“Orcs?” asked Arc, keeping his gun pointed at the man on the riverboat. “There haven’t been orcs in these parts in years.”

“I’m telling you, stranger,” he said. “These fellas were big, green, and meaner than you can imagine. Real ruthless bastards and armed to the teeth with blades and bullets. They had a few pickup trucks with them and everything.”

“What’s your name?” asked Arc.

“Name’s Hogg,” said the man. “Robert Hogg. And you three?”

“I’m Arc the Hawk, and don’t worry about these two until we’ve spoken further.”

Hogg dropped his shotgun and held up his hands. “This good enough for you?”

“It’ll do,” said Arc before addressing Jack and Julie. “I’m going to search the boat. Keep your guns pointed at him until I give you the all clear. Any funny business and you two are to shoot and hightail it out of here, understood?”

“Understood,” said the twins.

“I’m coming aboard,” Arc called to Hogg.

The man nodded. “I don’t suppose you want me extended the gangway for you?”

“I’ll jump from the bridge.”

Arc marched up to the bridge, scanning the boat as he walked and trusting that Jack and Julie would keep a sufficient eye on the supposed final passenger of the boat. There were bullet holes peppering the higher part of the hull and the walls leading inside. As he walked onto the bridge, he saw the red paddle steamer sitting idle with nothing left to power the bladed wheel. Along the side of the boat were the words ‘Providence’ that was no doubt the name of the boat, but the name was ironic if Hogg’s story was true. The saddest part was that it was a nice boat, preserved well past its time and it would now go to waste if there was a lone man left to maintain it or if it fell into the hands of orcs.

The bounty hunter put his revolver back in its holster, climbed up onto the metal rail of the bridge and leapt onto the upper deck of the boat. He looked around and saw small splatters of blood on the wooden floors that looked as though they had been largely washed away by the rain. Still, bloodstains were not so easily removed; immune to even a mighty storm. Arc strolled along the outside, admiring the structure as he looked for anyone. There came no creak from above or below, only the occasional clunk of the boat beating against the bridge as it was pushed by the river.

In the lower deck, there were a few bedrolls laid out as well as satchels filled with camping gear, food, and even a couple of old photographs. He noted that the only weapons were a couple of knives, but they could just as easily have ben used for cutting vegetables. Hogg’s story checked out, but he would probe the man for more information. Orcs in the area? That was a worrisome notion.

Arc climbed the stairs, walked over to Hogg, and patted him down for weapons, finding only spare shotgun shells. “All clear,” he said to Jack and Julie as he retrieved Hogg’s shotgun and held it a. “Hop aboard, you two.”

The twins hurried onto the bridge and Arc continued to watch the stranger until the twins were safely by his side. Once they were, he turned to the man and smiled.

“Now, I think we can be friends,” he said. “Everything seems to check out so far and you behaved yourself, so you’ve earned a modicum of trust. As I said, my name is Arc the Hawk. I’m a bounty hunter and, if the gun didn’t give it away, a spellslinger to boot. Well met.”

“Likewise,” said Hogg, looking genuinely relieved. “I lost pretty much everything yesterday and I thought today would be the final nail in my coffin. And I don’t mean that as a metaphor, Arc the Hawk. It’s nice to have a friendly face around, even if you’re just passing through.”

“I’m Julie,” said Julie, holding out a hand, which Hogg shook lightly.

“Jack,” said the young man, not offering his hand to shake.

“A pleasure,” said Hogg.

Arc looked at the man pointedly. “Orcs, start talking.”

“We had better take a seat,” said Hogg, walking over to a pile of overturned chairs and flipping them around. He gestured for each of the three to sit. Once they had all sat, he launched into his tale. “My people and I have been living on the Providence for the better part of a year now. We repaired it from scratch and had it nicely docked in a small alcove. We figured that a mobile home would be the safest place to live, and it was…for a while.

