Intimancer

“Oh look, we broke her.”

“Oi!  There was no ‘we’ in any of this, that was all Lilie.”  Rick shot back at Daniela's comment.  As confident as he was in his oral skills, he doubted he could bring anyone, let alone a literal blushing virgin like Ariwyn, to such a thunderous orgasm in thirty seconds flat.  His rubied eyed lover was certainly in a class all her own.

The healer in question still bore the glassy-eyed grin of someone coming down from the most glorious of highs.  Her long tongue was slowly wiping across her pointy teeth and her hands were cradling her blushing face with her fingers splayed everywhere.  The sight made his already constrained pants become just that much tighter.

“Well then… I guess I should get back to work.”  She slurred slightly before turning to Tyr.  “Let’s see how bad the damage is.”

The soft glow of Lilie’s power suffused the pregnant woman before dimming a short time later.  The shaytoni’s expression sobered immediately and she just barely bit back a curse.  Sucking in a deep breath, she slowly exhaled and let her medical training take over as she cast the spells needed to get her friend back into fighting shape.

After a full minute, Lilie cut off the flow of mana to her spell.  “Ariwyn?”  She said, turning to the young woman still laying on the ground and hiding her face.

“Yes?”

“As much as I act like a semen demon, your help has already been invaluable in helping me save my friend's life.”  She bowed her head in gratitude.  “So thank you, truely.”

“All of us thank you.”  Rick said as he and the others joined the healer in bowing to the young woman.

Ariwyn practically jumped up to her feet in surprise.  “N-no!  It was n-nothing, I s-swear!”

Lilie also stood so she could look the elf eye to eye.  “It was far more than ‘nothing’, but I understand the sentiment.  Besides, I look forward to doing it again for more… recreational purposes next time.”  She said with a sly wink.

The high elf’s face flushed crimson once more and everyone let out good hearted chuckles at the exchange.

“So how bad were Tyr’s injuries?”  Rick asked.

Lilie’s face puckered like she swallowed a lemon.  “I won’t go into the full details, but let’s just say I’m glad she can now walk.”

“I thank ye.”  Tyr whispered softly as she gingerly rose to her full height.

“Any time you big lug!”  Lilie laughed.  “But let’s all be more careful during this next fight, yeah?  While Ariwyn gave me quite the boost, I’m a far cry away from where we started this whole misadventure.”

“Aye!”  They all cried in unison.

With that all settled, the group set out.  The trail Ariwyn’s mother took was easy to follow, with enough room between the stone wall and the chasm to their side to fit three people of Tyr’s size side by side with no issue.  They navigated the darkness for several minutes in their standard formation until the trail curved around and revealed their destination ahead of them.

It was a large area about the size of a football pitch.  Much like their previous fighting arena, the area was surrounded on three sides by stone walls with the fourth jutting out sharply into the black abyss they had been traveling alongside the entire trail.

Standing beside the cliff edge, surrounded by torches, was Lady Rivenmoor and the final mercenary.

The noble woman looked up at the approaching group and scowled.  She waved for the other woman to continue whatever she was doing and stepped forward.  With an ethereally graceful motion that no doubt came from decades of practice, she drew the saber at her hip and brandished it at the oncoming party.

“That is far enough.”  She declared defiantly.

Ariwyn shoved her way forward until she stood face to face with the older elf.  “Mother!  Why are you doing this?  Why did you have to kidnap Sade?  Please, tell me!”

Lady Rivenmoor’s delicate brows rose in surprise.  “Ariwyn…”  Her eyes hardened instantly and she fixed Rick with a furious glare.  If looks could kill, he would have disintegrated instantly.  “My daughter?!  Is there no end to your lust and avarice?!”

“Whoa!  I didn't do anything here!  She’s the one who came to us with the location of this place.  All we want is Sade back unharmed.”  Rick shouted hastily with his hands up in the air.  He felt somewhat bad for throwing Ariwyn under the proverbial bus, but if they had any hope of resolving this whole situation peacefully, the last thing he wanted was Lady Rivenmoor to think he defiled her daughter.

The high elf’s glare turned back to Ariwyn.  “The harlot will soon be purified of this man’s taint.  Now step aside while I deal with him and the rest of those afflicted.”

“Mother!”

“I said stand aside!”

Lady Rivenmoor’s free hand burst into pale turquoise flames.  In one swift motion, she dragged her sword through the fire, completely coating the blade in ghostly light, and swung her weapon in a wide arc behind her.  The magical flames sprayed out in a wide fan and ignited the ground into a blazing wall between her and the mercenary.  Daniela appeared the moment the inferno sprang up and yelped in surprise.

