by Eden Redd
Sixteen
The keep was nearly empty as Edric and Leeta walked along. The ogre constantly looked down at Edric, concern written in her brow. The summoner was silent, walking with a steady pace, his lips sealed. Star light poured in from open windows and the faint murmur of the cheers in the distance carried on the wind. Edric could not bring himself to muster a drop of joy as his spirit tried to pick up the pieces of his shattered heart.
The pair reached Edric’s bedchambers. The summoner placed a hand on the handle but made no further move to open it. Instead, he stood, turning his head slightly toward Leeta but not making eye contact.
“Leeta, can you bring something to drink,” Edric asked just above a whisper.
The ogre looked down on her master and nodded. Turning, she walked off to search for spirits to calm Edric’s spirit. The summoner turned the handle and opened his door. Stepping into his bedchamber, he closed the door behind him.
A lone lantern hung above the fireplace, casting long shadows against the walls. Edric stepped in and moved to the hearth. A chill seeped into his bones but he couldn’t tell if it was his mood or the partially open balcony doors. Pulling a small wand from a box on the mantle, he pointed it at the logs and blasted it with a fist sized fireball. The logs took instantly and a fire crackled.
Edric placed the wand back in the small box and walked over to his bed. Sitting down, he stared across the room to the warm hearth. A nagging sorrow clawed at his mind and heart. The player wanted to be done with it all. Urges to reach up and rip the Mind’s Eye Gear from his head and body played out but the player did nothing, staring into the flames.
“Elora...” Edric whispered.
The image of Elora appeared; her eyes neutral but a pleasant smile on her lips.
“What can I do for you Edric?”
The player looked up to the image of Elora and his heart fluttered for a moment before darkness and pain swirled, funneling into his soul.
“What is happening in the city,” Edric asked plainly.
“Faye and Rayna are speaking with the knights and Juna. Citizens are coming from the rooms and tunnels below the city. Those who were already in the city are helping to find lodgings for your new guests.”
“What’s the damage to the city?”
“There are multiple breach points along the city wall. The southern gate had taken considerable damage. The city has lost over sixty percent of its defenses and half the city guard. Some dwellings were on fire but the flames have been put out. Repairing the city wall and defenses should take about seven days.”
Edric nodded, eyes looking to the floor. A faint whisper touched his broken mind, growing into an idea. The summoner looked up, eyes connecting with Elora’s eyes.
“Elora, I am going to talk for a moment. Please, I want you to simply listen. When I’m finished, I want you to delete the record of what I said.”
Elora nodded. “I understand.”
Edric stood up and stepped to the city core image. Elora looked up with attentive eyes. Edric stood before her, taking her hands into his. A tear bloomed by his eye before streaking down his cheek. The air took on an electric charge as the summoner kept his gaze on Elora’s image.
“A...a piece of me always thought you might be out there, somewhere. I hoped...maybe even prayed…that somehow we would see each other again.”
Edric’s head bowed forward, shadows covering his eyes. “I never understood love. I questioned it like everything else in my life. A part of me couldn’t believe I could fall for someone so quickly. We barely knew each other but something connected us in a way I never felt before. I sometimes wondered if you felt the same. There were so many nights where I thought about you, a piece of me wanting you to be out there so we could find each other again.”
Edric’s fingers tightened around Elora’s fingers, “Even when we were going to die together, you threw yourself on me to give me a few more moments. Those precious moments showed me more about the true you then a lifetime of learning. No one has stood up for me…not even myself. I don’t know if it was a program, a line of code or you had become one of the awakened…all I know was it was special. It was something I couldn’t stop thinking about.
“Seeing you tonight and knowing you were alive, shattered the doubt in my heart and chased away cold logic for something deeper. I can say without a doubt, we knew love, even if it was for a brief moment in time. I don’t care if I’m crazy, I’m happy knowing you changed me and opened my heart to new possibilities.”
