A Paladin's Journey Ch. 10

Pushing himself back up to his knees, Aran grabbed her hands and hoisted her upward, until she was straddling him where he knelt, her arms and legs wrapped tightly around his neck and hips. They undulated together in the firelight until they reached their peak in unison, their vala humming at higher and higher pitches until they shattered as one.

Aran and Elaina's mingled power radiated outward, washing over the Chapel like a tidal wave, bringing intense pleasure to all those it swept up. Cries of pure bliss echoed throughout the Chapel's halls, but nowhere were they louder than in the bath chamber, where the two amatharn lost themselves in one another's embrace.

*

Once again, Aran and Elaina found themselves standing in a lush meadow beneath a perfect, sunny sky. Lush grass peppered with daisies covered the ground for as far as the eye could see.

He shared a look with his lover and saw the same recognition he knew was in his own face. Before either of them could speak, a brilliant glow erupted before them, a sphere of pure light. From the light stepped a familiar figure.

Aran bowed respectfully, and Elaina mirrored him.

"Once again we meet, Anarion," the Keeper boomed. "And Elaina vanima'nona. A pleasure as always." His dark eyes roved boldly over Elaina's nudity, and Aran felt her blush as her arousal spiked.

Aran supposed he couldn't blame her. Darkly handsome, Aros'tirith had a seven-foot tall, thickly muscled body that looked like it was chiseled from marble and a cock as thick as Aran's wrist hanging between his thighs. There was not a scrap of hair on his entire body, including his head. Overall, he was a very impressive figure.

"The honour is ours, Aros'tirith," Elaina replied a little breathily as she straightened from her bow.

The Keeper strode across the grass to Aran and stood before him, studying him with those ebony eyes. He cocked his head to one side, and after a moment he smiled. "You are different, Anarion," he rumbled. "You have accepted your destiny."

Aran supposed you could say it that way. "I believe so, Keeper," he replied. An idea suddenly came to him. "Aros'tirith, is there a way you can show me Maloth again? I wish to see what he is up to."

The Keeper closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded. "It can be done at this moment, Anarion. Attend." Stepping to one side, he waved a huge, dark hand and the sky above changed to black, then colours appeared, shifting and swirling until they coalesced into a vision of another place.

As if looking down from high above, Aran could see an enormous army crawling across the land, approaching a grand city with gleaming white walls. The sky was dark and ominous. Jagged shafts of lightning pelted the earth frequently, but none fell among the marching force.

The vision changed, honing in closer and shifting the perspective until Aran could clearly see Maloth riding at the head of the army on a tall warhorse as black as the surrounding night. He wore no shirt, leaving his crimson chest bare, though he did wear black breeches and shining black boots.

Aran was now experiencing the vision as if he were there, walking backwards in front of the moving army.

Shenla rode at Maloth's side, as devastatingly beautiful and seductive as ever. She wore nothing but strings of pearls that sparsely crossed her rose skin. Tremendous breasts bulged around the shining white orbs, bouncing slightly with every step of the pale grey mare that bore her.

Aran's cock stiffened instantly as his eyes fell on her, but he wrestled back control of himself without too much effort. Elaina, however, was experiencing some inner conflict at the presence of Maloth. Her vala trembled and wavered, and her jaw was set determinedly as she pushed back at the wave of darkness that emanated from the demon.

Aran looked from Elaina back to the vision. "He can affect us," he mused. "Perhaps we can affect him the same way." He drew deeply on his vala, suffusing his being with Aros' light. Elaina's struggle lessened immediately as Aran's power flowed into her through the melda, and she relaxed visibly, wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand.

"What are you doing?" She asked him.

"I'm seeing if this path between him and I runs both ways," Aran replied absently as he began to push his vala towards Maloth. Not a giant wave, but a trickle, a tendril that snaked through the air and touched the demon on the arm.

Maloth hissed and shook his arm suddenly as if stung by a wasp. He looked around furiously, but saw no culprit. Looking down at his arm, his brow drew down into a frown, though Aran could not see what mark had been left, if any.

