Ascendant of Aldrya

by Northwest Grant

  Talking seemed like the safest option, and exploring the most interesting. "I didn't think you liked Emma as an adventuring companion," he said.

  Khoraja shrugged. "Now that you've fucked her, I suspect her heals will work better on you. If she heals you, and you keep the orcs off me, we should be a good team. And better the companion you know, sometimes, then the one you don't."

  There was something about the way Khoraja spoke that made Nigel feel she wasn't telling the whole story, but after spending all day asking questions he didn't want to push. "I'd be interested in exploring," he said. He'd always been a hands-on learner.

  Khoraja nodded. "Perhaps we should bring Emma along for that, too. We never know what we might encounter. Now... let's eat. My throat is sore from talking, and I could use a little silence."

  That sounded good to Nigel. They ate quietly and then went upstairs to turn in.

  "If I take my clothes off, can I trust you to keep your hands to yourself?" Khoraja asked.

  Nigel looked at the bed and back at Khoraja. He wanted to see her naked, but there were practicalities. "It's a very small bed," he pointed out. "And I can't tell you I won't put my arm on you in my sleep."

  Khoraja smiled. "At least you're honest. Very well." She put her dagger on the little table on one side of the bed and climbed in without taking off her clothes.

  Nigel walked over to the other side. "Do you mind if I take my clothes off?" he asked.

  "Not at all," she said.

  She didn't turn away, either. Instead, she watched as he stripped his shirt off, then his shoes, then finally his kilt. She stared at his crotch, and his cock responded to being watched by getting hard. Down boy, Nigel told it, but it didn't respond to orders, especially when Khoraja pulled back the covers slightly so he could see her well-formed breasts in the deep cleavage of her robe.

  "May I touch?" she asked, and his cock got fully erect.

  It didn't seem fair she could touch and he couldn't, but he wanted her hands on him. He nodded, not trusting himself to talk. She reached out a long, delicate hand and stroked with one finger down the length of his shaft from the base to the sensitive tip. Then she wrapped her hand around the shaft and gave him a squeeze.

  Nigel made a low sound something like a growl. He wanted more. He wanted to see her naked body, bite her flesh, bury himself in her pussy.

  "Nice," Khoraja said. "Very impressive." And with that she withdrew her hand and rolled over, turning her back to him.

  Fucking hell, Nigel said. Cocktease. He'd never liked the expression, having heard it far too many times by a guy who felt entitled to pussy. But this time it seemed literally accurate--his cock was aching, it was definitely a result of her touching him, and he didn't feel like he could do anything to ease the feeling with Khoraja in the room. He slipped into bed and lay on his back, trying to think of something non-erotic, but his mind drifted back to Khoraja next to him.

  Khoraja flipped over onto her back, too. The bed was even more cramped with neither of them on their side.

  "Among my people, sometimes lovers draw their anticipation out for years," she whispered. "To make lovemaking so much more explosive when it happens. Even established couples will bring each other to the edge of orgasm, and then back off, to recapture that feeling."

  Great. Nigel said nothing.

  "I know you're only human, and can't deal with waiting as well. Don't worry. I won't make you wait for years."

  That didn't help. It sounded like a promise she'd have sex with him someday--just not tonight. And that thought made him harder.

  "If it makes it any easier," she added. "I'm very, very wet, so I'm suffering right along with you."

  No, that didn't make it easier. Not at all. Did she know that, or was she honestly trying to be helpful? Strangely enough, Nigel thought it was the latter. Her voice sounded too sincere, and he thought he could tell when she was sarcastic or acting.

  "Goodnight, Nightwolf," she said, and rolled back on her side again.

  Nigel took a deep breath. "Goodnight, Khoraja."

  For the first time, thinking about the car accident came in useful as he tried to get his cock to stop aching so he could go to sleep.

  They woke to the sound of yelling. It didn't sound like it was coming from downstairs, which had been Nigel's first thought. It was outside the inn entirely.

  "Get your gear on and follow me when you're ready," said Khoraja, instantly fully awake. She grabbed her dagger and was out the room by the time Nigel threw the covers off and reached for his clothes. He put on the iron bracers too and wished he had gotten a better sword. The goblin weapon would have to do.

