by Noah Layton
I spun to look across the cavern. Ga’lash was still watching this all take place, slouched in his chair casually. He didn’t seem to care that his goons were being cut down right in front of him.
Ariadne hurled one of her throwing knives and hit her guard in the gut, but he also carried on. She jumped back with her remaining knife, getting ready to throw it, but Lara was way ahead of her. She fired an arrow, slamming through a rib and piercing his lung.
The guard gasped for air as he fell to his knees. Lara did the honor of firing another arrow as she approached, which struck him square in the brain. She nodded to me, then to Ga’lash, indicating for me to keep an eye on the boss while she recovered her arrows.
I could see why Lara needed a team to do this. The fight was over before I knew it and had hardly been difficult, but one person facing off against these guys, even when well-equipped and well-planned, could easily get overwhelmed. They might have been criminals, but that didn’t mean they were good at fighting.
But this had been too easy, and Ga’lash was still seated on his tacky throne.
Lara and Ariadne rejoined me a few yards away from Ga’lash. We all had our weapons at the ready, but he still wasn’t moving – save for an annoyed expression stamped across his huge, scarred face.
‘Is that it?’ I said to Lara. ‘What happens now?’
‘Hand over the chest,’ she announced to Ga’lash. ‘And I might consider not killing you.’
Ga’lash smiled, then scoffed lightly.
‘More dead,’ his gruff voice spoke. He had a heavy accent. ‘I am starting to think that I should just do this alone… But then who would I have to carry out my dirty work?’
He didn’t reach for his sword – instead he retrieved what looked like a large gemstone from his sleeve, and spoke one word;
‘Infernia.’
In his other hand a ball of fire materialised too quickly.
‘Run!’
I didn’t have time to ask, I just did what Lara said.
We dashed for the passage into the cavern and turned the corner just as a huge blanket of fire flew our way, missing us by only a few feet.
‘What the hell is that?!’
‘Fire Blast,’ she said quickly. ‘I knew he had a power stone, I just didn’t know he had a spell at his command.’
‘Don’t run from me, brave warriors,’ he called out tauntingly as his lumbering footsteps approached in the darkness. ‘I would much prefer to not set the forest alight.’
‘We need to get that stone out of his hand,’ Ariadne said. ‘He’s weak without it.’
‘We’ve got one shot at this,’ I said. ‘If we miss…’
‘We can use the rocks,’ Lara said, nodding around the room. ‘There’s plenty of cover and a short casting time for his spell. We’ll have time.’
Ga’lash suddenly appeared, another ball of fire summoned in his hand. The girls aimed and fired.
One arrow hit him in the side, and a throwing knife struck his forearm. His grip loosened on the stone as he groaned loudly in pain, but it wasn’t enough to stop the spell.
Another stream of fire rushed at Lara, who dashed for cover behind a wall. Her cloak caught fire and she ripped it off, stamping the flames out on the ground.
‘Infern-’
The casting of his spell was interrupted by Ariadne, who had thrown her other knife and hit him in the stomach. His body was huge, and it only punctured a few inches, but it was enough to get a grunt of pain from him and stop another swarm fire coming our way.
‘TAKE HIM DOWN, JACK!’
Lara’s yell came on the back of me sprinting forward with my sword. One of his huge arms could block a strike, but a jab would do it.
I plunged my sword into his stomach between his ribs, that being the highest I could bring it.
Ga’lash groaned again, much louder this time. The stone slipped from his hand as he looked down at the blade, then up to me. My hands were still clasped around the handle; I prepared to pull it from his gut, but he grabbed the blade and instead pulled it into himself further.
A psychotic grin formed on his face. Before I could pull away he drew his hands up and grabbed the collar of my shirt, dragging me towards him then deliberately crashing forward.
I fell to the ground with his full weight atop me. One of his huge hands wrapped over my mouth, and I felt my airways give completely.
