Titania grunted as she lifted the large logs she’d cut onto her shoulders. She was built for this work. A great sword was strapped to her back and a wood cutting axe rested in her hand. She started the slow hike back to her cabin, her long hair bouncing behind her and the large black horn jutting out of her forehead seeming to point the way for her. As she walked, she saw a figure by her cabin; too small to be an Orc…and too short to be a human either. She smiled as she realized who it must be and waved from a distance.
“Grognor!” She called. “What brings you out here you fat bastard?” Grognor had a pipe in his small stubby fingers and he pulled it out of his teeth as soon as Titania spoke. He turned his face towards her, his long beard swishing as he did so. He was short and plump and wearing a leather apron over his naked chest, but with black pants and boots on underneath. He was covered in burns and scars and his eyes looked tired. He waved and stood up. He barely came up to Titania’s waist in height…but that was how dwarves were. After all, dwarves rarely grew taller than 5 feet, and ogres like Titania could be almost 7 feet at times. He walked towards her on his stout legs and opened his arms. Titania dropped her lumber and knelt down to give a gentle hug to her smaller and older friend.
“Don’t call me fat, Titania! That’d be like me calling you big breasted!”
“But you ARE fat!”
“Doesn’t make it any less insulting. A man can’t help if he likes to eat. Speaking of which…erm…you wouldn’t mind if…”
“Hahaha! Hoping for a free supper, were you?” Titania asked with a wink.
“If it’s not too much trouble.”
“No trouble at all. C’mon in. I’ll make you some tea.” Titania walked to the door and shoved it open. Grognor waddled to it and held the door as Titania picked up her logs again and walked inside. With a polite nod, the dwarf closed the door and followed her in.
Ogres were not prized for their décor or eye for quality, but Titania had done an outstanding job with her little cabin. Furs and animal pelts made up the rugs and wall ornaments as well as her weapons and trophies from animals she’d caught or fought. A large bear head was the greatest of her trophies as she had killed it by wrestling it to death and choking it out…or so she would say. A dining table sat in the middle of the hall with a fireplace and chimney set up beyond it. There was a large bed to the back of the cabin by the windows with soft fur blankets. It was large enough to fit the large ogre, and as well it should be…Grognor remembered helping build it. In fact, Grognor had helped Titania build all of this, him and his associates in the Craftsman’s Lodge.
Grognor sat down in a wooden chair and scratched his round belly as he placed his pipe back in his teeth. Titania placed her logs by the fireplace and started a small fire in the wood. She took a tea pot on the dining table and placed it on a cast iron rack above the fire to heat it. Grognor watched in peaceful silence, enjoying the smoke and the gentle sounds of nature and the wooden house’s smell and ambience.
“Do you have to smoke in my home?” Titania asked.
“No, I don’t.” Grognor answered with a smirk, puffing again.
“Cheeky jerk.”
“Giant wench.” He scoffed. Titania giggled as she pulled off the tea pot and poured a cup of green tea, setting it in front of Grognor. He beamed and finally stopped smoking to sip his tea.
“Aaah~” He sighed. “Delicious.”
“So what brings you out here, Groggy?” Titania asked. “I doubt it’s just a social visit. You barely have time for that…what with Jessai ordering you around like her filthy mongrel mutt.” Grognor’s face fell slightly as he set his tea down and returned to his pipe. Titania instantly regretted her words…she knew how Grognor felt about Jessai, and how their working relationship was….complicated at best. “Sorry…”
“No, you’re right. This isn’t a social visit. I came to actually ask a favor.” Grognor replied, snorting smoke through his nose. “I have an acquaintance in Jessai’s Hall. She’s a sweet girl and she’s trying to get out of Orcshire.”
“Well I’m sure we’d all love to get out of here…” Titania sneered. “It’s not like Jessai will let her though, or anyone else.”
“You could leave any time you want. She and the rest of her Orcs hate your kind.” Grognor pointed out wisely. It was true. Orcs and Ogres were bitter enemies; the main reason Titania didn’t live in town.
“You know damn well why I’m still here, Groggy.”
“Regardless, I wanted to ask if you could help her and her family get out.”
“How on Earth would I do that?” Titania asked. “I don’t run an underground railroad.” Grognor groaned and he let out a gentle burp from the tea as he thought.
