Eostia: Harem Quest

by EostianScribe

The Gods have given mortals the power of The Gamer as a pass time. A hobby. A means to compete and relax. One goddess, however, sees it as a means of salvation; starting with one world. As such, she rolls the dice... (Harem, Citrus and Eventual Dark Content Warning)

79. Act III-Interlude: Life in Garan

[ - Author's Note - ]

Whew. The first interlude of the Third Act... and it's over twenty two thousand words... My word average per chapter must be much higher then it had been now...

In truth I only have one other Interlude planned for the Third Act, truth be told. It will take us away from James but also the war for a look at something else. But that's awhile away for now.

This one, as the title would let you know, is about a small, little snapshot into the goings on of Garan from the ground floor... and some of the issues within...

More over the current poll exploded compared to the last ones. I imagine the question was part of the reason. Link to it will be at the bottom of the chapter, so if you haven't voted feel free to.

Now then, that said...

BRIEF CONTENT WARNING!

The subject of rape is strong in this one and rape is a background element... And one scene of... possibly dubious hate sex, depending on how you look at it. To say more would be a spoiler.

Anyway, let's get it on!

[ - Act III - Interlude: Life in Garan - ]

I often wonder how humans live their lives; not so I can emulate them but rather I wish to study them and compare them to ourselves. How does their culture compare to our own? Do they care for their children as we do? Do they value their people and history as we do? What about their legacies or bloodlines? What do they prefer to eat? How do they prefer to prepare it? Season it? Serve it?

Many of my peers and fellows would scoff or laugh at me at best and declare me some traitor or degenerate at worst as I say this but we dark elves and humans do not seem so different; we wish harm on those who make us and ours bleed, we want compensation for what we unfairly have lost and we want to guard and protect what we value and yet so do they.

If you ignore the differences in our lifespans how different are we?

~Scriabin Nightink, The Banned Tome Known As The Unsavory Insight

[-]

Mooncast City
Territory of Onyxcloak, Kingdom of Garan
Late Morning

"Glad to be home..." The male dark elf let off, sighing deeply. Standing at six feet even with plain, short brown hair and matching colored eyes he wore a set or deep blue, leather pants tucked into black boots. A red shirt with swirling, black patterns stitched into it and a set of short, black gloves finished the look. Pavel Oakmaker was a laborborne conscript from a humble family of woodworkers; his proudest work was a chair he made for his great, great grandmother that she still used; even after a century. Sadly he was pressed to making spear shafts, arrow shafts and other needed equipment for the military instead of things families would enjoy for decades and longer to come.

Of course he was then conscripted.

Honestly it was that simple, humble life he wanted; nothing fancy, nothing great, nothing exciting... all he wanted was to use his hands to create... and by order of his Nightsong overlords he was pressed into combat as a simple conscript, shoved into a thick shirt that some people called armor, handed a spear (That he didn't even make), shipped off to the south and told 'go kill humans' because... reasons that he didn't care about.

The humans never did anything to him... Well, he nearly got killed by them twice, but only because he was forced to charge at them with a piece of pointy metal on a stick...

He snorted softly. What a life it was in Garan... Finally he found it; a pub deep, deep into the laborborne district that was mostly ignored by the snooty lowborne who would likely try and police all they had to say and do within if they knew; the Common Table. Supposedly the building was human built and made thousands of years ago, if repaired and partially rebuilt by dark elves more then once; of course most of those buildings were torn down, so a surviving building was rare to start with. There was little to it; a stone building that was coated in a deep gray color with a black door. He opened the door and stepped in over the plain, stone floor and moved to the wooden counter, placed his order and then moved to sit at a corner seat, sighing as he sat down and leaned back.

Everyone present was laborborne... although fewer then usual; either busy thanks to the war, not allowed rest like he was or no longer in the realm of the living...

It was hard to tell... and a bit depressing if you thought on it too long.

He leaned back in his seat and sighed deeply as he leaned his head back, relaxing in the comfortable setting. A few moments later he heard someone walk over to him as he looked and saw someone coming over to the table and sitting across from him. "Pavel, back in the old watering hole, huh?"

"Andrei, you know you don't need to wear that here, right?" Pavel let off as he looked over his friend and his garb; by contrast to himself Andrei Risingfist was taller at six foot two and was broader in the shoulders with striking blonde hair tied back in a tight ponytail, striking blue eyes and a strong jaw giving him an overall handsome visage. What Pavel was referring to was that Andrei had wore his gambeson armor to the pub; it was the standard sort of cloth armor issued to them; thick cloth with diamond shaped stitching along the whole thing and colored a deep purple with red trim and yellow panels at the side.

Black, padded pants were tucked into thick, black leather pants as black gloves were over the hands to the elbows with yellow leather set to the back of the forearms and hands. Black leather straps in the front held it shut and a black, leather breastplate covering the chest was set over it; covering the shoulders and chest, held with straps under the arm pits while stamped in the center and back of the breastplate was the Nightsong House 's own armor lacked the breastplate as unlike him Andrei had enlisted into the army. Andrei left his weapons behind save a single knife at his right hip that was eight inches long and straight.

"Come on, shouldn't you be proud to be in the army, my friend?" Andrei said as Pavel narrowed his eyes in return.

"You're enlisted; I'm a conscript." The woodworker replied with a soft huff. Soon mugs of brosha (A cheap drink that was comparable to human beer) was set before them as Andrei sighed, picking up his mug pointing to his friend with it.

"Don't you have any pride?" Andrei said sternly as Pavel gave him a flat look. "We are here doing the will of the Pure Council, fighting for the great City State of Nidavellir! Is that not worth fighting for?" He let off with an honest pride.

"No... Why in the hell are we fighting for someplace we've never been?" Pavel countered as he sipped his drink, swallowing as Andrei blinked at him. "And why do we need to kill humans? I mean with the queen's Dread Field we're untouchable by them, we don't need to do shit."

"The war on humans, of course..." Andrei let off, as if it was the most obvious thing ever. He looked up to him with narrowed eyes. "Humans are pests and are to be ended in the name of the giant."

"So are rats and cockroaches; when's the war on them?" Pavel let off as Andrei snorted and sipped his drink. "I'm just saying there's a thousand types of pest out there and we need to kill this one? This isn't a war we need to wage; it's a war the toddlerborne wanted while the idleborne queen sits back on fat arse and lets them do what they want; what happens to us along the way be damned."

"It is the way of things." Andrei let off as he frowned to his friend, acting like a stern father. "We are not meant to understand the thoughts of those above us; they have knowledge and wisdom we do not."

"Pffft, yeah... the way of things..." Pavel let off as he leaned an arm on the table. "Sounds like an excuse to not bother changing things at all to their benefit and our determent."

"Come now... We are the foundation of our proud kingdom!" The larger man said as he narrowed her eyes. "We have a duty."

"Look..." Pavel said as he swirled his drink before having a sip. "Look... I get you want to rise up to the lowborne and I respect that. But that doesn't mean I'm just going to take what everyone says at face value; doubly so when when 'face value' seems to be judged by how much that face is stomped on by a toddlerbonre's boot. Or an assbrone's boot under a toddlerborne's direction."

"Don't be like that..." Andrei let off as two plates of food were brought to them by a waitress. "We are here to defend our culture and way of life!"

"By attacking those who can't hurt us?"

"That is our way of life!"

Pavel sighed as he moved to eat as Andrei joined him. For now he wanted to stop arguing and just enjoy the break from the war...

And hoped he would survive it when it restarted...

[-]

Mooncast City
Territory of Onyxcloak, Kingdom of Garan
Early Afternoon

While they were supposed to be rotated out Andrei found himself approached by another solider and told he was to report into the local commander. What for exactly he wasn't sure but if duty called then he was required to answer. Growing up he had heard the tales, of course; the gleaming city of Nidavellir where life was perfect and ideal, where all had their place and their own meaning; a utopia that lowly humans could never hope to match. Even their own mighty Garan was, as he had heard, a shadow of that mystical land...

Although finding those able to speak of it first hand was rarer and rarer...

Attrition from the wars with Eostia had killed or severely wounded everyone who had arrived when they first took this land and formed Garan and with the long lives of elves there were only a handful of generations born since then; maybe three or four for the highborne and seven to ten for the laborborne who were encouraged to have large families in compared to the usual, Nidavellir family. Indeed; his friend Pavel's opinions were not uncommon these days... if anything they were becoming more common as time went on as they felt more and more disconnected from mythical Nidavellir and their legacy, their history and their original culture.

Still it was worth fighting for, at least to Andrei as he wasn't just trying to reach the ranks of the lowborne to just gain power and prestige for it's own sake, although that was a nice bonus, it was to inspire those around him as their duty was worth the blood, the sweat and the tears! After all the Giant that birthed their race had made them custodians of the night, the stars and the heavens!

He would finally reach the city's command post, walking in and once his identity was confirmed he was given leave to enter to head down the hall to reach the local commander's office. Once at the door he knocked twice; firm then softer as he waited. "Enter!" He heard as he opened the door and stepped in. There were two people in the room; behind the ornately carved, oaken desk was the local commander; Vera Scoursong, a lowborne who was descended from House Nightsong which he was sure had nothing to do with her well earned position.

The five foot five woman bore short, red hair that was a bit messy and wore mythril armor over her frame with a black under layer. There were two, green spell stones set to the armor; one by the neck and one at the spot between the breasts at their top. The bevels over her breasts were larger then her C-Cup breasts as she looked to him with a serious look. "About time that you arrived."

"Who is this?" The other person was a blonde with a long, left sided ponytail with a half cape over one aside as she looked to him sternly as Andrei stiffened his back and stood at attention.

"He's Andrei Risingfist; one of our newest men; Second Class, Enlisted." Vera said as she looked to the man before pointing to the blonde with a thumb. "That's Chloe." She said simply as he frowned then his eyes widened in recognition.

"Commander Chloe? The Queen's Aide?" He let off as Chloe blinked at him for a moment in surprise as Vera's frowned deepened.

"Don't act like the halfborne is that accomplished." Vera said dismissively along with a hand wave as Chloe let off a glare to her.

"I am here at the Queen's behest." The half dark elf spoke. "You would do well to remember that regardless of your opinion of me I speak with her authority in these manners." Vera frowned as she glared back, the lone male looking between them for a moment in confusion.

"Ma'ams?"

"I was just informing Vera she was under orders to prepare to send more of her forces to train with the army." Chloe began. "I am sure you're aware we've taken significant losses this incursion. It's made problems for us."

"Of course I can't just send out manpower without making up for the shortfall somehow." Vera inserted. "As such we need something to fill holes until we can dredge up the numbers from elsewhere. As such, knowing you're dutiful, I was going to offer you a chance to showcase your dedication."

Someone like Pavel might notice this was anything but an offer. Indeed if a human were to view the conversation they'd say he was being 'voluntold' for the task.

"If it is within my ability to do so-"

"It's such a simple guard job that even a lesser laborborne like you can do it." Vera said dismissively, cutting him off with a rude tone; even so he kept a stoic face. "You're to mind the slave pens, ensuring the broodmares don't escape, the Aberrant don't cause them too much harm and that they're only used on the open hours. Seriously; all Aberrant would do is breed if we didn't mind them... you'd think they had no other tasks to do." She said with a sigh. "You'll be doing it daily, starting tomorrow until it's time to deploy once more."

"Yes Ma'am, I'll-"

"Dismissed." Vera said with a wave of her hand to cut him off once more before she looked to Chloe. "And yes, I will fulfill the queen's orders as needed, halfborne. So you can be dismissed as well."

"Tsk. You better." Chloe said as she moved to stand before Vera before leaning over the desk. "Because if I have to remind you it won't be her authority you'll need to worry about." She said before turning to leave, Andrei saluting before turning to do the same, shutting the door behind him-

Wham!

-and saw Commander Chloe, personal aide to the Dark Queen with her fist pressed into a pillar, post punch. "Damned idiot..." She hissed out as she snorted, glaring down the hall, glowering in rage.

"Commander?" Andrei let off as she stiffened for a moment, pulling her fist to her side and turning to look at him. "Are you... okay?"

"... Heh..." She let off, looking aside with a soft smirk as he blinked. "It's rare anyone addresses me by title or name... Normally it's just 'halfborne' or 'you'."

