CHAPTER 5 β Besieged
No one was surprised when the city of Delait became besieged by the forces of the Fel. For the past several months word and rumour had been spreading along the coast of the unstoppable force sweeping down from the north. The tales of beautiful warrior women and their strange tastes was on the lips of all those who dwelt within the city's taverns. Nobody was even sure just how much of the stories held any real truth. Envoys sent to the North had been returned as headless corpses, their clothes reeking of a distasteful familiar smell. Now finally, the vanguard of the Amazon army had arrived just before sunset the day before. Over the course of the night, the camp fires had continued to swell in number as the besieging army arrived in full might.
It was dawn now. The first red beams of sunlight were crossing the distant horizon and banishing the night's dark gloom. In a run down room on the first floor of the 'Friendly Banshee'; a disrespectable Tavern located in the seedy Western Quarter, a form was stirring from his sleep.
Tan Slander awoke. As his eyes flickered open to reveal the grey hazy outlines of the tavern's guest room, a sharp pain washed through his head. Blinking rapidly in an attempt to regain his sight he sat up. Promptly he regretted the action. The ache in his head took on a new magnitude; a piecing lance through his skull.
'Damn Solgen wine!' he cursed under his breath. Closing his eyes he took several deep breaths and tried again. This time the pain was not as intense but the room had taken on a disturbing rotation as his vision swam. Eyes closed again and then more deep breaths. Struggling out of the bed he fell to the wooden floor with a loud thump. Gaining his feet he stood, eyes still locked tight. His head continued to pound. With a grimace he forced one eye open. This time the room retained a little more of its stationary stature. 'That was good - now for the next eye.' More pain washed in into his pounding skull as he let in more of the dull light of the room's illumination which was provided by the solitary window on the far wall. A cold draught was blowing in from behind its rough cloth curtain and Tan took a deep lungful, his thoughts steadying as he did so.
In some confusion, his intense hangover nullifying his memory, he stared in confusion at the naked female form lying in his bed. Strands of raven black hair fell around the girl's shoulders, her bare creamy skin exposed for him to see. Blinking rapidly he tried to recall the night before. A vague memory of a substantial amount of wine came back to him and then a slight recollection of this naked beauty. 'That was it - The Landlord's daughter!' It was all starting to come back to Tan. As he had sunk under the influence of the drink the night before, he had started to tell one of his famous stories of how he was a famous warrior, a slayer of fell beasts and saviour of womenfolk. His audience had lapped it up no doubt aided by the influence of the very same liquor he had been drinking. What Tan lacked in honesty he more than made up with his ability to spin a good yarn. By the end of the night, the drinks had become free as had the company of this young creature as well.
Tan stared at her lovely form. She was lying on her side, her black strands hiding her pretty face from view. One breast and an exposed nipple were clearly visible as were the wide curves of her uncovered bum cheeks. Even in his sorry state Tan felt the beginnings of an erection starting to form. He made a move back to the bed eager to rejoin his companion but a new wave of pain and nausea stabbed up from his stomach. Reeling away from the bed he headed for the solitary table adjacent to the crumbling plaster of the nearby wall. Ignoring the dirty plates he grabbed the single clay jar and raised it to his mouth. Cold tepid water filled his throat and he forced himself to down the entire contents in one motion. The jar fell to the floor where it instantly shattered into a large number of fragments. Tan ignored the damage as his body was raked with a new wave of pain. Gasping he drew aside the thin curtain and stared out on the world outside.
The 'Friendly Banshee' had been built in the early days of the city when the money from trade from the North had been plentiful. As such it had once been a grand affair, situated on the top of a once grassy knoll. As the years passed, the knoll became a more crowed location. New premises were built side by side degenerating rapidly as the city's fortunes fell. Now the tavern found itself in the middle of a shanty town. The only thing that had not changed over the years was the commanding view from the upper storey.