Have You Slept with a HalfDelf?

"And what there was in the north?"

"There was a problem. The Thyanks. They had built a fortress-city at the northern tip of the island, and every now and then they sent people to the capital of the Halfdelves to ask for tributes. Crops, minerals, something alike. But lots of it. The HalfDelves preferred to pay the tribute instead of waging a war against them. But they were increasing their demands every year. Things were getting heavy... And if the Thyanks met our explorers, it could be bad for us too... "

"Were the Thyanks so bad and strong? What do they were? Humans?"

"Not at all. We knew a few things about them, and only bad ones. They lived across the Oceans, and they were more akin to us than to you. Lower than us, but tough as hell. And very clever in the fashioning of swords. And in close quarter fighting, of course. We knew their motto was "You have what you get". No matter whose it was before, I thought... "

"Distant relatives? Of yours, I mean..."

"Maybe. But now they were not "distant" enough. The HalfDelf chief was right: they would have been not so happy to see that they had a potential competitor on the island, very more serious than the Halfdelves, in fighting. They could destroy our dozen without difficulty, since they were more that twelve, for sure. And this just for starting. They could decide to occupy the whole kingdom of the Halfdelves, and maybe the whole continent, before we could do it, And this was a problem for the Halfdelves, but for us too. A base of Thyanks so close to our kingdom would have been really bad news."

"But what could you do?"

"Well, first of all, I sent a messenger to our dozen in the North, with the news I had gotten and the order to stop on a defendable position, fortify and don't let the Thyanks see them. If someone had to get on the other by surprise, it was us, not them. Then I sent another messenger back to our base on our landing point on the island, with a message for the king's eyes only. With it, I was reporting the situation and my ideas about it. I wanted to get to the capital of the HalfDelves and offer the king of them our alliance against the Thyanks, especially in case they had attacked them. It was a bluff, on my behalf, but I thought I had no time to expect the permission of the king for that. And I explained this too in my message to the king."

"Uh! Bold move!"

"Quite. But I was the commander in chief of ours, there and then. So I had to decide what to do. And I did. I had the right to make deals with the people I could meet, on behalf of our king, especially for urgent things. And it WAS an urgent thing."

"Why so urgent? Just to save that dozen in the north?"

I've said, that was the last thing. That continent was almost intact, and full of resources. It was clear that the HalfDelves did not need the whole of it, since they had no towns close to our coast. So if we helped them, they could allow us to found some colonies, towns, trade stations or emporiums, in that part of the continent. But if the Thyanks would have seized that whole continent, they could use those resources against us. Lumber for the ships, minerals to forge the swords, food for the soldiers. We had to prevent it. That is, I had to prevent it."

"And then?"

"And then, I went to the capital. with the old HalfDelf and my rookies. I did not trust them enough to let them in that village, with all those young and nice HalfDelf females, totally unattended... And however, an ambassador needs an escort, right?"

"Right. Did you meet the king?"

"Yes. I have sent a messenger to him too, translated by the old HalfDelf. A respectful report about who I was, and why, and on whose behalf, I was coming. On the way to the capital, my messenger met me and gave me the answer of the king: his prime minister was waiting for me."

"How was the capital?"

"A beautiful town, in a wonderful place. A great lowland, irrigated by six rivers, that entered or went out of a great lake. And all around, low and woody hills and three great volcanos. The fertility of the soil was assured, and it was evident. It was not difficult to get something from the land. It was difficult to prevent that land from becoming a pure and simple jungle. And so it was more or less for all the regions along the road. That's why they had colonized only part of the island, where the rains wich came from the ocean and from the great lake arrived more often and more abundant."

"And the Thyanks?"

"Oh! They noticed us just when they came to the king's court to ask for new tributes. increased, of course... And we were there! They were totally shocked to see some non-Halfdelves. They did not even think to have some spies in the court. And not even an embassy. They felt totally sure to have the HalfDelves to the leash. What a bad surprise, for them... "

"And what happened? What did you do?"

