Pester Quest Ch. 02

"Looks like you're back to yourself then," Mala said, pulling up a chair beside Rabb at his tavern table. The Merry Hart was quiet this early in the day, most of the travelers either already having left or not yet arrived. The attached tavern was empty save for Rabb and Mala and the barkeep busy fussing with the kegs behind the counter. She wasn't drinking, but Rabb looked well into his cups, even at this early hour. "Are you okay, Rabb?"

"Fuckitall," he said, one word, slurred and followed with a low belch. "What's the point, Mala? Why even try?"

"That bad, huh?" she asked, resting her hand on his arm. "I'm sorry about the witchwoman, but it's not like we can just give up, right? What about Shai? What about your great quest?"

Rabb sighed, resting his forehead on the tabletop. "It's just...it's just so hard. Why do wizards gotta be like that? All high and mighty up in their towers, lookin' down on us small people, small like, like ants from up there."

"Well, it isn't like they haven't earned it, Rabb," Mala said. "They go to college for that sort of thing, yeah?"

"Pssh, college. What good's that done anyone, huh?"

"Well, there's the Barber Surgeons' Guild, and the Astromancers', and again, the wizards and the spells they use to keep us-" Rabb cut her off with a glare.

"Right, fine, well, you like 'em so much, you go marry one then, huh?" Rabb grumbled and finished off his tankard before resting his head back on the table and belching again. "Fuckin' wizards, I mean, fuck 'em all."

Mala frowned, then did something she had never done before. She slapped Rabb upside the head. Not hard, but firm enough to get his attention. "Rabb, you idiot. You're just drunk and feeling sorry for yourself. One bump in the road and you give up? That's not the Rabb I know." She stood in a huff. "Didn't even ask why I came by, did you? It's not like I don't have things I have to do in my day-to-day!"

Rabb stared in surprise at this new, angry Mala. He did not like it at all. "Mala, I-"

"I came here to tell you what I'd found, but now I think I'll just take it with me, if you're going to act like this sad little babe." She turned to leave but was stopped when Rabb grabbed her by the elbow and held her. Her heart leapt a bit, like it always did when Rabb touched her.

"Mala, I'm sorry. You're right. I'm acting like an idiot," Rabb said, thoroughly admonished. "What is it you brought me?"

Mala had to sigh and collect herself before she turned around. When she did, she was all smiles. "Well, you know how sometimes wizards will write down their spells?"             

"Yeah, the grim...grim wards...something?" Rabb hazarded.

"Grimoire," she corrected him, but gently. "Well, I've been doing some asking around, and at the library it turns out they have a whole archive of 'em secreted away! I figure we can pop by there when we're free and have a look-see, find out what we can about any spells."

"Won't we need a wizard to cast them? I mean, aren't they magic?"

"That's the thing! These have to be kept under lock and key because they're inscribed so's anyone can use 'em! All you have to do is read 'em and bam, magic!" She was getting excited again.

"About the reading thing," Rabb said, blushing.

"What is it?"

"I, uh, never got around to learning how."

###

The local library was a low brick building, standing out against the wooden ones that surrounded it in the neighborhood. It had seen many renovations over the years, and if you looked closely, you could see the seams where new brick met old and didn't quite line up perfectly. This library was dedicated to the Duke and as such bore the royal seal over the doorway. Rabb didn't know heraldry from a halberd, but Mala always thought the stag on the shield looked a little cross-eyed, like the artist who painted it had some difficulty trying to capture the creature in a stylized brushstroke. However it came to be, the two entered the Duke Elphraim Library and were at once awash in the smell of old paper and ink.

Rabb, not one for proper schooling, had no nostalgic love for the smell, but Mala was entranced by it. No sooner had they cleared the doorway than memories of old stories flooded her mind, the smell of long nights in her room, reading by fleeting candlelight, lectures in the classroom and the ink-stained fingers that came from practicing her script, all of it rushed her and overwhelmed her and she had to stop for a moment, leaning on a display rack of local maps.

"Mala? You alright?" Rabb asked, looking around and looking lost in this place of books and learning.

"I'm fine. Fine," she said, pulling herself forcefully out of the flow of reveries. "I just, I love this smell. It makes me feel, I don't know, like I belong? I don't guess that makes sense."

