Casus Belli Ch. 14: The Flower and the Axe

"No," Yasso said, "she's still recuperating from her earlier ordeal, and I also want her well rested when I leave for Windagon in the afternoon." Bashuk nodded his understanding, and Cassandra scolded herself for feeling just a little jealous.

"Isn't that a little late to get underway?" Polly asked, sounding concerned.

Yasso smiled, "It still gives me plenty of time to get to Evergreen, and I was planning to cut the trip into three legs anyway." He gestured at his prize, "I bet she isn't used to riding a kurtz, so half a day in the saddle will probably be tiring enough for her already." The girls all smiled, Cassandra included, as the orcish engineer displayed care for his prize. He returned his attention to Bashuk. "I don't know where those facilities you're going to show me are, but could we stop at the stables on our way there?" The huge Warlord nodded, Yakha and Bolar appeared from the private hallway not much later, and as soon as they did Bashuk declared they would be leaving.

And so they went, with Bashuk leading, and the others following. Leaving the private chambers behind them Cassandra got treated to the usual leering looks by the guards, and then, to her further dismay, the keep proved rather busy, with mostly orc males, and some human servant girls. The latter were clearly comfortable mingling with the orcs by now it seemed, but they did possess the advantage of having all their feminine parts covered by their uniforms of course... Fortunately both Yakha and Bolar took efforts hiding her from view a little, as did Yasso she realized, once he had grasped what the other two males were doing.

"Better?" the engineer asked while looking at her, after imposing himself between her and a large group of on looking orc males. Cassandra smiled, and then she nodded. The entrance hall proved filled with building materials, mainly wood. They left the keep, and the outside temperature proved a bit chilly as they descended the stairs, as was to be expected, because it was still pretty early on a partly overcast day. Cassandra kept up her position to the left and slightly behind Bashuk, and followed her master as he led the group to the right, across the square, towards the nearby stables. Yasso formed up with his host at the right, "You've trained her well," he said, "nothing as embarrassing as beheading your prize when drawing your weapon..."

Bashuk grinned, behind them Yakha and Bolar chuckled, and Cassandra pouted as she looked up at her master "Yes," he said, looking down at her, "I'm aware I would only be slicing air in your case." Yasso's eyebrows rose, but he said nothing, and then they arrived at the right side of the stables, where the orcish mounts were kept. Their guest went in first, and then she followed Bashuk inside, with Yakha and Bolar bringing up the rear. Yasso went straight for Karu's box, and she noticed her master's kurtz had company.

Both animals presented their heads as Yasso got near them, and the big orc reached out with both hands, and rubbed both their chins. "Hi Karu, has Bilza behaved herself?" he said with a grin. Karu moved her large head, and rubbed it against Bilza's in reponse. "I'll take that for a yes," Yasso chuckled.

Bashuk came to a stop next to him, and Karu greeted her master, who caressed her snout as she rubbed it against him. Cassandra hesitated. "Don't be afraid," her master told her, "she knows you now." She moved closer, and Karu reacted by lowering her head towards her. She reached out to rub the animal's chin, but before she could Karu's tongue leapt out and licked her face. Cassandra spluttered, and Karu started to purr, rather loudly. "She really likes you," Bashuk said, "she smells me on you, and knows you belong to me, just like she does." Cassandra looked up at her master, undecided whether to take that as a compliment or not. "If it helps," he added with a chuckle," I prefer riding you..."

Yasso laughed, as did a couple of orcs behind her, and Cassandra blushed fiercely, while she started to caress Karu's snout. Their guest moved to a nearby rack, and lifted a large saddle from it, with which he disappeared towards the back of the stables. Bashuk then switched his attention to his guest's mount. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Bilza," he said, while rubbing her chin. The animal reacted by rubbing her snout against him, just like Karu had done before.

It didn't take long for Yasso to return, without the saddle. "There were plenty of spare saddle seats available," he told his host, "the saddler assured me my saddle will be ready by noon."

Bashuk nodded, "Smart thinking, riding double without a double saddle isn't a problem for short distances, but from here to Windagon isn't exactly a short distance." He rubbed his chin, "I'd better have them convert my own saddle too..."

