Blazing Glory Ch. 09

This is a work of my own creation and, being so, is a parody of many races of fantasy that have been created over the past century. Any similarity of characters with real world is either coincidence or intended with implied differences (Example: If I wanted to write a story on say Jasmine of Disney because she's hot, the character will be similar in appearance but different physically in ways as well as psychologically). Under no circumstances should anyone under 18, or 21 (under local government law), or any non-Adult read this! This work contains graphic violence and acts of pornography. Regardless of description (or me simply forgetting to state it in the story), none of the characters in my stories are intended to be under eighteen years of age.

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Chapter 9 - Leviathan Nightmare

In the land of Nealon, the ever burning fires of the volcanic mountains glowed in the nighttime sky in the distance. Yet their luminous fury paled in comparison to the inferno raging upon the top of the castle, home to the Mistress of Discord. Above on the roof, those familiar red eyes of Koas were no longer as they glowed white hot in her anger. Her fingers tightly gripped the rough stone terrace edge as she looked down over her destructive lands.

HE was ALIVE! Her teeth ground in anger as she wanted unleash another ear-splitting shriek with the thought. But she kept herself in check this time. The first result of the scream had resulted in the complete bloody destruction of the hellhound demon giving the message. His guts lay piled in places while hanging in others while dripping blood. Her throne room had been covered in gruesome parts and blood as he literally exploded from her tantrum.

Luckily for those near her, she regained control of her temper before blowing her castle and surrounding area into oblivion. The hellhound was of no consequence to her as he had been her servant through swearing of allegiance. She could destroy her whole army if she wished by their sworn word to serve her and forfeiture of the protection of the Natori pact. They knew such and would be driven by fear to not fail her.

As with her thoughts returned to the failure of Blaze's demise, she thought of Lexiss who had just left her presence. She had summoned her shadow mistress immediately to demand answers for his presence still among the living. Lexiss had been in no doubt completely shocked to hear Blaze being reported in good health. Her servant quickly assured her fuming mistress that she had successfully employed the curse of spirit necrosis on him with her shadow touch. She vividly described how she could still easily remember the feeling of tearing into his insides before the seed of the curse implanted.

Koas had believed Lexiss. The look of disbelief at the revelation and then conviction of her words convinced the goddess that the truth was being told. Even then, Koas didn't think she could bring harm to her personal avatar. Lexiss was like a daughter to her. The shadow mistress was actually a part of herself to be true. She had created Lexiss from a part of her own being and made the shadow mistress into her own likeness. Koas smiled slightly in the fond thought of Lexiss before turning back to the matter at hand.

With a sigh, she turned to pick up a cloth to wipe the bloody gore off the crystal ball she had brought with her. She tossed the filthy rag aside when done and placed the magical orb on the stone beside her. Having cooled down finally, her glowing red eyes focused intently on the crystal surface as she thought of the source to all her troubles. It took the magical talisman some time to find him as she didn't know his exact whereabouts at the moment. Only that he and his cursed friends were somewhere in Solomon.

The images of trees and streams of the elven land flashed in its search before finally coming to a sudden halt. Her target came to view swiftly as the human slept soundly off the beaten path they traveled. The succubus had him wrapped in her arms as she slept beside him with the others resting about them. Clearly all were in good health.

How? How could Blaze have survived a curse meant to destroy his very soul? When she thought about it, the answer came swiftly to mind as it didn't take a genius to have to figure it out. Blaze and his friends had been there in Riodanol during the attack. So had been the Silver Enchantress. It was too much to be a mere coincidence that both should be in the same place at the same time.

Stavros would have known that the Silver Enchantress would be one of only a select few in the world who could remove such a curse. And the sorceress happened to be the closest one. The question as to why the elven sorceress had been in Riodanol was easily answered as well. She would have tagged along with Blaze and the others on their journey to keep watch on Blaze's health for any sign of recession. Thus both parties had been in Riodanol at the most inopportune time.

