The Wood Knot Warrior

Taking the scabbard from the old man's corpse, he rushed back to the caravan, gathered his belongings, and rode off into the darkness. He set his course for home and never looked back.

Tonight, he would return to Grennesh and make them all pay. From the city officials who turned their back on him and hung him out to dry, his commanding officers who promised to protect him then offered him up as a sacrifice, right down to the man who forced the court to make an example of him. He kept one hand on the hilt of the sword and felt his confidence swell.

They wouldn't know what hit them, and they'd be sorry for betraying him.

He smirked. When he was done with them, maybe he'd look up that dark-skinned bitch and finish what he'd started.

She was his birthday present, after all.

Chapter 4

Dell sighed happily.

He'd spent the entire day preparing ingredients for the pies he'd begin making tomorrow. The kitchen staff were all tired but satisfied as they knew they'd done good work today, and the next few days were going to be busy but also fulfilling. They'd all be earning bonuses if this batch of pies turned out to be as popular as the previous times. That was almost guaranteed. They'd also get to take home some pies for their families.

While they'd worked on prepping the veggies, Maggie kept them entertained with her stories, and the kitchen had been filled with laughter. They were quieter when they worked on their regular duties preparing and serving the inn's customers their daily meals or breakfast and dinner.

Between the two regular meal times, Dell worked side by side with the ladies in the kitchen, ensuring all the vegetables were worthy of being added to his pies. He'd prepared the cubed meat and had them soaking in his secret marinade. No one had been able to get him to give up his recipe yet.

The ingredients were all carefully stored in the large cold cellar in the Inn's basement. A preserving spell on the room ensured they would remain fresh until he was ready to use them. The magic kept pests from the room as well.

Dell finished carrying the last bowls of cut vegetables downstairs and sealed the room. He stretched his back muscles in relief as it had been a long day. He listened to the shuffle of feet above on the floorboards as the last customers made their way to the exit.

He heard a woman scream and a man shout soon after, followed by the crash of something heavy striking the floor.

"Shit!" Dell raced for the steps.

When he arrived in the main bar area, he could see several older customers backing away from a large man facing off against them with his sword drawn. Dell stepped into the room, and relief flashed across the faces of the old men. He ignored them as he got closer to the swordsman. There was something familiar about him.

He was large, with long black hair worn loose and a thick black beard. When the man looked into his eyes, recognition struck for Dell. Piercing blue eyes and a wide white smile. It was the rapist! But he'd been exiled!

"We meet again, Halfling. You seem... bigger than before. Do you freaks ever stop growing?" Perris chuckled.

"Why did you return? You know you're not welcome here anymore. No one wants a rapist in their community. The guardsmen have orders to execute you if you show your ugly face."

Perris snorted. "Ugly? Says the freakish mixed breed." When he didn't get a rise out of Dell, he got a crafty look in his eye. "If you must know, I came back to deal with some unfinished business." He moved slightly to the left, and Dell could see two people on the floor against the wall next to the kitchen door.

Maggie was lying back in the arms of his father, a red stain growing on the front of her dress. She was dying. Dell's eyes went to Karter and saw his father was panting and wincing in pain. His side was red with his blood. He'd been stabbed too.

"No... Dell... run..." his father gasped out.

"Shut up, old man," Perris taunted with a grin as his eyes never left Dell's face. "I'll finish you off as soon as I carve some of this brute's height away. Just a head's worth should do it."

Dell couldn't hear Perris anymore over the thunder of his blood. He could only see the limp body of the bubbly kitchen maid, the red splotch on her stomach, the pale, sweaty face of his father, and the desperate fear in his eyes.

This piece of shit rapist threatened to take away the only parent Dell had left. His brain stopped forming rational thoughts as the rage he fought against every day erupted.

"RRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Dell roared at Perris, and everyone leaned away, fear shooting through their limbs, a primal reaction to discovering they were suddenly facing an alpha predator.

Perris' smile quickly faded as he felt his confidence slipping away. He glanced at the sword, but he could no longer feel its support. He had to act before he lost his nerve entirely. His answering battle cry wobbled, but he surged forward with a mighty swing to lop the head from the beast before him.

