by Tyler Wild
“I’ve got news for you. This isn’t Valinsmor, and Kron won’t be controlled. If you want a real relationship with him, I suggest you look at him as more than just your possession.”
Cassandra stood up and marched out of the room while the spoiled demigod pouted.
She found me roaming the hallways, looking for Grombly.
“Grombly? Where are you?” I called.
His muffled voice filtered through the door. “I’m in here.”
“What are you doing?” I asked, turning the door knob, but it was locked.
“I’m pinching one out. Emergency dump. I’ll be out in a minute.”
I did not want to be anywhere around when he opened the door. “You wouldn’t happen to know where the keys to the dungeon irons are?”
“Why?”
“Long story.”
“I don’t know. It’s been a long time since we tortured somebody down there.”
“No rush, but when you’re finished, you can find me in the dungeon.”
I grabbed Cassandra’s hand and pulled her down the hall. We spiraled our way to the dungeon.
I noticed something odd.
My body was covered in sweat, and warmth radiated through me. The tips of my fingers and my face felt a little numb. I hadn’t guzzled enough alcohol to feel this buzzed.
Cassandra just rolled her eyes when she saw Sophia chained to the wall, her panties still around her ankles.
“Any luck?” Sophia asked, hopeful.
“Grombly’s working on it,” I said.
“It’s kind of drafty in here. Want to pull up my panties?”
“You guys really did it in here?” Cassandra asked, glancing around, disgusted. Her face twisted up as she saw the bones by the rack. “Oh, my god. There are like dead people in here.”
Sophia shrugged. “Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.”
I started to feel really weird.
The walls breathed, warbling in and out. It freaked me the fuck out for a moment, and my heart pounded. My pulse thumped in my ears so loud I thought I was going to go deaf. I couldn’t hear anything else but the incessant pounding.
My confused eyes glanced around the room. The candlelight seemed blinding. Colors were more vibrant. When I moved, everything had a trail behind it, like a phantom image.
Cassandra’s face twisted. “Are you okay?”
“I feel strange.”
The world was unsteady beneath my feet. I staggered toward the stockade and grabbed the bottle of whiskey. Drifting at the bottom among the sediment were several mushrooms.
80
Kron
Panic filled me as I realized I had consumed the hallucinogenic concoction. I set the wicked bottle of whiskey down and staggered to Sophia. I grabbed her frilly panties and slid them up her sumptuous thighs. My gaze fixated on her luscious ass and her glistening slit.
I swear her pussy spoke to me.
“Are you okay?” Sophia asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Never better,” I said, still talking to her delicious peach.
“I’m glad you like the view down there, but either get busy with your tongue, or pull up my panties. It’s cold in here.”
“Oh, right,” I said, breaking from my trance. I pulled the fabric snug and gave her one more smack on the ass for good measure.
She giggled.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Cassandra asked, surveying me with concern.
I felt like I couldn’t stop smiling, like someone had threaded a string through my cheeks and was pulling my smile like a marionette. “This is really trippy.”
Cassandra distorted in front of me. Her face melted.
Sadness tugged at my heart.
Before my eyes could explode with tears, she morphed into a different shape. She became Sophia, then Lily. She transformed into Jayna. Then Setia.
None of it was real.
“I think maybe you need to lie down,” Cassandra said.
“Why?”
“Because you’re sweating. You look crazed.”
“I am crazed. Crazy about you.” I couldn’t believe the words slipped from my mouth. I usually kept my cards close to my chest, but there was no denying my affection for the elf, who happened to look like a she-devil at the moment.
“Hey, guys… I’m still chained up over here. Do you think you might want to do something about that?”
About that time, Grombly trudged into the room. He took in the situation. “I looked everywhere, and I can’t find the keys.”
Sophia slumped, disappointed. “I can’t stay like this all night.”
“That’s nothing. We kept people down here for months at a time chained up.”
“If somebody doesn’t get me out of here in the next ten minutes, we’re going to have a major problem,” Sophia said. “I’m moments away from going into full bitch mode.”
“Okay,” Grombly said. “I’ve got a few more places I can look.”
His eyes caught sight of the whiskey bottle. His jaw dropped. “You didn’t drink that, did you?”
“Yup,” I said, proudly, staring at two of him.
“That shit is potent. The last time I had some, I tripped for five days.” He grabbed the bottle and took away.
I watched him turn into a giant orc that could barely fit to the door as he strolled away.
A wet velvety tongue licked the back of my neck. It sent a chill down my spine and set my loins on fire. I spun around to see Setia. Her smoldering eyes gazed at me, begging for me to indulge myself in her delights. She ripped her bodice from her chest, exposing her glorious orbs. She grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me close. I buried my face between her ample cleavage.
My tongue explored her nipples, and my hands traced every curve, ridge, and valley of her body. Before long, I turned her around, bent her over, and took her to pound town.
I lost all track of time.
“What are you doing?” Cassandra asked.
