They made their way into the brown sandstone buildings. Just like the ruins where Booger had lived, many of the structures were toppled over. The Dragonspawn had made what alterations and repairs they could. This mainly consisted of adding tarps and cloth hangings. As they entered the city, many of the residents stopped what they were doing and stared at the group with their vertical-slitted eyes. Gilreg occasionally heard the rumbling and hisses from the inhabitants, and for the most part, the city was very silent.

“Why are they so quiet?” Booger asked Gilreg in a loud whisper. Priestess heard him easily.

“We do not require sounds to communicate,” she answered.

“Thank you,” Booger whispered again.

“Stop whispering, you oaf,” said Shaymus.

“You can rest here. Elenoark will see you tomorrow,” Priestess said. The slender Dragonspawn motioned to a dwelling that was missing a wall and a ceiling. The open spaces were covered with a heavy tarp and a white cloth curtain. Inside was completely empty, just dirt and stones.

“The Dark Elves gave us better accommodations,” mumbled Shaymus.

The group settled inside by laying down their sacks and unfolding their bed mats. Gilreg began to set up a fire for cooking. Raine produced some of the meat she had hunted. Nulrok added some herbs. Tassarion sniffed them, and he opened and showed the mage some mushrooms. Nulrok grinned widely. Shaymus licked her lips in anticipation as Gilreg started to boil the water and stir in the ingredients.

“You said the adventurer we fought earlier was a master of the inner fire. What does that mean?” Gilreg asked the orc prince.

“There were no berserkers in your clan?” Said Booger.

“Berserkers?”

“Another name I’ve heard was Ravagers. Any of them?” Queried the orc a second time.

“Sounds silly to me,” observed Shaymus. Gilreg shook his head.

Off to the side, Nulrok was meditating. Raine took over monitoring the stew. Tassarion, not sure where he was with the group, listened in to their conversation.

“Here in your gut, you have a power that can be harnessed. It is called the Inner Fire. Berserkers are able to channel their anger from their heart to ignite the flames,” explained the orc prince. He placed one hand over his stomach and the other hand over his chest.

“I have a lot of rage. How do I push it to my gut?” Shaymus growled.

“That might be how you triggered your demonic transformation,” observed Nulrok. He opened one eye to look at them.

Shaymus giggled darkly and glanced at the dark elf. Tassarion shifted uncomfortably.

“The elves frowned upon berserkers. We preferred finesse over reckless fighting,” he said, and Booger nodded.

“Sissies!” Shaymus teased. She was staring intently at Tassarion with her pale eyes.

“You fight with finesse as well, and your style would not benefit from the Inner Fire,” said Booger.

“Say that again to me, orc,” threatened Shaymus.

“I don’t think she knows what finesse means,” Nulrok pointed out and then quickly returned to meditating with both eyes closed when Shaymus glared at him.

“I recalled that the adventurer focused heavily on their offense. I wouldn’t say they were reckless. I would say that they did not put effort into their defense. They also appeared to shrug off damage,” said Gilreg thoughtfully.

“That is very accurate,” observed Booger.

“The Inner Fire improves your physical strength and durability. The cost is that when you ignite the flames within you, you lose the ability to strategize, to think. Shaymus, you fight with a wild style, but you are very smart in your movements. You set up feints and are calculating,” Tassarion said with a glint of respect in his eyes.

Shaymus opened her mouth to make a retort but didn’t know how to handle the compliment. Instead, she scoffed at the elf and looked away to avoid eye contact.

“Can you show me how to use my inner fire?” Gilreg asked.

“No, I always preferred tactics and strategy. I sense you are the same and suggest that you do not take the path of the berserker.”

Gilreg nodded, and the group became silent. Each lost in their own world. Gilreg continued to cook. Raine assisted the warrior by testing the stew and adding more spices. Booger began to polish his armor and weapons. Shaymus took a nap. Tassarion followed the orc’s lead and began to look after his gear. Nulrok closed his eyes again to meditate. When the meal was ready, they ate together, sitting around the campfire.

