Legends of Belariath

The Quest For The Baron's Silver

Abriel Roseblade - On the Wings of the Storm

Abriel looked up to the dark clouds crowding the evening sky , sighing a little and pulling his hood on his face, hiding his handsome features and long auburn hair… A storm was about to strike, a powerful one probably.

Half an hour before the young novice knight was sitting quietly in a dark corner of the Lonely Inn’s common room, a perfect place for listening and learning without being noticed… And Abriel was exactly the kind of person that disliked drawing too much attention on him. While his icy gaze was wandering on the other bystanders, looking for something interesting, he managed to overhear a conversation about some precious items that were recently stolen and the Bounty Hunters Guild offering some kind of reward for their retrieving.

His mind wandered back to the time when he was training under his master’s supervision, back to his master’s first lesson: “I can train you for years, son, but I can only grant you can use your sword, not that you’ll be brave enough to draw it”. He realized that this was the perfect chance to prove his courage and to gain some real fighting experience. So far he had traveled a bit before reaching Nathalion, but so far he had been lucky enough to find his way out of trouble without the use of brute force, this time was different, it was time to try and fight an enemy able to fight back, it was time to know if he really had the bravery his master was talking about.

He slowly entered the dark building of the Bounty Hunters Guild, passing by the heavily armored and armed guards standing at the entrance. His hand clutched on his sword’s hilt under his flowing travel cloak, he was nervous and knowing that made him even more nervous.

Trying to shrug away his nervous look he entered the office and noticed that the guild-mistress was occupied at the moment, a lovely little slave crawling between her well toned barbarian legs and eagerly licking her crotch, much to her delight.

Abriel simply leaned on the wall, turning his eyes away from the scene, still wondering why all the people living in this city were like sex-crazed animals. He wasn’t obviously used to it, but since his arrival, about two days before, he saw things that went well beyond his deepest imagination.

After a few minutes, some higher pitched moans told him that it was coming to an end, and walked towards the counter, waiting for the woman to talk to him.

Still panting a little, her eyes examined him like a warhorse retailer can look at a lame mule and finally spook: “who told you to come here? This is no place for fancy looking kids; you can apply to be a slave at the Slavers Guild.”

Such harsh words shook Abriel’s determination just a little, but he managed to keep his temper, slowly pulling his hood back, his eyes narrowing and his gaze turning into an icy stare, cold and sharp like a knife’s blade. Glaring at the woman he tried to appear as tough as he could, casting away the usual hint of sadness that normally made his eyes softer, replacing it with pride: “I’m here out of my own will, Lady. I’m looking for a chance to prove my valour.”

The guild-mistress, not at all intimidated by the young knight’s glare, chucked a little: “looks like you have some guts after all, kid. Maybe I have a job for you, but it can be risky and you can end with your pretty little ass in a bad shape.”

Abriel tried to remain calm at the sudden threat, and leaned on the counter: “My ass is my concern, lady. Give me that job and I won’t disappoint you”, he let his cloak open a little, letting her get a glimpse to his sword, to give emphasis to his bold talk.

The woman smirked mischievously: “good, one of the nobles of a nearby town had his silverware stolen, our intelligence was able to ascertain that it has been scattered about the nearby goblin villages and camps to be melted down and converted to jewellery. Some of the items have already been returned, but some are still missing. I need you to retrieve a silver candelabra and to return it to the baron to earn your reward, and maybe a little of glory, that never hurts.” Her smirk hardened to a businesslike grin: “It’s probably located in the south-eastern camp on the edge of the river. About 4 days journey from here. You will have to travel through thick forest to do so, and what you may or may not come across on your journey is unknown, since the forest is a dangerous place, moreover the upcoming storm will slow you down a bit.”

Abriel eyes narrowed more, his hand slowly caressing his sword’s hilt: “I can do it, Lady; I’ll bring the item back.”

“Good, you can go now.” It was the only answer from the guild-mistress, and Abriel needed nothing else, turning on his heels and exiting the office, while some more moans from inside told him that the slave had resumed his work.

The young knight passed the first half of the night packing his equipment and studying the paths to his objective, he was determined not to fail, but a bit nervous about the storm that was about to strike he surroundings, his mission wasn’t easy and the storm was about to make the situation even worse.

He fell fast asleep with dark thoughts in his mind, until the powerful noise of thunder awakened him. He swiftly stood and grabbed his pack, it was raining hard outside, but he had already settled his mind and as determined to go anyway.

