The Wood Knot Warrior

Now she was saddled with preparing all the potions, and she was getting low on some key ingredients. Her far less proficient collectors hadn't returned from their outing, so she hoped they'd found a treasure trove for her.

A sudden knock on the front door of her shop made her jump in fright. She scowled in that direction, then remembered she'd locked it as she worked in the back. She walked to the front of the building and opened the door to see Wizard Lerrisen and a strange Human standing next to him.

"Good eve, Haleth. This is my colleague Morgan Ducane, Grennesh's master wizard. May we come in to speak with you?"

She nodded cautiously as she sensed a tension in the two males. She stepped back, and the two entered. The Human's eyes immediately scanned the interior of her shop as if making a mental inventory. But he was a wizard, so of course, he was.

Haleth led them to her office and sat behind her desk, feeling more comfortable with the heavy furniture between her and the two wizards.

Lerrisen got right to the point as he was familiar with her personality. "I'm sorry to say I come bearing some unhappy news. Four of your workers were attacked in the forest. None was fatally injured, but they do have broken bones. Worse, the perpetrator afflicted them with a curse that infected them with an ancient pox." Haleth gasped in fright, and he continued. "I broke the curse, but the pox will take months to cure."

"Who did this?" the shopkeeper asked nervously.

Morgan leaned forward, and her eyes went to him. "That's just the thing. We've encountered dark magic that suggests a sorcerer, but we walked into a Druidic trap on our way to find some of your workers. We may be facing two strong magic users."

Lerrisen locked eyes with Haleth. "Where is Eryllis?"

She opened her mouth, then realized what he was implying. "I never broke faith with you, Lerrisen. She doesn't know!" She paused as the implication of his question sank in. "I've given her no instruction on magic and certainly not Druid skills."

"Could she have met with someone who took her under his wing? They'd be older, considering the age of these spells," Lerrisen suggested.

"I've seen no strangers in the area, and no one who isn't a local has entered my shop. The only place Eryllis has been aside from here is the forest for her collecting duties, and every time she went, she was accompanied by the oth--" She stopped and frowned as she remembered the story about her falling off the cliff.

The sharp-eyed Lerrisen saw the doubt on her features. "What is it?"

Haleth snorted and shook her head. "It's nothing. Just a little squabbling between the others and that fiery-tempered granddaughter of mine."

"It might be significant. Please tell us," Morgan asked.

She scowled at the man as she was uncomfortable discussing how she dealt with Eryllis.

Lerrisen looked to Morgan, who nodded and stood, preparing to give them privacy.

"Sit!" Haleth snapped. Her eyes went to the village wizard. "You'll just tell him the moment you two are alone, so he might as well hear it from me," she said crossly, and the wizards didn't contradict her, so her expression soured further. She took a deep breath as Morgan sat down once more.

"On their last visit to the forest for collecting, there was an incident. No doubt there was an exchange of sharp words. That's almost guaranteed with Eryllis. The others are... not as bright and are prone to gossip, and this is a trigger for her." She waved a hand to break from her divergence.

"The others returned hours later with baskets full and carrying the largest Hissing Root tuber I have ever seen. The ladies told me a story about how a fog swallowed Eryllis, and she fell off a cliff into the sea. Some time later, Eryllis returned uninjured, but her clothes were badly torn. Her basket was empty, and she claimed the others had left her for dead, robbed her of her basket contents and the Hissing Root she found. She offered no proof, so I sent her back out to fill her basket. She returned with it filled with rare and precious mushrooms. She really is an extraordinary collector," Haleth finished softly, forgetting her audience as her mind spun with questions.

"She might have met someone when the others abandoned her. Someone who healed her injuries from such a fall," Lerrisen suggested gently.

Haleth glanced into his eyes. "It's possible."

"Might we see the Hissing Root?" Morgan asked, and Haleth and Lerrisen both looked at him in question. "Indulge me, please," he said with an amused twinkle in his eye.

Haleth gestured for them to exit the office, then led them into the back of her shop. She glanced over her shoulder at them with a scowl. "Touch nothing!"

Morgan just smiled at her as he held his hands up. Lerrisen rolled his eyes at his colleague. Then they froze as they stared at the huge root.

"Hissing Roots don't grow this large," Morgan uttered quietly. The Wood Elf wizard nodded in agreement.

"Where did they say they found this growing?" Lerrisen asked.

