Rune Guard 02

I turned to face her and found myself propelled back, onto the bed, as I heard her wand, my staff, and everything that had been in my arms hit the floor.

She kissed me until I was breathless and then continued to kiss me. She finally released me and I lay, cross-ways of the bed, wheezing for breath. I felt my pants fly off. I was naked beneath and I gasped as heat that felt like dripping candle-wax surrounded my prick - followed by the most powerful suction I had ever felt.

She had said she'd be able to tell what I liked without me speaking. It was a good thing because, right now, I couldn't even think of words. The only sound that came from my body was the howl of the air rushing from my lungs.

She grabbed my hands and put them on her head. My fingers automatically began gripping, pulling, and stroking. She moaned and my balls exploded - jetting my seed into her mouth and down her throat. She sucked and sucked. I came so hard that my toes curled.

She was still gloriously naked. My eyes raced over her beautiful body as I struggled to return air to my lungs. She grabbed my ankles, turned my body to line up with the bed, removed my shirt, and lay on top of me.

Her pussy - as she had called it - was bumping back and forth over my peter. Despite the fact that I had just cum harder than I ever had in my life, her body and her movements were well on their way to getting my body's attention.

She brought my hands to her breasts and I gripped them as she kissed me. She brought them to her ass and I gripped it as she kissed me. She wrapped her arms around me and I wrapped mine around her. We kissed until I couldn't breathe again.

I felt my cock rising; so did she. She moved until it slipped inside.

"Fuck!" we both said together - and then she kissed the life out of me again as her pussy began devouring and chewing on my peter.

My fists found their way back to her perfectly rounded ass and I pulled her amazing girl-sex onto my boy-sex as hard and fast as I could - again and again.

She keened, suddenly, and her tight passage became tighter - and gripped more powerfully. She moaned. I held her tightly and waited for it to pass. When it did, she kissed me hard and we began once again.

She did that once more and then I had to warn her that my end was returning. I was going to spew my seed. Emmit had warned us. I wasn't supposed to pump my seed into her.

"Flip us," she ordered.

I rolled on top of her.

"Right before it spews, can you pull it out and pump it onto my belly?"

"I think so," I said, riding her as she had been riding me, moments ago.

"Do it, then," she demanded. "Wait as long as you can though."

I plowed my rod into her depths a dozen more times and - as I felt my peter lurch and my balls belch - I pulled my peter from inside her. She grasped it and milked it like a cow's udder. I groaned as my seed began spewing from my prick. She gasped as the heat of it fell onto her stomach. She moaned as if she were the one who had climaxed. It made me cum that much harder.

I collapsed, beside her, and then watched as she scooped my hot spend up with her fingers and brought it to her mouth - over and over again - until the creamy goo was gone, but for a smear of wetness. She stood, went to the basin, wetted the cloth, wiped herself clean, and returned to the bed. She sucked and tongued my peter, cleaning it, and then pulled the blankets over us. I was asleep almost immediately.

~~~

When I opened my eyes, Lolla was looking at me. Her face darted forward and her lips touched mine. She zapped me again. She laughed and rolled onto her back. I saw her naked breasts and captured one in my lips. She twined her fingers into my hair, pressed me to her teat, moved my lips to the other, and then brought them to her own.

"We can't," she said. "We need to be moving. Emmit already tapped on the door."

I groaned. She kissed me again. We got up and got dressed.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"For last night?" I asked.

"For saving me," she said. "Did you kill him?"

"I threw him down the stairs, stunned him in the throat, stripped him to his underclothes in front of every person in the common room, found coins hidden in his belt, dragged him out with the other two, and took their belts," I told her. "I had never thought of hiding coins in my belt."

She laughed - and hugged me to collect another kiss.

I threw all of the stuff that would fit within, into my pack. The rest I carried in my arms. We sat down with Emmit and I dumped it onto the tabletop.

"Long night?" he asked with a grin. He looked at Lolla and then back at me and asked, "Sleep well?"

"Like a baby," I replied. "I'll need to check Grizzle's hooves," I told him.

"Why?"

"To see if there's any blood on them."

We looked up as the waitress approached with three mugs and three platters. I shoved my loot to the other side of the table. I was starving.

~~~

An hour later, we were leaving the town behind and entering a small valley, filled with fields of grain. Beyond the fields, the valley ended at the horizon, hiding what lay beyond.

As the wagon reached the crest of the rise, as we left the shallow valley, a skinny bowman wearing a skullcap stepped out of the trees.

