Into Lands Forbidden (The Elfmaid Trilogy Book 2) Read online

  INTO LANDS FORBIDDEN

  BOOK 2: THE ELFMAID TRILOGY

  By

  Warren Thomas

  * * * * *

  PUBLISHED BY:

  Rollicking Dragon Press

  Copyright 2014 by Warren Thomas

  2nd Edition

  Cover by Tony Tzanoukakis

  This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, and locations within either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  * * * * *

  The Elfmaid Trilogy:

  The Elfmaid's Curse

  Into Lands Forbidden

  Way of the Warrior

  * * * * *

  TABLE OF CONTENTS:

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  List of other books by Warren

  About the Author

  INTO LANDS FORBIDDEN

  BOOK TWO, THE ELFMAID TRILOGY

  The Bloody Sword Tavern catered to a rough crowd, mostly pirates, mercenaries, and hired muscle. It was a three story stone building at the edge of Allaria's notorious Tighdubh Quarter, the small rooms over the tavern used mostly by the girls plying their trade in the tavern. The tavern itself was about average, with three stages for dancing girls and one long bar in back. Scattered oil lamps helped to keep most faces unrecognizable beyond a few feet, with the only real pools of bright light on the stages and at the front door. About the room half a dozen men sat scattered at various small round tables. All eyes came up and scrutinized the two women as they entered, then dropped back to their mugs.

  "That's him," Danica said, pointing to the sulking Tyrian sitting at a corner table. It was the first time she'd ever seen him just staring into a mug of ale. Ale rarely lasted long around the big barbarian warrior. "That's my friend Carl."

  The indicated man was huge. Even sitting slumped over a table, he looked every bit of his seven feet height. His blue, travel-stained shirt and coat of mail did nothing to hide his powerful chest and arms, heavily sheathed in muscle. He had a thick head and beard of flame red hair. Both looked remarkably clean by Tyrian standards. She also didn't fail to notice the long sword on his left hip, and a wicked looking crescent-bladed battle-axe riding on the right.

  "Your Tyrian friend?" Cat said, studying the man. "He doesn't look like the jolly giant you described."

  "How jolly did you feel after tangling with Talar last week?" Danica scowled.

  Danica and Cat barely defeated and captured the Arch Wizard Talar, even though they'd possessed a powerful, God-given talisman. The Wizard countered by using his stolen memories of Danic of Drakehorn to maneuver Danica into joining with him and his cause, or lose what they so desired forever. Now both women were oath bound to serve the bastard.

  "And to add to that, it seems to him that his best friend has turned on him. Imagine how he feels," Danica said

  Cat nodded somberly, pain evident in her coal black eyes. She didn't usually let her feelings show.

  As her attention focused on her old friend, Carl, Danica thought back on her first encounter with the wizard up north in Elfhaven. She and Carl just rode in from three months as caravan guards on the Steppes and were enjoying themselves in a tavern. Which translated into drinking heavily and carousing shamelessly. Danica, then Danic of Drakehorn, a man and a powerful Jarland knight, had bet Carl he could seduce the beautiful golden-haired noblewoman that had just entered. Little did he know the woman was an elven High Sorceress looking for a strong warrior with which to trade bodies. That night, Danic became Danica and the nightmare began.

  To Carl, it must've seemed like his best friend just abandoned him.

  "Well?" Cat said. "Do we approach him or not?"

  Danica hesitated. As it stood, Carl wasn't aware of her transformation. To reveal it to him would be humiliating. It was something she’d hoped to avoid. Only things had changed dramatically since her arrival in Allaria. Besides, they shared common friends who knew of her misfortune — or curse, as she thought of it — and it was only a matter of time before he learned the truth. The Gods only knew how Carl would react to the news. Maeve already knew of "Danic's" humiliation and would gleefully tell him all about it.

