Magic has Benefits Ch. 02

Author's Notes:

Howdy again all! Sorry this took so long to get out, I've been super busy!

So a few quick notes on this one. If you're looking for a quick and easy sex thing, this one probably isn't for you. It takes a hot minute to get into the sexual encounter, as there is plenty of adventure to be had outside of getting laid in this story. Only one character thinks about sex consistently (and I love him for it), and the rest of the characters usually have different goals in mind.

That being said! I hope you enjoy the ride and the spicy stuff when yah get to it!

Disclaimer: All characters are above 18 and there IS some violence/gore in this one, but only to things that have it coming!

Enjoy!

- WwW

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3 years earlier...

The Hefty Flaggon Inn and Tavern was by all accounts, nothing special.

Situated off the side of the main road that led towards Hillgesin (the third largest city in Relleon), it saw plenty of traffic. People of all races and genders made their way through. Some were heading towards the city, in the hopes of striking their fortunes within the alabaster stone walls of the impressive settlement. Some were fleeing the city, hoping for simpler lives in the more rural parts of the country.

The sun was just rising over the top of the somewhat distant peak of Gordae Mountain. The sun fell warmly on the slightly chilled ground of the upcoming autumn. The leaves of the surrounding Horsestray Woods were beginning to turn colors in their usual manner. The various noises of nature were loud enough to reach the inn, but not effectively pierce the well constructed wooden walls.

The Hefty Flaggon was well made and simple. Two stories of wood and stone, it had survived three generations of the family that operated it. The bottom floor was dedicated to the "Tavern" part of its name, while the upper floor was the "Inn". A large area for dining and a bar made up the majority of the downstairs. There was a kitchen behind the bar and a storage shed was situated next to the well outside. The upstairs contained half a dozen small rooms. Not much more than a bed and a nightstand with a lamp, but it more than suited the needs of so many weary travelers.

One of which, had just arrived.

The door opened heavily, creaking on hinges as old as the current owner's grandparents. The sun shone into the sparsely lit interior, briefly creating yellow rays of light that illuminated the hanging dust in the air.

A man stepped through. He was large, very large. He almost had to duck slightly coming through the door. He stood easily at six foot six, and his shoulders were broad.

The owner, a man by the name of Tonnek Hefts, watched from behind the counter. He was a balding, older human. He had a bushy brown mustache that was growing gray in places. He stared at the new arrival with a sense of apprehension. He wasn't a big man and only had a small crossbow situated on a hook behind the counter. And looking at the size of the man? He doubted it would do him much good if the man decided to cause trouble.

The man had closed the door behind him, but there was still no light to properly illuminate his features. He even wore a thick brown cloak with a hood. As he lumbered his way towards the bar, causing the old boards to creak beneath him, Hefts could see the strong jawline and small tusks of a half orc.

He glanced nervously at the only other two people in the room. One was his daughter, Gloria Hefts, who was also staring at the new arrival. She had been cleaning a nearby table and had stopped dead in her tracks. She had brown curly hair and was a bit heavyset. Not quite as large as her father, but being the daughter of cook had its advantages.

Her eyes flicked towards her father, the tension in the air palpable. He gave her an uncertain look back.

The only other person in the room was Vrat. He was a Dwarven farmer that often came to the Hefty Flaggon to drink until he passed out. Which is exactly what he had done last night. He was face down on a nearby table, snoring loudly through the strands of red beard hairs that were bunched up underneath him like a really scratchy pillow.

Maybe Gloria could try to wake Vrat? He was a rather burly Dwarf, perhaps he could take this half orc if a brawl were to happen.

Then, the stranger sat himself at the bar in front of Tonnek and removed his cloak.

All hope of fighting the man was immediately dashed.

The most common piece of equipment this man carried was a worn leather backpack. Situated next to it was some kind of hide tube, the kind that were often used to store bows when not in use. And it was a long one too. A long bow even by the standards of the tall man in front of him. It's quiver, full of the feathered ends of arrows, was situated next to it.

He also wore leather armor. And it wasn't the piecemeal scraps that some of the local village militia called armor. It looked tailored to the half orc's body, with various steel studs protruding from the oiled looking surface. It had seen use too. Various dings and scratches lined the brown surface, and there was even a section of the shoulder that looks as if it had been stitched back together.

