[Part 1](

[Part 2](

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There was screaming and commotion coming from outside my jail cell’s window. Slowly I opened my eyes and blinked. Exhausted from my long run I must have dozed off? I got up from the small bench and peered through the narrow slit which functioned as a window.

“That’s all I see. Close the gate!” a guard was yelling. I could hear the wooden door swing shut. There was more shouting, fearful and troubled, coming from town. Now another sound, deeper and ominous, the slow beat of a distant drum. Ugh, why did I have to be stuck in here? It’d been several hours most likely, as evening seemed to be upon us, but I was still rotting in this cell to “sober up” I guess.

I got up and moved around, trying to see out this small window. There wasn’t much for a minute, then I saw them coming around the far bend.

“Shit, they’re here.” I muttered to myself. Those same Orcs from the pass, the ones who kidnapped Robert, who I tried to warn the town about before they declared me crazy and locked me up here. They’d arrived. I never felt worse about being correct about something in my life. There must have been 200 of them on foot, along with a couple of wagons and whatnot. Regardless there were easily more of them than men of any age in this small town. While they assembled and formed ranks one of them approached the wall alone, he was carrying something in a package.

“Come no farther beast!” A nervous voice called from above me. “State your business here.”

“We bear a gift for the mayor.” The Orc, “His son seems to have gotten lost in the woods, we’re simply returning him.”

There was a moment of nervous silence while the Orc unwrapped his package, then he smiled, “well part of him at least.”

There were gasps from the wall above me, and my own followed as well. The Orc took Robert’s severed head from the package and tossed it at the gate of the city.

So he was dead then.

“You monster!” came a voice from the wall followed by more shouting.

“Cruel words for one that would show you mercy.” The Orc replied angrily. “This town belongs to the Eastern Legion now. As such we require a tax to be paid, along with reparations for damage done to our homeland in the Great War.”

The Orc paused briefly for dramatic effect, “Fail to pay and we will take what is rightfully ours. Make your payment and we will spare you.”

There was a murmur from the wall now. It sounded like people were discussing this ultimatum. Standing in my cell I thought what they would do. I hadn’t counted more than a dozen town guards in my time here, and I couldn’t imagine them, the farm hands, or the town’s thin stockade stopping 200 battle ready Orcs.

“What payment do you demand?” A voice finally came from the wall. It was the mayor’s, and he sounded extremely distraught.

The Orc grinned, “In the Great War you burned our villages and crops, and slaughtered our people. We only seek what we need to rebuild and repopulate our lands. A pound of gold and 10 adult females of marriageable age is all we ask.”

There were shouts of astonishment and fear from the wall. “You have until sundown to make payment. I suggest you not delay.” With that the Orc turned around and marched back to the rest of his kind who now seemed busy assembling ladders from their wagons and other tools for assaulting the city. There was no doubt they were serious in their intentions it seemed. The clamor from above me on the wall seemed to recognize this as well.

Moments later there was a knock at my cell door, I turned around as it opened, and there were two guards standing there. They looked distraught, and just stared at me for a moment.

“What do you want?” I asked, finally breaking the silence.

“We… need you to come with us.” one of them replied.

I nodded and stepped out of my cell “Ok… can I grab my things?” I asked, pointing to my bow, satchel, and other equipment on the table.

“No, leave them here, this won’t take long.” the other responded.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“This way,” was the muted response and I was ushered towards the door.

I stepped out into the light and blinked as they led me over towards the city gate. There were a few other women there, looking nervous and troubled. They placed me with them under guard and walked into town. I could hear shouting and commotion from a couple of places and saw guards bringing other women to my location.

“You tried to warn them didn’t you?” the burly woman next to me asked. “I heard you earlier, and I got my kids out of town. They’re well on their way to their uncle’s place in Portsmouth.”

I sighed and looked at her, “I’m sorry, they wouldn’t listen to me.”

“They never listen to anyone but themselves, now we’re all paying the price.” she muttered.

“Well maybe it’ll be a wake up call to them?” I said hopefully.

“They’ll just use this as a chance to clean house, kick out any opposition or ‘troublemakers’ as they’d say. Not one of us standing here tonight will be anyone with connections. They’ll protect their own.” the woman replied bitterly, “just you wait and see.”

I nodded, what she was saying seemed sensible. While I’d enjoyed my short time here it was clear there was an order you didn’t disrupt. A traveller like myself with no local connections was a simple sacrifice to maintain the status quo.