They left the stables not much later, and followed the ring-road north towards the river, about half a league away. The well-worn cobblestone road followed the castle wall, and as they walked along it she noticed the orc warriors keeping watch on top of it. About two thirds down their way the arboretum appeared at the left side of the road. It was home to trees not indigenous to Nigawa, a good hundred yards wide, and it stretched away towards the west for about a third of a league. Beyond it was a wood made up of indigenous trees, filling much of the castle grounds in the west. There was a clear pond hiding inside it, fed by the small stream running across the grounds, and it also held the mausoleum of her ancestors.

Cassandra didn't really remember her mother's burial, there were only flashes, as she had still been so young at the time. She did remember her face though, and her smell, that smell of motherly love you never forget. The road split at the barracks, and they went right, leaving the arboretum behind. There were orcish soldiers training on the grass outside, but they stopped once they noticed the half-naked prize passing nearby. Cassandra tried to ignore their attention as best she could, helped once more by the pack's males, and its guest, imposing themselves between her and the onlookers. They reached the end of the building, and as they passed its corner the power generator building came into view.

It was just a hundred yards or so away, built against the castle's north-western wall, bordering the Amunda. While walking towards it they came by the small canal connecting the building to the river, through a low but wide opening in the foot of the castle wall. Yasso directed the group towards it, and he and the males studied the opening, and discussed the sturdiness of the iron bars preventing passage through it. They then had a good look at the canal itself, and the vertically placed iron grids inside it, which were clearly meant to keep large debris from passing. The canal disappeared inside the nearby building through another low but wide opening, from which the sounds of churning water emanated.

The generator building had a door in its near facade, and they moved towards it along the canal. Yakha opened the heavy wooden door and disappeared inside first, with Bolar following on his heels, only to come out again in reverse order, followed by an elderly man. Cassandra remembered his face, but not his name, and tried to hide behind her master as the man's gaze got stuck on her. His eyes widened as he recognized her, and then he swallowed, looked up at Bashuk, and bowed respectfully. "My Lord..., what a surprise, how can I be of service?"

"We came to inspect the facilities," Bashuk replied. He pointed at Yasso, "My chief engineer decided to have a look at Bromodin's tech-work, rather unexpectedly, which is why we have arrived unannounced."

The man's attention switched to Yasso, and he bowed once more, "A fellow engineer..., a warm welcome to you Sir." He straightened, "I'm Fernan Koban, supervisor of Bromodin's tech-facilities." The human engineer gestured in the direction of the canal, "You had a look at the inlet channel already?" Yasso nodded. "Not much to tell about it really," Fernan continued, "it was hewn from the solid rock, is lined with granite blocks, and equipped with heavy iron grids to keep large debris out. These grids need frequent cleaning of course, much depending on season and weather conditions."

He gestured at the building behind him next, "Inside, at this level, the water is led through a huge horizontal sieve, to filter out anything large enough to damage the water turbines, and there's also a system to regulate the amount of water that will enter the down channels to those turbines, which are at the lowest level of the facility, some sixty feet below ground level."

"SIXTY feet down?" Yasso asked, looking impressed.

"Yes," his human counterpart reacted, "It's the height difference needed to generate the water pressure the turbines need to function properly." He gestured at the nearby castle wall. "Behind that wall the Amunda drops over seventy feet. There used to be a waterfall there, but it was replaced by a weir and sluice system over three thousand years ago, when Bromodin was built."

"Turbines are waterwheels?" Yasso asked next.

"Not exactly," Fernan replied, but the general function is the same. The motive power they produce is transferred one floor up, to the drive room, by a belt system. From that floor it is distributed, also by a belt system, to the current generators, which are located on the floor above the drive room."

"Current generators?" Yasso asked.

The human engineer nodded, "You're familiar with magnetism?" Yasso nodded in turn. "Basically an assembly of magnets is rotated inside an iron cage fitted with copper coils, which then produce power, and the faster the rotation the more power produced."

The orcish engineer scratched his head, "What kind of 'power' are we talking about exactly?"

Fernan chuckled, "That's the difficult part... You can't see it, which is why we simply call it current, because it flows from the generators to the lighting crystals and back, making them light up in the process."

Yasso scratched his head once more, "Is it some sort of fluid then?"

