Sitting on his horse, Sir Daniel looked at the crudely drawn map resting on top of the front pommel of the saddle, confused.

He glanced away from it, towards the battered, sunburnt highlands, trying to find some kind of reference point in between the jagged rocks and thorny brambles that stood all around them.  The orcish territories were certainly not the best place to get lost. They were yet to encounter a marauding party, but the risk was always there, and he couldn’t help but feel nervous.

“So, Milord, have you got any clue on where we shall proceed?” asked Sir Gregory, raising an eyebrow, an unamused expression on his wrinkled face. Daniel was still not completely on board with having the older knight with them. He knew that his mother had insisted on making Sir Gregory part of the retinue, but he didn’t need a babysitter. Still, he appreciated the veteran, he remembered his training with him somewhat fondly, and he knew that the respect that the nobles had for him would help keep the other knights in check, something that Daniel struggled to do.

“I don’t know….According to the reports, that…” he said, pointing at the path that snaked around the rocky cliffs “…should be the fastest way out of the highlands and to the Estilvarian border.”

He cursed silently. Having a real guide would make crossing this wasteland so much easier, but whomever they tried to approach in the half-orcish town at the foot of these hills had fled in terror at the sight of their heraldry. Yet again, he thought, his father’s actions put a stick on his wheels.  As if being pulled out of the Academy wasn’t enough.

The only townsfolk that they managed to recruit, the one who had given them the map he was holding, was little more than a child, and he seriously doubted now that he knew these lands as well as he had initially claimed.

As he tried to make some sense of the drawings on the parchment, he noticed at the corner a small, greenish figure, that was slowly approaching him and Sir Gregory.

Well, speak of the devil.

“Ehhhm…so-sorry to bother you, Milord,” Said Mizar, a concerned expression in his brown eyes.

Sir Daniel raised his nose from the map and looked down at the half-orc teen.

“Don’t worry Mizar.” He sighed “What is it?”

“Are we sure we want to cross those cliffs there? ” he said, pointing at the ridge they were facing, stroking his left arm with his right hand, his eyes darting around.

“Are you scared?” asked Daniel.

“Of course not!” answered the teen, more to convince himself than anything, “It’s just that I never ventured this far into the Greying Highlands, and I-I have a bad feeling about this.”

“We are following the map you and your friend drew for us. You said you knew this area pretty well…” he added, leaning on his side, staring.

“Right, of course” stated Mizar, “and I do…it’s just that…I don’t understand why we are going so deep inside orcish territory. It could be dangerous.”

“It’s a long story.” sighed the noble.

“Well, we have time until you figure out if we are going on the right way,” said Sir Andrew, who had made his way towards the trio in the meantime. The black-haired knight dismounted from his horse, moving towards their teenage guide, who, as was often the case for half-orcs, was already nearing his height, despite being thirteen at max.

“You see” reprised the knight, putting an arm on the kid’s shoulder “We are not interested in their territory, more than getting beyond that, towards the border with Estilvar. There, our quest awaits.”

“What quest?”

“To save a princess from a terrible curse.” Answered Sir Andrew, seeing the eyes of Mizar widening. “Do you know the story of Princess Lysanne?”

The young orc shook his head.

“She was a beautiful princess, the daughter of the king and queen of the Kingdom of Estilvar, but at the age of eight, she had fallen to a terrible curse, that nobody could dispel. Only the kiss of an intrepid, pure-of-heart knight could save their daughter. Desperate, the monarch sent his daughter away, to the most remote region of their domain, surrounded by high mountains.”
 

“I remember it now,” said the orc “I heard the story once from a bard in the tavern, he said that she is locked inside the tower of an ancient castle, guarded by the biggest dragon that ever lived. I always thought it was a fairytale, the bunch of crap that storytellers go around telling for coin.”

“I thought the same” commented Sir Daniel, eyeing the boy “until I came across a strange book, a diary of sorts, that told that exact story. Also, whoever wrote it had apparently taken part in an expedition in those lands, battling against the fierce inhabitants of that area, trolls, giants, and griffins, before his hunting party reached the castle, where they were scattered by the huge red dragon that lived inside. So, there is some truth to that fairytale.”

“Also” added Sir Gregory “there have been some sightings of a gigantic red dragon, that seem to match the description, in this area.”

As the older knight ended his sentence,  they all saw the half-orc becoming pale as a ghost, gulping audibly.

“S-so…it’s all true?” he asked, his voice trembling “ ...the curse, the princess, the…” he stopped for a moment “The dragon?  And you want to go kill it and rescue the princess?”

“That’s the plan” answered Sir Andrew, smiling and winking at Sir Daniel.

He smiled back. Sometimes he wished to have the natural charm and the way with people that his friend had.

As he calmed down a little, Mizar felt a heavy pat on his shoulder, that almost made him fall off his feet “So what they say about half-orcs isn’t true. You are smarter than you look!” Sir Bernard continued, remarking on his statement by hitting the boy with a light punch on the pectorals, “Don’t worry, kid, those knights Sir Daniel mentioned were certainly scrub, mercenaries, and other riffraff. That dragon wouldn’t last a minute in single combat with the best knight of Atheran” he added, hitting his breastplate with his fist.

“Sure” added Sir Daniel, rolling his eyes. “To be honest, at the moment we are just looking for information. That’s why we are here, the dragon has been sighted in orc territory, they must know something. Also, we have enlisted the help of the best monster hunter in the kingdom.”

“You are too kind, Milord,”  said a rider in the back, his horse slowly coming towards them, revealing the figure of an older man. “But correct, that is our objective. Preparing is half of the battle, especially for creatures as vicious and dangerous as those.” added Sir Roger, adjusting his long, greying hair.

“Okay, that makes sense,” said the half-orc guide “Why there are so few of you though? Wouldn’t make sense to travel with some more soldiers?”

“Well, a smaller party moves faster” answered Sir Daniel. “When we will get to Estilvar, we will enlist the help of some mercenaries.”

Truth be told, he didn’t want to enrage the orcs by marching an army right inside their territory. He was sure that many tribes remembered what had happened in the aftermath of Vogrok’s invasion. With a small group, he could at least try the diplomatic approach, hoping that it would go better than it did before.

“Anyways kiddo, can you help me make sense of whatever is drawn here?”

As they consulted the map, they heard a low, guttural sound coming from their left, immediately followed by other, similar sounds, coming from all over them, sounds that he recognized as warcries. As he instinctively went to grab his sword, Daniel saw large, green figures emerging from the nearby bushes and boulders, dressed in animal hide and leather, with spears, axes, and maces in their arms. Orcs. They had taken advantage of the knight’s little chat to snuck up on them.

He glanced around, as his companions readied themselves for the battle. There were at least two dozen of them, probably more, and they were slowly surrounding them. They weren’t charging yet, but the way they were wielding those crude weapons left few doubts about their intentions.

He glared at Sir Geralt for failing to keep watch, making sure that the orcs would see him  lowering his blade, before shouting to the assailants, his hands in the air “Please, we are not looking for a fight.”

Sadly, it had little effect, and he watched horrified as a javelin darted towards them, hitting Mizar squarely in the thigh, making him fall on his knees as the orcs started charging towards them. He stood there, dumbfounded for a moment, as Sir Gregory rode in the front, addressing the other knights “Brace yourselves, men. Do not let their number intimidate you!”

Daniel sighed, muttering a couple of arcane words as the gem at the center of his left gauntlet started glowing a yellowish light. Looks like diplomacy was off the table.

As the mass of men barreled towards them, rolling down the ridges and cliffs like boulders, arrows starting to fly towards the cavaliers, he heard a deep voice shouting in a language that he recognized as orcish. He couldn’t speak it, but he could still gather what It was from the harshness of the tone. As they heard the order,  the orc warriors stopped in their tracks, lowering their weapons, their eyes fixated on the knights.

From the back of the green skins’ line emerged a figure.
A towering mass of a man, standing around 7 feet and a half tall, and as wide as Daniel’s wardrobe back home.  As he came into view, the young noble started to see his features: Almost completely bald, with a long, bushy black beard dressed in a single braid;  piercing brown eyes above a small, triangular nose. A thick scar crossed his square jaw from the base of the neck up to his lower lip, from which two large, pointy tusks protruded.  

He calmed down; He knew that face, even if he was a little worse for wear than the last time he had seen him.

The young noble watched as Kendar moved forward, effortlessly pushing the other, significantly shorter orcs, aside, stopping a little way beside his steed.

“My explorer had told me that a small group of knights from Antheran were making their way upon these lands.” said the chief hunter, loudly. “We rode here expecting the usual idiots in search of a scrap and loot, but I’m glad to see that we were wrong” he added, the hard expression on his face softening slightly.

Daniel smiled back at him, dismounting and approaching the towering orc.

“Glad to see you again Daniel, after all these months.” Said Kendar, adjusting his wolf pelt over his shoulders as he extended a thick, muscular forearm to the much shorter knight.

 “The pleasure is reciprocal, old friend” answered Daniel, grabbing the tree-trunk-sized arm, giving it a firm squeeze, barely able to hold a pained yelp as the orc leader reciprocated his gesture. “I see that you have kept my gift” he added, gesturing to the sapphire, once part of a ring, set at the base of a large direwolf tooth.

The orc smiled, glancing down at his chest. “What brings you and your companions to challenge the Greying Highlands?”

“Well,” said Daniel, knowing that Kendar wasn’t one to beat around the bush “Long story short, we were hoping that some of the tribes would be able to help us. We are looking for a beast.” A very large beast.

“What kind of beast, if I may ask?”

“A large, red dragon, that has been seen flying above these highlands repeatedly” intervened Sir Roger.

At the mention of the creature, Daniel started to hear a number of gasps and mumbling coming from the crowd of orcs, as Kendar lowered his head.

“I haven’t seen it, but we have heard of this as well, some of the other tribes report to have seen a similar beast flying above their villages. Come, Nadrak will be able to tell you more, and we will give you a place to stay for the night.”

After almost an hour of walking beside rocky hills and harsh cliffsides, they reached a large stone plinth, on which several houses, made of wood and animal hide, sit.  As they entered the orc village, they were met with a low murmur and distrustful glances from the number of tribesmen that had come to greet Kendar’s war party.

They approached the central square of the village, where Nadrak, the tribe elder, was waiting for them. As Kendar introduced him to the older orc, he greeted Daniel friendly, inviting him inside his tent. This display of hospitality was enough to make the other orcs warm up to them a little, and a few orcish women emerged from their tents carrying water and mead, an offer that the exhausted knights accepted eagerly.

