The Quest – by Acfex

Adult story: The Quest by Acfex. The day started as any other. I awoke in my small lodgings while the sun was still set and prepared for the day ahead. Being a knight in the king’s privy council did have its perks but it also came with a burdened-filled barrel that followed me everywhere.

Adult story: The Quest – Chapter 1 – Thief in the Night

by Acfex

Genres: Fantasy, Blowjob, Consensual Sex, Job/Place-of-work, Male/Teen Female, Mature

I was head of the knight’s castle defences and was captain of the castle guard. This gave in a disastrous amount of work to do every morning. That morning, I was patrolling the lower chambers when I a guard came running up to me and told me that the vault below the castle had been broken into. This had never happened before. My defences and guards were impeccable and well-trained. We had stopped thieves and infiltrators before.

As I arrived at the vault, I saw that the guards had been killed and were neatly stacked up next to the broken vault door. The metal cages surrounding the inner vault were not damaged even in the slightest. I was not sure what was taken. I called for the castle’s archive keeper, who knew exactly what was in there to be summoned to the vaults so that he could determine what had been taken.

Just then, my deputy, Coleman, a young, new-minted knight arrived from training the new guards in the training square. A fairly handsome young man, he was well-built, as are all knights, had short jet black hair and a tan complexion. He had deep-seated eyes and sharp features. His nose was sharp and his lips were thin and well-defined.

“It looks like the guards were killed with a single blow, sir. Maybe the work of an assassin,” he said as he entered the vault.

“I noticed that the wounds that they died from were the only ones, yes. I think so too. Furthermore, the cuts are not deep, rather shallow. The intruder knew exactly where to injure them to the point of death,” I replied.

“The odd thing is, their mouths aren’t sealed. They should have called for help. Rang the alarm or even shout out, but they never did,” Coleman observed. I agreed with his points and we headed deeper into the vault.

We noticed that the vault bars were not broken or damaged. Coleman suggested it to be the work of a very skilled assassin. I took a different path and observed that the intruder might not have been working alone and had help from a woman or a child. Their frames were small enough to fit through the gaps in the bars and easily get out.

We looked around for more clues. It was then that Coleman discovered a broken ventilation panel. We both concluded that that was the way that the intruder left the vault. I instructed Coleman to head outside the castle to see where it leads and to see what he could find. Coleman headed out and I continued my search around the vault. I noticed several other oddities that were not congruent to any other attack I had studied in the past.

The intruder did not leave note to tempt us to come after him. The guards had not bled out at the vault door. The pool of blood was further, closer to the stairs leading down to the vault chamber. The intruder had taken time to stack the bodies of the guards and had closed their eyelids, a possible sign of remorse, ill-experience or simply the intruder couldn’t stand being stared at by the dead.

It was not long before the archive expert arrived. An elderly man, I was told he was a great knight who had been badly injured in battle. He was an old friend to the king’s father, the then king, so he was given an apprenticeship working for the archives so that he could still be close to the king. A lowering of standards, honour and dignity if you ask me. Though, no one could deny that he was wise and well-learned. We gave him time to look through the vault and to consult his books. While he did that, I instructed one of my guards to head to the throne room and request an audience with the king. The guard obliged and headed up.

It did not take long for the old man to complete his work. He came up to me and began giving me a report of what was stolen.

“There is not much that was taken. From my records, the intruder took maybe two things. The Sword of Cecil and the Map of Caracas,” he began to explain. He spoke slowly, so I began to get impatient.

“What significance do these items hold?” I asked in return.

“The sword was named for its great acts in the Battle of Vermilion. It was wielded by Sir Malcolm Gladwell and was honoured by King Charles III when he returned victorious,” he continued.

“If my military history serves me right, that battle was almost lost had it not been for the party of knights that were sent by the king to protect a nearby village,” I said.

