Chapter 44: Chapter 44

It took two days to clear the road. Elaine ended up just marching the bodies ahead of the caravan and burning them with green fire.

I never want to smell anything like that again.

Most of the goods the caravan had been carrying were ruined, but they still ended up with several large chests full of gold, silver, and jewels.

Then there was the poor ex slave woman. Anna had decided that she was free, and the others had agreed without hesitation. The woman couldn’t tell them her name but didn’t mind not having one. She also seemed friendly enough.

She was currently sitting in between Thokri and Anna on the driver’s bench. She was wearing one of Elaine’s dresses, though it was extremely tight around the bust and loose around the waist.

I know how she feels.

The woman also had a lot more rear than Elaine, but the dress wasn’t cut to flatter that particular part of a woman’s anatomy, so it worked out.

She was a pretty woman, a shade or two darker than Anna, with eyes so dark they were nearly black and thick black curly hair, though it had been cut short after it had been soaking in foul liquids from the rotted bodies next to the woman. There was no getting it clean. The woman didn’t seem to mind the haircut.

Barika is really good at cutting hair.

The healer had also washed the woman and helped dress her. Anna hadn’t gotten a good look at her. She’d been more concerned with saving her than ogling her at the time.

I’ll just take a bath with her later.

“How’d they cut your tongue out anyway?” Anna asked.

“Anna, that’s rude!” Lyreen said.

The woman shrugged. She made like someone was pulling out her tongue. Then she squeezed the other hand like she was using a pair of shears. She motioned as if her tongue came loose then tossed it aside.

“Ouch,” Lyreen said. The woman nodded.

“Well, you’re free now, and you can join us if you want to,” Anna said. The woman hugged her. Anna liked hugs, so it worked for her, and according to Thokri, no one would stop two busty lasses from hugging anytime they pleased.

“Wait, she’s in the party now?” Voekeer asked.

“Yes, child,” Barika replied.

“We’ll have to get her signed up when we get back to Oldforge,” Voekeer said.

Anna kept the eyes out and used them to look around as they went. As the day wore on, signs of life returned to the forest. First, she spotted a few birds eyeing them from trees. Then a rabbit ran across the road. By that evening, it sounded like a normal forest.

They made camp that night, and after setting up the tents and getting the cooking started, they all sat there looking at each other.

“So, I take it we need to report the caravan?” Elaine asked.

“Aye,” Thokri replied.

“Is anyone going to want their treasure back?” Anna asked. The woman scooted closer to her. “They can’t have you. Don’t worry,” Anna added.

“I’m sure they’ll want it, but the guild will keep them from taking it,” Voekeer replied.

“What about her?” Lyreen asked.

“The guild will stop her from being taken as soon as she signs up. Until then, she belongs to us because she would be considered to be part of the treasure,” Voekeer replied.

“I already said she’s free, so she’s free,” Anna replied.

“We know that child, but we have to worry about the authorities. If she is branded a runaway slave, she’ll be captured and sold back into slavery or hung,” Barika said.

“Might makes right,” Anna replied. Barika looked confused.

“In the god of lord’s temple, that was written in the stained glass. I think it means that if you’re strong, you make the rules, and I said she was free,” Anna added.

“Aye, that’s true lass, but cracking skulls until folks do what you say isn’t the way to live,” Thokri replied.

“He’s right. People will start spitting in your cupcakes if you do,” Voekeer said.

“What? Why?” Anna asked with a look of horror on her face.

“Because if you make people do things they don’t want to, they won’t like you, and if you’re too strong to fight, they will get back at you in other ways,” Voekeer replied.

“Lad’s right, but you don’t need to worry about it. You don’t got the heart to force folks into doing things they don’t want to,” Thokri said.

“Seriously, you’re like the sweetest person I know. A little rude sometimes and weird, but still sweet,” Lyreen replied.

“Thanks, I think,” Anna said.

“Thokri’s right. You don’t need to worry about it. The guild looks out for its members anyway, and one of the major rules is that no adventurer can be sold into slavery for any reason. They are so strict with that rule that even escaped slaves that join will be protected from their former masters,” Voekeer replied.

“What if they kidnap them?” Elaine asked.

“The guild does more than slay monsters and guard caravans, lass,” Thokri replied. He then ran the tip of his thumb across his throat.

“Oh,” Elaine said.

