Triumph Chapter 6

Thundering hooves quaked over the rolling plains as the scouting party descended on the small village just as the sun approached the horizon.  The villagers, seeing the riders coming from the south, quickly concluded that they were the enemy and panicked.  They began to run in every direction, trying to flee the coming carnage.

Golinchkar grinned as an older man ran out of a hut armed with a scythe.  The graying man’s eyes widened as he saw the lean, dark skinned and pointy toothed Mincenntti upper body of the centaur charging towards him. The centaur held out his forearm, his thumb on the slingstone.  With one quick motion, he loosed from the side and sent the stone whirling through the air until it smashed into the greybeard’s head. His head tilted back as his cheekbone was fractured and the man crumpled to the ground.

Old men, women, and children he realized,  All the men must be off to war…so much the better for us!  The centaur chieftain grinned wider as he loosed another bullet.  The small stone slammed into an older boy wielding an axe with a vicious crack as his ribs fractured.  “What were you protecting, boy?”  Golinchkar mused as his reared up and kicked in the door to the boy’s hut with a foreleg.

The hovel was so small that his head almost burst through the thatch roof.  Golinchkar pushed in, drawing his new steel saber as he quickly scanned the hearth.  Chickens squawked and ran about as he clomped through, kicking aside a small table and shattering a clay pot.

There didn’t seem to be any treasure, not that he expected any in a peasant’s hut.  As the livestock cleared out, Golinchkar was left alone in the hut, at least, until heavy breathing betrayed whoever was hiding beneath the bed.  He trotted over and kicked the bed so hard it broke through the stick and hay wall and tumbled out into the center of the village.

A young woman had been lying beneath it, curled up and trembling in fear.    The centaur grinned even wider now as he leaned forward to scoop her up in his grey arms.  With her fair skin and light hair she was different than what he was used to.  Still, her firm, perky breasts, narrow waist and lush, rounded ass were all he needed to tell him that this was a fertile young woman to mate with.

She started to scream when he tossed her over his shoulder and leaped out through the hole in the wall he made.  She beat her fists on his back, but the small fists rebounded off his massive chain shirt and leather armor.

He carried her towards the center of the village as the rest of his war band finished off the last of the men and gathered up the women.  Golinchkar slung her off his shoulder and dumped her on her ass. 

“What’s your name, girl?” He asked.

The woman trembled in fear at his monstrous visage, unable to form a response.

“Betty, run!”  Her brother called weakly as he approached Golinchkar from behind, dragging the axe in one hand while clutching his broken ribs with the other.

Golinchkar didn’t even look back: he just kicked his hind legs and smashed the boy’s face, snapping his neck, and sending his body flying across the square with one single brutal movement.  “Betty is it?  A pretty name for a pretty girl.”  All women like to hear that, he thought, not knowing if she was really pretty. He leered down at her and cupped her chin with one hand while he groped her breast with the other.  “You’ll breed me strong babies won’t you?”

The human woman only wailed in response, but Golinchkar was used to such reactions.  The Mincenntti captives back home were similarly resistant to being bred…at least at first.  Well, she’ll warm up eventually, he figured.  The races created by the Mincenntti were designed to be sterile, but it ended up they were only sterile within their own race.  Centaurs could breed with Mincenntti or with horses, though of course Mincenntti were preferred.  Of late though, they had become more and more rare.

The hand groping her breast slipped into the neckline of her dress and tore down, ripping the garment straight down to her waistline.

The centaur admired her pert breasts again now that they were exposed to his view.  There’s something to be said for their pale skin after all, he decided.  “Very nice, girl.”  Golinchkar said as he felt her tit again, exploring the bare flesh with his thick fingers.  “It is good to see you’re not so different.  Most of the parts are the same, anyway.  Let’s see if the most important bit is.”

As the human woman tried to cover her breasts, Golinchkar tore the remaining scraps of her dress all the way, leaving her completely naked. A quick inspection showed him that she did in fact have the parts he needed, even if they looked a little small.  Still, he had no doubt he’d make himself fit eventually.

“No!  Please don’t!  Let me go!”  Betty cried out again, lashing out ineffectually with her fists and feet.

Golinchkar wasted no time in spinning her around and dropping her onto all fours.  He quickly stepped over her, so his unclothed underside was exposed to her body.  His long equine shaft was already growing out of its sheathe, and the broad flat head drifted over her rounded backside as he readied himself.

This was always the most difficult part: he couldn’t reach beneath himself to hold her down and guide himself in.  Golinchkar needed her to remain still to best open her up for being mounted.  Fortunately, there was a simple method for ensuring her cooperation.  He clopped his forehooves dangerously close to her head.  Anytime she moved he blocked her with a stomp, until she finally got the point he was trying to make and crouched beneath him on all fours waiting.

