A Warrior Born

CHAPTER ONE: Desperation

The countryside looked bleak from the window of the hilltop inn. Most of the forests had been burned in the ten years since the fall of the capital. The Hrabii victory at the capital had set into place a new regime that was many times worse than that of the Vyiks’ descendants. Those people who had not been blinded by the sorcerers’ promises rose to fight it. Now, the country existed in a state of perpetual civil war. Guerrilla raiders killed indiscriminately throughout the country. The common people were caught in the middle, trying desperately to stay unnoticed. It was a profitable time for mercenaries and bandits, and a frightening time for almost everyone else.

Reesa Tessun was the owner of the Dented Anvil inn. It was a large restaurant, tavern, and hostel that sat atop a hill outside the small village of Welling, three hundred miles from the capital city. In years past, it had done a roaring trade, giving food and shelter to thousands of people who were on their way to center of the empire to trade. That had been when Reesa’s husband was alive, three years ago. He had been killed by bandits while on the road. Her only son David had been with him, excited about his first trip to the capital, and he had nearly died as well. Now he was crippled and weak, barely able to walk.

Reesa had continued to run the inn, desperately trying to support her son, the only thing she had left that mattered. Business, however, had fallen sharply. The same bandits who had slaughtered her husband now terrorized the area, and only the bravest or most fortunate made it to her inn. Times were hard for everyone.

The door banged open and Reesa turned to greet the new customer. She was a good-looking woman of about thirty-five summers, with a generous, shapely figure, long blond hair, and dark brown eyes. The newcomer was large and unwashed, fat and slovenly. It was one of the bandits, a cretin known simply as Tog. He was accompanied by a pair of thugs she had never seen before. The band’s membership changed constantly. He walked over and sat at the nearest table.

“MEAD!” he bellowed. Steeling herself, Reesa drew three mugs and set them at the table. She turned to leave, but Tog grabbed her by the arm and pulled her close.

“Where do you think you’re going, wench?” he asked, his breath stinking like rotting meat. “I’m not done ordering yet.”

He laughed as Reesa struggled in his grip and turned to his friends.

“This is the woman I told you about, the one who thinks she can run an inn on her own. Isn’t she a beauty?” He cupped her face with one rough hand and squeezed it while his friends laughed uproariously. Furious, Reesa bit his hand. He howled and let go, and she stepped back out of reach. Tog’s friends laughed all the louder.

Snarling, he rose out of his chair.

“Fine then, we’re done playing around.” He shoved her against the bar and held her down. “You’re late with your shipment. We need mead and beer to keep the men’s morale up.” Reesa kicked and flailed at him helplessly.

“I can’t send you anymore, I don’t have any!” she cried, struggling. “There’ve been no new customers and I can’t trade for more supplies!”

Tog rolled her over and slapped her hard.

“Don’t give me excuses, bitch!” he yelled. “Just give me what I want! You don’t get us beer and we’ll take something else from you to keep the men happy.” He grinned lewdly and pulled her dress up to show her smooth, shapely thighs. “Get the message?”

Reesa struggled harder in his grip, thrashing around on the bar. Tog laughed again and pulled her skirt up the rest of the way. He began to fondle her buttocks while his buddies cheered and made lewd comments. Tears filled Reesa’s eyes and she lay her head on the bar, praying silently to any god that would listen. Finally, Tog tossed her roughly to the floor.

“You got three more days,” he said. “If I don’t see beer, ale, and beef out by the forest by then, you’re going to become our new favorite toy.” He cackled and signaled to his men. They walked out and left Reesa lying on the floor, stunned.

* * *

Several minutes later, she collected her wits enough to rise to her feet. She straightened her dress and hair, collected the mugs that the three bandits had left behind. All the while she was fighting back tears. What on earth was she going to do? The merchants with whom she traded had moved on, refusing to brave the bandits to sell their wares. There were no fighting men in the village she could turn to for support. All of them were dead or gone, fighting in the war that still raged. There was no way to give the outlaws what they wanted. They knew that, of course. What they truly wanted was to have their sick, perverted way with her. She was going to be raped, used up, and almost certainly killed, and what would her son do then? He was only seven! He couldn’t survive as a cripple in a world at war! Reesa slumped into a chair and put her face in her hands. There was nothing she could do. This would be the end

She didn’t know how long she sat there, crying softly, lost in despair. The sound of the kitchen door opening roused her from her despair. She looked up and saw her son, maneuvering jerkily across the barroom on his crutch. He stopped in front of her, his eyes filled with fear.

“Mommy, what’s going to happen to us?” he asked in a quivering voice. “I heard what that bad man said.”

Reesa took him into her arms and held him in her lap. She buried her face in his hair and held him tightly. He was her only joy, the only reason she lived. She would do anything for him.

“It’s going to be all right,” she said, rocking him gently. “There’s someone coming soon with more of what that man wants, and I’ll go give them their food and they’ll leave us alone. Don’t worry.” David smiled in relief and slowly drifted off to sleep. She carried him to his bed in the back room and laid him down.

It was a lie, of course. No one would come. But Reesa would not abandon him. She would do anything to keep him safe. In three days, she would go to those men. She would let them do anything to her that they wished. Whatever it took, she would keep them away from him, keep him safe. Resigned to the horrors that awaited her at week’s end, Reesa went to bed.

