Scorched Kingdom

by Daniel Guevara

  Arius was barely able to maintain his shield as the giant iron ball pushed him through the solid rock wall behind him and into a slide made of solid rock.

  The prince, protected by his holy shield, slide all the way down and landed in a small room containing nothing more than a burning candle and with a door at the wall farthest from him.

  Arius stood up and looked up the way he came, wondering if there was a way the Elf could follow him. He waited for a few minutes, then, when Licius didn’t appear, he tightened the grip he had on his hammer and began to walk towards the door.

  ◆◆◆

  Somewhere else in the castle.

  Stundroff tried to stand, his wounds healing. The impact of his fall had broken even his super strong bones. So it took a while before he could stand, but eventually he found himself back on his feet.

  He had landed in a narrow hallway not much different from the one from which he had fallen from; he tried to back track but found that there was no exit that way, so he decided to push forward instead.

  He walked for a few minutes until he came across a wooden door.

  Stundroff was nervous about what could be waiting for him on the other side, so he took a moment to gather his strength and focus before opening the door.

  ◆◆◆

  While all of this was happening, Licius was thinking about what to do back in the room with no floor.

  He had no idea if either of his friends were still alive, nor if he could find them in that dark and treacherous place. So with a feeling of uncertainty that he wasn’t used to, he decided to continue exploring.

  He walked for a few minutes until he found himself in a big room that was completely lit with candles. There was no furniture on this room, jut a big stairwell that led to a big wooden double door. The Elf began to walk towards it and after making it halfway through the room, he once again heard a sound that warned him of and incoming trap.

  Small trapdoors opened on the walls of the room and arrows began flying through them. Licius’s millennia of training kicked in instinctively, as he began to dodge the arrows He then unsheathed his blades and then began to cut them as they flew in midair; it was a graceful dance of death, until one of the arrows made it pass his blades and into his chest; the Elf was shocked by his failure. Yet at the same time he felt relieved, when the arrow simply bounced of his impenetrable Bronium armor.

  I must be getting old, Licius thought as he stood there watching the rest of the arrows bounce off him. It took a few seconds, but they eventually stopped and once again our hero made his way towards the door, stopping only for a moment to collect his thoughts, before entering the next room.

  ◆◆◆

  Stundroff found himself in a medium sized room with red walls and beautiful chandeliers.

  In the middles of the room was a big wooden bed on which was lying the most beautiful women his Dwarf eyes had ever seen.

  “Good, you are finally here,” the woman said as she got off the bed.

  She was tall, slim and had beautiful big breasts that were only covered by her long silver hair. The curvature of her hips was seductive to a point that it was almost hypnotic to watch her walk.

  The beautiful naked woman made her way through the room towards a stupefied Stundroff, who found himself immediately under her spell.

  Her lips were wide and provocative and the way her soft voice made its way into the Dwarf’s ears was completely intoxicating.

  Stundroff had never seen anyone like her; she was so mesmerizing that he immediately forgot about his friends or the terrible place he was in, as she began to consume his every thought.

  “Who are you?” Stundroff asked.

  “Who I am is not important. What is important is that we are here, finally, together.” She caressed the Dwarf’s chest with her fingers.

  The very touch of her fingers made Stundroff tremble, as he found himself unable to do anything unless she commanded it.

  “There is nothing more attractive than a strong man who is rough around the edges,” the woman said, as she stood behind the petrified Stundroff.

  “Do you really mean that?”

  “Of course I do. I hope you don’t mind, but I have been here alone for so long and I am in desperate need of love and affection.”

  “No, not at all, why would I mind?”

  “That is good, because my body trembles with just the idea of making love to such a strong and rough man.”

  She kneeled in front of him and slowly began to caress the Dwarf’s manhood; Stundroff was so overwhelmed by pleasure that he could not move or think, as the woman began to lower his pants.

  “Oh! What a surprise, for such a short man you are bigger than I expected.” She began to pleasure the Dwarf with her hands.

  It was in that moment, that Stundroff noticed that something was completely wrong. He could feel how the woman’s touch was making him weaker, as if she was draining the life out of him simply by touching him.

  Our hero knew he had to do something, yet he found himself unable to act. As the more she touched him, the more he desired her. It was indescribable; he knew she was hurting him, yet the more she touched him, the less he wanted her to stop.

  Soon everything turned blurry and the Dwarf’s vision began to fade, as he found himself overwhelmed by the sensation and fell into trance.

  The woman noticed there was something different about the Dwarf, as his body possessed a strength that could not be measured and was able to replenish its energy almost as fast as she could drain it. That much power was almost intoxicating to her, but there was no way she would stop before consuming it all.

  ◆◆◆

  Arius walked through his door.

  He found himself in a beautiful blue room, where everything was covered by a blue silk with a design of golden lions and a beautiful chandelier hung from the middle of the ceiling.

  And in the center of the room wearing a long red silk dress, stood the most beautiful women the prince had ever seen. She was exactly identical to the women the Dwarf was sharing intimacy with.