"It went as it had to go. If we gave him the time to react and to grow stronger, on the island, we would not have had a chance. We had to beat them, immediately. And since we were still few to attack them, then THEY have to attack. So we PROVOKED them. We asked them, rather, we ordered them, without ceremonies, not to ask our friends for tributes anymore. And to taunt them even more, we told them we would have built a fortress of ours on a hill, some miles from their city."

"Why should have them refused it? They had their city fortress, however..."

"A wise person would have accepted it, maybe. But they were not wise people. They were guys who had lost an easy prey they felt they had in their mouth already. If they had accepted our terms, their expansion on the island would have ended before starting, And their city would have become a commercial emporium as anyone else, and not the beachhead to conquer a rich continent. So they refused. And this meant war... "

"But were you READY for a war?"

"Not for a long one. We needed a field battle, the sooner the better. We could not disturb their ships on the Ocean with our rowing rafts. We were just starting to build something different, sailing rafts or even real boats, but we needed time for that. So we need to beat them all, throw them at sea, occupy or destroy their fortress city, before they could really reinforce its defenses, sign a peace on the spot, if possible, and however reinforce the defences of the island, just in case they thought to come back... "

"So you have to beat their forces AND to take their town. A hard work... "

"Really hard. Especially to seize that town. We had bad memories of the other siege, in the old war. So we prepare it all right. Starting with the war machines... Many, very mobile war machines... As those we saw in the old war... That was why we had lost, then..."

"Usually, war machines are quite slow to move..."

"I know. In the old war, humans had small machines, That was why they were so fast... But we decided to build them bigger. Our horses are strong enough to carry us on the saddles, so they can move fast, even towing big devices... We wanted to rain the Thyanks with fire projectiles, as the human did with us... But the fun is, we built those machines, but we DID NOT use it, against the city... And we took the city all the same!"

"How did you do?"

"All in good time... So we were waiting for the Thyanks to attack, and they attacked. They too had decided to beat us before we could send many warriors on the island. We had just the time to build a dozen of war machines. We could not stop them in an open field, so we prepared kind of an ambush, with all our forces and those of the HalfDelves. And the right place was not so far from the capital, where the forest ended and the northern plain began. We decided to wait for them in the wood."

"It was quite obvious."

"Right. And in fact, they knew they had to pass through there, so they came down with lots of torches to burn the trees. They thought that the elves wanted to ambush them IN the wood. But this was not our plan. We attacked them FROM the wood... "

"With the war machines... "

"Exactly! It was another bad surprise for them. Lots of stones and big fire bolts from the bolt-throwers. Their front line, their cavalry, especially, was almost destroyed that way, from the beginning of the battle. And then WE attacked. From two sides. Our warriors were running and shouting like mad demons. We wanted to win, that time... "

"And what they did?"

"Well, truth must be told, they were crack combating people. They had lost almost all their cavalry and many warriors too, the rest of them were stunned by the surprise attack, but nobody was running away, They fought like hell, on both sides. But we had forecasted that too. It was time for our cavalry to get going... Straight through their middle, as a sword in the butter... First another salvo from the war machines, and then... We rammed them down, as simple as that."

"And then?"

"And then, half of the cavalry went to the left and to the right to help our warriors to finish the job with their swordsmen... And the rest attacked THEIR war machines."

"Did they have them too?"

"Of course! They wanted to attack and destroy the capital of the HalfDelves. But their machines were not ready for combat. They didn't think to use them against the wood. They thought we were not numerous enough and daring enough to attack them away from the town, and if they burned the forest, they would have burned us and the HalfDelves too, anyway, if we were there... But they did not expect that we would have not waited for them to come close to the wood. Big mistake... So now the Thyanks machines were just big, almost undefended targets... "

"For you..."

"For us and for the arrows of the HalfDelves. Each of our knights had one of them behind himself, on the same saddle And they had flaming arrows ready to be thrown. It's hard to throw arrows from the back of a horse where there is another rider beside you, I think... But they did a really good job. All those war machines went aflame. Not one of them would have ever thrown a stone, anywhere. But it was not over yet..."

