Chapter 306 – Re: Dhead

Day 50

"What in the world? Why do snakes get so big out here?" Ruby said quietly to the other women.

"No idea. I've never seen something like this before. The Red Bear was supposed to be the largest animal in these forests." Sato replied in a whisper.

They had tracked yet another hind bear to what they thought would be its cave, but instead of finding a bear, they found a massive green snake. It was incredibly long, at least twenty-five metres, though it was hard to tell since it was partially coiled up, and nearly two metres thick. It had a massive bulge in its middle, more than doubling its girth there. She assumed it had to be the bear they had been tracking, being slowly digested as the snake's smaller cousins would do to mice and bird eggs. 

She gestured to the other three, and they all moved back out of the bushes as silently as they could, not speaking again until they had made it back to where they had dropped their packs. 

"So, giant snake? Any ideas why it would be here?" She asked, rooting through her pack for her water skin.

"Maybe with the death of the bear, other powerful monsters are moving in to claim its territory," Ee said, the muscular woman taking a few moments to rebind the wraps she had around her wrists.

"Would make sense to me. Though for that to happen so soon..." Mi added, trailing off at the end, apparently deep in thought. 

"Maybe they can no longer sense the bear's presence and thought it was a good time to move in?" Ee offered. 

"If that were the case, they would sense Rou's instead and stay away. Either that, or perhaps it is testing the boundaries of Rou's territory, to see if it can steal more land for hunting from the new lord of the land." Sato said. She was chewing on a piece of wolf jerky that Rou had made for all the hunters, seasoned with something he called teriyaki. It made the dried meat even more flavourful and gave it a touch of sweetness that melted in her mouth whenever she had some. 

"Really? You think it could detect Rou from here? We are over a day's journey from the village." She asked. She knew she was at a handicap compared to these three, their innate abilities far surpassing her own for understanding the natural world around them.

"I have no idea. These beings with blessings are said to be powerful and given boons of different magics from lesser gods. While I don't remember much from encountering the Red Bear, I do know it was a powerful foe, much like this snake feels." Sato replied.

"So... do we attack it? Or leave it for Rou to handle later?" Ee asked, 

"I'm not carrying around all these magic items just to run away at the first sign of trouble. This is an invader in our territory, and we should handle it before it can get closer to the village. Besides, as much as it would be the smarter option, running back to Rou because something is difficult would just prove to him we are little more than children that need to be protected. I want to prove I am worthy to be his wife, to stand by his side proudly as an equal, not just a liability he needs to protect and worry about. And I am pretty sure you all feel the exact same way." Mi said, her eyes lighting up at the thought of challenging that huge monster.  

"If we are doing this, we need to have a plan. I know how we killed snakes on the farm, but this guy is way bigger than those. If we don't do this right, we are going to end up joining that bear." She said, not quite as eager to just run and smash the snake with everything they had and hope for the best. It would be one thing if it was attacking the village right now, but they had time to craft a plan to keep the danger level to a min- 

"Join the bear... Ruby, that is brilliant! I could kiss you!" Mi said, springing towards her and giving her a hug.

"Huh?"

"THIS IS INSANE!"

"IT WAS YOUR IDEA! KEEP GOING! YOU'RE ALMOST THERE!"

*HAAAAAASSSSSSSHHHHHHHH!!!*

"WHEN DID I EVER SAY I WANTED TO BE THE BAIT!!!"

"NOW!!!"

Just then, two steps before the plan activated, something swatted Ruby in the ass and sent her flying high into the air. At the apex of her short flight, she spun around and nearly wet herself. The snake had coiled itself below her, its huge mouth wide open, ready to swallow her whole. Instead of screaming in terror, she closed her eyes, clutching the scythe to her chest and prayed.

Please, Rou, give me your strength! I need to stop this beast before it can hurt our people. 

She felt something inside her body release then, though she was unsure if it was her bladder, her bowels, or something else. Either way, she felt strangely calm considering she was plunging to her death. Clear of mind, she opened her eyes and smiled. 

Scythe cocked, she plunged inside the gaping maw, a golden glow surrounding her as Mi's burst of ice surrounded the snake, and both Sato and Ee leapt out of the surrounding trees, weapons ready to strike.

Day 51

"Hah, Jean... I think this was a bad idea." The tinker said, joining her and the Berserker at the front of their procession of recruits and supplies. 

"We will be fine. We still have plenty of time before we need to return. We all went through this before, and this time is no different. No different other than we are carrying our Lord's children and not our captors." She replied, looking over at her group's merchant.

When they came out of the forest, they split in two directions: the monk and woodworker led the second group east, while she led the western group. They had visited several towns and villages, gained some new recruits, and were just finishing the circuit she had led them on, almost ready to return to their new home.

