A Cloaked Stranger

Eva's first shift at the Millstone went well. She was a native born and bread so news of her engagement had traveled quickly through the small town. She had to turn down offers for celebratory drinks more times than she could count. As the patrons slowly filtered out into the darkness Eva noticed a cloaked figure asleep in a corner near the hearth. Making a mental note to kick the bum out into the stable after she finished her closing chores Eva turned to wave goodbye to the last of the local regulars stumbling their way out into the night.

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Eva finished restocking the wood next to the hearth and in the process walked by the sleeping figure and lightly slapped the back of their head, "I don't know where you're going but you can't stay here!" Turning her back she walked to the bar to count the earnings for the night. Engrossed in tallying the stock and noting what she would have to order the next time a merchant caravan rolled through Eva was oblivious to what unfolded behind her.

The figure stirred, yawned and stood up. A solid 7' 5", the tip of their hood brushed the beams as they walked over to the unsuspecting Barmaid. Rolling out knots in their shoulders and popping their neck the figure walked with the confidence and swagger of an undefeated champion. Sensing the approach of the cloaked figure Eva turned to give the figure some advice on lodging, "If you want there's a room above the pub for a pence a night, if you want to save some coin...." The rest of the sentence went silent in her throat as she finally got a look at the face of the giant towering over her.

Light grey eyes the color of week old snow pierced out from under the hood. They roamed over Eva's body with the contempt a cat shows a mouse that had the misfortune of wandering into its path. Eva shrank before her stare. It was a her of that Eva had no doubt. The face was vaguely human with two large tusks jutting from the corners of her mouth. These tusks were covered a rough angular script (https://www.omniglot.com/writing/runic.htm) and started a shade of crimson that remind Eva of dried blood and ended in wickedly sharp points that had been lacquered to a midnight-black shine. More of this script was tattooed underneath the left eye of the figure, a warning for all who could read it, "Bull of Luthic". Eva backed into the counter trying to create some space between herself and the massive woman. Her mind raced with stories and rumors told around campfires to scare little girls and boys. The woman moved closer to Eva and put her hands to either side preventing Eva's escape.

Eva trembled as the figure deliberately leaned over and took a deep smell of Eva's radiant red hair. At that moment Eva finally remembered the story she'd assumed was an urban legend. A merchant from the far north had come through her little town when Eva was young. The journey was long and the merchant ended up staying in the town for a fortnight to rest and conduct some business. The merchant's wife was an excellent storyteller who recounted legends and tales from across the realms. One of these spoke of a small tribe who had been cursed at the beginning of time. This curse was laid upon this tribe because they rejected the pure and chaste life of civilization. Their skin became the color of their mountain home, their culture reduced to fighting and fucking. The figure's alien musk was overwhelming and Eva finally snapped out of the stupor clouding her mind and scrambled her way out from between the grey woman and the bar. Making a beeline for the door Eva wondered if she could outrun the monster the half mile to the next house down the road. In her haste Eva tripped over the threshold and fell out into the street.

Rolling onto her back she saw the woman in the doorway and with one smooth motion the woman grabbed Eva's left ankle and dragged Eva back into the Pub laughing all the while. Once inside the woman tensed and threw Eva clear across the room.

The next thing she knows Eva is staring up at the back of an impossibly tall figure. With cobwebs still in her mind and quicksand sapping her strength all she could manage was a token effort at pulling herself away from the nightmare before her. Staying as quiet as possible her eyes darted around the room looking for a way to escape. The woman had taken her cloak off at some point and draped it over the chair in front of the hearth and was in the process of what appeared to be fortifying the Pub. The door had been closed and the millstone that gave the Pub its name had been pushed up against it. The windows were closed and shuttered. Eva saw the woman stand in front of the hearth, and as the ringing in her ears stopped she heard the sizzle of coals going out. After a moment the tall grey woman turns to see Eva awake and smiles. She tries to scream, tries to run, tries to fight but Eva does the only thing she can and freezes, hoping beyond hope to wake up from whatever this fucked up dream was.

For a brief moment she remembers Bruce on a couch in a building made of metal.

The woman advances slowly and begins to talk with a guttural accent, "Now we alone. Tomorrow holy day yes?" The woman was close now that strange alien musk filtering into Eva's conscious awareness. "I watch here. Here not here on holy day." The woman was standing at Eva's feet now. "We alone for all night and all day. Suhla has slept enough. Now she play." Suhla, apparently, was in the process of removing her outer garments. The oiled leather fell away revealing a body carved straight out of a mountain side. The woman's breasts were bound with a long bolt of cloth and she wore the undergarments of a human warrior. With the slightest flick of her foot she flipped Eva onto her back and settled into mount on top of her. At this range Eva could feel the heat radiating off this woman soaking through her barmaids outfit and warming her whole body. "Not many of my people." Suhla paused trying to find the words, "En- eno- enough to make story. Has little one heard of my people?"

Eva replied with a meek nod, "Orc."

AN - https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Luthic (TIL - Orc goddess of fertility is Luthic)