Joe stared at the bare metal floor of Betty’s front room, losing himself in his own thoughts. It had been a long day of driving, he hadn’t slept a wink since he’d left Ugals… the exhaustion leadened his eyes and slackened his shoulders, but despite all that, his mind kept him awake. He hadn’t thought about it in the moment, but what had saved him from being destroyed by Kagor? All he remembered was being… cut off from himself, flying away without his body. After that, things got fuzzy, something happened that he wasn’t supposed to remember.

  Had God returned him to his body? Did He have a cosmic baseball bat ready to homerun Joe’s soul right back? Or had he simply boomeranged when his soul found out it had nowhere to go? He shook his head, still confused about it all. There was something he remembered from that severing, a name but nothing else.

  Daxhar.

  His lips worked, but for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to voice the name. There was something about it that unnerved him greatly; even the survivor in him knew there would be horrible consequences if he said it out loud. After another hour of contemplation, his exhaustion finally overwhelmed his whirlwind of thoughts. He needed to get some damn sleep, he could think more on this while he was driving tomorrow. He stood slowly, looking to his ruined chair, a pillar of bare metal surrounded by piles of ash and burnt carpet. There’d be no more sleeping comfy for a while, not until he got a replacement.

  That didn’t mean he’d sleep on the bare floor though. The carpet by the T.V was still mostly intact after all, and he had plenty of blankets to serve his needs. He trudged over there, assembling a chaotic bird's nest of blankets and pillows before he collapsed into them, practically falling asleep the instant he made impact.

  After a dreamless sleep, his eyes slowly opened, a string of drool having slid down his face sometime during the night. Joe sat up and stretched sore muscles, letting out a yawn before he stood. After a well-deserved shower, he emerged, stopping to glance at himself in the mirror…

  To his horror, grey eyes were not what stared back at him. They were blood-red now. He stumbled back in shock, blinked, and blinked again, but it was not a trick of his mind. He brought his face closer to the mirror, touching his face with a hand to ensure that this wasn’t a dream. Why had this happened, had he mutated?

  Then he remembered. Joe’s head hung back as he let out a worried sigh… somewhere, in the depths of his mind, resided a Faelord. He hadn’t managed to completely expel the thing, so perhaps the red eyes were a permanent physiological change. This wasn’t good, having Kagor floating around in here could only spell bad news for the future. The red eyes were their own issue, the residents of Faenor may believe that he was possessed, which, as much as Joe hated to admit it, wasn’t too far off from the truth.

  There was at least a silver-lining to all this, at least he thought so anyway… but Joe was pretty sure he wasn’t sacrifice-material anymore. There was already one Faelord taking up residence in his head now, he doubted that another one could cram themselves in here. That reasoning may not hold up if he ever got captured again, and truth be told Joe had no idea if that was even how it worked.

  Maybe Sera would know of a way to get rid of Kagor? If not, then Joe would spend the rest of his life wondering if the Faelord would ever take control again… if that happened, well… then Joe would have to do the right thing before he was taken over completely. Lord forgive him if it came to that, but he couldn’t let Kagor enslave innocent people. It was true that he didn’t owe Faenor a damn thing, but there were still good folk around, Sera and Prolo had proven that to him.

  And Varig, for that matter… he shouldn’t forget him. Hopefully they could meet again one day under better circumstances, but Joe wouldn’t blame the prince if he never wanted to lay eyes on him ever again. Joe, or Joe’s body at least, had killed Varig’s brother, after all. Not only that, but Ugals had been turned into a city of rust, his homeland was ruined. Joe left the bathroom with a sneer as he remembered exactly how that had all happened.

  Joe had been betrayed by the dwarves, Ugals being ruined wasn’t his fault. Those damn bastards had earned his trust before promptly throwing it in the trash, none of the blame landed on Joe. Still… if he had the chance to resurrect his brother, would he not do the same?

