DREADWOLF - Chapter 97

◈ Chapter 97:

Lyra blinked in surprise and searched for her. No Opal. Concerned now, she stepped from between the tents and into a main thoroughfare. This time she found the Goblin girl. She hadn’t gone far, she was outside some kind of large crudely constructed wooden building, one of the largest she had seen in the camp. There were sounds coming from within, rather… lewd sounds. With a blush she realised she was looking at the whore house that Braur had mentioned… only, she hadn’t realised he meant it because she was a Goblin.

There was a stockade outside with a female Goblin in it. Behind the stockade a large seven foot tall Orc was thrusting up into her. Each powerful grunted hump causing the wood to creak and groan and for the goblin girl’s head to rock forward, her long curly black hair bouncing, her mouth hanging open, gasping with each thrust.

Opal was staring at her, her rapier hung loose at her side.

As she watched the Orc finished with a snarl and pulled out. The sound of semen spattering on the wood below as it fell from the Goblin’s cunny filled the air. The stockade Goblin twitched and let out a groan. As she recovered she blew air up and her hair moved away revealing her face. She noted Opal and raised an eyebrow.

“Hey, if you’re gonna watch stick your master’s coin in the pot, don’t be a leech.” She nodded down at what was in fact a metal pot left upside down on the corner of the stockade.

Opal tilted her head but remained silent.

The stockade goblin rolled her eyes. “Hurry the fuck up and let me out of this thing will yah?”

An Orc appeared from the building, no not an Orc, far too small, smaller than Braur even. It took a moment for Lyra to realise that the muscular girl she was looking at was in fact a Half-Goblin Half-Orc. The Half-Orc produced a key and unlocked the stockade. The Goblin girl after a moment of struggle managed to pull free, her legs trembling for a moment before she found her balance.

She was about to step off the stockade when the Half-orc put a hand on her shoulder stopping her.

“You got your ten?”

“Yeah, yeah, easy, now get your hand off of me,” she swiped the Half-orc’s fingers aside and jumped down. She landed harder than she had clearly expected and a flood of white splooshed from her reddened cunt splattering on the ground. She made a displeased face and wobbled over to one of the many chairs set outside the front of the building. With a sigh she flopped onto it, her legs spread wide as though her crotch was too sensitive for her to close them. She grabbed up a hand fan from the table and began waving it over her loins. Another sigh of relief slipped from her lips as white continued to drip drip drip from her swollen folds onto the ground.

“You’re a slave?”

The Goblin lazily angled her head and eyed Opal. Then she brought her free hand up and tapped the steel collar around her neck.

“I’m a Gobbo. What do you think?”

Opal squeezed the grip of her rapier in thought.

“From a dungeon?”

The collared Goblin raised an eyebrow. “Barely. The half Gobs brought me up on the outside. They’re the ones who run this place.”

Opal nodded as though her suspicions were confirmed. “So you don’t really know what dungeon thinking is like?”

“What? What’s that? I dunno what you’re on about now.”

“It’s where everything is kill or be- where everything is just about…” Opal sighed. “Where life is very very short and very very ruthless and very very nasty and you have to think like that or you die.”

“Mm, Okay, I get that.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to get by, it’s tough out there, surviving.” She gestured over her shoulder as the Half-orc lead another Goblin from out of the building. The Goblin jumped up into the stockade and the Half-orc locked her in, she spread her legs and perked her naked rear up in the air as another huge male Orc stepped over and climbed up onto the stockade, unbuckling his belt. “Of course it helps if you don’t mind the work like me, male Gobbo’s got needles compared to a nice fat Orc dick and I’d much rather be doing this than be a regular slave like you, I’ve got, yah know, job security, I’m special.”

Opal blinked at her.

The Goblin rolled her eyes. “I can’t get preggers, I’m barren. The Halves don’t like the hassle of having to kill the baby Halves that are constantly getting popped out so they take special care of me. You annoy your owner and they’ll squish you and buy another, can’t do that with me though, barren Gobbos are rare as hen’s teeth.”

“That sounds… very shit. And I’m not a slave.”

“Sure you aren’t. Guessing you’re fresh out a dungeon huh?” She plucked a beer from the table some Orc had left behind and drained the dregs of it then let out a belch.

Opal fingered the pommel of her rapier. “Don’t you want to be free?”

“And go where?”

“S-somewhere safe, we could make… something.”

