Author's corner:

Here is the final part of the Pest Control chapters. It is a bit longer because it contains the journey of Aryana from the village she lived in till the current time in the story. Because some may not want to read the part that happened from the perspective of Nathaniel already again from her point of view I parted it.

Part 1: The village (her way from the village to the first cave)

Part 2: A fateful encounter (this is the part that is what happened in the two caves.)

Part 3: Pest Control (After she left the cave after the naming ceremony.)

I tried to shorten a lot of descriptions and dialogue in part 2 because you already know them from the other point of view. I recommend reading this nonetheless because I added a few things that were not in the other point of view.

Now the IMPORTANT part! I got 52 followers and that is freaking amazing! I promised to release a chapter today so here it is. But I also wanted to thank you for the 50+ follows. So I finished the Pest Control chapters and added as a little bonus the past of Aryana, now known as Lethia. Be prepared it is not a short chapter ;D

But now enough from me. ENJOY!

Point of view of Aryana, later known as Lethia.

Part 1: The village

I made my way back home from my little hunting trip. It was not especially successful but I managed to kill a deer and a rabbit. The pelts will get me some vegetables and the meat will feed me for at least a week if I preserve it. The village I was headed to was in the outskirts of a mountain range in the north of the central continent. Further north is only the wasteland that is inhabited by creatures of the orc family like orcs, goblins and trolls. But luckily there advancement is more towards the capital further in  the east so not many orcs attack the village.

I first stopped at my little hut that I called my home, which was outside of the village. There I skinned the animals, cleaned the pelts and hung the rabbit meat in little pieces in the sun to make dried meat. Some of the deer meat was sliced in cubes and put in a big pot on the stove to cook a ragout. After that I took the pelts and the rest of the meat and made my way towards the entrance of the village. The moment the villagers saw me they immediately sneered at me and looked with blatant disdain at me. I could hear them say all the bad things about me. That I’m a bastard. That I’m a disgrace to the human race. That it would be better if I die. I came to ignore it. If it weren’t for the fact that I’m one of only two hunters in this village I would be thrown out of the village. And if it weren’t for the fact that I would be caught and sold as a slave if I were to leave this village for a bigger town or caves where my race is believed to live, I would be gone years age.

I went to the general store in the village where all thing are sold and bought. I entered and was greeted by the unwilling glance of the storekeeper. “Another batch of low quality pelts?” He asked me. I knew my pelts were spotless but if I complain here I won’t be able to ever sell something in this village again. So I just nodded and laid them on  the counter for him to inspect. He picked one up and inspected it. “Hmmm… they are even worse than the last you brought.” I felt anger welling up inside me, knowing that he wanted to press  the price even further well knowing I could say nothing against it. “I am generous today. I will give you… hmmm… lets see, 5 silver.” I knew they were worth at least 15 silver but I kept shut and just nodded. He handed me the silver coins and I handed over the meat that I didn’t need. “It’s deer meat.” I added. “Are you trying to say I’m too stupid to even identify deer meat, you dirty bastard?” He yelled at me. “Here are 20 copper. And now fuck off!” With this he robbed me off another 30 copper and threw me out of his store.

My next stop was a vegetable stand on the middle of the village center. There I bought a basket of old but still edible vegetables for three silver. That was nearly double the price fresh vegetables would sell for. I looked at my meager spoil while making my way out of the village and sighed. Out of the corner of my eye I made out a group of men in good leather armor that were headed towards the only inn in this village but I paid it no mind. They must be from the military or mercenaries here to look after the orcs or something.

When I came back to my hut it was already dawn. I put the vegetables away and filled a wooden bowl with ragout and sat down to eat. After that I went to sleep. The hunting trip and dealing with those villagers was tiring after all.

In the middle of the night I woke up to the sound of wood breaking. I looked around and could see three dark figures making their way through the destroyed door and the only room in my hut towards my bed. I jumped up and screamed. “Who are you? What do you want? Stay away from me!” but they didn’t care. They closed the distance and one grabbed my arm. I reacted immediately and punched him in the face. I could feel his nose breaking but my hand hurt badly after that. He let loose of my arm and held his face while groaning. “You little bitch! If not for the money I would kill you right here and now!” I kicked to second man in the groin and he fell to the ground where he squirmed in pain. The third man was now in reach and boxed me in the ribs. The breath left my lungs and I coughed and bowed forward, desperately trying to breathe. I knew I had to leave before they can knock me out. I stumbled forward and rammed my shoulder into the ribcage of the third man. In return he grabbed me and threw me against the wall near the door. I howled in pain and tried to crawl on all four out of the door, away from the three man. But at this moment the man which nose I broke came back to his senses and kicked against my ribcage that I flew the meter that I crawled away from the wall back against it. I could hear my ribs crack and pain rushed through my entire body. “You filthy whore! You broke my nose!” And with this he kicked me again and again. I could feel three ribs breaking and then I lost consciousness.

