Chapter 9
Town of the Dead
How could one describe what they had gone through in the past two days? Chaotic came to mind, but then again that was par for the coarse with them. At least they got out of there alive while at the same time their healer tended to the wounded as they flew through the sky starting with Elaina and her father. There wasn't much to heal in terms of them; the ones that really needed treatment were two men that got burned pretty badly in the conflict. They were lucky though; if Marwin wouldn't have grabbed them before leaving they both would have been nothing more than a pile of ash.
"How are they doing back there?" Marwin asked.
"Hard to say, their bodies are pretty badly burned, but maybe a night's rest under one of my healing barriers will do the trick he proposed."
"Whatever it takes to get them moving."
"Speaking of moving how much longer is it until we reach this town you were talking about?" asked Kyrak.
While losing all their stuff was a big step backwards flying was just a much faster way to travel; in fact it looked as if it would cut down their initial travel time by quite a bit.
"Judging by my map we should be getting close." he replied before rolling up his map.
"So an hour? Two hours?"
"I'm not sure but we've already passed two of the local villages that were on the way so we're getting there."
"Speaking of time it looks like someone's worn out." Sarion said as he grasped the horns of Wyven.
Of course he burnt himself out out after everything he'd done. Almost getting burned to a crisp, being forced to stay in a secluded space, and almost exploding anyone would be tired after all that. Of course it wasn't that pleasant for Elainawhen he drooling on the back of her outfit while snoring like a orc.
"Pst wake up." she said as she tried moving him off her back.
No response; all he did was lick his lips before falling back on her.
"Mmmm yes I would like a piece of that princess." he said in his sleep.
And that was the last straw as she pushed him on his back so he could finally lay down and stop drooling.
"Hey uh princess?" Kyrak called out.
"Yeah what is it?" she said, obviously cranky from lack of sleep.
"Watch out." he replied.
But it was too late for her sleeping friend's hands were already cupping both of her breasts; his fingers digging in as he felt them up.
"Ooooo more than a handful." he said with a chuckle.
There were no words for that only an elbow to the chest so that he would let her go, and even that didn't wake him up but instead caused him to fall on his back again.
"Sheesh, you've never been this heavy of a sleeper." she said to herself when suddenly a large gust of wind hit them.
Most were fine but as for their sleeping friend he found himself rolling off the side and off their mode of transport.
"Gods dang it." she cursed hersef before diving off the side.
"Wait sweetie!" her father called out.
But it was too late. How stupid was she to do something like that, and how was he still asleep through all this? She hadn't a clue as she cut through the air with him in her sight. As she approached him she also spotted the ground below as she reversed back. Quickly with one hand she reached out to grab him before using her other to form a stone platform under her as she held on tight to him. The platform didn't last for long though but it did help cushion her fall a bit as she landed feet first on the ground.
"Whew and he's safe...and still asleep." she said to herself as she looked down at him in her hand.
Fog began pouring in from all over as she looked around for a sign to tell her where they were, but it was so thick she could barely see anything in front of her.
"Where are we?"
All she could make out were a few lights in the distance, but that could have been the lights lining a road. As tempting as it was it wasn't right to leave until the others found them. As she stood there though a feeling of dread overcame her as she took a few steps forward. Yep something was definitely watching them as she got ready to sprint. Just before then she heard the voice of her father.
"There you are." he said as their rides touched down before returning to his regular size.
"It's okay day we're safe." she assured him before showing him their sleeping friend.
"Well that's good and all but you shouldn't have done that. You nearly gave your old man a heart attack." he said before hugging her.
"Dad we're built from tougher stuff plus he would just be a smear on the ground if I hadn't."
"Still don't worry me like that again okay?"
"Hey guys sorry to interrupt this whole moment and all but where are we?" asked Kyrak.
"I have no clue. There are some light over there if that's anything." she said before pointing towards them.
While they kept pondering the question their commander walked further in and it was pretty bad. Due to its thickness he could barely see what was in front of him, but after a couple of minutes he bumped into something hard. It took his eyes a minute to adjust but when he saw what it was a big smile spread over his face.
"Hey everyone we're here!" he called out to them.
As everyone surrounded him they saw it too in big bold letter "San Venganza" .
"Huh guess it was closer than I thought." Kyrak admitted.
"Right now it's nearly midnight so we should all head for the inn and get some rest. Am I clear?"
"Yes sir!" they sounded off before charging in.
While they went on ahead though both he and Sarion stayed behind to see off their new friends.
