Acquiring New Friends

As Kantuta confidently made her way forward, Siquioce struggled to keep up with her. With the intent of training him, Kantuta has refrained from lending Siquioce her staff to use as a crutch, and the effects were apparent. "Urgh…" he groaned, "Kantuta, I can't do this. I feel like we've been walking for hours…"

Giving her friend a look, Kantuta responded, "Hours? We've only been walking for 10 minutes!"

Siquioce retorted, "Still, I'm tired. Can we take a break?"

Kantuta returned, "Come on, Siquioce, man up. Boturd Village is not too far away."

Mustering up all his remaining energy, Siquioce hopped in front of Kantuta, held his hands together, and looked at her with his watery yellow eyes, "Pleeeease?"

Kantuta looked down at her pitiful companion with a conflicted expression before sighing, "Okay, fine. We rest for 5 minutes."

Siquioce smiled, "Aah, thank you…" He immediately fell backwards onto the grass and allowed his body to relax. As her travel buddy took a breather, Kantuta took the time to smooth her long hair with her hands.

As Siquioce enjoyed his pause, he heard a faint chirping coming from a small hole in the ground. Curious as to what was making this sound, Siquioce peeped through the gap to notice a short tunnel that led to a chamber containing a single, aquamarine egg. The chirping grew louder and faster as a tiny, pale yellow beak pecked it's way through the shell. Not long after, a baby bird's head, which had a blue crest on top, revealed itself, looking around with a curious expression. Upon noticing Siquioce, the hatchling's look turned into one of joy, and it ran towards the Samanian's face and cuddled against it with its feathery head. Siquioce smiled, feeling tickled by the bird's touch.

"Hey, Kantuta," said Siquioce as he pulled his head back, "I found something!"

Looking over, Kantuta asked, "What did you…" her eyes widened as she saw what was rubbing against her ally. "Uh, Siquioce," she inquired, "That bird didn't hatch from an egg, did it?"

Siquioce answered, "It did hatch from an egg. What about it?"

Kantuta responded, "Siquioce, that's a crested bluegull hatchling that's cozying up to you. Since you're the first thing it saw, it thinks you're its mother!"

Siquioce looked at the bluegull in realization, now feeling a bit less happy. "Oh," he said, "Is that a bad thing?"

Kantuta answered, "Well, unless you're against being a parent, not really. But that chick's parents might be upset…"

After Kantuta said that, two small figures came flying into the scene. Lo and behold, they were the baby bluegills parents, having returned from the ocean with bits of fish for their chick. The mother flew down to the burrow, preparing to regurgitate the fish that she had stored in her gut. To her surprise, however, her baby was nowhere to be found. She looked around, eventually finding her child on Siquioce's head, latching on with its talons.

As his mate reeled back in shock, the male bluegull took a closer look at the baby snatcher and squawked with surprise; this was the same Samanian that ruined his night 10 years ago! He ruffled his feathers and made a threatening clicking sound. Then, in a fit of rage, he flew up and dived at Siquioce repeatedly, stabbing him with his beak in a vengeful assault.

"Ow!" grunted Siquioce as he was getting hit, "Ack! Egh! Please! I'm sorry!"

After a few more strikes, the mother bluegull spread her wings and made a trilling noise, prompting the male to stop attacking. Once she got the male's attention, the female shook her head and motioned to the east where the sea was. Getting his mate's message, the father gave Siquioce one last dirty look before flying away with his companion.

"Well," said Kantuta as Siquioce rubbed his body, "It doesn't seem like there's any way out of this; that baby isn't goinv to be leaving you anytime soon. At least its parents took this kind of well. I hope you realize that this wouldn't have happened if we hadn't took a break."

Siquioce groaned, "Okay, I'm sorry…"

Kantuta crossed her arms, "You better be." She shook her head, "But like I said, there's nothing we can do about this. We might as well adopt this bird."

Siquioce moved his head around, feeling the chick that was now hanging on to his head fin. "Yeah," he said, "I guess you're right…"

Straightening her hat, Kantuta turned around and said, "Anyway, break's over. Come on, let's continue!"

Although Siquioce felt sorry for stealing the child of the bluegulls, he couldn't help but feel at least some affection for the hatchling. Spurred by his care for the creature, Siquioce followed after Kantuta with increased vigor, and the two proceeded with their trek.

Soon, the adventurers arrived at their destination, a normal looking settlement that looked a bit more advanced than the previous one, having buildings such as sawmills, butcheries, and small restaurants. "Okay," said Kantuta, "We're here. Now, where's that sorry orc?" Thankfully, the duo did not have to look for too long; gathered in front of the village's bar was a crowd of people gathered around some unseen entity. "Aha!" said Kantuta, "He must be there! Come on, Siquioce, let's bring the pain!" So, the two went forward, ready to take on whatever was waiting for them.

Kantuta walked up to one member of the crowd and asked, "Excuse me, sir, but is that an orc that you are all huddling around?"

The individual, a red-bearded gnome, answered, "Damn right it is! Are you two here to get rid of him?"

Kantuta nodded, "We sure are!"

The gnome replied, "Thank goodness! Well, don't let me get in your way." He stepped aside, "Go get him!"

Kantuta smiled, "With pleasure." She glanced at Siquioce, "Are you ready? It's time to save the village!" Stepping forward confidently, she said, "Okay, you nasty orc, it's time to…" her face showed a look of confusion as she saw who was causing all the ruckus.