"...Have you not been raised to the state and respect of the lowborne?" Andrei asked as he blinked at her as she snorted.

"Ohh, please..." Chloe let off as she sighed. "Most highborne don't care about that at all and my 'fellow' lowborne either feel threatened when someone rises to their level or just keeps dismissing them as laborborne or worse."

"But... That's... It seems... like that's a bit off... I mean you..." He let off, trying to comprehend and explain his own thoughts. "You are the former human's chainborn turned the Queen's lowborne right hand... Is there not inspiration there?"

A sad smile was his first reply as she slowly shook her head before turning to leave. "You'd think... you'd think..." She said bitterly as Andrei watched her leave before sighing and moving to walk down the hall as well; he had to prepare for work tomorrow.

[-]

Napreryvnyy City, Royal Palace
Southwest Blazecrown, Kingdom of Garan

"That we have been pushed back once more... How frustrating..." Czarina Nightsong, Matron of the High House Nightsong, sighed as she leaned on the balcony's railing and looked off to the city below as she swirled a glass of fine bragg, a dark elven wine that was tinted a pinkish purple as she moved to sip at it. "What is going on here..?"

"Indeed, it's frustrating." Gavrilla Dreadblade, the General of Garan replied with a frown, holding her own glass of bragg as she sat at a table on the balcony; colored black with golden trim. "We are still attempting to work things out but the humans are better prepared then before. They have flying wagons now which is new but some of those we've captured have small, metal plates with spell stones in it. Our enchanters can't make heads or tails of it's function, nor pierce it's defenses but I recall seeing a human speak into it... I think those things are for communication."

"...Assuming they speak into them we must assume then the speed in instant or nearly so." Czarina said with a soft frown. "If it can work in the Dread Field then one wonders if their spies are having a field day at our expense."

"Indeed..." The general let off with a huff. "Something has changed... The humans always change a little every century, some times every half of one but this is... a change greater then any before... I can only imagine the damage done if they used their new wagons to attack from the air... Thankfully by all accounts they're still rare so it's more then like they do not wish to endanger them... But if they were to build up a hundred of them..."

"...They could bypass Garan and attack Nidavellir directly... They could ignore the dangers of the Reaches and attack the city state with impunity..." Czarina said with a frown as she felt her blood chill as she sipped her drink. "...We need a way to counter them... Only our gargoyles can reach them but they can't match their speed at all..."

"It's something we need to work on... Dammit..." Gavrilla let off as she shut her eyes as she sipped, her frustration coming out to the fore. "Bad enough that one of the bastards fell Belyy Klyk..."

"Belyy Klyk is dead?" Both women jumped; the general half turning as the Matron looked back as they both saw Olga Discordia stepping out and around; both barking out 'my queen', with the General moving to stand. "Why was I not told this?" Gavrilla blinked at her for a moment as she looked confused.

"I... placed it into the reports. I am sure it was to be sent to your desk..." The General said as she frowned in thought. "Perhaps there was... a mistake or it got lost in the shuffle..?" Olga hummed as Czarina did her best to look relaxed.

'I told the other Matrons withholding something like this wouldn't work...' She thought to herself as she felt an eye twitch despite her control. 'Fools... Why would they want to hide such information from her? I can understand not distracting our queen with the rumors of unrest in the general populace, but something like this is what she'd hear of sooner or later.'

As she thought Garvilla began to explain the situation in question; from a tip from a low ranking member of the enlisted to the location of one of the Matron slayers, James Noxdecus, how they tracked him down and moved to ambush him... only for two units of human mercenaries to ambush him as well and resulting in a massed, chaotic and costly four way fight...

And then Belyy Klyk arrived to the scene forcing a four way truce between former enemies, the arrival of a known and powerful mercenary with the death of a matron under his own belt, how he faced the bear and faltered before their quarry lured the beast into a cave, outmaneuvered it and dropped stalactites onto it, finally ending their decades long mistake and lastly their withdraw from the battlefield.

They lost seven knights to the grave at the end of the endeavor, failed their task and only had a consolation prize in the end in the Blood Bear's demise.

"That human once more? Curious." Olga let off with a hum as her eyes narrowed softly in thought. She was forced to admit she was curious in regards to the human; he assisted several dark elves escape slavery with her aide being the most notable of them. She had heard his name in regards to slaying Vasilisa and she would hear of his slaying of the trolls before anyone knew of his name... and now this...

Something in her told her that he would become a very dangerous human if left unchecked... "Gavrilla; I want to have any information on this human delivered to me personally as it happens. He has done more then some of his peers have in less then thrice the time. More over if he is able to not just survive the Blood Bear but through cleverness slay him... what more can he do once he is stronger?"

"Indeed..." Gavrilla said with a frown. "I'll be sure to do so; I'll direct an aide to have them deliver them to you directly."

Czarina looked out to the distance for a moment more. 'Peh! Threat... Really... What the hell can that human do to us?'

[-]

Mooncast City
Territory of Onyxcloak, Kingdom of Garan
Slave Pens
Following Morning

The sounds of crying and weeping sounded as Andrei arrived at the pens. The pens were built at the edge of the 'Beast District' where most of the Aberrant of the Legion were kept and they were, in reality, a series of cages within a building boasting a large roof with a gentle tilt to one side and no walls; merely bars to hold up the roof. A series of spell orbs in the ceiling would warm the brood mares in the winter and cool them in the summer... to the point they wouldn't suffer frostbite or heat stroke. Comfort, it was clear, was not much of an option; but who cared about the humans comfort?

Each cage held an amount of human women, the odd halfling women and, as he could see, one, lone high elf regretting her life's choices. So deep in the field were they that most of the human women were immobile and shivering, unable to do much. A dark elf handler could be seen force feeding one as another used a device that created streams of water along with a brush to clean another unmoving one... including their waste. He would later learn no one wanted to clean them but they didn't want the breeding population to be wiped out to cholera because human shit ended up where it shouldn't be...

Nor did they want it to spread beyond the human population; it couldn't kill a dark elf... but being bedridden for up to fourteen weeks didn't sound fun.

He moved to the gate and the guard house beside it as the sounds of Aberrant grunting and howled filled the air, the only place with real walls in the structure and knocked on the door of the house. A porthole in the door opened as someone peered out before it was shut and the door opened. "Finally, a fresh face..." A man within said dully. He bore shoulder length hair that was black but seemed a bit unwashed as yellow eyes looked over to him. He wore the standard gambeson of the army in Nightsong colors but lacked the leather plating; a conscript then, most likely. "I hope you brought a good book... Or something to do..."

"Ahhh, this is a fairly easy job then?" Andrei asked as the man looked to him with a deadpan stare.

"Surrrrrre... If you can ignore non-stop crying, whining, moaning, begging and whimpering..." The man said as he led the enlisted solider inside. "Anyway; job's mostly easy. Mind the door, let in Aberrant when it's time, ring the bell and get them out when it's no longer time. You might need to poke the odd one; especially the orcs, to get them moving out. They use they special coins to pay for time." He said, moving to pick something off the desk in room, showing it to him; it was simple tin, oval and as long as him thumb and half as wide. On one side was Queen Olga's face and on the other was a simplified version of Garan's banner. Andrei took the coin, turning it over to look at it. "Make sure no one breaks in to steal the slaves. Or kill them. Or fuck them off hours. Well, except Sergi but only because he has to clean human shit; he kinda deserves it."

"Errrr, isn't that against the rules?" Andrei asked, blinking as the man shrugged.

"With all due respect the toddlerborne only want the Aberrant's time restricted and most of the assborne don't care either way." He said, moving to pick up a sack and shouldering it. "No one cares if you have a go... Not that I would-"

"NOOOOOOOOOOO! Stop it! It hurts! I'm tearing! You're tearing my ass!"

"-beacuse you'll hear that all day..." He said with a sigh. He waved before turning to leave. "Well, for the next two hours anyway... enjoy... Or don't. I stopped caring a long time ago." He said with a shrug before Andrei noticed something.

"What is this?" He asked, moving to something and picking it up; a small, slab of brass with two, small and weak looking spell stones set to it. He turned it over, curious.

"Dunno... Came with the cousin elf..." The man said with another shrug. "A lot of the humans have one now I hear; no idea why. I'm sure the upper ranks have a couple already so we just left that in here." Andrei gave a frown; just leaving it here was a violation of policy, wasn't it? "Keep it if you want. I don't care..." He said before finally turning and walking out of the room and shutting the door behind him, leaving Andrei alone as he set the device back down on the desk.

"...It would have been nice if he explained more of this." He said with a sigh before moving to sit down.

"Larentia! Ohhh, goddesss! HELP ME!"

"I don't want a goblin's child! Let me go you-" A loud slap sounded before being followed by a scream.

More and more the screams sounded as he looked to the wall between him and the slaves... the far, far too thin wall...

"What does it matter... they're all worthless humans anyway..." He said before moving to sit down. Another screaming human sounded as he looked around.

He really did need a book...

[-]

"Ahhh! Ahhh! Stop! Stooooooop!"

"Just kill me! Just kill me already you monster!"

"Beasts! Swine! Heathens!"

"HEEEEEEELP! GODDESS HELP MEEEEEEEEE!"

"They're just worthless humans..." Andrei let off, saying it for the thirteenth time over the course of two hours as screaming, screeching and the sounds of pain and agony sounded from behind too thin walls. "They don't matter, they're nothing to be concerned abo-"

Ping-Ping-Ping-Ping! Ping-Ping-Ping-Ping!

He jumped a bit, looking to the odd slab, the one the high elf was said to have had on her. One of the stones flashed over and over with a soft sound as he blinked at it. It seemed to do that for a full minute before finally stopping. "...Strange..." He let off. He looked at it for a few moments more before noting something from the side of his eye; one of the few luxuries in the room was a clock that used timing provided by a spell stone to turn the dials to tell the time. It was time to close the pens as he sighed and stood up and moved to the back door to step into the pens proper. The bell was there and it was a simple matter of grabbing it's rope and pulling on it several times, the ringing of the bronze ringing out across the pens.

The Aberrant made sounds of disappointment and a few seemed to pick up with their grunting but soon, one by one, Aberrant of all stripes filed out... save greater ghouls and trolls who had... special prisoners set aside for their use in another pen elsewhere. It took the better part of seven minutes but the Aberrant all moved along and left...

Save one...

There's always one.

He sighed and moved to the cage in question along the halls between the cages and moved in as he drew his sword; the goblin humping into the mouth of some blonde, small breasted human before giving the thing a swat upside the head with the blade's flat. "Hey! Times up!" He let off as the goblin shrieked and moved to pull it's loincloth back into place before leaving as he turned, hearing the coughing human behind him as he sheathed his blade before he stepped out and slammed the cage shut. He sighed and started to walk off and back to the gatehouse as he ignored the whimpering and pleading about him-

-before his ankle was gripped as he turned to glare down at the one who grabbed and paused... The girl bore darker skin, a shade or two from being a match of his own; he had heard some humans had that color of skin but it was a rarity. Rumors were there was a land of humans far away where such dark skin and even darker was common and to see a human woman with a tone of skin so close to his own was... disturbing.

More over she had striking, blonde hair... like himself and most of his family... But it was the hair style; short, clipped flat at the front with the sides clipped at a downwards angle. It was a hairstyle far, far, far too alike to his own sister... The human's body was too curvy to pose as her and blue eyes didn't match his sister's purple, and then there was the lack of pointed ears... but the similarities were uncanny... Her mouth quivered before she finally found her voice and started to speak.

"P-please... K-k-kill... kill me..."

He pulled back from her; eyes wide as he looked to her as she looked to him with a whimper that came from her mouth yet filled her eyes. Panting softly from his own reaction, one he couldn't explain to himself, he turned about and saw something from the corner of his eye and looked over-

-and saw three women in the same cage; none moving or responsive. They made no sound or moved. One was flat on her back, the other on her front and the last sitting up, leaned into the bars limply. Their eyes were open, unblinking and glassed over. A bit of drool leaked from their lips and it took a moment to realize that it wasn't being bred that had done this to them (Although it would not have helped) but it was the Dread Field. It was something that they had learned in school then in basic training; the effects and stages of the Dread Field on humans when this deep inside of it.

Stage One: A feeling of jitteriness and unease. Often the humans would feel like something or someone was behind them making them look over their shoulder consistently.

