As Crystaria, Artemis, Yamin and the rest of the orcs, headed towards the center of the triage area. Crystaria throws out a casual greeting towards Creeping Ivy.

"Hi Creeping Ivy, do you have a minute?"

Creeping Ivy, who swivels at the sound of her name being called to her suddenly, goes wide eyed at the sudden appearance of Crystaria.

"D-D-Demon Lord!" She exclaims in surprise. Her shout causes murmurs of complaints to raise up from the resting patients around her. "She quickly puts her hands over her mouth, in a vain attempt to stifle anymore noise she might make. She turns back towards the disgruntled faces of her patients laying around. "I'-I'm sorry! I'-I- am so s-s-sorry!" She says to tries to sooth her patients. "O-ookra soonok, E-e-enolok tanai."

Stunned by what she just heard, Crystaria asks.

"Did you just speak Orcish?!" She demands in a raised voice.

"D-Demon Lord! Please!" Creeping Ivy pleads. "Don't be so loud!" She retorts in a rebuking whispered shout of her own.

Embarrassed by her own lack of decorum, Crystaria looks around and offers a wave and an apology of her own, before she remembers what is more important at this moment.

"Wait, no! that isn't important right now." She states in a much lower and calmer voice, as she looks back towards Creeping Ivy. "How long have you been able to speak Orcish?" She demands.

"O-oh, this one can't- I-I mean, I can't." She corrects herself, still not having mastered the new way of speaking that Crystaria implemented. "This one- He-" She starts to say, as she gestures with her hand, pointing with her finger. "He- He has been extremely h-helpful; he has t-t-taught me a few p-p-p-phrases in orcish, to help me comm-... to help me talk to my o-orc patients: but he is also being as equally annoying." She finishes with a scowl on her face.

Crystaria looks past her at where she is pointing, to notices an older looking orc sitting near by, with his hands wrapped up in bandages.

“Oh! It’s you...” Crystaria says unenthusiastically.

This only sets the orc off in a fit of laughter, that quickly turns into a coughing fit. Which only makes Creeping Ivy worry and rush to the orc’s side.

“You need to stop getting so excited and c-c-calm d-down.” Creeping Ivy reprimands.

“*COUGH COUGH* Sorry to worry you, ha-haha...” The older looking orc tries to joke as he apologizes to his caretaker. His gaze then shifts towards Crystaria, looking her straight in the eyes.

“This one sees that he has made a favorable impression on this one.” He says with a crooked grin, in well spoken goblin.

"Well..." Crystaria starts to reply in an exaggerated sounding, lamenting tone. "It is hard to forget a man that calls me a bitch." She rests a finger of her hand on the side of her face with giving the older orc a coy smile.

This only prompts the older orc to laugh louder, and throwing himself into another coughing fit. Creeping Ivy is hovering over him at this point, rubbing his back in an attempt to those his coughing and respiratory issues. She shoots a glare towards Crystaria's way. Which makes Crystaria herself look like a deer caught in headlights.

Guess there aren't headlights here in this world. At least? I don't think there are? This world doesn't seem all that advanced.

Crystaria shakes herself from her thoughts as she returns to the present scenario she finds herself in after that tangent. While it may have seemed like a second to others. She realizes that having a fasting reaction speed and perception of time, makes things disorienting some times. What seemed like just one second pause, with her being berated with a glare by Creeping Ivy, Crystaria has almost all the time in the world to herself if she lets her thoughts wonder unchecked.

"Sorry Creeping Ivy, I don't mean to trouble your patient here." She then directs her gaze back to the old man. "And I don't mean to put you under any stress."

"Haha-*COUGH* Think *COUGH* nothing of it, young Demon Lord." The old man says to her in-order to assuage hers and his caretaker's worries.

Crystaria gives him a wary smile.

"If you don't mind a few questions, sir, could you tell me who your shaman is?"

"Heh! That would be this one, that this one is speaking to." The old man informs her. But the Demon lord's face doesn't even change, nor does she blink at what she is told by him. "This one knew who this one was?" He asks her.

"I had a guess. Also Yamin here confirmed that you were over here to begin with... And it helps that I saw you blow away a ton of rubble and shoot lighting from your hands earlier."

The old orc chuckles a bit under his breath.

"This one supposes that he wasn't being very subtle, was he?" His eyes wanders over towards his fellow orc and brother in arms. "Akkra nuu nok rachie."

Yamin, along with the other orcs that stayed with the group, give a salute towards their shaman. placing their arm across their chest, their fist pounding their shoulder.

"Akkra nuu nok, Quannara." Yamin says in return to the greeting his Shaman bestowed onto him.

The Shaman gives a curt nod towards him before focusing back onto the Demon Lord.

