Three Hunters, One Heart

"Bloody Voids," Eselda murmured, her warm amber eyes staring at the little magical stone. "We'll need to try that sometime. After we celebrate taking down that ogre-snake, perhaps."

A few minutes later another small swarm of mosquitoes assailed us, which Kestrel quickly defeated with another burst from her frost-rune. The assault created another feast for the smaller scavengers of the marsh.

The water shimmered around us as the scavengers retreated, all swimming or scampering to the south. Eselda whistled, readied her bow, and nodded to the north.

Clusters of vines rippled and churned as something slithered beneath the murky water.

"Allow it to get as close as possible before you strike," Kestrel murmured. "We cannot risk allowing it to escape.

The ripples within the water closed in. I caught the occasional glimpse of gleaming white scales just barely breaching the surface. Judging by the distortions within the muddy water, the beast was at least twenty feet long.

When it passed beneath a cluster of overhanging branches, Kestrel sent a beam of frost into the tree, turning it into an icy bomb. Shards of icicles darted down, plunging into the beast from above.

The pale behemoth breached the surface of the water. Two eyeless heads flailing to either side, massive jaws unhinging and revealing rows of tiny, razor-sharp teeth.

Purpose and adrenaline kept my fear at bay; Eselda and I both unleashed arrows. Hers sank into the gaping mouth of one head, while my arrow skimmed harmlessly across its gleaming white scales. I notched another and enhanced it with an echo-rune, but only the ghostly arrow struck true, penetrating exactly where its eye would have been.

The ogre-snake let out a thundering hiss. Perhaps somehow sensing the magic I'd unleashed, both of its heads swiveled towards me.

Before I had time for another arrow, it lunged. I dodged to the side, dropping my bow and going for my hammer.

Dodging one head was a trivial feat.

Dodging two heads, however, was another matter entirely.

The fangs of its second head caught my leg just below the boot. The fangs scraped over my silksteel greaves. While the enchanted elf-forged steel held firm, the sheer pressure of that bite could break my leg.

Snarling, I ignited the echo-rune and slammed my palm against the snake's closest snout. A moment later I brought the hammer down in a brutal blow that shattered several scales. Blue energy spread through the wound and the creature released my leg, its head flailing back to unleash another thunderous hiss.

Its second head, however, plunged down for my throat. Both of Eselda's hatchets intervened, creating a barrier of steel that slowed the strike long enough for me to roll out of the way. A wild backswing of my warhammer shattered several of its fangs.

Tendrils of frost rose from Kestrel's runes, slicing into the water and creating several patches of ice. Each patch exploded, sending forth blades that tore into the creature's back. As it reared back, hissing and gurgling, I punched its scaly flesh with my echo-rune.

As the energy spread, I shouted out to Kestrel.

"Now!"

I slammed my hammer into the pulsating blue field of magic as Eselda raked her hatchets through the shimmering energy.

I almost felt bad for the great beast, given the amplified agony unleashed by those strikes. Scales splintered and fell away, exposing milky-pink flesh that Eselda mercilessly slashed at with her hatchets. As it rolled and writhed, Kestrel sent several blades of ice into that weak spot. Dark blood fountained onto the mud and into the water.

After a half minute of twitching and trembling, the great beast fell still.

As the adrenaline faded, agony burned my leg. I sagged down onto the ground and stretched my leg out, fumbling with my greaves and rolling up the fabric so I could assess the damage. The skin had been badly bruised, and I could make out a slight bump where the bone had perhaps been fractured.

"It will be a damned hard march out of this swamp," I growled through clenched teeth.

"I have a healing rune," Kestrel said, tapping a rune with a glowing green glyph. "But repairing bone with magic can be...painful."

As Kestrel readied the rune, she nodded to Eselda.

"Pin him down."

"Was looking forward to holding you down in an altogether more fun circumstance, but I'll do my best," Eselda said, both of her hands gripping my wrists and pinning me to the mud.

I managed a faint chuckle at her joke, then growled as the first tingles of healing energy wafted into my leg. The pain soared. Fire rippled up and down my body, scouring deep into my toes and all the way into my hip. I thrashed against Eselda's grip, my head slamming back down against the mud as I bit down on the inside of my cheek to stifle a scream.

Kestrel's other hand reached out and gently cupped my cheek. The soft touch, though welcome, did nothing for the pain.

