Smoked Meat

From the changing light, Tiffany knew it was already dark.

After all, Mr. Malone was human. It was best not to wander around an Orc camp at night.

That was what Tiffany thought. For all sorts of reasons, she was very worried something might happen to Malone.

"I'll go now..."

Tiffany's words naturally did nothing to sway Malone. He was about to leave the wooden hut.

But when Malone reached the entrance, he spotted an unwelcome guest.

"What are you doing in the dark?"

A familiar voice that Malone hated rang out.

Kaldara, the Blademaster, lifted the canvas covering the entrance and peered into the hut.

It had been almost a day since they'd last met, but Malone hadn't missed him one bit.

"What are you here for?"

Malone took half a step back, clenched his fists, and shouted as he assumed a defensive stance.

In the faint moonlight, Malone watched Kaldara's expression.

If he saw even the slightest hint of malice on the man's face, he would fight Kaldara without hesitation.

After a day of training, Malone thought he could at least hold out against Kaldara until Teron Gorefiend came to help.

"I came to thank you!"

Kaldara seemed not to notice Malone's expression at all. He lowered the canvas serving as a door and walked in, with Teron Gorefiend following behind him, his face grim.

"What's with that look...? I told you, I'm not here to fight."

Kaldara seemed to be carrying something. He gently set it down beside his feet, then spoke to Malone.

"Hmph... Not long ago, you said you wouldn't lay a hand on Tiffany, but then you turned around and started using her safety to threaten me. If I trusted you again, I'd be an idiot."

Malone spoke with disdain.

So much for being a Blademaster. He was still a guy with no sense of honor. Didn't he feel any shame about bullying a woman?

Of course, Malone hadn't considered one thing.

He had received a modern education and moral guidance back on Earth, which was why he believed women deserved respect.

But Kaldara was an Orc born and raised on Draenor, and one of the most vicious and aggressive Blademasters of the Burning Blade, at that.

He might have a lot in common with humans, but expecting him to respect women who had little ability to produce or fight was laughable.

"Okay, okay... Don't be so petty..."

Kaldara waved his hands as if to placate Malone while looking around for something.

"What are you looking for?"

Teron Gorefiend spoke up.

"Forget it. I'll go get something and start a fire. I can't stand not being able to see a thing in here."

Without waiting for Malone or Teron Gorefiend to respond, Kaldara turned and left the wooden hut.

"Mr. Malone, what happened?"

Tiffany asked anxiously.

"It's nothing."

That was all Malone could say to fob Tiffany off.

Fortunately, the moonlight filtering into the hut was dim, so Tiffany hadn't seen Kaldara's face. Otherwise, she would have been frightened all over again.

"What did he come here for?"

Malone asked Teron Gorefiend.

"I don't know."

Teron Gorefiend answered curtly.

There was nothing Malone could do about that answer.

His two-handed greatsword was outside the hut, since it was inconvenient to carry. He hadn't brought it in.

For a moment, Malone had even considered fetching the greatsword. Being unarmed with a Blademaster nearby made him feel a little uneasy.

But on second thought, Malone decided against it. They weren't going to fight here anyway, and it was pitch-black. He didn't want to accidentally hurt Tiffany.

While Malone wondered what on earth Kaldara had come for, the man had already returned.

Just like before, he seemed to be carrying something.

"What is that?"

Malone asked warily.

"Firewood."

Kaldara's answer made Malone pause. In the meantime, the Blademaster had dumped the things in his arms onto the ground with a clatter.

In the darkness, Malone could just make out Kaldara crouching on the ground, then fumbling around for something on his person.

The next second, a tiny red glow appeared inside the hut.

By its light, Malone saw Kaldara blow on a pile of sticks on the ground, then touch the glowing ember to the middle of the pile.

"Are you... starting a fire?"

Malone asked hesitantly.

"Obviously! This is a firebrand, and that's firewood. What else would I be doing?"

Kaldara replied irritably.

Soon, the firebrand in Kaldara's hand caught the sticks alight. He grabbed a few handfuls of dry grass from the pile in the corner and put them on the fire.

The dry grass quickly caught fire. A campfire soon blazed inside the little wooden hut, bringing light, and... alarm.

"Ah! Mr. Malone!"

Tiffany began to scream.

The moment the firelight appeared, Tiffany first saw Mr. Malone, whom she hadn't seen all day. Her joy was quickly replaced by terror at the sight of Kaldara's hateful, frightening face.

"It's all right, it's all right, Tiffany. Don't be afraid..."

Malone tried to comfort her, though he knew his words sounded rather hollow.

"Why are you yelling...?"

Kaldara glanced at Tiffany, as if the shrieking human woman was getting on his nerves.

"All right, tell me. What exactly did you come here for? Surely it wasn't just to start a fire?"

Malone asked.

"I came to bring you something nice."

Kaldara answered, pointing at the large lump he had just brought in.

"What's this? Charcoal?"

Malone glanced at the ground by Kaldara's feet in the firelight. There was a big black lump there, and he couldn't tell what it was.

"What? Charcoal? You don't recognize smoked meat?"

Kaldara was already sitting by the fire. At Malone's question, he couldn't help exclaiming.

"Smoked meat?"

Malone was even more surprised than Kaldara. He had no idea what the man was up to.

"That's right. Smoked meat."

Kaldara waited smugly for Malone to thank him, but...

"Why did you bring smoked meat here?"

Malone still didn't understand what Kaldara was getting at.

The Blademaster seemed a little taken aback. He answered dejectedly, "To eat, of course. What else would you use smoked meat for?"

"You? Bringing us smoked meat to eat? You're really that nice?"

Malone thought Kaldara had to be talking nonsense.

"Is there poison in it?"

Malone instinctively moved closer to Kaldara, crouched down, and poked the lump of "smoked meat" with his finger.

Its exterior was as hard as a rock. Even Malone couldn't press his finger into it.

Could this stuff really be edible? It was just a rock!

Malone's face showed his disdain.