Amazon Apocalypse Chapter 11 (Patreon)

I put my pistol away since I wasn't about to execute a fellow human without very good reasons. Especially not one who looked as helpless as Sarah. In her human form, she was quite thoroughly bound already by the same harness the goblin had been using to ride her when in her wolf form.

Leather straps looped and crossed all over her body. There were a few bone rings just above her naval back and collar where all the straps met to keep her tightly bound. A leather collar wrapped around her throat, and she had a bit between her teeth. The reigns that had been behind her neck fell away into one long rope that dangled from her collar like a leash.

Despite these changes, a few traces of her previous monstrous form remained. Her hair stuck up over her head like wolf ears, and the way her hair puffed out just past her shoulders had a particular canine look to it. Though she was a human now, she retained a certain wolfishness about her.

She would have looked fierce except for the fact that she was also helplessly bound by her saddle. She could only mewl wordlessly at Regina and me, struggling to climb to her feet without the use of her arms.

"What happened to you?" I asked.

Sarah blushed and stared at the ground, unable to answer, gagged as she was.

"Regina? Could you please undo her gag?" I asked my companion. I wasn't pointing my pistol at Sarah any longer, but I was no fool. It was still loaded and ready in case this turned out to be some sort of trick.

"T-thank you..." Sarah stuttered as Regina undid the bindings over her jaw and let her spit the bit between her teeth out.

"A day ago, you were normal," I began. "And now you're a werewolf."

"And naked, bound, and leashed like some sort of freaky slut." Regina huffed. She seemed angry at Sarah for some reason, and she stepped between Sarah and me as though she was guarding me against the bound and helpless woman.

"The little green men came back," Sarah said sadly. "There were more of them this time. I was out foraging for firewood so we could cook that bear meat you sold us when they came. It was just an hour or so after we spoke. A few people from the camp tried to save me, but they must have given me up for dead once the little green men hauled me off."

"Did they take you back to their base?" I insisted. I needed to know how many of these things there were and how big a threat they were to my bunker.

Sarah nodded. "They did. They brought me back to their camp and... did something to me. They bound my arms and legs in these leather straps then shoved me into a tiny box. I remember being poked with a needle and all sorts of strange incense filling my head. They found a forest wolf and killed it in front of me, then forced me to drink its blood. The next thing I knew, I had this wolf-like voice in my head. It doesn't speak to me in words, but I can sense its instincts to hunt and fight."

Regina's expression finally softened, and she was starting to look at Sarah less like an enemy and more like a hurt and confused young woman.

"Did they... touch you?" Regina asked worriedly.

Sarah shook her head. "Not like that. It might happen to some women, but I didn't see it. I was only there a little while, but there were lots of other women being bound and transformed like I was. I... I think the little green monsters don't think of us as people. To them, we're animals to be caught and saddled. Like we're just beasts of burden. They treat us like we're horses or something."

Sarah shivered, and Regina went to one knee. She went to her pack, which she'd dropped as soon as the fight started. Reaching inside, she pulled out a survival blanket and wrapped Sarah up in it.

"We should see about your wounds." I told

I put my travel back down and pulled out my first aid kit. Before Regina could protest or yelp in pain, I pulled the arrow out of her thigh. Fortunately, it came out quick and clean. Little blood leaked out, which was good and meant the arrow hadn't hit a vein.

Regina's body was probably far sturdier than a human woman's had any right to be thanks to her points in strength and constitution, so I was sure that had contributed as well. I cleaned her wound and sterilized it with a little iodine before bandaging her up.

I thought Sarah was going to be harder since I had shot her with an awfully big lead ball.

Strangely though, something about her transformation seemed to be helping her there. The lead ball I pulled out of her looked no bigger than the head of a pin when I pulled it out of her. In fact, it looked like the wound had shrunk alongside the rest of her when she changed forms. More than that, though, the wound itself was already partially healed.

There were myths that werewolves had incredible healing powers. Perhaps that was truth there?

"Can you show me your status screen?" I asked Sarah.

"Oh... that thing? Sure... I think I remember how to share it..." Sarah muttered to herself.

Sarah Porter has given you access to her status screen. Accept?

I opened the window and wasn't surprised by what I saw.

Sarah Porter (Level 6)

Race: Werewolf, Human-wolf hybrid. (Level cap: 25)

Class: None

Strength: 11

Dexterity: 12

Constitution: 15

Intelligence: 4

Wisdom: 7

Charisma: 8

Titles:

Domesticated: You have been bound by a collar created by a goblin with the Beast Tamer class. Only he or a higher-level beast tamer may remove the collar.

Battle Mount: You have been given the role of warg mount by your goblin masters. You will accumulate titles related to serving as a mount faster than other titles.

Pathfinder: You can always identify a route through the forest suitable for your entire party to follow.

Fertile Beast: Your goblin masters have determined you're body to be of age and well-suited to producing more warg steeds for them. Should you prove loyal and capable, they'll be certain to breed you with a suitable stud. (+4 Charisma with compatible males.)

Sarah blushed as I stared at the last item on her status screen. She averted her gaze, probably realizing which title I was looking at.

