It was in the evening that Borzugal finally woke up. He was able to move just fine as the healing spell was quite effective. Of-course, his movements were a little disoriented, because of losing his literal arm. Otherwise, he was in no pain — just discomfort.

  “Borzugal how are you feeling?” Harwin inquired with great concern.

  “No need to worry about me. My race has strong endurance. I will adjust to it soon. I must thank you for raising your voice for me infront of the chief. At-least, that is what I was able to interpret it as.”

  “No need to thank me. I was absolutely useless and powerless.” He looked down, feeling slightly guilty.

  “Do not fret human. Most people, do not even bat an eye for dying or suffering of demons, but you have already proved yourself worthy of being called a loyal and trustworthy friend.” Borzugal reassured.

  “.....” Harwin was still not sure.

  “No need to talk about this matter further. What became of you? What was your punishment?”

  Harwin explained all the conversation that he have had with the chief, and how he had been offered quite a pleasant offer.

  “Hmm....you must be in quite pickle right now. Either return as a slave or live as a free man with the most arrogant and insufferable race in the world.” Borzugal laughed after stating it.

  “I know, but my heart says that it will be better to stay here. The chief especially is very wise and logical in his decisions. I can probably learn a few things from a man of such character.”

  “I see, well this decision is entirely up to you. Moving on, I wanted to return the favor that I owe to you. Do you have anything that you wish to know. As knowledge and information is the only thing that this hunk of meat can provide to you.”

  Harwin pondered over the offer. Here sat an orc in-front of him who had traveled through the world —

  from one continent to the other. He spoke many languages, and was wise as well. After much contemplation, he concluded:

  “If you insist on returning this meager favor of mine upon you, then please tell me about this world a little more. Things about it that you have learned throughout your travels. Folk tales that you might have heard, and any other interesting things.”

  "That is a very long list of things, but none the less I shall not go back on my words."

  It was the evening. An elf came to deliver some food. This time, it was not the old and poorly made porridge but exotic dishes that Harwin had never seen. It was all very delicious, or at-least more than the things that he have had since coming to this world.

  Borzugal bestowed his years of knowledge upon Harwin. Few important things that he learned were:

  -The country Borzugal was from was a bit different than the others. It was ruled by a council of orc, but only in name as true power still lies with the Demon Lord. Borzugal's country did not have many resources, or other goods to offer so they were left mostly alone. They were free to rule and follow their customs.

  - The demon lords were powerful creatures. They were not from any particular sub-race, rather were skilled and powerful individuals who had climbed up the ladder in the demon realm. They were feared and respected by all others due to being semi-immortal. A demon lord could rule for thousands of years if not defeated by another.

  - The language commonly spoken in the northern continent was the demon tongue with different dialects.

  - Borzugal had also been in the presence of the Demon Emperor; the supreme being who ruled over the entire continent. His name, however, was not known among many except by the most trusted of his men, the four Generals, and of course his family. Borzugal described the emperor as a careful man. He was, of course, immensely powerful yet rarely displayed his prowess. It was rumored that the demon-emperor was part demon while part empyrean.

  - Borzugal then mentioned the human-elfian war which was claimed as a victory by both sides, though many speculate it as a win for the elves who were much more powerful at that time. The great country of Silfordan was divided into many smaller ones after the war. It has yet to regain its former glory — lost centuries ago.

  After this Borzugal was rather tired due to the discomfort and excessive talking, so he promised Harwin to continue the rest of the tales later.

  As far as today’s lesson was concerned, Harwin had learned a lot of things and it was from a rather credible source as well. His night was spent thinking about all the stuff that he had learned today.

  At dawn-break he was up rather early. Borzugal was still sleeping so Harwin decided to explore the village a little bit. It was a perilous task as he was not welcome here, but he had to make a decision about the offer that the chief had made so he started to stroll around.

  It was certainly a-bit fearsome to cross the shaky bridges that connected the whole village together. They were way above the ground and a single misstep could have resulted in his death.

  Soon after, he arrived at a rather large platform built around a very old looking red-wood. It appeared to be a practice ground for the soldiers as it had many archery targets, alongside shelves where weapons were placed. A single man was practicing alone at that time.

  He wielded a great-sword, even though he was of average height and stature, yet he wielded his weapon with such ease that it was clear that this man was a master at his craft.

  Harwin was amazed at this show of skill and stood there for a while.

  After standing there for sometime, he decided to move along as he did not want to attract any hostile attention from the swords-man.

  Soon he observed a rather disturbing scene ahead. Humans and beast-men who had been captured were flayed up in a series of branches. Their corpses had almost deteriorated entirely. It was a grotesque scene. Harwin almost puked at the sight and quickly made his way out of there. Some younglings caught this scene and laughed at his misery.

