Rune Guard 03

As I worked on cleaning the boots, I asked him what purpose the fish served.

"I don't actually use them for anything," he told me. "I only come to this city to trade. This is just something that's fairly easy for me to collect and that sells well, without having to be transported over a great distance. The people in the city consider these things to be a delicacy of some kind - probably because they're so damned hard to catch without injury. I think the things taste like shit, but the coin is good."

"Should we grab some more?"

"No. We'd saturate the market and piss a bunch of people off. As it is, we'll fuck with the market values for a week or two - with the small amount that we're unloading - but we'll be long gone and won't be back until they've forgotten about us. We'll make several stops throughout the city and I'll unload a portion of them each time."

I hung the boots off of the back of the wagon to dry and we loaded up. We moved throughout the city and - as Emmit had warned - made several stops.

As the sun moved toward the horizon, we pulled into an inn with a mug and a woman's figure on the sign. The three of us turned to look at Emmit - who smiled.

"After finding such success with Herra, I sought out women brothel owners in every capital city I visited. Only the city that Derik's from doesn't have one. I have, pretty much, the same arrangement in each. We'll stable our animals and wagon for free - with armed guards watching our things. We'll have our choice of whatever rooms are available. In exchange, we'll handle whatever rune-work the owner needs - usually just amulets but it can be about anything."

"And I thought I was giving you something special when I went to your bed," Lolla gasped.

"It was special to me, sweet-cheeks," he replied.

"Do you have a girlfriend here?" Mirra asked him.

"Not really," he told her.

"There you go, sweet-cheeks," she told Lolla, giggling. "You've got an amulet now. He won't have to use his mouth."

Lolla looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"I wouldn't say 'no'," he told her.

Lolla looked at Mirra and asked, "What about you? You've an amulet as well, now."

Mirra looked at me and then Lolla and said, "I thought I might try what you said - to see if it's not too scary."

She looked back at me and I said, "I have to admit that I've thought about it quite a bit since Lolla suggested it."

Lolla looked at Emmit and said, "Looks like you're stuck with me tonight, grandpa. Can you stay awake that long or do you need a nap first?"

He belly-laughed and climbed down from the wagon to talk to the stable-master.

Soon, we were in the common room, at a table for six, drinking our mead. Emmit and I worked on the amulets as we waited for our food. The owner had been delighted to see the rune-maker and didn't even flinch when he told her how much of her stables we were occupying. She asked if we needed more than two rooms but we assured her that two would be sufficient. She smiled at the three of us and informed us that she hadn't seen Emmit smiling so much before - so she thought we must be good for him - no matter what our arrangements were.

She helped the waitress bring over the food and was delighted to find that we'd already finished with the amulets. I thought she was coming onto Emmit when she asked him to follow her to her bedroom. He asked her if it was the storage crystal and she said 'yes'. He told her that Lolla could refill it and save having to swap it out. She said that would be fine. The short mage followed her up the stairs.

While Lolla was gone, Emmit explained that there was a set of runes on the owner's bed that drove away or killed pests. It was powered by a small mana crystal which occasionally had to be replaced or recharged. Lolla returned a few minutes later.

"You didn't have to wait," she told us.

"It would be bad manners for us to eat while you're working, my dear," Emmit told her.

"The food is safe," I told her as she sat down.

We tucked in. As we sat and let our food settle, when we were done, I lamented the fact that the head cook hadn't arrived with a tasty creation for us to try. Emmit laughed.

"I think Mirra has your dessert, sugar-hound," Lolla told me.

Mirra giggled and blushed a little.

"I've sold all of the extra clay jars we had," Emmit reported.

Lolla didn't ask the price but her raised eyebrow hinted at the question.

"A gold and two," he said.

Lolla's eyes widened a little.

"Now that the archer has joined us," the rune-maker said, "I've decided that we need to recalculate. Tell me what you think."

Lolla and I nodded.

"Four parts to me - for management, rune-work, supplies, and cartage."

We nodded.

"Two parts to Lolla - for crafting and protection."

We nodded again.

"One part each for Derik and Mirra - for protection."

"More than fair," I said.

He shrugged and said, "I could've made it seven parts..."

"No," Lolla said, "I like this. The math is easier and you should have the greater share anyway. As Derik said before, we should be paying you for some of what you provide."

"I'm new," Mirra said, "but I think - even not knowing what you're talking about - that you've been more than generous. I still say you should have a part in the coins and weapons we take from the thieves."

"Derik kept it all before you two joined," he said.

"And I told you that wasn't fair when you did it then," I told him.

The girls nodded.

"Leave it," he said. "I won't take a share unless you make me fight. As long as I can sit in the wagon and watch the show, I don't need a share."

I looked at the girls and then said, "Fine."

"You saw the jars we put the razorfish in?" Lolla asked Mirra.

