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Chapter Twenty-Three
Morning breaks early in the mountains, and I wake to a slippery wet sensation sliding up and down on my rock hard erection. I blink in the semi-darkness and see Talen busy at work, licking my glans with the tip of his tongue and digging in and around the white foreskin. Occasionally he stops to pinch it delicately with his fingers and to squeeze the tight skin down over the head like a turtleneck sweater. Then with his fist snug he pushes it back again, massaging my firmness with a hand so wet it gleams. White foam and an occasional thick drop of snow white semen emerges from the urethra, and he teases it to the tip of his tongue. It's the slow beginning of a milking that lasts a half hour, as my semen and the thick royal jelly ooze continuously from within to feed his starving belly. All I can do is make fists with my fingers and toes, body tense, and enjoy what he's doing for me.
I watch in fascination as my best friend deep throats my meat, shoving it into his mouth that really is too small for such a load. He stares at me with his eyes, indicating with many cute looks that this is work for him, and that he sacrifices of himself because he loves me.
Following a particularly intense spasm, I reach down and comb my fingers through his mousy brown hair. It's so soft. And I struggle to stay quiet while the sound of men sleeping nearby intermingles with the wood.
Not everyone's asleep, however. At a tree near us, Talisac watches with drool forming at the corner of his mouth. Talen and I are lying in ankle high grass, sheltered by spruce and aspen trees, and the bulk of his bobbing head is obscured from camp by a fallen tree trunk.
Want a show, Talisac? I think to myself. Want to see the rewards one reaps when I choose them as a lover?
I spread my long muscular legs, noting I fell asleep last night in my armor. It's commonplace really and is how all warriors must rest. Like a good cocksucker, Talen moves between my thighs with skill, positioning his body betwixt my splayed boots that are now soaked through with my sex sweat. He flicks my sopping wet balls; runs his hand through the barely visible hair lying there like fallen wheat around the base of a dick that rises like a tree trunk into his interlaced fingers.
"That's it," I say, forcing his head lower on it. He makes a gagging sound but I don't let up. "Fucking suck it you cum pig," I whisper, and then I thrust with my hip; he almost chokes. I'm not being mean; I'm just telling the truth. Talen can't live without my cum so I treat him like the whore he is.
I press my beautiful slut to the side forcing his head to lie parallel to the ground. Then I fuck his lips and it delights me to see him struggle to keep his teeth covered. I finally get all twelve inches into his mouth, down his throat, and slap my laden balls against his chin. "You're my bitch," I say, but I do so lovingly. "Suck harder and don't spill a fucking drop." I feel my nuts tighten and hot spunk coats his esophagus. He claws at my breastplate. I back out some so he can breathe, but a bit of white does dribble from his nose like a huge booger.
I pull out and he gasps for breath. "Kian..." he tries to say something but I cut him off with a kiss. The taste of salty cum in my own mouth is wonderful, even though it's my own. Then I turn him around ready to rape his tight pussy with my dripping prick.
That's when he backs away from me.
"What's gotten into you?" he asks, voice still low. He stands up and wipes his hands on his cloak. I stand up too, and my huge erection hangs in front of me dangling between my legs like those giant sausages that hang from the rafters of a butcher shop.
"I'm not through," I say. "On your fucking knees."
Talen walks off into the woods. I race after him, huge dick bobbing up and down, and grab him by the wrist about twelve feet south of the tree where Talisac is bound. I twist his arm and force him to the mud over a stump. He squeals a little but finally stops. "You know you want this," I tell him.
Talen nods meekly.
I press my sopping wet dick head against his the fecal slit at the back of his killsuit and push myself between those boy cheeks. Getting it past his extraordinarily tight sphincter takes some thrust. Talen tries to scramble away from the pain but he can't because of the stump. He lets out a howl so I clamp my hand over his mouth and then pop it in. The slippery nature of my royal jelly that now coats the outside of my dick skin makes invading him easy. In and out I go, pushing harder and harder until his asshole dribbles with stuff I've left in his guts.
