The unwanted dispute with the king's right-hand man, Hedrick, has sent my behavior into consideration.
Forgetting what I did, I made my way back to the house after lunch with the town heads and some known wealthy people of the town.
The path which led straight to my house didn't seem that easy to walk on. The way was covered with rocks and mud, and included me jumping, ducking from the long branches in a way to tire my body, but good for Anzu, all it had to do was to fly above me, making me jealous of not having wings.
When I was halfway there, a firm hand fell on my right shoulder, which startled every inch of my body. I stood straight and looked back to find a man, probably in his thirties by looking at his skin on his hands, tall and completely covered, except his clear and liquid eyes which pleaded for help, pierced me.
"Sorry, miss! I... I'm a traveler and I'm sure I...," he panted.
"you're lost," I finished his sentence, lending him a hand for balance.
He breathed heavily, probably from the run he made after seeing me, in a place where there are more animals than any humans.
"How can I help you?"
"First, where am I?"
"You're in Vreca, one of the five kingdoms in the Ravaria empire? You should know that"
He quickly let out a relaxing breath after hearing me and whispered something to himself.
"One is Vreca, what are the other 4?" he asked without a flinch.
"I think if we keep walking, I'll waste no time", I openly said. He nodded in approval and we started walking in a rhythm.
"So this is Vreca, the border most kingdom, and the other 4 are Azov, Koda, Narva, and Rusa."
"Well that's hard to keep track with," he said.
"Explore each one, you'll be remembering the ancestor names too," I answered. He let out a chuckle.
"Which is the strongest, I mean in army, power, and wealth?" he questioned in intrigue.
"Though born in Vreca, I can't say it is the one, it's Narva, then Koda, Azoz, Vreca, and then Rusa."
He looked confused. "Just know Narva and Koda are the most powerful and dangerous."
He nodded and paused, and I realized we were a few meters away from my home.
"Where does your EMPEROR CHARLES stay?" he asked, with his clear eyes turning very serious.
My heart skipped a bit, wondering if he was an assassin because he can swing his sword in a second and cut my arms, allowing me not to do any magic. I stood bravely.
"Why?" I asked.
He took out a fruit basket, and a few wrapped gifts. 'Dumb Kara, don't be so judgmental' said my mind.
"Oh!" I laughed at my mistake, "A region between Narva and Koda", I answered.
"I better get these gifts to him quick and ask a favor," he said. I wondered if a fruit basket and small wrapped gifts, which I did not know of, would get a favor from the emperor. I'm sure they wouldn't even give him a meeting with Vreca King or even that bastard Hedrick.
As I went on thinking, he asked my name. "Kara," I answered. Before asking him anything, he made his walk towards the mountains. It confused me, but my body was exhausted and felt a good sleep would be a better option now, than another conversation with that unknown man.
I reached home and it was already night and I could predict we were one or two hours away by midnight. Midnights in Vreca are dangerous. Monsters of different sizes and names walk or wander near the border. This sends chills to even the bravest human alive, and who would wish to die in a rip.
When I came in, the house was just the same and before entering I cast a safety spell around the fences, securing me, anzu and my gardens, because staying close to the border has its negatives.
Anzu quickly made a search around the house, flying through the ground floor and flying up to the one and only top floor, where I grow the most dangerous yet calm plants near the windows.
Anzu slowly landed on my right shoulder, and brushed its feathers against my cheek and raised its head up with pride, as if it was the bravest thing it ever did. And I pressed my cheeks against its furry feathers and let out a sigh.
I went up to the bedroom and got naked and dropped myself on the bed, cause those hours of walking on those uneven roads did no good for my legs.
Felt like a calming everyday night, until I heard a few noises coming from the fences. Still tired from the journey, I kept drooling on the softy, comforting bed. My senses suddenly kicked in when the thought of Anzu not making any rush or noises came to me, when it had better sensing ability than me.
Exhaustingly I woke up, put on my robe and with a brief spell, I lit the entire floor, enough for me to find the steps which lead to the ground floor.
It was dark, but I could see the big table with cupboards filled with books and bottles of different lotions and potions on the left, and on the right could see the open space.
When I rubbed my eyes, because of a sudden break to my sleep, I could see a big shadow, of a creature, I did not know of, slowly forming in front of me but when I was about to turn, a hard hit on the back of my head sent me collapsing me onto the wooden floor.
An hour later,
I woke up, rubbing my eyes with the eyelids, when I realized they tied me to a chair, my hands to the back of it, and my legs to its legs.
My hair was everywhere on my face, and part of my robe left my right thigh completely naked. I moved, tried to break free, but all resulted in loss of energy and exhausting grunts.
I could see none around.
"Unfree me, you cowards!" I yelled.
Somebody walked in, an orc, a creature which is said to be 10 times stronger than our army men. Its big posture, around 7 feet in height, and its big green muscles sent my heart into terror.
The orc's astonished eyes searched me up and down, glancing and gazing, a bit more on the naked thigh and he quickly jumped out and whispered to someone, who are the other 3 orcs.
One of them lighted the lamps placed on the walls at each edge of the room, and the way he moved, leaving his footprints strongly on the floor, made me feel sorry for the wooden floor.
"What do you creatures want?", I asked with a firm voice.
They 4 looked at each other. One of them came forward. His gigantic frame, green muscles and blue veins, grabbed my sight. 'Imagine touching that frame' my senses felt.
"I'm Zagu, and we have a problem, miss," he said. Orcs have a deep voice, and this single line by Zagu tested my fear levels.
"Cut the shit, if you are here to fuck me, do it already," I said and turned my head to the potion cases on the left (still shitting my robe), "there's a... little lube there you can- "
"No no miss, we are here for your help, our home has faced an attack a few hours ago, and my fellow orcs are dying," he said, cutting my sentence midway, giving a sweet-bitter feeling.
"They are dying, and we were told you are a witch. Can you please save them?" he pleaded.
When I started thinking, if this is even true, the old battles for owning different parts of the forest came into my mind, giving a partial confirmation that Zagu is speaking the truth.
"Hey miss, if you really want to try an orc cock, try me" a voice came from behind Zagu, he came forward, showing his complete frame, and with the lighting around, his huge cock covered under a sheath of cloth flashed me. I hesitated to speak, and his evil, wicked eyes wanted an answer. After a few secs of hesitation and constant looking at the sheath, I looked away and Zagu caught his neck, "Get out! Or I'll slit you in half, Cagan", he shouted and threw him out.
A sudden thought kicked in, "Why would you put me unconscious and tie me up this way?" I asked, shaking and withering in the chair, to show how uncomfortable it is.
"You're a witch and a sight of creatures like us would send you cautious, and we are our home's only hope right now, and didn't want to take any chance", he answered and came forward and quickly untied me. With the bright clear light, my eyes shifted towards his sheath of cloth, the way his cock moved under that cloth, made me bite my lips, and when I turned back to the other orcs at the door, they all were looking at me, and Cagan outside the door, was rubbing his cock and let out little moans which I could sense from his facial expressions.
"Wait outside, I'll pack things and we'll start."
I went over to the desk and cupboards, picked all the required potions and extra ingredients to make more of them, if I'm empty. I packed them, met the orcs outside and before leaving, cast a spell, just for everyone's safety, if they want to enter.
"So, who attacked your region?" I asked.
"The army from the west. They never let us live in peace," sighed Zagu.
I patted his bicep, as that's how high I could reach him and continued to walk towards the border. In half an hour, we crossed the border and were deep in the forest, an area no human would ever wander. The ground was rough; the trees were thin and tall and planted in systematic rows, and the weather was chilly.
