《Corrupted Guardian》


 01 The Beginnings - The beauty and the beast

    The most unusual has happened. In this world brimming with misery, hardship and selfishness; a shady individual decided to adopt a certain someone.


    The one who made that decision was a suspicions individual and this was putting it mildly. He was inhuman, his form foreign and grotesque. Some people would guess he was some type of beastman, but many would mistake him for a savage monster. Regardless of how he looked he was able to adopt a human. This is for the simple reason, an orphanage cared about the money more than the orphans.


    The girl he adopted was small and slim, her body still lacking the usual feminine charms; her hair was long and brown in colour, reaching her hips; her eyes were narrow and green in colour. She was clearly inexperienced, but seemed hardworking and willing to learn.


    This was how it went for him.


    ¡­


    Being an orphan she was poor and had no possession besides her tattered beige dress, which resembled a sack with holes for head and arms rather than an actual clothing.


    The girl was unsure why she has been picked up by her new guardian but she was happy never the less. She considered herself lucky as orphans were rarely adopted or even taken in as servants as they lacked good upbringing and basic skills. The few ones who were freed from being an orphan were usually boys as they were better suited for manual labour.


    In her opinion her new guardian was quite peculiar individual, belonging to a species she has never seen before. Her minders were visibly weary and suspicions of him on her day of adoption, but gladly took the coin without questions. They did wonder why someone like him would pick up a human child and asked if he wants to see other children. The orphanage had many children from different species and subspecies. He waved it off and said he is fine with this particular girl.


    She was quite shy and unsure how to behave and what to do with herself when she got adopted. Her guardian did not speak much, he did not say his name or even asked hers. She just followed him throughout the town obediently.


    Will her guardian be mean to her, is he a bad person, she started to worry. Her initial happiness withered bit by bit uneasiness taking its place


    Unsure what is about to happen to her she gathered the courage and asked in a shaking voice.


    ¡°Are we going to my new home?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    What a simple answer. After this, there was that uncomfortable silence, the one between strangers. She needed to get acquainted, so she asked again.


    ¡°Is there a family there, like my new stepbrothers and sisters?¡±


    ¡°No¡±


    Again, such a simple answer. ¡®Does he dislike me, if so why did he pick me out?¡¯


    ¡°H-How should I call you.¡± She stuttered.


    Her guardian looked at her for the first time they left the orphanage, with a hint of confusion on his face. The pair stopped,


    ¡°I am ¡­ unsure. How would someone like you call the one like me?¡±


    What interesting questions she thought. ¡°A father?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡®Maybe this was too soon; to call him her father¡± she wanted a father nevertheless.


    ¡°A guardian?¡± She offered a synonymous label for an adoptive parent.


    ¡°This will do for now, call me guardian¡±


    They continued their journey. The silence and excitement were too much for the young orphan to bare. She had questions to ask, things to find about.


    ¡°Guardian, why did you take me from the orphanage? What will happen to me now?¡±


    ¡°My reasons are my own, but you will serve me¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°I will explain once we will get home.¡±


    The answers did not calm her uneasiness at all. She took a hem of her dress and rolled it in her fingers, she was very nervous. ¡®What sort of life will I be living? It is unlikely to be worse than in an orphanage¡¯ or so she hoped.


    As time passed they left the city and went through a path leading to the forest. The end of a narrow path revealed a small rundown hut, which looked unkempt and abandoned.


    This was not much; she did not expect much anyway. Her own place should still be better than living in orphanage dormitory. She had good hopes for this place. A place she will be able to call home.


    Her guardian opened the doors which were unlocked and squeezed his massive body through the doorway. The building was clearly not made for his handsomely big frame.


    Once inside he gave her a pouch and an old sickle. The sickle looked like it has been used for generations, but its blade held a good edge; it was freshly sharpened.


    Then he took her deep into the forest and showed various plants she had to cut and store in her bag. They were there to harvest herbs. It was her first day and he put her straight to work.


    They were at it for hours, she was getting very tired from all the walking but she did not dare to complain, fearing that her guardian might abandon her. Send her back to the orphan life, if she failed her tasks that is.


    They did not talk much, by now she understood that he was not a chatty type at all. She came to the conclusion that he was some sort of hermit living alone in a forest. She knew that people living in solitude would be like that and she accepted it. Beggars cannot be choosers, she was still happy to be adopted.


    They worked till the late evening. As he stopped for a moment she checked herself out. Her clothes were smeared with fibre, seeds and plant matter, her fingers were reeking of herb juice but her sack was full. Most of all, she felt extremely tired.


    ¡°It is getting dark, we will get home now.¡±


    These were the words she was dreaming to hear for the past three hours. She was exhausted and terribly hungry.


    ¡°I am so hungry and worn-out.¡± ¨C She complained to herself.


    He directed a peculiar gaze at her. ¡®Did I offend him somehow?¡¯


    ¡°S-sorry, I didn¡¯t¡­¡± she was cut off.


    ¡°No, I have completely forgotten. Little creatures like you need to eat quite often, I am fine even if I go with no food for two days that is why. Are you hungry?¡±


    ¡°Starving. I missed my ration at the orphanage.¡±


    ¡°I will fix you up something.¡±


    This was the most they spoke in hours. Her guardian did not seem a bad person, peculiar but definitely not someone with an evil and cold heart.


    Back at the hut, they put the herbs in the corner. Her guardian opened a hatch on the floor and took a chunk of meat. It was clearly at least a few days old. A young girl was unsure what to do.


    It was rude to refuse food, but she can¡¯t eat that. ¡®He might but I definitely can¡¯t¡¯ she concluded in her head.


    ¡°No? Don¡¯t like it?¡±


    She shook her head timidly.


    ¡°I am not sure what your kind eats. I am less prepared then I thought. How about some roots and nuts?¡±


    He took a pouch of fresh nuts and a box containing a mixture of tubers and roots.


    The girl nodded, pleased that he has some normal food.


    ¡°Where is the pot? I will cook the vegetables.¡± she wanted to be useful and win a favour with her guardian. She did not get to cook actual food often and was rubbish at it. However, boiling some vegetables, she thought she could manage.


    ¡°The pot? I eat them raw. I am not hungry anyways, I ate yesterday. And the pot, there should be one by that fireplace thing.¡± He pointed at the dusty hole in the cobble wall.


    She nodded and went to look for a pot. The pot was in a fireplace which was not used for years and the pot was all dirty and had some very old mould in it. He was not lying, he has definitely eaten those vegetables raw. Even she knew that some of them are slightly poisonous if eaten raw. ¡®Yet he ate a stale meat, he must be fine with that.¡¯ She brushed it off as some sort of perk of his race.


    ¡°I need to wash it. Where can I get some water?¡±


    ¡°Mhm, the stream is not too far. I will finish this and show you.¡± he said this as he was sorting the herbs from the pouch.


    ¡°No need, just tell me where and I will find it. I can be very independent¡± ¨C she puffed her flat chest out.


    ¡°So be it.¡± He described how to get to the stream.


    The girl listened talentedly and once he finished she heated outside on her small adventure.


    ¡®To the forest from the back of the house, up the small slope and through a small path through the undergrowth, the stream is close by an old oak, follow the sound of water.¡¯ She repeated it again and again in her head.


    It was very dark and she could not see the oak. She was actually quite afraid of being alone in the darkness. She just put a brave face and wanted to make a good impression upon her new guardian. However, she was not lost she could hear the sound of flowing water. She quickly walked towards it, eager to return back to the hut.


    Eventually, she found the small stream to clean the pot and gathered some drinking water. The water was ice cold and her fingers were shaking quickly losing the sense of touch, but the pot was clean and full of fresh water. Job well done, she was happy.


    Suddenly there was a wild howl in a distance. She froze unsure what to do. She heard couple more. Her instincts kicked in and she grabbed the pot and started running towards the general direction of the hut.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    She was so scared, she forgot that a forest is a very dangerous place, especially at night.


    Lucky to her, she popped out to the clearing where the hut was. She was totally in a different place and side from where she thought she would emerge. The home was in a sight and that was all that mattered.


    She went inside and set the pot on the fireplace. Her guardian was immersed in his job with herbs, working in the dim light of a candle. She was unsure if she was supposed to say something like ¡°I am back¡±.


    He did not look back to her or did anything to affirm that he noticed her coming back. She decided to remain quiet and get on with it. The water was secured but the pot was half full, the rest of it spilt on her clothes. She did not need a full pot of water anyway.


    Her next task was to make a fire to boil the water and to dry her clothes. She did not want to disturb him from his tasks and decided to sort that independently, just like a proper adult she was about to be.


    She went outside to gather some firewood. She did not need or want to go back into the forest and lucky to her she found some firewood by the side of a hut. Some of it was very old, it was light and full of holes eaten by the bugs. However, it was dry and perfect to start a fire.


    The fireplace had a steel and splint hanging on a hook and she started to work it to set the fire burning. She has never used it before. She hit the split again and again; sparks were flying but it did not start the fire, something was missing. She was determined and just kept making sparks hoping it will work.


    The girl was running out of energy, her attempts were fruitless. Her numb and cold fingers did not make the task easy either, but she was so hungry she needed to cook the food. She kept trying, giving up was not an option.


    Her guardian finished sorting the herbs into small stacks and piles of leaves, stems, pods and flowers,


    ¡°How about using the candle to start the fire?¡± He offered.


    ¡®The candle, duhhh¡¯ she completely forgot about that. She did not need to work that splint and steal for 10 minutes, all she had to do was use her brains. Well, this was a tip for next time when she needed a fire.


    He brought the candle closer illuminating her surroundings. It was currently night and It was now dark inside, her errand took longer than she thought. She looked herself over. She was a mess, looking like an unruly toddler. Her dress was wet and messy, bits of plant matter clung to it. Her feet were dirty and muddy, mucky footsteps were all around the clay floor of the hut.


    She thought she would get shouted for making a mess inside. Like in an orphanage, every time she messed up something she would get punished by a beating and would get no food for the next day. But he did not seem to pay any attention to it. He was leaning over to hand the candle whilst looking at the fireplace.


    ¡±There is no fire-starter just chunks of firewood¡± he made a spot on observation.


    The fireplace was not used in years but he definitely knew how to light a fire.


    ¡°This will be easier.¡±


    He stretched his hand toward the wood. A sliver of glowing light slithered and stretched from his palm, twirling inside the fireplace. It glowed brightly and then it caught fire. The girls¡¯ eyes were wide open. This was magic.


    ¡®What is mage doing in a rundown hut, gathering herbs and fathering an orphan?¡¯ She believed that all mages were in nobility, living in their mansions and doing the stuff rich people do.


    She shook her head twice trying to wake up as if this was a dream or figment of her imagination. ¡®Magic ehh?¡¯


    ¡°I wanted to show you how to sort the herbs out, but you were hungry, and we are out of time. Tomorrow you will need to learn how to do that, as this is important.¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°How do you prepare the food, show me?¡± he completely ignored her apology as if he did not care about that.


    ¡®Is this some sort of a test? Are my cooking skills being tested?¡¯ her mind was wary this time. She messed up twice already.


    ¡°I just going to peel some of them and set it to boil.¡± She offered a simple answer.


    He handed the food and produced a small parrying knife from somewhere.


    ¡°You don¡¯t eat the skin?¡±


    ¡°The peels, no.¡±


    ¡°Noted.¡±


    ¡®Why is he so talkative all of the sudden?¡¯


    She peeled the vegetables and put it in the hot water which was starting to boil. The pleasant aroma filled the room making her stomach to cramp up; it demanded food.


    She took a pouch of nuts he had offered before, hoping to ease her hunger. The nuts were still in their shells. Shy tried to crack it but, with no proper tools, it proved to be quite difficult. Guardian was just watching her silently. Her cheeks blushed, she started to feel very self-conscious and embarrassed. She must look so incompetent, unable to do basic tasks.


    ¡®Not this again¡­¡¯ It was not her fault she did not have a nutcracker.


    ¡°How do you get them out?¡± she asked seeking for help.


    ¡°Like this.¡± he took a bunch of them in between his clawed fingers and squeezed.


    The shells cracked with a pop. This was impressive. He was strong. The young girl took a nut and squeezed a nut in her palms with all her strength.


    No success.


    ¡°Hahahaha¡± ¨C he let a deep short burst of laughter. ¡°Weak.¡±


    Somehow she got offended even though she knew she was frail and weak, all orphans were.


    He took a bunch of nuts into his hands and cracked multiple of them in one go.


    ¡°Here.¡±


    He stretched a palm full of mixed bits of nuts and shells. She would have to separate them by herself, some of them were mushed but she did not complain.


    The nuts made her even hungrier, rousing her appetite. By that time the vegetables were done and she would not need to suffer that unpleasant feeling of hunger.


    The food she made was not a soup or stew just some boiled vegetables. She had to fish them out one by one with her sickle. They were plain but still a nutritious food filling her stomach. For the first time, she could eat as much as she wanted so she slightly overdid it and overate. Too much in one go was not good and she felt bloated.


    There were still some vegetables left in a pot for the next day. She hoped that her guardian will not be hungry and decide to eat his share later. As he was huge compared to her, where would be nothing left for her.


    Speaking about him, he seemed to lose an interest in whatever she was doing and was absentmindedly staring into the nothingness, probably thinking about something.


    She was not hungry anymore but still was exhausted. She looked around for her place to sleep, but it appeared that there was no such place. There was no bed or straw or anything like that in a hut. One exception being the small pile of furs her guardian was sitting on.


    Her clothes were still damp and she felt their coldness on her skin. They needed to be dried. She threw a few chunks of splintered wood into the fire looking into the eyes of her guardian who was still spaced out.


    Her cheeks got hot and she felt embarrassed again and unsure of herself. She turned towards the fire and took her dress off, putting it away to get dry. This felt very uncomfortable as he still felt like a stranger, and him being a male did not help.


    She turned her head hoping to gauge some sort of a reaction. There was none. What was she thinking, they are family. For the family this is normal.


    She put a few dusty sacks she found in the corner near the fire and laid on them to sleep.


    ¡°Goodnight.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± silence. ¡®Will he not respond? Is he still away with the fairies?¡¯


    ¡°Goodnight.¡± He replied eventually. His gaze locked at her naked back.


    As she was resting she was thinking about her day and what lies ahead in the future. She slowly drifting into the dream world whilst taking time to reflect on her day.


    This was good; not being an orphan that is. Sure this was not much. The hut was in a sorry condition, there was a lack of basic necessities like a simple spoon. However, she did not need a lot; being fed and looked after was good enough.


    All the little things she did not have before, she did now. Having your own corner where you belonged. Being a part of something bigger, a part of a family was amazing, even if the called family was more than odd. Strange ex-hermit creature and a useless ex-orphan.


    This was better than good. Sure, she would need to work hard and probably would still live a life of a poor person, but this was an honest way of living. Also, her guardian seemed like a good person. He did not even shout or beat her for her incompetence. He taught her and helped her, showing nothing but kindness. She hoped that she will be accepted as a daughter and one day will be able to call him father.


    A few tears flowed down through her cheeks before she fell asleep. These were tears of happiness.


    ¡®What sort of day will I have tomorrow?¡¯ she hoped that it will be as good as it was today.

 02 Basic Skills – There is no such thing as mere magic

    It was late morning when she woke up. Her entire right side felt sore from the cold and hard floor. Regardless of that, she got a proper rest and slept peacefully throughout the night.


    The fire was out, nothing but ash remained. She put her dress on and went to the forest for certain morning business. While at it she went to have a wash at the stream.


    In the midst of refreshing herself up, she noticed a few droplets of blood on the leaves, just beside the stream. She brushed the leaves away, only to find a pool of blood. The shrubs looked like there was a struggle and something got hurt.


    The owners of those howls last night probably were the ones responsible. Thinking back about it, she was glad she was able to run back safely to the hut at that time. She made a note to be extra careful at nights.


    Next, the young girl noticed that there was a trail of small droplets of blood. Maybe unwise but she decided to follow it and see where it leads. She did not have to go far. Brushing overgrowth aside from her face she saw them. Few of the forest beasts were laying there.


    Apparently, the beasts she found were not the hunters but the pray, as they were dead. Their bodies were hanging on a branch, dropping fresh droplets of blood. They were naked, naked as in being skinless. Wet pink flesh and muscles were left exposed.


    The one responsible for this was her guardian. He held two pelts in his hand, his job was done. She had wondered why he was missing in the morning before.


    ¡°Good morning.¡± she said politely, reeling in shock.


    ¡°These two are young. Old ones know that this is my realm and stay clear. Younger ones are foolish, always looking for a challenge and to expand their territory.¡± He skipped the greetings and went straight to lecturing her.


    ¡°You killed them?¡± Just as she spoke she realised that it was a stupid question. Her guardian is a mage, the beasts did not stand a chance. Still, she was surprised, the wolves were bigger than her and there were two of them.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°With Magic?¡±


    ¡°No need.¡± he showed his clawed fingers which were soiled in blood and strands of grimy fur.


    She forgot that he was able to crack nuts with his own two fingers. Crushing a skull probably would not be a challenge for him.


    Thinking about all that she started to feel strangely hot, in a positive way. There was a hint of pride having someone so strong as a guardian mixed in her emotions.


    ¡°We will trade these pelts in. Go grab the herbs I have sorted yesterday, we will be going back to the city.¡±


    She nodded and ran towards the hut. She gathered the plants and stuffed her face with cold vegetables in preparation for her trip. Having abundant food was good, having some time to properly eat it would be even better. She hoped that this was not a temporary thing, having food that is. She did not want to remember the orphanage and the need to wrestle for food with other kids. Being a frail human and a girl did not help with that.


    As she stepped out he was already there standing by the hut waiting for her. He nodded in approval once he saw that she got the stuff they needed and they started their trek to the city. She hoped she did not mess up and packed everything.


    Once again they did not talk much. This was fine, she definitely can make terms to this. This was just a tad bit boring.


    She would start a conversation but she was reluctant. She did not know what proper adults liked to talk about. Also, she feared to appear childish and immature speaking about her usual stuff.


    Something was out of place. Maybe she did not notice it the first time, because she was too nervous, but this time walking around the city with him she did. Everyone seemed warry of her guardian, even in densely packed alleys people would make space for him. Some even went as far as outright avoid even approaching him, stopping in their tracks and waiting for him to pass.


    This was understandable to some extent. Since he was huge, his height and weight were way above the average townsfolk. Even the bulky batsmen did not compare to him.


    ¡®Does he have some sort of bad reputation?¡¯ She thought. ¡®No, can¡¯t be.¡¯ If he had a short fuse or a bad temper she would have seen it by now, she thought. ¡®He was odd but definitely not a violent person.¡¯ she concluded.


    People seemed to notice her tagging along by his side and they started to whisper. They would look at her, sometimes point a finger and start whispering between themselves. This was very uncomfortable. Their gazes were even more anxiety-inducing. Gazes full of pity. She was an orphan, yes, but almost no one pitied orphans, no one gave a damn about a lowly orphan. The reason was different and she wondered why.


    Various questions spun in her head. Was it because she looked poor and was a bad image for her guardian? Did they know he could cast high magic¡¯s? Was she unfit to be a stepdaughter? But why the pitying gaze then? This was not the reason either¡­


    And then, as they went past a group of young women, one of them whispered to another.


    ¡°Poor child, she will be eaten alive.¡± said one of them.


    ¡°There is nothing she, or we for that matter can do.¡± replied another.


    ¡®Eat me? This made no sense. Why would he eat me? Why would someone adopt someone just to eat them?¡¯ she just brushed it off as some sort of misunderstanding.


    She lowered her head to avoid uncomfortable looks people were giving her. She wondered why no one was staring directly at her guardian, why is it just her.


    Eventually, they have stopped and she raised her head to see an apothecary.


    ¡°Not a tanner?¡± she was expecting to see a tanner first in order to trade in the furs.


    ¡°Why the tanner?¡± he asked in a puzzled voice.


    She shrugged it, unsure how to answer.


    They went inside opening the door with a ding of a bell. This startled the girl, doors usually did not make such noises.


    ¡°I have never been in a shop before. Like ever.¡± she proclaimed in wonder. Her eyes were darting from place to place, eying the various vials and concoctions.


    ¡°Why is that?¡± he asked, bud did not seem to be genuinely interested. His voice was flat and monotone.


    ¡°They yell ¨C ¡®Orphan scum not allowed!¡¯.¡± she substituted the word thieving with an orphan, not wanting to reinforce bad stereotypes.


    ¡°By the way, this is not a mere shop, this is an apothecary¡± a proud woman stressed.


    ¡°And you are orphan no more. Apprentice is what you are, take pride in it.¡± she continued speaking whilst making assumptions.


    To respond to this, the girl gave her brightest smile to the nice lady. Even though she still did not like her, as she looked and sounded pretentious and posh, she tough of her as nice never the less.


    ¡°I am an apprentice?¡± she asked her guardian, her eyes were glowing in happiness.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°Yes, Dneal assumed correctly.¡±


    The girl wanted to express her gratitude but she was cut off by the lady.


    ¡°Of course I did. You brought her here to pick up basic skills?¡± she said it as if she was all-knowing, donning a face with a shit eating grin.


    ¡°Affirmative.¡± he said with a sight, clearly not amused by the woman¡¯s antics.


    ¡®Was this lady able to read futures? Did magic like that exist?¡¯ The young girl decided to ask to find out. ¡°H-How did you k-know?¡± she stuttered as she was too excited.


    ¡°Why would such a big man need you around here, hmmm?¡± ¨C emphasis was put on big.


    ¡°To carry the herbs of course.¡± she replied.


    The lady just shook her head and waved a finger.


    ¡°He does not need that, he can do that himself. He could carry five of you and would not be burdened by it.¡± she put her palms together releasing a clap.


    ¡°You are here to learn utility magic so you can be a proper apprentice. But this is not cheap, I wonder how you will pay. The usual herbs you gather would not be enough.¡±


    ¡°This.¡± he took the pelts out.


    ¡°Not enough.¡±


    ¡°And this¡± ¨C he slammed an odd looking leather bag which made a wet noise.


    ¡°Is this?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    The lady opened the bag and sniffed it.


    ¡°Fresh.¡± He added.


    She put her finger inside swirling it. It came out bloody red and then she put it towards her mouth tasting the contents. This was how she tested for freshness, besides smelling it.


    ¡°Very good, high quality¡± she seemed oddly pleased. ¡°This is enough I accept the payment.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t bull¡¯ me Dneal, this is more than enough for a mere utility magic. You will have to add some of your wares to make up for it.¡±


    ¡°Sharp as ever, can¡¯t trick you. Yes, you are correct, all of this can fetch a good coin when processed properly. What do you need?¡±


    ¡®Mere magic¡¯ the girl repeated the words in her head a few times. ¡®There is no such thing as mere magic. All magic is extremely useful and a gateway to the prosperity.¡¯ The girl was rethinking what she knew about magic still unable to believe that she will be able to learn some.


    ¡°Not much. I will need to consult with your daughter first. You can send my apprentice to master healer for her skills.¡±


    ¡°Little girl go through this door and then upstairs, turn left and then knock twice. Tell the master that you were sent to learn observe, identify and detect. Also, harvest.¡±


    ¡®Wow, I will be learning four types of magic skills. This is amazing¡¯ ¨C she felt extremely happy for a good reason.


    She ran up the stairs and knocked twice. An old man opened the doors of his study. The place smelled odd.


    ¡®Did all old peoples¡¯ rooms smelled like this¡¯ ¨C she subconsciously squeezed her nose with fingers.


    ¡°Ahh, my daughter must have sent you, little girl.¡±


    ¡®I am not a little girl!¡¯ she thought but knew that it was best left unsaid.


    ¡°Let your nose go, this is the smell of alchemy. As an apprentice, you will get accustomed to it.¡±


    ¡°All-chem-ee¡± she tried to pronounce it as she let her nose go.


    ¡°You¡¯re not learning that, and its alchemy. You don¡¯t look like a noble with clothes like that.¡± He assumed that the girl thought she was here to learn the basics of alchemy instead or herbalism. She clearly could not tell the difference.


    She looked at her still dirty dress and gotten slightly embarrassed. Yes, she had a guardian now, but she both was and looked dirt poor. Her cheeks were red and she was staring at her feet.


    ¡°No need to get flustered. You look like a proper apprentice regardless. I can see various plants and smell herbs on your garb. You have been working very hard, good girl.¡± he put his hand on her head and rustled her hair.


    She felt uncomfortable, yet still good. No one showed this sort of compassion to her before.


    She nodded with a smile.


    ¡°So tell me what skills are you here to pick up. You remember, do you? I do not want to go all the way down to ask for them again.¡±


    ¡°Observe, Identify, Detect, Harvest¡± ¨C words flew out of her mouth like hot beans.


    ¡°Basic set it is. Sit down and we will get started.¡± old master went to a shelf and picked up four intricate looking tablets.


    This was not something she expected, there were no flashing lights or flashing visions. But the tablets and old man¡¯s explanations did the trick. All she had to do was to hold a tabled while the master held them on the other end and chanted something.


    Once he finished the incantation he explained the skill itself. Then and she had to test if it worked.


    First, she learned Identify. She would whisper a word ¡®identify¡¯ while concentrating and holding a herb or an alchemical plant. Then she would learn the basics about it. Well, at the beginners Identify skill she would only get the name of a plant. Later as her skills and herbalism knowledge improved she would find out about active ingredients in plants and their uses. She was told that if she learned Inspect the two skills would work in unison. However, Inspect was quite expensive as it provided intricate details about an object.


    Detect was extremely useful as it produced a faint glow around plant she was looking for. It only worked on plats she identified before, and it would better if she held a plant she was looking for. The active area was short for beginners but it would be extremely helpful in her search for herbs. Also, this skill improved the more she used it.


    Observe was a passive skill serving as a boost to Detect and Identify, also it helped to detect the plants and other peculiar things she had not seen before. It was perfect for finding rare herbs and other oddities.


    Harvest would let her harvest desired plant parts more easily. If she got skilled at it, it would let her instantaneously harvest a plant. No cutting, collecting and extracting would be needed; the produce would just appear next to the plant or in her hands. All thanks to magic.


    All four of them were a significant boon to her. As an orphan, she would not be able to afford to pay for any of them, because she would struggle to get a job to begin with. This was because orphans were left on their own, no one taught them basic skills to be employable. They could not compete with someone who learned crafts from their parents and were years ahead.


    They did not have a job because they were unskilled. And they could not gain skills because no one was willing to teach them for free. Moreover, even normal people struggled to find a steady job. Also, the more someone was skilled the better money they would be able to make and the better teachers or skills they would be able to pay for, hence earning more money.


    Also, how could she compete with someone who had parents? Parents who were willing to buy utility skills to further their kids. Of course, utility magic could be taught from scratch but this long and arduous process, using a master to teach a skill through magic books or tablets were way quicker but expensive.


    She thanked the master healer, closed the doors and descended down the stairs,


    Her guardian was still there, waiting for her.


    She rushed towards him and tightly hugged his leg. She wanted to express her gratitude and repay the kindness, but she was unsure how.


    ¡°Thank you! Thank you father!¡± she shouted out, not letting the leg go.


    This served to terribly confuse her guardian. He himself was unsure what was going on and what to make out of such behaviour.


    ¡°Aww, so sweet¡± the daughter of Dneal squeaked. ¡°Here little girl try these.¡± the apothecarist held out a herbalists dress.


    She let the leg go and looked at the young lady unsure. ¡°Come with me.¡± The young lady instructed.


    She was led to a small booth where she put the dress on. It was very simple in design. It was a long piece of rough but sturdy fabric; had a hole cut for the head and the rest just felt over the body leaving the sides open. Then she had to tighten a rope around her waist to secure the dress, which then clung more tightly to her body. It was quite open and revealing. It was generally fine when standing and walking but to remain modest at all times one would need to be wearing undergarments. Undergarments she did not have in her possession or ever did.


    However, this was leagues better than the sack she was wearing. She was pleased with the item she had received. She actually felt like she was being spoiled for no good reasons. She checked herself out again and then went out of the booth to show her new dress.


    ¡°Perfect, this will serve you well¡± her master said pleased at her work clothes.


    Her cheeks took a shade of pink. She was not used at being praised.


    ¡°This as well.¡± he gave her an oversized sack which was supposed to be carried over the shoulders and a belt with pockets, few hooks for tools and a large pouch attached to it.


    She put the gear on.


    ¡°You know you picked well. I have never seen an apprentice so happy to receive a work gear. She is grinning like a noble girl putting on her wedding dress.¡±


    These clothes were given to her only that she would be more useful in the forest. It was more of a necessity than of an actual gift where one wanted to please another. These were the fanciest clothes she has ever worn and she was happy, regardless.


    ¡°I do think she will serve me well, but time will show. You will have to work hard today and tomorrow.¡±


    Young lady sneered at him, this was not a very fatherly thing to say - ¡®serve¡¯. The little girl did not pick on that, she was too dazzled.


    ¡°Yes.¡± She said in all smiles.


    ¡°We will be going, thank you for the goods.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the patronage¡± the young lady bowed looking at the na?ve girl once more. ¡°Is that all?¡± she asked as if waiting for something more.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°In that case let me give her these. A gift to congratulate new apprentice. Remember this and trade your herbs here.¡± she gave a wink and handed a pair of simple sandals to the girl.


    ¡°Oh.¡± he looked at his feet which were more like a set of claws or talons and then to the little feet of his young apprentice. The feet were all bruised and callused. He did not think about this, human feet were vulnerable nothing like his.


    The girl put the sandals on, the footwear felt weird she was not used to it. Her guardian raised his hand to say a goodbye to the young lady and her mother who just ignored him. She was busy preparing alchemical ingredients from the wolves she just received. Fresh ingredients produced the best potions and salves; she had to process it while they were still potent.


    He opened the doors, which rang again, and squeezed his massive frame through the doorway.


    ¡®Why did they need ringing doors?¡¯ the girl wondered her why¡¯s while silently following her guardian back to their hut.


    She hoped that she will have time to chill and relax. However she was mistaken, her days of hard labour have just begun.

 03 Discord - Just ask for my name already.

    The pair has reached the hut. Onside inside, the girl sat on the floor and stretched her legs. She thought she deserved some rest. She was not given such an opportunity, he picked a few tools and sacks and instructed to go back to the forest with him.


    He planned to go back to the forest so that she could practise her skills to identify and find various herbs. She was able to grab the remainder of vegetables and have a quick sip of water, but that was it. He was working her hard.


    She had no complaints about that as she felt content. She was still completely bribed by all the gifts she received and would probably do anything he asked.


    The forest was steps away and she started her tasks promptly. Whilst at it she wondered why he is bothering picking herbs at all. This did not seem like a task suited for him. She stopped what she was and looked at him appraisingly, he was too busy to notice.


    He was very tall and big. Many times bigger than her or even a normal human for that matter. Even at his permanently hunched posture, he stood at roughly two and a half meters. He was as big if not bigger than a bear. His skin was lizard-like, thick and black in colour. On his limbs and back, there were many bone-like protrusions which could be used as a weapon if he so desired.


    He did not even need a sickle to cut the plant bundles, as his fingers had sharp claws. His head was slightly elongated, his mouth full of sharp dagger-like teeth. His eyes were yellow with slanted pupils. He looked like a creature who would prey on others at night.


    The girl wondered what sort of beastmen race is he. If she had to guess she would say that he was closest to the lizard people as he had a lot common with them. His serpentine skin and tail was the only similarity the rest was different. The nimble lizardmen she knew were short and slim, clad in lean muscle. He was brutish and gigantic, a complete opposite of them in that regard.


    He was built like a warrior, yet he lowered himself to gather the bounty of the forest.


    ¡®This makes no sense. Why is he doing this?¡¯ the girl was no expert, but she knew that he could make a fortune as a mercenary. She wondered why he bothers with all this boring herbalism stuff.


    ¡°Say, why are you a herbalist and not a warrior? You are so big and strong.¡±


    ¡°What good would it be for me to be a warrior?¡±


    ¡°Money. You could be a nobles¡¯ guard at least, no one would dare to challenge you.¡±


    ¡°I rather serve myself than others, and I want to be served and not the other way round.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± she racked her brain in order to find what all of this means.


    ¡°Good money can be made from the herbs. If done properly earnings would be greater than those of a warrior.¡± He offered an answer seeing that she was somewhat confused.


    The girl somehow doubted about all that money. He lived in the hut which was in ruin.


    ¡°How long have you been herbalist?¡±


    ¡°Two weeks or so.¡±


    ¡®What!¡¯ she did not expect that answer this threw her off. She thought he was here for ages; living in the forest alone, gathering the herbs. There must be some bad past involved, why else he would distance himself from the city.


    She knew that it is best if she did not bring up his past. Maybe one day then they knew echoer better, she will.


    ¡°You seem so natural at this, being a herbalist. I thought you have been doing it since childhood.¡±


    ¡°I learn quickly. So should you.¡±


    She was unsure if she was capable of that. She was well aware that the younger one started his craft the better he was at it. She was not a child anymore and learning new things will be harder for her. But if he can do it in two weeks maybe she can as well.


    ¡®Yes, I can. With utility magic, I can¡¯ she changed her attitude not wanting to sound defeated before she even tried. She knew utility magic now. The magic skills he paid for her.


    ¡®I need to think how to show my gratitude for all of this, this was so unexpected¡¯. It was still hard to believe that this was her new life. It still felt like a fresh dream.


    ¡°Sooo. What did your parents do?¡± She wanted to know more about him.


    ¡°I did not know them.¡±


    ¡°Guardians?¡± she hoped that at least someone looked after him in his infancy.


    ¡°I grew in a wilderness alone¡± he sounded happy about this.


    To the girl this made sense. It was a good explanation of why he was so silent most of the times. Also, this probably was the reason why he took pity on an orphan like her.


    ¡°Do you like to be alone?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind it¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t be alone since I am here now. But if you¡­ if I tire you it is ok to say so.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha.¡±


    ¡°Why the laugh?¡±


    ¡°Your kind is funny that is all. A thing like you has no chance of tiring me, like ever.¡±


    ¡®He misunderstood. And also called me a thing. Oh, right he still does not know my name. I forgot to introduce it and he did not ask. Well, it is too awkward now to say it.¡¯


    ¡°I meant that if I bore or annoy you, tell me. I do not want to mess this up.¡±


    ¡°I said your kind is fun. Not bored ¨C amused.¡±


    ¡°Mmm¡­ my kind, humans then.¡± She wondered if he had a soft spot for humans.


    What followed was an awkward silence.


    ¡°Why did you chose me? Why not anyone else from the orphanage?¡± she asked what she wanted to ask for quite a while.


    ¡°Because you were all right. There was no reason to pick anyone else.¡±


    To some extent she was displeased with this answer, she wanted to feel special. However she knew she was just wishful, she would be happy to be taken as a simple servant so long so she had a roof over her head and a full stomach.


    ¡°I think you are very kind.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± he laughed. ¡°You jest.¡±


    ¡°No! You are, you been nothing but kind to me so far.¡±


    ¡°I am not someone your kind would consider kind. Far from it. The sooner you understand it and accept it the better.¡±


    ¡®This your kind bull¡¯ again.¡¯


    ¡°You bought me precious magic skills and all these nice things.¡± She tried to justify her words.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°So you can do your job properly. You will earn it back. Many times more.¡±


    ¡®Still, I think he is kind, isn¡¯t it unusual to look after someone you don¡¯t really know and are not related to.¡¯ Even though, it was purely out of the pragmatisms which benefited her as well. She gained precious skills and valuable experience.


    ¡°But still¡­¡±


    ¡°Not kind.¡± He shot her down.


    They continued to scout the forest and gather various herbs. He would stop and show some of them to her from time to time so she could identify them and find them better. There was so much new knowledge she had to cram into her head. All these herbs she had to remember about made her mind feel like it was overflowing.


    She will have to learn how they are used. How to store and prepare them. She felt that this was a bit too much for her untrained brain to handle, she feared to fail him.


    ¡®What if the kindness will stop? What if she is too slow and incompetent to be of any use? What if she will be denounced and left homeless and all alone?¡¯ she started to overthink.


    ¡°Can I ask?¡±


    ¡°You must.¡±


    She got slightly confused by this answer ¡®Why I must ask? He is confusing.¡¯¡¯ she continued to look at him with a puzzled expression.


    ¡°You need to ask more. How will you learn if you don¡¯t ask? The more you ask the more you learn. I need you to learn and the more the better.¡±


    ¡°Are we are a proper family?¡±


    She knew that this was not a question he was expecting but she had to ask it. She felt insecure. She always felt insecure and vulnerable. Actually, this was the first time in her life she was starting to feel a sense of security and she dreaded to lose it. However, she had to ask to know.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Like a family where people look after one another and protect each other.¡±


    ¡°I will protect you with all my might. I will feed you and look after you even if you get sick.¡±


    ¡®He is very kind. The kindest person I have ever met. Even though, he looks like¡­ like a monster. To a normal human at least¡¯. The orphanage had orphans from many species so she held no prejudice against someone who looked different, to put it lightly. She knew that some species of beings looked quite repulse to an average human, the opposite was true as well.


    ¡°Will you? Why?¡± she asked wanting to know if his words were truly genuine.


    ¡°I am invested in you. I don¡¯t want to lose my investment and start all over again. I do not have much, but what I have I am very possessive about.¡± this was genuine self-reflection. It felt quite weird to be self-aware like that.


    ¡®Again not the answer I hoped for, but this is nothing bad. Sounds like a valid reason¡­ I am acting like a girl. He does not know me, I am not a kin to him. Why do I want to hear something that would make me feel special?¡¯


    ¡°Do you think of me like of a daughter? Can I call you a father?¡±


    ¡®Here I am, pushing my dreams on someone.¡¯ She wanted to feel special at least in that way, to have some connection with him.


    Her question prompted him to pause.


    ¡°This does not sound right. Somehow it feels weird. You are my apprentice, why not keep it like that?¡±


    ¡®I don¡¯t know what I have expected him to say. I am being silly but I can¡¯t stop being like that. What is wrong with my mind?¡¯ She was having an internal conflict.


    ¡°Fair enough, I guess.¡± she replied and continued her barrage of questions. ¡°So even if I disappoint you, you will not get rid of me?¡±


    ¡°You are funny little thing. I already told you, I am quite possessive. To put it differently, I hold you valuable and this will only increase with time.¡± He took a deep breath of air and continued. ¡°Sure we might bicker, like you humans do all the time. I know how to put the disagreement to the rest, and I hope that you are wise. Wise not to go against me.¡±


    ¡®He called me a thing again, this upsets me... Calling me valuable does he mean I am somehow precious, does this mean he likes me and will continue to like me even more. This is good is it not? He seems determined to have me around and he is nice to me. He might not think of me as part of family yet but to me he will become family if this continues.¡¯ The girl took a while to put her thoughts in order.


    ¡°I promise not to go against your will. I will protect you with all my might and take care of you even if you are sick.¡± She proclaimed eventually.


    ¡°You do not stop to amuse me. Admit it, you aren¡¯t much are you, and does it look like I need protection?¡± he said in an amused tone.


    ¡®This was mean, calling me weak. He has a bad side too, but he said the truth. As I am now, I am weak and pathetic. I need to become stronger.¡¯


    ¡°Maybe I am not much now, but I can grow and get stronger.¡± She defended herself.


    ¡°Fair point. I like what you said. I would be very happy if you did.¡±


    ¡°I will!¡±


    The two continued to gather rare herbs drifting deeper and deeper into the forest. She learned about edible plants and where to find them; which was good as she was getting peckish. She also was told to gather her share of food as best as she can.


    She fully accepted that. She did not dream or want to be a freeloader. She even hoped to be able to gather his share too, even if she was still unsure how much he ate. She did not even know what his favourite food is. What did he like or dislike?


    Maybe he did not like talking, but she did. She opted out of asking about boring herbs and plants, she had enough of that so she asked something different.


    ¡°I have always wanted a father. Did you ever want to have children?¡±


    ¡°Humans, humans are good.¡±


    ¡®What a weird answer.¡¯ To make sure she did not misunderstand him she asked again. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You make me think about things I have never thought before. This is good.¡±


    ¡°You never tough about it?¡± - ¡®does he have a pure mind? Wouldn¡¯t it mean he is virgin? ¡­ What am I thinking? I have to stop.¡¯


    ¡°No, I haven¡¯t. Have you seen someone like me before?


    ¡°No, never, but I haven¡¯t seen much.¡±


    ¡°I have never seen anyone like myself. I don¡¯t even know how a female of my kind would look like.¡±


    ¡°Oh. So like do you like¡­ do you feel attracted to other females?¡± she almost fumbled her sentence.


    ¡°What are you even asking? Why?¡±


    She was being weird with her questions and she knew it. She started to blush. This was not the time or even the person to talk about the stuff like that.


    ¡°I am being weird again, sorry.¡±


    ¡°That is fine. I said it is ok to ask.¡±


    ¡°I am not asking proper questions, I know that.¡±


    ¡°Does not matter. It is still fine. So answer me why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± This was an honest answer. She did many things without thinking through, on impulse.


    ¡°Ok, I will answer you. I don¡¯t know if I want to have children. It does not seem like a reachable goal. If it would be reachable I would think about it properly. Does my answer answers your question.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Yours doesn¡¯t. ¡®Don¡¯t know¡¯ does not cut it¡¯.¡± He bit back at her.


    ¡°Maybe I was interested if you were interested in females, whatever their race.¡±


    ¡°Interested in what sense?¡±


    ¡°Like seeing them naked and stuff?¡±


    ¡°Not particularly, no. But I have seen naked women.¡± He made himself clear, knowing that she would ask it next.


    ¡°Did you? And?¡±


    ¡°And what?¡±


    ¡°Never mind.¡± She did not have the gut to be that straightforward and obscene. He barely knew her and she did not want to seem like a pervert.


    ¡°You are an interesting thing¡±


    ¡°Not a thing¡¯!¡± She was getting too familiar with him and shouted out without thinking.


    ¡°Human girl, then¡±


    ¡°It is a woman, and I have a name!¡± she liked to think of herself as a woman and not a childish girl.


    She was committed to it now. If he will get angry about her talking back so be it. She had to see what happens when she angers him, sooner or later. Better to provoke him for the mild stuff than a major mess up, so she would know what to expect.


    ¡°I doubt that you pass as a human woman.¡± He ignored her attitude, brushing it off as a childish tantrum.


    ¡®He did not bite it, he did not ask my name.¡¯ she also wanted him to answer with ¡®what is your name¡¯.


    ¡°For your knowledge, technically I do pass!¡± this was her pride talking. Sure years of malnutrition did not help her development, she was on a crust of womanhood.


    ¡°I am not sure about human specifics, but clearly you are not an adult. There are no orphanages for adults, though the idea is amusing.¡±


    ¡°I am not an adult, but also not too far from it.¡± she said what she wanted to believe. However, there was a hint of doubt in her voice.


    Being an adult was not just being a certain age. One would need to be able to provide for himself and his kin to be considered as a proper adult, and she was far from it. She would still have had a year in an orphanage before she would be kicked out to fend for herself, sooner if she messed up.


    ¡°How is that?¡±


    ¡°Do I need to be specific?¡± she was unsure if she wanted to go into the details about her reasoning being a woman.


    ¡°No, unless you want to be in the right, girl.¡±


    ¡®He is provoking me.¡¯


    ¡°I can lie with a man¡± she tried to hint at being of the right age.


    ¡°And?¡± He asked unconvinced.


    ¡°This makes me a woman.¡±


    ¡°Does it?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Humans are interesting. Confusing even. I think I understand where you are getting at. Yet, you are not a proper adult?¡±


    ¡°Well no¡­ I am still unable to fend in the streets for myself¡± she would perish and she knew that.


    ¡°But you are a woman? Technically that is?¡± he thought that he has finally understood her reasoning.


    ¡°I am a woman, yes, thank you very much.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, not an adult but a woman. How about a young woman then?¡±


    ¡°Better.¡±


    ¡°Not a little girl?¡± he teased her a bit.


    ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°You look like one.¡±


    This served to shut her up and this was not intentional. He went too far too quickly. Her silence was a bit unexpected and she looked like she was about to cry.


    ¡®Not my fault I have a body like this¡­¡¯ his words hurt her. She did not know why she was so adamant about her being called a woman. The day was long and she was exhausted maybe that was why. And she knew that some males called adult women as girls without the intent of offending, it was a figure of speech not poking at someone¡¯s immaturity.


    ¡°Young woman it is.¡± he broke the silence.


    ¡°Can you call me by the name?¡± She went back to her original objective.


    ¡°If you prefer it that way.¡±


    ¡°Aiu. Aiu is my name.¡±


    ¡°Yong woman Aiu, store the pods you were about to crush in your hands out of despair.¡± He pointed at her hands. ¡°Let¡¯s head home.¡± Today¡¯s job was done at this was time to head home.


    She hoped he would tell her his proper name but he did not. He opted out not to be shy this time and just ask for it.


    ¡°I want to know your proper name? What is it?¡±

 04 Casual day in the forest – Why metal is so expensive?

    The guardian was asked a simple question of his name, yet he took his time to answers.


    ¡°I have no name.¡± He said it finally.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    She remembered that he did not have parents and lived in the wilderness as a child, so that seemed quite plausible. He seemed quite civil for someone who was a feral child.


    ¡°How does the city people call you then?¡±


    ¡°Argh, nothing nice. Monster, Beast, Black Foreigner. Nicer ones like the lady in apothecary and few I am more familiar with will call me a Big Man, or a Traveller.¡± He left quite a few nicknames out, mentioning only the nicer ones.


    She felt sorry for him, this sounded awful.


    ¡°This is not very nice. And yet you are so kind. They are judging solely on your looks.¡±


    ¡°This is not true. You would do yourself a service by stopping thinking that I am kind, it is only you who thinks that.¡±


    ¡°I refuse!¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself.¡±


    The conversation finished and they went towards their home. It got very dark under the growth of the trees and Aiu struggled to see where to put her steps. She was desperate not to get too far from her guardian, for she knew how dangerous the forest was. The fear of darkness and unknown did not help to ease her nervousness.


    She struggled tripped and fell letting out a yelp.


    ¡°I can¡¯t see anything.¡± She complained.


    ¡°Oh¡± was all he said. He sounded as if he found out something he should but did not know.


    It was because he did not notice how his vision slowly shifted to dark-vision as it was natural to him. This vision was completely different from the normal one as he could not see colours, unless something literally glowed. The change was gradual and he was, so used to it that he paid no mind to it. He was able to see in the dark without a problem whatsoever.


    Humans, however, possessed no such thing, not unless magic or alchemy was involved.


    ¡°I do not want to slow down our pace, so that you can keep up.¡±


    ¡°If you leave me I won¡¯t be able to find the way back, don¡¯t do that.¡± She would get lost in a forest without his guidance.


    ¡°I did not say I will be leaving you.¡±


    He grabbed her by her waist and picked her up. She was raised up to his shoulders. This was way too high for her to feel comfortable. Her guardian was over two metres tall after all, and she was not a fan of heights.


    ¡°Hold tight. You can¡¯t see but I can. So I will quickly run back home.¡±


    She hugged his thick neck as best as she could. His back was not as comfortable as it had spikes protruding from his spine. They were not sharp enough to outright injure her, but she had to put her legs on his back and bend slightly to avoid them. The position was awkward and uncomfortable.


    As soon as she settled he started to run. There was no further warning and she almost fell off. She clung to his neck as if her life depended on it. It probably did, falling over from over two metres was not a laughing matter. Even falling from a chair could kill if you hit your head at the wrong place too hard.


    He was fast, very fast. She did not see it as it was too dark, but she could feel it. She had to bend down further to hide her head from the stray branches and other growth, not wanting to get hit. The branches and vegetation did not seem to slow him or even bother him as he just powered through the forest in a sprint.


    She was not the one running, but she was covered in a cold sweat. The experience was not the one she has enjoyed.


    ¡°Here we are.¡±


    He slowed down and stopped just right by the hut. It was very hard to see, thick clouds were hiding the moon.


    ¡°Here we are!¡± he repeated again but loader.


    The girl got the hint. He was asking for her to dismount. But there was no safe way to do such a thing.


    ¡°Raise me down, I am stuck.¡±


    He reached for her and then lowered her down. They went inside the hut and set all of their harvest in the corner.


    ¡°You will learn how to process them tomorrow.¡± It was too late to keep working.


    She was extremely tired and went to sleep with her clothes still on. This time there was no fire to warm her up and the floor was still as hard as ever. This did not bother her too much as she just passed out from exhaustion.


    ¡­


    ¡°Aiu.¡± he said while crouching over her small body.


    ¡°Aiu.¡± he said again louder.


    ¡°Mmm.¡± She was woken up very early in the morning. She rubbed her eyes and upon opening them she saw him. She did not know how much did she get to sleep but this did not feel enough. His face was terribly close and he was staring at her.


    ¡°Yes.¡± she disliked being seen when she just awoke. She knew she does not look good at such moments.


    ¡®Why is he staring¡¯ she wondered.


    ¡°Get ready. I am hungry, going for a hunt.¡±


    ¡®Do I have to go?¡¯ she wanted to complain.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    She raised up and was looking for her gear.


    ¡°Leave it you won¡¯t need it this time.¡±


    She put her sickle and unbuckled her belt. She followed him outside felting anxious, she has never been to a hunt before.


    ¡°What will I need to do?¡±


    ¡°Just follow me and be as silent as possible¡±


    ¡®This means no talking. So boring.¡¯


    She followed him deep into the forest.


    ¡°See these?¡± he pointed to trampled growth and whispering ¡°Fresh tracks of a beast.¡±


    She nodded.


    ¡°We are close. Stay behind me.¡±


    They did not follow the tracks directly as she had expected. Instead, they circled around it through some dense bushes.


    As they went out she saw the beast. She assumed it was a bear as she has never seen an actual one.


    It was deep black in colour and was currently scratching its back on one of the trees. It did not notice them as its head was raised up, he was growling in pleasure.


    He motioned to the young woman indicating to stay put and ran straight towards the bear.


    The bear heard the attacker and stopped rubbing against the tree. It wanted to let a roar so that he could intimidate his opponent and opened his maw. However, instead of a roar, it let a pained wimp as its jaw was jerked by an uppercut from the bellow.


    The bear staggered but still swung his claw towards the attacker. Guardian grabbed bear¡¯s arm stopping it mid-swing, he was strong enough to do that. Then he slashed his claws across bear¡¯s eyes, blinding the bear. This was followed by a slam of his body into the bears, toppling the beast over. This was possible as both of them were of the similar height.


    The bear fell and rolled, it wanted to run away. However, it could not be done as the attacker mounted the bear and started to pummel its head with blows using his fists; the bear was stunned.


    It was a vicious attack and the bear was knocked out and once the bear was out, he cut it¡¯s through with a sharp blade. He turned his head towards the girl who stood frozen by the bushes nearby.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    She looked at him for a few seconds then started running towards.


    ¡°This was awesome. You would make a good fighter. I have never heard of a person killing a bear with his bare fists.¡±


    ¡°I am a good fighter, yes. And it was the blade who killed it not my fists.¡± He raised the bears head showing a wide gash which was still spurting fresh blood.


    He tied the rope around the bears¡¯ legs and hosted it on a sturdy branch. Then he showed how to properly skin the beast to obtain its hide. She sighed as this was unpleasant to see, but Aiu knew she needs to learn this.


    After securing bears hide he started to cut the bear for its meat. Then he ate it raw, then and there, just like that. This slightly unsettled the girl as he looked like a wild beast himself while he ate the bloody meat. He cut a smaller piece of meat and offered it to the girl.


    ¡®I am hungry but I can¡¯t, it is raw.¡¯ while the raw meat was still edible to some extent she preferred her food to be cooked.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we cook it?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Why waste the time for that?¡±


    ¡°It would taste better.¡± She tried to reason.


    ¡°Agreed, but I don¡¯t like to spend time on cooking.¡±


    ¡®How typical of men¡¯ she reflected.


    ¡°I can cook it for you. You have me now for that.¡±


    ¡®I know I will not be any use in hunting but I can do my part and earn my share by preparing the food.¡¯ Was the reason why she offered this.


    ¡°Sounds good.¡±


    They went back to the hut carrying two big chunks of meat.


    She set the fire properly this time using some dry moss as a fire started. Sure she could ask him to light it with magic, but she needed to learn how to do it herself. And magic was meant for the great things not setting some small fires to cook simple food.


    She cut some of it into smaller chunks and set to boil with some random forest vegetables. She did not know exactly what she was doing but it was nearly impossible to mess up the soup.


    The rest of the meat was stored in the small place under the hatch. It would not stay fresh for long


    ¡°Done?¡±


    ¡°All set and cooking¡± she answered.


    ¡°Come here. And pay close attention¡±


    By now she was able to tell the plants from one another. Yet just for this time, he sorted them out for her. The next time she would have to do that by herself.


    He used the tools he purchased yesterday to demonstrate how to process the plans. Some of them had to be crushed using a mortar and pestle into a fine paste and mixed with fats or oils; which he had to purchase beforehand.


    It turned out they were making basic healing salves.


    Others herbs were put in a small barrel of alchemical solvent to make weak stamina potion.


    The rest were set aside to dry or to be sold later as they couldn¡¯t properly use them yet. One needed more reagents and alchemical tools to make the serious stuff.


    This helped to push time and the girl found it quite interesting. Even fun, this was like cooking and she found cooking enjoyable.


    As they were done so was the pot full of food. She put it aside to cool down. She wanted to ask for something important.


    ¡°Would it be possible to get some kitchen stuff like bowls and spoons? Even a set of knives if this is not too expensive.¡±


    She did not want to be demanding, she knew they were poor and probably could not afford that.


    ¡®He must have spent a fortune for all the gear he got me and that other herbalist stuff.¡¯


    ¡°This is so that I can cook for you¡± she added.


    ¡®And for myself, as I can¡¯t eat raw or rotten food.¡¯


    ¡°This is possible.¡±


    ¡°Not too expensive?¡± she did not have an understanding of how much things cost. She never had money to begin with.


    ¡°No, not really, if we sold what we just made. It will be enough¡±


    ¡®So we would need to trade our things to obtain others. I wonder how much those salves and potions are worth.¡¯


    They talked some more about herbs and what can be made out of them until the soup was cool enough to eat. There were no bowls to pour the soup in so she took her mortar in her hand. The bowl with food was sizable, its contents would be enough to feed a family of four.


    She wondered if this was still enough. Her guardian was massive and he said he ate every two days or so.


    ¡®He must consume massive amounts of food in one go.¡¯


    ¡°Will a full pot be enough to feed you?¡±


    ¡°This time yes. I ate plenty of meat. Next time if it is just vegetables, then no. If it was full of meat, then yes.¡±


    It depended not just how much but also what one ate.


    ¡°I will need a bigger pot then.¡±


    ¡°Can be arranged, but metal is expensive.¡±


    ¡®So the pots were expensive. How about other ways to cook for him. There is no oven for making bread. And the grainr is probably expensive too.¡¯


    ¡°How about some salt. Meat stays longer if it is salted no?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know that meat is a luxury and preserved meet is even more so. Only rich and those who do the hunting themselves can afford it.¡±


    ¡°But farmers grow animals for meat.¡±


    ¡°Yet they do not consume it. Most of it gets sold. What did you eat in an orphanage, I wonder?¡±


    It was mostly gruel with hard bread or watery soup. If she was unlucky she would get a bowl of flavoured water from some boiled vegetables which did little to satisfy her hunger.


    ¡°Gruel.¡±


    ¡°Now you can eat meat. Is that not an improvement?¡±


    She nodded. ¡®Massive one¡¯, she never ate proper meat besides a few rats and trash birds she would catch and roast.


    She took a mouth full of thick soup. The meat was a bit chewy and stringy, but still, the soup tasted amazing. Her guardian downed it straight from the pot, taking big gulps without even chewing the contents. She wanted a bigger bowl, the mortar was small and this would not be enough to fill her stomach. Lucky to her, Guardian did not finish all of the pot and left her plenty of food.


    After finishing eating they have packed their produce and were in preparations to go to town to sell it.


    ¡°What could I do for you to earn a pelt like that?¡± she pointed at the bear¡¯s pelt they killed this morning.


    ¡°Why do you need a pelt?¡±


    ¡°The floor is cold so is the night, and it is very hard and uncomfortable for me to sleep.¡±


    ¡°If you want to use it as the bedding this is a bad idea. The pelt needs to be processed by the tanner first.¡±


    ¡®This would be expensive¡¯. She was asking too much.


    ¡°I will get you something for that. After all, I need to look after you properly.¡±


    There were so many needs humans had. He was less prepared to keep a human than he thought. The roof and the food were not enough.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± - ¡®He is too good. I am being spoiled.¡¯


    ¡°You better work hard for it.¡±


    ¡°Of course. I know that everything comes at a price.¡± Be it with money or the body one had to pay. She felt lucky to be able to pay through her being in service as an apprentice.


    This time they went to the tanner first and traded in the black pelt.


    Tanner praised the pelt and congratulated on a kill. It was not often that hunters brought such pelts as bears were a dangerous game, hunters would normally go for easy prey and avoid the danger unless it was out of necessity.


    To the girl''s surprise tanner also sold various knives for hunting and skinning. Her guardian offered some of the salves and the hunter took half of them as they were cheaper than in the apothecary.


    She got a skinning knife and another knife, a bigger one, which could be used to cut vegetables and meat. On top of that, they got some leftover refuse leather scraps and come copper coins.


    Then they went to the apothecary.


    The bell rang and Dneal said hello to the two.


    ¡°I have brought these.¡±


    The girl was instructed to do the trade herself.


    ¡°Hard labours of an upstart herbalist. You did well, this is quite a lot for a newbie.¡±


    ¡°My fa¡­ guardian helped.¡±


    ¡°That explains it.¡± Dneal put an appropriate amount of coins on the counter.


    She did not know if that was the right amount or not so she looked at her guardian. He nodded.


    ¡°I need a barrel of an alchemical solvent, and 5 palm-fulls of catalyst powder and¡­¡± she forgot.


    ¡°And a bottle of herbalist¡¯s oil.¡± He added.


    Dnea took most of the coin back.


    ¡°So you are intended to meddle in brewing as well. Not satisfied with the good money the herbs bring?¡±


    ¡°Alchemy as well. And why would I, if I can double it I will.¡±


    A lot of the people opted for quick money and did not bother taking the time to brew and process the resources. This required a lot of money not just the time as one needed proper equipment and skills.


    ¡°You are sharp as always. I will see you more often, no?¡± the apothecary was the main place alchemist got their resources from.


    ¡°It won¡¯t be just me. I plant this young woman to do the stuff.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, how unusual.¡±


    People would usually spend the money to further their carriers and training first. The apprentice would become the master if what he said was true. That is why this was unusual.


    Dnea was happy to be able to secure another permanent customer.


    Her guardian strapped a full barrel of liquid to his back and waved goodbye to Dnea.


    ¡°Where next?¡± The girl asked.


    ¡°To the market shops.¡±


    They browsed the shops and her guardian purchased a set of bowls, spoons and mugs. All of which were made of wood and did not cost much. What took the most of the coin they had was the scale and weights her adopted father got for her.


    Then they went to the carpenter and bought a set of small wooden boxes and other containers. They had only a few coins left. The money disappeared so quickly.


    The last thing they got was a layered bundle of flexible sticks and plants woven together. This was used to soften the ground as one slept on it. It was used by travellers as a portable bed; it could be rolled together and easily transported. It was not the most comfortable but it was leagues better than a hard and cold ground.


    All they had left was a single copper coin.


    ¡°There is no way we will save for the pot, ever.¡±


    ¡°It takes good coin as metal is valuable.¡±


    ¡°It is because of me, you spent so much for my stuff.¡± She was getting visibly sad.


    ¡°What is up with you?¡±


    ¡°I want to repay you somehow.¡±


    ¡°Just work hard.¡±


    She shook her head ¡°This is not enough. I want to cook you something nice, so you don¡¯t need to eat raw or spoiled food.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, I am not too bothered about it.¡±


    ¡®He is saying this just to cheer me up, there is no way he likes to eat bad food.¡¯


    She looked at the single coin she had in hand.


    ¡°The money we made today. Was it a lot or not?¡± she asked.


    ¡°To put in a way you would understand. We got an amount the farmer would make in a week of hard labour.¡± This was slightly different than that as farmers received the money after the harvest.


    ¡°That is not including the pelt. Bear pelts are quite valuable, that one had no holes or slashes as I was careful not to damage it.¡±


    ¡°So it is quite a big amount of money.¡± she concluded.


    ¡°A sizable sum, yes.¡±


    They could make that much just in a single day.


    ¡°So why isn¡¯t everyone doing this?¡±


    ¡°This is less luxurious than you think. Picking herbs in a forest is very dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes, why do you think I do not let you go alone yet? You not getting attacked and mauled to death was because of me. Forrest creatures can feel my presence and usually stay clear.¡±


    ¡®This made sense, he was able to knock out the bear. And it is good to feel protected¡¯ no one else before cared about her that much.


    ¡°Also, one would need to buy food for oneself or the family. I could easily hunt it by myself.¡±


    ¡°How about picking forest for edibles?¡±


    ¡°Then you would spend the entire day doing that just to get the right amount of food. You wouldn¡¯t have time to get a good amount of herbs to sell. Not to mention processing them.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    She understood that she was fortunate to have him. With him it was easy. He knew where to get the herbs already and they could venture deep into the forest for rarer herbs without fear of being attacked. Moreover, they did not have to worry about food as he was skilled at hunting.


    ¡°Not needing to buy food helps a lot, just think how much I would spend if I had to buy it.¡±


    He would probably spend the most they gotten today as he was very big and would eat as much as four men if not more.


    ¡°I feel lucky to have you.¡±


    ¡°Luck has nothing to do with it.¡±


    They kept talking until they reached their hut.

 05 Am I not good enough? – Aiu’s curly thoughts.

    While talking with the Guardian, Aiu made a new revelation. She learned that meat can be preserved by other means besides salting it, it could be dried or smoked, which was a lot cheaper. She will have to try this sometime later, currently, she was too busy working in the forest.


    She worked hard that day wanted to have some rest as all of her muscles were hurting from the strain. She was an active person but having to walk, crawl and bend nonstop for the whole day exhausted her. Carrying a backpack which only got heavier as time went by did not help.


    Her hard labour was not wasted. She felt more proficient at invoking her basic skills and it was easier to do that now, but she tried not to overdo it as it stained her mind.


    Also, If she found edible roots or weeds she would pick them. The tried to gather food for herself. The backpack she was wearing was getting very heavy.


    ¡°Why are you picking them? Are you planning to store food for your future self? If so don¡¯t bother, just take what you need for today; I can always bring plenty of meat.¡±


    ¡°I was planning to get enough of it for the next time you are hungry.¡± All of this was not just for her


    ¡°Don¡¯t waste your time on that!¡± she was getting scolded by him.


    She put her head down and started to fiddle with her fingers. She planned to make a stew for him and had been shouted at for it. He saw her being sad and made an attempt to fix that.


    ¡°If you want to get good food for me, gather some nuts when you can. I need a lot of vegetables to feel full, nuts are the second best after the meat.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t like vegetables?¡±


    ¡°I do. They taste good and accompany the meat well. They are inefficient that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°I will pick only a few then.¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself, as long as you do not forget that we are here for herbs.¡±


    Getting some forest foods was good but he was not here for that, it was the herbs he wanted. They carried harvesting the forest¡¯s bounty.


    Aiu was using Harvest to get a bundle of plant leaves and petals. It failed and she found holding shredded leaves in her hand. Skill failed too many times. It would be better to do it manually, so she started to cut them with her sickle.


    ¡°No. Keep using the skill. It will get better the more you practise it.¡±


    ¡°But I am ruining the precious herbs. We will make little money tomorrow.¡± half of her harvest failed.


    ¡°Humans are so short-sighted. Think about the benefits in a distant future not just now or tomorrow. The skill will get better and you will be able to harvest herbs quicker than just by hand.¡±


    ¡°Why are you concerned about the money?¡± he asked.


    ¡°The pot.¡±


    ¡°So typical of your kind, so impatient.¡±


    ¡®He is talking smack about humans again.¡¯


    ¡°Do you dislike humans?¡± she asked genuinely concerned.


    ¡°Contrary. I have said already that they are very interesting. Less talking more working¡±. He said as he uprooted a stump digging a bundle of strange looking plants which were stuck under it. Not an easy achievement for a normal person, but he was not a mere human or beastman.


    She kept working diligently, but she was getting lightheaded from the skill use and her muscles were cramping up. She was eating sweet berries she found now and then for energy, but it did little to ease her tiredness.


    She crouched to pick some prickly weeds she needed, lost balance and fell. Her legs gave up. This was not the first time she did that in the past hour.


    ¡°What is up with you?¡± He asked noticing her odd behaviour.


    ¡°I am very tired and all of my body hurts.¡± She admitted begrudgingly, she thought she failed as an apprentice.


    ¡°Weak.¡±


    ¡°I am sorry.¡± she knew she was a week. She did her best and still failed.


    Tears started to flow as she was still laying on a patch of fluffy moss.


    ¡°I did not mean to hurt you. It was just an observation.¡± He decided to be more careful with his words next time. He wanted to be on her good side. People who like you are easier to boss around.


    ¡°You can go back home and rest I will finish it.¡±


    ¡°No, I still can¡­¡± She really couldn¡¯t do work anymore.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind at all just go. Can you find your way back?¡± He cut her sentence.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    She stood up, shook her dress twice and dragged herself and today''s haul back to the hut. She unrolled her makeshift bed and fell asleep promptly. The nap lasted for a good amount of time until she was woken up by heavy steps outside. She felt better now and went outside to check it.


    She looked up, it was late afternoon. Then she looked at her guardian who was carrying two dead wolves under each side of his arms. His sack was full of herbs too.


    She thought they would gather less today, because of her. It was the opposite and he finished early.


    ¡°How did you finish so quickly?¡±


    There was a moment of silence as he carefully chose what to say.


    The reality was that she was slowing him down. Her short legs would not be able to keep up with his normal pace, so he walked much slower than usual. Also, she was unskilled and took ages to find and gather the plants. Often he would have to wait for her till she finished her patch. He also slowly walked with her around the forest while she tried to spot the herbs using her skills.


    ¡°I am just that good.¡± He tried to lie.


    She picked up on the truth that he was being dishonest. She spent her days in the streets and knew how to read people, especially when someone was trying to trick her. This was an essential skill to survive the rough life as an orphan.


    ¡°It is because you didn¡¯t have me to burden you. Isn¡¯t it?¡±


    The truth saddened her. She wanted, no needed to be helpful and not the other way round. If she failed him there would be plenty of people who would gladly take her place. She knew that she was having it good now and feared to lose it.


    ¡°Yes, I am a lot more efficient alone.¡± He admitted the truth. Sour truth sometimes was better than sweet lies. He should not have attempted to lie in the first place.


    ¡®Knew it!¡¯ it hurt to hear that. She wanted to cry again.


    ¡°But, it matters not. I know what I am doing, and adopted you for a reason. It is more important for me that you learn how to do it properly.¡±


    ¡°I am slow to learn. No one ever taught me anything like this.¡±


    ¡°If it is slow and takes time so what? I am not in a rush. My goal is to raise you. Learning a craft takes a lot of time and effort, yes. But skilled people are very valuable. I want you to be skilled, and you will with time. Work hard.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± She was working hard, she has never worked this hard before. She was giving all of her strength to do this.


    ¡°Now skin these two just like I showed you before.¡±


    It was time for Aiu to show her skills, to demonstrate what she had learned. He hung the two wolves on a branch. One was for him and one for her. The problem was that she was too short to properly do it. She was trying to reach the top part of the wolf but couldn¡¯t. He looked at her trying desperately and chuckled.


    ¡®This is embarrassing. I am too short for this.¡¯This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    He went closer and picked her up. It was sudden and she yelped in surprise dropping her knife. He laughed again making her very self-conscious. She was put down back on the solid ground she so much liked. She has never been picked up like that before.


    Aiu bent over reaching for the knife, this exposed her lover half of the body. The dress was not perfect and would reveal parts of her body if she moved too much, intimate parts too. She realised what had just happened. She probably has done it many times already. Those times were when she was bending over or crouching to harvest the herbs. She did not think about it before, but now she realised it. ¡®I must have looked like a shameless person¡¯


    Her face got bright red and she quickly kneeled cowering her ass and picking the knife up. He was looking at her but his look was as the same as always, nothing unusual or carnal could be seen in his eyes.


    ¡°Did you see?¡± She had to ask.


    ¡°See what?¡±


    ¡°You know.¡±


    ¡°No. You picked up the knife. Well done, is that it?¡±


    ¡®Is he pretending or is he just not interested in that stuff.¡¯ She was supposed to be able to tell a lie from a truth, but this time she simply couldn¡¯t.


    He picked her up again. She started to cut and skin the animal while he corrected her giving her clear instructions to follow. Mostly she had to put more strength, the strength she did not have. After making proper cuts, the pelt could just be pulled off like a sleeve; that was if one was strong enough.


    ¡°Not too bad. Cut the next one.¡±


    She did a better job this time and left the pelt to be pulled by him as she could not do it properly.


    ¡°Half of the job done and you already are exerted?¡± he was talking about her physical appearance and sweating.


    ¡°I am not tired, I have just rested.¡±


    ¡°Yet you are bright red. You are hot from exertion.¡±


    ¡®It is called blushing and is because of completely different reasons¡¯ she wanted to correct him but was too shy to admit the real reason behind all of this.


    ¡°You will have a chance to cool off, once we are done.¡±


    ¡°So what is next?¡± the sooner they finished the better. She needed some space to cool off.


    He showed how to extract useful alchemical ingredients from two carcases. The process was bloody and involved a lot of goring. This put her curly thoughts and mind at ease, she did not need to cool off anymore.


    ¡°How about the bear you did in today?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s organs have little use in alchemy. See these two are direwolves and that bear is just a simple bear. Direwolves have traces of magic in them which can be extracted.¡±


    She thought they were wolves, but she was wrong. She should have realised sooner as they were way too big for a common wolf.


    ¡°How about the meat can we sell it?¡±


    ¡°Possible, but hard. Humans and the like shun away from such meat, they like it plump and soft. Beastmen, however, are less picky. As I am now, it would take too much effort to be bothered with finding a buyer.¡±


    ¡°It is a waste to throw it away.¡±


    ¡°You can cut some if you want. Besides, I have other use for it. It will serve as a lure to attract something better.¡±


    She did not want it, she had plenty of bear meat left and vegetables. All of this and more were stored at the hut for dinner.


    ¡°Like what?¡± she wondered what could be better, or worse for that matter, than a bear.


    ¡°Carcass Serpent. Extremely dangerous.¡±


    It was a huge serpent who feasted on corpses as its name inclined. It had tough scales and caustic saliva, a good dose of it could easily kill a person. All of this was explained to Aiu as she did not know about such a monster.


    ¡°Why would you want a thing like that slithering around?¡±


    ¡°I have one good reason. It is extremely valuable.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to risk your life for money. I will work hard and help you earn it the normal way.¡± She was afraid to lose him. The monster seemed very dangerous.


    ¡°It is not a risk if it is a calculated risk. You risk every day just by being alive, you never know what is coming. We will prepare for it properly; it will be fine.¡± He assured her.


    ¡®He probably knows what he is doing.¡¯


    ¡°We are done here. You can cool and wash in a stream.¡±


    She was all covered in blood. She probably should have worn something different, her new dress was all dirty and reeked of blood.


    ¡°Ahhhh¡± she let a long sigh.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°It is just that¡­ Why I am like that. It is clear that I will need to use ladders to properly do the skinning. And a different set of clothes for that. Getting these dirty like this is no good.¡±


    ¡°That is correct. I would not advise going deep in the forest while reeking of blood. Predators might think you are hurt and attack you.¡±


    ¡®Why I am being so expensive.¡¯ She was disappointed in herself. She knew she will need a new set of clothing and a ladder just for this task.


    ¡°I am costing you too much.¡±


    He smiled. ¡°Ladder can be made using some sticks and rope, there is plenty of that here.¡±


    She did not think about that, he won¡¯t need to buy a ladder.


    ¡°But you won¡¯t need ladders and butcher apron to skin the animals once we are done with the serpent.¡±


    ¡°How come?¡±


    ¡°There is utility magic for that specific task. Skills, similar to the ones you already have. Skin and another variant of harvest, harvest animal. They are much more expensive as they are extremely convenient, only professionals would be able to afford those.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you have them instead?¡±


    ¡°You should know there is a limited amount of magic skills one might possess and I have different plans for myself.¡±


    She did not know that.


    As they finished their talk they have reached the small stream.


    She considered going further away to wash her clothes and body in private. However, it appeared that her guardian held no such considerations. He took his loincloth off prompting; his member swung loosely in all its glory as he crouched to draw some water.


    Aiu refrained herself from making the noise, a shocked and surprised person would make. ¡®Oh my god, why is it so big?.¡¯ She could not pry her eyes from it as it was still swinging gently.


    ¡®It is not even in its awoken form.¡¯ She knew those things get bigger but yet she had to see it personally. ¡®This is terrifying¡­¡¯ she tried to imagine just how big it got.


    Setting all foolish, girly and naughty thoughts aside it was proportionate to his body. He was huge in size so was his member. She clapped her cheeks to set her mind straight and tried not to stare. She did not want to get caught staring.


    Then she did the same. She took off her dress and drew the cold water with her palms to wash her hands. There was no shame in being naked in front of family. He did not mind getting naked, so she thought that neither should she.


    Aiu submerged her dress in water to get the blood out and rubbed the fabric. She would glance now and then to see if he was looking at her. He was not, it was clear that he was not interested in her body.


    ¡®He is a normal person and treats me like family member, not like a¡­woman¡¯ yet somewhere deep within in her heart she wanted to receive the attention a woman would. She knew that she was a stepdaughter to him and that her thoughts were somewhat inappropriate.


    She was confused if she wanted to be just a daughter or something more. She wanted to call him father and yet she wanted to do more than a daughter should. She never felt like this before. She was confused.


    ¡®Is it because a girl like me has never been loved? Has never felt affection and kindness before? Probably, yes.¡¯ She concluded. She was spacing out deep in her thoughts still thinking what all of this means.


    ¡°Are you about done? I am heading back.¡±


    He stood next to her. She raised her head and was slightly disappointed to see him clothed.


    ¡°Yes, I am; almost.¡± She took her dress and tried to squeeze the water out.


    ¡°Need assistance?¡±


    She handed the dress to him and he wriggled all of the water out effortlessly, twisting and turning it until it was like a rope. The material was tough and course, it was fine to handle it like that because it was made to last. He wriggled it back straight and handed it to the girl.


    She was unsure if she should to put it or not; it was still damp and it was getting cold. She stood up, her hands instinctively moved to cover her lady bits. Yet she stopped mid-motion.


    ¡®He did not mind being nude in front of me, neither should I. It is not the first time he saw me anyway.¡¯


    Aiu followed him back to the hut, staring at his broad spiky back and a muscular tail.


    Once back home, she set some bear meat to be grilled on a stick while they processed the herbs they have gathered. It was nice to be able to eat meat. She did not understand why humans would shun bear or wolf flesh, it was perfectly fine if cooked properly.


    While her food cooked she was shown how to use the scales. She had to use it to weight the amount of powder and herbs she had so that the recipe would turn out right.


    She put some of the herbs they have gathered inside the barrel full of water. Gave it a good stir, spooned the correct amount of powder and sealed it shut. Then she made some different salves and set them to stand inside small wooden boxes; the ones they have bought before.


    Organs from the direwolves were wrapped in special leaves, to prevent them from going off too quickly, and were put aside to be sold tomorrow. She also made a paste from weird pod seed. It smelled odd very odd. She did not know what she was doing, she was just following his instructions


    ¡°Try to identify it.¡± He encouraged.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± The skill failed.


    ¡°A hint then. Think about the smell. How would it help in a forest?¡±


    She tried a couple more times. Concentrating on the paste and its smell.


    ¡°Got it!¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°It helps to ward off predators. Was it me or magic? I did not know that. It just came to my head.¡±


    ¡°Correct. It is both, magic assists the mind and guides it.¡±


    ¡°This is amazing.¡±


    She tried to identify other things around the house with varying degree of success. The barrel had an incomplete stamina potion. The salves she made were healing salves, she knew that already.


    Also, she could learn what a potion or a salve did using Identify skill. If she knew what ingredients were put in, as she did since she made them, she would be able to identify the properties of the herbs she was mixing to begin with.


    Beginners identify gave only the name of the plant. But if she did that this way, that is if she tried to figure it out where the herbs could be used, the properties of each plant would be unlocked to her mind eventually. It was like a shortcut to knowledge.


    It was extremely helpful if you mixed a bunch of herbs together for one recipe without knowing what each of the separately did, and how they reacted together. Identify helped to solve that. One could invent new things this way as well. However, she was still limited to simple herbs and potions. She was not skilled enough.


    It was getting late and she started to feel sleepy, she munched on overcooked bear meat she slightly burned and laid down to sleep next to the fire.


    ¡°One more thing before you go to bed.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± she thought she was done for the day.


    ¡°The bear fat. Melt it to tallow stirring it occasionally.¡±


    He cut a good amount of bear fat from the meat and handed for her to cut into smaller pieces.


    ¡°What is it for?¡±


    ¡°Did you not notice? Salves use it; there are many other uses as well, like candles.¡±


    The big candle which was now illuminating the room was a homemade one. He did it quite a while ago, even before moving into the hut. He did not have to use it as he could see in the darkness.


    He needed the light only when sorting the herbs; he needed to see the shades of colours to do the sorting quickly.


    She let it slowly melt inside a pot and laid back to bed. The melting fat did not smell good but it was not too bad; there were plenty of airways in a hut. It had many holes in its wall, the window shutters were broken too.


    Aiu felt slightly cold so she woke up later in the night. She put her dress on and checked the tallow, it was still melting. She gave it a good stir. Looking around she could not see her guardian. Nature probably called him and he had to go relieve himself. She went back to sleep without thinking much of it.


    Her guardian was not doing that at all. He was sneaking in the town, clocked by the darkness. One thing was on his mind. The big pot.

 06 The heist – I need that pot.

    Guardian was sneaking through vacant streets and alleys. There was no artificial lighting to light it. He stalked around the barrack where the town guards resided, being careful not to get heard. He was looking for the mess hall or the kitchen, not an easy task. He has never been inside this building.


    What gave the kitchen away was that it had multiple big chimneys poking through its roof.


    Domesticated wolf started to growl as he smelled the black intruder. It was fortunate that the barrack grounds had only one of them. The wolf ran to him and jumped in an attack. Guardian was too tall for the wolf to reach the neck and rip it open, it aimed at his hand instead.


    Guardian raised his clawed feet and kicked the jumping wolf. The wolf flew and hit a nearby wall with a thump. It was stunned and not injured too badly. The wolf lost the fight, brushed its tail under the hind legs and ran cowering away, looking for his keeper.


    The time was of an essence now, the wolf might have been heard and woken up someone. He kicked the door of small storehouse, breaking its lock and sending the door of the hinges.


    He nodded happily. This was the store-place where the food was at. He whiffed the air and his nostrils were filled with the scent of flour and vegetables. He left the storeroom alone and went for the door which was not too far from it, there was a path of packed dirt leading to it.


    He tackled the door and they splintered into pieces as he hit it. It was very noisy. He regretted not having any thief skills so he could pick the locks, or being smaller so he could fit through the window. He barely fit through the normal door.


    He looked around and he saw what he was here for. A huge metal pot which could hold enough gruel to feed at least 30 people. It looked more like a squished barrel or a crucible than a normal pot. Its sides and bottom were very thick, it was made out of metal alloy. Three of them were lining the kitchen¡¯s walls.


    He took one of them and ran back the way he came from. He had to be quick because he made too much noise breaking in. It was heavy but nothing he could not handle.


    No one was there so far to stop him, it was good. The small wall protecting the area was close by. He jumped propelling himself upwards, hoping to run up the remainder of the wall. His feet hit it and clawed at old clay bricks.


    The portion of the wall gave in as it was not that thick, and bricks were very old and cracked. It toppled down with him on the ground making a loud bang. The pot hit the bricks and rang like a bell. He was screwed or so he thought. He looked back there were lit torches approaching his direction.


    He picked the pot and ran as fast as he could. Being able to see in the night assisted him greatly. He was running and running, he was almost near to the edge of the town.


    Suddenly a man emerged from one of the alleys crossing his path. He was not able to notice the man in time and hit him with full force. There was a loud bang and a crunch of breaking bones as the man hit the pot and his body flew towars the nearby wall.


    He himself got thrown of balance. Lost the grip of the stolen pot and rolled couple times on the ground. He was mostly okay, all he had were some bruised and cut skin. The same could not be said about the man. He laid motionless on the street. There was a long trail of blood as he flew quite the distance. His neck was broken and his head was cracked open. There were broken bones poking through the flesh in various places.


    He brushed the dirt rubbing his knees and elbows looking for that damned pot, it rolled somewhere.


    His head was still spinning from the tumble, but once it stopped he noticed it. It was nearby and well, it didn¡¯t even get bent, only a splat of blood and brain matter could be seen on its side.


    He clutched the pot and continued his mad rush back to the forest. This was not good, the trouble he got himself into outweighed the benefits, but it was too late now. What¡¯s done is done.


    He let out a gasp of relief once he reached the forest. He made sure to circle round as much as she could so he could not be traced easily. All he had to do now is get rid of his scent in case there were domesticated wolves pursuing him.


    He rubbed some of the smelly alchemical paste on his body, prompting to him sneeze a few times. It was the thing Aiu made crushing some smelly pods. He hated the smell of the stuff. It would make his nose runny and itchy and he would lose his sense of smell. Good thing was that once the sense of smell was gone so would not be able to sence that horrible stench.


    Once he was deep inside he deemed it to be save to wash off. He found the stream where he cleansed his body, washing the paste away. Then he went back to the hut.


    He set the big pot next to the fire place where the young woman was sleeping. She had wrapped herself in a dirty pelt of wolf they have hunted this morning. She must gotten cold at some point. The tallow was done so he poured it into small barrel leaving it to cool and harden.


    Once this was done he went back to his usual spot to wait for a morning.


    In the morning Aiu woke up, she was surprised to see a big metal thing by the fireplace.


    ¡°How did you get it?¡±


    ¡°It is better if you do not know.¡±


    She suspected something fishy. The pot was clearly used as it had some brown dried stuff on its side. And its bottom was black from soot.


    ¡°Do I have time to cook something for myself or are we going straight to the forest?¡± She was curious what will they be doing today.


    ¡°You will take the things you have made to the city and sell them.¡±


    ¡°Are you coming with me?¡±


    ¡°No, not this time.¡±


    She felt an attachment to him and did not want to be separated.


    ¡®Is he tired of me already and need some time alone? I hope it is not the case.¡¯ She was thinking about the reasons why he was letting her to handle the things alone this time.


    ¡°How about the barrel, the one with the stamina potion brew?¡± it was too heavy for her to carry.


    ¡°Leave it, it is not done yet. Even with the catalyst it will take at least a week to infuse. Take these instead.¡± He handed a pouch of dried leaves.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°Tea leaves. Some of the herbs can be infused in water and drunk to treat various ailments slowly over time.¡±


    ¡®She knew about the tea, but have never actually had any.¡¯


    ¡°Can I keep some?¡± drinking something else besides water would be a fresh change.


    ¡°Sure. You will be picking more of them by yourself later.¡±


    She packed her stuff in a big backpack and went for a door.


    ¡°You forgot the stuff we harvested from dire wolves.¡± They had to be sold while still fresh.


    ¡°I always keep forgetting stuff.¡± She admitted with a sigh.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡®I know you don¡¯t have to tell me.¡¯ She dropped wrapped organs in her backpack; bundle of pelts was held in her hands.


    ¡°Goodbye.¡± She said going through the door.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    She came back poked her head, and repeated ¡°Goodbye!¡± again.


    ¡°Oh, goodbye.¡± He did not know that this custom was performed not only while in public, but with family members as well. He was used to be alone, saying goodbyes felt weird for him, but he did not dislike it.


    She walked slowly towards the city taking her time. There were a lot of stuff she was carrying and she did not want to get tired. She did not get to eat this morning, but as an orphan she was used to it.


    Going to the city without him was different experience. She looked different than before, she did not look like she was living in a slums anymore. She had an actual stuff that could be stolen. She became anxious about that.


    ¡®Calm down, no one knows what is in the backpack.¡¯


    Aiu looked at her busy hands which carried the pelts. She doubted that people would want to steal this, as they were still not processed. She was wrong, people would steal pretty much everything.


    She had to push and squeeze past the people as she travelled towards the tanner. City market was a busy place. She got showed and pushed multiple times, she even fell once. She looked less poor but people still disrespected her, her small stature did not help either. Traveling with her parental guardian was easier, people instinctively would give way for him.


    Eventually she reached the tanner and traded the pelts in.


    ¡°Do you want the coin or the leather?¡±


    Tanner would tan hides into the leather also he would process in exchange of a fee. Some people would bring pelts not to make money but to get the leather made out of them.


    ¡®Why would I need the leather?¡¯


    ¡°I take the coin.¡±


    ¡°Tell me how you got these. Is your father a hunter?¡±


    ¡°Something like that.¡±


    He put two silver coins on the table. The girl knew that they were better than coppers, but not how much. No one taught her about the money.


    ¡°He must be a good hunter to kill two direwolves in a single day.¡±


    ¡°He is the best!¡± the girl felt proud.


    The tanner chuckled and said goodbye to the girl.


    After the tanner she visited the apothecary. She received a praise for working this hard and doing business so often. She got a sizable sum selling herbalists stuff and alchemical ingredients, especially those from wolves.


    Aiu had a small fortune in one of the pouches on her belt. She paced happily through the market streets, back towards the forest. The air was filled with various smells, the smell of food.


    She thought about buying some food but refrained from doing so. Cooked food was expensive and her guardian would notice the shortage of coins. She was sure he would check.


    She went past the two guards patrolling the market. The conversation they were having drew her attention.


    ¡°All that was taken was a single pot.¡±


    ¡®It can not be¡­¡¯ she suspected it but did not want to believe that Guardian might be responsible


    ¡°All of this makes no sence. Was there any food missing from the stores?¡±


    ¡°As I said, no. The doors were kicked in but nothing was missing.¡±


    ¡°Very interesting.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, they even broke the outside wall to get it. It just seems too much work for some worn down pot.¡±


    ¡°The pot might be just a distraction.¡±


    ¡°That is what I thought, but nothing else went missing.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any suspects?¡±


    ¡°At first we thought it was done by some sort of stray beast hunting for food, but his was ruled out.¡±


    Feral monsters would sometimes stray into the city and wreck hawok whilst looking for food.


    ¡°So no suspects.¡±


    ¡°No¡±


    ¡°Very interesting.¡±


    ¡®He went through all this trouble to get a simple pot?¡¯ she did not know what to think of him. She was the one who wanted it. ¡®Should I be happy or not?¡¯ She decided to forget it and don¡¯t question it. The less she knew the better she would sleep at night.


    She was walking down an alley way, thinking happily about her few past days.


    Suddenly, she was pushed from a side, lost her balance and fell on the ground.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    ¡°Hey you, filthy orphan!¡± said a young man.


    ¡°What happened? You dress better but smell just as bad.¡± said another. There were two of them


    It was because of the foul smell of wolf pelt, she was sleeping in. Such beast had an unpleasant stench on their bodies.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± She shouted at two young men.


    She got kicked in a side.


    ¡°Hand over the coin you slag.¡±


    ¡°We saw you leaving the shops!¡±


    One of them was a son of a gang leader. He would often bully and harass her. He was cruel like his father.


    ¡°I have nothing for you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me!¡± He spat on her face and kicker her again.


    They were by the side of street, there were people around but no one gave a damn. Whole city was like that. No one wanted to get in trouble and though only about themselves.


    ¡°Uhh.¡± She groaned clutching the side of her belt where the money was.


    ¡°Check her backpack.¡±


    ¡°It is empty.¡±


    ¡°She must be hiding it in one of her pockets.¡±


    The girl tried to kick back but she was quickly restrained by one of them while other frisked her for money.


    ¡°Get off!¡± she shouted.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± he yelled in response and puncher her in a nose.


    The punch was not that strong, he was clearly holding back, but it was enough to leave the nose bleeding.


    ¡°Owwwwww!¡± the young man suddenly started to shout. He was being raised up in the air by the collar of his shirt.


    His friend let Aiu¡¯s hand go. He quickly backed away, his eyes wide open.


    ¡°What are you doing? let me go!¡± the young man flailed his hands and struggled. He managed to slip out of his loose shirt and fell. His butt slammed the hard ground.


    ¡°Do you know who I am?! You cun¡­!¡± he shouted as he was turning back.


    His friend was staring at him and shaking his head wildly in the protest of his words. Half naked man turned around to see a tall beastman standing behind; his shirt were still in giant¡¯s hand.


    ¡°What do you think you are doing?¡±


    ¡°What do you care? She is an orphan, just having some fun.¡±


    ¡°She is not anymore. She is mine now. You hurt her, I hurt you!¡±


    ¡°You will regret this.¡± the young man stood up.


    ¡°He is a son of a gang leader.¡± his friend butted in meekly.


    ¡°What do I care?¡± girl¡¯s guardian said as he kicked the young man in his chest. It was not a strong kick but it was enough to wind him and send him tumbling backwards.


    His friend turned to run away.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± He caught him by the shoulder, picked him up and threw towards the ground. His body slid through it; young man groaned in pain.


    ¡°You will do well to remember to stay clear from her, if you value your life that is.¡±


    Both of the muggers were hurt but alive. All of this gathered a small crowd. As usual, no one dared to interfere or say anything directly. People were just whispering between each other. He picked up the girl who was clutching her nose. The crowd parted to let him past and he went on his way.


    They were on their way but the incident was far from settled. Rough looking people, clearly belonging to some sort gang were shadowing them. Further down, a bunch of them were closing down the path Guardian needed to take. If he wanted he could have easily scattered the trouble makers with a good tackle, but he decided to play their game.


    The Aiu and Guardian turned left to the different alley, one of their paths were blocked again. They turned to the alley on the other side. Just as they were nearing the end of the narrow pathway in between the buildings their way was cut off from both sides.


    ¡°We got you bastard¡± one of the gang members spoke. ¡°How dare you hit my boy¡± he continued.


    ¡°You got yourself in trouble big man, you pissed off too many people you should not have.¡± another man spoke.


    These two were the leaders from different gangs. They were surprisingly quick to gather their men on such a short notice.


    ¡°How come you are working together? Not clawing the throats of one another, as usual?¡± he inquired.