I was enclosed in darkness, unable to breathe, unable to even see, for seconds that began to drag on too long.
Thud.
His hand gave from my face, and I looked up just in time to see an arrow sticking out of his forehead. That big, stupid smile was still on his face, despite the metal and wood protruding through his skull.
Insane to the end.
His body collapsed atop me completely this time. Disoriented, I struggled to drag myself out from beneath his carcass. Ariadne reached a hand out and helped pull me out.
‘Well that was easy,’ I coughed.
‘Grab your sword,’ Lara said, ‘and the power stone. I’ll check the crate.’
I picked up my weapon and the stone, pocketing it in my inventory.
‘Oh, for the love of the gods…’
Lara’s voice called out from Ga’lash’s cavern. Ariadne and I returned to meet her. She had kicked the crate over, emptying its contents onto the ground; only a few apples and a basic dagger were inside.
‘That’s seriously all he had?’
‘Looks that way. I checked his inventory, nothing but some junk. I just know I’m going to have to loot his corpse now to make up for the total lack of treasure.’
‘Take it all,’ I said. ‘Whatever you can find. You can keep it.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous. I may usually work alone but this was a group effort. You deserve your share. We made a deal.’
‘I’ve got what I came here for, and you just saved my life. Take it. On one condition, though.’
‘What’s that?’
‘You still have to take me to the necromancer.’
‘Deal, but we’ll do that later. After that I think we all need another drink.’
***
The sun was low on the horizon by the time we returned to Ichabod’s Cove. The last of the day traders were either settling into scattered inns for the night or making their way home.
Flaming torches were set up across the cove, turning the scene into an even more beautiful sight. While the vendors were shutting up shop, the inns and taverns lit up with life, becoming the main source of raucous shouts and hysterical laughter.
I returned to the cart to find the horse sleeping peacefully, but Alorion was nowhere to be seen.
‘Alorion!’ I called out. ‘Where the hell did he go?’
The girls had no idea either. There wasn’t a sign that he had even been here to begin with. I started to panic about the possible fate of my companion, the one guy who had been by my side since I had arrived in this strange land.
‘Wait…’ I muttered, remembering what he had said earlier. ‘I think I know where he is.’
We hurried along the snaking pathways of the cove to The Drunken Steed. It may have been set back from the walkway, but the glowing lights within seemed to grow brighter with each chorus of an unfamiliar but melodic tune from within that was being sung by thirty or forty voices.
‘Where the hell is the doorman?’
We exchanged a look and headed inside.
The singing voices were so loud that they almost extinguished the sound of the band’s instruments.
‘W-e-e-l-l-l-l… She was a maiden I once knew who married far below her stead and when she passed by my fair way well this is what she sa-a-a-i-i-d…
The patrons – including the troll doorman – were all facing the centre of the barroom floor, singing along, focused on one table where two men were holding something.
‘No…’
Atop their hands, dancing like crazy with a glass of Morinthian’s in his hand, Alorion was leading the
song.
Absolutely. Fucking. Wasted.
‘I suppose this is what he calls making connections,’ Ariadne shouted in my ear.
‘This isn’t exactly what I had in mind when I said that we should keep a low profile.’
‘We cannot go back to our lands now, master. Darkness has fallen. It would be too dangerous.’
I was fine with leaving Alorion in the bar till morning, but we needed somewhere to stay. Kicking back in the cart was a possibility, but it would be a rough night of sleep, especially considering the walk ahead of us tomorrow morning.
‘There’s got to be an inn around here somewhere.’
‘Hey,’ Lara shouted above the noise, tapping me on the shoulder. ‘You need somewhere to stay tonight? Because I’ve got a room here.’
‘Permanently?’
‘I rent it from Rook. It’s good if you’re a drinker, which I take it you are.’
‘You got me.’
‘Come on.’
‘There room for all three of us?’
‘No, but why should that stop us?’
