Amidst a stormy night, a lone man ran through the thick underbrush of the forest in a panicked hurry. Not minding the sticks and leaves and mud, he ran with all his might towards a small encampment, stopping just a few meters from the gates.

  Hold it!” shouted a guard atop one of the watchtowers as he readied his bow, “Identify yourself!”

  Panting heavily, the man lowered his head until it was touching the wet ground.

  “Please, help me! I beg of you, help me!” he cried out in anguish. “A terrible fate has befallen our vilge!”

  Hearing this, the guard withdrew his bow and signaled down. Within a few moments, the rge iron gates of the encampment creaked and groaned as they opened slowly. A group of soldiers emerged with their weapons drawn. They made their way to the man in great strides.

  “Who are you? Which vilge did you come from?” One of them asked as he pointed his sword towards him.

  In response, the man meekly crawled towards him and grasped his feet. “Please, help me”

  The soldier, not knowing what to do, simply picked the man up by his arm. “Speak sense, man!” he shouted as he lightly shook the man. “What are you speaking of?”

  The man, now with bloodshot eyes, broke free from the soldier’s grasp and grabbed him by the shoulders.

  “Monsters!” he shouted. “Monsters have come and attacked our vilge, they wiped out everyone!”

  Dropping down to the ground once more, the man merely shrunk into a fetal position as he sobbed. “Oh, my wife, my children, they’re all dead, all dead I tell you”

  Amidst all the ruckus, an elderly man stepped forward. With light gray hair, and a distinct scar that ran across his entire face, he introduced himself as the Captain of the force stationed in the encampment.

  “What do you mean by that?” He asked the man.

  “Monsters, lord.” The man answered in a meekly manner. “Monsters twice the size of man, with razor sharp teeth and tanned green skin, I watched them tear a man in half.”

  Hearing this, the old man’s eyes slightly widened. He cusped his chin, as if deep in thought, not minding the rain that kept on dribbling down his forehead.

  “Bring him inside” He stated. “Get him some dry clothes, and bring him to my tent.”

  In response to the old man’s order, all the soldiers hurriedly scrambled to pick-up the man, almost to the point of dragging him by his feet, and brought him inside the encampment.

  Inside his tent, the old man and his soldiers listened to the man’s story.

  “I went out early in the morning, my lord. Just as I usually do” He narrated as he grasped the warm cup that was given to him. "But when I returned, I saw our vilge burning and everyone murdered, I only barely managed to escape, I thought for sure they would chase me.”

  “Who did this?” Asked the old man.

  “Monsters, lord.” He said menacingly. “I live in the frontier town bordering the Great Forest, I have seen many monsters and creatures, but nothing like these ones.”

  Listening intently, there was a mix of caution and doubt amongst the soldiers.

  “They were savage beasts, but they stood and spoke a nguage I've never heard of before, and they were incredibly powerful”

  The old man leaned in closer, his eyes as sharp as a sword. “What else can you tell us about them?” he asked intently.

  “Not much else, my lord. But I did hear them utter a word repeatedly”

  “And that is?”

  “Orcs, my lord.” The man answered as he lightly quivered. “I heard them say Orcs numerous times”

  Upon hearing this, the old man reclined back to his seat, deep in thought; where has he heard of that word, Orc? Why now of all times when they're at the brink of war? Why at this very pce? These thoughts ran though his mind, greatly troubling him.

  Realizing this, one soldier promptly stood up and addressed the man. "Thank you for sharing that." He said as he put his hand on the man's shoulder. "We'll do our best to help, but please allow us time to investigate and speak among ourselves."

  Per the soldier's request, the man was escorted out of the commander's tent and lead to his own. Now alone with their men, the soldier spoke to his comrades. "So, what do you guys think?"

  "The ramblings of a madman"

  "It's clear that the man is distressed, perhaps we should allow him more time to expin?"

  "But what if it's true?"

  "Monsters twice the size of men with razor sharp teeth who can speak? Ha! As if such a creature exists."

  "Stop fooling yourselves, Orcs? I've never heard of that."

  The men all jeered and argued, some taking a more cautious approach, while most simply did not believe it. Nonetheless, a vilge from the kingdom, cimed to have been destroyed by unknown monsters? They would still need to verify such serious cims.

  After a while, the old man opened his eyes and straightened his posture.

  "Get some rest" he said in a serious tone. "Tomorrow we shall ride out in force and look for this vilge."

  "But, Captain!" one soldier asked worryingly. "To leave the encampment at such a time, is that wise?"

  "I understand your concern" answered the old man, "But we have no choice, such a cim should be taken very seriously."

  "But what of the enemy?"

  The soldier's concern was not unwarranted. Due to tensions between their Kingdom and it's neighbor, they were stationed at this very camp to observe for any suspicious movement. Although they have not seen anything yet, everyone here was still currently on high alert.

  "There have been no evidence of enemy movements" the old man answered. "If there is an unknown monster that has appeared on our nds, it would do us well to exterminate it as quickly as possible, lest we run the risk of fighting a battle on through fronts."

  Hearing this, the soldier could not say anything else. The Captain's decision was sound, it could prove catastrophic should they be attacked from two sides. After all, there was a possibility that the monsters the vilger saw, was not really a monster, but rather an advance raiding party from the enemy.

  "I shall take a hundred men to look for this vilge" the old man decred, "The rest of you will stay here and wait for our return."

  "Yes sir!" The men answered as they saluted.

  With a hardened resolve, the old man looked out towards the stormy night.

  "If these monsters truly have come to threaten our Kingdom" he said as he clenched his fists, "then we shall crush them with all our might."