    ¡°Common good.¡± He replied which a shrug. Or common evil for that matter.


    Guardian raised the girl up towards the roof of a building. She hot a hint and climbed on top of it, this was to keep her safe.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry we will take good care of her once we do your head in. Haha¡± one of the gang members bellowed with a laugh while grabbing his crotch.


    He was getting surrounded by over a dozen of scruffy looking men. Not just men, there were some batsmen too. They were armed with long knives of wooden maces. The humans looked poorly dressed and equipped but they had good amount of muscle on them. The other group was a mixture of bestial races, they were descendants of tigermen and lionmen clans. One of the older looking beastmen had a spear, he actually was a lizard man.


    The lizard man was the one he had to be warry of. Not just because he had a spear but that he looked like an experienced warrior, his footwork and pose gave it away.


    Incidentally the ones wielding the wooden maces had the least chances against him. The only way they would damage him is if it connected with his head, which was a hard task to do as he was quite tall.


    ¡°Fools, you can¡¯t even get proper weapons. I will wipe the ground with your sorry faces¡±. He taunted them.


    ¡°Ha! What can you do against a dozen of us? It won¡¯t be like the last time.¡±


    It was not the first time this group of thugs have bothered him.


    ¡°No it won¡¯t. I doubt I will let you live this time.¡± He was the one to charge first.


    The human swung his mace hitting his upper arm. The mace connected and then bounced off, the muscle and his skin was too thick to do any serious damage.


    Guardian¡¯s fist connected with the man¡¯s face crushing it in and sending the teeth flying all over the place. The human fell backwards unconscious, possibly even dead as his face was in a terrible condition.


    Then he got slashed on his side. It was one of the gang members who did it. The cut was shallow but it still hurt. So guardian kicked that man on his side sending him down to the ground.


    ¡°Fuck! He is fast.¡± The man cursed.


    Three of the beast men charged him from both sides. Their maces were hitting him with all their strength but his skin were good at absorbing the shock. It was like trying to club a bear with a stick, not very effective.


    He grabbed one of the batsmen by his arm, then by his leg. Beastman flailed at him, but it did not last long as tigerman was thrown towards humans who were trying to engage him. A group of four were forced to the ground. One of the attackers approached him from the side. He kicked the beastman in a knee, breaking it.


    The humans were trying to take him down as well; they did not stand idly watching. A group of knife wielding men got couple of good slashes to his back.


    ¡°Watch his tail!¡± lizardman shouted.


    Too late. He turned in full circle quickly spinning his heavy tail. It worked to trip the men attacking him from behind. He quickly jumped back stomping on the chest of one of them. The annoying lizardman stabbed his left leg, he stomped with his right again crushing the ribcage of the laying man.


    Then he punched one man trying to stab him and kicked away another. Guardian shifted his strategy to the attack again and ran towards the two batsmen in front of him, trying to make some more space.


    The two hit him with a mace and stabbed with a knife. He flexed his arm muscles preventing the knife from being pulled out. The beastman got disarmed this way. He kneeled the other in the groin so hard the beastman passed out.


    As the unarmed one tried to back away he grabbed him. The poor creature tried to wrestle away but he overpowered the tigerman. Getting the hold of his head, he quickly turned it. It snapped and the batsmen fell to the ground limp.


    ¡°You monster!¡± One of the men shouted.


    ¡°Eight more left. How about you give up now boys.¡±


    ¡°Screw you!¡± They knew he was injured and they still outnumbered him.


    He swung his tail again keeping the gang members at distance. Taking the two down helped him to get out of the encirclement. The gang members were reluctant to attack, they just kept taunting him to attack. He had to make a move.


    He sprung forward towards one of them in a quick leap avoiding the spear. The man swung his club but it got caught by his hand. He clawed the man in the face sending a small stream of blood in the air. The cut was very deep, bits of flesh were ripped out. The man clutched his face and tried to scream in pain, he was choking on his own blood.


    He sung his tail again as the gang tried to approach him. His tail connected with a face knocking one of them out.


    As he was turning to face the men again they did not hesitate. Those who were able to avoid the tail jumped on him and slashed at his side and arms. Knives were moderately effective, but still they did not cut deep enough to get anything important.


    ¡°Thick bastard!¡± the man cursed seeing little damage they did.


    He jumped and rolled to the side trying to shake them off, but they kept pushing. He swung his tail again.


    ¡°Same trick does not work more than tw¡­!¡±


    Or so the batsmen leader thought as his head was kicked from below by a clawed foot, shattering his jaw and sending his teeth flying. He was able to use his tail and leg for an attack at the same time, he was surprisingly nimble. Guardian grabbed the man by his feet as he was going up into air. He swung him and sent him flying head first towards the brick wall.


    The others did not like that. One of their leaders got taken out.


    Seeing the men hesitating he pushed to attack them. He clawed at one of them, blooding his arm and punched the other. This got him stabbed by a spear, it lodged deep in his thigh.


    ¡°You slimy swamp dweller!¡± He shouted at lizardman as he grabbed the shaft of the spear. Preventing the lizard from pulling it out.


    Instead of letting it go the lizard man tried to push it in deeper.


    ¡°Got damn!¡± he shouted again. He swung his other arm breaking the wooden shaft of the spear.


    Lizard man was left with a broken stick in his hands.


    One of humans took an opportunity to club him towards his head as he was now crouched but human¡¯s hit was blocked with an arm. The man was then tackled to the ground. Guardian bit into the thugs throat ripping it out with his sharp teeth. Instead of spitting the chunk of meat he swallowed it.


    At this point it was four against one. He licked his lips in pleasure. He could win easily now.


    ¡°You disgusting freak!¡± one of the beastmen roared, berserk rage overtook him.


    Contrary to the beastman, the lizardman droped his useless stick and ran away.


    ¡°This went tits up. I am out¡± said human gang leader and also disengaged from the fight.


    There were only two batsmen left. A lionman and a tigerman. Both were tall, muscular and looked ferocious.


    ¡°I will not hold my punches against you two.¡±


    ¡°Bring it on.¡± Lionman took two knives to his hands and launched his attack.


    As the beastman took charge he crouched and picked the discarded mace from the ground. It was launched promptly towards his attacker. The lionman was tripped by a low swing of his tail.


    The lionman fell, his mouth was frothing from the anger.


    Tigerman slashed his knives cutting his body in multiple places. He braced the pain and pushed past it managing to grab the gang member by one of his hands. He twisted it making him drop the knife tigerman tried to stab with another hand but was punched in a face. The punch stunned him, it was not strong enough to break anything.


    Then he twisted the arm more forcing the bone out of the joint and tearing the tendons. He kicked tigers body while holding the arm separating it from the body. The beastman roared in pain falling to the ground.


    The mad lionman jumped on him from the side pummelling him with his fists. His look was crazed, his reasoning was lost. He pushed him away but the beastman was relentless.


    They started to wrestle. He fell to the ground and locked the beastman¡¯s legs preventing his movements. Then he locked his arms against lionman¡¯s thick neck and started to choke him. Guardian held his hand pressed for a while until the berserker stopped breathing and frothing from his mouth.


    He stood up and ripped the spear from his leg, it was preventing him from walking. There was a small trickle of blood but it subsided quite quickly. Then he approached the one with a shredded face; poor person was coughing and wailing in agony. It looked like Guardian has blinded the man as well.


    ¡°We met trice already. I don¡¯t want to meet you for the fourth time; you are a bad luck.¡±


    He stabbed the man to the heart with one of the knives. It was done. The gang members have dispersed, weredead or unconscious.


    ¡°You still up there?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes¡± Aiu replied in a shaky voice.


    He approached the wall and she jumped on his shoulders, then down to the ground.


    ¡°This was scary! You are hurt and bleeding.¡±


    ¡°But you are fine. That is the most important.¡±


    ¡®This was because of me. He was protecting me¡¯


    He did not want the girl to get hurt. This would render her useless. Meanwhile he will heal easily, he had it worse before.


    Aiu touched his leg wound.


    ¡°It will be fine. I am tougher than I look.¡±


    ¡®What does he mean by that? That does not work if he says it¡¯. He already looked as tough as it gets.


    ¡°Loot the bodies and let¡¯s get out of here.¡± He commanded the girl.


    She was reluctant to do that, this was too much for her. She ripped the shirt of the passed person, the one who had crushed testicles. His Shirt were the ones still clean of blood.


    ¡°Let me tie your thigh, it is still gushing blood.¡±


    ¡°No need.¡±


    ¡°I have promised to take care of you so let me do it.¡± She regretted not being able to help in the fight, this was the least she could do. She wrapped his leg in the shirt.


    Guardian looted the gang members by himself.


    ¡°They did not have much only a few coins. At least knives are somewhat valuable.¡±


    ¡°Speaking about it shouldn¡¯t you pull that one from your arm?¡± she pointed at the knife who was still lodged deep in his muscle.


    ¡°Leave it. It would just bleed more if you removed it. I will sort it out at home properly.¡± Healing sales and cloth bandage will be used for that.


    Both of them emerged from the alleyway and proceeded back toward their home. People looked at him wondering what had happened but no one said a thing. Even guards did not bother to ask, pretending that it is not their job. They had an idea of what happened, they just couldn¡¯t be bothered. Not until someone rich was involved. Poor people were left to deal with their problems on their own.


    Once back at hut he used a healing salve and herbs to tend to his wounds and cuts. They would heal naturally but with aid it happened quicker.


    ¡°Let me go to the forest to gather herbs.¡± Aiu offered.


    ¡°In that case I will go with you.¡±


    ¡°You need to rest and heal. I can manage it.¡±


    ¡°It is too dangerous, the lure was set. Carcass Serpent could attack anytime soon.¡±


    ¡°I will be extra careful. Let me gather something more potent, just tell me what I should be looking for.¡±


    She wanted to get herbs for him so that he could feel better. She couldn¡¯t just sit there and do nothing, like that time on a roof.


    ¡°This is foolish.¡±


    ¡°I insist.¡±


    ¡°Fine, but cower yourself in a replant.¡±


    It was smelly substance which predators hated as it blocked their sense of smell. The same one he used to mask his smell from domesticated wolves at night.


    ¡°But it is expensive, I do not want to waste it.¡±


    ¡°Later you can collect some herbs to make more of it.¡±


    ¡°Okay. So is there any particular herbs I need to pick up for you?¡±


    ¡°No, the usual will do.¡±


    The potent stuff was even deeper in the forest. Deep inside the forest there was a magically infused part of it, a magical forest. The herbs were the most potent there, but it also was crawling with dangerous beasts.


    ¡°I will be back soon, you rest.¡±


    ¡°As you command.¡± He said jokingly. The girl took her promise to look after him seriously.


    After few hours she came back. The unpleasant smell of repellent still clung to her body.


    She took out the herbs she had gathered and started processing them into salves and various other concoctions.


    He offered to help but she insisted that he rests. He was not injured badly all his wounds would be closed by tomorrow. His healing rate was extremely fast.


    ¡°So why didn¡¯t you used magic? You are a magic user right.¡± she was talking about the fight.


    ¡°Yes, but not an ordinary user. My mana pool does not replenish normally like human¡¯s do.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, so what do you do to get it back up?¡±


    ¡°I have to consume those who have magic pools within their bodies. Magical beasts do the trick.¡±


    ¡°But beasts can¡¯t cast spells.¡±


    ¡°That is correct but they still gather magic in their bodies, hence their name. It makes them more tough and dangerous.¡±


    ¡°So you were saving your mana.¡±


    He nodded in approval.


    ¡°Here I made these for you, use them.¡± She handed a healing salve and a mixture of healing herbs.


    He put the herbs on his thigh wound and biceps. They soothed the pain and had a chilling effect. The young woman went back to the forest.


    It was late in the evening when she came back. Her backpack was full of stuff, her face was smeared in berry juices.


    ¡°I have brought some food for you. You will need energy to get better.¡±


    He hoped that it was nuts and not vegetables. Meat would be the best but he doubted Aiu would be able to kill anything.


    ¡°I got you some nuts.¡±


    ¡®Yes it is nuts¡¯ the young woman was proving herself useful.


    He took the nuts and crushed their shells. He picked their sweet juicy cores and ate them with gusto.


    Meanwhile Aiu put her vegetables in the old pot and set them to boil.


    ¡°I did not find much, but I will share. I can separate the shells and cores for you if you do the crushing.¡±


    He crushed a bunch of them at a time and the girl would take the juicy cores put them in a bowl. Quickly the small bowl got full.


    ¡°I heard that you need to eat warm food when you are ill. It is supposed to help.¡±


    He was not ill he was injured, but he let the girl proceed. He was interested what she was planning to do. She put a flat rock on fire and spread the nuts on it. She roasted them then scooped them with a spoon back to the bowl. Once the bowl got back full she gave it to him.


    ¡°How is it?¡±


    She did not try it herself. ¡®Who cooks without tasting?¡® he judged her. He took a few and put them in his mouth. The taste was good, it was still nutty but different.


    ¡°This is good.¡±


    ¡°I thought so.¡±


    He pushed a bowl towards her, offering some. She took a few reluctantly and tasted it.


    ¡°Oh yes, this is very good. I have never had roasted nuts before.¡±


    ¡°Me neither. Thank you for this. It is good to have you around.¡± It was good to have a human around. He enjoyed the fact that humans were creative and inventive. He found them very interesting for that reason. This new food he never had before was a proof of that.


    The girl blushed slightly. She was not used to all this praise. She was happy.


    Aiu took some of the vegetables and shared them with him. The two of them talked for a bit and then went to sleep. Unbeknown to them a certain beast smelt a rotting carcass and it was slithering towards it. It was a rotting bear by their hut stinking the air and luring the beasts. It will come coon.

 07 Corpse Serpent – Tangle it up

    Aiu was woken up by a noise of cracking wood. It was very early in the morning, the sun hasn¡¯t risen yet.


    She jumped in alarm as someone grabbed her.


    ¡°Shhh.¡± her guardian whispered.


    He groped her from down to top, and this confused her. ¡®Why this all of the sudden.¡¯ Then she realised, she was being rubbed in monster repellent.


    He lifted her herbalist¡¯s dress, taking it off. His hands rubbed her all over. She felt weird being touched like this, even good. The paste was oily and felt good on her skin, he was applying in generously and rubbing it in gently. She sniffed it, it had a strong distinct smell. After finishing coating her, he handed her two vials of strange liquid.


    ¡®Where did he even get them?¡¯ She wanted to ask it, but her mouth was closed shut by his finger as soon as she opened it. He shook his head and she got the hint. They had to be silent, ¡°Why? What¡¯s going on?¡±


    He grabbed a bunch of rusty stakes which normally would be used for pitching a tent. Then he grabbed a roll of very thick rope which was usually used to host sails of a ship. He went outside motioning her to follow.


    Aiu noticed broken and toppled trees at the border of the clearing. It was the spot there the corpses were. She sneaked closer and noticed a huge serpent coiling its long body all around. It was big enough to swallow a bear whole and still have plenty of space in its belly.


    She should be afraid, but she wasn¡¯t. She trusted in her guardian.


    Guardian ran to it from a side trying to ambush it and she followed. He jumped on the serpent¡¯s long back, clinging to its body. He slammed the stake into the serpent¡¯s body. It barely made a dent in its tough green scales, so he started to hammer it with a rock. It took him all his strength just to pierce the scale and wedge the stake inside. The serpent trashed and raised its head to attack; by that time the stake was in and the rope hooked on it.


    ¡°Now! Throw!¡± He shouted.


    The young woman threw one of the vials smashing it to the serpents head. The liquid inside splashed all over releasing unpleasant odour. This stunned the snake missed its attack and shot past Guardian.


    He jumped and ran up the serpent¡¯s back, hammering another stake. The corpse eater was in an confused state. It moved and trashed but failed to throw of Guardian from its back.


    He wedged another stake further along. Serpent was out of its daze and turned its head for another attack. Its maws were open trying to swallow him whole; its head was approaching.


    Girl¡¯s guardian raised his left hand in the air releasing a shockwave. This was magic, it hit the serpent¡¯s head sending it off course and crashing to one of the trees.


    He hammered another stake in its body. Now he was quite high up on its back, the serpent was unable to bend and reach him, so it tried to swing its body to throw him off.


    He clung to its back using his claws and arm strength alone, climbing up and closer to its head. His goal was reached and he put another stake in. He was too high now and the Corpse Serpent was able to swing him off his head.


    He grabbed the rope which was secured in all those stakes. He was swung quite far, but this served to his advantage. Guardian ran around the trees weaving them in thick rope; making knots and loops.


    For some reason it ignored her Aiu completely. ¡®The repellent must be responsible for this. If only we hand enough for my guardian.¡¯ She realised why this was the case.


    The serpent slithered towards the clearing moving away but it was stopped. The rope prevented it from moving.


    The trees creaked and splintered, the rope let a loud noise as it vibrated under the tension. The beast pulled stronger and first of the stakes flew dislodged, taking its scale and a bit of a flesh off. But that was it, the serpent was trapped. Rest of the stakes and rope held it firmly.


    It turned around changing its direction, loosening the rope. It slithered past the trees and the same rope which was binding it. Her guardian kept weaving it past the sturdy trees, louring the beast towards him again. The rope tightened again restraining serpent¡¯s movement.


    He jumped on the serpent¡¯s back again, it tried to shake him. He held firmly on the rope climbing back towards the head.It did not take him long to reach it. The beast tried to roll this time but the rope prevented it. The serpent could not reach or shake him off this time.


    He started to hit one of its scales which a pointy but thick dagger he grabbed from his side. It took a while but he managed to pry and remove it, then he removed another one. The beast did not like that and tried to trash about and move, this tightened the ropes even more as it was getting tangled.


    Then Guardian chopped at its hide, exposing the flesh and removing chunks of it. The blood was gushing out but this was not enough to even be considered as a dangerous wound to this beast.


    He stuck his arm deep into monsters flesh and released another magic shockwave. It blew the beast from inside making it spit blood. However, it was still alive. He was out of mana, but not out of options.


    ¡°Aiu bring me more rope and the knives we got yesterday.¡± He hoped she was still alive and well.


    She ran out of her hiding shouting to wait up. It did not take her long to bring the stuff. She reluctantly approached the serpent.


    ¡°Is it safe?¡±


    ¡°it is tired and bound. It can move but cannot escape.¡±


    The girl handed the knives and the rope. He used the rope to further secure the beast. It was better to be safe than sorry.


    ¡°Its underbelly is a lot easier to pierce.¡± He said raising its head using one of the many ropes.


    Then he proceeded to slash horizontally using the knives. The scales were in the way to make the job easy. The blades got blunt quickly one by one.


    ¡°Can I help, somehow?¡± the girl asked.


    ¡°No the blood is toxic do not get it on your skin.¡±


    ¡°How about you?¡±


    ¡°My skin is much thicker than yours giving me resistance.¡±


    ¡°What if it gets in one of your wounds?¡±


    ¡°They are closed already. My regeneration ability is high.¡±


    The girl did not want to believe it. He got injured just yesterday.


    When the last knife expired, the slit was big enough and the beast was bleeding profusely.


    ¡°It will die soon.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°I will harvest it for profit.¡±


    ¡°How much of it can we sell?¡±


    ¡°Most of it is useful. However we do not have the skill or equipment to do that.¡±


    This was magical beast and its flesh and blood could be rendered into alchemical ingredients.


    ¡°What we can do is take the scales and leather off, tongue and eyes, special glands. If you gather the pot you could harvest some of the saliva. The rest of the body and organs will start to decompose very quickly, it is because of its caustic blood.¡±


    It was easier to dismantle the scales from inside, but still it took the most of their day. She helped as much as she could to harvest the serpent.


    The rest of its body will be burned to prevent rancid smell and attracting something even bigger.


    ¡°How much will we make selling this?¡±


    ¡°A small fortune, but this thing could sell for four times more.¡± He showed a squishy blue ball, it was the size of human fist.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Mana core. All magical creatures have it, even humans.¡±


    ¡°Do I have it?¡±


    ¡°You are not a mage, so no. If you became one you would grow it as your mana pool grew.¡±


    He brought it to his mouth and then ate it. The girl was shocked in disbelief in what just happened.


    ¡°Why did you do that?¡±


    ¡°This will recharge and increase my mana pool. This is the reason I killed this Carcass Serpent.¡± The money will be just a nice bonus.


    ¡°Shall we go home?¡± the job was done and she was hungry, tired and stressed out.


    ¡°No we need to sell ingredients while they are still fresh.¡±


    ¡°The apothecary will be closed by the time we got there.¡± It would take ages to harvest it.


    ¡°It is not the apothecary we are going to. This is some serious stuff we got our hands on. We are going to the alchemist¡¯s guild. They won¡¯t mind it, even if it is afterhours. It is not every day they can get their hands on quality stuff.¡±


    They spent the rest of the day taking the beast apart. Then they headed to the city. By the time they got there it was already night.


    At first they were turned away, but they kept knocking on the alchemist¡¯s guild door. The guardian shouted out that he had the good stuff and they better let them in. They were met by annoyed guild trader and quickly made their trade.


    They received a good amount of gold for the eyes, tongue and glands. Her guardian asked the alchemists to process the pot of saliva to poison as part of the pay. The person they were talking agreed.


    Also the trader asked about the bones. He wanted them too as they could be grinded to special powder. The teeth were valuable too, they could be easily enhanced and turned into daggers or talismans. Guardian agreed to bring it on the later date.


    ¡°So how much did you get?¡± Aiu asked.


    ¡°2 gold for two eyes, 1 gold and 6 silver for tongue, 1 gold for glands. Minus ten silver for making the poison. That sets us at 3 gold and 6 silver.¡± Twelve silver where equal to 1 gold coin. 3 gold was the amount of money a farmer would get after his summer harvest.


    ¡°Can I see the gold again?¡±


    He passed a goil coin. She did not have many times to see actual gold. It was so shinny and pretty. She did not want to give it back, but knew that she has to.


    ¡°Why did making the poison cost so much?¡±


    ¡°It actually was a bargain. It is because a full pot of saliva will make quite a lot of poison and even small amounts were quite affective.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    They went straight back home; it was past midnight by then.


    The work did not stop as they needed to gather wood to burn the serpent¡¯s corpse. This was an easy way to get rid of the flesh from the bones. It was inedible.


    The girl was asked to help but she could not; she was very tired. He clearly was not happy about it but, still let her go to the hut and sleep her exhaustion off.


    She woke up late in the morning and went to look for her guardian.


    The air was filled with foul smell of charred meat, the remains of serpent were still smouldering at the edge of the clearing. Guardian popped out of the woods. Conveniently he was holding a boar in his hand. The board¡¯s head was smashed and the beast¡¯s body looked broken in a few places. She would eat some high quality meat at last, something only rich would be able to afford.


    She ran happy towards him saying good morning and asking how he slept. It turned out that he did not sleep, he was busy working. She asked how it went, listening carefully of him, paying attention to his intonation. She wondered if he was angry about her not staying to help. His voice sounded happy so he either forgave her or did not mind from the beginning.


    He cut and skinned the beast while she prepared the fire with a big metal pot on it. The fat was separated from the meat. The boar meat was cut into smaller chunks and set to slowly cook while the fat was put to render indo lard using smaller pot. Hence from this day onwards the small put was retired to be used to make crafting stuff, and the big pot designated for the food.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    While the food cooked, her backpack was stuffed with scales. It was not big enough to fit all of them as there were too many scales. The serpent they have killed was 20 metres long. They had about 500 hundred scales (30x20 cm by size), plus its serpentine leather. She could not carry the rest but the Guardian could, and did so.


    The leather was rolled and secured with rope on Guardian¡¯s back, he stuffed the rest of the scales in sacks and carried them in his hands. He looked like a pack mule.


    They went through the city, people looked oddly at them and kept respectable distance. Theyr eyes would get fixated on the large serpent skin and then to the one who was hauling it.


    The pair reached the tanner and came inside the shop.


    ¡°Big man, this is what I am talking about! Did you kill it alone?¡± The tanner joked.


    ¡°No.¡± He shook his head.


    ¡°How many men did take? Ten, fifteen?¡±


    ¡°Only one more, she is standing beside me.¡±


    Young woman waved her hand shyly. She was happy to receive some credit but she knew she did not deserve it.


    ¡°Hahaha. I would not believe if someone said that such beast was slain only by you¡­ by the two of you. But seeing you and the very hide of it proves it.¡± tanner re-evaluated monstrous traveller standing in front of him. He was the size of three or even four batsmen after all.


    ¡°Mhm.¡±


    ¡°I can take the skin but this¡­¡± he handed back the scale he have taken to inspect ¡°You will have to trade it to someone else. I am a tanner and you need an armour maker for this stuff. I can suggest a good customer of mine if you want.¡±


    ¡°How much for the skin then?¡±


    ¡°Roll it out I need to measure it.¡±


    Tanner took his time to measure the skin. He did some calculations as well.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ let¡¯s make it 8 gold.¡±


    ¡°I can always trade it to someone else.¡±


    ¡°Ok, ok it was just a jest. I will round it up and make 10. How about that?¡±


    ¡°Better.¡±


    ¡®Wow this is a small fortune¡¯ the girl thought.


    ¡°Deal?¡± tanner stretched his hand.


    ¡°Deal.¡± He shook it.


    ¡°Ehhhm¡­¡± tanner cleared his thought. ¡°I do not have such money on me. Can you wait until I process it and sell it to my other clients?¡± ten gold was not an amount of money which just laid around idly.


    ¡°I need the money. How about I keep some of the hardened leather once you process it, and take the money you have now?¡± This way he would need to pay tanner for processing the leather and would get some money out of him.


    ¡°All I can give is 3 gold and this leaves me in empty pockets.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s only a third of what we agreed but that is a yes, with one condition. Process this first.¡± He gave the boar pelt he hunted this morning.


    He took it. And gave another one which was done already.


    ¡°There is no need to wait for me to do that, have this instead. I will be busy with the serpent skin.¡± he would have no tame to render other pelts, the serpent skin will take most of his time now. They made a trade.


    He handed a bunch of silver and copper which were equal to 3 gold in value. And told them to come after a week or two to collect the rest.


    The two took the money and went to look for the armour maker, the one tanner knew. It took a while but they found his shop.


    The two were greeted with a very suspicious glare. The armour maker looked extremely wary of oversized brute who just stepped into his shop. Armour maker wondered what could a brute like Guardian possibly want, he was way too big for any of his armours and did not look rich enough to ask for a custom one.


    The armour maker loosened his guard once hearing that the tanner send them here. He was more than happy to take the scales too. Her guardian did not sell all of them and kept most of the tiny ones and about two dozens of large scales.


    They got a whopping 30 gold for that. The armourer practically emptied his entire coffer, but he deemed it a good trade. He would turn those into exquisite armour and


    30 gold was a big sum for one man, but if one considered that it took at least ten skilled men to take the beast each of them would get only 3gold for their trouble. Still a large sum but one would think twice before risking his life for that. There also would be costs for equipment one would need to consider.


    ¡®We are rich!¡¯ The girl wanted to jump in glee.


    After getting the money they went to one of the hunters who lived at the border of the city.


    Unlike others he was neutral towards her guardian, even though he met him for the first time now.


    ¡°What business do you have with me?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I have knowledge that you are the master hunter here. One of the best I might add.¡± He was flattering him. Old man was not the best in this town.


    ¡°Yes, yes that is true. Are you in need of my services? But I doubt that since you killed that serpent. Didn¡¯t you?¡± hunter said somewhat scornfully. He got the news from the tanner when he went to trade in his own pelts. He felt jealous.


    ¡°The world travels quickly. Could you teach magic skills? Harvest and Skin to be precise.¡±


    ¡°And why would I do that?¡±


    The hunter did not want to increase his competition further. Especially training someone who could defeat the Corpse Serpent.


    ¡°I will pay you good.¡±


    ¡°No, I will teach you nothing. Magic skills are extremely precious as you know.¡±


    ¡°It is not me but this girl you will be teaching.¡± He pointed at the petite woman who stood behind him. She looked shy.


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± Hunter thought for a moment.


    Her guardian opened his pouch showing the glistering gold.


    ¡°I have the money here and ready. Who can turn away easy gold just like that.¡±


    The gold swayed the man¡¯s mind. Only the idiot would say no to gold. He would not lose anything, teaching magic skills cost him nothing. Sure there was a limit on how often he could train someone, but still he lost nothing of material value in doing that. The girl was small and frail she would not outcompete him. As long as it was not that monstrously big stranger he was fine with it.


    ¡°Fine. 5 gold in total.¡±


    The man was taken by greed. This was a rip off. It would normally cost 3. Guardian knew that hunters were very protective of their skills.


    ¡°Agreed.¡±


    ¡°Ah! On top of that I want the head of the serpent. You still have it no?¡± he wanted a trophy for himself.


    ¡°You are asking too much. Also its skeleton would be blackened from flame. I have burned the corpse.¡±


    ¡°I can clean and polish the bone there is no problem.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Teach this girl how to use a bow properly and we will have a deal.¡± he stressed the word properly.


    ¡°Fine she can come in evenings for next two weeks. I will show her how.¡± Hunter reluctantly agreed. He wanted that 5 gold and serpents head so he could boast that he had killed it himself.


    The coins passed the hands and the deal was struck.


    The hunter laid a leathery rug on a ground. It was marked with symbols and strange shapes. He splashed some of his blood on one of the shapes and told the girl to do the same. She cut her palm whith a knife. Droplets of blood sunk into the markings and they glowed slightly. Hunter said some sort of a prayer. She felt dizzy for a moment. The ritual gave her the Skin skill.


    Now she would be able to get the pelt without needing to put a lot of effort. She no longer would need to manually separate it from the animal.


    Then he took a large bone shaped into the dagger. It looked old and was purely decorative.


    He told her to hold it while hunter again said something she could not comprehend. She learned a variation of a Harvest skill; it was Harvest animal. This enabled her to harvest the organs of the animal quickly. For the first time she would need to harvest particular organ from particular animal by hand. But second time she could use the skill to do that. If she got skilled at it, this step could be skipped if she roughly knew what she wanted to get from an animal.


    She also got Identify animal. She would be able to tell what sort of animal she looked upon. No longer would she confuse direwolf with wolf.


    Moreover, harvest animal had synergy with her observe and identify skills. It was possible to identify useful organs and their properties on an animal and apply them in alchemy later.


    There also was a track skill which would help to find animal one searched. Essential skill for hunters. But she did not learn that one as she was not meant to be hunter and amount of utility skills one could have was limited.


    Her guardian watched with interest while she received the skills. Once it was done they went back home and ate the lunch. It was boiled boar with some vegetables. The meat tasted nice and soft, it was spiced with some leaves found in forest.


    ¡°What will you do with all this money?¡± she asked him.


    They had money equal to 31 gold and 6silver. Large portion of it was actually in gold and copper. Her guardian kept the gold coins they had in a separate leather poach.


    ¡°Do you think we have a lot and are rich now?¡± he asked in turn.


    ¡°Well yeah.¡±


    In a week they got more than a skilled warrior in two years.


    ¡°Money melts away very quickly, you will see.¡±


    He avoided telling what he will spend it on.


    After finishing their lunch they went to the blackened remains of the serpent. They had to pick and clean the charred flesh from the many bones. This was gruelling, boring and very tiresome. It took them the rest of the day to do that. The bones were clean and sorted into the piles.


    The two went to the stream to wash off the dirt and soot from their bodies. Her guardian¡¯s skin was already dark in colour so it was not that visible on him; Aiu was a completely different story. She undressed and started to rub her skin trying to return it to the normal colour. It took a lot of effort and a lot of scrubbing.


    ¡°If only there was an easier way to get this out.¡±


    ¡°There is, it is called soap.¡±


    She forgot they had money and could afford such luxury now.


    ¡°We need to buy a lot of it. I imagine we would need it every day. And you are so big!¡± her guardian would probably need half a bar to lather all of his body. The work they did everyday was very dirty too.


    ¡°No need. You are herbalist now I will show you how to make it from tallow and ash.¡±


    They went back to their hut and she set her dress to dry outside. She was nude and uncovered but she was given the boar pelt to use as a cower so she does not get cold during the night. They went to bed early as they had much to do tomorrow.


    They started to harvest the forest goods as soon as the sun have risen. Besides the herbs, she picket the nuts every time she found ripe ones on the nut bush. She was making stash of them.


    Just before the midday they went back storing the stuff they have gathered. She checked the lye water she have left before in the morning, it was not quite ready jet. She was told to mix some ash from fire place with water and let it sit to make that lye water which was used for soap.


    Then they gathered bones and hauled them to the alchemist¡¯s guild. They could not carry all of them in one go as there were just too many. They had to make a few trips.


    Selling the bones got them 20 silvers which was almost equal to 2 gold.


    They went back to the hut, Guardian strapped the serpents head to his back using some rope. The head was huge and they had to leave the teeth in, they were quite valuable too. They could not sell them because the hunter wanted the head with all its four teeth. The trophy head would wold look stupid without its teeth.


    The hunter was very pleased to receive the head, he instructed his wife to start cleaning it while he took the girl to the range to show her how to use a practise bow. Guardian did not stay and left to attend his business back in the city, before the shops closed for the day.


    While training she felt useless, her arms lacked strength to draw the bow string far enough. Her fingers lacked dexterity to make it accurate, her eye-hand coordination was very poor. However the old hunter was very patient, he did not belittle or shouted at her. He encouraged Aiu and assured that she will get better if she kept coming to train.


    None of her arrows flew straight or far enough, the target seemed unreachable for her. It took at least 30 minutes of practise before she was able to shoot the arrow without messing it up.


    ¡°So how come a human girl is tagging along with such an odd person?¡± huntsman asked out of interest.


    The two looked completely mismatched. It was a type o huge beastman, who looked more monster than a man, and a tiny useless looking girl. She was clearly not suited for manual labour men wood do. So why he was having her. If he wanted a servant to do his bidding a man would be better as he could carry more and would be useful in labour.


    On top of that he was paying for her skills and training. He pondered that the girl might be a noble of some sort, but she was too skinny to be one so he ruled it out.


    ¡°He adopted me from an orphanage. I am his apprentice.¡± The girl said proudly.


    Such a weird thing to do. There would be plenty of healthy and willing people to work for him for few coppers, or experience alone. The big man was clearly skilled, he was able to take down the serpent.


    ¡°So is he a hunter?¡± the old man still worried about having competitors he knew little about.


    ¡°No, a herbalist. I think.¡±. Officially, she was named herbalist apprentice so he must be one/


    The huntsman relaxed a bit. It was still odd that he was a herbalist and not some warrior retiring to be a hunter.


    ¡°I see, I see.¡±


    This still explained little why he would take a girl from orphanage. Was she serving him in different ways, but he daubed that beastman would go after human women, and after such underdeveloped ones.


    It was widely known that batsmen preferred their own. Same could be told about humans. But there were deviations, especially then it came to seeking pleasure and not seeking to make family. Was that tall stranger like that¡­ He could not ask that, and he did not care if he was.


    ¡°No offence, but it is odd he is paying for you to get educated. You are not even one of his kind and this would usually be reserved for one¡¯s own children.¡±


    The girl actually thought about it quite a lot. What master hunter said was true. She came to the conclusion that since he could not have children, that being because there was no one else of his kind around, he took her as his step daughter. However she did not want to disclose this information. It was private family mater.


    ¡°It is because he is very kind.¡±


    Hunter doubted that. The man looked like a brute one would expect to eat his enemies after the battle, just like more barbaric batsmen did.


    She kept practising under hunter¡¯s instruction and the hour went by very quick. Aiu was told to get a bow and some arrows so she could continue practising more at home. The hunter even offered to sell some used ones for the cheap as he had some old stuff around. It would be useless if it came to real hunting, but still good for practise.


    Meanwhile her guardian went on a spending spree. He bought barrels, many clay pots and other containers. Some generic tools and other mundane materials were purchased. This had costed him roughly 18 silver (1 gold 4 silver).


    He purchased a herbalist book which had pictures and descriptions of various plants which costed him 3gold. Books were very expensive since they were all handwritten.


    He spent a whopping 10 gold on alchemical guide and recipe books. This was the stuff nobles and rich would buy for their children as an education tool, if they were to become alchemists.


    Also he bought alchemical tools and distillation equipment, which was mostly glassware so it was expensive, totalling another 3 gold coins.


    He spent 16 silver purchasing a book for young children, they would children from a noble house. It was meant to be used in teaching someone how to read and write. It was cheap because it was not new. Incidentally there were not many who could read or write even in noble families, they had scribes for that.


    Guardian was the lucky one who could. This was due to his hard work and effort integrating himself in civilized sociality. Civilized only in a subjective terms as the civil part of it was actually in a decline.


    He also bought some more work gear for the Aiu. The most expensive piece were leather boots. This added another 16 silver on his expenses. On top of that he bought some alchemical ingredients from the apothecary; the stuff he could not obtain or make himself like herbalist¡¯s oil and solvent. Spending another 3 gold.


    His expenses were over 23 gold coins now.


    He needed more stuff but his money were running out so he decided to wait and save up putting the stuff he has bought to good use first. He picked up most of the goods and arranged the rest to be collected tomorrow, he will send Aiu for that. He hauled what he had straight to home.


    By that time the girl was walking back home, she was using a narrow overgrown path bordering the forest.


    Out of nowhere a feral domesticated wolf jumped and attacked her. The forest was dangerous and she forgot that. its teeth sunk into her leg. She was fortunate to get attacked by domesticated one and not an actual forest wolf. It was a stray. It has probably escaped or has been abandoned at some point. Domesticated wolves who turned feral again lacked basic skills to survive in the forest so they prayed on an easy prey like other small domestic animals or children.


    Aiu¡¯s panic did not last long, she gripped a vial her guardian gave her a day ago. She shattered it into the wolf¡¯s head hopping it will work just the same as it did with on serpent.


    It did, it stunned the wolf, its eyes got teary and the nose was itchy and full of burning sensation. It¡¯s head felt like spinning. The wolf let her go and started to sneeze violently while stumbling around.


    She used the chance to take a small skinning knife she carried. She crawled towards the wolf while it was still stunned, clutching the knife in one of her arms. She plunged the knife into the wold again and again. The blood splashed all over and the wolf struggled to get away. It succeeded eventually and scampered away whilst whining loudly.


    The girl stood up and tried to catch the wolf to finish him. It did not run too far as it was injured. It fell down due to shock and loss of blood.


    The girl fell down too as the rush of adrenaline was over and she clutched her leg in pain. It was bleeding but it was not too bad. She looked down on her arms and dress they were dyed in wolf¡¯s blood.


    She limped continuing her journey, glad that she was a winner. Aiu was distracting herself from pain by fantasising how she would be able to boast about her kill.

 08 Curly thoughts – I should not do that!

    Aiu reached her home, coming back later than she was expected, she was very late. The young woman was met Guardian, he had a shocked look in his eyes.


    ¡°What just have happened to you? You are covered in blood!¡±


    ¡°The wolf attacked me, but I killed it.¡± she boasted even though she felt scared and was still shaking.


    He looked at her, re-evaluating Aiu¡¯s capabilities. He was unsure how such a small human could defeat a wolf one on one. She must have tricked it somehow or she have gotten lucky.


    ¡°This is impressive!¡± he praised her. ¡°Show me your wounds, there is a lot of blood on you.¡± He knew that it was not hers since there were so much of it. IF she bled that much she would be dead and her skin colour was still okay.


    He took her clothes off and inspected her. This was unnecessary as she was injured just on a leg, but he did not know that and she did not protest.


    ¡°So it is just this small bite then?¡± he asked dismissively as if this was nothing big.


    He smeared some healing salve and bandaged her leg. The pain has stopped and it felt better now, but she would still limp as her muscle would feel sore if she moved her leg.


    He brought some water from the stream and warmed it by the fire, which he lit before to boil the lye water. The same water she made in the morning.


    He washed the dried blood and dirt from her body with some soft cloth she did not know he had. It was purchased today costing a few copers. It was expensive because it was of a good quality. His touches were gentle, the water was warm making her to relax.


    ¡®He is surprisingly good at this. This feels very nice.¡¯ She did not want him to stop.


    ¡°You might as well clean me whole.¡± She suggested. She did work hard today and was sweaty from all the heavy lifting and her bow practise.


    He did not protest, thinking little about it. He rinsed the cloth out and put some fresh hot water.


    ¡°I will show you a trick.¡± Guardian crushed some herbs into the water, infusing it with nice fragrance.


    ¡®Why didn¡¯t he show me this before. This smells amazing¡¯


    He started to clean the rest of her delicate body. She felt like a noble lady, being serviced like that.


    Her armpits and shoulders were brushed softly. It tickled, but still felt good. Faint but nice fragrance filled her nose. He was very gentle and careful with her, one would hardly expect such dexterity from a muscular brute like him.


    He was rubbing her neck making small circles. Aiu was soothed and completely relaxed. She wanted more of this.


    His hands moved caressing her back and then her delicate chest. Steamy cloth and fragrant smell made her heart race, maybe this was caused by something else entirely. Her eyes were closed; she was giving herself in.


    Smooth cloth moved down her body inch by inch carrying pleasant sensation. She was feeling hot, her breathing became rugged.


    He pressed the cloth delicately at the inner side of her thighs, rubbing her skin. She was burning from inside. Then he brushed past her nether regions, he touched where no man have ever did before. She almost yelped in pleasure but the sensation was short lasted. His presence did not linger there. She wanted him to stay there, to do it again. It felt too good, but she was too embarrassed to ask him for that.


    His hands moved down her legs avoiding the bandaged wound.


    The cleansing ritual was done. She was clean in body, but not in mind. She felt somewhat frustrated in a way she has not been ever before.


    ¡°That is it? Done?¡± she wanted for him to say no and do this again.


    ¡°All done. How was it? Did you like the herbs?¡± he himself have never used infused water, but wanted to see if it really did work on humans. He wanted to confirm if the herbs had desired effect so they could apply them more in their manufactured goods.


    She touched her skin, it was clean and smooth. It smelled nice and it felt nice. However it was not the infused water she liked so much. It was the service he provided.


    ¡°This was amazing. I wish I could experience this again.¡± She said somewhat shyly trying to send a hint. It was hard to be honest about things like that. She still felt hot and her cheeks were coloured in red.


    ¡°It should be even better when mixed in soap. You can gather that herb and wash yourself with its extract, if you please to do so. This herb is plentiful at this time.¡± He got a hint that she preferred warm water and fragrant stuff like most women did. He had forget about that and has been taking her to the cold stream out of habit. This was because he was fine with the plain stuff.


    ¡°Could you wash me like this again?¡± Aiu was hoped that she will be able to feel his touch again..


    He looked at her confused. Why would she even ask him that?


    ¡°Well if you find hard to do that because of your injury, I don¡¯t mind to help. I promised to look after you, after all.¡± He meant to keep his promise. He needed her to trust him.


    ¡°And after I got better?¡± her leg was not that bad to begin with.


    ¡°You might be getting spoiled too much. I do not thing you were that lazy, and I am not your servant.¡± He thought about his current and past actions, maybe he was indeed too nice to her. She ought to know her proper place in this.


    ¡°Please do not get me wrong. I know that it is me who serve you. It is just¡­¡± She wanted to say it but couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°I will do everything you ask and work even harder if you do this little favour for me.¡± She decided that this should do it. She became to understand her guardian¡¯s personality more by each passing day. She used it to her own advantage.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ I guess this works for me.¡± If she liked that this much and he was winning her over; this was a good thing.  Even though he did not particularly understand why she kept insisting on him bathing her. ¡®Was it an orphan thing about missed fatherly love?¡¯ He was unsure but it did not matter, if she worked harder and was eager to obey him it was a win.


    She stretched and hugged his thick neck while he was still crouched. ¡°Thank you! You are the best!¡± she wanted to kiss him on a cheek to show her affection, but refrained herself fearing for his reaction. She did not think it was appropriate of her, not yet.


    ¡°What is this all of a sudden?¡± he asked surprised. He has never willingly let anyone approach him this close, not to talk about an embrace. ¡®This does not feel bad at all.¡¯ He quite liked it.


    ¡°It is just because¡­¡± a pause ¡°you are very kind.¡± It was clear she had something else in mind. She felt something for him.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°Kindness needs to be repaid in surplus. How about you finish making that soap.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes. I forgot about that.¡±


    The time of relaxation was over, and her leg felt better. This was the time for more work.


    She mixed lard with lye water in a pot to make soap, this was the last step before it would be left to harden. She had to mix it for quite long so they continued to talk.


    ¡°I can see you got a lot of stuff, what is all of this is for?¡±


    ¡°Alchemy. You will be brewing some stuff, my young apprentice.¡±


    ¡®This sounds challenging. Is it not something being my capabilities¡¯ learning such craft was not an easy task. One had to have good foundations of education too dabble in it. This was for the rich and skilled.


    ¡°Are you sure about that? I believe you are better suited for this job.¡±


    ¡°No no no.¡± he protested ¡°You will have to work hard and learn it I insist.¡±


    ¡°Will I get a reward?¡± she had one in mind.


    ¡°Appropriate results deserve appropriate reward.¡± He was aware that reward works better than punishment. The punishment would not get the results he wanted. He did not want just the loyalty, but devotion and trust as well.


    ¡°I am up for it then. But I will admit I feel incompetent.¡± She was well aware that she was someone who can be considered stupid. Where were so many things she did not know. However she was not an idiot, her mind was sharp.


    ¡°You are. That is why I got this.¡± He showed books he have bought.


    ¡°I cannot read.¡± She stated the obvious.


    ¡°That is why I got you this.¡± he repeated himself, taking one particular book and opening a page.


    The page had a symbol on it with a rough picture which resampled an apple. He proceeded to teach her all about the symbols scribbled in that children¡¯s book.


    Her hands were occupied with a wooden spoon, mixing the soap. And her mind was being invaded with KNOWLEDE. Learning was hard. She found it hard to remember all of the symbols.


    They were at it for nearly two hours. She was getting exhausted. One symbol at a time was okay, the pictures helped, but when she had to connect them to make a word it was too hard she just could not do that.


    He was persistent that she keeps trying. Guardian was pushing her to progress, but he would ease it just in time for her not to get too frustrated. He was a good teacher, or maybe the motivation was just right for her to be willing to press herself this much. It could be both she was unsure.


    The soap mixture was done, so were the reading exercises. She did not even notice that it was raining.


    ¡°It is raining, how will I dry my dress now?¡± her once bloody dress was still soaking in a pot of water.


    ¡°It looks like the rainy season has started. Herbs will have to wait, and I got all this equipment¡­¡± The rain was heavy and it will be raining for at least three days, stop for three and start again. Rinse and repeat for a month. It would be very miserable to work under such rain in the open. They will have to use every chance they get then it stops.


    ¡°And the wood is done burning.¡± She would not be able to dry her dress by fire today nor get warm near it. They were out of dry wood, burning the monster sapped their small supply.


    Yet again her guardian felt unprepared. He was fine without fire, he would be fine even during the storm in hellish weather. He was used living in open, bad weather was nothing to him. Little what he remembered of his childhood was in wilderness, bearing the brunt of nature; these were good memories.


    The girl however was different. Humans were frail and he knew that. That is why he should have thought about that more and secured some fire wood. He enjoyed this girl¡¯s company and looked towards her potential, he did not want her to get sick and perish. However there was little he could do now at this moment.


    She poured soap mixture into the mould leaving it to harden. It was late and time to sleep. The weather was getting cold and damp, the boar pelt did little to fix that.


    ¡°Do you mind if I huddle next to you, I feel cold?¡± This was good opportunity to ask for that.


    ¡°I don¡¯t, you need to stay warm.¡± He knew that she was week because of her encounter with the wolf. He preferred sleeping alone, but if this helped her he did not mind.


    She pushed her bed mat close to him and squeezed her back to his chest. She cowered the rest of her body with the pelt. This was not enough, she was cold.


    ¡°Put your hand over me. It will feel warmer.¡±


    He did, this made her smile brightly.  ¡°Goodnight¡± she said.


    ¡°Yes¡±


    She said goodnight and was ready to sleep, but she could not relax. Her heart was racing and she felt hot yet again. Her thoughts were getting curly. She thought about naughty things.


    He was good and kind to her, he was father figure worth of respect. However this kindness won her over and her feelings were different than those a daughter would have for her father. She knew by now that she did not want to play the role of step daughter in this new family of two. She was determined to reach beyond that. She decided to take the necessary risk to make it happen; clearly he won¡¯t be the one doing it.


    And she was fortunate that her guardian did not came as a deviant, if he was despicable like that and came onto her by force she would think differently of him. Saying all that, now she secretly desired for such thing, fully aware about how inappropriate it would be.


    Her hand drifter in between her thighs, but she stopped herself there. She feared to be found out as their bodies were touching. However, she was burning hot, her imagination was running wild. She felt moist, the moistest she has ever been in her short life. Her imagination ran wild. She wanted to feel him there again, she wanted to be caressed and loved, she wanted to be ravished by him. She did not think how that would work, even though she knew how big he was; at this moment she did not care.


    She squeezed her thigs preventing herself for doing something shameful and did her best to straighten her curly mind.


    ¡®If I would do it¡­ I would embarrass him, I would be branded as a pervert, he would look with scorn at me, he would become distant, I would be a burden¡­¡¯ she tried to run scenarios like that in her head. None of it worked, in her heart she believed that she would be forgiven no matter what she did. After all, he was the kindest person she knew.


    She laid still and uncomfortable, feeling slightly embarrassed how shameless she was. She felt a warm thick stream trickle down her inner thigh slowly. She hoped he did not notice.


    He did not felt it, but he smelt it. The girl was shooting pheromones into the air which of course did not work on him. He misunderstood the smell as the girl¡¯s body reaction to the cold weather or possible infection. Sick people would smell differently than usual. He had good sense of smell, probably rivalling the wolves. The smell was different of that the sick would have, it was neither good nor bad. However, it was strong and it was there, he taught little of it slowly drifting to sleep.


    The girl laid unmoving for a while. She felt warm and secure, her guardian¡¯s rhythmic breathing soothed her. Nothing was happening and her body took the hint, eventually she was able to relax and fall asleep.


    The movements of Guardian, however careful they were, woke her up in the morning.


    He looked at her and spoke. ¡°You can stay in bed today, if you feel that it is appropriate. It stopped raining I will be gathering in the forest.¡±


    As much as she wanted she knew couldn¡¯t. She was feeling much better, albeit hungry. Her leg was not too bad, she was able to walk.


    ¡°I want to assist you.¡±


    ¡°In that case put these on.¡± He took out leather boots and caped hood for her.


    She tried them on, and she was pleasantly surprised. He has judged her size accurately.


    She took a short morning break to sort herself out, she had to cleanse the remnants of her shamelessness. Once back she put her belt, backpack and other equipment and went to gather with him.


    They were at it for couple hours and then it started to rain.


    ¡°It will get rough soon, you go and rest. I don¡¯t want you getting sick.¡±


    She knew this was sensible decision and headed back. It started to pour badly. The cape and leather boots helped her to deal with that to some extent.


    Once back she took out the herbs and other goods she has gathered. She took out the nuts she got today and added to the ones she had gathered before. The stash was getting bigger. She felt like a squirrel doing that.


    Then she stored some old branches inside, to get dry. She would need it for fire later. She checked her soap; it was done. Aiu tested it washing her dirty hands. It did not smell too pleasant but did the job.


    She wanted to try to make some with those pleasant smelling leaves Guardian told about. She had gathered some of them this very morning. She spread a bit of molten tallow in a special frame and put herbs inside. This way herb fragrance wood seep into the tallow, infusing it.


    Her adoptive father would show how to use alchemical tools to extract oils from herbs and flowers on a later date. The idea of making perfume intrigued her. This was quite a luxury and she would be able to get her hands on it. She would actually make it herself.


    She took out two rocks, one flat with a dent and another round and heavy. She put the nuts on flat rock and smashed them with the other rock. She had a lot of nuts so it took a while.


    Aiu also had to put a lot of effort to start the fire, but once this was done she set her clothes to dry and put the nuts to roast.


    She collected the roasted nuts into the large clay bowl and ate them raw. They tasted good and were nutritious. She felt somewhat bored sitting all alone while it rained with nothing to do. So she had an idea of crushing the nuts so she did not have to chew them.


    She crushed them and the result surprised her. Instead of little chunks or dry powder, she expected to get, she had thick and oily paste. She tasted it and it was quite good, she could actually taste the oil. She did not know nuts were this oily.


    ¡°If it tasted sweet it would be a perfect treat.¡± It even rimed. She proceeded to crush the rest of them.


    Guardian came back, it was still raining.


    ¡°You are back?¡± she said surprised. She assumed he would be stuck in forest for the rest of the day.


    ¡°I need to go to the town to pick the rest of the stuff I have bought. Render these.¡± He put a damp bag of fresh herbs.


    At least she won¡¯t be bored.

 09 Fruits of hard labour – Getting that coin, baby

    For the upcoming week they carried their usual routine. Guardian were gathering from the early morning to the very night, Aiu would assist him while it was not raining. They have managed to store good amount for herbs, a few furs too. She had skinned two direwolves and four boars. Their fat was rendered to tallow, the rest went to waste. It was such a shame they could not sell it easily.


    She would visit hunter for training, even if it rained, and she was getting better at her practise. She purchased some arrows and used practise bow to further develop her skills at home.


    During this week a lot of stuff was brewed and made.


    She made 3 barrels of low grade stamina potion. It was basically an energy drink laced with caffeine extracted from plants.


    Two boxes of healing salves.


    A box of predator repellent.


    Four sacks of medical herbs which were currently still drying.


    Five jugs of special plant oils. They were quite concentrated, she used the distillery kit for that.


    A bottle of concentrated perfume.


    7 bottles of flower petal water. This was infused water which smelled nice.


    Four flasks of low grade poison.


    7 bottles of weak poison antidote.


    A sack of spice leaves and a sack of tea leaves.


    With her master¡¯s help she made a barrel of weak herbalists solvent. It was liquid which extracted the essence out of a plant.


    A sizable batch of fragrant soap was also made. It was high grade soap, not only it smelled nice it made the skin smooth as a bonus. She had 50 bars of it plus 10 bars of plain soap she made before.


    This was a lot of stuff and she did not even scratch the surface of what an alchemist could make, for that she needed to get better at it. She still needed to improve at reading and calculations.


    Also, there was a slight problem. The nearby supply of herbs was getting low and they needed to go further and further to gather them. So Guardian decided to give the forest some time so it can regrow back.


    All in all, the week was productive and pleasant, even though the weather was mostly miserable. She has even been rewarded with relaxing cleansing session again.


    Today¡¯s goal was to trade in the goods. This was the time she regretted not owing a wagon to haul all of that stuff. They lived in a forest and there was no road just a small path leading to the town. Wagon would not be able to pass anyway.


    They reached the apothecary. Aiu came inside first.


    ¡°Hello Dnea.¡±


    ¡°Hello, long time no see. I thought you have forgotten me.¡± she had wrongly suspected that the small girl found some other place to peddle her goods.


    ¡°Never! I have brought a lot of stuff.¡± She started to line up the small containers and bottles she had in her massive backpack.


    Her guardian squeezed in late to conversation; he was carrying a full barrel. He had to unbuckle a lot of stuff from his back before entering, otherwise he would not have fitted through.


    ¡°Ah big man himself, I have heard you bested a Corpse Serpent. Any other heroic achievements?¡± her words were slightly sour. She was upset not receiving any organs from its body, since he sold it somewhere else. Definitely not to her.


    ¡°No, not really.¡± He kept bringing more and more stuff in, barrels, boxes, sacks.


    ¡°Wow, that is quite a lot of stuff.¡± She rubbed her hands in glee. These two were making her rich, she would resell everything at a x1.5 price tag. Some of it would be priced even more then that. She would divide it into smaller shinier containers and rack up the price. Dnea would also refine and process the herbs to better grade products.


    ¡°Yeah. We work from sunrise to sunset.¡± Aiu said proudly puffing her chest.


    ¡°That is the spirit.¡±


    ¡°Hard work pays up¡± her guardian added.


    They have coined in their stuff in.


    <table cellspacing="20" cellpadding="0">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Item


    </td>


    <td>


    Grade


    </td>


    <td>


    Container


    </td>


    <td>


    Value


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    3 x stamina potion


    </td>


    <td>


    Low


    </td>


    <td>


    Barrel


    </td>


    <td>


    3g


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    2 x healing salves


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    <td>


    Box


    </td>


    <td>


    5s


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    1 x predator repellentStolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    <td>


    Box


    </td>


    <td>


    2s 6c


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    4 x medical herbs


    </td>


    <td>


    Low


    </td>


    <td>


    Sack


    </td>


    <td>


    4s


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    5 x plant oils


    </td>


    <td>


    Basic


    </td>


    <td>


    Jug


    </td>


    <td>


    5s


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    1 x Perfume


    </td>


    <td>


    Potent


    </td>


    <td>


    Bottle


    </td>


    <td>


    1g


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    7 x petal water


    </td>


    <td>


    Basic


    </td>


    <td>


    Bottle


    </td>


    <td>


    1g 9s


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    1 x poison


    </td>


    <td>


    Low


    </td>


    <td>


    Flask


    </td>


    <td>


    1s


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    7 x antidote


    </td>


    <td>


    Low


    </td>


    <td>


    Bottle


    </td>


    <td>


    3s 6c


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    1 x herbal tea


    </td>


    <td>


    Low


    </td>


    <td>


    Sack


    </td>


    <td>


    1s 6c


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    1 x herbal spices


    </td>


    <td>


    Basic


    </td>


    <td>


    Sack


    </td>


    <td>


    2s


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Total money they got for that was 91 silver and 3 copper (7g 7s 3c). Roughly eight times more a poor farmer would make in a month. Herbalism and even basic alchemy were quite lucrative, after all. It was the case only if one was working in the forest from sunrise to sunset, and did not need to worry about beasts and monsters, while other helped or processed the goods.


    Aiu imagined that once she gained more experience they would make even more money.


    ¡°This perfume, I have never smelled anything like that. What is in it?¡± Dnea said as she were inspecting the bottle of it.


    ¡°It is made from a special plant which it is¡­¡± Aiu started to explain.


    ¡°A trade secret¡± big beastman cut her off.


    It was made from a juice extracted from a plant imitating a plain weed; it was a bother to find it. The spoken weed was completely insignificant but the plant which masqueraded as it was very different. Its juices had special effect and worked well when mixed with fragrant oils. If Dnea did not know this, it means that they can capitalise on this knowledge.


    ¡°No way getting it out of you?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡± He replied plainly but sternly.


    Dnea knew that it is impossible to argue with him once he made his mind. She plotted to trick the girl into revealing it later.


    Guardian took the money and encouraged the girl to leave by a pat on her shoulder.


    ¡°Bye bye.¡± She said leaving while the door made a ding.


    ¡°Pleasure doing business. Come again.¡±


    ¡°why does that door make that sound? Magic?¡± she was still intrigued by that.


    ¡°There is no magic involved, it is just a bell in a special box. It is to inform that Dnea has a customer.¡±


    It would be bad if someone sneaked in, quickly grabbed small stuff and leave unnoticed. Someone small, sneaky and hard to notice, like an orphan.


    ¡°Ohhhhh. You know so much stuff yet no one taught you.¡±


    ¡°I look and observe. Then I think, if I can¡¯t find answer¡­ I ask just like you do.¡±


    A simple answer like this pleased the girl. She will not remain ignorant, she will learn and catch up. However, thinking was hard; she preferred to be given answers.


    She went to the city marked there she had a special task, a task she proposed herself. Her guardian went to tanner to get the rest of the money and a part of the serpent leather.


    She was meant to find a buyer for the meat they would get now and when. It would be a hard task as the delivery would be irregular. She knew that the best bet would be someone like a beast man as they were not picky about the meat they ate.


    She went along the food vendor stalls asking if they would accept deliveries. She asked some humans and elven kind too, it did not hurt to try. They shot her down straight away.


    She asked the beastmen too, but they trusted little of someone they did not know. They were too warry to take unknown raw meat from a stranger. She even got shouted to bugger off. The peddlers wanted to do business and not chit chat.


    Aiu did not look like homeless slum dweller anymore, but still she still looked quite poor. Being skinny did not help, but she would be able to pass as a farmer¡¯s daughter now.


    She kept asking around and some said that if it was preserved meat they would think about it.


    Aiu decided to find a way to preserve it, smoking probably would be the best. She wanted to sell as many resources they could.


    She got the information she needed by asking vendors how fresh their meat was and how did they preserve it. She was pretending to be a servant working in a kitchen for a rich family. This did the trick. They would go into detail about how they did it. Praising their product as the best, being proud of their techniques.


    She got a hint that she would need to use some special wood. Different wood infused the meat with different flavour. She could also spice and salt the meat before drying it. Salt was expensive so she ruled out that option.


    Maybe then they had more money she would consider it. Smoking it was then. However, she knew little about the actual smoking technique.


    While she was thinking where she could get that information she noticed Guardian walking in a market. Good thing he was very tall and easy to notice. She ran towards him.


    ¡°Hey, you done?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Got the money for wolf and boar hides as well.¡± He received remaining 6 gold for serpent leather as he did not keep much of it, and over a silver for hides.


    ¡°Do you have enough money to buy what you wanted?¡±


    She knew he was saving for something, but he did not tell her for what. Whatever it was it must be very expensive.


    ¡°I do.¡± He said pleased. ¡°By the way, did you have any luck in finding a buyer?¡±


    ¡°No, not really, as you said this proved to be very hard. But if I smoked the meat people would be more willing to purchase it.¡±


    ¡°It is because you did not think it through. If you flaunted my name as Corpse Serpent killer and that you were my apprentice, people would have reacted differently.¡±


    ¡°I did not think about that.¡± It was too late now, vendors would probably remember her and not believe her story.


    ¡°How much money do we have again?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Close to twenty two gold.¡±


    ¡°Do you plan to spend it all?¡± she wanted to ask for some of it, she worked hard for it too and she wanted some stuff.


    However would she get looked down for being ungrateful? She thought of him as a kind person but she was unsure if he was that kind.


    ¡°Most of it yes.¡±


    ¡°Could I get some of it?¡± She looked at him trying to judge his reaction. ¡°I don¡¯t need much just a bit.¡±


    He remained silent and kept thinking. His look and facial expression was neutral and the girl did not know what to think of that.


    ¡®I will get shouted for being spoiled and ungrateful.¡® she thought.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± She said meekly she could not bear his vacant look and silence.


    ¡°¡­¡± he pondered about it some more. ¡°I prefer to take care of money. You are young and unexperienced and you don¡¯t know the real value of it, and how to use it best. If you want something just ask. I will consider it and then maybe buy it.¡±


    He did not like that the girl wanted money. He invested heavily in her, and she wanted more. He needed to set some sort of boundaries so that she does not get spoiled.


    ¡°Then you get older I might reconsider it. For now you work under me. I provide you with food and shelter, not to talk about other thinks. Don¡¯t you have it better than others already?¡±


    ¡°I do¡­¡± she knew she messed up, it was because of greed. She felt very bad about herself.


    ¡°I won¡¯t ask for money ever again.¡± She wanted to fix that.


    He patted her head.


    ¡°So what do you want, I will buy it if you keep working hard.¡± Somehow he was spoiling her again. No this was necessary motivation for her to keep giving her all.


    She just shrugged. She wanted some money just because, she did not have any particular item in mind.


    ¡°Salt? Yes salt would be good. It would make food taste so much better. I don¡¯t need much just a little.¡±


    ¡±I will get you some salt then.¡±


    ¡°Mhm. The meat you bring and vegetables I gather will taste so much better.¡± She was salivating.


    ¡°Excuse me, Master?¡± an unknown young man addressed her guardian all of a sudden.


    She has never seen anyone approach him so casually. Strangers kept their distance from him. ¡®does this man know him?¡¯ she wondered what kind of relationship the two have.

 10 The stranger – Get two pay for one

    Guardian turned his head toward the stranger. He did not know that man.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Guardian asked unsure what the stranger wanted.


    ¡°Would you consider taking in another servant?¡±


    The young man had been listening to Guardian¡¯s and Aiu¡¯s conversation. He did not hear everything, just some words here and there as; he was too afraid to get too close at first. However, the stuff he heard about helped him to make up his mind. He approached monstrous beatsman for a number of selfish reasons.


    Firstly, he heard that he was the one who killed Corpse Serpent, that was quite a feat so he concluded that Guardian was skilled hunter or warrior. Secondly, he heard that Guardian was quite loaded with coin; meaning he knew how to do good business. Thirdly, this servant girl had an audacity to ask for money and even after she did so, she was not punished. This meant that Guardian was lenient with his servants. He also must be treating them quite good, he even said he will buy something for the girl; concluded the stranger.


    Lastly, he was in dire need of employment. He and his sister were barely scraping by. He has been struggling to find permanent job. His sister could get it easier, but she would be expected to perform some ¡®special¡¯ favours; she was quite beautiful. He could not allow that, nor his sister wished to do such things.


    As it was now, they were impoverished, homeless and hungry. All they had was each other. Moreover, some gang was sending inappropriate hints and harassing his sister to do some ¡®favours¡¯ for them. He knew that this harassment would only grow, and something bad was bound to happen.


    ¡°I am in no need of servants, go away elf.¡± Guardian rebuked stranger¡¯s offer.


    ¡°I am not picky in what I will need to do, I can even hunt with a bow.¡± He was natural with it.


    He waved the young elf away ignoring what he has to say.


    ¡°I won¡¯t cost you much either. Nothing but 2 silvers a week Master. I am sure such high profile person like you has a lot of coin. 2 silvers will barely lighten your coin pouch.¡± The elf continued his pitch of sales.


    ¡°I could use some help with my bow.¡± The girl spoke. She could use another teacher.


    ¡°I can do all sorts of things like cleaning and cooking, lifting and pushing. Whatever you need. I might be skinny and short but I am not afraid of hard work.¡± He managed to make the last line to rime. He felt proud of that.


    ¡°Do you know how to preserve meat?¡± Aiu asked him.


    ¡°Where are you getting at Aiu?¡± Guardian wanted to know.


    ¡®Is she really just a servant?¡¯ elf thought for a moment. She might be someone of importance to him. ¡®Should I try to appeal to her instead?¡¯


    ¡°I am good with a bow, quite good teacher as well. And as it turns out am able to preserve venison in smoke. Versatile and cheap.¡±


    ¡°I was thinking that he could be quite useful. We could definitely use some help.¡±


    ¡®You are not getting this do you girl. I don¡¯t want a stranger snooping around steeling our sectrets. Where the herbs grew and how to make them into hefty profit.¡¯ Her guardian thought in silence.


    ¡°I am the best helper around here. You won¡¯t find anyone this skilled and this cheap.¡± Elf desperately was trying to sell himself.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you try him for a week or two. He could sort out our meat problem and do other chores like mixing soap, crushing herbs and getting fire wood.¡± Aiu listed some more boring chores she had to perform daily.


    ¡°When will you learn Aiu?¡± her guardian asked.


    ¡°Do you live in forest? I am quite good at living in forest, I know all about it. I am an elf, it would be perfect for you. Having an elf that is.¡±


    ¡°I do, how you guessed?¡± the girl was genuinely surprised.


    ¡®It is because your Master is a hunter, not to mention the talk about herbs and gathering fire wood.¡¯ The stranger reflected on the girl¡¯s ignorance. He did not want to say the real reason how,


    ¡°Young girl you smell very nice. You smell like the most beautiful forest flower would. That is how I guessed.¡± This was an empty flattery, but partially true. The girl did smell nice.


    ¡°Not a girl! I am a woman, can¡¯t you see.¡±


    Her guardian let an amused chuckle. This was getting interesting. The elves were fun species too. Guardian decided to see there this will go.


    ¡®No I can¡¯t see that. You are flatter than a lizardwoman.¡¯ He had to correct his previous sentence regardless of that.


    ¡°I misspoke, I misspoke. Of course I see. How would I not. The charm of a beautiful woman is definitely there.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, what do you say? Can I pick him instead of getting some salt you promised?¡± She looked at her guardian. This was more of a plea than a question. The price for a small pouch of salt was actually the same; it was priced at 2 silvers.


    ¡®So long as the elf won¡¯t get to see an actual alchemy stuff and where they got the herbs should be fine.¡¯ Guardina concluded.


    ¡°Fine, I guess. Two silver a week is not a lot in grand scale of things. ¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Bough the elf and young woman exclaimed in unison.


    ¡°I assume you will feed and clothe yourself. Since you are getting paid, your needs are your own.¡±


    ¡°But of course Master. I can even sleep in a shed. As long as there is roof over my head It will be fine.¡±


    The place he and his sister currently slept couldn¡¯t even be called a shed. It was that bad. They lived in outskirts of city slums.


    ¡°Perfect.¡±


    ¡°When should I start, Master?¡±


    ¡°Can he start like today?¡± Aiu was eager.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Now it is.¡±


    ¡°I need to get my stuff¡­ bow and the like. Tell me where you live and I will be there promptly.¡±


    He also needed to tell the good news to his sister.


    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to find our place even if I told you, so let me accompany you.¡±


    ¡°Is Master going with me to my place?¡± this was a problem. He might take back his offer if he found that he live in slums. No respectable man would go there.


    ¡°That is the plan.¡±


    ¡®It would be better if he waited here. But I can¡¯t ask him something rude like that¡¯.


    ¡°Master, I live a challenging live in a dangerous are. I am sure you would not want to go to such unrefined place. It smells bad.¡± He added the last part for good measure.


    ¡°I am not bothered about it. Slums it is, no?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Elf said quietly almost under his breath. He was not keen in taking his new employer there.


    ¡°What is this wait about? Show the way, do not waste our time.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t mind going there?¡±


    ¡°Why would I care where you lived?¡± he did not understand the elf.


    ¡®A lot people do. Everything is about status in this world. Some would not even employ an elf¡¯.


    Elves where shorter and physically weaker than humans hence unpopular as servants. However they were naturally good at other things, like arts and fine crafts. Now however, the demand for such things was nearly non-existent. Some elves where good with animals or bows. Those found employment easier, provided that they had sufficient skills. He did not. He was thrown into the world at young age, so he had no one to sponsor or support him.


    ¡°My guardian is kind, that is why he does not mind.¡± Aiu understood what the elf was talking about. She was discriminated against a lot as well.


    They approached the slums and were walking around the edge of it. Normally one would get mugged there if he had anything valuable on. However her guardian did not appear as an easy target, his size was a good deterrent.


    Some people even ran away to their hovels and shacks. They were perceiving danger; brutish monster was invading their streets and this could only spell trouble.


    The trio approached what was ruined stone wall. It had some branches laid over its side and leaves for roof. This was the place elf siblings lived in.


    By the looks, they had some guests. Three humans and two beastmen where standing near it. One of the humans was groping a frail elf woman from behind while other laughed. She struggled and protested, this was clearly not consensual.


    ¡°Come on, I know you want it. Five of us or a copper it is a good deal, no?


    ¡°Just a quick suck, nothing else.¡±


    ¡°Let me go! I told you I don¡¯t do such things.¡± She shouted while trying to pry man¡¯s arms from her chest.


    ¡°No? I heard different.¡±


    ¡°Just what are you doing!? Let my sister go?¡± the elf ran do defend her.


    ¡°Piss off you wanker!¡±


    ¡°She is an adult she can decide for herself. I know she wants it.¡±


    The man grabbed her limps and moved them as if she was speaking.


    ¡°I want to suck dry these fine men, I am a slut!¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± the elf shouted.


    ¡°Or else?¡±


    ¡°What can you do against five?¡± one of the other humans has spoke.


    ¡°Five? There is no need for you guys! Go and shag that elf twat. I can take down five of him no prob!¡± one of the beastman boasted full of himself.


    The elf ran towards the beastman tryng to punch him in the face. Elf was kicked in his chest instead. He fell to the ground and got winded.


    ¡°Hahaha, what a wimp.¡± The beatsman laughed.


    The others did not join in.


    ¡°Hahaha, a whim I said!¡± he repeated himself louder, normally they would join in. Maybe they did not hear him clear enough. The beatsman turned his head and looked at his friends. They were tense and looking to the side behind him.


    Then turned his head and saw a tall muscled figure which was judging them all. He could feel danger in his bones. His fur stood up and his tail got stiff.


    ¡°What do you want big man?¡± another beastman said.


    ¡°You boys having fun?¡± Guardian asked.


    ¡°What does it matter to you, haven¡¯t seen you around here.¡±


    ¡°I might want to join in.¡±


    ¡°Dude we found her first.¡± One of the human¡¯s protested.


    ¡°We want no trouble with you just leave.¡± Another human said.


    ¡°What that beastman can do against five of us?¡± the one who was restraining the elf woman spoke.


    The beastman who kicked the elf did not like there this was going. His hair was standing straight and his tail felt petrified. He might take down five wimpy elves, but he doubted if he and his friends would have a winning chance against that thing. He did not like how that monster was staring at them. A stare of predator, he could tell. He began to back away slowly.


    ¡°Jack, no. B-word.¡± a beastman standing beside him whispered, his fur was getting puffed too.


    ¡°Beastman?! You think I am a lowly BEASTman? Do I look related to these two?¡±


    Humans willy nilly called more fury or predatory looking races beastmen, anone who was not a human or elf was reffered as such. Some races were fine, but others took quite an offence. For example lizardmen preffered to be called lizardmen and not beastmen, to separate them apart. There were other such cases.


    The beastman who was backing away just turned and ran with a tail between his legs..


    ¡°N-No.¡± He let the elf go and she ran to her brother.


    ¡°Chill, big man. We want no trouble.¡± One of the leader¡¯s human friend tried to deescalate the situation.


    They did not even notice that they were a person down.


    ¡°Too late!¡± He leaped forward closing the distance in seconds. He turned and swung his tail.


    Knocking the two of the men down, the remaining beastman was nibble enough to evade.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± The human who was standing out of the reach exclaimed.


    Guardian approached and picked their leader by his leg. The other two were now just bystanders. He turned around and swung the man throwing him away.


    ¡°Fly! You are a BIRDman now. I bet no one can tell the clear difference. He is flying so he is a birdman.¡± The man soared the sky. Then right above a building, crashing somewhere and sending a distant shriek of pain.


    He was still offended. Having a tail, claws and sharp teeth did not make him a beatsman. He did not like to be called like that. Actually he did not know how others should call his kind, but definitely not beatsman.


    ¡°What?.. You want to become birdmen too?¡± he scowled at remaining three.


    They turned and ran.


    This has gathered a small crowd of observes. Apparently there were people around but no one cared enough to prevent a rape in broad daylight.


    Elf woman emerged from that same crowd who was now dispersing. They did not want to become birdmen either.


    ¡°Who is he to you?¡± Guardian asked the elf.


    ¡°Thank you. Thank you, sir!¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°Ah! Sorry, he is my brother.¡±


    ¡°Ohh. Interesting.¡±


    ¡°Is it weird to have a brother?¡±


    ¡°I assumed you are his lover.¡±


    The elf woman¡¯s face went beetroot red. She remained silent.


    ¡°He did not mention any dependants when he was promoting himself to me.¡±


    ¡®How did he assume I am a depending on him? But true, he was the one who brought the coin.¡¯ She did not see much work in her life, not after it became like this.


    ¡°Master, about this¡­¡± he spoke, his voice pained.


    He planned to mention his sister after a week of servitude. He would check the environment to see if It was save for her. Then he would mention that he was taking care of her. Then beg for permission for her to live under the Master¡¯s roof. He was prepared to even cut his wage in half for that.


    ¡°She is my sister. Would it be possible for her to come along?¡± he knew they can stay here no more. The gang would retaliate.


    ¡°It is only you I am hiring. She is your dependent not mine.¡±


    ¡®Oh no, this bad. I am out of luck.¡¯ The elf was falling into despair.


    ¡°So she won¡¯t get any money. But if she works she can stay.¡± Guardian continued.


    ¡°Thank you. Thank you.¡± The elf woman thanked again and again.


    ¡°Thank you ,Master.¡± The elf thanked too, nudging his sister.


    ¡°Master, thank you.¡± She corrected herself.


    ¡®The elves sure have fallen down quite far. Begging on their knees like this.¡¯ He made a mental observation to himself. They were not a proud race anymore.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Aiu asked the elf. In her hand was a healing slave.


    ¡°Nothing but a scratch.¡± He lifted his shirt to have a look. Then he gasped in shock. There was a massive bruise on his chest, no wonder it was so sore.


    Aiu smeared some salve on his chest. His pain subsided.


    ¡°Thank you ¡­ how should I address you?¡±


    ¡°My name is Aiu what is your name?¡±


    ¡°I pass my gratitude upon you Aiu. My name is Ellonwar Imsaf Ubun-Alonveri.¡±


    ¡°And her name?¡± she pointed at an elf woman.


    ¡°I am Anabique Emar Ubun-Alonveri. Please to meet you Aiu. Are you a herbalist?¡±


    ¡°Anabe¡­ anabik. A-N-A¡­¡± she was trying to get it right but she already forgot her name.


    ¡°Ana is fine. You can call my brother Ell. He wouldn¡¯t mind.


    ¡°To answer your question Ana, yes I am. I made it myself. How could you tell I am an herbalist? Did Ell whisper this to you?¡±


    ¡®Not this again. Aiu you are wearing an herbalist¡¯s dress and have a sickle on you. When will she learn?¡¯


    ¡°I am an elf that is how. I know a bit about herbs too, but not too much. Just some basic stuff, which weeds to eat if you are feeling sick and stuff like that.¡±


    ¡°Ohhh, This is good. You will be able to help then.¡± She nodded in approval.


    ¡°You done?¡± her guardian spoke.


    ¡°Sorry Master, let me grab what we have and we will be able to go¡±

 11 Elves - The new addition

    The pair of elves gathered their belongings. All they had were two crude bows and a quiver, a set of knives, some pots and ragged clothes. The rest was just trash and not worth taking.


    ¡°You elf, Ell was it? You can come with me now. I will show where we live. And Aiu take this.¡± he gave 2 copper coins to her. ¡°Rent a place in the market to peddle some of the goods. Like we agreed last time.¡±


    ¡°Can I go with Aiu?¡± Ana wanted to get to know her better. Also, to learn as much about this girl¡¯s master as possible. The way he treated this girl, what to expect from him; stuff like that.


    ¡°I have no problems with that.¡± She looked at her guardian. He approved this with a nod.


    The men escorted women out of slums and then went towards the forest. The pair of women began to chat while their covered the rest of the distance.


    ¡°Is your Master a craftsman? A traveling merchant perhaps?¡± Ana asked this because the girl was sent to peddle goods.


    ¡°No, not really.¡±


    ¡°Where is he from? I have never seen someone like him before. He must be from some distant land.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, when I had asked he said he came from wilderness.¡±


    ¡®That is quite ambiguous.¡¯


    ¡°So what are you selling?¡±


    ¡°Oh it is soap.¡±


    Aiu wanted to sell it, this was her idea. It turned out that she could not compete with the man who already sold soap. His soap was plain but cheap. However, she made her slightly different, it was infused with herbs. Not only it cleaned good, it smelled nice too. She hopped to sway wealthier women with this. The price of course would be bigger than that of a plain soap.


    ¡°Soap? San I see?¡±


    Aiu took a small bar of soap speckled with green dots. Ana rubbed it in her hands and smelled it.


    ¡°It smells nice!¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°Can I try it?¡± she was eager to wash the scent of that human who assaulted her.


    ¡°Sure, do you know a good place?¡±


    ¡°Yes there is a stream nearby. A place there women do laundry, it is safe.¡±


    It was a place she used to go when she was younger. She used to help the maids to wash clothes. Eventually she got replaced by an energetic beastman girl. It was so much easier for beast races to find jobs.


    The two went to the stream to wash their bodies.


    Aiu observed Ana, interested in how she looked under her tattered peasant¡¯s tunic.


    Ana was taller than Aiu, her height was at about 157 centimetres (5¡¯ 1¡±). She had short blonde hair and big blue eyes. Her face was thin and very pretty, she had thin lips and small delicate nose. Like all elves she had narrow ears, their upper side was elongated and ended in a pointy tip. Her skin was very pale, almost white but it had no blemishes and looked very smooth. However she had some scars there and there, but she still was very beautiful. Like Aiu she was very skinny, but she still possessed feminine body. She had small but perfectly round breasts and firm round but. Her body had some lean muscle which helped to accentuate her delicate figure. She was not just skinny, she was fit. Ana would look even better if she was not malnourished.


    Aiu was slightly jealous of her body.


    ¡°This is quite amazing. It smells so good.¡±


    ¡°Do you think it will sell well?¡±


    ¡°No doubt about it.¡±


    Women finished bathing and headed towards the market. There Aiu paid 2 copper for the peddling place. She put a small rug down; to put the soaps and salves on. She sat cross-legged next to it, elf joined her side.


    ¡°Perfect soap for perfect lady. It cleanses your skin and smells good. It is amazing come and see for yourself.¡± Aiu would shout out stuff like this now and then.


    ¡°I use it every day and look how smooth and nice my skin is.¡± The elf chipped in.


    Eventually this have gotten people¡¯s attention. Aiu even gave some free samples if the person was too hesitant to buy. This was a sales trick Guardian told her about. People would come back if they have liked the product.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Most of the soap was sold or given away as a sample, only two bars out of twelve were left. She made 12coppers that day.


    ¡°Ahh, we are done for today. Lets go home.¡±


    They were walking home and chit chatting. Ana have already gathered good amount of information about Aiu, not so much about her guardian.


    ¡°So how long have you been with your guardian?¡±


    ¡°Just over a week.¡±


    ¡°Does he treat you kindly?¡±


    ¡°Yes he is very kind.¡±


    ¡°Did he ever punish you in some way or another?¡±


    ¡°Never! I have yet to be even shouted at.¡± She reflected that he would raise his tone, but never shout at her. Not like the people who were ¡®looking after¡¯ her in the orphanage.


    ¡®This sounds good.¡¯ Ana liked what Aiu was telling.


    ¡°What does he like and dislike?¡±


    ¡°He likes to work hard and make money.¡±


    ¡®It means he is shrewd with money. This is a good thing as he should be quite wealthy then.¡¯


    ¡°And dislike?¡±


    ¡°I am not sure. He is neutral about so many things.¡±


    ¡°What does he like to eat?¡±


    ¡°He likes meat and nuts.¡±


    ¡°Mhm mhm. Is there some way to win him over?¡±


    ¡°Why would you ask that?¡± Aiu¡¯s attitude changed all of the sudden.


    ¡°He seems like a good master. I want to please him so he keeps us employed.¡±


    ¡°You say ¡®please¡¯¡­ he is not like that!¡± Aiu thought that elf was referring to some type of intimate services, she was a beauty after all.


    ¡°Sorry. Sorry. You misunderstood. I want to be on his good side. That was what I meant.¡±


    ¡°Juts work hard and don¡¯t bother him. That should be enough.¡± Aiu was afraid Ana would go after her Guardian.


    ¡°Okay. Okay.¡±


    The mood turned sour for a moment and they did not talk much for the rest of the way.


    Back at home Aiu ran to meet her guardian and the elves where left outside alone, for now.


    Ell have been gathering fire wood. He was surprised to find that such a great Master lived in such a decrepit place. He imagined something better for such a rich man. He did not want to be judgemental, Guardian was a strange traveller and maybe he followed different way of life and customs than humans did. Or maybe the traveller did not plan to stay for long, he hoped it was not the case.


    Saying that, he was happy regardless. It was good to leave the slums and be in employment. He could even save up eventually. He hoped that they could scavenge for food in woods. If not, they could help to hunt. Both of them were able to use a bow. His sister was actually better than him.


    ¡°Hey sis. What do you think?¡± Ell was referring to their new place.


    ¡°Better than living in slums. You did well brother. What I have found from the girl pleased me. Guardian seems like a good master.¡±


    ¡°I know right! He saved you and took us in. He does not look like a condescending type who looks down on others.¡±


    ¡°So what is our role here?¡±


    ¡°Gathering firewood, fetching water, stirring pots, making runs to the city, cooking and the like. Speaking about cooking we are meant to cook human food for this girl. It needs to be done soon.¡± He stressed the word human.


    ¡°Human food. Isn¡¯t it just normal food?¡±


    ¡°His words not mine.¡±


    They finished gathering fire wood, and got some water from the sprig nearby. Both Aiu and her guardian were inside, busy with their chores.


    ¡°What are you cooking?¡± Aiu asked.


    ¡°You have plenty of boar meat. I am using your spices and vegetables to make a nice stew.¡± Ell replied.


    Ana was helping to cut everything.


    Once this was done Aiu drew a bowl of it and tasted. It was good way better than her plain cooking.


    ¡°So tasty.¡±


    ¡°I am glad you like it. Master is not eating?¡±


    ¡°Oh no, he only eats every few days.¡± Aiu enlightened the elves.


    ¡°He must eat a lot in one go.¡± Ana said observantly.


    ¡°I have made too much. I thought the master would be eating. Sorry about that.¡±


    ¡°No worries. You can join in.¡±


    ¡°Really, I thought we won¡¯t be provided with meals.¡± Ell reiterated what he has been told before getting this job.


    ¡°I spoke with him and there was a change of plans. He is very kind you know.¡±


    ¡°You will get your meal if you helped to gather the food. However, it is not guaranteed.¡± Guardian added.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± both of elves exclaimed filling in their bowls with steaming stew.


    ¡°Also, you are not permitted to claim any beast you have killed in this forest. Not, when you are under my service.¡±


    The forest was not his and such claims had no legal ground, but elves did not protest. Ell knew he was a hunter and did not want someone else infringing on his territory.


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°I bet you are ecstatic to eat an actual meat, and a boar not some lowly critters.¡± Aiu knew that boar meat they were eating now, was considered a luxury.


    ¡°Aiu, they are elves.¡±


    ¡°So what?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Does Master know about our culture?¡± Ell asked surprised.


    It was unusual to be versed in intricate customs and details of other species. Also, there were a lot of intelligent species around and people usually did not bother to learn something of little use.


    ¡°Elves prefer vegetables and fruits over the meat. Meat is disliked in their kind.¡±


    ¡°Ohh so you don¡¯t really enjoy the stew?¡± Aiu inquired.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get us wrong. Food is food, and we can eat everything you can. It is just when there is a choice we prefer to avoid meat.¡± Ell took another sip of the stew, he was starving.


    ¡°We will eat what it is served here.¡± Ana added. They can¡¯t turn down free food.


    ¡°That is good. In that case try this.¡± Aiu handed a container of thick brown paste to the two.


    The pair put their fingers in and scooped some of it.


    ¡°This is very good¡± ¡°I have never tasted something like this, it tastes nutty but different.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, this is my new secret recipe.¡± Aiu boasted in glee.


    ¡°What is this, Aiu? You have never told me abut this.¡± Guardian was intrigued and took a good scoop of it.


    ¡°This tastes amazing. Why were you keeping this away from me?¡± he added after tasting peanut butter.


    ¡°Sorry I forgot to mention this to you. I will make as much as you like next time.¡±


    This would be difficult, as he consumed huge amounts of food in one go.


    ¡°I am looking forward to it.¡±


    They finished eating and were getting ready for sleep.


    Elves were surprised that all of them will be living in the same space. The hut was small to begin with, and was getting cramped. The crates, barrels, sacks, tools and the like made it even worse.


    Aiu was sleeping on her mat by the fire. She got kicked out from sleeping in his master¡¯s bed, probably because they had elves now and this was not appropriate. Her injury has healed nicely and it was not cold anymore; she had no fake excuses anymore.


    The pair of elves slept on the floor not too far from her. They were huddled together to keep warm.


    ¡®The elves look cute doing that. I wish I was sleeping like that with Guardian.¡¯ She was slightly envious of the two.

 11 Elves - The new addition 2

    It started raining again; the rainy season was far from over. The elves and Aiu finished eating the stew from yesterday. Also they have cleaned up the hut a bit, making it look more orderly. It was a single room hut after all. Besides cleaning, there was little else to do then it rained this heavy.


    ¡°I am not going to pay you for just sitting around you. Even if it rains you have to work.¡± The Guardian was tired of them doing next to nothing.


    ¡°We will do what we can Master, but rain is too heavy for the most jobs.¡±


    ¡°It will be miserable for you but you will need to come and help me to hunt.¡±


    ¡°And then butchering and smoking the meat.¡± Aiu added.


    ¡°Master, will you be taking charge of the hunt.¡± Ell was keen to learn some tricks from a great hunter like him.


    ¡°Only occasionally. Later, you will be expected to hunt on your own, without my assistance.¡±


    Ell was not equipped for that, if he could be a hunter he would have. He lived in slums for a reason.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the forest too dangerous, even if there will be two of us?¡± He was referring to going hunting with his sister.


    ¡°Do not worry about the wolves and other predators, you will be given repellents. Aiu will assist you too.¡±


    ¡°Wont that be too expensive?  For al three of us?¡± Anabique asked.


    ¡°Normaly it would, but since we make it ourselves it will be fine. Get your stuff and lets go. Aiu you too.¡±


    He took the three into the depths of forest. Actually, the time like this was quite suitable for hunting. The sound of rain muffled their steps and water washed their smell, it was perfect for an ambush. Animals themselves were looking for shelter or already huddled in one, may be it under the big tree or a small cave.


    Guardian was acting as a guide only, he did not plan to actively participate. He wanted to test elves skills. Eventually, they stumbled upon a pack of boars. He instructed his group of newbies to start the hunt.


    The trio aimed their bows and shot their arrows at the same target. It was a male boar. As expected elves were naturally good with bows. Some of their arrows missed but a few have hit, just before the boar ran too far and hid behind the trees. Most of Aiu arrows missed, she was still pretty much a beginner with this.


    The boar was bleeding and slowed down, his strength was running out, but he still was alive.


    The hunting party reclaimed their missed arrows quickly. Next they had to track their quarry. The ground was muddy and soft, boar left imprints of its hooves In it. Tracking it down was easier than they expected.


    ¡°Did you two have hunted before? You are quite good.¡± He praised the elves.


    ¡°No, not like this. You must know we have sharp sight and good dexterity. This helps with bows.¡±


    ¡°We picked the bow only when the situation got rough. Mostly to kill city critters and birds for food.¡±


    ¡°I used to eat rats too.¡± Aiu added reflecting on her past.


    They were getting close, they could see fresh drops off blood which were being washed off by the rain.


    ¡°Here it is.¡± Ana pointed her finger and Ell shot an arrow. It hit finding its mark.


    They started to chase the boar again, shooting at it. Running and firing a bow was not easy; a lot of arrows missed. Only few have hit. But every time they hit their prey got closer to death. The boar squealed once more and dropped down exhausted.


    ¡°We got it!¡± Ell exclaimed. This was their first proper kill.


