[READER'S NOTE; The Warrior Realm is a mythical world of witches and warlocks. Set in no particular time period, it parallels the journey of a young barbarian (Nomad), a young magician (Liam), and a mystical minotaur (Hoof), as they search for self...]
____________________________________________________________________________ WARRIOR REALM Chapter-5/THE SLAYER
Pt-1
After traveling untold miles in the hot blazing heat of the Kyran Desert Sands, our Warriors journey the rest of the way through the Kyran Desert Granite. The Granite is a vast wasteland of rugged terrain where Giants were once rumored to roam. Nomad, Liam, and their new riding companion Hoof venture through the Granite Desert cautiously, the scorched bones of weary travelers who were lucky enough to survive the desert sands, lay scattered about the dusty grounds of the desert granite, their flesh plucked clean by vultures that circle high above overhead just waiting for tired travelers to collapse from exhaustion.
"It's at least another day's journey through this wretched heat before we are clear of the sun's danger!" announced Hoof.
"If we do not find water soon, we may not last that long!" said Nomad, feeling weak and dehydrated.
"Maybe I could conjure up some rain?" asked Liam, rising his hands above his head.
"NO!!" yelled Nomad, the memory of the sandstorm still fresh in his mind (chap-3). "We'll risk parchment!"
"okay..." responded Liam disappointed as he lowered his arms.
"What's wrong?" asked Hoof, chuckling at his young companions. "Why can't the boy conjure rain? Is that not an easy spell for a magician to perform?"
"It's a long story..." sighed Nomad, not wanting to get into it.
"It's getting HOT!" said Liam, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"We're in the desert.., of course its hot!" sighed Nomad.
"No, the magician is right..., the heat has increased!" said Hoof, feeling a surge in heat rising on his broad muscular back and shoulders. He turned around, wiping the sweat from his brow as a huge ball of fire came burrowing down at them. "DUCK!!" he yelled, diving aside just as a shadow passed overhead and the flames exploded against the desert floor in a burst of fire and brimstone.
"What the fuck..?!?" asked Nomad as Spades leaped into the air, tossing his passengers to the ground before getting chard to death in the blink of an eye. "SPADES..!!" cried Nomad, watching his horse's ashes float to the ground like black snow.
Hoof felt some of the hairs on his head singe as he peered skyward to see the large wing span of a Lyvidegous Dragon.
"What the hell was that??!" asked Nomad, leaping to his feet as he donned his sword and shield.
"An enemy..." said Hoof, narrowing his eyes as the Dragon soared high in the sky before changing direction on the wind currents to turn back around for another swoop.
"You're enemies with a Dragon??" asked Liam, looking up from the hot desert floor.
"Not the Dragon..." said Hoof, donning his own shield and weaponry. "...the Rider!" he announced, just as the Dragon swooped in for another pass. The Warriors watched as the humongous mammal opened its mouth and breathed fire. "RUN!!" advised Hoof, aiming arrows in the creature's direction. He managed to fire off 3 straight tipped arrows before leaping away in the nick of time. Nomad crouched down behind his shield, protected by the fiery flames with his cloak as the creature passed closely overhead.
Nomad swung his sword, slicing his blade into the monster's underbelly. Crimson red blood gushed from the mammal's belly as it screeched a horrid yell of pain. The rider tried to steer the Dragon to safety, but the creature flip-flopped in midair before crashing hard onto the ground. The Rider dove for safety as the Dragon tumbled to a halt, its wings broken in several places.
"You did it, Nomad! You did it!! You bought down the Dragon!!" glee Liam, thinking they would be dead now.
"Watch out for the creature's blood, it burns fiery hot!" warned Nomad, shaking excess blood from his smoldering shield.
"The Dragon was not the danger, Magician..., the Slayer is!!" informed Hoof, aiming his arrows into the dust.
"S...Sl...Slayer...?" asked Liam, fearfully.
Just then from out of the dust came a yell and a charge. A 7 foot man emerged from the dusty cloud with a machete in one hand and an axe in the other.
Hoof fired off 2 arrows, both deflected by the wild man's weapons as he somersaulted and tumbled out of harms way, throwing the axe as it sliced through the air and ricocheted off Hoof's shield. With a mighty yell he charged towards Hoof with the machete over head. He swung it down hard, holding it with both hands only to have it blocked by Nomad's mighty sword. The clash of two metals roared like thunder as The Slayer turned his attention to the Barbarian.
