The Emperor

Along with my own forces that had diverted through the night to join us, Colum's men were set to work. The main thing was wood, and they had wasted no time collecting enough to upgrade the walls. Adding to that, there were now four platforms that would give us a height advantage if needed. They brought the spare wood inside the walls, where a series of buildings were being constructed. It would likely never be a town, but short of a concentrated attack, it would be a decent staging post for the future.

In the centre of all this, was a large pavilion tent. That tent was where I sat with Mareridt, Gul, Colum and the elfin couple Solee and Lyrei.

"What about the river?" Gul suggested.

Colum moved around and frowned. "That might work, it narrows here and the banks are tall. If you built it quickly enough, you could cut off the water supply, then collapse it again and cause a flood."

"We don't have the forces to hold more than one town," Solee reminded us.

I sighed. He was right. We had an invading force. We could storm in and with luck, we could take the town with minimal casualties. Like Hjem, there was a river that ran through the city. It was their principal source of water, trade and industry. If we cut the water supply, even temporarily, we could hurt them, or even force them to divert forces to deal with the problem. Which would be fantastic, if I was interested in simply burning it to the ground, which was our current discussion.

"I'd rather not destroy it," Solee sighed.

"I have to agree," Lyrei grumped.

Which was a surprise to me. Whatever situation they found themselves in as a married couple. They usually took opposing sides. Lyrei must have been from a merchant family, she had a good grasp on logistics, moving, supplying and reinforcing demand. Solee by comparison, was the politician that I was not. He tried to measure his wife's expectations for growth, with the reality of their situation. But this town, they were a major producer of goods. Mostly metal, thanks to power hammers run by the rivers. They also had an abundance of skilled workers.

And seeing them both come together to agree that the destruction of the town was a bad idea, left me inclined to agree with them. Personally, I didn't care. These people were a means to an end. If they were loyal and stayed out of my way, that was a win in my book. Without them, I'd probably be burning everything as I went. Scorch the earth, salt what remained and make it impossible for their people to ever come back.

I enjoyed my simple life. I guarded a hole in the side of a mountain and kept out bears and other things. That was disrupted by the elfs, and it forced me to flee. I tried again to settle, starting a bathhouse, but an exiled sorcerer tried to take revenge. At every turn, I was thrust into a position of power and eventually authority. And all I wanted was to take my wives, my children and my friends, before retiring into a quiet little mountain village. Instead, I was sitting in a specially made chair, dressed in armour, staring at a map of the elf and human lands.

"So how does it work?" I asked, turning to Gul.

She blinked for a moment, before pulling a frown. "My people?"

"Your people," I nodded.

"It's not much. You march in with your forces, and you issue a challenge, just the same as Grin-Da did to you."

I thought back on that day and growled. It wasn't the challenge that made me so mad. It was the talk of what he would do to the rest of my wives if he succeeded. I wouldn't be making that same mistake twice. Treat them with respect, then tear their gods-damned heads off as quickly as possible.

"Can they refuse?"

"Not honourably," Gul shook her head.

I nodded over her words, then looked at the map. Colum, Solee and Lyrei were discussing options and measuring our available forces. None of us thought, even for a moment, that the captive elfs would help in any way. The best we could hope for from them, is their immediate attempts to attack us, with the worst of them pretending to be loyal until the last moment and striking from within. Which left us even further behind, as we needed someone to stay behind and keep them under control while the rest of the forces moved into position to fight Chejly.

"Alright," I called softly, catching the attention of the room.

"I'm going to take a portion of our troops and head towards the badlands."

"How many is a portion?" Colum asked.

"Enough for an honour guard," I nodded. "I'll also be taking my wives and Lyrei's carriage."

"You're taking my carriage?" The woman frowned.

I turned my gaze to her and watched her expression shift. She was used to getting what she wanted, even from much larger men who could do her harm.

"My carriage, yes," I nodded.

She blinked slowly and nodded, dropping the subject immediately. "I need you to stand your ground here. Do whatever you want with the captive elfs. Colum, consider this a test. I will be back with an army of orcs. You're to act as the commander of the forces here under the instruction of Solee and Lyrei." I gave him a moment to process and continued. "If I return, and things are going well, consider the job permanent if you want it. If not..." I left the threat unsaid, but I doubted I needed to spell it out.

