The Wood Knot Warrior

The surprise pushed Eryllis' anger back, and she felt something struggling to get control once more, to get her to finish the ones who would deny her. For the first time, she understood this presence in her mind wasn't coming from inside. She pushed it back and rushed to Kharza's side as the female Orc slumped to the pavers.

"Kharza! I'm so sorry!" Eryllis cried.

"Lightning is pretty effective against Orcs," the green female mumbled.

"Why did you do that? Why did you get in the way?" Eryllis asked in dismay.

Kharza took Eryllis' hand. "Don't kill Dell. He's a good person. He's a great chef and a wonderful lover. You'll like him. He also has a terrible temper, but he won't let it control him." She was fading. "He didn't kill you. Return the favor." Her eyes rolled up, and she went silent.

"No! Kharza!" Eryllis screamed. She'd been so kind to a complete stranger, the first one to treat Eryllis so well, she couldn't be gone.

"kharza?" a weak voice called out.

Eryllis leaped to her feet in fright as she saw the big male was pushing himself to his hands and knees. He put a hand to his temple and cursed. Only then did he look up at Eryllis.

"What happened to Kharza?" he asked as he scrambled closer to the fallen Orc with a look of dread on his face.

Eryllis' voice was trapped in her throat. She was still terrified that this big brute had almost killed her. She didn't know what it meant that he'd spared her at the last second. She didn't know how he'd react if she told him that she'd killed Kharza as she attempted to kill him.

"She's not breathing, and her heart has stopped! Help me!" he cried.

He suddenly began pushing hard on the Orc's chest, and then he blew into her mouth with his.

"What are you doing?" Eryllis gasped.

He glared at her. "I'm trying to bring her back! Help me!"

She found herself kneeling next to the female as she stared at him.

"Pinch her nose and blow air into her lungs!" Dell commanded as he went back to pressing sharply on the Orc's chest.

Eryllis saw the urgency in Dell's eyes, so she took a deep breath, placed her mouth over Kharza's, and blew with all her might.

"Let her exhale and do it again," Dell instructed as he pumped her chest.

Eryllis and Dell fell into a pattern, and after the fourth blow into Kharza's mouth, she felt the Orc take a sudden breath on her own. She couldn't believe the big green warrior was back!

Kharza was weak, but she was breathing on her own, and her eyelids fluttered as she struggled to wake.

Eryllis looked up at Dell in amazement and saw the joy on his face. He suddenly didn't seem as terrifying as he had moments before. There was something gentle about his eyes.

"Thank you," he said.

Eryllis smiled bashfully at him. Then her head was filled with pain.

She grabbed her temples as her mind filled with screams of rage... that didn't come from her. She managed to open one eye and saw Dell was holding his temple as well. He glanced at her and nodded.

"It needs our anger to do the evil it craves," Dell managed to say between his teeth as his jaw was locked tight.

"What... is it?" she choked out.

Dell pointed to the sword then her staff. "The weapons are cursed."

Her eyes widened. "No! I need it! I need the magic!" she cried and snatched up her staff, eyeing him fearfully once more.

Dell held up his palms to show he wasn't threatening her. "The wizards explained to me how these weapons came to be. The Druid magic isn't the curse. Your staff contains the essence of a great Wood Elf Druid. The sword contains the essence of a great Human Warrior. But they also both contain the essence of a bloodthirsty Dwarven bastard who wants Humans to kill Wood Elves and Wood Elves to kill Humans. He's full of jealousy, hate, and anger. He's the one who pushes our rage issues so he can get control of us. Except, my rage belongs to me! I have my own reasons for expressing it, and no one is going to make me do something I don't want to do." He took a deep breath. "I won't kill for someone else's reasons."

Eryllis could feel the dark one in her head pushing her. "It's so strong!" she said.

Dell managed a gentle smile. "No. You are. The curse has no real strength of its own. That power belongs to you. You just need to own your rage as it's yours. You've probably carried it for a long time, like me. You have your own reasons to feel it. Don't let the sick creep in the staff try to steal your power."

Dell stood and walked slowly over to where the sword rested on the stones and bent to pick it up.

Eryllis' mind flashed images of how he'd almost run her through with the blade. He was going to do it this time. She had to attack him before he killed her. She lifted her staff to point it at his back. He had the sword in his hand, but he remained facing away.