I thrashed and writhed for a few more moments until the magic reset the fracture. The glow faded and Kestrel removed the runestone. After I'd panted and shivered upon the ground for a full minute, Eselda finally released my wrists and gently stroked my other cheek.

"Look after him," Kestrel said to Eselda, then drew a slender knife from her belt and walked over to the snake to harvest what she needed.

I ran my fingers over my shin, feeling nothing but a faint tingle. Rather than risk standing, I was content to relax in Eselda's arms. She adjusted me a little so I could rest my head in her lap, and her fingers gently stroked through my hair.

"Bloody Voids," I murmured. "I'm not a baby or an injured animal."

"You certainly squealed like one when that healing-rune started, though," she said with a smug grin.

Glaring up at her, I gave her leg a playful swat.

"You'll pay for that."

"With that echo-rune?"

"Absolutely," I said, and we both shared a soft laugh.

Kestrel returned, her hands covered in blood and holding a vial of silvery fluid she'd claimed from the beast.

"That's all we need then?" I asked as Kestrel knelt to wipe her hands clean in the muddy water.

"As far as the ingredients, yes," the mage answered. "It will still take a day or so to actually brew the poison."

With the pain reduced to a dull ache within my leg, I rose with Eselda's help, and together we trudged out of the swamp.

**

Hours later, we marched up a hill overlooking the river that fed the great swamp. That particular river was a bit higher than the other drought-ravaged ones we'd passed. Dozens of locals gathered upon the bank to collect as much water as they could. Given the heat and the intense demand, I wasn't sure how much longer that river would survive.

After pitching our tents, I sat on a boulder and stared down at the river, watching as the desperate farmers gathered what they could before nightfall. Were it not for the lingering ache in my leg, I'd have probably trotted down there to help them.

It wasn't just the ache that stopped me, though. Going down there to help would just remind me of the costs of my own purification, of the fact that the drought would persist if I stole the heart for myself.

"Bloody Voids, Selakiir," Eselda said as she wandered over to join me. She'd stripped out of her armor and down to her silk leggings and the simple cloth wrap around her chest, clearly having no mind for modesty at the moment.

"What?"

"That brooding face of yours. We survived a swarm of mosquitoes, killed a snake monster, Kestrel is about to finish brewing the poison that will help us kill the beast, and you have two women who want to share a tent with you. Cheer up a bit."

"Two?" I asked, glancing over my shoulder at Kestrel, who was hard at work mashing together the various ingredients we'd gathered. "I wasn't sure that a bit of flirting had elevated to genuine interest just yet."

"If you'd been with us over by the fire instead of brooding over here, then you'd have heard us both fantasizing about what that echo-rune could do," she said with a grin.

That thought did dispel my ugly pondering about the drought and the future, though I could not take my eyes off of the last wagon leaving the river.

Eselda's fingers brushed over the back of my neck. The little tingles ignited by her touch tore my gaze from the wagon.

"You need a distraction, Selakiir. I think we all do."

Her nails scraped against my skin before pulling away.

"But if you'd rather just brood, I think Kestrel and I can find our own distraction."

That little taunt finally defeated me and I glanced away from the wagon as it faded against the horizon. Eselda had already started to walk back towards the camp, her hips swaying in a slow, inviting rhythm.

For a long moment I admired her, quite grateful that our paths had crossed.

Finally I rose, the last ache in my shin fading as I trotted up behind her. My arms wrapped around her waist, tugging her back against my chest. She let out a delighted yelp and Kestrel glanced up from her work, a bemused smile playing across her dark features.

"Will you be joining us?" Eselda asked, shivering as my lips brushed over the back of her neck.

"I still have other potions and tonics to brew," said the mage, her gray eyes sparkling. "So we shall see. It depends on how enticing you two sound."

Laughing, Eselda extricated herself from my arms, took me by the hand, and tugged me over towards her tent. We both lingered for a moment to smirk at Kestrel before stepping inside.

We collided in a frenzy of needy, grasping touches. Our hands tore at one another's clothes; she made quick work of my tunic and belt, while I yanked down her silk leggings and tore off the cloth wrap covering her chest.

Once her lithe body was on full display, I took a step back to take in the view. During our tryst in the library, I had not gotten a full look at her, given that she'd been half-clothed.