"Hoof is a friend of mine..." started Nomad, factually.
"...which makes YOU my enemy!" finished Slayer, swinging his machete again.
A sword fight broke out with each man blocking some of the other's best lunges. The sound of striking metals echoed through the searing desert with loud clashes over the grunts and groans of a heavy fight. Nomad had encountered sword fights before, but never against an opponent as fierce and determined as the Slayer. The 7 foot tall manslaughter fought back relentlessly, striking wildly as his machete knocked Nomad's sword away. Nomad stood unarmed as Slayer raised his weapon to end the battle. But before he could deliver the finishing blow, he was suddenly electrocuted where he stood.
Nomad watched bewildered as the Slayer's eyes bulged and his body shook uncontrollably. When the electricity finally stopped cruising through his body, he stood there for a few moments, paralyzed in placed before tumbling over like a fallen tree. He hit the ground face first like a giant oak, smoldering smoke emitting from the remains of his chard costume.
Nomad looked around curiously, wondering where the lucky strike of electricity came from. "Liam...?" he called, seeing the last flickers of static sparking from around the magicians outstretched fingertips.
Liam looked shocked (surprised) as he turned his hands around to face him, looking at them as if he'd never seen them before.
"H...how did I...?" he asked, unable to understand exactly how he conjured the electricity.
"You saved your friend's life!" said Hoof, bringing Liam out of his trance as he picked his bow & arrows and shield up from the ground. Liam followed the Minotaur as he cautiously approached the fallen warrior. "Is he dead...?" asked Hoof hopefully, kicking the Slayer's machete away from his lifeless hand.
"No..." answered Nomad, checking his vital signs. "...he seems to be out cold!"
"Then he is a DEAD MAN!!" yelled Hoof, grabbing the Slayer's own weapon against him.
"No...!" yelled Nomad, placing himself in harm's way. "He is defenseless! What kind of way is that for a warrior to fight?!"
Hoof held the Slayer's weapon overhead for a time, trying to decide if he should go through Nomad or not before finally lowering it, taking heed what the young man said. He dropped the Slayer's machete on the ground, then turned and walked away.
"What do we do with him, then?" asked Liam, knowing the madman would be angry when he woke up.
"Let's tie him up...!" suggested Nomad, grabbing a noose from around Liam's waist.
"And how pray tell are we to carry him with no horse...??" asked Liam, reminding Nomad of the death of his horse Spades.
"We'll make due!" responded Nomad, holding back the moisture in his eyes as he tied the big man's hands behind his back before securing his ankles.
Pt-2
During the day, the Kyran Desert is scorching hot from the extreme heat of the sun, while at night it becomes cold from the gusty wind storms that blow. Nomad and his companions were lucky enough to find a small Cave in cliffs in the near distance. It was there that they found old dry twigs for a fire as they huddled around the warmth and listened to the winds howl outside the cave's entrance.
"Why does the Slayer hate you so?" asked Nomad, unable to keep his curiosity locked any longer.
"It's a long story..." said Hoof, his long bull legs cuddled under his bull body as he warmed his hands by the fires.
"We have time, as you can see..." responded nomad, insistently.
Hoof remained quiet for a few moments, gazing into the flames as his mind recalled his days in a Herd. "I was younger then..." he started, picturing his proud Herd as they galloped through the world as one big happy family. "We lived in the plush lands of Vandorus..., a place where the Minotaur roamed free. For years we were hunted by humans who wanted to enslave us as live stock like they did the Unicorns..., but WE were too smart for them, we evaded their attempts to capture us every time. But when Lord Zog and his evil Imperials wandered through, he was able to do what NO man could ever do..., he enslaved us as his warrior slaves. We traveled across vast lands with his army of men, slaughtering families and stealing children to work in his Slave Pits...!" Nomad cringed when he heard that tail, reminding him of his own past where his family was killed by Raiders of Zog's (chap-1). "After many years, I was finally able to buy my freedom from Zog's army..., and left to venture on my own. I first heard of the Slayer after he butchered a small herd of Minotaur on the hillsides. He left a message as a descendant of one of the villages we raided..., vowing to kill ALL of the Minotaur as we did his own family! I've fought him twice before, but managed to escape each time! He is a relentless hunter, and tracks me down no matter where I go!"
