A Paladin's Journey Ch. 05

Lissa looked into Smythe's eyes for long moments, and seemed to like what she saw, for she beamed. "Well I, for one, am glad you three happened along. My sister Bruna certainly seems to have taken a shine to you, Master Henley." Bruna -- the woman holding onto Smythe like her life depended on it -- pulled away suddenly, clearing her throat and tucking her fair hair behind her ears surreptitiously. Her country dress had a low enough neckline to hint at a very ample bosom.

Aran raised an eyebrow at Smythe, and the big man just shrugged as if to say: what else could I do? Kedron appeared, then, from inside the house. Lissa's daughter Bessy was snug under his arm as he led her out into the yard. Lissa frowned at the sight of her daughter under Kedron's arm, but Bessy spoke up quickly. "Relax, mother! It's not what you think. Kedron here already has a girl, and she's in trouble. He's going to Ironshire to rescue her. Isn't that romantic?"

Harl stepped up, a discerning, yet slightly amused expression on his face. "Well, he's not likely to do too much rescuing while he's cuddling you, now, is he my daughter?" Kedron flushed and pulled his arm from around Bessy's shoulders immediately.

"Sorry, father," she mumbled. "He just felt... safe."

Harl's expression softened, and he put his arms around Bessy. "We'll all be safe, soon enough, lass. We're going to take Aran up on his offer." He turned back to the group and raised his voice. "Gather your things, folks! We're moving off for a while! Only bring what you need, and be careful in the house! I'm not sure how stable it is in there!"

There were a few mutters from those not sold on leaving, but they were quickly silenced by the rest. As the group dispersed, Harl stepped up to Aran. "Ironshire is apparently under Herald control now, Aran."

"We know," Aran said quietly. "They're zealots, and superstitious to boot. That makes them dangerous. We can't let them have the town."

"And what can three men do against hundreds?" Harl asked. "You seem like good men. I'd hate to see you killed in a futile crusade."

Smiling, Aran clapped the round-faced farmer on the shoulder. "Worry not, Harl. We have friends on the way."

*

Soon enough, the three Arohim were off again, riding away from the mid-afternoon sun. After a helpful tidbit of information from Harl, they were headed for Rostin, a small farming village barely worth the name, several miles off the Maralon Road. According to Harl, Rostin had not yet suffered Herald occupation. Perhaps they thought it too insignificant for their attentions, or strategically unviable, being so far away from the one major road in the area. It wasn't part of Aran's original plan, but the opportunity to keep more people out of Herald hands couldn't be passed up.

If they rode hard enough, they could be in Rostin by tomorrow. Earlier if they traveled by night, but Aran was hesitant to do so. He needed to meet with Elaina and Amina on the Plane, as well as give Kedron his lessons. Weariness was beginning to nag at him; he hadn't slept for three days between his nightly visits to the Plane and teaching Kedron as well as doing half the night's watch. Then there was the chasing and being chased by Heralds, almost always followed by fighting. His Vala would keep him going to a certain point, but his body still needed rest.

Finally, the sun disappeared behind the western horizon and Aran called a halt for the evening. Camp was prepared in silence; the others were weary, too. Kedron must have been exhausted, by now, with his Vala less available to him than Aran or Smythe. But then, he was allowed sleep at night, to compensate for the hard days. He would be strong, once fully trained, and he had a good head on his shoulders. It was Aran's turn to teach Kedron tonight, and so he led the younger man through exercises in accessing his Vala. Three times during their hour together, Kedron came alight with a flickering glow, strong but not yet steady.

After leaving Harl's farm, Smythe had acquired two fat pheasants, which were devoured with voracity by the three hungry men once Smythe had prepared them. After eating, Kedron rolled himself up in his cloak while Smythe strode circles around the camp, giving Aran space to meditate and visit the Plane.

*

The steaming water felt wonderful as Aran stroked his way across the wide pool. He'd created hot springs on this visit to the Plane, mostly because he'd never seen them before, and it had been days since he'd had a bath. Smythe had been telling him of the Blackglass Springs -- called that because of the smooth obsidian rocks made by the surrounding volcanoes up north of Maralon -- earlier that day, and Aran had created this scenery from Smythe's description, though he doubted nature would make a perfectly round pool out of rock as smooth as polished marble.

