"Take off yer clothes, then," Ceann Uldhe said as the human closed the door to her private room on the third floor of the tavern.

He grinned with cheeks red from embarrassment and ale, but he did as she bade him. His pants fell to the floor with a clunk, indicating a hefty amount of gold in his pouch, and also a rather large dagger. At least one thing he has is large, Ceann thought to herself upon inspecting the man’s equipment.

The tavern owners knew what she did in there, but the old dwarven couple didn’t mind so much because it kept customers coming to the Grinding Wheel. A dwarf or human male would often drink his fill in the tavern before heading upstairs to see Ceann, and also fill up on ale again once they’d drained their resources with the popular prostitute. Now, technically speaking, her line of work wasn’t exactly legal in the Queen’s capital city of Kelgrond, which lay under the mountain of the same name. But the Grinding Wheel had the odd fortune of being just outside the reach of that law while still being close enough for the Royal Army to protect the large tavern from outside threats.

The Grinding Wheel had been an institution in the olden days of adventuring and heroism in the dwarven kingdom. Days when the likes of Bellan the Fierce and Captain Haryen became legends with their feats of strength and prowess, both on the battlefield and in exploration, repsectively. Lately, however, with things the way they were in the land of Kelgrond and beyond, dwarven folk just barely squeezed enough out of life to get by. The humans had become so numerous above ground they had all but driven the dwarves out of every single trade in the light of the sun. Below ground, though, dwarves still held the key to precious metals and the secret of fine dwarven arms and armor. If not for that specific skill, the humans would have no use for the smaller but sturdier race.

After a few minutes of pleasing the man with her mouth, he then took Ceann from behind for a few more minutes. The human wrapped up in record time and tossed her required fee, plus a generous tip, onto the bed and then fled the tavern before anyone could recognize his face. Humans were often attracted to Ceann and sought her services, but were always secretive so as not to be mocked by their kin. Apparently, it was as taboo for a man to lay with a dwarf as it was for a dwarf to lay with a human. But in these hard times, Ceann took what she could get, because she was both.

She gathered the coins, eyes wide at the sizable gratuity he had included, and stuffed them all into her life savings, secretly tucked away in a hidden compartment behind the headboard. Ceann Uldhe almost had enough coin to leave this place and find her fate elsewhere in the world. It was all she thought of these days. Ceann was the daughter to Beartas, a dwarf woman considered the most beautiful in the kingdom many years ago. But she had been cast out by her family in Kelgrond, the city under the mountain, when she had become pregnant with a human’s child.

Ceann, being half-human, did not fit in anywhere during her childhood. Above ground, she was shorter than the humans by a good deal. Plus, her well-muscled physique, courtesy of her dwarven ancestry, made her a better fighter and athlete than the human males. How they had hated losing to a girl at every single competition. Running, swimming, handball, hand-to-hand sparring, weapons training... you name it, and Ceann beat the humans at it. Every time.

When her mother had died in an "accident" at the human tavern, Ceann had returned underground to seek solace amongst her other kin. But they, too, shunned her as different. She was taller than the dwarves but weaker than them in all things physical. Ceann could not compete with dwarven work ethic either, as they put in long 10-hour workdays of back-breaking labor.

And so, Ceann had taken up the only profession she was good at; fucking for money. The beauty of her situation was that being an outcast from both races actually made her more attractive. They both saw her as just foreign enough to satisfy their base desires, while also finding comfort in the fact that she was not totally alien to either side.

As soon as the money was tucked safely away, Ceann dressed and went down to the public room of the tavern in search of a drink and her next customer. It was early, and she hoped to make a good deal more money before falling into her usual fitful sleep. The moment she arrived downstairs, hoots and whistles greeted the beautiful female. She stood at four feet and nine inches tall. Taller than every dwarf in the kingdom of Kelgrond, and yet still shorter than all the humans drinking in the tavern with their dwarven friends. But her bosom was quite large, and she had a very pleasant pear-shaped body to coincide with them. Ceann’s long, curly red hair also drove the males of both races wild. It was said that the fire of a woman’s hair revealed the passion found in her bed. Ceann knew that to be just a bunch of cow shit that males said because they were horny. But she used it to her advantage as often as possible. She needed those idiots’ coin in order to leave here and change her fate, and so she would do whatever it took to get it.

Ceann swayed her ample hips as she strode through the tavern, making eyes at anyone that seemed interested. There were several potentials in the crowd this evening. All she had to do was work them and wait for the right moment to suggest some fun upstairs. The smart dwarf knew her business and was certain that tonight was to be her last night of fucking for money. She was so close to her financial goal, and by the looks in the eyes of the interested parties tonight, Ceann would have all that she needed and more by the time morning broke over the mountain peaks above.