Nomad was visibly affected by Hoof's tail as he tried to hold back his own anger. After a moment, he grabbed his own sword from his sheath and charged Hoof through the fire's flames. Hoof reacted by jumping back as Nomad's sword tip pointed at his thick throat. "YOU were a Raider...??!" he asked, tears filling in his eyes as he contemplated avenging his family. "YOU were one of the ones responsible for killing MY family??!!" he shouted, raising his sword overhead.
Liam cringed as he expected the sword to slice through Hoof, but Nomad resisted temptation, regaining his senses as he turned his head and walked away.
"I had no choice..." defended Hoof, feeling guilty about his past. "...I was a SLAVE..., I HAD to fight in Zog's war or become one of his victims! It was my survival instinct...!"
"BAH...!!" yelled Nomad, wanting to hear no more as he ventured deeper into the Cave to get away from his family's butcher.
"I've spent the last years of my life trying to atone for what I did...!" defended Hoof, trying to reason with Liam, the only audience he had left.
Liam looked shocked as he slowly got up from the fire and followed Nomad into the Cave. Hoof watched his two companions disappear into the darkness before gazing back into the hypnotic flames of the fire. Nearby, the Slayer lay waiting for an opportunity to pounce as he pretended to still be unconscious while his fingers toyed with the knot securing his bound wrists.
"Nomad...?" called Liam, carefully climbing over rocks in his path as he caught up with his friend. "Are you okay?" he asked, stopping behind Nomad as he stood at the crest of a water bank. "You know..., Hoof wasn't the one that murdered your family..."
"I know!" answered Nomad, staring into the dark still water. "But I befriended someone who belonged to the murderous Raiders who pillaged my land!" yelled Nomad, more angry at himself than Hoof. "He was as much a sworn enemy to me as he is to the Slayer!"
"Hoof's not the same man he was as a Raider..." reasoned Liam. "The fact that he saved both of our lives when he didn't have to, attest that he is not the same person the Slayer is trying to kill!"
Nomad heard his friend's words, but was too angry to decipher their meaning. He untied his cape, unfastened his belt, then dove head first into the still waters.
"Nomad...!" called Liam nervously, "...you don't know WHAT lives in that water...!" he warned.
Nomad swam down into the darkness, holding his breath for as long as possible before heading back up to the surface. His head popped up a good distance from the crest where Liam stood.
"Come in...!" yelled Nomad, waving for his friend to join. "...the water's warm!"
"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather stay here!" said Liam, not wanting any surprises.
He sat down on a large rock and waited for Nomad to finish his swim. He watched the young warrior swim out deeper into the Cave, keeping a close eye out for trouble. That's when he heard someone behind him. "Hoof...?" he called into the darkness, turning around to see no one. He could hear the muffled voice of someone close by as tiny footsteps ran pass him. "Who's there...??" he cried out nervously, getting up from the rock as he scanned the area with wide eyes. "Hello...? Is anybody there...?!"
No one answered as sounds of multiple movement could be heard around him. Liam turned in every direction, trying to get a glimpse of who was in the Cave with him. When he raised his hand to illuminate the dark, a small Elf appeared on the rocks before him. "Who are you...?" asked Liam intrigued, as he stepped forth to get a better look at the tiny pointy eared woman.
"I'm an Elf..., who are YOU?" said the woman, in a tiny innocent child like voice.
"I'm Liam..., I'm a magician...!" answered the boy. "Do you live here?" was his next question.
"Oh no...!" answered the Elf with a chuckle. "We live Underground..., away from the desert!"
"We...?" asked Liam, intrigued by the tiny likable creature.
"Yes..., there is a whole colony of Elves where I live! Would you like to see?" asked the girl.
"Yes! Yes I would!" answered Liam. "May my friend come along too?" he inquired, looking back for Nomad.
"Sure, silly! The more the merrier!" laughed the Elf, jumping from rock to rock as she led the way to the Underground.
"Nomad...! Nomad, come quickly! I found something!" yelled Liam, excitedly. Nomad swam back to the crest where he climbed out of the warm water and back into the chilly air.