"Your staff..." Emmit suggested, spying the person against the skyline.

"My stomach's not clenching," I told him. "It rumbled a little as we approached but I thought it was my food. Maybe he's not a thief?"

"Stop!" the rail-thin archer ordered, nocking an arrow.

I grabbed my staff and leapt from the wagon. Emmit pulled Grizzle to a halt.

"Stay there!" he hollered at me.

Lolla stood from the back of the wagon and pulled out her truncheon but Emmit raised his hand, halting her. As I approached the bowman, he grew anxious, fidgeting from foot to foot.

"I'm warning you," he growled.

I continued walking confidently toward the archer. The thief had an arrow nocked - but - for some reason - refused to fire it. As I got closer, he took a step back and stumbled over a small rock. He lost his grip on the arrow-shaft. The bow-string took hold of the bolt and flung it towards me.

"Shit!" the young man yelped.

The arrow was off-target and high - from the bow moving as the shaft was released. I didn't feel like chasing the arrow down to retrieve it. I used his staff like a pole-vaulter's pole and launched myself three feet off of the ground to snatch the arrow from the air. The archer was sitting on the ground, on their ass, where they had landed after tripping over the rock. I walked within a dozen feet of them.

"How did you....?" he stammered, scooting back through the dusty grass.

I looked at him. His face was gaunt. He didn't look dangerous. He looked hungry. There was only one other arrow in his quiver. Two arrows?

I took the arrow that was in my hand, held it by the head, and extended it - fletching-first - to the embarrassed thief. The thin man stared at me for several moments before finally reaching up to grip the arrow. I released the projectile and turned to walk away.

"Do you have..." the thief said, "Could you spare a crust of bread?"

I stopped, fished around in my pack for a strip of pemmican that I knew I had. Once I found it, I walked back over to the man.

The thief scrambled from their ass onto their knees and knelt before me to accept the food. As they bowed forward and raised up again, my eyes caught a glimpse of a white wrap within their shirt - which I had seen when their loose collar slid forward as they had bowed. The person was wearing a thin chest-wrap.

"You're a girl?!" I asked them.

The woman's eyes shot open wide. She scrambled to her feet and backed away in fear, dropping the food in the dirt.

"Please, no..." she moaned.

I looked down at the pemmican I had given her.

"Do you not want the food?" I asked.

"No," she said.

"I thought you were hungry."

"I am - but..."

"Take the food then," I told her.

Lolla appeared at my side. She picked up the food, brushed off the dirt, and then decided it was no longer acceptable. She handed it back to me.

"Get her another," she said. "I'll get her a travel biscuit from my pack."

Lolla looked at the girl and said, "He won't rape you. He's not like the others. Neither is Emmit."

As she said his name, she pointed back to the trader.

As she dug in her bag, she asked, "Do you need a drink? My canteen is full."

"Why are you doing this?" the would-be thief asked.

"Derik, here, did pretty much the same thing to me when I tried to rob them."

"You... rob...?"

"... and now I work for Emmit. You want a job?"

The archer looked from the short blonde woman to the trader. The trader shrugged at her.

"They don't want to fuck me?" she asked Lolla.

"They've got dicks. They know how to use them. The rules are that you can offer and you can ask but you can't take. You also can't go into their rooms without asking."

"Why would you go into their rooms without asking?" the girl inquired, her eyes widening.

"I was horny and the old git treats me nice and I wanted to say 'thanks'."

"What happened?"

"He told me that pussy wasn't coin. It could be given but never offered in trade."

"What did you do?"

"I sucked his dick."

"Would I have to...?"

"I already told you - that's not how they are. Are you any good with the bow?"

"Adequate," she replied curtly.

Lolla looked at me.

"Fine with me," I said. "Emmit?"

"What's your staff say?"

"I think she's trustworthy," I replied.

"How can your staff..." the girl stammered.

"Looks like she won't eat much," Emmit replied. "You two realize we can't save every stray we come across, right?"

"Ignore the old badger," Lolla told the girl. "He acts all tough and shit but he's really a big softie."

"You three can finish getting acquainted while we ride. It'll be dark before we get to the next inn. We have some hunting to do before we get there."

As the archer munched on the pemmican that I had given her and the biscuit that Lolla had handed over, the two of us brushed the dirt off of her. Her head spun as hands gripped her ass. I lifted my hands into the air and looked over at the blonde - whose fingers were gripping the woman's butt.

