Chapter IV : The Temple of Myhriss
Warm sunlight shined down on my back. Blinking my eyes at the bright light, I lifted myself up to look around.
I was still in the courtyard. Absently my hand went to my neck, but there was only my smooth, dirty skin. I got to my feet feeling weary and exhausted. Back down on the cobblestones where I had lain were puddles of dark, dried blood between the stones.
Picking up my bastard sword nearby, I gasped and almost dropped it. The moment I picked it up, I remember my shattered wrist. In reaction I just about released it so I would not feel the pain in my wrist. But there was no pain. I turned my wrist back and forth and did not feel even a twinge of pain. All around me was death. Everyone and everything that had been part of Sarek's garrison was dead. Even the zombies and skeletons of the priests of Iuz had been turned to filth and dust. Sarek was a burned, stinking corpse.
I ran to the wall by the gate and fell to my knees and retched.
The next thing I did was start running. I dashed out the gates. I sprinted through the village by the empty slave pens. I darted past the destroyed fountain. I crested the hill to the west. I have never looked at my childhood home since.
I spent the rest of that hard winter moving. By day I would move along streambeds and fields. I went through blasted areas of Iuz's domains. It was a cold winter in a land that the evil cambion's troops had wasted whenever they could.
I could not turn back west and go to Furyondy. It was closer, but I could never face the families of those I had slain for Sarek. To the south was the bottomless lake, the Nyr Dyv. To the north were the cursed lands of the Horned Society, and I knew they were even more dangerous than before since Iuz had conquered it. So I went west, shadowing the old lake road.
I walked across the hard, scratched wooden to the bar along the back wall. "What do you have for a meal?" I asked the dirty, scarred, thin man behind it.
"Dark bread and gruel. Meat extra."
Quickly I bartered for a room and a meal, took the unappetizing plate, and went to one of the benches in the poorly lit tavern. I had on a loose red blouse and a pair of brown sheepskin pants. I had throw aside the scale mail not long after leaving Melanon. In the intervening seven months my blonde hair had grown down to the nape of my neck. Feeling hair against my neck was a joy that is hard to describe. After having long hair all my life until the last two years of mental slavery, having that sensation against me was a joy. The person next to me was a pale skinned merchant that was obviously a mage. He was eating a meatless meal but did pause to give me a slight smile before returning to his bowl of gruel. On the other side was a man in worn leather armor. He scratched his scruffy black beard after glancing at me, and then turned back to his plate.
I was eating my meal peacefully, alone in my thoughts. It was nice to be able to let my mind relax and not think about anything. Sometimes I suspect that was why I had come to Stoink.
Struggling through the devastation of my homeland had been almost unbearable. More than once I had fought off or hidden from wandering orcs, hobgoblins, or orogs. I fought off starvation, living on what few things I could hunt and eating whatever I could find. I came across deserted villages and dead warriors. I hated myself for doing it, but I scavenged together coins from them, since I would need money when I got back to some kind of civilization. I did not dare cross the river to Urnst when I reached the eastern limits of the Nyr Dyv. I could not stand the thought of returning to a normal, peaceful society, not after all the evil I had done, against my will or not. I kept going down the river itself. After making my way past the orc towns on the northern side of the river, I ended up here, in Stoink.
Stoink had been a major town in the Bandit Kingdoms, probably the largest because of its proximity to Nyrond. How it had retained some kind of independence from Iuz and his orcs was beyond me. Perhaps it was the distance, since Stoink was about as far east as you could do in Iuz's domains. There were plenty of priests of Iuz in the city, including a major temple in the center of the town. Most of the other temples had been destroyed except for a few that would not threaten Iuz's hold on the Stoink. Stoink had changed some, but nothing like the other towns and lands Iuz had conquered. People were moving around the dark tavern and I ignored them. There were not many women in here, but what few were here were warriors, thieves, or prostitutes. I did notice the heavy tread of boots coming up behind me.
I glanced over my shoulder. Standing behind me, with a large, dumb grin on his face, was a half-orc warrior. He wore a mishmash of armor. A piece of a shoulder plate was over his sword arm, with two different styles of chain mail stitched together across his chest. A serrated battle-axe was in his hand and leaning against his shoulder. "Hey, blondsie, hows mucht fer yer ass?" he said in his broken common tongue.
My spoon dropped to the plate. I lifted up my legs over the bench and turned around to face the brute. "Look, ugly," I said, not really in the mood to put up with this half-breed's nonsense, "I would not touch you if you were covered in gold. Take those beady eyes off me."
