Page 11 of Shared By Two Orcs

I’m approaching the end of a late evening shift in the mines. I walk through the damp tunnels and dewy crevices, inspecting the performance and output of all the filthy humans working here. They sneak nervous glances over their shoulder, quickly whipping their gaze back to their section when I catch them looking.

I traverse down a shaft about five meters wide and four meters tall. It stretches down for a quarter mile. Lined along the sides are workers mining and gathering ore from veins licking the grimy stone walls. They bend and curve in traces of light blue, glowed by dimly lit lamps inside which flickers the speck of small flames.

As I march down, the miners straighten themselves up out of fear. I cast glances upon them all, dishing out judgments and insults where I see fit. I look ahead, spotting a human woman laying against the wall. Her pickaxe lays across her folded legs as she wipes sweat from her forehead.

“Oy!” I yell out, stomping towards her. She looks over to me with exhausted eyes, barely reacting as though her body has no energy to do so. “What do you call this?”

“Sir…” she groans. “I’ve no vigor left within me. Just allow me a short break, please.”

“You’ll have no such thing,” I retort. “Now get back to work.”

The woman grimaces, her face contorting as if she’s about to cry. Just then, there rings through the tunnel an echo of snapping metal, followed by the clanging of steel upon stone.

“What was that?” I call out. The workers all cast nervous glances to one another. “So, no one’s going to tell me then? Right… I’ll have to dish out punishments to all of you!”

“Wait!” calls out a man’s voice. A few feet away, a distant hand raises itself. “It was me, my pickaxe broke.”

Scowling, I march over to the man. He shrinks and quivers as I approach. In the glow of my own lamp, half of his face grimaces in fear while the other remains hidden in shadows. I peer down to his fallen tool, seeing the metal from his pickaxe lays separated from the wooden handle.

“A result of your poor form then, eh?” I growl.

“No sir, it was already in bad condition when I picked it up this afternoon.”

“You humans… always so full of excuses. This’ll be coming out of your wage.”

“Sir, please!” exclaims the man, unwisely reaching a hand towards me.

I shove him away with such force that he falls to the ground, joining his equipment. Snickering, I look around at the shocked expressions worn across everyone else’s faces.

“What are you looking at then? Get back to work!”

Curse this place, I hate it down here,I think to myself as I leave the tunnel.These humans don’t make it any better.

At that moment, I stop walking, hit with a sudden remembrance of one particular human.

Except for that girl I saw the other day. By the gods, she was beautiful… Alas, I’ll never be seen with a human woman.

I’m overcome with a strange feeling. Never before have I thought of a human woman as beautiful, let alone acknowledge them. Still, I figure it does no harm. It’s not like I’m going to share those thoughts with any of the other orcs.

Near the entrance of the mines, I spot Milug arriving for his shift, signaling the end of mine. As I walk up to him, the roof of the caves pull back, unveiling the black canvas of the night sky. The moon hangs high, pearlescent white and shining through the wisps of clouds peppered throughout.

“Yamarz, it’s good to see you again,” he greets. “Did you hear the news?”

“What is it?” I ask.

“Do you know of Duma?”

“Duma… Hmm, I’ve heard that name before. Remind me what he does.”

“He’s the orc that got his ass handed to him by Yaghed, got himself kicked out of the battalion for the embarrassment he brought to Sukha.”

“Ah yes. Sukha always seemed to take it easy on him, though I’m not sure why.”

“Perhaps he has a soft spot for Duma, though I myself can’t fathom why either,” says Milug. “This encampment has no room for orcs that can’t fight.”

“At least now he no longer makes waste of the battalion’s resources. Anyway, you bear news of him?”

“Indeed, I was chatting with some of the perimeter guards just before I came. They saw Duma returning from the forest with a human woman, only to follow her into her home. Apparently, he has not come out since.”

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