The caravan camped till dawn outside the forest as a precaution against any possible bandit ambush.

  In-addition to bandits, there were also wood-elves living in the forest. These beings were not fond of any visitors as they had a long history of wars against their neighbours.

  This continent had many forests before. Most were burned during the great Human-Elfin war alongside its inhabitants. This was one of the forests that is still left.

  Even though it was in the land of the country of Silfordan, it was not a part of it. The humans and elves had made a pact of truce — ending the centuries of bloodshed so both could live in peace.

  Although there was no reason to attack their caravan. The young elves, as most young people, were impatient and did not care much about a deal made by their ancestors. It was best to avoid such forests, but Harwin’s caravan consisted of warriors who acted before thinking. However, there was also something greater at play — something only known by the caravan-leader.

  The caravan began towards its destination at dawn-beak.

  The boss had already formed a defensive formation. He had the beast-men riders along the flank while their wagons were at both sides making the perfect fort for the merchants whom they had sworn to protect. As for the front, the war-chariot was there with the boss and Harwin in it.

  'It would have been much more assuring to remain in the flank or in one of the wagons of the merchants,' he thought.

  Of-course, he could not make such demands as his rank was that of a slave. Slaves were the first ones to die in any battle, protecting their masters. It was a rather sad fate but Harwin did not want to think much about it.

  They traveled for some time without much hurdles. There were the few logs from time to time, that were blocking the path, but nothing peculiar and were easily taken care of.

  Harwin felt a bit relieved knowing that they were safe for now.

  After a few hours had passed. They were still in the forest which felt odd to the worry-wart slave but none of the other members of the caravan showed any signs of trepidation.

  There was still plenty of time till dusk so there was no need to rush. At-least, that is how Harwin reassured himself.

  The forest had gone rather silent as they kept on moving. Before? there were occasional squeals of animals or the chirping of birds, but now nothing as if they were in the middle of the sea in the night. The boss gave some signals and readied himself as well.

  “Gor, stay down for now.”

  Harwin immediately nodded.

  Still there was nothing. No sound, no attack or anything out of the ordinary.

  Suddenly the boss ordered the caravan to a halt.

  There was a huge log blocking their path but this time there was something off about it. It looked planted, something man-made, but one could never be sure of such things. After carefully examining for a while, they tried to remove it.

  Everyone felt abit relaxed once again as there was no signs of danger but—

  Out of no-where,a sudden smoke formed up. Not like any-other, it was like deep and thick mist — engulfing the whole area at an alarming rate.

  “AMBUSH! READY YOURSELVES!” Shouted the boss.

  Harwin looked around to find arrows being showered at them from all directions. There were strange noises after which a strong wind knocked most of the riders off their mounts — it was total chaos.

  Harwinn remained hidden as there was nothing much he could have done in the situation. The boss, however, was saying something not directed at anyone — it was a spell, he was casting a spell:

  “From thy blessing we are born. From thy blessing we grow. From thy blessing we are strong. Oh, Lord of the darkness, let the shadows guide this forsaken one. Help thy servant by the dark winds. Let the storms of fury brew. Let this place return to its former face.”

  A strong wind, which had a strange dark tint to it, blew away all the smoke away in a single sweep.

  The smoke ended, but the wind did not stop – only growing stronger by the second.

  Harwin had to hold onto the chariot to not be taken by away by it. The boss was stood there without any trouble.

  “NOW, ATTACK THE SCOUNDRELS WHO DARE ATTACK US!”

  As he commanded, all the beast-men went into a fit of rage and wrecked havoc at everything in their path. There were some assailants on the grounds that were standing a few meters away from them. Once they saw the number of monsters rushing towards them; most of them abandoned their positions and cowered away.

  There were still a few archers hiding somewhere — piercing through the caravan's defenses. The boss finally made his move and left the chariot whilst wielding his weapon.

  He was leaping through the trees so swiftly that it looked as if he was running on land. He hunted down one enemy after the other with ease.

  It looked like a decisive victory for them so Harwin just remained hidden in the chariot. He heard chaos around himself but feeling a bit safer as they had out-classed their enemies—

  Suddenly, he was grabbed by someone, a tall lanky figure who was immensely strong. It was strong enough to grab him single-handedly and then leap away from one tree to the other.

  Harwin did not know what to do in the situation so he did the only think that crossed his mind.

  “SOMEONE HELP! BOSS!" Harwin shouted at the top of his lungs.

  Upon hearing his cry of help, the figure quickly punched him on the head, knocking him out cold. The last thing Harwin saw was the face of his captor who had a humane body, but had long ears as sharp as a knife.