The three leaders watched me for a few moments, before Colum cleared his throat. "Yes, my King."

"Great!" I grinned. "Now if you don't mind, I have an honour guard to hire and I'll be leaving in the morning. Colum, if you have a volunteer from your group, I wouldn't mind one of your men tagging along."

"Yes, my King," he repeated.

With that said, I got up from my chair and turned for the exit. Gul hurried to my side, but it was Mareridt who stopped me.

"I'll go," she prodded me back. "You remain here."

"Why?"

"Brute you may be, but you're still a King. Let me handle it."

I gave the large, dark woman a smile, before pressing a kiss to her lips. She gave me a sheepish... Or is it horseish? She gave me a horseish smile, before striding out into the sunlight. It was getting late, which meant that Pet would return soon and Marala would collect meals for us all. So Mareridt was probably right in the end, and rather than leave, I strode to the back of the pavilion and strode into the quarters that had been set up for my wives and I.

Gul followed behind, keeping pace despite her injuries. I'd made vague threats, but she brushed them off and became more brusque in her replies. If I had to guess, my refusal to treat her like a wife was attacking her honour, so instead she was overcompensating. I'd have let her live her life as she saw fit, but short of jailing the woman, there was little I could do to remove her from my life. Even my wives were becoming more accepting of her presence, if not happy about it.

Stepping into the room with the enormous pile of furs, I froze at the sight before me.

"Fuck," Gul sighed.

Sint turned her head and looked over her shoulder towards me. She had a guilty look on her face as she clutched one of my shirts to her face. She was on her front, with her legs splayed open, giving me the perfect view of her hand, frozen with her fingers in a rather obvious position.

She moved first, sliding her legs closed as she turned away. I jolted into action as I rushed in. Sint made a series of rapid chirps as she froze in place. Gul made a noise behind me, but I paid her no mind as I crawled up onto the bed, while undoing my ties. As Sint turned to watch me, she spotted the motion and her eyes went wide.

"Good."

"Good," I nodded in agreement.

"Good," she said again, opening her legs.

Taking my cock in hand, I steered it towards her entrance. She was drooling into the bedding and I had to wonder if half the reason she was doing this, was in the hope she would be caught. There would be no hiding the wet patch later on. But that was neither here, nor now as I felt her shudder beneath me as she stretched to accommodate my girth.

I worried when we did this. But she never responded in a way that told me it was unpleasant. And with how wet and obviously eager she was, I was able to slide all the way in on the first push. I rested for a moment, while Sint whimpered beneath me. She took a few deep breaths and shifted her hips, before I heard a word escape those lips of hers.

"Good."

Dragging my length free, I reversed and pushed back inside. Sint responded with a loud whimper. I smiled and repeated the action. Her body massaged my length, and I growled to let her know how I felt. The tone of my voice must have meant something, as she shuddered and I felt her clench.

I slowed and pulled her tightly against my chest, before leaning down to whisper in her ear.

"Is good the only word you can say?"

Sint groaned softly and gave me an annoyed look. "No."

I was about to apologise, when she cleared her throat. The action was out of character and I paused. She licked her lips and gave me a smile.

"Breed me."

I blinked slowly and let out a small sigh. "Do you know what that means?" I asked, not because I was questioning it. But because I wanted to make sure she actually knew what was going on. Was she simply parroting something she heard one of my wives say, or was she literally asking to have my child?

Sint shifted, and I let up so she could roll over. It was impressive that she managed it, while keeping my cock buried inside herself. Her petite form was exacerbated by my large frame suspended above her. But her nipples stood out on her small breasts and her legs came up to caress my sides as she reached down between us.

"Good," She mumbled slowly, as she felt around the base of my cock. "Good, good," she said, stroking a line from there, up to a point below her bellybutton. "Breed me," she chirped. "Breed Sint."

I heard a small moan and turned my head. Gul was twitching as her eyes rolled. She was laid out on the grass beside us with her hand in the front of her armour. I didn't need two guesses to realise exactly what was going on. So instead, I turned my attention back to Sint.

"Do you know what you need to do?"

Sint nodded and gave a delighted smile.

I sighed and leaned down to kiss her. As I did, I drove my hips forward, making her chirp in delight. But I wasn't anywhere near done yet. Taking her by the shoulder and hip, I saw her eyes go wide, before I sat back up. Holding her suspended in front of me, she opened her mouth and said one word.