    ¡°Aiu finish it and use skin.¡±


    She slit the boar¡¯s throat with her skinning knife. She waited for the boar to bleed out and die. Then she used her skill on it. It worked well. Its hide turned into glowing sparks and travelled to her hands leaving naked corpse behind. She was holding boars hide in her hands.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Magic!¡± gasped Ell.


    ¡°You possess hunting skills? So you are not just a herbalist.¡± Ana was surprised to find this.


    ¡°I am not a hunter. I am more of a ...¡± Aiu was looking for the right word.


    ¡°Harvester and a support.¡± Guardian helped.


    ¡°Yes harvester. I can harvest herbs and animals. Look.¡± She removed boars eye manually by hand then used harvest on it. Its head glowed and the other eye appeared in her hand.


    ¡°Eww messy.¡± Ana was not too pleased. She did not enjoy killing animals, she only did it out of necessity.


    ¡°That is cool.¡± Ell was reacting slightly different. No he did not enjoy killing animals, he was neutral about it. He wanted to be a hunter so he was fascinated by the skill.


    ¡°Stop playing around and take the meat before it got too dirty.¡±


    He boar was gutted. Elves tied it to a stick and carried it, each holding one end of it. It was quite big and heavy. Its flesh was still leaking fresh blood.


    It was very poor idea to skin the boar before they got home. Not only it was messy, it would attract the predators as well. However, it did not matter this time.


    ¡°How did you lean to preserve meat, Ell?¡± Aiu asked the elf.


    ¡°It might be hard to believe but our uncle who took care of us was a butcher. He would preserve the meats hunters brought to him. Then rich folk would come and buy it. The life was better for us two back in that time.¡±


    ¡°Our uncle suddenly passed away and from there it just kept getting worse.¡± Anabique added knowing that Aiu would ask what happened.


    ¡°Are you confident that you can build a smoke house?¡±


    ¡°Possitively, provided you have the coin, Master.¡±


    ¡°I do. What do we need?¡±


    ¡°Some boards, nails, brick and mortar.¡±


    ¡°You will come with me we. We will buy the stuff in the city.¡±


    They stopped by the hut.


    ¡°Wont Ell get sick in this rain?¡± Aiu asked worried.


    ¡°We don¡¯t look like it, but we elves are quite resistant to elements of nature.¡±


    ¡°So just like Guardian.¡±


    ¡°Possibly.¡± Ell nodded. It was clear that his master was resistant as he already was wearing next to no clothing and was fine with it.


    Aiu quickly cut as much fat as she could from the boar carcass and waved goodbye to the men. After the men left the girls took of the clothes and left them to dry by the fire. The fat was cut and left to melt to lard.


    Guardian carried the meat by himself it was meant as a bribe to the shopkeeper he knew. Ell walked by his side all miserable, drenched in water.


    It was not just building materials Guardian was after. After giving the meat to the shopkeeper he bought an alchemists licence which was necessary to sell specialised concoctions and potions. It was a small plate of copper with a stamp and some writing on it, it had to be custom made. They took a mark of his fingerprint on some hot vax. This will be etched on copper plate so it could not be forged. The process on how they did it was a secret. He would have to pick it later. This costed him a small fortune of 10g. Also, he played 1g to register as a shop owner. The shop itself did not exist yet. He would need to rent one or make one.


    Elf was tagging along all bored and miserable, leaving wet puddles everywhere he went.


    Then they went to the carpenter¡¯s workshop and purchased a wheelbarrow. This was followed by a visit to mudbrick maker. His shop was closed as it was raining. But they managed to purchase the bricks and mixture for mortar. This was done by loud shouting for shopkeeper to answer, and a loud banding to the door. Most people had their shops incorporated into their houses.


    They loaded the bricks into the barrel. They have bought a 100 of them and this costed 6silver. Plus 2 silver for wheelbarrow. Then he visited the blacksmith to get some nails and tools. This costed him another 1g.


    Lastly, they visited woodworkers to get a good amount of boards. With some convincing he purchased tools for working the wood too. They were used tools, but well looked after. This cost him 6silver.


    He tied the boards with rope in a big bundle and carried them on his back. The elf was left to push the wheelbarrow. This was not an easy task during rain as the dirt path was getting muddy. He strained his muscles and struggled to push, but did his job without complaining.


    The big man dropped the boards by the side of the hut and entered it. The elf woman inside rustled and rushed to put her tunic on. It was not completely dry but it will have to do.


    ¡°Where is my brother?¡±


    ¡°He will be here shortly.¡±


    The elf was taking his time to push the wheelbarrow through rough terrain.


    ¡°Take this. You know what it is?¡±


    ¡°Stone axe?¡± she guessed.


    ¡°Precisely. Enough of idleness, lets go back to work. You too Aiu, come.¡± He had to work them hard.


    It was still raining but it was only few drops now and then. Ana¡¯s job was to expand the clearing, cutting small bushes and trees. Another job an elf would despise to do, but she had no choice.


    He himself was taking care of bigger trees. Once a tree was cut Aiu would cut small branches off preparing the timber.


    Eventually Ellonwar wheeled the bricks. He was panting heavy. Seeing as everyone was working he dreaded to be given another task straight away. However, he was pleased to be assigned to make a smokehouse. It was not an actual house, more of an oversized cupboard.


    Ellonwar dug and levelled the ground, this was the hardest task. Then he put some water into the mortar mix and started laying the bricks down, making a small furnace. He was not a mason or a carpenter but this particular construction was not a complex one he knew he can manage.


    After finishing the furnace he built a ¡®house¡¯ out of wood boards. The whole job took a while but it was done before it got dark. It looked a bit wonky but it will be able to serve its purpose. He cowered the furnace with branches and leaves so the mortar does not get washed. It still needed to get dry and it will take a while.


    Then he joined the others.

 12 Finally some time alone – Being Naughty

    Another week went by and a lot was completed. The clearing surrounding the hut was expanded. Now it had a small garden which grew tubers inside the forest soil. The smokehouse was smoking the meat of two boars.


    The elves did as they said. They helped with hunting and cooking. They helped to make soap and sort the herbs. They even helped to gather herbs. Guardian trusted them enough to show the patches where the plants grew.


    The elf woman would gather vegetables and herbs. She would also tend the garden or process herbs into pastes. What proved extremely useful was that she knew how to weave using plants. She made some woven mats for sleeping from flexible sticks and soft bark ribbons. Ana also made baskets to store the plants.


    The elf man cut, smoked and cooked the meat. He was responsible for the meals. He would run errands to town if they needed to sell or buy something small. He was trusted with money because when he left his sister would stay, and she was carefully watch by Guardian. If he ran away with money his sister would suffer. Ell however, did not even have such ideas. The elf has also made some arrows to be used for hunting and he would train Aiu how to use the bow, she was getting better.


    Currently Aiu was making her way to the stream. Then she was almost there she noticed the two elves were there as well, they were naked. She though that they were bathing; it was normal for the family to bath together. She and her guardian did that. Aiu was ready to leave the elves alone and come back later. She would join in if it was only Ana. However just before she was to turn away something picked her interest.


    She was curious what Ana was doing. She was crouched and she was doing something to the Ell. Aiu sneaked closer and observed the two from a better angle; she was hiding behind a tree.


    At first she thought that Ana was helping to clean Ell¡¯s body. However that couldn¡¯t be it. She was not just using her hands but her mouth as well. Aiu looked more closely and saw elf¡¯s head rocking back and forth, her hands were holding Ell¡¯s private parts.


    ¡®It looks like she is sucking it. Why does she do that?¡¯ And then it dinged inside her head. The elves where being naughty.


    ¡®Aren¡¯t they a brother and a sister? How indecent.¡¯ She was not disgusted, she was intrigued instead. She has never observed an actual act like this.


    Ana started sucking harder and faster, taking it deeper inside her mouth.


    ¡®It looks like Ell really enjoys this. Ana too.¡¯


    Aiu was feeling hot and bothered down there. She put her hand under her dress and started to work with her fingers, touching herself while peeking at the elves.


    Ana released the prisoner of her mouth with the pop and it sprayed thick liquid on her chest. Ell made a grunt of pleasure.


    ¡®How interesting. Is he done?¡¯ Aiu was expecting more. She was rubbing herself and wanted to let out a moan too.


    Ana brushed her chest with her fingers scooping some of the liquid and licking it from her fingers with gusto.


    ¡®Does I taste that good? I want to try something like that.¡¯


    She washed the rest of it from her body with water. The pair put their clothes on and went on their way. Their ritual was done.


    Aiu was not done at all. She still felt very hot and aroused. She remained hidden for couple more minutes until she finished herself.


    Her fingers were slick and sticky. She ran down to the stream to wash herself, this was what she planned to do to begin with. However, even though her body was calm now, her mind was not.


    ¡®I want to do something like that too.¡¯ She kept thinking.


    ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??


    Once she got back to the hut everyone was making preparations for a trip. Their goal was to go deeper into the forest so that they can harvest herbs, the closer patches were all harvested. They also wanted and to hunt some animals. This was meant as a short trip as it will start raining again in two or three days.


    They packed their supplies and tools into sacks which they carried on their back. Aiu was luckier since she had a big leather backpack for that task. It was more comfortable than a saggy sack.


    For first half of the day they were walking through the forest, going deeper. They would stop and harvest useful plants whenever they have found some.


    Second half was dedicated to finding some prey, their goal was to hunt some dear for their precious meat and pelts.


    The group dipped their arrows in the flasks of poison extracted from the Corpse Serpent. Their master was sniffing their tracks and droppings.


    ¡°The smell is fresh. They are nearby, we are sneaking from here.¡± He whispered.


    His words were true, they have sneaked upon a band of dears, good twelve of them. The trio readied their poison arrows, and then let it loose. All three of them hit their targets.


    Ellonwar whistled loudly, this was a signal for his Master. The big man emerged from the bushes and started running towards the fleeing deer. They were quick but he was quicker. Once close enough he swiped with his clawed hand injuring the dear and making it tumble. He pounced on it, grabbed its neck and snapped it.


    The other three dears did not run far either; the poison was quick to act. Their bodies seized, the wounds where the arrows have stuck were fizzing. The poison was corrosive and had paralysing properties. The animals were alive but suffering. Their legs were bound together with rope and they were left like that for now.


    ¡°Good job guys.¡± He praised the youngsters.


    ¡°Are we making a camp here?¡± Aiu inquired.


    ¡°No, a bit further.¡± He said while gutting the dear he had just killed. This will serve as their dinner.


    They cut the young tree which was used as a stick to hoist all three dears. The two elves held the front of it on their shoulders, while their master took other end with his left hand. His right hand was clutching the carcass of the one he has slain before.


    They travelled like that until the sun started to set. The poison wore off, the dear were injured but alive, they tried to move but couldn¡¯t, they were bound tightly with ropes. This was cruel but they needed their meat fresh.


    They stopped and started to assemble the camp. The elves have taken unusually long to gather the firewood, but when they came back they came with plenty of it.


    The fire was started and cuts of venison were grilling on a stick for the trio to eat. The girl¡¯s guardian was devouring the rest of the venison raw. Elves seemed slightly disgusted by that. It was the first time they saw him eat raw meat like that.


    Group finished their meal, put extra wood in fire and set their mats for sleep.


    Ana and Ell were lying together, embracing one another.


    ¡°Guardian can I sleep with you?¡±


    Ana looked at Aiu suspiciously, her eyes were narrowed. She was judging her decisions.


    ¡°Are you cold?¡± Guardian asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± She lied. There was fire going and she had her cape and boar pelt.


    ¡°I do not mind then.¡± He shuffled making some space.


    Aiu moved her stuff next to him and pressed her body awfully close to his.


    The night was uneventful. The forest was full of night creatures but none of them approached the camp. They were afraid of fire and the huge black monster who was guarding it.


    With the first light of morning they took their stuff and proceeded towards home. Aiu did not know how elves Guardian knew where they were going. If she was alone, she would have been lost long time ago.


    They reached their home and stored the herbs and processed the meat. Aiu used her skills to skin the animals while Ana cut their meat into small strips. Ell was taking care of the smoke house. They have finished other small chores around the hut and went back to forest. Their goal was the same as the last time.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    They were deep inside the forest gathering the herbs. Aiu was guiding the siblings towards the herbs she needed, it was only her who had the Locate skill. Her guardian was further away plucking the bark from the special tree, Tannin it was called. They needed it for one of the recipes she have learned from the book. It made special solution which was used in leather tanning process.


    Suddenly something rustled in nearby bushes. Aiu turned to look towards the sound. A big black bear was running towards her. She was unarmed and caught by surprise, her bow was still on her back. However, she was quick to act and instead of grabbing her bow, like the elves did, she reached for the flask of poison. The bear was ready to bite her head of, but then the flask smashed in its face. A trick she learned from her guardian. Aiu shielded her head not to get a dose of the same poison.


    For paralysis to take the effect it would need to enter the blood stream, but still she had to be careful as it was corrosive. It was burning the bears face and its eyes. The bear swung his claw missing Aiu entirely who crouched and rolled away from the bear.


    Elves had their bows ready and shot the arrows hastily. It hit the bear in a chest and on its side. Animal panicked as it was in pain and blinded, it ran away.


    ¡°Get him!¡± Aiu shouted. She was angry. The bear had tried to kill her, she could not let him go.


    The elves ran chasing the bear.


    She stood up, brushed the dirt from her dress and was about to run; but another bear roared. The roar was coming from her side. It was a mistake not to wear predator repellent, they tough they don¡¯t need it since Guardian was with them. Also, he himself hated the smell and did not want to hang out with smelly people.


    She turned to look at its direction, the bear was already running towards her. She was out of options. Aiu ran towards a rough direction there her step-father should be, hoping that the bear will not catch her.


    She had no time to turn around, she just ran in a straight line. She saw her guardian running towards her. Aiu could feel hot breath coming from behind her, bear was about to bite her shoulder. Her guardian leaped in the air just in time, kicking the bear in its nose and breaking it; his kick barely avoided Aiu.


    The bear got shunned, its face was smashed beyond recognition. The impacting force was quite big since both of them were running towards one another, not to talk about the heavy masses of their bodies. It hurt more to get hit by a flying boulder than a flying pebble, even if the pebble flew five times faster than a boulder. Now imagine getting hit by a flying creature who was as big as a bear.


    The bear was alive, he turned his back forgetting that he was still in a fight. It whined and sprayed blood from its face. The guardian jumped on its back mounting it. Guardian¡¯s arms wrapped around bear¡¯s neck, choking it to death.


    ¡°This¡­ Was¡­ Close...¡± the girl said in between her pants.


    There was a flash of lighting and then a sound of thunder. The sky poured huge amounts of water suddenly.


    ¡°This timing, this is bad.¡± Aiu complained.


    The rain was getting heavy and they were far from their hut.


    ¡°Where are the elves?¡±


    ¡°Chasing another bear.¡±


    ¡°You got attacked by two bears?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The first one got blinded and ran away. I sent elves to get him, but then this one showed himself.¡±


    ¡°This is troublesome.¡±


    ¡°What should we do, wait for elves to come back or look for them.¡±


    ¡°We do not know where they ran do we¡­ And it will be hard to find their tracks or scent. It is raining. We will wait.¡±


    They went where Aiu got ambushed by the bear. She tried to shout for the elves but her voice was muffled by the noise of rain and occasional thunder.


    ¡°They are not coming back.¡± Guardian concluded.


    ¡°I hope they are ok.¡±


    ¡°You said the bear was blinded by you, they should be fine. They are elves they know how to survive in a forest.¡±


    Only the first half of the sentence was true. The sibling elves were the city elves and knew little about survival in a forest¡°


    ¡°Go get the baskets with tree bark and herbs the elves left. We are going home.¡±


    Aiu gathered the baskets. There were a lot of stuff so some of it was tied to the sides of the Guardian. He also carried the bear corpse on his back. The bear leaked blood on him, but he did not care, it rained anyways.


    It took them three hours to reach their hut. The rain was still very heavy.


    Aiu checked the smokehouse making sure it is still all right. The moist weather will affect their smoked meat.


    She was very tired but she knew there just too much work to stop and rest. She used Skin on a bear to get its hide. She almost passed out from that. Her head got heavy and her mind hazy. The bigger the animal was the more energy it required for the skin skill. She stumbled and fell on her but.


    ¡°Wooouuu, my head is spinning.¡±


    ¡°Do not stand straight away or you might passout.¡±


    She sat there in a puddle of water clutching the bears pelt. He masterfully gutted it and started to separate fat from the meat. Aiu did not rest for long and joined him. They cut the bear up and stored its meat inside a barrel of brine and sealed it.


    By the time this was done it was pitch dark. The room was illuminated only by a small fire which heated a water pot.


    ¡°Achoooo.¡± Aiu sneezed taking her soaked cloak and dress off. Her boots were full of water too.


    ¡°Do you mind?¡± She asked hopefully while pointing at the steaming pot of water. This was a good chance to do this as the elves were not here.


    ¡°I have worked hard and I have not been rewarded like this for almost two weeks¡±


    ¡°If this is what you want.¡±


    He took the pot of steaming water out of the fire. Put some herb extract, and a drop of fragrant oil in it. He soaked a warm cloth in and put it on the back of Aiu. It was warm and nice, but not what she wanted.


    ¡°Scrub my skin like the last time.¡±


    ¡°But you are not dirty.¡± He intended only to keep her warm changing the steaming cloth then it got cold.


    ¡°Please. It felt so nice, I want to feel nice again.¡±


    ¡°If this is what you want.¡±


    He took the cloth and started to wipe her hands arms. He brushed up and down whipping her skin. He splashed some water on her so she does not get too cold, keeping her body warm and steamy. He brushed past her neck and skin. He looked at her face while he rubbed her back, making small circular motions.


    ¡®She is looking oddly at me¡¯ he made an observation. ¡°Is this how you like it?¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡± Was all she said.


    He moved his hand to the front part of her body. And started wiping her chest. His hand was big enough to completely cower it. He made delicate motions with his hand brushing her belly and chest. Her cheeks became red and she was biting her lip.


    He looked at her face once more. ¡®Am I too rough?¡¯ he thought, stopping momentarily what he was doing.


    ¡°Don¡¯t stop. This part need to be rubbed few more times.¡± She pointed at her chest.


    He carefully cleaned it making sure he is not rubbing too hard. He moved up and down, the cloth was pressing to her delicate breasts. He put the cloth back into the bowl, so it can soak more of the warm water, revealing her recently erect nipples. He noticed it but paid no mind, it was the body reacting to one thing or another. Like the hair would stand up then it was chilly.


    ¡°Again.¡± She whispered.


    He repeated it once more making Aiu to release a weird muffled noise. He looked at her again, she was even more red. ¡®Is she getting too hot?¡¯ he wondered.


    He moved his hand down, cloth slid left past her hips and thighs, followed by the right side of her body. Aiu parted her legs slightly by moving one of them to the side. He brushed gently her inner side of the thigh moving up, then he did the same to the other leg. To finish, he moved the cloth directly in between her legs. Aiu¡¯s fist clenched and she breathed out heavily.


    ¡°This part¡­¡± she stopped in between the whisper. ¡°Is very dirty. You need to brush past it few more times.¡± She knew that she will end up like this, and ask something naughty like that eventually. But she did not care what he will think, her mind was clouded.


    He observed the cloth and indeed there was a streak of clear slick liquid on it.


    He cowered his finger in cloth and rubbed around that area a few times without thinking about it too much. If it is dirty he will clean it. Unbeknown to him, it only made her ¡®dirtier¡¯. Thinking his jobs there is done he moved his hand to wipe her legs.


    ¡°No. I will tell you when it is done.¡± She grabbed his hand by the wrist and led it in-between her legs.


    He rubbed there few more times. ¡®Her behaviour has been odd ever since I started¡¯.


    Aiu¡¯s breath got rugged and she was barely standing. She put one of her hands on him to help her balance, while still holding his other hand. It felt so good to be touched like that. Her hips twitched and she let a small moan.


    He spoke suddenly. His voice was stern. She have never heard him speak in such tone before.


    ¡°Aiu! Just what you think you were trying to trick me in doing?¡± He realised what was happening even though it was a bit late. He was not daft, just inexperienced in human behaviour. He was tricked in pleasuring her.


    He moved his arm away. Aiu struggled to keep it in-between her legs. He stood up moving away from her. She lost the support of his body, her knees bent on their own leaving her kneeling.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± She said all embarrassed.


    ¡°How do you explain yourself?¡±


    ¡°I just got¡­ I wanted¡­ I needed a release. Sorry.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need me for that. Do it alone or find a human.¡±


    He knew that her finding human was not an option he might lose the control of her.


    ¡°No, no humans, not yet. Just do it by yourself.¡± He corrected himself.


    Aiu was looking down, not saying a single word.


    He tough for some more. Humans have more needs besides food and shelter. He failed to think about those, he needed to learn from his mistakes and be more thoughtful if he wanted to keep humans.


    ¡°Aiu if you have needs you need to sort those.¡± He said in his normal voice.


    ¡°I do. It just feels so much better when you touch me.¡± She got told off, was embarrassed but her body was still hot, she felt extremely horny.


    ¡°¡­¡± Guardian was thinking.


    ¡°And it has to be you! I want you do it!¡±


    ¡°What are you saying Aiu?¡± he was shocked. The young woman was crazy.


    She stood up and slowly approached him.


    ¡°Just this time, please. It does not cost you anything. You will lose nothing.¡± She was trying to reason.


    ¡®I won¡¯t gain anything either.¡¯ He reflected on it.


    She took his hand in hers.


    ¡°Please. I will do everything you say and follow all of your commands. I will push myself even harder.¡±


    ¡®Maybe something can be gained. But this feels weird.¡¯


    ¡°Please. Just this time. It won¡¯t take long.¡± She was pressing her body to his hand.


    ¡°Ok¡­¡± he gave up.


    She stretched one his fingers lowering one and sticking it in between her legs. The finger was big and broad. She moved her hips grinding and rubbing herself on it. She held on his arm while trusting her body. She was panting, moving her hips as fast as she could.


    He was feeling awkward and out of place, but looked at her with interest. Like one would observe an animal. He waited and let her do her thing. Her breathing was laboured, her body twitched a few times and she fell on his arm.


    ¡°Done?¡± he inquired.


    ¡°Y¡­ yes.¡± She slumped on the floor.


    His finger was covered in a sticky liquid.


    Aiu crawled to his bed finding a spot to sleep. He washed his hand in warm water, stepped over her and laid to sleep where he always slept. He did not mid Aiu sleeping besides him.


    She pressed her body against his and kissed his chest for goodnight. He did not feel her tender lips on his thick skin and the gesture was left unnoticed.


    He was wondering what happened to the elves.


    ¡®Will they come back tomorrow? Or will I find them dead some time later?¡¯

 13 Magical forest – Getting the good stuff

    In the early morning the Aiu was woken up by Ana opening the doors.


    ¡°Ana where have you been? What happened?¡± Aiu asked still worried.


    ¡°I could ask the same. We chased and killed the bear, expecting for you to come. The rain got heavier while we waited. This washed our old tracks so we couldn¡¯t find the way back. We decided to wait for you guys a while longer, but you never came!¡±


    ¡°I got chased by another bear that¡¯s why.¡±


    ¡°Well you seem uninjured so I guess it ended well. Master killed it?¡±


    ¡°Yes just in time, I was very close to get mauled. Where is Ell?¡±


    ¡°He will be here shortly. He has a bear pelt we skinned. Sorry, but we couldn¡¯t carry any of the meat.¡± Ana knew that they had to take as much valuable materials from the bear as they could.


    ¡°No need to apologise Ana¡±


    ¡°It was a wise choice, even if it rained the meat could have attracted other predators.¡± Guardian added his opinion to the conversation.


    Ell entered the hut carrying the bear¡¯s hide.


    ¡°You guys are fine, that is good.¡± Ell said as he put the hide by the fire to dry.


    ¡°You two must be tired, you can rest till late afternoon.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Master.¡± Said Ell removing his tunic and wringing the water out of it.


    While the elves slumped by the fire to sleep Aiu went to do her daily chores. Mostly processing the plants and brewing the potions.


    The rest of the rainy days were quite uneventful. Aiu brewed her potions while elves did other small tasks.


    The rain was getting lighter. Guardian went with ell to the town to sell their produce. He did not came back with heavy purse, it was lighter. He purchased a good amount of stuff.


    The most expensive of their purchases was leather vest for Aiu. It was made out of the same Corpse Serpent leather they have killed. It kept the original colour of the serpent skin which was a mix of green and light brown making it easy to camouflage in the forests. It offered protection to her torso, the groin and hips were also protected by short strips of leather. The rest of her body was left bare but it was better than nothing. At least she won¡¯t be easily gutted or stabbed in a chest. This have costed only 5 gold to make as they provided their own material.


    He also got 2 hunting bows for elves, while the ones they already had did the jobs the new ones offered better performance. They were longer and had better range and piercing power.


    Aiu got a new short bow as well. However, they were still stuck using the arrow they have made themselves. As iron tipped arrows were quite expensive and they did not need that sort of end game stuff. Sharpened stone worked fine against common beasts as they did not need to pierce armour.


    The bows lightened his pocket by another 2 gold and 11 silver.


    That was not the end of the things he purchased. He also got a bed roll made out of bear fur for Aiu and another one for himself. Elves received some sturdy linen work clothes which replaced their tattered rags. They were grey coloured tunics which could endure a lot of wear and tear. They will stain them in green later so it stands out less in the forest. This has cost another 2 gold and 10 silver.


    All of this was to make the expedition to the magical depths of the forest easier.


    The group gathered their equipment and departed the next day, early in the morning. They have spent most of the day slowly walking deeper and deeper into the forest. They stopped now and then to rest and snack on nuts and dried meat. They have cowered the most of the distance without being molested by the forest creatures, this was thanks to the Guardian who escorted them.


    They made a camp for the night and continued their trek again early in the morning.


    Midway through the day they started to notice changes in flora and fauna. The plants started to look odd and different from the usual, the air smelled differently and the sounds were also completely unfamiliar. They have entered the border of the magical forest.


    Aiu was pushing her way through the thick growth, then her leg was soddenly looped by a vine and she fell to the ground.


    ¡°Oww¡­ Aaaaaaaaaa¡± She was getting dragged through the ground by her leg.


    She slid towards a big plant which resembled an oversized vase. Its base had many vines growing from it and stretching outwards making a circle.


    ¡°Help!!!¡± She shouted in panic.


    Her guardian stepped on a wine, his weight stopping it.


    ¡°These plants are carnivorous, you need to watch where you step or else you will be snared and eaten by them.¡±


    Elves aimed at the plant with their bows.


    ¡°No! Do not waste your arrows on it. I need it un-punctured so we can harvest its juices.¡±


    More vines slid towards the Guardian. He grabbed the one who was clutching on Aiu¡¯s leg and tore it, severing the connection. He grabbed the girl and threw her further away to safety. She botched her landing and fell on her bum, but she was out of the plant¡¯s range.


    The vines tried to loop and drag him just like they did with Aiu. But he was too heavy and too strong. He ripped the vines pulling them one by one until the plant was left defenceless.


    ¡°You can come closer. Aiu, cut the small vines around it and extract its juices from its pitcher. Be careful it will burn your skin and clothes if it leaks on you.¡±


    Aiu did as instructed extracting acidic substance from carnivorous plant, Acid Pitcher was its name.


    They went deeper into the forest and started to harvest potent herbs which grew there. They stayed close to be safe, if any of them got looped by Acid Pitcher others would help to cut its vines and then harvest it¡¯s juices.


    Good amount of herbs was harvested and it was getting dark. Elves and Aiu could not believe that they were not attacked by any of the animals inhabiting the forests. They heard creatures making noises and felt their presence around, but none of them came close to be seen. The trio felt extremely tense but trusted in the one who brought them here. He must know what he is doing and what to expect.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    It got completely dark and it was time to set a camp. They put a small fire and sat to rest near it.


    The forest was basked in the light of full moon and they could try to gather some more, but did not want to risk it.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Aiu pointed towards a faint blue light coming from distance.


    ¡°Gh-gh-ghost!¡± Ana screamed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, let¡¯s go and investigate.¡± Guardian knew that this forest was not a haunted kind. They would feel drained and low on energy if it was the case.


    ¡°Master, you can¡¯t¡¯ be serious.¡± Ell protested.


    He stood up and motioned to follow. He did not seem alerted or scared. The trio followed him staying behind his large frame. The blue glow was getting stronger. Once they got close enough they realised that it was plants who glowed in the night.


    ¡°I have never seen anything like this.¡± Guardian said in surprise.


    ¡°Could It be?¡± Ana said in wonder.


    ¡°What? Do you know what it is?¡±


    ¡°I never seen it with my own eyes, but this must be it.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Aiu asked?


    ¡°Moonlight flower. It is mentioned often in elven folklore. It is a special flower which blooms only during the full moon. In stories it is given to elven maidens by men. Noble men do so to win their hearts as it is extremely beautiful.¡±


    ¡°Any other uses? More practical ones?¡± Guardian inquired.


    ¡°Some stories say their extract can empower one in willpower. Some mages also used them to power their spells.¡± Ana added.


    ¡°That is what I want. Harvest them all.¡±


    They started to harvest a patch of blue glowing flowers. All of them were plucked and stuffed into the pouches. Even then plucked they kept glowing in rich blue colour.


    Suddenly something snorted deeply, it was a beast pushing the air through its nose. The bush rustled and the beast charged towards Ana.


    It looked similar to a horse but couple times bigger and more muscular. Its head was shorter than that of a horse and it had a mouth full of sharp teeth.


    It tried to ram into Ana and trample her. The beast looked enraged. Ana jumped to the side barely dodging it.


    ¡°Wow what is that?!¡± Aiu shouted out.


    ¡°Kill it, it is dangerous.¡± Ell warned shooting a poisoned arrow. It flew and embedded in the beast¡¯s side. The wound fizzled and bubbled in bubbles of blood.


    The beast turned and aimed at Ell instead. It charged him.


    ¡°Shit!¡± He shouted out.


    Aiu and Ana shot their arrows towards it. The beast puffed releasing an odd sound and the arrows were knocked off it mid-air. Its body released a gust of wind to block and knock the arrows away. Magic was at play.


    It butted the Ell¡¯s chest with its head toppling him over. The beast quickly turned in its tracks and bent its neck to bite at the Ell. However, it was knocked down by the black guardian, the one leading the group.


    It tumbled on the side and nayyyed in displeasure.


    ¡°The poison should start working soon even if it¡¯s only one arrow.¡± Said Ana helping Ell to stand back on his feet.


    The beast let another strong gust of wind preventing the Guardian from catching it in his grip. It stood up and ran towards the bushes.


    ¡°It fled?¡± Aiu wondered if the beast had enough.


    ¡°I doubt it.¡± Guardian replied.


    The beast emerged from bushes aiming at Aiu¡¯s back.


    ¡°The bastard is avoiding me. Arrows are of a little use against it. What a bother.¡± He complained.


    Elves shot their arrows but they were deflected just like last time. Aiu knew that she won¡¯t be able to dodge and braced for impact, hoping that it won¡¯t kill her.


    ¡°Fine we will have it your way!¡± Her guardian shouted. He stretched his left arm sending a ball of red pulsing light.


    It collided with the beast, sticking to its head and knocking it off his track. The horse-like creature missed Aiu.


    ¡°Huh?!¡± ¡°What?¡± Elves exclaimed.


    ¡°Burst!¡± their master shouted.


    The red strings of light which was stuck to the monsters head burst it flames. The beast let a high pitched scream of pain and panic.


    The flame was not powerful and lasted only couple of seconds, doing minimal damage. However, this was enough to scare the beast, it did not enjoy being blinded and the feeling of its skin burning. It changed its course and tried to flee for real this time.


    ¡°Ha!¡± Guardian shouted forcefully sending a shockwave similar to the one the horse monster had used before.


    It knocked the beast down. The guardian ran quickly aiming to bind it to the ground with his heavy body.


    The beast sent a shockwave of its own, but it was too late. Its body was already pressed by the ground by Guardian. All the blast did was to agitate him; the guardian was too heavy to be thrown off.


    ¡°Quickly! Kill it.¡± He shouted. His hands were busy holding the horse-like monster and he did not want to be blasted again; it felt unpleasant.


    Elves ran towards the monster and tried to stab its body with their knives.


    ¡°Be careful of its head, it is full of teeth.¡± Ana warned Ell while moving away from the beast¡¯s head as it tried to bite her.


    ¡°The hide is too thick. Simple cutting knife is not doing it.¡± Ell made an observation as he tried to cut into its body.


    ¡°I have an idea.¡± Aiu ran quickly to get something from the pile of their stuff.


    She came back holding a clay pot in her arms. She raised it above her head and smashed it on the monsters head. Its head started to sizzle and the beast screamed and twitched.


    ¡°Ahhh!¡± the trio screamed as well as their ears were assaulted by a high pitched wail of the beast.


    The cries of the monster were too unpleasant to bear. Elves and human girl plugged their ears with their palms leaving their master struggling to keep the beast pinned to the ground.


    Acid did its job eventually eating through the skin of the monster and killing it. Ear piercing cry was replaced by a muffled gurgle and then it stopped all together.


    ¡°This was terrible.¡± Aiu said shaking her head.


    ¡°Agreed.¡± Ell nodded in agreement.


    ¡°I had to bear it all. While you just stood there useless.¡± Guardian complained.


    ¡°Sorry. Sorry, Master.¡± Ana apologised.


    ¡°Our weapons were useless against it. Even the poison did little to weaken it.¡± Said Ell.


    ¡°Lets cut it open. I want to see what is inside.¡±


    Its hide was ripped from its body instead of being neatly cut; it was too tough. Monster was gutted and its mana core extracted. Guardian put it in his mouth and ate it.


    ¡°What are you eating?¡± Ana asked all grossed out.


    ¡°It is mana core. Guardian is a mage. It was a secret but the cat is out of the bag I guess.¡± Aiu explained.


    ¡°I figured that, but still¡­¡±


    ¡°Why to eat it?¡± Ell finished his sister¡¯s sentence.


    ¡°It¡¯ is because¡­¡± Aiu tried to enlighten the two but was cut off.


    ¡°You are not entitled to know that.¡± Guardian said licking his lips. His mana was recharged in full.


    ¡°Ammm, ok. So you are a mage?¡± Ana was still unable to believe it.


    ¡°And I thought you were a warrior who retired to be a hunter.¡± Ell found it hard to believe too.


    ¡°If you value your employment keep it a secret.¡±


    ¡°Yes of course.¡± Booth elves agreed.


    The beast¡¯s corpse was left there to rot. It had plenty of useful alchemical ingredients but there was little use in harvesting it as they would be rotten by the time their party went home.They took their stuff and set a camp further down. The guardian stayed awake guarding it in case they got attacked again.


    Then the morning came the group scavenged a bit more for goods and then went back home.


    There Aiu distilled the Moonlight Flowers they have gathered. It came out as a blue liquid which would glow slightly in the darkness. She tried to identify it but was not skilled enough to be able to tell what it does or what effects it has.


    The guardian took the potion to the alchemist guild for master brewer to inspect it.


    ¡°This is clearly a mana potion. You were very lucky to find this, I will pay good coin for everything you have.¡±


    ¡°What grade is it?¡±


    ¡°Basic. That is why this is quite valuable.¡± Most potions alchemist guild received or made were weak grade mana potions. Basic grade potions came in as a relic of more prosperous days.


    ¡°How valuable?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he tested the potion by drinking it, it was safe because he inspected the properties beforehand. ¡°It tastes fresh. Must been stored well. One gold per vial.¡±


    ¡°We have a deal.¡± This was good money.


    ¡°Say stranger, is there a chance you made these.¡± Brewer asked thinking that potions were probably too fresh. It was unlikely they kept this well in storage, even if they were in enchanted containers.


    ¡°Maybe.¡± It was Aiu who made the, but he happily took the credit.


    ¡°Really?! I am willing to pay a fortune for a recipe if you allow me to gather the coin.¡±


    ¡°Not happening. But I will sell the batch I have.¡±


    ¡°I had to try. Here is your coin.¡± He knew that were very few who would share a recipe like that. The strange traveller clearly possessed some foreign techniques from his land, maybe passed from father to father. No wonder traveller was unveiling to share them. This was brewer¡¯s assumption.


    The brewer will have a new competitor by the looks of it.


    The guardian took 9 gold coins. He will be able to make a good coin once he opens his shop and starts to sell stuff like that. He came back home to bring Aiu good news.

 14 Amoral and indecent - Pot calling the kettle black

    Aiu was currently peddling her produce in the market with Ana. Her special herbal soap turned out to be very popular within the ladies. She had great success selling it at ever-increasing price. Supply was limited after all.


    She also sold her special healing salves, distilled stamina potions, and fragrant petal water.


    Incidentally, the perfume she sold for 1 gold had some unexpected side effects and she was refraining from selling it. Not until she researched the effects and refined the formula better. It acted more as a sexual stimulant than a perfume, the pleasant smell was only a side effect.


    To sell stronger potions and concoctions Guardian needed to get a proper shop. Currently, she had some potent stuff stashed in one of her pouches but it had to be exchanged in secret. Also, there were few who wanted to risk and buy a potion from an uncertified brewer.


    ¡°It seems we are done for today Ana, lets head back.¡± They packed unsold merchandise and headed home.


    ¡°Is the building work for new house starting tomorrow?¡± Ana asked.


    ¡°If Ell finished his work preparing the ground for foundations then yes.¡±


    ¡°Does this mean we will get to live in a hut by ourselves?¡± Ana wanted to confirm.


    ¡°I guess so, we won¡¯t be using it anymore.¡±


    ¡°We will help to build it as much as we can.¡± Ana was keen to get her own place. Even though technically it won¡¯t be theirs.


    ¡°So will I, I can¡¯t wait to have a bedroom just for me and my guardian.¡±


    Booth women were happy with the prospect of having their own place.


    Building a house was Aius¡¯ idea to begin with; she has gotten gotten tired of having to share the same sleeping space with the elves. This was because she could not monopolise Guardian when elves were sleeping in the same room. Aiu knew Ana suspected something. Aiu did not want to further Ana¡¯s suspicions. She was somewhat embarrassed about having inappropriate feelings towards her guardian.


    Ana was giving her a concerned stare even now. She did not approve of Aiu sleeping in the same room as her guardian.


    ¡®She has a few screws loose. Why does he even tolerate her? As far as I have seen the man is normal and not interested in humans or elves in any inappropriate way.¡¯ Ana kept these thoughts to herself.


    Once back at the hut Aiu gave all the money she earned to Guardian for safekeeping.


    Ell and Ana finished digging the earth, and completed other miscellaneous task before going to sleep. The trio were sleeping by the warm fire. Aiu was kicked from guardian¡¯s bed as she had her own fur bedroll and a boar fur to be used as cower. The elves slept on their mats made of weave. They were used to this by now. Actually their conditions were far better than they had it in slums.


    Way past midnight the fire fizzled out leaving only few red coals. The hut was died in the darkness of the night and everyone were sleeping, resting their bodies in preparation for the busy morning. Everyone but the two elves who were enjoying each other¡¯s company.


    ??</a> ??</a>??</a>


    Perhaps they were enjoying too loudly as Aiu got awoken by strange slurping noises. She stayed motionless unwanting to wake up, but the noise bothered her. She strained her ears and eyes to understand what was going on.


    She saw two figures on top of each other. It was too dark to see precisely what was going on but she could see the dark silhouettes of elves and had an idea. They were doing something inappropriate again.


    Even Aiu had the common decency not to do something like that in the same room with everyone. She did not even touch herself at night hence her frustration.


    Ana¡¯s head was in-between the Ell¡¯s legs, and Ell¡¯s in between Ana¡¯s. The two were pleasuring each other orally. Ana was sucking a hard rod with passion moving her head wildly while Ell buried his tongue between her thighs.


    Aiu have not seen anything like that. She got turned on eventually observing the obscene act. Still she was very unhappy about the elves having the audacity to do such stuff. She was only few feet from the two.


    ¡°Cough Cough.¡± Aiu faked a cough.


    The two stopped mid-act and turned to her.


    ¡°Cough Cough.¡± She faked another cough and shuffled in her bed.


    The elves got the hint and stopped the indecent act. Ana climbed of Ell and pretended to go to sleep. As the dignity of the room was restored Aiu fell back to sleep.


    Then the morning came and Aiu woke up elves were already gone. So was her guardian.


    This was not out of ordinary as today was a very busy day. Aiu felt somewhat embarrassed to be the one who was lazy and hurried to carry out her task. Which involved brewing and processing herbs.


    She was left alone to do her stuff and her path did not cross with the elves.


    ¡®Are they avoiding me? Ell still needs to cook breakfast.¡¯ The breakfast was getting very late.


    Aiu was about to search for the elves to usher them to do their responsibilities, but then Ana came inside the hut.


    ¡°Aiu how about we take a hot bath together and talk?¡±


    This was all very sudden but Aiu agreed. As it turned out Ana had already prepared a hot tub of water for both of them. It was a small tub, not big enough to stretch the legs. Person using it had to draw hot water and pour it on one¡¯s body using a wooden ladle, while being crouched or standing.


    The girls undressed and started cleansing their bodies in the same bath. They were very close to each other, but it was fine since they were both women and not embarrassed about things like that.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this too early. Won¡¯t you get dirty again?¡±


    ¡°No, not really. The ground work is all done. And I want to look presentable. Master went to fetch a mason so he can start building a house.¡±


    ¡°I see. What happened to the breakfast?¡±


    ¡°About that¡­¡± there was a moment of silence. ¡°Ell just couldn¡¯t face you. You saw us this night, didn¡¯t you?¡± Ana said. She was blushing.


    ¡°I did. Are you not a brother and a sister?¡±


    ¡°We are¡­¡± Ana was in deep red now. ¡°I know this is weird, but please understand.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t this just feels wrong.¡±


    ¡°Aiu, please. Don¡¯t tell Master about this.¡±


    Ana looked at Aiu beggingly, waiting for a reply. Aiu took her time to reflect on the situation.


    ¡®I am no better. I desire to be touched by my guardian who is my family. We are not blood related but still¡­ We are different species too.¡¯


    ¡°I won¡¯t tell.¡± This was not the first time Aiu saw elves being indecent. She did not tell Guardian about it before and she won¡¯t tell now. The reason for that was that Aiu believed that her guardian would not care anyway. He was like that, as long as elves did their work it would be fine with him.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°Thank you, Aiu.¡± Ana felt guilty for judging Aiu for her indecent behaviour around Guardian, the tables were turned and she was the one judged now. She released what a hypocrite she was and decided not to look down on Aiu, even if Aiu was damaged in the head.


    ¡°Ana?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°I might understand your feelings better if you explained to me what did you do exactly to each other. In great detail.¡± This was a flimsy attempt to extract information about sex from someone experienced. Aiu was too green in that area and she wanted to learn.


    Aiu¡¯s flimsy attempt got seen through straight away, but Ana went along with it. Explaining all sorts of things to Aiu who listened in wonder.


    ¡°You must really love Ell if you can do such things to him.¡±


    ¡°I do. My body is his and his body is mine.¡±


    ¡°I wish¡­¡± Aiu stopped midsentence. ¡®I was like that with Guardian.¡¯ She finished in her head jealous again of the relationship elves had.


    ¡°Here you are. I was looking for you two.¡±


    ¡°Ehhhh!¡± Ana let out a high pitched noise, cowering her body. It was not the first time she has been caught off guard by the Guardian like that. They lived in the same hut after all. However, this was still embarrassing, even though he seemed completely uninterested.


    Aiu reacted to this more coolly and made an offer. ¡°Would you like to join in? The water is still hot.¡± The fact that he would not fit there at was completely ignored


    ¡°Master bathing with us? Sorry, I must go!¡± Ana was yet to see the master naked and she decided that this day is not that day.


    ¡°No, I am fine. I do not want to bother women¡¯s bonding ritual. I will help to carry some of the large stones needed for the building. You two finish first and then join us later.¡±


    Aiu was not too pleased about missing an opportunity to bath with him. She wanted to blame Ana for scaring him away. ¡®He must have realised that Ana was uncomfortable and decided to refuse the invitation.¡¯


    The women finished bathing and got dressed. By the time they were there, Ell has prepared a big pot of food for everyone. They will be feeding The Mason and his apprentice, and other men who worked here.


    Ana went to tend to the garden and gather wood. She did not want to stay too close to, this was because they got distracted by her. They perceived her as very beautiful, she even smelt like flowers. Men kept ogling at Ana from the distance, this made Aiu slightly jealous. No one was giving her any attention.


    Aiu told the elves to go to the forest to pick some herbs for her. This was done out of spite. Elves thought nothing about this as this request was usual and obeyed. They knew there to find herbs and were better prepared than they used to be. They had their bows and arrows, and as a good measure they rubbed themselves in the repellent.


    With Guardians help the building was coming together nicely. He acted as a pack mule but did not feel demeaned in any way. The labourers actually were impressed by his strength and willingness to get his hands dirty. Not many rich folks dabbled in dirty and boring tasks, they would just get someone else to do it for them.


    They perceived the Guardian as a rich person. All of the men already knew that he was registered as an alchemist. Also, that he had a couple of servants. The men thought that this beautiful elven woman must have been very expensive. Moreover, Guardian was spending a fortune for a brick and stone house. All of this could only be afforded by noble families or rich craftsmen and traders.


    What did they not know was that the one nicknamed as black traveller spent all of his money on this house and his pockets were all empty. He himself was not too bothered about this. More money could be made as his labour costs were next to nothing. He was working his apprentice and servants very hard.


    ¡­


    The house was almost done. The big cellar for storage was complete, the walls were currently being built on top of it. The house will have a big workshop, a small room for storage and safe keeping, a bedroom area and a room with a counter for sales. The furnace in the workshop was already built. It will be used to cook food and boil water, its side was connected to the wooden two-part structure which was still being built. The wooden structure was meant to be used as big smokehouse. The rest of it was a sauna and a bath house.


    This was an efficient setup. The fire would burn in a furnace cooking the food, extra heat would be used to boil the water, and the smoke to smoke the meats.


    The elves have earned the trust of their master and were allowed to handle the money. Ana would go to the market and sell soap and herbal things instead of Aiu. Ell got better at hunting and was able to go alone in the forest. He would bring a small deer or a boar now and then. He also went to the city selling the smoked meat.


    Aiu was busy either gathering the herbs or continuing her practise in brewing and distilling potions.


    The garden was expanded as well, now it grew some of the forest herbs in small patches.


    In the evening the wooden structure for sauna and smoke house was finished. The furnace was already boiling off a large pot of lye water generating enough heat for the sauna. The sauna shared a small portion of the wall with afurnace. That wall was very hot and if the water was poured on it, it would generate steam. Also, it had a small bath where water could be poured in and heated.


    Aiu was very keen to try this out. She brought a towel and some of the oil she was experimenting with. Ana was invited to come and join her.


    Once inside Aiu poured some cold water on a hot wall and it instantly turned to steam. The room was covered in a thick and hot vapour. Aiu poured some oil on the hot rock sitting by the wall, it got hot and started to evaporate slowly.


    The sauna felt pleasantly hot and relaxing. The doors opened and a particularly massive man entered the small room.


    ¡°Master?!¡± Ana exclaimed in surprise.


    ¡°I have invited him here. You don¡¯t mind Ana do you?¡±


    ¡®Of course, I do; I am all naked.¡¯ Ana wanted to protest. She crossed her legs and shielded her chest with hands not wanting to reveal too much.


    ¡°Where is Ell? I though everyone will be here.¡± He asked.


    ¡°Well, he is not here.¡± Aiu did not invite Ell she was not comfortable being seen by another man. But she was fine with Guardian seeing her.


    ¡°I better go.¡±


    ¡°No, Ana do not be rude to the Master, stay for some longer.¡± Aiu put her hand on Ana¡¯s shoulder preventing her from standing up.


    ¡®If Aiu puts it in that way, I can¡¯t refuse.¡¯


    Ana tried to relax and take in the situation. She felt like a trapped animal. Moreover, her master was nude and his rod was dangling in between his legs freely. It was huge.


    Ana normally would not look at her master in such a shameful way. She was not interested in him, she had Ell. However, something was in the air clouding her judgement. Her eyes were drawn to his member. Ana turned her head and closed her eyes, she needed to cool off.


    Meanwhile Aiu, in all her naked glory, approached Guardian and motioned him to sit down.


    ¡°You were washing me before, now I will wash you in return.¡± Aiu said smiling mischievously.


    ¡®Was he doing such things to you Aiu? You are shameless Aiu¡­¡¯ Ana spoke in her head.


    ¡°Suit yourself.¡± Was all he had said.


    Aiu literally climbed on top of him and started to rub his body with a rough cloth. She was getting very close and pressing her body against his more than necessary. Ana could not keep her gaze averted and was sneaking peeks towards the two.


    Aiu was brushing the dead skin and gunk of him with ease, going from top to bottom, the girl looked hot and excited. For some reason, Ana¡¯s body started to feel hot as well. This was not because of the temperature in the sauna.


    A mischievous girl was in-between his legs brushing his muscular belly and moving towards his legs. Ana¡¯s eyes were glued to the two.


    ¡®Why am I even interested?¡¯ she could not understand.


    Aiu moved her hands gripping private parts of Guardian way too casually.


    ¡°Aiu!¡± Ana shouted out, this was too much. ¡®What is that girl thinking, touching the master like that?¡¯


    ¡°Ana, I am just cleansing his body. All of it needs to be clean. There is nothing odd about this, yes?¡± She asked while brushing the cloth down the shaft of his rod.


    ¡°I guess not.¡± He replied casually.


    Aiu massaged it a couple more times with her hands. The whole thing looked obscene to Ana but she did not dare to say anything. The man had monstrous proportions and the small girl struggled to even hold the thing. Aiu stroked it a couple more times. Somehow this made Ana terribly turned on, this should not happen she was not into things like that.


    If Ana was asked she would say that she was against interspecies relationships, this felt unnatural. However, she still became aroused seeing Aiu being shameless like that. The girl was clearly turned on rubbing that thing.


    ¡®Ahh¡­ no reaction.¡¯ Aiu let it go in a disappointment. It hit his thighs with a flop. She moved to the side to clean his tail.


    ¡®It seems that the oil has no effect on him. I, however... I can barely hold it. Ana seems to be cool, but by the way she is staring at him, I guess she is affected.¡¯ The oil Aiu used was the special oil, the same oil she has used in perfume before, the one which had undesired effects. It made a woman wearing it act as a slut.


    She distilled the oil further separating that particular ingredient and tested it here in the sauna. She wanted to know if only the humans got affected by it. The results were interesting. It looks like elves and humans were, just not Guardian.


    ¡®Either he is immune to it or he needs more of it since he is very big.¡¯ Aiu concluded.


    She finished cleaning his body; It has taken a while to do.


    ¡°Ufff. All done.¡±


    ¡°Mmm, this was interesting. It was relaxing and my skin feels nice and smooth. I am going out, thank you girls for the idea of building this.¡± He stood up and went outside.


    ¡°Ana I am going to the stream to cool off. I am too hot.¡± Her nether regions were burning in passion and she had to ¡®cool¡¯ it of manually.


    Ana was left sitting there, her legs were crossed. She would have darted out as soon as Aiu started to be mischievous with the master, however, she couldn¡¯t. She was too wet down where and were too afraid to stand up in case it leeks out. She did not want to embarrass herself like that.


    She was about to leave but then Ell stepped inside.


    ¡°Ell?¡±


    ¡°Oh, Ana you already here. Master was kind enough to let me enjoy a sauna too.¡±


    ¡°Ehh? What? ¡­ Does not matter.¡±


    She gestured for him to come closer.


    ¡­


    Aiu was coming back from the stream and heading towards the hut. Her ears perked up hearing a particular sound.


    ¡®Do they need to be this loud?¡¯ it seems that the oil worked on the elves just as good as it worked on her.

 15 Scum and villains – They will get what they deserve

    The brick house took few more weeks to build. The group did not stay idle, they did what they were the best at. Good amount of stuff was gathered and manufactured, resulting in good amount of profit. However, they were gathering quicker than the forest could regrow. As before they needed to go even further and deeper into the forest. Resulting in quite a few expeditions to the magic and more dangerous parts of it.


    Currently the trio, Aiu and elf siblings, were making their way out of the border of magic forest. A loud howl echoed around them, and then another and another. The trio started to run hoping to escape from whatever was about to happen.


    As they were running a dire wolf jumped on Ana¡¯s back, knocker her over. It reached to bite her neck. Its actions were interrupted by spicy smell filling its nose, It sneezed in displeasure, repellent was doing its jobs.


    Ell shot an arrow through its neck wounding the direwolf.


    ¡°We are being hunted. Ready yourselves!¡± Ana shouted.


    Ell helped Ana to get on her legs, just in time before four direwolves caught to them. Aiu dropped her backpack and clutched few clay flasks in her hand.


    Four more direwolves ambushed them from the direction they were trying to run; cutting their escape off. They were surrounded.


    ¡°They are more clever than a common wolves.¡± Ell made an observation.


    ¡°Can we do this?¡± Ana asked.


    ¡°We should be able to.¡± Aiu replied with confidence.


    ¡°Easy for you to say, you are the only one with armour.¡± Ell was referring to Aiu¡¯s serpentine leather vest.


    Elves did not waste time and shot their arrows towards the direwolves. They were too big to doge. The beats launched their attack and ran towards the trio with the intention to rip them to shreds.


    Two more arrows found their targets. Four wolves had arrows poking from their bodies, but that did little to stop their attack, they were almost as big as a horse was.


    ¡°Taste this!¡± Aiu threw a flask towards the wolves approaching from the back.


    It got smashed and released a violent bursts of irritating vapour. It burned their eyes and faces, stunning them and forcing them to back down. The four which had arrows in their bodies stumbled while running and fell, their muscles contacted rendering them immobile. This was an effect of distilled Corpse Serpent Poison.


    Two dire wolves were still running towards the group. They were dangerously close. One of them leaped into the air trying to pounce on Aiu but this was a mistake. She threw one of her clay flasks towards its maw. The beast caught it, bit it and smashed it with its teeth. Big mistake. It was a potent acid she extracted from Acid Pitcher.


    The dire wolves head started to melt from inside and it missed Aiu completely. It spewed blood and molten flesh, It would die within a minute or so at this rate.


    Ana and Ell threw their flasks at the last beast who was attacking them. Flasks hit its head and side, its fur sizzled and melted away. It ran past the elves howling in pain as chunks of liquefied flesh fell from its body.


    The acid flasks were deadly. However, they were hard to make requiring to distil whole pot of Acid pitcher juice. Not to mention the time it took to reach the magical forest, gather it, come back and process it. Aiu had only few of these, they were meant to be used only as a last resort. She will be able to make up for what she lost since they have gathered quite few pots of that plant¡¯s juice.


    The other two were out of their stunned faze and looked at the trio from the distance. Most of their pack were dead or disabled. They turned and fled into the forest.


    ¡°Lets finish paralysed ones before it wears off.¡± Ell took his knife and went to slit the throats of the remaining dire wolves.


    They were not completely paralysed, they just couldn¡¯t remain on their legs even if they stood up, their muscles kept spasming. They still could bite if someone got too close. Ell was very careful approaching them from the right angle and dispatched them one by one with a stab to their backs.


    Aiu skinned the beasts using her skill. Obtaining four good quality pelts and two damaged ones. It was a shame they were too far from home and could not harvest dire wolves properly. The beasts had quite a few alchemical ingredients. They had already so much stuff to carry.


    The trio drunk a stamina potion each and force-marched through the night towards safety, they did not want to risk being ambushed while they slept.


    Back at home they stored their goods and went straight to bed; taking a power nap till early evening.


    The elves were woken up by heavy steps.


    ¡°Done resting?¡± Master asked.


    Ell looked towards the window trying to guess the time. ¡°Yes.¡± He said even though he was still tired. He did not want to waste the day light, he will be able to sleep during the night.


    ¡°Good. I bring good news.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡± He nodded ¡°You two served me well, so I decided to promote you. I will pay 4s to each of you from now on.¡±


    The elves already did so much and brought him good profit, it was sensible to raise their wages before they started to rebel.


    ¡°This is amazing!¡± ¡°Thank you, Master!¡± the two were ecstatic to hear this.


    Elves could not believe their luck. Every day was hard and gruelling, but their working conditions got better and better. Upon initial agreement they expected no food or clothing to be provided, but the opposite happened. They did not need to pay for food and all tools and equipment were provided for them. The working gear they currently had was quite expensive, being something a poor man couldn¡¯t afford.


    Also, they even had their own hut now, which they claimed as home. Most importantly they did not have to pay any rent. The job they have been doing now did not pay much, but the benefits were already quite amazing. The best of them was the opportunity to serve a Master who is this kind.


    The elves were well aware how most Masters treated their servants. Their master was the complete opposite of that kind of scum and villains.


    ¡°This also means that you will be required to do more demanding tasks. I hope you will not disappoint me.¡±


    ¡°Never.¡±


    ¡°I wound not dare.¡±


    ¡°Good. Here, this is the payment from the last week.¡± He handed 8 silver coins.


    ¡°Not the usual 2?¡±


    ¡°Consider this as a gift to celebrate your promotion.¡±


    ¡°You are the most generous, Master.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Ana was coming to hug him but was pushed away gently. ¡°Ah, sorry!¡±.


    ¡°There is no need for that, just work even harder from now on.¡± He said and then thought to himself. ¡®The bribe worked this is good¡¯.


    Ana blushed, and nodded in agreement. She realised she overstepped her boundaries, she was a servant and not a friend to him. She forgot that as it did not feel that way at all.


    ¡°You two go and help Aiu with whatever she needs. I am heading off to the city.¡±


    The elves waved their master a goodbye.


    ¡°What are we going to do with all this money?¡± Ell asked.


    ¡°I am not sure anymore.¡±


    Originally they planned to save enough so they no longer had to live in a slums and move somewhere safer. However they already got that free of charge. The money was stored in a pouch and left outside the hut under the rock, they decided to save it until they thought of something they wanted.


    +++++


    The house was completed and within it the shop was opened. It was bad for profit to have it in a remote location, but it was very convenient. If he was to purchase a shop in a market place he would need to pay for the night guard, not to mention hauling everything from the forest all the way to the shop. Well, they used to do it anyway and will continue doing so. However, he expected that customers will be willing to come to his remote shop.


    He named a shop as Everyday Essentials, a peculiar name for this type of a shop. Stamina potions and expensive oils and extracts were not considered an essential as only a few could afford such luxuries.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    He himself currently was not manning the counter as he did not expect any customers any time soon. He was assembling big distillation apparatus for Aiu to distil stuff in large quantities. It was made of thick glassware with some metal tubing and costed a small fortune, it even wasn¡¯t new.


    He have sent Ana to sell minor stuff in the market and spread the news of his new shop. Ell was using the multipurpose furnace to bake some hard bread from the flower they have bought in the market. It was a rye bread and it took quite a while to make. A dough for it needed to ferment for a few days before Ell could fire it in an oven.


    Aiu was improving her recipe of peanut butter trying to figure out the best way to sweeten it. The honey was probably the best substitute but it was quite expensive.


    The doors of the shop opened, a stranded spoke meekly.


    ¡°Hello, is anyone here? Hello?¡±


    Guardian heard it and went to check who exactly it was and what they wanted.


    ¡°Wow!¡± The young woman got surprised by the sheer size of the person emerging from the narrow doorway behind the counter. ¡°Are you a guard or a shopkeeper?¡±


    ¡°I am the owner of this place if that is what you wanted to ask.¡± He did not expect customers so soon.


    The shop shelves and counters were empty, displaying no goods at all. He was not prepared to have customers.


    ¡°That is perfect then. This place was not easy to find. The path is narrow and underused, also it is dangerous to walk alone in the forest.¡± The woman started to complain, clearly not too pleased.


    He just shrugged it off.


    ¡°The elf sent me here, I want to place an order for some herbal soap.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Can you make it smell more flowery and less like herbs? Also, it needs to make the skin soft and smooth.¡±


    ¡°I guess so.¡± He was not the one making it, it was Aiu.


    ¡°Oh and the lady I serve wanted a bottle of perfume. She liked the low price and the nice fragrance of it.¡±


    ¡°The price has increased. The reason for it is that it is very popular with the young ladies. That won¡¯t be a problem will it?¡±


    The price was upped just at this moment. This was a merchant¡¯s trick.


    ¡°No no, not at all.¡±


    ¡°It will be 14 silver coins for a bottle. I can fetch it now if you have the money.¡±


    The servant woman put the silver on a counter,


    ¡°Aiu! Bring a bottle of perfume for me!¡± He shouted extremely loudly.


    Aiu came rushing with a bottle in her hands. Not sure what was the urgency.


    ¡°Aww, what a cute little assistant you have.¡±


    ¡°Pass it to her Aiu. You can come back for soap the day after tomorrow. You asked for something custom made so we do not have anything like that in stores.¡±


    ¡°But of course. I will let my lady know and come back later.¡±


    ¡°How much soap do you need?¡±


    ¡°Oh, the lady will buy a whole batch. But it has to be as I described.¡±


    ¡°Twelve bars it is then.¡±


    ¡®The lady must bathe a lot.¡¯


    The servant took the perfume from Aiu, put it in her bosom and went back to the city.


    ¡°Who was that?¡±


    ¡°Our first customer.¡± He showed the silver they just made.


    ¡°Nice! We need to celebrate.¡±


    ¡°Maybe next time. There is so much work to do.¡±


    Incidentally he decided to install one of those bell things so he won¡¯t miss a customer wandering inside. Also, a couple of signs along the way for directions would also help. He decided to leave that task to Ell.


    +++


    Ana was tasked to take orders from within the market where she was selling minor goods. She would take the order and tell Aiu about it once she was done peddling salves. The next day she would bring it to the market for the customers to pick up their order.


    This way customers would not need to leave the city and brave the forest. However, this idea had a minor flaw.


    ¡°Oi you, hand over the money!¡± One of three thugs shouted.


    This startled Ana and she tried to flee.


    ¡°Catch her!¡±


    The men were quicker than her, the sack and basket she carried slowed her escape. She was caught within seconds.


    ¡°You slimy elf!¡± a man shouted trying to hold Ana within his grasp.


    ¡°There is no escape, empty your pockets.¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine. Take everything, but let me go.¡± She begged terrified for her life.


    ¡°We don¡¯t need your permission to do things!¡±


    Ana received a punch in the face knocking her down. The muggers quickly went through her belongings. No, to be precise everything she had belonged to her master.


    ¡°Meh¡­ Nothing useful in her sack or basket just stinky herbs.¡±


    ¡°The satchel is full of money though.¡± one of the muggers said in glee, his fingers clutching silver and copper coins.


    ¡°Hahaha. This was easy.¡±


    ¡°You were right in stalking this elf. Just as you said this mere peddler was loaded with money.¡±


    ¡°Men lets go and drink!¡±


    ¡°And eat, and fuck.¡±


    ¡°Hell yeah!¡±


    The mugger kicked Ana in her belly for a good measure and left with his friends to celebrate.


    After few minutes Ana stood up shaking the dust from her clothes. She pressed her palm to her face, it was sore, her legs were still shaking from fear. She looked around, the muggers were already gone. There were people further around who saw what happened, but no one dared to interfere. Such was the dire reality in this city, strong will take what they want from the weak.


    She collected scattered herbs and small containers of salves.


    ¡®What will I tell to the Master? Will I be punished?¡¯ she was thinking about the worst while slowly walking back towards the forest.


    ¡­


    A bell rang and a woman with her guard stepped in the shop.


    ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°Hello.¡± Guardian greeted the pair.


    ¡°I am here for my order¡±


    ¡°Of course. The soap is ready but there was a tiny issue.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± she asked in a voice which was not too pleased. Her lady borrowed her the guard and everything. The servant did not want to bring bad news to her lady.


    ¡°Since you asked for something specific it did not turn out as you wished. It was too hard to make something which cleaned, smelled nice and took care of a skin, making it smooth and soft. The soap still cleans and smells nice but the rest¡­ is not as effective as expected.¡±


    ¡°This is not good, but I understand.¡± She knew that her lady expected too much from a soap and newby alchemists. However, it was her duty to pander to her lady¡¯s wishes.


    ¡°My apologies. However, that is not all. Please take this cream for your troubles. You can use it after using the soap and bathing. It will make the skin silky and soft. I hope this pleases you.¡±


    ¡°Soap and cream will do just what the Lady wanted. This should work. How much?¡±


    ¡°This will be 4 silver.¡±


    Guardian handed a box of soap and a box of cream taking the money. The woman and her guard left pleased their job was done.


    The bell dinged again.


    ¡®Another customer, so soon.¡¯


    ¡°Master. I am sorry, I am so sorry¡±


    It was Ana who stepped in.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°I got attacked, they took your money. I am so sorry.¡± She started to cry as soon as she finished her sentence.


    ¡°This is not good.¡±


    ¡°So-So-rry.¡± She bellowed in between her sobs.


    Ana waited to be shouted at or even hit, but nothing happened. She braved to raise her head and look at her master, he was just standing there and looking at her. His gaze was distant.


    ¡°Will you punish me? What can I do to make up for this.¡± She braved to ask.


    ¡°What? Do not speak nonsense, this was not your fault.¡±


    ¡°But, the money. I lost all of it.¡±


    ¡°You are fine and that is what matter now. I will take care of this matter, do not worry and go to Aiu. Ask her to look at your face. It is all swollen.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Ana said and rushed to find Aiu fearing that he might change his mind.


    ¡°They will pay! I won¡¯t allow my property being damaged.¡± He said to himself in anger.


    ¡­


    The next day Ana went to peddle goods like she was used to do. Instead of working in workshop Aiu accompanied her. The plan was to lure the same thugs to attack Ana again and capture one of them. Girls knew that they would not attack if Master was anywhere close, so it was just the two of them. Two young woman posed no threat, or so Aiu wanted them to believe.


    The first day was uneventful and nothing happened. Second day was just the same. On the third day Ana noticed that they were being followed to the market.


    The thugs were not as dumb as they seemed. They waited for Ana to sell her goods first, it was money they were after not stinky herbs and poultices.


    Then the girls were done trading they headed back home. Another man was now shadowing them from the distance.


    Just as they crossed a narrow alley two thugs jumped on them, the third one cutting their escape. Ana recognised him from before.


    ¡°Hey, money bags! Drop the coins and we will let you go.¡±


    ¡°Are they the same men who attacked you before?¡± Aiu asked ignoring the thugs.


    ¡°No, I haven¡¯t seen these two before. Only him.¡± She pointed at the man behind them.


    ¡°You recognise me? Hahaha. I thought I punched the memory of my face out of you. I will make sure to do a better job this time.¡±


    The man approached Ana clenching his fists.


    ¡°Money now! You too, little girl. If you behave I won¡¯t hurt you. I am not a fan of beating the kids up.¡±


    Aiu reached in her satchel pretending to take the coin purse out. The thug was smiling, thinking about the money he will make.


    ¡°I am not a kid. Eat Shit!¡± Aiu took a small flask instead of a purse and threw it towards the thug.


    He was caught off guard and it smashed on his chest, splashing sticky and thick liquid on him.


    ¡°Whaaaaaaa!¡± The man yelled in agony as the acid quickly ate through his shirt and then his skin.


    ¡°What the hell!¡± One of the thugs reacted taking a few steps back. He has never seen flesh melting away like this before.


    The third thug reacted as well. He pushed ahead trying to punch Aiu from behind. Ana had her back, however. She took identical flask out and threw it at the man.


    He knocked it away with his hand by reflex, it got smashed. Acid got on his skin, eating it away.


    ¡°To the hells with you!¡± he shouted in pain.


    Aiu did not idle and threw another flask at the man who was further away. He dodged it, flask broke on the cobbles making them sizzle. He had enough, he turned and ran away.


    ¡°Ahhhh! Where are you going?¡± the thug turned and shouted at his friend through the pain. Getting distracted in battle was a mistake, his leg was kicked to the side by an elf. He lost his balance and fell. He tried to break the fall with his injured hand making another regrettable thing. His injured arm slipped and he brushed it on the cobbles smearing sizzling flesh and blood.


    ¡°Got what you deserved you scum.¡±


    Ana and Aiu ignored him and approached the one with a sizzling chest, he was laying unconscious. He passed out from pain. Aiu and Ana poured thick soapy substance on his wounds.


    The other thug took his chance to flee and catch up with his friend.


    ¡°Quickly get the salve and bandages. We need him alive.¡±


    The two patched the outlaw and dragged him towards their home for the interrogation.


    The man took some time to wake up, the jug of cold water to his face helped. He found himself bound and still in excruciating pain. It was hard to breathe.


    ¡°Rise and shine Mr Crispy.¡±


    ¡°W-what?¡±


    ¡°Does Mr Sizzle sound better?¡±


    ¡°What are you tal¡­¡± he shook the water off his face trying to focus his vision on a man speaking nonsense to him.


    And then he saw it. A huge monster standing in front of him, it spoke. Usually, monsters did not speak and this terrified him.


    ¡°Wha-what are you?¡± he asked terrified.


    ¡°I am asking questions here. You know what this is?¡± He showed a small vial in between his fingers.


    ¡°Yes.¡± He had an idea by now, it was the same stuff that melted his chest.


    ¡°No? Ok. Let me demonstrate.¡±


    ¡°I said I know. I knowwww¡­ Auuuuuuch.¡± Acid started to eat a hole in his leg.


    ¡°You will tell everything I want to know. Or else¡­ You already know, yes?¡±.


    ¡°Yes, yes, yes.¡±


    The information was tortured out of the man. It turned out that while his two other pals were boozing the money away he decided to be smart. He did not wait for his money to run out to plan an attack with his pals, he made a deal with other friends instead. He told his other ¡®friends¡¯ about the easy money and in return he will get a bigger cut. He did not want to split it equally again. It had to be at least three people in case elf brought some help or decided to fight back. The tugs knew they will be safe in numbers.


    The Guardian wanted revenge and he needed to know where to find the rest of the thugs. It turned out that they had a house where the whole gang would loiter around in. The city guards did not bother them as they were petty thieves and their leader always paid the guards their cut.


    Finding all he needed the Guardian punched the man in the chest. He was not holding his punches, the ribcage was shattered and the bones pierced the heart killing the man.


    ¡°Now I will dispose of you and the rest of the trash.¡± He said picking up the fresh corpse, carrying it away deeper into the forest for the beasts to eat. His next task was to do some cleaning in the city.

 16 Dirty practise - The farmland needs to be cleaned too

    Guardian was approaching a particular building. Even in the middle of the night, it was bustling with activity. Shady characters were loitering inside and outside of it, many of them were intoxicated. It was a den of scum and thieves.


    The Guardian went in through the wide-open doors. A group of men looked at him suspiciously.


    ¡°What are you supposed to be?¡± One of the men asked.


    ¡°I have some business with your leader. Where is he?¡±


    ¡°Oh, do you? I very much doubt that. No one walks to our base just like that. Men, let''s teach him some manners first.¡± The thug rallied his friends.


    ¡°Big mistake.¡± Guardian said as two men tried to jump him from a side.


    He sidestepped one of them and grabbed the other. He raised the man and threw him outside through the open window. He had an overwhelming advantage of size and strength, humans stood no chance against him in a fair fistfight.


    Three more thugs ran towards him, their fists ready to take Guardian down. As always, they were no match for him. He kicked one to the side, then another towards the wall. The third one received a hard punch in his face, blood and bone fragments were sent flying. The blow killed the man.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± a thug retorted running deeper inside the house.


    The thugs gathered from inside and outside the house, surrounding him. They did not attack Guardian, they have been waiting for their leader to come.


    ¡°You said you have business with me. What sort of business do I have with a foreigner like you?¡±


    ¡°Your men attacked one of my own. I hold their leader responsible.¡±


    ¡°My men are free to do as they please. If you are after the money you will get none from me.¡±


    ¡°It is not the money I want. It is blood!¡± He shouted and sprinted towards the leader.


    The men were alert and ready to attack the Guardian, but they failed in this task. His massive body broke through a small group of thugs, knocking them over. He launched himself towards the leader knocking his guards to the side with his arms and biting to the leader¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Get him off!¡± the leader shouted. Thugs were quick to react, they started to punch and kick the crouched Guardian. A good kick to his jaw made him let the leader¡¯s shoulder go.


    He rolled to the side a few times tackling the men in the process. Then he planted his legs on the flour and spun his massive tail swatting the rest who were still standing. The one who was first to receive the blow had his leg broken from the strength of an impact.


    The thugs jumped back trying to avoid the tail but there was little space as the room was cramped with men and furniture. Guardian¡¯s tail swung in circles knocking men and trashing the room; making a perimeter between him and the thugs.


    Thugs started to throw furniture and pottery at him. It was time to change his tactic as well. He stood up and paced forward his fists were ready to do some serious pounding.


    The brawl between thugs and an oversized beastlike man started. The men were punched and kicked, some were thrown to walls or even ceiling. It looked like a mini tornado was ransacking the house. The space was filled with shouts and grunts of pain.


    ¡°How is he still standing!¡± one of the men said in frustration while standing up from the floor.


    Thugs were kicking and punching the giant but while their punches did little to injure him, his punches and kicks were devastating. Some wizened up and got some weaponry like knives and daggers. Even though it was a den of thieves the men here were not particularly armed as they were only petty criminals and trouble makers, their weapon was their numbers.


    The brawl continued and the Guardian has disabled almost a half of them already, which was about a dozen men. Some of them were heavily injured or outright dead. He himself looked poorly. His hide was bruised and torn in various places, knives were poking out stuck in his sides and back. He tried to finish their leader but the man was hard to get to, he was always behind by his men.


    Guardian raised one of the thugs and slammed him on one of his knees breaking his back. Then he turned, twisted and pulled the man¡¯s body tearing it in half. The entrails and blood spilled out terrifying those who were unlucky to witness it. His new tactic seemed to work.


    Just as the thugs were ready to bail the house a group of well-armed men spilt through the broken doorway. These were the city guards, the whole dozen of them. Guards were clad in leather armour and each held a short sword and a small wooden shield.


    ¡°Seize the hostilities, this st¡­..¡± the guard stopped abruptly, the sight shocked him ¡°This stops now.¡± He finished.


    The guards arms were clutching the swords tightly. After seeing the state of the interior they were ready for the worst now.


    The thugs froze so did Guardian. He dropped the remains of the man raising his hands in the air. This was it, he did not want to risk fighting armed guards, he failed to kill thugs in time.


    ¡°I am unarmed.¡± He said to the guards who were sizing him up suspiciously.


    ¡°Do not move!¡±


    Six guards surrounded him, pointing their swords at him. The rest ran towards the remainder of thugs escorting them outside.


    ¡°Move out! Slowly!¡± he was led out the last. A sextet of guards was watching him carefully. These men were able to judge his abilities better than bandits.


    Once outside, he was disappointed to see that the bandits were let free and allowed to patch their wounds.


    ¡°You two will be going to the guard captain, the explanation is in order.¡±


    He and the thug leader were being escorted away like criminals they were.


    ¡°What is the charge?¡± he asked the guard.


    ¡°Stay silent, traveller! The guard captain will decide.¡±


    ¡°And you?! What did you get yourself in? This is way beyond what we agreed.¡±


    It appears that the guards and the thugs had some sort of agreement. It did not come as a surprise, the whole town was corrupt like that.


    The two were escorted to the Guard House. He and the thug leader were sat close to each other besides the table. The hostility between the two was clear, but they did not act on it as they were watched by the guards.


    ¡°What the heck, Robbert!?¡± Guard captain swore from the other side of the table.


    ¡°This beast attacked us unprovoked.¡± The thug leader tried to explain.


    ¡°I highly doubt that. So who are you, traveller?¡±


    ¡°I am no traveller, sir. I am an alchemist of this city. Upstart one. I have a shop and a guild card, also I am registered in this town.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ so basically some sort of a noble, or a wealthy craftsman. I have never heard of you though, but it does not matter.¡± He flipped his records and indeed a man of such description was in his records.


    ¡°He destroyed my house and killed my men!¡± the thug shouted out.


    ¡°Silence! You speak then you are spoken to.¡± He put the thug in place promptly.


    ¡°So what did he do to you?¡± guard captain asked the Guardian.


    ¡°Sir, it was one of his men. They had attacked my servants twice, seizing my money and damaging my goods. The goods I needed to be sold at the market. I went to seek justice by myself and then one thing led to the other.¡±


    ¡°You must be new in this city after all. We guards are here for that, with a small fee you can avoid such thigs. The money is no issue to you, am I right?¡±


    ¡°Of course it is not, I am a wealthy individual. It was a matter of pride, which is why I approached their house.¡±


    ¡®The pride of the noble is a troublesome thing.¡¯ Guardian had to deal with multiple ¡®pride¡¯ incidents before. They were troublesome to solve, but in the end, his pockets would feel heavier, so it was not too bad.


    ¡°Robbert, what have you to say?¡±


    ¡°I do not know anything about his servants. As far as I know, he attacked unprovoked and killed my men.¡±


    ¡°Do you really believe what you are spouting right now? We both know what your men do. So cut that bullshit.¡±


    ¡°But our agreement?!¡±


    ¡°You fool, what are you saying in front of him?¡±


    The cat was out of the bag and the captain decided to come out clean.


    ¡°I agreed not to interfere with your business as long as it is a mugging there and here. Your men are not supposed to rob high profile citizens. It is because of them why this city still stands.¡±


    ¡°But he killed my men!¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°It was self-defence.¡±


    ¡°Silence, both of you! Let me think.¡± The guard cupped his chin in thought.


    ¡°As you are now aware, the guards and Robert¡¯s establishment has an agreement in place. It is a very common thing here and completely legal.¡± Captain was making sure that Guardian understands all of this.


    The thug leader was smiling and gloating hearing the captain¡¯s words. This celebration of sorts did not last as the guard captain continued.


    ¡°However, we are not paid to clean after Robbert¡¯s mess. Men die every time. I do not care about petty thugs. Prosperous tax paying citizens are a different matter.¡± Captain gestured towards the Guardian.


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    Guard Captain slammed his hand on the desk ¡°Do not interrupt me! I am not finished. An offence is an offence and the alchemist will have to pay a fine for the disturbance caused. This behaviour is not accepted call the guards to deal with this next time traveller. Understood?¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°And to make it clear you are not to assault Robert and his men like that in the future. Nor you Robbert, to interfere with this alchemists business. Consider your matter of pride settled as you are getting out of this easy.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sir¡± Guardian thanked.


    Robbert just nodded.


    ¡°The fine of 5 gold is expected to be paid by tomorrow.¡±


    This was an extortionate fee. Most of it will end in the captain¡¯s pocket.


    ¡°Captain?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Robert?¡±


    ¡°How will my men know how his servants look like next time? We don¡¯t want this to happen again.¡±


    ¡°By his insignia you idiot. All protected servants should wear it. Show him your insignia.¡±


    ¡°I do not have one. I have moved to this city not too long ago.¡±


    ¡°That explains a lot. Get one as soon as possible if you want to avoid trouble. Then register it here, there is a fee involved as well.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°You can leave. And don¡¯t forget to pay your fine.¡±


    The guardian stood up and left.


    ¡°This is bullshit. He gets to walk free.¡±


    ¡°What do you want me to do? Can you pay five gold for our costs and to upgrade our agreement?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Thought so. You are fortunate we came in time to rescue your sorry asses. What were you thinking trying to take on someone like him in a brawl?¡±


    ¡°As I said it was him who was seeking the blood.¡±


    ¡°We settled it here and this is it. You are alive and free to go. Do not get yourself in trouble like this. As per agreement if you continue to pay us you are free to mug and extort money from lower classes, but nothing above that.¡±


    ¡°Yes, captain.¡± The thug said through greeted teeth.


    ¡°Now go and get that shoulder sorted before you pass out.¡±


    The captain flicked his wrist gesturing the thug to get out.


    As the guardian came back home he was met with expectant looks of Aiu and elves. Aiu promptly started to tend his wounds while he explained the outcome of his venture. He explained that they should not get attacked anymore as long as they wore some special insignia, even the guards would pay attention to them if they had it. Hearing the good news and finishing their evening chores the group went to sleep.


    The very next morning Guardian went to register the insignia. He did not have an imagination to come up with a symbol and left it to Aiu. What she drew was a some sort of a cross ? on a piece of a tree bark. He took the drawing and registered it as his insignia and attached it to his alchemy shop records. Which costed him a gold piece.


    The next thing he had to do was make three arm bands carrying this insignia for his servants. He went to an artisan for this. He picked a design for the arm bands, the Aiu was not here to advise him so he selected something which was vaguely appealing to him. It was a band fashioned to resemble a coiling serpent, it was made out of black tinted metal. The artisan quickly etched a symbol on the serpents head and filled it with a red dye so it stands out.


    He paid 6 silver for each and promptly went back home. He delivered the arm bands to the trio.


    ¡°Wow, this looks cool. A serpent.¡± Aiu said.


    ¡°I thought it would be fitting.¡±


    ¡°It looks expensive. Thank you.¡± ¡°Thank you, Master.¡± Thanked the elves sliding bands on their arms.


    ¡°Now we can conduct the business safely.¡±


    Elves nodded in agreement and left to earn their keep. Ana went to the city to peddle the goods and Ell to the forest to hunt some game. Aiu produced the alchemical stuff and tended the shop and her guardian went deep into the forest to gather some herbs.


    The first half of the day was uneventful, the shop was visited by a few customers ordering some basic stuff and that was it.


    During the second half, a customer approached Aiu with an unusual request.


    ¡°Can I get Master Hunter?¡± A well-built man asked.


    ¡°No. This is an Alchemy shop.¡± The odd question confused Aiu.


    ¡°I was told that this is the place where Master Hunter resides. Big and tall ¡­ traveller. Black and exotically looking, has a long thick tail.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like my guardian, but he is not a Master Hunter.¡±


    ¡°Did he slay the Corpse Serpent or not?¡±


    ¡°He did.¡±


    ¡°Then he is the one I am looking for.¡± The man assumed Guardian must be a master hunter since he slew that dangerous monster.


    ¡°My guardian is out in the woods at the moment, I can¡¯t call him.¡±


    ¡°Hunting?¡±


    ¡°No, he is not hunting. Well, he is capable of that, of course. He is gathering herbs.¡±


    ¡°So what is his profession? I heard that he slew the monster by himself so he must be at least a retired warrior, no?¡±


    ¡°I understand your confusion. However, he simply is¡­¡± she did not know how to answer as he did not have a particular thing he specialised in. He hunted, gathered herbs, peddled goods and even crafted, not to mention his mysterious magic abilities.


    ¡°He is an owner of this Alchemy show and my adoptive father.¡±


    ¡°So a business man and a father. How odd, maybe the rumours were false again.¡± The man said with a clear annoyance in his voice.


    First, he was led to a renowned old Master Hunter who allegedly slew a Corpse Serpent, the man even had a polished skull at his home. However, the information was conflicting. Some said it was him while others claimed that it was a traveller who slew the beast. The later sources were guild merchants and a tailor.


    The old Master Hunter proved to be a sham. Upon hearing his offer the old man refused it for no good reason. When he pressured the hunter he admitted that he merely purchased the skull from a beastman who came with a girl.


    No one knew the name of this mysterious Corpse Serpent slayer or where he lived. However he was able to peace the information together. Mostly using the bits of hearsay mentioning that a small girl was seen tagging along with him. He found that the same girl was selling some herbal stuff at the market. Later, she was replaced by an elf beauty selling the same kind of stuff. Upon seeing the band on an elf¡¯s arm he found where the shop was. It was easy because both the insignia and the shop¡¯s location was registered in the cities records.


    ¡°Can I wait outside until the man comes back?¡±


    ¡°I guess so.¡± Aiu had no reason to object.


    The stranger went outside and positioned himself against the wall. He listened and looked around the place, inspecting it. The building seemed to be built recently. The forest clearing had signs of various activities. A column of smoke was rising from a small building besides the house. In the garden nearby grew a variety of unknown plants. Further away stood a collection of tubs with ash and water in them, making lye water. The grounds were clean and well kept, only a small decrepit hut stood out.


    An elf stepped in the clearing from the dense woods. He was dragging a gutted dear.


    ¡°Aiu, I am back!¡± He shouted.


    The small girl emerged from the shop running towards him. She crouched next to the dear¡¯s carcass holding a skinning knife in her hand. However, she did not move it to start skinning the forest creature. She stretched her other hand and the dear glowed in bright light for a few seconds. Its flesh was exposed and its pelt was now in a girl¡¯s hand.


    The man raised his eyebrow as he did not expect this. The whole scene was odd. ¡®Would it not be better if the girl hunted since she possessed the precious hunting skill? Why is she managing the shop then?¡¯ he wondered while Aiu passed by him, running back to the building with the pelt in hand.


    The elf carried the carcass to the wooden bench and started to slice the meat up.


    ¡°And who are you, stranger? I do not remember Maser telling us that we got a guard for the shop.¡±


    ¡°Ha, you have a good eye. I might look like a guard, still am nothing but. I am a customer.¡±


    ¡°I see. Did you place an order already? Or waiting for it to be finished?¡± he was making a small talk, it was not often he left the forest and met other people.


    ¡°No. I am here to meet with your¡­ Master? Or is it just an employer?¡±


    ¡°Master. What for?¡±


    ¡°Hunting stuff. I heard he slew a massive serpent who plagued the woods here.¡±


    ¡°He did.¡±


    ¡°Did you help him?¡±


    ¡°No, and as I am now, I doubt I would be of any help. Anyways, it happened before I joined his service.¡±


    ¡°Do you think he did it alone?¡±


    ¡°No doubt.¡±


    ¡°What makes you so sure?¡±


    ¡°I have seen him in action. He possesses an overwhelming might. He hunts with his bare hands, his speed rivals the wolves and his stamina is unmatched.¡±


    ¡°You are an exceptional servant to flatter his Master so much.¡± The man doubted the elves words. He might have been instructed to shower his master with praise.


    Ell was able to read the strangers face, knowing that he did not believe him.


    ¡°He also has some leftover scales and leather from the monster. I have been given a poison from the serpent to aid in my hunt. And Aiu has a leather vest made from its hide. If you want some material proof that would be it. So what do you need him for?¡±


    ¡°To hunt something of course.¡±


    ¡°If it pays well he will. He is a capable man. After you see him you will realise that instantly.¡±


    The elf finished butchering the dear and put the meat to be smoked. Soon after the Guardian emerged from a forest carrying multiple sacks on his back.


    ¡°Good day sir!¡± the stranger greeted him. This was the man he was looking for and indeed he looked impressive. He looked more like a monster than a beastman. Calling him a beastman did not exactly fit.


    ¡°Good day, how might I help?¡±


    ¡°Let me introduce myself first. My name is Lucas and I am responsible for the protection of the surrounding farmlands. Might it be bandits or the beasts.¡± He stretched his arm in a greeting.


    It was ignored. The guardian unbuckled the sacks from his back and set them by the wall.


    ¡°What is your name, sir?¡± the stranger asked


    ¡°I don¡¯t have one.¡±


    ¡®That explains a lot of things.¡¯


    ¡°How could I address you then?¡±


    ¡°Guardian will do.¡±


    ¡°That is a fitting moniker. I come here with business.¡±


    ¡°If it is alchemical stuff go to my apprentice, Aiu. She handles it.¡±


    ¡°No. I need you to help to slay a particular monster. Dangerous and menacing one. Are you up for such task?¡±


    ¡°Depends.¡±


    ¡°The city will pay well for your assistance.¡±


    ¡°Then I am.¡±


    ¡°Before I go into the details I need to confirm something. I need to be sure that I am hiring the right man. Do you have some sort of proof that you have slain the corpse serpent? I mean no offence, of course, just making sure.¡±


    ¡°No offence taken. I have some remnants from its body, also I can take you to the place where the hunt had happened. The signs are still there.¡±


    ¡°Please do.¡±


    Lucas was shown the evidence. Once happy that he had the right man he introduced himself as Lucas and told him that he was responsible for getting rid of the monsters plaguing rural areas. Then he disclosed the rest of the information why he was here.


    Guardian will have to take care of a large canine monster who was wreaking havoc on sheep and cattle. The monster has been emerging from the eastern woods and eating its fill early in morning. It was a monster known as Herd Eater, a huge canine monster with exceptional strength and healing abilities.


    It would do more and more damage as the time passed. If not dealt with quickly after expending the supply of animals it would destroy farmhouses and eat people.


    Guardian agreed to help if he gets to keep its core. Lucas was pleased with this as he would not need to pay any money, well the mages helping him will be of a different opinion. The core was sought after magical ingredient.


    Guardian was expected to present himself for the ambush before the dawn. They shook their hands commencing the deal and then Lucas went back to the city.


    That day Guardian did not sleep; he was thinking about thigs that could go wrong. Aiu noticed this and shuffled her body closer to his head. Now that they were alone in their own room she insisted on sleeping with him, arguing that it would a waste in getting two separate beds.


    ¡°I can come with you and assist if you want.¡± She offered.


    ¡°Too dangerous and there is no need. It will be fine.¡±


    ¡°And yet you do not sleep, clearly worried about tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Not worried just thinking.¡±


    ¡°Do not overthink. It is no good to overthink things.¡±


    ¡°You are right, I need to try to relax and clear my mind.¡±


    ¡°I could try to help you relax if you want? Just like you helped me last night. I have never done it before but¡­¡±


    She was referring to the ¡®massage¡¯ session she received yesterday¡¯s night. She begged for it shamelessly until she got what she wanted.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean but I am fine. If you stay quiet I might catch some sleep.¡± He cut her off.


    ¡°Sorry I just thought that¡­¡±


    ¡°It is fine. It will be alright¡± He did not know what she thought. He patted her head, brushing her soft hair. ¡°Sleep Aiu. There is work for you tomorrow.¡±


    She gave up and did so. She will have plenty of times for her conquest since there were no elves interfering anymore.


    Couple hours before the dawn he stood up, being careful not to wake Aiu, and went towards the city.


    There he met Lucas and the men he has gathered. There were six human mages and four bulky beastmen. Guardian sat with the men and devised their strategy to take down the Herd Eater.

 17 Herd Eater - It comes bringing mist and death

    The newly assembled monster hunters have gathered a small herd of old sheep in a pen; the one which was attacked before. It was close by the forest and was one of the first ones to be hit by the Herd Eater.


    The mages hid in piles of dried grass, not too far from the pen. Hiding the Guardian was a tad bit harder. He rubbed himself in replant masking his scent, the stuff made his nose run and he wanted to sneeze but he had to bear with it. He was hiding in a hastily built wooden shelter.


