* * *
Sarai arrived home, feeling much better after visiting the communal bathing house on her way home from a twelve hour work shift. She was excited to see her partner after the six days they had been apart. Her cycle had ended and she was ready to start trying again for a babe. She hoped Brendan had also bathed; he normally did as his job working as a blacksmith was very dirty work, but every so often he would skip it and she found the smell of metal very off putting.
She put on the special night dress which she had made from the left over black silk of the supreme mistress’s dress. It was the first time that she had worn it and she was relieved to find that it fitted perfectly. The touch of silk against her naked flesh was even better than she had imagined. Her excitement grew when she thought about her partner seeing her in it for the first time. Hopefully with his extra excitement and the way she felt, she would fall pregnant this very night.
A loud knock at the door almost had her jumping out of her skin. Her heart continued to flutter as she went to the door. As she opened it she jumped back in surprise and covered her mouth with her hand holding back a scream. Recovering she bowed her head low.
“Supreme mistress, I’m sorry I was not expecting you,” stammered Sarai.
“That much is obvious for many reasons,” said Sylestra taking a step inside and looking her up and down intently. “Raise your head, child.” Sarai looked up and the supreme mistress stepped in close. With her right hand she brushed the hair back out of Sarai’s face and tucked it in behind her ear.
“What a pretty woman you are and with such taste in night attire.” Sylestra extended one finger and ran the back of her long fingernail slowly down Sarai’s back all the way to her buttocks and then with one fluid motion she opened her hand and grabbed it tight.
Sarai had no idea what to do and so she just stood there and tried to stop herself from trembling. She expected at any moment that the supreme mistress would pull a dagger from somewhere and slit her throat; she had seen her do that many times in the sacrifice hall.
Sylestra slammed the door behind her, shutting her orc bodyguards out and leant in until Sarai could feel her warm breath on her neck. Ever so softly the supreme mistress kissed her neck as she pulled Sarai in closer to her. Sarai felt a tingle of excitement run through her and was confused by it.
“Is this how your partner treats you?” whispered Sylestra in her ear.
“No — no supreme mistress,” stuttered Sarai. “He is much rougher.” The supreme mistress straightened and smiled as she stepped back, giving Sarai some room to breathe again.
“Is he now?” she asked. “And do you like it rougher?”
“Sometimes,” replied Sarai, “but sometimes I wish he were a little more gentle with me.”
“I take it that it was he you were expecting tonight?” Sylestra reached out her hand and gently slid her fingernail in figure eight patterns over Sarai’s exposed chest.
“It was, supreme mistress. He should be here at any moment.” Sylestra turned around and opened the door.
“Who is Sarai’s partner?” she asked the orcs standing outside the door. One of them opened up a large book he was holding and started shuffling through the pages.
“It was Brendan, supreme mistress,” said the orc after running his finger over the page.
“What do you mean, ‘was’?” she asked.
“He was killed and reanimated four nights ago during the mass sacrifices and we haven’t yet found a suitable replacement.”
Sylestra grinned.
Sarai gasped and her knees went weak but she refused to cry in front of the supreme mistress.
“Is that so? Well I think I have just the person in mind.” The supreme mistress turned once again, came inside and closed the door. “I came here tonight to commend you on your fine work in crafting that truly magnificent dress. It came in very handy. I see you have already rewarded yourself for the effort by making use of the leftover material?” Sarai watched anxiously as the powerful woman looked her up and down.
“I — I,” started Sarai, not really sure how to explain herself.
“A crime punishable by death here in the compounds, I believe?” asked Sylestra in a serious tone. “But never mind, my child. I’ll instruct the orcs to let you keep it as a reward for your work. I also have another very fitting reward. Since we now share material cut from the same roll, we should also share the very man that I seduced while wearing that material.” Sylestra once again stepped in close and placed both her hands on Sarai’s hips.
“Will he get me pregnant?” asked Sarai softly, “because I am on my eighteenth cycle and running out of time.” Despite her efforts not to cry, a tear formed in the corner of her eyes.
Sylestra lifted her hands up, cupped her face and wiped away the tears with her thumbs.
“Do not fret, my child, for he is very good at getting women pregnant — I should know. I’ll have him introduced to you tomorrow night, but for tonight you’re all mine.” The supreme mistress tilted her head back forcefully and kissed her deeply.
The Great Retreat
General Krak’too had slept lightly through the night with his weapons’ belt and armour within easy reach. Given how the day had gone, he had expected the Raziyans to attack through the night. Judging by the light in his room, he figured it to be the very early hours of the morning.
He rolled out of bed, gave himself a quick wash with a sponge and bucket of water, dried himself and got dressed in his battle gear. As he left his room, O’tukka was strolling down the hallway towards him.
“You’re up awfully early this morning,” said Krak’too as he closed the door behind him.
“I didn’t sleep well and so I got up to check on things.” O’tukka halted a few paces from him wearing a thoughtful expression.
“And what did you find?” asked Krak’too realising that he had some news.