  Harwin was once more reminded of the cruelty in this world.

  As he was running away, he bumped into an elf and they both fell on their back. He quickly got up and tried to help the elf out as well, but carefully brought his hand forward as he did not want to offend the other person. Well, at-least not any further than he had already done.

  “Thank you, and sorry. I did not see where I was going.” The elf looked up and grabbed his hand.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Once she got up. Harwin looked to find that she was the most beautiful person he had ever set his eyes on.

  She had pale skin with silver-blond hair — a tinge of green as well. The most alluring face that he had ever seen in his life. She seemed a little bit different from the other wood elves. The few rays that made their way through the thick canopy only further added to her beauty. She was truly the embodiment of the elfin description he had read in many novels.

  Harwin was awe-struck and was not able to move or respond for a while, but then got hold of his senses and replied:

  “I am terribly sorry. I am in the wrong. I am ready to accept any punishment you deem appropriate.” He bowed his head.

  “Please look up. There is no need to be scared. I was also not looking where I was going.” she spoke with kindness, her voice soothing and calm.

  “Thank you for your kindness.”

  “You seem rather distressed. Is something wrong?.” she asked out of genuine concern.

  It was a tear-jerk for Harwin, as this was a rather rare scene for him. He heared and saw someone worrying about him for the first time after coming to this world, that is.

  “No, no. Thank you for your concern, but I am fine.” he reassured.

  “Just in case, let me cast a healing spell on you.”

  It was a similar scene as yesterday. The same spell that the mage named Iquaral had performed. It made him forget all-about the horrid scene he had witnessed earlier.

  “There, you should be fine now.” she gave a cheerful smile.

  “I am eternally grateful. Please let me know if I can do anything for you even, though I am quite powerless, but I will still try my best to return the favor.”

  She pondered for a while and then said:

  “Then....tell me your name.”

  “That is a rather small return, but as it is your wish. My name — well, my slave name is Gor though I am master-less for now.” he half-joked.

  She giggled.

  “I see then, Gor. You are quite fluent in our language. What are you doing in this place and what is your real name?”

  “I am afraid I can not remember that. I had an injury sometime ago and do not know my given name or my place of birth.”

  “I see that is quite unfortunate. What about my other question?” She wore a rather pitiful expression.

  “I was captured by this tribe's warriors by mistake. The chief was kind enough to welcome me as a guest for the time being.”

  “I see and why were you captured by your former master? Did you have a sought-after talent?”

  He explained about his story so far, but left out the gory parts as he did not want pity upon himself. He also felt embarrassed at stating his weakness in front of a lady. Harwin told her about the adventures he have had.

  “I have always wanted to travel through the world as well. Visiting all sorts of new places.”

  “That is quite a hard path, but with the right group of friends you can have the best time of your life. I am sorry, but may I ask your name as well?”

  “Oh I should have stated it first. How forgetful of me. My name is Alisa. I am the village chief’s grand-daughter.”

  He was taken a-back by the sudden mention of the relation she shared with the chieftain and especially with the elders who were quite the intimidating and ruthless bunch.

  “You mean, you are the daughter of the village elder?”

  “No, they are my uncles. My mother was the daughter of chief, but sadly she died a while back due to a strange disease. You see, we as a village do not have much resources and were not able to afford to employ someone who was proficient in dealing with plagues or internal diseases. We suffered a lot of casualties including my parents.”

  “I am sorry for asking such traumatic questions which made you remember the past.”

  “It is alright, as it was a long time ago. Anyways, where were you headed? I can take you there if you wish.” She said while still having a distant look in her eyes as if she was not mentally present.

  “I wanted to meet the village-chief. I wish to discuss something with him.”

  Alisa was more than happy to oblige.

  It was still very early, but as the pair were making their way to the chieftain's place; Harwin noticed more and more elves were starting to go to their routine work.

  After traveling for some time — from one rope bridge to the other. They finally reached their destination. Due to the presence of Alisa, the guards did stop them from entering the chieftain’s house, though he did give Harwin a disgusted look.

  The chief was sitting on his chair, while one of the elder was helping him to breakfast.

  “Grand-father. I have brought you your guest,” she cheerfully claimed.

  “Alisa, where have you been? You are always wandering around as soon as there is even a little bit of light. How many times must I tell you to take a guard with you?”

  The elder started to lecture her, though the reason might have been due to Harwin’s presence which made him feel a little guilty.

