by Everson Cook
"You know what, it doesn't matter. It's tails."
"I'll say it is. A tail anyway."
Kaateria rolled her eyes. "Call it in the air."
Then she gave a slight squat and popped back up launching the sword up toward the sky in the process.
"Tails," Damon called. "Seems I'm always chasing them. No need to stop now. Although I do like head... Nah, I'm going to stick with tails."
The sword spun and flipped end over end. Then flipped and spun end over end. Then end over end some more. Then again.
Damon yawned. He didn't even bother to stifle it.
The sword spun some more. And flipped some more. It went end over end some more.
Damon watched as a bird landed on a branch. He began to contemplate the meaning of life. Was there a meaning to it? And if so, what did it mean?
The sword dropped from the sky and plunged into the ground at an upright angle.
Kaateria began to take a step toward it, but Damon help his arms up signaling to her to wait.
The sword wavered a bit. Then a gust of wind pushed it over.
Damon didn't even have to see it to know he'd lost.
"Fair's fair," Kaateria said.
"Best two out of three?"
Kaateria shook her head.
"Ok, fine, I'll stick my finger in the hole. But I want you to know that if I lose it, you'll be doing a disservice to all womenkind."
"Oh, however will we manage without you there to give us a finger?"
Damon crouched down and looked into the hole. It was dark and he couldn't see anything. He breathed in. It didn't smell like a trap. It smelled damp and earthy, like an open hole in the side of a mountain. He ran the pointer finger on his right hand around the rim and then, after nothing happened, he gave a sigh and went to push it inside.
Mere moments before he stuck the tip in though, he realized something.
"Ha! I'm right-handed. That would be travesty. Finger on my left hand? It would still be unfortunate, but somehow I'd survive."
He switched fingers. He clasped his hands together to make it a little sturdier. He slowly pressed the tip in.
"How's it feel?" Kaateria asked.
"It's cold," Damon replied. "And wet."
He pushed a little more of his finger inside. He wiggled it around looking for something that would open the mouth of the cave. Some kind of special spot. He tried dragging his finger back toward himself, running it along the roof of the hole. If there was some mythical area, he couldn't locate it. He was sure it probably was never there to begin with, despite what some people said.
He tapped the cave at the spot above the hole with his thumb. Wondering if it might be some kind of two-step approach. Hoping he'd find some kind of button there. In his experience that generally worked. But he couldn't find one and after some time, there still was no movement. And exhaustion was setting in.
"I'm usually much better at this," Damon insisted. He stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth and really concentrated on what he was doing. He continued probing with his finger and tapping different spots on the cave.
"I'm sure you are," Kaateria said.
"I can sense your sarcasm. Maybe Belosic wrecked it. Loosened it up too much and now it won't work," Damon suggested.
"He does have larger fingers than you. Much larger."
Damon scoffed.
"Look, this doesn't seem to be working. There has to be a key around here somewhere," Kaateria continued.
"I'm telling you it has to be under the mat."
"Ok, then check under it."
"You check under it. I fingered the hole."
Kaateria stared at him. Then shrugged.
"Fine."
Kaateria kicked at the mat, trying to flip it up with the toe of her boot.
"Ow," she yelled. She lifted her booted foot across her body and hopped up and down on the other leg.
Damon laughed.
"Ha! I knew it was a trap!"
Kaateria rolled her eyes.
"It isn't a trap. It's probably just stuck in place from not being moved in a while."
"Oh, sure, sure..."
After the pain subsided, Kaateria crouched down. She dug her fingers under the mat. She pulled up as she tried to go from a crouch to standing.
Still no movement.
She fell back squarely on her butt. Or roundly as the case may be. Either way, she was well padded back there and it didn't hurt.
"Ok, I give up. You try."
"I'm not going to try."
"Please?"
"Fine. Ok. But don't say I never did anything for you."
Damon slipped his finger from the hole and wiped the sticky clear liquid off on his pants leg. It really seemed like he could've pulled out sooner.
"You've kept your finger stuck inside there the whole time?"
"Do you want me to try and check under the mat or not?"
Kaateria fell silent. She stepped aside and nodded her head at the direction of the mat.
Damon got into a crouch just like he saw Kaateria do earlier. He also dug his fingers underneath. He pulled up as he tried to go from a crouch to standing.
He flung the mat up and over. And his body did the same.
Kaateria walked over to where the mat used to be in front of the door. Sure enough, there was a key.
"I'm surprised Belosic didn't take it with him," she said.
Kaateria reached down to grab it. The key was stiff and cold to the touch. It was metal and had been hidden from the sun for some time, so this was not to be unexpected. But just like before, she couldn't move it. And it wasn't like it was some gigantic key that would seem hard to move. It was a regular-sized key.
"There's got to be some kind of magic spell on this thing," she said.
"Makes sense," Damon said as he sauntered over. "This is an exclusive club after all. Men only."
Damon bent over and plucked up the key with ease.
He stuck it in the hole. And gave Kaateria a wink. Then he gave it a turn.
