Chapter 4 – End of Mercenary

 

— Madness.

Entering the room, I splashed out a lot of emotion along the way throwing a tangle of branches in the direction of the bed. Let him lie there, now I will take care of more pressing concerns.

— The mirror! Here it will be very handy!

Near the entrance to the room, a small mirror hung. Well, how small, when compared with the mirror in the library, it was tiny, but in fact, it was quite enough for me to appreciate my new body.

— Woman, yeah...

The dryad that looked at me from the mirror was pretty beautiful, although not, even very beautiful. Rough male outlines were replaced by smooth lines and rounded shapes, facial features were greatly softened: chubby lips, small nose, smooth lines of cheekbones. From the former, I remained only the color of the eyes, and that look looked different. But the skin, as it turned out, has changed not so much externally as by touch, becoming much softer and velvety. Bark, the element of appearance, most directly indicating belonging, covered the body in such an intricate way that leaving not covered most of the intimate places, still left room for imagination.

— What is so interesting about your reflection? — Aris's voice unexpectedly brought me back to the promised land, tearing me out of the clouds of thought.

— Nothing special, just trying to get comfortable in a new body, or maybe it's still an obsession.

— You're... strange.

— Strange, me?

— I confirm, at your disposal all the abilities of dendroids...

— Yes, yes. You've already said that I'm free to change my gender and things like that. If everything was so simple, I would not have to explore the ancient libraries and arrange an orgy with fairies.

— Orgy with fairies?

— Oh, forget it. — With a sense of humor, Aris has obvious problems, but let's return to the essence.

By the way, I nevertheless made some progress in controlling all this wisdom of the forest people. And here it is not so much the control of defensively attacking forms, such as oak bark or attacking branches, but how the interaction occurs.

All magicians, first of all, and including myself, though not a magician, received basic training in controlling emotions. Although the term closer to me is suppression. The bottom line is that to manage the streams of manna you need full control over yourself, otherwise there is a risk of making a mistake and self-harm will be excessively great. The consequences can be different, from a simple dummy spell to a mage's self-ignition.

Why did I say that? Everything is simple, the ability of dendroids directly depends on emotions and their intensity. I mean, exactly the opposite of what I was taught. Wonderful! But at least I now know in which direction to move on.

— Let's see... — To begin with, I'll try to remove the branches from the whole body, and the old, kind visualization will help me here. Сlose my eyes and... — Imagine how a pleasant breeze caresses the skin. — It seems to me, or is this already a perversion? Ah, hell with him. Visualization, visualization.

Sensing a strange impulse running all over my body, I immediately opened my eyes, seeing in reflection the result of my diligent mental activity. Let's just say, I managed to remove the branches that envelop my body, and not only them.

Well, hello, human form. No bark, natural skin and hair color, and all feminine attributes on display. And it seems without the bark covering them, boobs have added in size. And how I managed to exchange a battle-hardened body for the fruit of longed-for fantasies.

— Apache! — Damn, without the bark it became somehow cool.

And what do you think, as soon as I thought about it, my body immediately decided to pretend to be a dryad again. Not so fast! It was worth imagining yourself in the bathroom, and the bodily greenery immediately disappeared without a trace. That's better.

— Apache! — Although throwing something on yourself is still worth it. — The only question is?

Having made a small tour around all the sights of the room, I, unfortunately, did not find anything. At least nothing that could be called clothing. A couple of small scraps of cloth and a dirty boot in the closet. Why, since I arrived in this city, everything has been going on according to the worst-case scenario and nothing else.

— I have to go to Flori. — I sighed, rubbing my whiskey.

I can only hope that seeing me like this, lustful thoughts will not cover her and she will not lose control of herself. Because, all the way from the library, she behaved very quietly, which once again is only alarming. Having walked through the corridors of the mansion, I nevertheless received the honor of seeing the door I needed.

— Third, from the end of the corridor, everything seems to be right. — And not having time to play his creaking melody, the door opened enough so that I could be convinced of this.

The picture that opened up to me was a little unusual, although not so, I could not put the puzzle together. Flori lay on her bed and sniffed softly. Was she so tired that she fell asleep in broad daylight? Or was there something else. Looking around the room, I finally realized what was wrong. Trying not to make too much noise, I carefully closed the door behind me and headed back to my room.

— Aris, can dendroids see in the dark?

— Confirm, but I can't tell in more detail.

— I remember you can use it, but you don't know the principle of action. In this case, while we are going back, tell me about the "Branch of Knowledge", or rather, how to use it.

— There are two ways. The first is to absorb it, which in the end will allow you to use all the possibilities at the level of instincts.

— I suppose this is the easiest way to train young dryads?

— I confirm. However, with this method, the information component will be lost. The second method works exactly the opposite.

— That is, in simple words. I can either quickly learn to control my body, but I don't recognize anything or find out everything that interests me, but at the same time, I have to learn to control the body myself. So?

— I confirm.

— I would not say that I have much time, but the second method is more practical, I will use it. — Returning to the room, I headed to the bed, where I left the branch, and Aris, in turn, began to lead me up to date.

— If you draw along any of the sprouts, while directing a little energy into it, then it should respond, changing its shape and releasing the aroma.

Aroma? Tactile perception and smell, curious. Without wasting a minute, my fingers danced along with the thin sprouts, stroking each of them and enveloping manna with thin threads. The branch, in response to my actions, as Aris said, began to emit various flavors. Their palette was so diverse that the immensity of the world of smells did not fit in the head, expanding the boundaries of the visible. Before, it never occurred to me that there could be so many of them. However, this was not the most interesting. Every smell, every vibration and deformation on the sprouts, I understood all this as an open book mm ... with pictures. Amazing!

— Even before we settled in the territory of "Axis Manri", the genes of our race already had all the necessary knowledge for communication and life. This can be compared to human instincts. — Aris kindly explained to me.

Be that as it may, the process of reading the branch turned out to be surprisingly simple. So, let's see what we have here? So. Model of life. Social hierarchy. And I always thought that even walking trees do not have such a madhouse as a society. Apparently, they became infected when they arrived in this world. Okay, let's move on.

Age and distinguishing features. They are divided into three categories: child, adult and old. The first and last stage is expressed by an increased number of tree attributes. Well, I already knew that only adults more or less resemble Human. What else is there? Reproduction.

Here it is necessary to stop in more detail. Refusing sex is not part of my plans, I'm not some kind of bald pious priest and the like in order to deprive myself of such a pleasant pastime. Therefore, I would not want anyone to become pregnant during my further trip, and especially this concerns me, as long as I am in this guise. Given that I do not know how the seed affected the innate sterility of weavers.

Male dendroids can impregnate only women of their race. This is good news, but what about women? All sperm that enters the body passes through a genetic filter. What kind of filter? Genetic filter - the ability to analyze the genetic code of a seed and filter out selected attributes. The past seed is sent to a special repository from which a woman can use it and go through the fertilization process at will. Conveniently, you will not say anything.

However, it is now very clear why there are so many dryads and how they use other races for evolution. To go from living trees to fully developed humanoids, in such a short line... the physiology of dendroids is amazing. Well, I think there shouldn't be any problems with pregnancy, though...

— Aris, you can check that I do not inadvertently fly, or rather did not become pregnant.

— I confirm.

— Huh, from an excellent, figured it out.

Next, we have a pilgrimage. Not interested. Where in this all goes about the control and change of the body. Ah, there it is. I see. So my guesses about emotions turned out to be true, the whole snag is only that I need more practice. Young learn to control emotions and transformation as they grow older, there are no other ways.

— Sucks. — Looking down at my chest swaying in a rhythm of breathing and a heavy sigh, by chance accidentally escaped my lips.

Turning over the branch, if I may say so, I was looking for at least some more weighty information that could be useful. Ration, interaction with nature... This branch can be proudly called: "A Guide to the World of Trees", or something like that. There was plenty of information here, both useful and not very. I spent a lot of time, at least it seemed to me, reviewing more and more new information until I came across something interesting — "Seed of Life". After reading so many things, I already managed to forget about it.

— What the hell is this? — With each new word, my surprise only grew. "If you read this, then you have become the one on whose shoulders great power has lain, which is both the key to the end of everything and the ray of a new beginning. But the choice, whether to go this route or not, remains only for you. Will you become a hero, or will you turn into old clothes, but remember only one little advice".

— And it's all? What advice? What does that even mean? And where, devil take you, information about the "Seed of Life"? — Another heavy sigh escaped my lips. — I need a vacation from all this.

— Then maybe you should sleep?

