Rune Guard 03

The healer worked for another quarter-hour before she took her hands from Mirra's body, wiped her brow with her sleeve, and raised her hands, asking for help to stand. Lolla and Herra helped her to her feet.

"Lolla, is it?" Herra asked.

The mage nodded.

"Help me get her to the common room. She needs to eat and recover. The boy can guard the girl until you return. Cover her with the wraps first, though."

Lolla laid the chest-wrap and waist-wrap across Mirra's body and turned to help the healer.

The healer looked at me and asked, "Did you hold her as she slept last night?"

I nodded.

"... and this morning, as she ate - in the same position?"

I nodded again.

The healer looked at Lolla and said, "When you return, help him get her back into that position once more. If that was relaxing for her when she was in her previous state, it will probably help mend her spirit now that her body is whole once more."

"Thank you for caring for our friend," Lolla told her.

"With friends like you, dear girl, how could I not?" she told Lolla, before slipping her arm threw the mage's to be led from the room.

While Lolla was gone, I put my pants back on. She returned as I tied the belt. She raised her eyebrows at me but said nothing.

"How long should we just let her sleep before we move her?" I asked.

Lolla shrugged and said, "You heard her as well as I did. She never said."

I think I'll let her rest a bit longer first.

"Did you get enough to eat?" she asked me.

"Yes, thank you. The bed looks comfortable though," I told her.

"Why don't we snuggle in beside her? I slept better than you, I think, but I'm still exhausted."

I laid on Mirra's right and Lolla took the left. I wasn't sure what to do with my right hand. Lolla extended her left to me - with her fingers splayed apart. I twined my fingers threw hers and held it aloft for a moment.

"Thanks for being gentle with her. It's hard to believe that was just yesterday."

I nodded and whispered, "I cannot even imagine her pain."

"I know. I would have slit my own throat."

"I think I would have too."

