[hider=FLASHBACK]Suddenly, the ghost picked up the green child, his body glowing with corporeal energies as the two flew at great speeds away from the rain and next to a riverbed. The child was unceremoniously dropped onto the floor in surprise and vertigo, nearly vomiting from the sheer speed and suddenness of his travel. Resisting the urge to vomit what little of his meal he had, the child looked to the rather smug looking elf ghost.

[color=a2d39c]"Uuuugh... Why... Are we here?"[/color] 

[b]"You said, and I quote, that you were a 'wet, homeless, weak nobody out in the rain'. So I solved the rain and now you're not!"[/b]

The ghostly elf seemed very proud of her accomplishment, as if she had solved all of the child's issues. The child simply looked at the ghost in disbelief, looking around his surroundings and sitting on the floor. [color=a2d39c]"Well I'm still wet. And now I'm lost. Could you just take me back so I know where I'm at?"[/color] 

The ghost shook her head and seemed apathetic to the young boy's plight. [b]"Pfft. 'Lost'. That's probably just a lie to keep people from having fun in new places. Have you ever gotten hurt while being lost here?"[/b] 

The young boy shook his head and laid his face into his hands. He knew he was a child and that he didn't know how to express himself very well, but the more he spoke to this ghost the more the young child realized what it was like talking to someone stupid, insane, or childish. [color=a2d39c]"I just GOT here."[/color] The ghost pointed her fingers back towards the green-skinned youth as if she was congratulating him. 

[b]"So for all you know, you could be some kind of magical, eviomentally aware mushroom who can spend days in in totally new lands with no ill effects. With no evidence one way or the other, it's entirely irrational to assume being lost is bad for you. Ergo, my solution was perfect and I just solved all your problems. Show a little appreciation!"[/b]

The boy instead just laid back onto the riverbank and looked up to the sky. At least it wasn't raining, but it was still cloudy. He couldn't see the sun beyond the white, puffy clouds. The youngster continued to look skyward, with no noise aside from the river trickling downstream and the occasional cricket of insects. The silence was broken by, of course, the ghost. 

[b]"So... Come on![/b]

[color=a2d39c]"What?"[/color]

[b]"Get up! Go explode something! Go on an adventure! You're sitting there like a broken sack even though I TOTALLY just solved all your problems!"[/b]

At this point the child was getting angry. He was getting very tired of this ghost trying to help, seeing that all he's done is make things progressively worse for him. [color=a2d39c]"I know you're just trying to help or something, but I'm already having a bad day on top of a bad life and I really don't need this right now. My problems aren't the sort of thing you can just "solve" with brute force."[/color]

[b]"But we're barbarians! Solving problems with brute force is our... Thing! It's what we're good at! "[/b]

At this point the child got back onto his feet and roared at the ghost at the top of his lungs. [color=a2d39c]"THEN WHY CAN'T I BE GOOD AT IT!?"[/color] The boy had his hands balled into fists, ready to hurt this ghost even though in the back of his mind he knew he literally couldn't even touch the ethereal specter. Soon the child sat back down, trying to calm himself. [color=a2d39c]"Sorry. It's just... I WANTED to be good at it. More than anything else. When I learned how strong I was, I thought I had finally found my place. And... And I just got reminded that my best isn't good enough. I thought I was something special, and it turned out I was just as worthless, weak, and expendable as I always am."[/color]

Another moment of silence between the two. The child curled his legs up to his body and laid his head down onto his knees. He wasn't going to cry, as he's shed most of his tears already, but he was certainly depressed. He didn't know what to do anymore and he was certain the ghost didn't either. Of course the ghost was thinking about what she could do to help the boy and be the best guardian there is, because she's an elf. And an elf is the best at everything. 

[b]"No, see, that's where we disagree. And disagreeing with an elf is more colloquially known as 'being wrong'. We. Are. BARBARIANS! The most powerful of all mortals! Or ex-mortals! Sure, you've got all these logical, factual reasons about why you're pathetic, or why you'll never amount to anything. And sure, they're probably good reasons that are perfectly correct... If you abide by ordinary, peasant logic. But therein lies your problem, orcshit. You... Are not thinking like a Totem Warrior."[/b]

[color=a2d39c]"Think like a Totem Warrior?"[/color]

[b]"Exactly! Anyone can use common sense. But being a Totem Warrior means having a more accurate interpretation of the world. You've got to see things like they really are, even when they [i]might [/i]not be that way. You need to use things like history! Or bard songs! You have to draw from what you know, and what you don't know. They're basically the same thing anyway."[/b]

At this point the child was very confused, but also too confused to really deny the ghost outright. A bit curious, but mostly confused and in desperate need of clarification. [color=a2d39c]"So what I know is... Also things I know I don't know?"[/color] The ghost seemed very excited when the verdant male sub-infant said this. [b]"Exactly! Now you're thinking like a Totem Warrior!"[/b]

