The Chronicles of Valana Volume 1: Shadowlands

by AB

Chapter 4

Into the mountains

Evil rises,
neither here nor there,
it rises.
When Elven grace breaks,
darkness the wills men breaks.
Indecisiveness brings rise to a wake of atrocity,
Fairfolk highest of all,
have a share on atrocity.

Nightmares plagued Micraal. They had since he could remember. Horrible nightmares that woke him up drenched in cold sweat and shivering from fear.

Tonight was no different. Tonight that same voice came in his dreams.

"Are you ready to obey me now child? You know I speak only of the truth!" The shadow spoke. It wasn't a shadow as meant in reality but it had the figure of a man but instead of flesh and skin it had darkness, pure darkness all around it. It was as if he was a man caught aflame but instead of warming flames darkness emanated from him. Micraal wished he could not see his skeletal face. Again it was not bones but it had the semblance of bones with mummified skin on it, but not skin, more like shadow with pure red flaming eyes. And his voice… his voice sent chills and terror to every neuron and pain receptor in Micraal's mind.

Its voice was something that was dead, or should be dead, or had died but could still speak but only worse, much worse. It was a whisper of a voice, but it carried such multitudes of malice and hatred.

"NOOOO!!! PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE!!" Micraal spoke in his dream.

He could actually feel that thing's shadowy hand touch him, grip his neck and hold him in place.

"Why do you resist me child? I have never wanted you harmed. I have never lied to you." Micraal shivered but did not answer.

"Tell me the truth and I shall stop your pain, lie to me and this pain will seem like pleasure to you. Do you love the elf-boy?"

Micraal hesitated, "N… no… AAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!!!" He felt pain like never before, he felt as if every bone in his body was torn apart and regrown for what seemed ages.

"I told you not to lie to me! I know all! I can even see into what has not yet come to pass. NOW TELL ME THE TRUTH!" The deathly voice commanded him and he was unable to resist it, if only to stop the pain.

"Y… yes!!! Yes I love him!! What is it to you?!" He asked in despair. Then the pain stopped entirely.

"You see I do not lie!! The pain is gone… for now." The shadow said and chuckled.

"I...what do you want from me?!"

"I thought that would be clear by now… fourteen years I have protected you in your dreams....I want you. I want you to serve me and you will be rewarded with all that you desire."

"T… there's nothing you can give me!! No!! I will not serve you." Micraal tried to sound confident.

"The elf-boy will never love you. He will never be yours!"

"No!! He will love me!! We will spend our lives together!"

The shadow laughed loudly in Micraal's dream. "No he will not, but even if he did which he will never do… you will only live for maybe forty to fifty years more… he will live for forty to fifty… thousand years more...by the time he passes away beyond the veil he will not even remember you." The shadowy figure emphasized the "he" deliberately.

"NOOO!!! WE WILL LIVE TOGETHER!!!"

"No he will not. But if you surrender your will to me, your soul, I will grant you all that you desire. In my new world he and you will be allowed to live together in a small piece of land immortals the both of you.

"YOU LIE!!!" Micraal felt pain again.

"Do not anger me child! I have never lied to you! I told you to torture and kill that boy or he would kill your parents, you did not and you became an orphan. Now you need to lie about when and how your parents left you. I told you not to trust that city guard and you did not listen to me… you remember what happened then?! I do not lie but I will tell you this, when you all arrive at the Elven isles he will meet his true love and neither she nor he will be you!" The shadow said and left his dreams leaving him shivering in agony.

As for Lucas and Marco they were watching that same dream again.

"… a wind of justice for the loved-ones lost… "

A thudding noise woke Lucas. It was a strange sound with some other noises, strained noises. He untangled himself from Marco and grabbed a blanket to drape over his naked body. He hadn't dressed since drying off after his bath the day before. He gave Marco a peck on the lips and got up.

"Damn! Marco is becoming more… beautiful by the hour!" He thought as he watched his sleeping friend. The ears had become pointier; his blond locks fell on his closed eyes and his button nose. Damn he was getting hard again.

He hesitated for a second but biting his lower lip and stifling a giggle he raised the covers from Marco's body. He almost gasped as Marco's body seemed to have become smoother and yet more… something… his muscles looked to have toned up a bit with a six pack starting to shyly show, and what he could see from his friend's package it looked… edible. Nice almost three inch boyhood resting above a nearly perfectly round boy-satchel the size of a huge macadamia nut. His buttocks made Lucas mentally and verbally moan as the natural teardrop shape they had before leaving Earth had only been emphasized and made rounder.

"Damn!" He whispered as he let the covers fall on his friend and he padded quietly over to the door and opened it a fraction. What he saw amazed him. The boys he saw the day before as well as many more boys were all there, but there were naked men too, with the boys. Some of the boys were underneath the men.

Marco was not actually asleep when Lucas… inspected him, so after his friend left the room he got up and pushed his increasingly longer platinum blond locks backwards. He had no comb, but last night's bath had disentangled them and they smelled fresh and new. He wore his pants but not his shirt and cape, he held them with his bow, which he found increasingly more difficult to be without in his hand. He had no idea the harem would be open for business this early in the day.

He went out of the room following Lucas, thinking that his friend was going to have breakfast.

Lucas wasn't naive enough to not see what was happening. He knew he was in a Harem, but there were no men here yesterday and now, the brothel was in full swing; and it was very, very popular even at this time in the morning.

Time...what was the time? He had no idea and he suddenly felt quite lost. On Earth he always knew what time it was. For the last week they stopped for food when the sun was high and they slept when the sun was down.

His mind wandered but was pulled out of it by someone grabbing at his hand and dragging him into the room. The blanket from around him fell to the floor.

"Woowhee," The man called out as he grasped Lucas' arm tightly. Lucas thought the man's voice sounded almost southern. "I caught me a pretty one."

The man was roughly pulled away by two naked identical boys who hooked an arm each and pulled him off.

"That boy is NOT on the menu, Mr Grish," One of the boys said.

"That boy is lost and should get back into that other room if he doesn't want to be poked and prodded by strange men." The other boy said poking his tongue out at Lucas who blushed.

"Hey!" The man grumbled. "I'm not strange. Come here." He said and tried to grab for the boy, but the unknown boy was faster and evaded him.

"Uhm… what he wants to do with… everyone? Doesn't it hurt?" Lucas asked blushing.

The free twin walked over to him and put his face close to Lucas' "It's like jerking off from the inside." He said his nose barely millimeters from Lucas's. The strange boy's breath smelled sweet, like lavender. "You want a go?"

Lucas's eyes went wide and he stepped back. "No." He said bringing his hands to cover his backside.

"Beck." A familiar voice boomed.

"Merol!" The twin grinned sheepishly. "I was just saying to this lovely boy here that he should get out of here...Honestly."

"Yeah." Merol said as if he clearly didn't believe him. "I know what you have on your mind."

Beck stood and folded his arms. "Why are you taking two boys across the mountains, you need some bed-action while you travel?"

"Thin ice, Beck." Merol warned. His face looked ready to commit murder.

