****Author's note****

Happy belated April Fools! I wish I had a joke to share, but all I can recommend is that you check out the end of this chapter for something special! :D

Barbaurak let out a howl as a mighty claw slammed into his back, pinning him to the ground at the same time that the creature's teeth began to gnash and chomp at his spine. The only thing that prevented the beast from sinking its massive fangs into the orc's shoulders was a cage, haphazardly built of crude iron rods, welded together, which was strapped to the thing's face in the form of an impenetrable muzzle. From the arched sides of the metal-encased maw, two large ropes led up to the beast's back whereupon sat a thick built uruk, who leered down at his prey.

Zathra's hand darted for a small bow that was loosely tied to his belt, and he knocked an arrow with lightning quick speed, aiming at the warg-rider's rolling throat. Before he had the chance to send his bolt flying at the newcomer, a two-pronged fork slid past the edge of his neck, just barely slivering the corded muscles of the orc's neck. Zathra was shoved forward violently by another orc holding the end of the fork, so his own face was slammed to the ground with little regard to any damage done. The impact sent the nocked arrow firing off to the side as the warg-rider watched it with a lazy, unamused eye. As the dust of the ambush began to settle, a band of seven orcs, uruks, and even an olog surrounded Barbaurak's little trio, restraining their new catch against the ground.

The warg-rider smirked as Barbaurak writhed under his mount's weight and claws, "Lookee 'ere! You idjits must think yer reeaaalll clever to be scraping along the likes of our hunting grounds… Well I has news fer you. Yer not welcome to even lick the dung from my boots, let alone have our scraps!"

"Let me up an' we'll see who licks each other's boots!" Barbaurak snarled, glancing at the silent, still form of the human snaga where she lay upon the ground. Alaesia's crumpled form was curled away from him, tangled under the warg's legs from when it had pounced and tackled the orc. She lay there, unmoving, "Idjits like you can't even keep a tark whole to sell at the block!"

The uruk astride the warg sneered, but cast a glance past his gut to the ground, with the slightest hint of concern, where the human was cast like a broken doll, "Shaddup, yer ain't in any position to be mouthin' off, snaga-sniping scum!"

"Ugol … the orc 'as a point, shift that beast afore ya turn the tark ta pudding, thick'ead," one of the other orcs, a wizened old figure with a bristle of a white beard sprouting from his chin, stepped forward and clucked his tongue chidingly before beckoning the olog to come closer, "Ur-Pagurz, drag that meat over here, outta Ugol's way, so I'z can take a look at it."

The olog, Ur-Pagurz, lumbered forward, mumbling as best he could in obedience through his teeth that were wired shut. No words came from the troll's throat. He could only let out a low whine, as his corpse-cold hand shoved the warg and rider, Ugol, aside to get access to the human as his master commanded. The olog's mighty fist clamped around Alaesia's chest as he plucked her from the ground and turned towards the white haired orc. His eyes had an unearthly glow from their depths, green and sickly, and he moaned while holding out their prize.

From where he was with his face held firmly into the dirt, Zathra had to bite his tongue, as he watched the olog. The absence of a consciousness within the hulking creature was plainly evident to one who could see into others' minds. The void Zathra felt where there should have been at least a hint of life was a vile thing, that made even him uneasy. Before he could fall into the utter emptiness of thought, Zathra turned his eyes towards Barbaurak, who was still held against the ground by the warg's meaty paw. If looks could kill, the pinned orc's ire would have lit the whole band of slavers ablaze. When Barbaurak finally gave Zathra a second glance, he saw his magically-inclined companion signal with a small shake of his head. He knew what Zathra wanted of him; slavers wouldn't outright kill them, unless given a reason to, but it took every ounce of Barbaurak's willpower to not mouth off.

As Zathra watched, the white-haired orc's face turned sour, and he snapped at his olog thrall, "Put it down, you stupid beast! I can't sees it while yer dangling it over my head like that!"

Ur-Pagurz moaned through his teeth obediently releasing his grip, dropping Alaesia's body without any regard to the height from which she fell. The tark snaga landed with a sickening thud, evoking a series of curses from his master.

Alaesia's whole body jolted at the impact, making her eyes snap open. Every wisp from her lungs escaped when she hit the ground, leaving her gasping for air and clutching at her burning chest. She didn't have a moment to catch her breath before a clawed hand shoved against her skull, gripping a handful of her hair to yank her head up to look at a heavily wrinkled, old orc straight in the face. Rotten stumps protruded from the orc's gums where proper, sharp teeth ought to be. An unsettling ice cut into her chest as a crooked smile formed on the orc's face. Alaesia's eyes flitted around horrified to find that all around her, stood a group of orcs, of all shapes and sizes, poised and armed to the teeth.

"Skai!" Barbaurak hissed under his breath, "Yer gonna damage the goods!"

"Shaddup you…" the white haired orc nipped at Barbaurak, but otherwise ignored the captive as he crouched over Alaesia. He passed an appraising eye over the human, his green eyes gleaming. "Oh ho ho! I ain't never seen the likes of you wandering the wastes! Wot'z a pinkskin doing all the way out 'ere?"

