"This is some wind, Kris. Something tells me we're in for another storm. What do you reckon?"

​

"Jerky and potato soup again? I swear, if I have to eat anymore jerky and potato soup..."

​

"I doubt the fire'll go out any time soon, we've managed to cradle it pretty well with these stones. I hope it doesn't create too much smoke though..."

​

"Hand me your plate, Karl, and be thankful for what you have. Or would you rather eat your worn out socks instead?"

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“*Sniff* *Sniff* You smell that? What's that smell? Where's it coming from?"

​

The four had been together for so long that a piece of their thoughts was enough to strike a conversation. The scouts hurriedly finished their meals and went on to inspect their gear. No amount of expertise could prevent a single dulled blade or a loose bowstring from spelling a swift end. It was this kind of diligence that earned them the respect they enjoyed. While everyone was busy preparing their gear, Alek quietly took out his ukulele and strapped it over his shoulder, albeit failing to hide this act from the others.

​

"Alek! Are you out of your mind? Did you forget? We're still on duty!"

​

"Hey, hey... Calm down. I just can't help it. Music is the lifeblood of my soul. It's something I just can't live without!"

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"You weren't actually thinking of playing that thing were you?"

​

Alek always dreamed of joining a band, but the life of a musician was found to cost a pretty penny. Instruments were a luxury Alek could not afford. The ukulele he brought with him on the mission and the guitar he left back home were both pieced together from junk he found lying around in garbage piles. This was why Alek enlisted in the army in the first place. He hoped to save enough silver to buy a real instrument one day.

​

"Where there's a will..."

​

In an effort to compromise, Alek gave his fellow scouts a playful wink, and began to play as softly and as quietly as he could. Alek was Alek, but the other scouts were shocked by this brazen disregard for protocol. Still, they found themselves able to enjoy Alek's performance. The song he played was quite good and easy enough to follow that the others were able to hum along as he played. Delphin even became relaxed enough to have an amusing thought, and he let out a hearty laugh.

​

"If Captain Brodie were here, he'd surely have taken that ukulele and smashed it over one of our heads."

​

The crackle of the campfire grew softer as the four scouts took a moment to enjoy the calm of night, strewn with hints of Alek's ukulele melodies that added to the relaxing mood.

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"Kris, you're not going to cry thinking about your parents again are you?

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"Sh-shut up. Tears are for the weak."

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"Delfino, how's your brother doing these days?

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"Heard he's gotten a lot better. Apparently he's able to stand up and walk around. Karl, you going on that adventure you always talked about when we get back?"

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"Yep. I'm off to Mediah as soon as we're through."

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"Well, it'll all be over tomorrow. Best to keep your mind busy. Come to think of it, all that talk about the Orcs acting up was probably just nonsense. I reckon they just ate one too many mushrooms.”

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Playing the last note of his song, Alek replied.

​

"You're right. That thing about the Orcs was probably nothing."

​

Or so they thought...

Karl did everything he could, but failed to close his eyes to the horrors unfolding before him. Kris lay twitching on the ground, folded in half like a sheet of paper. It wasn't long before his blood sputtering gasps were replaced by nothing, a silence quite different from the calm of the campfire just moments before. It took him a moment to gather his bearings, but Karl eventually mustered the strength to stand on his feet. The stench of blood, death, and bad breath invaded his nostrils as a group of giant enraged Orcs stood before him. The beasts glared at Karl with bloodshot eyes as they menacingly tightened their grip on their axes. Lines of thick yellow saliva dripped down from between their large crooked teeth as they panted through their open mouths. The four-man scouting party was due to report back to Bradie Fortress at the crack of dawn, but the Orcs were waiting for them almost as if they expected to cross paths with the scouts.

 

A suffocating tension filled the air as the Orcs stood still next to each other waiting for the next opportunity to strike. The attack came without a moment's notice. Commander Brodie had always told Karl that Orcs were stupid creatures who'd even forget to bring their own weapons to battle, and that their only goal in life was to find and eat all the mushrooms they could get their hands on. Brodie had always said Orcs were barely a challenge as long as you were able to keep calm, but the Orcs standing before Karl were certainly not what Brodie described. The gruesome beasts were nothing short of overwhelming, enough that it made Karl take a step back without even realizing it. The stand-off between Karl and the Orcs continued for what seemed like an eternity, with the Orcs taking a step forward for each and every step Karl took back. It didn't take long for Karl to feel something push against his back. It was the face of a cliff, a dead end. Karl no longer had anywhere else to go. The Orcs raised their axes. The moon shone brilliantly in the reflection of the steel axe. Time stood still as Karl relished the beauty of the moon. In the stillness of the air, he swore he could hear the faint melody of Alek's Ukulele. Karl knew he was surely done for. All he could do was close his eyes and pray for a swift death.