Koas desired greatly to shatter the crystal as her anger rose again. The attack on the elves had been vital to her plans. The elven city was to have been decimated and the Queen of the Elves killed gruesomely. Such would result in the complete demoralization and decimation of the elves. Now instead of facing a very weak pest to brush aside, her army would now have to face the might of the elven nation as it is now prepared for the war it knew was coming. It mattered not though as her army was significantly larger than anything the elves could handle. A minor nuisance is all.

But Blaze was another matter that needed to be taken care of still. She frowned darkly as she wondered what he was up to. Where was he heading? The view in the crystal soared away from him like an eagle climbing high into the sky, giving her a clear view of the surrounding lands they traveled in. Her eyes focused on what lay immediately south of him. A city right on a body of water. A port on the northern edge of the Sonel Sea. Blaze was heading there as they were south of Riodanol.

The evil deity frowned as she was disappointed at this. If they had traveled west, they would likely have encountered where her forces would emerge and be completely destroyed. But now it seems they chose to head south and charter a boat to some destination. The thought came to mind swiftly with that. For the first time in hours her mood improved greatly as that familiar smirk appeared. Of course!

Wiping the crystal clean of the image, she summoned the one person in mind who could make her idea happen. The crystal began to glow a deep blue as the eyes of her servant appeared within. The light filled the top of Koas's castle and could be seen from afar as she gave her orders.

When the goddess was finished, soft musical laughter filled with madness resonated in the air before fading away with the light of the orb...

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Blaze woke up that morning. He had the most disturbing dream. In the darkness he had run from the feeling of being watched by something that sought him out. No matter how hard he ran, he could not escape it until it finally caught up with him. He found himself staring at a pair of glowing red eyes filled with so much malice and hatred that he dropped to his knees in terror, shaking uncontrollably.

To his relief, those eyes eventually faded away to be replaced by emerald eyes filled with such kindness and affection. After that he had slept more soundly until he woke. But no matter how hard he tried, he could never forget those dangerous red eyes. He and the others swiftly packed up their travel gear and supplies before moving back on the path to continue on south towards their destination.

It turns out that Kendra was familiar with the port they were heading towards as she had been to it many times, though she had never approached it from the north. She had always come by ship to the town in which she said was named Synan. A town the succubus said she found much to satiate her demonic sexual hunger because of its nature.

Synan was a cutthroat town. A place of refuge for those of all races running from the law and justice. A haven for both the cruel misbegotten souls and profiteers alike. A town in which Kendra could easily act as a whore to reel in victims. The demoness was firm in her warnings to them to always watch their backs for murderers and keep their hands on their money to stave off pickpockets. Blaze didn't like the sound of this place in the slightest. How were they supposed to find a trustworthy person or crew take them where they wanted in a lawless port?

The beautiful demon informed them they were easily with a few hours of reaching the town. Blaze didn't need to be told as he could smell that familiar scent of the sea he had grown up with. After a few hours of walking, they emerged out of the forest directly into a short clearing. Five sets at eyes blinked at what greeted them.

Kendra was right. This was the seediest town Blaze had ever seen in his life! All of the buildings were in terrible shape with many of them looking like they were on the verge of collapse. In fact, many had supporting planks of wood propped up against those structures leaning heavily to one side. One storm could easily bring every building in Synan crashing down. Yet every structure still stood while bearing signs of weathering such storms.

Raucous laughter spilled out many of the buildings that looked to be taverns inside. Inns were isolated between the numerous drinking pubs. Most of those seen had many scantily dressed women standing outside. Apparently many inns doubled as whorehouses. To Blaze it was a reminder of Whore's Lane in Aidan. Remembering the stomach turning events that occurred there before his meeting with Kendra, he quickly shoved those memories out of his mind.

Dangerous riffraff wandered the streets from tavern to tavern. Many eyed them with apprising looks of whether Blaze and his friends were worth murdering and robbing. Others eyed the females with lewd grins as they toyed with the ideas of raping them. Especially when Kendra walking with that ever present air of sensuality about her and mind-blowing sway of her hips. Fortunately, the women with Blaze each had their own fierce look about them that warned most vile men away.