Stage Two: Sudden spikes of fear and terror at random times; even while asleep leading to nightmares.

Stage Three: Light bladder failure. Not to the point of the humans fully soiling themselves but bits of urine spilling out from a few drops to a spoonful.

Stage Four: Additional and greater spikes of fear as they lasted longer and longer. At times it could be less 'spikes' of fear and more 'periods' of terror.

Stage Five: Ineffective sleeping. Humans would fall asleep and even if they had no nightmares they would never be rested after a night of sleep.

Stage Six: Mana wavering. The human body will start to leak their mana into the air faster then it could be absorbed from the air. Mages could resist this step longer if they didn't cast spells but sooner or later it would occur.

Stage Seven: Intense terrors. There are no more 'spikes' of terrors. If anything there's brief spikes of calm as the humans suffered a feeling of growing, sheer, utter, prolonged terror while helpless to do a thing about it.

Stage Eight: Coma. The human simply goes into a coma, unable to awaken or respond.

Stage Nine: Full mana shut down. The human can no long absorb mana at all from the air. Their mana systems would shut down fully and even if removed from the field it would never recover.

Stage Ten: Death.

By all accounts the three women were in Stage Eight at least. He had been aware of it of course, and never thought much of it... but to see it first hand... To see it in person was different then hearing about it in school or seeing it in a book. He stepped back and started to look away as he tried to walk away-

"First time seeing the results of your evil, drow?"

-only to turn and see the lone high elf in the cages sitting and looking to him, cross legged, arms hanging near her chest as the chains attached to her collar prevented her from lowering them past her modest, c-cup breasts. Her white skin was covered with globs of white semen from her face to her softly swollen, clearly pregnant belly. She had waist long, lavender hair and bore green eyes that were glaring to him.

"...It's their fault for being human..." He let off as the woman huffed and waved a hand.

"Oh yes, it's their fault for being unable to pick what they're born as... Fucking, bigoted drow." She let off as he walked to the cage and kicked the bars.

"Do not use the tone with me, traitorbonre." He let off as she snorted.

"I'm Eostian, born and raised. Eostiaborne, you might say." The high elf let off as she glared to him. "And something to be proud of, unlike being some idiot drow."

"You are quite mouthy for a woman in a cage." He let off, glaring at her in turn.

"Not much else I can be... I mean I'm stuck here in a city of monsters and Aberrant." Andrei let off a 'tsk' as he glared at her, the high elf smirking to him. "Tell me; everyone says your Impure Council bid you all commit genocide but I never understood what they had to gain and aside from this little kingdom what have you gained?"

"What the Pure Council demands is that we end th-"

"-the humans pests who are to be ended in the name of the giant." The high elf let off in a bored tone before snorting. "So in other words you don't know, and are too indoctrinated to care to know. You're little more then a buzzing drone, parroting what's he's heard and unable to think for himself."

"You know nothing about our culture." Her let off glaring at him as he stood closer to the cage as she huffed. "You know nothing about me."

"You're a laborborne." She let off, looking to him with a flat stare. "You swallowed all the crap about greatness and legacy like fish to bait and wanted to rise up in the ranks, telling yourself you'll be a beacon to your fellows. Despite that your higher status commanders offer you and yours on your level of the caste system no real respect no matter what you do or how well you do." She let off as she watched his face go blank as he stared at him in shock. "Ohhhh, I'm that close to the mark am I, little drow?"

"Y-you..."

"I wasn't fighting in the war, you know." She said, looking up at him. "I was just a Healer working for the crown. I wasn't even near a war camp when I was abducted; I was offering my services in a town to simple folk in need of simple things. You've seen some of the women that were stolen from there, but do you know what they did to the men who survived or surrendered?" She let off. Seeing no answer she kept going. "They sent the young men to the mines. Those too young or old to work was butchered to feed the Aberrant. While alive. You and yours inflict rape, torture and butchery."

He grit his teeth as he glared at her. Despite that wasn't she aware of-

"I know what you're thinking; don't the humans enslave elves too? Why yes!" She chirped as she clapped her hands together as best as she could. "And each other and halflings... At least where it's legal to do so."

"What do you mean 'where it is legal'?" He let off.

"Oh, you don't know?" She let off smirking. "Eostia is divided between seventy three territories. Take a guess; how many allow for slavery?" He glared at her as he huffed.

"Fifty." He barked out.

"Lower." He blinked at the reply, surprised.

"Forty."

"Lower." His eyes widened more as he leaned in.

"You lie."

"I don't. Still lower."

"...Twenty."

"Lower."

"Fifteen."

"Lower.

"Twelve."

"Lower."

"..."

"Eight."

"Eight!?"

"Yup. Eight territories that have slavery of any and all races. It used to be ten but two recently abolished the practice." The high elf let off smirking to him. "There are states that allow only for the slavery for Dark Elves... but it's maybe three or four. So less then a seventh of Eostia has slavery and it's not even a sixth for the few states that deal with dark elves alone. Now; how much of Garan has abolished the slavery of anyone?"

"..."

"I thought as much, little drow."

"Why don't you just shut up..?" He hissed out as she smirked back.

"Because it's clear that you might be a dumb, drone of a drow... but you have a small conscience... hard as it might be to find." She said as she leaned in as she looked him in the eye as her smirk grew. "And I want you to remember this... I want you to remember the hurt and the harm fucking drow like you do. I want you to wake up having nightmares at everything you and yours have done and will do. I want you to understand how evil you really are." Andrei hissed before kicked the door to the cage and turning to leave, marching away as she waved with a bound hand. "Come fuck me next time! It's not like I can say no!"

[-]

Mooncast City
Territory of Onyxcloak, Kingdom of Garan
Early Afternoon

Pavel Oakmaker sighed and looked about for a moment as he walked down the street. It was a mostly busy day with people going to and fro as he walked along. Of course he tried to mind all of the soldiers on the street who were 'keeping order'...

Which was to say policing speech, minding that the laborborne stayed in their lane, searching random people for contraband or just being there as a reminder of who was in charge and who was supposed to be good little servants. He had, along the way, saw one of the assborne female guards harass a couple, bitch slap the woman and back the man to a wall, blade to his throat as she groped his groin openly before finally letting them leave in peace...

Of course most of the policing guards were, themselves, laborborne so most, under their face covering skull caps, looked bored or disinterested and less policed people and more just stood there; ignoring anything that wasn't an actual fight or theft. That meant, as long as you avoided the bottom-tier and too ornery lowborne mixed into the guards, you could get away with a lot so when he ducked into the dark alley he was ignored. He would walk down to a near half way mark and pause, double checking the two sides of the alley. Finally he lifted a hand and knocked on a brick wall... which made the sound of knocking on wood the the sound of knocking on stone like the gray bricks of the buildings on either side of him.

"Come in." A soft voice said as he stepped forwards...

And through the illusion and into a hidden room, built into the side of the building. He smiled and slipped a coin to the man at the door as he shut it and turned to walk down a short hall then down the stairs and into Hidden Hole, a small, illegal mix of a shop and a bar that in another world would be called a 'speakeasy'. Pavel knew of it due to some 'under the table' work to help build furniture for the place as well assisting in building an extension to the place, once the dirt and earth had been dug out and moved. That earned him the status of a patron of the place and he needed some enjoyment in his life right now; the chances of dying was increasing thanks to the toddlerborne's idiot war. "Pavel, been awhile... Glad to see you alive still."

The dark elven man behind the bar smiled to him; he was broad chested with black hair pulled behind his head into a ponytail and wore a simple black tunic and white pants. What was striking about him was the yellow spell stone in his left eye socket and the vertical scar over the same eye; as a rule elves healed very well. They couldn't regenerate lost limbs or eyes but scars would vanish over time; often within a week of the wound fully healing. The man's scar had lasted for over three quarters of a century without healing. Pavel had no idea what had caused such damage that the elven skin refused to heal in full but he also didn't want to know; it was a frightening thought. "Hey Gleb. Yeah, I muddled through somehow."

"That's the important part." Gleb said with a nod. "I mean the assborne and toddlerborne ain't lookin' out for us, are they?" Pavel snorted at that; it was true. Gleb was once lowborne himself but made the 'mistake' of withdrawing from a hopeless battle to conserve his forces as opposed to 'making the humans bleed' and had his status reduced upon the end of that conflict. "So, you wantin' the usual?"

"Yeah, you got it?" The man nodded and moved to reach under the counter pulling out a few things, moving to set them on a small tray. The first was a chilled glass to which a bottle of dark, golden colored whiskey was poured. Once filled and the bottle was set aside the second thing to be set down was a long, rolled, well made cigar. The final thing was was a bar of chocolate; two of his fingers wide and twice as long. Once Pavel set the payment down and Gleb bid that he enjoyed it he would take the tray and moved to a seat at a round table near the corner. He would enjoy the bar of chocolate first.

He had been learning more and more about how exactly this stuff was smuggled into Garan and it surprised him; in the north by the sea very few people lived and those who did lived in small communities of supposedly poor, isolated peoples who simply wanted to not live under the toddlerborne's boots which sounded like the sort of place he wanted to move to. One of these few, small and yet thriving-in-truth towns was called Silver Cove, so named due to it's oddly white sands, which held a dock hidden within that same cove from which a small merchant navy of sloops operated. They would sail to the waters north of the Harpie Hunting Grounds of the Halcyon Mountains to another cove where the Eostian smugglers would come to sell and trade with Garanian smugglers.

Anything the toddlerborne wanted to ban or deny was brought in this way; chocolate, tobacco, hard liquor, books, art, playing cards, religious crosses and more. It took time, it cost money but it could be brought in. Once he was done with his sweet bar he set the cigar to his mouth as he pulled a set of matches from his pocket, lit one and set flame to it's end before taking a long, slow drag, breathing it out as he held the tobacco in his hand before enjoying his drink slowly. He only had the funds to enjoy this once a week at most and with the pause in the war he was overdue.

"Pavel! Enjoying it, eh?" He heard, seeing another elven man walk over. Compared to his fellow elves this one bore less dusky skin with obvious shades of gray to it. His hair was as white as could be as rose colored eyes looked over to Pavel. A black cloak covered a deep red tunic and black pants, deep brown boots on each foot. The man was a mixed elf; he wasn't sure about the full mix beyond mostly high elf, some dark elf... and at least a hint of human he believed.

"Always amazes me what the fuck humans can make, ya know?" Pavel said with a sigh, smiling as he looked to the cigar before taking another pull on it. "And I'm damn thankful for you and yours for bringing them. Makes me wonder how you do it, Savva."

"Trade secret." Savva said with a grin, smiling as he sat down, setting his own drink on the table and sighing as Pavel chuckled.

"No, really, how? The walls are too tall to get that shit over it." Savva chuckled as he glanced to the side before smirking and leaning in.

"You already know it. You know those beams you helped me set up?" Savva let off as Pavel blinked before nodding and having another drag on his cigar.

"Yeah; you had me cut them and help you set them up underground..." He said, frowning. "I thought it was some old cellar you were reinforcing... But then again you never took me past that opening section." Savva chuckled and grin.

"Ohhh, there are cellars down there I use... But it's mostly a series of tunnels." Savva said as he paused to sip his drink. "Mmmm... I think it was built by humans back in the day; I think it was a sewer. One big tunnel that leads out and a lot of smaller tunnels. Most of the side tunnels don't go anywhere but those that do have little covers in alleys. Makes it easy to get around, but a lot are ruined."

"I should have known it was more then a cellar, you sly dog." He let off a chuckle before moving to give a thoughtful frown. "Didn't they tear down the old, human city and rebuild next to it?" He let off as sipped his own drink as he thought it over; thinking maybe when the city grew it stretched out over the location of the old city and most of the foundations were just reused. Savva hummed and thought it over.

"Yeah... sounds about right. You know it's funny..." He let off as he chuckled. "Those humans could build couldn't they? They live for a century at best and yet they try and build things that last ten times that... Not even like statues saying 'I am great' just... buildings... Roads... You can find old castles in the countryside that still stand today... Most of them are falling apart to some degree but still..."

"Man, I would love to visit some of those old castles..." Pavel said with a chuckle. "I've built a couple homes before but I wanna see what something grand like that is like... Supposedly, once upon the time, those humans had a grand empire... Huge even. Like a hundred times the size of Garan. Can you imagine that? So many humans, hell, so many people under one, single banner?"

