Tender Mercies: Book 1 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Under the calm surface of the Swiftwater Sea a school of fish swam lazily, sunning themselves. Smelling danger in the waters, they came to attention and dived for the safety of the depths. To late to do any good, a shark passed through the waters they had inhabited merely seconds before. Undaunted, it swam on in search of new prey.

A few minutes later the shark caught the scent of blood in the water. Growing hungrier, it knifed quickly through the water. It was to be rewarded as well. Few other predators swam through the waters yet, allowing it to pick the tastiest of the morsels. Seeing one form still thrashing on the surface, the shark circled it once then darted in towards it and sank its teeth into the morsel. More a snack to the great shark then anything else, it gulped the dying seaman into its gullet nearly whole.

"Sharks down there," A sailor called out amidst the fury of battle.

"Feeding time!" Nordan said with a grin. The pirate he battled turned to flee from the insane barbarian. Not quick enough, he felt himself picked up from behind by Nordan and, with a heave, found himself flying. The flight was short lived, for soon he was swimming. Panicking, he floundered in the water trying to stay afloat. Unable to swim, his desperate gasps brought as much water as air into his lungs. He was saved a death by drowning when another shark came upon the scene, its razor sharp teeth biting him cleanly in half.

Elsewhere on the grappled ships, the fighting was equally fierce. The lines grappling the ships together had been severed, allowing them to begin to float apart. Many pirates had already crossed over, however. Nordan had leapt atop the pirate ship to take the fight to them, leaving him hard pressed amongst the remaining pirates. Kelnozz would have joined him, had he not been concerned for Alesha in her first large battle. She stayed back trying to remain hidden behind the defenders on the forecastle of the merchant ship. Kelnozz kept an eye on her while easily dispatching anyone that came to close to him. Still, the chaos of battle occasionally saw her putting her newly earned skills to use.

"You're a pretty one!" A pirate snarled at her, admiring her body as he slipped through a break in the defenders. Kelnozz saw him out of the corner of his eye, but he was hard pressed against three of the attackers himself.

Since arriving in this strange world nearly a month past, Alesha had come to terms with never seeing her family or friends again. She had accepted being ravaged by orcs, though she still had nightmares of it at times. She had even grown accustom to the majority of the strange beings that inhabited Viconia, though she had been told she had seen only a fraction of them all. Having frequented topless beaches where she came from, she was even somewhat able to deal with how little thought or concern people there gave clothing. She had to admit that it was hot enough most of the time that her own outfit was more a blessing then anything else. But what she could not get used to was the lust filled looks she was given because of how she looked. She did, however, learn to use it to her advantage early on.

The pirate advanced on her, noting her drawn katana but not paying it to much concern since she didn't hold it in a very threatening way. His eyes kept being drawn to her naked upper torso, however, quite fascinated by her large and well rounded breasts. Alesha thrust her chest forward, waiting for her attacker to make his move.

He stumbled forward, lowering his own sword momentarily. She struck then, her katana slicing up and across. The pirate laughed at how easily she was fooled into thinking him distracted. He batted aside her sword and leapt into her with his body. She could do no good with her katana in such close quarters, but his cutlass was designed for it.

Alesha still had one weapon, her body. Always a strong believer in a woman's right to defend herself, she'd trained early in life in such maneuvers. Not as addled this time as she had been against the orcs, she was ready to defend herself properly. She dropped her useless sword when he held his cutlass against her naked belly.

"What ëave we here?" he spit out, grinning lecherously and sliding the tip of his cutlass upwards from her belly towards her cleavage.

Kelnozz finished off the last of his attackers as Alesha was being threatened by the pirate. He turned to help her but was beset by yet another pirate, keeping him away. He fought furiously, leaving the pirate at first stunned by the display of swordsmanship, then disarmed. With a kick to the pirate's chest, he stumbled off the foredeck they were standing on and fell to the main deck of the ship, quickly lost in the milling bodies that fought for advantage.

Spinning about again, he saw Alesha's foot raise up and her heel connect with the pirate's chin. He stumbled backwards, dropping his scimitar so that he could raise both of his hands to his battered jaw. He spit something out at her and charged towards her, blood running out of his mouth.

Before Kelnozz could get there to save her, he discovered she hardly needed saving. She grabbed his hands as he rushed her and fell to her back on the deck. Her foot in his stomach, she launched the pirate directly into the railing. His head cracked into the solid beam, but it held. Uncertain as to his fate, She leapt to her feet and stood over him. Knocked senseless, the pirate stared up at the beautiful woman that wore only a loin cloth and weapons belt.

"Am I dead?" he mumbled, thinking this an angel sent to fetch him.

"You'll get to that in a minute," she said, grabbing onto his arms and pulling him up to hang over the railing.

The pirate realized she was about to dump him overboard and he screamed. Then he screamed again at the pain in his jaw. He fought against her, trying to kick back. Alesha chanced letting him go for a moment and drove both her hands into the man's spine, dislocating it badly and making him stiffen in pain. He screamed again as the water then rushed up to meet him, as well as the waiting jaws below.

