Tender Mercies: Book 1 - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Sleepwalking

Kelnozz groaned. The raven-haired head bobbed up and down on him as he lay in the bed. Glancing about, he saw that while he remained in a guest room in the palace of Loralost, what was happening to him could not be real. He looked back down and saw Alesha raise her head up and make eye contact with him, letting his swollen manhood slip out of her mouth so she could grin at him with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

He tried to open his mouth to tell her to stop, but found he was unable to. Trying to move his body, he found it was likewise not willing to obey. She descended on him again, swallowing him deeply. He groaned again, desperately trying to deny what could not be happening to him. Alesha's tongue swirled around him, driving him to greater heights and testing his self denial.

Repositioning herself without losing contact, she swallowed his entire length effortlessly. Kelnozz's hips bucked up at her, mashing her lips into his groin. In spite of the incredible sensations of her throat milking his shaft, Kelnozz fought against it. Then Alesha began humming, making him clench his teeth and causing the blood to drain from his cheeks. Taking him near the edge of his endurance, she finally relinquished and slowly pulled her mouth off of his manhood, leaving it dripping with her spit. Strings of saliva ran from her chin to his throbbing staff.

"This is a gift from me to you, Kel," She whispered to him. "My wizards tell me that the Death Cycle will come quickly this year, and be very cold. My forces are not ready, so you gain a few more months of rest."

Struggling against the incredible urges he felt, he found he had control of his mouth again. "Why tell me this?" He gasped, forcing himself to ignore her as she had moved back down and began to lick and suck at his balls.

"To get it over with sooner," she said after a few more moments of tormenting him. "When I run over the rabble you put together for an army, I will be left with no real opposition wherever I go."

Kelnozz opened his mouth to say something else but lost his train of thought when her mouth descended upon him again. She pumped her head up and down the entire length of his cock, not slowing in the least as his cock slid into her throat. Her hand cupped and lightly scratched his testicles, filling him with sensations to powerful to ignore.

Fighting with an inner resolve he didn't know he had, he managed to deny her expert manipulations of him for far longer then he thought possible. It was then he had a brief moment of lucidity and he realized her head had stopped moving. Instead it was his own body betraying him and thrusting roughly into her accepting mouth. Seeing the victorious smile on her face, He felt despair. With the distraction, he lost the battle and his hot seed rushed through him, bursting onto the back of her tongue. An impossible amount of it, it seemed, but at no time did she show any discomfort. Instead she was holding her nose against his belly, lost in her own climactic release and swallowing his cum easily. He could see her ass twitch in orgasm and he knew her other hand was beneath her, dipping several fingers within herself and stroking her clit with her juices. When they finally finished, she licked up any stray drops and kissed the tip of his softening manhood reluctantly.

She stood beside him and looked down at the exhausted elf. "You'd be welcome at my side, Kel," She said, her expression turning sad.

Meeting her gaze, Kelnozz forced himself to be alert. Through the fog of fatigue he responded, "Why?"

Alesha tilted her head in surprise. "Why? Why what?"

Kelnozz found his strength slowly returning to him. He paused for a moment and found that he could move his limbs again as well. Wondering if she had somehow broken through his defenses, or if he had imprisoned himself against her, he slowly stood up from the bed to face her directly.

"Why do you want any of this? You are not the same woman I saved from a band of murderous orcs."

Anger flashed in her eyes and she reared back as if to strike him with her hand. Regaining her calm she lowered her hand. "That woman died that day, lover. I am who I am because you didn't come sooner. I have been given choices and I have chosen my path. I have found someone who gave me the strength and the power to lead a life where I will not be challenged by those stronger then me. I will be the strongest, and with his help, nothing will stand in my way. Not even you, Kelnozz."

Kelnozz let a few moments slip by so that she could calm down. He felt stung by her words, then alarmed as she finished. His first instinct was to protest, but he knew it would do no good. Instead he finally nodded a grudging acceptance. "I told you the next time we met, one of us would not survive."

Alesha tilted her head back and laughed a mocking laugh at him. Kelnozz had prepared himself to leap backwards over the bed to his swords, but her laughter made him stop. "This is but a dream, lover. If you won't join me, then you'll have to die. You're to much of a distraction to me! I might even have had to kill you if you did join me!" Alesha was grinning at him, but it was not a grin of mirth but rather one of bitter irony. "Until we meet again, my love."

Alesha disappeared before Kelnozz could respond to her directly. Still sensing a connection, he looked about and said, "Look about you, Alesha, and see all those who follow you. Look in their eyes. They are afraid. Afraid of you. You will never know what it means to have friends or true lovers, only those who obey you for fear they will be slain. And those very same eyes will stare hatefully at your back when you turn away, waiting for the day when they can plunge their dagger into your back. This is the path you chose!"

Kelnozz felt something change in the room, and suddenly he knew he was alone again. He looked back at his bed and saw himself laying there, the sheets twisted about him as he'd thrashed in his sleep. Determined to increase his defenses against her to include his subconscious mind, Kelnozz laid back down and let his mind and body rejoin.

He came awake instantly, feeling the wetness upon the sheets to indicate that while the encounter with Alesha had certainly seemed real, she had not physically been there. Scowling, he stripped the sheets from the bed and moved to the wash basin to clean himself up. All the while he set his mind to figuring out how he could protect his sleeping mind from her as well as his conscious mind. Somewhere in the back of his mind was the nagging thought that kept surfacing, asking him he could hope to defeat her in battle when he could not even best her in a magically induced dream.

---

Martin stalked the deer through the lightly swirling fog of the dawn forests on Innowendyn. He looked up and spotted it with its head down, munching on some grass. A mighty buck with a large head of antlers, and his for the taking.

Moving slowly, Martin fitted an arrow to his longbow and pulled it back. "Guide my arrow, Grandfather," Martin said under his breath, drawing a final bead on the deer. Less then a breath before he loosed the arrow, he heard a female giggle to his right. Surprised, his arrow flew wide and the buck bolted, running deeper into the forest and escaping.