From the words of Aris, my eyes opened wide immediately. But it's for sure, sleeping, why I didn't even think of it myself. Really the wooden body so unsettled me that such a simple thought did not even think to sneak into my head. Sleep, this is an ideal way to reload the brain. How is it they say? We should sleep on it. So I'll deal with all this madhouse tomorrow. Enough I am going to sleep!

***

I had a strange dream. As if all the fairies we met in the ancient library went through the mirror and filled the entire mansion. Noise and disorder immediately enveloped everything around. That dream is the same. It's good that I closed the mirror behind me... Wait, did I close it for sure? No matter how I try, but I can't remember how Flori and I returned to the mansion. It's strange somehow all this.

— Softly. So big, but at the same time so elastic. — A high, on the verge of squeaking voice that sounded somewhere very close, completely interrupted my dream, and even these strange sensations in my chest only pushed me to open my eyes and look at the bright, morning world.

The bright light that hurt my eyes immediately faded into the background when I saw the culprit of strange sensations in my chest. A fairy, a petty mischievous girl, climbing between my breasts, arranged a small orgy, purring like a contented cat, the fairy pressing her body against one breast or another and rubbing against them with excitement.

— I'm not disturbing? — Without taking my eyes off the intruder, I asked.

— No, no, everything is wonderful. — Here is an impudent flea, completely lost fear.

— But you bother me, maybe enough to fumble my chest.

Amusing herself, the fairy plunged into the process so much that she did not immediately notice a change in the situation, a second later, the fairy nevertheless realized that the owner of the body, on which she had so carelessly rejoiced, had woken up, and was not delighted with her presence. Unfastening herself from her chest, the fairy neatly turned her whole body and looked at me guiltily.

— Oops, you've already woken up.

— Yes. — I muttered displeasedly. — And maybe you, after all, leave my chest alone.

— But... — Turning her head from side to side, the fairy could not stop thinking about the boobs she liked, but another look at my already rather angry face immediately cooled her ardor. — I get it!

A bright light shone right between my breasts and, as expected, the sphere with the fairy immediately flew away from me. From and it's now fine to drive off the slumber and you can get up, however, it is worth noting that only the fairies should have moved away from me, as morning coolness ran across my chest. However, this reminded me that I didn't find any clothes yesterday, because unlike the dryad, the human body is much more sensitive to the surrounding climate.

— So, how did you get here, little ...

— My name is Ines. — The fairy squeaked fun. — Girl with huge boobs, what's your name? — Girl with huge boobs? Petite pervert, why are you so fixated on them.

— Novan. — Although my real name is not very suitable for the female body, I will need to think about it at my leisure. — You still have not answered my question.

— So the passage is open, we are all here now.

— All? — I have a bad feeling.

— Yes! Mila, Nera, Ira, Nel and many, many others, all can not be counted.

Damn it, then I really forgot to close the mirror, and now these dirty tricks have filled the house. You can't imagine anything worse. Okay, now is not the time to cool off, I need to quickly find Flori and decide what to do about it.

— Hey, where are you going? — Ines called to me when I was already halfway to the exit of the room.

— If you are going to follow me, then be a good fairy and do not interfere. — I said, leaving the room.

On the way to the main hall, I met several more fairies who studied with interest the paintings, vases, and everything that could be found in the corridors of this ancient mansion. They swept me half a meter, they did not even pay attention. It's even good, they won't distract me, the miracle that got stuck behind me is enough for me.

As soon as I got into the main hall, I realized that I would obviously have to get rid of all this invasion myself because the picture I saw did not please me. Flori, in the form of a succubus, rushed around the house and tried unsuccessfully to do something with the fairies, either to catch them, or the gods knew what else. One thing was clear, fairies with her had fun to the fullest.

— Ines, can you somehow calm them down?

— It's impossible. After so many years of imprisonment in that dusty library, calm them down with the raging shelter beyond the bounds of the possible.

— I see.

It turns out that now they are in such a state that they will not listen to anyone, not even their own. And then what to do? Maybe you should threaten them with imprisonment? Although no, I doubt that they will believe me because there is now an open area and they can easily leave the house. But scaring them would be the perfect solution. Scare... Exactly!

— Aris, I need your help.

— I'm listening.

— I want to release the energy of the seed, how much can I use without harming myself?

— For something specific, or in the form of an aura?

— In the form of an aura.

If I remember correctly, Magben used something similar to instill terror in enemies. Being a weaver, I can't use such a technique, because I don't have manna, and the stocks in equipment are very limited. Another thing now, when I have a practically endless source of energy near me. At least it's worth a try.

— The release of the aura poses no threat to life, but I can still follow the process and quickly interrupt you if something goes wrong.

— Well, I rely on you.

So let's think about it. In theory, the aura is an ejection of manna evenly throughout the body, in the process of betraying the necessary properties to it, changing the pattern of the manna flow. In this case, it will be enough for me to simply release enough of it. Well, even though I am used to concentrating it in parts of the body, it will not be amiss to learn something new.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and strained my whole body, presenting a picture from childhood, which immediately ignited a flame of anger in me. The body instantly reacted, starting to emit energy, flowing like a solar flare, swift and destroying everything. Such power inspired, suggesting the idea of unlimited power. Throwing strange thoughts away, I opened my eyes and looked around. Flori was on her knees as if something was pressing on her, and the fairies, all to one, were flat on the floor, uttering a barely audible plaintive squeak.

One type of event was enough for me to remember the moment when I touched the black sphere and felt the power of Chaos on me. Judging by the picture that I could see, exactly the same thing happened to everyone around me now. I released so much manna from my body that it lay down like an extra layer of gravity. In a panic, I tried to do something to stop emitting manna and notice that if it weren't for Aris, I would have bothered for a long time b. This is what it means the first time, controlling the aura was not so simple, not to mention the fact that I overdid it a bit.

— What was it? — Rising to her feet, muttered Flori.

— Sorry, Flori, I didn't calculate the force a bit. Are you alright?

— Yes, I'm fine, but... Who are you?

— Have I really changed so much?

— Novan? Are you human again?

— Yes, that's just not quite the same as I would like. — I don't understand why Flori looked at me so carefully, I didn't seem to have changed much, well, just bark disappeared and my skin color changed. She is strange. — By the way, you don't have anything to wear from your clothes, otherwise walking around the house naked is not very comfortable.

— Okay. — Judging by her face, she agreed on the machine. Apparently, the aura greatly applied it. — That's just, fairies...

— Do not worry about that. — I interrupted the succubus with my raised hand. — Ines takes care of everything. — Speaking of her, where is this little fucking thing. — Ines?

— Hee am I. — Hee? — Nest time... — Fairy something spat on the floor. — warn when you decide to use such a powerful aura.

— Sorry, sorry. I myself did not expect such an effect. However, it seems to me that now the rest of the fairies will obey you?

— After what you did. You still ask.

— Well, then collect them all in this room, I will have a little conversation for all of you. — Ines answered, only nodded. — Apache... Let's go already Flori, otherwise, I'll catch a cold at this pace.

***

The fairies reacted quite calmly to my return to the main hall, I don't know what Ines did to them, but their faces didn't have any transcendent playfulness escaping from years of imprisonment, or deep fear after the blow of an overwhelming aura.

— We are ready to listen. — Ines said only when she saw me.

— Good. Flori, you also listen carefully, because I will need you to tell everything that will happen here Ter.

— That is unnecessary! — A familiar voice sounded from the side of the entrance, which, honestly, now I wanted to hear the least. — What is going on here and why do you look like that, Novan?

— How do you...

— Answer my question! — She seems not in the mood.

— In short, the mansion had a secret room where all these fairies were locked and also the key to my condition.

— I do not care for it all! What terrifying energy was coming from here?

— Energy? — Stop, this can be a problem. — Ter, where were you when you felt her?

— Felt? That is, to say the least. I was nearly knocked out of the saddle when I left the city.

Left the city? So, to the distance from the mansion to the city, also need to add the size of the settlement itself. Shit, this is a huge distance, and it can be even greater, given that I do not know how far the aura has gone, breaking Soalendor.

— Novan! — I understand your concern Ter, a huge amount of energy will surely attract strong monsters, and in the worst cases, even demons.

— I have six hours maximum to leave this city.

— You're not going anywhere in this state.

— On the contrary, Ter, precisely because of this condition, I have to go immediately, and besides, it makes no sense for me to linger here anymore. — The vampire's face softened a little when she realized that I had an action plan again.

— And where are you going?

Good question, I would like to know it myself. In fact, I need to go to the tree, but for a start, it would not hurt to solve the riddle from the branch that I received yesterday. And for this, I gathered here all this crowd.

