Sword of Kings
Chapter 29 – A Slight Detour

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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After thinking he had heard Beraut give him a final warning, Kieren began to follow Qaim, as the aignx lead them toward Treblanc.  Hadwin and the dwarfs walked directly behind Qaim, while the boys took their position in the middle of the formation, and Alaric, Rhys and Turquinine brought up the rear.  Although the others could see Kieren was not acting as he normally would, they didn’t become overly concerned or try to engage him in conversation.  They understood his current mood had been brought on by the remorse he was feeling about what had happened to Doenilio and his apprehension about being separated from the ancient mage.  There was little they could do to ease his troubled mind, so they left him alone, to work things out for himself

Kieren knew he would miss his mentor’s counsel and advice, now that they had parted ways.  What was even more unsettling to him was the fact that he had also lost Beraut’s magical protection, just when he thought he’d need it most.  Up until now, things hadn’t been easy, but that wasn’t the worst of it.  Everything that had happened to them had been against adversaries who were far less powerful than Madumda.  As of yet, they hadn’t been called upon to face an opponent with the magical acumen of the Dark Lord, but he knew that was about to change. 

They were preparing to make their way into Madumda’s stronghold and Kieren felt this would be the time he would need the extra protection only the wizard could provide.  Even traveling with this group of battle-hardened warriors and loyal friends, who had already proven themselves many times, he was still alarmingly uneasy.  He feared what might happen, now that they didn’t have the wizard’s enormous supernatural prowess around to tap into, just in case the strength of mere mortals failed them.  He couldn’t help but wonder how they were going to survive.

As he looked up, Kieren noticed Garreth and Romaric walking a few steps ahead of him and suddenly he didn’t feel quite so bad.  He was glad they were no longer estranged, because he knew he would need their support, more now than ever, seeing the wizard wasn’t going to be there for him.  As he considered what the pair meant to him, he began to concede that he did act differently toward them when Beraut was around and he began to feel badly about that.  When the wizard was with the group, Kieren tended to pull away from his two friends and ignore them, although the slight was unintentional.  He wondered if that had added fuel to their disagreement back at Thorold, even though the elves never brought it up.  Had he actually been as rude to them as he now imagined? 

At that moment, Kieren decided he would have to show his friends he still needed them around.  Silently, he moved behind Garreth, put an arm over his shoulder and then pulled him forward, until they were also beside Romaric.  Kieren lifted his other arm up and placed it over Romaric’s shoulder, pulling his two friends a little closer.  “I think this might be a good time to sneak off to the confectioner’s shop,” he quipped, causing the two elves to give him a puzzled look.  Kieren smiled at one, and then the other, letting them know it was meant to be a joke, which caused them to burst into laughter. 

The boys continued to walk like this for a brief time, as one broad, six-legged, three-headed creature.  Once again they were enjoying each other’s company and reveling in the fact that things between them had improved.  They would have stayed that way, if Alaric hadn’t approached them from behind and urged them to move back into single file. 

“In order to keep the traces of our passing to a minimum,” the elf advised them, as they continued walking “you boys need to walk behind each other, not by each other’s side.” 

“Do we have to?” Kieren asked, wanting to maintain the closeness he and his friends were once again sharing. 

“Yes, you do,” the elf responded.  “The wider the path we trample down, the easier it will be for the condor to spot and you know what that means.  The trail will lead it straight to us.” 

That comment was enough to scare the boys into heeding Alaric’s advice, especially after mentally reliving the scenes of what that beast was capable of.  Without further encouragement, they quickly fell back into single file in the middle of the formation and continued to trudge forward.  The only difference was, now they were also keeping one eye on the horizon, watching for the vile bird’s return.

Their path was fairly easy to travel, as they continued to move through the fields of tall grasses.  What made it even better was, they weren’t encountering any of the problems they had to endure while moving across the Valley of the Dead.  They did stop several times though, but never for very long, and Kieren was curious to discover why they kept making these unexpected pauses.  Even though he tried to piece together what was going on, he was too far away to actually hear what the warriors were saying.  He did figure out it had something to do with Qaim, because of the way the aignx’s arms flailed about when he talked to Hadwin. 

Kieren was somewhat shocked, though, when he noticed the change in Qaim’s appearance.  In all honesty, he hadn’t paid their new guide much thought since they’d resumed their journey, but the difference was drastic.  Kieren quickly noted that the aignx’s long dark brown coat of thick fur was once more a tangled mess, interlaced with grasses, twigs and dirt.  He now looked nearly as disgusting as he had on their first encounter in Briarwood. 

