A Paladin's Journey Ch. 03

Aran shared her sense of loss, though he hadn't lost anything directly. Neither had Smythe or Elaina – they hadn't been alive long enough to remember what Amina spoke of – but still their expressions mirrored that of the Priestess.

Sitting up, Aran kissed Amina tenderly before gently encouraging her to climb off. His body ached to be joined with her again, to feel her silky skin against his, but resolve had risen in him, triggered by the sadness in the room. He would do what he must to make things right, and for now, he needed to focus. Getting to his feet, he added more wood to the big fireplace from the tall stack against the wall, then he slipped back into the water. "I should tell you about Maralon, Priestess," he said, crossing his arms and leaning back against the side of the bath.

Nodding, Amina joined him. Smythe and Elaina remained seated on the edge with their lower legs in the water. Aran told Amina everything, with the odd part added in from Elaina or Smythe that he'd forgotten. The Priestess hissed as she heard about the despicable treatment of Ayla and Tavish, and her eyes flashed dangerously. Aran had never seen Amina openly angry, but he thought it might be a formidable sight. She seemed relieved when Aran told her he'd killed the two Heralds doing the torturing.

"I hope they are all right," she murmured when he got to the part about leaving the two young Heralds locked in their own cell.

"Me too," Elaina chimed in. "They were not bad fellows, just trying to do what they thought was right, though we may have changed their minds on that point."

"And they were impacted by Elaina's Gift," Smythe mused. "Tavish said that when his Gift expanded in the torture chamber, this Eames fellow and his cronies weren't affected, only the hired thugs."

The Priestess looked at them all in turn, her perfect face unreadable. "I had heard once that during the Purge, Heralds learned to ignore, or perhaps close off the part of themselves that responds to a Gift. After hearing this, I can believe it. The Gift works with those who are capable of feeling love and compassion and desire, Human or otherwise. Hearing this, I can only think that the Heralds – or some of them, at least – have closed themselves off from what makes them Human."

Aran found himself agreeing. "That would explain how they can do their disgusting work without killing themselves in shame." He knew his face must look hard right then, and his hands were clenching into fists beneath the water at the memory of a helpless Tavish and Ayla hanging from those chains. "We need to end them, to wipe them out, but we just don't have the numbers to attack them in Maralon."

"Perhaps there is another way," Amina said after a moment. "You said Maralon has a ruling council, correct?" When he nodded, she continued. "If they could be approached, and shown the true nature of the Heralds, could they arrest them? Or at least turn them out of Maralon?"

"Could be possible," Smythe said thoughtfully, stroking his thick mustaches with thumb and forefinger. "We got in once, surely we can again."

Aran shook his head. "We don't know how many Heralds are in the city, nor how many in the City Watch." His eyes widened as a thought came to him. "But I think I know how to find out!" He grinned as he scrambled from the bath and dashed from the room, not bothering to dress, ignoring the calls from the others asking him where he was going.

*

A short time later, he returned to the bath chamber with a saddle bag, smiling as he saw the confused looks on the others' faces. Sitting next to the bath with his legs crossed, he set the bag beside him and opened it to rifle through the contents. "This bag belonged to a Herald," he explained as he rummaged, taking care with the dagger that was in there. It was well wrapped in cloth, but he was still cautious. "And it contained some papers that I haven't yet had time to look at." Sure enough, he pulled out three small rolls of parchment. "Ah, here we are!" The others waited expectantly as he read through them. Two were orders from Eames to the Heralds, telling them to scour the countryside for a Human man and woman, and a half-Orc woman. "Judging by these orders," he murmured as he scanned the page, "The Heralds in Maralon number close to a thousand, with another thousand in the City Watch."

Smythe grunted, and Elaina clucked her tongue in exasperation. Getting back into Maralon might be impossible, now, with that many men on alert. The third was a report addressed to Berrigan Stallen in Ironshire. Aran looked over at Smythe, who had shifted at the mention of the name. "You know him?"

"Aye," Smythe said, his mouth twisted with distaste. "He was my friend, but he turned out to be a Herald in hiding. He's the one that took me prisoner before I escaped town with the girls. He's high up in their heirarchy, I think, utterly devoted to his cause, and from what I saw, he's more than half mad with zeal." He grimaced and rubbed a thick finger beneath his nose. "He's also Kedron's father."

