Merrek and Airie

By Fippy

Merrek scanned the horizon. The hillock upon which he and Airie rested was neither high nor steep but it did afford an excellent view from the river to the south to the mountains in the north and rolling hills to east and west. A well-trodden road ran along the foot of the hill. He knew that if they were to follow it south it would bring them to the magnificent stone bridge across the broad Karana River. To the north, the road led deep into the plains and on toward the distant towns of High Hold and Rivervale.

The setting sun turned the clouds a wondrous cascade of purple and orange. The crisp, clear air made for spectacular sunsets. Merrek kept a roving eye on the road north, where earlier he had glimpsed the huge dark shape of a hill giant prowling. To the west, at the extent of his vision in the encroaching twilight, he could make out the silhouette of a hovering griffawn. The strange part lion, part bird, part eagle creature had flown by them not too long ago but thankfully had expressed no interest. It evidently sought a more substantial meal than he and Airie, which was all good and well; they wouldn't stand a chance against its deadly talons.

Merrek shivered in the chill wind. He imagined that Airie was likely freezing as she sat upon the cold grass, deep in the study of her tome of spells. He rummaged through his pack and retrieved a woolen blanket, inwardly berating himself for not considering it earlier, then stooped to wrap it carefully around her shoulders and body. She gave a contented sigh, snuggled into it, and broke from her meditation long enough to flash him a tired but grateful smile. Despite the caked dirt and blood in her hair, her incredible beauty, and the depth of personality that she put into every expression, even a tired smile, overwhelmed him. She seemed so tiny, even for a wood elf, shivering in her blanket at his feet.

"I am as tired as you look," he said, "I think it would behoove us to seek shelter and a welcome sleep."

She nodded. "A few minutes more, dear Merrek, and I shall be done."

"Then I shall continue my lookout," he replied, half to himself, and peered out into the darkening lands around them. He let his mind wander back to the adventures they had shared that day.

The day had begun with their arrival in Northern Karana. It had taken them several days to make the trip from Qeynos, even though they had done so at almost a continual run. Airie's druidic talents had allowed them to avoid the long road that took a huge double dogleg across the vast plains of Western Karana. Using her ability to make her own trail, they had bypassed the bandits that shadowed the road, and journeyed along the very edge of the northern mountains, to meet up with the road once more north of the mysterious skeleton ruins. There they had gratefully made their camp and collapsed into a sleep of exhaustion.

Airie had roused him early that morning, insisting upon an early start. Fog shrouded the land all around them, making them feel alone in their own pocket universe, sharing it with nothing but a few trees and boulders ahead. Even the Sun had not invaded the pocket universe, and the grass was white with frost.

Giving them barely time to eat, she set off at a run in a direction he had only hoped was east. It took all his efforts merely to keep in sight of her in the fog. "Where are we going in such an almighty hurry?" he shouted after her.

"Breakfast!" came her enigmatic reply.

"But you just made us gobble down our breakfast…."

"Hush and follow me, dear Merrek." Her laughter trickled back from the milky shrouds ahead, and he increased his pace to get her back in sight.

Not realizing that she had suddenly stopped, he careered out of the fog and almost collided into her. She grabbed his arm to steady him on the little rocky hill. The Sun had risen upon North Karana in front of them and burned off all the fog. Behind him, the wall-like edge of the fog hovered as if unhappy that its prisoners had escaped.

"We had camped nearer than I had hoped," she said, "but look!" He followed her outstretched finger towards a small cottage on the road ahead and below them. Clearly visible amongst the grass, all around the cottage was the unmistakable orange-brown fur of lion. He watched as the little groups chewed upon fresh animal carcasses.

"After their breakfast they will be slower and easier to pick off," he murmured, finally understanding her haste. "Let's make our way down there."

Airie watched Merrek hold his ground against one of the largest lion they had fought that morning. They were both weary but she admired his stamina, sense of timing with his great two-handed blade, and his sheer courage. Was there nothing that feared him? He backed up two steps, dodging the immense clawed paws that had raked him earlier in the fight. She watched as he raised the mighty sword above his head and brought it down upon the huge animal's shoulders, which were almost at a level with his own. Head half-severed, the lion slumped to its knees, made an attempt at a roar, rolled over and died.

Airie cheered and rushed to his side. Blood oozed through his tunic and she knew that it wasn't the lion's. She pulled her healing herbs from her belt pouch. He took them from her.

"No, My Lady," he said. "I will tend you first." She began to complain but his expression told her that he would not back down. He assisted her to a large tree near to the road, and with each step she bit her lip to stop from crying out with the pain that tore up and down her body.

She sat down on some soft grass under the tree, and he beside her. "Lie on your stomach Airie, please," he instructed. Her pain was obvious in her face and tensed body, as she complied. He put aside his own searing pain to focus on helping her. The Knights had taught him that nothing on earth was as important as aiding a woman in need.

Carefully he slid her tunic up to her armpits, but she cried out as the material touched a large gaping wound on her right side. Blood oozed persistently across her skin. "How does it look?" she asked.