"Well done," Kelnozz said, offering Alesha her dropped weapon. "Next time try using the sword, it works better."

Alesha blushed and took the blade back. "Thanks," she mumbled.

Kelnozz grinned and opened his mouth to say something when Alesha's eyes focused on something behind him. He began to turn about when a giant hand clasped over his shoulder. Another hand grabbed his thigh and before he could do anything, he was lifted bodily into the air. Looking down he saw a giant of a man holding him above his head.

"Put away your sword, or the elf goes for a swim!" He demanded, a playful tone in his voice.

Alesha hesitated a moment then reluctantly knelt down and put her sword on the deck. The large pirates grin disappeared when she lunged forward though, driving her palm into his groin. The pirates eyes crossed and he collapsed to his knees with a mighty, "Oof!". Kelnozz fell to the deck himself, rolling away from the pirate.

He rose to his feet with a sword in each hand, but stopped to see that Alesha had kicked the man again, stunning him with a heel to the forehead. He teetered back and forth, his eyes fighting to refocus. She retrieved her katana again and prepared to take her first life with it. She hesitated, and in that moment he regained enough of his wits to roll clear of her and regain his feet. He drew a mighty two handed sword and grinned at her again.

"Good fight, wench! I can't wait to make you nurse my injuries later!"

Alesha blanched while Kelnozz snarled and leapt in at him. With his great sword he parried both of Kelnozz blades and his strength set the elf's hands to ringing. Before Kelnozz could recover he'd advanced on Alesha. She held the sword in front of her in a defensive posture Kelnozz had taught her.

Ere any of them could make another move, a shadow fell across them then passed away. Surprised, they glanced at what could have made it and saw a giant tentacle had emerged from the water and towered above them. Five other tentacles wrapped around the pirate ship and were squeezing the life out of it. The sound of rending wood proved what would be its eventual fate.

"Kraken!" Cried out across the deck. Men on the doomed ship leapt off, wishing to face the merchant defenders or the sharks instead of the kraken. Then the ship was torn asunder, parted in half at the middle.

The three of them watched in horror as both halves of the ship began sinking rapidly in the water. The krakens tentacles disappeared momentarily, but then reappeared around the sides of the merchant ship. Alesha screamed then, causing both Kelnozz and the pirate to turn to look at her. One of the tentacles had wrapped itself around her and was raising her up to claim her as a snack.

"I wasn't done with her yet!" The pirate said, running towards her and brandishing his great sword. Less then a step behind Kelnozz also ran toward her.

Side by side, Kelnozz's sword hacked at the rubbery tentacle. Taking mighty strokes, the two handed sword cleaved gashes in the digit as well. The tentacle shuddered and released Alesha, quickly disappearing over the side of the ship. The two men looked at each other, breathing heavily. After a moment of silent understanding, they nodded to each other and turned to Alesha.

Alesha looked at the angry red marks the suckers on the tentacle had made on her skin, but ignored them as more important things made themselves apparent. The ship rocked and swayed as the kraken attempted to dispose of it. She got back to her feet and looked at the two man towering over her. Seeing some strange sort of agreement, she paid the pirate no heed.

"What now?" she asked Kelnozz.

Kelnozz looked about, unsure of what they could do against such a mighty creature. "We fight!" He said, running towards where the nearest tentacle was grappling the ship.

The pirate and Alesha joined him, running towards it and hacking at the rubbery limb. Their blows did little damage, but with all three of them hacking at it, soon they cleaved it in half. The attached portion slid back into the water, retreating to protect itself from further injury. All over the ship men were hacking at the tentacles, but even a severed one would soon return from the depths to attach itself again, bloody and raw stump being the new end.

The creaking sounds gave way to sounds of cracking and tearing wood. A large section of railing was torn away mid-ship. Then a mast was toppled over, breaking off just above the deck.

"Abandon ship!" The captain cried out, blood gushing from a wound in his forehead.

Sailors, both merchant and pirate alike jumped overboard, feeding the growing frenzy of sharks below. "What do we do?" Alesha asked, knowing she should be afraid but somehow acting calmly in spit of it.

"Lifeboats!" The pirate called out, looking about as another section of the middle of the ship collapsed.

All three of them looked about, but none of the lifeboats that remained were in any condition to be seaworthy. "If we jump, the sharks get us. If we stay here, they still get us sooner or later, that or the kraken.

"I've heard of krakens taking prisoners," the pirate said, "the longer we live, the longer we have a chance of getting away."

Kelnozz nodded, looking about for any last minute ideas. A widening crack was appearing in the middle of the ship now. He motioned for them to follow him and he ran to the forecastle door. He opened it and motioned them inside. Securing it behind them, they ran in further and ducked into the captains cabin.

The ship shuddered and split in two, like its companion ship earlier. Unknown to them, the kraken's ten tentacles wrapped around their half of the ship and pulled them under the water. They descended deeper and deeper, stumbling back and forth with each burst of acceleration. Water leaks sprang from the walls, ceiling, and floor. Before long the water had risen to their chests.

