Bard's Tale 05 - Bk 02 - Westward Ho

"Terrific. Why?" She loved the rakish way his long locks dropped in front of his blue eyes.

"I think I should get us a towel."

"Oh, rats! I don't like it when you pull out of me." Then she sighed, letting her legs fall away from him. "All right."

Reison carefully withdrew, his withdrawal revealing her gaping cavity swollen and red and glistening with wet pearls of semen. His legs were tangled in his underwear and trousers and low boots. Turning around on the bed, he tried to reach the dresser with the towels, leaning over further and further.

The next instant he crashed to the floor.

"Reison! Are you okay?"

Rolling over, she peered down at him. Reison rubbed his head, his feet locked together by his pants and the sexy shiny look of his freshly used cock. As he looked up at her, she suddenly grinned with amusement.

"Pretty sure I'll live," he replied.

"That's good. I'd hate to have to tell my sisters we made love and then you accidentally killed yourself by falling out of bed."

"That wouldn't be good." He sat up.

"Any injuries to your love wand?"

He laughed. "My what?

"I don't know. Using a weapon euphemism seems wrong. Was it hurt in the fall?"

"No, it seems fine. Give me a few minutes to recover, and I'll give you a personal demonstration of how well it works."

"Thank the goddess. Because if you were dead, Tia could try and raise you from the dead, but I'm not sure she could fix a broken cock. Just knowing my sisters would stare at you with longing and at me with silent accusation fills me with dread. The guilt that I'd hurt you so grievously would be terrible in itself."

He laughed. "Tahna, you are a silly woman."

Feeling something moving down below, she cupped her vulva and scooted off the bed, rapidly stuffing a fresh towel between her legs. Part of it had coated her palm. Inhaling the musky smell, she licked her hand clean. The taste was mostly salty, but she felt visceral satisfaction from eating his seed. Her man's sperm. The same stuff he used to put his child in her belly, to breed her and her sisters. Noticing him watching, she said nothing but gave him a sultry look as she licked her hand again.

Reison felt a twitch in his groin seeing her do that.

He turned his attention to getting off the hard floor. Fortunately, a rug had softened his fall. It took him both hands to lift himself up. With Tahna's help, the knotted boot laces were loosened, and he was quickly stripped. He checked out her blouse, and loosely folded it with her wrinkled skirt.

Reison dampened a hand towel and wiped at the wet spot before giving up.

"Just ask Mindal to clean it with a cantrip tomorrow," she told him.

"Sounds like a good idea. I'll do that."

Pulling back the blankets, they laid down some fresh body towels to catch any leakage before laying down side by side and pulling the blankets up.

Snuggling face to face, they kissed and caressed each other, gently exploring. Instead of falling asleep, they continued touching each other until he began to harden again. As he moved over her, she shifted onto her back, spreading her legs to welcome him back inside.

When he again slid into her sheath, working slowly within her folds, husband and wife let out gentle sighs and happy smiles. Their immediate passions sated, they enjoyed this more sedate union for the intimacy it brought.

Three times as he slowly rocked with her, he worked her toward another orgasm. After each one, he withdrew and moved his face between her legs and drank down the tangy fluids of her release, sending tremors of pleasure through her loins. When the passion subsided, he moved back up and pressed back into her heat. Three times he drove her to explosive ecstasy and through it all, she saw his love for her as he watched her come for him as she writhed under him. Each time he neared his own bliss, he deliberately slowed down, making this coupling about her. Reison kept up his slow thrusting as gentle waves of throbbing bliss filled her loins a fourth time.

Tahna quietly urged him to take his own pleasure, assuring him it would make her happy.

His thrusting picked speed.

She watched him thrusting into her tender folds, his cock firmly moving its length within her feminine sheath, impressing upon her the pleasures of being wrapped around his demanding, hard sex. Already feeling sated when he at last pressed into her, she was surprised when the first splash of semen fired off her own orgasm. The contractions and releases were satisfying and pleasurable rather than intense. Tahna rocked against him, murmuring affection as she happily received his final gift of love for the night.

Rolling onto their sides, she replaced the used towel between her legs and draped herself over him. "You're the best husband ever."

He laughed. "I'm your only husband."