Before I could ask what she was getting at, Lara pushed through the crowd to the bar. She snatched up a bottle of something from behind the counter – even Rook was distracted, singing along while cleaning glasses – and led us through a door on the opposite side of the bar to the table where we had met her hours ago.
A window spilled the failing light of the day onto a small wooden staircase that led two floors above the bar, turning the sound into a background buzz.
Lara unlocked the door to her room using a key from a chain around her neck. We followed her into the darkness of the room. She stumbled about for a minute before opening a pair of curtains and shedding a little of the last light onto the place.
She was right – it was small, but that didn’t take away from the comfort of it. A small couch sat across from a bed, and by the window was a desk scattered with papers. Above were a few shelves stocked with items; empty vials, daggers and satchels to name a few. To the right of the desk, looking out over the cove beyond the curtains she had opened, was a single door standing open. It gave out onto a miniscule balcony and an idyllic view over the cove.
In the darkness by the door to our right was another source of light. A striking sound led to the lighting of a match, and a moment later Lara had lit up a small fireplace.
‘You don’t think it’s hot enough in here?’ I said.
‘It can never get too hot, especially when you’re drinking. It hits you so much harder that way.’
We set our weapons down, and Ariadne and I were about to kick back and relax when Lara continued with her undressing.
She had removed her bow and her arrows, but with her cloak went her blouse and her pants – she pulled off her boots and unbuttoned her clothes casually as if we weren’t even there, finally stopping when she was wearing nothing but her underwear, a black set of panties and a tight bra that gripped her surprisingly busty chest tightly.
She ran her fingers through the lining of the underwear at her waist. I thought for a second that she was going to slip them off too, but she was only rearranging them to fit her round behind.
As she turned I caught sight of the large tattoo that was sprawled across her back – a red and green dragon, uncoiled and roaring outwards.
She turned to look over at us.
‘Oh, what am I doing?’ She said suddenly, and reached for the bottle that she had snatched from the bar. ‘I haven’t even offered my guests a drink.’
She shot me a smile and handed me the bottle, which I took gladly.
Ochran’s Orchard, the label read.
‘This what you were having earlier?’ I asked, unscrewing it and sniffing the top. It had a deep, sweet taste like morello cherries.
‘During the day? No way. It’s great for the nights, though.’
‘Why’s that?’ Ariadne asked curiously.
‘You’ll see.’
With no glasses in sight I drank from the bottle, figuring it was safe seeing as Lara had already taken a sip.
The sweetness was so strong that the first hit stung my cheeks sharply.
But I wanted more. I took another few swigs like an addict getting the first hit of the day before Lara called out.
‘Woah, woah, woah.’ She grabbed the end of the bottle and tipped it back, intertwining her soft hands with mine in the process and looking me intensely in the eyes. ‘Didn’t your mother ever tell you to share?’
I didn’t know why I felt the compulsion to drink it so ferociously. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand but saw the drip of it on my shirt.
‘We need to get you out of that,’ Lara continued. ‘Why don’t you let Ariadne have a drink too?’
I felt wildly turned on by the whole situation, and I didn’t know how Ariadne would feel about all of this. She had been committed and by my side since joining our tribe, almost like a servant in her willingness to help, but she gave me a warm smile and gladly took up the bottle, drinking from it.
‘Mm…’ She moaned. ‘I have tasted this before, a long time ago. It was a pleasurable experience…’
‘I have no doubt,’ Lara said, taking the bottle and setting it down on her desk. ‘What are you to each other?’ Lara asked, laying back on the bed and resting against the wall. ‘Are you… Committed?’
‘I’m the Tribe Master,’ I replied sternly, or at least tried to through the effects of the wine. ‘We’re… Uhh…’
Usually I had an answer for everything, but this time I was struggling. I didn’t know if it was the potency of Ochran’s Orchard hitting me hard, but defining my relationship with Ariadne was still as complicated as ever.
