Part 2

"Yeah, it's just that he doesn't have manners. Didn't anyone ever teach you proper manners?" Takagi screamed at the boy.

The boy continued his swings, then slowly stopped. Takagi's words struck a memory that halted his mild rage, and the boy just hung from his head in Takagi's left hand.

Takagi noticed his eyes tremble and his glare go dark. Small, bright tears began to paint the cheeks of the boy.

"Yes, my father taught me plenty of it. He was my only family," the boy muttered.

Takagi dropped the boy and looked away. Hanz shed a single tear but tried to hide it. Takagi knew what the boy meant by those words, and the tears confirmed it.

"What happened to your father?" Hanz said, coming closer to the boy.

"It's none of your business! Get away from me!" The boy screamed and then ran away.

"Wait," Hanz said, trying to run after him.

"Hanz!" Takagi ordered Hanz.

Hanz stopped the chase and looked back at Takagi.

"He needs help! Shouldn't we go after him?" Hanz asked as he walked back.

"It's fine; we'll run into him again. For now, we have a more important mission. We should do some investigating," Takagi replied.

Hanz calmed himself and let out a sigh. He couldn't help but feel incapable of making the boy feel safe, but duty called. It was far more important to deal with the problem at the source since they both knew that the boy's condition and circumstance could only be due to one person.

—

"I only serve paying customers! If you're here to steal, you better think twice or get my foot up your ass!" A lady at the inn screamed.

Takagi and Hanz stopped by the first inn they came across to rent a room, but the lady greeted them the way she did any customer.

"Um, we have money, ma'am," Hanz said as he held up his hands.

"We don't get many elves around here; he must be carrying quite a pretty lump sum of coin," she hissed.

"How's business lately?" Takagi asked, curious.

She gave Takagi a confused look but then realized that they must be out of town.

"You guys aren't from around here, I'm guessing… You all made a mistake coming inside these walls. This city has become rotten to the core. Greed, hunger, rage, and violence. This city changed after the first three weeks. At first, we were so unified, but then hunger ran rampant and then the rest followed… But if you're asking how's business going, I would say look around. No one has the coin to stay at inns anymore. It's going just as you'd expect," she proclaimed.

She leaned closer and pulled Takagi's shirt closer to her.

"Lately, our only customers are the... the guards," she muttered.

"Really? Hey, let's make a deal," Takagi muttered back.

"If you give me the room next to the guards, I'll throw in a little extra," he said, then smiled at the lady.

Once again, she appeared confused, trying to understand the reasons as to why he would choose to be next to such horrid people. She was certain that the sound of guards would scare them away or at least walk out of her inn. It was the first time her inn was considered; her first customer in months.

"Yes! Yes! No problem!" She replied with joy.

Takagi handed her enough to cover the room stay for two nights plus the extra amount he said he would add. The coins were a token of gratitude from everyone in the village; it may not have been a lot, but it was plenty for Hanz and Takagi. They proceeded to walk up the stairs to the room they were directed to. Just as they were halfway up the stairs, three orc men walked in through the entrance.

"Wait, Hanz," Takagi said to Hanz, who was still climbing the stairs.

The three men walked towards the front desk of the inn. Unfortunately for the innkeeper, they saw the coin she was storing away.

"Hey! What have you got there? We haven't paid you yet. Where did you get this money from?" They questioned the lady with anger in their tone.

The lady panicked and couldn't help but be frightened enough to shake her legs. One of the orc guards laughed, then the others followed. They took the coin she was just given by Takagi.

"Those assholes, but I can't afford to make a move on them," Takagi thought.

He waited for all of them to leave, then walked downstairs.

"Are you okay? Here, tell you what, I'll pay you once more," he said, then took out more coins.

"Oh, but why? Th… thank you very much, young man. This will help me and my family very much!" She cheered, then wiped the tears from her eyes.

"But I will need your help with something…" he whispered to her.

The small orc boy stopped running and turned his head to see if he was being followed. No. He sat down on the floor and hugged his knees. He was very fortunate to receive food and something to drink because he was possibly on the brink of starving to death.

"Why do they care what happened to my dad? They're just a bunch of strangers," he muttered.

A figure crept up in front of him wearing a hooded cloak that hid her face.

"What's wrong with strangers?" she muttered.

