Get to safety

Your muscles slowly regain strength as the two of you push further and further away from the monster village. There’s no way to tell which direction you’re going with no clear view of the sky, so you can’t tell if you’re heading back towards Evris or not. Hell, you don’t even know what part of the forest the village is in, since you were taken there while ****. You want to ask about what happened, about where you just were, about who those adventurers were and why they were there. You have so many questions, but a look at Blythe’s stressed expression assures you that now isn’t the time for that. Putting as much distance between you and the monsters who held you captive is the number one priority right now. You keep moving, the forest seeming to go on forever, until there’s no more daylight poking through the trees to guide you.

“Blythe, we have to stop,” you say. You grab her hand and she turns to you, eyes wide and glistening with tears in the dark. You pull her into you and hug her tight, feeling her body still shaking from what the two of you just went through. She grips your back tightly and breathes deeply for a little while, until eventually her body stops shaking and she’s able to pull away. “One day out of the town and I’ve already dragged you into a situation like that. I’m so sorry, Blythe.”

You suddenly feel her hands on the sides of your head, followed by the touch of her lips to yours. You try to follow her as she retreats a moment later, but she continues to hold you in place.

“I was frightened,” she says. “But only because I failed to protect you.”

Reaching up, you grab both her hands and gently lower them. “It’s thanks to you that we got out of there.”

“I do not believe I could have had such an opportunity without the distraction caused by those adventurers.”

“Then we owe them our thanks,” you say. “Too bad that’s a debt we’ll probably never repay. Do you think they were there for the monsters, or for us?”

Blythe thinks for a moment, then responds, “I believe they were there concerning the monsters. The harpy who… did things to me… she said that she has been {if BKnowsUrDL = 1}the one {endif}luring lumberjacks away and killing them. She claimed it was justice against those seeking to destroy her home.” You briefly recall the lamia saying something similar. Defending your home is fair enough, you think, but do you really have to capture and fuck them?

You ask Blythe about what happened after the fight with the griffins and dire wolves as the two of you work in the dark setting up one of the tents. She tells you that you were charmed by the voice of the harpy with the cyan hair, and then grabbed by the lamia with the plaid shirt before Blythe could do anything. She tried to fight, but she was already hurt and couldn’t move as quickly as she needed in order to keep up with her opponents. The harpy quickly bested her, and the two of you were taken to the village. Once there, you were stripped and encased in a pile of webbing by a horde of the chihuahua-sized spiders you saw earlier, and she was taken to a slime woman who sealed up her wounds. Then the harpy took her to her tree and played with her body for hours. Apparently it was a lot of teasing and tickling, with no opportunity for release.

Neither of you bother with the second tent, opting instead to crawl in together and spoon each other in the small hideout for the night. You both keep your weapons nearby as you sleep, should any threat find you before morning.

…

Dawn comes and you wake up with Blythe still sleeping soundly as the little spoon. This is the first time since you’ve met her that you woke up first, so you savor the image of her sleeping form. Her body slowly rises and falls with her breath, her ass pressing into your groin to make sure your dick wakes up with the rest of you. Her hands rest curled up in front of her gently smiling face. Golden hair falls over her face, which you tenderly pull back behind her ear. Her eyes flutter open at your touch.

“Good morning,” you say. You rub her shoulder and then run your hand down the length of her arm to end up lacing your fingers into hers. She smiles at the union of fingers in front of her face.

“Good morning, Evan,” she says. She turns her head to look at you, and you lean in to kiss her. You both take in the moment as the sun fills the tent with the light of a new day, enjoying each other’s presence as if nothing outside of this tent matters. Then, breaking off the kiss, you crawl out of the tiny shelter and take a look around.

There’s no way of telling where you are by looking. It’s just forest all the way around. You have a vague guess as to what direction you came from, but still no idea what part of the forest you’re in. You were heading north before you were attacked, but neither of you had a reason for going that way. At the time, you just thought it was important to move, so you did. Maybe now you should actually consider where you plan on going. Once Blythe crawls out of the tent, the two of you get to work dismantling it. As you work, you bring up the topic on your mind.

“We need a destination,” you say. “Being on the move is important, but wandering aimlessly isn’t helping us.”

“You are right,” says Blythe. “There is a limit to how much I can train you on the road, as well. Perhaps, if we could make it to Auremport, we could travel by sea to somewhere remote.”

“Too risky. We’d be two against the whole crew if someone on the ship found out who I am.”

“Who we are. I am with you to the end, Evan. Please, stop attempting to shoulder everything yourself.” She stops what she’s doing to give you a meaningful stare. You answer her with a look of your own. “Perhaps we should endeavor to travel to the ruins of Aleswin.”

“Is that the old castle in the corner of the map that you told me about?”

“Yes. It stands far to the west of Elethwren Forest. It was once the seat of a grand elven kingdom, but for thousands of years it has stood as a ruin at the center of a large region of charred, dead soil. None go near it for fear of ancient curses.”

“I’m more worried about current problems than ancient ones.”

“I am as well.”

You finish packing up the tent and pull out the map of the region. Getting to Aleswin would take at least a fortnight, and both the northern and southern routes around the Sisters would take you through settled territories where you could be caught. You’re considering which route to take when you hear movement in the nearby brush.

Blythe draws her rapier immediately, swinging around to face the direction of the sound. You stuff the map in your pocket and ready your {if@ sword = true}sword{elseif mace = true}mace{elseif spear = true}spear{endif}. As you spot movement in the plants before you, you’re surprised by who you see emerge. Stepping through a bush and into view are two people: a man wearing white robes — now fairly dirty thanks to trekking through the woods — and a catkin woman with short black hair who’s wearing the same muddy, beige gown you’ve seen her in thrice before. It’s Lia, and she’s holding a focus crystal with a dowsing needle pointed straight at you.