Rescue at Royals Field Full revised

The soft melody of a sparrow awakens Samina slowly. At least it would have if the sudden bounce didn't rattle her awake, shooting her eyes open.
"Wha~ What's happen - Ow!" Samina moans as a wave of pain slices through her brow. Tenderly she reaches up and feels the sticky remains of blood matted into her mahogany brown hair on her left temple. "Agh, my head!" she whispers to herself, closing her eyes in a grimace. She tries to sit up, but a pulse of nausea passes over her, and she quickly decides to continue laying on her side.
Where am I? What even happened? Carefully Samina turns over to lie on her back, splaying her ten hands tall, eight brick heavy frame out on the hard wooden floor. She feels the floor moving underneath her and can hear what sounds like three people walking nearby. After thinking for a second she realizes she must be in a cart of some kind. Slowly, she opens her golden yellow eyes to look up at the clouds and smiles slightly when a sparrow flies past. She's always loved the look of the small birds; so pretty and graceful. It also helps that her voice is often compared to a sparrow by her friends. After a few seconds, she lifts her left hand, then her right to see the carmine color of dried blood contrasting her olive skin as it ran down her right arm.
Samina sighs. Well, at least my arms feel ok. She tenderly runs her hands down her body checking for further wounds. Her moderate sized breasts feel fine through the linen top she is wearing, but as she moves lower she feels several bruises just below her rib cage. When she gets to her large hips she notices a few rips and tears that line up with some painful scratches but they don't appear to be deep. Unfortunately, they do continue onto her thighs where they do get a bit worse but thankfully don't ever become a danger to her well being. The cuts covering her legs line up with numerous holes in her clothing and they can barely be called pants at this point. As she tries to reach lower, even the slightest raising of her head shoots waves of nausea through her, and she again lies flat against the moving cart. Once the feeling has passed she feels around her neck gingerly before heading towards her pointed ears to check for injury. Other than a strange itching sensation as she touches her neck though, she finds no more wounds.
"Something must have banged my head, but that doesn't explain my legs or this cart. What happened?" Samina muses.
As she lies in the sun listening to the pleasant sounds it gradually begins to drift back.


"Careful Samina," says Tulgu, "the Redsword are very sharp. How else do ya think it got its name?" Samina watches the older goblin as he points out the red blades of grass ahead of them.
The short angry looking blades of grass are only about five hands length long, but Samina can see the edges are unusually sharp looking. They certainly differ from the most common plant in the wilds; the Greenpike. Greenpike take up every single piece of open ground in Royals Field. If conscious effort isn’t used to keep it cleared, Greenpike reclaims any spec of dirt it can find. Each stalk will grow roughly two hands wide, half a hand thick and over fifteen hands tall and tufts will have three to six stalks each. These deep green blades of grass choke out almost all other plant life by absorbing a great deal of the sunlight before it can reach the ground. Greenpike also grows incredibly quickly, taking less than a month to regrow fully if it’s cut down. It’s not all bad though, as Greenpike is also incredibly durable, and all the peoples who live in the field use it to build with, or burn for heat. Even when it dies it has a use as it mulches into a fertilizer perfect for growing other plants.
Other than the plant life, the great prairies of Royals field have numerous dangers and Samina has been drawn to learning about them for the last few months. After her age-over earlier in the year, where she celebrated her ascension to adulthood, she has been hoping to find a niche for herself in the village, and the wilds of the plains have been calling to her. She has joined up with a few of the proles in the area who are also learning about the wilds under the tutelage of a seasoned hunter; Tulgu. She isn't looking to become a hunter, nor even a scout, but he is willing to teach her. Perhaps she could become an herbalist, or if nothing else at least she could just learn about some edible wild plants.
"The Redsword grow near hunting grounds. They survive on the blood of animals." Tulgu pauses for a second and sniffs the air. "Mayhaps we should leave this area. Yer not ready for a beast that fights back."
Samina nods quickly. Young goblins learn early to trust their teachers, after all why learn a lesson the hard way when its already being taught the easy way? They turn to retreat from the area and head back to the lands surrounding her village.
A sudden hiss erupts from grass to their left! As Samina turns to react all she sees is a flash of dark green as a great lizard dashes out of its hiding place and stomps towards the pair! Samina lets out a small shriek as she leaps to the side, pulling her knife to defend herself.
"Flee Samina! Flee!" yells Tulgu as he takes a few valiant steps towards the beast with his hunting spear readied.
Time seems to slow down as the thirty-hand long lizard comes crashing down onto Tulgu. Samina watches in shock as the spear barely misses the mark on the animal and its claws rack into the front of Tulgu. He flails to the ground bleeding, but quickly stands pulling his own knife and retaliates as best he can against the ferocious animal! Samina is transfixed and unable to move as she watches the next few seconds, the lizard moving smoothly and striking precisely, and Tulgu stabbing wildly. Then, with a quick snap of the jaws, the lizard latches onto the throat of her poor teacher, tearing a huge gash from him. To his credit, Tulgu manages another swipe of his knife before falling dead just a couple strides in front of her.
Fear has taken hold of Samina completely but the dull clunk of Tulgu's knife hitting an exposed rock jolts her into action. She starts running as fast as she can. She doesn't know what direction she's running, but she doesn't care. Away from the deadly beast is all she knows. She feels sudden cold slices of pain in her right flank after just a few seconds of running and she screams knowing her time is up! The lizard must have caught her. She hurls herself away in a desperate attempt to escape and she feels her pant leg disintegrate from being caught by the claws, throwing her off balance in the air. The last thing she sees is a large rock in the earth rushing towards her as she tumbles head first to the ground.


Another sudden jolt as the cart hits a pothole jostles Samina painfully back to the present, causing her to cry out in pain.
"Oh! You are alive little one!" The voice is deep and husky. And it has an accent Samina's never heard before.
The cart slows to a stop after a short whisper and Samina slowly glances forward to see if she can see the owner of the voice. What comes striding into view is a giant. Before her at twice her height and easily six times her weight stands an enormous tanned creature! Immediately fear grips her and she starts coughing out words at the monster.
"Whaaat, w-what, oh n-no!" Samina starts to sit up again and the adrenaline has obviously helped as she scrambles to the far side of the small cart. As she clambers her way to the corner, she manages to note the cart is being drawn by an equally large four-legged brown animal with long hair. Cowering in the corner, she holds her hands in front of her in a pitiful show of defense.
"Easy, easy little Gob. I'm not going to hurt you." The gentle nature of his voice manages to calm Samina a bit and she chances a look at him again through her arms. He's huge! His hairy chest is easily the size of her whole body, and his arms are nothing but muscle. Each one looks like it could crush her by itself! His head is blocky and round at the same time, like a large stone chiseled into something approximating a face. To her sensibilities, the mason in charge must have been particularly inept as his ears look like they’ve been chopped in half. The hair on his great chest isn't all that there is, for this giant has short cropped black hair all along his chin and on top as well. At least the hair on top of his head is presentable even if it’s rather full, even reaching down to his shoulders. The oddities are slowly beginning to panic her once more until she suddenly notices his eyes. They are dark blue, but there is no malice within them.
"Are you ok? Can you understand me?" He asks. His voice is strong, but serene. It takes Samina a few seconds to process his words as well. He speaks so slowly compared to what she's used too. Like he had been elongating every sound; "aaaaarrrreeee... yyyyoooooouuuu... ooooohhhh kkkaaaaaaayyyy?"
"Y-yes." Samina finally manages to squeak out.
"Wwwwhhhhaaaaat hhhhhaaaapppeeennnneeeddd tttooo yyyyoooouuu?" He starts to say.
--------------- "I was attacked! My friend was killed by a hisser and I ran!" Samina replies in the middle of his response.
"Ooooohhhh......... Iii ddddiiiidddnnn'ttt sssseeeeeeeee" he begins to respond, before being interrupted.
------- "Did you see Tulgu? Did you kill the lizard? Where are we?"
He raises a hand and Samina once again huddles in fear. But after nothing happens she peaks out again and sees he hasn't moved further.
"Ssssslllllooooowwwwwllllyyy pppppllllleeeaaaassssseee," he manages to say before being cut off by Samina again.
------ "What do you want with me? What happened to Tulgu? WHERE ARE WE?!" Samina screams at the man.
The confused look on his face is incredibly evident as he takes a short step back from the cart. Samina immediately begins to calm down when she sees she has somehow managed to intimidate this great creature, and takes a few breaths before continuing. Scratching a small itch under her chin she settles down to trying to communicate.
Over the next few minutes Samina finally manages to learn how to converse with this being. They do indeed share a language, but unlike the goblin race they can't actually speak and listen at the same time. She decides this must be why they speak so slowly, so they can take the time to comprehend everything that's been said, so she does her best to emulate this for him.
"My name is Thomas, by the way. Do you think you can walk?" He says.
"I'm Samina. I can try." She says as she moves slightly to attempt to stand. However, in the few minutes of calm interaction it appears the adrenaline has begun to wear off. The resulting tidal wave of pain that collides with her results in a near instant feint. The only thing she manages to register is Thomas dashing forward to catch her, and the feeling of warm strength embracing her as she falls.


The sound of a fire crackling is the first thing Samina hears as she begins to regain consciousness. Followed soon after by the feeling of being encased in a heavy pleasant heat. Opening her eyes, she discovers she is inside a large clay structure, with slivers of sunlight peaking in from leather covered windows. Numerous shelves with food stuffs line the sides of the roughly square building. On the opposite side of the single room house is a tall table with a large stool and a couple plates and bowls. Looking down she realizes she has a large blanket covering her, which is a very new experience. Her village is very poor, having only basic linens for clothing they create themselves and relying almost entirely upon fires to heat their houses made of leathers and hides. Pulling and feeling the blanket she figures this covering must be made from some kind of magic hair. It's very warm, but also far heavier then it looks. The straw bed and pillow are familiar however, if a wee bit extravagant for her sensibilities. She remembers the last time she slept on a bed like this eight years ago; the last time she saw her matron mother. She shakes her head to clear melancholic memories, and refocuses on the room around her.
The fire Samina first heard appears to be inset into a special area in the corner. She can see that a wall has been constructed that funnels the smoke upwards, and she assumes out of the house given she barely smells any soot. It's then that she notices the wonderful smell of a stew cooking. She leans up slowly, noting that her head feels an awful lot better then last time she tried to sit up. Hanging near the fire is a metal pot and she can see steam rising from mouth. The grumble in her stomach shakes her body she's so hungry.
Looking around quickly again to see if anyone else is around, Samina moves to stand up. Throwing the cover off she suddenly stops in shock! She's no longer wearing her clothes, but some giant robe. No, she corrects herself as she thinks about her encounter, this is most likely a shirt that the giant Thomas has put on her. She checks her arms and legs and notices she has been cleaned up. The only marks left from the run in with the lizard are on her right leg as she can see dozens of long angry lines of skinny scabs. Touching them, they appear to have barely scratched the surface of her skin. She checks her temple as well, and can feel stitches closing a long gash above left side, easily a hands length long. Her hunger temporarily forgotten, she lies back down.
Well now what do I do. Not that I've been all that useful lately anyway I guess. I wonder how long I've been away from the village now? At least a day, maybe much more. Worms! My village must think I've died too, not just Tulgu! A tear rolls down Samina’s cheek as she thinks about Tulgu. He had been a decent person, who had treated her just like any other prole in the village and he will be sorely missed.
Another grumble from her tummy reminds Samina of the wonderful smell wafting from the fire. After another quick look around she sneaks from the bed to the table, takes a bowl, and then scoops herself a bit of the meal. She sits on the bed blowing on the hot stew for a second before gobbling it down as fast as she can. It's bland, but pretty good. Mostly potatoes and some pieces of cut up meat. She places the empty bowl on the ground beside the bed and lays back down, no longer hungry but suddenly very tired. She pulls the heavy blanket over herself again, marveling at the warmth, and closes her eyes. If this giant has gone to the trouble of saving her, feeding her, and letting her rest on his bed, then he probably doesn't mean her any harm.
After a few minutes though, Samina finds she can't sleep. She hadn't noticed before, but the bed has a strange feeling about it. Almost like a presence. It’s making her neck itch again, and she wonders if she’s been bitten by a bug or something. She turns over onto her left side and the presence gets much stronger. Like someone has taken her and hugged her from behind. It feels like someone is tickling her breasts, and she quickly reaches to see what’s there. Nothing. She wonders if this is some new development with her chest, as her breasts have been growing over the past few moons. Starting out flat, she was now quite large. Even the nips had been growing, she thinks as she lightly touches herself. But now the tickling turns into a tingling as she rubs her nipple through the cloth with her hand. And the tickling has started in her hips and thighs as well.
Samina rolls onto her back after a few seconds of rubbing her right breast with her hand. The massage isn't making the feeling disappear, but it is feeling quite good, so she figures she may as well use both hands. Her second hand nearly takes her own breath away as she begins fondling both sides at the same time. The tickling in her hips has now spread to her womanhood, and its beginning to make her squirm. Continuing to work her breast with her left hand, she moves her right to caressing her right hip. The cuts send slivers of pain through her as her hand runs across them but the warm touch against her skin feels intensely wonderful. A light moan escapes her as she continues to move. While passing over to her thigh, her hand gets a bit close to her opening, and the electric response of her fingers startles her for a second. Quickly, she pulls the shirt off her to give herself better access, hurling it onto the ground beside her. Returning to her body the feeling is amplified by double as the skin of her hands massages her breast and inner thigh without cloth getting in the way.
Why does this feel so good? I've never felt something like this before! Could the stew have had something in it? Maybe the claws of the hisser? Oh! Whatever! Samina gives up trying to understand what’s happening and just enjoys the feeling more and more.
As Samina’s hand passes her cunny again her thumb meets the top and another burst of ecstasy hits her. Immediately she shifts to rubbing her vagina directly and her whole body takes flame. Every sense she has is slowly drowned out by the bliss she feels as she rubs herself. Her squirming gets stronger and stronger until a sudden explosion erupts from her core! The energy expended forces her to lie on her back breathing heavily for a few seconds. She feels so much better in this instant, but sleep again begins calling to her, and she slowly rolls back to her left side, and quickly falls asleep beneath the warm blanket.


Samina awakens next as the sun is filtering in through a now uncovered window. She blinks her eyes a few times as she hears a slow barely audible rumbling in the room. Judging by the burnt-out fire and light chill in the air it’s most likely morning already. With a lazy stretch under the blanket she yawns and sits up. As the blanket falls from her nude chest she looks around the room. It doesn't take her long to see the source of the noise, as Thomas appears to be sleeping rather loudly with his head in his arms slouched across the table. After a quick shiver from the air, Samina looks down to find the shirt has vanished, as well as the bowl. A short frown crosses her lips as she reasons Thomas must have taken it for some reason. Standing up she decides to look around the room a bit more closely, hopefully finding some clothing. Her head is feeling much better and she doesn't feel woozy at all, but the air is chillier then expected, so she grabs the blanket to throw over herself as she walks around.
It's a nice house all things considered! The walls are thick clay and have no visible cracks. And the openings to the outside all have a leather shutter that can be tied closed. Near the door she finds a large bucket filled with clean water, and takes a few seconds to drink quickly. The door itself though won't budge when she gives it a push. “Probably sealed somehow,” she whispers. Going towards the fire area she notes there is still a small amount of stew in the pot. Feeling the side she's happy to discover there is still a tiny bit of heat left, so she quickly moves over to the table to grab a bowl again.
"Ah, you're up and about Samina," Thomas says as she reaches behind him to grab the bowl. Quickly, she dives towards the bed with the blanket, worried she's angered the giant. "Heh heh heh, oh there's no need to worry little Gob. Did you want this?" he asks. When she peaks out from under the blanket he is holding a bowl out for her as she cowers on the bed.
After a second to make sure Thomas isn’t threatening her, Samina slowly reaches out her hand to take it. As she does the blanket slowly falls from her shoulders, and the cold air again makes her shiver. "The stew was good last time." She finally manages, holding the empty bowl close to her.
When Samina finally looks up she notices that Thomas isn't looking at her, like he's turned his head to look anywhere but.
"I'm going to take some more, if that's alright."
"Yeah. Go on."
Feeling a little surer of herself now, she stands up and begins to walk over to the pot once again.
"Ah, ahem, uh. I noticed to didn't like my shirt, seeing as you threw it on top of a dirty bowl last night. Forgive me, but I don't exactly have clothing in your size." Thomas has a funny tremble in his voice as he speaks.
Having scooped another meal out of the pot Samina turns to see Thomas has turned a deep red color. "The shirt was OK. It just felt in the way last night," she responds with a curious look on her face. Is he embarrassed about something?
 "Oh good, here, I'll get you another then." Thomas hurriedly stands up, and reaching onto one of the high shelves pulls another sizable shirt down. He looks at the shirt exclusively as he brings it over to Samina, handing it with both hands outstretched.
Samina places the bowl on the bed, then takes the shirt with quick nod and then slips the cloth over her naked body with ease. The neck hole on this shirt is larger then the last by a great deal however, and no matter how she tries to set it one shoulder is always easily exposed. After trying to set it properly a couple times, she just gives up with her left shoulder open to the air.
"That's better," Thomas says with a sigh.
"I guess I should thank you for saving me from the Hisser. Though… I'm not sure why you would." Samina quietly says as she sits with the bowl on her lap.
"Hisser?"
"Yeah, the big thing, with sharp teeth and hard skin? The animal that had me in its claws?" As Samina says this she lifts the shirt on her right side displaying the cuts along her thigh and hip.
Again, Thomas blushes and looks away before responding, "Ah, you mean a Crocolisk. No, I never saw any Crocs where I found you. You were lying face down next to a rock. It looked like you had just run through the Redsword and tripped. I had heard you scream though, which is why I had come looking. You were bleeding pretty bad, so I carried you to my cart as quickly as I could."
"Oh." Samina pauses for a second to take a bite. "So, you didn't see Tulgu or a C-croc?"
"No, I never saw anything but yourself. But I didn't look to be honest."
After swallowing the bit of stew in her mouth, Samina once again feels a strange itch on her neck. Taking a second to scratch she feels around for a lump or something, but finds nothing.
"Where am I?" She asks.
"Well, right now you're at my house in the outskirts of Shephaven. I took you here after I got the bleeding stopped so you could rest. I figured it would be better then just taking you to town." Then in a whisper under his breath, "since that would just make things worse."
"What? What’s worse?" Samina questions quickly, raising her voice a little.
"Nothing, just sit, eat, and then rest some more," Thomas replies while holding his hands up.
Samina nods and quickly finishes the nearly cold meal. While she eats, Thomas moves over to the fire and sets up a small cooking pyre. Glancing up at a strange rasping noise, she notices that Thomas is using a blade with a stone of some kind to produce sparks. Sparks that quickly set the small pyre alight.
"Oh wow!" Samina exclaims, rushing over to see the objects in his hands. Unfortunately, the shirt she's wearing is a bit long and she steps on the front making her trip and fall into his back. She quickly pushes herself upright without noticing her left breast has fallen free from the hole of the shirt. She grabs the stone from his hand placing her right hand on his knee to reach more effectively. Looking up at Thomas who is mere inches from her face she asks, "What did you do? I saw you cut this rock and sparks came out!"
As Samina says this she sees a torrent of emotions wash over Thomas. First surprise at her presence, then embarrassment as she sees his eyes flit over her chest. Followed by a quick frown and recoil after she starts speaking. Stammering nonsense, Thomas falls backward from her onto his backside. Her pivot point suddenly moving, Samina falls forward with a yelp landing half on his stomach, half on his crotch. As she goes to right herself, she feels a strange hardness under the right side of her chest. She quickly picks herself up.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Samina says. Looking down at his pants she can see a large bulge.
"Uh, never mind!" Thomas yells suddenly, jumping to his feet. "Just, go to bed! I've got to go... do... something!"
Thomas practically runs to the door and Samina hears a sliding sound followed by him bursting outside. The door slowly swings shut as she looks out in wonder.