  The thought of Maeve darkened Danica’s mood. The Tyrian sorceress hadn't been seen or heard from since before the Bloodmoon, when Danica and Cat confronted Talar and High Mage Ayesha. Upon taking the talisman from Danica after a terrible sorcerous battle, Ayesha said something about Maeve being right about the talisman's power. Had she referred to Carl's cousin, the only Maeve Danica knew? She did know about the talisman. Unable to believe Maeve would join forces with such a terrible mistress, Danica and Cat had begun a search for the missing sorceress.

  Talar, eager for another mage in his cause, hadn't been able to locate her magically. Danica and Cat conducted a more mundane, though no less thorough, search of the city as well. Either Maeve won her prize of the Goblin's Gift and was out looting his treasure horde, or was his prisoner. Or dead.

  Damned hot-blooded fool, Danica thought bitterly. Another friend lost.

  Glancing at Cat, she was grateful for the big bravo's loyalty and help. Cat had left the desert city of Tamera, and a comfortable position as a bouncer in a high-class brothel, to aid Danica in the quest to win back her body. Danica wasn't sure she would believe someone who hit her with such a wild story. Despite her somber demeanor and intimidating size, Cat was a kind and trusting person.

  At just over six feet, Cat was one of the biggest women Danica ever encountered. An athletic beauty, she further enhanced her physique with extensive weightlifting. In contrast, her heart-shaped face carried a delicate beauty, with a long narrow nose, almond eyes, and full lips. Yet, her most distinctive feature was by far her complexion. Cat's skin was almost as dark as her thick mane of long, silky fine raven-wing hair. That and her penchant for wearing dark, somber colors made her appear very intimidating. Perfect for her usual occupation as a bouncer and hired bravo.

  Danica, in the elven body of the High Sorceress Taara, was almost the exact opposite. She had waist length, golden blonde hair, sapphire blue eyes, and an alabaster skin basted golden brown by the prairie sun. In her mind, she’d been further cursed with the firm, sculpted body of a dancer. The kind of curvaceous body men would gladly kill to possess. And being an elfmaid made her exotic and highly prized by slavers and status conscious men. It wasn't a comforting thought.

  The subtropical city of Allaria was not a safe place for proven warriors to walk the streets, much less an exquisitely beautiful elfmaid. She was ready to leave this haven for outlaws, pirates, and rouge wizards, whether in the body of a man or woman. It seemed every time she went anywhere, she literally had to fight men off. Sometimes with bared steel.

  Both women dressed in the traditional garb of Amazon warriors. Danica wore flashy jewelry in an attempt to lure people's attention away from her elven features. They both wore black leather pants and black thigh-high riding boots. Each carried a sword, belt knife, and two throwing daggers stuffed inside their boot tops. In addition, Cat wore a tight fitting, custom-made mail shirt over a gray cot
ton shirt, and Danica had a new steel cuirass over her red shirt. Not expecting trouble, they left their helmets behind. Both already twisted their long hair into single thick braids, hanging down their backs, for the coming flight to the Amazon Empire.

  Cat waited for an answer.

  Bandu, give me strength and Carl understanding, Danica silently begged the God of War and Warriors then grimaced. "Yes. We'll try."

  Cat nodded and strode away. They already discussed how they would approach him. Danica wanted to avoid trouble if he didn't believe them. Tyrians were a particularly moody and eccentric lot. Very dangerous when riled.

  She watched Cat step before Carl, and then Carl look up. Come damnation or glory, they were committed.

  "Tschüss!" Cat gave the traditional Tyrian greeting, which also served as a farewell.

  He nodded and said quietly, "Tschüss."

  "Carl of Ohmstat, I am Cat," she said. At his nod, she continued, "I am here at the request of one of your friends, Danic of Drakehorn."

  Carl's sky blue eyes flashed with happiness. "Danic? What is it? Does he want to speak with me?"

  She frowned. "Yes and no." Carl grunted, slumping over again. "The man you met with yesterday was not Danic, not exactly anyway."

  Carl looked up, confused and a little wary.

  "What do you mean?"

  "In Elfhaven Danic seduced a beautiful blonde noblewoman, correct?"

  "Yes," he replied guardedly.

