Every step into this new world seemed to reveal some new marvel. As Phoebe walked by the wildflowers, they whispered. Stopping to listen, it wasn't in any language she knew - but it was definitely a spoken language.

The air wasn't just bracing. She could taste some kind of fragrance on it. A sweet perfume that she wished she'd had in the past. Phoebe absolutely wanted to find and wear it... Except it was everywhere in the air, all the same.

She headed downhill, finding herself walking alongside the river before long. Figuring that any town or city was likely to spring up somewhere along it, eventually.

The crystal waters were tempting, and Phoebe did eventually need a drink. Sweating lightly from her walk. Except, when she bent over to taste, she saw herself staring not at some shallow river - far below, swarming with fish passing by, was a mould encrusted castle that was enormous.

The river lay upon a crack, looking down into some cavern where an entire city seemed to have fallen away in ancient times.

Phoebe sipped, hoping that clear meant the water wasn't carrying anything, and then continued on her way. She walked feeling brisk and free, as if she was just following a rail trail, until the sun started to dip low in the sky.

Instead of turning red, it transformed the entire landscape into a brilliant gold. The leaves of the nearby trees shimmered, making her eyes complain at the interweaving speckles of gold and silver. The river seemed to glow, so much so she half expected it to hum.

Phoebe found a sheltered grove near the riverbank to make camp for the night. She shuffled a pile of leaves together into a makeshift bed. Smiling and shaking her head at herself. She wasn't afraid at all. She knew nothing, but... This place... It made her feel like everything was a possibility, not a terror.

The flowing water of the river, the rustling of the leaves, were like a lullaby and soon had Phoebe yawning and snuggling down. She felt warm and happy, as she began to drift off.

Beneath the moon and twinkling stars, she saw a bioluminescent something. Small creatures wandering along the other side of the river bank. Frolicking, playing. Some were drinking at the river. Glow-in-the-dark deer.

It just made her smile, before sleep took her.

----------------------------------------

The morning light came golden and fierce, just like the sunset. Phoebe found her hair tangled, upset, and filled with leaves. She didn't seem to be able to get them all out.

Half annoyed with the mess that she probably looked, and still dragging her fingers through her hair, Phoebe set off. Hoping to find a town before her stomach complained that she hadn't eaten since breakfast the previous day.

Phoebe was too distracted by her hair to notice that the light and shadow in the area ahead didn't seem right. She didn't see it until she stepped over a circle of rocks, and the landscape warped as her foot touched down.

It revealed a figure standing in the centre of the circle, taller and prouder than most. They were at least head-and-shoulders taller than Phoebe, and there was no doubt they could pick her up in one arm.

The muscular figure was a dark-skinned green, and dressed in worn and dulled steel. Resting in the hands was the head of an axe, the polearm descended to the ground between their feet.

All around them, lying on the ground, were twitching bodies, moaning and groaning. The figure was reciting something, with a voice that reverberated the ground beneath Phoebe's feet.

The figure's brilliant shining emerald eyes locked onto her quickly, and they held up a hand. "Who trespasses?"

"I uh... Phoebe?"

They gave a shake of their head and swept the axe up, holding it in one hand and pointing at her. "Well... Phee'bee... Bad timing. You find yourself among the undead. I cannot sweep them, without utter purity of soul. You do not appear to be dedicated."

Phoebe suddenly noticed the tusks peeking out of the corners of the other woman's mouth. She pieced it together, and stared openly. "You're... An orc...?"

"You are human." The orc replied as if it were obvious, "However, are you dedicated to one of your gods? Brahma? Amun-Ra? Yahweh?"

She winced, "I uh... I guess... Never thought about it? I'm an atheist? Maybe? Agnostic. I dunno. Never thought much about it."

"Ah." The orc said with what sounded like fear.

Phoebe went to step backwards, out of the stone circle, but the tip of her tall heel hit what felt like solid stone. Nothing to see, no flash of an invisible sphere, but she instantly knew that she had stepped into a trap that would only end once the threat had.

"How do we kill undead...?"

The orc sighed heavily, and tensed their shoulders, "Avoid them, Phee'bee. I shall endeavour to serve the great Go'ruuk in this, and see you safely on your way."

She screamed.

The orc's blade slashed through the fallen figures with sprays of a black liquid that hit either side of Phoebe as she grabbed for her mouth in terror. The things didn't stop moving though - they were rising to their feet even as the orc cut them off.