"You have the Spirit Blade with you." He said matter-of-factly.

The Spirit Blade was Merol's sword, the only sword known to actually 'kill' a spirit. Merol was known to the spirits as a type of mercenary. Sometimes it's easier to hire a human to take out a rogue spirit especially one with such a clear alliance to all that is good.

Lucas looked between them both not knowing what was going on.

Merol nodded. He knew the boys wanted an excuse for redemption and he knew they would be useful on the road. They could scout and remain discreet. It would also mean a chance for them to redeem their spirits.

"Just remember," He pointed to Beck as he spoke. "You both keep your hands to yourselves. These boys are sacrosanct, you hear me?"

"Yessir!" Beck nodded quickly.

"And you do as I instruct?"

"We will." Drake said as he stepped up to his brother.

"Good..." Merol said straightening up.

Lucas looked quite shocked at these latest events...they had just gotten another two boys on their journey. Was the man just recruiting anyone who wanted to go?

Marco entered the room in time to see the event with the stranger man and Lucas and the whole conversation with Merol and the twins.

The twins though looked so… delicious… that thought made him pay attention to his raging morning boner.

He looked over the twins. They were slightly taller than him, but just as slender. They looked cute all naked, their bums somewhat flat and their dicks at about four inches. They had short dark hair and grey eyes.

"No! I have myself a better one! And an elf too!! Those ears are real, not bloody prosthetics!!!" Said a man behind him and then he felt a hand snaking towards his crotch. He felt his face go crimson. He felt somehow… ashamed and ridiculed even if he was inside a harem and half naked. If he ever went with a guy twice or three times his age, it would not be for payment, and it would not be this guy. He was an elf after all!

His eyes glimmered green and in one swift movement that lasted half a blink of an eye he grabbed the guy's hand and twisted it away from him as he turned around.

"No." He said simply but with authority and left.

"We move out in one hour!" He heard Merol say.

He packed up his things and was outside the entrance to the harem ten minutes early hoping to find Lucas alone and talk.

Micraal was also outside a few meters away by the horses.

"I don't like clothes!" Drake complained. "They are itchy and it's like wearing a dead animal skin on me."

"You are wearing a dead animal skin on you, but they are called clothes, numbskull." Beck rubbed his brother's head who just pouted.

The twins both rode on a large horse; they had insisted on the single horse whereas everyone else had their own. The spare horse that would have been Drake's or Beck's was laden with supplies instead.

Lucas flopped onto his horse in a very graceless manner. He hadn't got used to the knack of putting your foot into the stirrup and heaving yourself up and over in one smooth action.

Marco caressed his horse's neck and placed his foot on the stirrup to help him mount the mare. He got on her and took hold of the reins as the smell of freshly baked pie filled his nostrils. A few seconds later Meredith came out after Merol with a satchel.

Merol then came out of the harem with Meredith in tow. "Merol dear. Take this pie." She handed him a brown paper bag on its side. "Those five boys will take some looking after."

Merol took the pie with thanks. He slipped it into a saddlebag and fastened the buckle. "Thanks Meredith." He said smoothly. "We may not be back for a while." He climbed into his horse effortlessly and patted the beast on its flank. "We best be going." He said to all. "The mountains await."

He led the way out of the town and towards the mountains.

About half an hour later they were out of the city and Marco asked Micraal to go ahead and scout, he had understood that the boy liked to be on his own, he had gotten used to it after almost fourteen years of living alone on the streets.

Micraal grinned and took off in a gallop.

He would come back every two hours or so and report what he had seen, which most of the time was nothing much but as the day progressed he told them more and more that he saw packs of black and deep grey wolves in the distance, some were stalking him some were leaving from the area fast. Other animals too were leaving the area for the north and east.

They made camp for the night; they had not travelled all that far as five boys apparently need stops a lot more often than desired.

They were near a patch of forest.

Marco dismounted and stretched his legs, he un-shouldered his bow and lowered his hood.

"I am going to hunt something to eat. Who wants to come with?" The pie had been eaten hours ago and his stomach was grumbling.

"We will!" The twins chimed.

"No they won't ." Merol stated as he did an equipment check on his horse.

"Can I?" Lucas asked while sitting on fallen log.

"Of course." Merol smiled. "It'll do you some good to learn how we feed ourselves here."

Lucas got up and went with Marco.

"You two, go and see if you can see Last Inn, it should be a day's travel from here." Merol told the twins. They immediately jumped up curtly and ran off into some scrubland. "And I'll get some wood for burning." He continued.

He gathered some wood from the immediate area, enough to get the fire hot by the time Marco got back with whatever creature he could kill. He hoped he would bring something heavy as they would need the nourishment when climbing the mountains. They could dry the surplus meat and take it with them to eat as they travelled. It would save all the stopping and whining that they boys were hungry.

He pulled out a slither of parchment and placed it over the wood. As soon as his hands were clear the fire burst into life, pushing out the heat of a fire that had been burning for a few hours. Merol sat back and closed his eyes, not to sleep, but to listen to the world.

They walked to the entrance of the small forest. Marco felt nice and warm, like he was home after a long time away from it. He smiled and crouched following instincts he didn't know he had.

"Walk slowly, walk on your tip toes, breathe slowly and light, talk not, sounds will drive away any prey we might find, stay close it is easy to get lost even in a small forest like this one." He whispered.

He stepped lightly on the moist ground and brought his bow to the front, an arrow in the other hand. Ready to fire.

He looked on the ground for any tracks, not that he knew exactly what to look for, on Earth he had never gone to scouts, nor had he ever been outside the city Island of Manhattan, he knew next to nothing about hunting and tracking but a large, heavy animal would leave bigger tracks that even he would be able to follow.

He searched following his increasing instincts for what seemed hours until he found a set of large hooved tracks on the forest floor. He paused and showed them to Lucas then brought his finger to his lips indicating silence and he followed them.

Unknown to him they were also followed. Eyes followed them from a distance.

He brought the arrow to the bow and stretched the cord. He kept following the tracks and tried his best to watch where he stepped. Stepping on a fallen tree branch would scare away their prey.

After a few more seconds he smelled the pungent smell. Then a few minutes later he saw the large antlers.

He made a sign to Lucas for him to stay where he was and he removed his shoes, he didn't feel like he needed them anyways, he stepped as close as he could to the stag and brought the bow to his face. He aimed and then something behind him made a sound of broken twig, but it wasn't Lucas, it sounded heavier.

The stag raised its head in alarm and just as it was about to take off running Marco fired the arrow. A second later the stag fell to the ground with the arrow sticking out of the base of its head.

Marco walked to it, took out his dagger and cut its throat, put it out of any suffering.

"Lucas! We have enough food for a week! Come over here and help carry this thing back to camp!" Marco yelled.

He knelt above the dead animal, "I am sorry brother and I thank you for your flesh for we need the nourishment it will provide." He said not really knowing where it came from as he placed his head on the stag's forehead.

"I have no idea how to skin it and remove the flesh; we can drag it back to camp and Merol can show us how it is done… " He said to Lucas as his friend stood over him, but then "bells" of danger started "ringing" inside him. Something was near, something was watching them.

