3 comments/ 61940 views/ 9 favorites A Warrior's Tale: Elvin Encounter By: Quiet_Cool 1. There were too many of them, but Kyra showed no signs of submission. She stood her ground, eyeing them from where she stood, her sword held up as though to challenge them to attack her. "We can’t win this," I whispered to her, hoping she would hear me. "I know," she replied, calmly, watching the creatures as they gathered around us. Now there were twice as many. Only a third or so were armed, but there were enough that that would undeniably end us. The others gathered behind those with weapons, watching fearlessly to see what would happen, their dark green eyes patient yet curious. "What is your purpose here?" I looked around, hoping to find the voice’s owner. "We’re merely passing through," I replied. "Passing through?" I found him then, standing unarmed to my left. He was dressed in more formal attire than the others in a long robe and a hat that came to a point more than a foot above his head. He was older, and stood with his arms held behind his back. To either side, two males stood, each holding a spear as though they might attack us at any moment. "Yes," Kyra said, "we’re on an errand for Lord Dammirth." "Lord Dammirth?" The elf smiled, amused, raising his graying eyebrows as he did. "Yes," I replied. "Will you admit us passage?" The old elf thought for a moment, surveying our team with curious eyes. Rayben stood on guard, holding his axe at shoulder height, looking through those surrounding him as though he might find a weak point. Rayenne, Rayben’s sister, stood likewise, but had apparently decided already there were no weaknesses. She watched Kyra, knowing that if any rash moves would be made, Kyra would be the one to make them. Tolliver held his short swords at his sides, trying to appear unthreatening, always thinking in terms of diplomacy. If there could be peace, Tolliver would do what was necessary to find it. Brache seemed uninterested in anything that might happen. He stood with his double-headed axe held at his side in one arm, as if he might lean on it for better comfort. A warrior to the end, he could raise the weapon in a second, but he knew the battle would be lost. Lunara stood in the center, the rest of us having formed a circle around her. She looked fearfully at the elves that had surrounded us. No weapon in hand (and in fact, not trained to use one), but instead, her dress, held so as to keep its white hem from touching the ground. Beauty was an undeniable asset, but she was useless here, in fact, a burden. Tyne, however, would be useful indeed. The mage stood with his arms at his sides, ready to cast whatever spell might be necessary, though he could not harm the elves with magic. They were magical creatures themselves, resistant to it. The old elf’s gaze finally fell upon me, Kobress, standing with my long sword half-raised, waiting for his response. "What is this errand? One of importance?" "We’re to deliver this girl to Count Killian of Murdint," Kyra responded. "It is an attempt at peace between our two peoples." "Peace?" The elf considered this, clearly pleased with the idea. Then he looked to Kyra again. "The Elvin people here cannot take a side in this conflict, even if it is to help the idea of peace become a reality. However, we can allow you passage for a price." "We’re listening," Kyra said. "We’ve been faced with an unforeseeable conflict between ourselves and the Tree-dwellers from the North Woods. It seems they have exhausted their food supply there and wish to impede on our territory to replace it." "You share a food supply with these creatures?" I asked. "They want your food supply?" "No, we do not," he said, "They wish to make us their supply of food." I looked to Kyra, who looked back to me, astonished. I shrugged, wondering less how difficult it could be than whether I could leave and allow these creatures to be eaten. Kyra then looked to Brache, who shrugged in response, and then to Tyne, who looked grave and nodded slowly. "A group of warriors, especially human warriors, would be quite useful in this situation. We can hide and run, but we cannot escape them in these manners. We fight them, but our people are not so educated in the ways of destruction. And in conflicts until now, we’ve been outmatched, losing three to their one," the old elf explained. Kyra lowered her sword slowly then. "For passage," she explained, "we will help you, but we will stay only three days. Until that time is up, we will do as you need us to." The elf smiled and clapped his hands together. "Excellent!" He exclaimed. "Come, there will be a celebration." 2. They led us to their camp, the old elf, Diblido, talking all the while to Kyra, who listened, soaking in every word. Tyne, always serious, listened as well. I walked with Rayenne to one side and Rayben to the other, my eyes shifting through the females that were gathered together in front of us. They were all beautiful, as Elvin females tend to be. Thin, long-legged creatures, their proportions as different as a human female’s, but unlike human females, they were all delicate featured, all uniquely feminine. Rayenne, seeing my gaze, bumped my elbow with hers and whispered with a smile, "Careful, Kobress, you may strain your eyes." I smiled back, and with that she walked ahead, swaying her hips slightly, showing her own femininity. Rayben stepped up next to me then, looking serious, agitated. "Hey, watch how you look at my sister!" I looked at him, seeing his eyebrows scrunched together and his lips set. I opened my mouth to apologize when he broke, smiling widely. I smiled back, realizing his jest. He motioned to one of the elves, a young female with a short sword at her side, who’d turned her head to look back at us. "I think tonight’s celebration will be a good one," Rayben said. I agreed. 