Before long, they started off once again, but hadn’t gone very far when Alaric signaled everyone to crouch and remain motionless.  He pointed toward the mountain range and then put a finger over his lips, warning them to be quiet.  Kieren had a good idea why they had stopped this time, but he still wanted to be certain.  He moved his head ever so slowly in the direction Alaric had pointed and soon located what he was looking for.  There was the familiar dark form of the condor soaring through the air to his right. 

The group remained like this until the keen-sighted elf alerted them they could continue on their way and that the threat had abated for the time being.  Eagerly, they resumed their journey forward, with the boys continually pivoting in all directions in search of that unwanted visitor.  They moved with purpose and determination, until Hadwin signaled them to halt, yet again. 

“What is it?” Kieren blurted out, probably more loudly than he should have, which caused Rhys to immediately come up from behind him.

“You have to remember to keep your voice down,” the stern-faced Rhys warned him, as he made a quick stop before moving to the front of the formation.  “We don’t want whatever is out there to know we’re here, so we must speak only in whispers.” 

Kieren was a bit red-faced because of the admonition and hung his head slightly, as Alaric and Rhys continued forward.  They immediately huddle with Hadwin, Qaim and the two dwarfs, so they could discuss the situation further.  Turquinine stayed back to protect the boys and all of them watched intently as the warriors studied the ground and pointed things out to each other.  The four of them waited quietly as their companions completed their investigation and eventually came back to inform them about what was going on.

“Qaim has been feeling uneasy for quite some time,” Hadwin informed them.  They could tell by his expression that he was deeply troubled by this revelation.  “He has told me several times that he felt something else was also traveling in these meadows.  At first I didn’t put any stock in his claims,” the Nardinian continued, “but now we have encountered an area where the grasses have been trampled down in various directions.  Some of it shows signs of having been this way for quite a while, but other areas look freshly disturbed.”

“Can you tell what did it?” asked Romaric nervously, concerned about what new threat they might have to deal with. 

“From what I can tell, it appears to be an individual or a small group that has been wandering continually over this ground.  The soil is too firm for them to have left any identifiable impressions, but from the uneven trampling of the vegetation I’d be willing to say that whatever passed through here was either looking for something or running from it.  Seeing we’re not certain as to what we’re dealing with or what type of threat it poses, I suggest we all become more vigilant about listening for noises and observing movement in this area.  We must also remain as quiet as possible, treading softly and speaking only in whispers, when required.”

“Oh, great!” sighed Garreth.  “Not only do we have to watch for that darn bird, but now we have to worry about things moving around us too.”

“Unless you wouldn’t mind being killed in a surprise attack or becoming the main course for some animal’s next meal,” Alaric interjected, although allowing a wry smile to cross his face, to indicate this was meant as a sick joke. 

“No, thank you,” responded Garreth.  “It’s just that we had enough to worry about without this.”

“We understand,” chimed in Rhys, “but that doesn’t change the situation.  We have to learn to deal with problems as they arise,” he added, for the benefit of the younger trio.  “It is better to be aware of this new situation than to absent-mindedly wander into something you’re not prepared for.”

“I’m sick of surprises,” Garreth told him, “especially things like this.”  Everyone could see he was being serious, but they felt they might have a little more fun at his expense. 

“I suggest you draw your weapons,” Hadwin teased, “so you are ready to defend yourself against the bunnies and ground hogs that may jump out at us then.” 

Garreth, Romaric and Kieren began to draw their short swords from their scabbards, after hearing Hadwin’s initial comment.  However, they knew they’d been had, by the time the Nardinian finished his statement.  Garreth wasn’t thrilled about being made fun of like this, although the other two let out nervous little snickers at the thought of being attacked by such harmless creatures.

“Jokes aside,” Rhys added, trying to ease Garreth’s discomfort and prepare them as best he could, “forewarned is forearmed.  Seriously, I do think it would be prudent for all of us to have our arms at the ready, just in case it does come to that.  We are pretty confident something is out there, although we’re not sure what it is, and we must use this knowledge to our advantage.  We have to be ready to defend against it, should it prove hostile and decide to attack.”

The three boys had started to sheath their weapons again, after Hadwin’s little joke, but they quickly retrieved them once more, ready to use them if necessary.  Since the group was ready to continue, the trio fell back into their positions, at the center of the formation.  The teens were still somewhat unsettled by the earlier banter and uneasily scanned their surroundings.  Their heads began snapping back and forth; as they searched the sky above the mountain range for their biggest threat, before doing a three hundred and sixty degree scan of the ground around them.  This constant surveillance slowed their progress significantly, but they remained on a high state of alert in order to avoid any more surprises.  They had not gone much farther, before they were once again signaled to stop.  This time it was Sedain who had halted them. 

