by Alexis Ward
“Go ahead and sleep here. I’ll find accommodations elsewhere for the night. See you in the morning Clive.” Marybeth said. I felt the bed shift as she stood up, then I heard the door close shut as she left the room.
The next day, or rather whenever I woke up next, as there was no natural light in Marybeth’s room, I awoke to the feeling of something unnaturally warm moving beside me. I opened my eyes and looked to my side to find a very human Feera curled up against me, naked. The moment I laid eyes on her, she opened her eyes and looked at me. Like she had just outside the castle, she pressed her nose to mine, except that this time, she rubbed hers on mine slightly before coming to rest tip to tip. “How are you feeling?” she asked in a whisper.
Strangely the pain in my arm was mostly gone, though if I touched it, I could still feel the injury there underneath the bandage. “I think I’m doing good. Is it morning already?” I asked. Feera shook her head.
“Nuh uh. I just wanted to see you. You fought bravely. Better than I expected.” she whispered.
“Okay. That’s unusual. I mean, there isn’t really a usual with you, because we’ve barely had time to interact since--” I started, but she pressed one of her fingers to my lips to silence me.
“You’re overthinking. I’m here. You’ve proven yourself worthy, so I give myself to you. It’s that simple.” she said as she grabbed my hand and placed it on her thigh.
“Is it?” I asked. Despite my injury I felt my cock start to swell. My hand explored the rippling scars that covered her thigh and probed at the hard packed muscles underneath.
“Yes. Why wouldn’t it be?” she growled. She pressed her lips against mine and pushed her tongue into my mouth. I moved my hand up to her shoulder and shoved her down flat on her back, breaking the contact of our mouths.
“Oh. I like a mate who can take charge.” Feera whispered. She tried to sit back up, but I planted my hand on her chest, mock-pinning her to the bed. Before she could try and wiggle out from under me again, I flipped myself ontop of her, and pushed her legs apart with my knees. She giggled and growled, but seemed more interested in giving in than playing at fighting for control. It was at this point that I felt the cold chill of the air and paused to wonder where my clothes had gone, and when they had been removed.
“Feera. My clothes?” I asked, as I lay atop her, my cock fully erect, dangling between her thighs, just above her pussy. She sighed heavily.
“Marybeth helped me get them off of you. They’re over by the desk, along with your weapons.” she said, as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and tried to pull me down on top of her. One of her arms slid down and her hand grasped my cock as I sank lower, guiding my tip into the slick entry of her pussy. She growled as my cock pushed it’s way inside her. She felt tighter than anyone I’d slept with before, her pussy practically gripping me as I entered her. As my cock slid fully into her, she growled more deeply and bucked her hips against me, grinding herself against me as her arms held me tightly. “Yes. Perfectly, finally a proper man. More.” she gasped.
I started a rhythm, thrusting in and out of her, trying to find a pace to match her frenzied movements. Whenever I got close to her speed, she managed to become more frantic, more spastic in her motions. Her nails scratched into my back, and I felt her teeth sink into my chest as she rapidly rose toward the heights of pleasure, with me chasing right along behind her.
Feera soon lost control of her movements entirely, as her body was rocked by an explosive climax. Her pussy squeezed around my cock as her juices flooded down around my cock. Moments later, my climax followed, and she panted with pleasure as my seed squeezed into her, mingling with her fluids. Moments later it was over, and we both lay panting and exhausted, with me still on top. I felt her adjust her head and then she ran her tongue along my ear. “That was… heaven.” she panted. I ran my hand against the tangled and matted hair of her head.
“It was extremely good. You don’t do slow do you?” I asked. She shook her head.
“There’s a bit of time left till daylight. I normally sleep through the day. ‘Beth said she wouldn’t mind if I stayed here, she’s already up and whipping her work crews into shape. And no, I don’t do slow. Why would I? Then we wouldn’t have time to go again if you wanted.” Feera explained.
“I don’t mind that. But we’re going to have to get someone to give you a haircut. I’m glad you’ve got pants now, but I get the feeling this is going to be a work in progress.” I said as I rolled over onto my back.
“What do you mean work in progress? I like my hair. It’s perfect as it is.” she said as she grabbed a hold of my cock in her hand. “Besides, there are more pressing things to… press.” she said. I felt my cock twitch and harden slightly in her hand. There were more pressing things indeed.
A few hours later, Feera had finally passed out, exhausted, and I got dressed and stumbled my way around the castle till I found everyone else gathered in the de-facto dining room. It was decorated much the same as when I was last here, low table, cushions, floor mats. Tabitha, Sasha, Duriet, Stella and Marybeth were all present, in the middle of eating breakfast. Spread out on the table were a variety of fruits and vegetables that I didn’t recognize, in addition to stacks of pancakes and a pile of sausage links. “We were wondering if you would miss this meal too.” Marybeth said.
I sat down in the space between Tabitha and Sasha. There was a large cushion placed there, as if that was the seat they’d planned for me to at. “Yeah. Sorry about last night. I uh--” I started.
