^^ Maze Lily ^^
— Maze —
My eyesight focused slowly down the arrow, finding a group of humans in the river, rowing a boat stealthily up the stream. They looked young, perhaps 15 summers old, and they were grinning happily about something.
I relaxed the bowstring slowly, and the arrow dissipated. "Hmph."
"What is it?" Mika asked, barely looking up from her game of chess with the Masked Oni Monarch.
"Some human boys coming up the river again. They're probably trying to get lucky with an Ogre or a Dryad, the poor bastards." I smirked.
"Mm." She agreed, and moved a piece, taking his last Horse Piece. "And now you have no Cavalry. Protecting your king is only so important if you can win; you go on offense, if you protect your king, and you use defense if you're going to attack, never both." She lectured, and he nodded slowly.
"Yes, I will remember that... should we stop the humans?" He asked, his sophisticated voice barely a whisper.
"No, there's no harm in it. The humans see sex differently than we Ogres do; they think it's secret and taboo. Those boys will go home in the morning, bruised and sore, their egos damaged from a woman twice their size riding them like a horse and being unsatisfied by their tiny human equipment, but they will brag to their fellows that they conquered an Ogre Woman, and they will be looked up to by the boys too cowardly to come. If we're lucky, the woman will get pregnant. If not, she was only mildly disappointed before being pleasured within an inch of her life by her female lovers. There is no downside, really." She explained.
He nodded. "Do you think a few of us should go to their village, and do the same? Or would that end badly? I admit, ever since I evolved into a Paragon, and I'm only the size of a human... other Ogres are simply too big for me, sadly, but I have a responsibility to have some children."
I laughed softly. "Have a few dryads, then, or dragons? You're strong enough that your children will still most likely be Ogres."
He glanced at me, and his third eye glowed softly. "Are you offering, Lady Maze?"
I smirked. "Maybe when I'm not on guard duty."
He nodded, and moved a piece forward, his Empress. "Indeed. This piece can move at total of four paces, yes?"
I lost track of their conversation, as I resumed watching the river. The boys in their little rowboat docked, and snuck carefully past the guards on duty, (who each saw, scanned, and deemed them not a threat,) then entered the village and headed towards what they'd come to call the 'brothel', which was where the unclaimed Ogre ladies went to de-stress with their fellow ladies, a massive hot-spring that Mika had created for them, surrounded by a small wall with four open gates, and not connected to the Water of the lake, so it was safe for the humans to touch it.
I smiled a bit at them knocking politely on the gate, and being given entrance, as the ogres who liked smaller men instantly claimed them and dragged them off to their groups of lovers.
Focusing back on the river, I frowned at the sight of another boat, larger, but not too large to go under the bridge which prevented Ships from coming in. This one was silent, shrouded in a dense mist which my detection skill allowed me to pierce with some difficulty. Six armed men were aboard, and one Orc, currently in chains.
I hummed, and looked at his status swiftly.
<Individual: Jae Warren
Race: Blood-Orc (Common Evolution Path, 3rd)
Ur: 1st Form
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Status: Enslaved
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Combat Level: 320
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Class: Gladiator
Level: Max
Class: Berserker
Level: Max
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Class: Tanker
Level: 90/100
Class: Axe-Warrior
Level: 90/100
Class: Orc Warrior
Level: 90/100
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Titles are Disabled for Enslaved Individuals.>
I narrowed my eyes slowly, and looked at the others; they were each level 75 or so, but one of them held the Slave Contract. I mentally contacted the Orc, and chuckled. 'I'm going to kill your master. The rest are yours. Welcome to Treaty Lake, Friend.'
I drew the arrow as he slowly looked up, and grinned savagely, chuckling. The man holding the contract hissed at him to be silent, and I loosed.
The snow around me liquified, making the Game set that Mika and the Monarch were playing with fly off a few feet from the wind, and the owner fell with his head mysteriously... gone. The orc immediately snapped the chains around him, and swung his axe in an arc, slashing the others to pieces in a few seconds. The mage managed to dive out of the boat, and I contacted one of the Undine's in the river, asking her to fetch him for me.
