AN: Alright, today’s drabble is loosely based on my DnD character’s storyline to fit a more narrative platform under my control. This is sort of the backstory I have planned for my Triton Bayelei also known as Lady Aryn before she escaped her home and made her way towards land. I wanted to be able to develop it more here in writing. So hope you guys enjoy!
The dock quaked under each booming step of the towering bugbear making his way up the gangplank of the Morning Dove, the merchant ship beckoning its cargo to be offloaded from its latest venture beyond the coast. The threatening creature stood leagues above the other hired hands, many diving from his wake to avoid his wrath.
Kretin didn’t mind their cowering anymore. All these men and women he’d met in this port city were assholes who slandered his name just for being a bugbear. If there was no longer any aim to please these fuckers, he’d at least use his brute strength and beared fangs to command them to leave him be. How far Kretin had fallen from his dreams.
His ancestors didn’t make things easy for him…after all, bugbears were known for their deathly actions and mauling those who stood in their way. Kretin’s family were no exception to the roles their species were meant to play…well, save for him.
He dreamed of making a name for himself, far away from the cave dwellings and goblin hordes his family commandeered back home in the mountains. He wanted adventure, to meet different races, to make an honest living somewhere where his talents were appreciated.
Once he fled the confines of his home and had ventured into towns and villages however, Kretin soon found himself a captive workhorse to a man named Demoran. Dragged along with his new master towards this lively port city, the bugbear was put to work transporting cargo and even occasionally used in fights for money.
Kretin hated this life…but what could he do? A steel collar was latched tight around his neck, a magical bond tying him to this place and that demon of a man he called master. As long as he was in chains, there was no escaping the fate he’d found for himself. Nothing…or no one…would help a bugbear flee. Kretin was doomed to suffer for the rest of his miserable life under Demoran’s hold, his dreams dashed forever. If only someone could provide him one simple chance to prove he wasn’t just some monster to command.
Another hired hand dodged from Kretin from the stairwell to the lower decks of the ship, the bugbear welcoming the peace and quiet below as he trotted down the planks towards where the cargo awaited. He bypassed the smaller cases and barrels, his yellow eyes narrowed on the largest crates furthest from the open air.
“I’ll just give it the ole heave-ho and-,” Kretin muttered to himself as he effortlessly lifted a crate onto his shoulder, his eyes wide as he caught sight of something he never expected to find onboard one of these merchant vessels. A slender, trembling figure was curled up amongst the cargo, her skin a light blue and her dark hair cascading like a veil far past her waist. She had webbing between her fingers and toes; as well as fins protruding from her wrists and calves. What’s more – she wore a shimmering gown and wore some of the finest jewels Kretin had ever seen. “Y-You’re not – you’re not on the manifest…”
This beautiful fish woman whom Kretin guessed was some sort of mermaid or triton lifted her hands up at the beast’s notice, her deep purple gaze staring back at him almost pleading with him. “Please – I have payment,” she whispered, her voice reminding him of the sound of bells. She seemed so scared and yet – the way she stared back at Kretin without hesitation…it almost seemed fearless. Whatever she feared had nothing to do with this towering bugbear before her. “I promise to give you whatever you want. So please – please let me go.”
Kretin slowly glanced over his shoulder, thankful not another soul had bothered to come lumbering down the steps to find this stowaway aboard Demoran’s vessel. No matter how beautiful a creature this woman seemed – she would have been enslaved without a second thought or slaughtered for her actions. Though from the look of her, Kretin guessed she was some sort of noble…she’d have been locked away as a hostage for whatever she seemed to be running from.
Lucky for her – Kretin wasn’t Demoran…
Gently the beast lowered the crate from before and gripped into the wooden cover, his brute strength breaking apart the nails holding it in place. Once he had opened it up and revealed the cargo laced in hay within, he gestured to the inner workings with a toothy grin. “You want out of here? Climb in.”
The woman eyed him for a moment, trying to read what was behind those yellow slits of his. There was no malice there, only determination. The fear seemed to melt away from the woman’s features as she climbed to her feet, her body so small compared to his. Yet her smile, it was so large and bright – one of the kindest smiles he’d ever seen in his life.
“Thank you hero,” the woman hummed as she did as instructed, climbing into the confines of the crate and curling into a ball as best she could within the hay. He knew whatever cargo was laced inside might be damaged – however, he had plans to pin that on one of the crew aboard the ship instead. That or take a whip for disrupting the loot. Whatever kept this maiden safe from Demoran’s scorn. After all – she just called him a hero – if a bugbear could blush, he’d be as red as a tomato.
Ensuring she was safely inside, Kretin forced the crate closed and did his best to hide the fact it’d been pried open. As gently as he could manage, he lifted the crate onto his shoulder again, lifting up another just to keep his fellow hired hands from asking questions. Each step he made he was careful of how he shifted his weight, fully aware of the living, breathing woman he had in his possession. One wrong move and the jig was up for them both. He had to protect her – and himself – no matter what.
Kretin had made it all the way down the gangplank and onto the pier, relief beginning to bubble up in his gut as he set his sights towards the warehouse of his master. All he had to do was get someplace safe and offload the stowaway, sending her off on her merry way free from Demoran’s hold.