He stood up and looked around in alert. He could see nothing, even worse; with his hearing he could hear nothing. Nothing, not even birds and sounds of the forest.

"Lucas, listen! Not a single sound… let's make this fast… " He said and grabbed the two front legs of the stag.

They had not dragged it for more than a hundred meters when howls and growling sounds came from all around them.

Marco grabbed his bow and two arrows just as a black wolf with blood red eyes jumped over him, and dropped him to the ground. Another one appeared to his right. Marco stood on his knees in swift movements and fired the two arrows, one wolf fell dead, the other one hit above the back leg, injured but not incapacitated fully.

A black shadow screeched as it escaped the wolf's carcass.

"LUCAS!! BEHIND YOU TWO… " He was interrupted as the injured wolf jumped for him.

He released an arrow which missed, before he could fire another arrow the wolf dropped him to the ground, Marco used his bow to protect his face and tried to kick the wolf away from him but the wolf was too powerful and heavy for that to work.

He let go of the bow and in a lightning fast speed he went for the dagger. The wolf's paws dug into his torso scarring him. Just as he howled in pain his dagger was forced into the wolf's throat. In almost an instant the scars and blood on his torso were gone and the wolf dead.

It took him a few seconds to remove the large beast from him as he saw another dark shadow leave the dead animal.

"Attack and you die." Lucas said with both his mind and his voice.

"We'll see who will die first speaker boy! Our master fights not with just mere animals." Said the wolf. The wolf actually spoke in a ghastly voice, sticky saliva running down to the ground.

The wolf circled Lucas, making him turn and then he attacked him in a blink of an eye. He was jumping for him from the front as another wolf twice the size attacked him from behind.

Lucas didn't even understand how his hands moved, how his body moved as he knelt down and his hands moved on top of his head. The wolves dropped dead, their underbellies opened.

Marco dropped another two wolves dead with headshots.

The last wolf soon realised that his chances were nil and ran away.

Then the wolf fell dead next to him, yet again a dark shadow screeched as it "flew" away.

Marco got up with bow and arrow in hand.

"You can talk to animals!" He announced to his friend in surprise as he remembered his friend talking to the wolf earlier.

"Yeah… ever since we came to this… place." Lucas told him trying to smile.

"Did you see or hear those black… shadows as they left the wolf bodies?" Marco asked Lucas as they reached camp and he dropped the stag's legs.

"No, I was too busy trying not to pee myself through fear." Lucas said dropping the animal by the fire.

"Any trouble?" Merol asked with a small laugh.

"Oh just some wolves with shadows in them" Lucas explained.

Merol looked at the two boys. They were unhurt so enough was enough, at least for now. He'd put some wards up before they went to sleep.

"Shadows?" He asked the air.

"Yeah, the wolves all had blood red eyes, and talked… I mean even I could understand them… and when we killed each of them it was like… like something black like a shadow but not a shadow, like liquid shadow left their bodies." Marco said.

Merol said nothing. He grabbed the stag and hooked its antlers tightly into a tree branch so it wouldn't fall. Using the deer's neck wound he opened the cut so it surrounded the neck with his hunting knife. He did the same with the legs and created a slit down its flank. With a great tug he pulled the skin off the creature.

Marco sat next to Merol as he skinned the animal and watched him; he wanted to learn as he was sure that he would not always have Merol around.

Lucas blanched and turned away while Merol went to work.

Merol tossed the skin off to one side and flipped the animal around securing its feet onto the branch while the animal's blood poured out. Fortunately most of it had already been exhumed by the neck cut.

When it had been drained of blood he started to cut off chunks of meat which some he threw into a one pan and others into another pan that were both ready over the fire.

A few minutes later Merol was throwing herbs and various spices into the pan and stirring it with a wooden spatula.

"You never said you were a chef too!" Lucas said as he breathed in the wonderful smell.

Merol smiled at the compliment. "When you travel as much as I do, you learn to make your food taste nice or starve...I don't like starving." He said and he grabbed a few cuts of meat and lay them down on a stone slab. "Sometimes though," He said as he cut the meat into strips, discarding the fat into the pan that was cooking. "It's easier to accelerate things a little."

He opened a little flask and poured some premade marinade over the meat strips and corked it again. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two strips of parchment with runes on. "Time and Drought." He said as he placed them both on the rock. As his hands cleared the rock they shriveled and dried to leave a number of meaty strips on the rock.

"Jerky!" Lucas smiled.

"Ah," Merol nodded. "We just call it dried meat...good for the journey ahead."

He put the 'jerky' into his pack and turned back to the pot just as the twins had returned. "See anything?" He asked them and then turned his head towards them. They were red faced. "Or did you just spend the time abusing each other?"

The twins grinned in unison. "We also saw the Inn. It's been burned, nothing left there but a burned shell."

"Merol sir," Micraal spoke as he also sat by the fire next to Marco, "A fort a few miles to the west had all their horses either killed or stolen and a settlement to the north west, all their livestock were stolen, why would anyone steal all of them sir?"

Merol sighed. They needed all the food they could muster then. The storm, raiders, the wolves and now this.

"Eat." Merol said as he handed out five bowls and one for himself as he dished out the venison. A second pan of venison was cooking for some stew. The journey ahead called for many things.

"Someone seems to really want us dead… " Marco whispered, his Elven mind making connections and deductions, the storm, the wolves, an inn on the path they were following, livestock stolen, were they feeding an army or something and they needed so much food? Only Lucas heard him as he sat closest to him, but as he scanned Merol's face he was sure the man was thinking along the same lines.

Something was awakening and moving across the land, something or someone was organizing and preparing. And he had a head start. Then it occurred to him.

"I have a couple of questions," he said as he ate some food, "What is this land called and how do you make arrows? Eventually those that I have will finish and I don't think there will be a weapons store around always… who can show me how!?"

"The city we just left is called Eri'Adar; Valana is the name of the whole land." Merol said finishing his plate. "The mountains we will be crossing tomorrow are called the Long Peaks. As for your arrows, the hardest part of the arrow is the arrow head. They can be made from stone, wood or metal. Metal is often favored as you can get the desired sharpness as well as the barbs. Wood is often too light and is only good at short range. Stone, while heavy is often hard to shape. As for the arrow body, I usually use a hollow reed and a feather, halved."

He reached behind him into his pack and threw Marco an empty quiver. "Now you are a bit more adept at firing your arrows you can have this." He pointed to the quiver. "It wasn't made by me; it was a gift from an old elf friend. Feed it with wood, feather and scrap metal and it will forge arrows of your wish." He said, "But use it wisely, it drinks from the same power as elf magic."

Marco heard the man speak with great concentration.

"Elion oal Elduhost!" Marco said to Merol.

"I really hope I said thank you just now… no idea where this came from!" He said again.

As the time passed and they ate their food and conversed he paid more and more attention to the twins. He eyed their… talents from the edge of his eye trying to stare but not stare and as he was always horny he wondered if he could do some fooling around with them.

When they finished they were all very much tired and fell asleep almost instantly.