As they sat down for dinner, Nadrak started to tell them what they had heard:

Apparently, three to four months back, some of the tribes  southwest of there had been attacked by a red dragon, a beast that they described as “more than hundred feet long” and “with claws able to slice a man in half with a single strike.”

They had tried to protect their boars and wolves from its assault, but whoever did, ended up in the dragon’s gullet or burned to a crisp, before retreating to the south with his catch, to return after some weeks. They had rapidly learned that during these periodical raids, it was better to leave the monster alone, and hope that boars and wild goats would be enough to satisfy its hunger.

“It hasn’t come to these lands in half a moon” continued the elder “but the last time it did, other villages, closer to ours, saw his red shape in the distance. We fear that it’s only a matter of months before it makes its way to our tribe”

“Hmmm,” said Sir Roger “It seems that its hunting territory is getting larger…this could only mean one thing…This dragon, huge as it is, is still growing.”

 The whole table gasped at the realization.

“Well, one more reason to get rid of this forsaken demon!” said Sir Bernard, before biting a chunk of meat off a boar rib.

“We know your value, Sir Daniel, and we appreciate your commitment” commented the orc elder “But this is not a beast like the others.”

“No, it's not” convened Kendar, its eyes low “We will happily help you move around these hills, but can I ask you something?”

The young noble glanced at him.
“Why are you so keen on killing this beast, Daniel?”

He clenched his fist at the question.

“It’s a long story, a story for another day, my friend. Let’s just say it’s something I have to do.” He answered. He saw his orc friend nodding in acknowledgment, without asking any more questions.

They spent the next hour planning their next route, getting the lay of the land from the tribe hunters, and beginning to carry the water and meat that the orcs gave them onto their horses, to speed up the next day preparations.

The next morning, the small group of knights woke up early, saddling and checking their horses to make sure that they were ready for the long journey ahead, as they saw Kendar approaching them, a young orcish girl at his side.

“I wish for your blade to always strike true.” said the chief hunter, smiling at Daniel “and I hope to see you again, friend.”

“I hope the same.”

“ Do you remember my younger sister, Zevna?” asked Kendar, gesturing towards the girl who was accompanying him.  “She is a great hunter and a tracker, and she has experience with the southern lands. She will help you in your journey across these ridges”.

Daniel looked at the girl. Yeah, he remembered her, albeit they hadn’t spoken much the first time he had met Kendar’s family. She had put up some muscle, developing an athletic, toned physique in these years. She certainly looked like someone used to the rough environment, judging by the way that she carried herself, the simple and functional leather corset and shorts she wore, and the enormous bow that she carried on her back. Daniel wasn’t even sure that he was able to lift one of the two massive giant boar tusks that made it, even more so to use such a weapon. There was little doubt that she could though, given both her muscles and the fact that she towered over most of the other orcs, apart from his brother, often by a considerable amount. She was already tall back then, and Daniel could swear she had grown at least 4-5 inches in these three years, probably more.

“A woman?” said Sir Geralt, “What help she could be? Killing dragons is no quest for…” he stopped speaking abruptly as a rock hit him squarely on his nose, an annoyed snarl coming from the orc huntress as a trail of blood started pouring from Sir Geralt’s nostrils.

“I thank you Kendar, but this is not necessary. We will find our way to Estilvar. No need to risk one of your men, especially a member of your family.”

“He’s not risking anything, human” intervened Zevna “I offered to escort you myself.  This monster is menacing my tribe, and it’s my duty to protect them. If you intend to slay it, I want to help. If I fall, I will have died an honorable death.”

“If that’s the case,” said Sir Gregory, hiding the slight disgust on his face “We are happy to have you on board, miss Zevna. Shall we move, Milord?”

“Wait, before we head out,” said Sir Daniel “Mizar?”

“Yes Milord?” said the half-orc as he trudged towards Daniel’s steed, its movement rendered difficult by the large bandaging the orcs had applied on his left thigh, before a much taller orc girl, roughly his age, reached for him, seeing that he was falling towards the ground.

“You’ll stay here, Kendar and his family will take care of you until your wound is healed.”

“But…mi-milord, sir, I’m fine, it’s just a scratch, I can travel and fight as well as the others.”

“No, you cannot. You need help even standing. Do not worry, you are getting paid for your service as we agreed.” Said Daniel, grabbing a small purse from his saddlebag,  briefly checking its contents before handing it to Mizard.

“But...I…”

“Enough buts” answered the noble “You need to rest, it’s an order. When you’re settled, they will accompany you back home. Am I made myself clear?”

The young orc lowered his eyes, frowning.

“Yes sir.” said Mizar, weakly.

“We should be getting going” intervened the orc huntress “It’s gonna take more than a day to get out of the highlands.”

“Yes, let’s go. Please Zevna, lead the way.”

She nodded, putting her fingers in her mouth, causing a long whistle to come out of it. Shortly after, they saw a massive direwolf, roughly 6 and a half feet tall at the shoulder, make its way towards the riders, its approach causing a frightened yelp from Sir Henryk, the youngest knight of the entourage.

“Don’t worry kid, she is well trained” said Zevna, patting the beast’s shoulder before grabbing ahold of its fur to heave herself on its saddled back, kicking her legs to signal to her mount to move.

The journey towards the border was uneventful, their orcish guide allowing them to cross the rest of the highlands in a couple of days, avoiding being attacked by other tribes.  obtain safe passage across the rest of the highlands.

As the noon of the third day approached, they crossed into Estilvarian territory, the rough highlands slowly transitioning to plains and fields, the green of the unripe wheat shining on the morning sun.

As they moved into a border town, searching for a place to stop for the night, they saw the strange, frightened looks of the townsfolks, directed especially to the peculiar ride of their guide. As they approached the market square, they were stopped by half a dozen guards, who were gesturing towards the direwolf, saying something that Daniel, helped more by the context than the knowledge of the language, was able to interpret as them wanting the direwolf out of the town, or else.

He stepped in front of the group, trying to explain, in the best Estilvarian that he could remember from the days of the Academy, that he was Sir Daniel de Level, son of the Duke of Vernesse, in Atheran, and that she was their guide, and that they had an important mission to accomplish, and that the direwolf was trained and not a danger for anyone.

He must have overstated his linguistic abilities, because as he ended his sentence,  he saw 8 or so crossbows pointed at him, ready to fire, as who appeared to be the sergeant shouted angrily at him, saying, as far as he could understand, that he was gonna arrest them on the spot if they didn’t fuck off.

As he tried to reapproach the situation, he heard a feminine voice behind him, speaking in fluent Estilvarian, demanding to be released, pulling out a piece of parchment from her backpack as she said that someone, he couldn’t gather who, would be informed. Her words and the document that she carried seemed to have some effect on the graduate, who, as he read the letter, immediately froze, gesturing for all the guards to lower their crossbows, before moving to the side to allow them to pass.

Completely dumbstruck, Daniel watched as Zevna grabbed ahold of the rains of Razor, her direwolf, guiding it on the large road, the animal growling menacingly towards the terrified graduate as the huntress passed him.

Completely dumbstruck, the knights followed her, reaching a bustling inn shortly thereafter.
“We can stay here,” said Zevna, moving her long, black hairs away from her face with her hand “I’ve slept here sometimes, the stable should be large enough to accommodate all your mounts.”

“What about…yours?” said Sir Gregory, dubious.

“The owner likes Razor to stay with the horses. She’s a light sleeper, keeps an eye out for the inn during the night.” She said, removing her bow from her back, and securing it to the saddle. “Makes sure that nobody gets funny ideas.”

“Nice job back there with the guard, by the way,” intervened Sir Daniel “I had no idea that an orc could speak Estilvarian so well. Where did you learn it?”

“As my brother said, back at the village, I have experience. I have visited these lands often, helping other tribes trade with the people of this valley.” She then moved towards him, her 7’3’’ form casting a shadow on the knight. At 6 feet of height, he wasn’t used to finding many men considerably taller than him, and even fewer women; He couldn’t help but feel intimidated and slightly emasculated by the way in which she effortlessly towered over him and the rest of his men.  

“You humans always assume stuff about us” continued Zevna, looking down at him, slightly amused by his uncomfortable expression “Even you, who I’m sure knows better, given how you treated us in the past, can’t shake those rumors from his head.”

“I a-apologize,” said Daniel, starting to sweat “I shouldn’t have assumed anything about you. It won’t happen again.”

“I wanna trust you” answered Zevna “My brother does, and the elder does, and they are wise men. Just remember that being a good man takes effort, and falling into old ideas is very easy” she added, moving he face closer to him, looking at him intently with her large, brown eyes, before pulling out, her dark green lips curled into a smile.

“Let’s get inside, I’m starving,” she said to the group, moving towards the tavern door, ducking slightly to avoid bumping her head on the doorframe.

The knights followed suit, tired from the day on horseback, looking for a bed to crash on.

In the following days, they inquired about their quest, the location of the princess, and the perils that would wait for them on their way. They discovered that 3 years before, the king and queen of Estilvar had died during the great plague that had ravaged the kingdom, alongside most of the royal family and many civilians. The only survivor of royal blood, and the current queen, was a niece of the king, who at the time of the plague, had been married to a foreign prince.

Also, it seemed that the nature of Princess Lysanne’s curse had been kept under the utmost secret, given how nobody seemed to know what exactly it was about. That was unfortunate, thought Daniel, that would have made the dispelling it easier.

At least, they had a trace regarding the location of the castle: Apparently, there was an area similar to what the dusty notes they had followed described, full of giants and trolls, and where numerous griffins nested, in the southern part of the kingdom, inside the mountain range that the locals called “The Boarhead mountains”.  In this area, there was one of the tallest mountains of the range, known as “The Ashen Peak” for the layer of grey soot that covered its ground.

A perfect potential home for a fire-breathing dragon.

Thanks to the help of Zevna, it took them less than two weeks to reach the city at the base of the mountain range, where they learned that, yes, there had been numerous sightings of a huge red dragon flying above the mountain range, and that it often moved beyond that, enough that its large silhouette flying overhead had become somewhat a common sight for the inhabitants. Strangely enough, according to the reports, it had never attacked towns or villages in the area.

Sir Roger couldn’t make sense of its behavior.

“Usually, a dragon, especially one this large, would consider a city like this one, full of people and riches” explained the older monster hunter, with a beer mug in its hand “ripe for the taking. They love submitting people to their every whim, forcing them to do what they want, to bring them food, riches for their hoard, etc.”

“So you’re saying that not only it’s fucking huge,” said Zevna, her arms crossed “But it’s also a weird one? That’s just great.”

“I’m saying that we need to gather some more informations” answered Sir Roger “and be careful while we do that”

“Well,” said Sir Daniel, “I think that we have gathered whatever rumor, chronicle, note, report we could find here, I think that any other information must be found on the field.”