A fire bloomed in Edric’s eyes as his heart quickened. “Then, they killed you again…They killed you to weaken me and hurt my friends. I…I can’t let that go. I will never let that go. They took you away and…you will never return…”
Edric let go of Elora’s hands and stepped back, rage and sorrow spinning in his chest. “I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. I know you’re just an image but…I need to say it…so I can move on. If you’re out there…I hope you can understand. I will treasure your memory.”
Edric turned his back on Elora, another tear streaking his cheek. “Goodbye Elora.”
The hearth crackled with flames, the thick curtains to the balcony windows fluttered in the night breeze. Edric took a deep breath, his chest expanding and contracting. Wiping away tears, he turned around and Elora was gone.
Edric sighed when there was a knock at the door. The summoner stepped back and sat on the edge of the bed as the door opened. Leeta stepped in, several bottles in one arm curled to her chest. The ogre closed the door behind her and moved to a table.
“I didn’t know what you wanted to drink so I brought a few bottles,” Leeta said as she placed them on the table, “There’s mead, ale and wine. I could go back and get something else if…” Leeta was cut off.
“It’s fine,” Edric said with a sad smile. “Tonight, is for celebration. Please pour us a few cups.”
Leeta glanced to her master and then to the gathered bottles. The beautiful ogre made her way to a cabinet and pulled out a few metal chalices. Stepping back to the table, she placed them down and picked up a bottle of ale. Edric stepped closer, pulling out healing potions from his satchel. He watched as Leeta poured into two cups before he added healing potions into them.
“We still have wounds that need healing,” Edric smiled before putting the empty potion vials down and scooping up a chalice.
Leeta picked up a cup but shyly looked away. “Should I tell Faye and Rayna you are here?”
Edric looked up to the ogre, “Why?”
Leeta’s demeanor shifted into an awkward stance. “I…I don’t know.”
Edric held his cup to his chest, eyes on the ogre. “You’re worried about me.”
Leeta looked to Edric with concern. “I always worry about you.”
The player smiled. “I worry about you too. We have been together since the beginning. I don’t see you as a monster following my commands. You’re a friend and as friends, we should have a drink.”
Leeta looked to the summoner with a shy edge. “Edric…”
“Have a drink with me,” Edric kept his smile.
The summoner and ogre gazed in each other’s eyes, speaking to one another but no words said. Lifting their chalices, the pair took a deep drink, emptying their cups. Healing energy flowed to wounds, sealing them shut.
Leeta reached over and poured more ale into their cups. Edric looked to her, a weight lifting from his shoulders but a pain still clawing at his heart. The comfort between them glowed like embers. Edric turned from the ogre and sat on the edge of the bed. Leeta took hold of a chair and slid it closer.
Time and drinks flowed together. Leeta eyed her master as they talked about the evening. Forgetting she was wearing armor, the ogre gently touched the plates, causing them to disappear until she was down to her long, black dress. Edric nodded before taking another long guzzle. Leeta sat in the chair as Edric drank. It didn’t take long for their cheeks to glow red.
Leeta’s golden eyes
gazed on her master as they talked about some of their earlier adventures. The warmth wrapping around her heart only fueled her desires for her master. Edric seemed to return to his normal self, laughing and talking as if the battle never happened. The longer they talked, the more normal it seemed until Leeta caught signs of her master’s pain. Despite the façade, she noticed when he looked away or his eyes took on a dead gaze as if reliving the pain, he endured.
Edric sighed as the room began to swim. An alert appeared in his vision that he could stop the effects but he mentally pushed the alert away. The serotonin boost and the drunken feeling mixed well and he wanted more. He could have stopped the drunken effects in an instant but he liked where he was. Through the haze, his eyes wandered to Leeta and she stared at him with golden eyes and pink cheeks.
“Edric…” Leeta said with a breathy tone, a need taking root.
Edric gave her a stupid, drunken smile, “Yes, Leeta?”
Leeta bit her lip, an internal war raging on. “I am here for you.”
The summoner looked to the ogre through a drunken haze, “I know.”
