"When it comes to races, almost everything and the kitchen sink goes."

"You have the classic Fantasy things of Elves, Crocos, Betones, and Orcs. But then we also have Greys, Sinkxo's, and Genetrico for more scientific worlds."

"Races can have just about any form of talent or skill. No matter how convoluted they are. It's why mixing races is seen as rare. After all, how do you predict the fusion of having the ability to fly and having the ability to breathe water fusing?"

"You don't! It was hypothetical! Shut up, Tom!"

"The combination could lead to an unending number of looks, abilities, skills, and evolutions."

"That can easily screw over a world a God is building. So I wouldn't recommend trying to mix races unless you're experienced. Or your world is so early in development that any failure would barely affect it."

"Just try not to make another Gnoll. Just don't."

-Lecture on the Dangers of Race's having children with each other by Mrs.Michelle.

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Shub and Breanna walked on the road towards the city of Arcadia. The city that the killer of Elizaben had likely gone off to.

Breanna looked at the Eriska orc as Shub happily marched along the beaten road.

It had been several days since the Bond had been struck. And Breanna had been hating every second of it. The orc was so innocent when one considered the reputation of her people. When Breanna had asked why Shub wasn't, well, green. Shub had just said that such orcs were rare.

Which was the most stupid bullshit Breanna had ever heard. How in the hell was something like that possible! Breanna had taken plenty of quests to exterminate orc warbands that picked villages apart/. She had killed dozens, maybe hundreds of orcs. And Shub was saying that these guys were rare?

It was a load of horse shit.

Which made Breanna question all the more why Shub said it so sure.

The two marched through the road at a decent pace, several dozen steps every minute.

Breanna scanned the trees for threats. Bond's always made sure to make the person bonded to do their tasks, even when said tasks weren't particularly stated in the original contract.

It was the reason why Breanna was looking through the nooks and cranny's within the forest with a keen eye. And why she so politely shouted "free XP!" During the middle of their travels.

"Sorry wat?" Shub asked shocked, slurring her last word in a very orcish way.

"Gnoll's, stupid little bugger aren't that dangerous. Plus they breed fast, so they make great XP when killed. What? Did you forget we have to kill creatures as an adventurer?" Breanna asked.

"What? Of course not, still. Why did it have to be gnolls..." Shub muttered something to herself but Breanna ignored it. She gleefully stepped off the path and deeper into the forest, her eyes glowing magical ambient energy as she scanned and searched her way through the legion of green around her.

Breanna found a small clearing just a minutes walk away from the road. Her eyes looked at the free XP bags-I mean deadly beasts in need of killing so they didn't murder innocents.

Two gnolls were right in front of her, each one was seven feet tall. With gnarled teeth, and deadly outstretched claws.

The beasts each held a simple short spear. With a chunk of metal attached at the end. The metal piece as sharp as a well-made blade.

Two other gnolls were making food. Both wearing chest straps, letting Breanna know they were women. Guess kicking them where the sun doesn't shine wouldn't be an option. The first female gnoll wore simple leather vambraces, each one with a simple socket that held a bone. Each one colored red.

The chest strap had several metal strings attached in and around it, giving the piece of clothing a simple but alluring silver glow to the Dragonborn. The silver metals were always her favorite. The gnoll's simple rags that constituted as pants for her were lined with all sorts of metal contraptions.

Each one holding some sort of strange weird looking powder or trigger. Probably bombs or explosives for most of them. The two gnolls right in front of Breanna wore nothing but simple leather around their crotches. Their eyes too busy wondering when the next meal would be to wonder if they should leave their posts and check what that shouting was.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

The second gnoll woman, the one who was doing the cooking. Wore two-pieces of simple sandstone-colored cloth. The clothing looked rough and chipped in places, obviously being very uncomfortable for any person who had felt cotton and silk clothes before.

Seven other gnoll's stood around the area, all of them men. Each one held baskets and pieces of small critters probably being used for the day's lunch. Brown handwoven baskets that looked ready to break held their food. And it seemed like they didn't even guard the trove of ingredients.

Another chance at killing the gnolls, Breanna wasn't any rogue. But she figured she could give the gnoll's food poisoning. Her head turned towards the right side of the camp, where tents and small houses had been set up. Each house was barely sticks and stones held together by meager support or bugs.

But one was an average tent, not a good tent or even decent at that. But a tent none the less. It was probably where the leader of the tribe resided. Breanna marked that area off as a fireball target zone the moment the leader went inside.

An array of shouting, chanting, and otherwise loud talk and celebration came from the left of the camp. Nearly a dozen warriors came out of the underbrush. Each one holding simple cloth rags around their crotches and chest with the same spears the guards had. The hunters also each had some sort of helmet.