All except for one poor human soul who chose to grope Tyra's ass as she passed by. The gargoyle promptly sent the drunken pervert crashing through a nearby building's wall with one solid punch. Most chose to give Blaze's party a wide berth after that. They walked through the streets towards the waterfront portion of the town filled with piers. Blaze was more than happy to move towards the sea. The stench of Synan was beyond horrid and the streets incredibly filthy with trash and excrement, humanoid and animal alike. At least the closer they drew to the piers the smell was gradually overpowered by the scent of salt water.

A ramshackle of buildings faced out to the sea stubbornly with their fronts stained by the sea spray. They all drew up to a stop before one of the buildings that looked like a tavern was bustling with activity.

"Well," Blaze sighed as he looked to the other women, "If there was ever a place to find a ship's captain, these waterfront taverns would be the place to look. Shall we?"

All the women nodded before following him up to the building with a sign above it. Depicted was woman with a fishtail in place of her legs and her large breasts bared. Below read the words "The Busty Mermaid". Blaze grimaced as he hoped they could knock this one out and move on quickly. The name was bad enough, but looking back to his companions he could already see many snide 'busty' jokes being cracked by the tavern patrons.

Pushing the door open, he stepped inside. Blaze immediately started coughing as the room was filled with pipe smoke. Such a nasty habit! Clearing his throat, he walked inside and made his way to an empty table by a stairwell. The room grew quieter as the eyes were drawn to him and the ladies but soon the bustle renewed itself to its usual pitch. They had been studied and judged as just more diverse vagrants coming to Synan. Nothing more and certainly nothing important.

The women sat down at the table with him as they began scanning the room for potential candidates that looked like sailors. A barmaid strut up to them with her hips swaying and looked down to them all with a haughty frown. Until she saw Blaze that is. A slow smile grew on her face as she arched her back a little more to present him with a nice view of full breasts straining against her low cut dress.

"Well hello handsome," she cooed. "Can I get you a drink? Or something else perhaps for your enjoyment? Ditch the bitches so you and I can have a bit of fun."

Four pairs of eyes immediately shot towards the barmaid. When she saw the look in all of those eyes, the barmaid yelped and stumbled backwards in fear. Her eyes wildly searched about for an escape route as she swallowed audibly.

"Why yes! Five ales it is!" she piped in a shrilly voice before spinning around and speeding off. Whether it was from fear of displeasing the women further or eagerness to be done with them, the barmaid returned quickly with five mugs filled with ale.

"Fifteen coppers please," she said as she hastily set the drinks down before them all.

Blaze blinked before reaching beneath the table to his own coin pouch and fished out the requested price and more. He drew his hand back up and placed the coins in her hand as she came to him last.

"There are fifteen coppers," he said before opening his hand to reveal more coins there. "And ten more if you can tell us where a captain for hire in this room is."

The barmaid blinked before noticing the other women were watching her as well. Blaze could tell the woman was beginning to sweat and not just from the building heat of the day. Without saying a word, she looked over to a corner in the room to a dark figure. Blaze followed her gaze and blinked curiously. All of the tavern patrons kept an open space between themselves and the lone figure. He noticed their wary glances directed that way as well.

"That is the best ship captain you could ever hope to find here in Synan," the barmaid whispered lowly with a hidden point in the figure's direction. "But I wouldn't ask or even bother that person if I were you."

Blaze noted the fear in the woman's voice before nodding and placing the extra coins in her hand. The barmaid moved quickly away as if trying to hide from that figure after disclosing its occupation. Though try as they did, none of them could quite make out the figure through the smoke and throng of bodies.

Blaze sighed and looked back to the others, "It looks like I'd better just go ahead and introduce myself..."

The others nodded in acquiesce as they watched him rise from his chair. He would say for them to watch his back but already knew they had that taken care of. He trusted each of them. With purpose in his stride, the young human warrior moved through the maze of tables and people. A pair of eyes in that darkness looked up to him when he reached the threshold of where no others would cross. Without hesitating, Blaze continued on towards the lone table until he finally stood before it and the dark figure sitting at it.