"So I take it we'll be parting ways here?" he asked.
"Yes we need to find a new place to settle down and think before we decide on what to do from there." answered Wyven.
"Think you'll be alright without us?" Tyron asked.
"Oh yeah you don't want to get mixed up with us anyways, but if you ever need some help just come to us in Amnearand we'll get you situated." replied Sarion.
"It's appreciated and good luck to you all." they said before kicking off the ground.
And just like that they were gone as they disappeared back into the sky.
"You know for fire-breathing monsters they were pretty hospitable." Sarion said.
"Surprisingly yeah." he replied as they entered the town.
With the others just up ahead the could finally take a breather and relax. As they caught up everyone stopped as the fog began receding. Not only that but all the lights in every home and shop started going out.
"Hm what's going on guys?" yawned Ether as he finally woke up.
"Oh the usual." she answered as she poked his chest.
"Oh really? That's nice." he said as she lowered him back down.
Though half away even he could something wasn't right as the moon's rays illuminated the streets. Everything was quiet as they began walking around in search of the inn. As they walked around the town square they began noticing a disturbing lack of life. Sure it was late at night but even so there were no lights on anywhere as a vile smell permeated the air.
"You smell that?" asked Kyrak.
"Yeah, smells of dead flesh and rotting meat." answered Ether.
"Hey guys what's that?" one of them asked as he pointed down the street to their right.
They looked like people who had gotten way too drunk at a tavern and were headed home, but there was something else different about them.
"So they all went for a drink?" asked Ether.
"No, take a closer look." Marwin answered as things went from weird to terrible.
"Hm? Wait a sec are those zombies?" he asked again.
"Looks that way." he replied as they ready for another fight.
Out of every creäture he'd seen in his life thus far nothing came close to making him throw up like they did. Their flesh had holes in it that exposed their muscles and bones while some of them had missing eyes or even missing heads all together, but one thing they had in common was their smell as foul mucus like substance dripped from their wounds.
"Hey if I throw up on your boots don't squish me?" he begged to Elaina.
"Same here." she said as her stomach churned.
Their undead friends weren't alone unfortunately as more and more poured in from every alley around as their ghostly groans and moans filled the air.
"Men form a circle and cover all lines of sight got it?" Marwin demanded.
Once bite that's all it would take to turn them, but fortunately they weren't known for their great intelligence more so lack there of. With easy targets like these this was merely a warm up for most of them as they charged their foe. While their blades sliced through their flesh both father and daughter took advantage of their size and instead kicked and stomped them into oblivion.
"Whoa hey ya got some on you." Ether said as he used the wind to blow them off her legs.
"Thanks for that." she said before kicking a few more to pieces.
With her size she was having no trouble, but there were a few that managed to sneak by and that's where he came in. While keeping an eye on her he also cut down any that was in his way. Blood flew everywhere as they massacred eradicated the horde with little to no trouble.
"Ugh I'm gonna need some new boots after this." she whined as the disgusting gunk covered them.
"Speak for yourself I'm gonna need a whole new outfit." he stated as he plunged his blade into one's skull.
Everyone else though was fine thanks to their armor, and not only that they acted like they were having fun as they mowed down corpse after corpse. Even Kyrak had some fun as he decapitated as many as he could while laughing his butt off at how easy it all was.
"Hahah come on more damn it!" he cried out.
"Uh sir there's none left." one pointed out.
He wasn't lying either; the alleyway wasn't spared from blood their enemy and the vile. The may had been terrible but at least they did what they were ment to do in the end. Meanwhile on the opposite side both Sarion and their commander kept at it until each one of them were dead again.
"This is the first time I've ever seen them attack in packs like this." Marwin mentioned as he squished one's head.
"Oh? Hard to say I've never encountered any myself." his kind replied as he stomped a group of them into paste.
"Well the more you know sir." he replied before finishing off the last few.
It mattered not if they stunk to high heavens because in the end they all did their duty and did it well as they all returned to the town square to meet. Almost all reeked in the gut wrenching blood and mucus but they knew things could have gone a lot worse as they settled down around the fountain.
"So who feels liking jumping in the ocean say I." Ether suggested as he tried holding his nose.
"Lets just find a cleaners." Marwin told him.
"Eh whatever works to get this gunk off."
Before they could even take a step towards cleaning off they heard the noise of doors opening as people started coming out of their homes and businesses; all of who looked really happy with what they did.
