“I told you, I don’t want you, any of you, to hold back on my account. Now would someone please suck his dick so we can all go to sleep.”
They chuckled at her words.
Remembering everything that Kar had told him, Nameless spoke with resolve at the tiny girl.
“Someday soon Nina, we will figure this out, I promise you that.”
The Gigas considered his demeanor for several moments, her lips pursed in thought.
“I’m going to hold you to that.” She muttered finally.
She rolled on her side facing away from them and was soon snoring gently into the stillness of the night.
Chapter 6:
Remnants of the Past
A tall man with thick glasses delicately swept a soft-bristled brush across the impossibly smooth stone wall before him. He worked patiently to shift the dirt out of the indented markings that the diggers had uncovered earlier that day. The man absently tapped the dust from his brush as he leaned back and mouthed the ancient letters.
“Medical, or medicine… this one is easy: emergency… this one is keep… safe? No, it’s storage!” His eyes lit up as he finished his translation; “Emergency medical storage!”
He hopped from one foot to the other excitedly before calling out.
“Bask! Bask! I’ve made a discovery!”
He couldn’t keep himself from excitedly waving his arms from his place in the deep quarry beneath the hot sands.
A sandy haired Troglodyte swore as she turned to witness the foolish man recklessly sprint towards her, weaving in and out of shackled men who were working picks and shovels in the uncooperative earth.
“Desert’s-breath, what is it now?!”
The Trog’s armed and armoured brethren turned away from their charges for a moment to follow his progress, hints of amusement in their eyes, before returning their attention back to the rough looking men in the quarry.
Only the worst criminals were sent to the dig-sites in the Sansee Wastes.
The willowy man finally reached her and she greeted him with crossed arms.
“I’ve made a discovery!” His hands were resting on his knees as he panted from his exertion.
“And I have told you not to run in this heat! You are going to kill yourself and then I am going to kill you!”
Her thick tail swishing to and fro, belying her agitation. He gulped several times then continued as if she hadn’t spoken.
“The markings on the north side, I’ve deciphered some of them: emergency medical storage!”
He swallowed again as he sought to tell of his discovery while still trying to catch his breath.
She gave him her best stony glare, the kind that made the murderers and rapists in the quarry below cower before her and beg for mercy without her even needing to draw her massive blade from its sheath on her back.
But the four-eyed man was utterly oblivious.
“Bask, do you realize what this means?”
She hissed at him.
“When you consider this with the other markings I’ve translated… Bask, I really do think that this was a hospital!”
Her tongue flicked out, tasting his sweat on the air. The taste of him made her groin bloom with desire.
It was becoming harder to resist the urge to either kill him or fuck him.
“So?”
“So we could be on the brink of the greatest archeological find in two centuries! Imagine what we could learn! Advanced medical techniques, maybe even some intact machinery!” Sweat poured off of him but he was heedless of it.
She sighed in exasperation.
“So what do you want me to do about it?” She clarified between gritted teeth.
“Oh! Um, shift the digging to the north side? I think we’re close to breaking into another chamber there.”
Her tongue flicked out again of its own volition, the taste of his sweat too sweet to resist despite her impatience.
“Will it be a space full of worthless junk and rubble like the last three?”
“Bask!” His tone was scandalized; “Junk?! Really now, those were intact pieces of history!”
“You told me one of those pieces of history was for cutting toenails.”
“History, Bask!”
She groaned, and then gave a sharp gesture with one hand to attract the attention of her second in command.
“Sila, get the diggers re-positioned to the north side. It seems we are going to make another discovery.”
“As you command, Bloodletter.”
Her second managed to keep a straight face when she turned to deliver her orders.
“Anything else?” Bask demanded of the skinny man.
He mopped the sweat from his brow with a dirty rag.
“Hmm?” He replied absently.
The Trog leader prayed for patience before speaking through her teeth.
“Is. There. Anything. Else?”
“Hmmm, no, not that I can think of.” His smile was oblivious.
He was insufferable!
“I swear, when I agreed to let you manage my dig I did not expect you to be so… so infuriating!” She hissed at him.
“Oh! Speaking of digging we’re going to need more tools, some of the men are actually using rocks. Rocks Bask!”
“How terrible.” She grumbled.
“Yes, terribly inefficient. Anyways, I’m going back to the shade of my work bench, it’s quite hot out here you know?”
She hissed at him again.
__________
Far to the west a large party was working their way through the lowlands. They had long since left the light coloured birch trees and the nice wide road behind. They now had to navigate a narrow trail winding its way through much harsher dark pines. It had rained all morning and the path was often slick with muck.
It had been a few days since Kar had given her knives to Erica and made her pass at Nameless. She and the Katje were striding next to each other in silence, their focus on their footing on the wet trail.
Once they reached the bottom of the hill Erica abruptly turned to Kar.
“So yeah, you kind of lit a fire in my man’s pants the other day.”
Kar measured the Katje’s words.
“I, I am sorry, Erica. I shouldn’t have done it, I know I shouldn’t have done it. But I just… I had to know if the attraction was mutual or if I should give up.”
