The Kingdom Pt. 02

Regardless, to Finn's delight, and I'm sure secretly the rest of ours as well, he locates a large, sealed jar containing more of the leaves. Smiling like a fool, he hastily stashes it in his pack.

We find nothing else worth keeping until we get near Finn's bow and the tunnel we intend to leave by.

A few feet into that passage reveals the expected cache of fresh torches, missed previously in our haste, to which we all breathe a sigh of relief.

With the way before us illuminated brightly now, we travel through the passage at a much quicker pace, hoping to make up some time.

Maybe an hour later we come to a large room with multiple doors along the walls. A quick glance into a couple of them reveals small, empty rooms. Other than those, the only obvious exit is another tunnel intersecting the room on the left side.

We decide to take a quick rest before proceeding. Finn and Jolie seem eager to keep moving after only a few minutes, but Fiona says she needs a little more time. So they decide to search the rooms for anything useful while I remain behind with Fiona.

As soon as the other two are out of earshot, Fiona leans over to whisper in my ear.

"I'm not sure what it is Quill, maybe lingering effects from that smoke, but I'm so horny right now I'm having a difficult time keeping my thoughts straight."

I raise my eyebrows and ask, amused, "Are you asking for my help?"

"Shut up, it's not funny," she says, punching me in the arm. "And no, I'm not asking for your help. I'm begging. It's driving me crazy."

This is when I notice her hand is inside her breeches, obviously in an attempt to alleviate her suffering.

"Okay," I tell her, smiling. "What would you like me to do?"

"Sit there and pull your trousers down just enough for me to..." she trails off.

"Alright, I don't need further instructions."

I stand up and begin to untie the strings of my trousers. Fiona doesn't even wait for me to pull them down before she drops to her knees and helps.

She takes my flaccid member into her mouth and blows me just long enough to get me hard, then pushes me down to sit on the stone bench. Peeling her breeches down just past her knees, she backs up until she's sitting on my lap, but she's not tall enough to reach her objective.

"A little more help please," she pleads.

Chuckling, I grab her under the tops of her thighs and lift her up until her back is against my chest. Now able to get her feet on the bench, she reaches down and guides me to her aching pussy, then lowers herself down until I'm fully inside her.

"Oh fuck, that's just what I needed," she breathes heavily, sounding as if my cock just saved her life.

"I wish I could just stay here forever, but we don't have that much time," she apologizes. "We need to make this quick."

She begins bobbing up and down at a rapid pace.

I decide to help her out by sliding my hands around her waist and under her cuirass to reach her breasts. Fiona practically purrs her approval when my fingers begin pinching her nipples.

I hear Jolie and Finn talking as they move from room to room, and I'm skeptical that Fiona's going to reach her goal before they return, so I take over.

Bracing my arms against her sides and holding her in place above my lap, I thrust up and into her depths. No longer needing to use both hands for leverage, she begins rubbing her clit as I fuck her silly.

I'll be surprised if Finn and Jolie don't comment about hearing her muffled whimpers when they return, but I decide to worry about that later and focus on pounding Fiona's tight, wet pussy instead.

She finally finds her needed release, evident by her vise-like grip on my shaft. I ease up, going slower as she comes down from her high.

Sated, she leans her head back to kiss me and whisper her appreciation.

Then moving fast, she lifts herself off me, stands up on the bench and pulls up her breeches. Nimbly dropping to the floor, she starts pumping me with both hands. Thanks to the copious amount of feminine essence she left behind, there's plenty of lubrication.

It isn't long before I grunt a warning, which prompts her to deepthroat me so I can pump my entire load directly into her stomach. As soon as my nuts are empty, she laps up everything she can until my balls and shaft are no longer sticky.

Thirty seconds later, she ties my trousers shut again just in time for Jolie and Finn to show up and report they found nothing of importance. Their investigation also confirmed that the tunnel is the only other way out.

Neither mentions anything about hearing us, but as Finn leads the way on the next leg of our journey, I overhear Jolie whisper to Fiona. "Uhh... why does your breath smell like sex?"