"Hello all you needn't fear the undead any longer for they have been slain." Marwin told them all.
Just by looking at their faces they could tell that they were very grateful for what they had done as their chief stepped forward; a rather portly man who wore a sleeveless top and shorts.
"Thank you all for coming when you did." he said before bowing to them as well.
"It's nothing, just all in a days work." Kyrak replied.
"Please allow us to shelter you for the night. You may rest at our inn if that suites you."
"That would be nice, thank you." Marwin said.
"Then please follow me." he said as the crowd dispersed.
Why not? They were all extremely tired and needed their beauty sleep before the next day, but as they walked through the streets something struck them as odd. Most looked kind of depressed and lifeless as they walked down the streets. It certainly seemed odd but maybe they were just as tired as they were.
"So where are you guys headed." he asked.
"Far away, we're kind of on an important quest you see and we need to stock up on some supplies before we leave uh..."
"Oh sorry I didn't tell you my name huh? It's Timly, but everyone just calls me Tim."
"Well Tim thanks for all of this, but I don't remember you being the chief last time I passed through."
"Oh well a few weeks ago the old chief fell ill and unfortunately his body just couldn't take it."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Yeah but he's in a better place now; away from all this pain."
"I'm sure his spirit rests easy now." Sarion said as he stepped to the front.
"Oh your majesty I didn't see you there."
"Not use to seeing me this small huh?" he replied with a smirk.
"No sir but you still look good after what has it been? Over three hundred years?"
"Three hundred and thirty-seven actually."
"And you don't look a day over twenty-five." Tim replied with a chuckle.
"Well that's pretty common nowadays am I right?"
"True, very true."
With all their small talk they almost forgot about their destination until they came to a dead stop in front of a large five-story building.
"And here we are. Just throw that armor of yours to the side and we'll get them all washed up for you."
"Ah sounds good to me." replied Kyrak as he pulled off every little piece from his body with everyone else soon to follow.
"Good, have a good night everyone." he said before waving goodbye.
With all that off their body they could finally stretch their bones as a waggon pulled up to lead them all in. In the mean time Sarion approached the front desk with a small bag silver coins.
"Oh your majesty I didn't know you would be stopping by today." the girl said nervously when she saw him.
"Well we just need a place to stay for the night. I hope there's enough room for us all." he asked before setting the bag on her counter.
"Of course! Right this way." she said before stepping out.
Looking around it looked really nice and the atmosphere was just perfect as they walked down the hall. Numerous paintings covered the walls that depicted different events throughout history along with decor that made the place even brighter. They couldn't look around for too long though as she stopped them at the first door.
"I'm afraid there's not enough room for each person but you could pair up for each. You know two in one room? We could squeeze you in that way."
"Of course right men?" asked Marwin.
"Uh sure..." was all they could say to that.
This was gonna get awkward quickly.
"Good now these rooms work a bit differently from what you're probably used to."
"What do you mean?" asked Kyrak.
"See this dial? Well we had one of our locals enchant each room and it's all connected to this. Simply turn the dial to say Sea People and you'll have this." she said as she turned it before unlocking the door.
What they saw astounded them. From what they could see it was still a room but underwater before she changed it back to its normal setting.
"Pretty nifty." said Ether.
"Excuse me but you wouldn't happen to have a Giant setting would you?"
"Of course, there are settings for almost every race out there." she said with a smile.
"You're probably more tired than all of us sweeie so why don't you take this room." her father suggested.
"Really?"
"But remember two to a room." she reminded them.
"Then I'll go in with her." Ether told her.
"Why you? I say we should be the ones to do it." Kyrak demanded.
"Now now it's only for the night." Sarion said as he pulled him back.
"Fine..." he grumbled.
"Then in that case here's your key." she said before handing it to her.
"Thank you." she said as she returned the smile.
Finally she could sleep in a real bed she thought as she changed the setting before stepping in. Once they were in she couldn't help but stare at how everything was so much bigger than them. She felt more like an insect that a person as he closed the door behind them. Was this how he saw things every time he snuck into her room? Her train of thought shattered however when she heard him gagging.
"I'll be right back." he said before taking off towards the bathroom.
"Uh Ether?" she said, having realized he forgot how big everything was.
"...Could you help me?" he asked of her since he couldn't reach the doorknob.
"Heh you really forgot that quickly?" she asked as a little giggle escaped her mouth before she returned to full size.
