ã€ŠAmethyst Phoenixã€‹


 Chapter 1: Starvation

    Sunlight bathed the earth in yellow as a deep summer heat mercilessly beat down on the woodcutter''s village of Thrend.The heatgrilled the settlers that hid in the shaded clutter of their tinder houses or under the shriveled oaks dotting the squarish town. The surrounding palisades saggedoutwards, as if kneeling to the sun above,the flaky ground beneath them giving way to scorched farmland.Great jagged scars that sunk deep into the crisp brown earth showed the results of the surrounding land''s battle with the sun, a complete and total loss.Utter annihilation. The few patches of yellow grass remaining within and around the settlement tried to staunch the flow of the earth''s wounds, but it didn''t make any difference at this point.

    The greatest drought in the Empire''s history had left the village desolate.If there was no rain, torrential rain, within the next few months, then Thrend and countless other settlements would have to be abandoned. Ifnotforthe imperial family''s support,they would have all left years ago.

    Rostonmarchedaround the house in spite of the heat, preparing everything that his wife, Ariadne, could need or want as she would go into labor any day now. He had already sent his other childrento a different house for the time being as he didn''t want any distractions while he prepared. A bead of sweat descendedfrom his short black hair, inching along the grooves of his thick neck before meeting its end in the white waves of hislinen shirt, which folded loosely across his broad shoulders as it battled relentlessly against more beads attempting to make a breach in its defenses.

    ¡°Hmm hm hmmm.¡± The giant man hummed a tune his father had taught him as the sound amplified in his chest, resonating with the walls as itreverberated throughout the house.

    ¡°Roston!¡± A melodious voice filled the house. ¡°It''s time!¡± Ariadne called from their room.

    Wait, what? Roston hands froze, his mind becoming a blankcanvas.

    ¡°Roston? Roston! What are you doing? Go get the midwives!¡±

    Now? ¡°Are you sure Ariadne? Isn''t it a little... early?¡± A tiny mouse squeak escaped from the bear.

    ¡°I don''t know... WHY DON''T YOU ASK THE FUCKING BABY!? GO! NOW!¡± And thus the siren''s song was interrupted by the scratchy screamof a witch.

    ¡°Yes ma''am!¡± A deep bellow came from the giant man''s cracked lips, quickly followed by a salute as he dashed out of the house.

    Awoman, with wavy chestnut hair that draped across a fragile looking back sat propped up on a bed. Her soft, doe-like auburn eyes fluttered to look towards the bang of the heavy door slamming shut as her husband ran out of the house. ¡°Honestly, his fourth kid and he still panics like that. What happened to that stern military man who was unfazed by anything? He''s like a teenage girl whenever I get pregnant, all blushing and giddy; I half expect him to start wearing a dress!¡± Her hand suddenlyclenched.¡°I''m the one who''s suppose to be emotional!¡± She yelled, slamming her fist onto the night stand, splintering the solid oak underneath. She stared down at her swollen belly. ¡°And you! You better not bring any trouble. If you''re a good child I''ll sing you a lullaby okay?¡± A gentle smile appeared on her face, and like an angel, she proceeded to sing the words to the song Roston had just been humming.

    A billowing cloud of dust sped through the village, as the ground quaked under Roston''s fearsome sprint to get the threemidwives: Agnis, Fiona, Mary to help his wife when a bloodied figure stumbled into the village square.

    ¡°Orcs! Orcs!¡± The man screamed, tripping over himself as a deep gash on his back spewed crimson, the rest of his clothes were glued to his figure by sweat and blood. Clawing his way forward on the dusty ground he desperately cried: ¡°An orc band! They''re coming!¡±

    The men of the village, upon hearing orc, emerged from their homes with weapons as they gathered around the broken man. ¡°Clem! Clem, oh gods are you alright!?¡± his brother, Nept, leapt from the crowd.

    ¡°Where are the orcs? How many?¡± Roston''s voice boomed over the encirclement as he approached the gathering.

    Clem spat out a sticky paste of mucus and blood. ¡°Logging camp! North! Don''t know how many, the-aauurgghh!¡± A spout of blood escaped his lips. ¡°Th-they ambushed us during lunch. I was taking a piss when they hit the camp. One of them saw me and I ran, but before I knew it, it was already on me. We fought, and I barely escaped with my life.¡± Clem was by no means a small man; years of chopping and dragging great trees from the Megolas Forest, which was rife with monster attacks, left almost every man in the village with powerful bodies and the scars to prove their brushes with death.

    ¡°Stin! Chit! Emri!¡± Roston called to a few boys. ¡°Get word to nearby villages that an orc band''s coming our way! Get help!¡± The three boys immediately sprinted off towards the stables without a word, each eager to prove their worth.

    ¡°Bring your brother to the town lodge, get Mr. Poth to take a look at him.¡± Roston looked at Nept, before turning to the rest of the men standing around him. ¡°Arms! Now! Tell everyone that orcs are coming!¡± He barked at them.

    ---

    To the north of Threndwas the legendaryMegolas Forest,or the endless forest as it was commonly called. Right now though, it seemed to be lesslegendaryand more like an endlessamount of kindling. Its depressed canopy no longer provided enough shelter from the blinding sun for even the sagging shrubbery on the forest floor to survive. At any moment, it seemed that everything would burst into a roaring blaze.

    Hundreds of dark green blurs, accented by a metallic shine, brushed through the yellow foliage and hurtledSouth through the forest. They had just come from a human lumber camp and were now following a trail of scarlet blood.

    Ug''rit slowed to a stop as he neared the scene of a fight, his curved tusks protruded from his lower jaw and seemed to glow with the beating sun as his sinewy muscles rippled beneath his dark green leathery hide despite the fact that one could see his rib cage. If not for the great drought, his now stunted frame would have made him one of the largest in the tribe. Ug''rit snorted as he came across a dead orc, its body slump over with its ass jutting out towards the sky as it lay in a pool of bluish blood.

    ¡°Pathetic.¡± He grunted in his tribe''s native tongue. ¡°If I were to die like him, I would commit suicide in my next life to repent for the shame I brought upon goddess Selene. To lose to injured prey, especially human, is worthy of being known as hound shit.¡± He spit a glob of mucus at the body and kicked it over. Many of the orcs who came across the body afterwards did the same. Their party had been sent out by their elders to secure food for the tribe andundergo their right of passage. Each unblooded orc must find and defeat a worthy opponent, the weakest allowed according to the ritual is a human, hence a weakling in their group -now dead- chased after Clemin order to secure an easy route to becoming a full fledged member of the tribe.

    Ug''rit recalled the scene of his village before he left. In a dirty gray hut of dried branches, he had stood over elder Lu''kai, who was once the chief of the tribe and its strongest warrior, but now laid on the makeshift bed of broken twigs. His once lustrous skin was cracked from the heat. Before the great drought, there would have been leathers and furs to use as matting, but those had been eaten long ago.

    ¡°The crops will fail again.¡± he wheezed out these words as his breath became a whisper. ¡°The tribe cannot survive another season. You must gather the unblooded and use the ceremony as an opportunity to secure food and hopefully water. Im''rit tells me of a human settlement nearby that receives large wagons of crops every few months.¡± A spiny arm shot from the bed with sudden ferocity, grabbing Ug''rit by the shoulders. ¡°You must take it !¡±

    ¡°We are not thieves, nor marauders. The ceremony is sacred and using it to takethat which is another''s would be blasphemous.¡± Hetried to remove himself from the old orc''s embrace and found, much to his surprise, that he couldn''t. Lu''kai''s grip was like the talons of a beast.

    ¡°Then we shall not be thieves, nor marauders, but corpses.¡± Lu''kai hissed. His sunken eyes revealed something feral within them as they bore into Ug''rit.¡°The dead have no need for sustenance, be it orc or human. You and your brothers must kill them and take their food or we shall perish instead.¡±

    ¡°We can hunt a great beast for the ceremony, if-¡±

    ¡°The beasts are all dead! There are no animals! There are no plants! There is no water! Everything is dying!¡± Lu''kai''s rickety frame convulsed as his skin tightly wrapped around his bones. ¡°But there''s food with the humans! They have the means for our survival! I beg of you Ug''rit, do not sentence the tribe to death like this. Selene must have sent us this opportunity. She would not abandon her people! If we do not take this chance, then that would be the greatest blasphemy of all! You must do this. You must...¡± Lu''kai''s body convulsed again with a long spout of coughing, releasing his vice-like grip from Ug''rit and leaving five bloody streaks behind as his eyes rolled back.

    Ug''rit knelt by the corpse and offered a quick prayer to the goddess Selene, requesting herto protect his elder on his journey to the stars.

    The village was in ruin. Grey huts thatonce would have beenadorned with colorful leathers and ivory now laid barren,with only piles of dried branchesto keep those who lived inside them from burning in the sun. The once cold stone beneath their bare feet now glowed like embers, searing those who dared to walk upon it.

    No younglings ran around playing kick ball like they used to, or wrestled like they used to, or hunted small game, or built tree forts; there were no younglings. Ug''rit still remembered their cries when the last morsels of food were gone, some of the parents had been merciful and fed them belladonna before putting them tosleep; those who couldn''t bear to poison their children could only watch them starve to death. No conversations occurred for fear of moisture escaping one''s mouth, some were even afraid to breath. No one hunted as the only prey left were the ancients of the forest, which were capable of wiping the tribe out with a single breath. No one searched for water. The drought spanned the entire continent; there was nothing left.No one did anything for fear of wasting what valuable energy they had left. They only waited for death.

    Ug''rit found Lu''shi in her hut beside the cliff, staring blankly into a fire she had kindled. She moved around some poisonous plants in a bowl over the flame, maybe hoping to burn the poison awayor maybe hoping for something else, not a care in the world if the firecharred her hands as she continuously crushed the herbs in the heat. Her once soft, green skin was now tough and gray. Her once golden eyes were now only yellow with hunger.Her muscular build had been reduced to that of a skeleton''s.Her dark,long hair was now only a few tufts of white. We''re walking corpses.

    ¡°Lu''shi, your father is dead.¡± Ug''rit stated plainly as he stood by the entrance of her hut.

    ¡°I see.¡± Lu''shi turned around and stared at Ug''rit, waiting for him to leave, not a hint of sorrow on her face, only hunger.¡°Anything else?¡±

    ¡°I left his corpse in his hut. Do what you want with it.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°... What are you doing with those herbs?¡±

    She looked down in surprise at the bowlherhands, as if she had just realized it was there.¡°Who knows.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± With that he left to gather the unblooded.

    Before this famine, she would have taken weeks to grieve for her father. Now, nothing. I have no wish to be a thief or marauder, but the tribe is most important. Family is more important than honor.

    Around 200 orcs gathered around the center of the village, standing before the shrine to Selene. The black night was illuminated with a spare few torches and the last sliver of their goddess''will before the new moon tomorrow. They prostrated themselves before her statue, carved from moonstone. Itreflected a brilliant white in the moonlight, but turned pitch black underthe sun. At this point in their prayers, while they laidon the ground reciting the wisdom of her messages, the village''s shaman would normally cast spirit magic to strengthen the unblooded''s souls for the ceremony, but he had disappeared long ago when divining for water. No one knew if he had abandoned the tribe or been killed in his search. Despite the fact that they knew the shaman was not present to communicate with the goddess and distribute her blessing, they prayed for her protection, prayed for their tribe''s safety, for prosperity, for food, for water...fora quick death...

    Lu''shi trudged from the outskirts of the village, a dead look in her eyes, though they no longer seemed hungry. She held a blue stained sack filled with grilled meat in her arms. An animal she found a mile or so from the village she said. No one questioned her, they simply stood and graciously received a morsel each, being sure to add an additional prayer for Lu''kai, wishing for his safe journey to the stars.

    ---

    Around 400 men armed with axes, bows, spears, and whatever else they could find gathered around the village square. Roston stood out imposingly within the mob.¡°Friends! Brothers!¡± His voice bellowed outwards, silencing the chatter of the crowd. ¡°Those dumb beasts have killed our kinsmen! We don''t know how many orcs there are, nor why they attacked the logging camp. What we do know, is that if those green freaks dare to think they can get away with what they''ve done, they''re in for a hell of a surprise!¡± The men roared in agreement.

    ¡°Everyone with a bow, get on the roofs of the houses on the perimeter of the village, facing the forest. Everyone else, form squads of six, twospears each squad and move to the palisades! Anyone else who doesn''t have a squad will form up here in the square and be ready to reinforce the rest! If the fuckers don''t raid us tonight, we set out at dawn to liberate the logging camp!¡± A thunder resounded through the village as the men yelled in affirmation, clashing their weapons against one another in the air.

    They swiftly formed up and went to their assigned positions throughout the village. 100 archers on the roofs facing the forest, forty squads around the perimeter of the town, with most shifted towards the forest, and sixty swordsmen and axemen waiting in the town square in reserve. All of the women and children were moved to the town hall, next to the town square, where Ariadne was currently giving birth.

    As the sun fell, the orcs approached the edge of the forest to scout out Thrend. ¡°Ug''rit, when shall we attack?¡± One of the orcs snorted as they hid in the underbrush.

    ¡°Because of the hound shit, the humans are probably well aware of our presence. We must attack before they summon more of their kind. We will rest here a while and attack as soon as the sun has gone over the horizon. Im''rit, where do the humans store their food?¡±

    Im''rit clambered onto a thick tree and motioned to follow him. Once they approached the top, they could see into the village. ¡°Down in the big empty space of their settlement, there lies a building much larger than the rest, you see it correct?¡±

    ¡°Yes? Is that it?¡±

    ¡°No, but building directly behind it. That is where they store their food.¡±

    ¡°I see, it looks like they are deploying from the empty space. It will be difficult to acquire the food with the humans guarding it so closely.¡±

    They climb back down and Ug''rit announces the strategy. ¡°I will bring half of our brothers around the village and we shall enter from behind, we must leave soon otherwise it will take too long to circle around without being spotted and make it in time for the attack. The rest will remain here and once the sun falls behind the horizon and Selene, with all her blessings, begins to grow stronger, you willclimb into the trees and start loosing arrows upon the settlement. With luck, the humans will be drawn towards the forest or at least their attention will be focused towards itand we can simply take the food without incurring a loss.¡±

    ¡°What of the ceremony?¡±

    ¡°After we return to the tribe with the food, we shall all head deeper into the forest and hunt a great beast. There is no honor to be gained here, fighting with the humans.¡±

    ¡°But the elders-¡±

    ¡°What of the elders? As long as we return with the means for our tribe to continue existing, what right do they have to complain? The ceremony is not a time for banditry, but for our sacrifice to the goddess.I will not besmirch her name by claiming our marauding as a sacrifice to her. If the rest of you choose to do so, then that is your decision.¡± With that, the sun disappeared over the horizon and the battle was set to begin.

    ---

    Roston spread his gaze upon the town, looking for weak links in the defense. Fucking orcs, attacking when my wife''s giving birth. We should be at home! I should be helping with the delivery! Not messing with a bunch of green freaks! He had heard the stories growing up and lived through the nightmares during his time in the army, thousands of monsters, not just orcs, overwhelming everything from tiny hamlets to great cities as they came from the depths of the forest in massive waves, each enough to completely overwhelm the last. Every other decade or so these events, known as the crucibles, would occur.The orcs weresome of the worst aggressors. They weren''t like the other monsters coming from the forest, wild beasts to be hunted down.They were organized, they could forge weapons and armor, they could use magic, and worst of all,they always tried to stay. He had heard of a kingdom that completely fell to them and was still under their control.

    Then, just as the sun disappeared over the horizon, a volley of arrows rained upon the village like a storm, embedding themselves deep into the ground, roofs, and flesh. Countless screams rang out as those who were unlucky enough to be hit fell to the ground like lambs to a slaughter.

    ¡°Put the nearby fires out so they can''t spot us so easily! Don''t be easy targets, get behind a wall! Archers, return the volley!¡± Roston spouted out the commands as he moved behind a building.

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    The exchange continued for hours as darkness set, Thrend would be nearly invisible were it not for the minimal amount of torches lighting a road or two, walls of arrows would sink into whatever they could touch, sometimes accompanied by a scream and then a wall of arrows would be shot into the forest.

    ¡°Roston! How do we know were even hitting them?¡± A man yelled from one of the roofs as he knocked an arrow.

    ¡°If you listen closely you can hear the pigs squealing every so often! We don''t know how many there are, but-¡±

    ¡°ORC!¡± A woman''s scream resounded from the buildings in the back.

    ---

    ¡°Push!¡±

    ¡°Aaaaurggh!¡±

    Ariadne was in a separate room within the town hall, surrounded by women of the village, who were running about, trying to lessen as much of her burden as possible.

    ¡°Irene, get another pale of water!¡± Fiona, a stocky redheaded woman commanded.

    ¡°B-but the orcs-¡±

    ¡°Are being dealt with by the men, go get a pale of water from the storehouse!¡±

    The freckled girl, about fifteen years old, glanced towards the doors apprehensively, on the verge of tears as she stood petrified.

    ¡°Girl!¡± Seeing no response from her she turned towards a fourteen year old girl with short black hair. ¡°Isane, you go with her, hurry!¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡± Isane, grabbed Irene''s arm and they madly dashed out the back to where they remembered where the storehouse was. When they thought they were at the right building, they began patting around it, trying to find the doorway, then with an ¡°Aha,¡± Isane began to blindly fumble with the latch, but Irene, who had been looking around in fear suddenly screamed.

