Vaid Empire: Mother of Tentacles
Chapter 6
9th of Iahta, 768 BVE.
Deep Jungle.
“Are you certain we’re safe in here?”
Aifa took a handful of mud, packing the makeshift walls of gathered branches around them with wet clumps. Smoothing the rough surface, she turned around to regard the voice behind her. “Of course not. Have you no sense? Anything could stumble upon us. Quiet and help me.”
Beside her, the girl’s eyes narrowed in anger. Grabbing a handful, she smeared the mud loosely upon the wall.
“Not like that,” Aifa smacked her hand away. Inside the crude shelter, kneeling in the shallow pit they had quickly scraped out to form their floor, they hardly had enough room to lie down shoulder to shoulder. The branches of their domed ceiling were inches from their heads, requiring them both to hunch. “Pack it tightly, else our scent shall escape. Have you never made a shelter?” She watched the girl reluctantly shake her head. Aifa scowled. “The safety of that cave has defeated you.”
Scooping another handful, the girl tried once more. Her hand began to tremble before tears trickled down her face. A tiny whimper reclaimed Aifa’s attention.
“What is this?” Aifa glared in disgust at her weakness. When the girl turned, the sight of her weeping eyes softened her expression. She sighed. “Your name, girl. What is it?”
Wiping her tears with her wrist, the girl quieted herself. “Darmi.”
Easing her tone, Aifa met her gaze. “I’ll offer no comfort, Darmi. We may be dead by morning.” Taking her hand firmly, she filled it with more mud before guiding her. “Like this. Larger creatures may stumble upon us by accident, though your monstrous tribe won’t find us here,” she said despite her doubt. Hadn’t she believed herself concealed before her capture by Aslyd warriors? Still she replayed the memory, unable to explain how they’d found them.
Following her instructions, Darmi smoothed the wall. “They aren’t my tribe. Not anymore,” she said softly. “You saw what they did to me.”
Feeling Vaecath’s slimy body resting against her leg, Aifa brushed aside a tentacle that prodded at her thigh. Mere hours after their escape, his potent warmth remained inside her, loins aching for more. “I never saw you fight.”
Cheeks darkening, the younger woman turned away. “I…couldn’t. They would’ve cut my throat.”
“They didn’t cut mine.” Aifa’s lips thinned at the memory. “I sought to spill their blood. You moaned.”
Darmi glared. “As did you.” She let her anger simmer before cooling. “I would’ve. I…don’t know. After the abomination touched my mind, something…changed.”
Aifa turned sharply. “Careful. The abomination you speak of was my son.”
Retreating from her anger, Darmi pulled her knees to her chest meekly. “That’s why you…saved me? Saved my child?”
“I saved you solely to hunt while my unavoidable pregnancy advances. Pray it’s a child of Onaalag’s line.” Aifa resumed her work, ensuring no holes remained to leak their presence. Eyes glowing in the darkness of their tiny mud tomb, she checked and double checked every inch before allowing herself to rest.
“Onaalag?” the girl asked softly, receiving no answer.
Claiming the first moment of calm since her ordeal, Aifa eased onto her back, curling into a ball. She allowed the weight of all that occurred to sink down upon her for only a moment. When her throat tightened, she forced it away with anger. “Savages…utter savages.”
They had killed her child. They had taken her as little more than breeding stock. Clenching her thighs together, she scowled, feeling utterly violated, calming a trembling twitch of her hand.
The permanent tingle of arousal forced her to glare with disgust at herself. It was a protection of sorts, holding back emotions that would surely destroy her. There was no time to cry, to grieve. All she could do was hold her face, inhaling a sharp breath.
“What now?” Darmi asked as she rested on her side.
The question was a simple one. Aifa had asked it all her life. Each time she dared to open herself to a tribe of her own, they fell to predators, were scattered from infighting, or slaughtered by outsiders. Her master had fallen, her child butchered and burned. The world itself undid whatever purpose she sought to grasp with every horrifying act of bloodshed and betrayal it could coax. Was mere survival a reason to continue? “Sleep.”
“Seek Synaalag.”
They both stirred at the voice, though Darmi answered first. “How…does it do that?” She eyed Vaecath as the creature slid onto Aifa. The slightly taller woman moved her legs, allowing him to rest on her stomach while his black tentacles wrapped around her waist, as if clinging to the mother of his offspring. Fertilization had surely occurred by now, Cavari or beast. Receiving no answer, the girl watched Aifa embrace the creature tightly. “What is Synaalag?”