They heard a muffled grinding noise and felt the ship jerk beneath them more violently. The movement ceased, however, and they knew they had come to a rest.

"What do we do now?" Alesha asked, struggling to keep her head in the few remaining inches of air in the cabin.

Kelnozz was likewise treading water to breathe, and looked about nervously. "Well, if the water gets much higher, we open the door and take our chances."

The pirate was standing on a chest in the room and managed to not need to swim to breathe as he was already very tall. He grunted agreement and drew out his great sword in preparation.

"How are you going to swim with that in your hands?" Kelnozz snapped at him. The pirate muttered something under his breath but put his sword away.

"How can you tell what's going on?" Alesha asked.

Kelnozz realized her terror must be complete, she was human, she couldn't see in the dark. "I'm an elf, I can see in the dark."

Alesha remained quiet, not wanting to waist her air with words. They quietly swam in the cabin, waiting to see what happened next. The water did not continue to rise. Long, terror filled minutes past before they noticed the water had instead began to lower.

"Be ready!" Kelnozz hissed suddenly.

Alesha was about to ask him what he was talking about when she heard the noise. Someone or something was outside of the door clearing the debris so that it could be opened. In the darkness Alesha could see nothing, but by carefully feeling about she oriented herself towards the door.

Someone or something beat against the door, trying to force it open. All of the water in the room pressing against it prevented that from happening though. Soon the inhabitants could here what sounded like axes striking it. The water level in the cabin was slowly draining, but enough remained when the axes broke through hinges on the door to send it and the companions rushing out the doorway.

They bowled over three humanoid forms searching the wreckage on their way out. They came to rest in the hallway outside the cabin, but were coughing up water and unable to make their escape in the darkness. Grabbed by scaly hands all about them, they were bound with sodden ropes and carried away ere they could mount any resistance.

---

"Who are you?" Alesha asked, hugging her arms to herself for a sense of security and to hide her nudity from the strange man caged with her.

"Garet," he grunted, paying no attention to her.

"Where are we now?"

The pirate with her looked around the small room they were locked in. It was roughly twenty feet square, with a chamber pot in one corner and ledges carved out of rock on the other walls sticking a foot out. A glowing green lichen covered the walls, casting a faint ambient light about them.

"In a cage," he said gruffly, moving to examine the stone that their captors had pushed up against the doorway into their room.

"Why?" Alesha asked.

The pirate sighed and turned to her. "They're probably saving us for food! Now shut up wench and let me think!"

Alesha's eyes grew wide at his rebuke, but she kept her mouth shut. She sat back on one of the ledges and stared into space, thinking. Since she had been brought to Viconia, one bad thing after another had happened to her. First arriving naked and defenseless, then being raped by orcs. Then forced to walk nearly fifty miles in two days by the only people she could begin to call friends with no shoes or clothing. On top of that two grueling hours of practice each day with the katana she had acquired. Then a week spent in a small and dirty town filled with drunkards and ruthless cutthroats in which she was constantly on the defensive. Sure, lots of other men and women were partially or totally naked, but it didn't make her feel any better.

Her first positive feelings began when she'd managed to sell the short sword she'd gotten from the orc that had taken her virginity and buy some clothes. Not much, a pouch, boots, and a loin cloth, which offered little protection. Still, the scant modesty she appreciated. She also acquired a scabbard for her katana in that deal, but had since lost the sword and the sheath. Still, the two weeks they'd spent in the town called Sanctuary had allowed her minor wounds to heal and for Kelnozz to train her how to use the sword, as well as explaining the realities of the new world she found herself in.

Thinking of Kelnozz, she found herself wondering more and more about him. In spite of his elfin looks, she found herself attracted to him. Still, his aloofness kept him distant. Nordan, their other companion, certainly let her know time and again what he'd enjoy doing with her (or to her), given the opportunity. She steered clear of him though, preferring to spend her time with Kelnozz, who seemed to bear no interest in her in that way whatsoever.

She had learned that the lack of concern over clothing and the sexual interests of Viconia resembled the ancient history of her own world, both Roman and Grecian, from what she remembered. She had seen whores of both sexes being used by both men and women, making her wonder if Kelnozz's lack of interest in her was due to his preference for boys. Not having the courage to ask, she'd never said anything to him about it though.

Before having any chance to observe his behavior and find out, she'd been set upon by some drunkards. Her scream had brought Kelnozz over in time to slay one and send the other running. Searching through the corpse, they learned that Alesha's attacker had been none other then the son of the ranking master of the thieves guild in the town.

Knowing their lives forfeit it they stayed, they found Nordan busy drinking his reward and caught sail within a couple of hours on a ship heading for the Northern part of Viconia. Along the way they had the misfortunate of being laid up for a few days by becalmed seas and then attacked by pirates as they took a shorter and more dangerous route to make up for the lost time.

Alesha's train of thought was dispelled when she heard her latest companion grunting with exertion. She saw him struggling to move the rock blocking them in the cave, to no success.

