Blazing Glory Ch. 05

Dear Stavros, the stench was nearly unbearable! The little light that came down through the hole revealed that he was inside a tunnel. His hearing picked up the steady flow of water, but most importantly the footfalls of the woman he pursued. He took off after the sound as darkness surrounded him. He stumbled and tripped often as he went, cursing in pain that lanced up through his legs and knees. Other times, the rough impact of crashing into walls nearly took the breath right out of him.

But through it all, he rebounded quickly and kept on going. Dear heavens he was going to need a nice long bath and massage from Kendra when this was all said and done. Not long after he thought this, the sound of water gradually faded away along with the smell. He felt the ground beneath him no longer flat, but much more uneven and rocky in places. Much to his frustration, he had to slow down lest he misstep and break an ankle or worse. The sound of her footsteps soon began to grow further away in distance as he bumped and stumbled along what he knew now to be a series of caves and underground tunnels.

Blaze's body was soon sorer than it had ever been in all his life from the bumps and scrapes he took. Still he pushed himself on. He would never give up! Not long after some hard rock hit his shoulder painfully, he heard the ninja's footsteps silence. His body tensed as he prepared himself for the possible attack as he still wondered how the ninja could make her way so easily through this pitch black darkness.

Creeping forward slowly, he heard a new sound a gargling gasp that was soon followed by a different sounding surprised gasp. It didn't sound too far away. Moving forward still, he heard now heard a voice talking and recognized it as the ninja's. Doing his best to keep quiet, he moved forward to where he could finally make out the words being said. He could tell he was very close now by the strength in volume to the words.

"My name Nariko Miakoda of the Miakoda ninja clan and personal assassin of the true goddess of evil, Koas."

"Nariko lueth Koas, olot dos!"

Having heard the ninja speak her name, he knew where she was approximately. He had to act swiftly while surprise was still in his favor. Rising from his crouch, the young warrior leapt forward and lashed out with his right leg where he had heard Nariko last. He put every last bit of strength he had into the kick. Blaze felt, with great satisfaction, the kick make impact and follow through. Silently thanking the fates for not having made him kick a rock wall, he heard the sickening thud of a body crashing into a wall to his left.

He winced as he regretted what he'd just done. He would get no antidote from an unconscious or dead ninja woman. Still, he had to hope the ninja was tough enough to take such a hit without serious injury.

"Give me the antidote," he called out angrily in the darkness, "NOW!"

Nothing answered him. Shit! He must have knocked her out, not wanting to think about the other possibility. He could see nothing in the darkness as he listened carefully. His hands reached out as he began to feel about him in search of the warm body. He had no idea how long he had been in pursuit and knew he needed to hurry for Tyra's sake.

Bright light suddenly surrounded him and blinded him painfully. His arm reached up to block the harsh light. The young warrior backed away quickly from the light that had appeared behind him. Fearing an attack, he peered slightly over his arm to allow his eyes to adjust. Soon, the bright light turned out to only be a soft glow filling the cavern from a ball of light.

"Sargh lueth kyona phuul dro'xundus," an unfamiliar feminine voice spoke from behind the light.

"What?" he asked as he did not understand. He cursed himself for forgetting the second voice Nariko had been speaking to.

The light orb moved to the side suspended above the open palm of the woman. Her beauty took away what little breath he had left in him. Her facial features were as elegant as she was dark. He never knew skin could be as black as hers was. Her long white hair contrasted her skin as her glowing red eyes regarded him coolly. He then noticed the dark pointed ears that extended out of that mane of white softness.

"Strength at arms and wariness are survival," she said with an attractive husky accent, "And you have neither as tired as you are, human. I could have killed you as easily as a newborn. Your prey is gone, though I doubt you would have been able to do much against her."

Blaze glanced about and saw that she was right. Of the ninja, he saw no sign. She was also right in the fact that he was so weak and tired. Leaning wearily against a stone wall, he watched the cool woman make her way over to what he saw now was a dead male of her race. His throat had been savaged brutally and was now quite dead. As she kneeled beside the man, he noticed a brief expression of grief before her cool mask returned quickly. Those startling red eyes looked up to him now with such coldness that he shivered.