It takes Samina a few seconds to process what just happened. Eventually, she shakes her head and fixes her shirt. Looking down she sees the stone Thomas had been using to start the fire, so she spends a few seconds inspecting it. Picking up the knife nearby she tries her best to copy the actions she had seen Thomas doing, and after a few tries manages to get sparks to fly. She looks back at the fire pit to see the small pyre had already burnt itself out since it hadn't been fed once started. A few quick movements later she has managed to start the fire on her own, and soon the fire is crackling nicely. That job complete, Samina sits cross legged a suitable distance from the fire and begins to take stock of her situation.
I wonder why Thomas suddenly ran away like that? Was it something I did? When will he be back? Why would bringing me to the town make things worse? Ugh, so many questions! Well, what can I do about this? Should I sneak away? No, I don't even know where my village is. Samina grumbles a bit as she turns the options over in her head. As she sits on the floor she notices a tickle once again in her hips, but forcefully attempts to ignore it. "Well, I suppose I should at least do something to repay this giant."
After another few seconds Samina decides to clean the pot and bowls. While gathering the water, she thinks to herself defiantly. Let no one claim I don’t at least pull my own worth!
After completing that task Samina takes the time to inspect the door and discovers it opens perfectly smoothly now. Venturing outside she is surprised to see a large open area with a brick fence enclosing the cleared land. Directly up against the wall on the outside is the tall Greenpike grasses, acting like assailants in a siege trying to climb the parapets. The sun has risen higher since she woke up, which answers the question of whether its morning or evening, allowing her to get her bearings. Looking to the east she can see a small sheltered area she assumes is a latrine, and to the west a half-covered area with another bed made of hay. The rest of the area has different vegetables growing healthily in neat rows. Right beside the house proper she sees a small circular stone structure with a rope and bucket beside it. When she approaches, she discovers it's a well.
Thanks to her time with her brethren Samina knows that plants need water to grow, so she spends the next few hours slowly sending the bucket down then pulling it back up and carrying the heavy water to splash the plants. She finishes this project around noon, wore out from the effort, and sweating a storm. After one last bucket down the well, she removes the giant’s shirt and pours the bucket over her head. The cool water feels wonderful washing over and through her hair and then trailing down her tired body. She lays the shirt out flat in the sun and lies down to sunbathe and dry off for a spell.
She must have fallen asleep because she awakens upon hearing a gasp coming from the edge of the clearing. Jerking upright she can see Thomas, blazing red face once again, opening a gate and leading that large brown animal into the yard. A smile on her face, she races over to greet him.
"Welcome back! I didn't know where you went or what you were doing and then I got bored so I cleaned up the dishes then found out the door could open so I explored the clearing and figured your plants were thirsty so I used that hole in the ground to pull water up and gave them all a drink but that ended up being a lot of work so I decided to take a nap in the sun!" The whole time Samina has excitedly been telling Thomas about her day she’s been bouncing and pointing and pantomiming her actions. Thomas, for his part, was doing his best to look away from her and grunting in response. Samina did manage to notice that he was watching her chest more then her eyes whenever he did look at her. "You were gone for half of the day! Where did you go? Did you find anything? Did you go looking for the Croc? Oh! I nearly forgot! I learned how to make a fire the way you did! I built the little grass house like you're supposed to, then used your weird white rock with the knife to make fire!"
After waiting for Thomas to praise her efforts for another few seconds, Samina decides she's not getting anywhere. Thomas has taken the animal over to the small lean-to, and she watches as it slumps over next to the hay and begins munching contentedly. Perhaps a change in topic? He seems to like my chest... she thinks to herself mischievously.
Placing her hands behind her back and pushing her breasts forward she says "You don't have to be so sly about it you know. If you want to look at me, you can."
Immediately Thomas jolts in his tracks. "Uhm. I... don't know what you mean." He stammers gormlessly, turning his head to look up and away at the clouds.
Samina slowly gets closer to him standing up on her tip toes. "My chest bothers you does it?" She giggles out loud after watching his face somehow turn even redder then before. Blinking quickly, she stands normally and notices the large bulge in his pants again, just below her eye level. After staring at it for a moment she skips back over to the shirt on the ground while stating, "Well, I guess I better go get your shirt then. I shouldn’t be a bother if I can avoid it." Slipping the cloth over her head, once again the top settles with her left shoulder poking out prominently. "Better?"
"Y-yes," he finally responds, turning to face her directly. "You said you already watered the crops for me? Are you certain you're feeling well enough to be out of bed?"
Nodding enthusiastically, she responds. "Yep! My matron always used to say that getting active heals you quicker!"
"Hmph," He grunts in response. "Well, would you like to take a walk then, and see the area?"
In truth, Samina was pretty worn out from the work this morning. Placing a finger on her cheek and making a show of thinking for a second, Samina responds, "No, the... crops were what you called them right? They took a lot of tugging and walking and pouring and the sun was heating me up the whole time. I'm actually feeling kind of tired."
"Well, come inside then and rest in the bed. I still think you shouldn't be up and about yet anyway."
A quick nod in response, and Samina runs off to the door of the house. She tugs open the door, and dashes off to the bed jumping in and wrapping the blanket around herself quickly. Peeking out she sees Thomas walk in the door, his huge bulk frames the door completely, casting a shadow of his muscle-bound arms and barrel chest on the ground. For some reason this sight sends a shiver through her. She bites her lip lightly as he closes the door, and she feels that strange tickle in her throat once again. She scratches her neck lightly, but the tickle turns into a proper itch.
"Thomas, could you look at something for me," Samina asks charmingly. A quick look of worry shoots across Thomas’s eyes as he glances towards her. A smile springs to her lips as she realizes what Thomas must have been thinking. After a second she says, "I think a bug bit my neck. It's been itchy, but I can't feel anything."
"Oh, OK." Thomas moves over to the bed and Samina can feel his immense powerful hand cradle her neck. This is easily the strongest person she's ever met, and he's holding her so gently. Again, she lightly bites her lip as he leans in closer to look. His face is just a hands length away from chin.
"It should be around here," Samina says breathily, patting the area just above her larynx.
Suddenly, Samina feels Thomas pull his hand away. There is a confused and intense look in his eyes as he takes a quick step back from her.
"W-what is it!? What’s wrong?!" Samina grabs at her neck trying to find what’s wrong, forcing the blanket to fall back. She rubs her neck all over, but everything feels ok there. "What did y~," she’s just starting to ask another question when Thomas pounces forward and matches his lips with hers, forcing his tongue into her mouth she recoils in shock!
"T-Thomas! What!" Is all Samina manages to get out before a powerful sensation begins to build within her. Like the sensation last night, but a hundred times stronger. She can feel her nipples harden, and her hips and lower regions feel like pins and needles. She doesn't understand why, but she suddenly needs to see more of Thomas's body.
Thomas has stood up and has pulling his shirt and vest off already in the few seconds since she had pulled away. Samina begins pulling at the belt around his waist as he reaches down to her and pulls the shirt from her body in one quick movement, even picking her up for a brief moment in the haste of the action. Shocked by the strength on display, Samina kneels in place on the bed as Thomas finishes removing his belt, dropping his pants and brandishing his gigantic pulsing cock. She’s seen many before, clothing is mostly used outdoors in her village after all, but Thomas is impossibly large! Glancing up she sees Thomas has a burning in his eyes.
Again, Thomas leans down and kisses Samina, but this time she doesn't pull away. As they share a passionate kiss she feels powerful hands begin to caress her sides and hips. His skin is rough, but he uses such care and delicacy in his actions. She can begin to feel a moisture from between her legs as Thomas continues to move his hands up and down her sides, back, and hips. She wraps her arms around his muscled neck, and feels herself being picked up by his hands on her rear end. He spins around, and sits on the bed still kissing her and holding her body.
"Wha-what's happening?" Thomas whispers after finally pulling away from the kiss. "I… can't stop myself!"
"Then don't," is all Samina can manage, her mind shutting down from the pleasure of feeling the powerful hands on her.
A surprised moan escapes Samina’s lips as she suddenly feels a huge pressure on the opening between her legs. Looking down she can see Thomas’s penis standing straight up, thick and rigid. Easily three hands long, she has a short flash of fear as she realizes what Thomas intends to do, but the fog in her mind is taking over, removing the worry as quickly as it occurred to her. Thomas once again locks lips with her, and she loses herself to the ecstasy.
The pressure grows into a pain for just a second as Samina feels Thomas finally push into her. She feels like her body is bursting from the inside as inch after inch enter her slowly. Thomas is moving deliberately, holding her body up so that he enters her with as little pain as he can manage. Finally, after around half the length of his dick is inside her she feels him reach a limit; something inside of her blocks him from going further. Her entire body burns with an electricity she's never felt before, intensifying as she feels Thomas slowly pull her from his cock. She begins to scrunch her face in worry as she wonders if Thomas has changed his mind, before pulling away from his kiss in a gasp of delight as he once again pulls her down.
"Keep going, keep going, keep going!" Samina yells at Thomas. "Don't ever stop!"
Thomas continues to move Samina up and down slowly for almost a minute. Sweat is glistening on his forehead as he slowly leans back onto the bed. Samina can barely feel her legs as she is impaled on him over and over. In one particularly fast downward moment she loses her balance falling towards Thomas great chest. Thomas immediately switches from moving her up and down on himself to caressing her ass and back. No longer being moved herself, Samina takes the initiative and begins rocking up and down as best she can. Under her own power is somehow even better!
"Ah, Samina! You're so incredibly tight! I-I can't believe this!" Thomas huskily proclaims. "You feel amazing! Like nothing I've ever felt! Sam!"
The electricity shooting within Samina’s body is growing to a boil as she moves faster and faster upon Thomas. She is almost positive if he weren't as strong as he is, she would fly away from the indescribable pressure with in her. Faster and faster she moves, ever quicker and quicker. His hands suddenly stop moving, and grasp her tightly against him, forcing her down as far as she can upon him. And then, bliss. Pure, impossible, bliss as the energy within her explodes, causing her to arch her back, even managing to overpower the strength of the man beneath her. She can feel him filling her with something; something hot, but she doesn't care. She's never felt more alive, more content ever in her life.
Slowly, the climax begins to fade. Samina can feel Thomas breathing heavily beneath her, but his hands have finally released her body. She slowly stands up letting his penis fall against his stomach, oozing a white liquid. She falls beside him, wrapping an arm around his chest and hugs him as best she can.
"That... was the best thing I've ever felt," Samina whispers.
"I couldn't agree more," Thomas responds quietly.
Samina nuzzles into Thomas’s side for a few minutes. Her heart is still beating so fast! She wonders to herself what she should do now. Should I ask about the town? Or should I worry about my village? Ah, wait, I know exactly what I need to ask him!
"Thomas..." she says.
"Yes Sam?"
"When... do you think we could do this again?" She asks with a happy smile on her contented face.


Thomas gently takes Samina’s hand off his chest, and then stands up with a drawn-out sigh. Without saying a word, he walks to the door, opens it and walks outside.
Samina sits on the bed with a concerned look on her face, suddenly worried something is wrong. After a few seconds, she jumps out of bed and runs over to the door. Outside she can see Thomas has brought up a bucket of water and is washing himself off.
"What did I say?" Samina asks meekly.
Thomas appears to ignore Samina for another few moments before sighing again. "I..." he starts, then pauses again for another few moments. "I need to do some chores. I'll be outside and in the area if you need me, but just go get some sleep Sam," he eventually finishes. Samina can hear a deep sadness in his voice as he says this, and the way he has slumped his shoulders while speaking doesn't give her much confidence. Thomas finishes with the water, and walks back to the door. Sidling by her as she stands in the doorway, he collects his clothes quietly and then exits again.
Samina watches Thomas get dressed outside for a few seconds before turning and going back into the room. She finds the shirt Thomas had tossed away and quickly puts it back on, this time with her right shoulder showing. Pacing the area, questions run through her head. Did I do something wrong? Did I hurt him or make a mistake? Oh, what’s happening!  Eventually she decides she should probably follow his advice, and returns to the bed to get some sleep; she is exhausted after all. Pulling the blanket over herself a sense of loneliness hits her, and she can't stop a tear from running past her nose. "How did I manage to break this now?" she whimpers quietly before quickly falling asleep.


A few hours later Samina awakens as she hears Thomas open the door. She rolls over in bed to see him bringing in a batch of potatoes being carried in his shirt. Quickly, she gets up smiling and runs over to help.
"Let me help you with those Rounders!" Samina proclaims, grabbing at them as best she can. Thomas stands up taller keeping them out of her short reach.
"Go get the pot if you want to help." Thomas replies curtly, but with a bit of a smile on his face.
Off like a shot, Samina dashes over to the cleaned pot and brings it back to Thomas. Thomas has dropped the potatoes onto the table by the time she reaches him with the pot, and he has pulled a knife out. Cutting a few eyes out of the first potato, he then cuts it in half and places the pieces in the pot.
Enthusiastically, Samina asks, "Can I do more?" While not her favorite plant, she has a big grin on her face. Plants are uncommon treats in her village and usually she would only get potatoes at most once a week.
Thomas looks down and smirks before replying. "You could get some water from the well. Not too much, just a half bucket will do."
Samina scrunches her face up in a cute expression as she thinks for a second. She's never heard of a well before, but since it supplies water by the bucket-full, she reasons that must be what the hole outside is called. Then with a loud and happy “OK,” she skips over to the door.
By the time Samina has managed to get the bucket of water back into the house she sees that Thomas has finished preparing the potatoes. He adds the water to the pot, then moves over to the silent fire pit and sets it on the hook.
Thomas apologizes once the pot is secure. "Sorry, but I don't have meat for the stew today. I hadn't planned on a visitor, so I was going to head to town tomorrow to do some trading."
"Rounders are fine! Though, normally we cook them on a stick." Samina pantomimes holding a stick over the fire with an overly serious look on her face.
"You said you knew how to start the fire this morning? Care to give it another go?"
Samina beams at Thomas with a huge grin when he says this. He's letting me do something that important!? Quickly she sets to work building the pyre, and with hardly a misstep uses the flint to get a fire going cheerily.
Thomas is clearly impressed with Samina’s performance when she looks up at him. He pats her on the shoulder and says. "Well, that was pretty impressive!"
Giddy from the praise Samina cuts in as he is speaking. "Really Thomas!? I never get to make the fire at my village, its always going anyway since the fire keeper takes it so seriously and he gets angry and chases people away from his stores of grass.”
“You managed that faster then I could have Sam!”
 “Wow, really? This morning you made the fire faster than anyone I’ve ever seen but we’ve always had to use those special sticks the keeper found. Did I really do that good?"
Thomas smiles down at her, obviously not angry about being interrupted. "Yes, yes, you did good!"
Thomas walks over and sits down on the chair next to the table again while Samina just sits on the floor near the fire. They sit in silence for a few minutes, listening to the fire crackle as the Greenpike burns slowly.
Thomas coughs lightly before saying, "I'm sorry about earlier. I don't know what came over me. I never meant to force myself on you like that."
Samina turns on her butt to face Thomas with a smile, "I actually really liked it! I've never felt anything so good in my whole life!"
Thomas has a pained expression as Samina says this, responding with, "It was wrong of me though. You're so small, I could have hurt you so easily! It’s bad enough I have to live out here alone, I don't need more guilt on my shoulders!" His voice climbs as he speaks, getting louder slowly but never actually yelling.
As the word wrong escapes Thomas’s mouth Samina's expression instantly changes to concern and she cuts in quickly once she hears him say guilt. "Guilt? Why guilt? You're alone out here? I thought you said there was a village nearby! Doesn't that mean there more of you giants around?" She matches the volume he is responding with, but that just seems to irk him further.
"I'm not a giant Samina, I'm just a hu~... Va~... Man." Samina can see the confusion on Thomas’s face as he stumbles over the last word. Collecting his breath, he continues quietly, "I'm just human. Giants don't exist, don't let the stories fool you."
In a quiet voice Samina responds, "You're pretty big to me. And you haven't done anything to hurt me. You saved me! The croc would have eaten me up for sure if you hadn't found me. Or the Guthawks, or Burrowers maybe. If you hadn't cleaned the blood off of me who knows what could have found me!" Samina gets up and rushes over to Thomas, grabbing his leg in a tight hug. “I could be dead right now if you hadn’t been there.”
Thomas nearly falls backward from the sudden contact, splaying his arms out and barely catching himself on the table. When Samina looks up at him his face has gone pale, and he has the look of someone who's been stabbed. She decides quickly to change her position, and clambers up onto his lap to give his huge chest a hug instead. Thomas is frozen solid as she does this, and she can hear his heart beating very quickly in his chest with her ear against him.
"Thank you, Thomas." Samina says, squeezing him as hard as she can. After holding him for a few seconds she feels his arms wrap slowly around her. Not quite returning the hug but at least relaxing.
"I... Uh... Y-you're welcome," Thomas stammers out.
After a snap of the fire, Samina feels Thomas pick her up and places her feet first on the floor. She notes once again that he barely seems to register her weight, carrying her like she wasn't so much as a flower puff.
As Thomas leans back again Samina begins rapidly asking questions in her usual bubbly manner. "We're going to your village tomorrow? What are you trading for the meat? How many more humans are there? Oh! Are there more Goblins like me? When are we leaving? How do we get there?"
"Are you always this way?" Thomas asks with a small grin.
"Why would I be some other way?"
"Mmph. Well, I'm taking the potatoes to get supplies, not just meat. And why are you saying we? Are you planning to stay here little Gob?"
The last question was said playfully, but the fervor with which Samina nods in agreement causes Thomas to crook his eyebrows.
Thomas continues, nodding slowly back at her. "I see. Hmm, and why should I let you?" Samina can tell he's trying to tease her, but he is fantastically awful at it. Samina however, has had years of practice with tricks like these.
Putting on her best scared look she stumbles backwards. "You're throwing me out! But why?! I can help make things! I gave the plants their water!" Throwing herself away from Thomas she lands dramatically on the bed and starts sobbing. "I don't even know where I am!"
"Hey now, I was just playing Sam, you can stay! Calm down!" She hears Thomas say as he scrambles to his feet. She looks up at him with a toothy grin and coy look in her eyes.
"I know. But I wanted you to say it." She closes her eyes, sticks her tongue through her pointy teeth, and grabs her ears with her hands. When she looks up at him again next she can see she really did worry him for a second. This makes her even happier knowing he's a bit naive; she's going to have fun with him, she can tell. "I'm an adult now you know, I can start my own path if I wish! Here seems like a nice place to start."
Awkwardly, Thomas composes himself then moves to check on the potatoes. He’s very obviously trying to process this statement, and Samina lets him have time. He stirs the pot with a ladle hanging beside the fire, taps the rim a couple times, then returns to his chair.
Samina and Thomas spend the next few minutes discussing minor details about their lives while Thomas prepares the meal. She learns about Bunt which is the Ox outside, and the vegetables he grows. In return she tells him about the huts they had at her village and how she was the thirty-fourth child of her mothers, and the first daughter making her mother officially a matron. Thomas is apparently twenty-eight years old and the oldest son from his mother, who was still not a matron when last he heard, though he didn't seem to understand the significance of this. In fact, as far as he knows he is only one of three children his mother has had. Like Samina, Thomas hasn't seen his mother in many years. She decides not to press on this matter when she sees the clouds of bad memories darken his face, and changes the subject back to tomorrow.
"We'll leave after dawn. I can make the trip there and back in a few hours alone, but since we need to deliver the potatoes we’ll need Bunt, so we won't arrive until noon most likely. Do you know how to find your way if we get lost?" Thomas asks looking over at Samina.
"No... I don't." This question surprises Samina, as she has never actually thought about this problem before. She'd always had fellow goblins around and had always relied on them to find their way.
"OK, I will show you tomorrow."
The potatoes have finished cooking, and Thomas brings over a few in a bowl for Samina. She quickly moves over to make room for him to sit next to her, but he instead goes back to the chair after giving her the food.
"You can sit next to me you know. I only bite things that taste good. Ouch! Ah its hot!" Samina had taken a potato and made a show of taking a big bite to emphasize her point.
A soft chuckle greats Samina’s burnt tongue. "I prefer my chair. I hate crumbs in my bed." Thomas takes a few bites himself after cooling them a second. "Hmm, that does raise a question: where do I sleep tonight."
"In your bed. Why wouldn't you?"
"And what about you then?"
"Right next to you of course!"
Samina can see Thomas turning this response over in his head, and before he can object she raises her now empty bowl. "Those Rounders were great! I'm going to get some water now!" She hands the bowl to Thomas and grabs the bucket as she heads outside.
Samina watches Thomas exit the house just as she pulls the bucket up filled with water. She offers the bucket to him first, then takes a drink when he declines.
Thomas checks the sky then asks, "There is a few more hours before night fall. Would you like to help me load the cart with more potatoes for tomorrow?"
Together they spend the rest of the daylight pulling up plants and filling the cart Thomas owns. There were already more potatoes in the cart than Samina had ever seen in one place when they started, but by the time they stop for the night there are enough to feed her entire village for a month!
"That will be enough for now. I'll go get the cover so they don't get snatched by the birds tonight." Thomas then walks off to the other side of the house.
Once again sweaty and sticky, but this time also covered with black soil, Samina decides to take another quick bath. After bringing the bucket up, she removes the filthy shirt and dunks it in the water. She scrubs away as much dirt as she can before lying it flat on the ground in the last rays of sunlight that filter through the swaying blades of tall grass. She can hear Thomas returning and turns to see him carrying a heavy cloth towards the cart with a coiled rope over each of his shoulders.
"Could you help with this rope?" Thomas calls over his shoulder as he walks towards the cart.
"Yep!" Samina dashes over quickly to assist.
"Ack!" Thomas drops the equipment in shock when he sees Samina once again nude and grabbing at the tarp. "What did you do to the shirt now?!"
"It's dirty, so I cleaned it and I'm going to get the dirt off me too. Let's get these po-poters covered up so I can get back to that."
Samina is moving to the far side of the cart as she hears Thomas swallow before saying, "Potatoes."
Thomas does however manage to keep his composure enough to cover the cart while supplying some verbal queues called over from the opposite side; mostly directions to Samina on how to secure the ropes to the cart. Immediately after the last throw of the rope over the cart, she walks back over to the water and begins scrubbing herself clean. The sun by this point is low enough in the horizon to cast a silhouette of her body across the yard towards Thomas. She hears him gasp once more and turns to see him staring at her.
"My shadow is as tall as you are." Samina says with a snicker. "You can see what I'd look like if I were as tall as you."
Samina watches Thomas nod and start to blush. Once again, the pixie side of her takes over as she makes a show of cleaning herself. She angles herself so the sun leaves a shadow outlining her breasts and taking a handful of water she splashes playfully at any soil on her arms. Slowly she rubs the dirt off before taking another handful and doing the same with her other arm. Noting a few specks of dirt on her chest, she sends another handful of water ricocheting of her breasts causing droplets to fly into the air producing tiny sparkles of light to reflect through towards Thomas.
Next, Samina leans forward without bending her knees to clean her calves causing her butt to jut out behind her. Using long sensual motions, she pours a small amount of water onto her thigh and then rubs the water down her leg to wash away the black dirt. Her hair manages to fall past her face obscuring her view of Thomas and she brushes it away with a flourish so she can watch him. He stands by the cart dumb struck watching her silhouette and shadow; obviously unable to see her directly due to the sun behind her, but also unable to take his eyes off her. She marvels how much of an effect she has on him for a few seconds, posing in the fading sunlight.
Finally, Samina quickly dunks her head into the bucket then stands again throwing her wet hair backwards. She combs through her hair with her fingers removing as much loose dirt as she can and the water flows down her body. The water is cold against her chest, causing her nipples to poke out. As she notices her bodies reaction, she reaches over her back with an exaggerated stretch that pushes her chest out and cleans the middle of her back. The whole process from when she started on her arms until now has taken a good few minutes and she revels in the attention she is receiving from Thomas.
"You should come wash off too. No need to get dirt in your bed. It's worse than crumbs." Samina says with a hint of seduction, asking with her fingers for him to join her as she is getting close to finishing her bath.
"I'll wait until you're done," he responds quickly after snapping out of his trance, then dashes inside to hide.
Chuckling to herself she takes her time to finish cleaning properly. By the time she finishes the sun has sunk below the grass fully, and a cool breeze reminds her it is fall. With a quick shiver, she goes inside again to the warmth of the fire. As she closes the door she turns to see Thomas staring at her again. Well, staring directly at her erect nipples this time.
"It's cold out." She admonishes him quickly, covering her boobs with her arm. She walks over to the fire and sits down. "Go get cleaned up!"
She holds in a laugh as he fumbles his way outside, but is surprised when he re-enters just a few seconds later with a full bucket of water.
"I prefer warm water myself." He sits the bucket down by the fire beside her, then returns to his chair. "I don't have another clean shirt for you."
Samina shakes her head. "I'm OK like this. The fire is nice." She peaks out the side of eye at him and is happy to see he's staring at her. Making a big show of it, but never turning her head Samina stretches her back and arms out. "It's starting to get colder every night."
"Not too cold yet at least. I could sleep outside tonight quite easily."
As she finishes her teasing stretch Samina’s throat begins to itch, and she scratches it aggressively. "Bah, you never did tell me if I have a bite here!" Standing up, she walks brazenly over to Thomas with her chin held high, pointing at her neck.
"Uh, well." Thomas starts turning his head to look at the roof again.
"Oh, just look at me Thomas! Worms take your bashfulness!"
Thomas turns slowly to look at Samina, eventually leaning down to once again look at her neck. She stands perfectly still as he inspects around her slowly. His hands slowly check each side, front and back, before he says, "There's nothing there Sam."
With a huge sigh Samina scratches the itching part again. "But it itches!"
By the time she's finished spouting those words, Samina notices that Thomas has gone incredibly stiff, his hands suddenly clenched and he's holding his breath.
Looking directly into his suddenly feral eyes Samina whispers, "Thomas?"
The speed he moves with scares Samina as Thomas bursts into action. He grabs her by the waist with both hands, picks her up while standing himself, and kisses her forcefully.
"Thom~!" is all Samina manages when she pulls away before he again kisses her quickly. The hunger in his eyes is much stronger then earlier, and the passion from his actions are far more aggressive. He moves to the bed carrying her in his embrace before placing her down softly, her legs dangling off the side. When he lets go, where his hands had been sparks to life with the familiar tingling of earlier in the day. Samina isn't sure what’s causing it, but she's ready for more.
Thomas removes his clothes in a flash, his huge cock standing straight as an arrow already. Samina reaches forward and grasps it with both her hands quickly before he can continue his assault, and the touch of her hands makes him pause for a minute. The tingling on her skin has already spread to her core and she feels a sudden desire to lick his large rod. The lusty gasp that escapes Thomas encourages her, so she continues with her tongue. The smell of his body is intoxicating as she licks him from base to tip. Top and bottom, she starts kissing the sides of his penis.
"Sam... It's... happening again." Thomas manages to whimper out while Samina pecks little kisses all over him. "I... I'm sorry!"
Thomas grabs the sides of Samina’s head and forces her mouth onto the end of his cock. With a cough, Samina pushes away as best she can, but his strength is too great! Luckily for her Thomas moves her head away allowing her a chance to gasp a breath of air before he once again forces her to perform fellatio. Thomas continues this back and forth motion a few more times, never forcing his dick too far, always stopping when he hits the back of her mouth. Then with a loud grunt, he throws her head backwards, forcing her to fall back against the bed. Before she can react, he has grabbed her by the upper arms, holding her against the bed as he begins to lick and nibble on her left breast.
The feeling is amazing. The breast in Thomas’s mouth feels like its being filled with warm electricity. Tingling and charged, his tongue plays with Samina’s nipple shooting wonderful energy straight to her head. He switches after a second to the other, causing her to cough in excitement. She giggles as the feeling fills her bosom with pleasure, cherishing the experience.
"Yes, keep doing that Thomas!" Her voice is quiet, yet filled with lust.
Thomas starts to suck powerfully after another few seconds, and the pressure causes Samina to let a lustful moan escape. The sucking doesn't last long however as he pulls away. She looks down just in time to watch him ram his cock into her well soaked womanhood. Pressure overflows instantly within her! His dick is so large it feels like her hips are going to break in half! This time he doesn't go slowly forcing his way up to her womb in one motion. Buried half way, she can see he still has at least a hands length more that doesn't fit. As he pulls away again, she flexes her muscles trying to keep him in to no avail.
"Gods Sam! You feel amazing! Better then I've ever had before!" His voice is practically a growl as Thomas continues his assault. Pulling away slowly, then ramming back quickly as deeply as he can, over and over. Each time he pulls away just a bit faster than the time before until Thomas begins to just thrust in and out quickly the whole time, sending fireworks of pleasure through her body with each motion. Samina begins rubbing her breasts at the same time, sending further snippets of ecstasy into her.
"I'm getting close Sam!"
Samina attempts to wrap her legs around his powerful frame when Thomas says this, but his strong thrusting is too much for her. Suddenly, he stops as deep as he can go and she can see nothing but white and hear nothing but a high-pitched tone in her ears as a climax over takes her. Every part of her being feels like its floating away as the bliss wraps up around her.  She closes her eyes and just lets the magic take her away.
As she slowly regains her senses Samina can feel her insides have been filled again. Thomas's grunting becomes audible slowly as the ringing dissipates, and he finally releases her from his incredible grasp. Another few seconds and she feels him exit her. The liquids inside her begin to trickle out but she quickly covers herself with her left hand. She's not sure why, but she wants this within her as long as possible. She feels Thomas collide with the bed as he practically falls beside her. Quickly, she wraps her legs around his closest thigh and grabs him tightly.
"You're not sleeping outside tonight. You're sleeping right here next to me." Samina says as forcefully as she can manage.
"OK Sam. OK."
The smile on her face is bright enough to shame the sun as Samina hugs Thomas tightly.


