James spent the first few days learning the Ath'Kath'Ran language. Much of this was thanks to Brekka, who lost no time introducing their son Grem'Thal to him. Their shared experience had quickly gained her trust, but James still made sure to keep himself under her and Ik'Laus' watch. Not because he felt distrusted, but rather because he wanted to show himself as worthy of that trust. Despite his smaller stature, they quickly welcomed him into the Othrek Clan, giving him spare clothing and shelter as if he was born among them. As days passed and he began to learn how to care for the goats he quickly fell into a daily routine. And although little Grem'Thal constantly woke him up with his baby cries, it was not a bad thing and instead something that filled him with joy knowing that he had made a positive difference in someone's life.

He also learned more about the surrounding area. He learned from Ik'Laus that he was in the Kingdom of Moravia, a kingdom known for their discrimination against non-humans. When James asked why they stayed if that was the case instead of simply leaving, Ik'Laus told him that they had nowhere else to go.

James felt sad and sorry for the orcs when he learned this. So he asked if there were any way he could earn some human currency and perhaps buy something for the tribe. Ik'Laus had only shrugged and brought him to a dumping ground where they had tossed the things they didn't use or need, explaining that any humans with coins on them that had been killed in their constant skirmishes had had their property dumped there if it wasn't reused. Having learned earlier that orcs helped each other out and paid each other in goods or services, James knew that the orcs had no use for money and quickly dug up several coins. They reminded him much of early Roman coins, with crude head portraits stamped on one side and a sword and shield on the other. There were bronze, silver, and rarely even gold coins, and though James couldn't tell whose image was on the coins he learned from Ik'Laus that it was supposed to be King Marcus Moravia. Armed with this knowledge and after donning a coarse human robe instead of the animal leather the orcs wore, James made his excuses and headed out. As he left an orc turned to Ik'Laus.

"Are you sure we can trust the human? What if he brings his own kind here?"

"He is Clan Othrek. I trust him" Ik'Laus said in a tone that was unwavering.

"But what if he betrays us!"

"He could have killed my wife and son at any time. But he didn't; he risked his life to alert me. And since living here he has made an effort to not only learn our tongue, but earn his keep without living off our gratitude. Don't many of our own take the care of their parents for granted? I trust him; he will not betray us Ul'Thak."

"Hmmph."

The orc went away, angry and frustrated with bitterness.

Making his way towards the river and continuing on past the spot where he had met Brekka, James eventually came to a small bridge that crossed the river. Continuing on, he travelled for about half a day along a beaten path before he came to a small village protected by a simple wooden wall. It was not much, but perhaps it would keep wild beasts out. Venturing in through the open gate, James was assaulted by the smell of unwashed bodies and human excrement. He soon saw one of the culprits as he passed by a tanner, who believe it or not was using poop in his work. Remembering what he had learned about how tanning used to be done back on Earth, James was not entirely surprised but it still made him feel like bathing. Continuing on, he moved past a baker and tailor, and he grimaced when he passed the butcher who James could only chuckle at knowing the buzzing flies, the rusted cleaver and the dirty butcher's apron would have caused him to be shut down by an competent food safety inspector.

Trying to be smart, he moved about the village and passed a busker as he examined what there was to buy. He stopped by a cartwright and purchased a cart, spending a great deal of money to do so. It made sense though, for how else was he going to transport anything? From there he bought some basic items to not appear too out of the ordinary. Flour from a nearby millwright, a few barrels of ale from the brewer. He even purchased a few tools. Nothing too fancy.

It was just as he was purchasing a Morganthal equivalent of a donkey, a beast called a Keptha with a brown coat and two sets of teeth, that he paused as he caught sight of a small crowd in the village square. Curious what all the commotion was, he went over and listened in. Curiously, the humans were speaking English, which made him wonder if other humans had once come here from earth as well.

He was shocked when he saw a young girl in chains. Not just any girl, but a child with curving horns on her head. With reddish black hair and eyes that showed little sclera as if a mix between human and reptilian, the child was clearly not human.

"Come one, come all! Come buy a demon slave!"

Chloe was terrified. Having lost her parents to sickness, she had quickly been found by the villagers who saw her as an easy way to get rich. Looking at the villagers who leered at her from beneath her bangs, Chloe felt vulnerable and terrified. As people began to shout out bids, her attention was drawn to one well-dressed person who might have been a nobleman. Grinning at her as if she were prey, Chloe hurriedly looked away and began studying the ground, unwilling to look at anyone else for several moments.

As the bids began to die out, she suddenly heard a new voice calmly raise the price, causing even the nobleman to frown in displeasure. One had to know that he was Baron Rodgers, a man who used his wealth and priviledge however he liked. So having someone compete with him for what he wanted was equivalent to painting a target on one's back. Unfortunately for him, the current bid was more money than he had on him, so with an eerie smile he faded away and watched as a shabbily dressed human stepped forward and tossed out the money for the girl.

James quickly took Chloe and the key to her chains and led her to the cart. Scooping her up he felt the girl retract in terror but lost no time flicking the reins and sending the keptha out of the village.

Once they were a short distance away from the village James stopped the cart and turned to her. Chloe wanted to scream, but to her surprise the man only unlocked her chains, tossing the metal into the back of the cart before wrapping her in a warm blanket.

"I'm sorry. But everything will be alright now."

Chloe's eyes welled up with tears and she finally wept, crying from pain at the loss of her parents, from the fear she felt in the human village and from relief. Gently putting his arm around her shoulders, James let her cry for several minutes. When she finally began to calm down, he gently sent the keptha forward again, jolting the cart with a lurch as they moved from a stationary position. As they journeyed, she began to calm down and finally relax.

