Zygurd of the House of Mourne

He sat still... watching the waters flow southward from the basin in which Ilga bathed quietly. Zygurd contemplated once again, as warriors do, the connectivity of the world from that point. That water had cascaded down Ilga's body... and in that respect, a tiny bit of Ilga flowed perpetually through the world... And that perhaps they had come in contact before in this way... His thoughts dwelt there, more and more on Ilga.

He noticed now a silence. An odd one that seemed pervasive through the clamor of the cascade behind him.

Zygurd stood wandering over to where Ilga bathed.... And he saw them...A pair of figures... groping through the water for purchase... muffled cries, drowned out by the waterfall. Zygurd could see them. Men of the imperial muster...

He did not tarry for a moment to see what they were doing, he assumed the worst for Ilga who struggled valiantly between them. A single cry suddenly pierced the waterfall as Ilga got her mouth free for a fleeting moment.

"Sigurd...!"

And like a wolf he was upon them, a snarling vicious beast, Wielding his stolen blade in a vicious metal arc.

It was over quickly... Zygurd fell to his hands and knees, gasping for air through the battle-haze, his body shivering from the shock of returning to reality in such a short period of time. Their bodies lay dead... soaked corpses lying motionless in the water.

He felt his mind calm as he felt a hand on his back...

Zygurd looked up at the naked woman. He let out another gasp for air and stood up as she hauled him to his feet. Quietly she led him back to the rock where he had sat before and laid him on his back... She sat next to him, placing a hand to his heart as he let his chest heave, in and out with his breaths. She then ran her hand to his cheek and curled her hand in the thick forelock of hair. Then softly kissed him on the crease between his eyebrows. Zygurd's body seemed to relax instantly.

"Ilga.... " he said softly... wanting to say more but unsure how to put it into human words. With a hand back on his chest she laid herself down next to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

For so many moments they lay like that, Ilga drying her wet body in the afternoon sun before putting her clothes back on. By an by zygurd sat up... and, seeing that there was no longer solace to be had here, they continued on into the woods once more.

The wore on and the darkness once more gave clarity to Zygurd's eyes as they trekked through the underbrush. Behind him he could hear the soft footfalls of Ilga who followed the sound of his own steps through the darkness. There was a full moon that night, but unfortunately the heavy canopy of the trees robbed them of that luxury. Through the darkness, zygurd became their guide, his feet sure on the ground beneath their feet while Ilga stumbled every so often.

Although they walked in silence, Zygurd could not help but glance back at her from moment to moment. She seemed to be trying to look back at him... her eyes unable to see clearly through the blackness and trying to make out his features. He could not tell for certain but he had a feeling that she must be trying to admire him in some regard. Of course, that, he knew was a foolish notion.... Perhaps she was just trying to get a better glimpse of the clearing that loomed in the distance where the moonlight from above managed to light the forest floor.

Zygurd stopped rather suddenly, hearing a soft ruckus arise from behind him as Ilga's foot found a tree root and she stumbled forward. Zygurd turned, catching her by the shoulders and putting her back on her feet. She tottered a bit and reached out for him...his hand found hers and clutched it tightly... relishing that contact for a brief moment. She was warm to the touch. He pulled her forwards towards him feeling her body brush against his shoulder... there was a beautiful sense of closeness in that. Zygurd could feel his heart jump in that brief instant before settling.

With a silent swallow to steady his nerves, he led her onward to the clearing.

Zygurd, even being as much of a stalwart soul as he was, wasn't prepared to witness the scene that awaited them in the clearing.

He stopped, his hands went clammy and his pulse rang in his ears. They lay in masses on the forest floor... piled up into heaps on the ground. Many of his fellow orcs strewn in the painful contortions that embodied their last moments of life. He fell to his knees.. Picking out familiar faces among them.... And some of them familiar faces that had been made obscure by horrific wounds wrought upon them by human blades. Zygurd staggered from heap to heap... taking in the carnage as best he could. True, it was no worse than the carnage of the battlefield behind him... but at least on that battlefield he was ready to experience such atrocity. Here , it was unexpected and shocking. He stood for a moment amidst it all... feeling sickness and woe churning in his stomach, but even still he kept a brave face on it. He simply stood there, his head bowed as he fought with his body and refused to let himself break down and discard his soldierly demeanor.

