Drowning at Dusk Ch. 04

"Which meant I couldn't marry, couldn't legally own a herd, couldn't even legally own my own weapon in the eyes of the tribe. Instead, everything was 'gifted' to me, and those gifts were earned through strength and blood. I became my clan's fiercest warrior, even though they did not fully recognize me."

"Damn," I said, frowning. Somehow that seemed a worse fate than being branded as an apostate and being forced to flee for my life.

"It had its perks. My position ashek-raath meant I was not obligated to pay certain tithes or tribute, and did not have to give a portion of my earnings from raids or adventures to the clan's council. I still had my fair share of lovers, though. And a great many friends.

"But since I washek-raath, I was not permitted to partake in honor duels. Which meant that when my battle-brother Egraak was challenged by a superior warrior, I could not step in as Egraak's champion. I had to watch my friend die. And given my status within the clan, I was not even permitted to attend his funeral, or to seek vengeance on the warrior who killed him."

Had I known him better, I might have reached out and rested a comforting hand on his knee.

He glared at the northern horizon.

We rode in silence for several minutes. Judging by the somber but unsurprised look on Xelari's face, it was not her first time hearing the tale.

"Gods, Terakh. That must have been awful."

"It was. But I am stronger for it. Just as you are stronger for the trials you endured."

I didn't quite agree with that. People weren't always strengthened by their suffering. Such trials often broke people, or made them cruel. Scars did not always forge triumphs.

"Thank you."

"For what?" he said with a grim laugh.

"For telling me that. Couldn't have been easy."

"The pain fades more with each telling. The lessons become sharper, clearer. And if we are to be allies, the fewer secrets we have, the better." He gave a pointed glance at Xelari. If that comment was intended to inspire her to reveal more of her reasons for joining the Deathless, she did not take the bait.

Rain swamped the roads that afternoon, turning our easy ride into a soaked slog, and we paid a hefty fee in silver to a farmer for the luxury of sleeping in his barn. Even if we weren't surrounded by stinky animals, the three of us all were far too wet and weary for any trysts, so we slumbered, and rose with the dawn.

As evening fell, the road grew better-maintained and more heavily-traveled. We passed merchants and farmers bringing their goods to Litarra's markets, woodsmen bringing in their harvests from the edges of the Wildwood, and more frequent patrols of Commonwealth militia. Nobody challenged us, though Xelari did receive a few wandering glances from some of the soldiers. Their minds were doubtless on the curves, rather than on the secret bounty on her head.

Litarra sat upon a small lake where two rivers met: an ugly, sprawling mess of a town surrounded by a tall stone wall. Barges drifted in and out of the town's ports; smoke rose from foundries, smithies, and tanneries. The guards at the gate let us pass with a small fee, and we wandered through the gate-side marketplace for the better part of an hour, stocking up on supplies for the road ahead.

After amusing myself browsing the wares of charlatans selling the supposed body parts of dragons and demons, we ended our little shopping trip to search for a place to stay for the evening. To better aid Terakh's recruitment efforts, we picked out one of the busier spots down near the docks, a massive tavern called the Grinning Goat. Judging by the buoyant music wafting through the doors and the glowering armed bouncers on duty, it was quite the rowdy place, no doubt filled with adventurers and travelers who'd stopped in Litarra for a bit of carousing before moving on to their next quest.

Shouldering the door open, I took in the chaos within. Scores of people were crammed into the large tavern, raising their drinks high and swaying along to the music. Battered shields, rusted swords, and the skulls of beasts adorned the walls. A long bar stretched across one side of the room, where a small army of harried servants struggled to keep up with the demands of thirsty, drunken patrons.

At the other end was a raised stage, upon which stood the stars of the show. One of them was tall, lean man, with his black hair bound in long, intricate braids. The bard wore a bright blue doublet that contrasted nicely with his dark skin. Joyous dark eyes gazed out over the crowd as his deft hands worked furiously at his fiddle, sending jaunty notes through the tavern and setting the crowd ablaze with joy. I took note of the bright, glowing green runes painted on the fiddle and its bow.

Beside him was a meadow elf woman, with skin of dappled green and yellow hues, and long flowing blonde curls. She wore a bright blue dress that matched the bard's doublet, and her hands tapped on a set of drums as she sang about a devious fox and the foolish hunter who kept trying to catch the wily animal.

