The victorious army of Refuge turned the last corner of their long campaign. Their town’s wooden gates were finally in sight. All were relieved to see the sight. It had been a long journey back, through chimera infested territory. Fortunately, they only encountered one creature, and it retreated from the host of two hundred and their pikes.

They mourned those lost during the exhibition, but casualties were lighter than they could have been. They even came back with guildmaster Kyvril’s two children. Rescued from the orcish warlock’s prison by the guildmaster, Rhunal, and Bron. After facing a monstrous, snakelike chimera and an army of resilient blemmyae, they had every right to be proud of their accomplishments. The sentries on the walls spotted them from a long way off, blowing horns to announce their arrival. People flooded onto the walls and waved from a distance. It was still too far to make out any of their faces.

Rhunal smiled at the sight of them. As an orc, she had better vision with those gold eyes of hers. Though she could make out individual faces, the people were mostly strangers to her. But there were a few she knew by sight. The stocky blacksmith from Qismat, Guluss, and his wife, Chione. She also spotted her former language teacher, Valda, on top of the wall flanked by several of her new students.

Rhun sped up her pace, gradually leaving the rest of the army of adventurers and mercenaries behind. Bron kept up with her fast steps, extending his long stride.

“Why are you so impatient to get home? It is not far. We might as well accompany the army for the final few miles.”

“Worried Bron? We’ve driven everything on the frontier before us. I want to see the town again. To see my home. I’ve never had a home of my own before.”

Bron shrugged. “You do not have one yet. Refuge does not have enough houses, we’ll have to build it.”

She shook her head at him. “A home is not stone, wood, and roof. The whole town is my home now. You don’t understand. You had an entire city to explore while growing up. I was a prisoner in a single house. Raised by a dour wizard who didn’t know how to handle a child, certainly not an orc child. And now I’m free. To roam the town whenever I want, at any hour of the day. I hope the people will like me. But the town is mine too, no matter they think about it.”

“You’re very serious today, Rhun. Don’t worry too much about the townsfolk. I suspect your obstinate cheerfulness will win them over. However they view your presence at first. Some might be against the idea of a she-orc living in their town. But treat it like a long campaign rather than a battle. It isn’t important for everyone to like you right away. You’ve already made alliances with the most important people in town. The others might accept you right away or they might not. But gradually, as long as you treat them well, their opinion will turn. It doesn’t hurt that a sorceress like yourself is a benefit to the town. Like it or not, they need you.”

The she-orc flashed her fangs in a quick smile. “They need us. I like the sound of that.” The pair marched on, leading the army with their rapid pace.

Nearing the town’s wood gates, the volume of the crowd increased. Half the town’s population was on top of the walls. By the sound, the other half was crowded behind the gates. But before the celebration and greetings could begin, a single person stood in front of the gates, despite them being still closed. A skinny man with grey and brown hair, wearing a dark blue robe, with the brighter blue thread of a lightning bolt running through the front.

Despite the army at her back, Rhunal suddenly felt a chill run up her spine. Archmage Carinus advanced on the army. The whole procession stopped when he reached them. Coming closer, he took an envelope from his side and opened it.

Guildmaster Kyvril, commander of the army, caught up to the pair, just as Carinus read his letter. It was a letter from a judge, detailing Carinus’ ownership of the orc child Rhunal. It had been a confusing issue for the state of Greihold. They’d never had to consider who was the legal owner of an orc child. But eventually they settled the issue in his favor.

Rhunal found herself without words. She bared her fangs and growled, fists clenched, eyes widening in fury.

Kyvril stepped forward. “Let me see the letter.” Carinus handed it over. Kyvril didn’t even read it, turning to Rhunal instead. “Are you this man’s property?”

The she-orc’s ire turned towards the guildmaster, but she remembered he was her friend. He was making a point. She stepped towards the wizard. “No child am I. No slave either. I am free and will continue to be so from now on. I am not the same she-orc who grew up with you. Many perils have come my way. I’ve learned much of magic in my time away. You will tell no one that you own me again.” 

Kyvril nodded and shredded the letter. “Rhunal is of age. Even more, she is a citizen of Refuge. Wizard, you are welcome to take it to the courts, but they have little sway out here. Doubt they’d even bother risking the roads to come here. Even if you won a legal battle, none of the people here would accept it. I have nothing but scorn for the idea of people owning others. It’s a dangerous world. Free people with the ability to act on their own are needed. We don’t have the luxury of having slaves to serve the whims of the rich. Everyone is going to have to carry their own weight.” 

 Gyda and her Brother had stepped to the front as well, flanking Rhunal and Bron. Carinus scanned the gathered host. “This is a dangerous group of people indeed. What resulted from your quest to the north?”