“Why don’t more slaves just join the guild then?” Anna asked.

“It’s expensive. I know they waived your fees, but it cost me fifteen silver to join which is a lot more than a runaway can afford,” Voekeer replied.

“Fifteen silver isn’t all that much. I used to make that in a week as a barmaid,” Anna said.

“Seriously?” Lyreen asked.

“Yep,” Anna replied.

“I believe it,” Elaine said.

“Aye, she did work in a port town,” Thokri said.

“Fair enough,” Lyreen replied.

Anna looked over at their new companion. She was listening intently to their conversation.

“Can I call you Rose?” Anna asked. The woman nodded yes.

“Why Rose?” Lyreen asked.

“’Cause they’re pretty, like her,” Anna replied. The newly dubbed Rose smiled brightly at her.

“Rose it is then,” Voekeer said.

“How much longer will we be in this forest?” Anna asked.

“A few days if we can keep the pace we had before the caravan,” Voekeer replied.

“Road looks about the same, so I think we should be fine,” Anna said.

“I hope we find an inn. I really want a nice bed,” Elaine replied.

“There should be one within a day of the edge of the forest,” Voekeer said.

Thokri got up to check the food. “It’s done,” he said.

They all filled their bowls. Rose had trouble eating but still ate several helpings if given the chance.

Once they all finished, they cleaned up. Anna used her ring to speed things up much to everyone’s appreciation. The others went to sleep. It was a peaceful night, and she spent it chasing small animals around with her eyes.

When the dawn came, they ate breakfast and got back on the road. It took four days to get out of the forest. The only thing of note that happened was she caught a deer, so they had fresh meat. Rose seemed happy to ride next to her and Thokri, and she listened intently to the dwarf’s lessons on the world.

He pulled out his pipe and started to smoke. Rose watched it closely.

“Want to try, lass?” Thokri asked.

Rose nodded yes, and he passed her the pipe. She inhaled deeply and then started to cough so hard Anna thought one of her lungs was going to pop out.

“Easy, lass. You got to get used to it first,” Thokri said as he patted her back.

Rose grinned. Her eyes were watering, but she was smiling. She passed the pipe back to Thokri, but the sparkle weed was having its effect on her, and she started to giggle and smile at everything.

The forest thinned out that day, and the road got better, so Anna picked up the pace. By that afternoon, they were on a smooth road and surrounded by fields where cattle or sheep grazed.

Anna sent her eyes back to her dreams. Rose tapped on her arm and pointed at her eye then gestured around as if looking for something.

“I don’t like it when strangers see those parts of me,” Anna said. Rose cocked her head to the side like a confused puppy.

“Humans aren’t very nice if they know you’re different,” Anna added. Rose patted her chest and then shook her head no.

“I know, but enough people are, and I don’t want everyone to be afraid of me or hate me,” Anna said. She sighed and looked up. “I think it’s just something I need to get over, alright?” she added.

Rose hugged her for a moment and then let go.

“Thanks,” Anna said.

They found another inn a few miles down the road and decided to stop for the night.

This inn was fairly large considering it was in the middle of nowhere.

At least, I think this is the middle of nowhere.

She got off the wagon and looked around. It almost felt like they were back at the inn near Oldforge for some reason. She shrugged and then helped Rose off the wagon. The woman rubbed her rear. Sitting on a hard wooden plank wasn’t easy on most people.

The inn had enough men to take care of the horses, so the party just got their things and went inside.

There were a few guests, but it wasn’t full by any means. They found a table and sat down. Voekeer waved a barmaid over.

“I’ll pay for anything you want, so don’t worry about it,” Anna said to Rose. The woman smiled and nodded.

“We have so much coin now, I’m not sure what we should be doing,” Voekeer said.

“We have to finish the contract, lad,” Thokri replied.

“I know that. I mean afterwards. Why bother with adventuring anymore?” Voekeer said.

“Lad, I’m a forge master. I don’t need to be doing this for coin,” Thokri replied.

“That explains why you complain about human and elf forging constantly,” Barika said.

“Aye,” Thokri replied.

“I thought you were a miner,” Elaine said.

“All dwarves learn how to do every job in the mountain before they pick their favorite,” Anna replied.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think the dwarves have it right there,” Voekeer said. Thokri nodded sagely.

“Aye, lad. It’s the best way,” he replied.

