Page 10 of The Orc's Oath

He watched me again for a few moments.

"Our tribe seer told me that the gods would send me a sign when I had paid for my failures. When it was time to leave this place."

My brain took a moment to catch up to what he was saying.

"You mean to escape?"

"You may call it that. I have prayed to our god every night. And a few months ago he sent me the sign of freedom."

Orzesh reached behind his sash and rummaged inside a pocket in it for a moment. I tensed, unsure what he was about to pull out of there. Nothing could have prepared me when he opened his fist. Inside was a small, scraggly bird with a pale rusty orange belly and a bluey gray back with a small sharp beak. A black line ran across its eye like it was wearing war paint. It peered at me and then cheeped. Slightly messy furry feathers told me it wasn't quite an adult yet. It was absolutely adorable. I gaped at Orzesh and the bird.

"He came through my window at the end of my prayers. He wasn't very good at being quiet at first. The other prisoners kept trying to get hold of him to eat him."

"To EAT HIM?!"

"Yes. Us bigger monsters don't get enough grub at mealtimes. So there were eyes on him. And he couldn't fly well to get away at first. So every time someone came to try to eat him, I had to fight them off. He is mine to protect. My friend."

I was instantly completely on his side. As I stared at the baby bird, a fierce protective instinct raged inside me. Zesh held the bird out towards me. I took him gently, feeling the honor that he was giving by handing something so precious over to me. A sign from his god.

The bird was soft and fluffy. I ruffled his head, and he chirruped at me. I knew I would also have fought anyone who tried to hurt him.

"You are a good bird dad, Zesh."

His chest puffed with pride.

"I have named him Bloodletter."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Bloodletter. It is a solid orc name. He drew blood the first time I held him. A fierce bird."

I looked at tiny, adorable, Bloodletter. He didn't seem very fierce to me right now. I'd have called him Fluffles or Bluey. But he wasn't mine to name. As I fussed over the bird who was now leaning into my hand, my brain pulled back to something Zesh had said.

"Wait, so you are going to attempt to escape now?"

"Of course. My time is done. My god outranks your human judges."

I wasn't sure what to say to that. Obviously I should report that he was trying to escape. But he had given me his trust. I couldn't just turn around and betray it, and I didn't want to. I looked at his face for a moment. Those green eyes flicked between me and Bloodletter. I couldn't disrespect orc laws and their ways. But I had also promised to uphold human laws when I started working here. I sat stroking Bloodletter and thinking.

"There might be a better way to get you out of here. Without breaking any laws. To respect your god and to not end up a fugitive to humans."

His face screwed up.

"I think we can do it by putting forward evidence that you didn't actually commit the war crimes you were convicted of."

"It would be dishonorable to my tribe to avoid responsibility."

"You aren't avoiding anything. You've done the time according to your god, right? So you'd just be telling the full story."

"That sounds slower and less exciting than escaping, Uk'lah."

His eyes glinted with mischief as he said this.

I snorted, startling Bloodletter. I calmed him before continuing.

"You might be right. But not everything can be exciting all the time. Also, do you know how difficult it would be to escape here?"

"Yes, it would be a challenge. But I am strong."

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