— Now I know it. — Not understanding a single word of mine, Ter only silently watched me. — Fairies, I need...

My voice suddenly broke when I realized that I just wanted to say. A little advice? Here it is! "Will you become a hero, or will you return to your old clothes, but remember only one little advice." I already received it a long time ago, this advice is the words of fairies, and now it's clear why it is small.

— Fairies, even though you made a mess here, I don't intend to lock you up again in the pocket world, unless you promise me that you will no longer arrange for routs in this mansion or anywhere. — In response, the fairies nodded one by one, creating an illusory wave. From the outside, it looked very funny. — And one more thing. I am asked that after such a long conclusion, you would like to unwind a bit and see the world, am I right?

— This is true. — Ines answered that she shamelessly sat on my shoulder.

— So, I need you in the process of your wanderings to collect for me all the information on the "Hero with a Thousand Faces" that you told me about. — The fairies began to whisper, and after a few seconds, one of the fairies flew out of the crowd in my direction.

 

— Man, you freed us from imprisonment, and besides, you allowed us to fulfill the assignment entrusted to us, so we will help you.

— Yes, yes, help! — The others answered with one voice.

— In this case, everyone is free. — Following my words, all fairies happily revived and little by little began to wonder who and where. — Flori, Ter, let's go to the office, now I can tell you what I had in mind.

***

— This is madness! — Ter cried out angrily. — Go straight to the main fault in the abyss? No matter how strong you now possess, you will not be able to cope with the hordes of demons that are there.

— I'm not going to, you apparently listened poorly to me, for this, I need to find out everything about this "Hero".

 

— Anyway, I won't let you do this!

— And what will you do? Lock me up here? You yourself know that I can no longer be here.

— Grr. — Ter was angry but still realized that there was no other way. — But to help in your crazy venture, I do not intend to.

— I don't ask you about it, now it's only my business and no one else's.

— Ter, Nov... — Flori wanted to somehow stop all this but did not know how.

— So, are you going to do everything yourself? — The voice of Ter has become a little quieter, but still cutting sound.

— Yes, you only have to tell the guild about my death.

— What? — Surprised by Flori.

— Stop, do they really believe that one of the strongest mercenaries has died, even if I write them a letter on behalf of the city.

— It is unlikely, therefore, that I need you to arrange my funeral here in Soalendor, and as additional evidence for the guild, send them my armor. They are just in such a deplorable state that they will immediately convince the council of my demise.

— But how are you, without armor...

— I don't need them anymore. Now I have enough manna at my disposal, and I will fight only in extreme necessity.

— I understood, today I'll arrange everything.

On this, our conversation was over. I understand what Ter is like right now, but excuse me, it was necessary. Without another word, I left the room.

***

As Ter promised, today everything was ready for my funeral. A lot of people gathered. I really didn't think that the death of an ordinary mercenary would cause such a stir, although one should not exclude the fact that Ter had tried to make everything look more believable.

— And how do you like your own funeral? — With a tight smile, Flori came up to me.

— It looks strange, especially given the crowd. Ter wasn't worth it, try so hard.

— She did nothing.

— How is that?

— When everyone found out that one of the strongest people in the empire was dead, they were really sad. People like you are for ordinary people a symbol of hope and confidence that a new day will come for them. Especially in the present, when there are more and more monsters and demons.

— I don't understand, because there are still witchers and alchemists, who just do this.

— True, but people need heroes.

— Heroes mean... How's Ter?

— Not very good. You should talk to her before you hit the road.

— I think it's not worth it, it will only get worse. — The last time I looked around the people gathered at the cemetery, I headed towards the western exit from the city, where I was soon to depart for a caravan in the capital. — Goodbye Flori. — Without answering anything, she only looked at me in the back, receding farther and farther.

***

On the outskirts of the city it turned out to be quite quiet, the visible guilt of such a blissful calm was a procession in honor of my death. But it's a sin for me to complain, the fewer people who see me, the better, because I'm not burning with special desires to attract too much attention. I did not have to search for my fellow travelers for a long time. The parking lot for caravans and single carts was only a few minutes walk from the city gates and, except for the carts I needed, the place was simply empty, which was very successful for me.

The wagon, by the way, turned out to be not so many, only four pieces, each with its driver and a couple of thugs hired for protection. By the way, the caravan was not quite ordinary for me, the carts, if you could still call them that, were mostly piled from wood that was not familiar to me. In some places carved elements were visible, ship windows were on the windows and all this stuff was reinforced with relit inserts. It's decent to process such metal, as far as I know, only dwarves, and even this sophisticated suspension, could. Oh well, to hell with her. But I did not have time to look away, as I noticed another interesting fact, the wagons did not seem to be packed to the brim with gold, or other valuables, and in the harness, in place of the usual horses bouzons flaunted, not hasty, but very hardy animals, and despite their bulky appearance if necessary, they can develop a low speed. From which we can conclude that the guys were clearly not preparing for a walk, but with the expectation of unforeseen complications, which were just weirdness. Local merchants do not go in large caravans, so there is little chance of becoming a target for robbers. So the reason for caution was in another and this leads to gloomy thoughts...

— What are you sniffing here? — Behind me came a very low and coarse voice, and after it, the point of the blade rested on my back.

— At the request of the mistress of the city, a caravan should be waiting for me here.

— That's it. So it means that you are that same brat that will get confused under our feet. — The touch of cold steel disappeared, and now it was possible to at least look at this mercenary and to hit him in the face, I still have time.

Before I stood one of the inhabitants of the mountain people, a typical dwarf like that. A gray-haired, neat beard and a tired squint of a man who has seen a lot in life. An obvious veteran of numerous wars.

— What are you staring at, blow into the last wagon, we are just waiting for you?

The dwarf did not dignify me anymore and looked towards the first cart, passing out new orders to every person he met on the way.

— The master of the caravan means ...

— Hey girl, get in soon! — The driver called out to me.

— Already going. — There will be a fun little trip.

As soon as I got into the cart, the caravan started off, and I just flopped face down on the bags of goods, and the gods know what else is there. Brushing off, I decided to search for a comfortable place, because the road was not closed, the path to the capital would take at least two days, of course, if we rode at least on carts with magic engines, we would have managed half a day. But I don't have to choose and I can only take a horizontal position and wait for the first stop, which, judging by the conversations of the drivers, should be closer to midnight in the forest.

***

The tricky suspension showed itself, quite adequately smoothing out the bumps in the road, and the rhythmic staggering of the wagon didn't sound like a dream, or I was just bored and ended up dozing off. Never mind. The sun had long hidden behind the horizon when my sandman was shamelessly interrupted and the reason was my implacably roaring stomach. Devil, how I want to eat! If think about it, how long did I eat nothing? Two days at least? Although, why do I want to eat again? After turning into a walking tree, hunger should no longer bother me. It turns out that turning back into a human has returned all this parade of troubles? I don't know whether to rejoice at it or not. But be that as it may, I doubt that I can now chew something, which means I could only sleep, sleep and sleep.

No, it doesn't work out! I opened my eyes and stared through a small window at the night sky. Outwardly, of course, it did not resemble a familiar sky at all, but rather a cauldron of muddy blue-gray stew overturned over a forest, with a pale moon sometimes popping up among the clouds. Again, I think about food, you need to switch thoughts. Moon... The pale mistress of heaven. When I lay calmly and looked at you? As a child? Yes... At that time, I was still running away from Magben to take a break from exhausting training, which an ordinary person from the outside would take for a new type of torture. As I recall, already goosebumps run, but still, then it was fun. I don't know why, but now everything is different, either because of age or because then every day was a challenge for me. Hmm... A challenge? If you think so, then most likely one of the reasons why I undertook to help Aris was a challenge, something new.

— "Brrrr." — Well here again. Let me try to think of something else, but my stomach still insists on its own. — " Brrrr."  — How much... Stop! It was not me, and certainly not a charioter, everything that happens outside the cart can be heard quite awfully, but her... The next roar of a starving body made itself felt. However, this time it was much quieter, but everything was clear enough so that I could determine its source.

Unambiguously, the sound came from under the cloak, which I used as a shelter from drafts, and it would be better if the guesses about the identity of the non-traveled guest turned out to be erroneous. Slowly lifting the cloak, I saw the conqueror of soft hills, breathing sleepless out like a light. The intruder warmed up very well on me, like on a stove, at the same time using his chest as a pillow.

— Again? — With a hint of annoyance, I said. The fairy, tossing and turning in a hungry dream, was squeaking something under her breath.

— Eat... I want to eat... Oh, bun! Aah...

