Note: This chapter includes mentions of rape. If rape is an uncomfortable topic for you then please feel free to skip this chapter.

As I walked through the forest, the scent of blood, as well as the faint scent of goblin, starting to get stronger, I had decided that it was best to start looking for any clues around the area.

 “I wonder if we should try to build walls around the outskirts of the forest...” I thought aloud to myself with a sigh as I sniffed around some trees.

 “Build a gate so people can still exit freely, get some people to guard it...it would get rid of this problem!” I huffed before I went over to another tree, my attention suddenly being turned to a distant tree.

“What the...?” I growled to myself as I rushed up to it, my eyes widening at the sight of a large marking on the tree.

 A sword marking to be more exact, it was dripping with blood and it was embedded so deep into the tree that it was practically a hole now! The sword marking looked as if they were the work of some type of demon or monster and the sight of the blood on the ground as well as tree splinters were signs that this thing was in a hurry and was most likely chasing after something. 

“I can see why everyone so afraid of these Orcs now...” I gulped deeply as I began to walk around the tree for any more clues, my search, unfortunately, coming up empty. 

Suddenly, as if someone had opened up the gates of Hell itself, I had heard a loud, beastly roar. The sound embodied rage itself and promised death! I wasn’t going to stick around to see if my thoughts were right, however. 

“I-Ibis!” I yelped as I quickly turned to take off in the opposite direction.

“Ibis! C’mon now, this isn’t the time to be ignoring me y’ know?!” I continued to call out while the sounds of the roar as well as the new addition of thundering, almost earth-shattering footsteps began to hit my ears.

 As my lungs burned, my heart thundering against my chest while my legs started to plead and beg for me to stop and take a quick break when they knew darn well that I couldn’t, I had soon managed to make my way out of the forest and into another clearing, allowing me time to look back and see who or what was chasing me. 

“What in the hell is that?!?” I screamed at the top of my lungs, as the creature, which I was now definitely sure was an Orc, came rushing out of the woods hot on my trail. 

The Orc’s skin was like that of an evergreen forest, dark and textured. Sagging wrinkles framed their face and tightened around his beady eyes and slouched lower lip. Tusks that were similar to tree trunks protruded out from his sour cavern of a mouth and the mountain of a man snarled lowly as I saw him carry a sword that was like a pillar of steel on his furred belt along with a single stone collar, bloodstains all over the items.

I was more than certain that this was one of the Orcs everyone was afraid of and I had an unwanted front seat to see exactly why they feared them.

 “Fresh...meat.” I heard the Orc growl before I soon felt a rough, calloused hand grab onto the scruff of my neck before it had lifted me off the ground. 

“Let go of me!” I snarled as I quickly caught on fire, a harsh hiss escaping the Orc as he immediately let me go and I fell hard onto the ground. 

“N-Now to-” Before I could even begin to get up and start moving away, the Orc was quick to snatch me back up into his vice-like grip but this time, he had soon snapped a collar around the one Ibis gave me. 

My eyes widening at the slightly choking feeling.

 “Let go of me!” I screamed as I tried to catch on fire. Nothing, I tried again, still nothing! I was no expert but...apparently, this collar had to have been a magic-stopping one. This Orc looked dumb but clearly, he seemed to have a plan. 

“Quiet.” The Orc rumbled out as he soon slung me over his shoulder as if I were nothing but a bag of potatoes and began to walk into the darker sections of the woods.

I continued to scream. 

“Please!” I begged. 

“Trust me, buddy, dog meat isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be!” I gulped, the Orc not even responding to me anymore before I soon learned to just keep quiet. 

After all, if his plan was to kill me and then eat me later on, he probably would’ve done so already than tolerating my big mouth. As I hung over the shoulder of the Orc in complete silence, utter boredom beginning to settle in, it wasn’t long before I started hearing the Orc mumble and grumble to himself. 

“The King shall reward me with many women...” The Orc started out, a growl almost immediately escaping my throat at his words. 

“To bring him-” He gulped a little before letting out a ghastly sounding belch. 

“-The Owl champion’s mutt, our God’s rival, I practically deserve it!” The Orc finished with a snarl, those short sentences that left his mouth leaving me with so many questions.

Ibis’s rival...I’ve never heard her mention having a rivalry with any of the other Guardians. But if I remember correctly...Ibis did say that the Orcs were created by Ursa, that could’ve possibly meant that she was her rival. 

‘If I even make it out of this alive...I’ll have to ask the darn bird.’ I thought with a small sigh before I decided to entertain myself by staring at the moving ground. 

As the minutes slowly ticked into an hour, my ears had soon perked to the distant but closing sounds of drumming, the thundering noises making it seem like they were preparing for war rather than just laughs and giggles. 