For the second time that day he felt the soft touch of the human woman on his shoulder. He turned and saw her there gazing up into his eyes, showing a desire to share in his sorrow with him. He couldn't speak... just let his jaw tremble as he looked back at her. In his eyes, the woman could see that fear and pain welled up. Zygurd tried valiantly to hide it but it was of no use. She wrapped her arms around his broad back and pulled herself into him resting her head on his chest and listening to the beat of his troubled heart. Zygurd was struck dumb by the gesture... unsure of what to make of it aside from the gesture of sympathy. He moved his hand out awkwardly... unsure of himself in returning the gesture... and wrapped his arm around her waist.

He wanted to cry... he wanted to scream this injustice to the gods and let them understand the woe they had inflicted upon him... but the woman seemed to silence this need altogether, suppressing his despair into soft sobs against her shoulder. He had known them, they were his friends... it was hard to say just what he had now... he felt empty inside and yet.... He felt at home here, huddled up in her arms. She took his hand pulled him towards a soft grassy spot on the edge of the clearing where they could sit and build a fire

Zygurd could do nothing but watch as she gathered up the kindling, set the twigs alight and coaxed a healthy flame out of them. She returned once more and slipped her arms around him as he sat with his back to the tree trunk. She sat there; ear once again pressed to his chest, hearing his heartbeat before reaching up to his chin to tangle her fingers in his forelock as she had done that afternoon on the rocks by the waterfall. However she did not tarry or stop here as she did before. Zygurd heard her say something in her strange language before pulling herself up to him and pressing her soft lips against his, a hand on either side of his cheeks. Dumbfounded Zygurd protested for a brief moment before sinking back, finding comfort here and feeling her drag him in deeper into herself. A soft moan escaped his lips, slipping through hers. His arms found her, he crushed her to his chest and felt himself forget everything around him for a brief yet seemingly eternal moment.

Their kiss seemed to rise in fervor... their mouths groping softly against each other wanting to come closer and closer. Her hands pressed themselves to his chest and began quietly pulling his hauberk off. She did away with his mail and his bracers and his mantle and finally tore his tunic from him to expose his bare chest. He stopped for a moment to let her do this and let her see his bare torso... laced with tattoos and scars.... Things that held significance to him... and could speak so many things to those who could read them. But they were there so that others would not have to look him over too closely to see who he was. To Ilga they held no significance, nor would they have if she could have read them. She looked and saw... green skinned as he was, that he was not so much different beneath the cloth. She smiled... not a giddy smile... but a warm and entranced smile. She lowered herself and kissed up from the short speckling of curls about his navel, up his chest to his neck where she paused to let her lips linger there.

Zygurd watched again, as she pulled away, straddling his legs. She undid her belt and did off with her tunic and armor. She sat on his legs her breasts bare, full, and presented before him. He sat up, pulling her towards him and taking one of her soft nipples into his mouth, eliciting a sharp gasp from her as he swirled his tongue around the soft puffy pink nipple... feeling it harden in his mouth. He sucked lovingly on it... kneading her nipple into a soft lump with his mouth. He felt her hands press the back of his head into her that large soft mound... she arched her back towards his sucking mouth, gasping things in her strange language. She rocked back and forth grabbing handfulls of his thick hair and feeling his tongue work on the peaks of her sensitive nipples. He alternated his efforts, first sucking one, then releasing it before letting his tongue circle her aureole before trailing it between her breasts... licking up and down there before up the other side to her other nipple and sucking it hotly into his mouth.

She fell to the side suddenly... throwing her self onto her back next to him and reaching for his breeches, rubbing her hand on the bulge that strained against the rawhide and fur. Zygurd quickly undid his belt but before he could get his breeches off she slid her hand down the front and gripped his cock... feeling the thickness in her hand. She let out a long moan and Zygurd saw her hand drift to the soft patch of hair between her legs.

