Ka-Ron, between waves of pain, and trying her best to keep above all that was happening to her, watched her son with pride. Her male self struck him with his sword, and En-Don matched him at each attack.
"That's my boy," the knight stated, wrapping her arms around her stomach.
Ka-Ron couldn't get up. Her stomach had grown too big. So big, in fact, that it was hard to believe that she was carrying a normal-size baby. Then, slowly, the knight started to realize that she did not have sex with a man. Baphomet had made himself known to one and all in different forms. Who knew what was growing inside of her? All the knight could be thankful for was that Jatel was nowhere nearby to see all of this.
Absently, the woman started to rub her stomach.
"Keeth!"
The wizard soon joined his unfortunate friend.
"I am here, my dear."
"Wizard, is there a way we can reverse all of this?"
Keeth shook his head. "One cannot stop the acts of the gods, my dear lady. I am afraid you have to see this through."
Ka-Ron's water broke.
"I thought you'd say something like that."
"Sorry, love."
Ka-Ron was about to give birth.
Upon hearing Ka-Ron cry out in pain once more, Dorian and Rohan rushed to the knight's aid. Keeth silently instructed all of them to help with the task. Molly ripped a rag from her clothing and decided to wipe cool water upon the birthing woman's head.
This last did not pass Ka-Ron's attention.
Ka-Ron screamed.
Blood and water gushed from her body as her stomach continued to grow.
"Why is she having such difficulty, wizard?" Dorian asked.
"I have no idea." Keeth shook his head, disbelieving what he was seeing.
The knight's stomach swelled huge enough to hold a fully-grown man. And still it continued.
"What's happening?" Ka-Ron demanded.
No one knew what the hell to do.
En-Don continued with his battle.
"You do quite well, boy," Baphomet snarled.
The spider continued its attack against the knight's brave son. He had never had to use so much of his strength. He could feel the sweat pouring down into his armor, and knew that if fatigue had not overcome Baphomet soon, he would know the sting of failure.
"You will have nothing more to do with her," En-Don barked, picking up a spare pike nearby and stabbing it deep into Baphomet's spider image.
A scream filled the whole chamber.
The demon was bleeding.
"A good hit, son!" Dorian shouted, clapping his hands.
En-Don turned back to the wizard, giving the old man a hearty hand salute.
Ka-Ron screamed one last time.
Then, nothing.
No pain.
Just nothing.
"Are you all right, my child?" Keeth asked, checking the knight's condition.
"I think so."
"Look!" Molly said, pointing beyond Ka-Ron's legs.
No one knew what to say.
"It looks like an&"
"EGG!" everyone else said in unison.
"That's different," Dorian added.
Everyone gave the dwarf an angry eye.
"What?" was his reaction.
Ka-Ron's body turned back to normal. The woman vomited one last time before her body shrank. As happened before, the spell cast upon her by Kai made it appear as if she had never given birth.
Keeth helped the woman to her feet.
The egg was golden in color and flaked with little brown spots here and there. It was about the size of a horse, and just as bulky.
"What do we do with this?" Keeth asked.
It did not take long for an answer to arrive.
The egg started to shake, move, and crack.
"Whatever it is, my friend, it's hatching." Keeth stated, pulling everyone away from the thing.
Baphomet started to look at the egg with curiosity. In all the forms each were seeing him in, he appeared nervous. It was quite obvious that he did not expect this to happen. Since when did a warm-blooded creature lay an egg?
"What is this?" Baphomet asked, poking the thing with his hands.
Once the shell cracked, it exploded into several different pieces.
"Good heavens!" Keeth shouted.
Rising from the shell, there appeared a dragon-like creature - more snake than beast. Curiously enough, the snake was covered with purple feathers, and had under its diamond-shaped head a set of leather wings. Dragon or no, it appeared quite powerful, and it was pissed off.
"It's time for us to leave," the wizard suggested, panic clearly expressed in his actions.
