Sword of Kings
Chapter 16 – An Unexpected Find

by Bill W

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Legal Notice:
The following story contains descriptions of graphic sexual acts. 
The story is a work of fiction and has no basis in reality.
Don’t read this story if:
**You’re not 18 or over,    
**If it is illegal to read this type of material where you live,
**Or if you don’t want to read about gay/bi people in love or having sex.

The author retains copyright to this story.  Placing this story on a website or reproducing this story for distribution without the author’s permission is a violation of that copyright.  Legal action will be taken against violators.

I wish to extend my thank you to Emoe57 for his editorial assistance with this chapter.

E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other ‘constructive’ comments or advice may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com.

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The following morning Rhys, who had been assigned the final watch, awakened the companions. The party again scrounged through their packs for food, and after finding very little, they prepared to continue their trek through Briarwood. Kieren asked Rhys and Hadwin to stand where the markers had been placed the previous evening and then he carefully aligned himself with the two warriors. Once he was in proper position, the young man picked out a distant point and began to guide one of his other friends toward that spot. The going was slow and tedious, but they continued their journey through the incredible tangle of undergrowth on the forest floor. They had been plodding on like this for nearly five hours when Kieren tried to direct Alaric to the next location. However, the elf couldn’t discover any way to get past the obstacle in his path.

After waiting a short time, some of the others began to move forward, hoping to find a way to solve this problem. Many minutes later, however, there had still been no progress made. Out of frustration, Kieren finally called out to them. “What’s wrong? Why is this taking so long?”

“I’m sorry,” Alaric responded, “but there seems to be no way around this barrier.” Kieren looked confused by this announcement.

“What do you mean?” he wanted to know. “There has to be a way to keep going. It’s just more of the same undergrowth we’ve been working our way through.”

“No, I’m afraid this is much different,” Alaric advised him. “This is some type of hedgerow, but it’s so thick and its branches are so intertwined that there appears to be no opening in it. We’ve already searched several meters in each direction and have found no weakness anywhere.” There was a stunned silence for a few seconds, before one of the dwarfs spoke up.

“Then we shall chop our way through it,” Sedain stated defiantly, as he urged the other two dwarfs to advance with him, toward the barrier. Enthusiastically, they began to wield their mighty battleaxes in an attempt to hack away at the entwined collection of vines, briers and branches. Their example soon encouraged the others to follow suit, so it wasn’t long before each of them had drawn their swords and was giving it his best effort to chop an opening through the barrier. However, after twenty-five minutes of this vigorous labor, Turquinine finally spoke up.

“Our efforts be fruitless,” he stated, dryly. “Methinks this obstacle is bewitched.” A few nodded in agreement, but the others weren’t sure what to believe.

“Regardless of its origin, we shall need to find a way around it, if we cannot open a way through it,” Rhys stated succinctly. “I suggest we send a small party in each direction, to discover how far it extends.”

“I can see no better alternative, so I concur,” Hadwin added, trying to move things along.

“I will go in this direction,” Alaric volunteered, indicating the left flank of this wall of greenery.

“And I wilst assist thee,” Turquinine offered.

“Then we shall go in the other direction,” Sedain volunteered, encouraging Quintain to join him on this venture. Soon, both groups were heading out of sight.

“The rest of us should make ourselves comfortable and await their return,” Rhys advised the others. “I suggest you sit and rest, but keep you eyes open and DON’T wander off,” he added, looking directly at the three teens. The three young men immediately got the message and had no intention of defying him.

Heeding the Akiktite’s advice, those who were left behind sat down and relaxed. Kieren sat with his back to the barrier, facing those who remained with him, trying to assess how each of them was coping with this new situation. First, he focused his attention on his two young friends and wondered if they had yet reached the point where they regretted having volunteered to join him. He knew this was probably much different than they expected.

After observing the elves for several minutes, Kieren then directed his gaze toward Doenilio, Rhys, and Hadwin. Silently he acknowledged that if they ever completed this mission, he would owe all these valiant warriors a debt, but he wondered if he could ever sufficiently repay them for all they had done to assist him. Although they had started off as total strangers, over time they had become so much more to him, and he admired them all greatly. Yes, even Hadwin. No matter how grumpy he sometimes seemed, Kieren knew the Nardinian would never let him down. They still had much more to face before this would be over and Kieren’s only wish was that he could get to know them all a little better.

