by Eric Vall
Grot slowly nodded, and he sat back again as he snatched his mug from his woman. Then he angrily chugged the whole thing, and I took a long swig as well, even though my knees were completely numb already.
Haragh nodded his approval while Grot was busy sending his woman for a refill with a furious snarl, and when the leader looked back, I met his gaze without wavering.
“Tell me how many you’re missing,” I said.
“Forty-eight,” the ogre growled, and I nodded. “They’re goin’ out huntin’, and they’re not comin’ back. Sent a fleet to the forest to see what’s up. Then I lost fifteen in one day.”
“They’ve all been taken from the forest?” I clarified.
Grot nodded, and he gestured to the birds smoking on the fire.
Haragh hopped up to get his own, and when I turned around, Aurora cocked a brow at me.
I could tell from the glint in her emerald eyes that she was pleased with how well the conversation was going, and my head was buzzing from all the Rosh I’d already drank. So, I grinned without reserve as I gestured to the bird on the fire.
“Get my kill,” I ordered the women, and Aurora blushed lightly at the commanding tone in my voice. She was clearly fighting the urge to say something sassy back, and something in her eyes told me I might be hearing about this one later.
Then again, she had really liked getting tied up by me, so maybe she was blushing because she actually enjoyed me ordering her around.
Still, she stood with the other two and headed for the fire, and they worked together to drag the charred carcass over. Then they crouched down and pulled out their daggers, and the three of them started hacking into the bird to get at the meat for me.
Deya giggled when she caught my eye, and Cayla looked like she found the entire situation hilarious, but she kept her stoic demeanor as if they always did shit like this.
Aurora’s cuts were a little more violent as a devilish grin curled at the corners of her lips, and beyond the flames, I could tell Grot was well pleased with my pride.
His women even looked a little less hostile now as they watched the three women strip large chunks of meat from the carcass for me, and while they worked, I took the chance to look around the rest of the cave.
All around us ogres were drinking and chortling loudly together, and while some still broke into violent brawls, most of the disagreements were settled quickly with a sound clubbing.
The handful of ogres who had prides all seemed to sit toward the back of the cave closer to Grot, and the further they got from us, the less women they had. That’s when I realized I really was the only one with three women around me, and I wondered if the reason I was allowed to sit here was because I technically had four.
I glanced over at Haragh suspiciously, but he was happily downing his fifth mug of Rosh. I had the feeling he’d been begging Shoshanne to come along for more than one reason, and his insisting Deya take the proper stance in the formation made a lot more sense now.
I really was lucky I had a friend like him, though, because within hours of entering Jagruel, I sat beside the fire of the leader without a single bite taken out of me, and I didn’t even have to lift a finger to get all the drink and food I wanted.
Grot’s women were removing his own kill now, and they made quick work of shredding the large snake into pieces with their teeth. Then they served Grot first before he made a motion with his hand, and the four women took their own helpings back to their places to devour them in a few slobbering bites.
I mimicked the arrangement as soon as my women finished their work, and while we all got some charred bird in us, Grot gestured to the space Shoshanne was meant to take up.
“Where’s yer fourth?” he asked as he gnoshed on greasy snake meat.
“She’s back in Illaria,” I told him. “I needed her to peel the flesh off some mages for me, otherwise she’d be here.”
Grot grunted and grinned from ear to ear before he turned to the woman on his left, and he chuckled crudely as he stroked her chin with his greasy fingertips.
“Keeka here peels all my flesh, don’t ye’, sweetie?” he growled, and when she smiled and made a creepy purring sound, he told her she was a good girl.
I choked on my Rosh and glanced over my shoulder as I coughed it out, and all three of my women were blushing fiercely as they stared strictly down at the stone floor.
“So, Flynt,” Grot chuckled as he continued eyeing Keeka in a way I seriously didn’t need to see, “tell me what ye’ have to say.”