The next time I regained consciousness I was dragged through the entry of the village. My hands and feet were bound and they just put a rope around my feet and pulled me over the ground. Pain was the only thing I felt, but the sight of the man that I kicked in the groin still limping and groaning gave me a little satisfaction. Now I could finally take a look at the people that beat me up badly and dragged me out of my home. The man with the broken nose  had brown hair, brown eyes, was 1,9m and a short beard. He was the storekeeper. The one I kicked in the groin had slightly grey blond hair, was 1,8m and had no beard. The rest was pretty ordinary. He had no noteworthy features. He was the owner of the inn. The last of the three has long black hair and a sturdy build. His skin was weatherbeaten. He was one of the farmers living in this village. I still didn’t know exactly what was going on but cursed those three men in the worst way I could imagine.

My rough and painful journey came to an end in front of the inn. I hadn’t muttered a single word since I regained my consciousness and tried not to show any signs of pain. “Hey that whore has woken up. Haha. I go and get Gerard.” Said the innkeeper and went inside. After a few minutes he came back with one guy in leather armor. He had a large, nasty looking burn over the right side of his face. “Oh you actually had something like this in your village. That saves us a lot of time and money. We would have bought something like this from a slaver further to the west. I think I can give you, considering the state of the goods, 4 gold for her. I think that is an appropriate price. Do you agree?” He asked the innkeeper. “Yes, yes. Of course. This is a generous offer if I say so. We will readily agree to your proposal.” the innkeeper answered in a submissive way while rubbing his hands with a grin on his face.

My eyes widened. The actually sold me. They sold me. They sold me. This was the only thought that remained in my head. I could think nothing else. I couldn’t even speak. I just lay there opening and closing my mouth in shock like a fish.

“Just throw her in the cage in the stable. We will leave tomorrow after breakfast.” Gerard said and handed the two gold coins over to the innkeeper. After they threw me in the cage I again lost consciousness.

I woke up the next morning after they loaded me on a wooden cart. I was still in this cage though. I could see the whole village lined up on the way to the gates. Nine man in leather armor on horses were riding in front of the cart and one was driving it. We begun our way out of the village and the villagers threw moldy vegetables and fruits at me. Two even emptied their jerry in my direction. But luckily it hit the cart and only some splashes found their way in my cage. Even the children took part in this whole spectacle. I could feel a few tears running down my cheeks over my own powerlessness. I vowed that if I ever were to come out of this I would do everything in my power to never be powerless! And so I left the village filthy, in pain, crying and in an iron cage.

After we left the village I started to regain my composure and started questioning the men around me. “Wh-What happens to me now?”

“Oh, she has regained her ability to speak! Well it will do no harm to let you know.” Gerard begun. “We were searching for a new toy for our employer. His previous one broke and he had to kill it. It was after all only a lifeless shell after only four weeks. He really gets better and better at breaking them. Haha.”

“True. And it is no fun when they don’t struggle after all.” Another of the men joined in. I could feel the urge to vomit. Not only sold but to a sadistic asshole at that.

I could feel something cracking in my mind and I started to laugh uncontrollable and to scream and cry while baning my head against the iron bars of the cage which lead to blood running down my face. “Hey that whore lost it. You shouldn’t have told her that, Gerard. What shall we do now?” I heard someone saying. “All of you. Stop! First of all get her out of the cage before she kills herself!” He said with a little panic in his voice. They opened the cage and grabbed my foot and dragged me out of it. On my way to the ground my head met with the edge of the wagon and the bleeding intensified, leading only to more laughter. After I was on the ground I began kicking and punching around me but the mercenaries didn’t care. Gerard now began kicking me. He kicked my ribcage and pushed my broken ribs into my abdomen where I felt something rupture. Another man kicked me against the head. I felt my head snap around and faced another boot that hit me on the forehead. Now my maniac like laughing had changed to screams of pain and sobs and I begged them to stop but to no awhile. After another boot connected to my temple I lost consciousness for the third time in this short duration.

