Chapter 19: restraints
Lord Falmer was back to the city of Falmero, which was dubbed the machine of war for its focus of creating big strong armies that used to crush any invasion forces in the past. It was perfectly placed near a mountain that contained veins of irons and a wide river that led to the sea towards the main continent. The Ahas city had sturdy stone walls and was divided in four by small wooden palisades that were constantly guarded. Falmero's castle stood in the middle, entirely painted in green in contrast to the average buildings and houses that harboured cream colours that were used to fight against the heat of the long hot summers. The lord entered via the main gate and was welcomed by his people who were shocked to see that his army size hadn't changed when he left to invade the mainland, though the faces weren't the same. The heads of the four city districts were waiting for his return and as soon as he stepped inside the walls, they saluted him by throwing the head of a human man at his feet. Like every citizen, they wore a veil that protected them from the heat of the sun, the only difference being the different logo of their district on the cloth.
"What happened to counsellor Arthur?" Falmer Ahs asked as he met the empty look on the severed head that looked tired and beaten.
The crowd was agitated by the sight.
"He admitted his involvement with the Order, he was in contact with them via a metal box." A district director explained, wearing the insignia of a sword on his necklace and veil.
Before Falmer could ask for an explanation, another one spoke up.
"He managed to destroy it before we could inspect it." Another man added, bearing the picture of a hammer on his gloves and his headgear, showing that he was the director of the workshop district. "It used some kind of magic spell as it sparked a few times."
Falmer was too tired from the journey that he decided to carry on with the rest of his army, which most soldiers were only a week old. But knowing that there was nothing else for its purpose, he disbanded it and it was now the job of the scribes and city officials to find their family house; those who lost their entire lineage were sent to Falmer's castle garrison, working as personal guards. As the lord was slowly making his way to his domain, the heads of the city districts followed him, telling him about its developments and giving various reports that he barely listened to, instead taking in the sight of the streets he had missed during his campaign abroad. From the old cobblestone roads polished by time and people walking on them, to the well maintained facades of the different buildings along the way.
"How are my son and my daughters? Have they grown well?" Falmer asked as he approached the castle gates and his stomach was in a knot.
The man with a sword insignia, who was in charge of the army district, quietly grunted at the question. His role was to oversee anything that involved training recruits, equipping them and lodging them, his district was the second largest of the city as it counted more than tens of thousands of soldiers stationed in the big and tall barracks.
"Your son, Aswan Falmer, has begun squire training at the academy by the workshop district. As for your daughters… we've sent them to study at Aldo's school to become scholars of humanology, like you asked us. They are under my son's watchful guidance." The man of the workshop district explained while they were approaching the castle.
The two guards of the gate opened the door for the lord after saluting him. The courtyard was nearly empty, only a gardener could be seen raking some leaves from the lone tree in the centre. The place had been neatly kept as the pavements were free of dirt or dust while the walls had received a fresh makeover of green paint.
"How old do they look now?" Falmer asked as he stepped in the castle's rampart.
"Aswan looks midway past an old child, Aysan looks like an early young adult and Azwan looks like a late juvenile." A woman spoke, she was the head of the breeding district and wore its insignia of a snake in an egg figure; those symbols were on every piece of clothing she had.
Falmer's heart felt like it was bleeding as he clenched his fist on his chest, his doubts and worries confirmed once and for all. His followers could clearly see the pain and nodded at him to show their concern which he thanked them with a grunt.
"We made sure that your lineage is well protected and cared after, Lord Falmer. Don't worry about them not entering the magic academy, if they prove themselves valuable assets, even the council of the elders will recognise them." The fourth head of the district said, the one who hasn’t spoken until then.
The last one was in charge of the average citizen, those who didn't directly partake into the war industry, be it the baker or the farmer or even the miner. The fourth district was the biggest of them all, composing a third of the whole city. The man in charge had the heart insignia with a pickaxe and a scythe on it, unlike the other three directors, he didn’t wear any protective gear such as leather armbands or gambison.
"It still won't bring back my wife nor their developing period. I'm regretting embarking on this punitive expedition with such a small army, too many have skipped the critical period we've experienced as children. I even lost mister Messenger during the retreat, the last surviving member of the family should be behind enemy lines." Falmer explained, with dread in his voice.
Falmer and his group arrived in the throne room where he sat, facing them all as they bowed their heads in reverence. The army district had a confident director who always stood straight and proud, with his fists on his hips if those weren’t on his mace, while the man overseeing the biggest part of the city looked tired with his arms hanging from his sore shoulders. The organiser of the workshop district stood closer to the lord of Falmero, having grown together in their childhood, and had his arms crossed on his chest, which made him look severe, even more than the army director. The only person who was always carrying a staff, was the overseer of the breeding district, displaying her role as a priest in a minor church in her district, the sceptre was adorned with a metallic symbol already shown on her clothes.