Dell surged forward and caught Perris by surprise as he had twice the man's speed. He seized the swordsman's weapon hand as his other hand grabbed Perris' free hand. Then he suddenly squeezed both with crushing force.

Bones splintered as Perris screamed in agony, and Dell's grip tightened further, grinding the splinters into shards. Then Dell quickly twisted his grip, shattering the man's wrists, too.

But crippling him wasn't enough. The man needed to die.

-=-

Perris felt his shock washing over him, numbing his mind and slowing his thoughts. But it couldn't diminish his outrage and disbelief.

This couldn't be happening! It was impossible! All his training and all those painful days before so many highly skilled teachers, honing himself to be the deadliest killer. Outside of those classrooms, he'd proven time after time, no one could best him in combat.

He'd fought Orcs, Elves, Dwarves, and so many Humans and knew the strengths and weaknesses of each race. He knew how to counter all of their abilities, and none had been able to beat him.

A Halfling. Being defeated by a creature so low in the pecking order made his humiliation complete.

When Dell released his hands, the sword fell to the floor, and Perris dropped to his knees, fighting the agony to remain conscious. The brute grabbed him by the throat with one hand and lifted him into the air like he was nothing. Perris stared into rage-filled black eyes and saw his death there as the big hand slowly tightened, squeezing his throat closed. He struck at the monster with his crippled hands, but that just sent more agony through him, cutting his remaining strength away.

What a disappointing way to die.

-=-

"NO!"

The deep bellow broke through Dell's fugue, and he glanced over at the pasty face of his father. He saw the stern expression in his eyes. His strength was returning. A good sign.

Snarling, Dell threw Perris across the room, where he bounced off a tabletop to crash to the floor beyond it limply.

Sucking in deep breaths to fight back the inferno raging inside him, Dell glanced down and saw the sword. He shook his head as he heard something, then bent down to pick it up. The moment he stood and looked at the intricate design, a bright flash exploded outwards from the weapon.

"MINE!"

The word echoed through Dell's mind, but he couldn't tell where it had come from. He felt his rage building once more, and it threatened to overwhelm him. He opened his eyes and saw the tables nearest to him had been blown over. The few remaining customers were staring at him in fear. He grit his teeth to hold back another roar, but he was losing control. He looked over at his father and saw the man watching him, worry now on his face. He tipped his chin toward the door.

He had to protect him. "GET A HEALER!" he snarled at the three old men nearest to the door, and they jumped to their feet and rushed outside. He closed his eyes, but he felt his muscles vibrating with the need to do something. The sword was vibrating in sympathy as if it wanted action as well.

Finally, his father's gesture sank in, and he ran straight out the front door and into the street. But he didn't turn toward Grennesh. He felt a tug and turned the other way.

Down the hillside he went, his feet pounding against the soft track as the inn disappeared behind him. The light was growing dim as night set in, but his Wood Elf vision had no issues with running at night.

When he finally reached the main trade route, he felt the tug once more, and it felt like it was coming from the sword! It pulled him to the right to take the road toward the Mistveil Woods.

Dell's father called him many things, but one thing that came up frequently was stubborn. He wasn't going to let the sword push him into visiting a place where everyone despised him for looking different.

His rage surged once more, pushing him to go right, but he used that energy to fight back and turned left instead. He needed to drain his anger of its power, so he continued running along the dark trade route, fighting the urge to turn around.

He lost track of how long he'd been running when he came around a bend in the road and faced a battle between five Orc warriors. Torches were scattered on the ground, most likely dropped by those who were now fighting.

After a quick glance, he saw four males attacking one female who seemed to be holding her own, but she was fighting desperately.

The Orc closest to Dell turned, saw the sword, and immediately launched an attack against him. Dell's rage flared again, grateful to have a target, and he waded in with a mighty roar. This caused a second Orc to turn toward him.

Dell had never held a sword before, much less fought with one, but he felt his body flowing into the pattern of battle. Ducking beneath the first warrior's ax swing, he swept his sword arm upward, opening the Orc's torso from groin to neck. The second warrior was blocked by the falling body of the first, so Dell drove his fist into the male's face, taking him completely off his feet, knocking him out.

By now, the remaining Orcs were aware of him. A third moved away from the female to engage with him. The hulking brute wielded his club with great skill and managed a few glancing blows.