"What is it...?" he asked, reaching for his cape and weapons as he flung the water back from his long black hair.
"An ELF!" smiled Liam. "She wants to show us where she lives!"
"An Elf...?" questioned Nomad, not sure what that was.
"Quickly...! Quickly...! Come! This way!" whispered the small girl as she waved the two men on. Nomad blinked his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. The girl couldn't have been more than a foot tall!
"Hurry up!" yelled Liam, already in pursuit.
They climbed down through the rocks into a dark crevice sliced deep within the Cave's side. Down and down they descended, following the tiny woman's voice as she guided them to her people.
"Who IS this girl, anyway...?" questioned Nomad, trying to keep up with Liam as they ventured deeper and deeper into the earth.
"I don't know! She said she's part of a large colony of Elves! They live Underground, away from the desert sun!" explained Liam, telling all he knew.
"Are you sure its safe...?" questioned Nomad, wondering if they could find their way back up to the surface. "Can she be trusted?"
"She's only a foot tall...!" reasoned Liam. "...how dangerous can she be?!" he asked, sarcastically.
"This way! This way!" called the Elf as they hit bottom. Liam's face lit up with excitement when the dark Cave's crevice opened up to reveal a plush green forest with clean waterfalls and open lakes. "This is the Underground..." said the girl Elf, standing on a fallen log as she gestured out onto the view. "...this is OUR home!"
"It's beautiful...!" signed Liam, loving its majestic beauty.
"Where are your people...?" asked Nomad, not seeing anyone.
"Right here, silly!" laughed the girl Elf.
Liam and Nomad noticed the green colored ground starting to move as tiny heads popped up through the flowers and grass. Liam laughed out loud as hundreds of tiny Elves came out of hiding, greeting them into their home as they showed them hospitality by offering freshly picked fruits from their plentiful bush of fruit trees.
"Eat! Eat!" chanted the Elves, bringing them more food than they could ever hope to eat.
Liam and Nomad ate like horses as the Elves entertained them with music and dance. They celebrated the visitors arrival as they sang in joyous spirit. Liam never felt more welcomed before in his life as he ate everything in sight.
"Hoof will be mad that he missed this!" he laughed, stuffing his face with watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, strawberries, apples, peaches, oranges, grapes, bananas, papayas, mangos, blueberries, cherries, lemons, and other fruits he'd never seen before.
Nomad helped him consume everything, eating until they couldn't eat anymore. Still the Elves brought them more food, telling them to keep eating as they surrounded them with baskets of fruits.
"No..., we can't..." said Nomad, feeling stuffed. "We have to get back to our friend..., we have to go...!"
"No...!" cried the Elves, pushing them back down onto the forest floor. "Stay with us! Eat!" they insisted.
Nomad felt one of the Elves going up his loin, feeling around on his privates.
"Wha...! What're you doing down there...?!!" he laughed, spreading his legs wider.
"It's so big...!" gasped one of the Elves, wrapping his arms around Nomad's rising manhood.
"Stop that...! It tickles!" laughed Nomad, leaning back as more Elves touched and licked his penis, while others caressed and licked his hairy ballsack.
Nearby Liam felt other Elves exploring his body as well. They stripped him naked as two began suckling his erect nipples while four others rubbing and licked along his erect shaft.
A large cucumber was strategically shoved in his ass as his asshole quickly swallowed up the green veggie.
All over them the Elves licked, kissed, and sucked their bodies, leaving no stone unturned as they explored the weary giants who came to visit. Nomad signed erotically as his dick started to throb and pulse. The Elves continued to kiss and lick when his dick suddenly burst with white hot excitement. Thick sticky cum coated every Elf on his chest and stomach that wasn't fast enough to jump out of the way. The Elves started eating up the gooey liquid, loving the taste as they licked his penis for more.
Liam felt his own orgasm approaching as the cucumber pushed deeper into his ass. His long banana shaped cock pulsed wildly as his face, mouth, and lips were spattered with the tiny orgasms of the horny Elves as they ejaculated on his face. "Oh shit...!" groaned Liam, tasting their sweet cum as he came all over himself.
The Elves quickly licked up his semen, licking his body clean as they tried to get his cock hard again.
"No..., no more!" cried Nomad, trying to get up once again. "We HAVE to go...!" he insisted, pushing the Elves away only to be shoved back down again.