  The inn downstairs was empty, save for Abby, who pointed to the front door. Presumably, Khoraja had already gone that way. Nigel ran through the inn to get outside.

  The scene that greeted him was pure chaos. There were green-skinned orcs all over the town square. Some had axes, already stained with blood, and a few were firing bows. An arrow went ka-thunk into the door moments after he let it swing shut behind him.

  Some villagers had fallen, their bodies bleeding out on the cobblestones. A man wearing a chainmail shirt and was lying in a pool of blood, his hand stretched toward a sword, next to a man in carmine robes. Neither of them were moving. A giant tree was fighting the orcs, swinging its branches at them while they tried to hew its trunk with their double-bladed axes. A man dressed in armor like the one who fell, fought beside it. The tree and the man had to stop the orcs from charging forward, but they needed help.

  Behind them, a woman with a lute on her back was trying to hold off an orc with her sword. The tall woman in green he'd seen earlier was firing bone-tipped arrows from her longbow as fast as she could while running away from any orcs that came near. The purple-robed dwarf had his hand raised, darkness swirling around his hand, looking entirely evil. Nigel would have suspected that the dwarf was on the other team if he didn't have two orcs charging at him with murderous intent, an arrow in his shoulder, a bloody face, and a mostly empty health bar. A farmer was trying to help the dwarf out with a pitchfork, but the orcs weren't getting distracted. None of the orcs were on Khoraja yet, but it was only a matter of time as she chanted and a ray of fire streaked from her hands to explode in a lovely fireball amongst the orc archers. Effective, but sure to make her a prime target.

  Nigel spotted Garrett, too. Garrett was crouched behind a fence, reloading a crossbow and firing it at the orcs. Working for the right side, but doing it in the most chicken-shit way possible for a man in heavy armor when the back-rank guys needed someone to block the orcs The big tree was doing its best, but orcs were getting by.

  Nigel heard a familiar voice and saw a white glow surround the dwarf. The arrow popped out, his face mended, and his health bar moved back to half. Emma. Good.

  Nigel yelled to get the orcs’ attention. The front line had to be shored up, but the dwarf still needed rescuing. Only as he screamed did he realize that such an effective heal from Emma probably meant that she and the dwarf were more than casual acquaintances. He couldn't worry about that now. The scream worked. Both orcs turned to face him--which let the dwarven shadow mage cast his spell. A bolt of dark energy hit one orc. One moment he was all green and angry, the next he was falling on the ground dead.

  Remind me not to get on his bad side.

  More orcs were arriving in the distance. One thing at a time. He blocked an axe with his shield, then pushed forward, wanting to form a line with the tree and the guard. But the orc didn't budge. He stabbed for the orc's chest, but stuck it in the orc's shoulder instead. He thought he could take the orc, but it would take time, and another green-skinned attacker had gotten through to charge the dwarf, who had turned his back on the front line to focus on the one on Nigel. Brave but foolish.

  Garrett intercepted the orc heading for the dwarf, though, suddenly getting a sense of bravery. A ball of darkness streaked past Nigel, missing the orc he was fighting. There was a guttural yell behind him. Smart ma
ge. He realized I can hold my own, so he took out the one fighting the bard.

  Nigel stabbed the orc in the stomach. The orc's next blow was weaker and easy to block. Then an arrow got stuck in his opponent's chest, and while it didn't kill him, it dropped his health bar down to a sliver. He swung at Nigel again, but he was off balance. Nigel charged, knocking the orc over with his shield and erasing the rest of his health bar. One more down. Nigel moved to take his place in the front, which with the addition of Garrett was now four strong. Townspeople with makeshift weapons, including the blacksmith with a big hammer, joined the line, adding to the wall of bodies. Behind him, Nigel could hear the sounds of the bard's lute and felt his morale lift. We can do this.

  He wanted to ask Garrett what made him stop being a coward, but he was fighting orcs and Nigel didn't want to mess that up. The tree--probably a druid--looked bad. If it fell, they'd be in trouble, because it looked like another twenty orcs were on their way, which would double the number already in the village square. Another fireball lit up their back ranks. The orcs had numbers, but the adventurers had the best artillery, as long as the line held.