One of my favorite drinking songs, theFox and the Fool had a hundred different versions. Each bard would usually add in a verse of their own creation featuring some new mischief by the fox. No matter the variation, that particular tune almost always got me to my feet.

"Hate this fucking song," Terakh growled. "Played it every damned night at the tavern where I used to work. Like a fly buzzing in my ear."

"Just enjoy it," I said, grinning with amusement as the elven woman tilted to perform a one-handed handstand, using her free hand to thump out the jaunty beat on her dreams. "Won't be much time for music out in the wild, when you're hunting down those relics."

The big orc made it quite easy to get to the bar. Most folks gave him a wide berth, and those that didn't earned a glare or a sharp shove for their delay.

As we waited for our drinks, the bards wrapped up that song, earning riotous cheers from the crowd and a relieved sigh from Terakh.

Their next song was another familiar one, about a king who had used an enchanted mirror to conjure a copy of himself. The ridiculous song ended with the king falling in love with that doppelganger, and the two abandoning the kingdom to ride off on adventures in the countryside.

"Does that count as incest?" said another patron at the bar. "Or is just a more complicated version of masturbation?"

"Maybe it's both," laughed the barkeep, sliding our drinks over to us.

Terakh's gaze swept over the crowd, taking note of the other armed customers.

"Any good prospects?" I asked, taking a long sip of my wine and admiring the lithe, graceful leaps and twirls of that meadow elf bard. Gods, that flexibility of hers would be a fun asset in the bedroom. The handsome bard probably knew a few tricks, too.

"Maybe over there," he said, nodding to a booth in the corner of the bar, where a tall, muscular redheaded woman sat with a blue-skinned tempest elf and a short, one-eyed man clad in black armor. "They look like a dangerous sort. And that armor is night-steel, from the looks of it. Not cheap. Probably means he's seasoned enough to have saved up the coin for it."

"Or he just knifed a richer mercenary and pilfered it. Or he's so well-off that he won't stoop to hiring himself out to the likes of you," I joked.

"Terakh was just thinking with his cock," Xelari said, her eyes admiring the orc with impish amusement over the rim of her cup. "Probably wondering how strong and fierce that redhead is."

"You've a thing for redheads, do you?" I asked, twirling my short curls and recalling how he'd told Xelari how eager he'd been to grip those curls while he'd fucked me.

"Orcish women never have red hair. Always black or brown. Spent twenty years of my life not even knowing someone couldhave red hair. So aye. Call it a preference. But no, I'd not be foolish enough to hire on sellswords just because of their hair color." He grinned. "All things being equal, though, it might help me make the final decision."

"How about that lot?" Xelari asked, pointing to four figures standing and dancing upon a table near the stage.

Two of them were young human men, likely twins, judging by the close resemblance of their handsome features. Both wore long cloaks and belts jammed with daggers, with matching crossbows slung over their backs. Alongside them was a tall woman with faintly gray skin, and silvery hair buzzed down to her scalp. On her hips were two small, sickle-shaped swords, and she wore chainmail reinforced with strips of silksteel. Based on her skin and hair, one of her parents or grandparents had likely been a dusk elf. The fourth was clearly a mage of some kind, who wore red robes and had intricate sigils tattooed upon his cheeks.

I came close to joking that Terakh could fuck a half-dusk elf as consolation for not being able to fuck Xelari, but I wasn't sure how that tease would have gone over.

"Maybe," he said. "A mage would be good to have. But brothers? No. Bad business, taking kin on a dangerous job like that. They'll focus more on their kinship rather than the job itself."

"Those bards might be a good prospect, too," Xelari said. "Judging by that fiddle, that man's a magic-user. Such performers are always full of stories and lore. Might be helpful in tracking down artifacts."

"I'd have to listen that damned song about the fox and the fool every night. He could be a fucking archmage for all I care; no power is worth putting up with that stupid song."

Terakh cocked his head at one of the other guests, mumbled something to himself, and shouldered his way through the crowd. As he moved off to vet potential prospects, I placed a hand on Xelari's wrist to catch her attention.

"So why after all this time haven't you slept with him? Fully, I mean. He can be a bit of a bastard, I know, but he's handsome enough in his own way. Strong. Loyal. Clever. And the fuck he gave me was damned good."