3. The celebration was indeed a good one, filled with good cheer and excitement. Some of the Elvin wives danced naked by the flickering fire and Diblido announced us each by name to the village, telling his people we’d agreed to help them. Wine was passed around, a special mix which tasted sweet and led us too quickly into intoxication. I sat, watching the wives dance and the husbands talk war and strategy, watching Kyra and Diblido converse, Diblido totally distracted by each word he spoke and Kyra distracted even more so. Kyra, reliable and dedicated. Beautiful Kyra who gave herself so loyally to each and every cause she supported. Kyra who would never realize how much more beautiful that loyalty made her. I sat, Rayben sitting next to me, conversing with a few of the Elvin females, who hung on each word, more intoxicated by them than I was by the wine. I got up, refilled my goblet with the sweet wine, and was stopped on my way back to my seat by some of the Elvin warriors, older warriors with graying hair and muscles large from wielding weaponry. They talked war with me for a moment, wondering how many battles I’d seen and how many kills I’d taken part in. I guessed an answer, having lost track of both, and the old elves nodded in approval, then turned to each other again as one began to tell yet another war story and the others concentrated on hearing it. I found my seat again, took a long, deep drink of the wine, and set the goblet down. "You haven’t spoken much." The voice was young but deep, for a female that is. I glanced behind me to see one of the females standing there, holding in one hand a goblet that seemed too large for her to hold in one small hand. She wore the same as many of the elves, at least those not dancing. A short skirt tied on one side, and a shirt that covered her breasts and tied over one shoulder and on one side, leaving her muscular midsection revealed. She smiled as my eyes met hers. I smiled in return and motioned for her to sit. Once seated, she took a drink from her goblet and held one hand out to me, as if to shake. "I’m Kitira." I shook her hand and said, "I’m Kobress." She smiled. "I know." I looked her over again, this time thinking about the possibilities. She was what I needed, meek, quiet, submissive. What a woman should be, attentive but not aggressive, willing to do as she was told and not what she wanted. Capable of following orders. In need of a man to protect her. What I had always been attracted to. I smiled at this thought, and then asked, "What do you do here?" She smiled in return, as if she’d heard my thoughts. "I’m a soldier." 4. We drank; we talked. We spent most of the evening sitting next to each other and talking of battles and of our lives before training, what we’d done. No silence interfered; nothing broke the mood that was developing between us. We talked uninterrupted, spoke of things I would have hesitated about but felt no need to. As the night went on and our cups got the best of me, I decided to turn in. In my drunken state, I invited her back to the tent Diblido had arranged for me. She smiled and said she would consider it. I felt foolish then, as though the entire evening had been ruined by that suggestion, and I walked to the tent and crawled beneath the flap. I dozed, sleeping the way only men who’ve drunk too much can sleep, heavily, like wood too wet to burn. I awoke seemingly for no reason an hour or so later, feeling fresh, the alcohol out of my system, and looking back on the evening that had passed as though it had been more of a dream than a reality. I sat up, listened to the air, hearing some of the others still chattering away outside and seeing the remains of the fire flickering outside through the cloth of the tent. Their words were low and there were few of them. I lay back down, closing my eyes to sleep again. I heard it then, the light rustle of feet moving through grass, a sound inaudible to someone who wasn’t used to travel and danger. I opened my eyes and reached to my side for my sword. A moment later, the flaps to my tent opened and the small frame of an elf peered in. I released the sword and sat up, clearing my throat and asking, "Who’s this?" The figure stepped through the opening and let the flap fall closed behind it. "It’s me," the young, deep voice of Kitira. My heart leapt in my chest, then was completely still. For a moment, I wondered if it would start beating again. When it did, it thumped loudly in my ears, beating away at one hundred miles a minute. "Not glad to see me?" She asked. "Yes," I responded, sounding out of breath in my own ears, but glad to have finally found my voice. "Very glad." I could hear her move closer, then stop to one side of me. A moment later, a weak flash of light filled the room and the candle beside me suddenly glowed to life. I looked at it, amazed. Kitira saw my amazement in this new light. She smiled and said, "One of Diblido’s inventions. A firebox. He has all kinds of little trinkets like this, laying around to be stumbled over." I smiled and looked to her. She was still wearing the same clothing, still looking more intoxicating than the wine had been. In her right hand was a small metal box that appeared to be made of copper but I was sure it was some other