Ember

It was all too quiet.

Since we crossed that bridge the lizards seemed to give up on us. Maybe they realized I'm not someone to mess with? Still, I was bored. We spent most of our days traveling on those uncomfortable abominations that Bullhead called wagons, but they were closer to torture.

"Heeey, Captain, are we there yet?" I asked desperately. I could no longer feel my bottom, but the commander did not seem to enjoy it either.

"We are already in Cranta Proper if that counts!" He shouted much louder than I expected. He burst his eardrums, which might have been my fault, I had forgotten to warn them. Besides, they would have missed my cool monologue, if they covered their ears. I had no regrets. "So tell me, Ember. Did you crack that magic crystal yet? You had plenty of time."

"Uugh, but it's such a mean device," I complained. Trying to probe that thing was even more boring than this whole travel. "All it ever does, is trying to convince me to do things. It won't answer my questions or tell who made it, for what purpose."

"What does it want you to do then?" Gorgon asked, still louder than it would have been sensible. "And what if you did what it wants?"

"You pervert!" I yelled at him. "You would want me to do that?"

"Huh? What exactly?" After asking me to do that, he played the clueless, but then I remembered I didn't say what the crystal wanted me to do. I took a deep breath.

"It, umm, it tries to get me to, you know." I loved to tease people, but I lacked real experience with them, with that kind of stuff. It was hard for me to talk about it directly. "To make babies, a lot of them, and keep making them. And once I have enough babies for an army, take over the world, I guess. And I'm not going to do that."

"What?!" This time his shouting was well justified.

"It wants me to have, ss… To do that, okay?" I repeated, throwing the crimson crystal at the beastfolk commander. My cheeks burned hot. "It keeps telling me not to waste time, and lay lots of eggs."

"Eggs?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "You can't possibly do that, you idiot. Do you even have any idea how babies are made?"

"Sh-Shut up. I don't care about your perverted stuff." I threw a waterskin at him for good measure. I didn't need him to educate me about that kind of thing, neither was his mockery. "That's what it said."

"Well, I guess it was made for the lizardmen so that would explain it." Gorgon scratched his head. "It doesn't know that another species possesses it. Still, is it just something to urge you to make babies? Any aphrodisiac can do that, why waste time on an elaborate spell and an expensive magic stone for this?"

"It wasn't all," I noted, still blushing. "Also contains commands, instructions, and promises vague rewards in return, but most didn't make sense. Especially the one describing spells."

"Hmm, sounds like some sort of idol then." He concluded, pulling back on the reins. It was close to noon now. Since we weren't chased anymore, we'd rest every few hours so the raptors wouldn't get too exhausted. I could already see the wyverns ahead of us.

The scouts and hunters flew forward on their backs to report on the terrain, and to look for prey. Our pack animals ate more than the orcs, ogres, and all the goblins put together.

Now that we left those desolate highlands, they found much better prey. Our rations improved significantly. They roasted some wild game in the camp, so I was sure to get food today. The climate was much more pleasant here as well.

"We'll stop here for an hour. Post two guards at the front and the back, and one on each side." Bullhead gave the order once we reached them. Avalon halted his trusty raptor right next to us too. The commander stretched his back before turning to face him. "Anything to report?"

"All is quiet. One more day, and we'll reach the old capital." The goblin reported, jumping off the saddle. "The scouts have seen multiple small tribes from above, so I don't think lizards would follow us this far. Maybe we could already start our investigation?"

"No, the Demon Lord's orders were clear." Gorgon shook his head, getting off as well. I was happy to leave this death trap and headed for the campfire to steal the best bites of today's prey. "We will investigate where they dueled that human mage and go from there. I will write a report later, we still have half our crows."

"I can deal with that, Bossman, you just enjoy your meal." Avalon offered, but the beastmen vehemently shook his bullhead again.

"No, your reports are the worst, no way I'm letting you handle them again." He protested but grinned a moment later. They grew pretty close now, but I was more interested in some meat than their bromance.

The encampments were quickly set up thanks to our hastily mobilized company. The wagons parked in a concentric formation off one side of the road, with guards observing every angle. Gorgon was strict about this and bugged Avalon with it every time. But when it came to tactics, Bullhead always asked the goblin captain for advice.