Martin turned, glimpsing only a hint of movement in the morning mist. He followed quickly, putting his bow away. Moving faster to keep pace, he saw an arm, a leg, or a bit of waving black hair as his new prey nimbly ran through the trees and brush of the forest, staying just ahead of him enough to let him think he was catching her.

"Milady, wait!" Martin called out to her. "I mean you no harm!"

He heard her playful giggle again ahead of him, and frowned at the impetuous nature of the woman. Briefly he wondered if she was a nymph or some other type of forest vixen sent to lure men to their deaths, but he had long ago learned how to deal with them. This woman seemed something else entirely.

He heard her scream in surprise ahead. Redoubling his efforts, he narrowly avoided joining the same fate she had chosen. A sudden drop over some rocks had caught her unaware, and she lay on the ground some ten feet down, clutching her leg in pain. A sense of familiarity nagged at Martin, but he ignored it in order to give help to the damsel in distress.

Climbing down the rocky wall was easy for him to accomplish. He moved to her side quickly, his suspicions raised even more at seeing her laying nude before him. Then he saw her leg, broken and twisted so much that the bone had pierced the skin, and his suspicion was put aside.

"Milady, please, let me help you," He said, kneeling beside her. She flicked her head so that her hair flew out of her face and over her shoulder. That allowed their eyes to meet and Martin immediately knew he was in trouble.

"Alesha!" He gasped, taking a step back in surprise. Alesha smiled faintly, in spite of the tears of pain running from her eyes.

"Hi Martin… can you help me? Please?" She fought back the tears and tried to move a little, but that only brought a squeal of pain from her.

Martin was torn, just seeing her twisted him up inside. He knew how dangerous she was, he'd seen it himself, but he was unable to leave her so obviously wounded. He knelt beside her again and reached out to take her leg finally. His mouth had gone dry, but he forced his attention on her leg, yet found his eyes disobeying him and running up her leg repeatedly.

"It hurts so bad, Martin!" Alesha whimpered in his ear.

Martin put his hands on her leg and moving quickly, straightened it out. Alesha gasped in pain, blowing hot air directly onto his ear. Martin found himself sweating, and little of it was from the chase.

"This is going to hurt, Alesha, I have to set it," he warned her, again placing his hands on her leg.

"Oh Martin, be careful, it hurts so bad," Her voice was so weak and soft Martin had to fight the urge to look up at her.

Focusing on her leg, Martin moved one hand above the wound and the other below it. "Give me strength, grandfather, and please help this fallen woman!"

Alesha hissed angrily and pushed Martin away from her. Martin turned, looking at her in surprise. Instead of seeing her crippled and in agony, he saw her standing behind him with on sign of injury. A look of fury crossed over her features. "I don't need the help of Carson, he's done nothing for me but let me be misled!"

"So it's true," Martin said, rising to his own feet. "It was not Carson that visited you so long ago."

Alesha let her anger fade away. It was replaced with a grin that could only be described as malevolent. "No, my pet, it was not your grandfather." She walked closer to him, keeping him motionless with her eyes. Martin felt himself entranced again by her eyes, beautiful and depthless, he could not look away. It was finally broken when Alesha walked around behind him, her fingers lightly trailing across his shoulder as she circled him. She leaned close to him, sending shivers of eroticism down his spine as her breath blew against his neck and then his ear. "It was somebody far better."

Martin felt something screaming at him inside. He struggled to here it, realizing how close he was to falling into the clutches of the women behind him. He managed to spin around, only to see Alesha smiling warmly. She was so close to him, he had no chance to defend when she leaned in and kissed him. Taken off guard, she easily inserted her tongue into his mouth and caused his own to respond without thinking.

A few moments of a deep and passionate kiss ensued, then Alesha stepped away. Martin blinked a few times, fighting to understand what was going on. He took a stumbling step forward himself, then shook his head to clear it and saw that Alesha now wore a full set of clothing, black boots to her knee, with greaves made of silver scales above them and what looked like a corset fashioned of the same silver scales about her body. A skirt of mithril chain hung from the corset to just above her mid thigh. Gloves made of the same material her boots were made of donned her hands, and she still wore the same bracers forged of mithril he had seen her wear when he had met her. Likewise, the sword she had used still rested at her side. A simple but elegant pendant that glowed dully with its own light hung from a simple chain around her neck.

Alesha laughed. It was a mocking laugh, directed at him and at everything around him. "You are weak!" She spat out. "All of you! Men are so easy to control, if only I'd known this before I came here…"

"What do you mean?" Martin stammered out, blushing at his own realization of his temporary weakness towards her.

Alesha turned as if to leave, then turned back to him. She looked into his eyes, looking more like a predator then anything he had ever seen in nature. He felt his knees weaken and his blood sing to him. She stepped closer and reached down in front of him. Unable to break his gaze with her, he felt her hand slip inside his breeches and being to fondle his already erect shaft. "This is what I mean, dear Martin. I could fall to my knees before you and take you inside of my mouth and you would do anything I asked of you for my acceptance. I could let you bend me over that fallen tree and have you ravage me from behind like an animal. I could push you to the earth and ride atop you, fucking you beyond the point of death and you would be happy to let me do it."

Alesha squeezed his cock one last time for emphasis, increasing the power of her spell to make Martin groan and explode in her hand. She smiled condescendingly and raised her hand. Bringing it to her mouth, she licked her glove clean of his cum and smiled at him again. "I could do all of that and more, time and again, and you'd be begging for more. That is what I mean, Martin. And your God, your grandfather, couldn't have given me that power if he tried."

Martin opened his mouth to respond, his orgasm bringing him back some clarity of thought. Before he could say anything, Alesha stepped back and disappeared. He looked around a moment, lost in confusion.

Waking up, Martin realized that it had been a dream. An incredibly real dream, but all a dream. His relief fled when he realized the wetness on the bed. Cursing, her lurched to his feet and began to clean himself. His disgust turned to shame as he remembered the dream more closely, and how easily Alesha had controlled and manipulated him. He vowed that he would never let that happen. He would prove to her that he was not as weak as she claimed.

