Azerothian Dream Ch. 11

"I came to forewarn ye," Oilfist said in his usual gruffness, "The lookouts did see and report that Pinkerpie Glimmergem do be making her way up the mountain slope. It do look like, after four months, ye man and ye sister-wife do return home."

Birdette's eyes and smile could of lit up the room with her excitement. Quickly she bobbed a curtsy to Oilfist with an excited, "Thank ye, Overseer!" And then, she rushed to the kitchen to explain to the cook and Thadlan Ironhearth that she needed to leave early.

"I can only spare ye if ye can get Agnes to come in and finish ye shift," Oilfist heard Thadlan say loudly.

The kitchen door opened as Birdette called back, "Aye, I will stop by Agnes's place and send her back here on my way home!"

Birdette smiled at Oilfist and then she was passing through the room as the patrons and neighbors asked about Birdette's hurry.

"Aye, me husband do be home!" She replied loudly, "And I do mean to be there when he arrives at me door!"

There were hoots and hollers of congratulations, and then Birdette was out of the inn and racing home.

----(!)----

When Shaelah finally pulled the reins back and set the break on the wagon, both she and Pinkerpie let out a long depressed sigh. Shaelah looked at Pinkerpie and Pinkerpie looked back at her.

The huge lump on Pinkerpie's head had gone away after a week and a half. Which was good, as Shaelah had started to worry when it took a day and a half for Pinkerpie to waken. Then she was worried about permanent brain damage since as soon as Pinkerpie had roused she had started puking. For days she was nauseous and dizzy, given to fits of puking and dry heaving. It had all gone away though, albeit slowly. And then there was the slow trundle eastward towards Thorium Point.

Pinkerpie had been upset that they had missed the turn up into the mountain where her wagons were abandoned, but after days of puking and dizziness, she had to admit they couldn't have handled the work of driving another team of rams. So, they had plodded on to Thorium Point.

After a week they had to admit that Hruthgar and Mandalay were gone. They had either fallen, or were taken captive, but neither had caught up after a week of Shaelah's slow going since the mad run that had taxed the rams to exhaustion. Almost another month went by as they followed the mountains day after day and tried to steer clear of iron dwarf camps on the valley floor.

Shaelah climbed down off the wagon seat and then she did her best to help Pinkerpie. Pinkerpie turned to her and shared another grim gaze before turning to Birdette Anvilsplitter's door.

Birdette's home was a commonly seen dwarf home. Carved right into the side of the mountain with a large stone porch made of black rock. The home was dwar-sized, which meant the door was five feet high and the ceiling beams were seven above the floor. There were two windows to each side of the heavy black iron banded wooden door, but the curtains were drawn.

Coleman sat on the porch, and as they approached the door it opened. Avalanche approached Coleman and they greeted each other and shared scents. Birdette walked out of the door, Amberdine in her arms, her face all smiles. Ebonae followed right behind Birdette and in her arms, she held another baby. A human infant.

Pinkerpie and Shaelah came to a stop. Pinkerpie examined Birdette and Ebonae, noting the children, Birdette's pregnancy, and Ebonae's lack of being with child, and asked, "Whose child is that?"

Simultaneously, Birdette and Ebonae noted Pinkerpie and Shaelah's exhaustion, and their obviously pregnant states, and then Birdette noticed that Hruthgar was missing. She gasped and brought a hand to her plump mouth. Ebonae understood immediately and asked, "Where is Hruthgar? Where is our husband?"

Pinkerpie, strangely, was the first to burst into tears. She stumbled to Birdette and fell to her knees as she wrapped the iron dwarf woman in a hug around her belly. Shaelah started crying next as Birdette eyed her critically while tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Come!" Birdette bade Pinkerpie and Shaelah, "Come inside, and tell us everything."

Birdette helped Pinkerpie to her feet. She kept a supportive hand beneath the petite goblin's elbow and whispered as she guided Pinkerpie inside the Anvilsplitter residence, "I see ye do be pregnant. Ain't sayin' I'm surprised. Considerin' what ye went through. Me condolences. I did be hopin' ye would get away with nothin' more 'an nightmares, like Ebonae."

"No," Pinkerpie mumbled as she slowly shook her head, "The child in my belly isn't from any bandit. It's Hruthgar's."

Birdette came to a sudden stop and looked at Pinkerpie's belly, and her expression turned grim as she said, "Broke ye oath did ye? Ye belly do not lie. Ye be only weeks behind me in pregnancy."

"I did not break my oath," Pinkerpie replied quietly, "I promise to not bed Hruthgar until I was certain I was not with a child by one of the bandits. Well, I was certain that very day. No man or goblin can impregnate a goblin woman unless she allows it."

"Ye promised," Birdette almost shouted, but then lowered her volume as she visibly took herself in hand, "To not bed my husband until a month had passed!"

Pinkerpie leveled a completely open gaze at Birdette and replied, "I'm sorry. I was a married goblin to a charming husband. I knew I wasn't pregnant, and I couldn't hold back. I'm sorry."