"What's the point?" she asked, her voice defeated. "I mean, if you open it, that will just bring more those scaly looking things in here to lock us back up or kill us!"

With a final useless push, Garet turned to face her. "I'm not going to die down here, woman! And those scaly things are called lizardmen!"

"Look," she said, raising to her foot and advancing on him menacingly. "I've been attacked again and again today, half drowned, nearly eaten, and now you want me to shut up? I've had it with this damn place, I want to go home!"

Garet looked at her and started laughing. "Aye, we'd all like to go home."

Alesha knew he didn't understand what she was talking about when she said home, but it couldn't help her from starting to laugh too. Before anything else could be said, the rock was moved away from the door with a loud grinding noise. Two lizardmen waited outside the doorway, and two entered, all of them had tridents and spears.

The two of them were led out and taken to another cave. This one had no rock in front of it, but it was under constant guard by two lizardmen. Inside of this room they found a small community of people. Mostly human, a few elves, a halflings, and a dwarf made up the group. This cave had the same lichen along the walls and ceiling that the larger underwater cavern outside had, as well as their prior cell. It had what appeared to be several rooms, however.

The lizardmen left once they were in there, allowing them to talk to the other prisoners. The others were dressed in varying states, though mostly they wore less then even Alesha did. Of both genders, they had the pale and hopeless look of people that had been kept prisoner for a long time.

"New victims," A man said, grinning madly. "Welcome to our humble home."

"Where are we?" Garet asked, surprising Alesha.

"Who knows?" he cackled, then beginning to laugh insanely.

"Somewhere under the Swiftwater Sea," One of the tired looking elves said. "In the lair of the kraken."

"What are we doing here?" Alesha asked slowly. "Are we... food?"

"Maybe," The elf said, staring off out the doorway into nothingness.

"They keep us here to work and to breed. Sometimes they come and take some of us away and they don't come back." They saw that the speaker this time was a middle aged woman that was nursing an infant. Even the babe seemed depressed and indifferent to its surroundings.

"Ha! You made it!"

Alesha looked up to see Nordan stride powerfully into the room from one of the other caves theirs connected to. "I thought you dead!" Alesha cried, comforted to see him and throwing her arms around him gratefully.

"Bah, not so easy to kill me," he said, surprised at her affection but smart enough to enjoy it while he could. "I clung to the other ship as it sank, finding an air pocket and riding it out. Didn't realize that giant squid had a hold of it ëtil it was to late!"

"Is Kelnozz here too?" she asked, looking about again.

"I thought him with you," Nordan responded, losing some of his good humor at the prospect of another fallen companion.

"He was in the ship that sank with us, but it was dark and I couldn't see him, then the lizardmen captured us and I didn't hear from him anymore either."

Nordan grunted, cheering up a little. "That elf has a way of getting himself lost at times, I'm sure he'll show up. Now who's this?"

Alesha turned to Garet and said, "He's one of the pirates, names is Garet, looks to be a relative of yours from his size!"

Indeed, Garet looked, if anything, larger then Nordan. Like the barbarian, Garet was obviously also from the same genetic stock. They eyed each other warily for a few minutes before Nordan offered his hand and said, "We are enemies no longer, will you call me brother?"

Garet remained uncertain for a moment before offering Nordan his own hand and saying, "Aye, Garet of Clan Laughingwolf be my name."

"Nordan of Clan Helmsmasher."

And like that, the two of them were fast companions. Alesha wondered at how they could do that, but had to admit the circumstances were hardly ordinary and teamwork seemed their only hope.

The three of them prowled around the cave complex looking for any means of escape. Other then the depressed prisoners, they found nothing. As time passed, they began to realize that they were getting depressed as well.

"What do you eat and drink?" Alesha asked one of the prisoners.

"What they bring us...either fish or some of the mushrooms and seaweed that they make us farm. There's an underground river in another cave that we get water from twice a day." He responded, stretching himself out on the ground and preparing to sleep.

"An underground river?" Garet asked, his interest piquing.

They looked at each other, the same thoughts mirrored in their eyes.

"Get some sleep, tomorrow they put you to work," The man said, closing his eyes and dropping off.

They settled in but were unable to sleep. Finally the exhaustion from high strung nerves and all the activity claimed Alesha. Garet and Nordan fell asleep soon thereafter themselves.

---

The sounds of their fellow prisoners waking roused them up. Nordan had to nudge Alesha to wake her. Two lizardmen entered the cave under guard from two trident and shortsword wielding guards. They brought in several large fish and tossed them on the floor. Another one carried in two buckets filled with water. The prisoners descended on the food hungrily, tearing the fish apart with bare fingers and eating them raw. Hands covered in fish parts cupped water and drank from the buckets. All in all, a very disgusting ritual, and Alesha had to force herself to drink some of the water. She couldn't make herself eat any of the sushi. Nordan and Garet had no such problem, realizing that they must keep there strength up.

