Chapter 12: Shackles of the Unknown
The axe descended, its massive blade carving through the air with a deadly whistle. My mind raced, desperation clawing at me. I couldn't die, not here, not now. After everything I had endured, this couldn't be the end.
Then, just as the cold inevitability of death loomed over me, an arrow pierced the night. Its whistle cut through the chaos, and a sickening thud followed as the projectile embedded itself in the orc's eye. The brute staggered, its roar of pain shaking the ground. Blood streamed from the wound, and its grip faltered, the enormous axe crashing to the earth mere inches from my head.
In a blur of motion, a figure darted past me. My vision swam from exhaustion and shock, but I caught glimpses of the figure, lean, swift, and familiar. Buck. He moved with a speed and precision I hadn't known he possessed, seizing the massive axe and leaping high into the air. With a single, powerful swing, he cleaved the orc in two, the blade tearing through its torso.
The forest erupted into chaos. Orcs roared in fury, their cries shaking the trees. The rules of their honor-bound duel had been shattered, and now they surged forward, rage igniting their charge.
Buck barely had time to raise the axe again before a fist the size of his chest slammed into him. The impact sent him sprawling to the ground, his body crumpling like a discarded doll. More blows rained down, and in moments, he was unconscious.
I barely had time to register what was happening before another orc loomed over me. Its fist, heavy as a boulder, came down hard. Darkness swallowed me whole.
When I opened my eyes, my head throbbed like a war drum. I blinked against the dim, flickering light, the world around me coming into focus slowly, cruelly. Cold metal dug into my wrists, chains rustling with every twitch of my aching arms.
The first thing I saw was the cage. Thick, blackened steel bars rose around me, their surfaces pitted with rust and streaks of dried blood. The air inside was heavy and damp, carrying the stench of rot and despair. Beyond the bars, the camp unfolded like a nightmare; a sprawling, grim expanse of suffering.
Other cages stretched in every direction, crammed with prisoners. Humans, their faces sunken and eyes hollow, sat slumped in corners or leaned against the bars in silent resignation. Among them were smaller figures, goblins, their wiry frames trembling as they whispered to one another in frantic, unintelligible tones. Their voices were abruptly silenced by a deafening clang as an orc banged a cudgel against the bars, sending a jolt of fear through everyone.
I forced myself upright, the motion agonizing. My body screamed in protest, every muscle a reminder of the beating I had taken. My chains clinked as I shifted, the sound grating against my ears. The air reeked of unwashed bodies, iron, and something faintly metallic that seemed to stick to the back of my throat.
Beyond the cages, the camp revealed its brutal purpose. What had once been a vibrant forest was now a desolate wasteland. Stumps littered the landscape like tombstones, and the earth was churned into a muddy, unrecognizable mess. A dark, oily haze hung in the air, turning the distant mountain into a looming shadow. The ground beneath my feet was littered with shards of stone and splintered wood, each step a reminder of the destruction wrought here.
A narrow, winding path cut through the camp. Along it, emaciated prisoners dragged rickety carts piled high with jagged rocks and dull, gleaming ores. Their backs bent under the weight, their faces etched with exhaustion and despair. Others carried crude tools, shuffling toward the mountain like lifeless marionettes.
The orcs patrolled the camp with an air of cruel authority. Their hulking forms cast long shadows in the dim light, and their guttural commands boomed across the wasteland. Any prisoner who faltered was met with immediate and brutal punishment; a cudgel swung without hesitation, a boot to the ribs, or a backhanded slap that left blood in its wake.
I scanned the crowd desperately, searching for Buck. But he was nowhere to be seen. Panic rose in my chest like bile, my breaths quickening. The oppressive weight of the cage, the camp, the orcs, it was too much.
My gaze fell to my shackled hands, the rusted chains that marked me as another cog in this merciless machine. A tremor started in my fingers and spread, my whole body shaking uncontrollably. The cold iron bit into my skin, leaving raw, angry marks. Every time I moved, the rusted links grated against one another, a sound as grating as my own thoughts.
"This… this can't be happening," I whispered, the words catching in my throat. "I fought. I survived. I'm supposed to be stronger than this."
But the truth clawed its way into my mind, cruel and unrelenting. I wasn't strong enough. Not against the orcs. Not against this. My chest heaved, my breaths turning ragged. The walls of the cage seemed to close in, the bars pressing against me, suffocating me.
A sob escaped my lips, raw and guttural. I buried my face in my hands, the tears burning hot against my cold, dirt-smeared skin. All the battles, all the struggles, what had they been for? To end up here, broken and powerless?
The clang of a cage door jolted me upright. An orc stepped inside, its massive hand gripping the chain that linked my shackles. Without a word, it yanked me forward with brutal force. I stumbled, the rough ground scraping my knees as I struggled to keep up.
As I was dragged toward the path, I caught one last look at the cage. The prisoners inside avoided my gaze, their faces turned downward, lifeless. The spark of rebellion or hope, if it had ever existed, was long extinguished.
A strangled cry built in my throat, but I choked it down. What was the point? My mind raced, searching for a plan, a way out, anything. But the reality was stark and unyielding.
I was too weak. Too small. Too human.
The orc barked a command, and I stumbled again, the chain pulling me upright like a puppet on strings. The mountain loomed closer, its shadow swallowing me whole.
This was no battlefield. There was no glory to be found here. Only despair.