The Apprentice Ch. 03

CLIP-CLOP! CLIP-CLOP!

The repetitive sound echoed through the landscape. It was continuous and monotone, followed by a different noise that was harder to put into words. The sound was startling the small inhabitants of the open land, so they scurried to the side, eyeing the monster that kept making the sound that irritated their sensitive ears. Seen through the eyes of a ground squirrel, the huge object sure looked like a monster, but then again, it also looked familiar, somehow...

"How long until we reach the town?" Magnus asked loudly, holding the reins and twisting his neck back towards the compartment window. The noise coming from the horses and carriage wheels was quite loud so he had to raise his voice if he wanted to be heard inside the carriage.

"We should be there in the afternoon," Fiona replied absent-mindedly.

"Mistress, maybe you could join me up here so we can talk properly. I am really curious to hear more details."

"I can see your insolence has only grown with years. A sophisticated lady like me doesn't mingle with simpletons that drive carriages," Fiona said, her voice haughty.

"You sure seemed to like mingling last night..." Magnus said, grinning.

"That is because I am so generous. I took pity on you and graced you with my presence..."

"Are you seriously calling that grace? The amount of profanities you voiced while I was being 'graced' exceeded the vocabulary of even the most experienced carriage drivers... Now that I think about it, maybe we should swap places; it would feel more proper..." Magnus said, stifling a laugh. Laughter echoed from inside the carriage.

"Oh shut up you ungrateful servant, or I will turn you into a horse and ride you to Sunwallow," Fiona said, chuckling.

"If being ridden is what makes a horse, then I have been one for years..." Magnus said, suddenly covering his head with his hands as he saw several pebbles lift off the ground and fly towards him.

"All right, all right, I give up!" he said, laughing.

"I will come up in a bit. But if I am sacrificing my comfort I want something in return. I want you to massage me while you are driving the carriage. I don't care if it's going to be hard because your hands are busy with the reins. Make it work, I want to exploit you fully."

As the carriage kept following the road through the beautiful landscape, all of the furry and feathery inhabitants of that same landscape had a chance to see a peculiar sight. A man driving the carriage had the reins wrapped around his elbows while he massaged a woman's neck and shoulders, and later, her legs and feet. And the landscape was truly nice. Grassy land, green forests, rivers, and small hills everywhere the eye could reach. Ashad really seemed to be a beautiful country. Too bad the same couldn't be said about its political situation. Having only a weak regent to rule the country, the land had become a playground for nobles who wanted to grab more land for themselves at the expense of their weaker neighbors. The country was situated south and southwest of Vistania, yet the difference in leadership was more than obvious.

"So he wants us to be his bodyguards?" Magnus asked, his hands busy massaging Fiona's feet.

"Yes, he thinks his neighbor wants to assassinate him in order to create chaos, and then just comfortably take over his lands and integrate them into his own."

"Why did you take this job? We don't usually do things like this..."

"I've heard the man is paranoid and that he had this same obsession for a long time. It means I will get paid well without doing all that much. I also wanted to see Ashad. It is a beautiful country, yet I have been here only once and very briefly even."

"So this Lord Rastok is in this town we are headed towards, Sunwallow?"

"Yes. His mansion is in the town itself. His lands spread further into the countryside, but the town is of crucial importance for his lands, and it is the place he governs from. It is a sizeable town if I remember right..."

As the outskirts of the town came into view, Fiona went back into the compartment. It wouldn't do for a sophisticated lady of her reputation to arrive in the town sitting next to a carriage driver. Appearances had to be kept.

The light blue carriage rolled through the gates and into the town, its coming followed by the not too curious eyes of its inhabitants. Carriages were a relatively common sight in the town it seemed. The town's gate was made of stone, but the wall surrounding the town was a wooden palisade, except in some places where a stone tower had been placed. The wall looked to be in a decent state of repair at least. Magnus asked for directions, and soon enough, the carriage was making its way towards the mansion.

In the mansion, they received a modest welcome. Lady Rastok was a relatively mature woman, in her late forties by Magnus' judgment. She had a curvy body and she still looked attractive, despite her age and a few more pounds on her frame. Magnus thought she must have been a real beauty as a girl. She gave off an air of elegance, but she was mostly reserved towards Magnus and Fiona. Clearly, she thought her husband didn't really need their services. But she received them with reasonable if somewhat cool courtesy.