“Perfect, just like that.  I’ll make a good filly out of you yet!”  He laughed and began to move his hips, slapping his massive tool against the back of her thighs and rubbing it between her legs as he nudged her.    The thick rod soon found the soft, furry mound of her pubis and began to probe at her velvety folds.  He began to press against it, stabbing at her again and again as he tried to force his mammoth cock inside her.

Instead, he merely succeeded in pushing her forward along the ground.  “Brace yourself!  Do it, or I’ll strap you into one of the breeding stalls in this shit hole village and let the whole tribe have a go at you!”

Betty whimpered but acquiesced and planted her hands and feet into the ground to hold herself steady.  “Aaaah! Nnng!”  She cried out in pain a moment later as Golinchkar began pushing again, slowly but surely forcing the fat tip of his dick inside her tight virginal hole.

“Oh yes!  Fuck!  Human fillies are so soft and warm!  And so many of them!”  He looked around in wonder that every warrior in his scouting party had gotten a female to mate with.  “Joining with Augras was definitely the right choice!  This truly is a land of plenty for us!”

The centaurs cheered as they each began to fuck their women, Golinchkar most of all.  The tiny human’s pussy wrapped tightly around his thick shaft, but he paid the tightness no mind.  She’ll loosen up in time.  Especially after she starts pumping out foals!  He snickered to himself and began to work his hips, pulling out slowly and then stabbing forward in a violent thrust.

Betty grunted beneath him, using all her strength to keep from being thrown forward as the centuar’s powerful lower half drove into her.  The thick rod filled her completely, stretching her pussy to near the breaking point.  Every time Golinchkar pulled back she was sure that her insides her going to follow.  The only consolation was that the centaur’s massive frame blocked her from view, saving her the shame of being further seen.

Not that the other women of the village would have any room to judge.  They were all in a similar state as the rest of the war band ravished them.  Her entire village was on the verge of being annihilated, or at least, bred out of existence.  Terror gripped her as she wondered if she really could bear a centaur’s child. 

It didn’t appear as if Golinchkar had any doubts based on the enthusiasm with which he fucked her.  The more he kept at it, the looser she became and the easier it was to move himself in and out.  As he forced her cunt to conform to the girth of his shaft he picked up the pace.  Faster and faster he moved, using her body as a cock sleeve to bring himself off.  It had been too long since he enjoyed a woman, particularly since he released his Mincenntti captives as a condition of allying with Augras.

“Ah, that’s good.  That’s real good.  Humans are so fucking tight aren’t they?”  He asked rhetorically.  His powerful flank muscles rippled as he flexed his body while thrusting into her.  The tight warmth wrapped around his cock was better than he had ever experienced before! As he rode Betty, he looked around at the rest of his band in triumph.  None of his warriors seemed to find any fault or complaint.  All around the human women were being bred, though in one case he actually saw one of the women sucking on a fat equine prick.  I’ll have to try that later.

“Come on Betty, move your hips, the sooner you make me cum the sooner this will all be over.”  This round at least, he thought with a snicker.

The young human woman did her best but sharp pain lanced through her each time she shook her hips.  The centaur’s horse dick was lodged so deep and tightly inside her that each movement she made caused her insides to stretch painfully.  “Ah! Please!  Just finish!  It hurts!”  She wailed.

“If you keep up that screeching we might be here all day!”  Golinchkar admonished her.  He tried to shut out her mewling and focus on the pleasure that her body was giving his cock.  His testicles began to tingle as his seed began to flow up to the base of his cock in anticipation of the coming climax.

His thrusting became frantic as he pounded into her again and again, ruining her pink pussy with his fat cock.  Moments later his gooey seed burst out of the flat tip of his shaft and plastered her vaginal walls.  The now widened pocket of her pussy quickly filled with his cum even as more spurts splashed against her cervix.

A shiver went through him as her body quaked and pulsed, squeezing the hyper-sensitive end of his phallus.  As the last of his cum leaked into her body, a mighty blast from a horn shook him from the post coital bliss.

“Riders approaching!”  One of his warriors called out.

“How many?”

“A horde!  A whole army!”

Golinchkar yanked his cock out and galloped over to the edge of the village, leaving Betty with her pussy gaping in a wet, sopping mess.  He scanned the horizon to the north and saw a long line of men on horseback charging towards the village.  “Augras instructed us to try and make out their banners.  What can you see?”

“I see some kind of bird, a bird of prey swooping downward.”

Augras told me about that one.  The female general and her Falcon Knights.  “There’s too many for us to fight.  Let’s get back to the camp and join the rest of the army.  We got everything we came here for anyway!”  With a laugh, the centaurs abandoned the woman and turned, riding off to the south at full gallop. 