“Duriet already filled us in on the important tidbits. I can’t say I’m too pleased for what this means for relations with Baron Hightower. Though… if you’re still wanting to gain a noble title, there can be at least one upside to the situation.” Sasha said. I grimaced.
“I’m not sure I’m ready for like, an official duel yet. I mean, I barely fought off those unskilled bastards last night, and I didn’t escape unscathed.” I said.
“Ah, but one real battle is better than weeks of practice. Plus, there’s some time yet while the repairs on the walls finish, though that means that it may be best to bring the fight to them, especially if Duriet isn’t the only person that Sebastian has tried to pass off to those slavers.” Stella added.
“The first priority is to secure our territory. That means regularly patrolling the woods, and finishing the walls. Marybeth has the wall situation covered, which leaves the matter of patrols. Clive, after you rest for a few days, I’m leaving night patrols to you and Feera. I’ll lead the daytime patrols, composed of primarily of goblins. I’ve already gotten approval from the Goblin Queen for this, as we were discussing it weeks ago.” Sasha said. Tabitha raised her hand. Sasha nodded to her.
Tabitha held up a page of paper. “There is also the matter of finances. We need more income. Or more of those gemstones.” she wrote.
“I may not be able to wander around town without a disguise, but I have some old family contacts in the hills that would be happy to purchase such things. Should be a cinch if you all can acquire more stones.” Duriet added.
“So that is also a priority. Let’s call that second priority. Third priority is to deal with the situation with Sebastian and Baron Hightower once and for all. After these three matters are resolved, life should be easy. Relatively.” Sasha said.
“Alright. Simple enough that even I can follow along. So… you’ve been avoiding the matter of getting more gemstones for awhile now. Why?” I asked Sasha.
“Simply put, because there are monsters in the tunnels more fierce than goblins. I barely made it out alive last time, when I first found the gemstone cavern. Perhaps it will be easier with allies at my side.” Sasha said.
“What exactly did you fight down there?” I pressed.
“They were alike to centipedes, except larger than a man. I’m not sure what the tentacle things around their mouths would have done to me, I didn’t give them a chance to find out. There were also large cannibal apes, which shouldn’t ex
ist in this climate. Those were more predictable, but still quite dangerous. I managed to evade the handful that I encountered.” Sasha explained. Her face was etched into a frown. It was clear to me that she wasn’t looking forward to doing this again.
“Okay. Last question, if we’re essentially going to war with Baron Hightower, why aren’t we just taking what we need from his towns and villages? Why risk death and dismemberment in a dark hole when the things we want to buy could be plundered.” I said.
“He raises an excellent point.” Marybeth said with a smile. Sasha rolled her eyes.
“Because Clive, once you’re Baron, those will be your subjects. And I expect they’ll be less likely to lynch you if you’re not pillaging and murdering them on your way to gaining your noble title. Ideally, challenging the current Baron to a duel and winning is the best way, least bloodshed and lowest chance of collateral. Think about the long term here.” Sasha said. She had a good point.
“I guess you win on that note. In to the monster filled pits we go.” I said.
Chapter 16 - That Which Lurks Beneath
A few days later my injury was healed well enough to attempt going into the cavernous basement of the castle. Sasha’s daytime patrols with the goblins had yielded little, other than a few refugees which we rolled in to the castle’s workforce. They were nervous about working alongside goblins at first, but they seemed to be relaxing in to it as they realized that goblins weren’t necessarily as bad as the popular rumors made them out to be. Feera had handled the night time patrols on her own, and had nothing new to report from within the woods. The old road had been quiet as well.
Myself, Feera, Sasha, Stella, and Marybeth formed the full group that was to descend into the lower levels today. Each of us had our various melee weapons of choice, plus some crossbows that Marybeth had found in a mostly empty armory room. As Sasha led the way, I asked some more clarifying questions.
“So if the creatures on lower floors are stronger and faster than the goblins in every way, why are the goblins still here, and not overrun by these ape-things or the tentacle-things?” I asked.
“As far as I can tell from the scattered notes I’ve found in my grandfather’s study, it’s because they’re light sensitive. As in even mild daylight makes them nauseous. Cave adaptation, he called it. Even exposure to the light of a torch makes them uncomfortable, in a grouchy, head toward the light and kill whatever is holding it kind of way. I suspect they’re also territorial, or stable in some other way that causes them to not desire much in the way of expansion. Or perhaps they do contract and expand with food supply, but are going deeper down, instead of up to the surface. Regardless, we only have to go a little ways in to make it to where I found the gems.” Sasha explained. After some time, we stopped at a large iron door. Sasha withdrew a small key from her pocket and pushed it into the lock, then turned. With barely a sound, the door swung open, moved by some unseen mechanism. “Also, these kinds of doors do tend to keep the creatures from getting upstairs, so there is that.” Sasha added. Marybeth lit a torch so that we could see into the darkness beyond the door.
