Song of Dancing Fire

Htaed waited for the others to continue towards the village before quietly slipping into the shadows. He followed Inwe silently.

She walked until she came across her animal companions. He watched her joy as she embraced them and played with them.

He was stunned at the emotions he felt as he watched the beautiful Inwe at play. She is so graceful and her movements very sensual. He felt emotions he had never felt before.

As quickly a they started he crushed them. He saw emotion as a weakness. He kept watching her. The crushed emotions soon surfaced again.

He knew he was losing it and he felt powerless. She had cast a spell over him. He stayed deep in the shadows blending in as only his kind can.

She said bye to her animals and they disappeared into the forrest. She watched them go and then turned to follow the others.

The attack came swiftly. Six forrest trolls came silently charging at Inwe. She drew her weapon but is no match for six powerful brutes. They overpower her quickly. One grabs her arms from behind and jerks her against him. His hand covers her mouth. She can feel his monster cock pushing into her back.

The other five stand leering in front of her. One steps forward and rips her top open. They all look lustfully at her naked breasts. Their huge cocks jutting out from their bodies leaking drops of white fluid. She struggles helplessly as the leader steps forward again. His face freezes in shock as a blade appears through his chest.

Htaed rips the blade out of the leader back and spins around. His two blades slicing the heads of two of the trolls. He lunges past Inwe's head spearing his sword through the head of the troll holding her. The two remaining troll charge at him with their battle clubs. Htaed ducks underneath the first club and slashes into the trolls stomach disemboweling him. The last one drop his club and starts running. Htaed thows his sword like a spear. The sharp blade hits the troll in his neck severing his spinal cord. He drops down dead.

Htaed collects his weapon and walks to Inwe. She is busy trying to cover herself as best she could. Htaed takes off his cloak and wraps it around the shaken Inwe. After he killed the last of the living trolls he cleans and sheaths his swords.

"Come Princess we must go". He says but hold her in his arms first until her body stops shaking. He reluctantly releases her and changes back into an elven guardian.

As soon as Inwe saw the swiftly charging trolls she knew she was in trouble, she had no
choice but to draw her sword and try and fight them off. But there are too many of them, she
tries to face them, meanwhile one of them has come up from behind and grabs her arms pulling
her against him. Her weapon goes flying to the left of her. Now Inwe opens her mouth to
shout for her animal companions, but is too late. She feels his filthy hand come over her mouth.
Struggling with all her strength she hears him chuckle as his cock rubs into her back. Gods but
they are ugly brutes. Grey of skin, broad bodies thick with muscles. As they come near Inwe
can see the lust in their dim witted faces.

When one of them grabs the front of her top and rips it open, she leans back against the big
troll holding her and kicks outward at his balls. Her aim is true making her grunt in satisfaction.
He falls to the ground with a loud thud and groan. But being a troll he gets up quickly holding
his groin looking for revenge. Inwe struggles to free herself.

As the leader steps up to Inwe his face freezes and she sees a blade push out the front of his
massive chest. Blood starts to drip down from the wound, he then topples over and lays still.
In shock she watched as two more of the grotesque monsters are taken down. Then she saw it
was Htaed who was rapidly dispatching the trolls. Before she realized it, the troll that was
holding her drops to the ground dead.

As the two remaining trolls go after Htaed , Inwe looks around for her blade, running over to
where it had fallen, she quickly grabs it and turns to help. She is just in time to see Htaed's
sword fly through the air and hit the last troll in the back of his neck, he too fell to the ground
dead.

Holding her arms in front of her chest Inwe is grateful when Htaed puts his cloak around her.
She slowly stops shaking, and hears his words, “ Come Princess we must go.” When he lets
go of her she nods her head and watches as he changes back into the elf guard. She looks at
all the bodies and replies “ OK, I am ready lets get away from this carnage.”

They walk briskly away from the dead trolls back into the forrest. Htaed can't get the images of the helpless Inwe out of his mind. He keeps seeing her top being ripped open and those beautiful breasts bouncing from the violence of the attack. His cock gets hard as he is walking. His mind is desperately trying to controll his lust.

It is a battle he will lose. Lust is heavy on him. They reach the darkness of the forrest trees. Htaed cannot controll his desire any more. He spins around and grabs the princess and kisses her hard. He catches her by surprise. She recovers quickly and shoves him away from her. "What do you think you are doing? How dare you touch....." Her words trail off as he transforms into his real shape.

The cloak had fallen off her shoulders when she shoved him away. He stood tall and strong above her. The warrior that had killed the trolls. His eyes devoured her. He saw her nipples tighten as his eyes devoured them. He un clipped hi belt and dropped his pants, his large erection poked out at her. Her lips were still trying protest but his kiss silenced her. He kissed her passionately and was soon rewarded with her lips parting and her tongue darting into his mouth. They kiss for what seemed an eternity. He needed her now. He drops her clothes of and lifts her up. Inwe's legs circle around his waist as he lowers her down on his hard cock. He impales her slowly stretching her tight pussy with his cock. He feels her tight around him, easily supporting her light body in his strong arms.
He lowers her all the way down so that she is only supported by his hard cock. He grabs her ass cheeks and starts lifting her up and down faster and faster on his large cock. He leans back to get a better angle for his cock to reach deeper into her as he fucks her wildly. He soon feels her contacting around him as she cums. That is all he needs and he explodes and throbs deep inside her. His warm cum hitting deep inside her womb.

They collapse in a heap on the ground. Totally spent in their passion. Inwe recovers first and slaps his face hard. "Don't you dare touch me again you monster". Htaed flinches and helps her to her feet.

He wraps the cloak around her and leads her towards the village. They cover the distance quickly and catch up with the others quickly.