---

Alesha gasped in the air as her consciousness returned to her body. After the first few breaths, she realized how cold she was, especially in her hands and feet. She got off her bed and walked around her room, rubbing her hands together and stamping her feet. As far north as she was, it had already begun getting colder as the Life cycle waned and the Death Cycle approached. Separating her spirit from her body also caused her heart and breathing to slow down drastically, and she had been warned that doing it for to long would cause her body to die, leaving her spirit nowhere to return to.

She donned her armor and left her room, placing magical wards over the door on her way out. Moving outside she summoned her steed with a thought and easily mounted the demonic beast. Riding through the town, she saw those not still sleeping in a drunken stupor scurrying about there business before the heat of the day set in. Seeing her approach, they shied away from her, some running away, others cowering in fear. Everywhere she looked she saw fear. Her anger began to build as she remembered Kelnozz's final words.

Returning to the keep within Mezarbolle, she summoned her captains to a meeting for a progress report on how things were working out. Her frustration grew when she realized that her hopes of marching that year were futile. She had known it was the case when several outlying tribes and clans had hesitated or outright refused to join her side. Only by sending out her slowly growing army to gather them could she enlist their aid, skewing her timetable.

What troubled her more was how all but her oldest surviving captains still showed signs of fear around her. And beneath that fear was hatred and envy. She knew even the oldest captains in her service had only learned how to hide it, they still felt it as well. Frustrated, she dismissed them and returned to her office.

"Kelnozz, if only you had joined me instead of fighting me, none of this would have happened," she muttered darkly, hating the elf all the more for denying her and wanting him all the more for it. She lapsed into silence, brooding. There was little more she could do to prepare her army until all of it arrived, which now looked to be the following year.

Her thoughts returned to her visit to her former companions in their dreams. Kelnozz was, as always, an enigma. She had been unable to affect him in any way for some time now, but then she had learned from Talifernon of the dream travel. She was sure that now Kelnozz would protect himself from her that way as well. Once again, she was cut off from the dark elf. She vowed that before she killed him, she would show him why. More so, he would understand and he would join her… it was so obvious to her, with power and influence like this at her fingers, how could he refuse?

She grinned to herself as she thought about Martin. He was weak and so easy to manipulate. But still he showed some challenge. Nordan she had seduced and gained control over long ago, before she even realized it. The sex starved vampire the two of them had encountered and defeated had showed her how to control Nordan. Gods, that had seemed like so long ago.

After spending a few more moments reliving the time she had spent with Nordan and Kelnozz, she felt herself growing sad. Shaking herself out of it, she angrily stood up and left her office. Heading to the courtyard, she saw some light elves drilling in the yard. Choosing one at random, she drew her own shortsword and went about her daily weapons practice before her later meeting via magic with the dragon council.

---

"There are five elder dragons," Farathallion lectured, "and each holds a key holding the good dragons prisoner. Find these keys and they can be returned."

"But where are they imprisoned at?" Martin asked, breaching the protocol of the elven council.

Smiling at the irritation showing on the faces of the other elves, Farathallion responded, "The magics used between the light and the dark elves grew so powerful that the last bastion of defense of the dark elves was separated from the rest of Belurian in a great rending of the earth. Water rushed in from the ocean, slaying thousands of elves, both good and evil. This new island was where the remaining dark elves and good dragons struck their bargain with the dark forces, and it was there that the dragons were imprisoned."

"I know the area you speak of," Martin said, thinking of stories he had heard. "It lies to the Southwest of Belurian, and the waters you speak of are so dangerous that only on the calmest of days in the middle of the Growth Season will ships dare the straits."

"More importantly," Kelnozz said, "We need to find out where these elder dragons are."

Regaining control of the meeting, the speaker of the council, a dark elf named Tandethill, said, "We believe the blue elder is named Elluviatel, and lives in a desert not far from the Belurian city of Sanctuary. Kaergothryl, the eldest white dragon, lives in the northern reaches of Belurian, lairing in the tall mountains of The Periphery where the air is cold enough to provide him with comfort. The eldest black is named Aglarond, and he lives in the great swamp surrounding the Gottwache, in the heart of the Lost Lands. Of the two remaining, one is named Cuivegirth, and is the greatest green dragon. He lives in a great forest along the western ranges of the Lost Lands. Finally there is the greatest dragon said to live on Viconia, some claiming him to be as old as the world itself. His name is Ancaruin and he lairs near to Mezarbolle itself."

"What help can you give us?" Martin asked, thinking that the three of them were hardly enough to battle dragons as mighty as the type being discussed.

Tandethill blinked in surprise at the question. A few of the other elves began talking amongst themselves. Finally Tandethill got the room silent again and responded, "We have given you all the help that we can. Our help is in the form of Kelnozz and Luingirth."

Nordan snorted derisively and Martin just nodded, surprised but somehow expecting as much. Kelnozz chuckled humorlessly, he had grown to know the elven council over the years and knew they would commit themselves as little as possible. Farathallion caught Martin's eye and shrugged apologetically to show his own actions were limited by those around him, not of his own volition.

"How long do you think this will take you?" An elf who had remained largely silent spoke up to ask.

Both Nordan and Martin turned to Kelnozz, uncertain of who the speaker was. "We begin today, Marthollin," Kelnozz said, putting a name to the silent elf. "Luingirth will take us, beyond that, I do not know. If we succeed in these tasks, then aided by Luingirth I hope we can be done with the questing before the Death Cycle sets in, then we can set about raising an army to do battle with Alesha before she marches on us."

"How can you be sure she won't come sooner?" He asked.

"Tell your mother that we are certain. She has met with setbacks and can not marshal her forces until the following year. By then if we do not have the support of the metallic dragons, an army of men, dwarves, and others, and the support of the elves, she will roll over us and Belurian will enter dark days unknown since the defeat of the dark elves thousands of years ago."

Marthollin bristled at the reference to his mother, but otherwise had no comments so he sat down and glared at Kelnozz.

"Put away your dark looks, Prince Marthollin, he speaks the truth!" Farathallion said. "Your childish dispute must be set aside, understand the gravity of these risks. Failure this time will not only bring about the destruction of life on Belurian, but this time they will only be content by spreading over the seas and bringing the war to us as well!"