They came out of the underbrush cheering or quacking with celebration. The procession surrounded a massive orange warrior almost nine feet tall. But like she and all her species around and before her, and maybe after. They were hunched over, making their size a respectable five feet. And four feet for the many gnoll's surrounding her.

A gaggle of children came out of the tent to ooh and aah at the procession of warriors surrounding a tied up orc. A tied-up orc. A tied-up... orc.

Shub hadn't arrived in a long while now that Breanna thought about it.

Breanna's muscles immediately went to running away from the camp with all haste. Trying to escape the group to ditch and leave to fate her useless partner.

But her Bond came in. And punished her.

Breanna's eyes widened and diluted with staggering effectiveness. She felt consciousness befall onto the ground, and a squirrel eerily plays the trumpet as she fell onto the ground with a hard thump.

Most people said one didn't feel pain when they lost consciousness. That was wrong.

You didn't stop feeling pain. You stopped caring about it.

Breanna's Bond made her care. It made her care about the hurt and of Shub. And while Breanna screamed and refused. The Bond didn't care. It had a long time.

And even if Breanna did this again, it would befall Breanna again. Till all she knew about was care and compassion for Shub.

Breanna's scream of rage echoed through her consciousness as the Bond took over.

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Breanna returned to consciousness with Shub looking right into her eyes.

Which meant she got a good amount of orc breath right when she woke up.

"Oh, is that mint?" Breanna asked.

"Yes, it's from my toothpaste."

Breanna quickly shook her head. "Wait, why am I complementing your breath? Why did you get caught!?" Breanna asked.

"Well they were holding spears at me and they looked really sharp," Shub replied.

"So?" Breanna asked.

"And, well, it looked like it could spill some blood..." Shub continued.

"Again, so?" Breanna asked again, this time more annoyed.

"I don't want my icky blood spilling all around! I had enough of that when you attacked!" Shub yelled, attracting the attention of the gnoll's who had captured them. The gnoll's stared at the Dragonborn and Orc for several seconds before shrugging and turning back to whatever they were doing.

"So make their 'icky' blood spill everywhere!" Breanna replied, being slightly quieter than the orc.

"That's still bad!" Shub replied.

"What do you mean by that! These gnolls aren't natural, so druids can kill them with no harm. They're annoying and a danger to small villages, so most of everybody else hates them. They aren't even that important to the magical environment! Meaning even Wabombs kill them when they see them. So why are you so hesitant?" Breanna asked.

"It's because I'm an agoraphobic!" Shub yelled at Breanna, making the gnolls once more stare at the duo.

"You, you aren't fucking serious are you!?" Breanna's voice was cracking at this point. Somewhere between laughter and disbelief and sheer pissed off anger.

"You're an adventurer. You kill things, which involves blood. You're also an orc, yet your agoraphobic!?" Breanna was shouting yet again. One of the gnolls was getting annoyed, and so to shut the Dragonborn up. Hurled a rock straight at the woman's head. The rock smacked Breanna hard, causing a small amount of blood to drip from her head.

Breanna's eyes immediately turned to the gnoll's, as she indignantly screamed at them. The gnoll who had hit her grimaced and plugged her ears, while the male beside her laughed.

Both at the failure to get the annoying Dragonborn to shut up. And that the Dragonborn had grown even louder as a result.

Breanna eyed the gnolls like balloons of meat ready to pop.

"Forget this, we can deal with your poor career choices later. How the hell do we get out of here?" Breanna asked Shub.

Shub shrugged and replied. "They're gonna break the knots holding us up here, and set us on fire. That's how they cook their food usually when it's meat."

She continued, "We can easily fight back when they start doing this, though the first few minutes are going to hurt. We should be able to win," Breanna glanced at Shub curiously.

"What?" Shub asked.

"Are you sure you can fight?" Breanna asked.

"I can, when my life's in danger I'm open to anything. Like when I used my magic on you when we last fought. But after that, I usually have a break down like," "like after our battle. I get it," Breanna said as she was reminded of the painful event that had gotten her into this shitshow, to begin with.

"Are we agreeing on the plan?" Shub asked.

"The plan that when they cut us down and we fight right after?"

"Yeah, what did you think I meant?"

"Nevermind," Breanna said.

Both the woman stewed in silence for several minutes before Breanna opened her mouth and asked a question.

"How did you know what they were going to do to us? Do you speak gnollish?"

"What? No! I speak gnomish."

"Wait, what?" Breanna asked.

"Yeah. Gnolls speak gnomish! Did you not know?"

"I didn't, but why!"

"Cause gnomes are the ancestors of the gnolls."

"How did gnomes make hyena men!"

"And woman."

"And woman."

"Well, it involved some alcohol, a fursuit, some magic, a fetish, and a shovel. Don't ask."

"What the fuck..."

"I said do not ask!"