Champions

He had assumed that they would stay together, but they had not. The acolyte was staying at the temple, while the trader and the man looked to be going into town.

He decided to put a four-man team on the two that were leaving and keep an eye on the acolyte himself. She was a member of the clergy, and they were the biggest threat to the Night Lord's operation. Turning to his best team leader, Quintus, he gave the man his instructions.

***

David had to fight to settle himself after their talk. The images that flashed through his head were keeping his manhood rock hard, and it was becoming uncomfortable. Eventually he distracted himself by thinking about octogenarians in bikinis. It was revolting but it worked.

Once that issue was resolved, David observed the locals, and noticed an interesting assortment of clothing and wares. It seemed a mixture of ancient Greek and Roman culture, with some early Middle-Ages influences. The clothing included togas, robes, breeches, and tunics. He noticed many wore either leather sandals or simple ankle high boots, but a few had riding boots like Laurena's, while the poorest went barefoot. He also saw two different men that just didn't seem to fit. Their clothing was simple, non-descript, and fit well with those of lesser means around them; but their boots were of fine quality. David checked again, and saw that everyone else similarly dressed wore sandals or were barefoot. He made a note of their faces and clothing.

Part of what he had learned from Mr. West was counter surveillance. The key was to notice things that most people didn't, and spot the things that didn't belong. If you saw them often enough, it usually meant someone might be watching you. Two men dressed like everyone else didn't stand out to him, but two men wearing boots that didn't match their clothing did. The first things he was taught to pay attention to were pants and footwear. It is easy to change a jacket, hat, or even shirt to confuse someone observing you. Bystanders don't pay too much attention to you if you do that. Removing your pants or shoes takes time, and in a crowd it gets you noticed.

Sapphire led him to a shop nearby, and he browsed the merchandise while she talked with the owner. At least he pretended to browse. What he actually did was watch the crowd through the opening of the shop while she had the first of many conversations that day.

"Hello Faris," Sapphire greeted the shop owner.

"Hello Sapphire, I haven't seen you around much lately. What brings you to town?" he asked.

"I'm looking for someone, his name is Galen," she began. "He's tall, slight build, short brown hair, and has two scars, one on his right temple and another on his neck," telling him the description she had been given.

"I don't recognize the name, and he doesn't sound familiar. Do you want me to ask around?"

"Yes please," she requested. "It is very important."

"What, does he owe you money?" Faris joked.

"No, he knew the men that killed my father," she replied. "I just want to ask him a few questions," she added.

"For Marcus, anything," he replied, solemnly.

She thanked him, gathered David, and they made their way to the next stop. For the next two hours they traveled between merchants' shops and crafters' workshops. The message was always the same, I don't know the guy, but I'll spread the word. Sapphire explained to David that they would stop for lunch at her favorite tavern, and then start talking to the tavern and inn owners next. As they made their way towards her destination, David spotted something familiar. It was a pair of boots he knew to watch for, and while the pants matched, the tunic didn't, the jacket and hat were new additions. The facial hair was also different.

This guy is definitely up to something, David thought.

Pulling Sapphire to a nearby trader's stall, he pointed out a scarf on display and whispered into her ear, "I think we're being followed. That is the second time I've seen the same guy, but he's wearing different clothes and has a fake beard now."

Sapphire immediately started to turn her head to look for the man he described, so thinking quickly David grabbed her face, leaned down, and kissed her. Sometimes he hated working with amateurs, but this wasn't one of those times. Her lips were amazing, and he eagerly tasted them. She initially resisted him, surprised by his actions, but quickly melted into his kiss. As her hands drifted to his waist, their lips tasted one another, and he snuck his tongue into the mix. She was inexperienced, but a quick learner, and soon they were checking each other's tonsils.

Breaking from the passionate kiss reluctantly, he whispered to her, "I didn't say look around, I was just letting you know he was there. I don't want to spook him. So act naturally."