"But, wizard," Rohan said, looking as if he wished to watch the birthing.
"We leave&now!" Keeth barked.
All headed back down the dark halls, heading toward the Argo.
Alone with the new dragon creature, Baphomet dropped his powers of illusion, allowing his foe to gaze upon his true form. In his true form, the demon was huge - over ten sticks in height. Half man, half goat, his horns took up most of his free room. Long and quite sharp, the demon's horns looked as if they had tasted blood many times in the past. He adjusted his head to make up for their height.
The dragon hissed. Huge fangs flashed. The new creature that Ka-Ron had given birth to continued to grow, becoming over thirty sticks in length. Flapping its wings the creature took flight.
There was no possible way that the new visitor could ever leave the room.
Baphomet's world became more complicated.
The demon roared in agony, knowing that through some quirk of fate, he had gained an ungrateful child. Both stood opposite against the other. Only one would rule in the end.
The creatures clashed in combat. Tooth tearing flesh. Horn impaling muscle. Hate fighting hate.
Destined to forever make war upon the other.
The watchers at the bottom of the fountain looked on, and in their tormented hearts, they all cheered. Season upon season, trapped, not being allowed to do anything but wait. Their hearts rejoiced in the idea of finally seeing their captor suffer&to recapture again the hope and promise of the fountain's gifts.
That was until the dragon's tail destroyed The Fountain of Cures.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Jatel paced the steps of the ancient throne room, waiting. He had heard Ka-Ron scream, and he had heard the roar of the two beasts. It took all that he had within him not to leave his post. Someone had to stay and watch their vessel, just in case there had been some hidden danger none of them knew about. The ship was safe, but the squire questioned the status of his friends.
"Jatel!" Rohan shouted, running out the dark corridor towards him. "Prepare to get underway!"
The elf did not have to order him twice.
Jatel ran up on deck, and prepared all that he could, making sure that all the lines were set, and that the wheel and levers were ready.
Everyone thumped up the gangplank.
"Father!"
Jatel noticed En-Don's recovered state. Forgetting for a moment that he was just a squire, the man bolted away from his post, and understandably embraced his son. The two were immersed in the moment.
"My son!" Jatel shouted. "You are well."
"Quite, my father."
Although there had been a breach of protocol, no one on board the Argo seemed to care.
As Keeth and Ka-Ron slowly walked up the gangplank, the latter being handled with kid gloves, the entire ancient edifice seemed to shake with incredible violence and energy.
"What's going on?" Jatel asked.
"Father, we need to leave with utmost haste."
The squire gave each member of the crew a curious glance. He stopped when he noticed the discomfort and self-healing pain coming from his master. Her clothing was only half on her person. And, by Keeth's remarks, something incredible had just occurred to which he was not privy.
"Sire, are you all right?"
"Well," the kn
ight stated, taking a seat upon a pile of barrels. "Other than feeling as if I just pooped out a whale, sure&fine! I'm in the pink."
Jatel turned to the wizard, hoping for a clearer answer.
"Don't ask," Keeth said holding up a warning hand. "You wouldn't believe it in the first place."
"Okay."
"Wise choice, my son."
Again the chamber shook as several roars were heard.
"What the hell?" Jatel asked.
The dwarf city shook again. This time, the violence had caused several pieces of the sacred mural to crack and produce falling debris. The Argo had almost fallen victim to a bad case of "gravity poisoning."
"Prepare to get underway!" the wizard yelled.
"Lines have been pulled, and we are ready for ocean exploration." Jatel offered.
Keeth pulled and lowered his magical levers.
Again, the ship was covered by her clamshell apparatus.
Vents were opened, and the tiny wooden ship dived below the waves.
The only thing left behind was the destruction of a legend.
Molly kissed En-Don several times, raising the eyebrows of both his parents. An awkward moment arose when the young man had openly made the comment that he wanted to "play" with her once again. Judging by the crimson hue which suddenly appeared upon Molly's cheeks, the viewers decided that the woman wished to "play" as well.