Abriel almost ran down the stairs of the still deserted inn, since it was probably too early for maids to be around, and took the door, raising his hood over his face to protect himself from the rain.

The only way to reach the goblin camp was through a complicated net of paths leading deep into the forest, normally it would be easier to go there with a boat on the river, but the storm made it impossible to sail, Abriel leaned against a tree while trying to study his sketchy map without letting the rain soak it, then simply begun to walk again, heading deep into the forest, the water from the storm dripping on him from the trees’ branches soaking him wet, almost freezing him to his bones.

The first day of this unpleasant trip was totally uneventful and the night fell early. The rainstorm made any attempt to go on almost impossible, so Abriel had to stop, curled into his cloak against a tree, trying to eat some wet rations and to gain some sleep. After about two hours of sneezing and trembling, his tired body managed to drift unconscious battered by rain and cold wind.

He slept about five hours, haunted by nightmares of his past: the face of his father disappearing behind his helm, his hand rising into the night to issue orders to his knights, black wind, fire and steel... The sound of thunder that ripped his mind from slumber was almost welcome as he stood to his feet and put his pack on his shoulder, stirring his limbs a little under his still soaked cloak, resuming the walk as a fast pace almost immediately. He was eager to reach a small woodcutters’ settlement about ten hours of marching away, at least that night he knew he would be able to sleep dry and warm.

That day was pretty uneventful too, since the dangerous creatures living into the darkness of the forest were afraid of the thunderstorm. Even the signs of green-skin activity were few and scattered, a few poles with some skulls on them and nothing else, he was still far from their camp and the rain had probably erased any other sign of their presence.

Abriel felt lucky, for the first time he knew that after all, the weather was playing on his side, keeping dangers away from him, he was eager to prove his valor, but the thought of facing a whole goblin war band made him feel uneasy, to say the least.

It was late afternoon when he reached the settlement, a small bunch of wooden huts encircled by a solid looking palisade and by a moat that was almost flooding because of the heavy rain. Such defenses were sure not for fancy, and they looked quite battered too: at a closer inspection Abriel could see a lot of goblin arrows embedded on the palisade, and some sectors of it had been recently repaired. The tough woodmen that settled here were in constant danger, being so nar to goblins and even worse riders, but the precious dawnwood they provided made their risky life worthy to be lived.

The young knight smirked a little under his hood in anticipation, thinking about a warm meal and a confortable bed, approaching the small drawbridge that granted access to the settlement: “Freeze!” An harsh voice came from the palisade causing Abriel to stop all of a sudden. “Who are you?” He took a deep breath and then answered “A traveler, from Nathalion, sir. The name is Abriel Roseblade, i come in peace”

“Good” the voice continued: “Move on slowly, but be careful, you have at least ten arrows aimed between your eyes”.

“A little jumpy isn’t it?” was Abriel almost amused thought, entering the small gate and hastily walking towards the small inn, named “The slaughtered goblin”: pretty name…

Abriel slowly opened the wooden door and stepped inside,his cold gaze looking around, still hidden by his hood and he quickly walked to a dark corner of the room, quietly taking a seat, not wanting to draw too much attention.

The room was pretty quiet and the bystanders were few, only six tough looking woodmen were quietly chatting about their work in the forest, a tall broad shouldered bartender approached Abriel, smirking a little under his long red beard: “Good evening stranger, i’m Charan, bartender and chief of this little settlement, are you going to stay a while?” “I’m not sir…” Was Abriel’s answer: “Only tonight. Can i have a room please? And warm meal maybe. My stomach is a bit frozen” The bulky bartender laughed “Of course, wait a second”.

A few minutes after Abriel was feasting on some roughly cooked roast chicken, but to his cold stomach it seemed the hot meal looked like best of his life.

A sudden silence in the room drawn his attention as a young woman entered the common room, she was beautiful to say the least and her slender body was only barely covered by a small leather armor, that left only a little imagination, following her sexy curves and letting out her round, tanned, breasts, tipped by two small pink nipples. Her soft features, were perfectly matched by her stunning grey eyes that wandered around the room, only to place themselves straight into Abriel’s eyes. The young knight stepped back a little more, trying to hide in shadows from that almost hypnotic gaze. The young woman was carrying a small harp under her left arm, she probably was a bard of some sort and settled in the middle of the room. Silence was almost perfect when she parted her lips softly and her song begun:

Look for my eyes through the darkness
Calling my name to the wind
Praise me to show you my power
Greater than how you may dream...

