Hope's Ascension

Along their link she replied, "I can't."

Within the folds of his cloak, Krellyn dipped a dagger into a paralytic. There was no doubt that he could hit the thing, but he did not want to risk nicking Adri. "Can you duck your head?"

"Yes, I think so."

As Adri bowed her head, Krellyn shouted out loud, "Martain!" He let his dagger fly, satisfied as it sunk into the large dark eye socket of the creature that threatened his family. In the same instant, Martain threw his axe. Just before the glow from Adri's blessed enchantment faded completely, the blade split the snake-man's skull. As it died, so did its holding spell over Adri. The tension faded, and Jubilee buried her face in her mother's breast and began to cry again.

While Adri tended to Martain's arm, Krellyn dragged the snake-man's body outside. He looked through its pockets and found nothing. Then, on its neck, just below its left earhole, he found a small brand. It was the mark of the Prince of Winds. Through his divine essence, Krellyn sensed the being's spirit was still present, but fading. He left his own body, stepping into the astral to catch the thing about its scrawny neck. He pulled its startled face close to his and snarled. "Next time you see your master, you tell him I've been pushed too far." Krellyn's voice dropped even lower. "I'm coming for him."

The creature had no time to respond, for Krellyn stepped out of the astral and back into his own flesh. He doused the snake-man's body in accelerant, and lit it up. As he stood over the flames he contemplated his own feelings. The memory of that thing touching Adri, his Adri, boiled the blood in his veins. He ground his teeth together until they hurt, not even realizing he was doing it. He reminded himself that his family was fine. The situation was still under control, but how had the assassin known where to find them? That new question reduced his boiling rage to a low and steady simmer.

He felt Adri and Martain come up behind him. His old friend was dressed in his worn leathers, his longbow and a full quiver on his back. Martain gave a wry smile and said, "Well, that lovely visit confirms my theory that you've come to fuck up my life. You do know I'm retired, right? I don't do this shit anymore, Krellyn. Now that I've bestowed that useless nonsense on your deaf ears, I take it I'll be needing my gear?"

Krellyn smiled back. Martain "retired" every few centuries or so. Then, whether it was his own sense of responsibility or just plain boredom, he would take up arms again. Krellyn was certain that this time it was his loyalty to their friendship and perhaps a bit of curiosity regarding Adrielen. He clapped his friend on the back and teleported them all back to their home in Union.

Once they had settled around the table, they stared at one another for a long and awkward moment before Adri could no longer stand it. She started by asking Martain about his shop and his life in the little village. Every time she started questioning his and Martain's past, Krellyn consistently redirected the conversation. He was not yet ready to reveal a history that would undoubtedly upset her, besides, her tiny pout of frustration was cute. Giving up, Adri talked about Union and the life they had made there. She told of how she had met Krellyn, and how he had helped her save her family. In time, his wife seemed to realize that she had begun to babble. Winding down, she pulled away from the table and said, "You two probably want to catch up. I'll leave you to it."

Krellyn watched as Adri tucked up her skirt and pulled off her boots. She was going into her garden where she could enjoy the feel of the soil under her bare feet. He admired the pale curves of her calves, slender ankles, and long toes. Feeling his eyes on her, she looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. She touched his spirit with that smile, and his own mouth curled in automatic response. She grabbed a blanket and took Jubilee outside.

Martain remarked, "I still can't get my head around you being married. She's pretty, though."

"Indeed." Krellyn excused himself and went into the kitchen. He took cheese, bread, and wine from the cupboard. He glanced out the window as Adri lay Jubilee on a blanket on the ground. She had already opened the garden gate. It was a signal to the neighborhood children that they were welcome to come in. They adored Adri, and it would only be a matter of seconds before she had a small audience of little ones who would come for her stories and songs. With his tray full of refreshments, and one more look at his family, Krellyn returned to the table.

As Krellyn poured the wine, Martain said, "You're not the Krellyn I knew. You've gone from lone-wolf assassin to family-man merchant. Granted, I have no idea how long it's been since we've last seen one another."

Krellyn only smirked at Martain's comment. He did not know how long it had been either, but he too recognized the changes in himself. He could almost say that he was happy, or as near to that as he was ever going to get. It was just as strange to him as it was to his friend.

Martain took a sip of from his glass, then he asked, "So, are you going to tell me what's going on behind those creepy red eyes of yours? Because I couldn't even begin to guess."

Krellyn laughed and nodded. "Hope is what's going on behind my 'creepy red eyes'." His ear flicked towards the back door, where he could already hear the laughter of children. He absently wondered what story she was telling them.

Martain stared at Krellyn for a long while, but Krellyn just stared right back at him, giving time for the foreign concept to sink in. "Hope? You're serious, aren't you? That girl got you under some kind of spell?"

Krellyn thought about that. In a way, she did enchant him, though it was unintentional. It certainly was not the sort of spell Martain was thinking of. Krellyn shook his head in the negative. Then he said, "I have come to believe that we may be able to set a few things right. I have a plan."

"What things? What am I doing here, Krellyn?"

