Princil's Mindreading

Trading Voyage Up The River Cromil : Life In Shalirion Before The Invasion

A merchanting voyage upriver by Alos and Princil with other employees before the conquest of Cromilil. Alos, Princil's halfbrother, was in charge. Young Princil learns more about his powers now he has come of age.

Alos oversaw the loading of goods, dressed smartly in his travelling tunic, with the red cloak he probably would not need as it was the height of summer. Every day was hot and the evenings were warm. A variety of goods produced by the factories and workshops of Cromilil were brought onto the large sail boat, in amounts they expected they would be able to trade with the hinterland. There were metal goods, pots and pans, swords and shields, and products and raw materials from distant shores of Shalirion. On the return journey foodstuffs and maybe some wood from up the river would likely be the main cargo, picked up gradually on the way. The House employees loaded most of the goods from the house warehouses on the river quay.

Princil, for whom this was his first merchanting voyage to the hinterland, now that he had just come of age, was looking forward to this tour, which he regarded as more of a pleasure than hard work. There were no dangers upstream. The river was wide flowing gentle and kind; the people were their own people, friendly and accommodating. House boats journeyed upriver mainly in the summer, generally avoiding the colder weather when parts of the river could freeze. They just preferred to travel in the summer. He had been up here before on Family Tours, so he did know the country, but had been forbidden this journey on a Company ship until he had fully come of age. As an apprenticed mage he would be able to use his magical skills to aid the ship in its voyage and to aid its protection. Also he would learn the company's business. He might also be useful in using magic to levitate particularly heavy goods in or out of the hold.

Princil was excited by the journey. He loved the beauty of the farmlands they travelled past, interspersed by trees and low hills beyond. The farms were rich and profitable, but they remained in perfect harmony with nature. He loved where rich and verdant thick forests came right to the edge of the riverbanks. The forests called to him. He was probably sensitive to their magic because of his growing knowledge as a mage, but he did not yet understood what use they might be to him, or how he might draw upon their magic.

Soon they came back to wide open fields, full of many crops, and their first port of call, a small town called Lourd. Alos seemed very much at home here as the ship glided onto the quayside. Other trading ships were tied up at the quay, similar sized vessels, most of which were probably from Cromilil too. There were warehouses along this quay. Alos was the first off the ship, and Princil moved quickly to accompany his halfbrother. Traders from more than one warehouse had evidently noticed their arrival and came towards the ship swiftly.

"Greetings my friends," said Alos. It came to Princil that his brother really did know these local merchants well. Alos had been sailing this route inland, as well as others along the coast, for years. This route must be his most frequent journey and these merchants must be regular partners in business.

"Hail Alos. What tidings are there from the City? Any news of importance?" asked a tall maturing figure who looked strong healthy and sun kissed beneath his straw hat.

"No great news to tell, I am sorry to tell Ibradin. The world appears quite calm and peaceful. I wish there was more to report!"

"How about the Council? Were they not concerned that barbarians have been plundering in the far north?" asked the merchant of Lourd.

"Yes that's true," replied Alos. "There was some talk of that, but as I am not a councillor myself I have heard no more than when we last spoke. The summer has been good to us, as usual. There have been parties, feasting, competitions, readings, plays, many entertainments of great note, but such things are difficult to tell in detail."

The other merchant had arrived, having walked up the quayside on seeing the Chanceleord ship. This merchant was broader in the shoulders and stomach and wore colourful clothes, as one who lives particularly well. A full head of dark hair sat on his shoulders, and his face seemed to Princil to be full of mirth. Perhaps it was his training in wizardry which led him to such insights, a deeper sight into people.

"Hail Alos, we know what you get up to in that city of yours! You are not the only ship to sail upstream from Cromilil you know. We are blessed that you come inland to visit us provincials at all. We know you have enough pretty ladies and the rest to occupy yourself in Cromilil."

"We are kind to you. We could not leave you unsupplied Corsal," said Alos wittily.

Princil could see what friendship Alos had with these merchants, and was encouraged. Alos, with his blonde full head of hair and his easy sociability was popular amongst these men, with whom he did business.

"What entertainments have you got for us here in Lourd tonight gentlemen?" asked Alos easily. "You see I have brought my halfbrother Princil with me on this voyage," he introduced Princil, who had been standing back in shyness so far. "I want you to entertain him, and the rest of my crew, when we have completed our business."

"Well I think my secondwife would like to meet you again Alos," said Corsal, "and I am sure Princil would love to meet the younger women of the town. It is good to meet you Princil," he said, holding out a hand in friendship, which Princil took graciously. "I presume this is your first voyage upriver young man?"

"It is my first trading voyage," replied Princil. "I did travel upstream on family tours a couple of times in the past, but I do not recall stopping at Lourd before."