“We will need to be watchful” intervened Sir Andrew “People seemed to be very wary of going up those mountains. Never saw so many groups of mercenaries refusing coin out of fear.  Those cliffs must be full of nasty things. ”

“Look at you,” said Sir Bernard, stabbing a huge piece of mutton with his knife, pointing it at Andrew  “Back in the days when we started you wouldn’t lose a chance to get into the fray…” he added, taking a large bite out of the meat, half of the gravy falling from his mouth onto the table “Whaf happenef?”

“I had a son,” said Sir Andrew, calmly “ The days of the Academy are over, I have a family now.”
He smirked slightly.

“Also, I remember that more often than not I had to jump into the fray to save your butt, am I right Daniel?” he said, looking at his friend, who nodded mockingly.

“Bah!” answered Sir Bernard, ignoring his last comment as juice fell from his half-open mouth “You made a mistake in getting your wife pregnant, women wait only for that to lock you in the prison priests call marriage! Ain’t I right, kid?” he asked, giving a forceful pat on the shoulder of Sir Henryk, making him drop his mug of ale.

“Hmm? Oh…yeah” the young knight answered, having barely noticed what he had dropped, as he looked at the only girl in the party dreamily, his chin resting on his other hand.

“What’s up with this kid?” said Sir Bernard, gulping a third of the ale in his mug.

“Don’t worry Bernard” intervened Sir Geralt, clinking his mug with him “If Sir Andrew doesn’t follow you, I will. Rest assured that I will never get caught by any damsel or milady that flutters her eyelashes at me, they only bring trouble!”

“See, Geralt gets it!” commented Sir Bernard “You know, we should go find a brothel, while we are still among civilized folks. It would really help in relieving the tension of the boy here, he’s a nervous wreck since we fought those highwaymen a few days ago.”

“If you two idiots are done” said Daniel, glowering at them  “We are trying to make a plan for tomorrow!”

“Whatever” was the only answer that Sir Bernard gave him, downing the rest of the contents of the mug.

Rolling his eyes, the young noble then turned to the huntress.

“Zevna,” said Daniel  “Can we try to find a safeway in between the mountains?”

“Sure, from what I understood, these mountains don’t seem really different than the Greying Highlands, so finding our way around there shouldn’t be too hard.  And about those wild beasts….as your monster hunter here could testify, direwolves are easy to deal with if you can use a blade and griffins’ nests can be avoided.”

“Correct” convened Sir Roger “Giants and Trolls are another matter, but you would know that their hunting grounds and camps are pretty easy to recognize.”

“Well then,” said Sir Gregory “I suppose we have a plan. I suggest you all go get a good night’s rest, and at dawn, we start to make our way towards the mountains.”

Back in his room, Daniel stared at the wooden ceiling. Sleep wasn’t coming to him. The recent discoveries concerned him. There was something about the whole endeavor, something about that beast, that didn’t seem right. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but for some reason, he felt that this dragon had something different to it. Doubt started seeping into his mind. Sure, they had a group of heavily trained fighters, his magic, a, for what he had seen, very skilled orc huntress, and all the wit and the years of experience of Sir Roger, who had also given him the small vial of viscous liquid he was holding in his hands, a rare oil that was supposedly their secret weapon against the beast. Yet, if the records were true, he wasn’t sure that what they had was gonna be enough. This was probably the hardest quarry they could have gone at.

Still, backing away now would only mean admitting to his father and the people that they were right about him. No, he needed to do this, he needed to prove that he was worth something. But how?

He stood up, grabbed his riding boots, and slowly put them on.

Maybe a bit of fresh air would help him clear his mind.

As he ventured into the quiet courtyard outside the inn, he noticed a tall figure, leaning against a wooden pillar, her arms crossed, looking at the sky.

As he approached the figure, he saw its form spring up from its position, and before he could react, he was thrown against a nearby wall, the impact making him yell in pain, as a large hand squeezed his right shoulder, pinning him to the stonework.

As the pain made him close his eyes, he heard a deep, female voice, speaking in a menacing tone.

“There is nothing here for you, dude. Go away, before I crush your skull.”

As he reopened his eyes, he felt the pressure on his shoulder release, as the large form of Zevna appeared before him, her tusks glistening in the moonlight, her mouth slowly curling away from the menacing expression she had had before.

“Oh…it’s you… I’m sorry, I thought that it was a robber or pickpocket” said the huntress,  backing away from him, the top of her head inches away from the lantern that was hanging from a support on the balcony of the second floor of the building.

“It’s okay” answered Daniel, his voice still broken by the pain. “You-you’re never too safe these days.”

“Yeah, they always think that because I look the way I do, I am some kind of oblivious meathead.” commented Zevna.

“What are you doing out here by the way?” said Daniel, rotating his shoulder to ensure that nothing was broken.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“I’m having trouble sleeping.”

“Oh, so we’re here for the same reason,” said Zevna, looking out in the distance, “I’ve never been so far from my village for more than 1-2 suns, and I can’t say I like it.”

“You’re homesick, it’s normal.”

“It’s not just that. You heard what the other tribes said, what if the dragon attacks while we’re here, while I am here? I know that the tribe and my brother can handle themselves, but still…I can’t help but worry.”

“Yeah, I can understand that,” he said, causing the orc's lips to curl in a weak smile

He then noticed that she was holding something in her hand, a bouquet of small flowers.

“What are you got there?”

“Oh, it's nothing…someone left those beside the door of my room…for every inn we visited in the last three days.” Said Zevna.

“Oh, we have an admirer it seems…you should have thought about it before you went to nurse his shoulder wound every day.”

“It would have gotten infected” replied the orc “I was just taking care of my caravan. Sir Henryk is a fine boy, cute even, but he’s not my type.”

“But you kept the flowers”
“They do smell nice, and giving flowers is something that orcs don’t really do,” she said, taking a sniff of the bouquet. “But yeah, the boy is too soft and callow for me” she added.

“You know” commented Sir Daniel “You changed a lot from the shy young girl that I remembered.”

“Well, lots of things changed in the meantime,” she said, pointing at her broken right tusk. “I had to grow a thicker skin.”

“Who did that to you?”

“I don’t really wanna talk about it,” she said, lowering her eyes. “Let’s just say that after that, I trained every day to make sure that nobody could take advantage of me anymore.”

“I’m really sorry that happened to you,” he said, stroking her forearm. It was almost twice the size of his arms “But if that’s of any solace to you, you look great. I can see why Sir Henryk seems to fancy you.”

He saw Zevna’s eyes widen slightly, as she made a step toward him.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you know” he answered, embarrassed “…you’re certainly easy on the eyes.”

Indeed, she was, thought Daniel. Away from the hardships of her home, it seemed that the rougher side of her appearance had started to become a little less predominant, revealing the beautiful figure hidden underneath.

He shook his head, realizing that he was starting to stare at her.

Still, his gaze stopped on her long enough to make the orc notice, and she smirked, looking down at him, the moonlight reflected on her large black eyes.

“Oh-oh, I didn’t know that Sir Daniel de Leval was the type to like orc ladies, considering the quest he’s on.”

“Wha-what are you talking about” said Daniel, avoiding her gaze.

“You know, saving the princess and all of that…don’t you wanna marry her after? I heard she’s beautiful, with her red hair and emerald-green eyes.”

“Su-sure, she sounds very beautiful, but I doubt she will want to marry the son of a lower duke.”

“Don’t say it like that, I’m sure that you have a trail of maidens that will be more than happy to marry a knight like you.”

“Well, in a certain sense…” said Daniel, unsure of where this was going. “But I don’t know…”

“What is that you don’t know?”

“Well, I haven’t thought much about ma-marriage yet. I don’t really have a lady that strikes my fancy at the moment.”

“I see…still, you said you find me beautiful.”  Said Zevna, her cheeks slightly red, as she inched ever so slightly closer to the knight, her toned legs almost brushing against his lower torso.

Then, he was pushed against the wall as he felt the sensation of two lips meeting his own. Taken aback by the sudden feeling, it took him a moment, and the broken tip of a tusk that he sensed against his right cheek, to realize who those lips belonged to. He started to reciprocate,  feeling the texture of her lips, full and meaty, as his tongue snaked out of his mouth to meet hers, trying its best to maneuver in the limited space between her large tusks, which was proving to be more difficult than he had anticipated. As the two muscles met, an electrifying sensation overcame him, as the two organs twirled and twisted against each other. Unfortunately, the feeling lasted only a single moment, and Zevna’s tongue retreated into her mouth as she pulled back from the kiss abruptly.

He opened his eyes, looking up at her, seeing her averting her gaze as her cheeks became crimson.

“We-well.  I  think we all ne-need a good ni-night’s rest. Tomorrow is a bu-busy day.”  said Zevna “Go-good night, Daniel, sleep we-well” she added, starting to move towards the door at a brisk pace, her demeanor significantly shyer than before.

“Wa-wait, Zevna” he said, but she was already inside the inn, the door closing behind her.

He rushed in, looking around in the quiet common room. Zevna was nowhere to be found.

After a handful of seconds spent searching for the huntress, Daniel moved towards the stairs, and started to ascend silently, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

He had no idea that Zevna, taking advantage of his scarce eyesight in the completely dark room, had already slipped out of the room, and was now looking at him from outside a window.

She sighed heavily. Better check out on Razor, she thought, moving towards the stables.

The following morning, the small retinue woke up early, starting its ascent towards the Boarhead mountains and the Ashen Peak, where the castle supposedly was found. The sky was clear, giving them a good view of the mountain range stretching on the horizon as far as they could see. They made their way towards a large path that climbed the range, their ascent accompanied only by the sound of hooves clacking on the hard terrain, at least until they heard a loud, annoyed groan from the back of the column.

“Fuck, my head…” winced Sir Bernard.

“So, do you think it was wise to drink that much before waking up at dawn?” said Sir Andrew, smirking.

“Fuck you, Andrew!”  Bernard answered, rubbing a hand on his forehead as Sir Andrew made his way to the head of the column, still looking at him with a smirk plastered on his face.

“Man,” sighed Daniel, as his friend approached “You would think that at 27 years of age, he would stop behaving like a cocky teenager.”

“Luckily for us, he’s as good with the blade as he’s immature,” commented Sir Andrew.

“Ah, so you will admit he’s better than you?” Said Daniel, looking at him, doubtful.

“I’ve never said that” commented Andrew, twirling his moustache. “I’ve beaten him plenty of times, and plenty again I will do,” he said, extracting his sword from the sheath. “He’s strong, and can hit hard, but he always overextends himself. If he was to learn how to control his rage, maybe he would have a chance.”