Everyone, except Turquinine and the three boys, walked to the front of the formation, to see if they could discern anything new.  “Should we come with you?” Kieren asked the warriors, as they began to pass by. 

“No,” Rhys advised him.  “I think it best if you three and Turquinine stay here and protect our backside, so whatever it is doesn’t slip up behind us while we’re conferring.”  Rhys didn’t think the boys would take it well if he told them he thought it would be best they didn’t join in the discussion.  The warrior was afraid the inexperienced youth would inadvertently trample clues or become unsettled by the possibilities that might be discussed.  

After giving them that explanation, Rhys moved quickly up to the front of the group to join the others.  When he got there, Hadwin and the two dwarfs were squatting down, examining the ground.  “Did you find anything new?” Rhys asked Hadwin, immediately upon joining the others.

“Yes, I found quite a sizeable pool of dried blood this time,” Hadwin replied.  

“Dried blood?” Rhys asked, astonished.  “From what?”

“Of that I can’t be certain,” Hadwin informed him. “Either these creatures killed something and carried the body off with them or something else killed one of them and made off with the carcass.”

“What do you think that means to us?” Rhys wanted to know, his face twisted in grave concern. 

“It means we must keep moving,” Hadwin told him, “and get away from here as quickly as we can.” 

“I agree, but suggest we advise the others first,” Rhys recommended.  “Kieren wanted to join us for this discussion and I think it best we not leave him or the others in the dark.”

“I can do that,” Sedain responded, giving Rhys a nod and letting him know he understood the sensitivity of the situation.  “I’ll inform the others what we suspect.” 

“I think it best if we keep any mention of the blood to ourselves,” Rhys, suggested, before Sedain left.  “The boys are dealing with enough already.  There’s no need to burden them with more than they might be able to handle.”

“I understand,” the dwarf replied, before he wielded about and rushed back to where the others waited.  They looked at him apprehensively as he approached, wondering what was going on.

“Hadwin has discovered another path that crosses our own and is investigating it,” the dwarf informed them.  “He is now trying to determine if it was caused by the same individual or individuals or if it is the result of something else.” 

“Is there any chance we will learn what’s out there this time?” Kieren asked, hoping he might finally get an answer.

“I doubt it,” Sedain responded.  “The ground is still not yielding any tracks, but Hadwin is searching for other signs.  He is looking for anything that will give us some clue as to what we’re dealing with.”

Kieren was not satisfied with the answer, but before he could ask any more questions of the dwarf, he saw Hadwin, Qaim, Rhys and Alaric approaching.  “Do you know what it is yet?” Garreth asked no one in particular, as the group joined them. 

“Not precisely,” Quintain admitted. 

“You’re still not sure what it is?” Romaric asked, perplexed and slightly panicked.  He wondered why these warriors couldn’t determine what this threat might be? 

“No,” the dwarf responded.  “The ground is not soft enough to record a good footprint for us to identify.  We’re fortunate just to be able to tell what direction it was traveling.” 

“So you don’t know what it’s doing here?” Kieren followed. 

“Not exactly,” Sedain informed him.  “We do not feel this should be a cause for undue alarm though.  We all agree it would be best if we move on, but remain watchful.  Keep your eyes open for anything out of the ordinary.”

Within a few moments, they were on their way again, but this time Alaric stayed at the head of the formation with Hadwin.  Everyone remained alert for signs of danger, although they were feeling somewhat uneasy about their current situation.  This caused Kieren to think about the cloak he was wearing, the one Beraut had presented to him before this mission began.  Slowly, he reached back to locate his hood, just to make certain he could find it easily, should the need arise.  Kieren was still toying with this idea when Alaric signaled them to halt, yet again. 

The elf was pointing toward his ear, letting the others know he heard something, and then moved his finger over his lips, to let them know they should also remain quiet.  It was just a few seconds later when Kieren felt something brush against him from behind, which caused him to jump slightly.  He wielded about, his sword already in his hand, to see what was there.  That’s when he discovered a quivering Qaim hiding behind him.  The frightened aignx was hoping Kieren would protect him from whatever creatures were also roaming the area.  ‘Some guide you’ve turned out to be,’ Kieren thought to himself, while directing his attention back toward the warriors.

While tightening up their formation slightly, each member of the party waited to see what he was expected to do next, when Alaric indicated he had made up his own mind.  The elf signaled that he was going off to investigate, to see if he could discover what was lurking about.  Immediately, Sedain gestured that he planned to go with him and Alaric nodded his consent.  The pair was just about ready to move off, when several large, white, hairy creatures burst in upon the spot where they were standing.  These animals seemed more surprised about finding the companions than the armed party did of having these creatures suddenly come upon them.  At least the warriors had suspected their presence, but these animals were totally unprepared for this encounter. 

