Danor was not a violent man. He had never been in a direct physical confrontation and the idea of walking around town shaking people down for money did not appeal to him.
"Sorry Mr Gembuckle," He apologized as he stood up from the table "I'm going to try my luck elsewhere"
He made his way out the door back to the street. With the sun fully risen, there were a lot more people walking around. That disaster of an interview had left Danor crestfallen. He made his way to the lower districts hoping there would find better luck with a manual labor job just to feed himself until he found something better. After all it wouldn't be too much of a strain on his new muscular body.
He went from business to business looking but Danor was untrained for any skilled labor such as construction and crafting. When he inquired about unskilled manual labor work he was shocked at the offered pay. It was barely enough for even the most frugal human to survive on. It turns out orcs all worked for dirt cheap as they were able to survive eating rotten meat, drinking cheap ale, sleeping in filthy communal hovels and didn't care to keep track of any sort of long term savings. There was little need for human labor aside from the few companies successful enough that they could afford to have an anti-orc hiring policy. Unfortunately all of them had higher standards and refused to take on someone with no previous experience when they already had a long waiting list of more qualified workers hoping to get in.
By the end of the day Danor's prospects did not look good. If he couldn't find anything soon he'd have to lower himself to orc work just to scrape by or else take a more violent job which went against his passive nature. He made his way to the southern districts to find somewhere cheap to stay for the night. After asking around he found himself in front of a dingy little inn named the Dusty Flagon. A sign hung outside saying "No alcohol for orcs" with a silhouette of a tankard with an orc face icon on it and a red X painted over. He entered to find an establishment much less appealing than The Blue Fiddle. It was filled with people cramped together around half a dozen small tables dressed in working or traveling attire, drinking and laughing. The only patron with his own table was an orc in the corner sloppily gobbling his dinner. Danor approached the innkeeper who seemed to keep shooting dirty looks at the orc.
"A meal and a bed please" he requested.
"Four silver for the meal," he replied shifting his eyes from the orc "And six for a bed. Be out before noon."
It was much more reasonable than The Blue Fiddle. He slid the coin across the table and made casual conversation while he waited for the meal. The owner however was perpetually distracted, keeping an eye on the orc as though he might start attacking the other customers at any moment. Danor glanced over at the orc in the corner licking his bowl; hopefully they thoroughly washed the tableware here. After asking why he didn't just ban orcs outright, he learned that orc-free taverns were taxed much higher and most businesses would ban them if they could afford the additional town guard enforcement fees.
When his dinner arrived, it consisted of a hunk of hard bread, some leafy greens and a bowl of stew made mostly of root vegetables and boiled chunks of what Danor hoped was beef. There were no stools at the counter and as he looked about at the crowded tables he saw the only remaining space in the small room was next to where the orc sat. He had finished licking his bowl and cheerily shouted for more, waving his silver coins in the air at the scowling innkeeper. That was when Danor was spotted holding his dinner and the orc beckoned him over with a big tusky grin. Danor sighed and maneuvered his way through the room, plopping himself across from the orc and started on the bland meal.
"Hello!" chirped the orc "My name is Tog! Who are you?"
"I'm Danor Cloudbuck" Danor replied between bites deciding to be polite in case this orc was one of the aggressive ones, "What brings you here?"
"The fancy food of course!" Tog smiled sincerely as the innkeeper banged another bowl of stew in front of him, grumbled something under his breath and snatched the silvers before huffing away.
"Thank you!" Tog shouted after him, unfazed by the innkeeper's attitude. Danor was surprised, he didn't expect an orc to have manners. He kept the conversation going to keep his mind off the lackluster meal in front of him.
"Wouldn't you rather go somewhere you can drink?"
"Yes, but orc taverns don't have fresh food or soft beds." Tog responded after noisily slurping up a few spoonfuls of stew "I have extra coin. I am treating myself tonight."
Danor did not want to imagine Tog's normal living conditions if he considered The Dusty Flagon a "treat".
"I don't meet many orcs as well spoken as you" Danor commented. Though Tog did not speak very quickly, he did use full, albeit short, sentences and didn't refer to himself in the third person. "You seem much smarter than the average orc"
"Oh no I am the stupidest of all orcs" Tog happily assured him, "Any orc can talk properly if they really try. But it hurts our head. I don't bother when I am with other orcs. Most people don't listen to what we have to say anyway. Almost all orcs say it is a waste of time to learn."
