<b><span style="font-size: 18px">The Barge</span></b><br/><br/>The door finally opened and Grull was there, his left forearm bleeding from a poorly thrust dagger but he seemed to ignore the soft patter of blood dripping onto the floor.  He  took one look at Lydia and reached behind him and grabbed another orc by his scraggly hair.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(251, 160, 38)">"Why isn't she bound and gagged?"</span>He hissed, his blood lust from the challenge still raging in his veins.  He didn't look like a creature that could be easily soothed at that moment.  His teeth bared as he looked at her as if ready to unleash untold violence upon her.  He was in no mood for her trickery.  The struggling orc in his grip had no explanation, of course he hadn't even been one of the orcs sent to bind and gag her but wrath and justice had little correlation in orc to orc dynamics.  He thrust the other orc away from him in disgust then turned back towards Lydia.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(251, 160, 38)">"Time to finish my business with you and give the gang their turn."</span>He said as he moved towards her, the other orcs making themselves scarce, at least for now.  His fist flew quickly towards her but instead of striking her he gripped her face with his calloused green hand, effectively muzzling her to keep her from speaking.  Practically lifting her by her face he pinned her against the bulkhead wall behind her.  His free fist went to the top of her dress, ready to tear it down from her tits to her belly button.<br/><br/>But then a shuffle of feet and a hushed voice.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(97, 189, 109)">"Boss...boss...new slave alone on the river bank."</span>Grull froze for several heartbeats.  Whoever said 'One in the hand being worth two in the bush' was clearly not an orc.  For the moment at least, greed overcame lust in Grull's mind.  His hand fell away from her dress without any damage.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(251, 160, 38)">"Stay outta site, we got just the bait we need."</span>He said without looking towards his crew, his calm, almost calculating tone perhaps more frightening than his rage to some.  He kept his hand over her mouth and leaned in close.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(251, 160, 38)">"You gonna use them clever words to lure this one in, or you will entertain the whole gang tonight."</span>He told her, spelling out her options in a way he thought she might well understand.  Only then did he release her and casually grabbed one of the neatly stacked laundry items, knocking the rest down in the act, and apply it to his bleeding forearm.