We stood there rooted in shock and fear. Will was attacked by a goblin and as he tried to quickly dispatch the foul creature, he shouted, "Don't just stand there, run!"
Recovering from my shock, I grabbed Ryan's hand and started to run across the stream. We ran into the forest with Will and several goblins and kobolds behind us. Suddenly, the ground rose up from beneath us, forming a crude wall. We were trapped with those creatures behind us and the wall blocking our escape.
We turned around to find Will facing the enemy already aware of the wall in front of him. There were three kobolds and four goblins facing us, cackling and laughing. Then one of the bigger kobold that was a head taller than us pointed at Ryan and me, giving orders to the others in their crude language.
Will lunge at the kobold as it was speaking. The other kobolds quickly tried to intercept him but he slammed into the kobold, bringing it to the ground. As Will was engaged with the kobolds the four goblins turned to Ryan and me. The four goblins were just a bit shorter than the largest kobold.
The smallest one made a grab at me, which I quickly evaded. We found ourselves with our backs against the wall and then all of the goblins came charging at us. Ryan evaded one and pushed another away but I was caught by one of the quicker ones. I tried in vain to get free when suddenly Ryan threw himself at the goblin, screaming and beating at it with his fists.
Just as the other goblins were about to make a grab for Ryan, the goblin suddenly jerked back as if struck by something. Taking advantage of his surprise, Ryan pulled my hand away. Immediately after my hand was free, the goblin was thrown back into the other goblins. Ryan collapsed on to the ground next to me as I saw Will pulling his sword out of the last kobold.
One of the goblins died and another was wounded before they were aware of Will. The three of them quickly circled Will, trying to catch him off guard. I saw my chance when one of the goblins had his back to me. I charged at him, slamming him into his wounded mate. Will quickly attack the other one, killing it with one strike through the heart. The two goblins leapt to their feet, throwing me to the ground.
As Will faced the two of them, Ryan suddenly flung a handful of dirt into the eyes of one of the goblins, which caused it to leap back to avoid what it probably thought was a weapon. That allowed Will to strike at the other one without restrain. In one swift stroke, Will beheaded the goblin. Howling in anger, the surviving goblin charged at Will. Will easily deflected the enraged goblin's first two strikes before launching into a series of complicated strikes ending with his sword thrust into the goblin's heart.
Turning to Ryan he said, "Are you hurt?"
"No, just tired and a bit stunned."
"What happened? I was just finishing off the last kobold when I saw that goblin slam into the others."
"Ryan-"
"We pushed him back towards the others and he tripped and fell into them," Ryan cut me off quickly and smoothly.
I stared at him but nodded. Satisfied, Will took two swords from the kobolds and gave one to each of us. We put them into their sheaths and then I asked Will, "Where are we going now, Will?"
"We are going to Aria as mother intended, Shane. What I want to know is where did those creatures come from?" Ryan said looking at Will.
"I don't know where they came from, Ryan. They just stormed into the clearing, as I was about to call the two of you to come back. They might have been the replacement for the ones that encountered the elves. Or there might be more than one of those tunnels."
"Do-do you think any of the others survived?"
"No, Shane, I don't think any of them survived. When they attacked us most of them were just back from the stream. The elves screamed in rage when they saw the creatures and threw themselves at them. The human guards that didn't die in the first wave were behind me trying to stop them from reaching you. Now we'd better get going before more of these bastards arrive."
We followed Will into the forest, Ryan holding on to me for support. After a while, Will allowed us to rest. "Can the two of you climb this tree? It will be safer and it has a sturdy branch that should hold you both. You will need to tie yourself to the branch with some of those vines up there to be safe. I will be in that tree over there. That way I will be able to hear any of those creatures coming."
We quickly climbed the tree, helping Ryan up. Will then went up the tree next to us. As soon as Will was up in his tree, I put my mouth to Ryan's ear and whispered to him, "how did you do it?"
"I don't know. I was so scared that the goblin was going to take you away that I just threw everything I had at him."
"You know that our powers will not mature for another two years or so. You could have died if you had used up all of your powers. There is a reason that the book said that initially we are supposed to start off practicing with smaller stuff to test our limits. It takes a lot more power to do something that we have never done and don't know how to do."
