“Very well.”

  “Those who are patient enough to listen to the tale know that it has the ability to lay waste to the undead with a single blow of its horn. The note produced is like poison to those unholy devils that plague this land. Upon hearing it, they flee or perish under its power. Every hour, the monks blow the horn and banish any undead that may have dared entered their land.”

  Turning down an alleyway cast in darkness almost impenetrable to the naked eye, Rostam stops in the center of the pass way and pulls Sanaz to his chest. “You said that it made the owner invincible. Does that mean the monks are all under its charms? Is it a monastery or mercenary den, I wonder,” he says, pushing the hair away from her shoulders to expose her supple flesh.

  She does not laugh in the darkness pressed against his better half; instead, she moans into the night in a soft and quiet way that only Rostam and I can hear. “What is it about the horn? Does it hold some importance to you?”

  Spinning her around quickly so that her butt is level with his groin, he growls. “If I want to know something about anything, it is my business and desire to ask. There needn’t be a reason or importance that drives me to it. Especially not one of which I owe an answer to you. How’d you react if I asked you such deep questions about your past?”

  Rostam’s hands move along Sanaz’s curves, but she stops them before they reach their hot destination. She untangles herself from his control and steps out of his reach. In the darkness, he can barely make her out. “My brother, my closest friend, was taken from me not long ago, and I know that in this cursed land, the dead do not stay dead. So, I journey in hopes that one day I may meet him again and put an end to the wickedness that Sarpedon has inflicted upon him. Now tell me what bothers you?”

  Taking a step toward her, Rostam speaks in a hushed voice to add emotion to the partial truth he plans to feed her. “One of my many skills is to give a woman everything she asks for and more, so in that light, I shall give what truth you seek, but then you will give me everything I ask in return.” Without waiting for her to answer, he pushes on with his deceit. “In my younger years, I was a part of an order that swore to eliminate the onslaught of the undead over our realm. During our holy quest, we encountered an army of filth that could not be overcome.

  “I stand here before you the only man left alive after that great battle. It left me alone but unchanged in my mission to rid them of this coil. When you speak of such a horn, it kindles those old passions and reignites the flame in my heart for revenge.” He reaches out to her body in the darkness and pulls her back to him.

  This time it is she who offers up her backside to his hard waiting staff.

  As soon as she makes contact with his groin, it is like a surge of energy shoots through Rostam’s body. She’s definitely not prudish, to be offering herself in public like this. He glances at both ends of the alleyway before his hands tear at her attire, letting each article of clothing fall to the ground. Soon, she is completely exposed to him; a naked seductress in the darkness. Sanaz gazes at him with a smile as her hands unfasten each part of his outfit, her approach gentler than his. Now he is naked as she is, and it amuses him to find that through the darkness, he can see Sanaz admiring him with lustful eyes.

  Rostam grips her waist, his fingers digging into the dips of her hipbones. She leans her head back against him as he explores her body, soft moans escaping her parted lips. Closing his eyes, he plants kisses up and down her neck, his mind wandering to the lie he just told. Sanaz has just revealed something deeply personal while he lied through his teeth. There is a small pang of guilt as he ravishes her body with his hands, but he suppresses it once his fingers slip inside her wetness below.

  Sanaz’s body molds into the curve of his, and he can’t help but admire the way the moonlight cast shadows from her perky breasts. While his right hand is occupied in pleasing her down below, the other takes to one of her breasts. He twists her nipple between his fingertips gingerly, his face buried in the nape of her neck. His erection grows, and he rocks his groin against her rear in slow, tantalizing circles.

  Sanaz leans forward and places her hand on the wall for support, opening herself even further for him. He coils his fingers in a “come hither” motion, and brushes against her G-spot. As he fingers her, she tightens and becomes wetter around him, attempting to contain her moan behind her hand as her thighs tremble. Rostam withdraws his fingers and sucks her juices off, savoring the taste.

  “I want you, now,” Sanaz breathes, swaying her hips against him. She is pressing her body right up against his groin now, with no space to breathe. Rostam knows she is desperate now, and he is too impatient to tease her any further.