A bubble of bile threatened to crawl up Alaesia's throat as the old orc pulled the metal chains about her ankles until he could see her legs. Her body screamed, but she had yet to regain the wind in her voice. No! No! Stop! Not again! Don't touch me! Her mind cried as she coughed for breath. She searched every one of the orcs around her for pity, for rescue, for anything to give her hope of escape, but was only met by cold, greedy gazes, except for one. The half-melted face of the orc, Zathra, though frozen in contortions beyond the ability to express emotions, ever so slightly seemed to meet her eyes with a steely look of realization. She couldn't be sure, but it almost seemed he tilted his head towards her in sympathy.

Alaesia's heart thundered against her chest, waiting for the inevitable, but the orc's hands didn't wander any further, much to her desperate relief. "Ah ha. So ya are the source o' that trail we's been following!"

"Wossat then, Olrok?" The orc who was pinning Zathra to the ground piped up in curiosity of the old orc's sudden enthusiasm, "Did we get summat good then?"

"Ohhh yes. Yes indeed…" Olrok's toothless smile peeled back from his gums, sending a shiver down Alaesia's spine. The old orc's demeanor reminded Alaesia of the goblin witch who had treated her like a piece of meat at a market. "The capt'n is gonna want ta see this 'un! Ugol, yer in charge of this 'ere sharlob."

Barbaurak didn't have a chance to make any sudden moves, for how quickly another slaver pinned him down with a forked staff as soon as the weight of the warg was lifted from his chest. He snarled and protested but they ignored him while they began to bind his arms behind his back.

The uruk atop the beast guided his mount over to Olrok so the old orc could heave Alaesia off the ground with surprising strength to hand her off to him. Olrok nodded as his company made swift work of restraining the two orcs they had taken captive, "As for these two maggots, bind 'em up and give 'em to Ur-Pagurz for haulin' back ta the ship! I want the rest of yous on the lookout for any other lurkers we got around these bits. Maybe we's can find the rest of those maggots' crew!"

Ugol took Alaesia's chains in one hand, while holding the warg's reins in the other. He paused only for a moment to look back at Olrok and inquire, "Whatta ya want me ta tell the capt'n?"

Olrok put on his widest grin, leering at Alaesia, "Tell capt'n… We caught those squatters that's been takin' wots rightfully ours. And tell 'im… Olrok's found him a good 'un! That'un's a breeder no doubt. An' all scarred up like that? She's been done up plenty o' times with that many marks! She's fertile . Even got signs that she whelped recently, bleedin' out her guts! We sends her back to the pits, and we'll get a 'andsome reward!"

Alaesia's mind began to race, as she pieced together exactly what the old orc was getting at. The sense of dread rose as bile in her throat realizing that he had some vague awareness of what she had already endured as a slave, and for some sickening reason, her history made his disgusting mouth curl into a wicked smile. Whatever 'pits' he was referring to, she could only picture the awful blackness of the fortress in which she had been held captive. She watched helplessly as the other slavers trussed up their rival orcs, Zathra and Barbaurak like a hunter might tie up a rabbit. They were strung by ropes and straps, and Alaesia's heart stopped when she turned her eyes to see the beast of burden that was meant to carry them.

For the briefest of moments, the pale hide and hulking figure of a great big olog caught Alaesia's eye, evoking an involuntary breath from her chest, "A-Ar-Tashk…?"

The bittersweet moment of hopeful recognition was quickly soured as her hazy mind struggled to clear itself and saw the olog for what it truly was. Whatever the sorry-looking troll was, its hairless form was much smaller than Alaesia's previous master, and while it bore no scars like Ar-Tashk's, this olog was mottled with purple veins that spider-webbed across its flesh. The sickly green glow from this olog's eyes were empty, and held none of the wrath Alaesia had become accustomed to in her old master's gaze.

"Wassat you speakin' sharlob?" The warg rider, Ugol, gave her chains a swift jerk, making Alaesia gag and cough. She was cast across the mount's flank, giving the uruk easy access to turn on his saddle to swing a hand and cuff his ward. "Ye'll shut yer trap if ya knows what's good for ya…"

Alaesia held back a cry as his armored knuckles connected with her cheekbone, splitting the skin. A trickle of blood mixed with tears that broke free of her lashes, even as she tried holding them back. Right… no speaking unless spoken to… So it had been while she was Ku'Gohn's slave, though the uruk overlord, Vezhir, has seemed to take pleasure in her pitiful screams of resistance. Somehow in spite of her conditioning, she had become complacent, even daring to speak openly while in Ar-Tashk's control; she flinched any time that the uruk's hand lifted or moved in her direction, swearing to herself, she wouldn't make that mistake again.

With a final once over to ensure that all their new captives were properly secured, Olrok ordered his thrall to follow the warg and rider, and the company parted ways. Those hauling captives were bound for the slavers' vessel, a day's ride away, while the rest had more snaga hunting to do.

****Translations****

Tark - Human

Snaga - Slave

Sharlob - Human woman

Skai - Shit

****Author's note****

Sadly doesn't have a way to share images, so the special surprise can't be posted here. If you would like to see it, go to my profile, click on either my Wattpad or ArchiveOfOurOwn link, and check out this same numbered chapter of You Reap What You Sow on either of those sites to see the surprise!