He didn't even answer as she opened the door. Lucky for him though his hook shot still worked after all that they had been through. Once he was up on the counter by the sink he closed off the drain before turning the knob with both hands. It couldn't be too hot or cold but instead just right before he would strip and jump in.
"Oh yeah that's the stuff. Ooooo work daddy..." he sighed as he relaxed.
As he sank in he could feel all the dirt and grim falling off as the putrid smell began fading away. Oh how he missed a warm bath and bed even if it had only been a few days and his pleasure only screw as he sunk deeper in the water. As for her she was just happy to have a bed as she kicked her boots off before jumping on it. The softness helped relax her muscles as she let out a deep sigh of satisfaction.
"Mmmm so good." she sighed as she turned on her side.
It wasn't until she looked at the bathroom door that it hit her, they would both be sharing the same bed. It hadn't even hit her when she agreed to let him stay but she couldn't just kick him out. Then again even if he was a bit of a perv he never did anything disgusting or unforgivable. Sure a few grabs here and there but that was really it. Still it almost made her blush at the thought of them sleeping together.
"Oh...get it together girl you've both slept together before, it's no big deal. Yeah and tomorrow we'll be up and out of here." she told herself as the redness began fading around her cheeks.
But while looking at the crack in the door her curiosity began rising. Was he rubbing off on her or was she just as perverted as he she thought. Maybe her body was trying to tell her she was an adult and there was no shame in taking a little peek. All this time her heart picked up the pace as she took a deep breath.
"One little peek won't hurt right? Yeah after all he's done it multiple times." she said to herself as she got up from her bed.
Plus she'd seen him naked before a few days ago and even though she turned away from embarrassment she'd barely gotten a glimpse of him. As she tiptoed closer to the crack she took a deep breath to quiet her heart before leaning in. All she could hear was him humming as he stood up to grab the small cloth from his bag. It wasn't until he turned to dry his back off that his raw form revealed itself.
"Oh..." was all that came out of her mouth as the steam cleared.
It was wrong, she knew it was wrong, but she continued with it anyways as she looked over his small form. Those abs looked so well toned and though she couldn't tell when he wore his shirt and vest his arms were pretty tight as well. Clearly he took really good care of his body and those training lessons only strengthened his appearance all the more.
"No this is wrong I shouldn't do this! But...no I mustn't." she thought loudly as she leaned on the door.
Big mistake for as soon as she pushed in on it the door swung open as she fell to the floor with a loud thud.
"Are you alright?" she heard him ask as she looked up.
"Yeah I think so." she groaned before pushing herself up.
Lucky her he wasn't completely naked since he brought along a spare shirt and a fresh pair of underwear just in case.
"Say were you peeking in on me?" he asked.
"Tsk no, why would I do that?" she asked as she turned her head in disgust.
"I don't know maybe I'm just rubbing off on you or something. But hey if you want another peek I've got no problem with that whoa hey." he told her as she tried pinning him to the ground with the bottom of her foot.
"It was nothing okay? Now get out I need take my bath please."
"Alright sheesh."
It wasn't that he liked teasing to just screw with her but rather just to have a bit of fun between them. Oh well at least he was she didn't step on him he thought as he zipped on up to the bed before tossing himself on the huge pillow. As he relaxed on the pillow he couldn't help but think about the coming days and what danger they'd he facing, but no matter what happened he'd be there for her and he was sure she'd do the same.
"I'll always be there for you princess, count on it." he whispered, unaware that she was listening through the door as before settling into her bath.
"Maybe I should a little more gentle with him. Nah he loves it and he knows it." she told herself as she cracked a big smile.
Though he was much smaller than herself his heart was probably twice as big when it came to her and the people. While her mind was on the subject she began scrubbing herself real good to get all the dirt and sweat off of her before dumping a pail of water over herself. With that out of the way she moved on to her hair as she gave it a good scrubbing too.
"Ahhhhh that's better." she sighed before stepping out.
As she grabbed a towel from the rack she noticed a sign next to the door that told her there were spare night-clothes for those who needed them in the closer next to the bathtub, and sure enough there was. All were pretty reasonable from normal night gowns to the regular shirt and pants, and even some lingerie, but instead she went with the night robe even if it was a bit tight. At least she wouldn't burn up in it.
"Ah ready to hit they hay?" she asked as she walked back in.
But as it turned out he was already fast asleep before she even finished her bath. With a little giggle at the sight she turned the lights off before sliding on the other side. Even she was pretty tired as her eyes closed shut as both dreamed of a better tomorrow.