Marco woke up in the next morning and went to relieve himself on a bush. Merol came next to him to do the same. Elf or human some needs were the same.

"I wanted to ask you some things but not in front of the others… "

He hesitated for a second.

"Since I have come to this place with Lucas I have found my instincts increase and from time to time like last night I will say things that I know are correct for the occasion but I have no idea what they mean and when you threw that towel at me in the harem pool I heard a voice in my head telling me to say those words that I said and mean them. Am I turning crazy hearing voices or is there something… else inside me, guiding me, teaching me? If yes how do I contact it?"

He took a breath and sighed.

"Also… is it my imagination or is someone trying very actively to track me and Lucas down and kill us? The storm that destroyed buildings in Eri'Adar, the raiders that seemed only interested in the harem we were staying in instead of plundering every building they could get in, the wolves attacking me and Lucas last afternoon, and that inn burned to the ground… and the mountains ahead… "

He looked at the horizon where the peaks of the mountains were barely visible.

"It is only autumn right? They seem to be excessively burdened with snow for autumn. Am I just drawing conclusions in ignorance or am I right? Thank you again for the quiver last night!" He said finally wanting to placate any possible anger from the man.

Beck and Drake were peeing together on the opposite site of the camp to Merol and Marco, their streams of urine passing over each other's streams as they made sword clashing sounds.

Merol, next to Marco blinked slowly as the questions assaulted him first thing in the morning. He could battle a thousand soldiers going from deep sleep to battle ready in a second but the barrage of questions from a 12 years old elf had forced him to mentally groan.

"You are turning into an Elf," He said yawning. "Elves are typically good creatures, and as you know Elves have spirits inside them, they are the only intelligent race to have spirits. Spirits are inherently neutral but the longer they live and the more experiences they have cause greater influence. The stronger a spirit, then the easier it is to speak to the Elven mind. The fact that your spirit speaks to you seems to indicate that your spirit is strong and quite old."

He didn't know how old as only the Elf can 'feel' how old their spirit is.

"An old spirit might have a few quirks of personality. Some might have good advice, some, like anyone might offer bad advice. However it is up to you to choose to take that advice or not. The spirit is not in control, you are. One thing I have learned from being around Elves is that they are individuals that are not afraid to voice their opinions. Your spirit will be a greater tool if you make it respect you as much as you respect it."

This was the longest piss ever. He shook off last few drops and put it inside his pants and leaned against a nearby tree.

"As for tracking us? Sure, someone wants you two boys quite badly. But you know what? This is nothing. I don't want to scare you but this sort of stuff is nothing compared to what lies ahead. These people have dark magic as their ally that much is clear. If they have the ability to create storms then simply sending in soldiers to take us out means that they are preoccupied with something grander and darker."

He had said it; he had announced his fear to the boy.

"My task is to get you ready, or at least put you in the place where you can be ready. I have given you tools, tools that will likely be replaced as you learn your specialization." He said.

"But the mountains." He said with a lighter attitude. "These are my second favorite mountain range. They have been snowy for as long as I can remember, I think. The snow is there not through dark magic but the result from a long ago war. Eri'Adar was once attacked by soldiers simply marching over the range, but they cast a simple weather spell over the mountains to make people freeze as they traversed them. However the mountains weren't already devoid of magic and it worked better than they had hoped. The mountains were frozen from then onwards. Only in the last hundred years or so have they been warm enough to pass over without death. Before that your journey was massively increased by having to walk around them. Not many take the underground pass though, which is so scary it would make an Elf think twice." He smiled.

"Any more questions?" He asked looking at the boy.

Marco listened to it all with great care.

"Millions of them but… I'm hungry!" Marco said putting his now flaccid digit back in his pants. He walked back to camp where the twins had prepared some basic stuff for breakfast.

At midday they arrived at the foot of the mountains where the ground stops being flat and starts to raise.

There, was the burnt Inn the twins had spoken of. The owner and his family were clearing out the debris.

Marco dismounted his horse, looked over the burned husk of the former inn and clenched his fist in furious anger.

"They did this just to slow us down? Or they had some other intent in mind?" He thought in a barely audible whisper.

He took his bow and hung it from his shoulder. Then he put on the two quivers.

Merol went to speak to them as Micraal returned. He had nothing much to report other than heavy snowfall much higher in the mountains, packs of red-eyed wolves and mercenaries roaming the land to the west of the mountain.

Merol dismounted and walked over to a girl searching for belongings around the ruins of the Inn.

"My Lady, do you know what happened here?" Merol asked the girl, she must have been about fourteen. Tears were streaming down her face, despite the fire having taken place at least before yesterday.

"The men," She blabbed as the memory came back. "They wanted to know if we'd seen an Elf boy and a human boy. When we said 'no', they set fire to our home."

"Did everyone make it out alive?" Merol enquired.

She nodded wiping the tears from her eyes. "But my mother is heavy with child, and my father has fever."

Merol nodded, "Take us, we might be able to help."

Marco followed Merol and the young girl to a small camp about a hundred yards from the house.

"Can you help her?" The girl asked.

"I think so," Merol announced. "But go to the Elf boy and get him to help your father."

"Elf boy?" She dawned. "They were after..."

"Yes, now we need to move, your Mother is already dilating. And bring some sheets and fresh water." Merol said with urgency and faced the woman who had sweat and tears streaming down her face.

Merol opened his satchel and pulled out a few pieces of parchment.

"What are you going to do?" The woman asked him through clenched teeth.

"I'm a speaker, ma'am. I can make you comfortable." He said politely. "I can't numb the pain, as you will need to push."

"Come with me." Said the girl to Marco.

Marco followed her to the tent next to the one her mother was in. A man was lying there, covered with blankets, next to him was a boy of about ten.

"Please help him!"

Marco had absolutely no idea what to do. He pressed his hand to the man's forehead, which was full of warm sweat.

"It's probably a simple cold… " He thought then he remembered that he had cured most of a cut Lucas had sustained during the attack of the raiders in Eri'Adar.

He pressed both his hands on the man's chest and concentrated the best he could. After a few minutes something like a glow covered the area around his hands. A few minutes later it dissipated. Marco removed his hands; the man was asleep but he looked better.

Marco felt exhaustion the likes of which he hadn't felt before.

He sat next to the boy, who smiled at him, obviously happy at seeing his father looking better.

"I wonder how that healing thingy I can do works… I've never felt such exhaustion." He said to Merol about half an hour later when he was rested and Merol had finished and cleaned up after giving birth to another boy to a very happy looking mother.

"Aaawww he looks so cute! I hope he has a good life!" He said to the mother as he looked at her newborn son.

"I am sorry we caused you so much grief… " He started saying but she interrupted him.

"It is not your fault child, if it wasn't you and your friends they were after they would have probably burned it to the ground anyways and even possibly raped me and my children, they were after you and in a hurry so they didn't have time for us, and you helped give birth to my son and healed my husband, we are grateful to you and I hope you find their leader and kill him with all our prayers to aid you!!" She said with a strength that surprised Marco, he smiled again at her and got out of the tent to let her rest and feed her baby.