His face grew dark. He had many human traits to him, but his gray pallor, the two fangs that edges out under his thin lips, and the very wide, piggish nose were hardly attractive to me. "Blondsie insultitating me?" he said with a snort at the end.
I took my bastard sword and slid it between my legs so both my hands were on the end of the pommel. I looked at the sword then up at the half-orc. "I am not insulting you. I want you to know that I am not a prostitute," I explained calmly. "And if I was, I would kill myself before taking money to do you." I had developed a mean streak. Maybe learning that you can kill will do that. Maybe I just hated all the humanoids, like orcs, and this guy was bothering the wrong person.
He shrugged the nasty battle-axe off his shoulder and let it fall so he held the handle with another hand near the blade. "You slut talk wrong to me!" he growled loudly, spraying a fine mist of drool over my food and me.
That ticked me off. There was no way I would touch that meal now. I stood up to face the taller half-orc. "Listen close," I said glaring at him with my fierce blue eyes. "Either you walk away now, or someone will cart you out dead and sell you to the priests for zombie meat."
Orcs are not known for being very patient, and this guy's orc parent must have been very edgy. The half-orc gave a snorting yell of rage and lifted his axe over his head.
I had already died twice and came back to tell about it. I had committed heinous crimes, hopefully against my will. This stupid half-orc did not even make me blink. Before he got the battle-axe completely over his head, before he was even close to bringing it back down at me, I struck. I pulled my sword to the side with my left hand and stepped into him. Up into his crotch went my knee. His boiled leather guard would be good against a sword strike, but not many warriors would aim for that spot. Then again, most warriors were men.
"GGGRRRNNNHHH!!" the half-orc gurgled when my knee crunched into his jewels. Down came the axe, but I was too close to him for the axe to get a good swing. In pain, he was easy for me to sidestep. Throwing my free right arm into his back, I gave him a big shove.
Jumping back, I watched him crash into the bench. The merchant on the right and the man in the leather armor on the left had already moved aside but they really scattered when the half-orc tumbled over the bench and plowed into the two men eating on the opposite side.
I quickly stepped on the long seat and hopped up onto the table. When the half-orc settled on the opposite long seat, he spun around only to meet the tip of my sword hovering right over his snout. "Drop the axe on the table, ugly, or I give you a third nostril." Somewhere, in some dark part of me, I wanted him to swing it. That scared me.
The half-orc looked at me through his beady, black eyes. I kept my own emotionless and ready to drive that sword right through his skull. Like I said, part of me hungered to kill this pig and he saw that. He carefully brought the battle-axe up and set it on the table. His hands went back to his sides, his fingers open to show he had yielded.
Father had been a nobleman, someone that would never strike down an unarmed foe. I was bearing his sword still, our family's coat of arms still on the crossbar between the blade and pommel. I could not use Father's sword to slay anyone unarmed. Not anymore, now that I had my own free will again. I nodded towards the door. "Get out. You come back in, I gut you like the pig you are," I hissed and pulled back the sword from his nose about a foot. It was enough to let him scramble out from under it. He shoved the bench seat back and climbed to his feet.
"Farging slurt!" he snorted. He backed across the tavern, passing out glares at most everyone on the way. When he reached the door, he opened it, shot me a last glare, and disappeared.
I sighed and let the sword blade fall to the table. All the men in the room, and the few women, were all looking at me. There was nothing to say, so nothing was what I said. I stepped to the seat then next to the floor. My plate was upside down next to my foot. That did not matter; I was not hungry any longer.
Carrying my scabbard-less sword with the sharp tip towards the floor, I picked up the bag that carried my few belongings. Without looking back, I went through the door that led to the rooms.
Pushing the bolt, I locked the door behind me, and then dropped my bag in the corner. The room was tiny, not more than five by ten, but it was as good as any room I had been in since I left Melanon. A stained, spotted cot was on one wall and a chest and pitcher of water was in the back of the narrow room. I leaned my sword against the wall opposite the cot then plopped down. I was mentally exhausted.
I was leaning down to pull my boots off when there was a knock at the door. In a blink I had my sword in hand. Standing up, I moved closer to the door, but stayed four feet away. If someone plowed through that door, I would not be hit and I would kill the first one in. It was terrible the lessons life taught us. "Who is it?" I demanded.
"I - I was sitting next to you," a man's voice said with some stutter to it. "I was wanting to talk."
I relaxed my sword a little. "So talk."
There was a pause. "Um, this isn't something I should discuss out in the hallway," he said mysteriously.