I bit on my lower lip, murmuring with approval at the sight of her toned midsection, the lean muscles of her arms, the pert breasts with perky dark nipples. She in turn admired my musculature and the grayish hues of my skin.

Our mutual regard did not last long, and we smashed into one another in another clash of kisses and nibbles.

She fell to the ground first, reclining upon my bedroll, spreading her toned legs wide. Her hands rose, caressing her breasts as I knelt between her legs.

Meeting her eyes, I licked my lips and raised the echo-rune. With a giggle she arched her back and lifted her legs, her toes grazing over my calves.

"Hurry up," she hissed.

"No foreplay?" I asked with a low laugh.

"Let's save the foreplay for the celebratory fuck after we kill the beast."

I wasn't going to accede to those demands quite so easily; I reached between her legs, my thumb grazing over her folds and teasing across her clit. With a grunt she tightened her legs around me, pulling me a bit closer.

After a few seconds of toying with her, I rested the runestone against her tensing stomach. My fingers brushed over the arcane glyph; blue energy wafted down over her sex and my fingers. When I lifted my hand away, the energy persisted and her eyes bulged.

"Tickles," she said with a giggle and a lopsided grin. "But in a good way."

Once she adjusted to the sensations, I moved my thumb back down, caressing her clit once more, unleashing sensations both illusory and real upon her. That sent a jolt through Eselda; her eyes bulged and her back arched once more.

Another brush of the echo-rune intensified those sensations. With the magic still churning through her, I gripped her wrists and pinned her to the bedroll.

I leaned down against her, my lips mere inches from hers.

"Think that'll be enough to make you come?"

"Maybe," she muttered between soft moans. "Depends on what else you do to me."

"Nothing," I said, leering down at her. "Just going to keep you pinned like this and see how long you last."

"Revenge for my joke about you squealing like a little animal when we fixed your leg?"

"Precisely."

Eselda laughed, bucking her hips and wrapping her legs around my waist. We both grunted as my cock grazed against her folds, but she didn't quite have the angle or the leverage to take what she needed. I raised my hips a bit, denying her and earning a fierce glare in response.

"You're a monster."

"Not at all. I am just a man who is curious about how much you can take."

The magic continued to ripple through her sex, drawing out the echoes of my earlier teasing. The faint glow of the runestone glittered in her wild amber eyes.

Little mewls and whimpers flooded the tent, her firm legs tightening around my hips.

"Come on," she growled under her breath. "You know how good my cunt feels. And don't you want to actually finish inside me this time? I took that potion...I'm ready for you."

"No. You're not," I growled, then leaned down and bit her lower lip.

She retaliated with a fierce bite that very nearly drew blood. The delightful shock of that pain caused my grip to slacken, giving her the opportunity to retaliate.

As she let out an angry growl, Eselda freed her left hand from my grasp, which gave her enough leverage to push up against my chest, forcing me onto my back. Too aflame with my own need to really put up much of a fight, I just laughed and savored the defeat.

With the magic still pulsing around her sex, she moved to straddle me, both of her hands gripping my shoulders.

Eselda leaned in, claiming a hungry kiss. Our tongues dueled for a few moments and we both inflicted soft bites upon each other's lips while her hand reached down, took hold of my manhood, and gave it a single firm stroke.

"Should probably tease you more," she mumbled against my lips.

After one last bite to my lower lip, Eselda adjusted her hips, sighed, and sank down upon me. I let out a soft, moaning laugh and leaned my head back, luxuriating in the wet embrace of the pussy I'd enjoyed back in the library. Her lips latched onto my neck, suckling and nibbling as she took a few deep breaths, making no effort to rock her hips at all just yet.

"Already spent?" I teased, shuddering beneath her and struggling to hold back a moan of my own.

With a grunt, she raised herself, bracing one hand upon my chest while the other reached between her legs, two of her fingers flicking over the clit still being assailed by the echoing magic.

"This is all I need now," she said, her eyes rolling back. "Gods...it's like nothing else. The fullness, the magic, and my fingers all working together..."

Both of my hands settled on her hips. Tempted as I was to rock up against her, I was too enchanted by the beautiful tension in her body to interrupt.

That hesitation didn't last long, though. The clenching of her sex around me, the heaving of her chest...all of it was too enticing for me just to rest there beneath her.

