The Trials of Talia Pt. 07

Her rescuers were none too gentle as they hustled her along the street. Talia didn't know whether she should be grateful for their intervention. They had saved her from a severe beating but to what end? Who was this Baron, and what did they mean when they said he'd paid for her? Had her mother arranged a noble client for her? But why were they leading her outside town?

Talia tried to ask but they ignored her questions, and their grip on each of her arm was too strong for Talia to attempt to get away from them. Once they reached the outskirts of the town, one of them picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, and the two of them started jogging away from the town.

They travelled for about half a candlemark before they slowed, the two men speaking to each other in a language Talia didn't understand. They moved off the dirt road, moving into the forest. When they had travelled only a short distance into the trees they stopped, the one carrying her dropped her on the ground so hard her breath was knocked out of her.

Before she could orient herself, the man lowered himself on top of her, raping her in such a casual manner it bordered on indifference. He did not take long to reach climax, pulling out and finishing on her thigh before stepping aside and allowing his companion a turn.

The second man flipped her onto her stomach before penetrating her slit. He used her head as leverage, pushing her face down into the dirt as he used her. Thankfully he also finished quickly, squirting his seed onto her firm buttocks, before grabbing her by the hair and pulling her back to her feet.

"Please." Talia begged. "Just tell me what is going on? Where are we going?" However the men ignored her pleas as she was again hoisted upon one of their shoulders.

Before long they slowed down, and Talia was led inside some structure. The little she could see from vantage left her confused, they appeared to be entering a building made of metal, but Talia had never seen such a thing before. They travelled down a metal hallway, and through several rooms before Talia was lowered, the scraps of her dress was removed and she was dumped unceremoniously into a large tub of cold water. She shrieked from the cold and was rewarded with a mouthful of cold water, so deep was the tub.

"What is going on here?" A feminine voice asked angrily.

"The girl was in a dirty alley, in the middle of fucking a group of men when we found her. She's covered in all sorts, including Shar knows how many men's seed. We can't take her to the Baron looking like that." One of the men answered.

"I was NOT fucking them!" Talia interjected, angrily. "They forced themselves on me. The same way you..."

As Talia tried to finish, the second man pushed her under the water and held her there. She vainly struggled against him, her lungs aching from lack of air until he pulled her up out of the water.

"This one's pretty filthy. She'll need a lot of cleaning before she's presentable." He said before dunking her under again.

"Enough!" The woman yelled, as Talia was lifted up again, spluttering for air. "I'll take things from here. Get out."

Whoever the woman was, she must outrank the men, Talia concluded, for they departed the room, glancing backwards and shooting Talia loaded looks. Talia realised that the men did not want her to mention their assault on her. Talia turned her attention to the woman, who turned out to be a diminutive halfling, who Talia judged to be in her 50's or 60's.

The woman tutted as she looked Talia over, lifting her head by the chin, and moving it side to side.

"Let me guess, they fucked you on the way here?"

Talia stayed silent, uncertain as yet whether this woman was enough of an ally to risk making an enemy of the two men. The woman gave her a significant look before carrying on talking.

"Fine, don't tell me. At least let me know if they hurt you at all? Any bruises? Internal bleeding."

"No" Talia spoke up quietly. "Not from them anyway. They weren't lying about the men when they found me though. I think I might have a few bruises from them."

"Right, well let's get you clean and dry and I'll give you an ointment. It's best for you to look your best when you meet the Baron."

The halfling handed Talia soap and a sponge and watched until she started to clean herself.

"Please, will you tell me what is going on? Who is the Baron? Why have I been brought here?"

The halfling sighed. "Why do they always leave this up to me to explain? The Baron is your new owner. For now at least. I don't know your exact circumstances, but I assume you were in debt? Or your father or husband was? You'll work until you pay it off."

"My mother." Talia's head spun. She knew Mia had been concerned but they'd been making payments. She was sure it was some kind of mistake.

Satisfied that Talia was clean, the halfling ordered her out of the water and gave her a fluffy towel to dry herself on. Talia had never felt such a soft material before, and was very hesitant to use it for merely drying herself.

