Crag moved
toward one of the stages. One of the
dancers was gyrating on the lap of a particularly large male human. He held in his hands some of the floppy
rectangles. He grabbed one from his hand
abruptly and sniffed it.
The dancer
shrieked. “Hey! Asshole!
That’s my loot!”
Crag
ignored her as he studied the rectangle.
It appeared to be made of tree skin and cloth and smelled like human sweat. The rectangle had symbols on it and Crag
didn’t know what they meant. The human
he snatched it from wore a top covering which interwove the black and red
threads. Crag thought he may have heard
the word ‘flannel’ come from someone. He
didn’t know what that meant.
Crag
extended to the furious dancer the handful of rectangles. “It is my job to protect you. Be careful of this human. He has struck a female recently.”
The male
grunted and stood. “What are you trying
to pull, pig face? I ain’t never hit no
woman before.”
Crag
grunted back. “Your rectangle says
otherwise. I smelled her blood on
it. You will not hit this female while I
am around.”
The dancer
moved between them. “Ain’t nothin’ going
to happen. I’m just giving him a
dance.” She turned to the human. “Just let it go. Sit down, I’ll give you a whole new song.”
Crag
stepped back. His father instructed him
not to get into fights with the humans of this realm. They were mostly soft and couldn’t comparably
battle with orcs. Crag walked back
towards Teej who stood next to the door.
Teej had watched, but didn’t stop Crag.
Crag asked,
“So, do the humans not have coins? It
appears the green rectangles are their currency.”
Teej said,
“You are correct. They do have coins,
but the coins are worth less than the dollars.”
Crag
nodded. Teej added, “Also, do not
interrupt a dancer when she is working.
This is how the females here acquire more currency. If the males do not have a pleasant
experience they will not give them sufficient currency so the females can trade
monthly for their dwellings.”
The song
ended and a new one started. The large
male walked, almost bowlegged towards Crag.
His breath smelled of beer. Not a
beer Crag was familiar with, but the scent reminded him of orcish beers he
enjoyed in Cheeyeeglu. The male pushed
Crag from behind.
“Hey! Asshole!
I don’t beat women!”
The push
barely registered with Crag, but he turned to face his challenger. Crag turned his head and leaned to get into
the human’s face. “You should be
careful. I am not supposed to strike the
bar patrons, but I am not forbidden from it.”
“You gonna
hit me?” the male hiccupped.
“Not if you
walk away,” Crag responded.
The male
tried to push Crag again, but slipped on spilled beer on the floor. Crag reached out. His outstretched hand was wide enough on the
man’s chest that it supported him easily.
The man caught his feet again and pushed Crag’s hand away. “Hey!
Keep your hands off of me, pig face!”
“I was only
trying to keep you from falling. Next
time I will let you topple over.”
The human
stood up face to face with man-beast, only a few inches shorter, but still not
as wide. “You trying to say you’re
better than me?”
Crag
laughed. “I said nothing of the sort.”
“How about
I beat ya ass, ya jerk?!”
Crag
smirked. “You will need a small army.”
“Oh yeah?”
Crag
sniffed the air. This man smelled like
he had just bathed in beer. Crag added,
“And less beer in your stomach.”
“That’s
it!” The man swung his big fist striking
Crag in the face. Crag moved with the
force of the punch.
“Good hit!”
Crag said happily and backhanded the man.
The man
didn’t fly. He did however crash into a
table a few feet away, upsetting a few other smaller males who had been
ignoring them until now. They grew angry
and looked for a culprit. After they saw
the humongous orc standing over the fallen male, they looked at one another
with apprehension and left.
Teej put a
hand on Crag’s shoulder. “Chieftain, we
cannot have this kind of interaction with the humans. We have to keep a low profile.”
Crag
pointed. “This one struck me. I returned the favor.”
‘This one’
lay unconscious with his head leaning against a post.
Teej said,
“You will not be dismissed from this position, but you have to be better at
handling yourself when a human challenges you.
Believe me, humans will challenge you.
Dionne
entered the building behind Teej. The
look on her face was of surprise and disappointment. “Hey TJ,” she said softly to Teej. She tilted her head as she looked at
Crag. “What are you doing here?”
“Hello,
woman,” Crag said. “I work here
now. I am a guard.”
Dionne
sighed. “This is a really bad idea. Teej, can I take Crag aside for a
moment? I have something to talk with
him about.”
Teej nodded
without words. Dionne wrapped her hand
around two of Crag’s fingers and lead him to the back. They stepped over the broken table. “Did you do this?” she asked accusingly.
“Yes,” Crag
said proudly.
They
reached a room where the music did not penetrate.
Dionne
turned to Crag. “Okay, seriously, dude,
what are you doing here?”
Crag said,
“Seriously,” he paused. “ ‘Dude,’ this
is how I am to fit in and acquire currency in your realm. Apparently, one cannot earn money killing
enemies without running into your blue uniformed soldiers.”
Dionne
sighed. “Okay, I can’t deal with
this. A detective came to my house today
asking questions about the man you killed.”
“The one
who was attacking you?”
“Yes.”
“Did you
tell this detective the truth? He wanted
to kill you and I cleaved his soul from his body.”
“Shhhhh! Don’t say that out loud! If anyone hears that, you could be arrested.”
“Let them
try.”
Dionne put
her hand on Crag’s expansive chest. “You
don’t get it. They will either try to
arrest you, or they will just kill you.
Your skin is dark enough, they might just shoot you on sight if they
know who you are. You have to lay low.”
“I am not an
elf. I do not lay low.”
“You will
if you want to make it back to your home eventually. You HAVE to survive Crag. You have to get home.”
“Why do you
care?”
Dionne
moved her hand from his warm chest and turned away. “I don’t.
But you have a clan to lead, don’t you?”
Crag put a
giant hand on her shoulder. “I
appreciate your concern. I will do my
best to ensure my safety, and yours too as you entertain these males.”
Dionne
turned and Crag let his hand fall off of her shoulder. She said, “Thank you. I have to go get changed.”
Dionne left
the room. Crag waited, then headed
toward the main floor. Two blue clad
soldiers stood talking with Teej. Crag
saw them and stopped, just out of their eye range. He watched them, unused to hiding from his
adversary, but on his honor to Dionne, he would not draw attention to himself.