Page 12 of Storms & Sacrifice
“Wow,” Isay again.
“Wow indeed.” He strokes a hand down my cheek. “Did you enjoy that?”
“Yeah, a lot.” I nod, kissing his palm. “Though I’d still take a rough roll in the hay with the bruteany day.”
“I do not think he has plans to go anywhere.” He leans in to kiss me. “What did you think of thesprings?”
“They’re amazing.” They really are. Kinda sad we have to leave now. “Thank you for bringing me.”
“I hope I can bring you back.” He leans in to nuzzle my neck. “And now you can tell my sister I finally brought you.”
“I’ll be sure to do that.” I roll my eyes, pulling my head back so I can kiss him softly on the lips. Then my stomach growls.Right, we haven’t eaten yet, and other than Khazak’s load, I’m emptier than usualright now.
“I suppose we should get back to camp.” Khazak sighs, standing and holding out a hand for me.
“Do you think they’ve finished carving up that pig yet?” I ask, stretching my sore limbs and following Khazak to the water to rinse offonce more.
“Only one way to find out.” We both dunk ourselves in the water quickly, and I take the opportunity to clean the cum that’s leaked ontomy thighs.
Khazak rolls up the blanket after using some of the cleaner and dryer portions to dry us off. When I’m finished lacing up my boots and we turn to leave, I give the Shad’rok Springs one final look. I really hope we come back here before I leave in a coupleof months.
“I think next time I want to figure out how you can fuck me under the waterfall.”Priorities!
Chapter 3
“Is that everything?” Khazak looks up after reattaching the bedroll to hisbackpack.
“Yep, just double checked the tent.” I drop our other bag at my feet, so I can set our weapons down more gently.
It’s Solisday and the end of our week on patrol in the forest. Compared to the excitement of the feral boar on the first day, the rest of the week was quiet and boring. And filled with pork.So much pork.Grilled pork, pork chops, pork ribs—one day Arik even ran back to town to get bread so we could have pulled pork sandwiches. It was all delicious, and I was impressed with the amount of cooking the orcs were able to do over a campfire, but I think I’m good on eating anything pig-related for a while.
Outside of meals, we did three patrols a day, though the only things we saw were birds, deer, and the occasional hunter. When we weren’t walking around the forest, I was either reading in the tent or getting my ass kicked sparring with one of the rangers. There were also a few times Khazak and I were able to either sneak off alone or come back a little late from our patrol and have some fun. He never tried anything in the tent thankfully, but by the end of the week, I was almost ready to. I missed being able to roll over and just...get the day started right,you know?
Overall, not a terrible camping trip, just a long week. I am eager to get home and take a nice hot a shower after spending the week bathing in cold river water. It’ll be great to sleep in a real bed again too. The replacements for Arik and the two officers have already showed up, so now it’s just me, Khazak, and Glasha waiting to berelieved.
“Good. Having to make a return trip because you forgot something is...not pleasant,” Khazak remarks while taking a seat by thecampfire.
“Do you speak from personal experience?” He seems way too prepared to let something like that happen.
“Not me, but would you find it hard to believe that Deputy Rockfang has had to do it more than once?” Khazak smirks, happy to sell out his friend.
“I would not find that hard to believe at all.” That totally seems like something Ragnarwould do.
“I think he has taken to leaving an extra set of supplies at camp to avoid the issue altogether,” Glasha adds, chuckling. “Ah, I think our replacements havearrived.”
I look in the direction Glasha is facing and see two figures walking toward the camp, an orc and a dwarf, both wearing the leather armor of a ranger. I don’t think I know the orc, but I’ve seen the dwarf at the station, though his name escapes me. He’s one of the few non-orcs on the force. Between rangers and officers, there are a few dwarfs and halflings, a couple of elves, and a gnome on the forensic team (according to Khazak). A very diverse group. I’ve actually interacted with dwarfs before back home, though they looked a little different. Like the other non-orcs I’ve seen around here, he has naturally tan skin and black hair, including a thick beard which has been woven into very intricate braids.
The two rangers cross the threshold into the camp, scanning the area with their eyes now that they can actually see it. Both make a beeline for us when they spot us. The orc moves to speak with Glasha, but the dwarf stops in frontof Khazak.
“Captain Ironstorm.” He salutes.
“Ranger Hazatin.” Khazak returns the salute.
“Deputy Rockfang asked me to pass along a message.” The dwarf’s accent is a new one to me, his voice dipping lower when he pronounces some of his vowels. “There has been a robbery that Chief Grandtooth has asked you to look into.”
“Another one?” Khazak sounds worried, remembering the last time the chief assigned him a case personally: a missing shipment meant for the city’s militia that left us with more questions than answers.
“Yes, but this is from a different requester.” Hazatin’s tone lacks any real seriousness. “The break-in was at the Temple of the Three.”