After cuddling with Thomas for few more minutes, Samina lightly slaps his stomach. "The water might be really hot by now."
"Right, I had forgotten!" Thomas says, getting up.
Samina watches Thomas take the bucket outside. Listening carefully, she can hear him splashing as he washes the earth off himself.
"I wonder why he reacts this way whenever he sees me scratching that stubborn itch. It has to be connected, he's usually so caged up." Samina ponders the situation whispering to herself as she throws a few more blades of Greenpike on the fire. She finds it's sometimes useful to hear something out loud instead of always inside. "He enjoys it, but..."
Samina hears Thomas splash the last of the water over his head, interrupting her thoughts. She looks up as he comes in the door and is oddly surprised by his nude body. She's never seen him naked from further away before. His body is even more sculpted than she had figured when looking at him clothed. Every muscle is visible and is obviously very powerful. She never realized because of the volume of his hair, but when wet back she can see his neck is nearly as large as his head. Where it connects to his shoulders is a large mass of bulk, making him look far less like a barrel. There is almost no fat on him anywhere, making his body appear almost like an animal.
"Thomas... How did you get to be big the way you are?" Samina asks with a curious look on her face. Thomas closes the door and from her angle she can see him push a metal bar into the wall that connects to the door, making the sliding noise she heard this morning. He then moves back to the bed and lays down as close to the wall as he can manage and pats the bed beside him. Samina takes the cue quickly, leaping in beside him. He then wraps the blanket over them both, very barely covering their bodies completely.
Thomas places his arm around Samina and begins to talk. "I guess, I was born this way. That's what the people in Storach told me at least. I wasn't always this big you know. When I was a kid I was probably shorter than you are. But in the summer of my fifteenth year I grew eleven hands taller, and gained sixty brick."
"What?! How?!"
"I don't know. My friends had all grown quickly too, but none looked anything like me by the time I stopped. They started calling me Valoren... I'm some kind of rarity I guess. But, that makes me dangerous because the city evicted my parents, kicked me out, and took my brothers away."
"What!" Samina jerks straight up in bed to stare at Thomas in the eyes. "Why would they do that?!"
"The magistrate told me it was because if I stayed, there would be a war. The other cities would be allowed to attack Storach, so if I valued the lives of the people living there I should find a tiny village to live in, and just hide away for the rest of my life." The pain in Thomas' voice is heartbreaking as he says this. "It's why I live here now, in Shephaven."
Angrily Samina bursts back. "But that's not right! You're strong, and nice! You know how to make plants grow in rows and ox's lead carts and you found water under the ground and made a house out of clay. You should be a master by now teaching proles how to be like you not forced away because some monster called a city is going to attack you!"
Thomas chuckles heartily for a second listening to her spout off, angering Samina a bit more. He pulls her back down into his side and corrects the blanket before responding. "Ah Sam, you don't know what you're saying sadly. Come now, get some sleep, and I'll do my best to explain tomorrow, OK? We have a long walk anyway, and it will be nice to be able to talk on the way."
Samina would like to keep grousing about the injustices, but Thomas laughing at her ardent response has rankled her slightly. She huffs loudly before settling into a more comfortable position deciding she should enjoy the warm body beside her instead of pressing the issue. After all, he did say he would explain tomorrow, and she intends to make him.
The fire spits and crackles at the base of the bed. After a few minutes, she can hear Thomas has fallen asleep as his breathing becomes steady and regular. Even in his sleep she can hear the raw power of his chest as he breathes calmly. The ease with which he fell asleep next to her raises her spirits slightly, relaxing her nerves and she quickly falls asleep wrapped in his arm.


The night sky is beautiful above Samina. She can’t remember how she got outside, but it’s so peaceful she puts it out of her mind and just enjoys the sights. In the absence of a moon, the thousands of stars sparkle and dance in place, lighting up the open glade she’s in with the pale whisper of their glow. Listening carefully, she swears she can even hear them singing to her; a chorus of the faintest voices singing in harmony. She starts to dance to the music, slowly at first but eventually shedding all her inhibitions, losing herself to the motion. She continues this for a few minutes, reveling in the cool night air as it flows through her hair and billows her silver and white robe.
A pattering of feet near her makes Samina realize she's not alone. She stops dancing and turns smiling to see who has come to join and dance with her but nothing is there. Looking around the clearing she realizes she can still hear the noise though. She takes a step forward and feels something hot beneath her feet. Looking down she can see a trail of puddles reflecting the sparse light from the night sky. Dark pools, something far too thick to be water. As she reaches out to touch the pool she feels something land on her out stretched hand and her heart skips a beat as she realizes what it is.
Blood coats Samina’s fingers. Thick blood, like the kind that has already started to congeal but hasn't finished yet. She starts to feel pain in her chest as more blood lands on and all around her. Like a rain of huge droplets, she can feel the spray bouncing off the ground beneath her, beginning to coat her bare legs. She shivers in place as the macabre scene unfolds and just as she's about to start running for cover she hears a familiar dreadful sound. Great wings beat in the air above her and immediately she looks up.
Two terrible spheres of gargantuan size, yellow like a new fire stare down at Samina. Falling like a comet.


Samina screams as she jolts upwards, tears streaming down her cheeks. The only thing preventing her from flying off the bed are Thomas' arms holding her tightly.
"Sam! Sam! What happened!? What's wrong?!" Thomas shouts as he awakens. Samina struggles under his strength for a second before recognizing his voice. Calming down slightly she begins to cry openly.
"T-Thomas, the eyes!" Samina can barely form words she is still so afraid.
Thomas quickly wraps her up in his arms and cradles her gently. "Shh. Shh, it's OK. It was a dream Sam. It was a dream."
The next few minutes pass with Thomas cooing to Samina softly. Gradually she calms down, but the shivering has returned even under the warm blanket and heat of Thomas's chest.
"I-I'm alright n-now Thomas. I'm alright." Her heart beat has finally begun to slow as Samina reassures Thomas. "I get this nightmare a lot."
"Do you remember it?" Thomas asks gingerly.
Samina describes her dream as best she can but by the time she gets to the sound of the wings she is nearly hysterical once again. "And then, I-I... I look up. And there are two... yellow eyes coming towards me. Each one is bigger than your house! And that’s when I scream and wake up. Every time, its the same." Tremors wrack her body as she re-imagines the orbs coming towards her. She takes a deep breath and pushes the image out of her mind forcefully. "I'll be OK in a minute Thomas. You can go back to sleep."
"Are you sure?"
The concern in Thomas’s voice is so genuine and caring Samina has to pause. "Mm-hmm. I'll fall back to sleep quickly, you'll see." She fakes a small smile as she says this.
True to her word, Samina falls asleep a few short moments later, still supported by the enormous man beneath her.


The sun is just beginning to peak its light over the horizon when Samina wakes next. Thomas's grip had loosened at some point in his sleep and she had begun to slip waking her quickly. She smiles and gives him a hug, feeling much better, before sliding off to his side. As she does so however her leg catches on something, preventing her for extricating herself fully. Lifting the blanket, she can see his fully erect cock was in the way, blocking her leg from moving past.
Whoa! Samina thinks to herself. It's even bigger than I thought!
Having more than just a fleeting moment to finally see Thomas’s member in detail transfixes Samina's gaze. After moving her leg, she carefully crawls under the blanket to get closer and to get a better look. Her hands slowly glide over his skin and she marvels at how stiff it is. Moving her arm, she discovers its longer than the distance from her fingers to her elbow and just as thick as her fore arm.
A naughty thought crosses her mind and Samina whispers to herself, "I wonder if he would like me to wake him up? He seemed to like this last night..."
Samina slowly starts kissing Thomas again, starting at the top and moving slowly downwards. A few seconds of this and she hears Thomas grunt in his sleep. A titter escapes her. "I guess so!" she whispers.
Samina keeps kissing him until she has planted a kiss on every exposed area of Thomas’s cock she can reach. That completed, she changes up and starts licking him from base to tip in a long slow motion. She can feel him twitch as she moves and notices he has spread his legs a bit.
Quickly and stealthily Samina repositions between Thomas’s legs and continues her tongue bath. From this angle, she can see his huge balls and holds them in her hands. They're heavier than they looked, and she can feel them moving slightly as she goes up and down the length of his dick with her tongue. Thomas's breathing is beginning to quicken from the extended attention she has been giving him and she guesses he will awaken soon.
Pushing her knees right next to Thomas, Samina reaches forward with both hands and draws his tip closer. The head is swollen and dark and she can see some kind of clear liquid pooled at the opening. She stares at his dick lustily for a moment, running her hands up and down the stiff shaft before wrapping her mouth over the top. She hears a moan from the top of the bed when she does this causing her to smile, and she begins sucking contentedly.
"Oh, ah, w-what?" Thomas say as he wakes up. Suddenly the blanket is hurled away from above Samina as he tosses it aside to see what's happening. "Sam!? Wha~! Oh, gods I'm close!" Hearing this Sam begins to tease him with her tongue, while sucking harder on the tip.
After a few seconds, Samina feels his balls lift off her knees and she watches Thomas grab the bed with his hands. An explosion happens in her mouth an instant later, surprising her as a blast of semen hits the back of her throat. She pulls away quickly still holding him with her hands and she feels several ropes of liquid fall across her face and hair. The taste in her mouth is quite nice she discovers, and quickly swallows what's there followed by immediately going back to sucking in the hopes of getting a few drops more. She can feel him twitch a few more times and she's rewarded for her efforts, happily gulping down what she can.
"Sam, I... Wow Sam, that was... The best way to wake up!" The dopey grin on Thomas’s face is so comical Samina can't help but laugh.
"I hoped you would like it but I didn't think I'd get anything for doing it!" Samina uses her fingers to gather as much as she can from her face, slurping her fingers clean as she pulls some down. "Mmmm, that's good! But, better get ready for the day, right? I'll go get this mess cleaned up, then grab some water while you start the fire!"
Samina bounces cheerily off the bed and goes over to the door. Using all her strength she manages to get the slide lock open, and heads outside to the cool crisp air. As the door is closing Samina lets a cute laugh out as she notices the smile on Thomas’s face.


The pair work busily as the morning sunlight snakes into the small house. Together they make a small breakfast of fried potatoes using a large black flat piece of metal that Samina learns is called a pan. Thomas acts reserved all morning, responding only if asked a question. Of course, since she asks dozens of questions, this means he still talks for most of breakfast. After eating Samina does her best to predict what they'll need in preparation to leave, like bringing in water and cleaning dishes after they eat.
Clothing wise Samina once again wears the shirt from yesterday since it had dried in the night air. Before they can leave though, Thomas tells her the shirt will need to be altered for town and he uses his needle and thread to temporarily shrink the neck hole. Next, he supplies her with a belt to at least keep the shirt stable. She's able to wrap it twice around her, but it keeps the shirts length more manageable preventing her from stepping on it while walking. Once the ensemble is complete, the way the shirt bulges out around her chest makes it look like she’s carrying twice her weight. Not even a hint of her chest can be seen, nor her hips discerned from the stiff course fabric. Samina frowns at the frumpy look, but Thomas says it will work fine.
Thomas once again wears the same clothes he wore the day before. He appears to own only three shirts and two pairs of slacks, washing them as needed. Just prior to leaving he reaches above the bed to a long shelf and Samina is taken aback as he pulls a long straight knife down. It’s slightly longer then she is tall and the blade is sharpened on both sides. The grip is plain leather with a short cross-guard that angles towards the pommel. When Thomas finally looks in her direction he sees her staring.
"Have you never seen a sword before?"
"No. Why would you need a knife that big?"
Thomas pauses for a second before responding. Samina can see his eyes flash a few different emotions as he builds a response.
"Sometimes there are things worse then a Croc."
Samina can tell from the tone of his voice she should let it stand at that for now. Just another question she will hold onto until later.
"Well, is there anything else we need? Let's get moving! I can't wait to see your village!" Samina takes care to make her voice sound cheerful, and by the way Thomas smiles she knows she succeeded. Once outside Thomas places the sword on a special set of hooks on the side of the cart, and walks over to rouse Bunt from his sleep.
They spend the next few minutes getting the patient ox into a harness on the cart followed by Thomas closing the door to his house and sliding a wooden clasp into place to keep it closed. And with that, they start their journey towards Shephaven.


The gate at the north end of the yard opens to a trail that's barely wide enough for the cart and cuts its way through the tall Greenpike in a straight line. The Ox sets a slow pace for Thomas to follow, but Samina finds she must walk rather briskly to keep up. After five minutes of walking, the trail joins to a much larger path that runs east to west. This path is not quite wide enough for two carts to travel comfortably side by side, but it's enough to allow two carts going in opposite directions to pass by each other. They turn west and Samina notes there is a weathered square piece of slate embedded in the ground in the middle of the path directly in front of the trail that heads towards Thomas's house.
About twenty minutes after turning onto this route, another trail is seen leaving the path, this time headed north. Samina notes another weathered slate square in the middle of the path and her curiosity gets the better of her. She points towards the errant rock and asks, "Thomas, why is that stone in the middle of the path?"
"Right, I forgot! I was going to teach you how to find your way around in case you get lost."
Over the next few minutes Thomas tells Samina about a huge powerful kingdom from many thousands of years ago. They were so great that they even made a method of navigating the countryside. Running in a perfect line north to south and east to west across the entire land are stone pillars. Each stone pillar is one hours march away from the next. Between these pillars are five smaller stone slabs spaced so that every slab or pillar is the same distance away from the next in line. Roads were then made connecting many of these pillars making it far easier to travel between them, unfortunately however most of these roads have been left ignored now. It was at this point that Samina got lost in his explanation. More was said, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember a bit of it later. She makes an effort to listen thoughtfully, making sure Thomas never catches on to her confusion.
"And that’s how the Hobs were able to tame the wilds!" Thomas looks really happy as he finishes his story. She might not have been able to follow it all, but Samina was glad his spirits were high.
"I don't quite understand how that helps me get home though." Samina responds after walking another few minutes, having let what little she did gather sink in.
"OK, let me put it this way. If you ever get lost, go straight until you hit a path like this one. Go down that path until you find a... hmm, maybe wait until you can see for yourself. Here comes a Pillar now, this will make it easy to show you!" Thomas is pointing down the path, but Samina can't see anything. Thomas' shoulders are above the grass line, but due to her short stature she can't actually see above the Greenpike growing on the sides of the path.
A minute later Samina is treated to a wonderful sight. They approach another crossroads, this time with paths leading in all four cardinal directions and a large granite obelisk sitting just off to the side. Standing over thirty hands tall it is decorated with symbols and images. Most of the symbols are so weathered its impossible to say what they could have depicted, but there are a couple down near the base that look like they had been carved in not too many years ago. One of the new symbols depicts a fluffy four-legged animal inside a pen with two arrows pointing North.
Pointing at the symbol Thomas says, "This says the village of Shephaven is two more pillars north of here. So, if you ever get lost, find Shephaven, then go south two pillars to get here. From here, go east to the second slab, and that’s how you get to my house!" Looking down at her, he can tell Samina is still very confused. "Here, this should help you," he says as he suddenly reaches down and picks her up by the waist. He places her rump on his right shoulder, stands up, and her life changes.
Samina has never been this far above the grass line before and her jaw drops as she gasps from the sight. The open nature of Royals Field spreads out before her in all directions; an unending sea of green waving in the wind. The breeze she can normally feel is stronger up here without the windbreak of the Greenpike and she can see the gusts moving quickly across the prairie as they bend the stalks, reflecting the morning suns light in spectacular patterns. Far to the east she can see a bird take flight as something startles it and she watches it raise into the air. As the animal flies higher it draws her attention to another detail she'd never thought to notice; the grass isn't all that stretches on forever, as the sky matches its glory. Clouds can be seen as far as three days walk away, floating suspended in the cerulean heavens. She watches the bird disappear in the light as it passes close to the sun blinding her for a moment. Shaking her head lightly to clear the blur, she turns and sees to the west a small storm cloud that stretches itself to the ground. She covers her mouth as her breath is taken away when she sees the moon just barely on the horizon, larger then she's ever seen it before in her life. In fact, everything seems larger suddenly. Even just here, barely twenty-four hands from the ground, she can tell the world has more to it then she had imagined.
She'd spent her years living in a hut in some small carved out hollow of earth. Sure, she had looked up, admired the moon and the stars, or watched a cloud float by, but she had never thought to ask where they all went. The Greenpike grow so densely and so tall it’s impossible to see further then a few strides in any direction if you haven’t cleared some land. This is a great boon to the short peoples who live in the wild. Predators or threats can’t find you unless they are practically right on top of you. She feels Thomas shuffle his position a bit and she sees him point to the north.
Not too far away Samina can see a small hill crest with a thin object rising from the top of it. Several small squares surround the thin object, but the distance makes them too hard to count or make out what they are. She also sees that exactly half way between where they stand and the hill is another obelisk. What Thomas had been talking about begins to take hold and Samina quickly checks in the other directions to confirm there are more obelisks. All the pieces fall into place and she turns to look to the south east. Standing there not too far away, just barely visible over the grass, and exactly where she theorized it should be, she can see Thomas's roof.


