Stratothrax

Chapter 112

◈ Chapter 112:

The black furred rabbit person paced past the hole in the wall where the still form of Rain lay, his body unmoving. The rabbit was clearly wary, one paw resting on the pommel of a shortsword buckled to his belt, digits tense.

“Curious,” he murmured, “A slave monster? But then how was it allowed in. Ah,” his gaze moved to Lyra, “Nobility? That would explain that absurd bounty…”

Lyra didn't respond to his words, her eyes still rolled u...

Chapter 111

◈ Chapter 111:

Lyra squinted at the magical map, studying the small mark that represented the town of Silvara, a few scratchy lines of ink describing a wall with triangular roofs behind.

She moved the map to one side and looked down on the actual town of Silvara, honestly not that different from the inked scratchings, a small town smaller than Lynthia, surrounded by enchanted walls.

After all of the Orcish loot had been put into her Fleece Harbour Skill, her woo...

Chapter 110

◈ Chapter 110:

“She who lays with monsters should look to it that she herself does not become one, for if you fornicate with the dark, the dark also fornicates with you,” murmured Lyra looking over her black wool in wonder.

“Hmm? What was that?”

“N-nothing!”

Lyra avoided Rain’s gaze. Fortunately they were walking back through the forest beside each other and that wasn't hard to do.

She brought her arm up to her eyes. Black wool. A Skill...

Chapter 109

◈ Chapter 109:

“This shouldn't take long.”

Without pause he turned and grabbed hold of a squawking Lyra, his paw wrapping around her waist. In one motion he slipped over the side of the construction and crashed down to the forest floor below, feet sinking inches into the earth, the loot construction behind rattling as the ground trembled under the impact

He smoothly leveraged his momentum by leaning into his weight and bounded forward, racing into the trees,...

Chapter 108

◈ Chapter 108:

CRUNCH, SNAP, CRASH, RUSTLE.

The forest was disturbed from its peaceful slumber by the sound of innumerable twigs and tree branches being snapped and ripped free, unable to hold firm against the unstoppable force brushing past them.

Planks of wood, straight and curved, crates, chests, barrels, all adorned with canvas sacks, anything that could be used to carry things really, even a number of wooden buckets hung by ropes from the enormous construct...

Chapter 107

◈ Chapter 107:

Hesitantly Rain took hold of the tent flap and pushed his head through.

The interior was large, as was to be expected, less unexpected was that it was full of furniture, like a proper room. Clearly Tamriel had liked her comforts.

One side held an enormous bed, a huge blocky thing built sturdy for an Orc. The sheets were ruffled, unset, and a number of suspicious leather straps and whips lay scattered across it. At first he thought he was seeing th...

Chapter 106

◈ Chapter 106:

Rain was no stranger to eating a lot. He’d certainly had more than his fair share in the dungeon, in Lynthia, and in the woods coming to the Orc camp. He’d devoured countless numbers of animals, monsters, and levelers, consuming them and growing bigger, stronger, more powerful.

But the Orc clan itself was another beast entirely. Not only were Orcs levelers, what he grew the most from, but they were also physically larger than most levelers, seven-fo...

Chapter 105

◈ Chapter 105:

Rain shook his head, trying to clear his tired mind. He needed, he needed to get up and… search for Opal.

Placing one paw on the back of an Orc he helped lever himself up, a slow climb onto two feet where he swayed like a tree in the wind, barely managed to remain upright as his body screamed in protest.

He gazed out over the lake of Orc bodies. Was Opal alive in here? Trapped amongst the dead or dying? Amongst hundreds and hundreds and hundreds...

Chapter 104

◈ Chapter 104:

Rain stared at the spot Opal had just been, his body unmoving, uncomprehending. It had only taken a moment, she was there and then she was just gone, struck down, vanished. It had happened so suddenly that he half wondered if he had hallucinated it.

Then the reality of his situation made itself known, swarming blood crazed Orcs on every side burying him in bodies. A howling mob, a mindless ravening horde, hundreds made mad with greed for levels, taunted...

Chapter 103

◈ Chapter 103:

The Harpy Queen was a beautiful creature, that was undeniable.

Even in this dark shadowy version of herself the clean swooping curves of her body showed through, her form as though designed by some salacious sculpture, hair spilling down her naked back, her overly large chest pushed up by her crossed wings, powerful legs spread wide as she stared Rain down.

