A steady thrum of discomfort flows through Krvavy, drumming against her mind with each step she takes.

  It has been hours since she impulsively kidnapped a Dwarf. And the barbarian has been running pretty much nonstop since then. She has barely had a chance to catch her breath. Her body aches. Especially the shoulder that got shot. The shoulder that still has a Dwarf slung over it. And speaking of that woman... she is surprisingly heavy. Not to the point where Krvavy is having trouble holding onto her, but heavy enough to make running for hours on end even more exhausting than it normally would be.

  “Hhhaahhhhhh...” Krvavy breathes out in relief as she sees her salvation cutting through the dense forest further ahead.

  Her anger faded away quite a while ago, leaving her with more than enough presence of mind to know that just running isn’t enough. She has to make sure that there isn’t a trail leading right to her home. She can’t leave tracks for either those Humans or Dwarves to follow. If either of those groups even will. That isn’t a gamble she is willing to take.

  Krvavy’s free hand fiddles with her loincloth, careful to not let the pilfered pickaxe fall down as she unties it. Soon both her singur piece of pelt clothing and that looted tool are held safely in her hand as she steps onto the bank of a wide, gently flowing river.

  Water, kept cool in the shade of these many trees, climbs up her calves and thighs. “Fffffthhh...” She winces slightly as her next step brings it up past her waist.

  Pebbly rocks and silty sediment crunch beneath her Draconic feet. Not that she can hear it, what with all of that being underwater, but she can feel it as she wades through the chilly water. Which isn’t the most pleasant experience. But it is a ‘sacrifice’ that she must take. This river will hide her passing as she follows it downstream, looking for a good spot to finally cross over. A spot where her tracks wont be too obvious...

  That she is now moving at a slower pace is... slightly concerning. But it shouldn’t matter too much. The battle she intruded on will have had to come to an end before any of its participants could even think about trying to track her down. So she has quite the head start on any possible pursuers.

  Her gaze turns up towards the sky. A reddish orange hue tints the few clouds hanging far above.

  The sun is going to set pretty soon. It is only a matter of time until she can finally get a real chance to rest... Which gives her another thing to worry about. Because it looks like Krvavy will need to set up an actual camp tonight. After all, she isn’t on her own anymore.

  In hindsight, what Krvavy did today was incredibly stupid. No, that’s not right... Even without hindsight, what she did was incredibly stupid. She knew that before doing it. And during the whole thing too...

  The sheer recklessness of what she did is hard to put into words. It payed off, kind of, but could have gone terribly in so many ways. She is damn lucky to still be alive. And while the level up itself made the trip worth it, as it got her five points closer to getting the milestone trait for Insight, there are other less dangerous ways she could have gotten that experience.

  Not to mention that Krvavy now has a Dwarf. One that she doesn’t know what to do with.

  This woman that she abducted hasn’t uttered even a single word, so passively learning her nguage is off the table. But it gets worse than that: she hasn’t struggled in the slightest. While that does make carrying her off easier for Krvavy, it also makes the barbarian rather worried that she may have traumatized the Dwarf. After all, Krvavy did do some pretty horrific things right in front of her, like draining the male Dwarf she was with into a bloodless husk. After casually popping a bullet out of her shoulder and healing the wound it left, as if that was hardly more than an inconvenience to her.

  Krvavy does not want this Dwarf to be in a catatonic state like Khalia was.

  But even if this incredibly busty woman is fine, simply having resigned herself to her fate, then Krvavy still has no idea what to do with her. Can the barbarian just make the Dwarf one of her girls? That isn’t as simple as just bringing a woman home. Krvavy already has some problems making Thea and Beryl get along, and now it’ll be even more complicated with this Dwarf involved. Then there is the issue of safety. No matter how attractive a woman is, Krvavy does not want to bring them into her home if that puts her girls at risk.

  There are just so many things that she would love to have thought through before kidnapping another woman...

  Krvavy really needs to stop doing that.

  Though, to be fair, her abductions are kind of morally ambiguous at worst, when she thinks about it. Her actions aren’t outright evil, at least not intentionally so, but she is still abducting women.

  The fact that Khalia was getting assaulted by two other Orcs who she probably trusted a whole lot doesn’t exactly make the undeniably fucked up thing that Krvavy did to her any better. But Thea, on the other hand, was saved from captivity and a loveless political marriage, even if that didn’t happen in the most ideal manner. And Beryl... the Elf was really just unlucky, in all honesty. She still would have ended up getting ensved and reprogrammed by that magical colr had Krvavy not been there. Though, in that case, it would have been much worse for Beryl...