§ 22 - Infiltration

"Look!" Finn exclaims, holding his torch up for the rest of us to see. Before us is an open area with a tunnel opposite the one we're in with a spiral staircase in the center leading upward. On the third step is a neatly coiled length of expensive looking fabric.

"That's the sash from the robe Teritha gave Micaelah for her birthday," I tell them, picking it up and running it through my fingers. "They're ahead of us, but hopefully not too far." Tucking the sash into my pack, I lead the way up the stairs. "Let's hurry. Maybe we can catch them.

I take the steps two at a time for the first few turns before I hear Jolie call out. "Wait!"

Pausing impatiently, I long to rush ahead but then I realize we have no idea what's up there, and the other group could easily have been captured by the Duke's forces, or by that evil Spirit's minions.

"I'm sorry," I say when the other three catch up. "That was foolish of me."

"Yes it was," Jolie agrees. "What's up there is likely to be a lot worse than a few bandits. Let's be smart about this, okay?"

"Okay," I say, hugging her.

"Mmmmm. That was nice," she replies when I let go of her. "Maybe I should chastise you more often."

"Please do," I tease her.

"Stop being a brat, LITTLE brother."

"Just a short time ago you said I was big."

"You are so getting a spanking when this is all over," she promises.

"You're welcome to try," I offer, turning around to lead the way again. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised when she swats me on the ass.

After thirty or forty more turns of the staircase, I'm praising Jolie for stopping me near the bottom because I would have been exhausted by now and probably would have thrown up at least twice if I'd have continued running.

A few turns later we finally reach the top, and another open area with only one way to go. Another quick rest to catch our breath, this time without any sex Fiona or I, and we're cantering down a five foot wide, dressed stone passageway, moving as quietly as possible, stopping every minute or so to listen for anyone ahead.

After four or five sprints, I stop everyone because a dimly lit "T" intersection is now visible ahead. Extinguishing the torch, we creep forward, listening. Twenty feet from the intersection, we begin to hear the sound of voices.

As we wait and listen to see if they're drawing closer, our eyes adjust to the dim light being cast from both directions of the passageway in front of us.

The sound of voices grows steadily louder.

"That doesn't sound like any of our friends," I whisper. At the same time, I realize that whoever they are will be able to see us from the intersection soon.

I figure the relative darkness and the fact that their eyes will be used to the brighter light means they probably won't be able to spot us if we retreat far enough back the way we came, so I quickly herd my companions away from the intersection.

"Make sure anything reflective is covered," I whisper. "Quietly. Keep your hands hidden and look down at the floor." I cover most of my face with one sleeve and watch.

We wait silently in the near darkness as two men come into view. Each of them are wearing burnished, golden armor and carrying swords. They pause as one of them half-heartedly scans our passageway before continuing on.

As the sound of their voices fades, I tell the others, "Alright let's move quickly. We'll be taking the right-hand passage at the intersection."

Quietly, I lead the others to the intersecting passage. There's no sign of the two men, so we turn the corner in the opposite direction, hoping this way will take us to the Temple, and that those two men were the only roving patrol.

We enter a passage slightly wider than the one we left, with decorative stonework. At ten foot intervals, a different scene has been chiseled into the wall. Most scenes appear to be of specific places. A few appear to be depicting a specific event or ceremony of some significance.

A short distance later, the passage curves to the left before straightening out again, and we come to a series of doors on either side of the passage, also ten feet apart, alternating so that no door is directly across from another.

We continue following the passage, listening for any voices or movement behind the doors, but we hear nothing. After a hundred feet or so, the passage curves to the left again, then straightens out just as the previous section did.

"This passage is likely going to double-back on itself," I whisper after huddling everyone together. "Which means we'll probably run into those two men if we continue."

"Wait. What's that?" Finn says, pointing farther down the passage. "That looks like another intersection."

"Alright, let's check it out," I say. "We can't just run around in circles trying not to get caught anyway. We're not going to be able to avoid all risks if we expect to find the others, or a way into the Temple."

