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Drip! Drip! Drip!

The sound of water dripping echoed into the surroundings of a dark room. It would be pitch dark if not for two small rays of light penetrating through two holes from the ceiling above. The two rays of light cut across the room diagonally and fell into a corner.

A rat could be seen sniffing around as it stood in one of the rays of light.

Wap!

Suddenly a hand grabbed the rat and pulled it into the darkness. Following a loud squeak, chewing sounds could be heard. It was easy to figure out what happened, but just thinking about it would turn one's stomach.

Cough! Cough!

Two small coughs sounded from another direction within the dark room.

Clink! Clink!

Then the sound of chains could be heard, followed by a weak voice. "It's finally come down to this? Am I really going to have to resort to eating rats too, to stay alive?" The person muttered to themselves.

"Hrr!" A low grunt came from within the darkness as the chewing sounds came to a stop. "Burrrp!" A loud Belch also followed that grunt. Then whomever it was exhaled deeply in satisfaction.

It was as if there was nothing better than a fresh rat to start off the day.

As for the other person who muttered to himself a moment ago, his name was Craig. As you should have figured out by now, his situation wasn't to optimistic.

How did he end up in this situation you ask? Well that's a long story which you'll have enough time to listen to, once we get through what was about to go down.

"We're under attack!"

A loud shout echoed from outside of... Whatever this place was.

"The elves, they're here to rescue the captives! Don't let them succ—!"

Another shout was heard but was cut short before he could finish his words.

"Ha...

Ahhh...

Ya..."

In a matter of seconds the sounds of battle broke out with battle cries and sounds of weapons clashing. There was no way to tell who was winning the battle, but from the sounds of the fighting it was getting closer and closer to where Craig and the unknown rat eater was being held.

"The elves?" Craig said with expectation in his voice. "It seems they're here to rescue their people." He continued talking to himself. "Oh lord of the highest heavens please let them rescue me too." He prayed as he clasped his hands toward the sky... well, ceiling.

"Gak!" A piercing sound was followed by a choking gasp, then a loud thud was heard as a body collapsed outside.

Bang!

A door was flung open, finally letting some light inside. It didn't illuminate the entire room, but it was bright enough to just vaguely make out part of the setting.

It was a large rectangular room with mossy stone walls. The floor was also built with stones and they were also covered in moss.

At the sides of the room, multiple figures could be seen shackled to the walls with thick black chains. They were all in rather terrible looking conditions. Some of them had even already died.

Two figures in green hoods entered the room and as they did they extended their hands as a small ball of light appeared above their palm. These balls of light illuminated the entire room and revealed everything.

After glancing around, one of the figures said flatly. "None of our people are here, let's go." It was a woman's voice. Although her voice was feminine, it was sharp and cold. Apparently she had no intention of rescuing anyone other than her own people.

"Are we really going to leave them like this?" The other figure asked. She was also a woman judging from her voice, but one could never know.

"They aren't my responsibility. Are they yours?" The other woman replied. "Save them if you like, I don't have time to waste here." After laying down these words she quickly left the room.

"Help us please." As soon as the cold hearted woman left, the few people with strength began begging the one who stayed behind. She was their only hope of getting out of this place and they feared she would leave as well.

The woman seemed to be hesitating on whether she should really waste her time helping these people unrelated to her. After all, they were on a rescue mission in someone else's territory and things could go wrong at any moment. Reinforcements could arrive, maybe one of her own would need her help and end up dying, she could miss out on a perfect kill...

Just as her hesitation reached it's peak and she was about to make up her mind a voice called out to her. "Kind elf lady, we could be of help to you if you free us." It was Craig who had spoken. He was convinced that this elf only needed a little convincing.

She raised the orb of light in her hand to get a better look at Craig who was all the way at the back of the room. She saw a man with a black hooded cloak looking straight at her.

Craig raised his voice a little with the bits of strength he had left. His voice was hoarse but strangely clear, a rather odd combination. "Even if we're weak and in no condition to fight, we could be a distraction as you all make your escape. Don't you think that makes sense?"

As soon as Craig made his point, the other captives in the room spoke to agree with him.

Craig's words had instantly convinced the woman so she immediately went into action. Using a blue elemental dagger, made in the same way as the ball of light, she cut through the chains of everyone who was alive.

Being at the back of the room, Craig was the last person to get rescued. As soon his chains were cut he immediately expressed his gratitude. "Thank you. You are my saviour today, how should I address milady?"

"Just do as you suggested and distract the orcs while we make our escape." She replied. Then in the blink of an eye she had dashed out of the room.

Craig was left speechless as he scratched his head. "And here I thought the other one was Cold. It seems elven women are all just naturally cold huh."

"Cooolld." A deep eerie voice sounded beside Craig. He couldn't help but feel shivers run through his spine.

