“The Lake.”
You look at him confused, not finding a single reason to head to this new location. Considering a lake in this world was the same as one in your own.
“Why are we going to the lake?” you ask him.
“Obviously since the first day at a new campsite is always the best day to go,” Kagan states matter-of-factly. “Nobody bothers going to a lake on the first day.”
“That’s weird. I wonder why no one goes?”
“Everyone’s usually too scared to go when we set up camp somewhere new. Probably cause they feel threatened in an unfamiliar location,” Kagan answers.
“ACTUALLY, it’s because everyone is so busy settling in on the first day that they don’t have time to visit,” Lurog corrects him. “This fool just prefers to slack off and take advantage of deserted lakes on these days.”
“Oh I didn’t know any of that. I guess it just shows you his priorities,” you say with a laugh. Kagan chuckles while Lurog turns to look at you with a confused expression.
“Why’re you so unfamiliar with all this? Haven’t you spent your whole life here?” he questions you.
Dammit. You must’ve slipped up. You got too caught up in the conversation that you forget that you still had to blend in with the orcs. Even Kagan and Lurog. You couldn’t just ask them questions that you should naturally know the answers to. Now you had to fix it before they got too suspicious.
“I guess I just never really heard of the idea of others heading to the lake on the first day of arrival. I found it pretty surprising and think it confused me a little,” you lie, hoping it’s credible enough to trick them.
“Yeah. I doubt anyone’s smart and brave enough to do it besides us,” Kagan instantly responds.
“More like just as stupid and lazy as you,” Lurog retorts. The conversation begins to move along as the two bicker and you congratulate yourself internally. It seemed that everyone had bought your lie.
After a few more minutes of talking, Kagan has to crouch from standing at an uncomfortable position for so long. Thus snapping him out of the conversation and reminding him of his original notion to head to the lake.
“Now we better get a move on or we might not have time to go,” Kurog warns you both as he heads to the temple’s door.
Kagan opens the door and ducks before exiting the temple. You follow right behind him, making sure not to hit your head on the ceiling when you stand, before Lurog exits.
“Lurog go grab our bags,” Kagan states and then looks at you, “and maybe grab a spare one for Boruk.”
“Ugh… Fine!” he complains. “I’ll be back momentarily.”
Lurog rapidly races off into the village, moving at a pace even faster than you had done this morning when racing to the Great Hall.
“I didn’t know Lurog was so fast!” you exclaim, surprised at the speed of the orc. You look in disbelief at the dirt smoke trailing off the ground as Lurog vanishes into the distance. Was this how he managed to exit the Great Hall so quickly?
“Yep. He’s one of the fastest orcs of the tribe. Probably why we were assigned to be with one another in the first place,” Kagan says proudly.
You look at Kagan with curiosity. What was this? A backstory? You want him to explain but after your mishap in the temple you don’t want to risk anymore unnecessary mistakes.
After a few minutes, Lurog returns with three small tied bags. He tosses one to you and throws the other one quickly at Kagan’s face. However, already expecting Lurog’s usual throw, Kagan catches it successfully.
You hold the bag. It feels light yet you can feel the weight of something inside. You want to ask what it is but Lurog’s and Kagan’s casual response to it didn’t merit any unneeded questions. You were probably supposed to know what it was if you were an orc. And for now you were.
Holding the bag, you decide not to open it and follow Lurog and Kagan down a dirt path.
***
After a bit of walking, the three of you are met with a beautiful blue lake. The water is nearly transparent and looks incredibly clean. And most importantly…
“It’s just as empty as always!” Kagan triumphantly states. The lake was devoid of any orcs, humans, animals, or any creatures for that matter. Besides you lot of course.
You begin to walk closer to the lake, as if in a trance, and examine it from a shorter distance. The lake looks more alluring to you now, watching the small ripples coursing throughout the lake, as you begin to imagine how refreshing it must feel to swim within it. You feel a sudden urge to strip and jump into the lake but refrain from acting.
“Where did that come from?” you wonder, amazed at your new and strange craving.
Trying to distract yourself from your new impulses, you walk back to the orcs and find them already behind you.
“Are you sure we can come here right now? Won’t the others find out?” you ask them trepidatiously. You don’t believe getting in trouble with the tribe was a good idea on your first day. Especially if that armored orc from before was going to be involved with your punishment.
“There’s so many orcs in the village that it’s hard to spot when one is missing. The only ones that ever get noticed are the more “famous” or “infamous” orcs,” Kagan tells you with a carefree tone.
“Lucky for us, despite your reputation as a foolish slacker, even you’re not worthy of attention,” Lurog insults him.
As per usual, the two begin to stir up a storm of words while you focus on the small bag in your hand. Wondering what’s inside, you open it to find…