Romaric, who had taken a seat off to Kieren’s left, spent his time watching his friend as they sat and waited for the others to return. The elf was deep in thought when he noticed a movement on the other side of Kieren. Unsure as to what had caused the disturbance, but feeling he had to act and there was no time to alert the others, he darted past Kieren and leaped on the distant mound. He was determined he would not let whatever was lurking under the rotting mat of vegetation have a chance to harm his friend. Soon, Romaric was thrashing around in the pile of dried leaves and twigs, struggling against the creature that was concealed beneath.

Kieren had been so engrossed in his own thoughts that he was startled when he caught sight of Romaric rushing past him. He couldn’t imagine what his friend was up to and remained transfixed and confused. He remained frozen in place, watching silently as Romaric thrashed about on the ground to one side of him. Kieren was even more astonished when Doenilio, Rhys, and Hadwin raced past him too, in an effort to assist the elf. Kieren, who had not yet realized something was amiss, thought his companions might be showing the adverse effects of having spent too much time in this strange place.

Garreth had also reacted to Romaric’s lunge, but instead of rushing forward to assist Romaric, Garreth drew his sword and hurried to stand between Kieren and the spot where the others were now gathered. He stood ready to defend Kieren from not only that threat, should it manage to slip by the warriors, but he was ready to do battle with any other foe that might suddenly appear. Garreth’s head was swiveling back and forth on his shoulders, as he scanned the area for other signs of danger, but nothing else appeared out of the ordinary.

Watching Romaric and the warriors, Kieren suddenly came to the realization that there was something under the mound his friend had hurled himself upon. Even though the struggle was brief and no one was injured, Kieren understood the elf had no way of knowing how dangerous the threat might have been. As Kieren marveled at his friend’s bravery, Romaric forced whatever he had been wrestling with to stand, so they could see what it was.

The figure that emerged was roughly a meter in height, slender in build, and appeared to be covered with the same materials that were scattered about the ground. To the casual observer moving through the forest, it would have looked like a moving rubbish pile and even now the only hint that it was some sort of living being was the occasional jerking motions it made. As it rose to its feet, the warriors relaxed their vigilance briefly and the creature tried to bolt from their midst. It would have escaped too, if Romaric hadn’t maintained his grip on the thing’s arm and managed to hold it long enough to let the others close ranks and surround it.

“It’s trying to flee, so it can warn others of it’s kind,” Hadwin shouted, as Romaric tightened his grip on the anomaly. The warriors had drawn their weapons, as they tightened the ring they had formed around it, and were ready to run it through, should it make another move. Scared and outnumbered, the creature began to emit a high-pitched whimper, as it pleaded for its life.

“Please, no hurt Qaim. Please, gentle sirs. I no hurt you. Me just resting here in my home. I no bother you. Please, no hurt Qaim.”

“What were you doing lurking here?” demanded the infuriated young elf. “Are you a servant of Madumda? Where are your weapons?”

“Qaim know no Madooma. Qaim no lurk. Qaim live here. Qaim carry no sharp, pointy sticks. Qaim no want to hurt anyone. Please, no hurt Qaim.”

“Master Kieren,” Doenilio interrupted, “let me deal with this vermin and I’ll see if I can find out what it was up to.”

“No! No!” squealed the disgusting little heap, looking up at Kieren. “No let nasty little man hurt Qaim. Please, kind young sir, no let him poke Qaim with his pointy stick.”

“Tell us what we want to know then,” shouted Doenilio, “or I shall indeed stick you with the tip of my blade.” With this pronouncement, the dwarf held out his miniature sword and jabbed it toward his captive, although not actually touching him with it.

The prisoner let out a hair-raising wail and then began to plead once more. “Qaim tell you anything, but please no hurt Qaim.” The creature’s voice sounded as if he were nearly in tears when he gasped out this last sentence and it was obvious he was terrified. The little fur-ball squirmed violently in the hands of his captors, as it struggled to remain out of reach of Doenilio’s sword tip.

Kieren was overcome with a wave of compassion for this small being, and he walked over to the pathetic creature and spoke. “No one is going to harm you, my scruffy little fellow, as long as you cooperate and tell us what we want to know.”

“Qaim tell you, nice sir. Just ask and Qaim tell.”

“All right,” Kieren agreed. “Then what are you doing in these woods?”

“Doing? Qaim not doing anything. This Qaim’s home. Qaim live here in wood. Qaim do nothing to you or your friends. This where Qaim belong.” The creature paused briefly, before he spoke again. “Why you here?”

“For now, I’ll ask the questions,” came Kieren’s reply. “How long have you lived here?”

“Qaim live here long time. Qaim live here since Qaim little.”