  Soon he opened his eyes. He found himself in a familiar environment once again. He was facing the same shadowy and light deity that had messed up his life in the first place.

  It was sitting leisurely in what appeared to be a throne. There was an absence of any other color except light in his surroundings, unlike the last time when it was shadow and light. The figure was staring straight in Harwin's eyes.

  “I see that you are enjoying yourself. It was the right decision to send you to this world after all. People appreciate your efforts here. They know your worth.” the figure claimed in a mocking tone.

  “I will not be provoked by your words anymore. It is a waste of time to talk to you as you will only do what you find amusing, but I will have no part in your play.”

  “Come on now, no need to be so distant. You are in the world of your dreams, which-in there is magic and mysteries. Do you not wish to remain here forever?”

  “If I say yes, what will you do?”

  “Perhaps I will give you something. A powerful spell or maybe a piece of information that will answer your questions, but beware I can sense all lies so you better answer truthfully,”

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  He had a rather serious tone than his usual playful one.

  There was nothing to gain from lying. It was true that Harwin wanted to return his family, his home but there had been a strange feeling that had began to engulf his whole heart.

  'what if I remained in this world? What if, for once I become selfish? What if I can become the hero I have always fantasized about?'

  These were all the thoughts that had been occupying his mind for the past few days, but the sense of responsibility and duty towards his folks had not faded. He suppressed these emotions as much as possible.

  “I want to return home but I will say this: I have grown a strange feeling, an attachment to this new life. It will, however, not break my resolve.”

  “Splendid, you truly are one of a kind scrape goat. Even though you have not assented to my wishes, you have been honest so I will grant you something but what should it be.....” He stayed quiet for a while and then stated:

  “Oh, I know just the thing. I will give you knowledge, any information you wish to have. Think carefully before asking.”

  Harwin pondered for a while. It was a situation that he might never get ever again. He had been kidnapped before getting knocked out so there was a high chance that he will not be able to make it to the capital. He could ask about his family as well.

  He thought and thought before reaching the conclusion:

  “Can I use any sort of magic. Do I have the talent for that in this world?”

  “Hmm...quite a boring question. You will be disappointed to know that even though you have magika, but your ability or capacity to use spells is so mediocre that it will hardly be of any use to you. That is, if you plan to use it for returning home.”

  ‘That is better than nothing,’ he thought.

  Previously, Harwin had thought that there was no chance for him to ever cast a spell. Now there might be a way to utilize it even if he had little.

  “Thanks,” he showed his gratitude.

  “Oh, unexpected. You are grateful to me for delivering you bad news. You always seem to take me by surprise. Well now, it is time for you to wake up. Good luck getting what you want — that is if you really know what it is.”

  His surrounding slowly started to fade and the figure disappeared in darkness while his body felt as if it was in a vortex. He woke up screaming due to the painful experience.

  “QUIET HUMAN! DO NOT FRET AROUND TOO MUCH OR I WILL TAKE YOUR TONGUE OUT!” A huge figure shouted.

  It had dark-green skin with brown spots all over its body. Its face was ugly with teeth growing out of his mouth.

  'certainly an Orc,' Harwin hypothesized.

  Harwin had heard about these from the caravan members and also read about them in his older world. These were creatures of short-temper and usually not intelligent enough to even have conversations, but this one seemed rather odd.

  “I am terribly sorry. Please forgive my insolence.” he apologized hardheartedly.

  “You are rather well mannered for a human child. I forgive you,” the orc's demeanor had changed all of a sudden.

  “I will be forever grateful for your kind heart and just actions.”

  Harwin then noticed that the monster was in chains from the feet to the neck.

  The orc could not even lower his neck but Harwin here was scared out of his mind. Well, it was reasonable considering the creature's size. It would be better to not make him an enemy.

  “YOU DAMN SCOUNDRELS! SHUT YOUR PATHETIC MOUTHS!” A voice came from rather far.

  Harwin had just observed his surrounding and found himself in what appeared to be a cage. Not just any cage, it was hanging from the branch of one of the red-woods. They must have been at-least a hundred foot above the ground. This sent chills down his spine.

  As the owner of the voice drew closer, Harwin was finally able to see its figure and face. A tall human man with a rather skinny figure, but quite a handsome face. Most importantly, he had pointy ears, his hair was blonde with tinge of green.

  Considering the location and the appearance of the man standing outside the cage; Harwin concluded that this must be one of the wood-elves.

  “I am sorry for disturbing. I just woke up and do not even know where I am. Can you please let me know?” he requested.