Dell's fury surged, and he felt the sword take control once more.

He swept the sword in a vicious, lightning-fast figure eight, cleanly severing the warrior's arms. As the big Orc stared at him in horror, Dell spun and took the Orc's head clean off his body.

The female Orc Warrior cleaved in two the chest of her last opponent with her battle-ax, then threw a small hand ax into the forehead of the Orc who'd woken and was sneaking up on Dell.

Breathing hard, Dell slammed the sword point into the chest of his beheaded opponent's body and roared to release his remaining anger. The female Orc watched him nervously as he gasped for breath while keeping an eye on her. When she made no move to attack him, he did his breathing exercises and finally managed to push the last of the bloodlust into the back of his mind.

"Why... why were... they attacking you?" he finally managed to gasp out.

She snorted as she grinned at him. "I was hunting them, but they set a trap for me. There used to be eight of them, but I picked them off one by one, driving them before me. They knew I'd eventually kill them all, so they ambushed me, forcing me to face the remaining four together."

Dell watched her cautiously as she sounded dangerous.

She nodded, then her voice softened, and he heard her pain. "They killed my family, so I vowed to kill them all." She pointed to the one she killed with her battle-ax and smiled. "He was their leader, so I'm grateful you didn't kill him. His life was mine to take. I would have welcomed killing the one you cut into pieces, but I'm grateful for your help."

She tilted her head as she took in his strange garb. She seemed confused by what he was wearing, and he glanced down at his blood-splattered apron. He supposed it wasn't typical warrior armor.

"I am Kharza. Last of my village whose name is now lost in the wind."

"I'm Dell, and I'm the cook from the Wood Knot Inn, just outside Grennesh.

She blinked in surprise and laughed. "That is a good joke!" she said as she continued to chuckle.

He wearily pulled the blade from the corpse and found himself skillfully spinning it to flick away the blood. A leather-wrapped scabbard suddenly appeared on his hip, hanging from a belt that also hadn't been there a moment before. His hands continued to move on their own to slide the blade home as he stared down at it in surprise.

Kharza scowled at him. "You are a sorcerer as well?" She had no love for those who bent the laws of nature to their own will.

"I'm not! I'm just a cook! I know nothing about magic, and until tonight I'd never held a sword before in my life!" he insisted.

"Why do you lie? I have eyes in my head to see the things you do!" she growled.

Dell shook his head in frustration. "Tonight, a man attacked my family at the Inn. He had this sword, but I took it from him. There was a... big explosion of light, and the next thing I knew, I could feel the sword trying to get control over me. I left before I hurt anyone... else. I could feel the sword pushing me to fight, so I pushed back. Then I stumbled into your battle. The sword wanted blood."

Kharza was quiet for a moment as she watched his face in the flickering firelight, deciding if he was telling the truth. "Were the mighty battle cries from the sword as well?"

He frowned. "No. I... I have a temper issue. I need to keep tight control on it, or I might hurt someone."

Kharza suddenly laughed and gestured to the corpses. "I'm grateful you didn't control it tonight." With another smile, she seemed to decide he wasn't a risk, so she turned away.

She began to collect items from the fallen Orcs and smiled to herself as she saw how much coin she now had. She looked up at Dell. "You may have half."

"No. You keep it. I don't want it," he said, unsettled by the death before him. Deaths he'd caused. He'd beaten men with his fists and knocked many of them unconscious, but this was the first time he'd actually killed someone. He felt a little ill.

He turned to look back the way he'd come but realized he was too tired to run home tonight. His father seemed like he was going to be okay. He just hoped they got the healer to the inn in time to save Maggie.

Kharza smiled to herself as she found the necklace she made for her daughter in the pocket of the Orc she'd killed with her hand ax. She collected the weapon as well.

Once she had everything she wanted, she looked at Dell, who was making no effort to collect anything but seemed to be fussing with the sword and belt.

Dell was becoming very frustrated as every time he thought of offering the sword to this female Orc warrior, he felt resistance from the weapon to the point where it interfered with his hands, preventing him from undoing the belt.

Kharza moved around Dell to face him. "What is wrong?

He glanced up at her with a frown. "I'm trying to give you the sword, but it won't let me."

