The agitated spirits refused to shut up in my head.

Something spurred them, and the village resembled a disturbed anthill too. A body landed with a loud thud and the little stream that rushed between the earthen huts was dyed in crimson by the blood of wolves. At first glance, the aftermath looked terrible but the tribesmen suffered no casualties while they killed half a dozen beasts. They piled their corpses proudly in front of the mess hall, red lines drawn behind them.

The orcs discussed the events cheerfully and waved at me when I arrived at the scene. I couldn't share their enthusiasm since I was summoned to clean up their mess. The leader of the hunters yelled.

"Hey Gitaut, good to see you dropping by!" His green skin was covered in someone else's blood. I rolled my eyes at the name.

"Oh, it's Gitaut, you missed the fun." Another orc greeted me, but what did they even know about fun? I refused to listen to that name.

"Shut up!" I demanded but found myself in the shadow cast by the huge orc chieftain. She gave me the chills, larger than most men, and with enormous tusks to bear. She furrowed her eyebrows, a stern expression on her face. "Ugh, what can I do for you today, Charlotte?"

"Nice of you to finally show up, I sent for you in the morning, and now it's afternoon." Yep, she was mad at me for coming this late, but she'd bug me for everything anyway. "I asked you for some incense a week ago, now my village was attacked by wolves. They killed our chicken, and wounded a few people."

"No incense keeps a pack of hungry wolves away." I explained but my voice felt weak in front of her. "It works on smaller critters and lone monsters but these things are smarter than that."

"Well, if they are any smart, they won't come near the tribe ever again!" The hunter hollered, patting the head of a dead wolf on top of the pile. "They ran with their tails between the legs, almost leaving behind their balls."

"Any serious injuries?" I asked and examined the mess. The twelve shacks remained untouched, but they destroyed the coop where they kept the chickens, with their feathers scattered. I nearly threw up from all that blood, even if it belonged to the animals. I came too early after all.

"Just a few bite marks, but look at them, to be safe. They wounded Mabel too." She dragged a little girl in front of me. I saw the worst injuries on her so far, but it didn't mean anything serious and she grinned, very proud of herself.

"I noticed them at dawn." She claimed, not that I asked. "I tried to chase them off, but they attacked me... That one in particular."

She pointed at one of the bodies on the pile, a wolf full of stab wounds, but the pelt may still be usable. I saw all their ribs, with so many critters scurrying around in the dense forest, they must have come from somewhere else, if they still managed to starve.

"And I told you to stay inside!" Charlotte scolded her which seemed unfair. She had to stay inside, but they forced me to leave my comfy hut for this. "It's too dangerous to leave the village without an adult."

"Oh, come on, but I'm bored. Nothing to do most of the time." The girl complained while I checked her arm. They would have healed naturally, but I asked the spirits to treat her. "Oh, that tickles, and it doesn't even hurt now. Thanks, Gitaut, you're a fine shaman."

"Then don't call me that." I grumbled, mostly to myself. "Anyone else injured line up, so I can treat you. I don't want to spend all day here when I'm busy with the orchards."

"Right, good thing we planted those." One of the hunters noted, with a few light scratches on his chest. "I guess we won't eat eggs for a while, we'll have to trade with someone again."

"If we sold the pelts, we'd get twice the chickens the wolves managed to kill." The leader of the hunters laughed. His wrist was swollen and I treated them simultaneously with the spirits happy to oblige, but I knew it would cost me something later. "The only caravan that tends to visit us left recently, who knows when they'll return. We might have to go to the other tribes instead."

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

"It would help if we weren't this isolated." The blacksmith joined the line. I didn't see wounds on him, but he boasted like it was a badge of honor. "I got bitten on my leg, Gitaut, if you would!

"Isolation and camouflage is the best defense." Charlotte claimed a little further away. "This small tribe counts as easy prey for the humans or the other races. I won't build roads to invite all kinds of thieves or recruiters."

"Gitaut! My hand too, please!" An orc woman asked next.

"You'll miss out if you try to hide from everyone, Boss!" The hunters argued, but the chieftain waved them off. Quite a crowd gathered around me now, all talking over each other's heads. Not just the wounded, everyone seemed to leave their shacks to help with the cleaning or join in on the discussions. My head hurt for someone who couldn't stand such crowds, and their numbers only increased.