Haleth thought back. "At the cliff's edge."

"Not a typical place to find them, either," Morgan said. He looked at Haleth. "May I please touch this?" She fixed a suspicious eye on him. "It is not my intent to damage it. I just need to determine if it contains any magical energy."

"Ah," Lerrisen said as he realized what his fellow wizard was up to. This wasn't a skill he'd developed, so he was quite interested to see it work.

Haleth looked at him, and the Wood Elf nodded his approval, so she gestured for the Human to proceed.

Morgan moved to stand before the large tuber and cleared his mind. He called upon the required spell, wove a mesh of magic between his fingers, and gently slid his hands over the tuber's surface as he spoke the words. His eyes suddenly flew open as he felt an immediate reaction inside the large mass. He spun to look into Lerrisen's eyes as he leaped to tackle Haleth.

"SHIELD!" he yelled as he took her to the floor behind Lerrisen, who flung his arms upward.

The tuber exploded, flinging boiling vegetable matter in all directions, but within that soup, blue-black energy lanced out at Morgan, sparking and fizzling across the shield the Wood Elf wizard erected just in time. The remaining power lashed out wildly, scorching every surface it touched, seeking a target but finding none. When the last of the charge drained away from the shattered Hissing Root, Lerrisen sagged in relief and dropped the shield, sinking to his knees to gasp for breath. He turned to look at Morgan, staring back at him with wide eyes.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Haleth shrieked as she took in the devastation. Her shop was destroyed! Every surface was contaminated or burnt, and her supplies were spoiled--Her eyes saw one of her bins was on fire and beginning to spit sparks. That was Demon Wort!

"WE HAVE TO GET OUT!" she screamed as she scrambled to her feet and ran for the front door. The wizards wasted no time in catching up and chased her out.

Haleth didn't stop when they burst outside, so they ran faster and pulled her along. An enormous hand suddenly knocked them all from their feet, sending them tumbling as intense heat washed over them. It felt like their clothes might spontaneously combust.

When their tumbling came to a stop, they were lying on their backs, watching a rolling inferno climb into the sky. They had to shield their faces from the radiant heat, but the wizards caught sight of the trademark curling horns of the fireball.

Lerrisen turned his head to glare at Haleth. "Demon Wort? You had Demon Wort inside your shop? Are you mad?"

Haleth was sputtering angrily, but guilt was clearly visible on her face as well. "I've safely contained it for years! It's very effective against erectile dysfunction! It's one of my best-selling potions!"

Morgan glanced over at Lerrisen, a little fuzzy on the nature of Devil Wort as it was only found in this forest. "Doesn't that become more potent and unstable the longer it's stored in a dry environment? I saw no wet storage containers in her workroom."

Lerrisen gestured to the dissipating horned mushroom cloud. "That is exactly what happens, and I saw none either."

"Wet Devil Wort stiffens nothing!" Haleth snapped. She turned an accusing eye on Morgan. "What did you do to destroy my shop, home, and livelihood?"

Morgan ignored her and turned to Lerrisen. "The tuber's root absorbed a tremendous amount of dark magic. Very potent sorcery was near it for a long time. That suggests not a person but an artifact, something that radiates cursed ener--oh, damn." His voice went quiet as his expression froze, and an identical expression appeared on his colleague's face.

"It couldn't be, could it?" Lerrisen muttered.

"It could because it returned before," Morgan said with a slow nod.

He looked at Haleth, struggling to contain her anger and despair. There was nothing left of her home and business. The fire consumed everything.

"Did your granddaughter tell you where she was going?" he asked.

She shook her head and finally succumbed to her grief as she burst into tears.

People were rushing into view to stare at the dwindling flames.

"I believe we can assume Eryllis is in possession of the cursed Druid staff, and it was her who placed the curse on the soldiers and her coworkers. She was going east. Grennesh is east. We need to catch her before she reaches the city," Lerrisen said.

Morgan shook his head. "We've misread all the clues, and she has too great a head start. It's too dangerous to face this at night. We'll leave at dawn and travel as fast as we can."

They saw Haleth had wandered off to be consoled by some of the townsfolk, so they shared a look and headed back to Lerrisen's to get some rest themselves.

Tomorrow was going to be a trying day.

Chapter 6

Dell woke to pressure in his skull. He'd felt it the previous day off and on, but at the moment, it felt like it was getting worse.

