The Wood Knot Warrior

"Put your hands on my body, and don't be gentle," she told him. He grabbed her hips and ground her against his cock in circles.

It was her turn to moan as she enjoyed the feel of his powerful hands on her. It reminded her of her mate. He slid them down to her ass, and she liked that even more. She was impatient to feel him inside her, but she knew his first time would be too quick for her to reach her peak. She sat up, surprising him, then she moved down his legs until her face was over his cock. She took him into her mouth, and he cried out in surprise, then bliss as she sucked and licked him aggressively. As she suspected, he came quickly. Smiling, she swallowed what he gave and then looked at him with a grin.

"That was... incredible! But it couldn't have been as good for you," he said with concern.

She chuckled. "We just needed to get past your first one, so the second will take longer." He blinked at her as he wasn't expecting there to be a second. She laughed at his expression. "Don't worry, you'll be hard again soon."

Dell could see she was still excited, and he wanted to do something for her. "May I do the same for you?" he asked. It was her turn to look surprised as no one had ever done that for her. Dell took her pleased smile and silence for acceptance as he rolled her over onto her back and moved his face down to her pussy. He began with kissing her inner thighs, and she made surprisingly sweet moan sounds. He roughly stroked his tongue over her pussy, and she jolted with the intensity. He looked up at her, and she grinned at him, so he did it again, then his tongue dipped deep inside. She grabbed his head to pull his face tighter against her.

He was a complete novice at this, so he tried different things. The things she didn't react to, he didn't repeat, but the stuff that made her scream in bliss, thrash around and pull his hair, he did until he got it exactly as she liked it. Her cries grew louder.

Finally, Kharza couldn't wait any longer, so she pulled him up her body. She needed him inside her now! His cock was stiff as iron once more, so she guided the head against her opening, and he slammed himself deep inside her. She howled with joy as she clung to him, enjoying the feeling of being so full. He pulled out to the head, then slammed deep once more. She moaned and growled, clinging to him as she did, and it felt so intensely good. Dell went faster and faster, brutally slapping her body with his at the bottom of each stroke.

When she reached her climax, she howled and pulled him tight against her with her heels locked behind his ass. Dell roared as his own orgasm ripped through him. It was even better than when she'd taken him in her mouth.

When they were finally done, he flopped down over her body, and they remained that way until they both got their breathing under control and his cock relaxed.

Enjoying the sensation of his hard body pressing down on hers and the wonderful memories it gave her, she smiled. "You are a very good fuck... for Orc females."

Dell lifted his face to look into her eyes questioningly.

"You were rough with strength and enthusiasm, just what I wanted. Humans and Elves would not enjoy such rough play as they are so weak."

Dell thought about that and realized she was once more just giving him an honest assessment, so he nodded. "Thank you." She had an uncompromising honesty about her, and he appreciated it.

He pulled his body from hers, and they smiled at each other before Dell went back to the stream to dunk himself once more.

Kharza watched him with a grin. "We'll just get sweaty again when we fuck after dinner." She laughed at his pleased and surprised expression.

Once clean and relatively dry, Dell moved the fire back to its original position and cleared the embers to dig up his bundles. He checked the food, and it was ready. Gesturing to Kharza to seat herself, he placed a broad leaf on the ground before her and poured the steaming meat and veggies onto it. He poured out his own, then sat facing her. They ate with their knives, and Kharza looked at Dell, seriously impressed.

"Is all of your cooking this good?" she asked.

He nodded with a satisfied smile, and they enjoyed their meal.

After dinner, Dell noticed the sword and scabbard were leaning against the tent. He glanced back toward the stream where he'd left it. His clothes were still there.

"Did you move the sword?" he asked Kharza. She frowned at it and shook her head.

Putting the damned sword out of his mind, Dell collected his clothes, cleaned up the site, and burned the garbage.

Then Kharza pulled him into her tent as she wanted more fucking.

Not surprisingly, so did he.

-=-

The next morning, Dell took a brisk bath then dressed. Once Kharza had completed her morning routine as well, they packed up the tent and her belongings. He gave her a curious look.

"What are your plans now that you've avenged your family?" Dell asked.

Kharza seemed a little lost. Then she saw the sword, which was magically back on his hip. "I think I might stick around to see how you deal with the magic sword." She shrugged. "Maybe I'll pick up some mercenary work in Grennesh. I've never been this far west." She looked at Dell to see if he objected, but he just nodded.

