Such Heroic Nonsense

"By the Light or Storia! Begone foul fiends!" The heroic cry is followed by the telltale singing of razor sharp steel cutting through the air. The blade is more than a match for the thick flesh of the multi-limbed horror that charged at her, and its death shriek quickly fading to nothing.

Evanora Vasserel smirks as she raises her head, pulling her silver sword free from the creature's flesh. She was the First Sword of Storia, the greatest city in the world, and from a young age she had been trained to lead her people in the fight against the darkness that plagued the world. A paltry band of Underfiends was not going to stall her destiny today.

"Ha," comes the booming voice from across the clearing, "you talk too much, and kill too little!"

The golden-haired warrior looks around at the source of the chiding voice - Hrenna Wargrimace, a barbarian from the far Northern regions of the Corodiac Highlands, was tall and broad even among the women of her homeland. Their reputation as some of the finest monster slayers in the world was without equal, and the flame-haired barbarian certainly lived up to this - As she swings her pair of double-edged axes around, a half-dozen more Underfiends meet their grisly end.

A wry smile plays across Evanora's face as she spars with another fiend. Ever since the two women had crossed paths and joined together on this quest, the barbarian woman had insisted on 'keeping a tally' on each monster they had slain. And while such pettiness would normally be below her, Evanora did relish a challenge.

"You are a credit to your people, Hrenna!" She shouts back, her sword slicing across the throat of the fiend before her. "But knowing these foul things will not torment another soul is its own reward!"

"Says the one who is falling behind on kills!" Hrenna shouts back, burying her right-hand axe straight down the middle of the nearest fiend's skull.

"N-no! Stay back!" Another voice rings out, distracting Evanora from her retort as she spins on the spot. Two of the Underfiends had managed to get around their position, and now advanced on the smaller figure bringing up their rear!

"Fleur! Hold on!" Evanora shouts, kicking up off the ground and making a mad sprint to where they stand.

"H-hurry, Eva!" Fleur shouts, her arms already wrapped up in the slick and shiny limbs of the Underfiends. Her braid of silver hair spills out from beneath her robe's hood as she struggles in their grasp. "Ah, it... It hurts!"

"Enough!" Evanora brings her blade down, her anger at the fiend's attack no less blunting her accuracy as it severs the offending limbs from its host. She wheels around without stopping, the second fiend not faring any better as her swing decapitates it, its grip on Fleur loosening immediately.

Fleur gasps as the creature's release her, falling backwards and would have hit the floor, were it not for Evanora sweeping behind her at blinding speed and catching the mage in her arm. "Rest easy, I have you."

"E... Eva," the woman says, her pale cheeks flushing cherry blossom pink. Fleur Ruvole, the prize graduate of the mage's school of Freykeep, turns her gaze away from the warrior woman in shame. "F-forgive me, I... I was careless."

"There is nothing to forgive. You are part of our group." Evanora smiles, plunging her sword into the ground and letting her now free hand turn Fleur's gaze back to her by her chin. "I merely thank the Light that you are safe."

"Fight now, flirt later!" Hrenna's bellowing voice makes both women jump, her thundering footsteps at her approach even more so. "We still have creatures to kill, and they have flanked us!"

"So I see." Evanora speaks flatly, seeing the remaining Underfiends break from the cover of the forest and rush towards them. "Fear not, I will make this quick."

Flicking her golden hair back, she eases Fleur back to her feet and starts to advance on the approaching fiends. She plucks her sword from the ground, letting her mind fill with the purity of her mission as she feels the rising heat flow into her chest, and down her arm. Holding her sword before her she runs her palm over the flat edge of the blade, which begins to glow white hot from the power she calls forth.

Already the fiends stop and falter in their charge, the light of her blade reflecting off of her silver armour and making her entire figure glisten with pure light. There is no escape for you now, foul creatures... When you return to the underworld, tell them that Evanora Vasserel sends her regards!

"Brilliant Comet, Sword Burst Strike!" Evanora points the tip of the sword to the sky, the light of the blade flickering like an intense flame as she screams out the words. She brings the blade down in a tight arc, the white flame exploding out from the sword and rushing forward like a wave of heat.

