Noble Farmer

by A W Sheffield

  “I do.” I said as I noticed her cleavage squeeze against the black lace bustier.

  “Good puppy. Now, go help Torga unload and start dinner. You know how to cook, yeah?”

  “I do.” I stood and noticed my hands were still bound.

  I held them up for the rabbit girl to see and she said as she put away her sword. “Make do, I don’t trust you yet.”

  Dinner was a salad, cabbage, lettuce, carrots and nuts. Strange but given the company of the people I was with, it made too much sense. It was also easily cleaned up and restored, also surprisingly filling and to my amusement, it seemed to give the women gas after a while. Not that it smelled, but it was noisy and was loud enough for me to look up after the more musically sounding ones. When it came time to sleep, I was tied to the wagon wheel and the two women bedded down in the wagon.

  As full dark set in, I heard something from the wagon, heavy breathing mixed with moaning. The wagon started to rock and my face flushed when I heard one cry out in an orgasm. My mind was turning a mile a minute as my imagination went wild. My own body responded to their passions and I now knew why I was tied to the wagon wheel. I was overcome with a lust stronger than I had ever felt before, when a smell hit my nostrils. Like urine mixed with wildflowers, it drove me crazy, added to the fact that two women were going at it only a few feet away.

  Once they finished and turned in, the lust lingered in my blood, and I got a case of the blue balls that hurt so bad I wanted to die. This was not going to be easy, but like everything in life, it was a test. I could feel it, something I had to get over to move on. I didn’t like not having control of my body, just one more thing in the infinite amount of shit on my plate. I sighed long and deep, it must have disturbed the leader, for the side of the wagon was kicked. “Don’t let me find you sleeping, you’re on watch. See anything coming down the road, you better call out.”

  For days we traveled, each night exactly the same, and I slept during the days so hot I thought I was in hell. They rarely talked to me during the hours I was awake, and the mornings were a trying time for me. Torga, the squire, would train during the cool morning hours with Vexi, our leader. After the fifth day, Vexi exclaimed we were close and I was used for Torga’s morning training sessions. My hands were freed during the time, and I was given a wooden sword. Torga beat the living shit out of me.

  She was so damn fast that my eyes could hardly see the movements of her sword, and I was hit four times in the blink of an eye. “Good, but don’t just hit to hit, every action has a reaction. With sharpened steel and an opponent that is not wearing armor, the blade will cut deeply. Sometimes the body will grab at the blade, making it difficult to recover. Make sure when you do cut, it is with a purpose. Joints, arteries, soft flesh. A warrior, no matter what their class, cannot wield a weapon, if they cannot hold it and never leave an opponent at your back. Be thorough, you don’t have to kill them out right. But you need to make sure they will not hinder you.”

  Pain followed the speech, and Torga took Vexi’s advice completely. My knees, elbows and wrists were swollen from all the shots they took. Including my armpits and groin. Torga was a demon, and didn’t know when to quit. It took a sharp command from Vexi to keep her off of me, and after I wasn’t good for much of anything.

  By the time we stopped for the night, the dunes were a distant relief, and the desert had given way to small shrub trees and thick, sparse grasses. I hobbled to make dinner and go about my chores. Once I got the horse picketed and rubbed down, I looked up to see what looked like a camp far down the road. “Vexi, I see people.” I called out.

  “Duh, we are almost at the staging area, newb.” Her words were harsh, but with an undertone of worry. “Torga, stay on guard tonight with the newb. Give him a blade.”

  “Do you think that wise?” The squire asked.

  “What, you staying up or giving him something to defend himself with?” Vexi seemed to consider her squire’s words. “Your right, newb, go look in the bushes for a stick or something.”

