Ava’s legs ached as she trudged behind Ugraum, who seemed entirely unfazed by the weight of

  his massive frame as he effortlessly navigated the dense, mist-covered forest. She had never seen

  trees like this before. The trunks were twisted, their branches reaching like gnarled fingers

  toward the moon above. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and something

  unfamiliar—like a wild blend of flowers and moss, but also... dangerous.

  “So, um...” Ava started, trying to break the silence, but her voice came out more squeaky than she

  intended. She cleared her throat. “You mentioned that this place is called Vashkaar. Where

  exactly is that? Because I—” She paused, biting her lip. “I don’t suppose you know anything

  about portals, do you?”

  Ugraum, who had been walking ahead with long, heavy strides, didn’t look back at her. But his

  voice rumbled from somewhere up ahead.

  “Vashkaar. Is a land of many things. Many clans. Some good. Some bad. And... some very bad,”

  he said, almost sounding proud of the last part.

  “Great. That doesn’t sound promising,” Ava muttered to herself. She was beginning to feel that

  her accidental journey through the portal was turning into a much more complicated adventure

  than she’d anticipated. Ugraum turned around at that, eyes narrowing as if he could somehow

  read her thoughts. “You think ogres bad, yes?”

  Ava blinked, caught off guard. “What? No! I mean, not necessarily! I mean—uh—there are

  bandits and then there are—uh—good bandits, right?”

  The ogre’s lip twitched in what might have been the beginnings of a smile. “Not many people say

  that. Most cry ‘ogre’ and then run or scream.”

  “Well,” Ava said, shrugging awkwardly, “you’re not exactly making a stellar first impression.”

  Ugraum grunted, his enormous shoulders rising with the motion. “You’re not enemy. You’re not

  screaming. That is improvement.” He turned back toward the path, which was mostly just a

  rough trail winding between the towering trees.

  “You know,” Ava said, crossing her arms in front of her, “I thought ogres ate people.”

  Ugraum’s booming laugh echoed through the forest. “Eat people? I’m not monster. Not like the

  others. We don’t eat people. We hunt... for other things.”

  Ava raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What kinds of things?”

  Ugraum gave her a sidelong glance, his expression unreadable. “Things. Food. Gold. Clothes.”

  Ava wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or just more confused. “Right,” she muttered, pushing

  through some low-hanging vines. “Well, if you’re not out here to rob me, I guess I’ll take my

  chances.”

  Ugraum said nothing, though there was a glimmer of something in his eyes—amusement,

  maybe. Ava wasn’t sure. She had to admit, for someone who looked like he could crush a boulder

  with his bare hands, he wasn’t all bad. Maybe she was just too used to the everyday dangers of

  London’s science community. A portal to another world should’ve been more exciting than

  terrifying, right?

  They walked in silence for a few minutes, and Ava took the opportunity to gather her thoughts.

  This whole situation was a disaster. She didn’t belong here—she wasn’t sure where here even

  was—but the longer she spent in this strange place, the more she realized that her usual reliance

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  on logic wasn’t going to solve this problem. Magic, or whatever this world called it, was beyond

  her.

  “So,” she said, trying again to break the silence, “what do you do, exactly? I mean, besides being a

  bandit, of course.” She immediately regretted the choice of words when Ugraum’s expression

  darkened. He slowed down his pace, the sound of his heavy boots thudding against the soft

  earth. “I don’t like bandit life. But sometimes, that’s all you can do.”

  Ava felt a pang of sympathy. “I get it. I mean, I don’t get it, but... I understand, I think.” She

  hesitated. “I—uh—I know what it’s like to feel stuck, like you’re just... doing what you have to

  survive.”

  Ugraum didn’t respond at first, and Ava wasn’t sure if he even heard her. But then, in the silence,

  his voice was softer, more thoughtful than it had been before.

  “Not many think that way about ogres,” he said. “Most think we are just... monsters. They don’t

  know we don’t want to be.”

  Ava stopped walking for a moment, looking up at the ogre. He wasn’t just an ogre, not really. He

  was a person, like her—someone who had their own burdens, their own regrets. The realization

  hit her, but she quickly shook it off. This wasn’t the time for empathy. She still had to figure out

  how to get back home. The thick, foggy forest around them suddenly gave way to a small

  clearing, and in the center of it stood a rough campsite. There was a fire crackling in the middle,

  a few large animal carcasses hanging from trees, and a scattering of various belongings strewn

  about. It was a chaotic, yet oddly... comfortable scene.

  As they approached the camp, Ava’s heart skipped a beat. The ogres there, who had been

  lounging and talking among themselves, immediately tensed when they saw the unfamiliar

  human. Some stared at her with blank, unreadable expressions, while others openly glared, their

  eyes narrowing with suspicion. A low murmur rippled through the group, and Ava instinctively

  took a step closer to Ugraum, hoping his presence would shield her from the hostility.

  “Who’s this?” one ogre grunted, a particularly burly one with a scar across his face.

  “She’s... not one of ours,” another muttered, crossing his arms. “Should we let her stay?”

  Some ogres looked at her with mild curiosity, nodding slowly. A couple of them simply ignored

  her, continuing their business with little care. But a few others, clearly more aggressive, were not

  so sure.