"Come here, lass, and have a seat on me throne," one older dwarf grunted and licked his lips.

Ceann had fucked that one too many times to count, and was certain of his coin this evening. She could make him wait a little longer. "Not yet, Guntav. I need to warm up before I can take all ye have to offer," she said huskily into his ear, licking him slightly in the process.

Guntav’s grin spread further and he grabbed his crotch as he replied, "Aye, that ye do, lass. But don’t be too long. Me longsword needs whetting!" This was met with a roar of approval from his friends who sat beside the old warrior, a group of dwarves and humans she did not recognize as regulars.

Her eyes searched the room, looking for someone with money... someone who sat alone. And she found him. An odd looking dwarf wearing a bright red shirt with lace at the cuffs and neck, purple knee-high boots as shiny as dew covered grass, and black pants so tight that Ceann could see, even in his seated position, that this dwarf was the owner of two mighty weapons; the enormous sword leaned against his table, and the one stowed away below his belt.

"Umm, ’scuse me, milord, would ye mind terribly if I sat with ye? I’ve never seen a sword so big, and this weapon ye’ve got leaned against the table is rather large, too," Ceann said in her most sexually charged purr while leaning over to give the attractive yet strange looking dwarf a good view of her ample tits.

"Look, lass," he said gruffly, "I’ve no’ the patience for this shite. If ye want ta fuck, then by all means, let us fuck. But don’t pretend it’s because I’m yer type, or some such nonsense. Ye need coin, and I need ta celebrate. Ye see, I’ve completed my life’s work this day. Somethin’ I’ve been chasin’ for years has finally come to pass. I feel like singin’ a song, clickin’ ma heals, and sqeezin’ somethin’ soft. So, what do ye say?"

Ceann was taken aback. This unusual dwarf had cut right to the chase. He didn’t want any pretense? He wouldn’t get any, then. "Fine by me, then. Get your arse upstairs with me and we’ll have it done. Ye get to celebrate, and I get yer coin. A fair amount of it, too, don’t ye be doubtin’. I’m worth it all and more," she said in her matter-of-fact business voice, having dropped the sultry sexual tones of a woman in heat.

He smiled broadly and said, "Now ye’re talkin’... uhhh..."

"Ceann. Ceann Uldhe," she told him before standing and marching up the stairs to her room.

Yintal the Hunter grabbed the gigantic sword, God’s Feather, and chased after the tall and beautiful dwarf female. After murdering his lifelong enemy, the last of the Grendelkin, he needed some release. And this incredible Ceann seemed perfect to help him with that need. I’ve never seen a more beautiful dwarf in all my life, he thought to himself as he pushed open her door and found her already nude on the bed.

"Take off yer clothes, then," she said as she got to her knees, ready to repeat her regimen; mouth, getting taken from behind, and then finally (if this dwarf was up to it) mounting him. All in all, it took no more than half an hour usually, and most of the time was done in 15 minutes. But by the look in this one’s eye, she felt he could probably go the distance.

Yintal took Ceann by the shoulders and guided her to the bed. "Ye’ve no need to be on yer knees, lass. I aim to do right by ye, not dog ye like some harlot," he said as he undid the buttons of his tight, black pants. Upon the reveal, Ceann was indeed impressed with what he had to offer.

"What’s yer name?" she asked while stroking Yintal thighs.

"Ye can call me Yin..." but before he could finish giving his name, the door exploded inwards in a shower of splintered wooden shards. The feral and incoherent shouts of four dwarves and two humans drowned out the protests of Ceann, and the demands of Yintal for them to leave. An axe spun from the hands of one of the intruders, a rugged looking dwarf with skin the color of ash. The missile soared towards Yintal’s shocked expression, but an instant before it cleaved his face in two the Hunter rolled to the side, falling off Ceann’s bed and onto the dusty planks of her bedroom floor.

All of the other intruders did not attack so soon, as one and all, they stared at the bare breasts of the beautiful half-dwarf, half-human female on the bed. Her curly red hair hung about her bosom, but enough showed through to keep the dwarves and humans stock still, mouths agape.

"Typical males", she thought. Ceann then spread her legs wide, giving them a look at something a bit more enticing than her chest. As she did so, Ceann revealed more than her nethers. She revealed that spending a lifetime as an outcast had taught her how to protect herself. This was no defenseless tavern wench, like these fools apparently expected.

Ceann reached behind her head, legs still open, and retrieved two throwing daggers. With a deft flick of her wrists, she sent them spinning into two of the dwarves staring at her with lust in their eyes. Each dagger found one of those eyes, and those two dwarves soon could only stare at their ancestors and the Gods that kept them, as their lives seeped out into the dusty floorboards of the Grinding Wheel.

