Chapter 1 - The Shadowfell

A gasp of exasperation escaped from all of the cloaked travellers. They had just arrived in a fairly large town the King’s Highway by the name of Duepond, and now they were stuck. 


“Just our rotten luck.” A light musical voice said from somewhere in the middle of the group. 
“Yea you aint kidding.” A gruff voice responded. 
The stone bridge across the river, the only crossing for 50 miles either side, had collapsed. This particular river was famed for its ferocity and swift current. That meant no swimming, and no boats. They were well and truly stuck. 


“Well fellas, I say we head up to that Inn back there. I’m craving ale summat fierce. Plus we don’t have any other place to stay. May as well make ourselves at home aye?” A short member of the group asked in a thick accent. 
“You’re always craving ale Fargrim.” A light female voice from the back said. 
“Must come with the territory, you know how much Dwarves drink.” Said yet another voice, this time a refined male voice.
“Ahh to hell with the lotta ye.” The Dwarf, Fargrim responded. “I’m off. See you there.” 
With that, he broke from the group and started heading up the road.  
“I see no reason why not. Besides, we best follow him before he drinks himself stupid again. We never know what will happen in the days ahead.” Said the voice of the final member of the party. 
“Oh you just have to always have to say things like that. Being a cleric doesn’t give you the power of prophecy you know.” The light musical voice said as they started after the thirsty dwarf. 
“No. It does not. However, Three years of traveling with you reckless bunch has given me a sense of caution. Whatever we seem to be doing we aways get caught with some random quest of some form or another. Take our last job for example. We were just helping guard a convoy, next thing we know we were fighting Stone dragons and demons from other planes of existences. Can you see my point? Came the slightly miffed reply. 
“Oh why worry Bren? Brandis will keep me safe. Wont you, my big strong protector!” She replied, grabbing hold of the largest member of the group. 


“I swore to our father that I would protect you and I will. I don’t see why you keep reminding me of it….” The gruff voiced giant responded, scooping up his much smaller companion into his massive arms, quickly throwing her into the air above his head, then setting her down gently on the ground. 


“God dammit I’m not a child anymore you big oaf!” She angrily responded. She slapped his shoulder and then walked quickly off ahead after Fargrim. 
“I swear Vieare is so childish sometimes.” The refined voice sighed. 
“Oh well, that’s her. Not much we can do about it. As much as I’d like to...” Brandis responded, quickening his pace.


A couple hours later the group were seated inside the two story Inn of Ill Omen, quietly killing time. It was quiet in the Inn; less people than they thought given the size of the town were enjoying their evening there. The only people that were sharing the large common room with them were a group of three dwarves, the bartender, the Hostess and owner of the Inn, an armed man and finally a robed human and his Halfling servant.



“Im going to get some info on this town. I’ll be back soon.” The refined man said. 
“As you will Ender, I’m gonna drink more.” Fargrim replied, a mug of ale to his lips. 
“I will join you. I feel like chatting for a while.” The second female of the party stated.


“Hail the friends!” the armed man greeted the two adventurers as they approached him. 
“I don’t recognise you. You’re not from around here are ya?”

“This is true. We are acting as couriers, delivering a package between Northern and Southern lords. However, because of your bridge problem we are stuck here. "My name is Ender, and my companion here is Enala.” Ender answered.
“Greetings. May we ask your name?” Enala enquired.


“I suppose you can. My name is Grimbold, Capitan of the City Guard of Duepond. What can I do for you!” Grimbold replied. 
“I suppose you could tell us about the town. Why is it here, and what happened to the bridge?” Ender asked. 


“Well, I suppose you deserve that much. The town here sprung up a hundred years ago, as a trade post and supply station for travellers on the yet unfinished King’s Highway. 
It had sustained growth for 50 years after that, to the size of the town today. But recently a number of people have left the town, so many of the buildings around edge are abandoned. Right now we have a population of about twelve hundred. 


As for your question about the bridge, we don’t know what happened to it. It just collapsed about two days ago, without warning. So I’m afraid that I can’t help you there.” Grimbold said. 
Grimbold finished his drink and started rising. “I’m afraid that’s all the time I have left my friends. It’s time for my watch. Good health to ye.”
Brandis intercepted him as he was walking out of the door. “May I accompany you on your watch Capitan? I feel like getting some air.” Brandis asked. 
“Why not. It’s always good to have company especially on such a dark eve. It’s almost unnatural don’t you think? Grimbold said. 


“Now that you mention it Aye, it is.” Brandis responded as they left the Inn. 