“Yes, your memory serves you well, young man. That sword was crafted in the village and the people of that village insisted that the seven knights ride into battle. Sir Malcolm Gladwell, who was the ranking knight decided to disobey the king and ride into battle. Seven swords were crafted for the knights and they turned the tide when they entered battle. At the end of the battle, the knights returned to the village and returned the swords. The village chief, Cecil, presented Sir Malcolm Gladwell with his sword as a gift to the king, a sign of goodwill and patronage,” he explained. I listened attentively.

“So, why would anyone take it?” I asked, still not understanding the sword’s significance.

“Those seven swords were not made from simple steel and iron. They were made from a meteorite that had fallen near the scene of battle not three days before battle commenced. Legend says that when these seven swords are wielded together in battle, victory is guaranteed,” he explained to me.

“Tell me about the map,” I told him.

“After Cecil died, his son, Caracas recognised that the six swords could not sit together in his village and the seventh sword in the king’s castle. He went on a epic quest to scatter the swords throughout the kingdom and when he was done, he made a map to show the locations of the swords and presented it to the king so that if there was ever a need, the king would simply send his best knights to retrieve them from where they lay. Never before have the swords been brought
together again since the Battle of Vermilion,” said the old man.

In my mind, I already knew the intentions of the intruder. Collect the swords and devastate the battlefield. The old man gave me more information about the swords and the map and I registered it all. He told me that the swords had a devastating effect when wielded in the sun. The swords were kept either in deep, dark chambers or with their sheath on. Even then most, like ours was kept in deep, dark caves or underground chambers. The guard who had went to request an audience with the King returned.

“Sir, the king is busy at the moment and asks that you see him later in the evening, before dinner,” he explained. I was fine with that because I would have a chance to gather more information about this plot before I went to see the king. I told him thank you and returned to my investigation. I relooked at the bodies and noticed something strange. Their necks were starting to rot and were turning black. Upon closer inspection, I noticed two tiny puncture wounds on their necks, near where the colour was appearing. I called for the court physician and began looking around the vault again.

When the physician arrived, he told me that he had ever seen these marks and the poison from one place. Far to the north, near the borders of our kingdom lives a slave trader known as the Dark Lady. Her agents were fond of this poison. I asked him why then they were cut and allowed to bleed to death. He did not have an answer. The poison would have worked almost immediately. After my initial investigations, I headed up from the vault. The castle guard had been placed on high alert and I was glad to see them more vigilant than ever. Coleman finally returned from his own investigations as I entered my work chambers for a quick meal before going to see the king.

“So, Coleman, what did you find?” I asked, sitting down.

“Well sir, the panel leads towards a tunnel that leads towards the lower town’s old market. I asked around and nobody had seen any suspicious behaviour since morning,” Coleman explained.

“I see, and what else did you learn?” I probed.

“Well sir, I also learned that crime in that area has been on the rise the past couple of weeks. Simple crimes though, theft, robbery, house breaking. Nothing too serious really, except one thing,” Coleman explained

“What is that?” I asked.

“Last night, the guards patrolling that district never reported back to their commanding officer this morning. My guess is that if we search, we’ll find them in the same state we found the guards guarding the vault,” he continued.

“My guess is the same. If the intruder managed to slip out in the night, he’s probably out of the city by now,” I guessed, “Nonetheless, have the guards search every person leaving the city. I don’t think it’ll be very effective, but it’s worth a shot.”

“And what are we looking for exactly, sir?” Coleman asked. I had forgotten that Coleman had been away, doing his investigation when the old archivist explained to me what was taken. I quickly explained it to Coleman, who had remembered the legends. It was weird that I had not remembered them. Coleman left to update the city guards on what I had instructed him to do. It was not long before it was time to see the king.

I was terribly embarrassed by what had happened. It was under my watch that the castle vault was broken into. This was all my fault. As I walked towards the throne room, I prepared myself for the worst. I knew the king would reprimand me in a particular way. This was the first time something like this had happened under my charge. Though I was in the privy council, the king was reputable in his fairest in justice and in fairness in the eyes of the law.

“Your majesty, how has your day been going?” I asked, walking into the throne room.