Coming back to her senses, a sly grin snuck onto Sapphire's face. "Considering that kiss," she began, "the only natural looking next step would be to sneak into the nearest doorway and fuck like rabbits."

David wasn't even sure how a person could choke on air, but he still managed to do it. That's when she winked at him, and pulled him into a warm hug while whispering in his ear, "Where is he?"

Distracted by her succulent form pressed against him and her warm breath on his ear, he had to think about her question a moment. Eventually catching on to her deception, he whispered back, "on your left. Hat, beard, tan jacket, white shirt, brown pants, and really nice quality leather boots."

Feeling her head move slightly toward their quarry, he began to kiss and nuzzle her neck to cover the movement. He was able to enjoy the taste of her for a few moments before she said, "I see him."

"Are you sure," he said between planting kisses on the nap of her neck, "I think you should keep looking for a bit."

With the hand that was concealed from their observers view, she reached between them to stroke his throbbing hardness. His pleasured groan quickly turned to a hiss of pain as she squeezed it painfully.

"Focus!" she whispered sweetly in his ear. "Why do you think he's following us, or were you just looking for an excuse to take advantage of me?"

"It's complicated," he sighed, as she released her grip and returned her hand to his waist. "But the short version is I've been trained to spot people following me, that guy doesn't fit, and that is the second time I've seen him. There is another one I'm on the lookout for as well, but I only saw him the once. It could be a coincidence, he might be after something or someone else, or he could be watching us. If we see either of them again it stops being a coincidence."

"What then?" she asked.

"Then we grab them, and have a chat," David answered, his voice hardening.

***

Quintus let out the breath he was holding. He had feared his newest team member had gotten spotted again, the idiot, but apparently the two lovebirds just wanted to take a minute for themselves. He was glad. The man they were watching was extremely observant. They had followed the two closely at first, but the guy had clocked two of his men, and he had to have them change their disguises. They were following at a greater distance now, but if they had to pull back much further they would probably lose the two in the crowded market. Which considering the fact that the woman was beautiful and wearing skin tight leather, while the man was the tallest, and was wearing the strangest clothing, he had ever seen, that was pretty damn far.

He hadn't been able to learn much, other than they had visited numerous traders and crafters but had yet to buy anything. He had thought about sending one of his men into a shop to see if they could overhear what was being said, but the man worried him. There was no way he should have been able to spot his men, but he had. He was tempted to have his team grab them just to find out how the guy had done it. Except, this was a job directly from the Night Lord, and there was no way he was going to let it get screwed up.

Keeping an eye on his team, the four continue to rotate observers. There were always two men watching the couple, and the other two were watching the observers and would change places whenever one felt he might be drawing attention. It had taken them a year to figure this strategy out, but it worked.

At least, it worked until this guy, Quintus thought to himself.

***

David kept an eye out for the two men, but he didn't spot either for the remainder of the day. They stopped at the Traders' Rest Tavern and Sapphire ordered their lunch, taking a moment to speak with the owner. She had the same discussion with him as she'd had with the others, but got her first bit of useful information all day.

"Yeah, that guy sounds familiar," Cassius told them, after she had described Galen. "It was about two years ago. The only reason I remember him is because of the scars, they were pretty unusual."

"Do you know where he is?" Sapphire asked him eagerly.

"I think he said he was on his way to Calavius. He talked about starting a shop there."

"Oh," Sapphire said, frustrated.

"I could ask around, see if anyone else knows of him," he offered.

"I'd appreciate it."

*** Chapter 25: The Blessings of...Sapphire? ***

241600MAR13 DW

Exitibus, Erosius

David and Sapphire finished visiting the rest of the taverns and inns in town, but no one else knew of Galen. She was disheartened when they returned to the temple, wishing she could have found him here in Exitibus, but David's feelings were more complicated.

What the hell was going to happen tonight? This was the major question on his mind as he walked into the temple with her. Did she intend to have sex with him? Was she just setting him up to have sex with Laurena? Did he even want to have sex with Lauren? His mind was a jumble of too many questions and not enough answers.