“Then you know your way around this place?” Kieren asked. The creature nodded, or at least that’s how it appeared to the teen. “Could you show us the way out, then?”

“Way out to where? Qaim no understand.”

Kieren thought carefully about how he should rephrase his question, before he spoke again. “Could you lead us out of these woods,” Kieren continued, “to the place where the trees meet the edge of the mountains.”

“Qaim know the way, but Qaim no go there. Qaim afraid of nasty little men who want to hurt him. Qaim no leave his home.”

“My dear Kieren,” came Hadwin’s voice, “you can’t be serious about trusting this thing, whatever it is. We have no way of knowing if it will do as it says or if it will lead us into a trap and hand us over to the war party that chased us into this confounded place. I, for one, suggest we wait until our scouts have returned, to see if they have discovered another option. In the meantime, let’s put a guard on this hairy little beast, so it won’t think of trying anything foolish.”

It was quickly agreed that they would follow the Nardinian’s advice and wait for the others to return. Doenilio and Hadwin took the unknown being a short distance away from the rest of the party, but remained on either side of it, to make sure it could do nothing to cause them harm. The remainder of the group sat together and discussed what had just happened, before they attempted to determine what they should do next. In the middle of this meeting, Kieren turned toward Romaric and hugged his friend, energetically.

“You risked your life for me back there!” he said, even though Romaric was momentarily confused as to what Kieren was talking about. However, it didn’t take him long to figure it out.

“I only did what any of the others would have done,” the elf informed him, feeling undeserving of any additional attention.

“Maybe so,” Kieren shot back, “but I’m not sure I would have been so quick to do the same thing, if our roles had been reversed.”

“You are making too much of this,” Romaric told him, looking embarrassed.

“Well, thank you anyway,” Kieren replied, somewhat befuddled by his friend’s attitude, “even if you do not seek nor want my gratitude.” Kieren stared at Romaric for a few more seconds, which only added to the elf’s discomfort.

Eventually, Kieren settled in between his two friends again. As he did so, his face gradually broke into a huge smile, which was as broad as his facial muscles would allow. The elves didn’t immediately notice this, so the three sat speechless for several more minutes, letting the moment sink in. It was Romaric who ultimately made it his duty to break the uncomfortable silence.

“Shouldn’t we get back to the matter at hand,” he chided. “What are we going to do about this thing we just captured and how far are we willing to trust it?”

“Kieren, if I may be so bold,” commented Rhys. “I believe Hadwin has given you good counsel. We know nothing about what that creature is or who might control or have influence over it. It could easily be a spy for the Dark Lord or it might be in league with other beings that have made this awful place their home. I suggest we dare not place our faith in whatever it is, for it could lead us straight into a trap. I think we should first exhaust all of our other options, before we put our fate in its hands.”

Kieren was mulling over the Akiktite’s proposal, when Sedain and Quintain returned from their explorations. “It’s no use going in that direction,” panted Quintain. “It seems as though we walked far enough to extricate ourselves from this dreadful place and still we could find no break in this barrier.”

No one was happy with the news, but they hoped the others would fare better. That did not happen and once Alaric and Turquinine returned with similar news, their hope began to fade. After filling in the returnees about how they discovered Qaim, Kieren suggested they should consider the things Qaim had previously told them, but his proposal was not readily accepted.

“What other options do we have?” Alaric wondered aloud.

“I don’t think we can trust it,” Sedain announced. “It is a creature I am totally unaware of and, therefore, I have no idea as to why it’s here. It may be another creation of the Dark Lord, to keep trespassers out of this place.”

“I see it this way,” Rhys responded. “We can try to find our way through this place by ourselves, which seems to have only a slight chance of being successful, or we can trust the creature that dwells here.”

“How can we do that?” Quintain asked. “We know people entering this wood are never seen again, but we don’t know why. It might be that creatures such as this kill them or keep them trapped here.” Everyone shuddered at the implications of that statement.

“But if he knows the way out,” Garreth began, confused as to why the others were so hesitant to let this furry being help them. “Why shouldn’t we let him show us?”

“We could threaten it,” Sedain added, “and make it do what we want. I’ll stay by its side and run it through, if it appears it’s going to betray us.”

“But we have no idea if there might be others of his kind in this wood,” Doenilio reminded them. “It may just lead us further into this accursed place, to a spot where they wait for trespassers to be brought.”

“If there be others of its kind,” Turquinine interjected, “then we shalt battle them. They do not appear ferocious, nor do they seem to possess weapons.”