At first he thought the Elves were just be hospitable, until it soon became apparent that they weren't going to let them leave, ever!
When Nomad started to get a little forceful, the Elves started hitting him to make him cooperate. Nomad fought back, but his stomach was full, making him sluggish and there was just too many of them to fight off. Though little, the Elves were very fast and athletic.
"What are you doing...??!" asked Liam, also being obtained as the Elves lifted them and carried them across the floor. "Why are you doing this...? What did we do to you..??"
"You did nothing to us, Liam the Magician...!" said the Elf girl, standing on a nearby tree limb as she instructed the others what to do. "We are Elves...! We live in a forest rich with fruits and vegetables..., but what we really crave, what we really want but the forest does not provide for..., --is MEAT!"
"Carnivores!" yelled Nomad, realizing what happened to all the ancient Giants as the Elves led them to a giant boiling pot.
"We haven't eaten meat in months!" complained the girl Elf. "We ran out of meat when we ate the last Giant many moons ago! Every now and then we manage to get a weary traveler who stumbles into the Cave for shelter! We offer them fruits and vegetables to sweeten them up! It makes the meat juicer!"
"Monsters!!" yelled Nomad, struggling to get free as the Elves prepared to toss them into the pot of boiling water. Liam watched as the Elves climbed a wooden latter to drop them into the pot.
"Nomad...!!" he screamed, seeing his friend about to be boiled alive. At that very moment, Liam reached out his hand as a bolt of electricity emitted from his fingertips. The Elves screamed in pain and fear as the bolt of pure energy shot through them and exploded the boiling pot. Scolding hot water exploded over the closest Elves as red boils broke out on their bodies.
Nomad was dropped on a pile of Elf bodies, crushing them under his weight. Other Elves quickly attacked, biting, clawing, and scratching to keep the visitors from leaving. Nomad grabbed his sword and shield, knocking the Elves away before slicing through their little bodies with his blade.
"Get them! Get them! Don't let them get away!" yelled the Elves, turning viscous as the fought to keep their live stock.
Liam felt their teeth digging into his legs as he kicked at them. He tried using magic to fight against them, but couldn't concentrate on a spell long enough to conjure it. When all else failed, he used his electro blasts to ignite the forest floor. Flames shot up immediately as the Elves ran for cover.
"Let's go! Let's get out of here!" screamed Nomad, pulling Liam by his arm as they ran through the forest as fast as they could.
"Get them!" they heard the Elves screaming, chasing after them as they swung from vines in the trees.
"To the water..., it's our only hope!" yelled Nomad, diving off a cliff as he dove into the cool clear forest water.
Liam quickly followed as he cannonballed into drink. The Elves stopped at the cliff, throwing small stones and carrying sticks as the fire started to rage out of control behind them.
The water current sent Liam and Nomad down river, taking them back into the mountain's crevice. Back in the Darkness, they held onto each other for survival. The water got rough as it sped through the jagged rocks before opening back into a still water cave.
Nomad pulled Liam out of the water and threw him upon the crest as he gave him mouth to mouth. Liam spit up water from his lungs as he started coughing in air.
"Where are we...?" he asked, looking around the dark cavern.
"I think we're back where we started!" said Nomad, hearing Hoof's voice calling for them. "Where the hell have you two been...?!?" asked Hoof, finally finding them clinging to the crest. "I've been looking for you for hours!"
"You wouldn't believe us if we told you!" said Nomad, staggering to his feet.
"I think we'd best to get out of here..." said Hoof, seeing smoke starting to come up out of the Cave's many crevices. "...looks like an underground fire..."
"You don't know the half of it!" said Liam, as he struggled to his feet.
"What's this...?" asked Hoof, turning Liam's back to him as he looked at all the tiny bite marks covering his body before reaching down between the magician's butt cheeks to pull out a large cucumber. He held it up for inspection as he looked at the two men quizzically.
"It's a long story..." said Liam, embarrassed.
"I've got time..." said Hoof, wondering if the cucumber was a magic trick?
Back at the camp, they found the Slayer missing, Liam's ropes lying where the hunter used to be. Hoof knew he would see the Slayer again, hopefully later than sooner.
_____________________ NPhillydogg@aol.com