Varbu and Akira stood inside the meeting halls small lobby waiting to be allowed to enter the main room where a meeting was currently being held.
“Do you know what the meeting is about?” asked Akira.
“No, I was only told to bring you here and wait,” replied Varbu.
“That quarterstaff that you use is there a reason you use it?”
“Ah, this thing? Growing up whenever I used a sword or ax they would always break after only a few uses. So to keep from having to buying new swords or ax I was given this. It suits my style. It''s more like a club, that I can use to attack and deal blunt damage while keeping the enemy away from me.”
“Yeah, with your long arms and the long reach of your quarterstaff, I can see how it would be hard to fight you with a weapon that has a short reach.”
“It is as you say. I have beaten many foes just like that, sometimes I also use a spear,” said Varbu.
“Although I''m a beginner blacksmith, I think I could make a sword or something else for you. It would be a nice challenge to figure out how to make one sturdy enough that it doesn''t break when you use it.,” said Akira.
“Ehh, I''m not much of a sword person.”
“Well, it could be another type of close range weapon. You should think about it. I could make it along with anything I need in the future.”
Since there was nothing else to talk about they both became silent.
Minutes passed by until the doors were opened and they were ushered into the main room.
Upon entering the dimly lit room Akira noticed that the benches on both sides of the room were filled with Orcs. The elders sat on the left and the commanding officers of the orc warriors sat on the right with Chief Tornok standing by the fire in the middle of the room.
“Akira as you are the ambassador of your clan in a sign of goodwill we will allow you to join this meeting. Both of you, go take your seats with the other officers,” ordered chief Tornok.
Akira walked to the benches with Varbu. Seeing the front row had fewer people and had more open spots Akira went to go sit in one of them but was quickly stopped by Varbu.
“The front row is only for the leaders of the military and city defense. We have to sit in the back row,” whispered Varbu urging Akira to follow him.
They walked up the steps on the right side of the benches all the way to the top and squeezed into the cramped bench filled with other low ranking officers.
“Now that everyone is here I would like to take the time to update everyone on current events. The main purpose of today''s meeting is to create a solid plan for exterminating the scouting Goblins and any other enemies that may appear during that time. It should be a fairly simple task to defeat them as they aren''t the brightest creatures.
For those of you who don''t know Akira is a special guest from one of the werewolf clans he will be helping us with the goblins and will also bring the news of our offer for an alliance to his clan when he returns to them.
There are a few people that are chasing after him. The elders have agreed to help defend him against those people. So Druul as commander of Orcrock''s defenses, you need to increase the number of warriors patrolling the walls along with more guards at the gate,” said chief Tornok.
“It shall be done chief!” said Druul nodding his head to the chief.
“Now that that is all sorted, I call for patrol commander Gwak to give us the details on what he has planned for the mission and what everyone is expected to do,” said chief Tornok before returning to his chair.
Commander Gwak stood up and walked to the fire and began his speech.
Akira listened for over a half hour, as Gwak explained everything in great detail. His eyes were getting sleepy due to the hard workout he had done earlier in the day.
As he was about to doze off the sound of a war horn reverberated throughout the city and in the meeting hall. The loud sound was coming from the city walls.
Ding!
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
Quest received!
The city of Orcrock has been infiltrated by enemies! Help defend the city of Orcrock and rid it of all enemies!
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Akira was now fully awake due to the warhorn that was continuously sounding, and the message window he had received giving him a new quest.
The room that had been mostly silent moments before with many of the Orcs sleeping was now in a frenzy as the Orcs from both sides of the room started shouting asking questions.
“Why have the guards sounded the alarm?”
“Are we under attack?”
“By who?”
“Was it the goblin raiders that had been sighted the day before?”
“Quiet!... I said Quiet!” shouted Tornok over everyone that was talking, “The meeting is finished. Send someone to the wall to find out what is going on. Officers go ready your men and send them to their designated position to defend the city wall. Go now!”
Akira raced outside along with the crowd of officers. The sky above was now dark except for the moon and stars that were shining. He stopped in his tracks when he realized he had no idea where to go and began to search for Varbu, he found not too far behind him struggling to exit the crowded entrance.
