A Curse Reawakened
This is the first story I've posted on Yiffstar, so feedback is welcome. This story came about through a series of RPs a friend and I did. I found old transcripts of them recently and finally got around to doing the story, as I promised. I really hope you all enjoy.
Chapter One: A Curse Reawakened
The heat of the day was growing unbearable and the humidity that was typical of this region of the world was not helping. Even as the party of four adventurers rested at the steps of their destination, they could not help but sweat. Well, three of the four were resting at the steps of the ruins, the other was standing in front of the doorway, his small framed glasses sliding to the tip of his nose before he pushed them back up.
"Getting any closer to finding a way in?" Marrin asked as he turned his head to watch the elf. He ran his hand through his brown-blond hair to get the long strands out of his dark brown eyes. The elf did not answer him, of course, Pafrin was too intent on the job at hand. Marrin shook his head and turned his attention to the other two who were playing with a pair of dice, each of their coin purses in front of them. Marrin's friend was losing badly, he was a fool to play against a thief, but that was how Eric always was. Marrin could not recall how many times he had saved the knight from his own impulsivity, but Eric never learned. Not that it mattered much, today, since they were almost on their way to being rich beyond what any of them could imagine. Behind the doors of the ruins lay a room of immeasurable gold, or so the legend said. Worse result, they would have done all this work with no consequence save lost time.
A soft rumble caught each of the three men's attention and earned a triumphant yell from the druid. The large, stone door slowly shifted to the side, opening just enough for each of the four to squeeze through.
"Finally!" Vincent said as he picked up his coin purse and dice set. Eric grabbed the thief's shoulders and took his own purse from the smaller man's vest pocket, his head shaking in disappointment. "I was only carrying it for you, I swear." Vincent said with his typical sly grin, but Eric let the thief go and roughly ruffled the man's wavy, brown hair. Once a thief, always a thief. "Well, one must be delicate with when dealing with the ruins from days long past." Pafrin always had a way of making every statement poetic, graceful and wordy beyond what was required. "If one is not careful, one could trip a very unpleasant trap, be it mechanical or magical in nature. Fortunately, no such trap existed on this door, it was just a matter of--" The elf trailed off as the paladin placed his hand over his mouth.
"We get your point." Marrin said before following Eric into the ruins. It was a tight squeeze for each of the larger men, but Pafrin and Vincent were small enough to easily pass through the opening. It was dark and damp inside the ruins, smelling of stale air and mold. The darkness was cut by a sudden bright ball of light levitating just above the outstretched hand of the druid. They were all silent as they passed through the hallways, on guard for unforeseeable events.
After an hour, they had gone down three flights of stairs and into the lowest level of the ruins. The walls on this level were unlike the others, filled with paintings that seemed more like glyphs. The language was strange to the knight, the thief and the paladin, but to Pafrin, it was vaguely familiar. He could not quite read every word, but most of it seemed to be the basis for another pictorial language he had studied in the same region. He stopped for a while to read along the walls, testing the patience of the other three. "Intriguing, I believe these markings tell a story of one of these people's kings." Pafrin muttered as he pushed his glasses back up. He took a piece of parchment, an ink well and a feather pen from his backpack, jotting down as much of the writing as he could before he felt Eric's hand guiding him away from the walls.
"Intriguing, indeed." The knight said with a tinge of sarcasm in his voice. The other two just laughed and followed behind to make sure the elf continued walking forward. Their laughter was soon interrupted by a bestial roar that echoed off the walls, seeming to come from all directions. Eric's broadsword was instinctively unsheathed, followed soon by Marrin's mace.
"What was that?" Vincent whispered as he produced a set of five small daggers from out of nowhere, holding each in his left hand ready to be thrown. The distinct sound of hooves against stone sent each of the four's hearts pounding in their chest. They had not expected this place to be occupied, for all they knew, they were the only ones to visit in centuries. They kept moving forward, the knight leading the pack with the paladin close behind. Each turn down the windy hallways brought more and louder roars. It would be foolish for the four to be fearless, but they continued on. It was their last mission together, or so they swore, and nothing was going to run them off. The hallway soon ended in a pair of large stone doors, opened and flooding out the flickering orange glow of torch light. Beyond it was a large chamber with a ceiling five times as tall as the average man. Four large pillars held up the ceiling, their girth only equaled by the ancient trees of the Dormur Forest.
