When I woke the next morning, Silvy was on top of me.
Not on purpose; at least, I didn't think so. In her sleep she had moved a bit, so that her head was on my chest and her arms around me. Her legs straddled my left thigh, and she pressed against my morning wood. The look on her sleeping face was so peaceful that I couldn't justify waking her, so I simply laid there for a while, enjoying the feeling of her next to me.
After a few minutes, Silvy's eyes opened. She looked up at me to see if I was awake and I smiled at her. Her eyes suddenly widened and she looked down at my erection pressed against her leg.
"Well, I suppose I should have expected that," she said, pulling away from me. She moved over to her side of the bed and stretched, both arms over her head. "Sleep well?" she asked.
"Actually, yeah, I did," I said. "Surprisingly well." My eyes enjoyed her body, from her large, full breasts to her hairless pussy nestled between those thick thighs of hers.
"Oh, stop," Silvy said. "Besides, we need to get started. You have a lot to do today, mister."
She crawled over me, ignoring how it essentially put her ass right in my face. Or maybe she did it on purpose. If my body pumped any more blood into my erection, the damn thing might explode.
"Alright, time to get out of bed," she said to me as she grabbed her dress from a nearby table.
I looked down at my cock, standing up like a flagpole.
"Do you expect me to do something with that thing?" Silvy asked, her large breasts bouncing as she shimmied into her dress. "Ask the elves, maybe they'll help you." She laughed as if that were a fine joke.
Sleeping next to such a beautiful woman was nice, but I needed to get laid again. I made a mental note to take my training with the elves seriously so I could hurry the hell up and kill Ralcor. Once I had done that, I'd get my wives. Including Zia, apparently. And hey, if I played my cards right, Silvy.
Looking over at Silvy, who was rummaging through her table filled with magical items, I once again thought that I would take her with me and keep her as an advisor. I would need one, if I were to be king, and who better than a woman who used to be married to one? Plus, her magic would come in handy.
"Hey, Silvy," I said, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. "So, how is this going to work today?"
"Pretty simple," she said, selecting a stone and holding it up so that she could look at it. With a frown, she set it back down and went back to sorting through all the magical items on the table. "You're going to wait at the base of one of their great trees, and when you see them you will ask for passage to their city. When they ask why, you will say you need to be trained in the art of swordplay."
"Trained in the art of swordplay," I muttered.
"Yes, that is how they would word it. You'll pay them for escorting you into the city, and you'll mention that you brought payment for whoever trains you. If they ask why, just tell them you're going to kill Ralcor."
I paused, halfway through pulling my jeans on. "Uh, we aren't keeping that a secret with them?"
"No," Silvy said. "The elves hate Ralcor. We used to trade with the elves, all sorts of things, for as long as there were goblins and elves. When Ralcor took over, he put an end to that. Elven goods weren't good enough for goblins, he said, and even went as far as to kill some of the elven merchants that had come here to trade."
"Sounds like he's trying to start a war," I said as I pulled on my shirt.
"He almost did," Silvy replied, selecting a wand and nodding. "But no one is stupid enough to try attacking us down here. There's only one entrance, that tunnel, and it's an absolute death trap to invaders. Instead, the elves simply cut off all trade with us. A few brave souls still sneak out and deal with them, but in general the elves avoid us now. Trust me, they'll be glad to see Ralcor gone."
"And you said they'll make me some clothes as well?" I asked.
Silvy turned and looked at me. "Yes. I'll give you some money for that. Can't have you looking like that."
I looked down at my faded jeans and Slayer t-shirt. While comfortable, my clothes were definitely different than anyone else's.
After a hearty breakfast, Silvy gave me a few small, silver coins, which I pocketed. She then handed me a wand. I held it up and examined it. It was about a foot long, and inscribed with magical symbols for its entire length. At the tip, a clear stone glinted in the faint light. I thought for a moment that it might have been a diamond.
"The money is for getting into the city and having clothes made," Silvy explained. "The wand is to pay for your training."
"What does it do?" I asked, turning it over in my hands.
"They'll know," she said with a faint smile. "Do you still have the shadow stone?"
