Faith

Chapter 7: A Glimpse Of Light

Joseph:

I walk back and forth in this dark cave trying to think of a plan out. I double back to the entrance of the cave, which is now filled with snow. I feel a hand in my cold shoulder and jump back. Silvie's four eyes all stare at me, creeping me out.

"Are you done walking around? Your only wasting your energy." Silvie said, sitting back on a rock.

"I'm tryin' to find a way out of this stupid cave, but it's all dark n rocky!" I said, kicking the snowy entrance.

I immediately regret my actions, since now my shoe is wet and slowly getting frostbite.

"We should go deeper in. Staying here won't help my shoe, I mean us."

"Sure, nothing to do here anyway. Maybe we'll run into some fun monsters." Silvie said, walking deeper in the cave.

I follow behind her as we travel further in. Eventually it gets too dark, and I can only see an outline of her. The inconsistent dripping of water and our feet stomping on the cold cave floor makes me uneasy. Silvie picks up her pace, and I mimic her. I see a dim light and we run towards it.

"It looks like a fire! There could be people here!" I said, feeling my sense of dread fade.

I see a group of orcs huddled around the fire and they notice us. As I get closer I see huts and more orcs.

"Don't come any closer!" An orc commands, holding a spear.

We stop in our tracks and more orcs come over, trying to see to commotion.

"Let me through, excuse me everyone." An orc with glasses trudged through the crowd, getting to the front.

They inspected us and it felt like they stared right through me. Their cautious expression turned into a greeting one as they calmed down the crowd of orcs that had gathered.

"I am Brian, it's nice to meet new people. This little village of ours is normally off limits because of the never ending blizzard outside. So the only visits or newcomers we get is corpses!" The orc chuckled.

He motioned for us to follow and we listened. We went past multiple huts, a large kitchen and dining area until we made it to the largest hut. He entered and we followed sue.

"Take a seat." He said, sitting on a wooden chair.

I sat down and he pulled out a piece of cloth and gave it to me. I dried my show using it and gave it back.

"Alrighty. Now that that's done, let's get to business. I am a scientist and the leader of this orc village. I do my best to protect this place and I am hoping you both will not Spark any trouble here, correct?"

"Yes sir!" I blurted out.

"No reason to cause any trouble for y'all." Silvie said.

"Good! Judging from the commotion that happened outside, an avalanche occurred, meaning you're both stuck here for a while. We'll provide you guys with the necessities you need as long as you help out around here. There's one zone that you shouldn't cross unless I advise you to. 'The back door' is what I like to call it since it's behind this hut. In 'the back door' there's a den of monsters that we use as food and make sure they're kept at bay, so I don't see why you'd wanna go there. Besides that everything is good! Oh right, what is your names?"

"Silvie."

"Joseph"

"Silvie and Joseph... I'll keep that in mind. Silvie, do you have any cooking skills?"

"I'm a pretty good chef I'd say."

"Great! I'll have you go and help with the cooking. You can start going now since it's about to be dinner time." Brian smiled.

Silvie nodded her head and left the hut. I started getting up but Brian sat me back down.

"It's been about five years since I've seen a Halfie, and that's when I create this village. What happened to your horn?"

"An accident when I was at my home village. How'd you know I was a Halfie?"

"Besides being a scientist and studying my own species as well as others, your horn is in the middle of your head. While regular orcs have two on their sides."

"Touché, but is that what you wanted to ask me?"

"That was one thing. I also wanted to know why you'd wanna go to the blizzard family. Or should I say, what's your goal?"

"Well I'm going there with a friend. For my goal, I want to become stronger. I'm gonna have to take over for my old man, so when I get back I'll have to run my own village and I don't think I'm ready yet..."

"Well take this advice from a man already running a village. It's hard, and challenging. But even though it is, it gives me a sense of peace knowing I have people that can rely on me. People believing in me being able to govern is where my true strength comes from. Of course, I have real strength to protect them. Just don't forget what your goal is and you'll be a-ok!"

"Thank you a lot! Getting stronger is definitely my main concern. I can't help my friends wish come true if I'm weak, as well as get Silvie to marry me!"

"Haha! I like that spunk of yours. How about I become your mentor until you leave this place? I'll teach you how to hone that orc strength you got."

Brian holds out his hand and I shake it immediately, taking the role of his mentee.

"That settles things. Now come on, dinner should be ready by now." Brian said, leaving the hut.

"Coming!" I said, exiting the hut.

The long table holds various foods and I see Silvie chopping up some meat and putting it into a large cooking pot. I sit down and dig into my meal.