The woman's eyes moved to Lolla's and she said, "I thought you said you were supposed to ask."

"Just making sure you didn't break anything," Lolla replied, smiling broadly. She turned to me, winked, and said, "Nice, tight ass!"

Emmit growled, "Come on, short-stack. Let's get moving."

"I'll bite your dick," Lolla growled back at him.

"Promises, promises..." he said.

His supposed glare was spoiled by the corners of his mouth curling into the suggestion of a smile.

"Come on," I told them, heading for the wagon.

I stopped to scratch Grizzle's muzzle as the girls climbed aboard. Then I hopped up next to Emmit. As we traveled, the four of us shared bits about ourselves. Lolla also shared the basics of what she knew of our plans for the trip.

The archer's name was Mirra.

"Can you two share a room?" Emmit asked the women.

"As long as she keeps her hands off of my butt," Mirra replied, smirking.

"No promises," Lolla said, smirking back. "You have a really nice ass."

Mirra gaped at her for a moment and Lolla belly-laughed.

When the mage had quieted - and she thought we wouldn't hear her - the archer whispered, "Thanks" to the blonde.

After a mile or so, Emmit turned to Derik and said, "Think about some runes for our new archer. Draw out your design when we get to the inn and I'll check it over."

I nodded. I probably should have expected the request. I realized I needed to add it to the rest of what I was supposed to be working on. As we traveled, I began thinking about which runes to use.

"Can you make arrows that return to the quiver?" I asked him.

"Yes," came the reply. That was all Emmit would tell me.

I asked Mirra for one of her arrows. She carefully stepped forward and handed it up to me before returning to sit next to Lolla.

"Can he really make arrows that come back?" she whispered to the mage.

"I'm sure Emmit can. Derik is learning but determined. I'm sure he'll figure it out. You may have to do some practicing until he perfects it."

"How will they put runes on the arrow?" she asked.

"I'm not studying with Derik but I would guess they'll rune both your quiver and the arrows."

"Well done, Lolla!" Emmit said, encouragingly.

"They can do temporary runes that last a half-day. Derik will probably do that until he perfects his design."

"After that?"

"Emmit, the red ink is for binding, right? Would you use that one?"

"You'll be my next apprentice if you keep that up, sweet-cheeks," he replied, smiling.

"No thanks, grandpa," she replied.

Mirra raised her hand to her mouth to cover a giggle. Lolla smiled at her and shrugged.

As we approached the next village, I showed Emmit the design I had come up with for Lolla. It was three thin triangles, put together to make a small lightning bolt. The center triangle was runed with 'bind', 'strengthen', and 'protect'. The leading triangle held 'speed', 'agility', and 'dodge'. These two were the same as what Emmit had given me. The final triangle held 'calm', 'shock', and 'dread'. My hope was that her shots would either put them to sleep, stun them, or send them running. Emmit checked it over.

"Try it with the spit-marker first," he advised.

By the way he made the statement, I assumed I had missed something - but I couldn't see what the hiccup was going to be. We'd already talked about taking a measured approach to applying the glyphs - so it wasn't a deviation from our plans - but I did feel a little disappointed that I hadn't gotten something right. Hopefully, whatever mistake I'd made wouldn't bring harm to Lolla. I figured that Emmit would say something if he thought that was the case.

I applied the rune-marks to Lolla and her wand. She tried out a few blasts from her cudgel and seemed satisfied.

I worked on Mirra's glyph as we passed through the small town. A half-hour later, we came to a trail leading up, into the mountains on the left. Emmit turned us onto that trail.

"We need a mountain cat or two," he told us. "I have no use for the hide but they sell well - so try to avoid damaging them, if possible. That being said, don't risk yourself or one of our companions to spare the hide. Take them down as quickly and efficiently as you can. I'll let you three figure out your team dynamics. I've taken these by myself before so I know you can do it - but it will give you a chance to figure out how to work together."

I started the climb off of the wagon - to go chat with the girls. We were still moving but I wouldn't have too much trouble keeping up. Emmit put his hand on my wrist.

"The complicating factor, here, is that we're in goblin territory. Shaman are rare but not unknown. They buff the fighters and throw a few spells. The archers aren't that skilled but watch for the little shits to hide in the trees. The fighters prefer knives. They all have sharp teeth so be cautious of letting them grapple with you. Their bites usually cause infections."

"Right, that's bad," said Lolla. "Okay, important safety tip. Thanks, Egon."

