Garp

Digger · The mines

"He tried once - the warders beat him up so badly he couldn't walk for a month. He's been pretty docile ever since."

Garp is a digger at the Old Mine, speaking from the practical world of workers, prisoners, and the warders who keep the mine running. He does not treat the camp's arrangements as abstract politics; he describes what happened to people who tried to resist them.

The orc at the mine

When the Hero asks about an orc working without chains, Garp explains that the warders captured him and put him to work. The lack of restraints is not freedom. The orc already tried to flee, and the punishment was severe enough to leave him unable to walk for a month. Garp tells the story plainly, as though the violence has become another part of the mine's routine.

A matter-of-fact witness

Garp's importance is not that he controls the mine or offers the Hero a task. He is a witness to the way the Old Mine turns force into obedience, and his calm account makes the arrangement more disturbing. The prisoner remains useful because everyone understands what another escape attempt would cost.