Shaking her head, Aifa caressed a tentacle, feeling others squeeze her lovingly. She sighed. “I thought he was an ideal, though I no longer know. I’ve been left to claw at the darkness alone.” She remembered visions of tentacles stretching across the land, feeling her lips tighten. “My children were destined to consume the world. Now we cower in a hole on the verge of death.”
Darmi touched her head, wincing. As visions of an endless sea of tentacles reaching into the sky played within her mind, she calmed herself, lips parting. She looked at Vaecath, her advanced eyes seeing his outline in the dark. “What…is this?” Whispers tickled her mind, seeing a blinding flash of light. Fear eased into curiosity, feeling her fury oozing forth. “The world…consumed. My tribe…my father, they’d be…punished for what they did to me. To us!”
Aifa watched her youthful rage, seeing tears return to the angry girl’s glowing eyes. Her own could drown them, thus she held it back with a grimace. “So they would. What of it? Their deeds cannot be undone.” She stared at the mud ceiling, feeling a tentacle caress her cheek. Were it possible, she’d go back and slay them herself. Instead, she squeezed Vaecath tighter, as if he’d be torn away.
The vision had been beautiful when in Onaalag’s grasp. Now it called to Aifa as a necessity. The world ripped away whatever she dared to love. Predators sought to consume her. Cavaries sought to use her. Once more a thought of endless tentacles tickled her mind, a promise of safety, of survival.
“They can’t go unpunished.” Determination filled Darmi’s gaze. “Did you see that? Did you see the end of all things? That would be fitting, as they sit in their cave, believing they’re safe.”
Aifa eyed Vaecath, her lips tightening. Punishment or safety? The vision remained, a temptation. “So be it. Seek your punishment. I’ll seek our safety.”
Granting her a questioning look, the girl listened.
“Endless dangers threaten my future children. If I could only…push them all away…” Tentacles tore across the land until nothing but writhing masses remained in her vision. A possible future, a horror for all, yet a feeling of peace touched her. There’d be none left to take what she loved. The alternative was an endless struggle, endless running. “I see only a single path forward, for I can’t ensure our survival alone.”
“Another tribe, then?” The girl’s face soured.
“No.” The word came harsher than she intended, shaking her head. “Your species has granted me pain and disappointment, nothing more. I won’t seek another tribe to lose, nor risk my capture.”
Darmi raised a confused brow. “My species? Haven’t you noticed you’re a-”
A glare stopped her. Aifa sighed, calming herself. “What good has being a Cavari granted me?” A wetness touched her eyes, quickly blinked away. “No. This is the only tribe I’ll ever truly know.” She displayed Vaecath’s tentacle in her grasp. “This is the species I choose. Others of his kind must be conceived to build our strength. Only then can we survive without hiding, cowering, hoping we’ll survive each night.”
Watching the outline of the tentacle flicking back and forth in the darkness, Darmi hesitated before nodding, feeling a familiar stirring in her loins. “How many?”
Once more the vision trickled through Aifa’s mind, an intoxicating temptation. Onaalag’s designs must be fulfilled. Her children must be safe, forever. “Countless. I’d see us spread across the land. I’d rid the world of monstrosities and replace them with our own. I’d entangle all Cavari blades before they cut us down.”
Vengeance danced in Darmi’s eyes, young, angry. “I’d birth a thousand abominations if they’d follow me against the cave.”
“You may be required to, if we survive.”
Unable to conceal her temptation, the young woman nodded, even as she eyed Vaecath with uncertainty. “Then we’re agreed?”
“So long as our aims align, you may assist me.” Aifa stroked a tentacle lovingly. “I’m tired of hiding in holes, wondering if I’ll awake in the jaws of a horror. I’m tired of waiting for a Cavari spear to slay what I value most.”
Vaecath writhed in the darkness, his purpose and aims unquestioned. Aifa envied him, petting the tentacle in her hand. Slime dripped from her fingertips, her expression hardening as her aspirations were woven together like the walls of their shelter. The girl’s reasons were irrelevant, so long as they didn’t become a detriment.
“Seeking Synaalag is my purpose, though perhaps I’ll only find it when nothing remains to threaten my children.”
14th of Iahta, 768 BVE.
Deep Jungle.
A warm breeze trickled through the humid jungle, rustling leaves of reds, purples, and oranges that blended as sunlight shimmered through the treetops. Darmi wasn’t only relieved to see another sunrise, but five following the morning they had emerged from their shelter, unharmed only through luck.