That's when he noticed the pool of drool on his chest.

Kharza was cuddled up against him and left him this delightful morning gift.

He snorted in amusement, and the headache actually backed off a little. That doubled his enjoyment.

Kharza's eyes slowly opened, and she blinked at him. Then she glanced at his chest and smiled sheepishly.

"Apologies for making your chest wet," she said contritely. "I haven't slept so deeply in years!" Her smile turned sexy. "You really wore me out last night with the rough fucking."

Dell chuckled and nodded. "I enjoyed it too. Maybe I'm making up for lost time."

"I'm glad I happened along, then," Kharza commented with a grin.

Dell's headache began to return, so he wiped his chest with the sheets and sat on the edge of the bed. "These sheets need a wash anyway," he sighed, and she chuckled.

Standing, he stretched his muscles and felt them pop and flex. That felt good. He went to the washbasin and scrubbed his body down until he felt refreshed.

Kharza admired the view from the bed. "Your body is a major improvement over the scrawny bodies that seem to be the norm for most Wood Elves."

He glanced at her, then collected some clothes from his chest to pull on.

Kharza gazed at him contemplatively. "Have you ever thought about visiting the MistVeil Woods?"

He scowled. "I've met many Wood Elves in my life, and none has ever shown me anything but scorn. I have no time for them. It might have been different had my mother lived, but that wasn't to be. As far as I'm concerned, they should just leave me the fuck alone."

Dell felt his rage surging, trying to break free from his control, and glanced at the sword resting against the wall. He felt its pull, eager to taste the blood of the ones who shunned him.

Kharza watched him closely and saw where his eyes were focused.

Dell felt another spike of pain in his head as the magic tried to boost his rage once again.

He roared at the sword, then sat on the floor, crossed his legs, and concentrated on his breathing exercises. Kharza watched him slowly regain control, occasionally wincing as the sword tried to force him back into a rage to take over.

When Dell was calm again, he opened his eyes and saw Kharza sitting on the edge of the bed, smiling at him.

"I'm impressed by how much stronger you are than the evil magic," she purred, clearly turned on.

He snorted as he felt a little worn out, but he gave her a smile just the same.

She scooched closer to the edge and spread her legs with a raised eyebrow. Dell chuckled. "You're becoming addicted."

She couldn't disagree, so she shrugged happily, then gasped as he teased her pussy with his tongue. She cried out in bliss.

Karter thumped on his door, telling him to keep it down.

Kharza dropped back on the mattress, moaning loudly, so Dell reached a hand up to cover her mouth. She sucked his fingers into her mouth while he pumped two from his other hand deep inside her, his mouth firmly pressed to her clit, her hand on the back of his head.

She was in heaven again.

-=-

Downstairs, the ladies in the kitchen giggled to each other as they heard the sounds from upstairs, Dell's living quarters being directly above them.

Karter walked into the room looking exhausted. He spotted the grins on the faces of the kitchen staff and grimaced. Hildy, the boldest of them, stepped forward. "It's good to know Dell has discovered something else he's good at." The other two burst into giggles as Hildy handed Karter his hot tea with a grin.

"I'm going to have to pay for a wizard to add soundproofing between our rooms," he grumbled.

Just then, Kharza's muffled cries of bliss came through the ceiling. More giggling ensued, but the ladies also looked a little envious.

With a sigh, Karter collected his breakfast and ate it quietly as he sipped his tea.

Luckily, there were no more noises from above to disturb his morning rituals.

-=-

When Dell walked into the kitchen, he smiled at his father. That smile faded as he saw the glower on the man's face. "Did you sleep poorly?" he asked in concern.

"How was I supposed to get to sleep with all the rutting animal noises next door?" Karter snapped.

Dell's face heated up as he glanced in embarrassment at the smirking kitchen staff. "I-I'm sorry!"

Karter rubbed his face wearily. "No, I'm sorry for barking at you like that," he sighed. "I'm happy for you and Kharza. You make a cute couple, but I'm going to contact the wizard to add soundproofing between our rooms." Glancing at the ceiling and the smiling ladies in the kitchen, he changed his mind. "Or maybe just all-around your room." Hildy made a sound of disappointment, and the others giggled again.

Kharza entered the room and laughed. "I heard what you said. Dell and I aren't a couple. We just enjoy fucking, and Dell is becoming very good at it. What he can do with his mouth--"

"Please stop," Dell pleaded, and she grinned at him but nodded.