Over the next two hours as they walk towards Shephaven poor Thomas is bombarded by questions. Samina takes a perch on top of the cart so she could see over the grass and marvel at the sights while they travel. Her questions range from the blatantly naive to the somewhat nuanced as she pieces together each snippet Thomas provides; the world was not only larger, but far more complex than she has ever imagined. As they get closer to the village she learns this is a Halfling settlement of roughly two thousand people and the tidbits of information she has make her excited to meet people who are shorter than her.
At the last slab before Shephaven Thomas changes the subject back to the task at hand. "Time to walk Sam, we don't want the traders to think you've been sitting on the potatoes the whole way."
Samina climbs down deftly and runs a bit a head before Thomas says, "Before you get too excited, I think you should know something." He kneels to her level as she walks back to him before he continues. "I'm not exactly liked in town. I'm not the only human, but I am the only Valoren living in the area and they weren't too happy when I asked to build here. But... they also couldn't think of a reason to stop me. Over the years, they've gotten used to me I think, but I don't do anything to make them angry. Mind yourself while we're here, OK?" Thomas is being serious from the way he talks to her, making sure to look her in her eyes directly.
"I'll do my best," Samina replies, putting her most confident face and voice forward. Truthfully, she had been all fired up for this until now, but the severity in his voice has taken a lot of the pep out of her step. If he’s being this earnest, I better take this seriously.
They continue along the path in silence for another minute before Samina hears a barking noise coming from up ahead. Samina startles and glances up at Thomas. He doesn't look concerned though so she continues steadily forward unafraid. The pillar can be seen easily off in the distance by this point, directly in front of the path that raises slowly, but the small buildings hiding on the sides of the path are very easily missed. It's not until she's barely fifty steps away from the first house that she notices it thanks to a halfling appearing from the far side.
Samina smiles with glee the first time she sees a halfling up close. They are indeed shorter then her, most only by a hand, but some of the womenfolk by as many as two hands. All the men wear buttoned black vests with white shirts and straight black pants. On their feet they wear black shoes, usually with a single buckle and string tightening them. The women wear different colors of dresses, ranging from springtime yellows, to flower blues, and berry reds. All the women wear white slippers. The one baby halfling she sees is swaddled in a white cloth strung on the mother’s chest and Samina lets out a short squeak as her inquisitiveness gets the better of her. It's when she runs forward to get a closer look at the child and the mothers eyes nearly burst from her sockets that Samina realizes the looks she’s getting from everyone.
Cowed immediately by the attention Samina calms down and moves close behind Thomas. This makes the stares worse though as the smallfolk switch from staring at her, to Thomas, and then to both of them with abject disapproval written on their faces. Conversations between the Halflings always grow quiet as the pair walk by and start again soon after they pass, each one blatantly obvious to her due to the way goblin ears work. Insults, jeers, and comments about their worth greet her from all sides. She pulls on Thomas' pant leg after they get past a particularly nasty exchange and beckons him closer so she can whisper to him.
"How long are we going to be here?” Samina asks disgustedly. “These people are so awful. Can't you hear what they are saying about us?"
"I know, but I did warn you. We won't be long. We just need to cross to the north side of town to get to the traders willing to buy the whole cart. We'll get our money and buy some supplies. Then maybe find a quick meal and then we start heading home."
Thomas smiles reassuringly and gives her a pat on her shoulder, but Samina can tell he can't hear what's being said about them. The two women behind her are beginning to make her angry with the way they insult him, but she does her best not to let the pair know she can hear them. Instead she focuses on the houses in town in an attempt to distract herself.
The buildings of Shephaven are all made from Greenpike cut and stacked together in a lattice work. The areas between the stalks are then filled with clay from the inside and dried, producing a seal against the weather but camouflaging the outsides. None of the buildings ever raise above the grass line, which explains why they were hard to make out from a distance. Thanks to a few open doors Samina discovers the buildings are all dug out inside, going at least a few hands deep to increase the size of the interiors without ever raising the building heights.
Between the buildings, the people have flattened clay alleyways that change to cobbled stone roads as they approach the town center around the pillar. The cobble stone center around the pillar provides a very stable and clean meeting area that is roughly sixty strides wide. It's nearly mid day by the time they arrive at the town center and there is a dozen or so carts parked around its edge, each with a farmer hocking his vegetables while a harnessed work dog sleeps lazily nearby. All that is, except for two carts. These two appear to be filled with furniture and household equipment, and the family near these carts look tired and downtrodden. Short scraps of conversation can be heard about a war to the north, but otherwise the area is mostly concerned with trading.
On the far side of the pillar Samina discovers a short embankment. A slow moving shallow river cuts an easterly route through town at the exact edge of the circular cobble stone center. There are two stone bridges crossing the river, each rising a paltry five hands above the water. The shorter and wider bridge leads directly north while the other heads north west. Looking across the second, which is only wide enough for foot traffic, she notes several much larger buildings, each look like they could house as many as three dozen occupants. The largest building has a bell inside a small steeple directly above the wide double door entrance at the mid point. Her curiosity once again piques her, but Thomas continues across the bridge leading north and she follows quietly.
This area of town also has a couple larger buildings as well, but they're only slightly larger than the houses neighboring them. It's when Samina sees a human woman leave one of these buildings that she figures out why. Keeping track as they walk, she only counts sixteen other humans by the time they stop at another open market area two minutes later.
Looking at these people Samina can see a very stark difference between them and Thomas. The tallest stands just equal to Thomas' chin, but is lanky and skinny. The heaviest is a man who is at most half of Thomas' weight, and she can tell he doesn't have nearly the strength to match. Regardless of their greater size though, all the humans are dressed the same way as the halflings in town. At least they don't talk as much as the rude halflings though, mostly ignoring the pair as they walk past.
This second market area is far smaller, allowing for only a few carts the size Thomas owns. On the west side Samina overhears a particularly loud halfling talking business with his compatriots but otherwise the area has quite a few people chatting away about mostly inconsequential things, making the place a bit loud.
"Pray forgive me Lowell, but did I hear you right? There's been a blight?" The one Halfling asks.
The one named Lowell turns, having finished talking with another patron and responds. "Indeed. 'Orrible time too, winter arriving. Seems some Aelf lord took it upon his self to ruinate the populace for their misgivings this season. His soldiers did steal most of the food they'd had reserved. Mayor sent me to bring back enough for winter. I'll take anything you're selling at a silver a brick."
A third Halfling pipes up beside them. "Oh, a rich price! I can have at least a few brick for you on the morrow should you wait."
"By the gods, Gordan! What small luck has lead you here today? Good to see you lad!" A particularly loud halfling has walked into the market and is moving towards Thomas. He has dirty blonde hair cut to a nearly uniform length around his rather round face and his paunch suggests he is used to eating well. He smiles genuinely as he approaches the pair with his arms held out welcomingly.
"If it isn't Uriah! When did you get in town you little thief, I thought you were still in Carveil? Certainly you're not hear to visit a vagabond like me!" Thomas responds boisterously. He reaches down with his hand open, and Uriah clasps it as best he can with a hearty laugh. A second later Uriah sees Samina behind Thomas and walks over quickly.
"You have a friend with you Gordan! Oh, excuse my manners!" Uriah holds his hands forward like one would do to wave at someone and begins speaking a garbled language to her directly. The confusion on Samina's face is evident and Uriah continues a few seconds later. "I'm sorry, my Golick must be horribly accented. I won't insult you further with my poor tongue if'n Hamon is fine for you." This exchange of course does nothing to ease her confusion, but she decides to nod in agreement anyway. "Wonderful! My name is Uriah Tenpenny, and I'm a friend of young master Gordan’s from back when he lived in the civilized world." Samina barely manages to get half her name out in introduction before he turns back to Thomas and happily continues talking.
"You would not believe the events this year! The congress was a travesty! The bloody elves declared war again but that’s hardly a surprise. But the dwarves in Aurich pulled support from the western cities in the final hours! Can you believe it?!" Thomas listens intently but never interrupts as Uriah discusses the ins and outs of politics from over the past year. The detail he gives is minutia heavy with players she’s never heard of though, and Samina gives up trying to follow along shortly into the conversation. Instead she decides to walk around the area to pass the time.
Samina spends the next few minutes listening to some small transactions between the people noting that certain vegetables have far more worth than others. Carrots and beets seem to be the most common this year, with beans being popular as well. Flour is the staple food source it seems as most people trade it for the vegetables if they don't pass coins. Noticing coins aren't needed for trade she gets a quick idea and runs back to the cart to grab a few potatoes. With three good sized potatoes in hand, she then walks over to talk to the Halfling selling his carrots. The halfling is rude and she can tell he doesn't trust her, but she does manage to trade her potatoes for five of his carrots. That’s more than enough for her and Thomas to snack on, and she rushes back to Thomas happily.
As Samina approaches she can hear Uriah talking still. "I'll admit that Carveil was a pleasant office to hold. I'm transferring out now that it's been decimated though. Oh, here comes Sam with some carrots. Didn't figure you'd be the type to pick up some help, let alone managing to find a prole in these areas. Does he owe you a debt or something Gordan?"
"Not as such no. I found Sam dying after being attacked by a Croc on my way back from Threeberry. He was unconscious and bleeding out but still alive so I helped him get back on his feet." Samina can see Thomas pleading to her with his eyes as he emphasized the male pronouns. She nods slightly catching on that she shouldn't let Uriah know she's a woman.
"Yep, Thomas has been teaching me about farming since then. He's been kind enough to let a prole like me stay, and I hope I've proven... friendly enough to be kept around." Samina says the last of this with a toothy smile and notes a brief flash of red from Thomas. "I managed to get us some long roots for lunch, would you like one Uriah?"
"No, no thank you Sam. I've already eaten. You don’t use your family name here in town Thomas? Well… I guess that makes sense given the history of your family," Uriah replies, lowering his voice to a whisper as he mentions Thomas’s family.
"You can always call me Gordan, Uriah, they all know who I am here anyway. So, are you heading back to Storach?" Thomas gladly accepts a couple of the carrots, cleaning the last of the dirt from them with his shirt before munching on one loudly.
"Tomorrow morning yes. I arrived yesterday late so I figured I would spend today in rest before continuing. Ha, I'm glad I did, else I wouldn't have seen you again! Do you think you could spend the night so we can catch up? I'll pay for the inn if'n that’s an issue."
"Well, I had hoped to just sell my potatoes and get home..." Thomas starts to say, glancing at Samina with a bit of worry on his face.
"I don't mind if we stay Thomas. I've never been in a place like this before and your friend is offering to pay." Samina quickly interjects. She does want to leave, but at the same time she's glad to meet a halfling that isn't rude. Uriah sounds like a genuine compatriot to Thomas, and she'd be interested to talk with him more. Not about politics or war sure, but just to learn more about Thomas if nothing else.
"Excellent!" Uriah proclaims. "I'm staying at the Browl over on the west side! I suppose if'n you're staying I should go get a few tasks done and let you get rid of your spoils. That way we can sit proper and reminisce over a pint at dinner!"
"Uh... I... Suppose so." Thomas stutters out. They say a quick farewell and Thomas turns back to Samina. "Are you sure Sam? Even I don't like being here for long, and spending the night might be a problem."
"I'm sure. I like your friend, he talks really fast like my family and he sounds like he's been all over the world! Can I have a pint for dinner too? What are they, like a mouse?" The snickering around her as she says this informs her that she’s obviously wrong. A few more offhand comments also question her intelligence while she’s standing there, and she quickly stops being her bubbly self again. "Well, before I can find out we should find a trader. I was listening to everyone else while you were talking with Uriah. Everyone seems to use bricks or coins though. How many bricks did we bring I thought we only have potatoes?"

Thomas had started untying the ropes on the cart while she talked, and he responds, "Well, I'd say at least fifty. We'll have to weigh them to find out." Samina mulls this over for a few seconds before guessing bricks must be how heavy something is.
"How much do you think you'll be able to get for all of these?"
Thomas looks really pleased with himself as he answers. "Well, normally a full cart will give ten silver. More then enough to cover the winter supplies at least. But I planned ahead this time and planted potatoes! I'd heard people were having trouble growing them earlier in the year so I planted a set late this year. I think I might be able to get as much as twelve silver this time!"
"Wait, didn't you hear that one Halfling? There is a trader that's buying food at a silver a brick!" Samina pipes in quickly.
"What?! Where is he?!" Thomas sounds more excited than she's ever seen him as he says this, and Samina starts scanning the area. After searching for a few moments though she can't see the halfling.
"Hmm, he's not here right now. He must have gone someplace. I remember someone called him Lowell."
"Well, if you're right we should look for him. We're going to be here all day anyway, so no harm in looking, right?" Thomas is smiling happily, and quickly reties the ropes on the tarp.
Together they spend the next few hours walking around the small town. During this time Samina feeks the itch her neck flare up again, but after a quick scratch she decides it’s best if she ignores it. While walking around they pass by a few proper shops and Samina is delighted to see clothing that will fit her. Thomas agrees to come back once they have some coins so she can get some new clothes but for now she can only window shop. She particularly likes the blue dresses and she thinks she will ask Thomas to get her one.
Sadly, Samina never sees the Halfling from the market again, but just as it gets near dinner time she manages to overhear a farmer talking. He mentions that Lowell is indeed in the area and paying what she said he was. The locals are all gathering some extra food stuffs and are going to meet him at the second market area at day break. When she informs Thomas about this he pats her on the back quick and gives her a look that says great job. She can tell he wants to congratulate her more but by the way he checks who is watching them she knows why he doesn't. Their search complete for now they head towards the inn Uriah is staying at.


"I liked the blue ones the best, they had the color like the flowers that grow near my village in the spring. Those dresses were really pretty weren't they Thomas?" Samina is still gushing about the clothing she plans to buy the next day as they turn towards the inn. Thomas hadn't known where to find it, but a few quick questions to a passerby had directed them to this empty part of town.
"Yeah, the blue ones were nice. Careful though Sam. Proles don't exactly talk about dresses all that often." The pointed reminder of the deception makes Samina roll her eyes.
"Ugh, I don't see why you didn't tell him I'm a woman."
"It's safer for you this way. Just another prole walking around in an over large mans shirt is just a poor Gob hiding from trouble, but a mother goblin out by herself? There would be far too many questions we don't want to be answering."
"What do you mean? Why is it strange?" A quizzical look is on her face as Samina looks up at Thomas.
Thomas has the same deadly serious tone of voice he had before they entered the town again as he answers. "Think about it this way Sam. How many brothers do you have compared to how many sisters? I know you have thirty or more brothers, but you also said you were the first daughter your matron had. Kind of makes you a bit special don't you think? And then add that thought to your mother and how many children she has. The people living here wouldn't see a single young girl, they would see couple dozen hungry babes at best, or a hundred angry Gobs demanding to find their lost sister at worst."
"But... all mothers are expected to seek their own paths and nobody is going to come searching for me, so they don't need to be afraid! … and what’s wrong with babes!?"
"Sam, that's not how they see it. You saw how the mother reacted earlier when you went to see her baby. These people are protective of what they have, and a mother goblin just brings problems to their town. They might ask you to leave if you're lucky, but they would more likely force you leave. Perhaps even at spear point."
Samina stops to think for a minute after Thomas says this. Thomas goes a few steps further before waiting for her. Eventually, she responds, "Alright, so I'm a prole then if it makes them happy." She isn't happy with this, but decides it’s the simplest answer for now. Better to pretend to be a prole then get attacked by an angry mob of smallfolk. She still wants the dress though, and spends a few seconds devising a plan. Tomorrow I'll just have to buy a dress for my matron instead, she thinks defiantly. With that in mind her mood picks up and they continue down the road.
"There it is, finally." Thomas lets out a relieved sigh. He's pointing at a sign on a large building beside a door made for humans. Samina's heart suddenly races and her face goes pale when she see's what he's pointing at. She stops in her tracks frozen in fear as two yellow orbs stare back at her.
"T-Thomas... Look out! It's going to get you!" Samina finally manages, hiding her face and pointing at the sign depicting a brown owl sitting on a metal pole with the words Browl Inn hanging beneath it.
"Sam, its not real. It's just a sign," Thomas says as he raps on it with his fist. He looks down at Samina and his visage changes to concern. "Are you OK? What's wrong?"
The color is coming back to her as Samina takes a few deep breaths. "It just looked like my dream. I'm OK, just surprised."
Thomas walks back over to her and after a quick check around gives her a quick hug. "It's alright. Sometimes my dreams haunt me during the day too. Let's go inside."
They descend a small staircase to get to the door that opens with the sound of a bell ringing. The inside is lit well and has half a dozen tables made for human sizes and another half dozen made for halflings. It's nearly empty but they can see Uriah off on one side reading some papers. An older halfling with grey hair and shaky gait greets them at the door and after a few brief pleasantries Samina hears Uriah call out.
"They're the ones I was talking about Gregory! Go have the stable hand move his cart in safely!" He yells loudly while he gathers his papers together, stuffing them into a book of some sort. "Come, come! Sit, and let’s eat!"


The meal consists of a meatloaf of some kind with boiled vegetables on the side. It's very good using spices Samina has never had before. While they're eating, Uriah calls for a round of pints, and Samina is introduced to alcohol for the first time in her life. The beer is bitter and hoppy but not unpalatable to her tastes, and Uriah and Thomas both seem to enjoy it a lot. Shortly before finishing the meal a young halfling comes in struggling mightily under the weight of Thomas's large sword. When he notices, Thomas goes over and relieves him of the burden. After a quick discussion, Thomas walks off to the back of the building down a hallway. He returns a few seconds later without his sword.
The conversation starts light between the old friends and they talk of how things have been for them since they last met the previous autumn. Thomas's side is rather limited since it amounts to "I grew plants this summer," but Uriah more than makes up for it discussing the comings and goings of Carveil. Nearing the end of the story about his summer Uriah tells them about the elves that attacked the town. The fighting was bloody, but closely matched. No siege was enacted, as the elves appeared to be on their way somewhere else, only stopping to sack quickly for supplies. They came and went in less than a day, but still burnt about half the town to ash, killing hundreds.
"I wish you were there Gordan. You pretend at digging in the earth these days, but I know you miss swinging your blade. We could have used a good man leading the guards." Uriah takes another drink while Thomas stares down at his nearly empty mug. "You say you want to learn about farming from this giant do you Sam? Ha! You should get him to train you with a blade instead."
"Is he really that good with it?" Samina asks, genuinely intrigued.
Uriah’s eyes gain a sparkle as he realizes he can change the subject to better memories. "Ten years ago, this lad was in line to make a mark for himself in Storach! His family had been guards for generations, and he was showing that lineage powerfully. His form, perfect! His strength, prodigious! His harem... numerous!" Uriah laughs to himself loudly before mocking a toast and taking another long draught. Thomas has gone dark red again at the mention of a harem, and Samina makes a mental note to ask him what that means. "I remember when you broke up that brawl on Facing street. Just a young sixteen year old fighting fist to fist with a Bogin! You took your licks, no doubt about that, but you won! Knocked the bastard out cold on his last punch. His eyes were black and his ears like cauliflower for days afterward, but nobody questioned him about it. Yep, you would be captain by now for sure Gordan!"
Samina is watching Thomas as she listens to Uriah tell her more stories of his exploits. He flexes his massive fists when Uriah mentions any fights, but otherwise sits peacefully. His expression seems stoic, but she can see behind his eyes he is replaying the memory of the events to himself happily. In the stories, he is a brash leader, confident and aggressive. Today he is a quiet person, more willing to agree than speak his mind.
"By the gods, I miss those days. But, of course it all changed." Uriah sobers up a bit as he continues. "When he kept growing the duke got scared. Not his growing reputation mind you, just his body. Congress was coming up again and the presence of a Valoren was not what they needed. Duke had been building the walls around his city in secret the last two years but they would need at least another two before they were completed. The people liked Thomas, but it was too much of a risk. A blasted shame. In the end, it didn't save them anyway. Four years later the damn elves laid siege for a month before they broke in. At least thirty thousand souls were lost that week before the elves picked up and left." Uriah glumly finishes his drink and slams the glass down. "Storach is half the size it used to be now. But, at least they have peace. Bah, forgive me, I've soured the mood again. Gregory! Another round while I take a piss!" Uriah noisily stumbles away heading outside.
"You were incredible when you were younger Thomas! You saved people, and caught thieves and killed murderers and all sorts of things! You could have kept doing that for sure, even if you weren’t in Storach! Why did you start farming?" Samina asks after Uriah is gone.
"Because I killed somebody who didn't deserve it, and I didn't want to be in that position again." he responds simply.
This answer surprises her. "Oh. Why did you do that?"
Thomas sits quietly as Gregory brings them over three new mugs. After Gregory leaves Thomas eventually says, "They were in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Samina doesn't question him further. Thomas is a far different individual then she had thought from their interactions over the last couple of days. She has no doubt in her mind she's safe around him, but he's definitely a changed man now from what he was just a few years ago.
Uriah returns from his trip in high spirits again. The subject changes back to current affairs and they enjoy each others company for the rest of the evening. The inn gets a bit busier over the rest of the day with patrons arriving for drinks or a meal, but as the night gets darker they slowly filter back out. It’s approaching midnight by the time Uriah decides it's time for bed.
"You know Gordan, I could use a good pair of guards for my trip tomorrow. I'd be willing to pay you and your squire if'n you wanted to join me." Uriah holds up his hands quickly as he sees Thomas begin to respond. "I know, I know, you're a farmer now. But think on it. You've got plenty of time left in life to pull potatoes from the ground, but that’s the work of men without gifts. Why squander a talent?" With that said, he turns and walks down the hall to his room.