metal, something magical if my knowledge of elves was correct. She held a short bow in her other hand, and a quiver hung over her shoulder. A short blade, just larger than a dagger, hung at her waist. Elvin weaponry, a short sword. "I waited until the wine wore off," she explained, "I wanted to be sure it was what I really wanted to do. Are you feeling more . . . like your normal self?" I smiled at that. "I’m sober, if that what you’re asking me. Like my normal self? I’m not so sure." She walked over to the other side of me, laying her bow and quiver down on the ground, then turned to me again, smiling sweetly. I wondered then, just how deadly a creature with that sweet smile could be. Even more, I wondered if I would ever really want to know, if I could see her in that manner and still feel the same as I did then. Lust had taken me by surprise, but I was certain something else lay behind it, something deeper, I feared, but it was much too soon to tell. I sat up. "Are you¾?" "Shhh!" She insisted, placing one finger to her mouth, "We’ve talked enough for one night." That said, she reached to her side and untied her shirt, then reached behind her neck and untied it there as well. She pulled it from her, revealing her breasts, small but well shaped, with areoles a moderately darker green, and dropped it to the ground next to her. She reached to her hip then, removed the belt holding the small sheath, blade inside, unbuckled it and dropped the weapon, then untied the skirt and let it fall as well, revealing narrow hips, smooth green skin and a small tuft of dark green pubic hair. She smiled, displaying herself; I smiled back in full approval. She kneeled next to me, pulling the blankets away, then slipped beneath them and huddled close, placing her face near mine and running her hand up my stomach to my chest. I kissed her, parting her soft lips with my tongue, feeling her smaller tongue linger with mine, her lips sucking it for a moment, and then pulling away. I opened my mouth to protest, but she put a finger to it, stopping my efforts, and pulled at my shirt, trying to get it over my head. I raised my arms, making it easier. Once the shirt was gone, I reached over and gripped her hips, pulling her close and kissing her again, this time deeper and longer than the first, more aggressive. When we parted this time, she gave me a surprised smiled and blushed slightly, as if my tenacity had caught her off guard. Then she kissed me again, reaching down to my waistline and slipping her fingers beneath my belt. They slithered beneath the fabric until they found my penis, then wrapped themselves around it, stroking as best they could in the restricted space. I leaned back a little, trying to give her more room. When we parted lips a second time, all shyness was gone. She pulled her hand from my pants and unbuckled my belt, then gripped my pants with both hands and aggressively pulled at them. I lifted my buttocks from my bed, letting the cloth slip over my hips and down my thighs, then sat back down again as she tossed the blankets away. A moment, later, the blankets were off and we sat looking at each other, both bare in the candlelight, watching it flicker against one another. Her green skin appeared too soft to be real, too real to be false and too false to be anything shy of pure fantasy. Then she kissed me again, holding my head with her hands, leaning her breasts against my chest. I lifted my hands, more a reflex than a voluntary action, to her hips and gripped them tightly, thinking to myself that she was all of those things I’d thought she was, soft and real and a fantasy, any and everything but false. I pulled her closer, moving her weight with little trouble, and set her before me, one leg on either side of me, straddling me. She held my head tighter, not letting me pull my lips away, and I raised my hands to her breasts, cupping them each in one palm, fingers almost reaching her shoulders above each. She let my head go then, reaching around my shoulder with one arm and reaching down with the other, finding my penis and stroking it again, this time freely. I wrapped one arm around her waist, holding her close with it, but not so closely that I couldn’t fit my other hand between the two of us. I slipped it between her legs, laying my middle finger across her slit, letting it part her lips but not enter her. She breathed in then, pulling her lips back but keeping her eyes closed. Taking advantage of our temporary separation, I withdrew my hand and spit into the palm, doing so quietly. I dipped the same finger into the saliva, lubricating it, then slid it between her legs again, this time rubbing the finger against her, slowly and gently, again not entering her. She moaned lightly, then opened her eyes and leaned forward again to kiss me. She moaned softly as we kissed, still stroking my now fully erect penis, moving her hand at the same pace as I moved mine. After a minute or so, I decided to go further and curled the tip of my middle finger, sliding it into her, not stopping until I could get it no further. She pulled away again, this time moaning a little louder, then immediately kissing me again, this time more aggressively. I took this as a sign of approval and started to move the finger slowly in and out of her, adding my ring finger a few moments later. After a few minutes of this, I was getting impatient, wanting her too badly, and decided not to fight it. I pulled my finger from her, gripped her by the hips and lifted her, pulling her to where my penis was out of her