"I'm the same way at the tavern. All the old rushes and stale beer? That's my happy place." He took a deep breath and shook his head. "Nothing like that here."

"It isn't like you've ever held a book, Rabb," Mala said, looking around for herself. "I wonder where they keep the magic ones?" And off she went to find a librarian, leaving Rabb for all the world a lost little boy in a strange place.

"I have too!" he called after her and was immediately shushed by a passing patron. "Oh 'shhh' yourself, ya old bat," he said, getting a very cross look from the woman. He had lost sight of Mala, and just decided to wander about and see where his feet took him.

Row after row after stack after stack of scrolls and books and other reading materials passed by an oblivious Rabb as he craned his neck around, looking for Mala, or someone who looked like they knew what they were doing. He rounded a corner marked with "MA-OT" marked cryptically on the shelf and ran bodily into a young woman. She had been stacking books carefully in their nooks on the shelf, but now she sprawled, a few scrolls lying atop her. Rabb, always the gentleman, laughed.

"Oh, shush," she said, glaring up at him. "There are people trying to read here." She stood, dusting off her plain grey dress.

It fit her well enough, Rabb thought admiringly. The belt under her bust really did her all the favors, accentuating her endowments. They weren't large, but they seemed perky enough. He looked her over a few times, nodding in approval. Hair up in a tight bun, severe glasses for peering over when you made too much noise. Yep, she was the one he had been looking for, alright.

"So, you're a librarian, yeah?" He asked, grinning.

"Got it in one," the librarian replied, getting back to putting the books away. "Is there something I can help you with, or are you just going around knocking people over?"

"I'm sorry I laughed; you just had such a look on your face!"

"Shh!"

"Sorry, you just looked so surprised it caught me in a funny way. I really am sorry."

"Yes, well, that's alright then. No harm done," she said, moving down the row.

Rabb followed, looking around at the surrounding stacks. "Which ones of these are the magic ones?"

"Magic ones?" She looked to Rabb; her left eyebrow arched quizzically. "Those are locked up safe, you won't find anything magic here. Except the enchantment of stories themselves, anyhow."

"Okay, so I know you don't know me, and I for sure know I don't look like the reading type, but I need need need to get ahold of one of those magic type books you all have in back," Rabb explained, trying on what he thought was a winning smile.

"It's a 'need need need', is it? Well, mister, you show me your dispensation and I'll show you to the back right away."

Rabb blinked at her, then shrugged. He finished fiddling with his belt and dropped his trousers right there in the aisle. Ordinarily he would have been a bit shier, but there had been an added benefit from old Blind Aggie's potion: namely, his cock had grown a good bit more than he'd already been packing. He was now thoroughly proud of his member and how it swung heavily between his legs.

"What are you...Dispensation! It's a special writ you get from some magi or other!" She was blushing bright red.

A 'shh' came from a few rows over, and she moved to cover her mouth. She was practically glowing.

"Oh, sorry, I just thought..." Rabb trailed off.

"Of all the things," she said, but her eyes were fixed on his cock. "Gods that's a big one you've got," she muttered.

"What was that?" Rabb asked.

"Nothing, it was nothing," she said.

"So look, I don't have a dispenwhatever. Is there anything I can do to get ahold of this book I'm after? I'll do anything."

"Anything?" she asked, looking him up and down. He was built well enough, though he didn't seem all that bright. Still, that swinging meat he had between his legs was something she was having an awfully challenging time saying no to. "I don't even know your name."

He extended his hand for a shake, "I'm Rabb."

She took it, shaking it lightly. "Devana," she said.

She bit her lip, glancing around. They were deep in the stacks, up by the back wall. It was dark enough away from the windows, she thought. And gods it had been a long time. What had it been now, half a year? Longer? Not since the solstice festival last winter at least, she remembered. It hadn't been more than a fling, and a disappointing one at that. Maybe he could do better than a co-worker drunk off his feet at an end-of-year party. She made up her mind. At least this one didn't appear to be suffering from whiskey dick. "One condition," she said, holding up an index finger.

"And that is?" Rabb said, his grin somehow even broader.