Tied to his waist were the most concerning parts for Tonnek. On his left hip, the sheathed form of a longsword hung down from the side of the stool in which the man sat himself. It didn't look as fancy as some of the blades Tonnek had seen nobels and merchants carry, but that somehow concerned him far more. The other hip had a handaxe strapped to it. Similarly simple, yet the head of the axe shone brightly in the flickering lamp light.

It looked sharp.

Fighting this man would be a horrible idea, Tonnek was positive. Probably best to keep him content.

As he had removed his cloak, his face was revealed in the light. Tonnek was taken aback briefly. Tonnek's first thought was that he was very handsome. Mr. Hefts wasn't even attracted to men, but even he could tell that. He had a short black mohawk that framed his tall and pointed ears. His face was a bit rough, with dirt across one cheek and a scar that passed through his eyebrow on the other, and with his thick brow and jawline he looked even tougher. However, his hazel eyes were bright and attractive, and they seemed to be boring into Tonnek.

Tonnek coughed and straightened up, putting on his best Tavernkeep smile, "'Ello stranger! Wha can we dew fir yah?"

The man took a moment, looking around the room, clocking the energy. He turned back towards Tonnek with a small upturn of his mouth. It seemed to be a fairly awkward attempt at a friendly smile.

"I would like some water, please," his voice was low, calm, and it rumbled a bit as it came from his throat. Despite that, it was clear and it spoke every word of The King's Common correctly, enunciating at all the right points.

Tonnek motioned at Gloria and towards the door that led to the well, still a tad frantic. She obliged immediately, picking up her tattered dress slightly as she hurried towards the door.

As Gloria left, Tonnek turned to the stranger with a that big smile, which was getting a bit easier with every moment the man didn't draw his weaponry, "So. What's yir name stranger?"

The man glanced at Vrat, furrowing his eyebrows at the clearly strange visage before turning back and answering, "Oskar. Oskar Grawl."

"Pleasure tah meet yah Oskar! Name's Tonnek Hefts," He stuck out his hand, maybe a bit too quickly. He was briefly worried he would spook the half orc. But Oskar looked unconcerned and reached to shake his hand.

It was as large as one would expect. A pair of scarred leather gauntlets were strapped to them as well. The man probably would have enveloped Tonnek's hand in his own even without the added size the gloves gave him, but as it was, the tavernkeep's hand was dwarfed.

Still though, Oskar shook his hand surpringly gently. He seemed very aware of his own strength.

The door opened and Gloria returned with a cup of water. She rushed it over and situated it in front of Oskar.

"That'll be one coppah, sir," Tonnek said, a bit tentatively.

Oskar picked up the cup and in the same motioned reached to his waist. Tonnek felt his blood freeze as he leather clad fingers reached for the leather wrapped handle of his sword.

However, he instead reached into a small pouch, producing two copper coins and placing them on the bar.

He also put the large mug back down, already empty. He released a breath and pushed the cup towards Gloria again, "Another one, please."

She nodded eagerly, haven gotten a good look at his face now and heard his deep, strangely proper voice. Her cheeks went a bit pink as she scurried off.

Tonnek watched her leave with a small frown before turning back to Oskar, "So. Mr. Grawl. Are you heading towards or away from Hillgesin?"

Oskar hesitated a moment, as if determining whether or not to let this man know anything about him.

He shrugged, "Towards."

"Whatcha goin' tah tha big city fir?"

"I'm looking for someone."

Now that was a statement that was hard to say without sounding menacing. Tonnek looked at Oskar and raised a graying eyebrow. Gloria returned, putting the newly filled cup in front of the half orc, who proceeded to drink this one much slower.

"Mind tellin' me who yir lookin' fir?" Tonnek asked, "I been here fir all mah life. I hear people say many things about that 'ol city. I might know something that could help yah."

The more Tonnek talked to Oskar, the less scared he was of him. It was likely the man was a warrior and could most definitely kill everyone in the room with terrifying ease. But Oskar didn't seem the type to do that. From the gentle way he shook Tonnek's hand to the polite way he talked to his daughter.

Oskar raised an eyebrow at him, "That would be most helpful Mr. Hefts. I'm looking for any individual that is knowledgeable in the arcane arts."