  Without saying anything else, Rostam settles himself at her hot, wet entrance. Using her hips for support, he plunges himself deep inside inch by inch. Once he is surrounded by her tightness and her warmth, he takes a second to savor it with a long exhale. Sanaz melts around him, her body submitting to him completely.

  Sanaz starts to bounce against him, rocking both of their bodies in a slow rhythm. Her ass cheeks clap against him as their speed increases, inching further and further in their ecstasy. He runs his fingers through her hair as they fuck, sheens of sweat accumulating on both of their bodies. He then takes a hand to slap each of her cheeks, leaving behind a stinging, red hand mark. The act causes Sanaz to moan even louder, breaking her hand away from her mouth. Rostam wonders if anyone passing can hear the loud clapping of their bodies, or see the two shadows that are currently intertwined with each other.

  Her walls contract around him, and it nearly causes him to gasp aloud. The contractions seem intentional, as they are coming in in tight rhythms. She looks over her shoulder at him, her eyes half-lidded and glazed. There is a hint of a smile on her full lips, like a challenge to his endurance. With a smirk, he scoops up Sanaz in his muscled arms, pinning her to the wall. They lock eyes before meeting their lips in a heated frenzy, his large hands gripping her toned thighs as he slides inside her.

  With this new position, he penetrates her even deeper. The tip barely brushes at her cervix in a tight squeeze, causing Rostam to slip deeper into his climax. As they rock, Sanaz’s perky breasts bounce in his face in the same rhythm as the rest of their bodies. He seizes the opportunity to take one of her nipples in his mouth, grazing the flesh with his teeth. Her arms wrap around his neck, her fingers brushing his long, blond locks away from his sweat-covered face. Her touch is surprisingly gentle in contrast to the way they ravish each other. As he licks her breast, Rostam looks up at the seductress. Her face is pointed to the sky, letting the starry expanse receive her cries of pleasure. The sight sends another surge of euphoria through his body like lightning bolts, pushing him over the edge. His pace becomes erratic as he pounds into her, his grip on her thighs tightening.

  He tears away from her breast to rest his face in her shoulder, biting the flesh almost too hard as he approaches orgasm. Sanaz is nearly screaming into his ear now, her fingernails digging into his scalp.

  Like a volcanic eruption, Rostam releases his hot seed deep inside in thick spurts. He rocks into her for a few lasting moments, until finally releasing his last drop. As he pulls out, dribbles of cum fall to the cobblestone ground below from Sanaz’s entrance. He brings Sanaz to the ground, where she leans against the wall for support.

  After catching her breath, she shrugs into her clothes with a smile. “I suppose I should ask about your past more often. I haven’t felt that good in a while.”

  CHAPTER 5

  Derbe is a city of many things, all which Rostam is too busy being wrapped up in Sanaz to see. But it does not matter to him what Derbe has to offer; it pales in comparison to the mortal delights he receives on the daily from Sanaz. It pleases him to know that every expectation he had about the woman is true. She knows her way around the roads of the Damned Land just as well as she knows how to handle a warrior of his stature. They pass their days in orgasmic bliss beneath the shadow the mountains surrounding Lycaonia.

  When it is time to leave the city, Rostam has no quarrels. The only thing that has held his interest since getting to the place has been either Sanaz or where they were going next. Ikonion is nestled far away from Derbe, and if half of what Sanaz has said about the roads leading there are true, then it will not be an easy trek toward the sacred city. The first day we set out in search of the city, we find ourselves nearly run down by a cast of merchants in cheap threads. His Neural Control Interface warns him of the Threat Level of the merchants, which ranges between 6 and 8, making him wary.

  “Please,” they call after Rostam, “you must stop what you are doing. The journey ahead of you is paved with perils.”

  Parviz and Sanaz exchange looks but order the caravan to halt and wait for the other group.

  “What is it?” Parviz asks, hopping down off his startled horse. “What is the meaning of this?”

