The dretch barely a step up from a lemure is the lowest of the second weakest demon in existence. They are slow, stupid and all around terrible combatants in all but two areas: sheer numbers and that they like other demons are resistant to many attacks. Their humanoid body of a hunchback with tiny legs, oversized arms and a goblin-like face take up almost as much space as a human male. Other demons often use them as shock troops as their fear of their stronger kin is greater than their fear of death, making it easy to coral them into running straight into the enemy army. – Common Monsters
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Adrian
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I just finished storing the books on the bookshelf of my room, the last of the items that I use for entertainment at home when the door opens and I know without looking that it is my mom coming in.
She looks around the room, slightly surprised that the desk and bookshelf are both now empty. I already know what is going to come next. I will be scolded and guilt tripped as dad is not home to administer the physical punishments that I am deserving. I sit down on my chair and find that the cushions are not quite right anymore. Mom closes the door and sits on the corner of my bed, facing me. She asks the same question she always starts with ever since I turned twelve.
“Why?”
This time I do not know which mistake she is asking about. Do I just pick one or ask and hope she didn’t learn of all my mistakes? I might as well just get it all over with, she always knows what I’ve done or finds out no matter how I’ve hid it in the past. Magic was the only thing I was ever able to keep hidden.
“Which mistake?”
“What mistakes did you make?” she asks with a frown.
Dammit, if I could have just guessed which one she meant I might have finally gotten away with something.
“I crashed my car, killed people, stole food, stole weapons, stole clothing, started fights, went out with girls without telling you, and then slept with them.”
I head goes down as the shame of confessing what I had done to my mother crashes down on me. I have been a terrible person to everyone aside from my immediate friends since the start of this apocalypse. My mom just waits patiently, she wants each one explained. I sigh and begin in the order that I stated them in, maybe she will accept some of my reasons as valid.
“I crashed the car to save my life. A hill giant was on the road and noticed us.”
Mom, nods. Apparently, she accepted that or is waiting to scold me at the end. Probably the latter, she doesn’t accept what has happened to the outside world. Unless her talk with the trio changed that I’ll have to add lying to my list of mistakes.
“The killing and thefts were all except for one, acts to survive. I killed others in defense and stole what we needed to live and get back home. Except for when I stole a necklace Talia pawned to pay for medicine while I was injured. That was because the merchant refused to sell and had wronged her when she sold it, and because it would make her happy to have it back.”
Mom frowns at the part about Talia’s mother’s necklace but nods to the rest of the explanation.
“I talked the gangs into fighting a group of people called the Althaen because the Althaen were trying to kill me. They are slavers and murderers. They deserve to die and not just for what they have done to me.”
Hatred seeps into my words and mom gets up from the bed. She moves and hugs me.
“You shouldn’t judge people like that. It is not your place to decide. We have law and order for a reason.”
I calm down a bit and she lets go. I missed mom comforting me when things were hard. Unfortunately, she is wrong. There is no law enforcing order on our streets.
“You are wrong. It is chaos out there right now. The only law that kept me safe was the law of the sword. If I did not do what I had done, I would be dead. We would all have been dead long before fighting those demons on our doorstep.
I want the rule of law to come back, but right now it is not here. Only the rule of the sword kept me safe.”
There is sadness in my mother’s eyes as she hugs me again. She did not counter what I had just said, but I can tell she did not approve. She would not want to see what I have done. I would do it again but I don’t want her or my brothers to see it.
After a moment, she backs up to the bed and sits down. I am to continue. This is the part that will be hardest to give a good why. Except for the theft of the necklace I might not get in trouble because of my reasons in doing what I did. My actions with the trio, aside from expanding it to be all three of them I have no justification.
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“I didn’t plan on anything with the girls. They needed help and afterwards wanted to travel together for safety in numbers. They were better fighters than me or Bryan so we wanted them to come along.
That started changing after Tomas died and we end up in the Althaen camp.”
I shed a tear over the death of my friend, and another reminder of how weak I really am. If I was strong and powerful then he wouldn’t have died and we never would have had to enter into that camp.
Mom just sits there as I wipe away the tear. She knows that there is more, after all I am basically telling her how I got together with three girls all at once.
“At the camp Kythia was really helpful in tricking the Althaen so they would not just kill us outright or enslave us. They have laws, but I never want to follow their set of rules again.
After a few days, there was a raid and Bryan was almost dead, so at my request she moved some of his injuries to me. Talia was being a cruel bitch because of some trust problems but Lysan and Kythia were kind and helped me save my friend’s life.