And the clouds will turn to gray,
Winter's rain fallin' cold
Tells I'll come
On the wings of the storm...

Defeated by the flowing of time
Back now to rise up again
Ready to give you a new life
A new religion to hail

And the sky will turn to gray,
You'll acclaim my name
Then I'll come
On the wings of the storm...

And a new sun will rise up from my hands
To start a reign I'll rule
On the wings of the storm...

While the music begun to fade Abriel’s eyes closed slowly, as his mind wandered, sailing in a sea of darkness and memories, pictures of battle and unsung glory flooding his soul, until a soft female voice awakened him from his trance: “Hello, stranger. I never saw you around here”. The knight’s eyes opened and suddenly widened, looking into the beautiful bard’s eyes, only a few inches away. “Are you deaf of what?”

“Well... i’m a stranger indeed... i’m from Nathalion” His voice vas quiet, a bit stunned by her sudden approach.

“And who might you be, stranger?” her eyes looked deep into his causing him to feel a little uneasy.

“I’m a simple traveler…”

Her slender fingers wandered slowly on his left leg, sending shivers to his spine, tracing it’s way up to his hips an then under his cloak, to the hilt of his sword. “A traveler that carries a knight’s sword…” She smirked mischievously “Pretty interesting, isn’t it?”

“Well…” Abriel’s eyes fell down on her nude breats, so near and so inviting, her sweet perfume filled his nostrils, almost intoxicating him. He felt his embarassement grow and blushed quite a bit: “I’m a knight indeed… i have to find a goblin camp and get an item back…”

“Are you going to attack the goblins alone, sir knight? You must be mighty to say the least…” Her eyes widened in mock awe but she looked truly surprised, maybe by his bravery, maybe by his stupidity: “By the way, my name is Lione, and i’m the bard here”

“I’m Abriel, and now if you can excuse me, i have to go to bed, tomorrow will be an hard day” Abriel stood in front of her and headed for his room upstairs, leaving the girl there, cursing himself for being an idiot unable to resist to a woman’s gaze, he had just told his mission to a complete stranger…

Once upstairs, he opened the oaken door of his room slowly, and stepped inside, closing the door again behind him. The sweet features if the young bard still haunting his mind as he left himself fall on the bed, sighing a bit and laying there, looking up to the ceiling.

After a pair of hours someone suddenly knocked at the door.

“Who’s there?” Abriel stood quickly, his hand running to his sword:

“I’m Karla sir, please let me in.”

Abriel went to the door wondering what the bard could want, and opened it, the girl was in front of him, looking up at his eyes, her lips softly parted as she pushed him inside.

“Do you need help, lady?” Abriel looked down at her, surprised, not knowing what to do.

“Please sir, let me come with you!” Her request almost startled him, but he saw in her eyes she was terribly serious.

“But…”

“I always dreamt to witness the acts of bravery of a true Knight, i can use you as the hero of my songs! I can make you immortal!” Her words almost shattered his heart…

“But i’m only a novice…” his voice was trembling: “I’m no hero”

“I don’t care. Let me come with you! I beg you!” she kneeled in front of him, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. His heart suddenly broke.

“As you wish… You can come with me.”

The girl’s eyes widened and then she smiled softly: “Thank you… Master”

“Ma-master?! Wait, why do you call me mas....!!!” His voice died in his throat, the young beautiful bard had just moved her fingers swiftly, umbuttoning his pants and dragging hout his still soft manhood, kissing it gently on the head sending shivers of pleasure through his spine.

“Wh... why are you doing this?” His voice was trembling as his shaft begun to gain hardness under her gentle and wet kisses… “Because i want to thank you…” She smirked a bit then leaned on him more and Abriel witnessed his now hard member disappearing between her soft pouty lips. The young knight didn’t manage to speak anymore as pleasure overtook control of his mind. Karla went on sucking and licking at his hardened shaft, running her tongue on his lenght and then taking it back in, all the while massaging his balls softly and moaning a bit on him, sending him straight to heaven.

His hands slowly sunk into her soft mane, while he caressed her gently, her head beginning to bob on his cock faster, while her free hand cupped her left breast gently, fingers kneading her own aroused nipple. A few seconds later her other hand traveled down to her crotch, quickly and eagerly unfastening some laces and letting her soft, hairless cunt exposed to the cool air, glistening with juices that slowly begun to trail down her thighs.

