Chapter 14 Save Ursatanti part 1

The part of Simsosa that passes this mountainside is shallow and small, but that isn't the main problem if you wish to get to Dirritanti. The biggest obstacle is the height. The mountainside is over 200 meters tall and very steep. Climbing it in a short time is unrealistic.

You look up at the sun and notice it is already high noon. The mighty and hot rays of stellar energy rain down upon the land around you. From this phenomenon you can tell it is high noon. You are stunned for a second and think to yourself "How long has it been since I left Dhumpus? How could 8-9 hours have passed so quickly and without me noticing?"

Sorcerers are unique because of their ability to communicate with stars and constellations. Sun is the closest star to your planet and it is the one easiest to communicate with.

You have memorized its antics and behavior since 15 years ago when you just started learning from your master. You can tell what time and day of the year it is just by looking at Sun and seeing how its stellar energy flows. It is nearly impossible for you to have made a mistake in calculating what time of day it is, but you still aren't sure and check once again.

The rays of Sun haven't changed and it still is the same. You can say with 100% certainty it is around 2 PM. "I need to hurry up or I won't make it in time to get in touch with the plague doctors of Dirritanti and find an Inn to stay at."

You quicken your pace and follow the riverbed and try to find a spot where the slope isn't as steep and you can climb. Your little exploration mission is cut short by a piece of rock suddenly falling on top of your head.

You quickly look up and notice a bridge suspended in midair. "What is this? This bridge is made out of stone, but it isn't supported by any beams or anything. How can a stone bridge be suspended in thin air and not fall apart?"

You trace the bridge and see one end is located at the top of the mountainside you need to go up and the other end is much lower on a small hill you can easily climb, but can you trust such a weird bridge?

The bridge may be a little suspicious, but it is the fastest way to get across. The bridge hasn't collapsed under its own weight for long enough for it to experience wear and corrosion, so it must be somewhat sturdy.

You decide to take the bridge and get across that way, so you begin making your war towards the top of the small hill. You quickly get up there and see a small hut next to the bridge.

You walk towards the hut and knock on it. No one answered you and you knock once more. You put your ear to the hut, but hear nothing from the inside. You conclude the owner isn't home and ignore the hut. You are not a robber, so going into the hut will yield no benefit to.

"Something is strange about this bridge." You think as you observe the bridge from a close perspective. It looks like it is about to crumble or turn into dust, but it is still holding up and hasn't been destroyed.

You try to put your foot into the bridge and test its sturdiness, but you are quickly stopped by a voice shouting "No one is allowed to cross the bridge of Vancass!"

You look around and see a small and fat elderly goblin standing near the far corner of the bridge. You squint your eyes and subconsciously send your murderous intent towards the old goblin and are seething with rage. You reach for your sword and almost draw it.

You breath in a deep breath and exhale slowly. You let go of your sword and calm yourself down. "He is a simple elderly goblin. He wasn't the one that ordered the attack on me or Lia-Ki. I shouldn't take my anger out on a civilian, even if it is a goblin civilian."

The old man is leaning on his cane and looks at you with a simple smile and closed eyes, as if waiting for something. You breath out a breath of hot air and forget all the negative emotions in your heart. "I am sorry if I was rude. I have a few negative experiences related to goblins. May I cross elder's bridge?"

The old goblin looks at you and says "I am not a goblin. I am troll. I know my height contradicts that, but I am indeed a troll. My body received a special gift and that is why I haven't been able to grow any taller than I am now."

"How can such a small creature be a troll? Trolls have green skin, just like goblins, but they are usually 3-4 meters tall. This old man is barely 1.5 meters tall. How could he be a troll? And what does he mean by a gift?" You wish to know more about the old troll, but you will not preach into his private life. It isn't a polite or knightly to question an old man for no apparent reason.

The old troll looks at you and says "This bridge is a special one. I won't ask for money if you want to cross it, but there is another way. You must state a reason noble enough for me to allow you to cross."

A reason noble enough? You try to think of your motives and only need to think for a second. "A village called Ursatanti's citizens are infected with a plague and I need to find a plague doctor in Dirritanti to help me cure them."

Vancass shakes his head and says "That is indeed a noble cause, but I cannot let you cross. You will fall through the bridge with such a reason." You are confused by told man. How could rescuing s plagued village not a noble enough cause? What does the old troll mean? "How can I cross it then?"

Vancass smiles and says "State a noble enough cause." You start to get angry. You wish to save a plague ridden village and this old troll is getting in your way with his nonsense. You give up trying to reason with him and go towards the bridge in an attempt to cross it.