Erica smiled.
“Kar, you’re smoking hot, even when you’re sitting on me you’re smoking hot. So yeah, mutual attraction. I’ve even seen Nina checking you out. But you know we can’t do anything about it until we find Volka right?”
Kar was nodding fervently.
“No of course, I understand perfectly!”
Erica giggled.
“You’re acting like I’m gunna try and scratch you!”
Kar relaxed at the Katje’s laughter and took a moment to consider the shorter girl.
“Do you want to scratch me kitty? That could be fun, we could play rough.”
The cat licked her lips and her eyes narrowed.
“Naughty Amazon, maybe I should punish you…”
Her voice trailed off though as her ears swiveled to one side, her expression shifting to one of confusion as her eyes widened.
“What the fu-”
A dark vine shot out of the surrounding dense undergrowth and attempted to snag the Katje, but her reflexes were too fast and she flipped back out of its reach.
“Hey! This stupid plant is trying to get me!” She called a warning to the others as they came down the hill and more tendrils began to spring forth.
“Damn! It’s a Man-eater!” Kar shouted, back pedaling and twirling her spear to cut through several vines with its bladed tip.
Erica leapt and dodged them, at one point snagging a heavy branch above her with all four paws and hanging upside down nearly fifteen feet in the air.
The grasping vines, somehow sensing that she wasn’t easy prey, turned on the others as a hollow roa
r sounded from deep in the bushes beside the trail.
The other Amazons quickly joined Kar, a protective barrier forming around Nameless and the others as Yana began to shout orders.
“Why is it trying to catch us girls then?” Milly asked.
Three of the vines had wrapped around her waist and were vainly trying to pull her into the bushes, but the powerful monster didn’t even budge, instead she just looked down at them with her arms held out to the sides, her expression puzzled.
“I think that’s just what it’s called dear!” Ophelia called down.
She had landed on a branch near Erica, out of range of the vines and trusting in the stronger monsters to deal with the threat.
While the embattled Amazons held off the vines Nina blew out her breath in annoyance and hefted her hammer.
“Fine! Stupid plant.” She stomped off into the woods, directly towards where the vines were coming from.
“Nina!” Nameless called out.
“Relax kid, remember what I said about messing with a Gigas? This will be over in a second.”
Miranda had taken refuge behind Kala and Yana, Jezebel clinging to her side.
Indeed, it was only a few seconds later that they heard a muffled thump and a terrible shrieking wail from the trees and abruptly the vines went limp.
Jan was wrapped in two of them and stayed on the ground long after their grip on her had slackened, her tail wagged vigorously as she rolled in the churned earth.
“Save me Mistress, it’s got me!” She called out dramatically, one hand outstretched to Miranda.
“Oh no! Jan!” Jezebel cried.
Jan stopped struggling immediately at the gullible Gripau’s distress. She gave the small girl a frustrated look.
“Dammit Jez! Do you know how rare it is that I can get her to roll in the mud with me?”
“Not today puppy, now get up.” Miranda ordered drily.
“Oohh! Do you think there is another one out there?”
Jan’s voice was hopeful as she cast the vines off of her and luxuriated in the delightful feel of the mud on her skin.
Yana wore an amused smirk on her lips as she wiped the blade of her spear.
“Not likely, they are solitary creatures. They usually claim a large area to hunt in.”
The speed with which she had swung her weapon was astounding to witness.
With resounding cracks several trees fell in the direction of the Man-eater, and a few moments later Nina stomped out of the dense bushes, cursing with every step. She was covered from head to toe in plant gore, and even as she broke out of the undergrowth a great gob of green sludge slid down the side of her head and hit the forest floor with a wet plop.
Her face was a thundercloud.
“If there is another one, someone else can kill it.”
Milly pulled the vines down her waist, and then walked under the tree where Erica was now sprawled on a branch, her tail flicking side to side in agitation.
“You coming down kitty?”
Erica’s wary gaze was following the angry giant.
“Nah, I think I’ll stay up here. Safer.”
“What did it look like Nina?” Ophelia asked as she flew down to the girl’s side.
She soaked a kerchief in water from her canteen and then knelt down to help the Gigas clean the gore off her face.
“I dunno, like a big plant with teeth?” Nina shrugged, squirming a bit before resigning herself to Ophelia’s ministrations.
Kar stepped forwards and offered the Flutterby a towel that Juni had soaked for her, Ophelia’s dainty hanky not up to the task of cleaning the gore-covered Nina.
“A remnant of the war, a mixture of Dryad magic and the cunning of the Witches, they were created to strike down any man who entered their territory, but the years have made them indiscriminate.” Kar spoke grimly; “We were fortunate. There is a reason that they have not been hunted to extinction. Were we not accompanied by a Gigas my sisters and I would have had a hard fight to overcome those vines and reach the beast.”
The trees had taken on a sinister bend as Nameless looked around them, anxiety plain in his features.