****

“Our scouts tracked the Thestan force riding into the mountains before losing sight of them.”  Grotok informed the assembled council.  Besides Grotok’s commanders, Augras, Golinchkar, Brindhour, and Marishka were also present. 

“Their horses won’t be of much use on the mountain,” Augras remarked, “what could she be planning?”

“She wouldn’t have led them there for no reason.  Amelie must have some trick up her sleeve.”  Grotok continued.  “I want our sentries doubled, and pickets placed even further out.”

“They’re going to die.”  Marishka said, a somewhat dreamy expression on her face.  “The warrior queen is going to kill them.”

Grotok’s commanders clamored at this, but the King waved them down.  “Unless you have some spell to eliminate her, then I’m going to stick with standard military tactics.”

Does she? Augras wondered.  It was something worth considering, though as far as he knew magic couldn’t be used for such direct attacks.  “She doesn’t have enough men with her to seriously threaten the army.  She must mean to harass us somehow.  As long as we maintain the security of the camp, she won’t succeed.”

“What’s to stop her from just coming down the other side of the mountain?”  Brindhour asked.

“This is the only pass of any size between Thesta and Zentara,” Augras replied, “there aren’t any trails big enough for her to move an army through, especially one on horseback.”

“Your Highness!”  A flushed soldier rushed into the tent, sweat pouring down his face.  “Your Highness!

“Well?  Out with it, soldier!”  Grotok barked.

“The patrol from 5^th squadron never returned, and the relief sent to the outer pickets found no sign of our sentries.”

“It has begun.”  Marishka said while Grotok closed his eyes.

After a moment, the King opened them and looked to Augras.  “Since you did such a good job finding a captive the other night, take your Minotaurs and go find us another.  We need to know what Amelie is planning.”

Is this a trick?  Is he sending me out there to get killed?  Either way, I can’t really refuse with honor.  Augras glanced over to Marishka, who only looked ahead blankly.  Finally he turned back to Grotok and nodded.  “Yes, Your Highness.  Have no fear, we’ll get the job done.  Brindhour, get a war band together, we’re going hunting.”

Brindhour gave a wide, bovine grin and rose.  “Finally!  Another chance to fight!”  The Minotaur chieftain then left the tent to find his men.

A moment later Augras rose, as did Marishka and Golinchkar.  “You’ll get the answers you seek, Uncle.”  When Grotok only nodded in response, Augras turned and left to catch up with Brindhour.  It was going to be a long night after all.

****

Within the hour they were following the narrow trail up the mountain on the way to the outpost where the sentries had disappeared.  He traveled with a score of Minotaurs, which ordinarily would have put him at ease, but tonight he still felt concerned.  Not so much because of the Minotauars, but rather because he wasn’t happy with the goals of their mission.

Being sent out into the darkness to ‘see what they’re up to’ had disaster written all over it.  So as they marched, Augras committed his mind to finding a way to extricate himself and his men from this assignment while still being able to achieve at least a minimal success.  He also wrestled with Grotok’s intentions for sending him out here as well, and whether that was going to grow to be a bigger problem as the campaign went on.  And it will go on, he reassured himself, if I accept my destiny as true, then I’ll survive this mission regardless of how undefined it is.

When they reached the outpost, they were challenged by the relief force who had discovered the missing sentries.  “Halt!  Advance and be recognized!”

“Prince Augras, and twenty of my men.  Sent to investigate what happened to our sentries.”

“Welcome, Your Highness,” the guard responded when the group appeared and he recognized them as being orcs and Minotaurs: one of the benefits of the racial character of the war was that it made it easier to determine friend from foe.  “As we sent in the report, there weren’t any bodies here when we arrived.  We did find what looks like blood though.”

“Show me.”  Augras commanded, and a moment later the sentry led them over to a small, darkened patch a further beyond the guard camp. 

“That is blood.”  Brindhour confirmed.  “Someone approached and was stopped here.”  The Chieftain began to look around the area.  “Over here.”  They walked towards up to where an incline in the hill evened out again.  “There’s a trail here leading higher up in the mountains.  They probably traveled this way.”

“Send a runner back to the camp to inform my uncle about the trail,” Augras told the sentry, “we’re going to see where it leads.”  As they continued up the trail, Augras ensured that all the Minotaurs were keeping a close lookout for any trouble.

Unfortunately, as they continued along the path it soon branched out in different directions and then those branched out as well.  “There is a whole honeycomb of trails through the mountain,” Brindhour reported,  “we do not have enough men to check them all.”

“Nor can we just pick one and follow it blindly.  We may never find the right way back.”  At least this is as good an excuse as any for turning back.  A larger force can secure these paths in a more methodical way in the morning.