The indistinct squeak of the fairies, which it was still difficult to make out with difficulty, was increasingly alarming. Ines, continuing to mutter something, clung to her chest with a greedy expression on her face. And then it dawned on me.

— No, no... don't think about it! — A restless exclamation swept over the cart.

— "Bite."

— Aw! — Enraged by such impudence, I immediately threw off the cloak and grabbed the culprit of the incident.

— What? Where's my bun? — A half-asleep fairy squeaked.

— What a bun, I'll strangle you now by chance, why are you here? — I muttered in one breath.

— Ahh... — Fairy slowly reached out, driving off a nap. — Ah! Novik. "Brrr."— Growled Ines's tummy. — Is there anything to chew on? — Shameless creature, but I thought that I got out of the problem away.

— Questions here should be asking me, what you forgot here?

— Me? Em... — I activated and the second hand barely restrained so as not to strangle a little dirty trick. — Okay, okay, I'll tell you, but do not boil!

— Oh... — A heavy sigh escaped from my lips and afterwards, the body somehow plopped down to the fifth point. The fairy quickly burst out of the weakened vise, clearly not wanting to feel the full weight of my anger on her skin anymore.

— Well Ines, I'm listening.

— Since you sent all the fairies to collect information for you and even the little things, and the task is clearly not of my level, I decided to accompany you, as an experienced assistant, so that Novik would not have to be distracted by trifles.

— Novik? — Gritting my teeth, I thought that I nevertheless for nothing so easily released this misunderstanding.

— Is Nov better? — The fairy hastily tried to come up with something so as not to add more oil to the fire of my discontent.

— And I like Novik more. — Aris, nobody asked you.

— Let it be Nov, but back to the assistant in your face. You just decided to have fun at someone else's expense, you noticed a magnet for trouble in me, didn't you?

— Um... nothing from you can hide, I didn't expect anything from the one who harnessed the power of nature.

— Enough empty flattery, as I understand it, a task of higher complexity will get rid of you.

— Why get rid of me? I will be very useful to you on your journey.

— Something I believe in it with difficulty. Well, okay, the main thing is just do not interfere with me and do not show yourself to everyone in a row, is that clear?

— Of course. — Devil, why do I need all this?

— I will sleep, we will continue the conversation later.

— May I ask a question?

— Which one?

— Do you have something to chew?

— By the way, about this, do fairies need food? It seemed to me that you exist due to mana. — I asked thoughtfully.

— That is true, but in places with a low concentration of manna, we have to replenish our strength with alternative sources, besides, who will refuse sweets. — The mere mention of the latest from Ines immediately lit up his eyes and drool flowed.

— Break off. — A dry response followed.

— Well here. — Dissatisfiedly wiping drool drove the fairy.

— And now to sleep.

***

A gloomy light breaking through the thick veil of clouds made me open my eyes again. Because of everything that happened, I nevertheless, imperceptibly for myself, but slept a little. Although it would be better if I did not fall asleep, because nasty fatigue also added to hunger. I definitely need to eat something, or at least have a drink. Oh yes, a hot drink now would be very helpful, especially in such cloudy weather as it is now. And look, it's still raining, and then you'll have to huddle a hungry man in a cold wagon under the drum roll of drops directed to the ground... So, what is actually happening?

Only now it dawned on me that the caravan was standing still. The stop in itself is good, it can be broken up, and there will be no superfluous respite for the bison, but the carts stood in the middle of the road as if an obstacle had suddenly formed, and not so serious as to occupy a defensive structure. The cart driver of my cart was not visible, and judging from the stagnant silence, others were also absent. I decided to get out of the cart since there was enough space not to stomp on the goods, I was met only by a light wind, saturated with night smells and giving off dampness near the past rain. I strained my eyesight to calmly examine what was happening around me in the darkness of the night. The road ahead was completely empty. Strange... If there were no obstacles, then where did everyone go?

— Ines? — There was no answer, this is strange.

Behind the caravan, there was another road that adjoined the one along which we were driving, although there was nobody there ... Not. There they are. A rather tall cart creaked and swayed from side to side slowly approaching me. The horse, in the harness, was not visible, and the cart was pulled by the charioteers and mercenaries, simultaneously holding her. It was badly damaged, and as we approached the caravan, bloody spots became visible on the cart and on people from the caravan. Attack? No, it's too early to draw conclusions, but something happened for sure.

— Enough! — The owner of the caravan shouted. — Kholor, go in for repairs. Ager, Bor, Brak, help him. The rest, distribute the luggage on the wagons to compensate for the overload of the closing wagon. And finally, light the torch, damn you! — Last one? This is exactly the one on which I am now. What's happening?

— Oh, our sleeping beauty woke up! — While the dwarf was slowly approaching the caravan, I was already standing near the cart and carefully watching what was happening.

— Have you been attacked? — I asked the grouchy shorty.

— Yes, an ax in your ass, is it not visible, or what! — Without hiding his displeasure, the dwarf spat next to me. — All these damned shit-eaters. What the hell did they even forget here? Ugh. — The next spit and the owner of the caravan headed away for their business.

It turns out corpse eaters, and indeed it is true that they forgot in the middle of the forest. They can be found in battlefields and near cemeteries, but certainly not here, if only ... Something or someone attracted them. Let's think, the surge of my aura would attract creatures much more dangerous, on the contrary, corpse-eaters would stay away. So in the caravan, or most likely in that high wagon, there is something that attracted them. In such cases, it is worth being on guard, this is not the last attack on the caravan.

— Here is a vile old man! — Ines' voice had just been heard near me, but the problem was not its presence, but the fact that he was coming from me.

— Where are you? — I asked in halftone.

— Hee-hee-hee, closer than you think. — Suddenly, I felt a barely noticeable movement in the... chest area. Really, again?

— When did you have time?

— While you slept soundly, I became ...

— Do not continue.

— Get out! — Pushing me to the side, one of the mercenaries grabbed a couple of bags from the cart and headed for the carts in front.

It's interesting that they will let me see what they have there. Well, yes, dream Novan, why on earth would a sensible person spread about something so valuable. It will be easier to use magic perception and look at everything from here, although there is a chance that such a trick will not go unnoticed, there will probably be at least one person who knows a little about magic to understand who I am and what I do. And since it is full of mercenaries, this is, in the end, another stupid undertaking.

 

— Follow me. — To my surprise, the dwarf said all this quite calmly, he was clearly worried about something. — Although I don't like it, but now I have an acute shortage of people, so you have to be a nanny for our prisoner.

— A prisoner? — So here it is, this explains why they can't leave that cart, besides, the captive can be a magician, which can explain the attack of corpses eaters.

— All that you need to know, you will see now yourself, push all other questions to yourself much deeper. — Well, but I already began to think that his funny remarks had ended.

— And if I refuse to keep an eye on him?

— Then we will simply throw you to the prisoner for the rest of the way, and after that, you will go with him as a bonus. — That's so simple ... Oh, old man, if you knew what I could arrange for you here, then you would have sung differently. Well, okay, to reveal my abilities to me now is not handy, so be it your way.

— Here it is. — The dwarf pushed back some of the tissue that covered the contents of the wagon.

Oh hoo. What Novan got into again, really, life isn't sweet for you. If we leave this forest at all, it will be a miracle. Interestingly, the old man generally understands what kind of cargo he is transporting?

— Dear, if you allow me, I would like to give you... — Near my throat, in an instant, the Dwarf's ax flashed.

— Speak! Fast! What is this creature? — How did he guess? I did not give sight for any suspicion. Intuition?

— What makes you think that I know something?

— We are not in the market for you to wool over my eyes. I have lived in this world for a long time and have seen a lot of garbage. Say what is it?

— Ok, I'll say. But on one condition.

— Are you also trying to bargain? — The ax stuck into my neck even more.

— It is in your own interests. — Looking into my eyes, the old man calmed down a little. — Until the sun rises, we better dig in here, order everyone to prepare for the battle, soon there will be a real massacre.

— The massacre, what are you talking about?

— Eaters of corpses, it was only cannon fodder in order to appreciate your strength.

— Wait for a minute girl, — the dwarf lowered the ax, — I understand what you are driving at, I have abounded enough. Do you have any suggestions on which bastard is looking at us?

— One hundred percent confidence, goblins.

— Do not understand? — The old man's face was already distorted, either from surprise or from anger, because the ax again rushed to my neck. — Did you think of joking with me?

— This is not a joke, you are transporting a goblin half-breed and I note that unlike us, it has the highest value for goblins and they will spare no effort to get it.

— How do you know so much? You don't look like a witch.

— Let's just say that I have also seen quite a few things in my life.