Micraal looked at Marco when he pressed both his hands on the man's chest and concentrated. The elf boy was so cute when he concentrated he thought. While Marco rested Micraal walked away and sat near a tree and put his hands on his knees.

He couldn't stop thinking about his new situation, He couldn't take his mind off of Marco; he would give anything for him be in his life. Marco seemed the only one who understood him, he asked him to scout for them because he knew that he felt uneasy around strangers. They all seem to know what to do but him.

"Could… "he" be right?" He thought.

Lucas came over and sat down next to Micraal.

"We've not spoken much," he started. "I can't imagine what it was like living on the streets all your life...did you ever know your parents? How did you survive all alone?" He asked.

"Thank you… it wasn't easy… but I had the hide and there was an old lady who took care of me when I was younger but she died three years ago… I've been alone ever since, stealing was all I could do to feed me… " He lied.

"Marco understands this… I think… that's why he has me scouting ahead so much… you are very lucky to be best friends with him. Where are you from? He must be from one of the Elven isles, which city are you from?"

Micraal said as he looked at Lucas' face.

Lucas thought about how he would answer. He wasn't sure what Merol would have wanted. "I'm from the island of Manhattan, in the land of New York, it's some way away… hell it's a long way away, but Marco is an old family friend. We grew up together." He said, it seemed truthful enough.

"The land of New York? Where is that in Valana?" Micraal asked Lucas now very intrigued.

Micraal thought Lucas looked cute as he tried to hide his increasing boner from him.

"You're so lucky to have Marco as a good friend, I'm a bit jealo..." he got red around the ears and turned his head away too shy to speak anymore.

Lucas smiled warmly. "I'm not sure where New York is from here." He said. "Marco and I are more than friends; we're more like brothers, like a family." He noticed his new friend's erection that he tried to hide. He wasn't sure if the boy's body was betraying him or he might actually feel something for Marco. Either way he didn't know what to do about the situation, so he decided to pretend he never saw anything.

"Don't worry about being friends." He said after a pause. "We're your friends now." He smiled.

Merol was with Marco and the new addition to the family. "Your graciousness in the face of absurdity humbles us ma'am." Merol said courteously. "We have plenty of food; would you care to camp with us tonight?" He asked the family.

The wife looked to her husband who smiled and nodded his acceptance. "We have little food to offer though, but berries my son and daughter harvested from the local bushes only a short walk from here. We never told the locals," He smiled. "No point in telling the locals where the berry bushes were when we could charge them for their consumption."

"Beck, Drake." Merol said towards the twins. They approached him duly. "Go fetch enough berries from the bushes the good man mentioned that will supplement the venison from yesterday." The twins trotted off without saying another word. He turned to face the man and woman again. "We are passing over the mountains, so we have no more use of our steeds. They are yours to do with as you wish."

"Thank you sir, thank you." The man gushed.

"Do you need any assistance felling wood to begin rebuilding?" Merol enquired.

"No, but we thank you for your kind offer. My eldest son is on his way to the Cuhn'Dal settlement where we have family staying; they will send their sons to aid us. We only need camp here for a week or so before we start building. We were seeking to renovate, I guess this is a good time as any."

Merol was relieved that they had plans to rebuild. It was a good business and a good location. At least once they were passed the mountains they should remain untouched.

Merol wondered how many more people would have to suffer at their hands.

Marco saw Lucas and Micraal talking and smiled then he heard Merol asking the twins to go pick food.

"I'll come with you… I need to find some stuff to make arrows with… " That wasn't the only reason but he did need to gather some wood for the arrows.

He walked with them.

When they were far away from the camp he spoke to them as he checked them out again.

"Soooo… – he said playfully, or as playfully as he could after all they had been through the last few days. "How did you come to work at the Moonlight? How… how does it feel… you know… " he blushed a deep crimson, "to have a dick… up… there? Isn't it yucky? Doesn't it hurt?" He pointed at Beck's behind hesitantly.

Both the twins laughed. They laughed exactly the same way. Beck draped his arm over Marco's shoulders and Drake did the same on the other side and they brought their face over to Marco's so he could feel their breath. "Being fucked is..." Beck said.

Drake took over. "That feeling when you reach down and rub your hard cock," He reached down and rubbed at Marco's groin. "And the feeling of lust that soaks through your body that swells until you feel you are about to burst."

Beck continued as he slid his hand over the fabric of Marco's ass, "The feel of a dick sliding into your ass, back and forth with the most sensual oils massages your insides and creates these feelings of intense pleasure as you rock your body back and forth knowing that the pleasure you feel is just as much as the pleasure that your own body is returning to the man or boy inside you."

Drake continued. "As you rock your body his hands roam your body," His spare hand rubbed at his own chest, "pinching at your nipples, maybe nibbling a bit at your neck,"

Beck took over. "He feels in control," he blew on Marco's neck, lightly. "but he isn't , you are in control as you rock gently feeling him press that special place inside a boy that makes you weep in pleasure,"

Drake: "But you know you have him, you tighten your ass muscles and you rock your body harder, making the feelings stronger inside your own body, but at the same time the man against your back starts to breathe heavily until he pushes into you one last time."

Beck: "Flooding you with his seed, you know it now, you have him."

Drake: "You have that power to make men,"

Beck: "Or boys,"

Drake: "Or boys, so happy that they will want you forever."

Beck: "But we are professionals. It's our job to make men or boys want more."

Marco heard and felt their breath close to his face either side as they talked to him. He was getting hornier, which only increased as he felt Drake grope his genitals and he moaned.

Drake looked over at his brother and smirked at him. His brother smiled back and they both left Marco, their instincts taking over.

They both rushed over to a berry bush and stripped off. Like a pro Beck immediately got on his back and his legs over his shoulders while Drake spit on his cock and slid it into Beck easily with a sigh.

"Yeeaahh!" Drake said. "You see, look closer," he said pointing at his dick sticking inside his brother. "The more you do it the easier it becomes." He said as he slid out and back into his brother again.

Marco felt so horny that he took his dick out and started jerking off. Soon enough though, watching Drake fuck Beck, going back and forth on his brother's boyhole it was not enough to watch, so he lowered and removed his pants, went behind Drake and stuck his dick just inside the boy's bubble behind. He reached around and caressed Drake's soft torso, "May I?" He asked.

Drake smiled, "Go for it!" He wiggled his ass at Marco.

Marco held the boy's waist and smelled his neck. He stuck his dick deeper and deeper inside Drake's crack until his dickhead touched the boy's boyhole. Then he pushed a bit more and his dickhead entered the tight hole. He moaned rather loud from the pleasure. He started moving in and out of the tight hole faster and faster, instinct guiding his moves as he so often moved in circles inside Drake's hot rectum.

Drake also moved in and out of his brother so he also thrusted back at Marco's dick as a result. It caused Marco to moan more and more as his sensitive glans were squeezed and worked by Drake's expert boyhole.

He hugged Drake around his abdomen with one hand and started squeezing the boy's balls with the other as he bent over for leverage and went as fast as he could as he groaned and moaned and kissed Drake's neck.