"Then it's good you got him away when you did," Aran said to the big Paladin. "If his father is like you say, then he likely would not have survived his awakening. In any case, he is safe with us, now." He dropped the letters back into the saddlebag. "As for getting back into Maralon, past two thousand armed men on high alert? I doubt we can."

"Perhaps we don't need to," Amina mused, tapping a finger on her full lips. "What would happen to the Heralds of Dawn if it was discovered that one of their children is Gifted? You say this Berrigan is of high rank, Henley?"

"I'm sure of it, Priestess," Smythe replied. "The way he spoke, the way he carried himself, made it clear enough."

Amina nodded. "What happens to Berrigan if it becomes known that his son is Gifted?"

They all exchanged glances, following Amina's line of thinking. "They seem to set great store in bloodlines," Smythe said slowly. "But there is one young man in the Temple who knows more about the Heralds than any of us."

***

***BRAITH – Clan Alpha of the Shadowglen Druids, Emerin Forest, Ekistair***

Braith threw his head back and howled as he erupted inside Lyrra, his strong hands gripping her pale hips tightly as he pulled her hard against him, burying himself as deeply as possible in her quivering cunt. On her hands and knees on the forest floor, the voluptuous, red-haired beauty moaned as she felt him reach his pinnacle, and her lush body shuddered as he filled her.

Breathing hard, Braith withdrew his cock from her slick tunnel, the pink lips of her bald sex seeming unwilling to let him go. She'd been more ravenous than usual, lately, had Lyrra. All the Druids had, since Lyrra and Fionn had fallen pregnant and given birth to the first Druid children Braith had seen for decades. Why the women had suddenly all become barren in the first place was unknown to Braith, but it would seem that that shadow had lifted, at least for now, and they were all making the most of it.

Lyrra had borne twins, a boy and a girl, whom were currently being watched over by Fergin somewhere in the glen. Fionn had given birth to a single girl, dark of skin like her mother. It was unclear who the fathers of Lyrra's and Fionn's babes were, as Braith, Fergin and Leif had all given the women their seed several times over, but it mattered not. All that mattered was that Druids were being born once more. Already the children were walking and learning the ways of the woods; Druids grew quickly. One year for a Druid was the same as ten for a Human, yet while they matured quickly, they lived a long time. Within a year, the younglings would be ready to meld their spirits with their chosen beast. Braith himself was well past his hundredth winter; the eldest of this clan.

Lyrra gracefully rolled onto her back, stretching languidly in the dappled afternoon sunlight. Braith eyed her body appreciatively, and his still-hard cock twitched as he looked her over. Her supple form looked nothing like it had given birth to twins only weeks before; her soft belly was still flat, her breasts still firm and proud, if perhaps a little larger than they had been before. Braith had once been able to fit those pale tits into his big hands, but now they filled his grasp and more.

"That was good," she purred, grinning at him with her cat-like eyes. Her irises were a burnt-yellow, akin to the tiger she was melded with. She opened her thighs as she lay before him, an invitation to take her yet again, for the third time that afternoon.

Tempting as it was, Braith shook his head and stood, stretching his own muscles as he did. "We have work to do, Lyrra," he told her. "The cubs are old enough to learn the ways of the wild already, and we should be there to teach them." There was something else that nagged at him, too. Something tugged at him, of late, an unseen force that pulled his eyes and nose to the north, as if trying to draw him in that direction. He had ignored it, until now, but it was growing harder by the day.

Lyrra propped herself up on her elbows and studied him. Her fiery curls were matted to her shoulders with sweat. "What bothers you, Braith?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but a scent on the breeze stopped him short. A few moments later, Fionn and Leif appeared in their animal forms; Leif as a massive, heavy-shouldered black ape with leathery hands that could crush a skull with ease, and Fionn as a sleek, obsidian panther, her head almost level with Braith's waist.

The newcomers shifted back to human shape, the grinding of their bones audible to Braith's sensitive ears. "I see we missed the fun!" Darkly beautiful Fionn purred. She stood with a hand on a slender hip and grinned down at Lyrra, who still lay naked on the ground. Fionn had a close cap of dark curls, and her eyes gleamed a stunning green-yellow.

