Rudega cast a wary look at Durst as he sat on the ground opposite the orc chief. He quickly motioned to Mokern and Ungund, who, despite the disgust on their faces, joined the dwarf on the ground. Rudega released a sigh of relief, as he had feared these dwarfs' pride would not allow them to sit on the ground. Luckily, it seemed they still knew the correct action to take in this situation.

Durst, meanwhile, examined the expressions on the dwarfs' faces as they sat down. From Mokern and Ungund's disgust to the relief in Rudega's eyes; nothing left his eyes. He began to assemble a profile of the dwarfs in his mind.

When Mukern and Ungund finally sat down, Durst spoke, "What was your role in the massacre of my people?"

The dwarfs' expressions warped in shock and anger. What the hell? Who came right off the bat with accusations like that!? The proper procedure was to slowly feel each other out through dialogue before launching any accusatory remarks. This was because once allegations were thrown out, it could be considered as burning the bridges. It was quite tough to repair any relationship once charges had been tossed out.

However, in this case, the orcs did not seem to care about decorum.

"Durst-san, don't you think that accusation's a little harsh?" Rudega softly challenged. Although he was here to repair bridges, he was not going to roll over like a dog.

"Harsh?" Durst snorted. "Sorry, but orcs do not play your stupid word games. When we want to know something, we ask. You can choose how to answer." The orc's eyes narrowed, and the atmosphere suddenly grew heavy with an unseen pressure. "Just don't lie to me. You won't like the outcome."

Rudega snorted, and his aura scattered the pressure on the dwarfs. He glared at Durst, the anger in his eyes expressing his distaste for such intimidation tactics. "My people had nothing to do with the attack."

Durst glared at the dwarf. His voice dropped low, and with no attempt to hide the threatening tone, he growled, "Are you calling my people liars? The only survivor of my people forced himself to live long enough to report this one message. You dare to insult the honor of a proud warrior?"

Rudega winced as he felt a headache coming on. Shit, he had never expected there was an eyewitness. Damn you Brilith, what did you do!? He had been hoping it was mere speculation on the orcs' part. After all, the dwarfs were their direct enemy so it would make sense that they suspect them first.

However, there was an actual witness. That certainly complicated things.

Rudega gathered his wits about him and said, "Were you able to get any description on this dwarf?"

"No," Durst replied. "He only had enough life left in him to report the existence of the dwarf."

Rudega gritted his teeth. "Have you investigated further? Do you have an estimate of how many dwarfs were present?"

"You no longer deny the presence of the dwarfs?" Durst questioned with a raised brow. He had expected Rudega to continue denying all the way to his grave.

"You warrior had no reason to lie," Rudega replied in a grim tone. "There is no time to go back and forth over whether a dwarf did it or not. The important thing is to find the culprits and bring them to justice over such a tasteless massacre."

"You don't seem to be lying," Durst said. He looked at the dwarf across from him with a tinge of respect. "We confirmed there were at least thirty murderers. One of them was very skilled. They single-handedly wiped out all the guards stationed around the village. The others entered the village and slaughtered everything that moved."

Rudega eyes widened in shock. "How do you know there were so many?"

"Each person has their own method of killing," Durst explained. "Some prefer a quick decapitation, some go for the heart, some relish in causing pain while others try to end their targets as quickly as possible. People even have different weapons and methods of stabbing. As long as you pay attention to these details, you can guess a rough estimate of attackers."

"That is... impressive," Rudega complimented in spite of himself. He had never seen an orc display this level of intelligence before. This Durst character; there was definitely more to him than met the eye. The dwarf's admiration turned to shock as he recognized a peculiarity in the numbers. "Wait. Did you say thirty? But there are hundreds of orcs. How could only thirty cause so much chaos?"

"First, most of the villages' warriors were out on a food gathering expedition," Durst stated with guilt on his face. "But also, I believe they are an elite troop. The type that can only be fostered by a nation. No bandit group has experts with this much discipline and skill." Durst's eyes bore into Rudega's with an angry challenge. "Do you still think your people had nothing to do with it?"

