Against All Odds I

At the main gate a gruesome sight greets Gord, a giant monster covered in a thick layer of blood bellows out, "Gord! Boy!" the guards surrounding the beast take a step back, shocked by its ability to speak before realizing what this blood covered mess was...

"Lor! You're alive!?" Gord shouts, rushing to Lor's side to find that the blood covered his entire body from braids to toes. The majority of which has a slightly brighter orange tint only transitioning to a vibrant crimson over his face, back, and left calve.

Gord quickly shouts to the nearby guards, "Quick! Grab some bandages and buckets of water, I need to clean his wounds!" hastily wiping away the dried orange blood as one of the guards brings forth some wrappings and several more form a bucket chain to bring water to help Gord wash away the blood-soaked on Lor.

After a thorough cleaning and bandaging, it is discovered that Lor has lost his right eye, his back was thoroughly shredded, and a noticeable chunk missing from his calve causing him to limp. Gord slowly guides him to the barn so that he may rest, upon entering the barn he asks, "What happened? How did you survive?"

Lowering his mountainous body to the hay bed Lor mumbles, "Sleep. Nest. All. Dead." before collapsing on a hay cot and entering into a deep sleep, Gord rubs Lor's side for a few more minutes before heading out to let him rest.

Exiting the barn, Gord goes to one of the guards on duty, "Milltor, can you round up some boys to check on the river? I think Lor took care of that group of abs and we could really use the meat and hide."

"No problem, Gord, oh and it looks like Lor dropped this on his way into the village," Milltor says carefully handing over a blood-covered satchel filled with various herbs.

Taking it, Gord smiles a little, "Thanks Milltor, I've got to head home now. Mind letting the Chief know I'll be working from home for the next few days?"

"Sure, it's that kid, right? How's the little guy doing? Did he..." Milltor trails off as a hesitant look creeps across his face.

Gord laughs, "Don't worry Milltor, he made it through the night and seems to be stable. I just want to watch over him til he wakes up."

Milltor sighs, "Thank the spirits. Well, I'll pass on your message to the Chief. Take it easy and see you later."

"See you, Milltor," Gord says heading back home.

Once home, Gord is welcomed with the smell of fried eggs and venison sausage, and the sound of light snoring. "Darling, I'm home. How's the boy?" Gord says dropping off his sword and the dirty satchel.

"He's doing well, sleeping peacefully he seems a lot better now. I plan to feed him some bone broth later. What was that noise, did an abomination breakthrough?" Julia says, serving up breakfast as she sits to join Gord.

"You won't believe it! Lor actually made it back! That crazy brelok, I tended to him and he's off resting in the barn. Should be fine in a couple of days, nothing fatal." Gord says, happily digging into the food.

"That's wonderful honey!" Julia exclaims as she joins in eating. After finishing breakfast, she says, "We have a lot to do before he wakes up. After you check up on his condition go to Maul to get us another bed and a stool. The main room will become a bit cramped, but we'll manage. Then finish the claiming with the chief. And go to Terg for some flour, we're running low. I'll begin making the boy some clothes with some spare fabric and thread."

"Will do darling," Gord says, giving her a peck on the cheek before heading to their room to check on the boy.

Entering the room, Gord is greeted by the source of the loud snoring from earlier. The boy was practically swaddled like a newborn with nearly every spare blanket in the house. Slowly removing the layers of blankets on the boy, his body begins to take shape until only his tattered clothes remained. Chiding himself for taking this long to change him, he strips the child to examine his injuries more closely. Despite his malnourished state, numerous cuts and bruises, his apparent weak lung, and his rather pale skin, the boy seemed to be healthy enough with no physical deformities to speak of, most strange of all where his straight, white teeth. Something only seen on nobles. Appearing to be around ten or eleven summers, maybe twelve?

Concluding his examination Gord clothed the boy in one of his old outfits and takes the tattered clothes to Julian before leaving, "Darling, I'm heading out. Here's what the boy was wearing, it looked pretty strange to me, but you never know if it's got sentimental value for the kid. I'm sure he'd appreciate it if you could salvage it."

Taking the strange clothing a confused look spreads across Julian's face making her furrow her brow as she studies it closer and closer, getting lost in her examination failing to notice her husband's departure as she mumbles, "How strange, how is the fabric so fine... And the stitchwork is impeccable... How do all these metal pieces fit together?" Turning towards the room where the snores can still be heard emanating from Julian says, "What was your tribe like to make such complex clothing?" Falling into a slight trance she does her best to patch the boy's clothes as she hums that same lullaby.