“About a fortnight ago, a small band of armed orcs showed up and demanded we turn over all of our weapons, food, and money. Naturally, we refused, and they thought it would be a smart idea to start shooting us. Although being shot at is not a regular occurrence for us, we have had to defend ourselves before and blew half of their squad to smithereens. With assurances that they would be back, they departed empty-handed and with far fewer numbers than they started with. Had we been sensible, we would have followed them and wiped the rest out, but sadly, we thought it was an idle threat and they would leave us alone now that they knew we would fight back.

“Last night, during the downpour, the orcs returned in large vehicles with three times the numbers and were led by a particularly burly fellow with a cybernetic arm who called himself Azuk. He said that there can be a peaceful resolution to this and they only want to make a trade. He offered their protection in exchange for some of our supplies; something about needing to arm his people for an upcoming battle.

“There was a heated debate within our community with at least two-thirds of our number saying we should flat out refuse—myself included—while the others said that having an allegiance with orcs would scare the pantaloon off anyone who dared come close. Especially if these orcs ended up gaining significant territorial wins in the region.”

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“Madness,” muttered Arc, shaking his head. “Never trust an orc.”

“Exactly,” said Hogg quietly, tears starting to well up in his sunken eyes. “While we were debating, the orcs launched a surprise assault. They hurled a few smoke grenades to mask themselves and sprayed bullets into the crowd, even though they couldn’t see. Before the smoke had even cleared, they jumped onto the ship and I was thrown overboard while my people were killed or taken. There were only a couple of orcs left on board by the time I pulled myself back onto the lower deck. I grabbed this here shotgun and started blasting them apart before untying the shop and riding the river down. I made sure to take the most difficult path for them to follow. I fell asleep at dawn and awoke as soon as I hit the bridge.”

“And now you’re stuck here,” said Arc.

“And now I’m stuck here,” confirmed Hogg, putting his head in his hands. “Ain’t nobody left but me.”

“What about your people who were taken?” asked Julie with a small spark of hope shining in her voice.

“They’re with orcs,” said Arc as Hogg nodded. “That means they’re not coming back.”

“Can’t we go and save them?

“With what army? I have an adequate stock of bullets, but precious few spell cartridges. You two are still barely tested in combat. Hogg here, well, he’s got a shotgun which won’t do a lot of good if we’re fighting from afar. There’s no rescue mission to be had with just the four of us.”

“But what if—”

“I appreciate the sentiment, little lady,” said Hogg, shaking his head despondently, “but I’m afraid there’s no point. I wouldn’t even know where to follow them to and the storm could easily have washed any car tracks.”

“Not to mention, we don’t have a vehicle to follow them with,” said Jack. “It’s a nice thought, Jule, but we’re not capable of taking on an army of orcs.”

“We dealt with the gnolls,” said Julie, the hope in her voice fading rapidly and being replaced by desperate pleading.

Arc put his hand on her shoulder. “Orcs are far from geniuses, but gnolls are especially stupid. They were also less armed. I wish we could do something, truly, but we can’t save everyone.”

Hogg stood up and walked over to the edge of the boat. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the railing while looking over the bridge and further down the river. The man looked tired. He drew his hand down his face and stifled a yawn.

“What are you going to do about the boat?” asked Arc, walking over to join him.

“It’s sitting at the edge of a main road and there’s nothing I can do to free it,” he said. “If I stay here, I’ll be a sitting duck and the orcs may pass this way eventually. Hell, there may even be other creatures that find me. I’ll stay here another day or two until I can gather myself. Then, I’ll say my goodbyes to both my people and the Providence before hitting the road.”

“We’re on our way to Cliff Town. If you want to come along, you’re welcome to accompany us.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I want to disappear. I don’t feel much like being part of another community. In my head, I would be replacing the dead with a new set of the living and that’s not healthy until I’ve processed this.”

Arc shrugged. “If that’s what you want, that’s what you want.”

Julie snuck up behind him and tugged on his jacket. She looked at him with puppy dog eyes, silently begging him to push a little harder.

Arc couldn’t help but smile at her and he turned back to Hogg. “Although in saying that, what you want may not be what’s best for you. A shotgun won’t carry you very far, especially with the limited bullets you have left. We’ll keep you company to the gates of Cliff Town and you can make your decision there. I insist.”