So we hastily move along the passageway, listening and watching for the two rovers. At what must be the halfway point of this section, we see the intersecting passage Finn spotted, heading off to our right. But unlike the tunnel we originally came from, there's also a door on the left, directly across from it.

"Which way?" Fiona asks.

"Right is the only way that makes sense," I reply. No one disagrees, so we continue the last ten feet to the intersection, preparing to go right, but before we get there, we hear voices coming from that direction. I peek around the corner to find, not a passageway, but a stairway leading down. Ascending the stairs is another two man patrol.

At the same time, I hear the first patrol coming around the corner ahead. Knowing we'll never make it back the way we came before being spotted, I choose the only logical thing. Hide.

Despite the near certainty the door opposite the stairway is locked, I grasp the door handle and pull. To my surprise, it opens so easily I nearly fall over backwards. Beyond the door is a dark, narrow hallway, so we hasten through and quickly close it behind us.

Waiting in the dark, prepared to draw our weapons, we listen for any sign that we were spotted. Eventually we hear both patrols reach the intersection at approximately the same time, and the four men talking to each other, but their voices are muffled by the stout, wooden door, so we can't make out what they're saying. After five or more minutes, their discussion ends and we hear the sound of their footsteps fading away.

"What are we going to do?We have no idea which way any of them went," Finn points out.

"True," I say, pausing to think. "Let's get a torch going."

Finn does so, and we follow the hallway perhaps fifteen feet before it ends with another spiral staircase going down.

"We have to be somewhere inside the Temple already," I deduce. "Apparently on an upper level. Let's see where this takes us."

After only a few turns, the stairs open up in the middle of a circular area with hallways leading away at the cardinal points and a single door between each intervening space. The sound of two men talking can be heard through the open door to one of the rooms. It sounds like they're weighing different options regarding the army camped outside on the Temple grounds.

Backing up the stairs a short way, we discuss our options and decide that just one of us will investigate each hallway to see where it leads. That way if the person is caught, the others will still have a chance.

Everyone volunteers, but I convince them it should be me because if it comes to a fight, I'm better equipped for that thanks to the training I received with my blades, whereas Fiona's and Finn's skills lie more with their bows. Jolie has barely any combat training and would likely be defeated by anyone we might encounter.

So, leaving them on the stairs, I sneak to the bottom and make another search of the area, determining my plan of action in case someone appears. I choose to first investigate the hallway furthest from the open door and the men talking.

I dart across the open space and into the corridor, which after twenty feet, terminates at an inward swinging door. I open it just a sliver and peek through to find another hallway, fifteen feet wide and ten feet high, perpendicular to the one I'm in. Opening it further, I take a quick glance in both directions and find it empty. Along the walls at twenty to twenty five foot intervals is a door followed by an alcove with either a tapestry on the wall or a statue of some kind, followed by another door, and so on as far as the eye can see.

Returning quickly to the central area, I hear the two men still in the room conversing, so I follow the next hallway until it too ends with a similar door. Opening this door reveals a straight stairway down with no sign of movement below.

The third hallway, opposite the first hallway, reveals another broad passage just like the first, except four men are approaching my location no more than fifty feet away.

Having two viable options and not enough time to search the fourth hallway, I return to my companions and report my findings. We quickly decide to take the unoccupied broad hallway.

I keep watch while the others take turns crossing the open space. Finn goes first. He double-checks the broad hallway again, then comes back just far enough to signal the coast is still clear.

Fiona goes next. She reaches the hallway with no problems, then our plan falls apart.

The four men in the third hallway reach the door quicker than I anticipated. Fiona hears them and bolts towards Finn and the empty hallway as Jolie and I ease back up the stairway just out of sight.

Hearing the four men coming down the hallway, the two that were in the room come out to meet them. Peeking around the corner at the bottom of the stairs, I see all six of them stop in the open area where they begin discussing specific strategies regarding each of the Temple's entrances. All of them are dressed in the same burnished armor and look more than competent enough to use the swords they're carrying.

Knowing we'll be trapped if we remain where we are, I grab Jolie's hand and lead her to the second hallway, obscured by the stairway we just came from. At the end we reach the door with the stairs leading down.