"Doesn't mean you can't be both," she replied affectionately. Nuzzling against his chest, she sighed with contentment.

"True enough," he admitted, putting his arm around her. "I love you, Tahna Khrysanna Landers Whisper Wind."

"And I love you right back, Reison Scrumptious Whisper Wind."

A burst of incredulous laughter escaped him. "Scrumptious?"

Tahna lifted her head, informing him with a wife's sincerity. "Since you don't have a middle name, I reserve the right to add my own. I also reserve the right to change your middle name to suit my mood."

"Then I'd best make sure I keep you as happy as possible." He yawned, then yawned again. Reaching down, he pulled up the comforter to cover them both.

"That's why I love you. You know the rules without anyone having to tell you. For my part, I'll do my best to make sure you don't have to work too hard at keeping me happy. Are we agreed?" She closed her eyes as she laid her head against his chest again, enjoying his scent and that of their coupling as the beating of his heart offered its whisper of safe dreams.

"Agreed," he murmured.

* * * * *

The card games lasted a few more hours, with some of the guests scattering to their rooms on the first floor while the rest ascended the great staircase. Anya and her captain went down one hall while Mindal turned toward the other.

"Wait up," she heard and turned. A sleepy Tia was near the bottom, climbing the stairs behind her.

The bard gave her sister an arch look. "I thought you would have gone to bed already."

"We got to talking and time got away from us. You wouldn't believe how much extra food we cooked." Upon reaching the landing, Tia exhaled. "I don't think some of those we have been visiting in the past have realized that we are going to the capital to live for the foreseeable future, that our twice a year visits are over because we're going to have babies to take care of. So what about you? Did you have fun at least?"

Mindal smiled. "I did. We chatted politics and family news for over an hour, played seven serious rounds of Hearts, and then sang a song to Antumus."

Side by side, they walked to their room. "What do you have planned for tomorrow?"

"After breakfast," Mindal said, "I'll show Reison around, especially the library, but then I've promised to visit with Natasha. How about you?"

"I expect to be at the village church for most of the day. Jeanette said she would send something over for Tahna and me." Tia opened the door and Mindal closed it behind them.

Tia immediately focused on getting undressed and into bed. She was grateful she'd spelled their bed before leaving for dinner.

"Look at them, sleeping peacefully. No need to guess what they were up to." The bard cast a freshen cantrip, dispersing the heavier smell of sex from the room.

"Like you're one to criticize. You took your turn out of order today, little sister. He was supposed to be with me this evening. At least Tahna took care of him."

Mindal plunked down in a chair and set to removing the laces on her high, soft boots. The boots made her legs look great, but the lacings could be a pain. "You still plan to give me a lecture about sharing?"

Pausing in front of the wardrobe, Tia raised one eyebrow and stared at the bard. "Do I need to?"

Giddy inside, she did her best to not smile. "No?"

"Then I'll accept your contrition. Just don't gloat too much in front of me. It's bad form." The priestess sighed as she kicked off her dress shoes, then set to removing her bra and panties. Finishing first, she climbed in behind Tahna, snuggling close under the cool sheets for her sister's warmth. "Get the lights?"

Turning away to hide her huge grin, she said, "Sure."

Speaking quietly, Tia said, "Thank you, Dearly Beloved, for my friends and my family, and especially my wonderful sisters and my amazing husband. Thank you, too, for all of our babies yet to be born. By Your Will, so it is."

After she finished getting undressed, Mindal turned off the lamp and climbed into bed, burrowing on the other side of her husband. "Me, too, what she said."

* * * * *

Part 5 -- Interlude

* * * * *

"Brigit, why did you ease his discomfort during the meal?" Rena asked.

The redheaded goddess shrugged. "It seemed a shame for him to not fully enjoy such a wonderful meal. It was a very minor bit of magic. He's my worshipper. You object?"

"It's just that Zeus is invested here because Antumus is his follower. When you touch a mortal near one of his chapels, it has a greater chance of attracting his attention. I'd rather not have to fend him off from either one of us. I like sex, but I'm pretty sure that is all Zeus thinks about. Probably thinks it should have been a sport in the Olympics. One hundred meter rut being how quick a man can unload into a woman, or worse, a marathon hump, seeing how many times he can come without getting soft. Even when he's banging one woman, he's already thinking about stuffing his cock into the next one."