  Arius saw her and he knew in that moment that he wanted her, but being a more experienced man when it comes to love and women than his fellow Dwarf friend, he decided to act indifferently towards her.

  “Thank the gods; someone has finally come to my rescue,” the woman said.

  “Excuse me, but who are you and what are you doing here?”

  “Who I am is of little importance. What it is important is that you have finally come to my rescue.”

  Arius found himself hypnotized by the movement of her hips and the tone of her voice, which is why even when he knew that there was something terribly wrong, he did nothing as the woman walked closer.

  “There is nothing more attractive than a man of royal class and I can tell you are royalty just by looking at you.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “Your armor is a giveaway, but beyond that, your face and beautiful blonde hair just says royalty. Your posture is of a well-educated and trained man; in fact there is nothing about you that does not lead me to think you are royalty.”

  “I suppose you have meet royalty before?”

  “Yes, a few over my many years on this earth. You actually remind me of someone I knew a long time ago, but if what you want to know is if I have ever been intimate with someone royal then my answer would be no, at least until now.” She undid the bow at the front of her dress.

  It slowly fell to the ground revealing her beautiful naked body. Arius was mesmerized.

  The prince let go of his hammer as his desire to grab her consumed his mind; he grabbed her by the hair and pulled her close to him so he could kiss her. And as their tongues intertwined, the woman snapped her fingers and removed the royal armor from the prince’s body.

  Once they were both naked, the prince pushed her into the soft floor; as the woman wrapped her legs around him, the prince was consumed with desire. Moans of pleasure consumed Arius’s every thought, as they be
came louder with each thrust.

  But as the passion devoured the young prince, he began to feel the effects of the woman’s touch. She was draining him of his strength and he could clearly feel it, yet his desire to have her made him unable to stop.

  The prince knew it was not only his life that he was forfeiting to this woman, but his father’s life too. But this was not enough to make him stop, as he found himself closer to death with every thrust.

  Soon Arius’s vision began to blur; as it faded to black he found himself lost in the trance that was the sensation this woman produced.

  At the same time the woman noticed there was something very special about the man she was fornicating with, as his life force was linked to another person far away. She did not know who this person was, but she could feel an immense power that would soon be hers.

  ◆◆◆

  Licius opened the door and found himself in a dark and dusty room.

  “Oh, I am so happy; someone finally came to my rescue.”

  Licius knew he was walking into a trap, so he unsheathed both his blades as he prepared for the worst. But as he walked closer, he saw a woman in a once beautiful dress that had been destroyed by the passing of time.

  The woman walked closer to Licius revealing herself from under the shadows.

  It was without a doubt the same woman that was draining the life of his two friends. But her enchantment seemed to have no effect on Licius.

  The woman knew there was something different about the man she was facing, as she was unable to read his mind.

  “There is nothing I find more attractive than a soldier that takes care of his body.” She passed her fingers over Licius’s chest.

  But there was not an inch of exposed skin for her to touch and the armor was clearly stopping her powers from working.

  “Well, maybe a soldier without his armor could be more attractive.”

  “I am sorry, but a true soldier never lets his guard down.”

  “What is the problem, don’t you find me attractive?” She took off her dress and exposed her naked body for Licius to see.

  “It is not that, my lady.” Licius gently started to caress her hair.

  “Then what is the problem, don’t you desire me?” the woman asked.

  “No, it is not simple desire or attraction what guided me to you, my queen,” Licius said, as he exposed the woman’s elven ears from beneath her hair.

  “Licius, is that you?”

  “Yes, my beloved Queen Alagossa, after two thousand years, I have finally found you.” The armor retracted, making his face visible.

  “How can this be? And what took you so long?”

  “I had no idea you were still alive, my queen. I had been lead to believe by the Supreme Chancellor that you died that night two thousand years ago.”

  “Yes, I believe you. Yet I remained alive after that night, but no thanks to that lying monster.”

  “What did happen?”

  “I am sorry, but those memories are too painful to relive.”

  “No, my queen, it is I who should apologies for taking so long to find you. But I must know what happened that night, for it has haunted me for the past two thousand years.”

  The queen saw the opportunity to make Licius lower his guard, if she told him the story. At the very least it would buy her time she needed, to finish consuming his friends. So she agreed to tell him what happened that night.

  “Very well then, I shall tell you what happened. It is the least I can do, to repay you for coming all the way here to save me.”

  “As you may remember, I left our beautiful city of Cylarias with Supreme Chancellor Bellestis in the royal caravan, in order to meet with King Varius of the Humans, here at the entrance of the dark forest. Once we got here, I explained to the king why he had been summoned and the effect this could have on the war.”

  “The king was a troubled man, haunted by the grief of his loss. Yet he had the noblest heart I had ever encountered, a heart that also was home to a great power. So, just as I had expected, he took the opportunity to end this horrible war, without a second thought.

  “We traveled for a few days together, as we made our way through these treacherous woods. And as time went by, an unexpected attraction for each other emerged.