“When Thokri goes home, I’m planning on going with him and trying it myself,” Anna said.

“They’d let you?” Lyreen asked.

“Aye, I raised her myself. She’ll be welcome at the mountain,” Thokri replied.

“Oh, tree no, you can’t do that!” Lyreen replied.

“Why not?” Anna asked.

“You’re bad enough now. I don’t even want to imagine what you’ll be like after spending all that time with a mountain full of dwarves!” Lyreen replied.

“I fear for the world should that transpire,” Barika said.

“No shit,” Elaine said. Rose looked confused.

“You’ll understand once you’ve been around those two. Trust me,” Lyreen said.

Anna and Thokri looked at each other and shrugged. The barmaid came over and took their orders. She also took the money for a few rooms for the night.

The ale was piss water, but the stew was good. Anna watched as Rose squashed her food down to a paste with her spoon before eating it.

She did that when we were on the road too.

Rose ate small bites and drank after each one. Anna figured that it was because she was lacking a tongue.

I wonder if there is anyway to grow it back?

Her friends had told her that there was no way to grow something back once it was lost, but they were just people and only knew what they had seen and heard, so maybe they just didn’t know of a way to do it.

I’ll ask around when we get back to Oldforge.

She ate her stew and drank the terrible ale. Rose only ate one bowl and had two mugs of ale before finishing. Anna remembered how hungry Gwen had been. She supposed that was just the sickness.

The rooms were small but comfortable, and they all got a good nights sleep before setting out the next day. It took two more days to reach the river village where the sea monster was wreaking havoc.

The town had wooden walls. They were old and worn. The wood had gone grey, and a few spots were probably rotten. There were no guards at the gate, and she was certain that it wasn’t even possible to close it in the first place.

The road wasn’t paved or even level. The wagon rode over the hard ground, kicking up dust as it went. The buildings in town were no better than the wall, looking as if they hadn’t been cared for since their construction.

Men glared at them as they passed. At least until they spotted her and Rose. Then they leered. Both women were used to it and ignored them.

They found the docks, and Thokri jumped off to talk with the dockmaster, figuring he would know about the sea monster. Voekeer got out of the wagon and followed the dwarf.

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Anna took a deep breath. It reminded her of Fishport. Here, at least, a little Fishport was in much better shape. The men came back a few minutes later.

“It’s been lurking a few miles downriver. We should be able to get there and slay it today if we hurry,” Voekeer said.

“Sounds good to me,” Anna replied.

They rode off again and left the sad little town behind them. They followed the road for a few miles.

“That must be the clearing the lad was talking about,” Thokri said.

Anna pulled off into the clearing. The river was nearby, and she looked out over the blue water for a moment. She got off the wagon and so did the others. They walked over to the river and looked around.

“So, how do you think we should do this?” Voekeer asked.

“Well, lad, we need to lure the beast to the shore, and then we can use the spears to kill it,” Thokri replied.

“What if it flees back into the water?” Voekeer asked.

“We got spears with ropes we can tie to the trees,” Thokri replied.

Anna looked out at the water again, ignoring her friends. She spotted a huge fin pop up for a moment, and then it submerged again.

She took off her belt and handed it to Rose who was next to her. Rose looked confused. Anna didn’t say a word though. She pulled off her dress and handed that to the woman as well. Then without warning, she started to run and jumped into the river, aiming for the spot she’d seen the fin.

The water was cool and clear with a slight current that tried to pull her down river. She was a strong swimmer though, and it was no trouble for her. The water blurred her vision some, so she summoned an eye and used it to look around.

The river had a rocky bed with a few long streaming plants sprouting up. There were schools of fish swimming around as well.

They aren’t like the river fish from Fishport.

She looked around for the sea monster only to find a huge gaping maw heading right for her.

She didn’t have time to dodge, so she summoned a tentacle and wrapped it around the beast’s throat. It started to squirm like an eel caught on a fisherman’s line.

It does sort of look like an eel, and a fish, and a snake. Weird.

The thing was about sixty feet long and about ten feet around with four short fish like fins along with a long fin that ran down its back. She squeezed tighter and tighter, but it didn’t look like the monster was slowing down any.

Can you choke a sea monster to death?

After a few minutes of struggling, she got bored and summoned another tentacle. This one had a huge spike on the end. It shot up and slammed into the beast’s throat.