In an instant, Lady Rivenmoor sprang into action and dashed towards the exposed thief.  Danaiela managed to dive under the first swing before Rick and Lilie managed to close the gap and cover the rest of her retreat.

“Thanks for the save!”  The dwarf called out.

“Anytime!”  Rick replied before leaping back to avoid a retaliatory strike from the flaming sword.  “See if you can get past that fire, she’s blocking us for a reason.”

His attention was split for only a moment.  But that singular instant was enough for his opponent to slip under his guard and plant her foot into his gut.  It felt like he had just been slammed by a speeding motorcycle.  All the air he had erupted out of his mouth as he was sent flying backward.

“Bold of you to assume that your pathetic lot is a match for me.”  The older elf sneered.  With a single sweep of her arm, Lilie’s shield rang like a gong before she too was sent tumbling away.

“And of course she’s bloody overleveled compared to us.”  Rick wheezed.

Ariwyn stood there frozen.  She hadn’t moved a single muscle since the fight started.  Rick coughed and waved his hand in her general direction.  “Ariwyn.  Get out of here and get to safety!”

His voice seemed to have roused her from her shock.  “W-what about you?” She asked.

Tyr slid over and helped Rick get back on his feet.  “We ain't leaving ‘til we find Sade.”  She said with a wry grin.  Her expression softened slightly.  “But that’s our fight, not yers.”

The pale elf shook her blond head.  “Not my fight?!  But what about my mo-”

“Mistress!”

All eyes, including Lady Rivenmoor’s, turned to face the wall of flames.  A shadow appeared from beyond the superheated barrier, growing larger and larger before a monstrous figure stepped through the inferno to survey the battlefield before it.

The thing was tall.  Standing on two huge clawed feet, the dark green plated crest rose past even Tyr’s impressive height.  Its eyes glowed an infernal crimson, while familiar cracks in its chitinous armor shone with a similar illumination.  A long purple tongue flicked out between rows and rows of needle sharp teeth, while each of its four hands were tipped in wicked claws.  Unlike the previous incarnations, two of its hands each held what appeared to be bone blades, while its long reptilian tail poked out from what appeared to be a ragged cloak draped over its back.

“Do you wish for me to bring forth any more demons mistress?”  The mercenary woman shouted from her position behind the magical barrier Lady Rivenmoor conjured.

“No.  Proceed with the purification ritual, I want no further delays.”  The noble woman said before turning to the demon.  “Deal with these intruders, but take care not to kill the human male or my daughter.”  She ordered.

“So all these creatures we’ve been fighting, have been demons summoned by you?!”  Lilie spat.

“You know nothing girl.”  Lady Rivenmoor said coldly.

“The fuck I don’t!”  The furious shaytoni screamed.  “All this time my tribe has been spat on and degraded, all because we supposedly look and act like demons.  And yet the high elf scion of a noble house just casually orders her subordinates to summon one?!”

Lilie’s anger rolled off her in waves that Rick swore he could see with the naked eye.  She held out her sword and pointed it towards the monstrosity.  “I’ll take the ugly fucker.  Me and my ancestors have a score to settle.”

A small smirk quirked itself at the corner of the noble woman’s lips.  “You will have to be a bit more specific with your request.”

Before anyone could question what she meant, the demon took a single step forward and threw back its plated head to let out an ear piercing screech.  The sound was like a combination of nails on a chalkboard and a t-rex.  Poor Tyr stumbled back several paces while clutching her extra sensitive ears in agony from the sheer volume alone.  When the last of the monster’s cry faded away into the depths of the tunnel system, the hunters heard something else call back, several somethings.

Rick’s heart sank as the hauntingly familiar sound of claws scraping against stone slowly grew closer with each heartbeat.  What was worse, was that the sound was multiplying at an alarming rate.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me!”  He whined as a hoard of the small scythe-clawed demons poured out the tunnels behind them like rats fleeing a sinking ship.

“This can’t be happening…”  Ariwyn whispered.

“Everyone, form up!”  Tyr bellowed while hefting up her bow.

“All the attacks on mages… I read the reports… it was my own mother.”

“Ariwyn, if you are going to leave, you best do it now!”  Rick cried and tried to shake the young elf’s shoulder.

