It is the fourteenth day of Desnus in 4747 AR, and spring is coming to a close in Ilsurian as summer draws near. Varisia is not the warmest place in the Inner Sea region, but the weather is temperate enough at this time of year. The crops have been sown in the fields, with all signs indicating a good harvest to come in autumn. Lake Syrantula is full of fish, there is plenty of lumber and game in the Ashwood, and goods regularly float down the Skull River to be sent on towrds the coast. So has it been been in Ilsurian for over a century, and perhaps it will never change.<br/><br/>Little details change, of course. The brutal subjugation of Varisia by Emperor Grask Uldeth and the conquest of Ilsurian by Mako and Mazok turned the social structure of the village upside down, and those who once worked for their own prosperity now toil at the behest of their orc overlords. Much of what will be harvested this year is destined for the large orc cities, and the armies that even now spread out from Varisia in an attempt to conquer more land. The slaves who work the land see little reward from their efforts, save for their continued existence.<br/><br/>As six o'clock rolls around, the sun is dipping towards the horizon, and the orcish residents of Ilsurian are beginning to stir from their daily slumber. Slaves are moving in from the fields and the lake as the light fades, getting ready for their evening meal and whatever chores await them in the crowded hovels they now called home. The slaves who serve orcish masters personally often sleep through the height of the day like their owners, rising a few hours before sunset to prepare for their masters' needs.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Sara</div><div class="spoiler_body">Sara woke up to the all-too-familiar sensation of a large hand sliding underneath her nightgown to stroke her stomach and breasts. At least the hand was nice and warm, since both Sara and the hand's owner were curled up together under thick blankets, in a luxurious four-poster bed that had once belonged to one of Ilsurian's wealthiest merchants.<br/><br/>"Wakey wakey, little lady," came the voice of Sara's mistress in her ear. "Time to get up. We've got work to do." Canara Clever-Tongue of the Gnarled Fist Clan certainly had no shortage of chores for her slave to attend to, the foremost of which would naturally be preparing her late afternoon breakfast. Canara herself made no motion to stir from her warm coccoon, though, nor to relinquish her hold on Sara's body. She was a few years older than Sara, with dull green skin and long black hair that she often wore braided into a ponytail. Unlike Sara, she liked to sleep naked, and her thick, muscular arms were currently draped around Sara's body possessively, her heavy breasts pressing against her back.<br/><br/>"Make sure my best furs and beads are ready for tonight," she continued. "I'm going to be telling one of the stories of Belkzen tonight, so I need to look my best. Oh, and get the guest room ready. My idiot brother Tlazok should be back from his hunting trip tonight, and he's going to want to sleep here. I'm not giving up my bed for him. Or my bed-warmer."<br/></div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Nerisa</div><div class="spoiler_body">Nerisa had just returned from a short hunting trip into the Ashwood, with a string of rabbits slung over her back. The hunting was good at this time of year, and her traps had yielded good game. She hitched a ride across the Skull River with a woodsman who was hauling a load of lumber back to town, and was among the streets again well before sunset.<br/><br/>A human woman greeted her as she entered the village. Safia was a slave who worked in the great kitchens that supplied food to both the orcs' feasts and the workhouses of many slaves. "Nerisa, glad you're back!" she cried, hurrying up to her. "You couldn't have come at a better time. They're having a feast tonight, and they want all the meat we can find. I was worried we were going to have to slaughter a cow out of season, but now you're here! Come on, let's go see old Auscor and see what he can make of this." Auscor was the middle-aged orc who ran the kitchens with an iron fist and a temper as hot as his cookfires.<br/><br/>Safia looked over Nerisa's kills speculatively. "We can probably put Auscor in a good mood with this much meat. I mean, as much as he's ever in a good mood. And if he's in a good mood, that's good for us. So, uh, is there anything we can do for you? Might even be able to talk Auscor out of some extra vegetables or a knife or something."<br/></div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Auren</div><div class="spoiler_body">Auren had already been up since three o'clock in the afternoon, puttering around the manor house that had once housed Ilsurian's mayor, and was now the lair of Chief Mako, Overseer Mazok and the warriors who served them most closely. His first duties were to see to the health of a few warriors who were laid up with broken bones after returning from a southern raid. Orcs weren't known for their sense of gratitude, and Auren could see how sorely his patients felt the shame of appearing weak and being tended by a lesser creature. Mostly his questions about their health were answered with noncommital grunts, leaving him to assess their conditions through his own skill alone.