Chapter 70: I Am... Human?
Murkfang had eaten to his satisfaction, and the boy was curious about where he came from. Murkfang had no problem telling him because there was nothing he could do with that information at the end of the day.
The boy was wanted and would probably be punished for helping him, but Murkfang was curious how a child managed to survive on his own.
There had to be a way he could use this situation to his advantage, but Murkfang wasn’t nearly as cunning as Byung.
He couldn’t risk it; he had to learn how the humans lived. This was the first step.
"Can you help me escape?" Murkfang asked the boy, and the boy looked visibly saddened by this.
"Leave? I thought you were my friend?" the boy asked, and Murkfang knew he couldn’t risk agitating him.
"I am!" Murkfang insisted, knowing all it would take was the child turning him in. He knew nowhere and would be lost, as he couldn’t fit in due to his skin color.
He had to find a way to blend into this society, but he would stick out like an eyesore.
At least, until he could find a way to escape—because these humans should have security at the gates, so he couldn’t just walk out of the place like it was his home.
"Is there a way I can live here? I will stick out like a thumb looking like this," Murkfang confessed, and the boy thought for a minute before jumping to his feet like he had remembered something.
He rushed out of sight, and this made Murkfang unsettled right away. He was still jumpy due to the experience these humans had already put him through.
But the boy returned with a white substance and a farmer’s hat. Murkfang was so small that anyone would assume he was a child should he walk the road, and this in turn meant they wouldn’t pay him too much attention if his gigantic ears and skin color were different.
The boy had that idea and began to paint Murkfang. Murkfang wondered if this would work or not, but the paint fit his pale complexion—it had to be perfect.
Murkfang stayed still and allowed the boy to do what he needed to do.
It took over an hour for the boy to finish, and Murkfang was impressed by the level of concentration the boy exerted throughout the act.
He was dedicated to his craft, and Murkfang could tell he had experience painting.
This wasn’t his first time—but of course, this didn’t apply to breaking him out of captivity.
The boy was done and used a string to tuck in his ears so they wouldn’t look as big.
Murkfang stared at his reflection through a puddle of water.
"Woah!" Murkfang was shocked. He looked... human.
The paint had covered up his wounds as well, so it was hard to tell the condition of his skin.
Murkfang stared at his reflection and didn’t say a word—he was speechless.
"This is me...?" Murkfang muttered to himself.
There was no doubt he would be able to move around freely looking like this, but he had to be careful.
The humans were already on high alert regarding his escape, and Murkfang was beginning to understand the value this child brought.
But he had to lay low until he had enough strength to move around.
--
The sun was descending, and Kraghul waited in silence. It had already been hours since they halted in their tracks, and the horse was getting hungry.
They couldn’t have it moving around, and Kraghul knew if it came down to it, he might have to put the horse down.
But Kraghul hoped it wouldn’t come to that because this horse was well-trained.
This was why he didn’t need to worry about this scenario, but the orc with him had fallen asleep.
Kraghul couldn’t blame him because they had remained leagues away for quite some time now.
It had been hours, but he didn’t let his concentration lapse even for a single second, which was impressive considering the circumstances.
"They are coming..." Kraghul whispered under his breath, and the orc’s eyes shot open.
He might not have been as prepared as Kraghul, but he took this situation seriously because this was a goblin that killed his friends.
He wanted his pound of flesh, and Kraghul was going to help him get it.
The goblins were in sight, but the orc had a brief memory of that day, and his body began to tremble.
Kraghul noticed this and knew they had to stay still, or they risked giving themselves away.
"Calm yourself. No harm can come to you because I’m here," Kraghul reassured him.
The orc felt the anxiety leave his body right away and had to remind himself he was an orc.
These goblins were prey, and the only reason his friends were killed was because he had let his guard down.
There they were—but Kraghul noticed there were only two horsemen. What happened to the third?
It should be impossible to smell them, but why were there only two horses?
"Follow my lead," Kraghul informed the orc before standing up without warning and stepping right in front of the goblins with his hands raised.
The other orc followed his lead, shocked that Kraghul was about to give himself away after taking precautions to conceal his presence for so long.
"Fuck!" the orc blurted out before getting to his feet. The horses came to a halt, and they stood right in front of the enemies.
Kraghul was composed—not a hint of fear could be sensed from him—but the same couldn’t be said about his friend.
Kraghul realized he had made a single miscalculation. During their wait, the horse must have done something to alert the missing horse about their presence.
It could have been pee or droppings—the horses would need to do one of those in the hours they had been stationary—but his nose couldn’t pick it up.
They had heard stories about Vrognut being a goblin that couldn’t be ambushed, and Kraghul realized why now.
He had to play this off in a way where they would still hold the advantage. If Vrognut found them hidden, there was no doubt they would be treated as enemies—so why not expose themselves before he could expose them?
No one with bad intentions would do something so brazen... would they?