A short Dwarf woman in a skimpy gown rode up beside him Maloth, looking up at him worriedly. She was beautiful, with a pale, oval face and raven hair that fell in ringlets down to her lower back. Her breasts were nothing short of titanic, rolling and shifting beneath the flimsy black silk of her gown. Acres of cleavage were visible. It seemed Maloth liked displaying his thralls for all to see. His other women were back a little ways, riding in a small cluster. The Dwarf had been with them until just now.

"Are you well, my Lord?" She asked demurely, glancing at his arm.

"It is nothing," Maloth snapped. "Return to your place, Glinda."

Aran's breath caught. That name. "Burin's sister," he breathed.

Elaina looked at him sharply. "Burin? King Burin?"

Aran tore his eyes away from the busty Dwarf in the vision to look at Elaina. He nodded. "Liddea said Burin was searching for his missing sister, and her name is Glinda."

Elaina folded her arms, pushing her own spectacular tits higher on her chest. The Keeper, standing off to the left, grunted approvingly, and that snake between his legs twitched.

"You know what that means, don't you?" Elaina remarked, shooting the Keeper a sly wink.

"I do," Aran said slowly. "I think this means we can bring the Dwarves to our cause." The possibilities made his mind spin. He had thought he would have to fight the Heralds and Maloth alone, or with other arohim only, but that might not be necessary.

"This vision is different to last time," Aran observed. "What we see must be happening now, else I would not have been able to affect him like that."

The Keeper nodded. "The manner of the visions will vary, Anarion. There are many forces at work, here."

"Can I control them?" He asked.

"No," the huge man explained. "The far sight is borne of your connection to the Mor'ion, but is also channeled by Aros. It cannot be controlled." The Keeper tilted his head as he had done last time, as if he were listening to something. "I must go," he said finally.

The vision vanished, and Aran and Elaina made their bows as the Keeper stepped back into another blaze of light and disappeared.

"I think he likes you," Aran noted as he turned to Elaina.

She grinned. "You think so? I think he admires a hefty chest." She cupped her tits and held them up as if Aran had never seen them before.

He barked a laugh and squeezed the soft orbs in his hands. "Well, these are the heftiest in the land."

Elaina snorted. "Not likely! Did you see that Dwarf? Or any Dwarf for that matter. I'm surprised they can hold themselves upright at all!"

Aran smiled at the jape, but half-heartedly. He reluctantly took his hands from Elaina's chest. "That was Glinda Stonedeep," he told her. "I'm sure of it."

Elaina stepped close and put her arms around his waist. "Well," she said, kissing his chest. "We had best get to Burin as fast as we can, hadn't we?"

Aran sighed and cupped her face. "No sooner do we get back to each other's arms than we are pulled away once more."

Elaina shook her head vigorously. "Not this time, Anarion," she drew the title out in an exaggerated way, making it sound silly. Aran slapped her on the bottom playfully.

"I'm coming with you this time," she said firmly. The look in her eyes was dead serious.

Aran found himself agreeing, not wanting to be parted from her again so soon. "I think you'll make an acceptable travelling companion," he told her in an overly-casual manner as he let his eyes drop to the sizeable tits pressed into his chest.

Elaina laughed and snuggled in closer. "I'll show you something acceptable!" She pressed her lips to his, and soon they were tumbling to the soft, grassy ground. Aran found himself on his back with Elaina astride his hips. A moment later, she impaled herself on his aching cock.

Aran's hands came up to her tits as she began to ride him. "You know, we could be doing this back in the real world, my love."

Elaina sighed as he hit a particularly sensitive spot inside her. "I know," she replied. "But I wanted you here and now." She arched her back and folded her hands behind her head as she undulated. For the millionth time, Aran could not believe how lucky he was.

"Induin and Liaren wanted my babies," he found himself telling her. "And I accepted. They will be pregnant after today."

Elaina shuddered at his words. Her hands came down to his chest and she eyed him smokily. "I can't wait until it's me, stud."

Aran smiled up at her as their bodies rocked gently in the grass. "Neither can I. I would love to have a family with you."

Elaina drew a shivering gasp and ground her hips down hard, holding herself in place for a time until a climax washed over her. Hot fluid bathed Aran's cock and balls. It was a pleasant feeling.

She bent forward, putting her face close to his, and Aran moved his hands from her breasts to her hips. "As soon as we're finished with all this and I don't need to fight," she breathed against his lips. "I want your baby."