Part 2: A fateful encounter

After an almost infinite amount of time just emerging in the sweet black nothingness my perception changed. The calm black sea I was laying in changed. First small waves that got bigger and bigger washed over me. Every wave brought forth a wave of pain equivalent to the height of the waves. Soon the waves towered over me and the pain was almost unbearable and because I already was unconscious there was no way out. I had to endure. Soon after the waves had reached their maximum they began turning red. First it was only a little bit dark red in the all-embracing blackness. But soon I could clearly see it. It stopped the moment all black had changed to a blood red. The waves also didn’t bring pain anymore and started to calm. But now the small waves brought something way worse than pain. They brought hunger. With every wave it piled up. I could think about nothing else, Just hunger. I needed something to eat or I would die! I would die! Die! Die!

And with this I opened my eyes. All was dyed in different shades of red. But all what I could think of was to satisfy this burning and raging hunger deep down in my intestines. I looked around there was a man sitting leaned on a wall. He was like me. I instinctively knew that. He was also a predator. I needed to kill him to get what I wanted. I growled at him and he opened his eyes and looked at me. “Haha. It seems you are full of vigor. I like you. But now is not the time for a fight. You look hungry.” I couldn’t comprehend what he was saying. The hunger was too loud. He made a step in my direction, I could feel the difference in strength. I shouldn’t have woken him up. I should have run! But now it was too late. “Come on. Let me show you what I have arranged for you. Not that you can understand me as of now.” He jumped at me and grabbed me. I had no time to evade. I don’t want to die. Let me go! I started to claw at his arm hoping he would let loose. But he didn’t. He dragged me towards another man that looked like someone I knew but I did not care. I was focused on getting away from this dangerous predator holding my neck. Then I could smelled something delicious and heard a low bubble. I redirected my view and saw blood rushing out of a deep wound in the neck of the human. He almost dipped my nose in this delicious red liquid. I completely forgot everything around me and focused solely on the blood that was flowing down this body. I sunk my teeth deep into his neck, opening the wound even more, and started drinking the red life juice in large gulps. I could feel the hunger fading and the red curtain lifted. I know could think freely again.

I stood up and looked around. We were in a cave. There were the mercenaries that bought me. And the one that I drank from was actually Gerard. Now I focused on the one in front of me. I looked at him. He was really handsome. He wore clothing that only royalty would wear but it was all covered in a thick layer of slowly drying blood. He had pale skin, an aristocratic facial structure and high cheekbones, giving him a slightly arrogant look. But the most characteristic features in his face were his blood red eyes. I looked into them and I felt the difference in power. I was nothing more than a mere ant in front of him. I shivered and bowed deeply looking towards the ground, hoping that I didn’t anger him in any way.

“You don’t have to be so formal. We will be travel companions after all.” I heard him say. I wasn’t sure what exactly I should do and don’t so I just ended my bow and looked at him. I had many questions but I didn’t want to annoy him so I kept quiet. “You have many questions. I know that. I will answer them when we begin our walk towards my residence.” He said and turned around to exit the cave. “Follow me.” I slowly followed him out of the cave.

The moment I stepped out of the cave I was overwhelmed by the impressions I got from my senses. They were sharper than ever. The senses of a half elf weren’t bad but they were far from what I had now. I could clearly see in the dark of the beginning day. I could clearly see the leaves on a tree over hundred metres away. I could smell the different animals that walked by the cave the last days and I could hear the different noises of mice moving little stones in their path.

The next 1 and half an hours we walked through the mountains and he told me about my new existence. I knew I had changed but I didn’t know what I was. But apparently I was something that he called blood shadow, known to the public as vampire. I was baffled. I now had the chance to be strong. And all that thanks to the man walking in front of me. In this moment I vowed that I would do anything for my savior. He is the only reason I am still alive and because of that I will serve him for the rest of my live.

When the topic came to my origin I felt the anger once again welling up in me. I told him that they sold me to the mercenaries. He just looked at me and then said with a laugh. “Then if you want you can go to them later on and make one or two your personal servants. Haha. This would be the best kind of irony. By the way. What was your name? Not that it matters, you get a new one eventually.” I couldn’t help myself and smiled.Yes. I will kill every single one of them! Slowly and painfully! None of them will escape my wrath! To the question what my name is I answered “My name was Aryana. I would be honoured to receive a new name together with this new existence.” And this was true. If my saviour would give me a name I would wear it with honour till the day I die.