“Basically, I came here to prevent any more ogres from being enslaved,” I told Grot while Cayla sauntered past to refill my mug. “I can scout the forest for you and locate whoever’s doing this, and I’ll make sure they can’t keep it up, too. All I need to know is where to start looking.”
Grot wiped the snake grease from his fingers onto his own belly as he smacked his lips, but a disagreement amongst the ogres to our left sent a deafening roar throughout the cave, and we all turned.
Two women were slamming their fists to the ground and egging on the ogre they sat behind, and him and two others had spilled their Rosh all over the place as they lunged across the flames to tear into each other.
Grot let out a thundering growl that brought everything to a crashing halt, and the ogres retreated into low snarls as they broke apart.
Then Grot turned back to me. “Two miles south of Izig Cliffs is the mating grounds. You head another mile east, and you’ll find the best huntin’ in Jagruel.”
“That’s where they’ve been heading when they went missing?” I clarified, and I realized my speech was getting a little slurred.
“Aye,” Grot said with a nod, “but I’m no fool. Every man’s got a price, Flynt.”
His bloody brown eyes darkened as he bared his teeth ever so slightly, and Haragh lowered his mug to send me a warning glance.
I knew this moment would come eventually, and I’d hoped I would come up with some means of convincing the ruler that allying with Illaria was in his best interests, but after what I’d seen of his race, I knew it was really in our best interest, and Grot definitely knew this, too.
Under different circumstances, I would have helped the ogres with or without the alliance just based on the fact that they were Haragh’s kin and seemed like alright guys, but after learning more about what the Master had waiting for us at that fortress, I knew I couldn’t leave without this alliance.
So, I took another long swig to solidify my resolve, and as I raised a tipsy arm to send Cayla for more, I worked to hold Grot’s threatening gaze.
“We need your alliance in arms,” I told him.
That’s when Grot slammed his mug down to shatter it across the cave floor, and even the ground cracked under the force of the blow.
“Illaria will never have my alliance!” Grot roared, and every ogre in the cave growled furiously in agreement. Their ruler rose to his full height as he grabbed a flaming log straight out of the fire, and he hurled it at the wall of the cave just above Haragh’s head.
Haragh ducked as sparks and flaming wood fell all around him, and I felt Aurora’s powers suddenly spark at the ready.
My hazy mind fought to find any solution that didn’t end in an all-out brawl with the ogres in the back of a cave surrounded by lava, and as my gaze locked with Hulsan’s, I said the first thing that came to mind.
“Then give me your alliance instead,” I hollered above the thundering echoes of the ogres’ fury.
Grot stomped his fat foot to send a tremor through the ground, and as he growled from deep in his green gut, the cave fell silent again.
I waited frozen in my place as the echoes of his roaring command slowly died away, and I could hear my women’s heartbeats pounding wildly in their chests.
Then Grot narrowed his bloody brown eyes.
“An alliance with Flynt,” he growled in a low voice. “Man who’s fixin’ to kill the asshole.”
“That’s right,” I said with a nod. “I�
�m leading the attack against the Master, so I’m the one who needs your alliance.”
“Tell me your terms,” the ruler commanded as he looked down his green nose at me.
“When it comes time to lay siege to his fortress, I need you there and ready to destroy,” I told him. “I’ll arm your men for the battle and everything, but I’m gonna need as many as you can spare. The ogres he’s stolen are stronger, faster, and more violent than you’ve ever seen your kind before. The same goes for every species he’s abducted. Which means I need the kind of strength and brutality that only the ogres possess on my side. Give me your alliance, and I’ll ensure not one more ogre is lost to his hold.”
Grot gave a deep grunt as he returned to his place amongst his women, and he studied the fire for a long moment while the woman on his left stroked his broad shoulders to keep him calm.
Then a sinister grin came to his face, and a guttural chuckle shook his entire frame for a solid minute before he sobered up a bit.
