Enchantress 2 - Warrior Duchess

"Maybe it does exist, but it was forgotten and you somehow rediscovered it."

"Maybe," said Octavia but she was unconvinced.

"No matter how you made it, it was delicious." Nick decided discretion was the better part of valor, he's got an idea what is happening and he didn't know how to handle it if it were true. Hoping to change the subject he said, "We need to go over this document I got from the dwarf. There's something inside Bear Mountain they want and he's going to be here tomorrow to go over this proposal with me and I really value your opinion on this, my duchess."

"Well, your grace," purred Octavia as her hand stroked his inner thigh, "I will require compensation later."

Nick opened the scroll and laid it out on the table using coffee cups to keep it from rolling back up. Octavia scanned the opening paragraphs which were typical legalese gibberish using many words to say little. But Nick pointed to a paragraph halfway down the document and her eyes narrowed in anger. "The... The... That thing goes right through our house!" The proposal called for a tramway to haul mine tailings and waste through their farm into Creel Springs where it gets dumped in the valley.

"It gets worse," said Nick pointing the plan for toxic waste.

"Not on our watch."

Unnoticed to the young couple, Bear Mountain let out a sigh of relief, somebody cares!

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Rifty Peregrine, sales agent for the Peregrine and Aegir Mining Consortium was angry. He was given a simple mining lease to get signed and he's run into nothing but setbacks. He was told to get the local witch to sign because in this backward community the only authority in the area was witches. After days of searching, he found that the witch he was looking for, Mother Marisol, had been dead for decades. She was replaced by a wizard, Besingger Floyd, but he was dead too. His replacement, Nana Partridge, was also dead. She was replaced by some guy who claims to be a witch.

Believing that the hicks of the area were taunting him, Rifty went to the king of Lancre who said "You need the Duke of Wægn's signature on that lease. That authority lies with him and I'm not going to usurp him in his first day in office. Rifty tried to get the Duke's signature right after he was crowned duke, but Rifty asked for an autograph and that's what Rifty got, a non-binding autograph that every court on the Disc would throw out.

Now he's waiting in the bright sunshine outside of a bookstore in some hick village while the yokels glare at him as they walk past. It's anti-dwarf hatred is what this is. He could hear the duke and duchess muttering softly inside occasionally chuckling.

Actually, there was no one inside, the sounds that Rifty was hearing were echoes of a previous conversation that Octavia set to replay continuously, it soothed the books' nerves to hear sympathetic voices while they wait for their call to be read. {Contrary to popular opinion, books hate being left alone. They would much rather spend their day beside a warm fire, the scent of coffee filling their binding, while each of their pages is being gently turned one by one... this is book sex}

The books weren't left alone too long this Wednesday afternoon, eventually The Duke of Wægn appeared from the stacks leading a unique looking dwarf, the dwarf was wearing flowers in the long silver hair that flowed from under his iron helmet, his hair was braided into long silver braids, he wore eye makeup, lipstick, and he braided his beard into twin tails, each tied off with a pastel colored ribbon. He was a She, an emancipated female dwarf.

As Dwarven society on the discworld evolved the male and female dwarves were completely equal. Since both sexes were generally the same shape and both had beards, male and female dwarves filled the same positions in society and all pronouns were decidedly dwarven, that is to say, male. The only time a female dwarf was female outside of the bedroom, was the first two years after childbirth. Once the child is able to swing a pickaxe the child enters dwarven society as a junior member.

But recently female dwarves have started to demand emancipation and the ability to be treated like females of the other races on the disc, which included hairstyles, eye makeup, lipstick, and gayly colored frocks. Males of the dwarven race are slowly coming around to the idea of having a wife that looks like a female, but right now both sexes are dead set against shaving.

Following them came the Duchess of Wægn leading a tall, armor clad gentleman who was amazed that he was able to travel from Ankh-Morpork to Lancre in a matter of moments where it was a full five day journey on horse. As the four settled in and reviewed the document that Rifty gave to Nick, outside Rifty strained to hear what was happening. The shades were drawn on his side of the building protecting the books from damaging sunlight and preventing Rifty from seeing who was in there.

Finally, a small, wire haired terrier stepped up to Rifty and said, "They're ready for you."