Lord, I miss the baths. When we get back, I am taking the whole day to just soak in that thing. I wonder if I can convince the Lord to join us. Maybe get him to use his magical hands to massage my feet and belly. Yes... that would be heavenly.

"Mine is kicking already. We need to head back before we start getting bigger. I don't want to try waddling down the road in this armour." The archer said, the slim golden-haired woman having just returned to the group after scouting ahead. It was a wonder how she could still jog in her condition, but she did so gladly. She was the first of them to start showing, making Jean realize that they might all have been pregnant after their time with the lord. 

"This is the last town; then we will turn back. That should still give us a week's window of safety. Besides, it was designed to let your belly expand in case we were delayed. You all knew this was possible when we worshiped our Lord that night; don't go complaining about it now."

"I'm not complaining! I want to have his children as much as you do! I'm just worried that we will get waylaid by bandits." The Archer said, defending herself unnecessarily. They were all a little tense, with both bandits and armies marching along the roads they were travelling on.

"With these armies marching around? I'd be more concerned that they would try to sweep us up as camp followers to service their menfolk in the evenings after a long march. I'm just glad I knew the commander of their last group, else we might have been in trouble."

"Did you find out what that is all about? Why is Sternbeld on the march this far south in their own kingdom?" The Tinker asked. She hadn't been with them earlier when she let the others know what was going on, as she was busy overseeing the loading of supplies on one of their new wagons. 

"Yes. I met with Lady Therese last night at her camp. She is the Knight Commander of the Sternbeld Kingdom's Pegasus Armed Battalion under the employ of the royal family. We had met during my time as a Templar Knight, though she was only a squire back then. Anyway, they are invading the forest in search of the Elves. Apparently the princess is sick and is in need of medicine that only they have, but they are refusing to sell it to the humans at any price."

"That is horrible. Why won't they sell it?"

"They hate us. Atrocities in our history are still living memories for many of their people. Just like when we drove peaceful goblin tribes out of their lands, and now most are nothing more than nests of bandits that capture and rape us to produce more goblins. Most of them don't know why they do the things they do; it's just how it has always been, but the oldest humans will remember the times when there was relative peace between our people."

"I never knew that!?! I thought they were always an evil race that thrived only through the rape and pillaging of our people."

"The real history of our world isn't widely known amongst the commonfolk. Remember, nothing in this world is black and white, pure good or pure evil. Humans can be just as cruel as the monsters who captured us. Even our Lord, as good as he has been to us, is capable of great cruelty if the need arises, and he has the soul of a human and not a goblin or ogre."

"You really believe he is a human in an ogre's body?" The Archer asked. She was one of the last to come around to staying at the village, though now she revered the lord as the rest of them did. 

"You do not, Daughter?"

"Well... Even with everything I've seen, I still find it hard to believe. Mother."

"I do not. I believe in our Lord with all my heart, my mind, and my soul. Fret not, as our lord welcomes skepticism, wants you to ask the questions, and seek the answers. In the holy text he is translating by his own hand, we can see wonders this world has never known, made by the hands of humans like us. With time, our people will become like his were, a melting pot of races free to live their lives in ways of their own choosing. To have freedom of choice, the freedom to live how we want, to do what we wish, but be burdened with the responsibility of protecting those freedoms. This is his belief, and while we might not live to see the fruition of his dream, our children or our grandchildren might."

"He told you this?"

"Not his exact wording, but that is the summary of our talk."

"Does that mean he wants us to be free of tyrannical nobles and royalty? Even though he is a lord himself?" The tinker asked.

"I believe that is his intention at some point in the future, though he needs to maintain control until we are ready ourselves."

"And you believe he would willingly just give up his power? After all the work accumulating it?"

"I do. If I did not, I would not be recruiting more people for him while pregnant with his child. I would have sat back and enjoyed the life he offered us, growing fat with sloth until I died of old age or until we were attacked and killed by powers stronger than us. No, our Lord deserves our best, to help him bring forth a future unheard of in this age of war and strife. He is my Light, and I will follow him until my last breath."

"Jean, you're doing it again." The Berserker whispered in her ear.

"What?"

"Going overboard with your zealousness. You told me to check you when you did that."

"Right. Sorry. It's just he saved us, saved me, at my lowest, when I was about to break. I just want to see him succeed, and will do anything in my power to do so." She whispered back.

"It's fine. I love him too. God, I just got my abs back, and now I'm going to turn into a giant ball again." The scarred woman said, changing the subject. 

"Hah, right? Thank the Lord it isn't that hot this summer. I can't imagine sweating in this armour with a massive belly on top of it."

With that, the party continued down the road, chatting idly as the three wagons, six oxen, and nearly two dozen new followers trailed behind them. Spinsters, retired soldiers, young families wanting a new start. They had been busy for the last few weeks and were ready to return home. 

Home to their Lord.