I thought about that for a moment. The voice was not the scarred man, so it had to be the pale one on the other side of me. "Fine, just a moment."
Never lowering my guard for a moment, I reached my sword out. With the point, I turned the bolt and pushed it back. The weight of the door made it edge inwards, showing him it was unlocked. "Come on in, but be careful about it."
He was very careful. The door swung open slowly, revealing to me the same pale youth that had been next to me in the common room. As soon as the door opened, I felt a strange tingling, something like the hairs on my forearms or on my neck standing. It was magic.
I took three quick steps and in moments I had the tip of my bastard sword pointed over his heart. "Cut out the magic, or I will cut it out of you," I growled at him.
He quickly raised his hands in surrender and the sensation of magic faded. Wide eyes stared apprehensively at my broad blade. "Stop! It's done, I ended it!"
I looked at him through narrow eyes. I had no patience for mages, not after Sarek. "What in Hades was that, and why should I not kill you right here?"
The dots of perspiration that popped out all over his forehead told me he was nervous. "Look, I'm sorry, let me come in and I'll explain everything!" he said quickly.
He seemed harmless enough. Pushing the point to his chest, I said, "Back up." When he did, I looked up and down the empty hallway. "Alright, come on in, but you cast one spell, you will not walk out."
Turning my back to him, I walked back in. I was sure, at this range, I could cut him before he got a spell off. I walked next to the trunk and leaned against the wall in front of it. Putting the tip of my sword against the floor, I looked back at him, I gave him a cool glare. "So explain."
The young man stepped inside and closed the door behind him. When it would not stay shut, he pushed the bolt enough to keep it shut. I thought of him as young, but he was probably older than my age. At the time, I was only nineteen, and he was probably a little older than me. He shrugged the heavy, warm cloak from his shoulders revealing his colorful attire beneath. He was wearing a crimson robe that covered him from neck to ankles with a dark blue woolen belt that held the robe snug around his waist. His face was clean-shaven and smooth, like he had rarely shaved anyway. Platinum blonde hair was cut evenly at the base of his neck, making his hair a little longer than mine. Slung from the belt was a mixed set of pouches of various sizes. I knew what they were; spell components.
What drew me in were his eyes. They were the palest violet color I had ever seen. They were, well, amazing.
"Thanks for letting me in without ruining my clothes," he weakly jested. "I was serious though, I do have something I want to discuss with you."
I pulled myself away from those eyes. Something about them did not match the awkward mage that stood before me. "Who are you?" I asked bluntly.
A grin spread over his face. "Where are my manners!? My name is Dorid," he said with an extravagant bow forward. "At your service, a weary mage wandering the lands in search of knowledge."
I had decided that I needed to be tougher, to be less innocent, but Dorid's friendly nature forced me to crack a small smile. "Dorid, out of all the lands, with Urnst and Nyrond not far away, you came to this disgusting, dirty town to learn something?" I asked, half teasing.
A friendly smile crossed his lips when he saw I was thawing. "Indeed, lady...may I ask your name?"
Another rule I said I would follow would be anonymity. So much for rules. "Tania."
"Lady Tania," he finished. "I am here for a very good reason really. My mentor is a sage in Rel Mord, but he too aged to travel these dangerous lands in search of places of knowledge, so I do that for him."
I nodded. I knew Rel Mord was the capital of Nyrond; Father's tutors had at least taught me something of use. "That does not mean much. You are still in Stoink."
"Quite right," he said. Crossing his arms, he leaned against the same wall as me. He was about three feet away and as he spoke I had the chance to look at him more closely. He was a lean man and I was convinced still that he had to be just a little older than me. I could not see any weapons on him, so he had to be a mage of some talent. Otherwise someone would have already stabbed him in some alley here in this bandit-infested town. "You see, what I seek is an ancient temple. Not far north, past the edge of the forest, there is a temple. I am not sure of its exact location, but I have ways of narrowing down the search. Within the boundaries of the temple are ancient books that will teach us much about the history of our lands before the Great Migrations."
Over his shoulder went my blue eyes as I thought about what he was saying. "You are here to look for old books," I summarized. Then I added my own deductions. "And you need bodyguards for the wilderness."
Dorid tapped the side of his nose. "Precisely. As you've said, this is a dangerous city, set in a dangerous land. I seek one or two people to help me with this. I already have two others to aid me, and with yourself added I would feel very confident about getting into the forest and escaping that harsh realm with those books."
That made sense, but one thing bothered me. "If you already have two, why me?"