"I know all that. I also know that I used pure power against the goblin, but I was so scared that you would be hurt that I just acted without thinking. Shane, aren't you going to ask me why I lied to Will?" he asked, changing the subject.
"I was just about to, Ryan. We will be with Will for a long time before we reach Aria and after what just happened I think he can be trusted. I really want to know why you didn't tell him what you really did."
"I didn't tell him about our powers because I don't want anyone to know about them. Once we reach Aria, the Queen will send for us and Will will report to her everything he knows."
"I still don't understand, Ryan, why don't you want the Queen to know about your powers?"
"It's not only the Queen I don't want to know about us, Shane. It's everyone in the royal court. Both my parents and Larg have always told me that secrets are very hard to keep at court. I have been told that I must keep my secrets close to my heart, using them for bargaining or as a means of defense. I am the last of the Shauku, so there is a lot to be gained from my death, not least of all our lands and holdings. That is why I lied to Will."
"Ryan, I cannot say that I fully understand what you just told me but I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to. Let's go to sleep now. I am very tired and I know that you are too. Goodnight, Ryan."
There was no answer from Ryan as he was already fast asleep. I dozed off next to him almost immediately.
"Shane, Ryan. Wake up! We have to leave here as soon as possible."
Will's voice pulled me from my dreams. As I started to open my eyes I heard Ryan asking Will about our whereabouts.
"We are in the forest between Ikuta and Aria. It's will take us ten days or so to reach the King's Road if we travel north. Then perhaps another two or three days before we reach Aria."
"What are we going to eat for the next two weeks?"
"I can hunt rabbits for us, Ryan, don't worry."
"We don't have to go to all that trouble. We can just eat berries and other fruits," I said as we made our way down the tree. I went towards a small bush that I had seen before on my way to Ikuta and picked some of the ripe berries. "Here, try these," I said as I gave some to them.
"Are you sure that these are safe to eat?" Will asked doubtfully.
"Of course. I ate these berries all the time when I was on my way to Ikuta."
Ryan was already eating the berries and started picking some of his own. Will also started eating, as he too was very hungry. Not eating since the morning before does that to a person, I thought to myself as I too started to eat. I showed them several other types of berries and nuts that were edible. Some of these Will knew about, others he had his doubts. Ryan just ate them as soon as I pointed them out.
Will set a fast pace for us, intending to reach the safety of Aria as soon as possible. By sunset, we were deep into the forest. The forest grew darker and the trees taller as we made our way through it. We finally stopped for dinner and a rest at sunset. Will caught a fat rabbit that we cooked over a small fire.
For the next couple of days we traveled north, following the same routine, eating berries and nuts while traveling and a rabbit or a wild bird that we found for our evening meal. We drank from small streams that we found in the forest. We reached the King's Road after eleven days in the forest and made camp by the roadside.
We were traveling on the road the next day when Ryan suddenly stopped. He looked like he was concentrating on something. Will thought Ryan had seen something and quickly drew his sword.
"What is it, Ryan?"
He hushed me up and continued to stand there with his eyes closed. Then he opened his eyes and with a smile said, "the Queen is sending one of the rocs to pick us up." He was laughing and jumping with joy.
Bewildered, Will asked, "How do you know that? What happened just now?"
"The Queen was speaking to me telepathically. I told her what had happened, so she's sending one of the rocs to pick us up. It should be here before sunset."
"The queen is sending a roc to pick us up?" Will was enthusiastic about the prospect of riding a roc. I was too happy to say anything.
"Yup. We don't have to walk anymore. I am going to just lie down in that clearing and wait for the roc."
We followed Ryan to the clearing, happy that we weren't going to have to walk all the way to Aria. "Ryan, what will happen to me in Aria?"
"I don't know, Shane. Maybe you will be a squire."
"Shane isn't going to be a squire. Larg told me to send you to the Scholar's Hall. Arrangements have already been made for you there," Will said.
"The Scholar's Hall? But ^ÅBut^Å the Hall is only for those with psionics. How?" Shane stuttered.
"The Hall accepts not only psionics but also those with a very high intelligence, Shane. It's not necessary to be a psionic," Ryan said, "Larg obviously thought that you are qualified to study in the Hall, or else he wouldn't have recommended you."