    ¡°ORC!¡±

    ---

    Just as the sun disappeared, screams resounded out from the opposite side of the village, queuing the orcs to begin the raid. Ug''rit and his companions waited in the dried riverbed bordering the south of the village, knowing it would take some time for the humans to focus their attention on the forest alone. Only when a couple hours had passed and the night was properly set in, did they stealthily climb over the palisades, careful of any signs of the town''s militia. Without the light of the moon to guide them, or even a torch within sight, Ug''rit relied heavily on his other senses to determine the enemies'' locations. Though the villagers on the outskirts of the empire were familiar with hunting in the endless forest and naturally moved quietly.They couldn''t compare to those who lived in it, who not only hunted their prey, but had to be truly silent to escape those that would hunt them.

    Ug''rit could hear the scuffling of the humans'' leather soles. He could feel the reverberations of the palisade with his bare feet as the humans let the hard ground absorb the impact, rather than their own ankles and knees. There was a group of six that had just passed by, none wearing iron, but tough leather comparable to Ug''rit''s own skin. He signaled for his brethren, who had wrapped themselves around the thick logs of the palisade, by gently knocking on the wood beneath him. It was inaudible to most creatures'' ears, but quickly received through the hands and feet of the orcs nearby. A dozen orcs suddenly jumped from the walls, grabbing the militia, one orc to silence, one orc to kill each person. They quickly dragged the bodies behind a house, not bothering to loot them. The dead don''t need anything, but these will only slow us down.

    Two more patrols came by, all disposed of in the same manner. All of the orcs had now climbed over the walls and crept towards the storehouse, with Ug''rit and a few other leading the way. But when they were only a house away, they suddenly heard a scream: ¡°ORC!¡±

    In truth, Irene had never seen them, she had been so skittish that when a a gust of wind blew some cloth that had been left out to dry, she had cried out from paranoia. But Ug''rit and the rest had no way of knowing, so they dashed towards the storehouse in a mad sprint to silence the girl and gather as much food and water as possible before leaving. When two girls came into view, running to the town square screaming, Ug''rit could do nothing but curse.

    ¡°Get the food! Ignore the humans!¡±

    ---

    ¡°ORC!¡±

    Roston turned towards the screams, his heart lurching as he noticed it came from the back of the town hall. Ariadne!

    ¡°Come on!¡± He roared, raising his sword and charging to the source of the scream. The men nearby roared behind him and followed, carrying the few remaining torches that hadn''t been put out.

    Two girls came into his sight, running frantically towards him.

    ¡°Mr. Roston!¡± They cried jumping to the safety of the militia.

    ¡°Behind us, near the storehouse!¡± Isane barked, pointing to where they had come from.

    ¡°Y-y-your w-w-ife''s giving birth, w-w-we needed a pale of water!¡± Irene sputtered as her disheveled hair waved about and her wide eyes filled with tears.

    Fuck! His feet pounded into the earth, causing the houses nearby to tremble as if there was suddenly a stampede of monsters coming from the forest. A mob of orcs had swarmed around the storehouse, desperately ramming into and hacking away at the doors, unaware of the latch.

    ¡°Charge! The fucks are trying to destroy our food!¡± Roston yelled.

    When the smoky light from the torches lit the road they were on, Ug''rit saw what he initially thought was a troll leading a group of humans and his mind went blank for a second before recovering when he heard human speech coming from its mouth.

    ¡°We will block them! Im''rit, your group must return to the tribe with food! Go!¡± He turned towards the giant man and howled as he led a group of eighty orcs to block the humans.

    I must kill the troll-man, he seems tobe their warlord. Ug''rit stabbed his chipped sword out as he met with the giant. Roston swung his own sword in a overhanded arc to parry and followed the momentum with a jab, the metallic scent of blood filling his nostrils as the two mobs clashed into each other. Seeing the muscles of the giant in front of him ripple, Ug''rit jumped back as clouds of yellow dust, illuminated by fire, kicked up around him, knowing that a single blow from the giant would probably kill him. He swung his own sword down against the troll-man''s sword to try and knock him off balance, but Roston took the opportunity to flow his attack furtherand brokein the kneecap of another orc next to him with a hard kick. Ug''rit again, tried to jab at Roston, trying to outmaneuver the giant, but couldn''t get an angle with the compact crowds pushing against each other.

    He looked at the battlefield for only a moment, but felt an emptiness well up inside him; his brethren were not battling, but being slaughtered. Blue blood spurt from their wounds. Their weak bones shattered under the pressure of the well fed humans when they tried to block them head on and their weapons cracked with each blow they parried.This can''t continue. He glanced back at Im''rit''s group which was beginning to leave. ¡°Fight brothers! For the tribe! For our families!¡± His guttural call resounded through the ears of the orcs and they responded with sudden ferocity, ramming their tusks into the humans when their weapons broke and clawing at their opponents eyes.

    Roston saw the orc he was fighting with yell something to its kind and slammed his fist into another orc that tried to jump him, crushing it into a sack of meat as it fell. He swung towards Ug''rit''s neck, trying to stop him from giving orders to the other orcs only to see him jump away again. Angrily, he roared: ¡°MY WIFE''S IN LABOR! STOP FUCKING AROUND WITH ME!¡± sweeping his weapon in a wide arc, turning four of the orcs in front of him into mincemeat as squelches came from the broken mess of orclimbshe had just created. Each swing he took was accompanied by a sickening crunch, or a splatter of blue blood. He proceeded to ignore Ug''rits desperate attempts to stop him and continued slaughtering the orcs around him, giving his men a surge in morale as they slammed their weapons against the green monsters.

    ¡°Capture the rest of them! We''ll get as much information out of them as we can!¡± There were only a dozen or so orcs left at this point. He slammed the flat of his sword against Ug''rit a few times, trying to knock him out, as Ug''rit tried desperately to dodge and parry, but was overwhelmed by the giant''sstrength. Roston raised his sword again when a blinding light stopped everyone in their tracks.

    *BOOM,* An explosion rang out from the sky.

    Roston felt his bones quaver under the pressure that followed the light and a moment later water started falling. No one had noticed during the battle that thick clouds had begun to gather in the sky. Ug''rit was first to snap out of the trance. ¡°Forget the water and just grab food!¡± He barked at the other orcs, snapping everyone else back to reality. He sprinted to grab a couple random sacks in the storehouse, ignoring the humans. The other orcs followed suit as the humans cheered, initially believing that the orcs were retreating.

    ¡°Hey! They''re stealing our food!¡± Someone yelled as the rest of the militia looked to the storehouse.

    ¡°Stop them! Trap them inside!¡± Someone else yelled as the whole group proceeded to surround the building.

    ¡°Ug''rit, what do we do?¡± An orc asked.

    What do we do? Why am I so foolish? They can charge into the building at any time and we''ll all be killed. There was no reason for us to try to grab more food, the tribe could have gathered rain water to salvage the crops. Ug''rit looked around at the bleak oak shelves. His mind blocked out the noise of the humans growling outside, the clatter of metal, and the questions of his brethren, only focusing on the pitter patter of the rain hitting the roof. The roof.

    ¡°Climb the shelves and get onto the roof! Quickly, before they decide to swarm in!¡± The other orcs responded with zealous haste as they made their way up, breaking apart the planks that blocked their way to safety, when a wave of humans rushed in.

    ¡°They''re trying to climb up!¡± twoorcs near the bottom squealed as the militia dragged them down and other men started climbing after the orcs.

    Roston looked into the storehouse and yelled ¡°Stop! You''re too heavy! It''ll break!¡± Only to see the shelves collapse, bringing down orc and man alike. ¡°Make sure everyone''s okay and capture the orcs!¡±

    As Ug''rit felt his footing disappear he could only curse at their misfortune. If the human girls hadn''t seen them, they would have been able to carry enough food to feed the tribe for months. They could have prevented future younglings from starving. They wouldn''t have toeat ''that.'' He could only be thankful that at least some of their brothers were able to escape with food, maybe not enough to last for months, but at least a few weeks, maybe enough time to salvage the crops.

    Roston raised his sword and cried ¡°That''ll teach the green pigs to attack Thrend! Or any other human settlement!¡± The men around him cried out and rattled their weapons in the air when lightning shot out dangerously close to the town.

    ¡°Lower your iron! I don''t want anyone being struck by the gods for hubris or anything like that when they''ve just delivered rain!¡± Roston called to the men as they all joyously laughed.

    Roston made his way back to the front of the village to see the archers on the roofs were no longer shooting at the enemy. ¡°What''s wrong?¡± He asked.

    ¡°Our arrows aren''t reaching each other I think. They barely made the distance before the rain started and now it looks like they''re being knocked off course.¡± A man on the roofs called out, the others around him voicing their agreement.

    ¡°Then come down, this rains only getting heavier. The battle''s over for now. We''ll clear out those animals come dawn.¡± With that Roston ran to his wife.

    ---

    ¡°Aaaaauurrrgghh!¡±

    ¡°Push!¡±

    ¡°Aaaugh!¡±

    ¡°Push!¡±

    Roston ran into the room, soaking wet. ¡°Honey!¡±

    ¡°Rooaaghstaughn!¡±

    ¡°Honey, I''m here, he said grabbing her slender hands. ¡°Don''t push yourself too hard.¡±

    ¡°SHUTUP!¡± She screamed again as she made a large push.

    ¡°Uhh.¡±

    ¡°GET OUT!¡±

    Roston stumbled out of the room mumbling something or other about fighting orcs. Out into the main hall, he saw the injured being bandaged and more than a few families weeping over the shrouded bodies that had been lain in the corner of the hall. He made his way to a shriveled old man in the middle of a crowd of injured men, dressed in a bright red and blue cloak. ¡°Mr. Poth, how is it?¡±

    The old man combed back his white hair and frowned as he crushed various plants together in a mortar. ¡°Not well, I''m afraid. There''s forty dead and over fifty injured, I expect most of them to be all right, just a few scars, but there''s half a dozen in critical condition. We also had to amputate a lad''s leg; if we had a priest to cast some spells on him I wouldn''t worry too much, but the way he''s looking, he might just die from the shock.¡± Mr. Poth bent down and dressed a deep wound on a man''s chest with the pungent poultice he had just made before proceeding to wrap it. ¡°Well that''s going to scar.¡±

    ¡°Do your best then.¡± Roston patted his shoulder and walked back to the room where his wife was giving birth, but not daring to enter this time.

    ¡°Right, tell me if your wife needs anything, I''ll be right over.¡±

    Roston sat outside the room that his wife was giving labor in, praying to Eileithyia for his wife''s labor to be safe and successful when he saw Mary scurry out.

    ¡°Mary! How is she? Anything wrong?¡±

    ¡°Oh plenty wrong. And it''s all your fault!¡± The middle age woman grumbled, sidestepping Roston.

    ¡°Oh gods! What''s wrong? Please tell me! What did I do?¡± he wailed as he followed the short blonde woman.

    ¡°What''s wrong is ya fucked her!¡±

    ¡°... What?¡±

    ¡°Oh poor Ariadne, she''s such a delicate lady, I don''t know how she does it. You''re such a giant that all your children are so big when they come out. It''s tough even when they''re just normal sized you know? I won''t pretend to know how hard it is for her. But you! You make her suffer through such intense childbirths all the time! Humph, I can tell you it''s definitely a boy this time. When it''s a boy of yours they''re too big to push out; when it''s a girl, they come in pairs! I remember when Rantal was born, Huge! No woman should ever have to give birth to such a large baby, let alone her firstborn! Honestly, I don''t know how she does it. Whenever my husband and I had a child, it got easier the more I had, in fact, for my last boy, I just squatted against a wall and plopped him out, barely took an hour! But that''s only because they were normal sized! Oh, poor Lilly and Milly, they''re definitely going to be taller than all the boys in the village when they''re older. How will they ever find a good husband? Men don''t like being shorter than their women. At least they''re lucky enough to take after their mother and not your brutish build, they''ll definitely be beauties when they grow up. You can already see it in the little cuties..."

    "But is she alright?"

    "...Oh, poor Ariadne, she''s such a delicate girl. Why did she have to marry you? She could have had a normal sized husband and normal sized babies and they could have all taken after her, even the boys! Oh that would have been so wonderful. You''re lucky to have ever met her you know? Such a beautiful, gentle woman. I couldn''t imagine her hurting a fly! She''s like a noble lady, especially with how smart she is. I suppose it may have been a good thing she found you in any case. If she were married to any other man, some scoundrels would definitely have thoughts about taking her. But with you? No, no man would dare. Tell me Roston, where did she learn to read? Was her father a merchant or something? She never talks much about it. Did- Oh my gods! Did you two elope? Was she some well to do, primmy, prancy, merchant''s girl who fell in love with you one night when you were in the army? Oh, that would be so romantic. The soldier, protecting a caravan..."

    "Mary..."

    "...No! Escorting royalty! Oh, Roston you fiend! You eloped with the Emperor''s daughter!? My goodness, no wonder she''s so precious! I''m sure she accidentally got ''lost'' when camping one night after seeing you bravely defend the carriage from some nasty bandits that hadn''t bathed in months and ''stumbled'' upon your tent. And I bet your not a bad size are you? You''re such a large man, that I''m sure you were able to conquer her almost immediately. You naughty man! It''s too bad that she stumbled into the tent of a brute like you though. Why couldn''t it have been a handsome knight? They could have run to his mansion that night and gotten secretly married, only to learn that the Emperor had found out and was sending his armies to execute the brave sir-knight for kidnapping his daughter who was betrothed to another man! But the knight wouldn''t let their true love end like that so easily! No! He summoned his armies and fought a desperate battle for the princess and miraculously won! But returned home gravely injured, not willing to accept death''s embrace until his saw his lovers face for one last time. Oh so romantic! But no! Instead the princess..."

    "So Ariadne''s okay?"

    "...No -Empress! got you! And instead of a romantic battle for love, you stole the Emperor''s wife and spirited away to a little unknown village on the outskirts of the empire! Coward! And instead of receiving the knight''s child and raising him in secret by tricking the Emperor into thinking it was his child, for that child to grow up and realize his birth, leading a revolt against the empire to avenge his true father''s legacy, she''s stuck giving birth to your abnormally large sons! Oh poor Ariadne, to think she could be Empress right now, living a life of luxury, with normal sized children, but instead chose to elope with an army sergeant! It''s still pretty romantic now that I think about it. Oooh, what if the Emperor dies and your children find out that they have a claim to the throne! Ooh, that would be so exciting! Keep giving her babies Roston! The more claimants the better!¡±

    The only thing Roston wanted to do right now was to go back to fighting orcs, and if not that then bash his own skull in. ¡°Err... Thank you? ¡­ Mary? ¡­ For...¡± With that he walked back to the room and waited, being careful to not ask any more questions to the women coming out.

 Chapter 2: Birth and Betrayal

    The hazy image of a dim brown wall came into sight, the sounds of rumbling came from the other side as a clear, unforgettable scent drifted into the man''s nose.Rain. Roof... Wait rain? The fuck is going on?He tried moving his head, but found that it was paralyzed.Have I been drugged? I don''t feel drugged.A pair of giant burly hands came into his vision, carefully lifting him up.Oh fuck... Oh fuck no! I''m dead aren''t I? Or rather died... How!?This was not the first time he had been reincarnated, the first life he remembered had been on earth where he died in his second year of college. He had been out with his friends at a fair, listening to their bright chatter about the movie they had just watched, when a car jerked off the road and plowed into the crowd. His second life was in a space faring society, where he had expected to live in excessive comfort, enjoying the beauty and entertainment of technological advances. His last memory had been as a four year old entering cryogenic storage for the first time on his family''s vacation to an uninhabited planet.

    The giant hands raised him up and he suddenly felt a stinging pain across his back. ¡°Waaaaahh!¡± A tiny wail shot out of his mouth as he heard what sounded like gibberish and a deep laugh come from the giant holding him.

    ¡°Honey, this boy is going to be a tough one! Listen to those lungs! Haha!¡±

    Motherfucker! I would have cleared mylungs myself in a couple seconds! He finally saw the black haired, well trimmed, bearded face of the giant who was now his father give a wide smile as he knelt down to wash thenewborn in a tub.

    ¡°Hahaha! Ariadne, he has your eyes! It''s your turn to name, your turn.¡± The child felt warmth permeate his body as the water in the basin gently washed over him. He was snugly wrapped in a towel before being handed over to his new mother.Nooooo, I don''t want to be a baby again! It''s fucking boring! I can''t do shit!But as soon as he lookedinto the auburn eyes of the beautiful woman holding him, her gentle smile filled with a mother''s love, he couldn''t help but soften up.Well, the very least I can do for this one is not die early. Again.

    ¡°Aegis Hyades Rastine. For the good fortune the gods granted us in this battle and the respite they granted us from the drought, no doubt they wish for the circumstances of Aegis'' birth to be a grand one.¡±

    ¡°No doubt.¡± Roston echoed, a big stupid grin still on his face as he knelt down beside the bed. He began to hum a tune as Ariadne sung the words to the song.Why does this sound familiar? I''ve never heard...Aegis stretched his mouth into a yawn before being being rocked to sleep under the lullaby.

