A Warrior's Heart Continued.

Korag looked out the window at the harpie carring the mage away. Amazon and clansmen tried to shoot the harpie but all missed. He pounded his fists on the windowsill. The bastard had escaped once more. But all but the one harpie was dead along with soldiers, the remaints of Vaspian's roman soldiers. "We have not seen the last of him. He will escape the next time." he turned and told Maeve.

He then walked back down to the courtyard and stood on the top step of the entrance of the keep. He looked down at his clansmen and the amazon. "The keep is ours." Duncan called ou raising his sword. His clansmen raised theirs and cheered.

"Not ours, but the Queen's." He turned to her. "The Castle is yours. A fitting place for a Queen to rule from and a shelter for your Amazons should trouble come." The Queen came forward and up the steps.

"You sure about this. Will not your father wish it as spoils of war?" she asked.

Korag shook his head. "This is your territory. The village below is yours. I will inform my father of the matter." He then turned to Maeve and looked at her.

Maeve glanced to him and nodded. she walked after him, back down to the courtyard. Her gaze shifted to the clansmen and amazons. Hearing Korag's declaration that the castle was the Queens, Maeve looked to him, a bit surprised. It was... considerate of him. She smiled a little at him when he turned to her. How very strange he was indeed.

"Now you have a place that is close to my clan's lands." he told Maeve. The groaning of wounded made him turn back. There were Amazon and clansmen wounded and a number of dead. Taking the castle had a cost. Out of the hundred clansmen twenty had died and another thirty were wounded, a few seriously. The Amazons had lost four and another fifteen were wounded. Even though his men were not use to fighting along side women they had done well together. Those that had died, did so by shielding the Amazons from arrows, or protecting their backs as they fought.

Korag went down to the wounded giving them encouragement as wounds were bound, or culterized. He even talked to the wounded amazons. "Your men fought valently." The Queen moved to his side. "I never thought I would see men fighting along side us." She looked over at Maeve, "The Mage escaped. What are you going to do?"

Maeve wondered what exactly he meant by that. But there would be time to ask later, as she went to check on the wounded, helping out where she could. Loosing people in battle was always tough, but not very avoidable. Her gaze shifted to her queen as she spoke about the Mage. "I will find him." It was that simple. How she was going to find him, that was the tricky part. But Maeve never gave up when she was determined.

The Queen nodded at Maeve's response. "Who would you like to go with you, when you go search for him?" she asked Maeve. Korag heard their conversation and was surprised that Maeve was going to go after the Mage. He was wounded, with no fighting force, and only one Harpie was left. All his possessions were there at the castle, so he was in a world of hurt.

"Well that harpie will not be able to carry him to far. It will have to rest." Korag told them.

The Queen grinned and nodded. She called a couple of the Amazons to her and told them to return to the other village and again have them all come to the village below. They were to bring every thing. There were horses in the stables and she told them to take them along to help bring everyone and everything. Then she turned back to Maeve.

Maeve wasn't sure about who to bring. Her gaze shifted to Korag when he spoke. "If he is left to himself, he will heal and start his trouble again, if not here, then somewhere else." Her attention shifted to the Queen. "I am unsure of who I would want to bring with me."

Cloe approached with Duncan. "I have had the traitor placed in one of the cells below. With your permission I will continue to make her suffer." The Queen nodded and she left with Duncan. Nara then made her way to Maeve. "I'll go with you if you like. It seems you two have a knack for finding trouble and adventure." she grinned. Krell grinned and looked over at Maeve. "I'll be coming along he told her."

"I had a feeling you would." The Queen said. Looking at Maeve she smiled and nodded. "That foul creature headed south, towards lands that are controled by the Romans. Take care."

Maeve was glad that Nara would come along. It was amusing the comment about her Knack to find trouble and adventure. Maeve dis not look at it that way. But it has been finding her lately this had been the most action she's had lately. Most of their battles are fought and won, without having to hint anyone down.

Maeve scowled when the queen said where the Mage had gone. "Damn Romans." that was the last place she would want to go, how she hated the Romans. Even though only a handful of Romans had harmed and killed her child. "if you two are ready, we'll go."

