An Unexpected Guest, Part One

A few hours had past since the Orcess had arrived in the abandoned village, in that time she had got a fire going and was cooking more meat from the store room. She had removed her cloak, boots, and leather Armour, leaving her dressed only in a linen shirt and trousers. Whilst she waited for the meat to cook she oiled her sword. Unlike the rather crude weapons that Orcs usually carried, hers was fine long sword, whose steel glimmered in the fires light, and was decorated with ornate handle and guard, with a emerald set in the pommel.

After a while, she finished oiling her blade and placed it down beside her. She took a swig from a bottle of mead, before reaching over to collect some cooked meat from over the fire. The inn was quiet, the only sounds which filled it were the fire crackling, and of the wind and rain outside. Whilst she ate she began to wonder how this place had been before it was abandoned, people drinking and merrymaking whilst the innkeepers served food and drink to their patrons. The now abandoned village bustling with Men and Women working and children playing, now all but a memory. She took another swig of mead and finished the bottle, she threw away the empty bottle into a pile of several more she had already drank and reached for another, only to find none left, she let out and groan and got up and made her way into the cellar to find more drink.

She entered and searched round the cellar for more drink, but to little avail. She continued to search for a good while until, to her delight, she found one last bottle hidden in the corner. She picked it up and ripped the cork from it, but just before she could take a sip she heard the sound of hoofs galloping in the distance. The Orcess immediately rushed out of the cellar, spilling some mead as she did so. And quickly began to put on her boots. She grabbed her sword, and made her way to the inns door. She creaked it open to see outside, where she saw a lone rider gallop through the abandoned village. But then from behind him an arrow hit his horse, it collapsed with its rider on top, pinning his leg underneath it. The rider yelled in pain and pulled his leg from underneath his fallen stead and pulled himself up, he looked back the way he came, drew his sword, and began to run towards the inn, limping as he went. The Orcess immediately closed the door and hid herself behind it and waited for the rider to enter.

She waited for a few moments before the rider came bursting in, he stopped briefly leaning forwards and putting both hands on his knees whilst panting heavily. He had his back to her and had yet to notice her. She studied him for a moment before taking a few steps forward, as she did the floor creaked loudly and he turned round suddenly towards her, letting out a yell before he swung his sword at her. She blocked his attack before parrying it off, managing to disarm him in the process. Now weaponless the rider attempted to striker her with his fist, but she dodged his strike and grabbed him by his neck, she lifted him up high and slammed him down into the ground, winding him. She then put her sword to his throat and shouted in a loud and powerful voice,

'Who the hell are you, and what are you doing here!?'. 'I-Im a p-poor refugee, r-running from the war', she quickly looked him up and down, he was wearing a scarlet doublet with gold lining, he was clearly someone of high birth. 'You certainly don't look poor, who's chasing you?' 'G-Goblins, their trying to capture, they've already killed my guards, please, help me!'

She sneered at the the mention of Goblins, although they were related, Goblins and Orcs despised each other. Orcs were large and had a strict martial tradition and codes of honour, whilst Goblins were smaller than even humans, and had no honour, instead looted and pillaged, only motivated by greed. The Orcess then pulled her sword away from his throat, and asked, 'How many of them have been chasing you?' 'More than a d-dozen' he replied. She gave no reply, before walking away from the rider towards her Armour and began to put it on, as she strapped it on she looked over to him and saw that still lay there, only now up on his elbows looking at her. 'Get up!' she said, with a tone of annoyance. 'I-I-I Cant!, my leg, i think its broken!'.

She got up and made her way towards him. She crouched down over him, and examined his leg, it wasn't broken, his knee had only been dislocated, she popped it back into place, whilst he let out a cry in pain. 'There, its fixed' she said. She then grabbed him with one hand by his doublet and hoisted him back up onto his feet, grabbed his sword off the floor and handed it to him. 'Your probably gonna need this.'

The rider gulped as he took back his sword, she then made her way back towards the door, she could hear the sound of the Goblins approaching the inn. She stood in front of the rider, and waited. She heard one approach the door before it shouted in a nasal tone 'Oi!, come out of there or ill cut you up' She heard the rider quiver again behind her, she rolled her eyes and continued to wait for them to enter. 'Alright, im coming to get ya!' announced the Goblin, the door then burst open and one came running in, as it dashed forward it saw her and had a short live look of shock on his face before she struck him down, a couple more ran in and charged at them, she cut them down as well.

Before long several more came in and they both fought them. She managed to cut a few more down but one managed to strike her, cutting her cheek. She screamed at the top of her lungs and struck him, managing to almost cut him clean in half. In a rage she charged at the remaining Goblins causing them to flee, she managed to cut down another before the rest retreated out of the inn and mounted their steeds before riding off into the darkness.

The Orcess stood in the doorway panting heavily, bleeding from her cheek. She stood there for a few moments, before turning back around, only to see the rider was missing. She then heard him scream from the storeroom, and ran towards it. As she looked inside she saw him again on the ground with a lone Goblin on top of him, threatening to gut him. She rushed over and grabbed the Goblin and threw him across the room, as he crashed to the floor he looked up, and a look of fear came onto him, and he fled out of the inn and into the darkness.

She then looked over to the rider, he had not been hurt, merely overpowered by the Goblin. She gave him a look, almost in disgust and left the storeroom back out into then inn. As she approached the fire she saw that on his way out the Goblin must have knocked over the last bottle of mead, it now lay smashed on the floor. She led out a angry grunt, before checking for any more Goblins, she slammed the door closed and made her way back to the fire, where she sat and started to clean her sword again, now covered in the black blood of the Goblins.