“It’s hard to tell for sure in this light, but it looks as though the Raziyans have fled. I’ve sent our scouts out just now to confirm it, but there is no sign of a camp for as far as we can see.” Great Shaman O’tukka scratched his head as though he were still trying to make sense of it.
“They would give up so easily?” General Krak’too could understand his confusion; they had attacked so fervently the previous day.
“They did lose close to half their force in such a short time for very little gain,” said O’tukka.
“That’s true. Well it gives us time to move the captives and repair our defences. With Master Pilk and his wizards here, we should be able to do that quickly.” General Krak’too began walking down the hallway and Great Shaman O’tukka took up step beside him.
* * *
Gerard awoke to a loud knock on the door. He rolled off his straw mattress, stood up and stretched all the kinks out of his muscles which were aching from his hard day of labour the previous day. Because of his farming experience he was given a job in the slaughterhouse which was one large block to the east of him. Jeff had also been given work there which was a relief to Gerard. His continual cheeky and witty comments helped to pass the day away as they slaughtered all kinds of animals they had never seen or heard of.
He hurriedly pulled on his pants and walked the short distance to the front door and opened it. Sylestra stood before him.
“I thought you must have forgotten about me,” Gerard said.
“Huh, a man of your talents is not so easily forgotten.” Sylestra looked him up and down with a smile.
“So am I to spar with you or should I be getting ready for work before your orc task masters have me severely whipped?” Gerard stood in the middle of the doorway with his arms folded across his chest. Despite the firm and confident posture he purposely portrayed, he was divided deep down inside. His heart had skipped a beat when he first saw her at the door but this made him feel guiltier. He felt as though he was betraying his dead wife.
“Unfortunately I have much to do again today so our sparring matches will ha
ve to wait. Now will you invite me in?”
He was very disappointed with this response and hoped that his expression did not betray him.
“Do I have a choice?” he asked defiantly.
“You always have a choice, so long as you’re content to live with the consequences of those choices.” Gerard couldn’t deny her logic and so simply stepped to one side and waved her in. She immediately walked over to a chair, took a seat and waited for him to do likewise before speaking. “You have read the rules of the compound and no doubt do not approve, but I am not here to argue my point on that. You would have read that every male and every female in the compound are to be coupled up and to breed as fervently as possible. I am here to let you know that your partner has been chosen and to give you her details,” explained Sylestra.
“You personally visit all your slaves with such information?” asked Gerard raising an eyebrow at her. “No wonder you keep so busy.”
“This was a special case,” she replied to him with a smile that got his heart racing.
“I will not sleep with any woman here and be treated like some mere animal,” said Gerard firmly as he folded his arms across his chest. His defiance on the issue was true, but the reason for such defiance was becoming hazy.
“Breeding is for the benefit of all concerned and doing so with the assigned partners ensures a strong line of descendants,” replied Sylestra.
“I’m a farmer. I’m well aware of how to breed the best stock, but as I said, I’m not an animal and I don’t approve of a system that takes the choice away from people, no matter how beneficial it may seem.” Gerard’s anger rose that he was to be used as a stud. It felt wrong that all choice should be taken from him. On the other hand he couldn’t deny that the people in this compound were vastly different to those in an ordinary city. He hadn’t seen much of the women, but the men were all well-built and perfectly suited to their assigned tasks. There were no homeless or starving, no fat and lazy, no ugly or crippled.
“Here is where you’ll find her. Her name is Sarai and I think you’ll find her very suitable. At least pay her a visit and get to know her.” Sylestra placed a piece of paper on the table, stood up and walked to the door. Gerard remained seated and deep in thought while Sylestra showed herself out.
He knew deep in his heart that this compound was not the life for him. It would soon suffocate and destroy him. Escaping the compound would be a very difficult task and once out of the compound he’d still need to escape the city and navigate his way through Ta’zu lands when he didn’t even know where he was. If he somehow managed all of that, he’d still need to travel the lands of the Black Skull, find the Gate and somehow get through it unnoticed before making it home — and that was only if it was still open by the time he got there.
However if he yielded to Sylestra’s rule he could enjoy a life of luxury in the Palace and spend much time with this intriguing and beautiful woman. Added to that was a greater chance to see his boy again and carve out a new life for them both.
* * *
Decker had camped on his land for the night after a long ride on his new horse, named Ciara, which meant ‘black and mysterious’, as he had soon determined that there was something different about this horse — perhaps even something magical. She would not be tied up and would not allow a saddle to be placed upon her, but would come swiftly whenever he called for her. It seemed as though she was never far away and yet always out of sight.
He had ridden Ciara for most of the day before setting up camp and the horse didn’t seem to tire at all. She had galloped faster than any horse he had ridden — almost unnaturally fast. Just as strange was the fact that he wasn’t stiff or sore from riding bareback for a prolonged period. He felt as sprightly as ever.
After he had broken his fast, he called out to Ciara followed by a shrill whistle and wasn’t at all surprised to see her gallop out immediately from the forest . He fed her an apple while stroking her nose before he mounted her and set off at a trot.