All three were covered in blood of thier enemies and they had just fought a hard battle. "Not just yet." Korag grinned. "First I think we need to clean up and then take what we will need for the long journey." They were going to going into Roman Lands. The edge of the Roman Empire. It was an area just being transformed into the Roman culture. They would need Roman gold to buy things and resupply and perhaps even to get information. He would not doubt that the Mage would have a good supply of that somewhere in the castle.

Moving to a group of clansmen he had them go into the Keep and begin searching. They were not to take anything, just find any gold or gems that could be used. He would be sending his men back to his father with their dead and wounded, but some would not survive the journey. "We will take care of them till they are able to travel." The Queen could see the concern on his face. "It is the least we can do."

The sound of laughter made Korag and the Queen turn. It seemed that the Amazons and some of the clansmen were sitting in a circle and joking around, bragging, and such as if there was no differnce in thier sexs. It seemed that each had accepted the other as comrades in arms. The Queen just shook her head in amazement.

"Come." Korag said to Maeve. "Since the defenders of this castle use to be Roman Soldiers, then they probably have a bath somewhere abouts. I would be rid of their blood before we go."

Maeve didn't care that she was covered in blood. she just wanted to kill the mage and get it over with. Sometimes the Amazon was not patient. Not always a good thing. But she didn't say a thing as she walked after Korag. Her gaze shifted to the clansmen he sent to search for gold or gems.

Her gaze shifted to the clansmen and Amazons were were joking and talking. That seemed so weird to her, but she found that she was glad that the men weren't trying to move away from the Amazons. So far, she felt like they were just wasting time. Maybe she did need to learn patience with most things.

"Alright," she told Korag. "Lets get -that- over with." Maeve was thinking bathing at the river, so she didn't really know where else a bath would be.

A quik look around the place brought Korag and Maeve to the Keep's Bath. It was a fairly large room with tiled floor and walls. The water in the large tiled pool was warm, heated somehow. Large towels laid on a stone bench and along the edge of the pool was a number of containers with oils. Korag stripped off his bloody clothes and walked down into the pool of wather.

Nara laughed and shed her clothes and moved down into it sighing a the warmth. "I think could get use to something like this. Beats taking a bath in cold water."


Krell looked back at Maeve, "You coming." he asked.

Maeve walked with him as he found his way around the keep and found the bath. She looked at it, studying it, before pulling off her clothes, and slipping into the water. it was warm, and that was strange. But if she didn't think about the weirdness of it, the water did feel really good. Sighing deeply, it amazed her at how good it felt. it actually felt really good on her sore ribs.

He could tell Nara was not bashful but she did move to a part of the pool to allow Maeve and him a bit of privicy. Korag moved to Maeve, moving behind her and placed his hands about her waist under the water. "To go to the Weaponmasters of the East, I and a few others had to pass through the lands of the Romans. Our guide and the one with the documents for safe passage, showed us some of the Roman's culture." he pulled her back against him.

"I know you hate all romans, but you will have to bury that deep for now. Until we find the Mage and deal with him." Most of the civilian population of the boarder region were people just like them. Others further south were becoming more like those of Rome, in dress, and culture but they were still just people. It was those in power that were the arrogant and power hungry bastards that enslaved people and would make ones life miserable.

He moved his hands over her naked body a bit before reaching for a cloth and slowly began to wasy the blood from her.

Maeve felt him behind her, hands at her waist. "I just want to get it over with, if we have to go there." Sighing deeply, she leaned against him as he pulled her close. "You have been there? Are they all bloodthirsty monsters, with ugly faces, and claws?" she asked him, finding amusement in the way she imagined Romans. her body shivered a little when he touched her before washing off the blood.

"No they are not. Most are just normal people trying to make a living for themselves. Farmers, merchents, blacksmiths and shop keepers. But there are those like Vespin, and worse. Mostly these are the Govenors and Military commanders and those of what is called the Senate." he slowly moved the cloth over her lovely tits and chest.

Nara only smiled and turned her back so she would not disturb them. There was a twinge of jelousy that ran through her. Maeve had met a man that wanted her for who she was and not just to use as a sex toy. She wondered now that some of his clan had fought side by side with the amazons if they would see them the same way he did.

