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  Alana’s breath was coming faster and faster. Per could sense her impending orgasm and kept thrusting his fingers rhythmically in and out of her hot pussy. Her body began to tense and quiver. With an arching of her back, Alana cried out at her overpowering climax. Her orgasm seemed to last forever as her body shook to its very core.

  Eventually her quivering lessened and her body relaxed as her orgasm subsided. Overcome by the intensity of her induced passion, Alana fainted and flopped over listlessly on the back of the horse. Only Per’s hand on her back kept her from sliding off and onto the ground. Per gently lifted Alana off the horse and cradled her in his arms.

  “Let’s get her to bed,” whispered Octavia gently. “She should be fine when she wakes up.”

  Together they put Alana to sleep and helped a still groggy Pawl back to his tent. With everyone else asleep, they sat down at the fire to start to divide up the shares.

  “It's quiet,” commented Octavia on the general condition of the camp.

  “Too quiet,” replied Per, “and with a number of us hurt, too. How do you feel?”

  “Embarrassed and angry at what the dragon did to me and Alana.”

  “I know, but it’s dead and can’t hurt you anymore. How are you physically?”

  “Sore and achy all over,” Octavia said with a slight smile. “I trained all my life to be self-reliant and self-sufficient. It is... was... unnerving to lose control that way. Thank you for coming to rescue us. I'm glad Karlto and I took up with you. I was taught strategy and tactics, but you have an inate leadership ability.”

  “Thank you and you’re welcome,” said Per. “Do you know where the nearest town is? We need to get there to rest and recuperate.”

  “The nearest one is Tectin. It’s about eight or nine days north of us,” said Octavia.

  “We’ll head for Tectin,” said Per. After a moment, he added, “Eight or nine days? It may just take us that long to sort out this treasure!”

  Chapter 11: The Temple Of Adelpha

  It was a full week and a half before they saw the town of Tectin but the group was still feeling the effects of their fight with the white dragon. Karlto's chest still hurt, Octavia was battered and bruised all over, Pawl had some lingering chill from the dragon's breath, and Per's arm was healing slowly. Yet, despite all their bumps and bruises, it was Alana that worried Per the most.

  She had become withdrawn and reflective, no longer participating as a full member of their company. She stood her turn at guard and did her chores, but seemed to set herself apart from everyone else. Per and the others had tried to get her join in to their camaraderie, but nothing, not even her share of the dragon's hoard, could snap her out of her melancholia. Now, within sight of the town, Per was determined to find out what was wrong.

  Angling his warhorse over towards Alana's pony, hetrotted up beside her. "Alright, Alana," he said, looking down at her. "What's wrong? Forgive me for being blunt, but I'm just a dumb half-ogre."

  Alana snorted in amusement and smiled.

  "Nothing's wrong," she said. "I've been... preoccupied. I've been trying to decide where my future lies. Twice I've been turned into a mindless, sex-crazed zombie. I've blown every guy in the party and fucked two of them senseless. You... um.. saved me both times, but I'm frightened that one day you'll try to stuff that monster between your legs inside me. I've been thinking that maybe I need to get off this mad ride and back to the normalcy of larceny, burglary, and outright theft."

  "Your share is quite a bit of money," Per told her. "You don't have to go back to your old life."

  Alana burst out laughing. "My old life?" she laughed. "Shades! With my share, I can move up and pluck richer and more lucrative pigeons. Per, trust me. I think this is for the best."

  "Trust you? A thief?" mocked Per.

  Alana gave him the biggest, sweetest, fakest smile she could manage.

  "No! No! No! No! No!" Per chided her. "Not like that! Like this," and Per grinned at her wickedly, curling his lips back to display his over-large incisors.

  "Ugh!" grunted Alana. "You'll never get anything with that smile."

  "Oh, I don't know," said Per loftily. "I've gotten out of fights and arguments with that smile. I believe a couple of merchants have even paid me not to smile at their customers."

  Alana laughed again and said, "I'd pay you not to smile at me like that. Let's head for town, I'm not leaving you just yet."

