The simple mention of elves is enough to strike terror in to the hearts of men. ”The Witches of the Forests” they are often called, beautiful and mysterious. Legends speak of the horrible rites they perform in their secret cities, hidden away in forestlands by powerful enchantments. Few had ever seen them with their own eyes, but those that had always spoke of slim, beautiful nymphs with flawless features and frail bodies.

My expertise with elves did not limit to hearsay, however, as I had met them. As children me and my friend Garon had imagined of becoming professional soldiers, travelling to distant lands and serving the King by doing heroic deeds. Eventually we both fulfilled our dreams and served in the same company in the Royal Legion, but after witnessing horrors of war firsthand, we quickly became disillusioned. If there were heroes on the battlefield, we saw none, but we did see plenty of murderers, thiefs and rapists, warlords who committed atrocities for petty reasons, and worse.

During the fourth orcish campaign our company was beset by a vast number of orcs. A particurlarly bloody onslaught ensued and most of my comrades in arms were cut down. Me, Garon and female battlemage Irana, similarly disappointed in the art of war, became separated from the rest of our troops. Sensing our opportunity, we deserted and ran off into the woods. We knew that the forest was said to be haunted by elves, but we cared little when our freedom was at stake.

For the next few days we wandered through the misty forest, hunting and fishing, and occasionally dipping into our limited rations. At first we dared not light a fire, but after we had ventured deeper into the forest, we convinced eachother that even if our superiors had noticed we were not among the dead, they could not spare anyone to look for a few runaways.

As the day crept towards the evening on the fourth day since our escape, I woke with a start. My first thought was that the thin bedding of damp leaves and mulch had done little to spare my back from hard roots beneath, and the second one was puzzlement over why had Irana not woken me up for my guard shift? I looked to my left, and saw Garon's wolflike features in a state of blissful sleep on the opposite side of the still smoking remains of our fire. His tail wagged slowly and small branches had gotten caught in his grey fur.

I looked to my right and saw Irana dozing with her back against a tree. I swore under my breath. How could she have been so careless? I sat up, and quickly realized there was something more at work than met the eye. Raising my body proved tremendously difficult, with every fiber of my being suggesting that I lay back and sleep a little more.

Magic was at work. It had to be very powerful or very subtle to have knocked out Irana, whose training in the art should have alerted her to its presence. My hand went to where I had laid my sword, only to find that it was no longer there. Neither was my knife, though it's scabbard still hung on my belt.

Then there were the elves. Their sudden appearance suggested that they had been there the whole time, and only now they had shed their magical covering. It also appeared, that they had little covering of any other type: Roughly a dozen beautiful and slim women stood in a circle around their makeshift camp, and most of them were nude save for their boots and their belts. Many of them held bows, spears or swords.

”Garon...” I called with a low voice, but my friend was sleeping too soundly to take notice. One of the elves squatted next to Irana, looking closely at the beautiful, red-headed mage. I stood up and saw two of the elven women take positions on either side of me, holding their sharp, elegant-looking spears ready. The leader of the elves, a blonde with a golden circlet on her brow, walked up to me and looked me straight in the eye. Her gaze made me feel uncomfortable, though I must admit her firm, bare breasts and the tuft of blonde hair between her legs gave me other feelings as well.

”Well?” I managed to say. ”What earns us this welcome?”
The elf looked gave me a stern look, before replying in an odd, but understandable accent. ”Your presence. You are trespassing.”
I looked around at the armed women around me. ”What's our punishment? Do you intend to kill us?”
”If we wanted that, you would have never woken up. Your short-lived kind sleeps deeply.” She said with a smile ”Not that we are terribly offended by your crime. You did not harm the trees we protect, and had you accidentally wandered into our city, the encantments protecting it would have ensured you would have walked through it without knowing it was there”
”If we are not a nuisance to you, then what?” I asked.
”We have a proposition for you. Since you are skulking on our land, we would consider it polite for you to accept.”
”If we don't?”
”Then you shall be sent away the same direction you came. Your appearance and the markings on you clothes and armor make me suspect that you are deserters from the Royal Legion. I do not think you would like to meet them again.”
She was right. Going back was not an option. We would captured for sure and executed for our desertion.
”On the other hand, we do not consider the Legion our enemy, but neither do we owe them any allegiance. Should you aid us, we would offer you a safe haven for a while, here in our forest.”
That sounded more to my liking, even though I did not know what our part in the proposal would entail. ”First I need you to wake my companions, I can't make decisions on their behalf. Then you had better tell us what you want.”
”Agreed.” She said, and waved her hand.

The magical weariness escaped my body, and Garon and Irana woke up with a start. Noticing the elves, Garon immediately went for the sword on his back, only to find it missing. Irana's first instinct was to cast a spell, but the elf next to her slapped her hand across her mouth. Irana reached for the dagger in her boot, but it had been taken as well, despite the hem of her robes hiding the handle from view. The elves had missed nothing.

”Relax. They mean us no harm.” I said, keeping my eyes on the elven leader. She really was quite stunning. And naked as well. I simply could not forget about the naked.

Garon stood up, towering over the elf maids. He was taller and stronger than most men, a quality of his species, and even without weapons he could have easily overpowered many of the elven warriors. He knew that was not immune to arrows, however, despite the heavy plate armor he had slept in. The golden eyes above his muzzle observed the elves, and his pointy ears shifted back and forth.