Farathallion continued to stare intently at the young elf, trying to drive home his point. Marthollin looked suitably chastened, but he feared that by the time the meeting was adjourned, all would be forgotten. Silence reigned over the council chamber for a few embarrassing moments.

"Are we done?" Nordan asked, breaking the tension.

"By no means!" Tandethill responded instantly. "We have many things yet to discuss!"

Kelnozz chuckled and stood up. "No, you have many things to discuss. And discuss them you will, for hours and days and weeks on end, all with no conclusion." Motioning to his companions, Kelnozz continued, "Come friends, let us be off on these quests and see if we can be done with them before they are done talking."

With a disrespectful grin, Nordan followed Kelnozz out. A bit slower, Martin trailed after, not sure what was going on. Kelnozz waved off the questioning look in Martin's eyes until they had left the palace behind them and walked through the courtyard towards the city proper or Loralost.

"Marthollin is the son of the Queen. She's a good enough woman I suppose, but she's to caught up in the courtly intrigue and games of power. The King is little more then a figurehead with her behind him." He stopped long enough to chuckle softly. "The Prince also doesn't like me because he was chosen for the same thing that I was, save that he fell short during the testing. We grew up together, but when it came down to the wire, I bested him time and again, so he doesn't really like me."

"Doesn't that worry you, if we leave that he might be plotting something?" Martin asked, glancing nervously around.

"Oh, I know he's plotting something or other, there's not much to be done about that. If we stay here longer, we put far more at risk then what his scheming could do though." Kelnozz smiled and continued walking towards the guest quarters they had been given.

"We leave now?" Nordan asked, excitement showing in his previously bored posture.

"Aye my barbaric friend, we get our gear and head out now."

Nordan grunted, a smile coming to his face. Martin kept up with his friends but was plagued with worries inside. Worries of what Marthollin might do to them, worries of what was ahead of them, and worries of whether he would be up to the task. No stranger to conflict, he had no seen nearly as much action as either of his companions, nor had any of his feats been as impressive. Lurking in the back of his mind the entire time was his concern that Alesha might learn of their mission and seek to thwart them. Or worse yet, that she might intervene herself, for he was not sure how he would face her.

---

It had taken them ten days to fly from Innowendyn to the northern reaches of Belurian. During the flight, Nordan and Martin had looked on in marvel at the many islands that showed signs of inhabitation that they flew over. Belurians thought themselves the only inhabitants of Viconia, but apparently they had much to learn about their own world still.

Another four days of searching passed before Luingirth spotted the lair of the great white dragon, Kaergothryl. It was high up atop a mighty mountain amongst The Periphery, with a great opening to the sky and a smaller, though still large opening near the base of the mountain. For fear of discovery, they landed more then a days walk from the lair.

"We must go alone," Kelnozz explained after they had set up a camp for the night. "Luingirth would give us away, and I hope to be well inside the lair before we are discovered."

"How?" Nordan asked, "Luingirth is a chromatic dragon, they would think him one of them."

"It's cold up here, Nordan," Martin explained, hiss breath visible in the cool night air to prove it. "Blue dragons prefer dry warmer climates, such as deserts."

Nordan grunted understanding, still not convinced his idea did not have merit. "Kaergothryl hath dominion up here, only others of his ilk exist in this part of the world. Any dragon not serving him he would know about or would have destroyed for being a rogue."

Nordan looked up at the answering dragon, still not quite at ease with a friendly dragon. He nodded after a moment and scowled. "How then are we to get in?"

Kelnozz smiled at that question. "Leave that to me."

With little further to talk about, they spent the remainder of the evening in private reveries. Martin worrying over how events were transpiring, Kelnozz planning for the upcoming raid on the dragon, and Nordan already drifting off to mundane dreams of some of the more interesting times he had spent with Alesha in his arms. Luingirth waited patiently until only Kelnozz was awake, then after a few moments of quiet conversation, he took to the sky and flew to south, in search of Aglarond's lair.

The next day saw them moving higher into the passes of the mountains. All signs of natural wildlife was missing. No animals scurrying to hide from them, no birds chirping in the brisk morning air, not even the tough grasses and moss known to grow in harsh environs thrived there.

Night fell and the three had come to close to the mountain to risk camping again. Following Kelnozz's lead, they moved through the treacherous terrain, avoiding the trails and any signs of life. Another hour put them hidden behind some rocks that had fallen in a landslide. On the other side of it was an open expanse nearly a thousand feet to the entrance of the mountain lair. While the cavern was obviously enlarged by miners, it remained largely natural, with no gate or doors.

"No guards?" Nordan said, looking about but seeing nothing.

"Who wants to enter the lair of a dragon?" Martin replied, also seeing none.

Nordan grunted, but still looked about warily. Kelnozz studied the landscape as well, looking for more then just defenses, but also for the best way for him to attack. "Wait for my signal," He said, and slipped out from behind the rocks.

Martin and Nordan watched, barely daring to breathe. Kelnozz slipped into a small gully and moved towards the mountain, then when that ended, he endured a few heart pounding moments of being completely exposed before he found some more rocks to hide behind. Waiting again to be certain no one was after him, Kelnozz set out again and approached the side of the entrance. Risking a look inside, he found the entrance unguarded.

Martin and Nordan ran forward when Kelnozz signaled them, joining him at the side of the entrance. "Why are there no guards?" Martin asked, the hairs on the back of his neck rising.

"Aye, we saw orcs when we found it," Nordan reminded them.

"It's a trap," Kelnozz explained. "We must have been spotted on Luingirth."

Martin's breath hissed between his teeth. "Why are we here then?" Nordan angrily demanded.

"Are you afraid of a few orcs, Nordan?" Kelnozz responded, ignoring Nordan's tone.

"A few orcs? No. A score of orcs? No. A hundred orcs with a dragon behind them? Yes!" He responded, his voice raising above a whisper.

"Be silent!" Martin spat out, looking around nervously.

"They know we are coming, might as well head on in," Kelnozz said, stepping into the entryway and walking forward.

Martin's eyes widened in surprise, while Nordan growled deep in his throat. The two looked to one another before Nordan, with a scowl headed after Kelnozz into the tunnel. Martin looked to the night skies and muttered a prayer to Carson before he too, followed the suicidal elf into the depths.

