The sky was starting to lighten up. Grognor made his way up the hill, nursing a sore shoulder and aching legs. It was like he’d been walking for days…but perhaps that wasn’t too farfetched. The Citadel of Orcshire was in turmoil now, and it was taking everything he had to try and get some semblance of peace in place. It’s been a week since Jessai was killed and with his death, the Orcs had lost their leader and had little idea of what to do. Do they continue to fight or flee? Some ran away from the Citadel, and some savagely started searching for people to butcher. A few just fainted. Whatever the case, the orcs were losing their grip on things. The humans, elves, halflings, and dwarves still living in the Citadel at the time were both celebrating and hiding. It was a confusing period for the people, unsure of how to feel about the death of their tyrant. Is this what freedom feels like?

Grognor finally reached the top of the hill and saw the cabin, sitting silently and stoic among the trees. Not far from it was a tall tree, with lovely red leaves drifting from it like crimson snowflakes. Under it’s branches, leaning against the trunk, was the large Titania, bandages wrapped around her right arm and her knee, and a small scar just below her neck where an orc had caught her with a dagger. She had one leg propped up and her hand resting on the knee…but her other leg was laid out flat, with a head resting on it. It was that head that her other hand was caressing with gentle strokes. Blemish lay there, his head on her lap, breathing softly, almost soundlessly. His mask was off, and Grognor felt surprised at how young he looked. Was this boy really the assassin that had helped kill Jessai? Titania was humming to Blemish as she stroked his head and she was smiling. Grognor could scarcely believe these two were fierce warriors.

“…Am I interrupting?” He asked. Titania’s eyes shot up to see Grognor and she stopped immediately, blushing.

“He was….we were practicing our reading skills and he said his eyes were tired so….so I let him rest his eyes and his head on…erm…shut up, okay?” Titania grumbled.

“No judgement. After what you two did for me and this city, I don’t care what you two do with your spare time.” Grognor chuckled. He looked up at the beautiful red tree and smiled. “Why haven’t I seen this tree like this before?”

“I don’t know.” Titania answered honestly. “I don’t remember it ever doing this…or maybe I just never noticed.” The two were silent a long time, taking in the reality of their new peace…their ability to appreciate the beautiful things.

“Your parents are alive, you know.” Grognor pointed out. “Maybe you should go see them now?” Titania didn’t respond to the offer. She just looked up at the tree and smiled.

“I’m glad they’re fine…really.”

“You don’t seem happy, Titania. Sure, things are crazy right now, but they’ll die down. We’ll set things right.”

“I am happy, Groggy.” Titania answered. “It’s just…I don’t remember the last time I’ve felt this way…felt…at ease. I want to enjoy it while it lasts.”

“You think worse is to come?” Grognor asked. “Can’t see how it gets worse than Jessai.”

“No…but then how much do we know about the world?” Titania asked. She gently eased her leg out from under Blemish and lay his head on the grass. She stood up again and stretched her shoulders and legs. “We’ve been stuck in this Citadel so long, maybe we’ve only just started to see the darkness this world has to offer? But then, maybe we’ve only seen a glimpse of the light. What’s beyond those mountains? What’s beyond the sea? I want to know.”

“You plan to leave?”

“Meriel still needs a bodyguard to help her on her path. I can at least go with her some of the way.”

“Where is she, anyway?” Grognor asked.

“She’s helping Aynor in treating the wounded.” Titania answered. “Philip said he had to go and sell some wares to make a profit off this trip, but he’ll be back in a few days.” Grognor nodded and stroked his long beard as he walked back towards the cabin, pulling out his pipe from his coat. Under the pocket where he kept his pipe, he felt the weight of the pistol he’d used to kill Jessai…the gun that Titania had given him.

“It feels like it all started with you, Titania.” He muttered. “You gave me the gun to kill Jessai. You chose to save Blemish, the only one who could seal the deal with killing Jessai. You were the brute force that held off the orc reinforcements while Blemish fought Jessai. I don’t know where I’d be if you hadn’t helped.”

“…Um, if you’re about to confess undying love, I’m ripping off your beard by the root.” Titania warned.

“No! That’s not my point at all. Titania I…I want to thank you. If it weren’t for you and Blemish and Philip…if all of you hadn’t helped me…I never could have put Jessai down.” Grognor exclaimed.

“I’m surprised you did it.” Titania admitted. “I mean…she was your girlfriend once.”

“Jessica was dead…and has been for a long time.” Grognor answered. “Jessai was all she was anymore. And now Jessica can rest in peace…” Titania smiled and rubbed her scar. “Now we can start rebuilding I think….”

“How’s the family doing?” Titania asked. Grognor sat down on the cabin porch and shrugged with a satisfied smile. He puffed the pipe and Titania stood next to him, watching.

“Mom and lil sis are happy as can be. They’re so grateful to be free of Jessai, and I’ve never felt so praised. Dad…well he doesn’t know how to feel. He tried coming home once or twice, but he never stays long because none of us say a thing to him.”

“Serves him right.” Titania growled. “Sure you don’t want me to pay him back for anything?”

“No…living with who he is? That’s punishment enough.” Grognor snarled. “The only thing that really scares me right now is…what happens if the Orcs rally? If they come back in force…”

“They won’t…or at least they’ll find it difficult.” Titania assured him. “Orcs are specialized creatures. They learn a single skill and stick to it. None are suited to tactical thinking or leadership, and while maybe four or five might rally together, it’d be hard to get a whole horde to think and fight together. They’re like sheep…they tend to follow a leader if they can. Otherwise their prone to wander off.”