The boy looked up once she got closer. The sight of the hooded person's face made him tear up.

"You're … Shelur! I thought you died!" he whispered with joy.

Evidently, he knew her, and those tears were tears of joy and hope.

"What happened to your shop, little Muk? Where's your father?" she asked, still hidden with her hood from anyone walking nearby.

"He… he isn't here anymore," the boy struggled to let out any sentence that had to do with his father.

Shelur got closer and hugged him.

"Come with me, let's get you cleaned up and your tummy full. After all the free fruits your father gave me over the years, I owe him this much," she muttered to Muk, the small orc boy, trying not to shed any tears.

"Okay, here. This map of the city should be enough to help us out… here is where we are at. I just hope we can figure out where Bruger is and settle business," stated Takagi.

"This map is great, but you are right, we lack the knowledge of knowing where exactly he could be," Hanz replied.

"Well, our problem has a solution: this room…" Takagi halted once he heard the sound of knocking coming from the door that led into the room they made themselves comfortable in.

"The inn lady?" Takagi questioned.

He got up and walked over to the door, slightly cautious but still ready to strike if the need arose. The wooden flooring creaked so loudly yet quietly with every step Takagi took towards the door. At the other end of the door, Takagi heard heavy breathing, two people. He managed to piece together the presence of a smaller person and an adult. The first one is definitely a boy and the other an adult, but what threw Takagi off the most was the smell of both of them. Takagi stopped, and so did the creaking wood flooring, and another set of knocks followed.

"The smell is horrid, as if they haven't showered in days. The other? The slight scent of dirt, moisture, and tree bark. The smell of bark overpowers the rest. Not just any bark…" Takagi thought.

He reached the door after a large two steps forward and opened it casually. Before the person on the other side of the door could show their face hidden in a hood, Takagi already knew who they were.

"Shelur and the boy," he blurted out.

Shelur took off her hood, amazed but not surprised Takagi knew it was them.

"What gave us away?" she said.

"That stinky boy and the smell of beech tree and dirt that I've only ever smelled in the forest," he replied with a smile.

Here's the corrected and improved version of the text:

Shelur entered with the boy, then closed the door behind her. She appeared both angry and distraught, tears welling in her eyes as she fixed her gaze on Takagi and Hanz.

"Why did you guys come here? I know we barely know each other, and I have no say in where you guys go, but coming to this place? After all I told you about it... Aren't you scared?" she muttered.

"Umm, we came because..." Hanz struggled to give a sensible explanation.

"Look, we actually came to kick that Bruger guy's ass, straight and simple as that. We both felt that what happened here isn't forgivable."

"But just yesterday, we tried to kill you... Why help when you have nothing to gain?" she said, still crying.

"Ah, I'm not good at explanations, but yeah, you're right. It's all moving a little too quickly. But I have somewhere to be in several months. No good person would allow such actions to continue," Takagi replied.

"If I'm being honest, yes, it's a little soon for me to jump into the second mission on the main quest line of my life. Usually, you complete the first mission, then grind some levels, get new gear, get slightly stronger, then continue to the next... especially when the next mission involves defeating a boss. Why am I treating this world as if it were an RPG game? I should take it slower. Maybe if I had taken it slower, I could have asked the chief to teach me how to fight and possibly gain some skills in the process. This world isn't a game; it's real, and skipping important quests can set you behind... I mean, important moments. Missed opportunity for sure," Takagi thought.

"How... how were you able to escape the forest?" she said, drying her tears, attempting a more serious face.

"Escape the forest? What do you mean escape?"

"You don't know what happens when you try to escape the forest?"

Both Takagi and Hanz stayed silent.

Shelur let out a sigh and wiped her final tears. She sat down on one of the beds. The beds were lined up against the wall across from the door. Two twin-sized beds with clean white sheets. Hanz sat on the right, and Shelur sat on the left one. The boy quietly stood as if his presence was of little importance. Takagi, who was standing, took out the only chair in the room, nestled inside a small wooden desk, and sat down to listen.

"It was probably a week after we fled this city. Our plan was to flee but also to build a stronghold within the one place those wretched orcs of the new kingdom wouldn't dare to set foot in. It was my father, several other people, and I that made up the scouting party that needed to exit the forest in an attempt to study our enemy. Something prevented us from leaving that day... It killed most of the party's members," she exclaimed.