After they'd eaten and the buckets removed, another lizardman entered and pointed to several of the prisoners, all men and including Nordan. They were then led out of the cave towards the large field of mushrooms. Another lizardman entered, though this one was not dressed in the simple harness and weapons as the others were. This one appeared to be some sort of shaman, having fish teeth strung on a necklace, and other items of animal totems on his person. It came to each of the woman and touched their stomachs with its rough and scaly hand. It pointed to two of them, and another guard led the two woman, Alesha and a young woman with dark hair and a chest that had yet to mature, out of the cell. Another guard led Garet and three other men out after them.

Both Nordan and Garet kept their eyes open and looked around the dimly lit large cavern. The ceiling of the cavern was at least thirty feet above them, with it stretching away from the underwater lagoon for several hundred. Stalactites hung down from the ceiling, join with the few stalagmites to large to be broken off and removed. Further away from the lagoon then the prisoners cave cells were, they saw other caves leading away from the large cavern. The mushroom field was near the lagoon, and sitting beside it was the remnants of the two ships that the kraken had dragged under.

"How do they keep fresh air in here?" Nordan asked the mushroom farmer that was showing him how to tend the mushrooms. They used the waste from the prisoners as fertilizer, something that Nordan was far from enjoying.

"You call this fresh?" the guy teaching him responded bitterly.

"I once saw that shaman dancing and carrying on and casting some spell. As soon as he was done I felt a current of fresh air," Another prisoner nearby said.

Nordan pondered that and wondered if he could use it to their advantage. As the day wore on, he began to wonder about Alesha and Garet, what they had been slated to do that day. And for that matter, what had happened to Kelnozz?

Alesha had a sneaking suspicion as to what was going to happen, but she desperately hoped that she was wrong. They were led into another of the caves, this one guarded both outside and within by two guards. Once inside the shaman motioned towards them into the room.

"What are we supposed to do?" Alesha asked nervously.

"This is the mating chamber," One of the men said, sounding bored instead of excited.

"WHAT?" Alesha said, her worst fears confirmed.

Garet chuckled under his breath at the irony of the situation.

"You must mate at least once before they let you leave. It's better if you just agree to get it on," The man said.

"Why is that better?" Alesha said scornfully.

"Because if you don't, they make you."

Alesha turned to see the other woman had said that. It brought tears to her eyes to see someone so bitter and resigned to a life filled with pain and hardship. She nodded though, understanding the futility of her position.

"Well Garet, looks like you get your chance with me after all," she finally said, her voice mixed with bitter humor and fear.

Garet moved towards her and nodded. He took her hands in his and said in all seriousness, "I'm sorry. I promise I will be gentle."

She nodded, trying to smile understandingly. Taking her hands, she lowered them to her hips and unbuckled her weapons belt. Wondering why she bothered with it at all, as she had no weaponry anymore. Next she untied her loin cloth and let that fall to the ground as well.

Falling to her knees in front of Garet, she untied his breeches and pulled them down over his heavily muscled legs. His soft member sprang out from a patch of black hair to point at her. Taking a deep breath, she reached up and touched it. It jumped when she grabbed hold of it, but she was determined to get this over with as quick as possible.

Garet groaned when her mouth descended on him. He'd lain with many women, and this was nothing new to him, but it had been some time and Alesha's mouth was so hot and wet that it made him fight himself to keep from ramming himself down her throat. He could also tell that she was struggling to keep her mouth opened wide enough, as he was well endowed. Alesha could sense the fight within him, and using skills she'd learned on her own world with her boyfriend, she fondled his balls with one hand and gripped the base of his cock with the other. Pumping her head up and down on it, she tasted the pre cum coming out of him.

Garet was in awe at how quickly he was ready to explode. He pulled himself free of Alesha's sucking mouth and knelt down beside her. Then they laid down with one another and he moved between her legs. The lizardmen around them were forgotten. Alesha looked over and saw that the woman was on her hands and knees and one of the men was behind her, rutting away.

She gasped as Garet's cock brushed against her sex. He reached down and parted her nether lips carefully, then placed his hard on against the opening to her womanhood. She bit her lip and nodded to signal him to go ahead. He slowly thrust forward, impaling her a little bit at a time. After several short thrusts to minimize her displeasure, he was buried within her. Alesha felt filled with his cock. While it stretched her out to her limits at least it wasn't nearly as painful as the experience with the orc deflowering her had been. Garet waited patiently for her to signal him to continue, fighting the urge to plunge into her again and again with reckless abandon.

When she nodded again to him, Garet began slowly rocking his manhood in and out of her. As she relaxed and nature began to take its course, her juices started to lubricate things. This allowed Garet to speed things up gradually, until he was thrusting against her quickly. Alesha gasped, beginning to actually feel pleasure. She ground her hips up at Garet, telling herself that she was just trying to get this over quicker. In reality though a fire had begun to light in her and she sought to fan its flames.