"Why do you pursue the ninja woman? You are trespassing into our lands and I have every right to kill you right now. But I give you as much to at least hear you out before I do."

Though she was much shorter than he was, he felt wary about the danger this woman imposed. He was not here to make enemies with her and her people though. "I need an antidote from her. She had tried to kill me through a poisoned dart and hit my friend instead."

The dark woman smirked coldly before laughing, "So the bitch is a sloppy assassin then. Lucky for you that it wasn't me. I don't miss."

"What happened to your friend there?"

The woman glanced down to the man with a frown now as she shook her head in disgust. "My Patron, or concubine as you would call in your tongue. I paid the price for my complacency nearly with my life. That whore killed Raviv and was about to finish me off when you nearly caved her skull in with that kick."

She smirked pleasantly to herself as she said that. She rose from her crouch and regarded him coolly once more. "My name is Rae Nitara, Matron Mother of the house with the very name."

"Blaze," he said simply. He had tensed up and watched her carefully for any sudden movement. He doubted he could defend himself as he was now.

Rae regarded him with an amused smirk before laughing coldly, "You are right in fearing me, male! But never mind that for now, Blaze. You have no need to fear me killing you, for now."

"Why?"

"Usstan saph dos," she said with a smirk but remained silent on what it meant. He was about to ask when her head turned quickly away from him and her raised hand demanding silence. She gave no further explanation than, "Someone comes."

Blinking in confusion, Blaze quieted and listened as hard as he could. He couldn't hear a thing. Rae swiftly pulled out a wickedly curved dagger and readied herself. Soon enough, Blaze finally heard the echoing of steps approaching as well as some grunts and groans. Stepping out into the dim light was Kendra and Nadine carrying the bigger Tyra with them. Kendra blinked in the light before seeing him.

"Blessed be the eternal darkness of the Abyss! There you are you idiot," she growled. But the succubus couldn't hold back the smile of relief at seeing him.

He was totally caught off-guard by them appearing all the way down here. "Kendra? But how did you find me?"

Kendra snorted softly and rolled her eyes, "Please, silly man. You're saying a succubus can't hunt down a particular male when she wants to. I could sense what direction you were heading towards, you wonderful hunk of man!"

Nadine giggled softly before she helped Kendra lay Tyra down. The female gargoyle looked far worse than he had last seen her. She shivered constantly and her blue skin glimmered under sheen of fevered sweat. Her face grimaced in terrible suffering that both broke his heart and made him further desperate to help somehow.

"Friends of yours?" Rae asked from aside. She had been silently observing all of this, having already sheathed her weapon. Kendra glanced up to the dark woman, her eyes narrowing quickly with suspicion.

"Yes," he nodded quickly and waved his hand to Tyra, "And that's my friend that's been poisoned by Nariko."

The dark woman regarded them with that ever present emotionless expression with her arms folded across her breasts. After a few moments, she turned away and started walking. Blaze and the others were surprised by this action. Kendra was least of all pleased about such a woman turning her back on them.

"Come. Bring her along," Rae called back to the without looking back, "I will help... I owe you that much at least, Blaze."

Tiredly, Blaze trudged after the dark woman as the light orb floated along with them. Lifting Tyra's arms over their shoulders, the ladies helped the gargoyle along as they caught up with him. They followed the dark woman in silence for a while as she led them down deeper into the underworld. Rae seemed particularly interested in taking them along tougher paths and narrow tunnels as if to avoid coming upon someone or something else.

"Why does she 'owe' you, Blaze?" Kendra asked quietly from beside him.

He tensed as he could hear the hint of jealousy in her voice as she regarded him. He could understand her feelings. Kendra was very unique in her looks and incredibly beautiful by such. Rae was exactly the same way. Kendra obviously saw Rae's unique beauty as one many could find very attractive and sexually arousing. Thus, she worried about him.

Blaze gave her a reassuring grin. "Apparently, I came along just in time to prevent the ninja from killing her."

"So I see. But you should be dead by all things considered, Blaze."

"Why is that?" he asked her.