  "She was a sorceress," Cat said. "She stole Danic's body, taking if for herself, and leaving him in her own. Then she sold Danic to slavers."

  Carl gave her a doubtful look. "That sounds a bit far-fetched. Danic is a stark warrior, and some sorceress would have her hands full subduing him."

  "You'd be surprised how easy she had it," Danica said, grinning sheepishly.

  Carl's head whipped around. Upon seeing her, he reached for his sword. "You!"

  Danica's blade was out and pressed to his throat in a flash. "I may be a woman now, but I'm still a swordmaster, my friend."

  "You claim to be my friend. Danic?" Carl said, looking doubtful. He studied her face intently, paying special heed to her facial features. His eyes went wide at the realization she had almond-shaped, slightly slanted eyes and pointed ears. "You're an elf! And you don't have any of the look of Danic about you."

  "Weren't you listening to Cat, you overgrown bear? That godsforsaken sorceress, Taara, stole my body, and stuck me in — this! Her elven body!"

  Carl hesitated, chewing on his thick mustaches, apparently deep in troubled thought. Danica watched the play of emotions across her old friend's face. Together, they’d seen and experienced strange and awesome displays of magic, watched wizard's transform into hideous creatures to fight them. So switching bodies would seem to be a comparatively simple act. Surely he couldn't just discard her claims. She thought he might believe her, but his eyes suddenly hardened and he set his jaw defiantly.

  "Well now, Danica, why don't you just put that blade away and prove to me that you are my lost friend," Carl said, sitting back with arms crossed over his chest.

  Hesitantly, she complied. Sheathing the sword, she studied the Tyrian. There wasn't the barest hint he believed a single word they’d said. However, apparently he was willing to listen. At least for a while.

  "What do you want to know?" she said. "What will it take to convince you?"

  "Well now, you already know who I am. So let see if you know some basic information about Danic."

  "Sounds good. Ask away."

  "Good. How many brothers do you have?"

  "One. His name is Kirk and he's my older brother," she said. "He's serving in the Dakkor Royal Army right now."

  "How many sisters?"

  "None."

  "Your mother was an Amazon noblewoman before she married your father..."

  "My mother was and is a Tyrian," Danica interrupted. Then with a woeful look, "It is my greatest shame, having barbarian Tyrian blood." That brought a twinkle to Carl's eye, it being a common lament of Danic's. "And before you ask, her barbaric warrior nickname is Shewolf."

  "Your father's?"

  "Jarlanders don't have warrior nicknames," she said, noticing Carl starting to relax. "We're not barbarians."

  "And my own Warrior's Name?"

  "Laughingbear, but it should be Annoyingbear, if you ask me," she snapped, then grinned. "Especially after trying to marry me off to that Jordani wench."

  With that, Danica could tell that Carl really wanted to believe her, but something still held him back.

  "Enough about Danic, now tell me something about me," Carl said. "Describe my family."

  "Other than the well-known fact that they are all considerably better looking than you," she said, pleased to hear him chuckle. "You have two brothers, one older and one younger. Let's see, there's your younger sister, Elsa. A woman I had a rather passionate relationship with until that little redheaded spitfire of cousin of yours, Maeve Snapdragon, came between us."

  Again, Danica wondered what happened to Maeve. What was her fate? Did Maeve need help, with her and Cat ready to fly off halfway around the world? And how would Carl react to his favorite cousin having gone missing? Would he blame Danica for not going with her, or at least trying to talk her out of such a dangerous adventure?

  "Now that was a sight," Carl bellowed happily. "Elsa and Maeve squared off with bared steel to fight over my friend's love, and him off chasing some tart of a serving girl."

  "As I recalled, we had to tie them both up and take them several days ride in opposite directions to keep them from killing each other," Danica said, grimacing at the memory. "I'd hate to be the cause of a kinslaying."

  Carl exploded out of his chair and swept Danica up in massive arms. Both she and Cat caught completely off guard.

  Crushing her in a powerful bear hug, he said, "My friend, it is you! I thought you deserted me."