"You have to be very, very quiet," she said, and then turned around, hiking her skirt up over her bottom.

It was a genuinely nice ass, Rabb thought, as his cock stood to attention. The way her wetness was already glistening on the hair around her cuntlips was more than enticing as well. He stepped up behind her and before he could move, she had pushed back against him, his cock sliding in easily. He very nearly moaned, but remembered her warning, and clapped a hand over his mouth. It came out as a rush of air from his nose instead. She was incredibly tight, or he was thicker than he was used to, but either way he was a happy man.

Devana slid back the length of his shaft until her ass rested against his groin. A full body shiver ran through her, her cunt twitching around Rabb's cock. She pulled herself back up until his head was just inside her, then in a rush she was pressed back against him again. She kept it up, this rhythm, her tight, wet cunt making obscene squelching noises. Her wetness ran from her cunt and down her thighs, trickling down her legs. It had been so, so long. Too long. She wasn't going to let a nice cock like this get away.

Maybe the old Devana would have called a guard, got the pervert thrown out on his bare ass, but she had been doing some growing lately. Maybe it was the lack of attention she'd been receiving from men lately, or maybe it was just maturity, but she had promised herself the next cock she came across she would wring dry. And that's exactly what she set herself to doing. After a drought like that came a flood, and she rode the waves of pleasure as they cascaded up her cunt and stiffened her clit. She reached between her legs, her head resting on the arm that was supporting her against the wall and started to work over her clit with her free hand. She had to bite into her forearm to stifle the sounds that tried so hard to come up unbidden from her throat.

Again, and again, she slapped back against Rabb's groin, trying, and failing to keep it quiet. Anyone passing by would know what they were up to, and that thought thrilled her even more. In no time at all she was jumping and shaking around Rabb's thick cock, cumming for the first time in months without having to use her trusty dildo. It was sheer bliss, this tingling warmth shooting through her body. She bucked against Rabb helplessly, riding the waves of her orgasm.

When it had subsided, she pulled herself free and dropped her dress. She was panting, sweat rolling down her face from the effort. She turned to Rabb and save him still stiff and throbbing and couldn't help but drop to her knees in front of him.

Wholly unbidden, he took her head in his hands and pulled her face to him. Her mouth opened of its own volition and his cock, slick with her cum, slid into her mouth. It was so thick she had to be careful not to nick it with her teeth, but in no time, she had settled into an easy rhythm, bobbing her head along his shaft. She was only able to take half his length into her mouth, but Rabb didn't seem to be minding, the way his hips were moving.

All at once she felt him stiffen and swell in her mouth as he whispered his imminent orgasm above her. She didn't stop moving, sucking even harder, and she heard him groan and felt the first shots of his cum hitting the back of her throat. She choked at first, but rallied, and swallowed everything he gave her. When he stopped shaking, she pulled her head away, licking her lips.

"So, what kind of spellbook were you after, sir?" she asked.

###

"I don't know how you did it, Rabb, but color me impressed," Mala said, stepping out of the dark library into the bright light of noonday.

"It's all in finding the right person and pulling the right levers," he said, stretching in the cool breeze that rolled down the street between the buildings.

"Shame it was checked out, though," Mala said, looking both ways before crossing the street and heading back toward the Merry Hart.

Rabb followed, whistling. "Right, well, at least I got the address of the last person that had it, yeah?"

"That's a plus for sure, but Rabb, that's not the nicest part of town, you know."

"Sure, sure, it's the docks, I know, but hey, listen. It's me. Rabb. I can take care of myself, yeah?" He flexed his arms for Mala and laughed.

She laughed with him, continuing to walk ahead. "Well, don't come crawling to me when you get your belly sliced open for the coppers in your pocket."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Rabb said. "Gods I'm hungry. Buy you lunch?"

"It's a date," she said, stopping to loop an arm through his and resting her head on his shoulder as they walked down the alley together. She might not have been able to help him find his book, she thought, but she was more than happy to share in his happiness. Gods, if only he knew, she thought. But no. No. His heart was for Shai, and Shai alone, she knew. She sighed, fighting away the creeping sadness that threatened to surround her heart, and just let herself revel in the closeness between the two of them as they walked back to the inn.