Hogg let out a dry laugh and a faint smile curled onto his lips. “What sort of saint are you?” he asked. “You come along here and listen to my story rather than mug me. You want to help me rather than leave me for dead. I don’t understand, if I’m being honest with you, Arc the Hawk.”

“We’ve all lost people,” he said, looking over his shoulder to Jack and Julie. “All three of us have. We understand how difficult it is to keep moving forward when death is all around you, but soon, it’ll be in the rear view and you’ll find the strength to keep going. It won’t be easy, don’t get me wrong, but you can come back from this and honour those who were with you for the first part of your journey.”

Hogg sighed. “I don’t know…”

“Please, Mr Hogg,” said Julie.

“Yes,” said Arc, holding the man’s shotgun out to him. “Please.”

“Alright,” said Hogg, accepting his weapon. “Give me a few minutes to get my things together and say goodbye. Any supplies you need or want, feel free to take them. They’re better going to you than being left here to be looted by whoever happens upon the boat.”

“If you’re sure,” said Arc, at which Hogg took a deep breath and nodded assuredly before slumping off downstairs.

“You heard him,” said Jack, nudging his sister. “We’ll strip the boat bare and that’ll give us more than enough supplies for a while.”

“How can you be so callous?” asked Julie. “The man’s lost everything and you’re more concerned about how it benefits us.”

“I feel for him, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not going to say that I won’t take the supplies. At least there’s a silver lining after.”

“I don’t believe you,” muttered Juile, scowling at her brother.

“You two can bicker about this later,” said Arc. “Let’s give this place a once-over and then get ourselves ready to go. The sooner we get to Cliff Town, the better. This boat is one greater floating target and if we found it, someone else will before long. Now, chop chop, kiddos.”

The three looked grabbed whatever food they could find—which admittedly was not much—as well as any knives and spare bullets they found tucked away in crevices across the Providence. As they scoured the ship, Hogg sat on his knees at the front side of the lower deck with his head bowed low. Once the trio had finished, they stood and waited quietly by for Hogg to finish his final farewell to his people and his boat.

“I’m ready,” he said, approaching Arc, Jack, and Julie with a stoic face. “Let’s get going to Cliff—”

“What was that?” asked Arc, holding up a hand.

As the others listened, the noise grew louder. It was a faint, rumbling sound, but there was a gritty smoky tone to it. Arc looked to the other side of the bridge and saw a small shape on the horizon and his eyes widened with horror. He should have known what it was immediately.

“It’s a car,” he said, drawing the Golden Hawk.

“Run!” urged Hogg, making his way to the railing, but Arc grabbed him by the collar with his free hand and pulled him back.

“No,” said the spellslinger, releasing the sole survivor of the Providence. “Wait a minute.”

Arc hurried to the upper deck and kept low as he watched the object growing larger. There was a single vehicle, he was certain of it, and that meant it was something he could handle alone even if there were half a dozen orcs riding in it. He ran back down to Jack, Julie, and Hogg to give them a hurried instruction.

“The three of you are to wait down below for me,” he said. “Hogg, find the safest place you know and hide there until I call out for you all. I’ll handle whoever this is, orcs or not.”

“Arc, we can’t leave you to do it alone!” cried Julie, grabbing onto his jacket.

“You want to travel with me? Then you do as I say.”

“We’ll do it,” said Jack, taking his sister by the arm. “If you need backup, shout for us and we’ll come running. Be safe, alright?”

“Always,” said Arc with a cocky grin as Hogg led the two twins inside and into the hull to hide.

The spellslinger took a deep breath and crept back up to the upper deck. He stayed low as he slipped into the hut and peeked over the edge, looking out into the wasteland as the vehicle—a pickup truck—drew closer and closer. There was a driver and a passenger in the front with four more passengers in the back. Even from this distance, Arc’s keen eyes could see their green skin through their armour and their sharp tusks protruding out from their lower lips. There was no mistaking it; the orcs were back and they wanted Hogg.