"Good!"

And like my dear Ita back at home, she was the perfect little toy for me. Driving my hips forward as I bounced her in my arms, Sint chirped in shock and pleasure as I used her. She clung to my arms as her head rolled and her free leg kicked sporadically to one side. I loved the sounds of my cock sliding in and out of her body and I snarled, making her chirp excitedly as she started to orgasm.

"BREED!" Sint cried loudly.

I grinned, thinking of Lyrei in the other tent, listening on.

"Mommy to your own little goblin horde," I snarled.

"Frelser!" I heard a shout.

I snarled, not wanting to be interrupted right now and increased my pace. Sint screeched, but her fingers only gripped tighter as I used her for my pleasure. I heard my name shouted once more, but I was at my end. Whatever it was, could wait as I drove myself to the base. Pressing my cock deep into my goblin, she heaved lungfuls of air as I filled her from within. Her whole body trembled as she writhed in my grip, but her body didn't light up. She kept a hold of herself, even as she throbbed around me in sheer bliss.

"Shit!"

I sighed and turned my head to see Pet staring at the two of us. "Something wrong?"

Pet paused, "Did you mean to get her pregnant?"

I nodded slowly, and Pet made a small noise. I rolled my eyes and gave her a look. "What?"

"Well, from what I can tell, she's going to have a large litter."

I let that gloss over me for a moment. All my wives but Hari were inhuman. Whatever words they wanted to use to describe the situation didn't bother me. For now, I caught Sint's eyes as she smiled.

"Good," she chirped. "Breed?"

"Is that a question?" I chuckled.

"Breed," she repeated.

"Fine," I chuckled and rolled over onto my back. Gul was suspiciously off to one side not looking at the two of us, while Pet looked concerned. "But you need to get off, so I can fill up my Pet. She needs the boost."

Sint frowned softly, "Not good."

***

I admired the group before me. One fetz, a man I hadn't met, an elf from Elfin Vakt, Colum's representative, who was standing aside, looking nervous. And a band or orcs. Each of them wore heavy armour and had assured Marala that they could ride a horse. There was a brief talk about not bringing them. But there was no justification with the carriage, and I couldn't leave that behind, without leaving Sint. And without Sint, I was likely to end up with a band of Drarskk, on top of the four I already had with me.

Sassarna, Tetsara, Tassa and Ashara were the main scouts for the trip. They worked in rotation. One scouting far ahead looking for trouble. Another closer in looking for a safe path for us to travel. It looked like Tassa was the one directly above, while Sassarna was currently resting on my shoulder. I was outside the carriage steering, while the forces continued moving. The orcs were both ahead and behind and we were rather confident that we would spot danger before it spotted us.

We had left the roads hours ago, and I had taken over driving as my wives and Gul remained inside the carriage and out of the sun.

"Thank you for bringing me along," The fetz nodded.

I gave him a look and smiled. "You're welcome. What should I call you?"

"Trenty, my King. And when I get home, I may have enough prestige to find a wife."

I smiled softly and gave a small nod. "Got one lined up?"

His face mottled, signifying a blush. I chuckled and let it slide. He didn't need to tell me, and I would not push, even if I was king.

"She said she'd wait for me," he nodded after a few moments. "Part of me hopes this goes well. But I would rather be at home with her."

"Wouldn't we all," I agreed as I steered the carriage around a large boulder. "Would give this all up in a heartbeat to go home and spend time with my wives."

Trenty shuffled uncomfortably, and I looked over. He squirmed, but steeled his nerve. "I beg your pardon, my King. But if you gave up now, it would be pretty bad for the rest of us."

I nodded. "You mean, with the slavery? The way you're treated by humans and elfs, you mean?"

"Yeah," Trenty sighed. "I'm sorry-"

"Don't apologise," I patted his shoulder. "You're right. I'm a king, I have a bigger responsibility than to my own interests."

"Thank you."

"Don't get me wrong. My wives will come first if push came to shove. But I get a kick out of helping people."

"What about eating people?" He flinched as soon as he said it, but I laughed.

"That in itself is... strange. Usually, I'm so mad, I barely remember much of it afterwards. I've eaten a few people, but I usually do it to send a message. Not because it's something I enjoy doing."

"You don't enjoy it?"