  When Vexi turned in, Torga made her rounds, always keeping her eyes in the distance. They didn’t bother to tie me to the wheel this night, and I think I know why. I could see fires all around us, from where we had come, to where we were going. There were even specks of firelight on top of the distant dunes. Each time a passing wagon came, I alerted Torga and held my club as menacing as I could. But we were given a wide berth and distrusting looks. “Why is everyone so...I don’t know, why is everyone avoiding each other.” I asked Torga when the last wagon train passed.

  “There are a lot of different races at the staging area. Thieves, bandits, people who just want to cause trouble. All come for Campaign and we are at the most difficult stage. A day from the staging area is when bad things happen, the strong prey on the weak. Everyone is trying to get to the safety of their guilds.” I saw her hand go to the hilt of her sword when I saw a large dark figure emerge from the darkness.

  It was huge, whatever it was, it had long horns that swept back from its head and an even larger two headed axe. “Evening.” It said as it continued to walk down the road.

  “In the cities, we would never act as we do now. Not with the city guards, but out here, there are no laws, no guards to keep order. Only those willing to take and those willing to defend. But as you can see, some are not bothered by fear mongering of others, we are just careful, is all.”

  She moved away from me, as there were no other dark shapes moving our way. I grew bored, watching the empty darkness. When I came around the side of the wagon, I saw her in the moon’s light. Her two-handed sword in hand, going through various forms. I knew what they were from all the karate I took. It was like she was dancing, her body smooth and graceful, yet entirely deadly. My own body moved, mirroring the techniques as best as I could. My body quickly became tired and I was sweating heavily. It was far harder with the stupid stick in my hand, and soon I was breathing heavy.

  The sound of my breathing must have alerted her, for she finished and walked back to the other end of the wagon. I could see her one red eye on me, she seemed pissed, like I was mocking her and I sighed deeply. I wanted to watch her more, but we both had a job to do, and Vexi would be furious if she knew we were not keeping our eyes out for trouble.

  My brain hurt, there was so much going on in the staging area. Various races from dark pale skinned humans and elves, to full on beasts and animal hybrids. A riot of colors, smells and indecent acts were going on wherever I turned my eyes. It seemed the only way these people could pass the time was by eating, gambling or fornicating, and they didn't have a care about who saw them. Male and female, female on female and even male on male. Other camps were full on orgies and I even saw Vexi look away from a few.

  “Is it always like this?” I asked after the fourth camp of sex craved inhabitants.

  “Sadly, yes, Campaigns bring out the horny in people, it would seem. But it's also a way for a few of the weaker ones to earn a few coins by whoring themselves out. Doesn’t matter though, what goes on in ALOW, stays in ALOW right?”

  “I wouldn’t know.” I answered her.

  “Sorry, I keep forgetting you’re a Tier One virgin. Dorry worry, even a weakling like yourself might have a chance to get lucky here.” Her oversized red eye winked at me. “After you get my tent set up.”

  Her guild was no different, and I found it hard to focus on setting up the tent with our neighbors going at it like there was no tomorrow. “Take a break Regis, I’m the Hare Kind for crying out loud. You’re messing with my slave’s concentration!”

  “Sorry Vexi, we’ll go inside.”

  “Thank you.” That was the last time she stood up to our neighbors, but I noticed she disappeared for long periods of time, only to return looking disheveled and once, had someone's love juice all over her ears.

  “Mistress, allow me.” Torga said and I turned away when I saw her mouth open and her tongue come out. I must have dry heaved, for the look V
exi gave me matched the disgust I was feeling.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Vexi asked me. “You a purist or something?”

  “I don’t know what that means, but I don’t want to see that.”

  “Aw, poor virgin. Don’t worry, you will change your mind when you find a nice warm, wet hole to stick your pecker in. I might even have Torga have a turn at you, seeing how you are performing splendidly.”

  “I would, if you asked me too, mistress.” Torga said as she wiped her mouth with the side of her hand. I was even more disgusted.