  Once the group of merchants is around us, their leader speaks. “Our apologies, but we wanted to warn you and your fellow travelers that you are going the wrong way.”

  “Excuse me?” Sanaz says in disbelief beside Rostam.

  “Yes,” another among them says. His face is hidden behind a heavy wrapping around his head. “The way you are going is filled with the most unholy of guests. Undead block your paths, but we know of a better way.”

  “A quicker and safer way,” the leader says, stepping toward Sanaz, his dirty hand outstretched.

  Rostam is wise enough to use Sense Undead and uncover the trickery afoot. These are no ordinary merchants, but ghouls in disguise. In one swoop of his sword, Rostam splits the fellow’s arm in half, decreasing his HP bar only by a fraction. The Threat Level 7 merchant howls before dropping to the ground. Rostam alerts the others. “Take heed! These are ghouls.”

  The look on Damianos’s face is one of surprised horror, but he and the others are able to respond in time, forming a protective circle. Parviz gets his vintage blade stuck in its holster, but before one of the ghouls can rip through his flesh with the head of their mace, Rostam gets a hold of the ghoul by its ponytail and rips him to the ground, burying his sword in the ghoul’s face, killing it instantly.

  “What was the meaning of all that?” Damianos asks, holstering his weapon.

  “Yes, are you out of your mind, Rostam? Do you mean to make an enemy of the road out of us?” Sanaz demands.

  Whoever these ghouls are, they certainly are cunning and can pass for humans. Rostam can handle all of them with ease if he is to go all out but decides to refrain from using his full powers. It’s best if he continues hiding his true identity. What troubles him the most is that some of these foul creatures wear the insignia the Faith of Elysium, the twin griffon crest. Could they be former members of his army?

  “Don’t be fooled by the looks of them. These are no ordinary merchants, but ghouls,” Rostam barks at Damianos and Sanaz.

  Without a moment’s notice, he rushes at the fallen merchant-ghoul, grabs him from the hair, and beheads him. As the blade goes through the neck, the ghoul leaves a terrifying scream and his head transforms into decaying flesh.

  A pandemonium of death follows, as Rostam and the other mercenaries engage in a fierce battle for their lives. A ghoul comes up against Rostam, but he slashes it in fluid motions, keeping it on defense, till he stabs it into the heart and crushes it to the ground.

  Although the battle is under control, it’s best he uses some of his powers without his comrades taking notice of it. First, he casts Aura of Life, a 4th-level Abjuration spell which protects him and those around him from necrotic damages and maximizes their attack damage at the same time. Then, Crusader’s Mantle, a 3rd-level evocation spell that awakens boldness in all members of the caravan. Finally, he casts a haste spell on himself, doubling his speed.

  In a matter of minutes, he and the mercenaries manage to slaughter all the ghouls and put them to good rest once and for all. Blood drips from Sanaz’s hair as she stumbles out of breath to Rostam, who stands over the dead and weakened fighters. “Rostam, thank you. I don’t know how it was that you knew of their ill ways, but without you we all would have been dead.”

  Knowing somewhere deep within himself that the gang of ghouls wouldn’t have attacked them if he wasn’t with them, Rostam nods at the woman.

  “Sanaz is right,” Parviz adds. “There is no doubt of your might after that. You are truly an asset and warrior of great strength and prowess.”

  The others agree with the leaders and each thank Rostam in turn. In silence, Rostam takes their gratitude and thinks only of the men he lost in battle all those months ago.

  “Should we take this as a sign of bad fortunes to come?” Damianos asks. “They might not have been lying about the undead ahead.”

  “I do not believe they were lying,” Rostam says, examining their clothes. “These creatures were unlike any I have faced in these lands before. What magic was behind them is greater and more cunning than what controls the shambling undead we encounter on these roads. It would be in our best favor to send parties up ahead to check the roads before we all walk into what could possibly be an ambush.”

  The other mercenaries agree with Rostam but wait for word from Parviz before turning back to the city to set up camp in the safety of Derbe’s city watch. With Rostam’s lead, they make plans to journey out in the morning in small groups to check the roads for safe passage. Though Rostam shares another night under the moon with Sanaz, this night they take each other slowly, him tenderly caressing the marks on her body from the day’s battle.