“I don’t rightly know, myself…but the orcs never come here, so if they were to escape to your cabin, you might be able to hide them out here for a while until things blow over? Then they could go on their way?”
“Jessai controls everything in this fief. She’s the undisputed warlord of Orcshire and that stretches almost 50 miles in any given direction, and last I checked, it’s growing each and every day. That low life glutton is….he’s….” Titania stopped herself, seeing the redness in Grognor’s face. She’d crossed a line again. “…I can’t do it, Groggy. We’ve been friends a long time, even before the Cataclysm…but this is something I can’t do. For my own family’s sake, I can’t risk getting Jessai snorting down my neck.” Grognor gave a curt nod and returned to his pipe, sucking on the long rod and then exhaling again.
“T’was worth a shot.” He muttered.
“…Sorry, Ethan.” Grognor winced at his old name.
“Don’t call me that.” He growled darkly. “I don’t call you your old name, do I?”
“Didn’t think it’d be such a big deal.” Titania shrugged.
“I’d prefer to forget the past.” Grognor grumbled, sipping his tea again. “Forget the pain…forget where we were. What happened to everyone…”
“How’re my folks?” Titania dared to ask.
“Fine, all things considered. Miss you terribly.”
“As long as they’re managing, that’s enough.”
“You know that’s a lie.” Grognor spat. “C’mon…you would run in there sword swinging if you knew it would help them.”
“Well it won’t!” Titania replied. “Groggy, it’s been 10 years since the Cataclysm and only 5 since Jessai took over. Every orc in the area wears his banner, and any ogre found attempting mischief will be executed. There’s nothing I can do without putting my life and the lives of my family in danger.”
“When did a little danger ever deter you?” Grognor winked. “Titania…I’m not asking you to fight Jessai or the orcs. But take a moment and think about this here friend of mine. Her mother and her are all they have…they’re scared…they’re hurting. What if it was your mother in there? Your father?” Titania sighed and smiled sadly.
“You’re gonna guilt me until I give in, right?”
“If it’ll work.”
“What’s this person to you any way?”
“She’s a bard in the Hold. I speak to her when I visit. She’s told me she finds my beard appealing.” Gorgnor chuckled.
“Yeah, I was meaning to ask: did you get it trimmed recently or-”
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“THE POINT is…” Grognor interrupted, blushing, “…she’s a good friend…she doesn’t deserve what she and her mother are going through. I know if it were me in there…”
“I’d try to get you out…right…”
“So will you hide her and her mother? Just for a little while?” He asked urgently. Titania ran fingers through her long hair and then gave a mischievous grin.
“Not for free.” She smirked. She got up and loosed her belt to reveal a small sheathe. From it she pulled out a long hunting knife which she placed on the table. “My hunting knife is getting a little dull…mind taking it to a grindstone? Do that and I’ll hide your friend.” Grognor smiled as he picked up the knife. It was a meaningless price to pay…he was the finest blacksmith in Orcshire, and could sharpen a knife in no time or trouble at all. Titania knew that too.
“You drive a hard bargain.” He groaned. “But if that’s what it takes…then that’s what it takes.”
“Happy to do business with you.” Titania got up and walked towards the fire to stoke it a little. As she did, she noticed the lack of shifting chairs. She turned to see that Grognor was still sitting there, swinging his legs back and forth nervously and smoking his pipe quickly as if he was frightened. She stood up straight and placed her hand on her hip curiously. “Something wrong, Groggy?”
“Well…just erm…did you by any chance happen to…” Titania froze and then she groaned, shaking her head.
“No, I didn’t find any treasures this time.” Grognor pouted a little, but nodded all the same. Dwarves had natural eyes for value and wealth. They could appraise a gemstone with ease, but Grognor had a particular eye for valuable gemstones and trinkets. Sometimes while out hunting, Titania might come across a cavern or rock formation with gemstones in it. She’d remove a few and take them home to show Grognor if he came over, but she hadn’t found anything new lately. She was starting to worry about him though. Were dwarves really as greedy and miserly as people said? It couldn’t be. Ethan had always been a friendly and generous guy back before he changed into a dwarf…but now he seemed to keep his money close to his chest and was always fond of just looking at gems like a cat looks at a mouse.