"You've got guts kid. I like that," the figure spoke after a moment of silence. The lighting was terrible and didn't illuminate the person much at all. "What do you want?"

"I and my friends need to charter a ship for safe passage to where we desire to go. I'm told you're the best there is when it comes to the high seas," Blaze answered.

"You were told right then," the voice laughed before leaning forward enough to reveal the figure's lower face and full feminine lips curved in a mischievous grin. "Sit down kiddo and let's have it then..."

Blaze looked down to the only other chair sitting next to the shadowed woman before taking it and sitting down with her in the darkness. He was slightly nervous at being hidden from the others in the poor light but knew Rae was the one out of all of them that could best see him with her sharp drow eyes. His own eyes began to adjust to the darkness to where he could finally make out who he sat next to as she removed her black wide-brimmed hat with red feathers sticking out of it to be placed on the table.

He already knew it was a woman by those lips and rich feminine voice. She was quite a looker too! Deep blue eyes studied him in her own curiosity. A sleeveless white tunic hugged the swells of her breasts and was tucked into loose red leggings fit for a sailor's life at sea. A leather band with pouches stitched into it encircled her right bicep. Leather gloves adorned her hands with the glove fingers cut away for her own to poke through. It reminded him of street fighters he'd seen come to Kyros. He didn't doubt those brown leather fingerless gloves were padded enough to knock his teeth out in a single punch.

Long reddish blonde hair cascaded down past her shoulders. Always appreciative of long hair, Blaze studied the attractive feature until his eyes were drawn to a characteristic he couldn't ignore. He stared dumbfounded as he realized this woman wasn't human as she seemed! Her ears! Poking out of that mass of blonde locks was a pair of pale cat-like ears!

"It's not polite to stare you know," she said with a knowing grin.

Blaze blinked as he was brought out of his shock before blushing profusely. "My apologies! I didn't mean to stare..."

The cat-eared woman laughed and waved the matter off with her hand as if it were nothing to matter at all. "It's okay. I'm quite used to it actually. A small trait I get from my mother who was a puma lycan while my father was a human, giving me the rest."

"Really?... I honestly didn't know humans and lycans could have children," Blaze said in amazement.

"Oh yes they can. Lycans bear enough human physical traits to make it possible," she chuckled before looking across the room. "And by the way your catwoman companion had her eyes on you when she came in, I'd say she wouldn't mind having kids with you."

Blaze blinked at this and sat back as the thought hit him. He had never considered the possibilities. Through all of the sex he'd been having with Nadine, could she become pregnant? What about the others? All this time he had been so dimwitted about never thinking about the possibilities. He shook his head away from the thought. It was something he could discuss with them later. His focus needed to be on this woman.

The young human extended his open hand to her, "My name is Blaze."

She eyed him amusingly at first before taking his hand with her own in a surprisingly strong grip, "A pleasure, Blaze. I'm Marissa. Now that we've exchanged names, let's hear why you are in need of 'safe' passage..."

Blaze's breath caught and he cursed himself instantly. He should have been more careful with his words. She could have taken it for anything, but by the way he had said 'safe passage' she knew there was more to this than appeared. By Stavros, should he tell her everything? What was really happening and their mission? Was she trustworthy enough? It was a gamble to be taken for sure as he considered it silently. She was the best ship captain they were looking for. They needed to continue on. Marissa waited expectantly as her blue eyes watched him in growing amusement. He then remembered what his master had said often a long time ago.

"Trust always begins with a leap of faith into the unknown. You may land safely or may end up hurt. But trust can never be obtained by doing nothing..."

Looking into those deep blue eyes, Blaze hoped this leap he was about to take would land a solid trust between him and Marissa. He then proceeded to explain just about everything that had happened to him when he began his journey. It was a long tale to be told for sure. Time passed along with orders of ale that Marissa bought for them both as she listened with keen interest. When he finished, she remained silent while staring silently into the murky liquid in her mug. Swirling the ale about in consideration, her blue eyes looked up to him finally.