    ---

    *BOOM* Ugrit jumped awake at the sound of thunder crashing nearby only to start choking. Tight coarse rope wrapped around his neck, wrists and ankles, tying him to some posts in the town square. Panicking in the dark, he struggled against the bindings, only to feel the sharp coil around his neck tighten.Calm down!Ug''rit''s mind took back control of his body, suppressing the raw instinct that drove him.How?Memories of the battle flooded into his mind, the last being the feeling of weightlessness as the shelves of the storehouse collapsed.We had partial success. Im''rit and the others escaped with food. The others?¡°Brothers?¡± Only the rush of the rain greeted him in the pitch black.Asleep, separated, or dead.The painful dryness of his throat reminded Ug''rit of the drought as thirst took over his body and raised his head to catch the water, greedily swallowing it down like amad beast. His body welcomed the cold as the torrent grew stronger, as if trying to cleanse away the burns thatresided in his soul.

    Im''rit lead a group of about sixty orcs through the forest back to the tribe. Eighty had been killed in the town and

    another sixtyduring the exchange of arrows in the forest. He and his brothers could only feel bitter tastea in their mouths andholesin their guts whenever they thought about the trade off. They had carried as much food and water that the twentyorcs could handle, only to have the water become irrelevant before they had even made it back to the forest.140 dead for a few dozen sacks of food. Pathetic. Just thinking about it made Im''rit angry, he remembered looking back at the battle Ug''rit was leading, only to see his brethren being killed like livestock. ¡°Fuck!¡± He shouted. They would arrive back at the tribeby dawn, not bothering to take a roundabout route in case the humans tried following the next day. The rain wouldwash away any evidence of their passing.

    ---

    At dawn, Ug''rit was woken up by a kick to the ribs. The drumming of the rain against his skull reminded him of where he was; he didn''t even remember falling asleep. He had been too busy drinking therain. ¡°Get up ya fuckin'' pig.¡± A cloaked man had untied Ug''rit from the post, but kept his limbs bound together. The noose tightened around his neck forcing him to a stand. When the knot shifted around to the base of his skull, the man gave him a violent shove, nearly causing Ug''rit to lose his balance and die by hanging.

    ¡°We''re gon'' be put''n you in a niiice, dry place. How ''bout dat?¡± The man smiled as Ug''rit felt a couple wet slaps on his cheek. ¡°Can''t have you shiverin'' to death b''fore the Marquis'' men come; they can get allll sorts of information out''a you and we can get a purdy little bounty on your sorry hides.¡± Ug''rit was suddenly choking as the man slammed his elbow into Ug''rit''s back, using the leverage to tighten the rope around his neck as they walked.Just as hewas about to pass out, the man loosened his grip, leaning into Ug''rit''s ear and hissed: ¡°Too bad dat money won'' be nearly enough to ''elp all dem widows you slimy fuckers made las'' night.¡±

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    They had arrived at a run down shack next to the animal pens and Ug''rit couldn''t help but silently chuckle at the luxury. Adamp pile of hay had been laid in one corner, while the opposite had a hole in the roof, delivering water to a bucket below; the new residence had been completed with a freshly installed post in the center of the small room where the man tied and forced Ug''rit to the floor. ¡°You know, my niece was askin'' last night why ''er daddy wasn''t wakin'' up...¡± Water continued to drip down the man''s face despite being out of the rain. ¡°I had to tell her... I had to fuckin'' tell ''er dat you monsters killed her daddy! That you bastards killed my brother!¡± He gave a violent kick to Ug''rit''s chest,whichresponded with the wet crack of a broken rib. ¡°Oh I''m sorry, did that hurt? I apologize. You know what also hurts? Telling. Your. Fucking. Niece. Her. Dad''s. Dead. You''re fuckin'' lucky we hafta keep you alive, otherwiseI''d kill you right now.Oh! Guess what? You get bread! Yummy, tasty bread! I found a special loaf with deliciouslittle maggots for you, mm-mm-mm. Not that a stupid little fuck like you would understand me anyways. Your lil''worm infested brains only know how to snortand grunt like a pig in heat; it''s amazin'' you guys can even understand each other.¡±

    With that, a maggot infestedloaf of bread plopped into the ground right in front of Ug''rit, splashing mud over his face; most of the bread had gone black as the maggots slithered in and out of the holes. *Thud* the door had been barred shut; as soon asUg''rit could no longer hear the human muttering outside, he threw his face into the bread and swallowed every morsel he could, even the dirt mixed in with the crumbs. It was the largest piece of food he''d seen in weeks. He didn''t mind the maggots; the tribe had started eating them when the crops failed for the third time. If they hadn''t been so proud and started eating them sooner, maybe the younglings wouldn''t have starved.The humans are quite merciful. A broken rib in exchange for food, water, a roof, and soft bedding? Ha! I would have given my tusks and limbs in exchange for such luxuries at the tribe. Ug''rit smirked.I wonder what that human was saying to me? It probably wasn''t anything good, but I should use this opportunity they''ve given me to learn their language. What was that word he kept using to refer to me?¡°Fu-ck-er¡± Ug''rit grunted the syllables out.It must mean prisoner or something of the sort. So I am that human''s ''fucker.''

    ---

    Im''rit and the others stood in the entrance of the tribe, baffled. The idolof Selene was gone. The huts were empty; anything useful that could be carried had disappeared. His stomach sank as he looked at the scene. If there had at least been a body or some sign of a struggle there could be a touch of hope mixed in the dread he felt, but no, he felt only dread. The cold reality wrapped itself around Im''rit''s mind and forced its way through his defenses, crushing walls of denial, spears of hope, and finally the castle of disbelief.

    They sent us to die...His arms slackened, dropping the sacks of food he had risked his life for.They sent us to die...He recalled elder Lu''kai calling him to his hut, telling him to travel south to the human settlement and find out if they were well fed.Not get food, they expected us to...He recalled how the elders did not show any worry when the shaman didn''t return, instead focusing the villages efforts on hunting.The shaman probably found a place...He recalled how willing someparents were to poison their own children, eager almost.There weren''t enough resources; the tribe was too big...He recalled how those who weren''t willing to poison their children were among the first adults to die.They dropped the dead weight, the younglings, then they killed potential resistance, and when that wasn''t enough, theysent the unproven, the unblooded males...He recalled the scene of Ug''rit leading a desperate charge against the humans to give them time to escape.They planned for us to...He again recalled the scene of the slaughter. The dread was gone, only the cold remained.

    ¡°Those without sacks, empty out all the jars and bring them outside; collect the rain water. Store the food in the shrine, it''s the driest location. Once you all have accomplished that, join me in the clearings, we''ll see what crops can be saved and move them all to the first clearing.¡±

    ¡°Im''rit...¡± En''ki, the youngest of the group spoke up. ¡°Maybe they-¡±

    ¡°They abandoned us En''ki. They sent us to die. If it hadn''t been for Ug''rit''s plan to simply steal the food, rather than fight the humans for the ceremony, I suspect that we would have returned in failure... No, I don''t thinkwe would havereturned at all.¡± Im''ritturned his gaze towards the remaining orcs. ¡°I give you my congratulations brothers, the food will last us several months, enough time to replant the crops. Though I believe Ug''rit was correct, the battle we fought was blasphemous to the ceremony, Selene would never accept our sacrifices. We are still unblooded, despite ourefforts. We must gather our strength these next few months and prepare a great hunt. Our prey are strange beasts; when we meet with them, they may be even stronger than the humans, but we shall be as well. They may use strange chants to make us lower our guards, but we will be unaffected by their magic. They will look like us, but know that they are not one of us. They are the perfect prey, ones that Selene is eager for us to vanquish, onesthat she demands to receive in order to enact her punishments upon them in the afterlife. They are the Tu''lu''min; the traitors.¡±

 Chapter 3: Endless Storm

    Cold rain rumbled on the roof above Aegis, as he laid on his tummy, playing with alphabet blocks. God damn, fiftyletters. At least it''s not a character per word like Chinese or something, that''d be a fucking pain to learn. And what the hell is up with this rain? It''s been a month already! Does it always rain in this world? That''d be depressing as fuck. Ren, his elder brother, laid across a chair and stared at his baby brother as Aegis scrunched up his little face and tried to follow the letters with his hands. Melisandra''s and Liliana sat across from each other on the opposite side of the room, their eyes saying that they would kill to relieve their boredom at this point. ¡°shaa shaa shaa thump... shaa shaa shaa thump... shaa shaa shaa thump...¡± A wooden ball slowly rolled across the maroon rug between the two of them and despite the rumbling of the roof, the crackling of the fireplace, the rocking of a chair, and the knocking of wooden blocks, it seemed as if it were the only sound in the room; everything else was background noise, a stage for the ball to sing its tale of boredom with the carpet. ¡°shaa shaa shaa thump... shaa shaa shaa thump...¡±

    ¡°Mama, when''s Aegis gonna be big?¡± Rantal turned his head to the sound of the crackling fireplace that his mother was bent over, cooking a pot of stew.

    ¡°When he''s older darling. You can play with him right now if you''re careful, but nothing dangerous.¡±

    ¡°But he can''t do anything right now. All he does all day is look at blocks.¡±

    ¡°Then why don''t you teach him the letter on the blocks?¡± Ariadne knew that Aegis wouldn''t understand Ren anyways, but it never hurts to start teaching early and Rantal could get closer with his baby brother.

    Half an hour later, Ren was on the 23rd letter of the alphabet. ¡°No, no Aegis. ¡°Ta.¡±

    ¡°Na!¡± The baby repeated, sitting up on his butt.

    ¡°Ta!¡±

    ¡°Da!"

    ¡°Ta!"

    ¡°Da!"

    ¡°No, no, look closely, see? T-a¡±

    ¡°DadadaDaDADA!¡± The baby rose his tiny arms in exasperation, wrinkles appearing around his large, auburn eyes. You little shit, I don''t have teeth! I can''t make that sound, just move on!

    Ren was surprised at the beginning of the lesson when Aegis had looked attentively at him after he grabbed the first letter and pronounced it and he was thrilled later, that after going through the alphabet once, that his little brother had begun to mimic him. Each letter, Rantal meticulously coached Aegis on for a solid minute until he was sure the miniature person had memorized it.

    ¡°Ta Aegis.¡±

    Fuck you. Aegis stared at his brother in silence, crossing his arms.

    Ariadne, sat on the rocking chair across from the boys, holding her twin girls, all of their faces contorting, with giggles periodically escaping from their mouths as they watched the scene play out. My gods, he''s so expressive! The rest of the the children had just begun to properly smile at us at this stage, but he''s practically miming already!

    ¡°R-r-ren.¡± Ariadne called out, struggling not to burst out laughing. ¡°Aegis doesn''t have teeth yet. He can''t make those sounds.¡±

    ¡°Don''t worry mama, I believe in him!¡±

    ¡°Well, that''s nice, but believing doesn''t really have anything to do with it."

    ¡°He can do it if he tries!¡±

    ¡°Honey, he physically can''t do it yet.¡±

    ¡°What''s physically?¡±

    ¡°It''s impossible for his body.¡±

    ¡°Impossible?¡±

    ¡°When, no matter what, you can''t do something. Like flying.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I get it.¡± Rantal turned back to his brother with a wide smile on his face and patted Aegis'' head. ¡°Aegis is kinda dumb, so it''s impossible.¡±

    ¡°Well that''s...¡±

    Aegis squinted up at his brother. Why do I feel like this brat is looking down on me?

    ¡°Okay then.¡± Rantal dropped the cube and searched for the next letter in the alphabet. ¡°Here Aegis.¡± He said showing the next letter. ¡°Ga.¡±

    Yes! He''s moved on! Scooting his baby bottom, Aegis twisted around to his mom and gave a thumbs up. Whatever you said, it worked, thank you.

    Oh my gods, my little boy''s so smart! He''s so cute! Roston, hurry home or you''ll miss this!

    ---

    *clunk* The log barring the door to the shack outside fell off. Ug''rit, who had been sleeping in the hay, jumped away from it as he awoke and readjusted himself right next to the wooden post as he stared at the door. About two weeks ago, the human who had brought him to the shack found Ug''rit asleep and started shouting and gave him a beating. Ug''rit didn''t get any food that day. A massive figure bent under the doorway as Ug''rit recognized the bear-man that he fought in the battle.

    Entering the dim shack, Roston saw the orc that was giving orders in the battle earlier look up at him. It was the first time Roston had seen one of them since the battle. He had been too busy with his newborn and moving the villagers to the northern half of the settlement. Looking at the emaciated body of the orc now, he finally understood. ¡°So that''s why you were so weak when you attacked.¡± Roston sighed as he saw Ug''rit staring at the basket of bread in his hands. ¡°Well, I''m not one to show any mercy to your kind. You killed a bunch of men. Good men. Friends, brothers, husbands, fathers... I should probably make sure those who lost loved ones don''t have to be the ones interacting with you though; it''s not right to make them do that. I''m surprised no ones killed any of you. Well, I suppose none of this really matters much anyways; as soon as the rain subsides, the Marquis'' men will come over to Thrend and take your lot off us, then we can distribute the bounty among the widows. Probably the only reason any of you are alive at all.¡± Despite what he said, Roston threw an extra loaf to Ug''rit as he left.

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Ha! The humans are too soft. As soon as the door closed again Ug''rit tore into the bread.

    ---

    Thick slabs of black mud sucked at Im''rit''s leathery green legs, clinging to him with every step he took as water sloshed around his knees. The dense canopy above him did nothing to stop the downpour of unending rain. He was followed by En''ki, the youngest, and In''til, their best tracker, through the forest to search for signs of the Tu''lu''min''s passing, but as the rain continued to fall and the forest transformed into the behemoth it once was, it became more and more difficult to discover anything. The rain had washed away any tracks and carried away any debris like broken branches that they could have followed. All they could do at this point was continue in the direction that they knew the Tu''lu''min had fled in and hope to catch sight of any landmark or the remains of a camp. Two weeks ago, there were no reeds or sprouts to block their sight, but now the plants were a constant annoyance as the forest recovered. At the momemt, it felt more like a wooded marsh than the forest that they had grown up in.

    *Splash* a wave enveloped Im''rit''s back. ¡°What the hell are you d-¡± Im''rit glanced back to his companions to see them submerged in a giant blue slime. ¡°Fuck!¡±

    After waking up from its hibernation, a transparent blob stalked the first large prey it had spotted since awakening, not daring to let the oppurtunity pass. It followed the two-legs through the trees and when they had split up to search for something, it jumped down on two of them, intent on catching its prey. Unfortunately, the slime was a little out of practice and rather than jumping onto the two orcs, the branch it was hanging from simply snapped.

    Im''rit pulled out his saber and rushed at the slime, forcing his way through the water until he reached striking distance, but every cut he made slid off the surface of its slipery body as it spread itself out to envelope him. Just as the creature had spread itself to its limits and was about to pounce on the green two-leg, one of the slices managed to open up a wound and Im''rit plunged his arm into it to grab his brothers.

    Fucking slime! Of course they''d be the first to revive with all this rain! When the drought hit, the slime were among the first to disappear from the forest, but with the rainfall recently they were able to absorb the moisture and became mammoth sized creatures. Damn it, we didn''t hear it approach at all! This rain''s drowning out all the sounds!

    ¡°Give me my brothers!¡± Im''rit managed to pull out one orc, but the slime dove into the water, trying to escape. ¡°Shit!¡± Im''rit chased after it, knowing that if he didn''t hurry, his brother would drown in gooey mucus. He managed to stab into the tail end of the slime, staking it in place and plunged his arm into its wound again to save his brother. Once they were all out, they surrounded the thing as it tried to squirm away. ¡°Skin it, I have plans for its flesh.¡± Seeing the orcs slowly approach it, the slime became more frantic and started to absorb the water surrounding it, becoming twice, three times, four times larger than its previous size, reaching up to the great trees around them in an attempt to intimidate the orcs. Im''rit gave a greedy smile as he stared at the creature. Taking his spear he said. ¡°Yes, this will be perfect.¡± He looked at his burnt brothers, eying the creature with hate and then at his own arm.

    The mucus in the slime was corrosive, he was lucky to save his brothers as quickly as he did. If the slime had been more agile and not made such a large splash when hunting them, his party would most likely be dead right now. It must have just recently awoken, I remember seeing one before the drought drop into a flock of birds without a single one noticing. It was a funny thought, a being made almost entirely out of water being rusty. Im''rit once again stabbed his spear into the base of the slime, driving it into the muddy ground as En''ki did the same and In''til speared it to a tree. They then took their sabers out and began to widen the cut as it desperately tried to squirm away.

    Fifteen minutes later, they had managed to remove the mucus covered membrane and the creature plunged into the water in order to escape, it would regrow the membrane during the next few days as long as none of its natural predators found it. Those things are impossible to kill. Even if you manage to cut them open and take a stab at its core, it''ll just move the core around within its body. Even during the drought, I thought they would die, but it looks like they were just dormant. The orcs headed back to their tribe, dragging the slime membrane through the water behind them, letting it get washed of it''s mucus and acid.