Dorid shrugged. "Accident mostly. I had planned on leaving tomorrow with the two, but after seeing you in action earlier, I had to see if you would be willing to come along. You aren't of an evil nature, so I assume you'd keep your word."
I was not so sure about the evil part any more, but that was not something to argue about. "I assume you are paying for this escort job?"
"Absolutely," he said with a quick nod. "Forty Nyrondian gold nobles, twenty now, twenty when we return from the forest."
That was more than I had, by far. What little coin I had scavenged off dead people and villages in my homeland was nearly gone. I had no place better to go, and if I could help this man with whatever research he wanted to do, so much the better. But first...
"Make that thirty up front so I can get a decent leather jerkin and a new cloak, then twenty when we get back, and you will have yourself a deal, Dorid."
A grin lit up his face. He nodded eagerly. "Very good, very good. Meet me at the north gate tomorrow morning, an hour after dawn. I will have a horse ready for you. Let me go get your coins."
Dorid turned to the door and threw open the bolt. Opening it, he paused to look back at me. "Happy to have you along, Lady Tania." I gave him a slim smile and a nod, and then he left.
After getting the money from Dorid, I went out on a short, quick shopping spree. Father had given me money, but it had been doled out in small quantities, since it was all tax money from the same villagers I would be buying from. This was different, but in a sense I had to be even more careful. Stoink was full of thieves and cutthroats, and showing off money was a sure way to get the wrong kind of attention.
For the rest of that day, I moved around the poor shops of Stoink. First I purchased a leather jerkin, but only after I gave the owner a few hours to fit it to my body. That was always going to be a problem in most places, fitting armor meant for the male body onto my filled out body. I was nineteen now, and under Sarek's control my body had blossomed. My chest was not that of the skinny sixteen-year-old girl, but that of a woman. For those that do not know what I look like, well, I looked different at nineteen than I do now, and much different than at sixteen. I am five foot ten inches tall, with bright blue eyes and, at that time, sun bleached, honey blonde hair that barely reached the base of my neck. It was combed back, with some bangs cut short to keep them away from my eyes. My body was thin from my struggles across the devastation of my homelands, but I was still a woman.
The jerkin had been stretched by the leather worker so I had some room for my breasts, and pulled it so it would not be baggy around my waist. It had metal studs dotted over it to help protect me. Other than that, I wore a pair of simple brown leather pants and hard soles boots. Other than being a woman, and probably a young, attractive one at that, I did not look much different than the other sword bearers in Stoink.
I had made a couple of other purchases: a new scabbard and some oil for Father's bastard sword, and a new cloak. That may not sound like much, but keeping away the rain of this horrid place was fantastic to me.
The sound of the horses' hooves slucking through fields of mud was already getting tiresome. We had been working our way through grasslands and muddy early spring fields for two days when a few trees here and there told us we were getting close to the forest.
Ahead of me was Dorid, wrapped in his heavy cloak against the morning mist. He had continued to be an outgoing, friendly young man. He had not shown any more of his magic talents, but he did seem very confident about where he was going, and equally eager to get there.
Off to my left was another man. He was a refugee Tenha named Radlek. His short, bright red hair, dark eyes, and dark skin made him look the opposite of Dorid, and Radlek's dour, serious personality was more like me than Dorid as well. Radlek wore a suit of splinted mail that fit him perfectly and carried the usual compliment of Flan weapons. A scimitar was across his saddle with a bow thrown across his back. A quiver of arrows was tied to his saddlebags. He always was quiet and seemed ready for trouble all the time. I had never said more than a few words, and the strange sadness in his eyes kept me at a distance.
On the far side of Radlek was a woman. She looked harder than a stone wall to me. I did not know her real name, but she was known as Hunterra. From what I had heard, she had been a bounty hunter that would enter the old Bandit Kingdoms to hunt down criminals from Urnst and Nyrond. She was about four inches shorter than me with a thin, very wiry body. She looked tougher than a tree trunk, with the same build. Hunterra did not scream 'feminine'. She had about five different weapons either on her person or on her horse. One eye was blind from some attack in her past and she wore the scar from forehead to chin with what I figured was pride. Her reddish brown hair was scraggly, short, and oily. We had been riding for five day through dangerous territory and almost the entire time I had the strangest feeling she was watching me. Every time I looked over at her, that one eye would look away. It was eerie.
We had five days behind us; from what Dorid told us, we had three more to go.
"We will get there tomorrow?" I asked.
Blonde hair bobbed when Dorid nodded at me. "I think so, Tania. I don't know exactly where the lost temple is at, but I have a good idea of the area and what signs to look for. It may take some searching though."
