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It was the leader of the Brigands. The ones posing as Royal soldiers he’d encountered in the gorge. Venir tried to recall how many men the leader had said they had. Less than a hundred, was it? His blood thickened in his veins.
    “Tuuth,” the leader said, “keep that spear on his back in case he makes any sudden moves.”
    The orc snorted. “He’s not going to move anywhere. He won’t be able to walk. Look.”
    Venir could feel the light from a lantern on his face . The others came closer.
    “Gad ! That is disgusting!” the leader said. He covered his mouth. “Give me that torch.”
    “No,” the orc said. “The underlings like this. It’s not ours to mess with.”
    Venir felt a lump form in his throat . What was going on? What was wrong with his legs?
    “Give me the torch, Tuuth ,” the leader said. “The Bone with the underlings. This man’s a warrior, and he doesn’t deserve to die with his legs eaten off.”
    “It ’ll be your legs sticking out of the ground, not mine, Fraggon,” the orc said. “You humans are so soft. Like buttered bread.”
    “And you orcs are rotten like basilisk egg s. Look at this!” Fraggon held the light closer. “So vile.”
    Venir hear d another man squat down beneath him and gag.
    “Blecht!” Another one spit a mouthful of bile from his mouth. “All these years, and I still can’t stomach it.”
    Tuuth shoved one man onto his back and hunched his big frame do wn in the light. “Bone. That is nasty. Heh. Heh.”
    Venir raised his neck from the stockade and groaned. His head felt like it weighed a ton. He mumbled something incomprehensible. He was trying to say, “What’s wrong with my legs?” He couldn’t even feel them.
    “Keep him steady while I burn th ese things,” said the leader, Flaggon. “Hold him, men.”
    Tuuth clamped his arms around Venir’s chest. Pinning his arms at his sides.
    The others grabbed his legs.
    “It’s for the better, Stranger. An act of mercy I don’t normally give, but you’ve earned that much respect from me,” Tuuth said into the bag over his head.
    “Mercy ?” one brigand soldier started. “He’ll need more than that. These grubs have eaten holes so deep in his flesh I can see the bone.” Venir heard the man swallow. “Ah slat, I’m getting sick again.”
    “H e’s lucky for the leaches; that much is certain,” Fraggon said. “They suck the blood and numb the pain. Gad, you don’t usually see both like this.” He took a dagger out and sliced one off that was bloated with blood and as big as his hand.
    “How this man lives, I’ll never know,” the other brigand said . He spit more bile from his mouth. “He should be dead.”
    “Well, the grubs eat the skin, but the y cauterized the holes somehow. I’ve seen men with tunnels of holes all over them that still live. But you’re right; he should be dead, and I don’t think the underlings want that yet.”
    Venir felt heat on his legs . His heart pounded inside his chest like a war drum. He’d seen grubs and leeches and what they did to the flesh. It horrified him.
    What have they done to me!
    Fraggon continued. “You’ve been blessed and cursed it seems, Stranger. The grubs and leeches are enjoying their meal, and a big beefy man like you can feed them for days. Well, what’s left of you, anyway. But I don’t think the underlings want you dead just yet; else they wouldn’t have sent for you. But, I can’t guarantee you’ll live through this next step either. I mean, you might live, but I don’t see you ever walking again. A shame too. You have him secured, Tuuth? I’d say there be some fight in him.”
    “ Should I take the bag off and let him breathe? Let him bite down on something?”
    “Are you volunteering your finger, Tuuth ? My, so compassionate you’ve become for the stranger. No, just leave it on. It’ll muffle the screams well enough. Not that the underlings would mind that one bit anyway. Stranger, may Bish be with you.”
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