The attack is over in seconds, but even then the vision of the three adventurers is still blurred from the white hot light. When it finally clears, there is no trace of the approaching Underfiends, save for the darkened scorch marks pointing where they once stood. The few last traces of white flame flicker on these areas where evil once stood, the remaining area of the forest remaining completely unscathed.

"Well then, Hrenna." Evanora says breathlessly, turning slowly towards her compatriots with a smile. "I do believe that puts me ahead on the kill count."

The tankard was taller than most, and full to the brim. The mead within it is as strong as it is sweet. Yet Hrenna Wargrimace was clearly never one to shy away from a challenge, and Evanora watches in both awe and terror as the barbarian takes the tankard easily on one hand, downing the powerful alcohol in just a few gulps.

"Gah!" The woman growls, wiping the few drops that escaped her mouth from her chin before she casually tosses the tankard aside. "That battle certainly won't have minstrels singing to our glory, but it sure does make the mead taste better!"

Their laughter fills the forest surrounding them. They had set up their camp shortly after the battle with the Underfiends had concluded, the danger having delayed their journey too long to justify venturing farther into the woods at this late hour. As such, twilight had set in and their fire was now the last beacon of light in the growing gloom.

"By the Light Hrenna, pace yourself!" Evanora shakes her head after sipping from her far more modest tankard. "This stuff could fell and owlbear, and Fleur and I refuse to carry you the rest of the way!"

"Carry?! Hrenna Wargrimace is carried by no one!" The barbarian bangs her fist just above her chest, her armour of furs and leather unable to hide the curvaceous, muscular form that lies beneath it. "While you pale skinned Southerners suckle at your mother's teats, my people are drinking this before we can even hold an axe!"

"Well now, that certainly explains a lot about your behaviour in public!" Evanora chuckles, propping herself up on her side. The golden haired woman is now free of her silver armour and dressed in a simple tunic and pants.

Hrenna waves off her chiding remarks, marching herself across to her belongings. "Fah, Southerners! All you care for is your manners. One day, you will visit my people and you will see just how far those manners will get you... You will blush pink like little Fleur here!"

Stifling her laugh, Evanora turns to where the mage sits and treats the minor wounds the Underfiends inflicted upon her. The sight of her usually pale figure cast in the amber glow of the fire seems to sober her up somewhat, her grey eyes giving away her unease at the earlier encounter.

"Ha! No comeback?" Hrenna's voice makes the warrior look up, surprised by the sight of the barbarian hoisting her crossbow up - The weapon would be a struggle for even two regular people, but Hrenna rests it against her shoulder as if it was nothing. "Well, we have mead but no meat! And there are boar in these woods, I can smell them!"

"If you have not scared them off with your boorishness!" Evanora shouts after her as she starts into the woods. "Do not wander too far, we do not know where those fiends came from."

"They would be foolish to try their luck on me again." Hrenna does not bother turning as she starts to march through the darkness. "Besides, they will likely be drawn to your lover's moans, leaving me safe."

This comment finally get a reaction from Fleur, Evanora smiling as she sees her cheeks turn their usual cherry blossom pink. The warrior quickly jumps to her defence, shouting back after Hrenna. "If moans are what draws them, stay put! I'm sure your moans will bring them running all the quicker."

"Ha! I am too much of a woman for both of you to handle!" Hrenna's words fade as she does, disappearing into the growing gloom of the forest. The sudden quiet caused by the barbarian's absence settles over Evanora like a heavy blanket, unable to stand it much longer as she moves herself closer to the mage.

"Um, are you well, Fleur?" Evanora asks, the concern in her voice a far cry from her former boastful tone.

Fleur smiles at this concern, nodding enthusiastically. "I am quite well, Eva. See? The salve is already working."

"Are you sure? The touch of an Underfiend can be--"

"I am a trained healer, you know," Fleur interrupts, her protest spoken through the mage's delightful laugh, "but I do appreciate your concern, Eva. I was... Careless, in getting too close to the battle."

Evanora nods in agreement, her face turning more serious at the memory of seeing the silver haired woman in the grasp of the fiends. "I told you to stay back while Hrenna and I took care of them. You should be more careful."

"You should be careful too, Eva." Fleur adjusts her grey silk robes as she turns herself to face the warrior. "You know full well that your power is draining on you... Had you not been able to defeat them, you would have been defenceless."