    Back at the tribe, several orcs called out. ¡°Did you find any traces?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Im''rit shook his head. ¡°We were ambushed by a slime. In''til, En''ki, go dress your wounds, make sure to wash away any acid.¡± The two orcs with Im''rit left. ¡°I need help with the crops! Bring some pointed logs! Long ones!¡±

    ¡°What for?¡±

    ¡°You''ll see, I''m quite proud of this idea.¡±

    Eight orcs came to the clearing with a stack of logs. ¡°What do we do with these?¡±

    ¡°We''ll make a shelter for the plants using the slime membrane so that they don''t drown. The skin will be used as a roof and it''ll allow light to pass through, but keep the excess water out.¡±

    Soon the orcs hammered the logs into the ground and stretched the slime membrane over, making a see-through tent that ran the water off on either side. They then dug a shallow trench between the plants for the water to run through the plants.

    ¡°Ha! With a few more of these, we won''t have to worry about any of the plants drowning!¡±

    ---

    Hector leaned over the castle ramparts letting his black hair direct the water past his green eyes and across his scarred and chiseled features; rain glistened off his brown leather chest-piece, as he stared past the sprawling grey city below him, past the flooded plains and drowned fields beyond the walls, and into the dark horizon where he knew the Megolas forest resided.

    They had received word a week ago that a village called Thrend had been attacked by an orc horde. There had been no word since. It was too wet; they couldn''t move the troops to help. It had been so flooded in fact that the messenger had almost drowned and would probably be dead if it weren''t for some huffed up merchant who tried to leave, but ended up having no choice but to turn back to the city on account of the rain. Apparently the attack occurred three weeks before they even heard about it. Normally it took only threedays to get urgent messages to from the edge of the forest. He sighed as he walked back into the cover of the tower nearby, if Thrend hadn''t been able to repel the orcs, he would be spending his time burying the dead when he arrived.

    Walking through the main hall to his quarters, Hector saw magister Patroclus. ¡°Magister, any word from your colleagues on how long this rain will continue?¡± A deep voice resounded from the knight''s chest.

    The word ''old'' wouldn''t even begin to describe Patroclus. At the age of 400, the man could be considered ancient; dark, layered robes, kept his decrepit body warm as it slowly turned towards the knight and slow, gravely words came from the blind man. ¡°No word unfortunately, communication has been quite... troublesome. Those that I have managed to contact are as clueless as I am as to where this rain came from. The hydromancers would normally see the signs several days, if not weeks, in advance, but everyone was completely caught by surprise, which shouldn''t be possible for a system this large.¡±

    ¡°Then where did this rain come from?¡±

    ¡°We don''t... know. It disturbs me, even a pyromancer would see a continent-wide storm approach. Hell, even a toddler could.¡±

    ¡°So it''s artificial? A mage made it?¡± Hector frowned. As a military man, he didn''t like unknowns.

    ¡°Perhaps, it''s hard to say until I can get word from the guild in the capital; I don''t have the necessary tools to test the clouds and determine if they were conjured, but it''s strange that not a single one of us saw the signs. Even if it were the grand magisters of the guild, I doubt they could conjure a storm this large and they would certainly send out a notice of sorts if they attempted... I don''t like this Hector, I know of no individual or group capable of doing such a thing and I have met and even... personally tutored many... talented individuals.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Was that an innuendo?¡±

    ¡°I''m sorry boy, could you repeat that? My hearing isn''t quite what it used to be.¡±

    ¡°I said-¡±

    ¡°Oh, I apologize. I must go now; I have an appointment with our lord.¡± And the old man turned and walked away, sweeping his walking stick in front of him. ¡°tap... tap... tap... tap... tap... tap... tap...¡± He had barely moved a few feet. Even a toddler could outpace him.

    ¡°Right...¡±

 Chapter 4: Atonement

    The putrid scent of shit and blood filled the air of the black dungeon. The cells were lined in a semi-circle, surrounding the only source of light. The light, a candle, sat atop a small oak table in the center of the dungeon, which was placed between two chairs. One of the chairs, iron, was bolted to the stone floor and held a naked man with dirty blonde hair and blue, speckled green eyes. Cuffs, shackles and thick leather made it so that he was unable to move more than an inch in any direction. Across from him, on a simple wooden chair, sat a broken creature, free of any restraints and with its face shrouded under a black hood.

    The creature stared into immobile man for nearly two minutes, neither of them making a sound. ¡°What''s wrong pet? Are you scared? Don''t worry, I''ll make this quick.¡± The creature licked its chapped lips as the man tried to maintain his self control and not convulse in the shackles. He had seen seen the torment that those who squirmed too much received. When he was locked in one of the surrounding cells, he learned that movement would only excite the creature, make it draw the pain out longer. Though the gag in his mouth did nothing to stop the muffled whimper that escaped his chest, nor the tears streaming down his face as he came to terms with his own fate.

    ¡°Shush my little pet, this will hurt me more than it will hurt you. You know daddy doesn''t like doing this, but you were a very bad boy and now I have to punish you. But before that, I''ll give you a chance to make everything better. If you can tell me any information that I think is of value, I might let you free.¡± The creature''s raspy voice sounded like bones rubbing against one another and for some reason, sounded happy. ¡°And I''m sure you won''t lie to daddy, you know what happened to your sibling when he didn''t give me the truth.¡± It stretched a mutilated arm over the table and undid the gag.

    The man in chains did know. One of the prisoners before him tried to give false information, maybe in a vain attempt to live longer or maybe out of spite. But the punishment for lying to the creature was hell. The creature always verifies the claims of the desperate men, so the other man way have gotten to live a month longer and unhurt, but when the creature decided it had been lied to, it tortured the poor soul day and night for weeks. Every time he had seemed close to death, the creature would bring a priest to heal him to peak condition before starting again. The first days had been filled with screams for mercy. The next few were filled with cries of sorrow. Afterwards came the days of hate, then the days of broken laughter. The last few days were simply incoherent screams. Finally, one day, the screams stopped. The man was still alive and groaned every once in a while, but nothing else came out of him, as if he had somehow learned to accept his fate with the demon. Only then did it end his punishment with sweet death.

    The man currently restrained before the creature knew that begging was useless; like squirming, begging would only excite it. He had wondered why those who went before him had all begged. Every. Single. One. They had seen the same things that he had. They knew it was useless. But everyone tried. Now that he sat before it, as he saw the candle light illuminate the creature''s face, he saw its grey eyes. He saw pale skin. He saw a man. A human. Humans could be reasoned with. Humans had empathy. A human could help him. Maybe this wasn''t the creature of his living nightmares that he had watched and listened to day after day in this cold, dark, pit. Maybe..

    ¡°Please.¡± The man croaked at his captor. ¡°I''ll tell you anything. I''ll give you anything. I''ll do anything. I am yours sir. Please.¡± His voice contained dread, fear, desperation, and for the first time since arriving in this underworld, hope.

    A toothy grin appeared on the grey eyed man in front of him. ¡°That depends on what you know pet. What can you tell me?¡±

    ¡°My name is Alexander Thane. I''m a -¡± Suddenly, a thick knife appeared in the robed man''s hand and chopped off two of the fingers on Alexander''s left hand. ¡°Ah... Aaaaaaghh!¡± A gutturalscream escaped his throat as he registered what had just happened. His entire body shook against his metal constraints as he tried to clutch as his injured hand to no avail. The creature''s grey eyes twinkled, watching the man in shock. Alexander knew those eyes. He had seen those eyes often, in a time before he was sent to this abyss. Those eyes were gleeful, they were excited to see their victim''s despair, their victim''s useless struggle.

    ¡°You have no name pet. You are nothing but my newest dog. Do you understand?¡±

    Alexander nodded in fear, stifling the cries he wanted to make. ¡°Yes sir.¡±

    The creature slammed his hands onto the table. ¡°Yes master! Bark dog!¡±

    ¡°Yes master! Arf!¡±

    ¡°Good boy, now tell me of any useful information.¡± The master looked into the pet''s eyes.

    ¡°I...¡± Alexander didn''t know what the master could want. Something valuable enough to keep him alive? To avoid the pain? ¡°I have money! In- AAAGGHHH!¡± The master chopped off the other two fingers.

    ¡°I don''t care about your money pet! You have none! You have no belongings, you have no name, you have nothing but the knowledge in your head! Give me something interesting!¡±

    ¡°I-I-I-I don''t know!¡± *Thunk,* his thumb is gone. ¡°NOO! Please!¡± His arm tried twisting away from the blade, but was locked in place by his harnesses.

    ¡°Names pet. Locations. Rumors. Do you know of any others like you? Is there anyone who helped you?¡± The master seemed to be in bliss, listening to his pet''s howls of pain.

    ¡°I...¡± Alexander searched for anything in his mind that could save him from this madman, but his mind only drew blanks.

    The creature pouted. ¡°It seems like the pet doesn''t really know anything. That''s too bad.¡± He grabbed the gag and reached over to put it back onto his prisoner.

    ¡°No, no, no! Please! I''ll do mmmmphh!¡± He squirmed in his chair, unable to stop what was happening as helplessness overwhelmed him.

    ¡°Shush pet, I have to give you your punishment and then this will all be over.¡± The creature stood and its crooked figure pushed the table to the side in order to get a better angle on his prisoner''s body. A wicked smile spread across his clammy face as he opened the leather satchel beside him. He pulled out pliers, drills, knifes, needles, and much more. Tears rolled down Alexander''s face as the creature carefully inspected each tool, before setting them on the table to the side.

    [You guys have a pretty good idea where this is going by now. If you start feeling squeamish at any point, stop. This scene becomes more and more fucked up as it continues. Any useful information is repeated after the spoiler so you won''t miss anything but a little bit ofcharacter development.]

    Spoiler : <input class="spoilerButton" type="button" value="Show">

    After posting this chapter,I was wondering if I crossed a line withthis scene, so I asked a mod if I should change it. She said yes.

    But thenI decided that I really like how it turned out because someone complimented my writing for the first time. As a result I had the ideato post this sceneto my blog thatI never used so that I didn''t have to ignore the sites rules or change the story.

    By the way, what I wrote before the spoiler tag still stands. In fact, I think that it applies even more so. If you don''t like how this torture scene is going, stop reading. It''s not important to the story. Here it is:

    http://sheepbitter.blogspot.com/</a>

    By the way, if you want to know what you''re getting yourself into before reading thescene, here''s a spoiler:

    Spoiler : <input class="spoilerButton" type="button" value="Show">

    Torture, pedophilia, and a little more if you pick on the hints.

    Name: Alexander Thane

    Date of Birth: Month: Gamelion, Imperial Year: 5043

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.Date of Death: Month: Mounichion, Imperial Year: 5081

    Crimes: Serial Rape,Pedophilia, Murder

    Sentence: Death by torture

    Inquisitor''s Notes: Alexander Thane could provide no information of note, though I didn''t question him thoroughly as the purpose of his torture was punishment for crimes committed and not interrogation. There were no noteworthy events other than the fact that I allowed the apprentice Ellyse Ward to practice her skills on the man. Her progress as an inquisitor is astounding; she has great control over her victim''s physical and mental state, though she struggles to keep her own in check while in the heat of the moment, a problem that I expect will resolve itself as she gains maturity. The creativity of her methods always brings me great joy and with enough experience she will be able to bring her ideas to fruition. I did notice something interesting, though it may be completely coincidental. Ellyse Ward and Alexander Thane both share- *knock knock*

    ¡°May I come in master Odeus?¡± The voice of a young girl came from behind the heavy door to Odeus'' office. ¡°I''ve brought your tools.¡±

    Odeus raised his head from his desk. ¡°Yes, yes, come in Ellyse. I was just writing the report for our last pet''s demise. I see you''re wearing clothes again.¡± Odeus smirked.

    ¡°Are you disappointed?¡± The girl gave a coy smile.

    ¡°You''re much too early to be asking me that. Try again in a few years. Did you clean everything properly?¡± The eight year old girl placed the leather satchel atop the desk and nodded. She was dressed in the traditional black leathers of The Inquisition''s apprentices.

    ¡°Good, now what did you learn today?¡±

    ¡°That master Odeus is a liar by omission.¡±

    ¡°I see... What else girl?¡±

    ¡°That when bleeding one to death, it''s important to take blood pressure into account, which can be influenced by fear, lust, and most likely any other emotions.¡±

    ¡°Very good, well I''ll tell you a little trick only us older inquisitors know. It can also be influenced by diet.¡±

    ¡°Diet? How?¡± The blonde girl looked suspiciously at the crooked man, her blue, speckled green eyes flashed with a hint of curiosity.

    ¡°Specifically salt from what we found. Though any food seems to do, it''s most pronounced with plain salt. If you take a pair of twins who have been in the same living conditions their entire lives and cut them open, the one fed a large quantity of salt will fill a bucket with blood much faster.¡±

    ¡°Wow, do we have any twins right now?¡±

    ¡°Ha! Girl, don''t get your hopes up. Twins alone are rare enough, but ones committing crimes together come only with the best of luck. We try to preserve them as best as possible by keeping a priest nearby to heal them, but the experiments take a toll regardless. Even if we were fortunate enough to nab a pair, I doubt any of the elders would let a mere apprentice like you conduct tests on them.¡± Odeus started laughing inwardly as he saw the girl become downcast. ¡°That''s enough for now. Go wash yourself. It would be a shame to see your beautiful golden hair permanently stained with blood.¡±

    ¡°Yes master.¡± She bowed and turned to leave.

    ¡°Oh yes, I almost forgot. Ellyse, your mother died of childbirth correct?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir.¡±

    ¡°How old was she?¡±

    ¡°She had just turned fourteen sir.¡±

    ¡°I see, and your father?¡±

    ¡°I don''t know sir, I never met him, but I believe he raped her. At least that''s what the conversations that I''ve had with those who knew her lead me to believe. They aren''t very keen on telling an eight year old girl that she''s a bastard of rape.¡±

    ¡°Interesting... Go now.¡±

    ¡°Yes master Odeus.¡±

    ---

    Hector pulled on his horse''s stirrups as it trotted down the streets of Ileria and towards the keep. Sunlight had finally broken through the clouds two days ago and with it, came the end of the rain. Nearly everyone in the city was out right now, excited to stretch their legs after being stuck in their homes for the past two months. Colorful merchants offered their wares. Bright children chased each other in the streets. Men and women were hanging lanterns and colorful quilts. There was going to be a massive festival, that''s for sure; even the small elven community they had was participating. The drought was over and the people were brimming with optimistic energy. The farming jobs that had slowly dwindled over the past years would come back. The lakes, overflowing with water, would soon be overflowing with fish. Food would become cheap again and everyone would benefit one way or another.

    Hector was currently on his way to request the forces to either help Thrend and other villages rebuild or spend his time burying the dead. When his stallion finally arrived at the gates, the guards were jubilant and waved him inside without a word. If the Marquis'' own knight couldn''t be trusted, then the situation would be far too dangerous for ordinary folk like them to get involved anyways; no sense in throwing your life away for someone you don''t really even know. The Marquis was also the person who determined their pay and the laws of the county, so they made sure to do their jobs to stop and search properly when it wasn''t someone from high up coming through. Hector lead his horse into the courtyard and handed the reigns to the stable master. He brushed the dust off of his leathers before walking to his lord''s study.

    *knock knock* ¡°Your lordship, may I enter?¡±

    Atreus looked up from the book in his hands, frowning. ¡°Hector, get your ass in here before I beat it black and blue. Don''t give me that ''your lordship'' bullshit. I know you only say that when you want something from me.¡±

    Hector entered the musty room with a wry chuckle. ¡°Your lordship, I request 400 men with accompanying horses and provisions.¡±

    ¡°The fuck you need that for?¡± Atreus asked, legitimately curious.

    ¡°Thrend? My lord, surely you haven''t forgotten about your subjects?¡± Hector sighed.

    ¡°Yeah, I did. So what? I mean it''s been what? A fucking month since we got word? All this rain''s fucked with everything. The fields are all flooded, killing whatever crops we had managed to grow during the damn drought. Half of the grain silos got water-logged, meaning all their food''s turned to rot. The roads are covered by fucking lakes so there''s no flow of goods in or out of the city, let alone anywhere else in the county, which means food can''t get to where it needs to go. The bad roads also mean that the merchants are stuck wherever they are and not trading and if the merchants aren''t trading then I''m not getting the last bit of fucking taxable money left in this damn empire! Why should we send men out to the fucking frontier? Those assholes don''t pay taxes anyways thanks to the gods damned Imperial law! They''re always talking about how they don''t fucking need us nobles meddling in their lives anyways, so why should I start meddling now when they actually need my help? Fuck Thrend, I''ve got bigger problems to worry about! No taxes for ten years if you settle the frontier... What kind of fucking bullshit is that anyways!? Did they just ask the court jester in the capital to make a law that rhymes!?¡± Atreus slammed his thick hands down on the table.

    Hector frowned at the man who was suppose to be a respected ruler in the eyes of the public. ¡°Well I''ll just tell the soldiers that. ''Sorry boys, I know you''ve been cooped up in the barracks every day for the past two months, getting all restless and worrying about your families back in your villages, some of which may have been attacked by an orc horde, but the Marquis says we can''t go even though the rain''s finally stopped and we have the chance to check up on them now. Now I know you''re all armed and trained and potentially upset that you''re not allowed to do anything, but hey, look at the bright side, you can get fat and lazy, collecting your pay for doing literally nothing because there''s nothing else to do!''¡± Hector knew exactly what made his liege tick. If riots and wasted money didn''t convince the Marquis, nothing would.