"I know; it's almost unthinkable to us..." Savva said with a laugh. "The idleborne queen sits on her plush arse, doing something once in a while and the rest of the time farting in her throne room while all the toddlerborn huff it like it's perfume before going home, looking in the mirror and talking about how important they are. Meanwhile the human leaders build."

"And the little guys like us are stuck huffing the farts of the toddlerborne and assborne and pretending it's all fine." Pavel huffed softly as his sipped his drink for a moment before having a drag of his cigar. "Yeesh..."

"Yeah... Too bad no one can give the upper ranks a good punch in the nose, huh?" Savva let off with a deep sigh as Pavel nodded.

'That's too true...' He thought as he pulled on the cigar in his hand as he thought for a bit. 'Hmmm... Knowing Savva he'll be leaving tonight to head back north... I should go and explore those tunnels of his tomorrow, might be a fun little time... At least until I get dragged back into the war I should do something for me, right?'

After all, when you lived under the boots of those higher then you you take your joys where you can...

[-]

Mooncast City
Territory of Onyxcloak, Kingdom of Garan
Slave Pens
Next Day, Early Afternoon

Andrei had marched down the halls between the cages of the slave pens; there was the sounds of something and he felt the need to check. As it turned out it was a goblin trying to visually and verbally coax a woman to the bars of her cage from the outside for his 'fun'. Once Andrei was close enough the goblin knew it wasn't getting anything as, thusly, left. Grumbling he started to walk back, doing his best to not look to the sides into the cages; focusing just on the path directly before him.

He had too little sleep that night to start with; the cousin elf's mockery and sight of limp, near lifeless bodies stirred a feeling in him he couldn't quite place or name. If anything he needed twice the tea that morning to fully stir to his senses.

'They're just humans... The deserve this for the war... the death of our people... existing...' Somehow the thoughts didn't feel as honest as they had, once upon a time before he arrived to the pens for the first time.

"Heyyyy! Yooo-hooo!" He heard, pausing his steps to look at the source of the call... and glared.

It was the high elf, smirking at him once more. The girls in the pens had been washed and rinsed off and her skin was still moist. That she called to him didn't surprise him; anytime he entered the pens to do something the other day she would call out and taunt him. She was doing so once more, just not verbally alone. She was on her back, her swollen belly filled with an Aberrant child (Or even children) sat above her as she placed her feet under her hips, legs spread and rocking her hips up and down at him. "Are you taunting me once more?"

"Just inviting you." She teased, looking to him as her hips kept rocking; breasts and pregnant belly wobbling over her.

"What do you mean 'inviting me'?"

"Well, geeze, you're slow on the uptake." She let off with a mocking chuckle. "Do I need to put a sign over my pussy for a little, limp, dicked drow like you?"

"You're an Aberrant's plaything, you have no right to invite anyone to do anything." Andrei let off as he sternly glared at her, as he moved to stand before her cage's door. "You sit there, you take it and you learn to enjoy it." He let off... only for her to snort, put on a haughty voice and repeat his words to him in a mocking tone. 'This traitorborne wench is making this job worse...'

"Come ooooooon... Get your dick wet for the first time in two centuries why don't'ya?" She let off, still grinning at him as he kicked the cage door.

"Be silent, traitorborne!" He barked out as he glared to her. "Even it it was proper hours for your use do you think my time worth an overused and abused pussy?"

"Hey, that just means you know it works." She let off, taunting him further with her grin.

"You're a slut."

"And you're a drow. What's your point?" He snarled at the comeback glaring at her before starting to turn from her. "Awwww, scared of the bound, helpless, lil'slut?" She cooed out as he paused and narrowed his eyes before turning back to her and opened the door as he stepped inside and walked to her; the woman's only response was to swing her hips side to side as if to further entice and taunt him at once as she smirked.

As he stepped in he had the desire to just step on her sex and pin it down with his weight but opted to not do so. Instead he stood between her legs as he was sure it was a ploy to get loose and expecting her to kick at his lower limbs; he was ready as he watched her closely as he readied for the kick he was sure was coming. Would it be her left leg or her right? Maybe she'd try both?

"You keeping me waitin', little drow?" She let off as she giggled and rocked her hips. Frowning he stepped in further, his shins nearly pressing to her thighs; in a position like this she wouldn't be able to generate the momentum to give a kick much power to his legs and he was alert enough to block a possible groin kick. "He he he... scared?"

"I could grind my heel to your cunt and you'd be able to do nothing about it."

"And then your dick will still be dry as a desert." She countered with a smirk. It was against protocol for him to even be in there, not that anyone was about to see.

He moved to a kneel and reached out, grabbing her throat and squeezing; not enough to choke her, even if the metal collar prevented it, but enough to establish that he could do as he pleased. "Do you wish to provoke everyone, wench?"

"S-so you're rough on girls, huh?" She let off, wincing but still smirking up to him. "Kiiiiiiinky."

"Tsk..." He let off, glaring further at her eyes. He was tempted to just spit on her and turn to leave but he knew that she would just give him more snark and lip. So then... What else to do but give her more then she asked for... He fully knelt a hand and undid the pants of his gambeson, pulling his own cock out and stroking himself. He was more aroused then he'd care to admit by the taunting elf so it took little time to become ready to punish her. "Maybe you should shut up before you get what you asked for." He let off, setting himself to her sex once he was hard enough and forced himself in. She was moist but not truly wet; likely do to... previous use as he fully drove into her body. She winced but her smirk never vanished as she looked up to him.

"That's it?" She let off as his hand relaxed but stayed at her throat as he started to hump into her. Her folds squeezed on him as she looked him in the eye, grinning wider. "That's all you have?"

"Slut!" He let off, ramming into her harder as he grabbed her under the knees and pushed them close to her chest. He pressed on her legs as he rammed into her harder, glaring into her eyes full of mischief and defiance.

"Drow!" She barked back as she, to his surprise, rocked her hips back into him. "That's all you got? Really? I'm disappointed." She let off off, hissing at him as his cock drove in and out of her as he snarled over her. He rammed harder and harder as her sex squeezed on his cock. "Honestly... Can't you do any better?" She let off as he reached down and grabbed a breast; roughly squeezing it... and stiffening as he saw the nipple lactate under the force of his grip.

Something about the proof of her forced pregnancy, beyond her swollen stomach, made him pause in his thrusting as he looked to the dripping milk, recalling that the last time he visited his mother she was nursing his newest, little brother in her arms right from her teat and-

"Awwww, baby drow want some mommy milk?" His thoughts ended at the next taunt as he grit his teeth as his hard thrusting resumed, his other hand grabbing her other teat as he squeezed harshly, doing his best to batter her into submission with his cock. Both breasts would lactate from the nipples, something he did his best to ignore, as he rammed harder into her as she, unexpectedly, wrapped her legs around his hips, as if to trap him.

"I'm going to make you shut your whorish mouth, traitorborne!" He let off as he moved his legs in a little further, changing the angle of his thrusts as he put more of his body weight into ramming down into her as her sex, suddenly and without warning, squeezed on him as she kept up her firm, smirking glare as he grunted out loudly. He quivered and before he could prevent it he came; his cock spurting off it's load as his balls squeezed down as he painted her Aberrant cargo with his own seed. He was left panting as her breasts rose and feel under his hands as she smirked for a long, long moment.

"That's it?" She let off. He looked to her face for a moment of shock at her non-nonchalant response to what was effectively rape (Invited or not) as she held his gaze with that same, smug look as before. Hissing at her he would grab her legs and force them off his hips and yank her about, making the high elf yelp softly as she was turned to all fours with a plush ass facing him as he drove back into her sex with his cock; pulling on her hips before smacking her ass as he hissed down at her. "Ohhh... was there a fly on my ass?" She let off, holding up her torso as best as she could with her restrained arms as she looked back at him, still smirking.

A firmer smack to her ass was the response as he slammed himself into her once more; his pelvis crashing into her ass and making the flesh there ripple before he reached out and grabbed a handful of hair as he pulled her head back, using her lavender locks as a means to both control her and ram deeper into her as he sneered down at her. "You have a big mouth." He let off as she chuckled.

"Wish I could say that about your dick." She shot back as he snarled and leaned over as he tugged on her hair harder, slamming deeper and deeper into her before giving her ass a smack hard enough to leave a print as she winced but responded by rocking her hips back. "I'm not calling you daddy if you can't spank. Little brother, maybe." Another spank followed as he snarled louder as he rammed into her with anger-born vigor.

"Traitorbonre!" He bellowed out as he felt his balls crash into her with each, hard thrust into her.

"S-sticks and stones may break my bones, but that little dick can't hurt me." She shot back as she rocked herself back as she panted softly; finally showing the effect he was having on her finally. He pulled harder on her hair it turn, almost forcing her upper torso up and back enough to force her off her hands as he slammed deeper and deeper into her; or at least it felt as such.

"Be silent!"

"I'd rather not!" She let off as she squeezed down once more... and triggered him a second time as he buried into her, his balls squeezing on themselves as his pumped his fertile seed up into her occupied womb as she let off a long hiss. "There you go... Don't you feel better, fucking a helpless woman?" She teased as he smacked her rump once more as he pulled free of her.

"You..." In spite of his two climaxes he was still hard enough for another... "Fucking little bitch slut!"

"Oh, tell me how you really fee-oof!" She let off as her head was forced down before his boot was pressed to the side of it; pinning her down as he felt his cock once more... pressing to her anus this time. "Oh, this is what gets you offfffff!?" She let off as he slammed his whole length into her ass; no warning, no tenderness, just a brutal, hard drop into her with all of his might and body weight.

"For once in your in your miserable life be silent, you fucking wench!" He let off as he rammed down hard; both of his hands on her ass, parting the cheeks wide and using the grip as both a point to push off from and pull back in to further bolster the might of his thrusts as he less grunted or panted but snarled with his efforts as he rutted her backdoor like an enraged beast.

"Not... my... style..." She let off, grunting with each word It was clear that the rutting of her ass was having more of an effect then anything else he had tried which made him redouble his efforts; to finally defeat the mouthy elf with his cock and best her in her own chosen field of battle by driving into her with pure, hateful, angry sexual energy. He leaned in harder; putting every bit of weight and power he could into drilling her anus with his cock.

"Shut... your... whore... mouth..." He let off as his pelvis crashed down into the woman over and over as he snarled down to her, moving a hand to lift it and bring it down with a harsh smack.

"Do... words break... you..?" She replied as she merely braced her body as best as she could and even rocked her hips back up into his thrusting. He only smacked her other ass cheek with another long, animistic snarl as she panted under him. Finally he buried down into her as hard as he could as his balls crashed to her sex as he came; his cock spurting down into her anus as her sex quivered under his balls as she shivered herself, her ass clenching down as he pumped on last load into her. Finally he fell back wards, landing on his ass as he panted harder and harder. He looked over to her; on hands and knees, ass up and two holes leaking. For a moment he thought she was finally broken... "So..." She panted out as she looked to him as she rolled herself over, chuckling a bit. "Got any... more in ya?" She let off in a cheeky tone as he gawked at her. He stood up and snarled at her before spitting at her face and turning to walk away. "Is that a no!?" She called out.

He slammed the cage door hard, not even looking at her as he marched away as her giggles followed to his ears. He was in control for the whole thing, he was the one pressing his will and his power onto her... and yet he was the one walking away like it was he who was defeated and humiliated in the exchange...

It would take him ten minutes to realize his dick was still hanging out.

[-]

Mooncast City
Territory of Onyxcloak, Kingdom of Garan
Underground Sewer Tunnels
Early Afternoon

The lantern Pavel was using was relatively cheap; it was a cylindrical block of wood that was two inches around and five long. Four grooves were cut into it and slid into them were a series of odd quartz that was mined in the northeast, were slotted into them and affixed with steel wire and coupled with an attached spell stone in the top that was enchanted to make the quartz glow. The stone itself was pitifully weak but the quartz bore a magical charge in it's own right and was able to generate light under it's direction. Two screws held thick wires that were attached to a handle that let him hold it with ease.