Silently, the four adventurers walked into the lit chamber, Marrin and Eric keeping an ever changing gaze for the source of the bellowing roars. It was not long before they found it.
"Behind us!" Marrin yelled as he turned on the tips of his feet, pulling free the handle of his mace at his waist. He stared up at the massive beast twice his hight and much broader than he was. It had the head of a bull with a large, gold ring through his nose that shook with each movement. His pure black horns pointed forwards, ending in sharpened tips that seemed as though they could cut through stone. His feet ended in hooves the shook the ground with a fear invoking clomp each step he took. The beast charged forward, using no weapon but his bare hands--more than enough from what Marrin gathered. The paladin met the beast half way, blocking a swing of his fist with his mace. He yelled as he pivoted, bringing the head of the mace around to deliver a blow to the side of the beast's hip. Despite the pain, the monster looked unaffected. It took hold of Marrin's neck in one hand and lifted the man effortlessly off the ground.
Marrin dropped his mace and grabbed at the beast's hands, trying to pry himself free from the grip. The look in the creature's eyes was maddening, he may have had the body of a human, but nothing in those eyes suggested he had any humanity at all. The grip tightened around Marrin's neck, his vision began to tunnel from the loss of air.
"Let go of him!" Eric took the opportunity to make his attack, raising his broadsword over his head as he swung. The beast deflected the swing with his free arm, but the distraction was enough to allow Marrin to break free from the grip. The beast kicked his large hoofed foot, landing it in the chest of the knight and sending flying into one of the large pillars. Vincent and Pafrin backed away from the fight, the thief soon producing a handful of small daggers. He threw each one of them methodically, aiming for the most vital of parts. All he achieved was a few superficial wounds and pained grunts from the beast, none of the daggers were long enough to cut deep into the large creature.
Pafrin dropped to his knees and used his finger to draw a pattern in the dusty floor, quickly trying to finish it as the creature distracted himself with Marrin once more. The paladin went on the defensive, trying to stay out of the creature's reach before making a move to his mace. He barely dodged a swing of a fist, the feeling of beast's fur brushed across his face. He swung around, hitting the beast in the back of the leg before running off.
The staggering creature turned to the paladin now in the corner of the room, his head lowering so the tips of his horns were pointed towards the trapped man. For such a large creature, he ran quickly towards the paladin. Marrin winced before hearing Eric's cry, catching the glimpse of a blow to the beast's horns, the knight's sword easily cutting through the both of them. With a roar, the beast grabbed the knight and continued his charge towards Marrin, obviously to crush the both between his massive form and the stone wall. The paladin braced himself once more as did the knight, but the crushing blow never came. A flash of light filled the room bright enough for each of the four to tightly close their eyes.
Eric could feel a sudden, intense head emanating from the creature who held him before he fell to the ground at Marrin's feet. As quickly as the light had appeared, it was gone along with the minotaur. All that was left was crystalline dust that refracted blue even in the orange light.
Both Eric and Marrin coughed from breathing in the dust and they held their hands in front of their face, allowing the particles to settle on the floor with a sound much like rain. Marrin relaxed against the wall for a moment, relieved that whatever the elf had done worked. Otherwise, both of them would have surely met their end.
"Thanks, Pafrin." Marrin called out with a warm smile to the elf. "Cut it a little close, didn't ya?" Eric muttered as he dusted himself off, shaking his hands through his short black hair to get the dust out.
"You two are very welcome, I am just happy to see that worked. It was quite a gable to use a spell that only works on an evil hearted being, but--" The elf was cut short by a jab of Vincent's elbow to the side.
Marrin just laughed and reached a hand down to help his comrade to his feet. The feeling of static electricity caused each of the two warriors to release their grip, Marrin even shook his hand out. He offered it once more and pulled Eric up. There was still a hint of some energy flowing between the two. They kept their hands together, each staring at one another idly, not even noticing the elf who was now standing beside them.
"Are you two feeling alright?" Pafrin asked and both gave a start as they came back to reality. Eric just cleared his throat and turned off towards the middle of the room while Marrin shook his head and patted Pafrin on the shoulder.
"Couldn't be better," he chuckled before walking with the elf to join the other two. Vincent's gaze fell upon a bed in the far corner of the room, opposite of the chamber's entrance. It was covered in the hides of various animals to form a makeshift blanket which hung over the sides of a mattress large enough to hold four men. It was not the bed that interested the thief, but rather the chest laying at the foot of the bed. His eyes lit up and he sprinted towards the chest, pulling out his lock picking kit on his way over.
