***** Author's Note *****

I've added another surprise to Chapter 25 (sadly not visible here on FF, check the links in my account to see it on AO3 or Wattpad!)

Also, FF stats and stuff seem to be broken. So I can't tell if anyone has seen the last few chapters I have posted. If you are liking this story, please consider commenting! It's greatly appreciated, plus it lets me know if anyone is seeing it while stats are broken.

42

It wasn't the low growls of bickering orc voices, nor the rattling of metal chains, or even the rancid smell of rotting flesh that broke Alaesia back to her senses. All of that was to be expected. It was impossible to not have grown used to such unpleasantries, being subjected to them day in and day out. No, it was the very sharp and sudden coiling that gripped her innards with a vengeance. She curled in on herself, eyes still closed while biting back a breath.

The familiar burning of coals made her gut heavy, waves of nausea crawling up her spine and into her swimming head. When the twisting passed, she was left with a splitting headache, and the socket around her eye throbbed in quiet warning.

Somewhere beyond her immediate senses, she could hear the familiarly unwelcome voices of the two orcs she had been chained to, but they seemed more distant that she would have thought; it was as if they were far away, down a tunnel even. She wondered, still keeping her eyes tight, not wanting to attract their attention, but trying to focus her ears in on their words.

"...wrong side of the river. That's IF we can cover the trail," came the calm and collected voice of the more elf-like Zathra.

"Yer on thin ice, snake-tongue. Watch yerself." The irritable voice of Barbaurak. "If you'd done yer job, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. That sharlob is bleedin' again, even now! I can smell her from here."

Alaesia grimaced, feeling terribly exposed knowing that orcs had such keen senses that her vulnerable state was so easy to see.

"Exactly!" Zathra sounded exasperated. "Any tracker an' beast is gonna be able to find her before we even get close to the meetin' point."

"If you think she's goin' ta be that much trouble, I'll just gut her and eat her now!"

There was a clatter and the sound of scuffling approaching, making Alaesia sit bolt upright, in spite of the pain in her gut. Her eyes flew open to find herself sitting alone under a rocky outcropping, with the sound of approaching orcs coming around the fringe of the rock. She scampered backwards, huddling hopelessly against the base of the stone, wishing she could disappear into it.

She had only a moment to take in her situation. The sky was its usual gray, just barely a hint of sun starting to peek over a distant horizon before it would rise above the smog of Mordor. Dawn. The chains that once held the two orcs bound to her were loose, evidently having the locks picked to free themselves, yet Alaesia's remained, now only with the extra weight dragging against her. A lump formed in her throat as she fought back anger and the mounting pain inside her stomach. There was no way she could make a break for it. The excess chains were far too heavy.

"Barbaurak, I'm warnin' ya..." Zathra appeared coming around the rocks, and placing himself firmly between Alaesia and his companion, who stopped and stared at him incredulously. "Just think about this for half a second, instead of acting like a raving dog."

"Get out of my way, snake-tongue." the other orc glowered, catching sight of Alaesia. He tried to shove by Zathra forcefully, only to be met with equal force, "Yer magic tricks aren't changing my mind."

Zathra shoved back and raised his hands disarmingly, "No tricks, I swear, Bar."

"You're doin' it right now, ya arse!" Barbaurak grabbed Zathra and yanked him forward to deliver a knee to his chest. The orc dropped, gasping for breath, but as Barbaurak moved to go past, Zathra threw his legs between Barbaurak's bringing him down as well, "Bloody shrakh!"

Zathra scrambled upright, getting the upper hand by tackling his leader, and pulling his arms behind his back. He cocked a sly grin at Alaesia, a lovely illusory mask in place of where his scarred face should be, putting a knee behind Barbaurak's shoulders to keep him pinned to the ground, "Ya ain't thinkin' right there, Bar. That head of yers is still a bit off. Have a lil lie down. Doctor's orders."

Alaesia watched for a tense moment as Barbaurak hissed and snarled in protest, but finally seemed to just give up with a heavy sigh, "I'm gonna knock yer teeth out when you let me up..."

"Yah well, if it means you'll listen ta me for but a moment, its worth it. Go take a piss or somethin'," Zathra shrugged. With surprising strength, he hauled Barbaurak upright, and put all his effort into flinging the orc away from the alcove in the rock. Barbaurak spit and grumbled before wandering off, leaving Zathra to turn back towards where Alaesia was cowering.

He barely opened his mouth when she hissed at him. She held her chained wrists out plantively with unspoken accusations shooting from her eyes, "Y-you promised I'd g-go free..."

"Good morn'n Zathra, nice day innit? A fine day ta you, lass!" Zathra smirked, performing a mock conversation between himself and the woman, as if small talk was the most normal thing in Mordor. "I hope ya 'ad a lovely nap. Ach, afraid not, m'dear, I spent all night dragging two corpses ta safety without so much as a 'ow do ya do for it! How terribly kind of ya ta look out for us. It were nothin, lass. Just glad we're all in one piece."

Alaesia tried to bite her tongue as he flopped himself on the ground to sit along side her. She couldn't resist nipping back at him, "Sh-shame I'm the l-last one in chains..."

He grinned, "If I'd taken them off ya while ya were asleep, then I wouldn'ta been able ta show off my lockpicking skills!"

"I-I've seen your l-lock p-picking skills," came her curt retort.

"Oh... yer right. Huh!" He scrunched his nose thoughtfully. "And ya've seen my healing too. I'm plum outta new tricks."

Alaesia's shoulders sank in defeat, "P-please... Za... Zathra, just l-let me g-go..."