A sharp whistle tore through the night, followed by a dull crunch as a large rock crashed into a Minotaur’s head.  A moment later another bellowed out as a rock caught him in the shoulder.  “Fall back!  They’re dropping rocks from above!”

The scouting party began to retreat lower down the mountain, following the path they came up on.  As they rounded a corner they were greeted with a wave of javelins flying through the night.  Augras blocked one with his shield, but more sank into the flesh of his Minotaurs.  Fortunately, the thin javelins, though expertly thrown, didn’t damage his large forces the same way they would a human.  “Charge!  Fight through them!”  Augras called out as he kept his shield raised and ran towards the soldiers.

The Thestans maintained a tight front, standing shoulder to shoulder with their shields raised.  Augras slammed his shield against a Thestan, and tried to use his superior strength to knock him back.  The Thestan ranks were thick though, and the soldiers behind him kept him from falling.  The Thestan countered with a sword thrust, but Augras blocked it and brought his own sword down for another attack.

A Minotaur standing next to Augras grunted in pain as a sword slashed through his side, leaving a long trail of blood.  Bellowing in rage, he raised his axe and brought it down hard into the Thestan’s shield.  But the enemy soldier had it angled so it scraped off, and then quickly countered with another cut, this time leaving a deep gash in the Minotaur’s arm.

Augras was still locked in combat with the Thestan before him.  Their shields clashed ineffectively against one another, with neither having enough space to gain an advantage.  Augras frowned when he realized that the soldier didn’t seem all too concerned with the stalemate and as the half-orc heard a ‘twang’ he was forced to quickly turn his head to the side. 

An arrow nicked Augras’ helmet, but slid off the metal and deflected harmlessly to the side.  More arrows began to fall on them, pricking the Minotaurs and sticking out of their thick bodies like so many porcupine quills.

We’re getting killed out here!  Augras looked around desperately for a solution, then gave a feral grin as he noticed that the trail was continuing downward just behind the Thestan ranks.  “Tighten up!”  He called out to the Minotaurs.  “Push forward, drive them back.  We’ve got the weight and the terrain on our side!  Quickly now!”

Brindhour bellowed out loudly and pushed forward.  Ignoring the numerous cuts on his arms he held his axe horizontally and slammed it forward into three Thestan shields, pushing the soldiers back.  The rest of the Minotaurs followed suit, and rather than trying to kill the enemy they focused on driving them back.

The Thestan ranks began to slowly shift back, but with each step they took the next became even easier.  The Minotaurs were simply too strong and large to hold back physically.  Their archers continued to take a toll on the beasts, however, slowly but surely the Thestans were forced down a hill.

The Minotaur chieftain gave another loud bellow and slammed the head of his axe into the shield of the knight in front of him.  The powerful blow reverberated through the wood and the force knocked the Thestan on his back.  He tried to scramble to his feet, but as the line of minotaurs continued to move forward he was overtaken and Brindhour slammed his cloven hoof down on the Thestan’s skull, shattering it.

“We’re almost through!  There’s the path!  Keep going!”  Augras was still squared off against his initial opponent and just couldn’t seem to gain an advantage.  It no longer mattered though, as the Prince wasn’t intent on killing him.  Rather, he just wanted to escape the trap with as much of his force as possible.

Fortunately, the Thestans were ready to oblige.  As soon as they reached the first fork in the path they began to retreat in good order into the mountain, leaving Augras and his men free to retreat towards the camp.  It seems they don’t want a fight to the death either, which is smart;  they want to harass and retreat, not fight a pitched battle.  Oh shit!  “Don’t pursue!  Fall back!”  Augras shouted as he grabbed the armor of the nearest Minotaur and pulled back.

His muscles strained, and if it weren’t for his magically enhanced physique he would have been pulled forward by the Minotaur.  Fortunately, the rest of the men took heed, and continued the descent down the mountain.

“How many did we lose?”  Augras asked Brindhour once they returned to the outpost.

“Four dead, another dozen wounded.”  The chieftain replied.  “But not seriously.”

“That’s damn near everyone all the same!”  Augras replied.  “They got us good, but at least now we’re aware of the danger.  Let’s head back and tell the King.”  The return to camp passed uneventfully, and Augras was quickly taken to his uncle.

“Well?  You’re back quickly, nephew.  What did you learn?”

“That those mountains are a death trap, Your Highness.  At some point the Thestans created a maze of footpaths and goat trails that they can use to ambush us at will.  It will take a considerable force to secure them all.”  Augras replied.

“They can’t have that many troopers.  The scouts who watched them approach said they thought it was a thousand.  But the Sandoran army is still out there as well, and the last thing we want is to get them into the army.  But we can’t get through, and we can’t stay here, at least not without bleeding our army dry.”  Grotok grunted in frustration as he looked at the map.  “Unless you have some other magic trick up your sleeve?”

