An official headcount was done for the many men that had come into Starch. Lucky for them, they came just days before the festival. The Paine family shockingly was prepared to take on such a task, they would have enough stock to handle the extra 182 people. Many families' lives were destroyed the day before, nobody could wrap their heads around it as they just sobbed and wept.
"She's in a better place now." and "I wish I could tell her I love her just one last time" could be heard by many of the now-widowed men.
"Ariah, I've been trying to figure it out, but I can't seem to even comprehend why the Orcs in Vexa would kill just the women and the children. There has got to be a reason, I can't imagine that anybody here is going to enjoy the festival now, especially after this monstrous display of cruelty. I feel like we must do something and get some answers." Elias said.
"I think I saw something weird with Dusty last night, just before he moved the bodies off of you, he cut off some kind of patch from the Orcs torso. I don't know if you noticed, but he has been quiet today, so we should go to his shop and talk to him." Ariah replied.
The two would wrap up their dinner plates and start to exit the tavern. The tavern was the most well-kept establishment in Starch, it was typically used as a lunchroom for everyone, but at this point, due to its size, they kept everyone from Dockton in there.
"Attention! Attention! My dear neighbors of Dockton, my heart is with you in these heavy times. My name is Ivan Paine, the owner of Paine Farms. I could not imagine the emotional suffering you poor souls have been dealt. As I know what I want to do for you folk will not fix your hardships,” Ivan exclaimed, pressing his palms together, “I do know it will fix your empty stomachs. I have prepared meals for everyone here and everyone in Starch. I wish that everyone will be cooperative and patient with one another, Starch is a town of love and prosperity. Please, enjoy the food, and your stay!"
As many know in Starch, Ivan Paine has a lot of children. Next thing you know, his 18 kids started bringing in platters of assorted foods. Plates covered in various pasta dishes, potatoes, corn, and all sorts of general foods and drinks that the Paine family grows and makes. Ivan was known for being humble and also fairly wealthy, considering. He sold and traded extra harvest to Dockton for many years, he not only made money off of it but brought home a lot of fish to put in Lake Celia, the nice-sized body of water right by them. See, he knew that had he done that for years, Starch would be set for fishing and not require a trip to the Clausa Ocean, east of them.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Ariah and Elias had just gotten to Dusty's shop, they went inside to see him sitting at a table with a large mug of beer, the insignia from the Orc, and a written letter that he was writing himself, while drunk. "This patch... it's not the same one that I recognize. Ariah, Elias, we may be in big trouble." Dusty said while hiccupping. "These Orcs that we fought, they were saying Vexa this, Vexa that, Vexa bullshit. The ones I fought back in my day had a skull-like symbol on it but I never got their name. All I know about those damned Orcs is that they live over on the island of Grumudar. I got no idea why those green-skinned bastards live by a volcano, but whatever kills em' faster." Dusty then chugged the rest of his drink.
"Dusty, If you don't mind me asking, I see you were writing a letter here, what is it about?" Elias asked.
"Well guys, you see, I used to be a blacksmith over there in Fairstad before the little King Artos took over. I knew of an old crew who would go on adventures and expeditions. They go by The Crows. This was before all of Saintsland was primarily human and before Artos drove them out. Luckily for The Crows, they only operated during the night when most couldn't see them. They are a particular race called Kenkus, have ya ever heard of em'?" spouted Dusty.
"No sir, the only races we know of are Humans, Orcs, Elves, and the Shiftlings," replied Ariah.
"Welp, I wrote this letter asking for their assistance, but I'm not even sure if they're still working. Once they were driven out by those pitiful knights of Fairstad, they made me aware that they were going down to the Aros Isles south of us. It's like a line of islands. If I had a map, I'd mark it for you, but unfortunately, I lost my old one while moving here to Starch. I just want more information on these Orcs to avoid this happening again. The Kenkus have the appearance of a humanoid crow, they typically do not stand taller than 5 feet, don't undermine their power though, they are kind people but are special as assassins. In the meantime, I've been thinking.” Dusty said, his fingers tapping the table with heavy thuds.