Pafrin found another part of the room interesting. The right wall was covered in the same language as before, in the middle a drawing of the beast they had just defeated. The elf had his parchment and pen back out, jotting down the words on the wall just as eagerly as Vincent opening the chest.
Marrin and Eric were much more intrigued by the contents of the chest than the writing on the walls and stood behind Vincent as he opened the chest. The lock finally clicked and the lid was swung open. All three men's eyes widened when they saw the gold, the jewelry and the gems that filled the chest. It was what they were looking for, enough money so each of them could live out their lives comfortably. Eric pulled out a crown from the top of the pile and placed it on his head. It was much too large and sunk down around his eyes, but he did not care. Each of the three men dug what they could out of the chest and distributed the contents into four piles on the floor.
It took a couple of hours for Pafrin to finish his copying, in the meanwhile Eric, Vincent and Marrin sprawled out on the bed and relaxed. They had taken what they needed of their clothes for the journey back to civilization and discarded the rest. Anything that would have taken up space for their loot was left behind. The elf rolled up the last of his parchment and placed it back in a metal tube before tucking it into his backpack.
"Well, it looks like we have a long walk back, shall we get going?" Pafrin asked, earning a roll of the eyes from Eric.
"We'd be further along if you didn't have write your notes." He muttered as he lifted himself from the bed and nudged the elf in jest, earning laughs from the other two men.
Nightfall came sooner than they had hoped. It had taken them three days from the edge of the dense forest to find the clearing of the ruins, and with nearly eleven more stones of weight to carry back, they expected to add another day. The four stopped in a small clearing and quickly built a fire for dinner, discussing what they were all to do with their share of the money. Pafrin was the first to head off to his tent for the night, leaving the other three to enjoy the last of the port brought for the journey. Vincent was soon to join Pafrin. The thief acted like a big drinker, but he was always a lightweight. Soon, Eric found himself alone sitting at the fire as Marrin set up their tent. With the amount of loot they had found, they opted to share two tents amongst the four.
Marrin quickly finished setting up his and Eric's tent before walking back to the fire. He had undressed to his small clothes, enjoying the feeling of the cool night air through the thin fabric. Eric was topless and barefooted like Marrin, but still wore his woolen breeches. Marrin sat down in the grass not too far from his friend and stared into the fire.
"You should consider getting some sleep, got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Eric said as he turned his head towards Marrin who was still intently gazing into the fire. The paladin leaned back on his elbows with his feet stretched before him and shrugged. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." He muttered, shooting a smile over to his friend. "We've had later nights than this, and tougher jobs too." He turned his gaze upwards towards the stars that shone through the shifting leafy canopy. It was silent for a while, save for the deafening sound of insects and occasional cry of nocturnal birds. "Thanks for saving my life back there." He said to at least break the silence.
Eric reached over to pat Marrin's shoulder. "It was nothing I wouldn't do for any other friend." He let his hand linger on the other's shoulder, feeling a tingling from each of his fingertips. Marrin felt the same sensation, a current starting from his shoulder and washing over his body. It was faint, but noticeable. "Besides, you've saved my arse how many times, now?" Eric laughed and removed his hand, the tingling current ceasing.
"I guess you're right, you do have the tendency to get in trouble." Marrin laughed just as heartily, his volume quickly dropping off as he remember the other two sleeping. There was another pause in the conversation, more awkward this time. Neither of the two could help but think about that sensation, it had happened twice now. Eric was the first to move closer, earning a raised brow from his friend. He let his hand move to Marrin's and rested it on top. His bright blue eyes reflected the contrasting orange flame of the fire, locked onto Marrin's dark eyes. Again, some energy surged through both of their bodies, stronger now than it had been. Neither could take their eyes off the other, nor could they speak. They just stared, lost in the depths of each other's eyes. There was some desire, and urge the built up in each of their subconscious minds.
Eric jerked his hand back and slowly shook his head as though trying to get out of a trance. "Did you feel that?" He asked Marrin who only responded with a nod of his head. Eric shifted his position so the other would not see the bulge building between his legs, but Marrin was experiencing the same thing. Their breaths had picked up as had the beating of their hearts. Eric fought with a part of his mind for a moment, a part of his mind that seemed to run on pure instinct. With a grunt he gave in, turning towards the other man and quickly straddling his hips.