“Varbu, where am I supposed to go?” asked Akira.
“Just follow me!” Varbu shouted. “I have to gather the people under my command first then we can head towards the wall.”
Varbu ran to each person''s house informing them that they needed to head to the designated meeting place near the central market with their armor and weapons. It was only a short wait until all 18 of the Orc warriors under Varbu''s command showed up.
Some of them were still putting on their armor and readying their weapons. Two of the 18 warriors were new additions to the unit due to the loss they had received fighting the headhunters.
When everyone was ready Varbu shouted, “Let''s head out to our designated spot on the wall. If we find any enemies on our way to the wall we must kill them all. Move it!”
With a shout, the Orc warriors including Akira ran down the dark deserted streets that looked far different and empty at night.
“We are positioned near the gates. So we have the important job of making sure they are secure and that no one is able to get access to them,” said Varbu as they ran.
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A short time later they reached the front gates. As they walked forward the bodies of the two gate guards were found sprawled out on the ground they had both been stabbed in the back multiple times.
“Everyone be careful and watch your backs. It looks like the enemy has already infiltrated the city. It looks like they are skilled in the cowardly attacks from behind,” said Varbu.
Everyone''s vigilance was heightened. Akira took the time to transform into a werewolf. Causing the Battle hardened Orcs around him to take a few steps away in shock.
The sound of a fight could be heard for a few moments coming from inside the gatehouse. The gatehouse had a small Guards barracks along with the mechanics for opening the gate.
“Sound the alarm, the enemy is attempting to open the gates! We must stop them. Forward!” ordered Varbu.
The Orc warrior that carried the units war horn blew out a few notes to let the rest of the gathering warriors in the city know where the enemy was.
Akira was running in the front with his shield and sword ready beside Varbu. The door had been already broken down by the intruding enemy allowing them to run into the gatehouse unhindered.
The small room was only wide enough to allow four or five people to stand across which caused them to create four rows as they entered the gatehouse.
The tables and chairs inside were overturned. Food and drink mixed with blood was scattered all over the floor and walls. A guard that had been eating lay dead on the floor.
“Row four protect the entrance, row three check the other rooms of the first floor. Row one and two follow me,” ordered Varbu.
Akira who was in the first row along with Varbu carefully lead the way up the stairs hiding behind his shield.
He cautiously walked out of the stairwell and into the second-floor room that held the winch for the gate. There was someone in black clothing trying to release the large lever that would lower the gate.
“Stop!” shouted Akira taking a few steps forward to confront the enemy in front of him. He used the skill [Sword Slash] and sent a glowing slash of light towards the unknown enemy. The attack was narrowly dodged and hit the wall where the intruders head was a second before.
Before Akira could get any closer, the intruder whipped around and threw two daggers at Akira with lightning speed.
They bounced off Akira''s shield harmlessly. Akira had been so focused on the enemy in front of him that he did not have the time to search the room for any other enemies, so when an intruder fell from the ceiling he received a sharp pain in his back as he was jabbed by two daggers.
The intruder gave a disappointed sigh. The sneak attack was not as fatal as he had been hoping for. He had only caused slight wounds. It would hurt but his target wouldn''t die from it.
Varbu who came into the room right behind him swung his club like quarterstaff at the assassins head.
The intruder ducked and rolled to the left and kicked off the wall jumping towards his companion.
“We must not let them get away,” shouted Varbu.
Akira and the rest of the warriors followed after the intruders who had escaped using the stairs that led to the roof of the gatehouse.
Before rushing out onto the roof Akira held up his hand to stop Varbu.
“I''ll go first. They could have another ambush set up. I''ll take the attacks and the rest of you should charge them,” said Akira quickly.
When Akira walked out onto the roof the enemies gazes all zeroed in on him. Seconds later the sounds of multiple medium ranged weapons being thrown and the firing of hand crossbows could be heard.
He immediately crouched down and covered most of his upper body with his shield blocking the majority of the attacks.
One of the crossbow bolts slammed into his newly made helmet creating sparks as it bounced off creating a ring sound in Akira''s ears stunning him for a few seconds.