Ello smiled and waved hallo at them as they rejoined the party. Htaed boiled with anger inside at the sight of Inwe happily greeting Ello.

Inwe walked along side Htaed and slowly put the recent events out of her mind, but her body was
still agitated. When they reached the forest he suddenly turned grasped her arms and pulled her
to him kissing her hard. Shoving him away she cried, “ What do you think your doing? How dare
you...” Her words trailing away as she watched Htaed change into the warrior she had just seen
in battle not 15 minutes ago.

Her body quickly reacted to the way he looked at her, she watched mesmerized as his britches
fell to the forest floor. Seeing how aroused he was only made her condition heighten. Her lips
moved to say no, but she didn't try to push him away again when he pulled her against his
chest and roughly took her lips, crushing them. Moaning Inwe quickly heated up under the
onslaught of his passion. There is no resisting Htaed now, she was caught up in his passion
and swept away.

Lifting her legs around his waist, she cried out as he eased his hard member deep inside her
and started to thrust in and out of her heated tunnel. As he quickened his movements, Inwe
knew it wouldn't be long before she would cum. She started to moan louder then cried out
repeatedly as she climaxed hard. Within seconds she felt his throbbing explosion deep inside
her, filling her with his hot cum.

As he collapsed onto the ground she fell onto her back, and tried to catch her breath. Finally
after a few minutes Inwe still trembling, lifted herself up leaned over and gave Htaed a hard slap
on his handsome face. “ Don't you dare touch me again you monster.” she snarled. She
continued to glare at him as he helped her to her feet and wrapped his cloak around her body.

Standing back from her Htaed indicated with his hand that they should continue onto the
village. As they walked along, Inwe started to think about what had just happened with the
trolls. Turning her head towards him, she frowned and said, “ Look I think you should
change into your proper form. That way we have an explaination about how I got in this state.
And you have a legitimate reason to be introduced to my parents and the other elves. She
watched as he nodded and changed back.

In no time they caught up with the others. When Ello waved and called out to them Inwe gladly
waved back smiling. From the corner of her eye she saw Htaed frown, but didn't care, she was
just glad to be with her own people. She still didn't trust Htaed as far as she could throw him,
she would be keeping a very close eye on him.

As they came up to Ello and the others, Inwe She knew she had to report the attack of the trolls
and of course her rescue, but not what happened afterwards. No one could know about that.
Stopping in front of Ello, she introduced Htaed and told him and the elves about the trolls
and how she had suddenly been rescued by this strange elf. Looking up at him, she lifted one
eyebrow up and said; “ You never did tell me how you came to be in this part of the forest.”

Her question caught Htead slightly off guard. He blinked and then told them about how his village was attacked by dark shadow beings. They mostly survived by hiding in the trees after they saw that normal swords and arrows did not affect the attackers. (He did not mention that they had shape shifted into trees). His description of the attackers intrigued the others. They looked at him in disbelied.

Ello shot at him "So what are you doing here?", still upset that he was not the one to save the princess.
Htead gave Ello a look of contempt and sneered " I have come for the sword of the legend that will defeat these warriors from hell".
Htead saw Ello narrow his eyes and slowly reach for his single sword. In a flash Htead had both his swords against Ello's throat. The razor sharp folded steel blades just parted the skin.
Inwe shouted "Stop it !" just in time. Htead heard other blades being drawn by the guardian elves. He knew he could take them but also knew that would be the end of his quest.
Htead put his swords away and looked at the two thin little lines of blood on Ello's throat.

Seeing all the tension between the elves and Htead, Inwe exclaimed, “ Look we all have a
common enemy now, we have to work together, not squabble amongst each other. So put a
lid on your emotions and lets get to the village as soon as possible. After we have our audience
with the king we will then make our plans.” She leaned towards Ello and Htaed lowered her
voice. “ I mean it you two better keep your emotions in check.” She looked at Htaed , then
at Ello and the blood on his throat. Searching in a pocket she found a small rag, she put it up
against the cuts and told him to hold it until the bleeding stopped.

Turning toward the other elves, Inwe said, “ Alright lets get going, we should be able to get
there before dark if we don't take any breaks.” In no time at all they had moved around Inwe
in a protective formation.

As they walked Inwe went over the past few hours, she knew that both Ello and Htaed were
going to need close watching or better yet, a good talking to in private. She shook her head,
( how did my life get so complicated all of a sudden. Better to just keep them both at a distance
and my mind on the quest.) Glancing about she noticed that both men were keeping well away
from each other. She nodded to herself in satisfaction.

A few hours later, they came to the boundary of her village. She sighed, it was going to be
good to see her parents again.

Ello walked briskly beside Inwe. Something in her mannerisms had shifted over the past couple of days, but he couldn't put a finger on it. It had been a long time since he held Inwe close in an intimate embrace. He hoped the visit with Inwe's royal family would give him some time with her to find out what has been going on. The thin red lines on his throat did nothing to quell the growing contempt he had for Htead. Something about the way he caught him looking at Inwe set a stone in his stomach. Perhaps he would find out how skilled Ello was with a blade before this adventure was over.

They approached the village wall. A huge, formidable dark expanse of stones surrounded both sides of a massive gate.

"You call this a village?" Ello remarked to Inwe.

"ha. You haven't seen anything yet" she replied.

The gate parted and the entire party marched through the doors and into the streets beyond. The gate closed shut behind them. Archers on both sides of the gate turrets remained vigilant and alert for any external threat.

Alcar stood with the King and Queen watching the arrival of Inwe and her party. The arrival of "his" Inwe and her party.
Alcar was an average height and build. His features were totally unremarkable. If it was not for the position of Grand Vizier to the King his father had he would be a nobody. Due to his constant nagging his father had persuaded the King to give Inwe to him as a bride. To "cement" the families together. Alcar had never been with a woman in his life that he did not have to pay for, and some of those refused to have him back. He was arrogant because of who his father is and has become even more obnoxious since the King has approved the marriage to Inwe.