Ender and Enala next approached the robed man and his Halfling servent, who greeted them warmly as they approached. “Greetings. My name is Nethaire. What can I do for you?”


“Just some idle gossip if you would be so kind.” Ender replied. “My companions and I were stuck in this town because of the recent bridge collapse. You don’t look like one of the locals, so why are you in town?”


“Ahh I see, a keen eye for detail as well as fashion. Very well. I am a scholar from the capital. I am here writing a book about a very famous and powerful mage named Evard, who was supposed to be buried here after his last climactic battle with his rival Slenndeir, another supremely powerful mage. Not far from here was where this last battle was fought. So here I am hoping to find some evidence as to where his remains went.” Nethaire replied. 


“Sounds very interesting. We shall leave you to your drinks. I have no doubt that we will be seeing some of each other in the next few days.” Enala said, and she and Ender retreated back to their group. Brandis returned not long later.


“Well, its late. Im off to bed. See you all in the morning!” Vieare said to the group. She trotted away happily.
“So Brandis, I have to ask.” Ender said after Vieare was out of earshot. “Why does she refer to you as Brother all the time? I mean she is an Elf and you’re Human. That’s not blood relation right?”


“Hmm. It’s a long story. But I suppose we have nothing better to do.” Brandis started, taking a long draught of his ale before continuing. “My family were traveling merchants. We were traveling in Elf land when our small caravan of about three families was attacked by Bandits. Usually this wouldn’t be so much of a problem; my family had fought off very many such attacks. This particular band of Bandits had three mages however. My family were slaughtered. One of the bandits hit me on the back of the head with a club and I went down. When I awoke, all my family were dead. I was only ten at the time.
 

I spent the next few days wandering with what supplies I gathered from the shattered remains of my traveling home. I was delirious with hunger and collapsed in the woods. That was when a kind elf by the name of Sidonas found me. He nursed me back to health. When I was strong enough I told him what happened and after that he took me in. 


I will never be able to pay back the debt to him. Or so I thought. Two years after he took me in him and his wife had a daughter. Vieare. Not long after I had arrived in the small village that Sidonas lived in I started training with the local master at arms. Sidonas offered me a way to repay him. He knew that the little village where he lived wouldn’t keep the attention of an energetic young woman for very long. So he asked me to keep his daughter safe after she left the village. 


So I swore to him that I would protect Vieare with my life. Cliché as fuck I know but still. So that’s why she calls me brother.” 
“Wow.” Enala responded softly. “After three years I had no idea.” 
“Well, that’s me done for the night. Get some rest people.” Brandis said. With that, he walked off after Vieare. 


There was no need for Brandis to enter his shared room quietly. His sister slept like the dead. 
Their small room was furnished very lightly, a small table and chairs and two beds being the only ornaments. However, none of this was what Brandis saw first. 


What he saw was his sister with nothing on but panties lying spread eagled in sleep on top of the covers, face down. Her blond hair was let down from the ponytail she usually kept it in and was covering her face almost completely from view. Her small chest with her average sized breasts that were currently mashed beneath her rose and fell with the rhythm of her breathing. His eyes roamed down her hourglass figure to the small pair of yellow panties with a small picture of the sun on them.


Smiling, Brandis covered her with her blanket.
His armour packed away he was just about to nod off himself when he felt something sneak into bed behind him. A pair of thin arms wrapped themselves around his chest. Brandis chuckled quietly and Vieare jumped. “You’re awake, good I thought you’d gone to sleep.” She said. 
“And so did I you. You either had a nightmare or you were worthy of the praise of the greatest Players for that pretend sleep.” Brandis said, turning over to face his small bed companion. 
“You think so? I thought I was doing well. Did you like the sight?” She said with a smile. 
“So that was on purpose? How did I guess…?” He replied. 


“Well, I needed to thank you. I know you’re just with me because of the promise you made to my father, but I’ve come to depend on you there with me. I know I would have been killed many times over if it weren’t for you. Whenever I was in trouble, even back as the village you would always be there, don’t think I didn’t notice. So as such, this is repayment.” She said, a small smirk stealing stealthily onto her face. 


Brandis jumped as he felt Vee’s small hand graze along his shaft. “Vee….?” He began to say, but was cut off by Vieare locking lips with him. Her tongue darted in and swirled around his, then was quickly retracted. “Quiet. You’re going to enjoy this. As I said, this is repayment. Just relax….” Vee said in a sultry purr as she kissed him again. 


Brandis looked down at Vee as she kissed him. She was of course beautiful, and he loved her dearly. But he had never thought of doing this before. You know what? Bugger it. He thought and wrapped his arms around his sister, now returning her kisses with his own. 