The pair discover that Uriah had been kind enough to get two separate rooms for them, much to Samina's dismay. She protests quietly to Thomas when she finds out, but he insists they must use both rooms.
"There is only one bed in each room Sam. Just get some rest and I'll see you in the morning." After checking quickly for any onlookers, he gives her a quick kiss on her forehead. "You're safe here, nothing can happen."
The room Samina’s given is stark and cold. A clay based, halfling sized bed built into the floor is on one side of the room and a single Greenpike chair under a small window is on the other. She closes the door but a sliver of light filters in from the underside. With a dejected sigh, she wanders over to the bed. When she sits down she discovers it is filled with feathers inside a linen case, making it very soft. Slowly she removes her clothing and lays down in the bed. After a shiver from a breeze, she picks up the shirt and using it as a blanket she curls up and tries to get some sleep. Perhaps it was the alcohol or the long walk today, but within moments she manages to fall asleep.
The itching in her neck wakes Samina up some time later. Taking a few seconds to scratch at it she notices it's become a small lump. The room is nearly completely dark now as she looks around, the only source of light being the small window. Slowly, she begins to feel the tingling in her hips again. "Ugh, why here?" she whispers to herself as she curls into a ball, doing her best to will the sensation away but it seems to have no effect. Slowly, the tingling is spreading from her hips to her thighs and then eventually her butt. By the time it has encased her mid section she has begun to bite her lip. In desperation, she tosses the shirt to the ground and spreads her self out as much as she can. Maybe stretching will make it go away. Amazingly, it does help. She can feel the tingling slowly fading as the cool fall air caresses her skin.
It's not long until the air begins to get a bit too chilly though. Goose bumps start to show up across Samina’s arms, legs, and breasts as she starts to shiver. She makes the mistake of rubbing her hands across her chest for warmth causing the tingles to come back in full force, this time concentrated at her erect nipples. "Argh, this is horrible!" She whispers again. "Well, this helped last time." She says as she begins massaging her breast and the tingles erupt fully to life.
The kneading of her hands on her breasts is slowly warming Samina up in the cool air. She uses both hands to grope herself continually, and she feels her breathing get deeper. As her heart beats faster she begins to feel the familiar desire grow in her nether regions as well and she switches one hand to begin rubbing herself passionately down below as well. The fire grows within her over the next few minutes as she works herself tirelessly. Shortly, her entire body is burning with passion, but unlike last time the pressure just stays. She speeds up the motions between her legs, but all that does is make the fire worse. Tiring slightly, she stops for a moment. The heat in her body clashes heavily with the cold air. Her skin has bumps everywhere now, whether from the cold or the heat inside she doesn't know, but she needs to fix this.
Finally, Samina sits up in frustration. Waves of pin pricks wash through her as she thinks about what to do. Listening carefully and hearing nothing she comes up with a plan. She stands up quietly and sneaks over to the door. Peaking outside she sees no one is around. Quietly she moves quickly down the hall to the human sized rooms and slowly opens Thomas's door. She can hear him sleeping as she tip toes into his room, closing the door as gently as she can. As she walks closer to his bed she realizes she can smell him and the fire within her is stoked to a blaze. The stubborn itch forces her to scratch quickly, before she climbs up beside Thomas. She places her chilled hand against Thomas's cheek and she sees him awaken.
"Shh, Thomas, Shh." Samina whispers to him, staring into his blinking eyes a hands length away from his face. "I couldn't sleep. I needed your help." The lust in her voice must have been what he needed to hear because instead of arguing he immediately turns on his back and begins to undress. He's rather noisy about it, but by this point Samina no longer cares if they are discovered.
Once Thomas’s shirt is off, Samina crawls on top of him and begins to kiss him. His mouth is dry initially, but the drive in her passion and her tongue in his mouth quickly change that. Unlike her, Thomas is hot beneath her. The warmth radiating from his chest seeps into her naked body mixing with the fire within her. She feels his hands on her ass after a second as he begins tracing her with his palms. Up and down her body he moves slowly, his rough hands leaving sparks of electricity in their wake. She has been wet since her room, but now her desires are running wild. She leans up after breaking another long kiss and slides her way down his chest, stopping when she feels his dick against her butt. Reaching down and beneath her, she does her best to guide him into her. She only manages the tip before the explosions of ecstasy are too much for her and she collapses on top of him.
Quickly Thomas takes over for her, grasping Samina by the top of her hips and slowly shoving her further onto him. The slow grinding of him moving into her causes her to convulse wildly. He fills her body with such completeness she can hardly breathe. She feels him reach a limit about half way down him, and he grunts slightly. "Oh, Thomas, I... I can't move it feels so good!" She whispers to him.
"W-we sh-should shouldn't be d-doing this Sam." He whispers back. "Someone could hear!"
"Just move me then so we can be quick about it!"
Thomas grabs Samina by the waist with his left hand and her rump with his right and begins moving her up and down on him quickly. Samina does her best to stifle a gasp of euphoria as he does this, moving faster and faster. The fire inside her is building again and she can quickly feel the happy ending shooting towards her. Thomas begins to rock up and down while he is moving her, grunting quietly in time with his motions. The rocking is the final straw though, as the flash of pure white over takes her being once again. Abject paradise fills her mind as the rocking continues, his member ramming into her over and over. Each motion sends a different shooting wave of color through her, over and over as the climax continues. One last push and a loud growl and Thomas holds her down on himself forcefully. One last blast of color wracks her sight as she feels her insides being coated with the white liquid from this morning. He twitches over and over inside her and eventually she feels the liquid slipping out onto Thomas.
Slowly, the bliss fades from her as Samina lies on top of Thomas, impaled as deeply as he can go. "That feels so much better. I can finally relax." She whispers to him.
"You're the best lover I've ever had Samina." Thomas whispers back. "But quick, you should go back to your room. We can't be found together! Hurry!" With that, he grabs her under her arms and picks her off him. She hears a wet slap as his erection hits his stomach after falling from her, and she finds herself on her feet. It takes her a second to stand on her own, but she comes to her senses eventually.
"I'll see you in the morning my guardian," Samina huskily taunts him before running quietly to the door. She peaks outside and is about to move when she hears the bell ringing from the front door. She closes the door quickly. "Oh no! Someone is out there!" She whispers harshly to Thomas.
"Worms! You have to go though!" The stress in Thomas’s voice scares Samina far more than the thought of being caught naked and dripping by a stranger. She slowly opens the door again and notes some noise is coming from the main room. Listening carefully, it sounds like someone is building a fire. She decides she can take the chance and as quickly as she can she exits his room, closes the door, dashes down the hall, opens her door, squeezes in, and as quietly as possible closes her door. She listens intently for a second but doesn't hear any further noise. Breathing a sigh of relief she goes back to her bed. Grabbing the shirt from the cold ground she once again wraps it over herself like a blanket. She barely has time to close her eyes before she falls asleep again.


Samina doesn't get much more sleep however before a loud banging on her door wakes her up.
"Sam! Time to eat! Lazy proles get nothing done!" Uriah can be heard shouting outside her room.
Samina blinks a couple times before looking around the room. Judging by the dark window the sun hasn't even managed another hour’s journey since her foray out of her room. Grumbling to herself she decides it's probably best to comply.
Dressed and ready Samina walks out of the room to a delicious smell coming from the main hall. She can see Thomas and Uriah already seated and speaking at one of the tables made for humans, but otherwise the main area is empty. Thomas’s sword leans against him where he sits and Samina notices the sharp edge looks brighter this morning. As she walks over to sit with them she sees the door to the kitchen is open and she can hear something boiling quietly.
Uriah is grousing softly as Samina sits down beside the two. “It’s getting quite cold in the mornings. I hope I’ll be able to get to Storach before the snow falls properly.”

“It is quite late in the year Uriah, but the weather has been mild, you shouldn’t have trouble. Five nights is not so long to be lost in the wilds.” Thomas responds. Samina notes his spirits seem in good order this morning. His smile is certainly endearing to her, which she finds rather odd given how short of a time she’s known him.

“Hmph, well, the sooner I get going the faster it will get done I suppose. Gregory! Where’s that porridge?! Have you thought about the offer any Gordan? Or what about you Sam, managed to convince this bear he should come along?” Uriah isn’t even looking in her direction as he asks this last question. Instead he has turned in his seat and is looking expectantly towards the kitchen.

“I haven’t talked to him about, we went straight to bed after you did last night.” Samina replies politely.

“Well, we’ve got time now while we wait for this BLASTED PORRIDGE! GREGORY! You may as well discuss it now.” Uriah appears to dislike mornings Samina decides with a small smirk. She can tell his bluster is mostly just that though, more in mirth than in anger.

Gregory can be heard in the kitchen responding “It’s on its way mister Tenpenny!” Uriah harrumphs before he turns to look at the pair beside him.
“I don’t think I will take you up on it. I still need to prepare my house for winter, so I wouldn’t be able to just leave on a whim anyway.” Thomas is smiling, but Samina can see the sadness in his eyes. “If you had given me notice, I might just have. Might have been good to be active over the winter instead of idle.”

“I knew you were going to say that.” Uriah squints at him while saying this, before turning to yell once more at Gregory. Thankfully though, Gregory was already on his way towards them with three bowls of breakfast and Uriah’s mood improves in a flash.

The porridge is smooth and tasty. Samina has never eaten a meal quite like this before and savours every bite. She’s not sure what the spice on it is, but the flavour compliments the texture wonderfully.
After breakfast the three of them make a little more small-talk about the weather with Samina joining in more regularly than the night before. It’s when they begin to hear a lot of people moving outside that Thomas finally suggests they should get moving if they wanted to sell those potatoes. Gregory has the stable boy bring his cart around and they say their goodbyes. Uriah reminds them he will be packing his things and grabbing a couple last items in town before he leaves, so if they were to change their minds to just meet him here before noon. The ring of the door sends them off when they exit and they’re off to begin their adventure for the day.

“It sounds like it would be neat to see Storach.” Samina tells Thomas as they are walking to the market. “It sounds like it was a great place.”
“You could go with Uriah you know. You don’t need me to come with you if you really want to see it.”
Samina bristles in the middle of his sentence, but remembers to wait until he’s finished speaking before retorting angrily. “But you should be coming too! I don’t want to see it without you, its your home! Uriah already said that stupid Duke is gone so no one would try to kick you out and I bet there would be enough people who remember you to still get what you need to live and you could be a guardian again and help people and be a strong leader like you should be so you can train proles and make everyone safer!”
“I’m happy enough here Sam. Besides, I get to lead whenever I want already. Bunt never talks back either.” Thomas slaps Bunt on the shoulder as he says this and the Ox ignores him. Samina can barely hear him over the crowd as he whispers to himself. “They don’t want me back anyway.”
“You don’t know that!” She says directly, before furiously stomping ahead without waiting for a response.

Walking in front of Thomas for the rest of the trip Samina gets a chance to mull some things over. Stupid Thomas. He’s big enough to force them to listen, and nice enough to get people to like him, so why doesn’t he just make them take him back? …And why do I care so much about this giant anyway. She reaches up and touches the lump on her neck while she walks. It’s not itched since she woke up, but the lump is definitely there. Why has so much changed so quickly?


The northern market area is very different this morning. Samina easily finds the halfling, Lowell, since he appears to be the center of attention. He’s in the middle of the throng with a piece of parchment, writing down notes as a few people around him weigh assorted food stuffs. There is a lot of commotion, but everything seems to be working smoothly.

“Here Sam, hold the reins on Bunt while I go talk to… Lowell you said his name was?” With a nod of her head Samina takes the reins and watches Thomas walk towards the center.

The conversation climate in the area had been ignoring them until this point, or maybe Samina just hadn’t been noticing it due to her busy thoughts, but the crowd in the area once again starts to make snarky comments about the pair. She does her best to ignore them, but after the small fight with Thomas she finds her patience is running thin.

“Yon beanstalk does naught but lumber about like he’s simple. A travesty he gets as much as we for this.” Says one particularly loud woman behind Samina. Samina rankles visibly and she turns angrily around to face the halfling. Samina knows this isn’t even the worst thing she’s heard this morning, but she can’t take it any longer.
“He is smarter than you, you hag!” Samina bears her sharp teeth at the woman as she says this taking a few steps towards her. Everyone around Samina suddenly stops talking and they quickly back away. “You all point and laugh but he’s a good person! He works hard and does good at whatever he puts his mind too!”

Another halfling nearby responds. “Fah! He’s a nobody! Cast out like a daemon he was! Sidled up to our hearth we took pity on his soul, but he’s naught but a curse!”
Before Samina can respond another voice can be heard approaching. “Here now! What be this ruckus about?!”
A heavy-set blonde halfling is moving through the small crowd around Samina. She can see he has a sword strapped to his back and she hears a couple of the people mention he is sheriff Braag as they get out of his way. When he finally pushes aside the last member of the crowd near her she can see he has a blonde beard as well, and is wearing different clothes compared to the rest of the men in town. He has a black leather buttoned vest with black leather gloves that have a studded trank leading up to almost his elbow. For pants he has black studded leather and instead of shoes his sabatons are made from proper linked metal plates. As he turns to look at the people in the area she notes the sword on his back is nearly as long as Thomas’s. Even though he is shorter than Samina, she admits to herself he is rather imposing.
“We’ve too many good folk around for a squabble! Clear off!” The sheriff makes shooing motions to the crowd slowly before walking closer to Samina. “An’ you prole. What for are you causing strife?” He’s eyeing up at her with a grim look on his face.

“They were insulting Thomas and I had to respond.”

The sheriff spits on the ground before answering. “Lout that he is, he deserves it. Keep quiet and leave as soon as you can Gob. Gentlefolk here are roused enough as it is with the aelf daemons on our hearth. I don’t need your kind stirring the coals.” He brushes his vest quickly with his hands before turning and continuing to patrol the market.

Taken aback by this direct response Samina can only stand in place while she digests this. Thankfully though, the crowd has dispersed around her and they aren’t talking about Thomas or her any longer. She shakes her head and looks around for Thomas.

Thomas is walking back towards the cart and he has an unhappy air about him. Samina jogs over and Thomas says quickly as she gets near him, “He’s offering me twenty silver for the lot.”

“What?! But we have way more than that in the cart!”

“I know, but Lowell says the potatoes are too heavy to count the same as the other vegetables.” The disappointment in Thomas’ voice is clear.
“No! I’m going to talk to him!” Samina has had enough of these halflings mistreating Thomas.
Thomas looks shocked at this and begins to stammer a response but Samina has already passed by him.
“Lowell! I need to speak to you!” She calls out towards the trader as she makes her way over to him.
“Who’s this then?” Lowell sneers at Samina as she comes up to him. “Tom’s prole is it? Can’t even keep a dog on its leash then can you Thomas?”
“Now listen up you. Inside that cart are easily fifty bricks of potatoes. We pulled them out of the ground ourselves to fill that cart from bottom to top!” Samina is directly in front of the scrawny halfling with her arms crossed in front of her. This is the first time she’s had a chance to really look at him. He is thin, even for a halfling, with very light brown hair. What stands out the most however is how weathered he looks, like leather that’s been sitting in the sun for days. When he finally does look up at her directly he has light grey eyes that pierce into her, unflinching and sharp. He considers her like one considers the contents of a jar, picking out the important details before choosing his words carefully.
“You know my name prole. It’s only fair if I know yours.” Lowell says steadily.
“Sam.” Samina does her best to turn her face to stone. She’s surprised by Lowell. Usually she can read a person like a book, but Lowell is steady. No twitch in his eye, nor accidental sniff from his nose. Not even a fidget from his feet as he glares back at her.
“Sam then. I’ve already discussed this matter with Thomas and we’ve come to an agreed price. A price that is still more than fair considering what he would normally get for them.” Smooth and clear, Lowell watches her eyes the entire time he’s speaking.
“I’m sure he agrees with you, but that doesn’t change how much you’re paying to everyone else.” Samina is doing her best to keep her voice steady as well, and making sure to match his stare. Unfortunately, she can’t stop the itch in her throat from coming back at such an inopportune time and she absentmindedly scratches it before realising her mistake. She sees Lowell smirk ever so slightly as she folds her arms back over her chest.
“The deal I make with each person is a deal I make only with that person. Yes, rumors were circulating last night I would pay handsomely, but ask around today and see how many have managed to get that price.”
Samina lets out a harrumph. “They still got better than you’re giving to us! Blatant favouritism like this hurts your reputation you know.” This seems like the right angle to have taken as Lowell’s eye twitches noticeably. Thinking quickly, she decides to hone in on this. Remembering what Thomas said last night, she hopes the name she heard was a town. Rushing the pieces together in her head while speaks, she continues, “And everyone knows a trader lives on his reputation. You might get away with it here where everyone treats Thomas like a burden, but what about other places? If Threeberry knew you treated strong farmers badly do you think they’re likely to want to supply you?” Lowell’s eyes have a slight anger to them now, and she can see a bead of sweat forming on his temple.
“My reputation is not the one to question Sam. There has been a blight on potatoes this year, everyone knows it. I can’t pay extra for produce that won’t last the trip.” Lowell sounds like he is working hard to keep his voice modulated. Samina wants to smile now herself, but decides it would be best to keep the pressure on instead.
“And yet you never asked to see the produce for yourself! You assume that one is as good as the other without checking! Thomas! Show him the potatoes!” Looking around the market quickly Samina spots the farmer she traded with yesterday. “You there! You had some of our potatoes yesterday! Were they acceptable?” The farmer is surprised to be singled out like this and nods quickly.
Thomas has pulled back the tarp a bit and brings over a handful to show Lowell. After holding Samina’s gaze a bit longer he reaches over and checks the potatoes. He squeezes them, turns them over, and feels the weight in his hands before passing them back to Thomas. He takes a handkerchief from the front of his shirt and wipes his brow quickly.
“They are good, I will give you that.” Samina notes Lowell is having a very hard time standing still now, but is managing to keep his eyes locked on hers. “There is another problem however. I don’t have enough carts to bring this many to Carveil in one trip. I would be forced to leave at least half here, increasing my costs for storage and travel as I must make two trips to transport them. This cost means I must pay less for them.”
Samina thinks quickly about this. Lowell has made an interesting point. Looking around she sees he has two oxen pulling close to a dozen halfling sized carts in two chains.
“You already have ox’s, we’ll sell you the cart with the potatoes then!” Samina knows this is a gamble. She has no idea how much a cart costs, nor if Thomas would even be willing to do this. Looking at Thomas she shoots him a glare that says, “Don’t screw this up!”

Thomas is dumbfounded though. Samina can’t help but smile for a half second looking at him as she’s obviously impressing him. Quickly she looks back to Lowell to see he has closed his eyes tightly. It looks like he is calculating something in his head, and his hand is moving on his ledger like he is drawing symbols quickly. She also notes he has started to breathe faster and has begun tapping his left toe quickly.
“I…. can give you sixty silver for the cart and potatoes. IF there are at least fifty brick in there as you say! I’ll not give you a copper extra if there is more, and the deal is off if you have even a pebble less than fifty brick!” There is genuine vitriol in his voice as says this, shooting his eyes open. He attempts to bore holes through her skull with the daggers coming from his eyes as he awaits her response.
Samina makes a show of thinking this over for a second before shaking her head once in agreement. Lowell extends his hand towards her, palm sideways. Not understanding, Samina slowly does the same and Lowell grabs her hand with a snarl. After a quick pump, he breaks the grasp and storms away. “Check it!” he yells at one of his helpers before leaving the market and disappearing around a building.
The next half hour passes slowly to Samina. The deal has amped her up more than she wants to admit, as she can feel tingles of excitement everywhere in her body. She does her best to keep her cool though, focusing as hard as she can to keep the stone face up. Thomas however, has turned into a lantern. He works with the helpers quickly and efficiently to weigh out the potatoes, smiling the whole time. Every so often Samina thinks she hears him whisper something like “wow” or “good job”, and each time it makes the tingles in her dance a bit stronger.
They have just passed the halfway mark in emptying the cart when they reach forty brick and Lowell’s aides decide that’s good enough. Thomas practically runs to the front of the cart to unhitch Bunt while passing a small bag to Samina who then goes to talk to the lead helper. She can see he has started to count out small silver discs onto a crate they had nearby. As she watches the stack grow she gets more impressed with her performance. I really did good here didn’t I!