“It’s been a long time,” he finally said as he looked me square in the eye, “since anyone truly appreciated the might of the ogres. Ye’ need some thorough killin’ done? Ain’t no one better than us for the job.”
“I agree,” I said as I returned his deadly grin. “Do we have a deal?”
“You get them bastards takin’ my ogres,” he growled, “and we’ll fuckin’ slaughter this asshole in the east. Don’t need no weapons, either. We’ll do it with our bare hands and teeth.”
A roar of approval rose up around the entire cave as the ogres banged their clubs on the stone, and Grot chuckled sadistically as his four women suddenly looked ready to tear that swatch of burlap right off him.
Then the ogre beat his chest and gave a hearty grunt, and Haragh did the same before turning to me.
I’d never beaten my chest like an ape in my entire life, but I was starting to realize this was like the ogre equivalent of a handshake. Haragh sent me a pointed look as the roars grew louder around me, and the stone began to shake from the heavy pounding of feet and fists.
Fuck it.
I pounded my chest and pulled a hearty grunt from way down in my gut, and the outcry of the ogres was deafening as mugs shattered and Rosh was thrown on fires to bring the flames rising to the ceiling.
Grot bared his yellow teeth as he roared his approval, and then his women hastily passed along a fresh stone mug from the shadows at their backs.
“Drink!” Grot bellowed above the din, and every ogre in the place filled their mugs until they were sloshing all over the cave floor.
Everything became a blur after that as mug after mug of Rosh was had.
I vaguely remember stumbling out with Haragh to hunt some more food once it grew dark, but I had no idea what it was I killed. All I knew was my women charred it up and cut it open for me, and the sight of each of their asses fetching me fresh mugs all night was definitely something I enjoyed.
Beyond that, it was all lava and flames and a fuck ton of roars. I didn’t even know how or when I got back to the forest, but no doubt it was done with my women in perfect formation and rolling their eyes the whole way.
Crashing face first into the dirt was just inevitable, though, so I wasn’t too surprised when I found myself nearly swallowing a mouthful of dirt and pine needles.
“I fucking love the ogres,” I mumbled against the ground, and then I finally blacked out.
Chapter 13
When I came to, a swirling blue fog drifted above me in the pines, and my head rested on Aurora’s lap. She was still sleeping with her back propped against the purple trunk of a tree, and she’d fallen asleep with her fingertips curled in my hair. There was a gaping hole in my memory where most of last night was concerned, but I didn’t have even a hint of a hangover thanks to my rune, although there was a lingering sense I might have done some potentially weird shit.
The second I shifted, the half-elf’s eyes popped open, and she looked down to send me an amused and sleepy smile.
“So, how many apologies do I owe you?” I mumbled. “Fair warning, I remember pretty much nothing that happened.”
“You don’t owe me any apologies,” Aurora chuckled. “You were respectfully domineering without being an ass, but I will be teasing you for quite a while about last night.”
“That bad?”
“I wouldn’t say bad,” Cayla replied as she strolled over and sat beside us, and Deya trailed behind with a sweet smile on her face. “You gained the respect of the ogres, we now have all the information we need to assess the situation here, and no one tried to tear your limbs off. I feel like it was a very productive evening.”
“I liked the part where you sent the lava flows spurting across the sea,” Deya giggled, and she curled up to rest her head on my chest. “I’ve never seen anything like that before. It was beautiful.”
“That was certainly a sight,” Aurora agreed, “but the rebuild was my favorite part.”
“What rebuild?” I asked uneasily, and my groggy mind began flip flopping between chagrin and utter confusion.
“The lair,” Cayla laughed.
“That was fascinating,” Deya sighed. “I never knew you could raise four structures all at once.”
“I never knew he could build with molten lava,” Aurora admitted.
“Whaaat the hell?” I groaned as I strained to sit up. “I rebuilt the lair with molten lava? You’re not just messing with me?”