"This one would like to thank the Demon Lord for their caring of us after battle... not many would rush to aide an enemy." He states.

Crystaria thought to just wave it off. But realized that this was important in building trust and taking that first step in understanding each other.

"It was never my intentions to make enemy out of the orcs. Your people invaded, we simply defended ourselves... But I don't want to get into a blaming argument; or debating over who had the better intentions. None of that matters now. Not any more." She casts a glance towards the bodies lining the side of the gulch. Both goblins and orcs. Her misery swelling.

As she looks back at the shaman. She notices his face has a look of pity, that she truly was both relieved to see: that he had some sort of compassion; and irritated that he, being part of the invaders, showed her any sort of pity.

"I have come here to you for two reasons: that I need you to be the next leader of the orcs and to help us getting your troops in order here, to help us with caring for your and our injured."

The shaman had a stunned look on his face.

"Is that all?" He asked in a confused tone.

"No. But that is just the start. As you may have put together. None of the goblins in the area of the mountain have any knowledge of orcish. we'll need your help in communicating my instructions."

"...this one understands... But is still confused on some things... But there is something that this one need to inform you."

Crystaria narrows her eyes in suspicion.

"And what is that?"

"This one cannot fulfill the Demon Lord's request to be the next Warchief."

Surprised by his out refusal. Crystaria starts to contemplates on what she would say to him just as he speaks.

"This one will help with the Demon Lord's request. But this one cannot be the next Warchief."

"Why?"

"Because. This one's position does not allow it: this one is a Shaman already. A spiritual guide to this one's people. As such this one cannot claim the title of Warchief."

"I see..." Crystaria replies. "I assume this is in part of some sort of tradition of your people then?" She asks him.

"Yes. A Warchief is the only leader of an orc clan if he can hold the title in single combat, or if people ask the elders and shaman to elect a new leader."

Crystaria's eyes go wide at this. Although it is more out of understanding than that of surprise. She point her finger towards Yamin. Who looks at her pointing finger in wide eyed surprise.

"Is this why he called me Warchief?!" She demands to know.

"If that one did: then yes. As far as the orcs are concerned. That once the Demon Lord had defeated our Warchief, it was at that moment that the Demon Lord became our next Warchief."

"UGH!" She grunts and grabs her hair in frustration. "I can barely tolerate being a leader for the goblins." She mutters to mostly herself. Then she looks back to the shaman. "Isn't there anyway for me to just... I don't know? Elect someone else?" She asks in hopeful desperation.

"Yes." The shaman states bluntly but not forthrightly.

"Well?!" She pleads desperately for him to continue. This only causes the shaman to laugh and start coughing again.

"Has anyone ever told the Demon Lord that you are fun to tease?" The Shaman asks her a question in return; evading hers.

"Actually, all the time-" Artemis starts to inform the Shaman.

"Not now Artemis!" Crystaria chides in a critical tone. To which Artemis tsks at her.

"Is that very nice to shout at your elder?" She reprimands playfully. Which causes a few around them that can understand the conversation to start to giggle and laugh.

"*GRR*" Crystaria growls. "I will be talking to you later about this." She threatens.

"I can't wait." Artemis taunts back at her.

Crystaria whips her head towards Artemis. "Listen! Can't I have the last word once?-"

"Demon Lord." The Shaman calls out. "About what we were talking about?"

Crystaria whips back to him.

"Now don't you start! You're the cause of this argument!"

The Shaman moves his bandaged hands, to point at his own chest. His face morphing into a looks that can only be described as a "Wh0? ME?!" look.

She hears a quiet snort from behind her. She Whips around once again to see Yamin trying to hold back some laughter.

"Et-tu Yamin?!" Crystaria complains. This only causes those around her to start laughing in earnest. Crystaria sighs and drops her arms to he sides softly. "I give up!" She says resignedly to no one.

As the Shaman recovers from another fit of laughing coughs. He looks back at the dejected Demon Lord and sees her in a new light after having talked with her in a more relaxed setting.

"Demon Lord, as this one was trying to say: that yes. The Demon Lord may pass on the title of Warchief to another."

"So then? why not you-" She starts to interrupt, but she herself is interrupted.

"Because there is a better candidate; since this one cannot receive nor become the Warchief." He informs her.

"Okay? then who is it?"

"That would be the Warchief's eldest child, his daughter. This one’s niece, Lirania.”

 Upon hearing this, Crystaria’s eyes widen as of this was the most shocking news she heard today.

“His daughter? Niece?! Wait! That means that the Warchief was your...” She trailed off. Not wanting the sentence that was on her lips to be true.

But the shaman confirmed it for her anyways.

“Yes, young Demon Lord. This one’s brother was my last Warchief.” He informed her with a somber smile.