reach, raising her until her breasts were right in front of me and planting my lips between them, licking the skin there and moving to each breast, sucking the nipples in, lapping at them. Contented with that, I lowered her again, kissing her once more then wrapping my arms around her to support her weight and rolling to my left, carrying her with me, laying her on her back with me on top. I kissed her again, resting my weight on one hand to keep from laying it directly on top of her small frame, my free hand finding her breasts again. She reached down and began to stroke me again, doing so for only a few seconds then pulling at me, her grip tightening. I followed her lead, moving higher, my head surpassing hers before the tip of my penis came in contact with her slit. She was damp now, moist with her own lubricants. She pulled at me still, and I let the head slid into her. She gasped then, a reaction I mistook for pleasure at first and drove slowly deeper. Her entire body tensed then and she let out a groan that could only have meant pain. I stopped, realizing then what I’d done. I’d forgotten who she was, what she was used to. She was an elf, a creature whose physical being was a smaller but equally proportioned version of my own human form. That meant that, even though I might be average for a human, I was still a good bit larger than the lovers that she’d had in the past, however many there may have been. I looked down at her, seeing her face twisted into an expression of pain, and debated pulling out again. Before I could, her face relaxed a little and she gripped my hips and pulled at me, letting me know it was okay to go deeper. I did, but slowly, and stopped a second later when her face twisted into that expression again. I waited a few seconds, and when the expression faded away, I withdrew a little, then slid in again, letting her adjust to movement at that depth before going deeper. I pumped slowly, watching for a reaction on her face, and, when I saw no change, I pumped a little deeper, going until her face twisted again. A minute or so of this and I was pumping fully into her, not yet receiving moans or gasps of pleasure, but not hearing any of pain either. I slowed, moving slowly, watching her face, which no longer held that twisted expression but a neutral one. The talking outside had tapered, leaving only a few voices. The graying warriors I was sure, still telling war stories. A minute later, she was beginning to moan again, this time smiling slightly. Her body was fairly relaxed beneath me. I took this as a positive sign and started to pump faster. She gasped at first, then muttered, "Yes." I pumped a little faster, and her body tensed again, then relaxed. I decided to stick to this pace, so long as it got the reaction I wanted from her. She moaned slightly, closing her eyes, her breaths short and frequent, broken here and there by moans or whimpers. It wasn’t long before her moans and whimpers were getting closer together, encouraging me to pump faster, driving in a little deeper and hearing my skin and hers strike one another with louder slaps. She tensed, then relaxed, then tensed again, clamping her legs around me and using them to thrust herself upward toward me. Her breaths quickened then, quickly becoming near pants, broken now and again by a loud moan or whimper. She tensed, relaxed, tensed again, her heels digging into my back as her upward thrusts became more aggressive, then easing, then digging in again. Her fingertips pressed into my back, the neatly manicured nails pressing sharply against the skin but not breaking it. A Warrior's Tale: Elvin Encounter "Oh, yes," she gasped, "Yes. MMMmmmmm." She tensed one last time, doing so longer and squeezing tighter than before, caught her breath in her throat and seemed to freeze in that moment, then let the breath out in one long exhale and began to relax, pumping slower, catching her breath, letting her hips touch the ground again. Within a minute, she’d slowed to a stop and was laying there, her body wet with sweat and her chest rising and falling in heavy breaths. I continued to pump, doing so without her help for a moment. She opened her eyes then, shaking her head slightly and blinking several times as if she were coming back to reality. She pushed against my chest as though she were trying to force me off of her. I stopped, looking down at her questioningly. She just pushed again, and I withdrew and leaned back, sitting on my heels. She sat up and pushed at my chest again. I followed her lead, pulling my legs from beneath me and sitting down. She walked over to me on her knees, straddled my legs, and pushed me onto my back, then mounted me. I lay still, letting her do the work for now, watching her as she lifted and lowered herself, doing so at a medium pace, her eyes watching me for a reaction now. I fought the urge to pump back, deciding not to tempt my body to finish just yet. I watched her, examining the way the candlelight glistened on her sweaty green skin, becoming momentarily hypnotized by it. After a few moments, she began to pump faster, her eyes closing slightly at first, then opening again. She let her arms hang loosely at her sides, swaying slightly as she pumped, moving in unison to the sway of her small breasts. I looked her over, trying to take in the entirety of her beauty. Her green skin and slightly darker green areolas, her eyes, just a little darker and her long hair extremely dark, falling in loose curls over the sweat-coated skin of her shoulders. Her eyes were locked on me, watching