We walked into the Orcs' camp later that afternoon, still tied to the wagon.  The street – if you can call it that – was nothing but thick mud that the wagon, and us, bogged down in.  Thrul whipped the old wolf mercilessly as the wagon rolled more slowly than he cared for.  

The village was full of large huts made of thick, tanned animal skins and logs.  Some had tusks jutting out from under their thatched roofs. 

As we stumbled through the muddy streets, more and more Orcs gawked at us.  The hunting party had been home for a while, but we’d slowly dragged up the rear.  There were dozens of Orcs watching us as we passed them, some of them making guttural noises in our direction, but most just snarling at us with their huge teeth sticking up past their bottom lips. 

They were all green in some shade, some yellower and lighter than others, some the same dark shade of green Rhux was. 

The males were all muscular and bulging, with bald heads and scars everywhere. I didn’t see any that were shorter than seven feet tall.  They wore leather loin clothes, thankfully, so I didn’t have to see what I assumed were the massive hogs they were hiding down there.

The females were also tall, none shorter than me at six feet, and most even taller than me.  They were all very muscular, with every muscle on their bodies clearly defined.  They had thick, muscular thighs and wide hips, and ample asses.  Some of them had long, red hair, and others had thick black hair that was pulled into thick braids that hung down past their shoulders. 

They all had pointy ears and jagged claw-like fingernails. 

The females weren’t wearing much.  Some of them had leather tops, and thin leather bottoms stretched across their massive muscles just enough to hide their private parts.  But most of the females were completely nude.  It made me think of what ancient human tribes had probably been like. Clothes were only needed to protect from the cold or during a hunt.  They weren’t needed at home.  Each female had breasts the size of watermelons.  They were all humongous, whether sagging down or firm and perky. 

We were led past all of them as they stared at us.  As we walked, a group of small orc children began to follow us, laughing and talking in their grunty language.  Rhux ignored them.  One of them, the oldest, who came up to about my waist, had a stick in his hand.  He poked it into my ass. 

I jumped and kicked out at him, but he ducked, laughing the whole time.  His little band of thugs laughed with him. 

I tried to walk backwards through the mud so I could keep my eye on him, but the mud was thick, and I tripped, falling on my ass and getting covered in mud. 

I twisted over and got to my knees.  The rope that tied me to the wagon was running out of slack; if I didn’t get up, I’d be dragged.  Rhux reached down to help me, but the mud was thick. 

I’d gotten up on my knees when the kid with the stick saw his opening.  He jabbed the stick hard into my ass. 

I came off the ground with a yelp, suddenly back on my feet.  I spun around to face the little shit, and the rope wrapped around me.  He was laughing so hard he was bent over and not paying attention.  I kicked him as hard as I could, knocking him face-first into the mud. 

His little gang of heathens had laughed when he’d jammed me in the ass with the stick.  Now they started laughing at him. 

The rope was still wrapped around me, and it pulled tight and dragged me down into the mud again. 

I was covered with the thick mud when Rhux finally managed to get me to my feet.  The wagon had never stopped rolling. 

“Damn kids,” I said, sounding like an eighty-year-old man.  I turned and shook a fist at the kid that had got me with the stick.  “Fucking asshole,” I yelled.  “What’s their problem?” I said to no one in particular. 

Rhux sighed.  “They’ve never seen a human before.  And they’ve been taught all humans are evil.”

“Evil?  Am I the one that jammed a stick up somebody’s ass?”  I rubbed my butt. 

Rhux shook her head.  “Keep walking, Jack.  We’re almost there.”

The huts got progressively bigger as we trudged further into the village.  Up ahead, I could see a hut that was much larger than all the other huts.

It was made out of animal skins like the others, but it stretched wider than any of the others, and I could tell it was deeper as well.  Its roof was tiered, with huge elephant tusks sticking out of each tier.  There was a large wooden door framed by large tusks as well. 

In front of the hut was a crowd of Orcs.  In the middle stood three very mean-looking orcs. 

Thrul stopped the wagon in front of the hut, untied the rope connecting us to it, then pulled us roughly in front of the three orcs standing in the middle of the crowd.

In the center, with a female on each side of him, was Rhux’s half-brother, Urog.  The one who’d captured us.  He’d obviously ridden ahead and told mommy dearest what he’d caught.

He was over eight feet tall and more muscular than any human could ever be. His biceps were as big around as tree trunks.  He had black hair pulled back into a braid and two thick teeth sticking up from his lower jaw, rising halfway up his face.  He was wearing thick leather fur-lined pants and no shirt. He was wearing a necklace made out of bones and small skulls. He looked like a walking nightmare. 

Next to him was a female orc, about a foot tall than me but still much shorter than Urog.  She had thick red hair that hung wildly down her shoulders and back.  Her long, pointy ears were jutting out and her two canine teeth sticking out were small but sharp looking.  Unlike some of the other female orcs I’d seen, she was wearing clothes.  Leather and fur barely covered her watermelon-sized breasts, her green cleavage the size of the Grand Canyon.  She had on a leather skirt that was tied around her six-pack abs and hung down between her hard green thighs. 

“That’s Moda,” Rhux whispered to me.  “Urog’s wife.”

On the other side of Urog was another female orc.  This one needed no introduction.

Umog.  Urog’s mother. 

Unlike the beautiful Rhux, who had her mother’s human features, or even Moda, who wasn’t unattractive in a weird sort of way, Umog was downright ugly.  She had all the features of the Orcs, big teeth, pointy ears, and pale green skin.  But her face looked like it had been carved from stone by a drunk sculptor.  Her nose was flat and ran flatly into her upper lip, while her eyes were hooded and narrow.  Her forehead was broad and flat, leading into hair that was thick but gray instead of the black or red the other females had, turned from its original color by old age.