    They were there for a couple of hours and it was already dawn, sun rays basked the pen. He was beginning to think that the monster will not show itself here today.


    But then, the sheep started to stir and run around in panic. He saw a monster many times bigger than a dire wolf. It was three times bigger than himself and vaguely resembled a wolf. Most of its body was cowered in black skin, only its back and head had black long fur. Its legs were long and muscular, build for speed and agility. It had a long maw full of sharp dagger-like teeth. Its torso had peculiar slits in odd places, all of which oozed faint columns of steam.


    The beast sniffed the air a couple times suspiciously, probably suspecting something. Then it looked at the sheep and licked its lips, a thick string of saliva dripped from its mouth. It slowly stepped inside the pen forcing the sheep into a corner. The monster opened its jaw and bit one unlucky sheep, raising it in the air. Sheep was too big to swallow whole so it bit the sheep in half.


    Guardian knew this was the time and he jumped out of his hiding spot. He was running towards the monster while clutching a massive metal stick with a sharp tip and a hook on its end, the other end of it had a rope attached to it.


    The monster noticed him and threw the bleeding sheep¡¯s corpse to the side. The monster disliked to be challenged, this was its territory. Herd Eater ran towards Guardian in a mad sprint.


    A monster was about to sink its jaws on his prey but it was pushed to the side. The force of magic projectiles the mages shot did that. Guardian jumped to the opposite side avoiding the monster completely and jabbed the spear to its side, spear¡¯s hook wedged in deep into the flesh.


    A Monster turned around to be met with another barrage of magic projectiles. Its hide sizzled and was blackened from the magic, bits of flesh were exposed. But the wounds were shrinking and visibly healing.


    It changed its target and turned towards the scattered mages. Picking the one at random it crouched to ready its body for a sprint. As it was about to launch itself to attack the monster¡¯s balance was thrown off by a forceful pull.


    Guardian pulled the rope preventing the monster from attacking the mages. The hook was embedded deeply in its muscles and monster¡¯s healing ability helped to keep it in place.


    ¡°Over here!¡± Guardian pulled the rope again getting the monster¡¯s attention.


    As it turned it was blasted with another barrage of magical projectiles. The monster ignored the pain and the mages, it had to take the one preventing it from moving first.


    Monsters head moved to bite at the Guardian but he was able to dodge it. Guardian wrapped the rope around his left arm. With his right, he gapped a javelin from a quiver on his side. He swung it towards the oversized beast embedding it in its torso.


    The monster roared in displeasure biting again. This time a flask smashed into its maw spraying obnoxious substance inside. Monster sneezed and tried to spit it out. It received another javelin to its side and a few more blasts from mages.


    Herd Eater shook its head spiting the offending liquid and swiped with its clawed forelimb at Guardian. It made a contact sending the large man fumbling to the side. It tried to bite him again while he was on a ground. Monster¡¯s dagger-like teeth sunk in flesh piercing the shoulder. However, the teeth did not go as deep as the monster expected, the challenger¡¯s hide was many times tougher than sheep¡¯s it so much liked to devour.


    The guardian did not wail or trash in pain. Instead, he jammed javelin in the nose of the monster. It sunk deep piercing in through the side and coming at the end.


    The monster gasped in pain letting the shoulder go. Mages were still firing at it with projectiles. Its body was getting damaged but the process was too slow, it would take hours to slay the beast at this rate, it was regenerating too quickly.


    The beast turned towards the mages again and ran. Guardian was being dragged on the ground. He positioned himself better and sunk his legs in the earth slowing the oversized wolf. Mages scattered further away. Beastmen threw their javelins to distract the monster, their duty was to protect the mages.


    Guardian reached for his last javelin and managed to throw it at the Monster''s thigh, temporarily disabling it. The monster stopped and spun its body while standing on its remaining three legs.


    The guardian could not bear the force and the rope slipped from its arm. Sending him flying away from the monster. His belly hit the grass and he slid turning in circles. As soon as he stopped sliding he launched himself back towards his quarry who was gaining on the mages.


    The monster opened its jaw and was ready to clamp it on one of the beastmen, but it got unpleasantly pulled again. It knew what to do this time and was ready to spin its body. When the monster was half way to its spin, Guardian released the tightened rope and tackled the monster. He used the javelins to get a grip and held tightly. His left arm had recovered slightly and he was able to use it again. The monster stopped spinning and bent its neck to bite him just to be kicked to its injured nose.


    The mages reformed their line and fired at the herd Eater again. The monster tried to shake Guardian from its side while he clawed at its wound. The beast men did not idle either. One of them braved to approach the monster and jabbed a hooked spear to its side. Then the remaining three pulled the rope attached to it toppling the wolf.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The guardian let go of the javelins and grabbed his rope too. The monster was trying to stand up so Guardian rand quickly behind it binding its rear leg in a loop using his rope and pulled it. The monster toppled again. The guardian let go of it and jumped on the monster¡¯s back seizing the opportunity while the beast was still low. Guardian was holding on the strands of monster¡¯s hair while the monster stood up and spun again, tugging the rope off the beastmen''s hands.


    When it stopped spinning Guardian took a dagger from his side and started to stab it in the back. The dagger pierced the thick hide in couple of blows and now he was sending sprays of blood with each stab. The monster tried to bite at the guardian but it could not bend enough to reach him. Instead, it planted its legs on the ground and launched a stream of wet fog from the slits on its sides cloaking its body. The mages did not know where to hit anymore.


    The wolf rolled trying to crush the one on its back. Guardian sensing the movement jumped off its back and ran out of the cloud of mist towards the mages.


    ¡°It will either flee or attack one of us.¡±


    ¡°The plan did not work. We need to change it.¡± One of the mages stated the obvious.


    ¡°Agreed.¡± Guardian said motioning one of the beastmen to bring his stuff. He took a belt full of barbed stakes.


    The mages ran towards each other ordering themselves. They could no longer remain scattered. As soon as they made their new formation the monster emerged from the mist. Its sides were spewing hot steam now and then. It ran towards the formation.


    Beastmen stood in line, armed with spears ready to brace the impact. As the monster approached they parted slightly letting Guardian jump towards the sprinting monster. It opened its jaws to bite at him but couldn¡¯t because guardians torso slammed to its head. It could not open its jaws wide enough to bite at him like that, it needed to bite at an angle.


    The dagger sunk deep inside the monster¡¯s eye. It spun its head throwing Guardian away and leaving the dagger embedded. As it kept sprinting the beastmen avoided its charge and stabbed at its sides, mages shot their projectiles. This slowed down the monster and it started to cloak itself in the mist again. Monster¡¯s attacks did not work and it decided that it was time to flee.


    When the monster was ready to run away something slammed to its side. A stake sunk into its flesh. It tried to ignore it and fled anyway. Guardian did not want to let the beast flee, he held on a spear embedded in monster''s body. The monster tried to throw him unsuccessfully the Guardian thrust another stake at its side. The stakes had a rope kneaded at their looped ends.


    Just like with a serpent, Guardian held on and pushed the stakes in one by one. The monster stopped running and bent its neck trying to get rid of him. Guardian used this chance to push a spike in monsters leg, hindering its movements. He then ran around to bind the rears legs. After this was done, he pulled the rope forcing the oversized wolf to a sit. Then he jumped on its back and proceeded to push the spikes in its flesh again. The monster did not like that and rolled. As before Guardian jumped off, but this time he had a rope wrapped around the monster. He ran to the front trying to get rear legs to entangle as well.


    The beast was bound more or less, but this was temporary. Guardian jumped on monsters shoulders, his arms enveloped its neck. He pushed his arms together trying to strangle the monster but the neck was too thick. However, his body weight and ropes were enough to prevent the monster from standing up again.


    ¡°Are you there?¡± The mages caught up to him, but they were too cautious to go into the mist.


    ¡°Yes, I have the monster pinned with ropes.¡±


    ¡°What shall we do?¡±


    ¡°Light it up!¡±


    The mages fired at the general direction of the voice. The projectiles hit the wolf, but one of them singed the guardians back.


    ¡°Uhhh! I am in the line of fire. Angle it a bit and try again.¡±


    The mages circled to the side of the fog and fired again.


    ¡°Now?¡±


    ¡°Better.¡± The mages kept firing, some of it missed some of it hit. The parts which were hit were not healing anymore.


    ¡°This is odd. It stopped healing.¡±


    ¡°Good we will keep firing.¡±


    The monster kept getting injured more and more, it even was bleeding now. It stopped spewing fog from its sides and the view cleared again. However, the wounds started to shrink again.


    ¡°It is healing again.¡±


    ¡°This must be the reason why it did not use the fog from the beginning.¡±


    The mages kept firing regardless. It was not just the monster which got damaged. The rope bounding it received the blasts too. Bindings were weakened and eventually it snapped in multiple places letting the monster to stand again.


    ¡°Oh no, you don¡¯t.¡± Guardian clutched its neck while it stood. The monster tried to shake him off its head.


    Guardian held tight with one hand and stuck the other inside the monster¡¯s ear canal. He took a moment to concentrate and collect the magic which pulsed from his core towards his arm. More and more of it was collected and then he barely could hold it in he let it go with a blast. Magic shockwave blasted through the ear canal popping the eardrum and sending a spurt of blood.


    The monsters brain shook inside its skull and the Herd Eater dropped and remained motionless. The guardian did not let its head go, just in case it was able to regenerate even this sort of damage.


    ¡°Hey, what did you do?¡± the mage asked in surprise.


    ¡°Why did it drop so suddenly?¡± asked another.


    ¡°Do not just stand there, you two come here and make sure it stays dead.¡±


    The beastmen ran towards the monster clutching their weapons. They jabbed their spears through the monster''s neck.


    ¡°I think it is dead for good.¡± The beastman said.


    The Guardian reluctantly let the neck go. He took the dagger from the monster eye and proceeded to cut Herd Eater¡¯s belly.


    ¡°Hey what are you doing? We will get a Master Hunter to skin it and harvest the organs.¡±


    ¡°The core. I am looking for the core.¡± He said halfway inside the monster¡¯s carcass.


    ¡°Yes, Lucas mentioned that.¡±


    ¡°You are lucky to get the core. It is the most valuable part of the monster.¡± One of the mages was obviously jealous about it.


    ¡°At first, I thought that it is unfair for you to get an entire core. But then I saw you and how you deal with it. Without you, we couldn¡¯t even take this monster down. You deserve it.¡± said another mage.


    ¡°We were ill-prepared for this. I still don¡¯t know how we did it.¡± The fifth mage talked.


    ¡°Found it!¡± Guardian took out a core which was a size of a melon.


    ¡°I have never seen the core so big!¡± a mage exclaimed in awe.


    ¡°Thank you for your help I will be going. Tell Lucas to send his thanks back to my place. I won¡¯t be waiting for him here.¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess there is no point for you of hanging around. The monster is dead after all. Thank you.¡±


    The guardian waved to the men and stomped through the fields back home.


    Some of the men gathered around the corpse and took some time to reflect.


    ¡°This was amazing. I did not think we could do it.¡±


    ¡°Thanks to him we could. He fought like a monster himself.¡±


    ¡°We all saw him getting bitten and trashed by the Eater. After receiving a beating like that he didn¡¯t look injured.¡±


    ¡°It is almost like that traveller himself is a monster.¡±


    ¡°He definitely looks like one. I have never seen a beastman so big.¡±


    ¡°Guardian fought like one too.¡±


    ¡°I do not think you should even compare him with regular beastman.¡±


    ¡°He might even get offended.¡± Added one of the beastmen.


    ¡°Thinking about it. I do not know his race. Did any of you hear about people like him?¡±


    ¡°No¡± they answered or shook their head one by one to say that they did not.


    ¡°He is an enigma.¡±


    ¡°Well, he helped us, and the farmers. Enough of this chatter you guys go get master hunter and tell the farmers and Lucas that the Herd Eater is dead.¡±


    ¡°It is time to claim our reward.¡±

 18 Monster parts - You should not put it in your mouth

    uardian was clutching the mana core in his hands. His fingers trembled a little from excitement. He was currently holding a thing worth of a small fortune. There was no way he could have gotten his hands on such a prize alone. Working in a team proved to be extremely beneficial, he could take a foe stronger than him. Those mages did a good job to weaken the beast.


    ¡°What should I do with this? If I sold it, it would bring quite a bit of wealth, but¡­¡± He was speaking with himself out loud.


    He looked at the core turning it around in his hands. ¡°If I do not try it I will never know. Let¡¯s risk it.¡± He put the core inside his mouth and chewed on it. It was still fresh and bloody; it did not have enough time to harden. The juices and spongy material filled his mouth and he swallowed it all.


    The core reached his stomach, bit of it replenished his mana. That was not everything it did. He started to feel hot which was unusual. His whole body started to burn. By the time he reached his house, it was quite bad. His blood veins were expanded bulging out of his muscles. His heart was racing and his whole body pulsed in energy. He felt dizzy and wobbly. His vision was blurry and his senses confused.


    He went inside the house looking for Aiu.


    ¡°Aiu where are you? I am not feeling so good.¡±


    She popped her head from her workshop. ¡°What happened? Are you okay? You are all covered in dirt and blood!¡±


    ¡°Ah, it is not mine. It is from the Herd ¡­¡± He slumped to the ground.


    ¡°Are you okay? Speak with me!¡± Aiu panicked.


    Aiu and the elves carefully dragged him to his bed. This was not an easy task and it took all three of them to do this. Then Aiu rushed to her workshop looking for potent healing salves and anything that could be any help. Meanwhile, Ana brought some water and Ell ran to the city to look for a healer.


    Aiu handed the salves to Ana, she wanted to clean his body first. Dirt and dried blood stained his skin. She soaked the cloth and quickly rubbed the muck away. No wounds were revealed, whatever wounds he suffered were closed by now, only thin lines remaining in place of cuts.


    ¡°He does not look injured. Maybe poisoned then.¡± Aiu assumed.


    Just to be safe she told Ana to rub his body in healing salve. The girl took out the antidote she brewed before and poured it into the Guardian¡¯s throat. Ana had to lift his head so he does not choke.


    ¡°I can barely hold his head. He is so heavy.¡±


    ¡°Almost done.¡± Said Aiu while pouring the remainder of the antidote for common poisons.


    ¡°Will this work?¡±


    ¡°I do not know. If he is poisoned it is tricky. I would need to know what kind of poison it is to prepare a more suitable antidote. Hopefully, the healer will be here shortly to tell us more.¡±


    Aiu touched Guardin¡¯s forehead with hers. It was burning hot.


    ¡°He is definitely ill. It is so hot I can barely stand it.¡±


    ¡°It sounds like a fewer. If so, we need to cool him straight away. I will go get some cold water from the stream.¡±


    By the time Ell came back with the healer, the women had Guardian cooled.


    ¡°Please, help us. We will pay whatever it costs.¡± Aiu asked the healer.


    ¡°Hmmm, do you have any idea what is wrong with him?¡±


    ¡°NO that is why we called you in the first place! It could be poisoning or some sort of rare illness. He has a high fever.¡±


    ¡°Hmm this will be hard, I have never treated his kind.¡± The healer touched Guardian¡¯s chest. ¡°Usually, fever is a good thing, as it helps the body to fight the illness. But this is definitely too much. You did well in cooling him.¡±


    ¡°So what should we do next?¡±


    ¡°Let me see. I need to run a few tests.¡± He took out a thin-bladed dagger. ¡°Do not be alarmed this is necessary¡±.


    The healer stabbed the dagger into Guardian¡¯s arm. He struggled to pierce the skin and had to apply more force than normal. He took some blood directly from the vein and poured it into the strange vial with some sort of substance. He swirled the contents a couple of times and inspected the reaction.


    ¡°Hmmm, this is definitely very interesting. There is no poison in his blood but something is happening for sure. What is it, I can not tell. I have never seen such a reaction.¡±


    ¡°So it is not a poison, good. But what is wrong with him?¡±


    ¡°It is hard to tell. Do you know how he felt or looked before all of this happened.¡±


    Aiu told that he was fine in the morning and then he suddenly slumped without a warning after his battle with the monster he was meant to slay.


    ¡°That might explain it. Fighting magical monster carry various risks. He might have contracted some sort of disease, got overexerted or¡­ or it could be a magical curse.¡±


    ¡°Magic curse?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but it is very unlikely as such situations are extremely rare. My best advice is to keep him cool and comfortable. Also, if he does not regain his consciousness, give him plenty of water and liquid food. Stamina potions might help as well. Anyways, there is little I can do. Take this recipe, you are a herbalist so you should be able to prepare it yourself, yes?¡±


    Aiu looked at the recipe. It had pictures of plants and a picture instruction she could use to make it. Also, it had numbers, as well as the actual written recipe. The pictures were for the vast majority who could not read.


    ¡°Yes, I can read this. Looks easy to make and I have all the ingredients already.¡±


    ¡°Good, you won¡¯t need to purchase it from an apothecary. This will save you money and time.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for this.¡±


    ¡°No problem. It is a common recipe to strengthen the ill body. However, no guarantees it will work on his kind. Give him 4 portions in the evening and in the morning. No, make it 5 as he is a big person. As for my pay, that will be 1 gold. If the situation gets worse do not hesitate to contact me again.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Ell escorted the healer back to the city while Aiu rushed to make the concoction.


    ¡­


    The guardian stayed unconscious for the next day. Aiu followed the instructions and tried to keep his body temperature normal. This proved to be quite a challenge as he was literally steaming up. His skin was unpleasantly hot. She would pour cold water on his chest and after a while it would turn to visible vapour and dry off.


    Aiu and Ana took turns to cool him and by the night his temperature seemed to stabilise. Aiu laid to sleep on his chests hoping that she will be awoken if he gets worse again.


    Eventually, the morning came and the Guardian opened his eyes.


    ¡°Aiu what are you doing on top of me?¡± He said while nudging her.


    She raised her head and rubbed her eyes in disbelief. Still thinking that she is dreaming.


    ¡°I am not a bed you know. Get to your spot and sleep there. I will go get some food. I am starving.¡±


    The tears started to stream from Aiu¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°What is this? I merely told you to get off me. I need to stand.¡± He said somewhat confused.


    ¡°You are okay. I am so happy.¡±


    ¡°What? Why?¡±


    ¡°You were terribly sick! I thought you were dying.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡±


    ¡°Then you came back you passed out and were unconscious for the whole day.¡±


    ¡°I do not remember what happened after I came home. You must be right. I do not know what happened but, I feel fine now. Just terribly hungry.¡±


    ¡°Do not stand yet, you might be still sick.¡±


    He raised Aiu and put her on the side.


    ¡°I am fine.¡± He ignored her protest and went outside to loot the smokehouse for a quick fix of food.


    He quickly ate his fill and once he sated his hunger he thought about how he feels and what might have happened. Aiu was bothering him the entire time he ate.


    ¡°For the tenth time, I do not feel sick. This might be something like a food poisoning. I ate a monster core on the way back home.¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°I doubt it was because of it. We had a healer inspecting you for a poison and he could not find any.¡±


    ¡°Calling the healer was completely unnecessary. I feel perfectly normal. No, now I feel even better than usual.¡±


    ¡°This might be because of the medicine, and our efforts, you know!¡±


    He somehow doubted that. He believed that the culprit of his previous debilitating condition was indeed a monster core. Whatever it did, it made his body to adapt to it, which is why he might have had that reaction. Currently, he felt stronger than before and his mana reserves definitely improved.


    ¡°You might be right Aiu. Thank you. I am all healthy now, believe me.¡± He gave up on arguing.


    After thinking some more he decided that Aiu was wrong and had little to do with his recovery. His body probably tried to absorb the steam magic skill from the monster. This was not the first time he had obtained magic skills from eating monster cores. However, his body clearly rejected that particular skill as he was incompatible with it. Shooting steam clouds from his body were not possible, he would need to grow body parts for that. Something currently impossible. His body tried regardless, burned itself up and failed in the process. That is why he was getting excessively hot.


    He must have gotten something from the core anyway. He just did not know what yet. The guardian decided to head into the city and try to research more about the Herd Eater he slew, this might give some insight.


    He went to the small building, it was an archive and the library. It was a small building and had a limited amount of knowledge. Also, it was not free to use and he would not be able to take any books home.


    He paid a hefty 12 silver browsing fee and started his search. The whole thing turned out to be extremely disappointing. Firstly, many of the bookshelves were packed to close to each other for him to fit in. He had to pay a librarian¡¯s assistant to help in his search. Secondly, the whole archive-cum-library was poorly organised, even the librarian did not have the complete list and location of the books. Assistant had to look pretty much blindly.


    Later he found out that the most precious books and scrolls were locked in the basement and without the direct permission from the nobility he has no access to it.


    He could not find what he was looking for. Instead, he went to look for Lucas, the man seemed to know his monsters.


    He found him in the city hall office and Lucas agreed to help him in the evening when he finishes his work, provided that he will take him to a tavern and pay for his drinks and a meal.


    In order not to waste time, Guardian walked around town visiting various craftsmen and guilds; gathering information. The prospect of getting stronger by slaying powerful monsters appealed to him. Normally he would get his mana replenished and a small boost from small mana cores he has got his hands on. This was the first time he ate such a big core and he craved for more.


    Finally, in the evening he met up with Lucas and they headed to the tavern. The two had a friendly conversation lasting for a good half an hour.


    ¡°Well, I told you everything I know. If you want to know more you should head to the Coast Town, they have a mages guild here. You could try bribing the mage to disclose more.¡±


    Lucas told about his knowledge of various monster who terrorised the town and nearby villages but his knowledge was limited. He did not know where to look for the bigger monsters as he would just defend from one once it attacked the people. Guardian was able to get some knowledge and insight about local big threats. If he wanted to know more, how to hunt and prepare to kill one, he had to go to Coastal Town. They have underestimated the Herd Eater and he did not want to repeat the same mistake. He also needed the location of territories where such monsters had been seen.


    ¡°Thank you, Lucas. I know what I must do.¡± He left a small sum of coin for the drinks on the table and stood to leave.


    ¡°So will you become some sort of Monster Hunter?¡±


    ¡°I am thinking of something like that.¡±


    ¡°You are an odd person. I know you will do a good job. The mages did not hesitate to praise your skill in the last hunt. But who will look after your shop then?¡±


    ¡°I will leave it to my apprentice.¡±


    ¡°That little girl? A kid?¡± Lucas said in disbelief.


    ¡°She is more capable than you think. Also, she is a woman, just short in stature.¡± Apparently, It was not just him who was unable to judge the age correctly. And he thought humans could do that, at least when it was about their own kind.


    ¡°You know what you are doing.¡±


    The guardian nodded and left Lucas in the tavern to enjoy his third round of drinks.


    It was late and Guardian headed back home thinking about the tomorrow. He will have a busy day, he needs to prepare for the long journey.


    Once at home he was met by Aiu.


    ¡°Any luck in finding what you have been looking for?¡±


    ¡°Yes and no.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Aiu waited for him to continue.


    ¡°To get what I want I will have to travel to the Coastal City.¡±


    ¡°When are we leaving?¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow and I will be travelling alone. I need you here.¡±


    ¡°This is so sudden!¡±


    ¡°You will be all right. Ell and Ana will help you.¡±


    ¡°It is not about that. I will miss you.¡± Aiu hugged him and did not want to let him go.


    He proceeded to walk to the bedroom while Aiu was dangling on a side of his body, refusing to let go.


    ¡°Still not letting me go?¡± He said whilst laying down in his bed.


    ¡°Never!¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°It is because I ¡­ I love you. Here I said it.¡±


    She has never said these words to him even though she felt like that for quite a while. She felt relieved by expressing her feelings


    ¡°I am unsure what it means, but thank you, Aiu!¡±


    He was leaving her. Aiu willed herself to be brave so that she has no regrets later.


    Spoiler: Spoiler<input class="spoilerButton" type="button" value="Show">


    ¡°I will show you what it means.¡± She climbed on top of his chest and pressed her lips to his.


    This took him by surprise and as soon as the mischievous girl moved her head away he spoke.


    ¡°Was that a kiss?¡±


    ¡°Yes. A very special kiss. This was my first kiss.¡± Aiu was beginning to blush.


    ¡°I have never kissed before either.¡± For him it felt weird. He did not understand the purpose of it, but it did not feel unpleasant. He was curious felt about it. ¡°Did you like it? The kiss?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It was amazing, I still feel excited and my heart is beating.¡± She put her hand to her chest.


    ¡°I see.¡± He could not say he felt the same. However, if the young woman liked it he could use it as a motivation for the next time. It was fairly easy and low-effort reward he could use to make her work even harder.


    Aiu was gazing at his eyes and lips longingly. He did not say a thing just watched the young woman. She leaned closer and kissed him again and again. Her small lips unable to cower his.


    ¡°I want to do something before you leave.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± he has already guessed that she will want to do something indecent and he was ready to comply. He knew that he has to keep her pleased, and loyal to his cause, while he will be away.


    Instead of replying Aiu took off her robe. She had nothing under it. He looked at Aiu from top to bottom unsure if she wanted to show him something.


    ¡°I do not have much. I don¡¯t even know if you like it. But this will have to do.¡±


    He wanted to ask what she was talking about but decided against it, letting it unravel naturally.


    Aiu pressed her whole body against his chest and slowly descended while making small kisses as she went down. He could not feel them as they were too gentle. Aiu¡¯s hands brushed past his chest, her fingers groped his muscles.


    The woman pushed herself lower and lower. Guardian was observing where this is going patiently. he looked and her actions in slight confusion; this was all new to him. Due to his efforts to pay careful attention to what she was doing, Aiu noticed his attentive gaze. Her cheeks were coloured in pink and she slid down brushing her modest chest down his body. Her tiny nipples were erect.


    She slid in between his massive thighs. Her hands hovered above the side clip of his loincloth, the only piece of clothing he would ever wear.


    ¡°It seems this was not enough. I need to try harder.¡± Aiu said quietly as if talking with herself.


    ¡°I always say you need to work harder.¡± He said it as a matter of fact.


    Aiu took that as a word of encouragement. She grabbed at the clip and uncoupled it, taking the loincloth off.


    ¡°Why? Do you want to see it?¡±


    ¡°I do. It is so big!¡± She touched his member with her palm.


    ¡°What are you trying to do Aiu? I am confused.¡± He expressed his cluelessness.


    ¡°I want to make you feel good. I have seen it done but¡­ the proportions were different.¡± She remembered the elves and some dirty stories she has heard. The inexperience was making Aiu lose her confidence.


    ¡°I feel good when I see your hard efforts.¡±


    ¡°I want to make you feel good like a lover would. I want to massage it, it is fine, is it not?¡± She did not intend to ask for permission, but her hesitation got her.


    ¡°I guess.¡±


    She grasped his limp member in her hands and started to move her hands up and down. Even then it was limp she had to use both of her palms to fully grasp it. She pushed herself closer to it and pressed his manhood onto her chest while she rubbed the rest of it with her hands.


    ¡°This is kind of rough, Aiu.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you are right. Sorry!¡± She planned to put it in her mouth like Ana did to Ell but seeing his thing up close she knew that she had no chance in fitting it in. No chance at all.


    She quickly scampered to her discarded tunic and took a flask of herbal oil. She poured it on her chest and hands. The faint aroma of forest filled the room. Aiu pushed her knees in between his legs and tried rubbing his shlong again. It slid a lot easier, but it still did not get erect. She tried to work it harder moving her whole body, she pressed it on her flat chest.


    ¡°It is better, is it not? How big does it actually get?¡±


    ¡°Is it what you are trying to do?¡±


    ¡°Obviously. I want you to come. Like I do then you are massaging me in-between my legs.¡±


    ¡°You are naughty! I am not sure I am comfortable with that.¡± He did not even masturbate let alone had anyone see him aroused. He couldn¡¯t actually remember being aroused at all.


    ¡°I am not giving up. You have to come. Tell me what to do.¡± She was too invested. Also, she was already too horny, hot blood clouded her mind.


    There was no good reason to protest. He knew that the young woman would not let it go. Sometimes she was too hard working, this was the first time it backfired. The guardian tried to relax and give himself into the sensation of a warm body and slick hands touching him.


    It took some time but it worked. Blood flowed into his nether regions and his private started to swell in size. It got bigger and longer, hard veins crawled across it like wines. The whole thing seemed to pulse with energy with each throb of his heart.


    This has surprised Aiu. It was longer and much harder than she initially thought. She did not understand how such a soft thing could turn so hard. Also, the size was beyond anything a human or a beastman would have.


    ¡°I did it!¡± She praised herself in glee literally hugging his hard staff.


    She kept rubbing her chest against his shaft. It was quite exhausting and she was getting tired, the exercise was taking quite a while. She did not want to give in and kept going, her only regret was that she did not take some stamina potions beforehand.


    She rubbed herself against it rhythmically, already as fast as she could. His penis tensed even more and seemed to throb in anticipation and then he came.


    ¡°Ahhh¡­¡± Aiu screamed in surprise as he shot his load directly to her face.


    When it slammed into her face Aiu¡¯s head recoiled back from the impact. Yet it was not over and another two squirts followed, cowering her chest and stomach in quick succession. The amount of blue thick liquid was ungodly. Aiu¡¯s eyes, nose and mouth were all covered in it. She spat some of it out as she tried to breathe.


    ¡°Ehhh¡­ help me!¡± She cried out trying to get it off her eyes. ¡°It tastes so odd and bitter.¡±


    He stood and found a cloth to clean her face.


    ¡°It is blue!?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Is it unusual?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think it is usually white.¡± She scooped his cum from her chest and inspected it more closely.


    ¡°So thick.¡± She put some of it in her mouth tasting it again.


    ¡°Aiu you are strange.¡±


    ¡°I know. Did you like my massage?¡±


    ¡°It felt good¡± he was not lying, he never felt such sensation before. He somewhat understood why Aiu kept asking him for the naughty massages.


    ¡°Excellent. I liked it too. You can go to sleep, I will join you once I clean myself.¡±


    She ran off to her workshop where she had some clean water. However getting the body clean was not her main priority as her mind felt extremely dirty. She was aroused and wanted to finish herself alone. Alone, because she wanted to try something. She took some of his thick liquid and tried to push it inside her hole whilst stimulating herself.


    She did not know exactly what was needed to get pregnant but she had a rough idea. She also knew that no children are born in between different races yet she still tried. One could only hope.


    It took mere minutes for her to straighten her curled thoughts and she joined him in his bed for the rest of the night. She hugged his thick arm not wanting to let it go. Aiu was unhappy that he won¡¯t be able to stay by his side while he was adventuring.

 19 Part two – The Harbour Town

    Guardian joined a caravan heading towards the coastal city. Being a business-minded as always, he joined as a guard; this allowed him to earn a small sum while he travelled and to shave off the boredom. He landed a good deal, his reputation as an excellent monster hunter and his sheer size allowed him to rake in five times more than a normal caravan guard would. He was to receive 25 coppers a day, which was a bit more than 2 silvers.


    To further benefit from his travel he had a massive sack tied to his back with rope, which was full of stuff. He hand oils, perfume, potions, soap and dried herbs all for sale. Aiu even gave him a jarful of peanut butter, he so much loved, to consume. It was even sweetened with honey.


    The caravan consisted of various merchants, their guards and donkey-pulled carts full of wares. There were around 50 people travelling in a caravan. Not all of them were merchants and guards, there was a good number of simple travellers heading for Coastal Town. It was safer to travel in numbers.


    At their current pace, it would take 5 days to reach the coast. The whole trip was pretty much uneventful, one might think the roads were safer than people assumed and the caravan was overprotected. This was, however, not the case.


    A number of better guarded caravans and even armed bands were known to disappear on these roads. Bandits and monsters were largely to blame. They were just lucky not to run into any trouble so far.


    On their last day of travel, they have encountered some trouble. The band of bandits were harassing a small group of travellers heading out of Coastal Town.


    ¡°Pay a toll or hand over a small portion of your cargo.¡± One of the bandits demanded.


    ¡°Half of it is not a small portion and it would be useless to you anyway.¡± The spokesman for the travellers argued back.


    ¡°Pay up then! It is that simple.¡±


    ¡°The roads are free, you won¡¯t get a single copper from us.¡±


    The bandits raised their weapons in preparation to strike the travellers.


    ¡°Looks like trouble up ahead. Shall we run and assist them?¡± one of the guards in a caravan asked?


    ¡°I am paying you to protect my wares not others, you stay here!¡± the merchant shot down. This was how the world worked, everyone for his own. The caravan guards could easily take down the bandits but it was not their job, and many of them were hesitant to do that. No one would pay for their injuries or compensate for their damaged equipment.


    ¡°I am heading out.¡± The Guardian told to his employer. The merchant looked at him wanting to say something but once their eyes met he hesitated and said nothing in the end. He was afraid to offend Guardian because he heard about other not so savoury deeds of his.


    Guardian ran up to the bandits who were busy assaulting the travellers. It was 12 bandits versus 20 odd travellers. The civil men were poorly armoured but they were able to hold their guard. Clearly they were not simple city whelps and knew how to defend themselves, however, the bandits were gaining an upper hand.


    One of the travellers was hit in the head and dropped unconscious. Half a dozen others were injured badly but still standing. One of the bandits was raised by his shirt and thrown into the air. This took them by surprise as they did not see the caravan approaching from behind, not to mention the guardian sneaking up on them. Travellers did a good job in keeping them busy and ignorant of a large beastman approaching at their backs.


    ¡°Who the hell are you?¡±


    ¡°Do you want to die too, you fool?¡±


    Bandits shouted out at him.


    ¡°Won¡¯t be me who is dying today, human.¡±


    ¡°We will see about that, beastman.¡±


    The travellers stood back as the bandits approached the Guardian. Better him than them.


    ¡°I am not a beastman!¡± The guardian shouted out and charged at the group of bandits unarmed.


    ¡°He is either crazy or very stupid.¡±


    ¡°Typical for beastman.¡± one of the bandits retorted.


    ¡°He thinks he stands a chance against all of us, Ha!¡±


    The Guardian just kept running as the bandits readied their weapons to pounce on him. Once he was dangerously close he said something unintelligible and a burst of shockwave radiated from him knocking all eleven bandits in front of him.


    He stepped on the ones who were laying in a quick succession. His massive weight and overwhelming strength allowed him to crush their ribs and cave in the skulls with a single stomp. He jumped and stomped while the men were still laying down in their confused state. He managed to ruthlessly snuff the life of four of them, two more were too injured to fight anymore but still alive.


    The rest of the bandits quickly rolled away and picked up themselves. The one who has been flying just a moment ago was the only one not affected by the shockwave and he was running back to the forest by now.


    ¡°A mage!¡±, ¡°Monster!¡± The bandits shouted out in a panic realising that half of them were dead.


    Even the travellers gasped in shock as they saw what happened to the bandits. It was too quick and too brutal to take in. Some of them were standing frozen trying to process what happened while others wanted to run but could not; they were too afraid.


    Two of the bandits braved themselves when Guardian charged at them again, remaining three turned around and ran trying to catch up with their comrade. The two were dispatched in a matter of seconds as they stood no chance against an opponent who was much taller and heavier than them. One of them died when his face was crushed by a mighty fist, another one was kicked to the ground and then his life snuffed out with a series or ruthless stomps.


    Guardian¡¯s fists and legs were drenched in blood, chunks of his victim¡¯s tissue sticking to his skin. He looked at the travellers and waited for something. A simple thank you would have been enough, but they just stood there looking at him flabbergasted. The ungrateful lot, or so he thought, but they were just too scared to say anything. Some of them were still in shock, especially the young and women.


    Guardian launched himself in sprint trying to catch up with the bandits. He did not want them to go, they have offended him. Also, he took this as some sort of sport.


    Eventually, he caught up with one of them. He grabbed the man by the neck raising him in the air. The bandit struggled to pull Guardian¡¯s hands away from his neck. Bandit was brought closer and then slammed to a tree when Guardian ran past it. The man¡¯s face met the tree bark and a sickly crunch could be heard, bandit¡¯s blood stained the three in red as his face still clung to the bark.


    Guardian kept running still chasing the other one. The bandit was running out of stamina by that time, he was becoming slower and slower, he hoped to lose his purchaser in the woods. However, the guardian had no trouble tracking him as he was too loud and not too far from him.


    The man stumbled on some tree roots and fell in a tumble. His ankle was sprained he could not run anymore. He sat up clutching his injured ankle in pain and raised his head. The man saw something more horrible than his worst nightmare. An outlandish creature was looking down on him in full smile. He looked like a monster who will eat him alive, his maws were full of sharp teeth, his body still died in fresh blood. The bandit knew he was done.


    ¡°No please! I beg you! Let me live!¡±


    ¡°Why should I?¡±


    ¡°I will do whatever, please.¡±


    ¡°I have no use of you, human.¡±


    ¡°Please! Please! I beg you, Sir.¡± The man was now sobbing.


    The guardian stretched his hand to grab the bandit.


    ¡°No, no, no!¡± The man screamed.


    ¡°Actually, you might be useful. You must have a camp. Where is it?¡±


    The bandit pointed to the general direction of it and quickly described how to get there.


    ¡°And how many of you are there?¡±


    ¡°Two dozens or so.¡±


    ¡°I see. Now you can rest in pieces.¡±


    ¡°But I told you where t¡­. ahhhh¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°I promised you nothing.¡± Guardian said as he slashed the man¡¯s throat with his claws.


    He then went towards the alleged location of bandit encampment. He hopped to loot it and reap some guilt-free profit. No one would punish him for robing he robbers. This was his intention from the beginning, and to let some steam off.


    In a short time he found the camp, but it did not look like he expected it to. The fencing was broken, the tents were collapsed, and fresh chunks of wood and other debris littered the campsite. Most alarming to all were the dead corpses of men which were scattered all around the grounds. They were in incredibly sorry condition, parts of limbs were missing and huge portions of the body seemed crushed to a pulp.


    ¡°What happened here? This looks recent¡­¡± He thought out loud in confusion. ¡°A monster maybe?¡± the forest was a dangerous place after all.


    Then out of nowhere, he got tackled from the side. He turned to look at his attacker, just before he hit the ground and rolled to break the fall. The thing that attacked him was definitely not a human even though it vaguely resembled one, but not a normal monster either. It was a big creature made entirely out of the rock, a golem.


    The guardian rolled and jumped away avoiding the hammer like fists of a golem which slammed the ground where he has been seconds ago. It packed a good punch. If he has gotten hit he would have suffered some serious damage.


    Guardian stood up and collected himself. He was ready to fight it. At first, he fought defensively, this was an opponent he knew nothing about. It did pack a serious punch, more than he himself could hope for. However, it was slow, much slower than him. Guardian had no trouble avoiding its punches.


    Deciding that he observed his enemy enough he changed his tactics. He would throw a few probing punches and kicks towards the golem trying to whittle it away slowly.


    ¡°Darn hard thing!¡± the golem was made entirely of rock as one would expect. Brawling with it would do more damage to him than the golem. However, the guardian did not want to give up. He wanted to find a way to defeat it, somehow.


    Since his physical attacks had no effect he had to change his approach again. He quickly sidestepped the massive lump of animated rock and pressed his left hand to its bulky side. A surge of energy pulsed through his arm towards his palm. A burst of magic was released making a small explosion of rock and dust.


    ¡°How do you like that?¡±


    The golem got damaged. It was a minor damage but a significant improvement from no damage at all. The guardian reckoned he had enough magical energy to slowly defeat it, but it was still a rough guess. He repeated the action damaging its side again.


    ¡°How about you stop it there! Your bandits are dead and city guard will be coming shortly!¡± A feminine voice rang from one of the collapsed tents.


    He turned towards the voice. Meanwhile, the golem rushed past him in an unexpected dash to protect its master.


    ¡°What are you talking about, stranger? Show yourself!¡± Guardian said anxiously as he now understood that this rock construct was not a stray monster.


    ¡°Just as I said. Look around! Your men are dead, your camp destroyed. There is no one for you to lead and you stand no chance against my golem. Surrender!¡±


    ¡°First part makes no sense and I have doubts about the second part. Look at its side, can¡¯t you see? I can clearly damage it. Do you believe it is still capable of taking me down?¡±.


    ¡°Even if it can¡¯t hit you, it will take you time to dismantle Rocky. As I said, the city guard is coming!¡±


    ¡°So what? I did nothing wrong. The bandits attacked my caravan and I dispatched them. I should be rewarded.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Guardians answer confused the stranger.


    ¡°What is your role in this? I understand you are the one who took the camp out?¡± He asked his opponent.


    The guardian was slowly approaching the tent, circling it. The golem was having none of that and matched his movements not letting him get closer.


    ¡°You are not the leader of the bandits?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? You make no sense at all.¡±


    ¡°Do not lie! Buying time is pointless as I said guards are coming! Or are you trying to regenerate your mana? Should I strike then?¡±


    ¡°Ha, bring it on!¡± He said as he approached to fire another burst of a shockwave.


    The golem punched at him but he was able to duck it and send his magic towards the tent. The fabric of the tent was blown away and a sight of a golem master was revealed.


    The haughty golem master was just a small girl, probably still in her early teenage years. She was short and slim, her skin was white with a hint of tan. She had long blonde hair, sky grey-blue eyes and some freckles on her cheeks. She was wearing thick cloth battle robes. Both her clothes and her appearance resembled someone born in nobility.


    ¡°What is a city girl doing in a den of bandits?¡± he said in surprise jumping away from another slam directed at him.


    ¡°Taking out your lackeys with great success! Their leader will be next!¡±


    ¡°You are confused, girl. It was me who wanted to kill these bandits, you just got here first.¡±


    Another small chunk of a golem was blown away. He was able to talk and fight at the same time.


    ¡°Damn you! Do you have any proof! I do not want to fight you anymore!¡±


    ¡°Yet your monster attacked me first!¡±


    ¡°I will stand down if you stand down!¡±


    ¡°No way! I am winning.¡±


    ¡°If you think you will get off easy you are mistaken. Even if what you say is true and you are with caravan you will still be in trouble from city guard.¡±


    ¡°How so? All I did was kill a few bandits who attacked me, then you attacked me out of the blue. You are no better than a bandit yourself.¡±


    ¡°I was tasked to dismantle the bandit band. And I am a noble. I attacked you by mistake! So, stop damaging Rocky and cease hostilities if you want to avoid the might of the city guards. They will be here very shortly!¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ I guess you are right. I will stop.¡± He distanced himself from the golem.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You are not trying to, somehow, trick me?¡±


    ¡°No, why would I?¡±


    ¡°Ok then¡­ If you speak the truth show me your caravan.¡±


    ¡°Keep your golem away from me then and follow.¡±


    The girl was wary of him and he of her. He led her out of the forest following his old tracks.


    ¡°You did this?¡± she pointed at the dead bandit slumped in his own pool of blood.


    ¡°Who else?¡±


    There was no reply from the girl.


    Eventually, they emerged from the forest and were back on the road. The travellers and the caravan were still there. It seems they were waiting for him.


    ¡°Should we be concerned about this rock thing following you?¡± his employer shouted from the distance.


    ¡°Possibly! I do not know that yet!¡± He shouted back.


    ¡°Absolutely not! Rocky is friendly!¡± The girl shouted too.


    ¡°Who is she and who is this Rocky? Did you rescue them from the bandits perhaps?¡±


    ¡®The travellers should know if what she says is true.¡¯ Guardian concluded to check if any of the city folk recognise her. He led the girl and the golem to the injured travellers.


    The girl observed the place of a recent battle. Dead bandits were littering the road.


    ¡°Ok, If I did not know better, I would say Rocky did this. Your fighting methods are similar.¡± The girl pointed and the cold smashed remains of four bandits.


    ¡°Do you know anything about this girl? She claims she is from the city, some sort of a fancy noble tasked to take down the bandits.¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± the man laughed. ¡°Why would a noble bother to hunt the bandits? They are the selfish lot.¡±


    The guardian looked at the girl suspiciously, he was ready to fight again. She has lied and probably was plotting something.


    ¡°However, I have heard about a girl and her golem in the city. What was her name?¡±


    ¡°I am Cynthia, you must have heard about me and my golem Rocky.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, this was a test. Having a golem is extremely rare, I just wanted to know you are no imposter.¡±


    ¡°So she is what she claims to be?¡±


    ¡°I think so.¡±


    ¡°How about being a noble then?¡±


    ¡°I am from a noble family. Well, my family is in a decline and it is complicated. That is why I do dangerous jobs on a side for money.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense. So, where are those city guards? We could use them to escort us.¡±


    ¡°Sorry about that. I have lied¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°They are not coming.¡±


    ¡°Why did you lie about them then?¡±


    ¡°I thought you were one of the bandits and you were damaging my Rocky successfully. So I have bluffed to make you surrender or flee at least.¡±


    ¡°Well, it did not work did it?¡±


    ¡°It kind of did. You were reluctant to kill a noble and face the waft of the city guards. Ha ha ha.¡±


    ¡°If the guards are not coming¡­ I could have done you there and gotten off with all the loot¡±


    ¡°You could, but you do not kill innocents. Do you? Clearly, you have saved the travellers and protected your caravan.¡±


    ¡°I guess so. Yet I have gained nothing from it. I assume you will claim all of the rewards for taking down the camp.¡±


    ¡°Naturally.¡±


    ¡°Oh well.¡± Guardian was not too happy about the outcome. He planned to steal the loot from the bandit¡¯s camp, now he could not do that.


    The stolen goods or whatever left of them will go back to the merchant guilds. Any spare money found in camp and on the bodies were rightfully Cynthia¡¯s. However, she would keep only a fraction of it as she would donate it back to the society. It did not sit well with her keeping the dirty money, she was completely happy with her monetary rewards issued for this quests.


    Guardian picked his sack from his employer. He was kind enough to look after it.


    ¡°Oh and thank you for stepping up for us!¡± the head traveller thanked the guardian properly this time.


    ¡°No need.¡±


    ¡°As I understand, no one else was willing to help us. And I do not blame them. We would have done the same in a similar situation.¡± The man said looking at caravan guards and nodding, there was no contempt in his eyes. Some of the guards looked back at him they felt somewhat ashamed.


    ¡°Yet you did help us and saved us. We are injured but alive. We are alive because of the rare selflessness and kindness you showed. Thank you again, we cannot part with money but take this¡± the man gave him a small metal token with a symbol ? etched on it.


    ¡°This is a symbol for unity and people. Show this in the adventurer¡¯s inn. This way my acquaintances will know that you are friends with travellers and my lot. You can ask for a discount or even a favour if you are in a bad pinch. The guys will help you as long as it is not life-threatening, just mention my name and that you saved my life. I am Gustav by the way. What is your name?¡±


    ¡°I am referred to as Guardian.¡±


    ¡°Pleasure to meet you, Guardian. Goodbye, for now, we have to head off. Thank you again.¡± He and the rest of the travellers thanked him.


    The caravan continued their journey towards the Coastal Town. It was close as they could already smell the see in the breeze blowing towards them.


    Cynthia tagged along with a caravan; merchants were more than happy to welcome another powerful person.


    ¡°You saved these travellers. Are you a traveller as well?¡± she could not think of another reason why a stranger like him would help others unless there was some kinship involved.


    ¡°You could say that.¡±


    ¡°Where are you actually from? You must come from a distant land. You look very unusual.¡±


    ¡°You tried to kill me; now you are being friendly all of the sudden.¡±


    ¡°I am sorry! That was a misunderstanding.¡±


    ¡°That does not explain your friendly attitude. I have damaged your golem thing after all.¡± He was still trying to understand what sort of creatures the golems were. He had absolutely no knowledge about them. Today was the first time got to know something about them.


    ¡°Look, I have attacked you, and you did what you did. If you forget about me provoking you I will forgive the damage you caused. Is it a deal?¡±


    ¡°Only if you tell me about the golems.¡±


    ¡°No problem, I could speak about Rocky all day.¡±


    He raised his hand for a handshake so did Cynthia. They shoock it.


    ¡°You remind me of Rocky. You both so big and appear threatening. Also, you are kind even though your looks would suggest otherwise. Kind people need to stick together don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°You are mistaken, I am not kind.¡±


    ¡°Ohhh¡­ Humble as well. You did save some random people risking your life, and for no reward, did you not?¡±


    ¡°I guess so.¡± He did, even if it was self-serving. Saving travellers was a by-product of him letting some steam off and going after some easy loot.


    ¡°What do you want to know about Rocky?¡±


    ¡°Well to begin with¡­¡±


    He asked various questions as they made the rest of their way towards the city.

 20 A damsel in distress – It is hard to sleep when they are so noisy

    Guardian has learned that the magical construct was one of its kind made by Cynthia¡¯s grandad. It was equipped with mana regenerating core so it did not need to be recharged, ever. Also, unlike most golems, it boasted a degree of self-autonomy, not only it could follow complex instructions it was able to learn as well. The longer it stayed in service the better it became at its tasks. Most importantly it did not need a control rod to function as it could be directly bound to a mage¡¯s mind, making a communication link.


    Like all golems, it was resistant to physical attacks and elemental magic. To destroy it completely one would have to get to the golem core buried deep within its body. So long as the core survived the golem could be remade.


    Guardian also found out that the young girl was someone called an enchanter. She herself could not make golems yet but she is able to repair and reinforce them. She was still learning her craft.


    Finally, they have reached the city gates and people in the caravan dispersed each on their way. Guardian collected his wage of 10 silvers and few coppers. Firstly, he wanted to find an inn to get some food and rest. He was completely out of his rations as he was unable to supplement his diet by hunting.


    To his surprise, there were quite a few places who could not fully accommodate the glorious size of him, or just rudely refused to serve a foreigner. Apparently, most people stayed in the inns designed for their kind, humans in the inns run by humans and beastmen in the inns for their kind and etcetera. Of course, as always there were numerous exceptions.


    Worst of all, there was no one of his kind running an inn in this city. He tried 5 of different places around the city and it was getting dark, he was starting to feel grumpy. In the end, he decided to crash somewhere in a back alley or something until the morning. Then he would look for the Adventurers Inn; he hoped that the token he received from Gustav would serve its purpose.


    He was walking through a narrow alley between the buildings, looking for a quiet spot. He found nothing of the sort. A trio of beastmen was harassing a woman, she was a beastwoman too.


    ¡°You will have to service us for free!¡±


    ¡°You have no other choice so better do not even think of resisting.¡±


    ¡°I am going first.¡± One of them announced as he was already midway in the process of forcing himself on her.


    ¡°I beg you to reconsider! I don¡¯t even charge much. Leave me some food at least.¡±


    ¡°Shut your gob! You deserve nothing, you slut.¡± Beastman slapped her and the other two laughed.


    ¡°No! Please.¡± She screamed out as she was violated.


    ¡°Quiet! Or I will cut your tongue making you not just blind but mute as well!¡±


    Apparently, the woman was blind, and it seemed that she was selling her body to get by.


    She gritted her teeth, trying her best not to shout out in pain. The beastman seemed to be enjoying it and the other two were observing their leader in action, waiting for their turn.


    ¡°Oi look!¡± one of them tapped on the shoulder of his buddy to get the attention. ¡°Some sort of creep is watching too.¡± He pointed at the dark alleyway where a set of eyes were glowing in the shadows.


    ¡°We are having her now! Get lost you, weirdo!¡± Shouted another.


    A dark form emerged from the shadows getting bigger and bigger with each step. The size of him surprised the beastmen.


    ¡°You guys are way too loud, I am trying to rest.¡±


    ¡°You must be a homeless rat to sleep in these filthy streets. Take your ass somewhere else before we kicked it.¡± The beastman punched a fist to his palm to show he was serious.


    ¡°Guys let me finish this slut and I will join you in kicking his ass. I do not like to be interrupted.¡±


    ¡°All I wanted is some peace and quiet. Why does it have to be like this? Can you not see I am much bigger than you.¡± Guardian gave a hint that hey better not mess with him. He tried to look as threatening as possible.


    ¡°The bigger they are the harder they fall.¡± A beastman responded


    ¡°There are three of us. Just get lost while you can.¡± His friend added.


    ¡°Too late. I am done.¡± Rapist said as he released his victim¡¯s limp and soiled body out of his grip. He pulled his trousers on and grabbed a dagger from his belt. ¡°Let¡¯s castrate this fucker.¡±


    ¡°Go on and try. What are you waiting for?¡± The guardian taunted him.


    The beastman just ran straight towards him clutching his daggers, his friends moved towards Guardians sides trying to flank him. Once the rapist was close enough he thrust his hand to stab the Guardian. Unfortunately, to him his wrist was caught mid-thrust and then twisted, forcing the beastman to drop the weapon.


    ¡°That is not how you use a dagger.¡± Guardian said condescendingly.


    The other two did not stand idly. Both of them attacked Guardian from the sides. He kicked one in the ribs throwing the beastman on the ground and winding him. The other jumped and punched Guardian in the head. The punch did little, it just annoyed the Guardian.


    He let the offending wrist go and quickly turned and slammed his tail to the side of the beastman¡¯s legs. He hit him nicely to the side of a knee and actually managed to dislocate the bone. Then he grabbed the one who was clutching his wrist in pain, Guardian grabbed him by his head. He steered a rapist¡¯s head towards his knee and crushing the nose and part of the skull.


    ¡°It is not too late to run¡­ provided that you still can.¡± Guardian spat his words with proverbial venom at the remaining two.


    One of them clearly could not run as his knee was dislocated. The other one stood up catching his breath in pain, his ribs were broken. He looked with fear at the bleeding body of his friend, the fresh blood still oozing on the ground, there were so much of it. Then he looked at his other friend with pity and then ran away towards one of the alleyways.


    Guardian approached the remaining one who managed to make himself stand on his one leg. The beastman clearly wanted to say something, his mouth opened to make the plea. However, Guardian was tired and completely not interested what this scum had to say. He kicked the beastman in his other knee, shattering it. The man screamed out and fell; as he fell his neck was caught by the Guardian¡¯s mighty fingers and he squeezed it hard.


    ¡°I told you, you are too loud.¡± He chocked the beastman. When Beastman ceased to struggle he threw the lifeless corpse further away from himself. ¡°Get lost! What a bother.¡± He was trying to brush the blood and strands of hair from his knee. After all, looking bloody would spell even more trouble.


    ¡°Are¡­ Are they gone?¡± A meek voice rang out in the alley breaking the silence. The woman assumed the beastman lost their fight and ran away.


    ¡°You could say that.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for saving me.¡±


    He did not come here to save a damsel in distress he was here to make the noisemakers quiet.


    ¡°Yeah. I will be off now .¡± He would need to find a new spot, preferably the one free from the dead and blood.


    ¡°No, no. Let me reward you, stranger.¡± She feared that the beastmen will come back to take ¡®care¡¯ of her. She preferred to have him stay here longer.


    ¡°Eh? No need. And I doubt you have much to offer.¡±


    ¡°Oh, do not say that. There are many things I can do. Everything for my saviour.¡± She was throwing hints.


    ¡°It is fine, really.¡± Showing the way to the Adventurers Inn would be good. However, he doubted a blind woman would be of any use to him.


    She realised that probably he did not want to go where the beastman was just moments ago. Her body still had some of the offending seed. Normally she would wash it off before her next client, but she had no luxury for such a thing now.


    ¡°Come closer. As you can see I am blind¡± she pointed at her face. It had a huge scar running across it, right through her eyes. The eyes were grey and clouded. ¡°Let me at least fell your face. I want to know how my saviour looks like. Then I will be able to tell the other girls of your kindness, who will reward you instead of me. Clearly my body, as it is now, is too bad. You might prefer something completely different.¡± She said somewhat disappointed.


    He approached the woman who was fixing her skimpy clothes and putting everything back in their places.


    ¡°Your body is perfectly fine. I see nothing wrong with it.¡± What he said was true. The woman was blind, but that was the only flaw he could see. Besides a few bruises and the dishevelled look she looked fit and healthy, her body shape was round and plump in all the right places. Her breasts and ass were succulently big and bouncy. Her yellow fur was shiny and well looked after. The usual beastmen would find her very beautiful.


    He leaned in for her to feel his face.


    ¡°Thank you, you are such a sweetheart.¡± She reached to feel his face. He was much taller then she expected. ¡°Oh¡­ Mhmm¡­ OK¡­ Very exotic. You must be a traveller for somewhere far.¡± She said as her fingers rand down his face feeling it.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Something like that.¡±


    She got even closer to him and hugged his neck. Her other hand touched his chest.


    ¡°You are very strong. You must get plenty of girls in your bed.¡± She knew that a majority of beastwomen found strength extremely attractive. It came down to the simple fact that the stronger the mate the stronger the children will be.


    ¡°No. Not really.¡±


    ¡°Ohh¡­ in that case would you consider that reward I offered at the beginning. I would use my mouth of course.¡±


    He was intrigued by how she would use her mouth to get him to the inn. What was what he wanted to begin with.


    ¡°We can try.¡±


    She promptly reached for his loincloth and grabbed his member.


    Spoiler: Spoiler<input class="spoilerButton" type="button" value="Show">


    ¡°Ehhh!¡± he let out a surprised shout.


    ¡°Do not be shy all of the sudden, let the professional work. I guarantee you will like it.¡± As she finished her sentence she shoved the tip of his penis in her mouth.


    He finally realised what the woman was talking about. He had nothing to lose, and maybe he will like it after all.


    The woman stroked his shaft as she was pushing the rest of it inside her wide open mouth, as deep as she could. All of this reminded him of what Aiu did, or tried to do, and his body reacted to the stimulus.


    ¡°Ehue, ehue.¡± The woman let out a choking sound. ¡°You are way too big. I am afraid my teeth will injure it.¡± Her mouth was not big enough to accommodate it as it was already touching her teeth, it was not even fully hard.


    ¡°This is unfortunate¡± He was beginning to look forward to his new experience.


    ¡°We could try the full experience¡±. She put his bulging member in between her voluminous chest. Then she massaged it there making it fully erect.


    ¡°Just forget about that beastman. You would do the same job five times better!¡± She was hoping that he was now horny enough to consider to stick it where the other man was mere minutes ago. She herself was moist and all bothered. This would be a good experience for her too. She had never felt a beastman so big in body and in manliness like him before. She was unsure if he even was a beastman, he was way too big and had no fur. For a moment she thought he was a type of lizardman as his face reminded her of them. She quickly ruled out the thought, he was way too different.


    ¡°So? Are you better than him?¡± She said while positioning herself on all four. Her tail was swinging seductively. A strike of thick liquid was staining the fur of her thigh.


    ¡°If you could see you would not be asking this.¡± He looked and the two lifeless corpses not too far from him. He was better than them, he was the victor.


    ¡°I cannot see it but I can feel it.¡± She spread herself open with her fingers. ¡°Do not make me wait, stick it in.¡±


    He misunderstood her question at first but now he knew what she was talking about. He approached her from behind and grabbed her by the waist. He had to raise her butt up as she was way too low. He positioned his hard rod against her entrance and pushed it in slowly.


    ¡°Uhhh¡­¡± She yelped.


    His efforts to squeeze it in were met with resistance.


    ¡°Keep going. I know I can do it.¡± She said that but she could not be sure.


    He kept pushing.


    ¡°Ahhh!¡± She moaned.


    It slid in and her lips enveloped his member fully. It felt warm and wet. He kept pushing it until he hit another barrier. The woman was panting in pleasure and pain at the same time.


    ¡°This¡­ is¡­ too¡­ much¡­ do not¡­ push more¡­ you will¡­ break me¡­¡± She said in between the pants.


    So instead he pulled back and then pumped it in again. He wanted to shove it all in but he knew that this small form of the beastwoman was unfit for that. However, she did take a good portion of it and the squeezing pressure he felt with his thing felt nice. It was a completely new sensation for Guardian.


    ¡°Oh¡­ this is good¡­ keep going¡­ Keep going¡­ Fuck me.¡±


    He was thrusting faster and faster. It began to slide more easily with each time. The woman trembled and spasmed in his hands. She was losing it, her breathing became inconsistent. She was twitching, sweating and panting.


    He kept going at it. It felt better and better with each thrust. The insides he was probing contracted strongly for the fifth time and then it was his turn to come. He let his liquids fill her to the full and then beyond it; it spilt out of her. He pulled it out leaving a gaping hole leaking his blue seed.


    Guardian released her from his grip. Her body hit the ground, she was completely limp and still panting.


    ¡°This was the best experience I had so far.¡± He admitted. He did not even imagine sex could be this enjoyable.


    She caught her breath to reply. ¡°I am glad you have enjoyed me. To be honest, for me this was the best too. And I had hundreds of times¡±


    ¡°I think I won¡¯t be able to stand for a while.¡± She continued. Then she remembered her original motive of her actions. She had to get to stay with him for a while or get to safety. ¡°You can¡¯t leave me here. All vulnerable like that.¡±


    ¡°What do you suggest?¡±


    ¡°Carry me. There is a spot where we girls gather.¡±


    ¡°Will you be able to describe how to find it?¡±


    ¡°I could get there with my hands and eyes tied.¡± She joked.


    ¡°Amm, okay¡± The joke shot over his head.


    They fixed themselves as fast as they could and he carried her. He followed her directions and descriptions to get where she wanted. He was heading to the gathering spot she described, better known to the locals as the Nest of Sluts.


    In was a decrepit but sizable building, not too far from the harbour. Numerous women were still lining the walls of it hoping to get a late customer. He approached the entrance and was met by a group of alarmed women.


    ¡°What did you do to her, you brute?¡±


    ¡°Come down girls. I am fine. He actually saved me form rapists. The same trio who were harassing me before!¡±


    ¡°No way?¡± One of the women asked in disbelief. No one would bother helping out a prostitute; women like that were treated worse than items.


    ¡°He totally did!¡±


    Guardian put her down on the bench. She was still feeling sore but her legs felt better, all she needed was a bit of rest to regain her stamina.


    ¡°I will be off now. I am tired and I still need to find a place to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you stay here? Free of charge of course. We might even reward you for looking after one of us.¡±


    ¡°My kind efforts were already paid in full. But I could use a space to rest.¡±


    ¡°Ohhh, were they now¡­¡± it was unusual for a man to refuse free sex.


    ¡°Come on girls, you know I took good care of him. I will tell everything about it later. My saviour, you can take your stuff to one of the rooms at the end of a corridor. Do not worry, no one will bother you and at this time we won¡¯t be having any clients untill the morning. It should be quiet enough for you to sleep.¡±


    He did as instructed and hauled himself and his sack of goods to one of the small rooms. The room was very tiny and had a curtain instead of a door. It was bare of any furnishings besides the mat to lay on, incense holder, some cloth and a pot of water. The room was unkempt and untidy but it smelled nice, the incense was still smouldering. He wondered if Aiu could make something similar in her shop. He will have to find it later as he was too tired for that now.


    Guardian put his possessions in the corner and laid on a matt which was way too small for him. He fell asleep promptly. Yet his peaceful slumber did not last. He opened his eyes in surprise, someone actually managed to sneak up on him and he felt ashamed of himself. How could he let this happen, when he did become so vulnerable. If it was a predator in the forest he would have been dead by now.


    It was not a predator or an assassin, it was a slim woman pressing herself against him. The incense blocked his sense of smell and she clearly had some natural skill in sneaking without making any noise. It was a young lizardmen female and she was completely naked. She was rubbing her leathery skin as she brushed past him, her tail swinging seductively.


    He gave her a closer look. She was tall, lanky and very slim. He could see ribs poking out of her completely flat chest. Lizard kind was quite different from other races. Females did not have breasts, the only a semblance of it was a pair of rudimentary nipples. Her skin was leathery, coloured in a few different shades of green. Her eyes were serpentine and yellow in colour just like his.


    She looked at him, her eyes were filled with passion. He met her look with his. However, he looked disapprovingly; a sharp but quiet growl escaped his mouth.


    ¡°What do you think you are doing? Approaching me like this!¡±


    ¡°Are you refusing me? I thought you do not discriminate based on race.¡±


    ¡°I do not.¡±


    ¡°So why not? Let¡¯s sleep together.¡± She hoped to mate with him, making a bond she could use to her benefit later. She knew that having someone this strong and powerful would benefit her. Her status would definitely go up.


    ¡°Get lost!¡± He growled again. He did not appreciate being disturbed by strangers. He did not owe this female anything and he wanted nothing to do with her. Nor he felt like sleeping with a random woman. He chose who to stay with not the other way round.


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°Do I have to physically remove you!¡± he said showing the young lizardwoman away.


    She tumbled away, the push was quite harsh, but not too harsh to injure her. She got the message and ran out of the room ashamed and on a verge of crying. He snuffed the incense and resumed his sleep, it was still night.


    In the early morning , he was woken up again by the chattering women. He wanted to sleep more but he had just enough of it not to feel grumpy. It was time for him to leave before he caused another scene. He took his bag and tied it to his back before heading towards the main lobby.


    Numerous women were filling the lounge it in various states of readiness. They were preparing for the hard day of work. As soon as he stepped in the lobby it got oddly quiet. They have clearly been gossiping about him. He wondered if it was about the adventure regarding the first woman or an uncomfortable encounter with a second.


    ¡°Oh! the legend himself!¡± A human female welcomed him with a broad smile.


    ¡°Sorry. I told what happened yesterday. Every part of it. You do not mind do you?¡±


    ¡°Of course he does not! Males like to boast about it anyways.¡± Another woman responded instead of him.


    ¡°Who wouldn¡¯t. Saving a damsel in distress like in some sort of a story.¡±


    ¡°One against three.¡±


    ¡°And then fucking her brains out.¡±


    The women talked jokingly.


    ¡°The rumour says you are packing quite a punch down there. Care to show?¡±


    ¡°Brita stop, this is not the time for this.¡± The blind woman lectured a tigerwoman.


    Guardian took a moment to observe the lot of them. The women were of various ages, races and body complexion. Mostly they were humans and various beastmen with an exception of a tiny minority of reptile species. There were no elves though, there must be a good reason for this.


    ¡°Is it not? Am I not his type just like Shazzara?¡± Tigerwoman said with a pout. ¡°I am definitely of a different type than her.¡± She added pointing at her oversized breasts which looked like they would burst out of the tight shirt at any moment, ripping the worn-out fabric in half.


    ¡°Ah, and sorry about the Shazzara. She is young and inexperienced.¡± One of the women added.


    Girls have found out what Shazzara attempted to do. She was trying to steal him for herself before any other female could. The women here did not appreciate that and even scolded the youngling. This was the reason why Shazzara was missing. She was too embarrassed to show her face.


    ¡°She should not have disturbed your sleep. I knew you were tired and even told others not to bother you.¡± The blind beauty told him apologetically.


    ¡°It is fine. It is me who acted harshly to my hosts. I was grumpy and not being myself. It is me who should apologise.¡±


    He said that just to seem nice. Making enemies with lizardpeople was the last thing he wanted. He knew that they were sly and vengeful. He remembered with dread how easily Shazzara had managed to sneak up on him.


    ¡°And it was totally not because of her looks.¡± He added just for good measure.


    ¡°You are being too nice. Be careful or you might not be able to fend the likes of her the next time.¡±


    ¡°So care to fuck?¡± added the tigerwoman quite bluntly. Saying what half of them were thinking. Half only because not every woman here enjoyed something beyond natural size. Some even did not like beastmen.


    For some reason, he did not feel compelled to do that. Quite the opposite. He did enjoy his first time but that was then, his mind was different now and his curiosity was satisfied.


    ¡°I have some business to attend.¡± The answer clearly displeased the tiger. She was left pouting.


    Guardian left the lobby quickly before any other woman tried to reproach him.


    ¡­


    ¡°Not the first time I am hearing him refusing our free services. What an oddball of a person.¡±


    ¡°He must have seen something in you Iustitia.¡± The woman called a blind one by her name.


    ¡°Probably pity!¡± Brita scoffed.


    ¡°You are just jealous!¡± said another one.


    A bitchy fight was beginning to brew.


    ¡°Iustitia, even if it was pity do not lose your lead. This lot will try to go after him. Go catch him and offer some assistance, you know the city better than him after all.¡± A human female offered an advice. She knew she was out of the game, anyways. Otherwise, she would not have tried to help.


    ¡°Mhm, yes!¡± She ran outside hoping to still be able to hear his heavy steps.

 21 The guild houses – Hurdle of the closed door policy

    Iustitia was lucky to hear a faint stomping sound, Guardian was still not too far


    ¡°Wait up traveller!¡± Iustitia shouted out trying to get to him before the sounds of his steps got lost in a crowd of others.


    ¡®What does she want again? Women are so troublesome.¡¯ He stopped and turned around waiting for her to catch up.


    She managed to stand right in front of him. Guardian was surprised that a blind girl was able to judge the distance so well, even when he was making no sound.


    ¡°Ufff... Ufff¡­¡± She was panting and looked flustered. ¡°I forgot your name. Can you tell it again?¡± She lied to start a conversation. She was well aware of his name.


    ¡°I prefer to be referred to as Guardian.¡±


    ¡®Was it all she wanted? Just a name?¡¯ Somehow he had a hunch that this was not it.


    ¡°Such a fitting name. If you haven¡¯t picked on it already, I am Iustitia.¡±


    ¡°I will remember that.¡±


    ¡°There are you going? Maybe I can help you to get around the city?¡±


    She sounded confident but he was reluctant to accept the directions from a blind person.


    ¡°I am looking for an inn to stay.¡±


    ¡°You can always crash in our place. The girls would not mind I am sure of it.¡±


    He had no intentions of staying in such a bothersome place, even if it was free.


    ¡°I need a place to safely store my possessions and to get some food.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I did not think about that.¡± She realised that even if he stayed rent free they could not guarantee the safety of his things. He would need to get his own food too. ¡°Is there any inn you are looking for in particular?¡±


    ¡°Adventurers Inn. I was refused service from other ones.¡±


    ¡°I know of that place, just follow me.¡± She motioned him to follow. ¡°I am not surprised you were kicked out from other places. The things are still tense between the races in this city. The situation of foreigners from over the see do not help either.¡±


    ¡°What is that all about?¡±


    ¡°There is an invasion of foreign people coming to this town. They come from a distant Island far in the see by ships. I have been told the ships look odd and menacing.¡±


    ¡°Are they dangerous?¡±


    ¡°Personally, I do not think so. They come to do business, not wage war. They are like traders or something like that.¡±


    They were chatting while they walked through the paved streets of the city. She was surprisingly good at leading the way. She used her stick not to trip over things and her ears to tell where she currently was. She could tell it by the surrounding sounds, each place had a unique sound.


    ¡°So what is the reason for the tension in the city?¡±


    ¡°Foreigners are buying out and outcompeting the local business. Local businessmen and nobility are not happy.¡±


    ¡°So they are rallying the people against these island folk?¡±


    ¡°It looks like it.¡±


    ¡°Who is winning?¡±


    ¡°I believe it is the foreigners. Apparently, they did not participate in wars and thus have more resources to spare now.¡±


    ¡°That is clever of them.¡±


    ¡°I think so too. The last war was¡­ just devastating. If not it, many of us wouldn¡¯t¡¯ be in our current situations; including me.¡± She said sadly, sorrow clear in her voice.


    ¡°Did you actually meet any of them foreigners?¡±


    ¡°Surprisingly, no. They are sailors yet none of them approached any of the girls for our services.¡± She stressed any as they had quite the variety of different races on offer. ¡°They must strongly prefer their own kind.¡±


    ¡°Or something holding them back.¡±


    ¡°Or that.¡±


    What followed was an awkward moment of silence.


    ¡°What do you think of my clothes?¡± Iustitia broke it, she did not like awkward silences.


    For all he cared she could wear a sack for a dress or go completely naked, it mattered not to him. However, he took a moment to pay attention to her attire.


    She wore a piece of grey worn cloth as a skirt, it was wrapped around her waist letting the cloth drop diagonally across one of her thighs, the other thigh was barely covered. She wrapped her breasts in a piece of tattered cloth. The material clearly used to be good and expensive, but the passing time had worn it out. Her face was cowered by a veil hiding her scar and eyes. Her ankles and wrists had multiple bracelets made of seashells and pretty rocks. All in all, she looked not too shabby.


    ¡°They look fine on you.¡±


    ¡°Do you think I am beautiful?¡±


    Guardian was unsure where she is going with all of this.


    ¡°I am not an expert on beastkin looks.¡±


    ¡°Do not avoid answering. Just say as it is.¡± She wanted to know if she does stand a chance of winning him over.


    ¡°You are fit and healthy. Your physical state is good, skinny fur, healthy teeth¡­ You are beautiful.¡± He concluded.


    ¡°How about other things? Like the lack of sight, would it trouble you?¡±


    ¡°You are not an archer are you?¡± she gestured no with her head. ¡°You seem to manage just fine as long as you can do your jobs it matters not.¡±


    ¡°Interesting way of thinking. I like it.¡± He was being quite ambiguous in his responses but she reckoned that she had a chance.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°So what drives you?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, expand on this?¡±


    ¡°It is what you seek in life? For some men, it is sex, for others power, status, money or a mixture of all. More savoury people are looking for peace and starting a family.¡± She hoped he was the latter kind, even though she knew they would not be able to conceive children.


    ¡°Knowledge.¡±


    ¡°Knowledge? Why?¡± she asked slightly confused by his answer. He did not look like a monk or scholar.


    ¡°Knowledge is the greatest of all things. With it, you can get power, money, status and the like. My primary goal is knowledge.¡±


    ¡°How would books help you to make money?¡± She could not understand.


    ¡°It is not the books. It is the experience and know-how one would get from them. For example, knowing what to sell and where can bring a huge profit.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. I think I understand what you mean¡­ You like to know things, don¡¯t you? I could help you with that.¡±


    ¡°How come?¡±


    ¡°We girls talk a lot, you must have noticed. We also listen. There is plenty of rumours and loosely tied lips in our sort of business. Plenty of men share their worries and darkest secrets whilst in the bed with us. You just have to sieve through the lies and rumours.¡± A lot of girls peddled information as a side business, Iustitia included.


    ¡°I see. I could use some information. How much do you charge if I will need something from you?¡±


    ¡°There is no way I would charge you! Just come and see me now and then and I will share what I know.¡± She wanted to get on his good side, also this would make him come back to her. Then she would work on winning him over.


    ¡°I will keep that in mind.¡± She appeared to be more useful than Guardian initially thought. Also, he has learned something new about the women. ¡°Is it far?¡±


    ¡°We are actually almost there. You are not too late for the breakfast, I can hear it.¡± She motioned towards the large wooden building.


    They went inside and the inn was indeed in a middle of serving breakfast meals to the guests.


    ¡°I guess we part our way here.¡± He said to Iustitia.


    She was feeling reluctant to say a goodbye but did not want to impose herself too much on him. ¡°Make sure to visit me for any of my services. Free of charge.¡± She said blowing him a kiss.


    ¡°I will take you up on that offer.¡± He had her information services in mind.


    She smiled to Guardian and then disappeared into the street which was getting busier and busier with each passing minute.


    Guardian stepped inside.


    ¡°Ahem! I would like to get a room.¡± He drew attention to himself.


    ¡°Simple room and a meal is a copper a day.¡± The inn owned said without even bothering to look at him.


    ¡°Could I see the room?¡± He had to make sure he will be able to fit in it. He knew that some inns sold rooms as big as a tool closed. Fine for a human or small beastman, but not to gloriously sized him.


    ¡°I assure you our rooms are fine and clean.¡± The innkeeper said annoyed as he turned to look at the newcomer.


    ¡°¡­¡± His face got blank and there was a pause.


    ¡°At least three coppers for you if you want to stay. And you better make no trouble. You look like trouble.¡±


    There was a sudden change in price and attitude, the Guardian did not like that.


    ¡°I assure you I am nothing of the sort. Quite opposite.¡±


    ¡°I doubt that. I know the sort of you than I see one. More muscles than brains.¡±


    ¡°Look I came here thinking this will be a respectable establishment and then you insult me. Gustav recommended this for me, but he clearly misjudged the place.¡±


    Mentioning the name did get a reaction from the innkeeper.


    ¡°Gustav? What do you have to do with him?¡±


    ¡°I saved his life outside the city. He even gave me this.¡± He shoved the token.


    The innkeeper inspected it and handed it back.


    ¡°Sorry. I did not know. Gustav¡¯s friends are more than welcome here.¡±


    ¡°So can we do something about the price?¡±


    ¡°I apologise for that. You look quite brutish so I added the cost of extra food, space and things you might break. It was not out of hatred or something. It stays three copper.¡±


    ¡°So the token is worthless? Are the kind words is all I get?¡±


    ¡°No, of course not. How about a bigger room than standard, no extra charge beyond 3 coppers. I doubt you would be able to fit in the usual one. Oh, and a free bathing service.¡±


    ¡°That is better.¡±


    ¡°There is little I can do about the food. You seem large and I do not want to go bankrupt. If you would get it yourself I would lower the price back to one copper.¡±


    He was really hungry and did not want to bother by looking for food.


    ¡°Three coppers is fine. Here this is for two days.¡± He put 6 coppers on the table.


    ¡°So what happened? How is Gustav?¡± Innkeeper''s worry was genuine as they were true friends.


    ¡°A dozen of bandits attacked his group. I intervened and saved his skin. Some of the travellers were injured but it must not have been bad as they continued their journey.¡±


    ¡°That is bad. The roads are getting worse by the year. Listen, your men are welcome here too. Invite them over, I will offer a better price than other nearby taverns.¡±


    ¡°What men?¡±


    ¡°The ones who helped to chase the bandits off. Even if the Gustav helped, you could not have taken twelve of them.¡±


    ¡°But I did. With no assistance whatsoever.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha. I assume they saw you and just ran.¡± He laughed it off.


    ¡°Not before I have outright killed the four of them and incapacitated the other two.¡± Guardian said very seriously. His achievements were no joke.


    ¡°Killed? I thought they were just chased off. And you blame me for taking you for a brute, I knew it. However, I believe you. The fewer bandits living the better.¡±


    Innkeeper took the coins and handed a key.


    ¡°Your room is upstairs. It is the second door on your left. Feel free to get something for breakfast now, no more than three portions. We also serve a meal in the evening. The hot water for a bath is available before or straight after the meals.¡±


    Guardian took the key and headed to inspect his room. Inside the room were basic furniture: a straw bed, a dresser, a small table and a chair, also a small coffer with a lock to store his more valuable possessions. He took out his things and reorganised them, he would head to the market to sell it later. He had to eat first as he was getting hungry. After all, It was two full days since he ate.


    He went to the mess hall and ate three servings of gruel and hard baked bread. Three portions were not enough, he needed ten or so. Also, meat to go with that. But this will have to do for now.


    After finishing his unsatisfying meal he went outside to explore the city. He was told by Lucas that it had a grand library here and many guilds which probably held the information about the monsters he needed.


    He strolled around the streets trying to familiarise himself with the city layout. Finally, he found what he was looking for. Some sort of a guild house. He tried to go inside but was refused at the entry.


    ¡°Go away, foreigner. You have no business here.¡±


    ¡°But I do. He showed his alchemists plate.¡± Proving that he was a credible businessman.


    ¡°Nope. The thing must be stolen. You do not look like a merchant. Get lost before I call the city guard.¡±


    He did not bother to argue with an ignorant guard. The plate had a mechanism to identify him as the rightful owner of Alchemy Shop, there was no known way to forge it, stealing it was also useless.


    He went to a different guild house.


    ¡°No entry!¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°No entry!¡±


    ¡°Come on.¡±


    ¡°No one would do business with you, traveller. You look like a barbarian. I am saving you time.¡±


    It appeared that his unusual look proved to be more of a hurdle than he initially taught. He had to do something about it.


    He decided to visit some of the specialised shops all around the city to better understand the situation. He went from place to place observing the people and their interactions.


    The businesses seemed to be decent, they were serving both humans and beastmen alike. He tried buying some food from the vendors and they were happy to have him as a customer. He purchases some raw vegetables to satiate his hunger. He was eating them as he thought about his situation.


    It was the higher status people who did not want to get involved with him, not the simple businessmen. But what he could do about that, he understood that it was something to do with his looks or that he was a foreigner.


    He hanged around one or the Merchant Guilds just to see what sort of people were let inside. He found what he had suspected; only the rich and wealthy got through to use high services provided by the city and its guilds.


    He could do something about that. As he had the money. However, him looking alien still might have something to do with this. He might need to hire someone to act as his proxy, someone human-like and pretty.


    As he was thinking this through an odd creature approached the entry of the merchant¡¯s guild. It wore extravagant clothing in a form of a robe. Chains of metals were decorating it. The creature was roughly the size and stature of a human but it had a bluish grey skin and a set of horns on its head. The horns were also adorned with various trinkets. It wore no shoes as it had hooves for the feet. The person looked wealthy and exotic.


    To Guardians surprise that foreigner had no issue getting past the guard.


    ¡°So it is a simple matter of appearing wealthy. Money talks I guess.¡±


    He had to improve his looks, after all, he wore a simple loincloth and that was it. That did nothing but to shout poverty to others. He had to admit he did look like a brute or barbarian, someone who might be completely ignorant of even basic concepts of trade.


    He went to look for a shop which would be able to outfit him. This would cost quite a bit of gold but he had the money.

 22 Looking fancy – It brings some good and some bad

    He managed to find a skilled tailor to outfit him with a robe that same day. The design was simple but it fits him nicely. The robe was long and loose, leaving plenty of space to move. It had large cuttings for the protrusions on his back and his tail, the sleeves were long enough to hide his sharp claws. It also had a pull-up hood which did a good job concealing his face. The robe was made of smooth and soft fabric, but it was very durable, also, expensive. It was plain with no patterns but did not look cheap at all, quite the opposite.


    For the dramatic effect, he got himself two large copper plated chains and crossed them across his chest. He liked the idea of being able to hook things on them. The robe was secured with a large belt. On the belt, he attached a large satchel, big enough to pass as a backpack for a normal person.


    All of this cost him over 15 gold, almost all of his money. He did not look extremely rich but good enough to pass as a wealthy noble. He did not worry about the expense as he will be able to make it back. This was an investment to his credibility.


    He looked at his reflection in the water and nodded in approval. The sun was setting and he headed back towards the inn. Going back towards it while looking all fancy was not the best of his decisions. The streets were full of dangers.


    Five of the beast men ran to him from behind. They were about to rob him. This did not go unnoticed by the Guardian.


    ¡°What do you want of me?¡± Guardian asked.


    ¡°Everything you have.¡± Demanded the bandit.


    ¡°Strip now and we might let you live.¡± Other added.


    ¡°No. If you want to continue living, go back where you came from.¡± Guardian replied crossly to their demands.


    ¡°Ha, you might be rich and powerful, but I cannot see your escorts here.¡± The bandits were not afraid of him.


    ¡°You screwed up, foreigner. Your kind has no place here.¡±


    ¡°Your men won¡¯t be able to do shit to us if you won¡¯t live to order them.¡±


    ¡°There is no need for people to escort me. I am sure you can see that I can fight.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah. But can you win?¡±


    ¡°Five against one. The odds are in our favour.¡±


    Guardian was getting tired of this ¡®there are more of us than you¡¯ business.


    ¡°Just strip down. We will leave you alive if you do not resist.¡±


    ¡°Not happening.¡±


    ¡°Right boys, He is asking for this.¡±


    The beastmen took clubs in their hands and was ready to club him to oblivion. He took his hood off and armed himself with a copper plated chain. It was not just a decoration, it had other uses.


    The beastmen looked at his face. They were expecting to see a grey horned head. Their confusion did not last as long as it did not matter, he was still a foreigner.


    ¡°I told you he is too big, and they do not have tails.¡±


    ¡°Matters not. We are still robbing him.¡±


    ¡°Guys I do not think we should. I¡­ I think I recognise him.¡±


    ¡°You think?¡±


    ¡°Is he the one who kicked your ass yesterday?¡±


    ¡°That, and killed two of my mates.¡±


    ¡°Even more reason to kill him.¡±


    ¡°I do not think we will be able to¡­¡± The conversation was cut short by a shriek of pain.


    The guardian did not stand idly while beastman ignored him. He threw the chain and hit one of the beastmen in the face. They judged his reach wrong and he was able to weaponize his decorations.


    ¡°You fucker! that is it.¡± A bandit swore.


    ¡°Careful with him.¡±


    The guardian did not have time to play around. He stretched his left arm and blasted three of them using his magic. Shockwave knocked the beastmen over. He quickly turned around and swiped his chain at the arm of the one who was trying to club him from behind. The other bandit stood frozen, he was the beastman who recognised him.


    The chain wrapped tightly around the arm of the beastman. Guardian pulled it forcefully forcing the mugger closer to him, then he kicked with the full force to the side of his chest. To the muggers surprise the arm was separated from his shoulder.


    Guardian ignored the one hesitating to attack and ran towards the knocked down ones. He stepped on the one who was in the process of standing and whacked at his face with a chain which still held a dismembered limb of his accomplice. He whacked again and again. Metal dug into the beastman¡¯s muscles taking chunks of it away. Bandit tried to escape but couldn¡¯t, he was held in place by the Guardian¡¯s weight.


    ¡°What was that thing? Magic?¡±


    ¡°Bastard! Took us by surprise.¡± The other two cursed as they stood.


    ¡°Run.¡± Guardian advised the bandits ¡°I am in no mood to stain my clothes.¡± He was careful to avoid any of the blood. That is why he used the chain for the job.


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°He just killed two of us. The bastard needs to pay¡±


    ¡°More the reason to run! Come on guys we will get him next time.¡± The cautions one tried to reason. He would run regardless of what they have decided.


    ¡°We will remember you!¡±


    ¡°Please! I do not want to be bothered by you again. Next time I might be in a worse mood.¡±


    The trio ran away. He wiped the chain on the fur of the one-armed bandit.


    ¡°Oh he is still alive, just passed out. Should I ¡­ or ¡­¡± Guardian was unsure if he should kill him or leave him to die naturally; bandit would die from the blood loss anyway.


    A woman ran towards him out of nowhere. She was a member of the beast race, they looked similar.


    ¡°Let him live I beg of you! We have children I need him.¡±


    ¡°He tried to mug me. He deserved this.¡±


    ¡°Yes. And I am sorry for his action. He is a thief, he lost his arm, he does not need to lose his life. I beg you to spare him. You spared the others, so why him?¡± The woman tried to reason with him.


    ¡°He is bleeding profusely, he would die regardless unless you are a healer.¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°No! No! No!¡± The woman ran towards her loved one ignoring the danger.


    ¡°Why¡­ why did it come to this¡­¡±


    ¡°Bad luck? And thievery, it does not pay off.¡±


    ¡°He was forced to do this. We have no money and our children are starving.¡± She was sobbing while clutching the neck of the beastman.


    ¡°You are rich can¡¯t you do something about this? I will repay you.¡±


    ¡°Do I look like a healer. I can rip the arm off, but not attach it. And even If I could why would I?¡±


    ¡°Sir, I beg you. I need him. You are a mage I have seen it. You must know things. Just keeping him alive is enough. I will do anything and everything if you keep him alive. No price is too big. Sir please, spare him. I know you can.¡±


    ¡°There is a way, but It is quite brutal.¡±


    ¡°Does not matter what it is as long as he lives.¡± She let her man go and was prostrating herself in front of him.


    ¡°Ha¡­ I did not say I will do it.¡± He did not care about her situation. Parents were responsible for their offspring it was not his fault they were poor or had too many children to feed. He was responsible in killing the beastman and worsening their situation. However, the man chose to be a thief, chose to attack him from behind and all actions have consequences.


    Guardian had enough of drama. He walked away from the sobbing woman.


    ¡°Please, please, please! I will pay you back. Think about the children! They will starve.¡±


    The few last lines of her plea gave him an idea.


    ¡°No matter how big the price?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Anything! Make the blood stop.¡±


    ¡°Anything?¡±


    ¡°Sir, please. Whatever it is, just say it and it is yours.¡±


    ¡°Give me one of our offspring to do as I please.¡±


    ¡°Why would you need a child¡­¡± She stopped there, she did not want to know for the sake of her sanity. ¡°Ok, you can have it.¡± She had no choice but to accept it.


    ¡°Are you sure about this? If you cross me I will come after you.¡±


    ¡°YES! Just hurry up. He is dying.¡± She loved her children but she needed her man. Without him, they all would probably starve. At best, she could keep one or two of the five. They could scavenge and steal food but this would not last and she did not want such a future for her and her children.


    If her man lived she could mate with him and make more children. She committed herself to it there and then.


    ¡°I said yes! Yes! Yes!¡±


    ¡°Then it is a deal. I expect you to honour it. Your man might have no such thing but for the sake of his life I hope you do.¡±


    He crouched and pressed his palm on the bleeding shoulder. The magical light weaved around his fingers and concentrated on the bleeding wound. As he let it go the magical weave burst into flames, cauterising the wound.


    ¡°I have stopped the bleeding.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Thanks.¡± She said whilst brushing off her tears.


    ¡°It does not mean he will live. He had lost a lot of blood and might be in a shock, but he is stable.¡±


    ¡°That is good enough.¡±


    ¡°Ohh no. I do not want you doubling down on our deal if he dies later. It is for the best if we take him to my place. I have some stuff which will help, potions and the like.¡± He did not want her to just go like that. He was not letting them off, not before he secured his reward.


    ¡°Sir, I have no money to spare. We cannot afford this.¡± She has never seen a potion but she knew that stuff was expensive.


    ¡°I won¡¯t ask for money.¡± It was to his interest that the man lived after all. And he had plenty of salves and potions at the inn.


    ¡°I cannot offer you another of my children. Ask for something else.¡± She misunderstood him.


    ¡°What I meant is that I won¡¯t charge you for that. Your cooperation is all I need.¡±


    He was not that sort of greedy monster who would give hope and then increase his price.


    ¡°Oh, Okay.¡± She was relieved to hear that.


    ¡°It is your man you carry him.¡± He told the woman as he motioned to follow him


    She pulled him on her shoulders and started to slowly walk. The beastmen females were almost as strong as their male counterparts. She struggled with it but it was doable.


    They went inside the inn. The innkeeper gave him a confused look.


    ¡°Do not ask., It is better that way.¡±


    The innkeeper did not even what to ask. It was not his business, after all. The less he knew about it the better for him. However, he had to make one thing known.


    ¡°If all of you planning on staying in your room you will have to pay extra. Also, they will need to pay for their meals.¡±


    Guardian handed the key to the beastwoman and explained which room is his.


    ¡°The woman won¡¯t be staying. The man might need to stay for a few days. How much is it.¡±


    ¡°A copper per person.¡±


    ¡°He could get his own room for that.¡±


    ¡°He can if you pay. I am not suggesting he stays at yours. Even if he stays it is still a copper.¡±


    ¡°He will stay. I need to watch him.¡± He passed the copper.


    ¡°That is understandable. He looked quite injured, his arm and all. Are you a healer perhaps?¡± He broke his rules of not asking.