Ariwyn’s face contorted in fury.  She knocked away Rick’s arm and pointed an accusatory finger towards the still smirking Lady Rivenmoor.  “How DARE you!”  She screamed.  “How dare you throw our house’s name and reputation into the mud!  How dare you betray the kingdom we have sworn to protect with our lives!”

Her mother’s expression morphed into one of cold contempt.  “Our house swore to protect the land of our ancestors.  Which kingdom happens to claim ownership at the time is irrelevant.”

“You… you…  AAAAHHHHHGGGGG!!!”  Ariwyn’s voice faded before she let out a scream of anger and disbelief.  Magic flooded around her arm as she swung it towards the skittering hoard and unleashed a painfully familiar spell.

A balloon of multicolored magic inflated from her palm, growing larger and larger.  Ariwyn screamed some more as she poured all her grief and indignation into the spell alongside her mana.  The bubble swelled to even greater volume until it was as wide around as Rick was tall before the young magus hurled it forward towards the oncoming demons.

“DIE!”  She screeched and the magic exploded.

Streams of magical bolts poured out of the bubble like the birth of a new galaxy, every one of them rocketing towards an individual beast.  The results were devastating.  Packed in as tight as they were, the charging monsters had nowhere to evade as the magic pierced their armored hides and turned their bodies into swiss cheese.  The bolts were so powerful that many of them pierced clean through their initial target and went on to skewer several more demons that marched just behind.

Wave after wave of monsters were cut down like stalks of wheat to a farmer's scythe.  For as long as he had been on Parva, Rick had heard tales of how powerful and awe inspiring a magus was.  Never in all his dreams did he ever imagine just how inadequate those descriptions truly were.

And Sade willingly gave up that power to be more like me.

The thought was absolutely baffling.  Yet he couldn’t help but feel a small sensation of warmth at the idea.  It was all the more important that they finish the job and bring Sade home.

When the last of the madly rushing demons fell, the floating orb distorted and finally popped, creating a small shower of multicolored sparks to rain down.  Ariwyn lowered her arm and wobbled where she stood.  Thankfully Daniela appeared right behind her as her legs gave out and caught the high elf before she could crash to the hard ground.

“There… Now it… Should be a fair fight.”  Ariwyn said weakly while giving Rick and the others a raised thumb.

“Indeed.”  Lilie agreed with a nod before turning back to the only demon left in the room.  “Now it’s time to do our part.”

The demon let out another bellow before it too charged into the fray.  Lilie let out her own furious war cry and sprinted forward to meet it.  She ducked under the twin slashes aimed for her head and slammed her shield into the monster’s gut.  The air rang with the sound of metal clashing against demonic exoskeleton and Rick saw the beast actually get knocked off its feet slightly from the sheer force of the blow.

He also saw Lady Rivenmoor dashing towards Lilie’s exposed back, her flaming sword raised to strike.

Before she could get within striking distance of the healer, several arrows slammed into the ground by her feet, forcing the noble woman to leap back.  Rick’s spear was already waiting for her, and she had to continue to backpedal to avoid being skewered.

“Your fight’s with me!”  He growled while launching a series of attacks aimed for her limbs.  “Let’s not bring anyone else into this.”

“Fine then.”  Lady Rivenmoor said with a huff.  “Let us see if you can last.”

“I’m pretty sure it's a requirement for my vocation.  At least in the bedroom.”  He quipped.  The high elf’s retort was drowned out by a round of more furious shouting from out of sight.

“Hey Rick,”  Tyr said, a hint of nervousness coloring her voice.

“What is it, more demons?”  He asked as he attempted to parry a blow aimed for his shoulder.  His arms screamed in pain at the sheer power behind the attack.  The woman probably had double the amount of strength he did.  He attempted to disengage so that Tyr had a chance to lay down some suppressive fire.

While that was his plan, it seemed the high elf swordswoman had other ideas.  She followed his lead like a professional ballroom dancer, always sticking close enough that her imbued sword was always in reach from multiple angles.

“What’s the matter boy?  Where is that foolish confidence in your abilities now?”  She laughed before raking her burning blade across his exposed cheek.

Before he knew it, his legs got swept up from underneath him and he fell down to the ground.  Landing hard on his rear, he looked up to see Lady Rivenmoor standing above him, her sword aimed for his throat.

“Pathetic.”  She scoffed.  “It seems I got my hopes up after your group managed to fight your way here.  I suppose it was more a fault with my employees.  After that debacle with securing your little slut, I really should have hired better help.”

Her smile grew predatory.  “Now be a good little boy and-”

Her words were interrupted when a gigantic brown fist slammed into the side of her face.