I glanced across the room at both of them. Their faces twisted with confusion.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” I said, thinking them idiots.
“It looks like your fucking a whole lot of nothing to me,” Cassandra said.
I looked down. I thought I had my hands firmly around Setia’s hips. But the only thing I had a grip on was the stockade, and I was jamming my root through one of the hand holes.
I was lucky I didn’t get a splinter.
I sighed with disappointment. I thought for sure I was getting a taste of the demoness. But it was all a hallucination.
I pulled my pants up and tried not to act embarrassed.
The girls laughed at me.
81
Kron
The morning sun beamed in through the windows. I still wasn’t sure what was real, and what wasn’t.
I hadn’t been to sleep yet.
The goblin had found the key and freed Sophia from the dungeon. The girls were passed out somewhere in the castle, I couldn’t remember where. And even if I could, my memory was suspect at that point. I had spent the majority of the evening struggling with non-existent monsters, talking to plants, and staring at the paintings as if they were moving pictures.
I felt slightly less loopy as the sun rose, but that could have been a hallucination as well.
Having missed out on the snack that Grombly fixed when we first arrived, I was starving. I rousted the little goblin from his chamber and asked, “What do you have to eat around here?”
He peeled open an eye and squinted over the covers. “What time is it?”
“I don’t know,” I said innocently.
“Go to sleep! Some of us need rest.”
“I’m not tired.”
“You will be when that wears off.”
“When is that going to be?”
“It’s different for everybody. And no two batches are ever the same.”
I sighed.
“I’m sure you can find something to snack on in the kitch
en,” Grombly said. “I’ll be up after awhile, and I will fix everyone breakfast.”
“Okay. Sorry to bother you.”
I closed the door gently and made my way back to the kitchen. I scrounged around, but I wasn’t sure what was safe to eat and what wasn’t. There was fruit, berries, bread, and I found some salted meat in the cellar.
There was one problem.
The berries kept changing color and morphing shape. The bread went from fluffy and fresh to moldy and green. And the meat wiggled and bled.
I didn’t trust my senses.
I staggered through the castle and spiraled up to the witch’s chamber. My three beauties were passed out in the luxurious bed. I did my best to slip in beside them without disrupting their slumber. But I didn’t do a very good job.
They stretched and rolled and yawned and went back to sleep. I lay there staring at the ceiling. I thought things were settling down, but that’s when the craziness started.
I left my body.
I drifted across the room, floated out the open window and soared into the sky. I rose high above the castle, looking down over the Dark Forest. I drifted over the canyon, following the winding river, Sygian, that carved south. I saw a small boat overturned along the shore. I floated above the river, crossing the Lorewood. From there I drifted west to Pernberry.
I witnessed a great battle.
First from above, then on the ground. Dirt and blood flew as I stood in the middle of the chaos. Swords clashed and shields deflected deadly blows. The grass ran red as carcasses piled up. Soon I was face-to-face with the dragon. Its chest expanded as it inhaled, then blew its fiery breath at me. The searing flames engulfed my body—my skin blistered, and my blood boiled.
I screamed in agony.
“Are you okay?” Sophia asked as I sat up, covered in sweat.
I heaved for breath. Sweat dripped down my forehead. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
I was dazed. The trip was over.
My headache had just begun.
My pulse throbbed my temples. Each beat of my heart sending painful jolts through my skull. It felt like someone had stabbed a knife through my eye socket and twisted it around. The daylight that blazed in through the window was blinding. My skin itched. And the lack of sleep caught up with me. Lead weights pulled my eyelids down.
I lay back against the pillow and tried to shake it off. Now and then, the room still breathed. My mouth felt like I had swallowed cotton balls.
This was not a good way to start the day.
By this time, Sophia and I were alone. I assumed the other girls were in the kitchen, or in the parlor, or milling about the castle.
Sophia put her arm across my chest and snuggled up to me. “You know how I feel about you, don’t you?”
“I think. Maybe. I don’t know.”
“You know I’m not one to get all mushy and shit. But I just want you to know I care about you. I’ve never met a man who didn’t lie to me, betray me, or stab me in the back somehow. You made a sacrifice for me. Something that I can never pay you back for. I never thought I’d trust a man again. I just want you to know, I’m with you all the way. Come hell or high water.”
“We’ve already been to hell.” I smiled.
I didn’t need her to say it, I knew how she felt. But it was nice to hear.
82
Kron
We grabbed some breakfast before heading out to make the long journey back to Pernberry. I still wasn’t 100% back to normal. Occasionally the walls would still breathe, and colors seemed more vibrant. But I was pretty sure most of what I was seeing was real.
We packed up some food and supplies and left the castle behind.
I strolled amid the trees and called out to them. “I need your help. The witch may be gone, but the threat to this forest is not over. There is a dragon in the west. And nothing is safe.” I filled them in on all the details.
A tree groaned back at me. “I am Thornbeck, the oldest tree in the forest. I speak for us all. Pernberry is far away. Too far to be of concern to us.”
“It is closer than you think.”
