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"It was my fault!" Gorluk wailed. "If I hadn't poked that Balrog with a stick, Gandalf would have never died! Does that mean I killed him? I KILLED HIM FAROTH! I KILLED HIM!"

Gorluk moaned and smashed his face against the dirt. He knew that something terrible was bound to happen if they entered Moria, but he would have never imagined that it would come to this. The Wizard had died! Gandalf seemed to Gorluk the most powerful person he had ever seen!

Gorluk's head was buzzing with grief and confusion when Faroth came and sat down next to him. "That wasn't your fault Gorluk," he said in a calm voice. "The only one who had any faults was that Balrog. That monster was the one who had intentions to kill as soon as it woke up, and our intentions were to run for our lives."

Gorluk couldn't fully understand what Faroth was trying to explain, but he knew that Faroth was trying his best to comfort him. "I guess you're right," he sniffed. "C'mon, let's go," Faroth urged, yanking on his sleeve (now wet with tears). "The others might need us."

Gorluk slowly got up and began to walk beside Faroth. He glanced at the tunnel before they left, and noticed that the entrance to the tunnel that they had run out of seemed more like a cave than an entrance. He thought that it could have been a hidden entrance that other Orcs used to get into Moria. Gorluk suddenly realized something; He didn't see any signs of Orcs in Moria. But of course, that was because they were probably far away from where the Balrog slept. But Gorluk began to feel worried. Would the Orcs in Moria become angry at whoever woke up the Balrog and try to track them down for revenge?

"Faroth?" Gorluk asked. "Could you smell any traces of Orcs as we were running out?" Gorluk was startled as the fur on Faroth's back pointed up. "Of course not!" Faroth snapped. "How would I be able to smell something if we were running for our lives!?"

Gorluk's mouth dropped open. What had he said to anger the Warg? Faroth looked up at Gorluk and sighed. "I'm sorry. I just…" Faroth stopped and looked down at his paws. 'Can you keep a secret?" he asked quietly. Gorluk nodded. "Well…" Faroth began. "I lost my sense of smell a long time ago."

Gorluk's eyes widened. "Really?"

Faroth nodded in shame. "That's why I'm such a bad hunter."

Gorluk suddenly remembered when they were in the tunnel. "But what about the time that you said that you were well known for your sense of smell? And when you smelled that fire, er, Balrog?" Gorluk asked with confusion.

Faroth slumped his shoulders. "Well, that's true, but fire is the only thing that I can sense with my nose. My nose is extremely sensitive to ashes, so when my nose tickles, that's most likely it. My nose is so strong, I can detect a small campfire two miles away. My pack would often make me track down campfires if they wanted to…" but then Faroth snapped his jaws shut. Gorluk knew that it was the first time that Faroth had made any mention about his pack to him.

Gorluk tried to change the subject. "How did you loose your sense of smell…" he began, before realizing that he had made a huge mistake.

Faroth immediately stood up and continued walking in silence. Gorluk sadly caught up with him, but none of them talked for quite a while. Gorluk learned that painful memories take time to be shared, ESPECIALY in Faroth's case.

Gorluk suddenly stopped when he heard voices up ahead. Faroth stopped too. They crept slowly and hid underneath the bracken as the voices became closer. Gorluk's heart leaped for joy as he saw the travelers walk by at a swift pace beside a small stream. They watched in silence as they passed them by, until their voices faded in the distance. Gorluk was about to stand up to follow them, when Faroth growled. 'Don't get up just yet," he said through gritted teeth. Gorluk, confused, stayed where he was until he saw what was troubling him. Right down the path, he could see a small and pale creature creeping through; Smeagol. Gorluk stared at him in rage as he crawled past them, unawares. They waited until he was gone, and they stood up immediately.

"That fool tricked us!" Faroth growled in anger, his red eyes blazing. "he showed us the wrong directions, so he could find the travelers himself!"

Gorluk nodded in agreement. He thought silently for a moment, and then said "We have to kill him."

Faroth looked up in shock, knowing that this didn't sound like Gorluk at all. "Why do we need to do that?"

"Because Smeagol knew one of the Halflings somehow, or at least its last name, and said that he hated 'Bagginses', remember?" Gorluk replied. "Maybe he wants to kill him along with everyone else."

Faroth thought about it. "That does sound like a good explanation… But maybe we should watch him and see what he does first."

Gorluk agreed, and together they walked down the path in pursuit of the travelers, but most of all Smeagol.

Throughout the hours that they walked, Gorluk and Faroth were careful not to be 'discovered' by Smeagol (but that also meant that they had to remain further away from the group). Soon, as the sun began to set, they came closer and closer to a large forest. When it was fully dark, Faroth stopped. "I don't think we should go any further tonight," he said. "With it being this dark, Smeagol is more likely to find us and try to make a run for it."

"But if we stop, the travelers might move on." Gorluk objected. "And the further away they are, the more likely it will be to loose them."