It wasn't until her eyes met his that the unnatural nature of the shadowy thing really hit home. A con...

Chapter 102

◈ Chapter 102:

The ringing sound wasn't going away no matter how many times Opal put her fingers in her ears and twisted them around.

Making a sour face she flicked the collection of ear wax on her index finger in Lyra’s direction.

“Hey! Do you mind!”

“No? I wouldn't do it if I didn't mind.”

“That’s not how you're supposed to answer that!”

“I can answer how I like sheepy.”

Lyra huffed then shook her head. “This really isn't the...

Chapter 101

◈ Chapter 101:

After recovering for a moment Rain crawled to his feet, a paw moving to his broken ribs as the motion sent slivers of agony across his body.

He looked around.

The Orcs in the stands were still distracted, the blast wave from the first skill empowered hammer strike had caused chaos and many of the low levelers had been hit hard, dazed and confused.

As it was the crowd’s blood lust had momentarily abated.

He couldn’t ask for a better moment to ...

Chapter 100

◈ Chapter 100:

Rain had meant to antagonise the Orcs enough that another would step up and fight him, better that than simply being executed, helpless to prevent it while the girls were held under threat.

But perhaps he had gone a tiny bit overboard.

Something predatory and dominant stirring deep inside of him had caused him to do something he hadn't quite intended, literally biting Tamriel’s entire head off was... dramatic, to say the least, not to mention calling the c...

Chapter 99

◈ Chapter 99:

They made their way through the camp until they came to what appeared to be for all the world an arena. That is, a wide circular sandy area with rising stands set out around it. Even as he watched more of the stands were being thrown together by those who hadn't been part of the brawl. Planks were being grabbed and pulled from carts and quickly built up, a structure knocked together, Orc’s climbing and finding seats as soon as they were made whole. Soon a se...

Chapter 98

◈ Chapter 98:

“We will fight to be the one to kill you.”

Rain considered his options. One option was the shadowy centipede stealthily crawling through the long grass headed toward the older Orc’s ankle. Another was the number of wolf teeth hanging frozen in the air, ready to charge forward and tear into her. Third was Kel standing in the tree line, apparently being ignored by the other Orcs for the moment. Could he communicate he wished for the Orc to fight for ...

Chapter 97

◈ Chapter 97:

Lyra blinked in surprise and searched for her. No Opal. Concerned now, she stepped from between the tents and into a main thoroughfare. This time she found the Goblin girl. She hadn't gone far, she was outside some kind of large crudely constructed wooden building, one of the largest she had seen in the camp. There were sounds coming from within, rather... lewd sounds. With a blush she realised she was looking at the whore house that Braur had mentioned… onl...

Chapter 96

◈ Chapter 96:

The small bearded Orc stared at the bag on Lyra’s hip and then at the fistful of gold clutched in Opal’s fingers. He shifted his center of balance, his body language morphing in real time, becoming more open, relaxed, inviting, swift merchant math changing the calculus of the situation.

“You have an eye for the more exquisite pieces of craftsmanship young Goblin. This sword, Rockheart, spite of the soul, blade of masters, you won't find anything qu...

Chapter 95

◈ Chapter 95:

Rain slunk into the trees and bushes as Lyra and Opal and the Orc descended down the rise into the valley. He watched them carefully from between the leaves, following their every step with his sharp eyesight, the centipedes ready to kill the skittish Orc dead at the slightest hint of betrayal, or tear into any who chose to attack them giving time for Lyra to make her escape with Opal.

Nothing happened. The trio were left completely alone as they made th...

Chapter 94

◈ Chapter 94:

“Huh. Well that explains why we haven't seen many monsters around, the Orcs killed them all.”

Opal was standing with her hands on her hips looking down at the enormous Orc camp at the bottom of the valley. Rows and rows of tents and ramshackle constructions and warsmithies and stalls and sties and stables and canopies and carts and latrines and flattened ground where Orcs sparred and brawled in the open cheered on by eager Orcish crowds.

Rain c...

Chapter 93

◈ Chapter 93:

Rain eased his paw down, shadow slipping from his fur, extending, black scythe claws sliding out of nothingness, the leaves of the bush curling away as they brushed up against the ruinous surface of the scythes.

He was a hunter, a thing that stalked the night, a monster that inspired fear like no other. All were like terrified bunny rabbits before his monstrous yellow gaze, a thing that slid from moonlit shadow to moonlit shadow, hounding its prey.

