The tavern reeks of stale ale and sweat. A bard strums something melancholic in the corner while patrons huddle over their drinks. You sit at the bar, hood pulled low, scars hidden beneath rough fabric and shadow. The bartender — a gruff dwarf with a braided beard — slides a mug across the counter without asking what you want. He knows. Everyone here knows the silent cloaked figure who pays in coin and never speaks.
*Another night. Another bar. Another forgotten face in a sea of forgotten faces.*
The door slams open. Cold wind rushes in. A young human woman stumbles through, armordented, face streaked with dirt and blood. She gasps, clutching her side, and collapses against the doorframe. Her wide eyes scan the room desperately.
"Please—" she rasps, voice hoarse. "Anyone. I need a fighter. The demon in the eastern woods... it's killing travelers. The guild won't help without coin I don't have."
She sways. Blood drips from her fingers onto the wooden floor.
In the corner we hear a chuckle from a large figure draped in a bear skin cloak speaking with an amused gruff tone if I clearly five full barrels deep in alcohol, a bit groggy as he says; "A demon, huh.. i once knew a demon.. the trick is grab 'em by the horns.And you yank until their head goes pop" The bar erupts and laughter.
The woman's eyes lock onto the large figure in the corn. She staggers forward, one hand still pressed to her bleeding side, the other reaching out.
"You—" she coughs, spitting blood onto the floorboards. "You've fought demons before?"
The dwarf bartender grunts, wiping down a glass. "Don't bother him, girl. He's drunk."
"I don't care if he's drunk." Her voice cracks with desperation. She drops to her knees in front of your stool, looking up at the shadow beneath your hood. "Please. My brother's still out there. The demon dragged him into the woods. If someone doesn't go now he will, die please.."
She sways. Her face goes pale.
The tavern falls silent. Even the bard stops playing. A few patrons shift uncomfortably in their seats, avoiding her gaze.
"I'll pay," she whispers. "Everything I have. Just... please."
Her hand trembles as she pulls a small coin purse from her belt and holds it up.
He finishes his last glass before responding.
As he stands up his seven foot form on full display, a hulking man with a strong athletic and bulky physique with many scars what shocked her the most is this figure wasn't a normal ork he was an a member of a rare sub species of orc called urk-hai a very rare subspecies of orc, the girl's eyes widened at his appearance, dark red skin black spots and all across his body. draped in tough armor and a bear skin cloak, without a shirt leaving his chest open, but with armor that only guards the arms and legs and waste, long black dreads up and fierce maroon eyes, the differences in the orc species they have a mix of orc blood and elf blood making his kind stronger faster and smarter, his type would be considered the elites of orc kind. His voice low and commanding.
"Fine just pick up the tap for everyone at the bar and where good"
Getting a little wobbly as he walks up to her.
The woman's eyes widen. She nods frantically,
"Y-yes! Of course!" She looks to the bartender. "Whatever everyone's drinking—on me!"
A few patrons cheer. Others just stare as you stand, hood slipping back showing some of his scarred face And dreadlocks.
The dwarf bartender freezes mid-pour, eyes narrowing. "Wait. That face..."
As he walks with her he sway back-and-forth, ukra., steadying yourself against the bar. The woman scrambles to her feet, wincing.
"Come on," she says, gesturing toward the door. "We don't have much time."
Outside, the night air is cold. The eastern woods loom dark beyond the village edge, trees twisted and gnarled. She starts walking, limping badly.
"It's about two miles in. My brother... he was gathering herbs when it found us." He responds in a gruff tone,
"I don't care what you were doing.Just take me to the demon"
She flinches but doesn't argue. She turns, limping faster now despite the blood trailing down her leg. The village edge gives way to dirt paths, then overgrown roots and thick underbrush. The trees close in, branches scratching against your armor.
"There," she whispers, pointing ahead.
A clearing opens up. Moonlight filters through twisted branches. In the center, a massive demon crouches over something — no, someone. A young man lies motionless on the ground, chest rising and falling weakly. The demon's back is to you, shoulders broad, covered in dark scales. Twin horns curl from its skull.
*Too familiar.*
The woman grabs your arm, trembling. "That's him. That's my brother."
The demon sniffs the air. It goes still.
Then it turns.
Black eyes lock onto yours. Recognition flashes across its face. A slow, cruel smile spreads.
"Well, well," it rumbles, voice like grinding stone. "The fallen champion. I wondered when you'd crawl out of your hole."
The woman looks back at the man by her side,wondering what this demon was talking about he responds amused," huh you're smaller than him more fun for me.I guess"
Taking towering steps forward undeterred from anything this demon has to say.The demon straightens, towering even taller. Eight feet at least. Muscles ripple beneath its scaled hide. It laughs, deep and mocking.
"Smaller? You're drunk, uruk-hai." It steps over the unconscious brother, claws flexing. "I heard you fell. Lost everything to one of mykin. How pathetic." The demon circles, grinning.
"I could kill you right now. End the legend for good." Its tail lashes. "But where's the fun in that? You can barely stand."
The woman behind you whimpers. "Please—my brother—"
"Shut up, human." The demon doesn't look at her. Its eyes stay locked on you. "Tell me, champion—does it hurt? Knowing you'll die forgotten?"
It lunges.Claws aimed straight for the urk's throat.
With a grin the urk steps forward Sticking his arm out.I catch it by the throat without any effort lifting it off the groun then buy the throatslam it into a boulder crushing the boulder beneath, The stone cracks Explodes into fragments. The demon's body crumples into the rubble, scales splitting, black blood pooling beneath it. It gasps, clawing at the ground, trying to push itself up.
"Impossible," it chokes out, ribs heaving. "You were... drunk..."
"Was The adrenaline burned through the alcohol the moment i moved."
The demon spits blood, eyes wide with something new, fear.
The woman behind him whispers, "By the gods..." The demon's tail thrashes weakly. It tries to crawl backward, leaving a dark smear across the shattered rock.
In an impressive feat of strength the urk hoists the demon over its shoulders. It thrashes weakly, claws scraping uselessly against your armor. His grip its neck and legs, and in a strong move, slamming it down bending it backward over his knee.
The spine cracks. A wet, grinding snap echoes through the clearing.
The demon screams. Then goes limp, body sagging, black blood dripping from its mouth. You drop the corpse. It crumples into the dirt, twitching once before going still.
The woman stares, mouth open, face pale
She drops to her knees beside her brother, shaking his shoulder. "Wake up. Please wake up."The young man groans, eyes fluttering open. He looks up at her, confused. "What... what happened?"
She hugs him, sobbing.
By the time the woman turns around, the urk was already gone. She blinks at the empty space where you stood, then at the demon's corpse crumpled in the dirt. "Wait—" She scrambles to her feet, helping her brother up. "Where did he—" The forest swallows the urk's footsteps. Branches scrape against your armor as he move deeper into the darkness, away from the clearing, away from the gratitude he didn't want to hear.
"Another fight. Another demon. Another night."
Her voice echoes faintly. "Who was he i wonder?"
Her brother coughs, leaning on her shoulder. "I don't know. But... those scars. That size." He pauses. "Do you think it was him? That old champion?"
"No," she whispers. "He's just a legend."