The Devil's Cursed Witch

'So many orcs!'

Ember's nervous gaze found at least about twenty or so grayish green giants in addition to the group they met by the river. They were the orcs hunting for food outside their village, and the sight of all of these armed hunters gathering had caused the gloomy atmosphere within the forest to give off a dangerous smell.

Morpheus signaled Ember to be quiet and stay back.

Ember obediently kept herself hidden behind a tree while Morpheus continued on towards the young elf and young eagle, their figures  cutting a sorry figure amidst those monster-like creatures. From the looks of it, they were trying to talk to the orcs, but the orcs were trying to drive them away. For these territorial orcs, it was already a sign of goodwill that they were yet to raise their weapons against these two intruders.

Ember's eyes searched for Albina. 'Where is she?' She moved a little here and there, tiptoeing to gain leverage, trying to see if she could find her beautiful white horse in between those giants.

Albina was behind the group of orcs, and she was kept captive with one orc holding her reins. The poor horse looked restless. An animal's instinct was sharp, and she could feel what was going to happen to her.

Morpheus stood side by side with the two youths and glared at those orcs who of course recognized him. However, the leader of those orcs merely gave Morpheus a growl of warning. They didn't care about his identity--orcs cared little about anyone other than their own kind.

"You heard these kids, right? Give that horse back, and I will let this slide. Today, I am not in a mood to harm anyone."

Aureus looked at his uncle, belatedly realizing that the man had probably come to show off in front of Ember. His eyes seemed to be asking, 'Did you have a good time with her?'

Morpheus ignored his gaze and focused on the orcs. Erlos, encouraged by the fact that he had an additional fighter on his side, pulled his bow out of thin air. "Ugh! I've been telling you over and over again! We just need the horse back! Do you not clean your ears or what?! I am not patient enough! If words won't work on you then I would have no other choice..."

In response, the orcs in the frontline bravely stepped forward as if they would attack them as soon as they made a single move, their heavy weapons raised in their hands to attack the intruders. One of the orcs made a weird sound, and soon, more orcs came to them from the other side of the forest. The twenty-odd orcs had grown to the size of thirty.

"Seems like you guys won't listen, huh?" Morpheus sighed as he stepped forward, spreading his ash gray wings behind him in an intimidating manner.

It was Ember's horse; he would take it back at all costs. Though he didn't wish to harm these orcs, he had no other choice. There were times like this when violence was the question, and the answer was 'yes'.

Thirty orcs versus three.

Ember could not help but feel scared.

'What if something happens to them? It was all my fault. It was I who asked Erlos to come to this side of the river. It was I who chose  to stay there instead of leaving immediately.

'Why am I so thoughtless and reckless?"

Ember could not take it and hurried towards them as she shouted, "Wait! Don't fight!"

Everyone turned towards the delicate figure running towards them.

'I told her to stay back,' Morpheus sighed.

Erlos yelled, "Miss, stay away. We will take care of this quickly."

However, Ember had no plans to listen to anyone. As the person who caused this mess, she didn't want to simply watch on while those three got hurt. She wanted to face the orcs along with her friends.

"Don't fight, please. I am the owner of that horse. That is just one horse that you will eat and forget, but she is someone I can't forget. Please, if you give my horse back, our group will leave at once. You can eat something else. If you want, we can help you hunt for your food."

"How about a gray eagle?" Erlos offered them as he smirked at Morpheus.

"I am sure they are yet to have a lovely taste of a high-grade steak freshly cut off from the highly treasured last descendant of the High Elves," Morpheus shot back, and the next moment, all the orcs looked at Erlos.

"What are you all looking at me for? It can't be that you believe what this bird said--dammit, orcs are simple-minded enough to really believe you!"

The orcs had moved towards Erlos, looking at him from head to toe as if they could not wait to start roasting him. It was a favorable exchange in their mind--a young tender elf was indeed an even tastier meal than the white horse they had taken.

The next moment, Morpheus stood in front of Erlos to block him from those orcs' hungry gazes.

"I just said this elf steak is probably high-grade, but that doesn't mean you can have him for real."

The orcs roared angry at Morpheus while Aureus asked to Erlos, "How come they responded to you and not me or Morph or Ember?"

"Because the blood of High Elves is good for them, kind of like an elixir. They would kill each other to get it if I happen to get into their hands."

"How come they didn't recognize earlier that you are a High Elf?"

"Oh, majority of orcs are too dumb to differentiate High Elves from other clans. Besides, the Head of Witches had given me something to protect my real identity from such dangers as I am the last descendant."

Meanwhile, a small fight had begun. The orc closest to Morpheus had swung a fierce-looking spear towards him, but he was thrown away by Morpheus' wind magic without touching him. The orcs turned angry and their leader signaled his subordinate to take their prized horse away. The opposite party had no plans of  handing back this horse at any cost, and they would even take the elf with them.

Ember saw Albina being taken away, and her blood began to boil as she shouted with all her might, "Give. My. Horse. Back!"

In response, all the orcs stepped back, moving with flawless coordination, and there was a sudden silence within the forest. The three were shocked as well as their gazes moved from Ember to those orcs.