Quincunx Ch. 09

"Try her room, she reads in there quite a lot."

I put my cup down and stood, walking and knocking her door but waited in vain, turning and seating myself again. I sipped my cofftea as silence reigned perched forward on the edge of my seat, thinking of Xentha and the lessons in meditation.

Kenval yelped as he was startled awake with the cofftea spilling in his lap.

"O shize," he shouted as he leapt up from the chair.

Bemnie laughed, going from shock to snicker in seconds.

"Ballox," he hissed, swaying on his feet as he tried to shake his trousers.

"I'm going to get changed," he announced, stooping to retrieve the fallen cup.

He put the cup on the table and gingerly walked slowly wide legged away.

Her laughter subsided, Bemnie lay back in her seat.

"What will you do when you finish your training?" she asked.

"I'll be off home like you." I replied.

"Oh I'm not off home except for two weeks before I go to my new home in Honah Lee, a little seaside town along the coast, I'll do my Journey-mans time there." She corrected me.

"Well I am." I shifted a bit in my seat for comfort as I faced her.

I wanted to add I'd only be staying for a few weeks, I could see nothing here to stay for beyond my basic instruction, a quick 'how to' develop mindpower.

"What's life like in your country then? What do people find to do?"

"The same as here I suppose, we have music and dances, I like to read, people dabble in painting and poetry."

Sex was different though, it went on in secret in my world.

"Do you have wizards and mages?"

"Yes, we have a school like this in the capital, and a wizard serves our district. We have mages as healers too."

"I've heard our 'king of the castle' sometimes get sent to distant lands, Skire, the Southern Isles."

"Ah," I acknowledged. Leaving her to continue.

"Do you want more cofftea?" she asked out of the blue. "I could do with another cup, help sober up before tea."

"Yes, I'll join you, but I thought you'd be able to make potions to sober up?"

"Oh they're finicky, and you can't store them, drink within ten minutes or its gone sour," she explained as she rose and started the walk over.

I turned back into my chair and the book in my pocket pressed awkwardly in my side. I twisted and pulled it out. I looked again at the symbolic cover. The symbol of magic, the five elemental forces. Opening the book at random I was surprised to see one of the sigils, written in old fashioned King James under it was its meaning, under that again was the suggested usage.

I flicked further in and discovered a philosophy section, snapping the book shut as Bemnie came back carrying the cofftea pot. She put my cup in front of me and poured, pouring her own and then sitting back, balancing her cup on the arm.

"Do you want to prod me?" she asked.

It took me a second to comprehend what she said and meant.

"What now?"

"Why not, I'm in the mood and we've got plenty of time, besides I'll be the first to bed a foreigner and find out how they prod."

The book in my hands was tearing at my curiosity, and she wanted to take me to bed. My knob was already twitching and deciding for me.

"Okay," I agreed, delighted that sexual encounters were as easy as I'd hoped and imagined when she'd first broached the subject, hoping she wasn't especially bold with me because I was a novelty.

"Bring your cofftea," she said standing.

I stuffed the book back into my pocket and followed her facing both anticipation tingling in my knob and a curious thrill about the way it was so offhand, they're society of free love