“Τακέι! Τολμάς να μας φέρνεις σκύλο!?(Takel you dare bring us a dog?!)” Suddenly roared an approaching Orc, the Orc who carried me soon dropping me to the ground before someone suddenly escorted me away. 

“Αδελφός...είναι η πρωταθλήτρια της κουκουβάγιας.(Brother...she’s the owl champion).” I managed to hear the Orc say.

“Ibis...what the heck kind of language is that? What are they saying?” I whispered as I looked around the camp for any signs of the Warriors or Guards. 

No response, I was truly on my own for this entire rescue mission...and so far, I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. 

As the Orc practically dragged me around camp, I couldn’t even begin to process all the horrific things I saw. From people being forced to hard labor, the sights of bloody whip scars on their backs as Orcs hovered over them making my hard skip beats, people stuck in cages like animals without room to even stand up! To...people being raped. I didn’t want to be here, I didn’t want anyone to be here in this rathole! I should’ve never been so stubborn to the point where my friends were basically forced to go so, they could protect not just the village but me as well, I should’ve just listened and moved the village...if only I had just listened...two people wouldn’t be dead because of me.

I only pray to my lucky stars that any of the Warrior or Guard women of the group didn’t suffer such a terrible act from any of these bastards.

 “Sit.” The Orc said upon arriving to a horde of chained up people, their faces showing nothing but hopelessness as they only looked at me for a second before they turned their faces back towards the ground. 

‘Oh my God...please Ibis! Talk to me, anything! I don’t want to be here...’ I thought as I started to hyperventilate as well as whine, the sights surrounding me almost being too much for me to bear. 

“D-Do not cry...” Said a sudden soft-spoken voice from behind me, making me turn my head to reveal a woman.

 Or...at least what I thought was a woman. Her face looked human enough, she had a pair of large deer-like ears that twitched and turned to her surroundings, rose-tinted cheeks, a pure black nose, short reddish-brown hair, entirely black eyes, and just an overall sweet expression. Though, the rest of her looked more like an animal aside from a few human aspects! The woman's entire body was that of a deer, from her hooved feet to her brown fur that had light beige patches here and there, to even her tail!

I’ve never seen a race, fantasy or not, like her but I did admit she was cute. 

“W-What?” 

“I said do not cry.” The woman repeated with a small sigh as she rubbed her belly, a strange warm honey scent emitting from it. Who would’ve thought? That it was true that dogs could actually smell pregnancy. 

“I-If it is true what those damn bastards say about you...you are the Owl’s champion, right?” I gulped heavily and felt my cheeks warm slightly from embarrassment, the woman was right but she was also wrong.

 I just saw people get forced upon and perform hard labor! She was as cold as a blizzard if she was able to tell me to ‘Stop crying’ if she had most likely seen all the things I’ve seen! 

“Just b-because I’m her champion doesn’t mean I’m fearless,” I said with a small snarl, the woman narrowing her eyes a little before she once again sighed.

 “Forgive me then...I suppose you tend to grow used to things when you are surrounded by such horror for 6 months.” I widened my eyes. 

“You’ve been here for 6 months?!” She shushed me immediately.

“Don’t be so loud cub...you’ll draw attention.” She said as she put a finger to her lips, her eyes quickly darting towards the Orcs and then back to me.

 “Yes, I’ve been here for 6 months.” She huffed.

 “Ever since those bastards stole me and my sisters away from our tribe...effectively killing our husbands, children, and brothers in the process. I’ve been here, simply waiting for my child to be born, killed and have one these Γαμιόληδες offspring.” The woman spat out. 

After she had said that, the mood going quiet for a while due to me not really knowing what to say, I had decided to revive it by trying to give her some type of hope. 

“...Why haven’t you tried to escape? You seem strong enough to do so.” I said with a small smile as I tried to slowly scoot to sit next to her. 

“I am strong enough.” She stated bluntly. 

“But I refuse to do so without my sisters, I cannot bear the thought of leaving them here...their children being killed off by these Orcs.” She said with a small sniffle, her eyes suddenly widening in fear as an Orc started to approach.

“Listen to me dog.” The woman said quickly but sternly.

 “My name is Khaleesi, one of the Drinkiins, if you manage to survive then...come find me in the slave quarters,” Khaleesi said before she went back to her quiet state, the Orc from earlier suddenly yanking on my collar and starting to drag me away. 

“The Chieftain demands you to be human.” The Orc said simply, my mind rushing to thought after thought as I started to panic. 

Chieftain? They actually had order in this place?! They could’ve fooled me...but besides that, they wanted me to become human?! As much as I wished to become human, I couldn’t do it, I just simply didn’t have the ability to since the bird denied it to me. And even if I could turn into a human, why did they need me to do so? Was so they could force me to have kids just like Khaleesi said? I didn’t want that nor did I want kids any time soon! And by God, I was certainly was going to fight to keep it like that.