---

The entry passage was easily thirty feet wide and almost as high. It stretched deep into the bowels of the mountain, with smaller occasional side passages branching out. They stayed in the large one, knowing that with each small one the past the odds of being trapped within by an army of orcs increased. Then the tunnel bottomed out and began to slant back upwards. Torches set in stone sconces lit the way, but in the distance they could see a light that did not come from the torches.

Nordan had resigned himself to his fate, and hoped now only that he would go down in battle. Martin was filled with apprehension and growing dread as they neared the end of the tunnel. Kelnozz had mentally set aside his worries and concerns, determined instead to see their task to the end.

"Is it cold in here?" Martin asked, his voice strained as he fought to keep his teeth from chattering.

"It's been cold for days," Kelnozz pointed out dryly.

"No, I mean it's getting colder," Martin responded.

"He's right," Nordan stopped walking and spat on the rocky floor of the tunnel. Within moments his spittle thickened and froze.

"Then we must be close," Kelnozz stated, starting forward again.

Looking behind them nervously, Martin thought he saw some movement in the distance. He waited a few minutes longer, staring into the distance of the tunnel. Figuring he had seen nothing, he hurried to catch up to Kelnozz and Nordan.

They had both stopped in the tunnel, waiting for him to catch up. Ahead of them was the end of the passage, opening into a magical blackness. The light from the torches set into the sconces along the walls of the passage ended abruptly at the edge of the tunnel. Martin also noticed how much colder it grew as they approached the wall of darkness.

"What is that?" He hissed, staring intently at it.

"Magic," Nordan growled, flexing his grip on his warhammer.

"Another part of the trap," Kelnozz said, approaching the darkness and trying to peer into it. "It is magical, I can't see into or through it."

"And if we try to leave?" Martin asked.

"Then the orcs we didn't see on the way in will no doubt be waiting for us," Kelnozz said.

"I thought I saw something behind us, but when I waited and watched, I figured I was seeing things."

"Come, we have no choice." Nordan's eyes grew wide when Kelnozz stepped into the blackness. It was as if he had ceased to exist. He looked to Martin, who's face mirrored his alarm.

Martin swallowed loudly and gripped his sword, which he had drawn without realizing it. He closed his eyes and walked forward as well, determined to give Kelnozz whatever support he could. Nordan stared at the magical barrier for a long moment, warring within himself at his fear of magic. He looked behind him at the passage, wondering if there was another way in. Finally he let loose a growl of frustration and charged forward at a run.

---

"I must call this meeting to end, I hath guests."

"Guests, Kaergothryl?" Alesha asked, turning to face the shimmering portal through which she could see the white dragon.

"Verily, three foolish mortals hath come to challenge me! It hath been many a years ere I hath been challenged, I shall enjoy feasting upon their flesh!"

Alesha's eyes widened. She opened her mouth to speak but the dragon had already severed the magical connection to the meeting. Alesha turned to face the other four portals, each showing a powerful dragon looking at her with an amused expression except for the one mysteriously empty one that Aglarond should be using.

"Thou hath fear for Kaergothryl?" Cuivegirth, the eldest green dragon spoke.

"I think Kaergothryl is hunted by my former companions. She underestimates them, they will be her undoing." Alesha said. Cuivegirth chuckled, the sound deep and dangerous.

"We hath nothing else to discuss, We shall meet again a score of days hence," The red dragon, Ancaruin, spoke, instantly silencing Cuivegirth's chuckle. Alesha and the dragons nodded their heads respectfully, then each ended their magical connections.

Alesha flexed her fists, raging inwardly at how things had progressed. She was not nearly ready for what was happening, more so if Kaergothryl was slain, as she expected he would be. Kelnozz was forcing her hand, she realized. She needed her army ready to march now.

Storming out of the cave and to her magical steed, she found her anger directed mostly at Kelnozz. He was doing this to spite her. She found herself angry at herself as well, for she was not sure who she truly wanted to win, her former companions or Kaergothryl.

---

Nordan stumbled into Kelnozz, his vision returning quickly. Looking behind him quickly, he saw the doorway and passage they had just left. Of the magical darkness, there was no sign.

The chamber they had entered was immense. A layer of ice and frost covered many areas, from spots on the floor to sheets of it on the walls. A large tunnel arced upwards from the ceiling, curving so that the end could not be seen, but from the light coming from it, it clearly emerged to daylight. Scattered haphazardly against the far wall were mounds of valuables. From gold, platinum, and mithril coins to gems and jewelry. Objects of art and beauty to exceptionally crafted items and works of magic.

And in front of all the wealth stood a woman. Hair so blond it was white, her beauty was unsurpassed. Easily fifty yards away from them, still they could tell that the woman was clearly not human. She walked forward so gracefully it seemed as if she could not really be moving. She stopped thirty feet away from the trio of dragon hunters, appraising them with a gleam of excitement in her unearthly eyes.

"Kaergothryl?" Kelnozz asked after a few moments of silence had passed. With her as close to them as she was, all of them could feel the unnatural chill settling deeper into their bones.

"What doth thou seek, elf?" She responded, her voice deep and musical.

"I'd thought you to be a man," Nordan spoke up, appraising the woman's barely hidden and obvious charms. She wore a long white loin cloth that hung from a delicate mithril chain around her waist. It covered her crotch and her butt, being long enough to hang to her knees. Adorning her chest was a skimpy white halter top adorned with threads of silver, gold, and mithril sewn throughout it. Her skin was a pale creamy white nearly as pale as her clothing.

"Males are inferior amongst mine kind, mortals," She said, staring deeply at Nordan and making him feel awe in her presence. "I would slay thee quickly, save that it hath been long since I hath dealt with thy kind. Thou shalt not leave here with thy life."

"That puts a damper on our relationship," Kelnozz quipped, studying her carefully.

The woman grinned, her gaze boring deeply into the dark elf. "Orcs are so limited, I shall enjoy this!"

