The Infinite Bk. 01 Ch. 02

They sold and traded their wares with directions from many of the townsfolk. The blacksmith wouldn't buy the bows, but Noah found another weapon dealer who allowed him to trade up to a better piece and a quiver of good-quality arrows. After that, the medicinal herbs and mushrooms were bought by an herbalist, the wolf pelts went to a leatherworker in exchange for some armor and two backpacks, and the clothes and bags were traded at the garment shop for some new outfits. Due to the weird looks he was getting, Noah was aware that his modern clothes made him stand out. They were too valuable to get rid of or sell, so he simply packed them away and donned the apparel of the countryside.

He ditched the severed heads of the slave traders into someone's pig pen, and the hogs went to town. From asking around, it seemed that the Garrow fellow he killed wasn't the wanted criminal he had hoped for. It was a shame there was no bounty to collect, especially after three days of putting up with the smell of those heads.

His next destination was the owner of an adventurer's shop. He sold traveling and survival gear, such as rope, candles, dried rations, and other curios to help travelers survive the beasts dwelling outside man's domain. Now he was buying the last of Noah's haul, including the remains of several spiders and the barrel of slimes.

"So? What do you think? Seven bronze and everything's yours."

"I can do five bronze, but only because you actually have living slimes. I've never seen them captured like this!"

"No, no, I can't do five... Do you sell maps?"

"I do."

"I want two maps, one of the country, and one of the area. Throw those in and I can go down to five."

"For two maps added, the best I can do is three and a half bronze."

"Four bronze and you won't have to deal with me for the rest of the day."

"Deal."

With that, Tin and Noah left, having sold everything they deemed not worth carrying, plus the wagon and horses. Tin was in a good mood, now wearing proper clothes and footwear. She looked nothing like the slave girl that Noah had met when he first came to this world.

The sun had almost set, so they made their way to an inn known as the Old Wineskin. It was busy inside, the air stinking of pipe smoke, ale, and poor hygiene, and the floor creaking under countless pairs of shifting boots. The hostess, a large woman who looked like she birthed children by the litter, greeted them at the door behind a front desk.

"Are you here to eat or to sleep?" she asked.

"Both. What are your rates?"

"Five copper coins a night for one room. For ten, you also get firewood, a hot bath, and two square meals a day for one person."

Noah counted up the coins for him and Tin and stacked them on the table. "We'll take the full package for three nights."

The woman handed him an iron key. "Take a seat in the dining room wherever you like and I'll bring you the house special."

Noah led Tin through the crowd of drunken villagers while looking out for pickpockets. Every man in the bar looked either like a Viking or the kind of guy Vikings typically killed, all of their clothes made of either wool, linen, or animal hide. Any women were either travelers huddled together, or courtesans sitting across the laps of their drunk clients, laughing at every lousy joke as they waited for the alcohol to take its toll.

Noah and Tin found a small table near the fireplace and took their seats, with Noah warning Tin to put her bag directly under the table.

"This town is just as I expected," he said.

"Is something wrong, Master?"

"No, everything is fine. I rather like the atmosphere here, the feel of it."

He had seen plenty of towns that had been knocked out of the modern age in his previous lives, usually due to some kind of apocalyptic event or because it was in a third-world country, but none of them had the Medieval Europe aura like in fantasy books and movies. For all of his life experience, this was something he was glad to be able to cross off his bucket list.

"So we're going to stay here for three days? Then what?"

"I'm not sure quite yet. I don't have enough information. I want to know more about this country, about the other countries. I want to see what I can make of myself and what will give me the best chance of survival. But for now, I want to rest up for a few days and learn what I can about the area."

He took out the maps he had bought and looked them over. Their quality was just as he expected from a Medieval society. The map of the Algata province showed the towns around Clive, as well as vague rivers and mountains, but there was no scale for referencing distance, and none of the roads were labeled. The national map was no better, but it did name the bigger towns and the capital of Uther near the southern coast. It was hard to determine the size of the country, but it was probably somewhere between England and Texas.

Right now, what he needed to work on was a backstory. This was not a country with an educated public, but Noah was still ignorant of the culture and lifestyle, which would require years to catch up on. Also, if he claimed to be from somewhere but failed to answer a question that any native would know, it would make him look suspicious.

In his past lives, his backstory would generate itself, just like everyone else's, and as an adult, when he needed an alias, he could easily craft a new one using his knowledge of the world. He had hidden in other countries and taken on new identities in the past, but this was a whole new ballgame.