  “Maybe later, I think our boy here has had about as much as he can stomach from the likes of us.” Torga appeared confused. “He comes from Atheria, a land of purist rejects who think sex is only between a man and woman, and only when they are married. I doubt there are even fifty whore houses in all of the cities there.”

  “Boring.” That one-word Torga said, summed up all she thought of Atheria and me.

  “I agree, but we bought him, so we are stuck with him for the time being.” She dropped down in a small camp chair. “Tell me virgin, how did you get captured by the slavers guild?”

  Not that I wanted to, but I knew better than to stay silent. As much as I disliked this place, it was only temporary and this was the first time Vexi had shown any interest in me, besides cleaning up after her. So, I told her about the night, and she started laughing. “Gods, I swear I can smell the new still on you. Screamer spell mixed with a wind burst. Simple enough to master, let me guess, you thought you could sacrifice yourself to keep the big bad monster from messing up your place, right?”

  I nodded. “Sorry to tell you this, monsters and beasts don’t use doors. If they want you bad enough, they will choose the path with the least resistance. A window or the roof. Plus, a starving beast, will go after the easy prey, your horse for instance. Normally they only attack when provoked, unless you are so far down the totem pole that they know you would make an easy meal. But, given that you are a Tier One, and you’re still in a starting area of sorts, there are no beasts high enough that you can’t take down yourself. ALOW has to appease the masses, can’t have Tier Five beasts eating the newbs, bad for business.”

  I had never felt dumber in my life. I had completely forgotten about the unique leveling aspects of the game. My lands were Tier One, so only a Tier Two beast could wander on to them, and experience bars only counted toward Skill and Talent Points. They had nothing to do with the next Tier. Only when the AI thought you had gained enough knowledge of what you were doing, would you gain the next Tier, up to five. Henry had said this was because people could enjoy all aspects of the game, instead of grinding incessantly to get to the level max.

  I didn’t know how, but it was if she could sense my mental dilemma. “Don’t worry newb, we all make mistakes, some more than others. Even at Tier Five, I still make them.” She turned her attention away from me, and said, “alright girl, your turn to get your fancies off. And if any of the dumbasses ask you for a kid, you say…”

  “I stab them in the eye and finish up.”

  “Good girl, go have some fun.” Torga unbuckled her sword and placed it on her cot. Leaving with a pep in her step. “You hate this, don’t you? ALOW I mean, it’s written all over your face. You know it's all a game, right?”

  “My experiences so far have not been positive.” I confessed. “And I do know it’s a game. A game I cannot stop playing, or even shut off. Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

  “Fair enough. I am guessing you are an American, you guys have the biggest problem with the game. Think you know everything and that you’re top tier from day one. Truth is, you don’t know what it really means to struggle in life, you have it easy from day one in the US. But some of us, from the lesser countries of the world, we know how to struggle and we dominate this game because of it. Keep your jacked-up morals if you want, but there are no luxuries here given by your government. You have no rights, as you’ve learned. You call someone an asshole, you’re going to get punched in the mouth. More so in the Dark Lands.” She ordered me to bring her a drink and I jumped to obey. Once I placed the goblet in her hand, she continued.

  “Take me for instance, I used this body from day one to help me get ahead. It’s not my real body, it's a tool, one I use now for pleasure instead of need. I have already paid my debts to ALOW and am now earning a better life than I could have ever before I got sick. Maybe I might even move to the US so your government will give me benefits that mine would never consider. I could have a large house with a nice car, running water and sewers. Things my country still does not have. Or I could stay in my country, live like a goddess with all that I have earned. Retire with my husband and I will never have to work again.”

  She took a drink from the goblet, “what I am trying to tell you is this, ALOW is a game, but it is also more real than our world. Have fun, enjoy all that is here to enjoy. Try new things…” she placed the goblet down. “Or don’t. I couldn’t care less. You might think of this place like a prison, killing time before you can get on with your life. For me, it’s heaven, I am someone here, important in my own right. I have silver, a big house and a sex drive that would burn out my husband. And I am not limited to the beliefs of my country. I have had sex with men, women, both at the same time, and have even...well that might be too much information for you. But I have experimented, both good things and bad.”