“Good riddance anyway,” the woman huffed, “I’m better off taking my chances with the Orcs. I just hope my kids will be alright.”

“I’m sure they will be,” I offered in response.

We were gathered, all ten of us, through protests, tears and the like. Once that was done one of the guards opened the gate a crack and began shoving us through. The burly woman was handed a small box as she went. The gold payment I rightly assumed. Once the last of us were through the gate was quickly slammed and barred behind us.

“Move! Go on! Go to them!” A voice shouted from the wall above us. I turned to see several men on the walls, bows pointed at us, at their own people. We really had no choice in the matter. We walked slowly, the ten of us. Halfway there one woman collapsed, nearly fainted it seems, and had to be helped by another. The Orcs watched us walk, seemingly amused, they laughed and pointed at us as we went.

As we neared them the one sent to negotiate bellowed, “Stop there!” in a gruff voice, “make a line.”

We did so silently.

The Orc looked us over, “remove your clothing, all of it.” he commanded. “We don’t want any surprises.”

We looked uncertainly at each other.

“Now!” He shouted loudly, sending a shiver of fear through our collective spines.

All of us began removing our clothing as instructed. I undid my waistband and worked out of my pants, others removed dresses and layers of undergarments. We were surprisingly feasible about it, there was little fuss or hesitation. As we stripped we could hear shouting from the town behind us, they were calling the Orcs monsters and sickos, perverts, and other derogatory names.

For their part the Orcs looked a bit amused. There was the occasional lingering gaze, a bit of chatter but most seemed to give us little more notice at this point. It wasn’t long before we were all nude. It was embarrassing and unnerving. I simply stood there shaking, hands by my side. Others covered their breasts or crotch as best they could with their hands.

The Orc barking orders seemed satisfied, “follow me!” he simply commanded, and we did. Back through the lines of Orcs who were now reloading their wagons. As we passed by I realized there were many women among them. Not something you’d ever see in the King’s Grand Army I noted, but they seemed very much a part of this Orc army. They were dressed to fight too, not just medics and cooks and the like.

We were led up to a small hill just a mile or so outside of town, there the Orcs were building a camp. Makeshift defences were being constructed from timber, tents were being put up, and a large bonfire was burning in the middle. We were led into the middle and told to wait by the fire. The warmth of it was a blessing for our nude skin, as the sun was beginning to set and a cool breeze filled the valley. We huddled together for warmth and comfort while fearing what might come next.

It wasn’t long before a large Orc emerged from a nearby tent. I recognized him immediately, he was the one from the pass, the one with the iron armor who was yelling at Robert! He went to talk to the Orc who had led us here and was telling him something, it sounded like he wanted everyone to assemble. The other Orc nodded and left and the large one returned to his tent.

An hour passed as the sun finally set. The Orcs from the city returned and gathered around. They lingered further away from the fire and eyed us curiously between other tasks. None of them ever spoke to us, or us to them. We just remained silent, kneeling or standing huddled together, waiting.

Finally the large Orc came out from his tent again, “Gather!” he bellowed and walked over by the fire. The other Orcs assembled around, and once he was certain there were enough present he began to speak.

“You have won a great victory today, this valley is ours now!” He stated to a round of applause and cheers, then he went on to thank and address some of the Orcs by name.

“A contingent will camp here, to guard the valley and receive the reparations and tax. The rest of us will head north to join the main force again.”

Interesting, I wondered, there are many more of them. I thought what they were up to.

“Every week we expect to collect a half pound of gold, or the equivalent, as well as 5 women.” He paused to give time for applause and then continued, “So long as these are supplied, the town may remain unharmed. Should they not be provided you will be free to acquire them through any means necessary. Should you face resistance in doing so, or should they be unable to pay…” He paused again, “… there will be no mercy. We will burn their town as they burned our homeland.”

There were cheers and the burly woman who was next to me scoffed and laughed, “now ain’t that a twist. Only a matter of time before the whole town is led away in chains I reckon.”

The large Orc looked down at us now, his eyes going from woman to woman in turn. Then our eyes met. His gaze focused on me, and his eyes narrowed.

“You!” he bellowed, “I’ve seen you before.”

I froze in fear.

“You were on the pass earlier, behind a shrub.” he recalled. “You vanished quickly and we couldn’t track you.”