He brought it to explore the tunnels his smuggler friend mentioned and knew he'd need light to do it with... save there was lights made of enchanted glass at the top of the tunnels; a foot long and three inches in a rectangular shape. That they still worked amazed him and it was very useful. That wasn't to say the lantern wasn't needed; some of the glass lights were cracked or broken leading them to be dim or inactive, at times for long distances and this was far more common in the side tunnels. Exploring it was an odd bit of fun that he needed in his life.

The main tunnel led directly outside of the city walls and in what was a divot in the earth running along; likely a river that was now dried up. He knew there was another not too far away in the forest. Likely when the new city was erected the river was redirected; apparently the humans formed a lake with a dam of some sort and redirected the river to where the tunnel exited. While he wanted to go outside of the tunnel to explore, and the gaps in the grates meant that a man could haul a crate through with ease he could, he knew that if he was caught outside of the walls he could be in trouble for it. Perhaps if he was in uniform he could get away with it, but not in his casual clothing.

Instead he opted to explore the side tunnels; many had collapsed either overtime or by the dark elves when they arrived but many were intact although he found himself stepping over debris from time to time. It was, of course, a sewer with water running down but by staying at the sides of the tunnels he was able to stay mostly dry. In addition at various intersections small stone bridges existed to let him cross from side to side with ease. That said some sections of the tunnels had water built up in them behind debris which often reached up to ankle deep but once or twice over knee deep; it was there he'd see the covers Savva mentioned.

They were circular and made of steel with disks of a strange glass under them but they were different then the ones giving light; none seemed cracked, worn, rusted or broken as if made of sterner stuff. These covers were offset to the tunnels with two foot wide stairs leading up to them. The first he went up to refused to move as he pushed from the underside; the steel unrusted and with nothing growing upon it. Then he set his hand on the glass disk and it would glow. He blinked, unsure of what it meant at first as he pushed up on it and it wouldn't budge but then noted a groove to one side. He then pushed the disk to the side and, to his surprise, the cover lowered slightly before it moved with the motion. He gave a 'huh' when it happened and lifted his head up to see what was over him...

And found himself in one of the armories in one of the corners under a shelf. Seeing no one about he stepped up fully, crawled out from under the shelf and briefly explored; they must have been unable to move the cover from above and opted to not care about it. It was one of the common armories so there wasn't anything great there but he noted a shirt of light chain mail...

Knowing he could slip it under his own gambeson he opted to grab it and left back under the hole. After a moment he noted it wasn't moving back into place so he reached out and pulled on the disk; the cover would slide back to place with ease as the glow ended. He went down the stairs and quickly moved to pull his tunic off and pulled the chain mail over his undershirt before pulling the tunic back on.

He was a conscript in a war that was bound to pick up; with some luck the metal armor would be unneeded... but he was sure it was better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it. Once done he would wander down the tunnels further and tried to make a mental map to work out where he was and the tunnels let him pop up in various places; as the main tunnel was larger it was easy to avoid getting lost. One of the side tunnels brought him near his favorite pub, another was close to his house, yet another in a warehouse, one in the local command post in what seemed to be a janitor's room, one in a backroom that he learned was at the slave pens when he peeked out the door to see the caged humans ('Poor creatures', he'd think to himself) as he saw Andrei stomp in his direction making him shut the door, shut the cover and wonder exactly why his dick was swinging out?

...

Likely best not to ask.

The bulk of the covers didn't really go anywhere inside a building, however. Some didn't move at all, one moved and showed solid stone over head, another only allowed a crack to be seen over head... in a woman's bedroom, letting him see up the occupant's skirt as she did something with her bed.

He noted that one for... future reference.

The bulk popped up into alleys, however. This led him to sliding the cover back only a little to listen to what was overhead and then look outside so he didn't get caught. He ended up coming up to one that he found was under, of all things, a crate with a broken bottom. He opted to reach up and pull pieces of the crate's bottom off to toss them away into the sewer before he stick his head up and look outside. The crate had various cracks and separated boards in it's construction which let him look out into the alley but right at the edge of one of the streets. It was curious to him, to see the world without being seen. To look out and listen in without anyone being any of the wiser to-

"Arrgh!" His thoughts were broken as someone was slammed down into the street; merely eight feet away from his crate as he looked out at what happened. The person thrown to the cobblestone was young; maybe under half a century. For an elf that was the awkward spot between being a child and being an adult. Youthful, long brown hair, matching eyes, smooth faced... he looked not unlike himself at that age.

"Idiot dirtborne... You do not get to avoid the call to conscription." Pavel gulped and retreated into the hole slightly; even if he was out of sight inside of the crate. Walking over him was two male knights clad in painted, black armor; breastplates, pauldrons, gauntlets, armored boots and a codpiece with plates on the outside of the arms as well as the front and sides of the thighs with chain mail covering the rest. The trim was silver and both wore helms that covered the bulk of their heads save a 'T' shaped opening to look and breathe from. What was important was that the pauldrons and foreheads of their armors bore the same emblems; a four pointed, even sided diamond with a chevron set the bottom half which was a deep red and a gray diamond above it; it was an emblem that denoted that both were lowborne in rank. "Bloody fool."

"Those borne of the dirt know little else, do they not?" The two parted to let another knight pass; this one female with an additional face guard to her armor's helm. Her armor was visibly better made then her companions already well made armors and bore fuller plates with gold trim along with a mid-back length cape. She bore the same emblem save it's position was flipped vertically to allow the chevron to point upwards; painted a deep gold as opposed to red. The woman was highborne then, likely of House Nightsong.

The youth tried to push up as others on the street stopped what they were doing and stepped back as one of the assborne knight stomped on the youth's back between the shoulders, forcing him back down hard. "You don't get to run, boy." The toddlerborne let off as she walked over to him.

"Ohhh, go and die in your own war!" The youth let off; saying what Pavel always wanted to tell the toddlerborne... of course there's a reason he never did as she kicked him in the side of the head and making it rock to the side as he cried out in pain.

"Dirtborne do not talk back to their betters. I'll be sure to place you on the front lines." She let off before kicking him in the ribs as he heard the crowd watching on cry out in a mix of shock and fear; footsteps shifting away. Pavel winced and stepped down and slowly slid the cover back into place. Even once the metal cover was back into place he could hear talking and cries of pain, muffled as it was.

"Drag him to the barracks!" Came the shout; clear even through the muffling effect of the cover over him. "He'll learn to fight or die on the lines!" He shivered and once at the bottom of the stairs he sat down to collect himself, moving a hand to the neck of his tunic to feel the new, steel links under there.

Men like him were good for fodder for the toddlerborne's war and little else it seemed...

Maybe the people could rise up someday and overthrow them but... that would require them to even think the higher ranks could be brought low...

That seemed impossible, in all honesty...

[-]

Mooncast City
Territory of Onyxcloak, Kingdom of Garan
City Wall
Evening

"What a place..." Chloe let off as she sighed deeply. She had seen the city walls of the old human empire known as the Imperium. They were known to be large, well made and sturdy. Even with minimal upkeep they stood tall and proud and in some cases no upkeep. Whatever could be said about the humans they had a knack for building.

And rather then use such sturdy walls those who founded Garan tore them down, likely with great effort, and replaced them with lower walls but ones that curved inwards on the top of them to make scaling them harder. To even stand atop of the wall one had to exit them as the towers could only be accessed from the outside. If any human engineer who worked in fortifications saw this they would likely find the designer and smack them with a heavy tome titled some variant of 'How To Build Defensive Walls - Beginner's Edition' with several profanities thrown in. Indeed; if a human army were to show up they would likely laugh their asses off at the sight of the city's defenses. A picket fence would be better protection as the only crenelations faced inwards. But it wasn't a wall built for keeping humans out; thanks to the Dread Field these walls were beyond their reach.

These walls were made to keep people in.

Still Chloe worried; what would or could happen if the humans ever could arrive without fear of the Dread Field? An army of less then a hundred could take these walls and oppress those within them. Explaining this to the highborne was pointless; they would huff, lift their nose up high and 'educate' her on their (il)logic, her 'fellow' lowborne (After sneering at her for daring to rise to their level) would just follow their better's lead, all of whom were sure that bypassing the Dread Field was impossible. As for her queen...

Questioning her queen was not her place...

Still; the field was her queen's and, therefore, had to be perfect. That always kept her worries at bay and banished them out of her thoughts; reassuring her that they were unassailable and beyond human reach. Why bother with such walls when they were unneeded? No; they needed to keep the laborborne under control and ensure their place. She frowned at the thought; given her history she didn't agree with the stern reigns placed on the populace and the forced guidance.

As much as she loathed her former master with every fiber in her being to the point that 'loathed' undersold the feelings she held for him she was able to give him credit where it was due; with those who worked under him that didn't have a collar around their necks were treated well, given loose reigns to do their duties under and were given a degree of trust. Mandeville cared little for how you did your job so long as it was done well.

She wondered why such an approach wasn't used here in Garan. She was sure the highborne and lowborne would dismiss the concept as 'too human' for their race and laugh at the mere suggestion; the idea that they should do something that could better themselves regardless of where the idea came from was lost on them. To them this was the way of things and it worked, so why change it? That the bulk of the laborborne might disagree was lost on them... or if it wasn't lost on them then it was the reason they needed to maintain control over the lower castes. The only one who could change things was her queen who had yet to do so and...

Questioning her queen was not her place...

Still, those thoughts weren't part of the current situation she needed to worry about; additional conscripts were being drafted; three thousand by each of the five High Houses. In addition ten thousand Aberrant held in reserve were being mobilized as well. This was an unusually high amount and meant that all but maybe four thousand of their Aberrant was mobilized as an amount was always held in reserve, mostly the older ones who had survived combat and had earned a level of retirement as breeders and trainers for their fellow Aberrant. That they dipped into this reserve spoke volumes of the current issues they were having.

Then again this was the first time they had to deal with flying wagons and, of all things, instant communications by the enemy. Small, strange brass slabs were held by some people they captured and others they killed with two spell stones set to each of them. Their enchanters couldn't make heads or tails of the things suggesting sizable defenses but they were so ubiquitous with even low level enemy commanders that they had to be important. Taking things into her own hands she interrogated opposing elven and half elven foes among the human armies before bribing one of the half elves with temporary imprisonment without being sent to the mines with a promise to be released in five years. He cracked after some coaxing and told her all he knew; while he didn't know how it worked he knew what it did; instant, long range communications via the device that was called a voxlux.

So long as you were in range of a 'booster' you could talk to any other person with a voxlux within it's range or a 'network' of boosters and one booster in Eostia's northern territories could reach as far as the center of Blazecrown itself. It was little wonder the humans responded so quickly to their original mobilization; they could report it the moment it was noticed. Want to record what you saw? Sure; you could do that as well. Scry shields? They could ignore it with ease. If you left one in the men's side of the bathhouse you could find out the size of any man that walked inside. And both they and the flying wagons were made by the same man...

James Noxdecus...

Who knew the child who pulled her from a cage those years ago would go on to do so much? It was a bit worrying to think of how much the man the soldiers had dubbed 'The Blue Terror' had accomplished in so little time; instant communications, aviation, troll and matron slaying and then ending Belyy Klyk. It was clear he was the premier threat to them; regardless on if he was on the front lines or not. If anything it was better for them if he stayed on the front lines; who knew what he'd create if left alone for too long? What if he turned his energies into creating some weapon designed to cause mass destruction?

It was strange to hope that he both did and yet didn't listen to her queen's warning to stay away from the lines.

She looked off to the rising moon as she sighed softly. It was clear to her that this war would either go one of two ways; it would be a long, drawn out slug fest... or a shorter, chaotic and destructive disaster. She hoped for the first... afraid they might be on the wrong end of things in the second case...

[-]

Mooncast City
Territory of Onyxcloak, Kingdom of Garan
The Common Table Pub
Evening

Pavel arrived in time to be just after the dinner rush; the best time in his opinion as the food came in good time and with less chances of other orders clogging things up. There was a chance something he wanted was out of stock or sold out but such was life. He would go to the bar counter, place an order (His favorite mushroom soup and sandwich was still available to his delight) as he moved to his usual table-

-only to see Andrei there, slumped over it. A hand of his held a glass mug of a strong type of bragg and it was a type Andrei rarely drank. "Drei... You look like shit." Pavel said as he sat down across from his friend who flinched at the speech directed in his direction as he lifted his head to look back at the woodworker. "Are you okay?"

