Chapter 8: Chapter 8

They walked along the dirt path leading out of the village, and after a few hours, they reached the crossroads. They took the path to the right onto a much larger road that was lined with stones that raise slightly in the middle and curve down to small gutters on either side. The surface was smooth with ruts dug into the stone slightly larger than most of the carts she had seen. “They must use bigger ones,” she thought. “Anna, let us know if you need a break,” Voekeer said, interrupting her line of thought. “I will,” she replied, still looking at the ruts.  

“I mean it. If you push yourself too hard the first day and get hurt, it will take us longer to get to the next ruin,” he said firmly. “I’ll be okay. Don’t worry about me,” she replied. He looked at her for a moment, then shook his head and continued walking. They walked until the sun was directly above them in the sky. “Time for some grub,” Thokri said, the others nodding. “Grub? Isn’t that a bug?” Anna thought, then shrugged. They looked for a place to stop, finding a clearing just off the road with several large stones that looked perfect to sit on, and even a small fire ring. “I wonder if a lot of travelers stop here,” she thought. 

 The others took off their packs and sat on the stones, and Anna did the same. Thokri pulled out a tin from his pack and began grabbing tinder to start a fire. Voekeer set off into the forest for firewood, she guessed. “Anna, let me see your feet,” Barika said, walking over. Anna lifted her feet, wiggling her toes at the woman. Barika leaned over and grabbed her foot and inspected it closely. “That’s odd,” Barika said. “What?” Anna replied. “You don’t have any callouses at all, but your feet aren’t torn or even red. I’ve never seen someone walk half a day barefoot on stones without a single mark,” she said astonishingly.  

“Oh,” Anna replied. Barika stood up and shrugged. “Looks like you don’t have to worry about shoes after all,” she said. Anna just smiled as a reply. Voekeer returned with an armload of wood of various sizes, and soon Thokri had a small but hot fire going. The adventurers began pulling their rations out of their packs. Thokri had shown her how to portion the rations so that each package contained enough for one meal. Opening the package, she took out the dried meat first and started chewing it.  

It was tough, and somehow salty and bland at the same time. She had only gotten through a single piece before deciding to give up and eat the hard bread. “They called it hard tack,” she thought, understanding the hard part but not the tack. Shrugging, she took a bite and started crunching away when Thokri looked up. “No Lass, not like that. Bring that here,” he said. She grabbed the meat, and still holding the bread, walked over and handed it to him. He took it and broke up the bread before he dropped the meat in a pot along with the rations of the others. He then filled it with water and placed the pot over the fire on a tripod he had setup when she wasn’t looking.  

He stirred it occasionally, and when it began to boil, he pulled the tripod up to lower the heat. After it had simmered a few minutes, Voekeer brought a handful of wild herbs he had collected and dropped them in. Soon after, Thokri took the pot off the heat and set it aside. Then he poured water over the fire and stirred the embers serval times to make sure it was out. 

 They all got their mugs and went to the pot, filling them up in turn. She ate the stew Thokri had turned the rations into. It didn’t taste all that different from before, except instead of being crunchy, it was mush, and the meat was slightly less tough. She could almost taste the herbs, but they didn’t help much. She finished the mugful quickly, trying to get it down as fast as possible and drinking large amounts of water in the process. “You’ll get used to it lass,” Thokri said as she ate a piece of candy to get the taste out of her mouth. “No. I won’t,” she thought. She looked at Voekeer. “You said we could hunt for food,” she said with an admonishing tone. “Yes, but not around here. Too many farms. They chased away all the game,” he replied.  

She sighed, packed up her things, and they got back on the road after cleaning up. They walked the rest of the day and found a suitable spot to setup camp for the night. They ate the same bland ration for dinner, and Anna had the mid watch that night. After Lyreen relieved her, she slept well. Before dozing off, she thinks that this was a good first day as an adventurer. Other than the food that is. The next couple of days went much the same. However, when they stopped for the night on the third day, Voekeer decided that they would stay at this site the following day to hunt for some game.  