“There is a way.”  Marishka said as she stepped into the tent.  “Another spell that would work.”  She looked from Grotok to Augras.  “But you’re not going to like it.  At first.”  A faint smile crossed her lips.  “You will though, in time.”

Augras pulled the helmet off his head and traced his finger along the scratch made by the arrow.  That was too close.  Grotok is right, we can’t go forward and we can’t stay here.  We need another option.  “Tell me.”

****

Amelie took a deep breath and smiled with pleasure as she enjoyed the warmer climate of Zentara.  While there was still a brisk chill in the air, it still felt much better than the freezing temperatures of the mountain.  Amelie led two hundred of her knights down into Zentara on the secret paths and trails she had cut through the mountains over the years.  With only a thousand troopers with her at the moment she couldn’t directly challenge the orcs, but she could harry and harass them.

Ever since the Elfin Isles had been brought into Zentara’s sphere of influence through strong-arm diplomacy and blackmail, she had been preparing for war.  Lyriena’s warnings had proven prescient, and Amelie regretted that she wasn’t able to help the elf sooner.  I’m getting too old to be campaigning in the mountains in winter.  To be even thirty-five again!  Part of her preparation, in addition to building the now ruined castles, was to cut secret paths and trails through the mountain and to map them extensively. 

None were large enough to move a full army through, but with patience she was able to move her knights around the mountain to ambush the orcs, and even lead small groups into Zentara itself.  Of course, once the orcs knew they had this capability they’d secure both the mountains and the rear.  But that would tie them up in the Pass even longer, which was what she was really after.

“I’m glad to be off that mountain, Your Highness, and not a moment too soon.  It’d be just fine with me if we took a week or two to get back as well.”  One of her knights said.

“Oh I expect we’ll be a couple days at least.  What, don’t tell me you’re tired of my mountain retreat already?  Our little holiday has just started!”

“He’s worried about his manhood freezing off, Your Highness.”  Another soldier chimed in.

“Shut your mouth!”  The original soldier said as his face flushed.

Amelie laughed.  “He should be: that camp follower back in Heste has a standing claim to it, and even I wouldn’t want to cross her.”

The soldier flushed an even brighter shade of red.  “You know about that?”

“Her Highness knows all,” a nearby sergeant remarked, “you’d best remember that!”

The Thestan Queen signaled her troop to halt as she spied a caravan headed north along the road.  Despite the large number of wagons, it appeared to be only lightly guarded by mounted cavalry.  But since it was headed directly towards the orc encampment, whatever it was had to be important to their war effort.

They must be so sure that their rear is secure they’re not fully guarding their supplies.  Well, more fool them!  Amelie whistled sharply and then spurred her horse and began charging forward.  When the guards spotted them coming, they formed up into a wedge and began riding out to meet them.  They must be trying to buy time for the caravan to escape, but there’s no hope of that. 

Fifty of her men peeled off to seize the caravan while the rest continued towards the guards.  Even with their reduced number they still outnumbered the Zentarans five to one.  As the two forces neared collision she pulled out her first javelin.  Taking careful aim despite the pace of her galloping horse, she threw the javelin forward.  The thin spear lanced through the neck of the closest rider’s horse, sending the beast tumbling to the ground and throwing the rider forward.  She quickly grabbed her second javelin, and as she trampled over the thrown orc she threw the second one, this time launching it into the chest of another guard and slamming him off his horse.

With both javelins gone, she quickly unslung her shield and drew her sword, and not a moment too soon.  A burly orc, who was so large he looked almost comical on his horse was charging towards her.  She deflected his sword with her shield and then stood up high on her stirrups.  The other orc was still seated, giving her enough reach to slash her sword towards his leather helm.

The orc pushed her blade aside with his own shield, and then countered with a strong blow, as if he meant to cleave right through her shield.  She squeezed her legs around the horse and it sat back on its hind legs, causing the orc to miss completely and over extend himself.  Another squeeze and the horse stood upright once more, which Amelie quickly capitalized on.

She thrust her sword forward, thrusting it deep into the orc’s eye socket.  Dark blood spilled out as the tip pushed through and punctured his brain.  Amelie withdrew it quickly and left the orc to fall off his horse as she looked for another target.  An orc was pressing one of her men hard, but in doing so had left his back exposed.

A quick slash of her sword cut through the back of the orc’s neck, severing his spinal cord but not quite making it all the way through his neck.  The grey orc’s head flopped forward comically, and she spared her trooper a quick nod before returning her attention to the battlefield.