Aran turned over and floated, looking up at the night sky. Had he made the right choice, revealing the location of the Temple to farmers? If one of them went to the Heralds... No, he couldn't think like that. Besides, he hadn't actually told them where the Temple was, only that they needed to go to the mountains. How many people had he told? Thirty? Forty?

"Thirty or forty what?" Asked Elaina as she popped into existence, deliciously, voluptuously naked. Her emerald eyes twinkled as she grinned at him. Wisps of steam floated around her, somehow making her appear even more alluring than normal.

Aran hadn't realised he'd been thinking out loud. He straightened, putting his feet on the bottom of the pool. "Thirty or forty people, my love. I've sent that many toward the Temple in the last two days."

Suddenly Elaina was in the water, her face inches from his. "That many? Is it really so bad?"

Aran explained. "The Heralds have been burning farms, harassing good people. Anything I can do to help them, I will."

Elaina's arms came around his neck, and she pressed herself against him. "Aran, I love you, and I support you in this, but I'm concerned for the risks. What if one of these people is a Herald spy?"

Aran held Elaina tightly, enjoying how her soft curves felt on his skin. "There is that chance, though Smythe and I filtered everyone carefully. I would not risk the Temple on carelessness."

"I know," she said softly before pushing her full lips onto his. Her thighs came up around his waist, and suddenly Aran found his cock embedded in Elaina's clenching cunt. "I trust you. We all do." She swirled her hips beneath the water, stirring him inside her molten tunnel.

Aran grasped her full buttocks and began to buck his hips, fucking his beautiful Meldin aggressively, possessively. Elaina cried out with pleasure and buried her face in his neck, kissing the skin there and nipping him with her teeth. Their Vala pulsed in unison, melding together in a now-familiar way until separation was forgotten and they felt as one.

Dimly, Aran felt a shift in the Plane, and knew that Amina had joined them. Looking over Elaina's shoulder, he saw the Priestess standing at the edge of the pool, her lush, naked form beautiful enough to make his breath catch, and his cock surge inside his Amatharn.

Amina smiled at him, but remained where she was, watching avidly. After a few moments, the steam from the pool began to gather around behind her until it formed a sort of misty armchair, which she used to sit down. Spreading her smooth legs wide, the began to idly toy with her bald pussy, rubbing slow circles around her clit with her index finger.

For a time, Aran fucked Elaina as they were, but then he pulled her off of him and spun her around so she was facing Amina. The busty Paladin said nothing when she saw the Priestess, but she moaned deeply in desire, and Amina eyed her hotly as she continued to pleasure herself.

Elaina's full ass pushed back against Aran insistently, and he seized her hips and guided himself back into her slick folds. In the real world, fucking in a pool would have been difficult, but Aran was the master of this particular reality, so he was able to render the water a non-encumbrance while still enjoying the feeling of being in a warm bath. Curving her back, Elaina reached behind Aran's head and clutched his hair, thrusting her mountainous tits forward. Her feet hooked back around his calves, locking her against him. Aran's hands came up to her breasts, squeezing the huge, pale orbs as he pummeled her ass with his hips, the speed ever-increasing as their pleasure mounted.

Aran did not try to control his pleasure when he was with Elaina; he let himself feel every thrill, every nuance, every shift of their dancing Vala. They peaked together, Elaina crying out as her pussy contracted into an exquisite vise which Aran began to fill with his seed. His teeth found Elaina's shoulder as he bucked against her spasmodically, and his cock lurched again and again, until it felt as if he'd been coming forever.

Amina now had two fingers buried in her heavenly pussy, and her other hand was kneading a heavy breast. Her head was thrown back, and her hips were lifting off the misty chair as she brought herself to release.

Suddenly, the air warped in a way Aran had seen twice before, coalescing into a brilliant white sphere, taller than a man. "It's him," Elaina whispered, turning her head slightly to look at Aran. They stayed locked together as they were, submerged in the water.

Sure enough, the Keeper stepped out of the light and onto the smooth black stone that surrounded the pool, appearing as always like a sculpture designed to depict the epitome of masculinity; tall, broad-shouldered, deep-chested and muscular, andn the size of his nether features exaggerated. His dark eyes found Aran and Elaina first, but then they swung to Amina, who stood up immediately, her eyes wide and her mouth agape. Rarely had Aran seen her so out of countenance.

