Conrad fired an arrow, using a bow, towards an unsuspecting orc in the chest, wounding him. Olivia was beside Conrad, firing after him. The two were hiding in the thick forest, using it to hide and shoot arrows at orcs. Ajax meanwhile was moving towards the group of orcs.

Conrad then got an arrow and fired it toward another orc.

The group of orcs had been resting in the forest, it was December so it was snowy and cold. Olivia spotted the group because of the campfire they made.

Olivia then shot the troll, which was with the group, in the eye. Conrad got another arrow and fired onto an orc in the head, killing them.

Ajax then burst out of a bush, Warhammer, and sword at his disposal. He bashed the first orc he could see with his Warhammer, attacking from behind. Then he stabbed him in the chest with his sword, finishing him. A surprised orc swung their sword, aiming for the top of the head, Ajax blocked it with his mace. He then used his sword to stab through the orc's chest. He kicked the orc away, removing the sword from his chest. The troll attacked with its club, smashing the ground as a result of Ajax dodging. Ajax continued to run away from the troll.

Conrad then shot the troll's remaining eye, rendering it blind. The troll was now rampaging everywhere. Smashing the ground as it moved aggressively.

Ajax then went behind the troll's back. Climbing through the troll's rough skin. As he reached the top, he used his sword to stab the troll's head. The troll then fell, face first towards the ground.

The group was all dead, except for one who was escaping. Conrad pursued him, firing his arrows. The orc jumped and rolled through the trees and their roots, running frantically. Conrad aimed his bow, and he fired one last shot, straight towards the orc. The arrow whizzed through the air. Hitting some vines, snow, and leaves that were there. Edging closer to the orc.

The orc was hit in the chest by the arrow. He tripped and fell headfirst. Dedicated, the orc continued further, crawling through the dirt and snow, infecting the wound. Blood stained the ground as the orc continued crawling. Each movement weakened the orc. He then stopped moving, accepting his death. A pool of blood then exited the wounds and soaked the snow. The orc's body went limp.

Olivia and Conrad went out of the trees, towards the camp where Ajax was. Ajax was just sitting on the dead troll's back. Olivia had her bow on her back, using the string to hold it from falling. Conrad just held the bow in his right hand, the quiver in his left.

Ajax looked at Conrad.

"That was unnecessary…" he told Conrad, disappointed.

"So was going to the top of the troll." Conrad retorted, frustrated.

"Let's just agree to disagree." Ajax said, standing up and heading towards their camp. Conrad just huffed in agreement, following Ajax, Olivia soon followed.

Conrad was wearing his armor, his helmet was being covered with a brown ragged cloak, hiding his armor as well. They followed a snowy trail filled with sticks they made to find their way back home. Olivia took the sticks as she passed them by.

The trio passed by many trees filled with snow. They also passed by frozen rivers and flowing waterfalls. The sun was over them but it did nothing as the snow was filled everywhere. The snow cold breeze flowed. Some animals were seen running and hiding in the trees.

Three months went by when Conrad joined. His training was harsh, some running and heavy-lifting. Many weapons training and archery. Three months of training. Every day he was being trained to fight the orcs. Even learning how to ride horseback thanks to Olivia finding a horse. She named the horse Kyle. Conrad's training was intense, from sunrise to sunset they trained. Only stopping when they see some orcs, and ambushing them. In those three months, Conrad bonded with them but in the past few weeks, Ajax and he were arguing about something. At the end of those months, he was experienced with a bow and a spear.

As the trio reached their base, Olivia immediately went inside, preparing the food. Ajax and Conrad just stood outside for a bit, Ajax looking like he was about to start arguing with Conrad.

"Killing that Orc was unnecessary." Ajax spoke up, breaking the silence.

"No it wasn't, one orc killed is another life saved." Conrad replied, brooding.

"They were running away…" Ajax argued.

"They can always return." Conrad retorted.

"And if they don't?"

"The possibility is always there."

"What makes you think that?"

"They're killers! Merciless species! I've seen what they do! I've seen their evil! They don't have mercy! I don't know why you pity them when they don't pity you! This is the reason people who were kind die! They were too naïve and gullible! They were too merciful to see their own future and that's what got them killed!" Conrad snapped, shouting at Ajax.

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"…" Ajax was silent, not knowing what to say back to Conrad. Conrad huffed and left to go inside. Ajax looked at Conrad as he went inside the cave, his left hand forming a fist and tightening. He then stopped tightening his hand and went towards the cliff where he used to go.

During the three months, Ajax and Conrad's relationship worsened as they went to fight orcs. Ajax saw that he killed an orc who was asking for mercy, something Ajax would never do. He talked to him about it but Conrad argued that the orcs are merciless. The two argued until they agreed to disagree.

This happened for many weeks, the two bickered and quarreled. Olivia stopped the two at times but whenever she was not there, the two would argue again.

Meanwhile, at the place where the trio recently attacked, a group of orcs riding wolves stopped to see the camp. Seeing the dead littered everywhere, an orc jumped down their steed. The orc had a thin stature and rough grey skin. His head was normal, with no hair but he had a long nose and pointy ears. He had two small swords on his back and was wearing a winter coat. It looked like the orc was the captain of the group. The captain looked at the corpse of the orc that tried to escape. He then snarled and went back on his wolf, leaving with his unit.