My arm grew tired. Apparently, so did Lolla's. We lowered our hands until they rested on her stomach. Worrying that my wrists were pressing into the redhead's abdomen too hard, I released Lolla's fingers and laid my palm flat on Mirra's tummy. Lolla placed her hand on top of mine.

~~~

"Thirsty," I heard Mirra moan.

I leapt out of bed and raced for the pitcher. Lolla arrived a moment later and banged her head into mine. Her eyes, like mine, were still half closed.

"Shit!" she gasped.

We looked at each other, rubbed our heads, and laughed. She held the mug and I poured. We took the drink to Mirra. I helped her sit up to drink.

"Sorry," I told her. The healer said I should sit and hold you but you looked so peaceful that I didn't want to bug you. We lay down beside you and fell asleep."

She took my chin in her palm, pulled my face to hers, and gave me a tender kiss. She turned to Lolla and did the same.

"You did fine," she said. "I felt so loved when I woke up with the two of you beside me."

"Don't tell the healer," I told her. "I think she would hurt me."

Mirra laughed, drained her mug, and held it out to Lolla.

"If you don't mind, now that we're up, I'd like to reclaim my old seat."

I climbed behind her to lean against the head of the bed, wrapping my arms around her as she sat between my legs.

"When did you put pants on?" she asked. "You didn't have pants on before."

"I didn't think it was appropriate. This all started when I was half-asleep and I thought I should probably have clothes on."

"I was lying here, naked," she said. "There was nothing inappropriate about you wearing only your waist-wrap."

"Well," I said. "Put your clothes on and we'll be a matched pair again," I told her.

"What if I don't want to?" she asked, smirking.

I was caught speechless.

Mirra took the mug from Lolla, took a long drink, and then bumped her shoulder into me.

"It's fine," she said. "As long as you don't get any road-dirt in my bed."

I harrumphed, climbed out from behind her, took off my pants, and went back to my place.

"Better?" I asked.

She snuggled into me and said, "Yes, thank you."

Lolla laughed, stripped off all of her clothes, and climbed in beside me.

"And now we're perfect," Mirra said, grinning.

I looked over the blonde's assets and shook my head at her. She reached between me and Mirra and squeezed my stiffening cock.

"I thought you were supposed to ask first," Mirra told her.

"I don't know if you've noticed," Lolla replied, "but the two of them call me the Tempest. I'm just living up to my name."

Mirra laughed and then finished her mug. Lolla took it and set it on the floor beside the bed.

"Besides," Lolla said, laughing. "This lecherous boy was fucking me with his eyes."

"Maybe, if you didn't run around naked all of the time, you wouldn't have to worry about it," Mirra told her.

"Who says I'm worried," Lolla said, before laughing again. "When you're ready to try them, both of them are more than adequate with their mouths."

"Is that so?" Mirra asked. "I've never tried that."

Lolla looked at her, very seriously, and said, "You can ask the healer but I think - when you think you're ready - that might be the best way to start. It is very intimate and almost feels like healing. You would have nothing to fear from Derik or Emmit and it would let you acclimate to your sex being a place of pleasure rather than pain."

Mirra looked into my eyes and said, "We'll see."

"I'm in no hurry," I told her. "Ignore the Tempest."

"No hurry?" Mirra said, nibbling her lower lip.

"Hey, now!" I said. "That's not fair! What do you want me to say - that I can't wait to shove my - what did Lolla call it? Schlong? Inside of you until I buffet your womb?"

Mirra giggled and pressed herself into me. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly.

"Let's just stick with this for now," she said.

"I like this a lot," I whispered.

"Do you?" she asked, wryly.

"Very much, Beautiful," I replied.

She leaned forward, took my cheeks in her palms and kissed me hard, staring into my eyes. She pressed herself back into me and I gasped to refill my lungs.

"Gods!" I exclaimed.

Lolla giggled.

"Quiet, Tempest," Mirra growled at her in jest.

Lolla giggled more loudly.

Emmit rapped on the door and stuck his head in, looked at us, cuddled against one another, and said, "Naked in bed together, as usual! Everything must be okay."

"Come here, old man," Mirra ordered.

He walked over. She reached out to him. He took her hand. She pulled him across Lolla's body to kiss him on the lips.

He growled as he stood back up. Lolla was rubbing his crotch.

"Tempest!" he growled, heading for the door. "You kids coming to the common room for dinner?" he asked.

"Yes," Mirra told him.

"See you then," he said, closing the door behind him.

After a few moments of silence, Mirra said, "Derik?"

"Yes, Beautiful?"

"Do me a favor?"

"You need only to ask," I told her.

"Softly rub your fingers over every part of my breasts, please," she said. "I want to make sure the healing goes all the way inside."

"As much as I would love to abuse your fabulous breasts, maybe Lolla would be the better choice for this experiment," I told her.

Mirra laughed and said, "She's already proven herself to be untrustworthy."

Lolla feigned outrage and insult but I could tell, from her eyes, that she wanted to watch Mirra's face as I fondled her breasts.

"You'll guide me? And tell me when to stop?" I asked.

She nodded her head against my chest and claimed my hands with her own, bringing them to her stiff teats. I'm not really sure which of us moaned first.

Mirra's left hand slipped between us and she began groping my dick and the sensitive head as I used my fingers and palms to explore every part of Mirra's chest, breasts, nipples, and those dark circles that surrounded her stiff little buds.

I smelled the musk of sex and opened my eyes to find Lolla standing beside us, stroking her fingers in and out of her tight channel.

"What are you doing?" I asked her.

"You two are hot," she moaned. "I can't help it."

"I think you are perpetually horny," I told her.

"You might not be wrong," she said, as her fingers sped up.

"Put your legs together," Mirra told me, as she got to her knees.

As soon as I did, she sat on my lap, wrapped her left arm around my neck, laid her head against my chest, closed her eyes, and relaxed.

"This is nice," she said.

"Very nice," I said, wrapping my arms around her and holding her tightly.

Based on the sounds Lolla was making, she was suffering through a climax. I didn't look. My cheek was lying against the top of Mirra's head and my eyes were closed.

~~~

I woke, with a start, when the door opened. It was Emmit. He snickered as he looked at the three of us, cuddled together on the bed.

"I'll be downstairs," he whispered. "If you haven't arrived by the time the food does, I'll send them up with a tray."

I waved a hand at him and he eased the door shut.

Mirra struggled awake and said, "We should probably join him."

"We don't have to," I told her.

"Let's see if we can get the blonde witch to put some clothes on and we'll go eat with Emmit," she replied.

"Witch?" Lolla growled, getting to her feet.