Andrei lowered his head back down, let his drink go to bundle his arms under his head. For a long, long moment he sighed before pushing up to sit straighter before slumping back into his seat, tilting his head back. Pavel expected a verbal reply now as his friend usual had some sort of line that was drilled into his head via the usual propaganda to spit back up. Instead he picked up his drink and took a sip that turned into a swig that turned into a gulp that turned into a second gulp before the mug was set down before Andrei looked to him through eyes with heavy, darkened lids and bloodshot eyes. Pavel was getting more and more worried as his own drink was delivered as he waited for an answer. "I was assigned to guard the slave pens." He finally let off.

"Ahh." Pavel said with a wince. He knew of course, having popped up to see him there... with his dick out... Now that he was thinking about it Andrei wouldn't normally violate the rules to violate a prisoner meaning something was off to start with; Andrei swallowed the assborne and toddlerborne made propaganda quite often without really thinking about it... now that he thought about it this might have been his first encounter with humans that weren't across the battlefield or the tip of his spear.

"There's a cousin elf in there." Now that was news to him. "Chatty wench... Even now she's defiant and spiteful... and she's the only one that never begs when the Aberrant have their fun... It's... It's disturbing to hear over and over..." Andrei let off with a sigh.

"I mean humans are living things that can speak." Pavel replied as he sipped his own drink finally. "They have these things called 'feelings' and they'll let you know them, time to time. Can you blame them for wanting to voice them when they're being hurt?" He let off as Andrei sighed and gave him a look.

"I was hoping you'd remind me that humans are pointless, parasitic little wastes." The enlisted man let off as Pavel shrugged.

"Yeah, well they're also elf shaped, sound like elves and have feelings like elves." The woodworker replied as he leaned back in his seat. "Is it that shocking they can be seen as elves if you ignore the ears for a bit?"

"Yes!" His friend hissed out as he glared at him for a moment. "I was... It was... I... That... traitorborne got me thinking..."

"... Andrei..?"

"... I'm having trouble looking at myself in the mirror right now..."

"So..." Pavel let off, pausing as the waitress brought his food, only speaking once she left. "So... what are you gonna do about it?"

Andrei would fold his arms on the table and lean on it as he sighed, slouching over the table with no answer forthcoming.

[-]

?~?~?~?~?

Screaming... Nothing but screaming came from the Slave Pens as Andrei walked in the halls between the bars. Aberrant of all stripes were there; multiple goblins piled onto a single woman, humping, groping and sneering. Ogres would share theirs in pairs or wait until one was done before taking their turn. Orcs would hump until they were done, step aside for another and then line up to go once more. Somehow even a troll had fitted into a cage in spite of how it should not have fitted through it's door as he rutted his own female with her belly distending to the point you could see the veins of it's penis through her belly as she was abused by a sexual organ far too large for her frame. Some may consider it a simple, normal day in the pens...

Save the women occupying it; each one to the last was like himself a dark elf... and all of them, he was sure, were laborborne... like himself... his family...

Each woman with an unoccupied mouth begged... begged for mercy, begged for salvation, begged to be released, begged for death...

He saw people he knew... Pavel's three cousins, shared by a dozen goblins... as well as his friend's mother by an orc... His favorite waitress at the Common Table, on her hands and knees as an ogre drove his own lusts to her. Two of the cute shop keeps as well; one bounced on an ogre's cock from below as another fed his own cock to her mouth the other held up in the air; pussy and anus plowed by two more ogres on either side of her. One woman claimed as a conscript was trapped under a rutting, squealing orc. A girl he knew who just married was there with two goblins trying to get their dicks into the same hole at once...

Then he saw Commander Chloe in a cage with her arms bound behind her and laid on her side... but not with any Aberrant but with two men he knew were of the highborne, rutting her sex and mouth as the one behind her smacked her plush rump with a belt, leaving horrible red welts as the one in her mouth pulled painfully on her hair with one hand and the other reaching down to her to smack at her breast, making it rock around as they verbally mocked and abused her, adding to the sexual and physical pain as Commander Vera stood over her and sneered as she watched. What words they spoke didn't form within his mind but he knew they were foul as they sneered and laughed at her...

Then he saw his own mother there as an ogre raped her sex... but an orc at her face thrusting it's cock into her as she screamed and begged and pleaded... as he drove his piggish dick into her bleeding eye socket as Andrei stepped back into another cage... only to have his ankle grabbed as he turned to see-

-his own sister, covered from head to toe in semen of... he couldn't tell; given what was present it could have come from anything... "P-please... K-k-kill... kill me..." She let off as he backed up, the detachment he felt in the moment breaking as he-

-awoke in his own bed in a cold sweat, looking about frantically. "What... what was that..?" He let off as he felt emotion in waves, blending in a cocktail he could ascribe to any one feeling or thought... beyond one above all...

Guilt... "N-no... this is... proper... this is proper... prop...er... ... why do my own words sound so... hollow..?"

The silence of the night was all that could answer him.

[-]

Mooncast City
Territory of Onyxcloak, Kingdom of Garan
Slave Pens
Next Day, Late Morning

"There you are..." The high elf, still collared, chained and caged, let off playfully as she moved to position herself once more for her new (un)favorite guard as he arrived; her back to the ground, pregnant belly and tits up as she taunted him once more with her sex as he walked about. He'd just chased the last of the Aberrant out as she shook herself to him. "Coming back for more?" She teased.

He didn't respond, ignoring everything as she rolled her eyes. "Oh little droooooow!" She let off to tease him as he turned a corner and-

-bloodshot eyes looked past her as he walked on, the face of a man who, as an old human friend once said, had the lights on with no one at home and going through the motions. "Uhhhh... H-hey... Are you... okay..?" She asked her jailer, honestly concerned for him.

He payed her no mind, less walking away and more shuffling away as she moved up to kneel. "Hey! Hey! Do you even hear me? What's wrong?" She let off. "Hey! Hey! Hey!" She let off as he walked into the guard house. "... What happened to him..?"

[-]

Mooncast City
Territory of Onyxcloak, Kingdom of Garan
Pavel's Apartment
Afternoon

Pavel's apartment was better furnished then most in terms of furniture and ornaments; that was mostly due to being a woodworker himself and able to build things as he wanted and to the quality he desired... It also meant he could make things as he needed as well, such as a hidden tray in his dresser that he could hide his cigars in. He finished loading a fresh dozen in, one by one before sliding it back into place and out of sight. With that done he moved to his sitting room and sat down on a couch as he picked up a book from the table. The outer cover declared it to be 'The Grand March', a popular story in Garan... for the lowborne and highborne. Plays and multiple printings of it were easy enough to find and it was all but forced down the laborborne's throats.

In truth the book was smuggled in and given a false cover. In addition the front, back and center all boasted chapters from the Grand March to further hide that it was an Eostian book entitled 'Our Price', a historical dramatization of how House Xill survived the Engold Civil War and founded the Barony of Price in it's aftermath as told from the point of view of a rookie knight who would rise to the rank of a respected minor noble; what he took as a form of Eostian lowborne. It was recommended to him and he rather enjoyed it; he was sure much of it was embellished but it was a thrilling tale for him about how a faction of underdogs survived a difficult and brutal war and in the end made something of and for themselves. Of course while it was a historical tale in Eostia (Embellished or not) it was a fantasy in Garan.

Few were allowed to rise to the ranks of the lowborne and no higher and even then they were looked down on their peers who were birthed to their rank and at best could hope to marry into a 'proper' lowborne house with maybe their own stigma vanishing in a generation or two within their children. Thoughts of uprisings were distant; the state was too strong and intimidating and even if the bulk of the laborborne rebelled the toddlerborne and assborne could rely on their Aberrant hordes and would more then likely turn them loose on the women. Even then the most powerful of Garan's number were lowborne and highborne and if their trueborne queen got off her oversized, fat arse and stopped being idleborne...

Supposedly she burned down a whole forest with her most powerful spell as a means of expressing to the Aberrant who was in change. They listened.

Even if they could rebel to the point of breaking some territory away their only recourse would be to side with Eostia for protection and they'd be the center of every incursion that followed... even if the humans didn't reject them outright. He didn't think the laborborne, as a class, could fight back; they would have the numbers needed by far but would lack the logistics, leadership, martial and magical training and tactical direction. Even then that was assuming that all of the laborborne rose in unison; not all would due to fear, conditioning or swallowing the bullshit propaganda that was peddled like Andrei had. They would be crushed in little time...

He had spent not even a half hour reading when a knock sounded on his door. He fitted a bookmark between the pages, pressed a hidden latch in his couch's arm and lifted it to hide his book before shutting it and standing, moving to the door. "Who's there?" He let off as he looked to the door.

"It's me... It's Andrei. I... might need some... help..." Pavel frowned but unlocked and opened the door wide. Andrei walked in; looking more ghost then elf as he sighed, moving to sit on the couch. Once the door was shut and locked he subtly pressed on a dark spot on the door frame; a spell stone with privacy spells woven in. It cost him a bit of work to trade for but he felt it was worth it. He moved to a chair, sliding it opposite to the short table before the couch and looked to his friend.

"My friend... The slave pens are doing a number on you." Pavel said as he sat down. "I mean... Maybe you should request a new task from the commander and-"

"I tried. It was rejected." Andrei said as he looked up to him. "Pavel... I need to do... something..."

"Drei... My friend..."

"I just... I can't... ..." Andrei sighed deeply, hunching over as he cupped his face with both hands before looking up at Pavel. "I can't see them as... things or beasts or... I keep seeing elves in those cages... I know it's just a bunch of humans, I know they're the enemy, that they... It's wrong... It's so wrong... But I can't do anything... What can I do..?"

"I dunno... Free them?" Pavel let off as he shrugged with a smile meant to reassure them.

"...If I could... I would..." He said with a sigh. Then his brow furrowed in thought as Pavel blinked at his friend.

"...Andrei?"

"You know the smugglers in town, yes?" The enlisted man asked as Pavel winced. He knew Andrei was aware of it but did his best to keep the man out of that side of life in Garan. Pavel nodded for a moment. "...Do you know a way out of town..? A means under the noses of others?"

"Andrei, I keep you from that shit for a reason, you kn-"

"Do you know one!?" Pavel flinched as Andrei hissed the words out at a firm tone. "...Please...?"

"It wouldn't matter..." Pavel told him. "Even if we got them out of the city there's no way we could smuggle them to the southern border with all the patrols."

"We don't have to." Andrei said as he pulled something from his pouch; a brass slab with two spell stones set to it. "Last time I was at the post I overheard Commanders Vera and Chloe talking about these. This one belongs to the one elf in the pens and Chloe's convinced it's a means of communication; instant communication..."

"Andrei..."

"And with the flying wagons the enemy has we don't need to get them far from the city; just far enough! Into the forest!"

"Andrei..."

"We'll need to leave some of them; the ones too far gone... but we can save the bulk of them!"

"Andrei..." Pavel let off, finally holding a hand up to make his friend pause. "You have to know this will screw you over, right? If you do this and if anyone ever finds out you can kiss any chance of becoming lowborne away... You'll be staring at four walls if you're lucky and more then likely be sent on a suicide mission to regain your honor or some bullshit like that."

"... If I can sleep without the nightmares and guilt then it's worth it." Andrei said firmly.

'Tell him no...' Pavel thought to himself. 'Tell him you'll look into it... Tell him you're not that close with the smugglers to know... Tell him it's a secret beyond your knowledge...'

"...There's old, old human tunnels. One of the side tunnels pops up in the backroom of the pens and the main goes outside of the city." Pavel told him.

'Giant dammit! I'm going to get myself killed because of this guy!'

"There? We can pop up there!?" Andrei let off in shock. "Moving them in would be easy then... We'd just have to move in tonight, knock out the guard and steal the keys."

"You realize I haven't agreed to shit, right?" Pavel pointed out... only to get a deep, pleading look from his friend. He didn't need a word; the begging was clear in his eyes. "... Fine... But you owe me Andrei."

"Naturally... Tonight then..."

"Yeah... Guess I'll grab a nap in the meantime..."

