Chapter 1
His words would define him. At that moment, what he said would be who he was. If he lied he was a coward, but if he told the truth he was a traitor. The choice was difficult. The Stronghold had always been his home, and the Orcs his family. What was he to do without them?
"Alodon you have committed a great crime against our people. We work hard to keep this Stronghold together, and to feed our children. By allowing a thief to escape with our food and our treasure, you have cracked the foundation of our community." The Chief spoke with anger laced through his voice. It was obvious Alodon would not be staying, whether he lied or told the truth. The Chief had always wanted him to leave. "What do you have to say to yourself?"
"The boy was starving. He had a family to provide for, and we have more than enough for this stronghold." He was barely speaking over a whisper. Alodon had no home, and the stronghold was all he knew. If The Chief sent him away, what could he possibly do?
"The rules set by Malacath are simple, do not kill, do not steal, and do not attack people without reason. You have not broken this rule, but allowed another to do so. Regrettably," The Chief grimaced, as if what he was about to say was truly a crime in it's own. "There will be no blood price to pay. However, you will no longer be welcomed in this stronghold. I understand that you saved our dear Dreamgutta years ago, and if not for you, she would not be with us today, but you have broken our trust now. I expect you to be gone by morning tomorrow." Alodon was surprised by the silence. Where were the roars of disagreement? The arguments on his behalf? Why were they all so okay with him being sent out into a cruel, unforgiving world? He didn't understand.
Alodon walked quickly to his hut, and began filling a bag with all of his important belongings. He was sad, and felt like sitting down and having a good ol' cry, but he was also smart. Smart enough that he knew he couldn't let anything show. Not with these people, not with orcs.
"This is outrageous!" Alodon was startled by the loud voice of his best friend. Dreamgutta, one of the chiefs many, many daughters, threw herself onto his bed. She was muscular, bigger than him even, and put a lot of stress onto the makeshift contraption. "They cannot just send you away! You are an important part of this society!" She crossed her arms across her chest in a childish fashion.
"It's for the good of the Stronghold, Dee." He continued to pack, hoping to get out of there before night fell. He did not want to see the everyone the next morning when he would be officially exiled.
"Yeah, if my father was the Stronghold. He hates you, and he's only doing this because he hates you." She was right. The Chief had worked his whole life at getting Alodon exiled from the Stronghold; he never liked him, but the other Orcs had thought it was only fair to give the orphan boy a home after he had saved Dee's life. "I can't just sit here and watch you leave. I have to do something, Al." She sat up quickly, and he sat next to her.
"No," Dee's shoulders slumped over in partial defeat. Alodon swung his arm around her, and pulled her close. "You don't Dee. It's already done, I'll be gone before the sun sets. Thank you, for giving this home to me while you could." Dee pushed him away and sprung up from the bed.
"I can't believe you're just giving up! Alodon this has been your home your whole life, how can he just take it away like that? I'm not going to let him." Dee turned on the balls of her feet, and stomped out of the hut. Alodon raced after her in an attempt to keep her from making matters worse.
"Dee stop!" He shouted at her, but she ignored him and continued to march to her father's home. Alodon followed her, and planned to intervene when the fight began. Dee pushed the door open easily, and began to scream the minute she saw her father.
"You can't just make Alodon leave, what he did was nothing compared to what will happen to him outside of this Stronghold." Dee was furious. Her face was a dark shade of red, and sweat had gathered on her temples. Her father, however, was calm as he could be. Alodon found it quite frightening when the Chief acted like that.
"It is for the good of our people, Dreamgutta, I do not expect you to understand." The Chief turned away, giving Alodon a nasty look in the process. Dee looked like she had been slapped in the face.
"What I do understand is that Alodon is our people. He is just as much of an Orc as I am." Dee was shouting at the Chief. Alodon reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the line of fire.
"Alodon is no Orc. He is weak, he is selfish, and he does not belong with our people." Chief was standing now. His brows were pulled in tight, his eyes were large, and his whole body tense with anger. The truth came out. Alodon knew why no one protested his leaving: because he didn't belong there, and they all knew that.
"If you make him leave," Dee was breathing hard. Her shoulders were slumped, and her arms were shaking. She looked back at Alodon, giving him an unexplainable feeling of guilt. "Then I'm leaving too." Chief's face dropped. Alodon grabbed Dee's arm and pulled her around. Their eyes locked; her's held determination, and his held silent pleads for her to stop.
"Dee, don't do this." He was begging her; guilt was already stacking itself upon his shoulders, he could not be the reason she left her family. His grip on her was lost when she turned to face her father, awaiting an answer. Her body was held up with such confidence, anyone could tell she would not be backing down.
"Then leave." Dee stumbled back. Her stance crumbled as her father delivered the lowest blow possible for an Orc. Her face broke down into a million pieces, and there was nothing Alodon could do about it. "If you are willing to give up all of this for a boy? Then leave." Dee did not wait for another word before she was out the door. Alodon stood in disbelief of what he had just witnessed. So many emotions flew over his head; anger at Chief, disappointment in Dee, and hatred for being the reason she had to leave. Without a second thought, Alodon fled the scene.
Once outside, he spotted Dee almost immediately. She was carrying two bags. One was his that he had just packed, and the other was her bag she had stashed at his hut whenever she hadn't wanted to go home. That was how they worked, when she needed him to, Alodon would sleep on the floor and give her his bed. He had always felt obligated to do so.
"Dee, what are you doing?" He was worried about her. She had just gotten into this fight, nothing that she was thinking could be considered sane at this point. She tossed his bag at him, and stopped when she was standing at his side.
"We're getting out of this place." Dee walked forward with such determination, Alodon could do nothing but follow her. His mind was racing for a joke to make, but nothing he could say would make this situation suck less. All he could think of was how he failed Dee as they crossed the path out of the Stronghold for the last time.