"Why? You had won! Or not?"

"Yes, we had won. We had overcome! But a victory must be exploited. Or else, it is useless as a fruit left to rot in a basket. We had to kill ALL the Yanks, and I mean ALL. Nobody could escape, Or they would have reported their defeat and other forces would have been sent to the island. And it would have started all over again... "

"But... Was it really NECESSARY to kill them all?"

"Well, not REALLY necessary... But they were too fool to surrender... Our warrior were still eager to fight, to kill... And most of all, the HalfDelves were, say, too nervous to spare their lives... And very soon, we would have seen why... "

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... Those Thyanks had pushed REALLY too hard playing the conquerors, while they came down to the capital of the HalfDelves... They have left behind only fire, ashes, ruins, corpses and raped females... Yes, we too did something bad, in the old war. Soldiers are not... But what had been the exception for us had been the RULE for the Thyanks, against the HalfDelves... So now the HalfDelves were giving tit for tat... And it was better off not to interfere. After all, those Thyanks had to die, and they deserved it!"

"And then?"

"And then, we went to the north, to THEIR town. They were waiting for THEIR warriors and then they saw US... I guess their morale fell beneath their boots... And we were happy and proud of ourselves, and quite relaxed too. We placed our war machines in the right places to pound the town, the port and the beaches, if necessary, and started to build more of them with the wood we found around there. We could block their supply and their reinforcements at our will, even hitting their ship at sea. No need to storm or siege the town too much closely, we could even starve them as we are. Or simply destroy the town, in case they attacked the island anywhere else..."

"And they did, right?"

"Wrong. They were so shocked... We suggested them to abandon their town, without any hindrance, and they accepted. They had realized how dire their situation was. But first, they set it on fire. They did not want to let it to us intact. Big deal! They had left the island, and that was the point. We had all the time to help the HafDelves to rebuild the town, later... "

"That is... total victory... "

"Hell yes... But, I forgot to tell you something very important... You know, when we were going north, we saw all the destructions the Thyanks had left behind. And we were ready to let them pay for that, storming their town without mercy. But there was another thing that surprised us... "

"What?"

"The way the HalfDelves greeted us... They were peasants, and they have lost almost all because of the Thyanks, because of the war... But they did not blame us for that. Nor because we did not defend them, or because maybe we have even caused the war, defying the Thyanks... No, they did not blame us for anything: they were happy to see us. And they proved it to us. Not only giving us food and water, or flowers, or hugs... But even... "

"Even what?"

"Well... The young females were happy to meet our warriors, and even the grown up ones, sometimes... The widows, or the unmarried, at least, I guess... They made us understand we were ready to sleep with us, for nothing... They kissed our warriors on their faces, hugged them, closing their eyes, abandoning themselves... Someone took the hands of a warrior, and drove it on their bodies, their breasts, their pubes... It was an offer, no doubt... Not a surrender, they did not fear us: it was just an offer They were offering themselves to us... "

"But... Why? For nothing... Why?"

"I didn't know... We all were embarrassed... Nobody knew what to do... Yes, we were allies. We have fought for them, with their brave bowmen. And now we were going north to throw the Thyanks at sea... Once and for all, hopefully... But it was too much!"

"So... Really, you Ogres were EMBARRASSED thinking to... possess females?"

"Well... Our warriors had had their share of blood and violence, against the Thyanks, They had blown off their steams enough... Now they saw those small females, gentle, nice, even if clad in rags... And they all felt as if they were... taking advantage of them! As if they raped them, do you understand? As if those females surrendered to them, just for not to get hurt, because they have learnt what a male want from them... "

"Well, your warrior could say "no"..."

"And they said, sometimes... They try to explain those young females, that it was not necessary for them to... And then those females started crying! Weeping!"

"Weeping?"