[-]

Mooncast City
Territory of Onyxcloak, Kingdom of Garan
Slave Pens
Evening, Near Midnight

The lid of the cover in the backroom of the slave pens slid back slightly for a moment before sliding back fully as Pavel's head popped up. He was in his conscript gambeson complete with the face covering skull cap. There was, after all, no reason to let people see his face; in addition by wearing their military outfits they could afford to be seen a little more then they otherwise could. He would climb out, followed by Andrei; both men had short swords at their hips as they moved to the door of the backroom before he opened the door. Seeing and hearing nothing they slipped out and moved to the guard room.

Pavel pressed his ear to the door and blinked at what he heard. Opening the door he peeked in and saw... another dark elf, slumped over his desk and snoring. Sharing a look with Andrei both knew they didn't need to knock him out. Instead Pavel opened the door slowly before creeping in towards the keys as silently as he could. He grabbed the keys directly with one hand before grabbing the ring they were on before sneaking out and slowly closing the door. He would pass them to Andrei and nodded. "Start collecting everyone. I'll keep watch."

Andrei nodded back as he moved down the halls, he knew what his first stop would be; the elf's cage. The woman was resting on her side and was for the moment quiet and unspeaking, and without the usual haughty, defiant look to her she looked... cold... She shivered in her sleep and he could see a her face express fear, even with her eyes shut. Even so he entered the cage and moved to her, kneeling by her and shaking her shoulder with one hand. "Wake up." He hissed out as he looked to her face. Her face scrunched up as she pulled into herself for a moment before he shook her once more. "Wake up." Finally her eyes fluttered open, a look of fear in her eyes that he hadn't associated with her before followed by surprise and recognition when she saw his face; her fear smoothly being suppressed as the usual, now known to him to be false, smirk came to her lips.

"Couldn't get en-mmffph!" She let off as he covered her mouth with his hand before moving a finger to his lips, the ring of keys held in two of it's fingers before he reached to grab one, moving it to her collar. "What are you doing!?" She hissed out as one by one her binds were removed by the dark elf.

"Something I hope to not regret later." He replied simply as he let her go so she could rise to her knees, clearly confused. That he had finally flustered her pleased him more then a little as he pulled the brass slab out. "This is some sort of communicator, yes?" He asked as her look hardened to unamused defiance.

"... Do you really think I'd tell-"

"Can you or can you not call for one of those flying wagons to pick you up?" He hissed off, cutting her words shut as she blinked to him before duly nodding. "Good. Help me wake all the women who can still walk under their own power. There's a means to remove you from the city." He said as he stood up, starting to move to another door as she stood and walked to follow him.

"... W-why are you-"

"I'm tired of seeing reflections of who I know here." He said sadly as she nodded.

One by one women were stirred awake and kept silent before being shuffled over to the tunnels and shepherded by the two dark elves inside the darkened tunnels. Some of the women were aware enough to understand what was going on to some point or another and had a sparkle of hope in their eyes. Some didn't understand but followed along dumbly in a daze; unable to do more then be led about. Some didn't wake at all and were left behind as there was no way to move them with any ease.

The keys would be returned to a still sleeping guard, Pavel and Andrei would slip into the tunnels and once all were accounted for the cover was shut closed, a lantern held up by the conscript as he took the lead with Andrei and the high elf bringing up the rear as a long march from the city began...

[-]

Pavel, the only one who had been in the tunnels for any length of time, led the way with nearly four dozen women in various stages of pregnant and lucid followed him through the sewer as Andrei brought up the rear with the high elf to ensure no one left the herd; a combination of left over lights from a bygone era and a pair of lanterns held by the two dark elves helped light the way further. Andrei could only hope that everything worked out as he planned it would. Most of the travel was done in silence with only footsteps making sounds. Finally it was the high elf who spoke. "What's your name?" She finally asked, looking to him as her arms cradled her swollen belly; holding the voxlux firmly in one hand.

"... Andrei. Andrei Risingfist." He said as he looked to her as she nodded.

"Mirellia Flowerspeaker." She said softly as she returned with her own name. "I am... surprised... You never struck me as a noble sort... Although from inside a cage all those outside of it can seem to be a tyrant..."

"I am a patriot and honest man both... But... I had never seen inside the cage myself..." He admitted before he looked to her once more. "You are a beautiful woman and a fellow elf besides... how is it you were left in the cage and not made an offer as a wife or concubine?"

"Ahhh... I was in one of the villages as I had said, although what I hadn't was that it was being used as a rear field hospital by the Eostian army; I was tending to the villagers more then soldiers, really." She began as they kept walking. "Some of the Eostian soldiers arrived during their patrol with a couple of wounded. I think someone was trailing them as we were attacked the next day. I know some offensive magic but... not a lot and was knocked out, dragged over and their leader, some Pyotyr Nightsong, had me used by goblins for a time before promising to 'save me from such a dire fate were I to become his loyal concubine', as he stuck his dick in my mouth. I didn't quite manage to bite it off."

"You nearly bit off the penis of a highborne?" Andrei let off as Mirellia shrugged with a smile. "I'm surprised he let you keep your head."

"He felt if I stayed in the pens for awhile I'd 'come around'." She said with a snort. "I told him I'd rather stay with the honest beasts. He didn't like that."

"I can imagine." Andrei let off with a soft frown. "... A patriot I may be but even so I find the highborne has too much control over people. Pavel finds it more frustrating then I do."

"Your friend there?" She asked as he nodded. "You are lucky to have him... and he you..."

"You are less... mouthy like this..." Andrei let off as she shrugged.

"It was the only form of control I had, I guess. My only way to bite back."

"Heh. I prefer this gentle flame to the spitfire in the cage, honestly." Mirellia giggled a bit as she smirked up to her.

"The best flames ebb and grow; knowing when to warm and when to scorch."

"Stick to warm."

"We're here." Pavel spoke up from the front as he turned his lantern off. Andrei moved past the gaggle of women as Pavel reached the end up the tunnel. "Wait here." He said moving to step out of the tunnel's mouth.

For Pavel once outside he understood why no one saw the tunnel from the outside; an outcrop of a rock over it hid much of it from above with the sides extending just past the tunnel as well. In addition a tree seemed to think the end of the outcrop was an ideal place to grow and stuck it's roots through the bottom to try and reach more ground, shading the front from view. Further more the other side of the dried riverbed was higher up then the tunnel, making it harder to see with all of the other conditions unless one moved into the riverbed directly. He wondered if any Aberrant even saw it if they'd bother exploring.

Once outside he took cover by a moderate sided rock and looked about before finally looking back to the tunnel and waving them over. The plan was to use the dried riverbed for some cover from view and lead the women to the forest and have their elven friend call to be picked up. As for Pavel and Andrei...

...

Leaving was an option but neither was sure if they wanted to... Mooncast City was, if nothing else, their home...

Pavel kept a look out as Andrei, Mirellia and the more lucid humans moved to help the rest down; the incline was enough that tripping and injury was a concern but thankfully no one slipped and the river bed was mostly grassy now with a thin, weak stream of water running along. The group, just over fifty strong, would resume their formation; Pavel at point, the humans in the middle and Andrei and Mirellia in the rear.

Things were colder outside of the tunnels as a breeze came over them; for the two dark elves that was no issue as they were clothed and had footwear but Pavel could see the humans shiver behind them in their nudity. They should have brought blankets but he didn't have enough to start with and didn't know where he could steal them from; even with all the portholes. He could have stolen some gambeson from the armory but one bit of chain mail going missing would be over looked with ease, four dozen suits of gambeson much less so.

They managed to near the forest before a roar sounded out. Pavel kept calm, raised a fist to stop the march as he looked around to find the source and-

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

-winced roughly as most of the girls behind him screamed. "Welllll, shit..." He let off just before a thud sounded before them... As an ogre landed before them as Andrei moved to stand next to his friend.

"I 'unno why so much 'attle is out of dhe pen..." The ogre let off; he was a large one, near seven feet tall and hulking with a single bladed axe in his hand. "I 'unno why youse two 're trottin' dhem away... but I dun't mind a lot of fun t'night."

"I blame you." Pavel deadpanned as he and Andrei drew their short swords; a knives compared to their foe's size.

"I accept that." Andrei let off as he looked back. "Mir, can you cast?"

"N-no... They fed us mana suppressant food..." He winced; that would make spell casting difficult for her for days. The women moved to huddle together in fear, falling to their knees as Mirellia moved to stand before them... but it was clear she would be of no worth as a defense.

[-]

Mooncast City
Territory of Onyxcloak, Kingdom of Garan
City Wall

"The moon looks good tonight..." Chloe let off to herself, arms crossed under her bust. She had too few friends inside of Garan... anywhere, to be more honest. She could count on one hand how many of her fellow dark elves gave her more then the bare minimum of respect and had a better conversation with someone who was supposed to be her enemy then many of her allies.

Still she could deal with the loneliness for her queen... To be her blade was worth the discomfort of her isolation, disrespect and even dou-

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Her thoughts were cut off from a feminine scream... outside of the walls. She narrowed her eyes and directed mana to them; she was no spell caster but her training let her sharpen her senses to see...

"... What. The. Fuck..?"

[-]

The ogre roared, pulling his weapon back as he charged. Had either man a spear they would have felt a little more comfortable about this fight... but they didn't and it was time to make do...

As it charged both men waited for the Aberrant to try and strike before both turned and rolled away... in opposite directions. The monster grunted as the two men faced it and moved to their right hand sides, circling it and keeping it between them. The ogre frowned but also calmed; clearly it knew how to fight. It kept it's sides to the pair to look between them quickly but the moment Pavel shuffled in he turned to face him only for Andrei to move in making him turn about as Pavel shuffled back.

The ogre huffed as the pair shuffled forwards and back making him look to and fro between the two as he awaited the first attack from one of the two. It was Pavel who would strike first... by picking up a rock as the ogre looked to Andrei and pitching it to it's face as it turned back and catching it near the eye and making it flinch...

The ogre barely dodged a slash from Andrei as he attacked in the opening provided; even so it took a cut to the left arm as he swung at the enlisted elf only to be forced to dodge once more as Pavel slashed to it's leg and giving it another cut as he leaped back to avoid a slash of the axe... and was hit in the chest bu it's blade. "Pavel!" Andrei let off as his friend hit the ground as he attacked, thrusting to the ogre's ribs.

The ogre turned to face him with a step back before chopping down and forcing him to sidestep before thrusting once more. The ogre blocked with a bare forearm; absorbing another cut as he shoved the blade aside and landed a punch to his chest with his weapon hand, starting to lift it up as the female elf screamed... and paused noting a lack of blood on his axe-

-before a sword was driven into his left shoulder; missing the heart by chance and bad luck for the dark elf now on his back as the ogre howled in pain. Pavel, a glint of metal showing under the slash in his gambeson, silently cursed as he tried to pull the blade through the monster's flesh to end him only for it to rock forwards, making him yelp and lift up before the back of his gambeson was grabbed before he was flung to his friend, losing the grip on his blade.

His back impacted his friend's chest as both fell to the ground in a heap, the women screaming in fear. Pavel rolled off as he reached to his boot, pulling out a knife as the two got up as the ogre roared at them, ready to charge before they could rise fully to defend themsel-

"What is going on here!?" A voice bellowed off from the edge of the riverbed before someone slid down into it; a female, blonde dark elf... halfborne in Pavel's estimation.

"Co'mander..." The ogre hissed out, the two men getting to their feet. "Dhey tryin' to make off with dhe 'attle." Chloe moved to stand by the ogre and slightly ahead before looking to the two men; clearly worried but holding defensive stances. Her head turned to see...

...freed slaves... She managed to not wince at the sight of four odd dozen, huddling women. The sight gave her a brief flashback to that cage in Elddale as Mandeville arrived to sneer at her. She shook off the memory as she looked to the two men; quickly recognizing Andrei. "Alright then. Let's hear the excuses." She said, waving her hand in a shallow circle.

"I don't suppose we can convince you we're just giving them a walk and some fresh air?" Pavel let off... as Chloe gave him a flat stare. "... I didn't think so..."

"I am the one to blame if it must be said." Andrei said as he stepped forward, surprising her. "I had enough of guarding the pens and hearing nothing but pain and suffering... Maybe they're all, save one, just humans... but when you start seeing elves in their place... when you have nightmares of your kin in their place... what else can one do if one is not heartless?" He let off as she narrowed her eyes in thought.

"Bah! 'eak feelin's make for 'eak fools..." The ogre let off as he grinned and moved to low combat stance as the two men moved to brace.

