Blood of Dragons - The Warlord

"Never you," she whispered. Kroll watched her feet as she returned to her work, struggling for breath as he tried to rise. In some sick, pathetic way, it made Kroll want to be worthy; he wanted the chance to feel her against him, to experience the warmth of her flawless skin, to be inside her and indulge in all that she was. The thought shamed Kroll, making Ichtaca's punishment of him all the more effective.

He shook his head. He had to maintain what little resolve he still had. The only way Kroll was going to escape this cursed place was to endure, and hope that whatever Thrae was planning, it would come to fruition soon.

*******

"You're rather quiet," said Kroll.

"Huh?" Vorka blinked away the fantasy of a dozen males kneeling before her in servitude and pleasuring her naked body. "What?"

"No smart remarks about my humiliation?"

"N-no, why would I? All you're doing is boring me." Vorka pouted and looked away with her arms crossed; she didn't want Kroll to see her reddening cheeks and hardened nipples, nor admit how much his story was working her up.

Kroll raised a bone-ridged eyebrow with a knowing smirk. "Really? I don't have to keep going if you don't want to hear it."

"No!" blurted Vorka. "I mean, you still haven't told me how you became what you are. That was the whole reason for this, wasn't it?"

"True," said Kroll. "Don't worry, I'm getting to that part; I needed to make sure you understood why I accepted the change."

"To escape the magic woman?"

"More than that," said Kroll. "I did it to survive."

*******

"Thrae..." Kroll hacked and coughed, the chill of the cavern threatening to overwhelm him as he crawled towards the dragon's nest. He pulled himself over the lip of the crater, tumbling down the slippery curve. Thrae shifted, her wings flaring in surprise as she moved to cushion his fall.

"Kroll," she growled. "What are you doing?"

"S-she..." Kroll coughed again. "She wants me dead. She took... the warmth..." After many long months, Ichtaca's patience with the scrawny orc had run out; she had decided that his lack of strength was no longer amusing, and she wanted to let Kroll suffer. She had taken his furs, ordering the rest of the slaves to beat him and refuse him shelter in their own beds, and neglected to paint the rune of warmth on his skin. It would be impossible for him to survive the night in the frozen cavern without some source of heat. Laying next to Thrae brought no relief; the dragon's scales and body were every bit as chilling as the ice around them.

Thrae's voice grew soft. "You are dying."

"Y-your plan," Kroll stammered. "I h-hope it works..."

"What?"

"Even th-though... I w-won't see it happen... I h-hope that I w-was able to help you..."

Thrae growled again. "You will see it happen, Kroll. I'm not leaving this place without you. Not after you gave me this chance." She held her head high. "We escape now, tonight!"

Kroll looked up at the dragon's proud snout, lined with teeth and topped with determined eyes that gleamed in the darkness of the cave. "T-tonight? I-it is ready?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not," she said. "And in your state, you may not survive the magic I will have to cast." She looked down at him, concerned. "But if we don't try now, this will be the end for you, and my own chances will suffer as well."

Kroll gripped her scales with whatever dwindling strength he had left. "Do it."

Thrae nodded. She extended one of her claws, and began to scratch at her scales, carving into her flesh the runic sigils that Kroll had transcribed. She winced and snarled each time she drew across herself, but did not relent. As her blood began to drip from the marks, she turned her attention to Kroll.

"Lay still," Thrae murmured through her pain, bringing her sharp talon to Kroll's shivering body, and began to carve the same sigils into his chest. Kroll bit down on his hand to stop himself from screaming, each stroke on his cold, tight skin like a lance burying itself in his body.

Thrae worked meticulously, carefully marking out the runes until Kroll's chest and abdomen were a bleeding mess of cuts. She could see that he was going into shock, his eyes glassing over and his body going stiff. Thrae quickly bit down on the scabbed part of her foreclaw, drawing blood from the wound that Kroll had opened on her so many times before, and let the large, thick drops fall onto him. As their blood began to mingle, Thrae spoke the words of her spell.