She was dressed in leather and fur trimmed with bones and feathers, looking like some kind of weird shaman, but wearing more clothes than any other two females combined, everything covered but her shoulders and arms. 

She sneered at Rhux, then spoke to her in the Orcish language. 

It was harsh and abrasive, and I knew she wasn’t giving Rhux any compliments.  

Rhux listened without interrupting, then said something back I couldn’t understand.  Umog’s face twisted up like she’d been slapped, and Urog’s cheek’s started to turn red. Whatever Rhux had told them had pissed them off.

Urog spoke next, jabbing his finger in Rhux’s direction.  Then mine.  Not good. 

Urog barked something in their language, and a big brawny male Orc stomped out of the crowd toward me.  With one quick motion, he threw me over his shoulder like I was a rag doll.   

“Don’t fight, Jack,” Rhux said.  “They’ll kill you if you fight.  I’ll try to come for you.” 

The big orc was walking away, carrying me.  “Try?” I yelled. 

Rhux’s shoulder’s sagged.  Then as the crowd closed around them, blocking my view, I saw Urog punch her in the face. 

#

The big orc carried me to a pit covered with a grate made of bones and threw me in.  I’m not exaggerating here either, like maybe he set me down and said, “Here you go, little fella.  Have a nice night.”  Uh… No. 

He carried me to the edge, and while some other green asshole opened the gate, he threw me down in it.  I landed hard on the ground, and pain shot through my side and stomach like someone had slammed a wrecking ball into me.  I grunted and panted through it, waiting for my breath to return.  I was pretty sure I’d just cracked a rib.

The pit was wide and deep, and there were a bunch of filthy guys in it.  The guys were human, at least.  Most of them were anyway.  They were all skinny and dirty and looked like they hadn’t eaten in about five years. 

Except for one guy.  He was taller than me and more muscular and had green skin but a very human face—another half-breed.  The half-breed bared his orc teeth at me. 

“Well, this keeps getting better and better,” I said to myself. 

“Oh, don’t mind him,” someone said.  “He’s just trying to intimidate you.”  I looked up to see a filthy, skinny guy coming my way.  He sat down next to me on the hard dirt floor. 

He stuck out his hand.  “Names Grundon.  Yours?” 

I hesitated.  Grundon grinned his broken tooth grin at me. 

What the hell could it hurt?  I took his hand. “Jack.”  We shook.  Then I went back to holding my sore ribs. 

“You came in with the Chief’s half-breed bitch, right?” Grundon asked. 

“Yes.  But don’t call her that.” 

He held up his hands.  “No offense, mate.  That’s just what these monsters call her. Picked up a little orcish myself.  She’s all the talk.  Seems once his father croaks, the big war chief is gonna…” he drew a finger across his throat.  “Orcs don’t take kindly to half-breed bastards. 

“So I’ve heard,” I said.  Hopefully, Rhux would be able to escape. Hopefully, she’d take me with her when she did. 

“Just ask old Brag there.”  He pointed to the green-skinned man on the other side of the pit. “His da is one of these pricks.  And still, he gets thrown down here.”

I looked at the big guy who was still giving me the evil eye. “That sucks.”

Grundon raised his eyebrows up and down several times and asked me, “How’d you end up with her?  If you don’t mind me asking?  Get a little piece of green pussy, did ya?” 

I did mind him asking.  “Why are we locked up down here?” I wanted to change the subject. 

Grundon shook his head at my stupidity.  “You’re a slave now, mate.  We all are.  The orcs work us in their pits digging for minerals and shit.  That or…” He looked me up and down.  “It’s the pit one way or the other.  The digging pit or the fighting pit.  You… As big as you are.  I guess they’ll put you in the fighting pit with Brag tomorrow.  Give 'em some sport to watch.” 

What the fuck?  This place was really starting to suck.

“The fighting pit?”

Grundon shook his head a little too eagerly for me.  “Oh yeah.  They been waiting on a big boy like you to fight with Brag.  They’re gonna enjoy you two going at it.” 

“Then what?” I asked, trying to stifle the pain in my ribs by pressing on it. 

Grundon shrugged.  “Then what, nothing.  Whichever one of you lives gets to come back here.  Not much of a reward, but better than dying, right?”

“Whichever one of us lives?”  Now really, what the fuck? Were we supposed to fight to the death?  For sport?  I laid my head back on the dirt wall.  I had to get out of here. 

Grundon shrugged.  “Thought you knew.  Thought everyone knew.” 

“I didn’t,” I said.  But I did now. 

“It’s all speculation on my part anyway,” Grundon said.  “They might just make you work the digging pit with us.  You’re not that big.”  He bit at a fingernail so dirty it was black.  “But you did come in with the chief’s bastard daughter, who they all hate.  So they’ll probably make you fight so that Brag can kill you.” 

Great.  Death by association. 

There was a noise above us, and I looked up to see a skinny orc holding a bucket above us.  He dumped it out into the pit. 

Blood and bits and pieces of meat bounced on the ground, and I saw what looked like thick sausages. 

“Dinner time,” Grundon said, scooping up some of the meat before others could get to it.  He handed me a glob of it. 

“What is it?” I asked.  I was so hungry I could eat pretty much anything. 

“The guts from their hunt,” Grundon said. 

I looked at the little sausage in my hand, which, on closer inspection, was really a piece of something’s intestine. 

I wanted to puke, but I had nothing in me. 

“Eat it,” Grundon said.  “It’s the only thing you’ll get tonight.” 

I was starving.  Something was better than nothing, right? 

I closed my eyes and chewed.