I breed him with both hands pressed into the middle of his back, the full weight of my body focused in every contraction of my buttocks. By the time I finish, I collapse in a wave of exhaustion onto his spine. I pull out, turn him around, and say, "Lick it clean." He does, and then I kiss him gently. "I love you," I say at last. I wish I had a fucking pipe to smoke.
"Why were you so rough?" he asks.
"Did you like it?"
He nods.
"That's why, then," I say to him. "I knew you'd love it." I get up and head back to where I fell asleep the night before. My codpiece has to be here somewhere. I stop at the tree so that Talisac can get a good look at what makes me a man. I squeeze my balls in front of him, he licks his lips.
"You're never getting a taste," I say to him. "But if you want, I'll let you sniff my codpiece. It's about all a dog like you deserves."
"If you want my help," Talisac says, "then you'll have to keep your end of the bargain."
"I haven't killed you yet," I tell him. I notice that one guard is staring in our direction. I walk over to get my codpiece, which gleams in the pre-dawn light. The guard continues to stare at my huge dick. I don't say anything to him. It's not every day that you get to see a legend, so I don't begrudge men taking a look at me when they can.
I have to wait a minute before my dick returns to a manageable size to put it back in my armor. I do keep my word though. In that minute, I let Talisac sniff it by holding it over his nose. He complains, but I know better. He likes what he's getting.
"You're a bastard," he says when I put my cock away.
"Maybe."
Talen walks over and kicks Talisac with his foot, "Don't tell anyone what you saw."
"Shy are we?" Talisac asks. "Your boyfriend isn't shy at all."
Talen kneels and holds a knife to the doctor's throat. "I didn't make a promise. I'll cut your throat open right now if you don't shut up."
Talisac swallows nervously, but I do ready to stop Talen if I have to.
"I'm the only one that can cure your boyfriend. If you kill me, there's no one left to save him."
Shit. Why the fuck did he have to say that?
Talen stares at me questioningly. "What's he talking about?"
"Nothing," I say.
"You haven't told him," Talisac states with a sneer.
"Kian?"
"I-I don't want to talk about this right now," I say, standing up. "I need to take a piss. Just watch him to make sure he doesn't get out of his ropes. I'll be back in a minute."
Even though Talen looks exasperated that I'm holding something back from him, he nods.
I go in search of a stream and take a long hard leak near a group of wildflowers. The sound of a woodpecker knocking away at a tree in the wooded lowlands echoes through the forest. I shake off and stand there a second hoping that Talen forgets what Talisac said. In the east dawn's rosy light blooms; I wash myself in the stream at the edge of camp and just sit there on my haunches, staring at the far bank with water dripping from my face.
There's no way he's going to forget. Talen's obsessed with me so in a way, I'm screwed. So I resign myself to coming up with some lies to use.
Ten minutes later, Talen joins me.
I snap my head about at his approach, and he raises his hand with caution. "Relax, he's still tied up. Are you ever going to tell me what that was all about or will I need to get it from him when you aren't around? You know I will, right?"
He squats next to me and washes his hands and face. I point out a ribbon of cum in his hair and he just smooths it back so that it's not really visible. His grin looks so mischievous; it's not time for the lies yet. I'll only fall back on those if he continues to be pushy about this.
"I'm not going to tell you," I say after a minute.
He opens his mouth to protest, but I see he knows better to argue the point.
"You're not protecting me from something. You're just keeping secrets and that's frustrating."
"You don't need to know," I tell him.
"If it has to do with your health, I beg to differ."
I shake my head. "No you don't."
He sighs. We both listen to the water rushing by in front of us. "This is nice," he says at last. "The two of us watching the sun rise together." He reaches out his hand, and I take it in mine.
"I love you," he tells me.
"You should. Do you know how many guys would kill to fuck me?"
He rolls his eyes and kisses me.
The first sun crests over the granite peaks, and Correldon wanders over to us, his bow with the runes on it present in the grip of his left hand. Talen and I break out some food from last night and the three of us eat, washing down our meal with cool mountain water from a shared skin.