"The First Sword of Storia is never defenceless." Evanora boasts, her smile only increasing.

There is a long pause from Fleur, the smile fading from her face before she places her hand atop the warriors. "Please Eva, do not jest about this. Our journey, this battle... It has only really just begun-- Ahh!"

The smile on Evanora's face only widens as she sees Fleur's reaction to her touch: having slipped her hand free from beneath the mage's, she moves her hand between the folds of Fleur's silken robe, her fingertips gently grazing the inside of her thigh and causing Fleur's already flushed cheeks to darken further. Evanora moves herself closer now, all while her fingers trail back and forth along the length of her inner seam, slowing ever so teasingly towards her pelvis before pulling back down.

"Th-that... That's mean, Eva..." Fleur speaks softly, her full lips parting in a silent gasp from the warrior's touch. "I am b-being serious here..."

"Well then," Evanora says softly, leaning in closer so she can feel Fleur's breath on her lips, "you can always ask me to stop."

She waits another moment, the tips of her ring and index finger paused provocatively close to her groin. Her eyes flick up to meet Fleur's grey hues, her eyelids flickering. Only when she is certain that no further protest will leave her lips does she proceed, those same fingers slipping forward and beginning to rub against the outside of her underwear.

The gasp Fleur lets escape from her lips takes Evanora's breath away, watching the mage's eyes start to roll back as she traced her fingers along the length of where her labia sits beneath the fabric, and pauses as she feels her nub start to swell against her touch. She inches herself closer as her hand repeats the motion, the fabric of her briefs already growing wet.

"I believe," Evanora whispers, her lips brushing briefly against Fleur's, "that our barbarian friend will be disappointed if she does not hear some 'lover's moans' out there." And with that she begins to properly massage the mage's clit more vigorously. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Fleur clearly does not, her moan as dainty and delicate as one would expect from her appearance. Evanora holds herself back another moment, enjoying the way her lover sounds at touch, but finds she cannot do so long and closes the final space between them, their lips meeting in an impassioned kiss. Fleur's tongue happily greets Evanora's as it slips into her mouth, submitting to her aggressive motions before her lips close around it and begin to suck the organ tenderly.

By the Light, she never ceases to amaze me! Evanora lets out a moan of her own at the attention. The hand between Fleur's legs carefully pulls her underwear aside, fingers sliding easily between those wet and waiting lips. Unable to wait any longer, her other hand frantically unlaces her pants before plunging between her own legs, where her own waiting sex is now moist.

Their shared groan is muffled from their mouths joining in a kiss once more, Fleur's hands resting on her lover's shoulders as she grinds her hips into the hand pleasuring her. Evanora gives no thought to Hrenna walking in on them, for she had done so a dozen times before and--

The cry in the night is pained and chilling, the sound of it immediately shaking the lovers from their enraptured state. A cry such as this, even under normal circumstances, would easily galvanise the travellers into action to ensure the bearer of such a call was safe. But as the two look at one another they see, in each other's eyes, the very same sense of realisation that both have come to, and the dread that fills them is palpable.

"Hrenna!" Evanora exclaims, pulling herself to her feet with incredible speed. She does not bother to rearrange her clothing, grabbing the silver sword and tossing the sheath aside. "Stay here, I will see what has befallen her!"

"N-not alone, you will not!" Fleur retorts, her expression still flustered as she grabs her mage's stave, clutching the ornate rod in both hands as she moves closer. "She could be hurt. And I will not see the same fate befall you!"

Evanora cannot help but sigh, knowing the futility of arguing with her beloved mage as she nods. "Then stay close to me. We will face this together."

The pair venture into the wood, the light of their fire very quickly missed as the evening gloom sets in around them. Each step they make is a cautious one, neither knowing of what fate has befallen their comrade and both eager not to fall to the same fate.

"Hrenna!" Evanora calls out, trying desperately to keep her emotions in line. "Hrenna! Where are you?"

"Are you hurt, Hrenna?" Fleur calls out also, sticking close to Evanora's rear. The warrior can hear the tension in her raised voice.