Hunterra was off somewhere in the forest, doing who knows what. She had a habit of disappearing as soon as we made camp. Five times she had returned with some fresh kill. The other two times she had simply disappeared all night only to return after sunrise. I still had the creepy feeling she was in the woods watching me from some under some dark bushes.
Radlek was already snoring over on the other side of the fire. His habit was to vigorously cut firewood while Dorid and I set up a camp. After we ate, Radlek would be asleep within an hour. Already he was scaring off animals with his snoring.
"I have not been very nosy you know, but I am curious about what you are doing," I said to Dorid.
Dorid smiled at me. "I know Tania, you have been very nice to have along. Those other two," he said with a nod of his head towards Radlek, "are boors. If they didn't know how to use their weapons, I'd do without them."
His blue eyes sparkled in the firelight. I lost my train of thought looking at those beautiful orbs. "Oh, right, that other one gives me the willies," I grinned. I leaned down to drape my arm over my saddle. About ten feet away one of our tethered horses whinnied, making me look over. Our weapons were close to us though; none of us would leave our weapons far away in this dangerous forest. When I turned back, Dorid was tossing his saddle over by mine then leaned over his to face me.
"Yeah, she is, um, different," he nodded with a matching grin. After being around Sarek and priests of Iuz, then in Stoink for two months, seeing a set of white teeth was nice. Dorid was nice. "Listen," he said in a lower voice that I had trouble, even from a foot away, over the crackling fire and wind blowing through the trees, "at this temple I'm looking for some ancient scrolls or books, but there may be other things in the temple. I suspect the temple has already been entered. I mean, it seems logical that sometime in a millennium someone would have found it."
I was not sure what he was trying to say. So I was still naïve about some things. "I do not understand, Dorid, so the temple might be damaged?"
He smiled and shook his head. "No Tania, there may be some ancient treasures in there. You see, the temple was dedicated to an obscure cult of Myhriss, the goddess of love and beauty. If the temple hasn't already been raided, then there could be any number of fantastic treasures of art and jewelry." He glanced over at the snoring bulk of Redlak. "You seem like someone I could trust and I know you aren't evil, but we should be wary of these other two."
Not wanting to argue any points about me not being evil, I shrugged that off. I was not too sure myself after the things I had done while a charmed slave for Sarek. "What if there are treasures in this temple?" I asked.
"Honestly, I don't know," Dorid shrugged. "I would prefer to leave them in the temple. It is never wise to steal from the temple of a goddess, she might want revenge." A quirky grin creased one side of his face. "If something was of historical value that I couldn't figure out right there, I would take it though."
"Why, what does all this history hold for you?" I asked. History did not do a thing for me, but maybe that was because my land was gone, and may not have a history ever again.
Dorid's whole face lit up. "History is everything. It is knowledge; it is wisdom. Knowing history is like knowing what path you are on. If you know where you have been, you have a good idea of where you are going." It was not hard to see Dorid was in love with his subject. "Everything that our race can be, in our best and worst, has been done. It deserves to be put into writing so that future generations will know what their ancestors did and how they can improve on it in their own lifetimes."
He was incredible, but also to me Dorid seemed as innocent as I used to be. Or maybe as innocent as I still was. He was so youthful compared to all the others I had met. "You must love your work."
"You have no idea, Tania," he said as he leaned closer to me. "I cannot imagine doing anything else." Then I noticed he was watching me strangely. There was something in his violet eyes.
"What?" I asked.
"Tania, do you know how beautiful you are?" he breathed.
"Uh," I mumbled in shock. Beautiful?? No one had said that to me in years. "I..."
Suddenly Dorid leaned over and placed his lips on mine. "MMmmmmm..." At first I did not move. Quickly what was happening hit me and I started to return his kiss. His lips were wonderful. They were sweet and tender. I had never really noticed that the whole time Sarek had used me for his sexual release, he had never kissed me. This was truly my first tender kiss.
I put my hand to his cheek and returned his kiss with so much desire and need. Kissing someone like this was indescribable. His hand slid along my cheek and into my hair. My lips felt so warm and I never noticed that I was rubbing my legs together and squirming on the riding blanket under me. Those lips were like nectar to me, and I drank them in. I closed my eyes and fell into him.
Our kiss was over far too quickly. His fingers moved out of my hair and we both backed away. Every part of my body seemed alive and tingling. It was like I had been struck by lightning.