Made all the better by Xelari's presence, but I certainly would have climaxed again and again if I'd had my hands free that night.

"I tried, within a week of our meeting," Xelari said, watching the orc vanish through the press of dancers and revelers. "He rebuffed me, stating that he had his heart set on the woman who owned the tavern where he'd been working when we'd found him."

I laughed, imagining the shock and rage upon Xelari's face after she'd been turned down.

"Bold of him."

"Turned out she wasn't up for waiting for him to return from his crusade against undeath. And upon his visit back to her about three months later, she cut things off." She took a long sip. "He came to me that night. Despondent and desperate. Looking for lust to assuage his pain. But I am not a bandage. I am not a cure."

"Poor bastard."

"I let him taste me a month or so later, and was planning eventually to spread my legs for that cock of his."

"And is tonight the night?"

I wouldn't have exactly been jealous, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit to a desire to fuck Xelari in a soft, proper bed for once. Given the distance between Litarra and the next town, it could be days or even longer before we had the chance again.

"No. I think I shall make him wait and wonder a while longer." Her fingers trailed up and down my arm. "I would, however, very much like to watch the two of you again. With the roles reversed."

My legs quivered at the thought.

"Reversed? Do you even have bindings strong enough to pin him down?"

"Oh, yes. Enchanted silk is strong enough to subdue a giant."

My keen eyes picked him out from among the crowd; he was deep in conversation with a man in fur armor and a giant axe over his back. Something brought a wild smile to Terakh's face; he and the stranger erupted into laughter.

"I will expect your obedience, though," she continued, her voice dropping to a low, menacing murmur. "In the same way that I commanded him during his night with you...I will do the same to you."

"And if I disobey like he did?" I licked my lips at how triumphant I'd felt, chained up and helpless even as he'd filled me with his seed against Xelari's commands.

"Then you will be punished."

"When you say it like that, it makes mewant to fail you."

Laughing, I downed my drink, and waved down the barkeep to see about renting a room.

***

Given that most of the guests were just there to revel and drink, we had our pick of the Grinning Goat's meager rooms, and chose the one with the largest, sturdiest bed. We asked the barkeep to tell Terakh which room we'd rented when he came back for another drink, and Xelari and I slipped upstairs to prepare for Terakh's surprise.

After stripping down and bathing, Xelari arrayed the silken bindings upon the bed, and turned her nose up at the bedposts.

"While the bindings might hold, these bedposts might not. Be prepared to shell out silver to the tavernkeeper as recompense if they break."

I sat down on the bed, running my fingers over the bindings that had so deliciously bound me a few evenings before, when she'd ridden me while I'd worn that enchanted dildo. The toy in question sat on a nearby table, alongside the other implements.

"If you're just going to watch, why the other toys?"

"Depending on how I approve of your performance...I may decide to join in myself."

Her fingers brushed over my chin, and we both grinned at the sound of Terakh's heavy footsteps coming up the stairs.

The door creaked open.

His red eyes widened at the sight of us: nude and waiting for him. To further entice and tease him, I ran my fingers along the underside of Xelari's breast.

More footsteps echoed from behind him as other guests wandered up to their rooms. Terakh, however, simply stared.

"Close the door, unless you want to invite everyone else in," I said, laughing.

He cleared his throat and stepped inside, slamming the door behind him. Frantic hands grasped at the straps of his armor and weapons. His greatsword landed with an immense thud, followed by the cacophony of his armor falling. Next came the sweaty doublet, riding boots, and the leather leggings. Ideally we'd have given him a bath before the delights to come, but he was about to endure enough teasing as it was.

Xelari and I both admired that thick, fully erect prick of his as he crossed the room towards us.

A wave of the dusk elf's finger stopped him.

"Damn it," he grumbled, taking note of the silken bindings on the bed. "I should have known this would be another game of yours, Xelari."

"Indeed it is. Lay down, Terakh. It is time for Esharyn to have her vengeance."

"Vengeance?" He raised an eyebrow. "Oh."

"Or you can leave," I said with a wave of my hand. "You can find some pretty serving wench down there to sate your hunger, but she won't be enough." I leaned over, licked the side of Xelari's neck, and felt her skin prickle in response. "She won't beus."

"Fine, fine."