“Of course, we aren’t,” Cayla said soberly. “It’s a vast improvement, in my opinion, and the ogres were more than appreciative. Your two pubs in Falmount will now be the only ones in the world serving up Rosh. More proof you deserve a baronage.”
I held my head and chuckled as I tried to wrap my mind around this. “Okay but … nothing happened that I’m going to deeply regret, right?”
All three women looked away as they tried to hide their grins.
“Shit,” I sighed. “Let’s hear it.”
“Nooo,” Aurora sand happily, “telling you would be less fun, and we should really get to work if we’re ever going to get back to Shoshanne.”
With that, the half-elf hopped up and brushed the pine needles from the back of her thighs, and Haragh emerged from between the trees with a big green grin on his face.
“He lives!” the half-ogre bellowed. “I was just tellin’ my da you’d probably be passed out for a day after all that Rosh. I think he likes ye’ better than he does me, by the way.”
“Wait, I met your dad?” I asked in confusion.
“Of course,” Haragh snorted. “Ye’ even rode on his shoulders for the race. The two of you kicked Grot’s ass, it was glorious.”
“What race?”
“I forgot about the race!” Deya giggled. “That actually might have been my favorite part. I can’t decide, it was all so silly. I told you we would have fun.”
“Aye,” Haragh replied. “I haven’t been to such a rowdy feast in years. Normally, we only run the races on the new moon, but Grot really took a likin’ to ye’. I got the sense he was showin’ off a bit, to be honest.”
“He was,” Cayla assured us, “but I still can’t believe he sent his women to dance for him. That I could have gone without seeing.” The princess sent me a smirk. “You did an admirable job of not looking repulsed. I was more impressed with that than anything else.”
I furrowed my brow and stared at the trees, but my mind only threw up complete blanks. “I don’t remember any of this.”
“Yeah,” Haragh chuckled, “the Rosh’ll get ye’. You held your own, though! Drank as well as any ogre there.”
Haragh clapped me on the shoulder with a proud grin, and I shrugged.
“That’s good, I guess.”
“It’s more than good,” Aurora informed me as she strapped her bow over her shoulder, and Deya stood to do the same. “At this point, I’d say you have the alliance of the ogres whether we stop the abductions or not, but we should still deliver for everyone’s sake.”
“Hulsan left not long ago to get the lay of the land,” Cayla added. “He should be back soon.”
“Alright,” I said as I finally got to my feet and stretched stiffly. “I’m gonna finish a few engravings real quick while he’s out, then. I want to test the new pistol before we begin scouting the area, and I just need to finish the trigger system on the prototype.”
“That’s probably best,” Aurora said as she sent me a pointed look. “If Hulsan realizes how much more potential you have than he’s aware of, he’ll be leading a rebellion against the king in your honor.”
“He sure is an outspoken sort,” Haragh grunted uneasily. “I can see why he’s retired, talkin’ the way he does … ”
“He’s definitely ballsy,” I chuckled, “but I appreciate his support. He has enough experience to know a thing or two about a mage’s potential.”
“I think he’s funny,” Deya said with a sweet smile, “and anyone who acknowledges Mason’s superiority is a good man in my eyes.”
Haragh didn’t seem to want to go that far, and he just shrugged as Cayla came over to lay a kiss on my cheek.
“Well, since no ogres are watching, we’ll hunt for breakfast,” Cayla told me, “but do not test that weapon without me. I’ve thought of virtually nothing else since yesterday.”
“Deal,” I chuckled, and Haragh and I turned toward the Mustang while my women headed into the forest with their bows.
“What new pistol?” Haragh asked.
“Yesterday I started building a new weapon while we were on our way here, but I didn’t want to freak Hulsan out with it since it combines a few more deadly elements I haven’t used yet.”
“I’m already on board,” Haragh said with a grin. “Please tell me I can use this one.”
“As soon as I get them all made,” I assured him. “The engraving takes the longest, but once I get this prototype working, I can engrave the others all in one go as soon as I have the time.”