His playful mood seemed to freeze in place, but he reached a gnarled hand out towards her face. She flinched as he rested his thumb on the split in her cheek, "That look's painful, lass. Let me patch ya up."

Alaesia jerked away before he could start to weave his magic, "Zathra!"

"Hey, ya didn't stutter that time!" He smiled wryly, "Guess ya just have ta be a little angry ta steady yer voice." The orc's hand was still outstretched, but he let his mask melt away, revealing the hideous face underneath. Alaesia wanted to recoil, but it seemed that showing his true face was his way of trying to open up. He almost seemed... Embarrassed? As though letting his real face show was somehow a stretch. As if, behind the scars, his eyes tried to communicate to her as he spoke, "Really, I just want to help. I'm not trying to trick ya. That tark blood of yers is gonna bring death down on all our heads if we don't stop ya bleedin'. Bar's a pugh, but 'e had a point. Yer trouble."

The human glared with him through watery eyes, she was unmistakably holding back a torrent of emotion, "Y-you're ignoring me."

Zathra sighed, dropping the pretense of niceties, "Bar doesn't believe ya have a bleedin' olog on yer tail. 'e never got a look at the beasty cuz I haul both ya's outta there as fast as I could. But 'e's gonna find out real fast if yer mor dagalur catches the scent of yer blood. Will ya let me stem the bleedin' at least ta buy us more time?"

The thought of her olog captor finding her seemed to be enough to spur Alaesia to concede. She turned away, unwilling to look him in the eye, but she didn't resist as he passed his thumb across the cut, being as gentle as she imagined an orc could be. The sensation of numbness tickled up her cheek before burrowing into the bruises surrounding her eye.

"There ya are, you'll be good as new." The orc murmured. It almost sounded like he was talking to an animal, like how one might calm a wild or injured creature, full of pity, but not equals.

Without any warning there was a burst of light that suddenly filled the vision of Alaesia's injured side, the same pale blue glow she had witnessed before, but this time it felt almost like a hot ember embedded in the flesh and bone. The sensation made her yelp, and push away. Zathra yanked his hand back at the same time, immediately severing the magic between them, "Ah! Sorry! It's 'ard ta fix inside stuff, the bits I can't see. Ya alright lass?"

"D-don't...!" Alaesia blinked a number of times, unable to shake the sensation; it felt as if for a moment her eye had been turned to jelly, making it water uncontrollably. It took a moment, but finally her vision cleared and she scooted nervously away from Zathra, grateful she hadn't just lost an eye to the unpredictability of orc magic. The pain from Frogblood's rough treatment wasn't gone, but it was at least lessened. "I... I think I'm o-okay."

"Glad to hear it. Though it looks like yer still a little black around yer-"

Before Zathra could finish, Alaesia forced herself to continue, as if pausing would make her tongue cease to obey, "C-can I go f-free, now...?"

"Lass..." Zathra started, but tears were already starting to trickle down her cheeks, as if she knew what his answer would be. He was clearly being avoidant, which Alaesia surmised could only be one thing. "I tried ta reason with 'im, tell 'im how ya helped drag his sorry backside outta the river, saved 'is life and all. But Barbaurak... 'e's a stubborn orc... He's not gonna let ya leave."

"You p-promised..." Alaesia tried to choke down a hiccupping sob.

"I did. Thought I could sway 'im. Life fer a life. But that orc's got a hardness in him. An' I think he blow to skull rattled him. He's not all there right now," Zathra continued, "So, 'e's got it in 'is head that there's a ransom's price on yers, after 'earin' wot that ole white-haired orc said about ya bein' a breeder."

It was impossible to miss how the human flinched at the word. Zathra hardly had to probe her mind to know what she was feeling; she wore her feelings so plainly - pitiful, small, and broken. He could even sense the pain that dug into her core, worsening as he spoke, "Thinks he can win a promotion fer 'imself by handing ya over to our captain. An' if that weren't satisfactory, 'e figured 'e could take ya to the... pits where yer kind gets sent... and get rewarded there."

"W-why can't... w-w-why..." her voice caught in her throat; sorrow tangled her tongue.

"Breath..." Zathra commanded, putting a hand on her shoulder, but she jerked away.

"W-why can't you j-just m-make h-h-him change his mind?!" She managed to get the words out with great effort, "Use y-your magic? P-please!"

"It rarely works like that, lass," the orc frowned, which was only accented by the drooping flesh of his scarred face, "Bar's on edge too. 'E'd see it coming. Makes it harder. Kinda like you. A rat'll jump right outta stew pot if its whiskers can feel the broth boiling before ya throw it in."

In some other life, Alaesia might have laughed at being compared to a rat. Not this one, where the comparison was far too real. In another other life, maybe she could have believed the promises of an orc. Not this one, where the word of an orc was worthless as spit. In another life... It was an endless spiral of thought, and she was lost sliding down the loops.

When Barbaurak did return, he had eager greed written upon his face. He did sucker punch Zathra in the teeth, but in the only way a orc might do so good naturedly. Sure Zathra pissed him off to no end, but he had his uses. Now if he'd do his job and stop the scent of tark blood from stinking up the air. Regardless though, they needed to set out on their way to get back to Razmat. The sooner the better. The south side of the river was unknown territory to the duo of orcs, it'd be a pain navigating back, but hopefully worth it. When Razmat learned of the destruction of his rival's, Frogblood's, ship and their captive's value, there would surely be a reward and, Barbaurak hoped, a nice bottle of liquor for his headaching troubles.

***** Translations *****

Sharlob - Human (female)

Shrakh - shit

Pugh - arse

Mor dagalur - Black / dark demon