Coins in hand, the pair lead the big ox out of the market while Thomas carries his sword nonchalantly resting on his shoulder. Just as soon as the crowd has thinned to a handful Thomas picks Samina up and places her on the back of Bunt.
“Sixty silver! Sixty Sam! That was wonderful!” Thomas is still beaming he’s so happy. Samina can see him weighing the money bag in his hands over and over. She’s also glad to notice that the towns people have stopped gossiping about them. They aren’t acting any friendlier to the pair, but at least they aren’t slandering them any more. Samina glances around at the houses passing by to help ease the tension in her neck and finally allows herself to smile openly. When she looks over towards Thomas she’s nearly knocked off Bunt as he gives her a full-on kiss to the lips. Checking quickly, she sees they are alone for the moment so she kisses him back before he pulls away with a smile that could chase clouds away.
“We’re set for years with this Sam! First things first though.” Thomas pulls a second small bag from inside the pocket of his pants and separates forty coins into it. He hands the bag over to Samina with a smile. “It’s everything you earned. I only agreed to twenty after all.”
Samina is shocked. She’s never had money before, and doesn’t even know the worth of the coins but given how excited Thomas is she knows he’s giving her a fortune. “B-but, I don’t know what to do with these!” She finally manages, holding the bag gingerly. The soft jangle of the coins is almost musical as she shifts the coins with her fingers.
Thomas laughs heartily for a second. “OK, lets go show you what you can buy with these!”
They spend the rest of the morning going to different shops in the town. At the wainwright, Thomas orders a new made-to-order cart for his ox and a small box he takes immediately. The cart will be ready in a week and he pays up front for both items totalling two silver coins.  Next, they stop at a potter and buy a new set of four bowls, four plates, and four cups for a copper a piece. Thomas gives the proprietor a single silver and receives eight pieces of copper in return. The tinker sells them an iron lock to fit on the box with an iron key for a silver. At the cooper, they get two Greenpike pails sealed for carrying water and a short rope to tie them together like a shoulder pack on Bunt for six copper. The cobbler provides them both with a pair of leather boots for winter and a leather sling for Thomas’s sword. Initially the cobbler wants twenty-one copper, but Samina takes the chance to help again and dickers the price down to a single silver.
After leaving the cobbler Samina watches as Thomas sets the sword into the sling in such a way he won’t hurt himself carrying it. Thinking back to the conversation with Uriah she tugs on his hand as he’s rearranging things on Bunt to carry the newly purchased items.
“Is there really that much to learning to use a sword Thomas?” Samina asks once he looks down at her.
“Oh, so it looks easy, does it?” Thomas chuckles to himself.
“I don’t know… I’ve never seen one until yesterday. Uriah makes it sound like a master’s job. Could you teach me?”
Thomas looks down at her with a strange expression. “Do you actually want to learn?” he finally asks after watching her for a while.
“Would it help keep me safe?” she responds quickly.
Thomas continues to watch her for a minute before nodding. “OK. Let’s go get you something to train with.”
Together they head to a blacksmith and Thomas picks out a steel short sword appropriate for her. It doesn’t have an edge, but he explains learning how to maintain a blade is part of the learning process. Plus, it’s safer to learn before the blade can cut the wielder. Samina decides to also buy a small sharp knife while she’s here. Together the price comes to three silver, which Samina pays for herself. She is given a small scabbard with the dagger, so she attaches it to her belt as they leave.
Thomas decides they should probably wait for the new cart before buying the winter provisions as the items they already have are close to the limit they can carry back to the house.
“One last stop before we head home though. I do believe I promised we would stop and buy new clothes for you!” Thomas winks at Samina. Samina’s cheerful hurrah sounds just like a sparrow in spring, and together they make their way to the open-air shop they saw yesterday. Thomas is obviously enjoying this shopping spree. His confidence is impressive at the shops, decisive and authoritative with the choices he makes and Samina is glad to see a different side of him.
It’s passed noon by the time they arrive at the clothing shop. The clothes are once again laid out on dozens of small tables in front. Men’s clothing is mostly arranged by size on the left, and the women’s clothing is arranged by color on the right. There is a friendly looking halfling man tending to the shop lazily. He sits in a chair next to the door to his building which has been held open with a hook and twine that connects to a pole outside. He is commenting on the weather to any passer byes, but since most ignore him he stays sitting. Like most of the halflings in town he has brown hair and no beard and wears the customary black and white clothing.
Samina spends a few minutes looking at the men’s clothing but has a hard time finding pants she thinks will fit her. There are clothes made for both halflings and humans, but nothing in between. She’s about to give up when she hears Thomas say he’d like these. She quickly looks over but whatever he was buying is already being wrapped in a dull scrap linen for transport. She frowns slightly, wondering how he managed to find something for his giant body before her. Thomas pays the proprietor and places the package into the wooden box balanced by the pails tied on Bunts shoulders. Shaking her head, she carries a couple human sized shirts with her as she walks over to the halfling.
“Do you have legs that could fit me?” Samina asks.
The shop keep looks over her quickly before responding. “Hmm, a Gob? Come inside, I may have a set for the young humans.” He stands up and directs her into the shop.
The inside of the shop is nicely lit and Samina can see a young pregnant halfling rocking in a chair. Playing next to the woman are two children playing with fanciful cloth dolls. Once inside fully the owner shows her another long shelf of men’s clothing.
“You can try them on if you wish, to find what fits best.” The tailor points to a few pants he thinks will be closest.  Samina attempts to put on a pair but finds her belt sits too low. Removing the belt and dagger she places them aside and tries on a few pairs of pants before settling on two different pair. Finding a vest is easy, and she pays a silver piece for the clothing. Deciding she would like a bath before wearing her new clothes she wraps all of it together using her belt, tucking her dagger and coins inside once it’s tight.
“Thank you!” she says cheerfully. Thomas must have heard this as he speaks up from outside.
“Sam, you should ask about winter clothing. We can pick it up when we return next week.” Thomas is looking in through the door so Samina hands him the clothes she bought and turns back to the owner.
Picking up a small string with several evenly spaced knots the tailor turns to her. “May I take measures? We can find the right cloth and fit it to you proper.” Samina nods happily.
The tailor first checks around her mid section and then the length of her legs and makes a mark on his page of scrap paper he has nearby. He checks her height, arm width, arm length, and shoulder widths carefully, making marks as appropriate before going to check around her chest. He has his face sideways as he does this, but still manages to get a nose full of her breast as he hugs her while reaching around. Immediately he jumps back from her with a surprised look on his face.
“You’re a mother!” He gasps as he moves away from her. He’s turning white as he turns to his wife. “I-I didna know! She tricked me! I would never have touched her had I known Valerie!” The children have stopped playing and stare wide-eyed over towards them.
“Harlot!” Valerie screeches at Samina, struggling to her feet. “David is a good man!”
“What did I do?! I didn’t do anything!” Samina has instantly panicked.
“You had me touch you! With my own wife, right here!” David is furious as he says this, the color had already returned to his face and is now quickly turning red in anger.
“Strumpet! You defiled my husband!” Valerie is pregnantly lumbering her way towards her with hatred in her eyes, and Samina turns to run out the door. After just two steps however the shirt she’s wearing once again gets caught under foot. With a horrible tearing noise the shirt begins to rip as she falls to the ground at the door way. Struggling to get away, Samina scrambles through the door but the shirt catches on the hook holding the door open. As she at last stands to run away the tattered remains of the shirt pull off her.
There is already a small crowd outside the shop, gathered by their intrigue from the yelling inside. Gasps erupt around her as they look upon her naked body shooting out of the building. The collected noise startles Samina and she skids to a halt after just a few steps. That’s when she begins to hear the whispers. Everyone in the crowd is speaking at the same time, but for the first time in her life Samina hates she can hear each one of them clearly.
“Uncouth!”
“Gods she’s ugly!”
“Harlotry, call the sheriff!”
“Indecency!”
Already blushing from being exposed, Samina covers her private areas as best she can. She can see Thomas was placing her new clothing in the box when this fiasco started, and he is already turning to rush over to her. Quickly, the shock in the crowd fades and the gasping dies down, only to be replaced by far worse comments.
“Look at those scars on her legs! Horrible for a woman to be cut like that!”
“Bruises too! Does she truly believe she’s a man?!”
“Her chest is disgusting! Look how large she is!”
“And her rear is as big as a human’s!”
Dozens of comments assail Samina from all sides. Like a torrent of hate and vitriol they spray her with their remarks. She swears she can feel their judgements upon her skin, clinging like tar. Samina collapses to the ground with tears welling up in her eyes. She’s never thought to be ashamed of her body before. Why would someone even think to judge anyone else on something that can’t be controlled? She tries to hide herself as best she can, curling up in a ball and hiding the scars on her legs with her hands, but the feeling of ooze on her skin doesn’t come off. Some of the crowd has started to laugh at her futile actions of hiding herself, and she can’t stop the tears from falling. Thomas makes it to her finally and picks her up. His arms are warm, but she shivers anyway.
“Look, she is truly a harlot! That brute picked her up without asking!”
“Daemonry take them! Such indecent behaviour!”
“He molests her even!”
Samina can feel Thomas’s heart beat through his shirt as he makes his way back to the ox. The voices must have gotten to him as well as she hears him take a deep breath while he turns to the mob around them.

“BE QUIET!” Thomas yells with the force of a thunderstorm. The crowd silences immediately and he stares them down for a second. Not one moves nor matches his gaze. One by one he looks through the crowd before he turns again to continue towards Bunt.
A loud crack erupts above her and Samina is suddenly falling. She lands face down in a heap and the wind is knocked from her. Gasping for breath she pulls herself to her hands and knees and looks towards Thomas who is down on one knee. Blood is streaming down his right ear from a large gash on the side of his head and Samina watches his face morph into a monster.
Thomas spins around screaming wildly and swings a balled-up fist into the person nearest him. Samina winces as she hears a sickening crunch when he connects with a halfling woman’s head. The force picks the woman up and she flies several feet before crashing into a wall. Thomas hasn’t stopped there however as he brings his left leg speeding forwards into the chest of a halfling man, pushing him down then following through by stepping on him. Bones snap and the man coughs up a burst of blood. The crowd pauses. Thomas takes his foot off the man then winds up and kicks him aside brutally. Panic breaks loose and everyone starts screaming and running.
Thomas starts to chase the nearest people to him but they duck and dodge him as best they can. It takes some time but Samina finally catches her breath and coughs to him, “Stop! Don’t hurt them! Let’s just leave!” Something solid and cold bashes against her left shoulder knocking her flat into the ground once again and she screams in pain. Looking up she sees a halfling with a small craftsman mallet is lining up another swing and she recoils away quickly. The mallet is coming towards her brow when it suddenly changes direction. Thomas has grabbed the halfling by the head and he throws the small man into the air backwards over his shoulder. Easily thirty hands into the air he flies, yelling in fear the whole time. The fall back to the ground ends with the halfling landing head first and a sound like a melon being stepped on. Thomas picks up Samina by the waist under his right arm, grabs the reins on Bunt with his left, and begins to run.


The pain in her shoulder is making Samina see stars. Each step that Thomas takes jostles her body causing her shoulder to send additional nails through her bones. As he takes one longer step than normal down a slight incline the pain becomes too much for Samina and a wail escapes her. Thomas slows a tiny bit, but continues to move quickly.
“Sam! We can’t stop! Bear the pain until we get out of town!” Thomas says through gritted teeth. “I don’t know where to go. Worms, why did I just start running! I always act without thinking! Worthless!” The pair are currently running down a side street in the town with only housing to each side of them. Any citizens they pass jump out of their way before staring in amazement. Turning left, then right, then left once again Thomas searches frantically for the main road.
“There! I see the bell!” Thomas makes a bee line for the next few dozen steps. He bursts out from between the houses and Samina sees they are in an area she only saw from afar yesterday. The building with the bell is just a few doors down from them. Samina looks to the south east and can see the bridge, crowded with people. Turning to the north west, a worse sight greets her.
“Stop where you stand Thomas!” Sheriff Braag yells at the pair. He is standing in the road next to a couple of halflings that Samina recognizes from the crowd in front of the tailors. On his arm sits a young falcon that watches the sheriff intently, then flutters off when he raises his arm slightly. “You’ve grievously wounded some gentle folk! Submit, and we will set this right!”
Thomas has stopped moving a good distance from the sheriff. “What will happen if we submit?” he asks cautiously.
“You shall both be given trials for your crimes.” The sheriff has waved the away the couple citizens around him. He pulls his gloves and unbuttons his vest for comfort as he talks. “If indeed you have been enchanted, you could not be held reasonably accountable.”
“Enchanted? What do you mean?” Thomas asks.
“She cast a spell upon a trader this morning. Surely you knew?” Sheriff Braag replies.
“I-I didn’t!” Samina is incredulous.
“If you submit, you shall recompense the injured, but will likely be found innocent, and you could go home.” The words drip from sheriff Braag like a molasses; slow and heavy.
Thomas’s face is unreadable for the first time since Samina met him. He pauses for a second, considering his response. “And Sam?”
“Her harlotry and witchcraft is evident. She will meet the fire but your fate is not yet sealed.”
Samina has no idea what the sheriff is talking about. But she gets the idea her life is in sudden severe peril.
Thomas stands very still; all except his eyes which are hurriedly checking the people around him. Samina’s heart is starting to sink. Is he going to submit?!
Thomas turns and places Samina on top of Bunt. “I’m sorry Sam,” he says to her quietly. Samina is shaking her head in rejection and he sighs heavily as he places his hand softly on her back for just a moment. “You deserve better than a poor reject like me.”
“Thomas! What… do you mean? What’s happening?!” Samina’s voice is hoarse and panic stricken. She grabs at his arm, but he pulls away quickly.
Thomas takes his sword harness down from his shoulders and draws the blade with his right hand. He then reaches into one of the buckets hanging from Bunts shoulders and pulls her new dull short sword out with his left. Both weapons in hand, he turns back to the sheriff.
Thomas closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before taking a practiced fighting stance in front of the ox. His giant sword is held perfectly steady pointed towards the sheriff while his other hand holds the short sword reverse-grip. “Then seal my fate Isaac. You’ll not touch her while I’m here,” he says in his deadly serious tone of voice.
Relief floods through Samina but it’s short lived as she begins to worry about Thomas’s safety instead. The pain in her shoulder combined with the rapidly shifting emotions causes her to collapse on top of Bunt. Adrenaline keeps her awake, but she’s worn out already.
All the citizens have evacuated the roadway by now and are peaking out from behind buildings or objects near the road. Only Sheriff Braag remains in the open. Glowering at the enormous form fifty strides in front of him, he slowly extracts his own blade from his back. It’s shorter than Thomas’s, but the sheriff looks like he knows how to use it, holding it deftly in his left hand. “You dare pull weapons in our town? We should never have pitied you. Scoundrel!”
Samina only sees the sheriff’s right hand move in a flash, followed by a whistling sound. Thomas springs into action the instant the sheriff moves but that’s not quick enough as a small cut appears on Thomas’s neck that starts to bleed slowly. The sheriff repeats his action a couple more times before Samina can see what’s happening. The sheriff is reaching into his open vest and pulling out small knives to throw at Thomas. None of the knives manage to land a decisive hit as Thomas dodges and weaves expertly, but most are close enough to leave a small cut somewhere that starts to bleed.
Thomas is too far away to charge his assailant, so instead he makes his way towards the nearest building. He appears to realize the weapon in his left hand won’t be useful for this fight, and quickly stuffs it through his belt. Reaching the building, Samina believes he is going to dive for cover inside, but instead he grabs the ajar door and pulls it off in one clean motion. Holding the door as a shield, he turns to look at Isaac Braag again, and starts to advance.
“Bah, slippery dog! Resorting to destruction like an aelf!” Samina looks over at the sheriff as he angrily yells at Thomas. Two resounding thuds can be heard as Thomas blocks more knives thrown his way.
“If I can’t hit you…” The sheriff pauses and backs away for a second before suddenly turning to look directly at Samina. Her eyes grow wide in horror as he reaches into his vest again.
A shriek erupts from beside Thomas, startling Samina before the sheriff can throw the dagger at her. Isaac stands frozen with a look of sudden disbelief. Taking a chance to glance over Samina sees Thomas has balanced his sword next to the neck of a blonde halfling woman who was a bit too close to the excitement. Forced to her knees under the weight of the weapon, the woman is as pale as a ghost. Trembling, with her eyes closed, the sharp edge rests upon her shoulder. A thin red line slowly appears on the metal at the edge closest to her neck.
“Throw another dart at me Isaac Braag, and you earn your death.” Thomas’s voice is steady and malicious as he stares down at the sheriff. “Throw even one at Sam, and you will bring ruin upon this town. I will crash through buildings and destroy houses. My sword will leave these streets stained red for years to come. My wrath will run down every man, woman, and child within reach before you will be forced to cut me down to bring an end to the devastation.” He pulls the sword slowly a tiniest bit causing the woman to cry in agony, the red line on her neck becoming a true wound as blood begins to flow. “This one’s life is the first in your hands Isaac. Put down your weapons, and nothing more happens. Just. Let. Us. Leave.”
The poor halfling woman is wailing with tears streaming down her face by the time the sheriff backs a few steps away. Lowering his sword and keeping his right hand held up in the air he speaks back. “Go, coward. Let these folk have respite from your daemonic visage.” He spits on the ground for good measure before continuing. “You deserve your witch. May you rot.”
Thomas drops the door he has been using as a shield and slowly removes the sword from the woman’s body. The crimson liquid drains slowly from his blade as he lowers the weapon. He returns to Samina’s side and leads the ox by the reins along the cobbled path out of town to the north west, drops of blood leaving a gruesome trail. Nobody says a word around them as they walk past. When Samina risks a look, she can see the sheriff following them from a decent distance, his face red with anger. As they pass the last building the road disappears and they cross back into the wilds of Royals Field. The sheriff stops at the edge of town and watches them make their way through the Greenpike. The last Samina sees of the black garbed halfling is him turning with a growl while talking to someone nearby.


“We need to make for the pillar line as quickly as we can Sam. Moving in the wilds is dangerous and slow.” Thomas’s voice is rushed but calm. He brings Bunt to a trot as soon as the village disappears behind them. He’s returned the short sword to the bucket at Bunts side, but continues to hold his long sword, only taking a few seconds cleaning most of the blood from it.
Samina is still naked and only holds onto the back of Bunt as best she can. Her shoulder pain is slowly fading to a constant ache but when Samina inspects it, it’s growing noticeably swollen. She tries moving her arm and finds it only causes a relatively small increase in discomfort. Hopeful that her shoulder bones aren’t broken, she looks up at Thomas again. Thomas is bleeding from at least a half dozen cuts. One wound on his neck has stopped but has left a long coat of blood down the back of his shirt. Several holes in his shirt reveal gashes that bleed slightly still, and one deep cut on his left leg is still flowing. Samina gasps as the blood soaks slowly down his legs.
“Thomas! You’re still bleeding badly! We need to rest until the bleeding stops at least!” Samina begs him.
“Not yet. We’re still too close!” Thomas stubbornly keeps pushing through the Greenpike leading the ox.
Remembering her hunting training, she responds, “Please Thomas! If nothing else you’re leaving a trail!”
Thomas doesn’t say anything, but begins to slow down, and eventually stops. Samina jumps down from Bunt with a sharp rasp of pain as the landing jolts her shoulder, but she bears through it and runs over to Thomas. She pulls his shirt out of his pants and asks him to pull it off. Thomas looks confused, but removes his vest and does as she says. Taking his ruined shirt, she bites and tears strips of cloth from the shirt. Finally understanding, Thomas sits on the ground and lets her work. Spitting into the cloth strips she does her best to clean around the wounds but it takes her longer than she expects due to the pain in her shoulder. Eight slashes in total, the worst by far is the one on his leg, and she does her best to put a bandage over the wound.
“We’ll have to sew this one closed tonight, and maybe the one on your neck.” Samina says as she inspects the wound closely.
“No, we won’t. I’ll be fine.” Samina can’t tell if its bravado or not from the way Thomas says this.
“Alright, we should be OK to continue now.” Samina uses some dirt to clean her hands of the excess blood quickly before standing next to Thomas expectantly. He looks her up and down slowly and openly.
“Did you want some clothes before we continue?” Thomas’s voice is calm and tired. He’s only wearing his pants and a vest now that his shirt has been used for bandages.
Samina thinks about it for a second before shaking her head. “No, I still want to clean up before wearing them. I’m fine, the weather isn’t cold.”
Thomas nods slowly before suddenly reaching out and pulling Samina’s head towards his. He gives her a passionate kiss before releasing her and stands up. “Let’s continue then. The river should be nearby anyway. Can you keep up running, or would you rather ride again?”
“I can run for now, but I’ll get a ride from you later.” Samina says with a toothy grin.


They change directions from the last time they were running, leaving the bloody cloth scattered to misdirect the scents, they head directly south. It takes only a few minutes and they come to the river meandering its way through the grass. Quickly they lead Bunt down the short cliff and start walking up river, away from the town. Samina takes the time to wash herself quickly as they move through the near freezing water for a few hundred strides before exiting the river on the south side to climb the other bank. The sun is warming her up quickly so she waits until she is dry before she asks for her new clothes. Taking only a pair of pants and a shirt, she leaves the rest still bundled with the belt. Her new leather boots are sitting in the bucket, but she decides she won’t need them yet.
They run for barely another minute when they shoot out onto the pillar line path. Taking a quick look left and right they don’t see anything moving and turn west. Thomas thinks it might be better to walk for a bit, briskly since they do want to make distance, but not running to save their strength in case they need to run again later.
Samina thinks he is being far too paranoid and calls him out on it. “Why would those people want to chase us? We’ve left them alone now!”
“I’ve likely killed two of those people Samina. They’re going to want revenge for that,” Thomas says.
“They attacked us first though!” These halflings make less sense every time Samina learns something new about them.
“The sheriff will believe them though, not us. And they’ll likely say we provoked them. Not to mention the woman I cut.” Thomas looks at the earth at his feet. “Always someone in the wrong place,” he grumbles.  Samina frowns sourly until she realizes what he’s said.
Afraid of the answer, Samina asks, “Has… something like this happened before?”
Thomas looks Samina in the eyes. “I’m not the cleverest of men. I take the opportunities presented to me.” He turns to look forward again and picks up his pace.
Samina considers this statement carefully. Thomas has already admitted to killing people, and regretting it. She wants to ask more questions, but decides he will only open up to her at his own pace. They walk in silence for two more slabs. There is a small rise ahead of them and Thomas motions for her stop as they get closer.
“There is someone on the other side of that hill. Wait here, I’ll go see if they might be dangerous.” Sword ready, he dashes into the grass beside the road and runs off.
Samina waits patiently. It’s an opportunity to process the day’s events and she takes the time to come to grips with it. Together the pair has managed to amass a small fortune, buy new household equipment, clothes, and get evicted from Thomas’s farm. Whispering to Bunt she says, “Well, I suppose we could have been far worse off. Thomas or myself could have been killed… I guess that nice blanket isn’t Thomas’s any more. Nor the well or house. Or your little roof right Bunt? I’m sorry Thomas. I’m making your life just awful right now.” She looks to the west and can see Thomas’s head peak over it. He’s walking towards her calmly and it looks like he’s talking to someone. Taking it as a good sign, she pulls on Bunts reins and starts towards him.
After a few dozen strides Samina sees a familiar face appear beside Thomas, and she feels a sense of respite wash over her. Uriah waves to her, and she waves back happily before picking up her pace and running to meet them.
“Heyo Sam! I hear you two have changed your minds, and are joining me on this trip after all! No word on why he looks like he hugged a Crocolisk, but judging from your shoulder its quite the tale. We’ve a few more hours of daylight though, and I’m guessing you two would like a bit more distance behind us before we rest for the night, am I right?” Uriah has a snark to his voice, but no mistrust. Samina silently praises the gods that Thomas has at least one true friend other than herself. Together, the three of them continue down the path.