Short, stocky Leif came up behind Fionn and encircled her slim waist with his thick hands. After long years assuming the form of the ape, Leif's features had begun to resemble his spirit animal, with a wide nose, a dominant forehead, and long, powerful arms. He still looked human, just with some accentuated features. "Might have to make our own fun, ey Fionn?"

"You will," Braith said, regretting his decision not to fuck Fionn then and there; she was a beauty, and he was the Alpha. He had first choice of the women whenever he desired, and Fergin and Leif respected that, but Fionn wasn't going anywhere, and neither was he. "It is time to teach the cubs what they need to know of the wilds. They are old enough now. Lyrra, if you're still horny, I'll send Fergin over. I'm sure you four can amuse yourselves for a while."

Lyrra nodded eagerly and palmed her breasts with excitement. Fionn chuckled as she got down on all fours and stocky Leif positioned himself behind her. "You've been such a whore lately, Lyrra! It's almost like you're trying to get with child again already!"

Lyrra laughed in response as she got to her feet and crossed the leaf-covered ground to press herself against Leif's back. "Speak for yourself, bitch!" She shot back lightly. "How many times have you been fucked today?" She caressed Leif's broad shoulders as he pushed his hips forward, groaning as his thick cock slipped inside Fionn's slick cunt.

Fionn purred with pleasure at the intrusion. "Not enough," she moaned, pushing her slim hips back against Leif.

Braith tore himself away from the lurid scene, ignoring his body's urge to fuck Fionn and Lyrra senseless. The other males needed their time with the women, too, else they would resent him for not allowing it. The glen was quiet as he moved off into the trees in search of Fergin and the three cubs, with barely a whisper of leaves in the breeze, even to his ears. Again, that sensation tugged his gaze northward, and he found that his feet wanted to follow it. What was it? Whatever it was, he wanted to understand it before he acted.

Distracted, Braith didn't smell the snake until he was almost on top of it. Thick as a man, the huge reptile sat coiled on the forest floor, its deep green scales blending well with the foliage. It was impossible to tell how long it was, coiled up like that, but he guessed it at maybe forty feet or more. Its head was as big as his own, and was raised up to look him level in the eye. It studied him keenly, forked tongue flickering rapidly.

A deep growl rumbled in Braith's throat, and he instinctively began to shift into the wolf. The cubs would be easy pickings for a beast like this, but Braith would defend them with his life. His growl cut off short as the snake began to change its own form, and he watched as slowly the gray-green scales became smooth olive skin, and the serpentine coils became limbs.

Braith reversed his transformation. This creature was a Druid! Moments later, a stunning woman stood before him, a tall, fine-featured beauty with flowing brown hair and a well-curved body. She stepped forward with the fluid grace of a serpent, until she was standing inches from Braith. The pupils of her startling green eyes were vertical, like the snake's, and her full lips curved as her gaze travelled over his body. Her scent was... soft, fertile, and Braith could detect no threat in it.

"You are the Alpha?" She asked softly. Her voice was an alluring drawl, low and sultry. Braith found himself wanting to fuck this woman, but first he wanted answers.

"Who are you?" He demanded.

"I am Serefi," she answered. "I have come from beyond the Sands."

"There are Druids beyond the Sands?" Braith was disbelieving. Apart from his own clan, all the other Druids had died out or were killed in the Purge, or so he had thought.

Serefi nodded. "Many of us fled there after the Purge, and we lost many brothers and sisters on the journey. Those of us that made it survived, though, in the fertile lands there."

"Why did you come back?" he asked. "Why did you risk crossing the Sands again?"

"My clan sent me to search for the Prime Alpha, and any of our kin that might still live."

The capital was clear in the words. "I know not of this Prime Alpha," he said slowly. "But I want to know something. Did your women suddenly begin bearing children again recently, after being barren for many years?"

Serefi smiled salaciously and pressed herself against him. Her soft skin felt good against his, and her hard nipples jabbed at him. "Yes, they did. All of them at once. Our clan has over a dozen new children, where none have been born in decades." Her hand cupped his heavy balls, which suddenly felt as if they had not already been emptied three times today.

"A dozen children? How many Druids are in your clan?"

"We are fifteen strong. Ten females and five males."

Braith was stunned. There was a clan of fifteen still alive, after all these years? "And who is this Prime Alpha?" He asked, trying to ignore the way she deftly fondled his sack, though he failed to make himself step back.