Rhunal answered proudly, telling him of two chimeras slain, powers gained, and the great battle on the northern plateau. The blemmyae had been beaten badly. Their serpent chimera cast down among the ruins of the city up there.

“And what of the warlock leading them?” Carinus asked. “Surely you killed the one who was behind the attack.” 

“He stood from afar. Watched while his minions were defeated. There weren’t enough people to go chasing after him. Kyvril decided to accept our victory and return. All agreed with him.”

Carinus clenched his fists. “What was the point of your quest? A warlock such as he can always find more minions to serve him. Why did you bother going north at all?”

“You do not know of what you speak, wizard. It was only by great fortune that we reached the plateau at all. My children were taken during the attack on Refuge. I, Bron, and Rhunal rescued them from their prison up there. Our force was not large, yet we endured a battle against creatures many times our size and strength. I would have been a madman to stay, to pursue the warlock. I almost did it.” Kyvril turned to Captain Sigeric, who was wearing the tabard of the grey wolf. “Tell the wizard what you told me, about the promise of an official campaign to the north.”

“The blemmyae were far more numerous than expected,” agreed Sigeric. “Too numerous to leave up here, threatening our outlying towns and villages. It is only a matter of time until the king puts together an army to cull them. Not two hundred, but several thousands of troops will go north. It is not a short distance, but it isn’t too far for an army to reach. We’ve got no shortage of guides to show the way there.”

Carinus shook his head. “The blemmyae are nothing but pawns. Even if you kill every one of them, it will not eliminate the threat the warlock poses. I received a sign personally.”

The wizard told them about the visit of the creature with the body of a lizard and the crested head of a bird. What they considered a victory would only be a setback to one like that. Besides his own magical abilities, he had several of the creatures under his sway.

“A war isn’t won in a single battle,” Rhun snarled. “But he has a couple fewer creatures under his power now.”

Her boast did not impress Carinus. “A war it is. But you shouldn’t worry about victory or defeat, but yourself. An enemy like the warlock is not one to take lightly. He will remember your role in his defeat.”

“How do you know so much about him? You weren’t there. You speak like you know him,” Rhun said.

“Any wizard worth his sigil knows the important players of the world. The giant warlock of the north is known to all archmages. But our ability to manage his presence has been limited.”

Kyvril couldn’t control his anger at that statement. He stomped the ground. “That warlord attacked my town! Killed my wife, stole my children away. You wizards should have done more to deal with him. Your coin helped, but you should have done more. All of you!”

“We knew of the orcish warlock’s existence, we did not know his motives. Until recently, he kept to himself, far to the north. He was not our enemy.”

“Now that has changed. So what are you and the other archmages going to do about the threat?”

Carinus considered the question for a moment. “If the army is going to campaign up north, it is likely that several archmages will go with them. With the threat of the warlock’s chimera, the army will need their power.”

“So Carinus.” Rhun said, deliberately forgoing his title. “Are you going with them? You should.”

The archmage shook his head. “I have personal problems of my own. But you should join up. Finish what you’ve started up north. The warlock is not one to keep as an enemy. You will see him again. Better that you do so at a time of your choosing rather than his.”

“Enemies are one thing.” Kyvril said. “But I wish to talk about friends again. As I’ve said, Rhunal is a citizen of my town. Will you give up your claim on her? She’s proved to be very capable. I don’t want trouble for her when she returns to Greihold on my business.”

Carinus nodded. “I will not seek redress through the law. Even if they sided with me, it would be pointless to pit myself against your whole town. But don’t think you’ve won. We will both regret this day.”

“Threatening me, teacher?” Rhun asked.

“It is not me you should worry about, girl.”

She scowled at the term, but he ignored it, turning to leave. Not entering the town, but going up the road towards Greihold.

The encounter with her former master dampened Rhunal’s joy, but she regained that feeling of positivity upon entering the gates of the town. The people cheered them as heroes. Guluss and Chione, the blacksmith and his wife, were the first to meet them, surprising her with an embrace from each of them. Even Brondulf received a hug, accepting it with an awkward smile. Rhun was happy to see them, and her childhood language teacher as well, Valda Mercca. 

Amid the celebration, Kyvril approached her. “I promised you citizenship, but no houses are available at the moment. However, you are free to find a place to live wherever she can. He glanced over at the blacksmith and his wife. I’ll even pay out for rent for a few months.”

Rhun turned to the couple, her first friends in the town. “Can I take over some of your workshop? I don’t need much, just a small bed.”

“We are happy to have you,” Chione said, speaking for her husband. “We’ll put up a second bed for Bron as well.”

“Kyvril, how can we build new homes? The current walls have no space for new ones,” Rhun asked. 

“Plans are underway. But it is too much to go into during a celebration. Tomorrow, I will explain the future of this town with both of you.”