"Yes! As if our warriors had refused them! Scorned them! I guess some of them had been raped by the Thyanks. Now they wanted to get taken by a friendly, gentler male. Maybe they wanted to delude themselves, if they were pregnant, that the child could be the son of one of our... an ally... But surely not all of them had undergone that kind of... things... "

"So... your warrior slept with those females... "

"Sure. Those females wanted that. And our warriors were normal males, after all... I guess they did not push too hard, you know what I mean... Inside... Or trying to do something weird with them... Sodomy or the likes... But they... took them, of course... "

"And you... did you?"

"No, I didn't... "

"Why?"

"I've told it., it was too much. We were fighting for our interests too. We were responsible for what had happened to those females, to their villages, their families... It was not right that they were so... kind with us... And they were so small, petite, delicate... I was too big for them... And I mean EVERYWHERE... I thought it was not so natural, that's it... "

"But you allowed your warrior too to do it... "

"If you give a command you are not sure you can enforce, you can lose your authority. And a chief with no authority is not a chief any more... That's why you can give some commands only to volunteers. I could not tell my warriors what to do in that case. I could not force them to refuse such a gift, from those females... Sometimes they too refused, just like me, maybe following my example. But if was THEIR choice."

"And then, what happened?"

""Well, you know, we had won, and we celebrated it. It was not only a local victory. The Thyanks' kingdom had collapsed, following their defeat on the field and the fall of their town. Riots, down with the king, something alike. They had other things in their mind than we or our allies or the whole island. We had gotten even with the old war, since now we were the winners. And the Halfdelves were glad to have changed a would-be invader with a real ally who wanted to trade goods and knowledges with them, and nothing else. They were more advanced than us in some fields, and vice versa."

"So what?"

"So there was a great celebration of the victory and of our alliance in the capital of the HalfDelves, and oddly enough, I was the chief guest... After all, I had had the right idea at the right moment. The king had approved my decisions and immediately had sent all the forces he could to the island of the HalfDelves. That's why we had won. And I even took part in the cavalry attack during the battle near the wood. So I had gotten the command of all our forces on the island, directly from the king. All the other commanders who took part in the war had been promoted to higher posts and have left the island. So I was representing our kingdom... I..."

"A great honor..."

"And a great embarrassment... Imagine the scene, formal dinner at the king's palace, a place of honor, glowing addresses... And ME! Me, thanking and answering as I can, as a soldier can do... A rude soldier, not used to make kudos and compliments... But someone liked my rude speech a lot. Really a lot... And WHO!"

"Who?"

"Now you will know... When the dinner was almost over, a real deluge fell over the palace. The king decided to host us, foreign guests, in the palace itself for the night, so they accompanied me to a room. I was just lying on the bed. It was a large bed for HalfDelves, but quite normal for me. And then the door opened and a girl entered the room. I guessed it was not a servant, nobody had sent her to me, to attend to me in any way. She moved as if she was safe at home. And she was walking tall..."

"Who was she?"

"I did not know. The room was half-lighted. But I saw she was dressed very well. And very little. I was even less dressed, but this did not upset her. In return, it upset me. Especially when she lit a candle and saw how scantily clad I was... "

"But who was SHE?"

"I couldn't manage to recognize, I was more confused than before... She was a HalfDelf, of course. And a very nice one. So she started to chat, as if we both were fully dressed... But she had noticed I was not, really not... She was looking right THERE, you know... "

"And you were... I mean, IT was... "

"Well, quite... You know, it was REALLY nice... And she was talking, talking... 'I wanted to thank you again, you and your people', she said... Quite a weird thing to say to a half-naked male, you know... "

"And you?"

"And I, again, 'Uh, I did my duty'... And in the meantime, I tried to recall when I had seen her, because I HAD seen her... And she kept talking..."

"About what?"

"Oh... She said 'Yes, you behaved well'... and she looked at me and said 'especially with our females'... And I swear to the Gods she was sarcastic..."

"Sarcastic?"

"Yeah, sarcastic... In fact, she stopped smiling, looked at me harshly and said 'Why you didn't sleep with our peasant girls? Were they too stinky, for you? Or maybe too thin?'... So she said!"

"And you?"

"And I was shocked, of course. A female living in the king's court so informed of what happened far away in the countryside... "