Vee noticed this and picked up the pace and passion of their kiss, duelling tongues with her elder brother. A few minutes later she broke away, panting softly. “Now is where the fun begins!” She said happily, shimmying down the bed. She started stroking his sizable package through his undergarments. “Ooohhhhh.” She moaned appreciatively as she felt the large tent. “Big brother is an apt name so it seems!” 



She threw the bed sheets away and loosed his member from its constrictive folds. Brandis’ endowment stood tall at a full foot in length. Vee licked her lips in anticipation as she stroked it with one hand, barley able to grasp it fully, while looking up at her brother’s face. 


“You ready?” she said in a lust filled whisper and then licked slowly up from the base to the tip. An appreciative groan from Brandis encouraged her further, and she smiled as she continued. 


Fastening her lips around the head of his member she started swirling her tongue around under his foreskin massaging his glands for a second or so before continuing. After every second or third swirl she move down and then up, deeper each time, continuing suck his shaft like this until finally it was lodged firmly at the beginning of her throat.


She pulled off all the way back to his head, looked into his eyes and winked. After that she went down on him again, but this time his manhood pushed past the previous stopping point, and went all the way down until her nose was rubbing against his pubic hair.


 She started moaning and purring as she slid her hand down underneath her panties, pushing two fingers deep inside herself, all the while deep-throating his massive member. This sent vibrations through her throat, stimulating Brandis’ already over stimulated cock, sending him over the edge. With a groan of pure pleasure Brandis erupted deep down in her throat, seeming to send a gallon of thick cum directly into her stomach. 


Pulling back and all the way off of Brandis’ cock, she coughed a few times as she regained her breath. “How was that?” She asked with a smirk. 
Brandis thought this time to take control of the night’s events. He grabbed her under her armpits and lifted her all the way until she was sitting on his shoulders. He eyed her small and tight pussy quickly before moving forward and shoving his tongue into her folds.


 A surprised squeak followed into a deep moan was his response. Brandis took this as that he was doing a good job and continued. He moved his tongue with surprising skill in, out and around her moist pussy. After every few dives he would surface briefly to flick his tongue quickly against her clit, then diving back into her. He had her moaning non-stop, deep guttural moans of someone who had given up on trying to sound human and started expressing their basest carnal desires. 


She started rutting against his mouth on every in stroke of his tongue, trying to get it even deeper into her. Brandis thought of something interesting to try and much to his partner’s surprise he slipped his thumb suddenly into her tight asshole, up to the first knuckle. 


This unexpected and different sensation along with the tongue lashing she was receiving was enough to send Vee over the edge into an utterly earthshattering orgasm. She screamed out as her pussy squirted a load of girl jizz that Brandis eagerly drank. She twitched and shook as her orgasm played its course and was only stopped from falling off the bed entirely by the massive arms of Brandis holding her up as they had been doing for the last ten or so minuites while he was working his magic on her. 


After her orgasm had wound down Brandis set her on the bed gently, then moved over her. Pelvis to pelvis she was around a foot and a half shorter than the massive human and had to arch her back to see into his face. “Ready?” Brandis asked her while lining up his manhood with the entrance to her virgin sex. 


“Do it.” Vee replied, steeling herself. 
In one quick movement Brandis thrust as deep as he could into Vee’s unused pussy. She cried out in pleasure as his meat filled her up to the brim and then some. She started screaming as Brandis started thrusting quickly. His cock ploughed into her tight hole as fast as Brandis could go. And Vee loved every second of it. Her cries filled the small room as Brandis filled her.

 
Brandis completely dwarfed his much smaller elven lover in this position, covering her almost totally. To get better access he moved back into a sitting position, moving Vee along with him without pulling out. Leaning down a fair way he kissed her passionately as he started thrusting again.

She moaned into his mouth as his thrusts bounced her in his lap. Still kissing and thrusting he took started playing with her breasts, alternating between roughly groping them and pinching and playing with her hard nipples. All this pleasure was too much for Vee. She came, hard. Breaking off from Brandis’ kiss she screamed out in carnal pleasure as her lower lips constricted and tightened on the invading member, squirting out around it and soaking both hers and Brandis’ laps with sticky girl-cum.


Brandis was starting to really feel his impending orgasm and Vee’s orgasm causing her to be even tighter than before was the beginning of the end. He took her legs from the sides of his pelvis and lifted her and himself off the bed, standing up while still thrusting into her. He leaned her against the wall and pinned her legs up to her shoulders, getting an even better position to thrust into her amazingly tight pussy. 


