Eli banged his fist on the door of the plain grey concrete warehouse in Irandell’s industrial district several times. The sound reverberated inside, followed by some shouting. After a few long seconds the heavy metal door opened, and a shorter orcish woman took one look at Eli before breaking into a wide grin.

“Chieftain!” She shouted, wrapping her strong arms around him.

Eli grunted as she embraced him. As much as she was short for an orc, she was still taller than Eli was in his human form. He couldn’t help but return her enthusiastic embrace, wrapping his arms around her primal-looking fur-covered form.

“Drekka.” He said, smiling as they broke apart. “It’s good to see you.”

“And you, chieftain.”

Another orcish woman sauntered up behind Drekka wearing a similar outfit – a fur coat, leather pants, and a smile. “I thought I heard our wayward chieftain.”

Despite the fact that she stood over 8 feet tall, Eli was completely unintimidated by her. “A bit rich for you to call me wayward, isn’t it Mirosha? After all, every time I visit the tribal house you and Drekka seem to be out ‘working’ somewhere. I was starting to think you were scared of me.”

“Bah!” She spat, but her face remained smiling. “Someone has to get a job and pay for this place now that old tuskless is staying in the castle.”

“You take that back!” Naz replied from behind Eli jokingly. “I paid more than my share for this tribe for a long time! Besides, you’re just jealous that Eli keeps me satisfied enough that my tusks will never grow back.”

Rolling his eyes at their banter Eli walked up to Mirosha and embraced her tightly. She returned it without hesitation, wrapping her arms around him. As he let go Eli saw that Naz and Drekka were breaking apart from a similar hug – one that Naz repeated with Mirosha.

“Come. We were just preparing our afternoon meal. Will you join us chieftain?” Mirosha asked as she turned around and waved them into the building.

“Of course.” Eli said as Naz closed the door behind her. “It’s good that everyone is here. I’ve got a request to make.”

“A request? Or an order?” Drekka questioned.

“A request.” Eli repeated as he followed Mirosha deeper into the tribal house. “I need volunteers for something.”

As Eli’s eyes adjusted to the dim light he glanced around the warehouse. To his right there were piles of pillows, furs, and blankets from which several naked orcs waved to him without getting up. To his left there was a quartet of orcs sparring in a raised dais similar to a boxing ring. As they passed between them many of the orcs offered him a respectful nod or a friendly wave, which Eli happily returned.

They moved further into the large room towards an open fire that was cooking something in a large pot. One orc was ladling portions of the stew into simple bowls and handing them to a waiting line of orcs. As Eli waited patiently in line, he chatted with Mirosha and Drekka. Apparently they’d taken jobs as bodyguards for some dwarven merchant with a shop in Irandell. They often accompanied him on his trips to various realms, acting as hired muscle to protect him while he purchased more raw materials or sold his finished goods.

When Eli was given his food he was ushered to a spot nearest to the fire, and quickly surrounded by his tribemates. They each took turns updating him on the comings and goings of the tribe as well as any administrative items they wanted his input on. In truth, they knew as well as he did that they didn’t need his help running the tribe, but he’d promised that he’d help take care of them once they came to Irandell and thus far he’d lived up to his promise. By this point he’d probably held almost 20 of these meetings since taking over as chieftain, and every time he did he felt more comfortable with the position of leadership.

When they’d settled all the urgent business and eaten their fill of the meaty stew, Eli cleared his throat and nodded. “So. The request I have.”

“Yes chieftain! Whatever needs doing.” Drekka said enthusiastically.

“Drekka!” Mirosha admonished her, shaking her head but grinning the whole time. “Let’s hear the request first.”

“I’m going to the lizardkin realm for a party. I need some bodyguards to go with me to protect my bond mates and retainers.”

“Guards? For a party?” Mirosha asked, one eyebrow raised.

“Well, you see…” Naz started with a smirk. “There may be… trouble. During the party.”

“I see.” Mirosha said, nodding. “The kind of trouble you can’t handle personally?”

“Well, during the party I plan to be busy.”

“Doing what?” Mirosha questioned.

“Going places where I’m not supposed to be and doing things I’m not supposed to do.” Eli said with a smirk. “If you understand what I mean.”

“Ah.” Mirosha replied, leaning back with a grin. “So when you said there might be trouble, the source of that trouble…might be you.”

“It might be.” Eli confirmed. “Interested?”

“Perhaps.”