Anna was so excited by this she couldn’t sleep and asked to be on the first watch. A few hours after dark, she heard Voekeer leave his tent, but instead of going to the forest to relieve himself, he went to Lyreen’s. After a few minutes, she heard a soft moaning coming from the tent. “I wonder what they are doing,” she thought. Not wanting to disturb them, she stayed away. The moaning got louder and louder before suddenly stopping. Voekeer left a little while later, going around his tent and to the forest to actually relieve himself this time. A few minutes after he returned, Lyreen headed there as well.   

Thokri showed up to take his watch a few minutes early. She headed towards the forest, having to pee. She walked farther away than usual, wanting to look around some before the morning. She could see in the dark like it was daytime, except without the colors. She found a spot and squatted to pee, hiking up her skirt in the process. She was glad it was so short. Long skirts were a pain and got dirty easily. She heard a stick snap nearby and stopped midstream, standing and quickly pulling down the skirt. 

 Something rushed out mouth open, and almost out of reflex, she grabbed the things lower jaw and yanked. It came off in her hand, blood gushing out over her arm. She jumped back to avoid getting it on her dress. The thing gurgled and thrashed around as it convulsed in pain on the ground. It reminded her of a dog, only bigger and furrier. She kicked it into a tree and then stomped on it until it quit moving. After tossing the lower jaw to the side, she grabbed it by the tail and started to drag it back to camp. “Maybe this will taste good if I can get Thokri to cook it,” she thought.  

She dragged the thing into camp and waived at Thokri. “Look what I found!” she said. He trotted over to see. “BY THE STONE ONE’S BALLS!!! YOU KILLED A DIRE WOLF!” He shouted in astonishment. This caused all the other members of the party to come spilling out of their tents. Barika ran over and grabbed her hand, still covered in blood. “What happed? Are you hurt? Do you feel it? Are you still bleeding?” she asked in rapid succession. She abruptly stopped talking and stared at Anna’s hand and arm after wiping it clean and not seeing a mark. “What’s going on?” she demanded. “The lass has skin tougher than dragon hide and doesn’t feel pain,” Thokri said concisely. “So, she’s beautiful, indestructible, and strong as a troll. What’s next? You’re going to tell me she doesn’t bleed once a month?” Lyreen said. “Why would I bleed once a month?” Anna replied, confused. “That’s just great now, isn’t it,” Lyreen said and stomped away.  

Voekeer ignored the women. “Would someone tell me what happened?” he asked. Anna told them about her trip into the forest. Lyreen had come back to listen and seemed to have calmed down some. “Well, if there was a dire wolf here, then there will be no game, so we will be packing up in the morning. It will be a few more days of walking to get out of its range,” Voekeer said. Anna groaned. “Can we eat it?” she asked, and pointed at the wolf. “Aye. Most don’t like the taste, but it’s fresh. You want the pelt lass?” he asked. “Yes,” she responded, relieved that they would indeed be able to eat the creature. “Well, drag it over there and give me a hand,” he replied. 

 They dragged the wolf to a nearby tree and started to clean it. The work went quickly, and as soon as they were done, she went to bed. That night, the dreams were filled with blood, and the eyes watched as impassively as ever. They cooked the dire wolf and ate their fill the next day. It was stringy and tough and gamey, but it was different, and she was happy about that. The rest was smoked and went into Thokri’s pack as extra rations. The pelt was brain tanned, and the hair was left on. She folded it up and stuffed it in her pack, intending on sleeping on it. She loved how soft it was. After smoking the meat and tanning the hide, it was already late afternoon. “Wouldn’t get far with this much light left,” Voekeer said. “I don’t mind staying another night,” Lyreen replied. “It is a wonderful view,” Voekeer said, looking into her eyes before they turned and walked away. “What view?” Barika said. Thokri shrugged. “Never can understand elves,” he said knowingly.  