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"I didn't get you name, you know. Would you mind telling me?"

"I'm...Chloe."

"Chloe. That's a beautiful name" he told her, feeling like Kris Kringle from Miracle on 34th Street. "And what do you like to do? What are your interests?"

"Slaves don't have interests Master."

Chloe knew instantly that she had said something wrong as James sharply looked at her and frowned, a deep, irrevocable anger surging from his eyes.

"Chloe...you are not a slave. And I will have no slaves. You are a person with her own mind and her own dreams, desires, and personality. Don't ever let anyone take that from you."

He held her gaze for several moments before he smiled at her and looked back at the road ahead.

That night, James had the keptha drag the cart off the road a short ways before he set up camp. As there was not much on the plains, he had no fuel he could use to light a fire and could only give Chloe a piece of smoked meat for their supper. After they had both eaten, he prepared some blankets under the cart for her to sleep in while he sat on the cart.

Soon enough, he saw several flickers of light in the distance. Sighing, he slowly got down from the cart and waited silently. Then a thought struck him and he went to the keptha and watched it graze, nervous that it might bray and alert their pursuers. Luckily, the jack of an ass stayed quiet and their cart was far enough off the road with no fire to reveal their presence. James guessed that it was the baron, riding on horseback with his knights or soldiers and carrying torches. This made him worry about the pettiness of the noble, but he also felt extremely fortunate that the two of them had escaped notice. Meanwhile, Chloe slept fitfully beneath the cart as the night passed.

The next morning James hurriedly woke Chloe by shaking her awake at first light. After a quick breakfast they continued their journey, finding several horse prints going both ways along the path. Seeing the returning hoof marks made James feel relieved, realizing that it was unlikely the baron had set an ambush point up ahead. Before long they had crossed the bridge when they came to it and again broke off the path towards the orc settlement. And a few hours later, James drew near the familiar sight of the animal hide homes that made up Clan Othrek. Chloe watched as James went over to speak with an orc, stumbling with a different language. From what she could see, the conversation did not appear to be going well.

"But how can you say this? She's a child! Am I not part of the Othrek Clan?"

"You are, but Ul'Thak has convinced the clan that we should not bring in outsiders."

"Any more, you mean."

Ik'Laus sighed and placed his hand on James' upper arm in a sign of support.

"I know this isn't fair, and I will always be grateful to you for protecting my son. But my hands are tied."

James grunted and looked away for a moment, then back and Ik'Laus.

"I get it. You've fought with humans for a long time, and your people are probably just scared. I get that. But...I can't abandon her. I found her being sold as a slave, and if I abandon her I don't know if she will ever trust again, assuming she even lives through the winter. Can I ask for one last favour? I'd like to trade my supplies for all the gold and currency you have, along with a map and general knowledge of the surrounding lands."

"That I can do" Ik'Laus answered, feeling ashamed that he now was forced to turn away his son's saviour.

"If it means anything," James told him, seeing his shame. "I would probably do the same if I were in your position. I don't blame you my friend, just focus on protecting your son."

Ik'Laus felt humbled hearing the human, and he could only nod gruffly before turning away to see to his friend's request. As he left, James turned and returned to Chloe, taking a knee in front of her.

"Chloe...these orcs are good people. But they are afraid that we will draw more humans to them. So I would like to ask you something. Would you like to leave and go your own way, or would you like to continue travelling with me?"

She shook her head violently and reaching out gave him a sudden hug. Surprised, James felt the little girl soak his tunic in tears before sobbing.

"Please don't leave me. Don't abandon me; I'll do anything!"

"Shh, shh, shh, Chloe, I will never leave you! I was just asking to learn what you want. I would be happy to keep travelling with you!"

He shushed the tiny orphan and before he knew it was giving her a gentle hug and rocking her back and forth. He felt protective towards the child, but also a bit happy that she had chosen to stay with him.

A few hours later Ik'Laus returned carrying several rough sacks of coins. The sheer sum staggered James, and he knew just by feeling the weight that he had very suddenly become an exceedingly wealthy man, perhaps wealthier than the noble he had encountered in the human village. Once the goods James had brought were all unloaded with the exception of a little flour and other necessities, the coins were loaded in their place along with a few other items including a water barrel. Ik'Laus also handed James a rough leather map.

"This here, this is where we are" he told James pointing to an unlabelled area just off from a trickling squiggle that indicated the river, which thanks to his language lessons James saw was named the Eethkan River. James appreciated both his explanation and his caution in not labelling his settlement on a map that anyone could find.

"And this here...this is the Mine of the Gothcraks. It's a Dwarven mine belonging to the Dwarf kingdom of Felicia."

James chortled.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just that we humans have a saying that basically means go away. So it is a little funny that a kingdom would have that name."

"I see. Well, just don't upset their king. Thrandal is a proud man, or so I hear anyway. But you should be able to hire dwarven help with this gold."

"What kind of help? Food, weapons?"

"Anything. Dwarves are not picky. You can hire their craftsmen or their warriors or buy food from them for the right price."

"Does it matter that I am a human?"

"They do business with all races. Humans tolerate them as long as they make their weapons, so you should be okay."

"Alright then" James said, rolling up the map. "Thank you my friend. I wish you the best of luck."

"The same to you dear friend. If you are ever in trouble, send word and I will come."

They clasped their right hands and used their left to draw each other into a brief hug in the Othrek traditional parting used between sword brothers. And with that, James climbed back on the cart as Chloe looked at the giant orc.

"Stay safe, little one. This human will protect you, just as he did for my son."

The demon girl looked puzzled, but a moment later they started away and began to make their way towards the dwarf kingdom.