‘It has taken me over four months to finally complete my greatest work yet. I will take the brain of a mage into myself, as I have done to the other orcs. Only I will become even smarter than they have. With my mind combined with a high-ranking human mage I shall surpass even humans in the understanding for magic. With this combined knowledge I shall be the one to lead our kin to glory. Not that buffoon Ruk’Kesh. This shall be the dawn of a new age.’ Unq’Rul was done making his plans, now he simply had to enact them.

“Bring the human and place him on the table.” Unq’Rul said to one of the orcs that was assisting him.

“Yes.” The orc replied simply.

While his kinsman was fetching the human sacrifice, Unq’Rul triple checked that his experiment was perfect. Four long months. The wait was worth it.

Two orcs entered Unq’Rul’s laboratory carrying a human bound with a bag over his head. The human was awake and mewling like a lost child. Well, he would be quite soon enough.

“Place him on the table there. And watch where you step, that magic circle cannot be damaged in the slightest.”

One orc slung the human over its shoulder and carefully toed his way into the circle under the watchful eye of the orc mage. Once place upon the table the human started to wiggle and struggle to get loose from the orcs grasp.

“Hold him, I will put the restrains on.”

With a nod the orc held the human in place while Unq’Rul stepped into the drawn circle and shackled the human to the table, both hands feet and neck. Once that was done, the shaman shooed the orc out and looked to the human. He pulled the bag off its head and looked into the human’s eyes.

“You make a great sacrifice today.” Unq’Rul articulated to the human in its own language. “I will be using magical transference to place your mental compacity from your head and add it to my own.” Unq’Rul gave the man an unsightly grin.

“Wait! Do not do this! I have backers. They can arrange payment for my safe return. Please, Let me contact my sponsor at the mage’s academy.”

The human was pleading desperately but Unq’Rul was having none of it.

“Worry not human. Once I have absorbed your memories, you do not have to worry about being brain dead. Your body and spirit will feed the process. You will be free to ascend to whatever god you cherish.” Unq’Rul then reached into a slot set in the side of the table. He removed a silvery cord, with a needle on one end and a skull plate on the other.

The mans eyes widen with fear, he struggled hard to no avail, he was held completely.

Unq’Rul placed the skullcap on his head, He then laid a hand on the human’s head to still it. “Fear not, it shall only hurt for the duration of the spell.” Unq’Rul grinned wickedly, eliciting a whimper from the man, tears streaming from his eyes.

“Please NO!”

One last plea, then the human began to scream as Unq’Rul slowly push the needle into the man’s temple. A full three inches deep. He leaned over the screaming hum, “Look at you, pathetic! Such a weak race, crying, snot running down your face. You know, I don’t have to push it in this slowly, but I just can’t help myself.” the orc mage taunted the convulsing man whose screams hit a new high.

Unq’Rul let the man suffer for a few seconds, then he began his chant. He didn’t want to damage the man’s mind too much after all.

As the orc mage chanted the man’s body started to glow, as did the circle of power. The cord lit up with a bright silver light that pulsed from the human to the orc. It was painless, as he knew it would be.

Halfway through his chant the orc mage started to feel a slight pain in his head. He continued on as it was just the shared pain the human felt. His concentration did not waver in the slightlest.

‘Ahh your name was Alador Ford.’ The orc mage thought as he continued his chant.

The ritual was just about complete when a red pulse went from the human into the orc. The orc mage stopped chanting instantly, his body gave one shudder and dropped like a sack of grain. Slight smoke wafted from both the human and the orc’s ears, nose, and mouths.

There was the slight smell of cooked meat in the room the two watching orcs noted.

They waited for their mage to stand now that the ritual was complete.

And they waited.

After a while of no change, one of the orcs pushed his fellow toward the mage. “Go wake him. He will want to celebrate.”

“You go.”

“You!” Then the first orc shoved the second into the circle drawn on the floor. Once that close the orc relented and approached the orc mage. He gave him a little shake to wake him. Then a harder shake.

“Uh oh.” He said face paling as he turned to his cohort.

“We need to go tell the king!”

The orcs fled from the chamber to deliver the news to their king and hopped they would get away with their lives intact.

A feedback loop began to run between the human and orc. Both bodies began to hollow out from being used up by the magic.

As the two orcs ran to their king, one orc left a few little dots of white chalk behind. The white slowly wearing off his toe as he ran.