“Up ahead.” Darmi pointed excitedly. “Come. I found it this morning during my hunt.”
Following closely, Aifa crept through the vegetation, holding Vaecath’s tentacle to ensure he remained close behind. The beast had already doubled in size, just heavy enough to become a burden. She watched the girl ahead, still uncertain what to make of her.
Eyes tracing Darmi’s rear, she studied the way her petite body moved with every nimble step. Shorter than Aifa, she couldn’t be more than a year younger, yet her naivety and inexperience granted her an innocence the slightly older woman both despised and envied.
Feeling her interest increasing at the tantalizing sight, Aifa only shifted her gaze when she saw hints of stone through the trees ahead. Carefully approaching, Darmi urged her closer, peeking from between two purple trees. The girl offered an excited grin as Aifa saw the structure towering high above them. Crouching near its base buried deep in the ground, she peered up with curiosity at a massive sculpture of solid black stone in the shape of an offering hand. Crudely formed, it could only be a remnant left behind during the world’s creation, an echo of their beginning.
“The Creator shows his artistic side,” Darmi chuckled.
Ignoring her companion, Aifa studied the vines creeping up the structure’s arm like veins. The hand offered an open palm high above them, lifting just above the tree line. Looking around, she assessed the area for any sign of danger before nodding. “An ideal vantage point. We’d find safety from many predators atop it.”
Surprised, Darmi blinked. “A permanent shelter? I only wanted to show-”
“Nothing in this world is permanent. Even The City of Aslyd shall learn that lesson.” Aifa tugged at a vine, finding it firm. “Still, better to look down upon danger than be trampled in our sleep.”
A sigh of relief hinted at Darmi’s approval. No longer would they be on the move, forced to build a new shelter every night. They had retreated miles from the cave, leaving no tracks for their enemies. “Finally.”
Lifting Vaecath, Aifa commanded his tentacles to wrap around her to fasten the creature against her back. Grabbing a vine, she began to ascend the crude arm, antennae searching for danger. Her arms strained as she reached the top, climbing up the wrist and falling into the stone’s palm.
Above the treetops, she rose to her feet, silent. For the first time in her life, she gazed out at the vast sea of vivid colors swaying in the breeze with her own eyes, seeing the top of the endless jungle that had consumed her life. A vision of tentacles rising from the dominion of the trees echoed as she straightened, hearing a gasp from behind as Darmi joined her.
Momentarily stunned at the sight, the girl swallowed, seeing winged creatures flocking in the distance. “Well?” she asked after collecting herself. “Satisfied?”
Aifa merely nodded, feeling a smirk touch her lips. She rested a hand upon her abdomen. “A fitting nest to bear the next.”
30th of Twic, 767 BVE.
The Holy City of Aslyd.
The crowds cheered as the dagger sliced across the man’s throat.
High atop the ziggurat, Mauron stood behind the priestess as she raised the bloody blade. Always with a theatrical flair, Gima licked the dagger before pushing her victim forward. He toppled down the countless stairs, black stone dripping red, before slamming into the pile of bodies at the bottom.
The next sacrifice was forced forwards, a young woman with terror in her eyes. Mauron hardly heard Gima’s chanting words, lost in thought.
“Knowledge Holder,” a voice said at his side. When Mauron looked over, he was met by the eager presence of Thuron. The mutilated slave presented a small creature in his grasp, its insectoid wings folded against its slender blue body. A trained Kirsh, sunlight gleamed on its scales as it waited patiently for its master. “It arrived moments ago.”
Nodding calmly, he concealed an urge to snatch the creature with worry. Instead, he carefully took the rolled leaf held between its four finger-like mandibles that acted as jaws. Reading the message painted inside the roll, his eyelid quivered. “Very well.”
“Shall I send a reply?”
Mauron hesitated. The crowds cheered viciously as the sacrifice toppled to the bottom, unaware of how catastrophically he had failed them. “Send a reminder of the glorious death that awaits them if they find her.”
“Very well, master.” Thuron bowed low before departing.
The screams of the next sacrifice felt far away as Mauron watched Gima’s blade carve through the victim’s manhood. Their celebration was a reminder of his own urgency, thinking of their escaped Holy Mother. Onaalag was gone, burned away, yet his child was out there. Of what use was Mauron’s betrayal if the threat remained?