"She is Drow. A dark elf. The evil side of the elven races. One that in particular despises men as the inferior sex and harboring a deadly hatred for all those who dwell on the surface," the succubus explained. Kendra glanced back to the drowess leading them silently with open suspicion and distrust, "By all accounts, you should have been killed on the spot by her. I don't like this though. She may very well be leading us into a trap."

Those words troubled him as he turned his own gaze to regard the drowess. Thoughts of wondering what her motives were and what they could do if it happened to be a trap. Some of his strength was returning to him, but he still felt weary and in need of a good rest. After a few hours it seemed, they walked down a narrow tunnel and were soon greeted by two drow soldiers that stepped out of the darkness to challenge them.

The moment they saw Rae, both men immediately dropped to one knee with their heads staring to the ground obediently. "A'dos quarth, Ilharessen Nitara!" they both said in unison.

"Kelnozz, send one of the guards to spread the message through the house that I have guests," she said harshly with commanding authority, "Make sure they all know that not one word is to be spread about who and what the guests of my house are. Also tell the entire house that if word does get out, you, the messenger, and whoever leaked the information will be fed to the spiders! Understood?!"

"Xas, Ilharessen Nitara," the drow on the right said. He lifted his head as he spoke, but Blaze noticed the man not looking up to his Matron Mother before he quickly left them.

Rae turned back to them with her cool gaze, "Come. Welcome to my house. I ask of you to keep out of sight from windows and courtyards while you stay as guests. I cannot afford for you to be seen by rival houses."

Without waiting for them to agree, the drowess turned abruptly and walked through the metal door the other guard held open. The light orb winked out, no longer being needed as light poured through the open doorway. As they entered the stone manor's hallways, they saw rows of soft light spaced out along the walls. They swayed about gently with no support or substance to consume while burning. Blaze marveled at this magic as they followed Rae's silent form. The hallways were decorated with paintings and tapestries of great underworld battles in gory detail. Above, the ceilings were covered with white silk and drapes in effects that made it look covered by spiderwebs.

Everywhere he looked, Blaze could see furniture, vases, and many other objects decorated with spider designs. Anyone with arachniphobia would go mad in this place, for it was a spider lover's paradise. It made his skin crawl with the creepiness. They all abruptly came to a halt when a huge spider rounded the corner. Blaze felt his blood run cold as the ugly insect was as big as a large hound. The small drowess walked up to the creature and petted its head as she muttered soft loving words in her native tongue. The spider clicked it's mandibles like a dog would wag its tail before she moved on. The massive insect turned to look at them. Blaze was surprised to see it back out of the way respectfully instead of attacking!

Not wanting to lose Rae in this expansive home, they slowly moved forward. The spider did nothing as they cautiously passed it. When they had passed, they heard the soft pattering of its legs as it continued on down the hallway. By now, Rae stood by an open door as she waited on them. "Place her in here and my physicians should be in shortly. Blaze. Come with me."

Both Blaze and Kendra shared a look, both hoping this wasn't the last time they would see each other. Then the ladies carried the suffering gargoyle into, what he saw now, a large bedroom. Not wanting to irritate an evil elf, Blaze turned to catch up with Rae, who was already striding off.

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Rae heard the young man walking quickly behind her to catch up. She knew she was taking a substantial risk in bringing him here. Any news of uninvited outsiders, let alone surface dwellers, could mean dire consequences to her house. But Blaze's friend needed help and she owed him that much after what he'd done for her. In her own small way, it was also retribution against Nariko in depriving the ninja assassin of a kill for her record. She honestly doubted the ninja woman's resume was even close to her current score of kills as a drow assassin.

Blaze finally caught up to her and fell in to walk beside her. First the shock came and then the anger. Rae hissed and slammed her fist into his chest. The startled human staggered backwards with his hand against where she had struck the unexpected blow. She could also see the surprise at the strength she had hit him with in those hazel eyes. Not many knew how strong a drowess could be despite their short stature.

"Don't you ever walk beside me, male! How dare you even think to do so," Rae hissed angrily as she wheeled around to face him. He looked to her with clear lack of understanding. "And don't you ever look into my eyes around the others. Even the servants!"

She was about to continue on berating him when she stopped. Rae could see that he did not comprehend this because of his lack of knowledge. A pang of regret pierced her for what she'd done, but she kept that emotion from expressing itself by maintaining her cool mask. Drow aren't supposed to feel regret, she admonished herself.