"I'll get us breakfast as we make our way back to the road," he offered. "It'll be cold, but it'll fill our stomachs for the walk."

Kharza nodded with a smile and hoisted her pack.

Dell's keen eyes spotted the forage as they wove their way back through the woods to the trade route. They ate sweet apples and mushrooms that tasted like fresh bread, and he got lucky with some honey. It wasn't a big meal, but it would power their muscles for the walk back to the Inn at least.

After walking for a little over an hour, Kharza looked at Dell curiously. "Where were you running to last night that you got this far from your home?"

Dell glanced at her in embarrassment. "I didn't have a destination in mind as long as it was the opposite of what the sword wanted. I was just trying to wear myself out so the sword's control would weaken."

Kharza looked at him thoughtfully, then looked at the road ahead. "This is not a very well-traveled route. We've not met anyone."

Dell nodded. "In this direction, the path leads to the Mistveil Woods, and only the Wood Elves go there for the most part. They aren't keen on visitors. Especially ones who look like me." Kharza caught his sour expression as his mind dredged up uncomfortable memories. He pushed them down and forced a smile back onto his face. "We're not far from the crossroads where the road to Grennesh meets this trade route. We'll turn there, and it shouldn't take long to reach the inn. Grennesh is only a short distance beyond."

"Why isn't the inn inside the city walls?" Kharza asked.

Dell smiled. "The Wood Knot Inn is neutral territory. There has to be a place where all races can meet to work out armistice agreements, territory disputes, and such. My father has been the arbiter for a number of these meetings, and he's been successful in every case."

"Will you take over for him when he passes?" Kharza asked.

He glanced at her sharply but saw she was just curious and hadn't meant to offend. He took a deep breath. "No. No one would listen to a Halfling. The best I can hope for is to be allowed to keep working in the kitchen." He sighed. "I also work as the bouncer for the bar at night. Fighting inside the building is forbidden. I escort anyone trying to start a fight outside."

"Escort?" she asked with a skeptical smile.

He nodded, then shrugged. "I pin their arms so they can't fight back, carry them out the front door, and launch them from the top step of the front porch. How much effort I put into the throw depends entirely on how belligerent they were inside the bar."

"This man who attacked your family at the inn broke the neutral territory rule," Kharza acknowledged.

"Yes, he did. But he was already facing execution for returning after being exiled," Dell explained.

Kharza's eyebrows rose. "What did he do to earn himself that?"

"He raped a Wood Elf in an alley in Grennesh or started to. My father was in the city for a dinner meeting. I knew he'd be drinking, so I met him on his way home, and we saw the rapist and his friends drag the female off the street. I ran ahead, caught up to them, and stopped the man, but he'd begun. The female fled, and we never got her name, but my father pushed the city councilors to try the man for rape."

They reached the turn, and Kharza looked at the signpost. "The Wood Knot Inn seems almost as important as Grennesh on this sign."

Dell chuckled. "Yes, much to the annoyance of the leaders of Grennesh."

It didn't take much longer to reach the inn, and Dell ran the last little bit to greet his father, who met him on the porch.

"You're well?" he asked. "Maggie?"

Karter smiled in relief. "Yes, I'm fine thanks to you, and the healer got to her in time. She lost a lot of blood, so she's going to be bedridden for a week."

His father looked past Dell to the tall Orc female smiling up at him from the ground at the base of the stairs.

Dell turned and gestured for Kharza to come up.

"This is my father, Karter du Krane. Father, this is Kharza. I ran into her battling four Orc warriors last night as I ran along the trade route road. I-I had to kill two of them with the sword."

Karter blinked at his son's upset expression. Then he spotted the scabbard that he'd witnessed disappear from Perris' hip the night before. "How did you know how to use it? I certainly gave you no training."

"Why wouldn't you give your son the skills he needs to survive?" Kharza asked in surprise.

Karter looked at her in annoyance. "He was already getting into enough trouble without learning how to swing a sword! Besides, he wants to be a cook!"

Kharza snorted and grinned at the man. "Even without your training, Dell proved he was a Master Warrior Cook last night when he diced a large Orc warrior into four pieces!"

Karter stared at Dell in shock.