"RUN KARL! RUN!"

Alek shouted from atop a tree in the distance. Upon opening his eyes, Karl couldn't believe what was happening. The Orcs were shrieking in pain from countless arrows that had pierced their flesh. Alek furiously continued to fire arrows from his tree branch, perched safely high above the ground. Although the arrows struck the Orcs in critical areas that surely would have meant instant death for a human, they had little effect on the thick-skinned Orcs and only seemed to fuel their rage. Alek managed to distract the Orcs long enough for Karl to make his escape. Karl ran towards Alek as fast as he could, arriving at the base of the tree and hastily climbing up the rope thrown down by Alek. It was a success. Karl escaped, but only by the skin of his teeth.

​

*Pant* *Pant*

​

Karl was completely exhausted and could barely piece together an intelligible sentence as he frantically tried to catch his breath. Although both scouts found a measure of respite on top of the tree, it was much too early for sighs of relief. The thumping sounds of the Orcs that had chased after Karl echoed throughout the forest. They were running away. The rumor that the Orcs were acting up was not only true, but a vast understatement. Off in the distance, they saw endless waves of Orcs gathering in the Neutral Zone. They appeared to be assembling around the watchtower, as if to be guarding something. It was then that a sense of urgency dawned upon the two scouts.

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"K-Karl... Karl... W-where... is it? The flare... the emergency flare!"

​

"D-did you see wh-what happened to Ch... Chris..?"

​

"Listen carefully. We have to alert the others, you hear me? Karl! Karl! Get a hold of yourself!"

​

Alek slapped Karl in the face as hard as he could, knocking him out of his senseless daze. Locking eyes with him, Alek placed both hands on Karl's head and calmly, yet solemnly, gave him the following instructions.

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"I'll distract the Orcs. That means you'll have to find a way to get down without being detected and fire the flare. You have to make sure that all of Serendia sees that light."

​

"O-okay... I mean of course!"

​

"You have to shoot the flare up into the sky for all to see. After that, make it back to Captain Brodie and tell him that the mysterious smoke from the watchtower is somehow able to control the Orcs. You must also tell him that someone is planning something dangerous from the watchtower. You're the fastest runner among us all and I have every faith that you'll succeed. Now go!"

​

Karl responded by repeatedly nodding his head, his face was drenched in tears. Karl was the youngest in the group and this was his first real skirmish. It was only hours ago that Karl was excitedly telling everyone about the adventures he planned to go on. He hesitated for a moment, but it was in that moment's hesitation that he understood what Alek was trying to say.

​

"We will meet again, won't we?"

​

Alek lightly pushed Karl from behind. It was time for him to go. As soon as his feet hit the ground, Karl ran as fast as he could. The ground trembled from the stampeding Orcs that were returning to the tree where they had left Alek and Karl. Alek had to find a way to distract the Orcs, he needed to buy time for Karl. Alek was already out arrows and his sword had broken during a previous fight against the Orcs. The only object he had in his possession was his ukulele, crafted from garbage and resembling more of a wooden bludgeon then a muscial instrument. He slowly clenched the neck of the instrument-turned-weapon and took a deep breath. Alek was ready for one final performance, his greatest performance to date. A red flare shot up into the night sky, lighting the Neutral Border Zone. Red flares were exclusively used to signal an incident of national emergency, such as the outbreak of war. The flare lit up the night sky above the location where Brodie had sent the scouts out on their mission. Shortly thereafter, an intense battle broke out near Bradie Fortress between the soldiers and Orcs. The Orcs were relentless. They showed no signs of falling back any time soon. As the number of casualties began to pile up, the Serendian Military High Command ordered the soldiers of Bradie Fortress to disengage from all unnecessary combat with the Orcs and conserve strength.

​

Sometime thereafter, Brodie suddenly appeared before the Orcs at their camp. Although he had been the captain of a Serendian military outpost, he came with claims that he was no longer a soldier and that he had come alone with no intention of fighting. He then revealed the reason for his sudden visit... He was searching for his lost comrades and something they had discovered. But what...?