"Understand this, Blaze. Doing such things is a sign of weakness to other drow. Only Patrons have the designated honor of walking beside their Matron Mothers, but they still may not meet the eyes of the drowess who commands them," she explained as she calmed herself. "Remember that or you put yourself and your friends at risk along with me and my house."

He nodded as he understood, still meeting her gaze though. She noted that others were not around and allowed it to happen. The drowess even felt a twinge of respect that he did so to her. Then again, she already liked and respected him for the prowess in battle he showed himself capable of.

"I'm sorry about that and will do my best to remember," he said as they continued walking on with him walking just behind her as a male should. "Can you tell me what will be done for Tyra?"

"It is easy enough," she said over her shoulder to him, "They will give her anti-toxins to combat what has poisoned her. Drow assassins use the deadliest poison in the world known as Lloth's Kiss. It is essentially a combination of toxins with the main ingredient being the venom from our spiders. The one you saw moments ago was one of those. Accidents happen on missions and should one poison themselves, they will have the cure at their disposal, unlike their intended victim."

She noted that he remained silent, obviously satisfied with her answer. His friend would be fine sure enough. Blaze remained silent for the rest of the time she led him before they arrived at a set of double doors. She always marveled at its beauty with the carvings of spiders all about it. Such lovely beings, spiders. Opening the door, they entered the large bedroom of Death's Mistress.

"Take all your clothes off," she said simply as she closed the doors behind him and locked them. Her tone made it quite obvious it wasn't a request either. Blaze blinked to her in confusion before he slowly removed his blade harness. Rae leaned against the doors as she watched him pull his shirt off over his head. A slow smirk spread across those dark lips of hers as she gazed over his body approvingly so far. He wasn't a muscled behemoth like many drow gossiped all human men to be, but well-toned like a drow warrior. Just like Raviv.

After kicking off his boots, he undid the ties to his pants and pushed them off. The drowess's smirk quickly turned to an opened mouthed one as she gasped in shock. His limp dick was... HUGE! She'd slept with many drow men before and they were perfectly proportional to their body in cock size. She'd always heard rumor of the bigger human men having mammoth dicks, but she'd always disbelieved it. Rae was now a believer as she looked at the first human cock she'd ever seen. Bloody Lloth, she could only imagine the size of the humans bigger than Blaze!

Her heart pounded wildly in her chest as she watched him fold his clothes neatly and put them aside. She swallowed hard and regained her composure before he looked back to her. She had to forcefully rip her gaze from that impressive pale-fleshed rod. Her eyes had also confirmed what she had suspected after first seeing him. Blaze was badly injured. Deep, dark bruises, cuts and ragged scrapes covered a majority of his body. His trip through the underworld hadn't been a friendly one.

"Sit down," she said firmly as she walked over to one of her desks. Opening a drawer, she pulled out a large bottle filled with a black salve. "You look like you need some help as well and I will assist you." The drowess was surprised he hadn't passed out from such brutal injuries. Walking over to the man, she set about rubbing the salve over the wounds as she chanted drow words of healing. Like many Matron Mothers of noble houses, she'd gone through harsh training growing up. Part of that had been the art of magic that the priestesses of Lloth had taught to her and others.

Death's Mistress was not only an assassin, but a sorceress as well. When her hands left the injured areas, both salve and wound were gone. During this long process, she tried to keep her eyes averted. But no matter how hard she tried, her gaze was frequently drawn to that impressive length. His cock was so close and she ached to touch it. Soon enough, however, all his wounds were healed. She capped the container silently and grimaced at the pain in her shoulders. It had been a hard and lengthy task.

"I can help you with that. It's only fair after what you've done for me. Kendra says I've gotten quite good at it actually."

Rae looked up to him with her red eyes in astonishment. He wanted to put his hands on her? On her body? The thought excited and disgusted her at the same time. He was a human! But how she ached to be touched. If only Raviv were still alive... She shook that thought from her mind as she nodded. If it was one thing that drow could never turn down, it was a massage. Blaze rose to go to his clothes and put them on, but her hand against his chest halted him.