  “What if she’s here to spy on us? What if she’s some kind of a witch?” one of the younger ogres

  barked, brandishing a large axe with a threatening flourish.

  “Quiet, both of you,” Ugraum’s voice boomed, cutting through the rising tension. “She’s not here

  to harm. Just... she comes from different place. We keep her. For now.”

  There was a long silence as the ogres eyed Ava warily. Finally, one of the older, larger ones, who

  had been sitting by the fire, grunted. “She better not be trouble. I don’t trust Vaels. They get in the

  way.”

  “She not Vael, Baba. Not trouble. Not trouble at all,” Ugraum said firmly, his voice steady. “She

  will stay. And if anyone thinks different, you’ll deal with me.”

  That seemed to settle things, though Ava could tell some of them still didn’t like the idea. Several

  of the ogres muttered under their breath but made no further protest. She had been accepted

  into the camp—at least for now.

  Ugraum moved toward the fire, his massive hands deftly pulling off his large, leather satchel. “Sit.

  I make food,” he grunted. Ava glanced around, still a little apprehensive. This was a camp filled

  with bandits. Ogres. This was where she was supposed to be? She swallowed hard, not wanting to

  be rude.

  “I... I’ll sit,” she said, as she gingerly lowered herself to the ground. “But don’t expect me to eat

  any... shrew or whatever you have cooking.”

  Ugraum raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching. “Not shrew. Gruthen.”

  Ava shot him a skeptical look. “Groothen?”

  “Don’t worry,” Ugraum said with an odd sense of pride. “I cook good.”

  It was a wild boar. As he began preparing the food over the fire, Ava looked around the camp,

  unsure how to proceed. It was strange, sitting there. Every part of her mind told her to run, to

  escape this strange world, to get back to something familiar. But as the fire crackled and Ugraum

  hummed while cooking, something about it felt... peaceful.

  “Hey,” she called out after a while, hesitant. “So I’m guessing you know nothing about portals

  then. I mean, magical rifts and stuff?”

  Ugraum paused mid-motion, lifting his massive head. “Hmm... portals.”

  He looked deep in thought, then nodded slowly. “Maybe. I’ve heard of things. But we’ll talk later.”

  Ava narrowed her eyes. She could tell he wasn’t going to give her a straight answer. But at least he

  wasn’t trying to eat her. That was a start.

  * * *

  As Ava and Ugraum sat near the crackling fire, the sounds of the forest began to fade into the

  background. The ogre's deft movements with the wild boar felt oddly soothing, but a new tension

  lingered in the air as the rest of the camp's inhabitants slowly began to emerge from the shadows

  of the trees.

  Ava caught sight of the others—some ogres, others... creatures less familiar to her. Several of

  them eyed her curiously, their expressions skeptical or outright hostile. One particularly tall ogre

  with a jagged scar across his face growled lowly, his thick arms crossed as he stood a few paces

  away from the fire.

  "Who's this?" he asked gruffly, his eyes narrowing. "She doesn’t belong here."

  The others, a mix of grizzled warriors and scrappy survivors, murmured among themselves.

  Some of them nodded in agreement, but a few seemed less concerned. One smaller ogre with a

  tuft of orange hair scratched his chin, squinting at Ava. "She doesn’t look so bad. She’s not

  screaming. Not scared."

  "She’s not one of us," the scarred ogre muttered, glancing toward Ugraum. " Since when did we

  start mixing blood for brothels?"

  Ava stiffened at the sudden focus on her. Ugraum, who had been focused on his task, didn’t seem

  perturbed. He shot a sideways glance at the group and gave a low grunt.

  "She’s with me," Ugraum said flatly. "She’s not a threat."

  The scarred ogre snorted. "How do we know that? She could be Vael, spying on us."

  Ava felt her stomach tighten at the mention of the termVael again. She glanced between Ugraum

  and the group, unsure of what to say.

  "She’s not like that," Ugraum continued, his voice deepening, but there was something more

  protective in it now. "She’s lost. Like many of us. But she’s not our enemy."

  The smaller ogre with the tuft of hair spoke up again, his voice more curious than anything.

  "She’s lost? From another world?"

  Ava hesitated, unsure of how much to reveal. "Yeah," she said slowly. "I kind of... got stuck here

  by accident. Don’t really know how to get back."

  "She’s not a spy," the first ogre muttered, clearly unconvinced. "But why should we let her stay?"

  "I’m not here to cause trouble," Ava said quickly, trying to quell the rising tension. "I just need

  some help."

  The larger ogre, the one with the scar, growled but didn’t approach. "If you want to stay, you

  follow the rules. No trouble. And you get no special treatment."

  Ava nodded, swallowing her unease. "I can handle that."

  Ugraum finally stood, turning to the group. "She’ll be fine. You have my word. No harm will

  come to you or our camp."

  The scarred ogre grunted but said nothing more, turning his attention to the fire. Slowly, the

  others began to disperse, though a few lingered, eyeing Ava with caution. For now, she had a

  temporary truce—but that didn’t mean she was truly accepted.

  Ava glanced at Ugraum, who returned her gaze with a steady, reassuring look. Despite the

  divided camp, she felt a little more secure. It was strange, but for the first time since arriving in

  this unfamiliar world, she felt like she might be able to survive.

  * * *