Dell sighed. "The sword has a mind of its own, and when I lost my temper, it got control," he said grudgingly. He saw the question in Karter's eyes. "We didn't eat the Orc. Ignore the stupid title she gave me."

Karter shook his head and put his hand on his son's shoulder as he looked into his eyes.

"What you did last night frightened everyone in the bar. They saw you lose control, the flash of light, tables were flying, and you ran off with a sword in your hand. The stories that reached Grennesh have everyone talking, and the Grennesh Guardsmen want to speak with you. You need to speak with the Commander and let him know it was because of your worry for Maggie and me."

"What else could it have been! He was going to kill you, and it looked like he'd already killed her! Of course I was upset!" Dell argued.

Karter just nodded. "That's what you need to explain to him. Take the sword with you."

Dell frowned. "I just want to make pot pies today."

"Tomorrow," Karter said and pointed up the road.

Grumbling, Dell handed his father the apron he'd carried back. Then he turned to the stairs.

"I will keep an eye on him. Can you watch my pack?" Kharza asked.

Karter looked at her, then back to Dell, who nodded to him. "Sure. Fine."

He collected the heavy pack and grunted under the load. She grinned at him as she climbed back down the stairs to follow Dell, her battle-ax strapped to her back.

When they reached the city's main gate, the guardsmen surrounded them. The captain stepped forward. He eyed the big Halfling with suspicion, and his thin mustache trembled, giving away how nervous he was.

"That's far enough. Hand over the sword."

Dell frowned at the man, then reached for the belt clasp, but his hands stopped and trembled. He could feel the sword resisting him, and his temper swelled. He lowered his hands and slowed his breathing.

"I can't."

The ends of the captain's mustache were visibly vibrating now. "You mean you won't? Don't be stupid, Halfling. Drop the belt and step back!" he snapped.

Dell's hand went to the hilt as his temper surged.

Kharza watched Dell struggle to remain calm, so she looked to the nervous soldiers around them and crossed her arms, making no move to reach for her own weapon. She chuckled, and the sound made everyone twitch.

"I suggest you allow Dell to go speak to your Commander peacefully, as the Orc Warrior he carved into pieces last night would have easily crushed all of your skulls with his club."

Dell turned his glower on her.

As Kharza was delivering her warning, the commander of the Grennesh Guardsmen arrived on his mount and looked at her. She nodded to him. The man knew of Dell through Karter and caught a pleading look in Dell's eye.

"Stand down, everyone. I will speak with him," he shouted, and the guardsmen visibly relaxed as they moved back. The captain nodded stiffly to the commander and ordered his men back to their posts.

Dell closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing to calm himself, pulling his hand back from the hilt.

The commander dismounted and handed the reins to one of the nearby guards. He approached Dell and Kharza. "I'm Commander Falco. You're Karter's boy?"

Dell nodded. "I'm Dell, and this is Kharza, a friend I met last night who's... helping me," Dell finished awkwardly, making her smile.

The Commander guided Dell and Kharza through the gate and into the guard house to speak privately. It wasn't a large structure, just a single room with a wood burner in the corner, a table, and four chairs, but it would suit their purposes. They sat and looked at each other.

"You have Perris in custody?" Dell asked, and the man locked eyes with him for a moment.

"Yes. Some of my men escorted the Healer to the Inn last night and took Perris prisoner once the Healer finished with him. It was reported that there was too much damage to the bones in his hands and wrists for the Healer to repair. The man's going to have trouble holding a spoon, much less a sword, but considering he'll likely be executed for returning, his hands are the least of his concerns," Falco said. "Can you tell me what happened last night?"

Dell took a deep breath and nodded. He described being in the cellar and hearing the scream. How he arrived to see Maggie looking like she was dying or dead on the floor, with his father also on the floor, injured, facing Perris.

"I was convinced Perris was going to kill my father," Dell insisted, and the commander nodded.

"The witnesses said you roared at him. One customer stated he lost his bowel control, he was so frightened," Falco suggested.

Dell nodded wearily. "That was probably Tanka. He and some of our older customers have that issue when they sneeze."

Falco grinned, then forced it down. "Continue, please."

