Sylvar Recruits A Party Member!
The Orc seems surprised by Sylvar's offer, but simultaneously pleased. "If you're serious, Elfling, I shall take you up on it. I have served Gurrok Mak with loyalty and steadfastness, because it was the wish of my father. In fact, it was his dying wish. I told him that I would serve the Mak for as long as I was unsure of my life's destiny. For a time, I thought that perhaps my destiny was to become a war leader and hero of the Pomarj Empire; but lately, I have felt restless, and uncertain. Gurrok's orders no longer make sense, and he has his army scattered to the four corners of the Flanaess, looking for magical artifacts, or trying to recruit hideous creatures like Manticores and Chimeras. I even hear tell that he is trying to make deals with Dragons. He is obsessed with power, and I feel that he no longer cares as much for the lives of his men, the way he once did. I don't like the thought of being expendable. I also don't like the fact that the demoness has been in control of my squad for more than a week, and no one came looking for us. There were two other squads with us, exploring the woods. They surely know that we are missing by now. But the other sergeants in my company do not like to share glory. Ever since the schism, things have been different. When the other Orcs left, the ones who remained in the Pomarj, the ones who remained loyal to the True Gruumsh, began to change. They became more authoritarian, more despotic, more totalitarian. The army that my father served in, the army that I heard stories of as a child, no longer exists. The army that I served in was alien compared to what my father spoke of. Our kind has never been what you would call moral, ethical, or honorable; but in the past, they were more loyal to one another, and always put Gruumsh first, Empire second, Family third, and Tribe fourth. Nowadays, it's Gruumsh first, Empire second, and that's it. There are no more tribes, except on ceremonial days, and only in namesake. Family is no longer a concern at all, except that the family exists to serve the needs of the Empire. We live in a different age, and I for one, am sick of it. My destiny is NOT to die at the tip of your blade, Elfling. But I can see now that my destiny no longer lies with the Empire, either. And if I am no longer part of the Empire, then I can, by extension, no longer follow Gruumsh. Perhaps the other Orcs were right; perhaps the True Gruumsh is Marek after all. All I know for sure is that the Gruumsh that the Mak serves doesn't feel like the right choice. And I am not so blind as to follow the Mak over the edge of the cliff that he is most certainly headed toward. I will join you, if you let me, and I will swear fealty to your leader for a term of one year, in return for sparing my life. And I will serve you with complete loyalty for that term, perhaps even longer. The way I see it, one year will be sufficient time for me to decide whether or not my destiny is intertwined with yours. If serving you feels right, I shall remain your steadfast comrade until the bitter end; if not, then I shall part from you as a friend, and seek my own destiny, wherever that may lead me. What say you? Does one year of service, with the possibility of more, sound fair?"