The orcs drove towards the bridge and Arc watched intently with his spellcaster at the ready. If they were just a little closer, he would be able to blow their vehicle sky high and put an end to their hunt before they even reached their destination. Much to his dismay, they stopped more than a hundred feet from the Providence and climbed out.

All six orcs were coated in iron armour from head to toe that covered up their broad, muscular physiques. They were shorter than humans, and their pig-like faces ensured that even in darkness, they would not be mistaken for normal people. Their jutting tusks were yellowing, but they were certainly sharp enough to tear flesh from bone without a hint of difficulty. The orcs carried a variety of weapons, from swords and axes strapped to their sides, to the handguns and rifles they held in their hands. They knew who they were looking for and had more than enough firepower to find him. What they didn’t count on, however, was that someone else had found Hogg first. And that someone was their worst nightmare.

“What’s your plan?” Arc whispered to himself as the orcs stood and talked amongst themselves. After a minute, the tallest of them stepped forward.

“Human!” it roared in its gravelly voice. “You must pay for your crimes against the Iron Axe Clan. Reveal yourself and we will grant you a swift death.”

Arc knew that Hogg was in no position to answer so he kept quiet and waited to see what the orcs would do. With any luck, they would hop back in their car and drive forward so he could blow it up with an Arcane Shot.

“Last warning!” called the orc. He waited a few more seconds, walked over to the pickup truck, and retrieved a bazooka.

“Oh shit,” said Arc, suddenly in a panic. “Iron Axe Clan!” he called out.

“We knew you were there,” said the orc, mounting the launcher on his shoulder. “Come down now and accept the death you brought upon yourself for the murder of our clanmates.”

“You attacked my boat first,” Arc replied, trying to quickly think of a way to kill the orcs before they blew the entire Providence to smithereens with the four humans still on board.

“Your negotiations took too long. We are not patient, especially not Azuk.”

“Are you going to take me back to your base?”

“No, we will kill you here and throw your body in the river. All we need is your head to bring back to Scrap Mountain.”

“Alright, give me a second and I’ll be right down. No shooting until I get there.”

Arc knew he was in a bind. He was too far out of reach to use his spellcaster effectively and the orcs’ iron armour would protect them from his revolver rounds. The odds of him being able to kill all six of his foes without having to reload was basically zero. If, however, he could get close enough without having to shoot then he could attack one of their two weak points; the car or the rocket sitting comfortably in the bazooka just waiting to be unleashed.

“Never trust an orc,” Arc murmured. “They’ll kill me before I come close. They’re stupid, yes, but they’re not stupid enough to let me approach armed. Would they fall for the old spellcaster in the scarf trick or would they gun me down the second I show myself?”

Arc crawled through the doorway and pulled himself slowly down the stairs, careful as not to reveal even an inch of himself to his foes.

“Arc,” came Hogg’s hushed voice from the lower deck. “Arc, are you there?”

“Why aren’t you hiding?” Arc asked him angrily.

“They’re going to kill you. I can’t let that happen.”

“Not happening. I’ll get all of us out alive somehow.”

“How?”

Arc sighed. “Somehow,” he said, still not having thought of a plan other than to try shooting them.

“The river is too dangerous to flee to, and those brutes will slaughter all of us if given the chance. If they think I’m the only one left and kill me, that’s your chance to escape. I just—”

“I’m going to start counting from ten,” called the orc.

“Thanks for trying,” said Hogg, walking out into the open and jumping onto the bridge.

“Hogg!” whispered Arc as loudly as he could. “No!”

“I’m here,” said Hogg, throwing his shotgun onto the bridge. “Do what you need to so that I may see my friends once again.”

“Gladly,” said the orc.

One of the others took aim with his rifle and pulled the trigger, piercing a hole through Hogg’s chest. He fell backwards and gasped for air, but his lung had been pierced and he was struggling. Arc shut his eyes tightly for a second, wishing there was something he could have done, but he knew that all there was left was to ensure that Hogg was avenged.

The orcs jumped back into their car and it started to rumble as the engine fired up. They drove onto the bridge and stopped by Hogg as he slowly reached his hand into the sky as though he had seen something above him. There was a faint smile on his face as his strength failed and his arm flopped onto the ground.

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“Rest in piss, human,” said one of the orcs.

He hopped jumped from the car and landed beside Hogg. Drawing his axe, he held it high and swung it down swiftly, cutting off the dying man’s foot. Hogg let out a rasping cry of pain before he started wheezing again, trying to catch air.

“Hurry it up,” said another orc. “We’ve got to strip this boat for parts and I don’t want to still be here at sunset.”

“This won’t take much longer,” said the orc with the axe who smiled devilishly as he raised it up once more. Arc was infuriated by Hogg’s torture and could not allow this barbarism to continue.

“Oi!” he barked, leaping to his feet and pulling out his spellcaster. “No prayers for you, scum.”

He pulled the trigger on his spellcaster and launched an Arcane Shot straight at the bazooka. He dove out of the way as the ball of magical energy tore through the air and collided with the rocket as the orcs all screamed in terror, but their screams were cut short by two successive explosions; the first from the rocket and the second from the car.

All six orcs were obliterated into small chunks and the suffering Hogg was put out of his misery. Chunks of asphalt, iron, and concrete rained down upon the river and the railing of the upper deck of the boat was dislodged by the force of the blasts. Arc covered his head with his hands as he rolled under a table to shield himself from the falling rubble.