Standing at not even half her height was a stout orc with green skin, bushy white hair that extended down his back, raggedy brown clothes, and slightly protruding bottom teeth. Tapping his large tree trunk lazily on his shoulder, the orc said in a deep voice, "Oh boy, more 'heroes'. When are you clowns going to give up?"

Taking her mind off the orc's stature, Kantuta said, "A monster like you needs to be stopped! I, Kantuta, and my ally, Siquioce, will put an end to your terror!"

The green guy groaned, "Again with this 'monster' crap. What about me says that I'm causing any trouble? You literally just met me."

Kantuta slammed her staff to the ground, "Quiet, you! We saw the advertisement; you're putting these villagers in danger! So, prepare to get annihilated! Siquioce, to battle!"

Although Siquioce was still reluctant to go forward with this plan, he still complied to Kantuta's request, taking a deep breath as he conjured up his water magic.

Shaking his head, the orc stated, "Well, guess we're doing this…"

The crowd backed away from the battlers as Kantuta waved her staff around. "Here goes!" she declared, "Flash!" She closed her eyes as a blinding light came out of her staff and towards the orc's face. Unfortunately, the trunk wielder's hair shielded his eyes, allowing him to avoid getting blinded.

In retaliation, the enemy approached closer and swung at Kantuta with his weapon, which the elf swiftly avoided.

At that moment, Siquioce has his Aqua Shot fully prepared, and he expelled the liquid towards the orc.

Seeing this, the undersized individual used his branch as a shield, blocking the water that was shot at him. Upon getting moisturized, the branch started to get covered with large leaves. "Heh," said the orc with a smile, "Thanks for the nourishment, my man."

Staring with disbelief, Kantuta said, "Are you serious?! Siquioce, don't use any attacks involving water; they're only making him stronger!" Her expression grew more serious, "Just stay safe, I've got this." Taking a deep breath, she exclaimed, "I cast Fireball!" She launched a hot sphere at the orc, hoping to take advantage of the orc's assumed fire weakness.

The trunk-wielder chuckled, "Oh, these fire users…" He moved his trunk out of harm's way and exposed himself fearlessly to the approaching projectile. Upon getting hit, he let out a small grunt before smashing his fists together, a wild grin on his face. Filled with might, the orc suddenly jumped backwards and somersaulted forward, rolling through the air like a cannonball.

Completely unprepared for this, Kantuta had no choice but to get hit, and she was sent flying into the wall of a nearby house. "Ow…" she said as Siquioce rushed over to her, "That cheat…he used a counter technique…"

Looking down at Kantuta, Siquioce asked, "Are you sure we should be fighting this guy? He seems really strong…"

Kantuta responded, "Of course we should! We can take him. All we have to do is—" Her words were cut short by a sharp pain in her chest, and she cried out in distress. "Egh…" she complained, "How did he hurt me so badly? That filthy orc…"

As his friend laid on the floor, Siquioce began to ponder the situation. So, he thought, Obviously, we're no match for this guy. But if we just leave, he'll just stay here doing who knows what. What do I do? He mused a bit longer before having an idea pop in his head. "Kantuta," he said, "I want you to use that translation spell on me and that orc."

Struggling to look up, Kantuta asked, "You want me to do what? Why?"

Siquioce answered, "Just trust me. I have an idea."

Thinking over this proposition, Kantuta eventually replied, "Okay. Don't make me regret this." She moved her hands in a figure 8 pattern and pointed at both Siquioce and the orc in the distance.

Feeling his brain change again, Siquioce said, "Thanks. Time to see if this works…"

Seeing that Siquioce was approaching him, the orc said, "Back for more, huh? Do you want me to crush you like I did your friend?"

Now able to understand the individual, Siquioce responded, "No, not at all. I'm here to call a truce."

The orc's expression turned blank. "A truce?" he asked, "Where did that come from?"

Siquioce answered, "When we first met you, you didn't seem to be doing anything wrong; everyone was just gathered around you for some reason. That got me thinking, 'Is this guy even bad?' So, I want to know: what's everyone mad at you for?"

The orc stared at Siquioce for a few seconds, trying to figure out his motives. Eventually he started clapping, saying, "Finally. A reasonable person. You wouldn't believe how many people jump to conclusions here. So, you wanna know the true reason why everyone's hassling me?" he smiled, "So, I was just trying ti get a glass of ale from this bar, and the bartender, that son of a sow, kicked me out of the store! You can imagine how angry I got. They're lucky that I have at least some self-control; the worst I did was break a little table. But, of course, that little mishap got me in trouble with the law, and now I have a bounty.

The villagers stared in disbelief as Siquioce said, "Wait, really? All of this over a drink?"

The orc nodded, "Yup. What a world, huh?"

Siquioce thought over this fact before saying, "You know what, you don't deserve to be defeated. How about you and the villagers make up, we become friends, and we all leave this place?"

The orc waved his hand dismissively, "Pah, forget that. These chumps don't deserve my apologies." He glanced at Siquioce, "But…I can do everything else."

Siquioce smiled, "Well, it's better than nothing. By the way, what's your name?"

The orc held out his hand, "The name's Yuchauzh."

Siquioce extended his hand to meet Yuchauzh's, and the two shared an excessively tight handshake. "Nice to meet you, Yuchauzh." Siquioce said as he waved his sore hand around, "So, are you ready to leave?"

Yuchauzh gave a thumbs-up, "I sure am. But we should probably take care of that friend of yours, first. She must've taken a beating."

Siquioce responded, "Oh yeah, you're right." So, the two headed towards the 3rd member of the group, who was still lying in pain.