After a moment of resistance, the spike pierced through the tough scales and buried itself deep inside the monster. The sea monster thrashed around more violently than before. She pulled the spike out of the monster and blood gushed out of the wound, billowing into red clouds. Her vision was completely obscured, but the eye could still see everything, so she wasn’t worried.

The monster’s struggles weakened, and then after a few moments, it went still. She held it there for a minute or two to make sure before swimming over and punching it in the eye. It didn’t twitch, so she figured it was dead.

She swam to the shore, pulling the carcass with her tentacle. She stepped out of the water to find her friends staring in utter disbelief.

She walked over to them. The tentacles dropped the carcass near the shore and disappeared.

“What?” she asked.

“You killed it,” Voekeer said.

“Yes,” Anna replied.

“It’s dead,” Voekeer said.

“That is what we were supposed to do,” Anna replied. Voekeer just stared at her. Anna covered her mouth and giggled.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

“You were really planning on killing it with spears?” she asked, breaking down into a full belly laugh.

“You were planning on killing it on your own the whole time, weren’t you?” Voekeer asked.

“Yes. I thought that’s what the plan was,” Anna replied recovering some.

“Then why did we buy all of those spears?” Voekeer asked.

“I thought you all were just covering for me,” Anna replied.

“You mean I sat on a bunch of spears for the last week for no reason?” Elaine asked.

“It would seem so, child,” Barika replied. Elaine groaned and kicked a rock.

“Next time, tell us when you plan on going all tentacle monster, alright?” she said. Anna nodded.

“So, how do we clean this thing?” she asked.

“We don’t, child. Every part of that monster is toxic,” Barika said.

“So how do we prove we killed it?” Anna asked.

“Take its fangs as trophies, and we’ll let the town headman know. He’ll send some lads to check it out, and then he’ll sign the contract,” Thokri replied.

She walked over and tore the two-foot long fangs from its jaw. Blood and black fluid leaked out.

That’s probably not safe for people to touch.

She rinsed them off in the river, then wrapped them up. She dried herself off with her power as well before putting her dress and belt back on.

They turned the wagon around and went back to the shitty little village. She went back to the docks and the men showed the dockmaster the fangs. He called some dockworkers over and sent them to where the dead sea monster was. Then they were led to the mayor’s house.

Thokri and Voekeer went to get the contract signed. They returned grinning a few minutes later and hopped on the wagon.

“Did he sign it?” Anna asked.

“Aye. When he saw the fangs, his eyes about fell out of his head,” Thokri replied.

“So, are we staying here, or do you want to get back on the road?” Anna asked. They all looked around.

“Let’s get back on the road,” Voekeer said.

“Which way?” Anna asked.

“Go west. If we take the eastern road near the sea, we may get caught in one of the summer storms,” Voekeer replied.

“West it is,” Anna said. “What are the summer storms like?”

“Terrible, child. I’ve seen them blow whole villages flat,” Barika replied.

“Yikes,” Anna said.

They rode west for several weeks with the river to the south and fields to the north. There wasn’t much to see. They passed the small villages along the shoreline. None of them looked all that interesting, and the inns undoubtedly had better accommodations.

After nearly a month had passed, they reached a crossroads. The road west would lead to a city called Riverhold. It was named that because it was built over two rivers, and ships could sail right into the walls. They took the road north that lead around the forest and back to Oldforge, having no business in Riverhold.

There were vast fields of some crop she’d never seen before. Thokri and Rose were in the wagon, hiding from the harsh summer sun, leaving her alone on the driver’s bench. It was unbearably hot for the others, other than Thokri. He seemed fine.

They were stripped to their underclothes with Rose forgoing clothing entirely. Anna wanted to be naked too, but the others forbade her from doing so. She was in plain sight of anyone else traveling the road after all.

I don’t care!

She sighed and kept driving the wagon. It was so hot that the men working in the fields on either side of the road did so in the nude as well. Anna got herself an eyeful of sweating muscular men for days on end, much to her amusement.

One afternoon when the sun felt like it was going to melt the wagon and its mortal occupants, there was a strange clunk and the wagon started to shake. Anna pulled the reins to stop and tied them off. She hopped off the wagon and walked around to investigate.

“Well, shit!” Anna said.

The rear right wheel had a broken spoke, and the iron band was bent out of shape now. Thokri shuffled out of the wagon and stood next to her.

