The Rescue Of The Queen Page 19

  Per and Iona scrambled to their feet as the drum continued to boom in a steady beat. The gates of the barbican swung open and out of the deep gloom of the barbican's entrance came nine dwarves. The leading dwarf was old, clearly seen by his craggy face and snow-white beard. He was dressed in brown robes and carried a double-edged axe in front of him. Six dwarves followed behind him dressed in chainmail, who in turn were followed by Holina and another dwarf.

  Per was sure that the dwarf in front was a shaman or priest of some sort. The dwarf held the axe as if it were more of a symbol than a weapon. He had a salt and pepper beard, which was braided down the front and tucked into his belt.

  The old dwarf stopped in front of the bodies as the six dwarves behind him walked up to stand beside the bodies. Each pair of dwarves picked up a shield with the fallen family member on it. The priest turned around and led the six back inside the barbican.

  "My daughter says you saved her life, which is the only reason why I am talking to one such as you," said the dwarf standing beside Holina. "Personally, I think you'd look better minus two legs and a head."

  "Father!" admonished Holina. "Just listen to him. Per, tell him about Yayenski."

  "I'll tell him, but I'm sure most of it will go over his head," replied Per. "Maybe if he stood up on a box."

  "Per!" admonished Iona.

  "Alright, enough of the sweet talk," said the dwarf. "I'm Gola, son of Haddir, Steward of the Eastern Spine. Tell your story."

  Per told Gola of Queen Shara's abduction and how he had been trailing after her. He told him of Iona's involvement, how they got to Delta, and released her grandfather from his nocturnal hunting, and about Yayenski, the prophecy, and why he thought Yayenski was underground.

  "You've been busy," said Gola grudgingly. "I have to admit that something shook up the entire Underworld. The Eastern Spine caught the brunt of it. I'd like to know how he got all the evil races to cooperate together in such a short time. We had no warning whatsoever."

  "Maybe it was the effect of what he was trying to do," said Iona. "Whatever he is doing may have had a mass effect on the races because it needed that quota of blood or death."

  "Your words fill me with no comfort," said Gola gloomily. "You two had best come inside. King Ether should be arriving this afternoon with an army to bolster our defenses. He needs to hear this and he'll decide what to do. There'll be a feast, which you are invited to. Come."

  They followed Gola and Holina. Close up, Per could see scars new and old on the massive stone blocks of the barbican. Eight horses could have walked side by side through the wide width of the doorway and the keystone of the arch towered high above his head. Inside the barbican's entrance, his eyes adjusted to the dim light and he could now see the tunnel that led into the mountain. A smooth stone floor traveled back several hundred yards before branching off in numerous directions. Pictures of great dwarven battles in carved relief lined the walls. Two dwarves wearing chainmail and carrying axes were waiting for Gola just inside the doorway.

  "This is Horgli and Kalli," said Gola to Per as he headed down the tunnel. The two dwarves had fallen in behind. "They're your guards. I announced that you are not to be harmed, but there is always one stone-brained idiot who never heard the order. Also, if you cause us grief, they will kill you."

  "Always nice to know where you stand," muttered Iona in a stage whisper.

  "I find it prevents misunderstandings," replied Gola without turning around.

  Per pulled off his helmet and looked back over his shoulder. The scowls on Horgli and Kalli's face deepened when they saw his green hair and violet eyes. They tightened their grip on their axes, but they did not say a word. They did not have to.

  Gola led them around a bend and up a huge marble staircase. Light was reflected into the tunnel from airshafts and off large convex mirrors, illuminating their path.

  "This is your room. Please, do not leave it," warned Gola, stopping in front of a doorway. "The banquet will start after sundown, if the king arrives on time. I'll have someone come and get you."

  Gola and Holina nodded goodbye to Per and Iona before turning away. The room was a large bedroom with a sitting room and a large hearth. Sunlight streamed in through a window. Per took a quick look outside and snapped his head back in even faster. Vertigo from looking straight down one thousand feet distorted his vision. The image in his mind was one of a tall tower, half embedded into the side of the mountain. As Per's queasiness and dizziness diminished, he wondered how much of the original mountain was left after the dwarves had finished their construction.

