Open Chronicles Rise of the Chicken-Orcs

[TTamark]

Steve waved goodbye as the last pot of stew was carried aboard. He, himself, would join the main fleet in a few days after he had finished some business. As soon as the ships carrying the Eternum set off Steve turned to the still living orcs, and laid out the same options he had to every farm he'd set up here: run and warn everyone they can about the danger that just set off north. Stay and work the potato fields under Steves protection, Or if they wanted they could follow Steve as he conducted an experiment to create a new type of life. As usual there were few willing to be transformed as far as what Steve suggested was possible with his experiment, but a few still were willing to go through with it, knowing that this was what would offer them their best chance to avenge their friends and family. Now that the Eternum had set off, they could meet up with the shipments from the south and begin the experiment.

After days of travel they stopped and began to gather resources for stew, as well as fire wood for the fires. In the middle of the second day of this a caravan of carts teeming with potatoes, and covered boxes came into sight. When the carts had reached them, and the goods were being unloaded the coved boxes were discovered to be cages containing undead chickens, with some live mixed in. Steve briefly stopped his work to ask that all the chickens be given a chance to stretch their legs after the long trip. Soon the site was a bustle of orcs working hard tending to the stew, gathering wood, and patrolling the area while chickens roamed everywhere. Steve himself checked on each pot of stew tasting, and instructing the orcs on how to improve, while he would explain the key to extracting the life energy within the ingredients and infuse the whole of the soup with the energy. The whole time on Steve's shoulder sat a particularly large skeleton of a chicken, covered by a pink sheet, and wearing a large fake moustache.

Eventually after a day of cooking Steve had the stews taken off the heat, and allowed to cool. "Tomorrow we begin."

 

[Leroy Jenkers]

The next day as the sun rose so did all within the camp. The orcs and chickens were lined up in two lines next to each other leading to the pots of stew, and Steve watching over them. Steve seemed nervous as he asked Leroy and the first orc, one named Hubert, to enter. Before Leroy entered though, Steve stopped him,

"Leroy... buddy, I already told you that I am not really sure what will happen when you two become one. I know you trust me, and know the risks, but... j-just in case you... in case what comes out isn't... well... you don't come out... I want you to know that I loved you, and I am so glad that you and I could... Well I guess I'm just trying to say thanks for everything, old friend."

Leroy rubbed his skull against Steve's hand,

"You idiot, If death couldn't stop us, then what chance does life stand against us."

With that Leroy hopped into the pot, with Hubert. The Stew began to bubble though it had been left to cool throughout the night. Both Leroy and Hubert began to sink as the stew began to swallow them. Once they were below Steve carefully got to work shaping what was to come out, once he had finished though he could only step back and hope that he had done it right, one mistake and he could create something that would not be able to survive. The top of the stew started to be filled with a thick foam. Steve watched for what seemed like an eternity, wondering if he had just murdered his best friend, before suddenly a hand shot out and grasped the rim of the pot. Then a second, and out of the stew came a being as large for an orc as Leroy had been for a chicken. The creature had a beak, and was covered in green feathers. Altogether it was an interesting combination of both chicken and orc. It turned to Steve and, to call what it did as yelling would be fitting,

"SEE I TOLD YOU THERE WAS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!!! SO THIS IS WHAT IT IS LIKE TO BE A HUMANOID!!! AS FOR THE ORC I CAN KIND OF FEEL HIM WITHIN ME, BUT MORE LIKE HIS WHOLE LIFE WAS A PAST MEMORY OF MINE!!!"

"This is great, wonderful even! Now no one will be suspicious you look just like any other race now. They will look at you and think 'Who is that good looking normal guy?' You can go into cities without fear now. You can now pursue your dream of being a hero. Oh, Leroy I am just so happy you are alright! I wish that I could celebrate with you, but I need to repeat this process roughly half a thousand more times."

Leroy stepped away and began to examine himself, while Steven worked on creating more. From what he could tell chicken-orcs still possessed both the souls that were but with in them, both separate, yet so close that they seemed to blend together. On the Outside the combination of chicken and orc features were apparent were obvious.

What was less obvious was the unique internal working of these new creatures. Leroy found that he was able to push this body to do acts beyond nature, acts only possible with the assistance of magic. Luckily Leroy could feel the heart beating within himself pumping his blood with the magic required. Doing so however made a growing feeling of hunger begin to go through the roof. That seemed a fair trial for next: to try eating normal bits of food. Leroy found that what he ate seemed to be absorbed similarly as to what happened with what Steve fed him. Leroy realized that he had also been breathing this whole time absorbing magic from the air, as if breathing had always been natural. Submersing his beak in a pale of water he found that he was able to do without breathing, though it felt odd. These beings, that he was now a part of, really were designed to be able to live from magic alone.

As he returned to the pots of stew, and Steve to inform him of his findings, a female chicken-orc emerged from the pot, informing him that other parts of him were now also functional.