A wave of profound sadness washed over Crystaria. So much so that it made her lose her concentration on her aura for a moment. Her own emotional regret and sadness, washed over the whole of the triage area, all the way to where the bodies of the fallen were being laid-out.

The Shaman knew what had happened the instant it did. But just as soon as it came, the aura of sadness and regret that swept over the plains if battle and healing were gone.

Crystaria had looked down and away once the shaman told her about who his relations were. She now looked back up into his eyes. Her own, swelled with tears.

“I’m sorry. You must hate me. I can’t believe I have been talking to you like you were some unaffected party.”

The Shaman then put his bandaged hands on his knees, then tried to move to get up. Creeping Ivy made a move to halt him, but he shook his head and shrugged her off.

Once he reach his full height, it dawned on him how small and tiny the Demon Lord truly is. An average goblin barely came up to an adult orc’s waist. The Demon Lord herself, just reached his knees.

If it wasn’t for how she spoke, or how large her aura is, she could be mistaken for a child or an infant of most other races. He thought to himself.

He then moved closer, until he was almost upon her. Then slow, painfully, lowered himself back down to his knees. Even at this level, she barely came up to his waist.

He took a moment to smile to himself at this and thought how silly it was that the Demon Lord, was one so tiny.

“This one thanks you for your feelings Demon Lord. But do not belittle this one’s brother or those who have died here today.” He told her.

“Huh?” She looked at him with wide eyes at his shocking reprimand.

He waved a bandaged hand towards the corpses of soldiers that were near the southwest bank of the steep hill, leading up the gulch.

“Do not cast regret on those who have died and have fallen in battle Demon Lord.” He told her.

“But none of them needed to die!” She said firm and distressed voice.

“Maybe.” He said honestly to her. “But the Demon Lord must not think that they died for nothing. Each and every soldier; goblin and orc. Died here for a cause.” As he said this. He started to lean towards her, coming face to face with her.

“Everyone of them died for a cause. Including this one’s brother, he came here to kill you Demon Lord. We wished to get your power for ourselves, for we thought that it was wasted on a goblin.” Artemis narrowed her eyes hearing this and thought he was being a little rude, if not honest; but Crystaria was listening with rapt attention. “This one’s brother had every intentions on killing you. A warrior’s death on the battlefield is the highest honor an orc could ask for.” He informed her. “This one is sad that he has pasted, but this one’s not sad at how he has left.” He reached forward and ruffed Crystaria’s hair. “Nor is this one angry at the victor of his battle. This one’s brother challenged you with all he had, this one had seen that with this one’s own eyes. This one will not hate you for giving his brother the highest honor and his warrior’s death in one-on-one combat.”

Crystaria felt choked up at this point. She wasn’t even sure of what to say to him or what she was originally going to ask him.

I killed his family right in front of him, and he doesn’t even hate me?! Orcs are so weird! She thought to herself.

She still had a reign of her aura, but her emotions felt all over the place. But just as she was gaining back control over her emotions, a thought occurred to her.

“...” And as she had that thought, almost a million more came flooding into her as she remembered most. “...”

The Shaman looked at the Demon Lord with concern, as one minute, she had just been on the verge of coming out of her depressed state, to a look of bewilderment. Her mouth opening and closing. He looked towards the older goblin, but she looked back at him and shrugged.

Artemis then reached down to light touch Crystaria’s shoulder, giving her a small shake.

“Demon Lord? Crysta? Are you okay?”

Feeling the shake from and hearing Artemis’s comforting grandmotherly voice. Crystaria finds herself jolted out of her own thoughts. She reaches up and places a hand on Artemis’s. She then looks back and gives her a reassuring smile.

“I’m fine Artemis. Sorry to worry you... I was just lost in my own head at the moment.” 

Artemis returns her smile, but the worry in her eyes never disappeared.

Crystaria turns back to the orc shaman.

No.

 “I realize I have been incredibly rude.” She says to him. A look of confusion crosses his face, as the Demon Lord just started spouting something seemingly random.

She holds out her hand towards him.

“We never introduced ourselves. I am Crystaria, Demon Lord of the goblin conglomerate.”

At the sound of the name, Artemis snorts disdainfully. “You know we never agreed on that name, correct?” She chides Crystaria. “And what is with just Demon Lord? Don’t you mean leader? Or do you now like that title more?”

Crystaria, without retracting her hand, looks back and glares playfully at Artemis.

“And you know! I never agreed to be the leader! Why is it that I am the only one without a say?”

Artemis gives her a smug smile.

“Because you let the goblin chieftains be in charge together, and we decided that we wanted you to lead~.”

“And how does that make sense! Giving me lead, to let me make you all leaders, only for you guys to give it back?!” She argues, caught up in the moment with Artemis.

She then feels something touch her hand; more like, engulf it.