  "Well, Per, do you think their king will help us?" asked Iona, flopping backward onto the bed. Per noted that the room furniture was human-size. The bed was large enough for both of them as long as he did not stretch out to his full height.

  "I don't know," he replied, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I guess we'll find out in a couple of hours. Nothing we can do, but wait until then."

  "Hmm, I wouldn't say there was nothing to do..." cooed Iona, arching one eyebrow.

  A little while later Iona was bent over a table, face-down, with her legs spread wide apart. Strands of cum stuck to her hair and white drops of semen dripped off her face. Standing behind her, grasping her hips, was Per. "Oh, Gods! Oh, Gods! Oh, Gods! Oh, Gods!" she chanted.

  His two and a half inch thick dick plunged relentlessly into her stretched vagina and Iona was on her way to her fourth orgasm. His eyes were tinted red with his lust fully in control of him. Iona had licked and fondled his twelve inch cock until he had spurted his thick, hot seed all over her face and tits. With her fingers vigorously rubbing her clit, she orgasmed as the same time as Per's first climax. She was always thrilled and amazed at the amount of cum he produced. His lustcraze had taken over and he had been pounding her pussy for the better part of an hour.

  Iona gasped for breath as her hands clutched the edges of the table. Her body glistened with sweat as her ass thrust backwards with each of Per's forward thrusts. His hands gripped her hips and, despite being overcome with lust, he never jammed more than eight inches of his cock into Iona's dripping slit. Her passion was spiraling upward uncontrollably and her body shook in anticipation of her imminent release. Her orgasms were getting bigger with each successive one.

  Hissing between clenched teeth, the sexual tension in Iona's body had drawn her muscles as tight as a bowstring. Per was snorting as he rapidly fucked his massive cock in and out of her steaming cunt. The table was rattling loudly from Iona's trembling and Per's increased pace. She felt her passion peak and screamed out loud as her orgasm overpowered her at the same time Per shoved his prick halfway into her and held it there. He shook as he gushed and spurted a torrent of hot cum deep into Iona's womb. Each spurt seemed to set off another wave of ecstatic pleasure inside Iona because her body quaked with each surge of thick liquid seed. She could not stop trembling as her strength gave out and she collapsed onto the table as Per filled her to overflowing.

  His lustcraze burned off by his climax, Per was gasping for breath as he leaned over Iona and rested his hands on the table. His thick prick was still wedged inside her, but he could feel his cum leaking out around the edges and dribbling down her legs. He inhaled deeply and pushed himself upright. "You okay?" he asked.

  "Wasted," moaned Iona blissfully, not even lifted her head up. "Pull out."

  Per slowly flexed his hips backwards and felt his cock slid out of the warm, wet cocoon of her vagina. He shivered as the cool air hit his penis. Iona moaned as her overfilled womb began leaking streams of sperm down her legs. She shivered as a mini-orgasm coursed through her.

  "We still have a little time left," said Per as he poured wine into a goblet. "How about a bath?"

  "You go ahead," murmured Iona, still collapsed upon the table. "I'm too weak to stand up just yet. Just make sure you leave me some hot water."

  Later, with both of them bathed and the sun sinking on the horizon, Per lit the candles in the room. He was wearing a g
reen tunic with dark brown pants. Iona was lounged on the sofa in a pale blue dress. He blew out the match when there was a knock on the door. Iona got up and opened it to find Holina standing there with Horgli and Kalli behind her.

  "My father has explained your mission to the king," said Holina as she entered the room. "You've been requested to present yourselves before him. Now, if you will please follow me."

  They walked behind Holina with their guards right behind them. Holina led them down several torch-lit hallways and staircases. It seemed that she was leading them downward into the very heart of the mountain. They finally came out onto a long hallway that stretched out of sight both to their left and right. Iona gasped at the sight because the hall was a full fifty feet wide and twice that in height. In front of them stood two immense wooden doors with six dwarves standing guard in front of them. The dwarves bowed to Holina and pulled open the doors.