— Ha! — The old man immediately broke into a smile. — Not a bad girl, you like me. — I really don't know whether to be happy or not. — I am Holon Ward, we will be familiar.

— Melis. — Having blurted out the first thing that occurred to me, I shook the dwarf's hand.

— If we survive, then I would like to hear everything about our problem load.

— We will survive, but it is worth hurrying with preparation for defense.

— Exactly. Attention! Prepare defense number three! We are waiting for uninvited guests! — While I came to my senses from the deafening scream of an old man, all the mercenaries and drivers immediately began to fuss, release the traction force, couple the wagons together and put the suspension into some mundane mode. A useful thing, however, the carts formed an impressive spherical wall with one open passage and excellent positions for firing at the rear.

— Impressive. — I commented.

— This is just the beginning. — With a pleased expression on his face, the dwarf hung his ax on his belt.

— Captain! — One of the mercenaries pulled away from the general fuss and was approaching us, holding a bundle in his hands.

— My baby. — Taking the bundle from the mercenary, the old man enthusiastically began to unwind it.— Let me introduce you, Eve.

Thumbs up, in the hands of this old man there was a three-barreled rifle with magical inscriptions on each barrel and, in bonus, there was still a compartment for connecting bottles with manna, which meant that even if the enemy was a mage or something like that, the bullets would still achieve their goal.

— Old man, are you...

The arrow that swept between me and the old man and stuck in the ground just a few steps away from us, immediately made it clear that the time for talking had ended.

— Eneeemyyyyy!

The old man's voice immediately spread around, overshadowing the chaotic, but still deadly whistling of arrows. The attack began, and Holon and I miraculously managed to get to the barricades intact. Although no, not by a miracle, we were saved by the fact that the goblins are not distinguished by good craft skills and their bows are pretty bad by themselves, especially in terms of accuracy. Usually, they compensate for this with the number of archers, but due to the fact that the battle unfolded in the forest, this practice is not applicable.

— Damn, creeping toads, I'll remember that! — Having plunged into the ring of carts, the dwarf was already bent over, trying to catch his breath. — Damn, I hate to run...

Meanwhile, the goblins still continued to shoot arrow after arrow, hoping to get at least someone, but to their disappointment, and to our happiness, we quietly sat up while our carts became more and more hedgehogs. There were, of course, moments when arrows nevertheless fell into the inner ring, but they could not do harm to us due to unsuccessful trajectories.

— Prepare a rose! — The old man's voice roared again, delivering another order.

Only now, when everyone was stirring, I noticed that there was a cable near each of the mercenaries, leading some vehicles to the triggers to the triggers, apparently, these were traps consisting of many shortened versions of spears brought to the defensive position by stiff springs. If it weren't for their night vision, it would be extremely difficult to notice, but the screaming goblin going to the breach can only run into an unexpected barrier of steel spikes that are shiny and thirsty for blood. There are also bear traps scattered, and where they kept all this stuff. And most importantly, when did you manage? The drivers, by the way, were also not idle, armed with fast-loading muskets, although these things looked more like hand-guns, but where there, dwarves call this a musket, although a "forceket" would be more suitable. After all, the cart drivers, who were located near the windows in the carts, even for lack of experience in shooting, could only let goofy goblins into the field of minced meat.

And as soon as the drum roll from the arrows calmed down, the first screams of goblins were heard, fortunately dying, as their blitz cry ran into a well-disguised surprise.

— Do not sleep! — A shot from Holon's weapon sounded and a red-green something fell in front of me.

I do not argue, I admired the coordinated work of the Holon group, but there was another problem, I am a melee fighter and now it was simply useless since the battle was at a medium distance.

— Prepare the bombs, they will start pulling soon!

To pull? Closing my eyes, a magical perception immediately enveloped the battlefield showing me the picture that was unfolding around the barricade. In addition to a fairly uniform attack of goblins from all sides, a large group approached towards one of the wagons, and even without looking at the strong articulation of the wagons, such a quantity of physical strength will easily pass the first ring of defense and if it doesn't move, it will definitely damage the integrity of the wagon, and this it was impossible to admit.

— Towards me, a major goblin offensive! — I began to vote, at the same time pointing my hand in the right direction.

That old dwarf, that the rest of the mercenaries, at first looked at me uncomprehendingly, but only a second later Holon was already completely satisfied, broke into a smile, clearly realizing that there was a magician among them.

— Bomb in the indicated direction!

Explosion. Bloody rain from goblins scattered in different directions, covering everything around with red fog and pieces of meat. This did not bother us at all, because we stood still, but the goblins were experiencing problems, now and then slipping on parts of their own brothers, which became more and more with each new explosion.

The explosions did not stop even for a minute, but the catastrophically rapid reduction of ammunition was the lesser of our problems, as the dead bodies of goblins around the barricade became more and more that a gentle slope was almost formed. If this continues to continue, then we will simply fill up with bodies. It is necessary to somehow stop them, or at least immobilize them. Immobilize? And this is an option.

— Ines, hide somewhere and shall be neither seen nor heard, now I will again use force.

— I get it!

In the blink of an eye, when everything around was again lit up with a bright flash from the explosion, a small sphere flashed before my eyes and disappeared just as quickly as the explosion. She's pretty nimble, maybe it will come in handy in the future. Okay, back to business green.

— Holon, catch it! — A small crystal flew towards the dwarf. — At my signal, cling to each other, or any other physical contact, and most importantly, do not let go of the crystal. Got it?

— Act already! — Damn, what a quick-witted dwarf got to, is it really that luck hasn't turned away from me?

Well, manna in the legs and... My jump from behind the barricades did not go unnoticed, that the mercenaries, that the goblins all froze together and stared, almost with their mouths open, at a man that had taken off the ground and flew as if it had been launched from a catapult. The landing turned out to be just as spectacular, albeit a little harsh, but the most important thing is that I was now in the midst of goblins, which means it's time to act.

— Now!

To be honest, now I was wondering what the ballet troupe looks like, headed by an old dwarf, but the goblins won't be long in coming, so we drove off. We do everything as the last time, the tension in the body, anger and energy output through the whole body. Like last time, the effect turned out to be immediate and the whole horde of goblins, as one lay spread on the ground. If the mercenaries exactly followed my instructions, then the effect of the aura should not have affected them, this is good news. But there is a bad one, I'm a fool, I didn't think about what to do after activating the aura, not to practice poking heads one at a time. Firstly, I don't know how long I can maintain the aura, and secondly, with an active aura, it is a little difficult for me to move around.

— You can use the roots to pierce the bodies of enemies. — Oh, Aris, haven't seen each other for a long time.

— I understood the point, but how to do it?

— Just as you move your body parts, the only thing you need to use manna to control their growth. — Excellent, in addition to maintaining the aura, I now also need to take root. Okay, I don't have much choice.

— Aris, maintaining an aura on you.

— I confirm.

So, the roots. Here, the essence should be similar to the sprouts on my body, well, a little imagination also does not hurt. As soon as I concentrated on the task, the body immediately responded and again took on the form of a dendroid that was already a little familiar to me. It is good that in such a case I put on the most spacious clothes and the sprouts on my body only in some places pulled the clothes a little. The main thing now is that the mercenaries sit quietly there behind the barricades and do not protrude, I do not need too much attention.

Back to the roots. While I was thinking about regaining my appearance, the rooting process was in full swing. I'm already used to the body, that's why learning new tricks are pretty fast, it's good. A few more roots and all preparations will be ready. Most of the goblins can now be pierced calmly, the survivors, I hope they will understand what is being dumped for the good-luck. At least I hope so.

A couple of seconds and the last spike, suddenly emerging from the ground, found its target. It was too simple and even a little boring. No groans, no screams, but only a barely audible sound of bursting flesh. When did I become so bloodthirsty? Anyway, it's time to take off the aura.

— Holon, I'm done! — In response to my voice, conversations were heard behind the barricades.

— Die!

Just a moment of the infinity of time and my brain perceived the whole depth of the situation into which my own carelessness had curled me. From the darkness of the night an enemy appeared before me, a green-skinned creature in human height, to my misfortune, came from a warlike race with not a good reputation, and only the hood covering the face of the enemy did not allow me to confirm my assumptions. So, what am I talking about, oh yes, this unexpected guest was already sweeping at me with a huge hammer on my frozen figure, and everything would have been fine if my legs had not been chained to the ground by roots. I really didn't think that I would meet my end.

Clash. Cracking of bones and branches, and after taking all the power of the blow, my body rushed to the barricades, covering the distance from my current position to the welcoming arms of the barricade in less than a second, while the strong and very weighty wagon pretty much moved back, almost capsizing after a collision with my body, breaking the outer wall like a cannonball, carrying ships, the benefit was no one inside. It was painful to breathe, my eyes refused to show me anything, only ringing in my ears was sometimes replaced by screams and sounds of the battle.