Not far down the road they catch up to Uriah’s pack dog who is attached to a cart and sleeping. He introduces the dog as Lily as he wakes her up, telling the pair he picked her up in Carveil, but only just as he was leaving.
“She’s a good dog. Doesn’t bark, doesn’t argue, sleeps whenever we stop. We get along just fine if’n I keep her cart balanced. Though I must say, it looks pretty easy to keep Balder happy right now, what happened to your cart Gordan?” Uriah is petting Lily while he looks over at Thomas.
“Balder died over the winter. Poor bastard got attacked by some coyotes. This lug is Bunt.” Thomas looks worried while he talks.
Uriah squints at Thomas before replying. “Hmph. Don’t want to talk about it yet do you, alright. Let’s get a move on then. If we can get at least two more pillars behind us before we stop for the night, we’ll be good.”
Other then asking Samina to pass Thomas the leather straps for his sword, nobody talks for the next hour. Their pace is quick, and Samina finds she needs to almost jog to keep up. After two slabs, she gives up and with a gesture to Thomas, he picks her up and places her on Bunt. By the time the hour’s up, even Bunt is breathing heavily, and they stop for a rest. Uriah has water skeins and after a quick drink, he passes it over to Samina.
Uriah watches Samina drink carefully on her turn. “Your shoulder isn’t broken, is it? It looks like you’re part Valoren yourself the way its puffed up!”
Samina finishes her drink before responding. “It moves ok. The halfling only hit me with a wooden hammer.” She hears Thomas gulp when she says this. “We may as well tell him Thomas, we can’t keep him out in the rain forever.”
Uriah smiles slightly while she’s speaking, and responds before Thomas has a chance too. “Let me guess. You tried to sell your produce but they offered too little. You got angry and started another big fight. Wouldn’t you know it, this time things got too heated and weapons were drawn. You dropped the cart, and ran. On your way through town you both grabbed anything that wasn’t nailed down, but since you had no money for winter, you decided to come to me for help, if’n I’m right?”
Samina is about to disagree when Thomas speaks over her. “You got me. You know my temper Uriah. Just another instance when a cooler head would have prevailed.” Thomas had moved over next to Samina while he spoke and placed his hand on her knee while he took the skein of water from her. His grip is stiff while he does so, and Samina decides to take the hint again.
“I guess that’s… close enough to what happened,” Samina says with a disapproving glare at Thomas. “We got out of town, but Thomas still thinks we’re going to be followed even though we crossed the river. They’ll have a hard time following us, you know that Thomas. Even my families blood-thirsted ferrets couldn’t track something that ran through water.”
The water skein sloshes loudly as Thomas finishes his draught. “We should still get further away. Those little bastards hold grudges too dearly to hope they give up after just a few slabs.” Thomas has the same harsh tone of voice he had used with Sheriff Braag. “We’ll have to camp off the pillar line a ways tonight as well.”
Uriah stashes the water on his cart once again and nods solemnly. “I did ask you join me. Always an exciting time when you’re around Gordan. H’yup!” To Samina it sounds like Uriah is regretting this adventure already.
Samina stews about the lies to Uriah while they travel. She just can’t understand why Thomas feels the need to lie to everyone, especially since he is so bad at it. As she watches him walk she can tell he is still angry. Every so often she will see him clench his fists, or say something soundlessly to himself and shake his head. After one particularly aggressive shake of his head he grabs a stalk of Greenpike about a hands length wide, pulls it out of the ground and breaks it in half in front of her, scaring her with the show of raw strength. One stalk like that can easily support up to fifty brick before breaking. Her gasp breaks his reverie making him startle and he drops the remains sheepishly. When he looks over at her he is blushing slightly and whispers an apology. He calms down considerably after this, and spends the rest of the walk moping.
They set the same pace as earlier for the next hour. About halfway between two pillars they cross back over the river again, but this time using a small bridge that was built over it. Otherwise, nothing else of particular note catches Samina’s eye in the countryside. The hour behind them, they stop for a quick breather, give water to the animals, and discuss the plan for the night. Thomas agrees to slow down finally, and Samina says she will walk. Having had enough of the silence, Samina tries her best to bring Thomas’s spirits up. She asks questions about the world and politics. What life was like with different races intermixing in the cities and how being a guard works day to day. Uriah joins in on the discussion shortly. Eventually Thomas starts to cheer up, and by the time they reach the third pillar west of Shephaven he finally laughs at an amusing comment from Uriah.
A rumble in Samina’s stomach interrupts another idle question she was asking to Uriah, causing her to pause.
“It is getting to be that time of the day I suppose.” Uriah responds with a smile. “I could do with a meal myself if’n we could stop.”
Thomas stands on his tip toes for a second looking back to the east before responding. “Yeah, I can’t see the town any more. We should be relatively safe now. Let’s go another half slab and then head off to make camp for the night.”
Samina and Uriah agree and shortly they are pushing their way though the brush. They had tried to get Lily to pull the cart through the grass, but it kept getting caught so they unhooked it and Thomas carried it over his head while they trekked north off the pillar line. Uriah has grabbed a hatchet from the back of the cart before unhooking it and after pushing their way for a few minutes he decides this is the right place. He begins to hack away at the grass and slowly cuts a small three stride diameter circle. Thomas uses his strength to pull out some more clumps off to the side a bit and makes an area large enough for him to lay down. Samina notes there is at least a few Greenpike still growing between the clearings to act like a curtain of sorts.
Samina spends a few minutes digging a small fire pit, then asks Uriah if he has tools to make a fire. He brings them over from the cart and Samina does her best to start one. The fresh Greenpike resists the flame for a few minutes, but eventually she is able to get a small fire going. Thomas looks unhappy but proud at the same time. He congratulates her on being able to make a fire in these conditions, but reminds her it needs to be completely put out before falling asleep.
For dinner, Uriah provides a couple links of sausage to each of them. They cook them over the fire, and settle in to enjoy each others company. Conversation is light, and Samina is feeling like her normal bouncy self by the time the meal is finished. Her shoulder aches immensely, but otherwise she’s in good health.
“Why don’t you tell us about your village for a bit Sam?” Uriah asks as the sun begins to set. “If I remember you said your matrons name was Ina? It’s not a name I’m familiar with.”
Samina shakes her head. “No, my matrons name is Cass. Samina is my name.”
Uriah perks up immediately. “Cass? Was her matrons name Bernardina per chance?”
Samina cocks her head slightly in surprise. “Yeah, how did you know that?”
Uriah slaps his knee and starts to laugh. “Did you hear that Gordan! You managed to find a Bernardina prole!”
Samina looks over at Thomas and he is staring at her in surprise. “What? Is my matron important?”
Uriah is smiling like a jackdaw as he looks between the two. “Well, Bernardina was only one of the richest families in Storach! Her masters ran most of the economy on the north-east quarter, and she had masters in the court! Two of her daughters took over the mining district forty years or so ago and between the whole family they funded the entire wall project! Gordan here worked for one of your matron’s sisters. Cass was the youngest mother Bernardina had. She would have been maybe twenty-three when went missing. Cass had never gotten along with the rest of the family, and after years of bickering she picked up her brood and left. Can you prove your connection? You might be set for any apprenticeship you want when we get to Storach!”
Samina lets this information sink in before replying. “I… don’t think I can. My matron died nearly seven years ago.” Remembering her mother always makes her sad and its hard to hide that from her face.
Uriah snaps his fingers. “Blast! Well, you can take heart knowing you have good lineage.”
Thomas is looking at her with concern. “How did she die Sam?”
Samina finds her mouth is suddenly dry as she remembers the night it happened. “It was during the spring moon festival. When the mothers all dance to lure the moon out of hiding. She’d been teaching me how to do the dance for weeks, but I was still too little to keep up to her. I was sitting at the edge of the clearing with the rest of my family when it happened.” Samina shivers as she watches the scene in her minds eye. “I don’t even remember it fully. We were watching my matron dance in her dress that looked like the full moon. Then there was a loud thud and something gigantic was standing on top of her. She never made a single sound.” Her eyes are welling up with tears and she wipes them away before they can fall. She wants to mention the great yellow orbs she saw, but can’t bring herself to say the words. Instead, she ends the story with, “And then, a gust of wind and she was gone.”
Thomas moves closer to Samina and gives her a hug, being careful not to put pressure on the wrong side of her shoulders.
Uriah is looking at the fire. “Horrible way to die. But at least she died quick I guess. There are worse ways to go after all.” Uriah has the morose tone of voice he had yesterday when he described the attack on Storach. He sits there quietly digesting the story until his expression goes quizzical. “Wait. Did you say she was teaching you how to do the dance?”
Thomas lets out a long sigh. “Sam is a mother Gob Uriah.”
Uriah blinks a couple of times. “Huh. Well, there you go. Wanted a village instead of a farm, did you?” he says with a smirk and twinkle in his eye. “How many proles have you had?”
Samina shakes her head. “I’m not old enough yet. I just had my age-over and I haven’t gone to find a new path yet.”
Uriah squints tightly at her. “I see. Well, it’s a good thing we’re getting you to Storach then.” Uriah suddenly looks very wary of Samina. “I’m going to go sleep now. We had a late night last night and I always find it hard to sleep in the wilds.” He continues to squint at her while he moves away from the fire. He had cut himself a small area off to the side of the cleared area for himself and Lily and he crosses through the Greenpike to get to it.
Samina watches the swaying grasses for a second while she contemplates Uriah’s change in attitude. Unable to guess at his reasoning she instead turns back to the fire and pokes at it idly. Thomas is still sitting beside her and she can hear him breathing calmly. The sun has almost set by this point and the dark has begun creeping in.
“This is my favourite time of the day.” Thomas says as he leans backwards. He shuffles left and right a bit before finding a comfortable spot and lays there looking up at the night sky. “Watching the stars appear.”
Samina tries leaning back as well, but the instant her shoulder touches the lumpy ground it starts to cause pain. No matter how she turns something is always jabbing her and she sits up with a huff. Thomas shifts slightly beside her and she feels his hand pull her so she lies with her neck and shoulders on his arm. This is far more comfortable, and Samina lets a small sigh free. He’s not the most talkative sort, but he knows how to do some things right, she thinks to herself smiling.
“I’m sorry you saw that side of me Sam. When I’m angry, I’m cruel.”
Samina turns her head to look at him. “You don’t need to say that. I need to say sorry to you! I just made you lose your home and your farm and all the things you had there.”
Thomas lets out another long sigh. “I hated those things Sam.”
“So why did you stay there?”
“I just liked knowing where I was. My lot in life.”
“Well, then I ruined that, didn’t I?”
Thomas chuckles at the impatience in Samina’s voice. “No, you haven’t. Isaac made it clear to me. I’d rather protect you then keep farming.”
Samina turns again to watch the sky. She’s not quite sure how to take this. After stewing on this for a few minutes she responds. “Then what are we going to do?”
“For now, let’s get to Storach. Maybe you’re right. Maybe I can be a guard again!” There is a spark of excitement as he says this, and Samina can feel him smiling beside her.
She turns over and lays on top of Thomas’s chest with her hands under her chin so she can look at him directly. He places his hands on her back and continues to watch the sky. His breathing pushes her up and down slowly and she watches him contently while the stars appear.


The night is fully dark by the time they break their vigils. Samina makes sure to smother the left overs of the fire with dirt while Thomas moves over to the area he had cleared off after making sure Bunt was snoozing happily near the fire pit. Uriah can be heard snoring lightly in his clearing.
Samina brushes past the few Greenpike separating the two areas as she joins Thomas off to the side. In the barest of light from the stars she discovers he has already removed his clothes and is laying on a bed of Greenpike waiting for her, fully erect.
“Oh! But… what about Uriah?!” she whispers to him.
“He sleeps like the dead,” Thomas replies as he reaches over to Samina and begins pulling her shirt off.
Samina doesn’t prevent him from doing this and other than a short flash of pain as her shoulder gets tweaked, the top come off cleanly. He then pulls her body down to him and begins sucking on her breasts. Samina shifts to straddling his stomach as he switches back and forth between her two sides. Her initial surprise is turning to enjoyment as he continues. The cool air mixes with his saliva whenever he switches sending an icy tingle into her. A pressure is growing in her neck again and she rubs it instinctively just as Thomas releases her chest. She takes the opportunity to kiss him, pushing her tongue into his as hard as she can.
As they pull apart for a quick gasp of air Samina asks, “Do you like my body?”
“Oh yes, Sam.” Thomas starts kissing Samina’s neck and the tingles start all over her entire body. Its different this time then the last couple of days. Instead of growing slowly, every part of her is instantly energized.
“My chest isn’t too big?”
“Your tits are wonderful.” Thomas pinches the left breast as he says this, sending a spark of delicious pain into Samina.
“And… my ass isn’t wrong?”
Thomas undoes Samina’s belt and pushes her pants half way down before grabbing her cheeks with both hands roughly. “Your ass is the perfect size. Just big enough for me to hold, and just soft enough to enjoy.” His hands are causing jolts of electricity through her as he rubs her roughly. After a few seconds of this Samina can’t take it any longer so she turns to sit on his stomach and removes her pants completely.
Thomas picks Samina up by her thighs and holds her with her back to him while she lines him up with her opening. The moment of insertion reverberates up her body. Like a hundred tiny fireworks slowly spreading in hot explosions he works his way deeper into her. When he is as far inside her as he can fit, he leans up so he supports most of her weight and lets her legs go. Samina’s breathing is laboured as she adjusts to the feeling of him being inside her again. Supporting himself with his left elbow, he wraps his right arm around her chest just below her breasts and picks her up slightly before letting gravity pull her down again. Each upward motion releases a tiny rush as he hugs her body, followed by another firework as he slowly fills her up again. Up and down she goes on him slowly. They both have begun to sweat from this workout, and Samina can feel the chill air leaving goose bumps on her skin. She’s getting close to a climax when Thomas stops and lays flat, breathing hard from the exertion.
“Oh, don’t stop!” She pleads to Thomas.
“Turn around.” He responds out of breath.
Samina does her best to stand up. She can feel him way up inside her, but manages to get to her feet without Thomas falling free. She turns slowly, but half of the way around she feels Thomas grab her hips and finish the job. She falls forward onto his stomach and Thomas takes over again, pushing her hips down, then pulling her butt forwards. Her vision starts to see sparks of light again as she once again approaches the end. Thomas keeps up a steady rhythm and she can feel him hitting her limit over and over. It’s when he starts to speed up that she once again explodes in euphoric bliss. Her mind goes completely blank in a flash of pure white. All pain disappears, as there is nothing but the incredible feeling of Thomas filling her insides with his seed. He keeps moving her up and down this time while he twitches over and over inside her. He slows to a stop eventually, and lets her rest while still inside.
Nearly out of breath Thomas says, “I… do believe I love you… Sam.”
Samina moans happily. “Mmm. You’ve convinced me of that.”
The cold air is starting to take its toll on Samina, and she shivers. Feeling this, Thomas covers her with his hands and arms. He is still spectacularly warm beneath her, and his arms are like living fire on her cold back. He holds her like this over the next few moments. Samina can feel him growing softer inside her, and eventually he falls free allowing a flow of liquid to come out as well. Shortly after this she can feel Thomas breathing steadily again, and she can tell he has fallen asleep. Content for now, she gives him a hug and quickly drifts off herself.


Samina wakes up with a start. It’s still the middle of the night, as the only light is from a sliver of a moon hanging in the sky above her. Her heart is pounding for some reason and she extricates herself from Thomas quickly. The cold air makes her shake, so she quickly puts her clothes on before moving back to the fire pit area.
Bunt has a slobbering noise as he breathes in and out, but otherwise the night is quiet. Sam still has a really bad feeling though, and moves over to the box next to Bunt and roots around until she finds her new knife. Just as she closes the box lid again, she hears a noise. It was so faint, she couldn’t even determine a direction, let alone what it was.
Samina rushes back over to Thomas and shakes him awake.
“Huff~ ahm. Wha-.” Thomas begins to say before Samina covers his mouth. Thomas shoots awake when she does this, but keeps quiet.
They wait like this until a few moments later the noise happens again. Thomas sits up quickly looking around. This time Samina is sure the noise came from the south.
Samina leans as close to Thomas’s ear as she can and whispers. “Someone on the road?”
“If so, let’s hope they pass by,” he whispers back.
They wait in silence again.
Suddenly the light of the moon flickers above them. Shooting their eyes upward, neither can see anything though. Both hear a whoosh a few seconds later, as a gust of wind passes over the Greenpike. Samina feels her chest start to tighten as fear begins to take hold. As Samina watches the sky, a growl can be heard not far away.
Lily must have been awakened by the gust of wind, and she sounds very agitated. Samina hears Uriah wake up and begin to grumble.
“Hmph, What’s wrong girl?” Uriah isn’t whispering, and his voice carries easily in the quiet night.
A screech erupts in the sky above them. Like a thousand mice being caught at the same time and amplified louder than any one could yell.
“Gods alive! What in the hells is out there!” Uriah yells in shock.
Thomas jumps to his feet and grabs his pants. He pulls them on and runs through the Greenpike to Bunt to grab his sword.
Samina has frozen in fear. Unable to move she crouches wide eyed with her dagger ready in her right hand.
A second screech blasts down, directly above them. Thomas has his sword ready and is joined by Uriah in the center. Together they scan the sky. Samina has only shifted a tiny amount, allowing her to look up in terror.
Two giant yellow orbs pass over them quickly.
“Preserve us! What was that!” Uriah yells at Thomas.
“Shush up!” Thomas admonishes.
Another screech, and this time Uriah can’t take it. “Worms to this!” he yells to Thomas and starts running towards the pillar line.
“You idiot Uriah, stop moving! Get down!” Thomas yells back at him.
There is a crash like a building collapsing and a scream from Uriah in the brush not far from the clearing. At the same time a war cry raises up just a few strides from the clearing. Samina snaps from her inaction, and she dives into the Greenpike near her. She only moves a few strides before falling to the ground and hiding as best she can. As she does her best to peak through the grass she can hear a scuffle.
Thomas is yelling at something, and every so often Samina catches a glimpse of movement. A horrible sound like flesh being torn open followed by a spray of blood can be heard. A second later a loud thump not far from Samina makes her jump. Looking over she sees the decapitated head of a halfling staring back at her and she does her best to hold back a scream. More fighting can be heard from the clearing, as more combatants enter the fray and she hears at least two more halflings be cut down. She is just beginning to dare to hope Thomas might win when her heart leaps into her throat as she hears Thomas cry out in pain followed by something big falling over. After that, all she can hear is heaving breathing from several people. She hasn’t even had time to process what’s happened when she hears the sheriff start talking.
“Bastard is still alive. Good. Tie him up and we’ll drag him back.”
Samina lets out a huge sigh of relief that Thomas isn’t dead, causing her to miss whatever the other halflings said in response to this.
“Someone stop Sabre from eating that traitor. We have the villain, but his mistress still eludes us.” Sheriff Braag can be heard moving through the Greenpike towards the clearing where Samina and Thomas slept. Just barely through the grasses, Samina can see him moving around. He takes something from his front jacket and spits on it. He then touches his face and Samina assumes he is cleaning off blood.
Isaac sniffs loudly and he turns around again. “Heathens were fornicating here. The noose is too good for this animal, we’ll have to burn him. Have any of you seen the Gob witch?” he calls to the rest of the halflings. After a chorus of negative responses, he grunts in dissatisfaction. “Fortunate we are she wears a white shirt then.” Samina piques at this, realizing she does indeed wear the white shirt the halflings routinely wear in Shephaven. She quickly removes it, throwing it aside. Sheriff Braag has moved back over towards the main clearing by the time she looks up. Deciding she needs to risk it, she creeps as quietly as possible to get closer to hear or see what’s happening.
The sound of Thomas being dragged off towards the pillar line as she makes her way closer masks her movements, and she manages to get close enough to the clearing to see inside. Several bodies lie silently bleeding in the area, including poor Bunt. To the south, a large swath of Greenpike have been flattened and she recoils in terror as she recognizes what moves on top of it. Sheriff Braag is standing next to an owl that is easily ten times his height. He calmly pets and coos to it as its bright yellow eyes stare unblinking at him. Listening carefully, she hears him say one last command before it appears to nod and takes flight with a horrendous whoosh of air: “Go Sabre. Find yourself that sheep nearby for dinner. Don’t come home until you find her.”
Samina spends the next few minutes petrified the owl is going to descend upon her. She watches the halflings say a quick prayer for their lost brethren before they all leave towards the pillar line. As her wits slowly creep back to her, she begins to line some things up in her head. The owl must be heavily trained by Isaac to provide tracking in the air at night. It’s how they must have found them without needing a trail, and to find them so quickly. The last bit about finding a sheep leads her to believe it will be looking for a while object moving in the grass. As she links this up, an anger takes hold of her. “A white… dancing in the grass at night?” she whispers to herself.
A groaning noise catches Samina’s attention. It’s coming from the crushed Greenpike near the clearing and she cautiously moves over to check to see what’s there. As she gets closer she can see Lily is trying to move some heavy grass over top of the noise and Samina drops the caution and rushes to help. After moving a few broken pieces Uriah’s arm can be seen. Together, they slowly pull a barely alive Uriah from the foliage. Samina takes a few seconds to find a skein of water in the area, and with a quick splash wakes up Uriah.
“Ack, lord. Why is there still pain in the afterlife?” Uriah grunts and sputters as he slowly regains consciousness.
“You’re not dead Uriah. Keep your voice to a whisper.” Samina whispers harshly to him. “The owl might be listening.”
Uriah is grimacing in pain, but manages to keep his voice quiet. “O-owl?”
“A giant owl landed on you when you bolted. I… think it might be the same one that killed my mother.” Samina can feel the arch-angel of anger fighting with the devil of fear inside her over this. She can’t tell if she wants to hide from the monster, or find it and kill it for what it’s done.
Uriah coughs wetly before spitting and responding. “Ugh. Where’s Gordan?”
“The sheriff was here. I think he keeps the owl as a hunting pet. He had a few men with him, and they fought Thomas and captured him.” A wolf howl resonates over the field as Samina finishes her explanation.
Lily is growling while Uriah talks. “I’m guessing, we should make a bit of distance between us and this bloody battlefield. Go grab what you can, I’ll try to get up.”
Samina spends a few moments surveying the site. Realizing she is bare chested again, tries to find her new vest. While rooting around Bunt she finds her dull short sword and gives it to Uriah to use like a walking cane, which steadies his movement greatly. She decides the best she could probably do is to take the wooden box with the clothing and coins hidden inside and look for a vest once they have more time. It’s heavy, but she manages to get it over to Uriah who uses the rope from the buckets to attach it to Lily’s harness. Lastly, Samina finds Thomas’s long sword. She places her new dagger with its sheath into her pants before picking the sword up. It’s very heavy, she can barely carry it across her shoulders. The cool blade feels soothing against her wounded side, but the weight slowly makes the pain worse over time but Samina knows Thomas will need his sword, so she grits her teeth and pushes onward.
Together they make their way back to the road, then head west until they hit the next slab. Uriah is rasping as he breathes, so Samina suggests this is far enough. They move barely off the line, this time to the south, and Uriah lies down next to Lily.
“Sit, Sam. We may as well get sleep while we can.” Uriah can barely speak as he pats the ground beside him.
“Uriah. I’m going to go save Thomas.” Samina wasn’t going to say this, surprising even herself. Having heard the words come from her lips though, she realizes she means it. “He saved me, and now the sheriff said he was going to burn him. I… can’t let him die for protecting me.”
“How do you intend to do that? Even if’n you can catch them, they outnumber you.”
“I know.”
“And what about the owl?”
“I KNOW!” Samina doesn’t mean to yell, but reminding her how useless she is doesn’t help her save Thomas.
“Bah, if’n you know, then why do it? Why get yourself killed?”
Samina whispers, more to herself then Uriah. “He gave up everything for me. Without a second thought.”
Uriah watches her closely for a few seconds while she hangs her head. “You’re sure it’s not just your neck talking? You know he can’t give you proles, right?”
Samina looks over at him with a confused look while she checks her neck with her hand. “My neck?”
Uriah sighs quietly before responding. “I used to sleep deeper than the worms dig, but elves change that. I heard you two tonight.” Samina blushes instinctively. “He’s not a goblin. You’ll not get children from him. No matter how many times you blow your sweet mist in his face.”
“Sweet… mist?” Samina sits down she’s so confused.
“Your matron never told you did she. Let me guess, you have a burning hole in your throat? Or maybe it’s a piece of snow, or a pin needle? Well, when you feel that, your breath will make who ever you’re near want you. Need you. And they’ll do anything to get you.”
It feels like Samina’s been kicked in the stomach. “I… forced him to want me?”
“So, it has started for you. I’m sorry lass.”
“H-how long does the mist last?”
“No more then a few minutes for most men.”
Samina thinks back to the last couple of days, and hope wells up in her. “So, he did do things of his own choice then! I didn’t make him save me or take me with him to town or show me the top of the grass! He acted on his own to protect me from the crowd at the store! And stood up to the sheriff!”
Uriah closes his eyes for a second, grimacing as a wave of pain hits him. “He is a Gordan. His father saved people like that too.”
“Well, now he he’s going to die!”
Uriah watches Samina stand up again and walk over to the box. “You do like him don’t you.”
“Yep. And he’s in danger because of me.” Samina has an extra sense of conviction in her voice. Opening the box and reaching in, the first thing she happens to grab is the package Thomas bought. It’s softer than expected and out of curiosity she pulls it out. The hint of light from the moon is dim, but it’s enough for her to realize what she has in her hands; Thomas had bought her a blue dress. “He thinks he isn’t good enough for me. He’s wrong.” She places the dress back into the box carefully, and eventually finds her new vest. She knows Thomas wasn’t just acting as her unwitting pawn. He deserves her faith in him, and she intends to live up to the faith he put in her. “He deserves better from me. And I’m going to save him.”
Samina puts on her vest, resettles the large sword on her back while ignoring the pain, turns, and starts running down the road to the east.
After watching her leave, Uriah whispers quietly to no one. “Good luck Samina.”


