Sword of Kings
Chapter 17 – A Guide Through the Woods

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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“What were you so afraid of?” demanded Kieren. “What would have happened if that covering had remained open?”

“Big, ugly beastie live on this side of wall. If he feel the air going through the hole, he run and try to get to other side. He hurt Qaim, if Qaim not hurry, but we safe now.”

“All right, Qaim, you’ve done well so far.” Kieren praised the creature. “Now you must show us how to get out of these woods to the mountains beyond. It’s time we got going again.” Having said this, Kieren gave Qaim a little nudge, which was his way of urging their new guide to undertake the next phase of his bargain.

“Qaim can no go now, young master.”

“Why not?” Kieren demanded, flustered by his guide’s reluctance. “You promised me you would. Why are you changing your mind now?”

“I warned you not to trust him,” interjected Hadwin. “He did do more than I thought he would, though. At least he led us through the barrier, which is more than we could have done on our own. Shall we run him through now?”

“No! No! Qaim still take young master. It just Qaim cannot take you yet. Soon there be no light to see by. We stay here for night.”

At that moment, the whole party looked upward, almost in unison, as if some unseen puppeteer had pulled the strings that lifted their heads skyward. They soon agreed Qaim was probably correct in his assessment and they would have to spend another night in this eerie woodland. Immediately, they set about preparing to bed down for the evening, when Turquinine inquired about the status of the food supply. He was promptly told that there was nothing left to eat, not even any crumbs. Hearing this, Qaim let out a very audible groan. This simple gesture expressed the feelings of the entire contingent, as they had to consider facing the night, and possibly the whole next day, without food.

Dejected and discontented, the various members of the party began to split up into groups to commiserate. The three dwarfs tended to gather together, while Alaric and Turquinine sat next to each other talking and Hadwin and Rhys hovered near Qaim, making sure he didn’t try to slip away. The three boys formed their own group and started discussing their situation again, but this only raised more questions than it provided answers. Quickly, the teens decided they needed information from some of the warriors, hoping they could help to decide what their next move should be. Quietly, they moved over to where Hadwin and Rhys were sitting.

Both men looked up, as the three young men approached, wondering what they wanted. They didn’t have to wait long, before they discovered the answer to their question. “Hadwin, have you ever been in the Faerie Forest, Mystic Forest or Arden-Woods?” Kieren asked him.

“Not in person,” he responded, looking confused, “but I have heard stories from others about those places. Why do you ask?”

“We thought if you had, maybe that information would help us get out of here,” Romaric quickly countered, eager to share his understanding of the situation.

“It might have, if I knew anything,” the Nardinian admitted. “I have little knowledge of those places, so I don’t see how I can help. I am but a common soldier and have been nothing but one most of my life. I am not an educated man, nor widely traveled.”

“But you must know SOMETHING that would help,” Garreth insisted.

“I have heard others say some of the woods in Tarolia are enchanted and they can do strange things,” Hadwin told him, “but I have no personal knowledge of such things.”

“If you don’t know anything,” Garreth continued, “then why did your people send you with Kieren, instead of someone else.”

“I was chosen for my exploits against the gnomes and Merropites, not for my woodland experiences,” Rhys responded, somewhat defensively. “You see, I was recommended because I have been involved in many of the various conflicts my people have had with those two groups throughout the previous years. I know a little about their way of thinking. Seeing they are our major enemies and Madumda’s confederates, the leaders of my city thought that knowledge might help on this mission. You see, we were not told the details of what we were going to do, so we thought my experience might come in handy. I’m sorry if I am not well spoken, nor of superior intelligence. My biggest strength is that I have learned the ways of those devils and I am not afraid to stand against any foe. I was hoping that would be enough to be of value on this assignment.”

“It has been so far and probably will be in the future,” Kieren told him, although the others could tell he was slightly downhearted at the moment. “I thank you anyway, for what you could tell me.”

Disappointed, but not thoroughly discouraged by the Nardinian’s response, the youths turned toward the Akiktite. “How about you, Rhys?” Kieren began. “You’ve traveled a lot. Have you heard anything about such places?”

“I am not as well traveled as you obviously suspect, my young friend,” the Akiktite responded, humbly.

“Didn’t I hear you say before that your father was a merchant?” Garreth wondered. “Didn’t you go places with him?”

“My adoptive father is a merchant, but I did not do a lot of traveling with him. You see, I was abandoned as a baby and merely taken in by him and his wife. They were quite generous to me, but I did not wish to take away from the rightful due and inheritance of their natural children, so I did not get involved in the family business.”

“They wouldn’t let you?” a shocked Romaric immediately wanted to know.