The runes carved into the orc and the dragon glowed, their light sending a cascade of illumination off the reflective icicles and around the cavern. On the edge of his consciousness, Kroll could hear shouts of alarm as the other slaves were awoken by the magic. Thrae continued her spellcasting, speaking quickly to try and finish before she could be interrupted. As the last words of the spell rumbled from her throat, Kroll felt a sudden infusion throughout himself that made his whole body spring up from the ground. Strength that he had never known before exploded through every muscle, warmth like a giant bonfire filled his belly, and his senses sharpened to a razor's edge. Staggering to his feet, Kroll saw Thrae rise to her full height and roar, the cavern reverberating with the sound and chunks of ice falling from the walls and ceiling. The advancing slaves stopped in their tracks, frozen in the dragon's frightful presence.

Thrae turned to Kroll. "Quickly, get to Ichtaca and put her down! My magic will only keep her control at bay for so long!"

Kroll leaped from the crater; he didn't climb the sides, he leaped ten feet upwards and landed on his feet at the lip. He took off running, and he heard Ichtaca's voice ring out, commanding the slaves to stop him; Kroll saw the multitude of figures charging at him. He knew he should be feeling fear, but instead he just felt anger, and from that anger came the purity of the rage.

As he barrelled towards the oncoming slaves, Kroll felt himself changing. The strength in his muscles surged, and his frame swelled; his shoulders broadened, his arms and legs thickened, his chest inflated, every inch of him bursting with power. His bones shifted and lengthened, emerging along his forearms in large shards, the ridges in his skull and spine growing pronounced. His skin hardened into armoured plates across his shoulders and back, and vicious claws sprouted from his hands and feet. Kroll was vaguely aware of all these changes, and if he had not been so absorbed in his rage, they might have hurt. Instead, the sensations spurred him on faster, and as the first of the slaves came within range, he let out a roar that displayed a mouthful of bestial teeth. With one swing of his engorged arm, Kroll sent his opponent flying.

Behind him, Kroll could hear Thrae snarling and the snap of her tail as she swept away the slaves advancing from the opposite side of the cavern, keeping him from being overwhelmed. The ones that he directly engaged were dispatched with ease; he swatted them aside like they were nothing, revelling in his new strength. Several managed to strike him with their weapons, simple spears and knives carved from wood and rock; against Kroll's armoured skin they felt like the stinging of insects. Kroll felt their bones crack with each swing of his fists, not stopping to see if they were alive or not; all his focus was on reaching Ichtaca.

The mountain queen stood at the mouth of her bower, chanting in her language. As she released her spell, Kroll heard a cry of protest from Thrae. He saw the great dragon twisting on the spot, tossing her head from side to side. Kroll understood: Ichtaca's magic was overcoming the spellwork that Thrae had put in place; if he didn't act soon, Thrae would be under the witch's control once again.

Kroll charged at the white-haired woman with another roar, and she refocused on the orc. As Ichtaca's spell enveloped him, Kroll could feel the control rune's magic trying to take hold. Kroll's stride barely slowed; whatever wards Ichtaca had managed to pierce, her power could not overcome the sheer rage that filled Kroll's mind, bolstering the shield formed by Thrae's spell into an impenetrable wall. Kroll would have appreciated the look of fear and shock on Ichtaca's face a lot more if he had taken even a moment to slow down. His hands wrapped around her throat, lifting her off her feet with his momentum and continuing to run until he had her pinned against the wall behind.

Ichtaca squirmed in his grasp, unable to speak as she gasped for air. Kroll narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip.

"See. My. Power!" he growled. A quick shift of his wrists, and it was over.

There was a loud crunch against the ice as Trae alighted outside the bower. "Come Kroll," she said. "We are done with this place."

Kroll turned to see the cavern coated in ice, the few remaining slaves retreating over the slippery surface, Thrae's freezing breath entrapping the rest beneath it. Kroll did not spare any of them a second glance, climbing onto Thrae's offered neck. With a few swift beats of her wings, the great white dragon flew up through the wide chimney in the ceiling and out into the cold, dark night.

