https://i.imgur.com/TZFDaPS.png With the good doctor's tender ministrations finished, mostly with the orkhai snoring, Thomas could scarcely believe his luck. Then the man had to ruin it by talking about payment for services rendered, for tending to "it" -- the doctor as well as Thomas could produce...

https://i.imgur.com/TZFDaPS.png Thomas hovered nearby as the ork got into bed, knowing that he was useless. To touch a man who was so clearly determined to accomplish this task on his own would be an insult, and given the disparity between their heights and weights, he was unsure he could hold the ...

https://i.imgur.com/TZFDaPS.png One of the benefits of a lifetime of verbal abuse, indifference, and living at the capricious whims of and tempers of various caretakers throughout the years was that the pain of verbal slights was dulled. Actual physical pain made Thomas buckle quite easily. He was ...

https://i.imgur.com/TZFDaPS.png Thomas was impressed once again. Beyond being physically strong and obviously sturdy, the ork could endure quite a bit of pain. He wondered what sort of life he'd had that he'd gotten so much practice, but he knew that most of the tribes of orkhai led brutal lives. T...

https://i.imgur.com/TZFDaPS.png Thomas saw the ork reposition himself. "You are wise, my friend," he said, meaning it. Men who were otherwise strong could be laid low by injuries and their mending. The orkhai knew that despite the fortitude he had to come this far, he needed to brace himself. There...

https://i.imgur.com/TZFDaPS.png Thomas was observant enough to pick up on the ork's deteriorating state. I'm losing him. Despite himself, despite knowing nothing about this stranger, that felt like a great injustice, and it spurred him to action. "I'm going to start by cleaning the wound. You've pa...

https://i.imgur.com/TZFDaPS.png Thomas looked at him a bit sadly, but he did not fault the strange orkhai the impulse. He'd also grown up poor, and medical care was not cheap in Grisic. He could certainly understand not wanting to owe a stranger something, even if his life depended upon it. Funny t...

https://i.imgur.com/TZFDaPS.png Thomas hadn't brought his gun to meet the purported vagrant, because his assumption had been that he wouldn't need one. When the ork's eyes snapped open, he had a brief instant to reflect on how that may have been a mistake before he was being choked. One hand met th...

https://i.imgur.com/TZFDaPS.png Thomas had not warmed up to the realities of being a Celebrant in the months since he had wed into wealth and power. A real Celebrant , Wendall had said wryly, making a demarcation between those that were born to it like himself, those that had earned it like Taelian...

https://i.imgur.com/TZFDaPS.png It was Velx's turn to lean on him for support. Evidently this magic took a lot out of her. Frankly, that reassured Thomas. Mages were terrifying to him. Any demonstration that their abilities were taxing for them to use helped make him feel a bit less vulnerable to t...