  If Iona had been amazed before at the size of the corridor, she and Per were absolutely astounded at the chamber behind the doors. The word large was completely inadequate and huge did not even begin to cover it. Gargantuan was what sprang to his mind. Stone columns seemed to spring straight up from the floor to rise up to the dimly visible ceiling high above. Tables, chairs, and benches lined the floor and there was a raised dais in the center of the room. Dwarves of every age, sex and size were sitting at the tables and the noise was tremendous. Shaking his head to clear it, Per guessed that there had to be six to seven thousand dwarves in the chamber.

  Holina laughed at the expressions on both their faces. She then led the way down a stone staircase to the floor of the chamber. Per and Iona followed her and were soon walking towards the dais. As they passed tables, the noise decreased as dwarves fell silent to watch them with wary, guarded expressions.

  On the dais was a long table covered with a white linen cloth that draped over the sides to the floor. Per saw Gola sitting to the right of another dwarf. The dwarf beside him had snow-white hair and a beard that went down to his knees. A heavy gold crown encircled his brow and he was watching Per's approach with sharp eyes that missed nothing. Just before he got to the dais, another younger dwarf stumbled out in front of him. Per stopped short as the young dwarf swayed back and forth in front of him.

  "Shot is ish the one we havst to mind our manners for," slurred the dwarf drunkenly, waving a flagon of beer back and forth in front of him.

  "Jarla, sit down!" commanded Gola, half-rising out of his seat. "He's under my protection!"

  "Ohhh, shot is big lummox needs protection?" taunted Jarla. "Wha's if I doosh tis?"

  Jarla jerked his arm upward and the entire contents of his flagon splashed into Per's face. Iona and Holina screamed as they were caught in the splatter that came off his chest. Per shook the beer out of his eyes and spat out what had gone into his open mouth. The chamber was deathly quiet.

  "Wha's you dinks of that?" sneered Jarla leaning in towards Per.

  Per swung a roundhouse punch and his fist caught Jarla square on the chin. The dwarf seemed to snap up straight onto his toes and he completely spun around twice. He stopped and swayed back and forth a couple of times before his eyes rolled up in his head and he crashed down to the floor. Benches and chairs scrapped back as every dwarf in the place stood up.

  "Hold!" commanded the dwarf king in a booming voice. He then turned a steely gaze at Per. "Is there some reason why you struck one of our kinsmen who was too drunk to know any better?"

  Per licked the beer dripping off his mouth and smacked his lips appreciatively. "Unless you tell me differently, I did what any sensible dwarf would do to someone who wastes good beer, Your Majesty."

  Iona winched, sure that Per had just talked them into a nice stay in a dark, dank cell. She was startled when the king began laughing.

  "Actually, you were a little more restrained than a dwarf would have been," laughed the king. "Someone get that sack of shit out of my sight and cut off, oh, let's say, six inches from his beard." Kalli and Horgli came forward and dragged Jarla away. "Come! Have a seat up here. More beer! Beer should be worn on the inside, not the outside!"

  Per and Iona walked up to the top of the dais. A chair and a cushion were brought forth for them. Per sat on the cushion next to the king and found that their heads were at the same height. A large pewter stein full of beer and a platter of meat was placed in front of him. Iona declined the beer, taking a goblet of wine instead. Per took a swig of his beer and agreed with the king. The beer was much better on the inside. All the dwarves had sat back down and the banquet continued as if nothing had happened.

  "Gola told me about your mission and how this Yayenski might be behind our troubles," said the king, before taking a bite out of a chicken leg.

  "Yes, Your Majesty," replied Per. "The disruption caused by Yayenski has made it impossible to track him above ground. The deaths he has caused seems to have allowed his to obtain his goals. The only way I can get to him is underground."

  "We dwarves do not put much faith in prophecies and dislike magic, apart from our forging and runesmithing," said the king. "This disruption, as you put it, is far more wide spread than you know. Everything within one hundred miles of the crater was thrown into chaos. Old rivalries resurfaced. Races that were co-existing side by side are now at each other's throat. The army I brought here fought its way to the crater. It's a mile deep and went even deeper. The bottom caved in on itself and that way is no longer accessible. I think Yayenski is even deeper below the crater and closed the way after him."