<br/><br/>His next port of call was the bedroom of Mako's first wife, Druzhida. In spite of Mako's seeming disinterest in his female partners, he still had no small number of children from them, and Druzhida was five months into carrying the next litter of his successors. Druzhida had less to fear in showing weakness in front of a slave, and she held Auren's hand tightly as he made his examination of her. She seemed to be in good health, and he estimated that she would bear a litter of four healthy babies in about five weeks' time.<br/><br/>While Auren was working, he heard heavy footfalls behind him, followed by a strong hand coming to rest on his head, with fingers twining around his horns. "My wife is going to have another healthy litter, is that right, Auren?" came Chief Mako's booming voice. "I hope they're sons this time. The last lot were all daughters." The chief - an aging but still frighteningly strong and hale orc - looked over his wife without passion, merely giving her a curt nod. "Now, Auren, I want you serving at the feast tonight. Have to show everyone how strong my family is. Round up some of my sons for it, too. It's time everyone was introduced to them." Auren's children numbered in the dozens, and while many had already come of age and left Ilsurian to be raiders or wives elsewhere, many were still constantly underfoot in the manor and the village, aspiring to be like their father and getting into fights with other children, both orc and slave.<br/></div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Lara</div><div class="spoiler_body">Lara was inside at Thrandal Brax's estate, a large property two miles out of Ilsurian proper, changing her clothes after finishing her duties in the garden. The room belonged to her foster sister Shiva, a half-orc daughter of Brax, who allowed Lara to sleep on a pallet in the corner and use some of the room to store her meagre possessions. Shiva was usually asleep at this hour, but today she was already up and about, and beckoned Lara over as soon as she saw her.<br/><br/>"Lara!" she said, giving the girl a long hug. "I've just heard some great news. Father says that he's going to give you formally to Bartuk sometime this week! I mean, we all knew this was coming, but it's really going to happen!"<br/><br/>Shiva squeezed Lara's hand excitedly, then stood still so that Lara could help her dress for the evening. Thrandal Brax and his family took rather un-orcish pride in living as they felt a noble landowner should live, down to wearing expensive clothing and bathing almost weekly. Shiva in particular was proud of the hairstyles and perfumes that Lara would help her to adopt, including many blossoms and scents grown in their own garden.<br/><br/>"Just think of what this will mean. He only has one other concubine so far, and one wife. It'll be a position of great prestige in the house, and in the village. And I know how you're looking forward to being his."<br/></div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Aryla</div><div class="spoiler_body">Aryla was asleep in the bed of her master, Kirel Haskodar, when there came a banging at the door of his small house. She had one hand and one leg shackled to the side of the bed, a punishment for questioning Kirel's orders one too many times the previous day. Kirel was sprawled across the bed, half on top of Aryla's body after forcing her to attend to his desires the previous night.<br/><br/>The banging continued for a few moments, then the door burst open and a harried-looking dwarf ran in. "Master Kirel, sir!" she gasped, throwing herself to the floor in front of the bed. "I'm so sorry to wake you, but there's trouble down at the lake! Some kind of water monster is attacking the boats and scaring away all the fish. I... uh... is he awake?" she asked Aryla. Kirel was snoring heavily, and smelled faintly of ale, too.<br/><br/>"Oh. Great. Uh..." She looked apologetically at Aryla, seeming rather sympathetic to her position. "Kirel is in charge of the fishing operations. If we don't catch enough, Chief Mako will be mad at him, and... well, none of us want that, right? Can you wake him up and get him down to the docks? We really need him to sort this out." She looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry, I know you'd probably rather he stay drunk and asleep forever."<br/></div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Other threads</div><div class="spoiler_body"><ul class="bbc_list"><li>Main IC thread (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=270107)</li><li>Main OOC thread (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=269747)</li><li>Character thread (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=269745)</li><li>Setting thread (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=269746)</li><li>Original interest thread (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=269429)</li></ul></div></div>