Dark Elves Make the Best Slavegirls

 

by John Rookwood

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright © 2022 by John Rookwood

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to johnrookwood@yahoo.com

 

 

Chapter One

 

My name is Trevor and I'm a hunter.

I suppose that statement sounds more impressive than the reality of things. To be specific I own a bow and a dozen arrows and know how to use them fairly well. I bring down game in the Smokey Forest south of my home village of Waypoint.

The village got it's name because that's really all it is, a waypoint situated on the edge of the Copper river, which itself is small waterway that branches off the larger Cobalt River. Waypoint's a place where merchants and travelers can stop in for a night's rest, a hot meal or to re-provision on their way to bigger and better places. Pretty much everything outside Waypoint matches the bigger and better description in the kingdom of Moranbah.

Back to me, I hunt for a living, which again makes me sound cooler than I am. Unlike some who claim the title of 'huntsman' I don't know how to track game across rocky terrain or tell what type of animal I'm following by the droppings they leave behind. I'm old enough to be called a man by most, and I've been hunting on my own for a living since my parents were killed by Orcs close to ten years ago. Most days I bring back enough meat to feed myself with some extra to sell or trade in the market although I've had to live on nuts, berries and mushrooms on more than one occasion. I'm no saint either, if I find a trap with an animal in it, I'll take the beast although I'll reset the trap. No matter what people say about honor, it won't fill your empty belly.

This particular morning I was deeper into the Smokey Forrest than usual since game was getting scarcer as winter loomed. I was pulling the small handcart I use to haul game back to town along a moderately well trodden path when I heard splashing noises ahead of me. Leaving the two-wheeled cart behind, I took an arrow from my quiver and notched it in the hope that something worth shooting at was drinking from the pond that lay at the end of the path.

I approached slowly, making as little noise as possible, so as not to spook my prey and finally reached a spot where I could see the watering hole. The canopy of trees around the pond kept it well shaded and what I saw splashing in the water made my eyes pop.

In the pond were three women, two young and one slightly older. They weren't human though, they were dark elves with blue-gray skin, pointed ears and firm bodies that made my loincloth suddenly feel tight inside my breeches. On one side of the pond I saw several sets of clothing in neatly folded stacks, each with a basket sitting on top. The baskets were filled with berries, fruits, and nuts while a small net filled with freshly caught fish hung from a tripod of sticks planted in the ground behind the garments. There were three sets of fine black leather boots as well and broad flat hats on the grass.

Dark Elven women! I'd heard of them but had never seen one in the flesh before, let alone this much flesh. The Dark Elves lived inside the Glowing Mountain which towered over the forest and their race supposedly didn't like the daylight much. Not that there was much daylight to be had today. The sky was overcast and the trees provided shade enough that no errant beams of daylight penetrated. It was obvious that the trio had ventured out from the mountain an into the woodlands to gather their own provisions. Having found what they had come for, they were now relaxing in the cool waters before heading home. I smiled to myself as I moved carefully through the brush toward the women's haul, I was about to have an easy day since the food in those baskets and net would cover my needs for the day with plenty extra to sell.

I slid out of the foliage and slunk forward while they were distracted and collected the baskets into a neat pile, pulling a length of rope from my pouch and weaving it through the handles for easy carrying. That was when I noticed the weapon belts lying between the boots, one held a fine sword and the two others carried sharp daggers. Taking the weapons I started to untie the net when the girls spotted me and let out a cry of alarm.

I whipped around and pointed my bow at them before they could exit the water and called out in the common tongue, "Don't try anything, I'm an expert shot and you'll all be dead before you can reach me." I was lying, but they didn't know that. I'm a decent shot but hunting isn't about hitting a moving target most of the time. The point is to hit the deer or pheasant before it knows you're there.

The girls looked at me angrily and had a discussion in their own language. It sounded like the younger girls were unhappy with the instructions of the older one. After a few barked words, they all slowly moved toward the waterline. There the younger pair stopped and waited while the older one continued cautiously toward me with her arms spread and palms turned toward me to reveal she was unarmed. Not that she could hide much in the way of weapons. She was beautiful and exotic in her unclothed glory. I'd lain with a few of the village girls before but none were as striking as the woman who walked toward me now.

"We surrender, warrior." the tall woman said in slightly accented common speech. "Spare our lives and we will offer you no resistance."

She stopped a few meters in front of me, close enough that I could get a good look at her but not near enough to attack me before I could get an arrow off.