    ¡°Take a thousand men and help rebuild the villages. I''ll leave the specifics up to you. Nobody in my county''s gonna get away with being paid for doing nothing. No one!¡± Well maybe the armed riots didn''t weigh on Atreus'' mind as much as the wasted money did, but it still influenced his decision¡­ Probably... Hector hoped it did at least...

    ¡°Yes my lord, as you command.¡± Hector bowed to his liege.

    ¡°Fuck you.¡±

 Chapter 5: The Quest

    ¡°Waaah!¡± Aegis'' wails resounded into the next room, where his parents were sleeping. Wake up! I gotta piss! ¡°Waaaah!¡±

    ¡°Honey, go get Aegis... He must want his mommy...¡± Ariadne yawned as her arm gently push at the bear sleeping next to her.

    ¡°It''s about time.... sleep... nights... Let cry it out... I''ll get him... doesn''t stop soon...¡± Roston''s voice rumbled as he pulled his wife in closer to him.

    ¡°M''kay...¡±

    ¡°Waaah!¡± Where the fuck are they! Pee! ¡°Waaah! Wa-¡± Are they? Those fuckers are ignoring me aren''t they!? Mommy wouldn''t dare ignore me! This must be Dad''s idea! I''ll show that asshole who''s boss around here! Motherfucker''s probably thinking that I need to start sleeping through the whole night doesn''t he!? Well I would be if you fuckers stopped treating me like a normal baby and had just let me sleep earlier! You don''t always need to stuff my face with tits! I''ll eat when I''m hungry!

    In the next room, a satisfied smile appeared on Roston''s face. ¡°See honey? Just like I said.¡±

    When have I ever cried for no reason!? Not once! This treatment is completely unwarranted! Aegis sat up and deftly unlatched his crib. I''ll show you... Ignoring me when I gotta piss... The jail door smoothly swung opened when the baby pressed his weight on it and he stared down at his first obstacle, a two foot drop below him.

    Tonight is the night I conquer you, fear of heights! 2 feet shall mean nothing to me! The baby dragged his pillow and plopped it onto the ground beneath him. Uhh... Still high... He eyes turned towards his blanket and then back to the floor. I''m sorry blanky. I''ll always love you. This is for the greater good. He stretched his arms out, dangling his favorite cloth over the great abyss below him. Sniff, I can''t look! Aegis shut his eyes as hard as he could while felt the soft fabric slip from his loosening hands. Blanky no! I was wrong! I''m sorry! I''ll just pee in my daiper! But it was too late. As the boy opened his eyes, trying to grasp for his beloved. He could only watch in despair as it fell out of his sight and into the dark void that was the floor. NOOOOOO! BLAAAANKYYYY!

    *puff,* the blanket landed on the pillow. Ahem. I don''t know what came over me just now. It''s just a stupid blanket. Still, he looked down to make sure it was okay. Well then, I''ll just carefully slide down the side of this crib here aaannnd... Where''s blanky? The baby kicked his legs back and forth, trying to feel out his companion, but was met only with empty space as he dangled from the side of his crib, his feet hanging only a couple inches above his makeshift fall-softener. Fuck that. You win today two foot drop. I''ll just climb back up and cry-y-y- Aegis'' hand slipped as he tried pulling himself back up to his crib and he landed squarely on his bottom, his blanket and pillow gently catching him. Haha! Take that two foot drop! You have been conquered by a baby that doesn''t even know how to walk! How does that feel? Pretty shameful huh? Well no worries, I am quite a special baby, there''s is no shame in losing to one such as I. Aegis'' round face fired a smirk back at his defeated foe and continued his quest with his companion, Blanky. Why did I want to leave my crib again?

    ¡°Mmm, Roston? I think I heard something fall in Aegis'' room.¡±

    ¡°It''s all in your head sweetie, you''re just worried. You hear that? Nothing. That''s the sound of a sleeping baby.¡±

    Aegis crawled to the entrance of his parents'' bedroom, but before him stood an impenetrable device of solid wood that reached into the sky... or at least a couple feet below the ceiling. This night, I will finally defeat you my old nemesis, Door. The door said nothing as it stood over him, its handle gleaming a reflection of the moonlight, taunting him for his inability to reach it. I''ll show you door! You will rue this slight within the hour! The baby turned back towards the living room down the hallway to search for a tool.

    I need something to pull down on the handle, but what? Aha! Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the last embers of the fireplace. That metal stick thingy! It has a hook! He had seen his father and mother use it to mess around with the logs in the flame. I always wondered what this thing was used for. We had one in our house during my first life, but a fake fireplace meant that it never got used. Aegis laid Blanky out below the tool rack and tugged at the hooked stick thingy, shaking the iron until it finally came loose of its rack and landed with a muffled thud onto the blanket. Using his companion as a sled, he managed to drag the iron hook across the wooden floors and back to his parents'' room.

    Door, I''d like you to meet my liiittle friend. Metal stick hooky thingy, meet door, my rival. Door, meet metal hooky stick thingy. He''s gon'' fuck you up. Aegis wrapped his pudgy hands around his newest ally and... nothing. He was a baby, how could he even lift a piece of iron almost 3 times his size? Hooky thing? C''mon, I need your help. Just let me lift you. Aegis tried again, but could barely lift it a couple inches off the ground. Hooky thing, you''re embarrassing me in front of Door.

    ...

    What? Is this about me not knowing your actual name? That''s not important right now.

    ...

    Listen, now''s not the time. I''ve been holding it in for the last 5 minutes and-

    ...

    Yes, I know that names are important, but I really don''t know what you are. I mean look at you, are you even deserving of a name? You''re just an iron rod with a hook at the end.

    ...

    Yes, you''re right. Can you help me open Door now?

    ¡­

    No I''m not avoiding the conversation, it''s just that I''m kind of on a time limit here; my bladder can''t endlessly expand-

    ...

    Are you going to help me or not!? Is Hooky thing not a good enough nickname for now!? You don''t like my naming sense!? Well if you don''t get up there and pull that fucking handle I''m not returning you to your rack by the fireplace. You can stay in this cold, dark, hallway that''s filled with spiders and monsters and other creepy things. Maybe a pirate will come out of the shadows and saw your bottom half off, making you waste away your days as his new nose picker. How do you like that thought?

    ¡­

    No? Good. Then we''ll use some good old fashioned physics to help me bring you up.

    Aegis tied Blanky to the top of Hooky thing and then put his foot at the base of the metal rod. Using the extra leverage he had on the iron, he managed stand it up before directing it to fall onto the door''s handle. Relying on the weight of the tool, Aegis managed to push open the door with minimal effort and left the tool to hang on the handle. Now is the time for revenge!

    Aegis took a deep breath before letting out the loudest wail he could on Roston''s side of the bed. ¡°Waaaahh!!!¡±

    Nearly jumping out of the bed, Roston looked around the room in a delirious state, not understanding where such a horrid noise could come from. ¡°Aegis? Boy, how did you get in here?¡± He asked in disbelief.

    ¡°Aegis?¡± Ariadne saw Roston pick the baby up from the floor. ¡°Roston, did you bring him in here?¡±

    ¡°No, I was asleep. Really, how did you get in here?¡± Roston lifted the gleeful baby up to his face when suddenly - ¡°AAAHH! My eyes!¡±

    Yes! Fear me! This is the consequence of your inaction! This is your punishment for not responding to my summons! I am the master of this household, now accept my mark! Aegis gave a perverse look of contentment as he pissed on his father''s face. Blanky, Hooky thing, Pillow, I thank you all for helping me to complete my quest. Despite the dangers of the 2 foot drop and the unyielding obstacle that we call Door, we were successful in dealing out retribution to the wicked. No longer shall my cries to pee go unanswered! No longer shall any cry go unheard! I am the black in the night! I''m Batman!

    ---

    Hector sat back in his tent, inhaling a deep breath before slowly releasing it as he melted into his chair. The day''s march had been particularly brutal. They were suppose to have had an easy time crossing a stone bridge that had been marked on the map, but when they had arrived, they found the damnable thing had collapsed. Many hours and lots of angry yelling later, they finally found a suitable crossing. Well, suitable was the wrong word. They had found a barely acceptable crossing that drained everyones energy before making a 24 mile forced march to stay on schedule. Why the hell am I doing this? A low rumble resounded throughout his tent. Ah fuck, I''m so damn hungry. Hector reluctantly pushed himself out of his chair and hobbled out of his tent.

    ¡°Sir!¡± A green recruit stationed to guard his tent gave a stupidly sharp salute.

    ¡°We''re going to eat, come with me kid.¡±

    ¡°Sir, yes sir!¡± bellowed the guard at the top of his lungs.

    Hector winced. Fuuuck, this is why I hate greenhorns. ¡°Boy, how old are you?¡± The two started walking past the myriad of pitched tents on their way to the mess.

    ¡°16 sir!¡±

    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    ¡°Stop yelling. So you just joined the army?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir.¡±

    Great conversation... ¡°What work you do before?¡±

    ¡°Farming sir.¡±

    ¡°So a farmer decided to join the army?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir, crops wilted and me Pa told me to join so we had enough cash at home.¡±

    ¡°Dumb idea. Should''ve went to banditry, more profitable.¡±

    ¡°Sir?¡±

    ¡°You got a name kid?¡±

    ¡°Dolon sir.¡±

    ¡°Got siblings?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir! Three younger sisters and four little brothers!¡±

    Of course he does... Eldest boy in a farming family watching out for his siblings blah blah blah... ¡°Where''s your home at?¡±

    ¡°A village called Gin sir, we went by it a few days ago.¡±

    ¡°What!? We''ve been dropping soldiers off at every town we''ve come across to help them rebuild! Why didn''t you request to be left there? You could have visited your family.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn''t dare sir. His lordship, the Marquis, sent a personally written letter to our barracks the night before we sent out. At least one of me and my squad mates must be guarding you the entire time during your mission.¡±

    That explains why all my guards so far had such stiff walks. I thought that they were just pompous assholes. ¡°And I assume your squad mates only recently entered the armed forces as well?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir! They''re all greenhorns! I''m the most experienced one of the lot! I''ve seen some real action. I went on patrol a couple times before!¡±

    Damn you Atreus!!!

    After arriving at a makeshift pavilion and getting their food at what could only be described as a soup kitchen, Hector gulped down the slop that the chefs for the day had managed to cook up as he sat on a fallen log. It had now been ten days since they had left the city in the midst of its festivities and two weeks since the rain had ended, or what Hector heard the commoners call the gods'' tears. Or the gods'' blessing. Or the divine rain. Pretty much anything that had to do with religion and water could be a name. Every person of faith that he had come across on their way to the frontier attributed the end of the drought to whatever god they prayed to, warning the heathens of other religions to repent before it was too late.

    The elves claimed it was Artemis, a band of dwarves making their way north claimed it was Hephaestus, a draconion priest he met said it was Helios. The humans seemed most diverse in their faith. Sailors worshiped Poseidon, farmers worshiped Demeter, and so on went the credit for the drought''s end. I''m sure some bat-shit crazy necromancer will say that Hades brought the end of the drought. It seemed to Hector that people just chose to worship whoever could most conveniently help them; you wouldn''t find a man in a dessert praying to Poseidon that''s for sure. But for all he knew, they could be right. Maybe the gods did send the rain; Patroclus said that none of his colleagues in the capital had any clue as to how the rain came about, so divine intervention was as good a guess as any.

    ¡°Sir.¡± A crew cut man wearing blue leathers over his chainmail approached Hector. ¡°Scouts say they''ve found a route to Thrend. We should be able to reach there by mid day tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Fucking finally! Damned water''s made travel impossible! Why the fuck are we going to Thrend anyways?¡± Hector spat. The journey had been miserable. At first, the men were all a little disappointed to be leaving the city at the high point of festivities, but as they started the journey, he and the soldiers realized they were just happy to be outside. They could breath fresh air, listen to the birds chirp away, gaze at beautiful and bountiful lakes, but the reality had set in again by the first day''s end. Every step north had to be accompanied by ten east or west. Sometimes they had to turn around and walk away from their destination for a while so that they could get past the damn water. Initially they had the idea to wade across the rivers and ponds.

    Hector got angry just thinking about his naivety. ''It couldn''t be that deep right?'' Hector mocked his own thinking at the time. Wrong, the water''s deep and the ground''s muddy. Figured that one out when the boys started to sink and couldn''t get back out, how humiliating would that have been? ''Atreus, I lost a bunch of men because the ground was wet. Sorry about that.'' ''But they had accurate maps complete with all sorts of different river crossings, it''s not like those could magically change right?'' Wrong, two months of unending rain has warped the landscape beyond all recognition. They would march through a village only to find that it was a dozen miles off from the one they were suppose to be in. They would try to cross a river where the map said it was safe to and find that it was twelve feet deep. Marching through this terrain was a nightmare.

    Hector regretted even mentioning Thrend to the Marquis. The spiteful part of him even hoped that the village had been wiped out, but he knew that if it was, it would only make him angrier. ¡°Fucking Thrend. Fucking orcs! Fucking gods! Why do you make the simplest of things so damn difficult?¡± Hector continuously muttered under his breath as he chowed down his meal next to Dolon.

    ---

    Im''rit slammed his fist into the boulder next to him, a sharp crack resounded out before being followed by the stone''s surface splintering like a spider''s web. Oh Selene, I nearly believed that my hand had broken. I thank you for your protection. The orc was no longer the walking skeleton that he had started out as two and a half months ago. Muscles rippled under every inch of his scarred hide. His once sunken face now carried the vestiges of a handsome warrior and his tusks were sharpened and white. The recovery of the orcs had been astounding, some of the younger ones had even begun their growth spurts, as if their bodies had been waiting the entire time for more food to be available. Im''rit himself was a full 3 inches taller.

    ¡°Where the fuck are they!? He roared at the sky. There hadn''t been a single trace of the Tu''lu''min''s passing within a two week radius of their home. Im''rit could understand that the rain may have washed away signs of a camp, but the flooding had begun three days in. The traitors would have taken shelter in dry, raised locations, but there was nothing.

    ¡°En''ki.¡± He looked at the young orc, grilling a spider leg over a fire. He had grown almost a full foot during this time and was almost as tall as Im''rit now. Normally Im''rit would be happy for him, but En''ki had become uncoordinated in his new body and it was a risk. The normal hunting parties of three generally had four if the young orc was taken along.

    ¡°Yes Im''rit? Do you want some? I found that the thinner bits are really tangy. Try it.¡±

    ¡°Any word on where the Tu''lu''min may have passed?¡±

    ¡°I don''t know anything more than you do. We''ve both been waiting here for the others all morning, there''s no use getting impatient. I know you want your revenge; we all do, but know that we''ll get it in time. Be more like this spider. Cast the net and be patient. Well, not this spider. This spider was stupid.¡± He chomped down on a meatier part of the leg.

    ¡°Then let''s go hunt, just the two of us. I need to do something.¡±

    ¡°We''ve got plenty of food now, you don''t need to hunt. It''ll start to rot.¡±

    ¡°Then let''s spar, you''ve been uncoordinated and we need you to get back into fighting condition.¡±

    ¡°I''ll get adjusted with time, you shouldn''t rush these things Im''rit.¡±

    ¡°Stand up youngest.¡± Im''rit grabbed a couple of staffs from a hut nearby.

    En''ki accepted the staff thrown to him, keeping the leg in his mouth. ¡°M-m-mph¡±

    ¡°Spit it out.¡± Im''rit stared at him, annoyed.

    ¡°Mm-mm¡± En''ki shook his head. ¡°Ish shoo goo. Jush waish unshil I inish.¡±

    Im''rit twisted his left foot outwards, stepping forward with his right as he let his hands slide to the end of his staff while swinging it overhead. His entire body''s strength was put into this blow as En''ki scrambled up to try and step in to block it with a horizontal push. Just as the two staffs were about to make contact, Im''rit yanked his staff inward, shortening it just enough to miss En''ki''s block. And before En''ki even realized what happened, Im''rit reversed his footing, stepping forward with his left and put his entire weight behind a jab to En''ki''s chest.

    *Cough cough cough* The air was knocked out of En''ki and he was forced to spit out his food as he crumbled to the ground.

    ¡°One blow, youngest. That''s all it took to bring you to this state.¡± Im''rit said as he placed the butt of his staff against on his brother''s back.

    ¡°Fuck off!¡± En''ki managed to wheeze while on his knees as he picked up his staff and tried sweeping at Im''rit''s feet. But Im''rit simply stabbed his own staff into the ground in front of him, deflecting En''ki''s attempt and once again disarmed his opponent as En''ki''s staff reverberated and shook itself out his the orc''s hand.

    ¡°I knew it.¡± Im''rit shook his head as he gazed down on his brother.

    ¡°Know what?¡±

    ¡°Pick up your staff. Stand up.¡±

    En''ki stood and tried to catch Im''rit off guard with a quick thrust. Im''rit simply took a step back as he parried the blow with his staff still placed in the ground. He followed up by kicking the bottom of his staff up and slamming it into En''ki''s side while he was still off balance. En''ki was thrown into a puddle by the blow, water sputtering out of his mouth.