  As for this Dwarf, well, it really looked like the Humans were winning that fight. Krvavy saw three Dwarves in that whole encounter. One was already dead, one she killed herself, and the other is now slung over her shoulder. Sure she also saw only three Humans, but they were all alive before she came along, so–

  Krvavy abruptly cuts off her own train of thought. Is she... Is she really trying to justify abducting a woman? And by making it seem like she rescued the Dwarf? For fucks sake... What is wrong with her...?

  Shaking her head, lightly bumping her horns into the Dwarf’s rather wide hips in the process, the barbarian breathes out rather heavily and continues wading through the river. She should focus on finding a spot to leave the water, and then finding a spot to set up camp. Moral questions and judging her impulsive decisions can come ter.

  Kneeling beside a ring of stones, Krvavy quickly rubs two sticks together amongst a pile of wood shavings. She really hates doing this. It is tedious and kind of annoying. She needs to learn some fire magic instead.

  The sticks begin to smoke and Krvavy carefully aids the fire in spreading through the kindling. As it grows, the rather dim clearing is filled with a warm light.

  Across from her sits the Dwarf. The grey-skinned woman is clutching a rge bag to her ample bosom. Krvavy has no idea how she hadn’t noticed it before. The thing is huge and heavy looking with a thick and firm shape, like a duffle bag merged with a suitcase. Both Beryl and Thea would probably be able to fit inside the thing at the same time. Not comfortably, mind you, but still. It’d be possible.

  Krvavy has no idea what is inside of it. But there probably aren’t any weapons in there, considering how the Dwarf hasn’t even tried opening it. Not even when Krvavy left her alone to gather some stones and sticks.

  There is a chance that the barbarian might be murdered in her sleep, but something is telling her that won’t happen. And hey, her instincts seem to be pretty reliable, so she’ll trust that feeling. Mostly because she just doesn’t have the energy to go rooting through this woman’s luggage.

  “Here.” Krvavy reaches out and pces a block of the dried meat and berry mix on top of the Dwarf’s bag, right in front of the woman’s face.

  The Dwarf’s intense eyes don’t leave Krvavy, completely ignoring the offered food.

  Krvavy slowly exhales and takes out another block for herself. This Dwarf definitely isn’t traumatized. Well, actually, Krvavy can’t say that for sure. All the barbarian can say is that the Dwarf isn’t in a coma or some unresponsive state.

  But she is very cautious and skeptical of Krvavy. Completely understandable, if a bit annoying. Having those beautiful copper-orange eyes focused on her with such intensity is kind of distracting. And definitely not in the way that this Dwarf intends.

  “You know, this would be a lot easier if you just said something.” The barbarian idly states, feeling like she is talking to a wall. “Hmm... Maybe I should introduce myself...? Ahem. I,” she pces a hand over her chest, trying to gesture at herself, “am Krvavy.”

  The Dwarf woman’s eyes narrow slightly as Krvavy repeats her name a couple times. The grey-skinned woman seems to consider something, furrowing her thick bck eyebrows. After a moment, she opens her mouth.

  Due to your Not So Cunning Linguist trait you are [2%] of the way towards learning Emeku-Tena.

  As expected, the words are complete gibberish to Krvavy. But at least she got the Dwarf to speak, so it is a win in her book. The Dwarf woman’s voice is rather husky and on the deeper side, but the barbarian still finds it rather pleasant. It is calm, as if each unknown word is carefully considered. But the accent is incredibly hard to pce, sounding a little guttural or nasally with a lot of breathy vowels. Unlike the other nguages Krvavy has heard, she is unable to think of a single one to compare this too... Kind of annoying.

  The Dwarf woman then raps her knuckles on her colrbone, recapturing the barbarian’s attention as she slowly says... something. “Eye-nah-neyh.”

  Krvavy can only assume that is her name. Though that is really little more than a guess. But at least the Dwarf is willing to py along. And that gives her an idea...

  “Fire.” The barbarian points to the campfire between them, making sure to flick one of the dancing fmes with a scaled finger.

  “Izi.” The Dwarf replies, causing Krvavy to smile slightly. It appears that the Dwarf has immediately caught onto what she is doing.

  Due to your Not So Cunning Linguist trait you are [4%] of the way towards learning Emeku-Tena.

  And it is definitely working. That single word, on its own, got her two percent of the way to learning an entire nguage. It seems that actually trying to learn speeds it up. Who would have thought?

  “Stone.” Krvavy’s finger taps onto one of the rocks surrounding the fire.

  “Zu.”

  The barbarian proudly smiles. This will take no time at all.

  “Hmm... Star...?” Krvavy hesitantly points up at the sky with one hand, using her other to try and make a twinkling gesture. Hopefully the Dwarf knows what she means, especially after having already done the moon...

  “Zall-ag.”

  Due to your Not So Cunning Linguist trait you are now proficient in Emeku-Tena.

  Krvavy sighs in relief as that notification pops up into her perception. She honestly has no idea what else to point at, so this timing could not have been better.

