I stood silently in wait, my eyes calmly looking about. I was at the foot of Barad-dûr, along with my followers and many other high-ranking orcs. To my followers and even some of the other high-ranking orcs, I was top brass, right-hand orc to the Dark Lord, but to Sauron, I was just a pawn waiting to be thrown aside in this long game of chess. I knew it, but the others didn't. It was a… strange feeling, really. I didn't know why I stayed in wait for the Dark Lord who didn't give a rat's ass about his soldiers or his generals. Oh wait, yes, I did… that bastard Sauron had control over our minds, to where we had no choice but to follow his every whim. It was disgusting what he did to my people, but no one questioned him. At least, no one I knew of.

As soon as I finished my thoughts, the large black gates that were the entrance of Barad-dûr opened, and out came a massive humanoid form. It was Sauron, and he was dressed head-to-toe in jagged metal armor. No skin could be seen, and short metal spikes jutted out from his spaulders and vambraces, his helmet having spikes that were vertical yet shortened around the sides, but slowly grew longer near the line of symmetry. He carried his signature mace, or what the orcs said was his signature weapon. No one truly knew what it was, since we only lived an average three hundred to four hundred years. A tattered black cape laid atop his shoulders and fell almost to the bottom of his heels, stopping just above the ground. The most notable trait of all was the color of his armor; it was either stained black or corrupted, most likely the latter.

His massive black metal boots shook even the hardened floor, and as he approached, I looked behind me; thousands upon thousands of orcs all stood in awe of the Dark Lord, almost filling up the entirety of bridge that led to Barad-dûr. They all trusted him, even though he wasn't to be trusted. They were naïve, but me? I knew what hid behind that mask, and it frightened me to the core.

He stopped in front of me, and I kneeled, lowering my head in a submissive gesture. I could see the armor around his feet, and I could only imagine how hard it would be to strike him down.

"Rise, Torg." He said, his voice sounding faint yet solid, as though he was lying on his death bed. He lengthened his words, too. I arose, not daring to gaze into the black pits of his helm.

"What is it you require of me, Master?" I asked, keeping my gaze locked onto the ground.

"Find the Grey Wizard… and kill him." He ordered, his voice carrying a hint of malice that I couldn't tell whether it was for the Grey Wizard, or for me.

"Yes, Master. It will be done." I replied, although I knew exactly what this was; a suicide mission. No orc could defeat a wizard alone, yet Sauron knew this. I bit my lip, holding my tongue as I turned on my heel and walked across the bridge. It took about an hour before I finally reached the hellscape that was Gorgoroth, and upon reaching it I stomped and began cursing, knowing that he might as well have just killed me on the spot rather than send me on this mission. I wasn't on the best of terms with the Dark Lord, as I was more of an "independent" thinker. I use that term loosely, since I still followed orders, but I carried what was more of a logical way of thinking than the common orc. If that wasn't the reason that he sent me and me alone on this impossible mission, then I didn't know why.

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my curved nose, "That bloody bastard…"

10 Years Later

I stalked through the woods of the Midgewater Marshes, following close behind a carriage that the old wizard sat upon as it carried him down the path. According to signs that he recently passed, I was able to see that he was on his way to a place called "Bree". It had been a long time since I heard from Sauron, and I just had to assume that I was out of his reach and, hopefully, sight. And this was the first time I've ever actually seen the wizard during my search, as it was apparently rare for him to just wander about.

Eventually the wizard reached the town, and casually entered, whilst I watched it cautiously from a watery ditch. There was no way for me to walk right in, they'd kill me on sight, but if since it is dark… maybe I could sneak in.

Pulling myself out of the ditch I was hiding in, I donned a cloak that covered my head and tattered clothing, making sure to keep a safe distance away from every person I saw. I would occasionally bump into a person since it was dark even with the torches, but I would just pretend to be a man who had a bit too much to drink. I eventually caught back up to the wizard, ducking behind an alleyway as I watched him enter a building with a sign labeled, "Prancing Pony". Once I was certain that he wasn't going to come back out to grab something he may have left behind, I quickly ran up to the carriage and hopped into the back, covering myself with the cloak I was wearing. I hoped that I blended in well. Now all I had to do was wait.