Aran kissed her fiercely, showing his acceptance of her idea. A short time later, they came together again, but this time it remained just the two of them, alone in the grass.

***

***ERIK: Near the Ancient City of Suravale. Karvani Mountains. Ekistair***

"There it is," Erik told Sylvia as he pointed down into the vast canyon nestled below. "Suravale."

The bottom was a good half-mile down from where they stood on a rocky precipice that made an excellent observation point. You could even see the Sorral Plain to the north, though it was hazed by long distance. Erik made sure to keep well back from the edge, however. There was no point taking careless risks.

A city lay spread out far below, grand buildings of stone and marble and granite, though from this high up they looked squat. Even from here, Erik could tell that at least some of those buildings were in severe disrepair from a thousand years of wind and rain, and these bloody earthquakes that were occurring of late.

"Amazing!" Sylvia exclaimed as she carelessly leaned out over the edge to look down. Erik's stomach did a backflip as he imagined the pretty blonde girl tumbling down the cliff, and he threw his arms around her protectively.

"Be careful!" he urged her. "I would hate to see you take a fall like that, you know."

Sylvia giggled and leaned back into his embrace. "I've been in more precarious spots than this." She tilted her head back to look up at him. "But I like it when you hold me."

Erik couldn't help but smile. "Just be cautious, alright?"

She twisted around in his arms, seemingly unperturbed by the sheer drop no more than two feet behind her. Erik released her reluctantly, both because of her recklessness, and because she felt good in his arms.

"I am half-Elf, Erik," Sylvia said with exaggerated patience. "And I inherited my mother's reflexes."

Erik bit off an oath as she demonstrated by bending herself backward until her hands were on the ground behind her feet. Then she lifted her feet until she was poised in a perfect handstand on the edge of the cliff.

"Sylvia," he groaned. "Please don't."

Sylvia chuckled as she walked forward on her hands, away from the edge. She righted herself by springing forward off her hands and landing lightly on her soft-booted feet. She even made a bow as if she were a performer before a crowd!

"I should give you a spanking, for that," Erik growled, folding his arms across his chest.

"I think that's a good idea," Sylvia purred, fearlessly stepping up to him and running a finger down his arm.

Despite himself, Erik laughed. "Gods, girl, you are a handful! What am I going to do with you?"

Sylvia eyed him hotly and bit her bottom lip. "Whatever you like, big man."

Erik's cock twitched at her sultry tone, but he ignored it for now. "As fun as that would be, my dear," he began. "We should investigate the city while we still have daylight. Let's get back to the horses and see if we can't find a way down into that canyon."

Sylvia cocked her head at him as if confused. "But there is a way. Didn't you see it?"

When Erik asked her what she meant, she went back to the ledge and pointed northeast and down. Erik followed and peered over, trying to ignore the feeling of gravity pulling at him. Sure enough, there was an opening in that side of the canyon wall, though Erik could barely make it out.

"That may be a way in," he said slowly. "But how can you be sure?"

"Elvish eyes," she replied simply. "Trust me. In fact, I'm willing to bet there's a passage through there that leads right out to the Sorral Plain."

Erik studied her for a moment, and she met his gaze evenly, confident. "Only one way to find out," he said with a grin.

*

Three hours later, Erik and Sylvia walked their horses into the outskirts of Suravale city. Natural rock walls loomed hundreds of feet high all around the vast but narrow strip of buildings. Well, it looked narrow from up where they'd first seen it, but down here it was something else entirely. The whole canyon had to be half a mile wide!

"It's enormous!" Sylvia breathed as she stood gaping in wonder.

Erik had to agree. He had been expecting a sizeable town, maybe, but nothing like this! He and Sylvia stared with mouths open as they rode through the massive, carved archway that led into the city. Tall enough that five Noroth sitting on each other's shoulders could have walked beneath, the archway was elaborately carved right into the rock of the mountains.

A wide, cobbled avenue overgrown with stumpy weeds and grasses ran from the opening in the mountain wall right down the middle of the city, lined on either side by buildings of stone or granite or marble, some more than eight stories high.

Here and there the street was littered with rubble where a building had collapsed, though Erik was surprised at how few of them were in real disrepair. Many of these buildings could be restored fairly easily, Erik thought.

