Rise of the Nightmare Crestmaster

The grey orc were the direct spawn of Orcalacth the lord of Blood and Savagery. They came with him from the Dread domain.

Before then grey orcs didn't exist in the world, but even after the Liberation war, they inly managed to drive them to the edges and dark places of the world.

Over time their numbers grew and were culled and grew again. Just like goblins there was no getting rid of them. They were here to stay.

They were stronger and faster than regular orcs, the warriors were born among them more frequently. And they loved battle. They loved it.

Their whole culture revolved around battle, and some said that the more an orc fights the more powerful they grow. The foul power of Orcalacth made them perfect soldiers for war.

Even more so for grey orcs they knew how to slow down and think, they used strategies and plans instead of simply relying on brute force.

So even when they stupidly attacked lord Garrett's lands they did so with a plan. By the time news of them spread they had already transformed Deeprock keep to a perfect defensive position.

They even prepared a supply route behind them using the terrain and the villages and towns they attacked beforehand.

A thousand grey ocrs, that was an extremely powerful force and the war-chief who planned all this was called the Bloodclaw.

He intended to negotiate with the lord of the land to allow them to settle here in exchange for not bothering each other. Of course he knew that first he had to show his power.

The army of lord Garrett laid siege of the keep and were repelled nine times. Defending was easier than attacking, with that position and a horde that hungered for battle it was not hard to see why Bloodclaw was confident.

Lord Garrett changed his approach, he send Crestmasters to get rid of Bloodclaw and end this farce. But, who knew that Bloodclaw turned out to be an extremely powerful monster in his own right.

Some said that he may have been a blood relative of Orcalacth himself.

And so twelve Crestmasters had their bodied straped on poles and used as flags to show off Bloodclaw's might.

However the next day, one man arrived, he was a Crestmaster but he did not sneak in to the keep nor did he demanded a duel. He just surrendered and wanted to be taken captive.

Bloodclaw and the orcs hated cowardly behavior but they accepted and lost interest in him since he was not worthy of battle.

However the next day, the army that laid siege to the keep saw something in the middle of the night. A torrent of white flames burned the keep.

They could hear the screams of the orcs some of them no doubt wanted to run out of the keep but it was not to be. For the very walls melted and melded into an inescapable prison.

No, perhaps it was better to called an oven. Some soldiers said that the white flames burned the air around the keep so that even in their camp they could feel the heat.

At the end when most of the screams died down the flames gathered into a gigantic white spear and destroyed the keep once and for all, turning the very earth black.

Only the man walked out of the keep, head held high. That was Varth Elmer and that was how he got his moniker.

They say that if you go there even today you can see the burned earth, and the deep gash in it where a keep used to be.

That was ten years ago, Aldrich didn't know how powerful Varth was then, grade two? He didn't know but he knew it was a power strong enough to put an army to rest.

And that was ten years ago, how powerful was Varth now? It was difficult to tell, one couldn't say for certain that he would only grow stronger, maybe he grew old and frail.

But that was not the impression Aldrich got when he met Varth.

Grade two? Maybe three. The power to burn down an army.

"If he was so powerful then why didn't he announce his intentions from the start and then just fight it out in the open? I bet it was an item that did that."

Cole was doubtful of the authenticity of the story. Aldrich nodded too, he didn't know and very few people would know that kind of thing.

"If he fought them there then would only be able to kill some of them, the others might scatter and cause more problems down the line. Better to get rid of them all at once."

Aldrich gave out his explanation and everyone looked at him at once. He did not know why they gave that look, did he have to clarify that?

"Ehm! More innocent people would suffer! How can we allow the evil and savage orcs run around freely in the realms of men?"

"That makes sense." Frank agreed and Aldrich sighed in relief he successfully pulled that explanation out of his ass.

"Alright here's the money, you can be considered rich as of now." Aldrich distributed the money to turn the subject back to something relevant.

"So, what are you going to do with your share?" Frank asked Hellen.

"Me? Well, I can think of a couple of things. New clothes and a better place that's for sure."

"Uhh, guys, this is only a suggestion. But why don't you save some of the money so that next time you can buy grade one items that suit your needs and ability?"

Aldrich didn't want to see them squander the money of useless things. After all in the team they needed to increase their capabilities.

Completing grade one quests was not an easy.

Aldrich didn't want to see them squander the money of useless things. After all in the team they needed to increase their capabilities.

Completing grade one quests was not an easy.