Leeta stared, her heart thudding in her chest. The ogre could see the pain crisscrossing Edric like a net. Unable to fight her need to comfort him through his torment, the ogre stood up, her body tilting to one side. Edric could barely keep his head up, eyes half closed and hazy warmth filling his body. Eyes slowly looked to the beautiful ogre as she began to undress.
The pain ebbed as Edric let the bonds of modesty fall away. A trickle of bliss touched his mind as he watched Leeta slip her dress down her shoulders. The fabric flowed down over her large breasts before they bounced upon being free. Dark nipples pointed as the tight dress slipped down her hourglass figure and pooled at her feet. Leeta’s valley glistened in the firelight, a pink line budding.
The silent need was there, anything to chase away the pain. The seven-foot ogre stepped closer and stood before her master. Hands reached down, taking hold of his robe and gently opening it. Edric reached up to press his palm to his chest but somehow missed, making an awkward movement with his hand. Leeta kept a serious gaze as she undid the robe and pulled it open.
Edric didn’t need to look down as he felt blood pool into his member. Seeing Leeta in her naked glory was always a turn on but the way she looked at him now was a loving friend, ready to chase the pain away.
“Anything you need…I will give,” Leeta said with a kind, understanding smile.
Edric looked to her, lost in her golden gaze, words lost to a thickening storm.
Leeta’s eyes looked down, drinking in her master’s hardening manhood. Reaching forward, she wrapped her fingers around it and began to stroke. Edric leaned back on his hands, his robe on his arms and under him. Leeta stroked his manhood in long steady rhythms. Even on her knees, her head was level with Edric’s head as he sat. Moving in closer, she pressed her heavy breasts to his inner thighs as she set about pleasing him.
Wetness dripped from between Leeta’s parted thighs as a hunger she had felt for too long began roar. Edric took in her scent as she stroked him up and down. The summoner sat up and pulled his arms from his robe. The two looked to each other in pleasant silence, the heat between them beginning to grow.
“Come with me,” Edric managed as he turned on his side and crawled into bed.
Leeta gave Edric a curious look before climbing into the large bed. Side by side, Edric let his eyes glide over the voluptuous ogre as she took hold of his member once again. Bodies a foot apart, it was Edric who snuggled in closer. Leeta, to her embarrassment, often made the first move. Gazing on her master, he moved in closer, pressing his body along hers. Hand on her hip, it glided along her creamy tanned thigh. Leeta’s cheeks glowed as she instinctually parted her thighs, hips moving closer to Edric.
Edric snuggled between her large breasts, nearly engulfed in them. The summoner felt the ogre pull his cock to her, pressing the tip to her dripping valley. The hunger for pleasure spiked as Edric pressed a hand to her shoulder and pushed. Leeta rolled onto her back, eyes wide as Edric pressed his cock to her tight opening. Wetness coated the end as he moved his hips, letting his cock slowly press against her. The summoner buried his face between Leeta’s breasts, hands groping her as his hips worked slowly.
Leeta’s eyes half closed as heat bloomed. Wetness spilled and as she spread her thighs a little more, Edric slowly pushed into her. The ogre let out a small, sultry moan as her master slowly invaded her. Edric continued his deep assault, driving every inch into her. Pleasure caused Leeta’s body to writhe. The ogre whimpered a need for more and Edric pressed on. Thick inches pushed against tight walls, forcing them to accommodate him.
“Edric…please…more…” Leeta said with a wet whisper.
Edric found himself no longer in charge of his body. Hips moved with power, each stroke increasing the tempo. Thoughts fading to the siren song of bliss, Edric felt his need pushing his body on. Long thrusts caused Leeta to moan her delight. The sound of skin on skin filled the large bed chamber. Edric let his anger, pain and sorrow swell into a hurricane, needing to be unleashed.
Leeta’s body bounced to Edric’s powerful invasion. She tried to stay present for him but each thrust sent shockwaves of ecstasy rippling through her. Hugging him close, hip bones forced her open. Edric’s brow furled as he pushed himself deep and pulled. Leeta squeezed him every time he pulled back, begging for him to stay within her. The tight pull caused Edric to increase the tempo.
