Vagabond’s Quest

Scene I: Deep Forest

“Away, away, the horizon begs me on…”
It was true.  The path disappeared around the horizon, and I had the urge to follow it.

“My legs shall not see rest until the dawn…”
Around me, the darkened forest, tinted green as light filtered through the leaves, was getting darker as the sun set, and the villagers in the last town had warned me never to go off the path nor fall asleep at night…

“And hark!  Though sleep threatens to drag me under…”
The bags under my eyes must have reached my lips by now… it had been a few days since I had last slept, and it was catching up to me.  Had this blasted forest no end?

“My feet shall strike the ground, till it is torn asunder!”
The rhythm of my footsteps was slow but steady, all that was keeping me awake.

    I guess a little introduction is in order.  I am Kythe.  Kythe Shard, the wandering storyteller.  If you can’t figure it out, I tell stories for a living.  I stand at about 5’ 8”, With deep, emerald green eyes and dark brown hair. And yes, I am a guy, before you start picturing something strange.  The date is, if this forest has not been more accursed then the stories say, the third Starday of Early Summer, 999 AL (After-Lucitain) And Ru Lunae is next to cross Sol’s path.  Got it yet?  You guessed it; this isn’t your home plane.  This story, and the ones that follow, are on Elura, a very… ahem…  ‘Earth’-like planet.  Things are a little different from your own planet.  Such as, the 9- different colored moons that circle our globe, and… well… magic.  Yes, magic.  You know.  Abracadabra and all that rot.  Except a bit more intense than that.

Anyway, back to my story. Some of you may be wondering how I became a Bard of the land, but that is a story for another time.  Right now, I am on my way to the town of Kasio.  It is a prosperous port town that should hold a lot of gold for a man like me.
But, between me and Kasio is the dread Poirir forest, a place that I have been warned many times to never enter.  ‘Tis a dangerous place!’  ‘Many a man and woman alike have fallen in there!’

“Oh well… sigh…” I said, kicking a stone along the path.  It skittered, struck another stone, and flew off some direction in the woods.  I had been kicking that stone for hours now, so it only saddened me that I lost it.  My pack was feeling heavier by the second.  My shoulders were numb from the leather straps, and no amount of padding I had added would help.  

There have been several stories about this wood; Imps that would lead you into swamps, Nymphs that would turn into hags in front of your eyes and the such, but I don’t believe any of those.  They are only stories.  The true danger is how incredibly boring it is.

I stopped on the trail as Sol was just clearing the horizon.  Although I wouldn’t let myself sleep- I had herbs with me that would keep anyone awake for hours, thank Yaegern- I would still use this time to rest my feet and flex my shoulders.  It was a beautiful little grove of ash trees, a little brook ran through it, eddying a little in the center to form a pool.  Wild flowers of all different colors, shapes and sizes.  I must say, even with the herbs, it was hard to keep my eyes open.  I dug through my pack, opening a trail-ration package.  It was a simple leather pouch, full of various edible… things.  I swear I found a finger of a goblin in one once, but at least it was still edible.  A little spring water, a few roots and some meat made a quick stew, the fragrance of which was very mouth-watering after the last few days of nothing but trail-jerky and the occasional berry or nut.  I made a little fire out of dry sticks in the glade, set the small field pot in the coals, and waited.

The song was silent at first, just below my hearing range.  Then, it seemed to grow more intense.  I couldn’t tell how much time had passed; I was too enraptured by it.  It didn’t seem to have any true words, at least, none that I could hear from where I was. I have heard many songs and many tales, but none could match this one in pure beauty. I looked around.  It was coming from downstream.  I really didn’t want to follow it, there were stories of imps… but then, I did want to know what could make such a wonderful sound, and if it would teach me a thing or two…  Before I knew it, my legs were moving, pushing me towards the song, and away from the path.

I was treading down a hill, using maple saplings to catch myself, when I could make out the words to the song.  Here is what I remember of it:

“I don’t know.
What words, I can sing.
The wind has a way, to talk to me.
Flowers sleep,
A Silent lullaby,
I pray for reply,
I’m reaaaddddyyy…

Silent.  Day.
Calm.  Sleep,
Oh serenity.
Someone.  Please.
Tell.  Me.
Hmmmmmmm, what is it they say?
Maybe I will know one day.