“Nasty beasties,” Kieren heard Qaim whimper from behind him.  “Beasties want to hurt Qaim.”

Kieren’s protectors all lifted their weapons, unsure as to what they should expect next.  The animals didn’t react right away, but it wasn’t long before they became aggressive and started to attack the group.  The warriors immediately began to defend themselves and battle the creatures.  Their blades flashed, as they slashed and thrust at these new opponents, and soon there were dark red stains appearing on the attackers’ lily-white fur coats.  The beasts, stunned briefly by the ferociousness of the defense, withdrew slightly.  They continued to move back until they were just out of range of the swords, but they only seemed to be considering their next move.  Quintain recognized their opponents and decided to take advantage of the lull by shouting a quick command.

“Quick!  Head for the mountains,” the dwarf directed the rest of them.  “We must use the boulders to protect ourselves from their claws.  Take Kieren with you.”  The others began to leave, as they had been told to do, while Sedain and Quintain stayed behind, to protect their backsides.  However, Hadwin had other ideas.

“Keep going.  I will stay and fight with the dwarfs,” he offered, while signaling the rest of them to continue moving toward the slopes.

No one hesitated or worried if the dwarfs’ assessment was correct.  Instead, they unquestioningly made their way toward the mountains and the protection Quintain had indicated the rocky slopes offered them.  Kieren glanced over his shoulder every now and then, unable to control his curiosity.  When he did, he would see the dwarfs and Hadwin intermittently fighting back their attackers and then breaking away, in an attempt to get to the mountains too.  Unfortunately, these forays would only cause their hairy opponents to retreat temporarily, as they distanced themselves from the sting of the sharp blades, but it never stopped them completely. 

By this time, Kieren and his protectors reached the base of the mountain range, so they stopped to watch the three guarding their rear.  They wanted to see if the others needed some assistance.  It didn’t take them long to decide that Hadwin and the dwarfs didn’t appear to need their help, because the closer they got to the mountain, the more their attackers seemed to hold back.  Kieren couldn’t understand why the creatures were so afraid of approaching the rocky slopes, but he understood it would give them a chance to get away.  Knowing that, he spun around and started moving up the mountainside.  It was only a few minutes more before Hadwin and the dwarfs rejoined them.

“Move higher,” shouted Quintain.  “We must move farther up the hillside and find more cover.”  The others obeyed, without hesitation, and stopped only when the dwarf told them it was safe to do so.

“What the devil were they?” Alaric wanted to know.

“Those were snow apes,” answered Sedain, “creatures of the mountains.  For some reason they have left the Citadels to forage for food in the valley, something they seldom, if ever, do.  They must have been extremely hungry or frightened to have attacked an armed party.”

“If they live in these mountains, then why did we head here?” Hadwin wondered.

“Because it is here, in the mountains, where we can best defend ourselves against them” Sedain explained.  “Any techniques we know of are based upon being in this type of terrain and I didn’t feel like continuing to experiment with new methods to defend against them in an open ground engagement.  We can best protect Kieren by taking advantage of the natural shielding the mountains will give us.”

“Me no like big beasties,” interjected Qaim’s timid voice.  The boys readily agreed with him, although they did so silently.

“What about the snow apes?” Kieren asked the dwarfs, as some of the taller warriors were blocking his view of what was going on.  “Where are they now?”

“They are still lurking in the grasses, just beyond the base of the mountain,” Quintain responded.  “I still don’t understand why they didn’t follow us.  This is their home and I see no reason why they wouldn’t have chased us up here.  They weren’t afraid of our weapons earlier, so why now?”

“Perchance they thinketh us foolhardy enough to re-enter the grasslands,” responded Turquinine.

“I don’t believe that’s the reason,” stated Quintain, “for they would be more than happy to continue their attack on familiar ground.  I would venture a guess they were more afraid of being here than they were excited about the possibility of ending their hunger.  I have a strong feeling the condor might have something to do with that.”

“You’re probably right,” Sedain concurred.  “I suggest we stay in the mountains until we have safely passed beyond their reach.  I recommend we find a route that will take us from here to the back entrance of Treblanc, one that would keep us from re-entering the valley and the dangers those tall grasses are concealing.”

Everyone agreed and they set off over the uneven terrain following the dwarfs, while looking for a more suitable path to follow.  Rhys, Alaric and Turquinine hung to the rear, just in case the snow apes changed their minds and decided to pursue them.  The party was on the move again, although this wasn’t exactly the way it had been planned.  Even so, they knew they had a job to do, no matter how many unexpected twists and turns they might have to make along the way.