*******

"That was it? You just snapped her neck and flew away?" said Vorka.

"It was my first kill, and it earned me my freedom," said Kroll. "And I could name hundreds of orcs who would give their shield arms to ride on the back of a dragon."

"But where's the dragon now? Think of all you could conquer with such a beast by your side!"

Kroll frowned. "She was more than a mere beast, and I would not dare to think I could use her as a weapon. Besides, conquering in the name of the Devastator is our purpose, not hers." He looked wistful. "She took me to her lair, kept me safe, helped me learn of my new power until I was ready to return to the warband. Some of my fondest memories come from that time."

Vorka looked confused. "Being holed up in a dragon's lair was a happy time for you?"

"Happier than any time I had spent anywhere else before," said Kroll pointedly.

"Ah, right..." Vorka realised.

"Though I won't deny," he continued, "that my last night there was the most memorable of all..."

*******

"You are determined then?" Thrae asked.

"Yes," said Kroll, watching the sky. It was a clear night, the stars shining like a river of gemstones across the heavens and across the horizon. He turned back to the cave and the dragon approaching from within. "I've waited for too long already. The warband must know what became of me."

"You seem very eager to return to those who cast you out, called you weak."

"They won't call me that for much longer," Kroll said, raising and flexing his arms to make his point. "They appreciate strength, and when they see mine, they will flock to me."

"You would seek to control them?" Thrae settled down in the mouth of the cave; her lair was not as large as Ichtaca's cavern had been, but then it didn't need to be. It was cosier, less extravagant, more suited for creatures that appreciated privacy.

"No, not control. Guide," said Kroll. "The warband is like a living creature; it is wild and free, undeserving of a collar or a cage. But if it is to survive, it needs a leader, one with the strength and power to see it fulfil its destiny." He gave Thrae a grateful smile. "Thanks to you, now I have the power to be the leader my people need."

Thrae cocked her head. "It was all part of the plan; your power is nothing but a side effect of me attaining my freedom, which might have been denied to me for many more years if it weren't for you. In a way, I am still in your debt."

"You imbued me with magic, saved my life and gave me my own freedom," said Kroll. "If anything, I would think that I'm the one who still owes you."

Thrae gave a rumbling chuckle from deep in her throat. "Call it a "mutual debt" then. Perhaps we should clear it before you leave in the morning." She sat up on her haunches and stretched her wings. "It's been some time since I tried this."

"What are you -" Kroll's question died in his throat as Thrae began to transform. Her massive frame shrank down, seeming to compress into a much smaller space. Her weight shifted, moving her into a standing position on her hind legs. Her snout withdrew into her face, becoming shorter and more rounded. Before too long, she stood before Kroll as a new being: a tall female orc, covered in white scales in much the same way he was. Her wide hips descended into thick, muscular thighs, and a pair of large, firm breasts sat above her solid abs. In addition, her wings and tail remained in place, emphasising that she was still larger than he was.

"Well? Am I satisfying to your tastes, Kroll?" she said, her grin equal parts sultry and cheeky.

It took Kroll a few moments to find his voice. "Thrae, what is this?"

"Isn't it obvious?" said the shapeshifted dragon. "I'm offering myself to you."

"But -" Kroll's words were interrupted this time by Thrae's finger upon his lips.

"I was trapped in that cavern for a long time," she said. "And I have been old for many years before that. I cannot remember when I last lay with someone, one of my own kind or another." Her finger traced along Kroll's tusks to cheekbones and along the edge of his jaw. "And you never have, have you?"

Kroll shook his head. Thrae's eyes filled with sympathy. "No wonder that accursed woman loved to torture you so." Her gaze became hooded. "No more torture."

Leaning down, Thrae gave Kroll a deep kiss, her lips firm and passionate against his. Stunned for only a second, Kroll kissed back, wrapping his arms around Thrae's waist and hugging her naked body close. She felt cold as ever, but he could sense a growing heat in her belly as her tongue slid into his mouth. Kroll ran his hands along her back, caressing the spine between her wings before stroking around the base of her tail.