my face. I looked into them and smiled. She smiled in return. I closed my eyes, enjoying the sensations she was causing, then decided it was time to be more serious and gripped her hips, raising mine to meet her as she lowered, then pulling away as she rose again. She gripped my forearms loosely with her hands, feeling out my next move I was sure. I moved faster, and she met my pace, moving her hips in a slight circular motion. I could hear our skin slapping together again, a light sound that inspired me to move faster. The slapping sound grew in the air as I picked up the pace more, gradually adding momentum until I was pumping into her full blast. She was moaning again, this time, trying to stay focused and watching me through half-open, half-distracted eyes. My fingers dug into the skin on her hips. I was pulling her down now, then pushing her up, then pulling her down again. When she pulled at my forearms, I let go, expecting her to continue at the same pace without my assistance, or insistence perhaps I should say. Once my hands were removed, she raised herself up and I fell out of her. It took a brief moment for me to realize that her entire presence was gone, that she climbed off of me so quickly. I lay there, my hips still raised in the air as if frozen in time. Then I opened my eyes, blinked as I returned to reality, and looked up to where she had been to see only empty air and, beyond it, the tent ceiling. Before I could glance around to find her, I felt her hand on my penis, cupping the base and raising it to point at the ceiling. Then her lips were around it, sucking the end for only a moment, then bobbing her head up and down on it, taking just over half of it into her mouth each time and quickly meeting almost half of our pace from just seconds ago. I lowered my hips, pumping into her mouth as she went down. Her thighs came to rest on my knees, straddling my legs, pinning them down. After a moment of this, she withdrew her mouth and stroked it long enough to say, "Tell me before you finish" in a panting voice. She went back to work as soon as the words left her lips, downing as much of me as she cold, then pulling away, sucking hard enough that I could hear the slurping sounds of saliva gathering in the corners of her mouth and being drawn back inside. I closed my eyes again, continuing to pump into her mouth, feeling her lips envelop me then draw away, then envelop me again, feeling the warmth of her mouth, then the cool night air, then the warmth of her mouth again. It was building inside me by then. I could feel it in my gut, beginning to grow outward, both into my chest and down to my genitals, then feeling like being light as air and totally tense all at once, almost euphoria. In moments, I was moaning, an urge to do so coming over that I couldn’t resist. She kept at it, doing so with more drive than before, darting her tongue around the shaft. As the sensation grew stronger inside of me, I gasped, "I’m almost there" between breaths. She pulled her lips away one last time, leaving my penis saturated with saliva, and started to stroke it with one hand, doing so as quickly as she could and twisting her hand as it reached the head, managing to put just the right amount of friction on the sensitive spot just beneath the head. I lifted my hips, this time arching my back pushing as far into the air as I could. I lifted her weight slightly as I pushed with my legs, as if getting my hips in the air might better the experience. Then, I held my hips there, my body straining to get them higher but failing to do so. She gripped my hip with her free hand for balance and continued to stroke my penis, now making a new, lesser slapping sound. A moment later, I came, my body wavering in mid-air, my breath caught in my chest. As I did, semen shot through the air in several spurts. My body started to relax as the first was released, landing on my chest. Those that followed were less eruptive, leaving the semen in several think globs on my stomach. She continued to stroke as I lowered my hips and my penis went flaccid, but did so much more slowly. When she did stop, I was hardly aware. I was elsewhere, in my own world my body relaxing fully, my mind feeling no pressure to be anywhere. I distantly felt her laying down next to me, her weight pressing against my side. She leaned down and whispered in my ear. "What dreams are made of . . ." She certainly was, I thought. 5. I awoke to what I at first thought was a shriek. I sat up, the blanket falling from my chest and exposing my bare skin to the chilled night air. I shivered slightly, but ignored it, tuning my ears to the silence, listening for a repetition of the sound that had alerted me and reaching, without even looking, to my right for my sword. To my left, Kitira’s poise mimicked mine, almost mirrored it in fact. The sound came again and I recognized it as a horn, high-pitched and shriek-like but still just a horn. A warning signal, I was sure. "It’s them," Kitira said, her voice in near panic. She tossed the blankets from her and stood, her beautiful green skin highlighted for a few moments by the flickering light of the soon to burn out candle, now less than an inch in height and surrounded by a mound of melted and re-hardened wax. Then she was wrapping the cloth skirt around her waist. I followed her lead, getting out of bed and dressing as quickly as I could, throwing on my pants and boots. When I glanced over at her, she stood dressed in the clothes she’d worn the night before, holding her short bow in her right