“I hope Elenarok is able to aid us,” Gilreg said at last.

“I think we have fostered positive terms with Priestess. Our chances are looking good,” Tassarion responded.

Raine finished her bowl of stew and rinsed it out from a waterskin. She gathered up her bow and rose to her feet.

“I will seek out the hunters and learn from them,” she said, and without waiting for a response, she left.

“That is not a bad idea. We can strengthen our relationship with the Dragonspawn, which will improve our chances of not being eaten by Elenorak tomorrow. I will join her,” Tassarion said, and he also departed.

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The rest remained for a moment in the hut. Nulrok was still meditating, and Booger was packing away his well-polished and maintained gear. Shaymus was lying on her back, staring at the white tarp covering their crumbled stone abode.

“Want to train?” Gilreg asked Booger. The orc nodded.

“Yes,” Shaymus answered, and she rose to her feet.

The three departed, leaving Nulrok alone. A few moments later, the mage opened his eyes and saw that no one else was around him. He shrugged, closed his eyes, and returned to meditating.

RAINE AND TASSARION

Tassarion hurried after Raine as she set out through the Dragonspawn city. Priestess had called it a city, and the ruins were once a city. Large, spread out with avenues and plazas. Now many of the parts of the city lay in inhabitable ruins. The plazas filled with rubble, and the once mighty buildings toppled over. There was not nearly enough Dragonspawn to inhabit the entirety of it, either. It was, more accurately, a Dragonspawn village within the ruins of a city.

Raine found the hunters she had traveled with earlier in an open plaza surrounded by rubble and toppled-over brownstone buildings. The hunters converted the area into a range for them to practice their spear-throwing. They had cleverly constructed targets that were attached to ropes. The ropes would be pulled by other dragonspawn to mimic running prey. The hunters would practice their throwing while the younger Dragonspawn practiced on stationary targets. The hunters recognized Raine and nodded with a deep rumble from their throats. Tassarion approached cautiously, but they ignored him.

Raine sat by the hunter with the scarred eye. He appeared older than the others and was crafting spears from salvaged materials. Bone, leather, broken weapons, and armor from fallen adventurers. Raine’s eyes went wide. She initially thought the Scorched Plains did not provide the proper supplies to craft bows. But Adventurers came daily, and their fallen remains provided enough. Beside the old warrior was a veritable treasure hoard of gear from the Fallen.

“No gems or gold,” observed Tassarion.

“We bring to Elenorak,” the old hunter answered. If Raine was startled that the old hunter could speak their language, she hid it well. Tassarion’s shock made it seem that his lower jaw could fall off his face at any moment.

Beside the spears that the old Dragonspawn was crafting were skinned parts from scorpions and venomous snakes. The old hunter was mixing the venoms from the dead animals in a clay bowl. He mixed it with some other plants and converted it into a paste that he was able to coat on the tips of the spears. Tassarion’s eyes went wide with interest.

“Sit, I teach you,” said the Dragonspawn to Raine. Raine nodded and sat. Tassarion hovered from behind to study as well.

That was how Raine and the dark elf spent their time with the Dragonspawn. Learning to craft the poisons their hunters use. Raine also showed the old hunter how to craft bows from the salvaged remains. She had drawn up schematics to make bows that the Dragonspawn’s physiology could use. Their hunched-over upper torsos could straighten enough to allow them to pull back a drawstring and fire the bow.

BOOGER, SHAYMUS, AND GILREG

The two goblins and the orc made their way out of their hut. They searched for an open space where they could spar. As they searched, they heard sounds of combat. Their curiosity perked, and they followed the noises. It led them to a vast open space where dozens of Dragonspawn drilled and sparred with each other. The apparent instructor was a lean and scarred Dragonspawn with red scales and two large horns protruding from the back of their head. The three paused at the edge of the training ground. The instructor nodded at them, and they eagerly entered.