Neither Keeper nor Priestess said a word for long moments as they ran their eyes over each other. "It has been many seasons, Aros'iel Varda," the Keeper rumbled in his bass voice. "Many seasons, indeed." As he spoke, his massive member began to thicken and lift. Elaina's lust surged as she watched, and she began to subtly push her ass back against him. Still buried inside her, Aran happily matched her movements with his own.

Aran could feel Amina's Vala pulsing with desire as she regarded the Keeper, though she regained her composure admirably. "The centuries have passed, Aros'tirith," Amina said quietly as she moved to stand in front of the towering being. "But I remember you well. How is it you have come to us all together?"

The Keeper glanced at Aran and Elaina. "The Amatharn are strong, Amina'vanimalda. Their Vala summons me despite your presence. This is unprecedented, but Aros deems it necessary."

"Have you come to show us Maloth again?" Aran asked, regretfully disengaging himself from Elaina and shifting out of the pool. Elaina followed, so the three Arohim were standing before the Keeper.

The Keeper shook his head. "The Mor'ion is not within reach at this time. When your energies clash again, it will create another rift in the Plane which you might see through, but that is not now." He eyed them all in turn. "I have come bearing a gift from Aros. Attend me." He closed his eyes, and the Plane blurred as the group were transported to an infinite black void, not unlike Aran's first impression of the Plane. The Keeper looked down at the blackness beneath their feet, and a moment later, a vast map appeared, far larger and more detailed than any map Aran had ever seen. In fact, he realised queasily, it was as if he were looking down at the world from miles and miles into the sky, with nothing to hold him up.

"Amazing," Amina murmured. Elaina echoed her. Aran could see the entire continent of Ekistair, and while the towns and cities were not marked, he felt sure he could point to Ironshire, or Maralon. The Karvani Mountains were easily identifiable, just north of a great grassy plain -- the Sorral -- with the Emerindrelle flowing south out of the mountains and through the Emerin Forest until it met with the southern ocean. Aran had never realised just how big Ekistair really was. He was beginning to think himself well-travelled, but looking at the map, he thought maybe he had seen less than one-tenth of the world.

"What is that island?" Elaina asked, pointing to a land mass across the northern sea, shaped like an inverted triangle. "Is that Palistair?"

Amina nodded. "It is." Before Aran could ask more about it, the Keeper waved his hand, and tiny pinpricks of light began to sparkle across the land, scattered in random places, some in clusters, and some isolated. Aran noticed a small group of three on the Sorral Plain, and another group of four in the Karvani Mountains, where the Temple was.

Aran suddenly knew what he was looking at. "These lights are all Arohim, aren't they?" He asked excitedly. He had dared to hope there were so many. There must be more than a hundred! Interestingly, there was only one light on the whole island of Palistair, on the southernmost tip.

Amina and Elaina shot surprised looks at Aran, and the Keeper nodded. "Yes, Anarion. The flames of Aros still burn, albeit quietly." Aran tried to burn the image into his brain, so he would remember where all the Arohim were.

"Will we ever be able to see this again?" he asked the Keeper, who shook his bald head.

"My orders were to show you once only, and your time is limited. Aros cannot partake in your quest directly, but He may aid in small ways from time to time." The Keeper studied the three Arohim for a moment, then smiled. Aran had never seen him smile before. It looked strange, like a rock smiling.

Suddenly, the map vanished and the world shifted again, until they were standing in a vast hall of gleaming white marble. Sunstones in sconces lined the walls and the thick pillars that surrounded the room, lighting the area with a warm, homely glow. Plush beds and chairs were arranged in several places, and fountains splashed merrily in wide pools. Aran had never seen anything of the like.

Amina laughed gaily and took a few steps away from the group, turning as she took in the palatial surroundings. "This is just like the Temple at Caer'Maralonnen!" Aran couldn't help but admire her body as she slowly spun, her beautiful face fond with remembrance.

"This is your gift, Vanimalda," the Keeper said warmly. "Aros wishes you to know He remembers."

Amina turned back to the Keeper, and Aran saw a tear coursing down her smooth cheek. Abruptly she was leaping through the air toward the hulking man, wrapping herself around him and planting her luscious lips on his. A deep groan emanated from his throat, and his broad hands enveloped the Priestess's ample buttocks, covering them almost entirely, a feat Aran had never accomplished.