Irana was herded to stand between us, the elf standing behind her still keeping a hand clasped around her mouth. I spoke to my companions. ”She says we are trespassing, but that she would be willing to let us stay here in exhange for a service.”
”What service?” Garon asked. His voice had a deep, growly quality to it. I noticed the elves near him fidgeting a bit with their weapons, and I could swear one of them blushed just before she turned away.
”They haven't told me yet. I think it would be about time they did, though.”
”Quite, yes.” Said the elf before me. ”Two of our sisters rather foolishly ventured beyond the protective enchantments of the forest, and were captured by a group of orcish deserters. We would appreciate if you were to venture out and rescue them.”
”Where are they?” Garon asked.
”They have a camp set up just outside the woods.” The elf said. ”There aren't too many of them, maybe half a dozen or so.”
”Why don't you rescue them? There are certainly enough of you.” I said.
”We...” The elf said, seemingly at a loss for words. ”We cannot venture too close to the orcs. They have influence over us we cannot explain, as do most other short-lived races. I suppose it has something to do with your lifeforce that burns so much brighter and vibrant than ours. Here in the forest we are protected, but outside we would be quite vulnerable.”
”What kind of influence exactly?” I said, my interest piqued.
”One that draws us with a tremendous force. In fact, you might find that our sisters might be very reluctant to leave the orcs behind.”
As the elf said it, I could have sworn I heard giggling amongst the other elves, and suddenly Garon burst into a roaring laughter. ”I think the orcs are having the time of their lives!”

The number of elven faces around us suddenly turning crimson convinced that Garon had guessed right. I tried to contain my laughter, covering my mouth with my hand, and Irana was shaking in her captor's grip, her eyes closed and tears running down her cheeks.

Some of the elves were less amused, but others were fascinated by us, especially Garon, in a way that now made more sense. They crowded around him, and I suppose they found him an irrestitibly masculine figure. One even reached out to touch his fur, only to pull back when another elf shot her a disapproving look.

I could not bring myself to be offended by the attention they were giving my friend, as I seemed to have quite a number of admirers myself, and, suprisingly, so did Irana. The elf holding her seemed to very comfortable pressing her naked body against Irana's back as firmly as she was able to, and, among a few others, the leader of the elves had her eyes riveted to me. When I brought my attention back to her, her eyes quickly darted up to meet my gaze. Had she been admiring my manly physique?

”Like I said, it exerts a tremendous force.” She said, blushing and clearing her throat. ”The magic of the forest does only so much. I am sure you understand why we have a reputation of being a somewhat reclusive race.”
”Because had we met anywhere else, you would already be on your knees and begging me to take you?” I said with a smirk. A knife appeared on my throat, and my smile froze.
”No.” She said coldly. ”You would be naked and sweating under me, and praying I would not kill you if I was not satisfied.”
”Duly noted.” I replied as I pushed the knife away. As I did, I let my hand brush against the bare skin of her arm, and it gave me certain satisfaction when that was enough to make her gasp.

Irana mumbled something, and I noted that it was most likely unnecessary to gag her anymore. The leader agreed and ordered her subordinate to release my companion. The other elf bit her lip in disappointment, but retreated from the mage. There was dark, wet patch on the back of Irana's robe, where the elf's nether region had been pressed against her.

”If you could all dispense with your foreplay already.” She said. ”I don't suppose anyone's asking my opinion at this point, so let's just get to saving your girls so that you can take your time thanking my companions afterwards.” She set out with a rather angry air to her

We were about to follow, when the leader stopped me. ”Our kind is not so recluse yet, that we would have forgotten common courtesies. I am captain Dinie.”

I extended my hand towards her. At first she recoiled, then wondered about the gesture, and finally placed her hand in mine. I could see a shiver running through her the moment her skin touched mine.

”Enchanted.” I said, smiling. ”I am Nathan, the hairy one is Garon, and the angry one is called Irana.”
”Do be careful.” Dinie said, stepping just a little bit close to me. ”Your friend was right about one thing. I would very much like to... Get to know you better afterwards, and I'm sure many of my companions are of the same mind.”

I looked around. Each and every one of the elves was beautiful in her own way. Some of them were tall, like Dinie, others were shorter. Some were dark-haired, others redheaded, and still others blonde. Everyone had a pert pair of breasts one could only describe as perfect, and round hips that made my mouth water. They all had long, pointy ears and large, almond sized eyes which were filled with longing.

”Yes.” I squeaked and pulled away. ”We'll be back as soon as we're able.”
”I hope you will.” Dinie said, absent-mindedly sliding her hand down her side and over her naked loins.
”One more thing!” Dinie shouted, as I was leaving. As I turned, she spoke. ”A spell has been lifted. You can see and touch your weapons again.”

And I could. My sword was on the ground where I left, and my knife was back on my belt. Garon's huge two-handed sword was on his back, and I was certain Irana's dagger had been in her boot all the time. Nothing had been taken, simply hidden from our view.

As I left to follow Irana, I had to yank the arm of Garon, who was staring at the elves with his mouth open and a vacant expression in his eyes. I felt determined to impress the elves, even if I had to wade through a sea of orcs to do it.