I gently bucked up against her, grinning at the soft cry she let out. Knowing that we both needed more than just that, I rose up a bit more firmly against her, and she returned the favor, rocking her hips back down against me.

After a few fumbling moments we both found our rhythm, our hips working together in time with the strokes of her fingers and the pulses of magic upon her sex. My low growls and her higher moans no doubt interrupted Kestrel's work outside.

If we irritated her enough, I hoped she'd come in and join us. My cock pulsed at the thought of Kestrel's lips claiming a fierce kiss from Eselda as she writhed and moaned above me.

My lover giggled a little as my hips quickened.

"Are you all right down there?" she cooed, a whimper occasionally flitting between her breathless words.

"Was just thinking about how beautiful you'd look with Kestrel's lips upon yours."

"Funny...I was just thinking the same thing about you."

After letting out a laugh interspersed with a few moans, I leaned up, wrapping my arms around her back and tugging her close against my chest. My tight grip slowed the fervent rocking of our hips, but the feeling of her heaving chest pressed against mine more than made up for it.

My lips moved to her neck, licking and nibbling. A particular spot just beneath her ear seemed to ignite something with her. One trembling hand clutched at my hair. The once-smooth movements of her hips broke down, her body nearly undone by my magic, my cock, and my lips.

I licked up towards her ear, gently nibbling on the lobe. My hands reached down to grab that wonderfully firm ass of hers, tugging upon her in time with each of my upward thrusts.

"Nice and loud," I growled into her ear.

"Don't tell me what to do," she grumbled back, even as each word hitched higher and higher.

To her credit, she managed to bite down on her lip hard enough to muffle the loudest of her cries. But there was no way she could hide the bliss tearing through her: her hips trembled against mine, her stomach tensed, her chest heaved. Wild, desperate whimpers escaped her clenched teeth.

After one last deep breath she went limp against me. A moment later a fierce shiver went through her body, though her hands fell away from my sweaty hair.

I was far from finished, however.

With a groan of rising need I pushed her onto her back, gripped those lean legs and spread them wide. Her amber eyes bulged, staring up at me with a fire I'd never seen in a lover before.

Even as my hips crashed against her, I reached for the echo-rune. Eselda cursed under her breath as I brought the stone between us. A flick of my trembling fingers activated a pulse of magic that wafted down over her sex and my surging cock.

The echoes rippled through our bodies, amplifying and extending the sensations for us both. I leaned my head back and grunted at the aches unleashed by the sorcery, while Eselda let out a loud, triumphant cry.

Even with my newfound power and dominance over her, I knew I wouldn't last long. Perhaps it was due to how damned beautiful she looked, splayed out and helpless beneath me. Perhaps it was the way her eyes gleamed as she stared up at me, or maybe the way those eyes rolled back at a particularly deep thrust. Or perhaps it was those sounds she made: hoarse, desperate groans interspersed by the occasional needy sob.

In the end, though, it wasn't any of those factors that spelled my defeat.

It was instead the arrival of Kestrel.

The mage slipped into the tent, her face casual and calm, as if she were not interrupting a wild, magic-fueled fuck.

In a few smooth steps she crossed the tent, gripped the back of my neck, and pulled me in for a deep, fierce kiss. Eselda moaned beneath me, the sound a mixture of envy and delight. Kestrel's soft lips muffled my own moans, though my voice grew louder as her tongue tangled with mine.

After she pulled back, I let out a grunt of effort, trying to lean in to claim another kiss even as I continued to pound against Eselda. The mage's fingers brushed over my lips, her gray eyes aflame with a desire as keen as my own.

"Deep inside her, Selakiir," she cooed.

The soft command and another graze of her fingers over the side of my neck finally defeated me. I cried out, leaning my head back as my body went rigid, my hips slamming against Eselda's one last time. As the first surge of my cock sent seed spurting deep within Eselda, I took a deep breath and looked down, meeting Eselda's amber eyes.

My hands tightened against Eselda's thighs, bracing myself as I thrashed and tensed above her. As I drifted within the wild waves of my climax, Kestrel leaned down to claim a kiss from Eselda, silencing the mercenary's cries.

Those strong hips bucked up against me as the last pulses went through my cock. Her legs tightened, clutching my body in a wonderfully painful embrace.

When Kestrel pulled her lips back from Eselda, the mercenary's wild cry echoed through the tent and beyond.