— Rebuild completed. — Aris's voice pierced my head and the pain that overshadowed everything around me disappeared right there.

The ringing in my ears subsided, and the veil covering my eyes began to part, revealing a picture of the unfolding battle. The integrity of the barricade was broken and the battle moved to a more open area, where Holon ran from the orc like a mouse from a cat, distracting him and allowing his people to calmly deal with the remaining goblins.

What about me? So, I'm alive, this is good news, bad - I was lying in a pile of the wreckage of a wagon and a rather healthy bloodied block was sticking out of my chest. The only strange thing is that the blood was not red, but almost transparent with a slight shade of green. Perhaps the blood of the dendroids looks like that, but now I was not up to it. I was angry! On whom? On myself, that I allowed myself to be so easily injured and even killed in fact.

With effort and with the crack of a tree, my body slid along the log, finally letting me out of my arms and giving me the opportunity to no longer pretend to be a salad on a stick. The hole in the abdomen was huge, but it did not cause pain, only a little discomfort due to limited mobility. How so? I don't know, and I didn't care, now I was only interested in the orc.

Wave after wave, but not a single blow from the orc reaches the head of the agile dwarf. However, on the other hand, not a single Holon shot is accurate enough to heal unprotected parts of the enemy's body. As a result, no one was able to pull the rope over himself. Swipe for another blow and... In free flight, the hammer continued its movement along the trajectory of the swing until it buried itself in the ground. The orc, meanwhile, took a horizontal position after receiving a blow from a rapidly moving object, which remained to lie on it and immobilized it for one, entangling it with roots and branches.

Holon froze like an idol, looked at what was happening, bulging his eyes in the hope of understanding what was happening. I had no desire now to explain anything to him, the main thing is that he did not start firing while I was lying on the orc. And that means.

— He is mine! — A strange, very rude, but at the same time reminiscent of a female voice came from my lips.

I had never before entered into battle so recklessly, without a plan, without a weapon, on emotions alone. Magben would see me now, oh, and she would pour me for such arbitrariness. But now, I didn't care. Guided by my anger, the shape of the hand immediately changed, outwardly becoming reminiscent of some kind of wood blade, or rather a dagger. It was then necessary to end the enemy with one blow to the head.

But it was not so simple. Although the attempt to remove the head from the trajectory of the blow at the last moment was unsuccessful, the steel, rude helmet that was hidden under the fabric of the hood did its job and with a creak, he turned my hand to the side.

— Cargo! — Behind one was the cry of one of the mercenaries.

Damn, this was just what I was missing right now. While we were all busy fighting, the goblins broke into a half-blood cage and put it to one of the worg riders, who apparently sat in the forest, waiting for the right moment for a lightning-fast capture of the target, followed by a retreat. While the soldiers in a panic were trying to do something, the orc also made his move, freeing his hand from the roots and without delay grabbed my throat in an attempt to strangle.

Fluff. A muffled sound of a shot rang out near me, and the orc's death grip began to weaken until it shut off.

— Do not kill him. — Holon's monotonous voice blew determination and the barrel of his gun near my head did not delight the eye.

Oh, old man, would you not point a gun at me, I'm not in the right mood to play, but ... Looking at the orc and my pointed hand near his head, I realized that the blood of the dendroids clearly does its job and I am becoming more and more emotional.

— As you wish.

Pulling my hand out of the ground, I gradually began to free my body from the branches that the orc had entangled on all sides. The old man also continued to observe what was happening, not taking his eyes off me, but still lowered his weapon, not wanting to provoke me once again. Firmly standing on my feet, I noticed that there was no longer a hole in the chest, which means that I can take back the human appearance without fear of decorating the earth with your intestines.

— Goron, report! — In response, only silence. — Goron?

— Sir, Goron died in battle. — Reported one of the mercenaries, with difficulty dragging his legs.

— Tim? I see... Tell everyone to regroup and I need a couple of people to pull this thing from here.

— I got it. — The guy slowly limped back.

— And you! Who are you in fact? This is the first time I've seen this.

— So you didn't see so much dad. — There was no answer, only an attentive look. — Let's get out of here first, and we'll talk there.

— I do not mind.

***

— So, two dead, five wounded, one of them is heavy. As a result, only three remained capable of fighting, inclusively with me. — The old man was sitting by the fire and picking coals with his wand. — It could not be worse.

— Sir? — A lame guy stood by and waited for further directions.

— Go rest, Tim, in the morning I will decide what to do next.

Having made a short nod, the kid disappeared into one of the tents, while I stood under the tree and silently tried to do something with my torn clothes. By the way, after the battle was over, three wagons and two bouzons remained on the go, nothing was known about the fate of the other two. Having distributed the most valuable and necessary in the equipped wagons, we decided to leave the third so as not to slow down. Having dealt with the urgent, we took the path to the west. There, just a half-hour drive away, there was a river, near which we set up camp to rest and decide what to do next.

— Holon, where did you get such an obsession to return a load? — Without ceasing to pick his wand, the old bevel caravan driver looked at me.

— They have my granddaughter. — That's it, blackmail means.

Let me explain, the aristocracy of the Empire practices such a strange thing as collecting exotic creatures. They need them in order to show their status to other nobles, and the rarer the instance will be captured, the higher the reputation of its owner, and hence the influence. Various half-breeds and dragons are considered to be one of the rarest humanoid creatures, and to get one of these, any of the aristocrats will spare no strength.

— Judging by your appearance, you are going to go to get the cargo yourself.

— I have no choice, if I knew how all this would turn out, I would go alone from the very beginning.

— You're a strange dwarf. — Having abandoned useless attempts to patch up clothes a little, I sat on one of the logs by the fire.

— Look who's talking, you little girl was the more surprising. By the way, you never said that you were like that. I have never heard that dendroids can turn into humans or vice versa.

— For all reasonable reasons, I cannot tell all the details, I can only say that I am a kind of mutant and can use the abilities of the dryad.

— I understand why such secrecy, if someone finds out about you, then look will open the hunt. The arrogant aristocracy will not keep itself waiting.

— For this I do not worry, catching me will not be so simple.

— Ha, that's for sure, considering what you did with the orc. I sympathize with those who want to run after you.

— By the way, at the expense of the orc, what do you intend to do with it? — The old man thought a little.

— I wanted to use it as bait, but realizing that the goblins had just abandoned him, it became obvious that the best thing to take from him was information. — Information, and even from the orc? Either the old man has a bad sense of humor, or he is a master of torture.

— Then what are we waiting for? — With a rather sharp movement, I jumped up, leaving the old man to look at me in surprise.

— Why?

— What "Why"?

— Why are you so interested in this?

— I do not know. Just intuition tells me that behind this half-breed, there is something more. — Holon raised his eyebrows, but then silently got up and headed for the tent with the orc.

After the orc lost consciousness, we tied it with the first ropes that came across, and I also added a little magic, so that it would definitely not go away, and put security on it for the first time.

— Did he wake up? — Entering the tent, Holon asked the guard.

— Yes, but he is surprisingly quiet, I don't like it. — Of course, orcs, are known for their strength and aggression, but here it smells neither the first nor the second.

— Clearly, you can go to rest, we can handle it here.

— Be careful with him sir.

So now the time has come for the fun part, the process of how the dwarf is going to receive information from him.

— So, the toad is overgrown, let us simplify the task and tell us everything we want to know. — In response, I expected to hear a furious roar, but there were only silence and the attentive look of the prisoner.

Something was wrong here, and this feeling did not leave me. For reinsurance, I decided to explore the area around us with a magical perception, but, as expected, I did not find anything worthwhile attention. However, translating the perception into an orc, it became clear to me, at least in part, that the behavior of our captive is strange. Stepping closer, with complete equanimity, I rolled up his hood and reached for his helmet, as ...

— What the hell are you doing, it's dangerous! — The dwarf growled.

— She. — I answered shortly.

The moment the helmet left the captive's head, the old dwarf simply froze. I do not know how to convey in words the expression that froze on his face, but it was unsurpassed.

— What's your name? — I asked, sitting down in front of the orc.

It was clear from her that she hesitated a little and constantly looked at either the dwarf or me.

— Fuck her name, where did the goblins take the half-breed? — The dwarf swung to hit the captive, but I stopped him right there. — Absolutely fucked up?

— Holon, she is a girl, which means I would not like to harm her.

— Well, don't get in the way, I'll do everything myself. And besides, didn't you want to tear it to pieces recently?