"Take care of my son," Ka-Ron warned, trying her best to hold back an ironic smile. "That is all I will say."
Molly, realizing that she now had the blessings of both mother and father, kissed En-Don again with conviction and purpose. Not that either had been lost to her in her current endeavors.
Both disappeared behind a cabin door.
Ka-Ron could not shake the fact that she was being watched.
Keeth was studying the woman with a great amount of wonder. He tried to hide it with his piloting of the ship, but he was not that good at spying.
"What grabs at you, wizard?" the knight asked, finally buttoning up the last of her clothing.
"You, child."
"Why?"
"You have given birth to a dragon," the wizard stated, amazed at the fact. "Life must have an incredible destiny for you, Ka-Ron, to have done so much and have the luck to survive such a thing."
"I would like to believe so."
The Argo floated past the two statues they had last encountered. As they safely navigated between them, a thunderous blast of energy came from the mountain city, creating a wave of force. Upon making contact with the giant statues, the destructive shock caused both pillars of art to topple off their pedestals, dismembering and crumbling into useless piles of rock.
The ship barely managed to stay her course.
During all this destruction, each rock, wall, ancient home and statue tore at Dorian's heart. It was like watching a dream die before your eyes, and not having the power to stop it.
"Look at it this way," Rohan said, trying to offer comfort. "You and I have seen Jah-Bul-On. The fates can never take that from us. Ever!"
The dwarf city echoed one last time with the roars of Baphomet and the new dragon, and were heard again nevermore.
***
Upon surfacing, the Argo became sea-worthy.
The wizard did not need to ask their destination. The ship was pointed towards The Fire Mountains.
Both Ka-Ron and Jatel retired to a well-deserved rest.
Upon entering their cabin, they treated each other with an awkward silence. In the past several suns, in order to achieve their shared goals of saving their son, Ka-Ron and Jatel had been somewhat "separate." Now, allowed the luxury of intimacy once again, neither knew how or where to begin.
The knight sheepishly glanced at her squire as both lay upon their bed. The woman so wanted to feel the warmth of his hands upon her skin. More than anything, Jatel wanted to embrace and kiss the woman.
"I have done you wrong, Jatel," Ka-Ron finally stated, near tears.
"No, master."
The woman took hold of Jatel's face. In her eyes were both pain and anger. "Please, Jatel! Do not address me so." Pausing, only to glance into his eyes, she kissed him passionately. So engrossed was she in her actions that the knight cried out in sorrow, enjoying her role as Jatel's lover. "I plead with you, squire, love me."
Jatel paid heed to his calling.
In a darkened room, aboard a strange but ingenious ship, both Jatel of Illium and Ka-Ron of Idoshia became one once again.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Dorian tiptoed down the ship's main hall, hoping to the heavens that no one heard him. He had prided himself on the fact that both he and Rohan had risen above suspicion, and that even the wizard had forgotten to inquire further on the "curiosities" he had seen, while in the sacred dwellings of what had once been Jah-Bul-On.
The ship's galley seemed to be the only safe place either could meet.
Dorian softly opened the galley's squeaky doors.
"Hello there."
The dwarf almost felt his heart explode, upon hearing the strange voice.
"It's only me," Rohan said, laughing.
Amused, the elf had disguised his voice, fooling his love. Rohan started to laugh openly, and with great mirth. It was rare to hear an elf laugh.
"You bastard!" Dorian spat, slapping the elf hard upon his ass.
"If you could have seen the look of pure panic upon your face," Rohan giggled, holding tight to his stomach. "Priceless! Priceless!"
"Fool!"
Dorian was all prepared to revert his outer appearance, for the sake of his new love. Rohan, on the other hand, had more ambitious motives.
The elf could not wait.