“Can you fix it?” Anna asked.

“I can patch it, lass, but we’ll need a real shop to fix it before we get back on the road,” he replied.

“I’ll go see if any of those men know where we can get this fixed,” Anna said.

“Aye,” Thokri replied. She turned to walk into the field next to the road.

“HEY! COME HERE!” Anna shouted from the edge of the field. One of the men looked up. He glanced around nervously. “COME ON! WE NEED HELP!” she shouted.

“BACK TO WORK, YOU!” another man shouted. The first man went back to whatever he was doing, and the one that yelled at him walked over to her. “How can I help you, miss?” he asked.

“Our wagon broke a spoke. We can patch it, but we need somewhere close to repair it right,” Anna said.

“Head to the manor. It’s just up the road. They can help you there,” he replied.

“Thanks,” Anna said. She turned and went back to the wagon.

Thokri and the others were dressed and out of the wagon at this point. Anna lifted the wagon up while Voekeer and Thokri tied a rope tightly around the broken spoke. When they finished, the wheel was mostly straight and seemed to be holding the weight of the wagon. Not wanting to stress it anymore than they had to, they walked beside the wagon as they made their way to the manor.

It was a mile or so down the road when they turned down a long path that ended in a huge house. There were trees lining each side of the path. It was pretty, but she still thought the Duke’s palace was nicer. Once they reached the house, a servant came out to greet them.

“How can I help you?” he asked.

“We broke a spoke on one of our wheels, and when I asked a man in the fields nearby, he said you could help us,” Anna replied. The servant nodded.

“Head down that path until you reach the workshops. They will be able to fix your wagon,” he said.

“Thanks,” Anna replied.

She could hear the tale tell sounds of a smithy as they approached the workshops. Thokri was grinning.

“You really should just go back to the mountain,” Anna said in dwarven.

“Aye, I know, but I’m not ready just yet,” he replied.

“I know your family misses you,” Anna said.

“Aye,” Thokri said sadly. She had never learned what kept him away for so long and wasn’t sure if he even knew.

The workshops came into view, and they resembled a small village. A few men came over to meet them as they neared.

“Busted a spoke. Can you lads give us a hand?” Thokri asked.

“Sure can,” one of the men replied.

They led them to a large shop where the horses were unhooked and led away. Thokri, followed by Voekeer, walked over to the lead man, and they started to talk.

“Wanna go walk around?” Elaine asked.

“Sure, why not,” Lyreen replied.

“They may be a while,” Barika said.

Anna followed her friends out of the workshop, mostly because she loved to explore so much. Rose tagged along as well, having no interest in watching the men repair the wagon. The five of them headed down a path, amazed by the size of the workshops.

Anna smelled rotten meat and started to walk in that direction. Her friends followed without asking where she was going. She turned a corner to find an open space. There were nine people hanging from ropes in the center of the space. They had all been there for a few days, and with the heat, it was ripe to say the least.

Lyreen gasped and covered her mouth.

“What in the name of the goddess?” Barika asked.

Anna walked over to the bodies. They were all naked, and none of them had signs around their necks like most executed criminals.

“What do you think you’re doing?” a man asked.

“What did they do?” Anna asked.

The man walked over. He was standing next to one of the bodies. He looked up at the dead man.

“Runaways. Got what they had coming to them,” he said.

“So, you caught them and brought them back here just to kill them?” Anna asked. The man spat on her foot.

“I don’t like your tone,” he replied.

The corpse’s hand reached down and grabbed the man’s shoulder. It squeezed. The man looked over at the hand and simultaneously screamed and pissed himself before falling to the ground. He then scooted away from the squirming zombie on his ass.

The rest of the corpses started to move.

“You might want to take care of that,” Elaine said. The man got up and ran away faster than Anna had ever seen a human run. The zombies went still, turning back into simple corpses.

“That’s just wrong, child,” Barika said. She was smirking, so Anna didn’t think she was mad at Elaine.

“We should leave,” Lyreen said.

“Oh, you’re right. We are just delicate women. There’s no way we could possibly help,” Elaine replied. Her friends all laughed for some reason.

“I don’t get it,” Anna said.

“Come on. I’ll explain on the way back,” Elaine replied.

They turned and headed back to the workshop, leaving the grisly scene behind them.

 

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