She looks back at her outstretched hand, the orc shaman large bandaged hand has completely incased hers.

He gives her a smile before saying.

“This one’s name is Flannik, son of Graggrinal, it is nice to meet thee.”

She wanted to give him a smile of her own. But she realized something and could not ignore it now for a second time.

Flannik was confused as to why her expression had turned from argumentative, to happy, then to a look of concern.

“Flannik, it is nice to meet you. But I have also be meaning to ask you. Are you alright? You’re trembling.” She voiced her observations and concerns.

His eyes widen at her words. He couldn’t believe that the Demon Lord was able he was trembling; he thought he had it under control.

Flannik let go of her hand, he backed up a bit to put some space between himself and the Demon Lord. He took a deep breath to begin explaining.

“Demon Lord... the reason being is-“ But Flannik was distracted by a young looking goblin wearing cloak that was running in there direction.

Everyone there saw him coming as he was making his way through the crowded area. He was waving his hands frantically to get there attention. So he was hard to not notice.

“Hush!” Crystaria shouts in surprise and joy at see the young man. She had yet to see him all battle, and she was glad to see he looked alright.

He came to a stop to the left of Crystaria and Artemis. He started waving his hands to greet them.

“<Hey Crysta, hey General! I have been looking for you guys.>”

“Boy!” Artemis shouted at him, which made Hush stiffen. “The battle is over and I am officially retired of that position, effective immediately! You call me that again and I swear I will!” She left her sentence unfinished to emphasize her point.

But Hush just gave her a smile and started to wave is hands at her.

She cocked her head at that because, she hasn’t been diligent in learning the Demon Lord’s teaching, on this so called: Sign Language.

She looked down at Crystaria, who was bitting her lip in an attempt to stop laughing.

“I saw he called me general again, but I didn’t quiet catch all of what Hush said. Care to enlighten me Demon Lord?” She asked accusingly.

Crystaria lost it at that moment and started to laugh.

“He said: “I’ll stop calling you general, once you can actually understand what I say.”

Artemis looks back towards Hush in wide eyed disbelief.

“Boy! You have the audacity to say that to me?! I should make you do twenty laps through the forest!” She yelled at him.

Hush laughs is a breathy way he does. Then he starts to sign to Artemis.

“<I don’t have to take your orders anymore right? I thought you weren’t the general anymore? general.>” He ends with calling her general again in defiance, just to get under her skin.

“And you! Best remember! That Artemis am still the leader of the scouts and the hunting party of the village! That you are a part of!” She reminded him. His eyes slowly going wide at her implication. “When we get back! We will be doing forty laps now! And Artemis will make your sister do them with us! Just so she can blame you for getting her in trouble as well!”

Hush quickly starts signing and pleading for his life.

“<No! wait! Artemis! I am sorry! I didn’t mean it! At least don’t force my sister to join us! Anything but that! She’ll kill me!>”

Artemis just gives him a smug face.

“Sorry. I am a ignorant goblin hunter that doesn’t know her Hand Language yet, what are you saying?” She remarks teasingly. All this time, Crystaria was to busy laughing and covering her mouth and trying to keep the noise to a minimum. Both she and Artemis didn’t know what was happening around them; as Artemis was to focused on Hush’s hands to keep up with what he was saying.

“<Listen Artemis! I will do both set of laps! Just please! Anything other than telling my sister or making her do.....>” he trailed off as he realized what was happening around them. “<Umm... why are all the orcs sweating and looking scared?>” He asks them. Artemis, being the only one looking at his hands currently, looks around herself to see what he was signing about.

“...” Her eyes went wide at what she was seeing. “Umm...” She reached down and, for the second time today, shook the shoulder of her close friend. “Demon Lord...”

“Hahaha! What is it?” She said wiping her eyes of tears and looking at Artemis. Who’s eyes were wide and not looking at Hush. She looked towards him, to see him looking wide eyed at the direction over her shoulder as well.

She turned and saw many of the orcs on the back sides and a few standing stiff with expressions of fear. Most were still standing, but they too, were trembling and looking terrified.

“Umm... did I do something strange?” She directed her question towards Flannik.

Flannik did not answer her. Instead, he sent a glare towards Creeping Ivy.

“Creeping Ivy lied to this one.” He said accusingly.

“!!!” Creeping Ivy’s eyes went wide at being made the center of attention, and at Flannik’s accusation.

“N-n-no! This one- I didn’t lie! Umm... about what though? Are you accusing m-m-me of?” She said in defense of herself, and questioned Flannik on what he meant.

“You told this one that there were no spellcrafters in your clan: that one here knew how to use magic.”

Her eyes, if it were possible, seemed to double in size at what he was saying.