“Trouble, father?” Sarui asked at his side.
“No. No, child.” He wrapped his arm around her bare shoulders, ignoring an annoyed sigh. Perhaps it wasn’t entirely a lie. Perhaps the pregnant girl had been consumed by a predator the moment she had fled Onaalag’s cave. Perhaps his warriors were out there searching for a corpse, rather than their doom. Perhaps he had already saved them all.
Unconcerned, Sarui endured her father’s affection, smirking as she watched Gima display the severed cock for all to see.
As the priestess shouted praise for their Creator, Mauron couldn’t help but think of the words he had read. “No leads. All groups continue the search.”
He twitched, feeling an emptiness where Onaalag’s whispers had once held his mind. Tightening his embrace around his daughter, he knew the consequences if the monster’s line still lived. “Sarui…forgive my failure.”
30th of Twic, 767 BVE.
Deep Jungle.
A feeling deep within her womb forced Aifa’s lips to part. Touching her belly, she felt the roundness of her pregnancy.
The fire burned before her, roasting Darmi’s latest catch. In the center of the stone hand’s palm, Aifa prepared the meat, rotating it above the flames. Once more she felt a tickle. Once more she felt unborn tentacles caressing their mother. Every sensation was a welcomed oddity, a relief, certain the sperm of her Cavari captors had been washed away and replaced. The descendant of Onaalag grew within her, the rightful purpose of her womb.
Already the child wanted out. Never could she describe the pregnancy as ordinary, knowing she neared the birth after a mere two moons. Every day brought her closer, slime occasionally dripping to escape her tight loins.
A black tentacle nudged her back, making her smirk. Turning around, she saw Vaecath brush aside her hand to claim the duty of roasting the meat. He loomed over his mistress, the central bulk of his body far larger than her torso. His tentacles had grown longer than her body, reaching to rotate the skewer.
She granted him a loving caress as she moved to her side of the stone hand. Near the wrist, she peered over to where Darmi had woven a hammock of vines between two bent stone fingers for herself. Eyeing the wilting flowers scattered around the edge of the palm, her face hardened, hoping the girl would hurry. She’d be out there now, finding more flowers Aifa had taught her to identify. The freshest cuts would offer the most potent fragrance to mask their scent from predators, though they never lasted long.
Returning to her claimed area, Aifa felt the ever-present need between legs. Always at the back of her mind, the torturous arousal seemed never to grant her peace, fingers always urged to find her wet sex. The slime tingling within her vaginal canal had only deepened her torment tenfold, hardly able to concentrate on her duties.
Lying upon a woven mat of vines, she looked around a final time, seeing no hint of the younger girl. Satisfied, her hand crept between her legs, requiring all her strength to resist diving into a frantic masturbation. She fought to retain her dignity, teasing her lower folds sensually before sliding two fingers inside.
A moan spoke of her need, the mere three hours since her last orgasm feeling like an eternity that was far too agonizing to endure. Quickly, she found her most sensitive area, always cautious of her pointed claws as the bottom of her fingertips rubbed waves of aching pleasure through her loins.
Ever attentive, Vaecath crept closer. His appendage stretched to easily continuing rotating the skewer as his writhing body pressed against her side. Feeling his slimy surface, she forced her dripping hand to pull free, petting him with a taste of her juices.
Tentacles slowly wrapped around her legs, parting them as she moaned in anticipation. Others offered teasing licks up her thighs, forcing a moan with every touch that dared to taste her most intimate area.
“Yes…good boy…”
She could survive with nothing less, feeling a tentacle trace her labia. The tip smeared his slime, her loins flaring to life at the touch of the tingling liquid.
“Come, Vaecath. Please me…” Her lips parted as the tentacle squirmed over her clit, almost too stimulating. “Please…your mistress…”
Ever eager to obey the matriarch of his bloodline, Vaecath’s tentacle glided back and forth between her quivering lower lips, testing her. She covered her mouth to muffle a scream as it began to slide inside. Eyes fluttering, she felt the slimy tentacle wiggling deeper and deeper into her vagina, nearly losing herself to the madness of her exquisite pleasure.
Aifa offered no resistance as the tendrils pulled her legs further apart, coiling to caress her smooth thighs. She merely savored every thrust, rubbing her pregnant belly with utter satisfaction.
They had nearly fallen. She had nearly lost a pleasure greater than any other, her purpose shattering. Now, her back arched with ecstasy, momentarily safe.
