Page 3 of Orc's Pride
“A cave with an exit that you ran quite quickly to.”
At that huff, I turned to grab the reins of my mount. Something pin-prickles the back of my neck, causing me to turn again. Off in the distance, I see more movement. Another mountain lion? That doesn’t make sense though, they aren’t pack hunters.
I hold up my hand, silencing the others as they begin to chatter away.
Something isn’t right here…
A sharp whistle cuts through the air, singing past me.
My eyes widen as the arrow lodges itself into my mount’s hind. “Down!”
2
Dana
My lungs burn.
It’s already morning but the light from overhead can barely be seen through the thick canopy of the trees that surround me on either side.
I’ve been running for what feels like hours, narrowly escaping the dark elf patrol that had been stationed outside of their encampment. Their eyesight is unnaturally good, giving them an unfair advantage over someone like me—a plain human.
The paper in my hand creases as I tighten my hold over it. The edges of it are jagged, torn right from the book I’d found it in. I hadn’t taken the time to safely tuck it anywhere and now that I’m out of that hellish place, I don’t want to stop long enough to do so.
I’m afraid that any second spared is a second closer that the dark elves pursue me further.
There’s no telling how long it will take them to notice that the page is gone, or that it’d been taken from me. I’ve spent months working my way into the inner parts of that encampment, slowlygaining favors and trust that I could exploit later on down the road.
When the time had finally come, I’d quickly snatched the page—a ledger of alliances that the dark elves had cultivated over the years—and quickly ran out of there.
Thankfully, the encampment had bordered woods that seemed to stretch for miles on either side. It gave me enough cover to hide myself away and get to a safe place before I figured out which way to go to return back to Malik.
Black spots dance in my vision, causing me to slow finally and find a tree to lean against. I suck much needed air into my lungs, allowing myself a small respite before I needed to get going again.
The page in my hands is thicker than more typical ones, most likely made of a nicer material that holds the ink better. I lift it, running my eyes over the scrawling words. It’s in the dark elf’s native tongue, something that I can’t understand, let alone read.
Malik, the orc who had sent me on this spy mission, he would be able to decode it. At least, I hope so. Or else I’ve just spent the last few months being tortured for nothing.
Wiping my arm over my brow, I straighten back up to keep moving forward. I fold the list and tuck it into my shirt, between the layers to keep it from getting ruined from my sweat. It’s been a long time coming, getting this list.
The allies of the dark elves have been a protected secret, one that they’ve been painstaking at keeping close to their chests so someone like me couldn’t come in and steal it. Before Malik had rescued me, I thought I’d live under the dark elves’s thumb until the day I died.
He’d given me a life, away from the torture and the experimentation that had been forced upon me from those sick bastards. I would never be able to thank him enough. He’d quiteliterally saved me for horrible things that still manage to give me nightmares to this day.
I wouldn’t wish that life on anyone. Not even my worst enemy.
A few months ago, Malik had gotten intel that there was a dark elf settlement that possibly had a ledger full of orcs and humans who were in leagues with them. How good that intel was, he wasn’t sure at the time. But I’d been more than willing to risk myself if it meant paying him back a small sliver of what he’d given me.
So, off I went.
It had been horrible to be caught by the dark elves for the second time in my life, but thankfully I’d been thrown in a prison and used as labor. It helped me bide my time until I could blend in enough and escape their prying eyes.
Obtaining the page from the ledger had been the scariest thing I’ve ever done. But now that I have it, I know it’s all going to be worth it. Once I hand it over to Malik, we’ll stop this damn war.
I stop short when I hear voices up ahead. Ducking behind one of the trees closest to me with a large trunk, I hunker down close to the ground. It makes me as invisible as possible while I’m out in the open like this. Thankfully, it's darker here in the shade and the sun hasn’t fully risen yet.
“—patrolling this area is a waste of time. No one comes out this way.”
“Shut it, or else we’ll get in trouble.”