I paused fumbling in my mind for words.

“Ha, don’t think you can lie to me, woman. I control your fate.” he warned.

“I was.” I answered as truthfully and courageously as I could.

He laughed and nodded, “Who were you scouting for?”

“Um… the mayor of Mossyrock sent me to investigate the fires over the hill.” I stammered, it was hard to put on a brave face standing nude in addressing this Orc who was easily twice my size, but I tried my best.

“You warned them we were coming then?” he asked, his hand moving towards his axe.

I was shaking again now, “I tried but… but they didn’t believe me.”

The Orc laughed, much of the camp did as well. I felt foolish. “The fools sealed their own fate then.” The Orc observed

“So are you Jenni or Ayala?” he asked, “that loud weakling we killed mentioned two names before we silenced him.”

“I’m Jenni” I replied.

“Huh, so they failed to heed you and now you’ve been traded away as a slave to cover up their mistakes?” He mused chuckling to himself, then looked at the others in the camp, “how about the rest of you? What are they gaining by removing you?”

The women answered in turn, one had had an affair with a town councilor, one was gonna lose her farm to her greedy neighbor now that there was no one to care for it, others had argued with someone prominent, or otherwise stuck their heads out. I marveled at what the burly woman had told me earlier, the town was definitely hoping to clean house, sweeping us, their mistakes, under the rug.

The large Orc listened to us all and wondered silently to himself. “I’m supposed to supply slaves for our devestated homeland. We hoped to breed a new generation of halflings to help rebuild our great nation.”

I shivered at that wondered, and the others did too. It was a fate we’d all feared might come.

“My honor won’t let me do that to you however,” he continued. This was a surprise, several of the women who had been staring forlornly at the ground looked up at him now. “It’s clear your leaders have failed you. You shouldn’t be bred like cattle, you deserve a chance to join a nation, our nation, as equals. A chance they never gave you.” he said pointing in the direction of town.

This was an unexpected twist, several of us exchanged surprised glances, and the burly woman I’d been talking to earlier had a smug grin on her face. The Orc turned to her now, “What is your name, woman?”

“Rachel,” she replied, standing up.

“Someone give Rachel a dagger,” he commanded.

After a bit of excitement and cheering one of the Orcs tossed her a dagger, she picked it up and set down the box of tribute she had been carrying.

“Come at me,” the large Orc told her, “stab me if you can.”

Rachel looked at me and shrugged, she readied herself and charged at the Orc fiercely. I was surprised by her fearlessness. The large Orc didn’t draw a weapon, as Rachel tried to stab him in the arm he simply pushed her apart. Rachel stumbled back and recovered and charged again. The Orc tried to push her apart again, but Rachel was lower and had better leverage, she didn’t budge this time. The two of them strained and tussled, they were quite a sight, this nude woman struggling with a giant Orc, standing her ground surprisingly well. After a few more moments the Orc managed to disarm her and shoved her to the ground finally. He stood over her menacingly, breathing heavily. We all held our breath, fearing what he would do.

“Good,” he said simply and stepped back, “If you don’t wish to be bred as cattle go with Nalia. She’ll give you work.”

Rachel nodded and turned to me and gave a wink as she stood up. A female Orc beckoned her and she followed her into a nearby tent. There was a round of applause from our captors.

“Jenni!” The large Orc called my name now.

“Yes?” I asked.

“You can use a bow?” he asked.

“Yes, yes I can.” I answered.

“Show me,” he replied.

Another Orc woman brought me her bow and 3 arrows. I took them nodding, “thank you.” I said, and the Orc nodded in return. Her bow was larger and heavier than I was used to, but it was good quality, much nicer than mine which was likely still waiting patiently outside my jail cell for me. The arrows too looked to be fashioned by an expert. I fitted one and practiced pulling on the string. It wasn’t easy, and having bare breasts wasn’t helping my leverage any either.

“Shoot me!” The Orc commanded.

I turned to face him, bow and arrows in my hand, “I’ve ne… never shot anyone before.” I admitted.

“You will shoot me, or we will use you as a slave!” he warned. “You must be useful to earn your place.”

I fitted one arrow to the string and strained as I drew the bow back, my arms shook as I took aim. Then I closed my eyes and let go. The arrow sailed harmlessly well over his head. There was a bit of laughter from the crowd.

