To the Victors go the Spoils

A shocked silence fell over the site of the ambush as everyone processed the wave of emotions crashing down on them. Pain at the loss of three of their own. Pride for their first victory. Excitement about their future.

All six paladins had survived, mostly due to their tough nature, not for lack of trying to kill them. One of Flinch’s sons moved to cut one of their throats while ****, but Flinch stopped him by raising his hand. “They have killed your brothers, my sons. They died as warriors, and we should cherish their memory. But tell me, my vengeful son, is there not a better way these six women can serve the clan. Is there not a fate we can impose upon them which they would consider worse than ****?”, he asked in a calm but loud voice. His son understood and nodded, “You are wise, father. My hatred blinded me. It would be their wish,”, he said as he pointed at his deceased brothers, “that we use them to benefit the clan.”.

The paladins were freed of their armour, revealing well trained bodies that still carried a feminine beauty. Then they used the chains they found in the metal wagon to bind their wrists and ankles. Metal collars were locked around their necks, and they were all chained to the collar of the woman before them, so they formed a line.

They gathered short swords, daggers, crossbows and bolts, bows and arrows, as well as shields and two barrels of a thick black liquid. When one of the goblins went to taste it, Astra grabbed his hand, “That is oil, son. Highly flammable and definitely not for drinking.”. They grabbed everything they could use and stacked it a few feet off the road in the forest, then Flinch ordered his sons talented with earth magic to let the whole ambush sink underground.

It took quite some time and effort, but after two hours all wagons, bodies and even splatters of blood and arrows were buried under newly hardened earth. The tree blocking the road had been removed from the road and placed in a natural way. Nobody walking this road could tell that there had been a brutal fight here. From the perspective of the humans, this caravan would appear to have vanished into thin air.

The paladins started to wake up. They cursed and yelled, calling them all sorts of “Green monsters!” and “Subhuman filth!” and “Unworthy of life!”. A lot of their **** was directed towards Astra, she seemed unfazed though. She delivered a hook to the liver of the leader she had previously knocked out which sent her to her knees. “You have killed my sons. It is only fitting you give me many grandsons as penance.”, her words were oddly soft but menacing enough. The paladin leader wanted to respond, when Flinch proclaimed, “We have healers, so you can inflict grievous wounds on them without worry of them dying. If they speak or resist, don’t hold back.”. That threat shut them up for the time being.

They spent the rest of the day carrying their fallen home, together with the spoils of battle, including the chained paladins trotting along to rattle of their chains.