The ladies' giggles became a yip of fright as the sword and scabbard appeared in the corner of the kitchen once more.

Face burning from embarrassment and annoyance, Dell grabbed some breakfast and made Kharza a plate as well. They ate in silence, then he cleaned up and began preparing for another day of making pot pies.

Day two was always his favorite.

-=-

Eryllis woke with a feeling of urgency, but she wasn't sure where that was coming from. Feeling well-rested, she pushed that anxiety aside.

It felt like she was taking control of her own destiny for the first time in her life. Being out from under her grandmother's controlling thumb felt liberating.

She rolled up her blankets and packed them away. Her forest harvesting skills found her a nutritious and filling, if not tasty, breakfast.

When she finally made her way back to the road, the sense of urgency returned along with a feeling of being followed. Looking back in the direction of her village, the road she'd walked with confidence now seemed fraught with danger. Instinctively, she raised the staff and spoke words she couldn't hear. She was left a little light-headed from wielding such a powerful spell, but she turned east to continue her journey.

The road behind her was now hidden in a maze of dead-ends and shifting illusions. The labyrinth drew the dark creatures from the forest as it was a much better hunting ground for them.

All they needed was some unwary prey.

-=-

By mid-day, Morgan knew they were in trouble. Somewhere back along the road they followed, there'd been a diversion. He wasn't sure where it had been, but they were no longer following the road, though they appeared to be on it.

They'd started at the crack of dawn with six sturdy Wood Elf guides. He and Lerrisen were in the middle of their group and doing their best to keep up the pace of the stronger males. They took breaks when his partner showed signs of fatigue, and it was likely that exhaustion which led him to miss the fact that they were off the route. The forest was not a familiar environment for Morgan, so he had no chance of identifying the trap they'd stepped into. That said, none of the guides caught it either.

Now it was mid-afternoon, and he was sure they were walking in circles. Their guides were nervous as well. Lerrisen was resting on a stump Morgan was sure he'd sat on before. The uncertainty they all felt was just part of the trap, of course.

He knew they were falling farther behind their quarry, and by this point, it was almost a guarantee that she'd reach Grennesh before they did. If only he had more information on who Eryllis was and what drove her.

If his and Lerrisen's suspicions were correct, the artifact she carried had chosen her. It was driven by rage, and from what he'd heard about her so far, she was a perfect host for it. She was filled with directionless anger, and she had a very strong aptitude for magic. Knowing what drove her rage would give them the means to counter it, potentially freeing her from the artifact's influence.

The night before, Lerrisen filled him in on what little he knew about the young female. Some undefined trauma caused her to become a shut-in with night terrors and explosive rage outbursts. Her grandmother sent her to a clinic for care, and they only dealt with the first issue before Eryllis left the hospital and returned to her grandmother. The rage remained unexplained and unresolved. About that time, Haleth came to Lerrisen to inform him that her granddaughter was exhibiting signs of magical aptitude. With Eryllis seemingly unwilling to return to the clinic to resolve her second issue, the wizard gave the only advice he could, keeping her unaware of her abilities.

Now that was backfiring on them.

"We won't make it out of the maze before nightfall," Lerrisen said wearily. Unfortunately, he failed to keep his voice down, and the six guides they were with immediately became terrified.

"STOP!" Morgan bellowed, using his magic to keep them from fleeing to their doom. He glanced in annoyance at his fellow wizard, who dipped his eyes in a weary apology.

Morgan sighed as six sets of eyes watched him nervously. He looked at Lerrisen. "I have to do it."

There was a moment of confusion, then the wizard's eyes opened in shock. "You cannot! You will never be able to pass through these woods again! Wood Elves will find your presence uncomfortable. Worse still, you will lose precious years of your life!"

Morgan sighed as he smiled sadly. "I will dearly miss visiting you and your company, but this is the only way we'll break free of this trap and perhaps catch our quarry before she's done too much damage. You understand the stakes."

Lerrisen looked at Morgan with pain in his eyes, then nodded his acceptance. He fixed a baleful gaze upon their guides. "What he does now will save your lives, so you will keep that in mind when we are free, and you will fulfill your duties. Do you understand?" Lerrisen said, strength coming back to his voice with his swelling emotions. Six heads nodded to him.