Chapter 3

Robin was sitting at the foot of the stage at the north edge of the market square playing a lively tune on her flute, while her left foot tapped a small drum and her right clapping a set of cymbals. It had taken several years of practice to master the art of doing three things at once in a coordinated manner. She would hear the occasional clink of a coin landing in her hat that was on the ground by her feet. Each clink told her she would eat that night and maybe a warm, dry place to sleep. She had been playing for an hour when she noticed the crowd had grown to a much larger than normal size and was settling in around the stage. She took note that the people were looking at the stage and not her. A quick glance told her what was going on up there.

‘That crazy mask girl, what was her name, ah yes, Aco,’ she thought. She continued playing and had managed to shift herself around enough to keep an eye on what Aco was doing. ‘At least she isn’t trying to fly this time.’ Robin was surprised when Aco motioned for her to pick up the tempo a bit. ‘Ok, you asked for it girl.’ she thought. Robin transitioned to a fast-paced dance tune that the folks in the audience recognized and began clapping with the rhythm. Aco knew this tune as well and took off on the stage. Even though she was in short pants and a loose top rather than her dragon clothes, she still felt the pull and call of the music as she danced. She flexed, twisted, jumped, rolled, and bounced all over the stage. She picked out spots on the stage to avoid as a bit of wood rot had weakened the surface and would crack more if she hit it too hard.

When Robin brought the song to a close, coins started landing in her hat and on a wide-brimmed hat on stage. Aco motioned for her to start another, slower tune. Robin played the second song and Aco was able to use the tune to turn herself into knots and bend in ways that had the crowd groaning in pain then clapping their appreciation for her ability. When the second song was done, Aco bowed and thanked the crowd for stopping to watch. She untangled her feet from the instruments and put them away after sliding the flute into a tube that rode across her back. She picked up any loose coin that missed the hat or bounced and secured them in a pouch that went into her tunic to rest down by the belt that held it in place. While she was doing this, Aco had gathered her coins and returned to her cart around the other side of the raised stage. She pulled it around and sat on the steps next to Robin after she pulled the cart out of the walkway so as not to block foot traffic. She didn’t have the mask stack with her so she just stayed with the smiling face with the red cheeks.

“Robin, you play wonderfully, far better than the folks I worked with back in the traveling show,” said Aco. She was still panting from her workout on stage. She was also dripping with sweat again. She reached around to the cart and pulled out her lone, small water bag. That was one of the items she was told to correct first. “I danced better with you playing.”

Robin hadn’t asked for Aco to join her but she did recognize that it was both of them together that just earned her more money from one set of songs than she would normally pull in, in a week of non-stop playing. “Glad you liked it. You dance and move better than most of the professionals that pass through here.” Robin could tell Aco wanted to ask about her but didn’t want to offend.

“Aco, I can see you want to know why I am still in this backwater, yes?”

Aco said, “I was sort of wondering about that, but I was thinking more that we could do something like this again later with a different crowd in the market to make even more than we just made now.” Aco pulled up a robe and slid the mask stack into its pocket and she was able to switch to a look that better suited the current discussion.

“I think we could do that. I need to get moving soon anyway,” said Robin. “You mentioned you were heading to Plains Guard earlier?”

“Yes, from there I need to head west to Fairham’s Cove,” said Aco.

“I have to be heading that way too Aco. I can’t get any good gigs because I don’t have a feathered cap from the Bards School. Once I have that and spend more time learning more stories and songs, I will be able to really bring in the coin.”

“We should travel together then,” said Aco. “I had problems a few times alone on the way here. I managed to not be raped, but I am getting tired of dealing with men that felt I was fair game since I was alone.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. I had a few cases I was able to get away from, and one I couldn’t,” Robin looked scared as the memory of what was done to her during her captivity by the rapist.

Robin had just set up a cold camp well away from the road to avoid being seen by anybody passing by. She thought she had made it far enough from the small village that she would be safe for the night, she was wrong. One of the village trackers had followed her at a distance so that she didn’t see him. He slipped up to her camp and dropped the tent on her, and was able to wrap her up for easy transport back to the village after smacking her in the head several times to stop her struggling.

When Robin woke up from being smacked hard in the head, she saw she was in a building of some sort. It wasn’t very large, but might be a small warehouse during harvest season. The wooden floor had loose bits of old shafts from grain scattered about. She also realized she was stripped naked and tied spread eagle on a low bench in the middle of the room. The only light came from vent slots in the ceiling. She waited in silence, figuring the longer she made them wait, the quicker they would get off and she could make her escape. Looking to her left, she saw her personal gear and clothing in a pile. Her heart about broke when she saw they had punched her drum out and snapped the neck off her Lute. She silently promised painful revenge if given the chance. Those instruments had cost her plenty of coins.