Leeta’s body trembled as her master stabbed her again and again. Nerves curled tight, an orgasm threatening to subdue her. Sweat gleamed off bodies as the ogre tried to hold Edric close. Edric buried himself in her chest, mouth clamping on a pert nipple and tongue swirling. The touch of his tongue and power in his thrusts set the ogre on edge. The dam cracked and Leeta’s eyes shot open before a long moan filled the room.
Edric never slowed down as Leeta’s body shuddered and shuddered again. The ogre couldn’t control herself, holding him tight to her chest as nerves fired like magical explosions. White touched the edge of her vision as her spirit submerged in pure bliss. The orgasm blasted nerves and before it began to lessen, a new one began to build.
Leeta let go, her body collapsing and arms out. Edric suckled and fucked her, enjoying every shudder. Wetness flowed like a river as the summoner pressed on. Closing his eyes, darkness filled his soul until a bright point formed. The bright point grew brighter with each passing moment. Bodies writhed in an intimate dance before the light consumed everything.
Edric pulled his head back and grunted. Pleasure surged as spurts of molten come filled Leeta’s tight space. Leeta moaned her approval as heat bloomed, another orgasm cascading over fried nerves.
When the urge diminished, confusion seeped into Edric’s senses. Hips slowed and a moment later, the summoner pulled free from Leeta and flopped on his side. The glow faded and the pain returned. Edric lay on his side, breathing heavy and eyes lost. The worm of pain bore into his damaged heart once again.
Leeta turned over, her body sliding down Edric’s. The summoner closed his eyes, silently wishing the pain would simply go away. When warm lips wrapped around his half hard cock, the pain eased to gentle suckling noises and the crackling of the hearth.
***
Blinking, Edric grimaced at the painful brightness filling his bedchamber. Trying to move, he quickly looked down with sleepy eyes, Leeta’s arm and leg over him. The summoner struggled but the ogre was dead weight, trapping him in her warm embrace.
Leeta snuggled closer. Edric tried to move again, soreness spreading through his body. Memories came rushing back as he lay, unable to break free. They had spent most of their time together until the player passed out. The last image Edric remembered was being pinned down by Leeta, his hips taking the brunt of her needs. The images of Leeta bouncing on him caused his member to harden slightly, sending pain through his body.
The door to the bedroom chamber opened. Edric’s eyes turned to it, watching as
Faye and Rayna stepped in. The wood elf and bard looked to the trapped summoner, a small smile appearing on Rayna’s lips while Faye tried to keep her face blank. As they stepped closer, eyes turned down to Edric’s naked body and his hardening cock.
“Private party,” Rayna said as they reached the side of the bed.
“Leave him alone,” Faye said sternly.
The bard looked to the wood elf, taking in her serious expression and her smile fading. Leeta opened her eyes, smiled and hugged Edric closer. The summoner allowed it for a moment before he struggled to be free again. Leeta lifted her arm and leg, letting him slide out from her embrace. Edric swung his legs over the side and sat up, not bothering to cover up.
Faye looked to Edric, “We would have let you sleep but there are things we have to address.”
“A throne room filled with players and awakened for starters,” Rayna’s smile returning.
Edric nodded, trying to shake the mental cobwebs away. “Are people starting trouble?”
Faye shook her head, “The opposite. Juna informed us of a few things and we should gather to discuss our next course of action.”
Edric nodded but simply sat, eyes taking on a faraway gaze.
Faye stepped closer, brow softening, “Are you okay?”
Edric snapped back to the virtual reality and looked up to the wood elf. “I’m okay, still waking up.”
“Well put some clothes on, stud. The party isn’t over yet,” Rayna leered.
***
The throne room was packed with bodies. Juna looked around, waiting patiently for her friends to arrive. The half-troll’s blue lips curved into a shy smile as Sonja, Lance, Renner, Vass and Thorrin stood around her, their eyes glancing at her in near disbelief. The awkwardness was not lost on the people around her as they tried their best not to stare. Instead, they tried to keep their attention on the rest of the players and the awakened gathered in the throne room.