Abriel’s eyes widened at the sight: “Wh-why are you so wet?”

“I spent the last hour sliding my fingers inside my little pussy Master, thinking about you.... just like this” She easily slid two fingers between her silken folds, beginning to pump them back and forth, drawing even more juices…

Abriel was about to loose control, his balls throbbing like hell, full of his seed, he knew he couldn’t resist much longer: “if you go on.... I’ll...”

The girl was panting and moaning softly around his engorged shaft, while fingering herself faster and harder, she slid his manhood out of her mouth and gave it a soft, long, wet kiss on the tip, slurping eagerly some drops of precum that formed on it: “Yes Master… come inside my mouth… I wish to savor your seed”

Hearing that Abriel couldn’t hold himself anymore and reached a powerful orgasm, sending his hot seed into her wanting mouth, while she backed a little, letting the last drops of cum splash on her smiling face and on her aroused breasts.

Karla eagerly gulped down his seed and proceeded to lick him perfectly clean, circling his still hard manhood with her soft and wet tongue, while her hand slowly worked to spread his cum on her globes, then she finally gathered the last drops on her face on her fingers and licked them eagerly and greedily, all the while looking up into his eyes. About an hour later he was on the bed, shooting his hot cum straight into her silken pussy, making her scream in pleasure, rocked herself by a powerful orgasm. The two lovers slowly drifted to sleep, holding into each other’s arms.

Abriel suddenly opened his eyes, the warm sleeping body of the young bard still resting on his chest. The storm was still raging and it was pretty dark outside, but something was wrong, terribly wrong: the sound of battle echoed around the inn and the screams of the dead struck the knight’s ears like an hammer. He swiftly stood, leaving the warmth of Karla’s body, looking for his clothes and sword as the woman looked up at him: “What happens?”

“I don’t know! Looks like the settlement is under attack! Don’t move from here!” Abriel finished dressing and ran out of the room, storming downstairs and out into the rain.

The smell of smoke filled his nostrils as he ran towards the palisade, framing arrows rained from the sky, setting some of the huts’ roofs ablaze, some of the woodmen were already fighting, defending themselves with their lumberjack axes and some heavy crossbows, while Charan stood in the middle of the carnage, directing them against the greenskin assaliants.

Abriel jumped on the palisade, disoriented by the chaotic tide of his first real battle, he barely noticed a small goblin that tried to impale him on his lance, charging from the right side. It was too late for him to react, but the evil greenskin collapsed to the ground, screaming, chopped down by one of the woodcutters’ axe.

“Move your ass kid! You’ve a sword, use it!” The powerful voice of Charan awakened Abriel from his trance and helped him get an hold on himself, as he raised his sword to meet the charge of another of the foul beasts that impaled himself on the blade.

There were about fifty greenskins swarming around the palisade, but the brave woodman were fighting fiercely, repelling their attacks, inflicting and suffering heavy casualties. An agonizing scream warned Abriel of the death of another woodman, as three goblins managed to gain access to the palisade top, he charged head on, trying to repel them, but tripped over a corpse, falling and loosing grip on his sword’s hilt, his valued weapon fell on the ground, too far to be reached in time.

The goblins laughed , approaching his position, sore to have found an easy prey, but the prey managed to avoid panicking and almost mechanically grabbed a crossbow from the clutching hands of a dead woodman, the bolt was alreasy notched and Abriel thanked the gods, while lining it with the bigger of the greenskins’ head and pressed the trigger, sending it burying itself into the monster’s forehead. Two swift axe blows from Charan managed to dispatch the remaining two, as the broad chested bartender stood once again on the palisade.

A well known female voice attracted Abriel attention to his left and he saw in horror that Karla had just joined the fray, charging with a slender short sword against a big orc that seemed to be the boss of the attacking warband, he was bulky and looked powerful, clutching a big axe in each hand. Karla’s swift attack barely scratched his thick hide as he prepared to dispatch that little nuisance.

“No!” Abriel tried to fight his way towards the endangered girl, but she was too far away from him. His heart almost stopped when he saw one of the orc’s axes fall on her bare chest causing her to collapse on the ground face down, without even screaming.