  The group headed into Tectin, an expanding town whose economy was based on agricultural trade with the city of Cific. Recent growth spurts meant that new architecture clashed with the old and new people and ways coming into town were at odds with the old established pattern. In short, everything was in flux and tempers seemed to be short.

  Per had not anticipated that it would be so crowded. It took them three tries to find an adequate inn that could accommodate them all. As it was, they had taken the last rooms in the place.

  "What's going on here?" Per asked the innkeeper. "Is it normally this crowded or is there some special occasion?"

  "It's our fall festival to the Goddess Adelpha, big fella," cackled the old innkeeper. "It was at this time many, many years ago that she helped our forefathers create this town. Her temple is the biggest in town. Smack dab in the center of town. Beautiful place."

  "Sounds like a place to see," said Per.

  "See it from a distance," warned the innkeeper. "Them priestesses have become mighty haughty. A group of rowdies offered them insult and injury about six months ago. That head priestess, she just had them blasted out of existence! Right in front of everybody! Ever since then they've been acting real proud - taking advantage of people. Nobody‘d say ‘boo' to them. Not with the burnt holes still in front of the temple where those rowdies had been standing."

  "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," said Per.

  After they had settled in and gotten their horses squared away, Per and the others decided to head out and explore the town. Octavia, Pawl, and Alana headed towards the markets to replenish their supplies, whilst Per and Karlto went out to find an armorer. The suit of armor they had recovered in the dragon's lair was Karlto's size, but he needed to have the buckles adjusted. Per wanted to use some of his newfound wealth to have armor made for him from platemail, or even fieldplate. Per knew that, because of his size, the cost was going to be hideously expensive.

  The first blacksmith offered them a ridiculous price to buy the suit of armor. Per sword's steely rasp as it cleared its sheath made the man retract his offer and mumble apologies, while ushering them quickly out of his forge. The next blacksmith told them that he could not do the work, but did direct them to a man that could help them. The third man was a true armorer; no hasps or household items adorned his walls, only armor, shields, and weapons of war.

  "Exceptional quality," he commented as he had Karlto try on the armor. "The adjustments shouldn't take more than a few hours. Twenty inanes or forty systols. Payment in advance." The armorer turned to Per. "What can I do for you?"

  "I'm not familiar with your currency," stated Per, holding out some coins. "What's an inane and a systol?"

  The armorer grunted as he looked at the coins. "I haven't seen anything like this since that crazy mercenary came into town blabbering about a castle on a crag."

  "Castle on a crag?" asked Karlto.

  "Yeah, some big haunted castle built on a crag. Sheer cliffs all around. Said it was loaded with treasure. He left here to go back and several fools followed after him since then. No one has come back."

  "I say! Did he say where it was?" asked Karlto, excitedly.

  The armorer gave him a flat stare. "Due east about a month on horseback," he told Karlto. "You'll hit a river. Follow it south until you hit a gorge. Go into the gorge. It's a couple of days south of there in the gorge. Can't miss it."

  The armorer looked at Per. "Go see Isak, the money changer. He's across the square. He'll change this money for you at a fair rate."

  "I'm also looking for a suit of f
ieldplate or platemail, depending on what I can afford," said Per.

  "Part ogre, aren't you?" asked the armorer. "It's those violet eyes. Bet you have hair with a greenish tint, that's why you've kept your hat on. Ran into a couple of ogres in my younger days - barely escaped, but that's no matter. Water under the bridge now. Let's get you measured and, by the time you get back from Isak, I'll have a price for you. It's going to be expensive, though, given your size."

  "Given my size, everything is expensive," retorted Per with a chuckle.

  After getting measured, Per headed over across the town square towards the moneychanger's shop. He stopped in the center of the square to look at the Temple of Adelpha. It was a tall graceful building topped with a white dome, tall stone columns supporting the roof all the way around and stone steps, flanked by platforms, leading up to the huge front doors.