Stunned, Rifty stood and followed the dog into the bookstore where he found a table set up and four people lined up facing him. He recognized the Duke and Duchess, but the other two he wasn't quite sure about... and one was a female dwarf flaunting her gender! Anger began to boil in his soul, it was three humans and a female dwarf versus one true dwarf. "Good morning," started the Duke, "or should I say good afternoon. Sorry it took so long but I reached out to two people to help us with this negotiation. To my left is Captain Carrot Ironfounderson, he will help with human/dwarven interactions and make sure I don't embarrass or insult the honor of the dwarven race."

Rifty's hopes began to sink, he's heard of Carrot Ironfounderson. Carrot is a human that was raised as a dwarf by adoptive dwarven parents, commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, and he was married into Überwald royalty. Carrot's wife is a housebroken werewolf, Captain Angua of the City Watch. There's only a few people who know dwarven law like Carrot and he's not the type to let anything slip past him.

Nick continued. "To my right is Her Majesty Blodwen Rhysdottir who so graciously consented to assist me in these negotiations."

"Anything to help the newest members of the royal court," the female dwarf chuckled.

Rifty's hopes hit rock bottom. Somehow Duke Worblehat-Stein convinced one of the few dwarves on the Disc who knew more about dwarven law than Carrot to join his panel. Blodwen Rhysdottir not only knows dwarven law, but Blodwen Rhysdottir is dwarven law, she is the Low Queen of the Dwarfs, she is under all Dwarfs, and what she says goes.

{In dwarven society, because they always strive to dig ever deeper, down to dwarves is what up is to humans. The low queen for a dwarf would be a high queen for a human. The queen being under all dwarves is similar to the human king being over all subjects}

"Before we get started do you have any questions?" asked the Duke.

"I was led in here by a dog?"

"Gaspode is my oldest companion and commander of The Duke's Guard. {The Duke's Guard consists of Gaspode and Gula, the gargoyle that is in the overhead beams glaring down on the proceedings} Now let's start with paragraph three which discusses the disposal of overburden."

"Yes sir, we try to..." Rifty suddenly noticed that everyone in the room was glaring at him, including the dog and the wizard's staff. He could feel the duke's empty eye socket behind that terrifying patch glaring at him also {Rifty clearly didn't know that the eye socket wasn't empty} "I'm sorry, did I...?"

"While Pommeraie de la Montesquieu Worblehat-Stein was knighted and sir would be an appropriate form of address," boomed the Low Queen, "keep in mind he is the Duke, he is royalty which casts him far lower than you. The proper form of address is "Your Grace."

Chastised by the lowest ranking dwarf on the entire Disc Rifty was visibly shook and he tried desperately to get back on track. "Thank you for the correction your majesty, and I apologize your grace. Was there a problem with the third paragraph?"

"Yes," said Nick. "Overburden is a term used in surface mining. Since surface mining is illegal in the Duchy of Wægn, we won't need paragraph three, nine, and sixteen through twenty one."

Octavia watched her man lead the panel with confidence befitting the title that King Verance dropped on him in surprise. She realized that Nick had passionately fallen in love with Bear Mountain as much as she has along with the entire surrounding countryside and the people under his protection and he was fighting to keep this bit of heaven unsullied by the avarice and cupidity of a tribe of dwarves. The only word that could describe what Octavia was feeling was "wow." She was so proud of Nick that she wanted to throw him down and fuck him senseless and she didn't care who watched. Her crush has turned into a crusher and is handling his responsibilities with incredible grace and honesty.

Bear Mountain was bare from the 9,000 foot up, for some reason no trees grew higher than that point, most other mountains featured trees well past 11,000 feet. Bear Mountain was 14,201 feet tall and the top 5,201 feet were completely bare of trees. It also has a wide prominence, meaning that it has broad shoulders, it's not a sharp, pointy mountain except for the last 200 feet, which looks like a finger pointing to the sky.

Bear Mountain is the heart and soul of Tallywiffle County and the life blood of each farm and family. Bear Mountain supplies the people with the water, wood, and wildlife that they need to live. In return the witches insure the proper conduct of those that use the generous resources provided by Bear Mountain, and the king gave the witch that oversees Bear Mountain some horsepower by restoring the duchy and making the witch a royal responsible directly to the king. the Peregrine and Aegir Mining consortium is going to respect the demands of the Duke and Duchess or they're going to look elsewhere for whatever it is that they want. "What would you like to add dear?" Nick asked.