Zygurd could hear a soft wet slippery sound as she moved her hand back and forth on her sex... Zigurd licked his lips and looked down at her soft womanhood, her eyes met his and she drew back a bit, sitting up and spreading her legs for him, then spreading the lips of her pussy apart for him to see. He could see that wetness glistening in the moonlight, it was flowing like a trickling waterfall...dripping down between her lush buttocks. She made a small sound that forced him to look up at her and he was startled by the sudden look of pleading. He watched as she pushed herself towards him, speaking once more in that foreign tongue...she was asking...no begging for something.

Zigurd brought his fingers to his mouth, and wet them with his saliva before slipping them along her dripping folds. She let out another low moan and keened her head back, feeling his thick finger slip within her tight silken folds . He let his digit wriggle inside her pussy and watched as she twitched and bucked her hips on his hand. She moaned out a single word, over and over again. To Zygurd it sounded much like the word "Please" or "yes" or "More"; something encouraging. He moved himself closer to her and worked his fingers in and out of her, then slipped them out and brought them to his mouth to taste her nectar. The sudden halt in pleasure drove her to fall forward onto him. Gripping his hip and his side for support as she felt her pussy cry out for more hot attention. Zygurd let the sweet flavor of her snatch linger on his tongue before slipping his fingers back in and exploring her pussy. She let out hot little gasps of pleasure her breasts rubbing against his side as she rocked back and forth on his fingers.

Zygurd could feel her trying now to find some way to take her mind off it... she let her hand wander to his bulge once more. She pushed his breeches down, finding his cock full and erect. She slowly began working it up and down, pumping him with her hand and licking her lips at the sight. Zygurd's thumb found her clitoris suddenly... small, sensitive and somewhat hidden between her folds. The sudden shock of ecstasy sent shudders down her spine and she twitched on top of him. She redoubled her efforts as he did this and seized his cock in her hand wrapping her mouth around the head and sucking hard . This was a new feeling for Zygurd and he dropped his hand from her wetness and arched his hips up to her mouth... he simply groaned... begging to feel more of her hot wet mouth around his cock. She seemed to smile and took him into her mouth running her tongue up and down the length before bobbing her head up and down and creating such a beautiful suction on him. He felt himself building to a climax.. The feeling was too intense. He tried to plead... his voice coming as short spasms of air, attempting to coax her to stop and let him recover. She seemed to understand this well enough and stopped, returning to stroking the wet shaft of his cock with her hand. She looked up at him her eyes wanting to find approval in his. He pulled her by the arm back up to him and attacked her lips with his... She let her eyes close and straddled him once more her mouth connected with his and her hand not once releasing control of his throbbing member. She rubbed the head now softly against her puss lips... feeling it and rocking her hips back and forth with it, rubbing it up and down and feeling the large swollen head part her lips just a bit.

The feeling of penetration was intense. He could see her eyes widen then squint shut as she slid herself down on him feeling his enormous length stretching the needy little hole of her pussy. She was tighter than he imagined... her muscles clamped down on his cock and put a great deal of resistance on him as he slid deep within her folds. She dripped around him... her wetness engulfing him and causing him to become slick and hard within her. She felt him slide to her furthest depth... becoming totally engulfed in her pussy and hitting her deepest parts. She let out a delighted shudder of pleasure before starting to roll her hips back and forth on him.

He could see her in the moonlight... a silver-lined silhouette illuminated in parts by the firelight nearby. She gripped her legs tight against him feeling his cock move in and out between the lips of her vulva she gasped and dug her nails into his head as she pressed him once more to her breasts. Zygurd understood her invitation all to well and sucked on her nipple once more. As he did this she started bouncing up and down on him, letting her pussy slip off his cock until just the nice large head remained inside of her then settling back down on him. Up and down.... She rode him like a horse, feeling his throbbing cock within her like length of hot iron inside of her gripping pussy. She could feel her body begin to tingle as if set on fire all at once. She looked down at him, her eyelids heavy with the sweet lusty need that boiled in her She was approaching her edge... and Zygurd could tell all to well. He too could feel something almost like liquid hot flame burst up through his heavy balls as he listened to the soft slapping sound her body made as it connected with his. He felt a sudden clenching of her pussy as she threw her head back and mewled almost like a cat. Zygurd tried to pull her off him and let his seed spill elsewhere but she threw his hands off her and settled herself down hard upon his cock, her pussy milking it softly as he exploded within her. He let out a low roar and tossed his head to the side, his hips pumping up into her. She could feel each spurt deep within her body... filling her with the orc's hot cum. She snarled and buried her face into his chest, letting him expel his hot thick jets of cum into her while her pussy spilled it's juices all over his member. The two of them finished cumming and at once she fell off to the side, breathing heavily and looking up into his eyes. She brought her face close to his, stealing a kiss once more.