Daniel looked at his friend, watching him observe the blade intently, closing an eye as he checked the edge, before sheathing it again.

“Can I ask you something, Andrew?”

“Sure. What is it?”

“Why did you join us?”

“What do you mean?”

“You knew this mission was dangerous, you knew that death is a concrete possibility here, you know that you might not be able to see your family again, to be a father for your child...why did you choose to come with us?”

“Well, I couldn’t really let you go hunt one of the most dangerous dragons they ever heard of with two old men, an inexperienced teen, and two muttonheads, couldn’t I? I would feel guilty of your death” he said.

Daniel laughed.

“I suppose you’re right,”

“Yeah, but seriously…You have always been like a brother to me,  like the little brother I’ve never had.” Said Sir Andrew  “You’ve always watched my back, it’s only fair I watch yours.” he added, a warm smile on his lips. He then turned his head, looking up, seeing a group of birds flying high above their heads. “Of course I think about my family,”  he continued, “of course I miss them, of course I know that I could never meet them again. But you are family as much as they are to me, and I would hate if something were to happen to you that I could’ve avoided.”

“Thanks,” said Daniel, smiling broadly. “I feel the same for you, Andrew. I don’t want you to think that I’m asking these questions because I don’t want you to accompany me.  I’m glad that you’re here.”

The black-haired knight smiled, looking Daniel straight in the eyes.

“Know your worth, Daniel. You’re better at what you do than you think.” Sensing Daniel’s retort, he went on. “And don’t let the Academy thing get to you. Your father made the right choice, and you’re the best heir he could’ve been blessed with.”

“Thank you,” said Daniel, his voice broken. “It-it means a lot,” he said, reaching out to his friend for a hug, a small tear falling from his face.

As they parted, Daniel smiled, before changing the subject.

“You know, you didn’t mention a woman when you listed our party members,” he said, pointing at the direwolf at the head of the column.

“She? She’s fine, she’s gonna survive longer than any of us here. I wouldn’t exclude her being the one that escapes the beast and brings back news of our death.”

They laughed.

“But yeah, I like her. You were right, orcs are an interesting lot.” Commented Andrew.

Yeah, they are, agreed Daniel.

He looked back at Zevna. They hadn’t had the chance to talk about what had happened yesterday, each immersed in what the journey required them to do. She in particular seemed really focused on investigating the surroundings, trying to orientate in the asper environment that he could see she was not very familiar with.

Still, now that the thought had come to his mind, he couldn’t help but wonder the reason for that kiss. Was it just the heat of the moment? Was there something more to it? He didn’t know, but, thinking back to it, he wouldn’t mind the second option. She tasted great, and although she couldn’t be more different from the maidens he was used to court, something was enticing about her personality, her assertiveness, her attitude.

Also, from the small glimpse he had caught of the inside of her leather jerkin, he remembered her perky, supple breasts, bigger than her cup size seemed to hint at, and how they rested on top of her toned pectorals; that was always a plus for a lady in his book.

His impure thoughts were interrupted by a frightened shout on the left side of the column. Turning, he saw Sir Henryk pointing at a mass a hundred feet from them, that had since then been hidden from them by some thick brambles.

“The-there is a corpse there!” said Henryk, his voice trembling.

Curious, they dismounted, the late afternoon light illuminating the figure that the frightened knight was pointing at. It was a humanoid, likely a hunter, judging by the bow and quiver visible under his form. The state of the corpse made discerning other features challenging, with its torso and head that had been smashed inwards by a very heavy object, and his left arm torn off. The only other peculiar sign was a large bite mark on one of the legs, left by something with broad, hand-sized teeth.

“Giants,” said Sir Roger and Zevna almost in unison, as the huntress kneeled to examine the marks.

“Cave or Mountain Giants, most likely,” she said.

Not the brightest of foes, reasoned Daniel, but still dangerous, due to their formidable strength and appetite.
“It doesn’t smell, so it has been killed recently, yesterday afternoon at most,” Zevna concluded.

“This means that they could be nearby” chimed in Sir Roger. “Contrary to what is popularly believed, some of them are smart enough to realize that half-eaten corpses make for excellent baits to attract other beasts, or humanoids too curious for their own good.”

This remark caused a shiver on the back of Daniel’s neck.

“Keep an eye out, men. Proceed with caution,” he ordered, unsheathing his sword. An order that the knights reluctantly followed.

Daniel pressed gently on the glove on his left hand, the yellow gem at the center starting to emit a dull glow, its arcane powers activating. Many giants, especially the more primitive ones, were afraid of fire, so flicking a bolt in their direction could at least be a useful distraction.

They moved slowly, approaching an area of sparse trees, their ears ready for every sound. Sir Andrew lighted up a torch.

“They shouldn’t be able to sneak up on us, but better safe than sorry. Also, I’m starting not to be able to see anything here.”

After around half an hour, Daniel saw the huntress at the head of the column stop, sniffing the air.
“Meat,” she whispered “Slightly rotten. “Maybe they are eating. We could be able to get the jump on them”
They followed her, in the direction of the smell, and it didn’t take long to see what its source was:

Amongst the trees, there were a series of large tree trunks, laying horizontally on the ground, that looked like they had been uprooted or cut by crude blades,  arranged to form some kind of circle, a pile of animal bones at the side of one of them, whilst the half-eaten leg of a giant boar was resting on another. Nearby, they could see four large mounds of grass and hay, each more than 15 feet wide. Some bedding of sorts.
A few of these trunks were signed by large black marks,  of the same shape and color as those visible in many of the fallen trees that laid around this makeshift clearing.

It looked like a camp. A completely abandoned Giant’s camp.

Intrigued by the sight, the knights approached, pointing the source of the smell to the carcass of a deer that had been crushed by one of the fallen trees. It had probably been dead for a couple of days.

As they looked around, they could finally identify the other smells that permeated the camp: a mixture of burned meat, and incinerated wood. Daniel approached one of the trees, examining the black spots closely.

They were burn marks.

He could also see that one of the trees was a very large chestnut, that had been felled by a hit in the middle, a hit done by something huge, far larger than the couple of thick clubs that were laying around the camp.

The dragon had been here, not too long before.

Riding at the front of the column, Daniel yawned loudly.

The day after their most recent discovery, they had seen various signs of the dangerous inhabitants of these highlands, trees uprooted, rocks smashed, and animal corpses strewn around, a continuous reminded of how perilous the area was, even besides the dragon. They had reasoned that taking extra watches was the least they could do to ensure their safety. Still, thought Daniel, the lack of sleep didn’t help in keeping their senses sharp.

Even Zevna, who had insisted on making the last watch by herself to give the knights some rest, even if she had done the watch before, seemed a bit groggy, unable to concentrate well on the environment.

He approached the direwolf, the huge form of Razor towering on his horse, looking up at her.

“Tired?” he said, seeing the orc erupting in a wide yawn
She shook her head, regaining her composure and looking down at him.

“It’s nothing” she scoffed “This isn’t my first sleepless night.”

“You should rest tonight” he suggested “We need your senses, you are much more used to such environments than us.”

“Precisely, that’s why I can’t trust you fancy pants to keep watch by yourselves.” she scoffed. “No offense Daniel, but I would rather not risk having me and Razor be killed…especially after what we saw,” she added.

“It’s okay, I’m scared as well,”

“I’M NOT SCARED,” she erupted “I’m just… worried about what will happen.”

“Makes sense, I can’t say I am not.”

“Having second thoughts?” she asked, lowering the volume of her voice.

“In a certain sense,” he sighed “I mostly feel we are ill-prepared for this.”

“If that makes you feel better, from what we heard, we wouldn’t be the first group of ill-prepared idiots that gets burned to a crisp by this dragon,” she said, forcing a smile upon her lips, the hint of sadness in her voice betraying her real feelings.

“Yeah, it doesn’t, sorry.”

 “Remind me again why are you so keen on this.”

“Well, it’s a long story... The short of it is, that people are doubting me, especially my father. People don’t think I’m fit to be a ruler. Vanquishing the dragon, saving the princess, it’ll ease their worries, it will show them that I’m worthy of the name that I carry.”

“Oh, so it’s a pride thing?” asked the orc.

“It’s not just that” answered the young knight “I need to do this, I need to prove myself again. My people won’t follow me if I don’t show them that I can handle myself as a sovereign. I think you caught that, seeing how even the men in this party behave around me.”

She smiled, slightly amused. She understood now, his brother had to do the same a couple of years back. “Yes, I saw that. From what is worth, I think that you will make a fine ruler, surely better than your father.”

“Thank you,” he said “You wouldn’t make a bad chief yourself,” he commented, making her smile.
For whatever reason, her friendly, confident smile made him feel a bit better as if he had reacquired the confidence in the quest that he had lost after the discoveries of the last couple of days.

He leaned in a bit towards her, his voice a whisper.

“And don’t worry, being scared is normal, and I won’t tell anyone, not even your brother back home.”

Her brow furrowed. “Pfft, whatever,” she said, annoyed. She tapped her heel against the torso of Razor, the direwolf dashing ahead of the column.

“Wait! Zevna!” he said, a suggestion that was promptly ignored,  the direwolf had already gained a couple of dozen feet on him.

He sighed loudly, looking down. Way to go, Daniel, he thought.

After a couple of hours of travel, something unusual appeared in the distance: A tall mountain, that towered over the surrounding landscape, its sides, and the nearby highlands all covered in fine soot and ash, while a small plume of smoke emitting from the mountain’s top.

Daniel asked himself who right in his mind would construct a castle on a volcano; nevertheless, it was certainly the most impressive mountain in the area, and although it was still quite a way away, roughly one and a half to two days from their position, they were happy to be finally reaching the Ashen Peak.

As they moved in the direction of the soot-covered mountain, they encountered first a creek, and then, following its stream, an area of flourishing vegetation, where plants, bushes, and small trees grew all around the course of the creek. Gradually, along the courses of the stream, they saw the smaller plants and bushes, and larger trees appearing, until they found themselves in a real forest, at the center of which stood a relatively large mountain lake, most likely the source of water for all the plants that surrounded them.

It was definitely a welcome change of scenery from the rough, dry highlands that had kept them company for the last few days.

“Fresh water and shade,” said Sir Gregory, “I see no better place to make camp for tonight.”

The knights nodded in agreement and started making camp, preparing a fire and tents for a night’s sleep. A comfortable place to rest was exactly what they needed, after the worrisome discoveries of the day before.

