Page 14 of Shared By Two Orcs

“Teamwork is always a good strategy,” I say to them. They nervously exchange their glances between me and each other. It seems as though one waits for the other orc to make the first move.

“Well come on, the both of you can attack you know?”

This causes them to initiate their attack, rushing forward as they bring down their swords on me. I roll forward, looking back at them over my shoulder. They’re already bringing their swords down to where I once stood, only now they were about to hit each other. I stick out my sword, capturing both of their blades before they remove each other’s heads.

“Why did you both go for the same move?” snarls Sukha.

Distracted, the orcs glance over to their master. I reach over to Gerud’s leg, pulling at his foot to sweep him off of his leg. I then bring my sword down on him, using the blunt side so as not to kill him. Glancing up, I see Yedfur nervously readjust the grip on his sword.

“You won’t have time to do anything like that in the heat of battle,” I tell him.

I rush forward, shouldering him hard to the ground. I then point the tip of my sword at his throat as he peers up at me, panting as if all oxygen has been pulled from his body. Chuckling, I hand the sword back to its rightful owner before extending a hand to the fallen recruits. I give them all three who faced me a pat on the back.

“You have a good trainer at your disposal. Listen to his advice, and one day we may find ourselves side by side on the battlefield.”

I bow to them and shake Sukha’s hand before walking away. In that moment, the image of Willo returns to me, returning just as quick as it had left.

“Perhaps what I need is to see her,” I sigh. “I ought to seek out Milug.”

I make my way to the mines, knowing Milug is scheduled to start his shift in the next few minutes. As I come up on its entrance, I spot him lingering near its opening, barking orders at a human. His scowl eases up when he spots me.

“Ah there you are Yamarz. Thank you for covering me yesterday, I owe you one.”

“That’s actually what I came here to talk to you about Milug.”

“Oh?”

“Something has come up for me and I need for us to swap again today.”

“I don’t know,” he answers, rubbing the back of his neck. “I have plans for later on, can we do this some other day?”

“Come on Milug,” I growl. “You said it yourself, you owe me a favor, and this is what I need. Do this for me and we’ll call it even.”

“Alright,” he sighs. “I’ll do it, my word is my bond. Why do you need to swap

anyway?”

“I just need some time to deal with something personal later on.”

“Yamarz,” he chuckles. “Are you seeing someone?”

“No,” I snap. “I don’t concern myself with that type of thing anymore.”

“Are you sure? You used to be quite the ladies man back in the day. Come on, I won’t

say a word, just tell me who you’re seeing.”

“I said it’s personal!” I reply, raising my voice.

“Alright man, suit yourself,” says Mulug, shrugging it off. “Have fun.”

He walks off toward the canteen as I turn to the mines. The tunnels stretch on ahead of me, continuing well beyond where my eyes stop.

She’s got to be in here somewhere.

I take a deep breath and walk inside. All around me, humans are endlessly swinging pickaxes, filling up buckets with ore of any raw material they find. As I press forward, the cave’s natural formations become more apparent, with stalactites and stalagmites poking out from the ceiling and ground respectively. They jut out like sharp sets of teeth, eager to bite down on an unsuspecting bypasser.

Brown holes gather collectively as the ground gradually becomes uneven, making it hard for the more novice miners to navigate deep inside the tunnels. Faint blood stains on the walls usually encourage them to watch their step. It’s made worse by the dust veiling my feet, stemming from the walls as they’re hacked into.