He was so close…
“You thought I wouldn’t fucking notice, you lumbering beast!” A roaring voice suddenly called out from behind Kretin, his muscles growing tense as he turned to stare upon the approaching form of Master Demoran, a brawny man who seemed to have had his fair share of bouts with creatures great and small from the amount of scars littering his arms and chest. Nowadays however, the man resorted to a more lucrative business, controlling shipments and business within the port city. This didn’t make him any less intimidating however, for even as the owner of a possible crime operation, this man was dangerous – always armed and ready to silence whoever stood in his way. “What the hell did you do to that crate?! It’s been destroyed!”
Kretin gulped hard in his throat as he kept a firm grip on the crate on his shoulder. He couldn’t let his master see what awaited inside. “I-I dropped it coming up the planks. But it’s fine – the cargo is fine. I made sure everything was-!”
Kretin’s words fell flat as a crack echoed across the pier, a whip digging into his chest and opening up an old wound. It was a favorite spot of Demoran’s to target – a bullseye for the towering bugbear’s pride. Despite the pain now rippling through his body though, Kretin held strong to the crate – desperate to protect this woman he’d found hiding below deck.
“If one fucking thing is damaged in that crate, so help me I will string you up for a month,” his master roared as the other hands gawked towards the scene, their previous fears of the bugbear seeming to wash away at the sight of him being punished by a man half his size. “I mean it, you’ll be hell if you’ve cost me, you got that?”
“I understand master,” Kretin grumbled as he stumbled backwards, returning back to his original task now under the watchful stare of Demoran and the other hands. He had to get away from prying eyes. That was the only way this woman would be safe. If she were discovered now, everything would have been for naught.
Breezing past the guards at the entrance to the warehouse, Kretin tossed down the other crate before aiming towards the farthest reaches, praying they would be safe from the watch. Once in the shadows, he lightly placed the crate down and opened it up to see the woman staring up at him, tears threatening to escape her eyes as she gazed back at him. She could see the open wound on his chest and she held in a gasp, Kretin shocked by such a response.
“You can escape out the back and head into town,” Kretin said quickly as he reached a clawed hand into the crate. Even his hand was so much bigger than the woman, easily engulfing her hand and pulling her along with him out of the crate and onto solid ground. “Don’t linger and don’t stop to speak to anyone until you’re clearly out of sight of the pier. If you act like you’re meant to be here, no one will bother you. Though you’d need to be careful with all these glittering gems you got. Your whole look screams how rich you are.”
The woman bit hard on her lip as she shifted her gaze, “not anymore.” She then stepped closer to the bugbear, her fingers tracing the open wound sadly as she whispered, “that man – he hurt you.”
“My master hurts whoever stands in the way of his profit,” Kretin replied, his body shivering at the woman’s touch as she continued to trace the scars that littered his body beneath the mountains of brown fur. Her fingers continued to travel up until they paused at the magical collar around his neck, teasing the steel with a knowing glance. “You need to go.”
“I know how I can repay you,” the woman whispered, her purple stare firm upon his own gaze as the creature felt a sudden jolt of pressure from his neck…and then a weight being lifted entirely. “Unlock.”
Kretin had seen magic users before in his travels but the way she effortlessly unlatched the chains that bound him for years to that place – it was an utter shock. He sputtered backwards as a hand reached to his neck, feeling the raw skin and matted fur for the first time in ages. He was no longer someone’s prisoner. He was free.
“You-?” Kretin began but the woman simply grinned in response as her fingers then reached and touched where the collar once resided.
“A hero deserves to be free,” she hummed happily as she gestured to herself. “I, Lady Aryn, am forever grateful for your help. Please – if there’s anything I could do to-.”
“Kretin,” the beast interrupted as he suddenly grabbed hold of the woman, bundling her up in his wide embrace before darting for the back entrance of the warehouse. A single guard stood in the way as he sent a fist into the man’s gut, sending him spiraling into the wall before he took off into the evening air. The bugbear didn’t pause his steps for even a moment, not until they were well outside the city limits. Only when they were safely hidden within the trees did he lower the woman in his hold, eyeing her carefully with a grin. “You saved me.”
“You saved me,” the woman, called Aryn, replied with a grin of her own as she stretched her arms and twirled on her toes. It was clear she was happy to set foot on solid land.
The bugbear chuckled at the sight of this woman dressed to the nines in such fancy garb dancing about without a care in the world. Only when she held out a hand for him to join in her celebration did he hesitate. “You aren’t afraid of me?”
“Afraid of you? Why would I be?” She asked, genuinely shocked by the question.
“Because I’m a beast,” he answered with a raised brow.
“A beast? I don’t mind that at all,” she replied with a smile. “You’re my hero. I’m so happy I found you Kretin.”
He couldn’t believe his ears as he stood there in awe, watching this woman completely accept him without a second thought. Earlier today he was certain his dreams of making something of himself were completely vanished. But now – with the help of this triton dancing about – that spark of hope had returned.
“And I’m happy I found you Aryn.”
*~End~*
*~Mae's Corner~* 