The siege continues.  Thanks to Iris, the attackers know where Y/n is kept.  But that doesn't mean they can get to him. 

They have to get past the bridge into the main city. Which is easier said then done.

But luckily.  A interesting Uruk has a plan. 

It has been a week since the siege has begun. And the enraged army is only halted by a single bridge.   

Y/n is still bound. Relatively unharmed. 

He heard the door opened and expected to see Vala.  But instead saw a small Uruk.

Uruk: *whisper* Hey there. I'm here to rescue you.

Y/n stayed silent as the small Ururk undid his bonds.

Y/n: What's you're name?

Uruk: Dushrat. My title is the weak, but I don't like talking about it.

Y/n: You must be pretty sneaky.

Dushrat: The sneakiest! I can sneak into anything and steal anything!

Y/n: Do you know where they have my weapons?

Dushrat: Yeah. Follow me.

Duahrat lead Y/n to a table where they had Y/n's gear. Y/n reclaimed his gear. 

Dushrat: Okay. So the hard part is getting out of the city.  But I got an idea.

Y/n: Okay.

Dushrat: I got into the city on a rowboat.  We are going to leave by rowboat.  But first we need to get you a disguise.  That's easy.  Just gut a glob that has armor that looks like it'll fit you.  

Dushrat and Y/n snuck around and found a guy about Y/n's size. They killed him and took his armor. It was a tight fit for Y/n. But loose enough that Y/n could move.

With that disguise. Y/n walked right out without a second glance.  Dushrat stuck to the shadows to escape. 

Dushrat met with Y/n in an alley. And explained that Y/n had to met him in the south side due to that being where the rowboat is. 

Y/n walked through the city streets. He noticed the organization of humanity. Something he wasn't used to in Mordor.  The people walking around almost without a care in the world. Despite a siege going on. The people seem to believe in their defenses.  

Y/n felt extremely uncomfortable. He didn't feel safe in this environment. But something about it, seemed appealing.   

He lived his whole life in Mordor. But yet something about seeing people so comfortable, made him feel strange in ways he couldn't even describe.

He passed some refugee camps. Makeshift shelters and pots for soup were strewn about. 

Some people took pity on the poor souls that were made homeless because of the siege. Giving some loafs of bread and some potatoes.   

This kind of charity is something you would never find in Mordor.  Y/n didn't understand why people gave them food.  But he remembered, this isn't Mordor. He's in a foreign land. He may be human. But he was raised as an orc.

Y/n had to move past a marketplace.  Even in times like this, people still look for luxury. 

But Y/n noticed that his escape didn't go unnoticed. Guards were walking around, clearly looking for someone. They were checking civilians and asking questions to the stall owners.  

Y/n ducked into the crowd. Using his disguise to look like he was looking as well.

Once he was in the clear, he continued south.    He made it to the end of the city. He could see the rowboat. He went to it and took his armor off. Tossing it into the water.  He felt better.

Dushrat: Ah! You made it!

Y/n turned to see Dushrat behind him.

Duahrat: Okay. Let's go!

They got in the rowboat and Dushrat began rowing.

As they were rowing, the smoke from the flames in the fields behind the frontline were visible.

Y/n: You made progress without me.

Dushrat: Yeah. With you gone, the warchiefs lead the charge. The manswine stood no chance! They held us at the bridge though. We can't seem to push through it. 

Y/n: That will change.  

Eventually they made it to solid ground. Y/n followed Dushrat back to the camp. 

The guards saw Y/n and started screaming about it.

Guard: Y/N IS BACK! Y/N IS BACK!

This made the camp go to alert as Y/n's warchiefs plus Iris came running to the front.

They ran up to Y/n.

Kruk: You're alive! I knew they couldn't kill you!

Dush: We killed a lot of those pigs in you're name boss!

Snafu: Hasn't been the same without you.

Y/n: If it wasn't for Dushrat here. I would be dead.   So Dushrat.

Dushrat: Yes Boss?

Y/n: You are no longer Dushrat the weak. You are Dushrat the sneaky.

Dushrat couldn't hold his excitement.  

Y/n: Forgive me lads. But I need to talk to Iris for a minute.

Iris looked surprised. The others were confused as well but walked away.

Y/n: Iris. *struggles to find words* Uh.

Y/n didn't know how to phrase his question.  

Y/n: Is it normal...for humans to act so calm, even in times like these? 

Iris: What do you mean?

Y/n: I got a look around the city, of the people in there. Everyone looked...calm.

Iris: Humans bottle things up.  If they panic, things will end up worse.

Y/n pondered this for a moment. Trying to understand. 

Y/n: I see. A city like that. Peaceful, nobody trying to gut one another. It's all foreign to me. But...it's...appealing. In a weird way. 

Iris: It isn't weird to want peace, for humans anyway.

Y/n: Thank you.

Y/n turned and began walking away.

Iris: Wait!

Y/n turned back to face her.

Iris looked like she wanted to say something.

Iris: I...I'm sorry.

Y/n: For what?

Iris: Back at Cair Andros.  I shot you in the chest. I...wanted to apologize for that.

Y/n: You were helping an ally in battle. You were saving someone you love. I can't fault you for that.

Iris: Thank you Y/n.

Y/n nodded and went on his way.   Iris sighed to herself.

Iris in head: Calm yourself Iris. You don't even know if you actually have feelings for him, or you just miss how Osmond made you feel. I should focus on my magic. 

Iris went back to her tent and began practicing necromancy again. She believed it to be the last step in passing the bridge.