This is everything I ever wanted out of an Orc story. I'll be sure to read the rest of your saga to see the whole picture.

How did I miss this one. This is lovely!

Hello, I think this is a very interesting story idea, do you plan to continue it? I would definitely enjoy reading more of it

I'm not reading "Diary of a Mad Gamer Chick," so I thought I'd reread a story of yours that I haven't reviewed before.

["Did those Men... those *boys* take your clothing?"
"They did. I was dressed too fine for an Orc, you see. This is the sort of rubbish I wore in... that place."]
It begs the question whether these young jackasses go around carrying "Orc clothes" on the off chance that they will get to lynch an Orc on any given day. What a bunch of freaks. On the other hand, if they set out that day with this particular project in mind, I'm wondering if they were targeting Baduzgûg specifically - whether by name or as "that Orc who delivers bread" - or if they were just out to find a random Orc in that area, in which case I hope there aren't going to be any other victims that day.

I'm devilish curious where they are from, since Megan thinks they are well born but she doesn't actually recognize them. It would be nice if there were consequences, since Baduzgûg is supposed to be protected by the King's law and they haven't gone about their lynching in an especially circumspect way (ie. they weren't acting circumspect or inconspicuous when they passed Megan in the rode) but their jovial behavior implies that they aren't too worried about repercussions. Maybe they figured doing it far enough away from town was precaution enough and Megan appears too consequential to pose any threat. Or money/class will protect them if it does come back on them.

Thinking more about these guys then I care to, since the long and the short of it for this story is really that they are just a bunch of creeps.

["Once upon a time, we could walk the whole of these lands without fear. Without... papers. That time is long past."]
As long as Men and Elves have been turned against them, I'm not sure that Orcs would ever have walked without some degree of caution in Eriador/Rohan/Gondor, but Baduzgûg's loss plainly put and devastating. For some reason it is the reference to "aunties and uncles" that really gets to me: that's the implication of a really extended family circle, and the diminutive shows a plainspoken tenderness that is, of course, at odds with our usual idea of Orcs. Most readers have a hard enough time thinking of Orcs as having children or parents. How much stranger, then, to think of an Orc, not even with an aunt but with an "auntie."

...I don't remember the detail about some Orcs' eyes changing color in your other stories. Is this the first place it was introduced or have you used it elsewhere?

Thank you for sharing. This was lovely.

You know what the best Christmas present would be this year? A continuation of this story!

Loved it.

This is great! I love the straightforward, unsentimental but yet utterly chilling and heart-wrenching way that it faces "real world" horrors-the carrying of identity papers, the lynching; it is all too much a part of our world, despite the supposed fantasy setting. A delightful tale, sweet and heartbreaking and beautiful.

My favorite of your fics that I read so far. Beautiful.

Yaay! I loved this story so much. The idea is brilliant, that orcs can, live with men. I have only one question. Is this orc a snaga or a baalak? Thanks for writing this! Zia010

Wow, what a great story! I admit I never thought much about what happenend to the orks after the war. This story seems a likely explanation.

As always, a high quality story! I have come to expect nothing less off you. Great work!

My dear Zoop! You are back! What a brilliant little story. Thank You so much! Happy holiday to You and your loved ones!

This is a fun present, and of course it makes intriguing reference to the universe you've built for yourself and your other stories. It will be interesting to see how Shea Brett plays into everything. Man, but I hope those thuggish Men get theirs at some point. It doesn't have to be violent, but a good darn shaming.

Thank you! A very nice and kind of heart-warming story at the end... war is over. Or should be... i love to read stuff like this.
Greetings from germany!
And thank you again for this "cristmas-present"... ;-)