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Once more, darkness overtook the forest. The bright sun they'd been missing left them, taking with it its warmth and light. However, the air in the clearing in which Boners and Reinhardt had set up their camp was much more inviting; it was a wonder what being able to see the night sky could do after being enshrouded in the dark, stifling forest for so long.

Reinhardt sighed softly as he poked at their roaring campfire. Indeed, the air between him and his... charge had become a lot less tense since the ambush earlier that day. While he kept his firearm close by his side in case anything else appeared at them from the darkness of the surrounding woods, he found himself at ease for what seemed like the first time in months. Probably had been, actually.

Boners dug around his backpack and took out items only to replace them in a marginally more ordered arrangement. He sighed and stopped. He took his goggles off his forehead and started cleaning them with the cuff of his coat.

"I'm too wound up from the earlier. Can't calm down."

He worked mechanically as he spoke. They had faced wild creatures before, but that was not the case this time.

"What it wanted from us?"

The clearing was in a small copse of young trees, and their fire would not be seen from far. Even still the oppressive silence of the woods kept the kobold on the edge.

"Who knows? But where there's one enemy, there's usually more."

That's what it was. This was familiar to the knight, like a sortie back in his days in the army before--he grunted, jabbing at one of the logs and sending a shower of sparks up into the night sky.

"We'll need to set a watch for the night. In the meantime, come eat your beans."

His own tin sat emptied on the ground between his feet, while the kobold hadn't even touched his.

The kobold plopped down next to the knight, and poked at his dinner listlessly, his fork dividing the beans into neat equally sized portions.

"I thought that this part of the world is uninhabited. Whoever lives here does not want to be found, and with us knowing about them...", he trailed off glumly. "I'm really worried about us."

He looked at the human, anxious and looking smaller than usually. Reinhardt looked down at the kobold for a long moment, and then set his hand on top of Boners' head. He needed some reassurance, and though he didn't want to admit that he cared one way or the other about the kobold, he wasn't made of stone.

"Like it or not, I've been charged with your well-being. Bring you out on this expedition, and then bring you safely back to the capital. If I were to fail in my mission, my honor would be irreparably damaged, so I will not allow anything to stop me from fulfilling it."

His voice was as gentle as he could make it, and after a moment of rubbing between the kobold's ears, he grunted and looked back into the fire.

"But you're just one guy...but thanks anyway."

The kobold smiled weakly. Just a while ago he had been furious about being patted on the head like a dog, but now he seemed not to mind it at all. He put the plate aside and rose up.

"You can have my portion, I don't have the appetite. My stomach is in knots from stress."

He walked off and tried to peer into the nightside forest, as if his gaze could penetrate the solid wall of blackness.

"You know, most people assume my kind have good night vision, just because we live in tunnels and mines."

He looked over his shoulder and looked apologetic as if explaining a bad joke.

"But in reality we just use lots of torches, like sensible people."

"Huh."

Reinhardt wasn't sure what exactly to say to that. He thought about chastising the kobold for wasting food, but some part of him liked this... not camaraderie, but something that had started growing between them. He picked up the kobold's plate and shoveled a forkful of beans into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully for a long moment.

"What about your sense of smell, then?"

Boners closed his eyes and sniffed the air.

"My sense of smell is normal, of course--that is, much better than yours. I could track the path we took by smell alone for several hours, and I could differentiate between your footsteps and mine without seeing them. I can tell you from another human easily, and not just because we've spent weeks together. I can also smell the difference in your, haa, there's no good human word it, how to say..."

He circled the small opening as he spoke, touching the thicket of young, willowy saplings with his fingers as he went.

"Attitude would be the closest. You don't smell of dominance-sweat anymore."

Again, Reinhardt wasn't sure what to say to that. In-between bites of the kobold's abandoned meal, he gathered up a bit of his tunic and took a small sniff. It seemed the same, worn for months and washed only in the occasional stream they had come across.

"Can't imagine that's very pleasant after spending this long out here."

He looked up to watch as the kobold paced.

"What do mean, 'dominance-sweat?'"

"You know", the kobold shook his hand around, in frustration of missing the words, "big boss guy smell? Fight smell? It kept me on the edge, like having your hackles raised constantly."

Having finished his tour of their camping site he returned to the fire and started arranging twigs next to it into fist-sized bundles.

"And don't worry about smelling bad, you aren't. City dwellers faking their smell with cologne are the worst, you smell natural now."

