The Orc Tribe

“You mean...you guys don’t get message pop-ups?” Theo asked. All three of them shook their head. Theo put his palm on his forehead in frustration. “What does it mean? Is there some sort of deity with a desk job as tech support or something?” Leo shrugged “Maybe. Whatever tech support means. In any case, it’s probably exclusive to the Rain Wizard. I’m sure like everything else it will be revealed in time. For now, you got a new ability right?” Theo nodded. “Yeah, if we find more lightning rods, we can teleport between them, as well as transport to ones that are directly connected. Apparently this one is a beacon that leads to a rod north of the sun dome.” Leo rubbed his chin in interest “I see...fascinating. To the north is where the Orc tribes are. It isn’t too far, and we probably have some time before Teo gives news. I know you want to take care of the cult right now, but there’s no reason we can’t make some headway on our next official goal. I personally recommend finding what we can from the Orcs first. You’ll be surprised on how useful going there would be.”

Theo taps the staff against his shoulder in thought. “Alright. You guys ready to go?” Leo and Cleo nodded in response. Theo raised his staff. “Activate Lightning Teleportation.” The staff and the beacon both began to spark with electricity before covering Theo, Leo, and Cleo with light, and the sound of lightning could be heard. It only took a moment, but they were outside the dome in the rain, with another lightning rod nearby. “Well, we aren’t dead.” Theo smiled in relief. “...We forgot to put our cloaks back on. We’re soaked now.” Cleo grumbled. Leo took off the bag off his shoulder and handed them their cloaks. “We’ll dry off at the village. Time to head out.” Being careful of the Eyeless, they walked north. As they kept walking, fog started to roll in, Theo didn’t know why, but he looked to his left, feeling someone watching him. It was hard to tell, but it looked like the eyeless old man he thought he saw several times before. But once he blinked the figure was gone. Was he going crazy? Seeing that old man started to become more frequent.

As they kept moving, there was another clearing, surprisingly not very far at all from the dome. There was a huge area engulfed with wooden stakes as a barricade At its entrance was two Orcs, same size as Rok wearing loin cloths with red paint streaked across their faces...and they didn’t look very happy. Each one had a blow horn in one hand, and a giant axe in the other, with a small roof above them to protect them from the rain with torches at the entrance. As Theo, Leo, and Cleo approached, they looked down at them. Leo waved “We got the Rain Wizard with us? Do you mind if we see the counsel?” The two Orcs looked at each other before gesturing them inside. Inside the walls looked like a standard village you’d expect, with many huts planted in the ground. Unlike what Theo had experienced so far, this seemed more like a fantasy setting he was used to. “Alright. I’m not buying it, what’s the catch?” Theo asked Leo. “I don’t know what you mean. Come on, we’re almost there.” They head towards a hut that seemed to be in the center of the village. When they walked inside, it was empty, with stone stairs leading underground. Going further in, some voices could be heard. When they finally made it at the end, they were in a clean room of white tiles and pillars, with bookcases lining the walls. “We know the rods don’t simply invite the lightning! They also bend the invisible energies of force around them. The magnetic field. We have measured it thoroughly, and it is clear that the stronger the storm, the more the field twists.” An Orc in a lab coat wearing round glasses and a black ponytail said near a whiteboard with equations written on it. Other Orcs in suits and lab coats all sat on leather chairs in the room with folded arms and legs. One leaned forward “This could possibly be related to how the Rain Wizard gets transferred to our world, via a quantum magnetic tunneling.” Another huffed “Nonsense! Speculation! All of it! You’re simply getting into theoretical physics! This has been fun and all but we need to stop with the break and move onto future plans for infrastructure!” The Orcs all began to bicker and try to bring up different topics.

Leo listened intently at the conversations they walked into, while Cleo began to snooze. Theo just had a tired expression, not surprised anymore. “Excuse me!” Theo waved. The Orcs talking began to die down as they all looked at Theo. “I...uh. Am the Rain Wizard. My name’s Theo. Please don’t kill me.” he said, now unsure if bringing attention to himself was the best idea, considering his experience with Rok. The room fell silent, but many of the Orcs didn’t appear hostile, many just sat professionally in their seats. The Orc from the whiteboard walked up to them. “Ahhhh! Leo! Cleo! And the new Rain Wizard I presume! It is an absolute pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Tak. One of the many scholars here in Orc Academia. Please, sit. I insist.” Tak waves to everyone. “Okay everyone! We’re taking a break. The Grong tribe will set up the next topic. We’ll meet back in an hour!” he announced before ushering the Theo and his allies to the back of the room, which seemed to be a lounge area with couches and tables. “Please. Please sit. Would you like some coffee? Tea? We have a bathroom if you need to use it.”

Theo scratched his head. “This...is a lot to take in. Hold on. I’m a...I’m good. We came to ask you some things. I originally just thought we were going to get directions or something. But I guess this is a good place for answers. Leo smiled. “I don’t know why you look some confused. You met how smart Rok is.” Leo laid his head back against the couch “Yeah but...he was a bit different.” Tak blinked in confusion before smiling. “Ah, right Rok. He has a bit of a disability. He doesn’t have the same knowledge retention as us, but no one is a better engineer than him. Not to mention he’s practically responsible for Sol City itself. We’re very proud of him.” Theo sighed. “Okay, that explains one thing but what about your guards outside?” Tak chuckled. “Oh, them? Yeah, they lost a bet and were told they have to guard the south entrance wearing face paint and loin cloths. It’s hilarious.” he began to giggle to himself before clearing his throat. “Excuse me. In any case, please be candid. What questions would you like to have answered?”

The looked at Tak, with the most serious look he had in awhile. “First...tell me the fates of the previous Rain Wizards.”