Herb Quest Pt. 01: Prisoner of War

As she watched she saw four of her comrades trying to form a small shield wall. Behind them was Sergeant Mill's, yelling for survivors to rally on him. As she watched, two more joined them, stepping into lengthen the wall. A giant strode forward, his long axe swung out high and far, thudding behind the rim of one of the shields. With a surge of power, he pulled on his axe causing the human soldier to be yanked forward away from the protection of his comrades. He was quickly dispatched by the giant who then stepped forward to repeat the process.

Turning away briefly, Alice retrieved her sword and headed towards Mill's who was still calling out to the men to rally. Before she could take another step though, three arrows seemed to appear in Mill's chest. A small group of goblins reloaded their short bows and sent another volley into the Sergeant. Slowly he sank to his knees before toppling to one side, six arrows grouped tightly in his torso.

Alice screamed and charged towards the obglins. Her sudden attack caused the first to fumble the arrow as he sought to draw down on her. A thrust from her sword, which would have earned a grunt of approval from Mill's, took the goblin in his mottled brown throat. He dropped his weapon, staggering back into the line of fire of his two allies. Alice sidestepped the stumbling beast and swung at the next one, the sword cutting through the cheap bow and her backswing slicing his face open to the bone.

Before she could advance on the last one, a tremendous blow to her back saw her thrown on her face to the ground. Alice rolled and then scrambled to her hands and knees, all the while knowing she was slow, too slow, that a weapon was even now descending on her head.

She looked to meet death in the eye. Instead of a sword thrusting towards her though, she saw a grey skinned foot and leg sweeping up to strike her. The giants kick caught her on the side of the head as she attempted to throw herself clear. She felt herself being hurled by the force through the air, the dark well of unconsciousness taking her before she landed on the ground.

Chapter 2:

Alice woke to the sight of a horse taking a piss. To make this even more unusual she found herself looking at it upside down.

Her hands were tied together by a bow cord and she seemed to have been draped over the back of a horse. Turning her head, gingerly, as she had a thumping headache, she could see a line of horses being led by orcs. On some horses she could see human bodies, but alive or dead Alice couldn't tell. All she knew was she was now a prisoner. Then she passed out again.

The next time she came to it was night and mercifully she was no longer on the horse. She didn't know how long or how far they had travelled but the muscles in her body screamed of long hours in an uncomfortable position. Her hands were still bound and now her legs were too, a bow cord tying them together at the ankle.

She attempted to sit up and found that she was in a group of survivors from the battle. Nine of them. Including her. 'Nine from three hundred, Gods!' she thought to herself. None of the other survivors were from her section though she knew them all of course. They were all pike men, good lads, farm boys who had thought they were on a great adventure and would be lauded as heroes on their return. Now the nine of them were prisoners of war. Only these creatures didn't take prisoners, they took slaves.

Alice spat a lump of phlegm from her mouth and groaned from the pain in her body. The other eight were all awake but silent, miserable. She glanced around and then asked,

"Any water?"

Nobody answered so she asked again louder.

"Chattel, quit your mewling" a voice sounded behind her.

A giant stepped into view, male though Alice couldn't be sure as she hadn't seen one before today. He had a bunch of water skins clasped in one massive hand. He dropped them down among the survivors, the other eight springing to life, squabbling to reach the water. He tutted, 'a strange sound emanating from one such as he, no -- 'it' she thought to herself. It seemed to sense her stare, he looked at her, noticing how she alone wasn't rolling in the dirt for a water skin. He nodded then stooped down towards her.

"Warrior you were but Chattel now. Best you learn and accept that. Now drink" he deposited another water skin in her lap before moving back into the darkness.

Alice unstopped the skin with her teeth before taking a long drink. The water was brackish and stale but sweet to her parched throat.

"What's this chattel thing anyway?" one of the others asked.

"Property, slave" Alice answered before drinking again.

They were woken at dawn the next day, Alice's sore muscles protesting from a half night's sleep on hard ground. It was a different form of torture this day. Now that they were awake, they were required to ride the horses bareback while led by their captors.