“Arc!” cried Jack, running up the stairs with his pistol drawn. Julie followed, clutching her own gun tightly with a murderous look on her face.

“Over here,” said the spellslinger, sliding out from under the table and clambering to his feet.

“Thank the heavens,” said Julie, rushing over to him and throwing her arms around his waist. Jack walked over trying to play it cool, but halfway there, he did the same as his sister.

“It’s nice to feel loved,” said Arc, patting the two on the back. “You’re both alright?”

“Yes, we’re fine,” said Jack, looking around. “Where’s Hogg?”

Arc closed his eyes and took a deep breath before answering. “Robert Hogg died a hero,” he said quietly.

Jack groaned while Julie gasped, dropping her gun and clasping her hands over her mouth. Arc picked it up for her, handed it back to her and she shakily accepted it.

“What happened?” asked Jack, looking over his shoulder to the flickering remnants of the fire and the ruined chassis of the pickup truck. “You blew up another car?”

“Yes, I blew up another car. I think you’re missing the point here a little.”

Jack sighed. “Yes, you’re right. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful. Go on.”

Arc explained everything that happened to the twins and they listened silently, only reacting whenever they heard about the orc hacking off Hogg’s foot. Jack spat and cursed while Julie shuddered as her face turned as white as a ghost.

The spellslinger finished his recount. “And then the pair of you came running up the stairs. Which is touching, by the way, that you wanted to come to my rescue.”

“So…what do we do now?” asked Jack.

“We continue as before and head straight for Cliff Town. There’s nothing we can do about the Iron Axe Clan, but we can sleep more soundly knowing that there are six fewer orcs in Nuvaria thanks to Hogg’s sacrifice. May he rest in peace and find those he lost in the afterlife.”

“I had optimistically hoped we would be able to take their car and drive the rest of the way,” said Jack. “I should know better than to dare to dream. Anytime I think something good is going to happen, the opposite happens.”

“To tell you the truth, I think Hogg was happy to have a way out. A way out that gave him a purpose in his final moments.”

“I don’t like death,” said Julie, a pair of tears running down her cheeks. “We’ve seen far too much of it lately. Even the bandits we killed at Colt’s base…I see them every night when I close my eyes.”

“I know,” said Arc, putting his hand on her shoulder and leaning down. “But, it’s like we said to Hogg, isn’t it? It’ll soon be in the rear view and we’ll find the strength to keep going.”

“And when do you truly get over it?”

“You don’t, you just get desensitised to it. Which may not sound like much, but it makes it easier to make the world a better place.”

Julie nodded and walked over to the broken railing. She leapt from the boat to the bridge and looked around. Jack kept an eye on her while Arc fetched everyone’s bags which were now filled to the brim with supplies from those who once resided on the Providence.

“We’ve got a long road ahead of us,” he said, leaping onto the bridge beside Jack. “Carry your own bags, you lazy bums.”

“You would think the credit for rushing in to save you would extend beyond five minutes,” grumbled the young man, taking the bag from Arc.

“I’m not your pack mule, you freeloader,” said the bounty hunter, slapping the young man on the back of the head. “No more complaining.”

Jack rolled his eyes and walked across the bridge. Arc held out Julie’s bag for her and she slumped over to him. “If we all stick together, we’ll be just fine,” he told her.

Julie took her bag and gave a firm nod. “I know. And I know that killing bad people and monsters is what we have to do. It just saddens me that the world is in such a bad state that we have to do it. I wonder if it was like this before the Arcanaclysm…”

“I don’t think there’s ever been a time free from bad characters,” said Arc, walking after Jack and beckoning Julie to follow. “Even in the most peaceful and remote places, cretins and villains rear their ugly heads. I’m just glad that there are good people left who want to continue fighting the good fight. I count you and your brother in that, you know?”

“You don’t think we’re just here because you can keep us alive?”

“If I thought that, I wouldn’t have agreed to bring you both along. You’re both good souls and wise beyond your years. All that you lack is the experience to back it up, and I’ll make certain that you get just that so that you can fend for yourselves long after I’m gone.”

Julie stopped dead in her tracks. “After you’re gone? Are you planning to leave us behind one day?”

“Not if I can help it,” said Arc with a grin before his face fell. “But I have the suspicion that my days are numbered. One day, I’ll walk into a situation that I can’t talk or shoot my way out of. I thought for a moment back on the boat that today was that day.”

“If we go down, we’ll all go down together,” said Julie. “This is our purpose now. We’ll hunt your bounties with you, through thick and thin. Even if that means we all end up at the bottom of the same pit.”

“I’ll throw you both out of the pit.”

“And we’ll jump back in again.”

“That’s just stupid. What if you have a chance to go and get some help? Use your noggin, girl.”

Jack called from the river. “Will you two hurry up? I’ll get to Cliff Town a day before you do.”

“You don’t know the way, you lug nut!” Arc yelled. “The river doesn’t flow through the town, it flows underneath it. Without me, you’d keep walking until a mermaid drags you into her lair.”

“Mermaids are nice, no?” asked Julie.

“Not the ones I’ve met,” muttered Arc. “They can be as vicious as a sahaugin, especially if you reject their advances.”

“Now that’s a story you have to tell me,” said Julie, laughing. Her mood had slowly brightened over the course of her conversation with Arc.

“Nah, it’s not as exciting as it sounds. It’s much better left a mystery.”