Yintal leapt back to his feet to find that this lady dwarf was more than she appeared, having killed two of the intruders before he could even regain his standing! The Hunter was impressed. He looked for his mighty weapon, God’s Feather, and found it clear across the bed, leaning right beside the intriguing female, who was still stark naked. Before Yintal could bound across the bed and retrieve his magical weapon, Ceann’s hand grasped the handle of the gigantic sword.

"What in the bloody hell does she think she’s doin?" Yintal thought to himself, and then quickly attempted to say the word of magic that would activate the sword’s special power, which made the enormous blade as light as a feather. Otherwise she would never be able to lift God’s Feather, as without the enchantment enabled, the sword was about as heavy as the Grinding Wheel Tavern itself!

The word to enact the special power of the legendary blade never left his mouth, though. Ceean’s delicate hand clasped the hilt of the large and unwieldy weapon and...

...she wrenched it from it’s resting position by the bed and held God’s Feather in front of her with one hand. An odd shimmer surrounding the sword let Yintal know that the magic was working, even though he hadn’t said the spellword... no one had.

"How?" he mumbled, but just then another axe sailed at him from the dwarf with the ash grey skin. Yintal caught this one and sent it back in a lightning fast spin, cleaving the dark dwarf’s head in half. Brain and blood splattered on the human standing tall behind the dead fool.

The remaining dwarf and the human with the brains all over his mid-section rushed Ceann, but the surprising female danced forward silkily, and slid the huge sword through the air. The long blade cut through her chest-of-drawers as if it were made of paper, then continued on through the face of the dwarf. The top of his head rolled forward, toppling from it’s old perch and spilling his thoughts an memories onto those same dusty floorboards. One would think that a weapon of such size would continue it’s trajectory, based purely on physics. So, the human dropped low to avoid the arc of God’s Feather. But Ceean felt the sword’s weight in her hand as if she held a twig. So as the human dropped, she stopped her swing directly above him, then brought the blade down. God’s Feather fell through that human in a way Yintal had never before seen. It sliced him into two parts, and even went through the floorboards, which then broke apart under the dead man’s weight, and he fell through to the level below.

"Only one with the blood of the Wolves of the Bay runnin’ through their veins can wield God’s Feather thusly, lass," Yintal gasped, seeing her height in a new light, and wondering at her ancestry.

"And who are they, then?" Ceean asked, her attention focused solely on Yintal.

"They are a tribe of humans from the region near the Sea of Nezra," he explained. "Giant killers. The absolute best o’ the best, ye understand. This blade is their legacy... their most prized possession... it," but he stopped the explanation as a loud bang came from the doorway. The last of the intruders stood there, a big grin on his face and a small pillar of smoke rising from the ground in front of him.

Suddenly, Ceean’s and Yintal’s world slowed to a crawl. They seemed to be held fast by some ethereal substance they could neither see nor feel, yet could not move through to save their lives. In fact, to the naked eye they seemed to not be moving at all, though they struggled as hard as they could to do so. But, if one was to examine them very closely, it would be discovered that they were making tiny movements every few seconds. The effects of the spellbomb the human had detonated in the room caused the two dwarves’ movements to be highly restricted for a period of time. They could still see and hear everything about them, though.

"Ahh, that’s better. You two shorties were giving me a fucking headache. I know, I know. Right now, you’re probably really angry. And also scared shitless!" the human said as he stepped into the room and bent down to look into Ceean’s eyes. Then, getting on his knees, the human did his best impression of a dwarf, mocking not only their height, but also their accents and mannerisms. "Oh no, the big man is gonna smash our wee heads!" he cried out, and waved his arms madly about, then roared with laughter.

Ceean struggled against the spell that held her in place, and felt the tiny movement allowed to her stretch a bit. Casting her glance at Yintal, she found that he was still immobile. Her arm, the one holding God’s Feather, moved an inch towards the mocking human while his back was turned.

"But fear not, my tiny friends. I am not here to kill you. I am only here to rob you! And now that you’ve killed all of my partners in this robbery, the coin will all be mine! You see, some idiot downstairs was chatting about you, whore. He told everyone about how often he had come here to fuck you, and how you had a hidden compartment behind your bed where you stored your coin. He said that you left him once so you could visit the chamberpot, and in his scandalous search of your meager accommodations, the old dwarf had uncovered it. He was planning on robbing you tonight, and slitting your throat to do so. But, we convinced him to work together. So, he told us where the money was, and we killed him in an alley behind the tavern."

Ceean continued struggling and was able to move slightly as the human continued babbling on. But it wasn’t going to be enough. "I can’t let this bastard take that coin! It’s all I have!" she thought to herself, and redoubled her efforts to break the spell.