"Who knows, maybe you do have some powers. If not, you won't be the only one," Will said, trying to reassure me.
I gave Ryan a glance before saying; "I don't think I have any powers at all, Will. If I did, I'm sure I would have known by now."
Ryan started to reassure me, all the while trying hard not to smile. I was confident that I could keep my powers a secret, although I had no idea why I would have to. But since Ryan was happy that I was hiding my powers, I thought that I might as well keep that smile on his face.
The roc arrived soon after that. It had a single rider and he waved for us to climb on to its back. Ryan sat behind him, I sat behind Ryan, and Will was behind me. He told us to hold on tight to the one in front and then the roc started to rise.
I loved the ride and wished it could have lasted longer. The roc was very fast and rose high above the ground. We reached Aria before midnight. In Aria, Will was given a room in the barracks while I was given a room in the servants' quarters. Ryan was taken into the palace.
A young man woke me up early the following morning and took me to the bathroom for my morning bath. After that, I was given fresh clothes to wear and then was allowed to eat breakfast. When I had finished eating, he took me into the inner palace as the Queen wanted to speak to me.
I was taken to a small waiting room and then the young man left. Will was already there and we greeted each other. A maid came in to lead us into the inner chamber connected to the waiting room and announced us. Ryan was there standing behind a beautiful blonde woman. The room was large and richly decorated.
Will walked towards the woman and knelt in front of her. I quickly followed his actions. "I am Will Pauling and this is Shane Wynforth, as you have summoned us, so have we obeyed."
"Will Pauling, you have done well to escort the young Lord Shauku to Aria. I award you a hundred gold coins and appoint you to the rank of captain of the Queen's Sword. Jo here will lead you to High Captain Kastner's office," she said, gesturing to the maid who led us in.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I beg your Majesty's permission to withdraw from her presence, to seek the High Captain so that I may begin serving the Sword." The queen nodded her assent and Will left the room with Jo. Then she turned to me and said, "Rise, Shane Wynforth. I have been told that you are a very special and intelligent boy. Ryan said that you came from Icatia after the pirates had raided it. How did it come to pass that you survived where others perished? By all reports, you are the only survivor of the raid. Tell me what happened during this raid."
"I was in the forest when the pirates attacked. I was playing there alone and I got lost. When I finally found my way home, I found my village in flames. I saw the pirate ships in the harbor. There were at least eight of them there. When I went into the village, I could see dead corpses everywhere I turned. My house was burned to the ground and through the windows I saw smoldering bodies. The pirates had already left by that time." I began to cry as the scene replayed itself in my mind.
"For the next two days I just sat on the ground crying. I was devastated. Everything I knew was gone. After I had no more tears left to cry, I made up my mind to leave. I knew my parents would want me to continue on with my life. So I took whatever food I could find and followed the King's Road. I didn't know where I was going, only that I must find a place to live and carry on with my life."
I was weeping softly now and I could see tears in their eyes. Wiping my eyes dry, I continued, "I made my way to Ikuta and there I met Larg who gave me a job in the castle."
"Shane, are you sure you saw as many as eight ships?" the queen questioned softly.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I saw at least eight ships in the harbor. The light cast by the burning village allowed me to see them clearly.
"Did you see any of the ships' flags?"
"The ships had no flags hoisted, Your Majesty."
"Anything special about the ships that could make them recognizable?"
"All the ships were completely black, Your Majesty, even the sails."
"The Dark Fleet? Why? What is so important in Icatia that they would send so many men?" the queen said to herself softly. Then looking at me she said, "You may go now, Shane. Ryan, you are to report to Captain Martyn for your morning workout. I will require your presence at noon. Dress appropriately for you will be presented in the afternoon court. Now go, both of you."
We quickly left the room. Outside, Ryan said, "come on, I will bring you to the Hall. The Queen said that you are suppose to report to one of the Royal Scholar's assistants."
Ryan led me out of the palace. I was still affected by my memories and was glad that Ryan kept silent the most of the way. We took a road that led out of the palace to a building that was larger than the whole village of Ikuta. The road was long and wide and was flanked by high walls on both sides. Ryan explained that it connected the Hall to the palace. We entered the building through a small door in the side. We found a young man who directed us to the office of one of the deans.
