2 Cullen Azog (2)

"Quickly follow that useless orc. If my uncle did not lie, that bag of his contained over fifteen pieces of obsidian coins. That will be enough for each of us to get a pint of mead from the village pub!" said one of the youngsters.

"Quiet! Do you want the whole world to hear what you're trying to do here?" another companion of his pulled the first guy's hair for speaking out loudly.

But his warning came too late as it was already heard by Cullen Azog, who left few minutes before them. Although he was an orc, his status was no different from a regular villager. This difference was what haunting him in his two years living here in harmony with the locals.

The only thing he could do was move faster and return to the orc's village first. Only by going back home can he be safe under the protection of the others.

'Huh... Huh...' Cullen Azog picked up his speed as he tries to outrun the four human youngsters following him. It was all thanks to Mister Derrick's advice that he knew something was wrong.

By the time he reaches the Orc Village, Cullen Azog was already panting as he ran out of breath from moving that fast. But at the very least, he's able to bring the fifteen obsidian coins home safely.

"Mother, I'm home!" placing the basket of fruits and bread on the table, Cullen raised his voice to caught the attention of the person living with him. Soon, a delicate lady, albeit looking a little fatigue, came out from one of the rooms.

Her hair was blonde. Although she was skinny, the feature on her face and body were still very well preserved. If she wasn't as malnourished as she is right now, she would be considered a great beauty capable of making all men crazy for her.

And indeed, she did. Even the supreme king from the Orc's Armada specially requested for she was in exchange for peace and for leaving humankind intact here in Silicon. But alas, she failed to meet the expectation of the supreme king.

But giving birth to a mere Orc Craftsman sealed her future as she was banished here with the others.

"You're home? What's with this bag of obsidian coins? Did the people from the village asked you to do something for them again?" Rosie Cullen, who was an ex-princess of the Cullen Kingdom, asked.

"Yes, mother. I have to make ten swords for them. Let's don't talk about this right now. I've brought some food home. Taste them, mother..." Cullen Azog grabbed a roll of bread and handed it to his mother's hand.

"Ten swords again! What are they planning to do? I'm sure they did not provide you with the materials again this time, correct?" Rosie Cullen said with a slightly irritated tone.

"Yes. I'll have to go and search for the iron ore again." Cullen Azog said.

"These people are getting more and more atrocious each time. On their first two times, only half of the iron ore was provided to craft the weapon. It was cut to a quarter on their third order. Now, they don't even provide the raw material..." his mother continued to complain.

"Don't worry, mother. I'll get Tarzul to follow me when I'm going out to look for the ores." Cullen Azog said.

"That's what I'm worried about. Tarzul is strong, but he's too slow. By the time he noticed what happened to you, it was already too late." Rosie Cullen said.

"We'll manage it. Don't worry, mother." Cullen Azog grabbed another bread and ate them. Although the taste was bland, it was going well with some fruits.

He quietly leaves the house without disturbing his mother. Carrying a few tools on his back, Cullen Azog went to a home two shacks away from his.

Pushing the door open, he was greeted with a messy living room with an orc about two meters in height. The orc is still sleeping on the ground even after Cullen Azog came inside the house.

"Tarzul... Wake up." using his leg to nudge the orc sleeping on the floor, Cullen tried his best to get this lazy orc to open his eyes. But to his wonder, this orc actually managed to remain asleep after Cullen tries continuously for close to five minutes.

'Haih...' Cullen Azog squinted his eyes the moment he was forced to do something he wasn't proud about. Lowering his head until he was right beside Tarzul's ear, he whispered...

"The human attacked... Arm yourself and kill them all..." Cullen Azog said.

"Attack? They dare to attack us?" Tarzul's eyes opened wide as he searched for a proper tool to arm himself. He finally noticed that he was fooled by Cullen Azog after he saw that nobody was getting anxious like him.

"Grun-Thar!" Tarzul yelled using their orcish language.

"You, Cullen Azog. Why are you fooling me?" he asked. Standing up straight with a mead bottle in his hand, he was a fully grown Orc Warrior around 2.2meters tall.

"Come with me to look for some iron. You haven't eaten, correct?" Cullen Azog said. Using the food as bait to lure him to help was Cullen Azog's first option.

"Not yet. House... No Food." Tarzul said.

After hearing that reply, Cullen Azog took a quick glance around him. There's indeed nothing edible in his house. It was in a mess, just like his own private forge. If it's not because he has a human mother, perhaps he's nowhere better than the Tarzul here.

"Just follow me outside. We'll grab something on our way and catch a wolf on our way back." Cullen Azog said. As long Tarzul is willing to move, even walking back and forth to the nearest Volcanic Zone wouldn't be a problem.

But they're not going that far today.

All they need to do is to visit the nearby Forest of Wailing to search for something to be brought home. Furthermore, he needs more than just raw iron to be able to start working on the swords.

Going into his house to grab the last book of bread, Cullen Azog led the way out of their orc village with Tarzul tagging along. It was only with Tarzul that his safety is much more secured.

While entering the Forest of Wailing is easy, coming out unscathed is a feat hard to achieve, even to the most skillful warrior of their village. Standing on the outer side of the woods, Cullen Azog asked if Tarzul is ready.

"Shall we?" Cullen Azog passed a short dagger to Tarzul. It was about the size of the bottle in his hand earlier.

"This dagger, Tarzul don't like, Tarzul like a big, strong hammer. Only now using. We go, working." Tarzul replied. Just like what his mother said, he's a little slow when it comes to all these. But he's the first-class when it comes to brute strength.

"Let's go!" the moment they take a step into the woods, the wailing scream started to echoed inside their ears.

**Ahhhh!!!**

It was deafening and bone creeping. And the moment these disturbing sound made their entry, more eventful things followed.

The trees that were supposed to be unanimated starts to attack both of them.