The Emerald King

Donald Blyth sat atop a large boulder, eating a cold stew of potatoes and salted pork. His protégé and granddaughter, Nara, sat with her back against its base, reading a book. There was a hot breeze of summer as the soldiers of their camp were scattered about, sparring, eating, drinking and sleeping. They had raised several towns and villages at this point, all populated by the strange beasts of green skin. He had been told by lord Arley that they were here to stop an invasion planned by the brutes. How they could have known this Donald didn’t know, but orders were orders and he was still under the king’s oath to serve.

Don finished his paltry meal, wiping excess from his scraggly white beard. His stomach was large, and yet still felt empty. The sun glistened off the bald dome of his head, giving him slight discomfort. He felt its heat warming his maroon robes and easing his aching bones. He was an old man now, far past his prime, and he wished for nothing more than to be back home, watching a jousting tournament or placing bets at the horse races while drinking a large tankard of ale.

Around him, the landscape was a mixture of large oak trees and stone, a wide river slithering south toward a large city they had scouted a week before. This expedition had turned into an invasion, and the men seemed determined to finish it. Don didn’t know why, but it seemed to him that the soldiers were in a sort of trance at times. He was told that scouts mapped out the lay of the land, however, it seemed that the lord just knew where to go to find each village beforehand.

He didn’t question it, as the lords leading the expedition seemed set on claiming any potential resources this land had to offer. Fire mages had been dispersed into each battalion. In this case, Don, his granddaughter, and a man by the name of Catcher had been assigned to travel through an expanse of grassy planes into a forest of oak, conquering and ruining any resistance they found.

Not every village resisted, however, as most had a surprise attack rain down upon them. Lord Arley had seen it fit to take the women of the villages to use as slaves and to release the tension of the soldiers on this long journey. They were large ugly women, with big sharp teeth and green skin. But for the men, it did not matter, as they had large breasts and a cunt between their legs. Don could never imagine bedding one of these beasts as the others had. The shortest of them still stood a head taller than any in their group.

He was not a man without compassion though, as he and his granddaughter would sneak to their cages while the men slept, giving them extra food and drink than what was supplied to them during travel. He had even caught Nara speaking to them one night, or so it seemed. The girl was always a fast learner, and she seemed to be picking up on their language as they traveled. Don had to scold her for this, not that he disapproved of her learning, but that she may get into trouble if she were caught. Feeding the beasts was one thing, talking to them all night was riskier business than it was worth.

It interested Don how quickly Nara seemed to make friends with them, and he found himself occasionally asking questions about the beasts. Nara, bless her heart, was always quick to answer in excitement. He loved listening about the new things she had learned. It showed her growth as a mage and a young woman. While only a girl of eleven, he knew she would grow to be a fine person. He was always proud of her, especially when she made mistakes, learning from each one she made.

Dusk began to shroud the sky above and the soldiers settled down to enjoy the night and rest, leaving a handful of men to keep watch for the first half of the night. They never left guards by the cages, as they felt they were more than secure in holding the beasts within. So far that proved to be true, for even with their great size, all attempts to break out failed, and ended in rape or death.

Don didn’t agree with the methods, seeing them as barbaric, yet he was loyal to his kingdom and made the difficult decision to look the other way; much to Nara’s dismay. Don lay in his tent ready to sleep, his belly full of ale. When dawn came to wash away the darkness he woke, stretching his aging limbs and climbing out from his tent. He walked stiffly to one of the nearby supply carts to grab a tankard and fill it full of ale. Donald downed the entire tankard in just a couple gulps. Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he walked over to a small pond near the edge of camp to wash his face. When he reached for a cloth to dry himself, a voice spoke behind him.

“You ever not drinking, old man?” the voice said.

“When you get as old as me, you learn to enjoy everything to the fullest,” Don said dryly. “Shouldn’t you be helping pack, Gerald? I recall hearing we were to continue on today.”

Don turned to face the man, giving him a stern look, locking his gaze with Gerald’s brown eyes. The young man of twenty broke contact briefly, showing discomfort with Don’s assertiveness before gathering himself and staring back in kind.

“Jus’ so happens I didn’t feel like helpin’ today old man. The other men can handle it. I packed my own things, they can take care of themselves.”

“We’ve got a long way to travel, boy,” Don said unamused. “You shouldn’t waste your fellow man’s strength, we need everyone ready for battle at any moment, what with all these beast folk lurking about.”

Gerald looked down toward the grass at his feet nervously, his face red.

“They ain’t good soldiers if they can’t handle a bit of cleaning up,” he said feebly defiant.

“You’re right,” Don said, his voice even more stern with an added hint of menace.

He smiled at the young soldier, clearly making the boy even more uncomfortable.

“We also have no need for soldiers who don’t work with or fight beside their brothers. Perhaps I should use you for kindling when next we set up camp.”

Gerald’s face had gone from red to pale white at hearing Don’s words. Slightly trembling he gave a slight bow and retreated into the camp to help with packing.

“That was mean, grandpa,” Nara’s giggling voice came from behind a nearby tree.

“Oh?” he said amused. “That boy is so frail, I figured my idea was perfect. He looks like a pile of twigs, so why not use him as such?’