Rudega winced. This was why he hoped he would be dealing with a dumb orc. Smart people were too annoying. Give them a few clues, and they would break down a puzzle that the rest of the world would struggle on for months.

Rudega realized the possibility of him being forced to give 'that' up was increasing with each passing dialogue. However, he was not sure what the orcs' reaction would be, which was why he was buying as much time to dig out what kind of man this Durst was.

Rudega let out a sigh. "Truly, my people had nothing to do with it. I swear."

"Oh?" Durst's eyes flashed as he glared at the dwarf. "But you have an idea who might be responsible?"

Rudega shivered. Indeed, this orc was way too sharp. It was nigh unreasonable. "Yes, I might have an idea."

"What!?" Renark, who, up until that moment had been standing behind Durst, growled in shock. "You know the cause of our suffering!? Why didn't you tell us sooner!? Why did you waste so much time? Are you buying time for someone!?"

The atmosphere in the tent suddenly grew suffocatingly heavy as those within the tent pondered on Renark's words. Indeed, if Rudega knew all this while, why didn't he say anything? Could it be as Renark stated? Was he buying time for the culprit to escape?

Grovitch's eyes turned blood-red, and he gripped his ax. If it were not for Durst's calm expression, he would have already struck. The orc relaxed the grip on his ax and continued coldly observing the meeting.

Durst felt the cold tension in the room, but his mind was on something else. He looked over his shoulder at Renark and shook his head.

Renark understood the cue. He took a step back and shut his mouth. Evidently, Durst was not particularly pleased with that outburst. Even though Renark brought up some good points, the timing could not have been any worse. They needed the dwarfs to tell them who was responsible for the crime, yet Renark's attitude might have just scared some truths out of them.

Durst looked at the dwarfs and was surprised to see Rudega was similarly unaffected by the room's tension. However, the dwarfs by his side were petrified in fear, their faces pale-white. The orc could not understand why these two were brought along. They had offered nothing to the conversation and looked like they would crap their pants at the slightest provocation. However, it was not his place to question their presence. He turned his attention back to Rudega and apologized, "Sorry for my friend's outburst. He is quite upset."

"No need for apologies, I understand," Rudega nodded.

"Good," Durst said, then proceeded to the main topic. "So, tell me who you think is responsible, and for the sake of my friend, why you didn't tell us earlier."

"I had to be sure," Rudega said with a sigh. "I am not in the habit of throwing accusations without adequate grounds for suspicion. I needed enough evidence to justify my suspicion."

Durst's eyes narrowed. "You have that justification now?"

"Yes," Rudega acknowledged. "You said the attackers were an elite few, ruthless and powerful. In Daggerfall, there are usually only two groups with that kind of firepower. Orc cities and dwarfs. But recently, a new force has begun encroaching on these lands."

Durst frowned. "You mean the wisben? No way. They battle straightforward without resorting to such tactics. Besides, wisben worship nature and life. They would never wantonly harm innocents this way."

"Normally that would be the case," Rudega agreed. "However, what if I told you the one leading this charge was a Summoned?"

Durst did a double-take. "Summoned? Those beings from another world?" He realized the severity of that word. Stories had been passed down for generations about the Summoned; these beings from another world who looked down on all the indigenous lifeforms. The Summoned were known as heartless murderers. They could wipe out entire cities and towns without the slightest remorse. Durst did not dare to imagine the consequence of having these plagues in Daggerfall.

Durst swallowed his shock and looked at Rudega. "You believe the Summoned are responsible?"

"I am ninety-nine percent sure," Rudega confirmed.

"How can you be so sure?"

Rudega's brows drew together as grief colored his features. "I am the one who invited them into our lands."