“Sounds like an easy way to die if you ask me.”

A Half-orc suddenly loomed over Opal blocking out the sun.

“Unless your owner is looking to sell you aren’t wanted here. Fuck off before I steal you and sell you myself.”

Opal scowled but stepped out of the way.

“Come Grace, you’re wanted. Threesome.”

“Ack, I’m still a cummy mess down below though.”

“Yeah, that’s why they want you, sloppy seconds.”

Grace snorted a laugh. “Fuckin’ Orcs.”

As they moved toward the building Opal lifted her thorny rapier and pointed it at the Half-orc’s back.

“Opal,” murmured Lyra quietly coming up behind her. “This isn’t a good idea, we should go.”

“But-”

“Do you want to get her killed?”

Her shoulders dropped. “No… it’s just she’s not like, you know, the rest. She’s like me, different, not all dungeonified.”

“We can talk about this later, look she’s gone now.”

It was true, Grace had disappeared inside. After a moment of staring at the door Opal turned away.

She plodded sadly after Lyra and Kel away from the whorehouse.

“Ridiculous. You treat your slave like a leveler,” muttered Kel, glancing back at Opal.

“Do you see a collar on her? She isn’t a slave.”

Kel scoffed. “What? And you just keep a wild Goblin around? I highly doubt that. More than likely you have one of those heart needle enchantment things to keep her in line. The rest is just you treating the thing like a pet, like some kind of weirdo.”

Lyra gave him an annoyed look. “What if you’re wrong? What if you’re wrong about Goblin’s altogether? What if they’re just as sapient and alive as we are?”

“They’re monsters.” stated Kel, as if that was an absolute argument ending point.

She sighed. She knew from how she used to be that she was talking to a brick wall. This was pointless and she had things to do.

“Where can I find animals, erm, cattle to buy, and things like that.”

Kel seemed happy to change the subject, clearly thinking he had won, and pointed ahead. They soon arrived at a part of the camp that had been set aside for livestock, a lot of livestock. An army marched on its stomach and apparently a moving clan was no different.

It wasn’t hard to see who was in charge. A tall and grossly overweight Orc was shouting at an Orc child mucking out a sty.

He snorted up a ball of greasy snot and spat it on the young Orc’s back as they neared. Turning, he gave them suspicious looks, perhaps the most distrust they’d drawn since coming to the camp.

“Kel.” he nodded. “This ‘ad better be important. I can always do with more fer’ workin’ and I won’t hesitate to use my higher level than youse to make you do it if you test me.”

“She wants to buy your animals Rugnor. You should be giving me a commission for finding you a, uh, customer, or something.” Kel glanced at Lyra raising his brow in question.

“Y-yes, I would like to purchase, uhm, everything.”

Kel and Rugnor stared at her.

“Uh, is that okay?”

“Is this a joke? I’m gonna beat the living daylights out of yer’ Kel if this is youse pulling my leg.”

“I’m quite serious, I need to procure meat, lots and lots of meat, like, all of it. All the cows, all the pigs, all things that can walk and follow really.”

“She… does seem to have the wealth. Look, the bag.”

Rugnor’s small eyes crinkled and he squinted down at the dimensional bag on Lyra’s hip. Understanding of just what Kel was implying caused him to straighten his back, suddenly far more interested in Lyra.

“Well I’m never one to turn down an offer. Can’t say there’s much point in ‘oldin on considerin’ where were ‘edded, food won’t be a problem when we arrive at- hmm, well it won’t be a problem, I’ll leave it at that. I can see about a bit ah trade in the meantime.”

Lyra peeked at the pig pens behind the tall Orc and counted twenty pigs, then at the set out areas around them which she judged to contain nearly a hundred cows.

“So, can I have all of these? All the cows and all the pigs?”

Rugnor still seemed a little off balance by her request for just everything.

“I… suppose, yes. Usually folk are a bit more… picky. But this is fine enough.

Lyra gave him a winning smile and they began to barter, the Orc asking for a lot and then Lyra cutting him off at the legs until he was forced down to something more reasonable. After a time of that with the Orc starting to get a little flustered under Lyra’s relentless manoeuvring they managed to agree on a number that wasn’t that far off half what they’d paid for the map, a good price for the sheer number of animals. Lyra had Red shovel out gold into a sack that Rugnor held out.