“I did not say that,” Rhys explained, surprised the elf had jumped to that conclusion from his statement. “My adoptive parents treated me as one of their own and even encouraged me to participate in the trade. However, I felt that I had no legitimate claim to the business or the family’s fortune, so I left home to seek my own way. It was shortly thereafter that I decided to become a soldier.”

“How did your parents feel about that?” Kieren inquired, thinking about how his own parents might have reacted, if it had happened to them.

“Unfortunately, they were hurt by my choice and felt I was misreading the situation,” Rhys confessed. “They tried to assure me there was more than enough money to provide for all of us, but by that time I was already determined to pursue my own future. So, here I am.”

“Wow,” responded Romaric, “I can’t believe anyone would turn their back on a chance to be rich.”

“I wouldn’t say that is what I did,” Rhys told him. “If I had stayed, I would not have been rich, no matter what race’s standards you might care to use. I would have lived comfortably, but you must believe me when I say there is more to life than the objects you can buy or possess.”

“But what about the woods?” Kieren questioned, getting back to their original topic. “Do you know of any information that might help?”

“I’m afraid I can add nothing that hasn’t already been discussed before,” he told them, although he looked as if he was sad that he had let them down. It was at that moment that Alaric suggested it was time they should all get some sleep. Grudgingly, they acknowledged the fact they needed to renew their strength for tomorrow’s endeavors and went to their bedding.

None of them slept very well, however, but this was due to the combination of their hunger pangs and the uneasy feelings they had about their surroundings. Qaim proved to be the lone exception to this rule, though, as he slept very soundly. He was the only one who wasn’t drowsy and still half asleep when they prepared to leave the next morning. This strange creature was energetic and upbeat from the moment he awoke, making the others despise his enthusiasm.

Sedain was particularly groggy, as he had slept very lightly. He had tried to keep one eye on the creature he did not fully trust, in case it attempted to betray them. Therefore, Qaim’s enthusiastic coaxing into greater haste only heightened the dwarf’s awareness that he had probably lost sleep for nothing and now he would suffer throughout the day for his continued mistrust. “I’m coming, I’m coming,” the dwarf barked back, to one of Qaim’s requests to get going.

“Little man nasty,” Qaim told Kieren. “He not nice, like young master.”

“It doesn’t look like Sedain slept very well last night,” Kieren offered, trying to explain the situation to their guide.

“Why not? It very quiet last night,” Qaim responded, still confused.

“Yes, it was,” Kieren replied, “but this is YOUR home, not Sedain’s. I think he was still worried about other things that might live here.”

“Like Beasties?” Qaim asked, jumping up excitedly, because he thought he had answered his own question “Little man, beasties no go around at night,” he told Sedain directly, hoping to reassure the dwarf. “You no need to watch for beasties when you sleep. They sleep too.”

Not quite sure why the creature was telling him this, Sedain was a bit annoyed. “Yeah, yeah. I shall try to remember that, but do you have to be so dang cheery this morning?” the dwarf snarled at him.

“Cheery? What is cheery?” Qaim wondered aloud, drawing Kieren closer to him.

“Maybe it’s best if you left him alone today,” Kieren warned him, “as he seems to be a bit grumpy. He’ll be better tomorrow. I’m sure.”

“He unhappy, but we need to hurry,” Qaim countered, before he very animatedly grabbed Sedain’s arm and pulled him forward, causing the others to laugh at the sight. This only caused Sedain to snort something else about the creature’s happy mood, as he struggled to break free of Qaim’s grasp, but he grudgingly followed him forward.

Again, the going was slow, but Qaim seemed to know all of the tricks to solve the various perplexities of this labyrinth. Unerringly, he led them forward, through and around the dense undergrowth. Time after time, he would lead them through barriers that, if they were on their own, the companions would have found difficult, if not impossible, to navigate beyond. Qaim, however, led them forward with hardly a minute wasted and he never lost his focus on where they were going. The group had just encountered and negotiated one of these obstacles when Qaim stopped, frozen with fear.

“Beastie, young master. Beastie want to hurt Qaim,” he cried. “Please, help Qaim.”

The companions looked up and saw a rather large wild boar coming in their direction, moving toward them at a trot. It was a good-sized animal and its two pearly white tusks shone out, even in this dim light, like two glimmering stars in the evening sky. The boar’s pace quickened, as it drew nearer to them, and now it was close enough for them to recognize the enormous hatred in the beast’s eyes. The animal increased its pace, soon exploding into a full charge, its sight set on the three dwarfs who stood clustered together. The dwarfs readied their battleaxes in preparation for the assault and waited to ward off the attack. As the boar drew nearer to the trio, it was able to distinguish the gleam off of their weapons and veered away from them, so that now it was heading directly for Kieren. Seeing the boar change its course, the youth braced himself for the expected encounter. Rigidly, he held his short sword in front of him with both hands, when he was suddenly knocked sideways and unceremoniously dumped on the ground.