Why? He was completely at her mercy.

More images of Dell coming at her bombarded her mind, but she touched the spot on her chest just above her heart, and one word stuck in her head.

Almost.

Dell almost killed her, but he didn't.

She locked one of those memories in her mind so she could look at it more carefully. His expression changed just before he stopped. What had begun as a vicious snarl quickly became shock and... recognition? They'd met before? She was confused as she was sure she'd remember someone as large as him.

Eryllis lowered the staff as she watched Dell force the sword into the scabbard.

He turned to smile at her. He knew she'd pointed the staff at him, but he'd put his faith in her!

With her sudden realization that she'd prevented the presence from making her kill him, she sagged down to her knees.

"Are you okay?" Dell asked cautiously.

"Yes," she breathed as she rubbed her temple. "I do have power over it."

A look of relief came over his face. "Good. Now, we have friends on the other side of this wall of thorns who might be able to help us get rid of the dark presence." Dell winced as they were attacked once more simultaneously.

"I-I have one thing I need to do before we deal with that," Eryllis said. "The Druid staff is telling me you'll attack me to prevent it."

"I won't," Dell said firmly.

Eryllis looked into his eyes then gestured to a stack of paving stones with the staff. The heavy rocks moved, and a man's body was pulled free.

He wraps around both of his hands and wrists. Thick vines were wrapped around his arms and legs as they lifted him with his limbs stretched out. He'd been stripped naked and was screaming in gibberish from his terror. Being buried alive hadn't done good things to his mind.

She looked back at Dell and saw he recognized the man.

"I must get revenge for what he did to me," Eryllis asserted.

"DELL! STOP HER!" Perris screamed.

Her eyes locked on Dell in accusation. Her mind whispered terrible things to her.

"Why? I was the one who stopped you from raping her! You deserve what you get," he called out to Perris.

Eryllis rocked back as she stared at Dell. He was there?

Perris' face suddenly twisted. "You were the one who hit me? Your father testified that it was him!"

"He was there, but I got to you first," Dell said.

"He lied in court! The trial can be overturned! I can clear my name!" Perris shrieked with manic glee.

Dell gave Perris a grim frown as the man showed no remorse for his actions. He turned his head to Eryllis. "This creep doesn't deserve a second chance."

Seeing Dell was sympathetic to her need for vengeance took her breath away for a moment as she was used to cruelty or scorn. She nodded to him, then pointed the staff at the ground beneath Perris. Another vine grew from the dirt under the man and climbed higher until it reached his crotch.

Her prisoner screamed shrilly.

The vine grew taller and pushed its way into a very personal orifice. Perris' shrieking and thrashing became shriller and more violent as the plant's growth suddenly accelerated. His gibbering returned as his mind broke under the terror as the vine grew taller and thicker.

While it sickened her to torture him, this paled in comparison to the pain she'd suffered for so long because of his thoughtless, barbaric act. Her jaw tightened.

This was the least amount of pain she could give him.

-=-

Perris was dead when the leaves sprouted from his open mouth. Dell turned his face to Eryllis to see her shudder in revulsion. He hoped she found some relief in the act of killing him, but he somehow doubted it. At least it was closure of a kind.

His own guilt surfaced, and he cleared his throat. "That night... I wish I'd seen them grab you sooner. I wish I'd gotten to you faster. I think about it often, and I'm so sorry."

Violet eyes looked into his, then she nodded stiffly.

After a moment, he spoke again. "Was this the reason for your rage?"

Her eyes flicked up to his again, and seeing his compassion, she relaxed a little, then shook her head slightly. "It began after the death of my mother. That night in Grennesh was the final trigger."

Dell nodded, and his expression became a little haunted. "My mother died due to complications when I was born. The Human healers were busy dealing with fire victims at a festival, but the Wood Elf healer just refused to come to see her, and she died. Because she loved a Human." He made a small, choked sound, grimaced unconsciously, then continued. "Growing up, I discovered Humans and Wood Elves hated me for being a Halfling." He winced and rubbed his temple. "Come on, let's see if we can get some relief from this monster scratching at our minds."

He walked over to Kharza and lifted her in his arms with a grunt. Eryllis picked up her heavy battle-ax to carry it.

Her eyelids were drooping with fatigue, but Kharza smiled. "Are you going to claim me as your prize?" she mumbled.