“Weakling!” The Orc roared, drawing his axe. “There is no place for your kind. Now shoot me!”

He charged at me, my mind raced furiously. I started backing away as I fitted another arrow on the bow. Quickly I tried to draw, but I fumbled and the arrow flopped harmlessly to the side.

The Orc roared as he charged, he was almost on top of me! I did have time to draw another arrow, I jumped out of the way as his axe landed on the ground where I was. I put some distance between us again but tripped crashing to the ground. He turned towards me now, his eyes filled with rage and let out a demonic bellow as he advanced.

Panicking, I tried to fit my arrow, but fumbled again. He was almost on top of me. Then I noticed the dagger that Rachel had been disarmed of, laying on the ground next to me. Instinctively I reached for it and threw it his way. It headed right for his face. Then he lifted his axe and blocked it. I quickly fitted my last arrow and pulled the bowstring back. I let it sail.

By the time the mighty Orc lowered his axe my arrow was already on its way. It struck him square in the shoulder, and fell to the ground leaving a sizable cut in his shoulder. I hadn’t been able to put enough power behind my shot to really drive the arrow deep, but he still howled in pain and began to bleed.

There was a collective gasp from the crowd.

“You!” he snarled at me. He towered over me raising his axe high. There was anger and pain flashing in his eyes.

He checked himself though, “I underestimated your resourcefulness human.” he said, lowering his weapon and rubbing his shoulder, “It will not happen again.”

“Someone get her a bow more her size. Make one if you have to. She can travel with our hunting party.” He bellowed and turned back to the remaining captive women. “Who’s next?!”

As he turned around, Nalia the Orc from earlier offered me a hand. I grabbed it and she pulled me to my feet. “Come,” she said and led me into a nearby tent.

Rachel was already there, getting herself dressed into a pair of pants she’d been given. She smiled warmly when she saw me. “I take it you passed too?” she asked.

Nalia answered for me, “Nai’lox has challenged 100s of captives like yourselves over the last few years. Other Orcs, Elves, Dwarfs, Humans, male and female alike, any he sees worthy of a second chance. Jenni is the only one I’ve seen be able to scratch him.” She looked at me with what seemed a hint of respect. “Perhaps there are others, I don’t know. I haven’t been present every time, but they are few and far between at the very least.”

I stopped and stood there dumbfounded in my tracks.

“No way?” Rachel replied and addressed me “Look at you girl! That’s awesome!”

Nalia turned and looked me over, “you may be weak, most humans are compared to us, but there are other ways to succeed besides brute strength. Nai’lox understands this well.”

Then she paused and her eyes got distant, “When he was younger, during the great war, Nai’lox watched his commander die at the hand of elves. They peppered him repeatedly with arrows while nimbly dodging blow after mighty blow until he slowly weakened and collapsed. Many of us who are younger never believed his tale, even I had my doubts, to lose a fight like that didn’t seem possible. Then tonight a nude human woman with a mis-sized bow wounded him in much the same manner. It’s a lesson which won’t be lost on those here.”

The room hung silent for a moment while Nalia returned from wondered, “Enough of that though, you need something to wear.” She smiled at me, there’s a pile of plundered garments on the table. Discover something that suits you. I’ll get to work finding you a better-sized bow.” Then with that said she exited the tent.

Me and Rachel talked as the other women came in one by one. None of us were raped that night, this wasn’t at all like like the scary stories told to us in our youth, though the threats still clearly haunted us. Nonetheless we were all given second chances according to our skills.

Later I lay awake in my cot pondering this quite a while before falling asleep. The day had been brutal, I lamented the mayor who lost his son. I thought if Ayala was safe with the elves. I thought what would happen to me, why fate had brought me here, to an Orc camp of all places. I thought if the other captives before and after us were gonna be given similar second chances. I wonder what happened to the woman whose clothes I was wearing now. This wasn’t how I saw my day going at all. Not in a million years. After a long time I gave up wondering and fell asleep. I slept surprisingly well, all things considered, and was already waking up fairly refreshed when Nalia came into my tent to grab me for the hunting party the next morning.

—————

Hello again horny friends and strangers! ?

A fun twist to our tale I hope! Let me know your thoughts, I love hearing what you liked or disliked about the story, and any interesting ideas you might have. Thanks again so much for reading!

Hope you have a safe and sexy day! ?

NSFW: yes