Although Kieren didn’t realize it at the time, Garreth had just shoved him out of harm’s way, in an attempt to protect his friend from this new threat. As Kieren struggled to regain his balance, which he did as quickly as he could, he also endeavored to ready himself for the expected impact of the charging animal. However, he rose just in time to see Garreth meet the onrush of the rampaging beast in his stead.

The elf stood with his spear held directly in front of him, the pointed tip aimed at the boar’s fleshy chest, prepared for the worst. The force of the blow drove Garreth backward and he fell to the ground, but his spearhead became embedded in the boar’s flesh, just below its neck. As he landed with a thud on his backside, the shaft of his spear was slammed backward, driven between his chest and his right arm, until it lodged in the dirt beside him. The wooden handle held fast under the force of the collision, causing the metal head to be driven deeper into his assailant, until it began to pierce some of the vital organs in the maddened beast. This didn’t seem to stop the creature, however, and it still tried to crawl forward, in an attempt to gore the elf. At this point, the other warriors jumped into the fray and began to stab the beast with their own weapons. After piercing the struggling creature several more times, the animal shuddered briefly, before it collapsed on the prone form of the young elf.

Immediately, the others raced to Garreth’s side and hoisted the lifeless beast off the unlikely victor. Once freed from the weight of his opponent, the young elf rolled as far away from the creature as he could get. Alaric moved toward Garreth, as he spun away from them. The larger elf bent down to check the teen over, to make sure he was unharmed, as soon as the boy’s body came to a stop. When no serious injuries were discovered, Alaric helped the lad to his feet and Kieren instantly approached his liberated mate. Enthusiastically, he squeezed his friend with all the love and gratitude he could muster.

“Not only did you step in front to save me when Romaric discovered Qaim, but now you most likely saved my life,” Kieren blurted out. “First Romaric and now you. Beraut was right! He told us the closeness we felt for one another would prove beneficial on this trip and now both of you have proven him correct. My love for both of you is indeed great and I doubt I shall ever be able to repay the bravery you have displayed on my behalf.”

Kieren took this opportunity to pull Romaric to him as well, so he could embrace both of them in a tremendous hug of affection. The young elves blushed noticeably at this public display of affection and gratitude, but they did not reject their friend’s emotional outburst. It was possible they were only reacting because they felt Kieren was according them too much attention for what they had done, as they never were overly sensitive about coming into contact with one another.

When things were back to normal, the others concurred with the statements Kieren had made about Beraut’s being right about Garreth and Romaric. They even went as far as to add their own words of admiration for what the two young elves had done. They did not, however, choose to engage themselves in the jubilant outburst that Kieren had initiated and remained aloof from this unscripted celebration. Instead, they gave the trio time to work through their emotional release and simply waited until the chaos was forgotten and order had been restored.

Qaim paused long enough to thank all of them for protecting him from one of the wild boars he had lived in constant fear of. “Thank you for helping Qaim. Beastie try to hurt Qaim.”

“You’re welcome,” Kieren informed him, “but it will threaten you no more.”

“Not that beastie, but we must go,” Qaim informed them. “Other beasties may be close by. We go now, before more come.” Everyone could see the panic in the creature’s eyes and detect a tremor in his voice. It was obvious he was still in fear for his life and wished to depart this frightful place immediately.

The soldiers knew they should probably heed his warning, but they also didn’t want to waste this opportunity. “Qaim, aren’t you hungry?” Rhys asked him.

“Yes, Qaim want munchies,” the creature quickly and eagerly responded, although he did not thoroughly understand why he was being asked this.

“Well, if we agree to protect you from other ‘beasties,’ would you think it would be all right for us to prepare something to eat?” Rhys continued, while pointing at the carcass of the dead boar. Qaim had to think about this before responding, but he finally replied.

“If you keep sharp, pointy sticks out to keep Qaim safe, we can eat. Qaim hungry. Qaim could eat whole dragon by himself.” The others laughed at his comment, but understood his conflicting emotions.

Hurriedly, some of the warriors scrounged up enough wood to build a fire, while Turquinine gutted the boar and sliced chunks of meat from its carcass. These slices of meat would cook faster than trying to roast the whole boar at once, which would have been the typical way to prepare it, so once the fire was built, the pieces of meat were skewered on a long branch of green wood and placed it between two forked limbs, which had been forced into the ground.