We finally arrived in front of a small path that lead through a tight space between two faces. He said that my new home was behind this path. I was really eager to see it. In my entire life I had no place I could call my home. Just a hut near a village that hated me. After just a few steps I felt that his mood changed drastically and he now permeated an aura that instilled fear in the deepest part of my soul. Uneasy I asked “Have I done something wrong?” To which he just smiled and said “No no. It’s just that I know what found my secret valley. And that does not make me happy. Those ugly abortions! Tch. it seems that you can test your new abilities soon on living targets. Is there a better training than slaughtering puny orcs?”. Orcs? And he speaks about killing, no SLAUGHTERING them? Without a weapon? “B-But I don’t even have a weapon…” I voiced my concerns. “A weapon? Your a banshee. You can kill them with your bare hands. If you survive this slaughter festival I will give you a bow that is better than even the bows of those arrogant wood-elves. What do you say?” Was his answer. There was no way around that. So I had to focus on surviving. Surely he would do nothing that gets me killed after he worked so hard to give me this life. I will not disappoint my new master! “V-Very well. I will try my best.” Was all I could say.

After about five minutes of walking through the path we arrived at an opening where a large gatehouse stood, blocking the path. The moment he saw what the orcs had done to the door he got enraged and vowed that not one of the orcs will leave this valley. But the moment he shouted those words two big and ugly orcs made their way towards us. His next words surprised me. “Aryana, would you be so kind? Now you can prove yourself and experience what you are capable of now.” He send me, unarmed, alone against two orcs which were armed with a spear and a sword. He sure must be kidding. But he told me about a few things I’m now capable of and deep down under my fear I am eager to test my limits. So my answer was “If you want me to do this I will…” I’m still not convinced that I could win. But he surely will rescue me when things start to go down. I hope my fear is not to apparent.

After they caught sight of me the look in their eyes changed to a look of lust and the one with the sword made a step forward and tried to grab me. But it was as if he was moving in slow-motion. I could easily sidestep and connected my fist into his solar plexus. But I must have been stronger than I thought. My fist sunk wrist deep into his ribcage. I could feel the warm and almost gooey texture of what must be his lung. And from the top I could feel a beating sensation that slowly started to slow down. I was as perplex as the orc, who coughed a mouthful of blood in my face, I just killed, that I missed the second orc that roared in anger and pierced me with his spear right through my abdomen. The pain was horrible but I could endure it. The black sea was way worse. But the moment he made a fast swing with his spear and threw me against the wall must have been enough to knock me out.

The next moment I was kneeling on the ground but I couldn’t control myself. But it was not scary. I knew I needed this to survive. I didn’t fight against it. I just let go of the reigns and watched as my body said “How dare you hurting me, you ugly creature! I will kill you!” with a voice that sounded kinda melodious to my ears. The next moment I pounced at the orc and grabbed his right arm and his right tusk. I threw him around but hold onto his tusk, ripping it out in the progress while he stumbles against the wall. He looked at me in fear and pain. I could feel satisfaction welling up in me! He, who hurt me, was now in a position where he is at my mercy. And in this moment I opened my mouth and a terrifying screech came out of it.

After a few seconds of violent shuddering the orc collapsed, dead. With a a slight unease I could feel my teeth retracting and my finger shrinking. And after that finished the pain from my half healed wound was back. “It seems like you need blood. Want some?”

“Yes. Please give me some of your blood…” I answered him while suppressing the pain. “Oh no. You don’t get my blood. Haha. But look there is enough blood around you. You just have to drink it haha.” He can’t be serious. The blood from the orcs smelled nauseating. I can’t drink this! “B-But it smells disgusting…” But he just smiled at me and told me. “Oh? Is that so? The only alternative would be to die. So consider your choice wisely.” It must be another test. Yes that is it. If I can’t drink that blood then how will I survive in a situation where this is the only option! But I need to be sure. I need to ask one more time. “You can’t be serious.”

And he just smiled at me “Hmm? You think so? You had my blood one time. That is more than most can say. And now make your choice. We don’t have the whole night to idle around there are orcs to kill!” I send him one last glance and then crawled towards the first orc I killed.