After a frugal dinner, as the other knights arranged their bedrolls and the watches for a night of sleep, Daniel started to pace along the lakeside, crossbow in hand. He reckoned that the lake would likely be a great place to hunt game since animals would come here for water.
As he investigated the surroundings, he could see that there were, in fact, a lot of animal footprints around the muddy banks, boars, wolves, hares, and wild goats or other hooved animals, often forming chaotic trails. Too chaotic, it seemed. Also, there were no animals to be seen around, nor droppings to be found. Judging by the random directions of the footprints, he reasoned that something must have startled the animals in the forest, making them scatter.

As he explored the banks further, he noticed a trail of dried blood alongside the prints. Following it further, blade in hand, he heard a buzzing of insects, and he saw a small grey mass resting a little way away from the lake, a crossbow bolt sticking from its side, surrounded by flies.

It was the corpse of a hare. Judging by the putrid smell, it had been left there rotting at least from the day before. Someone had come to his forest to hunt, not too long ago.

As he tried to understand who those hunters could be, he looked up. In front of him was the face of a large, dark grey direwolf, its yellow eyes looking directly down at him, looming over the kneeling knight, its ears pointing up and its teeth bared.

Instinctively, he jumped back. He had taken a bit of familiarity with Razor, Zevna’s direwolf, but still, seeing her in a deliberately aggressive display was terrifying.

“E-easy Razor,” he said “I’m Daniel…you know me, right? Wha-what do you want?”
The only answer that he got from the animal was a loud growl, as he put one of her paws forward, moving closer to him.

He made another step back, his hands in front of him, before he heard a feminine voice inquiring:

“What is it, girl?”

He saw the direwolf calm down slightly and turn towards the voice, as Zevna appeared from behind some bushes standing on the bank. Her wet hair and bare shoulders made clear why she was there.

Immediately, he closed his eyes, wanting to preserve her modesty, and he stood there as he felt that the direwolf’s breath wasn’t on his body anymore.

“Daniel?” asked the orc, in an annoyed tone “What are you doing here?”

“I’m so-sorry, I wasn’t spy-spying on you, I swear” he answered, trembling “I was just following the trail of an animal, its corpse it’s just behind me.”

“Oh” answered Zevna “So that’s where the smell comes from.”

“Yes, there is a trail of blood that follows the riverbank!” he said, pointing at the rough area where he had found it, his eyes still shut.

“Hmm…That’s pretty strange” she muttered “Okay, don’t open your eyes before I tell you to, or I will let Razor mangle you. Understood?”

He gulped nervously, nodding frantically.

“Good,” she said, smiling deviously. “By the spirits…a girl can’t even wash herself before her watch” she muttered, still with slight annoyance in her tone.

He spent the next minute or so there, waiting, too frightened to even speak.

“Okay, you can open them.” Zevna said.

As sight returned to him, he found the orc standing a couple of feet in front of him, as she finished tying up the laces of her jerkin, hiding her toned abs from sight.

Man, she looked good, thought Daniel. Also, he couldn’t help but realize that, although her large bare feet were standing on a small depression in the ground, quite lower than where he stood, his head still reached the orc’s chin.

“I don’t know how things work in the human cities,” said the huntress “But in our tribes, you should ask a girl if you want to see her naked.”
“Or at least, pay what she asks” she added with a smirk.

“Of-of course” answered Daniel, his face crimson.

“So, what did you learn about this animal?” she asked, peeking above his shoulders.

“Well…” he muttered, trying to regain his composure “It seems that it was shot.”

“Yes, I can see this much. We are not the first that have wandered into this forest this week. Any idea on who could they be?”

“Well, that’s a crossbow bolt, it doesn’t say much about who shot it…but they are either the dumbest bandits of the world, considering that the only creatures that live here are dangerous monsters…”

“Or someone else is trying to get to the castle before us” she concluded.

“Yes.” he said, very annoyed at hearing the conclusion he had already made in his mind.

She put a hand under her chin, stroking it lightly.

“Well, we could reach out to them, they could be of help.”

“Asking them to help? Why should I do that? That was supposed to be my quest! They are stealing our quarry from under my nose!” he said, looking up at her, fuming.

She groaned loudly.

“Orcs, Humans… you men are all the same…you always think with your dick and your pride, never with your brain,” she commented,

 “Wouldn’t it be better to have some more men? You know, to make sure that we can actually kill this dragon? We can at least see if they have some more informations about it.”

He looked at her. There was some truth in her words, and as much as he hated to admit it, this monster was maybe too much for their small group to handle, at least in their current state. They needed help.

He sighed.

“…Maybe you’re right.”

“In the end, split glory is certainly better than death” she observed “And if you really feel so bad, you can even offer to split the quest equally.”
Seeing his puzzled expression, she explained.

“You know, someone gets to fight the dragon, and someone gets to marry the princess.” Joked Zevna, causing a laugh from the knight.

At the mention of marriage, images of what had happened in front of the tavern flashed in his mind. She seemed relatively relaxed, considering he had just almost seen her naked.

Maybe it was the right moment, thought Daniel.

“You know…about that…” he began, “Do you remember our discussion of the other day?”

He immediately saw her eyes widening, and her cheeks starting to redden.

“Ye-yes?”

“You know, you left immediately after…we really had not a moment to talk about it.”

"Why are you making such a fuss about it?" Zevna answered, avoiding his gaze "It-it was just a kiss."

“O-oh.” He said, confused. “That’s… that’s good, then actually. Yeah.”

“I thought you had, ahem…experience with orc ladies.”

That was true, thought Daniel, in the weeks where he had tried to establish a diplomatic relationship with the orcs in the southern border, there had been a few flirts here and there, even a couple of hookups, and he remembered the girls treating it as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

However, something was different this time, he wasn’t completely at ease. Under his leather gloves, his palms had gotten sweaty.

“Yes…that’s right” he convened.

“Still, if you are trying to tell me that you enjoyed it… I appreciate it” said Zevna, seductively.

“We..well,” he stuttered.

“I’ll take that as a yes” she replied, curving her lips in a slight smirk.

“For me, I liked it more than I thought I would,” she added in a silky tone, moving closer to him “You’re quite the ha-handsome boy yourself, although quite a bit short compared to the guys I usually...lay with.”

For a moment, he almost felt offended at her remark. He was six feet tall, for the gods’ sake! He was well above average height!

Then, he saw her looming well above him, her form taking almost his entire field of view as she inched closer, staring down at him intently. “I suppose all is relative”, he thought, his throat getting completely dry as he instinctively backed away from her.

He couldn’t see it, but behind her seductive demeanor, it was taking her all of her willpower to maintain eye contact with him.

“Thanks…” he said.

“So, what do you say we should do now” she inquired, almost cornering him, his attempts to move away from her stopping as he felt a tree against his back “I, for one, think that we should take ad-advantage of this moment to have a bit of fun.”

“I…suppose so”

“Very well then” she mused, bending down to his height. Before he could reply, he felt the pillowy cushions that were her lips upon his mouth, the two hard tusks pressing against his face. This time, he was somewhat ready for it, and it didn’t take him long to start to reciprocate her kiss, moving his lips and tongue searching for hers. This time, they could each see that there was much more intent in the other’s actions, her tongue eagerly twirling, twisting, and pushing against his, while he tentatively moved his lips to try and capture her unwieldy muscle, trying to wrangle the tongue with his smaller one as she deftly moved it out of the way, preparing to a renewed assault on her own terms.

This dance of passion continued for several seconds before the two tongues were separated, as Daniel and Zevna gasped for air.

“You taste great,” said Daniel, his cheeks still red.

She smiled slightly.

“So…wanna move to the main course?” she asked, winking.

He looked up at her, eyes wide. Was she really asking him to …?

“Wait…I thought you meant kissing …I fear we are moving too fast…”

“Moving where? It’s only sex!” she commented. “Besides…we could all be dead by the end of the week…let’s enjoy life while it lasts”

He smiled. Fuck it, she was right.

As an answer, he grabbed her head with his right hand, moving in closer for another kiss. She immediately understood what he was doing, and she bent down a little bit more, to try and help him reach, while she started to move her arms towards his breastplate, deftly untying the two, the piece of metal falling onto the floor with a dull thud. As the shirt underneath was revealed, he started to work on his buttons, before the eager orc pulled the two sides of the shirt, making the last two buttons fly into the grass around them.

“Don’t worry, we will find them later” She joked, as she started to deftly untie the laces of her jerkin, making Daniel emit a little chuckle.

As his shirt fell onto the ground, revealing what was hidden beneath, she tilted her head approvingly. Although his build wasn’t particularly muscular, Daniel’s arms and chest were toned, with well-defined muscles under his tanned skin. He didn’t have much in terms of abs, but his pectorals, covered by sparse dark blonde hairs, betrayed his years of military training, along with the various scars visible on his chest, torso, and shoulder.

Maybe a bit too scrawny, thought Zevna, compared with the bulging arms and chest of the guys of her tribe, but still, the familiar wetness between her legs told her that she liked what she was seeing. Actually, she noticed, as she let her own jacket fall onto the ground, she was maybe a bit more wet than usual. Indeed, the body of a warrior.

For his part, Daniel’s eyes went wide at the sight appearing in front of him. Zevna’s muscular body was gorgeous, sculpted and curvaceous at the same time, a magnificent display of feminine power. Her biceps were at least one and a half times his, and her toned abs popped out of her lean belly like those of a statue of fine marble. Her impossibly long legs, simultaneously silky and powerful, ended up in two tree-trunk-like thighs, which despite their size and muscular tone, appeared smooth and inviting, their curvature meeting on top of a tuft of wild black pubic hair that encapsulated her womanhood.

In the front of his face stood her bosom, which despite being relatively small in respect of the rest of her frame, a little more than half the size of her uncurled biceps, appeared as large as the most well-endowed human and elvish maidens of the taverns and brothels he had visited, in virtue of the size difference between them two, and the way those pectorals of hers pushed the breasts outward.

He could feel his member becoming erect, starting to bulge against his pants.

“You look ….magnificent,” he said.

She laughed.

“That’s funny….most of the guys of my tribe say that a girl shouldn’t have that much muscles, except for the thighs maybe,” she said, remarking her words with a sensual sway of her hips, tossing her leather shorts away with her ankle as she encroached upon him.

“Well…” he said, seeing her face looming above him, an amused expression in her beautiful black eyes. She was used to being bigger than his partner, but towering over a man in such a way was on another level. She brushed his body with a leg, glancing down to see how her hip reached almost to his chest. She could probably smother him just by laying on top of his body. She bit her lips seductively, savoring the sheer physical power her appearance gave her over him.

She hadn’t thought she would enjoy this so much.

Seeing the orc’s hip touching his chest,  Daniel’s member became even harder than before, pushing hard against the hem of his underwear, a pressure that became almost painful as the sweet, musky fragrance of her sex started to reach his nostrils.