The large gates swung open and he saw the guardian elves enter first. Only eleven and not twelve as had gone out. That thought escaped his mind as he saw Inwe, his Inwe. She was walking near the front of the party. There was an elf on a horse next to her. "That must be Ello" he thought to himself as a dark bitter jealousy gripped his heart. He felt extreme hatred to the man for even being near "his Inwe". He saw her talking to Ello and cursed.
The last member of the party to enter the gate was the mysterious Htaed. He was dressed in dark clothing and had two swords crossed on his back.
Alcar hated the man on sight. The stories of how this "hero" had "saved" the princes from the six trolls are exagerated he thought. There is no elf alive that can kill six trolls. They must have been drunk and asleep.
Alcar was suddenly struck with fear as Htaed looked him in the eye. Even across the village the elf terrified him. He looked away quickly and went out the room cursing as he walked.
He hated Htaed for his own weakness. His own fear.
His Inwe and her party stopped at the stairs to the palace doors. Inwe ran very un princess like up the stairs into her fathers arms.
Alcar would have to beat such behavior out of Inwe if she is going to be his Queen. She has to learn her place. He will teach her.

"You call this a village?" Ello remarked to Inwe.

Looking up at him on the black, "ha. You haven't seen anything yet" she replied.

Inwe had never been so happy to see that old familiar gate as she was now. (Within those
safe walls, I can leave all my troubles behind me for a little while.) she contemplated as she
walked through them and onto the main street leading to the palace. Looking at the main
entrance she saw her beloved parents waiting for her. Turning to the guardian elves, she
smiled her thanks and told them their duties for now were done, “ Go join your families.”
Looking back at Ello and Htaed she nodded to each and said, “ Please follow me now and be
introduced to King Ceralon and Queen Arladriel.”

Inwe turned back towards her parents, and frowned, ( what is Alcar doing standing with
my parents? ) Glancing back at her parents, she suddenly bounded up the stairs and flew
into her father's arms. Kissing his cheek, she then turned to her mother and reached for her
feeling both of their love for her. As the three of them smiled Inwe saw Alcar watching, she
whispered in her father's ear, “ What is Alcar doing here Father?”

At the question, the King stepped back and became serious, “ Well daughter, I ahhh, I have
great news for you.” He looked to his wife and back at Inwe again before continuing, “ I have
decided that our families , meaning the Grand Vizier and ours, should form an alliance. I am
happy to tell you that you are now betrothed to Alcar.” He waited for her reaction, knowing
full well that she would probably dig her heels in about this arrangement. But he was ready
for her.

Inwe couldn't believer her ears, she just stared at her father then looked at her mother. Then
she looked at Alcar, shooting daggers at him with her eyes before glancing back at her father.
“ Daughter, Inwe,” he put his arm around her shoulders and led her inside, motioning for the
two young men to follow. “ You know as a princess, you have duties and obligations that can
not be ignored. The union of our families will strengthen and keep us strong against our
enemies.” Inwe could only look up at her father with wide eyes, unable to speak, she knew
he was right, but when she looked at Alcar, she cringed inside. She didn't know who she
despised more, Vala his sister or Alcar. They were both despicable in their own way.

Her father saw that his daughter was growing up, not too long ago, she would have been
screaming the walls down about now. He smiled and said, “Let's go and have some
refreshments you can tell me all your news. I have heard some of it but want your version.”
Looking at her companions,“ And I want to know more about these men you have been
travelling with. I want to thank them for taking good care of you and bringing you safely home
to us.” Inwe responded, “Of course Father, I want to introduce Elrohir Seregon the head of
the Sereneti tribe, and Htaed the elf that saved me from the trolls. They both have important
information about the recent upheavals that have been plaguing our region.”

They entered the main hall and were soon seated around the table while refreshments
were brought in and placed in front of them. Inwe didn't have much of a appetite, but tried to
please her father. King Ceralon questioned both men as well as Inwe until he was satisfied
that he was up to date. Looking at each of them, he then asked, “ Is there any other information
that you need to tell me?

Meanwhile someone was watching, hidden from view. Vala had been listening to the
conversations around the table while keeping out of sight. She smiled to herself as she
looked Ello and Htaed over. Lifting her eyebrow up, she thought, ( Well don't those two
look delicious? I will have to give some thought to how I will approach them.) She backed
away the doorway she had been peering around turned around and went back to the
temporary room that she had been staying in for the last week.

Alcar watched the pleasure on Inwe’s face as she heard her father tell her the wonderful news of her betrothal. In his mind her death stare looked as if she was glancing coyly at him. He will only beat her with a thin rod for her previous indiscretions. His disgruntled nature took control again and his lip curled down again. Dark thoughts filled his rotten little mind. His thoughts took him back a few years to when he had the spell cast on Vala.

Vala was always the chosen one, the favourite, everything revolved around miss goody two shoes. Their parents doted on her. The villagers loved her and they always said how innocent she was. They all treated him like an outcast with a disease. The village kids always beat up on him and teased him. Vala the innocent sweet virgin was always sought out and invited to all the village functions. Alcar plotted and schemed and planned on ways to destroy her.

He had heard rumours of the Old Crone of the Dead Forrest. People used stories about her to keep their kids in line. “If you don’t eat your vegetables The Old Crone will eat your liver.” And other threats were often used. Alcar had always thought that she was just an old wives tale until one of his paid bed mates had told him where to find the Old Crone.