His crotch and abdomen making small slapping sounds as they came into contact with Drake's butt cheeks. Kai had been good and the first ass he had ever fucked and he was sweet but this one was different, Drake was obviously an expert in taking a cock up his ass and he knew how to work his ass around his member and this was bliss but yet something was amiss, something didn't feel right.

Soon though he forgot about all that as he felt the known feeling of butterflies in his stomach and he knew he was about to cum inside Drake's butthole.

Seconds later he felt Drake squeeze his dick one more time and he yelled, "DR… DRAKE I AM CUMMING!!!!!" as he tilted his head backwards and slammed his dick as deep inside Drake's ass he could and he emptied his balls.

Three ropes of boycum later he lay back panting sweat covering his body, a silly grin covering his face in post-orgasmic bliss. He raised his pants up and stood up just as Drake seemed to finish inside his brother's ass. Marco was feeling horny again from watching that final action but he didn't want them all to be too late, didn't want to make it too obvious that what had happened had happened.

"Time to gather those berries and get back to camp before… " -he blushed crimson – "well before it becomes too obvious what...well sex and all… " He turned around walked to the berry bushes and started picking up berries, putting them in a leather bag.

Meanwhile back at the camp Lucas and Micraal were still talking under the tree.

"We're your friends now." Lucas told him.

"I have never had friends before… haven't left Eri'Adar before either… " He said to Lucas as he continued to look away embarrassed about his erection.

"How did you meet Marco? That's a weird name… I thought elves all stayed in their islands and have names like… Elmarn or Nimathar… why aren't your parents with you? I am sorry if I'm asking too many questions… I… I just never had friends before… "

Drake opened his eyes and saw his brother looking up at him. They exchanged grins.

A few moments later they were heading back to camp with a supply of berries.

"Hey Marco," Beck said wearing a cheeky grin. "I still haven't cum." He paused.

"Maybe I could borrow that teeny, very cute and bubble little elf-bum of yours tonight?"

Marco blushed, "Ehhh… eeehhhrrr… n… no… I… I… not yet… I can suck you if you want… but not… you know down there… "

Beck and Drake giggled. Drake walked over to Lucas and Micraal as Micraal spoke.

Lucas gave a friendly smile. "If we don't ask questions we will never know any answers."

Drake looked strangely at Lucas and then over at Merol. The voice was Lucas' but the words sounded like something that Merol would say. He guessed the boy must have picked up on his mannerisms in a short time. Some people can be like that.

Marco smirked, Lucas had always been of few words and those not usually formed in a straight answer, they were like brothers, and they worked well as a team because Marco was the voice of emotion and spontaneity whereas Lucas was the voice of cold logic and analysis. Like the Chinese yin and yang, two sides of the same coin.

Marco had become more analytical since their arrival in this new world but he still followed his "gut" and his feelings.

Merol was sorting out some thick skins from their packs that were on the horse. There weren't many skins there. "Okay." Merol announced. "Lucas and Micraal," He said pointing to two slightly smaller bundles of skins and furs.

"Where's mine and Beck's?" Drake asked.

"You don't get any, you don't feel the cold." Merol said without looking at them. Drake pouted. "Marco needs less, as he will still feel the cold, but to a lesser degree than us humans."

"Well if you want more clothes, we can always walk naked." Drake said with more than a slight grin on his face.

Merol looked up at him. "I bet you would love that. But no, you must still maintain an air of dignity about you, even if you are..." He paused as he looked at Drake. Merol's face went stern as he looked at Marco and then back at Drake. Merol approached Marco. "Marco, did they...do anything to you back there? Anything you didn't want to do?"

"What?" Beck objected. "Have you no trust in us?"

"No." Merol practically barked at them.

"No, nothing bad happened." Cryptic enough Marco thought and walked away trying not to blush.

He went and sat next to Micraal and Lucas as he gathered his long locks with his hair and tried to comb them behind his head.

"What are you two talking about?" He asked them.

They smiled at him and Micraal looked at him with a look of worship.

He hugged his own knees with his hands.

"I was asking Lucas How did you two meet, and also that Marco is a weird name for an elf… I thought elves all stayed in their islands and had names like… Elriod or Nimathar… why aren't your parents with you?"

Marco looked over at Lucas and then at Merol who was very close to them now not sure of how to answer.

Merol clapped both Lucas and Micraal on the shoulders. "Sometimes," He said, losing his stern voice and gaining a slightly cheerful one. "The spirits do things that we do not understand nor can we comprehend. Why they saw fit to give Marco his name we do not know, but this is reason why we are on our journey." He patted them on their shoulders. "Come, eat."

Lucas was grateful for the save by Merol. He wasn't sure what to respond with. He could tell the truth, but the truth would probably only bring more questions than answers when they didn't really know why they were brought here. They knew how, but not why.

"Enjoy the last bit of warmth for a few nights' boys." Merol announced. "We head into the mountains tomorrow where ice, snow and cold stone will be our companions until we are on the other side."

The rest of the day was uneventful and with some rest for a change.

Marco did some target practice near the woods and then just walked in the forest near the camp relaxing in the forest feeling right at home.

He found a spot near a cliff and sat cross-legged near the edge.

He looked to the horizon, to the setting sun and just concentrated on the clouds.

He felt dizzy and lightheaded and then as if he was getting out of his body but was still in it. Then he sort of "saw" it, everything else faded away, a glowing green orb in the center of his being. It fluxed and radiated and it felt warm.

He tried to "touch" it with his mind, with his consciousness. The glowing orb allowed him in.

"Welcome Aer'andil, finally you open your mind to me."

"The spirits didn't choose Aer'andil as a name for me did they?"

"No… one of the two guardians of the prophesy did."

"Who am I? Who are my parents? Where am Ifrom?"

"Those are not questions for me to answer young one."

"But you know the answers?!"

"I know many things young one!"

"Who can answer those questions then?"

"You will find out at the appropriate time by the appropriate person."

"You are frustrating!"

"You will learn to be as well young elf." The spirit said with a chuckle, or at least what sounded as one.

"Why am I and Lucas hunted?"

"Because of the prophesy."

"What did it say?"

"Not for me to… "

"Say... I know… "

"Who is hunting us?"

There was a pause.

"One neither here nor there."

"What does that mean?"

"You will understand in time… or the world of both men and spirits will cease to exist as it does."

"Riddles inside an enigma wrapped in more riddles… are all spirits and elves like that?"

"No… some are considerably worse!" The spirit said laughing.

"Only when speaking to those who do not understand. What would an insect understand if you spoke to it, even as plain as you could? There are different stages of logic and understanding young one, for all living beings, even elves and spirits."

"Aer'andil… is that my name?"

"It is your name and it can also describe what you are. I think in the "common" language of this world it means storm arrow. That is what your mother named you as per the traditions of your people. Rightly so I would think."

"What do you mean?"

"That is also for another to explain."

"The more answers I get, the more questions I get."