The battle was quickly going in their favor, not that it was ever in doubt.  The orcs were starting to be pushed back and enveloped on all sides before the Thestan’s greater numbers and skill.  Looking back towards the road, she saw that the rest of her troop had intercepted the caravan, bringing a smile to her face.  This was turning out to be a very successful raid, especially for one just starting.

She allowed the battle to sweep past her as she saw the orc civilians managing the caravan get rounded up.  Oh by the Abyss, what am I going to do with them?  She didn’t want to kill them, though she knew that’s what Henry would insist upon.  If they weren’t killed now, they’d have to be later.  But maybe then it wouldn’t be my hands their blood is on.

When enough distance had been created she rode over to the caravan.  “What did we get, men?”

“Food, mostly.  Some oversized weapons and armor.”  The sergeant seemed disappointed.

“Hoping for the payroll?”  Amelie replied with a quip.  “The weapons and armor are probably for the strange beasts we’ve heard about.  But food?”  She pursed her lips thoughtfully and began inspecting the haul.  I’d have thought they’d have already stored all their food for the winter.  By the Abyss, there shouldn’t be this much food to begin with!  The Zentarans were supposed to be starving!

“You there!”  She called out to one of the orcs.  “Where did this food come from?”  When no one responded, she pointed her bloody sword at the nearest orc and wiped it clean on his tunic.  “Answer!”

“From the fields, My Lady!  The fields the Prince blessed!”

“The Prince?  Which Prince?”  She asked.

“Prince Augras, my lady, he cast some spell on the fields, and made all the crops grow again, and again.  There’s another harvest growing even now!”

“Another harvest?  In this weather?  You must be mad!”  Strange creatures, earthquakes that swallow entire castles, and now this?  What is going on?

“It’s true My Lady!”  The other orcs nodded in agreement.  “The Prince has some strange magic!”

Amelie looked towards the sergeant.  “You and your men take them back to our camp and question them further.  The rest of us are going to push further into Zentara.”  She sighed softly.  At least it gives me an excuse to spare them.  For now, anyway. 

With the prisoners secured and on their way, Amelie took the rest of her force and continued heading south east into Zentara.  To her surprise, they started to see more signs of recent harvests and planted fields.  Can they really be expecting another harvest?

It seemed they could.  They started to see golden stalks of wheat breaking out of the freshly tilled earth.  The deeper into the country they got, the taller the wheat had grown.  “This is impossible.”  She muttered in disbelief.  Our entire strategy is falling apart.  Amelie signaled her troop to halt, and then turned to address the nearest sergeant.  “Send one detachment to fan out and burn the fields.  Tell them to destroy as much of it as they can.  Then take another detachment and capture some farmers.  I want to know how this is possible.”

The sergeant nodded and rode off to carry out her orders.  Where do we go from here?  She wondered and began putting her mind to the problem.  In the short term, Heste will continue to be the center of gravity.  We can still sweep the orcs out of Heste.  But it’s going to be much bloodier on our front.  We can’t count on keeping the Zentarans pent up.  It will be all we can do to keep them out of Thesta!

Amelie looked out over the field as the flames began to climb towards the sky.  That’s a good start.  We’re going to have to step up the raids behind their lines.  Keep them off balance and distracted.  But she feared that wouldn’t be enough.  I need to get back to the camp, interrogate the prisoners, and send messages out to my allies. 

A short time later her detachments returned with a family of human serfs.  “I am Queen Amelie of Thesta.  You have my word you won’t be harmed, but I do require that you come with me.  As long as you cooperate you have nothing to fear.”  That being said, she turned her horse and led her troopers back to the camp at a hard gallop.

The sun set and rose again before her party reached their camp, leaving Amelie feeling dead on her feet.  I’ll write to Henry, Brigitte, and Anna after a nap.  “Keep the farmers under guard, but separate from the orcs.  I’ll want to compare their stories later and I don’t want them collaborating.”  She told the sergeant.  “Actually, turn them over to whomever the watch commander is at the moment, and then get some rest.  Make sure he understands my instructions though.”

The sergeant saluted and went off to deliver the prisoners while Amelie made her way back to her tent.  Amelie smiled at the guard standing outside her tent.  “Good morning Richards.  Everything quiet last night?”

“Yes, Your Highness, at least over here.  No visitors to your tent.”

“Good, good.  Help me remove my armor.  I’m going to take a quick nap, so please make sure I’m not disturbed unless it’s an emergency.”  After Richards helped remove her chain shirt and cuirass, Amelie closed the flaps to her tent and pulled off her boots, and then her pants as well.  She slipped on a white shift and sighed at how nice the soft cotton felt after a day in armor.

I can’t wait until the war is over, she thought as she lay down on her cot.  A moment later she was fast asleep.