"I will join you on your quest to the isle," the elf says. "But if we leave, we must do so soon and take our parting of the human soldier, Riaken. The gnome, Pink Hair, will be joining us for he says he has some business in the city states on the Sea of Daryabar."
"I don't have a problem with that," I state. "Talisac's coming with us too."
"I thought you intended to release him," the elf says. Talen stares at me too.
"Yeah...well things have changed. I need him a little while longer."
"I see. And the girl?"
I nod.
The elf considers me carefully. "The sorceress is a strong woman, but I don't trust the doctor. He's a flesh crafter of Chagidiel. And now that he's free of the mountain, he'll be in communication with others of his kind."
"Not as long as he's bound," I say.
The elf snorts. "So little you know of magic. The doctor can speak with his allies using only his mind. Or did you not know this? His god is the consort to the Queen of Demons. Have you ever dealt with Timeron knights?"
I actually didn't know any of this, but it doesn't change my mind. "Of course I knew," I say. "But his allies don't matter. I've business with him, and the details of that are between him and me."
"You will tell me, or I won't journey with you," Cory says.
Fine. First lie, but I note it's not wasted because Talen is paying close attention too. "He knows where to find Braedir. He's a guy in Soulwarden that escaped its destruction. I'm going to kill him."
"Braedir's alive?" Talen asks. "Why didn't you tell me? I want to kill him too."
I shake my head. "He's my mark. What he did to you and Angelaria is bad, but not anything close to what he put me through. I'm going to gut him slow...while he still breathes."
"Fair enough," Talen says. "Can I at least help?"
"Sure," I say. I look to Correldon and see that my story satisfies him for now.
He nods. "I can understand revenge. However, at the first scent of betrayal," the elf warns, "I and Pink Hair are gone."
"Fine."
"Excellent. Go and ready your belongings, and I'll tell Riaken our goodbyes." With that, the svelte elf moves up the slope, heading for the green-eyed soldier's tent. I finish my meal and wash my face and hands in the fresh water of the brook. Then I go to speak with Talisac while Talen goes to visit Angelaria.
"We're leaving soon," I tell him. I cut his bonds and stand him up so he can stretch his legs. Then I watch as he goes to the bathroom in the woods. "I don't want you telling the others about what you told me."
I hear his piss striking the earth under a tree. "It's I who'll be giving the orders," he states.
"You think so?"
He looks at me. "If you want to have the larva removed, then yes. Otherwise, I refuse."
I swallow hard, but he's called my bluff.
"Once we're away from here, you no longer tie me up. Is that understood?"
I nod.
"Good." He shakes himself off and puts himself away. Then he walks over to me and attempts to pat me on the cheek but I grab his wrist.
He flashes me an oily smile; I let him go.
"Today you start a rigorous diet that you'll have to maintain until the surgery. Eat only what I say you can eat...and drink sparingly. You must be a little dehydrated for the worm to grow uncomfortable and begin to descend down your spine. I'll give you a nod each time if I think it okay for you to take a drink or to eat something. That way we can be discreet with your companions around. You may, however, eat as much semen as you like. Semen is toxic to the worm, and the more you ingest, the worse off it will be for the larva making its home inside your body. A boy like you shouldn't find it hard to find cocks to suck." He says that last part with a smug grin.
"Thank you for not saying a word to Talen," I say.
"It's important for you to sweat, so I want you in full armor all of the time and only sparingly without your helmet. I want this...suit...to insulate you. You must be uncomfortably hot all of the time. However, it's okay to have sex as much as you like as this keeps your heart rate up."
I shake my head. "I'm not fucking you, so you can stop with the sex talk."
"You're no fun."
"How long must I do this?"
"I don't know," he says. "It could take weeks. The worm inside your body can be frustratingly slow to respond to its physical environment. If we make your body an uncomfortable place for it to live, it will look for a home in your scrotum. This is the only cool area on your body, you know? Only then can I fish it out through your penis." He grabs me by the arm. "Before this is over, you should be aware that your appearance will change. I'd say you'll be nothing but sinew, large cut muscles, veins, and bone. Have you seen a man with no fat? Unless beauty is measured in the amount of visible veins and deep cuts a person has, you'll be hideous. Oh and I'll have to give you injections from time to time?"
