[Firefoot]

Life since the passage of the Misty Mountains had not been going well for Grimkul and Ulwakh. In fact, this was the worst life had ever been since their enslavement to Mordor several years back. Ulwakh regretted it every day that he had not taken Grimkul up on his suggestions of fleeing; even Grimkul understood that there was no chance of that now. Kharn made sure of it.

Kharn made sure of a lot of things. He made sure that if an example needed to be made, the example was either Grimkul or Ulwakh (usually Grimkul). He made sure that they were always strapped with the worst of the camp duties when there were duties to be done. He made sure that the frustrated Grimkul never got his way with any Orc who, knowing that Kharn would indirectly protect him, took advantage of either of them. And if Grimkul did put a foot out of line… there was always the whip. He wouldn’t actually kill either of them – Grimkul in particular was useful on the front lines, and besides, Kharn enjoyed the bit of sport. And if the Captain asked… well, Kharn could always say that they had been causing trouble. Such was not unheard of from Grimkul. Not that he regretted his past actions; he mostly just wanted to add Kharn to his list of conquests.

Only occasionally were Grimkul and Ulwakh able to temporarily escape Kharn’s notice in the bustle and confusion of camp, and these times were a blessed relief.

Kharn had not forgiven Grimkul the embarrassment of being put into such a vulnerable position in front of the rest of the troops, and he wasn’t going to let Grimkul forget it. So almost daily, Grimkul’s infuriation and humiliation grew, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. The instant he had the chance, he would put a knife in Kharn’s back… except he never seemed to have the chance. Not a good one, anyway; Ulwakh had always dissuaded him for if he were to kill the second-in-command, Grimkul would be killed, too. So Grimkul was stuck biding his time until he got an opportunity in which he could pass off the killing as either as an accident or “someone else did it.”

And Ulwakh needed Grimkul as much as, if not more than, ever. His leg had never really healed, and he still walked with a slight limp. The wound might seem to be finally healed, only to open up again after a hard day’s march. More often than not, the open wound became infected. This repeated process had left his calf little more than a dark mass of tough, scabby skin. And once more, Kharn was no help: during the marches, Kharn became quite free with the whip when Grimkul and Ulwakh were stuck near the back, and by the frequency with which the whip hit his leg, Ulwakh figured he aimed for it.

Life was a misery, and the only respites had been village raids, when all Orkish cruelty was turned towards the Elvish settlements of Eregion. Each village was raided, pillaged, and plundered, and any inhabitants they found were cruelly killed. Then the villages were burned to the ground, nothing left but ashes. Grimkul took a moment to reminisce over the last such village, two days previous. They had been fortunate; the Elves living there had not already fled as in some other villages. He smiled maliciously recalling the terrified screams of the children and the horror and helplessness etched out in their Elvish faces. The villages had all been too small to give real fight, and Orkish casualties were minimal.

He knew that this last village was one of the last that they would destroy; even he was not so dull-witted as to not realize that the company was hastening south with increasing speed, and Ulwakh had gathered that they were going to meet a much larger army, one to quash the great Elvish city. Small raids weren’t the objective any more; the Dark Lord wanted greater conquests. So while Grimkul hoped there would be at least one more raid, Ulwakh doubted there would be.

Grimkul was startled out of his pleasant memories by Ulwakh’s hiss, “He’s coming!” This was one of those nights where the two of them had managed to steal away from Kharn’s attention, and whether he was just wandering this way or if he was looking for them, neither wanted to find out. They quickly picked up and moved in the other direction, into the heart of the camp. They settled in, inconspicuous among the other Orcs. Grimkul’s murderous gaze never left the second-in-command, though. Ulwakh might be content to play hide-and-seek, but as for Grimkul… One of these days, he promised himself. One of these days, Kharn would wish that he had left Ulwakh and him alone.