Someone must have been watching her, the door opened and twenty-five men entered the room with her. She guessed the ages from early teens to grizzled elders. One man, the apparent leader dropped his pants and grabbed her legs. She was held down by the ropes so he couldn’t lift her to him and he wasn’t about to get on his knees to fuck her. One of the boys did something with the ropes on her legs and she was lifted partway off the bench. She was dry and cold, but that didn’t stop him, he shoved his cock into her to the balls in one thrust. Robin screamed in agony as she felt as if he had just ripped her open. She had seen he wasn’t a giant, about average, but not being ready hurt all the same. As he began pumping in and out, her body responded and she moistened, this helped a little, but she still hurt inside. He had only been going for a few minutes when he grunted and slammed as far in as he could and shook for a few seconds. When he finished, he pulled out, came around to her head, and whispered, “Don’t get too comfortable, we all plan to use every hole on you several times, then you shall be the guest of honor at a feast.” He dropped her head back on the bench and stepped aside. “Get the virgin dicks lined up,” he said, “They will be done quickly then we can get serious on her.”

She saw a boy, not even a man yet really by his size, pushed around to her entrance. One of the men grabbed the boys dripping dick and guided it into her. “Start pumping in and out as he did.” Nobody said any names. The boy pumped about ten seconds then groaned as his body responded and shot a load into his first pussy.

Each of the young boys had a chance at her, then the older men that could last longer went to work on her. She knew she had to be bleeding by the time the last man shot into her abused vagina. When the oldest man, maybe in his sixties finished, the first man returned with a bucket of cold water and a stiff brush. He washed her down to clean off the remains of all the spend on her, then worked the brush into her to clean her out. She screamed herself hoarse from the pain of the bristles. She felt as if they were cutting her up inside. She later saw it wasn’t a stiff brush, but she was so raw that it hurt as if it were.

She passed out from the continued abuse and didn’t wake up until she was smacked across her breast with a stiff belt. While she was unconscious, they had re-positioned her head so it was lifted and tilted back. She knew what was coming and was revolted by the thought. “Ok men, now we need to feed and water the bitch.” He grabbed her head, pulling it back so he could pry open her jaws easily. “Now bitch, if you bite, I’ll smash out those pretty little teeth of yours.” He never gave her a chance to respond, he pushed into her mouth and shoved his cock into her throat. She started to gag and wanted to vomit but couldn’t with her pipe blocked as it was. “Suck it bitch, suck it good,” he said as the rest of the men and boys just looked on as she was raped and abused. She did the best she could and in a few minutes shot a load down her throat, making her gag even more.

“That was the feeding, not the watering.” He held his cock in her mouth and let his bladder go. She choked and sputtered as the acrid, salty fluid burned her throat and sinuses when she coughed it up. “Swallow it bitch, swallow it,” he snarled. She tried, but her stomach kept refusing the urine. He finished then smacked her across the face, giving her a bloody nose and cracked lip for failing to do as she was ordered.

They came in the same order again. This time to youngest looked at her and she saw he was afraid. She didn’t smile at him, but her look didn’t quite promise death if given the chance. His cock was not fully grown yet so she was able to take it without trouble. He also didn’t have much urine to give her, so she considered that a small blessing. ‘When I get loose, I am going to burn this burg to the ground,’ she thought. Robin knew worse was yet to come when they began working on her ass, ‘If I live that long,’ she amended silently.

Taking twenty-five men in the mouth left her jaw hurting from being forced open for so long, and her stomach wanted to explode from the poison that had been pushed down into it. By the time the last man finished, she was ready to burst. The leader released her head to look at their handy work. Her belly was distended and bloated. “Now for some fun.” He raised up his right arm while holding her head up with the left and punched her in the stomach hard. She seemed to explode when he did that. The projectile vomit hit the wall six feet away as her body worked to expel the noxious fluids from her body. It felt like an eternity for her stomach to stop convulsing. Her throat was raw to the point she couldn’t even whimper in pain. Robin hoped she would at least get a short break before they destroyed her completely.

“Ok men, time to get some rest for the big push in the morning, so no jacking off boys, you will need all the stamina you can get.” The men left her, laying in her vomit and all the piss and cum. Her own bladder had given way at some point, but she hadn’t noticed. They did scrub her when her bowels had let go during the vomiting show. She never wanted to be stuck like this again. In fact, if she escaped, she didn’t want a man near her period. Exhaustion claimed her in-spite of her feelings and sleep took her.