It took him all his willpower to maintain his composure and allow him to reach up for her leg, stroking it with a shaky hand, feeling the smoothness of her silky green skin.

“I...I would love to get muscles like yours. Maybe you can show me your training routine” he said, trying his best to maintain his cool, as the aroma of Zevna’s womanhood was almost driving him mad.

She chuckled, feeling her cheeks become warmer as she felt his hands going up and down the length of her leg. Nobody has shown such appreciation for her body before. It felt really good.

“Perhaps, they would look pretty good on your little body,” she said, bending down to put her mouth on a level with his face, to avoid him noticing how red her cheeks had become. “In the meantime…. these are yours to enjoy tonight.” She blurted.

She couldn’t believe what she was saying, as she looked down at him. Maybe…there was something else?

She shook those thoughts from her head, slowly returning to her erect position, as she turned slightly, returning to face Daniel directly. Take control, she thought.

“Get down on your knees,” she demanded, with a voice that, although sultry,  made very clear to him that it was better to not disobey her order.

He was almost startled at the sudden change of tone, but he followed the command diligently.

"Good boy” she cooed, bending her hips behind a little, revealing her pussy, the pink folds framed beautifully by a forest of unkempt black hair.

“Lick” she ordered.

His head slowly approached the womanhood, which in his kneeling position was just a little bit below his mouth. He could feel how strong her scent was, the musky, wild aroma much more intense than the maid he was used to, with just a hint of sweat, that to his surprise complemented the scent perfectly. She was certainly aroused, the dampness and the way in which her engorged clitoris stood at the center of her labia left no doubts about that. He approached the bulb eagerly, giving it a long, deliberate lick, something that elicited a soft moan from above him.
Taking this as a sign that he was doing good, he moved his head closer, his nose immersed in her long, thick tuft as he put his tongue to work, feeling the rough texture of her hair tickling and scratching his cheeks as his muscle ran and wiggled in the confines of her inner labia.

Cunnilingus wasn’t his favorite thing to do in bed, but the years at the academy, full of taverns and occasional sex, had taught him that ladies really appreciated an altruistic lover, and they returned such favors eagerly.
Moreover,  the mixture of her appearance and her demeanor was making him feel drawn to do it, to give her pleasure, to serve her. He was much higher in rank than she, but tonight, it didn’t matter.

It was worth it, her pussy tasted amazing, as if someone had taken a hearty deer stew, and covered it in the sweetest honey he had ever tasted. It was different than anyone else’s.

Zevna, for her part, was thoroughly enjoying the experience, moaning loudly as she felt a fire slowly building up in her groin. Instinctively, she tightened her hips a little, barely managing to stop herself before squeezing his head in her hazy aroused state.
As he saw the pressure around him building up, he froze, panicking slightly before she loosened her thighs a little, enough to allow him to catch a breath, the air filled with her scent.
“So-sorry,” she said, half moaning as she glanced down at him.

He, however, took it as a sign of encouragement, and he eagerly reimmersed his head onto her womanhood, licking even harder than before.

It didn’t take long for the fire in her crotch to turn into a true inferno, her moans turning almost into a yell as she came, showering Daniel’s head in her juices.

“Go-good boy”, she said as she dropped to her knees, a last moan escaping her lips as she tried to catch her breath.

“That was a-amazing, way to s-serve a lady”.

“Happy to help,” he said, panting heavily as he tried to wipe his face from the sticky fluid.

She turned her gaze at him. She almost chuckled as she saw how her orgasm had messed up his face,  with his hair sticking on his face and liquid slowly dripping from his short, trimmed blonde beard, as he stroked his left eye to remove the bit of liquid that had gone inside.

Maybe it was the post-orgasm bliss speaking but he looked almost…cute? She felt a strange sensation washing over her, and she noticed that her heartbeat was not slowing down.

This wasn’t gonna be her usual one-night stands, she realized.

Noticing that she had started to stare at him, she moved forward, trying her best to keep a confident, seductive tone. This had been a great orgasm, but she wanted more.

“Now that you got very well acquainted with my pussy, it’s time I get to meet your little one, don’t you think?” she said,  grabbing his head with one of her hands as she reached in for another kiss, the force of her movement making him fall flat on the soft grass. He immediately felt the weight of her chest on top of his torso and abdomen, as she shadowed his movement perfectly to keep her mouth locked with his. She was heavy, but he could see how she was restraining herself from dropping all of her weight on top of him. He soon realized that there was another reason for her restraint, as he felt her right hand snake through the gap between their bodies, traveling towards the hem of his pants.

She slipped her hand inside, slowly caressing the rock-hard member. She had already gathered that he wasn’t particularly big down there, around half the length of her hand or so, but she didn’t mind that much.

She looked forward to see if he was able to use his dick as well as his mouth.

Still embraced in her kiss, he felt a wave of arousal upon him as she started to touch his member, the tip of her index finger caressing its length slowly and deliberately. He moaned loudly as she gave his balls a soft squeeze, before grabbing his dick in a strong grip with her first three fingers, starting to run them up and down the shaft.
However, as soon as she started, her hand stopped moving, and she pulled away from his lips, looking at him happily.

“Please, remove your pants. We don’t wanna ruin such fine clothes. I can’t repay you, I don’t have that kind of money” she commanded, in a soft but stern tone.

He followed her order eagerly, untying his belt, wriggling his body as she slid the other hand from under his head and slowly pulled his pants away, feeling the cold ground under his legs and butt.

Her left hand reprised its movement, sending wave after wave of pleasure upon him, loud moans erupting from his lips at the occasional squeezes her other hand gave to his balls.
He came violently, a stream of cum emitting from his shaft, covering her fingers and painting her abdomen.

She smirked as she moved the hand towards her face, cleaning her fingers with a long, sensual lick.

“I’d never tasted a human before,” she said, savoring the flavor “I like it, even if it’s a bit more delicate than what I’m used to.”

“Now, let’s see what you can do with it” She added, looking at him.

She felt her cheeks becoming slightly warm as she saw his form spread out on the grass, sweat coming down on his face as he panted heavily. Humans are so cute, she thought.

“Oh, is the little guy tired already?” she asked, mocking disappointment as she glanced at his now quasi-flaccid dick, “I know just the way to wake him up” she added, as she slowly moved her face towards the member, opening her mouth and pulling out her long, thick tongue, the tip of which started to gently caress the balls and the bottom of the shaft, a movement that rapidly made the cock spring to attention.

Daniel looked down. He had no idea that he could get hard again immediately after blowing a load as big as that one.

He also saw, with a note of disappointment, how small his 5.5” member looked against her tongue, a tongue that was able to cover it completely, with room to spare, and which was almost double his girth in terms of thickness. He hoped that it would not leave Zevna unsatisfied.

That didn’t seem to concern her, as she deftly sprang up, his dick now resting against her crotch.

“As great as you taste,” she said, “I wanna feel it inside me. You did one for me, and I did one for you. I think it’s only fair that we move to something that we can both enjoy at the same time.”

With this, she let herself fall to his left side, spreading her legs, eyeing him expectantly.

As much as she was enjoying dominating him, and how much more she liked being on top, he seemed to be struggling with her weight before, and she didn’t feel like making him uncomfortable. Let’s leave the reins to him a bit.

Reins that he took eagerly, sliding out of the pants hanging at his feet, approaching her spread-out pussy, his dick erect and eager to feel her insides. He grabbed her muscular leg, heaving it up against his shoulder, noticing that it was every bit as heavy as it looked, before slowly inserting his member, feeling her dampness against his member. She was definitely less tight than other girls he had been with, but the soft, wet tissue felt nevertheless amazing against him. He rose a little and immediately began to move forward and backward rhythmically, trying to push with all of his strength, leaning against her leg for support.

 Zevna loved it, the feeling of his hard cock against the walls of her pussy was divine, able to make her forget completely how inadequate the organ had seemed to her at first. He maneuvered inside of her like a trained swordsman would do with his trusty blade. Instinctively, she closed her legs, squeezing his body in between firmly, feeling all of his length sliding against her labia and cervix, a movement that caused the orcs to erupt in a series of moans. She released her grip a little, bringing a hand against his torso, grabbing a handful of his chest hair, and giving him a light, playful pull to make him lay down against her.

“Come on, let’s give the twins some love,” she said in a heavy voice, glancing at her breasts. In this position, his face reached just above her cleavage. Perfect height, she mused.

He happily obeyed, laying against her body, putting out his tongue, giving her right tit a long lick, before putting the nipple in his mouth, as if he wanted to be breastfed by her. She moaned loudly as he started to work on her nipple, the combination of his tonguework and the light nibbles he was giving to her nipples, first the right one then the left one, created waves of pleasure inside her,  mixing and adding up with those that came from her womanhood. She was close.

As close as her partner was, overwhelmed by the mixture of sweat and the strong natural scent of her body, and the softness of her mounds,  that left him in a state of pure bliss.

He pulled his head away from her nipple, starting to lick in between her ample cleavage, a gesture that she immediately understood. She grabbed her breast with her hands, pushing them against each other, moaning loudly as she smothered his head in between the two orbs. It was too much to bear for Daniel, and he came, a stream of thick, white cum filling her womanhood. The feeling of his semen inside of her was enough to push her over the edge as well, and she orgasmed shortly thereafter, pressing the back of his leg at the knee against him out of instinct, squeezing his right shoulder so hard that it was almost painful for Daniel.

He collapsed on top of her, feeling his upper body moving up and down slightly with her breathing.

“By the spirits,” she said, gasping for air “I need to lay with humans more. This was… amazing.”

“You were great yourself” he replied, panting heavily. That was an understatement, he thought.

She looked down at him, a smile appearing on her lips.

“Well, whenever you want another go…just ask” she mused, smirking “I always like guys that know how to have fun”.

They both looked up, seeing that the moon was slowly moving towards its Zenith.
“Better go to bed now. We still have a long journey ahead of us.” Said the huntress “ Feel free to stay here, I’ll try to squeeze as much as I can.”

He laughed “Have a good night, Zevna” he said.

“You too, Daniel”

 The orc watched as he started to move toward the bedroll.

The sensation she had felt in her body at the sight of his naked boy was still there, stronger than ever. She hadn’t felt something like that in years, so much so that at the moment, she even doubted it was real, and if it wasn’t just the bliss that she always felt after great intercourse. What if it was real, though? Should she just…go for it? A hint of sadness overtook her, as she thought about what would happen if she came forward to him.

Sure, he had enjoyed her body, but he was a human, a landed noble at that. He would never consider a relationship with a brutish, enormous orc like her, it would make him the laughingstock of the kingdom.

