Page 2 of Charmed By the Orc

I snickered, hoping for a sexy orc to spice up what had been a long and relatively dull session so far.

Tia cleared her throat. A red frame glowed around video as she said, “Attractiveness aside, we should wait. Coming this far, there’s no reason to make a hasty decision.”

“Oh come on,” Raine hissed. “We’ve been at it for hours, and this storm has made everything worse! My monitor cut off twice, and we’ve barely done anything.” Her warrior character didn’t exactly have a knack for patience, but even I had to agree.

As much as it pained me to side with my frenemy, I added, “As thief, it’s my call, and I don’t want to wait either. Let’s roll.”

Tia’s suffering sigh relayed her feelings on the matter, but she didn’t protest.

“All right, Sammy, the fates await.” Abby flipped my screen to a virtual multi-sided die.

With trembling fingers, I reached for my mouse. I’d done this countless times, yet something about theHavenloreboard, or maybe the unrelenting storm, set my heart racing.

I clicked.

The die spun.

“Your hand reaches toward the alicorn’s crystal horn. It’s amethyst eyes alight with curiosity.”

I swallowed, my gaze fixated on the spinning die.

“As your fingertips brush the very tip, a harsh shriek raises the hair at your nape.”

The die stopped.

But before I could read the number, our screens winked to black. “What the—” “I can’t see—” “Fu—” My friends cries reverberated over the line, all talking at once, as the loudest crash of thunder and brightest stroke of lightning shook my room in streaks of blinding white. A fleeting thought echoed through my mind as pain shot through my body.What was the roll?

Then, a floating sensation claimed me as my eyes drifted close and unconsciousness beckoned. Yet, in that brief instant between sleep and awake, I’d have sworn my prized gamer’s token that I spotted a creature with green skin staring at me through the darkness.

And somehow I sensed in at that fleeting moment, nothing would be the same again.

2

Guruk

The day had started well enough.A smattering of sunshine peeked through the clouds, accompanied by a cool autumn breeze. It had allowed me to tackle the chores I’d been putting off all summer, when the worst of the season’s blistering heat bore down on the village. I’d been happy with my progress, but now as evening descended, a patch of ominous clouds rolled in with it.

“Best we get you comfortable, Inara,” I called to the alicorn opposite her pen. Since I’d spotted the gray sky in the middle of filling up her exterior trough, the task was rendered useless. “Looks like a storm is coming.”

Inara’s back was to me, but she raised her good wing in a silent wave of assent. As one of the sacred beasts of Havenlore, she had the respect of our entire village. After her accident in a scuffle with a rogue griffin, I’d been tasked by the high council with caring for her as she recovered—and guarding her against would-be villains. Alicorns were a rare magical breed, their horns able to grant a possessor’s most fervent desires. Thus, they were sought after by hunters, thieves, and foul scum alike.

As an orc, my kind were often charged with duties requiring strength and prowess. Living off my farmlands and the surrounding woods, I concentrated on providing the village with produce and lumber. So, the chance to work with this magnificent alicorn was a true honor. Truth be told, my secret passion resided in helping wild creatures; however, animals and beasts of the realm feared my size and tended to avoid my presence. So, I had settled on farming and lumbering instead. Inara, thankfully, had no such hesitations, welcoming my help and protection from the start of our acquaintance only a week ago.

I entered the stable where Inara slept to straighten her bedding and ensure her interior water and food was stocked. It took mere seconds, but in that time, a cry rang out from across the pen.

“Inara!” I leapt through the front double doors, knocking them aside with my bulk.

Standing in the pen with her left wing out-stretched and her injured right wing drooping low, the alicorn dipped her head and readied her horn. The pink and purple glow shone off her all-white form, casting her in shades of neon. The piercing warble echoed from her mouth.

I ran faster than I ever had in my life.

When I arrived at Inara’s side, I stared in disbelief at the scene. A hooded figure in a long brown cloak laid in the dirt outside the pen. Next to the creature, a skul-gargoyle with mulberry skin and black eyes held a hammer between its claw. The alicorn had her horn pointed, not at the downed hooded stranger, but at the skul-gargoyle who served as the sheriff’s sentinel.

Eying the law enforcement officer warily, I rested a gentling hand on Inara’s side. I’d never seen her so worked up before, her front hooves stomping the dirt and her back ones bucking the air. I clenched my jaw at the situation. The skul-gargoyle might be half the size of its gargoyle cousin, coming up to my sternum, but they were fast and agile. One could take down an opponent before the enemy even knew it was in the path of danger.

“Deputy,” I said, stroking Inara’s mane and silently willing her to calm. “What seems to be the problem here?”

“You tell me.” He turned and pointed the head of his hammer toward the figure on the ground. “I was flying overhead when I spotted this being appear from thin air.”

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