  “Lief, why are you always so hard on my grand-daughter? She is but a child. Let her be. Also, how many times have I told you to sweeten your tongue a bit. It will cause you a lot of problems when you become the chieftain whilst your attitude remains the same.” The chief in return began to lecture his son.

  The elder was silently listening to his father. He might have been quick to anger, but he certainly did not emit even a single feeling of animosity towards his father.

  “Come on Alisa, join us for breakfast. Gor, you too.”

  “I am alright chief. I just wanted to discuss somethings with you.”

  “We can discuss it while eating. I can not eat while having my guest has an empty plate.”

  The chief argued, but his son was rather displeased by all this. Of-course, he did not protest.

  Harwin joined in for breakfast — eating the bare minimum as to not impose any further on the generosity of his host.

  Alisa took a place near her grand-father, and helped him eat, while Lief sat down next to his father glaring directly into Harwin's soul. It was a rather awkward place to be.

  “So, what proposal have you brought?” the chief asked with a curious look on his face.

  “I want to help you solve the problem that you mentioned yesterday.”

  “I see, but what about your former masters. Will they not be coming to reclaim you.”

  “That is a different matter. I want to help you for the time being, and for that reason I need some information from you.”

  “Well I do not believe that is a unrelated matter. It certainly will be an unpleasant situation, if you get our hopes up and then crush them if your master suddenly appear.”

  “At-least, let me be an advisor for the time being,” he protested earnestly.

  “You, a mere slave dare argue with the chief!” the elder shouted.

  “It is fine Lief. He is helping us for free besides it is not as if I will accept any of his proposals without any consideration and questions. For now let us here what he has to say.”

  The chief certainly told off his kids a lot. Harwin was certainly not against it as it was helping his case, but he thought:

  ‘The kids might come to hate their father, if all their suggestions were answered with scolding.’

  ”What do you produce in the village? Is there any unique skill that you have as a race or tribe, and do you have any contacts with merchants around the forest?”

  “We produce a few goods. Have you seen our wood-crafts. You will be amazed to see the work of our men. As for other things, we have the best short-bows and arrows in the country, and if I am to be even more bold, then they are the best in the world. We also have very unique leather. It is hard enough to block any arrows or basic magic spells due to various enchantment that our mage Iquaral performs on them. He is quite talented. As for the outside world, we know a few merchants who are elves mainly. They occasionally sell us some basic necessitates.”

  “I see,” he said and then went into deep thoughts.

  After a while he brought forward his advice:

  “Your one and only problem is the closure of your foresr to the outside world. You let a few selected merchants visit but that provides them with the opportunity to over-charge you on their goods whilst buy your ware for cheap. I suggest connecting with the outside world a little. I know that you were at war with the country of Silfordan, but it is not as if you were on war with the entire continent. If you trade with your neighboring towns and city who are not part of Silfordan then you will be able to greatly improve your treasury, but the single most important advantage that you have is your territory. It connects one side of the continent to the other, and if you can utilize it then you would never have to rely on any other source of income."

  The chief listened and then gave it some thought before answering. Lief was also quiet and did not interrupt him once. He certainly wore a different look than before.

  “What do you think Lief?” The chief looked towards his son.

  “I think it is good advice as well father, but I am not too keen on opening a path through our sacred forest. This might bring us trouble later especially if there are any hidden enemies among the merchants.”

  “That is a valid concern. What do you suggest Gor?” the chief looked at Harwin.

  “There are a number of ways to avoid such situation: First is to inspect the merchants. Secondly confiscating all their weapons with the guarantee that they will receive it once they exit the forest. As you will be in control, so you can safeguard all the spots for defensive positions and prepare for any incoming attacks already, but I must say that whatever work you do; there will always be risks associated with it. That does not mean to give up from the start. You certainly have the upper hand in the forest, so it will be better to make use of your talent and knowledge.”

  “That is true. We never thought of this plan before as we have been too closed-minded for the last few centuries, but still I will have to discuss this matter with the others especially our chief-commander.”

  "Of course, it is a defensive matter as well. I hope one of my ideas can help you."

  “Well then young man, you should go now. I am sure your friend will be in need for your assistance. I am grateful that you have decided to help our village, and not even asking for anything in return.”

  “It is truly a learning opportunity for myself as well. I wish to help create whatever small difference that will result in the betterment of this village.” He claimed with veracity.

  Harwin began to return back to his quarters. With this simple advice, he had won favor with the elves or at-least shown his worth in their eyes, but now something ached his heart. He was beginning to forget some feelings. It would only be later that he would uncover the reason for this strange change of heart.

  He was walking in deep thoughts — suddenly a sword was placed directly at his neck by the same person he had seen in the morrow. Harwin was too stunned to move. Who was this mysterious person?