“I don’t understand.” Drekka interjected. “Your bond mates are quite capable of protecting themselves. Why do you need us?”

“There will be spell disrupters at the party.” Eli clarified. “No magic. They’ll be taking weapons too, so if you need to rearrange someone’s face, you’ll have to do it the old fashioned way.”

Several orcs around him chuckled and cracked their knuckles in response. Seeing their savage grins, Eli continued. “I can only take 10 of you though. There are strict limits on the number of people we’re each allowed to bring to this party.”

“How are you going to chose who to take?” Drekka asked hopefully.

Glancing at Naz, Eli stood and pulled off his shirt, not wanting to ruin yet another one. He quickly transformed into his orcish form, adding over 3 feet to his height and a hundred pounds more muscle. His short blonde hair turned black, and tusks jutted out from his bottom jaw. He worked it in slow circles for a moment before pointing to the boxing ring.

“Naz and I talked, and she convinced me that the best way is to hop in the ring with anyone who’s interested.”

As one, the group stood. Several of them began stripping down and stretching as they walked towards the raised dais, eager for a good fight. Sighing, Eli rolled his shoulders and moved to the front of the group.

“Alright, who’s first?”
___

“I’m just saying, you didn’t have to get in the ring too.” Eli said as a soft golden glow enveloped his orcish body, healing his many new bruises and broken bones.

“Nonsense!” She replied with a grin as they exited the tribal house. “I needed to prove that I belong in the group that will protect my chieftain.”

Unsurprisingly, every orc in the tribe had volunteered to get in the ring with Eli. In the end, it had taken almost 3 hours of continuous sparring to decide on the final 10 orcs – including both Drekka and Mirosha - who would accompany them to the Dragon’s Ball in Serapenthra. He was careful to deliver constructive criticism to anyone not chosen, detailing exactly what they could work on to improve their technique. They seemed grateful for the additional coaching, and he promised that when he came back he’d test them again to see how they were progressing.

“Naz, you’re coming to the party as part of my harem. Not as one of my bodyguards.” He said, transforming back into his human form.

“Sure, but do you really think I’d pass up the chance to hop in the ring with you and knock you around?” She said with a joking hip-check that sent him stumbling.

He laughed at her response and shook his head. “I knew there was an ulterior motive. Now come on – we’ve gotta get moving. I want to drop in on Gradumir and Ashni – I’ve got some questions for them. If we move quickly, we can make it before their shop closes”

Naz stiffened slightly. “Eli, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. The dragon cult could be hiding here in Irandell, waiting to strike. This area of the city is pretty quiet – especially on a weekend like this - so I’m confident I’d see any threats coming. That’s why I didn’t object to you taking the trip down. Gradumir and Ashni’s shop is in a very busy area of town though, so it’d be easy for an assassin to sneak up and put a blade between your ribs.”

“Hang on. We’ve been going into town this whole time without issue.” Eli protested.

“Sure, but that was before we knew that they were more widespread than just the group on Targe Maraz. Vessara was texting someone when you caught her – which means there’s a wider network we don’t know about. They’ve probably got agents in Irandell, and they’re probably going to be interested in you.”

He stroked his chin for a moment, begrudgingly seeing the logic. “What if I used my mana-sight? I’d see through their illusions.”

“Are you confident you’d be able to distinguish between the lizardkin disguise magic and other types of magic in a tightly packed crowd?” Naz asked in reply.

“Okay, fair.” Eli replied. “What if I used my desert elven magic? I could cast my mirage and nobody would look twice.”

“Can you hold that spell for that long? It’s a half-hour walk to their shop.”

Frustrated, Eli shook his head. His eyes travelled up his orcish girlfriend’s form, appreciating the green skin that was still exposed to the cold air beneath her heavy coat. An idea slowly occurred to him and he darted back into the tribal house before grabbing a set of furs from the pile and coming back out.

“What are you doing?” Naz asked.

In response, he took off his shirt and stuffed it into a pocket before shifting into his orcish form. Throwing the furs over his shoulders he looked back at Naz and grinned. “There. Now I’m not ‘Eli Grayson’, Royal Blood. I’m just some orc out on the town with his girl.”

Her eyes moved up and down his body appreciatively before she wrapped her arm around his waist and pulled him to her side. In response he threw an arm around her shoulder and kissed her, doing his best not to prick her with his tusks. When they broke apart she was smiling. “Good thinking.”

“Come on then, let’s go.” Eli said, beginning their walk.