  A black oval appeared between the druid and the orcs fighting it, and expanded in size until it was as wide as two men and ten feet tall. Whatever it was, the orcs didn't want to deal with it. One moved toward Nigel, the other toward a farmer. When the next wave hit, Nigel had three on him, and he went pure defense, trying to block their blows and buy time. It wasn't enough. He took a hard hit on his shield. He blocked another with a bracer and was surprised when the force of it didn't even carry into his arm despite the loud clanging sound from iron on iron. But an orc got him in the shoulder with an axe, and Nigel's sword arm went limp. Fuck. When he was sitting in the inn thinking, it was easy to see Aldrya as a game. But the pain from an axe blow was all too real.

  The tree fell back. Emma. He--or she--it--needs a heal. Maybe her heals didn't work on trees. But Emma wasn't idle. Garrett glowed white, then Nigel did. His shoulder recovered completely, which was good timing because it let him lift his sword to parry the next axe blow. Her heals weren't that effective the other day, before he'd made love to her. Now they were the only thing letting them hold the line. Arrows went whizzing by from the elf, and others dropped from the sky overhead as the orcs in the back rank fired over their front line.

  "Personally, I'd just as soon you fell in this battle," Garrett said conversationally, right after a heal hit him. He swung his claymore at the tide of orcs. "But I can't have my bitch holding me responsible, you know?"

  "Don't call her--" Nigel growled. He took an axe in the thigh before he could voice your bitch. Garrett had thrown off his attention for just a second, and it was enough. Fucking hell. Nigel went down to one knee and brought his shield and sword up to ward off the incoming blows. Garrett had timed his remark right after he'd gotten a heal, perhaps knowing that meant it would take a while to get a heal to Nigel.

  Vines of green light spread over the whole line, and Nigel felt his leg strengthen. It wasn't as strong as a heal from Emma, but it bought him time to defend himself. He sliced his sword through the air caught an orc in the face. A heal from Emma and he was whole again. Shadow bolts, fireballs, arrows, swords and pitchforks had taken a toll on the front line of the orcs, and the green spell kept pulsing, ready to heal whatever hit them. Nigel didn't know how long the spell would last, but he knew they needed to take advantage of the orcs' disorganization while he and Garrett were at relatively full strength. The oval of shadow had taken over the tree's place in line, and behind it stood a woman who was casting spells. Druid magic, Nigel guessed, and probably what had kept him alive.

  "Surge forward," he yelled. "Let's get to the archers!" Using his shield to protect him from arrows, he charged forward, swinging his sword lustily.

  To his surprise, Garrett charged with him, and so did the guard and the villagers. The archer ran forward on the side and raked their lines with arrows. The arrows that missed their target usually hit the next orc. The black shield dissipated into dark smoke, and the woman became a tree again and joined the surge.

  Most of the archers broke and ran. One thought about it, and then at the last minute charged Nigel with a dagger instead. Nigel tried to lop the orc's head off, but the sudden reverse made him swing too far, and he ended up braining him in the noggin with the pommel instead. The orc went down. Blood lust seized Nigel. With no more opponents to face, he turned his sword to stab the orc archer in the neck.

  "Don't," said Emma. He was suprised to see her right behind him when he'd figured she'd be further from harm. "Let's question him. This isn't normal. Orcs haven't attacked this village in a century. There's something going on here."

  Nigel stopped his blow just in time. He'd been thinking of his opponents as mobs in a game. You couldn't question one of those, but maybe they were as human as Emma or Khoraja. Human might be the wrong word. Sentient? If Emma thought the orc would talk, it was worth trying. They had broken the orc attack, and the orcs were fleeing. The tree turned back into her druid form and ran around caring for wounded villagers.

  "I'll be right back," said Emma. "Keep him alive." She joined the druid, casting heals on those who needed them. Khoraja and the archer applied bandages.

  "Why'd you attack?" Nigel asked the orc. The orc stared. He wasn't moving, not with Nigel's sword on his throat. But he wasn't talking, either.

  "Don't speak orcish?" Garrett mocked.

  "Nope. You?"

  "No. Emma speaks a little, I think. She's, um, been around."