Thrae broke the kiss, slapping his hands away. "Slow down there, you ape," she said, grinning again. "You don't go straight for a lady's sensitive spots like that!"

Kroll was about to apologise, but then he saw the way Thrae was looking at him. She had a glint in her eyes, the kind he had seen in the eyes of warriors before battle; she was challenging him, daring him. Kroll's own eyes narrowed. In the past, he would have been intimidated; now, after months of frustration and a lifetime of inadequacy, he was through with it.

Kroll threw his arms around Thrae, holding her tight with one and clamping his other hand around her tail. At the same time, he bit down on her breast, sucking the nipple deep into his mouth. Even with his new fangs, he couldn't pierce Thrae's scaled hide, but the sudden sharpness still caused her to gasp out loud.

"You think you can take me?" she said in a breathy voice. "Then let me see your power!"

The words of their former mistress echoed through Kroll's head, sparking twin thoughts of rage and lust that set his heart racing. As his cock hardened, he stepped forward and threw Thrae to the ground, grabbing her wrists and pinning them, putting his weight on top of her. He could feel her muscles straining underneath him; in the back of his mind, he knew she could likely throw him off with no effort. She was putting up just enough of a fight to let him keep control.

"Show me," Thrae said again. She spread her legs, exposing her hairless sex to Kroll's full erection. He didn't even stop to think how it was so much bigger than before, he just pressed his hips forward, the bulbous head pushing into Thrae's glistening slit. She winced a little as he entered her. "It's been so long!" she hissed.

"So... tight..." grunted Kroll, thrusting back and forth, gradually picking up his pace until his hips were audibly smacking against Thrae. She growled and panted with each impact; what Kroll lacked in technique and experience, he made up for with size and enthusiasm. Thrae could feel his body beginning to tense as his climax built.

"Not so fast," she said. Thrae brought her thighs together, clamping on either side of Kroll, and with a deft twist of her hips she rolled him off of her and positioned herself on top. She planted her hands on his chest, gripping his scales tight in her claws. Neither of them said a word; the look in Thrae's eyes said enough. She moved her hips, keeping her eyes locked on Kroll's as she ground her pussy up and down the length of his cock. Kroll, pinned as he was, could only grab her shapely hips and thrust upwards to match her movements.

"Thrae... I'm... close..." he gasped.

"Then do it!" Thrae panted. "Come... inside me! Let me see... your... power!"

With one final thrust and a shuddering cry, Kroll released a stream of cum into the dragon above him. The sensation of his hot seed inside her drove Thrae over the edge as well; she threw her head back, spread her wings and roared, a burst of frost and wind erupting from her throat and into the air. A flurry of icy crystals floated down around her as she shuddered through her orgasm and lay down on top of her orcish lover.

Kroll held Thrae close as his cock slowly softened inside her, and her wings folded over them like a blanket. As they drifted off to sleep together, Kroll's thoughts turned to the future; he knew that no matter who he would have in the future, he would never forget this night as long as he lived.

*******

"And there you have it," Kroll concluded. "We parted ways the next day, and I haven't seen her again since." He looked up from his contemplative gaze at the floor to see Vorka standing in front of him. She was looking down at him, her eyes wild and her nipples rock hard.

"You... fucked... a dragon," she said.

"Yes, I -" Kroll said, but Vorka was clearly done listening. She ripped her loincloth off, throwing it away to reveal that her sex was sopping wet. She grabbed Kroll's shoulders and pushed him down; he relented out of surprise and amusement, allowing Vorka to straddle him.

"Changed your mind, have you?" he said, chuckling.

"Shut up," she said, fumbling to get Kroll's own loincloth off. "I'm about to be the battlemate of a warlord who fucked a dragon!"

Kroll just smiled as Vorka took hold of his cock and began to guide it into herself. Good portents for the battle tomorrow, he thought.