  In the morning, Rostam and the other guards split off into separate directions to check the roads that lead to Ikonion. To no one’s surprise, there are legions of undead scum blocking both roads. When they return with the news of the blockage, Parviz turns grim.

  “We must abandon this foolhardy journey to a land that only be found in our dreams,” Parviz says by the afternoon cooking fire.

  Sanaz and the others agree, to Rostam’s displeasure.

  Spitting on the ground, he takes a seat on the back of one of the wagons facing the small group of merchants and mercenaries. “You have all seen my will and fight in combat. Do you doubt me? To do so would be the foolhardy thing to do. Where you fear to tread, I believe that I can get us through.”

  “Yeah,” a mercenary says, “and how many of us are going to die along the way?”

  “Only the ones who do not heed my guidance will die. And of course, those who were never destined to return from this trip. Give me command and trust that we will come out of this with our lives and one step closer to the land of our dreams.”

  The merchant leaders all agree that Rostam is a mighty warrior with the capabilities to lead them through the troublesome road, so once again, they set out toward Ikonion. Except this time, it is Rostam who leads them toward the longest road which had the fewest number of ghouls and zombies tripping about it.

  As they get closer to the sound and smell of the undead blocking their path, the merchants and mercenaries begin to fall back. It is Rostam alone who steps into the fray with the undead, and it is Rostam alone who survives it. Like the brawler and wielder he is, Rostam manages to wipe out the undead without any of them landing a blow on him. In amazement, Sanaz and the others watch Rostam in all his dark glory smiting each and every one of the undead foes, until he waves them on the now safe and clear path.

  Running up to join him, Sanaz leaps into his arms and kisses him on his bloody and filthy lips. “You are a great warrior, Rostam, the best I’ve ever seen.”

  The others catch up and agree with Sanaz in their own ways. It is decided that he will be the new leader of the group, and all decisions and planning will be handed over to Rostam. He takes the position with humility, securing another group that he can lead into the battle to find and kill Sarpedon. As they continue down the long road, they encounter more groups of the undead feasting on captured and overcome caravans who didn’t have the greatness of Rostam on their side to protect them. Like the undead that came before them, Rostam does away with the groups they come up against and is thanked for it kindly and repeatedly by Sanaz.

  CHAPTER 6

  It’s been near two months since they set out from Derbe and Rostam has been at the lead of the group. As each day passes, the travelers become weary and restless. As though a dreadful curse hangs over the camp, each night is filled with rain and cold winds that seem to push them back the way they came. Rostam leads them on with dignity and might, making sure as few of them as possible fall prey to the undead that coat their path.

  Sanaz is a welcome respite each moment Rostam steals away with her to fumble among the bushes and in the dirt.

  She giggles as they fall onto the grass, her arms coiled around his neck. Rostam notes that she has been looking more girlish lately, her eyes full of light whenever she looks at him. Rostam hopes this doesn’t escalate emotionally, but deep inside he can’t help but feel a fondness for her. Both of his hands are planted into the grass on each side of her head, with his groin pressed tightly against her. As he meets her lips in a kiss, her hands shift to grip the growing erection below. She begins to stroke him off over his trousers, and he strokes himself in her hand through a slow rocking pace. He bites at her lower lip playfully, inviting her tongue to invade his mouth. Their tongues dance in an aggressive fashion as they grind against each other, hands exploring each other through soft pants and exhales.

  Rostam breaks away from the kiss to look down at her, his fingers unfastening her buttons and drawstrings. He goes to each article of her clothing like he is unwrapping a gift. As each piece of clothing is gingerly removed and tossed to the side, her perky breasts and curvaceous figure become slowly revealed to him. He takes a moment to take her in, his hand surveying the expanse of her smooth body. As his hand brushes over her breasts, her nipples gradually harden in response. Sanaz lets out a soft exhale, and a sea of goosebumps arise over her smooth skin following his touch.

 

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