  If Garrett was trying to bait him, it was working. Nigel wanted to knock Garrett's head off. Why did he feel so attached to what was obviously a one-night stand? Emma had offered a repeat, but he knew he shouldn't get attached to her. She was sexy, even gorgeous, but there was no reason to be possessive. Nigel fought down his primitive instincts and forced himself to nod calmly. "Good. We'll wait for Emma to be free."

  "Stick to your other girlfriend," Garrett suggested. "If a sacred marriage wouldn't give me power back home, I wouldn't be interested in going where practically every man has gone before."

  Nigel shrugged. Was Khoraja a girlfriend? A friend, and a good kisser. Sexy as hell, and useful in a fight. He'd been too busy paying attention to the orcs in front of him to pay attention to how much damage she'd been dishing out, but the number of orc bodies with burns on them were a testament to the fact that Khoraja had helped turn the tide. Nothing like area of effect damage against a horde of enemies.

  "Go to the temple." Emma's voice rang clear. He was seeing a new side of her, watching her take charge of the healing, and the villagers listened to her. "Get Alissandra here. Some of these villagers are beyond my ability to help." The guard and a farmer scampered off to do her bidding.

  "We were ordered to by our new chief," the orc blurted. Apparently he could speak English after all. Was that what he was speaking here? It sure seemed like it. And not Shakespearian English or Chaucer, either. Maybe the game translated words into his native language, but if so it was incredibly smooth. The logical explanation was the simplest. People seemed like they were speaking English because they were.

  "New chief?" Nigel prompted.

  "A human."

  "What human would want to be an orc chief?" Garrett's voice dripped with contempt.

  "I was more wondering why orcs would accept a human as chief," said Nigel. "How'd that happen?"

  "He challenged our chief and won. Broadnoses have laws. The strongest rules." The orc shrugged.

  Nigel had always felt the point of laws was to stop the strongest from ruling. "Broadnoses?"

  "My tribe."

  "What's this human's name?"

  "Deluca." The orc spat.

  "That sly dog," Garrett said.

  Deluca again. And apparently Garrett knows him. Deluca had killed the other ascendant. Did Deluca know who Nigel was, and was the whole attack an attempt to kill him? But the orcs hadn't focused on him.

  "What were
your objectives?"

  "Huh?"

  "What did you want to do by attacking?"

  "Loot. Burn. Fuck your women."

  A minute later, Emma was at his side. "Did he talk?"

  "Yes," said Nigel.

  "Can we kill him now?" asked Garrett.

  Nigel had been tempted, especially after the comment about fucking women. Killing rapists seemed like a fine thing. The orc turned his head away and closed his eyes, as if he expected it. But Garrett suggesting it put him off. The orc was a helpless prisoner now.

  "Where I come from, we don't slaughter prisoners."

  "Not a problem. I'll do it," said Garrett, lifting his sword.

  Nigel put his own sword between Garrett and the orc. Nigel wrestled with the thought. Killing prisoners was wrong. Killing orcs was normal--at least in games. He took a deep breath. He'd rather err by being good. One more orc in the world wouldn't change it much. "No."

  Garrett looked at Emma, who had returned. "What do you say? The greenskin said he planned to rape you."

  "If Nightwolf says no, then that means no," Emma said. It surprised Nigel she backed him up, after what Garrett said.

  Garrett's eyes blazed. "Fuck that," he said, pulling his sword back to strike.

  "I wouldn't try it," said the deep voice of the dwarf. "My magic is fantastic at causing pain you won't ever forget."

  Garrett looked at the shadow mage and blanched before recovering and straightening. "Whatever Emma wants, of course that's what we'll do," he said.

  Nigel withdrew his sword. The orc didn't wait for further negotiations, but got right up and ran in the direction his fellows had gone. Nigel watched him go. He looked at the buildings, targets of so many flaming arrows. The straw was barely smoldering, which was good because he didn't have a plan for putting it out. It was probably enchanted somehow.

  Garrett took a step and put his arm around Emma. "So now what?" he asked, ignoring the way she cringed.

  Nigel stepped forward, but he didn't need to be Emma's knight in shining armor. She elbowed Garrett in the face, hard. The dwarf growled and lifted his hands as if to start a spell.