He decided he’d make a trip to Bilwarks Grove and see if he could glean any information from the orcs, so he soon had Ciara speeding along at a dangerous gallop. He reached the road to Kethlon in no time at all and followed it north for a bit before leaving it and heading west once more.
Ciara seemed to judge each obstacle perfectly. She would leap over small rocks and shrubs rather than slow her pace to navigate around them, and stride over pot holes without breaking rhythm. Decker started off trying to guide her around these obstacles only to be met with failure and almost lost his balance and fell in the attempt. Now he just held on as tightly as possible and trusted that his horse knew what she was doing. He wasn’t used to feeling so out of control when riding though and often held his breath as larger obstacles sprung up in front of them.
Quicker than he believed possible, they reached the edge of Bilwarks Grove. Decker tried slowing his horse down but to no avail. Despite galloping the entire way there, Ciara sped on. The trees were far too dense to manoeuvre around at this speed and so seeing how close they were in front, Decker ducked down low and hugged his horse tightly around the neck, waiting for the inevitable impact.
The impact never came and yet Decker could still feel they were moving swiftly. He slowly opened his eyes and turned his head. His mouth dropped open in amazement. The trees were flying by them and even through them he noticed as he lifted his head. Only then did he sense the foreign magic flowing through him and realise that both he and his horse were insubstantial. There was no doubt in his mind now — Ciara was a magical horse.
Within moments the orcs’ fort came into view and they became solid once more. The gates to the fort were wide open and orcs were streaming out of it. This surprised Decker as he had been told that all but a very small number of orcs were in Heperi defending the newly captured city. Though on closer inspection, he realised that the orcs weren’t soldiers — they were females and young ones.
* * *
“Ken’thor has been attacked general, and now the Ta’zu march for Gnash.” O’tukka noticed General Krak’too stiffen in response.
“They took Ken’thor in a day?” asked the general as he led O’tukka away from the hard working orcs.
“They fought to the walls of the citadel. Orcs have reported seeing a human woman riding a wyvern that was instrumental to the attack on the city. Instead of continuing their attack today, they simply left and have been seen marching east. The fierce one is sending all the females and little ones through the Gate as we speak,” explained O’tukka as they entered a nearby building — a relatively humble house which had been largely untouched.
General Krak’too took a seat at the solid timber dining table and waited for O’tukka to be seated before continuing. “All of them?” he asked. “We had only arranged for the families of the warriors fighting here to come through.”
“Yes, but Supreme Mistress Sylestra is changing those plans it would seem. It’s obvious that she knows that I plan to close the Gate and that’s why she is in such a hurry to get near to it. Otherwise she would have captured Ken’thor totally.”
General Krak’too was nodding his agreement before he had even finished. “I agree. The fact that she attacked Ken’thor and not Namolak or even Chimak tells me that she has her eye set on the Gate. We could yet use this to our advantage. If we can close it before she arrives, then we’ll have the beginnings of a sizeable tribe on this world, certainly much larger than we expected.”
“If we don’t manage to close it we are in serious trouble. Once she has Gnash under siege there’ll be nothing stopping her from sending a few thousand warriors to the Gate. Let’s not forget that the fierce one is just as likely to come through himself and order it closed behind him,” said O’tukka, looking intently at the general.
“It won’t matter if he does. A failure like that will cost him his leadership even without a challenge festival. The fierce one is no longer our concern. Either way we can usurp his authority by pointing out t
hat it was his foolish plan that was responsible for the clan’s collapse. No, our biggest concern now is the Ta’zu. Go and release Master Pilk so that he can return to Arthea and organise all the wizards. Let him know that we’ll be ready to close the Gate whenever he is.”
“And what do we do with the females and little ones?” asked O’tukka.
“We start bringing them here like we originally planned so we can defend them and house many of them. That’ll leave the Gate all but unguarded for the humans to close it down,” said Krak’too.
“It should be significantly weakened too with so many coming through,” said O’tukka. “I’ll go talk to Master Pilk now.”
* * *
When O’tukka had updated Pilk, he asked Master Tayer to teleport all five of them back to Arthea. He then went to find Duke Angus. After telling the duke what was going on he asked him how many wizards had reported in and was dismayed to find that only twenty-one had arrived.
“That makes for a total of thirty-one combined with our ten,” muttered Master Pilk. “We have to surround the Gate by no later than mid-afternoon, my lord. Sylestra’s army could well arrive before then if she marched right by Gnash.”
“And if no more wizards show up, Master Pilk?” asked Duke Angus.
This had Pilk concerned as well. The plan had been to close the Gate tomorrow and he had asked that they arrive in Arthea before then, so where were they all?
“We’ll have to do the best with what we have. We can march the army through and back again repeatedly to weaken it while we exhaust our magic. It may well take us all night to close it like that and word will no doubt reach both Sylestra and Gilkan in that time, so we had better be prepared for a fight.”
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