There I bit deep in his neck. Immediately a gooey liquid filled my mouth that tasted like moldy bread that I once had, mixed with the smell of rotten flesh. It was topped of by lumps of half curdled blood. It was the most disgusting thing I ever tasted. I almost vomited the moment one lump stuck itself to my throat but I managed to swallow it all. But after the second mouthful I couldn’t contain myself anymore and started coughing violently. After two minutes I calmed down and spit out a few times in the futile attempt to get rid of that awful taste.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“So you decided to live? That’s nice. Now that your wound has healed we can move on, can we?” he said with a wide grin on his face. “That was the most disgusting thing I ever tasted!” I voiced my opinion and spit on the ground. “This taste will haunt me in my dreams!” I hope I have to never drink those shit again! “Haha. Your face was priceless~. Alone that made it priceless. Also gratulations for winning your first fight. You did well and even discovered your vampiric form. And the blood drinking part was your punishment for getting wounded. I hope you learn from it.” he said and simply walked away.

It was now almost nightfall and we made our way out of the path and entered the valley. It would be beautiful but the orcs ruined it with their vandalism. They logged the red oaks in the little forest to my right and ruined the facade of the mansion in front of me behind a little river. I could only imagine what the orcs had done to the interior of the houses I could see. The thing that caught my eye was a wooden construction that looked like a big V. In the middle of this thing hung a humanoid figure.

“First let us gear up. I hate getting in contact with the blood of those filthy bastards.” But he said that we don’t need weapons But who am I to complain? But the mansion is, almost certain, the headquarter of the orcs. “Yes. That sounds good. But where do we get some weapons without running into orcs? It seems like they occupied the big mansion.” But it seems like the mansion is not our destination. “Don’t worry. The good stuff is not in the mansion. But I don’t know if I have an armor that fits you. But let’s first move. Follow me.”

It seems like behind the waterfall was a cave. And there was that giant door. It was almost double the size of me. It was as big as the door to the village I used to live in. But it was far more beautiful than that simple wooden gate. This one here was made of black iron and howed a human kneeling in front if a shadowy figure that towered above her. The human figure looked like a defeated warrior with a broken sword in his hand and a full plate armor. The features of the shadowy figure could not be identified. It seems like the real shadows hid them from the eye of the observer. Only one thing could be seen without fail and that were the large fangs in the mouth of the shadow. It was awe inspiring. I thought that this must be the god that the vampires, I mean we, worship. It can only be that. It shows such a majestic aura that no mortal could ever hope to achieve such an aura.

Then Nathaniel went in front of the door and smeared a bit of his blood onto the fangs of that shadow creature. After that the door opened with a slight rumble. Behind that door was a limestone cave that was filled with all sorts of showcases, cabinets, wardrobes and chests. “Don’t even think about getting in here without me. There are as many magical traps in here as magical artifacts. Also you can’t open the door. There are just as many security measures on the door as traps in this room.” how could he think that I would ever attempt to rob him. I was shocked! “I would never even think of robbing my master!” I almost shouted with shock all over my face.

“Now come. We still need to give you a new name. This is the second reason I first wanted to come here. Follow me to the back of the cave.” At the back of the cave was a little pond with red liquid in it. He explained to me what this liquid does and I listened intently to not miss a single word.

“Okay. What is it that I have to do?” I asked after he finished explaining. “It is simple. You need to immerse into the liquid. But before we do that you need to clean yourself. Over there, behind the stalagmite, is a pond with clean water. Remove those rags and wash yourself. After that go into the pond with the essence. I will recite the necessary verses to give you your new name.”

“Yes. I will be right back.”

I felt a bit awkward after I came back after washing myself and standing fully naked in front of a male for the first time. But contrary to my expectations he had no lust on his eyes. He simply looked at with no ill intentions in his eyes. So I made my way into the pond. After I was in the middle of the pool I kneeled down and waited. I could hear him mumbling something that was so muffled through the water that I could not understand what it was but after he was finished I could FEEL the shadows encasing me. After a short while I couldn’t feel the liquid anymore and opened my eyes.