She nodded.

"I made them from Emmit's supplies. He fired them and did the rune-work. He said that he's never had enough of them to be able to sell them before. He said that we'd split the profits from their sale."

Mirra's eyes widened and she said, "I get paid to protect jars?"

Emmit nodded.

"How many did we sell?" Lolla asked him.

"Twelve," he replied.

"At a silver and five each," Lolla told Mirra.

"My share is a gold and eight silvers?!" the archer gasped.

"Yes," Lolla replied, looking at Emmit.

He nodded.

"If she doesn't fuck you tonight, I will," Mirra told him.

"Pussy is not..." he began.

"Coin," the three of us said together.

"Just the same," Mirra said, "I've never had that much money before in my life - and I'm not paying for food or a bed."

"That's what I told him," I told her.

Mirra stood, walked around the table, and kissed Emmit on the temple. Then she returned to her seat.

"I cannot begin to tell you how lucky I feel that you all gave me a chance," she said, her eyes filling with tears.

"I told him the same thing - when I tried to climb into his bed, and he called a 'family meeting' in the dining room."

Mirra snort-laughed and began drying her tears.

The innkeeper stepped over, looked at the girls, and asked, "Everything okay?"

"Isn't this fucker like the sweetest grandpa you've ever met?" Lolla asked the woman, nodding her head at Emmit.

She leaned down and kissed his temple as well. "I'm older than he is," she told Lolla, smiling.

"Sorry!" Lolla gasped, smothering a giggle.

"It's quite alright," she replied. "I like to harass him now and then as well."

"I was going to harass him later," Lolla admitted, "unless you'd rather."

The woman laughed and said, "Make sure you don't give him a heart attack. The healer's miffed at me right now and it might take me a bit to find another."

Lolla laughed and nodded to her.

