Laruhk moved forward, crouching to wipe ashes from the body, revealing Athgar, the human’s brown hair framing a face with a patchy beard. The Orc pried open an eyelid to look into the human’s grey eyes. "He is dead," he declared.

"No, he is not," said Kargen. "Note how the rain bubbles around his nose? Quickly, we must pull him free."

Kargen lifted the man's head, shielding him from the rain with his massive green body. "Grab his legs, let us pull him from the remains of this hut."

They dragged him out, laying him on the ground. As they did so, the rain slackened, then suddenly stopped. Kargen looked up at the sky in surprise, "The ancestors look kindly upon us."

"It is just rain," offered Laruhk, "not the ancestors."

"Do not be so sure to dismiss things," retorted his companion.

Laruhk looked over the body. "He seems to have taken a rather nasty hit to the head," he observed, "and there are several cuts to his arms, along with burns."

"Strange that he would have taken refuge in a burning hut," observed Kargen.

"I suspect he fought back, but something must have forced him into the hut. Perhaps he was driven back by a horseman?"

"Perhaps," said Kargen, "but we will not know for sure unless we can save him. He looks to have suffered quite a few burns."

"He is young, is he not?” asked Laruhk.

“He is,” agreed Kargen. “Only twenty years of age, if I am not mistaken. Not even old enough to have a full beard, see how patchy it is?”

“Even more so with his burns,” noted Laruhk. “It is a shame that Uhdrig is not here to heal him.”

“Then we must transport him,” said Kargen.

Laruhk turned to his companion with a look of surprise, "Are you suggesting we take him back to our village?"

"How else would we save him?"

"But we cannot," Laruhk objected. "A Human has never entered Ord-Kurgad."

"There is a first time for everything," stated Kargen, "and I will not leave him here to die, unless you have a better suggestion?"

"No, I do not," said Laruhk.

"Then, it is settled. Now, how do we move him?"

Laruhk swept his gaze around the remains of Athelwald. "We could carry him dangling from a pole?"

"Very well, let us bind his hands and feet, then slip a pole between them. We shall carry him back like a prize deer. It will allow us to move swiftly."

Kargen pulled strips of leather from his satchel and bound Athgar's arms and legs firmly while Laruhk dug around the ruins of the village, finally returning with a spear.

"How about this?" offered Laruhk.

"It will have to do," said Kargen, "for we have little else."

They threaded the pole between Athgar's arms and legs then hefted him into the air, each Orc bearing one end of the spear.

"He is lighter than I expected," said Laruhk.