That made Tonnek's eyebrows shoot up, "That's not quite what I was expectin' to hear yah say. It might be difficult to find one that would talk tah yah."

Oskar raised an eyebrow.

"Well... typically mages and tha like are rare, and they don't deal with many normal folk," Tonnek explained, combing his mustache a bit with his fingers, "You'd be hard pressed to find a mage in Hillgesin that didn't require some kind of nobel signet tah even so much as speak tah yah. They are really... picky."

Oskar frowned at that, "Well... I'm certainly no nobel. Are you certain there are not any that would speak to me? Perhaps one that would allow me to do them a favor for some of their knowledge?"

"Not in Hillgesin, I'd wager," Tonnek claimed.

"Papa," Gloria spoke, her eyes had been glued to Oskar since she'd returned, and she had not gone back to cleaning the tables, "What about tha witch that lives in tha Horsestray Woods?"

Oskar's ear flicked a bit at that and he turned his intense hazel eyes to Gloria, who immediately turned pink, "Witch?"

"Don't pay her any mind," Tonnek scowled at his daughter, "Of course yewd bring this up again."

"Please sir, let her talk," Oskar urged, "It's very important to me that I find someone who knows magic. If this witch can help me, I'd very much like to speak to her."

"Tha trouble is," Tonnek rolled his eyes, "Is that there ain't no witch!"

"Yes there is papa!" Gloria exclaimed, her cheeks flushing with anger now more than anything else, "She saved mah life!"

"You was telling fairy tales tah tha men that were eyeballin' yah!" Tonnek snapped back.

Oskar cleared his throat. A sound that would sound benign from anyone that wasn't six and a half feet tall. They both stopped and looked at him.

His brilliant hazel eyes locked on to Gloria's pale brown ones, boring into them the same way they had to Tonnek's earlier, "Please. Tell me what happened."

Gloria's anger melted away and she nodded eagerly, "I was just out in tha woods picking various berries papa uses in his meads. When suddenly, a big bear came out tha woods! It was right scary, and I fell to tha dirt with my hands up, screamin' and cryin'! When suddenly, a bright light shone through tha treeline! The bear ran scared, leavin' me alone. I turned tah see what had scared it so much, and it was a woman! She were young, and far prettier than any woman I'd ever seen, even amongst tha nobel women that I'd seen on a trip to Hillgesin! She asked if I were alright, chuckled real nice when I said I was, then helped me pick mah berries back up. She gave me a flower and said tah wear it whilst I walked home, and none of tha wildlife would bother me. And she were right! Not even the mosquitoes came near me."

Oskar had been watching her carefully, as if picking apart her story as she told it.

"Where about were you when you saw this witch?" Oskar asked, apparently taking her story seriously.

"I had been followin' tha river," she answered, "I'd only been walkin' for a couple of hours."

Oskar gave a curt nod and stood up, throwing his cloak over his shoulders, "Thank you very much. For the water and for the information."

"You ain't takin' her tall tale seriously, is you?" Tonnek asked, bewildered.

"You seem pretty positive that nobody in Hillgesin would speak to me," Oskar said, matter of factly as he gathered his gear, "But I need to speak to someone that knows about magic. And if this witch so much as half exists, it may be worth checking out. Besides..." His eyes fixed on Gloria again with the same intensity, "I believe her."

Gloria smiled wide at that. Then, she frowned, "Oh, Mr. Grawl! Why don't you stay in tha tavern? Maybe yew could do... I dunno... some scoutin' or something?"

Tonnek glared at his daughter's fumbling attempt to keep the man in her company. He would have objected personally, but Oskar spoke first.

"A generous offer. And if I find this witch and get the information I need, I will probably be back this way. In which case, I would love to spend an evening in your inn."

Gloria gave a small, sad nod.

"Thank you two again," Oskar seemed to be saying it absently, his mind focused on the task at hand. Without another word, he made for the door at a brisk pace and was gone in a flash of light from the sun outside. The door slammed behind him as he rushed for the woods on the other side of the road. Vrat stirred and mumbled something in his sleep as the slamming sound echoed a bit in the rather empty interior.

Father and daughter stood in silence for a long minute before Tonnek spoke.

"Harlot."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oskar followed the river with the pace and grace of a man who had spent a lot of time in the woods.

His leather boots seemed to glide across the soft forest floor without any noise. He slipped between trucks of trees, ducking under branches, and clearing overgrown shrubberies with easy bounds.