  “SHUT YOUR MOUTH YOU FILTH! WHY WOULD I ANSWER ANY OF YOUR STUPID QUESTION. DO NOT SPEAK AGAIN!” His expressions were that of disgust and fury.

  Harwin did not mind as he had heard that elves were extremely proud and arrogant. Still he had not expected such a behavior from a race that was much closer to humans than the beast-men who were much more helpful and kind even though they had enslaved him the first chance they got.

  The elf left after that.

  The orc was staring at his human counterpart for a while now, but Harwin did not want to embark on any new conversations. He did not want to make an enemy of this demon by asking the wrong question. Harwin knew that orc's were short tempered after all so he waited to be spoken to.

  “You are quite knowledgeable, young human. Speaking high-elfin and the demon tongue. Where have you learned all this from?”

  Harwin had not even noticed. Of-course, he was never aware what language he was communicating in. The recipients were the only ones who could tell the difference but there was no need to worry about that as it was a useful skill. Italways impressed people.

  “I am grateful for the compliment, but it is wasted on me. I am, but a simple traveling merchant and have always been passionate about learning new languages.”

  He lied. No-one would believe if he told them the truth, but the other reason was that there was no reason to tell the entire story at all.

  “Hmm...I also speak a few languages. My race, not to speak for everyone, is quite fiery and belligerent especially the young blood. They only live to kill as such I have always preferred the company of other races but I have never been treated with respect." The orc wore a gloomy expression and then continued:

  "Humans or elves even the beast-men belittle me and frown upon me. They think that we are just a bunch of barbarians. Now, I meet a young man who not only speaks my language, but also treats me with respect. I think, we will become friends. Now then tell me your name and also where are you from? There hardly is anything else to do after-all.”

  'He seems like quite a logical fellow.' Harwin thought.

  “I am—” interrupted as always. This had become a classic.

  “Well, if I am asking for someone else's name, I must first state mine as dictates the norms of human society and civilized races culture. I am Borzugal from the country of Gracoger situated in the northern continent. Now, you.”

  “My name is Gor. I have forgotten about my place of origin due to an injury to my head. I do not even remember my real name.”

  “Gor....I see you were captured by demons or Beast-men.”

  “How did you know?” He was suddenly intrigued by this demon’s intuition as he had always thought of them as creatures of low intellect.

  “Well, of-course, by your name. These are names of slaves usually captured by the beast-men or demons. They add a small honorific with their own names if they are free like 'an' or 'al' suffixed at the end of their name.”

  'That is very interesting. I get that example considering the name Borman,' he thought.

  “You are very well-educated, I learned something new today. I am grateful once again.”

  “Oh this is nothing. I am also quite impressed by your mental fortitude. Considering that you have just woken up and discovered yourself encaptured yet remain calm or do you simply lack self-awareness?”

  “That is not the case. I was already a slave as you have guessed from my name so I am not surprised by this swapping of captors.”

  It was half-true. In actuality, he wanted to return back to the caravan where he had already built relations.

  “You should rest for now. It will be better to pass the time while sleeping rather than waiting for someone to free you,”

  After saying that, the orc shut his eyes and dosed off almost immediately.

  It was already dusk. There was not much light due to the dense canopy.

  ‘Will I live tomorrow?’ these thoughts passed through his mind.

  He did not even notice when sleep took over him.

  He remained in deep slumber till the first few shinning rays of dawn woke him right up which was actually the second reason for the disruption of his sleep. The first one being the loud shouting by the guard.

  “WAKE UP YOU SCOUNDRELS! YOUR FOOD IS HERE. EAT, FOR IT MAY BE YOUR LAST MEAL. YOUR SENTENCES WILL BE DECIDED TODAY.”

  Harwin stood up immediately as he had not eaten since yesterday so it was a bliss to be given food right now. The food was not something to look forward to. It was a poorly made porridge which looked like it was made sometime ago, but after arriving in this world, he had forgotten about being picky. He ate only to survive — suppressing any desire for taste.

  “Gor, can you get me something as well. As you can see I am in no state to move.”

  There was a second serving of the porridge, but the guard must have either forgotten to unlock the chains of Borzugal or was simply torturing him.

  Harwin quickly took the plate of porridge and fed him.

  Borzugal had a huge mouth which was of course appropriate to his large body so it only took him one gulp to finish it all. Harwin had some left-over from his plate so he fed it to him as well.

  “I owe you little man. If I ever am in a position to return this favor. I will do so.”

  Now Harwin sat in a corner of the cage, awaiting his captors to pass their judgement. Soon two guards arrived and his face became pale as he knew that his fate was to be decided soon.