  “Never had and Elf and a Human been together, yet as odd as it may seem, I saw the opportunity not only to be with a man that I could truly love, but also as a means to strengthen the bond between our two races.

  “Once we made our way to this fortress, I explained to the Humans that this place had been designed long ago to guard the stone and that it was filled with traps that only I could guide them through. So I suggested we camped outside and spend the night replenishing our strength, before entering the fortress the next day.”

  “That night as I lay in my bed inside my tent, Bellestis paid me a visit. He wanted me to reconsider the whole thing, as he claimed that Humans should never be trusted with such power.

  “I explained to him, not only that my decision was final, but that in fact, I felt that I could trust the Human king more than I could trust him.

  “Enraged by my statement, Bellestis raised his hand against me. But before he could strike, he was stopped by Varius’ voice.”

  “’I would not do that, if I were you.’ The Human king said as he stood at the entrance of my tent.

  “The Supreme Chancellor immediately calmed down and asked for my forgiveness, just before he exited the tent.

  ‘I am sorry my Queen, can I come in?’ the king asked me.

  ‘Yes, my king.’

  ‘I am sorry to question you, but I do not trust the Supreme Chancellor, my queen.’

  ‘Neither do I, but do you trust me?’

  ‘Completely, I am not sure how or why. But I know that I would do anything for you, my queen.’

  “I could not stop myself from blushing at his response, as the mere sound of his voice made me feel that I loved him.

  ‘I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable,’ he said.

  ‘Not at all. I know it is not the way a queen should behave, but I can’t stop myself from thinking about you,’ I replied.

  ‘I can’t stop thinking about you,’ he said, as he came closer to me than any other man or Elf had ever stood.

  “He then undressed me and made love to me for the first time; I could not believe I had spent so much time without experiencing that sensation. It felt as if my whole body was on fire and even when it hurt at first, I would have relinquished the entire Elf kingdom to him, just so he wouldn’t stop.

  “He spent the entire night in my tent and made me his woman at least half a dozen times.

  “When morning finally came and our men saw us coming out of my tent together. I knew this was a decision that would carry consequences, but I was willing to face them, for I was sure that my feelings for him where true.

  “But that was a matter for another time; at that moment our only concern was to make our way through the fortress and reach the stone, so we could finally bring this war to an end.

  “We carefully made our way through the trap-infested halls, some of which you might already be familiar with. And after what I think was two days of traveling, we finally made it to the stone’s chamber.

  “There it lay, just as I had placed it millennia ago.

  “The power of the stone was overwhelming - you could feel its power in the very air you breathed.

  “King Varius and I walked together towards the stone and once we reached it, we both paused at the same time to look at each other.

  ‘You should take it,’ the Human king said.

  “I was not confident that I could hold such power, but after seeing the look of confidence in the king’s eyes, I knew that it would be all right.

  “So I stretched my arm out and just as I was about to touch it, I heard Bellestis’s voice.

  ‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you,’ the Supreme Chancellor said.

  ‘And why is that?’ I ask
ed without even turning my head towards him.

  ‘Because, unless you want everyone here to die, you will give the stone to me,’ Bellestis said.

  “In that moment I turned around and noticed that every Elf in the room had turned his back to me, and they were all holding a Human hostage with a sword at their throats.

  ‘Why would you do this?’ I asked.

  ‘Why? You dare ask, because no Elf whore that sleeps with a Human is fit to rule our race,’ the Supreme Chancellor said, as all the Elves in the room nodded in agreement.

  ‘Don’t you dare, call her that.’ The king placed himself in front of me, protecting me.

  ‘Take the stone, my queen, and together we will vanquish any foe that stands in the way of justice and love.’

  “I was terrified and did not know what to do.

  ‘Very well then, so shall it be,’ Bellestis said to the king.

  “The Supreme Chancellor then blasted the king with a lightning bolt that came out of his hands, yet Varius managed to raise some kind of light bubble to protect us. I fell to the ground and sat there, unable to act, as fear had completely taken over my body.

  “But Varius, unlike me, was used to battle. So he retaliated with a blast of pure light that came out straight from his staff. The energy from the two blasts colliding was enough to make the very foundations of the fortress shake and made pieces of the ceiling start breaking off.

  ‘Kill the Humans!’ Bellestis screamed.

  “And in one swift motion every one of the Human soldiers fell after having their throats sliced open; blood splattered everywhere. And quickly the Elf soldiers turned towards Varius and prepared to attack.

  “Varius knew this was a fight he would not easily win, so he commanded me to grab the stone and use its power. But again I found myself unwilling to act.

  “So, in an act of desperation, Varius suspended his attack on the Supreme Chancellor and used the bubble of light once again to protect us from the incoming elven blades.

  “We were trapped and the stone was just out of reach, so Varius waited for Bellestis to come closer and once all his enemies where close enough, he let out a scream that made the bubble explode, knocking every Elf but the Supreme Chancellor flat on their backs.