"Dorid," I started to say but he cut me off with another kiss. I closed my eyes to sink into the kiss. His lips were like a dream, like nothing I had experienced before. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him close to me. His long, pale blonde hair slipped over my arms as he rolled over. I relaxed onto my back and Dorid leaned over me.
"Mmm!" I gasped when his tongue thrust into my mouth. It took me a second before I realized what he had done. He was giving me a Greyhawk Kiss? I had no time to think about another first because the next thing that happened was Dorid putting his hand down against my thigh. He pulled the rawhide string that kept my brown leather pants up. Loosening my pants, his hand rubbed against my bare hip then started downwards.
I had to pull away. This was all too fast. He was a handsome man with an intelligent mind...but I could not understand why he would want to kiss me, or make love to me.
His confusion was easy to see. "Look, I am sorry, but I cannot do this. Not yet," I said, trying to ease any pain I caused with my words. "I cannot tell you why really, but believe me, I find you so..." I could not finish. My body was on fire; I wanted him. I wanted to make love to Dorid like a normal woman would, but the fifteen year old in me would not let me.
Jumping up, I grabbed the leather loop on my scabbard, tossed it over my shoulder, and worked on tying my pants back up. "I...I am sorry, Dorid," I mumbled pathetically without even being able to look at him. A moment later, I was out by the horses. Using them like a shield to protect me, I sobbed quietly to myself.
"You sure about this, mage?" growled Hunterra.
Dorid nodded quickly. "This has to be it. The heart symbol on this door here proves it!" he said excitedly.
The four of us were standing in front of yet another overgrown stone building. The valleys and swamps of the Yol and Artonsamay River junction had kept us dodging snakes and leeches for two days now. Finally we were here, in front of this thirty foot, cracked, and ancient looking stone building. Heavy vines hung from it as we all stood before the broken main doors. Inside was darkness and cobwebs.
Dorid had not spoken to me much since the night we had kissed. I had probably hurt his feelings. I would have been hurt if I had been him. I looked over at him and saw how excited he was to be here in front of this ancient, crumbling building. I was hardly excited; depressed would be a better description.
Hunterra was skeptical. She looked into the open doorway while Dorid put a piece of parchment against the heart-shaped engraving in the door and ran a piece of charcoal over the parchment. "Mage, this place is abandoned," she said stiffly. This was more than I had ever heard her speak. "There's nothing here."
Radlek seemed to agree. He walked just inside the open doors after pushing aside overhanging vines with his scimitar. "It looks dead in there. There're no books here."
Dorid finished and put his charcoal and parchment away in his pack. "I bet you a keg of ale back in Stoink that there's books in there to be found, Radlek!" he said. With a few light steps he moved through the opening in the vines. "Let's go."
Radlek followed him in, and then Hunterra rudely gestured for me to go next. I really did not like that butch hag.
The inside of the building was cracked and I had the uneasy feeling the entire place was about to collapse on top of us. Dorid did not seem to have any worries. He trotted past the few chunks of stone from the roof towards the altar ahead. Behind the altar, reaching from the floor to the peaked roof was a chipped and aged, but still beautiful, mosaic of a rose. I stared at it for the longest time. I really was beautiful...
Suddenly someone nudged me in the ribs almost painfully. "Pay attention, bitch," Hunterra growled. "This place ain't safe, so stop your fucking gawking. Get your sword out."
What I wanted to do was pull out my sword and hit Hunterra upside the head with it, but she was right. I was getting paid to protect Dorid. I followed Radlek down the main aisle, past long destroyed pews. Hunterra was still near the door.
Reaching the mosaic, Dorid placed his hand on it and then turned to us three. "This is it!" he yelled in excitement. "Woohoo!! Do you know what this means!? I will get my sagehood for this!"
Suddenly the room was bathed in a bright red light. It came from everywhere and nowhere. It was as if the sun overhead had changed colors. I had my sword ready for whatever was going to happen next when I saw Radlek staring in amazement. I followed his gaze to the woman that now stood atop the now-red altar. My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when I saw her.
At the time I was still too ignorant of such things to realize I had a very nice body, but seeing this woman could give any girl an inferiority complex. She was... well, unearthly. Radiant, long blonde hair that looked like it was made from sunbeams curled over her shoulders all the way to the floor behind her. Her eyes were silver and shined like moonbeams. Brilliant white teeth were behind full red lips. Her breasts were very lush and seemed to be floating on water. Her body narrowed to her waist, then expanded again to a pair of broad hips that trimmed her blonde bush and sex. Long legs undulated into a pair of red slippers. She was dressed in nothing but a winding, thornless stem that twisted around her body and dotted her body with rosebuds.