"Follow me. I want to show you something." Krellyn led Martain to the kitchen window and indicated he should look. Adri sat on the ground with five neighbor children who had gathered in the garden to hear a story. A half-orc, a human, an elf, and two tieflings all sat together. One of the older ones, a tiefling girl about ten years old, was holding Jubilee on her lap and playing with the baby's hands. They laughed at whatever Adri was telling them, the sound carrying into the house. Adri gestured with her hands and Krellyn could tell by her expression that she was changing her voice to match the characters in her tale. That little back yard was filled with peace, joy, laughter, a positive energy so strong it could be touched.

As Martain smiled at the view, Krellyn said, "This is what it was all supposed to be for. This is what you and Astiok were trying to do. I understand that, now."

Martain continued to look out the window while he grasped Krellyn's shoulder. "I'm glad at least one of us got to experience this."

Quietly, Krellyn said, "The Prince of Winds is after her, Martain."

"So that's what all that demon nonsense was about back there. Who knew you were coming?"

Krellyn frowned. "We talked to no one, but the inn keeper and bartender."

Martain nodded his head as he thought about something. "There's been a lot of changes in that little town over the last year or so, including my bartender. A lot of folks moved on and a lot of new folks moved in. My guess is our old enemy figured you'd come to see me eventually. Though it seems to me like he's scraping the bottom of the barrel for help these days." He barked a laugh at that, then asked, "What do you need from me?"

"The first thing I need is Astiok's sword. I want you and Adri to go and get it."

After a long stunned silence, Martain said, "One: I'm not going back there. And two: I couldn't protect my own wife. What in the hells makes you think I can protect yours? What are you really after, you crazy bastard?"

The corner of Krellyn's mouth crawled higher and he turned away from the window to regard Martain. "To start with, I plan to rid myself Elelmin's essence. To do that, I need all the parts, beginning with the sword. As for Adrielen, she is being groomed for Ascension. It could be, she ends up protecting you. We've always trusted each other, Martain. I am asking you to trust me, now. I need you to go back for the sword, and Adri is the best person to have at your side for that."

"I don't know your woman very well, but I don't think she's going to like this. That sword's a Godslayer. How's she going to feel about that?"

"It doesn't matter. Adri will go where, when, and for what I ask."

Martain said, "You're pushing her Ascension, aren't you?"

Krellyn remained silent, allowing Martain to think what he wanted. Adrielen's Ascension was only a bonus. He wanted to be rid of Elelmin, but he also had plans to make the Prince of Winds pay. Now that he possessed the realms of Oceans and Weather, he actually trumped the Prince in his own dominion. With the Godslayer in his possession as well, he would slowly take his enemy down, a piece at a time. It would not be enough to simply slay the evil deity. Krellyn fully intended to make him suffer.

Martain said, "Yeah. All right. I'll go. But you're an asshole, Krellyn."

"See. Some things haven't changed as much as you thought."

"How are you going to convince her?"

"I know how to deal with Adri."

On the outside, Adri was quiet, not wanting to disturb the baby or their guest. Telepathically, she screamed at him. "You expect me to leave Jubilee, and go to some gods-forsaken place to get you a sword! A stupid sword, Krellyn? Are you out of your fucking mind?" She put her hands on Krellyn's shoulders and shoved him. It made her even angrier that her reaction only seemed to amuse him.

His own thoughts were always so infuriatingly calm. "It's only going to be for a day at the most. You need to get away for a while, anyway. You have to admit the day to day tedium is wearing on you." He took her wrists in his hands, but she was having none of it and twisted away from him.

Her rage pushed her words into her voice, but she kept it to a low hiss. "My life is not tedious. It is not 'wearing' on me. You're just trying to spoon feed me shit so you can get what you want. You want a sword? I'll go into to town and buy you a damn sword, Krellyn."

"Astiok's sword is unique, and that's the one that I need. This is important to me, Adri."

She was pacing the room, but Krellyn dogged her every step, knowing that his physical nearness ignited her core even when she was angry. On that last sentence she turned to look at his face. The look in his eyes confirmed that it was important to him, but their child was only four months old. "Why do I need to be the one to go? You need the sword. You go get it!"

"Because of Martain, Adri. He needs your influence. He needs your hope. I know you can see that in his eyes, hear it in his voice." It was true that Adri sensed Martain's pain and loss. Of course, she wanted to help him if she could, but she was a mother. She needed to stay with Jubilee.

"And what if something happens? What if I'm gone longer than a day? Who's going to take care of Jubilee, then?"

He cocked his head at her as if she were speaking gibberish. Then he said, "I will, of course."

She was not sure why that made her as angry as it did, but she slapped his hand away as he reached for. His dark chuckle made her wet and furious at the same time. She tore open her bodice and lifted her ample breasts. She snarled at him, "Oh, really? Are you going to grow a pair of tits, then?"

He just laughed at her, then shrugged and said, "Look. Leave some milk with me, and I'll hire a nurse maid. Then you won't have to worry about it."