"What did you say!?" Durst's expression instantly contorted in abject rage. His eye burned in fury as he recalled the empty-eyed corpses of his wife and daughter. Durst gritted his teeth so hard, blood dripped out from his mouth. His body trembled as he struggled to contain his rage while barely squeezing out, "You brought them here?"

"I fully regret my actions," Rudega stated with a downcast expression. "I wanted her help in uniting the dwarven families. I did not think she would attempt to swallow us all."

Durst struggled to keep his emotions in check. "This woman. What is her name?"

"Brilith," Rudega replied. "Brilith Loneheart."

Durst let out a sigh then grasped a piece of the soil in his hand. "Did you hear that? We now know our enemy. I vow to bring her before you and settle this grudge." Durst let the dust slide off his fingers then turned his attention to Rudega. "Okay, so the powerful backer is this Brilith Loneheart. However, it still does not explain the presence of so many dwarfs or how they knew the location of the orc villages. Someone has to have aided them. Was that you?"

Rudega shook his head. "I never provided any information regarding the orcs, only the situation of my people. Besides, I live in the north. There's no way I could know the precise location of so many orc villages. Only, the region lord could have access to that information..." The dwarf's voice trailed off towards the end, as realization dawned. "No way. Please tell me it's no—" Schlick! "Ah!" Rudega screamed in pain as two swords pierced through him from behind.

Rudega turned around, face blanching as he saw the terrible hatred on both Mukern and Undung's faces. Mokern's savage hatred morphed into a triumphant grin as he glared at the injured dwarf. "You have always been too smart for your own good," Mokern laughed with a savage smile.

"M-Mokern, you..." Rudega coughed up blood, finding it extremely difficult to speak.

Durst's eyes sparked to life. He picked up his ax and was about to rush to Rudega's aid when a strong sense of danger suddenly assaulted him. Durst panicked and instantly turned around, raising his ax above his head. It turned out to be the right decision as less than half a second later, a gigantic force crashed into the ax.

Bam!

Durst did not get a chance to recover after blocking the weapon. The assailant retaliated with a vicious kick to his abdomen. Durst winced all the air was knocked out of his lungs.

Unfortunately for Durst, he was fighting on his knees, with bad posture, while the opponent was standing and had clearly readied themselves before attacking. The battle's outcome was long since decided.

Durst painfully raised his head, and his eyes widened as they were met with the sharp glint of a metal ax. The orc roared in anger and rage as he faced his end.

Clang! Krshh!

Durst shouted in pain as the ax blade smashed into his left shoulder, its trajectory altered by a thrown handaxe. Blood splattered across Durst's face, but the orc's anger surpassed the pain. He grabbed the arm of his assailant and roared, "WHY!?"

Grovitch and Ragnaf attempted to run to Durst's rescue, but Munerk and Ungund had other ideas. Ragnaf had been the one to save Durst's life earlier with the thrown handaxe. They would not give him that opportunity again. Munerk and Ungund took out a pair of spherical objects from their pockets and tossed one each into Grovitch and Ragnaf's path. They flung the final two at Durst then shielded themselves with a prompt Mana shield.

BOOM!

A massive explosion blew the tent sky high, drawing the stunned attention of all the orcs stationed in the city. Unbeknownst to them, an army in the distance took the explosion as a signal and began to approach the city. Meanwhile, within the dwarven ranks, the expression of a few dwarfs suddenly grew sharp with a deadly glint in their eyes.

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SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATREON STARS:

Residents: Andrew Maurer, Eli Calabria, Rusty Reaper, Cobalt_Storm, Eli Romero, Niyeban, Sarah Kinkade, Gamma2626

Adventurers: Hyproxy, Merlin252, Michael Barton, OlusholaAbidakun, Mental_Napalm, Jamie Ibarra

Warriors: Caleb Ian Melton, Ragnaf, Cullen M Brewer, Paul C. Bergeson (@facemaster)

The High Council: Sly, Jacob Morgan, Antinium, StrikerPrince

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