She moved her red-coated fingernails down her body and undulated her legs together like silky snakes. I blushed from my head to toes watching her. The woman looked like she was ready for sex. She screamed sex.
I finally had to look away. I was hardly turned on, but this woman's appearance had turned me as red as the light in the room. Looking at my mates, I could see this woman too amazed them. Radlek was staring with undisguised desire and past him I could see Dorid gaping at her in amazement. Glancing back over my shoulder, I saw Hunterra also staring at the woman. Now I added things up with Hunterra. Now I knew why she had watched me during the trip here, and that too made me blush.
Dorid walked slowly towards the woman. "Myhriss?" he asked with a quavering voice.
She glanced back at him and smiled. "Yes, my son, come, worship me."
Like someone had smashed him in the knees, Dorid fell to the floor. "Yes, O Lady of the Rose, I do."
Radlek was not as reverent as Dorid. He slid his scimitar into its scabbard and strode towards her purposefully. "I'll worship ya, woman. You ain't been worshipped 'til you been worshipped by me!" he bragged.
Turning away from Dorid, the woman watched Radlek approach through her heavy bedroom eyes. "You wish to worship me?" she breathed. Brushing up against me I felt Hunterra. The bounty hunter had an expression on her face that was so different from the cold, bitchy look she normally had. Hunterra pushed on past me towards the woman on the altar but stopped between Radlek and myself.
"Come, give your goddess a kiss," she breathed to Radlek. Stepping off the altar, the woman swayed up to Radlek. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing straight up, like they were made of iron and someone was holding a lodestone over me. Hunterra had already sheathed her sword, but I still clenched mine tight.
The woman placed her arms around Radlek's neck. The bluff warrior gazed at her in wonder. I could not help but blush even more when they began their kiss. Both of them were bathed in soft red light. The woman's breasts compressed against his splint mail as the two shared the passionate kiss. His brawny arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her even closer to him. I thought he was going to kill her.
Something changed in the kiss. Radlek's hands came back to the woman's sides. I was confused for a few moments until I realized he was trying to push her away. She was like stone. Radlek started to struggle mightily with the strength his robust body could exert, but the woman was like a rooted tree. Her lips kissed him passionately and her arms around his neck kept him in place.
Radlek's struggles faded slowly. His hair was falling away a strand at a time and his skin was taking on that weird reddish hue. Before my very eyes, I saw the warrior change.
The big lug had not been very talkative or even friendly, but it was plain to see this woman was not some goddess. I did not need to know about religion to realize she was evil. I shifted my sword in my hand and charged forward.
"Let him go!" I yelled as I charged down the aisle. I shoved Hunterra out of the way hoping she would come to her senses. I got within about ten feet when she released Radlek from her passionate, magical embrace. I slowed down to see what she would do, but all she did was give me a smile that was chilling.
"UNNNFF!" I yelped when Radlek suddenly spun around to meet my slowing charge by smashing the back of his fist into my cheek. My head snapped around to the side and my feet flew into the air. I grunted when I slammed into the floor, which knocked all the air out of my lungs. The red ceiling was spinning over me.
As my vision cleared, I could see the changes in Radlek's face. His eyes were gone, replaced by dark red orbs. Also gone was his nose and ears, and while I watched the rest of his hair slid off him like horsehair off a polished saddle. His skin was a dull red. Grabbing his splint mail chestplate by top, he ripped the plate away to the sounds of straps popping.
I was dazed both by the sudden blow and by the changes that were taking place in Radlek. His armor was splitting off into pieces. When each piece fell away, it revealed his smooth, red skin beneath. Crawling back away from him to get some breathing room, I put a hand to my bruised cheek and watched him in amazement. Within a single minute, the burly, hair warrior had changed into a naked, almost faceless, hairless demon.
"Great Pelor!" I gasped when the last of his underclothing fell away. A thick red penis hung heavily from his groin. It was nothing like Sarek's manhood, but rounded, with no sign of any foreskin. It was smooth like the rest of him, and there were no signs of testicles.
"Oh Gods, what did she do to you, Radlek?" I mumbled as I got to my feet.
The woman was leering at Radlek and me. "I am his goddess, isn't that what he said?" she mocked in a throaty voice. "Now, my follower, rape that woman! Both of them! Teach them a lesson for invading my realm!" she said, pointing a blood red fingernail at me.
"What??" I gasped. Radlek, or what used to be Radlek, came at me instantly. I ducked and stepped to the side when he came at me with his arms outstretched.
