Views Of A Country Road

Jerry and Titania made good time and before long the duo left the orcwood behind them. Rolling hills sloped down into plains which gave way to lands under cultivation. Jerry passed several farms ranging in size from small family homesteads to sprawling plantations where hundreds of monsters could be seen working to grow cash crops.

They were not the only ones travelling on the roads. The pair passed several wagons and carts being pulled by everything from minotaurs to monitor lizards the size of hippos. Jerry saw people riding creatures of every shape and size imaginable from snails the size of ponies to six trunked elephants. No one showed the slightest hints of anxiety around these creatures. So long as the bondage markings were visible, the humans, elves, and other races Jerry and Titania passed on the road were not the slightest bit worried that the monsters might be dangerous.

It was not just the roads occupied with traffic. Jerry looked up to see the clear blue skies dotted with people riding creatures that should not have been able to soar through the air with such ease. Yet, somehow Jerry watched as a man riding a pegasus raced a chariot being pulled by a flying boar.

As the party passed a few sizable estates growing plants that Jerry's HUD labeled with names like 'jade rice' 'dream hemp' 'sage tea' 'panacea' 'joytatoes' 'mana corn' 'celestial (color) ink plant' to name a few of the more prominent crops, to say nothing about the '(color) mana berries' and fruit trees in such numbers and varieties that Jerry could not keep track of it all, Jerry noticed Bellanna growing anxious. Jerry could hear the orc woman's breathing growing heavier ever since they spotted the first signs of civilization, he felt her two heartbeats growing out of synch. At first, Jerry was confused as to what was bothering the orc woman until Jerry noticed that most of the slaves toiling in the fields were green skinned.
Once he noticed it, Jerry could not help but observe that two thirds of those laboring in the sun were either tall, athletic, naked orcs or short, thicc, naked goblins. The other third defied easy categorization. Though some were humanoid, many of the slaves worked in their monster forms. None of them were immune from the overseer's lash.

"Hey. No one is going to hurt you like that. You hear me, Belle?" said Jerry to his orc as they rode past the gruesome scene of an orc being tied to a post and thrashed with a whip that crackled with excruciating magics.
"Thank you, Master." said Bellanna, taking her owner's hand. "I know that you will protect me. It's just that, are people going to look at me and just see a field hand out of her place?"
"The way one of my tutors phrased it." said Titania. "'Orcs are cursed by being too good to stay valuable.' You are one of the few monster breeds which can learn like a person, your green skin lets your kind work in the hottest conditions and get stronger the brighter the day gets, you can eat anything subsist on things most creatures would consider waste or garbage, your physiques are..." Titania coughed, took a breath, and continued. "and to top it all off, your reproductive rate is prolific." As the elf ranger spoke so matter of factly, the party rode past a coffle of orcs chained together by their necks and ankles. The line of marching green skins were directed to get off the road by their marching master. The lead overseer pulled the caravan of enslaved monsters into the mud to make way for Jerry and Titania as they rode on following the signs for Stoneford. "The result of all these forces coupled together means that, while some people do train their orcs and goblins in skilled trades, most greenskins end up working in the fields."

"You are not most green skins." Jerry said. "You are my green skin. Tell me, my dear, what do you want the most in this world? What is the thing that burns deep in your hearts' desire?"
Bellanna's hearts both skipped beats before going back into synch. "I want to be strong and protect my Master." said Bellanna. "I want to be the strongest warrior in the world so I can beat the core out of any smart ass who thinks they can even try to hurt you while I am around."
"That sounds like a wonderful dream." said Jerry. "It is a dream worth fighting for. So. I will help you achieve your dream!" Jerry felt like a character from an anime as he said these words, but considering the circumstances, they seemed appropriate.

"Oh, Master." Bellanna snuggled her owner in her arms. He might be smaller than an orc, but he was tall and strong for a human. While she held him in her arms. The orc woman felt a serene sensation of safety and contentment.