"Now, I believe we only have a few of you this trip, and I'm assuming that you must be the prettiest if the men risked the Baron's anger by taking you first. But the Baron doesn't always pick the prettiest girl, he values obedience and the ability to be silent. So when you meet him, take my advice and keep your head down, speak only when spoken to, and above all remain docile and obedient."

"Do I want to be picked by him?" Talia inquired, remembering her previous unpleasant experience with a nobleman"

"Well unless you think you'll enjoy being the plaything for the rest of the men and several of the women. It'll take us several days to reach where we're going, and there's not much to do. Fucking the newcomers is one perk that keeps the crew from getting too rowdy."

As she spoke, the woman rubbed Talia with a thick ointment, that warmed her skin, and she felt her bruises heal.

"Thank you! That feels so much better. Oh, I haven't even asked your name, and you've been so kind to me!"

"Maewyn. No need to thank me. Now come along, I daresay we'll be departing shortly. No, don't worry about clothes, we'll sort you out when we're there.

Talia followed Maewyn down the strange metal hallways. Where were they? Maewyn had mentioned crew, but Talia had never heard of a metal ship before, besides they were leagues away from the coast. Her unspoken question was answered when she heard a strange rumbling sound, and the ground beneath started to tremble. Maewyn paid it no mind, continuing to lead the way.

"We're in an airship!" Talia exclaimed. She'd heard that such wonders existed, though she had no idea what magic enabled them to be able to fly, and had never expected to ever see one. Why the cost of an airship was likely enough to buy her whole town. This thought worried her - if the Baron had enough money to own an airship, why was he going to such lengths for her mother's debt, which surely was barely anything compared to his wealth?

Maewyn reached a door and opened it, gesturing Talia inside. Stepping in and looking around, Talia saw there were four other naked people in the room. Two women and one man were on their knees, their heads bowed while a third woman was gagged and hogtied, lying on her side. None of the naked people looked up when they entered. Two large, muscular guards stood on either side of the room, one a half orc male, the other a human female.

Talia only got a quick look at her fellow captives before she was forced onto her knees next to them by the half orc. The man and one of the women were pale blondes, and Talia thought there was as slight family resemblance between them. The second woman had caramel skin with the most beautiful black waves of hair falling to her waist. The bound woman looked like she had orcish ancestry, she was solid with a slight grey tinge to her skin, and a bottom jaw that jutted slightly forward.

Maewyn spoke up. "Let's make a few things clear. You are all now slaves. You will obey without hesitation everyone else aboard this ship. There is no escape, not unless you can grow wings and fly. Your behaviour over the next few days will determine where you are placed for the foreseeable future. I know, some of you are thinking that being a slave is a fate worse than death. It isn't. Obey, work hard and you will find your future can be pleasant. There are places you could be sold where a slave can do very well for themselves. Unbiddable slaves will be beaten until they have learnt to obey. Those that never learn, well the lucky ones get sold to the mines, to labour away from the sun for the few years before they die a miserable death. The unlucky ones, they get sold to the drow. You get me?"

Maewyn punctuated her speech by kicking the bound woman in the ribs. Talia was taken aback by what seemed like such a shift in the halfling's demeanor. She had been so kind to Talia before. And what did she mean, they were slaves? Slavery was illegal in the Silver Marches.

This thought was echoed out loud by the caramel skinned woman. "Slavery is illegal. You'll be caught. My family will send guards for me."

Maewyn laughed. "Your family sold you. All of you. You were the price they paid so they could keep on living their everyday lives. No one is going to rescue you, no one cares."

Her tirade was interrupted by the door opening. Talia kept her head facing to the floor, but lifted her eyes slightly to try and see the newcomer. All she could see at first was legs clad in expensive silk trousers, shiny black leather boots, and a black cloak. Following this newcomer was a set of white, scaly paws.

In shock Talia lifted her head to star at the small white dragon padding behind the man in black. Small for a dragon, but this creature was easily the side of a small pony, or a very large mastiff. It's reptilian eyes seemed to gleam with malevolence.

