Submission for the
2023 Literotica Geek Pride Story Event
Content Warning:
There is a scene depicting an attempted sexual assault, but it gets interrupted and the assailant faces consequences.
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There was nowhere louder on the streets of Lantros at night than the guildhall for the League of Steelcloaks. The raucous celebrations were a nightly occurrence, courtesy of adventurers returning from a successful mission, or the ones having one last night of revelry before departing for dangers unknown in the morning. Vivian never got enough of watching their antics night after night while she served them drinks. She had only been working for the League of Steelcloaks for a few weeks, but she already felt completely at home in the guildhall. Considering she lived in the workers' dorm upstairs with the other barmaids and desk attendants, feeling at home was necessary.
The large hall on the ground floor of the adventurers' guild was nearly always filled with battle-hardened warriors, talented spell-casters, and everything in between. There were plenty of humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, and even half-orcs and half-giants. But there were also a few unique people. A minotaur laughed heartily with his group as they celebrated their latest victory. A tiefling woman with elegant twisting horns on her head danced on a table in one corner of the room to a rapt audience. A faun played her flute to accompany her.
And then, there was Gurruk.
Though half-orcs were a fairly common sight nowadays, it was still rare to see full-blooded orcs like Gurruk being a member an adventuring party. As far as Vivian knew, he was the only one in the entire League of Steelcloaks. Orcs rarely made a life for themselves away from their strongholds. They traded with nearby settlements, and even offered them protection in the event of a bandit incursion. Attacking a town or village near an orc stronghold was a mistake bandits made only once. Assuming they survived the orc counter-attack, they then took a long, hard look at their lives and usually gave up on banditry altogether.
Another thing that made Gurruk unique was his personality. Though most full-blooded orcs would feel right at home in this guildhall, full of laughter, music, drinking, and brawling, Gurruk was always quiet and solemn. The members of his party, a human man, a half-elf woman, and a dwarf man, were being just as loud and boisterous as everyone else in the hall. Gurruk sat and drank with them, but he barely said a word, occasionally letting out small chuckles when someone made a joke.
He was taller than nearly everyone else in the hall, except for the two half-giants currently having an arm-wrestling match. And his appearance was exactly what one would expect from an orc. He was completely bare from the waist up, but he wore a well-made wolfskin kilt, and sturdy leather boots. An intimidating great-axe was leaning on the wall next to him. Vivian had never seen Gurruk use it, but stories had spread throughout the guild of his prowess on the battlefield. Apparently, he was a force to be reckoned with. His team, the Roguish Rebels, had never failed a job. They took the most dangerous quests and always returned victorious.
Vivian chatted with the adventurers while she walked around bringing food and refilling tankards. She always enjoyed being surrounded by people and hearing their stories. It was the perfect job for her. And she had just so happened to be looking for work when the guild announced the need for another barmaid. It was much better than being a washerwoman. And being provided with room and board in exchange for her work on top of her pay was an opportunity no one should pass up in this city.
She really liked her roommates and coworkers as well. Orla was a half-orc barmaid who was very good at keeping rowdy adventurers in check. Kana was a half-elf, playful and flirty, and always got a lot of tips. Bianca was a fellow human, and the one in charge of breakfast for the adventurers who had stayed overnight. Morin and Lulath were both elves who took care of the front desk where they welcomed new adventurers and paid successful ones.
It wasn't all fun and games, however. Being surrounded by arrogant, drunken adventurers made her a tempting target for those who wanted to do another kind of celebrating. She had been propositioned so often today alone that she had already lost count. Luckily, the brothel wasn't too far away. Sometimes, the women from the brothels came into the guild hall to entice clients to follow them back. But occasionally, there were some rowdy customers that preferred trying to convince the barmaid to come upstairs with them instead of walking a few doors down. Vivian had never accepted, and was planning on keeping it that way. She didn't want rumours about her skills in bed, regardless of whether they were false or true, to spread throughout her workplace.
"Barmaid! Another round for the Roguish Rebels!" The very drunk human next to the orc shouted.
Vivian expertly filled the four tankard and set them on the tray she held on her hip before making her way over to the table. She set them down on the table in front of the four customers.
"Keep the change." The half-elf woman said nonchalantly, giving her a handful of gold coins.
"Thank you."
As Vivian straightened up and adjusted her tray on her hip, she noticed Gurruk looking at her. Though she had seen him with his team from the first day she started working at the guild hall, this was the first time he ever made direct eye contact with her. But his expression was completely unreadable. He seemed as solemn as always. And yet, there was something about the way he looked at her. She couldn't understand why, but she felt like he was seeing something that most people didn't.
Pretending not to have noticed anything, Vivian gave him a smile and then turned to another table trying to get her attention.
The evening continued with more spilled drinks, sexual advances, exuberant recounting of adventures, and raucous laughter. By the time the hall started to become a little quieter, with so many customers going up to sleep upstairs or at the brothel, or passed out drunk on the tables, it was the early hours of the morning. The soft, diffuse light from the creeping sunrise hadn't yet begun making its appearance, and wouldn't for at least another hour.
Vivian began tidying up in between readying the last few drinks. Orla and Kana had already finished work for the day, leaving only Vivian to close up, which she preferred. She enjoyed being alone with her thoughts to tidy up.
The tavern of the guild hall would be closing soon, though adventurers could still come in and get rooms from Morin. Every night, Morin sat at the desk out front, where the jobs were posted, and where new recruits came to join the League of Steelcloaks. As a night elf, she was much better suited to keeping the guild hall running this late than any of the other employees here, most of whom were humans, half-elves, or day elves.
As she always did, Vivian took the time to prepare a meal for Morin before closing the kitchen for the night. She made sure that everyone in the hall was distracted for at least a few minutes, and slipped out the door, to the front of the building.
"Hello, Morin. Here's your food."
"Thank you, Vivian. I'm starving."
"You're welcome. Do you need anything else before I start closing up?"
"No, I'll be alright. Have a good night."
"You too."
Vivian returned to the tavern hall and continued her nightly preparations for Bianca, who would be there in only two hours to start making breakfast for the early risers. She always made sure to leave the kitchen and the bar as clean as possible before leaving, to make it easier for Bianca to go straight into cooking.
She also cleaned up the tables around passed out adventurers, and those that were too drunk to protest her taking all the tankards and goblets away. But as she lifted her tray filled with mostly empty drink receptacles to place it on her hip and bring it to the kitchen, she turned and nearly crashed into a very large, and very muscular, green wall.
"Oh! I'm sorry, Gurruk. I guess I was too focused."
"That's alright." He said.
Vivian felt her lips part open as she heard him speak for the first time. He had a deep voice, the kind that rumbled with every syllable. She hid the pleasant shiver that shook her body.
"How did you know my name?" He asked, raising a pierced eyebrow.
"Well, your team is pretty well-known." Vivian pointed out. "I heard a lot of stories about you."
"All of them bad, I hope." He said with a teasing smile, his lower lip curving around the tusks jutting out from his mouth.
"Sadly, it's nothing but praise." She sighed.
"Damn, not living up to my orcish ancestors' expectations." He joked.