Zygurd started to say something but cut himself off, seeing that she had already curled up, resting her body against his, and passed out. He smiled and felt himself grow weary now... with his newfound love in his arms he let his lids close and dozed off warm in her soft embrace for another night.

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Once again he awoke that night, Zygurd's eyes popped open as a strange moist panting breeze brushed across him. He stared forward his eyes adjusting to the darkness and found himself peering back into a pair of phosphorescent yellow eyes. A lupine nose pressed against him, snuffing about and taking in his scent. Zygurd sat completely still unsure of what to make of this thing. He could not see it fully... too much of it was in the way. Ilga awoke as well and looked up.. She made as if to scream but tensed up and stared on frightfully at the thing. Zygurd looked down at her and flattened himself against the tree trunk.

Without warning the thing pulled away a few steps and Zygurd could see it. A massive wolf-beast... the kind ridden by the wolf riders. He wanted to relax but he knew he wasn't about to let his guard down yet. There were footsteps now and a gruff voice.

"On your feet." came a familiar words from an unfamiliar voice. Zygurd slowly got to his feet. And peered at the source, he could see a broad shouldered figure helmet clad and clutching a cutlass.

"What's your name trooper?" the voice asked. Zygurd cleared his throat.

"Zygurd... house of Morne" he said his back pressed to the tree still. The figure approached and pulled the helmet off. Zygurd could see the green flesh and rough features... an Orc.

"One of the Nurdim lads huh?... the scouts said your regiment was laid waste, no survivors... "

"Well they were wrong weren't they?"

"You survived... I don't know how, but when a unit takes a beating like that, it says something about anyone who manages to survive..."

"Been trekking for two nights now... "

"and who is that?" The Orc said, pointing at Ilga, slipping her tunic back on.

"One of the human women..."

"A prisoner?"

"No... she was with the pictish reinforcements.... We've been traveling together."

"Admirable... Two survivors then. Come... we've made camp by the hillslope.... We're moving back north... come."

Zygurd motioned for Ilga to follow. They took their things, and marched alongside the wolf rider back to the camp.

There they were, the elements left after the battle, mustering back up and licking their wounds. Zygurd walked amongst rows of the casualties. They moaned, finding themselves in various states of ill repair. Ilga strode on next to Zygurd. The rider showed them to the muster circle where the still well and standing warriors were gathering. The commanders were shouting orders and Zygurd found a lieutenant. An orc who hailed from somewhere near his home in Nurdim.

"Zygurd from Nurdim... what news is there?" He asked the Orc.

"Nurdim?... gods... didn't think one of you would make it back... we lost a few ourselves..." the lieutenant muttered. "Come, you're with us now... we can at least make sure you get back home at the end of the war... if you're still alive that is. "

Zygurd turned to look at Ilga... he opened his mouth to speak when a sharp human voice called out. Ilga turned to see one of her fellow Picts beckon her over. She stared at Zygurd.. Their eyes met..

And that was the last time he was that close to her.

He watched her draw away.... He called out to her... She seemed to resist the pull of her fellow humans pulling away and going their separate way....

The crowds parted.. The Orcs went one way, the humans went another... they picked up their wounded and made the long trek back to their lines. Zygurd marched forward, his eyes keen and his gaze steadfast... yet his mind would be elsewhere for some time to come.

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There was a path that cut through the town to the way outskirts. The path was covered by a small forested area. The stranger walked along it, the town behind him as he pressed on along the path. His face obscured by a great helmet. He could see a small clearing in the distance ahead. An inviting place that seemed to beckon him. He felt it must have been beckoning him like this for years now. He could feel his heart race with a sort of excitement.... Which stopped abruptly as something leapt form the brushes beside the path.