The fires in Birdette's eyes raged for a second, and then they calmed. She composed herself as she led Pinkerpie to a chair and helped her sit. Then, she said, "Ye do still be an oath breaker, but I do understand. When I first got me hands on that man, I could not keep me hands from him either."

As Pinkerpie sat, Birdette turned and found Shaelah right behind her. Shaelah was tall for a dwarf, almost a full head taller than Birdette. She was also used to having excessively large breasts, but Shaelah's almost seemed to dwarf her breasts in comparison. Birdette knew better than to think the woman rotund. Shaelah was plump but far from fat. The woman simply had the largest breasts Birdette had ever seen!

As Birdette watched, Shaelah knelt before her. Birdette was immediately surprised, she had never heard of any proud dwarf, male or female, purposefully humbling themselves. Dwarves were a proud people. Birdette knew it to be true of herself, and every dwarf she had ever known. Never. Never had any dwarf knelt to anyone. Not willingly at least.

Shaelah had a parchment in her hand. She unrolled it, and then lowered her head as she held it out to Birdette.

"Sister," Shaelah began, "Me name be Shaelah Silverstag. The widowed wife of Hurnskov Flintlock. Mother of Mandalay Flintlock. My husband died the same night Hruthgar saved me daughter from troggs. Hruthgar saved me daughter, and then he saved meself from a fate worse 'an death."

"What could be worse 'an death," Birdette asked as she looked down at the parchment in Shaelah's hands and saw that it was a marriage certificate.

"Forced marriage to me brother-in-law," Shaelah replied, "Besides, I came with certain benefits."

"And those would be," Birdette asked.

"A connection to me people. An example o' which was me ability to purchase those animals outside," Shaelah answered, "Otherwise, Hruthgar and Pinkerpie would still be on the road from Stormwind, or still traveling to Booty Bay. Marrying me allowed ye husband to get home sooner."

"So what are ye doin'?" Birdette asked, "Asking me permission to take me husband as ye want? Seems a bit late..."

"No," Shaelah admitted in a whisper, "I do no be askin' permission. To do so would dishonor both ye and I. I be askin' for ye acceptance. I do be wishing for ye and I to be friends. Sisters. I love Hruthgar very much, and the babe in me belly do be the proof of it."

Birdette glared down at Shaelah for a long drawn-out minute. Pinkerpie even started to speak on Shaelah's behalf, but Birdette cut her off with a heavy sigh. Taking Shaelah's hands, Birdette grudgingly helped the dwarf woman to her feet.

"What do be one more sister-wife now?" Birdette said, then thought about it and added, "As long as ye recognize that I be his first wife."

Shaelah nodded and gave Birdette a relieved smile.

"Now then," Ebonae said suddenly from the side of the room, "What happened to me husband?"

Since Pinkerpie was knocked out, Shaelah told the story of the orc ambush. How Pinkerpie was incapacitated, then Mandalay and the wolf pups were taken. Of Hruthgar's heroic battle and sacrifice to get Shaelah and Pinkerpie away.

"Do they be dead?" Birdette asked as her temper rose and her features turned grim.

"I do not be knowin'," Shaelah answered with a sad shake of her head, "I was drivin' the beasts as hard as I could to keep from bein' taken too."

Birdette nodded as she turned away and began pacing the room. She muttered to herself in some inner conversation, and then she growled deep inside her chest. The fiery glow in her eyes seemed to leap out from behind her eyelids as a fiery crown of red hot metal appeared on her forehead, and as soon as it appeared Birdette's smoldering ebony hair seemed to catch on fire and drift up to dance above her head in a red and yellow flame mixed with black. Then, long red and yellow flaming horns of a sayaad succubus magically grew from her forehead.

Shaelah jumped back with a hissed curse before regaining enough composer to gasp, "Ye be a warlock?"

"Aye," Birdette growled as she moved past Shaelah and went to her room.

They listened to the sounds of trunks being opened and closed, and the sound of curses as Birdette changed her clothes. When Birdette returned she wore a close fitting black robe with a purple sheen to it and trimmed in gold. The top plunged in a V revealing a very gracious amount of cleavage, and it clung to every curve. Even the roundness of her pregnant belly. A pouch was sling over her shoulder and inside was a spellbook, a wand, as well as various relics and reagents. And in her right hand was a long handled sickle that curved down the hilt in such a way as to give it the appearance of a thinly bladed two-handed axe.

When she returned, she turned to Ebonae first and commanded, "Gather the babes. Gather provisions, and pack them on the wagon."

Then she turned to Shaelah who watched Birdette, openly fearful, and Pinkerpie who was thoughtful.

"What?" Birdette asked.

"Who do ye be," Shaelah asked.

Birdette turned a hard eyed gaze on Shaelah. She contemplated the dwarf for a moment then answered, "I do be Birdette Anvilsplitter, once a prodigy apprenticed to Thadium Darkspur. Now, get ye things together. Buy or sell what ye need to, cause we do be leavin' to find me husband!"