    ¡°Pick of your staff. Get up.¡±

    En''ki spat out muddy water. ¡°Why? So you can beat me again? It''s useless Im''rit, go practice with one of the more experienced.¡±

    Im''rit jabbed his staff at En''ki, forcing the orc to roll out of the way and come to a stand. Im''rit threw his staff to the other orc and picked up En''ki''s. ¡°Remember before the drought, when Ug''rit and I were sparring with each other?¡± He continuously thrust at the younger orc, goading him into a fight.

    ¡°You came up to us, begging to be taught how to wield a weapon. Your tusks hadn''t even left your mouth yet and you wanted to spar with us, who were twice your size. I remember laughing and trying to shoo you away.¡± En''ki had enough of Im''rit''s prodding and stepped in with a snarl, putting every muscle in his body into an overhead swing, but Im''rit stepped right up to him while knocking the blow to the side, making it impossible for En''ki to utilize his strength to the fullest before slapping the staff of out En''ki''s hand with an underhanded swing.

    ¡°But Ug''rit, Ug''rit decided to teach you and proceeded to beat you black and blue the entire day. You went at it for nine hours.¡± He pushed En''ki, who was nursing his injured hand in the direction of his staff.

    ¡°You didn''t take a break once. You refused to give up. Do you remember what he kept repeating? ''Never let go of your weapon. Never let go of your weapon. Never let go of your weapon.'' By my count, you''ve already dropped it four times in the last five minutes.¡±

    He slapped En''ki''s ass with his staff as the younger orc bent over to pick his up. Humiliated, En''ki grasped his staff and with a growl, charged Im''rit, intent on knocking him over. Im''rit stayed his ground, leaning in to catch En''ki. When the two slammed into each other, Im''rit used his staff like a sea-saw against En''ki''s and ended halfway behind him. He reinforced the younger orc''s momentum with his own, and flipped him over with his outstretched leg, sending En''ki sprawling on his back. ¡°And after the first few bouts you never did. No matter how hard he kicked you down, you held onto your spear as if your life depended on it.¡± He walked up to the defeated orc and knocked the staff out of his hands.

    ¡°Five, youngest.¡± Im''rit stood over the half berserk orc and set his foot on En''ki to keep him in place. ¡°I respected you after that. No one else could possibly keep fighting with someone twice their size, twice as strong, twice as fast, and twice as experienced without giving up. And know that Ug''rit was trying to make you give up the entire time. He didn''t hold back once. He wanted to put you in your place. At the end of the day, after nine hours of fighting, he was the one who ended it. He gave up.¡±

    Im''rit stepped off and kicked the staff back to En''ki. ¡°But now, when I''m around you... I smell fear.¡±

    ¡°I''ll show you what fear is!¡± En''ki roared and continually stabbed at Im''rit, putting him on the defensive.

    Im''rit jumped back and slapped at En''ki''s staff, intending to send it flying again, but En''ki pulled back and followed Im''rit''s movements, forcing the staff to twist out of Im''rit''s hands and sending it clattering a few yards away. ¡°Your coordination is fine; we grow up fast and our bodies are built for adaptability.¡±

    En''ki backed up, thinking Im''rit was going to grab his staff. But he only approached En''ki with his fists raised. ¡°Are you fucking looking down on me!?¡± Enki swung down at him, but Im''rit let the staff slam into his left shoulder and caught it. He wrapped his hands around the staff and yanked it out of En''ki''s grasp as the younger orc stood there dumbfounded.

    ¡°Six youngest.¡± Im''rit raised the staff and struck at En''ki''s shoulder, forcing the younger orc to kneel as he howled in pain. ¡°You flinched when I made my first swing.¡± Im''rit bent down by En''ki''s side and whispered. ¡°Flinching is fine, it''s a sign that your body is reacting before your mind does. It''s good for survival. No, what''s wrong is that after you flinched, you closed your eyes. You closed your eyes and hesitated. You wanted to run. You were afraid of something that you know you have no reason to be afraid of. You''ve been beaten up by staffs countless times...¡±

    Im''rit stepped away to pick up both of the staffs. ¡°That time in the forest, the first days it started coming back to life, that slime. I keep going over it in my head, but we had split up a decent amount. It shouldn''t have been able to swallow both you and In''til at the same time, even if it was huge.¡±

    He tossed a staff in front of En''ki. ¡°In''til was deeper in the slime, he was swallowed first. But you... you froze didn''t you?¡±

    En''ki''s pupils constricted as he heard what Im''rit said. Not daring to look at his senior''s face. ¡°You were scared and let that fear control your actions. You could have hollered, but you were too afraid to even make a squeak.¡±

    ¡°I-¡±

    ¡°Pick up your staff. Get up.¡±

    They exchanged a few more blows before Im''rit knocked En''ki down again. Im''rit squatted down and lifted his brother''s head to look into his eyes. ¡°Stop thinking about that time. Half of us had the same experience during our first real fights. We froze. Or we messed up. Or we ran. It''s normal; what''s not normal is letting the fear linger, letting it stop you from moving forward. Learn what you can from your battles and throw yourself into more, that is the way of our kind. Not avoiding the inevitable, that only makes you weaker.¡± Im''rit stood back up and held his staff in a ready position.

    ¡°Now stand up En''ki.¡±

 Chapter 6: Debts

    Atreus flung his oak desk across the study, shattering it against the cobbled wall. Billows of dust, paper, and splinters were kicked up around the room, causing the light from the window behind him to bathe the study in a yellow smog. Atreus coughed, "Fucking royals!" kicking his chair in two as the force threw the pieces into a nearby bookshelf. In his hand was a single letter that he seemed to be trying to choke to death.

    To Marquis Atreus Tyson, Baron of the city Ileria, Marquis of the county Calerin, Defender of the Northen Forests

    His Majesty, Emporer Agamemnon Tisaren the merciful, Baron of the cities of Mestiff, Aeterna, and Alum, Earl of the counties of Ellim, Breqai, Dastrique, Fon, Helin, and Joltru, Duke of the dukedoms of Gequaris, Santifir, and Olimnus, King of the kingdoms Fastindar, Nerotur, and Denestinere, Emporer of the Argent Empire, Defender of the Central Plains, Admiral of the Eastern Navy, Champion of the Southern Dessert, and master of the Amethyst Pheonix, may he live a thousand years, has decreed an end to the drought and consequently all emergency rations.

    The domain under the jurisdiction of Marquis Atreus Tyson, during the past five years and four months, has borrowed from the royal family 40,500,000 bushels of grain. His Majesty, Emporer Agamemnon Tisaren the merciful, has decreed that the debt shall be compounded for five years rather than the six that imperial law would typically require. At an interest of ten percent, compounded yearly and an average of 7,593,750 bushels of grain borrowed per year over five years, the domain under the jurisdiction of Marquis Atreus Tyson has accrued a debt of 51,000,000 bushels of grain.

    His Majesty, Emporer Agamemnon Tisaren the merciful, has declared that the debt may be paid in bushels of wheat, barley, oats, or maze. A maximum of one-quarter of the average yearly debt may be paid in bushels of dried fruits each year as well.

    His Majesty, Emporer Agamemnon Tisaren the merciful, has declared that all other debts incurred during the drought, which includes millions of barrels of water and several tons of dried fish are forgiven. And that interest on the principle debt will not further accrue for a period not exceeding ten years.

    From His Majesty''s imperial steward, Guerin Inthicus, Baron of the city of Imere, Master of Coin.

    "No one fucking told me about any damn debts!" He roared. "All those shits did was talk about their ''duty to the people!'' What, they just decide that they want everything back retroactively? Because I never saw any fucking documentation! No letters, no contracts, no charters, no edicts, nothing!" Atreus stormed out of his study ripping the door off its hinges as he tried to slam it shut. "Aaarrrghh!" He continued to the dining room, smashing several of the stone statuettes in the hallway

    "Food!" He barked at a maid as he arrived at a well-lit dining room. Atreus violently dragged out his chair, watching the poor girl scurry off to the kitchen. With each passing minute, his face became a deeper shade of red as he seethed in silence, allowing the remaining servants to each realize that they had somewhere else to be and excuse themselves.

    "I know exactly what fucking happened." He spoke as the maid who left to get the food shakily set it on the table before him, realizing all her colleagues had abandoned her. "They didn''t think the drought would be all that long... and when it dragged out, the stupid shits were too far up their asses to admit that they couldn''t afford it!"

    *crunch* "Eeep!" The girl squeaked as she saw the Lord crush the glass in his hand, allowing red wine to flow between his fingers as he stared at her.

    "Get me a mug. Stone." His burning eyes bore a hole through the maid as her shaky arms cleaned the table.

    Turning his sight back to his hand, he turned it over. A quick dab with a napkin showed that despite the glass shards lodged into his skin, there was no blood. Thick calluses protected his palms, and he easily brushed the glass off.

    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    "I bet that fool Agamemnon went and borrowed all the food he could and now he''s making his nobles foot the bill for him!" The man sunk his teeth into a thick steak. "Merciful my ass! He''s just a weak fool who would probably lead this gods-forsaken country to ruin if left unattended to! Fuck the Emporer! Fuck his family! Fuck their policies! Fuck everything they believe in!" The raging man finally calmed down as he finished off his food, giving the maid a chance to flee with his empty plate after she set his mug before him.

    Afterward, Atreus forced himself to return to his study and got a new desk so that he could write. "Charles!" He yelled. "Get the scribes to make copies of this! I want at least one posted in every settlement, accompanied by an announcement for those who are illiterate!"

    Notice to the people of Calerin:

    The gods have seen fit to return life to this land and bless the new age of prosperity about to begin. The drought is over. However, there are ''debts'' to be paid. Although the royal family sent us grain over the last five years so that we would not starve, claiming that it was their prerogative as the rulers of our vast empire. They now see fit to retroactively charge its people for the grain they gave us, not as leaders, but as loaners. I, Atreus Tyson, swear on my family''s name and honor, that I was given no warning of this, but it is not something we can reject. The armies of the royal family would overwhelm us if we were to ignore the so-called ''debt.'' The county owes a full quarter over what it has ''borrowed,'' and it will take us many years to pay the ''debt'' off. I can only ask for your cooperation.

    If there is any settlement that lacks necessary seeds or manpower to plow its fields, send a representative to Ileria. A new charter, The Guild of Grain, will procure all that is required for those who arrive, free of charge and interest. The royal family may not believe in investing in its people, but the house Tyson does. Let it be known that if any representative of the guild demands payment at any point in time for the seed or manpower, they shall be charged for corruption and dealt with swiftly.

    Signed, Marquis Atreus Tyson

    If those bastards in the capital want to reap the rewards of a grateful populace, then I''ll be sure to remind said populace that the crown''s only concern is itself. I doubt many would be grateful to their Emporer if they think they were coerced.

    "Also get me the necessary papers to write up a charter and summon every major merchant in the county, most of them should already be in the city." He said as he handed the old manservant the paper.

    "Yes, mi''lord."

    ---

    Hectore came upon what could only be described as ruins when he arrived at what should''ve been Thrend. The river bordering the south had extended its banks all the way up to what may have been a town square. Waves lapped at half-collapsed houses as men, women, and children bustled around the settlement, dragging thick timber to the center for processing. The smithy ran at full blast, continually repairing a never-ending influx of broken tools while a huge soup kitchen continuously pumped out loafs of bread and bowls of stew. If not for the destruction caused by the floods, one would say that settlement was quite robust.

    "Hail!" Hectore called from the remains of what may have been a gate as his horse trudged through the mud.

    "Who''re you?" A one legged man asked from nearby, sitting in the marshy ground and stripping bark from a log.

    "We are soldiers under the employ of Marquis Atreus Tyson of Calerin. Friend, is this the village known as Thrend?"

    "What else would it be?"

    I don''t know... One of the hundreds of other villages by the forest''s border? "We came due to reports of an orc horde."

    "Wasn''t much of a horde. And that was months ago, where you been?"

    "The flooding made travel impossible for a while and challenging even after we finally set out. So you successfully repelled them? Do you know where they encamped themselves?"

    "Killed most of ''em when they tried to get in the village, got some still tied up. No clue where the orcs came from or where went really. You know, the rain made it difficul''to follow."

    "So you''ve captured some? Would you lead me to them?"

    "Nope."

    "Pardon?"

    "Ya blind man? I only gots one leg!"

    "Right, sorry. Where can I find the village mayor?"

    "Dunno, should be around somewhere. Nothin''s stoppin'' ya from lookin''."

    "Right then. We''ll do that."

    "Why ya tellin'' me?"

    This fucking prick... "C''mon men! Find the mayor! And don''t cause any fucking trouble!" Hectore''s legs smacked into his horse''s flanks, and he trotted to the middle of the town, hoping to see some gathering of sorts where orders were likely to be given.

 Chapter 7: Planning in the Dark

    A cacophony of rustling metal and wet slapping added itself to the noise of the village that made its way through the shabby walls of the wooden shack serving as Ug''rit''s cell. He listened to what seemed to be hundreds of creatures make their way around the settlement, spreading out to meet the humans outside. A breeze rolled over his shack, and through the draft in the wall, Ug''rit smelled that it was a large company of humans. Very sweaty ones. After some time, he heard them approaching his prison and Ug''rit pulled himself into the opposite corner of the door, wary of the new humans.

    "And here''s the last one sir. From what we could tell, this one was giving the orders when the beasts attacked." A small chubby human spoke with a tall, dark haired one while three more little humans with short fur stood behind them. How do these humans tell each other apart? If not for the fur on their heads, it would be impossible. But those three in the back are all the same. Same clothes, same fur, same posture. What the hell is wrong with them?

    ¡°I see, well that makes what? 14 orcs? The best price I can give you is two gold a''piece. I know your village has quite a few widows to take care of after the attack."

    ¡°Thank you so much. The money will give them enough time to get back on their feet. Again, thank you for being so generous.¡±

    ¡°Ha! Don''t mention it. It''s not my money anyways. It''s all coming from the benevolent Marquis'' coffers. In fact, how about we do three gold a''piece?"

    ¡°T-th-three gold!? Sir Hector, I must refuse. I know the regular bounty for these creatures is only one each. You have already been much too generous to us on account of the families with deceased."

    ¡°Nonsense! Do you think the Marquis cares for such material things? His first priority is the livelihood of his subjects, not the coin in his coffers.¡±

    ¡°W-w-well, if the Marquis insists.¡±

    ¡°He does! Trust me, I''ve known him since we were both young, his purse is never on his mind.¡±

    ¡°I see...¡±

    Ug''rit didn''t understand much of the conversation, but judging from the bag of clinking metal that the tall human handed the short pudgy one, he was fairly sure he had just been bartered as property.

    The three same-humans now approached Ug''rit carefully. One grabbed the rope attached to the post and his neck while the other two took an arm each. Ug''rit was then gagged and forced outside, towards a cage sitting atop a wagon. But Ug''rit couldn''t care less about the cage as he stared at the human settlement. Half of it was missing; washed away. If their strong houses of logs were this devastated, how poorly must have his village fared?

    More surprising than the state of the human settlement though was the number of short same-humans. Hundreds of humans, all dressed in identical garb, carrying the same weapons, with the same short head-fur. The only defining feature was the color of their fur, but that only boiled down to yellow, brown, and black. Even more unnerving than that, was how they all moved. Every single one moved in the same terse manner, not wasting any energy in their movement. It was as if they were some sort of monolith. Though Ug''rit now realized that it wasn''t that they were short, but rather the average human in this village was tall; although no one was nearly the size of the mighty troll-man.

    After being shoved into his cage, Ug''rit was relieved to see his comrades in similar pens on other carts. They all seemed to be much better fed than when he had last seen them. The humans are too soft on their enemies. One of the same-humans threw a tarp over Ug''rit''s cage, and a few minutes later he felt the cart jolt as the horses began to pull it.

    ---

    After watching the prisoner train leave the village, Hectore turned back to the mayor. "Now, I should probably be moving out as well, there''s a lot of other communities hit by the flooding, and we need to act quickly to relieve them. I''ll leave a hundred men stationed here to help you rebuild the village."

    ¡°A hundred you say? Forgive us, sir; we don''t have the means to feed or house another hundred people."

    ¡°Don''t worry about that. We''ll leave the men enough rations for two months, and they''ll be instructed to camp on the outskirts of the village."

    ¡°Very well, we can use all the help we can get." The pudgy mayor bowed.

    ¡°Good. By the way, who''s the person who led your defense during the orc raid? I''d like to personally congratulate him for his success.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Roston? He''s at his home now. He asked not to be disturbed for the next couple days."

    ¡°He''s not helping with the reconstruction?¡±

    ¡°Well of course he is, but you see, his wife just recently gave birth and he''s quite the family man."

    ¡°I see, please give him my congratulations for that too then.¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course.¡±

    ---

    A large cherry stained table, with intricate carvings of great beasts lining its edges, sat atop a giant red rug, decorated with golden flora and fauna. Large porcelain vases holding freshly picked fruits and well-aged wines were separated from the table by a thin, intricate sheet of violet and gold silk, which draped lengthwise along the flawless table. On the white walls hung paintings of ancient battles from a bygone age and behind the head seat, hung a huge portrait of Marquis Atreus Tyson, displaying him in all his grandeur. There were no candles nor sunlight in the room, instead enchanted jewels flushed the room with a brilliant white light as silver fixtures held them out as if offering their splendor to whoever sat in the head chair. Four exotic sticks of incense burned at each corner of the room, intoxicated anyone who came in unprepared.