The mage screamed as a large hand made of water wrapped around him, and casually threw him towards the mountain.
"Mika, catch that, will you? Gently, he's got information to give me. Oh, and the Orc as well." I asked, and the orc dove out of the burning boat, and was subsequently tossed towards us, flipping ass over tusks comically.
She frowned at me, resetting her game, and two hands made of dirt rose up and 'gently' caught the two beings, bringing them up to us. "I hope it was important! I was winning." She pouted.
"Mm, slave takers again." I explained, and her expression darkened. The mage was dropped unceremoniously in front of us, onto his face, and the orc landed on his feet, next to me. "Hello, Jae. Am I saying that correctly?"
He blinked slowly at me, then the bow in my hand, then the boat, burning about five hundred meters away. "Oh... tha's a fair shot, nae, innit?" He asked, his accent clearly from the western coast of the continent.
"Indeed it is." I smirked, and placed my bow under the mage's chin, letting it burn him a little. "Now then, Slave Mage! A few questions, and they'll be answered properly, or I will have my Necromantic Dragon friend take your skeleton out of your meat and make you into a puppet! Clear?" I asked smugly.
He turned very, very pale, but he wasn't looking at me, I realized, and I turned around, finding the Monarch staring at him with only his center eye, the other two closed. "I don't like liars, Mage." He spoke calmly, but his normally soft voice was now normal volume, and the difference sent shivers up even my spine.
The mage proceeded to piss himself, and I sighed. "Well that's just disgusting! Moving on, who was your target, with a level 325 Gladiator Orc? Almost No one here is weak enough that he'd kill them." I asked, moving on.
"What?" The orc asked, looking around curiously.
"Yes, darling, we're all very strong. I'm the weakest of my master's disciples, and I'm level 505, currently." I smiled at his incredulous face, and then looked back at the mage. "So!!! Perhaps you'd like to speak before the Oni Monarch over there tears the skin from your body?"
He nodded swiftly, eyes wide and dilated.
"Yes? Wonderful! Who was your target?" I asked happily.
"Uh, w-we, we were sent to capture a few Ogre Children? We knew there were some here, and-..." he paused, looking at the ground as he felt the Ogre Monarch's glare on him.
"Mm. Sent by whom?" I asked.
"The, the Silver-Chain Slave Guild? There's a contract out for high-level monsters like Ogres and Dragons, as well as specifically the Sage's Children, or the Sage himself... but we weren't here for him, that's why we waited until he was gone." He stuttered.
"The sage? He doesn't have any children yet, does he?" I hummed, looking at Mika.
She shook her head. "Not that I know of, no. If they meant his children as his 'Disciples', then that makes sense, he took most of the people in the village as disciples, or maybe the Shrine Maidens? We're supposedly his children, according to human legends, which is ridiculous."
"Yes! The Shrine Maidens, that's who we were sent for! But... you're not his children? That legend is a lie?" He deflated, looking confused.
"Hm. Either way, you're to return to this guild of yours and tell them this; 'The Monster Continent does not tolerate those who own or take Slaves. It is illegal, and we will execute any and all who are guilty of it. If your slavers' lives mean nothing to you, then by all means, continue to feed our crops with your blood and meat. But Slavery is not welcome here.' You've got that?" I asked.
His eyes widened. "I'm- I can go? I'm not... I'm not going to be killed?"
"No, dear, we need a messenger! All is well!" I patted his head, and he relaxed, just as I broke his neck.
He collapsed, and I wrote down the message on his chest, then looked at Jerrod, who sat a few dozen meters away, meditating. "Can you animate this one and send him home?" I asked.
Jerrod sighed and stood, stretching leisurely as the Orc flinched; he hadn't noticed the presence of the dragon yet. Jerrod walked over and reset the man's neck, then muttered a spell, making a purple mist cover the mage's body and soak into his skin. The mage day up slowly, eyes vacant and lost, and then took the note from my hand, walking calmly down the mountain.
"And send him to where he's going, please, the Plains will eat him alive, with how weak he is." I sighed.