"Oh why must you make them seem like real people?" she asked him, feeling the cloth move over her skin. Her gaze shifted to Nara, and wondered what she was thinking. Nara seemed to accept the fact that Korag wanted Maeve for who she was, faster than Maeve had accepted it.

He grinned. "The people are real people. It is only those that rule and want power that are th monsters. For the most part anyways." he told her. "I am not the monster you thought I was, now am I?" He turned her to face him, moving his hands down to her ass cheeks. She was getting better at it all. She was leaning in on him and not pulling away. Hopefully by the time they got back from their hunt she would be more willing to go back home with him.

Out in the courtyard the wounded was being tended to and the dead were wrapped in shrouds and placed in waggons. They would be returned to their homes and burried. Three horses were prepared with food and water and gold that had been found. The Queen was quite suprised by the amount of treasure the Mage had and the comfort he had. A castle full of nice things, and treasure. All just handed over to her by Korag. She sighed and didn't know what to think of it all. Even her amazons seemed to be accepted by the men of his clan. A new age was begining, one she was looking forward to.

Maeve looked to him as he turned her to face him. "You're just one man. They are many." She felt him touch her ass cheeks, and she smirked at him. "You could still be a monster. One who likes touching me." Letting him lay with her gave him too much freedom with her body. Though she didn't find herself trying to push him away, his touch was actually..... nice."

He grinned and chuckled. "Well I am a man and have desires. But...... He pulled her a bit closer, so that their bodies were pressed together. "only if the woman is willing." he kissed her nose. "Now it is your turn to wash the blood from me." he let her lose and handed her the wet cloth.

Nara finishing up slowly walked up the steps from the pool, not afraid to show her body off. Korag noticed and shook his head. He would not doubt that one of the men out in the courtyard would not mind trying to claim her.

Maeve smirked at him, as he pulled her close. "What if the woman is never willing," she teased. Taking the cloth, she moved it over his chest, washing him. It was weird for her, to wash him. Her gaze shifted to Nara, then back to Korag. He didn't seem interested in Nara's naked body. And that too was odd to her.

"Mmmmmmm I don't think that a woman would not always be not willing." he chuckled. "Do you think you would never be willing?" he raised a hand and caressed her face. He would not mind taking her to bed once again. He was already excited and his cock hard. But it would have to be up to her if they did. They were going to be going after the Mage shortly and though there might be time here and there for such things, they had the comfort of the Castle and its bed chamber.

Nara was gone, leaving her bloody clothes in a pile and only taking her weapons and boots. She returned a bit later dressed in tunic, belted about her waist and her boots. She laid down some clean clothes for Maeve and Korag. She gave Maeve a grin and a wink and then left.

Maeve smirked at him and rolled her eyes. "Depends," she told him, in amusement. She put the rag over his face, teasingly, and swam away, feeling a bit playful. The warm water felt very good, and soothed her ribs.

her gaze shifted to Nara when she returned with the clothes for her and Korag. She nodded her thanks, then turned back to Korag, studying him, a bit curiously. Ducking her head under the water, she washed it real quick, then rinsed it, she liked to be thoroughly clean.

He pulled the cloth from his face and watched her swim off. When she ducked beneath the water, he could see that she was washing her hair. He grinned and dove under the water and swam over so he as behind her. He slowly stood up in the water behind her.

He put his arms around her and pulled her back against him. "Now that was not very nice." he whispered. He bent down and kissed her neck, "You never said what it depends upon."

Maeve jumped a little when he was behind her, she smirked as he pulled her against him. "It wasn't nice?" she chuckled, in amusement. "Well, it amused me," she replied. "Why must you know what it depends on? Do you think it has anything to do with you?" she teased, feeling him kiss her neck.

He chuckled when she jumped. His hands moved up to her tits. "Well because I need to know if I should continue or not." he said as his hands closed on her tits. "It might be a long time before we have the comfort of a place like this." She was much more relaxed and not at all like she was when they first met. That was a good sign to him. He continued to kiss her neck lightly. "So what shall it be?" he asked.