Kelnozz stared right back at her, meeting her gaze unflinchingly. Nordan continued to ogle at the woman's body while Martin glanced about nervously, gripping his sword so tightly the blood was draining from his fingers. Martin forced himself to take a few deep breaths and relax his strained muscles.

The ranger had fought all manner of beasts, including griffins and even wyverns. He'd even been chased by a green dragon once, though it was a fairly small one. But being this close to something that emanated such fear, awe, and power had him struggling to maintain his composure. He had no idea how it was that his companions could treat it so casually.

Nordan was far from casual, however. He saw the beautiful woman in front of him and it was a struggle for him to remember what and who she was. Most of his thought was directed into the countless ways he could ravage her body.

Kelnozz alone was unfazed by the power magic radiating from Kaergothryl. Instead he was trying to buy time for his companions to grow accustomed to her and planning a method of attack. To that end he sought to distract her as much as possible.

"What of the orcs that worship you, where are they?" Kelnozz asked.

"They await below, thou were permitted entrance for mine amusement."

The dragon in woman form turned to Nordan and smiled coldly. "Doth thou find this form appealing?" She turned slowly, allowing them to examine her flawless skin and perfect build. When she turned to face them again, she made a motion with her hand and her clothing disappeared. She stood before them nude.

Nordan's jaw dropped open. He longed to rush towards her and take her in his arms so that he could thrust himself into her. Her breasts were full and heavy, but very firm and proud upon her chest, with hardened nipples pointing out directly. A small patch of wispy white hair adorned her loins, angling to the beginnings of her slit. Nordan found himself unable to tear his eyes away from the treasures that he knew lay unhidden there.

Martin found himself unable to look away as well, he knew he was looking at his own death, but his body seemed about to betray him in spite of that. His sword fell from limp fingers, clanging loudly on the cold stone floor.

Kelnozz admired the body of the woman in front of them, but tried to not let himself become distracted by it. When Martin's sword hit the ground, the noise reminded him of what they were doing. He gazed up from the dragon - woman's body and stared into her face. For a brief moment a vision in his mind fell over the one in front of him. He saw Alesha standing before him for a moment, and he realized that save for minor details such as hair length and color and facial details, the two looked very much the same.

"I know you, beast," Kelnozz said, his voice almost guttural. "You have stolen the image from one who was my friend."

Martin blinked and looked with new perspective after hearing Kelnozz's words. It was true, the body before him was Alesha's, only the alien cast to the face and the hair was different. He gathered his strength and broke free of the powerful enchantment that had nearly captured him.

Nordan only barely heard the words, so deeply gone was he in his struggle within. When the words connected, he gasped as he realized it did look like Alesha's body. Unfortunately for Nordan, his lust for Alesha was so deeply seated that this only made his fight harder.

"She hath spoken highly of thou, elf… wouldst thou care to liken this body to hers?" Kaergothryl said, her pose and demeanor seductive, but in her eyes Kelnozz could see condescension and mocking.

In spite of that, he nearly slipped again under her sway. It was Martin who saved him. "We've come here to kill you, wench! Enough of this!"

Kelnozz looked to Martin in surprise at the normally mild mannered man's outburst. Martin had already unlimbered his bow and set arrow to it, staring down it at the woman.

"Yes, enough talk, it is time your reign as the eldest white dragon ended." Kelnozz drew his longswords and ran towards her.

Nordan remained motionless, torn in indecision. The magic had insinuated itself deeply into him, so that now he saw Alesha in front of them instead of Kaergothryl. He shook his head to clear it, but to no avail. His mouth worked at forming words, but no sound came out. In spite of the bitter cold of the room, a sweat broke out on his forehead from his internal struggle.

Martin's arrow connected with the woman's chest, directly between her breasts, but it only shattered and fell to the ground, leaving her unmarked. Her triumphant laughter was filled with scorn. It ended abruptly when Kelnozz slashed across with one sword and opened a wound along her ribs.

"I will feast upon thy bones!" She screamed, leaping so high into the air that any question as to her true nature was dissolved. In midair a light flashed from her body, forcing the companions to look away. When they looked back they saw a great white dragon standing before them.

The flash of light left Nordan confused. When he looked again, he saw Kaergothryl in her true form, and was greeted with a powerful roar from the beast. All three of them were momentarily deafened and stunned. Martin grabbed clumsily for another arrow while Kelnozz tried to shake the ringing out of his ears. None of them were prepared for the dragon's next attack.

Drawing in a deep breath, Kaergothryl stretched out her neck and blew forth her most powerful weapon, freezing cold winds that drained the warmth from all three of them. Only by covering their faces and tucking in their hands as quickly as possible did they avoid extreme frostbite and losing their vision.

The next attack came while they were recovering from the cone of frost. Kelnozz was sent flying by a swipe from Kaergothryl's mighty paw. He rolled with the landing, but was still hurt by the impact. Martin fitted an arrow to his frozen string, but grimaced when it snapped when he tried to pull it back. Tossing his bow to the ground, he picked up his fallen sword and ignored the cold steel in his hand. The pain and the combat helped Nordan kick the last of the effects of the spell. Combat and battle was something he knew. With a road, he charged the dragon, ducking under a backhand swing by the same paw that had tossed Kelnozz and connecting loudly with Kaergothryl's other forelimb.

Kelnozz charged again as well, angling to the powerful beasts side to make sure it couldn't get all three of them in a single blast from its breath weapon again. Once there he thrust and chipped at the thick scales, slowly but surely carving into them and causing Kaergothryl to return it's attention to him. The dragon's long tail caught him unaware, battering into his legs from behind and promptly dropping him on his butt.

Martin followed Kelnozz's lead and attacked the dragon from the other side, trying to force his sword through the armored scales. His efforts seemed futile, however, as his sword could not find purchase in the flying lizards hide.

Nordan was more effective with his hammer, a powerful swing from his hammer connecting with the wrist joint of the dragon's left forelimb. The audible crack of scales and bone breaking could be heard by all of them, though it paled in comparison to the dragons roar of pain.

The talons on the dragon's other paw had the strength of steel and the edge of razors. Nordan was the unwilling recipient of their business end. Staggering from the mighty blow that had failed to fell him, Nordan bled freely from both his side, left arm, and left thigh. Seeing him still standing, Kaergothryl opened her mouth and snapped her head towards him.