"Well you will certainly see our town today and tonight. Welcome.'

"Indeed welcome," said the other merchant Ibradin, holding out his hand in greeting also.

"Now my friends perhaps you would like to come on board and take a look at the produce we have brought. Then perhaps we can go to my dining room. I will bring my papers and we can sit with a drink and share out the stock you wish to purchase from us." The merchants agreed to this happily, as it must be the usual arrangement.

Crew members helped the merchants aboard and Alos led them down into the cargo hold. "Attend closely," he said to Princil. Another clerk named Jumard brought the stock lists, clipped to a clipboard, and pens. As the merchants surveyed the stock and offered to buy those quantities they wanted he marked items on the lists as sold when prices were agreed. Princil observed that while most prices stated clearly were agreed by the merchants without further discussion, some of them were queried. Ibradin would say, "Well I could buy those cheaper from the last boat, which docked here yesterday," or "Those I could buy for ..... nickels at the next town. Unless you can come down to .... I shan't be buying."

Some goods Corsal wanted, and some Ibradin. Sometimes they agreed to take all of a certain stock between them, splitting them equally, but sometimes they would bid against each other and Alos would raise the price a little to settle the issue. Princil was impressed with the swift and efficient way the job of splitting up the cargo was done, and it was all recorded neatly on the sheets. There were some stocks not wanted by either merchant, but both were willing to suggest other merchants who they thought might handle those goods in the town, or upriver if necessary.

Their work done, the merchants sat back and enjoyed pleasant and rather humorous conversation, while Jumard sat at his desk and listed the sales into the ledger books for the two buyers and added up their bills. Princil felt slightly redundant, but he would not have managed the paperwork so well, although the principles involved were not strange to him. His own talents, he knew were in the use of magic, of which he was a student at the Cromilil School For Wizards. A wizard would be useful to the company in many ways, but he would hardly be fully employed by them. He would no doubt be able to sell his services to many in the city, and without, in future years.

After some time, when the lists had been totalled and doublechecked by clerks from ashore who were employed by the two merchants, the unloading could begin. Wagons and handcarts belonging to the two merchants were filled and then filled again after the first load was taken to their warehouses on the same quay.

"Have all the goods been purchased now brother?" asked Princil, suspecting they had not.

"No, there are some items they did not need, or were too highly priced for them," admitted Alos. "It is no matter. Perhaps someone will show interest tonight in the inns of Lourd. I will spread the word of some of those items. Failing that I can ask around in the morning. Tomorrow we go upstream further after we load goods from Ibradin and Corsal. We will be trading further up river then."

The time approached for going into the town. "We will close up the ship, leave a couple of sailors on it and head for the Golden Egg Inn where we can eat some food and indulge in some socialising and entertainment,"said Alos. "Ibradin and Corsal will both be there later, and I am hoping Corsal's secondwife Liberay, who is a particular friend of mine." Princil ,being a shy and studious young man, felt a little weary at the prospect of all that conversation and meeting with strangers. He was pleased that he had met the two merchants, and he supposed the other people of Lourd would be similarly friendly.

They had eaten their fill now, and as the evening began musicians began to play some gentle local folk songs in the far corner. It was a large inn and gradually local people began to arrive. Ibradin arrived with his comely wife and a couple of daughters, who immediately started making eyes at Princil and Jumard and one or two of the younger crew members. Princil actually found himself looking at Ibradin's beautiful dark haired wife more than the two daughters who he judged had not yet come to their full maturity, although they must have been about exactly his own age. The wife must be in her 40's or 50's but her strong face drew his eye frequently.

The inn had become quite crowded by the time Corsal and his wives arrived together with friends and perhaps some family too. Princil found he could not hear all of the introductions as the noise of the music and conversations grew ever louder.

Princil felt himself to be tongue tied and shy as Alisa, the lovely wife of Ibradin, asked him questions about his craft. Why did she show such an interest in him. He wanted to hide from her scrutiny. He took deep breaths as he sought to master his shyness, struggling to present the calm he wished to project.

"Can you put spells on people?" she asked.

"That all depends what the spell is lady."

"Can you read minds?"

"Sometimes," he said noncommittally. "I wouldn't without permission."

"Could you read mine?"

"Perhaps if you agreed to it."

"You would not do so unless there were some reward? Your services are not to be given away freely?" she asked.

"Not normally no," he confirmed.

"If I were to give you some reward, of value to you, would you read my mind?" asked Alisa.

"Perhaps, but why would you want to have your mind read. Surely you know what is in your own mind?" he asked.

"I have some knowledge of my own mind of course, but there are things there, and feelings, which are not clear to me," she said. "I would understand myself better."