    ¡°Not exactly. I am a merchant of potions and salves, officially an alchemist but I do not brew myself.¡± Guardian disclosed this information. This would make the innkeeper less suspicious of the change in his attire.


    ¡°That explains things. You are not just a brute after all.¡±


    ¡°Of course not. I am a respectable person.¡± The guardian turned away from the innkeeper, he had to go to tend to his patient-cum-victim.


    ¡°Do you have some of the merchandise with you? I am willing to buy and if you made some discounts you would get on my good side.¡±


    ¡°We will speak about that tomorrow I have more urgent matters.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Have a good evening.¡±


    ¡®Is it because he knows that I am wealthy?¡¯ The innkeeper was oddly nice to Guardian now, and this made him think about it. People treated those who were wealthy differently. Getting the outfit had its benefits. Drawbacks too as It also attracted unwanted attention.


    He opened the doors of his room and went inside. The beastman was lying on his bed, a woman was sitting beside him on a chair. She was holding his hand in hers, concern clear in her face.


    ¡°This is not how it works. I pay for the room so I keep the bed. He will be sleeping on the floor.¡±


    The woman nodded. She knew her beloved was at his mercy.


    Guardian took out a salve from the bag in the corner and smeared it all over the wound. Then he fed two potions to his patient. One of them was a stamina potion another one a weak healing potion.


    ¡°This will help him a bit. I expect him to get conscious in an hour or so. He is merely sleeping off his exhaustion and shock.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Then he wakes up he will be very weak. We will know the next day if the weakness will take him or not.¡±


    ¡°He will pull it off, he always does. He is very strong, That is why I married him.¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course.¡± He did not care about all that lovey-dovey thing. ¡°I expect you will bring him his share of food from home. Do not expect me to pay for that. I am already paying for him staying here.¡±


    ¡°You do? Shall I take him home?¡±


    ¡°I would not advise that.¡± He wanted the beastman in his sight. The woman was still to deliver her end of the bargain.


    ¡°You better go to make sure you deliver on your end.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, yes¡­¡± she completely forgot what she had traded for Guardian¡¯s mercy. ¡°Won¡¯t it be better if you picked the child yourself in the morning?¡± She did not want to be blamed for sending the one he did not like for an odd reason. She knew that noblemen could be extremely fussy about that.


    ¡°That is a clever idea. Now go, I would like you to convince your offspring to go with me willingly. What use would it be if it escaped from me the very next day.¡±


    ¡°What should I say?¡±


    ¡°That is your trouble. You know what is at stake, you will think of something.¡±


    ¡°I guess so.¡± She without confidence.


    ¡°Now go, it is getting late. Come back in the morning. Shiu!¡± He waved her off.


    ¡°See you tomorrow, sir.¡± She looked worriedly at her man before she left.


    Then she left he restrained the beastman with some rope and left him lying on a wooden floor. It was time for him to get the remainder of his well-deserved sleep. He did not get much of it after all.


    In the middle of the night, he was woken up by the groaning beastman. He was livelier than he anticipated.


    ¡°It is sleeping time, quiet.¡±


    He knocked the poor sod out with a hit to the back of bandit¡¯s head.


    As soon as the first sun rays reached the sky. He was woken up again, this time by a knock on his door.


    ¡°This is way too early. It is barely dawn.¡± He complained quietly. ¡±Come in.¡±


    ¡°How is my¡­ Ah sorry. Sir, you are still undressed.¡± A woman closed the doors.


    Guardian had taken off his robes, but he still had his loincloth like he always did. ¡®Does that mean I was always perceived as undressed?¡¯ He was wearing only a loincloth for most of his life.


    ¡°It is fine. Come in.¡±


    The woman gets herself out of the doorway and crouched beside her husband. She shook him gently. The man woke up, his head was throbbing, and his shoulder was burning in pain.


    He looked confused at his wife. Then at the space where his arm was supposed to be.


    ¡°Ahh!¡± He shouted in terror.


    ¡°Come down deer, you are fine. It is fine.¡±


    ¡°My arm! He ripped it¡­ But I am¡­ I am alive. How?¡±


    ¡°All thanks to me of course.¡± Guardian smiled at him.


    The beastman recognised his tormentor and passed out, the terror-inducing sight was too much for his weakened state.


    ¡°Dear, dear. Speak to me.¡±


    ¡°He is fine. Better than expected actually. He is weak and needs rest, that is all.¡±


    ¡°I brought him something to get his strength back.¡± She pointed at the basked besides her.


    ¡°Is it meat I can smell?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Rat meat, noting the wealthy man like you would enjoy.¡±


    ¡°That explains it. And I was wondering how were you able to afford meat. I was beginning to doubt the trough about your financial situation.¡±


    ¡°I would not dare to lie to you.¡±


    He knew that she just lied to him, but he brushed it off as her trying to appear pleasant. The tactic he himself used on many occasions.


    ¡°So shall we go to your place, is it far?¡±


    ¡°We can go, it is not far. Before we go, does he need to be tied like this?¡±


    ¡°Are you questioning my methods?¡±


    ¡°No, no. I would not dare.¡±


    ¡°Good, he is tied so that he does not have strange ideas of running away from me and dying. I was the one to injure him remember.¡± That reminded him that he wanted to keep the thug here, so he fed a sleeping concoction to him.


    ¡°How much medicine he has to receive before he gets better?¡±


    ¡°This is the last one. After that normal nursing and plenty of food and liquid will help.¡±


    ¡°This is good.¡±


    He put his robes on and they went outside the inn to start their journey to her place. They walked in odd silence. The woman did not know how to talk with nobility; she was still mistaken about him being a noble. guardian living in a rundown inn did not tip her either, she was quite daft.


    She wanted to talk about her troubles, but she doubted that Guardian wanted to hear her sob story again. He made it clear he did not care about her hardships, this was a textbook example of a noble.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Someone was shouting towards their direction.


    ¡°Hey, Guardian was it! I have barely recognised you. New getup, ehh?¡±


    ¡°Do I know you?¡±


    ¡°Ohh I get it, I get it. You are pretending you don¡¯t remember me since you are with a different girl eh. Well, at least I know what your tastes are now.¡± She continued.


    ¡°We are not like that. He is treating my husband that is all.¡± The beastwoman did not want to be responsible for getting him in trouble. She wanted to remain on friendly terms with him, her husband was still recovering.


    ¡°Is it?¡±


    ¡°It is as she says. Now, who are you again?¡±


    ¡°Come on, I am a friend of Iustitia. The beautiful tiger woman Brita.¡± She pushed out her chest proudly, showing everything she had.


    ¡°So what do you want from me? I am quite busy.¡±


    ¡°Not this again. You did not come to see us. The girls missed you. I have missed you the most, so I been looking for you. You know my offer still stands.¡±


    He could not remember any offers. He made no deals with this Brita.


    ¡°Not interested.¡±


    ¡°Eh?! What is wrong with you? I am practically throwing myself on you.¡±


    ¡°That might be the reason why.¡± The other woman offered her opinion on the matter.


    ¡°Eh?¡± Brita turned her head from side to side in confusion.


    ¡°Sir here is a wealthy nobleman. He must have hordes of women throwing themselves to his feet. You need to offer something others can not. That is how I got my man.¡±


    ¡°Ohhh¡­ That explains things.¡±


    ¡°You are not the brightest one, are you.¡± She whispered to the tigerwoman¡¯s ear cheekily.


    The dumb was lecturing the dumber.


    ¡°You wanna fight!¡± Brita got offended.


    ¡°This has to stop now!¡± Guardian was getting tired of this nonsense. Women were so troublesome.


    ¡°Ok, Ok. Just promise to visit us.¡±


    ¡°If that will make you disappear when I will.¡±


    ¡°See you then, handsome!¡± Brita said as she walked off.


    He did not reply back to her, completely ignoring her goodbye.


    ¡°Was this somehow related to your business? Did I cause you trouble?¡±


    ¡°No, not really.¡±


    The woman let out a deep sigh of relief. She almost got herself in a catfight. She did not want to be responsible for beating one of his clients. She could have totally taken care of that Brita.


    They continued to walk towards her home.


    ¡°Turn here.¡± She motioned with her hand.


    They were now in a slum district outside the city. It was not too far from a harbour. The slums were bigger than he imagined. It was like a city of its own. He was unsure if there were more people living in the city or the slums.


    ¡°The children are inside, still sleeping. Let me go and get them.¡±


    She roused the children and gathered them outside the shack. They ordered themselves by height. The guardian looked at the five unsure which one is the best o pick. All of them were still very young. The oldest a teenager, the youngest probably learned to walk only a year ago. There were boys and girls but all of them looked almost identical to him, only their height was different.


    After his recent experiences, he was reluctant to pick a female. The oldest was clearly a female, budging buds on her chest gave her away, the others were not so clear. He pointed at the one in the middle.


    ¡°This one¡± He picked his new servant.

 23 Deal is done – acquisition of a new servant

    ¡°This one is a boy, isn¡¯t he?¡± Guardian had to be sure.


    ¡°A boy. His name is Ithayiga.¡± A woman replied.


    ¡°Then I will take him.¡±


    ¡°Ye¡­ Yes.¡± His choice surprised a woman. She thought Guardian would pick her oldest son, or daughter as she was almost old enough to become a full-fledged woman. She could already bear children but there was more than that about being an adult.


    ¡°Is papa all right?¡± The boy spoke. He asked what all of the children were thinking.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you come and see for yourself. Do you know what will happen to you?¡±


    ¡°I heard mama explaining to my older siblings.¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°I will serve a nobleman to pay for papas debts. You saved the papa. He owns his life to you but our family needs him here so I will serve instead of him.¡±


    The woman did not dye him in bad colours or tried to alienate him for her children. She chose wisely.


    ¡°Good boy. You will work hard so your mama and papa can be proud of you, yes?¡±


    ¡°I will work very hard.¡± The boy replied.


    The woman ushered the rest of her children back inside. She did not want Guardian changing his mind about his choice. Though, she loved all of them; as cruel as it was Ithayiga was not her favourite child. The ones in the very middle tended to get ignored as she was too busy looking after the younger and lecturing the older ones.


    The trio started to walk back to the inn. The young boy was wiping his tears away. He heard that the one taken away won¡¯t be able to see his siblings or parents for a very long time. That made him sad but he had a resolve to pull through this. The family needed him to do what he had to in order to survive, or so he had heard.


    ¡°Do not cry Ithayiga, be strong. Remember that we love you for what you do. And remember to listen to the sir and do exactly what he asks of you.¡± She wanted to add one more line, ¡®That is if you value your life and ours.¡¯, but that would be too much for the boy to stomach and she did not want to scare him.


    ¡°By the way why do you need him?¡± She whispered to the Guardian. She has not asked this yet, and she dreaded the answer. She hoped that it will not be something sick and twisted. The mage asked for a child who was willing to serve after all. If he needed the meat he could have just abducted or bought any other poor soul.


    ¡°I need a servant.¡±


    ¡°I understand. But for what?¡± She thought that if he needed just a servant he could clearly afford to hire one. Someone competent in his or her tasks. That is where she was mistaken, he could afford to pay someone, but he did not want to pay if there was a way around it. Also, he believed in educating servants so they can become experts in their craft. What good it would be if he spent years training someone and then that someone just left him to serve someone else.


    They were servants, not slaves. Everyone had a degree of freedom even in this wicked world. However, there were forms of ¡®slavery¡¯ just the wording was different. Forced labour as a punishment, service to pay the debt and the like. The unlucky ones under such condition had little choice, it was servitude or death.


    ¡°The usual. Running errands and the like.¡± He replied to the woman.


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± she was suspicious. She could do nothing but worry, she was a mother after all. ¡°Nothing unsavoury? Even if it is, please tell me. I will not change my mind. I just have to know.¡± She wanted to know if she was dooming her child.


    ¡°He might need to do battle once he gets stronger. Killing both beasts and men. You have seen yourself that I don¡¯t live an uneventful life.¡±


    ¡°That is all? This is nothing¡­¡± This was completely normal, everyone killed for various reasons. ¡°Why do you not get someone who is capable of such things? This boy is still a whelp. I don¡¯t understand why you need him. I was expecting the worst.¡±


    ¡°Were you thinking I will be eating him or offer him as a sacrifice to the dark forces? Ha!¡± He laughed.


    That was what she was thinking, and worse.


    ¡°I have my reasons.¡± Guardian continued.


    ¡°Yet I still worry.¡±


    ¡°There is little you can do. However, I can assure you, I will not harm him intentionally. That does not mean he will not get hurt. He will be responsible for his own life if a push became a shove.¡±


    He was speaking the truth. The boy will have to fend for himself now. Actually, if he spoke the truth he would probably live better than he did now with her. And the lecture she gave to her children last night would not be a complete lie.


    That night she told her children that one of them will have to serve instead of their dad. A noble would come and pick one of them. She lied to her children that they won¡¯t have to worry about getting food anymore if they served for that noble. She also told them that if they behaved and followed his orders with the zeal they would gain his trust in time. If they gained the trust they would surely reap some rewards and freedoms. If they did it right they would rise above the status of poor slum dwellers, pick some skills and valuable experience, or so she hoped. Also, she told them to observe their master, learn about him and from him. It was a privilege to serve a noble, there was a reason nobles were rich and powerful so if they gritted their teeth and pulled truth the years they will learn something of value. In much grimmer tone, while looking at her firstborn daughter, she had added that they should never disobey the one they served, no matter how wicked or twisted he was. If he hurt them so be it; cry and wail but do not resist as nothing good would come from it. She stressed that it was an utmost importance to stay in favour with their master.


    ¡°He will be alright.¡± She said to herself trying to calm down.


    ¡°He will if he makes good choices.¡±


    Then their conversation halted to a stop and she motioned the boy to get closer to them. He was further away so that he does not eavesdrop.


    ¡°Ah, at last, we are here. Your place was further away than I estimated.¡± It took a while to go to the slums and back but it was still an early morning.


    ¡°Do I get to see papa now?¡±


    ¡°It is for the best if your mother wakes him up first and explains the situation. He might need to be convinced, if not you know what will happen, do you woman?.¡±


    ¡°I do. I will properly explain to him what happened.¡± She ran upstairs leaving her child with Guardian.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The guardian sniffed the air, he could smell the food cooking. He forgot that his rent included the meals. He ate a sack of vegetables yesterday so he did not need to eat today, he ate only once in a few or so days. There was no point in wasting it.


    ¡°The breakfast is almost ready. Are you hungry¡­¡± he forgot the boy¡¯s name ¡°What is your name again?¡±


    ¡°Ithayiga. What is your name?¡±


    ¡°People call me Guardian, but it I have been told that someone in your situation should call me Master.¡± They were not friends so this felt appropriate. Also, it was so that others won¡¯t get the wrong idea about the boy¡¯s status and their relationship.


    ¡°Master, I am starving. I did not have anything to eat yesterday. Papa did not return with food.¡± He said sadly.


    ¡°Your father is alright. Let me get something to eat for you.¡±


    He brought a large bowl of gruel for the boy to eat. The boy consumed it greedily, stuffing his face with his hands. The wooden spoon was left untouched on the table. After a few minutes the boy was literally forcing the food to his stomach, but there was no more space for it. Yet, the bowl was still half fool.


    The food was cheap and bland but the portions were big enough to feed a hard labourer.


    ¡°Do not force yourself. There will plenty of it for you to eat in the evening.¡±


    The boy did not believe that he will get another such generous portion later on the same day. He would eat once a day at best and there was very little food to go in-between all five of the children.


    ¡°Stay here, while I check on your father.¡±


    He went upstairs to see his ¡®patient¡¯. The beastman froze upon seeing him. A chunk of meat dropped from his mouth.


    ¡°You are eating, this is good. What is this?¡± He motioned at the jug which reeked unpleasantly.


    ¡°Booze to make his food go easier.¡±


    ¡°Smells disgusting, how can he drink that?¡±


    ¡°It also eases his pain. He said the pain is unbearable; is there anything you can do?.¡±


    ¡°Not paid to. He is alive and kicking, that is what our deal was all about. He is alive. He will have to ignore it.¡±


    ¡°Booze helps.¡± The man groaned meekly.


    ¡°Ah, should I run and borrow some from your friends?¡± The woman asked her husband. He nodded in response.


    ¡°You better have no bad ideas. Do not even think of telling your kind where I am. I am sure you know by now what will happen if you seek revenge.¡± He was suspicious that the woman would gather some gang to attack him.


    ¡°We are fully aware of your power and possible reach.¡±


    ¡°Do you know about the deal?¡±


    ¡°He knows.¡± The woman replied for her man.


    ¡°And are you fine with it? There won¡¯t be any more trouble? After all, Next time you might not get this lucky.¡±


    Beastman looked at his injured shoulder and shook his head sideways.


    ¡°Did I make him a mute too?¡±


    ¡°He can talk fine. It is just that¡­ he is still terrified of you.¡±


    ¡°Booze¡± The man groaned again.


    ¡°Okay, Okay. I am going.¡±


    The woman ran off to get some local variety of ¡®painkillers¡¯.


    ¡°Wanna see your kid for the last time?¡±


    The beastman shook his head again. It was a no.


    ¡°No? Well, you are seeing him, want it or not. I know the boy won¡¯t stop pestering me about you otherwise.¡±


    Guardian opened the door and shouted for the boy to come.


    ¡°Ith¡­ Itha¡­ Itha-whatever come inside your father wants to see you.¡± His tongue could not roll enough to pronounce the boy¡¯s name.


    The boy ran haphazardly inside and hugged the man.


    ¡°Papa your arm!? What happened? Are you going to be okay?¡±


    Beastman just nodded and patted the boy with his left hand, trying to calm him. He hugged the boy and whispered in his ear.


    ¡°Be good.¡± Was all he had said. Then he pushed the boy away and motioned him to leave the room. His face was serious and the boy obeyed without question. As soon as the boy left, beastman¡¯s eyes moistened and a few tears rolled down his cheeks.


    ¡°This is the last time you will be seeing him, he is mine now. You would do good to remember that. You nor should your men approach him anymore, that is if you value your life.¡± Guardian threatened the beastman. ¡°I am a powerful and wealthy man. Even if you run I would spare no expense to hunt you down.¡± He added a bit of a convenient and convincing untruth, just to get his point across.


    Then Guardian went and looked around his room making sure no stuff was missing. He locked his valuables in the coffer but he could never be too careful when dealing with someone from slums. Nothing was missing, this meant that the woman did not have the audacity to rob him.


    ¡°Stay here and wait for your mate.¡± Guardian grabbed some of his stuff and went downstairs.


    The boy was sitting at the table. He looked anxious and unsure what to do. As soon as he noticed Guardian he ran to his side.


    ¡°Learn the names of these things.¡± He showed the boy some of the Aiu¡¯s produce naming each of the things. Boy did his best to remember how each of the items was called. The lesson was short, the boy will have plenty of time later to practice. Then, Guardian went to the innkeeper to show his wares.


    ¡°That is quite the good stuff you have. I am impressed with the quality. Way better what we have here.¡±


    ¡°I use the freshest ingredients.¡±


    The alchemists here had to import their ingredients from the villages which were further away, whereas Aiu processes them fresh because she lived in the forest.


    ¡°I will take that herbal soap. All 12 bars of it, my wife runs a bathing house so we need it. Also, I will take some of that fragrant water, my missus will be happy to get it as a gift.¡±


    The man took some healing salves and ointments as well. He was quite wealthy even though he did not look like it, all thanks to his penny pinching and being overly shrewd.


    ¡°How much for all of this?¡±


    ¡°3 gold.¡±


    ¡°Wow. That is quite a discount. Thank you, friend.¡±


    Guardian was not selling it at the discounted value, it was the normal price. It meant that the stuff he had was valued more highly here. He will have to find out proper pricing later. Not being let in the merchant guild house has bitten back at him again.


    ¡°it is fine. ¡®FRIEND¡¯.¡± Guarding still did not think that they were friends, but went along with it.


    The boy was quietly observing. His eyes looked like they will pop out. The innkeeper used a gold coin and some silver to pay for the goods. Ithayiga have never seen such money in his life, he had never seen gold before. He knew instantly that it was gold, it was very shiny, he was awestruck. He realised that his Master must be very wealthy.


    His mother came through the doorway wielding a few jugs of cheap booze.


    ¡°Hey, this is not allowed here! This is not a tavern.¡±


    ¡°Could you make an expectation for me? FRIEND.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, normally I wouldn¡¯t. But for you, I will.¡±


    Apparently being ¡®friends¡¯ had some benefits.


    ¡°Here is a copper for a small room¡±


    He grabbed the key and went upstairs with the woman, the boy followed.


    ¡°You stay downstairs.¡± He ordered the boy.


    Ithayiga wanted to come with his mum but he had to be good.


    The woman hauled her husband to a different room. He was still too exhausted to walk, mental trauma was more responsible for it than the physical one. It was the arm, not a leg he lost.


    ¡°He will have to stay in a bed and rest for the day. Go easy on that booze stuff and you will be fine. My part of the deal is now done.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your kindness.¡± The woman was sincere.


    The beastman just glared at him. He did not feel grateful at all, the monster ruined his life after all. The woman¡¯s husband knew his place and was smart enough not to act on his feelings. He remained quiet.


    ¡°You can stay here till the evening. By the night time, I expect you gone. Give him this to help him to walk.¡± He left a stamina potion on a small table and closed the doors.


    The boy was waiting patiently for him downstairs. He was holding two more bowls of the gruel.


    ¡°Innkeeper said that these are for you.¡±


    ¡°I am not hungry, but It would be a waste to throw it away.¡±


    He actually could have given it to the beastmen couple, but they already have eaten and drank. He warned them that they will have to get their own food.


    ¡°My siblings! Can they have this?¡±


    ¡°Good idea, let¡¯s go and see them for the last time while your ma nurse your pa.¡±


    Before they left Guardian grabbed the remainder of his stuff from his room.


    ¡°I might not need to rent the room anymore. So feel free to let in someone else. Oh and those two, kick them out by the evening, I am not paying for their stay after that.¡± He let the innkeeper know of his intentions.


    ¡°Well, that copper you paid would get that man a meal in the evening and a full night¡¯s stay. Is he not sick anymore?¡±


    ¡°Kick him out by the evening.¡±


    ¡°You are paying, you are the boss.¡± The innkeeper had no reason to argue with him. He just assumed there was some falling out or something between the Guardian and the beastmen couple.


    ¡°One last thing. Can I have this for takeaway?¡± He pointed at the bowls boy was holding.


    ¡°I can get this in a pot if you pay for the pot itself. I will even add some extra gruel. You have been a good customer so please come back.¡±


    Guardian paid for the pot, it was only a copper as it was used and chipped. He gave it to the boy to carry and they went outside.


    As they were walking away Ithayiga heard his mother shouting through the window.


    ¡°Goodbye, my boy! I wish you luck.¡±


    ¡°Bye-bye.¡± He shouted back. He wanted to wave too but his hands were full.


    He did not realise this was the last time he would see his parents.


    ¡°Do you know the way back to your house?¡± Guardian asked.


    ¡°I will find it. It is just the city I am unfamiliar with. We will get out and I will show the way.¡±


    Guardian led the boy to the rough location of the slums and then the boy took over.

 24 Casual day - Meeting new and old people

    Guardian and his newly acquired servant have reached the house. Ithayiga passed back the gruel pot to Guardian and went inside to gather his siblings. Cute little beastmen children emerged from the house, all five of them; some were rubbing their tired eyes as they were just woken up.


    ¡°No way are we getting this for free.¡± His younger sister still disbelieved Ithayiga.


    ¡°Is it true that you bring food for us?¡± The oldest brother questioned.


    ¡°It is all in a pot.¡± Guardian put the pot down.


    The children gathered around it in haste. Seeing as there were no tricks involved siblings put their hands inside scooping the food and putting it in their mouths greedily.


    ¡°Brother, you are not eating?¡± The smallest child asked in between the gulps of food.


    ¡°I had my fill already.¡±


    ¡°Lucky!¡±


    ¡°And will you keep getting food every day just like that?¡± The oldest daughter asked.


    Ithayiga looked up at his Master quizzingly.


    ¡°Yes, he will be fed daily and looked after. But this does not come for free, I intend to work him hard. After all, he has to serve instead of his father, so he has to work as much as the adult would. That was what you were told, no?¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡± The children nodded in agreement, their mouths full of thick gruel.


    ¡°Would you take me into the service too? I am sure my parents would not object.¡± The oldest sister offered herself to be a servant too.


    He could not believe her words ¡®Was it that easy to get servants? So there was no need for all the trouble I went through¡¯. It appeared that they were ready to do everything he asked just for a measly morsel of food. ¡®Were the things this bad in the slums?¡¯.


    The thing was actually much worse, but there was no way for Guardian to know that. He did not have to live in the city slums, ever.


    ¡°There is no need. One helper is all I need for now.¡± He refused her offer.


    ¡°¡­¡± This somewhat upset her. She felt envious of her brother.


    The children were not messing about and the pot was empty within minutes.


    ¡°Right, this is time for us to leave.¡± Guardian told to the little ones.


    ¡°Already, will my brother come back to visit us?¡± the sibling who asked this hoped to receive some food, the brother would definitely bring something for them again.


    ¡°I doubt that. He will need to remain at my side at all times. Let¡¯s go, boy¡± Guardian wanted to cut the boy from his family so that he could control the young boy better.


    ¡°Bye bye¡­¡± Itayiga waved goodbye to his family, trying his best not to cry.


    As they walked further the boy expressed his gratitude ¡°Thank you, Master, for sharing your food with us. They did not say it but I am sure they were very grateful. I will remember your kindness and work hard to repay that.¡±


    ¡°I was serious about you not being able to see them again. Are you okay with that?¡±


    ¡°I am prepared to deal with that.¡± He knew that there would be a time then he had to leave his family and start his own life. It was just that he did so much earlier than others would.


    ¡°Good boy. That is the right attitude.¡±


    Their walk back to the city was put to the halt by a large group of people. There were about two dozen of them, they looked young and were very skinny. Most of them were males and they appeared to be a gang of slum dwellers, probably looking for a way to get rich quickly.


    ¡°Oi! What is a fancy man doing here in the place like this?¡±


    ¡°We missed our chance this morning, yet you came back.¡±


    ¡°Big mistake! Look how many of us are here now. The word spreads quickly.¡±


    The thugs were surrounding him from all sides. They must have seen him in the early morning, but probably were too afraid to attack him so they gathered more men.


    ¡°Master, this is bad!¡± the young beastman whispered to Guardian while pressing himself closer to his broad frame.


    ¡°Let me guess. I have to hand all of my valuables to you?¡±


    ¡°So you know the drill. Good.¡±


    ¡°And do not blame us. You are the one who is stupid to come here¡­ Looking like that! And with no guards.¡± The young thug still could not believe their luck.


    ¡°What are you waiting for? Start unloading your bag.¡±


    ¡°Oh, and you little fellow. You better scram off! There is no need for us to hurt someone who is one of our own.¡± Thug pointed to Ithayiga and motioned him to leave before things got ugly.


    ¡°Stay!¡± Guardian said to the boy commandingly, gauging boy¡¯s resolve.


    Ithayiga made his decision to fulfil his duty and stay by his Master¡¯s side.


    ¡°Ohhh, is he your Master, now? So be it! We will beat the shit out of you too.¡±


    ¡°Come on men, let¡¯s encourage him to be quicker to chare his valuables!¡±


    No one wanted to be the first as they all felt intimidated by Guardians sheer size.


    ¡°What¡¯s up? Are you afraid? If so, good! If you do this there will be no coming back. I am sure you can see that I can pack a good punch.¡± He rolled the sleeves of his robes and flexed his muscles in intimidation.


    ¡°Come on! What are you waiting for!¡± the leader urged again his gang to act.


    The slum dwellers launched themselves at him. The guardian grabbed Ithayiga and to the boy''s surprise, Guardian swung him quickly into the air and out of the trouble. The boy crash-landed on some discarded rubbish, he probably was still fine.


    ¡°You foolish creatures! You stand no chance in a brawl with me. No matter how many of you are here.¡±


    Thugs swarmed him from all sides, kicking him and punching, he felt very little of it. Most of them were superbly weak and his body¡¯s natural armour did a good job at absorbing their pathetic punches and kicks.


    It was time for Guardian to counter-attack. He did so with overwhelming power.


    A scrawny looking human teenager was punched directly in the face, smashing the better part of it. Few others had their chests and arms slashed, his claws piercing their soft skin and flesh. Beastmen proved to be a bit harder to wound, all this meant that they will only last a few seconds longer.


    The thugs kept pounding at him, fresh men replacing the injured very quickly. He was not the one to tire quickly and he kept defending and counterattacking, which was quite easy as the slum dwellers had no actual weapons besides stones and sticks.


    He kicked a few others sending them flying, his tail swung targeting the faces of others. This was the strategy he had used many times before. Somehow, people kept underestimating him again and again, this was a good example of it.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    The brawl lasted just a few minutes. The thugs were losing badly, many of them had broken bones, and few were even dead. Guardian himself suffered little of damage, nothing his body would not be able to naturally heal and repair by tomorrow.


    More and more of the slum dwellers turned around and ran away. They understood that they don¡¯t stand a chance against him. His robes made him look like a lazy merchant, yet he fought like a seasoned war veteran, the gang did not expect that.


    Guardian grabbed the last one who was stupid enough to put a fight. Then he quite literally pulled the head and part of the spine of the body. He then proceeded to throw it above and past the group of thugs who were fleeing from him.


    ¡°Here, this is a reminder for you! I will be coming back! You will do good to remember me.¡± He shouted at them.


    ¡°Boy! Where are you? I hope you did not run off!?¡±


    ¡°Master, I am still here.¡± The small furry head peeked out from a corner of an abandoned shack. He looked afraid, his entire body was shaking and his tail was squeezed in between his legs.


    ¡°Ah good! Show me a place I could quickly wash this off. They have stained my robes.¡± The robes proved to be quite sturdy, there were no rips, only the filth from the scum who attacked him.


    ¡°Are you sure about that? Won''t they come back and attack us again?¡±


    ¡°I highly doubt that. They have learned their lesson.¡±


    It was not just the thugs, many other slum dwellers were observing the battle from a distance as it drew quite a bit of attention.


    ¡°I will take you to our usual place by the river. Are you sure you a fine with that?¡± Boy expected him to want to take a bath or something like that, just like a noble would.


    ¡°It is fine. Lead the way.¡±


    During their walk. Guardian was lecturing the boy.


    ¡°Even though I gave you a free pass out of the combat this time, next time you will be expected to contribute.¡±


    Up to this point, the kid was doing his best not to mention what happened. He was still terrified, also he did not enjoy becoming a birdlike-entity and crashing into the rubble. He was lucky not to get injured too badly, all he received were a few bruises.


    ¡°Master, but how can I do this? I am too young and too weak.¡±


    ¡°If you lack muscle just use your head.¡±


    Ithayiga could not think of anything he could have done to help in that situation. Something more specific and precise from Guardian would have helped.


    ¡°I am unsure about this.¡±


    ¡°Trust me, when I am done with you, you will no longer even think off fleeing.¡±


    Boy doubted that this will come true.


    They reached the river. There were numerous people washing their bodies there; further away were the women and children rinsing their clothing. Guardian approaching them drew their attention, the way he looked like was the reason for that. People gawked at him shocked to find a wealthy looking person here, but they said nothing to him.


    He set his bag on a shore and instructed Ithayiga to watch over his goods. He took some of the Aiu¡¯s soap and went inside the river while still fully clothed. He rubbed himself and his robes with soap, trying to get all of the dirt and blood out before it permanently stained the fabric.


    The soap was of good quality and easily washed his clothing. It even made it smell nice as he used the more expensive herbal soap.


    As he was done a group of young women approached him.


    ¡°That is some interesting stuff you are using. We could even smell it further down the river.¡± The river carried the foam soap made and smell towards the women who did the washing.


    ¡°Mind us showing it?¡±


    ¡°Here.¡± He gave a wet bar of soap. ¡°This is a special soap my apprentice makes, it is quite popular in my city.¡±


    The women inspected the soap smelling it and passing it to each other.


    ¡°Oh, so you are not from around here. Just like I thought you came from the Isles, did you?¡±


    ¡°You look foreign.¡± another woman added.


    ¡°No, I am not from the Isles, those people have horns and hooves. But yes, I am not from around here.¡± He added so that they will not confuse him with them.


    ¡°This must be expensive stuff. Is it not?¡±


    She finally gave the bar of the soap back. It was reduced to the half of the size. Women pinched tiny parts of it for themselves, as they handled it; hoping that he would not notice. The problem was that there were just too many women doing that, so he noticed but chose to ignore it.


    ¡°It is two coppers per bar. Can you afford it?¡±


    ¡°What, us simple women, no. But we might convince the wealthy ladies whose clothes we wash to buy some. If you cut us some of it.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡± he considered it.


    ¡°Gives us some samples and I am sure our ladies will jump to buy it. After all it smells so nice, not like the normal soap.¡±


    ¡°And it looks to be just as effective if not more¡±.


    ¡°What stops you from running away with my samples and selling it?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. But we wouldn¡¯t do such a thing, you have to trust us.¡±


    He looked at Ithayiga hoping to get some indication if he should trust them, the boy was a slum dweller himself he should know. All Guardian got was an unsure shrug.


    ¡°Hey, Guardian! You seem as popular as ever!¡± A woman shouted while waving from a distance.


    He looked more carefully who it was. It appeared to be Iustitia accompanied by a skimpily dressed lizardwoman.


    ¡°I did not expect to find you here. What is all this ruckus?¡± she asked turning her head towards the group of women. She was blind but did a good job hiding it.


    ¡°They want me to give them some samples of my merchandise so that they can show it to their employer.¡±


    ¡°And?¡± she doubted that this was just that.


    ¡°And I am not sure I can trust them.¡±


    The group of women were whispering between each other but did not disturb his conversation.


    ¡°I say you can. If they are thinking of crossing you I am sure I will find it out. People talk and I listen, there is no way, such a thing will pass unheard by me. And I am more than able to find out there they live.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. And you will help me just like that?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I owe you!¡±


    ¡°I will al-sss-o a-sss-i-sss-t.¡± hissed the lizard woman. She was feeling nervous in front of him as it was not the first time they have met


    ¡°Then I am convinced.¡± He took out more of the soap from his bag, broke it into finer pieces and handed it to young women.


    ¡°I will trust you will keep your word. If not, do not be surprised if I came knocking at your door, personally.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. We will not cross you.¡±


    ¡°I will set a shop in the city market. I am sure it will be easy to find if you ask around, I tend to stand out. So if you come with the money from your masters to buy some more of my merchandise, I will cut you your share.¡±


    ¡°See you then.¡± A woman replied.


    ¡°I will definitely come back, there is no way my lady is not buying this.¡± Another woman added.


    What the women did not tell is that each time they would bring some of the soap back they would already have cut their share from it. They would lie telling that since it was so exquisite it came in a smaller size; this was normal for the expensive stuff.


    ¡°Thank you for this Iustitia. You helped me out. It is always hard to start fresh in the new place as people do not trust my wares.¡±


    ¡°Well, to thank me you could visit me more often. You did not come back after all.¡±


    He had no intention of coming back because he did not have such urges.


    ¡°Sss-orry about last time.¡± Hissed the lizardwoman.


    ¡°Do I know you?¡±


    ¡°She is Shazzara.¡± Iustitia leaned closer to him to whisper. ¡°The one who was bold enough to disturb your sleep at our place.¡±


    That helped to juggle his memory. She was the one he kicked out of his bed.


    ¡°Ah, I remember you now. What had happened ¨C happened. I forgot ambout it already, so should you.¡±


    This cheered Shazzara quite a bit. She was still infatuated by him and wanted to make up for her misbehaviour.


    ¡°Boy we are done here, lets head to the market.¡± He tied his bag to his back and started walking.


    Two women kept following and pestering him with idle talk.


    ¡°Who is this boy?¡±


    ¡°He is my new servant.¡±


    ¡°What does-ss he exactly do. He does-ss not look like much.¡±


    ¡°Keeps me company and he will run little errands for me.¡±


    ¡°Why would you need a boy for a company. Just get one of us like any man would.¡±


    ¡°Free of charge. Of cour-ss-e.¡± Shazzara hissed out.


    That was precisely the reason why he picked this boy, women were just too bothersome to deal with. Especially those with loose morals.


    ¡°I will have to pass. I am of no need of that sort of company.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you will, you know where to find us.¡±


    ¡°Do you know a good place where I could sell my goods?¡± he decided to get something actually useful out of these women.


    ¡°I know of a spot or two, that depends what are you selling.¡±


    ¡°Stamina potions, salves, healing salves. Stuff like that.¡±


    ¡°Mhm mhm. A spot not too far from the alchemist guild will be fine for that.¡±


    ¡°Lead the way then.¡±


    He still found it shocking that a blind person was showing him where to go.


    After some time and some small talk, they have reached their destination. He did his best to get rid of the two women, they left him alone reluctantly.


    He paid a single copper for the right to peddle his goods and made a meagre profit by the end of the afternoon. His goods were good, it was just that he himself was unknown of yet. He hoped that his customers will talk and send their friends to him next time.


    The boy followed him around obediently, helping him with whatever he asked. His next task was to go around and find some information about the magic and ferocious beasts.


    His tries were all in vain, no one waswilling to disclose such information to a foreigner even if they knew. His last try was the grand library and archives, He was not allowed inside to browse it, but he was able to pay the record keeper to look for the information he needed. He was told that this will take some time as the archives were badly organised. The bookkeeper''s services have costed him most of the coins he had, not to mention that he paid other people to try and get the info for him. All he had left were two gold coins.


    His final task was to go to alchemist guild and to peddle some of his more expensive goods directly to the organisation for resale. This would affect his profit but it was an easy way to sell it quickly and get his merchandise better known, as it was branded by the sign of a cross Aiu came up with ?.


    He was discussing the price of his goods with the clerk just to get rudely interrupted.


    ¡°Hey, it is you! I did not recognise you with all this fancy clothing. Just who are you really?¡± Cynthia the golem master recognised the Guardian.


    ¡°Now¡­ a peddler and a travelling merchant.¡±


    ¡°I assume you peddle some alchemical reagents and potions, correct?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°Well since you come from different lands maybe you can help me out. The lot here is quite useless.¡± She was sneering at the clerk who just shrugged it off.


    ¡°It depends. Does it pay?¡±


    ¡°This is not the place to discuss this. How about you come with me to the tavern.¡±


    ¡®Isn¡¯t she a tad bit too young to be visiting taverns?¡¯


    ¡°Let me finish this and we shall go¡± he still had to haggle on the price with the clerk.

 25 Free booze - Dangers of drinking too much

    Cynthia took Guardian to one of her favourite taverns. The place was alright, not too posh or too shabby. She ordered a few drinks Guardian have never heard of before.


    ¡°So what sort of business do you have for me?¡± He was getting impatient and wanted to know already.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t touched the drink. Drink up first.¡±


    He downed an entire tankard of tangy liquid in one gulp. It did not taste good at all.


    ¡®Why people are even drinking this?¡¯ he wanted to know the reason why someone would prefer this over simple yet fulfilling glass of water.


    Itayiga also swung his tankard, sampling the liquid. Cynthia was kind enough to include the young boy too.


    ¡°Another drink for my friend, please. His tankard is empty. Keep filling it up.¡± Cynthia ordered the barmaid.


    ¡®Oh, since when we are friends?¡¯ this seemed so sudden.


    ¡°So, traveller¡­ You have been to distant lands and seen many different places, yes?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes. I am quite old, even if I do not look like it. I have travelled a fair distance from my birthplace.¡± He chugged the entirety of his drink again.


    ¡°Good, good. This means you might be able to help.¡± She took a sip of her drink motioning him to do the same.


    ¡°What precisely do you want from me?¡±


    ¡°I have been wondering if you might be able to help me to find a specific potion or know of someone who can make it.¡±


    ¡°How about the local guilds? This city is the hub of trade, I am sure they can get what you need.¡± He downed the fifth tankard of tangy liquid.


    Ithayiga tried his best to keep up, he had drunk only a third of his and this made him seem quite inadequate in this drinking game Cynthia and Guardian were having.


    ¡°That was what I thought at the beginning. I came to this Harbour City precisely for that reason, just to be disappointed. All they offered me was some knockoff version of what I need.¡± Cynthia hoped that this traveller will know how to get the real deal.


    ¡°So what do you need? Tell me already.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t touched your drink, should I order something else? Something stronger maybe?¡± She planned to get him wasted from the very beginning so his tongue loosens up a bit. What she was supposed to ask was not a thing alchemist would share freely.


    ¡°No, this is fine. Actually, I quite like this now.¡± He grew to like the liquid. The more he had the better it tasted.


    ¡°What I need is something very specific.¡± She leaned in closer to him, to do that she had to crawl on a table from the other side, and whispered. ¡°Quite illegal too.¡±


    ¡®This means money.¡¯ His eyes glowed in satisfaction.


    He kept drinking, probably consuming an entire barrel of the stuff while Cynthia explained the details. What she needed was an elusive potion which would restore the mage¡¯s mana pool. There was a very nasty affliction the people practising the arts of magic could get. What the affliction did was shrinking the mana pool bit by bit, also hampering the regeneration of said mana. If a pool was depleted completely it would start to leech the life energy of the person itself, eventually killing the one suffering from this affliction.


    Her grandfather, the one and only who knew how to produce war golems was afflicted by such disease. Normally the state would prop him up with the cure, but he ceased to be their pawn long time ago. He valued his and his grand daughter''s freedom above else and did not want to become enslaved again just to get himself cured. It took him his only daughter to break the shackles once, he did not want to lose his granddaughter next. The only thing keeping him alive were the potions Cynthia was sending to him from the Harbour Town. They did not cure his affliction, they only aided the symptoms.


    What she gathered throughout the years here was that the cure might need a human, sacrifice. Something about extracting a mages mana core from their body, mixing it with some illusive stuff and turning it in a portion of sorts. Saying that all, it was just a rumour. She hoped that the traveller might know something about it. Maybe even a completely different solution for it from his native lands.


    ¡°Hmm, I do not brew potions myself but I might be able to help.¡±


    The plan was working, all Cynthia needed now was to extract that information from the intoxicated traveller. If she has gotten the name of someone who can brew it for her she could cut the Guardian as a middleman entirely in the hopes to save some money.


    ¡°Just say who it is.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Give me the name of the alchemist who knows the recipe. Also, does he live in some far off lands?¡±


    ¡°No. It is my apprentice Aiu who will be brewing it. She is from the neighbouring town.¡±


    ¡°What? This makes no sense.¡± this was the time for her to be confused. ¡®How can an apprentice be better than her Master? He said it himself he does not brew. Did I get him too drunk perhaps and he is spouting nonsense?¡¯ she was fearing that her strategy backfired.


    ¡°It perfectly does¡­ I will give her the list of ingredients and she will figure it out, she is a smart girl.¡±


    ¡°How do you plan on obtaining a human mana core? Mages are not an easy target, even for someone of your size.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, no, I won¡¯t be using anything impotent like that. I am well aware of the different ingredients which might help. Well, I am not exactly certain that it will work on a human. But we can try at least, no?¡± He knew of one thing that helped him to restore his mana pool, so he hopped it would work on humans the same way.


    ¡°I guess so. So what are those ingredients you speak off?¡± she had to know.


    ¡°Not telling¡­ It is a trade secret ~hic.¡± He was beginning to hiccough.


    ¡°Bring a keg of an apple cider for my friend! We are having a celebration!¡± she had to get him drunker.


    And she did so at great expense, his thirst seemed unquenchable. However, she was able to find out that he will be using some parts of a dangerous beast and herbs from within the depths of the forest.


    ¡°You will need to help me to obtain some of the ingredients ~hic, I am not confident I can do it myself ~hic.¡±


    ¡°That is not a problem, I have money.¡±


    ¡°No, not the money. I need your strength, I need your golem ~hic. To kill the mons~hic~ters.¡±


    ¡°Rocky and I will be more than glad to help, so long as that is not something illegal. What about the price?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we discuss it when I have the final product?¡±


    ¡°That sound more than perfect.¡± She was happy with this outcome. After all, this might leave her pockets more full than she originally thought it will. Ingredients were expensive and if they got that themselves she would save quite a bit. Also, no human sacrifice was involved in his plan.


    ¡°Well then, I will send my assistant when I need you.¡±


    Cynthia explained where to find her, said goodbye and went to pay a massive drinks tab.


    Guardian picked up his passed out assistant who went to sleep just after Ithayiga half finished his tankard. It was quite late and he did not blame the young beastman for being tired.


    ¡°Oh. I completely forgot ~hic.¡± He had no place to stay over the night. He planned on renting a house somewhere cheaply but Cynthia has distracted him from that.


    He went towards the inn he stayed before. He said he won¡¯t be coming back, but his plans have changed. As he went through ever darker alleyways by each passing minute he got completely lost. This was unusual for him, something has affected his sense of direction. He was stumbling aimlessly from one alley to the other, there were very few people around. Those who were still loitering outside did their best to avoid him, so he could not ask for directions even if he wanted.


    He found himself in one of seedier places of the city. A small group of women were lining a nearby wall. He stumbled towards them to ask for directions, hoping that this lot won¡¯t get intimidated by him. All women fled as soon as they saw him making a zigzag towards them, all but one.


    ¡°Hey ~hic~ where¡­¡± his hiccups were not getting better.


    ¡°Hey, handsome. I did not expect to see you so soon.¡± A lizardwoman replied.


    ¡°Where can I find an Adventurers Inn?¡±


    ¡°Oh don¡¯t spend your money on that place. Just go and stay with me. Our place offers better services and for you, it will be completely free.¡± She winked at him, her tail was swinging expectantly.


    ¡°Really?¡± he could not believe that something like this would be free.


    ¡°Anytime. Now let''s go and tell me how was your day.¡± She wrapped her arms around his and dragged him towards the infamous Slut House. Her tail was thrashing wildly from side to side, Shazzara could not believe her luck.


    Her tail hit his making him react to the touch. Tails were overly sexualised in lizard society and she knew better than to touch it so suddenly without permission. ¡°Sss-orry, I did not mean to. You must dislike my dirty tail touching yours-ss.¡±


    However, he held no such beliefs as the lizardmen did. ¡°What are you saying, your tail is perfectly clean. Beautiful and shiny even!¡±


    ¡°You really think sss-o? You like it?¡± she was getting flustered. She took great care of her tail, after all, lizard women hand no proper breasts so they expressed their feminine charms using their slender tails.


    ¡°Yes, it is very nice.¡±


    A sharp hiss escaped her mouth. She was getting aroused. Her first attempt to woo the strongest warrior and the owner of the most massive tail she has ever seen did not succeed but this time¡­ This time it looked like she has a chance. She quickened her pace, anxious to get him in her bed.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    They have finally arrived at Shazzara¡¯s, and other girl¡¯s, place. The same one he has visited before, but his recollection of it was poor. He did not recognise it, his mind was clouded.


    ¡°Ahh, the boy. Leave him in one of the rooms. He will be fine.¡±


    ¡°Oi! Ita¡­ Itay¡­¡± he could not remember the name of his assistant. ¡°Wake up!¡± he raised him upside down by his ankle and shook the boy.


    ¡°Whaaaa! No, do not eat me!¡± the boy woke up all startled and confused.


    ¡°Boy it will be me your Master will be having for a dinner, do not worry.¡± Joked Shazzara.


    ¡°Itay you stay here and guard my bag. No one is allowed to take any of my stuff when I am sleeping. Got it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master!¡± Ithayiga curled closer to an oversized bag. He knew that it will be a struggle not to fall asleep, he felt drowsy and sickly, but he did not want to disappoint his Master. He feared to lose his breakfast if he did so.


    ¡°Hey, Guardian you came to visit me?¡± A tiger woman caught his scent and showed herself.


    ¡°Get lost, Brita. He is mine. I got him on the streets; follow the rules!¡± it was rude to take someone¡¯s customer away. Especially if the women wanted to live with each other peacefully.


    ¡°Somehow I do not believe he is here just as a customer! Will he be paying?¡± She looked scornfully at the lizardwoman. She did not need to wait for an answer ¡°No, thought so.¡± She knew that Shazzara brought him here as a potential mate.


    ¡°It matters not, he is my guest!¡±


    ¡°He is our guest! Why don¡¯t we let him choose with who he sleeps with.¡±


    ¡°He has-ss already chos-sss-e me!¡± Shazarra hissed at her rival.


    ¡°Hahaha. I flat chested board like you? I know a boob man when I see one. Just look!¡± she took Guardians hand and pressed it on her voluptuous bosom.


    ¡°You like it don¡¯t you.¡±


    ¡°It feels soft and nice.¡±


    ¡°Ha! Told you!¡±


    ¡°Tits-ss do not matter. He likes my tail. Which one is better? My shiny and slim tail, or that pathetic excuse of a fury sss-tick she calls a tail?¡±


    ¡°I guess yours is better.¡± If he had to choose non-hairy tails looked better for him.


    ¡°You sss-ee!¡±


    ¡°Come on Guardian forget that flat chested lizard, she is unpopular and inexperienced. All she is ever hired for is her mouth service. Me, I can give you the full experience you will not forget.


    ¡°Get lost, bitch, before I sss-shank ya!¡± Shazzara slammed her tail to the flour forcefully, she had enough of this. Tigerwoman was telling more to the Guardian than she should.


    ¡°What is this all about? Girls, calm down!¡± another woman heard the noise and came to investigate. This sort of bitching was unusual even in this place.


    ¡°Sss-she is going after my man.¡±


    ¡°Since when you got a mate? Who is it?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? Guardian is not your man.¡±


    ¡°Ohhh, I understand now. So troublesome/¡±


    The reason of all this ruckus just stood there flabbergasted, unsure how to deal with this. All he wanted was some peace and quiet. He looked at the third woman recognising her as Iustitia.


    ¡°Iustitia? What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°I live here, you silly.¡± She got closer and sniffed at him. ¡°Ohhh that explains some of this.¡± She smelled a distinct scent of alcohol.


    ¡°Hey guardian how about I take you to some nice and quiet place.¡± She knew what he liked.


    ¡°That sounds nice.¡± He nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Not you and your trickery, again!¡± Tigerwoman named Brita complained.


    ¡°Are you coming with me or are you staying with this noisy lot?¡±


    ¡°It is definitely you then.¡±


    Iustitia pried both of the women from the Guardian and was pushing him away from them. The two were not too pleased about that.


    ¡°But¡­ but Iutstitia this-ss is not fair. I have brought him here on my own.¡±


    ¡°She did bring me here.¡± He felt that he had to give her credit for that.


    ¡°Can I please stay with him a bit longer?¡± she blinked seductively and swung her tail expectantly.


    ¡°We can talk a bit more, but no more shouting.¡± Guardian felt somewhat grateful to that woman for finding him a free place to stay, and she seemed nice.


    ¡°Yes-sss.¡± She ran towards him and grabbed his spare hand.


    The pair led him holding an arm each to one of the larger rooms. They motioned him to lay on the soft matt and pillows scattered around. Shazzara lit some incense, its smell immediately filled the room. This was his room where he could have a short talk and take his rest.


    ?? ?? ?? ?? ??


    To his surprise, none of the women was here to chat with him before his sleep. The women sat beside him, their hands were feeling his muscles. They were massaging his body and it felt quite nice and relaxing. This was way better than talking, he did not want to talk anymore. Incense filled his nose and he relaxed even more.


    Both of them undid his robe taking it away. Then they started to rub his chest in some sort of oil. It was inferior to what Aiu was making but it still felt nice and cool on his body. Their hands rubbed his chest muscles and abdomen, massaging his tense body.


    ¡°This feels good.¡± He admitted the women did a good job.


    ¡°We have only started.¡±


    The clothing was already gone from both of the women. Iustitia crawled on his chest, her hand massaged his neck and she leaned closer. It took him a while to realise that her hands were replaced by her lips. She was kissing his neck, slowly closing the distance between her lips and his.


    Shazzara was busy as well. She took care of his lower body and was gently caressing his manly thighs. This lasted but a moment before she removed his loincloth revealing his manly snake. Even in its sleepy state, the snake was of a pleasing size to Shazzara. She took it in her oily hands and did her best to try to wake it from its slumber.


    This sort of massage made Guardian forget all of the hard work and stress he went through this day. He completely lost his reason and gave himself to the hands of the females, figuratively and literally.


    Iustitia was awkwardly trying to kiss him using her tongue. It did not quite work as the anatomical difference was just too big. So instead she stuck her tongue out and licked his face. She licked him like a mother would lick her cubs, hoping that he will like that. She knew that beastmen were fond of this, but some humans found it a bit odd.


    He stuck his oversized tongue in response and licked her face too. Iustitia found her entire face wet just from a single stroke of his tongue but she did not dislike it. ¡°My neck, lick my neck.¡± She said, so he did.


    His serpentine tongue was almost long enough to wrap around her neck. He brushed her fur making it slick and moist, and she highly enjoyed it. ¡°Now, here.¡± She motioned towards her modest chest. He licked it vigorously, covering every inch of her breast. Then he licked the other breast. ¡°This feels so good.¡± His rough tongue brushed past her nipples making them erect. The sensation was new to her as no human or even a beastman could have achieved this.


    Meanwhile, Shazzara was caressing his shaft with her hands, she had little of progress to show. The serpent was still asleep and she felt like she is failing him. She was indeed quite new at this and she lacked experience just like tigerwoman has hinted before. However, if her hands did not work she just had to do what she was pro at since an early age. She stuck his tip in her mouth, pushing it deeper and deeper. And it went quite deep, deeper than any beastman could hope to take in comfortably. She moved it in and out of her mouth, careful not to cut it with her sharp teeth. She sucked on it greedily while her hands worked the remaining bit she struggled to gobble up.


    His body reacted to her wet and warm throat, his member started to throb inside her mouth. Each throb made it bigger and bigger. She had to pull some of it out as it was beginning to choke her. It got a bit more massive than she thought it will. She has never seen it this big, it was three times the size of the biggest member she has ever serviced. However, she was able to keep it in between her jaws, as lizard mouths were quite different than the ones from other species. She continued to suck on it. willingly choking herself on that rock hard rod. It felt so nice to serve something this mighty.


    Iustitia had her entire chest, neck and face covered in slick saliva. She felt all hot and bothered, she wanted the real deal stretching her from inside like it did before. Her lower region was moist and itched from the anticipation. She turned around and reached for his penis, trying to grasp a feel of it. It was further than she has anticipated so she crawled down his torso. Her tights pressed on his chest, her hands were feeling his body in order to locate the treasure she was looking for. She patted and felt his body stretching herself out more and more. Her hands hit something but it was not what she was looking for. It was Shazzara, she forgot that this girl was here.


    ¡°Shazz give it to me.¡± She demanded that the lizard gives her the penis.


    Her outstretched hand was forcefully slapped down and then the lizard hissed at her. The hiss sounded muffled and chocked. Iustitia realised what the Shazzara was busy doing.


    ¡°You need to share!¡± she was trying to teach the youngster.


    Shazzara was having none of it. She worked hard to make it this big, it was her reward and she did not want to hand it over. Instead, she blocker beastwoman¡¯s approach with her lean body and continued to enjoy the hard filling in her throat. The base was wet and glistening from her saliva, she moved her head up and down while her hand rubbed the rest of it. She rubbed herself down with her spare hand. The whole ordeal made her extremely horny and she could not have enough of it. She wanted him to fill her mouth with his seed. She wanted to have a taste of him, savour it and never forget it.


    She pleasured herself vigorously with one of her hands whilst pushing herself to do a better job. To force more and more of the hard rod inside her mouth. She could not breathe properly but this only added to her pleasure. Her fingers were moving relentlessly in between her lower lips, splashing her overflowing juices all round Guardian¡¯s body.


    Shazzara was not letting Iustitua anywhere close to her prize, so she turned around in her defeat. Iustitia was going back to make out with Guardian. However, her tights were grabbed from behind by his arms pushing her closer and locking her in place. She yelped in surprise unsure what he was doing. He stretched his long tongue and began to lick her legs. The tongue coiled up and up and then squeezed in between her legs.


    It brushed past her lady bits and she let a moan of pleasure. ¡°Ohh, yes.¡± He reacted to it and did it again, then again and again. Each touch of his muscular tongue felt extremely nice. She has never been licked down there before, no man has ever bothered to pleasure her. She was the one doing all the pleasuring instead, but not this time. ¡°This is so fucking good! Do not stop.¡± She was losing it and giving herself into pleasure. Her abdomen twitched she came in seconds, but she did not have enough, she wanted more of this pleasure. Guardian was more than happy to keep going, his nimble and long tongue coiled around her lady bits. Her own hands were rubbing her hard nipples.


    ¡°Stick your finger in me! I want it inside!¡± she wanted even more pleasure.


    Yet he did not do that, his claws were sharp and dangerous. Instead, he stuck his tongue inside her. The muscle was hard and wide enough to stretch her and even fill her to satisfaction. It whirled and coiled, twisted and turned, tasting her. It was nothing of the sort she has experienced before, no dick was nimble to do such tricks inside her like Guardian¡¯s oversized tongue. She moaned again and again with pleasure.


    Shazzara hearing that her rival was climaxing continuously, got slightly jealous. She pulled the hard thing out of her mouth and licked it one last time before she braced herself. She stood up and lowered herself, positioning his tip right in front of her entrance. The thick string of her juices dripped on it, her body was ready.


    She knew she was inexperienced but she hoped that her pussy will be able to pleasure him. She lowered herself further, his awoken serpent pressed against her tight hole. She felt a good deal of resistance, pain even, but she kept pushing it in, slowly bit by bit. Her insides stretched and felt like it would tear apart, yet she did not stop as it was sliding in. Each centimetre of it brought waves of pain and please, she could no longer tell the two apart as both of the feelings felt good to her.


    She jerked when his whole tip finally slid inside her. It got in and it was sliding now easily. She crouched and took a more comfortable position, trying to relax her lower body. Then she moved her hips up and down. His massive phallus filled her completely. Shazzara too now was moaning loauder with each thrust. Louder than Iustitia but this was not a completion.


    The room was filled with a chorus of moans and sounds of pleasure. Iustitia came for her fifth time, her body has slumped limply on his chest. She had no strength left to support her weight. She was sucking her own three fingers, imagining them to be something else entirely. His tongue was relentless as it kept ravaging her.


    Shazzara was struggling to breathe out of exertion and excitement. She could barely move her legs as they felt numb. Her insides were burning from pleasure as her muscles cramped once again. She let a high pitched hiss. She had her fill of pleasure but he has not released himself inside her. She knew that all her efforts would go to waste if she did not make him to finish. She would feel like a failure as a mate.


    ¡°Come on. You can do it.¡± She was cheering herself. She gathered the last bit of her strength and increased her tempo.


    The tight wall of her pussy was squeezing his member. Her liquids leaked from her in a great amount whilst she kept servicing him. His rod tensed up, she could feel his blood pulsing inside it. Her pussy tightened yet again to provide him with increased pleasure. And finally, he released himself inside her. The warm liquid squirted and leaked out from her, it had little space to go anywhere else; it was overflowing. She pulled her body away, his member came out with a wet squelch as her tight pussy still clung to it. A stream of blue liquid rushed out from her gaping hole. She was shocked not just by the colour but by the amount of it. She wanted to climb off and clean the mess she left on her thighs and his body, but her legs did not listen. She was lying motionless struggling to catch her breath just like Iustitia, whose butt had collapsed not too far from his head, he was done licking her.


    ¡°How wa-sssss it?.. is-sss my pu-sss-y any good?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It felt extremely tight. Tight but pleasuring.¡±


    She was pleased with that answer.


    ¡°Want to fuck me, now?¡± Iustitia offered. She had no strength to move but if he did all the job it would be fine.


    ¡°Nahh¡­ I feel¡­ too sleepy¡­¡± He was slowly drifting away. The ordeal which lasted nearly an hour managed to tire him, or maybe it was the effect of alcohol.


    The women wriggled their bodies around him, getting themselves comfortable. They slept next to him. Girls will offer him a naked bath service in the morning.


    Meanwhile, Ithayiga was sitting in his room. His eyes were wide open. Not only had he looked sickly but haunted as well.

 26 Swampy forest – The place the danger lurks

    After Guardian had enough rest and relaxation he visited the boy to check up on him. Guardian also wanted to check on his sack of goods. He entered the room where he left his merchandise and inspected the boy. The boy looked exhausted, his eyes were dry and red.


    ¡°You could not sleep?¡± Guardian wondered if this was because Ithayiga was not at his home. He knew that some people struggled to sleep outside their usual environment.


    ¡°How could I? You told me to guard your belongings. And I did, not a single thing was taken away.¡± He said it proudly, but his voice sounded dry.


    ¡°Oh¡­ I should have been clearer. You were allowed to nod off. As long as you slept next to the bag, it would have been fine.¡±


    ¡°I would not be able to sleep anyway. All these shouts of agony and pain. What is this place?¡± he was still haunted by what he heard during the night.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ about that. My judgement was slightly clouded last night. I was unaware of where I actually was and what I was doing.¡± Guardian did not want to talk about that so he changed the topic. ¡±You must be hungry. Let me get you something, you did a good job at keeping my things save.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Master, but I am full already.¡±


    ¡°Did women here feed you? That is nice of them.¡±


    The boy nodded his head and added ¡°But they were so weird about it.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Well, even before the morning¡­ In the middle of the night, one of them sneaked into my room. I assumed she was there to steal your stuff!¡±


    ¡°Was she!? How did she look like?¡±


    ¡°No, she actually was not a thief. All she wanted was to talk. She was one of my kind, her fur was yellow with black stripes.¡±


    ¡°What did she want to talk about?¡±


    ¡°She mostly was asking questions about you. I could not answer any of them as I barely know you. But she did not believe me. She did not leave me alone and kept asking and asking me various questions. Then she got all weird.¡±


    ¡°Like, how?¡±


    ¡°She was asking if I want to do some very odd things with her.¡±


    ¡°Did you?¡±


    ¡°No! They were gross! She sounded crazy.¡±


    ¡°I see. It was probably Brita. Did she have a big chest?¡±


    ¡°Yea, she did. She even asked me if I want to suck on them!¡± Itayiga¡¯s face showed disgust. ¡±Behhh! I am not a baby why would I do that? She was so odd.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, be careful around her. She definitely sounds crazy.¡±


    ¡°Also, when the women brought food they fed it to me. I was not allowed to touch the spoon. They spoon fed me. And these other women were asking about you too. Can we leave already? This place scares me.¡±


    ¡°Yeah we better do. There is a lot I need to do today.¡±


    They sneaked away through the back door, trying their best not to be seen. They headed towards the slums.


    With the rest of his money, Guardian arranged himself one of the better accommodations in the slums. It was an actual building, but it was in a sorry state of disrepair. It was practically crumbling down. However, it was cheap and not too far from a harbour. It would not be safe to keep any valuables in there, and he did not intend to do that. He took all of his stuff with him if he had to leave.


    After sorting himself a sleeping place Guardian went to the market to peddle the rest of his goods. To his surprise, the women from the day ago, the ones who asked for soap samples, came to purchase more of the herbal soap. He did not expect them to come to him so soon. He was able to do a good business that day; he had way more buyers than the last time.


    A few days passed like that, completely uneventful. He had sent Ithayiga to ask the library bookkeeper if he had found any information in the archives about magical monsters. Ithayiga came back telling him that the bookkeeper did have something.


    Guardian went to see for himself. He had high hopes for it, all but to be disappointed. The bookkeeper did not manage to uncover anything in old archives, what he had were a few descriptions of local monsters who terrorised the surrounding villages. Guardian could have gotten similar info from the tavern rumours and monster hunters, but having some official evidence was good too.


    There were some apparitions haunting the old battlefields. The Guardian did not want to even go close to those tainted lands. He would feel sick and drained there. Those kinds of places tended to passively drain life energy.


    Also, there was a numerous list of sea creatures terrorising the ships. He has also ruled this option out, he did not have a ship and he did not like saltwater. Diving in a lake or swampy march was completely fine, even preferable. But sea water, he disliked it. He hasn¡¯t even been on an open see before, nor did he wish for such a thing.


    Finally, there were reports of missing people in the nearby swampy forest around the freshwater lake. Those reports came in regularly in the intervals of six months or so. There was a good number of people who would go missing in short amount of time. Any investigating parties venturing deeper wound not come back, so what sort of monster was responsible for it remained unclear.


    He decided to investigate this swamp business. It sounded very risky, but he needed a mana core. Also, he was familiar with the swamp terrain. He won¡¯t be going alone either; he will borrow the golem named Rocky. The massive construct should be able to march past the swampy terrain without too much trouble. Hopefully, it won¡¯t sink too much in the mud.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Guardian sent his errand boy to inform Cynthia about his plans. He told her to meet him in the same tavern they have met before. While he waited for Ithayiga to come back he slammed a good discount on the rest of his wares, hoping to get rid of it by today.


    It did not take long for the boy to come back telling him that Cynthia was already waiting in the tavern. Once there, he decided to refrain from drinking because he feared to make some bad decisions like last time.


    ¡°Hello, Cynthia. I assume you know why I have invited you here.¡±


    ¡°You have found a monster to get the core from?¡±


    ¡°I hope so. We will need to track it down first.¡±


    ¡°What sort of monster is it? Where could its lair be?¡±


    ¡°That is the problem. I do not know. We will be going blindly.¡±


    ¡°I hope you know what you are doing.¡±


    ¡°More or less. I just need an extra protection from your golem. Just in case.¡±


    ¡°Rocky is very good at protecting. He will not disappoint you.¡±


    ¡°Well, it is arranged then. We will go on an expedition. Our destination is the swampy forest.¡±


    ¡°You could have told this earlier. I am not a big fan of muddy swamps.¡±


    ¡°Are you coming too?¡±


    ¡°He might be special but Rocky is unable to go alone. Like any golem, I need to direct him.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I forgot about that. This might be riskier than I thought. Rock golem is one thing but a human like you¡­ too squishy¡±


    ¡°I will be fine. I took a bandit camp, remember?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you did¡­ So when do you think you will be ready?¡±


    ¡°I am ready when you are ready. The passing time is not kind to my grandfather so I do not want to waste it.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, I do not know what to expect from this trip. I cannot prepare for it as I do not know what we will find. So let¡¯s head out now. We will gain nothing from waiting.¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡±


    The two left the inn and walked slowly towards their destination. Ithayiga was set home, this was too dangerous for him. He will use this chance to visit his family and boast about his new life. He knew he was not allowed to do that, but if Guardian will not find out it will be fine.


    The swampy forest was quite a distance away so the Guardian spent not just the entire day travelling but the night as well. Cynthia did not have to walk as she was carried by her golem the entire time. She was used to it, she even was able to sleep on its shoulders throughout the night.


    In the early morning, they have reached the village bordering the forest. This was a good place to take a break before venturing further.


    He spoke with the people living in the village, hoping to get some information. The only thing they knew where was the location of ¡®no go¡¯ zones everyone avoided. The people have strongly advised him of staying clear from going deeper into the swamp.


    The villagers¡¯ warnings were ignored of course. Guardian packed his robe the sack and tied it to his back. Only his loincloth and two copper plated chains were left untouched. Guardian and Cynthia braced themselves as they went deeper into the forest swamp.


    He was taking the lead in the front while Rocky followed his steps. The golem was very heavy and they did not want it to get stuck. In some places the murky water reached above his knees, it was very murky. Humans and especially furry beastmen would feel extremely uncomfortable here. For him, this reminded home as he grew up in swampy marshes.


    Cynthia was sitting atop the shoulders of her constructs, directing their route ahead.


    ¡°What if this is for nothing and we will find no monster?¡±


    ¡°I am sure there will be monsters in a place like this, it is a swamp. I am not sure if it will be a monster we are looking for, however.¡±


    He needed it to be a magical monster, with a nicely sized core. Also, he did not know if they will be able to defeat it. It was quite risky.


    After they got to a more solid part of the forest it started to feel as if they were being watched.


    ¡°Did you hear that? In those bushes?¡± Something rustled not too far from them for the tenth time already.


    ¡°Yeah. This is very odd. I cannot smell whatever it is.¡±


    ¡°There is no point to keep checking is there? Should we just keep going deeper?¡±


    ¡°If I checked again it would just run away before I got it. It must be just some small critter of the swamp. We need something bigger for our purposes.¡±


    They continued walking aimlessly. Hoping to find some tracks or any indication what happened to the missing people. The noise around them got louder, there were more creatures tagging along just behind them. They could not see the creatures as they kept hiding. This meant trouble.


    A small creature jumped from the tree right before them.


    It was very small, it was sized like a human toddler, just a lot rounder. Its body was covered in green plants and vines. It''s eyes very glowing lightly in a green colour. Its head was covered in some sort of a mask made of bark, only its mouth was exposed. It would be very hard to tell if this was a plant or a monster. That is if it did not move and were not flashing its dagger-like teeth. Its upper limbs were lanky and long, they almost looked like overgrown branches infested with vines. Each hand had three long clawed fingers. It was clutching a wooden spear in its left arm.


    ¡°Click cluck click.¡± It clicked its tongue at them angrily.


    More of the plant like critters emerged from all over the place. There were nearly thirty of them. Strange pods were thrown at the Guardian and Rocky. Guardian did his best to avoid them, but there were just too many.


    Upon breaking, the pods would release a small puff of smoke or a splash him in a thick liquid. All of which he assumed was some sort of poison. He was lucky to be resistant to the most of the stuff, he grew in a swamp after all. To the golem, it did absolutely nothing. Cynthia was lucky to be high enough to avoid most of it, only a bit of pollen tainted fog gotten to her. They were very lucky this was not very effective on them.


    Cynthia coughed. ¡°It is like a sleeping dust. Do not get covered in the fog!¡± She shouted just before chugging a weird potion. She came prepared, she was an adventurer after all.


    Guardian did not think to bring any sort of protective potions with him, it was a missed opportunity. He felt fine for the most part, just slightly dizzy. Someone of his size needed to get quite a big dose directly, not to mention his natural resistance.


    ¡°Watch yourself!¡± He shouted.


    The swamp critters switched from ranged to melee. They split roughly in half and were trying to surround them. The little ones jumped on the golem first. They stabbed at it and bit its body with their teeth. Big mistake on their part as they just injured themselves. Their teeth shattered unable to pierce rock the golem was made of. Then the golem swiped at them with its massive arm, scattering the critters away.


    Guardian had also managed to weather the attack. They were too small and too weak to do serious damage. At the worst, he got only bruised. He kicked at the critters and clawed at their wooden masks. He slashed towards one of the masks splitting it in two. Behind the bark mask was definitely a monster, it leaked red blood.


    Cynthia was shouting out commands for the golem. It was stomping the creatures to death but there were so many of them. Guardian was doing his best too, keeping them from overwhelming him.


    Even more swamp creatures joined the fight. More and more emerged from the swampy growth, noise drawing them towards the location of the battle.


    The critters wised up and were leaving the golem alone for the most part. They could not damage it so they were just avoiding it now. The golem was very powerful but very slow too, it was an easy task for the swamplings to avoid it if they wished so.


    However, having to shoulder all of the swamp critters was not the biggest problem for the Guardian. The creatures were smarter when they looked. They managed to launch a coordinated attack not on the golem but on its master, Cynthia. She looked small, small and weak enough for them to take her down first. This was a common tactics animals would employ.


    While swamplings were distracting the golem and its master, one of the critters positioned itself on a tree. The pack lured the golem towards a particular that tree, the one with a critter on its branch. When the construct got just close enough, swampling jumped off from the tree branch aiming at the girl. Cynthia has been knocked off Rocky¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°Ahh¡­ help!¡± she shouted in despair. It would take only a moment for the creatures to rip her into pieces.

 27 Swampy forest – The battle and the loot

    Guardian could not afford losing Cynthia. He needed her alive. He quickly ran to her rescue. Rocky reacted too but it was too far and too slow to get in time


    Swamplings were just about to swarm over Cynthia. Guardian realised tha he will not make it either, he had to do it. He stretched his arm out willing his mana in it and then released the energy with a blast. The critters were blown away from a little girl like the leaves in the wind.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I will live. What was that?¡± She was curious about this blast. It looked like magic, she did not know he was a caster too.


    ¡°No time to explain, later.¡± He was very busy keeping the little monster from getting to her.


    Finally, the golem rushed to help its master. Both Guardian and Rocky surrounded the girl, protecting her from waves of monsters. They were completely encircled, there were at least a hundred of them now.


    ¡°What now?¡± she asked anxiously.


    ¡°We keep killing them until all of them die or they give up. I see no other choice.¡±


    It was only possible because golems did not tire and he himself had a formidable stamina. The critters launched small probing attacks but after some time they just stopped it. Monsters held their prey as captives for a while.


    ¡°Why did they stop? They are not attacking anymore.¡±


    ¡°I do not know, this is odd. Do they know they can¡¯t win maybe?¡± Guardian offered his best guess at what was happening.


    ¡°Shall we launch an attack instead and try to break this encirclement?¡±


    Before Guardian could answer that question the swamplings began to make weird clicking and clacking noises. They raised their spears in the air and were making a silly dance. Jumping from one foot to other whilst moving from side to side and clicking their tongues.


    The ground rumbled and trees made a cracking noise as another monster emerged from the overgrowth.


    It was even bigger than a golem, taller and broader than it. It looked like a monster made out completely of living wood. All of its body was covered in green mossy bark. Its libs were crude and misshapen, it wobbled when it walked. Two green orbs glowed in the holes of what must have been its head.


    It roared in displeasure and all the clacking stopped.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Guardian asked hoping Cynthia knows something about it.


    ¡°I am not sure. But if I had to guess it is some sort of treant.¡±


    ¡°How dangerous is it? What is its weakness?¡±


    Yet again he did not receive the answer. It was because he was knocked to the ground by some weird green blast. It was so quick and sudden that he had no chance to react in time.


    ¡°Nooo!!!¡± Cynthia shouted seeing Guardian knocked down like that all of the sudden. Guardian took quite a powerful magic attack directly to his chest. If it was her she would have been obliterated here and then.


    ¡°Say something! Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Oaaahh.¡± Guardian groaned in pain. A huge patch of flesh in his chest was burned away. Remnants of magic were still eating it away.


    ¡°I will live.¡± He groaned while standing up.


    Cynthia was pleasantly surprised he was able to take that and live. However, there was no time for celebrations. Another blast of green light was cast towards them like before. This time it hit the golem. Rocky stood its ground while the magic fizzled away.


    ¡°It¡­ it is fine?¡± Guardian blurred out through pain¡­


    ¡°It is resistant to most magic attacks. It is a war golem after all.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    Cynthia cut his sentence ¡°I know. Rocky take that tree down and turn it into splinters!¡± She shouted.


    They knew that they cannot defend anymore, someone had to attack and take care of the ranged caster.


    As soon as the golem started to run towards the treant the critters parted away, they could not stop the golem and did not want to get splattered under its feet. They directed their attack towards targets made of flesh, that is guardian and Cynthia.


    Guardian had to do his best to protect Cynthia then the swamplings swarmed them again. Even then injured he was doing a good job.


    Rocky clashed with the treant sending wood splinters into the air. The tree monster roared in displeasure and punched back at the golem with its stumpy arms. Both of the creatures were taking a good deal of damage.


    Cynthia was completely useless as a fighter, all she had been doing was staying behind him and avoiding the critters. Guardian had to work hard at keeping her alive. They were lucky the swamp creatures did not use those pods again, or else Cynthia would be dead by now.


    ¡°Let me buff you.¡± Cynthia offered.


    ¡°You can do that?¡±


    To his reply, she touched his tail and chanted something a few times.


    ¡°It is fortify and minor speed enchantment. It should help you.¡±


    ¡°It does.¡± He could feel an odd energy enveloping his skin. He was also able to react quickly and move slightly faster.


    Guardian¡¯s body was now able to weather swamplings attacks easier. His skin was cut, bruised and pierced in numerous places. His chest was still burned badly. But he was holding out, he was able to keep nasty creatures away from Cynthia.


    The critters were punched, kicked and clawed at. Their limbs were severed or broken, their heads were crushed or slashed severely. Their number decreased slowly as more and more died or were unable to stand anymore.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Rocky did well too. Its rock made body proved to be more durable than hardened wood. The treant went through all the trouble to enchant and reinforce itself as its magic attacks did no damage to the golem. In the end, it still stood no chance. Its bark was splintered and shattered, the golem was able to literally punch through its defences. He launched a powerful final punch to the head of the treant. The fist connected with overwhelming force sending chunks of it away and cracking it open. The glowing green orbs dimmed out and the tree monster died. The critters realising what has happened clicked in fear and fled back to the depths of the swampy forest.


    ¡°Rocky did it!¡± Cynthia cheered.


    ¡°Ahem! We did it.¡± Guardian corrected the girl. If not for him she would have died a long time ago.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go check on it.¡±


    The two weaved their path around the bodies of the little critters. Half of them were lying dead on a soggy soil. Nothing but a food for the scavengers of the forest.


    Rocky did not look too good either. It won, but its body was missing large chunks of rock. It also has lost half of its arm.


    ¡°Rocky is badly damaged, this is not good.¡±


    ¡°But we are alive and we got what we come for.¡± Guardian pointed at the treant.


    ¡°I guess so.¡±


    He took a closer look at the huge monster inspecting it. He tried cutting the bark but he couldn¡¯t even dent it; it was too hard.


    ¡°Get your construct to help me open it.¡±


    The golem hit it a few time cracking its bark open. Then the Guardian and Rocky split the treant¡¯s chest making a large hole in it. It leaked thick sap as he forced his arm inside squishier bits of that monster.


    ¡°Here it is.¡± Guardian pulled a fist-sized core out.


    ¡°I have seen it before, but nothing of this size!¡± Exclaimed Cynthia.


    ¡°The bigger and nastier the monster, the bigger the core. All you have seen must have been the pebbles dire wolves and the like might have in their bodies.¡±


    The girl nodded in agreement.


    ¡°What now? Shall we go back to the village to tend to your wounds?¡±


    ¡°No, not yet. Also, do not worry too much about it, it will heal. I am fine.¡±


    Cynthia doubted that. His chest wound was very nasty, not to talk about the smaller holes and cuts which still were leaking blood. If he was a human he probably would have died form a disease or infection the next day. They were in a swamp, after all, and will have to go through mud and murky water again. Cynthia tried to convince him to go back to the village now but he just ignored her.


    ¡°I am fine! Just help me with this.¡±


    He was trying to separate bits of enchanted bark from the treant.


    ¡°We got the core. We can go now.¡±


    ¡°The core is for you and what do I get?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± you will get paid latter was what she wanted to say.


    ¡°Rocky will have no problem dragging all of this.¡± He wanted to take an entire treant body with him.


    ¡°That is just plain greed.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I am helping you to get that potion so help me a bit. This is valuable don¡¯t you know.¡±


    ¡°I am not an alchemist. But I guess I can help.¡± Cynthia got tired of arguing with him. The sooner this was done the sooner they will be able to get back to the city.


    They tied the treant to the golem using the vines. Then Guardian went around inspecting the swampling corpses.


    ¡°Do they have cores too?¡±


    ¡°No. They are too small and too weak, I am looking for something else.¡±


    He found it. One of them was injured and pretended to be dead.


    ¡°You will come with me, little fellow.¡± He grabbed swampling by its legs and raised it up. It flailed around but failed to do any damage.


    ¡°Why are you taking that thing?¡±


    ¡°I am interested in it. They were smarter than most beasts. I want it.¡±


    Cynthia just shrugged that off. He seemed odd to her.


    Guardian took not one but three such creatures. They were injured but still brimming with the will to stay alive. He had to knock one out because it was too rowdy and then tied the critters with vines. The remaining two were more obedient after seeing what will happen if they resisted too much. The critters were stuffed in a bag and he carried them on his back.


    ¡°I am good now.¡± Guardian was ready to go.


    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to take the rest of the swamp with you.¡± Cynthia mocked his behaviour.


    ¡°I would if I could. Thank you for taking the treant.¡±


    ¡°Thank Rocky not me, he is dragging it.¡±


    They traversed the swampland slowly. The golem would get bogged down at times and they had to help it. The massive corpse of the monster tied to it did not help.


    It took hours for them to reach the village.


    The villagers swarmed the golem looking at the monster it was dragging behind. They were gasping, pointing fingers and talking boisterously between each other.


    ¡°This is the reason why people were going missing.¡± Cynthia explained what they were dragging.


    The villagers gave an honest thank you to the two adventurers, they felt safer now.


    ¡°So it was a monster after all. Is it safe to go deep into the forest now?¡± asked one of the villagers


    ¡°Not really, no. Look at this.¡± Guardian took out one of the swamp critters.


    ¡°It is so ugly! What is it?¡±


    ¡°I hoped you will be able to tell me.¡±


    ¡°First time seeing it.¡± Other villagers said the same thing.


    ¡°The swamp is swarming with these things. We killed many but I am sure there are more.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t go into the swamps. They are infested with these things and they use strange poisons to kill anyone who gets in their territory.¡± Cynthia added.


    ¡°I see¡­ Why is it still alive? Just kill it already.¡±


    The tone of the voice upset the creature and it started to flail and click its tongue angrily.


    ¡°I need them alive. It is for study purposes.¡±


    ¡°You did not strike me as a scholar.¡± Said the man surprised.


    ¡°I agree¡­ We also need to talk about that blast thing of yours.¡± Added Cynthia.


    ¡°Cynthia, I will tell you about that when we are away from the prying eyes.¡±


    ¡°Guys, you must be tired. You know what, just stay in our village as a thank you for killing this tree monster.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t want to impose.¡± Cynthia was trying to be nice.


    ¡°What are you talking? Can¡¯t you see children want to hear your story? Even us adults are keen to know about this adventure of yours. Stay here and tell us everything about it.¡±


    They have agreed to stay for the night. The man was speaking the truth, they were tired and hungry. Not to mention the fact that Guardians wounds could use some healing salve. He made a huge mistake not taking any of Aiu¡¯s produce with him, it would have helped immensely. He would make no such mistake again.


    As they talked about their adventure all of their needs were met. Food was brought to the table and the wounds tended by the village herbalist. Rocky was left to play with the children not too far from the swamp creatures. The critters were locked in an animal cage, two domesticated wolves were watching them in case they escape.


    They chatted with the villagers till the midnight and then headed to sleep in one of the barns. They did not want to impose on the private lives of other villagers as no one had room to spare. Most huts had only a single room anyways.


    The pair of adventurers laid on a straw getting ready to sleep.


    ¡°So not just a caravan guard, alchemy merchant but a caster as well. Any other surprises?¡±


    ¡°No, not really.¡± He liked to keep his secrets secret.


    ¡°So what was that blast thing?¡±


    ¡°A type of magic I can cast.¡±


    ¡°What else can you cast?¡±


    ¡°Basic flame vine spell and that is it.¡± He knew he better answer this, otherwise, she will pester him nonstop.


    ¡°Oh, that is only a few spells.¡±


    ¡°How about you? Do you know many spells?¡±


    ¡°I wish.¡±


    ¡°So you are no better than me. What can you cast besides fortify and minor speed?¡±


    ¡°I can cast ward, which is a shield-like field designed to ward off the magic. Also, I can do a short overwhelming might buff which makes my ally two times stronger for a short amount of time. I am still a fledgeling at this, it lasts only for a few punches. Sometimes it is all the Rocky needs to crush someone into the pulp. The rest of my spells are utility magic for repairing and maintaining the golem.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± That ward spell could have come in handy before he got blasted by the treat. Guardian thought about it but did not complain, he knew that the girl had no time to react and cast it.


    ¡°You know you should have told me that you are a caster so we can work better. Why did you keep it a secret?¡±


    ¡°If the word gets out it might get me into the trouble, don¡¯t you think? A person who can do melee and cast spells. Some noble would go over his head just to force me to do his bidding or I would end up in some sort of a war I do not want to fight.¡±


    ¡°I understand. My grandpa feels the same. They are leaving him alone partially because he can no longer make war golems. His illness prevents him from that.¡±


    ¡°We have the core and I am feeling positive that this will cure him, or help to lessen his affliction.¡±


    ¡°I sure do hope so.¡±


    Their conversation died down and the two slept peacefully throughout the night.

 28 Display of magic – Just where could I learn it?

    The rock golem was dragging the treant through the city streets. Guardian wanted it at his rented house. A sight of a golem dragging a tree through the city streets was not a usual one, so a guard approached them.


    ¡°What is this?!¡±


    ¡°Is there a problem?¡±


    The guard looked at the monster behind the golem and then back at Guardian.


    ¡°I do not know what that is, but you are not hauling it through the city streets.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°It is a corpse. And no, it does not matter if it is a monster¡¯s corpse. The least you could do is to put it in a cart and cower it.¡±


    ¡°It is slightly too late for that. So are you going to issue a fine or what?¡±


    ¡°Where is this construct dragging it?¡± The guard ignored the provocation. Guard¡¯s brains clicked in time and he realised that he does not want to upset two massive creatures in front of him, a golem and what looked like an oversized beastman.


    ¡°We are heading to the slums.¡± Cynthia replied startling the guard, he did not see her on the golem at first.


    ¡°Oh, I recognise you. You are that famous adventurer. Cynthia was it?¡±


    ¡°It is me, yes! And my trusty companion Rocky.¡±


    ¡°In that case, as long as you stay away from the city centre and as many people as possible that should be fine.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± She nodded politely to the guard.


    ¡°Oh and just a friendly advice¡± he continued the rest in a whisper ¡°I would think twice before associating with him. He sounds like trouble. People have been talking¡­¡± Guard was talking about Guardian.


    ¡°It is fine, I know what I am doing. Bye, bye.¡± She waved the guard to go away.


    ¡°Thank you for getting rid of him. I can see that renown can be used like that.¡±


    ¡°I might have renown but it seems that you are getting some infamy. I wonder why?¡±


    ¡°Beats me. I do not know.¡±


    The monster corpse was hauled through the slums towards Guardian¡¯s house. This has gotten quite the attention from slum dwellers. Some wanted to see the golem, while other the weird thing they were dragging. This caused quite the ruckus because more and more people have gathered. He understood now why the guard had been upset. He had to chase the people away as they were blocking his path.


    Eventually, they have reached their destination and stored the treant besides the house. He took out the swamp critters from the sack and imagined the lecture the guard would have given him about taking feral monsters into the town. He was able to do that covertly because he had done some training with the little monsters. If they moved or made any noise, while in the sack, he would hit them. It took a few lessons but they have learned quickly.


    ¡°Ithayiga!¡± He shouted for the boy.


    ¡°Yes, Master.¡± the boy emerged from the house.


    ¡°Your job is to look after these.¡± He pointed at little monsters.


    ¡°What are those?¡±


    ¡°My new pets. Get a stick and whack them if they try to escape.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°I have to go away again, but this time I won¡¯t be out for long. You must be starving I will get something for you when I come back.¡±


    The boy smiled in response. He was very hungry indeed, but he was not displeased by being left alone for a day or so. He had no one to boss him around and he was able to visit his siblings. All of them were jealous when he told them about his job and all the food he gets. His father, however, was not very happy to see him. He got all pale then he saw Ithayiga and even wanted to beat him. He did not do so because he realised that the boy is not his anymore. Also, the beastman did not want Guardian finding out Ithayiga visited them. This upset the boy but he understood that he has done something he should not have. Ithayiga learned his lesson.


    ¡°I will be waiting patiently. Can I name the pets?¡±


    ¡°Why not, go ahead.¡± Guardian turned to Cynthia he had to ask for something. ¡°Can you leave your golem here. I need it to guard my loot while I am gone.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, a dead tree and three ugly monsters do not look worthy to be stolen.¡±


    ¡°You would be surprised. It is actually quite valuable.¡±


    ¡°To an alchemist, maybe. Normal people, not so much.¡±


    ¡°I am not sending the core to my apprentice until I know my loot is safe.¡±


    ¡°I knew I had to take that thing away from you then I had a chance. Who will carry me back to the city if not Rocky? I am not feeling like walking.¡±


    ¡°Okay okay, I get It. I will carry you.¡±


    ¡°And I get to ask you for a free favour next time. A favour for a favour.¡±


    ¡°Seems fair. Hop on.¡± Guardian crouched down for the girl to climb on him.


    ¡°Just letting you know, Rocky is more comfortable than you. Your back is too spiky.¡±


    ¡°It is precisely for the reason to keep things like you from climbing it.¡±


    ¡°Onwards!¡± She motioned for him to go.


    He did so, at frightening speed. This was to get back at the girl for using him like her mount. Very quickly they have reached the city centre and the guild houses they needed. Guardian used one of the guilds to send the core and a message what to do with it to Aiu. It had cost him a hefty price of 2g, but it was worth it. The cargo they will be taking was valued many times that price and the roads were dangerous. The guild had to pay for the guards and other expenses, all in all, it was not too much. He has also purchased three wooden cages for animals.


    The last thing he had to get was some food. He wanted to buy some grain for porridge.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ¡°Is that all you are feeding your servant with? So cheap!¡±


    ¡°He does not complain.¡± He also ate the same stuff as the proper meals were expensive. He missed the forest and easy access to the meat, not to mention the home cooking.


    ¡°Still¡­ You are so odd. I know you have the money, just look at your robe. Yet still, you live in slums and eat like a poor person.¡±


    ¡°I just do not want to waste the money.¡±


    ¡°It is not a waste if you enjoy what you get. Let me cook for you and that boy today.¡±


    ¡°Only if you insist.¡±


    ¡°I do. You are buying the stuff, however.¡±


    Cynthia directed him from stall to stall, buying all sorts of stuff. His light pockets have gotten even lighter. He was actually nearly out of coins.


    They went back to his place. He was happy to find his monster where he left them. The golem did a good job at intimidating the people away from his property.


    ¡°Master you are back.¡±


    ¡°I have brought you food as promised.¡±


    ¡°I am very hungry. Where is it?¡±


    Guardian took the foodstuff from his bag. There were three extremely large fish with various vegetables and some ale to wash everything down.


    ¡°Wow, this looks expensive. I am eating this?¡±


    ¡°You are joining us kid. What was your name again?¡± Cynthia asked.


    The beastman child reminded her of his name.


    ¡°Ithayiga, help me to prepare this. Can you cook?¡±


    ¡°No, miss.¡±


    ¡°Do not call me that, it feels weird. Call me Lady Cynthia, hehe.¡± No one actually called her a miss or a lady before.


    Guardian glared at her, she was beginning to sound like a spoiled noble would.


    ¡°Okay, just Cynthia will be fine. You can help me by cutting the vegetables, you know how to do that.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± The boy answered hesitantly. He had done it only a few times because it was his mother or sister who cooked for their family.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s get started.¡±


    Guardian excused himself, he was not into the cooking. He took out the cages and set them in the corner. The cages were made to keep domesticated wolves so they were large and sturdy. The swamp critters will have more space than they needed.