    Atreus despised this place with a passion. Its cost dwarfed that of any other project in his domain; its ridiculous extravagance was rivaled only by that of the emperor''s. But that is exactly why he had it. His entire estate was spartan; it contained no unnecessary expense and Atreus loved it that way, but he needed a way to intimidate others, a way produce an image of unrivaled wealth, and that''s what this room provided. No matter how much he hated the idea, he knew the perception of wealth and power was just as important as actually having it during a negotiation, unless of course, one''s goal was to somehow trap the other party.

    But that was not his goal today. No, today it is to inspire, reassure, and finally request. Atreus entered the conference room with unashamed confidence as the fourteen merchants he had invited turned to him while he made his way to the table''s head.

    ¡°I hope I didn''t force you to wait too long gentlemen." Atreus'' unapologetic voice reached the merchants'' ears as his figure filled his seat. He had contemplated making them wait for another hour, to allow them more time to breathe in the incense. A simple trick to lower inhibitions.

    ¡°Of course not, my lord.¡± Xeniades, the oldest man in the room, spoke coolly. ¡°No doubt your grace has summoned us to discuss matters of importance.¡± His sharp features and white hair stood in contrast with the simple red tunic he wore.

    ¡°Correct, as you all know, the flooding has brought an end to the drought, but any fields that have managed to survive said drought until now, have been destroyed by the floods. Unless if we start replanting immediately, the county will be thrown into a famine."

    ¡°It was my understanding that the crown would provide provisions until the territories of the empire recovered.¡± A jolly looking man, Hippalus, adorned with green robes and white fur spoke, his bushy mustache moved where his mouth should have been as his forehead wrinkled, highlighting his receding hairline.

    Atreus clenched his fist. "His Majesty has seen fit to end the aid he had previously sent to his vassals and now intends to retroactively charge for it."

    ¡°What!?¡± Hippalus'' round body bounced in his seat.

    ¡°51,000,000 bushels of grain, to be paid in wheat, barley, oats, or maize. Interest on the debt shall be frozen for ten years." Atreus'' face darkened, his knuckles had gone white.

    ¡°W-while quite a large debt, paying 5.1 million bushels per year to the crown is doable is it not?" A young man, Cleon, wearing a golden embroidered blazer over his blue robes spoke up.

    Atreus looked at the blond haired man and shook his head. "Before the drought, the county''s largest record for food produced was 4 million bushels of assorted foodstuff for that year. Our consumption is over 7.6 million bushels. We purchased food from neighboring counties to meet demand."

    ¡°Then we do so again." Cleon offered, "We drive up production, and you can use the tax revenue to pay off the debt."

    ¡°Boy... Did your father teach you nothing before putting you in charge of his business?" Xeniades, the old man, frowned. "If Calerin is being retroactively charged for its consumption, then so is every other county. Not only must they grow enough produce for their own citizens, but they must also pay whatever they borrowed from the crown! If they have enough extra to sell to Calerin, to not only to feed our fellow citizens but also pay our debt to the crown, then there''s no doubt we will go bankrupt trying to outbid every other non-agrarian domain as the price of food skyrockets!" Xeniades slouched back, massaging his temples.

    ¡°Well, how is that our problem!?" Cleon shot back. "If I must be frank, the debt was incurred by Lord Atreus, not anyone else here." He turned back to Atreus. "While I would love nothing more than to aid you, my lord, my first responsibility is to my business and those I represent."

    Xeniades shook his head in disappointment. "I must have a talk with your father, Cleon. You need to look beyond the scope of your business if you are to protect it. What do you think will happen if we cannot procure enough food? Hmm?"

    ¡°..." The young man didn''t answer.

    ¡°I''ll tell you, one of the following situations will occur. Calerin spirals into debt in an attempt to repay the crown and eventually defaults and collapses on itself. Calerin spirals into debt in a bid to repay the crown while its citizens starve and then it eventually defaults and collapses on itself. Or Calerin doesn''t spiral into debt and just starves itself out of existence, when the people all eventually revolt, leave, or die.¡±

    ¡°Like I said uncle, while I would love nothing more than to aid Lord Atreus-"

    ¡°Boy! Think! Do you honestly believe that anyone would buy the wares of your artisans when no one can even afford to eat? If Calerin fails, then so do all of we. Our fates are tied to one another."

    ¡°Then we won''t stay in Calerin; the business will move to an agrarian domain and-"

    ¡°And what!? You''ll start from scratch and try to compete with the countless other companies that had the same idea? You''ll be bought out by the pre-existing associations within a month." The old man combed through his hair with his hands as he considered the possibility.

    The room fell into a dead silence as each of the merchants contemplated their next move. Atreus studied each of their faces; half looked as if they were willing to risk moving to another domain while the rest seemed to be racking their brains for a way to safely pay off the debt to the crown.

    *clap* The noise snapped the merchants out of their contemplation, bringing their attention back to Atreus.

    ¡°Thank you Xeniades. Now that everyone understands the gravity of the situation, we can begin the meeting." Atreus confidently leaned forward, allowing his guests to be drawn to his aura

    He spoke slowly, allowing his words to sink in. "The debt is payable, but it will require the support of each and every one of you. I am commissioning a new charter, the guild of grain, to be jointly run by those present. The guild will provide logistical support, labor, and financing to every settlement in the county. In exchange, farmers are required to give their yield to the guild, which will be under my jurisdiction until the debt to the crown has been settled. We will ration the food and the excess will be used to pay off the debt. The guild may seize any unused arable land for the purpose of growing crops with my full authority. After Calerin is debt free, I will transfer jurisdiction of the guild to those here. All seized land will be returned to their original owners or their beneficiaries and must be renegotiated for as the guild will lose my authority.

    Hippalus listened carefully before speaking, "My Lord..." His mustache wiggled. "While this may help ease the burden of the debt, as you stated earlier, the largest amount of foodstuff Calerin had previously produced was only 4 million bushels, much of which I have no doubt was a type of food not outlined to be payable to the crown. There''s also the question of whether we can afford to bankroll such a great endeavor with no returns for, realistically at best, ten years."

    ¡°Don''t worry about the type of crop yet. A council of lords has been called across the empire. I have no doubt the kind of acceptable foodstuff will be renegotiated along with many other items. As for your returns, perhaps instead of rationing the food out, I''ll allow it to be sold at market, but it will have a price ceiling until the debt to the crown is paid."

    ¡°And do you truly believe there to be enough arable land to not only double our previous output but also repay the crown?"

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°My lord?" Hippalus'' mustache wiggled.

    ¡°...Since the drought, the land under my domain has increased by a third as the logging into the unending forest was mostly unimpeded. If we also account for arable land that can be seized, there should just barely be enough to feed the populace assuming the best of conditions..."

    Hippalus'' mustache drooped. ¡°Best of conditions my lord? What of the debt?¡± The room returned to silence as the merchants waited for Atreus'' response.

    ¡°...¡± A whole five minutes passed as their faces slowly turned from expectant to depressed and they returned to staring at the table.

    ¡°I can commission another charter..." Their eyes turned back to Atreus. "The Guild of Forestry, which sole purpose will be the expansion of my domain into the unending forest. We''ll turn vast swaths of the forest into farmland. If, say, we convert forest to farmland at a rate of ten percent of our current arable land limit per year, in other words, we add enough farmland to produce 800,000 bushels worth of foodstuff to our maximum limit every year, then after the tenth year, Calerin will owe 7 million bushels. 10% interest on the debt means 7.7 million, so we decommission the Guild of Forestry after the 10<sup>th</sup> year, and the debt will be paid off after the 11<sup>th</sup>. Let''s assume an additional year after the logging to prepare the land and begin farming on it, so 12 years, with interest accruing after the 10<sup>th</sup>, meaning after the 10<sup>th</sup>, Calerin will owe 16.5 million bushels, the 11<sup>th</sup>, Calerin will owe 9.35 million bushels with interest. After the 12<sup>th</sup> year, Calerin will owe 1.5 million bushels, and finally, after the 13<sup>th</sup> year Calerin will be free from its debt to the crown and full authority will have transferred over to those here. By this point we will have become an agrarian powerhouse, capable of producing twice as much as we consume, combined with the expansion of the domain and extra revenue from selling raw materials and finished goods to other counties, Calerin will be an economic powerhouse. Raw material from the forest will be given to our craftsmen in Calerin for a highly discounted rate, if not free, making our goods the most affordable in the empire. Even if Calerin undergoes a population boom, we''ll have so much excess foodstuff by the end of the thirteen-year period that we should be able to easily accommodate it, even if all the seized properties are decommissioned."

    Hippalus'' mustache wiggled around as he thought of Atreus'' plan. "My lord, you say that over the past five years, your domain has increased by a full third. Assuming all that land converts perfectly into farmland and will yield at optimal conditions, the best it could convert into would be 1.3 million bushels of foodstuff. Over five years, that means our possible production of foodstuff only increased by 266,000 bushels per year. If we were to fund this second commission, the Guild of Forestry, the rate your domain expands would have to triple to meet your goal of increasing yields by 800,000 bushels per year. And that is all assuming the best possible conditions and the best possible conversions we can hope for. How would the guild accomplish such a task?"

    ¡°We''ll hire anyone without a job and turn them into loggers. I''ll also deploy the county''s soldiers to the forest to work with the guild under the guise of protection and training, but in reality, they''ll just be chopping trees all day.¡± Atreus chuckled.

    ¡°Hehe, while that may work my lord, tripling the rate of expansion of your domain would be another goal that we could only accomplish under the best of circumstances. The endless forest is dangerous, and it has been twenty years since the last crucible. If monsters start pouring out of the woods during this expansion, you''d be hard pressed to defend Calerin."

    ¡°Hippalus, are you questioning my ability to defend against a crucible?¡± Atreus'' face suddenly turned dark.

    Hippalus wiped the sweat along his receding hairline. "Of course not my lord, you''re a proven commander. I still remember how you defended us all from the last one; I fought in it myself. But you must admit that anyone who fought has retired or is close to retiring. The armed forces are untested, and if the size of the domain expands such a considerable amount, you''d lack the manpower to fight off a horde of beasts. If Calerin has expanded by a full third from five years ago, then at the rate of expansion your plan requires, Calerin''s domain must triple in size by the end of your ten-year plan as compared to 5 years ago."

    Atreus interjected. "And during that expansion, the armed forces will fight and defeat a countless number of beasts, reducing the strength of the next crucible by however many monsters they kill. By the time of the next crucible, my forces will be the more experienced and prepared than any other in history. Added to that fact is that with all the surplus materials from the expansions, we can potentially prepare the most extensive fortifications in all of the north. Do not concern yourself with it; we can quickly pull back the line of defense if my men are stretched too thin. It will only delay the plan by a year."

    ¡°Understood my Lord, but you must know that a delay of a year, assuming the best of conditions, could potentially delay paying off the debt by up to three years if the crucible begins as early as tomorrow.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    ¡°Don''t concern yourself with how long it takes to repay the crown, The point is that we have a method of doing so-¡±

    ¡°And not only is there the threat of the crucible, what if the drought returns? What if there is no rain after these floods? Or what if there is more rain? Powerful flooding that destroys the fields just as we have experienced? What will we do then? Delay the plan again?¡±

    ¡°My court''s Magister can work with his colleagues to predict the weather and even influence it to a certain extent.¡±

    ¡°And do he and his colleagues know how the flooding occurred? What caused it? Why, after all this time, it rained an unending amount, as if to make up for the years of drought? If the hydromancers cannot answer even a single one of these questions, then they have lost their ability to predict the weather with certainty. I apologize, my lord, I cannot speak for the rest here, but I cannot take such a risk. Even under the best of conditions, your plan is riddled with danger."

    ¡°Then what will you do? Wait to lose your business as everything slowly fails around you?"

    ¡°I have built my company by being careful. We weathered the drought; I believe we can weather whatever storm may come." Hippalus stood up from his seat and bowed before leaving. Three other merchants followed him. As they left, Atreus'' nails dug into his palm.

    Cleon stood up and bowed to Atreus. "My Lord, I think your plan is our best chance of survival, but without Hippalus'' support, I do not believe it is possible to achieve. If Hippalus does not get on board, I believe my business has a better chance of survival in another domain." Cleon left and was followed by five other merchants. Blood started to drip from Atreus'' palms.

    Xeniades sighed and slouched deeper into his chair. ¡°My lord...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Atreus?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I''ll support you regardless of what the others decide, but the boy''s right. Succeeding without Hippalus'' support is unlikely. And it''s definitely impossible without Cleon and the rest."

    ¡°... I know.¡±

    ¡°So?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Xeniades sat back up and stared straight at Atreus. ¡°Should I ask what you''re going to do?¡±

    ¡°...No.¡±

    The senior chuckled and got up. He strolled over to where Atreus sat and placed a bony hand on the Marquis'' shoulder. "Well, come to my estate when you''ve finished whatever you have to do. If you''re successful, we can celebrate the commission of two new charters; if you''re unsuccessful, we can celebrate the end of our respective careers."

    Atreus finally relaxed his grip. ¡°Ha! I will. You still got that wine from the capital?¡±

    ¡°Always.¡±

    ¡°Good. I guess we''ll know within the month.¡±

    Xeniades left with three other merchants following him.

    ¡°Charles!¡± Atreus called for his manservant. ¡°Delay that notice I gave you the other day!¡±

    ---

    A week passes since Atreus'' meeting with the merchants:

    A slum rat walked between the rubble of half-demolished houses; a pale girl with long brown hair, brown eyes, and warts covering her face, scratched her back as the itchy rags she called clothes rubbed against it.

    ¡°Ready or not, here I come!" She called out, listening for any sound beneath the quiet murmur of the forum a few blocks away.

    ¡°Are youuu~here?" Her head popped between a couple of crates, listening for breathing.

    ¡°Nope." She continued to saunter down the street when she suddenly kicked a pile of bricks, sending them flying into a broken wall. Between the clatter of the stones, she heard it. That faint, but sharp intake of breath she was searching for.

    She continued to saunter down the street, calling out every few seconds, trying to draw a response from one of the other children, slowly becoming quieter and quieter until complete silence enveloped the streets as she turned dirty a corner, doubling back behind the position where she heard the breath.

    This was her favorite part of playing, sneaking up on the person who was supposed to be hiding, catching them completely unawares. Her bare feet wrapped themselves around the sandy ground as she turned into the abandoned home where she knew her prey was hiding.

    There she saw him, a boy around her age, ten years old, laid prone on the ground, staring through a gap in the wall that followed the road she was on earlier. She licked her lips as she stepped over the broken floorboards of the house in perfect silence, like a phantom. Then, right was she was hovering just a foot over him, she let out a fearsome shriek like a wraith.

    ¡°EIEIEIEIE!!!!!¡±

    ¡°AAAAAHHH!!" The boy screamed as he tried rolling over to see the source of the fearsome cry, but it was already too late, she fell on his back and pinned him to the ground as he tried to frantically wiggle away from his attacker.

    ¡°Ha! You were scared!¡± Her delighted laugh filled his senses.

    ¡°Was not!" He tried to push her off, but she kept him pinned to the ground.

    ¡°I''ll let you move if you admit it!¡±

    ¡°I wasn''t!¡±

    ¡°Then you''re stuck!¡±

    After struggling for another minute, he gave up. ¡°Fine, you surprised me.¡±

    ¡°Sca~a~a~ared." She sang.

    ¡°Okay, you scared me! Now let me up!¡±

    She got off him and sent him to the losers pit. The girl continued to hunt for prey like this: locating them, sneaking up on them, and scaring them, until she had caught everyone.

    A dozen kids sat around the sandy street corner as the girl walked back with her final prey. ¡°I got all of you good!¡± She yelled triumphantly.

    ¡°I am owed one full kebab from the forum! Don''t try to cheat me!" They headed to the center of the city

    ¡°Again?¡± One of the children groaned. ¡°Emma, why do you like those kebabs so much lately?¡±

    ¡°Cause I want them, why else? Plus it''s like another game. The kebab man always packs up around this time, so I wanna see how often I can get the last one.

    As the pack of children wandered into the forum, a Romanesque plaza that cut right through the city center, Emma exclaimed in victory. "Ha! See? Last one again!" She puffed up her chest as they marched up to the kebab stall that was closing up for the day when some hurried movement to their side caught her eye.

    Some other kids around her age were heading to the stall as well, school kids. From their sweaty uniforms and large bags, they probably just finished some kind of extracurricular activity; the school had ended for the day an hour ago.

    Emma and the other street urchins picked up their pace; they wouldn''t lose to some rich kids. The students also noticed them and sped up. The orphans started jogging to the kebab stall. The students dropped all pretense and started running. The slum rats then just flat out sprinted as the children all began a mad dash to the booth, intent on getting there first.

    ¡°Kebab man!¡± Emma yelled from a few yards away. ¡°How many sticks you got left!?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?" A graying looked up in surprise at the stampede of children threatening to swarm his stall.

    ¡°I''ve got three left girl, better hurry! First come first serve!¡± He laughed at their frantic steps; he didn''t know why, but this past week, the poorer kids had been enamored with his food. Not that he was complaining, they always paid him properly, so it didn''t matter if it were his regulars from the school or the slum rats from the ghetto.

    ¡°I want all of them!¡± Emma arrived first at the stall and slapped down a handful of coppers.