"No," his human counterpart replied with a chuckle, "As I just said, you can't see it." He thought for a moment, "Current is pure energy, it is transported through copper cores, so solid metal, it flows through the metal itself."

"Sounds like magic to me..." Yasso reacted, looking a little flabbergasted.

"You could easily mistake it for such," Fernan conceded with a nod, "but it isn't. It's ancient tech, from before the collapse." He hesitated, "There are ancient tomes, explaining its workings, and there's an even more ancient tome in a language no one understands, nor has been able to decipher, that shows machines vastly more complex than what we have here..." The human engineer shrugged, "We basically just manage to keep what we have running, which is an achievement in itself, as it has been running since the collapse. We can produce all the parts, so we can rebuild endlessly, and we have been rebuilding endlessly, for over three thousand years..."

"That's an amazing feat in itself, " Yasso reacted. "So..., how's the hot water appearing from a tap three floors up connected to this?"

Fernan chuckled, "It's not... Not really at least. It's an entirely different system, it just originates from the same long ago era... The machinery connected to it is mostly inside the boiler building, which is just beyond the barracks from here. Would you like to see it?"

"Yes," Yasso answered, but could we have a look at all the machinery inside this building first?"

The human engineer nodded, "Of course," and then he gestured at Cassandra, who was still hiding behind her master. "A fair warning though, it's rather cold inside, especially at the lower floors, and your slave isn't really dressed for that..."

Bashuk looked back at her, clearly thinking, and she looked back at him pleadingly, and then at Yakha rather pointedly once more. His eyebrows rose, and then he smiled. "Is there a place she could wait for us while we have a look inside this building?" he asked Fernan.

"Yes, of course," the human engineer answered. "As you are planning to visit the boiler building too, she could wait for us there, in my office."

The huge orc nodded, and then he looked towards the males of his pack "Yakha, would you be so good please?" Cassandra squeezed her fists - she could have kissed her master on the spot.

"It's the last building down the road," the elderly man said, "enter through the last door on the north side of the building, then it's the first door on your right. If someone asks just tell him you have Fernan's approval."

Cassandra watched the human engineer lead Yasso, Bashuk, and Bolar inside the generator building, and once the door had closed behind them Yakha led her back to the road, and then further down it. The barracks buildings were bigger than the generator building, but the boiler building was bigger still. Of the two large chimneys rising up through its roof one was pouring light gray smoke, and at its far side a huge tower not unlike Bromodin's reached high into the air. "Looks like a small castle," Yakha remarked, no doubt referring to the tower, which was actually a water tower she knew. She opened her mouth to tell him, then remembered she wasn't allowed to speak, or was she? as Yakha was a pack member, and there was no one else around.

She decided to play on safe, and followed Yakha towards the door Fernan had told them to use. The big orc ignored the door though, and moved on to the breast high wall a hundred feet or so further to the west. You had a nice view of Iriskan from it, and also of the lower part of the castle. The latter was just a small area, some hundred and fifty by three hundred yards in size, and there was a small harbor there, and a large workshop. From it a slope ascended south west towards the higher part of the castle, and the stream feeding the castle's pond cascaded down it toward its inevitable rendezvous with the mighty Amunda.

Cassandra looked around while Yakha was taking in the sights, there was no one in sight. She reached out to him, and gently touched his arm. Yakha's head turned towards her, and he locked eyes with her. "Permission to speak, Sir?" she asked softly. Yakha frowned for a moment, and then he checked the surroundings before nodding at her. "I need to talk to you...," she but whispered, "about Syldan..." Yakha's eyebrows rose in response. "It isn't what it looks like," she continued, "she wants you, but she's too proud to submit to you." To her relief Yakha didn't start screaming at her, didn't tell her to remember her position, and mind her own business, but started thinking instead.

She swallowed, "I know you want her too," she then said, "but you won't get her unless you defeat her in combat, and force her to submit to you..."

Yakha expression softened, and then he sighed, "I already expected something like this to be the cause of her recent actions..." He shrugged, "Problem is I don't want to hurt her, and if we fight she will get hurt. She's simply too good for me to be able to defeat her without hurting her. And I'm NOT going to hurt her..."

