Bewitching Monsters

Orc - Part 1

"One teaspoon of lavender flowers, muddled. Three drop of lemon oil. And finally some orange zest," I muttered to myself as I finished off mixing the potion for a new charm. I was working on a batch of cleaning charms today. Three of them were for regular customers-an elderly couple, a blind naga, and a werewolf family with seven hyper pups-I traded with for food; the others I'd sell off to various shops around my side of town. I poured the potion over the sponges I already had set in a shallow pan, said the enchantment, then cleaned up everything as they set.

Done with work for the moment, I made some tea and settled into my chaise lounge. Behind me came the thump of something falling to the floor. I knew what it was; that's why I ignored it and continued sipping my tea.

"Mistress, it's been six days. Are you really not going to look at the elf's package?" Caera asked.

"Why should I?" I mused. "It's not something I ordered; I don't know a thing about that air elf save that he's a pervert and a courier; and he didn't even tell me anything about what might be inside when he gave it to me. There's no reason for me to bother."

"I don't think you can fairly use 'pervert' as a negative against him, Mistress." There was a wicked note in her voice. The way she purred my title had me clenching my thighs.

I took a long sip of tea. "I don't appreciate being called out." Her chuckle rang in the room. I picked up the box and put it back on the table. I'd deal with it eventually.

After delivering all the charms, I was making my way back when I saw a figure outside my house. I slowed my approach. It was difficult to see them clearly through the trees, but they were definitely large. I also caught a glint of metal in the sunlight. This could be risky...

My anxieties quickly fled once I passed the tree line and saw my guest was an orc. I've had a soft spot for orcs ever since the first summer after starting my certification training. Long story short: I found a dive bar with an incredibly sexy orc bartender.

"Hello. Sorry to keep you waiting," I greeted him, jumping off my broom.

"No worries, Witch. You have a peaceful place here."

"Thank you." It was hard to not be distracted by how thick he was. He had lovely slate grey skin with undertones of lavender most notable around the scarification on his shoulder. I wanted to trace over the designs...

"Done staring yet?" he interrupted with a cocky grin.

I met his eyes with a blush. "What can I help you with?"

"Nothing too special. Just an enchantment to keep my tools sharp." He adjusted the bag on his shoulder as he removed the axe he had mounted on his back.

"How many tools, and sharp for how long?" I inquired worryingly. Judging by his bulging bag, I had a feeling his tool collection rivaled my book collection. I had a growing suspicion that this was going to be more than he bargained for.

He rubbed the back of his neck and sheepishly laughed. "Quite a lot. How long can you make the spell last?"

"For something like this," I started and motioned for him to follow me inside. My broom followed behind him and floated to the kitchen where Caera started unloading today's exchanges. "I would go with a shorter duration with frequent recurring applications, rather than the converse. Most find the cost more manageable that way since it can grow a bit exponentially." I cleared off my dining table. "Place out all your tools on here."

The surface quickly filled up. Most of the things I had never seen before and couldn't even guess the proper names. I did recognize some chisels, files, saws-all in a number of sizes. There were even just blades and belts that were clearly a part of other contraptions. The rest were a mystery.

"I'm a carpenter," he explained. "I do a lot of hand carving too."

I hummed in acknowledgement as I looked everything over. At most, I'd set the spell for a year-barter off three months if need be. Now I had to figure out payment. Despite what most might think, a witch doesn't come up with the cost of their magic; they can filter the type of payment-like money or food-but the overall cost of the magic is determined by the Grand Scales. The Scales manifested differently for each witch. For me, I always saw an ibis sitting on its nest, then it would reveal its eggs to show me the cost.

"A year of perfectly sharp blades," I mused as my fingers hovered over the orc's belongings, "for firewood; four months' worth. Due within six months of the enchantment."

"I feel like I'm getting the better end of this deal."

"Winter is right around the corner so it'll be more than you think. Also, some of these tools you use far less than others. All in all, this is fair. I don't care for luxury and overcharge my customers."

"I can see." He paced around the large open room and looked around. I watched him and noted his eyes lingering on the loft and the stairs/bookcases that led up to it. "Who did your addition?"

"Jealous that I went to another carpenter?" I teased and walked up next to him. He looked down at me and raised a brow. I felt like swooning under that gaze. "Maybe next time you'll be the one I come to."

He turned and faced me full on. It was a battle to keep my eyes on his and not drink in every one of his many, many glorious inches. I wondered what he saw, what he thought, when he looked down at me. "So how do you wanna do this?" Wait. Was he thinking what I was thinking? "Would you prefer I started today? I could cut the wood here. Or I can chop everything at my shop and deliver it later."

"Well..." I started and floundered. Right. Business. I needed to get my mind back on track. Normally I could detach while working but he was just getting to me.

"Let's start with you showing me where you keep all your wood. I would hate to fill you with more than you can handle at once." Did he realize how he worded that? He had to have worded it like that on purpose. Surely my face was flushed from lustful thoughts and he was reading me like a large-print book. "The name is Valzok, by the way."