Alcar set off early in the morning to find the Old Crone in the forest. He was still smarting from the laughter of the cheap prostitute when she saw his small little dick. She had paid dearly for her laughter. Alcar had used a whip on her. She had screamed and pleaded with him. This had only goaded him into more violence. She had screamed that she would get the Old Crone to curse him. She had eventually told him where to find the Old Crone.

Following the hidden path through the forest Alcar’s heart was almost exploding in his chest. He was terrified. Alcar had never left the village before. Every little noise made him jump. He wished his could run to his mother and hide under her skirt again like he always did when he was scared. The first sign that he was near the lair of the Old Crone was the smell. It was more than a smell. It was an overpowering stench that invaded your nose and ripped into your brain.

Alcar’s eyes watered from the overpowering stench. He gagged and retched again. He stepped into the clearing and something went crunch under his foot. He looked down and saw that he had stepped on the skull of some small creature. He looked up and saw the Old Crone in the middle of the clearing. He winced in disgust. She was short and gaunt, her wrinkled old breasts hung low down her chest. Her naked body was covered in dirt and there was excrement running down her legs.

He looked up into her eyes and felt as if somebody had hit him between the eyes with a plank. He staggered backwards and fell down. The Old Crone cackled with laughter from her toothless mouth. “Come here young Alcar I’ve been expecting you.” “You beat me badly with that whip last night young Alcar” she said and turned around so he could see her back. Alcar retched more screaming and retching at the same time as he saw the fresh whip marks on her back.”(I had sex with that screamed in his mind)

The Old Crone walks over to the pathetic retching creature and grabs his hair with her gnarled twisted hand. “Get up young Alcar. I know why you are here”. Alcar stood up and looked down at the Old Crone. “You want me to put a spell on your sister”. Alcar nodded dumbly. “Come with me “, she commanded. He followed her dumbly. She stopped at a huge bubbling cauldron. The Old Crone threw roots and herbs into the pot while she started chanting a spell. Her voice grew shriller as she neared the end of her spell.

“Make Vala a slut”………………over and over and over the chant rose and rose…………… The Old Crone gave a final shriek, grabbed her heart and fell face first into the cauldron. Alcar grabbed a piece of fire wood and kept her head under the water till her legs stopped moving.

While the king listened to the two elves, Inwe leaned back and looked at her betrothed who was busy scowling at both Ello and Htaed . She swallowed hard thinking, ( how on earth am I going to wed such a person as Alcar? In all my years I have never heard one good word said about him. And his sister, don't get me started on her.) Suddenly from the corner of her eye she saw movement at the doorway to the left of her. (Was that a lock of red hair? Is Vala in the palace too? Oh, this day just keeps on getting better and better. With that one running around loose, no one wearing britches is safe.) She continued to muse, ( Vala wasn't always the town slut, it just seems when she turned 16, her morals and conscious suddenly took a nosedive.)

She shook her head and turned her attention back to the conversation at the table. The King was divulging the location of the missing talisman, the “Sword of the ancient Garu Masters.” He told of his fear of losing it, some years back, so he had it safely hidden away in the Shadow Mountains in a secret cave. It was laid in a special chamber with a spell of forgetfulness cast on it. Who ever tried to take it, would immediately forget who and where they were, to wander aimlessly in the mountains til they died.

He looked at the three of them as his hand reached into his jacket and pulled out a red velvet cloth. Unwrapping it they saw a beautiful red stone gleam in his hand. Who ever holds this stone in their hand at the same time as touching the sword will break the spell. He handed it to Inwe,
who took it folded the cloth over it's gleaming surface and tucked it away in the folds of her vest. He nodded his head, “ Good, now for the directions to the mountains and secret cave.” Bringing forth a soft skin, he unfolded it, revealing a map written on it. This too he handed to Inwe, after looking it over, she refolded it and tucked it next to the gem. Sitting back now, King Ceralon continued, "I want you three to go on this mission of recovering the sword and to bring it back here. I believe this is where our stand will be made against the evil southern forces. He then saw Alcar was not happy, sighing he looked back at Inwe and said, “ And Alcar will accompany you Inwe as your betrothed and protector.”

As she started to protest, he put his hand up stopping her words before they could be uttered. "My word is final. I will assign a dozen good guardian elves to accompany you four. You will start your journey in the morning. The sooner we have the sword in our hands the better.” He stood up and stretched , “I think the last few hours have been well spent, now you all should get a good night's rest, and get a fresh start in the morning.” He then gave Inwe a hug and kiss on her cheek, took a candle to light his way, nodded to the three men and made his way out of the chamber.

Inwe watched her father leave the chamber and turned to the three men, “I agree, let's all turn in “ alone”, and get a good night's rest.” She too took a candle started to walk towards the same doorway her father had just walked through and said, “ Follow me, your chambers are in the same wing as mine.”

Meanwhile, Vala had come sneaking back some time ago, and had been able to hear most of the plans. As the king got up and left she too, made her way back to her own chamber. She smiled to herself, ( there will be one different guardian elf on this little undertaking, I know just who to get a set of cloths from too.) She made a side turn and headed for the elf she had in mind, he was not too much taller then she was, more massive of course, but that was an advantage, since it would hide all of her ample assets. Before this night was over the elf would get his reward for handing over his guardian uniform as well as his place on the quest.

Inwe directed Ello to his room. At the doorway Ello smiled and gave her a warm loving hug. He whispered into her ear, quietly, so no one else could hear.

“I shall be enjoying an early breakfast in the main dining hall … should you have need to talk.”
They separated and he continued to look deep into her eyes. Something about her had changed in the past few days, she seemed conflicted, but he thought he saw acknowledgment in her eyes. He turned, entered his room and closed the door.