Even last week, when we were just nonstop traveling, I was bored out of my mind. They would ride side by side, discussing historic battles or planning for the future. I had no idea, how they held such discussions for so long. As for me, I was itching for some action. Blowing up that bridge felt great, and I wasn't even scolded this time. The men of the company soon all learned my name.

"Oh, Ember, I reserved this place for you." One of the archers offered, with a plate to go with it. Ever since they ran out of arrows, they more or less became my spotters. Their eyes were still useful, except there was not much to spot anymore. "Take this too, boar ribs. Very juicy."

"Thanks, you are so sweet." I took his offering, giving a wink in return. That reminded me of when the captain proposed to do what the crimson crystal demanded, and I blushed. That idiot!

The soldier must have thought I blushed from his gift, grinning wildly. Why disappoint him? A little flash of my thighs as I sit down, surrounded by the rest of the company. They fought well, the lizards that got across the bridge before it exploded were cut down instantly. The men only suffered a few light injuries.

I felt bad that I couldn't treat their wounds, but I wasn't recruited for that. With the two shamans gone, they had to rely on bandages and medicinal herbs. Well, orcs were tough, after all.

"Is it true that you'll be part of the Twelve Champions once we return?" Another warrior asked. This one was a hobgoblin, a frontline fighter. They had the brains of your regular goblin, but the strength, if not better, than the robust orc soldiers. While the ogres were too large for my taste, hobs were a rather intriguing species.

"I wonder about that myself." I glanced at him, trying to throw in my womanly charms. His body was muscular, as you'd expect, but leaner than the orcs. "Before we set out, they sure seemed to need a talented magician. I doubt they found the missing members since."

"And what made you join the New Order, lady Ember?" This was the same goblin I managed to save myself. I pulled him up from the road when his carriage was blown into the air. While they were meant to fulfill auxiliary roles in the Demon Lord's army, only they could handle the raptors. Regardless of their weaker physique, the stronger species also respected their achievements.

"What indeed. That's a tough question." I answered between bites. I could have told them, that I just wanted to burn things, and fighting alongside an army seemed the right place to do that, but that didn't sound very ladylike. I didn't want to lose my charms. "The Demon Lord seemed like the one that could unite all the Lesser Races. It felt natural to join his cause and serve him with my humble abilities."

Their cheers indicated that this was a good answer. They offered me more of their meals and some fruits gathered in the nearby woods. I ate myself full at last. I could barely even complain about my current situation if my back wasn't hurting from traveling on those uncomfortable carriages. But I needed something to set on fire soon.

"All right, time is up!" Bullhead yelled, still chewing his food, waving for the men to gather. "If we travel far enough today, we'll arrive at our destination by this time tomorrow. We don't know what we will find there, so try to rest on the go as much as you can."

"As if it was possible to rest on those traveling coffins," I grumbled, rolling my eyes. This earned a few sympathetic laughs from the soldiers, but they couldn't ignore the Captain's orders. They quickly put out the fire and headed for their carriages. "See you in the evening then."

"What is it?" Gorgon asked curiously, once I returned to his cart too. My face couldn't hide how sick I was of traveling.

"I'm just bored." I shrugged, lying on top of a ground sheet pile. Not even they could dampen the roughness of the road, but this was the best I had. "So what do you expect we will find when we get there?"

"If I knew, I'd already tell the Demon Lord and spare myself this hellish little trip, Ember." It was his turn to shrug now. "Whatever it is, hopefully we'll find it tomorrow, and live long enough to tell the tale."

"As long as it's flammable, I'm fine with everything," I claimed, hugging my tail between my legs. I made a futile attempt, to sleep after lunch until we didn't go too fast. "Please drive carefully."

"Save that for the raptors." He laughed, yanking on their reins. Our column was soon on the road again. We still held that zigzag formation ever since that last battle. While our carnivorous pack animals dictated a fast pace, they weren't dashing for survival like back then. The vibrations were slightly more bearable now, it was almost possible to fall asleep.

But then they all suddenly turned to bleed out speed, and we stopped. I was this close to relaxing, but the soldiers yelled all over, jumping off their wagons and taking up defensive formations.

"What the hell?" I asked, rubbing my eyes, but I quickly forgot about sleep when I spotted the two Nightmares down the road.