Laurena and Phoebe greeted them warmly upon their return, and Sapphire and David offered to help with the final preparations for the service after he stored his gear. While he was away Sapphire told Laurena that he had agreed to come to the service that night, but neglected to mention that she would be joining him. Laurena was ecstatic.

"Thank you so much Sapphire," she said, "I really think this will be good for him." And for me, she thought to herself.

"You're welcome," Sapphire responded.

"Did you have plans for this evening?" Laurena inquired politely.

"I have something I need to do, but I should be able to join you two for dinner after the service," she explained to the acolyte.

David returned from his room, and they finished setting up the worship room with nearly half an hour to spare. Laurena confirmed that David would attend the service, and he nodded while shooting a furtive look at Sapphire who was standing to the side of, and slightly behind, the acolyte. She returned his look with a wink that Laurena did not see. The acolyte gave him a robe to wear, and suggested he take his time changing. He countered that he would change in his room, and be back when the service started. After he had left Sapphire slipped away from the two clergy members, who were discussing their plans for the worship service, and selected a robe for herself.

David did take his time changing, and it wasn't until he had put on his robe that he noticed a problem. Specifically, he noticed that the robe he had been given barely covered his crotch. It had looked similar to the same one he had worn in Wolfsvale, but it was apparently for someone much shorter than him. Shaking his head, he re-dressed and went to find a longer robe. Unfortunately, after spending five minutes searching the closet, he gave up. It appeared the robe he had been given was the longest one they had. This reminded him of something else he had noticed earlier.

He had been surprised how short everyone else was today. He hadn't interacted with many people in Wolfsvale, but today he had seen hundreds of men and women going about their business. He was easily taller than everyone else he had seen today, with most of the men the same height as Laurena, a full head shorter than him. Sighing, he decided to conjure a longer robe; he refused to walk around with his genitals hanging out. Going back to his room he changed into it, and was relieved to see it hanging down nearly to his knees. Figuring he would wait until the temple was mostly full before returning to the main room, he was surprised when he heard a knock at his door. Wondering who it was, he opened the door, and stood there stunned.

Before him was Sapphire, and she was wearing a ceremonial robe as well. Except on her form the robe looked beautiful. She had it tied loosely in the front, and the two sides of the robe had drifted apart above the sash exposing more of her cleavage than he had ever witnessed before. He also got his first unobstructed look at her legs, and they were as glorious as her breasts. With smooth, blue-tinted skin, slender thighs and calves, and delicate ankles they were a vision of loveliness. She had also taken her hair out of the braid, and her silken tresses flowed around her gorgeous face.

"Ready?" she asked him with a seductive smile.

After a few moments trying to remember how to speak, he realized he was staring and tore his gaze away from her beauty, looking down. That was when he noticed that his manhood had awakened from its shock sooner than his brain and was standing at painful attention. Worse, it had worked its way between the overlapping sides of his robe, and was poking out directly at Sapphire. He quickly turned away and tried to deal with his little soldier's betrayal, but not before Sapphire had followed his gaze and received a shock. It was huge! She had felt its hardness earlier in the day, but his size hadn't really registered from that touch. She had never lain with a man before, but there was no way it could possibly fit inside her. While she tried to master her surprise and deal with her fears, David had other concerns.

Damn it, he thought, what the hell is wrong with you. You knew she wanted to go with you to this service and now you've embarrassed her. Please God don't let her walk away. I really need her there tonight. While brow beating himself, he tried to tuck his erection into the sash as his waist like last time, and while doing so he noticed that his pole had grown larger than it had ever been before.

He knew his equipment was average in size at six inches, but what he was sporting today seem bigger. It was too big. Worried, he did a quick check and realized that it had grown larger by almost half. What the fuck?

"I guess you are ready," Sapphire stated behind him, finally marshalling her emotions, and deciding to tease him to cover her discomfort.

"Just give me a minute to take care of a problem," he mumbled in embarrassment.