The room was attractively decorated. With a large bed, wall closet and small wash basin. There were paintings on the wall and a small fireplace in one corner to provide heat in the winter. Inwe’s village? city? He was not sure of the correct term … anyhow the place was so much bigger than his own village was … and they lived so different. She was a Garu of the forest; his village was from the plains. This difference resulted in her people building bigger and sturdier structures. Like the massive stone walls that surrounded the city. He speculated that since the forest offered more building material than the plains, her people had built larger more permanent structures. He walked over to the small night stand and picked up the decorative vase. He studied the beautiful artwork painted on it.

His village use to have artisans that could produce such beautiful artwork, but no longer. The Calithils along with their evil allies to the south had destroyed all that. The Calithils destroyed their own village … so they could rule over the destruction that remained. It made no sense unless you knew that Calithils. They had been power hungry … so power hungry they were willing to risk everything to gain more.

They had allied with the Narkoos … the creatures from the south. Ello had never seen what one looked like … as they were always covered in furs and heavy cloaks. But he had been told stories … their bodies were humanoid looking with a head, torso, arms, and legs, but their skin was a pale blue color and glistened with a slime like oil … their fingers were thin and clawed. But it was their head and face that the real difference occurred. Their head could best be described as a four tentacled octopus, made all the more horrible by a pair of bloated white eyes.

The Calithil must have allied with these monsters to gain control of all the lands. But something had gone wrong. Maybe they were unaware of the strength of their allies … and after acquiring the first talisman … the Narkoos removed the Calithils and their village from the partnership. Or perhaps the Catithils sacrificed their own village to control all the lands as governors under the Narkoos, it was difficult to know the truth. But Ello knew … that whatever the case … they must be stopped. His heart screamed for revenge. These crimes against the innocents, the unprotected, were atrocious.

He shook his head and placed the vase back on the night stand. In the middle of all this … he decided to fall in love … with a PRINCESS! A princess he cannot have because he has been given to another. And now he and she find out she has also been given to another as well. Had the god of love taken a vacation?

His heart wanted revenge … his heat wanted the princess … he would need to choose. As a warrior he was use to scarified. Practice with a bow and sword had taken hours, days, years, from his life. He had scarified time to develop those skills. He would now need to sacrifice again. The protection of these lands and avenging the destruction of his village was the only choice. Love would need to wait.

He pulled back the sheets of his bed …removed his clothing and slipped under the sheets. His eyes remained open as he stared at the ceiling. Thinking … a single tear rolled down his face. He had made the right choice … but that did not make it less of a sacrifice!

Inwe opened her eyes looking towards the window, it looked like the sun was just starting to rise. She sighed, being in her own bed had provided her with a good night's sleep. Sitting up, she threw the covers off and slide out of bed. There was her wardrobe full of all the different kinds of clothes she had either had made or was given as gifts. Walking over in her shift she opened the door, her eyes passed over the formal gowns, til she came to the practical outfits. Selecting three outfits, two green ones and one brown, she took them over to the bed. Returning to the wardrobe, she found a traveler's bag and proceeded to pack two of the outfits plus extra britches and underclothes. She then poured some water into a basin and washed up dried her face and rebraided her hair. Once done, she put on the remaining green outfit ending with her fine leather knee high boots. .

Picking up the bag Inwe left her room glancing back one final time, knowing she wouldn't be seeing it anytime soon. Walking down the corridor, she lightly knocked on Ello's and then Htaed's rooms as she passed them shouting,“ Wake up Ello ....Htaed....I'll meet you in the great hall for breakfast.” Not knowing where Alcar's room was, she just assumed he would get to the hall on his own.

In no time at all she had her breakfast dished out by the staff preferring to eat light before going on any treks she just had some toasted bread, fruit, porridge and hot tea. She was just sitting down to enjoy it when she noticed Ello, Htaed and the frowning Alcar file into the hall. Inwe waited as the men got their breakfasts and sat down at her table.

Nodding her head at each one she smiled, “Good morning gentlemen, I hope you had a good night's sleep.

Ello had gone to the early morning breakfast as he had promised ... but Inwe had never shown up. He had his answer through her action. She too had decided that their love would need to wait until the threat to the people of these lands was dealt with. It was just as well. Their conversation would have been a difficult one. When she had not shown up ... he had just gone back to his room and completed preparations for the trip.

He sighed as he re-entered the dining hall and saw her. She was so beautiful both inside and out. Her friendly warm personality shinned and her beauty radiated outward from her. His heart jumped into his throat as he saw her. She seemed ready to leave the castle … and there was no hint of sadness in her face about the decision she had made about her relationship with Ello. How she could be so cool about a decision that had torn his heart apart … he did not know? Then he remembered she was a princess. Many time royals needed to make decisions where the kingdoms needs came first … out weighing personal desires. It was about what was good for the people … not about what they wanted. It was actually a sign of a good monarch. Inwe would be a great queen; she cared deeply about the people and animals of the forest.

But would she live long enough …would anyone of them live long enough with the threat coming from the south? It all hinged on talisman … the sword.

“Good morning Princess, I slept well” Ello said trying to be as cool as she was ... he headed over to the food staff.

He had already eaten so he only asked for one piece of toast and some juice. He glanced over to Htead. He had not thought very much about him as his primary concerns had been about Inwe. But with him sitting at their table for breakfast Ello’s mind focused on him. He seemed highly skilled with a sword or swords as the case maybe. And his defeat of the trolls was almost beyond belief. But skill was only one factor in battle. Ello had seen skillful fighters fall because their reason, their desire, to win was not as strong as their opponent. What was Htead role to be in the fight that was undoubtedly coming? Ello could not get the thought from his head that Htead had a unique personal reason why he wanted to help acquire the sword and it was not just about protecting the forest people.