As they crossed from the more ‘industrial’ area of Irandell into the ‘commercial’ one, the number of people around them gradually started to grow. By the time they reached the shop they had to push their way through crowds doing their weekend shopping. Eli had to fight not to grin and gawk like a tourist as he watched several harpies land and try to enter a clothing store only to be hauled backwards by a felinekin woman and pointed towards a line that stretched around the block.

Chuckling to himself he ducked his head and moved into the store, catching Ashni’s eye. She slithered towards him and narrowed her eyes slightly before looking over at Naz, her smile brightening. “Welcome back Naz!”

“Hello Ashni.” Naz said. “Would you mind clearing out the store for a moment?”

“Ah. Yes, of course. Is Eli coming?”

Eli leaned forward towards her and whispered conspiratorially with a grin. “He’s already here.”

He leaned back and winked only to watch the realization slowly dawn on Ashni’s face. She quickly ushered the two of them to a seat before cashing out the few other customers in the store. When the last one left she locked the door behind them and turned just in time to see Eli take his human form once more.

She grinned as she put on his shirt. “It’s always such a pleasure to have you drop by.”

“Thanks Ashni.” He said as she embraced him.

“Is there a reason why you had to come incognito today?” She asked as she released him.

“I seem to have made some folks upset.” Eli said offhandedly. “I’ll get it sorted out soon, but for now I’ve got to be a bit more careful.”

She chuckled in response. “Sounds like a regular day for you. Do you need some gear? Something to help you convince those folks to be less upset with you?”

“Not this time, no.” Eli said. “Where I’m going there’s not going to be any magic or weapons.”

“Hm.” She replied, cocking her head to the side in confusion. “Then how can I-…ah.” She stopped mid-sentence, realizing what he needed. “You received Graduimir’s message about that very interesting sword.”

“That’s one of the things I wanted to talk about, yes.”

“Let me get Gradumir.” She said, her scales undulating as she moved to the back. “You should know better than to tease him with just a short look – he hasn’t stopped talking about it since you made us come to the castle.”

Eli shook his head in response. A few moments later she re-emerged with the red-bearded dwarf in tow. He was carrying the sword reverently in front of him, placing it down on the table.

“Lad, when ye asked me ta deliver the blasted ring ye should’ve bleedin’ warned me you’d show me somethin’ that’d change my life!”

Eli gave him a confused look. “I still don’t get what’s so important about the Demonsbane Blade. I get that it’s a powerful enchanted item, but I’m pretty sure you see those all the time.”

“Nay lad. It’s not just another enchanted sword. It’s entirely different than anythin’ I’ve seen before. It’s a complete new style of enchantin’ altogether!”

Eli resisted the urge to repeat his words back to him, knowing he wouldn’t find it funny. “Okay, you’ve got my attention. Why is it so special?”

“The sword itself’s not enchanted.” Gradumir replied. “It’s just a conduit.”

“Sorry, what?” Eli asked, furrowing his brow.

Moving slowly, Gradumir grasped the sword by the grip. He ran his finger along it slowly, muttering a spell. His hands glowed silver before the pommel dropped popped open by a set of hidden hinges, revealing what looked like a glowing diamond inside.

“That’s…new.” Eli said, brow furrowed.

“This is enchanted. The sword isn’t.” Gradumir explained, pulling out the long thin crystal.

“Hang on.” Eli said, shaking his head. “That’s…possible?”

“Apparently.” Gradumir said.

“I’d never seen it before either.” Ashni added. “This is some truly unique workmanship.”

Eli scratched his head, thinking through the implications. “You once made me a ring that held mana. When I drained it completely, it broke. What would happen if I drained all the mana from this crystal?”

“In theory…” Gradumir started. “…and remember this is all theory lad…ye can replace it.”

“And keep using the sword?” Eli asked, his eyebrows arching.

“Yes.” Gradumir replied.

“I see now why you were so enthusiastic about it.” Eli said with a chuckle.

Naz whistled lowly. “Reloadable enchanted items. Damn.”

“Indeed.” Ashni agreed.

“Can you reverse engineer it?” Eli asked. “Figure out how to do the same for other items?”

“Maybe.” Gradumir said while stroking his bushy beard. “I cannae guarantee the blade will survive the process though.”

“It would change your whole business model though, wouldn’t it?” Eli questioned. “You could charge less for enchanted items and more for the recharge crystals, and customers would have to keep coming back.”