For Alice, never having ridden before, it was a day of pain, new muscles stretched and pulled. The only advantage was that at least she had a better idea where they were going. The woods were now far behind them and they were travelling north. North was further behind enemy lines, further from home and any hope of rescue. At a break for food one of the men had tried to run. A sentry whistled out a warning, and a single dire wolf burst out from the pack, chasing the prisoner down. The wolf fastened onto his leg and even at a distance Alice could hear the bone snapping between the animal's jaws.

The giant decided the injury was too serious, with a single swing of his axe he silenced the blubbering cries of the wounded prisoner, hammering the axe blade into the ground to clean it of blood.

A few hours of travel later and they entered a small valley. At the southern end was a half built wooden stockade wall, still requiring gates. As they passed by Alice could see a walkway stretch the length of the inside wall with archers' platforms. This was no temporary structure. This was confirmed when they moved in to the valley proper. Before her she could see large barrack like buildings scattered on the valley floor. Pens for livestock, and maybe slaves too, and rising above all the skeletal beginnings of a wooden keep.

Alice and her now seven comrades were taken off the horses and led, as she had earlier guessed, to a pen where they were placed. The walls were six feet high, more of a convenient place to keep the slaves than an actual obstacle to escape. They had their bonds removed but exhausted as they were and surrounded now by hundreds more of the enemy, escape was the last thing on their minds.

Not long after the pen door opened once more and a line of humans shuffled inside. At the site of the eight newcomers and their military garb the humans rushed to Alice and her comrades and began peppering them with questions. After a minute or so, she held her hands up for quiet.

"Listen, please listen and I'll try answer. No, we aren't part of a rescue force, and no, to my knowledge nobody is planning a rescue this far north. No, we haven't pushed the enemy back, if anything we've just continued to lose ground. I'm sorry but there it is. Can anyone tell me what's happening here?"

Her words seemed to suck the life out of the others and the crowd just melted away from her, moving to the walls of the pen where they slumped down, some talking quietly, others just attempting sleep.

As Alice looked around, she saw the giant who had given her water the night before watching her, his head and shoulders clearing the walls of the pen. Not wishing to draw any more attention to herself she wandered over beside an older man, taking a seat next to him.

"What is this place?" she asked, keeping her voice low.

He looked up and realised from her expression that silence wasn't the answer she wanted.

"They keep us here, using us for labour, felling tree's mostly though some of us have been tasked with preparing ground for planting. From the little we hear it's going to be a forward base or something for them. They are here to stay, that much I know."

Alice nodded her thanks for his answer even as his words chilled her.

"So, there's always a lot of them here? No escape options?"

He jerked back slightly as she mentioned escaping.

"Forget that, forget about escaping. Pray for rescue, pray for an end to the war, pray for death even but forget trying to escape."

He indicated one man, nearer the pen door than others. Alice remembered him limping ungainly inside earlier.

"He tried to escape" the older man continued, "They hobbled him, can't walk well but can still labour. He was lucky; good workers, they'll just cripple for escape attempts. Others, God's above, they suffered a much worse fate. So just keep your head down okay?"

He rose to his feet and moved away from Alice, a clear indication that the conversation was now over.

Alice leaned back and tried to keep the sick feeling of dread from overwhelming her. She managed it just enough that she could sleep.

In the morning the slaves were gathered together. Some left, returning later with a thin gruel, just enough so that everyone got a portion. After that they were taken out for work.

Work was cutting trees. Even with a large number of humans armed with axes and hatchets the few guards around them seemed bored and inattentive. It was probably because of the half dozen dire wolves that patrolled the work area in a loose ring. The occasional barking or howl enough to make tools drop from nerveless fingers as the slaves cowered back from the direction of the noise.

Alice was given a hatchet and she spent the day cutting back branches and small limbs from felled trees. They were then pulled by horses further into the valley where other slaves fashioned them into stockade or keep walls. The branches and such were then gathered up, no doubt to be used as fuel at some point.