Kelnozz climbed back to his feet and dodged another swipe of the tail by leaping towards the dragon's side. Using his swords as climbing tools, he thrust them into the thick scales and pulled himself up slowly until he was on the dragons back. It was then that he saw Kaergothryl angle its head up towards the ceiling, trying to swallow a struggling Nordan. His legs still stuck outside of the side of the dragons mouth, and another hand was holding onto one of the mighty teeth while the dragon shook its head back and forth trying to dislodge him.

Martin knew his blade was not going to work for him so he tossed it down and ran back to where his bow lay on the ground. Working furiously, he restrung his bow with one of the several spare strings he carried in a pouch at his side. Finishing the job, he knocked an arrow just as Nordan was lifted into the air and fighting to avoid the dragon's gullet.

Still holding his hammer in one hand, Nordan realized that he was in trouble. The blood that ran down his arm made his grip on the weapon slippery, as well as making him feel weak with the loss of it. His people believed that all of life was a fight, from the struggle of birth up to the very last breath, and Nordan held strongly to that belief. Mustering as much leverage and strength as he could in the dangerous environment, he swung his hammer backhand into the roof of Kaergothryl's mouth. He pounded on it again and again, hoping he was at least hurting the dragon, even if the injury wasn't severe.

Martin's first arrow deflected off a scale near the dragon's eye, making it close it's eyes defensively while it struggled with the incessant hammering inside its mouth. Kelnozz had wrapped his leg around one of the bony spikes coming out of Kaergothryl's back along its spine and he was doing his best to drive his swords into the back of the dragon.

At long last the elf met with success and felt one of his blades slip between two scales and grate along the side of the dragons backbone, sinking in deeply. He twisted and wrenched it around inside, forcing the dragon to open its eyes and mouth and grunt in pain. Martin's arrow flew true at that point, sinking deeply into the right eye of the dragon. The angle was such that the arrow could not pass any deeper into the beasts brain, but nonetheless it blinded it in one eye and made it forget about everything else.

Nordan found the extra room helpful. He looked to the ground, some thirty feet below him, and prepared to jump. Realizing he had a greater opportunity, he turned back and gripped his hammer in both hands. Mustering every bit of strength he had left, he drove the hammer into the roof of the dragons mouth. The grim satisfaction he felt at hearing and feeling the bone give way was enough to make the following flight through the air and impact with the ground as the dragon spit him forcefully out worth it.

The ground felt so comfortable for Nordan that he could not imagine a reason to make him get back up. Laying there on the cold ground, Nordan idly wondered where his hammer had gone too. Martin ran to where he was laying and checked him over, noting that while he still bled freely from his wounds, nothing appeared broken.

Raising her wings, Kaergothryl beat them powerfully, trying to gain some distance. Kelnozz looked down and realized he was in trouble. He tried to pull his sword free from Kaergothryl's back, but it was wedged in tightly. Cursing, Kelnozz took three running steps along the unsteady back of the dragon and leapt to the side, thrusting out with his sword and puncturing the leathery membrane that was Kaergothryl's wing. Using it to slow his descent, Kelnozz's sword tore through the wing all the way to the bottom of it.

Kaergothryl hissed in pain at the long rent in her wing, but enough of it was left she was still able to gain elevation and fly towards the escape hatch in the ceiling of the room. Kelnozz hit the ground after a twenty foot drop and came to his feet quickly in a roll. He looked up at the dragon and looked around for some way to make it come back to the ground.

"Martin! We can't let her get away!" Kelnozz called out, seeing Martin aiming his bow at the slowly fleeing beast.

Martin fired as quickly as he could, loosing arrow after arrow. Each one was defeated by the thick scales, however. Martin and Kelnozz both looked on in frustration while Nordan watched the pretty and big white bird flying above them. It escaped to the tunnel and they soon lost sight of it.

"What now?" Martin asked when Kelnozz ran over to them to check on Nordan.

Opening his mouth to respond that he wasn't sure, Kelnozz was stopped by the loud bellow from above them. Thinking the dragon returning, they were not disappointed. This time, however, it returned with company. A blue dragon had landed atop it and was driving it towards the stony floor. Having shredded its wings and blackened a spot on Kaergothryl's head with its own electrical breath weapon, Luingirth let go of the doomed dragon as they cleared the passage. Kaergothryl roared one final time before it crashed into the ground with enough force to knock Martin and Kelnozz to the ground.

Gaining their feet again, They saw Luingirth land nearby and a figure on her back leap to the ground. He walked over to them and both of the men were soon able to recognize him as Nordan's chieftain, Helmut. A look of concern passed over his face when he saw Nordan laying passed out on the ground. Martin had already bound his wounds, but he looked pale and weak.

"What are you doing here?" Kelnozz asked them, more surprised to see Helmut then Luingirth. "I told Loo to come back after a day or two because we would be finished here, but how did you come too, Helmut?"

"I decided I wanted to see this great evil army you spoke of, so I'd set out on my own months ago. Got lost a few times, got in trouble a few times, and had a bit of trouble getting over The Periphery, but it wasn't so bad. I'd figured I was done for when I saw this here fellow coming down from the sky at me after I'd killed off a dozen orcs and a couple of hill giants," Helmut nodded towards Luingirth, who was making sure that Kaergothryl was dead. "So, he brought me back here after he convinced me he wasn't going to try to eat me."

Kelnozz chuckled and grabbed Helmet's hand in greeting. "Good timing, we had her beat, but she was about to get away from us."

Helmut grinned. "Aye, we had some trouble on the way back, a big nasty black one of those things came up outta this big swamp we flew over. Between Luingirth and I we put him in his place though, he ended up flying out of control into some terrible storms over the mountains, nothing could have lived through that."

Kelnozz's eyes widened. "Big swamp next to mountains and with powerful storms over the top of them?"

"Aye," Helmut nodded, kneeling down beside Nordan and checking his bandages then putting a hand on his face to move his head and check the coloring of his face.