  Several people were crossing the square and Per noticed that they were all walking purposefully around an area in front of the building. Stepping closer, he saw that the area had eight large holes gouged into the paving stones. Each hole was about two feet across, a foot deep, and badly scorched. Per looked up at the entrance and was surprised to see four women on platforms, who had not been there before, looking down at him. They were dressed in white gowns with golden belts and they were all beautiful. Per remembered the warning from the innkeeper, so turned quickly and headed off to Isak's. He looked back as he walked away and saw that the women were still staring after him.

  Inside Isak's, Per exchanged enough currency to cover Karlto's alterations and the group's everyday needs. He learned that the inane was worth only slightly more than his kingdom's golden sauer. Per left the moneylender and crossed back over the square to Karlto and the armorer. He glanced once sideways at the temple, but the four women had left the platforms.

  "Any problems, old chap?" asked Karlto as Per entered the forge.

  "No, stopped to look at the temple," answered Per. "I saw the priestesses. There's four of them, aren't there? They were looking at me from the platforms besides the steps."

  "Yup," replied the armorer. "Did you hear about the gang that went up against them six months ago?" Per nodded his head. "Then you know about the holes in the pavement. They've become arrogant since then. One had commissioned a mace from me. When she came to pick it up, she fully expected me to give it to her as a gift!"

  "What happened?" asked Per.

  The armorer reached under a shelf and pulled out an oak box, which he turned towards Per and Karlto. Inside the box, a mace rested on black velvet. The work was extraordinary. Silver and steel spiraled around each other on the haft and each flange on the head of the mace was inlaid with a spiraling silver design.

  "It's beautiful," admired Per.

  "I say, I could use a mace like that," said Karlto. "Would you be willing to sell it to me?"

  "No," said the armorer, closing the box and putting it away. "It's a small thing, but it has become a matter of principle and an act of defiance to deny it to her each time she come in here to demand it."

  "Good luck with that," said Per. "Now, what about my armor?"

  "It'll have to be built from scratch," said the armorer. "That means six months. Longer, if you want a new shield to match."

  "Nope, I'll keep this one," answered Per, hefting the magical shield they had recovered from the dragon's lair.

  "Looks to be a good shield," commented the armorer. "Six months. Now for the bad news. Fieldplate is 2,000 inanes. The platemail is less, only 600 inanes. I'll need you during the last month for fittings."

  Per blew out his breath. "I'll have to go with the platemail," he said. "Unless you'll take half now and half when I return."

  "With your friend all set to go to the castle on the crag?" asked the armorer, with only a little sarcasm. "Afraid not. Armor your size would be impossible to resell. I'll need the full amount."

  "Oh, balderdash!" exclaimed Karlto. "Order the damned fieldplate, Per. I'll go good for what you're short, chap."

  "You sure?" asked Per.

  "Of course," stated Karlto. "Besides, you in fieldplate on top of that monstrosity you call a horse charging down on anyone, should give them serious doubts as to their immortality."

  "It's a deal, then," said Per, clasping the armorer's hand, sealing the contract. "Let's head back to the inn and then over to Isak's to give him some more business."

  "Not so fast," said the armorer. "I need him here to fit the buckles."

  "Stay here," Per told Karlto. "I'll go back to the inn and get the others to help me. I'll be back as soon as we've exchanged the money."

  He left the armorer's and headed back towards the inn, but he had not gone farther than two blocks when he found the road blocked by two freight wagons and a herd of sheep all trying to get around one another. He slipped down a side streetand up an alley to get around the roadblock. Halfway up the alley, a warning bell went off in Per's head as a backdoor opened in front of him and two of Adelpha's priestesses walked out. He looked backwards to see that the other two priestesses had come out of another building to block any retreat he might have made.

  "Ladies, I don't know what you want, but I'm telling you to stand clear," he warned them, drawing his sword.

  One priestess took a step forward. She was a little over medium height with a well-built body. Her long, blond hair was done up in two braids that hung down past her hips. She wore the same white gown and girdle as the others, but she also had a gold circlet on her head.

  "We want you," she said as she threw a small bag at Per.