"Oh. Sorry."

"You liked watching him and Tahna together?"

The red-headed goddess blushed. "Yes, but it's more than just the sex. He's so young and full of potential and talent, and he has three women devoted to him. He, in turn, treats them with such love and respect. Reison has the makings of a true son of Erin."

Rena raised her eyebrows. "Surely it has nothing to do with the fact that he worships you and those three women he's wedded and bedded pay homage to me?"

"Well, you have to admit it's pretty hot that he's put his baby into all three of them already. He worked pretty hard to knock them up."

"Tia is desperate to have her own children. The four of them are a good fit together. Each has something the others need. Tahna will have twin boys."

"Two followers for each of us. That was very kind of you."

"It's not a given, Brigit," the wind goddess warned. "The tendency will be there, but it's not set in stone. The boys will have their choice."

"I know, I know. How about his sister? It's been a few weeks. How is she faring?"

"Not very well, I'm afraid. It's fragmentary, but some of the memories of what she endured are becoming clearer and more frequent, troubling both her days and her sleep. No screaming nightmares, but a lot of sobbing and silences. Miriel loves her family, but when she was abducted, her big brother was at home to keep her company while their parents attended to customers. With the anti-human bias among the wood elves lately, she's even more trapped at home, but now she's alone. At thirteen, a half-elf is not even close to entering puberty. After years away, she at long last returns home to find not just the world around her but her personal life changed as well. Not enough to isolate her completely, but it's a big divide. Big brother is not only grown up and gone, he lives far away with three wives she's barely seen much less met. Miriel needed the counseling that Tia offered, but the girl refused it because even the thought of thinking about the torture terrifies her. Her refusal has closed the door on that pathway. There are other possibilities for help, but those are unlikely as other events will make their demands known soon."

"Her choices saddens me. Her prayers at night, spoken and unspoken, are enough to make one weep." It was hard to admit that sometimes she herself wept for the hardship endured by the girl. Karst had shattered so many lives. Thank Mother Dana that piece of shite was dead and gone!

Rena spoke again. "This family is important to me, and that includes the sister. Because they belong to you, I'll not do anything to her or the mother without your consent, of course. However, the girl has to make an effort, and that includes reaching out and asking for help. If she can't manage that at least, it will be dire for a while."

She caressed the redheaded woman's cheek. "In the meantime, my greater concern is that we focus on that self-absorbed turd who claims to be your husband. He's becoming more aggressive, my bonnie lass. He fears my influence and is determined to mount and seed you, thinking he can use that to reassert his control over you. You need to be free of Bres, my sweet. Unfortunately, it may end up costing your son's life."

Brigit looked away as the manor house and keep faded away, replaced by the verdant farms of the Land of the Ever Young. "Aye, you have the right of it. Do not worry overmuch about my feelings for Ruadán. Even as a babe, the boy made it hard to love him. I dinna want ill for him, and as his mother, I despise the boy, yet the thought of him dead twists up me heart. He's his father's git all the same with none o' the gentler ways of me and mine. I've kept the treaty and done me duty as his wife and bore him a son. The son's near grown. It'll be harder to manage, but I've met me obligations, I have. Mind you, Bres will keep pressing his claims of rulership. There'll be no peace, I'm afraid, between our people and those Fomorian monsters."

"A people learn to emulate good or evil from their kings and priests. Not all Fomorians are evil, dear heart. Nor are all the Tuatha saints." Reaching out, she clasped hands with Brigit.

"Aye, your words, they be true, for sure and for certain," the goddess admitted, giving her friend a heartfelt smile. "What I did to deserve ye, my wild cailin, I'll never know."

Rena looked at the redhead with gentle affection before kissing the back of her hand. "All you had to do was be yourself, dear heart. You are wonder enough."

* * * * *

Part 6 -- The Challenges of Research

* * * * *

After his initial, brief tour of the manor house with Mindal, Reison was taken to the library. When he saw he'd already passed through the small sitting room with a few bookshelves the previous night, it was impossible to keep the disappointment from his face. He gave the bard a look of silent suffering.