    ¡°Boy, did you name the creatures?¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, Master.¡± Ithayiga took a moment away from cutting the vegetables, all of them were cut in wobbly misshapen pieces.


    ¡°This is Scar.¡± He pointed at the one who had its mask missing, its face was slashed terribly. The wound hasn¡¯t healed yet properly either.


    ¡°This is Scoundrel, he tried to escape so I beat him with a stick.¡± He pointed at another one. It had an injured leg and many bruises.


    ¡°And this is Whimpy. It has been very noisy, it got quiet only then you came back.¡± He pointed at the last one. It was smaller than the others.


    ¡°Those are good names. Bring me my salves I need to tend to these creatures.¡±


    Ithayiga passed him his stuff and went back to help Cynthia. All three of the creatures had various degrees of injury, if he wanted them to stay alive he had to tend to it. He mended the wounds of the critters and put them in their cages. Swamplings were terribly scared of him, shaking and trembling when he handled them.


    Then he applied another layer to his chest. It was healing nicely, people would hardly believe at his healing speed if they knew how it looked yesterday.


    His next task was to disassemble the treant. He pried open the rest of its body and collected the remainder of its sap into two large jugs. Then he borrowed Rocky to snap its body into smaller pieces so it is easier to store. The enchanted bark and treant¡¯s inner wood were extremely hard, normal tools struggled to cut it. By the time he was done the food was ready.


    Cynthia¡¯s cooking was very good. All of the food disappeared very quickly and any of the scraps were fed to his pets. It was getting late so Cynthia asked him to contact her then he has a potion and went on her way.


    The very next day he transported the monster materials to the guild houses to sell them off. In the guild, he has found out that treants sap can be used to make mana potions. The enchanted bark was used in armour and shield making as it was a good replacement for metals and a lot lighter. The enchanted wood, once cleaned and properly cut was used in making magical staves for wizards.


    The guild houses were extremely happy to get these ingredients as it was not often people found or even killed a treant. Besides the core, its wood was the most valuable part and irreplaceable ingredient in making the staves. He negotiated to get a free stave once the stave maker processed the wood.


    All in all, he had made a good fortune of 20g, but he knew that he will have to part with half of it. Cynthia needed her share, also the golem was damaged too and needed repairs.


    Just before heading away from the market a particular scene picked his interest. There were a bunch of guards and they seemed to be harassing the foreigners who came from a distant Island. The Islanders were a breed of hoofed beastmen and mostly did their trade and business here. Some people disliked them for one reason or another. Most of the tradesmen liked them, but the nobles despised the Islanders.


    It appeared that all of their merchandise was being confiscated; there was a full store worth it. They must have just unloaded it from their ship and brought to the market to trade or sell it directly to the people.


    Allegedly, the Islanders did not pay an appropriate tax, hence the confiscation. The foreigners argued this and the fight broke out. Guardian did not want to interfere in this and just observed.


    All hell broke loose. The guards hit the foreigners with their batons trying to quell the resistance. One of the hooved beastmen was a fire mage. A number of fire orbs formed around the mage, flying in circles around him. Then the orbs slammed into the guards singing their flesh and setting their clothes on fire. People screamed and everyone started to run. The mage cast another spell raising a firewall and cutting off the rest of the guards from them.


    Guardian followed the escaping Islanders. Over twenty five guards were chasing five of them. Every time the guards got close they were forced to retreat; the mage would launch his fire spells at them. If a guard was hit by a spell, the poor man was heavily burnt, if a spell missed it set a house or two on fire just like that. Magic was dangerous and very powerful. One mage managed to stop all the guards.


    Eventually, the Islanders made their way back to the harbour, joining with their peers. The guards stopped their pursuit, they knew that other Islanders will defend their kind and they did not want a small war breaking out.


    ¡°We will remember this. These five are not welcome here anymore!¡± Shouted the guard captain.


    ¡°Fine! We will remember this too. I know it was the nobles. They will pay for this!¡± The mage threatened the guard captain.


    The ship raised its sails and left the harbour.


    ¡°That magic was amazing. I should really consider getting my hands on something like this.¡± Guardian considered this out loud.


    However, the problem was that no one willingly taught destructive magic anymore. Magic was power. Noble families kept their magic knowledge secret unwilling to distribute it to others. The talented and skilful enough would be allowed to learn it, but they would need to serve one of the noble families. Most of the common-blood mages ended up on the battlefield.


    Guardian had only one place to go for the information, regardless of how much he disliked doing it. He headed to ever more popular establishment named Slut House. He was always made to feel there very welcome. More welcome than he needed.


    He went inside the building and asked for Iustitia straight away. As always Brita the tigerwoman attempted to bother him, but he ignored her completely.


    ¡°Guardian you came!?¡± Iustitia would not believe her eyes that he was here, that was if she could see.


    ¡°No need to sound so surprised.¡±


    ¡°So what brings you here?¡± She hoped that he had some urges she would be more than happy to take care off.


    ¡°Not here, let¡¯s go somewhere more private.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Iustitia was ecstatic to hear that.


    ¡°Guardian, you sure you don¡¯t need me coming with you? Two is better than one after all.¡± Brita offered her services. She was still feeling envious of Shazzara''s experience. The lizard did not hesitate to talk in great detail how she enjoyed the night with Guardian.


    ¡°I doubt you can do what Iustitia does the best.¡± He shot her down and walked with Iustitia.


    Once in the room, Iusititia wrapped her arms aroud Guardian.


    ¡°So where do we start?¡± She asked seductively brushing her fingers past his belly area.


    ¡°To start with I want you to gather some information on rumours about magic.¡±


    Iustitia pouted at hearing this. This was not what she was expecting to hear. Guardian ignored her antics and continued.


    ¡°Also, I want you to find where someone can learn it. I would appreciate if you find a person or a place doing this, even if it is illegal. Is this possible for you?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± She was still pouting unhappy.


    ¡°Can you do it?¡± He has asked again.


    ¡°Ahh¡­ Only for you.¡± This was not what she desired but she wanted to repay her savior and she offered to help him with information before.


    ¡°Find me then you have something. I will even pay you well.¡± The information he was asking for was valuable and he was well aware of that. He had to promise the reward.


    ¡°I will. I won¡¯t leave you disappointed.¡± The mention of a reward motivated her and she was not thinking about coins.


    Guardian left the room just to be interrupted by Brita again.


    ¡°Wow, so quick! Was she no good this time?¡±


    He ignored her completely unsure of what she was talking about. He had no time for this and went straight back to home


    ¡°Iustitia, what happened?! Did your pussy finally dry out or what?¡± Not getting any attention from the Guardian, Brita went to tease someone else.

 29 Thieving Woman – An eye for an eye

    Some time went by and Guardian got informed that he has a message from one of the guilds, it was urgent and very important. He had to go to the guild house to check it out.


    Unfortunately, it was bad news. The caravan with goods Aiu had sent for him got ambushed. He had asked Aiu to send more of her produce so he can sell it here. All of the precious stuff was stolen. This was a huge blow to his pocket.


    However, the letter Aiu send him with the goods survived. The writing was messy and barely legible, but he understood what Aiu was writing about. She wrote that she will need some time to make a test potion from the monster core and that she was sending some of her goods now so that he has money to survive. She also wrote that she will let him know when she has the potion.


    It was good that he had insisted on taking the treant corpse with him to sell, otherwise, he would have no money. He pocketed the letter and headed back home. Then he was back he has found that he has a guest, it was Iustitia.


    ¡°Welcome back beautiful.¡±


    ¡°Hello¡­¡±


    ¡°You sound surprised. You were not expecting me?¡±


    ¡°I did not know you knew where I live.¡±


    ¡°It was very easy to find it out. You tend to stand out.¡±


    ¡°So did you bring any good news?¡± He was hopeful.


    ¡°Yes. I was able to piece some useful information together.¡±


    ¡°How much do you charge for it?¡±


    She did not do it for money, she had expected to get another type of reward. However, she was in need of some money.


    ¡°Whatever you think is appropriate.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ how about six silvers now and a bit more later. Depending on what I will hear.¡±


    This was already many times more than she expected.


    ¡°I will take it. So what I have found¡­¡± beastwoman shared her information.


    She had found out that there are a group of mysterious humans working in the shadows. All of them were rumoured to dabble in magic. Their activity was clouded in mystery but she had found out that they were recruiting people who have the magic affinity. They promised a good pay to whoever comes to them and remains loyal to their cause, whatever it was. This sort of indicated that they had the tools and means to teach magic.


    Guardian asked what sort of magic they had at their disposal but she did not know. What she knew however, was that this group was quite wealthy and dangerous and some people were going missing because of them. Especially those who went against this shadowy group of humans.


    She kept the final piece of the information to the last moment. She had found out there their headquarters were. The group had their base directly in the middle of the slums. It was under a collapsed prison. The building itself was in ruins but its dungeons and cellars were intact. That was where the rogue mages were. Rogue because they operated in the shadows.


    ¡°I will have to check on them. This is very good information. You deserve this.¡± He placed the gold coin in her hands.


    ¡°Wow, are you sure? You know there are other ways to thank me.¡±


    ¡°You did well. Think of it as an advance payment when I will need your services again.¡±


    ¡°Come and visit me sometimes. I would really like if it was not for business either.¡±


    ¡°I will think about it.¡± He had no intentions of visiting her as a friend or something like that. He had better things to spend his time on.


    Guardian asked Ithayiga to escort the lady of the night away. He had to make plans and prepare for the evening. He will try to investigate this group today. He took off his fancy robe and went towards the lair of the rogue mages.


    Seeing Guardian leaving a person approached his home. The only way she would be able to achieve her nefarious goals was then Guardian was not there.


    +++


    Tamia was running as fast as she could. She has never run this fast before in her life. This was because her life depended on it. She was taking in big breaths of air, her entire body was wet from the sweat.


    The woman was doing her best but her pursuer was gaining on her rapidly. She did not expect someone so big to be so quick. Not to mention that her pursuer looked like a monster pursuing his prey. Initially, she pushed off Guardians description as blown out rumours, now she knew those were not rumours at all but the grim truth.


    Guardian came back earlier than expected. As soon as she had seen him her stomach cramped up out of fear. She tough he will eat her or do something worse if he catches her.


    The relentless sprint had a negative effect on her body, there was only so long she could keep this up. Tamia¡¯s muscles started to cramp up, she did not know how long she will be able to keep her pace.


    ¡°Help! Somebody help!¡± she shouted out of desperation.


    People heard her shouting and took their time to look at who was asking for help. Then they noticed the creature running after the one who was shouting; closed their blinds and minded their business as usual. It was just another usual day in the slums.


    ¡°I will rip you to shreds! How dare you damage my property?¡± Guardian was chasing after her. Getting closer and closer with each passing second.


    ¡°Ahhhh, no! Somebody, please!¡± She yelled through tears.


    There were only a few metres between her and him.


    ¡°I will set an example out of you. You are a dead meat now!¡±


    He was extremely angry. This was because the house robbing woman knew exactly whose house she was trying to rob. Guardian warned the slum dwellers, disciplined them, made concessions not to kill. All this to avoid unnecessary trouble. Yet someone still dared to offend him.


    Tamia¡¯s back was within his reach. He stretched his arm and pressed his palm over her back. He pushed and forced her out of balance. Woman fell hitting the ground face down. She slid for a few good steps, the momentum driving her body. Her skin got cut and bruised in the process, she was bleeding all over. Her face was in a terrible shape, street pebbles ruined it as she slid forcefully through them.


    ¡°Rape! He wants to rape me! Help!!!¡±


    Her shouts confused Guardian for a moment. He said he will kill her, where was no mention of those indecent things she was spouting about.


    ¡°My uncle is a noble. Whoever saves me will be rewarded in plenty.¡±


    This did get people¡¯s attention, but it was a wrong kind of attention. No one believed her second half of the sentence, only in the first one sounded probable, the one about the rape. People who bothered to poke their heads out to look at the unfolding scene were mostly deviants.Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°Shut up already.¡± He was looking down on her. The chase was over.


    Tamia gathered her strength and tried to run away from him. The attempt, of course, was futile. Guardian kicked her while she was trying to stand. He hit her on the side of her leg, directly below the knee, breaking it.


    ¡°One leg - broken, one more to go.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no¡­. Please do not hurt me!¡± She clutched her broken leg and begged to save another.


    ¡°You ask this yet you were beating up my servant boy badly. I assume he begged for the similar thing. How did you respond?¡± He knew what she must have done, she had beaten Ithayiga even more. He was shocked at the woman¡¯s hypocrisy.


    He stretched his arm and slashed across her chest, his claws ripped through fabric and flesh. Four shallow wounds were spewing blood. The thief was in agony, regretting her life choices.


    ¡°I am sorry. Please let me live. I will repay you for my bad actions.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you will. In blood and pain.¡±


    ¡°Anything but that. I will do anything.¡± She begged.


    Guardian stepped on her hand, crushing it. He wanted her to suffer.


    ¡°There is nothing you can do for me.¡±


    ¡°There is, there is, please¡­ I know things, I can go into places and do things others can¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°Can you?¡± He stepped away from her crushed fingers.


    ¡°Yes. Yes.¡±


    ¡°You might be useful after all. Let¡¯s go back to my ransacked place and talk about this.¡±


    ¡°Yes Sir, thank you!¡± she yelled through tears, she was in an extreme pain.


    Tamia was too quick to thank him. He grabbed her by her good leg and dragged her body all the way down to his place. Her leg was broken and he could not be bothered with a slow limping pace of that thieving and child-beating woman.


    Few minutes felt like hours, the journey was a horrible torture.


    ¡°Ithayiga look what I have brought! Wanna squeeze a punch or two?¡±


    The young boy was in a very sorry state. His face was swollen and covered in bruises, his nose was still bleeding. The house was in a rough shape as well. Furniture and belongings were scattered all around the room, shards of pottery covered the earthen floor.


    Ithayiga did not want to lose an opportunity to repay the woman for what she had done to him. The boy let himself loose, his anger took him over.


    ¡°I told you, you will have to learn how to fight. This is the reason why. These damn fools are always after me or my things. Then will they learn that actions have consequences!¡±


    The thief coughed loudly, blood leaked out of her mouth.


    ¡°That is enough boy. I need her alive.¡±


    Guardian pressed his hand on the thief¡¯s chest and let his magic do the ¡®healing¡¯. He burned through cloth and skin haphazardly, closing the bleeding. His prey could not bear the pain anymore and passed out.


    Then he took the herbalist salve and tended to Ithayiga¡¯s wounds.


    ¡°What did the thief want? Money?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master. She burst out of nowhere and attacked me. I told there is no money in the house but she did not believe it.¡±


    The Guardian kept all of his coins on his body or did a good job hiding it. He never told the boy where the money was so Ithayiga was telling the truth.


    ¡°Of course she did not. I am sure she knew who she was robbing.¡±


    He did not blame the thief for disbelieving the boy. He was dressed like a rich tradesman, anyone would not believe that there were no money or any valuables in his home. Sure he lived in the slums, but there were quite a few shady and wealthy characters doing the same. Everyone had their reasons.


    ¡°She beat me up, again and again. Then she started to smash things looking for valuables. Sorry, Master, I couldn¡¯t do anything.¡±


    ¡°It is fine. You will get stronger later. Will you? Or will you get beaten by a human woman again?¡±


    ¡°Never. I promise.¡±


    ¡°Good boy.¡±


    ¡°And¡­ and if ever you see my father, please do not tell him that I lost to a human. It is a big shame for us beastmen.¡±


    ¡°I do not think I will ever meet your father, but okay we have a deal.¡±


    Guardian went to look for a pot of water to wake up the thief. Everything was broken, including all of the pottery and he got annoyed. He came back and grabbed hold on a thief¡¯s face, preventing her from breathing. Within seconds her eyes opened and looked like they will pop out.


    ¡°Good morning sunshine. Tell me why you did this?¡±


    Tamia knew what was on the line, she told everything truthfully to the last detail. The local thugs did not like the Guardian moving here. The first thing he did was to beat up any troublemakers making them lose their homes and territory. The thugs planned their revenge, they have sent a band of their fighters to ambush Guardian. This was a big mistake, they lost a few good men that day. They got even more vengeful, but they knew that direct approach is not an option so they had a plan. They would send a skilled thief, one of the best, to ransack his home. They knew that anyone would move out if they got robbed persistently. They did not care where the guardian moved so long it was not in their territory.


    The problem was that no one dared to rob the Guardian. They had to motivate the right person sufficiently, so they saved a good amount of money. Once they had the money they paid Tamia to rob the Guardian. They even spun some fancy tales of how rich he was, and that it will be an easy job. She will be able to leave with all the valuables she can find in his home plus her pay and disappear.


    However, she was caught in the act. Guardian came back before she found anything of value. She took too long, her greed stopped her leaving with nothing.


    ¡°Well that bunch is dead now. You know where I can find them do you?¡±


    She did and she told everything, their names, where they were and where their families lived.


    ¡°Thank you for that, sunshine, but this is not enough.¡±


    ¡°But I told you everything, You can have your revenge.¡±


    ¡°Revenge has no profit. Look at the damage you did. Who will pay for that?¡±


    ¡°I will. I will give all the money they gave to me to do this cursed job.¡±


    ¡°Still not enough. You said you know people, you can get inside the places.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Ever heard of rogue mages, doing shady business here in the slums?¡±


    ¡°There are only rumours.¡±


    ¡°Ohh no¡­ I checked their place from the distance. There is definitely something going out.¡±


    ¡°Say what can I do and I will do it if you let me go.¡±


    ¡°Well, I want you to observe that place, find about the people who go there and even infiltrate it if possible.¡±


    ¡°I am not a mage this is impossible.¡±


    ¡°Oh so you know you have to be a mage, you must know something about them already. If you want to live you will have to figure it out and get inside their base. Do we have a deal?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Tamia had no other choice but to agree.


    ¡°Good then lead me to your place we will get that money to pay for my damages.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I cannot walk that well.¡± Her leg was still broken and she lived quite a distance away.


    ¡°Crawl then. Hahaha.¡± He mocked her in an evil laugh.


    ¡°¡­¡± Tamia wanted to cry. She cursed the men who offered her this job. It sounded too easy, she should have listened to her reason.


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Guardian was still laughing. ¡°Just a joke, we do not have time for that. I will carry you.¡±


    He was kind enough to smear the woman¡¯s wounds in healing salve and bandage it with a spare cloth. However, Tamia still looked like a survivor of a bloody battle, her once pristine clothing was tattered and covered in blood.


    ¡°I cannot take you like this, you will draw too much attention.¡± Her current state and look was the problem. He knew that this can be easily fixed so he cut a hole in one of the bigger sacks he had and gave it to Tamia to use as an oversized dress.


    ¡°You look better now. And with a face like that, no one will even recognise you.¡±


    Tears streamed down through the woman¡¯s cheeks¡­ Her face used to be quite beautiful, but now it was a mess. She feared that it will not heal properly leaving her looking disfigured for life.


    Guardian carried her through the slums while she told him where to go. They have reached their place and secured the pouch full of dirty money. She did not live alone, but her housemates were told not to interfere as this a private matter.


    ¡°You have the money. Can you let me go now?¡±


    ¡°Will you investigate the rogues?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I will do whatever is possible.¡±


    ¡°Ha, and I should believe you? A greedy thief, a lying hypocrite, a child beating scum like you? I do not think so. I said I will let you live but you are going nowhere.¡±


    ¡°What do you want from me? Haven¡¯t I done enough? Haven¡¯t I suffered enough because of what I did? I am sorry, okay!¡±


    ¡°Do you want to live or not? I can kill you here and now and who is to stop me? Even if the guards came I would tell them you have robbed me and pay them off for their trouble. With the same money I got from you, hahaha.¡±


    ¡°I do want to live¡­ I do, I do. Stop this torture.¡±


    ¡°Then you will have to serve your time properly until you repay me for what you did. Come let¡¯s go.¡±


    At first, Tamia thought that he was playing with her emotions because he took her to the city hall. She thought he will report her and pay the guards off to see her in prison. She dreaded it as there was no prison just for women, they were mixed.


    However, she was wrong. Guardian had a different idea. He took her to the registration office, a place where ¡®voluntary¡¯ work contracts were made.


    ¡°Sir, what brings you here this early in the morning?¡±


    ¡°We have a work contract to make. Me and this woman.¡±


    ¡°Mhm mhm. I see. She does not look so good.¡± The man inspected the woman and continued. ¡°I assume you are not from here, traveller. You look fancy enough to have plenty of money but slavery is not allowed here.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying? With due respect, sir, I would do no such thing. You see¡­¡±


    Guardian manufactured a sob story. He told the officer that he saved this woman from a gang of thugs who were using and abusing her. Apparently, she owed them a lot of money and they were beating her on the street. His heart broke seeing such thing and he offered to pay her debts. On a condition, if she served for him.


    ¡°Mhm¡­¡± The officer was not buying it.


    ¡°What do you have to say? Does he speak the truth?¡± The man directed his look at Tamia.


    Tamia was in the position to tell her side of the story putting Guardian in big trouble.

 30 Slavery and fishing – You do what you have to

    Just before Tamia could tell anything, Guardian gave her the stare of death; Tamia could get him in trouble if she spoke out now. The woman realised that she will be in big trouble herself if she told what happened truthfully; she had no gut to go that way. Not to mention that Guardian would probably get off with a fine and then hunt her down later.


    ¡°Yes, yes. Everything is true.¡± She confirmed Guardian¡¯s story.


    ¡°Then I have no problem in approving this contract. How long is it for?¡±


    ¡°The debt was quite substantial. It is for one year.¡± Guardian told to the man who was filling in the paperwork.


    Tamia almost screamed out in despair. He wanted her to serve him for a whole year.


    ¡°Oh and¡­ I would like a collar.¡± Guardian added smirking at Tamia.


    The officer raised his brow. The collar would be put only in special cases. It was a special collar one could not take off easily. It was made mostly for prisoners and offenders so that they will not escape and work off their debts. If they ran away, there was a reward for finding and returning them. Also, no one would employ a person with a collar, it was a sign they belonged to someone else. To put it simply they were slaves, the people just put a different label on such things. A label of the ''voluntary'' labourer who does what he does to pay off his debts.


    ¡°Officer, this is just for insurance and her own protection. The thugs will know she belongs to someone else and won¡¯t dare to beat her ever again.¡±


    ¡°Yes of course¡­ Listen, woman, if there is something going on, it is the time for you to speak. When the collar gets on your neck it won¡¯t come off.¡±


    Guardian gave her a stare of death again.


    ¡°It¡­ it is fine.¡± Tamia¡¯s eyes became moist out of realisation what she will be reduced to a house slave. She was in despair and she was barely able to hold her tears in.


    ¡°You does not look that good. Are you sure you are okay with this?¡±


    ¡°The woman had a hard day that is all¡­¡± Guardian answered instead of Tamia.


    ¡°This does not feel right. Look, traveller, I need to be sure there is no fishy business here. If the things do not add up you will be fined heftily.¡± The officer knew that something was off but could not be certain. The woman confirmed Guardians words after all and seemed to be doing this willingly, more or less. The officer wanted to be sure that everything is lawful before putting that collar on this woman.


    ¡°Would a recommendation from someone of good standing in this city help?¡± Guardian knew who he could as for this already.


    ¡°It actually would. Who do you have in mind.¡±


    ¡°Cynthia, the one with a war golem. She is famous is she not?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes. She did many good things for us guards and the people of this town.¡±


    ¡°Then I will get her to write you a letter.¡±


    They finalised the contract paper. Guardian paid the fee of 2 gold in advance. One was for the bureaucracy and another for the enchanted collar. They will have to come back later to put the collar on.


    The pair left the building. Tamia was holding her feeling in the entire time, now they were alone and she did not have to do that anymore.


    ¡°Are you being serious here? I will have to be a slave for an entire year?¡± She thought of it as absurd.


    ¡°Oh come on now. This is just an insurance, get inside that dodgy gathering of mages and I will set you off. Your debt will be repaid. Or did you lose your will to live and prefer the other way out?¡±


    ¡°But this is impossible!¡±


    ¡°Then be a house servant for a year.¡±


    Neither of the options pleased the woman. She wanted just to run away, but there was nowhere to go. She had no one to turn to. She had friends but no real friend who would stand beside her in such trouble; there were very few who trusted a thief.


    When they got back he put a splint on her broken leg and gave her a stick so she could move. The woman did a good job of ignoring the pain so far. This whole ordeal made her extremely tired both mentally and physically. However, Guardian did not let her rest; he put her straight to work.


    She had to clean up the mess she had made. She did so through pain and agony, her broken leg prevented her from moving comfortably. Also, she was told she won¡¯t be able to leave his house without permission. If she left she was expected to work on surveying the mages.


    Tamia begged him to get her stuff from her house. She had quite a few possessions and did not want to live like a dog with nothing.


    Guardian sent Ithayiga to get a letter from Cynthia. He was kind enough to ask the boy to pick Tamia''s stuff on his way back. He did not want to let the thief go anywhere, not until he had her collared. It also did not feel safe to sleep under the same roof with a thief, she might want to take a revenge on him and try to slit his throat in his sleep. To avoid this he moved one swampling out of its cage and put it with its fried. Then he directed Tamia to go inside the cage. She will have to be locked in it for the night, for his and her own safety. If she knew that this would have happened she would have cleaned these cages better.


    However, locking her was not the smartest idea either. She was a good thief and knew how to pick locks. Tamia waited patiently till the late night making sure that everyone was asleep. She lock-picked the lock on the cage. Just as she was about to get out, the pair of swamp critters became noisy.


    ¡°Shut up you two. This is not a good time for this.¡±


    The critters which were locked in the same cage decided that this was a good opportunity to mate with each other. She did not want to miss her chance and sneaked away regardless of the noise the little monsters were making. This was a risky move as the noise might wake Guardian up, but she had to do it.


    Tamia was making her way as far from Guardians house as possible. She was pushing herself to go as fast as she could, her broken leg was slowing her down. Then she heard a shout in the distance.


    ¡°Sunshine! Where are you? You must be lost let me find you!¡± Guardian was putting an act of sounding nice and pleasing. He was nothing of the sort.


    ¡°Oh no¡­¡± she whispered. The creatures must have woken him up. She knew he was coming at her with evil intentions in mind.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°Sunshine!?¡± The voice was getting closer.


    Tamia turned towards narrow alleyway and hid behind the trash and rubble.


    ¡°I can smell your fear from here.¡± He lowered his voice and almost whispered, he was close and there was no need to keep pretending to be nice.


    She curled herself into the ball, making her body as small as possible. Hoping that he won¡¯t notice her behind the trash in the darkness.


    ¡°If you come out willingly, I will not punish you.¡± His voice was getting closer and closer.


    Then she heard him stand just around the corner where she was. She held her breath out of fear he will hear her breathing.


    ¡°Ahh, this smell¡­ the smell of sweat and despair. Game over, thief!¡±


    He walked into the alley where she was. Tamia did not dare to even look at him, her eyes were closed. She was shaking while still curled into the ball.


    He grabbed her, his claws sinking into her sides.


    ¡°A deal is a deal. You have to serve me, there is no escape¡­ Should I break your other hand so you won¡¯t be able to escape? No, that would make you completely useless.¡±


    Tamia burst into tears, she screwed up again.


    ¡°So what should I do with you?¡±


    He shook her forcefully. ¡°Answer me?! What do you think I should do? Rip your legs off? Blind you? No¡­ this would not work either.¡±


    ¡°No please, no¡­ I promise this will not happen again.¡±


    ¡°Your promises are empty. But people say I am kind. I will give you another chance. Last chance, do not screw up again.¡± He squeezed his claws, they cut deeper into her sides.


    ¡°Ahhhh¡­ Please.¡±


    ¡°I do not think you have learned your lesson but this will have to do. I cannot break you too badly; I need you to be able to function after all.¡±


    He carried the thief back to his house and locked her up again. This time he made sure she was not hiding any picks to unlock the lock.


    In the morning Cynthia graced Guardian with her visit. Before writing the letter she wanted to see herself what this was all about. Guardian told the same story he told the officer, not exactly the same. He improved it adding that Ithayiga got beaten up trying to defend her from the thugs. The boy was still licking his wounds.


    ¡°Oh, how unfortunate. What is your name?¡± Cynthia asked.


    ¡°Tamia¡­¡±


    Guardian has never bothered to do that. It was the first time he learned the name of the thief.


    ¡°Tamia, you are lucky that Guardian found you at that time. He is very kind after all, isn¡¯t he Ithayiga?¡±


    ¡°Master is the best. He gives as much food as I want.¡±


    ¡°You see. You will serve your debts and will be able to go. I actually think you will want to stay. After Tamia served her debt, would you employ her properly with the wage and everything?¡± Cynthia was trying to help the poor woman. Good employers were hard to come by.


    ¡°But of course. I am always in need of hard-working people.¡±


    ¡°See, he is a good person. He even patched you up and everything. This must have cost him a bit.¡±


    Guardian indeed mended Tamia¡¯s wounds properly before putting her in the cage for the night. He even had to send Ithayiga to purchase some stuff from the apothecary. However, his motives for that were selfish, he did not do that out of kindness. He needed Tamia to be able to do her jobs properly.


    Cynthia wrote the letter and handed it to the Guardian. She did not question why he wanted her under contract as this was just a basic insurance. Also, Guardian chose not to mention that Tamia would get the collar on her neck. Then Cynthia left he did just that; he dragged Tamia to the office where she had her collar put.


    Once Tamia had the collar on she was commanded to go and observe the place where the rogue mages gathered. She was told to get as much information as possible. Also, she was warned that if she does not come back by the sunset she will regret it.


    Tamia did as told. She curled up by the wall not too far from the ruined prison. And carefully watched who was going in and out, trying to remember how they looked. She hoped that if she got enough information he will let her go.


    +++


    Guardian was heading towards the harbour. His goal was to get some food for himself and his ever-increasing number of dependants. Eating gruel every day would be fine if it did not get boring. He needed some meat, which was a luxury he did not want to pay for. Fish was an option, it was cheaper here because Harbour City had an access to the see.


    He was thinking of catching some by himself. Guardian was a good swimmer, the only thing which might hinder him was that the water was salty. He hated salty water but he will have to put up with it. Guardian knew that sometimes he has to do what he dislikes, life was not easy there everything is nice and pleasant; some things require sacrifices.


    His broad frame and a thick dashing tail were not unnoticed. A lizardwoman was eying him from a distance. She liked what she saw. The bigger the man was the more attractive she found him to be, this was typical of lizard women. She stalked him from the shadows waiting for a good chance.


    Guardian stood at the harbour looking at the sea. His hand was holding a wooden fishing fork, a simple tool to assist him. He was mentally preparing to do what he was not keen on doing. He was about to jump in the water which will irritate his skin and eyes. Just before he was ready, someone interrupted him.


    ¡°Hello there. What sort of fish will you be catching?¡± The lizardwoman decided to approach him before it was too late.


    ¡°Eh? I don¡¯t think I know you. What do you want?¡±


    It was very unusual for someone to approach him like that. People usually kept their distance away from him. Unless they wanted something from him.


    ¡°No, you don¡¯t. Let¡¯s get to know each other. My name is Tiramisu. I want to help you.¡± She smiled at him while holding a stretched out hand. She was being very straightforward with him, but she believed this is the best approach.


    ¡°Do you? Why?¡±


    ¡°Why not? What is that saying¡­ If I scratch your tail you will scratch mine in return.¡±


    The real saying was ¡®You scratch my back, I will scratch yours¡¯, also she got it the other way round. The guardian did not point out her mistake. He understood that she will want something from him for her assistance.


    ¡°I can show you where are the best spots for fishing just tell me what you want.¡± She continued.


    He was not sure what sort of fish was available in these waters. She might indeed be helpful but he still was reluctant to trust her. He did not know what her real motives were.


    ¡°I will manage, you can go.¡± He decided to turn her down.


    Tiramisu, however, had wrongly assumed that it was his pride talking. Some people, especially men, did not like to be helped by women. She did not know why but she knew that from her experience.


    ¡°There is no need to be proud. I am not questioning your skills, I am sure you are an outstanding hunter. All I want is some company. I know a spot where you can catch some seriously huge fish. That is if you truly hold a sufficient set of skill¡­ You do have it, do you?¡± She did not wait for his answer and continued. ¡°Let¡¯s make it a competition, who catches the biggest one wins.¡±


    Tiramisu tried to appeal to his competitive side. She knew that most men enjoy a good challenge and some competition. The only worry was that he could dismiss her as an unworthy opponent since she was a woman. In this world, it was usually the men who did all the hunting and the women were considered to be subpar at this.


    Guardian thought for a moment. ¡°It is on!¡± He replied to Tiramisu.


    As the woman said he had nothing to lose, that is if she wanted only a companion for a game. He would also learn about this good fishing spot, he would not need to find one by himself.


    ¡°Come then. It is in a more remote place, just around those rocks by the shore.¡± She pointed in the distance.


    It was not easy to get to her spot, but it only made it more believable. The Fever people knew about this spot the more fish would be there.


    The competition was about to begin. They were standing on a rock, waves of water were crashing on it and splashing their feet. Guardian clutched his fishing fork in his hand, while she had a long wooden spear.


    ¡°It is on then I say ready. Just give me a second.¡±


    Tiramisu set her fishing tool aside. Guardian looked with interest at what she was doing. To his surprise, she took her chest piece and loincloth off. The surprise was short lasting because he realised that she does not want to get her clothes wet.


    The woman indeed did not want to soak her clothes, but she had other reason as well. She wanted to show off her body to him. She knew considered herself to be attractive and believed that she would be a good mate. She was fit and healthy; it was not easy to remain healthy in this day and age and she was proud of her physical condition.


    Guardian witnessed her in all her naked glory, she was not a shy type. Her body was covered in green scales, her belly was a lighter shade of green making it stand out. She was very thin but had well-defined muscles, this was probably because of complete lack of fat under her skin. She looked agile and athletic. Like all lizardwomen were, she was completely flat in the chest department. Guardian wondered why she bothered wearing the chest piece at all.


    This was because this town had many races living together and social interactions between them were complex. Normally, lizardwomen would not cover their chests as indeed there were nothing to cover, however they had to. Humans would confuse lizardpeople way too often, not being able to tell a male from a female. Lizarwomen hated when this happened, wearing a bra or a dress helped to solve this.


    She put her clothes on a dry part of the rock grabbed her spear and took a pose, ready to jump in the water.


    ¡°Ok. Ready!¡± She shouted out and jumped.

 31 Game on – There can only be one winner

    Guardian jumped in the water following the lizardwoman. They dived in the sea and were swimming further away from the shore. He did not know where the fish gathered so he just followed her lead for now. Soon he noticed a massive school of fish. It looked like a huge moving ball, it shifted and pulsed never remaining the same size or shape.


    This was not the fish they were after. As they were all small, the biggest ones were the size of his finger. He knew what they were hunting as soon as he saw it. It was a bigger fish which prayed on the smaller ones. There were around twelve of them probing the ball made of smaller fishes. Each of them was at least the size of a small wolf.


    ¡°It is on.¡± Tiramisu said while under the water. Her voice sounded fun; water distorted it.


    Instead of going straight after the fish, she swam up and took a good breath of air. Guardian followed her suit, he will need plenty of oxygen to remain submerged underwater. Each of them aimed at different fish, judging theirs to be the biggest.


    At first, Tiramisu overtook him as she was more nimble and agile in the water. Her webbed feet helped her.


    Guardian did not have feet designed to paddle underwater, his feet were more like claws or talons. However, he had a massive and muscular tail. He used it to his advantage. It took him quite a few swings to pick up the speed and outpace Tiramisu; he was the fastest now.


    The race continued, each of them was aiming to spear their prey. They were using completely different strategies. Tiramisu was slower but nimbler, she used her agility and ability to turn quickly to spear her fish. Guardian was quicker and his punch a lot stronger, he tried to catch the fish by surprise, stabbing them before they could turn and escape. He also tried stunning them by crashing the water his body displaced towards their sides.


    They were at it for an hour, a competition of getting the biggest one was replaced by catching the most. Tiramisu was the one to give up first, she could not keep the pace anymore. She waved at Guardian to stop; she was completely out of stamina.


    ¡°Let us take a break.¡±


    ¡°I won!¡± Guardian smirked at her. At first, they were at the tie but as the time went on hi was taking the lead.


    ¡°Yes, yes. You defeated me, you are the winner. Congratulations you are the best.¡±


    Guardian liked to be the winner. Tiramisu intended to let him win regardless, winning this made-up gave was not her objective.


    ¡°This sea water¡­ my eyes are irritated, do you have some fresh water?¡± He wanted to rinse the salt off. Having the eyes open underwater was not a problem for him, doing it under the salty water was. This was why he did not like the sea.


    ¡°Not here, but if you go to my place I can give you some.¡± She liked where this was going, she will be able to lure him to her home.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡± Guardian saw no reason to wait.


    ¡°In return, can you help me with this?¡± She pointed at her stack of fish. They were too big and too heavy to carry it by herself.


    ¡°That is fair enough.¡± He borrowed her spear and pierced her share of fish, his bag was full of the ones he had caught. He held the spear and fish carrying them with both of his hands.


    Guardian followed Tiramisu to her place. She lived in an abandoned warehouse. It was a sorry looking building, full of holes and decade old dust. It was not just Tiramisu who lived there. There was a small community of lizardmen there, most of them were still children or barely adults.


    Guardian and Tiramisu were met by salivating stares. The lizards paid more attention to the food than the stranger carrying it.


    ¡°Hey Tiramisu, you got an awful lot this time. Mind sharing some?¡± Small lizardman asked.


    ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t.¡± She had more than she would be able to eat anyway.


    The one hearing this did not believe Tiramisu¡¯s words. In this warehouse, their kind lived together, but that was it. They did not share their food or anything. It was out of Tiramisus character to surrender her food just like that.


    ¡°What is the occasion?¡±


    ¡°I am just in a good mood, that¡¯s it. You would steal some anyway.¡±


    ¡°That is true.¡±


    ¡°Guardian you can leave my fish here. Guys, you better leave me my share!¡± She warned children swarming around her fish.


    ¡°Let me show you where the water barrel is.¡±


    She escorted guardian to the water so he can rinse his sore eyes.


    ¡°Do you mind if I wash the salt off my body as well?¡±


    ¡°Be my guest, water is free after all.¡± All she had to do was refill the barrel from the well later.


    ¡°Ok then.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    She was not leaving the partitioned space where the barrel was. Guardian expected her to leave, but he did not mind her staying either. She was ogling at him while he took off his loincloth and rinsed the salt away from his body.


    ¡°Need a hand?¡± She offered.


    ¡°Ammm, no.¡± He thought the question was weird. ¡®Why are the women weird like that¡¯ he wondered.


    ¡°Then let me join you.¡±


    She took a few pieces of clothing she had and stood awfully close to him.


    ¡°Make me wet, big man.¡± She touched his chest with her hand, trying to be seductive.


    He felt slightly uncomfortable having her invading his personal space like that. She stood way too close and even touched him. He wanted this whole thing done as soon as possible so he picked up the barrel and raised it above her head.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Then he poured all of the water over her. He was done rinsing his body anyway.


    ¡°Here, you are wet now. Not a speck of salt remains.¡± He thought of himself as a genius for finding a quick solution to this problem.


    ¡°Hahaha¡± Tamia laughed.


    ¡°Ha-ha-ha.¡± He was confused why she was laughing and tried to laugh too.


    ¡°This is not what I¡­¡± She could not finish her sentence quick enough.


    Guardian was leaving the small partition where they were.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± She said somewhat upset. ¡®And why? This was going so well¡­ I thought I had him.¡¯


    ¡°Home. I need to feed my pets, all five of them¡­¡± He sighed.


    ¡°Did I do something wrong?¡±


    Guardian was unsure why she asked this.


    ¡°No. Thank you for the water.¡± He picked up his sack of fish and strapped it on his back.


    ¡°If it is not because of me why are you leaving all of the sudden?¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°Why would I stay? I got stuff to do, pets to feed.¡±


    ¡°I understand¡­ Will you come to fish tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°No, I caught plenty for now. Maybe in a few days¡¯ time.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Tamia said dejectedly. However, she did not want to let her catch go.


    ¡°If you come again I will show you a different fishing spot. You liked my company, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I did. You were better at spearfishing than I expected.¡± He had honestly enjoyed that competition, it made a basic chore so much fun.


    ¡°Then how about I come with you? I really want to see these pets of yours.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± He was looking at her unsure what to say. He failed to see how he would benefit from that.


    Tiramisu noticed his hesitant look.


    ¡°You are new here aren¡¯t you? I will tell you about the fish you can catch here and stuff like that. It will make a casual stroll home more interesting.¡±


    ¡°I guess you can come.¡± Once again he had nothing to lose so he agreed.


    ¡°Yes-ss!¡± She hissed in excitement. She was back in the game. ¡°I mean, let me grab my share of food and let''s go.¡±


    She wrestled a large fish away from other lizardmen and took it with her. She knew Guardian had plenty of it already but she planned to offer to eat her share together at his home.


    ¡°I am taking this just in case I get hungry.¡±


    ¡°That is perfectly fine. I understand.¡± He saw the battle the food she brought has caused. He did not blame her for wanting to make sure she has something. After all, when she will be back no fish would be left.


    They walked at a casual pace, Tiramisu was the one doing all the talking. Some of the things she said or asked were completely irrelevant. Like, asking if he liked her tail and stuff like that. Others were more useful, like finding out what fish and where he could catch it. He found out that there were fish which only could be caught at night, this sounded interesting.


    Tiramisu was trying her best to sweet talk him, she wanted to win him over. This was because she wanted a mate. A powerful and strong mate, the bigger the better. Guardian fit that picture perfectly, she had never seen anyone this huge. However, she was slightly confused. She grew up without parents or any adult supervision, the fact that two different species cannot produce an offspring was unknown to her.


    Actually, she believed that they can because some of the girls she knew went after some tough looking beastmen. Unbeknown to her the beastmen only tricked young lizardwomen so that they can exploit their bodies for carnal pleasures. They lied that with them lizard woman will produce strong and healthy children.


    ¡°Here we are.¡± Guardian let her in his house and led her to the cages containing swamp monsters.


    ¡°They are so weird.¡±


    ¡°They look normal to me.¡± He sliced one of the fish to the pieces and fed it to the creatures.


    ¡°This is only three of them. You mentioned five, so where are the other two?¡±


    ¡°Ah, about that. The other two mouths I need to feed is my errand boy and another servant.¡±


    ¡°Go on then, introduce me to them.¡±


    ¡°I guess I can. Ithayiga, come here boy!¡±


    He showed off his servant boy.


    ¡°He is quite cute for a beastman.¡± Tiramisu said rubbing the boys head.


    Ithayiga wagged his tail in response.


    ¡°I did not expect you to have servants. You live in a slum district after all.¡±


    Guardian did not make a comment on that.


    ¡°Not that I am interested if you have money or anything.¡± She said just in case. She did not want to appear as a gold digger.


    ¡°You are not? I find it hard to believe.¡±


    ¡°I swear it on my tail! By the way where is your another servant?¡±


    ¡°She should be back by now.¡±


    Just as he said that Tamia opened the doors and wobbled in. She looked at Tiramisu suspiciously and just sat beside the table. Tamia eyed a pile of massive fish stacked in front of her.


    ¡®Why is she giving me a stink eye?¡¯ Tiramisu did not understand what the problem was.


    ¡°Master.¡± Tamia addressed Guardian, displeasure clear in her voice. She hatted to call him like that. ¡°Shall I cook the fish?¡± She continued.


    ¡°Yes, they are for you and the boy. I have already fed the swamp critters.¡±


    ¡°You are sooo kind, master. One less chore for me to do.¡± She put a stress on kind, sarcasm was in the air.


    Guardian did not have enough social skills to pick up on that. Tiramisu, however, was different, she noticed the woman¡¯s rudeness.


    ¡°Do you all mind if I join you for the dinner? I brought my own food after all.¡± Tiramisu asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind at all! Master can she?¡± Ithayiga asked bogglingly. He quite liked this new guest, she gave him head rubs and brought fish.


    ¡°How about her? What is your name?¡± Tiramisu asked the one who was still giving her a bitchy face.


    Tamia frowned at her and continued gutting the fish ignoring the question. She was not here to make friends with her Master¡¯s acquaintances. She hated him, and those who were close to him.


    ¡®The attitude of this woman. Does she see me as a competition? That must be it. He is a good catch after all.¡¯ Concluded Tiramisu.


    ¡°Anyway. If you all do not mind I will eat mine raw.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡± The boy asked Tiramisu.


    ¡°It tastes better that way.¡±


    ¡°So why is Tamia cooking it then?¡± The boy wanted to know.


    ¡°It is because different people like it different. Humans like their food cooked.¡± Guardian spoke from experience. Remembering that Aiu despised raw food, especially raw meat.


    ¡°So, how do you eat your fish?¡±


    ¡°Depends.¡± If the cook was good and knew how to spice and prepare it properly he would eat it cooked. But it was Tamia who was cooking, she even made his gruel taste bad for some reason. ¡°I will eat it raw this time.¡±


    Tiramisu smiled at him. She was glad they have similar preferences.


    They had waited for Tamia to gut the fish, then she cooked some for herself and the boy. Once everyone had their food ready they began to eat.


    ¡°So, what are the jobs you have to do for your Master, Ithayiga?¡± Tiramisu asked the boy, she wanted to know if she can offer some help so she can come and visit the Guardian.


    Ithayiga explained his simple daily routine. It was mostly going from one place to other as an errand boy. He has also mentioned that he was doing some exercises. He wanted to get stronger so he can fight together with Guardian.


    ¡°I might actually help with that. I know how to use a spear and a dagger, I could teach the boy a few tricks. That is if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    Guardian did not understand why she was being so nice. This seemed odd. He wanted to find out what was the real objective Tiramisu was trying to achieve and then deal with her appropriately.


    ¡°I do not. You are not going to charge me, no?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, I have a lot of free time on my hands anyway.¡±


    Ithayiga liked this lizard even more now. He will be able to get stronger quicker with a teacher.


    ¡°How about Tamia what does she do, boy?¡± Instead of asking Tamia directly she asked the boy. She knew that it was a bad idea to talk to her now.


    ¡°She is sneaking around the slums and looks at people.¡±


    Tamia and Guardian glared at the boy, he was not supposed to say that.


    ¡°What?..¡± This threw Tiramisu off slightly. It took her a moment but she understood what Tamia has been doing; spying and gathering information.


    ¡°Of course, what she does is clearly not my business. I should not have asked.¡± Tiramisu was looking at the guardian trying to understand if he was mad at her or not.


    Guardians face was hard to read. He looked indifferent. Tiramisu needed more time to be able to read his expressions, it was always like that when she met someone looking radically different than a lizardman.


    ¡°Tell us instead what do you do?¡± Guardian asked trying to get some indication what she might want from him.


    She was glad that Guardian was interested in her. Her feminine charms must be working, or so she thought.


    ¡°I am a fisher. I catch fish and sell it to the fishmonger in the market. He pays me good, but it is not enough to move out of the slums.¡±


    ¡°That is it? Do you do anything else? Like spy on people?¡± He was being very direct with her. He tried to provoke a reaction.


    Tiramisu took this as if he was interested in her natural gifts.


    ¡°I can. We lizardfolk are good at things like that. Sneaking, spying, information gathering.¡± She chose not to mention other inborn traits like being sly and being good at getting others killed, especially out of spite. ¡°But I do not do these things, there are better people at this than me. However, if you need help with something like that I am more than willing.¡± She was not against doing such things, anyway.


    ¡°Are you? I could use someone like that.¡± He was thinking about sending her to infiltrate the rogue mage¡¯s base.


    Tamia made some progress, but she has yet to visit the actual place. All she did so far was observe who went there.


    ¡°Take me on a date and I will see what I can do.¡±


    After hearing this Tamia almost choked on her food. She did not understand why anyone would even flirt with the likes of a violent monster her master was.


    ¡®I knew it. That bitch is jealous.¡¯ Tiramisu misunderstood Tamia¡¯s reaction.


    ¡°Not money?¡± Guardian was beginning to believe that she was not after his money after all.


    ¡°No. It has to be a date. Otherwise, I am not doing it.¡±


    ¡°Fine with me. We have a deal.¡± He was not sure what an actual date looked like but he knew it was not a material thing. He knew it was activity and assumed that it would cost him no money. ¡®How hard a date can be?¡¯ he was actually glad he won¡¯t need to spend his coin on this. If only Guardian knew how wrong he was, he would not have agreed to this.


    ¡°You made my day!¡± Tiramisu was celebrating her success already. She pictured all the children she would conceive with him, all strong and powerful. This would make her family known and respected.


    ¡°But first, I need to know you are up for the task. I need to test your skills.¡± Guardian interrupted Tiramisus fantasy.


    He explained what she would need to do. Her job would be to infiltrate the prison ruins. He did not mention anything about the mages or how dangerous it is. Guardian did not want her to change her mind, and if she died in the process¡­ He would not care anyway.


    ¡°Easy peasy lemon squeezy. I will be inside in three days time.¡±


    ¡°We will see about that!¡± Tamia practically yelled that out. She was convinced that Tiramisu will get herself killed, and was actually glad. Maybe this would hurt her master in one way or another.


    ¡°Tamia, you better tell us what you have gathered so far, this might help her to do what you couldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°As you wish, Master.¡± She almost spat the last word out because of her discontent.


    Tamia described when, who and for how long would the people go inside the ruins. She has also described each of the people. She even mentioned the possible locations and times someone could enter it unnoticed. She did not dare to lie, in case Guardian finds this out, she did not want to die for that. Tamia knew that she does not need to lie, if Tiramisu entered it she would not leave it alive. That is why Tamia herself did not explore the ruin. Who knew what lurked inside?


    ¡°Using what you said¡­ this reduces it to the two days. Only because I will need to confirm it by myself.¡±


    ¡°I have high hopes in you, Tiramisu.¡± The sooner Guardian got his hands on some magic knowledge the better.


    ¡°Spaghetti spaghetti you won¡¯t regret it.¡± Tiramisu said cheerfully.


    ¡°What is spaghetti?¡± Ithayiga asked; the word sounded funny to him.

 32 Prison Dungeon - The mages, the book and the sacrifice

    It was late in the evening, in a few minutes or so it will get completely dark. Tiramisu was sneaking around the walls bordering prison ruins. She was wearing a dark robe to blend in the darkness. She wore no footwear so she can be as quiet as possible.


    Tiramisu waited for two hooded humans to leave the side entrance leading to the ruins. Tamia gave her an accurate schedule of when and who left the place. Just as the humans left she sneaked inside. She did not know the layout of the place; she had to be very careful. The lizardwoman remained in the shadows and carefully scouted the place.


    The ruins were not empty, there were people here and there, all of them were rough looking thugs or robed humans. She managed to avoid getting noticed so far. She scouted enough to get a rough feeling of the place. Now she had to find an entrance leading underground to the dungeons.


    ¡°I think it is here.¡± She whispered to herself. ¡°This is no good, there needs to be another way.¡± The entrance had two guards watching it.


    Tiramisu circled around the ruins, she was looking for a manhole or something like that. It did not take her long to notice a grate covering a hole which led deeper underground. It was a drain for excess water, leading to the city¡¯s old sewer.


    She had only one chance at it, she hoped it will take her to her final destination. Tiramisu kicked the rusty grate in. It clanged making an awfully loud noise.


    ¡°What was that?¡± a man heard it and was walking to check it out.


    It was now or never, she risked getting stuck but she had to do this. She squeezed her lean body though it and crawled deeper inside the narrow hole.


    ¡°Huh, must have been wind or something.¡± The man dismissed it as he could not find a trace of anyone. He did not bother to check beneath his feet and poke his head inside a small hole.


    Tiramisu crawled deeper and deeper inside. The small tunnel was very dirty and dark. She did not know where she was going, she could not see at all; there was only darkness. She crawled and crawled, few minutes felt like an hour. If she happened to reach a dead end or something like that that would mean that she would get stuck; there was no space to turn around. She feared such an outcome but kept crawling deeper.


    Finally, the drain led to a wider tunnel. She heard water drops making splashing noise. She hoped the filthy water she was about to jump in was not too deep. She pushed herself out of the drain and jumped down. A loud sound of splashing water echoed through the tunnel.


    ¡°Shit!¡± She did not expect it to be so loud.


    ¡°Which way is it?¡± She was disoriented and had no idea which way to go. If she made a mistake she could be lost in the sewers for days. She still could not see a thing and she regretted not bringing a torch with her. The torchlight would have given her location away anyways, so maybe it was for the best. She chose a random direction and pressed forwards waddling through the drain water. It was not too deep, it barely reached her ankles. She was as silent as possible, carefully moving her feet so that she does not splash the water. She was touching the wall with her left hand to know where she was going.


    After some time she felt that a tunnel was turning sharply to the left, so she moved towards the turn. As soon as she did it she noticed something; it was a huge blob of fluorescent green light, slowly crawling towards her from the distance.


    She wanted to scream thinking that she saw a ghost or something. She put her hands on her mouth stopping herself from doing so. The light continued to move towards her slowly. Lizard woman just stood there frozen in fear.


    Nothing happened, she was still alive. The glow was there, and it was getting closer, but that was it. She was the master of her fate so she braced herself and tried to calm down. Tiramisu squinted her eyes trying to judge what the source of that unholy green light was. It was just a slime; a huge glowing slime.


    She let out a sight, there was no reason to get so scared. If she did not go towards it she will probably be fine. Tiramisu turned around, pressed her left hand on the wall on a different side and continued her sewer adventure.


    She walked through the filthy water making random turns whilst following the walls. Then her ears picked a noise; a distant noise of people talking. She let go of the wall and went towards the sound of people talking. The voices got stronger and stronger. She approached the source of it, it was coming from a small grated hole.


    Lizardwoman was happy, she had finally found a prison dungeon. Now she had to find a way inside it. Breaking inside will not be an easy task and she knew it. It was a prison dungeon, after all, it was designed to keep the prisoners inside, same applied to the outsiders who wanted to get in.


    As expected she struggled to find an entrance. Now and then, she would notice a hole or two in a wall, a faint torchlight would find a way where she was. However, unless she knocked a wall she could not get it. Tiramisu did not want to give up, not with what was on the stake. She wanted that date with Guardian, so she kept looking for a way in.


    It took her a few hours of exploring the tunnels. She had to come back and start over multiple times, the sewers were like a maze. But she found it, this was it.


    ¡°This has to work.¡± She breathed out all of the air from her lungs.


    Tiramisu found a hole in a wall with narrowly spaced grate cowering it. It would be a challenge but someone like her should be able to squeeze through. It was good she was slim and completely flat, her upper body fit through it with no problems. Her hips got stuck at one point but she managed to squeeze them through.


    She was inside the base Guardian mentioned, she knew it because the place was lit with torches; someone clearly was living here. She was inside an old storeroom of sorts. It had weird robes with a red insignia of a human handprint. She put one of the robes on hoping to have an effective disguise. Then she carefully sneaked out of the storeroom, doing her best not to draw any attention.


    She found herself in a narrow corridor, It had multiple doors on its sides leading to small rooms. They were prison cells. She peeked through the door hole to have a look inside.


    ¡°No, no, no! Please no!¡± A sickly looking beastman reacted to her presence.


    ¡°Shhhhh!¡± She tried to shush him and moved away from the door. She needed a moment.


    Tiramisu did not expect to find prisoners here. The prison was supposed to be retired a long time ago. Whatever these robed people were doing with the captives, it was bad. She carefully peeked at a few other cells; they all had prisoners.


    She was curious about what was going on in here and pressed on through the corridor. Then she heard some sort of a chanting coming from a distance. She went towards it. Tiramisu stopped and pressed her back beside the doorway leading to a room where the chanting was coming from. She wanted to peek in but this was very risky.


    She sneaked to the torch illuminating the corridor and put it out using a special cup beside it. She hoped that no one would suspect any foul play about one of the torches burning out. The corridor was dark now and she could peek inside unnoticed.


    Liazardwoman stepped towards the entrance leading to the room so she could see what was going on.


    She peeked her head to see what was happening inside. The room was filled with robed humans, they wore robes just like hers, all of them had the same red insignia. She quickly realised that her disguise would not have worked. The robed ones were all human, where were no beastmen within their ranks, and they were clearly mages. She knew that because they were shooting beams of blue light from their hands, only a mage could perform flashy tricks like that. All of the beams converged towards the table. The table had a very young man bound to it, he was naked and covered in blood.


    One of the mages held a leather-bound book in his hand. He was reading it and chanting a magic chant. This was a ritual of sorts. Each word he said sounded more powerful and loud than the other. The entire room was filled with blue magical light.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    The mages stopped and slumped on their knees. The blue light dimmed all of the sudden. Tiramisu was wrong to assume that the young man was dead. The mage¡¯s victim started to scream his lungs out. The scream was deafening and full of agony.


    The screaming stopped and then the man¡¯s body started to shrivel, his skin turned sickly black and clung to his bones. A blue ghost-like figure formed above his wilted body. It vaguely resembled him. Then the room was filled with unpleasant noise again; the ghost let out an unholy screech as it was pulled by some sort of a force towards a crystal mounted beside the mage with the book.


    The crystal sucked the apparition inside and became black in colour.


    ¡°We did it. We finally did it!¡± An old mage shouted out in glee.


    ¡°Fuck this shit!¡± Tiramisu has had enough and darted back towards the storeroom.


    She has never been scared like this before. She saw an actual ghost or maybe a soul leaving a humans body. The lizard even soiled herself, leaving a puddle of evidence where she once stood. But she did not care about that, she was running for her life.


    She ran into the storeroom, squeezed through the grates and continued to run haphazardly through the sewer tunnels. She ran and ran, in complete darkness until she slammed her head into the wall.


    ¡°Auch!¡± she shouted rubbing her sore head.


    She needed that hit, it broke her fear induced sprint. Tiramisu realised that she was now lost in dark sewer tunnels and all alone.


    Tamia has been waiting not too far from the prison ruins. She stuck there for couples of hours, but Tiramisu was not coming back. It was time to head back and report to the Guardian.


    ¡°Got what you have deserved, bitch.¡± Tamia assumed that Tiramisu got herself killed or at least captured. She knew this will happen and she was happy to be right.


    She limped towards her new ¡®home¡¯, the place where she was held captive. She did not like to call that place home, it felt like an open prison.


    Guardian met her at the doorway ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°As I have predicted. That lizard failed. She did not come back.¡±


    ¡°This is most unfortunate.¡±


    ¡°What now?¡±


    ¡°You will continue your previous efforts. I need to know what is going inside those ruins. Maybe it is time for you to start questioning some people?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Tamia had no other choice but to accept this. She was well aware of how dangerous it was; if she could she would not do it.


    ¡­


    ¡°Knock Knock Knock.¡± Someone was banging on the door loudly.


    Guardian got alarmed, he was not expected any guests this late in the evening. He opened the door ready for whoever it was. A stinking lizardwoman stood in front of him. She was very filthy, her skin was clinging tightly to her lean muscles showing bulging veins. Tiramisu was severely dehydrated.


    ¡°It is you!¡±


    ¡°Yes, I got slightly lost... Can I have some clean water please?¡±


    ¡°Come inside and tell me everything that has happened.¡±


    Tiramisu told about her adventure but she did not tell about seeing a ghost in the ritual room. The reason was that she did not want to remember it and if she had to remember it she would rather get rewarded for it.


    ¡°I had originally planned to get someone to become one of them. infiltrating their ranks. But getting inside through the sewers might work as well.¡±


    ¡°I doubt about that. Sewer tunnels are like a maze. I doubt I would be able to find my way back to the prison dungeon.¡±


    ¡°I will take care of it. There must be a map. Did you find anything interesting inside besides prisoners? Like some magic artefacts or something like that.¡±


    ¡°Yes, there was magic. Very dark and scary magic¡­¡±


    ¡°Tell me all about it!¡± Guardian was anxious to hear it.


    ¡°Not before, I get my reward.¡±


    ¡°How much money do you want? Name your price¡± He was ready to empty his coin purse. The information she might have sounded juicy; this was what he wanted.


    ¡°Did you forget? It is a date I want, not the money.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Ok then. Shall we go now?¡± He was very keen to get it over with.


    ¡°What are you talking. I can not go now, not like this. And I want a proper date, so you better think things through properly.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡±


    ¡°Pick me up tomorrow afternoon. I will be at my place.¡±


    Tiramisu left his house, she had to make herself ready for tomorrow. A lot of self-care and hygiene had to be done.


    Guardian had no idea how a proper date should look like. He did not want to disappoint Tiramisu fearing that she will withhold the information from him. He asked Tamia to help him out.


    ¡°I have never been on a date. I can¡¯t help you.¡± She lied not willing to help her tormentor.


    ¡°Oh, are you a virgin?¡± He teased her.


    ¡°Of course not!¡±


    ¡°Then you were lying! Better do not lie to me.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Okay, I have been to a couple of dates. But the thing is that humans and beastmen date differently. The whole dating experience varies in between different races.¡±


    ¡°I see, this makes sense. Yet there must be some similarities. There are things what females like regardless of their species.¡±


    ¡°I cannot help you. Oh, look it is about time for me to go and do the surveillance. I better go.¡± Tamia excused herself leaving through the door in a rush.


    ¡°She is so useless. It is time to ask Cynthia for another favour.¡± He was abusing this friendship thing.


    In the morning Guardian went to Cynthia and asked what this dating thing is all about. He deeply regretted asking it. Cynthia was talking nonstop, pushing her ideals of the perfect date. A lot of money and effort was involved in her picture of dating. Guardian did not have that sort of time or money.


    ¡°Cynthia! There is nothing going between me and Tiramisu. I want just a simple date, but good enough to please her.¡±


    ¡°How typical of men. You want it easy, don¡¯t you!¡±


    This was a spot on description of what he aimed for, he wanted to have it easy.


    ¡°Hmmm let me think¡­ You have to take her for a dinner, that is a must. Also, you need to get her a present, something she likes. As for the activities you could just talk and walk around the better parts of the city, or do something you both enjoy.¡±


    This was not helpful at all. He did not know what she liked to eat, he did not know what she likes to do in her free time or what she would enjoy as a gift. All he knew about her was that she worked as a fisher and ate fish. He will have to improvise.


    ¡°Thank you for this, Cynthia. I owe you one¡±


    ¡°You owe me a lot. Make sure to come back and tell me how it went. I am so curious.¡±


    Firstly, Guardian went to the market. He was looking for a good spear Tiramisu could use both for fishing and for self-defence. He did not want to be cheap, but spending a fortune on it was not an option either. He has found a good one which was not too expensive; the spear''s wooden shaft had carved patters, it made it stand out from others. Also, the spear''s tip was made of metal, it was sharpened well. Since it had a metal tip he had to pay a single gold coin for it; this was within his budget.


    Next, He had to think of a good place to take her out. Inn probably was not an option. Instead, he bought varied see goods and packet them in a basket. He did not have to buy a lot since he won¡¯t be eating much. He had his fill beforehand already.


    Finally, he had to go and get Tiramisu.


    He let himself into the warehouse and asked the random lizardman for her. Soon after, the lizardwoman has found him. She looked a lot better, her scaly skin had regained its lustre.


    He gave her the spear. She did not expect a gift at all and seemed awfully pleased with it.


    ¡°I have always wanted something like this, thank you.¡±


    ¡°Now we will go to the seashore to have some food.¡±


    ¡°Will we be fishing?¡±


    Guardian regretted of not thinking of that beforehand, he could have saved some money on food.


    ¡°No, I have bought some already.¡±


    The pair walked towards the sea and talked idly. Once at the shore, they sat on a flat rock and he took the food out. There were various fishes, squids, shrimps, and oysters. The food was raw, but it was fine with the lizard.


    ¡°Wow, that is a big variety. There are some of it I have never had before.¡±


    ¡°I put a lot of effort in finding all of this.¡±


    ¡°This¡­ is¡­ so¡­ good.¡± She said through her stuffed mouth.


    Tiramisu took some of the food and brought it to his mouth.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Say ahhh!¡±


    He opened his mouth and she put the food inside. She was feeding him. Guardian did not understand why she was feeding him like a child, he could have done it himself. The ritual of flirting was alien to him.


    The pair finished their food, but contrary to Guardian¡¯s expectations the date was not over. It dragged on because Tiramisu was tactically not letting him go. She wrapped her hand around his and pressed her body close.


    They sat like that and talked for a while. The lizardwoman looked somewhat restless, her tail was constantly in motion. This was because Tiramisu was waiting for him to make a move, like a kiss or something, but it did not happen.


    She stood up and leaned close to his face.


    ¡°What?¡± He said unsurely. He did not know what she wants.


    ¡°Oh come on, do it. This is your chaance.¡± She encouraged him.


    ¡°Oh ok. So what sort of magic did you find?¡±


    ¡°Eh!?¡±


    ¡°Was it an artefact, or what?¡±


    This threw Tiramisu off slightly. She assumed that Guardian wants the rest of the information before they get naughty, so she finished telling what happened.


    She mentioned mages, book, sacrifice and the ritual.


    ¡°That is some amazing magic. I want it.¡±


    ¡°There is something I want too.¡±


    ¡°What do you want?¡± He was wondering if he could use her to get that book.


    ¡°I want you, you silly.¡±


    ¡°What? What do you want from me exactly?¡±


    ¡°Are you really this dense or just joking? You are teasing me aren¡¯t you.¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡± He was not teasing her. He really did not know what she wants.


    ¡°You are so mean. This is embarrassing¡­ Fuck me. Here, I said it.¡±


    This was one of the things he would never expect her to say. It was so sudden it made his brain crash for a moment.


    ¡°Amm¡­ Ummm¡­ I can¡¯t, not like this. This is too soon¡±


    ¡°Sorry... You are right. It is just that I like you so much it is hard to control myself. The minute I saw you I fell in love with you.¡±


    Again, this word ¡®love¡¯. He still was not sure what exactly it meant. Aiu¡¯s explanation (actually a demonstration) was somewhat lacking.


    ¡°Really? Why?¡±


    ¡°You are so big, strong and manly. It feels like no one can stand in your way. There are this power and confidence emanating from you and I find it extremely attractive.¡±


    ¡°Oh. I see.¡±


    If she liked him that much maybe he could use it for an advantage.


    ¡°I want to know... Would you go and get that magic book for me? I really want it.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t, it would be impossible to do alone. But if you came I would assist you.¡± She did not mind risking her life in helping to get that book if it meant she can win him over.


    ¡°I will take you up on your offer.¡±


    ¡°Only if we make out now. That should not be too soon.¡± Tiramisu added, she was way too hot and bothered to go home with nothing.


    ¡°Fine, I guess.¡±

 33 The battle – Fighting magic with fists

    Guardian spent a good week making all of the arrangements he needed to raid the prison dungeon.


    Firstly, he got his robes modified slightly. The inner side of them now had a leather vest and padding sewn inside. This was done to add some protection. Then he got himself a bunch of potions and stored them by his side in a satchel. He also has visited the swamps again and gathered some of the pods swamplings had used against him before.


    Secondly, he entrusted his three swamp pets to Ithayiga. The critters were now somewhat trained and were able to follow basic commands. However, the critters running away was still a problem. The boy also got better at using the spear, all thanks to Tiramisu.


    Thirdly, he had to convince Cynthia of giving him a hand with all of this. He explained what had been happening in the prison dungeons and this deeply unsettled the young golem master. She wanted to report it to the authorities and bring half of the city guard to clean out the mage''s lair. However, Guardian could not let that happen, not if he wanted all of the loot for himself.


    Guardian tried to convince Cynthia that this had to be done in secret. He told her that some of the higher ranking guards and even nobles might be involved in this and that they might alert their friends, the rogue mages. This sounded quite convincing and not too far from the truth, but this was an absolute speculation on his part, he had no evidence to support his claims. Cynthia did not ask for any proof and took his words as truth, after the swamp incident she trusted Guardian and considered him to be a good friend. Furthermore, giving Cynthia one of the staves made from the treant they have killed helped to win her over.


    Lastly, he managed to obtain a map of the old sewer system which ran beneath where the slums were now. The bookkeeper warned that the map is of 200 years old and completely outdated, many of the tunnels will be closed or collapsed by now. It did not matter for Guardian because he still could use it to some extent. Well, it was not him who was using it for the past week, it was Tamia who had to remap it. Guardian did not want to get dirty in that filthy and smelly place.


    All of the preparations were compleated and a party led by Guardian gathered inside the swamp tunnels. The plan was to split into three small groups. Guardian and Rocky will storm the ritual hall while Ithayiga and Tiramisu will sneak deeper into the dungeon ambushing mages and guards before they get a chance to organise themselves. Tamia¡¯s job was to warn them of any possible reinforcements coming from the surface.


    The group carefully weaved their way through the narrow sewer tunnels. Guardian could see in the darkness but others could not. Cynthia had used a strange glowing orb to illuminate their path. The light the orb emitted was faint and did not stretch far. Occasionally, they had encountered a huge slime or an oversized rat but Rocky did a quick job and turned them into the slurry.


    ¡°Guardian, look at my Rocky. It is all filthy and covered in muck and slime. You will have to get me some of that fragrant soap you been selling.¡± Cynthia whispered.


    ¡°Okay, okay. After this is done I will reserve some for you.¡± He was waiting for a new shipment from Aiu. It was supposed to reach Harbour Town in a few days¡¯ time.


    ¡°We are here, I recognise this part.¡± Tiramisu informed the group that they have reached their destination.


    ¡°Lead the way then.¡±


    Tiramisu guided the group towards where she had found the entrance to the prison.


    ¡°Ok, as agreed we are splitting here.¡± Guardian began their plan.


    ¡°Good luck and be careful.¡± Said Cynthia to the others, she had to stay with Rocky to issue commands.


    Tiramisu and the boy, his pets included, went through the rusty grate leading to the old storeroom. Tamia tried to squeeze through but she couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°Hey, guys.¡± The thief whispered.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I am stuck¡± Her body got stuck midway through the narrow gap of the grating..


    ¡°Ha ha ha. You are so fat.¡± Giggled Tiramisu.


    It was not because she was fat, it was because she had more womanly proportions compared to Tiramisu. Still, the lizard¡¯s remarks peeved off Tamia.


    ¡°Help me!¡± Hi whisper-shouted.


    ¡°Quiet! If I could hear you so could they.¡± Guardian warned the fat human. He heard her and came back to check what this ruckus was all about..


    ¡°I am stuck.¡±


    ¡°Shush! And you are calling yourself a thief, getting stuck like that.¡± He was not impressed.


    Guardian got the golem to assist her out. Rocky pried the grate bars off allowing Tamia to get to the storeroom where other two waited for her. Tiramisu was still giggling at her.


    ¡°Do not go yet. Wait for the signal.¡± Guardian made sure to remind them just before he left.


    ¡°What is the signal?¡± Tamia asked the lizard.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you listening when we discussed all of this? He told that we will know once we hear it.¡± Tiramisu answered with a shoulder shrug.


    Guardian and Rocky trailed a bit back following the wall. In the wall there was a small hole, a small beam of light coming from that hole proved that where were someone living behind this wall.


    ¡°Well, this is it. It is your turn, Rocky.¡± Guardian motioned towards the wall.


    Cynthia gave issued a command and the rocky tackled the wall with its heavy body. Upon the impact, the masonry gave out instantly and a torrent of bricks and dust were sent flying. This had made an awful lot of sound; this was the signal for Tiramisu and others.


    They had burst into a large room. There were tables and chairs, it was a dining room. Also, it was not empty, There were people too. They were startled and confused, they could not fathom in their heads of what had just happened.


    ¡°Cynthia they are dirty mages do not hesitate!¡± Guardian shouted as he made his attack.


    The few mages were taken by surprise and dispatched immediately. They did not have time to prepare their spells. More of them came from the corridor to investigate the sudden noise. Rocky ran towards the doorway slamming into it and the mages standing there. The golem was too large to fit but it managed to widen the door gap using a momentum of its heavy body.


    The bricks forming the doorway did not hold and were widened in an explosion of dust and debris. The humans who were standing there got knocked out to the ground.


    Guardian ran past the golem towards the knocked down mages and stomped on their heads breaking their skulls. The golem imitated him. They had to act quickly and It was getting very bloody.


    They rushed through a corridor hoping to find a ritual room Tiramisu have mentioned before.


    ¡°It should be somewhere here if Tiramisu¡¯s description was correct.¡± Guardian judged it to be close.


    They did not have enough time to look properly. More of the mages emerged from various rooms to the corridor and were blocking Guardians way. The robed humans raised their hands and fired their spells. They were mostly simple spells of magic projectiles. The robed mages were only at the level of an apprentice.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    The spells hit Rocky and fizzled out. The humans lacked battle experience and probably common knowledge that their attacks would be useless against the war golem.


    ¡°Fortify!¡± Shouted Cynthia just before another barrage of spells.


    Guardian flung a number of vials towards the mages, they broke releasing an obnoxious smoke forcing mages into the coughing fit. This will slow them down since they won¡¯t be able to chant their incantations to cast anything more serious. Only the simple projectile spells and the like could be cats quickly pretty much without the need to chant.


    ¡°Ward me!¡± Guardian commanded Cynthia to give him some protection from the magic.


    ¡°Ward!¡± Cynthia did just so.


    He squeezed past the golem towards dashing towards the mages. The humans shot their projectiles towards him, the smoke affected their aim. The magic which hit the Guardian got absorbed by the Ward. Once he got close enough he released a tornado of hits and kicks. Mages were too squishy to handle a melee attack like that, they could not block or avoid Guardian. The men had their bones broken and flesh slashed rendering them useless in a matter of seconds.


    Rocky did not idle either. The golem smashed its way through the wall into the large room. Cynthia made a lucky guess, it was the ritual room. There were a dozen mages there, they were ready for it. The rogue mages had formed a formation and were waiting for an intruder to emerge from the main doorway.


    The golem coming through the wall slightly surprised them, but they were prepared for surprises. The mages fired their spells at the rocky. The projectile smells were much larger and stronger compared to what they saw in the corridor. These guys were advanced in their craft.


    ¡°Just how did you get in here?¡± Shouted the mage. ¡°And with a war golem! Slow! This will have to do.¡± The eldest looking mage cast a slow glyph just beneath the golem. The magic hampered the speed of already sluggish golem, slowing its advance significantly. A person under slow debuff would feel like trying to go through viscous oil.


    Rocky¡¯s would take at atomic a few minutes now to reach the mages. The mages did not wait for the construct to get into the melee range they were firing magic at it. The golem was resistant to the magic but not invulnerable to it, small chunks of rock got chipped away with each magic projectile. By the time it would reach the mages it would be defeated and Cynthia knew that. She was safe behind her golem, but she did not know for how long. Lucky to her she was not alone in this battle.


    Guardian emerged through the main doorway and the mages reacted to his presence firing a barrage of magic projectiles towards him. The projectiles hit their target but Guardian remained unscathed. He had blocked them with the recently made flesh shields he was holding in each of his hands, they were dead mages he killed in the corridor. The projectiles quickly eroded the flesh of his impromptu shields making them useless way too quickly. Magic was that scary. One good hit was enough to end a man¡¯s life, especially if he was unarmoured.


    ¡°Ward!¡± Cynthia shouted out buffing the Guardian.


    ¡°That must be one good caster casting at such a large distance away.¡± Noticed one of the mages.


    This was not because of Cynthia¡¯s good skill but because of the high-quality treant stave she was using. It helped to extend the range of her active buffs.


    In between their cats, the mages talked about the ones who dared to invade them.


    ¡°Men, we are having a threat. A caster, a war golem and a beastman. Those guys do not mess about.¡±


    ¡°If that is all they got, they do not stand a chance.¡±


    ¡°Just what is this beastman supposed to be?¡±


    ¡°Not a beastman, some kind of a monster!¡± Exclaimed the mage getting a better look at the Guardian.


    ¡°You fools, it is clearly a type of a beastman.¡± The oldest mage lectured his incompetent colleagues.


    ¡°What did you call me?!¡± Guardian sprinted even faster than before towards the mages.


    ¡°Fire!¡±


    All of the mages directed their attack from the golem to the monstrous beastman running towards them at the frightening speed. The ward managed to shield most of them but not all. Some of the projectiles got through and hit Guardian. His injuries were minor, his reinforced robe helped in that.


    ¡°You bastard! Just die already!¡± The mage cursed. He could not cast another slow spell as he could maintain only one. And he needed that golem to remain slowed down. ¡°Fire!¡± the old mage commanded again.


    A barrage of twelve projectiles raced through the air threatening to blow away the Guardian. His ward shield was broken and Cynthia could not cast another. She was concentrated at reinforcing her golem so it does not crumble before it reaches its targets. However, Guardian had a good old ¡®ace card¡¯ he could use.


    The air rippled and a blast of magic energy radiated from the Guardian¡¯s outstretched hand. The blast hit the projectiles sending them off target or completely fizzling them out if their caster was too weak.


    ¡°You humans have a good saying for this, what was it? Fight fire with fire?¡±


    ¡°He is a mage too!!!¡± Exclaimed the rogue mage, but this was not the point.


    Guardian will crush them with his hands, not with his magic. He was close to the mages now. His robe not only had some armour underneath, it had two heavy chains which were not just a flashy decoration. They were crossed on top of the robe, around his torso. He unclipped one of the chains and swung it towards the closest mage, tackling him down. He gripped another chain in his hand and was aiming it towards his next target.


    ¡°Shit! How did this happen?¡± Swore the old mage. The beastman was too quick for his size.


    ¡°The reinforcements will be here soon.¡± Another mage was trying to calm himself down.


    ¡°Yeah, they will take the beastman and the golem from behind.¡± Added another. The mages did not like having someone this big so close to them. They were spell slingers, not melee fighters.


    ¡°How did you call me!?¡± Guardian roared at the man.


    The mages were not just chatting idly, they were casting their spells at the golem and Guardian. Guardian managed to duck a few, but quite a few hit him. The magic singed his flesh but it mattered little to him. He was within the rogue mages formation, close enough to unleash his wrath towards those who confused him with a mare beastman.


    Another projectile burned at his chest, his leather vest managed to dampen it but he still felt it. He swung his platted chain at the head of the mage who just did that smashing it into the face. The man slumped down, he was either dead or knocked out. As he hit the ground blood leaked from his ears, he was definitely dead.


    A single hit was all he needed to take care of these squishy mages. Soon all of them will be dead. Guardian stretched his arm trying to blast the mages with his magic blast. The blast should knock the annoying casters down giving the Guardian some room and time to dispatch them.


    As he did so the air made a visible ripple and a thunderous sound echoed through the room. His blast hit the mages but they were still standing.


    ¡°Do not take us for fools. We now know you are a mage too, beastman! What was there us to stop from warding ourselves? Ha-ha-ha.¡± Laughed the old mage.


    Guardian disliked that but he had another ace in his hand to use. He opened his satchel and threw swamp pods towards the mages. The pods got shot by projectiles or burst on the ground upon the impact. They did not need to hit the mages, this was not the point. A purple cloud of poisonous dust was released into the air. Covering guardian and the mages.


    His blast did knock the mages so he needed to put something between him and them. He did not want to be blasted by twelve projectiles at once. To do this Guardian used a temporary purple cloud, while it was still thick, to hide beneath one of the benches and chugged some stamina and antidote potions. He was resistant to the poison but this was just an insurance, he did not want his mind to get too slow.


    The mages covered their noses. They had mana and healing potions with them but no antidotes from poison. They felt the effects of poison slowly take over their mind and body. However, this did not stop them from blasting the table away, ruining Guardians cover.


    The winner was still to be decided. Guardian was still within the melee reach of the mages and they needed to take care of him quickly before the poison sapped their strength. The golem was awfully close too.


    ¡°Fuck this. Slow the golem down!¡± The old mage released his slow spell. ¡°Entangle with Shadows!¡± He cast another, more potent one on the Guardian instead.


    A shadowy vine coiled around Guardian binding him in place. Before that, Guardian managed to injure another mage, this was done by throwing some chunks of a broken table at the human.


    ¡°Do not get distracted! Concentrate on the golem. I alone will take care of this beastman.¡± The old mage instructed those who were still able to fight.


    Guardian was immobile but he was still able to cast spells. He cast a magic blast again hoping to get free from the entangle spell. The blast did the trick releasing his body.


    ¡°This should not be possible, you wield interesting magic.¡± The old man said with interest and disbelief.


    ¡°Shut up you human!¡± Guardian stretched both of his arms and aimed at the old man threateningly.


    ¡°Enhanced Ward!¡± the old mage covered his entire body in a magic shield. He was smart enough to suspect that he is about to receive the strongest spell this foreign beastman mage has to offer.


    To the old man¡¯s surprise Guardian moved his hands towards the mage he distracted seconds ago and cast his spell. Thick vines coiled from his hands enveloping the mage. This unsettled the mage. Guardian initiated the final stage of his spell and set the vines aflame. The mage had a magic ward and it helped, but it did not hold long enough. Eventually, flames engulfed the man setting him ablaze.


    A good number of mages were out of combat already. The morale was not the best.


    ¡°I do have to resort to this after all.¡± The old mage reached into his pocket reluctantly and took out a black crystal. ¡°Take that!¡±


    A wall of blue energy slammed into Guardian carrying him towards the wall, away from the mages. It burned his robes completely. If not for the robes and the leather under them his skin would have received even more damage than it did. He got burnt but he was okay for the most part.


    Another dozen of men burst through the doorway. They looked like guards for the most part, few of them looked like fledgling magic casters. Fledging because there were fear and anxiety in their eyes, they looked like this was their first proper fight.


    ¡°Damnation! Why didn¡¯t you come sooner!? I could have saved the charge on the crystal.¡± Shouted old man in displeasure. ¡°You two are done now!¡± The old man addressed the golem and Guardian, a broad smile was plastered on his face.


    Guardian and Rocky had men in front and behind of them; they got ambushed and were about to be surrounded.

 34 The Finale – Once yours now mine

    The guards were about to split their forces and rush towards the attackers. This could have been the moment Guardian lost his life, but it was not. The guards had their eyes on the Guardian and Rocky, leaving the behind exposed. A big mistake on their part. Ithayiga and Tiramisu were waiting just for such a moment, they knew they will not be able to take the reinforcements head-on so they hid and waited to ambush them.


    The ones who tried to trap the Guardian got ambushed themselves; the tables got turned again. The guards were caught unaware. Tiramisu wedged the dagger to the neck of one man and thrust a spear to the other. Ithayiga managed to kill one too, his pet swamplings jumped and sank their teeth to the necks of a few others.


    The ambush was an astounding success, but there were a half of the guards still alive. They turned around to face their ambushers. Ithayiga was not a fighter so he turned and ran away back to the corridor, leaving Tamia and his pets to deal with the men.


    Guardian used the chaos to stand up and get even closer to the mages. He had to weather a few direct a blast to his body but this was fine. His goal was to get close and start killing them one by one.


    ¡°This is bad!¡± A mage shouted. The golem has gotten within striking distance.


    Rocky slammed his oversized fist to the ground cracking it and sending a shockwave towards the humans. The ground beneath the mage''s feet shook, they lost their balance and fell. At that moment, Guardian jumped on the men and let his all five limbs loose. He kicked, clawed and swung his tail, injuring the humans who were desperately trying to get back on their feet.


    All that was left out of the rogue mages group were their old leader and two of his men, standing beside him. The old man knew they were losing badly, their opponents had just too much vitality.


    ¡°Entangle with Shadows!¡± The old mage bound the golem with his spell, it was close enough to do that. He knew that this spell was ineffective against Guardian, the golem was the right choice. ¡°Ho!¡± He shouted out sending another blast of blue energy towards Guardian.


    This time Guardian was ready and managed to dodge it, barely. He rolled towards the mages sending a blast of his own as a protection and a distraction. The ward of one of the mages did not hold and it broke, he was getting low on mana. The man got knocked out by it; the Guardian was quite close and the blast felt stronger.


    ¡°Take that.¡± He kicked at the old mage. His kick got blocked by another type of ward spell.


    It was a force barrier which blocked not magical attacks but physical ones. Guardian kept trying to breach the force barrier but could not, it was holding. At least, he was no longer being shot at.


    With the help of Cynthia, Rocky finally broke off the entanglement spell and slammed at the human mage. His fists went through whatever the protection and enchantment spell the mage put to protect himself. The human was crushed into the pancake leaving the wet puddle of blood and mangled organs.


    Despite his attempts, Guardian could not break the force barrier, he tried to blast it with his magic. The glowing barrier would get visibly dimmer and thinner but it still held, Guardian was just not strong enough to break it. The old mage has turtled himself in. If Guardian could not do it, maybe the war golem could.


    ¡°Human, this is the end of you. Rocky help me!¡±


    ¡°Not having this!¡± The last mage shouted in protest. He had used the time visually and was chanting something in a foreign sounding tongue.


    Guardian knew that something bad will happen. He positioned himself behind the golem as it had magical resistance. Cynthia even put the ward on it just in case.


    ¡°Soul Blast!¡±


    A powerful beam of energy shot out of the mages leader hands. The beam was huge, the broad golem¡¯s frame barely covered it. The rock compositing its body started to crack and crumble, huge chunks of it were falling off. Just as the blast was finished the golem fell backwards, its body shattered in three huge chunks.


    ¡°He killed Rocky!¡± Cynthia was shocked that a single attack was capable of that. She did not want to believe that a single spell was powerful enough to do that to a war golem.


    ¡°No time to mourn. It will be us next time if we do not hurry.¡± Guardian warned her.


    Cynthia knew what she had to do, she chugged the last mana potion she had and cast Overwhelming Might and Minor Speed on the Guardian.


    ¡°This is our last chance! Avenge Rocky.¡± She encouraged Guardian to act.


    Guardian slammed his body to the barrier and pounded it with his fists. Overwhelming Might made his attacks more powerful than before. The mage did not stay idle, he was chanting and preparing his most devastating spell again. The barrier was flickering and shrinking with each hit. Both opponents had to be quick if they wanted to win.


    Guardian gathered all of his strength and did a combined slam of his fists and tail to the barrier. It finally gave in and broke. The old man¡¯s forehead was covered in cold sweat. The mage''s eyes popped out in fear, he knew what is about to happen. Just before the mage could finish the last sound of the chant his skull got bashed in.


    The black crystal he was holding in his hand shattered into tiny pieces emitting an explosion of purple-tinted light and magical energy. Guardian cowered his eyes just in time not to be blinded by it. The raw mana burned at his already singed body eating at his skin and flesh.


    It was very powerful but did not last long enough to seriously damage him. He opened his eyes and turned towards Cynthia, they have won.


    Well, almost. Almost, because there were still those guards fighting Tiramisu. He completely forgot about that and was surprised she managed to hold out so long. The swamplins did a good job at distracting the men, but there was only so much they could do. The little critters suffered serious injuries and were out of the fight. The smallest of them had a dagger wedged in its belly.


    Guardian gathered his remaining strength and rushed to aid Tiramisu. The men were about to finally overpower the lizard; she was almost out of stamina to keep avoiding their attacks. Guardians approach was not left unseen, four men turned to intercept him.


    There were little these men could do. Guardian easily overwhelmed the four, literally ripping out their body parts off as he reduced the humans to the chunks of flesh. The remaining two knew that they stood no chance and were about to surrender. However, Guardian did not want to deal with that and he ended them before they could say anything.


    ¡°You good?¡± He asked Tiramisu.


    ¡°No, but definitely better than you.¡±


    She was cut and bleeding in various places, she was lucky not to have any life-threatening injuries. However, the Guardian had his skin burned off to an alarming degree.


    ¡°Where is Ithayiga?¡±


    ¡°I am here¡­¡± The boy emerged from the corridor.


    ¡°Good, everyone is here and it does not seem that more of them are coming.¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°Those guards were from the surface. I and the boy took care of the ones inside the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°You did?¡±


    ¡°Yup. We killed the ones who were sleeping. The monsters did a good job distracting the others and luring them to our ambush. There was not too many to begin with.¡±


    Guardian was surprised at Tiramisus ruthlessness. The boy had to go through some mental preparation to kill the unaware too, but he seemed fine with it. Maybe this was because all of them were humans.


    ¡°Where is Tamia?¡± Cynthia inquired.


    ¡°She was supposed to warn us about any surface reinforcements. She is not dead she will be somewhere around.¡±


    ¡°So what do we do now?¡± Tiramisu asked.


    ¡°The Rocky is dead. Well not dead, out of order, as I am sure that I can repair him; the core is intact. So it is the best if we stick together and inspect the rooms and other parts one by one.¡± Cynthia proposed the next step.


    ¡°Agreed.¡±


    The group scouted the premises finding a good deal of money, equipment and potions. The last room they visited was the dungeon cells where the prisoners were kept at. Cynthia peeked inside one of the cells, the doors were left wide open.


    ¡°Heh! He is dead.¡± The beastman inside had his throat slit. ¡°He is too, and this one¡­¡± Cynthia went from cell to cell. All of the prisoners were killed.


    ¡°The mages might have disposed of them before we got here.¡± Guardian offered an explanation


    ¡°This is so sad!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Indeed.¡±


    The truth was, that it was not the mages who did that. The one responsible for this was Tamia and she did so not out of her free will. Guardian gave her such instructions. He deceived others about her task being only as a watch-out. Besides the people in his party, he did not want any witnesses who knew what was actually happening in this place.


    He will have to convince Cynthia to keep her mouth shut. This will not be hard because he will use the same excuse of nobles and guards being a part of this underground syndicate.


    Then they went outside to check if anyone else was waiting for them there. They were careful about emerging to the open surface area, they had sent swamp monsters first to act as scouts. They came back so it meant it was okay to go out.


    Once outside they have found Tamia waiting for them by the exit.


    ¡°Did of the mages run away?¡± Guardian asked.


    ¡°I do not think so.¡±


    ¡°Well, we need to be sure.¡±


    Cynthia was glad that Tamia survived this but there was no time for such notions. Guardian and Tamia were on their way to check if they got all the mages. Tamia checked the deceased men faces, provided that they were in good enough shape to do that if not Guardian did his best to describe how they looked like from his memory. Tamia checked the faces in her memory with people she saw going in and out of the prison.


    ¡°I think we got all of them. At least the ones who were actually leaving this place.¡± Tamia confirmed.


    There were bound to be people who never left the dungeon. Like the old mage. Guardian tried his best to describe how the man looked like and Tamia could not remember such an individual.


    All of them gathered back inside the ritual room with all of the loot they have scavenged.


    ¡°So how do we split this?¡± Cynthia asked wondering. There was a pile of stuff, probably worth a fortune.


