There are some who would claim that there is no racism within the human kingdom of Linder, many of its citizens took a certain sense of pride in their countries reputation as a melting pot of different breeds and ideologies. It was a free country where men, elf, dwarve, and orc all were free to live as they please. At least on the surface it was. As in any society there existed some dissenting opinions about the direction that some felt the kingdom was headed in. There existed a darker underbelly to Linder where racial tensions bred violence and hatred. Even among many who tolerated the presence of non-humans there was fear and resentment lurking just beneath the surface.
The city of Pinefall for instance, located in the northern reaches of the kingdom was not an area that was known to be particularly welcoming to outside races. Its inhabitants, while not outright hostile, made plainly clear their feelings towards non-humans at every available opportunity.
It was for this reason that when their work found them staying in Pinefall for the night that two female orcs thought it wise not to stay out too late after the sun had gone down, and quickly holed themselves in at a small inn and tavern called the Black Swine. It was a cozy little building with a low ceiling furnished with rickety wooden furniture. Deer antlers and various animal pelts adorned the walls in testament to the prowess of local hunters. The entire interior was bathed in a warm orange glow emanating from small glass lanterns hung at seemingly arbitrary points across the ceiling, the frosted murky panes of which diffused the light throughout the rooms.
There weren't many patrons that night, at least not anymore there weren't. The building had been nearly filled to capacity before the two orcs had arrived. Not long after they entered the establishment and seated themselves at the bar the other customers started to slowly trickle out until only the most loyal of the pubs regulars remained, much to the annoyance of the inn keep. It was one of the stereotypes about non-humans that made the people dislike them, they were bad for your business. Of course the only reason they hurt your business was because people so greatly disliked them, but the idea of such a self-fulfilling prophecy was unknown to most common folk. The inn keep served them regardless as he valued their coin just as much as any humans, if the stories about orcs capacity for drink were true he hoped that he just might break even.
The first orc, named Tarrl-li certainly seemed to be living up to that expectation as she was already consuming her third tankard after what seemed to be only a few minutes. She was the taller of the two and by far the more muscular. Her thick biceps bulged every time she raised her mug to her lips, stretching out her thick dark green skin. She had removed her leather armor chassis and wore only a thin linen wrap around her chest, displaying at once the wideness of her shoulders and the powerful muscles of her back. Her breasts were constricted by the tight wrap giving her the appearance of being nearly completely flat, in reality it was considered unsightly in orcish culture to have large breasts as they only got in the way during battles. Her head was mostly shaved except for a spot on the top where a braided ponytail emerged from her scalp and extended down to the small of her back. The canine teeth of her lower jaw had grown into large tusk like fangs as was common among orcs. So proud was Tarrl-li of her particularly impressive tusks that she allowed them to grow so long that she couldn't even close her mouth all the way anymore. The fangs also forced her to hold her mug at an awkward angle as she poured ale into her mouth.
Her companion Takk-la in contrast had filed her canines down to fall in line with the rest of her teeth. She cared very little for the cultural norms of both man and orc and as such didn't wear a wrap around her chest, instead letting her medium sized breasts hang freely within the confines of her rough linen shirt. Her hair was pitch black and swept back across the top of her skull, with all the hair on the sides of her head shaved away. She was less muscled as Tarrl-li but still impressively strong by human standards. The dancing of her tendons and muscles was unmistakable beneath her light green skin in every movement that she made. Despite this, she was still quite shapely. Unlike her partner whose torso was shaped like a box, Takk-la had a seductive curve to her hips and a firm roundness to her bottom that turned heads of all species.
The two orc women could not truly be said to have been friends, they knew each other well enough but found each other to be disagreeable on more than a few too many subjects. They had walked through the city together for safety, a gang of humans might chance taking on a lone orc but none would ever challenge two, even if they were female. They worked together as the only two orcs in a company of 12 caravan guards and as such had come to look out for one another. They had both argued against taking this job of escorting a pair of merchants to a neighboring kingdom specifically because it had them passing through Pinefall as well as many cities like it. They found themselves out voted of course as the ten other humans in the company had nothing to fear from the area and merchants always paid good coin. The Merchants, as well as the rest of their company were of course staying in a fancy inn in the upper class districts of the city which had a policy against non-human lodgers, forcing them to retreat to much less reputable establishments such as the one they were currently in.
This left the two in a particularly sour mood which they both responded to in different ways. Tarrl-li seemed to be attempting to drown herself in cheap ale as she had just finished off her fourth pint and was already demanding more. Takk-la meanwhile hadn't even finished her first round, preferring instead to sulk in silence. She let her eyes wander around the room and caught quick glimpses of the dirty and disgusted faces on the few bar goers left before they turned away from her gaze. She wondered that there wasn't an orc head mounted on the wall along with the deer and bear trophies, what with the reception they had thus received. It seemed that orcs and men were particularly prone to inter species squabbles, perhaps due to a long history of war between the two species. All of that unpleasantness was ancient history by now but there was still a deep sense of resentment felt mutually from either side, of course there are always a few exceptions.
The door to the Black Swine burst open, exciting the attention of the owner who hoped that some customers had returned. His face grew weary and concerned however, as he saw a third orc enter his tavern. The bars newest customer was a tall male orc with skin so darkly green it appeared almost black. He was much taller than either of the other two orcs, so tall in fact that he had to duck several times to keep his bald head from hitting the rafters of the small building as he moved around. Despite his massive height he was only slightly more muscular than Tarrl-li, though his tusks were impressively
bigger.
It was no coincidence of course that he had entered the bar with perhaps the only other orcs in the city. News traveled fast around Pinefall of non-humans within the city walls. Gongirr was to his knowledge the only permanent orc resident of the city and would have felt remiss if he didn't come to welcome them, especially upon hearing they were both of the fairer sex. He stood behind them and looked them both over. Tarrl-li's obvious strength and musculature did carry a certain primal attractiveness in a way that only an orc can truly appreciate, But Takk-la had the kind of ass you rarely ever see on an orc, large and shapely. He's be happy to take a run at either one of them but he decided to himself that if he had zero in on a single target, he would go after that ass.
Gongirr wasted no time in taking a seat at the stool next to Takk-la which, clearly not designed for someone of his weight, creaked in protest beneath him.
"I'd offer to buy you two ladies a drink, but it appears you've started without me." He said in a gruff voice as he flashed them his impressive set of teeth.
The two looked at him a moment, surprised to see another orc in a place like this. Once the shock had worn off Takk-la returned to staring into her drink. Tarrl-li however smiled as she threw back the last of her beer and tossed the tankard away.
"Well I guess you can buy the next one then." She said with a hint of inebriation in her voice. "Mah name's Tarrl-li."
"Gongirr." He said politely with a small bow. He then looked at Takk-la.