As that was happening, Ajax sat on the edge of the cliff, reminiscing, thinking.

"Why? Why is Conrad like this? Is it because of me? What do I have to do?" Ajax sighed as he asked the questions to himself. He then looked up at the sky. "If you were here…you would do better than me. Because you were better than me….I miss you."

Inside Ajax's helmet, he was crying. Remembering a memory dear to him. Someone he was with for most of his life. He sniffled, and he looked down to the ground. He grabbed the Warhammer he had on his back. Holding it dearly with his hands. The handle of the Warhammer was made of wood and was dark brown. The head was made of steel and was rusty, showing its age.

After a full minute of crying, he removed his helmet to remove the tears. He then put it back on. Getting back up, Ajax put his Warhammer back on his back, leaving after that.

When he reached the cave, he saw Olivia standing outside the entrance, arms crossed, her bandanna was removed, showing her beautiful face.

"So, care to ask me why Conrad snapped?" Olivia asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Why not just ask him…" Ajax replied with a tone of frustration.

"Funny…he said the same thing." Olivia retorted with a smile.

"No he didn't…"

"Aw, you caught me!" Olivia admitted, chuckling a bit.

"I'm not in the mood for jokes…"

"Well sorry for trying to lighten the mood...also, I don't think that's a joke" Olivia mumbled sadly. Ajax sighed.

"Sorry…" he apologized, looking up at Olivia. 'Is she always this tall?'

"Oi, I know what your thinking." Olivia, smiling, snapped him out of his thoughts.

"…." Ajax looked down. "He snapped because we were arguing about why he shouldn't have killed the last orc."

"…"

"Is it me who's the problem? Am I trying too hard to be kind to the enemy?? What do I do? I'm lost…" Ajax continuously asked himself, sulking in the process before Olivia hugged him.

"It's not your fault…it's his emotions. His prejudice towards them is the problem. Not you, you were never the problem. Because of the training he had, he now has the power to fight back, he's different from before. He's not the weak teenager he was before." Olivia tried to comfort him.

"So, it's partly my fault?"

"…probably, but you only trained him to fight and kill, not implement the ideas of no mercy in his brain. We don't know his past, so let's not try and reinforce your idea to him." Olivia said.

"ok…" Ajax mumbled, still being hugged by Olivia.

"…" Olivia decided to hug Ajax for a while.

"…small boobs…" Ajax mumbled suddenly. Olivia pouted and stopped hugging him, going back inside the cave.

Meanwhile, inside the cave, Conrad was sleeping soundly. Inside was peacefully quiet. Conrad, after a while, then started to sweat and shift uncomfortably.

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Conrad was standing in front of a burning building. He looked at the building in horror. People were running away. The bell was ringing, soldiers were arriving. The orcs were here.

Looking left and right he saw orcs and trolls murdering the civilians and destroying houses. He saw a woman carrying her baby get smashed into a pool of blood by a troll with a hammer. An old man got speared in the chest by an orc.

The place was in flames, people screamed and screamed and many died. A soldier then quickly came to him.

"Kid you need to leave, Now!!" He shouted, fighting off an orc. "What're you waiting for? Go!!"

"But my brother!" Conrad shouted, mad and on the verge of tears.

"If you don't see him then he's fucking dead!" The soldier said, killing the orc he was fighting.

He looked at the burning building again, his legs started to move forward.

"Boy!!" The soldier shouted. The walk became into a run. Running into the burning building he looked everywhere where there was no fire yet.

He checked every crevice he saw, looking for something or rather, someone.

"Lil brother! Where are you!" He shouted in panic. He looked everywhere, but the flames burned the wooden building. Above him, some wooden planks fell due to instability.

He was oblivious to it as he shouted more.

That was until a person in full armor tackled him, saving him from the falling planks. The person then pointed towards the exit.

"My brother is in here! I need to find him!" Conrad shouted. The person shook his head, pointed his finger at him and the exit. Conrad knew what he was trying to say, he looked at the dark eye sockets of the soldier, he hesitated but ultimately left. The person then went into the flames.

As Conrad left the burning building, he was confronted by another soldier.

"Go!" The soldier protected him from being killed.

Conrad, hearing this, closed his eyes and ran towards the evacuation point. The soldier he was talking to a second ago, hit by an arrow in the chest and killed by the orc with a sword.

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Ajax was about to go inside the cave but he was interrupted when he heard Kyle neigh. He went towards the makeshift stable where Kyle was. The horse was shifting around its pen.

"What's wrong Kyle?" Ajax asked the horse. Kyle neighed with a hint of fear.

"What?" Ajax asked again before hearing some rustling in the forest. He looked towards the trees and saw a shadow moving across it. Kyle was galloping around. Ajax went inside the pen to calm Kyle down.

As fast as it was heard, the rustling died down and the shadow disappeared.

"Kyle…have you grown taller?" Ajax asked curiously. The horse shook its head.