— The situation has changed.

— Ha-ha-ha. — The orc laughed heartily, and the dwarf and I just turned our heads in her direction, not understanding the reason for her laughter. — And you are rather strange.

— What do you blather whore?

— Holon, could you leave us?

— What's this for? — The old man was frankly angry.

— You only need a half-breed location, right? I will get him, you can not worry, but in exchange, I would like for the fate of the captive to be decided by me.

— I don't understand why the hell this creature surrendered to you, but Drel is with you, do what you want with her, but get the information I need. — Holon was clearly not happy with what was happening and it was strange that he so simply agreed to transfer everything into my hands.

— And until you leave, no matter what sounds come from here, do not pay attention to them.

— Ugh! — The dwarf spat displeasedly. — If you were a man, I would think that you want to fuck this creature, but even if it is, I do not care, do what you want.

Oh old man, if you only knew how far you were from the truth, in every sense. Well, it's time to move on to our green-skinned young lady. When my gaze again turned in her direction, she did everything possible to hide her concern, but I note that she did it badly.

Are female orcs, as well as women of other races, not devoid of emotional color, if I may call it that. After all, the orcs that I met before were only males, and they were quite calm and aggressive. Well, once again a new experience.

— And what will you do with me?

— For starters, I would like to untie you. — I answered with a smile.

— Is it that simple? I'll kill you right away.

— You won't do it. And besides, I doubt that you are so stupid as to get involved again in the battle with the dryad.

— Dryad? So you are the Dor-Dor that attacked me? — Who else attacked whom? And what else is Dor-Dor? — I don't understand, you are a person like...

— It doesn't matter, now I would like to untie you, are there any objections?

— Not...

What humility, but I just mentioned the dryad. This is what the race among the three strongest means, even the instinctive desire of the orcs to fight pretty quickly dies before such an enemy. The main question now is whether she believed me, because where it was seen so that you could turn into a representative of another race. And judging by her thoughtful appearance, while I was doing the ropes here, you can almost certainly say that she now thinks about it.

— You can not rack your brains so hard, soon you will see everything yourself. — Here I lied a little. Show my capabilities was not part of my plans, at least as long as she will cooperate with me. — Well, I untied the ropes, now could you take off your armor?

— Armor? Did that shorty tell the truth, and you want... — Seriously? Did you all conspire? Although, to be honest, I don't mind at all, it's not every day that I get the opportunity to sleep with an orc, but for this, I'm missing one small part, or not a small one... Okay, something my thoughts went wrong.

— No, it's just that they are all bloody and they have a pretty terrible smell. — It would seem that for so many years of working as a mercenary, I should have gotten used to the smell of caked blood, but there it was, at every opportunity I try to get rid of it.

— I don't understand, but okay ...

— In order not to waste time in vain, tell me how it turned out that the orc is fighting among the goblins, that they will not come for you is obvious.

— I was in one of these caravans like yours when the goblins attacked him. Their goal was a wagon with a cage.

— They were looking for a half-breed. — I noted.

— Yes, but instead of her, I was there. In the end, the goblins were about to leave me dying there, in the midst of a mountain of corpses of people and goblins. But I offered them a deal, my freedom in exchange for help with their search.

— This explains everything, they seized the half-breed, which means that you have become useless to them. In that case, will you tell me where their lair is?

— No! — The answer was pretty sharp. — Enough of these games human. Die!

To surely kill with one blow, the orc picked up part of her armor and used it as a weapon. However, the attack immediately stopped and did not have time to really begin, because a thin, but very strong vine immediately wrapped around her arm.

— What? — Realizing what was happening, the captive immediately began to turn her head, as if searching for something. — Show yourself!

So, she still did not believe me, and she thinks that somewhere here, besides us, there is also a dryad. Well, since everything turned out like this, I have to go to plan B. To begin with, in order to prevent her from fathom something else, I let out even more vines from the ground, completely immobilizing the target.

— I didn't want it to come to that. — The orc did not stop trying to break out for a second, but due to the fact that I made the sprouts quite thin and elastic, it was almost impossible to break them. — Don't strain yourself like that, you still cannot escape.

— Shut up Golor! If not for the dryad, you would already be... — The kiss with which I gave the orc silenced her right away, and calmly saw how I, having only moved away from her lips, immediately turned into a dryad. — Not… Not...

— Definitely yes. — I said enough and went back to the man.

— Hero with a thousand faces... — With difficulty sorting out words, the captive voiced. Now I froze, not taking my eyes off the orc.

— What do you know? — Having clearly understood that she had blundered too much, instead of answering, her attempts to break free only intensified.

— Oi! — The orc cried out loudly as if a little girl. — What are you doing? — Turning my eyes to the legs, where one of my vines wriggles, caressing her crotch more and more, then at me, giving me an ambiguous look.

Here I am a pervert, even in such a situation, and even being in a female body, but I am still attracted to depraved things. But anyway, the orc clearly does not want to cooperate, so we will make it more talkative. First, let's try to use a simple way - words.

— You are very beautiful and it's hard for me to restrain myself. — For a moment she blushes at my words, but because of her current situation, she again gives me a fierce and frown.

— Do anything with me, but you won't be able to achieve anything. — Oh, how confident she is, I accept your challenge.

Immediately an interesting idea came to my mind. I remembered the case in the forest when my body emitted an aphrodisiac, forcing Ter and Flori to attack me. So why not use this opportunity now, given that I could pretty well control all the dryad tricks. Well, let's see what you say after that.

Clutching her lips, my tongue aggressively penetrated her mouth, forcing me to inhale more and sweeter poison, in an effort to achieve the goal, I either slipping through her teeth or playfully touching her tongue. The answer to my actions was not long in coming, and now we merged in a passionate kiss that the orchid didn't want to stop, still continuing to follow me. Finally, when our faces moved away from each other, the light pink smoke flowing from our lips immediately disappeared without a trace, but the effect on the contrary only began to spread.

The orc exhales sharply and afterwards its greenish face quickly fills with paint, breathing quickens, the rhythm of the heart picks up speed. Satisfiedly watching this spectacle, I felt one of the vines playing with her pussy, a wet mark on her clothes, it looks like our impregnable warrior began to leak. However, it is worth noting that despite all this, her face reflects a whole kaleidoscope of emotions: first anger, then disappointment, then sadness, then again anger and so on in a new circle.

She clearly wanted to tell me something, but she understood that as soon as she tried to open her lips, the sound of a sweet moan would fill everything around, and the pride of an orc, or rather a warrior, would not let her fall so low. Knowing this, I decided to double the onslaught, putting a few more vines into the business, expanding the weasel zone, I raised the level of excitement.

— Something you are completely silent. — Approaching almost closely, face to face, I continued to tease her, and pink mist came out of my mouth again. — Have you changed your mind? Can you still tell me where the goblin lair is?

— N... noo... — Panting, the orc was able to squeeze out only one word.

Hmm, how persistent she is, Ter took only a few seconds to lose control of herself, and this green-skinned cutie still manages to respond quite deliberately. Well, in this case, we change tactics.

— In such cases, you and I are done.

Once again, giving the captive a kiss, all as passionate as before, but at the same time using the maximum allowable dosage of aphrodisiac, which, combined with ceasing caresses, should have aggravated the feeling of dissatisfaction.

— And so, goodbye.

Having withdrawn all my sprouts, at the same time I released the orchid, which, only having felt the freedom of movement, immediately rose to its knees. Still breathing heavily, she began to pluck herself, as if making sure that under her clothes there really were no more of my sprouts.

— What have you done to me? — Tears welling up in her eyes, but still, her gaze was firm and full, either with determination or anger.

— Nothing, a little bit excited you and that's it. Although it no longer matters, you can go.

— I can not... — The words sounded pretty quiet, besides she lowered her head and I could no longer see her eye. — I need...

— What do you need?

— I need to pacify the flames inside, immediately! — Well, here I am not surprised, after the amount of aphrodisiac that I poured into you, it's only strange that you still haven't rushed at me.

— Then say what I want to know, and ...

— I can not! — Why is there so much obstinacy in her?

— May I play with her?

— You can. — I answered mechanically, and only when a clot of light swept in front of me, it dawned on whom I had just given permission.

— What it is? — Having noticed a bunch of light flickering in front of her, the orc strained the whole body that was strong, or rather as much as she could in this state.

— Do not worry, this is my assistant, and she, by the way, is a Fairy.

— Fairy? Who are you?

— You don't need to worry about me now, my assistant, I must say, is quite skilled, especially when it comes to all kinds of perversions.

— Now have some fun! — Fun squeaked Ines.

