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There was nothing out of the ordinary as far as Anvael was concerned. The orcs were sill riding wargs, there were neither too many nor too few of them, Vrassun was still an ugly black-skinned savage, and it was still impossible to tell whether he was happy to be here or not. The cloth sack that one of his guards was carrying did catch the Governor’s attention though, and he could not help but wonder what was in it. A present? He doubted it. A corpse? A dead animal that they’d sacrifice to whatever evil god they prayed to once the negotations were over?
He pulled his gaze away and focused his attention on the City Master. “I welcome you, Gothmog Ushtar”, he said. He’d wanted to say something else as well, mention the things they would have to talk about this brightening, but he forgot everything as Vrassun’s guard emptied the bag. This was a nightmare, no, more like a bad horror story. The bag contained his older brother, the Thane of Taralon, naked and tied. What had Malkaer gotten himself into? Anvael had always been the one who got into trouble, who kept the company of questionable people, of zombies and orcs and Ikomancers. Malkaer had only been in prison once as far as he knew.
Did the orcs know who they had captured? Did they know that this man was his brother? He looked at Malkaer. Had this been another brightening, a slightly different situation, Malkaer’s predicament would have amused him. But these here were orcs, and the situation could become very dangerous. He took a moment to think before he spoke.
“He does seem to be healthy.” He took a closer look at Malkaer, completely ignoring what he had said. It seemed as if his brother wanted him to pretend that he was interested in buying slaves and facing a complete stranger, and he decided to play along. Maybe the orcs didn’t have a clue who had been in their sack …
“Although he is a bit older than I would have preferred. I usually like them younger. It is easier to break children, to make them obey. Still, I think I could use him …” He hated talking like this. Anvael had never enjoyed lying, he hated slavers or even pretending to be one, but when the life of a sibling was concerned … He had to do it, had to try everything or he would never be able to forgive himself!
But what … what if the orcs didn’t believe them? What if they were aware that they had captured the Thane? What if they had found out about Malkaer’s plan for them? What if …
He looked at Vrassun, waiting for an explanation, a reaction. What was going on here?
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