"I'm sorry," said Octavia looking through her notes, "did we cover water purity?"

"No, we will cover water purity later," said Carrot who was enjoying the proceedings. He loved to see the rules followed and the people's lands protected. It's time his dwarven brothers learn some responsibility.

"Ok then," said Octavia as she collected her thoughts, "You have coal listed as a mine tailing. What grade of coal are you expecting to encounter?"

"Bituminous, but there's a chance it may be anthracite," answered an annoyed Rifty. For dwarves coal was used to cook over but other than that it's just a useless rock. Here in Creel Springs coal is a life saver during the long cold winters. It burns hot and long, a coal fire at night will keep a family warm and alive in a long winter night. The blacksmith Trei pays a small fortune getting sacks of coal delivered for his forge. Having a local source of hot, clean burning anthracite would be a gods send to him.

"Coal will be kept separate from other tailings and made available to the residents of Tallywiffle County. Gemstones will be separated from other tailings and be kept for the Duchy of Wægn." Octavia looked at Nick confused and asked, "Why should the duchy collect the gemstones?"

Nick shrugged, "I was thinking of handing a gemstone to first time mothers." He indicated Rifty and said, "They don't want them, they were just going to throw them in a waste pile with rock and coal. Why not give a shiny bauble to a new mom?"

"I like that idea Duke! Don't forget salt," said Blodwen Rhysdottir, her voice was booming and it rattled the windows. "Chances are good that a layer of salt lies beneath that mountain."

"Now we have to separate our mine tailings?" whined Rifty.

"Yes," said Nick and Octavia simultaneously. "Any toxic contaminants will either be stored inside the mine structure or carted off site to a disposal facility outside of the Kingdom of Lancre," Nick added.

"Why outside of Lancre Kingdom?" demanded Rifty.

"Because nowhere in Lancre is the storage of toxic contaminants allowed." Rifty now realized that push had come to shove, and they were done pushing him, now they were shoving.

They took a break for dinner and had smoked brisket and boiled baby potatoes before going back to the last item of contention, mountain access and the removal of trees. The terms were strict, all mountain access was to be from the hubward side of the mountain and only trees with a diameter less than two feet may be cut for any reason, such as road building or for shoring up mine tunnels. The hubward side is considered to be the back side of the mountain, all of Lancre was rimward of Bear Mountain.

"I suppose that finished this discussion, I'm ready to sign," said Nick.

"Wait!" cried Rifty, "what about this section regarding fines and fees?"

"There's no discussion, these fines and fees stand," replied Nick. "It's the price of doing business in Lancre."

Fines for cutting down the wrong tree, fines for shooting the wrong game animal, fines for dumping mine waste in a convenient (for the dwarves) location, it was ridiculous! Red face, eyes bulging, Rifty signed the final contract and was given his copy to take back to Peregrine and Aegir Mining's office in Schmaltzburg, then he stormed out of the bookstore without a word.

"You did your damnedest to dissuade them from the project without saying no," said Blodwen Rhysdottir as Nick guided the dwarven low queen back to Überwald through the bookshelves of L-Space to Lady Überwald's private library. "You got free coal, free salt, free aggregate, and a free road to get to those riches," she laughed, "And all it cost your king was naming one duke!"

"He did not seem happy to see you there, your highness," added Nick.

"You keep your eye on them," said Queen Blodwen. "Peregrine and Aegir are as nasty as they come, there's something under that mountain that they want, they made far too many concessions just for iron and gold. If you had told them no, there's no guessing what they would do to reach their goal. They would have dug anyhow, after digging your grave."

"Thank you for your concern your highness. I have a couple of fellows who I'm going to train tomorrow and they're going to be my contract enforcers."

"Anyone can be bribed my dear Duke."

"As long as the rules are enforced we'll call that part of their income. My enforcers aren't very bright, so if they take a bribe, I'll figure it out right away. I have a way of convincing people to see things my way."

"You are a sweetie your grace, if I weren't already taken I'd give you a run for your money."

"I appreciate the inuendo, your highness, but you would have an enchantress to contend with."