“I-I-I didn’t lie!” She defended. “To- to my know... to what I know. There is no one in the whole of G-G-g-Graggoremire mountain that k-k-k-knows! how to cast a s-spell.” She said, but for some reason, felt less confident in her answer, because of Flannik’s accusations.

“Then how do you explain!-“ Flannik started to shout.

“HEY!” Crystaria race between both of them. “Calm down.” She told him firmly. “Creeping Ivy is not lying. No one here knows any sort of magic.” She told him honestly.

“...” He looked into her eyes with a scowl. “This one believes that the Demon Lord believes that. But that does not explain all the things this one has seen.”

“What are you talking about?” She questioned. “Start from the beginning; I am sure I can explain things for you.” She said placatingly.

“...” Flannik thought about it for a while. Then he tried to calm down and choose his words carefully. “How did the Demon Lord build this wall?” He asked her.

“The wall?” She looked around at the rubble of the stone littered around the place, and at some of the still standing structure of one of the towers that didn’t fall. “... We built it. Why?”

“No. How did these one’s build it? Why was the surface of the walls smooths with tiny rocks? You can’t do that unless you are using magic.” He told her in an almost accusing way.

“.....!” Like a light bulb, Crystaria realized what had happened. “Oh! You think all of this was built by magic or something, right?” She asked for affirmation.

“Wasn’t it?” Flannik asks back.

“No. It was actually built by hand with all the goblins of all the clans, working together.”

“Then!- How are, or rather, how were the walls so smooth?!” He questioned her intensely, because it challenged everything he was taught and thought he knew.

“With science, baby!” Crystaria said in a quote that she just couldn’t pass up using.

“S-Science baby? What is a Science baby?! Flannik has never heard of such a thing...”

“Wait, no. Not a science baby. I meant just science- the baby part was-“ She realized she made a mistake and tried to correct it.

She heard Artemis sigh behind her.

“You did it again Demon Lord. You used your other worldly terms again? didn’t you?” She said in a disappointing tone.

“Oh, come on!” Crystaria turned around and throw her hand up into the air and let them hit her sides gently. “I am trying not to! But even I have a hard time not doing and saying things that were natural for me to say, no more than six mouths ago!” She said defensively.

“And this is why, this one get misunderstood all the time.” She said with a raised palm in Crystaria’s direction.

“*UGH*” Crystaria growls in frustration. “I give up!” She whips back around towards Flannik. Of whom had a befuddled look on his face.

“I didn’t mean the baby part. That was something of an idiom-“

“Don’t you mean idiot?” Artemis sasses.”

“Not now Artemis!” She holds up a hand behind herself, towards Artemis without looking back or taking her eyes off of Flannik. 

“What I mean is; that what I meant to say: is that we used a method called science to build the walls.”

“Science...” Flannik spoke the word as he heard it. “... Flannik is unfamiliar with the word.”

Artemis snorted.

“Get used to that, dear orc.” She told him. “The Demon Lord is full of them and has very strange ideas and ways.” She warned.

“Hey, peanut gallery! Shut up a minute, will ya?!” Crystaria warned playfully.

Artemis once again raised her hand palm up towards Crystaria.

“See.” Was all she said.

“Look!” Crystaria whipped back toward Artemis. “Do you want to explain science and cement to him?!” She threatened. “Maybe I should get you to explain are letters, words, and sign language to him as well? Hmm?!”

Artemis then pretended to be more interested in something else at that moment.

Crystaria gave a sigh before looking back towards Flannik. Who looked more confused than ever.

“Look... I will give it to you straight-“ As she said this, she made a fist and clenched her eyes shut and swung in-front of her in frustration. She then continued, as if she didn’t just make another mistake. “Tell you the truth: I, as in; me. Crystaria the Demon Lord. Am not from this world. There is a lot to explain there, but just suffice it to say. That I have knowledge that people of this world do not.” She explained briefly. “One of those things; being a new way to create and understand the world around us with the power of science.”

“...” Flannik was doing nothing but hanging on the Demon Lord’s every word.

“Science, allows us to figure out how things work, or experiment with things to understand how they might work together: and some times, they create something new.”

“This one sees...” But he really didn’t. But he hand an idea of something similar. “What you are talking about is that thing human mages practice: Alchemy.”

“Yes!” Crystaria said excitedly. Alchemy! Science is very similar! Or to be precise; science is the advanced form of alchemy.”

Flannik’s eyes widened at this. He honestly couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

“But how did the Demon Lord stick rocks together?”

“I’ll show you!” She said. “Be right back!” One second she standing in front of Flannik, next second, she was gone. Almost like she had disappeared. Only a small trail of dust, kicking up in her wake, was the only indication of what direction she had gone.

Flannik was startled. He looked back up at the older goblin, the one Demon Lord called Artemis.

But she just gave him a sympathetic smile.