"Bad." He said simply. "Lie still."

Keeping one eye around him for creatures homing in on the blood-scent, he took his water flask and poured a generous amount of water across her back. She flinched and gasped, but it washed away the dirt and half congealed blood from her skin. He then took a small bowl and mixed her herbs with water to make a paste, whispering the incantation to imbibe the salve with magical healing energy. Airie was much better at this than he, but she was in no state to spell cast until he had tended to the worst of her wounds.

"This will sting," he said, unnecessarily. He felt her tense and without hesitation he began to apply the salve, working it into the gaping wound in small, soft circular motions. At first she cried out with each touch but after a while she fell silent and he watched her body relax as the anesthetic qualities took affect.

"That was a very courageous thing to do," he began as he rubbed her back. "When that second lion came up behind us you were extremely brave to lure it to one side so that I did not have one on each side of me."

"They would have killed you… us," she said. "I may not wield my stave as well as you work your sword, but I know how to even the odds."

"Aye." He continued to rub, moving outwards to the lesser scratches now that the main wound had stopped bleeding. It looked like it would scar even with magical healing, but Airie could work on it herself later. Healing was more her art than his.

"How was I to know," she continued, "that the lioness was the first lion's mate. When I cracked her over the head, he turned much faster than I expected, and…." Her voice trailed off.

Merrek nodded. He had seen it rake Airie down her back with the full weight of his huge paw. "You are lucky he didn't spill your insides." He said. She didn't reply. Making sure he saved some of the salve for her to work on his wounds, he gathered up the excess from her back and worked on her sides. He moved his hands from the center of her back down her sides and onto her belly, in a single smooth motion. He wanted to make sure that he covered the long scratches that the beast had made around her torso.

She let out contented sighs as he smoothed the paste across her belly. These changed to small murmurs when his fingerprints brushed accidentally across her breasts. Since his attentions were obviously relaxing her previously tensed body, he was tempted to continue, but having run out of salve, and his own wounds crying for attention, he stopped and wiped his hands on the grass. "Sit up… slowly… and I'll bandage you."

When he had wrapped several layers of clean bandage around her, pinning them carefully, he pulled her tunic back down. "You will live another day, My Lady." He said, and then chuckled when she rolled her eyes at him.

"Dear Merrek," she said softly and took his hand. "Always so serious. It is a real pleasure to hear you laugh. Thank you." She kissed him lightly on his cheek and as she drew away, their eyes met and locked. Her wide, dark brown eyes sucked him down into a world full of promises and what-ifs. His mind raced along with his heart. There was so much that he wanted to tell her, so much that he wanted to share, to relieve the turmoil of thoughts that had been spinning around in his head since he had first met Airie five Moons before. The irony of his bashfulness was clear to him. There was probably not a single thing in the world of which he was afraid, except to share his emotions with her. She looked away and the moment was lost.

In the late morning, weary of the lion hunt, they headed out into the plains in the direction of the great bridge. In a wooded vale they happened upon several huge pincer beetles. Before Merrek could raise the question of the hunt, Airie was already in mid-spell cast. After a few choice words in the ancient tongue of the Druids, she pointed her staff at the nearest beetle, almost a hundred feet away. It erupted in flames and emitted a high-pitched screech. Angered, it scurried towards them.

Merrek dropped his huge two-handed sword to the grass and unsheathed the more agile long sword, along with the shield strapped to his back. He found the smaller sword and shield easier in combat against fast moving creatures. Sure enough, as the enormous beetle bore down on them, he stepped forward and slashed it deep across the face, if the darker blotch that held the eyes could be considered a face.

The fight was on. Blocking its bone-splitting pincers with his shield, Merrek sliced again and again at the creature. Each time that his blade hit home there was the crunch of splintering carapace and a fountain of green goo that splattered over him and Airie. It was warm and smelled like an ogre latrine.

To her credit, Airie ignored the green mess that covered her head to foot, and stood her ground just behind Merrek, blasting the creature with spells. There was a strong odour of burnt flesh to accompany the green goo now. She picked up her stave and waded into the melee. Merrek found her bravery one of her many endearing qualities.

Poking her stave into one of the holes that Merrek had made in the beetle's carapace, she thrust with all her might. The squelching noise was accompanied by a last screech, before the beetle rolled over dead.

There was no time to rest before two more beetles scurried forward to attack. "No peace for the wicked," joked Airie. "Tunare must think us very wicked!"

They fought back to back, a beetle on each of them. Airie found time to blast her beetle once more with her powerful flame spell before engaging it with her stave.

Merrek perceived two beetles to be a great risk. He planned to dispatch his as quickly as he could, so that he could assist Airie, whose stave was less effective. "May the Lady Erollisi grant me limitless strength and courage in her name," he said defiantly, and stepped forward, raining blows in quick succession upon the beetle that stood as high as his waist.

It became clear that the other beetle was getting the better of Airie. She was slowing down from her previous severe wounds, and Merrek knew that time was very short.

"Do you have mana?" he shouted.