* * *

The next two days passed in a haze of despair. However much she tried to steel herself for what was to come; Reesa knew that she would never be the same. She would be shattered, her dignity and her decency forever lost. The few customers that came she served mechanically, not speaking. Her son noticed but kept quiet, sensing that she needed to be left alone.

At the end of the second day, Reesa was polishing the bar. She kept moving the rag across the same spot over and over, paying no attention. She looked up dully as the door opened, and then her eyes widened.

The man who stepped through the door looked like some ancient drawing of a barbarian war god. He was at least seven feet tall, perhaps even more. His shoulders were wider than those of an ox or a carthorse. He was clad in furs and leathers, with a huge bearskin cloak covering most of his body. A massive sword was sheathed at his belt. It must have been half as long as he was tall, with a thick, heavy blade and a two-handed grip. Scarred and pitted armor covered a chest as big as a wine cask, and steel gauntlets clad arms that looked like ancient oaks.

The man’s face was lined and weather-beaten, but undeniably handsome. He looked to be in his early fifties. A long, grizzled mane of silver hair cascaded to his shoulders. His eyes were an extremely dark color, almost black, and they seemed to burn dully from across the room. He sat at a table, the chair seeming comically small beneath his huge bulk, and gestured to her for service.

Reesa went over to him.

“What will you have, sir?” she asked.

“Coffee, beef, and a room for the night,” he replied in a deep, sonorous voice.

“Very well. The food shall be right out.”

As Reesa walked back to the kitchen, an idea began to bloom in her mind. This man was obviously a warrior of some kind. Most likely he was a mercenary. She had never seen someone so big, with so big a sword. Moreover, the way he had moved when he walked to his chair indicated great skill to her. There was no wasted movement. His stride was as graceful and measured as a Great Tiger’s.

While she heated the kettle, hope began to bloom in her heart. Here was a man who could protect her from those brutes! All bandits were cowards at heart. A giant like him, with that sword and the skill to back it up, could stand them all off. The only question was how she would pay him.

Reesa looked at her reflection in the kettle’s water. She was careworn now, with slight worry lines around her eyes and mouth. The blonde hair that had made her so sought after as a maiden had lost some of its luster. Her figure was no longer that of a trim young maiden, but was now that of a full woman who had born children. Her breasts were very large and still extremely firm. Her waist was no longer as thin as it had been, but her stomach was still firm. Her behind was incredibly shapely, as her husband had told her every day, and her legs were firm and well made.

The kettle began to boil, distorting her reflection. Reesa was still a beautiful woman. She would offer the man the use of her body, for as long as he stayed here. How could he possibly be any worse than the brutes in the forest? At least this man was handsome and well-muscled. Very handsome and extremely well-muscled, in fact. She could, perhaps, even enjoy it.

She prepared herself to make the offer as she cooked his beef, and then brought it out to him. When she set it at his table, she sat down in the chair across for him.

“Tell me, sir,” she said, “Are you looking for work?”

“What makes you think that?” he said.

“You have a sword, and are obviously well-trained in the use of it,” she replied. “But you don’t have any military insignia, and you came in alone. Perhaps you came to sell your sword in these parts?”

He swallowed and set the bone down. She noted that he ate with remarkably good manners for someone so roughly dressed.

“I might,” he said, “if the price is right. Why do you ask, woman? Do you have work for me?”

She swallowed, and nodded.

“I do.”

He raised an eyebrow skeptically.

“Of what sort?”

“I am in need of protection,” she said. “Bandits control this town, and they force me to give them food and drink. There is no business for this inn any more, and I cannot continue to supply them. If I do not give them what they want, they will,” she looked away, “take me and use my body instead. I have a son.” Now she looked into his eyes imploringly. “If they take me, what will become of him? I need someone to keep them from me, to keep him safe! Are you capable of doing that?”

He nodded.

“I am, if properly compensated. What would you offer me in return? You said yourself that you have nothing to trade.”

Reesa stood and moved closer to him.

“I offer you myself,” she said, leaning close and running her hand down his arm. “My body and my bed, for as long as necessary. Food and drink in the day and my willing arms in the night.” She sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. Leaning in close, with her lips brushing his ear, she whispered, “Do you accept?”

The man was still for a very long time, and Reesa’s hopes began to crumble. He didn’t want her. He wouldn’t do it. She was too old, she was too fat, he didn’t care about her troubles. Then, slowly, he set down his mug and wrapped his arms around her. Each one was easily as thick as her waist, and she felt a thrill go through her.

“I do, on one condition,” he said. “I must be paid in advance, tonight.”

Reesa pulled back slightly, fighting to maintain her business sense.

“How do I know that you will not simply take what I offer and leave?” she said. She hoped it sounded firm and businesslike.

“I give you my word as a warrior and a man,” he replied. “If you cannot accept that, than I leave now.”

She thought it over for a moment. What did she have to lose? If he did bed her and run, nothing would have been taken from her that would not be anyway. At least she could have one night of wild pleasure before she was cruelly abused.

“Your word is enough,” she said. He smiled, very slightly, and then kissed her hard. She felt her body respond and she returned his kiss with equal passion. It had been three years since she had had a man, and until now she had not realized how much she needed one. They broke the kiss and she stood shakily, feeling hot and feverish. Composing herself, she picked up his plate.

“Tonight,” she said, and walked away. It couldn’t get here fast enough.

END CHAPTER ONE

Gee, I wonder who this mysterious giant with the massive sword could be? *cackles* Action and sex both in next chapter, so enjoy!