The woman at the tavern had said that it took her a few hours to get through the woods to where she saw the witch. Oskar doubted it would take him that much time. For one, he may have been wrong, but he assumed he was generally quicker than a young and portly barmaid. Additionally, he wasn't slowed by the process of looking for and picking berries.

So he figured it may take him about an hour to get to where this witch had been. So he looked at his pocket watch, pulling it from his leather jerkin. He inspected it for a moment, then put it away.

If his assumptions were correct, he was somewhere near where that woman had seen the witch. He looked around, carefully inspecting his surroundings.

The woman had referred to what lied on his right as a river. Oskar couldn't help but shake his head at this description. He had seen rivers. Snaking bodies of water hundreds of feet across, with raging rapids and deep sections. The kinds of rivers that required a large bridge to cross, or perhaps a ferry service.

This was a stream. It never got wider than thirty feet and never deeper than ten. While it wasn't exactly a force of nature, it's clear waters and the bubbling of the stream only added to the beauty of the surrounding woods.

He didn't see anything akin to a witch though. No pointed hats, black cats, or shacks with chicken legs. And while this should have been at least mildly frustrating, he knew better than to let it get to him.

He thought briefly on how thankful he was for his life as it had been so far. To understand and to have seen all that he had, and yet also be able to enjoy a small slice of the world like this.

He breathed in deep, and closed his eyes. He centered himself and focused on his extensive training.

Doing so allowed him to notice two things.

One, he heard the distant sound of twigs snapping under some kind of weight. This was obviously not too uncommon in the woods and he would have dismissed it.

If it weren't for the faint aroma of something sweet coming from that direction as well. It smelled mostly of flowers. A beautiful scent that Oskar enjoyed. However, it had this delectable tang to the scent. It seemed almost chemical.

Perfume.

He turned his body in that direction, slightly to his left, and began his quick pace again.

Unfortunately, his haste had made him less careful. He was making more noise and he wasn't paying as much attention as he should have been. Because of that, he noticed the buzzing noise a bit too late.

His head snapped in the direction of where the noise was coming from, but it was too late. Before he could comprehend entirely what was happening, he felt a pinch on the skin of his throat. The beating of shockingly large insect wings battered his face as he pushed the entity off of him and jumped back.

He snarled more in anger than in pain as he got a better look at his assailant. The best he could describe it as, was a two foot long wasp. It's proportionally long wings beat into the sky as it hovered and it buzzed angrily at him. He heard more wings and buzzing above him, but one thing at a time.

He reached for the axe on his right hip and unclipped it as the wasp lunged again. This time, he caught it near the base of its stinger with his free hand. As it struggled, trying desperately in vain to poke its stinger through his gauntlet, he used his strength to slam the creature on to the forest floor. In the same motion, he brought the axe up with the other hand, and down with him. It landed square on the creatures midsection, bisecting the insect with a gooey crunch. Dark green blood spattered across his armor and glove.

He didn't take any time to enjoy his victory. He immediately turned around and swung wildly with his axe, catching the next creature across the head. The body of the wasp that had been barreling towards him went limp, but the momentum carried it down to the ground, where it impacted with a splat.

Two more wasps had been ready to attack as well, but after half of them were dispatched so easily, they seemed to at least have the intelligence to tell when they were licked. They turned stinger and flew into the woods. Oskar listened carefully as the buzzing faded.

He couldn't wait too long though. He felt a pulse of pain from his neck and noted that he was having an especially difficult time breathing. Sparing no time, he dropped the axe and slung his back off of his shoulders. He reached in and grabbed a small metal box.

He opened it and grabbed a small jar of golden liquid. He dipped his fingers in and rubbed it over the spot where he'd been stung. The cool honey felt wonderful in his already inflamed skin. He grabbed a roll of bandages and wrapped it tightly around his neck.

He waited a moment, trying to determine if the venom was going to kill him or not. He felt at the tender flesh of his neck through the bandage. The swelling hadn't gotten any smaller, but it hadn't gotten any bigger.

He sighed a bit in relief, though even that took effort passed his swollen throat. He put away the healers kit and slung his bag over his shoulders again. He grabbed an old handkerchief and wiped the blood off his axe and as much as he could from his armor.