At 6’1, Rameses stood taller than all the other shortmen

>at 6’1, Rameses stood taller than all the other shortmen
>by his height, he wasn’t even really a manlet, but he had been born and bred in the Pits, and it was the only home he had ever known
>being the spawn of shortmen, the lanklets would never accept him as one of their own
>he was like a brother to me, but that didn’t mean I regarded his sister as my sister
>as we ascended towards the gates, I found myself gazing at her legs
>I could see Ariana’s firm buttocks moving underneath the roughspun pants as she climbed in front of me, and I had never seen anything so beautiful
>I must’ve drifted in my thoughts, for when the column stopped, I bumped into her
>”Sorry.”
>”It’s okay.”
>she smiled
>the gate was in front of us: thick oak, clad in iron and closed with bars — from both sides
>they didn’t want us there, and we didn’t want them here
>today, however, was Sunday, and like always, both parties came to meet for the exchange of goods
>creatine for fruits and vegetables of the overworld; iron for beef and pork of the tallmen’s livestock; the occasional jewel for torches and candles that lit our dark abode
>we mined creatine in the bleak tunnels beneath their farms, which gave both of us bread
>it was an uneasy partnership, but we needed them, and they needed us
>two men lifted the bar from the gate, and immediately it opened
>in poured blinding sunlight
>when my eyes could again see anything, I could distinguish a dozen armed lanklets, and behind them the silhouettes of carriages pulled by oxen
>”You are late”, snapped the leader of the tallmen, a 6’7 giant with a chiseled chin
>”Well, you have nothing but time”, Daemon said venomously
>he was in charge of our group of fifteen — an old man almost as broad as he was short
>we all knew he hated the tallmen more than any of us, and he had a good reason for it
>”Drop dead, stub. Bring out the goods”, the tallman commanded

1/5

>having been at the transaction only four times before, I was a bit nervous
>nevertheless, I walked out from the cool shadow of the mountain, from its comforting embrace, to the outside world that was too open and bright
>we formed a line to treat with the tallman quartermaster by the carriages and showed him our wares
>Daemon went first
>”Have you got iron?” the quartermaster asked
>”Not this time, only creatine and some jewels. Two micro plates”, Daemon answered
>”We’ve told you to get us more iron. The temple of Zyzziphus will be complete in a year, and there are a great many dumbbells and plates to be forged. The temple will house the greatest gym this world has ever seen, and we will make the equipment ourselves. I’ll take the plates, but only to smelt them and make new ones.”
>”Your false gods don’t interest me. The Spirit of Iron is with me.”
>”Bah, wait and see, heathen. When you die, the Bloated One will mog you for all eternity in hell. Shouldn’t be long now, old man.”
>Daemon spat on the ground, and handed the backpack to the disgruntled tallman
>the lanklet went through our merchandise one at a time and gave in return sacks of food, clothes and candles
>when Ariana’s turn came, the quartermaster took a handful of creatine from her rucksack, smelled it, and then lifted the whole sack on a big scale
>”Give her that one, but take out three, no, four loaves of bread”, the quartermaster said to his henchman and pointed at a crate on the cart
>”B-but, why? It was a whole sack of creatine”, Ariana asked perplexed
>her voice was so beautiful, and frail
>”This is shit quality, and the sack isn’t that full.”
>”But we have trouble feeding our people even now, yet alone making any gains”, Ariana protested
>”Be quiet, shortslut. Next one.”
>”No. You’re breaking the deal”, Ariana insisted. “The sack is full, so you have to give the full payment.”
>he struck her