****

The ocean spray bathed Amelie’s face as she stood on the bow of the ship.  The salty smell of the sea and the warm sun made her smile, but not so much as the feeling of triumph building inside her chest.  Her fleet was approaching Ruar, which lay defenseless before her.  The war, and the orc threat, would be over in a matter of days.

A dark shadow crossing beneath the path of the ship drew her gaze to the water.  Terror sprung up within her as the water churned, followed by an explosion of water as eight large tentacles burst forth from the sea.  “Kraken!”

A javelin was in her hands in a flash, and she quickly threw it at the giant sea monster.  It sliced through the air and slammed into the nearest tentacle.  But the missile just bounced off harmlessly and dropped into the water.  The head of the massive beast rose out of the water, and a furious wail spilled out of its gaping maw. 

Amelie looked into the inky depths of its black eye and drew her second javelin.  She launched it straight at the beast’s great eye, but to her surprise and dismay it fell well short of her target.  How did I miss?  I never miss!  Her arms just felt so weak, and she herself felt so tired.

As her shoulders drooped under the weight of her armor, one of the massive tentacles swept down and wrapped around her waist, plucking her straight off the deck.  Amelie struggled to draw her sword, but it was trapped beneath the slimy tendril.  As the gooey film coating the tentacles rubbed across her armor, the leather and steel protection began to disintegrate and break away.

In the blink of an eye she was dangling naked in the massive beast’s grasp!  Amelie burned in shame as her body was revealed to the crew of her ship.  The sailors and soldiers below stopped to gape in surprise as their Queen was stripped by the humungous sea monster.  Worse, more tentacles began to appear and swirl around her thrashing body.

The undersides of the fleshy appendages were covered in suction cups which latched onto each nipple.  “Ah!”  She cried out as the tentacles squeezed the nubs and began to work them fiercely in their grasp.  The nubs swelled and hardened, pulsing against the constricting cups and sending sharp shivers of pleasure through her body.

The Kraken began pulling her down, and its huge mouth opened wide.  It’s going to eat me!  Fear shot through her as she approached the cavernous depths.  But then its massive pink tongue rolled out and upwards, right between her legs.

“Ooooh!”  She cried out in spite of herself.  There was something about it that was so warm and secure despite the wet, sticky texture.  As it licked further between her legs she found herself opening to it and cooing even louder in response.

Below her she could hear her men jeering.  Although she couldn’t make out what they were saying, she somehow knew that they were looking at her with revulsion and contempt.  She could feel them losing all respect for her as she thrashed in pleasure atop the kraken’s tongue, and somehow that only turned her on even more.

Amelie couldn’t understand why she was getting so turned on by the kraken’s repulsive tongue.  It had been a long time since her husband had passed, a long time since she’d been with another person.  But this wasn’t a person, it was a monster!  “MMM!”  She moaned again as the kraken’s tongue rubbed against her sensitive nether lips and flicked against her swollen clit.

The world turned upside down as the kraken flipped her around.  Amelie’s brown hair hung beneath her as the tentacle lowered her towards the deck of the ship.  She flushed in shame as her soldiers got an even better view of her naked body being pleasured by the sea creature’s tentacles.  The tongue continued to lap at her slit, and when she cried out in pleasure one of the slimy tendrils pushed between her lips and plunged deep inside her mouth.

“Mmmppllhhg!”  She sputtered as the tentacle forced itself down into her throat.  Amelie’s eyes bulged and began to water as she choked on the writhing tendril.  It pushed in and out, fucking her throat furiously as she dangled above the ship.

“Look at her suck that thing!”

“Damn she’s taking it all the way in!”

“What a whore!”

It’s fucking my throat! She wanted to scream, before realizing that she was sucking it!  Somehow her lips had begin working the slimy flesh between them while her tongue licked and swirled along the suckers on the bottom, tracing each curve of the suction cups as the tentacle pushed into her body.  Why am I doing this?  Why can’t I stop?

The more her men jeered, the harder and more energetically she sucked.  She threw herself into the task, lavishing attention upon it as it ravished her throat.  The other tentacles continued to squeeze and rub her tits, their constant attention making her normally modest tits swell and grow lewdly.

Her breasts swung ponderously beneath her, slapping against the kraken’s tentacles as the monster continued to abuse her body.  The monster’s tongue was licking furiously now, feasting on the outpouring of juices from Amelie’s hot cunt.  Her hips gyrated against it, eagerly rubbing herself up and down the rubbery, prehensile muscle.  She wanted, she needed more of it.  Amelie wanted it all over her pussy: inside it, around it, on her clit, everywhere. 