"Lady Fiona, my husband isn't here right now, but he will be back in the evening I think. My maid will show you your chambers."

"Thank you Lady Rastok, I appreciate the courtesy. My Apprentice and servant will be staying with me."

A while later, Fiona was having a bath in her new chambers, while Magnus massaged her body. After the massage, it would be Magnus' turn to take a bath in the same water Fiona used. It had become a daily ritual of a sort, a special kind of intimacy they shared. After all this time, Magnus still enjoyed bathing in Fiona's water more than having a fresh bath.

"I told you this job would be easy. Even his wife doesn't think anyone is trying to kill him. We can enjoy the hospitality and pretend we are investigating and doing our job protecting him, thus earning some easy coin," Fiona said, purring with satisfaction. Magnus' hands were second to none.

"We should do all we can to keep him safe, paranoia or not..." Magnus said, massaging her back and neck.

"Of course. But I don't expect we will actually need to protect him from anything."

"All right, it might turn out to be a dream job..."

"Yes. Anyway, your turn now," Fiona said, rising and stepping out of the bathtub.

"But first I need you to dry me out," Fiona added seductively.

Magnus took the towel and started dabbing her hair and face first, then her shoulders and torso. He knelt to wipe her pussy and ass, while Fiona swayed her body in an erotic dance, feeling a touch of arousal. Magnus dabbed at her legs, calves, and her feet while she played with his hair and swayed her pussy and ass in his face, teasing him and arousing him. When he finished wiping her feet he moved to rise, but she pressed him down.

"Well, since you are already down there..." she said with a playful voice, and then took her favorite position, sitting on his shoulders, her pussy in his face. Magnus needed no encouragement and soon enough, Fiona was arching her body wildly, leaving it to him to hold her and support her. She knew she was always safe in his hands, and she closed her eyes, while his tongue did its magic, finding her sensitive spots, and making her climb towards her first orgasm of the day. Not her last though, oh no.

***

Lord Rastok turned out to be nothing like his wife. He was a nervous man and he seemed very blunt, borderline rude. It seemed like such a contrast against Lady Rastok's calm elegance.

"This son of a bitch, Lord Nardis, wants me dead, I know it. He always wanted me dead. He wants my land, my people, and probably my wife as well," Lord Rastok said, pressing his fingers over his knuckles nervously.

"Have there been any attempts on your life so far?" Fiona asked cautiously.

"Oh, many. From sabotaging my horse to putting poison in my food. He will send an assassin next, I know he will."

"How did he sabotage your horse, exactly?" Fiona asked.

"He weakened my saddle strap, hoping I would fall on my head and die. Then we would invade my lands," Lord Rastok said matter of fact.

"I see... Will he attack your lands even in case his assassination attempts keep failing?"

"He might. But I made an arrangement with Lord Sarane, a fine young lord whose lands are just south of me. He has brought his small army to my border and is ready to come to my aid in case this bastard invades. Lord Sarane's lands are not as big and rich as mine, but still, the lad wants to give as much help as he can. Oh, yes, if this son of a whore decides to invade, we will crush him together," Lord Rastok exclaimed, punctuating the thought by slamming his fist on the table.

"All right then, my Lord Rastok, you are in good hands, don't worry. My Apprentice and I are more than capable of protecting you from assassination attempts."

"It better be so. This assassin could be anywhere..." Lord Rastok said, turning a few times as if to check the corners of the room.

"Don't worry, one of us will always be close to you, rest assured," Fiona said with confidence.

Lord Rastok nodded and rose abruptly, and after giving a few instructions to his servants, he went to his chambers.

***

"We will split the time when he needs protection among us. I am confident in your abilities now. Consider it your first solo assignment. First time you will be doing something without protection from your glorious Mistress!" Fiona said while watching Magnus practice magic.