While their feast was being prepared, Garreth turned toward Qaim, inquisitively. “Qaim, why were you so afraid of that animal?”

“Beastie wanted to hurt Qaim. Beastie stab Qaim with the white sticks on its face.” Qaim shuddered as he said that.

“But why?” Romaric wanted to know. “Why did it want to harm you?”

“It no like Qaim living in its home. It also not like Qaim going in and out bushes. Beastie want to hurt Qaim.”

“We could see that,” Kieren told him, but soon you won’t have to worry about that any more.” It wasn’t clear if Qaim understood the implications of what was meant by that statement, but he let it drop. Qaim was more interested in when the food would be ready to eat.

Once the meat had been cooked, the members of the party greedily enjoyed this sacrificial fare, although they wished there had been other delicacies to go with it. Jubilantly, they cut pieces of meat from the hunk they were given and stuffed it into their mouths, although some preferred to merely use their teeth to just rip it from the larger slab. In the middle of their meal, Qaim surprised them with a comment.

“Qaim eat beastie. Beastie not eat Qaim,” he told them, causing some of them to choke on the food they had in their mouth, as they tried keep from laughing at his observation.

Once they had squelched the hunger pangs that had been gnawing at them since the previous evening, the party set out again, this time covering much more ground than they had the previous day. Being full and more positive that they would escape this forest, the hours seemed to fly by. Eagerly, they kept moving closer and closer to their goal, becoming increasingly energized by the thought of breaking free of this dark, dreary place and reaching the dwarven kingdom. They only took a couple of short rest breaks during the day. They understood that by continuing for as long as they could it would help to extricate them from this situation even more quickly.

Doggedly, they continued to tramp forward and it was late afternoon when they finally cleared the outer edge of the maze of trees and bushes. They now stood at the northeastern corner of Briarwood, free of its ensnaring grasp, but they were still not certain if they were out of danger. “Wait here,” Alaric told them, “while I scout around and look to see if anyone is out there.”

He immediately moved off, slinking along the edge of the woods, while using his superior sight to scan the area for trouble. The elf moved stealthily along, until the companions eventually lost sight of him. While the elf was checking out the area from signs of trouble, the dwarfs scanned their surroundings for familiar landmarks. Soon, they had spotted enough familiar objects so they could calculate where they were.

“We are very close to where we wanted to be,” Doenilio informed them. “There is a path not far from here, which will lead us to the gates of Thorold. We should be able to get there before the sun sets completely.”
Hearing this news, it was as if a weight had been lifted from them and all they could think about now was the hot baths, plentiful food and soft beds that awaited them there. Within a few minutes, Alaric also returned.

“I see nothing that alarms me,” the elf told them. Finally, it was safe for them to move on.

Before they renewed their journey, Sedain realized there was something he must do first. Slowly, he began to move toward Qaim, but he stopped and started several times, as he was unsure about what he should do next. When he finally reached their fury guide, everyone held their breath and watched him, as they waited to see what he was going to do next. They could tell how nervous and uncertain Sedain was, so they felt he wasn’t about to do anything rash. Hesitantly, the dwarf reached out his hand and placed it upon Qaim’s shoulder, or at least where he thought his shoulder should be, and began to speak.

“I’m not sure words will suffice,” he told Qaim, swallowing multiple times in between, “but I have sorely misjudged you. I hope you will accept my apology, my new friend, for I have much to do to make amends for my rude behavior earlier. Will you please forgive me?”

“Qaim not know what you mean. Where Qaim go now? What Qaim do?” At that instant, everyone realized Qaim was going to be leaving his whole world behind and he had no idea what to expect once he left Briarwood.

Suddenly, a wave of compassion swept over Kieren and he knew he had to do something to ease Qaim’s fears. “Don’t worry,” Kieren told him, “for I shall make sure you have a safe new home to live in. As your reward for helping us escape this maze, you can live with me, if you want.”

“And you give Qaim munchies too?” the creature eagerly wanted to know, causing everyone else to chuckle again. However, before Kieren could respond, Sedain jumped in and answered for him.

“You will have all you can eat when we get to my home, my friend, and much, much more,” the dwarf advised him. “Just follow me and I shall lead you to your reward.”

Qaim was so anxious to accept Sedain’s offer that he almost tore the dwarf’s arm from its socket, as he tried to drag him forward. “Easy, Qaim. Easy,” the dwarf warned him. “We will get there soon enough, but we must keep together until we arrive.”

This time Sedain led Qaim forward, up the seldom-used path Doenilio had mentioned earlier, while the others strained to maintain the same pace. Before long, they were standing in front of the back gates of Thorold, having at last reached their destination.