"Then why do you go to the effort?" Danor inquired now fascinated.
"I think one day all orcs and not-orcs will eat and drink together!" Tog smiled "I want to be ready to talk friendly to anyone so I practice now!"
Danor felt a pang of sympathy of Tog, "I don't think that's likely to happen any time soon."
"That's what everyone says! It is already one thing orcs and not-orcs all agree on!" replied Tog, optimistically "I keep high hopes, even if it means everyone says I am the dumbest orc."
They spent the next few minutes talking about Danor and his situation. Though he couldn't provide much advice or insight, Tog was a sympathetic ear. After the better half of an hour Tog picked up his bowl and tipped the last dregs of stew into his mouth.
"I am very tired. I am going to bed now." Tog yawned as he stretched his arms "Thank you for eating with me. Most nights I sleep in a big pile with other orcs. If Danor wants to cuddle, Tog is happy to share a bed." Tog gave a wink as he adjusted his crotch, drawing Danor's eyes to a bulge snaking down his right leg. He cheerily thanked the innkeeper for the meal again and wished him a goodnight before he clomped upstairs. The innkeeper shouted up a harsh reminder at him that Tog had to be out before sunrise.
When Tog was out of the room a few of the other patrons left the packed tables to sit around the space vacated by the orc. As they sat down, there was chatter relating to a general dislike of "green-hides" but Danor was too exhausted to engage. He finished off his meal and headed up to dormitory without incident. When he entered the communal sleeping room, Tog could be heard already snoring away peacefully. After stripping down to his undergarments Danor found the cleanest looking bed (though they all appeared to have unidentifiable stains of some manner) and collapsed, falling asleep instantly.
-
Danor was having a fun dream about fighting and wrestling when suddenly he was awoken by a sharp prod at his side. He shot up out of bed looking about confused and dazed. The innkeeper was standing next to him with a cloth around his face and a sharp iron rod pointed at Danor.
"Out! Get out now!" the innkeeper's shouted, muffled only mildly by the face mask.
Danor looked around to find all the other beds empty. The dawn was just breaking out the window.
"Whuuh?" Danor slurred confused "Suns not up yet...You said noon..."
"I don't care!" the innkeeper continued yelling "I don't want whatever disease you've contracted infecting the rest of my tavern!"
Danor looked down at his hands, there were dark green splotches all across his skin. Before he could take a moment to process this the fire poker jabbed at his side again.
"Owww!" he cried "Aye! I go! Let me put on...Aiee!" he was interrupted by another poke.
"No! Now! Go! go! go!" each word was accentuated with a thrust from the fire iron.
"Aye! Fine!" Danor bent down and grabbed his pack, as the innkeeper relentlessly prodded him. "Argh Stop! No more poking!" The constant jabbing was starting to irritate him, when it continued Danor lost his patience and grabbed the end of the rod. However he didn't realize his own strength as he somehow managed to bend the rod up into a curve. The innkeeper briefly paused in shock, staring at the end of the mishapped iron before he started using it to whack Danor across the head.
"Out! out! ouoof!"
Danor violently shoved him against the wall as he made his way through the room door, stomping down the stairs and into the street wearing nothing but his undergarments. Swiftly ducking into an alley, he rushed over to a nearby puddle to examine his reflection. His body was even heavier built than yesterday, however it was covered in irregular green patches including a large one marking the left side of his face. The effected area appeared to be misshapen making his left brow deeper and bushier as well giving a sharper look in his eye. He dropped his jaw in shock and saw a long pointy tooth growing on both sides of his bottom row. Poking at his skin revealed that the green areas felt thicker and more coarse. He nervously pulled forward his braies to take a peek at his penis and testicles. To his horror, not only had they swollen above average size, but the green affliction had engulfed his entire scrotum and all around the base of his cock as well. Hastily grabbing a traveling cloak from his pack, he covered his body and pulled the hood over his face before stepping back into the street.
Danor didn't know what was happening but he needed to find a healer!