Even if the bridge is enchanted with some kind of spell, you can see the MAG constellation. No magic will be able to take effect on you. You cast MAG upon yourself and begin to cross the bridge. You have 6/16 stamina left.

You cross the bridge and you can see Vancass moving the fingers of his hands in a weird pattern and feel the presence of some unknown stellar energy. You expect him to shoot some kind of spell at you or for something bad to happen, but you are completely fine.

You don't get injured and no spell materialized. You quickly cross the bridge and arrive at the other side as Vancass stares at you with a confused expression. You ignore him and continue on your way to Dirritanti.

You see another small hut in the distance, but this one looks run down and empty. It is obvious no one has come here for years and probably no one will. You suddenly feel like investigate and divert your attention towards it. You search the house for a couple of minutes and find 5 gold coins. You put them into your money pouch and are about to leave when a 2 meter tall creature comes towards you.

You take a good look at it and it is an orc. The orc is acting weird. He is sneaking around the rundown wooden hut, as if he is looking for something. You realize the gold coins you took might belong to this guy and decide to give the money back.

You wave towards the orc and say "Greetings! May I ask what is sir doing here?" The orc jumps back in fright and says "Who are you?! Did you follow me?! What are you doing here?!" You suddenly doubt the idea of those gold coins belonging to this orc. It is more likely that he is trying to steal them.

The orc doesn't calm down and continues to question you with s panicked look. Your face changes to one of anger and you say "You do not have the right to question me! I want to know what you are doing here?! I am a passerby that happened to see you disturbed and decide to help you. Now I think there is something bigger going on."

The Orc squints his eyes and says "Well, guess I have to silence you to make sure nothing is leaked." The orc looks at you and draws a cutlass from the sheathe on his hip. He holds the cutlass in his left hand and rushes at you.

You quickly react and draw your sword as well. Combat engaged

The unknown orc has 15/15 stamina and 13/13 power. You have 6/16 stamina and 14/14 power. Without much difficulty, you counter the Orc's 3 power jab by sidestepping it and cutting the Orc's left thigh with a 5 power skillful attack. The orc took 3 damage. Unknown orc has 12/15 stamina and 11.5/13 power left. You have 6/26 stamina and 11.5/14 power left.

The Orc smiles at you. He looks at his injured thigh with a sarcastic grin and rushes towards you with his muscles tightened and his sword help up high. You sneer at his stupidity and go all out as well.

Both of you use 11.5 power strong attacks, but your sword was weaker than his and you took more damage from the impact. Unknown Orc took 1 damage and you took 2 damage. Unknown Orc has 11/15 stamina and 5.7/13 power left. You have 4/16 stamina and 5.7/14 power left.

The Orc doesn't hold back and comes at you once again with all of its strength. You do not make the same mistake again and defend this time. You manage to break his form by using your sword to stop his, but the impact numbed your right wrist a bit and you took 1 damage. Unknown Orc has 11/15 stamina and 2.9/13 power left. You have 3/16 stamina and 10.2/14 power left.

The Orc is obviously panicked. You even suspect he is deliberately showing the panic in order to trick you. You don't fall for his trick and use a 3 power jab to attack him. The Orc smiles as he thrusts his sword towards your chest, but your sword was faster. You manage to pierce his right arm with your sword before he could do anything and kicked him away from you. The Orc took 2 damage from your sword. Unknown Orc has 10/15 stamina and 3.4/13 power left. You have 3/16 stamina and 10.7/14 power left.

You take the initiative to charge at the Orc and rush at him with a mighty looking attack which is a 0.1 power jab in truth. The Orc got scared and prioritized defending. He managed to dodge your sword because of the weak amount of power behind it and you only manage to cut hair right shoulder a bit. Unknown Orc took 1 damage. I know Orc has 9/15 stamina and 7.4/13 power left. You have 3/16 stamina and 12.6/14 power left.

The Orc doesn't want to continue turtling in hopes of somehow surviving and decided to be aggressive. He charged at you with a 7.4 power skillful attack, which is guaranteed to kill you if it lands. It is a bad thing you underestimated him and only use a 7 power skillful attack yourself.

The Orc's and your swords clash with each other and the Orc manages to uber power your sword and goes to chop off your head. You suddenly feel a rush of power enter your arms and they become bulkier for a moment. You clutch your sword with all of your might and swing it towards the Orc.

Your now 9 power strong attack manages to directly cut off the Orc's left hand up to the forearm. The Orc cries out bloody murder as his left hand is chopped off and drops into the floor with the sword still in its hand. The Orc took 4 damage from your attack. Unknown Orc has 5/15 stamina and 0/4 power left. You have 3/16 stamina and 9.1/14 power.