Robin woke with a start she felt someone working on her ropes in the dark. She groaned as all the abuse from the previous day caught up with her. That sound caught the attention of whoever it was that was cutting the ropes loose. A hand covered her mouth and a voice whispered, “Don’t make a sound. What they have planned for you makes yesterday look easy and fun. We are to rape you in the ass, when everybody is done, you will have a spit run through you while you still live and be stuck over a fire pit to cook as dinner for the men.” The last rope came free. She rolled herself off the bench and slowly worked her joints to get moving. “I repacked your stuff. I’m sorry about the drum and lute. Now get your stuff by the door and get out of here.” The voice was of the boy, the youngest to have raped her.

She crawled to the pack and slid it over her shoulders. It hurt. She dragged herself to her feet. It hurt. She peaked around the corner of the open door and didn’t see anybody. She still hurt. She also wanted revenge. Fear of being recaptured won out for the moment though. They were going to cook her alive and eat her. This place was as sick as they came. She snuck away, staying away from any building with light coming from windows and doors. As she passed one home, she heard a snap like a whip and a woman cried out in agony. She didn’t stop, she sped up to get away from this hell town as fast as she could.

Robin snapped back to the present, her eyes haunted by this memory of torture. She had not been with a man or woman since. Aco had seen the look and knew Robin had just relived something horrible. She still dreamed of the acid burning her face after a bad day. “Come on Robin, we have the cash, let’s get something to eat,” said Aco.

Robin shook herself back to the present and said, “Yeah, I think a good meal is in order, then we can talk.”

They found a small side market that sold cooked meats and assorted vegetables as meals. The stores had tables and chairs on the patio like entry so folks could sit and eat in peace. Both sat and ate in silence, both apparently wondering where to start. Aco decided to break the ice.

“You already know my name is Aco. I know you are wondering why I wear masks all the time. When I was around five, a slaver tried to take me.” Aco closed her eyes as the memory of the pain flooded back and made her shiver. “When my parents resisted him, he splashed acid on my face to ruin me. Aco pulled the hood over her head to hide her face from general view and removed the mask of pain from her face and looked Robin in the eyes. Robin’s eyes went wide and she took a sharp breath before looking away from the scarred and disfigured mass that at one time had been a human face. The skin was smooth looking and dark red in color. It looked stiff and painful if forced to move. Aco had no eyebrows as they had been destroyed before her mother had been able to stop the acid from getting in her eyes. Her nose and lips were flat and had no definition to them. Too much scar tissue had been formed and they had been lost in it. This is why I wear the masks, Robin, I have no face otherwise.”

Robin was crying now. Just seeing what this woman had to live with made her few problems seem trivial. “Aco, I ... I don’t know what to say.” She gulped and wiped her eyes, “How can you live with the pain you must feel all the time,” she asked?

Aco slipped on a smile and quietly answered, “As with anything that you can’t change, you learn to live with it and adapt. I have learned, and can do things that make others wince in pain when I turn myself into a knot.”

Robin chuckled now, “Yeah, I saw some of that this morning. My back didn’t just say no, it shouted, HELL NO! are you going to try that.”

Now Aco laughed, “You have no idea how often I hear that from members of the audience.” Aco stood and held a hand out to Robin to stand, “I think I have a pretty fair idea of what happened to you, so no need to explain it to me if the memory hurts too much.”

Robin took the proffered hand and stood, “It hurts to think about it. It was more the humiliation than the pain of what they did.” They left the small eatery, keeping it in mind for later. So Aco, shall we do another show later today? Between us, we may work up enough cash to pay for the ride to Plains Guard at least.”

“That, Robin, that sounds like a plan I can go along with. I still need to gather better travel gear for the long trip ahead though, so that will slow things down a little,” said Aco.

Robin pulled Aco off to the side and said, “I know a few places we might be able to get you completely set up for a long road-march. The prices will be good too.”

“That sounds good, but first I need to see if my cart is still at the stage,” said Aco.

“It had better be,” said Robin. “The stage is off-limits to the urchins and thieves in this town.” She pulled Aco to walk faster, “Come on, let’s get your stuff and get you set up.” They made it back to the stage in the market square and Aco’s cart was undisturbed where she had left it.

Aco secured everything and Robin led her down a different road to a bunch of older shops. The shelves and tables inside were loaded with all sorts of camping gear and tools. When Aco made sure her cart would be in sight while she was inside, She followed Robin inside.

“Hey old man, where are you?” Robin yelled.

A minute or so later, an old man, well wrinkled, his remaining hair a silver-grey and hunched over and shrunken with age came out complaining about noisy kids always coming to bother him. When he spotted Robin, his face lit up with a smile. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t my favorite Songbird. What can I do for you today Red Robin?” he asked in a gravelly voice that at one time could probably rattle windows a mile away.

Robin went around the counter and gave the old man a hug with a peck on the cheek. “My friend here, Aco, she needs pretty much a full road outfitting. What she has now can’t even keep her warm in the daylight. And as always, cash is somewhat limited but not as bad as usual.”

“Had a good show today and feeling generous are we now?” he asked with a smile.