"Stop right there Orc" said the Knight in a threatening tone, pointing his sword at the enemy's neck, the blade barely moving despite its weight.
He had been on the invader's trail for days, having been sent on a quest to deal with the situation as soon as the reports of a wandering Orc had come in. He had finally cornered the beast in an old, half drowned ruins, in a region where no roads had been built.
The Orc stopped dead in his tracks and put his hands up, looking down the length of the extremely sharp blade and then right at him. He was a pretty big one, seemed strong, but nothing a Knight like him couldn't handle alone.
"You are an enemy traspassing on the King's land, a crime punishable by death according to Royal Decree and I, Reinfred of the Lake, will carry out the sentence henceforth. Do you have any last words before you die?"

The Orc looked the Human in his cold and empty eyes and lowered his hands slowly, taking a deep breath before speaking in very deep, powerful voice.
"You have introduced yourself to me, may I do the same before you end me? I wish for my executioner to know my name and my truth"

The knight said nothing and nodded slowly. The Orc spoke the King's tongue surprisingly well.

"I am Garak of the Red Hills clan, I have come to your land on a mission, to find medicine for a sickness that is killing my people, my family. I know your kind and mine are at war but I mean no harm, carry no weapons and will leave as soon as I acquire what I need, so with my last words I ask of you to stay your hand and let me see another dawn"

Reinfred was taken aback by the Orc's words. He did not expect for this to happen. It was never this way with these creatures. Something in the Orc's eyes and what he spoke stirred something within him and his resolve weakened.
"Is this a trick to get the better of me beast? I will not be fooled" Reinfeld lifted his sword closer to the Orc's throat but his grip was not so sure anymore.

The Orc stepped closer until the tip of the blade nicked his throat, drawing blood.
"I can see such pain in your eyes Human, the same pain that is in my own heart, if you must kill me do it now, but we have both known suffering, and I can feel your soul calling out for help just as mine is, so let us sit together and enjoy peace "

Reinfred lowered his sword until the tip touched the ground, the clang of it echoing in the walls of this ancient place. He felt so tired all of a sudden, so very very tired, he could not bear the heaviness in his heart any longer, it was making him sick, and somehow the Orc could see it. He looked up at the creature before him with tears in his eyes, emotions that had been drowned for so long, just like this old place, were clawing their way to the surface of his mind, and he could only stare dumbfoundedly as the Orc stepped forward and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder...

Artist's note:

I've been experimenting with more complex scenes, testing the limits of what my machine can currently do. It's a bit of a pain working like this but hopefully my new computer parts will arrive soon and make things a little easier. I decided to take inspiration from my old role playing days and depict these two characters that are near and dear to my heart. I will hopefully post some other pictures of these two along with parts of the story that I have in mind for them, as well as some WIPs. Thanks for watching!