Anna sat on a rock watching the forest that night, trying to ignore the sounds coming from Lyreen’s tent. They had been getting louder each night, doing whatever they were doing. She wondered if the others heard it as well but were just ignoring it. Sighing to herself, she began to sing. It was a song from before she was a person. “Or is it?” she thought. She couldn’t quite remember where she’d learned it, but she knew it all the same. “That was beautiful,” Barika said. Anna stopped and looked at her. She hadn’t heard her walking up. “I’ve never heard that language before. What is it?” she asked. “I don’t know. I just remember it. It was from before I think,” Anna answered. “You should sing more often. It’s nice,” Barika said.  

“I’m odd enough. I don’t want people to think I’m any stranger,” Anna said sadly. “You’re only odd compared to average human women. As far as anyone knows, you’re totally normal for a Fae,” Barika said. “She was right. Not about me being Fae, but that I’m not really human and need to stop comparing myself to them,” Anna thought to herself. “Maybe you’re right. It’s just hard being different,” Anna replied. “I know, child. But, it’s better to be your true self than lie to fit in. The friends you make by lying won’t really be friends,” Barika said. “Thanks. I needed that,” Anna replied. Barika smiled at her. “I know what it’s like to be different, so tell me. Do you know what the song is about?” she asked. “No. I wish I did,” Anna replied, looking up at the stars.  

They packed up the next morning and headed out. Their pace was quicker than prior days, everyone starting to get into a rhythm. They all pointed things out to her along the way, teaching her about the different trees and plants along the side of the road. Some were helpful, some made you itch, and some could be eaten. “I’ve never itched,” Anna thought, wondering what it felt like. Their trip continued like this for a few more days. Anna was in the front of the group, looking for a hawk nest Voekeer had told her that should be on a near tree. Something sparked out of the corner of her eye, and she saw what might have been three figures on the road, but before she could say anything, three arrows streaked at them. One hit her forehead, and one hit her left breast.  

She heard Voekeer grunt in pain and turned to look. Before she finished turning, Thokri yelled a warning. “Lass, get them!” She turned to see three men in rough clothes, all wearing cloaks. They had dropped their bows and pulled clubs and hatchets out and were quickly approaching. She stepped toward the one in the middle as he was closest while pulling out her own club. She swung her club in a downward motion at his head, hitting it. It popped, showering her and the other two with gore. Stepping to the right, she hit the second one with a backhand swing, knocking his face and freeing the front half of his skull of its contents, spraying towards the nearby woods.  

She turned to face the last man and stepped beside him. She swung her club with all her might, hitting him in the back of the head. The force liquified it, sending the remains spraying to her left. She looked back to her companions, only to see they had been covered in the gore and blood. “Aye lass. That’ll do,” Thokri said as he nodded, an eyeball falling from his beard at the movement. She walked over to them. Voekeer was standing up. Barika’s magic had taken care of the arrow wound. It had simply grazed him. She pulled the arrow that was hanging from her dress causing her nipple to pop out. “He shot my nipple!” she said. They all looked down at her chest. The nipple grew hard when exposed to the breezy air. “Find us a river,” Lyreen said, looking at Voekeer. He wiped his hands off in the nearby grass and pulled a map from his pack. He looked at it a moment, nodded, and stuffed it back in his pack and walked off into the forest.  

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Thokri had walked over to the bodies and was inspecting them. “Piss poor enchantment,” he waved at the cloaks. “Lass knocked it right off with their heads,” he continued. “What manner of enchantment was it?” Lyreen asked. “Concealment,” he replied. Lyreen nodded, and they dragged the bodies off to the side of the road and tossed them in a ditch. None of their possessions were worth keeping, so they went into a pile right on top.  

Voekeer returned in a few minutes and led them to a small stream with a sandy bank. “Wash yourself, then your things,” Barika said. Anna nodded and then stripped, walking towards the river. She left her belongings in a pile on the shore. Once she was in, she turned towards the group. She started to scrub herself while watching her companions. The elves were helping Thokri get out of his plate armor because the buckles were sticky from all of the blood. Anna looked at Barika, who had finished undressing and was walking to her in the river. Her skin was dark brown, so dark it was almost black. She was well muscled, not as much as the dockworkers but more than the average man back in Fishport. Her breasts were large, hanging on her chest with large, supple brown nipples.  