He nodded and tapped the undead man's shoulder, disappearing and then coming back immediately, with two crossbow bolts flying out past him.
The orc leapt into action needlessly, throwing his arm in front of me and getting struck with both bolts, piercing into his thick skin. Deep blue blood began to drip down from his arm as Mika sighed at him.
"Really, if you had just ignored them, they wouldn't even have hit her!" She grumbled, ripping the bolts out roughly and healing him with a wave of her hand, her normal brusque healing system.
"I kind of like a man who helps others, thank you!" I admonished her, and kissed his cheek. "That was very sweet of you, but I agree a little with her; I'm much stronger than you, and if I was in any real danger, I would've just moved." I whispered, and smiled.
He grinned and rubbed the back of his neck abashedly. "Roight... yea. Thanks for tha healin', missy."
"WHO'S THIS?!? AHA, A NEW ORC!!! WELCOME, FRIEND!!!" Hallox cheered loudly, and embraced the smaller orc happily, pounding his back. He stood almost three and a half meters tall, which was very big, even for an orc, and about as big as most of the Ogres, now, which made the smaller, more normally-big orc seem small, even at a little over two and a half meters. "I AM HALLOX MARS, SON OF THE ORC CHIEF HERE!!! COME, I WILL SHOW YOU OUR VILLAGE!!!" He began to drag the other orc away casually, not even noticing the smaller being pulling at his arm ineffectually.
"Hallox, dear, we were talking." I sighed, and he paused.
"Oh... alright, then I will show you LATER!!!" He amended his statement, releasing Jae.
"Thankee kindly... is all tha Orcs hea so big-like?" He asked quietly, rubbing his arm.
"No, that's just Hallox and his father. They're both big men, but Hallox is an Orc Paragon." I explained, and his eyes widened slowly, before he knelt in front of Hallox quickly.
Hallox grumbled uncomfortably, and nudged the man with his foot. "Up you get, please, I ain't the Chief, now, I can't have people kneeling all the time... what's your name, Orc-Spawn?"
"Jae Warren, Sir! Ah'm frum tha coast-like, in tha Fishin' Villages 'n such-like! Ah've never met nah Orc-Paragon, an' youse is a Legend-like, nah?" He grinned upwards admiringly, after standing up and still looking up.
Hallox scratched his skull a little. "Well... yeah, technically, but I still ain't the Chief, so no more of that shit, yeah? And don't bow to anyone. Orcs Salute." He showed him simply the Orcs version of respect, the clenched fist over the heart.
"Oh! Ahrite, Ah can do that!" Jae nodded, saluting to mimic the taller orc.
"Mm. He does have a nice ass, though, doesn't he?" Mika mused, looking at what I'd been examining the whole time.
"Mmm... yes he does... I wonder how he feels about using it?" I nodded, and smiled slowly.
She laughed and patted my shoulder, returning to her game of chess. "Well, Hallox is here to take your shift, so you're relieved... take your little acquisition and the Monarch to your tent, if you like."
I grinned slowly. "I think I will... finish your game and find me in my tent." I rubbed the Monarch's horns gently, and he purred, his eyes trailing after me as I walked off and grabbed the smaller orc, pulling him with me before he embarrassed himself further.
—
"Maze."
"Mm."
"Maze!" The Speaker nudged my side.
"Mm?" I questioned, eyes still closed but now sensing four people.
"Master gave us a mission; the Silver Chain Slaver's Guild has an office on our borders. We're to burn it down." Zoken spoke again, and now I was awake enough to recognize his voice.
"Mm... three minutes. Bath and dress." I murmured.
"Nope." Jerrod grabbed my ankle, dragging me out of the bed and snapping his fingers. A shivering feeling covered my skin as I felt all the sweat and other fluids I'd accumulated last night disappear, and then my armor and weapon came off the floor where I'd tossed them, covering me.
I looked down slowly, and back up at him. "You forgot my panties, Jerrod. Sending me a message?" I smirked.
He blushed, clearing his throat. "Uhm...?"