"Injections of what?"
"A special brew. The science behind it is something your illiterate mind can't understand, but I'd let you look at the pictures in my scrolls if you'd like. Who knows...you might get something out of it?"
"I'm not stupid," I say.
He pats my cheek. "Of course you're not. I'm sure Talen and Angelaria like you for your brain, right? That's probably how you got all your friends in life...by being...so smart."
I seriously want to punch him, but I don't. "Come on," I say. "Let's go get Angelaria."
We find my princess back at the brook. She's cleaning her hair and skin with some soap and a soft sponge; Talen's stands guard a few feet away, perched on a rock like an eagle overlooking its prey. When she's done, she slips into a fresh shirt and some pants that Riaken gave her; the wetness of her body makes her nipples hard. I admire hard. Then she slips her dainty feet into a pair of boots that also belong to the soldier. Damn she looks nice.
Talen and I shoulder the supplies, each taking a pack filled with food for the others and two water jugs a piece. Even though we plan on following the brook down from the mountain, packing water is prudent. Riaken hands me a knife, and Talen hangs a sword from his belt and falls in next to me. Unlike me, however, Talen keeps his helmet off. The day is hot, but I'm following Talisac's orders. As a result, sweat pours down my body and soaks my boots, but it's a necessary evil. I want this thing out of me. It's the only way my mind will ever feel secure again.
The pink-haired gnome has by far the largest load. It's almost comical watching him carry it; a thing nearly as large as his body. It fits on his back like a tortoise shell.
Our party follows a path behind the silver-haired ranger. Despite our best efforts, he quickly leaves us behind. A little irritated, I break into a jog, but the others just plod along at their own pace seemingly without a care in the world. Soon, it's just Cory and I moving about a thousand feet in front of the others. We descend rapidly through the meadow. To make matters worse, Angelaria takes some time to wander amidst the meadow, collecting samples of wild flowers and paintbrushes from the thick carpet of green sprouting from these foothills. It eventually forces Cory to call for a rest stop; I look to Talisac to see if it's okay to drink and eat something. To my chagrin, he gives permission to the former but not the latter.
Innocently Talen offers up a handful of food, but I wave it off. "I'm not hungry," I say after one swallow of water.
"You've got to be starving," he says laughing.
"I'm not, actually." Then I close my visor so I don't have to smell his meal.
"Suit yourself then," Talen says. He swallows the fruit and bread with a happy grin on his face.
Gods I love butter, and I watch him through the glass as he spreads it on the crust.
We stop often throughout the warm day. Each time, I take a few swallows of water, but nothing to eat. My stomach complains loudly but no one seems to notice. Finally at evening's light, the four of us arrive at the entrance to a wide valley. Before us are the banks of a lazy river, winding its way through multiple stands of spruce trees growing along the edge of a vast forest.
Steam rises from geysers that form a basin on the far side; they flood the environs with the thick scent of drifting sulfur. It's breathtaking country, and we make camp next to the river which takes its name from these natural hot springs called "fireholes" by the dwarves of the deep.
Talen, eager to try out his fishing skill, creeps off into the growing night to do some nocturnal exploration. I collapse next to Angelaria and fashion a crude shelter for her using some pine branches. I leave her to decorate it with the wild flowers she picked from the meadow earlier that day.
Correldon prepares an earthen pit for a small fire. While he's doing that, I gather some branches and dry bits of wood from the surrounding forest. The night vision on the inside of my visor is invaluable for this. The ground beneath my boots is a little spongy, but under the trees there's plenty of dry branches and bark suitable for burning. I load my tired arms down and make my way back to camp.