For the first time since she had known Krellyn, she truly wanted to hit him. Her open palm was up and headed for his face before she realized what she was doing. Krellyn caught her arm in mid swing. His iron fingers clamped around her wrist. He snatched up her other hand and spun her around to lock her wrists together behind her back. He shoved her, and the cold wall was a shock against her bared breasts. She gasped not only from that shock, but from the hot liquid that pooled between her folds. He crushed his body against hers. His breath was hot and fast in her hair. He growled, and she could not stop her own whimper of need. "I don't mind if you wish to strike me, Sweetling. But you will wait until our discussion is concluded." He pressed his erection into her back as he continued with a threat of pleasure, "Be prepared for the consequences."

He kept her pinned to the wall and her hands locked, but he moved his head away from hers and took some of the pressure off her back. In her mind he said, "I am her father. You can trust her to me, Adrielen." With his words, she felt his love for her and for Jubilee. She knew that he would keep their baby safe. "Now, will you please do this thing for me?"

Krellyn never said please. In that one word, what fight Adri had in her was undone. She would do anything for him, and they both knew it. Through her tears, she said, "Yes, Krellyn."

Again, his cock was at her back. His face nuzzled through her hair and she felt the tip of his nose trace her ear lobe. He bit her ear, then whispered, "Do you still wish to strike me, Sweetling?"

She could not keep the tremor from her voice as she answered, "No."

He released her completely and sighed. "Pity." He stepped away from her, kicked off his boots, and started to remove his shirt.

Adri turned and leaned back against the wall. She was still angry, but she had to admit to a certain excitement at the prospect of a quest. It may be that Krellyn sensed the desire in her before she even recognized it herself. Of course, Jubilee would be fine; and it would be good for both father and daughter to spend a day together. Absently, as she was talking herself into being happy with the situation, she started to close up her bodice.

"Leave it!" He snapped at her as he slapped her hands away from the lacing. Krellyn grabbed her wrists again, only to pin them hard to either side of her head. His mouth was on hers, a long black tongue roughly shoving past her lips. He pressed his chest against her breasts and ground his cock on her mound. Though he pressed so hard it hurt, though she could feel the bones of her wrists move within his crushing grip, his ferocity only made her hot between her thighs. Moisture gathered with the tightly coiled tension, and Adri forgot about anger and confusion, as everything in her existence narrowed down to her body and his.

She cried out as he roughly took her away from the wall and pulled her across the room. With a violent sweep of his arm, Krellyn cleared the top of the writing desk then bent her over it. The duchess in her suggested she should be appalled at such handling, but that small voice was drown out by a beastly lust that demanded to be ravaged. He pushed her into the polished hardwood table with one hand and yanked up her skirts with the other. He issued a snarling growl as he ripped the thin strip of cloth from between her legs. The wild sound sent an electrified tremor down her spine and a flood from her pussy.

As Krellyn freed his cock, Adri's feet spread apart of their own volition. He administered a stinging slap to her buttocks, then her hips thrust back to meet the battering ram at her wet and wanting entrance. He took long strokes, letting her feel every inch of his steel shaft. Each time, he pulled almost all of the way out then slowly filled her again with the entirety of his length. He kept one firm hand on her hip to steady her. With the other, he alternated between caressing her ass and slapping it.

She closed her eyes and focused on the feel of him inside of her. Her hands tightly gripped the table edge. She gasped and moaned with his every move. Then the hand that had been petting her ass split her cheeks apart and she heard him spit. His saliva spattered between her cheeks and he spread it around with his fingers. His hips continued the long thrusting motions without falter as he circled and massaged her rear hole with a skilled finger. He increased the pace of his hips and inserted first one, then two fingers. When she could tolerate it, he spit again and stretched her with a third finger. The pressure of being completely filled, the friction of Krellyn's steadily increasing thrusts, and the animal grunts that came from the depths of his throat drove Adri's mind from her.

She did not realize her own screams of pleasured pain as her dark-elf fucked both her pussy and her ass. She forgot about the hardwood beneath her. She did not even notice when her head hit the wall behind the table, while his slow thrusting became a rapid pounding. She was only aware of the building climax at her core and of Krellyn. His breathing became ragged, grunts turning to loud growls as his cock started to throb. When he slid his free hand around to rub her clit, her orgasm ignited every nerve. While Krellyn's seed pumped into her womb, her own cum gushed and ran down their thighs.

With great care, he withdrew from her trembling body, then silently stepped out of the room. Her legs refused to hold her, so Adri lowered herself to the floor where she lay on her side, trying to catch her breath. As she started to calm down, a dull ache began to settle in her nether regions. She watched him as he came back into their room with a bowl of warm water and a cloth. Without a word, he knelt beside her and peeled away her sweat-damp clothes. Then he carried her to the bed where he tended to her. In the aftermath of the rough fucking he had given her, his tenderness in cleaning her was a way he expressed his love for her. He rubbed healing oils into her bruised flesh, and the ache ebbed away. When he finished, he looked into her eyes and finger-combed her hair out of her face before gently kissing her lips. Then he lay down next to her and pulled the sheet over up over them. She said, "I love you, Krellyn."

"Be quiet." He patted his chest, and she put her head there. "Go to sleep."

"Yes, Krellyn."