"Agreed..." Chloe said as a flash of mana brought a sword to her hand in a reverse grip. "It's a rather pitiful shame the fools killed the ogre on their way out."

"Eh?" The ogre let off... just before Chloe's blade slammed into the front of it's throat. She ripped it out to the side, making the Aberrant gurgle on it's own blood and stumble forwards before falling to it's front as Pavel and Andrei looked on in shock as she moved to the blade stuck in it's back and pulled it free as her own blade vanished. The Aberrant gurgled a few moments more before going silent as she walked to the pair before giving the short sword a soft toss; pommel first, to it's user who managed to catch it by the handle.

"Let me make myself clear." Chloe let off sternly. "You two are leaving for the city with me now." She said, looking to the lone high elf... and seeing a voxlux in her hand before looking back to the pair.. "Given she should know how to work that thing they can call the humans to pick them up in one of those new, fancy flying wagons they made. No one's on the walls and most of the patrols are further out so as long as they huddle in the trees they should be fine." She said before looking to the lone high elf. "I trust you heard that."

"Y-yes... of course..." She said before moving to wave to the women, not wasting the good fortune they found... and silently hoping the men weren't harshly punished. "C-come on everyone... let's go, quickly..." She let off as the women slowly rose to their feet; once more led by the one elf and those lucid enough to still maintain some of their ability to direct themselves leading the others along behind them. The dark elves stayed and watched long enough to make sure the women made it out of the riverbed before Chloe turned to walk back towards the city.

"If I may ask Commander... why?" Andrei asked, her steps pausing as them men moved to stand behind her (With Pavel's eyes moving below the woman's waist) as Andrei looked to her with confusion. "By all accounts your dislike of humans is more personal, correct?"

"... It is. My mother abandoned me to them, sold me for a single, base, copper coin... Told me that was all I was worth." She said as the two men winced as one. "It took over a decade and a half to escape northwards... If it wasn't for our queen I'd likely be dead or captured... And then, five years ago, a scouting group I was in was ambushed. I was captured, caged... and found by my old 'master'..." She let off, spitting the word out in a manner that made her disgust clear. "I thought I'd be returned to that hell... And then a young, dumb noble snuck to the pens, freed me and mine and led us away... Built us a raft to go north on the river too. It was a piece of crap but it floated and lasted until we got as far north as we could... He gave us a fighting chance..."

"You're returning the favor then." Andrei let off as a statement.

"... That and... Never mind." She said as she moved to walk once more. "Come along." She said as the men looked to one another and then followed in silence. In truth while Chloe couldn't voice it there was another reason she assisted that she didn't want anyone to know about.

Guilt.

She hadn't escaped alone that first time; many of Mandeville's other slaves, human slaves, had escaped as well. Indeed, she would not have made it out of there without them as the escape was a team effort in not just escaping the manor but doing so with some basic supplies with even one of them poisoning the dogs to ensure it would be harder for them to be tracked down. Without them she would not be free...

...and she betrayed them to ensure her own escape...

They were just humans, after all, the source of all her suffering... that they had unwillingly shared in... If she were honest with herself the guilt was old, existing since that escape so long ago but it was ignored until a young, human lordling helped free her from a cage in Elddale; a human with no reasons to help her did so at his own risk and no real gain... he just did so. One act of altruism that had made her think and wonder... if she had helped her fellow slaves... if she had not betrayed them... what would have happened? Would they have escaped? Would she have? Would any of them have?

It was a thought that would haunt her for the last five years...

Chloe would part ways once she was assured they had their own way back into the city, as she had assumed, although telling Andrei to be at the command post the following morning before parting ways and moving back to the walls once more as she enjoyed the night. Eventually she would see two of the flying wagons fly low over the trees and land near where the women were, some hours later. It was less then ten minutes before they took off, leaving the way they came. She wondered how cramped it would be on those things; she had no idea of it's full size and scope but was sure it was large enough to carry all four dozen of them. As she watched the wagon fly away she asked herself a small question...

Was she tired of hating the humans now?

[-]

Mooncast City
Territory of Onyxcloak, Kingdom of Garan
Command Post
Late Morning

Andrei, in his full gambeson armor, looked over the sheet of paper in his hands as Chloe stood before him. They stood in the foyer of the post by a wall, most of the people in traffic in the room ignoring them as he finally looked up. "I'm being reassigned to guard the armory until we resume the offensive?"

"Indeed; the paperwork is done and it's official. I think we can both agree leaving you in the pens is a bad idea." Chloe said softly with a huff, hands on her hips. "Needless to say I can't have you and your buddy doing more raids there as well; one time can be swept under the rug. If it keeps happening concern will rise." He frowned but nodded once; that was the... pragmatic choice all things concerned. "Besides that; the armory guard your replacing is a veteran who was asking to be moved to train new conscripts; I saw no reason not to reassign him as well."

"Thank you, Commander..." He said as he looked to her in his usual, serious gaze but the softness and appreciation showed in his eyes. "I am sorry for the trouble this has caused you and if the chance arises I shall repay you."

"I'm sure, but-"

"Who do you think you are!?" Both winced, although Chloe hid it better as Vera Scoursong stopped at then end of a hall, spotted her and bellowed before storming to her as Chloe gave her a half glare. "You have no authority to swap the assignments in my district you-"

"I outrank you." Chloe said smoothly as she cut off the glaring woman. "And I operate with the queen's authority. If you disagree with my actions or decisions you may question her if you choose to do so." Vera glared firmer as Chloe finally turned to face the armored woman. Unknown to both had they been in an Eostian military unit Chloe going over Vera's head in such a manner would be a breech of the chain of command, in Garan... it was normal. "So unless there is something else you'd like to talk about that will be all, commander." She said in a firm tone that remained cordial and stated the conversation was over.

The slap to the cheek Vera struck her with was far less cordial and conversational. "Listen you halfborned, shitborned little-hurk!" She let off as her throat was grabbed by Chloe as the half dark elf used a Combat Art to bolster her strength as she turned and roughly slammed the armored woman into a wall as Andrei stepped back in surprise. Vera struggled, hands moving to Chloe's forearm but found herself pinned back as the hand choked her lightly, needing to stand on the tips of her toes to ease the pressure on her neck.

"It seems I need to remind you that I have been personally chosen by Queen Olga Discordia to act as her hand and will." She let off as Vera snarled and glared back at her. "And for her sake I am willing to tolerate quite a bit... But I will not tolerate such direct insubordination, Vera. Do I make myself-" Vera's right hand shot to her left hip, drawing a short sword in a reverse grip as her eyes went wild with anger, lifting it up and back to strike-

-only for a kukuri knife to appear in Chloe's hand in a reverse grip, glow with a Combat Art and before the point was slammed into her forearm bracer as she reused her strength boosting Combat Art to punch through the mythril on both sides of the armor and into the wall behind it... and through the arm within it, and between the bones of the forearm as Vera screamed, the blade in her hand clattering to the ground as it was dropped. "Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?" Chloe hissed out as she glared to Vera's eyes as she looked back with more fear then hate now.

"...yes..."

"Yes, what?"

"...yes... commander..."

"I'm glad we understand each other." She let off as she pulled her knife away. Understandably the room went very silent when Chloe had slammed the other commander to the wall and then went as silent as elvenly possible as her knife slammed past armor. Finally, with the knife pulled free, she finally let the woman go letting her collapse to her knees, clutching her hand to her forearm as she cradled the wounded limb to her chest. Finally she looked off to another guard in the room. "You. Assist the lieutenant commander to a healer."

"Y-you can't demot-"

"Did I stutter?" "Chloe let off coldly as she looked to the redhead.

"N-no ma'am..."

"Good." Chloe let off before turning on her heel and leaving to the door. In a rare instance of respect the guards she walked past, both naturally birthed lowborne, saluted her.

She didn't want anyone to know that it bothered her that she needed to resort to open violence in an act of assertion just for that basic respect as a superior.

[-]

Mooncast City
Territory of Onyxcloak, Kingdom of Garan
The Common Table
Early Morning
Two Days Later

Pavel smiled a bit as he saw Andrei approach his table after visiting the counter... but it faltered as he saw that Andrei not only wasn't smiling back (Not uncommon with him) but looked a bit distressed. He sat down as Pavel leaned in. "What's wrong? Issues in watching the armory?"

"No." Andrei said with a sigh. "It's much more calming; managing paperwork and watching things that don't scream." He said as he leaned in. "But I just heard from someone... The pens were refilled with new humans." Pavel winced at that as he sighed. He had taken the tunnels up into the Command Post and was lucky enough to overhear a few things; namely the response to the humans smuggled out. Given the dead ogre outside the walls and that one of the removed breed mares was an elf the military leadership (Being mostly lowborne speckled with highborne) assumed that... an Eostian force of elite infiltration specialists snuck in to retrieve her. Assumptions were made of the elf's social standing or that she might have even been a ranking member in the Eostian military. In truth they had no idea what happened, clearly, and were spit-balling. More guards were placed to the pens so even if they wanted to break more out it would be a bad idea. "Makes you think that in the end... we didn't accomplish much, did we?"

Pavel sighed and frowned for a moment before looking up. "Try not to worry about it; we're just two guys. We did more then most, I think." Indeed; aside from calling it a good deed he was glad to thumb the eye of the assborne and toddlerbrone, even if just a little. It was an adventure... that they could never talk about...

"It's just... I've been thinking..." Andrei let off as he sighed. Pavel was worried as he went silent, and not just to let the waitress drop off their drinks and food as he shuffled in his seat. It was clear he was uncomfortable with his thoughts and Pavel could guess why; Andrei was always a patriot and while not so blind as to not know there were issues seemed able to ignore them... but not his conscience and empathy, forcing him to see the pain caused. Likely dealing with the assborne's apathy didn't help either. He squirmed further as if trying to put his thoughts together.

"Andrei?"

The enlisted man squirmed about for a moment more before setting his arms, crossed over one another, on the table as he looked to Pavel with a sad, deep frown... Finally he spoke...

"Pavel... are... are we the villains..?"

[ - Author's Note - ]

Whew... there we go... Not making this easier is that I've had two problems; the first being my normal doc program, OpenOffice, decided it no longer wants to work for me. Why I have no idea... Well I have a new PC on route anyway; maybe it'll play nice with that one. For now I've swapped to FreeOffice. No, I'm not paying seventy dollars a year for Microsoft Office. Maybe I'd pay that once for a copy but not each year. Yeesh.

The second being that my local internet is currently between down and spotty. As such I'm relying on my phone's internet to post this right now. Not fun. With luck that will be corrected by next chapter; fingers crossed.

When I was making the story the idea was to have Pavel as the main focus and Andrei as the supporting character... Then I started writing and it made more sense to make Andrei the focus and Pavel the support. A part of the reason was Andrei's position and role in the story seemed to force a charge of perspective on him while Pavel's semi-shady but blue-collar background made him more suited to being more of an everyman; if said everyman went to the local speakeasy and did work for them, time to time.

It also goes back to something I said about Mandeville's men all the way back in Act One; about how they were mostly good people conditioned to see something evil as normal. That was part of Andrei's character; a good man conditioned to see something evil as something normal... at least until he's confronted with it, first hand and forced to see how bad it really was... As some of you must have guessed the last line is a reference to the meme 'Are we the baddies?' but as opposed to being for comedic effect it's meant to show genuine distress.

It also let me bring Olga in for a brief scene but also give Chloe a major role of her own. I am well aware that everyone's favorite dark elf duo not being in the Acts One and Two were sore points for some people so a little more Chloe's not going to hurt anyone. And then... there's Mirellia...

Oh, good lord did I enjoy writing that little spitfire! I needed someone to act as a challenge to Andrei, someone who could rub his nose in what he was seeing and this mouthy, bratty, little elf was perfect for my needs; a strong willed, defiant, in your face, no-fucks-left-to-give beast of a woman... with an inner soft spot. Damn she was fun to write.

The Straw Poll on if you want a Channer Breaking in Avdotya is on going at strawpoll(Dot Com)(Slash)NMnQ5mzVAn6 if you haven't voted in it yet. Please feel free to join in, I love seeing what people think on it.

Anyway; next chapter we see James tackle a seven century long conundrum. Leave a comment, tell me what you liked or didn't like.

Until next time!

~~Eostian Scribe