Staggering and stumbling on limbs or none, to try and attack and bite. They were acting instinctively, only moving now that they had a target. Phoebe flinched and shrank back as she began to understand what she'd stumbled into.

The zombies roared and snarled, as the holy knight cut them down. Disabling them by cutting them to pieces, before stomping the skull beneath her foot with a sickening crunch and slush.

The orc leaned on her axe again, breathing heavily, "You appear... Uninjured... Phee... Bee..."

"Phoebe." She said, heart pounding in her ears, and tested the wall, stumbling out of the circle as quickly as she'd entered it.

The orc emerged a moment later, appearing with a shimmer as they exited the undead trap. The axe was slung across their back, and they moved as if it had no weight at all. Easy and bright, despite the new dark stains across their armour.

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Now that they were out of battle, that unfurled a cloak of woven leaves, edges frayed from countless adventures. Slinging it around their neck, where Phoebe also spotted a single crystal shard, glowing as if there was a flickering flame inside it.

They waved to Phoebe to sit down beside a small pool fed by the river. The orc taking off their boots and dropping green feet into the water. Wriggling their toes in the clear crystal waters.

Phoebe sat down cross-legged, looking at them carefully, and keeping them at a small distance.

The orc leaned back, speaking with their rumbling voice, "So... Portal?"

"Portal?" Phoebe said, before realising. "Oh. I guess? Purple circle thing, people and landscapes shifting around -"

"Portal, that is correct." The orc nodded, "From how you reacted, I take it that your world is not one that comes with the undead?"

"We don't... Have magic. Just imagining it." Phoebe winced.

The orc gave a laugh that made the water ripple, "Well, then this is quite a surprise upon you. Introductions are ought. I am the Knight Apprentice Gruna, of the Go'ruuk Sect. I am twenty and seven years old, and will have my vengeance, in this life or the next."

Phoebe jerked at the last statement.

Gruna shrugged, "A vampire, in service to a witch, hunted my tribe. That witch... I will hunt, to the end of my days."

"Knight apprentice, that means you've got a boss, right?" Phoebe sidetracked from a heavy conversation that should not be part of any sort of introduction.

The orc looked down sadly, and shook her head. The light in her emerald eyes dimming noticeably. "No... Not anymore... My master..."

"You don't have to say. I'm sorry for your loss." Phoebe said earnestly, and wondered just how dangerous a world she'd just found herself in. Had her survival last night just come by chance? By the efforts of the holy knights setting traps like this one?

Gruna sniffed loudly, and straightened her back, "Knight Ruark fell by the claw of a dragon. He fought valiantly."

"Not much you can say, when someone loses someone, is there?" Phoebe said sadly. "Again, I am truly sorry for your loss."

The orc smiled over at her, "You do not know this world. For your kindness, and my duty, I will take you to the nearest city. It is there my master was buried. I will show you where he lies, and then... Then I must renew my vow. To hunt the witch, is my duty."

"That... Sounds amazing. I am completely out of my depth." Phoebe gave a nervous smile.

Gruna dropped back, spreading her arms and looking at the sky, "First, we should rest. The war against the undead is never ending, and the efforts required quite... Inhuman."

"That was a joke, wasn't it?"

The orc sighed, "I had hoped it would be one to make you laugh."

"My world is just... So different." Phoebe pulled off her boots, and then after a hesitation, her suit pants. She dropped her legs into the crystal water, and it sent shivers across her legs and up her spine.

It felt more like gelatine or something, as if it were caressing her. She swallowed, and continued, "My world... I'm an office worker. I shuffle and sign papers, all day. Making sure all the numbers are in the right places. None of this life and death stuff."

"There are professions without the risks you have seen in these hills." Gruna yawned, "We have one called a bookkeep. It would perhaps be something you might investigate, though many are required to invest in training, such that they will be certified."

"Eugh. Back to uni." Phoebe groaned, "Bet that's not cheap here, either. Took me five years to pay back my uni debt, which actually isn't that bad. Only twenty five thousand dollars."

"Ten years indenture is quite the norm for such certifications." Gruna sounded even more tired. "My own indenture is fifteen years further. However, as the task is to kill the witch... I see this as quite the fine deal."

She frowned, "I have no idea what indenture means."

"An indenture is a legal document or contract that is written and sealed. It is used to record an agreement or contract between two or more parties, outlining the terms and conditions of their relationship or agreement." Gruna explained, "A job, but usually without pay. Instead they provide such equipment as is necessary to perform your duties. Sword, shoes, a roof. Such things."