The Dragonspawn method of combat involved deep low stances. This enabled the creatures to utilize their powerful hind legs to launch forward with tremendous power. The low-to-the-ground stance also made them harder to hit and able to defend themselves fully with their shields. Gilreg watched as the Dragonspawn crouched low, curling their tails inwards and covering their bodies with their shields. Their free hand gripped a spear, and they would unfurl, launching themselves upwards while thrusting with their weapon.

Gilreg unslung his shield and practiced alongside them. He didn’t use a spear, and instead of attacking upwards, he would practice slashing at his opponent’s legs. Shaymus practiced as well and utilized the method as a way to evade an attack since she lacked a shield. She would drop into the low crouch suddenly and slash out with her blades. The goblins did not have hind legs like the Dragonspawn and could not launch themselves upwards with the same power. However, the goblins were flexible enough to crouch low and found it useful for their defensive capabilities.

Booger found the maneuver challenging to learn. The prince was thickly muscled and lacked the flexibility of his goblin friends. Despite his large frame, he could perform the low crouch, but he did it slowly. The training allowed him to better defend against low attacks and improved his overall defensive capabilities. He discovered a way to twirl his heavy-bladed spear around his head and then utilize the crouching stance to sweep low with his polearm.

After a couple of hours of constant drilling, Gilreg, Shaymus, and Booger’s legs were sore. The red-scaled instructor clucked and hissed a command, and the Dragonspawn began to pair up. The three were handed wooden staves, and they were about to spar!

Gilreg was paired up against a yellow-scaled Dragonspawn. He guessed they were a female because it was slender in build and reminded him of Priestess. She had small horns above her temples and carried a staff and shield. She used the staff like a spear and jabbed it at him. He deflected her thrust to the side with his shield while crouching low to swipe at her legs. She lightly hopped over his attack and thrust downwards. Her attack thudded against his shield. Gilreg rose to his feet, mumbling to himself to work on his timing. The two circled each other.

They gave Shaymus a pair of smaller sticks to mimic her swords. She circled with glee against a grey-scaled Dragonspawn who looked like a veteran combatant. He had several horns protruding from the back of his head, and some looked to have been snapped off ages ago. The veteran warrior fought patiently while Shaymus circled and attacked erratically. He did not fall for her feints and caught her once with the end of his staff. Shaymus snarled in frustration, but she continued to spar and did her best to incorporate the low stance movements into her attack patterns.

Booger was struck in the chest hard by the Dragonspawn’s low crouch techniques. After the second time, he figured out their movements and how to counter them. He faced off against a nimble white-scaled Dragonspawn that danced around him. The creature was bigger than Gilreg but still a good size smaller than the prince. She fought with a spear and shield and deflected a swing with her shield. She crouched simultaneously and lunged upwards. Booger was prepared and knocked the attack aside. The orc swung his staff around in an arc and tripped the dragonspawn onto their back. She hissed in anger at him and rose from the ground. Booger nodded, content with his technique. They squared off again.

LATER THAT EVENING

The party returned to their accommodations. Nulrok had started the cooking pot and listened attentively as the goblins, the orc, and the dark elf recapped their day. The mage was more interested in hearing from Raine and Tassarion about the alchemical processes the Dragonspawn used to create their poisons. But, he still respectfully listened to Booger, Shaymus, and Gilreg share their new combat techniques.

Gilreg assisted the mage with the cooking and added the leftover salted meat that Raine had hunted the day before. Tassarion added some dried mushrooms, and Nulrok added some herbs he was able to forage in the surrounding area. The stew was starting to smell delicious. Raine was tending to Booger and Shaymus’s bruises. The chieftain’s daughter had some ointments to assist with their swelling and soreness. She was rubbing Booger’s thick shoulders.

“You have a gift,” the prince observed. His eyes were closed, and his head was arched backward.

It was getting late, and the group ate from their wooden bowls in silence. Sipping the stew. Peeking through the cloth from the outside was Priestess. The slender dragon spawn looked over everyone with her vertical-slitted eyes.

“Elenorak will see you now,” she stated plainly.