"Anyway," the human chortled, "I’ll be taking it all for myself now."

He sauntered over to the bed, pulled the headboard aside, and retrieved the bag of gold from the hidden compartment. Ceean’s life savings, the money that was supposed to change her destiny and get her out of this hell hole and the degrading work she had done for so long... it was going to be taken from her. And there was nothing she could do to stop it.

The human held the weighty bag in one hand, and with the other retrieved another spellbomb. These were spells that a wizard placed into a small handheld clay ball. Once broken, whatever spell lay inside would activate. They were made for those who could not do magic, but needed it’s help. He held up this new spellbomb and dropped it to the floor. A portal opened in the room, dark blue around the edges and pulsing with light. Through the portal, a lake could be seen, with a tree the size of a city on the farside. Both Ceean and Yintal stared at the place through the hole in the room without recognition. Tears fell from her eyes as Ceean watched the man begin to step through the portal.

His arm holding the bag went through first, then his leading leg stepped through. The human turned around and said, "It was a pleasure, truly it was. Now, I shall return to my home and live in luxury for a long while. Thank you, whore."

With that, Ceean raged inside. Her blood pumped harder and faster than she had ever felt it. Sweat erupted on her brow as she furiously pushed her limits. Then, the arm holding the massive sword swung out and severed the man’s arm.

He screamed in agony as his arm below the elbow fell though the portal... the arm holding the bag of gold. Before the portal closed forever, Ceean watched the oiled leather bag tumble down the embankment and fall into the lake, where it sank to the bottom.

As the portal closed, the magic severed the man’s leg that was still inside. He fell to the ground, much as the bag of gold had done, but instead of falling into the lake, he fell into unconciousness at the pain and loss of blood.

Ceean’s body completely became free at that moment, but Yintal was still held fast. Watching her move, he marveled at the strength she showed. It was impossible, but he felt the only answer was that she was one of the Wolves... one of the heir’s to the bloodline.

Not like him.

Yintal was one of the Wolves, to be sure, but only because they took pity on him as a child. The Wolves had taught him their ways so that he might grow up and seek his revenge on the Grendel that had eaten his father. But this female dwarf... or half-dwarf, as Yintal now correctly suspected... she was a real Wolf of the Bay, she just didn’t know it.

Suddenly, Yintal’s body became unfrozen and he immediately rushed to the human. He was already dead. The amount of blood flowing from his wounds meant he would never awaken. "He’s gone, lass," Yintal told her.

Ceean dropped the huge weapon, and the shimmering glow disappeared as she released it. It clanged to the floor, now carrying it’s full weight. At the addition of this mass, the broken floorboards finally gave way, and the two dwarves crashed down to the level below, landing in the same storage room the dead man in two pieces had come to rest.

Yintal retrieved his sword, comforted by it’s return to his hand, but unnerved by the fact that, honestly, Ceean was the right one to wield it. She just didn’t realize it, yet. But right then and there, The Hunter decided that she would know. He would teach her. He would take her to the sea and show Ceean who her ancestors were... and what they could do. But first, he would need to tell her a lie. He hated to do it, but Yintal felt certain this female only wanted one thing at this moment.

"Lass, don’t be so devastated," he said calmly, placing a hand on Ceean’s still naked shoulder.

She brushed the hand off and stared up into Yintal’s eyes with a violent determination. "Fuck you. That was my life’s work. All the disgusting and grotesque people I had ta fuck for that coin... all the vile shit I’ve had done to me... the things I’ve seen..." her voice trailed off as she looked up into her bedroom, a floor above them. "I’m not going back ever again," she whispered.

Yintal knelt beside her, and nodded as he looked back into her eyes. She was broken right now, but she could be so much more, and he would not let her waste the gift in her veins.

"Ok, lass. Me name is Yintal. They oft call me The Hunter. Ceann, I saw the lake in that portal, and I know where ’tis. I can take you."

Ceean Uldhe jumped to her feet in one swift motion, revealing once more that she was much more than just lady of the evening. "Then what the fuck are ye doing on the floor, Yintal. We need to go fast as we can. I aim ta get that coin back and change my destiny."

Yintal smiled, for he knew that her destiny was already changed. "Ok, Ceean. But first, ye should really put on some clothes. Ye might catch yer death in the wilds if yer naked as a wee baby."

"Ye know," she said with a smile and a wink, "yer the first male to ever suggest that I put on clothes."

He bellowed a laugh, but she wasn’t done yet. "And before ye get all high and mighty, as if ye were one of the ancestors or the Gods that keep them, ye should know that yer cock’s still out, Yintal."

The Hunter stared down, and realized he had not had pants on during the entire fight and, yes, his cock was still out.

Next Chapter: Hungry for Answers