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1.0
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“A three headed monster turkey? Really? That’s the best you could come up with?!”
Amidst the clinking of cutlery against porcelain and the joyous merrymaking of its customers, such a comment usually would have gone unnoticed, as all patrons would be otherwise preoccupied with their own food and conversation to actually care about the story being told.
Unfortunately, the statement wasn’t so much said as it was roared from the back of the room, drawing the attention of all.
The one who’d shouted was massive, much taller than most people, though his height was by far the least imposing thing about the stranger. It was hard to top someone having the head of a lion after all, or a physique that could scare even a mana beast with how massive the man really was, towering over his dinner companion, who was the more approachable looking one of the duo.
“I reassure you, my friend, that all I say is truth.”
The lion headed creature huffed, taking a long seep from the tankard of mead sitting on the table.
“I dunno. That feels kinda weird. When ya told me you’ve met one of dem Peltless folks, I thought this woulda been a scary sorta story. You sure you met a Human and not some skinless ape in armor?”
The elf sighed, taking a sip of his own.
“You wouldn’t be the first to doubt me, but yes. Ghoti was indeed a human.” There was a brief pause, their conversation having obviously garnered the interest of some of the others, who seemed to not so subtly lean closer as the elf continue speaking.
“Sure, whatever. So you were saying the guy could wrestle one of those big mana beasts?”
The elf nodded.
“Indeed. Though I cannot speak for all humans, I know for a fact that the one I know of was prone to feats of great strength. Why, as I was about to tell you, he and a senior elf from my village once teamed up to fight one of the largest mana beasts I had ever seen. As large as two or three of them!”
The lion man seemed unconvinced.
“And it was shaped like a snake turkey.”
The blue haired elf sighed.
“Are you really gonna get hung up on that part?”
Beating his fist against the table, the Warg growled.
“Yeah, I am! Cuz its weird. ‘Sides, there ain’t no way a flimsy peltless monkey can be that strong!”
There were mumbled agreements amongst the other patrons. As was to be expected. Despite being reasonably well known, Humans remained fantastically rare. Most people didn’t know enough about them, and that gave rise to all sorts of ridiculous tall tales to spread around the Frontier.
“I heard that humans are Markless Orcs. They eat meat and are super strong.”
Humans were strange.
“No, they are some kind of Monkey Warg without a tail.”
Not because they were unique, but because they fit in with so many clans that the others started thinking they might be related.
“Humans? Dem walkin’ suits of armor? I reckon some crazy Dwarf probably put them together as a bet!”
If you asked around, everyone heard or knew about one human or another.
But nobody could decide who was right and who was wrong. Without having met one in person, most would default to what their Clan managed to find out, and for many territories, humans were either seen as a priceless endangered species, a valued ally, or an enemy to be purged.
“You’re crazy, man. They’re just Goblins! Really tall Goblins!”
Okay, that one really strained reality.
Frontier towns like this were places where members of all Clans and Holds mingled and worked together. Basil had hoped to try and find a Human amongst them, if not for the sake of his mission, then for the sake of his armored friend.
Convincing his… ally of circumstances to do so had been an exercise in patience, however.
Wargs were stubborn.
Lion Wargs were prideful.
So it came as no surprise that he’d be less than enthused at the idea of bringing in an unknown Clan into their party, and no amount of convincing on Basil’s part had been enough to make him agree to the three way split. And with all the rumors and tall tales going around about humans, the young Elf was hoping his stories would be enough to convince him.
“At least consider it, okay? We’re starting to get more jobs and it would be a big help to get someone else on board.”
The Warg shrugged.
“Sure, but ya could ask one of the birdfaces for it.”
Basil waved him off.
“Pass, I can already use a bow.”
And he’d be caught in his underpants before letting some puffed up Feather Clansman take his spot. He wasn’t the type to judge an entire clan at face value, but the few meetings he’d had with the Sky Worshippers had left him with a bad taste in his mouth.
“He’s right, you know. About humans.”
The entirety of the tavern turned to look at the other side, eyes boggling
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A soft high pitched voice like that didn’t belong anywhere near a hulking bear.
A Berserker, to be exact.
Now, most wouldn’t think twice about asking. Aren’t Wargs and Berserkers kinda the same thing? They were animal folks, right? Well, it is a forgivable mistake to think so but there were certain differences. As while Wargs were beings who straddled the line between the bestial and the reasonable, Berserkers were wholly beast, with some manner of intelligence to them.
Which is why such a well spoken and well mannered speech made everyone balk at the young Berserker woman.
The Lion Warg seemed to consider her.
“Great. Guess you're going to tell me they’re all tiny giants then. Strong as ten men, aye?”
Striding towards the table before taking her seat on the ground, the intelligent bear huffed, drinking straight from a bottle she’d strapped to a holder on her forearm. The ground of the tavern shook at the weight as she settled.