After recovering Akira made sure to check for any other hidden surprises and only found five other similarly dressed intruders that were spread out on top of the roof.
Akira gave a signal to the Orcs who were waiting in the stairwell letting them know they could attack. Akira ran forward keeping the enemies attention on him, receiving multiple attacks from the five people. Only a few of the attacks managed to wound him the rest were blocked.
Varbu fearlessly ran out with the rest of the Orcs following shouting war cries. He charged towards the closest enemy, swinging his quarterstaff at the helpless intruder that was still trying to reload his hand crossbow with only one hand.
The strength behind the attack knocked the intruder off of his feet and pushed him several feet backward where he laid still.
The roof was filling up with even more Orcs as the third group of orcs had finished their search of the first floor and hearing the fighting from above had come to reinforce them.
Outnumbered the assassins slowly backed to the edge of the wall skillfully fending off the attacks made by the Orcs.
In a blink of an eye, one of the intruders threw out multiple small balls in front of their group. When they hit the ground a small explosion erupted creating multiple bright flashes blinding the orcs and Akira and robbing them of what little night vision they had.
“Don''t think you have won, we''ll be back,” came a voice from one of the escaping intruders.
When Akira regained his vision the enemies were gone. They had jumped off the roof and escaped to the vast mountain range outside of the city.
Only the person who Varbu had knocked out was still laying on the ground.
“Send a message to the cavalry to send a unit after them!” commanded Varbu.
One of the orcs at the rear ran down the stairs to give the orders he had received.
Akira walked over to the body of the Intruder in order to question him. He noticed that one of his hands looked to have been recently torn off and was still bandaged.
He slapped the unconscious males face a few times until he woke up. Upon seeing Akira''s face a look of horror appeared. It was quickly replaced with determination and disgust.
“Why are you trying to kill me? Who are you working for?” asked Akira.
The man opened his mouth slightly as if to say something but violently shut it biting down on something inside his mouth.
It took only seconds before his body began to convulse and started to foam at the mouth. In less than a minute his body lay dead before Akira.
“Coward,” said Varbu who had been watching. “These people have no honor, from the way they fight to being scared into taking their own life''s.”
The other orcs standing near the dead man all cursed him and spit on the ground.
Akira looked through dead man''s belongings and found nothing of use. During his search, he noticed on the man''s clothing there was a picture of 7 triangles surrounding one large triangle sewn onto them.
It looked familiar but as hard as he tried to remember where he had seen it before nothing came to mind.
“We''ll take his body back to the meeting hall for the elders to see if they can figure out who they were. The rest of you stay here and guard the gatehouse,” Varbu ordered.
Ding!
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
Quest complete!
The city of Orcrock has was successfully defended.
-Positive reputation gained
-The leaders of the city will think more highly of you now.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
***
“Heh, heh, heh, all too easy. With this, the first part of the plan has been completed successfully. They should now be on high alert,” said the captain of the headhunters.
“How are we supposed to complete the second part what if he doesn''t go where we need him to go?” asked a headhunter.
“You idiot we won''t just have one but multiple ways to trap him,” said the captain.
“We lost Fred. What are we going to do when we have to tell them we lost another member of the group?” asked one of the headhunters.
“We will deal with that when we have completed the mission the good news will make that bad news not matter,” said the captain.
The captain looked at one of the headhunters who had lured Akira and the orcs to the roof.
“I''ll be reporting to the Seven heads that you were a bit overzealous and tried to kill him. Didn''t I tell you all that our orders are to capture him alive?” said the captain sternly.
“Ah! That was a mistake!”
“Save your excuses for the Seven heads.”
***
Akira and Varbu both sat on the benches listening to the elders'' debate with the officers on what should be done.
“I agree that we need a stronger force to protect the city so tomorrow I will send an order to the surrounding villages calling for more men to bolster our city guard and then order the patrols to find where these enemies have hidden,” said Tornok.
“A wise decision sir. We must show them our strength and power” said the general of the city''s army.
“The night has been long and hard for those of you who have fought, the original large patrol group will be put on a hold in order to help with defending the city until we have gathered enough warriors to take over for them. Everyone is dismissed.”