"I would imagine a client who needs to have their mind read might be suffering forgetfulness, or be suffering mental delusions. Rarely would they be the wives of successful merchants and not a fair looking lady such as yourself. I imagine your life to be one of success and contentment.

"Perhaps my reading would not be so necessary," she laughed a lovely laugh, "yet I do ask. What will be your reward for doing this for me."

The image of this shapely woman was forward in his mind, beyond all others at this moment, he could see, without trying the image of this lady, ungarmented, laid amongst the grasses underneath his own youthful body. He plundered her beauty. Then she was before him, his swollen cock up her delicious crack, while she suckled upon another's cock. He wanted her, but she was like his own mother, older indeed, and yet more beautiful. Such would have been the reward he might have sought, but he was a young man, hardly a man yet, and not worthy to engage with a beauty of an older, more accomplished generation.

"I would have no reward from you. You are kind hosts to myself and my brother and all our crew. If you truly wish the secrets of your mind revealing to a stranger such as I then I will do this for you. I do not need further remuneration."

"You were hoping for rest this evening, but I sense you can unburden me of my troubles and clear my mind. You are no tradesman that I can see! You will not make money or take advantage when you have the opportunity! Read me now, if you know the spell."

"Alright lady I will follow your wish. I will cast a spell of search, which is the way I know. Look into my eyes and relax, while I repeat the words." He came closer and gazed deeply into her soul, repeating words which seemed to be of a stranger older language. Even so he blinked at her beauty to him and tried to concentrate without distraction upon the thoughts and feelings most prevalent within her.

Warm thoughts enveloped him, feminine emotions, soft and gentle. It seemed there was little unpleasant or brittle in this woman, who had largely lived a life of satisfaction, gentleness and in love of those around her. Husband, children, parents, friends and many lovers loomed large within her experience and her care.

And in there unmistakably he could read even her feeling towards himself. He read lust and liking. Why would a mature lady think anything deep about him, but he saw her understanding of who he was and the age he was. She knew he was green and untested, a little lacking in the confidence to make him a man, but she knew his type, saw in him things he did not yet know about himself. She knew his body and his sex before she touched him, she had experienced men of a similar type before. He was not new to her. But he could see now clearly, she wanted to pluck him, and use him, for her pleasure, and his education. He could not mean much to her, but she desired his type, and what he could do for her. She merely wanted to enjoy him, his youth and politeness.

There could be nothing to lose in such a liaison. He could see her honesty. Her sex would be his reward. His mindreading was a ploy to her, a mere means of introducing her desire to enjoy him, so that he might trust her and not run away when she came to him. She had sensed his interest, she had thought she might turn him to her advantage.

Princil emerged from the mindreading, the spell he had used clearing from his mind gradually. Alisa's concentration, held by his eyes, lost its strength and she again beheld the room around her. The reading had taken minutes only, but seemed to have taken far longer to Princil. It would probably seem less to Ibradin's wife.

As she focused, she smiled at him, assuming he had read her thoughts. "Well, will you come with me? Do not feel obliged if you do not wish it so."

"How can I refuse?"

"If you would rather consort with some younger women? My daughters may well be open to you. I can tell they both have their eye on you. Alternatively you can stay and socialise with everyone here."

"Where?" he stared, but he knew the answer already, having seen even that in her mind. She intended to take him to her home, which he knew to be very close, for a pleasurable and swift tryst.

"To my home, which is right on the quayside. We need not take long, but I wish to sample you, young beauty."

"I see now why you had me read your mind. For this simple purpose only!"

"Is that wrong?" she asked

"No. Why did you not ask me directly?" he asked.

"I sensed you were nervous. You would not have believed me. This way you know what is genuinely in my mind."

"How can I refuse," he answered. "A beautiful woman like you looking at me? Of course I am tempted." Despite his mindreading he still felt shy, because she was so attractive to him.

"Come then. Let us go now. We will be back before the end of the evening – or you can stay the night. Alos will know where to find you."

She held his hand, then turned to her husband Ibradin. Naturally he was aware that his wife had used the young wizard's services, but he was happily engaged in chatting with Alos and Corsal's wife Liberay, who had come to sit with her longstanding lover.

When he came to realise his wife wanted his attention he turned to her. Ibradin was quick to realise what she intended. It must be a regular occurrence for her to take a man back to her home for the purpose of pleasure.

"Princil is coming home with me for a while dear," she explained.

"Very good," he replied without any hint of dissatisfaction. "You go and enjoy yourselves. We shall continue to amuse ourselves here. Perhaps Liberay would like to take a few of us on now that Alos is back in town. We shall see. Or perhaps I shall see you later."

She offered her husband a peck on the cheek and stood regally. She was a beauty indeed in her black and cream coloured dress, which only a beautiful brunette such as herself could have worn so well.