I looked at her, wondering why she'd called Emmit 'Egon'.

She shrugged and said, "I don't know. It's from a movie or something."

"What's a movie?" I asked.

"Beats me," she replied.

I showed Emmit my glyph for Mirra. The figure I had come up with looked like an arrow. The head had runes for 'plan', 'penetrate', and 'perceive'. My hope was that this would improve her shots. The shaft was runed with 'swift', 'sure', and 'slippery'. My intention was to bolster Mirra's speed and confidence - and help her avoid incoming attacks. The fletching for my design was runed with 'unheard', 'unseen', and 'unshaken'. This, I hoped, would give her stealth and mental resolve. Emmit seemed to like this piece better than what I had made for Lolla - but he still told me to use the spit-marker.

I hopped off of the seat and headed back to the girls. They pulled me up, between them, and I took Mirra's bow. As we bounced along, I realized I was going to have to wait until we stopped.

We stopped.

"Lolla," Emmit called out, just as my stomach twinged.

The three of us bailed off of the back. Lolla went right. Mirra and I went left. I heard Lolla fire off a ball of lightning just as I saw arrows headed from our side - towards Grizzle.

"What the loving fuck?!" I yelled, heading to intervene.

Mirra followed me. As I snatched the missiles from the air, I handed them to Mirra. She fired them back at the attackers. There were two archers and a knife-fighter. Mirra put an arrow through the fighter's throat but he still launched himself at her. I caught his arm and changed his trajectory away from her, stunning him as I swung him to the ground. She put an arrow through his eye-socket and we went back to dealing with the archers.

Once our three were dead, I looked over at Lolla. She was killing the last archer on her side.

Emmit said, "Lolla and Mirra stand guard. Derik, go drag the bodies back. We'll take what we can use and burn the rest. If we don't, their mates will use them for food."

"Okay, that's just gross," Lolla groaned.

Mirra recovered her arrows from the knife-fighter's body while I was retrieving the archers. Once I had those dragged over, I went to collect the bodies from Lolla's side. Every one of hers were lying in a pile of feces.

"What the hell?!" I asked, finding each of them in the same state.

Emmit howled in laughter and said, "I think it's the glyph. The 'calm' hit them and their bodies refused to work. Then 'shock' hit them for damage. Then 'dread' hit them and they feared for their life and lost control of their bodily functions."

"Gods, that stinks!" Mirra complained.

"Take what you can, that's not soiled," Emmit said. "We'll burn the rest. We have plenty of stuff from your three. We don't need those from the mage's side."

"Thank the gods," Lolla said, holding her nose.

I slipped into the trees, found some dead falls, and dragged them over to build a pyre. The poop-stained goblins went on the pile first and then the remnants of the others were tossed in. I made a fire plough with a couple pieces of wood and shoved the stick down the furrow until I'd built up enough wood char to ignite. I transferred the live coal to some pine needles and we were "cooking with gas" - whatever that means.

I looked at my notebook and tried to figure out what to change the last part of Lolla's glyph to. As we waited for the goblins to burn, I applied Mirra's temporary tattoo to her hand and her bow.

Her eyes went wide as the effect kicked in. "Holy fuck!" she gasped. "Let's kill some shit!"

Emmit laughed and said, "The cats are up ahead as soon as you all are ready."

I showed him my redesign for Lolla's glyph. In the last triangle of the lightnin-bolt sigil, I changed 'calm', 'shock', and 'dread' to 'perceive', 'plan', and 'power' - hoping to improve her accuracy, anticipation, and damage. Emmit looked at the change and nodded, smiling.

I applied the new design to Lolla and her iron-tipped club. She smiled and flexed her throwing arm, blasting one of the corpses that was burning on the fire.

"I like the change," she told me. "I feel like I can anticipate things better and - when I hit my target - it's going to die."

"All aboard!" Emmit called out.

"I'll walk by Grizzle," I told him.

"Girls with me then," he told them.

The mule bumped me with his head and I scratched between his ears.

"Let me know if you see any more of those sneaky little shits," I told him.

"Please don't say that word," Lolla moaned. "I think I'll be smelling that for days."

The climb wasn't bad but I was ready to stop by the time we got to where Emmit said we would park the wagon. We turned it sideways, set the brake, and Emmit took a look around as the rest of us grabbed a bite of pemmican and washed it down with cold water. I had runed the girls' canteens. Like me, Mirra didn't have mana of her own. Emmit said he'd make her a storage-stone while the three of us were hunting.