I was unconscious for a few days, during which the trio sold everything they had to help Bryan and me recover. After waking, the Althaen wanted to execute us all for desertion of duty. There was a trial by combat that they cheated in but I still won in the end.
After another raid, there was a feast to celebrate the arrival of some high-ranking member of their society. During that I got drunk on accident, I didn’t recognize wine for what it was and woke up having slept with Kythia.
Then we left the camp on a mission for them, which was a cover to assassinate the lot of us. After that we stayed in homes as we traveled and the elven twins confessed to liking me and the three had talked and agreed that they would rather let me have all of them than just one being with me. Talia had apologized over her earlier actions and we were getting along well, and I like both Kythia and Lysan so I agreed. We started having a physical relationship as well right after.”
My face turned red over the last sentence but within I could still feel a bit of pride over having three girls. My mom doesn’t immediately speak up but rather waits a moment. She is trying to figure out what to say.
“Are they all nice to you? None of them have hurt you or made you do anything against your will, right?”
Confused as to why the questions are going in this direction I answer yes and no in that order. Mom gets up and starts checking my back for bruises. She of course finds nothing as I healed myself after the fight with the demons. Does she think I am being compelled by the trio? I push her off and speak up more assertively to answer the prior questions.
“They are very nice and Talia is the only one who ever said anything mean to me. She has repented of that and I like being with them.”
Mom steps back for a bit and seems troubled but then smiles and starts her scolding.
“Adrian I do not approve of those girls and you shouldn’t . . .”
I don’t hear the rest due to dragon-me’s mental shouts of not letting the hoard be taken away. I happen to agree very much to that and soon after interrupt my mom.
“I like them, and they are staying unless they want to leave. I promised I wouldn’t throw them away and want them to stay.”
“. . . If you would have let me finish I was going to say that while I don’t approve of them or how you started your relationship I won’t force you to separate. Polygamy is wrong and you are too young to be in the relationship you are in but all that I really care about is that you are safe and happy.”
“I am too young for a girlfriend, but dad is always telling me to bring one home?”
“That is not the relationship that they think you have.”
“Then what is it?”
“I am not sure. Kythia seems to be something like lifelong mate, while the elves may be closer to husband.”
I sit stunned for a moment. We never talked about just what we are to each other. I thought boyfriend and girlfriend but maybe it was more on their side. I feel okay with it being more, even if I know I am not ready for being a husband. I can barely keep myself alive let alone a family safe. I have no job or place to call my own either.
I was never going to leave them though, there is no way that dragon-me would allow it anyways. So what if I get more of what I thought would be later now? That would explain why they were so willing to have sex. We will have to talk, and I don’t think mom is going to let us keep sleeping all together.
I stay sitting and look at my mom, I don’t really have anything to say right now and she hasn’t given me any punishment.
“Adrian, I don’t approve of most of your recent actions. Theft is wrong, only in absolute necessity should you . . .”
I partially tune out as my mom goes on scolding me about the errors of my ways, though she doesn’t scold me over the killings or car; just the theft of Talia's necklace and manipulating others to fight and die. Mom and dad are strict but some excuses are acceptable.
Several minutes pass before she gets to the part that I assume will be the harshest and the part I think I actually deserve. This part I pay attention to.
“. . . You are too young to be in the relationship you are in with those girls. What were you thinking when you just started sleeping with them?
Or about openly two timing their whole group? How am I supposed to face my siblings now? What are we going to do when my parents come visit? How are they going to be able to wear white at the wedding now? And what if you already got them pregnant?
Think before you act Adrian. I don’t like it but if they make you happy and treat you well and if you are not just thinking with what is in your pants I won’t stop you.
That doesn’t mean that you can keep sinning and continue as you have been either though. No more sex until you are married, not under my roof.”
Mom stops and just stares at me until I nod. I thought there would be more. She went on for minutes about the stealing, but this wasn’t as justified and I only get a small scolding?
Not going to argue about that. She gives me another hug and then leaves. She is upset by what I did but only made me promise not to have sex under her roof. She usually words things better than that, and I was expecting her to chain me to a wall like dad always said would happen if I did what I did.
Was that on purpose because polygamous marriage is illegal and she doesn’t think I’ll be able to actually have one? I’m not ready for marriage yet anyways, but I will have to find or make someone perform one when I want to. Maybe the Mormons, or one of those groups that say they’re the real Mormons.