He put on his safety glasses before starting to feed twigs into the fire. The fresh wood crackled and spat little specks into the air.

"Huh. Well, to be honest, you kinda kept me on edge, too."

Reinhardt did not know why, but he found himself looking off into the night as his cheeks warmed with shame.

"I apologize for my earlier behaviour. It was unbecoming of a knight of the realm."

"Hah!", the kobold barked. "Your behavior was what I expected from a knight of the realm of man. " He paused. "But thanks anyway."

He fed the fire while they sat in silence. His ears twitched as if he was waiting to hear something from the man but didn't know what. He turned towards him after a while.

"Hey, you have any beans left? I think I'd like to eat now."

Reinhardt nodded, passing the plate back over to the kobold.

"Don't worry, I used my fork."

He stood for a moment after the kobold took his plate back, stretching himself and cracking his neck before settling back in next to his charge.

"So, you can smell anything that comes our way, and I can fend it off." He nodded. "I think this is going to work. At least, until we get out of these damn woods."

"As long as they approach above the wind, which they won't do if they're smart."

The kobold picked up Reinhardt's fork and started munching on the cold beans. He ate quickly, like a prey animal, and licked the plate clean of the gooey bean juices after he was done. He used the fork to pick something between his canine teeth, then sucked on it idly like a pipe stem.

"We should call off this mission. If we start right tomorrow morning we could be out of this area within a few days. Return to the capital with slim pickings, but at least safe."

"Well, you're the boss."

In the beginning those words had been spat with all the vitriol he could muster, but now they were a simple statement of fact.

"In that case, we had better get as much sleep as we can. How should we divide up watches?"

He forgot for a moment that he was no longer in the army, officially at least, and that the kobold was not one of his companions on a routine sortie.

"Haah, I'm the boss aren't I..."

Boners looked at his toes. His feet were large for a creature of his size, covered in his russet shaggy hair, had three wiry toes with considerable claws and black button-like paw pads underneath. The kobold walked on the balls of his feet like a dog on its hind legs.

"I liked to complain having to take orders from you, but in truth being the leader isn't what I asked for. It's damn hard!"

"Yes, it is."

Reinhardt looked into the fire for a long moment.

"Well... I guess I'll take first watch."

He moved around the fire to sit with his back to the camp, and the kobold.

"Have a good night, Boners."

Was that the first time he had used the kobold's name? Honestly, he could not recall...

--

The beasts could think. That was the only thought running through Reinhardt's mind as he ran along the riverbed. He turned to glance at the pursuing bat creatures that shrieked and howled at him. He could only hope that his distraction had allowed the kobold to escape with his life. He wouldn't allow his charge to fall to these beasts.

He would not fail again.

He cried out as his foot suddenly slipped out from under him on a smooth, wet rock that was covered in slick moss. He fell, half of his body splashing into the river and the other half exploding in pain as the rocks covering the shore dug into his flesh. He hadn't even had time to put his armor on; his flintlock pistol was the only thing he had been able to grab when the bat creatures had descended on their camp. He heard footsteps and a low growl behind him, and turned to fire... only to hear a soft, wet click from his weapon. The gunpowder had been soaked in river water when he had fallen, and now the weapon was useless. He looked up into the leering faces of his pursuers, and cursed.

Boners could hear muffled sounds in the distance, like a pack of fierce predators throwing themselves at an average height but muscular human male putting up a fight. He hoped that Reinhardt was okay. His pursuers seemed to have passed him, so he cautiously peeled himself off the squishy ground and padded forwards on all fours. He parted a clump of stray hay for a better view, only to find a pair of thick, clawed feet covered in dark brown hair. He squeaked and looked up to a leering maw of teeth. The bat creature wore a similar mask as the earlier one, of black leather covering the top half of its face. It licked its upturned snout with its long tongue, and snatched Boners up by his collar.

"Hey, put me down!"

The kobold piped up but to no avail. He was hoisted up roughly and clamped in the bat creature's armpit, its steely grip not loosening even bit from his squirming. The creature whistled a high-pitched song, and started loping forwards with the swaying gait of its long limbs...

Boners chafed against the creature's chest as it walked, its dark hair surprisingly silky. It was bounded by several thick leather belts crossing its chest and waist, and around its biceps and thighs. They made small creaking and clinking noises, their metal studs occasionally hitting each other. The creature's nipples were pierced with thick steel bands, and it had similar one across its belly button. All over its body were lighter colored streaks, old scars taken from either battle or a fierce lover--possibly both. Its fingers were long and bony and ended in black claws, as did its long toes. Apparently the creature navigated by sound and smell, periodically stopping to whistle and listen for response, then sniffing around with its large snout. Its long, drool covered tongue flicked out and tasted the air too, then licked its nose to carry to smells. Its body was very warm, and Boners soon felt sweating in its grip.