Opening it as quickly and quietly as possible, we rush through. Behind us I hear one of the men ask in a loud voice, "Is someone there?"

We don't wait around to answer. Instead, I quietly close the door behind us before we make our way down the stairs. We continue to move as quickly and quietly as possible, trying to keep from giving our presence away and hoping we don't run into more of those men in the shiny armor.

At the bottom, we come to a landing area, then the stairway switches back the other way. Then another landing and another switchback. After several landings we come to an archway. Passing through it reveals a sight that takes our breath away.

We find ourselves on a high, shallow balcony overlooking what must be the main sanctuary. The space consists of a huge dome, perhaps a hundred feet tall and two hundred feet in diameter, atop a cylindrical room, also around a hundred feet tall.

The walkway we're standing on runs around the entire perimeter of the space and sits just below the base of the dome, which itself consists of a complex array of stone arch work supporting concave sections of glass panes. This space must look spectacular when the sun shines in from above, but currently the only light I can see coming in from outside are the many cook fires belonging to the Duke's army.

Glancing over the stone railing, we see the sanctuary floor far below, illuminated brightly various light sources. Even from our vantage point though, all we can see down there is a solitary figure sitting on a solitary throne.

The light is so far below us that it casts only dim shadows this high up, so our presence would go completely unnoticed even if the figure looked up.

Jolie and I turn toward each other. I see a sense of triumph on her face along with the gravity of the unpleasant task still undone. Then we hear footsteps on the stairs behind us.

I turn to run further along the balcony, hoping to hide in the shadows cast by the balustered railing. Jolie has the same thought, except she chooses the other direction. Realizing too late to change our minds, we both continue along the walkway, crouched out of sight below the height of the railing, keeping to the safety of the shadows.

Stopping to peek through the balusters, I see two men come through the archway. One points, sending his companion in Jolie's direction, before he turns in mine.

The man is walking more quickly than I can scramble without being seen or heard and I realize I'll need to either run, find a place to hide or somehow kill him quietly enough to keep from being discovered by the entire Temple guard.

When the time arrives where I'm forced to decide, I spot another archway. Hastening through it, I discover my only option is down. Moving quietly, one tread after another, I put four switchbacks behind me before I pause to listen. Hearing no sign of pursuit, I continue down the stairs in the darkness, hoping Jolie also managed to escape detection.

I continue down the stairs until I reach the lowest balcony level, then make my way around until

I'm able to look down on the throne and close enough to view the figure sitting on it. It's a man who appears to be in his mid-forties, wearing simple attire on his muscular frame.

Leaning casually against the side of the throne is a plain-looking, two-handed bastard sword, impressive in its craftsmanship, but nothing I would expect a king might want to use to impress the masses.

Then it dawns on me what seems out of place. The rest of the massive sanctuary is completely devoid of life. No guards, no courtiers, no servants, no subjects. This is surely the King, but why is he so alone? Are they all asleep?

Finding no answer, I continue to examine the man on the throne. While his clothing and weapon seem to be ordinary, what's on his head is another matter entirely.

It's a crown, to be sure, but it's covered in so many gemstones that it's gaudy compared to the rest of his outfit. Plus, the sheer weight of it must make it rather uncomfortable to wear.

But the most remarkable thing about it, is that it's glowing.

§ 23 - Illumination

"I know you're there, so you may as well show yourself," he suddenly says, sounding more tired than annoyed. Feeling foolish, I'm about to stand up and apologize for sneaking around when there's a shimmering in the air approximately fifteen feet in front of the throne.

I barely contain my gasp when I recognize the figure that coalesces out of nothing and stands before the King.

Norgin. My political tutor. Teritha's Chamberlain. The Duke of Carnelia's spy. Our betrayer. The Deceiver?

"There's an entire army out there," Norgin says casually. Give me the crown or I'll make you kill every single one of them."

"No!" the King yells defiantly. Then in a calm voice dripping with contempt, he adds, "I'd rather rot in the deepest pit on the lowest plane of the abyss."