Garet could tell by how flushed Alesha was growing that she was beginning to enjoy what was happening. He stopped thrusting into her and rolled over so that she was on top. Alesha was uncertain at first, but then Garet pulled her closer to him so he could nibble and suckle at her magnificent breasts. The feeling of his tongue, lips, and teeth drove Alesha wild, and her hips started bucking against him instinctively.

In no time, Garet found himself breathing heavy and ready to explode in her again. He reached around and grabbed her ass, pulling her onto him harder and harder. Alesha grunted each time she slammed down on him, grinding her clit against him. Then she felt his fingers behind her teasing around her juicy hole where they were joined temporarily. The sensations were delicious and she was quickly growing lost in them. Garet fought to keep his climax in check, but he knew that he had seconds left, if that. He took his fingers that were slick with her juices and without any warning, plunged one into the second knuckle in her ass.

Alesha couldn't believe what Garet had just done to her. More importantly, she couldn't believe how it felt. She felt herself tense up and release entirely at the moment. She came explosively, going rigid. Through the mind numbing pleasure, she drove herself down on him, impaling her sex on his and her ass on his finger. She felt Garet's cock swell and explode within her, the hot bursts of his seed driving her further over the edge.

At long last, she collapsed on top of him, spent. Garet remained under her, carefully supporting her until she found the strength to rise on her own. After a few moments of respite from the horror of their predicament, everything flooded back into her and she rose back up from Garet, a part of her feeling a sense of loss as his softening member slipped out of her. Her knees weak, she gathered up her sparse clothing and put it back on, already feeling her loin cloth collecting his semen as it began to drain out of her. Under other circumstances, she knew it would be a pleasant reminder of a wonderful encounter.

The woman was then servicing a second man, but he grunted and came in her with a spasm. The woman got up, her face blank and emotionless, and the man quickly recovered himself. The stood up and prepared to leave, the fourth man all but ignored. Before they were allowed to leave, the shaman checked the woman to make sure her partners had indeed ejaculated into her, and to her horror, it stood in front of Alesha next. Knowing resistance futile, she reached down and pulled her loin cloth to the side to allow it to see that she was indeed filled to overflowing with Garet's juices.

They were then led back to the cell and kept imprisoned in their until Nordan returned soaking wet and otherwise clean. Dinner of more fish and water was served to them, and this time Alesha forced herself to eat as well, for she was famished.

"What happened to you?" Alesha asked, anxious to keep from explaining what she had endured.

"Spent the day being a farmer," Nordan snorted, clearly not pleased with his new vocation. "Covered in filth, at least they let us dive into the lagoon and clean off before we came back."

"Learn anything?" Garet asked, understanding how deep a blow it must have been to the powerful warriors pride.

"Ha!" Nordan guffawed. "I know how to grow mushrooms underground!"

"What of you?" he asked, anxious to be get away from the memory of his days work.

"We were taken away for breeding," Garet said. Alesha blushed, deeply embarrassed. Nordan looked at Garet enviously and stared lewdly at Alesha a moment.

"Some people get all the luck!"

"You think I wanted to do that?!" Alesha snapped at him, rising to her feet and coming at him.

Nordan held up his hands in a show of peace and said, "Nay lass, I'm sure you hated every minute of it! But it had to be better then digging through offal with your bare hands!"

Alesha scowled at him, then looked to Garet and saw him smirking. She found it infectious and finally laughed. "Yes, I guess it was kinda fun once we got past the awkwardness. Besides that, the joke is on them, I can't have children, I have something doctors call Unspecified Ovarian Failure." Her laughter died at the thought of never having any children. Then instead of getting sad, she grew angry again. "And I'll be damned if I'm going to let them use me as property for whatever purpose they want!"

Nordan raised an eyebrow as he looked at her then nodded. "I know not what an Ovarian is, but I agree that we must make an attempt. If only we had our equipment."

"Do they save any of it or is it just thrown away?" Alesha asked, coming upon an idea.

"Well, do any of you sheep have anything to say?" Garet asked, joining in and getting the attention of the other prisoners.

"Won't do you any good, fool," one of them muttered. "Even if you did arm yourself, where would you go? It's to far to the surface, and there's no other way out!"

"Death in defense of freedom is better then life in slavery," Alesha said, drawing surprised and approving looks from both of the barbarians.

"Then death you'll find, I suppose it's the same as anything else down here," the man said fatalistically. "They keep anything they consider valuable, coins, gems, objects the consider pretty. The rest of it they put back in the ships for the kraken that's in charge to drag off to a watery grave."

"Then that's where we need to go, since we haven't seen anyone carrying our stuff," Alesha said.

Nordan nodded. "When?" Garet asked.

"No time like the present." She said.

Kelnozz crept carefully along the edge of the mushroom garden, thankful for the hundredth time that they were large enough that he could hide amongst them by moving in a crouch. He cursed again the extra equipment he carried with him. From scouting the cavern out, he had learned of where the prisoners were kept, as well as the location of the freshwater stream and a few other interesting caves.