"That is the meaning of life young one, one of them anyways, without questions the soul goes stale, from an insect to a spirit and all the beings in-between that is a fundamental truth. To have questions is a healthy thing to have Aer'andil."

He felt a tug; someone was shaking his shoulder gently.

He jumped up as if he was sleeping. He hadn't been sleeping though.

It was Micraal.

"Merol send me to fetch you, it is dark and we are ready to eat dinner."

"Dinner? How much time has it gone by?" Aer'andil looked around, to his surprise the sun was well gone, the stars and a moonless night had taken its place.

"I… I don't know what happened… I guess I fell into a meditative state… Let's go… " He got up and rubbed his pants to clear away any leaves and dirt.

They walked back in silence. Aer'andil was deep in thought as he remembered and tried to make sense of what the spirit had told him… he hadn't thought to ask its name.

They all sat around the fire. Merol passed them the food.

Aer'andil nibbled at it and chewed without much appetite. He thought of his name. Aer'andil, storm arrow, he liked it. His parents, his real, biological parents had named him so. What did it mean though? that he could fire arrows in a storm? He had done that in Eri'Adar quite successfully, no it had to be deeper in that. that he would always seek his goal as an arrow even if he passed through storms literal or metaphorical? The more he thought the more his brain begun to ache from the effort.

He looked up and then around to his new and old friends.

During the diner Micraal sat near Lucas and looked at Aer'andil who seemed to be still in his own thoughts. Then he spoke.

"My name… my real name… it's Aer'andil… my spirit told me… he said it means storm arrow… but it would not tell me who my parents are or where I am from… he said that it was not for him to tell me… Aer'andil… I guess it has a nice ring to it… I feel tired...I'm going to an early sleep… " He said and got up.

They all saw Aer'andil leave for his tent. Micraal looked at him and thought he looked so beautiful. He wanted to get up and follow him but in a way he wasn't really his friend Lucas was. He turned his head to Lucas.

"I think Aer'andil is a good name. Don't you think Lucas?"

"Aer'andil" Lucas said, trying it out for size. "Aer'andil." He sighed. "It doesn't fit right. He said as he climbed into his makeshift sleeping bag. "He'll always be Marco to me, even if it's not his real name." He looked over at Aer'andil and looked back at Micraal. "Besides, if everyone is going to call him by his Elven name, I would like to think I have the privilege of using his human name." He liked the idea of them having something between them that only they used.

Merol nodded. "Indeed, his closest friend does reserve the right to an informal name."

"Did you have one?" Lucas asked.

"The elves have their name for me." Merol smirked. "But that is for the elves to reveal. Now sleep, we have much work to do tomorrow."

Aer'andil walked to his tent and lay under the animal furs they used as blankets.

He didn't sleep; he couldn't . Myriad of thoughts passed through his mind. Sometime later, he didn't know how much he heard footsteps come his way and he grabbed for his bow instinctively. The tent flap opened and with his Elven eyes he saw that it was one of the twins.

"Hey… " Aer'andil whispered to him.

Whoever of the twins it was he nearly jumped out of his skin.

"I thought you were asleep!" He said. It was Beck, their voices were almost identical but his Elven ears could distinguish between the two voices.

"What if I was? Would you do something different?"

"N… no… " Beck said but not very convincingly.

"I suppose you want that blowjob?"

"Yes… "

"Well… turn around, suck me and I'll suck you but keep quiet."

Beck turned around and lowered his pants. He lay next to Aer'andil and unbuttoned his pants.

They started sucking each other, faster and faster and it was obvious from the very start of Beck's superior technique and knowledge of cocksucking.

"Oh well we all have our strengths and weaknesses… " Aer'andil thought.

They sucked each other until they both cummed, once or twice Beck tried to push a finger into his bum but Aer'andil pushed it away with his hand. Beck on the other hand had no problem with Aer'andil's finger inside his bum, he encouraged it.

When they both had cum Beck kissed him sharing their cum and then left as quietly, for the non-Elven ears of the others, as he had come.

Aer'andil then tried to sleep once again but he could not, so he entered meditation again.

This time his spirit answered no questions, and didn't talk. Instead he showed him dreams as he called them, they flew, they were birds and they were flying. At first it was scarier than facing soldiers or wolves but after a while he got used to it and he felt such freedom the likes of which he did not think possible. He felt elation, as if he had no restraints. They soared through the skies, in forests, grand cities that made Eri'Adar (the only city he had seen so far in this world) look pale in comparison made out of Marble and wood and stone and with huge statues of old heroes and Kings, and above vast oceans.

When the "dreams" ended Aer'andil asked the spirit one more question. "Is that… was that the past or what is to come?"

"It is the past of your people… it is the present of your people… it can be your future." The spirit told him in a warm voice.

Then he woke up. It was dawn and he had never felt as rested as he felt now.

Lucas woke up and the morning sunshine was beating down on his face. It wasn't warm, but it wasn't cold either. In fact it was quite pleasant. Merol was already up and about somewhere; there were a few strips of dried beef and boiled eggs left out for breakfast. No doubt they would need the protein for the mountains. He could hear some whistling that was too high for it to be Merol or one of the family members, the boy was still sleeping.

Lucas looked about and finally saw Drake, or Beck urinating up against a tree. He was completely naked and his hands were behind his head, waving his dick about casually sprinkling his urine over the grass. It reminded him that he also needed to pee so he trotted over to the twin and pulled his own cock out. He couldn't pee.

Beck stopped whistling and peeing and peered down at the smaller boy, who couldn't pee. Lucas was blushing as his morning hard-on prevented his flow.

"Having a little trouble there?" He asked with a smile.

"Uhh..." was all Lucas could manage.

"Let me help you out a little." Beck said as he reached over and grabbed at Lucas' cock and started to jerk it off.

Aer'andil came out of his tent and saw Beck jerk off Lucas and he chuckled.

A few moments later Lucas was shaking in an orgasm and clear fluid dribbled over his cock and over Beck's fingers. Beck sucked at his fingers and savoured the taste. "Boycum tastes so sweet." He said and smiled at the boy.

Lucas found that he needed to pee again and he was now soft enough and he let the urine pour out from him.

Drake had just climbed out of his bed and he leaned over to Aer'andil's face and said quietly. "Your cum tastes like flowers, did you know that?"

"No… I haven't tasted it since we came to this wor… " He understood his mistake and shut his mouth.

"I guess it may have to do with my being an elf child… who knows maybe I'll taste like pine wood when I grow up!" He said with a smile and kissed Drake on the lips, pushing his tongue inside the boy's mouth and caressing his thighs.

Drake kissed the boy back and tasted the elf boy. He was warm and eager. Typical hot-headed elf.

This elf wasn't quite right though. He could feel the spirit of the elf, but there was something else, a taint of another place.

He broke the kiss. "This world? Where are you from?" His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "If you are from a dark place, I warn you that I have killed elves before." Then he kissed him again.

Beck had crawled into the tent. "That's cowshit." He pushed his brother's arm.

"The closest you got to killing an elf was firing an arrow into your own foot. You were a terrible elf."