Within a few minutes, we were dressed and stumbled down the stairs to join our employer. He seemed a little surprised to see us - but there were mugs of mead at our places.

"Can we buy some of this?" I asked him, after taking a healthy drink.

"I already bought a couple barrels," he said. "I DID notice that all three of you seemed to enjoy it."

"You don't?" I asked.

"I do - maybe a little too much - but I don't usually spend the money," he replied.

"I'll pay for it," I told him.

He waved away my offer and said, "I'm delighted to see the three of you getting along. This situation is quite a bit different than I had imagined when I took you on but I can't say that I'm displeased. You worked well together yesterday."

"Was that just yesterday?" Mirra asked.

Emmit nodded and laughed.

Herra arrived at our table with no small amount of fanfare, dragging each of us to our feet to claim hugs, and to deliver motherly kisses.

I took her hands in mine and said, "Tell me what the healer cost and I'll give you the coin."

She kissed me on the mouth, then, and said, "You'll find your way between my knees if you keep that up, boy. If there was any coin to change hands, your boss and I have already settled it. There wasn't - but - if there was, he and I have a partnership."

I hugged her and retook my seat.

"Emmit, my love?" she told him.

"Yes, my dear?"

"You've a lovely family here and I'm so happy for you. I've worried about you so but this makes my heart happy."

"I love you, too, my dear," he told her.

Cookie and one of the waitresses arrived with our food. The waitress hurried off but the cook went around the table, giving us hugs and learning our names, before taking Emmit into her arms and kissing him like a lover.

She turned as the waitress returned and described what she created for our dessert. After that, everyone left us to our food. It was all good. It was more than I needed - and probably more than I should have eaten - but I ate it all.

I asked Emmit if I should slip into the kitchen to give my thanks to the cook and Lolla laughed that Emmit could show her our appreciation later in his room.

Back in our room, once again, we sat on the bed and cuddled until Mirra began nodding off. At that point, we lay down. Mirra took the middle, facing me. She snuggled her head against my chest and Lolla curled in behind her. I draped my right arm over the two of them. Lolla slid my hand to her ass and squeezed my fingers. Mirra told her to quit. I pinched Lolla's butt and moved my hand to her hip. Mirra kissed my chin, curled back into me, and we fell asleep.

~~~

The next morning, Grizzle acted like he didn't know who I was for the first few minutes. Then he pulled back his lips, smiling at me, tossing his head in laughter, and braying like a jackass. I told him he wasn't getting any apples if he kept it up and he just laughed harder. I shook my head at him and started getting everything ready for us to leave.

Herra came out for final hugs and kisses. Cookie brought us some pastries and a package of something she called a "sandwich" for us to eat for lunch on the road. After that, we climbed onto the wagon and the mule brayed out his farewell as he took us on our way.

The day was long - and largely uneventful. We passed through a small city before coming to a bridge. Emmit had us wait to eat Cookie's treats until we crossed to the other side. Grizzle drank from the small river and browsed through the thick, green grass.

We sat in the shade and unwrapped the "sandwiches" - which were two slices of bread with meat between them. She had applied some sort of creamy, tangy sauce to the creation. It was mouth-wateringly good and disappeared in no time at all. I looked around to see if anyone had leftovers I could beg, but the rest of them were doing the same - and we laughed at each other. Lolla told Emmit that he should figure out how to get the woman to join our merry band and he blushed but said nothing.

As soon as we'd relieved ourselves, Emmit got us back underway, warning us that it was going to be a long night.

Darkness had fallen by the time we reached the town. I groaned as we passed by the inn. Emmit had already warned us that we'd be getting to bed late. He also warned us that - unless something had changed - we'd be sleeping above the stables again.

At the far end of town, he turned Grizzle to the right. We needed to ford the river. There was a worn path but the water was cold and deeper than we wanted. I ended up walking beside Grizzle, wading through the chest-deep water, encouraging and guiding him to the other side.

Once we were ashore, it was still a half-mile to the caves. Since I still needed to dry out, I walked.

At the caves, everyone got out. Our targets were the bats. While Lolla worked to see if she could stun them out of the air - rather than blast them - I took a jar into the cave to collect some of the guano. I came back out to find Mirra retrieving the bats that Lolla was knocking out of the sky.

Once we had collected what Emmit needed, we got back into the wagon and returned to the river, fording it once more. I walked beside the mule as we headed back into town, towards the stable.

Emmit went into the inn and returned with chits for Grizzle, the wagon, and loft-berths for the four of us. Once again, Mirra cuddled close as we fell asleep. I woke her as I headed down the ladder to run off a would-be thief. We were soon asleep again.