He had managed to stay in the cabin when the water flushed his companions out, and the distraction they had given the lizardmen allowed him to empty out and then slip inside the chest the former captain kept his valuables in. By the time the lizardmen had returned to search the ship for valuables, he had slipped out of it and climbed through a hole in the hull to hang outside the ship, obscured from the cavern by one of the other ruined ships.

When they'd given up, he had returned inside and his friends weapons and other equipment the lizardmen found useless scattered about the ship. He gathered it up and stored it away for their escape attempt. Then he'd begun scouting the place out.

Now he knew it was what they considered nighttime down here, though time had little to no meaning. He cursed the lack of shadows the dimly glowing fungus produced and prepared to sprint across the cavern to the prisoner quarters. Considering the eighty-foot run, he doubted he'd be able to surprise the two armed guards. Still, if he was quick he should be able to defeat them.

The scream caught him unaware. Looking up quickly, he saw that both of the guards were surprised too. They rushed into the cave, wondering what was going on. Kelnozz looked about and saw other lizardmen were pouring out of different caves in curiosity as well. His elven eyesight was able to pick out a scuffle inside the room, and he knew if he wanted to help his friends, now was his best chance.

One guard kept the other prisoners at bay, while the other moved forward to strike down Nordan, who advanced on a cringing and retreating Alesha. She retreated through another doorway to a different cave and Nordan followed her through, intent on causing her harm. Once the guard began to come through the doorway, his trident was grabbed from him by someone to the side. Surprised, it fell from his grasp and he scrambled to draw the shortsword at his side.

Alesha ran forward before he could draw it and jumped into the air. She landed with one foot in its chest, the other its throat. It stumbled backwards, falling to the floor. She rolled and came up to her feet before it could, planting another kick with her heel to its face and knocking it back down. Shaking its head, it struggled to rise but she dropped on its throat with one of her knees, crushing it. The lizardman thrashed beneath her clawing her legs and body as it struggled to breathe.

Garet and Nordan moved past them and confronted the other guard that had rushed to its companions defense. Garet locked up the guards trident in the one he had liberated, and Nordan stepped around behind it and caught it in a powerful bear hug. The lizardman dropped its tri-headed spear and reached up with its hands to claw at Nordan. It jerked and stopped struggling when Garet's trident pierced its chest, spearing both lungs and heart.

They looked back to see a scratched and bloody but otherwise unharmed Alesha walking away from the corpse of the lizard man she had slain. Nordan nodded approvingly, then they turned to rush out of the cave. The other prisoners looked on with false hope, some even daring to consider joining them.

"You might need these, we've got company coming!"

They stopped abruptly at those words. Kelnozz stood in the doorway and quickly unpacked and dropped all of their spare gear on the floor. Garet grinned as he picked up his great sword. Alesha grabbed her katana and threw her arms around Kelnozz happily. Nordan laughed loudly, securing his warhammer in hand.

"What took you so long?" Nordan asked, stepping out of the cave beside his friend as the first lizard men reinforcements arrived.

"You know I like to make an entrance," Kelnozz said parrying a thrust from a lizardman and riposting with his other sword to end the creatures life by spitting its chest.

Nordan laughed again and set his own hammer to work blasting aside a trident thrust and crushing the skull of the wielder on the back swing. Garet ran through the doorway and brought his great sword to bear upon an unsuspecting lizardman's unprotected neck, leaving Alesha to come out last and discover the last lizardman lizardmen quickly butchered by the three men.

"More come!" Garet hissed, pointing towards the lagoon.

"This way, we've only one chance and that's pure luck!"

They followed Kelnozz as he led them away from the advancing lizardmen. A few more appeared out of caves ahead of them, but they cut them down quickly. Soon they arrived at a smaller cave. They ran into it, stopping when they saw it a dead end.

"This is your idea of luck?" Alesha was incredulous.

"No, there is a river here," Kelnozz explained, heading behind a large stalagmite. They saw that there was indeed a river flowing there, the rock had been worn away around it to allow a hole some four feet in diameter to lead into the blackness below. The sound of rushing water could be heard.

"How far down is it?" Nordan asked, keeping an eye on the door way that would be filled any minute with pursuit.

"Not very, perhaps four feet to the water, but beyond that I don't know anything," Kelnozz said.

"You don't know anything about it and you want us to jump in there?" Alesha was growing even more incredulous by the minute.

"Great caverns, tunnels, and passages run underneath the length and breadth of Viconia, perhaps this stream will take us to them, I don't know," Kelnozz explained quickly. Alesha just stared into the darkness of the hole, terrified by what it represented.

"Nordan, you go first, then you Alesha, then Garet and finally myself."

Nodding, Nordan lashed his hammer to his belt and took a deep breath. With a wave and a grin, he jumped through the hole, making a splash and nothing else. Alesha stared at it, hesitating with fear.

"Go, damnit woman!" Garet snapped, readying his great sword as the lizardmen ran into the room and charged them.

Kelnozz turned to push her in when Garet brought his sword back for a mighty swing. The flat of the blade glanced off of Kelnozz's head, sending him reeling. Alesha gasped in fear as he disappeared through the hole. Knowing him doomed, she forgot her inhibitions and dove in after him.