    ¡°Aww, come one!¡± One of the students cried. ¡°Can you share?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Emma looked to the group of students. ¡°Why should I? I got here first.¡±

    ¡°C''mon, were starving. We''ll pay you double for half of them." A pudgier kid spoke up, wiping drool off the corner of his mouth as he tried to catch his breath.

    ¡°You wan''em?¡± Emma held out two juicy skewers of kebabs with one hand as she munched on the meat with the other.

    The chubby kid''s eyes lit up, and he took a step forward. "Can we? I''ll pay you double" He offered as he fumbled around in his pockets.

    ¡°Yeah sure." She dropped the skewers of meat and stepped on them, grinding them into the stone underneath.

    ¡°Hey!¡± The stall owner shouted.

    ¡°Whyyyy!?¡± the pudgy kid cried as he saw his hopes ground into the dirt.

    Emma kicked the nearest student straight in the balls, sending him keeling over, and ran.

    ¡°WhaEEEEEE!?¡± The downed student squealed. ¡°Get that biiiiEEEEtch!¡±

    Thus a chase ensued, the street rats ran back to the ghetto with the students in hot pursuit, climbing through empty windows, vaulting abandoned crates and barrels, and weaving between narrow streets lining the rubble of what may have been a fine neighborhood at one point. Once they had fled half a mile into the Old Quarter (or the Forgotten Quarter as known by the locals), the street urchins came to a stop in a sandy clearing.

    ¡°The fuck was that for!?" A frailer boy yelled out from the school group, his breath notably more ragged than his classmates''.

    Several more kids, dressed in the same dirty rags as the homeless children came out of the stonework behind the students and formed a second group, cutting off any paths of retreat. With abandoned buildings on either side, the school kids were suddenly surrounded, and the fight went from a fair one on one to a three on two.

    ¡°You''re surrounded! Stand and deliver!" Emma called gleefully. I always wanted to say that.

    ¡°Fuck off!" The frail kid suddenly launched a ball of fire at her feet. Emma jumped back as her smile widened.

    ¡°Shit! He''s a pyromancer!?¡± One of her companions cried.

    She looked back to the frail kid and noticed that he was now slouching even further, he ragged breath blew his black hair from his face, revealing a forehead drenched with sweat. "Ha! He''s already out of juice! They''re just trying to scare us, charge!" She called out and ran at the mage.

    Fighting immediately broke out, and children tackled each other, grappling like mad beasts. Emma ran straight up to the sickly looking kid and threw her weight behind a straight punch to the temple, knocking him out cold. She looked around and saw most of the students curled up on the ground, protecting their heads from unending kicks. The pudgy kid was doing surprisingly well in a one on one, but that was quickly ended by a swift kick to the back of his knee. The fighting barely went on for a minute before more of Emma''s friends showed up and overwhelmed the exhausted students.

    ¡°Get some rope and tie ''em up!¡± She crossed her arms and directed a fewof the children nearby.

    Twenty minutes later, all the students were slouching against a wall with the hands tied behind their backs. A large pile of coin lay in front of them.

    ¡°Split it up into equal shares." She told the kid counting the pile and turned around to face her comrades. "Men! Women! Today we have achieved victory! Let us partake in the spoils of war!" The pack of children howled, raising their fists as they relished in their success.

    Emma turned back to the line of captives and walked to where the frail kid sat. "Hey." She said, crouching down to his level, fairly sure he was no longer unconscious.

    ¡°Hey!¡± She called again, but there was no response.

    ¡°I know you''re awake.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Well if you''re not awake, then I''ll just kick you in the balls.¡± She stood and pulled back her leg.

    ¡°Wait! I''m awake! I''m awake!" he cried, trying to wiggle away from her leg.

    ¡°Knew it," Emma smirked, setting her foot down.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± The boy stared at the ground.

    ¡°Strip.¡±

    ¡°... What?¡± His face lost its color.

    ¡°What''s your name?¡±

    ¡°Cha-charlie."

    ¡°Well, Charlie." Emma got on her knees and yanked his face up, staring into his eyes. "Was that a real fireball you threw at my feet earlier?"

    The boy felt that he shouldn''t lie to this girl.¡°Ye... Yeah.¡±

    ¡°That''s pretty impressive." She maintained eye contact, keeping a firm grip at the base of his neck. "I''m eight. How old are you?"

    ¡°N... Nine and a half.¡±

    ¡°That''s reeaally impressive. Now strip. I like your clothes.¡±

    ¡°Why me!?¡±

    ¡°Because were about the same size stupid. I thought you had to be pretty smart to be able to do a fireball?¡±

    ¡°W-w-why not one of the girls!?¡±

    ¡°Ha?¡± Emma''s face went blank. ¡°You guys have girls?¡± She looked at her prisoners, but couldn''t see any.

    ¡°What!? Can''t you tell? Taylor and Rachael are right on the other end!"

    Emma walked over to where Charles was waving his head. ¡°Oh. He''s right. Hey, does your school not have girl uniforms?¡±

    The two girls shook their heads. "Okay, but why''s your hair so short?" Both of them had bob cuts and were almost indistinguishable from some of the boys, looking at them from a distance.

    ¡°W-we''re not allowed to.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°B-because we have to look strong.¡± The girl speaking was almost in tears at the thought of being made to strip.

    ¡°That''s stupid; I''m strong, and my hair''s long." She turned to the kids who still hadn''t managed to split the money evenly. "Hey, someone untie these two!" Turning back, she smiled at them. "You can both go."

    ¡°What!?" Charlie yelled from the other side of the line. "Why are you making me strip, but not them!? Their size will fit you better!"

    ¡°Are you stupid!?¡± Emma yelled angrily. ¡°If a girl is seen naked, she''ll get pregnant!¡±

    ¡°What!? That''s not true!¡± The pudgy boy spoke up. ¡°A girl gets pregnant when-¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Emma kicked him in the gut.

    ¡°Gah!¡±

    Her face was beet red. "You know what!? All of you boys will strip now! One by one! We''ll see how you like getting pregnant!" And so, they went down the line, untying each student and forcing them to strip until they got to the pudgy kid.

    Emma was now wearing Charlie''s clothes as he stood, trying to cover himself with his hands. "Hey you! Pudgy! What''s your name?"

    ¡°D-daniel, ma''am.¡±

    ¡°You''re rich right?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± His eyes widened. ¡°Umm, my dad is I guess?¡±

    ¡°You live with him?¡±

    ¡°Y-yeah.¡±

    ¡°Good! If you bring me to your house, I won''t make you strip.¡±

    ¡°What!? No!¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± She cocked an eyebrow.

    ¡°I-I-I-I''d rather strip than let you know where I live!¡±

    ¡°Haha! You''re kind of smart." She approached him, brought their foreheads together, and whispered: "If you don''t show me where you live, you''ll go blind." She threatened, grabbing his head by the base of his skull.

    ¡°Ah... Ah!!¡± I-I-I can''t-¡±

    ¡°Ssshhh." If you tell anyone, it''ll get worse. You can see it, right? The edge of your vision getting darker and darker? If we don''t get to your house before you''re completely blind, then I won''t give you your eyes back."

    ¡°I''ll do it! I''ll do it!¡± He cried.

    Emma stepped back and smiled. "Good, but first we''ll watch your friends streak across the forum." Twenty minutes later, the naked students were being prodded forwards by makeshift spears of broom handles and mops at the end of the forum, hiding around the corner of a street.

    ¡°Now, at the opposite end of the forum, some of my friends have your clothes. The only way you''re getting them back is by screaming and running full speed through the crowds! Don''t bother trying to go around. They won''t give you your clothes unless they see you coming from this end. Understood?"

    ¡°What about me?" Charlie asked helplessly.

    ¡°What about you?¡±

    ¡°You''re wearing my clothes!¡±

    ¡°Oh? Oh yeah. You''ll just have to run across the city to your house. Good luck!¡±

    ¡°Whyyyy!?¡±

    Emma waved her stick in the air. ¡°Ready!¡±

    ¡°Set!¡±

    ¡°Mark!" She slapped her stick down as her friends smacked the asses of their captives with their sticks as if it were some horse race.

    Almost a dozen naked children ran screaming into the main street, sending the half the crowds into a frenzied panic and the other half into a roar of laughter. Emma and her friends added to the laughter, seeing them trying and clearly failing to cover themselves with their hands.

    Emma couldn''t stop chuckling the entire way to pudgy Daniel''s home. The poor boy kept increasing his speed as his range of vision decreased.

    ¡°Open! Open the door!¡± Arriving at Daniel''s estate, the boy frantically hammered at the entrance.

    ¡°Young master? What''s wrong? Where''s your key?¡± An elderly dwarf woman opened the door.

    ¡°I-I-I left it at school.¡±

    ¡°I see. Oh? I don''t believe we''ve met before.¡± She smiled at Emma.

    ¡°Sh-she-¡±

    ¡°I''ve just recently moved to this city ma''am; my father had me enrolled at the academy, and Daniel was kind enough to not only escort me around the campus but much of the rest of the city as well." The girl did a small curtsy. "Emilia DeGraine. It''s a pleasure to meet you." Emma had been replaced. Her warts were gone, her pale skin had turned into a beautiful bronze, her tousled brown hair had turned black and was tied back with a scarlet ribbon, and her eyes had gone from brown to blue.

    ¡°My my, Daniel brought such a lovely girl home. Come in, come in! I''ll bring some snacks for the two of you.¡±

    Daniel was totally blind now and oblivious to the new Emma''s appearance. "Auntie, she''s n-"

    ¡°I would love to." Emilia''s hand reached into his, making him shuddered. Her soft touch served as a constant warning. Holding his hand, Emilia guided Daniel, and they followed the woman.

    As they passed through the front door, the house opened up to a living room that could easily hold two or three of the homes from the forgotten quarter. The floors were made entirely of stained wood, and in the center of the room sat a short coffee table, surrounded by sofas on three sides, facing towards a grand fireplace.

    Emilia coiled herself around Daniel''s arm and leaned her face closer to his, murmuring, "You''re home is gorgeous."

    Emilia''s movements didn''t escape the sharp woman''s attention. A young, cute girl was holding her young master''s hand while he didn''t dare even to look up! They''d be a perfect little couple!

    After ten minutes of answering the dwarven maid''s questions and being served small cakes and cookies, Emilia turned to Daniel. "Are you not eating?" She pouted.

    ¡°I-I can''t.¡± He whispered.

    ¡°Oh, you''re not that full.¡± She proceeded to lift a muffin to his lips. ¡°Just a bite. Please?¡±

    What is she talking about? Did she come here just to eat? Daniel opened his mouth and took a bite at the muffin.

    She brought the muffin back to her own lips and bit into the same spot that Daniel had. The old woman couldn''t take it anymore and left the room to gossip with the other servants about the young master''s new girlfriend.

    Emilia placed the muffin down and her honeyed voice turned cold. ¡°Now where are your valuables?¡±

    ¡°M-m-my parents have jewels in their bedroom.¡±

    Emilia lessened the shadows around Daniel''s eyes just enough for the boy to make out simple shapes. "Show me."

    Half an hour after running around the house, filling the sweets box that the dwarf maid had given her with rings, necklaces, and jewels, Emilia turned to Daniel.

    ¡°Where''s your dad''s office?¡±

    ¡°H-his office?¡±

    ¡°A study; he''s a merchant, right? Don''t try to tell me he doesn''t have one."

    ¡°But I can''t-¡±

    ¡°You want your eyesight restored? Or should I leave you blind?"

    ¡°Okay! Fine. It''s this way.¡±

    Arriving in the study, Emila snatched a delicately carved jade of a chimera, and as many gold ornaments that could fit into the sweets box. She pilfered through the desk and, once done with that, the vases along the wall.

    ¡°I think that''s good enough. Bring me to the door, and your eyesight will restore within an hour." Returning to the front of the house, Emilia bowed graciously and thanked her hosts, especially the dwarven maid, for their hospitality. She walked up to Daniel, who stood silent and gave him a peck on the cheek, murmuring "Thank you so much," before scurrying away.

    ---

    Several hours later:

    Hippalus arrived home from his office in the merchant''s quarters. The past week had been hectic, trying to determine which businesses were expendable and which would last longest during a famine. He''d spent a few nights there, but now he was confident that they had a plan of action to ride out the economic storm that would come.

    Fumbling through his key chain in the dark, Hippalus finally managed to open the door to his house. ¡°I''m home!¡± He called out.

    Agnis, his head maid, arrived at the entrance with a pale face. Her dwarven features drooped as she faced Hippalus. ¡°Master, there''s been a theft.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°A young girl came home with Daniel, claiming to be a new student at the academy. She appeared the part, with a uniform, manners, and the like. But apparently, she had coerced Daniel and ran off with many valuables. Daniel... He...¡±

    ¡°He what?¡±

    ¡°He...¡±

    ¡°What Agnis?"

    "..."

    "What happened to my son!?" Hippalus'' mustache quivered.

    Agnis'' voice became a whisper as she gazed at the ground. "He''s gone blind.¡±

    His legs shaking, Hippalus asked. ¡°Where is he? In his room?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The dwarf replied meekly.

    ¡°Daniel!" Hippalus sprinted through his home, accidentally knocking over a vase.

    ¡°Daniel!¡± He came to his son''s room to find the door locked.

    ¡°Daniel, are you in there!? Open the door!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Daniel!" The portly man took a couple of steps back, putting his weight behind his foot as he kicked down the door, tearing the locks from the solid wood.

    ¡°Daniel, are you alright!?¡± He looked around the room and saw his son curled up on his bed.

    Hearing his father''s voice, Daniel turned to its source. His eyes were puffed up, his nose dribbled with snot, and his cheeks were bright red.

    ¡°Papa!¡± He cried.

    ¡°Daniel!¡± ran to his son and embraced him.

    ¡°Papa, I c-c-can''t see!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°I can''t see!¡± The boy wailed and buried his face into his father''s belly.

    ¡°Shhh... It''s alright. I''ll fix this. Don''t worry. Papa will fix everything.¡± He grabbed the sides of his son''s head and brought his face down to look straight in his child''s eyes. Both the pupils and irises were cover in a black mist.

    ¡°She said it''d go back to normal in an hour, but nothing''s changed!¡± giant tears ran down the child''s face.

    ¡°Shhh, I''ll fix this, but Papa needs to know who did this to you. Where did you meet her? What does she look like? Does she have a name? Tell me everything you can about her."

    And so, Daniel told his father everything. How they had fought over some kebabs, how everyone was stripped by the ugly wart-girl named Emma, how she stole his friend''s clothes, how she took away his sight, promising to return it if he brought her home, and how she stole a bunch of valuables.

    After letting the boy cry himself to sleep, Hippalus extracted himself from the room and summoned Agnis.

    "I need you to go to the nearest guard''s office and report this incident. Don''t leave a single detail out." He spoke in a hushed tone, handing her a piece of parchment.

    Scanning the parchment, she nodded as she looked over it, but suddenly stopped. "Master, this isn''t the description of the girl who was with Daniel." She spoke.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°The girl with Daniel didn''t have warts or brown hair or white skin. She was a tanned girl with black hair. And I swear she was too well behaved to have been from the slums. She called herself Emilia Degraine.¡±

    ¡°So you think there was more than one?¡±

    ¡°That''s a possibility.¡±

    ¡°I''ll go wake up Daniel; we need to get everything straight."

    Daniel was awoken by his father and questioned again. "Daniel, when did the girl Emma switch with this Emilia?"

    ¡°What? They''re the same. She just called herself that in front of Agnis.¡±

    ¡°Agnis said this Emilia had black hair and tanned skin.¡±

    ¡°But she couldn''t have changed with someone! She had the same voice! And she held my hand all the way home to guide me!¡±

    ¡°Child, did she let go of your hand at any point? Even for a split second?" Agnis'' gentle voice came from the door.

    ¡°A-a-a couple times, but I would have known if she changed with someone. They were the exact same! I swear!¡±

    ¡°That''s enough Daniel. That''s all we need. Go back to sleep.¡±

    ¡°I can''t."

    ¡°I''ll be right back then. Wait just a few minutes.¡±

    After leaving the room, Hippalus and Agnis started murmuring to each other. ¡°Agnis, are you sure they couldn''t be the same person?¡±

    ¡°No, the girl I met was nothing like what Daniel described. All it would have taken is a second to switch out.¡±

    ¡°Then add the description of the second girl before going to the guards. I need to take care of my son.¡±

    ---

    Emilia Degraine rounded a corner in the noble''s district, changing back to her original appearance. She had buried the valuables in a safe-house and now freely walked back home. Her blonde hair and pale skin stood in sharp contrast to the dark clothes she now wore. Ellyse''s blue, speckled green eyes twinkled in the moonlight as she recalled the exciting day.

    Turning into a respectable mansion, Ellyse Ward fished out a key from her pocket and opened the door to her adopted parents home. ¡°Papa!¡± She called out, smiling at her father.

    ¡°Ke ke ke, you seem to be in quite a good mood girl. Did you have an exciting day?" Odeus'' crooked figure smiled at the child from his sofa as he set down some parchment.

    ¡°Yeah! It was a huge success! First I went to play hide and seek in the slums, then I-¡±

    ¡°Now child. No talking about work inside the house. Tell me all about it tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Then let''s go to the headquarters early tomorrow! Promise?" The little angel''s eyes sparkled.

    ¡°Ke ke ke. I promise.¡±