She squeezed Emmit's hand and slipped away.

~~~

After I turned from getting the door barred, Mirra made me stand still in the middle of the room. She undressed me and used the washcloth to bathe my dust-covered skin.

When it was my turn, I kissed her and asked permission before I removed each article of clothing. When she was down to her wraps, I asked if I could bathe her. Her eyes misted and she nodded. I took my time but made sure she was clean.

Mirra took my hand and led me to the bed. She made me lie down and then she lay down beside me. She took my hands and wrapped my arms around her then she claimed my face with her hands and kissed all over my face.

"I'm so lucky..." she began.

"Stop," I told her. "We can spend all night, arguing about who is luckier and I'll still be right."

She bit my chin and then kissed my lips and pulled back to smile at me.

"If it's okay with you," I told her, "I'd really like to know what you taste like. I don't want anything from you except your permission. I'll sate my curiosity and - hopefully - give you a chance to see if your healing is more than skin deep."

"You're so sweet," Mirra told me. "I will admit that I am a little scared. For that reason, alone, I am going to agree to this. Next time, I will carry my share of the load."

"You haven't even seen my load yet," I told her, smirking.

She snort-laughed and reached down to grope me.

"I have a pretty good idea about what I'm committing to," she said, giggling.

"Next time, then," I told her.

"Okay," she said, giving me a light peck on the lips.

"Time for my special dessert!" I exclaimed.

Mirra giggled as I jumped out of bed and circled around to the foot, looking up her body to her face. I stood and waited. She rolled onto her back and stared into my eyes.

I held my breath as she pulled away her chest-wrap. I sighed when I finally saw them in all of their glory.

"Idiot!" she laughed. "You've already seen them."

"In the healer's bed," I told her, "not in a marriage bed."

"We're not married," she said.

"I'll propose if you'll say 'yes'," I told her.

"What about Lolla?" she asked.

"I promise to abide by whatever arrangement you want," I told her.

"Seriously, right now?" she said.

"Lolla is a Tempest," I told her. "She comes and goes and leaves a path of destruction behind her. Sex with her is amazing. I feel differently around you. You are a treasure. The Believer's book says that a man who finds a treasure sells everything he has to go buy it. That's how I feel."

"You trying to get between my legs?" she asked, grinning wryly.

"Tonight, I want to taste you and give you pleasure. Nothing more. If you will let me."

She grabbed the two wraps from her body and flung them at the barred door.

I devoured every part of her form and figure with my eyes, trying to project how much I desired her.

"You are seriously making my pussy wet right now. I feel so loved and adored."

I dropped to my knees and looked up at her, awaiting her command.

"Seriously, you jackass?!" she called to me. "Get your mouth on my cunt before I drag you onto this bed and fuck your face."

I stood, crawled between her knees, scooped her butt into my hands and looked at her.

"Lolla's right," I told her, grinning.

"Oh, shut up already and lick my pussy, you fucker!"

I gripped her ass-cheeks in my fists and teased my tongue around her sex - staying well away from all of the best parts - working to torment her and build up the desire.

"By the seven hells," she yelled. She grabbed my hair in both of her fists and physically moved my mouth to her slit. "Lick!" she demanded. "I thought Lolla said you knew what you were doing?!"

Apparently, I was still not moving fast enough for her. She used her grip on my hair to convince me to move. She place me crossways of the bed, face up, with my head hanging over the side. Half of my neck was touching the mattress; the rest was unsupported. She kept her hold on my locks and climbed onto my face like a horse.

"Stick your tongue out," she ordered. "This is your last chance," she warned. "You'll be sleeping with Grizzle."

I stuck my tongue out as far as it would go.

"Don't fucking move!" she growled.

Her sex was slippery but my desire to taste her remained unfulfilled. She was riding my tongue, nose, and chin like a horse at a gallop. I felt as if I were going to slide off of the bed. I gripped the bedcover in my fists.

I looked up, past all of the parts of her that I had watched the healer restore, to see her face. Her eyes were clenched shut as she focused on sating her need.

I had hoped to tease her. She did not need to be teased. She needed release. I had denied her that - or at least been slow to help her achieve her goal. At this point, I was a tool - or - maybe a steed - to be ridden hard and put away wet. My cock ached. I began to understand why she had become so impatient.

Her thighs tightened around my face and her sex gushed girl-mead into my mouth. It drizzled across my tongue and ignited my lust into a brush-fire. I needed more. I lapped at her sex, collecting all of her dew.

"Gods! Yes! Faster!"

She was no longer riding. She was writhing - trying to get me to reach deeper inside of her and retrieve more of her mead.

Once I had cleaned away all of her sweetness that I could, she dragged my head up her slit to her tender little fruit and ordered me to lick and suck it. She cried out when I did, but tugged my face more tightly against her. Her thighs clamped down on my face again and I couldn't breathe. I sucked and nibbled harder, hoping to get her to her destination in time. Her body trembled and shook for a full minute and then she gasped and fell back on top of me. I gulped air into my lungs.

I wiggled out from under her and scooted away from the edge of the bed. I rolled onto my side to look at her. She looked over and noticed my stiff peter.

"Does it ache?" she asked.

"Yes," I told her.

"Good," she said. "Now you know how I felt when you were acting cute rather than giving me relief."

"I realized that," I told her.

"After you got your fucking taste?" she asked.

I nodded.

"I should make you suffer," she told me.

My eyes brightened with hope that she was suggesting she wouldn't.

"On second thought, I think I will make you suffer a little," she said.

I swallowed a lump that had formed in my throat and she giggled at me.

"Lie on your back," she ordered, standing to the side of the bed.

I lined myself up with the bed and lay my head back on the pillow. She climbed over my legs, knee-walked forward until my peter was touching the front of her belly. She put her hand on it and pressed it against her, measuring to see how deeply it would go if it were inside.

"Probably reach clear to my womb," she said. "Too bad I took my amulet off."

I groaned, unable to resist her temptuous words.

She slid her body up my own, the underside of my prick was dragged through her slit as she used her girl-sex to drive my stiff rod out of her way - grinding it beneath her body.

I moaned in ecstasy.

When she had slid forward until the end of my dick banged against her tender fruit, she slid back down to her starting place. I wanted to grab her body but she took my hands, crossed my arms over my chest, leaned on them to prevent me moving them, and slid her sex back along my prick again.

Forward and backward. Up and down. Again and again - and again.

I moaned in agony as I reached the limit of my control.

She slid forward until the end of my dick was snuggling between her nether lips. She wiggled back and forth, jostling the sensitive crown between her folds. I groaned as my peter lurched and my ball-sack withered - jetting my seed out of my body - into the tight space where her sex and my belly contained the head of my dick.

She moaned as she felt the heat and slickness rush out to flood over her little nub. Once my peter had finished gushing, she wriggled around on top of me, smearing my seed all over both of us. She took my hands, brought them to her perfect breasts, and squeezed my fingers - inviting me to grip and fondle her. We both moaned as I took full advantage of her offer.

After several minutes, she leaned forward, shoving my palms more firmly into her motherly mounds, and kissed me hard. She climbed off, grabbed the washrag, wetted it in the basin, cleaned herself, wetted it once more, and cleaned me.

"Throw back the covers," she ordered.

She blew out the lamp, climbed between my legs to curl herself against my chest, and tugged the blankets back over us. She sighed and her breathing relaxed. I held her in my arms and closed my eyes.

~~~ End of Chapter 3 ~~~

I don't know, yet, how many chapters this story will have. I have a map of the region that I use as a reference. The map has 30+ towns and 9 cities that are big enough to support an inn. I plan to pass through every one of those locations at least once before I'm done.

We're about halfway through the first circuit. The second circuit is longer.

Thanks for reading, commenting, favoriting, and emailing!