"Are you sure you don't need a hand," she said with a giggle. "It looked like a pretty big problem; the kind of thing that might require 'help'."

"Sorry about that," he said, hanging his head in shame. "You just look so amazing in that robe it surprised me, I couldn't help it."

"It's natural," she consoled him, flattered by his compliment. Then she added with a naughty thought, "Well, it may not be natural, but the reaction is."

Red with shame, he turned back around after managing to secure his hardness with the sash. He had to re-tie the simple bow knot with a sturdier square knot. His eager little soldier wanted to storm the field, but he refused to let the bastard embarrass him further.

"I'm ready, let's go," he told her.

Smiling she nodded and took his hand in hers, leading the way to the temple's worship room.

***

"My men followed the trader woman and the man, all day. They visited a number of shops and crafters in the morning. The woman spoke to each at length, but they bought nothing. After stopping for lunch they spent the afternoon visiting all the taverns and inns in the city, speaking with the owners at each," Shadowmaster Blade gave his report to the Shadow Lord. "We were unable to determine what they talked to each of these people about, but I will have my men make inquiries tomorrow. I personally watched the acolyte, but she never left the temple, and no one of note came to visit her."

"There is no need to make those inquiries Blade, it is known to us what they seek," Cassius instructed his subordinate. "Do we have eyes on them now?"

"Yes. They are all attending worship this evening, so I had a new team set up to watch the temple while my best team rests for tomorrow."

"The Night Lord commends you for your work today," the Shadow Lord told him. "We will be in touch if your instructions change."

Nodding at his dismissal, Shadowmaster Blade departed the meeting.

What do you know Shadow Lord? The Night Lord asked him once the Shadowmaster had left.

"I know what they seek Lord," Cassius whispered. "Sapphire is searching for a man she believes may have information about her father's murderers."

Explain.

"Sapphire is a Dracian sorceress and trader. Her father, Marcus, was a well-known trader, who was killed on the road south of Wolfsvale two years ago. Since then she has been searching for the men that murdered him. She is seeking a man named Galen whom she believes may have information that will help her quest," he informed the Night Lord.

What does she know of this Galen?

"Little my Lord," Cassius explained. "She has a simple description of the man, and was looking for him here in Exitibus. I remembered him traveling through here on the way to Calavius, and I told her as much. She will probably search him out there, and be out of our hair soon."

Listen well Shadow Lord. These people are a threat to us. Those who would investigate one crime are willing to investigate more. Contact Shadowmaster Whisper, and have him send two teams of destroyers to deal with them.

"Two teams Lord?" he said, shocked. "But surely one team is more than enough to deal with them. Besides, wouldn't it be better to wait until they leave, and have Shadowmaster Hood intercept them on the road? Two teams together in the city will certainly gain us the attention of the sheriff."

A splitting headache suddenly pierced his brain, and he fell to his knees in agony. It is not your place to question my orders Cassius. You will do as instructed and I will deal with the weakling sheriff, the Night Lord's voice thundered in his mind. It was only the second time his superior had ever used his name, and it frightened him.

"Yes my Lord," the man gasped weakly, and the pain slowly eased from his head.

Find a way to lure the three of them from the temple; I don't want any harm to come to it or the priestess. We cannot afford to give the Inquisitors any more reason to investigate this matter than we must. And Cassius...let the Shadowmaster know that any failure in this matter will be punished, severely.

***

Laurena was highly upset when she finally found David, and saw that Sapphire was sitting beside him. The worship room was nearly half-full when they came in, and Sapphire had chosen a cushion in the back corner of the temple. David had no desire to complain, because the room was filled with scantily clad women that might have drawn his attention away from her. He wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed when it came to women, but he knew ogling any woman other than the one he came with was a bad idea. Laurena had been greeting worshipers at the entrance with Phoebe while keeping an eye out for his arrival, but they had entered and sat so quickly that she did not see then come in. It wasn't until the last of the faithful had arrived and she had gone looking for him that she noticed the pair together. She tried hard to hide her displeasure at the pairing.