Page 2 of Lonely Orcish Girl

A faint light shone through the trees.

He stopped and wiped his wet forehead. The light didn't disappear, so it wasn't an illusion. He blinked a few times, but it was still there.

Is it a friar's lantern from the tales? Or is it an evil spirit trying to lure me? Or maybe there are people who can help me? Or kill me…

Seeing no other option, he decided to walk toward the bright point. His body was failing him, his jaw painfully clenched, his limbs intensely trembling. He didn't believe in creepy legends about ghosts, drowned people coming to life, or swamp monsters. He didn't care at that moment, either.

Soon, the young man noticed that he had entered a small clearing—the glow seemed to emanate from a window in a hut or a small house.

"Hello!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, but wasn't sure if his voice could be heard over the roar of the storm.

He approached some sort of porch and stumbled, falling hard to his knees. At that moment, the door opened abruptly, and the light from inside was blocked by a massive figure. Reed's vision was so blurred that he could only make out the person as a dark shadow.

"Who's there?!" a sharp voice called out.

"Please… I mean no harm…" Reed used all his willpower to say those words. The whole world was spinning around him now. "I am lost. Can I… please—" Reed tried to ask for help, but his voice failed him.

Suddenly, his head felt unbearably dizzy, and he slumped onto his side, losing his balance. The last thing he was aware of before he passed out was being grabbed by someone’s hands and lifted up.

Then blackness took possession of his mind.

***

When Reed opened his eyes, he didn't know what was going on or where he was—or if he was even still alive. But the light hurt his eyes so much that he figured his time hadn't come yet.Pain means life, unless life after death is some kind of strange joke, he thought.

He blinked a few times and tried to look around. The surroundings were dim. He noticed a rocky wall to his right that radiated warmth.

"Am I inside a hut?" he muttered in confusion, as he suddenly remembered.

As he examined his surroundings more closely, he saw a roof made of logs and thick thatch. He also realized that he was thickly covered with heavy animal furs from his neck to his feet. He felt weak; even moving his eyes seemed painful. Only then did Reed become aware that he truly was seriously ill, probably in the worst condition of his entire life.

In the past, whenever he was sick, his mother had known what to do, and when her knowledge wasn't enough, Marga, the village healer, had always offered help. Although, he couldn’t recall ever feeling this bad before.

Reed tried to lift his head, but he was too enfeebled to do so. He heard birds chirping outside and other sounds like rhythmic scratching, some rustling, and… soft humming?

The young man wondered for a moment who this might be. Who could live so deep in the forest, in the middle of nowhere?

What if it's someone dangerous?he wondered, but quickly reconsidered.Nah, why would they bother to help me then? I’d be dead by now.

He opened his mouth to say "hello", but only managed a barely audible rasp. However, the humming stopped. Reedheard the creaking of a chair, followed by a few footsteps. After a tense moment, his rescuer’s face came into view above the bed.

Reed gasped quietly, shocked for several reasons.

First of all, the face appeared at a very high level, which meant the person was really tall. He could only make out half of the figure, perhaps because he was indeed in some sort of inglenook.

But the second, even more surprising feature was the skin color of his rescuer—light green, like mint leaves. This could mean only one thing: he had been saved by an orc. Well, not quite.

…because the third surprise was the gender of the orc. It was a woman. Reed couldn’t estimate her age because his vision was blurred, but he had the impression she was very young.

She gazed at Reed with quiet interest. Realizing that he was staring at her vacantly, he tried to speak again.

"Hello…" His own voice sounded strange and hoarse.

The orcish girl nodded slowly at him, and Reed wondered if she even knew the common human language. But his doubts quickly dissolved.

"You're stronger than you look. I was starting to think you were a goner," she said. Her voice was quite deep but distinctly feminine. She had a thick accent. "You’ve been asleep most of the day," she finished, still looking at him intently.

"I'm… ah…" Reed tried to respond, but his aching throat failed him, and he only managed a weak screech.

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