Marrin was taken aback if only for a short moment, but he too had been fighting the same instincts. He just smiled at he man above him, feeling the pressure of his member against the tight fabric of his small clothes. His hand ran through the other's hairy chest, grabbing onto the short, curly hair and pulling on it as he brought Eric down to him. They both stared at one another, hot breath spilling over each other's faces as their hips ground together. "What's happening?" Marrin muttered but was soon silenced by the feeling of Eric's rough lips against his own. Marrin's grip on the short hairs strengthened, his face pressed into the stubble of the other man's face. They kissed passionately, deeply, still grinding their immensely hard cocks against each other's crotch.
Eric broke from the kiss and rose back up, his hands rubbing along the smooth, soft skin of his friend, fingers brushing along each of his taut nipples. Marrin bit his lip to stifle a loud groan, not wanting to wake the others. He had never thought of his friend in such a way before, but all he could think about was his release. He held onto Eric's sides and thrust harder, his cock teasing his friend's.
Both of the men grunted softly, letting out low moans of pleasure as their hands explored each other's bodies. They were both oblivious to their changed, the hair on Eric's chest growing thicker and longer, spreading over his entire chest instead of just between his pectorals. Even the knight's belly was covered in the curly, soft, thick hairs. Marrin's muscles bulged underneath his skin, stretching it as he continued to rub and grind and grunt. The changes were subtle at first, occurring slowly but quickening as each of the two neared their climax. Even the energy flowing through their bodies felt stronger, arcs of blue light jumping from their fingers to the other's skin. But both men were too lost in their lust to pay any attention. They cared about nothing save their sexual urges.
Eric's breeches felt tight on him, his muscles growing almost to the point of straining the fabric. His body felt heavier on top of Marrin, his member grinding beside his friends through the layers of clothing felt somehow thicker. It had been weeks since either of them had a suitable release, enough time for the simple act of rubbing cock to cock to send them over the edge.
Marrin's teeth ground and tried to keep himself quiet as his orgasm overtook him, his body tensing under the larger man, a torrent of seed matting the inside of his small clothes. His hips thrust powerfully into his friend with each jet of seed oozing from the tip of his hooded cock. His fingers raked through the other man's chest and belly hair before finding the waist of his breeches. Marrin's hand wedged its way into his friend's pants and small clothes underneath. He wrapped his hand around the hot, throbbing member, holding it as the other male continued to pump his hips. Soon, Eric lifted his head into the air with his mouth hanging wide open. He held back his lustful cry, even as his face twisted with the culmination of his passion from the deed. Marrin's hand was wet from Eric's seed, but most had soaked into his friend's small clothes just as it had his own.
Eric collapsed above his friend and he gently licked and kissed Marrin's cheek. Both of the men laid on the grass panting, letting the haze of their orgasm finally clear. Marrin's hand nervously left Eric's pants and he wiped the seed off on his own small clothes. Eric lifted himself off of his friend and sat on the grass next to him, both of them looking slightly disturb.
Neither knew what had just happened, they had both fed an urge that been festering in their mind since back in the beast's lair. There was a moment of uneasy silence before Eric stood up and removed his breeches, then his small clothes. "What are you doing?" Marrin asked, his eyes turning away from the naked male.
"We have to put these in the fire. Don't want Pafrin's keen sense of smell to find us out, huh?" Marrin looked blankly up to his friend, watching as he tossed the undergarment into the fire. Eric was right, Pafrin would no doubt be able to smell such musk on the both of them. He followed suit and stood beside the other man, now completely naked.
"Why did we just do that?" Marrin asked as Eric squeezed back into his breeches. He could not believe how hard it was to get them around his waist, he always wore loose clothing. Eric turned to Marrin and brushed his hand along the other man's cheek, brushing strands of hair back.
"I have no idea, but it felt so good, so right." Neither could disagree on that, even with the uncomfortable air around them, what they had done just felt so natural. Marrin laid his head down on Eric's shoulder, the other man running his hand down the naked back of the paladin. "Get some sleep, Marrin." The smaller man nodded and walked back to their tent. Eric stayed at the fire all night, mostly thinking of what had just happened and running his hand along his much thicker, new body hair. He was unsure what was going on, but he knew he could not ask Pafrin about it. Maybe it was just a one time ordeal. Maybe by morning, everything would fine once again, but he could already feel the same urges building inside of him again, the desires in the back of his mind. He tried to get the image of Marrin's naked body out of his mind. It took a long while before he finally drifted off to sleep next to the fire.