"Yeah," I said, fetching it from my pocket.
Just then, a knock came at the door. Silvy's eyebrows drew down suspiciously and she muttered a few things under her breath before crossing her cave-house. When she pulled open the door, Zia stood there in a simple gray dress, hands folded neatly at her waist.
"Good morning," she said in a pleasant tone. "I hope I'm not too early."
I walked into the room and smiled at her.
"Not at all," Silvy said, stepping back so that Zia could enter.
"Hi, Aaron," Zia said, giving me one of her smiles as well.
"Hey," I said. My mouth went dry at the sight of her. She was about as gorgeous as a woman could be. That was something that would never get old.
"Looks like we're both starting today," she said to me. "Good luck with the elves."
"Good luck with Silvy," I told her.
Silvy's eyes narrowed at me. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing," I said, bending down and kissing her on top of her head. "You're perfectly pleasant to be around at all times and never frustrating."
"Don't make me fetch my knife," she warned.
I laughed and walked out of the door. Zia and I smiled at each other as I passed. Her green eyes sparkled as she looked up at me.
After closing the door behind me, I made my way down the worn path that led to the tunnel. I pulled the shadow stone from my pocket and clutched it tightly as I approached the opening in the stone. Suddenly, a voice came to me, floating on the air. No, wait; several voices. Hurriedly, I stuffed the shadow stone into my mouth and crouched down.
A small party of goblins from the city walked towards the mouth of the tunnel. Two of them held large cloth sacks and lengths of rope, and the rest carried bows and quivers filled with arrows. Hunters, perhaps? Whatever they were, I didn't want them to see me.
It suddenly dawned on me that I could use them as cover while in the tunnel. I moved as silently as possible, grateful for the relatively soft soles of my worn running shoes. At least I had the sense to remember their sensitive noses and that I hadn't bathed yet, so I stayed around ten feet behind them.
Fortunately, they were too busy talking to notice me. Shadow stone in my mouth, I crouched low and moved behind them, keeping to one side, hoping none of them farted or I'd catch it right in the face.
"Hunting today?" a gruff voice said. I peered around the group and saw a guard, leaning on his spear and talking with them.
"Yeah, I saw a lot of tracks to the north yesterday, so we're hoping we'll get something," one of the archers said.
"Alright," the guard said with a grunt. "Just be careful out there. Jamis says he heard something yesterday, something he couldn't see."
"Huh?" one of the other men asked.
"He didn't elaborate too much, but he implied it may have been magic," the guard said. "Said he heard it and smelled it, but couldn't see it."
Shit. I inched closer to the group, hoping no one would smell me. I wasn't particularly ripe, but, well…I smelled like day-old sex, with a bit of sweat added in.
"Weird. Well, if we see anything, we'll just shoot it," one of the archers said, hefting his bow. The others laughed.
The guard waved them by and they continued down the tunnel. I stayed close by the wall and held my breath as I walked right behind them. My heart pounded so loudly in my chest that I was afraid the guard would hear it, but I managed to slip by unnoticed.
A few minutes later, they exited the tunnel. The group of goblins immediately turned to the left and began walking along the cliff, still laughing and telling jokes among themselves. I kept the shadow stone in my mouth and hurried forward to the treeline. In the bright morning sunlight I wasn't invisible any longer, but instead shimmered, kind of like in the movie Predator.
Once in the forest, I walked through the forest in the direction of the nearest of those enormous trees I had seen when I first arrived in this world. Every minute or so, I looked over my shoulder to keep the location of the goblin cave in mind.
The massive tree loomed high overhead, but didn't have stairs spiraling around it like others I had seen. Another one of the enormous trees stood perhaps fifty feet away, so I went to it. No stairs on that one, either. I went from tree to tree and passed by a dozen before I found one where the wood grew into stairs that spiraled up its substantial height. I stood at the base and looked up, growing dizzy from how tall the tree was. I was thankful those steps had a handrail as well. A fall from that height would be fatal.
Still with the shadow stone in my mouth, I turned in a slow circle and looked around me. A well-worn path led to this particular tree, so I crossed my fingers and hoped all I needed to do was wait.