He stomped across the room, and Xelari and I combined our strength to shove onto his back. As I stepped back to admire the resplendent musculature of the orc who had so brutally ravished me the week before, Xelari expertly bound his thick wrists with the rope.

Xelari stepped back, and affixed me with a cool stare.

"A few rules. First, you will do no lasting damage to him. Slap him, scratch him, bite him, even choke him a bit. But nothing permanent. I still have use for him. Second, you will finish when I say so, and not before."

I realized those words were an exact echo of the commands she'd given to Terakh before he'd fucked me. The orc seemed to notice that as well, and let out a long groan as Xelari finished speaking.

"I'm doomed, aren't I?" he said.

"The rules are for her, not for you," she said sweetly, reaching out to caress his cheek. He turned, trying to catch her fingers in his lips, but she drifted away before he could reach her. "Climax if you wish. Fill her with that seed of hers all you want."

"Damn it," I muttered, realizing that once again I was her prisoner, her captive, her toy.

I'd still love it, though.

I ran my hands over his scarred, muscular thighs, and settled on my knees between his legs.

"Emerald," I said slowly. "That's our word. If things go too far, if things-"

"Just shut up and suck-"

My hand lashed out, slapping across his face. His head snapped back, and he let out a delirious laugh.

"Oh, that's good. I like that fire."

"Then you'lllove this," I hissed at him, and raked both of my hands down his chest, my nails scraping and clawing at the taut, greenish skin. He rumbled with delight, arching his back.

I glanced over at the toys Xelari had laid out, but settled on a punishment of a different sort. My lips descended, engulfing the thick top of his cock. I groaned at the musky scent of him, and the memories of that crown sliding into my cunt the week before.

"I appreciate the deference," he muttered. "I'm all bound and helpless, but you're still playing the good little whore."

I nearly released him to retrieve one of Xelari's whips. Instead, I locked my lips around the tip of his cock and suckled fiercely, and reached down to grab the base, and gave him several slow, teasing strokes, running from the base of his shaft up towards my lips.

Slow. Controlled.

Just like what Xelari would have done.

After a minute of that, Terakh seemed to lack the strength to tease or taunt, and could only growl and grunt. I muttered with delight at the salty taste of his pre-come, my tongue running along the tip of his cock before lavishing the underside of the head with a series of firm licks.

His shaft twitched within my grasp, his body tightening and tensing.

I released him from my mouth and laughed, then raked my nails over his chest again.

"Not yet," I purred.

I glanced over at Xelari. She was seated primly and properly in one of the chairs. Rather than watch us, she instead busied herself with the adjustment of her runestone, as if we weren't even there.

"Oh," she said, raising an eyebrow. "Had you two started yet?"

"Fuck you," Terakh snapped, his eyes fluttering.

"Don't worry about her, Terakh," I cooed, taking hold of his cock again.

Of course, Xelari wasall I was worried about. As much as I enjoyed teasing the orc, all of it was really for Xelari's benefit and amusement. An elaborate performance just to earn her touch again.

I rose up, straddling him, and guided the tip of his dripping shaft towards my own aching sex. I glanced over at Xelari, who had at last looked up from her runestone to give me a cool, detached stare.

I kept my eyes affixed on hers as I descended, embracing his cock with one slow, perfect downward motion of my hips.

The thick muscles of his arms strained against the bindings. The bedposts trembled as he tensed. I settled my hands on that brawny chest of his, running my fingers over the red lines left by my nails.

The fullness in my sex caused my heart to flutter and my lungs to burn. I squirmed a little, adjusting myself to the wondrous intrusion.

His hips bounced upwards, just as mine had when he'd had me pinned. I snarled at him and placed a threatening hand around his throat.

"Hold still," I hissed.

My hand remained upon his throat while the other reached between my legs. I met Xelari's eyes as my fingers set to work, gliding over my glistening clit while I raised my hips.

Terakh's agonized groan filled the room as I lowered myself down once again. The beautiful fullness sent sparks roaring through me, and I threw my head back, laughing in delight.

"Remember my instructions," Xelari warned. "Do not climax lest I command it."

I ignored her, continuing to writhe above Terakh, the pace of my fingers quickening. The warrior gritted his teeth and snarled at me in orcish. His chest tensed, and I could feel the growing fire within him, the burning need to just buck upwards and take what he needed.