I don’t know.
What words, I can sing.
The wind has a way, to talk to me.
Flowers sleep,
A Silent lullaby,
I pray for reply,
I’m reaaaddddyyy…”

The song turned back to a soft hum that echoed through the forest. I could never get it out of my head for weeks to come, no matter how hard I tried.  Nor could I forget the creature that was singing it.  She was waist-deep in a pool, her back turned towards me.  Tales of old told of these charming denizens of the forest, and their immeasurable beauty, but I was awestruck.  Her hair was long, red with summer, and full of leaves, entwined around in braids with simple, uncut stones of some value.  It was curled in the back with a set of antlers, presumably some that she picked up somewhere.  Her skin was a light tan, like smooth maple bark, and it shone as she splashed water up onto her body.  This was a Dryad,  Kindred spirits of the trees.

I took another step, then another. With her singing and splashing, she didn’t hear me coming.  I snapped off the rest of my Armor (it was already half-off, I wasn’t really expecting to get attacked.) and set it down as she dipped her head under.  Her head came back up, a red, wet flurry of hair.  She began drying this out as I stepped into the water.

    This time, she did hear me, and she spun around, one arm across her breast, the other effectively hiding her crotch.  Any sensible being would scream at this point, but she seemed much calmer than anyone else I have known, even in this awkward situation.
    
    So, I did the only thing I could do, standing on the shore of a pond in my under-clothes, staring at a beautiful Dryad.  I began to sing with her.  The song was easily memorized, the melody split perfectly for a duet. It took her a few seconds to realize just what I was doing, but she began to sing along too.  Surprisingly, I sang the best between us.
She lightened up a little, still fiercely hiding her body, but at least she wasn’t frowning at me. I stepped forward, slowly, waiting to see if she wouldn’t let me near her.  She stepped back a bit, as if she wanted to share the space, not retreat from me.

The sun broke through some clouds, bathing the clearing with green light as it filtered down through the treetops.  I stepped into the water, stripping away the rest of my clothes.  The gods have graced me with an amazing physique, although I won’t go into details… some things are meant to be kept to one’s imagination.  She turned around again, using her hands once more to wash herself.  I followed the example, but I nearly screamed as I splashed the water onto my chest.  It was freezing!  The Dryad stared at me once more, her head turned but not her body.  She turned her back on me again, humming a new song.

The rhythm was hard to follow, even harder placing words to, so when I even tried to hum along, I couldn’t get it quite right.  She stopped suddenly, with a quick, hearty laugh.  She turned around, this time not bothering to cover herself.  I was between myself with both fright and joy.  Fright, because some tales say that to look upon a Dryads naked body is to invite death itself.  Joy, in that at least I would have died happy.  I didn’t die, however, and my gaze obviously lingered too long where it shouldn’t have.  The Dryad coughed, diverting my gaze to her face. She began humming again, slowly. I realized she was trying to help me (I was still a little slow in the mind from the sudden exposure) and began humming after her.  It took a few minutes, but I finally got it right on.

She was over-joyed when I got through it without fault, and she showed it by leaping up- I do happen to be about a foot over her head- wrapping her arms around my neck in a rough hug.  I had gotten quite used too our nudeness by now, but this sudden display of affection shocked me back into the man I was. I took in a quick breath, and made a bold move. 

I kissed her, just a quick peck.  She stared at me, still clinging to my neck.  With a little pull up to get her to the right height, she kissed me back.  This time, I wrapped my arms around her back, one under her ass to keep her up, our arms slippery with the water, our lips tasting of sweet, nectar-like honey..  We stared into each other’s eyes, aware of the inevitable.

I set her down gently, on her back.  We were in the shallows of the pond, the water lapping at the sides of her breast and the rest of her curves. My hands moved with the curves, my fingers working along the surface of the water.  She smiled, her bright, warm smile, one that told me that it would be okay.  My hands made it all the way down to her feet, then curved around onto her instep.  She moaned a little, spreading her legs slightly, as my wandering hands curved up her legs, and were mere inches away from her crotch, pulling away at the last second.  They found their way up to her breast, a pair of perky, firm mounds.  They took a hold of a nipple each, twisting and kneading gently.

She was writhing in pleasure at my touch, but unwitting to please herself; she instead turned her hands on me.  They ran up the inside of my thighs, brushing along my balls, pulling gently up my length.  Her eyes opened, either out of surprise or shock I smiled, and lowered myself on top of her, kissing her roughly.  Her eyes closed again, a soft moan escaping her lips as my tongue ran along her lower lip, tasting as sweet as honey. 

