshiro. "Don’t mind him. Reds don’t know how to talk without threats of violence." She smiled, her voice warm and soothing, a stark contrast to the tense exchange earlier.

Ingot huffed as she struck a flint against a chunk of steel, sparks dancing in the growing twilight relighting the fire. "I still say we shouldn’t trust him. Outworlders always bring trouble, whether they mean to or not."

Kenshiro, still chewing, raised his hands in a placating gesture. “I don’t mean any harm, I swear. I’ve just been… wandering. I’ve been walking for what feels like days. I don’t even know where I am.”

Myrtle’s expression softened further. “You’re in the kingdom of Dru’Veni, on the continent of Djeri on the world of Nowhere" then added, almost as an afterthought, “Three days from Bethaven, if you’re heading that far.”

Kenshiro nodded slowly, digesting her words and trying to ignore the sinking feeling of alienation. Another world. Another world. The thought looped in his mind like a mantra, refusing to settle. Sombra whined softly, nuzzling his arm as if sensing his turmoil. He reached out and scratched behind her ear, her shadowy form oddly comforting in its solidity.

“So,” Fel’Tal broke the silence, leaning back and crossing his arms. “You say you’re alone, eh? No companions? No the summoner’s guild hunting for you?”

“No guild,” Kenshiro replied, shaking his head. “Just me and Sombra. I—” He hesitated. Should he admit he had no clue what he was doing or where he was? Would it make him look weak—or worse, suspicious? “I… just woke up here. I don’t even know how I got to this world.”

Myrtle leaned forward, her brown eyes studying him intently. “You’re an outworlder,” she said again, more to herself than to him. “It’s been over two centuries since the last outbreak. They supposedly arrive after something catastrophic on their homeworld. How did you come here?”

“I don’t know,” Kenshiro admitted. His voice cracked with the weight of exhaustion. “One moment, I was on a train with my wife. The next…” He trailed off, staring at the fire. “There was this… light. And then I woke up, alone, in a temple.”

Ingot’s head snapped up at his words, her eyes narrowing. “A train!? What’s a train? What temple?”

Kenshiro hesitated, recalling the towering structure and the bodies he’d left behind. He swallowed hard, the taste of iron ghosting his tongue. “I don’t know its name. It was filled with… people. But they attacked me, so I defended myself.”

“You mean you slaughtered them,” Ingot said coldly.

“They attacked me,” Kenshiro repeated firmly, his fists clenching. “What was I supposed to do? Let them kill me?”

“Enough,” Myrtle interjected, her tone sharp but not unkind. “Ingot, you’re being unfair.”

“Unfair?” the dru’ven shot back. “He’s walking around with a shadow wolf and claims he stumbled into a temple, then killed everyone inside? I don’t care if he’s an outworlder—he could be dangerous.”

Fel’Tal grunted, breaking a stick in half and tossing it into the growing fire. “If he wanted us dead, he’s had plenty of the chances. Let’s hearing of him out.”

“Thank you,” Kenshiro said, his voice steady despite the weariness dragging at him. “I didn’t ask to come here. I just want to find my wife and get some answers.”

The group fell into a tense silence, broken only by the crackling of the fire. Finally, Myrtle spoke, her voice softer now. “Tell us about her. Your wife.”

Kenshiro blinked, caught off guard by the question. His mind immediately conjured Terra’s face—her smile, the way she would gently chide him for overthinking everything. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Her name is Tara. She’s…” He hesitated, searching for the words. “She’s strong. Stronger than me, honestly. She’s been through so much, but she always keeps going.” He said a little deliriously. He was tired. How long had he been walking now?

Myrtle smiled faintly. “She sounds remarkable.”

“She is,” Kenshiro said, his voice barely above a whisper. “And she is out here, somewhere…”

Ingot, still watching him with suspicion, crossed her arms. “If you’re telling the truth, and you’re really just some lost outworlder, what’s your plan? Do you even have one?”

“I don’t,” Kenshiro admitted. “Not yet. But I’ll figure it out. I just have to get to the smoke. There should be a town or something right? Get there, then figure things out.”

Fel’Tal chuckled, the sound deep and rumbling. “Determined. I like that. But determination won’t keep you alive out here.”

“Watch me.” Kenshiro stated not as a challenge. He was too spent to really do anything. Regardless, he met the orc’s gaze.

Fel’Tal just laughed more. He could see how unsteady he was despite his words.

Before Kenshiro could respond, his body betrayed him. His vision swam, the edges of the world blurring as exhaustion finally took hold. He slumped forward, barely catching himself before hitting the dirt. He steadied himself on the log and fought off exhaustion.

Kenshiro pulled himself off of the ground and back on to the log. He was so tired. Just so tired. If he could just close his eyes for a minute. He could keep going. Get to Tara. She okay? Kenshiro put his head against the stump and closed his eyes for just a second…

“He’s out,” Fel’Tal announced, standing to steady him. “Get him a blanket, Myrtle.”

The sage nodded, retrieving a bundle from her pack. As she draped it over Kenshiro’s shoulders, she glanced at Ingot, her expression firm. That was the last thing Kenshiro remembered as he fell asleep. He dreamt of his wife running through the trees, always just out of sight.