He snorted and glanced at the blush on Eryllis' face. He loved seeing that but looked back at Kharza. "Orc females are too feisty to claim as prizes. I like my teeth where they are, thank you."

Kharza smiled, then slipped into sleep. As they walked to the wall of vines, Dell cautiously watched the Orc but relaxed as she was still breathing.

"How did you know how to do that? Bringing her back," Eryllis asked him.

He glanced at her and saw her curiosity. "I work at the Wood Knot Inn, and we have oldsters come to the bar. Sometimes they reach their end while drinking. They stop breathing, and their hearts stop. Sometimes you can get them back if you force them to breathe and their hearts to beat again. It's bad for business to have people die in the building." He grinned at her and winced as the pain in his head started anew.

"I really hate this bastard pushing at me," he grumbled.

She smiled at him through her own pain. "Me too."

They stood before the green wall, and he looked at her. "You can take this down, right?" She nodded. "Once you do, there may be an army behind it." He gently set Kharza down behind them then turned to face Eryllis. "Don't attack unless they charge at us." Eryllis nodded as he pulled his sword. They looked at each other as they felt the weapons try to drive them to attack each other, but it was getting easier to fight back. He nodded to her, and she lifted the staff, muttering quietly. The vines quickly died and turned to dust from the top down.

As the curtain fell between them and the outer courtyard, they faced at least fifty guardsmen. Arrows flew toward them, but Dell slapped them from the air with his sword.

"STAND DOWN!" he bellowed, struggling to force down his need to kill these ignorant fools.

Commander Falco seconded his yell, and his men shifted uncomfortably. Then they saw Perris, strung up and impaled.

Morgan and Lerrisen moved between the ranks and walked across the space to stand before them.

"You were successful!" Morgan said with a smile.

"Yes, Eryllis can control the staff like I do the sword, but we need you to exorcise the evil bastard now. He's really pushing our minds hard at the moment," Dell said as he forced the blade back into its sheath.

Commander Falco approached them with a red face. "Was THAT really necessary?" he snapped, pointing back to the grotesque display in the courtyard.

Dell's control on his temper threatened to fray, and he reached out a hand to touch Eryllis' arm to calm her too. "He was a rapist and had no remorse for his actions. He was scheduled for execution tomorrow anyway." He held up his hand to stop the man from arguing. "Our control is slipping. Stop pissing us off!"

Eryllis pointed her staff back at Perris, and a line of fire shot out to engulf the dead man and the vines. It burst into a huge fireball, and within seconds, there was nothing left but ash. She turned her attention back to Dell and gave him a weak smile. "Sorry," she said quietly. Dell nodded to her and fixed an eye on the commander as a warning.

Morgan moved to Falco. "Please, we must deal with the curse immediately, or we may all perish in ways far worse than your prisoner did. These two are all that stand between us and that."

Lerrisen spoke up. "Please pull all of your men from the courtyard. We cannot have any distractions. We will deal with your sick guardsmen once we break the curse."

Livid at being dismissed, the Commander spun on his heel and began barking orders to his men. Some were casting angry looks back at Eryllis and Dell, but the two ignored them as best they could.

Lerrisen moved closer to look into the eyes of the two struggling to control the presence in their minds.

"When we begin, we cannot stop, and it will cause this presence to fight back. Be prepared and cling to who you are and your beliefs. They will be under attack."

Morgan nodded. "Face each other and hold the weapons as close together as you can so we can concentrate our efforts on both at once."

Dell drew the blade again and switched the sword to his left hand. He rested its tip on the ground to his left and took a firmer hold on its grip. Eryllis stood the staff on its butt to her right, mere inches from the sword. She gasped and sent him a desperate look.

"Fuck! That's making him stronger!" Dell groaned in warning. "Hurry!"

Morgan and Lerrisen immediately began speaking, but the words were gibberish in Dell's ears and caused his headache to throb, so he did his best to ignore it and continued to fight the pressure in his mind.

He stared into beautiful violet eyes and felt the pressure easing a little. She looked surprised as well, so it must have helped her too.

Dell was thrilled that she was almost as tall as he was. Maybe just a finger or two's width shorter. His delight must have shown on his face as she looked at him curiously.

His face flushed with heat. "Sorry, it's just such a pleasure to meet someone as tall as me."