The Orc's eyebrows rose. "I don't want a sword that doesn't obey me!"

"Well, I don't want a sword at all! I'm a cook! You're a warrior, aren't you?" he insisted.

She nodded. "But I still don't want the sword. There must be magic in it if it has a mind of its own. You need to speak to someone who knows magic." She watched Dell, who took a deep breath, then nodded in resignation. She gave him a kind smile. "I can offer you a meal and a dry place to sleep tonight in thanks for coming to my aid."

Dell looked at the female and nodded with a weary smile. "Thank you. That would be welcome." He finally noticed that all she was wearing was a wide strip of leather across her breasts and a small skirt that barely reached the middle of her thick, muscular thighs. He felt his face warm up.

Kharza gathered some of the fallen torches and handed one to Dell. "It's this way," she said as she led him onto a side trail that headed upward. They left the corpses for the scavengers who'd pick their bones clean by morning.

Twenty minutes of walking through narrow forest paths brought them to her campsite.

Comfortable that she no longer had to hide her presence, she made a fire and showed Dell the two birds she'd snared.

"I can cook these if you'd like," he offered. "It's what I do."

Kharza grinned at him. "Let's see what skills you have, Master Warrior Cook."

He gave her a weary look, then nodded. "Make the fire twice as big. I need to collect some ingredients."

Dell walked back into the woods, foraged up some mushrooms, a few wild potatoes, and collected herbs. He also picked some broad leaves and short sections of tough vines. He returned to the campsite, calling out before entering the clearing to let her know it was him.

Her campsite was situated a short distance from a good-sized stream, so he washed his collected items before returning to settle down next to the fire. He prepared the birds with his belt knife over the broad leaves. He mixed in the mushrooms, potatoes, and herb, then wrapped them in the leaves, bound by tough strips he pulled from the vines. He buried these next to the fire, then moved the burning wood over top. Adding more wood to the blaze, he stepped back to smile at her. "It won't take too long."

With the bird blood on his hands, Orc blood on his clothes, and sweat on his body from all the running he'd done, he realized he stank. He went back to the stream and saw it was deep enough to immerse himself. Removing the sword for the purpose of getting clean seemed to be acceptable, so he set it down on the grass and undid the apron he'd worn all day in the kitchen. This went on top of the sword and scabbard. Next, he quickly undressed, and as he was intensely aware of Kharza behind him, he remained facing away. He used sand to scrub away the worst of the blood stains and sweat, dunked himself repeatedly, and soon he felt refreshed. Then he washed the blood spots and streaks from the apron and his clothes, too.

Hearing footsteps, he glanced back to see Kharza approaching. She was now naked as well and looked at him with an appreciative smile on her lips.

"You are unlike any Wood Elf I've ever seen, though I haven't seen many," she remarked frankly.

Dell nodded self-consciously, trying to keep his eyes from leaving hers. "I'm only half Wood Elf, as my father is Human."

"Hmmph. Should we have sex now or after the meal?"

His jaw dropped as he stood to face her in surprise. "We're going to have sex?"

Kharza gave him a puzzled look. "You were the one who undressed and washed in plain sight of me. It's my understanding that this is typical of non-Orc foreplay."

She took a good look at his body. "You are not ugly, and you have a good-sized cock. Sex should be good, and I'm interested."

Dell was stunned and took a second to respond. "I'm not sure you'd enjoy sex with me."

She looked into his eyes. "Do you not want to have sex because you think I am ugly?"

Dell immediately shook his head as his eyes finally traveled over her body. It was true that she was powerfully muscled, scarred, and green-skinned at that, but she had large, firm breasts and a killer ass. Her features were also pleasing once he got past the tusks jutting up from her lower jaw. Her eyes were especially lovely, and her lips were--he felt himself stiffening.

Her smile returned as she saw this sign of his attraction to her.

He sighed as he knew she deserved the truth. "I've never had sex before. I'm not going to be very good at it."

She looked at him in surprise, then grinned. "I can decide that for myself." She pushed him down on the grass and straddled his body, pinning his cock between them with her pussy. He gasped as that felt very good. She smiled as she stretched out over him, and he moaned a little as her breasts were squeezed against his chest. Then she kissed him aggressively, which was a novel experience, too.