"What about your vow to always accomplish your mission, my lord?" The army director asked as he approached the table in the middle of the room.
There was a map showing the Ahas lands and a part of the mainland. Falmer lazily pointed the map from his throne, designating the general direction of Premer. To confirm the area, the workshop director walked to the piece of paper, putting his finger on Premer's location.
"It has been completed, but not in the way I anticipated it. The goal was to get inside Predo, or as they call it Premer, to unveil the mystery behind the disappearance of the delegation sent to negotiate trade routes. I had planned on them surrendering and giving full power to us, but they received quick reinforcements from their royal fleet. Too quick. It should have taken them a month to gather an army or get rid of our naval decoys. Their mages made short work with my men, as expected from a race with lots of magic caster."
Falmer let out a long annoyed sigh, his district directors stared in silence as the man continued his story, the workshop director rubbing his shin behind his veil.
"But the Argo promised to help us, they sent two agents there to gather information before they sent a human team to investigate. I doubt they'll discover anything after a month but they will be useful for future plans." Falmer declared before standing up. "In the meantime, we will prepare for a full blown invasion of the Heri kingdom. If we can't secure our trade route through diplomacy, it will be by force. They have a strong advantage over us, with their magic and their navy but we will crush them the Ahas way."
To the mention of the enemy's naval capabilities, the directors winced, especially the one of the breeding district as she rubbed her left forearm.
"As you wish, Lord Falmer!" The four replied at the same time, knowing that they still had an advantage against the humans.
"We need to contact the other lords and the council of elders for a bigger army and prepare our defences because once we've launch the attack, they will retaliate." He explained before pointing to Valiamer. "But I’m confident in our victory. It's time that the Ahas finally get some ground on the mainland and probably reclaim the maritime city of Valia."
Someone's laugh revealed themselves from behind a pillar. It was a redhead woman wearing a breastplate and carrying a crossbow with a stock of bolts above it, similar to a chu ko nu, a Chinese repeating crossbow. The person put down the head of the former counsellor on the table next to the map, making sure to not stain it with blood.
"Looks like you've got rid of Arthur, guys. But Valiamer will be impossible to penetrate with your current armament. Maybe you'd like to listen to the offers the Order has?" Amy Moore cheekily said in a weird accent for the Ahas. "What says you, Falmer?"
The lord instinctively reached for his mace but quickly realised that he was too far away from the human woman, his subordinates of the four districts were closer but they didn't want to take any risk, especially since the weapon was aimed at Falmer's chest. It was clear that the woman had recently learnt the tongue as her pronunciation, although confident, was influenced greatly by an unknown language that was more likely sung because of its melodious tones.
"Who are you? Are you one of those people of the Order?" The lord asked, slowly walking towards the armed person.
The intruder glanced at her weapon as Falmer was approaching, she turned her whole body towards him, with the crossbow held from her hips.
"Name's Amy Moore, field agent of the Order. I won't interfere too much here, but I'm just proposing a solution to your problem. After all, we can all benefit from the situation." She replied with a grin.
The director of the workshop district decided to intervene and ask the question in the mind of everyone in the room, standing between the threatening woman and his lord.
"What will you gain by helping us? Weren't you also looking for a trade route with the maritime city of Pre? Selling wars?"
Amy looked falsely shocked, as she gasped dramatically.
"We are? Not anymore, how can we be commercial partners after knowing that they killed a merchant delegation? They didn't prove themselves as trustworthy." Amy said before looking at the severed head, gripping tightly her weapon. "Neither do you, apparently."
Falmer agreed with her statement and gave a stern look at his subordinates who were probably offended by his reaction though the veil hid their feelings.
"I can't blame them, we already have the help of the merchant company Argo who proved to be trustworthy to the council of the elders. Your kingdom is already in a feud with our helpers, isn't it?" Falmer replied, idly looking at the map despite being threatened by an intruder.
The woman seemed to think for a moment, she frowned her eyebrows, making her look older with wrinkles and tired eyes. The director of the breeding district used the distraction to discreetly arm a hidden pocket crossbow in her sleeve, ready to fire but Falmer's stare stopped her from firing. She quickly imagined that her hidden weapon wouldn't pierce the armour and by the time she'd raise her arm, the redhead wouldn't have shot her lord, so her action would have been useless.
"Sorry, can you repeat it? I'm not sure I understood everything." Amy ashamedly admitted, looking back at Arthur who was supposed to be her translator.
Former counsellor Arthur had been working all around in Ahas island for a couple of decades, becoming the perfect translator who could even speak minor dialects that only a handful of locals used.