I wasn’t in the pond anymore. I stood in a forest made of shadows. Where am I, was my first thought. But before I could shout if there is someone, the shadows that were cast by the trees made of shadows in a world of grey and black, moved to a point in front of me where they began forming a humanoid figure out of shadows. I could not identify if this figure was male or female. I couldn’t even see any facial features. It was only a standing shadow. The eyes of that figure were made of a maelstrom of red and black. I could only stand and stare. After a while the figure started talking. “Hello, daughter of the shadows. I’m an avatar of Shan’tar, god of the shadowforst and I will grant you your name. Carry him with honour and may the shadows protect you, little Lethia.”And with this the entire scenery vanished and I was once again in the pool. There I emerged from the pond and started to breath heavy. I was a little confused as what happened but I soon enough focused on Nathaniel to hear his question. “What’s your name, daughter of the shadows?” I took one last breath and answered him. “My new name is Lethia.”

“From now on you have the right to wear the additional name of ‘di Contetia’ because you are a member of my clan and a resident of my mansion. Now pledge your allegiance to me!” His voice boomed through my head and I was as happy as never before. Finally I got acknowledged! I could finally be part of a family! I kneeled in front of him while facing the ground. I could feel his imposing aura that told me that he is a true ruler. Not like those fake rulers like the one in the village I used to live! A true ruler. And he acknowledged ME! Of course I’m going to pledge my loyalty to him! And from the bottom of my heart and soul I vowed “My Lord, I will vow my eternal loyalty to you and only you. I will always follow your command because you gave me the chance to live!”

After this we made our way through the cave and searched for a new armor for me. After a short while he looked like he found what he was looking for and gave me a set of black clothing that reminded me of assassins. I quickly changed into it and finally he was talking about a weapon for me. He told me the differences of the weapons in his possession and that I would get a low grade one and when I prove myself I would get a better one. After this explanation he showed me a beautiful bow made of red metal and adorned with thorny vines. After sealing the blood bond I knew what the bow could do for me. He would create arrows from my life force and would assist me while shooting to improve my accuracy in long ranges.

Part 3: Pest Control

I was seriously happy and just waited for an opportunity to prove myself. “Now take the bow. My first command is that you are to hunt down every single orc that is in the open. I will personally clean the mansion. I think there will be the leader.” And this chance came sooner than I expected. But I was brimming with confidence. “As you command, my Lord.” And I sprinted almost out of the cave into the open space behind the waterfall. There I took a deep breath of the fresh night air and closed my eyes for a short duration of time. This perfect day was only tainted by the presence of those orcs! I will annihilate the all! And with these thoughts I made my way towards the remaining few trees and the big V.

In front of the V was a large fire that was fueled by the remains of the red oaks. It really was a shame. And around the fire a large amount of orcs could be seen eating some kind of meat that was more raw than cooked. And I could see a lot of humans sitting in a cage a little further towards the remaining trees. In this cage were at least 20 humans but they all had in common that they were around 25, with short military haircuts and male. The one hanging on the V was a beastman from the panther tribe. Black hair was covering almost his entire body. Black panther ears protruded through his short black hair and his yellow eyes with black catlike pupils glared angrily around while he was shouting creative insults. The orcs only laughed at him and threw stones and bones at his already badly bruised body.

I observed all this while slowly making my way through the shadows towards the trees. Nobody saw me. Finally I reached the remaining trees and climbed one that was not in the front row all the way to the top, where I clad myself in shadows as to not be spotted. From there I could see the orcs sitting around the fire. They numbered 30. If I had to fought them all at once I might as well suicide.

I needed something like a plan to reduce the numbers. Maybe if i could extinguish the fire. And then it came to me. If I could coat the fire in shadows no light could escape and controlling shadows is something that I did myself just a moment ago. I just need to focus and I should be able to do it. I concentrated on the shadows that were cast by the orcs and the stuff that was lying around. After a while I could feel a connection to the shadows and started moving them. It was harder than it sounded. After only 3 seconds sweat was running down my entire body and I felt the start of a headache but I didn’t falter. After another 2 seconds the shadows started to move quicker and the orcs noticed something was wrong but they just squeaked in their language and didn’t even bother to stand up nor grabbed their weapons which were lying around them on the ground. The only who sensed the severity of the situation was the panther-man who suddenly quieted down and just looked around in search for the culprit. Maintaining the shadows over the fire was surprisingly easy. Far easier than moving them towards the fire. I could only rejoice and start part two of my plan. Killing orcs.