    ¡°In two parts. One for you and one for me.¡± Guardian offered.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you being too generous?¡±


    ¡°Your golem will need to be repaired and this will be expensive, no?¡±


    ¡°Extremely so.¡± Cynthia had to admit it. Enchanting the rock so it can be used to repair the golem was not cheap.


    ¡°And I owe you for many favours you did for me.¡± He had to admit it, her help was indeed very valuable. He could not have done this if not for her and her golem.


    ¡°That you do. How about the others?¡± Cynthia was reluctant to take an entire half of it.


    ¡°Well they are my servants, I will reward them appropriately.¡±


    ¡°Ahem!¡± Tiramisu coughed.


    ¡°Ah yes¡­ There is Tiramisu.¡± He had to admit that even if he and Rocky did the most of the job, Tiramisus contributed too. ¡°Three parts then?¡±


    ¡°Amm¡­ I rather have something else in addition besides the money.¡± Tiramisu offered.


    ¡°What do you mean, explain?¡±


    ¡°Since the bad guys live here no more, how about me and my kin move in here?¡±


    Cynthia visibly frowned to that. She would not want to live in a place where torture took place and where multiple people had died. However, she did not know about Tiramisus point of view. For the lizards, this will be a huge improvement compared to the old warehouse they have lived. This place comes with furniture and individual rooms she could designate to her folk.


    There was a small but in her plan. The ruins needed a strong person do deter other thugs and squatters, but she already knew how to solve this.


    ¡°Also¡­ I would like you to move here and live with us. An upgrade to a bigger house with more storage space would be good, don¡¯t you agree?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Guardian cupped his chin and considered this for a moment.


    Having a bigger place was nice and if he will manage to get lizardpeople on his side that would be good too. He could use them to do little tasks for him.


    ¡°That sounds appealing, but¡­¡± He had to make some things clear before he agreed to this. ¡°but I stay the owner of this place. I know you and you can do as you please because I trust you. However¡­¡±


    Tiramisu¡¯s tail wagged from side to side. He admitted that he trusted her now. She hoped that eventually, she will win him over completely.


    ¡°However, I do not know about other people you will bring with you. If I dislike them I will kick them out.¡± He finished his sentence.


    ¡°That is fair enough.¡± She knew that people, even lizardmen themselves, found hard to trust lizardfolk. They had some peculiar traits after all.


    ¡°Well then let¡¯s finish this up. I have a lot of moving to do.¡±


    They have split the money. It was agreed that Cynthia will take most of the coin since she needed it the most. Guardian and Tiramisu got to keep other things like Items, food and similar stuff which laid around. They have quickly patched their wounds and carried on.


    Guardian and Ithayiga cleaned the bodies dumping them further in the sewer for the rats and slimes to take care off. Meanwhile, Tiramisu went to get those who were willing to come with her here.


    The cleaning up took a considerable amount of time and by the time they were done, it was late evening already.


    Tamia had her typical bitch face on the entire time. She was anxious to speak with the Guardian but he was too busy for that. Eventually, she caught him resting and had to one very important question.


    ¡°So, am I free to go?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Guardian asked back.


    ¡°I did what you have asked. The rogue mages are disbanded. I have even taken care of all the witnesses who had any ideas what was truly happening here.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see. A deal is a deal. Let¡¯s go to the office we will get that collar off.¡±


    ¡°Finally!¡±


    They went outside and were traversing through dark and abandoned slum district streets. They did not talk with one another because no one had anything to say, they just walked.


    Guardian put his hand on Tamia¡¯s shoulder stopping her. She turned to look at him, she was confused why he would do that all of the sudden.


    ¡°What?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I cannot leave any loose ends.¡±


    He gripped her neck and head with his hands. He turned her head sideways swiftly, twisting it at an odd angle this broke her neck. Tamia did not have time to react to it, she couldn¡¯t even shout or resist; only the expression of fear was left frozen in her dead eyes.


    Guardian was done with her. She outgrew her usefulness. From the very start she was very defiant and a poor servant. It would take him a lot of effort to break her and he simply did not need to do that anymore. This was because he obtained a replacement for her already. Maybe not as skilled in thieving as Tamia but Tiramisu was perfect to take her place. She was willing to do his bidding and she seemed to be trustworthy too. It was a hundred times better to have someone who does the jobs out of his or her free will.


    He bit at her neck with his sharp teeth holding it in place. Then he turned the rest of her body separating her head from it. He took her head with him; he could not explain it but he had an urge to keep it as a trophy.


    This was not the only trophy he got that evening. After all, the main reason he did all of this was that he wanted to learn magic. He wanted to keep a competent mage to teach him magic, but this was not an option. During their fight all of the higher brass got themselves killed. However, he did manage to obtain a very special book.


    The book was bound in leather and contained diagrams for rituals and instructions on how to invoke various spells. The magic described in the book was an exotic one, he has never heard of such magic before. Instead of using the ordinary mana it used the soul energy from other living beings. The odd thing was that the being used had to be an intelligent one; it could not be an animal or a monster.


    This sounded perfect for the Guardian since his mana pool could not regenerate on its own, even now his mana reserves were extremely low. That was not only because he expended it to cats his spells, it was because of the other reason too. His healing was fast enough to be visible, his singed flesh was quickly regenerating. It was a lot quicker than it should have been, this was because it consumed his mana.


    Having this new source to replace his mana was not as easy as one might think. He would need to perform a ritual to extract soul energy from a living being or form a crystal which was an equally complex process. There were some notes and writing scribbled within the book how to do it properly. There were some theories and propositions to new spells as well. Some of them looked written very recently. The book was more like a research book than an actual spell tome, as all of the spells seemed to be only half perfected.


    As he skimmed through the pages he knew that he will have to continue this research if he wanted those powers. He will have to obtain some test subjects. He now knew why the rogue mages operated in the prison, he has also regretted of ordering Tamia to kill the prisoners.


    That day the evil which operated in the prison dungeons was not crushed like the Cynthia was led to believe. All that happened was that only the leadership has changed. The atrocities committed there will continue.

 35 Laws and loopholes – The trouble is brewing

    With the lizardpeople help, the dungeon was cleaned up. The hole in the wall which led to the sewers was converted into a wooden gate. Guardian liked the idea of using the sewer tunnels to go around the town in secret. The sewers were like a maze but this was not a problem for him because he had a map; which of course still needed to be updated.


    The people Tiramisu had brought with her were mostly youngsters. On the one hand they lacked skills and experience but on the other hand, they were still young enough to soak up the knowledge and training easily; their worldviews were not completely formed either so Guardian knew he has a chance in skewing their thinking towards his own ideal. That is, if they lived here and worked under him he will reward their hard efforts. If the opposite happened he would kick them out.


    The prison cells were converted into small rooms for the lizards to live, they also were granted an access to a communal dining hall, kitchen and other basic necessities. All of the furnishings and items were already there, they recycled the rogue mages possession. After all, the dead would have little use of them now.


    All in all, this was a win-win situation. Guardian got some people who he can boss around and the lizardmen had their living conditions improved; to some extent.


    However, not everything was nice and dandy. Guardian had some issues to solve. The main one being of obtaining the magic described in the magic book he had rightfully inherited. He needed some live material to practice on, and he did not want to use anyone who was useful to him, the lizardfolk who moved in were quickly ruled out.


    He had partitioned a section of dungeons and forbade anyone from going in that side. He had made a research area of sorts. This was mainly done in the place where the ritual room was as the place seemed fitting. He had moved all other books and materials which could be useful in this research there. For now, only Ithayiga was allowed in his study hall.


    Speaking about the boy, he came rushing towards the desk where the Guardian worked.


    ¡°Master, I have a letter for you. It comes from the guilds.¡±


    ¡°Let me see.¡±


    Guardian opened the sealed letter and read its contents, it was from Aiu.


    Aiu brought him both good and bad news. The good news was that she had finally completed the potion for Cynthia, it took a while because she had to go to the magical forest to gather some ingredients. The bad news was that his successful business and an ever-increasing number of people, who used Aius produce, was not left unnoticed. This was bad because nobles started to demand a higher cut of the profit. This was not the worst part; the nobles have also issued a decree to confiscate the land on which his house and workshop was built on.


    Originally it belonged to no one, and people did not care about anyone living there on the edge of the forest. But now there stood a newly built house with a brand new workshop. Also, the greedy nobles had realised the convenience of having an alchemy workshop so close to the forest. Through convoluted and shady means they have produced a paper which gives one of the nobles the right to the land where the Guardians property was.


    The nobles demanded he cease the land and vacate the premises or pay a huge fee to one of the noble families. The nobles did this because they knew that Guardian was away on business trip and won¡¯t be able to question their decree or come and resist.


    ¡°Damnation!¡± Guardian swore and spooked the boy. He did not like this.


    He had hastily written a reply to Aiu and handed it and a gold coin to the boy. Guardian informed Aiu that she should take as much of their stuff as she can and move to the Harbour Town as a matter of urgency. He did not like it, but he has decided to cease the land to the nobles. After all, he had acquired a much bigger base of operations here.


    To cheer himself up he took some of the Alchemy and herbal stuff he had received before and went to sell it in the market. Once he was there he witnessed that the situation between the Islanders and the ones in charge of this city have further worsened. There were tax collectors going around and taxing the Islanders heavily to sell their merchandise.


    ¡°Foreigner, there is a 30% tax on everything you sell today, you better show your purse now so we can take an appropriate fee.¡± The tax collector informed his quarry.


    ¡°But I am not from the Islands!¡± Guardian complained.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Indeed you do not have any horns or hooves. But you are clearly not from here.¡± The tax collector went to check what he should do with his colleague and came back promptly.


    ¡°Do you have any proof that you are not from the Islands?¡±


    ¡°I do, how about this.¡± Guardian has shown his Alchemist tabled which proved that he owned a shop in one of the towns within the mainland.


    ¡°I guess you cannot be from the Islands since they mostly operate in the towns by the sea.¡±


    ¡°Precisely, and I look nothing like one of them.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Consider yourself lucky.¡± The tax collector left Guardian to do his business.


    This made Guardian think. He noticed a new business opportunity. The Islanders were being taxed heavily, so what if it was not them who sold their wares. What if they had a proxy? He had to seize this opportunity before anyone else realised about this loophole.


    He went towards one of the foreign merchants with a proposition in mind. He would offer to sell his good next day for a small amount of fee. He would take 10% instead of 30% of the tax collectors would. The law the nobles came up with was extremely stupid and they will soon come to realise this.


    He approached a number of horned men. Some of them were extremely suspicious of him and only a few agreed to his offer. The islanders feared that the Guardian would just steal their wares without bringing any profit back to them. Still, some beastmen were willing to take the risk and try this offer. After all, it was quite tempting.


    All Guardian needed to do was gain their trust. Once he proved himself the Islanders would come to him by themselves.


    He had agreed on a location and a pickup point to collect their goods. He informed the beastmen that he will come with some helpers to get the goods quickly in the guise of night. Then, the next day, one of the Islanders will have to come to his place to collect their profits.


    The night came and he gathered the lizardfolk to come with him. He promised them enough food to last them for two days if they helped to lift him some boxes. The lizards did not question why they were moving in the night or where the boxes came from, all they cared about was the food.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    They moved quickly but stealthily, reaching the harbour without drawing any attention.


    Guardian carefully approached one of the foreign-looking ships docked in the harbour. He looked around checking for the guards, the coast was clear. The guards did not bother to protect foreigner ships. He knocked the wooden corpus of a ship twice. This was the signal they have agreed on beforehand.


    ¡°Who are you, stranger?¡± A horned figure asked from a top of the ship.


    ¡°I am Guardian. You got the stuff?¡±


    ¡°I need to see you better to make sure you are who you claim to be.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    The beastman jumped off the ship and approached Guardian carefully inspecting him.


    ¡°Big and tall, has a tail, exotic looking. Everything checks. Come aboard, the goods are stored inside.¡±


    ¡°I come with helpers. Is that alright?¡± Guardian wanted to double check.


    ¡°We have been informed so. But are they humans?¡±


    ¡°No, lizardfolk.¡±


    ¡°Perfect.¡± The beastman sounded oddly pleased about this. The reason behind was that he would have reconsidered if it was humans. The terms between the two were not particularly good recently.


    The Islander was well aware that the Human nobles would never do any business with lizardmen in the fear of being double-crossed. If this was a noble¡¯s trick the foreigner they have sent would have come with humans or furry beastmen.


    Guardian pressed his hands close to his mouth and whistled loudly. This was another signal; a bunch of lizard people emerged from the shadows rushing towards him.


    ¡°The stuff is inside, this sir will show you what to get. Grab it and bring it to my place.¡±


    ¡°Children?¡± The beastman questioned with a frown. The lizardfolk looked very young, he did not expect Guardian to employ child labour. ¡°Forget I asked. Over here, kids.¡± It was not his business to question other merchant¡¯s practises and work ethics.


    The liazardmen unloaded the goods and were carefully carrying the boxes loaded with various goods.


    ¡°Here this is the sales log.¡± The beastman handed a parchment containing the list of goods and at what price to sell them. ¡°Do not sell it below the price.¡±


    ¡°Can I sell it above the price?¡±


    ¡°Only if you can ensure it will sell. Also, you would still get only 10% even if you increased the price. We have our people they will check this so do not try to cheat us.¡±


    ¡°I would not dare.¡±


    ¡°Also, there will be consequences if you cross us.¡± The beastman issued a threat.


    ¡°I am an honest merchant, a deal is a deal. You get your profits, I get my 10%. Anything I do not sell you can pick up tomorrow, at the place we agreed.¡±


    The beastman nodded in understanding and went back inside the ship.


    Guardian rushed to catch up with lizards, he had to watch the merchandise. They will be moving through the slums and there was a high chance someone will try to steal it. He thought about going through the sewer tunnels but this not an option, not yet. It still as not mapped properly.


    Everyone was careful to move in the shadows avoiding to be caught. The lizards were perfect for this task; Guardian was very happy about his choice of helpers. They have successfully got to their base and stored the goods inside. He will head out and sell them in the late morning.


    ¡°Sir. When will we get our pay?¡± One of the lizardmen asked.


    Guardian knew he will have to reward them, yet he was not prepared for this just yet. He did not purchase any food beforehand, but there was a reason for that.


    ¡°Is fish alright with you guys?¡± He asked the lizards.


    ¡°Anything is fine as long as it will fill us for two days.¡± The lizard answered, others nodded their heads in agreement.


    ¡°Then you will have your reward by the morning. Also, do not open any of the boxes. If I see the stuff missing I will not hesitate to catch and punish the one responsible.¡± He was able to do that since he had a list of full inventory.


    ¡°Sir, you took us in this home and we would not dare to offend you like that.¡±


    ¡°Good. Can you get me Tiramisu?¡±


    ¡°She is probably sleeping now.¡±


    ¡°Does not matter, wake her up and tell her that I have asked for her.¡±


    Guardian waited a moment for Tiramisu. He would use her help to fish some food for the youngsters. This was the reason why he did not purchase any food for them beforehand. Why would he buy it if he had enough spare time to get it for free?


    The lizard boy came back. His face had some fresh scratch markings on it.


    ¡°She will come to your room shortly.¡± He reported back to the Guardian.


    ¡°I did not ask her to come to my room, I need her here.¡±


    The boy just shrugged to Guardians complain. The boy did not ask her to come to his room either.


    ¡°What happened?¡± One of the boy¡¯s friends asked pointing at the scratch marks.


    ¡°She did not like her sleep disturbed. I thought she will kill me¡­¡±


    ¡°Sounds like her. So what stopped her?¡± His friend asked curiously.


    ¡°Once I uttered the sir¡¯s name her whole attitude changed instantly.¡±


    ¡°Figures.¡±


    Guardian was waiting and waiting. It was taking more than a few minutes for Tiramisu to show herself, Guardian got impatient and went to look for her instead. He walked around the place there lizards now resided and shouted her name.


    It did not take long, he got a reply almost instantly.


    ¡°I am here! One moment please.¡± Tiramisu shouted back hearing Guardian¡¯s call.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I am washing myself¡­¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± He thought she was sleeping when she got called over.


    ¡°To prepare for our first night, why else.¡±


    Guardian did not understand why she would need to wash for that. They were about to go fishing, she would get wet anyway.


    ¡°Ok¡­ We will be going to the seashore. Is that okay with you?¡±


    ¡°Not your room? Ohh, it is because of others¡­ The sea sore is even better, more romantic that way.¡±


    Guardian was now completely lost. Just before he could ask what she was talking about Tiramisu opened the washroom doors and grabbed him by his arm.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then!¡± She dragged Guardian in a rush.


    She was behaving oddly. Her tail was wagging all over the place and she seemed slightly flustered, even nervous. Guardian wondered if this was because they will be fishing in the middle of the night. The lizards could not see in the darkness and the sea might seem dangerous to them at this time. He assumed this was the reason.


    ¡°Are you sure you okay with this?¡± He wanted to be sure she is okay with going fishing at night.


    ¡°Yes, I thought you would never ask.¡±


    ¡°Okay then.¡± He grabbed the fishing gear on his way out.


    ¡°Why are you taking this?¡± She asked.


    ¡°We will need it.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see. Well, we will be there so we might as well do some other activities.¡± By now she knew that Guardian was always keeping his hands busy with one activity or other. He did not idle much, and she liked him for that. It was hard to find a hardworking mate like him.


    They walked towards the harbour, their arms tightly locked. Tiramisu was already fantasising about their first time they would mate. Her fantasy was running wild and she got hot and bothered even before anything happened. Her tail reached and coiled around Guardian¡¯s. Their tails were locked, she hoped that their hearts will soon connect too.


    ¡°Mind taking me to a spot where we could get plenty of the fish?¡±


    ¡°Sure. I know the spot where we could get the nocturnal ones. By the time we finish, they still should be there.¡± She hoped that their mating ritual would last for hours, till the early morning. She was oblivious that the Guardian was clueless about her intentions. They misunderstood each other.


    She brought him to the fishing spot. Even if the moon illuminated their path it was harder to find than she thought, it was still dark and she had never fished at night before. She led him on a huge rock, lying discarded on a shore. It was all flat and smooth, see water eroded its edges over the years. Tiramisu took her clothes off and hugged Guardians broad torso.


    ¡°Take me!¡± She could wait no longer.


    ¡°Take you where? We already here, are we not? Let¡¯s fish.¡±


    ¡°No! Pleasure now, work later.¡± She knew he wanted to fish later, but she rather fornicate first.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± He wondered if she tried to play some game he was unaware of or something. She was practically restraining him with her whole body.


    ¡°You like to tease me, don¡¯t you? Fine, I will say it. Fuck me, do me, penetrate me, ram it inside me, fill me with your seed¡­ Here, I have said it. Pleased now?¡±


    Her words shocked Guardian. She was being all touchy and vulgar out of the blue yet again. It was almost like the view of a sea and a gentle breeze was the culprit. After all, it was the similar place she mentioned of doing such acts before.


    ¡°I figured, you would need a reward¡­¡± He suspected that she would not keep doing him favours for nothing.


    ¡°Yes, reward me. Now!¡± She was trying to mount him whilst still standing. Her hands were already all over his body.


    ¡°I guess, I can.¡± Guardian agreed since she would not ask for money for her help. This was very sudden but this was fine, maybe even better. He trusted her now, she even assisted him in getting the book filled with magic knowledge. Hard work had to be rewarded.


    Also, happy workers are more efficient at their craft. He decided to give his all at rewarding her.

 36 Dessert of Tiramisu – Sweet and delicious

    The gentle breeze was blowing towards the pair who were about to do something indecent. It was in the middle of the night but the moon provided enough light to see each other.


    Guardian grabbed hold of Tiramisu¡¯s firm butt and raised her up closer to him. She stuck her tongue out trying to reach Guardians face, in response to this he did the same. Their long serpent-like tongues wrapped around each other. Tiramisu pressed her mouth to his, the tongues went from one mouth to the other exchanging their feelings of passion. The kissing was very intense, her hands hugged his broad neck caressing it and her tail pressed towards his crotch in an attempt to try to feel his manly bits. She worried at first about the compatibility of their tongues but his tongue was very much like hers, they were able to kiss like only the lizardpeople could. A normal person would find unable to accommodate all of that tongue action in their tiny mouth.


    His right hand moved up towards her shoulders caressing her smooth back. He held her whilst lowering himself to a crouching position and putting her on the ground. He pulled his head away from hers; a thick string of saliva dripped from his mouth as their tongues uncoiled from each other. Guardian reached with his hand to undo his loincloth, he still had it on and it will be in the way for what comes next. Tiramisu tried to sit up to assist him, but her body was pressed down before she could do that; his hand pressed to her flat chests pinning her to the ground.


    ¡°I want to touch your tail, let me.¡± She blinked seductively at him.


    ¡°Maybe later.¡±


    He grabbed hers instead. Tiramisu¡¯s tail was very feminine, both thin and round in the right places. His big hand grabbed it close to the base; Tiramisu let out an anxious hiss of pleasure. With one hand he touched and massaged her tail while his other hand held her pressed to the ground. She squirmed and twitched from time to time, her body was assaulted with waves of pleasure. She has even put an effort to get away from his hold, she tried to pry his hand by her fingers and her body was in a continuous attempt to escape. All of it was but a play; she knew that strong men like a prey who puts an effort to resist, it would be boring otherwise. Furthermore, even if she was serious she still stood no chance against his strength; she oddly liked this fact.


    ¡°How is this for a reward?¡±


    ¡°It is¡­. Ahhhh¡± her tail got squeezed again forcing her to moan. ¡°It feels good but.¡±


    ¡°But this is not enough.¡± He finished her thought, he knew she will say that.


    Guardian decided to use his previous experience. His face once again got close to her, she stuck her tongue to lick him. This time, however, he was not aiming for her mouth. He licked her neck and then chests all the way down to her belly towards her nether region. He made her body wet in more than one way. Tiramisu looked intently at what was he doing, she was moist and ready a long time ago. He licked around her thighs, each brush of his agile tongue got closer to her private parts. Finally, he pressed it in between her pussy lips, making her juices flow even more than before.


    He tasted her and was surprised to find it somewhat sweet, it was very odd considering that her diet involved mostly salty fish and other seafood. Not only she tasted good, the smell was pleasing too; it made him want to ravish her. What he did not know was that her love nectar was loaded full of with pheromones and natural aphrodisiacs; he not only inhaled it but ingested it too. It had an effect on both his mind and body.


    The carnivore was awoken within him and he tried to push his tongue inside her honey hole. Tiramisu spasmed in delight as his tongue tried to fill her insides. However he could not do it completely, his attempts were met with resistance; her pussy felt very tight.


    ¡°Do me; I want the real thing!¡± All this teasing made her mind and body go crazy.


    Guardian pulled the tip of his tongue out, even more of the thick liquid rushed out of that tiny entrance of hers. He was still kneeling so he grabbed her by the thighs and pulled her body closer to his pelvis. Most of her body rested on his long and muscular thighs. Then he flopped his chub member on top of her. It continued to grow in size in mere seconds till it reached its full potential. It was thick and long, long enough to reach her ribs.


    Tiramisu was shocked by its sheer size. If he wanted to thrust that thing inside her, he would break her. She was too small to fit it all. Her body was screaming YES, but her mind said you better not. She gulped the accumulated saliva n her mouth unsure what to do.


    ¡°Can you handle the real deal?¡± Guardian asked her, he made sure to demonstrate the full size of it.


    The penis pulsed and tensed and stood up in full attention; Tiramisu gulped her accumulated saliva once again. She felt hot and bothered, she was too horny to think rationally. Her body demanded it and she had to do it, she was the one asking for it after all.


    Her legs wrapped around his torso pressing her closer and she hissed. ¡°Let¡¯s do it!¡±


    ¡°As you wish.¡± He had to undo her legs to move her further from his body, he needed her further away.


    First, he had to position his thing by her entrance.


    ¡°Be gentle, it is my first time.¡± She felt compelled to say this.


    Guardian gripped her by her hips and pressed his tip trying to push it inside her narrow slit. It did not want to go easily, but it was moving in millimetre by millimetre. Her hole was slick with body lubricants and it made it so much easier, her whole body craved for his rod and she was finally getting it.


    However, the pleasure came with pain. Her entrance was stretched more than it should, and she felt like she is about to rip. Her face contorted in pain, her fingers were digging in the Guardian¡¯s legs. A trickle of blood streamed from her overstretched hole.


    ¡°Shall I stop? You do not look like enjoying it.¡±


    She was not. Not at that moment, but she knew that they were too far in to stop. And she was too invested in this, she wanted to have his babies after all. Everything had a price and she was ready to pay this price.


    ¡°It¡­ is¡­ fine¡­ Keep going¡­ I will¡­ tell¡­ you¡­ when to¡­ stop¡­¡± She said through pained gasps of air.


    ¡°So long as you are fine with this.¡± Guardian kept pushing, his tip was almost in.


    He gave a small thrust sliding his tip inside. He could feel it being squeezed on from all sides, the lizardwoman felt too tight for him. It even was a bit uncomfortable, but regardless to that he thrusted once more. The hardest part was done and it slid deeper easily.


    ¡°Whoaaah¡­ Stop¡­ Stop¡­¡± Tiramisu moaned out in both pleasure and pain. Her muscles contracted in response to her body being invaded like that.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Guardian did as she said.


    ¡°Ok, you can start moving it. You know what you¡¯re doing, no?¡±


    He nodded in response. He was not a pro at this but having sex was not that hard, after all, all he had to do was to thrust in and out until she has enough of it. So he did. He moved his penis inside her, making sure not to get it completely out so that he would not need to go through all that trouble to get it in again. Then he moved his soldier in and out, thick juices leaked out of her body and dripped on his thighs. Her body was responding well.


    Finally, the pleasure got stronger than the pain and Tiramisu started to enjoy it more and more with each thrust. Her hips moved on their own responding to his gyrations. The mirthful silence of the night was disturbed by lewd moans of thrilling pleasure. Her whole body shook and her muscles contacted forcing her whole body to twitch. She knew what it was, it was her first orgasms.


    ¡°Ahhhhhh¡­. Shhhhhhhhh!!!¡± She let out a loud hiss of satisfaction.


    She came but he has not, not yet. She could not feel his seed filling her. He kept pumping and she was happy to keep going at it. Then she came again, then again once more. Her strength was sapped but still, she did not have what she wanted. She needed him to nut inside of her.


    ¡°Cum¡­ You can¡­ cum inside me.¡±


    Tiramisu wondered that maybe he withheld himself from climaxing to pleasure her more. She had enough of pleasure and more, she needed that baby juice fired in her oven.


    ¡°You want me to finish? If you are done I can just stop.¡±


    ¡°Do not stop¡­ I want you to¡­ ahhh.¡± Another wave of pleasure was about to hit her brain¡­ ¡°FILL ME!¡± she yelled out the last two words; just before her nervous system had another overload of stimulation.


    ¡°Why?¡± Guardian still did not understand why women demanded him to finish. As far as he knew his job was to pleasure them, and then they had their fix he should be allowed to stop. But his experience showed that this was never the case.


    ¡°Ahh¡­ ahh¡­ this is¡­ my reward¡­¡± said the lizard woman in between the pants. Her body felt like it would shut off at any moment now.


    ¡°Ok then¡­¡±


    For this to happen Guardian knew that he will have to work her body a bit harder, probably more than she will be comfortable with. He assumed a better position for this activity. With one hand he tightened the grip on her hips, his other hand grabbed her by the base of the tail; her body was secured in place by his hands. Tiramisu opened her eyes and gazed at him lovingly with anticipation, she was ready for yet another round, hoping that this will be the last one. Her naughty parts had barely any feeling left in them.


    Guardian began to pump his member inside her, but this time he was more rough and quick. His tempo was relentless, a few times quicker than his last attempts. Contrary to Tiramisu, all of this lovemaking did not drain his stamina. His actions showed that it was the opposite. He pounded her insides, probably going deeper than he should. It did not feel as tight anymore, her body gave in and her muscles were completely relaxed. Her pussy felt hot, wet and pleasantly tight.


    Tiramisus whole body was shaking with each of his trusts. All she could do was to pant, she had no strength left. He rammed at her like an animal for a good few minutes; he was getting close. He wanted to shove the entire thing as only a third of his mighty rod was in. He could not do such a thing as there was no more space inside her already, he could feel himself ramming at her walls with each of his thrusts.


    His mind became dizzy and sluggish, he was about to release himself. He trust for one more time. Then the pleasure hit him like the wall of bricks; it felt better than his last times. He jizzed inside of her filling her pussy hole to the brim and more. Guardian pulled his penis out with a wet popping sound; the tight pussy walls still clung to it, unwilling to let go. Once out his member twitched again, he was not done as he thought he was. Two more shots spurted out of his tip landing on the lizardwoman¡¯s belly. Thick blue semen flowed down towards her chests, he gaping pussy hole was leaking the overflowing blue liquid in great amounts; there was too much of it.


    ¡°Ufff, done. This felt good.¡± He had to admit.


    The lizard was just lying there motionless, struggling to breathe. Tiramisu was yet to see the amount of his load on her body. Actually, she did not need to; she felt that her uterus was full of it anyway. She felt painful and sore down here, but she was happy she did it. She was smiling in happiness.


    ¡°So¡­ I guess we fish now?¡± Guardian asked.


    Fishing was what he came here for after all. And washing off all of the body liquids sounded good too. However, he failed to get an answer from the panting lizard.


    ¡°Tiramisu?¡± He asked her again.


    She did not have enough strength to speak or stand, fishing was out of the question entirely. Guardian pressed his hand on her shoulder and shook her gently.


    ¡°Are you Ok?¡±


    ¡°Tired. Let me rest.¡±


    He did not understand how she could be tired if he was the one who did all of it. He did not want to argue with her, she indeed looked breathless.


    ¡°Ok then¡­ I will be fishing. Come and help me after you catch your breath¡±


    ¡°Mhm¡­¡±


    Guardian went to catch the food in the sea leaving the lizard to cool off on the shore.


    The whole ordeal not only tired Tiramisu but have almost destroyed her from inside. Some of her parts would never be the same. She was hurting down there and were clearly injured. Maybe she had overestimated her body abilities but she did not regret her actions. She will have his babies, this was a holy blessing to her and an answer to her biggest desires. There was another reason she hesitated to go to the sea with him. She feared that the salty water will wash her reward away from love hole reducing her chances to conceive. However this was nothing but superstition, she was quite young and had next to no sex education; just like pretty much everyone in this town. Not to mention that she was oblivious to the fact that two different races cannot conceive an offspring no matter how much they tried and how anatomically similar they were.


    Guardian worked hard at spearfishing for the whole night. He felt slightly betrayed that Tiramisu has not come to aid him at all. Regardless of that, he was able to catch plenty of big fish. They were slow and easy to catch, he wondered why no one else did this if it was so easy. He failed to realise that It was easy for him only because he could see in the darkness. Others would need to use nets, not to mention risking their lives by fishing at night; who knew what lurked in the darkness below them.


    He went back to the shore to collect the fish he had speared; he was throwing his catch there as he was fishing. Tiramisu was nearby to guard his catch anyways, so he did not have to worry about some animal stealing it. Now he was collecting the fish and putting it in the sack. He looked at his sleeping companion. Maybe leaving her to guard his catch was not the best of the ideas. Guardian collected his gear and was about to head home, it was almost dawn.


    ¡°Hey, wake up.¡± He did not want to leave naked lizard sleeping on the rocks alone.


    He was not angry at her for skipping work. Even if he did not plan this she gave him a good time after all. They were comrades and he felt like looking after her.


    ¡°Huh? Ah, It Is morning already.¡±


    Tiramisu stood up rubbing her eyes. Then she checked over her body. Blue spots of thin dried substance clung to her skin, the evidence of what they did at night was still on her. She smelled herself, she still could smell him on her skin and she somewhat liked that. But she was dirty and she did not want to go back like that.


    ¡°Give me a moment.¡±


    She wobbled to the water. Her muscles were cramping up and she still felt sore, it was a struggle to walk properly. She cupped some water to wash her bits. Then she frowned in pain, using a salty water on that part was not a good idea. Tiramisu left the more intimate bits for later and scrubbed the rest of her body. She put her clothes back on and walked towards Guardian in a funny fashion.


    ¡°Why are you walking so weird?¡±


    ¡°It is because of what you did to me¡­ You know, you should take responsibility for that.¡±


    Tiramisu grabbed his thick tail in her hands and caressed it passionately.


    ¡°Cary me home. It is hard for me to walk properly.¡± She still felt drained; the short nap was not enough to recuperate her strength.


    ¡°¡­¡± Guardian was hesitant to do that. He did not want to spoil yet another woman.


    ¡°Come on my love. You caught plenty of fish for yourself. I will gut it for you.¡± She offered.


    The fish was not for him, but he liked her idea. He missed properly cooked food, if only he had a competent cook with him. He wondered if Tiramisu could help with that.


    ¡°Okay, but you will have to try to cook it.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Okay.¡± She preferred her food raw but still agreed to try cooking.


    Guardian strapped the fish sack to his back and picked up Tiramisu in his arms. He carried her like that all the way to his new home. Her eyes were narrowed in happiness and her tail was swinging from side to side; the lizard seemed very happy about this. She also was quite happy about her catch, she took herself as a victor and considered to have won him completely. Tiramisu did not hesitate to raise her head and look smugly at other women then they went past, especially if they were from bestial races. Her facial expression and body language were saying ¡®Look what I got. He is mine, back off!''.

 37 Fangs and teeth – love is like a war.

    When Guardian got back to his home he fulfilled his part of the deal and handed the fish to the lizards. His next task was getting all of the boxes he had received from the merchant to the market. This time he had opted not to use lizardmen. He did not want anyone associating him with them, not yet. He intended to use the lizards for more shady business. Instead, he hired himself a pair of muscular beastmen. They were not that expensive and were able to do heavy lifting quite easily.


    He opened his stall in the market and peddled his goods. He was careful to follow all the pricing the islanders had provided him with. The business went great and his wares vanished quickly. After all, the competition was a lot less fierce since most of the Islanders were not present. The heavy taxes stopped them from trading. But the demand was still there, there were a lot of goods which only these foreign merchants were trading.


    Guardian counted his profits in his head whilst heading home, it was late afternoon already. He sat down in the dining room, he felt quite hungry. He had a few fishes leftover from this morning, the ones he did not give it all to the youngsters. He did not want to eat it raw so as agreed he got Tiramisu to prepare it for him.


    It took a while but finally the food arrived.


    ¡°Here it is. I have prepared it with love.¡±


    What he received was a plate of filleted fish with some fruits and vegetables beside it, the fish seemed to be raw. He had expected her to fry or boil it, but this looked appetising too.


    Guardian put a large piece of fillet. He chewed it throughout and swallowed, the taste was pleasing. The fish was marinated in a sour apple vinegar and spaced with a good amount of various spices. The taste was very colourful. His mouth salivated and he quickly gobbled up the rest of it.


    ¡°Was it good?¡± Tiramisu asked expectantly.


    ¡°Very. My only complaint is that there was not enough.¡±


    ¡°You sure do eat a lot.¡± She made a mental note to double his portion size next time.


    Tiramisu sat closer to him putting her slender hand on his thigh. Her hand slid slowly towards his loincloth.


    ¡°Shall we do it again?¡± She hissed seductively.


    ¡°Mmm?¡± Guardian was unsure what she was talking about.


    Just before Tiramisu could continue her advance a particular boy barged into the dining hall.


    ¡°Master, you have a guest.¡±


    ¡°Ah, about time.¡± He was expecting for the Islanders to come to collect their money.


    Guardian went outside to greet his trade partner.


    ¡°So did you sell the merchandise?¡± The beastman asked. He seemed slightly on an edge.


    ¡°Yes, of course here is the money.¡± Guardian handed in the coin pouch brimming with money. ¡°I have already taken my share out.¡±


    The horned man counted the coins.


    ¡°Hmm, it seems the right amount. You followed our agreement. There we no problems?¡± He sounded slightly surprised.


    ¡°None at all. Shall we do it again?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course.¡±


    The man stretched his hand and Guardian shook it. He has gained the Islander¡¯s trust and they made an ongoing deal. Guardian escorted the man out of the slums. He did not do this just because he thought that it might be unsafe for him to walk with all this money alone. Guardian was sweet talking the man so that he shares his connections with Guardian. Guardian wanted him to introduce with his other merchant friends. The more people he made this deal with the bigger the profit he would make.


    The talk went well and the Islander promised to mention Guardian to his merchant friends. However, this was not enough, Guardian knew that the time is not on his side and he has to act quickly. He will need to advertise his services. This will have to be done in a secret manner so that the nobles and the guards do not find out. He had already a person in mind.


    Iustitia seemed perfect for this job, her kind already dwelled everywhere in the harbour. No one would suspect those girls if they approached the Islanders. They would not offer their body but Guardians services instead. This was also perfect because he would not need to deal with the foreigners face to face. It was better if he was not seen hanging out with them. So he went to the infamous building known as a Slut House expecting to find Iustitia there.


    He let himself in and was greeted by one of the girls.


    ¡°Hello, handsome. You haven¡¯t shown yourself for a while.¡± A big breasted tigerwoman greeted him.


    ¡°Is Iustitia available?¡±


    ¡°Why would you ask for her? Have me instead! Free of charge.¡±


    The woman puffed out her chest to emphasize her already big tits. Her hand reached to cares Guardians abdominal muscles. He sidestepped her, nimbly avoiding her hand.


    ¡°Iustitia!¡± He shouted out hoping to get a reply.


    ¡°Guardian, is that you I am hearing?¡± Another troublesome woman presented herself, it was Shazzara.


    ¡°Where is she?¡±


    ¡°She usually works in the streets, you should know that.¡± The lizarwoman said brushing off thick white liquid away from her lips and chin.


    ¡°Hey, go back to your customer! He is mine this time.¡±


    ¡°No need, I am done with my customer.¡±


    Shazzara did not mention that she forgot to charge the man for her services, however, she did not care about that. The man she desired for was standing here about to be stolen by that bimbo Brita.


    ¡°Could you take me to her?¡± He had asked the girls.


    ¡°What is up with you and her? It is always her! This is not fair¡­ What does she have what I don¡¯t?¡± Brita was making a scene.


    Guardian just ignored the noisy tigerwoman and looked at Shazzara expectantly.


    ¡°Sss-ure, why not.¡± She agreed to help him.


    Shazzara led Guardian towards the place where Iustitia worked today. Brita tagged beside them unwilling to leave the two alone.


    ¡°Let me gues-sss. You are not looking for her usual services-sss?¡± Shazara hissed out. She was getting nervous around him again.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°He is not?¡± Brita said in surprise.


    ¡°No¡­ I guess I can tell why I need her.¡±


    Guardian explained what he planned to do. After all, he could use these girls too. The more people on his side the better.


    Guardian could see Iustitia from a distance, she was standing close to a wall, patiently waiting for a customer. Just before he could greet her she spoke first.


    ¡°Brita, Shazza¡­ and Guardian, how unusual. How can I help you this time? What info do you need now?¡±


    He was startled by her ability to pinpoint that it was him standing close to her. He had not spoken yet; she must have picked up his scent.


    ¡°Hello, Iustitia. No, I want something else. I want you to offer my services to those foreign horned merchants¡­¡±


    ¡°They have horns!?¡± She interrupted him.


    ¡°Yes, but that is not the point.¡± Guardian finished explaining that he wants her to advertise his business services.


    ¡°I see. I can do that, sounds easy.¡±


    ¡°Also I want you to ask other girls to help me with this, Brita and Shazzara are already on board. You will be supervising them. I will give you a cut of my profit to pay for your time.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± Iustitia nodded in agreement.


    ¡°About that¡­ You do not have to pay me in coin.¡± Shazzara offered.


    ¡°Explain.¡± He wanted to know what she was offering. Saving some money was always good.


    ¡°How embarrass-sss-sing¡­ I want you to fuck me.¡± She said it quietly, it was almost a whisper.


    ¡°Me too! Me too!¡± Brita started to shout. She regretted not being the one who came up with this, but it was not tot late to join in.


    Guardian looked at Iustitia, through her face veil he could see her beginning to blush. ¡®Did she want such things too? What was going on?¡¯.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± He cupped his chin in deep in thought. This sounded tempting but also it seemed like a lot of hard work. Probably, paying up in money would be more time efficient. ¡°But why not the money?¡± He asked the women.


    All three women had similar reasons. For Iustitia, it was that she fancied him as a person, he had saved her from being raped and was quite nice to her. For Shazzara, it was that after that time she could not find a beastman endowed enough to satisfy her, not to mention a fact that her pussy still did not see much action and she was perpetually horny. Actually, she had herself penetrated only once after the time with Guardian, and she practically begged her customer for that. There is no need to say that both she and her customer were left disappointed. For Brita, it was that she was just a jealous of other girls, and way too slutty.


    ¡°M-My pussy missed you¡­¡± Shazzara made a flimsy attempt at explaining why is it she refused to take coins.


    ¡°I just want you to feel a real woman. These two have lacking bodies and you need to feel this. I promise it will be good.¡± Brita turned her round butt towards him and slapped it playfully.


    Guardian was getting a headache, he found women so troublesome. Iustitia drew his attention, this was not because she had something to say, it was the opposite. Her head was turned to a side, she was oddly silent and seemed to be concentrating on something, her ears were constantly turning and twitching working hard to pick up noise.


    ¡°What! There sss-shall be no sss-such things! Get away from him.¡± Tiramisu was hissing at all three women. Her whole body stood in an attack position, she was ready to claw at these sluts.


    Guardian got spooked by her sudden hissing. ¡®Just when did she come here? Was she stalking me?¡¯. He was surprised that he was unable to notice her presence until now. Liazardpeople and especially females had some frightening stalking skills. He made a mental note to be more careful in the future.


    ¡°Who are you sss-supposed to be?¡± Shazzara hissed back. Her tail slammed the pavement.


    ¡°His mating partner! Wanna fight?!¡± Tiramisu barred her sharp fangs and claws at her opponent. She worked hard to get Guardian and she had no intention of giving him to other women.


    ¡°I would rather you not!¡± Guardian interrupted the bickering women. He needed them alive and well.


    ¡°Is it true? Is this flat lizard your mate! So that is your preference after all¡­¡± Brita was shocked at this.


    Iustitia got a grasp of the situation and decided to act quickly.


    ¡°Sorry¡­ Let¡¯s start over. I am Iustitia, Guardian''s friend.¡± The only one who remained level-headed so far raised her hand towards Tiramisu.


    Tiramisu looked at the beastwoman. She ruled Iustitia as a no threat. After all, she was a furry beastwoman and her skinny tail stood no chance against her shiny and superior lizard one.


    ¡°Tiramisu.¡± She reached her hand to complete a handshake.


    ¡°Good good. Now you two, you need to make up. You are making Guardian troubled, can¡¯t you see?¡±


    ¡°Are these women your friends or something?¡± Tiramisu asked the Guardian.


    ¡°Well¡­ more like accomplices.¡±


    ¡°Then, I guess I have overreacted. But they were saying such absurd things. Especially this one! What is your name?¡± Tiramisu hissed at Shazzara.


    ¡°They were only teasing Guardian. That was all.¡± Iustitia offered an explanation.


    Shazzara approached her Tiramisu carefully.


    ¡°SSS-Shazzara.¡± She offered her hand for a handshake too.


    The two lizardwomen shook their hands forcefully. Both of them let a high pitched growling sound, their tails were restless; they were still agitated.


    ¡°And this one?¡± Tiramisu offered her hand to the tigerwoman. She tough that she was even more unappealing than Iustitia, she was way too fat not to mention those ugly lumps on her chest.


    ¡°Eh¡­ Brita. But Sorry¡­ I am not shaking it. I do not know where it had been.¡± Her pride disallowed her to shake hands with someone of lizardkind.


    ¡°The nerve!¡±


    To begin a greeting with shaking hands was too casual and businesslike. Shazzara only did that because Iustitia started it and Guardian seemed to approve.


    ¡°Now, now. There is no need to fight. As you see she is my¡­¡± Guardian paused to think. He did not think of Tiramisu more than a convenient person to have around but he had to be careful with his words.


    ¡°His mating partner. So you better remember to keep your hands off.¡± Tiramisu finished the sentence for him.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t want to believe it.¡± Brita complained. She failed to understand why Guardian would commit himself to one partner and especially a lizardwoman.


    Iustitia bent her body forwards slightly and sniffed the air towards Tiramisu.


    ¡°Unfortunately this seems true. Is it not Guardian?¡±


    ¡°Ehh?.. Well¡­¡± He thought some more and then it clicked to him. ¡°Yes, she is. That is why you will have to take money, Okay?¡± He used Tiramisus proclamation to his advantage.


    ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± ¡°I have no problem.¡± The girls agreed.


    Of course, they would not stop their attempts to steal Guardian away, they just pretended that they will.


    ¡°Okay then. You can start by contacting the foreigners now. Iustitia, I leave you responsible to sort out finer details, if there are questions use Ithayiga as my messenger. I will send the boy regularly to your place.¡±


    Guardian left the women and proceeded towards his base. Tiramisu clung to his arm forcefully, unwilling to let go.


    ¡°Guardian?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I really do not like that liazardwoman, Shazzara. I dislike how she looks at you. She was tainting the whole area with her dirty smell of heat.¡±


    ¡°Was she?¡± Guardian failed to pick on that. Maybe lizard noses were more sensitive to particular smells.


    ¡°Terribly so. She was lusting for you. Also, she said something disturbing¡­¡±


    Her words allowed him to finally confirm that Tiramisu had stalked him and even listened to their conversation too.


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    Shazzara¡¯s words ¡®My pussy missed you¡¯ reverberated in her head again and again.


    ¡°Did you fuck her before? Answer me truthfully, I will not get angry.¡±


    Even if she did get angry Guardian would not care, he would find a way to deal with that.


    ¡°I did.¡± He had no reason to lie. She would find it out one way or another, she was a cunning woman.


    ¡°Did you come inside?¡±


    ¡°I did.¡± He could not understand where this was going or why she cared about it.


    Tiramisu¡¯s tail dropped all of the sudden, she clung to him even more tightly. Guardian noticed her reaction and looked at her face. She seemed deeply saddened by his past actions, she looked like she was about to cry.


    ¡°That must be not too long ago, no? Her belly is still flat.¡±


    ¡°Well, yes.¡±


    ¡°I see, I see.¡± Tiramisus expression twisted to a scarier one.


    The rest of the way back home they remained quiet. His ¡®mate¡¯ seemed to be deep in thought. The reason behind it was that Tiramisu feared that Shazzara will be the first one to give him children. Tiramisu would lose her position and she could not allow that to happen. She had to do something about that, she had to be the only one who bears Guardians children. Of course, she was still ignorant about the fact that two different races could not have children.


    The evening came and Guardian has sent his lizard helpers to collect the crates from the Islanders. He trusted them to be able to carry this task alone. He would not be able to supervise them all the time after all. He had his research to do, it was new magic skills he wanted now the most. As before he promised food as their payment.


    The time went by and one of the lizard kids barged in his study, even though he had warned the lizardpeople that they are not allowed to come there. However, the kid had a good reason.


    ¡°Your stuff! They stole it!¡±


    ¡°What?! Who!?¡±


    ¡°The men, they attacked us from the shadows and took it all. We stood no chance.¡±


    Guardian looked at the young lizard, the kid looked rough. There were bruised and cuts on his body, he clearly had been in a fight. Guardian regretted his carelessness, it was unwise to leave younglings with no guard. The little ones were sneaky and he trusted their skill, but if someone already knew their route they would not be able to avoid the ambush. He wondered if somebody noticed them last time or if he just got unlucky.


    ¡°Show me where and quickly.¡±


    The pair rushed towards the place there liazardmen got ambushed. Guardian hoped that it was not too late to recover the goods, otherwise this will screw him up big time.

 38 Mugging and murder– Life is unfair.

    Guardian rushed towards the place where his workers got attacked. The bandits were already gone with all of their loot, only beaten up and unconscious lizardmen littered the street. One of the lizard kids them rushed towards the Guardian from the shadows.


    ¡°Guardian!¡±


    ¡°Yes. It seems that they took it all. This is no good.¡± Guardian managed to read the situation.


    ¡°They did, and we got a good beating but¡­¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°Some of us stalked them carefully from the distance back towards their lair. We know where is your stuff!¡±


    Guardian could not believe that the lizards would risk stalking the bandits who were kind enough to let them off only with the beating. Lizards did so because they feared being punished and kicked out for losing Guardian¡¯s goods.


    ¡°What are you waiting for, lead me to it!¡±


    Guardian followed the young lizard hoping to find his shipment intact. They ran through narrow slum district streets. The boy stopped near an abandoned warehouse and pointed his finger towards it. Guardian got the meaning of the gesture, they were there.


    The warehouse was booming with people even in the middle of the night. It looked like this was a den of thieves and bandits. Two bulky beastmen guards stood protecting the only entrance.


    Guardian approached the men nonchalantly, he was about to teach them a lesson. They should know better than steal from him.


    ¡°Hey, you! What do you want?¡± A guard asked.


    ¡°I want my stuff back. A large number of crates must have reached this place recently, no?¡±


    ¡°I have no Idea what are you talking about. Bugger off now.¡±


    ¡°Do you mind if I go inside and check?¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°Look, if you want no trouble you should leave. Now!¡± The other guard gave a friendly advice.


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    Guardian turned around but he had no intention of leaving. He swung his tail towards the guards, slapping their faces forcefully and knocking them over.


    ¡°This was easy.¡± Guardian was surprised. Either he got better or those beastmen were just for a show; they seemed inexperienced fighters.


    Still, there was no time to idle around. He slashed a guard¡¯s throat with his sharp claws and grabbed the other, deciding to use the beastman as a meat shield. He carefully went inside, being cautious not to get ambushed from above or a side. No one was waiting to ambush him inside so he went in deeper.


    ¡°Oi! Where all of you disappeared?¡±


    The warehouse was large, lined up with dusty crates and shelves, clutter was all around. There was plenty of space to hide. Just as he said those words a great number of various men from bestial races emerged from all over the place.


    ¡°Who are you and what do you want?¡± A large tigerman asked.


    ¡°I want my crates back. The ones the lizardmen were hauling.¡±


    ¡°Ohhh, so you boss those kids around. You have stolen the crates from the dock and I stole them from you. What you gonna do, call guards?¡±


    ¡°I am going to kill this man and then you!¡± Guardian pointed at his captive.


    ¡°So you are here to pick a fight, eh. How foolish... Men!¡± The tigerman commanded his men to attack.


    Guardian feared there might be some nobles involved but this was not the case, there were no mages present. These men were just common bandits. The ones attacking him were armed with knives and iron-banded maces.


    In response to their attack, Guardian raised his meat shield in the air and threw the man. The body hit Guardians targets knocking a few men down.


    ¡°Back off you scum!¡± Guardian threatened.


    ¡°Or else? You will call your mother?¡± The tigerman taunted him, he was observing from the distance.


    The bandits were awfully close to Guardian they have almost surrounded him, but he knew what he had to do. He will use what proved to work every time, well almost.


    ¡°Or else I will cook your ass! Taste this.¡± He blasted the men with his magical attack.


    The force slammed into the beastmen sending them flying away from the Guardian.


    ¡°A mage?!¡± The bandit leader guessed.


    ¡°Yes, and a deadly one.¡±


    Guardian ran straight past the knocked men towards the leading tigerman. The beastman put his hands up ready to take on Guardian¡¯s assault. Both he and the beastmen punched at each other. Unfortunately to the beastman Guardian was much more powerful than him. Their fists connected with each other and tigerman got his hand fingers completely broken.


    ¡°Why did you even do this?¡± Guardian found the beastman actions extremely foolish. He wondered if the tigerman was trying to prove something.


    The beastman clutched his fist in pain. Guardian did not waste this opportunity and kicked at the tigerman. He did not put all of his strength in, just enough to wind the man. When he grabbed the beastman in a neck lock, preventing him from moving.


    ¡°Tell your men to back off!¡± Guardian ordered the tigerman threateningly. He squeezed the beastman''s neck demonstrating that he can break his throat if he wished so.


    ¡°Ok, ok¡­ Guys! Stay clear from him!¡±


    ¡°Good, very good. Now you apologize.¡±


    ¡°Get fucked!¡±


    Guardian squeezed his arms choking the man. The tigerman almost passed out, his men stood on edge unsure what to do.


    ¡°Apologise!¡±


    ¡°Sorry that we stole from someone who is already a thief.¡± The beastman blurted out dejectedly.


    Guardian did not steal that. He had a deal with the Islanders, but to a passer-by, all of this might have looked differently.


    ¡°Properly!¡± Guardian grabbed the tigerman''s arm, forced it behind the tiger''s back and dislocated his shoulder.


    ¡°Uaaa!... Sorry, sorry. I apologize. What now?¡±


    ¡°Well you took it from me, so you better bring everything back where it belongs.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The tigerman could not believe Guardians demands, this sounded silly.


    ¡°What you heard. Order your men to get my stuff, all of it, and carry it to my place.¡± Guardian squeezed the beastman¡¯s neck to encourage him to act.


    ¡°Okay. Men you heard him.¡±


    ¡°Yes, boss.¡±


    The beastmen gathered the crates from the warehouse and were following the Guardian.


    ¡°One bad move and I will kill your boss and you. Do not forget I can cast magic.¡± He warned the beastmen.


    The stolen goods were returned to where they belong, that is Guardians dungeons.


    ¡°My men did their part, now let me go.¡± Demanded the leader.


    ¡°Ohh is that so¡­ Who said I am letting you go.¡± Guardian whispered in a beastman¡¯s ear. ¡°Attention!¡± He shouted to the men around him.


    Once he got everyone¡¯s eyes on him Guardian continued. ¡°I challenge your boss to a duel! Winner takes all.¡±


    ¡°You are crazy where is no way I¡­¡± The tigerman complains were rudely interrupted.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Guardian grabbed hold of the tigerman''s head and twisted it. There was a loud cracking sound; the neck got broken. Guardian did not stop and kept twisting and pulling, eventually separating the head from the body. Then he raised the head above for everyone to see.


    ¡°I am your boss now! Isn¡¯t how it works with you people?¡±


    Guardian was not too far off, but not exactly right either. The leadership in bestial gangs could indeed be achieved by duelling, but this had to be done fairly. The way he did it was a dirty play, yet no one was keen to object to him.


    ¡°Those who disagree can challenge me. I assure you will meet the same fate.¡±


    The bandits muttered in between themselves, they clearly did not like that but no one was stupid enough to challenge a mage.


    ¡°Noone? Well, then disperse. I will come to see you in your place a few hours past dawn.¡±


    ¡°Yes, boss¡­¡± one of the beastman said with a frown of displeasure; they left.


    ¡°Now then¡­¡±


    Guardian had other things to sort out. Since he will be busy in the morning he won¡¯t be able to fish this time. This, however, was only a minor Issue. He will just push this task to someone else. He got Tiramisu to do and she was happy to help him, she was a good fisher after all. Guardian also told her to select two helpers to come with her and start training them in spearfishing. She alone could not hope to get enough food for everyone. He had also promised to get the youngsters proper fishing spears later this day. Also, he planned to purchase small hand blades for all of the lizards, they needed them for self-defence. If they had some weapons to begin with maybe this ambush would have not happened.


    Guardian double checked all of the crates and its contents making sure he has everything. Then he went back to the bandit¡¯s warehouse. All of the thugs were there and they were bickering and shouting at each other. The place was very noisy, noisy until the point they have noticed him; then it was dead silent.


    ¡°I am back. I see you are not too happy with a leadership change. So, do I have a challenger?¡±


    Noone came forward, but Guardian could see discontent in their eyes.


    ¡°Hmm, let me ask differently. Those who object to my position raise your hands.¡±


    Almost a half of bandits did so.


    ¡°I see¡­ So why don¡¯t the opposition elect the new leader so we can duel properly? No dirty tactics this time.¡±


    The silence was broken and the men began bickering between each other once again. They could not agree on the new leader. Some even did not want to be a part of this gang anymore, but they had to out of fear of being ostracised.


    ¡°How troublesome. I will give you some more time by the evening.¡±


    He left the men to sort themselves. He had to get the crates to the market and sell the goods.


    Guardian did so and with great success, once again he managed to sell everything. His business plan was proving to be working. Ithayiga came to him on a couple occasions bringing good news. The beast boy told that Iustitia managed to get him a few more deals with Islanders, this meant that there will be even more crates to pick up this evening.


    He wrapped the thing up, counted his coins and went to a local weapons merchant. He had some blades to purchase, a buttload of them. This will probably cost him a good coin, since good metal was very expensive. This expense was fine because this was a necessary investment. He had also purchases some other goods he will need for the future, some poison included.


    The lizards were pleasantly surprised about receiving the blades. They did not expect an expensive gift from him, but this was not a gift. Guardian told that this will be a payment for their services. He handed out the blades and took all of the lizards with him. He hoped Tiramisu would be back by now from fishing, he could use her skills, but she still was not.


    Guardian went back directly to the bandit''s den. The lizards were ordered to follow him, but at a distance.


    ¡°I am back. Have you decided on it yet?¡± He announced loudly stopping the bandits from doing whatever they were doing.


    ¡°Yeah. We will duel you but this will not be one on one!¡±


    ¡°How unfair. But I accept!¡±


    His answer somewhat shocked the bandits, they did not expect him to agree. They did not need his permission anyway, they would have attacked him regardless. It was not all of the bandits who attacked him, it was not even a half, it was clear that some were too hesitant to challenge his position as a boss, and this was good. Once this will be over he will have some minions to command.


    He knew that he can take the small group of a dozen or so men. It was not the first time he did so, they stood no chance and they will find out this soon. Guardian soaked up the damage whilst punching and kicking the men back. He was careful not to overdo things, he needed this scum alive for research purposes.


    Guardian¡¯s choice not to kill meant that he got injured slightly more than usual, but this was not anything serious. Few cuts and bruises here and there. He tired the bandits out and this was a time for the second part of his plan. He was not planning to play fair from the beginning. Guardian roared for the lizards to come to him and help finish this..


    The young lizard men flocked from all over the place and took the bandits by surprise. The lizards cut at the bandits with their poisoned blades. It was a poison which drained stamina. Bandits being already low on it collapsed within seconds.


    ¡°I won! Do any of you want to keep at this? No? Good!¡±


    Some bandits recognized him as one to be reckoned with, others still didn''t. But those others could not object him, not yet as it would be suicidal.


    ¡°I am not letting these rebels go. I am taking them as prisoners to pay for their crime of offending me.¡±


    Guardian ordered the lizards to bind the men with rope.


    ¡°I am your boss now, so you better obey my orders then I am back. For now, do as you please.¡±


    He took his prisoners back to his dungeon. Lizardmen pressed their blades against bandit¡¯s throats so that they won¡¯t even think of escaping. Living in the slums had its perks too; City Guards did not care what he did here.


    He locked prisoners in the cages within his research hall. The men did not seem too happy about the turn of events but Guardian did not care. He forcefully grabbed a random beastman and bound him to a stone table, which oddly looked like a sacrificial altar. The bandit flailed and tried to resist so Guardian had to make the man quiet with a good bang to his head; the bandit became quiet and obedient once unconscious.


    Then Guardian opened the leather-bound book and read from it out loud. It said he would need a magic crystal and at least a dozen mages to make this work, but he tried it alone regardless. He was curious about what sort of spell this is and what does it do. After reading the notes he continued with the ritual incantation. The incantation was awfully long and drained his mana almost completely. Just as he thought that nothing will happen, it did happen.


    Wispy blue threads of light moved from his body towards the beastman, going inside his flesh. More and more of threads floated towards the bound man. The beastman''s body absorbed all of the mana and then it convulsed and contorted in a series jarring motions. The beastman''s whole body was shaking and trembling, his flesh began to shrink in mass as if it was being consumed from the inside. The blue-tinted light spilt from all over his body, especially from his mouth. The man was no longer sleeping, he was letting out an unholy scream as if his very soul was being ripped away.


    The blue energy gathered above his body forming a ghostly figure vaguely resembling the beastman himself. It floated there for few tens of seconds, there was no crystal or any other conduit to suck the excess energy. Having nowhere to go the transparent body of energy exploded in a shower of light, spewing raw mana all around the hall.


    Guardian had to shield his eyes not to get blinded by it. The overpowering light stopped; it left behind multiple glowing orbs which were floating all around the room. They too emitted a blue glow, it was not as intensive and the orbs themselves seemed to be shrinking slowly with time.


    What once was a bulky beastman, now was a shrivelled mummy devoid of any life. Guardian observed the body with keen interest, he had never heard of a spell which could do that. It seemed quite powerful, being able to destroy a body in such a manner. However, it was clear that this was not a destructive spell. Or an enchanting one for that matter because he could not feel any buffs bestowed upon him. Guardian concluded that the spell has failed or something like that, since he did not have a conduit which was used to collect the energy the dying body released.


    Regardless of that Guardian touched one of the orbs with his hand. His fingers went straight through, and he was unhurt. They were completely harmless; if he kept his fingers in only a slight tingling sensation could be felt.


    Then he had an idea. He put his hand back inside the orb and tried to suck the energy towards his body. This was a complete opposite of how he used his magic before, usually, he would will it out of his hands. This was not an easy task and it was hard to remain concentrated, he was inexperienced in what he was doing, but he kept pushing himself to try to make this work. And it did, he felt mana clinging to his fingers and slowly going through his body inside his mana core. His mana pool was replenishing slightly.


    He kept doing it, his whole body felt strained. The process was very slow, but it worked. Within two minutes he managed to restore half of his mana, this was amazing. One orb was capable of that and the entire room had few tens of them. This magic ritual was converting human life force into raw mana.


    Guardian was very happy about his find. Now he only needed to learn how to collect it all efficiently. For now, he had no such means and the orbs will dissipate given some time. It was fine he had more prisoners locked up.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, somewhere deep within the city, Tiramisu was skulking about. She was trying to find a particular person. Well, if she just asked about this person in a certain place she would get an answer straight away but she could not do that. She was looking for a liazardwoman named Shazzara. They have met only once but Tiramisu considered her as her arch nemesis, probably one-sided feeling but it did not matter.


    She was scouting the city checking every corner and dark alley. She was at it for hours already. She could not give up otherwise she would not be able to sleep in peace.


    Finally, her sensitive nose picked a foul smell, a smell a lizardwoman would emit then she was in heat. Tiramisu followed her nose which led her deep inside the narrow alley. It was quite dark and she had to strain her eyes to see, not too far from where she was she noticed a beastman¡¯s back. He was just standing there leaning on the wall with his hands like a drunk would, so that he does not fall.


    She saw a beastman but she clearly could smell the foul juices of immoral female lizard nearby. Tiramisu carefully sneaked up behind the man and then she saw that Shazzara was crouched in front of him. She was doing something naughty to him with her mouth.


    ¡®That slut!¡¯ Tiramisu has finally located her quarry.


    She carefully got right behind the man and in a swift motion slit his throat whilst holding his mouth shut so he can not let out a gurgle. She did it so professionally that the lizard below him did not even notice. At least not for a couple of seconds.


    ¡°Eh, why are u shrinking all of the sudden? Am I not good enough?¡± Shazzara mumbled through the meat inside her mouth.


    Instead of a rough male voice, she heard a feminine one and it startled her.


    ¡°You will never be good enough!¡± Hissed Tiramisu releasing the beastman from her grasp.


    The body dropped to the ground with a thump. The turn of events and especially the one standing in front of her terrified Shazzara.


    ¡°Wha-what do you want?¡± Slazahe stuttered in panic.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Tiramisu did not have anything to say to her. Instead, she jabbed the dagger in Shazzara¡¯s neck backside; she twisted the dagger and pulled it out. The spinal column was severed and the Shazzara dropped dead there and then. Tiramisu had her sweat revenge, she no longer will have to feel threatened by this obscene female. She had to do it before Shazzara could tell that she was pregnant with Guardians children. After all, Tiramisu was convinced that Shazzara was pregnant. Shazzara mated with Guardian and why else would she use only her mouth to service the customers.


    She wiped her bloody dagger on the fur of the beastman she had just killed. Her victims were left there to rot. She had to come back home before Guardian could miss her, after all, she was supposed to be fishing.

 39 Reunion - Honesty is the best policy, but is really?

    Guardian was waiting outside the Harbour city. He was looking in the distance longingly unsure if he should start walking down the road further away from the city. However, he did not need to do such thing; on a distant horizon, he could see a caravan moving towards him. He waved hoping to get a wave back. he was too far from them to recognise him, so he continued to wait patiently in his spot.


    ¡°Guardian!¡± A small girl shouted from atop the cart.


    ¡°Welcome, Aiu.¡± He waved once more.


    Aiu waved back to him, she was so happy to see him again. He had said he will be gone for a month or so. But it has been weeks since she could see him, hear him and hold him close. Her underpants were wet from happiness. Aiu jumped off the cart and ran towards him. Once she was close she embraced him with all of her might.


    ¡°I have missed you so much! Aiu blurred out trying to suppress her tears of joy.¡±


    ¡°Me too, your skills could have been useful here on many occasions.¡±


    He had to admit that Aiu¡¯s potions and poisons would have made some things for him so much easier.


    ¡°So did you manage to produce that special potion?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes of course. I have it in my cart with the other stuff.¡±


    ¡°That is brilliant. Let me guide you to our new place.¡±


    Guardian approached the pull cart. The elves were there, they politely greeted him with a smile. The cart was full of stuff, both alchemical and mundane.


    ¡°Did you manage to stock on magical herbs?¡± He asked the elves.


    ¡°We do have a box or so of them.¡±


    ¡°Aiu had to figure it out how to preserve them before we took them for this trip, hence the delay.¡± The elves answered.


    Guardian asked this because he knew that getting magical herbs will not be that easy since this town was nowhere close to any magical forest. However, it had quite an interesting swamp.


    He motioned the elves to follow him back towards the slum district.


    ¡°Your new place is here?¡± Ana asked


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°But this looks like¡­ slums.¡±


    ¡°Yes it does, but I have found a good place to settle.¡±


    Ana doubted that any place in slums can be good. Such places tended to have crumbling buildings as houses and very dangerous and hostile environment.


    ¡°Here it is.¡± Guardian motioned towards a prison ruin.


    ¡°You live here? In the rubble?¡± Aiu questioned, she could not wrap her head around this.


    ¡°No, no. Under it, there is a dungeon. Follow me.¡±


    Guardian led his party through the prison grounds towards the main entrance.


    ¡°The place must have been huge. At least before it turned to ruins.¡± Ell made an observation.


    Guardian shrugged towards ell. ¡°The dungeon is even bigger. Come inside.¡±


    The party went in. All three of them were surprised by the fact that the dungeon was well preserved. It was also much bigger and spacious then they have imagined. There were many corridors leading to many rooms and halls. It was somewhat impressive, but still, it felt very depressing especially for someone who was used to living in a forest. The air here was stagnant and kind of stale, not to mention the fact that there was no natural lighting because there were no windows. Ell and Ana found this place quite depressing but they were not the ones in a position to voice complains.


    Guardian showed the elves their new living quarters. To say the least, the elves were not too happy to find that they will be living in what looks like a prison cell. Of course, it had a bed and some furniture, but it could not compare to what they had in a forest.


    A bunch of small lizard kids approached the elves. They were curious about the elves because they never had seen an elf before. Elves looked peculiar and exotic to them, they wanted to touch and lick that pale pink skin of Ell and Ana.


    ¡°Ahhhh! What are those?¡± Ana shrieked as if she has seen a rat. She pushed a lizard girl away from her leg.


    The high pitched shriek spooked the rest of the kids and they scattered away.


    ¡°These little ones live here.¡± Guardian informed the elves.


    ¡°This place is infested with pests? Ell can take care of them he is quite a good hunter now.¡± Ana volunteered her brother.


    She did so because Elves did not keep a high opinion about less human-like races, they thought of lizardmen as subpar beings.


    ¡°What? No. They are like servants to me. They are quite useful, I wouldn¡¯t like them gone.


    Guardian did not need to pay lizards in coin and they were easy to boss around.


    ¡°And how many of them are here?¡± Ana just had to know else she won¡¯t be able to sleep.


    ¡°Too many to count.¡± Guardian never bothered to get an exact number. There were plenty of empty rooms for all of them, and a bit more.


    ¡°Right, and they just run all over the place like that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, unless I give them jobs. Anyway, I leave you here to get accustomed. I have some other errands to run.¡±


    He left the elves to settle in their new room. Guardian went to see Aiu, he left her to sort the items she had brought with her.


    ¡°Guardian, hi again. This workshop is very spacious but quite eerie. Are those blood stains? And is this an altar of sorts?¡± Aiu asked him.


    ¡°Oh, this is my research hall. Here I conduct my ¡­ experiments. This used to be some shady place, hence the altar and the blood.¡± He purposefully did not tell about the experiments he has been conducting here. He was unsure if Aiu was ready to know that.


    ¡°Oh I forgot, you came here in pursuit of magic. So were you successful?¡±


    ¡°Kind of. I got this.¡± He shoved a leather-bound book ¡°This contains notes about learning magic, but it is quite vague and complex to learn.¡±


    ¡°If I can help in any way, let me know.¡±


    ¡°Then the time comes I will. Let me see the potion.¡±


    ¡°Here it is. This is my masterwork. It was extremely hard to produce, I have never made anything like that. But I think it turned out great.¡±


    Guardian took a large vial of potion. There was at least a litre of glowing liquid in it. He swirled it in his hands and it started to glow in blue even more.


    ¡°You did good Aiu.¡± He praised her.


    ¡°Then¡­ I deserve a reward no?¡± Aiu wrapped her arms around his leg, they were reaching for something. Her eyes were big and gleaming with lust.


    Just before she could do anything indecent a beastman barged in the hall.


    ¡°Master, Tiramisu wants to see you can she come in?¡± Ithayiga asked politely.


    ¡°Wow, he is so cute!¡± Aiu rushed to pet Ithaigas head out of impulse. Her previous state of mind evaporated in seconds.


    ¡°Aiu this is Ithayiga. He is my servant who runs errands for me. If you need anything fetched or bought you can ask him.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    ¡°Master?¡± Ithayiga asked again trying to gently push the petite woman away from his soft fur.


    ¡°Oh, Tiramisu. Tell her to enter.¡±


    Tiramisu entered the hall she seemed somewhat unsettled, her tail was fidgety.


    ¡°Who are these people? You did not tell me to expect any guests. Friends of yours?¡±


    ¡°No, my servants from another town.¡±


    ¡°You have an awful lot of people working under you.¡±


    ¡°I guess I do.¡± Guardian had to admit. ¡°Before I forget, Ithayiga go to Cynthia¡¯s place and tell her to come here. Tell her that her potion is finally here.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Ithayiga ran away to deliver the message.


    ¡°Let me show where your workshop is going to be.¡±


    Guardian led Aiu to a different room, it was not as spacious as the hall but it was still quite big. It had plenty of space for various alchemy equipment and storage. Aiu and Guardian finished unloading the goods and setting the equipment up'' Tiramisu stuck around and observed the two working.


    She had nothing better to do and she wanted some time alone with Guardian. They haven¡¯t done anything even remotely intimate ever since they went to the beach and she began to feel anxious and frustrated. However, it was not too bad being able to just observe the one she loved, better than nothing. She wished she could help, but she couldn¡¯t because the two were assembling something she could not comprehend. She did not know what it was or what it did.


    ¡°We will need to cut a hole in the ceiling for the chimney but otherwise everything is set up.¡±


    ¡°This took a while... So where can I get plants to turn into potions?¡± Aiu was keen to continue her craft. She could not do that while she was travelling.


    ¡°Unfortunately the forest is too far, so we will have to purchase it from the market. Tell Ithayiga what you need and he will get it for you.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t that will be expensive?¡± Guardian¡¯s thinking about money and profit rubbed on Aiu.


    ¡°It is fine, since the potions and other things can be sold at a much higher price. Also, I have a deal with the foreign race coming from a distant island. They will gladly buy it in bulk for exports to their homeland.¡±


    ¡°So you thought this through already.¡±


    Guardian nodded to her in agreement. Aiu¡¯s hands reached towards his thigh once again; her thoughts were getting curly and she forgot that a lizardwoman was still here.


    Tiramisu let out a hiss, it was subconscious and quiet but loud enough for Aiu to be reminded that she was not alone.


    ¡°Ehem¡­ Guardian, do you mind sending your servant away? Reward remember?¡± Aiu blushed then asking this. She wanted to get her hands on him.


    ¡°I am not his servant but his mate.¡± Tiramisu had to put this tiny human servant in place. She did not want to be put at the same level as Guardian¡¯s other servants. Her status was way higher, she was his lover and she will be bearing his children; that was what she thought.


    ¡°Eh!? A mate, what does this mean?¡± Aiu asked trying to get an understanding of the situation.


    ¡°It means exactly what it is supposed to mean. I am having his children so you better know your place.¡± Tiramisu was still somewhat unsure if she had the rank to command Guardian''s servants but she had to put this human in place. She did not particularly like Aiu, she felt that something was off with Aiu¡¯s behaviour and body language.


    ¡°EHH? What?!¡± Aiu''s eyes darted from Guardian to Tiramisu and back to Guardian. She looked at him confused, her eyes begged for an explanation.


    Guardian was in a pickle. He was unsure what to say, he was just as confused too. He did not know where this ''I have his children'' came from. This was not supposed to be possible. Actually, he knew this was impossible. Guardian assumed that Tiramisu was willingly lying about this, but he still had to put a finger on why she would do that.


    ¡°Guardian¡­ Did you¡­ Did you have sex with her?¡± Aiu could not believe what the lizardwoman was saying.


    ¡°Well, yes¡­¡± This question made him think if his choice to have sex with Tiramisu and other women was a bad one. He held a belief that it was his body and he should be able to do what he wants with it. He did not belong to Aiu or anyone else for that matter or was in some sort of arrangement.


    Yet still, he could see that Aiu was emotionally hurt. She was sobbing like a child. The concept of a relationship was somewhat alien to him. However, he did not want to lose Aiu''s trust, he worked hard at winning her over and she was the most precious asset to him. That is why he felt trapped, he did not know how to fix it.


    Guardian took too long to make things right and Aiu assumed that he chose that lizard woman¡¯s side. Aiu ran wailing away from Guardian and out of the room, she felt hurt and betrayed. Her reckless dash did not continue for long; she hit someone and fell on the ground.


    ¡°Ouch! What is up with you, little girl.¡±


    Aiu looked at the one she had knocked over it was a blonde girl who was clearly a teenager yet still had the audacity to call her a little girl. Aiu wanted to rebuke her but her words got stuck in her mouth; she got distracted by a huge rock construct standing beside her. It looked like a statue of sorts but it could move. The rock giant picked Aius interest for a brief moment.


    ¡°You are crying, did you get hurt when falling? And I thought I have softened your fall.¡± Cynthia stood up dusting her skirt. She offered a hand for Aiu who was still crouched on the ground and eying her golem.


    ¡°Ha ha ha. I assume you have never seen a golem before. It is amazing is it not, the name is Rocky.¡±


    Aiu took Cynthia¡¯s hand but did not linger around. She said thank you and proceeded to run somewhere quiet and away from the people.


    Cynthia followed Ithayiga who led her to the room where Guardian was. To Cynthia''s disappointment, once there the furry boy, she so much liked to pet, left the room and went on his way. She greeted Guardian with her brightest smile, she already knew why she was asked to come here.


    ¡°You have fixed the golem. That is good.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, took me a while and it was expensive. I am just glad I did not need to send him to grandpa for repairs. He is a golem maker after all.¡± Cynthia was glad to be able to ¡®glue¡¯ fractured golem back together with her repair skills.


    ¡°Speaking about your grandpa. Here, this is the potion.¡±


    ¡°So this is the thing. The real thing. The one and only. Illusive elixir of...¡± Cynthia took the potion in her hands to inspect it. ¡°Will it work?¡±


    ¡°There is only one way to find out. He will have to drink it. I would advise going easy on it as it might be quite toxic but I believe it should do the trick. And if it does not, you will not need to pay me.¡± Guardian remembered their agreement.


    ¡°And if it does, I will reward you greatly.¡± Cynthia put the potion in her purse. She had finally got what she was trying to obtain for years.


    ¡°Mhm.¡±


    ¡°Say why you do not look too happy?¡± Cynthia commented on Guardian''s facial expression. She knew him long enough to be able to tell that something was up.


    ¡°I have some woman issues with my assistant Aiu. The one who made this potion.¡±


    ¡°Ah, this must be a small girl who ran into me. You know I am a woman and I can help you if you want.¡± She offered to listen and help him to solve his problem. She owed not just him but Aiu too for making this potion.


    Guardian explained what happened. he came out clean and told everything, both past and present. He was not ashamed of the things he did, nor he felt that he should be; this was why he could tell them so openly. Tiramisu was there to hear it all, her tail was swinging angrily from side to side, she did not seem too happy to hear about his past adventures.


    ¡°I see. I knew that you and Tiramisu were going out. And of course you did some things in the past with other women; that is natural. This was before you been dating Tiramisu.¡± It was not just Aiu he was having some issues with, Tiramisu too. Cynthia reflected on what she just heard from Guardians perspective trying to push his point.


    ¡°I know, I do not resent him for that.¡± Tiramisu did not blame Guardian in the slightest she had no problem with him what so ever.


    ¡°Yet you are still jealous. I understand you as a woman, but you should not lie about having his children.¡±


    ¡°You call me a liar?! I do not lie, we did it properly. I had made sure.¡±


    ¡°¡­" Synthia took a step back and narrowed her eyes carefully looking at possibly overly naive lizardwoman in front of her. "You are aware that two different races, no matter how similar they are, cannot have children.¡±


    Regardless of being so young Cynthia was well educated, even about things like that. She was of a noble birth after all. She knew about such stuff, yet she was aware that not everyone was so fortunate as her.


    ¡°What?! This cannot be true.¡± Cynthia''s words shook the very foundation of Tiramisus world.


    ¡°But it is¡­ It might be hard for you, but I assure it is as I say. You knew that too, Guardian?¡± She asked just to be sure.


    ¡°Yes, of course. I thought it was a common knowledge.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± Tiramisu was out of words. Her dream came crashing right before her eyes. She wanted to cry out of despair.


    ¡°Hug her.¡± Cynthia whispered an advice to Guardian.


    Guardian took Tiramisu in his arms. He had to set things straight.


    ¡°There has been a misunderstanding. I know we have been on a date and we did things. But¡­¡± He looked directly into the Tiramisu''s eyes and continued. ¡±I think of you only as a friend.¡±


    Tiramisu got friend-zoned and this had almost killed her from inside.


    ¡°However, we can still do thing together and hang around. If that is what you want.¡± Guardian added.


    At first, Tiramisu thought that he rejected her, but now it looked that she still had a chance. He was a good catch and she did not want to let him go, even if they could not have children.


    ¡°That is fine, I guess-sss. But how about Aiu and can we sss-still go on a date occasionally?¡± She struggled not to cry as she said those words.


    ¡°Aiu is very precious to me. In fact, I am her adopted father, but the boundary got confused and things got complicated with her. Hence this turn of events¡­ Cynthia can you find Aiu and talk with her, you seem to be good at this feelings thing.¡±


    Cynthia got slightly shocked at the finding that he was her stepfather too. She assumed that the girl in question was not quite right. Cynthia deduced that this Aiu was clearly having one, or even a dozen screws loose to go after Guardian like that, but she was not a judgmental person.


    ¡°I will, and thank you again for the potion. I am in your debt after all.¡± She went away to look for Aiu.


    Tiramisu waited for Cynthia to leave. She had calmed down, being in his arms helped her. She liked to be hugged like that.


    ¡°You did not answer my question.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°No. Can we still go on a date and do other stuff too?¡±


    ¡°If it will be beneficial for both of us, I see no reason why we can¡¯t. In my eyes, nothing had changed between us.¡±


    Tiramisu wished she could say the same. However, his answer made her content for now.


    ¡°Can we stay like this for a bit longer?¡± She asked him. Somewhere deep down she still felt that she was losing him. Remaining in his embrace somewhat reassured her that this maybe was not the case.


    ¡°But I have so much stuff to do.¡±


    Tiramisu looked at him benignly. Her eyes were still wet from fresh tears.


    ¡°You will have to help me in getting some food. There are three more mouths to feed.¡± This was his way of saying I will do what you ask me if you do what I ask.


    ¡°I will do anything for you if you stay by my side.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t commit to that. But you can stay by my side and follow me through my journey in this life.¡± He patted her back and added. ¡°So long as you are not a burden.¡±


    His words were harsh but they were not malicious. She knew that he was being honest with her.


    ¡°I would never be. You will see how good and useful I can be. I will make you wish that I was your mate!¡±


    ¡°Then I am expecting great things from you.¡±


    Tiramisu had made a new life goal and she felt like they have made up. Guardian came clean with her, she wanted to come clean too. Killing that Shazzara woman was a mistake but she did not want to tell him what she did and ruin this lovely mood. Some things were better left unsaid, this was to protect her relationship with him.


    The two remained in each other''s embrace for a little while longer. Meanwhile, Cynthia was playing a detective in order to find where her potion maker disappeared.

 The hunt - Deeds both good and bad

    Guardian was working hard with a pickaxe trying to widen the hole in the ceiling. He needed it for the chimney for the distillation apparatus and fireplace. He had also planned to make a shoot for fuel so that he would not need to go outside to the storeroom for the firewood or coal.


    ¡°Guardian?¡± Aiu interrupted his hard labour.


    ¡°Aiu, did you talk with Cynthia?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°And?¡± Guardian was interested in the outcome of their discussion.


    ¡°I understand why you did what you did, but¡­¡±


    ¡°But you are still unhappy about those things. Look Aiu I am sorry, I did not know this would hurt you. It was just a pleasure for the body, nothing else.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but¡­ You have to make up for me. You have to do the same stuff with me. I what the same what you did to other women!¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Guardian tough that she was being unreasonable, she was not thinking as a sober person. The thing Aiu asked was anatomically impossible.


    ¡°You have to fuck me. Otherwise, I will be mad.¡± Demanded Aiu.


    ¡°I do not think this is a good idea. Let¡¯s think of something else.¡± He tried to reason.


    ¡°No!¡± Aiu reached to undo his loincloth.


    ¡°Fine, do as you wish. But do not blame me if this does not work.¡±


    There is no way Aiu will be able to have what she wants, but he decided to let her make that mistake. He hoped that she will learn that some things are not meant to be done.


    ¡°Come on, get hard for me.¡± The loincloth was undone and Aiu was rubbing his member in her palms.


    Aiu was being over capricious. This couldn''t be done willy-nilly, the mood and proper time for these things were important too. Guardian felt pressured into doing this.


    ¡°You want this so it is up to you to get it hard.¡±


    The capricious woman did not respond in words but in actions. Aiu lubricated his penis with her saliva and rubbed it to life with her hands. She tried to put it in her mouth but her small oral hole was too small; she pressed her lips on his tip and sucked the hole of it instead.


    ¡°Ok, it is big and hard. Now put it in.¡± She turned around and put herself on all fours; her butt was raised for him to take.


    ¡°I do not think this is a good idea.¡±


    His member was almost as big as one of her limbs.


    ¡°Just do it! Look how wet I am.¡±


    Indeed, she was dripping wet from arousal. Guardian lowered himself so that his stiff rod was in a line of her raised butt. He positioned his tip near her entrance.


    ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± Aiu rubbed the end of his cock with her butt and pussy; she was inviting him in.


    ¡°There is no way it will fit there.¡± This was his genuine judgement.


    ¡°Nonsense, woman¡¯s body can be very flexible.¡± Aiu pushed her lower end towards his raging erection.


    Her pussy pressed against his penis, but as he said it was indeed too big. It was too thick to even start getting inside her. She tried and pushed, it felt as if she was trying to mouth up a melon. Task impossible for a human body, especially for a small and petite like hers.


    "Get in!¡± Aiu became frustrated.


    ¡°Told you. Let¡¯s just think of something else. What if I please you normally like I used to?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ It needs to be inside of me, otherwise, it does not count¡­ What if you pressed it there and shot your load straight in my hole.¡±


    ¡°Would that please you?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s do that.¡±


    Aiu laid down on her back and begun massaging his shaft with her legs.


    ¡°Then you are close, press it against my pussy hole me and shoot away.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Aiu did her best to please him with her feet and thighs. She pressed his thick penis between her legs and worked it rhythmically. Sometimes she would rub its tip around her pussy to juice it up so it slides better. They were at this exercise for over two minutes; Aiu stamina was at her limits and she began to tire and slow down.


    ¡°How far from finishing are you?¡± Aiu did not know if she will be able to keep at it for any longer.


    ¡°Not even close. Let¡¯s try this.¡±


    Guardian grabbed her legs in his hands. Squeezed them tight making sure his dick is in between her thighs and the rest of the legs. He pleasured himself with her libs vigorously.


    ¡°Close¡­¡± He finally announced.


    He quickly pressed the tip of his penis directly to her wet entrance. His penis hole touched her narrow slit, his cum-pipe and her juice-tunnel were connected. He released his load directly inside her. The pressure of thick liquid was immense and it filled her insides to the brim.


    Aiu¡¯s body twitched from being forcefully invaded like that. She felt stretched from inside and overfilled. Guardians penis pulsed once more and another surge of cum rushed to fill her even more. There was little room for it to go and it escaped with a squirt. Guardian raised his manhood slightly, it pulsed once more and sprayed blue liquid all over her belly.


    Aiu gasped from the strange sensation. Her muscles twitched and she squired the excess cum in an overwhelming orgasm.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Ah¡­There was so much of it.¡± She checked between her legs ¡°It is still leaking out.¡±


    ?? ?? ??


    ¡°We did it. Are you happy now? We won¡¯t need to fight or argue anymore?¡±


    ¡°Yes very¡­ This was amazing.¡±


    Guardian thought that his apprentice was very weird, but he was happy of settling things in such an easy way.


    ¡°Well, then can you maybe advise me on something.¡± He asked; it was time to do business.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I was studying this book. For one of the rituals I need a certain crystal and I was wondering if you could help me in making one.¡±


    Guardian described what he needed hoping that Aiu as an alchemist will be able to advise him. By now she was more experienced in practical alchemy than him.


    ¡°Cynthia mentioned that she is enchanter too¡­ I am not sure I can make something like that alone. So why don¡¯t we ask her to help?¡±


    ¡°Good idea. I will send Ithayiga to get her.¡±


    ¡°No need. She said she will come and check up on me in an hour or so.¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°She is coming back?¡±


    Guardian wondered if this sex thing was Cynthia¡¯s suggestion to Aiu. She was coming to check on the outcome, after all. If so she was a weirdo too, she should know better about suggesting such things to someone like Aiu.


    ¡°Yes. She said that she has to send a potion I made to her relative. She is quite a nice girl. I think we can be good friends. And her golem is amazing. I wish I¡­¡± Aiu was beginning to blab.


    ¡°Ok then. Let clean up here and wait for her in the dining hall.¡±


    Guardian sat at the table with others. It was dinner time and the lizards were eating their fill of fish. They were getting all the energy they would need; a hard night of labour awaited them. They will need to move a huge quantity of crates from the harbour. Aiu joined others. The fish was raw but she was too hungry to complain.


    Tiramisu sat close to the Guardian. She offered to feed him but Guardian was not feeling hungry. Then she leaned closer to him and whispered.


    ¡°I can smell you on this human, Aiu. Did you two do it?¡±


    Guardian made a mental note that lizardkind are this observant and can even smell that kind of stuff. Maybe he should rub Aiu in some herbal perfume or oil next time.


    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± He asked her. He began to notice that there always is this tension between the women around him when he is with more than one female.


    ¡°No. I am way past this. But I am still jealous. What do I need to do to¡­ to receive the same sort of treatment too?¡±


    ¡°Not you too¡­¡± It seems Aiu¡¯s condition was contagious. He got another female who possibly wanted sex stuff as a reward. ¡°Work hard.¡± The answer was the same for both women.


    ¡°This is it?¡± Tiramisu was surprised. This did not seem hard at all, she always worked hard.


    Also, she did not want sex as a reward. Well, she wanted sex but being with him intimate and feeling that she had a role in his life was the real reward for her.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Guardian nodded. ¡°Ah, Cynthia. You stole my assistant!¡± Guardian jabbed at golem master who just came at the dining hall.


    She took a beastman boy with her when she went on a trip to the guild houses. She liked to pet him and she wanted some company.


    ¡°I am back. He is so fluffy and cute, mind renting him to me now and then?¡±


    ¡°Never¡­¡± If she wanted an assistant she could hire anyone else with her money.


    ¡°So how was it?¡± Cynthia asked Guardian cheekily. She blinked at him with her left eye.


    Guardian was unsure what this gesture meant.


    ¡°I do not know what you are talking about.¡±


    ¡°Ha ha ha¡­ Aiu is beet red and grinning. I assume it was a success.¡± Cynthia laughed.


    ¡°Anyway, thank you for the help.¡± He thanked her from his heart, she did help with to settle this dispute between women even if the solution was odd.


    ¡°Can I ask you for another favour?¡± Guardian had to rely on her again.


    ¡°Anything for my friend¡­ But you will have to borrow me Ithayiga for a day.¡± Cynthia grew fond of this boy and wanted a pet like him.


    ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s go somewhere private.¡±


    Guardian and Aiu explained what they needed. They needed to make a magic crystal.


    ¡°I might be able to help. But we need to obtain something to act as a base for it. Something which is already able to store magic. An excavated crystal would be perfect but they are extremely rare and expensive.¡±


    ¡°How about a monster core?¡± Guardian remembered that monster cores get crystallised after some time and were used in multiple magic recipes and items.


    ¡°You know what¡­ That might work but we will need to refine it first.¡±


    ¡°We have you and Aiu for that. I am sure you will manage.¡±


    ¡°I never did something like that, but we can try. Do you know where to get one? What are we killing this time?¡±


    ¡°I have a creature we can take care of in mind.¡±


    Guardian explained that they will be going after a huge turtle who lived in a lake not too far from the swampy forest. They could even pick some swamp plants for Aiu while there.


    They have agreed to meet up in a few days¡¯ time. Guardian still had to finish the workshop and other improvements in the dungeon. Not to mention the preparation time and all of the equipment they would need. Oddly enough Cynthia agreed to help free of charge; having friends was indeed convenient.


    The party met close to the swamp border. The hunting party was not just Guardian and Cynthia, there were many beastmen and lizard men tagging along. The Lake Turtle was rumoured to be very large and Guardian will need any help he can get.


    Guardian led the hunting party through the swamp towards the lake. The journey was slow but relatively safe. A large number of people prevented monsters from attacking.


