Time

Pride. It was the single word that kept coming back to Sanria, thudding through her mind in time with her beating heart. Her son, her boy, her Orn was becoming a man. Certainly, he still had missteps - his excitement bubbling over like a child, words hastily said without thought when he was nervous, but in the setting sun of the day, she had watched her little boy negotiate with an orc in a free, clear, unabashed way. He had negotiated with the skill of a man...

Sanria had finally taken him to the castle. Taken him to meet the Rilmani and any member of the clan that would meet with him. Her heart warmed at the awe on his face - at once so young and so grown. She had been alive for so many years, years beyond her natural time, but never felt so aged as when Orn, big and gangly, jogged to the edge of the floating island with the exuberance of a lab- orador puppy. "Mirin and Reggie should see this!" Her heart tightened. Al- ready the sphere of his life was moving away from her shadow, gaining a light of its own. Though Emalia and Tarran had grown up, this was the first time she got to see it without guilt, but bent with the weight of loss.

They had entered the castle and met with Jayden and Sanria felt sorrow flitter like a bird behind the cage of her bones. Orn seemed to absorb the tenderness Jayden showed like a sponge. A fatherliness that Colin had obliterated when he had killed Arlenia. Jayden had sensed the sorrow from both of them, and Sanria knew, deep down, she had to get Colin better. She had to try to help Orn look at his own father the way he had looked at Jayden.

Sanria had taken Orn to her office when the yell interrupted their discussion, "Who in there!!!!! Let Kronk in!!!!!!!" Then, leading her son, Sanria stepped out of the castle and face to face with a hulking orc. Fear ripped through her at the sight of the sword and the armor, and her son, her boy, her Orn had stepped in front of -her-. Somehow, time had passed. Her mind swung like a pendulum - boy, man, boy, man. Then she watched with awe as Orn laid down his staff and somehow befriended the orc named Kronk. He had negotiated with the skill of a man.

Freedom Part II

He had searched the corpses, finding a set of keys on the elder of the two.  A chest sat in the doorway, Kronk made his way over  to it and thought about how to open the chest, his eyes drifted  down to his hand where he held a set of keys.  One by one Kronk tried all the keys, as he heard the click his large hand lifted the lid.  Bone armor littered the chest "Kronk gear!" he mouthed. Once properly armored Kronk drew his skull endorned sword and made his way out of the mine.  As he made his way to the surface  Kronk's eyes squinted, he had no idea how long he had been in  the mine, but from his eyes straining he thought it was quite a while.  Kronk walked away from the mine trying to avoid the  village, but as his luck had ran out a child saw him and started to scream.

Within minutes Kronk was trying to escape through the woods when two dwarfs came in from the side to attack.  Kronk raised his sword and let out a bellow of a warcry, he dispatched the first  with a flick of his arm the sword chopping deeply into his mid- section. As the dwarf dropped spilling blood all around him, he choked out "killl...himm!!" The second dwarf took a more cautious  approach as he held his axe up, Kronk tilted into a fighting  posture and angled his sword straight foward to point out his next enemy.  The dwarf made the first move swinging the axe in an  arc toward Kronk, Kronk shifted his sword and caught the axe, the weapons held firm.  Kronk saw the opportunity and took it, he  kicked his foot out and shattered the dwarf's knee, the dwarf  went down screaming. Kronk could still hear the Dwarf screaming as he got closer to  Westbridge, he passed through Westbridge and out of the west gate Kronk found himself in a woods he did not know, but he could not stop he was being hunted like an animal.  The sun was blazing down as he poked his eyes upward seeing an extrordinary island. This island was floating, Kronk thought a moment and grinned, he removed a vial of liquid and drank it down quickly.  Kronk  floated up to the island and finally landed, he walked around for an hour or so when he found himself at a gate, he bellowed out "Who in there!!!!! Let Kronk in!!!!!!!" he proceeded to smash his fist into the gate wondering all the time where is Kronk?

Freedom

Kronk opened his eyes, stunned by what the Dwarfs did to him, he came here looking for a place to rest his head and they drugged him, just to lock him in a cage deep in an old mine shaft. "LET KRONK OUT!!!" the giant Orc bellowed, his calls fell on deaf ears for this was an abandoned mine.  He leaned his head back  against the steel cage and felt him self drifting back into slumber...... Startled by a noise Kronk rose quickly, his head hitting the  metal cage, Kronk looked down to notice his armor was missing and as was his sword, looking around in the dark for the cause of the noise was pointless, for there was nothing around him. Kronk grabbed ahold of the bars on the cage and felt himself transition into a rage that turned his eyes red, his arms buldged and pulled in opposite directions, bending the metal with ease, he kept pulling untill he heard cracking from the structure that held him in, Kronk stopped and repositioned himself where he kicked  out sending two of the bars flying ahead. Once out of the cage Kronk walked the mine for hours trying to find a way out, he stumbled upon and area that was lit by a fire. Kronk walked out into view where two dwarven guards sat slumbering he rushed the one to his left crashing into the Dwarf with all his weight, the bones shattered in the Dwarfs chest, allowing him one last breath before he passed on. Kepron awoke to a startling sound as he watched his fellow guard get crushed, hopping to his feet he grabbed his axe and charged  after the beast.  Kronk turned as the axe came down and grabbed  it with one hand, he then smashed his other hand into the Dwarf's skull crushing it, Kepron dropped to the floor, Kronk was free.