Mindal ignored that and took him around the corner, past the overstuffed chairs and couches. He expected to see what had been there the previous evening, a nook with a few shelves filled with books. The nook was gone and an arch stood in its place. The bard enjoyed his double-take as he walked slowly into the library proper.

"How?" he asked, amazed. "It's huge!"

Then he retraced their steps, exiting back through the sunroom out into the hall, past the men's bathing room, checking the south hall that led to guest rooms on both sides. Hurrying back where Mindal waited for him, at the library's entrance, he was both stunned and amazed.

"There are three separate mezzanines, and... and there must be thousands of volumes here! And this floor extends way past where the hallway and guest rooms are. Where does it all fit? Wait... " He peered up at one corner. "Is that a telescope?"

"It is," Mindal confirmed, grinning at him. "It's an open secret and a true wonder of the kingdom. The truth is this library is larger than the manor house itself, yet it's contained within it. Come back out here and I'll show you."

As they returned to the sunroom, they stood around the end table with the spherical astrolabe on display. Mindal pointed to an engraved plate at the astrolabe's base.

Reison read it, then stood, still puzzled.

"Watch the entrance as you touch the left side," she instructed.

Reison did so. The next instant, the foyer was gone, replaced by a door-sized nook with its shelves and books. "How do I get the library back?"

"Touch the right side."

"Does the library go with the navigation device?" he asked as he pressed on the other side of the engraved plate. The entrance to the library reappeared.

"Smart question. Yes, it does, though the end-table itself can only be moved by the lord or the lady of the keep. For everyone else, it's quite immovable. But if for some reason they needed to evacuate, the astrolabe folds into the box it sits on and is quite light to carry, thus taking the entire library with them."

"What happens if the library is closed off from the outside? Can you get out?" he asked.

"Yes and no. There are other exits, some leading to far-off places on our world, while others are portals each exiting on a different world."

"This is incredible, Mindal! Who else knows about it?"

"Very few, actually," she explained. "Besides touching the right plate, you also have to have a minimum amount of expertise. I barely qualify. At your current level, you could not open the library by yourself. I personally know of three exits that are north, east, and south of this entrance. The south exit takes you to a hidden room in the Finshay District University Branch Library in the Empire of Cartharsis. The northern exit takes you to Brotava Sogotan, otherwise known as Dragon Keep, and links to the medical library within the hospital there."

"That's on the other side of the kingdom!" he exclaimed. "Umm, you said there were three gates. Where does the eastern one lead to?"

"We're not sure," Mindal admitted. "You can look through the doorway and see more rooms filled with many more thousands of bookshelves beyond, but aside from the Lawgiver Herself, the only one who has been able to pass through the transparent barrier has been Lady Natasha, and she has thus far refused to discuss how to pass the barrier. I've also been told there are more exits leading to other worlds, but I have yet to find them, and they may have other requirements that are currently beyond my skill level."

"Lady Natasha must have her reasons," he said.

"Yes!" Mindal exclaimed. "But what are they?"

"Don't bug her about it," he told her firmly.

It was the serious tone of his words that made her look at him. "I won't. But why do you feel so strongly about it?"

"Even if you and your sisters have known them for years, we're still guests, Mindal. They've given us shelter and we've broken salt with them. As long as no one is hurt, a family is entitled to its privacy and its secrets." He gazed around at all the shelves filled with books. "There is more than enough here to keep one entertained for more than a few years at least."

Under his intense blue eyes, she nodded. "You're right, of course. I would be a bad guest to go prying, and even worse by tempting you to go astray." She chuckled. "When I fell madly in love with you, I never imagined that you'd be a good influence as well."

His face lit up with a smile and he drew her into his embrace. "There is that."

When she tilted up her head, he kissed her slowly and thoroughly. When he stopped, the bard felt the heat of his proximity fanning a spark in her loins. She was amazed that her arms were around him, holding him close because she didn't remember moving her arms at all.

"Did Tia spell you before she left this morning?"

"You mean after I ate her out? Yes."

"You didn't get a chance to finish in her this morning?"

"No. She and Tahna were running late, but she said she loved what I did to her. You didn't notice because you were sleeping." He gave her a thoughtful look. "You know, I don't have to have sex three times a day, Mindal. I was happy to give Tia some pleasure without expectation of immediate reward."