Rage filled the young knight’s mind as he ran towards the laughing murderer, thoughts of vengeance blinded him as his legs moved on their own, but the dark note of an orcish horn filled the air, and the goblins begun to fall back, relinquishing the attack. Abriel watched the boss run away, while hatred consumed his heart as his enemy disappeared into the tick woods.

He stood there for a few seconds, under the rain soaking him, unable to think about anything else than rage and vengeance, then, he slowly kneeled besides the young Karla, gently turning her to face him.

Her wound was fatal it was obvious, and Abirel’s heart shattered when she spook: “My… Knight… I won’t… Be… Able… To sing your…” Her voice broke as she coughed blood, clutching his shoulders and he held her tight in his arms, then she passed away, drifting to the eternal sleep of death.

“She’s dead” The voice of Charan echoed almost unreal in his ears while he placed his big head over his shoulder.

Abriel didn’t answer, he simply lifted the corpse of Karla into his arms and walked into the inn, up the stairs and into his room, gently laying her to rest on his bed, placing a soft and silent kiss over her bloodstained lips.

Grabbing his pack he gave her a last, loving, glance and then closed the door, walking downstairs and out into the rain, letting it soak his long hair and cloak, a grim look into his icy blue eyes.

The goblin were many and no storm could cancel their fresh traces into the woods, he was ready to follow them even to hell to avenge Karla’s death.

He walked fast for one day and one night and then went on to walk the whole day after, following the raiders’ traces, broken branches, blood, footprints, they sure were bold walking into the forest like this, but they were goblin, they probably were just plain stupid.

The sun of the second day since the death of Karla was setting when he finally reached the goblin camp, a large and chaotic settlement made of huts and tents on the riverside. There were only few signs of the goblins, just few guards patrolling the main access points, since the storm kept them at bay, dwelling into their dark holes not to get soaked.

Abriel waited about five hours, laying into the mud near the camp, covered by the trees on the endge of the forest, looking at the guards, memorizing their patrol routes and times, an all oiut attack was impossible, probably there were almost five hundred goblins in the camp, so the only way to reach their boss’ tent, a big one in the middle of the settlement, was stealth.

Thankful for the storm that was about to hide his approach from the goblin guards he slowly stood, and began to crawl slowly towards the tents, passing between the shivering goblins that were well too occupied trembling under their ragged cloaks to notice the dark, muddy figure slipping between their ranks.

After some long, frightening minutes Abriel reached the chieftain’s tent and muttered a curse, sighting a goblin sentinel standing guard in front of the entrance, bad.… Really bad…

The young knight waited a minute more, looking down to the ground, waiting for the right moment, slowly drawing his sword from the scabbard. As soon as a lightning crossed the sky, dazzling the goblin with it’s light, Abriel jumped towards the guard burying his sword to the hilt into his chest. The sound of thunder silenced the goblin’s death cry, while the knight pulled his blade free and entered the tent.

The orc chieftain was sleeping fast over a stinking pile of hides, Abriel slowly walked to his side, placing the tip of his sword on the foul beast’s neck, but didn’t kill him yet. He jammed a powerful kick between his victim’s ribs, giving him an harsh awakening, letting him just enough time to gain awareness and savor the terror of his own fear.

“This is for Karla” The knight’s sword trespassed the orc’s neck putting an end to his crimes.

Abriel stood there a few second before moving, Karla was finally avenged and his rage begun to subside, slowly. He looked to his right side, taking a glimpse of silver: the chandleabra was there, thrown on the ground like some useless crap. Abriel grabbed it and pushed it into his backpack then slipped out of the tent, crawling his way again between the guards and into the woods, trying to put some miles between him and the camb before the goblin discovered their boss’ death.

His head was confused and his mind was blinded by a tidal wave of different feelings, anger, grief, sadness, relief. Time and space melted while he ran even the storm raging around him was nothing compared to the storm into his heart.

The rest of the trip back to Nathalion was a real nightmare, his mind failed to register anything more than few shifty images of trees and rain, lightning and darkness.

Only four days later the storm subsided and Abriel managed to get a hold of himself, regaining his consciousness, his eyes turned back to their usual cold but sad gaze as he leaned on a tree, panting. He was tired, his limbs ached ans his head was empty, like the days of the trip back to Nathalion were nothing else than a bad dream fading in his memory, he slowly walked to the baron’s manor, his sad eyes looking straight in front of him, while recalling the lovely gaze of the sweet Karla. The mission for the Guild was finally accomplished, but Abriel didn’t really care.

With thanks to Abriel

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