  Joe found that he didn’t have an answer to that question, instead opting to ignore it as he brewed himself some coffee. He’d be running out soon, it’d be best to switch back to tea for his caffeine fix. With steaming cup in hand, he went to the cockpit, settling into the seat with a sigh before flicking on the cameras. He’d parked Betty a good ways away from the rocky trail he’d been driving on, not wanting her to be found by any passersby.

  Relief filled him as the cameras came to life, revealing that no one was surrounding her. He’d half-expected a regiment of AK-wielding dwarves to be aiming down the sight on Betty’s door, but thankfully that hadn’t come to pass. Well, it was time to hit the road, he wasn’t sure if Sera was already out of the tunnel, but he doubted she could walk faster than he could drive. He started up Betty, driving back onto the trail while carefully sipping from his mug. It was an art form, balancing the coffee as he drove so as to not spill it. He’d mastered this art years ago, and perfection could not be improved upon.

  The cameras displayed that it was early morning, the distant sun illuminating the path dimly as it ascended over distant mountains. While the trail was wide enough to accommodate Betty’s width, it was rough, with dozens of large rocks littering the snow-topped path. Betty’s treads had no trouble getting over the stones, but he would have to check them later to ensure there was no significant damage. He winced as he noticed the massive tracks being left behind by Betty. If there were dwarves pursuing him, then those would make their jobs a lot easier.

  He banished the thought, pushing on for hours until the trail began to decline, dipping down onto the other side of the mountain. Joe couldn’t see very well due to the fuzzy camera feed, but the land down below the trail seemed almost completely flat, surrounded by jagged mountains. Joe parked Betty, emerged clad in the T-12 (Just in case) and used the HUD on the suit to zoom in on the dry, cracked land below, scoping out what he could from this distance.

  It was a veritable wasteland down there, he could see gathering dust storms on the horizon, he’d seen more than a few of those during his time back on Earth. Sera would be emerging around here? Seemed like a bad idea, but she had managed to make it through here to reach Old Ugals. What had it been called? Ah yes, the Dark Wastes. Apparently there were a whole buncha orcs wandering around down there somewhere, nothing Betty couldn’t handle. Based on where he was on the trail, it’d take him another few hours of driving to get there. He struggled to imagine how long it would take on foot.

  When he was satisfied, he went back inside, got out of the suit, and continued on his way. He needed to reign Betty in during the drive down, it would be pretty hard to stop her if she began sliding. It’d be impossible to stop her if she picked up too much speed… and Joe didn’t want to think about what would happen to both of them if they reached the bottom at that pace- if they reached the bottom at all. Betty could very well slam into a boulder or flip over, bouncing end over end all the way down into the Dark Wastes.

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  He’d negate the risk and take it slow, grandma's speed would keep him alive and he was sure that he was ahead of Sera anyway. So down the mountain he went, at a whopping five-miles an hour, moving his foot off the acceleration to the brake. Any time he felt her begin to slide, he applied pressure to the petal, stopping her in place before she could pick up any more momentum. It was a long, arduous, and stressful few hours, but eventually they did both make it to the bottom alive.

  That wasn’t the time to let out a sigh of relief however, as a new obstacle now presented itself. A large stone wall and gate stood before him, extending between two Betty-sized boulders. The stones making up the wall were in a chaotic mess, essentially just being a bunch of rocks stacked atop one another, with the ‘gate’ just being a massive slab of stone itself. Joe wasn’t even sure how the thing was supposed to be opened, he could see no mechanisms that would allow it to move, at least not from this side.

  The top of this crudely assembled thing was lined with a rough wooden walkway, where a few hulking figures stood, staring down at Betty with apparent confusion, based on how they all held the tops of their heads. Based on the shapes of their bodies, these had to be orcs. This thought was confirmed when he drew closer, allowing Betty’s eyes to pick up more details on the strangers. With large, burly bodies and jutting tusks, these creatures looked every bit the orc. Their hands were massive, as wide as a dinner-plate and looking more than capable of wringing the life out of a bear.