Glancing at everyone at the table Inwe announced, “As soon as breakfast is over we will assemble with our guardian elves in the main hall and be on our way.” They all agreed as they ate their breakfasts of eggs, ham, toasted bread and fruit, washed down with tea.

As they got up Inwe quickly walked over to Ello and whispered, “Sorry about not being here earlier” She looked into his eyes, “I slept late, must have been more tired then I realized, I hope we can have a talk sometime after we have left the city.” Smiling at him she moved on.

Not long afterwards they joined the 12 guardian elves in the hall. Just then King Ceralon and Queen Arladriel arrived to see their daughter and the rest of the group off. Giving a few last minute bits of advise, the King embraced his daughter, telling her to be safe. Inwe turned to her mother and hugged her tightly, “I will be back before you have time to miss me.” She picked up her travelling bag and nodding to the rest of the group as she moved forward.

Meanwhile Vala had slipped into the elves group unnoticed with her heavy bag. She was trying to blend in, but wasn't doing a great job of it. A few of the elves looked her way, but were distracted when the King and Queen entered the hall. Vala took this opportunity to hoist the bag onto her shoulder and stepped behind a taller elf.

Htead fell in at the rear of the group as they moved away from the palace. They travelled fast. His ever alert eyes scanned the terrain around them, the forest quickly thinning out to a lush beautiful field of grass. The big hero Inwe was leading the group with her firm stride. Ello was walking not far behind Inwe with that despicable little toad Alcar yapping behind her heals like a lost puppy.

The guardian elves all had their grey robes and hoods on. His keen eye focused on one of them that seemed to be struggling a little with the heavy trail pack. The walk also seemed to be more feminine. Interesting indeed for he thought, taking his thoughts away from Inwe for a minute.

But only for a minute, thoughts of her filled his mind, her warm body on his, her pussy tight on his cock, her smell, the taste of her on his tongue , images and sensations flooded his mind. He pulled his mind back to the quest at hand.

They made very good time and neared the dark forest very close to lunch. Inwe stopped the group at the edge of the dark forest. The guardian elves set up a perimeter watch and broke out the lunch rations. They ate quickly – dry rations washed down with a sweet energy giving Elven drink called Roiros.

Htead saw a small path into the forest and his curiosity got the better of him. He slowly sneaked of along the path, his swords drawn.

In no time at all, the group left the small city behind and had gotten a good walking rhythm going. Not long after leaving the outskirts of the city, Inwe spotted the Mist and Beren she quickly called a halt moving to the animals. There was the wee Bran sitting at his mother's side, Inwe picked him up petting the two adults and put the cub inside a small pouch attached to her waist that she had brought for this very job.

Joining the group again she looked up at the sky and said, “ Let's keep on. if we are lucky we may get near the dark forest before having our lunch break”

Meanwhile, Vala had been trying to keep behind the tall elf and out of view of Inwe and especially her brother Alcar. Whenever she glanced his way, he was mumbling to himself. She shook her head, (how did our parents ever have such an offspring like him?) She kept on marching along hoping they would soon stop for lunch. Her feet were killing her and the pack was rubbing her shoulders raw.

To take her mind off her aches and pains she focused on the two interesting elves in the group. There was the handsome Ello, she certainly had plans to sample what he had to offer. Her mouth watered just thinking about him. Then of course there was the mysterious dark elf known as Htaed, she kept on looking back over her shoulder at him. She wondered what he was all about, but never mind, she had plans for him as well. Vala licked her lips as she thought about him. Once when she glanced back she saw him looking at her with curiosity, which made her a little nervous. She stopped looking back from then on.

Vala gave a sigh of relief when they drew near the dark forest and Inwe called a halt saying; “This should be a good place to stop for lunch.” Once Vala had finished her meager meal, she noticed that Htaed silently sneaked away down a small path. Looking around to see if anyone was watching, she decided to follow him smiling to herself. Maybe she could make an ally of him, she certainly knew how to get what she wanted out of men.

Ello had been professional and helpful throughout the journey so far. His mind was still trying to understand what Inwe had told him just after breakfast. He remembered her words

“Sorry about not being here earlier… I slept late, must have been more tired then I realized, I hope we can have a talk sometime after we have leave the city.” She had said.

He would still need to talk to her about his decision. That might be difficult with Alcar traveling with them. Ello had not been too impressed with Alcar so far. The man acted like a spoiled brat. He seemed to lack any kind of self-confidence and compensated by reminding everyone who his father was. But they would all need to get along and count on each other for the battles and challenges coming up. This group of travelers needed to become a team and that meant they each needed to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each member.

Ello went over and pet both Mist and Beren, both dogs happily said hello to him. “I missed you too …” he said a huge smile on his face, as he rubbed each dog behind their ears. Funny how dogs can put you in a good mood in seconds, he knew he could count on both these animals. The good mood he was now in … he would need for his next stop.

He walked over to Alcar, he could tell from the man’s body language that he did not like Ello. Not one bit. But it was necessary that the two men talk.

“Alcar … may I sit down? … I think we should talk” Ello said and saw Alcar getting ready to tell him to go away. So Ello could advantage of the small delay to say “Thanks” He said and sat down as Alcar got ready to open his mouth.

“I know what you must be thinking” Ello stated “… you might be thinking there is something between Inwe and myself. She saved my life … and we have had a few dangerous experiences together … But beyond that, I would like to assure you that there is nothing more … My heart and soul is focused on this mission to find the talisman and save the people of these lands. I was hoping we could work together in a sprite of friendship, shared and mutual cooperation.” He said with a hopeful look on his face …but inside he was wondering what Alcar would say next.

Alcar looked at Ello as he sat down near him and barely controlled his urge to vomit. This arrogant despoiler of his precious Inwe. All of his nature hated this prince charming. Alcar stroke the dagger on his belt. He smiled as he stabbed the blade into Ello over and over in his mind.