They were back in their chambers, and Magnus thought he should use the time for some practice. He had certainly gone far since he first came to be Fiona's Apprentice, some three years ago. His magical finesse, the skill that determined the control and precision of the spells, had improved a lot over time. He was still nowhere near as good as Fiona in that department as she had decades of experience on him, but he was getting better, noticeably. Over time, he also realized that his other magical ability - magical strength, the inborn ability that determined the power and level of one's spells, was extremely high as he had a chance to compare it to Fiona's and to that of some other mages. He remembered her saying that he only had a 'modest' strength, years ago when she first tested him. Some time ago, he called her out on that, but she replied something along the lines of: "If I told you how strong you were, it would have gone straight into your already big head. You need to learn humility before you can really be ready to wield such power." And he understood that logic. Wielding magic, wielding the power that put him so far above ordinary people, required responsibility and character.

Magnus took a glass of water and splashed it in the air. Water was dropping down fast, tiny droplets going everywhere. He froze the water while still in the air and used kinetics to lift it back up and gather it on top of the glass. He used some careful fire magic to melt it back into the glass, refilling it. The trick was not to lose any water in the process. The cycle itself didn't require much power, but it was good for practicing finesse as you needed to mind all the tiny droplets to freeze them in time, and then catch them before they landed on the ground. Fiona had taught him the magic of elements; The magic of air, water, earth, and finally fire, although Magnus didn't really have much time to practice fire spells yet. Magnus knew there were other types of magic, but it seemed Fiona wasn't really practicing anything but elemental magic and kinetics, and she was quite masterful in those types of magic. Through contact with other mages, he also realized that she had quite some renown as a potion-mistress. Her potions, some of them containing a certain... special ingredient, were well-known and respected among her peers.

Magnus continued his practice, adding a second glass, and doing it all with two glasses, but keeping separate the water from each glass. It took great concentration to be able to manipulate so many tiny objects, but it wasn't really a problem for Magnus. Thanks to many challenges Fiona had put in front of him over the course of three years, especially those sexual ones, he managed to reach an incredible level of focus and concentration. Magical finesse was more than that, and it would take years and years of practice and fine-tuning to become an expert, but having such a level of focus was a good foundation for Magnus and he practiced regularly under Fiona's guidance. She criticized him often, and she pushed him hard, but she knew that one day he would wield immense power. He could already draw much more power into his spells than she could, but she tried to discourage him from putting all his magical strength into spells, at least not until his finesse could deal with it properly.

"You will have the morning watch. I want to hit the town and see what kind of herbs they have in this country. I might find some exciting new reagent."

"All right," Magnus said, setting the glasses aside. He stretched his body, then removed his shirt and started doing physical exercises. The farm life he had lived as a boy had given him lots of opportunities to keep himself in shape. This... more exciting and more elegant life had many advantages, but he also missed using his muscles more often. So he did strength and stamina exercises with diligence. After almost an hour, he rose, feeling a pleasant tension in his muscles. He was always in a good mood after working out. Fiona loved watching him do exercises. It was always so arousing to see his young, strong body strain and flex. She would usually need a long session of worship and sex to feel sated after the show Magnus would put up exercising. Tonight was no different.

"Your true exercise is about to start, Apprentice. Let's see if you are up to the task," Fiona said, beckoning him and spreading her legs invitingly. At 48, she was still very young in mage years, and her libido had always been strong due to the use of magic, although Magnus thought that she had some uncanny sexual desire that went beyond the mage libido. The use of magic had one more consequence. It rejuvenated the body and made mages look much younger. Fiona still looked like she was on the lower side of her twenties. One would think she would get tired of having so much sex with the same man after three years. Apparently not. She could never get tired of feeling his tongue and cock inside her. Over time, as their connection and relationship grew stronger, the sex was still amazingly good, maybe even better in some ways, even if the novelty had long worn off. And it was more or less the same for Magnus. Fiona had eased up on his chastity and she would only occasionally ask him to abstain for a longer time, usually when she needed a special potion prepared. This night was no such occasion. This night he would pleasure her in every way she wanted, but he would get plenty of pleasure as well.

Licking his lips, Magnus came to the bed, then sporting a mischievous smile, jumped on top of her, rubbing his sweaty body all over her skin.

"Get off me you sweaty pig!" Fiona said, pushing him, and then laughing when he wouldn't stop. "Have it your way, but after a few orgasms I want you to bathe me from head to toe, massaging my whole body with your hands and tongue," Fiona purred, anticipating the pleasure.