We knocked on the door and heard a voice say, "Come in". We entered and saw an old man sitting in a chair behind a large table filled with books, scrolls and maps. Before I could say anything Ryan said, "Hello, I am Ryan Shauku and this is Shane Wynforth from Ikuta. Larg told me he had made arrangements for Shane to enter the Hall. He is suppose to report to one of the Deans in the Hall."
"Please wait one moment while I ask Dean Mayen," he said and then he was still for a while. "Okay, Shane Wynforth, is it? Joey will be here soon to take you to your room."
Ryan then said, "I will take my leave now Dean Gavotte. I have to go see Captain Martyn now."
He then left the room before the Dean could say anything in reply. As he left he gave me a smile. Dean Gavotte looked confused for a moment but then he turned to me and asked, "so what powers do you have young man?"
I was surprised that he knew I was psionic and didn't know what to say. Then before I could tell him of my powers he said, "scared, boy? Don't be, you should be grateful for your powers, whatever they may be. It is a gift that you should use to help others. I am not reading your mind, but if Larg was willing to send you here, then you must be a psionic."
I recovered somewhat when he told me that he was not reading my mind. He didn't know about my powers, he just assumed, I thought to myself. Then I said softly, "I don't have any powers sir."
"You don't? Then why did Larg send you here? Wait a minute, boy." He started concentrating and I took the chance to study the room. It was a large room that was very untidy and had books, maps and scrolls scattered all over the place. The dean himself reflected his room. His clothes were disheveled and his hair looked as if he'd just gotten out of bed.
"Well, lets see if I got my facts right. Larg's report says that you are very intelligent and that you have learned elven, orcish and dwarven in six months. That's very impressive for one so young. Let see if he exaggerated." He then proceeded to explain to me the rules of the Hall in the three languages, switching from one to another fluently. "So if you understood me, repeat what I just said in Arian."
So I repeated the rules to him in Arian. A cute boy of fourteen or fifteen years old came in just as I finished. The boy was about 5'4" and had shoulder length hair. The dean motioned him in and introduced him as Joey. "Joey will take you to where you will sleep and tomorrow I will arrange a loose schedule of study for you. Joey, I want you to show Shane around and explain to him what will be expected of him."
"Okay but I thought he knew the rules. That was what he was repeating wasn't it?"
"What he was repeating was what he is not supposed to do. I think you should start memorizing them as you don't seem to know them"
"What? I know the rules sir. I-I just didn't hear what he said, that's all."
"Okay Joey. Now get out of here before I really set you to work. You are free for today. Make sure he knows his way around and try not to scare him away with your silly jokes and pranks."
"Okay sir, I know what to do. Come on." He took my hand and pulled me out of the room. "Where are you from, Shane?"
"I am from Icatia. You?"
"I was born and bred in Aria. So, tell me, where is Icatia? Is it a nice place to live?"
"Icatia is somewhere to the south of Aria. It is ... was a nice place to live in," I said, trying not to think about its destruction.
"Are you alright? Do you need to sit down?"
"No, I am fine."
"You are not all right. I can feel your sorrow."
I just stared at him, not understanding what he meant.
"I am an empath. I can feel peoples' feelings if I try. But I wasn't trying to read you. It's just that your feelings are so strong that they just pour off you. Come on, I think you need to lie down even if you don't want to tell me anything."
He led me up the steps and into a room. The room had four beds and was quite neat. There was also two tables, each one in corner. He motioned for me to sit down on one of the beds and closed the door. I sat down on a bed next to the window and studied him. He had a swimmers build, slim and muscular. He had dirty blonde hair and his eyes were pale green.
He was wearing a shirt and shorts, showing off his tanned legs. I could see a light dusting of blonde hair on them. He was also studying me as he sat down next to me. He started pressing me for details of what was causing me such sorrow and sadness, reasoning with me that he had a right to know since it caused him to get depressed himself.
At first I was reluctant to speak to him, but I was so comfortable with him that I was soon telling him everything. By the time I finished, I was crying openly and he was hugging me encouraging me to let it all out. I felt so comfortable with him that I fell asleep in his arms.
I woke up to an intense feeling that I couldn't place at the time. I could feel Joey's hands on me, massaging my penis and thighs. I was on my side, facing away from him and I could feel him humping me. I started pushing back into him. Encouraged, Joey pushed one of his hands into my pants and started stroking me.