“We are in no condition to fight. Look around. This forest is a mere shadow of its former self. We all appreciate that you vanquished the witch and have given us our freedom. But now you ask us to die for your cause?”
“I’m not asking you to die. I’m asking you to fight. But, yes, there will be casualties.”
“So, you want us to uproot ourselves and march across the western frontier to face a dragon that will turn us into ash with a mere breath?”
“I know I’m asking a lot.”
“There are a few things that a tree fears outside of the hatchet, ax, or saw. But fire is the most devastating.”
I frowned. “I understand. You must do what is right for your people.”
There was a long moment of silence.
“Thank you again for allowing us to pass through your forest and aid us in times of need,” I said.
I was disappointed, but there was no sense dwelling on it. It was time to resume our journey.
Instead of heading west across the Dark Forest, I turned south.
“Where are you going?” Cassandra asked.
“We’ll take the river south to the Lorewood. Then we’ll cross the forest to Zendavia. Then turn south. We can stage our attack just north of the castle.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Cassandra said, her eyes full of concern.
“Why not?”
“The river is not safe.”
“Nothing’s safe,” I replied.
“What’s the matter with the river?” Jayna asked.
“The river flows south and opens into the Necropa Sea,” Grombly warned. “It is said there is a creature that lives in the waters with long tentacles and an all-consuming mouth.”
“And just how are we going to get down the river?” Sophia asked.
“There’s a boat on the shore, not far from the path that leads down the canyon.”
“How do you know this?” Cassandra asked. “I didn’t see one the last time we were there.”
“I saw it in my dream.”
They rolled their eyes.
“And what if we get down there and there’s no boat?” Cassandra said. “Then we lose two days of travel time. It takes a full day to scale the canyon walls.”
“It’s there. Trust me.”
They weren’t happy about it, but they followed me as I marched toward the switchback trail that we had taken before.
“Is he always so impulsive?” Jayna muttered to Cassandra.
“Always,” She said, her voice thick with resigned frustration.
It was half a day down to the bottom of the canyon. We moved south along the shoreline for half a mile, and still no sign of the boat I had seen in my vision.
“Just how far are we going to travel before we give up?” Cassandra asked.
“It’s not far now,” I said, confidently.
Cassandra walked behind me, I didn’t even have to look back to see her expression. I could feel her annoyance.
I kept walking along the rocky shoreline, and lo-and-behold, I saw a wooden canoe ahead on the shore. I couldn’t contain my grin. I glanced back over my shoulder at the elf, and my smug voice irritated her further, “I told you.”
The canoe was upside down and was scraped and scuffed. Just as I had seen in my vision. It gave me pause, thinking about the accuracy of the rest of my premonition and my fiery end.
The boat wasn’t in the best shape in the world. I righted the canoe, pushed it to the edge of the water, and the five of us climbed inside.
Carefully.
We were definitely at maximum capacity.
The boat wobbled from side to side as I pushed an oar against the rocky shore, setting us adrift in the water. I pulled along with the current, making for an easy glide downstream.
The sun was high over the canyon, beaming down and glistening off the surface of the water. I heard the squaw
k of a bird echo off the canyon walls, and vultures circled high above. I couldn’t tell if they were large or small.
I didn’t want to find out.
Floating downstream was soothing. I grabbed the leather bag of ale and sipped on it casually as we made our way south.
Grombly’s nervous eyes scanned the water constantly, sweeping from side to side.
“Relax, Grombly,” I said. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
“This canoe belonged to someone, and it ended up on the shore capsized. What do you think caused that?” he asked, knowingly.
I dismissed his concern. “Old wives’ tales. This river is far too shallow for a large creature to inhabit. Whoever used the canoe last probably turned it upside down so it wouldn’t fill with rainwater, or drift away.”
The goblin wasn’t in the mood to argue. “Sure. Keep thinking that.”
Perhaps I was being a little too optimistic? Maybe it was denial? I didn’t want to entertain the thought that we were taking our lives in our hands just traveling down this river. It would be a lot easier and faster than traveling back through the treacherous chasms of Naldrova, or venturing too close to Locsava, where we were probably wanted criminals. Though, the murder of Fozka must have caused much rejoicing.
The sun arced across the sky, and soon it cast long shadows in the canyon, dipping behind the high cliffs. I was getting tired and sleepy. My eyes drooped, and my head nodded occasionally.
That’s when it struck.
Massive purple tentacles sprang from the water and wrapped around the canoe.
Dozens of them.
83
Kron
A massive tentacle wrapped around Cassandra and lifted her out of the canoe. It held her in the air high above the water. The white suction cups on the underside of the tentacle adhered to her body.
My eyes widened, and my stomach twisted in horror.
Another tentacle wrapped around the canoe, attempting to topple it.
I drew my sword and hacked a rubbery tentacle in half. The severed arm squirmed like a snake and slithered into the water. Blue blood spurted from the stump. It flailed in the air, spraying the gooey substance all over us.