“………… is focused on this mission to find the talisman and save the people of these lands. I was hoping we could work together in a sprite of friendship, shared and mutual cooperation.”

Ello’s words grated on his nerves but Ello is not as scary or dangerous as that Htead character. There was something dark sinister dangerous about that elf. So that left Ello as the lesser of two evils. The exact same Ello that was now offering him friendship. This is really a sign that fate favours him. Even prince charming Ello is bowing before him.

Alcar took a moment – cleared his throat and condescendingly addressed this lower life form Ello. “My dear Ello” he paused for effect again. “Thank you so much for understanding our delicate situation, I ……….” His words were cut off by a savage scream from the bushes followed by huge troll warriors charging out of the woods. Ello and the guardian elves sprang into defensive positions weapons at the ready.

The screaming troll warriors ran straight through their camp not even seeing any of them. Alcar screamed like a little girl as a troll warrior ran past him. He felt a warm sensation down his pants as he lost control of his bowel and bladder at the same time. He fell down flat on his face screaming and screaming.

Htead came out of the forest behind the trolls with both his curved swords drawn and bloody. Behind him followed a grey clad guardian elf with hood covered face.

Vala & Htaed;

Vala followed Htaed further into the forest, she carefully stepped around fallen branches and the like so she didn't alert him. About 15 minutes later she was just going around a dead tree trunk when she bumped right into him falling hard on her behind. When she landed on the ground her hood fell back exposing her face and radiant red hair. At Htaed's look of surprise she hastily said,

“ I wanted to join the group and knew Inwe, who hates me wouldn't allow it, so I just sneaked in when no one was looking.”

She smiles coyly and asked, “You won't give my secret away will you? I could make it well worth your while you know!”

She puts her hand out for Htaed to help her up, which he did. Taking this as a positive sign, "I am called Vala moving closer she puts her hands on his chest, smiling up at him. Since he wasn't making any objections so far, she continued,

"I have seen you watching that insipid Inwe I really don't know what you see in her, I have a lot more experience in my little finger then she has in her whole body.”

She reached up around his neck and pulled him down to her waiting lips. Licking his full lips with the tip of her tongue, she then presses her lips onto his pushing her tongue into his mouth. With satisfaction she feels his arms go around her lifting her off her feet. As he lifts her she wraps her legs around his hips grinding herself against his groin. Vala softly moans into his mouth, as her arms move down to his chest and starts to open his vest and shirt. She kisses Htaed with more passion as her hands slide up and down his hairy chest, tweaking his nipples.

Htaed’s feet made no sound as he swiftly blended in with the shadows becoming an almost invisible shadow floating along the narrow path into the forest. He blended in effortlessly scouting the surrounding area for any signs of danger. He had not gone far into along the path when he heard soft footsteps following him. He twisted back along the way he came leading the one following closer and closer to the lunch camp area.

Hiding behind a tree he looked back and saw a guardian elf following him. A smile crossed his lips as she, it was definitely a she, came closer. He waited till she was almost at the turn n stepped into her way. She was so intent on following him, that she walked straight into him. She bounced off his hard chest and fell back. Her hood fell back and he gasped in surprise as he looked at her radiant sensual beauty.

Her voice was like a melody to his ears. Her words flowed from beautiful red lips she said something about Inwe and keeping a secret but none of it made any sense. He was lost in her dazzling green eyes and captivated by her bright red flowing hair. He pulled her up and she put her arms around him and kissed him. Her tongue sliding over his lips unleashed his passion and woke him out of the spell she had over him. Htead kissed her back passionately and wrapped his arms around her. He lifted her up and Vala wrapped her legs around him. He groaned as she rubbed her pussy against him.

They kissed even more passionately as Vala pushed his shirt open and ran her hands over his chest. He felt her tweaking his nipples. Their minds somehow united and he could feel her lust. He dropped his cloak and lay her down. There was no time for niceties as an animal like lust overtook them. Her cloak was spread open to reveal her stunning ample breasts. He leant down and bit down on her hard nipples. She grabbed his head and pulled him up and kissed him more.

Her deft practiced hands had his hard cock out of his pants in no time. She rubbed the head of his cock over her wet pussy lips and then grabbed his hips and pulled him deep inside her. He slid in all the way bottoming out inside her. Vala’s cries and moans drive him to fuck her like a man possessed. No woman had ever broken through his control like Vala. He had always been in control but now he was lost in her with her. Their passion kept them united. Vala clenched her pussy around his pounding cock. He felt her climax starting and that was way too much for him. He came hard shooting streams of cum inside her.

He rolled over with Vala on top of him looking deep inside her green eyes. Htead had met his match. He found himself falling and realised that he did not care. He pulled Vala close and started to kiss her when she got violently torn from his grasp by a huge troll. Another troll put his foot on Htead’s throat. Vala’s scream was cut off by a large scaly troll hand while the other hand roughly mauled her body.

Htead felt something in his mind snap and he shape shifted into something between a man and a huge grizzly bear. He tore the foot off his neck and bounced up, his dual swords decapitating the troll mauling Vala. The other trolls took one look at this monster and started running screaming straight at the camp.

Htead shifted back to his normal shape and walked over to the stunned Vala. He looked deep in her eyes and said “we now both have a secret to keep. Come we better get back to the others

Ello

Before the blink of an eye, an arrow was strung and snapped. It flew through the air and hit the back of the retreating troll’s head. Only the fletching of the arrow could be seen, it had hit with such force. Ello did not stop to think about the arrowhead that was now sticking out of the troll’s forehead. He had already launched two more arrows they whistled through the air and landed in the back of one of the troll’s knees. There was a loud thud as the evil creature crashed to the ground. Both its legs no longer working. “Leave that one alive” He said “I want to question him.”