2/5

>I don’t remember charging forward, but I before I knew it, the quartermaster was lying beneath me and I was hammering his ugly face with my fists
>two of the tallmen ripped me from the him
>”I’ll fucking kill you!” I shouted, as I was hanging in the grasp of the lanklets
>Ariana, who had been knocked over by the backhander of the quartermaster, got up
>she seemed unharmed, but terrified
>”Please, let him go. The payment is fine, just let him go”, she pleaded
>”You little shit!”, the quartermaster yelled as his fist rammed into my stomach
>his face was bloody from my punches
>air escaped my lungs, and the tallmen let me fall to the ground on my knees, grasping for breath
>”user!” Ariana screamed and ran to me
>”I-it’s okay”, I managed to wheeze
>”I would cut off your head, dwarf, if it stood but a bit higher off the ground!” the quartermaster raged
>I raised my gaze and saw all of the tallmen had their swords out
>my people had come closer, their eyes blazing with fury and clenching their fists, Rameses being the most angry of all
>”That’s enough!” the commander of the tallmen shouted
>”And look: he knocked over the scale. All the creatine is on the bloody ground”, the quartermaster said, perhaps a tad more composedly
>it was true: there was white powder all around the wagon, some of it already trampled
>”Daemon, this is not good. This whole day has gone to hell thanks to this boy”, the commander said sternly
>”We’ll bring more creatine next time. We need the food now, lest we’ll lose all our gains”, Daemon said
>”No.”
>”I know”, the quartermaster said, with a devilish grin on his face. “We’ll take the girl as payment.”

3/5

>I got up from my knees
>”No!”
>”Too bad, seems like there is no other choice. You should’ve thought about it before you went around knocking precious creatine into the dirt. She’ll make a fine slave”, the quartermaster said
>I looked at Ariana, and the fear in her eyes was even greater than before
>”Or better yet”, the cruel tallman continued, “she’ll be a concubine. She’s not bad looking for a stumpy thot. Quite thick”, he said licking his lips
>”Take me instead”, I heard myself saying
>”I don’t want you as a concubine, you queer.”
>”No, I’ll make a great slave. I can squat four plates, I’ll do anything.”
>”user, no”, Ariana whimpered, tears rolling down her cheeks
>the commander of the lanklets came to me and walked around me in a slow circle
>”Hmm”, he said. “For a manlet, you do have nicely developed glutes, no homo. The only squating you’ll do will be in a field plucking out weeds and planting potatoes, but you might do just fine for that. How tall are you?”
>”5’6”
>”You people never learn, do you?”
>”Let’s take the girl instead, she’s...” the quartermaster started
>”Be quiet, Agrippa”, the commander said strictly. “You’ve caused enough trouble for one day. You know what the High Chad thinks of us breeding with these people. Besides, the boy will be more useful. Bind him.”
>”No!” multiple manlets protested
>”Will you all just shut your mouths! Be glad that I don’t put the whole stunted lot to the sword.”
>before I realized, a rope was around my wrists, and the other end was tied to the back of the wagon
>”We’ll leave now, let’s trade another time. Next week, Daemon, I expect you to control your people. No more shit like this”, the commander said frowning, pointing his long finger at Daemon

4/5

>only as the wagons began to move, did I really understand what had happened
>I was a slave to the tallmen now, and like the commander had said, I would never squat again
>never again would I see my mother, my father, or feel the familiar knurling of the bars of my underground home
>for the rest of my life, I would have to labor under the foreign sun, as my muscles would slowly wither away, as if I had never lifted in my life
>I didn’t want to cry in front of the others, and I didn’t
>a row of short figures stood there watching our departure
>there was little time to say goodbye, and everyone was too shocked to even really try
>an older woman was crying, Rameses was distraught, and Daemon looked furious
>my eyes met with Ariana’s
>despite her tears, she was more beautiful than ever
>”Don’t worry, I’ll come back!” I shouted, not knowing if I was lying or not
>”Yes you will! You’ll come back to me!” she answered
>I looked behind me for as long as I could see the figures near the gates
>for as long as I looked, they didn’t leave, until the group finally disappeared behind the tall trees

Fin

Kek, good shit. Thanks for this.

10/10 great stuff

Thank you. I've had a lot of studying to do, so I felt like writing something fun and creative for a change, and this was the result.

10/10 user

10/10 user. This is what SIR should do for the New Year's comic theme. Can we start a petition?