“It is better just to get used to it. She is like that all the time: she’ll be back in a minute or so. She just wanted to go grab things that will impress you; Artemis is sure.” She said to him reassuringly.

"But? where did she go?-" He started to question. When out of the corner of his eye, saw the Demon Lord already returning through the triage area, making her way through the crowd at a much slower pace.

"I'm back!" She said enthusiastically. She had also changed into her previous, or a somewhat similar attire, that she had on before. She was wearing a cloak that had a dark colored cloth, with a white bandana across her face, that covered most of it. Leaving only her eyes completely exposed. She also had the cloak's hood pulled up over her head.
She also had a wooden bucket on top of her head that she was carrying with her hands, and a wooden bowl placed on top of the mouth of the bucket.

Flannik heard Artemis sigh, but wasn't sure what her reason was.

"Do you need a hand dear?" She called out to the Demon Lord.

"I got it." Came a clear reply, if not a little distorted from behind the face covering. once Crystaria was back in-front of Flannik. She placed down the bucket and the bowl in from of him, side-by-side from one another.
In the bowl was a grayish powder, that looked like gray sand, or light ash. The bucket on the other hand, had just a little bit of water in it, and a small wooden spoon.

"..." Flannik looked at these, then gave the Demon Lord a questioning look.

"This is how we built the walls." She told him. She then reached into her pocket of her cloak and produced a stone.

No. Flannik realized. not a stone; two stones! They seemed to be held together by a gray stone like, rough textured surface.

"Here take it and look at it." She instructed him.

As he took the fused stones from her. He inspected this strange phenomenon in-front of him. He wasn't sure if he was thinking that about the stones, or the Demon Lord, at this point.

"Strange!" He said aloud. He tried to pull it apart, but realized that his hands were to hurt to try, that and the bandages were getting in his way. "May Flannik give this to his friend to see?" He said with a point of his hand towards Yamin. Who with many of the orc's around them, looked skeptical; others still looked scared or worried. At the Demon Lord's nod, he hands over the fused stone to Yamin. Yamin takes it reluctantly.

He looks at it from all angles and even goes as far as to sniff and lick it.

"It is pretty much a stone." He tells Flannik in orcish.

Flannik nods to him before looking back to the Demon Lord.

"Is that thing precious?  May this one try and separate the stuck stones?"

Crystaria smiles at his polite request.

"It's not." She informs him. But she turns to Yamin. "Break it: separate stone; pull them apart." She instructs.

Yamin hesitates. He looks back towards his Shaman, who gives him a nod.

So, Yamin grips both stones with each of his hands. Pulling desperately at them. With how the rocks were fused, it was hard for Yamin get a grip on them. So he was mostly trying to pull them apart with just the tips of his fingers. He strained until his face started turning a deeper darker brown from the blood rushing to his head.

"*PHAW*" He releases the breath he was holding. "By the Dark God!" He looks towards his Shaman. "I cannot separate them. They are stuck to well. They must be one stone!" He tells him in orcish.

"Hmm." Flannik looks towards the Demon Lord. "Not that this one does not believe the Demon Lord. But this isn't one stone is it?"

"Of course." She reaches up for the stone from Yamin, to which, he hands it to her. She then does a light twist with the tips of her fingers. One of the stones separates from the cement. She then drops it to separate the other stone from it. "There." She says smiling. But the orcs, and pretty much everyone around her, except Artemis, had wide eyes at what she just did so casually. "..." She then hands the cement mold to Flannik.

"This is called: Cement."

Flannik takes it and inspects it and turns it over in is hands. The two smooth indentations in this "Cement" were from the shape of the rocks that were set in it. Looking closely, he could see tiny specks of other smaller rocks and rock like substance in this little disk.

"What is the word you would use?... for when something is strange, in a good way?" He asks the Demon Lord.

"Interesting? Fascinating?"

"Yes... Interesting... Flannik does not know what fascinating means though..."

"..." Crystaria opened her mouth to tell him. But she also, couldn't give a dictionary answer to what the difference was between interesting; and fascinating. So she just shut her mouth.

After he finished he handed it back to Yamin. Who started inspecting it also.

"So? this is how the Demon Lord and goblins build the walls. But how you make this "Cement"?" He asks.

Crystaria gestures right in front of her with her hands.

"With this."

He looks down at the powder and water. Then back up to her.

"Go on. Show Flannik..... Please." He thought to add that word. For he word it used around him a few times when the goblins asked for something.

This made Crystaria smile brightly; her aura dancing with bright happy colors in his eyes.

"I would love too!" She told him.

She then picked up the bowl and held it in-front of Flannik.

"This is Cement in its base form: right after you make it." She explained. Flannik reach for it, but she pulled it way. "You mustn't eat it. It is bad to eat." She told him. He gave a nod and then reached for it again. He pinched a little bit between his fingers, and while they were bandaged. He felt the graininess of the powder, that belied its smooth looking appearance.