A steep stone stairway stretched down into darkness before us. The ceiling was low, but not quite low enough that any of us had to duck to fit into the passageway. The walls were mostly a dull gray brick, but in some places, those bricks had fallen loose and presumably tumbled down the stairs, revealing hard packed dirt intermixed with chunks of stone behind the masoned walls. It was just wide enough for us to enter one at a time. Sasha took the lead, me just behind her, followed by Stella, then Feera, and then Marybeth with the torch. The stones beneath our feet were moist, slick with bits of fungal growth in some places. The warm air itself smelled humid, like a jungle. We stepped carefully, knowing that if one of us tumbled, we were likely to take whoever was in front of us down the stairs as we went.
I’m not sure how much time passed as we descended that foul oppressive stairway. Eventually the stairs grew more shallow, and the passage levelled off into a horizontal tunnel with a slight downward slope. At the dim edge of the torchlight a closed wooden door, warped and covered in a veneer of stains and a patch of fungus blocked our progress. Sasha motioned for everyone to stop. “This… is not the same as when I was last here.” Sasha whispered. In the dead silence of the tunnel, without the rhythm of our footfalls, her voice sounded too loud despite her attempts to keep it quiet.
“How so?” I replied, leaning forward to whisper in her ear.
“Last time I was here, there was no door, just a large chamber with some piles of junk in the corner.” Sasha said.
“Well, we either turn back, or go forward. Perhaps some creatures have made changes since you were last here.” I said.
“Or worse, if some entity has worked magic within these halls.” Stella muttered.
“There’s nothing to do but push forward. If anyone wants to turn back, best voice that early.” I said. I looked to Sasha, then back to everyone else. No one spoke. “Alright then, let’s see about this door.” I stepped forward and gave it a gentle push. It remained firmly stuck in place, despite its ancient condition. Sasha stepped in front of me, got a short running start, then kicked the door near its pull ring. Wood splintered and the door swung inward, still held up by by hinges bolted into the stone. Light from the torch flooded into the space beyond the door.
The room was square, it’s floor composed of cracked stones covered with a loose layer of dirt. A pile of refuse, bolts of cloth, chunks of wood, and rusty pieces of metal armor filled one corner of the room. In addition to the way we had come in, there were three exits, each a door much like the one we had just broken through, in the center of each wall. In the middle of the room was a large rectangular stone pillar, about four feet in diameter, composed of the same gray stone blocks that made up the walls. “This… is almost familiar. Same number of exits anyway. That pillar wasn’t there a month ago though.” Sasha said.
“Strange, but reassuring in some ways. Which way from here?” I asked. Behind us, I saw that Marybeth had handed the torch to Stella, and was driving a metal wedge under the door we had entered through. She noticed me watching her as she stood up to retrieve the torch from Feera.
“Precaution. Door hinged in such a way that it would swing shut on it’s own, even with the damage Sasha did. Not my first delve into the underworld, let’s say.” Marybeth explained.
“Good idea. The door to our left is the next one. Should be a wide hallway with many branches, but the way we need to go is on the far side. Be on your guard, it’s where I first was pursued by the apes last time.” Sasha said. This next door was no more forgiving than the last. Marybeth produced a crowbar from her backpack, which we used to pry the door open. As before, she wedged the door into the open position after we all moved through into the wide hallway beyond it.
The hall had a low ceiling like the one before it, but was wide enough that we could walk four across if we wished. The center was lined with thin pillars, about one foot in width, spaced every ten paces or so. Every twenty to thirty paces, I noticed as we advanced down the hallway, there were openings to our left and right, large enough that we could have easily branched off and explored those darkened spaces that led off into the unknown. As we passed the first one, I thought I saw a pair of glowing red eyes watching us from the darkness. I blinked, and they were gone. The others didn’t seem to notice at all, so I didn’t mention it.
“I think I see the door on the far side.” Marybeth whispered. At the edges of the torchlight all I saw was more darkness and hallway. Perhaps her vision was more acute than mine due to her ancestry. Before I could ask for clarification, we all froze for a moment as an unearthly and deep growl echoed through the hall from somewhere behind us in the dark. The ground trembled slightly, and I heard distinctly the thump-thump of heavy footfalls around us, more than one pair, at least. “Run! They’ve caught scent of us! To the door ahead!” Sasha cried. Everyone broke into a disorganized run. Marybeth got ahead of us, and we f
ollowed the fluttering flame of the torch she held. I could hear the ape-things howling and racing along behind us, but I dared not risk a loss of momentum to look back.
Suddenly the shape of a door appeared ahead of us and Marybeth leapt at it, shoulder first, and slammed through it. She managed to maintain her footing and held it open as all of us rushed through, then slammed it shut. The torch lay on the ground as she dropped her backpack next to it and dug furiously through it’s contents till she found another metal wedge. As she hammered that into place beneath the door jamb, I took a moment to examine the space in which we found ourselves. This room was rectangular, with the door we had entered being on one of the smaller walls, and another door on the far side, opposite from us. No other exits. In the center of the room was a large oval fountain, with a thin layer of murky, brackish water in the bottom. My attention was drawn back to the door near us when something heavy crashed into it from the other side.