    Finally, they have reached the shore of the lake. The lake was huge, stretching at least five kilometres. Its water was crystal clear, flocks of fish could be seen swimming in the depths.


    The party stopped to rest for a bit and then they set their equipment in preparation for the hunt. Guardian had bought four large goats as a lure. He chained the creatures on the shore. He slit a throat of one of the goats making sure the blood flows into the water to lure the Lake Turtle.


    The men ran further into the forest and hid in the bushes. Everyone hid and waited, hoping that it will not take too long for the monster to show. And sure enough, in about ten or so minutes a huge wave of water washed ashore and with it emerged a gigantic monster.


    The monster was at a size of a small house. It was green in colour and had an impenetrable armour in a form of a turtle shell. The top of its shell was overgrown with water plants. If it would rest on a lake bottom no one would be able to see the monster past its camouflage.


    It stretched its neck and snapped at the goats with its beak pulling them to its mouth. The animals were crushed by the beak and swallowed whole.


    An array of javelins rained on the monster''s neck and feet lodging deep inside its flesh. Ropes were attached to the ends of the javelins and groups of beastmen pulled on them preventing the monster from escaping back to the water.


    The golem Rocky rushed out of the overgrowth towards the monster and tackled it from the side. The force of the impact would be enough to shatter a wall but it did little to the oversized turtle. The golem was only a distraction.


    More beastmen rushed out from the green and threw their javelins towards turtle''s head; it was important that the monster does not retreat to its shell. The turtle struggled and managed to pull its captors back with it as it stepped towards the lake.


    The turtle was already slow and beastmen did a good job at slowing it down even further. It was Guardian''s turn play his part. He ran towards the bound animal, in his hands he had a rusty pickaxe. The tool was used in demolition to break walls and sturdy rocks, this time it will be used on an equally sturdy turtle.


    ¡°Keep its head stretched!¡± He commanded his workers who struggled to pull on ropes.


    The neck and head were kept outside the shell by the beastmen who pulled on the ropes. Some of the javelins got pulled out taking chunks of flesh with them but there were enough of them still lodged in to keep the neck stretched.


    Guardian closed down the distance in seconds and swung the pickaxe towards the head of the turtle. It collided with a thump and left a gash in the monster''s neck. He did less damage than he expected, even its skin was hard to pierce.


    While rocky was pushing the turtle from the back so it does not escape and the beastmen kept its neck stretched, Guardian swung the demolition tool again and again. The wound got bigger with each swing, the gash was spewing blood all over. The monster struggled as best as it could, besides escaping to the water or retreating into its shell it had no other defences. It had a formidable beak but that too was kept away from the Guardian.


    Finally, the pickaxe hit something very important, probably a spinal cord in the neck. The turtle collapsed on its belly ceasing the struggle.


    ¡°We did it!¡± Guardian and the men cheered.


    This was a lot easier than he had imagined. All thanks to his plan and extra two dozens of men. However, the hard part only just began. He had to dissect the turtle and this was not an easy task as its shell was impenetrable to any tools he had. Instead, he will need to dig at the turtle flesh starting from the neck. The monster was huge and it would take hours, but he had to do it to reach the core inside.


    The beastmen joined him in cutting the flesh away; they started from the legs and tail. They worked their way from six holes in a shell towards the middle. It took them three hours but finally, the turtle flesh and organs were gouged out from inside.


    Guardian held the biggest monster core in his hands he had ever seen. The creature did not cast any magic so Guardian was unsure what to expect but the surprise was welcome. The size must have something to do with the turtles mass and age. Of what he heart this creature must have been 500 years old if not more. At some point, it had been called a lake guardian and revered in local villages, but that was in a past. All it did now was attack those who fished in this lake, eating many unsuspecting men whole together with their fishing rafts.


    The party loaded the meat and other useful parts of the monster into the pull carts. The shell was valuable too so it was attached with rope to the golem. Rocky and few other beastmen were tasked at pulling it all the way back home. Guardian and the rest of the men marched towards the nearby village.


    In the village, he met with Aiu and the elves, who were tasked to gather herbs in the swamps. Guardian warned them not to go too deep and be wary of the swamp creatures. All was fine, and Aiu managed to get a lot of useful plants. Apparently, villagers helped her as they still felt indebted to the Guardian for killing the tree monster.


    He left the villagers some turtle meat, which the men gladly accepted. They offered Guardian and his men to stay but he refused as he needed to get back to town.


    The party was tired and exhausted from the forced march but they had successfully made their way back to the slum district by the morning.


    ¡°Guardian you are back!¡± Tiramisu met him. She looked somewhat distressed.


    ¡°Did anything happen?¡±


    ¡°Tonight¡¯s shipment it did not come. Actually, there were no Islander ships at all.¡±


    ¡°That is odd. The Islanders did not warn me about that. I was sure we will get our goods as usual.¡±


    ¡°Well, they were looking for you.¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°They refused to speak with me. They wanted only you.¡±


    ¡°I see. Something must have happened. They will come again I am sure. I still have their money after all.¡±


    It was not the time to worry about those things. He had other problems to solve. One of them being that he had too much meat which will spoil soon. He doubted that he will be able to sell it all in the marked so instead, he decided to do something that was uncharacteristic of him.


    ¡°Men, listen to me and listen well! You worked very hard today and I invite you and your families for a feast. Bring in as many people as you want, there is plenty of meat for all.¡±


    Guardian decided to reward his hired men with a feast. Also, he made sure that Cynthia was here to witness all of this. He knew that he won her favour already; she was smiling at him approvingly.

 41 Greed and jealousy - Calm before the storm.

    Within the prison grounds, a huge bonfire was lit. A large number of people gathered for a feast. There were tons of meat and it had to be eaten before it spoiled. Some were eating it raw while others cooked it on fire. The meat tasted bland because no one was rich enough to have salt or spices. After all, people who were currently celebrating here all came from nearby slums. It was bland but no one could say no to free food.


    Guardian was enjoying a massive cut of charred turtle meat. He noticed that his guests were sneaking gazes to him. All of the beastmen have already heard rumours about Guardian but most of them haven¡¯t met him personally. After all, it was natural that his exotic looks will attract attention. People looked at him and whispered to each other, probably talking about him. That was it, no one dared to approach him and Guardian did not mind that at all.


    He knew that his moment of peace will not last long; he could see an Islander approaching his place.


    ¡°Guardian. Where have you been? My men were looking for you all over.¡± The Islander seemed distressed.


    ¡°I have been on a business trip. So what happened with the shipment?¡±


    ¡°The shipment is fine. It is just that we are not able to dock in this town anymore.¡±


    Guardian looked at the Islander questioningly.


    ¡°The things with the nobles got out of hand in the sea. There was a fight which escalated leading to a few ships sinking¡­ It is not a war yet but we are in a very bad situation.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Guardian got the gist of it. All good things come to an end and so was their business deal. He handed the Islander his money from the previous day.


    ¡°To be honest, I did not think you will honour the deal till the end. But you did and I am thankful for that.¡±


    ¡°Well if anything comes up, may it be legal or not, you know where to find me. Or send a message through the harbour girls, the ones who pleasure the men. The blind one, Iustitia, she works for me.¡±


    ¡°I have met her already. We will contact you in due time. I am not even supposed to be in this town. There is a warrant and a bounty on us Islanders here.¡±


    Guardian looked around. They were surrounded by cash-strapped people, if they knew about this they would be ripping the man apart already.


    ¡°You better go then.¡±


    The Islander stretched his arm to shake hands with Guardian, a sign of respect. After the shake, the man carefully navigated past the beastmen away from the prison ruins and towards the harbour.


    ¡°Not a war, YET.¡± Guardian repeated the Islander¡¯s word. It was clear that there will be more trouble in the future. The question was if he could somehow profit from all that. He started thinking about it.


    Probably it was for the best if he stocked up on healing potions and salves. There might be an increased demand for those things later. Also, it would be good to store some extra food too.


    His toughs were interrupted by Aiu who appeared out of nowhere.


    ¡°Who was that? He looked very weird. I have never seen a beastman like that. What did he want? Is he a friend of yours?¡± Aiu was curious about the exotic stranger who just visited Guardian.


    ¡°His people come from an island further away in the see, that is why he looks different. We just finished some business transaction.¡±


    ¡°So it was about the money. Anyway, I am done with my tasks. Shouldn¡¯t we start working on that monster core?¡±


    ¡°I am done eating so I guess we can. Go get Cynthia and find me in my research hall.¡±


    Aiu did as told and went to get Cynthia. Once all three were in the hall they began discussing the best way to do it. None of them had ever refined a monster core so there was a high chance it will not work.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we wait for it to harden naturally?¡± Cynthia knew that the monster core would crystallise on its own with time.


    The core was very big and Guardian did not want to wait a few months for that.


    ¡°Aiu you should be able to do something about that, no?¡±


    ¡°I can try pouring a few things on it and see if it reacts or not.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead then.¡±


    Aiu poured an acid over the core to clean and dissolve normal flesh away from it. Then she doused it in the alchemical liquid which was used to treat monster cores. For the final step, she poured a mix of different liquids. Guardian did not know what she was using but it seemed to work. The monster core soaked up the liquids and was getting harder and harder with each passing minute. The round and spongy organ was turned into a rough looking crystal.


    ¡°The outside seems to be done. I am not so sure about the inside though.¡±


    ¡°This will have to do. The inner core will harden on its own with time. So is it good to be enchanted?¡± Guardian asked Cynthia.


    ¡°There is one way to know and that is seeing if it manages to hold an enchantment.¡±


    Cynthia cast enchanting magic on the crystallised core. And from the dull dark colour it became deep blue.


    ¡°It looks like it does. Just let me reinforce it; It will take some time because of its size.¡±


    Cynthia treated the core with her magic for longer making sure that it is stable and won''t shatter once exposed to high amounts of magic.


    ¡°It just keeps soaking it up, this is a good sign of a high quality. It means it will conduct magic well.¡± She handed the core back to Guardian, ¡°I am done. So what you will do with it? Sell?¡±


    The core of such size would fetch a big fortune.


    ¡°No. I am keeping it.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t making a stave shart with it, are you? It is too big to be of any practical use. Not to mention that it will take forever to charge with mana.¡±


    Little monster cores in their crystal form were used in staves to focus and conduct magic better. Also, they could be made into talismans to strengthen various spells or used in equipment to power an enchantment. Monster cores at the size of a large pumpkin were rarely obtained if ever, so Cynthia did not know any practical use for such big crystal.


    ¡°I have a purpose for it, do not worry. And no I am not telling you, that is a mage''s secret.¡±


    ¡°This is not fair. I helped you to obtain and refine it. You have to tell me.¡± Cynthia pressed her lips into a pout as she was complaining.


    ¡°I am not sure if it will work. If it does I will show you the end result.¡±


    ¡°Fine, I guess. I will come and check about it later then. I will be going home, all this magic work drained me. Where is Ithayiga? I will be taking him.¡±


    Guardian remembered that he promised to let her borrow his assistant.


    ¡°He should be around. Just shout for him, he is outside.¡±


    Cynthia waved a goodbye and ran away to look for a beastboy.


    ¡°Right¡­ Aiu I have to show you something.¡± Guardian knew that he will need to expose Aiu to his research sooner or later.


    He led his assistant past thick wooden doors and towards a small cramped room. Once he opened the door both their noses were assaulted with a putrid smell of stale air. Guardian lit a torch illuminating the dark room. It was lined with rusty iron cages. The cages were not empty, they had beastmen inside them. The men were bound with ropes or chains and gagged with leather strips. They were very filthy and looked sickly.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ¡°What¡­ What is this?¡±


    ¡°Prison. Don''t worry they are not innocent, all of these men are bandits. Perhaps some were even killers.¡±


    ¡°Why? Why are they here and not in the normal prison?¡±


    ¡°Because I have a better use for them here. I use them for my research.¡±


    Aiu was very silent, she had no words to say.


    ¡°Let me demonstrate.¡±


    Guardian approached a random cage and the man within it stirred. He had an idea of what will happen to him and he tried to resist his fate. The resistance was futile and the beastman was dragged on the altar and chained to it. Guardian put his brand new crystal next to it.


    Aiu was observing unsure of what Guardian was trying to do.


    ¡°Stand behind me. We do not want the spell to latch on you instead of this man do we?¡±


    ¡°You''re doing magic!?¡± Aiu hoped that he will cast a spell to heal the poor man.


    ¡°Something like that.¡± Guardian opened the leather-bound book and started to read an incantation from it.


    Aiu observed the ritual quietly unwilling to interrupt him. She was unsure why he needed her presence, but she was glad to be included in his work. She was listening carefully trying to make sense of incantation, but she failed, the words sounded like a garbled mess. The only thing she noticed was that the intonation of Guardians voice got stronger with each word and carried more and more power.


    Blue beams of light shot from Guardian¡¯s body; the light resembled long worms. If worms could be ghosts they would look like these beams. It was not a beautiful sight to Aiu, she was terrified. The worms floated towards the beastman and plunged into his body. The light beams concentrated mostly around the head wriggling deep into the body through mouth and ears.


    More and more of wispy light was absorbed by the bound body. All of the batsman¡¯s muscles contracted at once, sending him into a spasm. He let a scream full of fear and despair. Aiu had never heard a man or an animal scream in such a terrifying way.


    As the man was screaming his body started to shrink. The flesh melted into nothing leaving only skin and bone. A ghastly spectre formed above the dead corpse. For a moment Aiu tough that she was dreaming. Her whole body was shaking and wet in sweat. She pinched herself just to be sure; the pinch hurt. She kept pinching her arm harder and harder; it hurt and she even pierced her skin. Aiu refused to accept that this was a real thing.


    The spectre screeched just like the man did minutes ago. It was being sucked into the crystal. Strings of its spectral body were pulled apart from its body bit by bit and becoming one with the crystal. The pull got stronger with each passing second sucking the rest of the spectre in one big gulp.


    The unholy light show came to a stop leaving the room in an unpleasant silence. Aiu was still shaking, she did not think magic could be this scary.


    ¡°Yes! It worked!¡± Guardian cheered observing his fruits of labour.


    The crystal went from deep blue colour to a dark red. It absorbed all of the energy released by dying body but it was nowhere near to being full. Guardian touched the crystal feeling the mana pulsing deep inside it.


    ¡°I can feel it. The power, it is there! Magic is amazing is it not?¡± He turned to Aiu.


    She did not know if she should congratulate him and cheer with him. She did not feel that amazing at all. In the end, Aiu just nodded meekly.


    ¡°Well then, let''s continue. This will not fill on its own.¡±


    Guardian went to grab another beastman to use as fuel.


    ¡°G-Guardian¡­ Is it fine¡­ if I go to work in a workshop.¡± Aiu did not want to witness this hellish ritual again.


    ¡°I wanted you to observe this as an alchemist and give me your opinion of what you think. The changes in the body are fascinating no? What if we can add alchemy to this ritual and make it more efficient?¡±


    ¡°I am unsure what to make of this¡­ it was terrifying. I would rather work on herbs.¡±


    ¡°I would like you to think about all of this. You can go for now, but if you have any ideas let me know. Think about it and tell me later.¡±


    Aiu nodded in agreement and ran to her workshop. She did not want to think about it at all, quite the opposite. Aiu hopped that work will help her to forget about this.


    She was aware that she was ignorant about magic but the finding of this truth that mages killed people casually like that still shocked her. She wondered if the mages killed people in such rituals to get stronger. In the end, Aiu wrongly assumed that what Guardian did was a common practice for all of the mages.


    Guardian worked hard throughout the day to juice the crystal up. He had enough beastmen in store to finish this task. The result was a brilliant dark red crystal which glowed slightly in the darkness. He took the crystal into his hands and carried it carefully to the workshop where Aiu was working.


    ¡°All done. Look at it, is it not beautiful?¡±


    Aiu did not know what to say about it. How such a thing can be beautiful. Well, it did look like a giant glowing gem and was worth a castle worth of coins, but Aiu failed to appreciate the sight in front of her. Just like when it comes to food, sometimes knowing the recipe and seeing what actually comes inside ruins it. Like that time during the dinner then she ate delicious and juicy orbs with gusto. They had been delicious until she found out that they were unhatched fish eggs, the idea of eating unborn babies slightly disturbed her.


    ¡°So did any ideas pop into your head?¡± Guardian asked Aiu who was spacing out.


    Aiu shook her head, ¡°No, but I finished today''s work processing herbs we got in the swamp.¡±


    ¡°That is good. I will be heading out to the city. I have some matters to attend.¡±


    ¡°Ok¡­¡± Aiu was still deep in thought. She began thinking about what she saw again.


    Guardian left his assistant and headed towards the harbour. It was getting dark and it was a good time to check the situation regarding this Islander and noble incident with his informant. He hopped that Iustitia will be at her place and he will not need to wait for her there. He knew that other women would bother him too much if he decided to idle there.


    He opened the doors to the establishment, letting himself in.


    ¡°I am here for Iustitia. Can you get her for me?¡± He asked a random girl.


    ¡°Yes, one minute.¡± She walked swinging her hips seductively and disappeared into one of the corridors.


    ¡°Guardian, what a pleasure. What brings you here?¡± Iustitia greeted him.


    ¡°I want to know some things about what is happening with the foreign merchants and the nobility. You have the details, no?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I knew you would ask something like that.¡± Iustitia hoped that he came to visit her as a friend, but this was yet to happen, ¡°I heard some rumours. Let¡¯s go somewhere more private.¡±


    She took his hand and led him to one of the bigger rooms. Guardian once again was surprised by her ability to do this perfectly without the need to touch the walls and the like. He had almost forgotten that she could not see. Once inside the room, Iustitia lit some incense and they sat together on a big matt in the middle of the room.


    A familiar smell filled Guardian''s nose, but he did not want to get distracted, he came to do business, after all. Iustitia touched his chest and face with her hands, her fingers caressed his skin.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I want to see you. It had been so long since I could see you with my hands.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay. So what is the deal with those nobles?¡±


    Iustitia caressed his body with her hands while talking about what she had gathered so far. It was as his business partner said. There was a lot of trouble in the sea. Nobles had a full intention of fighting with the Islanders. They wanted to sack their ships and confiscate all of their goods. They even prevented the foreigners from sailing further down the sea away from their home island. Iustitia told that it is likely that the things will be settled on the land eventually. Nobles knew that and were preparing for it. They were hiring men for the upcoming battle.


    ¡°Will you join them? I am sure they will pay you generously? You are very strong and intimidating.¡± Her hands were all over his abdominal muscles.


    ¡°I have no intentions of joining them. I do not think that would be good for business.¡± Guardian had a hunch that Islanders might win and overthrow the leadership here. Before he picked sides he had to think things through very carefully. Otherwise, he would be expelled from the city or even killed.


    Iustitia let out a sigh of relief, ¡°That is good. I would hate to see you hurt.¡±


    ¡°Here, this is for your trouble. And this is for acting as a middleman between me and the merchants.¡± He handed her sixty silver coins. A large sum of money but he knew that she will have to share it with other girls.


    Iustitia weighted the coin pouch in her hands, ¡°This is more than I have expected. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°I will be leaving. See you next time.¡±


    Iustitia hoped that he would stay with her to chat for longer but she could not force him to do that. She did not feel like bothering him, not after she was paid so much.


    ¡°Ah, let me escort you out.¡± She offered and grabbed his arm.


    ¡°I see you are done. Why so quick? Was she not good enough?¡± Britta taunted Iustitia as she passed her in the corridor.


    Her taunt was ignored. It seems that Iustitia learned how to deal with her.


    ¡°Hey, Guardian did you know that Shazzara disappeared?¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± He got confused for a moment.


    ¡°Brita!.. You were not supposed to tell this and ruin the mood!¡±


    ¡°He would have found out eventually.¡± Brita shrugged it off, ¡°Oh and please do not take the fancy room if you are not getting paid!¡± Brita assumed that Iustitia attended to the Guardian for free.


    Guardian looked at Iustitia questioningly.


    ¡°It is as she says. Shazzara went missing quite a while ago. I fear she might not be within the living. This job is dangerous after all.¡± Iustitia remembered the night she was raped, she was lucky Guardian saved her or something even worse might have happened.


    ¡°Ohhh, the lizardwoman.¡± Guardian finally remembered, ¡°Let me know if I can help somehow.¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡­ If I find the man who did it I will let you know. But¡­¡± but she feared that she never will.


    Sooner or later, men talked and boasted about their unsavoury deeds. But this time, she heard no one talking anything remotely similar. She could not even find who the last Shazzara''s customer was.


    ¡°Well then, I am off.¡±


    ¡°No, no. Wait, I will escort you all the way to your home.¡± Iustitia did not want to part with him, ¡°Oh, and I actually got paid. Look at how much he likes me!¡± She threw a coin pouch at Brita.


    Tigerwoman opened the pouch and her jaw dropped. She could not believe anyone would pay this much for a slut. Brita thought that either Iustitia tricked him or that she could do something special to him no one else could. Brita was so jealous and she vouched to find why it was Iustitia Guardian choose and not her.


    ¡°Do as you wish.¡± Guardian did not mind a bit of company.


    The pair walked down the streets, Iustitia was almost glued to him, unwiling to let go. She was happy that he was not pushing her away. He seemed in a good mood and she was capitalising on it. She wondered how much she can push forward with him.


    They walked all the way like that to the prison ruins. Iustitia planned to ask if he could invite her inside. Just before her mouth could open to ask the question something else distracted her. She was feeling danger. She wondered what it could be as it should be safe, they were almost at Guardians home. Then she smelled unpleasant agitation in the air.


    ¡°Guardian, you are back. And with a company.¡± Hissed out Tiramisu. She surprised herself, her voice sounded more displeased and threatening than she thought it would have. She did not like seeing another woman clinging to Guardian like that. She was jealous again.


    ¡°Ah, could it be, Tiramisu?¡±


    ¡°That is right. So what do you want?¡±


    As far as Iustitia knew Tiramisu was only a friend to Guardian. Iustitia wondered if she should bail here and now or stand her ground and see what happens.

 42 Invasion forces - Here comes the battle

    Guardian stood in between two women; the air surrounding them radiated an aura of rivalry.


    ¡°She has accompanied me here, that is all.¡± Guardian stated the simple fact.


    ¡°M-hm¡­¡± Tiramisu doubted that a simple walk and talk was the only intention Iustitia had.


    ¡°It was nice to see you, Tiramisu. I''ll better be going.¡± Iustitia decided not to push it this time.


    Tiramisu took Guardian¡¯s arm away from Iustitia and led him inside.


    ¡°If you get any news about Islanders let me know.¡± Guardian asked Iustitia just before he disappeared down the stairs leading to the prison dungeon.


    The two finally were alone away from men stealing slut.


    ¡°Say, how about we sleep together today?¡± Tiramisu asked this while rubbing her chest on his broad arm.


    ¡°Why?¡± Guardian genuinely wanted to know. In his perspective Tiramisu was acting weird.


    ¡°Why not? I am sure it will feel good for both of us .¡±


    ¡°I will consider it.¡± At the moment Guardian did not feel the urge to sleep with anyone. However, he suspected that refusing her would lead to a lot of trouble later.


    It was very late and everything left to do now was to get some rest. As he walked past the narrow corridor leading to the hall Tiramisu was still clinging to him unwilling to let go. They reached his sleeping champers which were conveniently partitioned in his research hall. He went inside with full intent to get a good rest regardless of Tiramisu being with him. Inside the chamber on a soft matt where he slept was another person laying on top of it already. Of course, it had to be Aiu.


    ¡°Eh!¡± ¡°Huh!¡± Both women exclaimed at once. Neither expected to see one another here.


    Guardian was having none of their antics. He laid on his matt, shuffled a couple of time to get comfortable, ¡°It is time to rest - Shhhh.¡± He shushed them and closed his eyes.


    The women looked at each other intently, sparks were flying from their eyes. They wanted to complain but had a hunch that if they were to get noisy now they might get kicked out from the room. Both Aiu and Tiramisu knew what they have to do; a temporary ceasefire was put in place. They laid on the matt separated by Guardian who laid in between them. The women hugged him from both sides, pressing their bodies to his. Aiu and Tiramisu wanted to make a move on him, but they could not. Neither of them felt like doing that when another female was there. So they slept like that In an odd sandwich composed of human, lizard and something else entirely.


    The morning came but the sleeping trio could not know that. There were no windows in the dungeon for the morning sunlight to come in and announce a new day. It was Ithayiga¡¯s job to be morning sunshine and wake his master up, or at least he thought of himself so. He went inside the partition where the Guardian was sleeping. The boy did not expect to find others sleeping together with him. Ithayiga did not know how he should behave. Should he wake them up or just pretend that he did not come here at all.


    He stood there for good two minutes pondering what to do. He made his mind up to interrupt their slumber; he had to.


    ¡°Guardian, It is morning!¡± He got nervous and his voice sounded broken and uneven.


    Guardian rolled Aiu away from his chest. She was still sleeping like a log.


    ¡°Oh, it is you. I did not expect you back so soon. Weren¡¯t you with Cynthia?¡±


    Ithayiga had to run away from that woman. At first, she was pleasant and nice; he loved to be cuddled and petted. However, the things turned to something he could not handle and he had to run away.


    ¡°Iustitia is waiting for you. She has some news.¡± Ithayiga changed the topic avoiding answering Guardian¡¯s question.


    Guardian pried his tail away from Tiramisu, she was hugging it like a body pillow, and went with Ithayiga to meet Iustitia.


    He sat with her near a dinner table. He was keen to hear what she has to say.


    Apparently, things were worse than anyone could have expected. The matter at the sea escalated even further. Islanders having superior navy and experience won that one. However, having a harbour town which was hostile to them was not preferable. They lost too much and had enough aggression and resentment to feel like going for a bit of revenge and some pillaging. Islanders were in preparation to mount an inland invasion and take down the noble families which ruled this city.


    There were groups of recruiters going around the city and recruiting people for the upcoming fight. The wealthy were afraid that their fortune will be pillaged and were doing their best to secure enough guards for their property. The nobles were recruiting mercenary¡¯s to meet Islanders on the shore. But in the end, it was the nobles and the wealthy who were fighting the Islanders, the ones who were poor or lived in the slums had nothing to do with it. Actually, the slum dwellers knew that this time they will be just left alone.


    The only ones who decided to risk their lives were the ones who needed the reward of money desperately.


    ¡°So their recruitment isn''t going well?¡±


    ¡°I am afraid not. You didn''t change your mind about joining the nobles?¡±


    ¡°No. I think I will just lay low here in the dungeons until this mess sorts itself out.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense and this place looks very secure. It is more spacious than I thought.¡± Iustitia gave her general impression of the place. Even this dining room where they talked could host an entire village of people.


    ¡°It was a prison that is why." Guardian pointed the obvious, "Actually, with enough men and coin it could be turned to a fortress.¡±


    ¡°Say, do you mind if I and other girls take shelter here. The harbour is not the safest place to be right now.¡± Actually, it was the last place to be on the safety list.


    ¡°I owe you for all the favours and todays'' info. So I guess you can. There is plenty of rooms here, they just need cleaning.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for that. I will get the girls now.¡± Iustitia did not want to waste any time and ran to get her co-workers.


    Trouble has never been a thing which walks alone. Just as Iustitia ran out another woman let herself in. Not like anyone would be able to stop her coming in uninvited; she had a huge war golem accompanying her.


    ¡°Guardian I need a favour from you.¡± She went straight to business.


    Ithayiga looked panicked for a moment. He ran had away from her, after all. He feared that she came here to reprimand him.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Guardian asked without paying attention to his shaking assistant.


    ¡°There will be a battle in this city. A big one. I want you to stand by my side while we defend the city.¡±


    They fought quite a few fights already and Cynthia grew to value him as a companion and a friend she can rely on.


    ¡°Ah¡­ About that¡­¡± Guardian was thinking how to rebuke her.


    ¡°You can¡¯t?¡± Cynthia noticed his reluctance.


    ¡°Let me ask. Why have you took a side and decided to fight this time? He asked her.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you really ask this. You are serious?¡± From his look, she judged that he was. ¡°Okay. First, I have always defended this town and the people in here so it is only natural that I will continue to do so. Second, Guard Captain and others requested my assistance and I was in no position to turn them down. Lastly, I am a noble myself. Well, my situation is a bit different, but still, I am from a noble and a high ranking family. We nobles need to stand together now and then.¡± Cynthia explained her reasons. She left out a tiny detail of receiving a handsome pay for her assistance. Also, her rank in noble society surely would go up. That is if the battle was successful and she proved herself capable.


    ¡°I see. But who will defend the people here in the slums? Surely, all guards will be stationed in the harbour or by the noble houses. The slum district will be even more vulnerable than usual. What if anything happened here?¡± Even though it was extremely unlikely Guardian was pushing his point. ¡°I have to stay here.¡±


    ¡°I understand. What you say is true, if they attacked the slums no one would rush to help. It might be better if you stayed here.¡±


    Guardian nodded his head sagely; they have reached an understanding. Cynthia will have to collect favours he owed her next time.


    ¡°We still have time before the things get nasty. I have another question.¡± She glanced at Ithayiga for a moment.


    The boy wanted to run away but he knew he couldn¡¯t. Even if he tried he would get caught and probably pulverised for failing his duties. Yet the question Cynthia asked was nothing to do with him.


    ¡°So what did you do with the crystal?¡± She was curious and wanted to know ever since she left it with Guardian.


    Ithayiga let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Come, I will show.¡± Guardian stood up from the desk and led her to his research hall.


    There he showed her a dark red crystal glowing with power. She put her hand on it and she could feel the overwhelming power, it was pulsing and vibrating from all the mana it held trapped inside.


    ¡°You have managed to charge it, but how? This would take months even for a large group of mages.¡±


    ¡°My means of doing that are my own. It is a mages'' secret and it is better if you did not know.¡± Guardian was sure of it.


    ¡°I dislike that you are unwilling to share this secret with me, but I understand.¡± She knew that this was normal when it came to magic. A mage had to protect his secrets to protect his powers. ¡°So, how do you plan to use it?  Tell me this at least. This thing is quite dangerous now, the energy stored inside would be enough to blow up a small portion of a city. You are not doing that are you?¡± She had to be sure.


    ¡°What? No! And I don¡¯t know a proper ritual for that. Actually, I am undecided how to use the crystal. But I assure you that this won¡¯t be used for that sort of stuff. It would be too destructive.¡±


    ¡°I will trust you on that one. I better go to prepare, if you change your mind please come and join my side.¡±


    ¡°I doubt I will but okay. Oh and good luck in your battle.¡±


    ¡°I will need it.¡± Just before leaving, Cynthia looked at a cowering boy cheekily and smiled.


    Ithayiga knew that this was her twisted way of bullying him. She was definitely not a nice person he thought she was.


    He said one thing, but actually, Guardian had a use for the crystal. He will use it as a mana battery. It was perfect for him as his mana did not regenerate on itself so he would get it from the crystal instead. He opened the research book he had inherited and cast a binding spell on the crystal. This way he wouldn''t need to hold it in his hands but it still had to be close to his body for him to be able to draw mana from it.


    Then, Guardian dressed in a large black robe and put his two chains across his torso. He took the crystal, stored it in a sack and strapped it to his back. He did not want to pick sides but it did not mean that he will be sitting here doing nothing. He has decided to observe the fight from relative safety.


    He opened the entrance leading to the sewers and went through the narrow corridors leading to the main city. He had his map finally completed and ready to use.


    It was easy to navigate the tunnels and finally he had to make his way out from the sewers. The exit hole was too small for him and he had to widen it with magic. It was quite a remote location and this did not cause too much of a commotion. The city folk had more pressing matters to worry about, the collapsing sewer tunnel was not one of them.


    Guardian headed towards the harbour. Once there he could see a fleet of ships approaching from the distance. evident from foreign design, It was an enemy fleet. It seems that all of the Harbour City ships were captured or sunk, otherwise the foreigners would not have made it so far. To see how the battle unfolds he climbed on top of one of the buildings.


    The ships got closer to land and both sides were getting ready for battle. Just before ships could dock both sides launched a ranged attack. The city forces fired multiple fire arrows trying to set the ships ablaze while the islanders used mages to deflect them. The defending force was mostly human and beastmen fighters, it did not look like they had many mages within the ranks. The Islanders, on the other hand, were mostly mages, but their total number was far less than the men gathered to protect the city. To put it simply the defenders had numbers but the attackers had overwhelming power concentrated in a few individuals.


    Not only were the attackers able to deflect most of the arrows using magic, but they also managed to launch a counter-attack of their own. They fired magic projectiles at the archers. Those were fire bolts which exploded on the impact. The men seeing dangerous magic flying at them had to disperse and retreat further away, behind the line of melee fighters. This gave Islanders enough time to get close to the harbour docks leaving their ships mostly intact.


    The attacking forces jumped out of their ships and ran towards the defenders to meet them in melee. There was only a small band of horned fighters coming from ships. However, they were clad in metal from top to bottom. Their armour was shiny and well made. Only their hoves and horns poked out from their metal suits of armour. The melee fighters had menacing war axes in their hands. Opposite to the city defenders they did not need shields because of this sort of armour. Contrary to what one might believe the armoured fighters moved with considerable speed and finesse. The armour did not hinder their movement at all. On top of being well-trained fighters, they had multiple buffs and enchantments put on them by the mages.


    The defending forces were in stark contrast to the Islanders. They have been poorly outfitted, only the guards had a semblance of professional protection. However, the guards were probably the ones here who had the least experience. The most experienced melee fighters here were the hired men, the mercenaries. Nobles paid good coin for them. To put it simply they had the numbers but not the quality, and on top of that, the organisation was very poor. Actually, there was no commanding officer or anything like that. Each noble commanded their own band of fighters and archers.


    The archers had enough time to reorganise and shot their arrows towards the attackers once again. Most of the projectiles missed their target or were deflected by the metal armour. The Islanders slammed their huge axes at the front lines sending blood and decapitated limbs with each swing. The axes were well sharpened and they cut through leather protection the guards had like butter. It was not only the leather vests which were next to useless but their wooden shields too. On the first or second impact with the heavy axes shields splintered leaving the men exposed.


    The city guards'' defending ability was very poor while the Islanders demonstrated overwhelming attack power. They pushed the guards out of the harbour deeper into the city. The Islanders'' goal was the nobles and their mansions. During the first phase of the invasion, the guards suffered significant casualties managing to take down only a few of the attackers. The Harbour City forces had to retreat from the harbour and take the second line of defence in the city centre.


    The Islander mages did not have to protect their ships from the archer¡¯s anymore so they joined the ground forces. They reapplied the buffs and enchantments on their warriors and continued their attack.


    Guardian used the commotion to retreat to a safer spot where he could observe the fight. So far he was not impressed with the city defence. The lack of equipment was not the main problem, the lack of strategy and organisation was. It seemed like the nobles had no strategy to speak of at all, they just threw men to battle hoping that the number will be enough to win the battle.


    Fighting in a densely populated city was different from the relatively open harbour district. The streets were very narrow and Islanders had to divide their forces into small groups of fighters, each band had a few mages with them. The building surrounded them on all sides and the ambush was highly likely.


    That¡¯s where the overwhelming number and fighting in your own city helped. Archers hid in the buildings and took invaders by surprise while the ground fighters prevented them from retreating. The streets were narrow and a small group of men were able to completely close it. Not to mentions that some streets were barricaded. The mages within the invaders managed to deflect the arrows keeping their men uninjured but still, they were pushed and guided where the defenders wanted them to be. This was where the city defenders had an upper hand.


    Guardian took back his previous words, the nobles or at least someone in their ranks had some idea of what they were doing. After all, this was the very basic strategy they could use against invading forces. Guardian wondered who that person was. Also, he missed Cynthia; she and her golem were yet to join the fight.

 43 The battle – Winners and losers

    Small bands of Islanders were dispersed within the city. Their advance was held back by barricades and multiple ambushes coming from all sides. For them to advance the wood and junk piled on the streets needed to be removed; this costed time and more importantly stamina. Relentless jabs and arrow barrages coming from the rooftops or windows drained the mages'' mana pools. Despite all this, the invading force kept their numbers while slowly taking down the city guards. However, their mana and stamina was not endless and they had to be careful about time


    Suddenly, a war golem smashed through one the barricades. The Islanders were taken by surprise yet again, they did not expect the construct to help them clear the way. However, the golem was not here to help but to kill. The construct swung at armoured fighters. The heavy rock fist smashed at the armour bending it; the man inside the metal suit suffered a serious blunt trauma. Another man met the similar fate and then another.


    One of the islanders lunged his axe towards the golem. The damage the fighter did was pitiful, the enchanted construct was barely chipped at its leg. The invaders soon realised that they are ill-equipped to deal with the construct. The retreat was not an option because the path leading back to the harbour was blocked by city defenders. They could beat the poorly armoured defenders but that would cost time and that they did not have, not with a golem on their backs. The Islanders could not stand there and let themselves to be killed, they had to fight back. It was their only option.


    The horned men hit the golem with everything they could; the metal chipped the rock. Their mage did not idle either, he cast fire-based spells at the golem. This was not enough to defeat the enchanted rock construct; even they showed all they had it barely got damaged.


    The Islanders were drenched in cold sweat. Somehow, their information network failed to mention something like that being in the city. They wondered how could they miss something so important as a war golem in their enemy ranks.


    Their band was losing badly to a single golem. Half of the band was scattered on the ground. The armour suits were mangled and dent beyond recognition; men inside it - dead. The morale of the men broke and they fled away from construct leaving their back unprotected. If the golem got close it could deal with them in one hit.


    The ranks broke and the mage was left exposed. He fought as best as he could, but an arrow to his back ended his life just before the golem trampled on the poor man leaving a wet puddle of blood and guts behind.


    This fight went in favour of defenders but this was a small fight in a bigger battle. There were multiple bands of invaders, like this one, within the city. Cynthia knew that she cannot be everywhere at once and hoped that she will kill enough of them in time. The barricades and city guards slowed the invader approach so that the golem could take care of them. However, this was not enough to win this. A sizeable portion of invaders cut through the city defences running towards the city centre. Towards the place where merchants did their trade and many other shops were.


    The cityscape changed again. The streets were no longer narrow and crammed with buildings, it was more open. And the buildings themselves were larger and more spaced out. This was a district where those who could be called wealthy lived. There were no more ambushes or barricades to break through and the Islanders could regroup into a large formation once again.


    There was no such thing as a fort or a castle for the wealthy to gather. Most people barricaded themselves inside their homes and shops. They hoped that the invaders will ever make past the city guards. Actually, many believed that the Islanders will be repelled at the harbour and thought that all the effort of building barricades and placing archers in buildings were a complete waste of time and manpower. They were wrong and now they wished that they did not spare anything on improving the defences. It was too late to do anything about it; the horned devils were at their doorsteps already.


    Finally, the Islanders could do what they came here for. That was to wreak havoc and reduce the wealth of the city¡¯s rich to the ash. And they did so. The invaders barged inside the houses destroying anything that stopped them from doing so. Wooden doors or even metal reinforced gates were not enough to spot them, they had muscle and magic on their side.


    Each house was invaded, the people inside killed on the spot without mercy. Anything of value was quickly taken and the rest set ablaze. More and more houses were set aflame and ever-increasing number of the wealthy killed in their own homes. The dying cursed the city guards that they were not here. The guards could not be there because they were still busy keeping away other groups of Islanders from spilling into the city centre.


    The rich shop owners and half of the middle class were slaughtered, their most precious possessions taken and the rest burnt to the ground. The Islanders saw very little resistance there and whoever challenged them was quickly dealt with. Actually, the invaders were surprised how easy this was, they expected that the ones with skill and knowledge will be defended better. Of course, those with skill were quite well off but they were not the richest and most powerful people in this city. The very rich were the noble families of the Harbour Town and they lived further down away from the wealthy merchants and their shops.


    The Islanders gathered their loot and headed towards the mansions where the nobles lived. There were about twelve mansions within the area. Each grand and splendid in their own way. The buildings had exquisite architecture and were made of white marble stone, a luxury here since this area was mostly swamps and plains. There were beautiful gardens and orchids around the buildings and the usual stuff the wealthy liked to surround their houses in. Once close enough the invaders understood why the rich middle class they slaughtered minutes ago was so was ill defended. It was because the nobles bought all of the men available to protect their own property, and no expense was spared.


    The mansions were built not just to be beautiful, they had basic defences too. All twelve mansions were surrounded each by a short wall and had a sturdy gate to prevent anyone from coming inside. The gates were made solely of metal bars and would be extremely hard to destroy. Scaling the walls would not be easy either, despite the fact that they were short. This was because walls were guarded by hired men. The men were mercenaries and they should not be confused with the incompetent city guard. The people guarding the nobles were mostly hired beastmen. Like most people here they had little personal protection but this was compensated by their muscular and well-trained bodies. What was sparred on armour was spent on weapons and various alchemical potions to boost abilities. The beastmen were well trained and saw actual battle more than once in their life. The few humans who lined the walls were actually mages, they too were contracted individually to protect the property. The rewards differed greatly from money to rank or whatever one needed to their life at risk.


    Each mansion was like a small fort on their own. The buildings were unique not just in their architecture but in the amount and type of defenders it had. Some had more beastmen some had more mages or archers defending the property. The curious thing was, that if all of the hired men came out at once and attacked the invaders the nobles would win the battle. The Islanders were well armed but few in number, they would find themselves outnumbered and would be forced to retreat. But of course, this did not happen. Each noble was adamant at keeping his hired men on his property, why would they use their men to defend someone else. So the defenders remained on the walls swearing and shouting at the Islanders from a distance. Taunting them to get in range of their arrows and spells.


    The Invaders were left to do what they came here for. They knew that a single mansion stands no chance against them. They picked one at random and launched their assault. The men lining the walls found themselves overwhelmed by the organised invading force of mages and fighters. The beastmen were burnt to a crisp or decapitated one by one. Whatever resistance they mustered amounted only to a few casualties in the Islander ranks. The metal armour and the barriers the mages put soaked up the most of the damage. The noble inside was mercifully killed with all the servants inside; the wealth was plundered and the rest set ablaze.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Then the islanders moved to the next mansion. It faced the same fate. And then to the next. By the fourth mansion, the things changed slightly. This was not because Islanders found themselves fighting against some superior enemy or anything like that. This was because the constant battle tired them greatly, their stamina was low and mages had depleted their mana pools. This time they suffered enough casualties to seriously consider about continuing on the fifth mansion. After all, they did not receive much of reinforcements from within the city, meaning that half of their force was still entangled in the fight somewhere within it.


    The Islanders decided to call quits while they were still ahead. After all, they will need plenty of energy to haul all this loot back to their ships. The mages shot fireballs into the air; explosion signalled the time for their retreat. Going back was a lot easier than pushing forward. The barricades had been destroyed and most of the streets were clear for them to retreat back to the harbour.


    While Islanders were retreating the defenders did a similar thing. Instead of pursuing the enemy and surely charging to their death, as was demonstrated again and again, the guards moved to reinforce the nobles. They needed to keep them alive and on their side, the rich were the ones paying their wages. They would not get their reward from the dead.


    Once at harbour Islanders have found a few of their ships sunk. The majority of Islander mages left with the fighters thus leaving the ships vulnerable. Apparently, human mages launched an assault led by the mages guild. The mages guild assault was a success but a limited one because they managed to sink only a few ships. They got counter attacked with fire magic and a land detachment of armoured melee fighters.


    The islanders hauled themselves inside the remaining ships, moving in heavy armour tired them and they were at their limit. If not for the buffs they had they would have collapsed a long time ago. Of course, they did not forget to stuff the ship decks with loot.


    All in all, for both sides this was neither a complete defeat nor a victory. Both sides suffered casualties, the city had a bigger count of dead and a significant loss of wealth and property damage. However, the Islanders could not consider as winners, they too suffered costly casualties. The greatest being the loss of almost a third of their men. The manpower is the most valuable resource for the Islanders because their numbers are few and it takes decades to train a formidable fighter. Also, they were not in a position to hire mercenaries like the nobles could so they could not replenish their forces easily.


    The outcome of this battle was a bitter tie. Both sides came out only weaker from this and neither was strong enough to crush the other. The Islanders decided to keep their naval superiority blockading the city and disrupting the flow of goods. They will send a request for more fighters to completely crush the city. While the nobles seeing their neighbour mansions plundered desired to spare no expense and double the recruitment efforts. Just like before, they would pour even more men into the bloodbath in the hopes to weather the upcoming assault.


    The Guardian was present to observe all of this from the shadows at a safe distance. He was glad he did not pick sides because, in the end, he would have gained very little. And as just everyone predicted the slum district was left completely unmolested. It was ironic how usually the least safe place to be now was the safest. He was glad that his home was left untouched and his wealth safe. For him it was all it mattered, he cared very little about the nobles or hundreds of people who died today. This was because they were not his family, kin or even from the same race so he had very little compaction towards them.


    Guardian was still thinking on how he could turn this around so that he can profit. Probably selling his stock of healing products was a good idea; he could not do that before since the sudden attack left little time for preparations.


    ¡°That should fetch a good coin.¡± He decided on it as he headed back to his place. Of course, he would sell the items at an exorbitant price. After all, the demand must be huge.


    He was surprised to find the prison ruins becoming some sort of a gathering spot; various people flocked there for safety. The one who gathered here knew that Guardian owned this place. They also believed that he had a considerable power, otherwise, he would have not taken care of the previous owners and numerous groups of thugs within the area. Also, the people remember the meaty feast they had here and hoped to rely on Guardian¡¯s generosity once again. If you give a beggar a gold coin he will come to beg for more, this was the danger of generosity.


    Guardian regretted not using the sewer tunnels to get home. He did not want to deal with all these people so he ignored them. No one approached or disturbed him so he reached the entrance to the dungeon without any problems. Once there he was surprised again. Two beastmen were guarding the entrance, he did not hire them to do that. Guardian faintly recognised the two belonging to the thug group he has taken over.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Guardian asked the beastmen.


    ¡°Hello boss, long story or short?¡±


    ¡°Keep it short.¡±


    ¡°With the invasion and everything... the word spread that you are taking people in who seek protection. A lot of people turned up and one thing led to the other. There is not enough space in the dungeons for everyone so obviously, as your faithful workers, we did our job. We let the ones who work for you in, including us and our families. The rest were kept out.¡±


    ¡°I see. Good job, I guess.¡± Guardian concluded that one of the harbour girls must have spilt the beans to someone she should have not.


    He went inside preparing himself to be surprised at finding the place in a state of complete chaos. However, the surprise was a pleasant one; sure there were a lot of people inside but they behaved respectfully. As he went past them they looked at him with respect and something that amounted as gratitude but no words of thanks were spoken. Guardian checked his hall and his stuff; everything was there just as he left. He let a sigh of relief and went to the dining hall.


    The people there were not in a constant state of doom and gloom, as one might expect; it was the opposite. They were celebrating and drinking. The bandits hauled a lot of edibles and alcohol from their warehouse here and were having a small feast. Numerous girls from the harbour were keeping them company.


    Guardian looked around trying to see someone he knows, there were a lot of strangers here. His eyes caught a small girly figure, it was Aiu. She too was participating and drinking, probably more than she should.


    ¡°Aiu, I want you to come with me and help to sell healing items.¡± He asked her for assistance.


    ¡°Guardian ¨Chic- Where have you been? I missed you ¨Chic-¡± She leaned towards him for a kiss.


    ¡°You reek of beer, Aiu. Pull yourself and let¡¯s go.¡± He encouraged her with his hand.


    ¡°¡­ -hic- have babies with me. Lots of them and ha ¨Chic- and ¨Chic-¡± a hiccoughing fit took over her speech.


    ¡°Right¡­ you are wasted.¡± He pushed Aiu away as she tried to molest him with her hands. He needed to find someone more useful.


    To do this he went around looking for a familiar face. It took a while and it was quite frustrating but he found his elves. He got the two to help him carry all of the healing stuff they had towards the battle-torn part of the city. The elves were actually glad he came and took them out and away from all this squalor. The two felt out off place as they were the only elves there.


    They went straight to the plundered market district. A lot of houses were burning and the fires still had to be put out. When he let the people know that he has healing items he was swarmed with people. A horde of city folk demanded him to sell them his goods, some even begged desperately. The most of them turned around and cursed him once they found the price he asked for the items. He got called various names and he did his best to play it cool. After all, he did not have enough stuff for everyone anyway.


    He peddled the items at the inflated prices; ones who needed it the most spared no expense. People complained but they did not want to pick a fight with him. They had seen enough fighting already.


    ¡°Guardian! So you showed yourself. A bit too late don¡¯t you think?¡± Cynthia has found him.


    ¡°No. I think I am here just in time.¡±


    ¡°Mhm¡­ So what do you have here?¡±


    ¡°Healing items, interested?¡± He asked her even if she did not look injured. She nodded her head. ¡°It is quite expensive¡±. Guardian added.


    The golem master gasped at the price once she had learned it. Guardian was charging 5 silver for a simple healing salve which was 20 times the usual price.


    ¡°Wow. I did not expect that. And I need a healing potion which now costs a small fortune.¡± She eyed the fresh potion Aiu had made yesterday, its cost now was 12gold. ¡°Can¡¯t you do an exception for me? We are friends are we not?¡±


    Guardian was reminded that this friend thing went both ways.


    ¡°Of course. If it''s only one you can have it free of charge. Why do you need it, you don''t look injured?¡±


    ¡°I will have some salves with that, please. All of this is for one of my friends. He got injured quite badly.¡± Sadness was clear in her voice.


    ¡°I see. Here it is.¡± He handed her what she needed.


    ¡°Guardian¡­¡± She paused for a moment. ¡°Come and join us this time, I fear the battle is far from over.¡±


    Yet again she was asking him to pick sides.

 44 More gloom and doom – the seeds of rebellion

    The city was devastated, its wealth was plundered and the rest burned to the ground. The streets were dyed in red, blood streamed and pooled into small pools on the cobbled streets and corners. A lot of deceased were still waiting for a proper burial; there were too many of them. It was a day of mourning and despair and on this day Guardian was asked to pick a side, the ones who do nothing but cower or the rebels who resist their fate.


    However, Guardian did not see it like that. He wondered why he should care about these people. Why does this side need to be mourned and not the other? The Islanders had a reason to invade this town and they too suffered casualties. People died all the time and it did not concern him unless it was one of his own. If he was asked on which side he wants to stand, the winners or the losers, he would pick the winners. But there were no winners today, only losers. It might not appear so at the first glance because he was seeing direct results of the attack on a city, but he knew that Islanders too suffered considerable loses. There were very few of their kind and every death to them was devastating.


    Guardian finished his thinking about pointless things and finally gave his answer.


    ¡°I can''t. I do not want to pick sides.¡± He knew that this wasn¡¯t the answer Cynthia wanted to hear but still he said it.


    ¡°Why? Why is that?¡± She questioned him again.


    ¡°I am a traveller, remember? I might have settled here for a while but still, this is not my city and not my homeland. I have little to gain and a lot to lose if I pick sides now.¡± He tried to explain his reasoning.


    ¡°Look around you! How can you tolerate such slaughter and remain neutral? You could help me to stop this.¡±


    Cynthia looked at him, anger was burning in her eyes.


    ¡°¡­¡± Guardian remained silent, he has already given his answer.


    ¡°I thought you are better than this!¡±


    ¡°In that case, you do not know me.¡±


    Cynthia turned away from him and stomped to attend her tasks angrily. Guardian let out a sigh of relief; he was here to do business and not to argue.


    It took him only a few hours to sell all healing items he had. He was very pleased seeing the overflowing bag of gold and silver. There was so much coin in it that a normal human would find it straining to carry such a heavy treasure, but he was no mere human. There was no reason for him to be here so he headed back home clutching the money he had made.


    At home, he did not have much time for himself. Minutes after he came back Tiramisu approached him. There was a big smirk on her face, she was waging her tail.


    ¡°Guardian, certain someone wants to see you outside.¡±


    ¡°And why are you so happy about that?¡±


    ¡°Look at this.¡± She showed him a gold coin. ¡°I got this just to get you.¡±


    She clearly had been grossly overpaid, and also, he tough that Tiramisu does not care about the money. She seemed too excited for someone who is not interested in coins.


    ¡°I know you like money and this mysterious stranger clearly means business! I did well to find him, didn''t I?¡± She handed offered him her coin.


    Guardian took it. Maybe, she did not care about the money after all.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see this person.¡± He already knew it will be someone of suspicious nature, otherwise, why else the stranger would try to show off like that. Guardian just hoped that it will not be some noble trying to bribe him to serve under them.


    Tiramisu led Guardian outside. The surface yard was still overfilled with people. The battle was over but the people still refused to go back to their homes. Guardian wondered if it was because they felt safer in a large group. It was not an easy task to find someone suspicious within a crowd of other suspicious people but Tiramisu seemed to know who she was looking for.


    Guardian was led to an individual who stood out amongst others. Their body was hidden under a thick cloak which dangled loosely stretching all the way to the ground. On top of a strangers'' head sat a funny conical hat which stretched wide and high above. The face was hidden completely under the black veil, only a narrow slit was left for eyes.


    ¡°So? What do you want from me?¡± Guardian asked the shady person.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go somewhere more private.¡± A womanly voice rang behind the veil.


    He led her inside into the hall where he lived. This was not the best place for guest but the dining hall was full of people.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ you do indeed have a lot of people living under your roof. They all work for you?¡± She made a guess.


    ¡°You could say so. I assume you are here to hire me?¡±


    ¡°Yes. And we are willing to pay for your assistance very handsomely.¡±


    Guardian reassessed his opinion about not taking sides. If there was a sufficient compensation maybe he could help out after all. But it all depended on the risk and reward.


    ¡°How much exactly are we talking about? And what dhoao you expect from me?¡± He asked her.


    ¡°Before I go into the details can she be trusted?¡± the woman pointed at lizard woman standing beside him.


    Tiramisu looked at the Guardian, he nodded in agreement. The stranger took off the funny hat revealing a pair of horns. It was a distinctive feature of Islanders. Guardian now knew with who exactly he was dealing with.


    ¡°You had less of a reaction than I have expected, but this might be because I find it hard at reading your face... So?¡± She wanted to know if he was still up for it.


    ¡°So¡­ how much are we talking about?¡± It was clear for him what she wanted by now.


    ¡°As you can see, I am an Islander.¡± She looked at Guardian¡¯s eyes trying to gauge a reaction once again. There was none so she continued. ¡°As my contact ensured you seem to be fine with that. I will ask for a very hard thing, something very treacherous. ¡±


    ¡°Just get on with it.¡± He was getting tired of all this beating around the bush.


    ¡°I need you to hire as many men as possible to overthought current rulers of this city. For that, we will pay a king''s ransom.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm... I would need a lot of money to even sway people here to rise up against their own.¡± He wondered just how much is that king''s ransom.


    ¡°As much as you need. Money is not a problem for us; time is. So can you do it? Do we have a deal?¡± She needed his cooperation urgently, nobles will waste no time and money to hire more mercenaries.


    Guardian weighted this proposal heavily. But in the end, he decided to do it. He wanted the money, enough of it to ransom a king.


    ¡°Deal.¡± He stretched his arm for a shake. They shook it and then went through finer details of the deal.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    He was fully aware that he will need to do a very dirty job indeed and that he will be paid in blood money. The same money the islanders plundered from the city. He was completely fine with that.


    To get the necessary funds to raise a band of men he will have to go to the seashore to collect it. The Islanders controlled the sea and the City Harbour so this will be the easy part of this. The hard part was to convince the men to rebel. Once he had the manpower he was meant to overthrow the noble¡¯s through the revolt of the people. Any mention of Islanders pulling the strings was not a good idea. He had to make it look as if the locals did it themselves through a revolt.


    At that night, as promised, Guardian got the large chest brimming with coins and went straight back home with it. He went to the dining hall where those who supposedly worked under him were still gathered. The feasting stopped at some point during the evening but it was picking up again. He found a good spot in the middle of the room and began to speak.


    ¡°Everyone!¡± This was all he needed to get their attention. ¡°Do you not find it frustrating to be living like this? Having no coin to buy even the simplest sort of food? Having to work all day every day so that you can afford a measly morsel barely enough to satisfy your hunger?¡±


    His words were truthful but everyone knew that this was just how life was; hard and unfair. They wondered where he was going with this. Guardian continued his speech.


    ¡°Having no one to turn in your hour of need. In a dire situation like this who are the ones who help you? Well, what I can tell it is clearly not the City Guards. When was the last time they did anything for you in the slums? Never! Nor is it the masters you serve. They do not care about you.¡±


    This too was known to the people gathered here; they nodded to him in agreement. A single woman in a crowd braved a shout. ¡°But you are different, Guardian. You let us in, you fed us. You shared with us. You do care!¡± Iustitia did her best to convey what she taught about him, and also what she was told to tell.


    ¡°Yes, yes I do. Also, I am not one of them, else I would not live in a slum district. I am not from a noble family. It is the nobles who neglect you. They are the ones who take everything from you. You do their dirty work and receive next to nothing in return. All while their already plump asses get even fatter with money and food they eat daily. The money and food they have all because of your hard labour.¡±


    The men started to shout in agreement. Some of them still wondered what they could do about this; they knew that there were very few options open. Nobles were wealthy and powerful. Even now they had armed men protecting them at all times. Guardian noticed small kindlings of anger the eyes of the people.


    ¡°The money they have is all because of you and they hoard it all for themselves alone, unwilling to share. Let¡¯s go and take a fair share of what should be ours!¡±


    This was a very bold proposition and men knew this. To even speak such things was a death wish, hence the room got uncomfortably quiet.


    ¡°Do not lie to yourselves. You want it. You want to live a rich life just like the wealthy. I say let¡¯s do it. This is the time for you to rise up and reach for a better life. Both for you and those around you.¡±


    ¡°But what can we do against them? Against the whole army?¡± One of the beastmen asked. Men here knew that it would be not just guards they were against but many mercenaries the nobles had hired.


    ¡°Ohh, there is plenty of things we can do. If you follow my lead and work under my command I will guide you to a better life. And to convince you, let me show you this!¡± Guardian pointed at the large chest he had dragged all the way here.


    The men wondered what was inside. He opened it in show-like fashion presenting the contents for all to see. The chest was full to the brim with coins, and it was not just any coins it was gold coins. A lot of people here have never seen an actual gold before in their entire life. A few of them reached instinctively drawn by the glittering coins. The offending hands got slapped and the men pushed away from the treasure. Guardian was not ready to share it, not just yet.


    ¡°Hold! See this?" He pointed at the coins. "That is what the nobles have hidden away from you. Their houses are full of riches you helped them to get. Yet you have nothing... Of course, I am not one of them and I will share this. But, there is a very big but. You have to do exactly as I say. Otherwise, all of this will be for nought.¡±


    The greed took over the men and women who had gathered here. They were shouting in agreement ready to be told what to do so that hey can get their hands on the precious gold coins. After all, the ones here were bandits or harbour girls, their morals were already loose.


    ¡°Easy, easy now!¡± He was handing a single coin to the each of them. ¡°There will be more. Now go and tell what I have told you to the others. Tell it to everyone living in the slums. After you tell them, show them the coin you got and tell them that if they want it too they have to gather here in prison ruins. And remember we will take back our fair share of things from the nobles; it will be not just coins, other things too. The poor have suffered enough.¡±


    Once again the room rang in agreement. The people ran away to recruit others for the common cause. Guardian was pleased that the money was enough to set things in motion. However, the hard part of his plan did not even begin. He needed more money to get more men, he knew that Islanders will be more than happy to provide that.


    A horde of people gathered around prison ruins, a lot more when there had been before. There were too many to count. The slum dwellers were here mostly for the money. They actually cared little for a common cause and an actual opportunity to improve their lives. Guardian went outside to speak with them. He climbed atop the rubble to be heard well. Lit torches and piles of burning wood illuminated the are where everyone has gathered.


    ¡°People! I assume you are here to claim your reward.¡± He addresses the ones here.


    ¡°Gold! Give us gold.¡± The folk bellowed at him.


    ¡°Now, now¡­ What good will it be If I gave everything of mine before anything happened? I have already shared what I can. There is plenty of gold it is just not here. You will need to take it from the nobles. It is that simple.¡±


    It was not that simple and he knew that.


    ¡°I know you are reluctant to go against nobles. But look at this, how many of us are here; look around. There is strength in numbers and I am sure you can feel it. This will be easy, believe me, that is if you do what I say. And If you do, you will find yourselves just as rich as those people living in the main city.¡±


    The people here were still unconvinced. They did feel a lot stronger when in a mob but still what were they against armed guards, nothing but a lump of rotten flesh to be cut down and disposed of.


    ¡°As you know I am a man to be reckoned with. The nobles will feel my power. And I will do everything to help you in your goal to live better. You might say: what a lone man can do against an army? Without you, kind folk, not much but I do wield an overwhelming power. The power I am willing to use to help my you, my neighbours.¡±


    Guardian stretched his arms towards the sky forcefully. With the motion came a blast of blue light. It was not just a light which hit the people but a shockwave of power. Everyone could fell the energy hitting their bodies. The pillar of light stretched towards the sky, briefly dispersing the darkness of the night. Guardian used the spell which had been used to destroy the golem. A certain blood tinted crystal powered the spell.


    ¡°I am a mage! With my guidance, we can do this. We shall take what is rightfully ours.¡±


    There was a mixed reaction within the crowd. Some were impressed, others were scared but in the end, they were glad that he was on their side. Having a powerful mage reassured the people.


    ¡°Now listen, this is what we need to do...¡± He explained what they need to do.


    First, they needed to gather even more people on their side. And not just battle-able men, women and children too. He instructed women and children to go into the town, under the guise of darkness, to loot the corpses. He told them to take all weapons they can find and bring them here. He also instructed his bandits to launch an assault on barrack and armoury and take everything they can carry. This should help him to arm the men to some extent so that they stand a chance in a fight.


    All of this had to be done quickly. Guardian knew that the light show he just made attracted a lot of unwanted attention. Well, actually this was a part of his plan too but this will be used later. He has also formed a band of women led by Aiu, their task was to go to the forest and swaps to gather healing herbs. His stocks were out and he knew that he will need them, considering what he was about to cause. Another bloodbath was about to happen here and a lot of healing will have to be done.


    Meanwhile, the Islander woman visited him again. She was very pleased with his ability to gather so many people. He did not do this for free and asked for more coin for his cause. He had also asked Islanders for basic weapons, spears and the like. The woman ensured him that he will get the money and the weapons in due time and went back to report to her superiors. On her way, she left another two large chests filled with gold.


    He wished he could keep the coin, but he couldn¡¯t. He needed it to convince the mercenaries to join his forces. He would pay double to what they were already getting, the inflated price for their service was even more inflated now. Guardian wondered if it was the mercenaries who were the true winners in all of this. He sent the harbour woman to bribe the mercenaries and even guards if they were willing to betray their masters. Before the fighting started he wanted as many people on his side as possible.


    The last thing he did was to send the rest of bandits and thugs to cause mayhem in the city. They were to set buildings on fire and do everything in their power to distract the guards. He had also sent his little lizard friends away, they were led by Tiramisu. Their task was to find and assassinate the Guard Commander and anyone else in charge. This was a dangerous task but Tiramisu ensured him that she is capable of doing that. All they needed to do was injure the man and the poison will take care of the rest. This was because the lizard daggers were coated in deadly poison.


    Everything was set in motion, all Guardian had to do now was wait for the chaos to rock the very foundation of this city.

 45 The change of leadership – What was yours is now ours

    The entire slum district was in a rebellion. The reason and common sense were replaced by greed and mob mentality. However, there was a person guiding the rebels, he was the one known as Guardian. Under his command, the thugs struck the city when everyone least expected it. Both the heist on armoury and Guard Commander assassination were a success. The city was plunged further into the chaos.


    Of course, the guards responded to all of this, but it was too late. The mob was armed and dangerous, the guards didn''t exactly have the numbers to suppress the rebellion. Still, they marched towards the slums, all in hopes to preserve the piece; more looting was the last thing they needed.


    The guards descended on the slum district. They were informed about the horde of angry people but there were none to be found, they wondered where all of them disappeared so quickly. Actually, guards were oddly surprised to find the slum district half empty, a lot of the people were missing, both men and women.


    This was because Guardian was leading his army of rebels through the sewer tunnels towards the city centre. They moved as quietly as they could in order not to alert the guards above them. Finally, they have reached their destination and like rats spilt all over from the sewers. Only one thing was on their mind, it was to get what was rightfully theirs.


    The city once again was invaded, this time it was not the foreigners but simple-minded and poorly-educated bums who did the plundering. It was pandemonium once again, whatever fire had not taken yet the rebels did. The remainder of the market district was reduced to nothing. People turned against their own, poor against the wealthy.


    Once the guards released that their quarry somehow outmanoeuvred them and were looting the city it was too late; the damage has already been done. Their commander had been assassinated along with other higher leading officers so the organisation and planning was poor. Guards did not want to turn to mercenaries for help but they had to, they had to quench the rebels. To their surprise, most of the mercenaries refused their request.


    They had a convenient excuse of not wanting to interfere with the internal affairs of this town¡¯s people. One thing was to kill foreign invaders and another to kill their own. Also, they were paid amply not to interfere in this, of course, this was not mentioned to the guards. Actually, it was the first time mercenaries were paid not to fight and they were more than happy to do just that.


    The City Guards were in a desperate situation, the rebel force was moving towards the noble mansions. The guards had to act, they had no other choice, it was the nobles who played their wages and without them, they would be left penniless. Some wondered if they should join the looting but that would be ill-advised, the slum dwellers held too many grudges against guards to allow them to join.


    Just before the rebels could reach the mansions the guards caught up and the melee ensued. The guards were better armed and trained than the poor folk but the poor had the numbers. They had the numbers and a hidden ace in their hand; their secret weapon was Guardian and they were grateful to have such a powerful mage in their ranks.


    Guardian was not holding back, he was putting his newly obtained power to a good use.


    ¡°Retreat, now!¡± He shouted to a small group of his men. The men quickly broke off from the melee and got behind him.


    The guards looked confused and unsure what all of this meant. Sure, they saw a huge beastman in front of them, but even if he was big - what one person can do against so many guards. The guards crossly overestimated Guardian and their peers standing further away quickly learned that.


    A blast of concentrated energy slammed at the guard¡¯s formation with an overwhelming power, it was so strong and rich in mana that it quite literally disintegrated the men upon the contact. Only two things were left in their place, the metal they had on them like the tips of their spears and the lower portion of their legs; the rest of the upper body was turned into ash.


    Both the guards and the rebels screamed out, neither have seen a magic so devastating. The poor were even more thankful that the Guardian was on their side. All it took were few more blast like that to teach the guards that they stand no chance against him, the men learned that and retreated. They knew that the nobles were done now, so was their pay, but their lives were what mattered the most.


    Seeing the guards fleeing Guardian motioned his men to proceed towards the mansions. There used to be twelve but only 8 remained now; Islanders had looted four before they left. There were enough men to launch a simultaneous assault on all eight of them at once, and so the rebels did.


    Guardian picked a random building and led his men towards it. The walls were lined with hired mercenaries, a lot of them were archers, there were some mages too; this won¡¯t be as easy as he taught it will.


    ¡°Attack and cover me! I need to get close and then they will be done.¡± He instructed his men.


    The archers had a range advantage against the mages so Guardian had to take the arrows until he got close enough to unleash his spell. His men shielded him and themselves with wooden tables and other parts of furniture. The arrows rained on them and quite a few men got hit. Guardian was the lucky one to reach the walls unscathed, now all he had to do was cast his spell before other mages could. He did so with no trouble at all as his casting time was virtually close to zero.


    A blast of energy hit the wall sending both men and the heavy debris flying all over the place. Few fireballs hit his men setting them aflame, now Guardian knew the location of the mages. He made a quick work of them by blasting them to oblivion. Then his men rushed to the yard through the massive hole and engaged in a fight with the rest of the mercenaries. Guardian joined them, he was not just a mage but a brilliant brawler too.


    From then on the mansion fell within 10 minutes. Guardian went inside the hall only to find that the nobles have all already been killed; he had hoped to get a chance to exchange at least a few words with them. His men then stripped the mansion clean off everything, no matter how much or little the thing was worth. Guardian himself would get to keep the most of the loot as he was the leader of this group.


    Unlike the Islanders, they did not kill the servants or set the building and surrounding grounds on fire, but similar to them they moved to the next mansion in order to kill the nobles and plunder their wealth. The rebels without him were making only slow progress at breaching the walls and were actually suffering serious casualties. However, with his assistance, the second mansion was taken care of just like the first and then he moved to the third one.


    By the time he was half-way done with the third one, the rebels managed to plunder the other two. There were a lot of dead and injured, but there was no mourning only cheering and celebrating. The poor got their hands on an unbelievable amount of wealth and were busy celebrating and stuffing their sacks full of coins. The other two groups hearing that got jealous and doubled their efforts to crack the defences.


    Guardian and his men moved in to help to defeat the remaining mansions. For one reason or another the last ones managed to hold against the rebels; probably a testament to the skills of the mercenaries the nobles had managed to buy. This meant that behind marble walls lived the most prominent, wealthy and powerful nobles of this city.


    Just before Guardian could blow a hole in the wall with his magic, he himself got almost blown away. A small group of mages ambushed the rebels from the back; they had guards at their sides who had retreated but now were back. The mages were the people from the Mages Guild and they have finally decided that it was to their best interest to keep at least some of the nobles alive otherwise the city would fall to the complete anarchy.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Various destructive spells were fired at the rebels without any mercy. The rebels had their bodies set aflame, they hearts stopped by arcs of thunder or their flesh melted off their bones by various corrosive energies. Magic was a devastating and incredibly potent weapon which could be countered only by good strategy or magic.


    The mob was taken by surprise and succumbed to panic and went into disarray. Guardian knew that he was the only one who could solve this. He used his men as cover while he positioned himself for a counterattack. It was easy for the mages to spot his tall frame even in this horde of people so they directed their attack to him. The mages fired their spells only to find that magic projectiles were either dispersed or deflected by some sort of blast.


    Guardian used the opening he had just made in order to cast the most devastating spell in his possession towards the mages. It took him only a few seconds do it and a supercharged beam of magic energy was expelled from his body through his hands and towards the formation of guards who were shielding the mages. The guards had seen Guardian¡¯s magic before and his ability to disintegrate a person completely, however, this time they had mages to cast warding and shielding spells on them creating a barrier of sorts. There were at least a few dozens of mages doing just that in cooperation so the magic barrier in question was indeed quite strong, some mages even tough that they were overdoing it and wasting their precious mana. They were proven wrong in a split of a second when the beam hit the barrier and shattered the magic energy keeping it together. The barrier was breached and the men behind it reduced to a pile of ash and metal. The beam was powerful enough to obliterate both the guards and the mages behind them.


    As soon as Guardian''s vision recovered from the overwhelmingly bright light, a side effect of this spell, he proceeded to fire another beam at his enemies. The guards and mages turned to flee but it was all too late, all of the mages were defeated just like that and the remainder of the guards rushed behind any available cower to save their life.


    Once again Guardian could concentrate solely on pillaging remaining mansions, at least he thought so. A large golem showed from behind one of the buildings in the distance. Guardian knew who exactly the owner of this golem was, what he did not know was the intentions of that owner. He wondered if their friendship will come to an end; he hoped that it won¡¯t be the case. After all, he liked this friend of his and the friendship in question have been beneficial so far, not to mention the fact that Cynthia was a powerful ally to have.


    Guardian had to be careful, he braced for a fight just in case. The golem was approaching him rapidly, it was in a full sprint running as fast as a heavy golem could; which was not that fast. The construct got closer and closer, Guardian became anxious as it was already dangerously close. He did not want to brace the force of impact as it would definitely damage him seriously. Even if not fast, the golem had a tremendous mass and huge amount of kinetic force, enough to break through a wall. To prevent golem hitting him Guardian raised his hands ready to cast the beam spell and shatter the golem into the pieces.


    However, he did not need to resort to that; the golem stopped moving and rapidly slowed down. A gust of dust and debris was sent flying towards guardian but that was only a minor inconvenience considering what could have happened. Cynthia stepped from behind the golem.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to believe but you are behind all of this, aren¡¯t you?¡± She asked him, shock still present at her voice.


    ¡°Unfortunately, yes.¡±


    ¡°Is there a way to stop you? I will do everything I can to end this peacefully!¡±


    Guardian was surprised that Cynthia took this calmly, well calmly in relative terms. She didn¡¯t appear to be here to pick a fight with him.


    ¡°I am afraid both me and people here are too invested to stop. We are beyond the point of return.¡± He stated a simple fact.


    ¡°No! I do not believe that at all. This city needs leadership, someone competent to guide it. Do you think people here will be able to govern themselves peacefully? This is why the nobles are needed. Do not kill the rest of them.¡± She tried to reason.


    Guardian sunk momentarily into the deep thought. What she was saying was a truth, the nobles were a necessary evil. They were corrupt and unfair but the only ones with the sufficient power to keep the order, and educated enough to bring prosperity and create wealth. This is arguable, of course, but this was how the things worked here. If there were no one to keep the order the town would plunge into complete anarchy, eventually the poor would turn against each other and this would lead only to an annihilation of the Harbour Town. Even the Islanders would not what this and this was a real problem. A problem to which he had a solution to already.


    ¡°Well, then it will be me who rules this city from now on.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious!¡±


    Just before Guardian could rebuke Cynthia he was distracted by one of his men.


    ¡°They say they surrender, what should we do?¡± A beastman thug reported.


    ¡°What? Did you breach the walls? If so just kill them.¡±


    ¡°No, the walls still stand. The building remains shielded by the mages from inside.¡±


    Guardian concluded that they must have realised that they will not hold out against the rebels for long and decided to surrender. He approached the walls to speak with the head of the noble family.


    ¡°Give him a chance!¡± Cynthia urged him. She was doing her best to mediate the situation.


    Guardian spoke with the noble through the wall for a couple of minutes.


    ¡°You will have to hand over all of your wealth.¡± Guardians explained the only way to resolve this for the third time.


    ¡°But I will submit to you completely reducing myself to a status of a mere vassal. Let me keep, at least, some of it.¡±


    ¡°No. It is either my way or the other way, the way of the poor and abused you so much despise. I am the only one who can keep you alive. Once your mages'' mana pools run out and the walls get breached you know what will happen.¡± Of course, he could breach the walls instantly here and now but this was beside the point. Guardian wanted the noble to believe that he was a saviour and not a destroyer in this situation.


    ¡°Just a little bit then.¡±


    ¡°What is more important to you, your life or your wealth?¡± Guardian knew that he can¡¯t let the noble both live and keep any wealth. ¡°Without me, you and everyone inside will be just slaughtered and the rest plundered. With my option, you at least get to live for another day.¡±


    ¡°In servitude that is¡­ but I agree.¡± The noble had no other choice.


    ¡°Well then, step away from the wall and do not resist!¡±


    Guardian blew a hole in the wall and his men hurried into the mansion. The noble and mercenaries were visibly nervous and fearful for their lives, but they held their part of the bargain and did not interfere with the looting. The noble in question held his wife in his hand preventing the woman from lashing out. She was the one not ready to part with their possessions. She screamed and shouted various profanities at the thugs looting her home, her husband had to knock her out before she killed both of them.


    ¡°Your life had cost me my share of the loot here. You better don''t waste my investment in you.¡± Guardian warned the fallen noble.


    ¡°Yes, yes of course.¡±


    ¡°I did everything I could!¡± Cynthia said somewhat apologetically to the man. She was glad that she had saved at least a couple people. ¡°Guardian, how do you intend to fight off Islanders now? Should we all flee?¡± In her mind, the city was now doomed to fall to Islanders.


    ¡°There is no need to fight them.¡± Guardian replied to her.


    ¡°What? How?¡± Cynthia was not following his train of thought.


    "Ha ha ha.¡± The noble laughed at a na?ve girl.


    ¡°What?¡± Cynthia asked once more, she felt like she was not told something she should have known.


    ¡°He is in cahoots with those horned mongrels.¡±


    ¡°No way! This can not be true?!¡± Cynthia looked at Guardian for answers, his silence told her everything she needed to know. ¡°But why?¡±


    ¡°For the better future, better future for me that is.¡± and an ample amount of coin to keep himself in power.


    ¡°We are all doomed!¡± Cynthia believed that the Islanders will invade regardless of who was in power.


    Guardian seen her emotions and proceeded to explain his plan, he hoped that she will decide to cooperate with him.


    With the nobles out the guards were left without their payment and would resort to banditry. Unless Guardian took the role as their employer which he fully intended to do. He needed someone to re-establish the order. He planned to use the remaining guards, mercenaries and those loyal to him to keep the city from destroying itself. He would let the poor keep most of their loot but he would stop any other looting and killing, through sheer force and outright murder if necessary; he was the big boss here now and the people will have to recognise him.


    Also, he would keep the rest of the mercenaries here just in case the Islanders decided to backstab him. He still had the number advantage against the Islanders and he doubted that they would discard their investment in him. He hoped that it would not be the case where Islanders pick a fight with him as he planned to make favourable trading conditions for Islanders here. After all, the nobles opposing the Islanders were dead and the war hatched between the Harbour City and Islanders could be buried.


    Guardian''s main worry was that the Islanders wanted him to be their puppet; he would oppose this. He wanted a partnership on equal grounds and he had enough men under him to demand that. All he had to do now was wait for the Islanders to deliver the reward of their deal or attack him. If they moved their army on the shore to provoke him he fully intended to show that he was not the one to be messed with.

 46 End of part two – Rewards and promises

    Guardian and a small army of his stood on a shore waiting. This was the crucial moment which will signal peace or a continuation of the bloodshed. A single ship split from the large flotilla and sailed towards the shore. It did not dock in the harbour but sent a small boat instead. There were only four people in the boat. From their appearance, Guardian deduced that there were two warriors, a mage and a woman he had met before.


    The boat docked ashore and the Islanders waved towards Guardian; they felt too nervous to approach his army. Guardian got the hint and headed towards the four leaving his forces on standby.


    The woman was the one to speak first, ¡°Congratulations, you did it.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I fulfilled my part of the deal. Do you intend to fulfil yours?¡± He asked her the question which had been bothering him quite a while now.


    ¡°First, we would like some sort of proof that all of the nobles are dead. Their decapitated heads would be just fine¡±


    Guardian did not expect them to ask this, he did not think this through as well as he thought he had.


    ¡°Unfortunately this is not possible. Their corpses were taken by the mob and desecrated. Even if I collected that is left of them I doubt you would be able to recognise who it belonged too.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ That is fine, I trust you did your job properly, I can see the smoke from here.¡±


    However, the smoke in she saw was not coming from the noble mansions but from other building which the thugs had set on fire a day ago.


    ¡°Do you mind us coming and having a look around?¡± The woman asked.


    ¡°This is a bit too soon. As you might have guessed already, even though I am the boss here the order is fragile. It would be disadvantageous to have foreign army men wander the streets. The people might get a wrong idea about me.¡±


    ¡°We understand, however, we cannot pay you until we know that we will be allowed to continue our trade here.¡±


    ¡°I can assure you will be able to. The nobles are dead and I am in full support of good trade. There is one thing which might help to speed things up. How about you sell some healing items for us. The peoples'' pockets swelled up, thanks to recent events, and they are in desperate need of medicine. This also will help to patch relationships here, at least with some people.¡±


    The poor were fine with the Islanders but city folk were definitely holding grudges. Guardian just hoped that he can keep those grudges in check. Further decreasing the town population wasn''t desirable at all.


    ¡°Yes, we can do that.¡± The woman actually was thankful for this business opportunity, she assumed that they won¡¯t need to pay taxes or share their profits at all.


    ¡°Then you can pawn your stuff here in the harbour. When I improve security, after a few days at least,  then you will be able to venture into the city to confirm the death of nobles¡±.


    ¡°Deal.¡± The woman agreed to the conditions.


    Guardian headed back to his men and told what will happen. The people were happy that there will be no more bloodshed and that they won¡¯t need to fight against the superior foreign army.


    Even though there will be no more fighting Guardian still had two big problems looming ahead of him. The first one was that there were too many injured who required healing, this will be sorted out by islanders and Aiu then she comes back from the swamps. The second problem was that the craftsmen and traders of this city were dead or fled the city. This place had a lack of talented individuals to produce items and create trade. This was the biggest problem now. In the end, the poor will just spend their money without investing it and will find themselves where they used to be. Guardian needed to find a way how to fix this.


    Incidentally, the security was not an issue. A lot of people have witnessed his might and he became quite infamous, some respected him while others feared him, but most importantly no one would dare to oppose him directly.


    Guardian dispersed his men ordering them to patrol the city keeping an eye on troublemakers. He headed back to prison ruins, Aiu should be back by now and he would need to help her to make a shedload of healing items.


    In a relative peace, a few days went by. With the Islanders help the trade was back in the city. The city folk were still suspicious of foreigners but they needed the goods the Islanders had brought. Islanders were making huge profits as they were the only traders here, but this will not last for long, eventually other merchants, both from the sea and the land, will come back.


    Everything was like Guardian and Islanders had agreed, nobles were dead and they could do their trade freely. This was the time Guardian asked for his reward, allegedly enough money to ransom a king. He found the woman at the harbour on one of the ships.


    ¡°It is time you pay me.¡± He was quite straightforward with all this.


    ¡°Yes, you did deliver. Give me a day to collect the money.¡±


    ¡°Also, I have a proposition in mind.¡± The woman gave him a look indicating that Guardian should keep talking. ¡°The city needs skilled craftsmen so I have been thinking if you guys can help. What if I let some of you open shops here, rent and tax-free of course?¡±


    ¡°That sounds tempting but there must be a catch. What do you want in return?¡±


    ¡°I want your craftsman to take apprentices for two years and teach them their craft. Essentially I would allow you to have a monopoly here for two years until you trained people for me. That is the catch, after two years you would no longer profit but until then¡­¡±


    ¡°I see. I will ask others and let you know what they think. All I can tell now is that it is possible, but it will probably be our people from the core of the island, not sailors and merchants you see now.¡±


    ¡°That is fine with me.¡±


    This was easier than he thought it will be. Now he still had to visit a particular person, the fallen noble. He needed him to help the people here to open up businesses. The noble had connections and knew people, so Guardian hoped that he can help out. What he planned to do was to convince some of the people here to invest their newly acquired wealth in small trade business. The beastmen and others would use their money and spend it on goods in other cities and bring them here, and the other way round. The noble was useful because he could write introduction letters and refer the beastmen to trusted traders. This was also in the nobles interest too, for any successful trade he would get a small reward. Guardian hoped that this would motivate the man, he knew that the nobles had a hunger for money and the man in question just recently lost everything he had. The nobleman would need money to fund his expensive habits and Guardian gave him the opportunity to earn some.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    The talk was short and the noble agreed straight away. There was a visible aversion to the fact that the lowly beastmen will be trusted with trade, but the man had no other choice but to accept. All Guardian had to do now was to gather the people and tell them his plan. A stern warning had to be put in place too, well a reminder of sorts. He had to make clear to the people that if they did not work and use their money wisely their new wealth will melt away in a matter of months and they will find themselves poor and hungry again. He did not want to be blamed for that like the nobles were; he did not want to be at the receiving end of the rebellion.


    He employed his thugs and city guards to spread the word and gather the people at the market district. He waited there patiently for the people. Then he began talking. In his talk, he promised that the guards will be paid by him like they were paid by the nobles, but this time they had to patrol the poor district too and treat everyone equally. Also, he warned that if he found any corruption in the form of favouritism or bribery he would deal with it personally. The guards had a hint of what it meant, probably finding the person in question turned into the ash. Then Guardian encouraged the people to take apprenticeships and start their own businesses, warning them what might happen if they did not follow his advice. He ensured that those who followed his guidance would not go hungry.


    For now, people were feasting because they had money but later who knew what will happen. Also, he made it clear that Islanders are now welcome here and are under his protection and those who disagree can come and ¡®talk¡¯ it out with him.


    The last thing he did was to offer some work, this was mainly for the ones who did not participate in plundering and were still poor like before.


    Guardian had some coin already and he will have a lot more later. He decided to spend it on a few projects. First, he wanted to employ a large group of people who would go into swamp and forest to gather herbs for him. Secondly, he needed people to build and fix some things, he wanted the prison ruins converted into a fort. He had already made it his base and all it still needed was a good expansion and better defences. Incidentally, he planned on turning the slum district into the new city centre, the old one was kind of in ruins now.


    Lastly, he made it clear that the ones who managed to avoid the plundering and remained moderately wealthy are to be left alone and allowed to continue whatever they did. He had no intention of taking their property or taxing them to death. He wanted to make sure that the ones who lived in the city centre can continue to do so in peace, only under new leadership.


    The talk was over and he dispersed the crowd.


    Cynthia approached him, he wondered what she wanted.


    ¡°As you can see things will be different. What do you intend to do?¡± He asked her before she had a chance to even great him.


    ¡°I will stay and observe you. You are not as kind-hearted as I tough you were but you are not evil either. I can see why you did what you did, but still, I do not approve your methods.¡±


    ¡°As long as you do not oppose me we can remain friends.¡± He wanted to remain allies with her.


    ¡°Friend you say¡­ I don¡¯t know about that, but you did help my grandfather.¡±


    ¡°So did the potion work?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, it did. The sickness is gone and grandpa regained some of his mana; he can even cast spells now. But still, it is not like it used to be. He needs more of the potion for a complete recovery; he finished the bottle.¡±


    This was probably why she was still nice to him. His apprentice was the one who could make the potion and getting a monster core was not an easy task either.


    ¡°Would it be possible to get a new dose?¡± She asked him.


    ¡°So long as we remain friendly it is.¡± At first, he did not want this friendship thing but now he was the one clinging to it. After all, Cynthia¡¯s skills and Rocky¡¯s help were very handy. It would be a bummer to lose a powerful ally.


    ¡°Tfuu.¡± She let a sigh. ¡°And I thought that you hate me for taking an opposing side or something. I guess we can continue as we did?¡±


    ¡°Sure. You did what you thought is best for you just like I did. Come and see me later, now I have to be somewhere else.¡±


    Guardian went towards the harbour, he was keen to claim his reward from the Islanders. He did not need to wait long, a woman he was now accustomed to, had found him herself. She led him to her ship, outside it was a small clutter of chest. He opened one checking the contents, it was filled with gold and silver coins.


    ¡°How about the craftsmen?¡± He asked the woman.


    ¡°No one opposed to the idea, we will leave it to our people. Those who want to come will do so the next time we dock here.¡±


    It was good news indeed. He asked the horned beastmen to help to bring his wealth back to his base. Not only there were too many chests to carry alone, but also he needed extra protection to keep it safe. Having so much gold felt uncomfortable. There were more coins than he weighted himself, a true king¡¯s ransom.


    The money was hauled to his room. He had entrusted Tiramisu to look after it until he secured a better place for it. Aiu was in the workshop working hard at making potions. He told her his plans about expanding the workshop, she will need to assemble a team of people to work under her. Even now there was too much work for one person.


    ¡°But I am not confident at bossing others. Can¡¯t you select the people?¡± Aiu protested.


    ¡°No, I am busy as I am. You need to trust in your skills more. By now you know herbalism and alchemy better than I do. You are the only one who can teach them. Just pick the people you like and trust, then whip them to shape. Only if someone disappoints, you can refer them to me; I will deal with troublemakers.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I will work hard for this." Aiu paused to look at Guardian intensely "Will I get rewarded? Expanding and managing others sounds very hard, I better be rewarded¡­¡± She hinted about getting something in return.


    Guardian did not know what she had in mind exactly but he had an idea. ¡°Show me results and you will get what you want. I can ensure that.¡±


    Aiu was pleased with Guardian¡¯s response. She was able to distract herself with work for some time but it was not working anymore, her curly thoughts needed to be straightened out. She wanted to get the results as fast as possible.


    Guardian left the workshop and sat down for a moment. He was in a deep thought, he had a lot of things needing urgent attention but he could not ignore planning for the future. He wondered how he should proceed. He was rich like never before, his current wealth probably rivalled the noble families¡¯ before the people plundered them to oblivion. However, he could not just sit on gold like a dragon. He had to invest it so that money can make more money. So far he did most of the things on a whim and it worked, he was never a real merchant or a large business owner before. There were a lot of challenges ahead so he decided to work at expanding his sphere of influence.


    To begin with, he would cement his rule over the city and strengthen his battle power. The times were turbulent and there was a risk that some other city will decide to overthrow him. Also, he would work at making allies, he had a good start with Islanders so far and he decided to continue a mutually beneficial relationship. In addition to that, he wanted to be both self-sufficient and economically strong, this was the hardest one to achieve but with time and help of the people who lived here he knew that he can do it.


    However, he did not forget the most important thing, his thirst for knowledge, magic knowledge especially. He decided to continue his research, he will exterminate monsters and produce the mana crystals. Guardian already had one working prototype and he had no intention to stop at one.


    The mana crystal acted like a powerful battery of sorts and he wondered if he can put it to a better use than firing overpowered beams. He planned on having it emit magical energy and simulating the environment similar to that of the magic place, like magic forest he used to visit. If he achieved that he could grow magical plants and monster locally. All of this was still a rough plan and theory, he stopped thinking about it and went to check on the people above.


    By now there should be enough hands who willed to work for him. He needed to reinforce the prison with brick and stone, walls and towers. There were so many things to do and complete, it felt if he never will have any free time at all.

 Not a Chapter - Afterword

    Hello.


    First thing first, I would like to thank Lord Vile</a> and BoredBeyondBelief</a> for all the support and kind comments. All others who helped me out also deserve a thank you.


    So far I have extremely enjoyed writing and interacting with the kind people lurking here. RR community is amazing and my fiction did better than I thought it will. If anyone thinks about creating their own story and putting it here, I would highly recommend it.


    So why did I decide to take a break? Well, the fiction is already quite lengthy, enough material to warrant for a book. I have never intended it to be so long. Also, I think the story went on too big of a tangent, I started with one thing and ended with a completely different thing. Furthermore, I prefer to release chapters almost daily like I used to do, it is a lot easier too. But life is life and the amount of time and energy is limited so I couldn''t do that anymore and it left me somewhat frustrated. I think the quality dropped at the end too...The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    However, this is not necessarily THE end. I might continue CORRUPTED GUARDIAN and produce part three on the summer, I should have plenty of time then. Also, I do not intend to stop writing completely. I have decided to work on something new and disposable, some trash fiction. I want to try different things and probably will keep whatever comes very short... Also, I wouldn''t be able to release weekly so I dunno if I will publish my new work in progress here on RR.


    On a side note, I would appreciate a short comment about what you liked and disliked in CORRUPTED GUARDIAN. Some short feedback would be very useful.