  “[Hello.]” The barbarian speaks her newest nguage, causing the Dwarf to raise a single thick eyebrow. “[I have some magic that helps me learn nguages quicker.]”

  “[How convenient.]” The Dwarf woman replies in an extremely neutral tone.

  “[Yup. Anyway, I’m Krvavy. It’s nice to, well, meet you.]”

  “[Inanna Ki-Ningal,]” the Dwarf tiredly replies, “[though I suppose it is just Inanna now.]”

  Krvavy raises an eyebrow, but decides not to question that. This Dwarf, Inanna, seems pretty tired. And not just physically. She has a look to her that Krvavy is intimately familiar with, one that someone gets when they become exhausted with everything life throws their way. Understandable, considering what happened today.

  So rather than press her on that, the barbarian decides to change the topic. “[What were you doing up here, in the middle of nowhere? Well, before... you know...]” She awkwardly trails off, dismissively waving a hand. That was far from the best thing she could have brought up, but oh well...

  The Dwarf stares at Krvavy for a few long moments, unblinking and unimpressed. She eventually sighs and softly shakes her head. “[We were on a... diplomatic mission, of a sort. Sent to aid... some Human city with our services. I did not care for the details, simply intending to do my job in such an unpleasant pce, dreaming of a home I cannot return to.]”

  Krvavy narrows her eyes slightly. There it is again. As much as the barbarian would love to be kind and not press this Dwarf on something she may not want to talk about, Krvavy just can’t resist having that topic dangled in front of her like this. “[Why can’t you return home? If it is just the journey, then I... might be able to help.]”

  Inanna’s head tilts back, frowning up at the star filled sky. “[Thank you for the offer, sincerely. But it will not change a thing. My fate is sealed. I am the reason for this journey to the surface. An exile in all but name... And now, after my... betrayal... I will never see my home again.]”

  The Dwarf’s hands idly make their way to the braided loops hanging beneath her chin. After a moment, she gnces down and sighs deeply, before her fingers begin to untie her hair.

  “[Your betrayal?]” Krvavy curiously questions. This unassuming, if incredibly attractive, woman didn’t have anything to do with the humans attacking her and the other Dwarves, did she?

  “[Yes. I stood by and watched you kill... a fellow Dwarf. I did nothing to stop you.]”

  The barbarian slowly nods her head. Alright. This Dwarf is just being dramatic. “[And you are alive because of that. I don’t want to sound arrogant or anything, but if you had attacked me then I likely would have killed you. I... don’t exactly have the best control over myself when my emotions fre up, and pain definitely doesn’t help that either.]”

  “[I know that my death would have been guaranteed.]” Inanna states, staring Krvavy in the eyes. “[But it is more honourable to die fighting for one of my kind than to live at the mercy of an Outsider.]”

  Krvavy clicks her tongue as she watches the Dwarf take the beads of gold and polished stone from her braided hair and drop them unceremoniously into her bag. If Inanna is even half as stubborn as Dwarves are typically depicted, then there is no point in Krvavy trying to argue about that.

  “[I am fully at your mercy now. There is no denying that.]”

  Furrowing her brow, Krvavy stares back at the Dwarf, gazing directly into Inanna’s intense copper-orange eyes. There is just something about those eyes... Her loincloth twitches slightly. Fuck. Krvavy is rather pent up after these past few days, and she doesn’t want to do something to Inanna that she will regret...

  “[What do you do for a job?]” The barbarian quickly asks, briefly closing her own eyes and trying to keep her mind off of the amazingly voluptuous body of the Dwarf sitting across from her.

  “[I am a Runesmith. My passion and my burden. The reason for my exile.]” Inanna slowly sighs out.

  Part of Krvavy is honestly getting annoyed at this depressingly dramatic Dwarf. Talking to her is starting to feel like walking through a minefield, and Krvavy’s patience is beginning to wane after everything that has happened today. “[How so?]”

  “[I have committed the great crime of... innovation.]” The Dwarf scoffs, showing emotion for the first time since Krvavy met her. With a slight bit of anger in her eyes, she tosses the strands of formerly braided coal-bck hair back over her shoulders. “[What you must understand about us Dwarves is that tradition and respect for those that came before is paramount to everything in our lives. We have endured the ever marching flow of time through that belief, and eschewing it creates both uncertainty and fear.]”

  Inanna gaze trails down to the flickering campfire as a frown twists her lips. “[We have many runes which have been used and replicated for millennia. Many of which are long since outdated. But the very thought that there may be a better way... that is seen as a great insult to all those before me and a dishonour on myself. It says that they did it wrong and that I could do it better. It says that my work cannot stand on its own, that it must cim the glory of others.]” Her fists clench tightly onto the thick strap of her bag. “[It. Is. Ridiculous.]”