Chapter 92

◈ Chapter 92:

The crackle of the fire was comforting and doing at least a little to ease her nerves, or at least it would have if her nerves had not been completely shot and passed somewhere beyond into the nerve afterlife. As it was Lyra was in a strange state of glassy-eyed calm, incapable of dealing with her current situation and so skipping over what would have been a state of blind panic to something else.

Her back and head were resting up against an enormous fur...

Chapter 91

◈ Chapter 91:

Lyra screamed in surprise, her hooves slipped, and with a splash she fell over, sinking into the pool with a glug. Water rushed into her open mouth as her legs kicked out, floundering like a beached fish.

Then a pair of huge paws wrapped around her hips and she was lifted bodily from the hot spring, water sheeting from her fluff. She looked down to find herself hanging half above Rain. Opal was below her, having moved from Rain’s legs to his chest.

Chapter 90

◈ Chapter 90:

Layers of lathered soap rolled across the top of Rain’s black fur, white on black, until it was wiped away with a splash of water. Clean, so satisfyingly clean.

He sighed blissfully as the last of the dirt left him. The warm hot spring was wonderful, and made all the better by Opal sitting in his lap vaguely washing at his thighs with her hands, although admittedly seeming far more interested in grinding her rear up against him. He lazed back against t...

Chapter 89

◈ Chapter 89:

Rain watched the red-scaled Kobold and the fluffy wooled sheep girl as they pushed branches and leaves aside and emerged from the forest.

Red was definitely still angry with him, giving away some of the gold had not gone down well, and he kept giving him suspicious looks just like those he had been giving Lyra after her, according to him, misuse of gold.

Lyra waved as she made her way up the rise and Rain let the shadow cat sink into his fur.

Chapter 88

◈ Chapter 88:

Deep deep in the forest, far away from any town or sign of civilization, Rain sat on a grassy hill overlooking an ocean of trees.

He watched carefully as a black dot flew across the distant treetops, a swooping gliding thing that dipped down amongst the leaves.

On one occasion, when it dipped below, a flurry of surprised birds took to the air. Squawking and flapping madly the flock rose up into the sky.

The black dot followed beneath, gliding...

Chapter 87

◈ Chapter 87:

Consciousness returned slowly.

Rain blinked the crust from his eyes and gradually drifted from a murky half-remembered dream of his mother and father. The memory of the dream was already slipping through his claws and he found he couldn't recall any of it a moment later. A little annoyed he managed to focus and found himself in a room, a shadowy room with the curtains closed. He was laid out on a fluffy carpet in front of a low flickering fire in a firep...

Chapter 86

◈ Chapter 86:

Rain gradually opened his eyes. The world was a blur, a mess of indiscernible colours and shapes. He squinted trying to make sense of it, or trying to make something come into focus. A green blob moved closer to him and waved an appendage blob in front of his face.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Rain put a paw to his face and rubbed across his eyes. He flinched as his paw pads touched bone. Pain. So much horrible Pain. His entire body felt like one big i...

Chapter 85

◈ Chapter 85:

He slumped against the cleaver, breathing ragged, blood flowing from his lips in a waterfall. He raised a shaking paw to his neck, that hadn't come without a cost, it felt like someone had taken razor blades to his throat, slashing up his insides. He felt he wouldn't be opening the gates again anytime soon. As his paw fell away from his neck several shrouds of shadow seeped from the gore surrounding him and steadily made their way up to his mane, rejoining the darkness t...

Chapter 84

◈ Chapter 84:

The Ranker seemed to hesitate, then he muttered, “Worth the cost.”

A gauntleted fist came up and his index and thumb moved toward his face, or more specifically the black and silver eyepatch. He touched at it, then drawing in a breath, he lifted it away.

Teeth, sharp needle-like teeth, reddened flesh, a disturbing mouth, that was what was behind the patch, a demonic mouth in his eye socket which contained a hellish swirling green Fel Fire. A very very den...

Chapter 83

◈ Chapter 83:

Rain was eight years old and pushing open the door to his father’s bedroom. His father was there, sitting at his mother’s dresser. The dresser was awash with blood, he slugged from a bottle of amber and then his father raised his hand once more and stabbed the dagger straight through his arm, gasping through gritted teeth, his eyes alight with something akin to fervour.

"It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. Remember. Remember. Remember."

Eight yea...