Dell nodded. "I grabbed his hands and broke them to make him drop his weapon and take him out of the fight. Then I threw him across the room. Something made me pick up the sword. There was a tremendous flash of light... and noise. I heard something... like someone yelling?" He shook his head at the fuzzy memory. "My father told me to leave, so I did. I started running and ran all the way to the trade route down the hill. The sword... I could feel it in my mind, controlling me through my rage. It wanted me to go to the right, to Mistveil Woods. I turned left instead and kept running until I came upon Kharza being attacked by four male Orc Warriors. I cut down two, and she got the others." Dell locked eyes with Falco. "Until last night, I'd never held a sword."

The Commander frowned. "You were able to defeat these Orc warriors without knowing how to use the sword?"

"That's just it. I could feel myself moving like it was second nature, but it wasn't coming from me. The sword was the one fighting," Dell insisted.

Kharza addressed the commander. "Powerful magic must be involved. Once the fight was over, the sword's scabbard suddenly appeared out of thin air on Dell's hip, hanging from a belt. Dell should speak with your most experienced magic-user," Kharza said.

Falco frowned and shook his head. "Unfortunately, Grennesh's resident master wizard, Morgan Ducane, left to visit his counterpart in the Wood Elf kingdom a week ago and won't be back for another week. You could go there to speak with him."

Dell recalled the sword wanting him to go there the previous night, but he didn't trust it. He knew he'd be received with hostility, and if he lost control...

"I'm not welcome there." Dell left it at that.

The Commander frowned, but he wouldn't force the big man to go. He respected Karter, but he couldn't allow this large man to wander around Grennesh carrying such a dangerous weapon. Without the sword, he'd already proven to be a threat. Some hotheads under his command were eager to lock him away for that alone.

Dell sighed. "I just want to go back to the Inn and prepare the pot pies."

Smiling in surprise at the solution presented to him, Falco nodded. "You should do this exact thing until the wizard returns. Remain at the inn making your delicious meals."

Dell smiled in relief and shook the man's hand as they stood. Kharza shook the man's hand as well and caught him eyeballing her significant cleavage. She smiled as he looked away in embarrassment.

The moment they were outside, they saw a crowd had gathered.

"What's this?" the Commander asked the closest civilian.

Someone in the crowd yelled out, "The Halfling has the Cursed Sword!" This caused a lot of grumbling.

Dell shared a look with Kharza as this was the first time he'd heard of a curse.

Falco scowled at the crowd. "When he returns from his visit to the Mistveil Woods, the wizard will be the one making such assessments regarding the weapon Perris la Blayne returned to Grennesh with. If you have any quarrel, it's with that convicted rapist!"

"The Halfling killed him!" someone yelled.

Falco glared in the voice's direction. "Perris is alive and in prison, waiting for his sentencing. He ignored his order of exile and will probably be executed." He stared down the unruly group. "Dell du Krane is returning to the Wood Knot Inn to prepare his delicious pot pies." He stressed the family name to ensure people understood the boy came from a respected family.

"Pot pies! YAY!" yelled another voice from the back, and the mood lightened slightly as chuckles rippled through the gathering.

Dell could still see a lot of nervous eyes looking his way. At a gesture from the Commander, Dell turned and walked back toward the city gate with Kharza following.

Someone threw a large melon at the back of Dell's head, but Kharza was ready for this and caught it. She shook her head at the crowd as she cracked the melon open between her hands and took a bite of the juicy flesh inside. Once she passed through the gate, she turned and followed Dell.

They walked without speaking as Dell's mind spun with the additional burden he'd been forced to bear. The people of Grennesh already distrusted him because of his Halfling nature. Now he was carrying a cursed sword that seemed bound to him? Dammit!

Climbing the steps of the inn, Dell felt some of that load ease from his shoulders. This was his home. He felt safe here. Today, he had work to do, which he enjoyed.

He turned to face Kharza. "I'm going upstairs to clean up, then I'm going to the kitchen. I'll be there all day. You should probably speak to my father. He'll likely be in the office at the end of the hall. Knock on the door," he hastened to add, not wanting her to start off on bad footing with Karter.

She nodded and headed for the office as Dell entered a door identified as private to climb the stairs to the upper floor. His room was at the end of the hall. Once inside, he undressed and leaned the sword and scabbard against the room's wall. He made his intentions clear to the sword, which seemed to work as it remained in place. He quickly bathed with water in the basin and put on clean clothes. Looking at the sword, he sighed. "I'm just going to be downstairs in the kitchen. You don't need to follow me." He felt stupid talking to the weapon.