  This was the only way into the Dark-Wastes that he knew of, had Sera come through this way? If she had, she didn’t need to kill them to do so, so maybe he wouldn't have to either. It all depended on what the orcs did next. Much to his surprise, one simply descended the rough rocky wall, wringing his large hands nervously as he approached Betty. The orc was clad in a crude assembly of metal, the parts of his armor looking as if they had been bent and hammered into shape. The plates hung off his torso by tight leather straps, his legs similarly covered by the rough metal. Curiously though, he left his arms bare. Not a scrap of hair could be seen on that presumably green head, and his wide eyes looked fearful. Joe's finger hovered over the button that’d reduce the orc to smoking swiss should he get aggressive.

  However, that didn’t come to pass, as the creature bowed before Betty, his mouth moving. Crap, he was saying something and Joe couldn’t hear a word. His hand pressed the button for the megaphone.

  “Hold on, I can’t hear you.” Joe said, “I’m coming out in my armor, if any of you attack I will kill each and every one of you, don’t test me.” He said flatly, rising from his chair.

  He didn’t leave the room yet, staring at the cameras for a moment to see if any orcs would try and surround Betty. When none more came, he stepped back into the T-12, curious as to what the creature had to say. He readied his minigun, lowering Betty’s ramp before emerging, shutting the door behind him but leaving the ramp lowered should he need to make a quick retreat. He rounded Betty, keeping his eyes and ears peeled as he neared the orc. Just as Joe suspected, the orc’s skin was a dark green shade, and curiously, he had bright yellow eyes. He was even larger up close, being head-height with Joseph even in his power-armor

  “The Great Green One is here!” He shouted to the walls, “Just like the magic man said!”

  Joe blinked. The Great Green One?

  “What are ya talkin’ about?” Joe asked him, noticing the shocked expressions of the orcs on the wall.

  “Yoos the one what’ll help us beat up the Black-Eyes!” He insisted, dropping to his knees, “Bad orcs sir, real baddies, keep eating our babies n’ such.”

  Joe squinted, “Eating your babies? What the hell- Okay, first off,” Joe began, shaking his head, “Who’s the ‘magic man’ and what do you mean I’m gonna help you?”

  The orc raised his head, blinked, then said, “Uh, dunno, that’s just what the magic man said. It was ‘bout a month ago now, he came by, a humie he was, real old like. Guess he ate a big book when he was younger what lets him see da future.” He explained, “You was in it, n’ the magic man told us you’d help us get rid of the Black-Eyes.”

  Joe shook his head, “I don’t got time for any of that,” he told him, “I gotta go find a friend of mine.”

  The orc’s head bobbed up and down before he oddly grinned, “Magic man said that too, said she’d make you do it when you get back.”

  “Make me do it?” Joe asked, squinting, “This magic man have a name?”

  The orc shrugged, “Donneltun.”

  “That’s his name?” Joe asked in disbelief.

  “Naw, that’s my name, but you can call me Donny.” The orc said with a smile, standing back up.

  “I didn’t ask for yours.” Joe told him flatly.

  “I know but I thought I should at least gives ya a name, thought mine was good.” Donny shrugged again, “Don’t know magic man’s name, sorry. Anyways, you got passage, me n’ the boys need to move the big rock first though, so just hold on.”

  “...Right, before you do that, did the magic man tell you my name?” Joe asked.

  “Yeh, you’re Joeysiph, something like that, and yer friend is named Ser Era or somethin’.”

  Joe hesitated, “Did a blonde elf woman come this way at any point this past month?”

  Donny put a finger to his chin as he thought, “I think so, had a little man following her too.”

  That had to be Sera, unless there were other elf halfling duos wandering around the Dark-Wastes. The orcs here didn’t seem too aggressive, but they seemed to believe that he was going to help him out with these ‘Black-Eyes’.

  “These Black-Eyes, are they gonna cause me trouble?” Joe asked Donny.

  The orc’s face hardened, “Kill ‘em on sight.” He replied, tone low, “Don’t let ‘em trick you neither, or they’ll eatcha.”

  “Got it, anything else I need to watch out for while I’m here?” Joe asked, “Big monsters, scary weather, anything real bad?”