hand. Her quiver was already slung over her back. She was facing the entrance to the tent, her pointed ears raised, tips pointing at the peaked ceiling, listening intently. The horn sounded twice more, and she looked to me, her eyes wide. "They’re almost here," she explained, "We must hurry." I quickly grabbed my shirt, stuffed my arms into it, tied the front, and grabbed my sword again, this time gathering my own bow and quiver as well. I nodded to her then, and she led me into the clearing outside. The contrast of the dark compared to the candlelight hit me immediately, leaving me blind for a few seconds as my eyes adjusted. As they did, taking only a few seconds, I could see the winged figures working their way across the sky, small black dots moving in the distance, hundredsof them all in a group and several more moving ahead and behind the mass of them. They were still distant though, giving us time to plan more. I looked through those around me, looking to Kyra and Diblido, hoping they were near and sober. I found Kyra after only a few seconds, moving quickly toward me through the crowd. She stopped before me, looked around at the numbers we had (amounting almost one-hundred elves and ourselves) then turned to me again. "This is the plan," she began. "We’ll set up most of the elves in the back of camp with bows. Most of them can shoot, and the ones that can’t, as long as they don’t accidentally hit us, they can’t do any harm. According to Diblido, the others can fight. There are about thirty of them according to him. They’ll stay here in camp with us." As she spoke, the others of our party were gathering around us. Distantly, Diblido was shouting instructions, drawing the elves away from us. Kitira stayed by my side, not showing any signs of leaving. "At first, we’ll all shoot at them with arrows. Hopefully, the damage we do with them alone will drive them away. If not, they’ll come to the camp more angrily. The archers will retreat into the woods. Diblido says there’s a cave. He’ll take them there until we come for him, or for a few hours should we all be killed." She smiled nervously then, as she always did. She hated the idea of losing any of her own in battle, nonetheless all of us. She took our lives seriously, and we respected her for it, actually wanted to win more knowing she cared so. I looked to Kitira then and saw a sudden rise in her, Kyra’s effects already taking hold of her. "If the battle continues on the ground, we’ll have to watch them, make sure we give the others a chance to run without being seen. Tyne will create a distraction to help us with that and to disorient them, just be sure to close your eyes when he says and not open them until he says again." A small group of elves was moving quickly toward us. I guessed the group was the warriors Diblido promised, as among them were several young elves, holding hand weapons as well as bows, and the graying warriors. As they met with us, Kyra quickly gave them an overview of the plan. As she did, I looked back to the sky. They’d gained a lot of ground, as flying creatures tend to do. They were close enough now that they were taking a solid form. I could make out legs and arms, and their wings were almost clear. I guessed they’d reach us in less than ten minutes, but that should be plenty of time. I glanced back at the other elves. They were already slipping into the trees at the back of camp, kneeling behind the branches they hoped would keep them from view. There were about seventy of them; plenty of arrows. A moment later, we were scattering, Kitira staying with me, and finding places out of sight to wait for them, behind tents and beneath small trees. The camp was approximately 40 yards by 30 yards, leaving enough room for movement, but not much for combat, once the bodies started piling up, that is. I sat beneath a small tree, Kitira next to me, and hoped the arrows would drive them away. As they neared, I raised my bow, taking aim at the mass of them, not choosing one target just yet. They were very near by now, almost overhead but not quite. I looked to where Kyra was positioned, next to Brache, one hand held up to let us know to wait. I hoped Diblido would keep his cool, not get too aggressive with the enemy and begin firing when they could escape with fewer losses. Glancing back, I saw him standing just inside the clearing, watching Kyra with wide eyes, scared but focused. His hand was held up as well. I looked back to the sky, feeling a little better, and saw that they were almost within range. My heart thumped then, gaining speed in my chest as the thrill of battle began to build. I took a deep breath, glanced to Kitira to see her concentrating deeply on her aim, then looked back to Kyra. Hand still held high, she waited, watching them near. In the distant sky, the last of them had come, and the blue expanded behind them as they came closer. I waited, my heart thumping and my breathing getting deeper and faster, as if Kitira and I were still in the tent making love instead of out here, waiting to attack. I could hear her breathing next to me and guessed she was feeling the same as me. Of course, she was. We were warriors. They were almost overhead, and beginning to dive, swooping down toward the ground at an intense pace. Kyra still held her hand up, but it shook steadily, refusing to remain still. The enemy was nearly above us, blackening the sky above the clearing. I wondered exactly how many there were, maybe three hundred, maybe less. Enough regardless, to kill us all should they prove worthy