After what could safely be described as an unnecessary pause, the mouth of the cave began to draw open.
Kaateria and Damon ran around to the side.
And waited.
But nothing came out of the cave.
"This is really lax security," Damon said.
Kaateria nodded.
They came back around to the front.
Damon went to slip the key into his pocket to avoid anyone following them inside. But, before he could do it, it vanished from his hand. And the mat moved back into place.
"Whoa," he said. "Did you see that?"
"I was standing right here," Kaateria said. "Come on."
Without any more hesitation, they began pushing their way deep inside the cave.
36
Inside the cave was deep, dark, and steamy. Damon could feel his clothes clinging to him as his body broke out in sweat. His flesh was showing through the thin white material of his damp shirt. He looked over at Kaateria. She was glowing in the faint light that flickered from the few torches that lined the walls. Her clothes were clinging to her as well. Depending on who you asked, she was either fortunate or unfortunate enough to not being wearing a white top.
There was a smell inside the cave that Damon couldn't quite put a finger on, but it brought back some vague memories of the feast they ate at the village.
Immediately inside the mouth of the cave was a sign that read "Leave your boots at the door. Management." Next to that sign was a stack of boots. There had to be at least a hundred of them. Damon figured that meant there had to be at least fifty men. Probably more if you took into account how many didn't wear boots. Or, were missing a leg so that multiple boots were unnecessary.
"What are you doing," Kaateria asked.
Damon stopped with his boot midway down his right leg. He pointed to the sign.
"Get up," she said.
Damon pulled his boot back on.
Once he got back to his feet, the
two of them continued to probe deeper inside the cave.
The walls were tight and the ceilings were low. The two of them had to crouch and walk single file. Damon was in front. Kaateria followed close behind. But not too close. Her sword was drawn after all. She held it in front of her with both hands on the handle. The path was too narrow for her to hold it any other way. If someone, or something, came at them from front or behind, Damon and Kaateria wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight.
The floor slanted downward as if to pull them deeper inside.
"I wonder how Belosic managed to squeeze through here," Damon pondered.
"Good question. I can barely get through and I'm at least a third his size."
"You've got bigger boobs though."
"Well, they're being tightly pressed together between my arms right now."
"That's a sight I'd like to see."
Damon paused. He couldn't turn his body. But that didn't stop him from trying to strain his neck to get a peek.
"Keep moving or I'll run you through with this blade," Kaateria said. She prodded him gently with the tip.
"Point taken," Damon said. And continued maneuvering along the path.
After some time, Damon stopped again. Kaateria was paying just enough attention to avoid poking him from behind.
"Do you hear that?" Damon whispered.
"Is it--"
"Drums. At least I'm pretty sure that's what it is."
The sound was muffled within the cramped confines.
"Let's go slow."
The pair kept going until, eventually, they came to the end of the narrow path. And an opening bathed in an intense red light. Damon cautiously stuck his head out and peeked around.
Seeing nothing of danger, he pushed his way into the opening. Kaateria soon followed.
The area they were in appeared as though it was built as simply a place to rest. Stretch out. Maybe do some calisthenics. And Damon and Kaateria took advantage of it. They rolled their heads around their shoulders and shook out their limbs.
On the other side was another narrow passageway like the one they had just pushed through. It wasn't built with claustrophobics in mind.
The area also acted as a lookout spot. From where they stood, Damon and Kaateria could see the rest of the interior of the cave. It was all bathed in the same intense red light. There were four levels, three below where they currently stood. After the first level, the walls were no longer closed off and the passage appeared to get wider. The noise was louder out here. Much easier to make out. It was definitely drums. And they kept up a steady rhythm.
Men, all naked, with shaved heads and flesh that appeared as though it got whiter the more they stayed inside, were cheering the action that was taking place at the very bottom level. They hung over the sides. Some standing on columns or on top of the ledges. Others dangled over the sides trying to get a better view.
"No weapons," Kaateria whispered.
"I see some swords. A surprising amount of daggers. One or two spears."
"Where? I don't see anything like that."
"You're obviously not looking hard enough then."
The bottom level was a wide open circle. This is where the drums were located. In the middle of the floor was a hole. And deep down below was a fire.
Along the outer edges of the room stood more naked men. In the back of the opening, opposite of where Damon and Kaateria stood, was a throne. And on that throne was a woman.
Meridtora.
"Bless the Gods," Damon said. He bit down on one of his knuckles.
If he hadn't been told otherwise, he would've assumed she was an elf. Her body was lithe, her movements graceful. She had curly, deep black hair that rested just above her shoulders. Her nose was short and skinny like that of a pixie, yet it tipped slightly downward. Her lips were plump and the color of crimson. Her eyes were a midnight blue if there was also a full moon present. Her breasts, well he couldn't really say. As much as he wanted to look at them, he knew it would spell trouble. And he really, really wanted to look at them. If Damon had to describe his ideal woman, she was the picture of at least one of them that he would describe.
"She doesn't look a day over nineteen," Damon said.
"Apparently she's hundreds of years old."
"Kaateria, this is going to sound weird, but will you tell me what they look like?"