It was her turn to blush, and she bit her lip.

Through the painful spikes in his head, he felt a surge of pleasure to see her pearly whites tug on her sensual lower lip. Then his eyes were drawn to her upper lip, and his mind took a little holiday imagining how wonderful it might be to kiss her.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, you are dense. Kiss the girl!"

Dell and Eryllis looked down at their feet to see Kharza on her back, staring up at them with frustration. The Orc female reached up to put a hand on the back of their calves and weakly pushed them toward each other.

"You want to kiss me?" Eryllis said doubtfully but with a hint of hope.

Dell found himself nodding and let himself answer honestly. "So much."

Those amazing lips smiled, and Dell moved forward to press his mouth to her heavenly softness. He kissed her again and felt her respond to kiss him in return. Dell could tell she was nervous and excited, then she pressed her chest to his. He couldn't prevent a little moan of bliss from escaping as she felt so good.

His right hand landed on her lower back, and he gently pulled her to his body. Now she was moaning into the kiss. It was such a sexy sound.

He wanted to hear it again.

-=-

Morgan and Lerrisen maintained their pace as they recited the words of power to excise the malignant presence in the weapons. Neither one could have performed this exorcism on their own, as the curse had had centuries to bond itself to the sword and staff. The presence had also used that time to deepen its hatred and jealousy as if being trapped in an echo chamber had boosted its strength with each bounce.

The two wizards vigilantly maintained their resolve as they knew their opponent was hunting for a weakness.

Then something odd happened.

The presence's attention was being drawn away from them. They almost lost their cadence from the diminishing pressure from their adversary. Instead, they strengthened their voices and continued.

That's when they noticed the two behind the weapons were kissing!

Morgan fought to keep himself from grinning as he added joy to his voice and heard the same boost from Lerrisen. They shared a glance as they powered through the exorcism's stanzas.

He imagined none of the previous bearers ever kissed each other.

-=-

Eryllis couldn't get enough of kissing. She'd never done it before as no one had ever looked at her like Dell was. He made her feel desired and beautiful with the awe in his eyes. He wasn't criticizing her awkward height or her puffy lip. On the contrary, he was thrilled she was tall as it made their kissing effortless, and it felt like his lips were worshipping hers. He wasn't shying away in distaste at her oversized breasts but was pulling her closer instead.

That let her feel his oversized chest muscles and how hard his body felt. She discovered she really liked that sensation. None of the males in her village had ever shown any desire for her, and Dell wanted her.

She wanted him too.

A dull throb of pain in her temple brought her back to the moment, and she realized the presence had the strength of a kitten. She pulled back from the kiss and burst into a happy laugh as the relief from the pain made her feel giddy. Well, that and the joy from kissing Dell.

He watched her expression with a joyful smile of his own. "I think it's time to push that creep from our minds so we can get back to kissing."

She grinned at him as she held his eyes with hers. They nodded to each other, then mentally pushed against the invader in their minds.

The presence pushed back viciously, but it just didn't have a grip on their mind with all the endorphins flooding through them, making them so happy. Unable to tolerate the building joy, the presence fled back to the sword and staff.

The blade and staff suddenly burst into black flames, but neither Dell nor Eryllis felt the lick of that fire as it shied away from their touch.

Morgan and Lerrisen launched their containment spells. The flames attempted to leap into the sky only to be encased within a translucent orb of glowing gold light surrounded by a second orb of gleaming silver.

The wizards closed their eyes and continued to rapidly whisper words of power that left the ear as quickly as they arrived.

The orbs began to shrink, and the black flames spun faster within the gold orb.

Lerrisen suddenly lifted a hand to his temple as his eyes winced from a sharp pain. The gold orb shattered, but the silver one contained the spinning flames.

Morgan dropped to his knees as he grunted under the strain but kept reciting the spell. The shrinking began to slow as the flames spun faster.

Dell looked at the strain on the Human wizard's face and the exhaustion on the other. He looked at Eryllis. "Is there anything in that vast store of magical knowledge at your fingertips that might help them?"

She smiled at him and closed her eyes for a minute. When they popped open, she nodded and hugged him.

"Oh! I like that, but how does it help them?" Dell said.

"Prepare your blade for another thrust," she whispered in his ear, then playfully nipped his earlobe. He gasped and looked at her hungrily.