Before Faroth could argue back, they unexpectedly heard many heavy footsteps approaching. They quickly dashed towards the bushes to hide. It was so dark that Gorluk could hardly see a thing, but soon, he could see many darker shadows marching in the distance. They moved at a quick pace, but he could see that they were trying to be as quiet as possible (which wasn't working at all). As they came closer and closer, Gorluk could recognize who they were, which made him sick to his stomach. "Orc scouts," he muttered to Faroth. Gorluk was right after all.

As they passed them by, Gorluk grew afraid that they would be caught. But thankfully, they didn't, and as they left Gorluk was able to count at least twenty. But he knew that Orc scouts usually go in small groups, which meant that there could possibly be a hundred more behind them. "What should we do?" Faroth whispered in a worried tone. Gorluk thought hard for a long time until he thought up a risky plan. "They probably think that the travelers woke up the Balrog, so they've come to pursue them and capture them. When it comes to Orc scouts, almost nothing can stop them…" Gorluk shivered as he thought of the last time he had been an Orc scout. "…Except maybe a few distractions."

Faroth eyes widened. "Do you mean that we should try to divert an entire group of Orcs another direction?"

Gorluk nodded. "I know that it seems like a crazy idea, but it might work… Unless you have a better idea?"

Faroth shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't think of anything better. But how can we do that without them catching us?"

Gorluk slowly grinned. "Do you remember when you said that Wargs are faster then Orcs…"

Thirty minutes later…

"Ready Faroth?" Gorluk whispered.

"This is the strangest idea I've ever heard." Faroth grumbled.

They were standing next to a small stream that cut in front of the path, waiting for the Scouts to come. They had managed to run up ahead of them, and now they were waiting for Gorluk's plan to take action (a plan which Faroth did not like at all).

"I can hear them coming!" Faroth whispered. He was right. Gorluk started to hear the heavy footsteps of twenty Orc scouts approaching. He climbed onto Faroth's back. "Wait until I give the signal," he whispered. Faroth crept away from the path as the Orcs came into view, and waited. Gorluk allowed for them to pass. Faroth looked up at him in confusion, but just as they were about to disappear from sight, Gorluk nudged him by the shoulder. "Now!" he said quickly.

"HEY YOU!" Faroth bellowed to the Orcs. The Orcs whirled their heads around, startled.

"WERE YOU LOOKING FOR ME!?" Faroth roared in his most menacing voice. The Orcs still couldn't see Faroth, but some of them growled in anger and raised their weapons. That was Gorluk's signal. Before any of them could take a step forward to attack, Gorluk quickly set two torches alight and raised them both above his head. The Orcs gasped in horror. "Eyes!" someone shouted in terror. "Red, flaming eyes!"

"MONSTER!" the rest screamed in dread. Most of them dropped their weapons and began to run over the stream, but Faroth quickly circled around and stopped right in front of them. "It's too fast!" one of them wailed. "This way!" their chief ordered, and they all turned around to flee. Gorluk grinned in triumph.

"Chase after them for a while," he whispered to Faroth. Faroth nodded and dashed after them. By the time that they had caught up with them, the Orcs had run into another group of fifty scouts, and were telling them to run for their lives. The Other scouts had laughed as they explained to them the monster, but once they saw Gorluk's torches, they were instantly filled with dread, and sprinted after the other Orcs while crying for help. They continued to chase them for five miles, and finally Faroth stopped. "LEAVE THIS PLACE!" Faroth roared to the fleeing Orcs. "NEVER COME BACK, FOR THIS IS MY TERRITORY!"

Gorluk and Faroth stood still until the cries and screams of the Orcs had died away. As soon as all was silent, they both fell to the ground, bawling with laughter. "It worked!" Gorluk laughed. "I never thought that they would be that afraid!" Faroth was rolling on the ground. "I change my mind; that was the greatest idea ever!" he snickered.

Gorluk stood up. "We must have chased away seventy Orcs at least," he said. "That could have been all of them." Faroth sat up and nodded. "Now that the problem with the Orcs has been dealt with, we can go back to dealing with Smeagol," Faroth said thoughtfully.

Gorluk yawned and stretched. "In the morning," he said. 'We should sleep here for tonight now that this place is Orc-free. I mean, free from bad Orcs at least."

Faroth nodded and fell asleep almost as soon as he closed his eyes. Gorluk leaned his back against a tree and thought about what he had just done. He had planned against his own kind in order to help 'the enemy' escape. He shuddered at the realization that if his captain EVER found out what he did, he would definitely be killed (but he seriously doubted that he ever would).

There was something that Gorluk figured that night: he could never go back to his old life in Mirkwood. But yet, that made Gorluk happier. He thought to himself proudly that he was probably the first Orc to ever switch sides. He glanced at Faroth as the Warg started to snore loudly. Maybe he would be the first Warg to ever switched sides too. Together, they could fight against all evil! But then the thought of fighting made Gorluk shudder even more. Fighting against evil? Ridiculous! he thought to himself. He shook his head and decided that he really needed sleep to clear his head. He closed his eyes and thought of nothing else until morning came.

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