"Curious..." I muttered as I took a knee next to her and fiddled with her harness and the leather attached to it. Sure enough, neither the collar nor the harness would come off, even when I took my knife to it. "It seems like the goblins really didn't want you to have use of your human body at all. This thing is probably meant to encourage you to stick to your wolf form all the time."

Sarah's face flushed even redder while I fiddled with her collar. My fingers brushed against her bare skin and she had a tough time staying still.

"...Maybe I should be doing that, Carter," Regina suggested. Without another word, she pushed me away from the naked girl and took over all fiddling with her.

I shrugged. "Sorry. While Regina tries to cut you free, why don't you tell me everything you remember about this goblin camp?"

Sarah spoke, recounting her tale as best she could. I knew it pained her to delve into those fresh memories, but she steeled her nerves and spoke anyway.

"I would guess their numbers to be around a hundred in total," Sarah concluded. "The camp was being worked mostly by smaller and weaker goblins. Probably children. They were felling trees and building huts and stables as fast as they could, so my guess is that they plan to stay where they are. Roughly half their number were off raiding.

"They didn't have many mounts like me when I first saw them, but from the number of women I saw them bring in, I'm certain they'll have two of us for each of them before long. Most women didn't end up as battle wargs or whatever they were calling me. They fed most bear, elk, or sheep blood. In their transformed states, those women were pulling plows or hauling logs. I was only there for a single night, but I know I had the best stable of the lot, so I was probably luckier than most."

"Why use human women for mounts?" Regina asked the question I'd been wondering, though I'd been too busy asking for tactical information to voice it.

Sarah shuffled her legs awkwardly as Regina prodded her back and pulled on the collar around her neck with tremendous strength.

"From what I gathered..." Sarah winced as Regina pulled up on her harness. The strip of leather between her legs pulled up between her things in a sensation that was no doubt unnerving while she was trying to explain something to us.

"Sorry..." Regina muttered as she pulled on the same strip of leather a few more times.

Sarah bit her lip, muffling a moan before she continued. "...they had a few normal beasts too, but they weren't as good as us. They were very concerned about my status sheet. They made me share it with them the same way I shared it with Carter there. I think that normal beasts can't level up and gain titles like people can. The little green men, goblins, I guess, rely on their mounts for practically everything because they aren't a particularly large and strong race. They want beasts of burden that are as powerful as possible. They were very excited to see my status page improve, especially when they brought a few pig-like creatures for me to kill and gain levels."

From my memory, the Amazons had mentioned that the integration was a unique opportunity. Perhaps humans were in a position to level quickly while we integrated with this new world? If that were the case, it was no wonder that the goblins wanted to harness my people for their own devices. In a few years, they could have an army of wargs to all their own, all created from captives they'd taken in these early days of the integration.

"Please," Sarah begged. "You have to help me get back to the caravan. My brother Craig has had strange ideas ever since the world went mad, and now that I'm not there to keep him in check... well... I'm afraid of what he might do to some of my friends in the name of survival."

"We'll take you back to your camp," I promised. "But in exchange, I'm going to want to know where this goblin encampment is and how we can stay away from it. And I'm not promising you any help if your brother is up to no good."

"Of course," Sarah said. "Follow me. My pathfinder title should make getting there faster and easier. I can map a route through the forest even if you're bringing a car along."

In the end, we brought two cars. They were the pair that Regina had identified as the best of the lot overlooking the cliff. I took the van, and Regina took the truck.

"Hop into the passenger seat," I told Sarah as she wandered in front of the van poking around through the woods. "If you try and walk through the forest with your hands tied behind your back as they are, you're liable to break your neck."

But Sarah shook her head. "My Pathfinder title works best in my wolf form."

Then she shifted back into a massive beast. The wound in her side from my bullet earlier was barely detectable now that I'd tended to it, and watching her gracefully leap over roots and branches made it seem like she was in perfect health. It was hard to believe the ferocious golden-furred wolf before me was actually a human girl younger than I was.

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Note: One more half-chapter, then a poll.

In other news, Paladin of the Sword seems like it's doing well. (Link)

I actually hired a paid proofreader for that novel to try and get it out a little sooner while I was also working on Spellheart 7, which ended up being very helpful because that's one of the things that usually takes me weeks of work. (It's very tough for me to proofread my own work without missing stuff or changing things).

Hiring a pro to offload some of the work helped my productivity for that series dramatically, which I think will pay for itself if I can use that extra time to get more novels out faster.

Only issue is, Gamelit Harem proofreaders are rare and in high demand. The guy I used, Celestian, said he's got a two month waitlist. That means if I want to get the sequel out for Paladin of the Sword this year, I've got to finish my draft by the end of October and get on that list.

What that means is: I'm changing plans again. I'm starting Paladin of the Sword full time ASAP to get it done. Once that's drafted and I'm comfortably on that wait list for proofreading I'll circle back to Amazon Apocalypse and give it the promised two weeks of full-time work. Hopefully that'll be mid-Novemberish.

Tldr; This upcoming week I'm going 100% on Paladin of the Shield. There will be a few more chapters of Amazon Apocalypse while I'm working full time on Paladin, but they're going to be more sporadic until I've got a working draft of Paladin of the Shield. Paladin of the Shield will start airing a little earlier than I initially promised simply because I need to do so much work on it so soon.