"You'll have to find a way...," Cassandra reacted. She moved up to the big orc, and lowered her voice even more, "She once told me her naughtiest fantasy, which was for some powerful fighter to defeat her in unarmed combat, and then proceed to publicly deflower her on the spot." Yakha groaned loudly. "I'm sure she won't mind getting a little bruised in the process," Cassandra added, "just try not to break anything important..." She stepped back, and locked eyes with the big orc, "She needs this Yakha, she needs you..."

The big orc's face turned determined, "I'll try and think of something..." She nodded, and he winked at her, "And thank you for running the risk of a good spanking, to help out your friend."

Cassandra blushed, "I didn't do this just for her Yakha..."

The big orc frowned, and then he stepped towards her and hugged her. "Thank you," he said, "I'll be a good mate to her, I promise."

"I know," she said, as she returned the hug, before pushing herself away from him, "we're at a rather public place..." Yakha nodded, and let go of her, and then he led her back towards the boiler building, to go and look for Fernan's office.

As they entered the building they found themselves inside a narrow hallway, which was empty, but not for long. A door opened, and a middle-aged man dressed like a clerk came out. He looked at them curiously. "Welcome Sir, what can I...," he froze as he, presumably, recognized his former Kangess. Two younger men came out after him, both dressed in working clothes, and Cassandra felt their eyes roam all over her body, then lock onto her exposed genitals. The clerk clearly respected her, for whom she once used to be, but to these two younger workmen, she clearly was just a whore, a cunt to fuck. She blushed and, belatedly, moved behind Yakha.

"Fernan, your supervisor, is showing Lord Bashuk around the generator building," Yakha said, "and as it's rather cold in there apparently, he agreed for Lord Bashuk's prize to wait for their return inside his office."

"There ain't no bed in the boss' office...," one of the workmen sniggered, "but you could just lay her on the table, or bend her over the desk, I suppose..."

"Show some respect," the clerk snapped at him.

"Why," the answer came, "she used to be a noble, vermin, just like the rest of them."

"They stole our wealth, and raped our women with impunity," the other one chimed in, "so she got what she deserved. As a matter of fact, I really enjoyed hearing about how all those noble bitches got publicly raped by the orcs, and now have to serve them on their backs, like the whores they are."

"They weren't all like that!" the clerk reacted, "her father always treated us right, and she herself took common girls for her retinue, one of them from the castle's lowliest servants even."

"All show," the workman that had spoken first replied.

"Is that so?" the clerk reacted, "have you already forgotten about the Conak of Taren?"

"If that story is true..." the workman reacted.

"Toshin Maaso happens to be related to me," the clerk said, "through my wife. So I can assure you that story's true..." The two workmen visibly backed down. "Now get back to work," the clerk added, "or I'll report you to Sir Koban." One of them looked a little guilty now, but the other one didn't, still they both turned on the spot and moved away down the hallway. "I'm sorry about that," the clerk said, and then he pointed at a nearby door, "Sir Koban's office is in there, please make yourselves comfortable."

Yakha nodded, "Thank you..., sir...?"

The clerk blushed, "Where are my manners... I'm Loran Bren, Sir Koban's assistant, and you're welcome sir."

The office proved roomy and well upholstered, with a nice view across the city beyond Bromodin's western wall. There was a desk, a table with half a dozen chairs around it, and many filled bookcases against the walls. Yakha pointed at a corner spot, "You can kneel there girl." She did as ordered, assuming the position of the pleasure slave. The big orc didn't sit down at the table as expected, but walked over to where she was kneeling, and squatted down in front of her. She looked up at him questioningly, to which he reacted by reaching out with both hands, holding her face, and wiping her cheeks with his thumbs. She hadn't realized she had been crying.

"Your pack knows that you aren't like that, Cassy," he whispered, "and those two assholes came pretty close to the beating of a lifetime..." He got up again, while she felt her back straighten, and then he turned and moved towards the table. Cassandra watched him sit down, and as he looked back at her she moved her chest out, and her knees even further apart. Yakha smiled, "Tonight girl, tonight the pack's males are all going to show you how much they care about you." She had allmost forgotten about it, felt her pussy moisten at the prospect, and moaned in shame. The big orc chuckled softly, "There's no need for embarrassment..., you're going to get what normally only pack-girls get, because you are deserving, and it's perfectly fine for you to look forward to it." He winked, "I'm looking forward to it too you know..., as are the other males."