Garet cleared the first rank of attackers with a mighty sweep of his sword that sent blood and a few limbs flying. Glancing back he saw that his companions had fled. Seeing them safely away he grinned at the lizardmen and charged. A bloodcurdling oath upon his lips, battle was joined. In the background he could faintly here the shaman chanting. The rock around his feet took on a life of its own and clutched at his feet, rooting him in place. His grin still in place, he worked at his feet while his sword swung time and again at the increasing ranks of enemies.

---

The cold water brought him back to his senses, but it was to late to breathe. Finding himself short on air, Kelnozz tried to fight the current and swim upwards. The unforgiving ceiling of the cavern prevented him from finding any air, however, and his fingers were bruised and bloodied.

Suddenly something was grabbing at him. He felt it and knew that it had to be Alesha... unless Nordan had done the impossible and not only fought the swift current but also grown boobs. Nice boobs at that.

Then Alesha was bringing her head to his and trying to kiss him. He thought her finally mad, trying to do something like that at a time when his lungs burned for air. Then their lips touched and the bubbles she blew at him made him understand. He met her lips with his and let her blow her air into his mouth. His lungs were grateful for it, but the frenzied activity made it hard for him to keep from gasping for more. He made himself calm down and after a count of thirty, he returned the air to her.

They continued doing this, growing lightheaded and losing a little air each time. Kelnozz felt Alesha growing limp in his arms, and he shook her roughly and gave her every last bit of air he had. She stirred at this and clung protectively to him as the current buffeted them and pushed them along the rocks. Then they were falling.

Alesha lost track of Kelnozz in the fall. It was to dark to see anything, but she did notice that they appeared to be in a regular waterfall, meaning there should be air to breath. When she hit the water below, she swam as hard as she could to get back to the surface. Breaking free, she took a deep breath, grateful for the fresh air again. He heart was racing from the near suffocation, so it took her a moment to regain her composure.

Then she remembered Kelnozz. With all of his armor, he would sink to the bottom if he couldn't swim. She inhaled deeply and dove blindly. Swimming towards the turbulence in the water, she found the bottom quickly enough. The pool was only twenty feet deep or so beneath the waterfall, growing quickly shallow away from it. She felt about, hoping desperately to find him. Not finding him near the waterfall, she let herself feel the current. It pulled her to her left, so she swam the way, feeling about the bottom. Sure enough, she found the elf's foot. Tracing it up his body, she grabbed him and wrapped her arms just under his shoulders. With a few powerful strokes she broke the surface of the water, holding him above water.

Thankful of her time spent in her prior life as a lifeguard along the coast, she swam towards where she remembered it getting shallower. She soon felt the rock beneath her feet and was able to drag him out of the water and onto a sandy shore. Still unable to see, she checked him for a pulse and breathing. His pulse was weak, and he didn't appear to be breathing. Working quickly, she flipped him over and guessed at a location. Using the flat of her hand, she pounded on his back, forcing some of the water out of him.

She flipped him back over then and tilted his head back so that she could begun performing CPR on him. After breathing for him a few times he began jerking and she backed away so he could start coughing. She turned him on his side and he wretched the water out of his lungs painfully.

A hand touched her shoulder from behind then, causing her to scream in surprise. "Are you okay?" Nordan's disembodied voice said.

Gulping down her panic she nodded, then realized it was dark and he couldn't see her. "Yes," she said at last. "Kelnozz nearly drowned though."

"Ha! I doubt it, nothing seems to be able to kill that dog!" Nordan responded, coughing up some water himself. "I kept offering to help you but you ignored me."

"Sorry, I was so caught up in saving him I guess I didn't know you were there," she said, her hand rubbing up and down Kelnozz's back as he rested in the sand, breathing painfully.

"Now we're even," Kelnozz finally said, his voice weak but humor still in it.

"What do you mean?" she asked, pulling her hand back.

After another fit of coughing, Kelnozz responded to her, "I saved your life from the orcs, now you've saved mine from the water."

Alesha was glad it was dark in there, so no one could see her blush. Kelnozz's quiet chuckle reminded her that he could see in the dark though, making her blush even more. "So now what?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"Now we rest," Kelnozz said.

"After all that you want to rest?" Alesha asked, suddenly realizing she was exhausted but not ready to give up yet.

"Aye, I've not slept since we encountered the pirates," Kelnozz said. "Now I've been drowned on top of that, I think I deserve a catnap!"

Nordan guffawed at that, "About damn time you slept! I'll keep first watch."

"How? It's dark in here," Alesha said as she fought off a yawn.

"Don't need to see to keep watch," Nordan said smugly.

Alesha shrugged. She was more concerned with sleep. She lay down on the shore and by closing her eyes had a brief sense of déjà vu to when she had dozed on the beach of her own world so many times. Sighing at the loss, she let the memory go and soon joined Kelnozz in the world of sleep.

Continued in Chapter 4

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