"We already work with Argo, the Order is its rival." Falmer slowly explained as if he was talking to a child even though he could probably be as old as Amy's father.
Amy's eyes lightened up as if she had learnt the meaning of life and she began laughing uncontrollably, like a madman while bearing her white perfect teeth. The others, unsure of how to react, forced a laugh as well while sharing looks with each other. The woman's chest was beginning to hurt as she was finally able to control herself, she wheezed and sighed with a smile. She snorted and lowered her crossbow, which relieved the Ahas but the danger was still present for them to not draw any weapon.
"I should have seen it coming. Say, Falmer, care to show me around?" Amy asked with a dubious smile. "I'd love to know more about your city."
The lord turned to his subordinates with a sigh, they seemed confused but still wary of the ginger girl that seemed a bit unstable.
"Breeder and Trainer, make sure that she leaves without any problem. We don't want any invading armies in our lands, yet." Falmer declared, to the discontent of the directors.
"Fine, you're not into redheads I take it. I'll be taking the head back with me, since they'll need proof of his death. I might hang around your city for a while, I'll have to meet with your Argo helper." Amy said as she took the head by the hair.
The woman chuckled as she was escorted out of the throne room by the directors of the breeding district and the one of the military. Not wasting any time, the other two Ahas subordinates began organising the future invasion of the mainland with a confident Falmer. On the other hand, Breeder glanced at Trainer when they closed the door, silently agreeing on disposing of the hostile agent who stopped on her track, her back towards them.
"Falmer knows that this war will benefit all of us. We can provide you with a fighting chance on the mainland with our superior boats." Amy explained as she looked away from the Ahas. "Maybe I can convince you in another way?"
The head of the military district took her offer while Breeder reluctantly followed them to a nearby room to make sure that the agent of the Order wasn't going to cause more trouble. She had to witness her colleague undressing, exposing a well sculpted body covered in scars that Breeder remembered for she had witnessed those in the making during the female Ahas' wedding where a dispute happened between humans and Ahas. The handsome man, at least for Ahas standards, was eager to have a rough intercourse with the petite Amy who seemed really into it, purring when he called her degrading names.
"You like that, swine?" Trainer grunted as he was choking Amy, whose nipples were as hard as diamonds.
The male Ahas was violently thrusting his girthy cock inside an already badly abused cunt as the woman was gargling with her legs convulsing as the oxygen was lacking, sending her over the edge. Amy was lying on her back and pinching her pointy tits as she was getting choked almost to death. Trainer eventually let go of her throat without stopping pounding her, he slapped one of her hands from a nip and proceeded to bite it. Having barely got time to gasp for air, Amy let out a weak scream of mixed pain and pleasure. She groped his back, nails digging in his skin as he managed to send her over the edge with his rough treatments.
"Is that all you've got, asshole?" She exclaimed in english.
The Ahas didn't understand what she said but took it as a challenge and easily flipped her on her stomach while still having his dick inside her. Amy cooed at his roughness and was already getting on her knees but she was forcefully kept down by the weight of Trainer. He laid on her with his body while punishing her wet cunt with his meaty cock, each thrust risking to break the bed underneath which squeaked and creaked dangerously. The position wasn't comfortable enough for the Ahas and he proceeded in getting her on all four by pulling her hair with one hand as he got up.
"Not so dangerous now, cock sheath. Scream for me!" Trainer ordered while spanking her ass, leaving red marks on her cheeks.
Amy moaned and the louder she screamed, the harder the slaps were. Breeder was visibly uncomfortable watching the scene, holding her sceptre tightly against her chest. The small redhead learned that the battle hardened man had quite the heavy hand and the spankings were sending waves of pleasure through her body. Even with the pain, she bucked her ass against his mighty cock, getting to feel the whole length inside her drenched pussy that was eager for more punishments. Amy was slightly disappointed when Trainer let go of her hair but getting her small boobs getting roughly treated, being forcefully milked, though she wasn't lactating, made her coo.
"More! More! Treat me like a cow!" The girl begged, feeling herself getting over the edge once more.
With the last bit of consciousness, Amy noticed Breeder sitting on the other side of the room, observing them. Trainer bit her neck as he was about to come, the sudden pain immediately made the redhead cum while letting out a deafening scream from her powerful orgasm. Her legs shook for a moment before going limp and she collapsed heavily on the bed. The last words she heard before losing consciousness were:
"Relax, I didn't poison her." Trainer calmly explained to a hissing Breeder who was bearing her own dripping fangs.
Amy eventually woke up in a small room, both hands cuffed to the railings of the bed and wearing only a loincloth.
"Well, that's a setback." She sighed before dislocating her thumb to get off her restraints.