Samina figures the halflings have at most an hour’s lead on her as she runs down the path. She doesn’t know how many there are, but she’s sure they are having a hard time dragging Thomas so they are probably moving slow. She hopes she’ll be able to hear them before she barrels into the back of them.
The moon is just three days past the new moon directly above Samina. It hangs there, peeking down at her as though it were afraid of what’s to come. There is no sound beyond the pattering of her bare feet as she races towards a fight she hasn’t even prepared for. While she runs, she does her best to think of the skills and advantages she her doubts plague her. She says a quick prayer to the moon above her.
A scraping noise on the path ahead snaps her to attention and Samina stops running. Looking ahead, she can make out a strange light moving on the path that doesn’t spread outwards. It illuminates only the area directly in front of the lead halfling, and she can tell they are moving very slowly. The noise on the path is Thomas being pulled behind three halflings as he bounces and jostles on the hard earth. Knowing there is nothing she can really do while they move in a straight line, Samina falls into the same pace as them about thirty strides behind. Listening carefully to their voices, she concludes there are a total of six men in the war band, one of which is Isaac Braag.
Time passes slowly as she follows behind the group. The run had winded her so the chance to walk for a few minutes is a welcome rest, but just following won’t rescue Thomas. It’s not until a new noise trickles to her ears that she realizes just how far they’ve come. The river crossing is ahead.
“Bah, Isaac, this lout is heavy. Can we stop for a drink at least?” One of the halflings pipes up as they close in on the river.
“Yeah, go ahead.” Sheriff Braag replies gruffly.
Quickly, Samina moves into the grass beside her. Just in time as well, as the halfling holding the lantern turns around and the light passes where she had been walking. She listens to the group complain about the distance and weight before drinking their fill from the clear stream.
Should I rush up now? Samina thinks to herself while biting her lower lip. I can’t take them when they are all together…
The sheriff pulls the choice out her hands quickly, as Samina hears him bark at the men to get moving. There is a bunch of grumbling, but soon she hears Thomas being dragged again. She admonishes herself for her inaction as she steps back out on the road way and continues to follow. Just as she gets to the bridge she hears a spark of opportunity.
“Ah, keep going, I’m just going to take a quick dribble here.” One of the halflings is moving back towards the bridge slowly.
Holding perfectly still, Samina waits for the halfling to stop moving. He walks up to the middle of the bridge and stands looking over the side. Samina carefully places the sword on the ground, pulls her dagger, and creeps closer as the sound of the halflings stream hits the water below. Just as he finishes, Samina jumps into action.
Wrapping her left hand over his mouth, she uses her right hand to draw the dagger across his collar. He makes a move to resist her temporarily, attempting to yell but only blood comes out of his mouth. After holding him for a second to make sure he won’t yell a warning to the others, Samina lets him go and then kicks his dying body into the river below. Running back to the sword, the loud splash draws attention from the rest of the group.
“Hey Vickers! Did you go and fall in?” One of the halflings pulling Thomas starts to laugh, and Samina hears the group stop moving. She quickly grabs the sword and melts into the grass beside the road. Placing the sword down quietly she does her best to hide and watch what happens next. “Vickers? You alright? Vickers! Aw hellfire, Isaac, Vickers has fallen into the river!”
The group runs back to the bridge and starts looking over the edge. The halfling holding the lantern is scanning the water beneath the bridge but comes up empty.
“You fool, give me that lantern!” Isaac yells at the man. Grabbing the lantern, he starts scanning down river. Eventually he spots Vickers body floating away a good distance down stream. “There! The simpleton must have hit his head! You two, go after him! We’ll watch the prisoner.” Isaac hands the lantern back to the original owner.
The two men rush to the banks of the river and start running down stream to catch Vickers. Isaac makes his way back to the prone Thomas with another halfling, while the last stays on the bridge holding the lantern to illuminate Vickers as he slowly drifts away.
Samina once again decides to take the opportunity. Slipping quietly up onto the bridge she sneaks up behind the halfling with the lantern. A bead of sweat rolls down her face as she thinks about how she is going to do this. Killing him will alert the rest that I’m here. But I don’t want them to discover I killed the first! she thinks to herself frantically. She is about to just stab the lantern holder when the itch in her throat gives her a sudden idea. Uriah, you better be right about this!
Samina takes a slow deep breath and then rubs the spot on her neck roughly. Again, she covers the mouth of the halfling with her left hand but this time she leans around close to his face and whispers. “Keep the lantern on your friend but don’t make a sound or your life is mine.” She presses the dagger up against his throat but doesn’t cut him. He freezes instinctively, but other then a shudder momentarily, keeps the lantern on the body floating down the river.
“Good, good. I’m going to take my hand off your mouth, but if you let anyone know I’m here, you die.” Samina feels the halfling nod slowly, and she takes her hand off slowly. “I’m not so bad you know. I can even make you pretty happy… Would you like me to do something to make you feel good?” she whispers into his ear lustily as she reaches down with her left hand and grasps his quickly hardening dick. The quick shake of his head confirms Uriah was right about the itch in her neck. “I can’t right now of course. But… if you were to accidentally drop the lantern into the river. Maybe convince the rest of your…friends… to rest for the night. I might be able to then.” She makes a few quick jerks with her hand and watches in amazement as the halfling immediately drops the lantern over the side. Realizing her plan might be working, she quickly tells her captive, “Volunteer to stay awake and guard everyone, as your penance for losing the lantern.”
Shouts can be heard from down stream as the pair chasing Vickers lose him in the darkness.
“Once everyone is asleep, come back to me here on the bridge. For your reward.” Samina plants a quick kiss on his cheek, and slinks back to the side of the road.
Hiding in the grass beside Thomas’s sword, Samina listens to the halfling explain to Isaac that the lantern slipped as he tried to shift it between his two hands. She can feel an excitement building in her chest as she listens to the sheriff respond. Isaac is furious, but keeps a mostly civil tongue. The two halflings from down stream have no choice but to return empty handed, the light from the moon is simply not bright enough to find a corpse floating in a river. Her thrall follows through with her story, and suggests they should sleep here until morning. Eventually, Isaac agrees with this course of action, and coincidentally reinforces Samina’s plan by forcing the lantern holder to take first watch.
As the group makes their way back to Thomas, Samina discovers there might be a down side to her plan. The excitement she’s feeling is continuing to grow, and she can feel the familiar pin pricks of arousal starting to fire on her hips and thighs. Slowly the halflings lie down around Thomas, with one of the halflings even using Thomas’s calf as a pillow. Samina takes an opportunity to move the sword across the bridge and hide on the opposing side once things begin to quiet down.
Over the next few minutes, Samina can feel her body heating up. She does her best to focus on the grim task at hand, but the tingles are slowly spreading. Eventually, Samina finds she must remove her vest due to the distraction it causes when the slightest movement rubs against her nipples. By the time her thrall begins to make his way towards the bridge Samina is sweating profusely. She has been concentrating so hard on staying focused, she almost misses him walk towards her hiding place.
Waiting until the halfling passes by her, Samina grits her teeth and gets up to follow. He stops just before the bridge and she hears him whisper. “Miss… are you there?”
Quickly, Samina slides the blade through his larynx while covering his mouth. He shudders slightly, and she slowly cradles him while lowering him to the ground. His blood rushes freely and, due to her positioning, Samina can feel it coating her. The warm gore mixes with the cool air on top of her breasts making the tingles turn to sparks. The convulsions of his body pressed against her chest creates a mix of sensations raising her arousal to a fever state. Samina is simultaneously disgusted and enflamed by her actions and she bites her lip hard enough to draw blood of her own. The rush of pain manages to bring her focus back and once he has finally stopped moving, she lets him go.
Samina takes a few seconds to catch her breath. She turns and returns to the sword. The stimulation in her skin has reached her hands as she leans forward and picks up the sword. “I can finish this. I’m almost done,” she whispers to herself, standing up. Dripping blood in the darkness she makes her way to the sleeping villagers before her.
As Samina approaches she sees Thomas’s eyes shoot open. Fearing he might start moving and wake the rest of the sleeping halflings she dashes up to him and places a finger over his mouth. He looks confused, but slowly nods his head. Samina crawls over to the halfling asleep on Thomas’s shin and slits his neck in a smooth clean action. The halfling manages a cough, but expires before he can make another noise. Samina watches the rest for any response. Nothing moves and she takes her knife and begins to free Thomas from the ropes binding his arms and hands.
The ropes are well made, and resist the blade. Samina can barely concentrate her body is so turned on, but she finally manages to cut through the knot near his wrists with an audible tearing noise. Freezing in place for fear she’s been heard she waits.  Hearing nothing, she quickly starts unwrapping the ropes around his arms. Once his arms are free she moves over and starts cutting the knot at his ankles.
“Fmnuh. What’s that?” A sleeping halfling has been roused by her cutting and is turning to see what’s going on. Desperately, Samina changes her target and lunges with a snarl at the groggy man. The halfling wails as she stabs her knife into his heart, causing the other man beside him to startle awake quickly.
“Hellfires! What~,” is all the final halfling manages before Thomas’s mighty hand grabs him by the head and smashes him into the ground a couple times. A groan manages to escape him, but Samina quickly uses her blade to end his life.
“Thank the gods you’re here, Sam! Give me the knife so I can finish freeing myself.” Samina hands Thomas the knife while she brushes the blood off her hands on the shirt of the third dead halfling.
“Wait… There is one missing Thomas.” Turning to look around Samina realizes Isaac Braag is not amongst the dead. “Sheriff Braag is still alive somewhere!”
Just as Samina says this a flash of fire erupts from her right ear. With a cry of pain, she falls to the ground grabbing at the side of her head. Her ear has been cut cleanly in half, the bottom part hanging painfully. She looks around quickly, but doesn’t see what caused the cut. It’s not until she hears a high-pitched noise fly past just a fingers width from her head that she understands. “He’s throwing those little knives again Thomas!”
“Then be quiet! It’s too dark for him to see you clearly. Augh!” Thomas grunts in pain as she hears a knife land in his arm, forcing him to drop the knife. Luckily, he had finished the cut and was already unwinding the rope. Rolling away, Thomas moves into the Greenpike just as another knife embeds itself into the thick stem. Samina snatches the knife from the ground before following his lead into the brush. She only goes a few steps though before falling to a crouch and turning to look for Isaac.
“I WILL KILL YOU VALOREN! You may run! But my Sabre is ready!” Isaac screams into the wild plains. He is a good way further down the path based on the position of his voice.
A piercingly high pitched whistle suddenly assaults Samina. She grimaces in pain as it hangs in the air for what seems an eternity, then suddenly vanishes. She pants a few times before the whistle returns. The exact same note, spread over several seconds. When it ends again she looks up and can see the sheriff making his way slowly to the pile of ropes near her.
“I have your sword Valoren! Your ugly harlot left it on the road beside you, and you left it behind! Failure! Can’t you even be a proper villain!” Isaac seems out of breath after he yells this to the wind. He’s scanning through the grass but even though he passes over Samina’s location twice, he never finds her. “Well, shall you just run like a coward?”
“No.” Thomas answers. Samina hadn’t noticed, but he had gone towards the river, and he was stepping out onto the road about twenty paces away. “If you want a fight Braag, I’ll give you one.”
Isaac laughs at him. “So easy to toy with. I don’t want a fight, I just want your hide.” Samina watches in horror as Isaac throws a dart at the fully exposed Thomas. He must not have seen the motion in the darkness because she hears it connect and he grunts in pain.
“You… think your little darts can stop me?” Thomas spits back. “I’ll crush you with my bare hands.” Samina can see Isaac reaching for another dart, but she reacts quicker. Thomas starts charging towards Isaac with a thunderous war cry and she dives into the fray as well.
Isaac is just pulling another blade when Samina crashes into him knife first. Together they fall in a clump to the ground and Samina begins stabbing the halfling while she sits on top of him. Isaac fights back initially, but the complete surprise and weight of her body prevents any noticeable defense. The knife blade sinks into him over and over, and does its work. By the time Thomas reaches them, Isaac is dead but Samina continues to draw the blade out and continuously stab him.
“Sam, you got him. He’s dead, you can stop!” Thomas places his hand on her bare back as she stabs him twice more for good measure. “He can’t hurt us any more.”
Samina can feel the electricity shooting through every part of her body. She hates to admit it, but she wants Thomas so badly right now. She stands quickly and hurls herself into Thomas’s arms. She gives him the most passionate kiss she can manage, but the blood from her torn lip quires the result.
“Easy Sam, I’m OK.” Thomas just hugs her tightly instead of continuing the kiss. He is still holding her like this when the screech of a thousand mice shatters the night sky above them.
Thomas releases Samina quickly, and grabs up his sword. Samina has a thousand thoughts race through her mind as she lands on her feet. She wants to freeze in terror, flee like a rat, and scream in frustration. Thomas kicks her in the hip, sending her sprawling just as the giant bird lands heavily where they had been sitting.
“Hide Sam!” Thomas yells at her as he slashes towards the beast, barely missing as it takes flight again.
Samina looks up as it flies overhead. The owl’s bright yellow eyes stare down back at her. I’ve just gotten him back! I’m not going to lose him again! Overpowering the conflicting urges in her head she springs into action and starts digging through the remains of Isaac. Just as she finds what she was looking for the owl sounds its terrifying cry and begins to dive at them once again.
Samina waits as long as she dares. She’s never done this before, but it feels perfect as she flings her hand toward the beast. The dart flies out from her hand, flying straight and true up at the monster. A smile lights up her face as she sees it pierce the left eye of the falling monstrosity and hears its shrill scream in pain. She knows she hasn’t killed it, but she’s done something to it at least. Even if it doesn’t die, Samina is glad she made some small gesture to avenger her mother’s killer.
The last conscious thought Samina registers is the owl trying to change directions mid drive, failing, and slamming into the ground on top of her.


The soft melody of a sparrow awakens Samina slowly. At least it would have if the sudden bounce didn’t rattle her awake.
A groan passes her lips as the bright sun bears down on Samina. She can hear a foggy voice talking far away, but no matter how hard she tries to listen, it remains incomprehensible. Another bump beneath her makes the world start spinning and she lets out a whelp as she feels her insides try to become her outsides. She grits her teeth and squeezes her eyes shut, and eventually the feeling passes. Slowly she opens her eyes again and realizes she’s not moving at all any more. A dark shadow eclipses the sun as she looks up.
A deep voice speaks to her like its behind a few walls. “Sam, can you hear me Sam?”
“I… can hear… you,” Samina replies groggily.
The shadow above her moves away from her vision and Samina hears the voice again. “Oh, thank the gods! Uriah, she still lives!” The voice is getting clearer the more she listens.
“Who… are you?” Samina manages to squeak out, blinking her eyes into focus slowly.
Thomas appears above her, looking down with a huge smile. “It’s me, Sam, Thomas!”
“Thomas.” Samina lets another groan out as the night’s events filter back to her. “The… owl. What happened?”
Thomas lets out a brilliant laugh as he recounts the tale. “You saved us both Samina! You struck that devil right smack in the eye! It crashed to the ground on top of you and I charged in with my sword!” Samina smiles faintly as she watches Thomas re-enact the engagement. “It fluttered about for a second, but turned on me just as I got within reach. I dodged the beak, then its claws, and dove for its center! I missed as it moved to the side! I never knew owls were so skinny, their feathers make them look so much bigger then they are. Recovering, I turn into the dodge, and slash wildly. I feel it connect for an instant and the bird stumbles away. I press the advantage, forcing myself to stay close. The beak snaps at me, but I’m too close! I heard it snap shut behind me. I’m sure if you hadn’t taken its eye, I would be dead right now. I strike, aiming for the neck, and it hits true! I feel the bones break as my sword cleaves into it! Suddenly, its talons start thrashing about, and I jump away! It did manage to snag a good hit on me though, as you can see!”
Thomas is smiling as he picks up the side of his shirt and Samina can see a pair of dark red lines running down his side towards his hip.
“After it starts to slow down, I make sure to finish the job proper. That’s when I started searching around for you. I nearly died when I found your limp body Sam.” Thomas has moved back to beside Samina at this point, and the pain in his voice is undeniable. He leans down slowly and gives her a quick kiss on the forehead. “I thought I had lost you. I ran to your side, and through some miracle, I heard a heart beat. I gathered you up as quick as I could, and started running. It’s a lucky thing Lily heard me coming and growled, or I would have run right past Uriah. He’s the one that patched you up… It’s been two days since that night. I’ve been worried to death about you Sam.” Thomas drops to his knees in front of her as he finishes. Samina can’t believe it as tears start streaming down his face. He laughs gently to himself. “Look at me, the wreck I am. You’re the one who nearly died, but I’m beside myself.”
Uriah speaks up at this point as Samina sees him walk into view from behind her. “He’s been naught but a troublesome nitwit this whole time, Sam. I had to force him to do things, else he was going to make things worse. Well, you’re on the mend now. We’ll let you get some sleep, won’t we Thomas?” Uriah is looking very pointedly at Thomas, who is nodding while wiping his eyes and standing up. “Hmph. Get some more sleep mum. I’ll make sure this straw hut stays standing until you’re on your feet.”
Samina nods slowly. She’s not in any pain, but she can barely feel anything. Closing her eyes, she takes comfort knowing she’ll be safe.


A pop from burning Greenpike awakens Samina next. She opens her eyes and looks around the small room she’s in. It’s completely empty except for the bed she’s in, a human sized chair beside her, and the fire burning quietly in the corner.
Samina sits up and feels a dozen tiny slices of pain shoot through her. Removing the sheet that covers her she surveys her naked body slowly. Bruises cover her chest and stomach and her right leg is currently in a brace. She gingerly attempts to move her foot and to her relief discovers no bones are broken, but her knee does have a bit of swelling to it. Checking her face, she finds a few minor cuts, but it’s when she touches the right side of her head that she lets out a gasp.
Tracing slowly with her fingers, Samina feels around her ear. The top ridge leading to the pointed end is still intact, but nearly every other part is missing. The hair behind where her ear should be has been shaved back. Probably so the wound can be kept clean. She checks the area around the paired ear canals next and they are extremely tender at her touch. Snapping her fingers a few times her hearing hasn’t been damaged and she thanks the gods for that small favor.
Samina sighs as she leans back onto the pillow behind her. “It could have been worse,” she whispers.
A sound can be heard from the doorway and Samina turns her head to see who’s there.
“Sam! You’re awake again!” Thomas exclaims. Samina is surprised to see his neck is completely healed, and she wonders how long she’s been asleep.
Samina nods her head and sits up again just in time for Thomas to nearly crush the life from her as he hugs her close to him. She’s about to scold him for being too rough when he releases her from his grasp, and switches to kissing her. The rebuke dies in her throat as she decides to just enjoy the passion and kisses him back. The kiss lasts almost a minute before Thomas finally pulls away.
“I know its only been a few days, but gods I’ve missed you.” Thomas is smiling as happily as she’s ever seen him.
“A few days? But, your neck looks like you’ve never been cut.” Samina runs her hand over the place the wound should be.
Thomas chuckles lightly. “Just another boon of being me I suppose. Do you think you can stand?”
Samina nods quickly and says, “I think so.” She turns on the bed and lowers herself gently to the ground. Thomas watches her take the weight and nods when he sees she can indeed walk. He leans over the back of the bed and grabs one of his shirts for her. Samina smiles as she pulls it over her head. It’s large of course, but only hangs down to her calves and the neck is small enough not to expose her shoulders this time.
“Great! Come on Sam, lets go get something to eat!”
Together they walk into a common area and Samina can see Uriah sitting at a table checking over some papers. When Uriah looks up he smiles politely at Samina. “Finally, up and about I see. About time too. This inn has been costing me a pretty penny!” The faux gruffness in his voice softens as he speaks. “How are you feeling Sam?”
“I’m doing OK, thank you Uriah.”
“You’re probably pretty hungry. I’ll go fetch the chef.” Uriah hops off the chair he’s in, and winks at Thomas as he limps his way to the door with a proper cane. “Always has to be your shirt doesn’t it…” he says as he disappears through the entrance.
Samina sits down in a chair and watches as Thomas starts to sit down as well, only to catch himself quickly. “Oh, I nearly forgot, I have something for you!” He stands back up and walks over to the fireplace in the main room. He picks up something large and black and makes his way back to Samina.
“Uriah was getting worried I would do something stupid like get in his way when he was fixing you up. He told me to go be useful and see what I could find at the bridge. I gathered these up and I’ve been working on something for you since then while you slept.” Thomas hands her a necklace made from four of the large black talons of Sabre the owl. “I know its nothing impressive. But hopefully it helps you sleep at night knowing your mother’s killer is dead.”
Samina holds the necklace in her hands for a few moments. “The only thing that’s going to help me sleep at night is you Thomas. When you got captured, I couldn’t breath I was so scared. When I thought I wouldn’t be able to see you again, I felt like a hole was carved into me. I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I knew I had to save you.” She places the necklace on the table beside her and stands up. “Don’t you dare ever leave me again!” she says as she grabs his leg in as powerful a hug as she can manage. “You’re mine forever now. You’re my guardian.”
Thomas rubs his hand through Samina’s hair and she hears him swallow. “So… you don’t like the necklace?”
Samina breaks the hug and slaps his knee. “I like it you ox! I just needed to tell you that first!”
Thomas laughs gently. “Whew. That’s good. I was worried you would hate it.”  He sits down in a chair before continuing. “So, now you own me, do you? Hmm.” He acts like he’s weighing a big decision in his head for a few seconds, scratching his beard. “Well, there are worse fates I guess. So where are we going next? Storach still?”
Samina nibbles on her bottom lip as she looks around quickly. "How about... back to the room?"