  "So there's no way to get to him?" asked Per.

  "There may be," said the king, taking a swig of his beer. "I have an ancient map showing the way to a realm. The writing on the map says that the people of the realm offended a god. The god buried the land with earthquakes and volcanoes until the realm was no more. One pocket of that realm, about five miles in diameter, survived. I don't know how, but it was buried deep underground. The people who survived in the pocket fled the Underworld and made the map as they left. There are dire warnings on the map about disturbing what was in the pocket. By my best guess, it should be a cavern ten miles below the crater."

  "Yayenski must have heard about it and went there to obtain something that may have been left behind," mused Per.

  "My thoughts exactly," said the King. "The map is yours. My scribes are copying it even as we speak. We do not know what other disaster Yayenski may be courting if he is left alone. He must be stopped." King Ether sat back and sighed. "Enough of these gloomy thoughts - we're falling behind!"

  The king lifted his stein and proceeded to drink it all down in one gulp. Per followed suit and no sooner did he thump his empty mug on the table then Holina refilled it from a nearby pitcher. Per and Iona drank and ate and then drank some more. Musicians set up their instruments and played lively tunes to the approval of all. Per marveled that the music could be heard over the thousands of dwarves and throughout the entire hall.

  It was much later, after the king had finished his twentieth or thirtieth beer and was swaying in his seat, when Gola stood up and banged loudly on a gong. The chamber fell silent.

  "Per, Iona, it's time for us married folk to retire," said Gola as the king was being helped to his feet. "You two are free to stay or go as you see fit."

  Per looked over at Iona, who just shrugged. Her cheeks were flushed and she was smiling. He smiled back and turned to face Gola. "We'll stay if you don't mind," said Per.

  Gola nodded and took the arm of his wife. There was a tenseness in the air as the couple walked towards the double doors. All the other married dwarves were filing out through various exits. Per was not ready for the joyful shout that went up as soon as the doors closed.

  The musicians began playing again and it seemed that half of the remaining dwarves got up to dance. The other half was guzzling down beer, mead, or wine. The partying became more raucous and rowdy. Per was feeling no pain after a short while later when a young dwarf asked Iona to dance.

  She gu
lped down the rest of her wine and stepped off the dais. Per laughed as she joined in the crush of dwarves dancing on the floor. Iona cavorted as she danced to the heavy beat of the music. Per was not left to himself. Holina and other dwarven maids refilled his stein, talked to him about his life, and brought him platters of food.

  Time was passing in a blur when Per found himself alone at the dais. Holina had gone off to refill the pitcher with beer, and the other dwarven females and Iona were all out dancing on the floor. The banquet had become very boisterous. Per could not believe the amount of alcohol consumed by everyone. He looked out past the mob of dancers and was suddenly startled halfway sober.

  A female dwarf had climbed up onto a table and was lying down with her skirt raised up around her waist. A male dwarf had his pants down around his knees and was lying in between her legs, fucking her for all he was worth. Per looked around and saw hundreds of other couples, some threesomes and a couple of foursomes - all in various stages of erotic couplings.

  Per was just about to stand up and get Iona when a pair of hands reached out from underneath the table. The hands grasped him about the hips and pulled him back down to a sitting position. Per looked down and saw Holina's brown eyes staring back up at him from under the linen cloth.

  "Oh no, you don't," she said. "This is my one chance and I've been thinking about your cock ever since Iona told me about it. Now, scoot your hips under here." She began to tug at Per's pants to pull them down.

  Per's alcohol-dulled mind was slowly registering what he was seeing. The banquet was dissolving into one huge orgy. Iona was still dancing, sort of. She had her partner's head pressed into her cleavage and his hands firmly gripped her ass. She laughed as she slapped her tits back and forth into his face.

  Per gasped as he felt a hand travel up his thigh and over the shaft of his penis. "Torak's Beard!" cooed Holina as her hands continued to rub Per's cock through his pants.