Serefi's serpentine eyes widened. "You don't know? He is the one foretold to lead the Druids back to glory. We have a Seer, and he says that the Prime will appear during the Time of Storms, which is surely upon us. Storms wrack the land, and the earth shudders in anticipation of our victory!"

She was right, there, and if a Seer had foretold it, then it was true. Storms had indeed been raging down out of the North lately, maybe as many as two or three a week, and the earth had certainly trembled a few days back. Braith admired her zeal. It would truly be a grand thing to see the Druids dominate this land, as was their right. Only the strong deserved to survive, and Druids were the epitome of strength. His hands encircled her waist, and she sighed as he squeezed her firmly. "And how will you know this Prime when you find him?" He growled in her ear.

She molded herself to him more tightly and sighed seductively into his ear. "The Wolves were once the greatest of our tribes, and the Alphas were often Wolves. The Seer says that the old blood will rule again, which surely means a Wolf, and I was drawn to you, somehow." She dragged her lips across his neck, and her hand encircled his turgid cock. "Also, I think it would be fun to get fucked by a Wolf."

The time for talking was past. Braith needed to fuck this creature right now, to dominate her. Seizing a handful of the thick hair at the nape of her neck, he wrenched her head back and raked his lips along her slim neck. Serefi moaned deeply and tugged insistently at his raging member. With a growl, he shoved her to the ground, where she obediently opened her thighs to show him her hairless slit. Her eyes flashed with animalistic desire as he mounted her and impaled her wet cunt.

Serefi hissed in pleasure as he began to rut, his hips pounding in a savage rhythm that threatened to drive her into the mulched forest floor. "Fuck me, Alpha! Claim me! Make me yours!"

Guttural sounds were escaping Braith's throat as he fucked. Serefi's body was ripe for fucking, her plump breasts squeezed against his chest as he thrust repeatedly into a cunt that squeezed and rippled over his cock in tantalising fashion. With shocking strength, Serefi flipped Braith onto his back and sat up straight. She smiled down at him salaciously and licked her lips before beginning to grind her hips. Braith's hands rose to her prime tits, which only just fit into his big hands, and he mauled them as she rode him, her hands behind her head and her face turned up to the forest canopy.

"Give me your seed!" Serefi cried, her efforts increasing until her hips were lifting all the way off him, his cock nearly leaving the warm confines of her sex before she slammed back down again, the slap of their flesh meeting echoing through the trees. Braith's balls rose, and he felt them begin to boil. Seizing her hips in a death grip, he roared as he erupted into her steaming cunt, giving her the seed she had called for moments ago.

"Yeeessss!" Serefi hissed as she felt him come, and she shuddered sinuously. Her pussy gripped him tightly as she came, and her hands tangled in the hair on his chest. She stayed like that for long moments, her eyes clamped shut, until she collapsed onto him limply.

Braith let her remain on top of him while he caught his breath, enjoying the feel of her silky skin, and the odd spasm from her cunt, which was still greedily grasping his cock. Suddenly he realised he and Serefi were not alone. So distracted was he by this mysterious serpent, he had not smelled or heard the others approaching. Leif, Fergin, Fionna and Lyrra stood a few feet away, curious looks on their faces.

With a languorous sigh, Serefi put her palms on Braith's chest and pushed herself upright, though otherwise she stayed where she was. Her thick brown hair was disheveled, and partly concealed half of her face. A brilliant yellow-green eye glinted at the four other Druids, and the visible half of her mouth was curved slightly as she eyed them, particularly Leif and hulking Fergin, both of whom were returning the stare appreciatively.

"We came to see what all the noise was about," Lyrra said, watching the stranger suspiciously.

"I am Serefi," Serefi purred lazily, licking her lips and aiming a direct gaze at Fergin's heavy phallus, hanging between his thighs. The big man grinned and shifted, crossing thick arms across his chest and widening his stance. Apparently, he was not as suspicious as Lyrra, but then, he was probably thinking with his cock as usual.

Braith sat up, and Serefi gracefully rose, which regrettably meant that he slipped free of her welcoming cunt. Well, there would be time to fuck her again later. "Serefi is from across the Sands," he told his clan as he got to his feet. "She is from a clan of fifteen, and their women have also begun to bear children once again."