"Fascinating..." He looked to Crystaria. "Was that right to use that word there?" She gave him a happy nod; proud that he was learning. He then nodded for her to continue.

"Okay then: now you just add it to water." She then dumped the bowl into the bucket. She grabbed the carved spoon and mixed the cement. She showed Flannik the contents of the bucket.

"*HMPH*" He harrumphed as he looked at the substance in the bucket. "Looks like wet soft ground... what do you call that? Mud?" To which the Demon Lord gave an affirmation.

Crystaria then took the wet Cement and poured it over the two rocks she had separated earlier. Then she took a spoon full of it and smeared some on the bottom of the bucket. And another spoonful and smeared it between two rocks, pressing them together. After which, she had set up three different things to prove what cement could do.

"With this. It is done. All that is left is for this to dry within an hour or two:" She caught on to his confusion with the term she used for time. "I mean! two lengths of the sun to pass; then they will be dry and hard as a rock." She informed him.

"Strange... absolutely strange... to think you could make a smooth stone without magic!?" He said in wonderment. He took his eyes off the projects that were drying to look into Crystaria's eyes. "This is that "Power of Science" the Demon Lord spoke of?" He asked.

"Yes." She told him honestly. "I have knowledge on how to make some wondrous things using science. That require no magic at all. Because n0 one here from any of the united-"

"*AHEM*" Artemis coughed to gain Crystaria's attention at reminding her about using that name.

"... I mean: that, no one among the clans of goblins here; know any magic anymore." She then shoot Artemis a glare. "Better?!" She groused.

"Much. Thank you!"

"*SIGH* Seshat is right, there is no winner with you or getting the last word, is there?" Crystaria asked desperately.

"No! of course not! If Artemis; I, don't get the last word. How will people know that I am right?"

"But you're not!" Crystaria refutes.

"But I am." Artemis states flatly.

"But-"

"Yes?~"

"*UGH*" Crystaria grunts and turns away from her back to Flannik. She could hear Artemis snicker under her breath.

"So," She says to get the ball rolling. "Where were we? Ah yeah! As I was saying: I have knowledge from... somewhere else. It is a complicated story, I'll explain that part of it later. And as I was saying no one in the all the goblin clans has magic, or knows the basics of it."

"... This one sees... This would also explain why the Demon Lord and the goblins here speak so much more... better? than when we last had interactions with goblins."

"During the last Demon Lords reign?" Crystaria questioned.

"Yes." Flannik answered simply.

"Right..." Crystaria hesitated on what she was about to ask: not wanting to sully the good report they were building so far. But she needed to know. "Why were you," She then makes a sweeping gesture around herself. "And every one of the orcs so scared of Hush here?" She had a clear guess why, based off of how the conversation had gone to get to this point.

"..." But Flannik was silent. From his point of view, he was hesitating, not sure it was the right idea to tell her; or how much to tell her.

"Look," She started to say. "If you don't want to tell me-"

"That is not it!" He said firmly. More firmly than he had intended. His firm voice caught everyone there off guard and caused them all to stiffen. "This one is sorry." He apologized quickly. "...Demon Lord..."

"Yes?"

"..." But yet Flannik said nothing for another moment. Just breathing in-and-out steadily. Crystaria could hear his pulse start to quicken; that his breathing was starting to pick up speed.

"Flannik..." She called out to him in a gentle voice.

"..." But still her did not speak.

His stare was not actually looking at her. He appeared to be somewhere else in his mind.
So Crystaria decided to wait for him: To just be penitent; to let him come to her.

"...Demon Lord..." He called out to her again.

"Yes Flannik, I am here." She told him. Not moving a muscle.

"If Flannik tells the Demon Lord what they wish to know... Then Flannik requires an oath."

Crystaria was confused as to why this was coming out, but she realized it was important.

"I will not give an oath, until I know why it is necessary." She told him.

He nodded.

"Demon Lord." He called out to her again, this time, his eyes refocusing back on her own. "This one asked Flannik before why he trembled." He said to her, breathing heavily through his nostrils. His heart racing.

"Yes." She replied simply.

"That is because Flannik is afraid; terrified, of you..." He said to her.

"Why?" She asked.

"The same reason why Flannik needs the oath... Demon Lord? Does this one have a guess on why Flannik reacted towards the Demon Lord, the way he did, when we met today?"

"... Not really." She said to him, he asked if she had a guess, and while she did. She thought it to absurd to be taken for anything other than lunacy. "And I am not asking why again; stop dragging this out please. Just tell me, I can handle it." She was scared that her prediction was spot on.

He nodded. "The reason was because of you: your aura."