Deeper into the forest they walk, their calls for response yielding no reply back from their lost companion. Save for their raised voices there appears to be no sound at all coming from the forest, a lack of breeze meaning even the leaves above their head hang in silence. There is no doubt in Evanora's mind now that Hrenna is in danger, and despite the growing uncertainty of what awaits them, makes sure Fleur remains close by her side as they press on.

"Eva, look! Up ahead!" The mage points to Evanora's two o'clock, the pair holding their position. Through the fading light they witness a shape up ahead, too big to be a human. At least, a regular sized human. It does not move or make a sound, save for the occasional wavering back and forth.

"Could it be her?" Fleur continues, her voice now lowered so as to not draw further attention. "What is she doing?"

"I..." Evanora begins, unsure how to finish the sentence. Something about the mere presence of the silhouette, its silence and oh-so subtle movements just seemed... Off, to her. "I guess we will find out. Stay close to me."

"A-always." Fleur responds, and the pair move in a wide arc to sneak up on whatever it is. As they near, the little light that remains starts to provide a clearer view of their target. But the closer they get, the more confused they both become.

"By the Light." Evanora gasps, bringing herself up to her full height as she steps into the trodden path they have found themselves on. "What has become of her?"

If the figure before them was truly Hrenna, then she was unrecognisable to them both. A layer of a shiny, milky white substance coats the barbarian from head to toe, the mysterious matter pulled tightly like a second skin so that every curve and contour of her broad, feminine frame is on display for all to see. Atop her head, the substance is the same fiery red of her hair, shaped to appear just like her usual cropped style even down to the long braid that protrudes from the back of her skull.

"Mgh... Nhm... Mff..." The short and muffled cries barely escape past Hrenna's mouth as she twists and writhes back and forth, anchored to her spot on the path by a bulbous mass of the substance that covers her legs from the knees down. Only her toes are visible, protruding out from the front of the mass as they constantly wiggle and curl, much like her fingers that flex out from where her hands are anchored down at her hips.

"Is... Is she in pain?" Fleur asks, approaching cautiously and with a mortified look on her face.

Evanora raises her gaze upwards to look at Hrenna's face, the material having forced her mouth into a wide and unnatural grin. It is at this point that she is able to see the familiar hazel of the barbarian's eyes, knowing for certain it is her friend. Those eyes stare back at her, her pupils wide in excitement, before rolling back a little as she lets out a long and pleasurable moan.

"No. Not in pain." Evanora has no other words to describe what has befallen Hrenna. Determined to know more, she extends her arms out carefully and places her hands upon her well-defined stomach. The moment she touches the smooth, rubbery surface it tightens around its prisoner more, Hrenna erupting into a struggling fit and throwing her head back wildly as she wobbles back and forth.

"Mmnngh! Yhussh!" Hrenna's muffled moans fill the night air, Evanora backpedalling from her wild thrashings. It is then that her gaze falls further down, spying the bulging, circular opening, nestled conspicuously at the top of her thighs and over where her womanhood would be. She leans down, clearly seeing the clear fluid dripping out from its narrow opening, inhaling sharply as she sees the front of Hrenna's legs are slick with her own cum.

"Do you like my creation, little girl?" Evanora jumps back, retreating the few steps back to Fleur's side, her sword aloft and ready to strike.

That voice... It felt like it came from all directions! She tries to steady her nerves, the sense of dread and desire behind the voice rattling her. How could I have not sensed such a vile presence before now?

"Little girls. Little adventurers. All alone in the woods." The voice seems louder now, both women inching closer together. "How lucky for me that I found you."

"Eva, this... This is bad." Fleur, clutching her stave close to her body, presses her back against Evanora's as both women slowly spin around. "I sense... A great power, dark and deep. I... I've never felt--"

"Be brave, Fleur. And listen to me." Evanora interrupts, looking over her shoulder to the mage. "I need you to free Hrenna. You're the only one who can break this curse."

"I... Y-yes, I understand!" Fleur nods her head as the warrior's words give her courage, Evanora forcing a smile as she moves with her back towards the squirming mass nearby. But despite her words of encouragement she remains on edge, her eyes darting all around them for any sign of their attacker.

"H-hold on, Hrenna." Fleur speaks softly, Evanora watching as she concentrates, her silver hair starting to sparkle as the mage calls forth her power before she waves her stave in a wide arc. "Dizipar!"