“Nothing like that. Humans aren’t all that strong really.”
Basil gave the Berserker a skin eye.
“That’s a lie and we both know it.”
If the new arrival was at all bothered she didn’t show. Instead, she just took another gulp of her drink.
“Ya know, it's a bit more complicated than that. Humans don’t have the same kinda strength we do. They can’t make fire, walk on air, or cast spells. Not like anyone with mana could learn to anyway, but they’re damn scary because they don’t need to. You want someone to watch your back while you do business, you can’t get any better than a human.”
The Warg still didn’t seem convinced.
“Well, you’re big and strong, what’d you need them for anyway?”
The bear sighed.
Basil would need some time getting used to her voice.
“Like I said, humans aren’t this end all be all super clan. They’re really just that handy to have around. Why, I met one back in Winterhold, and she could shoot mana beasts out of the sky with nothing but a bow and arrow. Humans just do freaky things.”
Basil chuckled.
‘Freaky’ was pretty fitting for them, yes.
“What about you then, lady? Not interested in the vacancy we got?”
“Sounds interesting, but I’m already waiting for a friend to pick me up. Unless the two of you were planning on going to the Redhold with us.” The Berserker hummed, scratching her chin with a clawed paw.
The young elf winced.
The Redhold was… pretty bad for elves. Too warm, not enough trees, and the mana there was thin enough that his folks would get sick just from being exposed to the air. Never mind having to hunt for their food with very little chance of foraging anything they could actually stomach.
“Not unless you’re headed for a Waterhole.”
The massive woman huffed out a laugh.
“Not that kinda expedition, kiddo. Me and my folks are gonna be exploring some ruins that one of the lizard people discovered, clear it out for them. No getting involved in territorial disputes between the lizards and the bugs.”
Fair enough.
So she was an Adventurer, not a Mercenary.
The latter wouldn’t have any trouble getting involved in disputes between Clans, and were usually seen as untrustworthy and greedy, prone to switching sides at the clink of a coin with no true loyalty.
Adventurers were different.
They didn’t get involved in private business. Instead they were in the business of clearing out territory, and defending it. The Guild was established as an institution meant to balance those two tasks, creating a group that the Clans could trust and rely upon to protect themselves from the threat of the Mana Beasts, as well as hire expeditions to release more territory from the Freehold.
Basil, for the past five years, had been working as a guard. Similar to his youth back at Pineskeep.
Before getting promoted.
A promotion meant higher rewards, but also higher risks.
Being assigned to one of the teams in charge of clearing out new territory and directly fighting the most dangerous of beasts was bad enough. Being the only person in the team was far worse. Rather than try and run missions alone, Basil decided to put together a team good enough to beat the odds, which were decidedly against them.
It was his luck that he was assigned a partner.
Though the Lion Warg could be more trouble than he was worth at times.
“Guess if the bear thinks it’s worth it, we coulda try to find one of the naked monkeys. But its coming off of your share!”
That… wasn’t how this worked.
“Got your hands full, eh?”
“Don’t remind me.” The elf gave the berserker a sour look.
It was just… so frustrating to put together a team that wouldn’t immediately break apart.
If they went to a warmer climate, that eliminated just about any Clan from the Winterhold. If they went to a colder climate, that kept most of the Green and Red Holds out of the list. Good luck convincing a Fairy to go somewhere without any flowers, or taking a Berserker to one of the larger cities.
And then there were the Clan Politics. Basil wasn’t the type to get hung up on someone else’s origins, but he’d caught quite a few sour looks from Orcs and Drows in the past.
Humans?
Humans weren’t the strongest, the fastest, or the smartest.
But they were adaptable. You could take a human just about anywhere and they’d be able to live and fight. They also didn’t have a settled alliance they were a part of, if you found the right human, they’d follow you around as if you were from their own clan. Awkward questions notwithstanding.
His experiences with Ghoti taught him, for example, to never let a human make tea. But that didn’t mean that all humans were horrible at making tea, only the pitiful unlucky few.
“Oi, Kiddo.”
Basil turned to the bear who was most certainly younger than him.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t look now, but I think you might have some company.”
Looking at the direction the bear pointed to him, Basil could see a figure make their way through the door. The manner of dress and physical appearence didn’t matter, not when it came to the near translucent way the stranger shimmered in place. Almost like a spirit of some sort.
His heart leapt to his throat.
“Well shit, there really was one of them around.”
The Lion Warg to his side choked on his food, probably as surprised as the rest of the tavern.
The human was a man, not too tall, not too small, as most humans were. Most telling however was that his face was covered, as was the case with all humans. You’d seldom see a human’s face, giving them an air of mystery, a faceless being that felt like a void in space, where none of them could feel anything.
“Someone asking for a human?”
It felt nostalgic.