A few seconds later the shadows reached the fire and the orcs still didn’t seem to care. With a last boost in concentration I willed the shadows over the fire and suddenly the only light on came from the moon and the stars. I had no problems seeing them but the sudden absence of the bright light made the orcs almost blind. And in addition to that they began to panic and searched for their weapon while jumping up and running into each other more hindering than helping each other.

I took advantage of this situation and started shooting with my bow. I pulled back the bowstring and a black arrow with red whirles on the surface materialised and I could feel a slight drain of my life force. I aimed at the head of a orc that was a little distance away from the rest and let the arrow loose. It flew exactly where I aimed at and hit the right eye of the orc. The eye and a large portion of his head was obliterated and only a fist big hole remained where his eye was. Bone splinters, blood and brain matter sprinkled the ground behind him and the orc fell on his back before he realised what happened. No other orc noticed what happened. In this fashion I started to pick the orcs that were a little away from the rest and 10 seconds after the fire was extinguished and the panic started 10 orcs were dead. Now the rest of the orcs realised that some of them were dead and all of them adapted to the darkness. But they were far from organised. I shot into the knee of another orc, severing the lower leg from the upper part and while he was falling and shrieking in surprise and pain I shot an arrow through his neck ending his pitiful existence.

Now came the second part of the plan. I closed my eyes and released the darkness coating around the flames. The fire once again burned with its full intensity, blinding all orcs that stood around it. Again I could hear the surprised squeaks of the orcs. I looked at the fire through my closed eyelids and after a moment I noticed that my eyes had adapted so I looked slightly away from the fire and opened my eyes. Then I again shot arrow after arrow. It took again 10 seconds before the orcs adapted to the change in their environment. But at the time they did only 9 were left standing and I was still sitting in the safety of my tree.

One of the orcs seemed to realise that they were attacked and that the attacker was with a high possibility near the trees. They didn’t seem to care that only nine of them were left or that the corpses lying around them had fist sized holes in their body or that blood and brainmatter was lying everywhere. They were running towards my location. I could kill three with quick shots while they were running in a straight line towards my location, then they were out of my line of sight. I attached the bow to my back and readied myself.

The moment they arrived on the first tree they slowed down and made their way with caution through the trees. The moment the first orc was under my tree I let myself fall behind him. I landed as silent as a falling leaf and kicked his knees from behind. He fell to his knees and was now a little bit smaller than I am. I grabbed his head with both hands and twisted his head to the left. At first I heard him squeak in surprise, but that soon changed into one of exertion. First there was resistance but after I twisted with a little more force his neck broke with a satisfying crunch like a dry branch.

By now the remaining five orcs had seen me and stormed in my direction. All of them were wielding rusty swords. The first cut from above. I quickly sidestepped and hit his wrist, disarming him as a result. The next wanted to behead me and swung his sword in an arc. I just ducked and made a sweep-kick towards his knees, breaking one and bringing him down to the ground in the process. The first one now wanted to grab me. I again sidestepped and grabbed his arm I then made a quick turn and threw the orc towards his companion that was approaching from behind. With a quick step I stood above the one with the broken knee. He tried to cut my leg but I only kicked the blade away and with a quick stomp I squished his windpipe. I then face the one that was storming towards me. He screamed something I didn’t understand while sounding like a pig and tried to body slam me into a tree.

I jumped as high as I could but it was not enough. His shoulder slammed into my feet and I lost balance. The good part was that the orc didn’t ram me into the tree. The bad part was I was now lying on the floor and two angry orcs were approaching me rapidly while another one behind me recovers from his liaison with a tree. I needed to stand up or I will die. I managed to get on my knees but then the first orc was in front of me and kicked, me while still running, against a tree 3 meters away. I could feel the impact from the tree and my ribcage cracked a little under the pressure but nothing broke. I quickly jumped on my feet, in time to evade another ram attack. I hit the ribs of the orc that tried to ram me for the second time and could feel them break through the leather armor he was wearing. I just wanted to hit a second time to shove the broken ribs into his inner organs but a sword cut from above ruined it. I barely evaded but still received a minor cut on my arm.

I countered by hitting his face with the backside of my hand. This time I used more force than when I hit the ribs of the other. I could feel and see his head cave in. His eye burst under the force and the liquid flowed down on my glove. Through little holes in the skull brainmatter leaked together with blood and mixed with the liquid from the eye. All this made an awful smelling and looking cocktail that now coated the backside of my glove. I turned around and finished the orc that leaned against the tree with a quick punch towards the already broken ribs. The orc screamed in pain and coughed a mouthful of blood against the tree and then sunk dying down to the ground.