Her hips were wide, and there was a large patch of black curly hair between her legs, obscuring what was underneath. She approached, looking over Anna in return. Her gaze lingered on the usual spots. She began washing herself off as well, turning around to watch the others on the shore as well. Anna saw that her butt was much larger than her own. It stuck out much farther as well. Somehow Thokri was stripped next, having flung his clothing off after his armor was removed. The dwarf was the most muscular man she had ever seen. Every part of his body appeared to be made from stone and bulging when he moved. His skin pale, an off-white color. Only his face and hands were tanned, and she glanced between his legs, not knowing what to expect.  

She had never seen a man without underclothing on, but she knew that it was different from a woman because there was a bulge underneath the cloth. She didn’t expect to see what she saw, however. “A mushroom?” she thought. It really looked like a mushroom about as long as her hand. It hung over a sack that looked to have two orbs in it. The top part flopped as he walked, and the sack bounced up and down. The whole thing looked rather silly. “First time seeing a man, lass?” he said, looking her up and down. “Yes,” she replied. He smiled, and then handed her a brush. “Hold this,” he said as he started to scrub himself off from top to bottom, then submerging himself completely. He sprung back up, and taking the brush back, he began brushing his hair and beard.  

Anna had finished cleaning herself off except for her hair. She wasn’t sure how she was going to clean that. Barika had finished as well and walked back up to the shore, where she pulled a clean set of clothes from her pack and put them on before starting to clean ones she had been wearing during the attack. The elves had finally stripped and were on the way to the water.  

Anna looked at them curiously. Voekeer was a light brown color, though it was a different shade than the humans she had seen. It was reminding her of tree bark. He was lean and well-muscled. His build was too different from a humans to compare. He was very tall, but he was lean with taught muscles showing beneath his skin. By the way he moved, she assumed he was in excellent shape. Out of curiosity, she looked between his legs as well. His mushroom was much smaller than Thokri’s. It was about the size of her palm. His sack and orbs were smaller as well. She was about to ask him about it when Thokri grabbed her shoulder and dunked her underwater. He then pulled her up and she sputtered, about to ask why he had dunked her. “Alright lass, let’s get that mane of yours brushed out. Lyreen, give me a hand with this,” he said.  

Lyreen walked over, sighing. “Let me clean up first,” she said, walking to them in the water. Anna was still sitting on the river bed when she looked at Lyreen. She was the same color as Voekeer, much thinner than the man but with similar muscles. There was no hair between her legs, and her slit was small and tight with slightly puffy lips. It reminded Anna of her own. “Never seen one from this side,” she thought. Her hips were narrow, but still curved like any other woman, and her waist was tiny. “I think she’s bigger around than me,” Anna thought.  

She then looked at the woman’s chest, and she was shocked at the sight. “Where are your boobs?” Anna asked, alarmed seeing only tiny nipples on small bumps. “What?” Lyreen asked. Then she looked down, and she turned bright red. “Oh! I’m an elf! This is how big they get!” Lyreen replied in a huff. “Really?” Anna said. “Yes. Humans can be completely flat to twice the size of hers,” she replied, waving towards Barika. “Mine are big for my kind,” she said, pointing at her own chest. “What about Dwarves?” Anna asked, turning to Thokri who was trying to get a bone splinter out of her hair. “About as big as the biggest in that village we found you in, not counting yourself of course,” he replied. 

 Lyreen had finished washing herself and had started helping Thokri with her hair. She was brushing Anna’s hair roughly. “Why is she mad?” Anna thought. “We may need to cut this,” Lyreen said. “It won’t work,” Anna replied. “Your hair too?” Thokri asked in disbelief. “Yes,” she replied. “That’s right, indestructible,” Lyreen sighed. They finished the arduous task soon after. Thokri really was an expert with hair. The three of them left the water and walked up to the beach. Lyreen went to get some clothes, but Thokri just grabbed his armor and went to sit by the fire that Barika had built. Anna decided to copy Thokri, grabbing her belt and club. She sat next to him near the fire, and she started to scrub the club off with some sand. Thokri handed her a brush from his pack and some grease in a tin.  