Then again…he was different from the other “civilized” folks. His past relationship with her people proved that. Maybe…she could see where this was going, and if her feelings were real…

She rose up from her position, walking towards the lake’s bank, hoping that a dip in the cold water would wash away all her doubts.

The next morning, Daniel woke up to the feeling of humid grass under the top of his head. As he opened his eyes, he noticed that he was on top of a large bedroll, covered in brushed black hair. He could still smell a hint of the large wild animal this hide had belonged to, which although not unpleasant, was certainly not the smell he was used to. His bedroll, while functional and austere, was certainly finer than this. He however realized that the hair that they had left on the hide was most likely the reason why it felt so comfortable.

Right, he and Zevna had slept together. That was something he wouldn’t have expected to happen three days before.

“Good morning Dan,” he heard a familiar voice say, and he looked up, seeing Zevna standing beside his makeshift bed, already fully clothed, smiling as he looked down at him.

“Get dressed, the others are waiting, we have still a long way to reach the volcano,” she said, tossing his shirt and pants at him.

He looked down, only then realizing that he was completely naked. As he grabbed his pants, he felt the urge to say something.

“…Zevna” he began, “What are we doing about this?”

She groaned “By the spirits, again?” she asked, a slightly annoyed expression in her voice “As I said, there is nothing more to it, it was just sex” She commented, even though she had begun to doubt the truthfulness of her words. “Not a big deal,” she said, more to remove those thoughts from her mind than to remark on her previous sentence.

“R-right, just sex.”

“Are you…starting to like me by any chance?”

He saw his face become the deepest shade of crimson she had ever seen.

“N-no,” he said. Maybe there was something, but she was obviously not sharing his sentiment, and he didn’t want her to have a bad impression of him.

She looked at him for a second. Much to her surprise, him spelling it out loud had stung a little.

“G-good” the orc replied, moving towards the sleeping form of Razor.

“Wake up girl,” she said, caressing the direwolf on her head.

“She stayed up all night to watch for us, poor thing” she clarified, looking at Daniel as the beast opened her eyes, staring at the knight for just a moment, before erupting in a heavy yawn as she rose.

“Good girl. I have a treat for you!” Zevna said, opening up her satchel, grabbing a large piece of dried meat, and offering it to the direwolf, who devoured it whole, the huge tongue soaking her hand completely.

“There you go!” she said, scratching the canine’s chin vigorously as the beast closed her eyes.

He couldn’t help but be amazed at the sight of the orc treating a beast that weighed probably well over a thousand pounds, with teeth the size of kitchen knives, as if it were a little pup.

She immediately noticed his astonished expression. “I’ve had her since she was a few weeks old. She’s one of my closest friends, I’ve never gone anywhere without her.”

“Oh, like me and Thunder,”

“I must say though, she is getting quite a hurdle to take care of…I hope she doesn’t grow that much bigger than this”

He froze, his face curved in an expression of complete bewilderment.

“She-she can get bigger?”

“Yes, wild direwolves are smaller because they are usually poorly fed, having to fight each other for scraps,” she explained “When domesticated, they can reach up to seven and a half feet in height”  she explained.

“A big girl,”

“Yep, like me” she laughed, as Razor turned towards him, her head starting to move towards the young knight slowly. He backed away instinctively, the sight of her large snout approaching while those pale-yellow eyes stared at him was making him really uncomfortable. Her nuzzle stopped mere inches from the knight, sniffing him slowly, as Daniel tried to remain as still as he could.
  “I think she’s starting to take a liking to you. Or maybe she smells my scent on you” Zevna said, smiling, moving towards them. “Come on, touch her!”

“Re-really?” he said, “Isn’t she gonna tear an arm off of me?”

“As long as you treat her well, no” she joked “Now be a fearless knight and come here!”

He approached the direwolf slowly, as he felt the weight of the beast’s gaze, the large yellow eyes staring at him as his hand began to extend towards her.
“E-easy” he muttered, as his glove-covered hand touched the canine’s shoulder, making contact with her thick fur. It didn’t feel different than patting a dog, he thought. A huge, ferocious dog, that he could see swallow a man whole, but still a dog.

“Very good,” the huntress said, as her hand traveled on the animal’s wide neck, until she felt the touch of his glove on top of it.

She felt her cheeks reddening slightly as she looked down at the noble, locking gaze with him.

As she stared into his green eyes, she realized that she was feeling something, something that she had never felt.

Before she could inquire on the nature of this sensation, they felt the direwolf under them shifting abruptly, turning towards a bush on the other side of the meadow they were in.

As they turned in that direction, they could see the leaves starting to move, branches rattling and shifting violently. As they went to grab their weapons, a familiar face suddenly appeared from the thicket, the face of a man sporting a trimmed, black beard.

“Oh, there you are! We were looking for you everywhere” Said Sir Andrew, his lips curled in a strange stiff smile. Daniel looked at him. He knew what that expression on your friend’s face meant.

“What happened, Andrew? ” he said in a serious tone.

“Well, is not something that happened, more like something that we found,”  he replied dryly. “Come, I’ll show you!”

They coasted the lake, rapidly surpassing the now-empty clearing where the other knights had made camp the night before, where the only creature visible was Thunder. After walking more than half a mile, they reached another area of the body of water, where the bank seemed to have partially sunk, creating somewhat of a gentle slide in the muddy terrain. There, a dozen feet from the bank, stood all his companions, forming a circle around something he couldn’t see. As they came closer, Daniel saw that Sir Roger was kneeling down, apparently inspecting something large on the ground.

His curiosity peaked as he caught a glimpse of what the older hunter was examining.

There was a wide indentation in the mud, like a small depression, a few feet deep, but shaped in the form of a central unit from where four branches departed, radially. He slowly approached, before the realization of what he was looking at made his blood freeze.

The ditch was at least three feet deep, nearing fifty feet in length from the base to the tip of the branches, and the central area was at least 25 feet wide. The branches themselves were relatively thin, still wide enough to probably fit a horse there, and around three horses in length. They had an odd shape, ending in a much thinner, tipped portion…

This was a footprint. An enormous, four-toed footprint, made by a creature of colossal size.

He instinctively backed away, scrambling to make as much distance between himself and the ditch as he could.

“The dra-dragon made this” Sir Daniel said, his voice trembling.

“These,” Said Sir Gregory, pointing to the right of him, where an equally massive footprint stood, and then another two, almost two hundred feet behind the others, well beyond where the lake clearing ended. Near those, he could also see a handful of uprooted trees, surely something that the massive appendages had to move out of the way to land.

“Shit,” he thought. The dragon had been there recently, almost right on top of them.

He saw Zevna immediately move to examine the right footprint.

“I’m not an expert in dragon’s footprints” admitted the huntress. “But considering that the mud remains on this one, which is far from the lake, are still a bit wet, I would say that the dragon came here not much before we arrived. Probably to drink.”

Daniel gulped audibly.

Man, how lucky had they been.

He saw Sir Roger rising up from his position, worry visible on his face.

“And that’s not the only bad news… I thought that the orcs were exaggerating, or that they had wrongly estimated its dimension, but now I think they were even a bit conservative. Judging by the size and deepness of these footprints, we are looking at a beast well above four hundred feet in length for several thousands of tons in  weight, probably nearing the 600 feet wingspan”

“But-but that’s more…”

“More than twice the size of an average dragon, yes. No wonder his hunting territory reaches outside of this kingdom,” said Sir Roger. “If we are to trust the signs of burnt wood and the smell of smoke of the other day, this would be a red dragon, the firebreathing variant. Now, red dragons are among the larger ones, but still…” he paused, scratching his head “We are looking at an extraordinary monster. I’ve never seen, or heard about, something like this. I’m sorry, Milord.” The confusion and doubt were visible in the veteran monster hunter’s face.

“Well, if that’s the case, I won’t stay there to witness it” intervened Sir Gregory, “I suggest you all pack your things and prepare to move, quickly, before this damned dragon decides to return while we are unprepared for it.”

The knights convened that that was a sound suggestion, and they started to make their way towards their camp. As they saddled their horses and began to move away from the lakeside, Sir Daniel and Zevna reconvened what they had found the night before, the hunted hare, an obvious sign that someone else was in this forest.

“Hmmm,” said Sir Gregory, “I didn’t see any signs of large parties or camps in the area. And truth be told, this isn’t the first place I would go out hunting, even if the scenery is pleasant.”

“I hope they have not anticipated us,” said Sir Daniel.

“Well, the dragon seems alive and kicking, so to speak, as far as the signs show” the older knight replied, “But I agree with our…guide,” he said, stopping for a second “Getting into contact with them could be wise.”

After riding for another mile or so, something caught the attention of Zevna’s sharp nose, a peculiar scent. That was not good, she thought.

“If they are still alive.” said the huntress in a grim tone, her curiosity making Razor turn toward the direction that the smell came from.

The other riders instinctively followed her, and it took them only a few seconds to start to notice it, a faint hint of something that they immediately recognized as burnt flesh and incinerated wood.

In a couple of minutes, they reached an area where the trees were again sparse, something that resembled a clearing, if not by the fact that the area had been cleared by what looked like a stampede of cows or boars: several trees laid down uprooted, others smashed or broken in half, their branches scattered around or floating in the nearby creek. They could also see the same deep four-toed footprints, one of which was half covered by the two halves of a snapped tree trunk, that continued ahead of them, following a path of similarly destroyed vegetation.

For whatever reason, they decided to follow that path, and as they did, Sir Roger realized that something odd about those tracks. The distance between one set of footprints and the other was larger than what he calculated the step of the dragon would be, as if it wasn’t standing on all fours, but instead on its hind legs.

Before he could voice his doubts to the group, they reached the source of the smell:  

the remains of several burned trees dotted a pretty large clearing, alongside the remains of what looked like a human camp, fragments of torn and burnt tent cloths scattered around, along with at least a couple of dozens of axes, swords and pikes, many of their handles and blades blackened and charred. Looking around, they saw a number of arrows and crossbow bolts sticking out of the nearby trees and the soft ground. They looked like they were of human-making, but Daniel couldn’t recognize the heraldry nor the workmanship of the weapons.

“You were right,” said Daniel to Zevna “Someone other than us was looking to hunt the dragon.”

Zevna’s only answer was a worried glance and a loud gulp.

Whoever they were, there was little doubt about the success of their endeavor: Half a dozen men laid strewn around the clearing, their armor blackened, numerous burns on their flesh, deep, heavy claw marks on the metal and on the unprotected parts of their body, claws that had torn through the skin and meat, leaving the bone exposed.

“But where are the other knights?” asked Sir Geralt. “This many weapons, for six men?”There are much less corpses than weapons here.”

“They probably fled,” answered Sir Daniel. He couldn’t say he blamed them.