"What what looks like?"
"Her breasts. I need to know. It's driving me crazy."
"What makes you think that I can look at them and not fall under their spell?" Kaateria crossed her arms across her chest.
Damon looked from her eyes, to her breasts, back to her eyes. Her eyes weren't projecting happiness, so he looked back at her breasts.
"Well...," he said. He squinted and arched his eyebrows.
Kaateria sighed.
"Fine, if it will help you concentrate on the task at hand, I'll tell you."
"It would. It really, really would." Damon did his best not to follow that up with, "I've got a task I'd like you to take in hand."
Kaateria slowly moved her eyes from Meridtora's face down to her sizable, perky breasts. Kaateria breathed a sigh of relief when nothing seemed to come over her.
"So, they're boobs," Kaateria said.
"Go on," Damon said.
"And they're...I don't know...roundish?"
"How big are they?"
"Big enough, I guess?"
"In relation to yours?" Damon asked.
"I'm not going to say."
"You're terrible at this."
Meridtora sat in the throne sideways. Her inner leg angled up. Her foot unironically rested on the armrest. Her outer leg, and the foot attached to it, dangled toward the floor.
Her inner arm rested on her knee. Her inner hand dangled toward her crotch. Attached to one of the fingers on that hand was the largest ring either Damon or Kaateria had ever laid their eyes on.
"The Ring of Ashmara," Damon whispered. He concentrated on it, so that he didn't have to concentrate on how he couldn't stare at Meridtora's breasts. Which were just out of his line of sight.
He imagined there wasn't a woman he couldn't lure into bed with that thing in his possession. Despite what many of them said, size did matter.
"It's bigger than I thought it would be," Kaateria said breathily.
"If I collected a gold coin for every time a woman said that to me, I'd never pay for a pint with my own money ever again. And I could afford the really good stuff. The Fauerbach. You ever have Fauerbach? It's amazing. Or so I've been told..."
Kaateria glared at him.
"Ok, ok. I bet we could get some money for that ring though. Maybe buy a round or two with what we make on it. I mean, just look at that thing."
The ring had a thick golden band that consisted of an intricate design of red lines twisting and expanding through it. They represented the blood lines that went into its creation and their future generations. At the top of the band were five stones, black, blue, green, yellow, and purple, representing each of the five original forefathers. And in the center of those five stones was another much larger one that was swirled red with their blood.
"We're to get it and give it back to King Glendorrys, remember?"
"That was the original plan sure. But, c'mon. You can't tell me you were expecting the ring to look like that. Despite how the stories described it, they didn't do it justice. It seems like giving something so beautiful to that dullard is a huge mistake that we could easily avoid."
"So, we'll trade it for some gold coins which we'll use to buy ale instead?"
"Not just any ale. Fauerbach."
"And what if that person has worse intentions than King Glendorrys?"
"No one has worse intentions than King Glendorrys. He's planning on killing me."
Kaateria stared at him.
"Ok, ok. I admit there are other people that want to actually kill me. But none of them are as recent."
"But what if?"
"Eh, we'll
be drunk. It won't really matter at that point." Damon shrugged. "We just need to make sure we get it before Belosic does."
"Speaking of, I don't see him down there. Do you?"
They scanned the rows and rows of naked men. But none of them seemed to be Belosic's size.
"There is no way he could get past all of those men," Kaateria said.
But Damon didn't hear her. He was too focused on Meridtora. Or more precisely, Meridtora's breasts. And to be even more precise, not looking at them. Which he was finding more and more difficult. It was like he was being called to them and he was powerless against their pull. He wanted to stand up and dive from the balcony into what he imagined from what little Kaateria had shared was deep cleavage. Despite how difficult the act would be and how much it would likely hurt.
Before he could follow through with the strange desire, he was drawn back to the ring. It seemed to be moving.
"Kaateria?"
"Yes?"
"Do you see that?"
Kaateria followed his finger, but couldn't quite figure out what he was pointing at.
"No."
"Keep watching."
"Watching what exactly?"
"The ring. There. Did you see it?"
She wasn't sure, but it looked like it had jumped slightly on Meridtora's dainty finger.
Meridtora brought her other fingers to it and rolled the band between them.
Then she dropped her hand back down.
And it jumped again. Like a tug.
Meridtora again adjusted it. She swung her legs down and planted them in front of her. Her flame red dress with slits up both sides looked like a tongue waggling between her milky thighs.
Suddenly she gasped.
Belosic was standing in front of her. He was fully dressed. And his fingertips were placed around the ring.
Meridtora's eyes flashed at the sudden intrusion. She snatched her ring hand away. And playfully swatted at Belosic's hand with the other.
"How did he--" Kaateria started.
Belosic's eyes were wide in shock. His mouth gaped open. He pulled a bottle from his pocket, tilted his head back, and tried to shake out a few drops. But none came.
It wouldn't have done much good. The potion was expired.
"Good old Harry. I tried telling Belosic. You can't trust his magic." Damon shook his head. A grin spread from ear to ear.