His other hand roamed all over my body, feeling my chest and my small nipples. He rubbed and pinched them, sending waves of pleasure throughout my whole body. He kissed my neck and slowly kissed his way to my lips. I felt his tongue trying to open my mouth. Parting my lips, I felt his tongue sliding into my mouth. He was licking the inside of my mouth and it was driving me wild.
I slowly pushed his tongue back into his mouth and started to do the same to him. As I explored his mouth, he applied a gentle suction on my lips and tongue. As we were kissing, he was pulling down my pants and feeling my thighs and stroking my penis. His hands were all over my body.
I felt my way to his pants and quickly pulled them down. I then turned around, not breaking the kiss, and started to stroke him. His lips left mine then and made their way slowly down. He was licking and sucking my neck, shoulder, chest, and nipples and then he was kissing my belly button. I started to giggle but then he took my penis into his mouth.
I gave a loud gasp as I first felt and then saw what he was doing. He started licking first my balls and then slowly up my shaft. Then he plunged down on me, taking my whole penis in his mouth. I was entranced by his actions and intense pleasure overtook me. With a loud scream, I shot my sperm into his mouth. He sucked greedily, milking my penis for every single drop of my fluid.
He looked up at me with lust in his eyes and licking his lips said, "umm, your cum tastes great. You want to try mine?" He came up to me and offered his penis to me. The sight of his beautiful six-inch penis entranced me. It was long and slender, pointing straight up. There was a small patch of blonde hair at the base but his balls were completely smooth.
He slowly moved his penis to my mouth and as it approached I opened my mouth in anticipation. I was caught up in intense feelings of lust for Joey and hungrily took his penis into my mouth. "Suck on it and lick it all over like I did," Joey moaned as my mouth enveloped his hot shaft. I sucked it tentatively and tasted pre-cum for the first time in my life. It was both sweet and salty. I sucked hungrily trying to get more of his pre-cum.
As I alternated between sucking and licking his penis, he was turning around and soon I felt his hot mouth closed over my shaft again. He expertly sucked me, his hands roaming all over my body. I was able to take only three inches of his penis so I started to rub his balls and the base of his penis. He started pumping in and out of my mouth so I just sucked on his penis while I let my hands roam all over his back and bum.
His humping got faster and more of his penis started going into my mouth. Then with a loud moan, he slammed into me and started cumming. As he came, waves of pleasure rushed through me and I started shooting into his mouth. The feeling was so intense that all I could do was stay where I was while struggling to breathe through my nose. It was not an easy thing to do with six inches of meat in my mouth and throat and wiry hair stuffed up my nose. I could barely move, so intense was the feeling.
I was completely exhausted and couldn't push him away. Luckily he rolled off me, leaving me gasping for breath. He turned around and wrapped his arms around me. My throat was hurting and I started coughing as some of his cum still stuck to my throat. He hugged me and told me how good I was and how much he enjoyed it. Then he asked me, "was that your first time sucking a cock?"
I nodded as I struggled to get my breath back. He smiled and hugged me even closer. "You were great. Did you like what we just did?" he asked, smiling knowingly. There was a twinkle in his eye that spoke of a secret that only he knew. "I love what we just did. Thank you for showing me. Thank you also for sharing your pleasure with me," I answered.
"H-how?" he said in shock. "No one ever--" Then as I smiled in triumph he stopped speaking and looked at me. I was overjoyed that my guess was correct, letting me show off to my new friend. Then as he just stared at me, I started to feel uneasy as it dawned on me that he might not have wanted me to know about it. A thought flitted through my mind, which I quickly rejected. I wanted it as much as he did, I reasoned to myself, even if I didn't know about sucking cock.
His face was filled with fear as he stared at me and I knew that he was afraid that I was angry with him. To ease his fears I quickly said, "its alright, I'm not angry with you."
"You are not? But I just tricked you into going to bed with me." He was starting to cry as he said those words.
"Why don't you tell me what you did and then I can decide whether you tricked me or not."
"O-okay, but we better get dressed first before the others come in."
"I think that's a wee bit too late." We jumped as we noticed that we were not alone in the room.