Lucas was in a state. He was now quite aroused at what Beck had done. He had peed alright, but afterwards he got hard again and now it just would not go away. He looked down at it and wondered if he should do something about it.

Aer'andil broke the kiss, "You were a what now? No I am not from a dark place and… " His words got lost as he resumed kissing the boy but then he felt something probe inside him… deep inside down to his green glowing spirit. He pushed Drake back for a sec, something wasn't right, he ignored it for the moment as he pushed Drake on his back and mounted the boy's ankles on his shoulders and grinned evilly as he pushed in the tight, warm orifice and French kissed Drake passionately, sharing their tongues, their saliva. He probed inside waiting to find emptiness like with all other human being but emptiness he did not find.

The pleasure senses coming from his dick though suppressed it all as he fucked Drake for all he was worth.

Beck rolled his eyes. "Do you always think about sex?" He asked his brother with mock indifference.

"No." Drake said nonchalantly.

Beck shrugged. "Fair enough, me neither." Beck stuck his dick in between the two pairs of mashing lips just as the tent door swung open and Merol's face popped in.

There was a strange frozen look on Drake and Beck's face as eyes swiveled around to meet Merol's dumbfounded expression.

Aer'andil didn't really care who watched, he was fucking boyass and enjoying it.

Merol looked at the twins and then at Aer'andil, and then at the twins again.

"Beck...Drake..." He started but cut himself off. It was Aer'andil that had his dick inside Drake. Aer'andil. They couldn't seduce another spirit, this was Aer'andil's will.

The air inside the tent reminded Merol of his youth. The smell of boys enjoying each other. "Shit." He said. "I suppose this was bound to happen eventually."

"What are you going to do?" Beck asked looking with all seriousness at the man. "I'm not going to try to seduce you, not after last time."

Merol sighed. "Last time you went too far. Don't be too late here, we need to get moving." He said and left the tent.

Aer'andil heard Merol come in the tent and speak with the twins but he was too lost in lust to care, he would fuck and cum inside Drake no matter what, he didn't care if an army descended upon them he would finish this.

He just moaned something incoherent and pumped away at Drake's tight bum. He could feel the boy work his tight fuck-chute on his dick. He moaned deeper and kissed Drake's neck and torso. He nibbled on the two erect boy-nipples and moaned. He moved his hips faster and kissed his way back up Drake's soft, warm skin to his pink lips as he reached around and started jerking him off.

A few moments later he felt Drake cum in his hand and his boyhole clenched tight around his dick which caused him to scream in ecstasy and cum deep inside the boy. Again something was missing, he felt satisfied and in post-orgasmic bliss but he did not feel full or complete.

He lay next to Drake and raised his pants back up with a silly grin on his face.

Drake did not miss out on what he thought was a perfect, cute bubble butt and rubbed his dick. The elf sure knew how to fuck good for a first timer.

Merol was busying himself packing up the packs they would have to carry themselves. With no horses until after they get over the mountains they would have to discard a lot of stuff. He knew he would have to carry most of the items himself as the boys were smaller and could carry less weight. The twins were fine though, they could look after themselves. He felt a bit better about them being here now that both Aer'andil and Lucas enjoyed similar activities. He looked over at Lucas being pleasured by Micraal. In fact every boy currently travelling with him was a horny little bugger. Aerandil maybe more than everyone else combined, except maybe the twins… but not for much and it would only increase. Elves he knew had increased metabolism and therefore more hormones, therefore they were hornier than humans.

"Stay together today; we don't want anyone getting lost in the peaks." Merol said to everyone.

Aer'andil went and cleaned up in a stream nearby always with his bow at his shoulder then he packed up what he needed to cross the mountains.

They said their goodbyes to the innkeepers family and left.

A few hours later at early noon they were at the middle of the mountains when a sound boomed all around them coming from higher up the mountain.

"AVALANCHE!!" Merol screamed and they all run for cover.

The avalanche passed them by, a river of snow, boulders, fallen trees and debris.

Merol led them to another passage but there another avalanche came their way, when it passed they tried to move through the passage but another avalanche came their way and Aer'andil heard the same malicious chanting in the air as back in Eri'Adar.

Merol kept trying passages until there was a cracking sound beneath them and the ground shook.

Aer'andil had only enough time to think, "Earthquake..." when the ground collapsed from underneath them.

He didn't know how far down he fell but he instinctively rolled over when he felt his feet touch the ground.

He coughed from the dust and airborne particles and looked around dazed.

They had fallen in a cave with tons of debris above them.

"LUCAS!? MICRAAL? ANYONE!!" He screamed.

"I'm here Aer'andil!" Micraal said as he got up and dusted himself.

By some miracle they were all safe and in one piece.

"Ugh… where are we?" Lucas asked no one in particular.

"We are in the mountains of the Jokukar and it would seem we have fallen in the caves of sorrow or Anlos yni Hadar as the locals call them in their language, the mountains have their name from the history of Eri'Adar, the caves do as well… much death they have seen. At first they were used by the Jokukar, a nomadic people that lived on the mountains, then much later they were used by the soldiers of Eri'Adar to smuggle supplies during times of war." Merol said as they walked in the tight, dim lighted passages.

They slept for the night after they abandoned the effort to unblock the entrance; there must have been a few tons of rock debris above them. Lucas had "volunteered" to cut off the rocks with his enchanted blades but Merol had pointed out to him the danger of dislodging something big and getting them all killed.

Next morning they started walking again inside the cave system. A few hours later Aer'andil felt danger in the air and a few seconds later he heard a whooshing sound and he knew instantly what it was.

"Everyone duck!" He said and grabbed Lucas who was closer to him and dropped them both in the ground as an arrow passed inches from their faces and broke upon a rock.

Seconds later they were on them. Countless soldiers, all wearing dark hoods with crest of a pair of dragon wings and a dark sword between them on their torso.

Where one soldier fell another took his place. Aer'andil fired as many arrows as he could before the soldiers where on top of him and too close for arrows. He used the bow for defense and took out the dagger. The soldiers where fighting him but for some reason they made no real effort to kill him. He looked over at the others, Micraal and Lucas where side by side and killing as many as they could, and many others were at Merol's location, they however where no simple raiders, they knew when to attack, when to dodge and defend. Merol still killed them by the dozens and had received no worrying injury yet.

He tried to scream but a soldier landed a blow on the bow that sent him a few meters backwards and his back hit a rock. Behind him on his lefThe saw there was a path going out of the central larger cave they were in into a smaller one. He had no choice but to go there or risk injury by the dozen or so soldiers that were around him.

There was something wrong though… some of the soldiers were sort of… shimmering ever so slightly around the edges. He had no idea what that meant though and it was not observable at first, one had to either know what he was looking for or be very concentrated to see the ever so slight shimmer.

He entered the cave and killed one of the soldiers with a quick stabbing motion with his dagger at the soldier's ribcage.

The next second there was a sound behind him and he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head as something impacted it.

He fell on the ground with a yell. Then he felt someone put something around his neck.

The result was instant as a feeling of restriction surrounded all his senses and consciousness.

Then someone hit him in the back of his head and he fell unconscious.