"We arrived well, Alyon; let's get our business done and leave quickly!"
The hulking orc didn't answer; as he started walking, following his friend, the only question on his mind was how Nafız learned about this place that even he didn't know.
While her buzz-cut hair stood erect like hedgehog quills on her head, the female orc was looking at the strange door in front of them. The flat stone wall had no handle; looking at the deep slit in the middle, it was understood that it could be opened toward both sides with the help of a mechanism.
"Only orcs can enter here; there must be something around here that will allow them to recognize our race!"
Alyon, watching his friend look left and right, was following her like a duckling following its mother since he didn't know what to do.
Luckily, the search didn't last long; with the discovery of a hollow remaining on the right side of the door, Nafız would figure out what they needed to do.
"Spit into this!"
While handing one of the two glass containers in her hand to Alyon, she also told him what he needed to do; if she wasn't mistaken, a DNA test was required for the door to open.
"Haayyyk ptuuu!"
Nafız, who politely transferred the liquid gathered under her tongue into the container, was startled by the sound coming from her side.
"Son, we just told you to spit, not leave your tonsils in it!"
Alyon had gone overboard; the small container was already filled to the brim.
"Come here; I can't touch that disgusting thing!"
When they went to the hollow with her friend following her, they saw an indentation the size of the base of the container in their hands.
"Put what you have there; hey, slowly, don't spill it around!"
The moment both placed their containers into the indented spots, the samples slid down a tunnel opening beneath them. Before even five breaths had passed, the stone door would begin to open with a loud noise. While Alyon was in astonishment, Nafız's eyes, not expecting the process to be this fast, lit up.
'If it were SSK, we would have to wait a few days; and they call this place the Orc Steppes...'
While lamenting inwardly, the duo started walking on the path appearing before them and would encounter a sparkling view; millions of jewels possessing dazzling colors were shining inside display cases.
With their arrival at the center of the room, the glass of two counters automatically lifted into the air; while one red and one green stone looked at them, they were practically screaming "take us."
"Welcome to the reward dungeon named Treasure of the Orcs!"
The cold and metallic voice had returned, officially declaring that they had entered the fourth reward dungeon on the continent.
"Since you belong to the orc race and have succeeded in coming here, you may take your reward!"
"Is that it?"
There were many questions hidden within the two words coming out of Alyon's mouth; unfortunately, Nafız didn't have the time to deal with them.
"Like it said, this is a place where only orcs can enter!"
While the hulking orc, whose gray hair made him look older than he was, nodded as if he understood, an explanation regarding the bright jewels would come.
"The jewels you will take are objects that will bring you back to the Orc Steppes the moment you break them, wherever you are. Please bind them to yourselves by shedding your blood on them!"
Complying with the given instruction, the duo dripped the blood flowing from their cut fingers onto the red and green stones; the jewels, rapidly absorbing the liquids on them, hovered a breath later and landed in the orcs' hands.
"Congratulations, adventurers; you will be sent to a random point within the continent from the portal remaining on your right!"
When the metallic voice fell silent, the dungeon's function had ended. What fell to Alyon and Nafız would be to leave this place by going to the indicated location.
"Come here; it's talking about that thing like a lighted door!"
Nafız, looking at her friend holding the jewel in his hand tightly, pulled him by his arm and brought him in front of the portal with her.
"Let's link arms, or one of us will end up in Anya and the other in Konya!"
The friends, stepping shoulder to shoulder through the gate where a revelry of light was taking place, would find a completely different view in front of them when they opened their involuntarily closed eyes.
The branches of trees rising in dense order had covered the green carpet formed by wild weeds grown on the ground; moonlight was flowing through the leaves, blessing the places it touched with a silvery brightness.
While Nafız and Alyon were swept away by the wind of these magical moments, a sound that would interrupt their pleasant moments echoed in the environment like the buzzing of a fly coming just as one is about to fall asleep.
"These stupid Druids are still chasing after keeping the greenery around alive instead of thinking about their lives!"
The owner of the words was speaking angrily, getting closer to where the duo was with every step.
"The power source of the shield they are hiding behind is also the thing feeding this greenery, so control your hands and feet!"
While mutual conversations accompanied the approaching footsteps, the two groups came face to face a few breaths later.
"Orcs!"
"Orcs are here; draw your weapons!"
The group of humans, consisting of about ten people, would switch to battle formation in panic upon seeing Alyon and Nafız before them. Since their enemies were two people, they had encircled them; judging by their demeanor and movements, they were not unaware of what was going on over the Orc Steppes.
"Captain, these must be spies!"
"Let's catch and torture them!"
The moment all gazes turned to him, the leader of the young soldiers roared with anger.
"Shut your mouths!"
His voice was as hard as a rock, and it grew as it advanced in waves, as if thrown into still water.
"Are you the captain of these?"
While they were discussing among themselves what to do with the two orcs they caught, something none of them expected happened; the thin female orc in leather armor was speaking to them.
"What is it to you!"
The person who had just scolded his team laughed under his mustache while looking at Nafız; since orcs outside the continent were known for their low intelligence, his answer was purely intended to mock.
"Alyon, it's enough if you stand still; I will move a little!"
As soon as her words ended, the female orc flew onto her friend; after wrapping her two legs around his thick waist, she spun a full circle around him. Her movements were so rapid that the humans positioned around her couldn't even see when she drew her bow and released the arrows that would enter their throats.
The only survivor among them was the person who was their captain; currently sitting where he was with the shock of the arrow entered his calf, he was trying to reach for his shield that had fallen to the side.
"Tell us, Captain America, who are you?"
While Nafız kicked the shield in the hand of the person she would interrogate hard, her friend stood beside her, watching silently.
"What do you take me for? I would rather die than talk to you!"
As soon as the last word left his mouth, the soldier's neck fell to the side, and there was an indifferent expression on the face of Nafız, who was slowly pulling her kick back.
"Nafız, should we have tortured him a little and made him talk? At least we would have learned where we are!"
When the dead man's body lay next to the leaves falling from the trees, Alyon was questioning his friend's hasty decision.
"Look at their state; obviously, they were a scout team sent to the front lines as a patrol."
"In all probability, we are just inside the border of the Wild Swamp; just walking toward the direction they came from will be enough!"
Like his friend, Alyon had also more or less guessed where they were, but a voice inside him was telling him to be cautious.
"Nafız, we are very close to the place we want to come, and I can understand the desire you carry very well, but shouldn't we sit down and make a detailed plan first?"
The female orc, who started walking ahead, stopped suddenly without advancing any further after her friend's words; although she tried to look relaxed, the ambition in her voice would cause the leaves on the ground to lift into the air.
"We made plans for almost six anniversaries, and what happened, Alyon? Some cur came and took your self-confidence and my Blood Warrior away!"
While the hulking orc's graying hair was blown away by the effect of the pressure coming toward him, all kinds of birds perched on the trees would take flight at the same time.
"From now on, no tactics, BAM BAM BAM!"