“I didn’t think of it that way.” Ashni admitted. “But yes. That would be an option.”

“Alright, I have a proposal then.” Eli announced. “I’ll give you the sword. You run whatever experiments you’d like on it – I don’t care if it survives.”

“Are you sure?” Naz asked. “That’s… a pretty valuable sword, Eli. I’m not sure Wrath is going to be happy about you destroying it.”

“I’m not so sure. Think about it: he’s got his axe back now, right? There’s probably only a handful of weapons in their pocket dimension that are strong enough to hurt or kill him. If he held onto this one, there’s a risk it would get stolen, or used by his subordinates to backstab him someday. By taking this one off the board entirely, I’d actually be helping him solidify his power.” Eli replied.

“And he’s going to see it that way?” Naz pressed him.

“Maybe. I’ll do my best to convince him, if it comes to that. But the rewards here are potentially worth it.”

“What do you want in exchange for this…offer? Ashni asked.

“I’d like a cut of the profits from your shop going forward – I want to be partners in this. I also want enchanted weapons for the rest of my harem and retainers, ideally ones that can be recharged.”

“What kind of a cut of the profits would you like?” Ashni asked.

“5%.”

“Not more?” She asked, surprised.

“You have to make a living too.” He countered. “Besides, between this, my app, and the inventory management system, it’ll be enough to support myself and my harem.”

“5% then.” She said, holding out a hand for him to shake. “Partners?”

“Partners.” Eli said, shaking it.

Gradumir didn’t waste any time. With a gleeful look on his face he carried the sword and the crystal to the back of his shop. Eli chuckled at his enthusiasm, shaking his head.

“Now, what was the other thing you wanted to talk about?” Ashni asked.

In the excitement of discovering a new method of enchanting, Eli had almost forgotten about the real reason he came to see them. “I’m going to Serapenthra. I was hoping you could give me tips on how to fight a naga. Or lizardkin, honestly – I’ll take whatever I can get. Hypothetically, of course.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Is there a…particular reason why you’re picking a hypothetical fight with the naga and the lizardkin in their own realm?”

“It’s not the naga and lizardkin at large.” Eli clarified. “It’s a small group of fringe conspiracy theorists – the Church of the Immortal Primordial Dragon.”

Ashni shrugged. “I’ve never heard of them, but that’s not surprising. There’s a lot of different religious groups in Serapenthra. I should warn you though – some of their beliefs can be pretty extreme.”
“These guys are definitely on the extreme end, based on what I’ve seen so far.” Eli agreed. “They went after someone I care about though, and I need to figure out why.”

Ashni stared him down for a moment before sighing. “I can see this is something you’re not going to let go. Whoever they went after, you must really care for her.”

“I do.” Eli confirmed.

She smirked at his acknowledgment that it was a woman. “Fine. My best advice is not to fight naga or lizardkin. If you have to fight them, use magic and enchanted weapons.”

“What if neither you nor them can use magic?” Eli pressed her. “Or have weapons, for that matter?”

She shook her head. “Why would you not have access to either?”

“They’re not letting anyone’s weapons into the party, and there are spell disrupters preventing us from using magic.”

Her eyes went wide when she realized which ‘party’ Eli was talking about. “In that case…if you really need to fight a naga hand-to-hand when neither of you can use magic, know that they’ll try to constrict you with their tails. You need to be careful of them, don’t let them get wrapped around you because it’ll be very difficult to break out.”

“Watch for the tails, got it.” Eli said. “Anything else?”

“The fangs.” She said, pulling back her gums for a moment to expose long canine teeth Eli had never noticed before. “We’re venomous. In small doses it’s used as a drug which can induce feelings of love, arousal, and happiness. In larger doses it’ll slow your heart beat until it stops. Our scales are hardened so don’t try hitting us there. Our arms are weaker than a human’s, so go for the torso instead.”

“Alright, I’ll do my best not to get bit then.” Eli said. “How about the lizardkin?”

“They can spit acid, but only once every few hours.” Ashni revealed. “They’re also fast moving forward, but they don’t have great lateral movement. Hit them from the side, aim just below the armpit.”

“Thanks Ashni. I appreciate it.” Eli replied, standing and hugging her. “It might just save my life.”

“Well, I can’t have my new partner dying on me now can I?” She said with a grin as she returned the hug. “Now go – I’ll give you a call when Gradumir is done.”

As he headed out the door she called to him one more time. “Oh, and Eli – do enjoy your party.”