On the other hand the boy was just back to being frustrated and angry again. If he could crush his own skull to understand this dribble, he would. [color=a2d39c]"No, I'm still confused, and talking to a crazy dead elf. What EXACTLY are you trying to say, and what does it have to do with totems or warriors?"[/color] The elf took on a very haughty stance, hands at her waist and chest puffed up. [b]"What I'm saying, filthy casual, is that there's more than one way to use your strength. Warriors rely on power. Demons? Also power. Magical creatures? They're dumb, anything they can do is just plain old power. Power power power. Everyone who causes problems, it's just because they have pure, raw power. A Totem Warrior, though... A Totem Warrior has skills, like me! When faced with unstoppable power, we have the tools to stop it. We're cunning. We're twisted. We're dirty. We GET things."[/b]

The young not-girl just looked at the elf, who misinterpreted his blank stare as wordless understanding. [b]"And if there's ONE thing orcs are good at, it's being cunning. Being skilled, being creative. Also, pirating. But apparently that's illegal now."[/b] The now orcish boy looked at the ghost, still a bit confused but also a hint of hopeful. The ghost at least was encouraging him, even if the boy still had no idea what exactly he could do. 

[color=a2d39c]"I'm... I'm not skilled though."[/color]

[b]"Are you sure?"[/b]

[color=a2d39c]"Pretty sure."[/color]

[b]"If you're not skilled, then how do you know you're right about yourself not being skilled? Check and mate!"[/b]

[color=a2d39c]"I'm. Not. Skilled. Two days ago, I didn't know you could slap someone with a sword."[/color]

[b]"You can also stab someone with a staff. Yester-you was just being open minded!"[/b]

[color=a2d39c]"Okay, yesterday, I let a hunter convince me into giving her all my money and weapons and walked out of the building to hunt a monster, thinking I had done her some great service."[/color]

[b]"Yet you apparently realized otherwise, implying you were able to gauge the strength of your quarry."[/b]

[color=a2d39c]"I keep showing no understanding of my own limits! Just an hour ago I tried to push a rock and couldn't get it to budge."[/color]

[b]"Interesting. How big was this rock?"[/b]

The kid looked around. While it wasn't the same rock, he pointed towards a fairly large stone near a cliff. [color=a2d39c]"About that big. But-"[/color] Suddenly the ghost went over to the rock, effortlessly picked it up, and brought it back to the orc boy. Surprisingly enough, upon closer inspection there seemed to be some words written on the rock, unfortunately in common. [b]"Well no wonder why you couldn't move that rock! There's an unsolved riddle written on it!"[/b] The orc was utterly flabbergasted. [color=a2d39c]"What... How... Does this matter?"[/color] 

[b]"You must not spend a lot of time in ancient ruins. Let's see, in my long elven life I believe it is called a "joke". You use wordplay and insults to tickle the mind's funny bone. Idiots use it to determine when it is time to banish one from their fold. Solving it so you can push the boulder should be a trivial matter for a fellow barbarian like yourself!"[/b]

[color=a2d39c]"I told you I'm not that smart, or skilled, or whatever!"[/color]

That's when the ghost approached the orc boy, a big smile on her face.

[b]"Then prove it."[/b][/hider]

Orchid opened his eyes not long after they closed. He opened and closed his fingers, moved his feet back and forth and looked around. He felt himself and... Well everything was working just like it did before. A bit better actually. Last he remembered he was bleeding and knocked out due to the intense pain of falling forty-some feet onto cold stone floor. Yet aside from the bloodstains he wasn't even sore. [color=a2d39c]"Huh."[/color] Next to him was his shield. Sitting up orchid admired his handiwork. Sure it could use some better work, since it's literally just stretched skin over his shield instead of a properly tanned and treated drakehide, but it looked awesome. He had his machete, his knife, his axe, but not his harpoons. That reminded that with them lost he also lost about 150 feet of rope. Both things which he could easily replace, as harpoons weren't complicated and he knew how to make rope out of rawhide.

More importantly however, where was everyone else? Did the dragon come back and kill them all? Did the dragon come back and they killed it? They did have an epic, world-shattering battle between a dragon and the forces of Greenest, and Orchid was asleep throughout the entire thing!? He needed to figure out what happened before they got into epic battles without him. So standing back on his feet (As oppose to skidding about on his knees) Orchid strapped his shield to his arm and looked outside. Only when he stood up did Orchid realize that Brannor was sitting right next to him this entire time. The half-orc smiled at the warrior, waving his hand in greeting. [color=a2d39c]"Hi. What happen? We kill dragon?"[/color] 

[hider=Info/Rolls]
Health: 14/14
Armor Class: 16
Rage: 0/2
Status: Not dead.
[/hider]