Reinhardt, meanwhile, was being carried by two of the creatures while a third led the way. He was slung over their shoulders like a sack, the lead bat keeping a tight grip on his ankles while the follower held his arms. He struggled as he bobbed with their loping gait, unable to see where the creatures were taking him. After a while another bat creature joined the ones carrying Reinhardt, with a russet scraggly thing in its arms.

"Hi Reinhardt, good to see you...", it said glumly.

"Boners?"

The knight struggled to look over at his companion, his heart simultaneously lifting and plunging into the pit of his stomach; the kobold was okay... but hadn't been able to escape.

He grunted softly, going slack in the bats' grip. "Well, shit."

"Are you unhurt?"

"Mostly. What about you?"

As they whispered furtively, the bats continued their trek deeper into the darkening forest.

"I'm being lugged around like a piglet and I have swamp water in my buttcrack, but otherwise fine."

The kobold looked resigned, his ears drooping. The two fell into a subdued silence. Finally the leader of the bats let out a sharp whistle, and the creatures stopped.

They had come to a large opening with a bonfire. The bat creatures had obviously made their camp here, as evidenced by gear left laying on the ground. Boners could notice that their stuff was taken there too, how considerate of their captors! The two captives were tossed unceremoniously down and the bats circled around them, crossing arms and leaning against their buddies casually like a victorious team after a good match. There were twelve of those muscular brutes, smiling and snickering as they looked over their catch.

"Well well well", a low, husky voice bellowed behind the row.

Reinhardt perked up, moving to shelter Boners with his body.

"Show yourself!", he called to the leader.

He turned his head, trying to find some way to escape the encircling bats, but was met at every turn with sharp-toothed grins and powerful, muscular bodies. From the shadows of the treeline an imposing figure emerged, the bonfire's flames showering its features in a devilish light. It was a gigantic hybrid between a bat creature and gorilla, more than head taller than others and broad shouldered, muscles adorning its arms and shoulders covered in shaggy hair. Its chest and considerable belly were naked, its pitch black skin glistening in the firelight like oiled sculpture. Its pecs were bulging and several palm lengths wide, with thick, pierced nipples the size of Reinhardt's thumb tip pointing almost upwards perched on them. The creature had a massive gut, bound in place with leather belts similar to its underlings, and it bounced as it lumbered towards the duo on its tree trunk-like legs. Even though its crotch was encased in a snug leather codpiece its--no, his--girth was apparent from how it bulged outwards. His head was large and with two tusks protruding from his heavy jaw, and had almost no neck, just bundles of muscles framing it. But the most frightening part was his eyes, two bright red spots burning under his deep set brow.

The bat boss reached the circle and with little concern took one of his men into his embrace, slouching over the now diminutive bat creature. One of his long arms grasped the hapless bat around the chest while the other fondled its crotch. The bat squirmed and tried to shield its sensitive spot from the rough handling but to no avail, the boss simply grunted and held it tighter. Soon the bat gave in and submitted to being touched, grinding its ass against the boss creature's belly and chirping daintily. The boss smiled, revealing a toothy maw with perfect, glistening teeth.

"Looks like we don't have to return empty handed after all", he rumbled.

Reinhardt watched the display with and expression of disgust, trying to keep his eyes on the monster's face and not what its hands were doing to its underling. His military training echoed through his mind, telling him to stay silent, offer no information, and learn everything about his captors that he could. He took another look at the bat creature in the leader's grip; its fur was singed in places, burned away in others to reveal a few blisters and scars. It must be the creature that had attacked them that morning... some kind of scout for these monsters?

The boss relented and tossed aside his underling like a spent rag, stepping into the circle over its supine body. He scratched his bulging belly with his clawed hand as he appreciated his catch, like a hunter with cruel intentions. It paid little attention to the kobold, dismissing it as a runt suited for bait at best, but became uncomfortably interested in the knight. It loomed over Reinhardt, its bulk shielding him from the light and sniffed deeply, a connoisseur--or gourmand--of human flesh.

"You'll do nicely, little manling… my lord enjoys knights in shining armor."

He grinned wickedly.

"Maybe he'll let me play with your remains afterwards!"