"Loo!" Kelnozz called out, excited. "Could it have been Aglarond you two dispatched on the way here?"

"Verily, Kelnozz, it was he," Luingirth responded, walking over to where the were talking. He reached out and dropped Kelnozz's sword at his feet.

Kelnozz absent mindedly sheathed his lost blade and said, "But how? Aglarond is far larger and older and more powerful then you?"

"Helmut is a mighty warrior, he struck many telling bows on Aglarond," The dragon explained after chuckling. "Twas not us that slew him, twas the storms that struck the felling blow."

Kelnozz nodded, thoughtfully eyeing the barbarian warrior. "This mountain is full of orcs, what say we get out of here?"

"Good idea," Martin said, noticing how few arrows he had left.

Nordan groaned then and slowly opened his eyes. "We kill her?" He asked as soon as his eyes focused on his surroundings.

"Aye laddie, the bitch is dead!" Helmut said, grabbing his arm and hauling him to his feet. "Looks like your hammer din't make it though."

Nordan looked over to where his prized possession lay, head separated from the shaft, which lay in two separate pieces itself. He scowled and walked towards it, wondering if he could have it fixed.

"Take this one, Nordan, it's an old one I've had for a while with no use for… I prefer the great sword." Nordan turned in time to catch the warhammer Helmut had pulled out of a small pouch attached to his belt and tossed at him.

Nordan studied it carefully, noting the finely detailed carvings and runes on the head and shaft. Swinging it experimentally, he was amazed at how well balanced it was. It was very heavy, but balanced so well he was able to swing it as though it were a dagger.

"How did you fit that hammer in your pouch?" Martin asked, eyeing the weapon and noting there was no way it could possibly fit entirely into the bag at Helmut's side.

"'Tis a special bag I found when I was younger. Had to kill a wizard for it. You can put all sorts of things in it and it seems to never get full, but it's easy to find what you're looking for." Helmut explained, grinning.

Nordan sneered at the mention of magic, then remembered his new hammer and he shrugged it off. He'd never seen a weapon as fine as the one in his hands.

"Aye, I've one of those myself," Kelnozz said, patting a pouch at his side. "But we must get out of here, gather up what you must take, we must fly!"

At the realization that they had treasure to sort through, spirits lifted. Nordan, still feeling a bit week in spite of his miraculous recovery, forgot his injuries altogether. The hoard of Kaergothryl put the smaller black dragons treasure they had slain with Alesha to shame. Easily ten times as large, they were hard pressed to only fill their pockets and pouches with valuables. Martin found a hand and a half sword that put his own to shame both in use and look. He also discovered a quiver filled with arrows. Upon closer examination, the arrows appeared to be of exceptional make and quality.

The real purpose was the glowing gem that Kelnozz found. A milky white diamond as big as his palm, the elf knew that he'd found one of the keys to release the good dragons. Slipping it into a pouch, they mounted Luingirth and soared up into the sky.

Once outside of the mountain they saw the tribe of orcs fleeing from the mountain. They had seen Luingirth return and heard the battle. Now seeing the blue dragon emerge victorious, survival became their priority. Chuckling at their plight, Luingirth turned to the south and flew in hopes of discovering Aglarond's lair so they could recover that key as well.

---

"You'll tell me what I need to know, fool!" Alesha hissed, her mouth inches from the cheek of Helmut.

Helmut grinned defiantly at her. "If what Nordan told me is true, lass, I'll enjoy you trying to get it out of me!"

Alesha ground her teeth in rage and reached out to slap him. Helmut's head rang with the powerful blow and bounced off the table he was strapped to, but his grin remained in place. "Where is Kelnozz at?" She demanded again.

Helmut ignored her, instead imagining her without her sexy armor on. It brought him more blows and torture, but he endured it wordlessly.

Alarmed at Kaergothryl and Aglarond's continued silence, Alesha had sent a few dragons to check on them. The two sent to Aglarond's lair encountered Luingirth and the companions leaving the lair, stolen treasure intact. A mighty battle had ensued, but Luingirth was outnumbered. Helmut leapt from his back onto the back of one of the black dragons sent against them. He wounded it mortally, riding it to the ground and as far as the other companions thought, to his doom. Luingirth slew the remaining black dragon with help from the riders on his back, but reinforcements had arrived. Luingirth was forced to flee, losing his pursuers after several days of restless flight. Helmut had been captured and brought before Alesha, however. Now he lay tied naked to a table and subject to her interrogation.

Alesha noticed Helmut's gazes upon her and changed her tactics. Instead of abuse, she switched to seduction. "Tell me what I need to know and perhaps we can find out if you barbarians have some things in common…"

Helmut laughed. "Aye lass, more then you think, but you'll not here anything from me about them."

"Oh, we'll see about that, large one," Alesha moved over to where Nordan's large cock lay against his thigh. She stroked it gently, making it quickly rise to greet her. Then she licked up and down it and took it into her mouth.

"I see you barbarians do have something in common," Alesha said, admiring openly the size of his manhood. She engulfed it in her mouth again, sending waves of pleasure through Helmut.

Alesha used every trick in her book to drive Helmut to the edge, then she would back off. She did this five times, using her skills and experience to know when to stop. Finally, knowing that he was ready to burst both mentally and sexually, Alesha gently caressed him while moving her lips up next to his ear.

"Where are they going, Helmut?" She asked softly.

"Come closer," Helmut said, his voice strained.

Alesha smiled. Like Nordan, Helmut had been so easy to dominate with sex. She put her ear next to his mouth, realizing that before she killed him, she could still use him this once as a sexual slave. He did not deserve to die happy, but it would please her as well, so she would give that much to him at least.

"None of your damn business!" He said, a taunting grin on his face again.

Alesha's eyes widened in surprise. She stepped back, shocked at his denial. "I will not be denied!" Alesha shouted, turning to a rack filled with instruments of torture. She selected a cat o nine tails and turned back to him. For a brief moment she was struck with a sense of familiarity about him. She shrugged it off quickly and uncoiled the whip. Helmut never even grunted in pain as the whip rose and fell on him, instead staring into Alesha's eyes with his own tormenting mischief filled ones.

Continued in Chapter 12

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