"Ha!" I burst. "No, Trenty. I very much enjoyed eating the people I have. Each of them were bastards who deserved the worst treatment I could think of. So biting chunks of flesh from their bones while they lived was just my way of showing them exactly how far they had fallen before they died."

Trenty nodded slowly. "You're a terrifying man, my King."

I shrugged. "Only to those who threaten my wives."

"Point taken," he chuckled.

We had been on the road for several days now. We passed by Hjem as we did. I saw the town off in the distance and sent a runner to let them know what was happening. They in turn, would send word to Eila, letting her know what my plan was. Even if she disapproved, it would be too late to stop me. I just hoped nothing terrible happened while I was away.

Should I come back, and something has happened to my loved ones, burning the continent is still a viable option. Burn it all, salt it all, destroy it all and sift through the ashes for the remains of those responsible, and burn it all again.

"Are those unicorns?"

I blinked and looked in the direction Trenty was. Sure enough, in the distance, I could make out the white horses. They were moving in the same direction as us, but they were a ways off. The herd looked as large as the one Mareridt came from, and I slapped the top of the carriage.

The door opened, and I spotted Mareridt leaning out. I pointed into the distance and she turned her head before beaming. She leaped from the moving vehicle, shifting into her nightmare form and let out a booming whinny. I grinned watching her kick up onto her rear legs and like a flock of birds, I watched the herd of unicorns change course to intercept.

"Give them my best!" I called as Mareridt kicked off the ground and started to run.

She was a magnificent creature, and I knew it from experience. Beautiful, proud and strong, but I knew she missed her family. The herd was always welcome, and I made sure to check in with a message from Hjem if they had been sighted. They stayed within the bounds of my lands after I made it clear that harming them was a death sentence.

I watched for a while, before turning my attention back to the route we were taking. There were several large boulders to navigate around. I could make it past the first two, but I had to cut too sharp a turn to miss a third and ended up steering right over it. I worried as one horse slipped on the edge, but they caught themselves and the rock passed beneath us without striking the axles. So I called it a win. At least until I heard a sharp-

"Ouch!"

There was a thump, and the carriage lurched, before I heard another yelp of pain. Pulling the reins, the carriage halted, and I leaped off to see what happened as Gul stepped out to join me. I waved for her to lower her guard though, as I recognised the familiar face now glaring at me from the grass. She had a scrape along her ribs, but she was clutching the end of her tail, where there was a painful-looking indentation.

"I was wondering how you found me," I sighed.

She hissed angrily and reared up on her tail. But I saw the moment the part with the mark on it touched the ground, she flinched. With a sigh, I stepped closer as she reared up to bite me. Gul saw me wave her off once again as I roughly grabbed the lamia around the waist. She squawked as I lifted her from the ground and dumped her to one side.

"Pet?!"

The carriage burst open as I examined the wound. There was something broken in there.

"Oh, wow, that is..."

"Pet, I need you to do some healing."

"Yes, Master."

I blinked, before shaking off her instructions. She ran over and squatted down to look, before her eyes started glowing. With Pet getting to work, I turned to the lamia, who shrunk back slightly.

With a sigh, I stood up and made my way over to her top half, before crouching down in front of her.

"What do I call you?"

"I'm not your wife!" She hissed.

I grunted, before grabbing her chin with one of my massive hands. Pulling her close, I kissed her, as she bit my lip. I felt the burn as her venom pushed through me. But other than the heat and a couple of twitches, I could ignore it. It was almost like the more she bit me, the less effect it took on me. And with the realisation, her bite, turned into a soft kiss. Only for her to realise and violently pull away.

"Hey!" Pet snapped.

This time, when I grabbed her, I growled, and she froze in place. "Don't move!"

"I'm not one of yours!" She snapped back.

"Then stop biting me!"

"Then die!" She snapped back.

I blinked, before she let out a sob. The woman was something else, for sure. And I pulled her top half into a hug. I was careful to leave her tail where it was, and I was happy for the moment as she clung to my side. Of all the creatures I had seen, she was the strangest. And I included Eterisk in that. Eterisk was odd, but she was odd because of what she was. Otherwise she was just a woman with an important job, her motivations were entirely explainable. The drarskk were also pretty simple in the grand scheme of things. Find a mate, and try to kill them. If you can't, you fuck.