Everything happened almost exactly with what was in the library. Fairy easily entered the body of her victim, that she did not even have time to understand what happened.

— What was it?

— Something very, very funny. — A smile randomly appeared on my face.

I wondered what Ines was going to do with this green beast. She will do the same as with me, plunge into a wonderful dream, or something else, while in reality. Curiosity was bursting with me.

The orc still continued to breathe hard, covering her chest and groin with her hands. Some time has passed, but the result from the actions of the fairies, at least obvious, was not noticeable. The green-skinned is still in her mind, it can be seen from her rolling eyes that every now and then rush at me. As soon as I wanted to call out to Ines, how her luminous body immediately appeared before my eyes, she left the body of her victim, the question was only why?

— Ines? — With a drop of alertness, I called out to the fairy.

The same, in turn, did not say anything but only stared in my direction. Her gaze was empty, not wrong, it was as if blurred, something similar to when a person overdid it a bit with a drink.

— Oh, Novik! — A smile shone on Ines's face.

Did she just reach my words? Just don't tell me that the aphrodisiac in the orc's body affected this little misunderstanding.

— My precious! — Fairy movements were rather slow, but even so, I barely had enough time to cover my chest with my hands. — What? Do not be surly, give me some...

— Forget it, petty pervert.

As soon as I lost my hands, the fairy flew into my chest with lightning speed and began to wrinkle it zealously, which made a moan from my lips. Well, because of the games with greenskins, I was already quite a little excited.

— I also want to mash them...

The movement of my hand in the direction of the fairy was immediately interrupted when a strange phrase reached my brain. The captive was also sitting on the floor and, like some kind of animal, looked plaintively at a fairy clinging to my breasts. Interesting. From the proud warrior who is sitting in front of me, there is no trace left, that's what the right approach to business can do, and they also say that diplomacy never works.

— I will only allow you to play with them if you tell me what I want to know.

— I… I know nothing. — The orc looked down. — These fleas kept me in ignorance.

Did the goblins be so cautious? This is not peculiar to them, but now the problem is more in another. In the current scenario, the life of the orc is now in serious doubt.

Although, why am I even worried about her? She is not the first orc I meet, of course, they were all peasants, but the essence of this does not change. The strange behavior of the captive interrupted my thoughts. She still continued to sit on her lap and was breathing heavily. What did I overdo it, or was it something else, because of which she restrains herself?

— I can... — Orchik struggled to speak. — I can track them... Often... Used...

Orcs often use goblins for their own purposes, I read about this, but I can track them myself, not my first goblin after all. Although... No, it won't work out. Or I could use an orc to not reveal all my cards to Holon, however, he already knows quite a lot about me and the fact that I know how to track goblins is unlikely to surprise him.

My thoughts were interrupted again as soon as the orc kneeling bent in half. What's happening?

— Hey, are you okay?

— Painfully!

— What? Where does it hurt? — A side effect of gas? Sucks.

— I need a member so much that it hurts! Fuck me!

That's it, she really is holding herself back. Well, what to do with the dwarf, I'll come up with something later, and now — time for the show!

— Ines, I have a suggestion for you. — To my surprise, the fairy stopped squeezing my chest and listened carefully to me. — This hot warrior really wants you to play with her.

— With her? — Studying the body of the orchid, it was obvious from the face of the fairy that she was quite interested in my proposal, and the greenskin, on the contrary, did not understand what was happening.

Having again released vines from my body, which looked like tentacles, I first drove one of them straight into the orc's pussy, and Ines didn't lose time, immediately clinging to a new unknown chest, from which the captive's body curved sharply and a groan of pleasure flashed around. It seemed she was already at the limit, and the sudden penetration in addition to caresses instantly drove her to orgasm.

— Come on, do not restrain yourself. — I whispered in the ear of the orc, meanwhile, setting the beat of the penetrated vine, along the way, holding my hands with games with elastic breasts. But the fairy again switched to my body, and how did I like her so much?

Having lost the initiative for a moment, I did not notice how the calming onslaught allowed the orc to see the moment, to change the situation in my favor. She immediately threw me to the ground, pressing the weight of her whole body. However, these were only flowers, and she really did not begin to restrain herself anymore and openly began to enjoy how the tentacle wriggling inside her, with each movement, filled her body with long-awaited pleasure.

— Now you are mine, and I won't let you go yet... — Specially not letting this green-skinned horsewoman finish, I increased the pace by creating such stimulation from which the orc froze like petrified.

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— You... — The trembling did not cease, and the words with difficulty burst through her heavy breathing. — I am you...

— What are you me? — Probably from the outside I have a hefty smile now.

To my surprise, without answering anything, the green-skinned quenched quiver and took an upright position, searching for something with her eyes. What is she up to? Well, I think it's all not so important. Deciding not to waste time on empty speculation, I again began to move tentacles enjoying the surging panic on her face. It's just that my fun didn't last long when the orc grabbed one of the wandering vines, which was so kindly provided to her by the fairy, I immediately realized the insidiousness of her plan, I even panicked for a second, and after the orc sent the tentacle into my pussy of inertia filling the space available to her, only one emotion remained in my face, perplexity. How did it happen that from the leader I became a slave?

— Why did you stop? Move your dicks! — While I was trying to come to my senses, the orc grabbed both tentacles intending to move them independently and didn't do so well, because the creepers obediently repeated the movements imposed on them, giving us considerable pleasure.

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To be honest, the feeling was a little strange, nice, of course, but still strange when you seemed to fuck yourself. But be that as it may, I still, as always decided to surrender to these rather pleasant sensations. Although now, if you look at everything from the side, it was even funny. As far as I can remember, I never missed the opportunity to have sex, and now, I don't even need to do anything, the world around me, as if slid into debauchery. I'm even starting to like it.

Having decided to return the initiative back to my hands, I grew another tentacle, using them to the full. And, of course, a little dirty trick, they also did not pass by. Gliding along wet bodies, they wrapped themselves around, stimulated nipples, occupied free holes, instantly reacted to thoughts and desires in the right place, changed the pace and in every way pleased any thoughts raising pleasure to a new level. In response to such stimulation, the warrior pressed her lips, rewarding with a passionate kiss that only warmed up my fuse, unknowingly forcing to accelerate the pace of tentacles. Ines also drowned in an ecstasy of pleasure, pressed by soft breasts on both sides and small shoots penetrating into the most hidden depths.

— Yes! Let's! — Interrupting a short statement, our lips and tongues again intertwined.

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More? Then a scene of our sex with Flori and fairies flashed through my mind. Why not give it a try? I didn't even have to strain too much, as soon as I remembered the moment Flori was ending up at me and at the same time continuing to fuck, the tentacles immediately changed their shape a bit and started pouring hot liquid into us, covering with a head a wave of pleasure.

— I am a Garra. — Orchikha lay on me with a pleased expression on her face.

— And I'm Melis. — I said the same name as for a dwarf. Let it be so.

— Ines. — The exhausted fairy squeaked quite, still peering between our breasts, which was quite funny and even caused a small laugh on our part.

— Melis, from now on, I'm your "Mok'da".

— Who? — I once studied many languages of other races, but this is the first word I hear.

But instead of answering, I only got a wide smile from Garra. Well, let's hope that she did not become my wife or something like that. Suddenly, my attention was drawn to a barely audible rustle at the entrance to the tent. Did something happen outside?

— Garra, let's continue our conversation in a more comfortable position.

— And it's convenient for me. — And there is nothing to argue.

— I have no doubt that lying on me is pretty nice, but still, be so kind.

Standing on her feet, Garra at the same time grabbed my body. Well thanks, saved my time. Now you can do the noise outside. Spreading the fabric at the entrance to the tent, I saw a rather entertaining scene. Old Holon, along with everyone in the camp, even those who seemed to be wounded and should now rest, crowded near the entrance, almost leaning against each other. Well, it looks like my torture method has been carefully studied by the entire camp.

— Can I help you? — I asked impartially.

— We... — The dwarf now looked ridiculous when he began to turn his head, and in the meantime, everyone was dispersing somewhere, as if they were not here. — Khm. Put yourself in order, and I'm waiting for you in my tent with the result of the interrogation. — Here he is experience in all its glory, just a second and the dwarf is calm like a rock. Gorgeous.

As Holon moved farther and farther away from me, I thought about his words to put myself in order. It was enough for me to just lower my head and it became obvious what he was talking about. Roughly speaking, there were practically no clothes on me, just so, scraps of fabric that slightly covered some parts of the body and then all were intimate for a show, and this is not counting the fact that a golden tinted liquid flowed down my legs. What else can to say.

— Oops.

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