Urgran sighed as his body collapsed in a nearby chair, the view from the open window his only company. From above, Porthcawl sprawled out in its usual busy fashion, a jumble of humans and the occasional orc punctuated by big, overloaded carts full of goods from the not-so-distant docks.

It had been a few months since he left his homelands - Hirane was much smaller in comparison, and the amount of people coming in and out was still overwhelming. The stench of humans was strong as well, a mix of natural musk hastily covered up with overpowered herbs and salves, making midday like this almost impossible to navigate without taking a breather or two. He found his mind wandering back to the orcish marshlands, and Hirane itself, with its slow but steady supply of trade ships exchanging workers ranging as far as Flintforge Deep. The goddess was closer there, not here, and this world felt bright, hot and alien.

The orc winced again, putting attention back to his body - it was clear something was broken. Possibly a rib? The jobs in this city were worse than he expected, even if they were plentiful, and yet again the orc found himself trying to ruminate on his next steps.

“Ah- Excuse me...”

The Orc looked up - The man facing him was a few feet away, barely audible, shifting where he stood and looking as if he had made a horrible mistake. He was younger, perhaps in his early 20’s, with long, intricate robes covering his gangly frame, and vibrant red hair politely tucked under an equally large and ridiculous wizard’s hat.

A deep “What.” is the best the Orc could respond, the pain with each breath becoming more severe and he allowed himself to feel it. The Wizard jumped, motioning to the empty seat across from his table. “I - Well, there aren’t any other seats, so I was wondering...”

Urgran nodded his head, too tired and distracted to argue, as the lithe man quickly darted to the other side and sat down, smiling at him with a warmth he had not felt since leaving home.

“I’ve never met an Orc before. It’s uh, nice to meet you. My name is Gideon.”

The Orc nodded his head, sliding further into his seat in some attempt to keep his body straight. “Urgran.” He responded simply, each word becoming more disrupting.

The human smiled, taking the hint, and pulled out a few tomes, mulling them over and keeping notes in a separate, smaller journal. The writing inside was indecipherable, Elven arcana for sure, and much too difficult for the Orc to even try to understand.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking but, are... are you alright? You look like you’re in some discomfort.” The human inquired after what felt like a long time.

Urgran grimaced, looking over the human with whatever he could muster before shaking his head. “I’m fine. I just need to catch my breath before I can finish this next job.”

The human frowned, looking over the Orc with a peculiar sharpness in his eyes. “You’re kidding yourself. You have a broken rib. It’s on the right side, isn’t it?”

“Here, let me try something...”

Urgran yelped as he felt a pair of warm hands glide across his chest, the shock of being touched almost comparing to the pain of having his ribs being jostled. Gideon stayed resolute, carefully feeling each rib before settling on the injured one. “I’m not a healer, but this should at least set things for now. But you should really try to rest...”

The pain was shocking. The wizard’s hands radiated heat as magic surged into Urgrans’ skin, a searing warmth that moved through his body, clumsily knitting the broken bones back together. The Orc, his knuckles white, grabbed at Gideon’s wrists as the wizard finished at last, the air crackling with arcane energy. Soon enough, the pain reduced to a manageable throb.

“...There we go, that should do it.”

Urgran and Gideon’s eyes met, hands still interlocked for a moment before letting go.

“Thank you… Human.” The Orc said after a moment, tenderly touching his chest. “I’ve received little kindness here.” The wizard frowned, returning to his seat and scribbling down a few notes. “I’m afraid it’s been the same for me. Porthcawl is a lot... more than I expected. I’ve been trying to find work for a few weeks now.”

The Orc nodded his head, the sensations of that warm touch still fresh in his mind. “I hardly know anything about magic, and it looks like you... hardly know anything about fighting. Maybe we could... find something that we could both do?”

The human looked back at the orc, his puzzled expression turning into a lopsided smile. “I haven’t heard of a human and orc team before. It sounds fascinating.”

Urgran could feel his cheeks burning, looking away from the wizard. “I’ve heard of much worse.”