Needless to say the injured Orc stood no chance against you and directly gave up and pleaded for mercy. You have defeated the unknown Orc. You lost 3 stamina, decent fight.

"Please don't kill me! I have lost my arm and can't fight any longer. I will do anything, just don't kill me!" The Orc gave up any and all resistance and you decided to let him live. You have no personal grudge with him and don't wish to kill him. You confiscate his sword and put it into your backpack. +1 5 power iron cutlass.

"Now, tell me why you decided to attack me all of a sudden?" The Orc looks at you and says "Vancass informed me to not let a guy who was supposed to come this way get away alive. When you first called for me I was surprised, but I remembered my purpose and attacked you."

You look at the Orc, stunned. Why would Vancass, the old troll you met at the bridge, want to kill you? You look at the Orc with a serious expression and say "Tell me the entire story and don't you dare skip any details!" The Orc is frightened by you and quickly tells you all you need to know.

"I know my actions weren't the most noble or knightly and you might not believe this, but I a, the captain of Dirritanti's guards." Your eyes widen when you hear this. You believed the old troll called Vancass and this guy to be scammers who steal money from gullible people. You would have never even thought this Orc's real identity would be one of a city's guard captain.

You looks at the Orc and say "Why should I believe you are a captain from Dirritanti? Actions speak louder than words and your actions say you are a thief and an extremely violent. Do you have any proof of your identity?" The orc nods and takes out a silver badge with the drawing of a lion and the words team 3 on it. You check it over to see if it is fake and nod your head.

"To think a guard commander would help out a troll sealing to scam other people and killing those smart enough to not fall for it. What do you have to say for yourself?" The guard commander looked at you in shame and said "This isn't something Vancass started."

Your ears perk up and you say "What?" The Orc looks at you and says "A village near us called Ursatanti has been infected by a horrifying plague. The villagers can't cross the Meddiki Forest, as their guards are too weak to combat the undead there and no one who has gone through the Giant's mountain in the last 2 days has returned.

The people in Dhumpus have no proper doctors and they will not let anyone with a plague just stroll into their village, so where is the only place they could have gone to ask for help?" The Orc stops talking, as if to emphasize the meaning of this sentence.

You look at him, horrified and say "Dirritanti." The Orc nods and continues "And so they did. Our city's lord didn't like plagued people coming to his land and tried to dissuade them, but no guard accepted the duty of getting rid of them. No honorable man would kill such poor people for money. That is where Vancass came into play.

Vancass is a sorcerer and knows a spell that can make someone go through objects for a split second. The bridge you crossed to get here is over 200 meters off the ground and anyone who falls from it is guaranteed to die. There is an illusion spell barrier set up there to make sure no one sees the small hill of corpses piled up there.

Vancass has been doing this for weeks. He would ask someone what his noble cause is and kill anyone who answer "saving a plagued village" instantly! He has even killed innocent wealthy merchants." You are seething with rage.

You can't stop thinking about how cruel and evil this Vancass and the Lord is. You can deal with the lord who governs over Dirritanti when you get back home, but Vancass needs to die. "If only I had thought about it more deeply back when he told me my cause wasn't noble enough, rather than rushing forwards! What kind of beast is that creature! How can you just collect money while killing noble knights because they want to save a village! What fucking monsters!"

The Orc looks at you with shame evident in his eyes. You look at the Orc and say "You! You! What do you have to say for yourself! How could you, a potential knight just allow such a thing to happen! You could have stopped it if you tried!" The Orc looks away with tears in his eyes. "I... Am... Sorry."

The Orc looks at you and says "I am an unworthy cowed who has already killed his soul. No God will take in a man like me, but I still wish for my soul to go to a good god. Young man, please end my life. I don't want to die with all of these sins on my back. I have been growing constantly weaker from the burden and can't take it anymore. End me and allow my soul to rest."

The Orc pleads for you to save him, but you can't. He has committed to grave of a sin. You look at him and say "Your sin is unforgivable. If you wish to atone for it, go and die fighting Vancass and stop him from doing what he is doing. If you die, the gods might forgive you for what you have done. If you kill him, you will come back with honor."

The Orc nods and you lift him up. You give the Orc his cutlass back and send him on his way. "May your god look after you during the fight and after it as well. As for me, I need to deliver a message and a man who can cure this disease." The Orc nods and begins walking towards the bridge while you pick up your pace and go in the opposite direction also known as the way toward Dirritanti.

A.T. The mighty cliff is here. I didn't upload yesterday and had the idea of making a side story similar to the Meddiki Forest one. I am going to split one big chapter into two smaller parts. Part 2 will be uploaded in a couple of hours when I finish writing it.