Nara came out from behind the tree, still giggling, Her mousey face glowing with a brilliant smile. She lightly skipped toward her grandfather, long wavy brunette hair bouncing behind her. She looked so much like her late mother when she was that age. Yet her icy blue eyes were very much like her father’s, along with a stubborn wit she wore proudly on her sleeve.

“Where are we going today?” she asked excitedly. “I want to see more giant horses!”

“We may not be seeing more horses for a time, Nara.” Don said as sweetly as his gruff voice would allow. “were going now, to a land with many trees and rivers. It wouldn’t be a good place for horses, especially ones as large as those we’ve seen here. They’d have no room, they would get stuck in the trees!”

Nara giggled again. “But at least they would have plenty to eat until we got them down!” she replied gleefully.

Don couldn’t help but chuckle at this. His granddaughter always could get a laugh out of him. It reminded him of a time where he too was young and full of energy. Sadly though, time and hardship had taken nearly all of that from him, and he wished to keep Nara from suffering the same fate. Even now Don had kept the truth from her about this expedition.

She believed the flames she and her grandfather created to burn down villages were to kill diseases, plaguing the beasts that dwelled there: after evacuating them. In truth, it was that they were destroying their homes after taking their women as prisoners. He could not tell her the truth, and thankfully she didn’t pry him too much on the matter.

“Are your things gathered?” Don asked, his voice once again stern.

“Yes, Grandfather,” she replied sweetly.

“Good, now let us be off before we’re left behind.”

The battalion lead by lord Arley marched through the woods for half the day, stopping only to allow the soldiers time to relieve themselves. Don had to do so more than the rest, having been drinking for most of the trek. He had become accustomed to doing things at least half-drunk, much to Nara’s dismay. Most would say he was a master of ale more than of fire.

“A drunk stumbling shadow of his former self,” many of the soldiers would say.

The battalion traveled for hours, spending the day’s light until dusk came again. they stopped for the day to set up camp once again, only unpacking basic necessities, as they were to move again after eating and a few hours of sleep. The night was quiet save for the chirping of crickets. Don sat cross-legged next to Nara, drinking ale from a skin.

“The night feels cooler than normal,” he slurred. “Bes’ grab an eggstra blanket fer the night, Nara.”

“It’s not even cold,” she retorted, “I think you’re drinking too much grandpa.”

“Bah!” Don spat stubbornly. “Let me enjoy some small pleasure on this journey, girl. I’m old, I’ve lived my life, and I’ll retire as a mage after our journey is over.”

Don felt a chill crawl up his spine, making him uneasy, even in his drunken state. Something felt off, and yet he couldn’t tell what. The chill didn’t go away, however. It became worse with each passing moment. Every fiber of Don’s being told him to run and hide, but he didn’t know what from. He felt fear. Fear for his own life, and even more so for Nara. This was more than a mere nighttime chill.

Before he knew it, he was grabbing Nara by the shoulders and yelling to get down. Suddenly a rain of arrows came down upon the battalion, as Don dragged Nara behind the trunk of one of the many large trees surrounding them.

The arrows fell, slaying many unsuspecting soldiers in their wake. Don stumbled to his feet, dizzy and groggy from ale. Nara sat covering her head, trembling.

“C’mon!” He barked. “We need to go!”

The pair stumbled through the woods as another volley of arrows rained down. Men shrieked and yelled as they attempted to gather their weapons for battle. The beast women in their cages, snarling and yelling in their foreign tongue. Soon more of the beasts appeared from the surrounding area, some had green skin as they had seen before, with many more having purple.

The pair kept running, Nara doing her best to keep her grandfather from tripping over his own feet. Don couldn’t conjure more than a small flame in his current state, leaving them no choice but to flee, hoping the men could pull through with a victory.

Don spotted one of the beast women, wielding twin daggers, breaking the lock of one of the cages to free their prisoners. The beasts poured out to join the battle, slaying all who came near them and stealing their weapons. One of the beasts caught up to them as they reached the edge of the battle. A green one with a head of thick black hair trailing down to her butt.

She was wielding a sword taken from one of the dead soldiers, but it looked more like a knife in her large hands. The beast drew near, leaving Don unsure of its intentions. Normally he would assume it meant to kill them, but he could not tell by the look on her face, especially in his intoxicated state. Before the beast could come closer, Nara ran between them, arms out. She began shrieking words Don couldn’t understand, no doubt the bit of language she learned from the prisoners. The beast woman stopped for a moment and stared at her, yellow eyes scanning her from head to toe. She began walking towards them again.

“Stop!” Don blurted, unsure of what he planned to do. “Don’t-“

The beast was upon his granddaughter but did not strike. The old mage watched in awe as the beast knelt and patted Nara on the head, smiling. Don stumbled and fell trying to reach them, only to be caught by the beast before he could hit the ground. Her limbs were large and stronger than any man. She sat him down gently, patting him on the head as she did with Nara.

The shouts of soldiers could be heard coming from behind her, and without hesitation the beast grabbed Don and his granddaughter, carrying them away from battle. The bouncing and jolts, combined with the sudden movement of being swept away, caused Don’s stomach to churn from the booze. He vomited, leaving a trail of bile as the beast ran. Whether it hadn’t noticed or didn’t care, Don was uncertain, as she continued to run. Don felt light-headed and dizzy now. The world spun around him and before he knew it he was out cold as that spinning world turned to black.