“I feel sorry for them. They were human once, after all…” Grognor pointed out.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“We all were…” Titania answered. “Most of us anyway.”

“…But we still had to…you know…”

“Death is part of life.” Titania answered darkly, though Grognor could sense resentment in her tone. “They say that in ogre bands, an ogre is considered an adult after they kill their first foe in battle…and then they grow a second horn and become official warriors…at least that’s the rumor.”

“I don’t want to kill people…even if they’re monsters now.” Grognor replied. “But I think that this world is going to force our hand. What I don’t understand though is what is it all for? Is this God’s idea of a joke?”

“No…I don’t believe that. There’s a reason for it all, but I doubt it’s our place to know the answer.” Titania snapped. “All we can do is walk the path set before us.”

“And that is? What’s next for us Titania? We’re not leaders…we can’t lead and run Orcshire. The people here barely know you, and I’m just a blacksmith…not some governor or king.”

“You won’t lead.” Titania and Grognor both turned to see Blemish sitting up, his mask back on his face and his eyes turned to Titania and Grognor.

“What do you mean?” Titania asked.

“My mission was to kill Jessai so that his tyranny would end. But with no leader in place, the Inquisition will step in.”

“The Inquisition is really coming!?” Grognor gasped. “You mean they’re…”

“Yes. I imagine within the next few days, Inquisition forces will arrive to help get rid of the last of the orcs and help bring peace to Orcshire.”

“But this place is home to elves, dwarves, halflings and other non-humans!” Titania argued. “What will the Inquisition do about them!?”

“For now, their priority will be the orcs…they won’t harm the other non-humans…at least not yet.” There was a robotic almost prerecorded manner to the way Blemish replied, but Titania detected a hint of frustration in the last part of his explanation, like it wasn’t something he was proud to say. “There is nothing to be done about it. In the end, Orcshire is simply a small piece of land, stuck between three other nations Those three nations will invade and try to take Orcshire for themselves, because there is no leadership here. Orcshire will become a warzone. If the Inquisition takes command, we can put it under their protection, and thus prevent that inevitability.”

“So it’s protection. We trade a tyrant for an authoritarian theocracy!?” Grognor spat.

“The Inquisition will appoint a governor to maintain control and peace. The people will not be harmed.” Blemish explained. His eyes then turned to Titania “But…they will purge the orcs…and ogres…that they find.”

“So, in other words…I need to get while the getting’s good?” Titania asked. Blemish hung his head shamefully.

“Sorry…”

“I need to go inform the town…the Citadel needs to know what’s coming and be prepared.” Grognor grumbled, standing up. “Sorry I can’t join you two for supper.”

“I didn’t invite you to supper.”

“True enough…then invite me to breakfast tomorrow then!”

“You fat bastard.”

“Big breasted bitch!” Grognor shouted back. He then turned on his heels and hurried back down the mountain, while Titania shook her head with a smirk. Blemish walked to her, taking off his mask again, a puzzled look on his face.

“Why do you two insult each other like that? Are you still mad at each other?”

“No…it’s…hard to explain, Blemish. When we were both growing up together before the Cataclysm, it was the way we guys sometimes talked.”

“It doesn’t seem all that friendly to me.”

“No…I suppose it doesn’t.” Titania giggled. “But it is getting to be about supper time. Let’s head in and we can eat.”

“Titania, can I ask you something?” Blemish asked, grabbing Titania’s hand as she started to walk in. Titania paused and looked back at the boy, blinking.

“What’s wrong?” Blemish opened his mouth as if to say something, but then shut it again, concern in his voice and in his stance. He teetered on both feet a moment like a shy child, and then finally spoke.

“Do you think…I’m good?” He asked.

“What?”

“Am I a good person?”

“Of course you are. Why would you ask that?” Titania asked with a laugh.

“Don’t make it sound so easy, please.” Blemish argued. “I’ve always done what I thought was good…but were the things I thought were good actually good things? What if…if I did something that I thought was right and it wasn’t…does that mean I’m bad? What makes me a good person to you? Why do you think it’s so obvious?” Titania frowned a moment and knelt down.

“What’s wrong, Blemish…something’s bothering you…”

“…I don’t know what to do, Titania…” He whispered, shuffling his feet. “I just want to know…when I decide what to do…how will I know it’s good?” Titania smiled softly and put a hand on Blemish’s head, in a matronly way.

“Good people can make bad decisions…that happens. I don’t think anyone is inherently good…I think we all choose whether or not we act righteously.”

“And how do I know if what I do is good? Because the Inquisition says one thing is good…but then you might say it’s not…” Titania looked at the beautiful tree behind Blemish and turned him around to face it.

“What do you think of this tree?”

“It’s…red.”

“No don’t describe it, silly…what do you feel. Do you feel this tree is good?” She asked. Blemish thought about it a moment, thinking…feeling…taking in the tree.

“I…think so.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know…I just…guess it is. I feel like it is.”

“Would you be upset if I cut it down?”

“Don’t cut it down, Titania!” He cried. He suddenly gasped at his own outburst. Where that come from…why did he care? It’s just a tree, it has no value…or does it?

“I’m not going to, but see? This tree is nothing. There are millions of trees on this mountain, but this one is special to you…it’s good. It didn’t do anything to be good, but you recognize good in it. That’s how I see goodness, Blemish. You might have done some good things and bad things before, but that’s not why I see good in you. You’re good because…that’s how God made you to be.” Blemish stared at the tree a long time, even after Titania stood back up to walk inside. He simply stared at its beautiful red leaves and the drifting sway of the branches.

“…It’s nothing but a tree…but there’s value in it.” He whispered. “Can a blemish…have value?”