She was one to talk however…it wasn’t like she hadn’t adopted some strange new habits and interests since her change. She wouldn’t admit it to Grognor, but there were times she found herself fawning over her weapons that he had forged for her…showing intimate care for them as she imagined their use on the battlefield. It wasn’t out of affection for Grognor, but rather a lust for combat…a desire for the chance to fight. Firing bows and arrows into unsuspecting game no longer thrilled her…she would rather wrestle and fight the bears and monsters of the woods hand to hand. A part of her yearned to rush into the town beyond her forest and slaughter the orcs within, if for nothing more than to feel the rush of war. But then she’d stop herself short, realizing what she was doing, and walk away from such ideas. It wasn’t like her to be blood thirsty. She never had been before.
“So what’s to eat tonight?” Grognor asked. “Smells great.”
“Venison.” She answered, ,placing a steaming hunk of cooked meat on the table and following it with a bottle of grog. Grognor’s eyes twinkled at the sight and his mouth began to drool.
“My goodness, that looks delicious.”
“Jessai doesn’t feed you for your services to him?” Titania asked.
“Oh, I’ve dined often with Jessai and his vassals, but watching orcs eat is almost unseemly.” He grunted. “You lose your appetite pretty quickly…especially when you bear the knowledge something their eating could have been someone we knew.” It was a cold reality that everyone in Orcshire had to contend with: Orcs were not afraid to feed on other races. This near cannibalistic nature of theirs was yet another reason orcs were feared above other races.
“Then why don’t you quit working for him? Leave! You have the Craftsman’s Lodge. You have steady work.”
“Jessai would tax us into the dirt. We’re all dwarves and maybe two or three humans and halflings.”
“But your father became an orc, didn’t he? You get a slight decrease in taxes fo-”
“Don’t…just don’t mention my dad.” Grognor snarled furiously. Titania flushed and looked down shamefully. Ethan’s family had all changed. His sister became a halfling, his mother an elf, and his father became an orc…in fact he was the third lieutenant under Jessai. Because of this, Grognor’s family appreciated a slight tax exemption…making them a little unpopular to all but the orcs in town. More than once he’d had to clean paint off his door that read “Traitor.” His fathers position had become an unhappy thought for him.
The two ate quietly in awkard silence awhile, listening to the sounds of the evening. After finishing his meal, Grognor climbed out of his seat and walked to the door. Titania got up and followed him out. Once they were both outside, Grognor grabbed a small wooden stool and pulled it close. He sat down and pulled out his pipe again.
“After dinner smoke…care for a puff?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever smoked.” She giggled back.
“Gimme a light, and I’ll let you take the first puff.” Titania grinned and plucked the pipe from his fingers. She held her finger just under the mouth and gave it a tap. A tiny spark burst up from the pipe and smoke began to filter out. She lifted the tip to her lips and sucked in, then exhaled with a gentle blow, sending a tongue of smoke from her puffy lips. She grimaced and handed it back, as if it were unpleasant to the touch.
“Not sure I like the taste.”
“Gotta find your proper leaf, dear.” He chuckled. “It’s a gift that is more appreciated with age.”
“Yeah, speaking of that, how’d it feel gaining 12 years of age with the Cataclysm?” Titania asked, a slight edge of teasing in the back of her taunt. Grognor didn't rise to the bait. Experience taught him to stay more level than that.
“Like I should be 23 but instead I’m a 33 year old shorty.” Grognor grumbled as he puffed the pipe gladly. The two sat in silence, Grognor on his stool and Titania on the ground, her back against the wall of her cabin. She rubbed her horn and slowly raised her eyes to the stars, gazing at the sea of lights twinkling and winking at her merrily.
“The world is a strange place, Groggy…I wonder if it was always like this, even before the Cataclysm.”
“The world was always strange, my friend.” He answered honestly. “But strange…..strange isn’t the word I’d use for what the world has become now. 10 years later…and I still don’t think I want to know how far we’ve gone down hill as a species.”
“I still am curious about what’s beyond Orcshire…I want to see how the entire world has changed now…”
“Honestly? I’m more frightened of finding out.” Grognor answered with a grave weight to his words. The New Age was not a safe, friendly, or even rational age. But it was a place that an ogre and a dwarf with a secret friendship could share a pipe together and reminisce when they were both best friends in high school, dreaming of a world less bizarre than this one.