He slammed into her for another few minutes before he started really feeling it. “Im going to come. You want that? Huh? You want me to come inside you don’t you!? Do you want me to fill your pussy with my seed?” He said in a low, forcefull whisper in her ear. 
“Yesssss! CUM IN MEEEEEEEEEEEEE” she screamed as she came yet again, Brandis’ dirty talk turning her on even more. 
“Here I go!” He cried out as he exploded into her tight sex, painting her insides with thick and potent seed. It was a massive load he pumped into her, so much so that it filled up her passage and exploded out around his dick like waterfall. She screamed in pleasure as she felt him being filled by his cum, feeling its heat reaching the deepest parts of her.


 
They stayed there for a minute longer, enjoying the rundown and afterglow of their respective orgasms. After a little Brandis offered the inevitable “We best get cleaned up.”
They did so and fell into bed together, content and exhausted. 
Suddenly, both Vee and Brandis felt something happen, a very strange something. It felt like they were being pulled in all directions at the same time. As the feeling got the worst, all the lights in the room dimmed down. By the time the feeling ended both Brandis and Vee were up and clipping their armour into place. They met Enala in the corridor. 
“The others are just kitting up. Something tells me that tonight is going to be very interesting.” She said quickly. “You felt that right?”
“Yes we did.” Brandis replied. “I have no idea what it meant but I did not like It.” 

“I know exactly what this means.” Bren’s voice said from behind them, standing with the rest of the group. “How did you two get kitted up so fast? Weren’t you asleep?”
“Uhhhhhhh.” Vee said, floundering for an excuse. 
She was spared from having to respond by a loud scream from downstairs. They followed it quickly, sprinting down the stairs and into the large common room below. Enala was the first downstairs, and quickly crouched by the prone body of the bartender. “He’s alive! Pulse is weak but he will live.” She quickly reported. 


Stoping behind her the rest of the group quickly took stock of their surroundings. “I think I know what happened.” Ender said quickly, drawing his sword. 



The two large gargoyles that flanked the massive fireplace had come to life and were looking directly at the adventurers. Bellowing a battle-cry Brandis charged with Ender not far behind him. Brandis met with the first gargoyle by smashing it with his axe. Roaring a reply the gargoyle struck back with both claws, which Brandis was only just able to avoid. Vieare quickly followed with Fargrim, both of them bringing their weapons down on its sides.

Ender met with his gargoyle by charging full speed into it with his shield raised. It responded by slashing down at his back, scoring a small gouge. Before it could press its advantage it was blasted backwards by a quick spell from Enala, followed by a spell that rooted it in place. 

Following this was an enchanted hammer to the face thrown by the steady hand of Bren. 
As the group was making quick work of the gargoyles, they didn’t notice the threat lurking in the shadows of the dimmed common room. As one Vee’s, Brandis’ and Ender’s shadows separate themselves from their owners and start strangling them. As the three started struggling with the things strangling them the three other members of the team are unable to do anything for fear of hitting their allies. So they focused on the gargoyles, still a very real threat. 



Fargrim quickly punched the gargoyle attacking Brandis to get its attention, and then followed this up with a stroke of his battle-axe. It turned around and hit out at Fargrim with its claws, hitting only empty air as Fargrim jumped to the side. Another hammer flew into this gargoyles face, knocking it to the ground, where a massive downward slash from Fargrim separated its head from its shoulders. 


Vee was the first to throw off her attacker. Quickly turning around she stabbed out in desperation, and was very surprised to find that it had a very solid response. The shadow loosed an unhuman scream and blew apart in a cloud of smoke.  Vee was quickly at Brandis’ side, she grabbed the hands gripping Brandis’ throat and their combined effort was enough to break free.


Vee quickly stabbed the shadow, this too blasting apart in smoke. 


Ender saw what happened and quickly stabbed behind him with his sword, and the pressure on his neck evaporated. He did not spend time on relief, instead quickly charging back into battle with the final gargoyle. A few seconds of concentrated attacks from the group and the creature went down as well, its head a few feet away from its body. 


“Ok guys. Now that’s over, WHAT THE HELL!” Vee yelled.
“I think I know what’s happened. I’ve read books on this.” Bren said, sitting down at a table. “I think we are in the Shadowfell, the realm of all creatures of shadow. Why we are here I don’t know, but here we are.
“The SHADOWFELL?” Enala gasped. “What the hell?”
“It doesn’t matter now. What does matter is what the heck we are going to do now.” Brandis said. “I say we try and find Grimbold. See what we can do to help.”
“Agreement.”
And with that they walked outside into the dark, Vee walking behind everyone else with a slightly pained gait.