Preparation II

"Their leader is named Jeera." The agent continued. "He was the son of a powerful Orc chief in the past, but his father was defeated and he was driven away."

Freya was intently listening to this information. "Now, he gathered a bunch of misfit warriors and is raiding human settlements to gather fame and influence among his kind. So that one day he may return and avenge his father."

"What of his strength?" Freya asked, wanting to assess her future opponent.

"He is a skilled warrior, proficient in his father's technique, wielding two axes." Lorcias pulled out a roll of papers from his pocket and passed it on to her. "This contains all the information regarding his battle prowess and that of his twelve followers."

Freya accepted the papers and gave it a quick look. As she began to study the papers, the information broker continued to speak.

"Jeera is the most powerful, but you shouldn't ignore the others. The second in command, Kara, is a third circle mage proficient in the water elements. There are even some rumors that she may have awakened its variant, the Ice element."

"The rest of them are also good warriors." Lorcias gave her a sympathetic look. "But they are a bunch of misfits, so Jeera has a hard time keeping them under control."

"Tell me about his one." Freya handed him a paper with information about one of the orcs.

"Ah, Roya, she may not be as powerful as Jeera and Kara, but she will be a threat nonetheless." Lorcias explained, "She is a very efficient beast tamer. Under her command, there are several wolves and even a direwolf. You have your work cut out for you. Luckily for you, your team is also quite powerful, so you have a chance of dealing with them. Do you want to know about them?"

"No that's fine." She refused to get information about her team from others. She would prefer it if she got to know them herself.

'What else should we ask, Art?' She asked the ancient mage. She was out of questions as her mind was already focusing on the information about the Orc raiders.

'You should ask about that old man.' Artium quickly replied as he was still curious about the miserable looking old man. 'What was his name? Edward Godmond.'

"Tell me what you know about Edward Godmond." Freya asked.

"Edward Godmond, the man you met outside the blacksmith's shop." Lorcias immediately replied with a smile. "I have some information about him but it is going to cost you this time. One hundred silver coins."

A hundred silver coins, Freya was appalled. She just asked him a simple question about a ragged old man and it cost this much. Then she reminded herself that the old man was an Aura knight and a former noble as well. So she reluctantly handed over the hundred coins.

"Thank you." Lorcias greedily accepted the coin bag before he continued with his information. "Edward Godmond, now just Edmond, was the heir to the title of marquis in the once prestigious noble family of Godmond of the Kraus Kingdom."

"Their family earned its fame and fortune by fighting in the last great demon war a few centuries ago." The Web of Secrets' agent continued to explain. "Edward himself became a powerful Aura knight at young age, trained by his father in their family's secret swordsmanship."

"Trouble began, when he fell in love and later married the daughter of a duke of the kingdom." Lorcias continued as grim expression appeared on his face. "The woman he married had been pursued by the seventh prince for years, but was completely rejected. Years later, when he came back from a long war in the outskirts of their nation and heard of their marriage, in a fit of jealousy he attacked the family manor and massacred everyone, even killing the woman he claimed to have loved."

Freya also had a grim expression on her face, she didn't expect his past to have been so dark. She listened intently as Lorcias continued the story.

"Edward, who had been out at the time with his newborn son, came back to find his family killed and a bloodied prince standing over the body of his beloved. Enraged, he attack the prince and his guards, who, while a seasoned warrior, were no match for an Aura knight. The Prince's head fell, along with all his guards."

"When the King heard of this, he knew that his son was the one at fault." Lorcais continued his story. "But he could not just forgive the murder of royal. He stripped Edward of his title and banished him from the country. Distraught with his family's massacre, Edward came to Chemor and tried to find a job, but the official of the country were suspicious of him and hence he remained jobless."

"That's how he became such a miserable man, trying to feed his son and train him to inherit the swordsmanship of their family. Yet, fate wasn't done with him yet. His son was afflicted with a dangerous bone disease that left him unable to walk, let alone train. That's where you met him, trying to sell his family heirloom to collect coins for his son treatment."

As Lorcias ended his tale, a wave of silence enveloped the room. Freya was lost in her thoughts, pitying the unlucky man. While Lorcias sat back into his seat, patiently waiting for his client to digest the information.

Freya stood up from the seat and pocketed her card. She thanked the broker and bid farewell, as she had a lot to think about. She began to walk back towards the inn where she stayed.

Back in her room, she decided not to overthink the sad past of the old man and focus on the enemies she will be chasing in a few days. According to the papers, the group had stolen enough horse for all of them. So they were quite quick to attack, plunder and retreat. They only stole livestock and supplies.

The Orc society had no use for coins, as they were are warrior race, more concerned with plundering riches rather than spending them. So at the end of each raid, they will pile up everything they stole. They would then either burn or throw in the river everything that wasn't food or livestock.

Jeera, their leader, was personally responsible for killing the captains of the guards protecting the villages and town he raided. While his followers killed the rest. They would kill all men, including the elders, and kidnap the women. Leaving behind only the now orphaned children.

Freya continued to study the group members one by one. Luckily, while they were strong, none of them have been trained in any specific form of combat like Jeera. They were all just common orcs that become stronger by pillaging and robbing the weak civilians over the years.

The problem, however, was that under Jeera's command, this rag tag group of misfits became a team of efficient killers. That meant they would have to deal with the leader first and foremost. And that wasn't going to be easy.

Freya sat in her bed as the moon rose in the night sky. She tried to think of way that would allow their team to kill Jeera as quickly as possible, but with the mage, Kara and the other members, it almost seemed impossible.

'Worry about that later.' Artium spoke suddenly, bringing her out of her deep thoughts. 'For now, check out the skills you gained after the job change.'