The water didn’t seem so cold anymore, and as my hand rubbed down her stomach, my palm felt droplets clinging to her soft pubes.  Her arms wrapped around my neck again, to give her leverage to allow more of her body to me.  With two fingers, I opened up her delicate pink flower gently by pulling on either lip.  She lifted herself with her arms, pressing for me to insert my fingers into her.  But I wasn’t through teasing her yet.  My fingers continued past her vagina, rubbing firmly at her anus, exciting another moan out of the Dryad. 

Her breath became short and quick, as her skin began to flush pink and red with blood.  Her body quivered with ecstasy, and her legs squeezed in on my hand, trying to force it in.  I decided I have played around with her enough, and to take her.  I planted my palm firmly on her lips, and gazed into her eyes.  She had bit her lower lip to keep from moaning any more, and nodded lightly.  My fingers spread, forcing her legs open, along with her flower.  Water lapped up to her clit, and she shuddered lightly with each wave.  I preceded to position myself between her legs, my cock aimed straight at her opening.  I decided to take her quickly, and did just that, with a thrust.

It was just as tight as I would have imagined it.  It was quickly apparent that she was a virgin, as I broke clean through her hymen.  I thought she was going to bite through her lip, but she managed to avoid that as well as screaming.  I stood still, buried to the hilt inside of her, waiting for what must be one of the most excruciating pains of being a woman to ebb and die.  Finally, with tear-stained eyes, she nodded, and I started slowly pulling out, then pushing in again.  It felt like heaven on earth, so well that no mortal human could ever be the same. 

She eventually quivered as an orgasm rocked her body, most likely her first, although it would be impossible to say.  I could feel myself coming close to my own explosion, so I slowed.  I rolled back, sitting down and bringing her up on top of me.  She took this as her cue, and began to move her hips foreword and back.  She threw her head back, unable to contain herself as she half-screamed, half-moaned out her next orgasm, her juices mingling with the water and running down my cock.  Her pussy tightened around my person at just the right time, and I followed her example, throwing my head back as I jabbed foreword, filling her deep with my cum…

We just stayed there, for several minutes, breathing deeply.  She pulled herself off of me, her crotch dribbling with out mixed fluids.  She looked down, a little dissapointed, almost sickened.  Just try to imagine your best friend/girlfriend  the next time she frowns at a mess.

I smiled, expecting this, and as she stood up, I leaned foreword.  Our combined fluids, plus the water, made for an interesting drink, and I had the added bonus of bringing her off again. I started on the outside, cleaning her deep-red pubes with my tounge, then I opened her slightly to clean out as much as I could.  Then, I splashed a little water up into her, rubbing her excited clit roughly.  She understood this action, and performed the same for me.

First, she licked lightly against my balls.  They didn’t necessarily have any fluids on them, but it was a free blowjob, so I wasn’t complaining.  She licked broadly up my penis from the base to the head.  Then, she brought the head inside her mouth, sucking noisily at the fluids.  I would normally have been limp from now if I was with anyone else, but I was hard again with her inexperienced but still masterful tongue.  I began thrusting my hips slightly, forcing her to deep throat on my member.  I finally climaxed, although I did not exactly shoot all that much cum this time.  It was a powerful orgasm that left my vision white and blurry….


We lied together on the beach of that pond until late evening, when the water and forest began to cool as the sun set.  We both had one last, long kiss and a quick hug/fondle, before heading off to find our perspective clothes.  It took me a few minutes to get back into all of my armor and clothes,  and when I returned to the beach, she was nowhere in sight… although, as I was about to leave, I noticed a glimmer of something n the sand.  It appeared to be just a larger then average piece of sand, reflecting the last rays of sun, but upon closer inspection, I realized what it was.

A thin, leather strap with a single gem in it, lying on top of the sand.  The gem was the finer one of those that lay in the Dryads hair, and as I picked it up, I felt like she left it for me.  The strap was long enough to go around my wrist, which is where I placed it.  The true effect of the bracelet, I would not learn until later, but for now, it was a good reminder of my night here.  I finally found my campsite again, and after policing the area to make sure I didn’t leave anything, I left that amazing little grove in the woods.

 If you have ever seen a woman, and thought to yourself that she had to be the most beautiful woman in the world, then you would be wrong.  I know the most beautiful woman in the world, at least, in my world, and I know her intimately…