He patted his crotch, the leather now taut from his arousal. As if on cue the rest of the bats snickered and hooted.

"Afraid, boy? You should be."

Reinhardt only sneered at the creature, the temptation to kick out at that pulsing bulge almost too much to ignore. But he still had Boners to think of. Angering the monsters that had captured them wouldn't end well for either of them. As the bat boss grew close, he couldn't help noticing the thick stench of his body. Sweat, and the tang of masculinity, along with things Reinhardt could only half recognize under the miasma. His nose wrinkled.

The boss snorted, amused, and plunged his finger in his belly button, digging around it.

"Name's One-Tooth Jack, and you better remember that."

He pulled out with a shlorping sound, and smeared his smelly finger across Reinhardt's brow.

"Because now you're my lord's property and playthings."

He leaned back, planted his fists on his hips, and guffawed, a hearty bellow rumbling out and shaking his massive body.

"And One-Tooth Jack is the one who gets the scraps from his table!"

The other bats seemed to find this highly amusing, and joined in shrieking and jeering.

Reinhardt grimaced, suppressing a shudder at the filth smeared across his brow. However, the creature was volunteering quite a lot of information. Perhaps he could learn more about this lord of One-Tooth Jack's. And, when he and Boner's made it out of this, where to send the army to purge these creatures and their master.

"I didn't know there was a lord living in this part of the woods" Boners suddenly piped from the ground.

One-Tooth raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Your pet can talk, knight?"

Reinhardt groaned softly, but this wasn't the time to admonish Boners.

"He isn't my pet." He looked up at One-Tooth Jack. "Tell me, what will become of my companion?

"A rug?" One-Tooth shrugged. "Or maybe something else, if he's properly trained."

He laughed and looked at his men, sharing some private joke at the kobold's expense. He mused for a moment.

"My lord has strange tastes, who knows what he'll come up for you two."

The others were relaxing, and letting their guard down. If he could take out the leader, then perhaps he'd give Boners time enough to escape. He glanced over to the kobold, trying to convey his plan.

Boners raised his arm in question.

"Okay I know this might end badly for me but I just gotta know: What's with the one tooth thing? You have a perfect smile."

The little creature was resigned to his fate, and well beyond fear by now. If he was about to meet a grisly end he might just as well satisfy his curiosity first--it could not make things any worse for him after all.

Jack chuckled darkly, kneeling down push his face close to Boners'. He opened his mouth in a wide grin, showing every single one of his razor-sharp teeth.

"It's not my teeth... It's these..."

He held up a cord hanging around his neck, clattering with an assortment of hard, dry teeth. Flat and humanlike, sharp like his own, all in a chaotic assortment.

"My lord lets me take one tooth off of every one of his pets... a souvenir, you see?"

He laughed, sending a wave of rancid breath into Boners' face.

Boners shivered and regretted his newly found knowledge.

"Ah, um, you'll be taking us to your lord next I hope...?", he stammered and avoided One-Tooth's piercing gaze.

Noticing this he bat creature toyed with him, turning this way and that in a weird game of peekaboo, until he grew tired and grasped Boners by his jaw. His entire head fit into Jack's meaty hand. He lifted the kobold up, and…

"Not just yet. Gotta examine the goods, first."

He grinned to his underling, and nodded at Reinhardt.

"Strip him and bind him."

While the other bats fell onto Reinhardt, he reached forward to grip the kobold's coat and begin tearing it off revealing the little thing's heaving, furry chest.

Boners did not wear other clothing under his loose coat, his hair more than sufficient to keep him warm. His modesty was protected by a strip of white cloth wound around his hips and going under his legs, coming up between his butt cheeks in a style of thong. Released from his clothing his body was revealed to be made up mostly of fluffy hair and pudgy belly. His thighs and ass were rather meaty, while his upper body was scrawny. A fluffy tail perked up above his buttocks with strips of whisky hair clinging to it, like some scruffy duster.

Reinhardt tried to struggle, but the bats were too many, their nimble fingers quickly stripping him of clothing. He was forced onto his knees, his hands tied behind his back, with nothing to cover him. His shirt went first, torn to shreds to reveal his toned, muscular chest. Coated in brown hair from which the twin peaks of his small, pert nipples rose. His toned stomach, too, had a trail leading down to the plump package resting between his firm thighs. He struggled and snarled at the bats as they leaned in to sniff and poke at his soft, vulnerable flesh.