  Per dodged the bag she threw, but was hit by the bags thrown by the other three priestesses. His dodge made no difference; all the bags burst open and enshrouded him in billowing, white smoke. He involuntarily inhaled before clamping a hand over his nose and mouth. All of a sudden, his mind started reeling and he could not focus his eyes. He was dimly aware of his sword clanging on the paving stones as he dropped it. Swaying, Per took a step towards the head priestess before his eyes rolled back in his head and he followed his sword to the ground.

  He awoke in unfamiliar surroundings. His mind was still groggy, but he managed to focus his eyes on the vaulted ceiling high above him. The sky behind the stained glass windows was dark, and he realized he must have been out for hours. Per tried to sit up, but found he had been tied down. Raising his head, he saw that he had been tied down naked by his ankles and wrists to a huge bed in the center of an amphitheater. Wooden benches on tiers formed a half-circle around the area, which was lit by dozens of candles. Three closed double doors could be seen behind the top row of benches. As if on cue, the center doors swung open and the four priestesses entered, walking down the central set of stairs.

  "Welcome, Per," said the head priestess as the four of them approached the bed. "We have been expecting you."

  "Why don't you kill me now and get it over with," snarled Per.

  "Kill you?" laughed the head priestess, her blue eyes staring intently into his violet ones. "We have no intention of killing you. Adelpha, may her name of love be ever praised, told us of your arrival. You will become one of our sexual slaves here in the temple. I am High Priestess Ivin. This is Priestess Calla, Priestess Andie and Priestess Dorna. Do you like our altar?"

  Per looked at the priestesses as his mind absorbed the high priestess's words. Ivin was in her mid-thirties, a decade older than the others. Shewas taller than the rest, about five feet, ten inches tall. Calla was another blonde and her green eyes where riveted on Per's cock. Though shorter than Ivin, her gown could not hide the impressive curves of her breasts and hips. Andie was licking her lips. Her brown hair fell straight down to her waist and she made no attempt to hide the lust in her deep brown eyes as her hard nipples pressed against the fabric of her gown. Dorna was the shortest of the four, barely over five feet tall. Her light brown hair was cut short and she had a slim body compared to the others. Even so, Per could see the desire in her eyes and her nipples were also clearly visible through her gow
n.

  Per shook his head to clear it of the erotic but disturbing sight of the four. "Release me," he demanded, pulling against the cords binding him.

  Ivin reached into her belt pouch and then leaned over him. Her fingers touched under his nose and, as he inhaled, Per caught an acidic smell before his mind went fuzzy.

  "Relax, Per," Ivin told him. Her voice seemed to reverberate and come from a great distance. Time moved strangely and Per was vaguely aware that she had shed her gown, as had the other three priestesses. "The Goddess of Love sent you to us. In time, you will want no other life."

  He inhaled sharply as Calla and Dorna reached together to grasp his cock. His skin felt super-sensitive and his prick quickly became rock-hard under their caresses. Andie leaned over to suckle and lick his nipples, heightening Per's drug-induced pleasure. Ivin moved around so she was standing at Per's feet.

  "Divine Adelpha," intoned Ivin, raising her hands upwards. "You taught us limitless pleasure and unbound delight. May our ritual find joy in your sight."

  Ivin looked down to where Calla and Dorna were pumping Per's twelve-inch long cock. The tip was shiny from the pre-cum oozing out of it. Andie had climbed up on the bed-altar to lick and caress Per's chest, whilst Ivin licked her lips deliciously and climbed up on her hands and knees between his legs. She rested her hands on Per's hips and poised her head above his hard cock. Calla and Dorna held his prick straight up and Ivin's head snapped down. Per almost came as the tip of his cock was suddenly engulfed in her wet, hot mouth. She moaned and slurped as her head bobbed up and down on his prick. Her tongue swirled around and around the tip, licking up the pre-cum that oozed out.

  Per was shaking from Ivin's tongue-lashing when Andie rose up and straddled his head. She pushed her well-rounded ass down on his face and her wet pussy plastering itself against his mouth. Per inhaled her musky aroma and licked her cunt, causing Andie to sigh and twist her fingers into his green hair to keep his head tight against her pussy.