The architecture was magnificent. The structures were adorned with carvings and symbols, some of which Erik recognised from the Temple. Suravale had had close relations to the Order, and the city had been named after Edellein Sura, a Priestess of legend.

The avenue was split by an island that Erik supposed had once held trees and shrubs and flowers, though now it was mostly an overgrown mess except for the trees. Towering oaks a thousand years old dominated the avenue in places, their branches overhanging the cobblestones and their roots pushing them up like frozen snakes writhing beneath the surface.

Their horses' hooves rang loudly on the cobblestones as they made their way slowly down the avenue. "Three dozen refugees would only fill half of one of these buildings," Erik murmured as he stared up at a monstrous granite structure ten stories tall and a hundred yards wide. What on earth could its purpose have been?

It was only mid-afternoon, but down here it was already close to dark, and Erik wished there were some people in this huge, empty city. It had an almost ghostly feel to it with no people around.

"I think we found our place," Sylvia said happily from Erik's right.

Erik nodded. "Let's see what's around before we settle in."

They spent the next hour searching through buildings that looked safe enough to enter, but found little of interest. Rotted furniture, dust by the bucketload, the odd bird nest long abandoned. Erik got excited when he stumbled upon a pile of books lying at the bottom of a collapsed bookshelf, but when he picked one up it crumbled in his hands.

He and Sylvia searched together, not wanting to get separated for fear of losing each other in the warren of streets and alleys that branched off the main avenue. It was one modest house of grey stone maybe halfway into the city and away from the avenue that caught Erik's eye. He motioned Sylvia to join him as he trotted up the wide steps in front.

The front door was solid, dark wood, but where all the other doors in the city had long since rotted away, this one looked in fine condition. Erik shared a glance with Sylvia, who shrugged her shoulders. Taking a deep breath, he pushed it open, and the door swung in without a creak.

Inside, even in the failing light, Erik could tell that someone had been living here. The floor was clean and the furniture good, solid oak. A fire was laid in the wide hearth against one wall, but it was unlit. A comfortable chair sat before the fire and a robust bookshelf occupied the wall opposite the door.

Momentarily forgetting where he was, Erik moved to the bookshelf, despite a warning hiss from Sylvia.

"He tells me to be cautious!" He heard her mutter as he pulled down a fat leather-bound volume titled in a language he didn't recognise. Something about this book felt... heavy... more so than its weight would account for.

Replacing the book, he pulled down another one, and his breath caught in his throat.

"Erik," Sylvia whispered from his side. "We should go. I think whoever lives here might be back soon."

Erik barely heard her. The wood-bound book in his hands was none other than an account of the First Paladin, Armas Dorne! Erik had been wanting to get his hands on this for years! He could barely believe it!

"You may want to be careful with that, boy," a gruff voice said from behind them. "It might be the last one in existence."

Erik whipped around, pushing Sylvia behind him with one hand and instinctively clutching the book to his chest with the other.

A man stood in the doorway. He was tall and broad-shouldered, and Erik supposed that women would find him handsome. Golden hair fell to his shoulders and a robust mustache of the same hue ran across his upper lip beneath a nose that was stout without being bold. Piercing eyes fixed Erik from across the room, though in the failing light their colour was indeterminate.

His clothing was worn in places, his shirt frayed at the cuffs and collar and his breeches torn at the knees. His boots were scuffed and in good need of a polish, but none of it diminished the distinctive air of command about him. It was almost regal.

"We are sorry for intruding, sir," Erik said politely. "We did not realise anyone still lived in Suravale."

The man's thick eyebrows rose. "Suravale, ey? That's right, it used to be called that, did it not?"

Erik nodded uncertainly. "Please forgive us, sir. We'll be on our way."

The man held out a hand. "Not so quickly, I think. What business have you in my home?"

He had a strange accent, and the way he formed words was a little odd, as if he hadn't used them for some time.

Erik thought quickly. What to tell him? Certainly not the truth, but it would have to be believable. Sylvia chimed in before Erik could speak.

"We are explorers, good master," she said humbly, stepping out from behind Erik. "We heard about the great city of Suravale when we were in Maralon, and we decided to try and find it ourselves. As you can see, we were successful!"

She even managed to sound smug about it. Erik waited with bated breath.