"A little," she replied, "but I cannot keep this thing away long enough to cast."

"Alright," he shouted. "Pin it with your stave, and root this one." He began to circle slowly around towards his dropped two-hander, using all his physical energy to keep the beetle from snapping his leg with its pincers.

"I understand your plan." She shouted back. He allowed himself a smile. He knew that Airie possessed a good mind for strategy and quick thinking. Many a time he had relied upon her and she had never let him down.

Airie waited for the moment, and then with a single thrust of incredible accuracy, weaved the stave between a pincer, the beetle's body and one of its legs, and pushed with all her might so that the sharpened stave bit deep into the soft ground. In counter-reaction, she jumped back to distance herself from the beetle, which immediately began slicing at the stave in an attempt to free itself.

In those precious seconds she took control of her laboured breathing and mouthed the few words of the Root spell. Sparks of green lightning arced around and over the beetle fighting Merrek. "Now!" she shouted.

Merrek leaped to one side, dropped his sword and shield, grabbed the two-handed blade and was running toward Airie, all in a single movement. Approaching her beetle from behind, he stepped up onto its brown-red carapace and before he could lose his footing on its smooth surface, raised the hilt above his head with both hands and drove the five-foot blade right through the creature's head. It twitched and collapsed. A spray of green soaked Merrek as he lost his footing and slid off onto the ground.

Airie wasted no time. She had unleashed two fiery blasts of magic upon the other beetle just as it broke the Root spell and began to scurry their way.

"Don't these things know when to quit?" she exclaimed. Before it could reach them, she murmured the spell once more and the beetle erupted into flames. Its eerie high-pitched screen echoed through the little valley, and then there was silence.

Airie collapsed in the grass. Merrek all but crawled to collapse beside her. They listened to their laboured breathing for a few moments before Airie began to laugh softly.

"Whatever is funny, My Lady?" Merrek asked.

"You." She said. "You really know how to give a woman a good time, but next time can we skip the beetle gore?" She wiped a great gob of it from the side of her face and flicked it into the grass.

"As you wish, My Lady." He said, in all seriousness. That made her laugh all the harder.

Darkness was upon them by the time Airie clapped her book shut and stood up. She put it away in her pack and pulled the blanket tighter around her. Merrek led the way down from the hilltop and along the road to a small farm within sight of the stone bridge. The farmer proved to be most hospitable, allowing the weary travelers the use of his hay barn for the night. He offered them hot stew and bread but they were both too tired to be hungry. Merrek gave the farmer a generous purse of coins in return for a breakfast and bath for them in the morning.

The hay barn was dark but for the light of the moon through the doors. Merrek took Airie by the hand and led her over to a large stack of hay bundles, tied together with rope. He helped her sprinkle some of the softer hay upon a layer of burlap sacks and then unrolled her simple bed sheet over the top. She sat, with her legs beneath her.

"I am sure you will be asleep in no time," he told her. "I shall do likewise on the other side where I can keep watch on the door." He pointed to the large hay bundles.

Airie doubted that he noticed her disappointed expression in the near dark. She knew better than to question his gallant regard for her womanly privacy, but she longed so much for him to sleep beside her.

Perhaps he did notice her silent hesitation, and knelt beside her. "Is everything alright, My Lady?" he whispered.

"Yes," she said, and again with conviction, "yes, it is, dear Merrek. Sleep well, who knows what adventures await us tomorrow, although I grow weary of the hunt."

He laid his hand gently against her cheek and caressed it ever so softly. It appeared to him that she leaned her head into his touch. "Then tomorrow I have a surprise adventure for you. No blood. No gore. Just us." Her face was inches from his. Her eyes sparkled in the moonlight, wide and loving. The tip of her tongue moved across her lips. "I would like that a lot." She whispered. He could feel her breath on his face, she was that close. Wonderfully close. She leaned forward and kissed him on his forehead

Hands on her waist, he rocked her carefully back so that her face came level with his once more. Eyes locked with hers, incapable of escape, he succumbed to his desires and kissed her, sensing the depth of her own feelings as her lips pushed back eagerly against his. She emitted short murmurs of pleasure as their lips explored one another fervently. He wrapped his arms up around her shoulders and ran his fingers through her hair, not caring that its usual silkiness was dulled and matted with the juices of battle. In return she embraced him to prolong the kiss, to prolong the outburst of pent up feelings and passions, of words unsaid and missed opportunities.

When their lips finally parted, it was with great reluctance. Airie grappled Merrek in a hug, resting her head upon his shoulder, feeling the warmth of his cheek against hers. She let out a long, contented sigh, followed by a yawn of exhaustion. "Dear Merrek, you mean so much to me," she whispered into his ear.

"There is no mortal woman that I love as much as I do you," he replied.

She sighed again and then was asleep in his arms, a smile spread across her pretty face.

Back to Fiction

This site is Copyright ©, 1999-2008, Graeme Ing.   

Please do not reproduce any content, text or images, without permission. Thank you. Email me!
Site hosted by pair.com using PHP 5.3.8 and MySQL. Developed on a Mac.