The last two orcs made their way towards me and tried to pincer me. The one in front of me tried his luck with a cut from the top left towards my hip. I quickly closed the distance and elbowed his solar plexus and blocked his swing by simultaneous hitting and breaking his elbow. I then grabbed his arm and threw him over my shoulder and stomped down on his throat leaving him to die from suffocation. Now there was only one orc left that was fast closing in. He thrusted his sword at me from behind. I didn’t manage to fully evade and the sword scratched over my ribs, leaving a bloody scratch behind. I trapped the sword between my arm and my ribs and turned my body around with a quick move, while inhaling a sharp breath from the pain. The orc let go of the weapon and was now unarmed.

I took the sword out from under my arm. I then cut towards the abdomen of the orc who just managed to evade and received only a shallow cut. He counterattacked from the left and I blocked but got pushed away on meter because of the difference in size and weight. I kicked dirted in his face with my left foot and made a quick step to close the distance. The orc, blinded by the dirt, didn’t see me coming and I cut open his abdomen and quickly jumped back. I managed to evade the blood that was now flowing out of this wound. Shortly after his guts started to fall out and the orc fell to his knees, looking disbelieving at the amount of blood and intestines lying on the ground. Then he tried apathetically to stuff his intestines back into his belly. I watched all this in silence. After a whole minute the orc was finally dead and fell face first into the dirt.

I now made my way out of the trees and towards the wooden construct. The moment I showed myself all eyes were on me. I ignored the human in the cage. That didn’t mean I could not hear them. They were whispering about not angering me and that I’m not a human and in general they were talking what the next logical step was while looking anxious in my direction.

I came to a halt in front of the V and looked up to panther man who looked down on me with a curious face. I now could see that his hands had claws and he also had a black tail that was only half its normal length and he was missing his right ear. I looked at him laid my head to the side and then send him a bright smile. Master Nathaniel wanted subordinates. This man looks like he can be of use. I should bring him to Master! Yes this is a good plan!

“Hey, what are you thinking about? And what are you? You look like you are half dark elf half human but you smell like nothing I ever met!” The panther man spoke to me. “I was thinking that today is my lucky day! And you can make it even better! Listen. If I release you, will you follow me to my Master or do you prefer hanging here till I’m back with him?”

“No, no! You can release me. Even if I want to how could I possibly run from someone who killed 30 orcs alone? Haha. And I’m also interested in the one you call master.”

Oh, that was easier then I thought. The next part is to release him. I could climb up and break the anchoring of the iron chains that bind him. But that would be troublesome. Should I just knock down the whole construct? No that might hurt this guy. Hmmm. And then it hit me. I had a bow. I took the bow and took the first shot and destroyed the anchoring on one side. This caused the panther man to swing against the pole on the other side, which caused him to groan a little. I then shot the other anchoring and he landed on the ground. A bit shakily but on his feet. “Come on. Don’t just stand there, follow me!” I said to the panther-man while already walking towards the mansion. “Hey, could you please free us as well? Only if that is possible of course, young miss.” One of the humans actually the guts to call out to me. I turned around and gave them an ugly grin. “Human filth. Be happy that I don’t kill you on the spot!” I spit on the ground and walked away. The pantherman followed me, dragging his chains behind him, while silently grinning.

The moment we stopped near a destroyed fountain in front of the mansion the doors opened and my Master walked out with a grin on his face.

Author's corner:

First of all thanks to all who read this whole chapter. This is the longest chapter I’ve written so far. 8,2 k words phew…

And a little warning: my chapters normally won’t be this long! This is a special occasion.

If there are(spoiler: there are) spelling and/or grammatical issues please let me know so I can fix it.

Another thing: I somehow forgot to end the last sentence in the last chapter(big thanks to the guy who pointed it out!)… I’m sorry for that but I added the rest. Here is the full paragraph(nothing major but still...) :

After the death of the orcs I left the Shadow Dimension and made my way out of the mansion. As of now there were no more orcs in it. It was time to meet up with Lethia to speak about my future plans. We needed someone to clean this mess up and also new red oaks to replace those that were logged by the orcs.

Next chapter will be the guaranteed wednesday chapter.

I wish all of you a nice rest of the weekend. :)