opponents. I looked to Kyra, getting a little too impatient. Kyra threw her arm down, and I looked to the sky again, taking quick aim at a random target, then letting loose the arrow. It took to air, joining several others to form a swarm, all flying upward at the dark mass of winged bodies above. A few of our targets tried to dodge, to change direction or swoop beneath the arrows, but there wasn’t time. The arrows pierced wings, bodies, arms, legs, and heads alike. A few cries from above quickly became one loud voice as they let loose high-pitched screams as if in chorus. Bodies fell around us, striking the ground with heavy thumps, many times accompanied by further cries of pain. I reached one arm around Kitira, pulling her next to me and covering her head with one hand. I knew that this would help little should one fall on us, but the feeling of protecting her helped relieve me some. Some of the warriors were coming from hiding then, weapons drawn to strike down those that had fallen but not perished. I glanced at the sky again. More were coming, and faster now. They weren’t afraid of us, not in the least. And they were angry now. "Take aim," Kyra yelled. I let go of Kitira and raised my bow again, stringing a fresh arrow and aiming at the quickly approaching mass. A moment later, Kyra yelled "Fire!" and a second wave of arrows hit the air. The enemy was prepared this time, and half of our arrows were dodged effortlessly. Of those that found targets, few were deathblows. Many of them struck the creatures in the legs or arms, or wings, sending them to the ground alive. Our warriors hurried to these ones and cut them down, but before they could, I had an opportunity to size up our opposition. They stood on two feet, like a man, with wings that must have spanned twelve feet at full extension. They were haired creatures, with bat-like facial features and claws at the end of both arms and legs. They measured about five feet in height, but ranged up to a foot taller or shorter. I let the others dispose of those that had been grounded and looked back to the sky. They were flying around in awkward patterns, zigging and zagging, making it difficult to get a shot. Kitira was aiming anyway, her bow already drawn, eye focused on one in particular. When she released the arrow, it caught its target in one wing and sent it swerving clumsily into the woods to our right. More arrows were sent aflight, but few hit their marks. What must have been almost one hundred of the creatures flew unscathed above. They remained there, almost as though they were biding their time. "Go," Kyra was shouting. I looked to her to see her waving her hand, motioning for Diblido to take his elves deeper into the trees. I glanced toward the trees in time to see the last remaining heads vanish. The enemy was swooping down at us now, a few diving at a time, trying to grab and slice at us as they passed by, some trying to pick us up and carry us into the sky. I climbed to my feet, leaving my bow and drawing my sword, and started toward Kyra as Kitira took aim at one of these, shooting when it was near the ground and hitting it in the chest. It struck the ground a moment later, its wings stretching out toward the sky as it let out a long screech. Then its wings withered to the ground, and it lay still. "Kyra," I began, "What now?" She thought for a moment, her eyes focused on the sky. "They won’t bother the camp. Maybe we should take shelter in the trees." Just then, one swooped down between us. She slashed at it with her sword, slicing into its wing. It struck the ground on its feet, staggered a few steps, then turned to face us again, wing dripping blood. It took a step toward Kyra, claws held up. We stepped closer to it, each moving to one side to close it between us. It watched us, keeping Kyra in front of itself until I was too far behind for it to see me, then it lunged for her, claws lashing out. I lunged at it, sword pointing forward, and sunk the blade into its back. It screeched, throwing its arm to each side and arching its back. She swung downward at it from in front, slicing into its chest and sending it onto its side. I pulled my blade out and turned to see many more of them around us, landing on their feet to face us as though they too were human. "Tyne!" Kyra yelled. "Now!" "Close your eyes!" Tyne’s voice echoed toward us from the center of the clearing. I watched as the creatures’ turned their attention to where the voice had come from, then closed my eyes, doing so just in time. The inside of my eyelids glowed bright pink for a split second then went black again. The sounds of the enemy scowling in pain erupted all around me. Light, I thought, he blinded them. "Open them, back to battle!" I opened my eyes, seeing pink sunspots regardless of the fact that my eyes had been closed. The creatures stood around us, eyes squeezed shut, blinded. Some of those still in the air flew about us distractedly, and I was certain he’d blinded them as well. A few came crashing to the ground and into the trees around us. Moving quickly, we scattered among them, weapons swinging, severing heads and stabbing into chests and guts alike. Dispensing of each helpless enemy as quickly as possible and moving on to the next. After almost half a minute, some began to regain their sight. By then, we’d killed most of those on the ground. Bodies had already cluttered up the battlefield. I looked to Kyra. "The trees," she said, waving her hands to gain the others attention. "To the trees!" We were scattering then, following her