I plucked a new pair from my chest of clothes and slipped them on under my dress, then spanked his ass swiftly as I walked past him. "Well Maybe next time we roll around I'll make you wear a pair, and you'll remember them better in the future?"
"Yes, Yes, sexy banter is fun, now let's go kill some fucking Slavers!" Hallox snarled savagely, wringing his hands around the handle of his axe.
I grinned, summoning my bow. "Agreed, Hallox. Jerrod, darling, off we go!"
"Uhm? Is thur a chance we could assist-like?" Jae asked, already dressed and standing next to us with his own axe reclaimed from the wall rack.
I glanced at Hallox, who grinned and pulled him into the circle. "HAHAHA!!! YES!!!" He nodded happily, and looked at Jerrod. "SEND US, JERROD, OUR AXE'S ARE THIRSTY!!!"
Jerrod chuckled and grabbed the five of us, muttering a spell that took about as many seconds. A flash of purple light, and suddenly we stood outside a small port city, perhaps a bit bigger than your average town.
"The Guild is on the docks. The Silver Crescent is their Symbol." Jerrod pointed at the building in question. "They keep their slaves in an underground portion. Should we get the slaves out first, or just assault the place head-on?"
"They'll use the slaves as hostages if we assault first... I say we get Mika Close, with Hallox and Jae as a diversion, and then she opens a tunnel into their cages, and gets them out, healing them while Jerrod teleports them to the village. I'll go inside and hunt down the Slavers, while Maze is on the roof and takes out any approaching guards. Non-lethally, of course, they aren't the targets." Zoken nodded.
"True, they're just guards... I'll shoot their knees, then, and Mika can heal them afterwards." I nodded.
"Alright. Hallox, Jae, you'll break into the lobby and make a fuss, Maze is sniping, Mika is evacuating with Jerrod, and I'm hunting with Hallox and Jae once the slaves are all out. Yes?" Zoken clarified.
I nodded again. "I like it... but they're noticing us already." I pointed at the guards rushing towards us.
Zoken waved to them amicably, and they slowed their run to a confused jog, reaching us a few seconds later. "Hello, friends! I am Zoken, son of the Chief Protector of the Sage-Guardian Ogre Clan, and the Disciple of the Sage! It has been decreed by the Holy City, which claims dominion of this continent, that Slavery is Illegal! Therefore we are here to respectfully request the cessation of business and residence of the Slavers' Guilds, and their release into our custody all slaves currently in their possession! We mean you no harm, and in fact we come in peace! Please understand that by no means do we wish for violence, and you are welcome to accompany us to ensure that none comes about as we deliver the Holy City's Edict!" He smiled dazzlingly at them, and I snickered quietly at how heroic he managed to make himself sound.
They looked incredibly confused, and then one of them stepped forward, some sort of captain, from his golden epaulettes on his collar. "We have received that edict already, and have formally rejected it; the Holy City does not own this city, and we are not bound by any number of laws they'd like to demand we obey!"
"So you mean to say that the government of the Continent does not command you? That you are to receive no further protections, supplies, or business from the continent, and that your town is a separate, entirely free and solitary sovereignty? And that you are refusing to respect the authority or adapt the laws set forth by your closest neighbor, whose standing army numbers in the 4 million or so range, each at least Evolved Once? Do you declare yourself an Enemy State of the Holy City, and therefore the enemy of all the Continent, subject to any Invasions, Raids, Challenges, subsequent War Taxes, and of course the Total and Complete Economic Ruin that such a Rebellious Declaration would thus invoke?" Zoken asked, raising an eyebrow slowly at them, and my snicker gained a little volume at their further confusion.
The captain of the guard stuttered a few times, then closed his mouth, turning and speaking into a small marble. "My Lord, how do I respond to that?" He asked quietly.
"It's just a group of monsters, Captain, honestly! Just kill them and be done with it, why are you bothering me about this?!? Do your job!" The small voice on the other side sighed dramatically, and the bead stopped glowing.
I smiled slowly when he glanced back at us, all of whom were bigger than him, even me, the smallest. My bow lit on fire slowly, as I stared him down. "Is that your final answer?" I asked dangerously.