‘Master Jack saved me from a life of slavery,’ Ariadne cut in. ‘He has treated me well. For that I love him with all my heart.’
A damn good thing that I didn’t have any of the wine in my mouth, because I would have freaking choked on it.
‘You… You love me?’
‘Of course, master. Do you not love me?’
Oh, shit.
My mind had never moved so fast in my life as I tried to think of a half-decent response to that question.
I had never had the bad luck to end up with a girl who already had wedding plans in mind by the second date, but that was exactly what this felt like.
But suddenly I saw things from Ariadne’s perspective. Love meant different things to different people, and to Ariadne it meant dedication and care – and fulfilling her needs.
‘Of course I love you,’ I replied, feeling a little strange saying the words out loud, but meaning it. I took her in my arms and kissed her passionately, the feeling of her lips against mine and the slender curves of her body feeling better than ever.
Ariadne smiled at me as she pulled away, wrapping her arms around the back of my neck and biting her lip.
‘She is a beautiful creature, is she not?’ It was the kind of thing I expected Lara to say, but instead it came from Ariadne’s mouth. ‘Would you mind, master?’
It took me longer than I would have liked to admit to figure out what she was getting at, but when I did I couldn’t reply fast enough.
‘Uhh… Not at all.’
A huge, happy smile rose to Ariadne’s face. She began to pull off her clothes, stripping down to her underwear. I fell back onto the couch, both I and Lara watching Ariadne undress.
The sun had finally set. A light breeze swept in through the open balcony door that gave onto the perfect view of the cove, but the air itself was so warm that it just made things hotter.
In the firelight of Lara’s room I watched in captivated awe as Ariadne moved to the bed. Lara sat up to meet her, their hands brushing over each other’s cheeks lightly to move their hair aside.
They smiled at each other, looking intensely into their eyes before taking a light teasing kiss. Their bodies pressed together, their hands ran delicately across each other’s skin as they traced the gentle lines and perfect curves of their bodies.
I sank back helplessly into the couch as I watched them both. Sure, we had faced death together and beat it, but they had only exchanged a few words since we had met earlier that day.
Now Ariadne was asking me for permission to make out with Lara. She wanted to do it. Not to please me or to serve me – she was serving her own needs.
And I was glad to let her while I sat back and watched.
As they continued to enjoy their bodies, their kisses becoming more wild and passionate, Lara slid her hands over Ariadne’s hips and up her back, undoing her bra.
Ariadne shrugged out of it, casting it aside and running a hand up to the back of Lara’s neck, guiding her to her own chest. Lara leaned into it happily, pressing her tongue to one of Ariadne’s nipples.
She let out a shriek in response to the sensitivity, then a playful giggle.
I was harder than I had ever been in my life, and was still staring at them both like an idiot.
I had been with more than a few girls over the years, but this was something else.
Lara licked at Ariadne again, then turned to look me in the eyes, pausing.
‘Your master looks surprised,’ she said to Ariadne.
‘He is new to these parts,’ she replied casually.
‘To this area of the land?’
‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘Let’s just say I’m from somewhere where people are a little more… Reserved, when they first meet each other.’
‘That sounds incredibly boring.’
‘Believe me, it is.’
Lara returned her attention to Ariadne, guiding her onto her back upon the bed. She slid her fingers into Ariadne’s underwear and pulled them down and away from her ankles, then sank down, disappearing behind one of Ariadne’s legs.
Ariadne watched Lara intently, biting the tip of one of her fingers and panting in anticipation. Her mouth suddenly fell wide as she gasped out at the touch of Lara’s tongue.
Somewhere below I registered the buzz of the singing in the bar downstairs. In our confined hideaway the girls were the only thing I was focusing on, the only thing I could focus on.
Lara slid a hand across her slender stomach and began to rub the spot between her legs from beneath as she continued to tongue Ariadne.
At that moment, it felt like my length was about to tear through the fabric in my pants.