She thought of Darmi, knowing few options remained if the girl didn’t return. Aifa had kept her distance, offering scarce words aside from cold instructions. To get close risked emotion. Emotion risked tragedy. There was no other choice but firm guidance. The fact she thought of the girl’s body now meant nothing, unable to keep the image of her nimble form from her mind.
The tentacle moved with a slow rhythm, squirming inside her tightness as she remembered her companion’s tantalizing movements. Aifa had seen her, of course, when she believed herself concealed. Nula-bal had done his damage to her mind, it seemed, for never did a night pass when Aifa did not wake to the soft sounds of her moans. Always pretending to sleep, she watched the girl struggling to find relief, her petite body on display as her fingers played between her thighs. Her adorable moans had been a secret addiction, a delicacy to her ears she could never admit to.
Vaecath held Aifa tightly, tentacles wrapping around her pregnant belly. Caressing her lovingly, she could almost feel his strange mind calling to her unborn child. His tendrils writhed in bliss, his purpose served as she carried his offspring.
“Sh…show me…again…” she muttered, lost in the sensation. A vision touched her mind, whispering the image of the slimy beast inside her womb. Its tentacles dazzled her, tendrils of gold decorated with patterns of crimson. As she saw them squirm, caressing her uterine walls, she giggled, feeling them within her.
Vaecath licked her cervix as if to meet his offspring. Aifa clenched down, feeling the growing creature lick back. Feeling the entrance to her womb tickled from both sides, she gasped at the bizarre sensation, her thighs trembling.
Massaging her tight tunnel, she felt her orgasm approaching with every moment. As it seized her body, she once more covered her mouth, shaking. Vaecath eagerly absorbed her ample juices, rubbing her as if in worship.
Recovering, she groaned, squeezing her own breasts. “M…more…Vaecath. Your mistress needs something…stronger…”
The whispers tingled within her mind, intensifying. She felt the ache of desire between her parted legs, unsatisfied, craving, yearning.
“Mother of the line, I serve you.”
Never did he change his pace, retaining a squirming rhythm. He moved cautiously to avoid harming her pregnant body, yet as the whispers shifted, tightening, her sensitivity increased. Each thrust felt deeper than the last, harder, nerves flaring brighter.
Rubbing her glowing blue nipples, Aifa could no longer hold her cries. A tentacle caressed her lips, sliding inside to gag her. Almost choking as it explored her mouth, she moaned louder, quickly approaching her finish.
The whispers held her mind. Squeezing, penetrating, they danced through her head. As her orgasm approached, her eyes rolled back, her body seizing in bliss.
Pleasure erupted through her, pulsating from between her thighs to spread throughout her body. The whispers seemed to grab her climax like an orb of ecstasy inside her mind, holding it, growing brighter.
She reached the limit of a typical orgasm, her pleasure unfading. Legs trembling, her head fell back, lost in bliss. Her body began to convulse, seizing, clenching, cumming.
Each second stepped beyond her limit, finding the intensity agonizing until she could no longer endure. The instant she felt pained, the whispers quieted, allowing her to gasp for breath as her orgasm finally faded.
Lying limply in his grasp, she stared at the sky in the euphoric aftermath. Her body twitched, strength burned away.
“G…good…boy…” she hardly managed to think, feeling her aching need slowly dissipate. For a moment she was free. For a moment she was merely a womb, safe from the danger always lurking below.
As the child once more squirmed inside her womb, she slowly returned to reality, feeling a hint of her arousal quickly return.
The child’s birth approached. They had mere days to prepare, yet when it occurred, they’d gain another priceless asset. She couldn’t help but smirk.
31st of Twic, 767 BVE.
Deep Jungle.
The jungle echoed with life as the Kirsh flew high above the trees. Wings fluttering quicker than an average eye could see, it zoomed across the land, remembering the precise location of its previous sender.
An ocean of blending oranges, reds, and blues passed far below, the vivid vegetation a swirling mix of colors that danced in the sunlight. They offered no hint of the ground, nor the danger that lurked beneath the treetops. Only a steep cliff rose from the jungle nearby, tangled by purple vines.
The city was far out of sight when the Kirsh finally dove, plummeting through the leaves. Its buzzing wings jerked it to an instant stop, hovering over a temporary camp scattered through the trees. Finding its second master’s scent, it hurried to his side.
Audir opened his raised palm, allowing the slender creature to land in his grasp. “Good boy,” he said, offering his only smile for the day. He carefully removed the message, opening the leaf.
