Kormax - The Burned One

We ate meat and drank milk and I took Gwen into the bedroom to fuck her again after supper. I left the bedroom leaving Gwen on her knees once again with my cum dripping out of her and told Erik he could have his bedroom back.

I laid out a bedroll on the floor. As much as I'd love to spend a few more hours plowing the hell out of Gwen, I did have a job to do.

I snuffed the lights and laid out with my bedroll, listening to the night.

I woke to the sound of a wastebeast squealing outside.

I snatched my weapons and dashed outside, making sure the door was secure behind me.

Sprinting around to the pen, I saw a creature, grappling with one of the animals.

It saw me and bolted, and I managed to draw and throw my ax, catching it in the calf before it could vanish into the night.

It fell to the floor and I dashed over and swung my blade, relinquishing the creature's neck of its head.

Finally able to pause and assess, I knelt to examine my kill.

I frowned. It was just a Burned One.

"What's a Burned One?" Erik asked as I showed him the body the next morning. He stood gazing at the figure's corpse; an emaciated humanoid figure, though with cracked, dry flesh like charcoal, its whole body orange-red in color.

"They are descendants of the survivors who were near the hellfire of the Great War. Go near the ruins of those great, ancient cities and you'll encounter hundreds of them. I have no idea how this one got so far out here though." I frowned. But then I noticed something on the floor.

I stood and walked toward the trees, finding another fallen branch.

A piece of raw meat was stuck to it, as if someone had run the branch through a filet of rancid meat and it had been mostly eaten off.

"What have you found?" Erik asked.

I waved. "Nothing." I bluffed.

"So..." Erik began awkwardly, "Is our business done?"

I nodded. "Paid in full."

As much as I wanted to fuck Gwen again, the job was done. It would be needlessly cruel to expect more.

Erik held out his hand. I shook it.

I took the Burned One's head and began walking back through the settlement. It was early morning, and the other homesteaders were out tending their dirt and livestock.

I passed one house, carrying the head, and the farmer responded with disgust, fear.

I passed the second house, same response.

Then, I passed the third house and the farmer's face turned white as the blood drained from it.

He froze and stared at me.

I turned and cocked my head.

"So it was you?" I asked.

He dropped his rake and set off sprinting into the dead forest.

He was an older man, skinny and gray, his skin sun-damaged and cracked. I barely had to break into a jog to catch him, snapping a branch from a tree and tossing it at his knees, felling him awkwardly. He landed with a pained wheeze.

I approached and knelt on his chest, holding the severed head.

"Why were you leading this burned one to that nice family's farm?" I asked.

The old man wheezed and I let a little weight off his chest. He struggled but realized he was still caught.

"I wanted them to starve so I could buy Gwen." the old man admitted.

I chuckled.

"Indeed. Quite the beauty isn't she. Stupid plan though." I said before shifting my knee to his neck and snapping it. The life left his eyes instantly.

I left him there. The settlers, if they looked for him, would assume he fell and broke his neck and hopefully divide his property fairly.

I let my senses pick up the not-too-distant city once more and headed south. I needed some decent food and to fuck something. Gwen had only left me wanting more.