One of the guards grabbed her head from behind, forcing it back down towards the floor. "Eyes down slave."

The man in black stood in front of the prisoners before assessing them each in turn. When he reached Talia he placed a delicate hand underneath her chin, tilting her head upwards. He was a pale man, with long white hair, and delicate features. Under different circumstances Talia might have thought him harmless. So different from the roughness of the rest of the kidnappers, he seemed innocent, gentle even. This then, must be the Baron that Maewyn spoke of.

The Baron's gaze was inscrutable as left Talia and moved to stand in front of the woman with caramel skin who had spoken out earlier. He spoke for the first time, his voice sounding clipped and distinguished. "Please stand, turn around."

The woman stood, and then carefully, deliberately, spat in his face.

The room exploded into action. The two guards sprang to restrain the woman, and Maewyn stopped between her and the Baron. To see the diminutive halfling standing protectively in front of the Baron who towered over her was almost comical. The Baron remained impassive, reaching into his vest pocket to remove a silk square which he carefully used to wipe his face of the spittle.

The woman was forced onto all fours by the guards, and the female guard took a short crop from where it hang from her belt. She looked to Maewyn, who nodded at her, and then the guard pulled back her arm before striking her viciously on her behind.

The woman let out a yell, and Talia found herself unable to look away from the scene, and the guard struck again. The woman's cheeks wobbled under the blow, and Talia could see two red lines appearing on her skin. Two more blows in quick succession left two more lines, one across the top of her thighs, the other crossing the earlier blows on her buttocks.

The woman was sobbing from the brutal blows, but this didn't stop the guard from continuing to rain blows down upon her. Her fellow captives seemed just as horrified by this scene, the blonde girl retreating to her brother's side.

Maewyn stepped up and halted the blows with a movement of her hand. She stood over the sobbing woman.

"You will learn your place, or we'll strip every inch of skin from you and feed you to the dragon. Do you understand?"

The sobbing woman nodded, and Maewyn smirked before crossing her arms in front of her.

"I think you need to prove that. Look what you've done to Ralfe here. Watching you take a beating has given him a very hard cock. Given you were the one that caused it, It's only fair that you see to it for him. Don't you agree?"

The half orc guard dropped his breeches, revealing his massive appendage, large and covered with bumps and protrusions. The woman on the ground looked at the thing in horror as Maewyn continued to speak.

"I think Ralfe would very much enjoy shoving that into your tight little asshole. You wouldn't enjoy it nearly as much I suspect!. His dick has been known to split women open. Last woman who took him in her ass told me that she wasn't able to shit properly for a month. And she was a professional whore who'd had more men in her ass than you've had hot dinners. How do you think your bumhole is going to cope?"

The woman sobbed harder, shaking her head.

"No, you don't want his meat in your ass? Then you better beg. Beg hard. Beg him to allow you to suck him. Tell him what a good cocksucker you'll be."

"Please." The woman squeaked out through her cries. "Please let me.. Let me suck you."

"You can beg better than that." Maewyn taunted.

"Please let me take you in my mouth. Let me suck and lick your cock. Your magnificent cock. Let me taste it, unleash your load in my mouth, please. I'll do anything you want, just leave not my ass. Please. Let me be your mouth slut."

Ralfe smirked and grabbed her by her dark hair, maneuvering her to his groin where he forced his cock into her open mouth. The woman could barely open her mouth wide enough to fit it, and she choked and spluttered as he hammered into her mouth. Her face turned red as she struggled to gasp quick breaths in between his thrusts. His pounding sped up, reaching a frantic pace before he released jets of slightly greenish cream all over her face, covering her eyes, nose, cheeks and mouth.

A sharp tap on her shoulder drew Talia's attention away from the sight in front of her. She looked up to see the Baron looming over her.

"I assume you know how to behave. Follow me."

Without waiting for a reply, he spun around, his cloak billowing, and gracefully walked away, his dragon following close on his heels.