His own doubts about this whole endeavor had started to creep up again, he seriously started to think that they weren’t equipped to deal with it.

He looked at his knights: Despite how they were forcing themselves to keep a calm, confident appearance,  he could see how the realization of the true danger that this beast posed had affected them, how wary they were in their motions, their eyes constantly looking at the sky.

He turned towards Zevna. In these weeks, she had seen her maintain her composure, even after she had revealed to him her worries about this mission and her family. In a way, she had become sort of the model for them all, with her determination and level-headedness. This was the first time since she had joined their expedition that Daniel had seen her genuinely afraid, her eyes wide, her grip on her direwolf reins so tight that her fingers had become white.

His eyes moved to Sir Henryk: the poor boy was the most scared of the bunch, constantly looking around with his crossbow at the ready, aiming it in the direction of every rustling he heard, shaking like a leaf.

He was so young, Daniel considered, not even twenty winters old. He didn’t deserve to die here.

Enough, he decided. Next time they camped, he would consult Sir Gregory and Zevna privately, and if they agreed, they would return home. These mountains were dangerous enough even without that hellish spawn, he couldn’t risk the life of his men for his foolhardyness. They will come back, with more manpower, better supplied, more prepared. He would study the books and the reports to obtain more informations on the beasts, and the arcane tomes to try and better understand how to kill such a foe.

He knew that his father wouldn’t let him hear the end of it, but it was the best decision.

He didn’t want to be responsible for these men’s deaths. To leave Andrew’s son without a father. To leave Kendar without a sister. 

Especially now.

In the next two hours, as he thought about the next course of action, they managed to make their way out of the forest, and as they emerged, they saw a large, rocky field, delimited by a series of cliffs, emerging in front of them. In front of them, the Ashen Peak loomed, looking relatively close, the ash-covered highlands at his base clearly visible, although they couldn’t see a way up the mountain.

“Looks like we’re nearing our destination,” commented Sir Gregory “Maybe tomorrow afternoon, we will get to the base of the volcano.”

“It looks like there’s no way to climb that mountain on horseback” intervened Sir Geralt “We need to find a way up”

“We will think about it when we’re there,” said Sir Daniel, his heart heavy. “I think that for the moment, it’s best to find a place to make camp, somewhere out of sight.”

“What do you think of that?” said Sir Henryk, gesturing to a large cliff in the distance, that loomed above the plains, covering a large area under its shadow.

Sir Gregory eyed the ridge.

 “Will do, it looks only a few hours away,” he concurred, “let’s go.”

An hour later, whilst they were crossing a somewhat open ravine, surrounded by large rocks and small ridges, Sir Andrew made his way towards Daniel.

“I know that face,” said the black-haired knight “You’re rethinking this whole endeavor”

Daniel looked at him, a confident smile on Andrew’s face

“I…” he stopped “I can’t lie to you, that’s what I was thinking,”

Andrew crossed his arms over the pommel of his saddle.

“I’ll be honest, I’m not so sure myself. I don’t know what the whole deal of that other hunting party was, how trained and equipped they were, but what we saw is concerning for sure.”

“Yes, it is. As you said the other day, we could be recklessly waltzing to our deaths” replied Daniel

“I must say, there is something that doesn’t sit right with me in this whole thing” commented Sir Andrew “So whatever you decide, I’m with you, and I’ll do my best to convince the others. Bernard and Sir Geralt could be hard to wrestle away from  this quest.”

“Thanks.” said Daniel “I’ve really got to earn their respect in some way.”

“I can understand where they are coming from.” said Andrew “Bernard grew up with the stories of great deeds that his grandfather and uncle did in the Great War, while Geralt is just a landless man-at-arms who has had the luck to marry one of the richest widows of Vernesse. I can see why both of them feel the need to prove themselves and to finally put some meat behind the bullshit that they go around telling to the tavern maidens,” he said, both knights sharing a laugh at his last sentence.

“Speaking of maidens,” he said, changing subject, eyeing Daniel knowingly.

He instinctively backed away from his eyes “Wha-what?”
“So, yesterday you disappeared after dinner, saying that you were looking for “traces”. Then I find you and your guide together, her hand on top of yours,” he said “What should I conclude from this?” he asked, smiling amusingly.

Daniel sighed “Yes, we did…have sex.”

Andrew gave him a pan on the shoulder, laughing heartily.

“Good for you, my friend! I see you haven’t lost your touch!... And it ended there, I presume?”

“Ye-yes, it did. Why do you a-ask?” he answered, trying his best to keep his cool.

“Nothing in particular…just checking…” he chuckled a little “I would love to see the face of your father if you come from this mission hand in hand with her.”

“I said it was nothing”

Andrew looked at him, not fully convinced.

“Whatever is the case…I’m glad you two are finding ways to keep yourself entertained even in this grim scenario. She’s a bit rough around the edges, but she’s certainly better than some of Ann’s friends.”

Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by a heavy rumbling sound. As they looked in front of them, they saw a large rock rolling off a ridge, towards the base of the field.

“That’s fine, men,” said Sir Gregory, who was standing a little ways away from the two friends, in front of the column “It’s only a…” BOOOM, another boulder, much closer than the previous one, crashed in front of the old warrior, startling his horse, who pranced violently. Before they could understand what the source of that was, a third rock smashed on the left side of the column, inches from Sir Bernard’s horse, who threw off its rider from its back, making him crash audibly on the rocky terrain.

“AMBUUUSH!” shouted Sir Roger, as they saw various large shapes reveal themselves from their hiding position on the cliffs “GET READY, EVERYONE!” he added, unsheathing his sword.

Rapidly the 8 or so large figures charged down the ridges towards the back of the party, crudely-made clubs in hand: All at least 11 feet tall, grey-skinned, covered in spotted white and grey fur, black, rocky-looking excrescences growing from various parts of their bodies. As they approached them, they could see their large, four-fanged mouths, each of those overgrown canines almost one foot long, and the two thick, twisted black horns growing from their head.

“Rock trolls!” Shouted Sir Roger. Great, thought Daniel, the only kind of troll whose regeneration wasn’t harmed by fire.

As he mentally reviewed his spells for something that could help deal with them, the knights saw a black arrow flying directly over their head, hitting one of the larger trolls squarely in the chest, followed by another one, that planted itself on the beast’s thigh. Turning around, Daviel saw Zevna, bow in hand, who gave him a nod as she nocked a third arrow on her bow, while her mount gained the front of the line swiftly, her fangs bared.

While true, her shots weren’t enough to slow down the charge, and the brutish creatures impacted their column with the force of a battering ram, swinging wildly with their weapons, rapidly putting their line in disarray. Daniel saw that a couple of the horses had been hit particularly hard, knocking down Sir Bernard and Sir Henryk of their saddle

“REGROUP” shouted Sir Gregory, as Sir Bernard stood up, drawing his crossbow and loading a bolt.

 “QUICKLY, THE FROST VIALS!” suggested the young knight, quickly regaining his footing before grabbing a bluish vial from his pouch, throwing it on the side of the closest troll, who yelled in pain as a large frost burn appeared on its skin, ice coalescing around it.  “Target the frozen parts!” intervened Sir Roger.

Daniel quickly rode towards the creature, sword in hand, stabbing and slashing the spot, dark reddish liquid pouring from the wound.

He glanced around. Despite the violence of the first impact, it had only taken a couple of moments for his knights to recover from the surprise assault, and now they were charging the trolls, sword in hand. He could see how deftly the experienced warrior, most still on horseback, managed to dodge the big, lumbering hits from the behemoths, spraying the alchemical vials on the creature’s skin before slicing the affected areas, dashing away their barrel-sized clubs. In the midst of them was the grey form of Razor, darting from one troll to the other, trying her best to bite and knock down the monsters while Zevna unleashed arrow after arrow from the back of the animal.

However, giantkins were known to be formidable melee fighters, and having to take them basically one in one was anything but easy. He quickly noticed how the wounds made in areas unaffected by the frost rapidly regenerated, and their alchemist’s frost reserves were dwindling.

After a few minutes of intense fight, Sir Daniel could see how exhaustion was beginning to show on his companion, their armor battered and bent inward from the few club strikes that had hit, and blood pouring from the mouths of Andrew and Geralt. After a heavy hit on the shoulder, the direwolf had thrown Zevna off, and he noticed the canine limping on its left front leg, while two of the giants cornered her and her rider against an enormous boulder.

The only one that was giving the creatures a run for their money was Sir Roger, having almost bested one troll, but he could see how another troll, having knocked Bernard unconscious, was making its way towards him.

As he went to shout “RETREAT!”, the keg-sized head of a club hit Thunder right in the shoulder, knocking him down and making Daniel fall right on his feet, his sword knocked out of his hand. He turned around just in time to see the largest of the trolls, almost as tall as a two-story building, made his way towards him, raising its club above its head, preparing to smash the young knight into a pulp.

As he saw his life flashing before his eyes, every escape cut off from him, he heard a loud yell coming from its left, followed by a whistle:

“OH NO YOU DON’T!” Shouted Zevna, as an arrow hit the troll squarely on its upper lip, making him yell in pain and smash the club on the ground blindly, missing Daniel only by a couple of inches. Before the colossus could regain his footing, a large grey mass of fur jumped upon its right arm, clawing and biting at the troll’s skin, in an attempt to damage the troll and make it drop its weapon, while the orc dropped her bow on the ground, grabbing two jagged handaxes.

However, as much as Razor tried, the thick, stone-like hide of the troll was impossible to penetrate for her teeth, and the giantkin, after the initial surprise,  simply shoved the direwolf off of it with a mighty push, before grabbing the animal in mid-air, sinking its long, hooked canines in the animal’s thigh, tearing off a large chunk of flesh.
Daniel, who had taken advantage of the momentary distraction to slip away and recover his sword, heard a pained yowl as Razor was thrown on a rock violently, falling unconscious as she hit the ground. He himself was just recovering his footing when a large meaty head grabbed him by the ankle, lifting him effortlessly, as he found himself looking at the face of the troll, its blood-stained mouth opening in a menacing growl.

His eyes darted around nervously, seeing in the corner of his eye how the other four trolls surrounded his companions, Zevna standing right in front of her mount, screaming bloody murder as tears ran down her face.

The troll threw his captive on the ground violently, a shard of jagged rock penetrating deep into its abdomen; He closed his eyes, Daniel prayed to the gods, prayed that his companion would forgive him, prayed that Zevna would, until they all heard something, a thunderous roar reverberating through the field.
Mustering his last remaining forces, he looked up, as a huge, impossibly large shadow blotted out the sun.

“Shit.” was the only thought which crossed the knight’s mind, as consciousness left him.