Rohan attacked his love, kissing the man in his current form. Comically, the dwarf waved his arms into the air, hoping above hope that the elf's tongue would not get any of his beard hairs in his mouth - dwarf's hair was too harsh to be entangled with the softness of another's tongue.
"Dear sir," Dorian purred, at last coming up for air.
The dwarf's beard melted away. Hard muscles turned into soft and supple curves. Female breasts soon replaced the illusion of armor plating.
He was now a she.
"I glory more and more upon seeing the true you," Rohan said, kissing her once more.
Dorian closed her eyes, feeling the weight of her lover as he fell upon her. Rohan's pants told more about his passion than the elf's way with words could ever do. The dwarf let out a soft cry of delight as Rohan unbuttoned the soft silk opening of her dress. As a hungry cat might pounce upon a saucer of milk, Rohan dug deeply into the dwarf's intimate treasures. Gently, he sucked at the woman's nipples, eagerly biting away at her flesh.
"I have to warn you, sir," Dorian said, pushing the elf's head deeper between her breasts. "Dwarfs mate for life."
Rohan came up for air.
"Then may love be my crime, and you my prison."
The dwarf started to cry, but, upon her face beamed the softest of smiles.
Rohan sank down, separating the dwarf's legs.
Dorian tried to say something, but was too overcome with anticipation. Her heart beat heavily. Her breath came fast.
The elf softly took in the woman's scent while he embellished himself in the most intimate of fashions.
***
Keeth kept looking over his shoulder.
The Argo was being followed.
Since their starboard turn near the Gull Islands, a small outcrop near the elfin nations, the wizard had been aware of their shadow. Matching course change with course change, the captain of the following vessel advertised the greatest of skills. The wizard would have to congratulate him upon his seamanship.
But that was for another day.
The wizard did not like being followed.
"Something, wizard?"
Taken aback, Keeth turned to see that Jatel had come out on deck.
"I apologize, wizard," Jatel offered. "I did not mean to startle you so."
"No
mind," the old man said, patting his chest. "Ka-Ron is resting."
A telling smile, showing the memories of enjoyed love crossed the young man's face. But to Jatel's credit, he quickly removed the emotions.
"She is doing fine. Thank you for asking."
"Delighted." Keeth turned his eyes out upon the horizon. "Squire, we are being followed."
Jatel joined the wizard in his concerns.
"Friend or enemy, wizard?"
"I wish I knew."
"Do we at least know who is following us?"
"I had cast a looking glass spell, moments ago, just to answer that very question, sir."
"And what was your answer?"
The wizard let out a tired, if not surprised, grunt. "Elves, is what I came up with, Jatel."
"Elves?" The squire shook his shoulders. "Do they not prefer to stick to their own waters?"
"Indeed they do." The wizard pointed out, turning the ship's wheel towards a new course. "To be pursued by an elf captain is quite unheard of."
"Odd, to say the least."
Keeth peered out at the dark spaces between him and the elfish pursuer. "I think they are from Eulogia. A nation in the Weedwoods, if my memory serves correctly."
Jatel turned, giving the cabin doors a worried look.
"Keeth, Rohan is from the Weedwoods."
"I know." The wizard's brows moved awkwardly. "Which makes me question the honor of our friends."
"Think not, wizard," Jatel protested. "They could not&"
"I only mention the chance of a misunderstanding, squire. Not the fact that Rohan may be wrong in his stated credentials."
"I should hope so."
The elfin ship crept up on the Argo, boldly advertising its silhouette. The vessel was an impressive one, well equipped for a long voyage, if need be. There would be no possible way the wizard's ship could out-sail her. Whatever "ghost" was motivating the elf captain, he was dead set upon reaching his target.
With a puff of smoke, the pursuer made itself known.
The loud bang, which had accompanied the smoke, was from a signal cannon.
Respectfully, the elves were asking to come aboard.
The Misadventures of Ka-Ron the Knight Page 37