Crystaria's heart was beating fast in her chest

"The Demon Lord's aura is so large and oppressive, that this one had sensed it a day out from the wall. Flannik could hardly breath once we made it inside the wall and you appeared." He looked at her, looked around her, then off to the side, towards the south-eastern slope; then back towards her. "This one; the Demon Lord does well to suppress it." He complemented her. "But it stretches still from where we stand to the edge of that raise." He gestured with his head, to the right of himself.

Crystaria looked from him to the slope of the ridge, then back to Flannik. Her pulse thundering in her ears at hearing this.

"That is why Flannik is scared of you: why Flannik thought you a monster in mortal flesh-" A right hook came from out of no where from Crystaria's right. Making her jump in place from the unexpectedness of the punch.

"ARTEMIS?!" Crystaria cried out in disbelief. She had never thought that the calm and poised matriarch would do something so rash. She rushed and stood in front of her, blocking her way towards Flannik. "Why did you do that?!"

"Because we needed to stop you: to stop him was faster." She told her flatly.

"HUH?!" She almost couldn't believe her ears.

"Look... He is fine. That barely even hurt him. See?" She said with a gesture of her head, in the direction behind Crystaria.

As she looked back to Flannik, Creeping Ivy was fawning over him and asking out goblins to go fetch things, like medicine, water and such. Crystaria turned back towards Artemis.

"But why?!" She questioned her again frantically.

"He went to far in his explaining, he was distressing you."

"And for that?! you thought that punching him was the best solution?!" She question Artemis like she had lost her mind.

"It was." Came the voice from behind her. She whipped back around to see Flannik sitting back up. He was rubbing his face from where he was punched. "Although... This one does not think that, that one, knows her own strength..." He groused as he continued to rub his now swelling cheek. "Is this one's fist filled with rocks?! or covered in this Cement concoction?!"

"*PHFFFFTTT*" Artemis blew a raspberry at what Flannik had just said. "Artemis did not know that orcs' had such delicate skin like elves."

"ARTEMIS!" Crystaria called her name, like she was calling a disobedient child. This only caused both Flannik and Artemis to laugh.

As Crystaria looked between the two of them. She also looked around at the other faces around her, to see if she had missed some sort of joke along the way. Most had confused faces like hers. Only Hush seemed to be laughing, as he had his hand up to his mouth to cover his smile. As subtly as she could, she asked him "<What the fuck was that?!>"

To which, Hush just gave replied with a shrug and told her to ask.

"This one, Artemis, yes?" Flannik called out.

"Hmm?"

"Explain to the Demon Lord why this one has just saved some lives. Flannik needs to explain what happened to my fellow orcs."

"Okay Soft-Cheeks." At being called Soft-Cheeks by Artemis, Flannik stiffened and question how a goblin could be so audacious.

"Demon-, no. Crysta." Artemis called out to her panicking friend. She got down on her level to be eye level with her. "You were starting to panic; Flannik was being honest with you, but you were losing control of your aura." She looked back to watch the orc for a second he was talking to his men, calmly explaining to them what had happened. She then shifted her gaze back to Crystaria, whose eyes had now gone from almost manic, to depressed. While she hated to see her friend in this sate, she knew this was the better state to be in; now she could draw her back to being comfortable. "His words and your worries were piling on, making you lose your control. If your aura got out of control with that panic: I am not sure what would have happened to those in this triage area." She reached inside her hood and scratched her head where her hairline was at. Trying to help calm her down further. "Do you understand now? I had to do something jarring to get you out of that state. Punching you would do nothing: it might of hurt me, in all honesty. Punching him was the faster solution, and got him to stop talking... but in Artemis's opinion, he had it coming... Do you understand now? Is Artemis forgiven?" She said while smiling sweetly at Crystaria.

Crystaria couldn't help but smile back at the motherly way that Artemis treated her. In a way, this was one of Artemis's best qualities: being a care giver.

"Yes. You're forgiven, and I suppose you did what you thought you had too. But I expect you to apologize to Flannik about this later. Okay?"

"Hmm?~" Artemis pretended to be resting her head in her hand as she thought about it."This one probably won't." She told her flatly.

Which surprised Crystaria, but considering who she was talking to, she wondered if it shouldn't have.

"Should I ask why?"

Artemis took a glance out of the side of her eyes. Watching as, although Flannik had gone to talk to other orcs. There was a goblin stay extremely close to his side the entire time.

"Nope."

"Okay. Fine, I won't. Keep your secrets." She said flippantly. "We have something more important to learn about anyways..." She told her as she spun on her heels to head towards Flannik. But before she moved, she whispered just loud enough for Artemis to hear. "Thanks for always being there and taking care of me."

Artemis for once, said nothing. Then they headed to where Flannik had hobbled off.