By the time Talen returns with a few fish, our fire is well underway. I heat some of last night's leftovers for Angelaria and return to her side while the others cook. She's fallen asleep, and I gently wake her with my left hand and serve her some warm bread, meat, and a hot cider drink that the gnome Pink Hair calls Cispra. It smells so good, and I'm filled with memories of huge apple orchards where the branches are all laden with red, juicy fruit.
"That was a long hike," she says to me, setting her mug aside. I roll up my pack. It's soft and I'm planning to use it as my pillow, but I think I should give her a shot at it first. "Thank you, Kian," she whispers and then kisses me on the cheek.
"I'll speak with the elf," I tell her. "I'll see if we can't slow our pace down a little. Maybe he's just eager to get out of the mountains. Honestly, I can't say that I don't blame him even though this last day has been extremely beautiful."
"Why don't you take off your helmet?" she asks.
I smile but don't answer her. I hear the fish sizzling in the pan, and Tethyr's teeth it makes me hungry.
Angelaria shakes her head, ravishing night black hair falling about that slender neck of hers. "I've never been on this side of the Icewall before. The mountain air here is crisp and has a certain tang to it." She rests her head on my shoulder. "By all the gods in heaven I want you to make love to me so bad, but I don't have any birth control."
I swallow, feeling my dick get hard. "Birth control?" I ask. All thoughts of how hungry I am have now fled.
She stares at her belly and says. "I don't want to get pregnant, at least for the time being. To ensure that I don't, I'll need to prepare a potion before you pop my cherry." She kisses me delicately on the lips. "You can wait, right? Just be thankful you can't get pregnant. Men would think a lot different if they had to endure nine months to incubate an offspring. But when you got forged from clay, you got the best of the bargain with a night of unmitigated passion and absolutely no commitment."
"That's not the way it is."
She looks at me curiously before touching the side of my face. "You look so thin. Very handsome...but thin."
I say nothing.
"Maybe you're different," she continues, "However, it's hard to think that men as a species aren't that simple. You've to admit...men are a little overwhelmed by the need to have sex. Women, well, we know what's involved with the act a little more than men and because of that we're more careful because one mistake can lead to nine months of hardship not to mention the years afterward spent in trying to educate your child properly and to provide for them until adulthood. I don't think men have that kind of vision. To your credit, it's one of the things that make you so damned charming. You spend your entire life trying to be coy and clever while we spend our entire lives preparing for responsibility and motherhood."
Talen's antics of trying to grab a fish out of the fire so he can eat it draws my eye and gives me pause to grin. He keeps burning his fingers and dropping the fish.
"You made me drop it," he states, looking across the fire at the gnome. Talen's completely oblivious to the fact that he could use his knife to skewer it out of the fire or at least don his gauntlets and handle it that way.
"I did not make you drop it," Pink Hair says. "I merely said hand it to me and you let go before I had a good grasp on the blasted thing."
"Well, if gnomes didn't have such pudgy fingers, you'd be able to hold onto things like fish a lot easier! Don't blame me for your shortcomings," he snaps. "Aha...got it." Then he yelps and drops it in the dirt around the fire pit. Crestfallen, he stares at it lying between his feet.
"Bah," Pink Hair says. "Idiot!" The gnome leaves the edge of the firelight and walks down to the river to wash some of his clothes.
I imagine putting a little distance between him and Talen is a good thing.
Before bed, I eat half a fish. Despite the fact that I'm ravenously hungry, Talisac signals that I'm to swallow no more. So I go wash up in the warm waters close to the geyser and then don my armor which feels loose over my ripped physique. As I examine the ridges of my muscles by moonlight, I wonder how skinny I'm actually going to get. I can already see every one of my ribs, and the cuts of my six pack are so stark that it's difficult to imagine them more so.
Why does the bad shit always happen to me?
Correldon takes first watch. I rest uneasily and use Talen's shoulder as my pillow. My dreams are troubled with images of enslavement. When I close my eyes, I find myself wandering in dark caverns. There's an omnipresent ruddy glow that casts the shadows of walkers on the wall. However, I can't reach out to touch them my hands aren't mine to control. The last dream shatters with a "pop" from the fire. I bolt awake, armor venting sweat from multiple areas on my body. It's still dark outside and Angelaria is asleep peacefully against the line of my body.
