I walked over to check the bodies of my kills. Reaching down I found a pouch on each. I gathered the ten pouches and let everyone else loot their own kills. As I collected the pouches the loot inside appeared on my data pad. Ten clubs, seven daggers, rope, disguise kit, leather worker tools, 3 healing potions, and F grade datura poison. I frowned. Most of it was useless but if Mia found another Shadow Faction member, she could sell it and get us some more gold.

“You can have my loot.” Shia leaned close to my ear. “I don’t need much, but if you find anything sweet, it’s mine.” She winked, and her big dark eyes fell to my chest. “I’ll take you, too.”

I looked over at the shredded body parts on her part of the battlefield. Not a complete torso among the pile. A single furry tail still twitched in the tall grass attached to nothing. “No offense Shia, but you scare the steaming squash out of me.”

“I do that to most men.” She smiled, she reached out a hand and vines crawled out of her fingertips up my arm to my shoulder. The vines squeezed gently then slithered down my arm to my forearm. She sighed and turned to walk away, “don’t be afraid Barker, I don’t bite.” She watched over her shoulder with her owl eyes and swayed her hips as she walked away.

“You have ruined your fur robe.” Mia startled me walking up behind me. “It’s all covered in blood. I can clean it if you like.” She licked the back of her hand.

I shook off the willies. “Did you get your loot?” I changed the subject. Imagining my beautiful Mia licking the blood off my fur robe did nothing good for me. Perhaps I wasn’t orc enough.

“I did, I gave the gold to Thurnar.”

I laughed, “is he our treasurer now?”

“He’s the best one for it.” She answered. “He can do your bargaining as well if you like. He has the knack for it. He was a salesman after the war. He told me that is how he raised his family.”

“Well then give him these.” I pulled the daggers and clubs from my pouch keeping only one dagger. “I have some leather working tools as well if anyone knows how to use them.”

“I’ll ask around,” Mia said. She took the daggers and clubs and slipped them into her pouch. They shrank down as she dropped them through the opening. It struck me as strange that such a thing was so reasonable to them. Of course, she was an NPC I suppose the only person it should be strange to, is me. “You don’t want her, you know.”

“What’s that?” I looked up into Mia’s green eyes. “Who Shia? I’m just teasing her. Or rather she is teasing me. I don’t think she means anything by it.”

“You're not her kind of man.” Mia frowned, “You are too sweet. She will eat you alive and move on to a true predator. You need someone sweet to raise a family with.”

“Who said I wanted to raise a family?” I answered.

“Your eyes, just now as you said it. You are a family man,” she paused, but you are hiding something.” She narrowed her eyes. “Do you already have a family?” She looked hurt and stepped back.

I plastered on a smile and faked a laugh, “I promise I don’t have any orclets running around.”

“A wife?” She took another half step back.

“No.” I lied. Elizabeth, my betraying mind offered up. I dropped down and pretended to look through the gross pile of body parts snatching out a dozen pouches and dropping them into my own. “I don’t think so. I don’t remember much before I met you.”

“Did something happen to you?” Mia stepped back to me and placed a hand on the back of my head. Her soft hand felt incredible on my bald head.

“Something did happen to me. I don’t know exactly what but I’m trying to work it out.”

“That’s terrible, you don’t remember anything before you walked into my pub?” She squatted down on her haunches. “Were you in an accident or something?”

“I remember a swamp and I remember a big snake.” I looked up at her then dropped my voice, “And I remember you.”

She smiled and then licked my face. Her scratchy tongue went right up my cheek. Her breath was sweet in my nostrils. She winked at me. “Well don’t forget me too.”

“You will never leave my side,” I said touching my cheek.

I checked my loot as she walked over to speak with Thurnar. Elf Cloak, brass knuckles, boots, Dragon face mask, lockpicks, jerky, and a ring of rejuvenation.

“What about me?” Tootsie asked flying overhead. “Will you keep me by your side?”

“I can’t get rid of you Tootsie. Who else will tell me what I need to know after it is too late?”

“That hurts.” She pouted, “I won’t tell you then.”

“What?”

“No worries, I'll tell you once it is too late.”

“Stop messing around Tootsie and just tell me.”

“You should try on your gear, ooh start with the mask, it will make it easier to look at your pig face.” She laughed.

I clapped my hands together and talked like a teenage girl. “Ooh does it scare off creepy hummingbirds too?” I pulled out the Dragon face mask and tried it on. It was only the top half of the face, so my tusks held it to my cheekbones.

Dragon face mask: throw flames for thirty seconds once per day, immunity to fire while wearing.

I smiled and tucked the mask back into my pouch. I pulled out the boots next and put them on.

Common boots armor +1

I tried on the brass knuckles.

Brass Knuckles Strength +10%

Everything seems to have some sort of benefit. I snatched the ring out and slipped it onto my other hand.

Healing; Constitution: 10/17

I watched for a few minutes until my constitution climbed to 11 and realized for the first time that my constitution was my health.

Each attribute was linked to a need such as shelter, thirst etc. I needed to spend more soul points on them, but I needed to focus on just a couple in order to have the upper hand. I knew I could raise strength naturally and I could raise mana as far as I could tell by meditating under the tree. I needed more spells to balance out my fighting. There were too many things to spread my points out to. I needed to narrow it down. I decided to hold onto my soul points a little longer until I knew more clearly what path to take.

“Agatha and Millie are getting too far ahead, Chief Barker.” Goar was standing over me while I was deep in thought. “Shouldn’t we catch up?”

I looked over to see the elves teasing Thurnar’s sons. Everyone was finished looting and was now chatting waiting for my orders. “Let’s roll out.”

“Tootsie, can you buzz on ahead and keep an eye on them, let me know if we are losing them.”

“Can do Pig Face.”

“It’s Barker now,” I called after her.

“Woof, woof,” She called back.