Coincidentally, when he looked at the person they were shrouded in the exact same cloak as him making it impossible to see their face. One thing worthy of mention was as the person walked away, as their arms were exposed for a moment, Craig noticed that it was covered in thick dark hair. "What in the hell was that thing?"

"Grrrrrr."  Before he could ponder further on the matter a loud rumble suddenly came from his stomach. It was yelling out in ultimate desperation for a meal.

It had been an entire week since he had anything to eat or drink. Even standing was rather difficult at the moment. So this led to his first order of business being a meal. "I need to get something to eat asap." He whispered as he grabbed his stomach. Then he made his way outside.

As if luck was on his side, as soon as he surfaced from the underground prison, a wonderful scent had assailed his nostrils. It was the smell of roasted pork.

He had walked out into a scary looking campsite. Rugged tents were pitched all around. The entire area was surrounded by wooden pikes, forming a wall. This wall however had been breached in several areas.

The bodies of dead Orcs were scattered all over, with wounds formed from either knives or arrows. It was a slaughter committed by the elves.

Craig however, paid no mind to none of these things. His eyes were stuck to one thing and one thing only. A large roasted boar, that was still suspended above a fire.

As the fire embraced the body of the boar, oil dripped into the fire making sizzling sounds and giving off a wonderful aroma. Although, the meat was currently beginning to burn. This, however, was of no consequence to Craig.

Craig grabbed a curved knife from a nearby table, then he kicked the boar off of the fire and sliced off a big chunk of meat and devoured it in an instant like a starving dragon that had encountered a bunny.

One, two, three, four, five.....

After eight slices of the same size, he let out a deep resounding belch, then he fell onto the ground by back. Tears flowed from his eyes as he clasped his fist toward the sky. "Oh heavens you have not forsaken me. Thank you for the feast." Then after a short moment, he sat up and glanced around. "Now I just need some water."

Before long, he spotted a barrel with a tap. He quickly marched over and opened his mouth beneath the tap as he swallowed a few mouthfuls of...

"Pfft!" He spat out a red liquid from his mouth. "Wine, this is wine! Of course it's wine. Why did I think it would be water?" He Said to himself. Then after some contemplating he shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well, wine contains water, maybe a little more." Then he tilted his head back and continued drinking from the tap.

Glug! Glug! Glug!

After a few gulps of wine he let out a satisfied. "Ahhhh." Then he stood up and finally took a serious look at his surroundings.

This part of the camp was devoid of any life or activity. It would be quiet and peaceful if not for the screams and sounds of battle to the east.

Craig looked in the direction of the sounds of battle, then he picked up a sword and started walking in the opposite direction.

What a wonderful distraction he turned out to be.

As he walked into the distance he looked like a valiant hero on a battlefield of war. He was a tall and slightly buff man with an imposing posture. His mid length, black hair fell at the sides of his face, however it was quite untidy at the moment. Although his face was dirty, it couldn't hide his handsome features that made him look like a charming Prince.

Of course, he was not any of these things. Not a valiant hero, not a charming Prince, not anything noteworthy.

He was a thief. Which was the reason he ended up in such a situation in the first place.

Had it not been for his intention of robbing a group of travelling orcs, he would not have had to suffer nearly starving to death. Of course there was more to the story than just that which we'll get back to in a moment.

Why? Because Craig had just heard the sound of a horn being blown in the distance. What did it signify? It was a sign that orc reinforcements had arrived on scene. It was a troublesome situation.

It would have been no trouble for Craig since he could just escape into the forest before they arrived. But he also heard a scream shortly after the horn's blow. A scream that sounded a lot like the woman who had rescued him. Even if it wasn't her, it was a woman's scream nonetheless.

As a man how could he run away when his maiden saviour was in trouble. He could not. He may be a lowly thief, but he couldn't ignore a damsel in distress.... right?

Whoosh!

He dashed forward at full speed as the black cloak he had on fluttered in the wind. As he ran more and more bodies of dead orcs, as well as humans and elves appeared in his vision. It seemed like gruesome battles had taken place all over the place.

As he ran, Craig could hear the sounds of battle getting closer and closer. He could hear the shouts and cries of a woman as well as the laughing of several men.

Cha!

He came to Halt a short distance outside the camp. He was standing at the top of a valley, looking down into the distance amongst some trees.

A total of five orcs could be seen surrounding two elven women.

One was lying on the ground tightly clutching a wound at her waist. The women both had their hoods off at the moment so their faces could be seen. They were stunning beauties. They both had long blue hair and sliver tiaras on their foreheads, embedded with a blue gem at the centre. It complimented their pure and fairy-like faces. Their pointed ears made them look even more enchanting.

As Craig's gaze fell upon the two beauties a look of shock appeared on his face. "Those tiaras, they're from the elven royal family. This is bad! If they're killed, it will start a war between the orc and elf kingdoms!" A grave expression took over his face. His thoughts had undergone a complete metamorphosis. If he was only attempting to save a damsel in distress before, then now he was going to stake his life to save them.