Minutes passed, before eventually I heard the old wizard speaking following the creaking of a door, "Well, Thorin, I will notify you once I've found our burglar."

Another voice chimed in, "Gandalf, you better choose right, because I can't risk having a liability when it comes to searching for the…" the voice dropped to a low whisper that I could barely hear, "…Arkenstone."

"Yes, well, I have an eye for these sorts of things, and I know the perfect race for the job." He replied, and once he said his goodbyes to this 'Thorin', he hopped onto the carriage and rode off. I patiently listened for the sounds of the town to die out, and once they had, I slowly removed the cloak and pulled out my dagger without making a sound, the heavy rain droplets pelting the ground with a loud splat. I slowly arose, inching toward him as he silently whistled a tune, readying my dagger, the blade hovering just over his shoulder.

Then, without warning, the old wizard stopped the carriage abruptly, throwing me off balance as he quickly spun around and knocked the dagger out of my hand with his staff. Once I balanced myself, I glared at him and growled, backing up as he drew his blade with light exuding from the staff he had just disarmed me with. He squinted at me, keeping his weapon at the ready, "An orc this far from Mordor?" He asked rhetorically, "An assassin, no less." He chuckled, "Well, it seems your plot to kill me has failed, my friend." I kept silent, glaring at him. He looked at me with interest, "It seems… odd that you haven't attacked again yet, and even odder that you haven't ran away." He leaned in, his eyes seemingly looking through mine, "Sauron's grip on your mind is diminishing…" He chuckled again, "I do say, this would be the first time in my lifetime that I've seen this or tried this, but…" He paused, and without a second thought brought his staff to my forehead, and my eyes widened as a surge of power flowed through me and a roar of agony escaped my mind. My eyes rolled back into my head, darkness taking me.

I awoke, my eyes fluttering as I rubbed the rainwater out of my eyes. The sound of hooves hitting gravel and a wheel following close behind told me that I was still in the carriage, yet… I wasn't dead. I sat up, groaning as pain weaved its way into my head.

"Finally awake?" A voice asked with a chuckle, and turning I saw Gandalf sitting on the carriage, a small smile on his face. I was stunned, and I stood up, looking around. It was daybreak, I could tell, the rain was still falling yet I could tell that it was to disperse soon.

I stood silently for a moment, before realizing I no longer had the urge to kill Gandalf… and that I was referring to him as Gandalf instead of just 'Old wizard' or 'Grey wizard' in my mind. I turned my gaze to the wizard, one that wasn't of hate or contempt, but curiosity. "What… what have you done to me?"

"Oh, me?" He asked rhetorically, looking at me, "Nothing really, just cut Sauron's power from your mind, freeing you from him." The wizard turned back to the road, shrugging, "It wasn't too difficult, since his grip on you was slipping either way." He looked back at me again, a toothy grin on his face, "I just sped up the process."

I didn't say a word, instead sitting back down and looking at my muddy and wrinkled hands. "Am I truly free?" I asked the wizard without looking at him, "How do I know this isn't some trick?"

The wizard reached into a pocket in his robes, pulling something out and tossing it onto my lap. It was my dagger, my name carved into the blade in black speech. "If you wish to finish your mission, dear friend, your tool is there." I glanced up at the wizard, his eyes facing forward with a sort of confidence in his choices. I gripped the dagger in my hands, standing up. As I was about to make my move, I stopped, looking down at the dagger, resting it in my left palm. I thought deeply on the choice of killing the wizard, the one who freed me. I looked beyond my dagger at the floor of the carriage, my vision blurring as I began to think even harder.

Biting my lip, slid the dagger back into its sheath on my boot. "Where are we heading?" I asked, my pride keeping me from thanking the wizard for his deed.

"We?" He asked curiously.

"Yes, we." I replied, "I have to repay you for freeing me somehow." He laughed heartily, wiping a tear from his eye. I gave him a curious glance, "What's so funny?"