  Cat, who’d whipped her sword out, relaxed and grinned at Danica's look of shock. Danica briefly wondered if the huge barbarian would kill her accidently in his joy. Her face was already turning crimson from the strain.

  "Put me down before I bite your nose off," Danica gasped out.

  Carl dropped her unceremoniously, then began pounding her with hearty backslaps. Laughing all the while. She struggled to get her breath back, but he wasn't making it easy.

  Pushing him away, "Gods, dog, are you trying to beat me to death?"

  Carl wagged his brows. "Forgive me, Lady Danic, for I am an uncouth oaf to treat such a delicate and noble elven beauty so roughly."

  "It's Danica," she said, glowering at the all too cheerful Tyrian. "And I don't find jokes aimed at my misfortune particularly funny."

  "Your loss, wench! Ha, ha, wait till the lads back in Dakkor hear about this! Danic — a beautiful elfmaid!" Carl laughed. "It must surely be the Gods' justice for all the broken hearts you left behind!"

  Danica stepped back wide-eyed, "You're not...shocked — appalled! — at what has happened to me?"

  The smile never left his face, but a deadly glint crept into his sky blue eyes. "You know I am, but I know that tonight we pay a visit to this evil mage and force her, or him, to give your body back." Then grinning more widely, he continued. "Then I begin telling everyone about this. Ha, it'll be glorious! You'll be squirming for years!"

  "I'm afraid not, my friend," Danica said, averting her eyes. "I'm bound by oath to Talar."

  "We're bound to serve him if Danica's to ever get her male body back," Cat said.

  "The bloody dog!" Carl pounded the table with a massive fist. The tavern quieted down, eager eyes shifting towards the tiny group. They turned back to their own concerns once it was obvious a fight wasn't about to break out. While Danica and Cat relaxed, Carl seemed oblivious to their surroundings. "Wizards! You can't trust their godless lot. Better to strike a deal with Tuunar himself."

  At the moment, Danica would've much preferred a bargain with the God of the Dead. It was well known that the
Gods wouldn't go back on a promise if the mortal succeeded in the task required to gain their favor. Magic-users were another story. The Gods only knew how their twisted minds worked.

  "We've been forced to go rescue his sister from their enemies in the Amazon Empire," Cat said, bringing Danica back to the real world. "We leave today."

  Carl looked beseechingly at Danica, "But I can't enter the Empire. Men aren't allowed inside. What am I to do while you're gone?"

  Danica smiled, "That's why we're here. First, I want you to protect Talar. Be his bodyguard."

  "Never! The bloody bastard has no honor!"

  "If he gets himself killed, I am doomed to a life in this body," Danica said. "I want you — I need you — to protect him. Keep him out of trouble. I hope to return to a body in reasonably good shape."

  After a moment he slammed his fist on the table again. "I'll do it! For my friend."

  Danica smiled weakly and said, "Before you agree, you should know what you're up against."

  "Doesn't matter," he said, with a contemptuous wave of the hand. "I'm a warrior. I fear nothing."

  "I know," Danica said. "You've always been rather stupid, but I'll tell you anyway."

  "Stupid? Me?" Carl said. He looked up over with a grin. "You're the one strutting around in shiny bangles and a nice set of tits, not me. You're the one who — "

  "Never mind," Danica said, noticing a hint of a grin from Cat. She gave them both her best scowl, which did nothing to wipe the amusement off either of their faces. She narrowed her eyes and snorted. "Fine. But back to Talar's enemies."

  "He needs protection from cutthroats and such," Cat said. "At times he seems almost unaware of the mundane threats surrounding him, as if his magic will protect him from anything."

  "Yes, I know he's a powerful wizard," Carl said. "I saw him use his magic back in Elfhaven."

  "What? You saw Talar use magic back in Elfhaven," Danica cried. "Why didn't you do something? You knew I didn't know magic."

  Looking sheepish, he lowered his gaze. "I thought you didn't, but it never occurred to me that someone would steal your body."