Fantasy Erotica
A Day in Dodberry
The Adventures of Bella the Paladin #20
I woke to the sound of birds singing in the trees beyond the window, and the sight of Aztai blissfully drooling on her soft down pillow. I slipped out of bed to visit the out-house, then slipped back into our soft toasty bed to snuggle with soft toasty Aztai, but that woke her and so she had to visit the outhouse too. She found running to the outhouse in the nuddy to be rather chilling, and dove back into bed to nestle in my arms.
Her dark eyes were shining as I pulled her to me, and we kissed as lovers should, deeply and passionately, as though trying to devour each other. I kissed down her neck, then down to her breast, my lips tugging at her hard erect nipple, while my fingers tweaked the other. She giggled as I continued to go down her lovely soft body, warm between the white down-filled bedding.
I kissed her all the way down to her nether lips, and her thighs opened wide to welcome me. She groaned as my tongue went into her body, loudly enough that I shushed her! I had heard people walking back and forth on the road by the cottage and did not want to attract attention. Aztai giggled, but managed to be quiet as I licked and licked. My fingers gently probed into her wetness as her body writhed deeper into the soft mattress, and my tongue gently but firmly caressed her clit. Her writhing became more and more pronounced as she was lost to ecstasy, but she managed to pull a pillow over her face when she became loud in her enjoyment. Thankfully the bed was solidly made, for she writhed vigorously as wave after wave of orgasm crashed down on her, and she vainly tried to bat me away as I took her to higher and higher realms of ecstasy.
“Where the feck did you learn how to do that?” she asked some time later. I told her about the knights of Cat’s Eye Castle. She had heard that only women lived there, but had not realised the consequences of it fully.
“Can we go there?” she asked.
“No.” I answered. She could tell there was a reason that I did not want to share, and she held me tightly to show that it didn’t matter.
The cottage did not have glass in the windows, and all the shutters were open, so it was easy for Maeve to peer directly into the room.
“All done for now?”
“What?” Aztai was not happy. “I thought I was being quiet?”
“Oh you were, only people standing right outside the cottage could hear you. However, there are in fact quite a lot of people here.” I got up and opened the door to find rather a large group of townsfolk standing there carrying gifts, or wheeling them in hand carts. Sebastian sat on the fence of the paddock and waved.
“Everyone wants to meet the Slayer of the Ancient Evil of Aktala!” he said, as though he was innocent of the matter. Indeed half the town had come, for there had been attacks from Aktala not long before, mostly countered by Yusuf together with Namira and Giermund.
There were dwarves, including the blacksmith that lived next door who brought irons for the fire; also halflings, including one from Namira’s bakery who had brought us pies for breakfast and another that owned the pub by the Port Gate who gave us a keg of small beer; some humans, including the priestess of the local deity, the Maiden of the Springs, who have us a figure of the Maiden to put on the mantelpiece; gnomes, including a friend of Sebastian who gave us a mandolin (which none of us could actually play); an orc carpenter who gave us a table; but also a Faye and a Night Elf which were races I had only heard about before.
Faye are small, about the size of gnomes but they are very magical and dangerous, sometimes malevolent. Myrtle, which was her name, seemed quite nice and apparently owned a bookshop, so she gave us a small stack of books which was very generous.
The Night Elf, whose name was Kurai, was mostly similar to other elves, being short and slender with pointed ears, but she had dark bluish grey skin and large black eyes. Night Elves shunned the sunlight so Kurai wore a dark hooded cloak that covered her almost completely. She gave us a wicked smile and also gave us a beautiful silk wall-hanging that was made by her people. I could sense that listening to me making love to Aztai had aroused her considerably.
Finally we had dealt with all the visitors with all the grace and courtesy we could muster, leaving Sebastian.
“These are from Geirmund,” he said, indicating a small coup with three beautiful white chickens.
“Oh! Three Franconian hens!” I said. “Do they lay eggs?”
“Oh yes. And there are plenty of roosters around so they keep laying. Giermund would also like to see you when you feel up to it,” he told us. I told him I was in no hurry, and Aztai, Maeve, Neve, and I ate Namira’s pies around the fireplace in the cottage. But eventually we thought we had better see what the old dwarf mage had to say to us, and we trailed along to his tower.