“Clean all the blood off, then rub the grease in. It will keep the wood from rotting and the iron from rusting,” he said. She brushed off the club. “How do I clean my belt?” she asked. “Just brush the dried blood off and grease it up like the club.” He replied. She finished soon after and grabbed her dress to wash. It was a brown one, so it wouldn’t matter if it stained. After she was finished, she pulled the sewing kit from her pack and stitched up the hole. She hung it up on a branch nearby to dry. She also grabbed Thokri’s clothes and washed those as well. He had lent her the brush and grease. After all was clean, she hung those near hers and went to sit by the dwarf.  

He didn’t want any help with his armor, so she lounged on the ground next to the fire waiting for her dress to dry. Lyreen walked over. “Not a shred of modesty,” she said, smiling. “Nope,” Anna replied. Anna looked at her toes, wiggling them for a moment. “Lyreen, I’ve heard Voekeer go to your tent every night, and then you start moaning. What are you two doing?” She asked. Lyreen didn’t reply, so Anna looked at her. Lyreen’s face was red and her eyes were wide.  

“You were listening! Did you sneak up?” She asked. “No. I was sitting near the edge of camp like always. You were just so loud.” Anna replied. Lyreen’s face paled somewhat. “Anna, do you hear a bird call that sounds like this?” She asked before imitating a bird. “Yes. There is one over there.” She replied before pointing at a tree in the distance. “And she hears like an elf too.” Lyreen walked away, muttering about fairness. Barika walked over “What’s with her?” she asked. “The elves are fucking, and Anna heard them,” Thokri said. “Really? Those two?” she asked. “Aye,” he replied as she sat down next to Anna. “So, you can hear like an elf as well?” she asked. “Better,” Anna replied.  

“There was another bird calling back that was over there.” Anna pointed at another tree. “Lyreen didn’t respond to that one, so I don’t think she heard it,” she continued. “Elves ears move slightly when they hear a distant sound. Hers didn’t,” she finished. “Oh,” Barika replied. “I decided to take your advice and stop pretending to be human,” Anna said to Barika. “Good advice lass, just don’t tell everyone everything you can do,” Thokri said. “Why not?” she asked. “Yes, why shouldn’t she, dwarf?” Voekeer asked. “Well, elf. What would happen if the Queen heard of a young lass built like a stone latrine, who is stronger than a troll, couldn’t be hurt, and just so happened to hear better than an elf, who had just appeared near a town by some ruins, and is wandering around her kingdom popping bandits like mosquitos?” he asked with a fairly sarcastic tone. 

 “I can see in the dark as well,” Anna added. “You’re not helping,” Lyreen said sharply. “Sorry,” Anna replied. “I see your point, and you’re right. We need to keep the extent of her abilities to ourselves. Although, if you find out anything else, let us know,” he said, looking at Anna. She thought about it for a moment. “I can sing really well,” she said. Voekeer had a stern look on his face, and then it cracked, and he burst out laughing. “Noted,” he replied.  

Walking away, Thokri got up and wiped the sand off. “Time to get dressed and be off,” he said walking towards his clothes. Anna got up as well and wiped off. She walked to Barika who was crouching near her pack. She looked up at Anna, her eyes lingering between her legs before looking at her face. “You may want to get dressed. I don’t think Voekeer’s heart could take it if you finished the trip today naked,” she said. “I will, but I have a question,” she said. “Oh,” Barika replied. “Well, Lyreen said she had seen boobs twice your size, but seeing as she really doesn’t have any, I don’t know if she’s exaggerating or not. So how big have you seen boobs?” she asked.  

Barika stood up, putting her pack on in the process. “You’re right about elf women. They don’t have much more than puffy nipples, so they always think other women’s boobs are bigger. So, to answer your question, I have seen boobs that are twice my size. In fact, I’ve seen ones larger than melons,” she said, holding her hands a foot or so away from her chest. They both started laughing while walking towards Anna’s clothes. 

 

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