By the time evening meal came around she was tired, not as bone weary as the day before though. The simple exercise of manual labour being far less gruelling to her than sitting on a horse had been.

As the slaves were being led back to the pen, two goblins walked over, standing in front of Alice, forcing her to stop. They barked out something in their own language and she spread her hands to indicate she had no idea what they wanted. A passing orc translated, his misshapen teeth making even his translation hard to understand.

"You go with them, you wanted."

Alice nodded and fell in behind the two goblins who marched further up the valley away from the slave pen. They passed some dire wolves, their eyes gleaming with intelligence unnerved her. One, the alpha she supposed, growled something at the goblins, they answered in their own tongue and apparently satisfied the pack passed them by.

She was led to what appeared to be a dwelling. Far smaller than the barracks structures that the goblins and orcs used, this seemed about the size of a human's home, albeit with a larger door. A rap from the goblins spear on the door and it was opened from within. By the giant from earlier.

He muttered something to the goblins who quickly scurried away. Alice was then ushered inside the building.

The giant waited till she had passed before closing the door behind her. She found herself inside a living room of sorts. A table, a single chair beside it dominated the centre of the room. A brazier against one wall gave out light and heat, the smoke curling out a small window above it. The table, desk really from maps that seemed to cover it, also held a platter of food, the smell of which caused Alice's stomach to rumble noisily.

Grabbing a loaf of warm bread from the platter the giant offered it to Alice. She took it hesitantly, suspiciously. However the smell overwhelmed her caution and she began wolfing it down in big bites. It was warm, delicious in fact. There were small leaves cooked into it, giving it a strange flavour but an enjoyable one.

While she ate the giant took a seat and watched her, offering her a water skin afterwards to wash down the food.

"Now we will talk" he said.

Alice looked uncertain.

"I was just a ranker, a foot soldier. I don't have any military information and even if I did, I wouldn't give it" she answered, hoping she could act as brave as her words.

The giant laughed, it was a booming sound and it brought her back to the battle, the giants laughing as the humans tried to inch back towards the town.

"I don't care for military secrets, your armies are weak, led by fools. Not enough of you, warriors, to make a difference. No, I want conversation. These other, they bore me."

Alice nodded, "First I have a question" she said.

"Good, we begin" he said leaning back in the chair.

"How is it that you are intelligent? The stories we have of giants, well you are bigger but stupider in them." Alice flinched inwardly, cursing her lack of diplomacy. She prayed he wouldn't take immediate offense, not if she was to learn anything useful, plan some sort of escape from this place.

The giant however seemed oddly good humoured, a toothy grin broke out, the slab like bright white teeth odd in contrast to the dull grey of his skin.

"When you fear something. When you feel inferior to something, do you not try to twist the truth? Try to make it more negative, less positive?"

Alice thought about this for a moment, she was interested but also cautious. However amiable he might seem, he and his kind had brought slaughter to her people, slain her own kin, her beloved brothers.

"Yes, I suppose you might be right. So, what you are saying is that we tried to make you seem more like beasts by exaggerating your stature and lessening the tales of your intelligence."

"Yes, and I understand your peoples' reasons. I even applaud them" the giant said, "Because in doing that, your generals underestimated us in battle so we could slay the cream of your troops easily, making our task so much easier."

"Task? What task?" Alice asked.

"Why to conquer of course. Why should the strongest dwell in the worst lands? We have the might to take all that is yours and so we shall."

"And this place?" she asked, sweeping her hand to encompass the encampment in the valley.

"A staging area for next year. We will combine our hosts, sweep south to the land you call the Middle Realm, taking it completely. Then with your nations split and isolated we can turn our attentions to the East and West realms at our leisure"

His words chilled her, all the more because the plan made sense and so the generals would never contemplate it, would never guard against it. She needed to escape, to warn her people, her family.

He watched her over steepled fingers, dark eyes missing nothing as her emotions warred across her face.

He picked up a small item on the desk, small to his hands at least. It was an hourglass of sorts and the sands had run out.

"Good, should be ready now" he said.