"I expected you to leave and never see me again! But to join me? Ha!" He paused for a moment, letting his laugh die down. Once he collected himself, he looked back at me before scooting over on his carriage, "Have a seat next to me, my friend."

I gazed at him cautiously but crawled over to the front of the carriage, sitting next to him. "So, where are we going?"

"A place called Hobbiton, to the house of one Bilbo Baggins." He replied, the carriage ride seemingly taking hours, during which I had asked a question.

"Are you at all… bothered by my appearance?" I asked cautiously, glancing over to Gandalf. "In any way at all?"

He looked at me, eyeing me from head to toe, "Not particularly, no… I can't say that I've ever been bothered by the appearances of others, although…" he looked at my face, "You should probably clean yourself up a bit. We're going to be in a place where they don't get many visitors, so you should make a good first impression." He looked about, stopping the carriage. "There!" He said, raising a finger that pointed to a nearby pond. "Go ahead and bathe there, I'll wait here while you do so."

I looked at him with a puzzled expression, "Why?"

He rolled his eyes, "Because I just said you must make a good first impression on these Hobbits, now go wash up!" He shooed me off the carriage and toward the lake.

As I was about to head down the slope that lead to the lake, Gandalf called to me, "Oh, and here!" I turned to him, just in time to catch some folded clothes and a towel, "I bought these while you were still asleep, took a few measurements too. They should fit well enough!" I nodded to him in thanks, carefully making my way down the slope as to not fall and dirty the clean clothes.

Upon reaching the pond, I found a nice clean spot to set the clothes down on and removed my upper-body armor, glancing up at Gandalf who was reading a book, his back turned to me. Looking down at my body, I could see scars that cut deep into my dirt-covered green skin, each mark causing me cringe at the sight. If I was around other orcs, revealing myself wouldn't have been embarrassing, yet… this was a human I had to assume had few scars. I had also notice that I had a bit more muscle, much more than this wizard appeared to have, but I paid it no mind. I quickly removed the rest of my armor and dirtied loin cloth, gently dipping a toe into the water. It was comfortably warm, yet comfortably cool. I slowly lowered myself in, the water reaching my chest at its deepest point. I carefully rubbed water onto my body, making sure to remove as much dirt as possible. I would occasionally dunk my head into the water to try and clean my bald head. I brought a handful of water up to my face, splashing on my features and rubbing deeply, dunk my head, then repeat.

Eventually I came out of the water, grabbing the towel and quickly drying myself off. I didn't know how to properly tie it around my waist like I saw the other orcs do with their dirty rags back in Mordor, so I just covered the main part of my body that I didn't want anyone to see. I glanced at the clothes, picking up the clean loin cloth and quickly sliding it on, following with the pants he had for me. I picked them up and looked them over; they were a light brown color, like that of a cow's hide. I shrugged, and slid them on, surprised at how well it fit. As uncomfortable as it made me to think of the wizard measuring almost every part of me, I'm certainly glad that he picked out well-fitting clothing. I then picked up the shirt and put it on, noticing the strings that were near the neck. I didn't bother with them, instead grabbing the hooded cloak Gandalf acquired for me and draping it over my shoulders, tying the string in a knot. Finally came the shoes, which were black, and by Sauron's balls were they comfortable. The cobbler must've made them in expectance of it being a gift! Never had I felt such comfort on my being as now.

Gleefully, I made my way back up the slope, my dirtied armor and clothes tucked under my arm. "Wizard, I have never felt such comfort in my lifetime."

Gandalf chuckled, "Yes, well, those are just everyday shoes." As I was about to speak again, he waved me off, "Just throw your items in the back of the carriage and we'll have them cleaned in Hobbiton." Nodding, I did just as he said, throwing the clothing in the back of the carriage, hopping up next to him.

Once we were back on the road, he looked me over, "Looking much cleaner now, my friend."

I nodded, "Yes, I also feel much better than before." I nudged his shoulder, catching his attention, "Thank you for the clothes, Gandalf. I am truly grateful."

"Anything for a friend." He replied, chuckling for a moment as a small smile appeared on his lips.