lead into the trees to the front of the clearing, hoping that their eyesight was still too damaged to see our escape route. As we broke into the darkness beneath the tree limbs, I could hear the rustling of leaves and branches as some of them drove through, already pursuing. I stopped almost immediately, listening to see what direction they were going in. Kitira ran headlong into my back at a sprint, then fell to the ground behind me. "Are you . . .?" I trailed off, listening. "Are you okay?" I asked, after pinpointing them above. "Yes," she replied, taking my hand and climbing to her feet. "This way," I said, leading her by the hand. The others had stopped as well, and now moved quietly behind me, walking on tiptoes through the woods, hoping to avoid another encounter with the Tree-dwellers. We must have gone almost thirty yards, not hearing a sound, before Kyra whispered: "Wait." We froze then, wondering what the problem could be. All around us was silence. I stood there, barely breathing, concentrating hard not to shift my weight at all. No sound. "I think it’s¾" I stopped suddenly, hearing the sound of something barreling through the trees behind me, and a moment later, one of them struck my back at what must have been near full speed. I struck the ground before I knew what had happened, landing chest first and losing my sword in the process. A Warrior's Tale: Elvin Encounter I was stunned. I could hear talking above, shouting actually, but nothing was registering. I swam toward unconsciousness, fighting it all the way. I saw it then, a sudden brightness that seemed to pull me back toward reality. When my eyes opened, there was light all around, not bright light as I’d initially thought, but dim light, firelight. I raised my head slowly, looking around. The first thing I saw was one of Kitira’s thin green legs. I glanced up. She was standing over me, bow drawn back, arrow ready to fire at some unseen target. "That’s the one, girl," a male voice said, "He’s the leader." I knew that voice. Tolliver? Yes, definitely Tolliver. I wanted to know what was going on, especially with Kitira standing over me, protecting me as she was. I wanted to be a help, not a burden. I propped myself up on the palms of my hands and started to crawl backward, staying near the ground so as to ensure Kitira’s balance. "Move slowly Kobress," Tolliver said, "Don’t make them any more defensive." I obeyed him, getting to my knees behind Kitira and looking around for my sword. Nearby, I saw the firebox, and Tolliver’s feet. I found the sword few feet away, laying near some brush. Some of the Treedwellers were gathered closer to it than I was, so I left it for now. I looked toward Kitira’s target now, wondering why everything had stopped. No one was moving, barely breathing. No fighting, no speaking. It was making me uneasy. A group of the Treedwellers waited just ahead of us, one in particular, staring back at Kitira as if it were surveying her, wondering if it could survive an attack. "He’s the leader. Our only hope is that you keep him in your sights," Tolliver explained. "He’s in my sights," Kitira replied, "And I’ll kill him if any of them move for us." It growled as if it understood her words, then scowled, waving its wings at those around it. The others took flight, disappearing into the trees above. I guessed, hoped, that this was his order to retreat. It seemed accurate, as those around us were suddenly taking off, wings flapping wildly as they headed upward. I watched as they disappeared behind the leaves that blotted out the night sky above. After a few moments, only the leader remained, frozen before the pointed arrow, yet not afraid. It knows, I thought, that if we kill it, the others can slaughter us. They’re intelligent beings, not animals acting on instinct, but creatures capable of strategy and command ranks. "You," Tolliver said, pointing to one of the elves, "Climb a tree and see if they are retreating." The elf disappeared into the darkness to our right. A minute or so later, his voice came down at us from what sounded a fair distance away. "They’re leaving! They’re leaving!" Kitira stared at the creature, which stared back, then she lowered her bow, slowly, as if she might decide to kill it anyway. Once the weapon was down, it scowled at her, then took flight and disappeared as the others had. Kitira watched it go, as if she knew already what had happened and regretted permitting it to leave. "It is a victory," Tolliver said, trying to comfort her. I got to my feet and gathered my sword, then went to her side and wrapped my arm around her waist. "You did good," I said, "We’ve won, and survived because of you." She looked me in the eyes, managed a small but genuine smile. I kissed her on the forehead. When I glanced at Tolliver, he grinned and raised his eyebrows. "Kobress," a voice shouted, sounding urgent. I glanced through the trees toward its origin. "Kobress," it shouted again. Closer now, and I could hear feet trampling fallen leaves and branches. A moment later, one of the aging elves came into view, carrying at one side its bloodied axe. Apparently, they really were good fighters. "Kobress," he began, catching his breath, "They’ve taken her, your friend." My mind immediately went to Lunara. "They’ve taken the girl, but I thought she was with Diblido, in the caves?" The old elf shook his head. "No, not her." I thought of Rayenne then, a good fighter, but young yet, not so well trained. "Rayenne?" I asked. He looked at me, his face grave. "They’ve taken Kyra." To Be Continued...