Carefully, I leave our shelter, and go to Correldon who's busy staring into the night around our camp. The elf's hand rests slack on the wooden haft of his bow which glows with beautiful runes.
"Do those do anything?" I ask, voice barely above a whisper. "I mean, is your bow magical?"
He nods. "Yes. Elves are magical creatures, Kian. It would seem inappropriate for us to not possess magical items, don't you think? You see, I string an arrow and then touch one of the runes which transform its color because it's now enchanted with a spell. Each creates a different effect."
"Like what?"
The first rune is one of teleportation. A target thus struck will disappear and reappear within a hundred miles of me. I've actually transported a hapless mortal like yourself a hundred miles into the sky. But conversely, I could do it into the earth if I so desired. Needless to say I never saw him again."
I swallow uneasily. "I can understand that."
"This one here's a rune of seeking. Once I've touched it, the arrow will appear to turn three shades of yellow. When I release it, the missile will follow a victim around corners or down pits or up trees until it strikes. The third there is a rune of heart piercing. If I touch it, the arrow will fly true and seek out the very heart in your chest. I've killed many things in this manner before. The fourth is a rune of pyromancy. It'll cause the arrow to explode in an enormous ball of fire, which burns to ash nearly every living thing within sixty feet of its target. The fifth is a rune of petrification... useful against enemies like trolls who have incredible regenerative properties. It has the power to turn an entire creature and its belongings into rock almost instantly. To see its effects on the living makes even the strongest man shudder, Kian. It's not for the squeamish."
"Where did you get such a marvelous weapon?" I ask, wiping the swept from the end of my nose. The fire in the hearth is hot, and it's like my armor is absorbing it all.
"It was given to me for a service I performed for the Queen of the Elven nation of Symardiearre. It was once wielded by the Elven knights of the Kuanni before they broke with the council of Symardiearre by taking consul with demons of the Shadow World."
"Demons...blasted evil things. I can't understand why anyone would associate with them, much less ally with them. I've seen a demon only once, and it's something I'll never forget easily. It'll probably give me nightmares for years to come."
He stares at me with a peculiar if not curious gaze. "And yet you lived to tell about it? Please...do not spare any details. What demon did you see?"
"It was almost a year ago...the night that Angelaria, Talen, and I first entered the Valion keep on the far side of those mountains. We'd come up from the Mirimar and stayed in a town that was completely empty--like something had come through and scooped them all out of their houses. Well, there were dead horses in the barn and they'd started to rot and there was decaying food on the tables. But it was a place where we could re-provision, and a blizzard was rolling into the area. We wanted to get shelter quickly you see. Anyway, during the night, I saw something. It looked like a shaggy beast with great tentacles that I imagine drip with otherworldly slime. And it was walking on the frozen lake. I only saw it for an instant, though, like you see fog on a cold pane of glass. It's there for a moment and then it's gone. That kind of thing. But I could have sworn it was a demon. Later, the next morning, the three of us walked out onto the frozen lake and found the villagers stored beneath the ice in the dark and watery depths. It was like the demon was using the cold water as a personal meat locker. Angelaria says that the thing was letting the ice freeze their blood so that it could eat them."
The elf's face takes on a startled expression. "I've never seen such a beast. But if you did not face it or know of its fate, it must still be free to roam the mountains looking for other victims."
"Probably. I'd think that there's at least a good chance that it's still killing," I say. "Do you think it's similar to the ones that the Kuanni consulted with in the past?"
"I don't think so," Correldon replies. "The Kuanni are still elven, and elves do not like the cold. The creature that you encountered is more than likely an Ogavran Kor, a Snowman of Vas in the ancient tongue. Although I do not know how it is that an Ogavran Kor has been allowed to escape its master. The sorcery required to breach the distance between Vas of Kleef and Wynwrayth is immense. It would demand the use of a Crystal Gate, and that, my friend, is only available for use by the Great Houses of Wynwrayth."