But there were no other trolls to engage, the troll warriors seemed to be running from something … not attacking. Ello glanced back and saw Htead and a guardian elf come out of the forest. Htead’s swords were bloody. Had they been running from Htead? Why hadn't Htead or the guardian warned the camp?

He heard the screaming of Alcar at his feet, and he smelled the man’s bowel moment and bladder release. It was embarrassing. Ello was not sure how to prevent everyone from seeing it or smelling it. He crouched down and softly spoke to Alcar. “The trolls appear to be gone. You can get up now.” He stated and then added “… there is one that is wounded and needs questioning … it requires a brave, smart and clever man to question a troll … prehap you can assist?” Ello asked Alcar.

He glanced over to Princess Inwe. “Princess, are you and our animal protectors ok?”

When all the hub bub had begun Inwe quickly saw that Ello had things in hand. But that didn't stop her from setting an arrow in her bow ready if it was needed. She saw the second ugly brute of a troll go down hard growling, Inwe swung her bow towards it but then she heard Ello say,

“Leave that one alive” He said “I want to question him.”

The other trolls were making a hasty exist out the other side of their little camp so Inwe took her arrow out of the bow and put both away. She then noticed Htaed with bloodied swords in hand come out of the forest along with one of the guardian elves. Lifting her eyebrow in thought, (I wonder what that is all about?) Watching that elf move, made her think there was something odd about him, she just couldn't put her finger on it. (I will just have to keep my eyes on him.)

Finally she relaxed glancing at the still quivering Alcar. In total disgust she thought, ( Yewww!, I can't marry such a cowardly worm, I have to somehow get out of this contract if it's the last thing I do.)

Hearing Ello suggest that Alcar do the questioning of the troll, Inwe shook her head and walked away, smelling something unpleasant near him. (I will get the information that Alcar gets from the troll from Ello later on, I wanted to talk to him anyways, this will be my chance.)

The question made Inwe look for the dog and female Dire wolf, that is when she heard the crashing and growling from the direction that the retreating trolls had taken. She put her fingers to her mouth and whistled for them to return. Smiling in Ello's direction Inwe nodded her head,

“Yes we are all fine thanks, let's just get this questioning wrapped up and be on our way.”

Alcar snuck off into the forest and cleaned himself up. He came strutting back full of bravado. The other elves all stood back as he walked up to the large troll. Ello and the others had tied the troll to a tree in the time Alcar was cleaning up. “Not so strong now are you troll” he sneered. The troll glared down at him and wrinkled his nose. “I smell a terrible stench, please take this vile worm away from me.”

Alcar punched the troll in the stomach and screamed in pain falling to his knees holding his hand against his body. Tears running down his cheek. The troll laughed loudly at the squealing Alcar.

Htead had just about had enough of Ello’s folly in suggesting that the weak slimy despicable Alcar interrogate the troll. He walked up and grabbed the shaft of the arrow jutting out of the troll’s leg. He twisted it cruelly making the troll scream. “Why have you left your caves?” The troll just glared down at him. Pure hatred coming from the little pig eyes. Htead twisted the arrow again and ripped the barbed head out of the troll’s leg. The troll bellowed loudly sending birds fluttering away.

Alcar grabbed the arrow from Htead and lifted it up and was about to stab it into the troll’s leg. Htead grabbed his arm and stopped the arrow just before it struck the troll. “Tell me troll, why have you left your caves?” The troll looked at the elves with fear in his eyes. Alcar kept struggling trying to stab the arrow into the troll.

Htead looked into the eyes of the troll and reached into his mind, probing the darkness of troll thoughts. He saw the thoughts of the troll as flashes of anger and lust and gluttony. Then he found what he was looking for – a dark icy fear deep inside the mind of the troll. As he reached into this darkness it suddenly disappeared.

A dark matt black arrow had slammed into the head of the troll, pinning the now lifeless body to the tree. The shaft of the arrow seemed to be alive and crawling with little black dots. Alcar reached up to touch the arrow but it just disappeared into thin air. The troll’s lifeless head just dropped down with blood flowing out the perfect round hole that had just been punched through it.

Ello

Ello had been helping to straighten up the camp from the stampede of the trolls when he heard the troll screams. As he turned around, he noticed Htead and Alcar torturing the evil creature. This got him very upset. In his tribe, torture was rarely ever done, regardless of how evil the creature was. There were several reasons for this:

The first and foremost was it produced highly unreliable information. Torture had been used by his tribe in less civilized times. As the stories goes, one clever tribal chief decided to see if … through torture he could get anyone to admit to anything. So he killed his favorite donkey and accused his servant of the act. He ordered members of the tribe to torture the servant until he confessed. The poor servant confessed. This shocked the chief … but he went further he told the servant “I shall order you put to death for this crime … unless you recant your confession. Do you recant?” The servant would not … when the chief asked why … the servant stated he did not want to be tortured again. Moral of the story ... the information gained from torture is not reliable.

Secondly, torture was used by evil creatures to terrorize others. His former village was a force for good not evil. If they had used torture they would be the evil creatures, not the good ones. The elves, the protector of the lands, would become no better than the evil creatures they fought?

And thirdly, it seemed like Alcar and maybe Htead too … were gaining pleasure from torturing the troll. Alcar for sure …. seemed to enjoy inflicting suffering and to exercise power over the now weak troll. All of this did not sit well with him.

Then suddenly the troll was dead. Ello eyes filled with anger, he stormed over to the two men. He was clearly very upset.

“By the gods … what did you just do? I asked you to question the beast … not torture him … and certainly not kill him!” He asked both men, staring at the dead troll.