Korik
Koriklingeredneartheback of the group as they made their way south. The elves seemed understandably nervous around him, so he did his best to keep a respectful distance without straying too far from the group. In the latter half of the day, though, his pace was slowed more by the aching of his feet than anything else. He couldn’t remember the last time that he’d walked so much on foot. When it had been only him and Varen, the journey somehow seemed less difficult; but maybe that had just been the adrenaline of it all. And he hadn’t been trying to keep up with horses, no matter how slow their pace.
But he kept his head down and did his best not to fall too far behind. The other elves on foot seemed to fare no better than him, though; and by the time the sun was touching the horizon, they were preparing to make camp.
Alwyn, the mage, seemed much improved as he hopped down from his horse. Korik approached him, pulling the little vial out of his pocket.
“I wanted to ask you something,” he said when the elf noticed him, glancing up with a questioning expression. He showed Alwyn the vial; the elf had no outward reaction. “Is this what they were giving you? Do you remember?”
Alwyn looked at it for a moment. “I think it is. I don’t remember well, but... I think that’s it.”
“Do you know what it is?” Korik asked. Alwyn’s expression darkened, so Korik added nervously, “I’ve never seen anything like it before... which concerns me.”
“No,” Alwyn said, shaking his head. “I don’t know what it is, either. Your knowledge of the matter is surely more thorough than my own.”
Whether he was referring to his profession as a healer or just the fact that he was an orc, Korik could not tell. It didn’t matter either way, since he had no idea what the tincture was, so he only nodded and put the vial back in his pocket.
“I will do some research,” he said, shrugging. “See if I can sort out an antidote to it, too. How are you feeling today?”
Alwyn’s expression seemed to lighten somewhat. “Better, thank you. I think tomorrow I should be fine walking rather than riding.”
“If you start feeling unwell, let me know,” Korik offered, and the elf nodded.
“Thank you,” he said, already sounding distracted. “I’m going to go help set up camp.”
He turned and walked away without waiting for Korik to respond. He wasn’t sure if he should feel embarrassed at the sudden end of their exchange. Part of him felt a little annoyed, perhaps; but people had always been short with him, elf and orc alike. He would never be a good conversationalist, so he couldn’t blame them for wanting to leave the conversation.
He found Varen easily enough; the commander was directing the elves, assigning some to start on the tents, others to start a fire, and the rest to scavenge for food to supplement the rations they’d looted. The elf’s hazel eyes lingered on Korik as he approached, but he did not address him directly until the other elves around him had all been assigned jobs.
“I have a task for you,” he said, not quite meeting Korik’s eyes. “I won’t be able to scout as well as I did with this large of a group to manage. I need you to scout for me. Morning and night, ideally.”
Korik bristled. “That is... a lot.”
“But you can do it, can’t you?” Varen pressed. “You’ve been doing the same when it was just us. I know you don’t want anyone else finding out, but... It would keep everyone safe. If nothing else, it would make me feel more at ease.”
Korik wanted to protest again; he hated how presumptuous it was, as if Varen could demand such things from him. He’d made it clear that he didn’t even want to admit his abilities to the elf, except that they had been in an emergency. Now things were much less urgent, yet Varen still meant to use him, as if he were some tool that existed only for his benefit.
Despite the anger rising in his chest, Korik couldn’t bring himself to refuse entirely. There was some truth to what Varen said, after all—it would be harder for the commander to scout now that they had such a large group. And Korikcoulddo it. There had been no sign that they would be followed, but that could change at any time.
It would be the practical thing to do, no matter how he felt about Varen being the one to all but demand it of him.
“First, I want to reiterate something,” Korik finally replied, looking down at his feet to avoid having to look the elf in the face. He hated speaking like this. “I am not yours to command. You mayrequestthings of me, but I am no soldier to be steered as you see fit. I have no obligation to you, save for the care I provide Enriel.”
He could hear Varen suck in a sharp breath; but before the elf could protest, he continued quickly, “I will scout once a day, twice if I can. Not because you’retellingme to. But because I can recognize it’s the best way to keep everyone safe. Which I want as much as you do, if you can believe it.”
“I’m not commanding you,” Varen interjected, and Korik scoffed.
“You certainly did notaskme,” he replied, and Varen seemed to have no reply to that. “I trusted you with that knowledge. Knowledge that was never meant to be shared. Please don’t make me regret it.”
For a long moment, Varen did not respond. Korik kept his eyes firmly down at the ground, feeling heat and worry rising in his face with every passing second. Despite everything, he didn’t want the elf to be upset with him—he couldn’t pinpointwhy, but the thought of Varen being angry at him made him feel even worse.
Finally, though, the elf let out a soft chuckle. “I think that might be the most you’ve ever said to me, healer,” he said. Korik glanced up at him in concern; but Varen only had a small, chagrined smirk on his face now. “And you’re right. I didn’t ask. And you are no soldier for me to command. I apologize. It’s... difficult to break out of that mindset, sometimes. But I will try harder.”
Korik flushed, taken aback. He hadn’t expected the arrogant commander to back down so easily, to agree with him so readily. What was he supposed to say now?
“I...” he stammered. “Er. Thank you. I appreciate the apology.”
“Just... Please scout when you can, and keep me updated,” Varen said, still smirking. “And if I start bossing you around again, you can call me out on it.”