"Gitaut, I got scratched but since you are here..."

"My fist became swollen, if you would, Gitaut!"

"Gitaut this, Gitaut that... For the love of the spirits, don't call me that!" I rolled my eyes, wanting to return to my quiet little shack in the forest. They wasted my talent on these minor wounds anyway. "Just call me the shaman, not that difficult, ugh!"

"We have a cranky shaman." Mabel announced, still hanging around even though I treated her first, the annoying little brat. At least I didn't see the other kids but someone else went missing too.

"I don't see Hank" I noted to divert their attention from me. "He always injures himself at the front."

"They went scouting." The leader of the hunters answered, but couldn't help to add. "I wouldn't call them that if I were you though."

"What? You use a nickname I hate, but I can't call the gladiator how he's known around the continent?" I complained, treating the last of the injuries. "How is that different?"

"Hmm, they are three times your size." The hunter laughed, and I had no comeback for that. Hank grew almost as big as an ogre, sometimes I wondered if he was born as one. But thanks to that, the tribe wouldn't mess with him. It was unfair that they refused to leave me alone unless I kept my distance when they were unaware of my true capabilities.

"Okay, is this all?" I asked, nearly drowned in the crowd now. If not for the gruesome picture, life returned to normal in the tribe. "If I'm no longer needed, I'll head out for the orchards to attempt to increase the yield, with the chickens gone. So you could say, I'm busy."

The orc chieftain returned to menacingly tower in front of me since my contributions still didn't satisfy her.

"Bring me incense, shaman." She growled.

"As I said, it won't work. Just build a proper wall." I tried to convince her, but Charlotte shook her head. Without words, she scared me enough to give in. "I'll... I will bring them over."

"Good, don't make me lower your food rations." She patted my back aggressively. A little stronger, and my spine might break. "The way you begged me to let you stay here, you became rather lazy lately."

"Huh? I'm not, you don't see me, because I live deep in the forest, but I work all the time. And I keep the spirits satisfied or they refuse to help." I attempted to convince her desperately. The crowd felt too much for me in a day, not to mention the glares I got from the chieftain. She crossed her arms in front of her muscular chest.

"You can move into the village, nobody told you to live alone." The hunter's leader joined in and slammed my back for good measure. I refused to move in with these guys even if the sky fell. They surrounded me and blocked my escape route.

"Indeed, I have some space in my shack too." Charlotte offered, which made it ten times worse. I backed away quietly and fortunately, they got busy with the cleanup duties. "Since lunchtime passed, I'll take some of the meat to cook it overnight. These wolves looked malnourished and hard to chew, I need someone to skin them. Anyone free right now?"

"Well, I'm off to the orchards!" I yelled and ran away from the village. I needed some time alone, after this many interactions and scary glances.

Thankfully, they let me go this time. Nobody followed me either, and I reached the orchard near a small hill next to the village. After my usual rituals to ask for the spirit's help, the fruits grew nicely, and I observed them in real-time. The weak soil meant no obstacle to their powers, I just needed to please them with some sacrificial meals.

They happily worked for me once I gave them a taste of the food the tribesmen made, but chaotic and stubborn as they behaved, no matter how much I attracted them, it was a bother to keep them in line all the time. I wanted to use spells on my own instead, but I lost access to the great libraries of the Magic Academy.

It disappeared with the rest, and I struggled to decide if I felt lucky, or cursed, to be away when it all happened. At least with my immense power, these spirits reached out to me to offer their services on their own before they led me to this village.

"Was it the right choice?" I asked myself, once I broke away from everyone. I returned to my little hut, about five hundred yards from the village in the middle of the forest, nice and quiet, and the only one who bugged me there was the chieftain herself. "Did fate have something in store for me? Do I serve a purpose here?"

I jumped in bed to get rest, feeling my brain completely drained from how much I talked today. I preferred to be isolated and felt thankful for the food and fresh water the village provided. They expected little in return, or at least didn't know the real extent of my power, so they let me be.

But the spirits chose this moment to yell at me in their incomprehensible, ancient, and forgotten languages. They brought news of a disturbance. Something happened nearby...