“Ladies,” he greeted us warmly.
“Thank you for the hens!” said Aztai.
“You are most welcome! I have something to show you up on the roof.” He led up the spiral staircase that led to the very top of his tall narrow tower, until we reached the roof. The views were quite impressive, across the lake and over all the lands around and up to the mountains. Geirmund gave us some time to take it all in, then he pointed to the northeast, towards the highest mountains.
“That tall mountain on the edge of the plain was actually once a great fortress of my people for thousands of years up until a few hundred of years ago. Torgick it was called. It would have been quite useful to us during this past unpleasantness with the dark sorcerers of Aktala. They say that under the ground are hidden storehouses, gold-filled vaults and chests of gems.”
“What happened to it?” asked Aztai. “What happened to all the people?”
It was a different world, a more dangerous one. The dwarves were in constant enmity with everyone around them, mostly orcs and humans, but even elves. But the world became more peaceful. The Lady’s Girdle was created, making Cat’s Eye Haven, and the knights of that land roamed far and wide to bring peace. Paladins came from the Western Isles, and strove against wickedness wherever it was found. Also new mines were found, but there was no need for a great fortress to protect it because people lived in peace. Dwarves settled all the lands about and left Torgick with its halls hewn from rock and stone. The ancient line of kings carried on, but it is said they became increasingly alienated from our people, thinking it was their privilege to govern and rule us, and that we should all return to Torgick in submission to their ancient precedence. Their arrogance drove the last of my people away, and the few retainers that were left eventually died. King Bohun, our king now, is a very different sort of dwarf, although still descended from the ancient kings of old.”
“Yes! He’s very nice,” Aztai smiled.
“This isn’t just a story, is it?” I said.
“Ah! No. We have actually tried to get back in, there are some small side doors, but you see in the hearts of every dwarf there is a love of delightful things brought from the earth. The unblemished lustre and weight of gold, the brilliance of well-cut diamonds. These are things that excite a dwarf’s very soul.” I could tell. There was something about the dwarf that was growing in his heart as he told the tale.
“Many generations of our ancestors are interred in the crypts of the fortress of Torgick, and it seems that the desire to protect the king’s hoard still lives on in their bones.”
“Oh! Are they spirits?” asked Aztai.
“They are undead,” I said. “The darkness of their desire has made their bones animate and they protect the treasures of the fortress from the living.”
“Ah! You guessed it,” said Giermund.
“”No. I see it. The same darkness is in your heart.”
“Me?”
“Yes, it grew as you talked of the gold-filled vaults. I still sense it. This is a weakness of all dwarves?”
“I suppose it is,” Geirmund admitted.
“So you want me to help clear the fortress of the undead? It is a simple matter for a Paladin.”
“Well, really we just need someone, or a small group of someones. You and a couple of dwarves that can move around without making too much noise would be good, to get in and get the main doors open. We have an army with nothing to do, with the main doors open they can just march in!” Geirmund smiled benignly, as I had not yet expressed any opposition to this plan.
“I have really one major question,” I said. “As I said, dismissing the darkness in the souls of the undead is a simple matter for someone who bears the Light of Ainyah. But my question is: why will Yusuf not do this for you?”
“Ah!” said Geiramund, I had indeed found a weakness in his plan, and the smile fled his face. If possible he became even more glum when the quiet laughter of a man came from the door to the roof of the tower. Yusuf then stepped into the light.
“I knew you would try this, Geiramund,” Yusuf said in a disappointed but somehow almost jovial tone. “He has asked me, but I have refused.”
“What is he not telling me?”
“I’m not sure it matters. I have never been convinced it would do the community, including the dwarves, any good to get involved with Torgick. Their lives are fuller in the light, I feel. However, I would say that the fortress would have come in useful if the Slayer of the Ancient Evil of Aktala had not come along when she did.”
“So you think I should do it?”
“Perhaps. It wouldn’t hurt to have a look.”
“I suppose. But I have had an unpleasant experience with the undead, thanks to a Mage I used to know. How well preserved are they?”
“Oh! Just skeletons.”
“No preserved soft body parts?”
“No,” Geiramund curled up his lip in disgust. “That sounds disgusting.”
“You have no idea,” I told him.
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