"The Great Houses?"
"There are eight. In order they are Kala-Pur, home of the corobidian mines of Kala-Pur, Great House Vas, Great House Sulas, Great House Valion, Great House Norem, Great House Daar, Great House Veverand, and Great House Zim. Kala-Pur is the only one of them that is not ruled over by a god or goddess. Instead, the mines are run by a soothsayer of immense power known to the others as Azmalak Kring. He is over three thousand years old and perhaps the most formidable black wizard in the Houses of Sul."
I nod, listening to his words while casting my eyes upward at the stars, which twinkle brightly amidst the pointed shadows of treetops. A breeze from the north brushes my cheek. It's chilly, but does little to cool my dripping body. That's when I notice something out in the darkness. It's barely visible, but there's a silhouette of someone standing beyond the edge of the firelight. Correldon notices it too, and he raises his bow cautiously and strings it with the deft fingers of his right hand.
"What is it?" I ask.
He doesn't say a word.
The shadow rises up to move and Correldon raises his bow, takes aim, and fires. There's a cry from the darkness followed by the sound of a body crashing into the shallows of the river. Whatever it is, still lives. Splashing near the bank confirms this.
Talen bolts awake, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
I hold my finger to my lips, motioning for him to be quiet. Correldon leaps to his feet and races into the shadows and a groan emits from near the edge of the river.
"Stay here!" I tell him.
I race after the elf.
In a black so deep it's difficult to see anything, I stumble forward calling out "Correldon" as loud as I dare. Near the bank of the Firehole, my foot strikes the dead hand of a man about my height but twice my weight. I curse myself for not thinking to use the night vision and close my visor. Once I do this, I see that the corpse at my feet has its face buried in mud. Correldon leans over him, inspecting the body. He withdraws a slender broadsword that he's sunk into the man's back as he crawled from the water's edge. In his leg, I note the broken shaft of the arrow Correldon shot at him earlier.
"You killed him?" I ask. "How do you know that he was hostile?"
The elf regards me with a blank-faced expression. He rolls the man over with his foot, and I see that he's not exactly human. And boy does he have a fearsome appearance in all that banded mail armor. A shock of long greasy hair is attached to the back of his war axe.
"Need a weapon?" The elf cuts the axe free of its leather strap and hands it to me.
"I don't know how to use it. I've not had much cause to use an axe. Besides, I have these." I press a button on the inside of my visor unleashing my long cibrian wrist blades.
"Nice," Cory says. "But an axe is useful. And besides, what's there to know? Use the sharp end of it to cleave a man's skull in half."
I grimace. There's nothing elegant about an axe. "I'll stick to my own weapons thank you." I drop the axe into the mud at his feet.
"You are as unwise as most humans. I've no idea how you've been so successful as a species."
"Unwise? If I tried to use that axe I'd probably cut myself to pieces sooner than I'd be able to defend myself. Give me a sword and I'll show you some moves you've never seen."
"This dead man...he is Ekthor. I've mentioned them to you before. But this," he indicates with a gesture to a ring on the man's finger, "is Kuanni in origin. Kuanni use the Ekthor as scouts because of their excellent night vision. He's probably been watching us since sundown. By killing him, it buys us time to pack up and leave the area before the Kuanni realize that he's missing."
"We can't leave...not until morning. If we go traipsing around here in this darkness, then someone is going to get hurt. And we can't use lights or the Kuanni would just follow us."
Correldon stands to his full height and walks past me, his feet barely making any sound at all as he passes through the tall grass that sprouts in thick patches all around us. I look down once more at the dead Ekthor scout and then turn to follow him. I set my jaw and walk back into the light of the campfire ready to confront him.
"Look...you know that I'm right," I say, catching up to him."
"They come for us, little boy," the elf states, "whether you like it or not. I know you and your companion can fight, but if we wait here, they'll overwhelm us. They prize female humans highly as slaves. Do you want HER blood on your hands?"
Before I can say anything, a strange horn blares in the distance, and it fills my heart with dread.
Chapter Twenty-Four next week.