“It’s alright kid, like Yana said: they claim massive swaths of land. In fact with this thing hunting here this whole area will be free of anything remotely hostile to humans. The locals must know better and simply avoid the thing. The fact that no one in Bramblewood set up some kind of warning on the trail or bothered to contact the Aegis is kind of annoying though.”
Miranda had tilted Kala’s head to one side as she spoke and frowned; the young Amazon had blood on her neck. One of the man-eater’s vines had slipped past her whirling spear and caught her just under her jaw. As Miranda broke open her first aid kit and began to dab at the blood with a cotton swab the Amazon’s eyes hooded, enjoying the rare occasion of having her wife fuss over her.
“Indeed, and with that excitement over we should continue onwards.”
Yana spoke decisively and the other Amazons took her words as the order they were and the party quickly began to move again.
They didn’t make it more than a few miles down the trail though when suddenly Milly pitched over forwards and landed in the dirt.
“Milly!” Erica exclaimed, quickly kneeling at the Minotaur’s side.
“Ow.” She complained as she picked herself up on to her knees.
“Oh dear, your shoe…” Ophelia fussed.
One of her shoes had caught on a hidden rock in the trail and had bent from her weight when it was torn from her hoof as she fell.
Kar and another Amazon gamely hauled Milly to her feet as Nina took the shoe from Ophelia.
“No big, I can fix this. Just need a hot enough fire.”
Yana had turned back from leading them and nodded.
“Easy enough to arrange, we were nearly ready to set up camp again anyways, Bramblewood should be just a couple of miles away and it would be better not to try to find lodging at such a place.”
“We still need supplies though…” Jan said but Miranda was shaking her head.
“And you and I need to go over those maps and I still need to properly dress that wound.”
She pointed at Kala’s neck.
“We can get the supplies!” Erica volunteered.
Ophelia readily agreed.
“Yes, I believe that I know everything that we need so it is no trouble.”
Kar brusquely whipped the mud off of Milly’s front before she spoke with a frown.
“Bramblewood is very isolated, places like that tend to draw the seedier sort of people.”
“Yes, Kar is right, but if she goes with you I’m sure it will be fine.” Yana said with finality.
Nameless stepped forwards then and took Erica’s hand.
“I’d like to go as well if I may. I’m kind of curious what a town on the edge of the wilds would be like.”
Miranda frowned and looked to be on the verge of objecting but then she tilted her head in thought.
“That’s actually not a bad idea, three monster girls alone in such a place would look odd, but if a tamer was with them no one would bat an eye. And even off the beaten path as it is, Bramblewood still has laws. Just don’t draw attention to yourselves eh?”
While the Amazons helped build a fire for Nina, Miranda, her girls and Yana were deep in conversation about the best way forwards as they pored over her maps.
Soon Milly watched in fascination as Nina worked to fix her shoe, using her massive hammer as an anvil while she tapped away at the glowing metal with one firm knuckle.
Though they trusted Kar implicitly, both monsters couldn’t help but worry a bit for their master’s safety.
Chapter 7:
On the Edge
Before long Nameless and the three girls were walking into Bramblewood, which turned out to be a collection of wooden buildings surrounded by a crude palisade.
Loud music, crude voices and raucous laughter greeted them as they walked into town. It was a rough
and tumble place and the appearance of the imposing Kar did nothing to change that, though the locals did make a point of getting out of her way as she strode down the muddy street.
As far as Nameless knew the only people that lived here were trappers, tamers, and the people who ran the shops that supplied them. And though the unshaven men did give the Amazon a wide birth, there were a great many leers directed at Erica.
One particularly drunk man stumbled out of a nearby pub, shook his head to clear it, then his eyes grew wide as he took in the sight of her.
Her ears flattened at his lewd smile.
The man stumbled towards them, tripping over his own feet and landing in the mud before getting up right in front of her and Nameless.
“Hey… you-” He hiccupped, then his cheeks billowed out in a barely contained belch as he leaned towards the younger man; “She’s a new one! Are you -hic- open for business?”
Nameless’s jaw dropped, Erica hissed at him, and Ophelia gasped, but Kar simply put her hand to the man’s forehead and pushed him over in the mud and kept walking.
He was snoring a second later.
“Places like this bring out the worst in men like him.” She sniffed; “We should hurry and get what we need.”
Sadly this was but the first of many such encounters in the muddy streets, and it soon became clear as to why.
One of the larger buildings in town was a flamboyantly painted three story affair with a number of lingerie clad Katje lingering all around it; some were actually curled up on the open window sills even as high up as the third floor.
“The… Cat-House?” Nameless read off the large sign over the front door.
“Hey sugar, only eighty bits for the best ride of your life.” One cream-coloured Katje had spotted him and called out in a husky purr.
She was wearing nothing but red underwear and a similarly red feather boa. As she spoke Nameless finally clued in as to what, exactly, the Cat-House was…
“Let’s keep moving, unless you want to spend some coins?” Kar said coldly.
Nameless was pink by then, but he sensed something from one of the heartstones on his arm.
Erica was mortified.
Legacy of the Valkyrie Page 10