  Donny nodded, “We got bad bugs called crunchies that come around sometime, got big wings n’ bigger teeth, they’ll eat anythin’ if it can breathe, just hit ‘em real hard. They make good eatin’ too, N’ don’t go too far north, we got a bad wizard over there and he’d got a buncha skellies on the prowl. We get earth-shakes too, but they ain’t too bad…” He paused, “And make sure you got water!” He yelled.

  “Ya don’t gotta shout man.” Joe complained, “Why ain’t ya tryin’ to charge me to get through?” He questioned.

  “We usually do,” Donny admitted, “We don’t ask people for coin though, ya can’t buy anything here so we just ask for some food, tools, or other stuff before we let anyone in.”

  “And if they say no?” Joe asked, narrowing his eyes.

  “We don’t move the big rock, simple as.” Donny said, “We ain’t charging you cause yoos the one what’ll help us crush the Black-Eyes.”

  Instead of refuting this claim, Joe asked, “There a reward in it?”

  “We’ll let you marry into the Arm-Big clan or the Leg-Huge tribe, that's a big honor.” Donny nodded.

  “Not in the mind to marry pal.” Joe said, repressing a shudder, “You got anything else?”

  “Uh… not really up to me for deciding, the clan chiefs thought you’d like to marry into one of the tribes so… uh…” Donny squinted, scratching his cheek, “I dunno.”

  “Right, well after I pick up my friend, I’ll come back, and if you have a better offer, then I might consider it, alright pal?”

  “Better offer than an orc princess?” Donny asked, “Big tall huge order, but maybe they have somethin’ else they can give ya for the job, I gotta tell ‘em first.”

  Joe nodded to himself, “Alrighty then, well, guess I’ll be seeing ya Donny.” Joe said, backing away without turning his back to the orc.

  “Ya seeing me right now though?” Donny said, his brow scrunching in on itself, “Oh wait, ya mean in the future!” He declared, giving a thumbs up, “Sounds great buddy! We’ll move da big rock for ya, just be careful moving that cube through camp, we got kiddos at play!”

  Joe flashed a thumbs up before disappearing around the corner, moving up the ramp and stepping into Betty with a sigh. Marrying an orc princess? Sera would probably skin him alive if he did that, assuming that what Prolo said about her was true. She couldn’t possibly have feelings for him right? Surely not.

  By time he was out of the armor and back in the cockpit, the cameras showed that the boulder had been moved partially out of the way. What looked like a couple hundred massive orcs strained against the big rock, slowly but surely sliding it along out of Betty’s path. Joe’s jaw partially dropped at seeing this, both at how impractical it was, and how powerful the orcs were. That big-ass rock had to weigh around eighty tons!

  Once they were finally finished, a dozen of them collapsed, breathing heavily as their less-exhausted companions dragged them out of the way, a dozen more ushering Joseph to drive through. He did so, slowly, still ready to put the petal to the metal should the orcs try to rush Betty. If they could push that rock, they might just be able to flip Betty over if enough of them worked together.

  The orc camp was pretty vast, stretching past what his camera could see in all directions. Dark tents made of what appeared to be chitin and leather made up every single tent, and orcs of all ages moved between them. Like Donny had said, there were lots of orc children at ‘play’. It sure didn’t look like play to him, they were all rolling around, punching one another, wrestling, or straight up hurling rocks, all with smiles on their tusked faces. Most denizens went about in little more than a loincloth, with the women wearing just enough to cover their modesty.

  It was winter here in Everfae, but the Dark Wastes is still a desert, it probably only got cold around here at night. Most orcs stopped to stare at Betty with shocked expressions, some bowing their heads or raising their fists, mouths open in a silent cheer. He couldn’t hear what was being said, but it was likely that all the other orcs knew about the ‘magic man’s’ prophecy. They were already treating him like a hero even though he hadn’t done anything yet, but maybe they thought he was heading straight for the Black-Eyed orcs, hard to say. This all went smoother than he thought it would have, but Joe was sure that would change when he left camp.

  And oh boy was he right about that.