"By the Gods! A real and true enchantress walks among us, and I sat there all day near her." Low Queen Blodwen Rhysdottir shook her head in wonder. "I would love to spend some time talking with your wife."

Nick was a bit shocked at the Low Queen's reaction. "I thought an enchantress was just a female wizard but you react like there's more. She went to wizarding school and earned her degrees..."

"No, an enchantress is so much more than that. Once she finds her mate the game has just begun." Blodwen looked up at Nick and raised an eyebrow. "It's said that when she finds her mate her clothing is... her gown becomes..."

"It's invisible," said Nick.

"For truth?" asked the shocked dwarf.

"Not always, she has one set of robes that started turning invisible to me as we fell in love and in a few more days we were married. We had to if you catch my drift. She doesn't wear it in public, she says I get too "grabby." With a wry smile he added, "the more I fall in love with her, the less those robes conceal."

"Oh, you devil." The queen chuckled as she thought of all the possibilities, but she also worried, there's been tales in ancient literature of what an enchantress is. There's usually one per generation, but the sad women never find their mates, it's been over four centuries since an enchantress found her mate that the records show. "Thank you for escorting me back to Überwald," said Low Queen Blodwen Rhysdottir. "I may have to look in to building a library."

"It takes much more than a big library; it takes the right collection of books and a librarian or storekeeper to maintain it and teach you the way of navigating L-Space. Igor here can help you," Nick pointed out Igor, the head librarian of Lady Überwald's private library.

"Yeth marther," said Igor with a deep bow. "If the low queen ith therious about a library, we can dithcuth the thience involved in L-thpace."

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It was a glorious, quiet period, no babies to deliver, no emergency at the palace, no dwarves aching to gut a mountain just a glorious summer to explore their new life with each other. One evening Nick and Octavia decided to climb to the top of Bear Mountain just to be able to say that they made the climb, so they packed a couple of packs with clothing and food, then the next morning just after sunrise they headed up to the top of Bear Mountain. They traveled with Nick as a Ramtop Mountain pony and Octavia on his back, rubbing her pussy against his back while Gaspode and Virga trotted alongside and Gula clung to Octavia's pack. The idea was to spread out a blanket and make love at 14,201 feet where anyone could see them, if they had eyes like an eagle.

Neither Nick nor Octavia had ever been up on a mountain before, but both found the trek exhilarating. When Nick takes the form of a Ramtop Mountain pony and carries his wife, a feeling of togetherness overwhelms them, their silent conversations become deep, heartfelt communication, even if they're just talking about the scenery. As they climbed in elevation they found an area where the mountain side was covered with Sweetwood trees, the bark on every tree was snow white with dark red spots here and there and the leaves were heart shaped and bright gold but will turn red in the autumn. Trei the blacksmith told Nick to keep some Sweetwood on the woodpile for those "special nights" with Octavia because the wood smelled so aromatic when it burned, it smells like perfume.

Under the glowing golden canopy of the Sweetwood trees, their banter and silent teasing took their toll and Octavia realized that she couldn't wait to get to the top of the mountain and she slid off Nick's back and she spread her blanket on a cushion of leaves. "Is there anything wrong?" Nick asked, and in answer Octavia's skirt pooled around her ankles and her blouse slid off her shoulders and dropped to the ground.

Nick didn't need any more answer than that and behind Octavia came the octarine flash and she felt her man approach, his hands so strong and warm grasped her hips and pulled her back to him, his throbbing erection pressing against her back. His hands worked up from her hips over her waist to her ribs where he grasped her tightly, his lips, teeth, and tongue which was nibbling at her earlobe began moving down to her neck. The thrill of his teeth gnawing at her neck and her shoulder soon had her excited. "Don't tease me," she gasped as his hands cupped her breasts and began to gently squeeze.

"Tease?" he whispered, his tongue tracing around her ear. "Is this teasing?" he gently pinched both aching nipples between thumb and forefinger and began to roll them gently, ever so gently. His tongue tracing around her ear, probing gently, his teeth nipping and tugging at her ear lobes his hands exploring and squeezing all engineered to make her crazy. They're both new at making love and they're both getting very good at what they're doing to each other, Octavia felt sparks and tingles of excitement as he gently urged her to higher and higher levels of pleasure.