In return Lyra was handed a sack full of incredibly smelly grain that looked like it had gone bright green with mould. The gates to the pens were opened and cows and pigs began to filter out snuffling the air with interest. Lyra took a step back as the crowd approached and then approached faster as they caught the scent of the bag of grain, becoming extremely interested, mooing and squealing filling the air as they pushed each other aside trying to get at her.

“Youse best watch your step lass, you trip and fall and these buggers will squish you to death.”

“K-Kel, I have something for you to hold!”

“You cannot be serious?” said Kel, his face dropping.

“Hey I’m only a city sheep, I don’t know how to operate these animals!”

Lyra thrust the bag of grain into the unfortunate Orc’s hands and the swarm of animals turned their attention toward him.

“Come on, let’s go!”

They made their way from the camp, quick walking furiously as the farm animals enthusiastically chased after them, the scent of the mouldy grain driving them on. This time they weren’t quite as ignored and they drew curious stares from Orc after Orc as would be expected leading nearly one hundred and twenty animals out of camp. Fortunately they were left alone and were able to leave freely and without question, Kel’s presence clearly enough to assure any Orc who saw them that there was nothing to be concerned about.

Lyra led the unhappy Kel up out of the shallow valley and back into the forest, a cacophony of mooing following in their wake. Of course, Rain wasn’t where he had been, and they had to go deep into the woods, to where the monster boar and the Orcs that had attacked Rain had been killed. There was nothing left of them, just a few patches of blood, clearly devoured. They had to go much further beyond that before a shadow moved from the foliage.

The cattle started making nervous sounds and backed away as leaves and branches were pushed aside and he emerged, which was understandable, a nearing nine foot tall wolf monster wasn’t the most calming thing to see coming out of the trees. The sound of panicked animals filled the forest air.

“Uh, b-back up a bit Kel, make sure they don’t run off into the woods!”

The Orc edged toward the trees, the cattle happy to be coming with him so they could keep a large distance between themselves and Rain.

“Were you safe? Did you get everything?” Gravelled Rain.

“Oh better than that, I got a magic map!”

She held out a hand and the map was placed into it by a scaled claw. Then she held it up.

Rain squinted at it. “This is what was needed? We can go wherever I want now?”

“Mhm! With this there will be no problems!”

“I’m afraid that you won’t be needing that map,” came a female voice filled with contempt.

Dark teeth poured from Rain’s mane and surged through the air, ready to shred apart the owner of the voice.

“Attack me monster and I’ll put an arrow through the eye socket of the Half-woolie. You will not be able to prevent her death.”

An extremely muscular and crimson tattooed female Orc with heavily braided hair took a step from the foliage, an enormous longbow nocked and held ready.

The shadowy wolf teeth froze in place as Rain curled his paw. He eyed the newcomer carefully. This one appeared older than the other Orcs he had come across, more experienced, which was a problem as that likely meant more levels. In fact he could see transparent blue flames licking across the surface of the arrow head pointed directly at Lyra. The flames indicated a Skill of some kind, one that gave off a deathly air. Lyra would not survive or avoid being hit by that he was certain, her ability only made her invisible, it did not reposition her out of an arrow’s path.

“I was right, you really do value them. A strange monster caring for a leveler and a Goblin. Unheard of, but it really is as it seems.”

“What do you want?”

“You, I want you. I want to kill you so that I can level up. Are you really that surprised as a monster? But more than that you’re… different than most monsters, a rare monster, I can tell. If I killed you I feel I would level up several fold. I want that. I want that a great deal.” She grinned, her copper capped tusks flashing in the sunlight.

Rain spread his arms. “Then why don’t you? Attack me. Kill me.”

The Orc twitched, barely preventing herself from pointing the arrow at Rain.

“Because there is a problem. One or a few killing a monster is worth it… but dozens?”

Orcs stepped from the woods, more and more until there were over thirty of them, Hunters all, clearly having used some camouflage Skill or other to disguise themselves in the forest. Each and every one of them held a long bow nocked and pointed at Lyra and Opal.

“Because of your little cattle parade you drew the attention of every bored Orc hunter for miles around… Fortunate enough for you I suppose, no one here wants to kill you like this with so many, it wouldn’t be worth it, it would dilute what we get out of it to nothing, such a proud unique beast such as yourself is too valuable for that, it would be a complete waste.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“Well for starters you’re coming back to the camp as our prisoner. Then we will fight amongst ourselves with you as the prize”

She smiled.

“We will fight to be the one to kill you.”