Tarren paced the halls of his posting with growing aggravation. 'There was no attack recently. There will not be an attack today. There will not be any attacks within the coming months. Yet here I stand, wasting my time. It was late in the night, the moon stood high in the sky. Whatever mages that would have been lining these halls were fast asleep, comforted with their protection. Respecting such protection was however, far on their list. 'How many times must I have to prove myself to gain the respect I deserve.'<br/><br/>He continued his paces, lost in his thoughts until his foot caught hold of an item, causing him to stumble to the ground, hands to his sides. Grimacing with rage, he took the offending object into his hands and was about to hurl it across the room. His arm caught halfway through the swing, halting it's motions. Out of curiosity he brought his hand before him, and slowly peered into his palm. Resting carefully was a small, simple red tinted ring.<br/><br/>What it was doing lying in the floor mattered little to Tarren. Mages tended to cast aside useless knickknacks often enough. For some reason however, this ring did not appear so useless. He jostled it about his hand, felt it's weight wondering where it had come from. A gruff voice quickly interrupted his concentration though.<br/><br/>"Nice fall child. Perhaps learning to walk would be wise before arming yourself as such." Surprised at the outburst from seemingly no where and infuriated with the insults on his name, Tarren drew a dagger, clenching the ring tightly in the other hand, and whirled around ready to charge the intruder. What stood before him gave him reason for pause however. A giant of an orc, clad in thick armor. Undeterred after the initial surprise, he threw the dagger directly at the intruding orc, who in turn quickly raised his shield to stop the offending blade. "Ah, so you do have the skills. And a rage I have not felt in a good long while. It displeases you that so many belittle your skills doesn't it Halfling?"<br/><br/>Startled by the words, Tarren finally allowed himself ease slightly, no longer on the attack. "How do you know of such things orc? There hasn't been a single one of your kind within this city since it's founding."<br/><br/>The orc seemed to grin, though it could have been a snarl as far as Tarren could tell. "I know many things, but foremost I know that you want to be feared and respected for the skill you possess. And I know you want to put those who wrong you in their place, beneath your boot."<br/>Tarren looked at him, and back to the ring in his hands. Holding it aloft betwixt his index and his thumb, he looked hard at the red circle. "You have allowed those who spit in your name to roam free for to long. Allowed them to step past you, throwing you and your skills aside. No more. They will know your name and rightfully fear it. It shall be a much different world from this day forward."<br/><br/>Tarren looked up from the ring at the orc, but he was nowhere to be seen. The hall was again empty. Slowly, he slipped the ring onto his finger and moved to re-sheath his dagger. Lifting the blade and placing it in it's rightful place, he looked once more at where the orc once was. "Yes... A much different world indeed."