Radlek stopped and turned back to face me. His face was not there any longer, but I gasped out loud when I saw the pink cock sticking out at me like a fleshy lance. It took me a moment, but I quickly realized that whatever Radlek was before, now he had been turned into nothing but a mindless golem. He was just a slave to this woman.
When he came back at me, I faked to my left, the stepped right. He was quicker than I thought and hooked his hand under my left arm and pulled me backwards. I saw my opening and with my free hand slashed my sword into his side and back.
"Wha...??" I gasped. I had cut him open like a slab of beef, but nothing happened. He was a solid chunk of pink...something. A moment after I cut him open, the slash wound started slowly sealing itself.
Next thing I knew he jerked his arm forward. My feet flew upwards while my back slammed painfully into the floor. Again I looked up at a world spinning around me. Dazed I raised my sword up to defend myself only to have it snatched away. I vaguely heard it bounce somewhere amongst the stone pews. When the ceiling stopped spinning, I also made out Radlek and the pink pole pointing down at me. Next came the hand...
"UNGHH!!!" I groaned when the fist smashed right across my face, snapping my head to the left. Radlek sat down across my chest, pinning my arms under his legs. Grabbing my hair, he pulled my head up only to smash me across the opposite cheek with the back of his fist.
I was barely conscious by now. My head lolled in his grip, held up only by the fistful of my hair he was holding. Blood dribbled out my nose and from my busted lip. I tried to say something to Radlek, tried to remind him who he used to be. It was hopeless, the woman had taken him. Radlek was no more.
Something touched my lips. Trying to concentrate and recover from the hammering he had given me, I was able to make out only pink. He was right against my face, his body taking up all my vision. It took my addled mind only a moment to figure it out.
It was that pink cock. "No! Radlek, do not do thimmPPHGH!!" I gagged on the pink member when Radlek jerked my head forward and thrust his hips at me. The pink thing thrust into my mouth, making my cheeks puff out. With my arms trapped, I helplessly kicked my legs, but he was far too strong to throw off me.
Pulling my head back by my hair, the thing that had been Radlek brought his thick, pink cock back to the edge of my lips, only to drive it violently back down into my mouth.
Gagging, I nearly vomited while my face was crushed against his crotch. I tried to bite the thing, but it was like biting soft leather wrapped around a iron pole. He did not seem to notice my biting, since he pulled my head back about two inches, which allowed me to take a quick breath. Just as quickly though he thrust back down, raping my mouth with his hairless, unwrinkled self.
Over and over he thrust into my mouth, each time I was only able to take a quick breath. Somewhere in this place I could hear another woman's muffled cries. Someone was doing this same thing to Hunterra. I knew it without being able to look.
Radlek's thrusts into my mouth and throat were getting faster and faster. If this thing could cum, he was getting close. I squealed and thrashed still, desperate to get him off of me. I could not stand the thought of being used like this, by some mindless thing that used to be my companion.
Pinned down and helpless, I was being used like Radlek probably used sheep before. My head bounced back and forth in his hands, my short blonde hair flipping over the edges of my face while he plowed into my mouth and throat. I never felt like crying, I had been through much worse than this. I fought and struggled, even though I knew by now that he had complete control. The pink man that had been Radlek was far too strong for me to resist with my body trapped under him.
Suddenly, he shoved my face into his crotch, burying his cock down my throat, and froze in place. I gagged and fought to breathe with no time to wonder why he had stopped.
"GKK!!" I gagged when I discovered why. The pink former Radlek did not twitch a muscle, but abruptly from the tip of his thick, pink slab came a jet of wet goo into my throat. I had no choice but to swallow or die, and I did not want to die like this. The creamy stuff slid down the back of my throat. I swallowed hard while the pink golem pumped more and more into my mouth.
Pastel pink cream oozed out the corners of my mouth. I struggled to swallow it all before giving up. I was trapped, my face pressed against his smooth, pink, leathery groin while he kept pumping his pink cum down my throat.
"MMmmmnnn...." I was getting drowsy I noticed. I could not see anything but his pink body and a few features around the edges of my vision. My head was swimming. I blinked a few times then my eyes closed. His hands on the back of my head released me, letting me fall back to the floor.
I barely felt the spattering of the cum on my face. Everything was spinning around me. I could not see or feel anything. The last thing I noticed was Radlek standing up, allowing me to moan and roll on my side. Then darkness...
The End
A Heroine of Greyhawk - Chapter 4
Post a comment