After a bit I decided to get comfortable, and sat with my back against the massive tree. Time passed by, and I tapped a rhythm on my thighs to help keep from getting bored. After some time—I had no idea how long, maybe half an hour—I saw movement in the distance.
I sprang to my feet and moved behind the tree, still unsure of exactly how to approach the elves. Silvy said it would be no problem; I could simply talk to them and tell them what I needed. But as I watched them approach, I saw a cloaked man walking with his hand resting on his sword hilt. In his other hand, he carried a bow. This was not a guy I wanted to piss off.
After a deep breath, I stepped out onto the path and waited for him to get closer. His long hair was blonde, with braids on each side all pulled together and tied at the nape of his neck with a ribbon. The pointed ears were impossible to miss. His clothes were what I would expect of an elf; dark brown pants tucked into knee-high boots, with a silver-trimmed green vest over a pale shirt. His cloak was a mottled shade of dark brown that would blend in with the surrounding forest with ease. He must have been deep in thought, for he didn't notice me, even when he stepped close.
"Hey there," I said, and his eyes snapped up.
"What—" his sword sprang from its sheath and he looked around, eyes searching.
"Shit, I'm sorry," I said, spitting the shadow stone from my mouth. I had been so concerned about this whole meeting, I had completely overlooked that I had a fucking rock in my mouth. Stress would do that.
"Who are you?" he asked, holding his sword in front of his body, ready for an attack.
He squinted at me as I slipped the stone into my pocket. There was a look of recognition as he watched me.
"What kind of man are you, that uses a shadow stone in the forest?" he asked.
"The kind of man that wants to stay alive," I replied, making sure he saw both of my hands so he knew I was unarmed. "The kind of man that's pretty uncomfortable because he doesn't know if you're going to skewer him with that sword or not."
The elf watched me for a moment, then lowered his sword and laughed. He slid his sword back into its scabbard, then set the tip of his bow on the ground and leaned on it. He examined me from head to toe, clearly taking in my strange clothing and lack of pointy ears.
"I'm assuming you want something, else you wouldn't be standing here at the base of one of the great trees," he said.
I took a deep breath. "I need some help," I told him, reaching into my pocket. Whatever monetary system they used here was completely unknown to me, but I pulled out a small silver coin and offered it to him. "I need you, or someone else up there, to train me how to fight with a sword and any other weapons you can. Oh, and I could also use some new clothes, if you hadn't noticed."
He pursed his lips, still watching me. Finally, he nodded to himself and stepped forward, taking the coin from my hand.
"I accept your offer," he said, examining the coin. His eyes widened slightly. "This is goblin money." He looked up at me. "What kind of man carries a shadow stone and pays with goblin money?"
Silvy had said I could simply tell them that I was planning on killing Ralcor, but I didn't want to take things that far, yet. I still didn't know if I could trust this guy entirely, after all. I figured the best way to handle this was to tell the truth. Most of the truth.
"I'll be honest with you," I told him. "I came here from a different world, one that just died. Through some magical means that I don't fully understand, I found myself here two days ago. The only person that would help me was a kind older goblin woman, and she also decided to send me to you guys, the elves. She said if I'm going to survive in this world, I need to learn how to fight."
"Do people not fight in your world?" he asked, as if it were a truly strange thing.
"Not with swords, no," I replied. "It would take me a long time to explain. But to boil it all down to basics, I have basically no idea how to survive in your world."
"And this goblin woman sent you to us?" he asked.
"That's right," I said. "She said the orcs could teach me to fight as well, but they'd be more likely to just beat me to death than actually train me. She actually spoke very highly of you guys."
"Well, that's good to know," the elf said dryly. "And she is right about the orcs. They know fighting, but they are not a kind people." He bowed slightly at the waist, hand over his heart. "I am Taranath of House Zylnelas."
I did my best to copy his bow. "Aaron, of House Parker," I said. "Well, to be honest, we don't have Houses the way you guys apparently do. But Parker is my family name."
"Interesting," Taranath said. "If you'll follow me, I'll take you to Caelora."