  “I am not having gay sex, if that is what your trying to tell me?”

  “No? You might like it.” Her voice was filled with humor. “Kissing a woman is the same as kissing a man, the only difference is the facial hair. Elven men don’t have it, and their lips are the softest.” I shot her a look of disgust. “Alright, I can see you’re not into it. So, tell me slave, what is it about this game you want to know about? I have an hour before my guild meeting.”

  Chapter Six

  My palms were sweating with the rest of me. The reins of the horse in hand, I waited for the signal to move out. We had been at the staging area for three days, and then the portal burst into existence with a thunderous boom, signaling the start of the Campaign.

  The guilds moved out at sprint for the portal, their war cries making my blood boil for action. My job was an easy one, follow the wagon in front of me when the signal to move out was given, and set up our camp where I was directed to. Vexi had made it known that if I behaved, she would have Torga teach me the forms she was doing the other night. Combined with the promise to equip me with weapons the others left behind. Seeing how this was an opportunity of a lifetime, I was more than committed to pleasing my Harekin master.

  Over the course of the days in camp, I witnessed first-hand what happened when a slave ran and was captured. It wasn’t being dragged behind the horse back, or even when they staked the man’s wrists and put him on display as a reminder. It was what happened after, when he was ripped down and castrated, the wound cauterized so he would not bleed out and die. Vexi had mentioned that there were guards in the graveyard, and would recapture anyone to be reclaimed by master or friend.

  This was the wild wild west, upgraded and put on hyperdrive. There really weren’t any rules and the fights that broke out were epic as hell. Bloody and vicious, normally there wasn’t an unscathed victor, and many times both ended up dying. But that was the end of it, once one the guys from our camp fought, and they were drinking and laughing about it as soon as they resurrected.

  I pushed the thoughts from the days out of my mind. I had a job to do now, and it needed all my concentration. Driving a wagon was not rocket science, but it was hard enough given all the other wagons in close proximity.

  The signal came and I flicked the reins when the lead wagon took off at a run pace. I didn’t know why they were going so fast. Vexi had said the portal separates the guilds into different planes, so no one could fight until the gate boss was downed, but I kept my mouth shut and followed suit. The Portal loomed before me like a vertical lake, I could see the di
m sunlight reflected off the tiny wave and once the horse went through, I felt a moment of moisture before I was nearly blinded from the bright sun on the other side.

  Once my eyes adjusted, I saw a scene of carnage before me. Blood and body parts were everywhere, mixed with the smell of feces and stomach matter. “Left dumbass!” A man said in front of me and I pulled my vision from the scene around to refocus on what I was doing. I pulled the left rein toward me harder than I should have and the horse turned so fast the wagon went up on two wheels. “SHIT!” I cried out before throwing my weight on the raised side of the wagon.

  Lucky it slammed down and I quickly slowed it down to keep from making the same mistake. I pulled up next to the drive-in front of me and saw him kick the brake into place, before dismounting. “Nice driving newb, Vexi would have killed you if you broke her shit.”

  I waved at him, thinking it better than to flip the man off. When I jumped down from the wagon, my ankle twisted and I dropped to the ground with an “ow.” I caught myself with my right hand, and instantly I regretted it. For my hand sank passed the wrist into an open stomach cavity of a downed mob. “Fucking eh?” I spat as I tried to flick off the contents from my hand.

  “Your about as bright as a rock, aren’t cha?”

  “Whatever,” I called out toward the dipshit beside me. I ended up wiping my hand on my pants and got to work clearing the site where I was putting up the tent.

  “No dumbass, take the parts to the pile so we can burn them.” The guy beside me was really starting to get on my nerves. “Arms and armor are to be separated and if you find any coin, give them to me.”