~~~

We headed back north the next day, retracing the latter part of our route from the previous day. As we rode along, I asked Emmit what they would charge us if I slept in the wagon. He said he would ask. When we got to the bridge to the town we'd already passed through, we turned east instead. By dinner time, we were pulling in to the inn.

As Emmit climbed down to go pay for storage for the mule and the wagon, I reminded him to ask about me sleeping in the bay with the wagon. He nodded.

After I got Grizzle settled, I looked through my supplies. I had in my mind to string a hammock under the wagon. A suspended bed would keep me off of the floor of the stall - and away from the pests that lived there. It would also be more comfortable than the hard-packed dirt that made up the floor of the space. It wouldn't be as warm as sleeping in the hay-loft but I also wouldn't have to climb down the ladder every time some ne'er-do-well tried to steal something.

I found good length of rope and started trying ideas. By the time Emmit returned, I had a small spider's web hanging under the wagon. I had already decided that I needed to visit a chandler's - to buy some canvas and smaller cordage. I might also need some larger needles and thicker thread - to sew multiple layers of canvas together. I decided to ask Emmit for advice first.

The rune-maker returned to say that there was only one room available. He had opted to bunk us down in the loft instead. The girls were happy enough not to have to endure the dangers of the common room in another strange inn. He handed three chits to the hostler for the loft and explained that I was sleeping with the wagon - which the innkeeper had chosen not to charge for. The stable-master nodded and left.

I accepted hugs from the girls before they headed up the ladder behind Emmit. I unrolled my bedroll and laid it across the lattice-work of rope supports.

~~~

I awoke fairly refreshed. Of course, since I had chosen to sleep with the wagon, no one had tried to rob us and I could have slept in the soft hay. Honestly, though, my hammock idea had worked well.

As we took off, I asked Emmit for ideas. He stopped at the next chandler's shop and sent me in for canvas, cordage, a needle, and heavy thread. As we rode towards the next town, I sketched my idea in my notebook. He suggested some adjustments and I reengineered it.

When I had the design for my prototype, he told me to keep track of what we spent on supplies and to count my hours. He said we'd make two of them, calculate a selling-price, and see if anybody else would buy it. I asked why he would want to sell something that didn't involve runes and he reminded me that he'd sold the mountain cat pelts while we stayed with Herra.

He went on to explain that - as a trader - sometimes you wanted things you could show people that would start a conversation. Once you had them thinking and talking, you could gain something unexpected: ideas for other products - or a customer who hadn't planned to buy anything from you but liked how you presented things.

We rode a little farther and he clarified one detail. He said that there would always be somebody who tried to copy your idea - as I had done with the runed-canteen. He told me not to worry too much about that but to focus on being profitable with what I did and sold. He said the rest would work itself out. He reiterated, however, that flashy items or new approaches to old ideas would always create opportunities to talk to people who had never intended to do business with you.

I asked him which of those things was how he had met Herra. He laughed and said, "That's a different thing. When I see somebody treating somebody like shit and I can fuck them over, I'm ornery enough to do it and never let them know that it was me."

He explained that he'd previously encountered the enchanter that Herra had been talking to in the market. He'd gotten a bad "feel" for the man and had never gone near him after that. When he heard him talking down to Herra - who was just trying to protect her girls - he decided it was the perfect opportunity to intervene. He told me that he could not begin to share the amount of valuable trade-information that Herra provided for him. Her girls shared all of their "pillow talk" with her - and she shared everything of value with Emmit - ever thankful for his intervention so many years before.

I asked him if the enchanter was still successful and he said 'yes'. Then he clarified that the man had coin but nothing more. I nodded and smiled at him. He nodded back.

"Why did you think you needed a guard?" I asked him, finally, thinking about our little group and how it had started.

"I'm getting too old to try to fight them all off myself," he replied. "I must say that you've turned this into a much more profitable partnership than I had anticipated."

"Me? A partnership?" I asked.