Meanwhile, One-Tooth turned Boners over in his grip to examine the kobold's ass. He pushed his snout under Boners' tail and took a deep sniff, making the kobold yelp.

"Hmmph... used goods. Our lord can probably find some use for you. If not..."

He let that hang in the air as he tossed Boners over to bat to be bound as well.

"Check the knight."

Reinhardt's face was unceremoniously pushed against the ground while his ass was propped up. One of the bats rested his hands on his neck and kept him down with the weight of its body, while two others grasped his legs and spread them apart. Despite his cursing and spitting Reinhardt was helpless to prevent them from poking around his back, spreading his ass cheeks with their long fingers and sniffing around like dogs in heat. The bat creatures chittered and grinned, nodding their fiendish heads in glee. They had determined the knight to be unused goods…

One-Tooth Jack slapped Reinhardt's ass with his paw and laughed.

"Very good, very good! We'll soon find out how our lord decides to break in this virgin ass. Any guesses, hmm?"

The bats chittered and yelled out, their cries unintelligible to the knight and kobold. Jack, however, seemed to like what he was hearing, if the way he was palming his bulge was any indication.

Reinhardt growled, scenes of vengeance for this degradation swirling through his head as his face grew hot.

"By himself? Or maybe one of his monstrosities?" He pointed at himself and barked in laughter. "Maybe it won't even be a person at all!"

The bat leader squatted down next to Reinhardt's face, but from his low position he could see just the dome of his belly hanging above him.

"He has an extensive collection of exotic beasts, after all."

Jack said with a lowered voice, sniggering all the while. Reinhardt tried not to think about the implications of what the bat was saying. He glowered up at what he could see of One-Tooth Jack, and spat.

"You'll regret this..."

"Doubt it. I've never had a reason to regret anything in my life!"

He laughed again and rose up, wiping his hands on his bulging belly. He prodded Boners with his thick foot making him fall over into the dirt, just because he could.

"Drag these two to the cages, then we'll celebrate our good hunting luck!"

A cheer rose up from the surrounding bats as Boners and Reinhardt were gripped with their bony claws once more. The two struggled as they were manhandled, suffering an occasional grope as they were dragged over to a large cage by the edge of the forest. Reinhardt was tossed in first, his sore flesh protesting anew as the iron bars of the cage dug into it. Boners was thrown in after the knight, and then the cage was secured with a heavy padlock. The bats that had imprisoned them chittered and squealed at them for a few moments as the two huddled together, and then headed off to join their brothers in celebration.

Boners fidgeted on the ground, then managed to slide his hands under his butt and to his front. He started chewing at the leather strips binding his hands together, his canines making short work of them. After freeing himself he turned to help Reinhardt. The knight already had his back presented towards his companion in a strange display of modesty--after all the kobold had received a very close look of his genitalia already.

"I don't think you have a plan to get us out of this pickle...?", he asked as he undid the knight's bindings.

"Nope."

Reinhardt reached out to grip the bars of the cage, shaking them to test the welding. Solid. Fuck.

"I don't suppose you have any ideas?"

The kobold shrugged.

"I have tools in my pack, but they have it. I don't think asking nicely is going to cut it. I should've hid a lockpick in my underwear like mom told me to. Shows what you get when you don't listen to your parents!"

The kobold still had his safety goggles on, making him look ridiculous in his cloth thong.

Reinhardt ignored that for the time being, heading to the cage door to examine the lock.

"You think you even could pick this thing?"

He hefted the heavy steel lock.

"I guess? It doesn't look complicated. My father is a watchmaker and I've helped him with more intricate designs than that."

He glanced at the knight, bare naked in the night air.

"Uh, would you want to, borrow this?" He pointed at his loincloth. "You people aren't exactly well insulated is all."

Reinhardt shivered and looked away pointedly.

"I'm fine."

He doubted that strip of cloth would do much, anyway. He let out a heavy sigh and sat back against the bars of the cage, keeping his hands cupped over himself.

"Well..."

There didn't seem to be much to say.

"Hm. If we're left unsupervised I think I could use a twig or something to jury-rig the lock. Those bats are going to be partying for hours, that'll give us plenty of time to..."

He was cut short by a sound from the bushes.

"Shh."

Reinhardt immediately looked over, glaring at the source of the noise. The bushes rustled and finally parted as a bat stepped through, carrying... a wooden chair? It glowered at them, letting out a chuff as it set the chair by the side of the cage and settled into it.

"Oh", said the kobold and looked crestfallen.

(TO BE CONTINUED…)