“Mmmm!  MMM!  MMM!”  She squealed in pleasure around the tentacle in her mouth as her body shook.  The lewd display only caused her soldiers to insult her further, throwing every foul name and insult in their expansive repertoire at the struggling Queen.  Her head spun as her body buzzed.  She had never been a masochist, never reveled in abuse and humiliation as she’d heard Jeanette and Lyriena did.  Still, now, somehow, her exposure and the public’s insults were turning her on in a way she’d never experienced before.

Amelie couldn’t understand why her men were treating her like this.  They loved her!  They always supported her!  But now they were mocking and deriding her.  Of course, she was loving every minute of it.  Maybe that’s why, she thought, because I love it, because I want it.  Maybe I deserve this?  She asked herself as she writhed and contorted in pleasure on the tentacles. 

The kraken’s tongue was moving in a blur against her pussy, spreading her labia with each lap to push slightly inside her.  The crevice between her thighs was drenched with its spittle and her own juices.  Amelie’s vaginal passage was open and wet, ready for what she knew was the inevitable conclusion to her beastly mating.

“Yeah, fuck  her!”

“Breed that bitch!”

“Stuff that slut’s hole full!”

Another tentacle rose from the watery depths and wrapped around her foot, then slithered up and around her thigh leaving a sticky trail of goo.  The tendril continued up her body until it found the waiting entrance to her body.

“Ah!  Ah!”  She moaned around the tentacle in her mouth while bucking her hips to try and impale herself on the kraken’s tentacle.  The slimy appendage slid up and down her thigh, probing, teasing her as it drove her to new heights of pleasure.

Finally, mercifully, it gave her what she craved.  The thick tentacle thrust upwards, pushing through her velvety walls and filling up her vaginal cavity.  The Kraken didn’t pause, not even for an instant, but instead began vigorously fucking her.  The powerful thrusts made her body rock forward even in the other tentacle’s tight grip.

“Mmmm!  MMMMM!”  Amelie moaned louder as her body exploded with new sensations.  The thick girth of the wriggling tentacle was touching and rubbing her in ways she’d never experienced before, or even imagined possible.  Her hips gyrated even faster now as she tried to stir the appendage inside her and eagerly fucked it back.

“Look at the slut go!”

“By the Abyss, look how she’s riding that thing!”

“Who’d have thought the stuck up bitch was such a whore?”

Amelie no longer recoiled from their words.  She knew they were true, and she reveled in it.   I want them to see, she thought as she sucked on the tentacle whorishly.  I want them to see everything!  Her high pitched, lustful squeals filled the air as she writhed in delight beneath the tentacles ministrations.

The tendril inside her cunt began to twist and thrash, rolling against her inner walls as it touched, stroked, and rubbed them at every possible angle.  The two tentacles on her breasts continued to squeeze and suck, making her tits grow larger and larger.  They were almost comically oversized now as they hung beneath her body.

The kraken changed Amelie’s position, moving her so that she was bent over while the tentacle drilled her from behind.  Now she was face to face with the sailors on the ship.  Amelie had to look them in the eye and see their disgust and derision up close as she contorted in ecstasy from the kraken.  As the tentacle moved faster and faster, it seemed to swell inside her and stretch her even further.

Amelie could feel her climax building within her.  As more insults were hurled at her, as the tentacle slid in and out and pushed more firmly against her inner sensitive walls she was pushed to the very edge of ecstasy.

“Cum you slut!  Cum you slut!  Cum you slut!”  The crew chanted, over and over again.  The words were deafening in her ears, resounding and rebounding in her mind over and over again as she lost herself completely to the pleasure.

“Aaaaaah!”  Amelie cried out loudly and sat up from her cot, quivering in ecstasy as the climax rocked through her.  She panted for breath and every nerve tingled as she shuddered in the aftershocks of her orgasm.

“Your Highness!”  Her guard shouted as he burst into her tent.

When the guard nervously turned his head away, Amelie looked down and saw that her white shift was clinging so tightly to her sweaty body that the dark circles of her areolas were visible through the thin cotton material.  The humiliation of being caught and exposed rippled through her before she clamped down on it and pushed it away.  “It’s alright, just a bad dream.  Dismissed.”

The guard quickly left her tent to resume his post outside, leaving Amelie alone with her thoughts.  Where in the Abyss did that come from?   She wondered.  She’d never had a dream like that before.  Maybe I have been too long without a man.  Amelie quivered again as she ran her hands down her front.  She massaged her breasts, which tingled in delight at the attention.  Her strong fingers lingered on her supple flesh, and she even gave both hard nipples a pluck. 

Still the same size.  It was just a dream.  But by the Abyss did that seem real!  Amelie shook her head to try and clear it and rose shakily from her cot.  There wouldn’t be any going back to sleep after that. Besides, there’s still a war to fight, and I need to get on with it.