“High Seeker?” A young man watched the larger warrior read as he cleaned his spear.
Crumpling the message, Audir scowled, placing the Kirsh onto his shoulder. “The Knowledge Holder believes I require a reminder of our reward. He better hold true to his word.” Retrieving his black spear, he whistled a loud command. The warriors of the group quickly destroyed the camp until no hint of their presence remained before gathering around their leader. “Night approaches. Time to strike.”
Readying their weapons, they wordlessly obeyed.
As the sun neared the horizon, they crept through the jungle like a silent army of more than two dozen ready spears. When a man was ensnared by a grabbing vine, or stumbled upon a predator, he saved himself without a sound or died silently. The rest never slowed.
Night blanketed the land when they reached their target. Raising a hand, the group froze, seeing the towering outline of the cliff ahead. Audir pulled a slug from the vine sash across his chest. The slippery creature squirmed in his hand, a bulbous blue mass. He held it before him, pointing to the west. When it offered no reaction, he pointed it to the east. Nothing. As he aimed it towards the cliff ahead, north, the slug’s tip glowed a bright red in the darkness. The final confirmation. Audir looked back and nodded.
Two Cavaries rested in the trees at the base of the cliff. Eyes searching and antennae ready, they waited for danger. One straightened, a moment from calling out before a spear hurled through his head. The other hardly registered the attack before hearing his own end flying towards him. Both bodies dropped to the ground below before Audir stepped over the first.
Finding a false wall of woven branches and leaves upon the cliffside, strong hands tore it away to reveal a cave entrance. A war cry echoed to meet them as they poured inside, driving their spears through shouting Cavari warriors.
Audir shattered the jaw of a foe with the shaft of his spear, throwing the man to the ground while the others fell to their knees or perished. Within moments, the cave was pacified, blood dripping upon the stone floor as he cried out.
His men marched through the branching corridors of the cave, dragging anyone they found into the central chamber. Tossing them to the ground, women clung to shaking children while younger men glared. A boy thought himself brave, learning his error when a fist shattered his nose.
Two warriors pulled a struggling man with one eye and antenna. Bleeding from a cut upon his shoulder, the man nearly roared as they forced him to kneel before Audir.
“You have the most fire. Answer my questions, and the rest shall live.” Audir pulled out a blade, sliding the edge across the man’s cheek just enough to draw blood. It dripped down his chin, a glowing azure liquid. “We seek a girl. She was pregnant when she fled, though she likely gave birth by now. The child she carried was a creature of tentacles.”
“L…like Darmi…” a young boy said before a woman covered his mouth.
“Darmi.” Audir savored the name. “Tell me about this Darmi.”
Glaring, the one-eyed man spat in his face. Audir wiped it calmly from his cheek. Nodding to a warrior at his right, he waited as the kneeling man’s arm was forced outward, elbow up. Audir kicked hard, hearing a loud snap as the man roared in agony.
“Again, tell me of Darmi, or I’ll break the other.” Audir patted the man’s pained cheek, his hard expression offering no mercy.
When the man merely gritted his teeth in silence, a woman rose. “Enough! Darmi was one of us, until an abomination tainted her. She gave birth to a creature with tentacles, just as you speak of.”
Audir raised a brow. “And this creature?”
“Escaped, along with her. We burned the first abomination.”
Nodding, he straightened. “Our girl lives, and her child spreads its seed. It seems you’ll owe me a glorious death for two, Mauron,” he thought to himself wordlessly.
“Release him. I gave you what you sought. Go!” The woman glared despite her trembling.
“How did they find us, mommy?” a boy asked.
Audir nodded to his warriors. They released the one-eyed man to clutch at his limp arm with a grimace. “We’re done here.” Another nod, and his warriors seized the women, binding their arms behind their backs as they cried out in protest.
“Leave them!” The one-eyed man rose despite his pain, teeth bared with fury.
Tucking the dagger away, Audir drove the shaft of his spear hard into the man’s face. Blood poured from his mouth as he collapsed into unconsciousness. Offering no expression, Audir turned to march towards the entrance without a word, hearing the survivors crying out as their women were dragged away.
Pausing outside, he pointed the slug once more. It waited, slippery skin sucking in air through microscopic holes, testing their surroundings. Once more it glowed brightly towards the cave, yet when he pointed it away towards the south, a faint red confirmed their words.
“We have our lead.”
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