Phoebe shivered, "Short term slavery. Sweet."

"Slavery... Is not a norm, where you are from?" Gruna said in awe.

She winced, "Well, it's supposed to be outlawed. There's always bastards trying to get around it. Abusing illegal immigrants, sex workers, homeless. Everyone who is more vulnerable than they should be. The ones who ought to be protected."

"Such crimes are also common here." Gruna growled, "It is my pleasure to behead such ones as seek those controls. Slavery is still common, I am afraid, but the Go'ruuk Sect does desire to end such things."

"Church fighting for the common people. I'd never." Phoebe said bitterly, before she could stop herself.

The orc leaned up, "Church? This is a word outside my lexicon."

"Lexicon is outside mine." Phoebe replied and then shrugged, "Church... A place or group of people, that are part of an organised religion? People who worship God, I guess."

"We have many gods. Perhaps that is why it is so unfamiliar." Gruna shrugged, and then she frowned, "I have a skill, one I have learnt, that is not altogether common in this world. Perhaps it is beyond your knowledge, also. I would be willing to teach it to you."

Phoebe blinked, "Teach me? I guess that'd be a... Bonding thing? Or something. A thing to do as friends."

"Indeed." Gruna nodded, standing up and walking over barefooted to one of the trees. "I do desire to count you among my confidants and comrades. Come."

She stood up, and shuffled over, feeling the stones and sticks digging into her soft feet. Crouching beside the tree, as Gruna had. The orc smiled as she did, and laid her hand against the roots of the tree.

Phoebe didn't notice anything at first. After a moment, though, she noticed that Gruna was humming. The orc's deep voice rattling the dirt gently, wrapping around the roots of the tree.

Phoebe felt a sense of peace wash over her as she listened to the orc's melodic humming. The vibrations seemed to resonate through the earth, creating a harmonious connection between Gruna, the tree, and the surrounding nature.

As the song continued, Phoebe closed her eyes and allowed herself to be enveloped by the soothing sound, grateful for the unexpected connection she had formed with the orc.

The ground seemed to not just shake with the sound, by resonate. Slowly becoming a living thing, shifting like the skin on some creature resting. The tree above rustled, leaves not just moving, but moving in time to the unspoken song.

"Stand back." Gruna said quietly, and Phoebe blinked as she opened her eyes.

The knight helped her to her feet, the two taking a couple steps back, as Phoebe wondered what exactly she meant. The only time she'd really been asked to stand back before, was if something was about to fall.

There was a snap, and a crunch, as the roots in the ground whipped upwards, becoming rigid vertical rods. Phoebe flinched, tightening her hand on Gruna's. The orc smiled in amusement.

The tree shivered and shook, stretching and flexing as it tore itself the rest of the way out of the ground. Walking trees was apparently a rare thing, but something that could be taught, in this world. Phoebe had absolutely no idea what could happen in this world.

The upright roots blindly moved around, like feelers or tentacles, guiding the tree as it shuffled over, before bending with a loud crack, and bowing down in front of the orc. They smiled at it, crinkling her nose, and then hummed and whispered something to the tree, before looking sideways at Phoebe, "Isn't it sweet when someone assumes you are of royal lineage?"

"That has literally never happened to me." She stared.

Gruna frowned, looking at her in surprise, "I had thought that perhaps you were a princess or emira, upon first our meeting."

"Uh... We're I'm from... Princesses have like armed guards and stuff. They never travel alone, let alone in some weird backwards place without roads."

The holy knight frowned, looking deeply insulted, "A place without roads is simply one that has been preserved from the intrusive nature of civilisation, not one that is somehow backwards."

Phoebe winced, "I... Didn't mean anything by it, sorry."

"It is a thing of different worlds." Gruna said politely, "There is much we cannot know of each other. However, such things can only be overcome with knowledge. For knowing is half the battle battle."

She nodded slowly, "Sorry."

"Apologies are unnecessary. It is the changing of ones own thoughts that is most important." Gruna said with a smile, and then turned to the tree, affectionately brushing one of the branches and humming to it.

The conversation was come and gone, but Phoebe felt like she'd done something that shouldn't have been forgiven that easy. She didn't exactly understand what exactly it was that she had done, but it felt like it was something that Gruna should have punched her in the face over.

She needed to find a way to make it up to the knight.