  “[And that was enough to... kick you out?]” Krvavy tilts her head, looking on at the Dwarf woman’s frustration with some concern.

  “[No...]” Inanna’s stocky shoulder slump, all of her pent up anger fading away in an instant, repced by jaded exhaustion. “[But it gave an excuse to give in to the pestering offers of the Humans we occasionally trade with. They wanted a Runesmith to improve their weapons and armour. Yet no self-respecting Dwarf would willingly go to the surface to work on such shoddy equipment. And so they forced it upon me. The Runesmith who was a pebble in their shoe.]”

  “[What about the other Dwarves with you?]” The barbarian wonders. “[Were they also, uh, forced out?]”

  Inanna gently shakes her head. “[No. Their duty had honour. To protect a fellow Dwarf. Many of the soldiers from less prestigious families were willing to earn a name for themselves on this journey. Their loss is great, but the Elders will not mourn for long. Not even for my caretaker, who you slew. He was obstinate, like myself, and constantly pushed for establishing greater ties with the Humans. In his eyes, our shoddiest and worst made equipment stood tall against the even best that the Humans could ever hope to make, and thus we could benefit greatly from trading our ‘waste’ to them. As dishonourable as that would be.]”

  With a deep sigh she pses into silence, leaving just the sounds of leaves rustling in the wind and the fire crackling between them. It has been a long day for both Drakling and Dwarf.

  Inanna appears to be deep in thought, her fingers dancing along the edge of her bag. That action draws Krvavy’s attention in, and she can no longer ignore its presence. “[What... What is in there?]”

  “[The tools of my trade.]” The Dwarf idly answers. “[Books, scrolls, chisels, hammers, pens. There was a time in which I loathed using them to do nothing more than renew runes on stone arches and metal plumbing. Now I find myself missing those simple and tedious things... I should have grabbed my other bag, the one with all of my clothing...]”

  While those words are tinged with a deep sadness, Krvavy can’t quite keep herself from perking up at one of them. “[You’ve worked on plumbing before?]”

  Inanna looks back up to Krvavy, staring with tired and unimpressed eyes. “[Yes. Unpleasant and often smelly work, but not difficult. From the pumps to the pipes, runes power it all. At least those made by my people. I understand that Humans do it... differently. Using far more crude methods.]”

  “[Well...]” Krvavy hesitantly begins, sensing an opportunity. Even if this isn’t exactly the best time to talk of such a thing... “[I’ve been building my own home, but I... I really have no idea where to start with the plumbing. So I could easily give you a pce to stay if you helped me out with that.]”

  The Dwarf’s eyes immediately gnce up at the stars, and a faint look of distaste forces its way onto her face.

  “[I, uh, live in a cave. If that makes it any better.]” The barbarian quickly adds, though it feels a bit awkward to just outright say.

  Inanna closes her eyes and sighs, taking a few moments to simply breath the night air. “[I suppose that I can do such a thing for you.]”

  Something about how the Dwarf said that feels a bit odd to Krvavy, though the barbarian can’t quite pce what it was. But rather than focus on that, Krvavy feels the need to expin her living situation. “[Oh, I don’t exactly live alone. I have a few girls, three to be exact, that I... Well, I’m in a retionship with.]”

  “[Is at least one an Orc?]”

  The sudden question catches Krvavy completely off guard, making her unable to form even a word as she meets Inanna’s gaze. How did this Dwarf...?

  “[Just a guess.]” Inanna idly states, moving her eyes off of Krvavy’s face and trailing them downwards. “[Not sure what other races have tusks like that...]”

  “[Huh...?]” The barbarian confusedly mutters back, before looking down at herself. Around her right nipple is one of the bite marks that Khalia left on her, just barely visible in the flickering firelight. She didn’t realize that any of those marks were still there...

  Wait a second.

  Krvavy’s hand shoots up, covering the mark with a loud sp. “[T-that’s... uh...]” Her face flushes red as she stumbles over her words, feeling oddly self-conscious about the whole situation. She doesn’t even know why this has gotten her all flustered. It just... crept up on her. “[Sorry, I... sometimes forget that I don’t wear much.]”

  “[Mmm.]” The Dwarf shrugs her shoulders indifferently. “[Do you have any bnkets? Or bedding?]”

  “[Not here, no.]”

  Inanna takes a long, deep breath. “[Good night, I suppose.]”

  Krvavy raises an eyebrow as the Dwarf turns and lies down on her side, letting her thick mass of hair cover her back as she faces away from the barbarian. While a bit abrupt, Inanna does have a point. It is getting pretty te, so Krvavy should probably go to sleep as well...

  Part of her feels like she should stay up a bit longer to keep watch, but what is the point of that? Krvavy has to go to sleep at some point, so she might as well do so now and be well-rested for tomorrow.

  Slowly breathing out, the barbarian settles down beside the fire.