"That can be arranged," Magnus said, kissing her sensually, then taking his pants off and lining up his already hard cock with her pussy. He was going to give her some wild ride first. He knew he would have plenty of time to savor her body properly after they both had taken off the edge of their arousal.

"Ahh, YES! I love that cock so much..." Fiona moaned as the long night of wild sex started.

***

"Wake up sleepy head," Fiona chirped, caressing Magnus' face with her feet. There was a time when she slept with her feet on his face exclusively. The times have changed somewhat since their relationship evolved over time, but she still loved doing it sometimes, and she loved feeling his lips and tongue on her feet. And she knew Magnus liked doing it as well. There was no part of her body he didn't enjoy savoring. With him, she always felt so beautiful and desired.

"Ugh, what?" Magnus said, yawning.

"Get up! You need to take your guarding duty, and I want to go to town," Fiona said, tapping his face with her foot and playing with his lips.

"Go away, I want to sleep..." he said groggily.

"I see..." Fiona said, rising to her feet and standing over him on the bed. "Maybe you need some stimulation..." she said playfully, putting her foot on his cock and rubbing it, eliciting satisfied moans from Magnus, but still not being able to make him get up.

"Maybe I should switch tactics," she said with a smirk and pressed her foot down hard on his balls. Magnus jumped up, fully awake suddenly.

"Admit it, in which prison have you honed your torturer's skills?! And what was your nickname? The stomping bitch? The vicious man-hater?!" Magnus said, groaning loudly. Fiona laughed and sat down in his lap, rubbing her hands over his bare chest.

"Next time get up in time, or I might use both feet on your balls," she whispered in his ear, then kissed him, biting his lip.

Half an hour later, Magnus presented himself to Lord Rastok and began his guarding duty, following him around the mansion, and around the town as well. Meanwhile, Fiona went to the town to find a herbalist.

Magnus was taking his new duty very seriously. He had to admit Lord Rastok seemed paranoid in his accusations, but he wanted to be responsible nonetheless. He was guarding a human life, after all. He had a talk with Lord Rastok's personal guards. They were all veteran soldiers, people who knew their job well. At least two of them always shadowed Lord Rastok wherever he went. Magnus thought about strapping a sword to his belt but then decided against it. Maybe it was better if his role wasn't obvious to anybody who could try to harm Lord Rastok.

The Lord had a busy schedule. After breakfast, he had some inspections to do around his estate, and Magnus thought it best to leave the protection from threats coming from the immediate proximity to his guards. They knew the people much better than him, so he decided to keep his distance and observe for more subtle and distant threats. After they were done with the estate, the Lord went into town and visited a couple of stores and residences. Magnus was trying to keep himself alert, but with so many people coming in close contact with the Lord, staying focused wasn't easy. There were plenty of people on the streets and thus plenty of possible threats to Lord's safety. If there were any threats at all...

After finishing his business dealings, the Lord went for a walk through the town. Ever since the king died and a weak regent took his place, there wasn't much security in the country. Nobles always struggled to get more influence and more lands, usually through political alliances or diplomacy, but sometimes they even resorted to war with their neighbors. There was always some fear among the common folk, especially when their Lord himself added to the panic by claiming his neighbor was out to get him. The best thing to do in those cases was to speak to the people directly and reassure them in some way. Paranoid or not, Lord Rastok knew he needed the support of his people, and he knew they looked to him for safety and protection. So every once in a while, he would address them directly on the town square. Today was to be one such occasion.

When they reached the town square, there were already plenty of people waiting to hear their Lord, waiting to be reassured of their own safety. A small platform was erected in the middle of the square, a place from where Lord Rastok could address the people and be seen by everybody. Magnus took a good look at the square, the mass of people, and the surrounding buildings, and then groaned. How could you defend the Lord in such a place? There were so many directions the threat could come from. An assassin could mingle with the people and try to get really close to the Lord. An Assassin could infiltrate the town guards that formed a perimeter between the Lord and the people. Finally, a conventional or magical threat could come from the surrounding buildings, roofs especially. Magnus knew he couldn't cover all of it. He had to choose.