Feeling nervous now I said, "I was going to take your food and leave you, but that's no longer an option. You're my prisoners now, so lie on your stomach, and put your hands behind your back."

She complied as I eyed the other two girls still in the water, once she was prone I took one of the lengths of rope from my belt pouch and approached her. Looping the hemp into a quick-pull knot I took a dagger in my left hand and straddled her surprisingly firm backside. Using the tip of the dagger, I brushed aside her long white hair and pressed the blade to the back of her neck, the threat was simple enough, if she tried to fight me, I'd end her with a quick jab. She put up no resistance as I slid the loop around her wrists and pulled it tight, then I sheathed the dagger and secured the knot further to prevent her escape.

Standing I pointed to one of the remaining girls, "You next, come here and lie down."

The girl did as I commanded an I repeated the process on her and then again on the last girl.

"Alright, time to start marching." I said as I pulled the smallest girl to her feet.

"You are not going to leave us here?" The older one asked, sounding worried. "We surrendered and you have our belongings, surely we are no threat to you, warrior."

I lifted the next girl up, "No threat right now, but next time you could be the ones who get the drop on me and I've heard tales of what dark elves do to human prisoners. I've no desire to end up as a slave working in the mines."

As the older woman got unsteadily to her feet, she glared at me, "So now you intend to march us to the slave markets instead and sell us to line your pockets?"

Actually I was just hoping for a reward back in town, but her words reminded me that Dark Elves, Orcs and other non-human races that had no treaty with the kingdom were not protected by the laws. I could sell them as slaves and make a small fortune off them.

"Now that you mention it, yes." I said with a grin.

"What if I could make you a better offer, warrior." the oldest said.

Now that they were all close together I could see a strong family resemblance indicating that they must be sisters.

"I'm listening." I said as I eyed the youngest of the trio. She looked to be around my age and was the only one not taller than myself. I wasn't short by any means but elves, even the dark variety, were always tall, or so I'd heard.

"Let us take you back to the entry to the Glittering Caverns, there we will buy our freedom with your weight in silver." the eldest girl offered.

Now she had my attention. Seven stone worth of silver would make me rich enough to live comfortably for a year or more, or allow me to hire a builder to construct a proper home. I was tired of living in a one room hovel on the edge of town.

"You have that much nearby?" I asked, suspicious.

"We have connections to the Queen of the caverns." the woman stated.

"Sounds like a good deal to me," I said, then I used the elves own belts to secure the two oldest to a tree and took the youngest with me as hostage while I retrieved the handcart. Binding her wrists to the handles, I marched her back to the pond. The view of her ass as we hiked back to the others was particularly entertaining.

Once the baskets and fish were loaded, I grabbed the clothes of the youngest, intending to let her redress for the hike back, figuring any of their kinsmen might take offense to me parading them around nude. That was when I discovered each pile had quite a lot of silver jewelry hidden between the folded clothing. I laid claim to the baubles as well and soon had more than two dozen silver and gemstone rings, bracelets and necklaces. It wasn't my weight in silver but I could tell the items would fetch a grand price at the market when a merchant caravan passed through. Looking over the naked girl bound to the handcart I made a decision.

"Change of plans." I stated. "We'll be going back to my village after all."

"We had a deal!" the oldest shouted.

"Had." I countered, "I think I can do better keeping this loot and selling one or two of you off." I moved to the cart girl and put my hand on her ass while I looked at the elder sister. "This one I'll definitely keep for myself, maybe the other one too depending on how much I get for you."

"Knave! You shall not lay a hand on either of my daughters!" the oldest of the women cried out as she began to struggle against her bonds.

"Daughters?" I blurted as I looked from girl to girl.

"Of course." the one tied to the cart said in a quiet voice. "She is our mother and third daughter of Queen Omarie of the Glittering Caverns within the Glowing Mountain."

Fuck me, I had captured Dark Elven nobility. It was no wonder they had so quickly offered me a ransom, they were worth a fortune as slaves. I would be rich!

I went to the older of the two sisters and released her from tree, retying her belt to keep her arms pinned. Next I tied a rope around her neck and tethered it to the back corner of the cart. Binding the mother's ankles together was simple once I threaten to stab her foot with her own blade if she didn't co-operate. When she was secure, I loaded her into the cart with the loot. Taking the largest blouse from the pile, I cut a strip from it to use as a gag, cutting off the unending stream of threats and insults the woman was hurling at me.

Once silence reigned, I got my little caravan into motion.