The Keeper's mammoth cock once again hardened, rising until it rested along the cleft of Amina's ass, the bulbous head protruding clear of her body. Aran wondered if they would fuck, and if they did, how would Amina ever fit that thing inside her body? The Keeper was rigged like a bloody centaur!

Elaina's hand found Aran's as she watched the steamy scene unfold, and Aran felt her desire coursing through their Bond. Aran was not unaffected, with his Vala responding to Elaina's, as well as his own desire being triggered by watching Amina, who reached down to grasp the thick shaft beneath her body and angle it up towards her pussy.

"It's been so very long!" the Priestess cried as she lowered herself down, the Keeper's cock slowly disappearing inside her. He groaned in pleasure as her ass came to rest against his apple-sized balls, and he held her there for long moments.

"I have not made love in centuries," the Keeper told the Priestess. "And none were ever so pleasing as you, Vanimalda."

In answer, Amina began to churn her hips, and the Keeper began to move his own. Suddenly, there was a large bed beneath them, and the Keeper was lying on top of the Priestess, resting his weight on his elbows, his body rippling as he thrust slowly but powerfully into his lover.

Aran lost himself in their fucking. There was something ancient and profound about the act, two ancient beings back together after an eternity apart. At some point, Elaina's hand released Aran's and moved to his cock, and she idly stroked him while they watched, until she wanted more. There was a shift, and Aran found himself on his back on a bed near to Amina and the Keeper, with Elaina lowering her voluptuous body down until he was sliding back into her welcoming wet heat. There was fiery love in her eyes as she looked down at him, her gaze lidded with desire, before she turned her head to resume watching.

Amina was whimpering softly, her eyes closed and her brow drawn down with intense pleasure. Her hands were clutching at the Keeper's shoulders and her heels were pulling at his buttocks insistently, as if trying to bring him even deeper inside her. Elaina's hands found Aran's, and without taking her gaze from the other bed, she brought his hands up to her tits and held them in place, pressing them hard against her soft, fleshy pillows.

The Keeper growled low in his throat, and his hips began to thrust faster. His skin slapped against Amina's, and she wailed in ecstasy as he began to fuck her properly. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" She cried each time their bodies met. Aran could hear the Keeper's heavy balls colliding with Amina's ass.

"By the Gods, that's the sexiest thing I've ever seen," Elaina murmured as she rode Aran. She was gyrating her round hips in circles, matching the pace of the other couple.

Aran looked up at her, falling in love with her all over again. Sexy, kind, loving, fierce. She was amazing. "Do you want to fuck him?" He asked her, knowing full well that's what she wanted.

Eyes still locked on the other bed, particularly on the Keeper's rippling buttocks, Elaina nodded, biting her lower lip.

"I can't wait to see him impale you with that huge cock!" Aran told her, deliberately inspiring her to a lustier height. He loved seeing her aroused and happy, whether it was with him or someone else.

"Oh, fuck!" Elaina moaned in response, her hips churning faster. Aran released her tits and grasped her hips so he could better thrust back. Her huge melons swayed to and fro on her chest in time with her movements.

He wanted her to come, and to come hard, so Aran expanded his Vala, flooding Elaina with pleasure, which of course fed back into himself through the Bond. The same thing happened between Amina and the Keeper, and together all four of them reached their peak, their cries drowned out by the furious roar of the Keeper.

Aran closed his eyes as Elaina collapsed onto him, smiling as he held her tightly. When he opened them again, the Keeper was gone. Amina still lay sprawled on the other bed, her eyes closed and her lips curved in a satisfied smile.

"Now, that," the Priestess sighed happily. "Was just as good as I remember."

Elaina's cheek was resting on Aran's chest, but she was facing Amina. "You've had him before?"

Amina sat up to face them, her silky golden tresses tousled somewhat, and her face painted with a look that said: 'I've just been royally fucked.' Aran had never seen a more attractive sight. "Years ago," she said after a moment. "Just before the Darkening. I was blessed enough to have an Amatharn, though I didn't know what he was until we were together. We summoned Aros'tirith on the one night we shared, quite by accident, as did the two of you."

"You had an Amatharn?" Aran asked, sitting up easily, despite Elaina's weight atop him. She held on and curled her feet around behind his back, not wanting to uncouple from him just yet. They both waited for Amina's answer.