“That may be true,” Alaric advised the others, “but that does not solve this conundrum. If it is a trap, then surely we may have to fight, but if there is a chance to escape, should we not take it?”

Annoyed by all the bickering, Kieren got up and walked over to where Qaim was being guarded, hoping he could convince him to lead them out of Briarwood. “Qaim, you said before that you knew how to get to the place where the forest meets the mountains. Would you be willing to take us there?”

“Qaim know this place, but Qaim no want to go there. Bad men there. They would hurt Qaim.”

“What if I promised you we would protect you and not let anyone hurt you? If we did this, would you be willing to take us there?”

“Maybe. What you give Qaim if he do this?”

“What do you want?” Kieren asked, while wondering if he was being set up for something.

“Qaim want you to give him munchies. Lots of munchies. Yes?” Kieren and some of the others immediately grinned, or even chuckled, at the innocence of his request.

“Yes, Qaim,” Kieren replied, as his grin spread into a huge smile. He was intrigued and amused by the childlike quality and naivety of the creature. Surely, he thought, such a simple creature could never prove to be dangerous. “If you help us get out of here, we will indeed see that food is provided for you, as much as you can eat.”

“Yes! Yes! Qaim will take you there. Just follow Qaim.” With that, the little bundle of twigs and leaves started to move, but his two guards quickly subdued him.

“Easy, my odious fellow,” snarled Hadwin. “We must first devise some restraints to keep him secure and make sure he doesn’t try to betray us.” Hadwin reached for some rope from his pack and the timid animal watched his every move.

“Qaim show you way out. He no do anything bad.” When Qaim saw the ropes, his eyes immediately bulged from their sockets. “No wrap vines around Qaim. Vines burn Qaim. Hurt very much. Please, no hurt Qaim.”

Kieren felt pity for the creature and decided he had to convince Hadwin that his concerns were unnecessary. “Noble Nardinian, your point is well taken, but I think if treachery is involved, the rope shall not be of much help. Let Qaim walk free to lead us, as he says he will do, but we shall also let him know that he shall be the first to die if he betrays us!”

“Oh, no, kind master. Qaim no hurt you. Qaim take you where you want to go.”

Reluctantly, the warrior gave in to Kieren’s request, but he made sure the little hairball knew he would be the one to run him through, if he tried to betray them. “It seems I have no choice but to trust you,” Hadwin told Qaim, “but if you do anything that looks remotely like a double-cross…” Hadwin stopped speaking and waved his sword menacingly in front of Qaim, dramatizing what his fate would be.

“Qaim show you where you want to go. Just follow Qaim,” the creature told them, while looking back to make sure they were all going to follow his lead. This caused the others to pick up their gear, strap it into place and fall in behind Qaim, as he headed in the direction the two dwarfs had gone previously.

“I’m telling you there is no way through this obstacle in this direction,” argued Sedain. “I know that, because my brother and I searched every inch of it. I say this proves he is not to be trusted. I’m sure that, if we follow him, it shall come to no good.” The dwarf griped the hilt of his small sword as firmly as he could, before he continued. “We are like sheep being led to the slaughter.” It was obvious Sedain was prepared to be the one to do away with this enigma, at the first sign something was wrong.

The members of the party walked behind their new guide, who stood about the same height as the dwarfs. They had traveled only a short distance when Qaim turned into the undergrowth, for no apparent reason. His unkempt appearance made it difficult to tell what he was up to, but he was busy performing some unknown activity. Other than knowing he was working his hands in and out of the tangled hedge, no one had any idea what purpose his actions were supposed to serve. In a matter of seconds, however, his intent became evident, as an opening appeared in the wall of vegetation before them. It was as if Qaim had opened some hidden door in the midst of the thicket.

“Quick! Quick! Qaim must get to other side before the beastie sees him open bushes. Hurry! Hurry!”

“What beastie?” Hadwin wanted to know.

“No time. We must hurry,” Qaim responded.

Cautiously, Turquinine approached the opening and peered through to see what awaited them on the other side. Once he determined there was no danger lurking behind this dense hedge, he signaled the others to follow him through the portal.

“Hurry! Please, hurry!” urged Qaim. “This should not be open very long. Oh, please hurry!”

Within a few seconds, everyone scurried through to the other side and Qaim redid the unseen latches that had permitted them to cross through the obstacle. Once the opening had been resealed, everyone seemed to let out a collective sigh of relief. They now appeared to be safely assembled on the other side of the barrier that had befuddled them for so long.