Chapter 3:

"What should be ready?" Alice asked absently, still trying to figure out how to gain some advantage from this conversation, anything to aid her flight.

"You, your body" he answered simply, "The herbs you ate, concealed in the bread. They prepare you."

She looked confused though there was a small glimmering of understanding as she realised that the aches and pains that she'd felt since the battle had disappeared. She just hadn't noticed as she'd been so preoccupied with her thoughts.

"You, you cured me?" she ventured.

Again he laughed.

"Hardly, call it a stimulant." He saw the lack of understanding in her face. "We use the herb during certain times. With the opposite sex. Female giants can be... exuberant shall we say, during mating. The herb dulls pain receptors, so the mating doesn't escalate to combat through pain. It also has a second effect, heightening pleasure in nerve endings. Let me demonstrate."

He ran a large finger across her cheek softly and she only managed to stop herself groaning in response by focusing on her rage at him. He had drugged her, drugged her for.... fuck, for sex!

"Don't you touch me" Alice snarled at him, backing away.

"Warrior, that's what attracted me. But remember I have already told you; you were a warrior but now you are chattel, my property, won in combat."

He reached out, his huge hand completely encompassing her upper arm, his strength sufficient to lift her clear of the floor with no visible sign of effort. He grabbed her thigh on her other side and turning he carried her further back into the room, towards a stairs.

Alice tried to fight back as she was carried up the stairs, she began kicking out at him with her free leg, raining blows down on his upper legs. He showed no discomfort though, she slapped her free hand hard across the side of his head, his ear, in the hope of disorientating him.

"I ate the herb as well" he said as calmly as if discussing the weather. She ceased struggling knowing it to be useless. He had called her a warrior, well then she'd show him. When time and opportunity permitted she would show him. For now, a warrior, a soldier, conserves their strength whenever possible. One of Sergeant Mill's lessons.

He released her and she retreated until the back of her legs struck a piece of furniture, a quick glance confirming it to be a massive giant-sized bed.

"If you wish to save your clothing I would advise you strip" he wiggled his massive fingers at her, "I do not possess the deft touch needed to preserve the fragile clothing if I do it."

'Stay alive' she thought. 'Follow Mill's advice, stay alive, do whatever I gotta do, but I need to survive and escape.'

She began to remove her clothing. The leather breastplate and tunic came off first, a sigh of relief and pleasure emitting from her mouth unbeknownst to her. She then unwound the cloth she used to restrict her large breasts. As the cloth came free, they swung out proudly if just a little soiled from their sweaty confinement. As Alice looked down at her waist to untie the belt holding up her leather breeches she noticed that her nipples were fully hardened, inch long and light pink but darkening at the areola. Her breasts were pale white like her torso and legs, only her arms and face showing any tan.

Alice stood up, her clothes at her feet and faced the giant. She tried to draw on her training to try to stave off her fear, unconsciously she fell into an 'at attention' stance. This rigid pose just served to highlight her firm muscled body, lifting her breasts high as her head tilted slightly back.

He now began to disrobe. The giant hadn't been wearing any armour, a sleeveless leather jerkin and a leather segmented kilt were all that he needed to strip away. When he was naked Alice found herself fighting the tremble in her body. She wasn't sure if it was lust inspired by the drugs or fear of his size and strength that was causing this reaction in her body.

The giant stood half again as tall as a normal man, similarly his cock had the same proportions. It looked like it was 13 inches on so in length and that was soft. He had no body hair at all and in the faint light of the room his grey skin had a spectral look to it.

"I won't be able for something that size; it will kill me." Alice said, proud that her voice hadn't trembled unlike her limbs.

"It won't kill you, hurt you... maybe. Kill you... no. You are not the first human I will have rutted with and none of them died. At least not from my cock they didn't."

He moved towards her, Alice found herself scrambling onto the bed, foolishly taking that route to avoid him but all it did was convince him of her eagerness for sex.

The giant climbed onto the bed and lay back, she moved to the side and then went still, an irrational hope that he might change his mind even at this point. It wasn't to be.