The hostess arrived with wooden trays and beer mugs. The house special was a bowl of meat and vegetable stew and a biscuit, with a pint of the local ale to wash it down. Noah didn't even want to imagine how a health inspector would react to seeing the kitchen and how the food was prepared, but after three days of nothing but rock-hard bread and dried meat that was little more than salted leather, he ate greedily.

Tin, however, stared at her food. "Master, is it really ok for me to eat this? I need only scraps to survive. Master doesn't need to be so generous in buying me such wonderful food."

"You've done everything I've told you to do and have yet to disappoint me. You deserve to eat proper meals. Besides, I need you strong and healthy so you can continue to assist me."

She bowed her head with her shoulders trembling. "Thank you, Master."

After eating, they went up to their room. It was awfully stark; just a bed with some itchy blankets and a fireplace. There was also a table with a lone candle and water pitcher. Firewood had already been delivered. As Tin lit the candle, Noah began moving around the room, knocking on the walls, floor, and ceiling, searching for hidden doors or peepholes. For all he knew, there could be people watching them, waiting for them to fall asleep and then rob them, or worse.

He once made the mistake of spending the night in a backwoods motel that was owned by a serial killer. The flat tire within walking distance should have warned him, but he refused to believe the cliché.

"You get a fire started while I look around. Don't open the bags or reveal any of your belongings until I get back, and move the bed against the door."

For the most part, he was sure that no one was listening or watching them at the moment, but that might not last. He wanted to check the inn itself, and on the off chance that someone was managing to avoid his detection, he didn't want to activate his magic. He left the room and locked the door behind him. There were rooms on either side and across the hall, but they would come later. He went downstairs, maneuvering through the crowd and stepping outside into the dark street. The town was clearing out, everyone heading home or to whatever spot they slept on.

Noah walked down the street, and as planned, he sensed a tail behind him. He stepped behind the nearby butcher shop and lay in wait. His pursuer, knife in hand, entered the alley. He never even saw Noah, certainly didn't see his hand aiming for his Adam's Apple. A solid blow ripped the air from the man's lungs and sent him to his knees, unable to even scream in agony. He dropped his knife, and Noah got him into a rear chokehold, lifting him back onto his feet.

"You weren't following me before we reached the inn, I certainly would have noticed you, so that means you didn't see me with Garrow's wagon and horses. Either someone who did see me put you up to this, or you're just going after me because I look like an easy mark. So, which is it?"

"Eat shit, you damn kid!" the man gargled. He tried to free himself from the chokehold, but Noah just tightened his grip. He couldn't see anything, no matter where he looked.

Noah took out his knife and held it under the man's eye. The blade was invisible like Noah, but the man could feel the tip threatening to pierce the skin of his lower lid. "If you want to save yourself, start talking. I can make you beg for your life and then beg for death in a matter of seconds."

"This is just what I do, punk! I wait for pieces of trash playing adventurer to make a wrong turn and then I take everything that they have!"

"Is there anyone else or do you work alone? You really don't want to lie to me."

"I don't need help."

Noah put his knife away. "Clearly, you do." For the briefest moment, the man felt Noah's hold on him loosen, thinking he would be let go. But instead, Noah grabbed his head and snapped his neck.

Noah searched the corpse for anything of value and dumped it in the river beside the village. He then returned to the inn and scanned the outside. He had measured the distance from the window to the corners of his room, and, assuming that all the rooms were the same size and configuration, there didn't appear to be any false walls that someone could hide in.

With his illusion still active, he went inside the inn and maneuvered through the crowds, putting all his effort into not bumping into anyone. He checked the thickness of the floor and ceiling of each level and found no anomalies. Unfortunately, his mana was starting to run out, so he had to hurry with the last step. He returned to the floor of his room and listened to the surrounding doors.

He could hear two female adventurers making plans across the hall and a man sharpening his sword in the room to his left. The room to the right was silent. From his pocket, Noah drew a length of wire. It was originally part of the handle of one of the swords he had sold, but he took it before taking it out of the wagon. Lockpicking had been a skill of his several lifetimes ago, so he was a little rusty. Regardless, he managed to open the door and peeked in, seeing the one inhabitant sleeping.

Noah ended his search and returned to his room, feeling like he could now relax a bit. "Tin, it's me," he said while knocking on the door.

He could hear the bed, used as a barricade, being moved aside, and Tin opened the door. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, I think we're safe."

They both stepped into the room and released their held breaths upon the door closing. Finally, they could let down their guard, at least for the most part.

"Ok, let's go over the money we collected."

He spread out the coins from their sales on the table with the lone candle. There were a great number of silver coins, plenty of bronze, several copper, and some gold. "With all of this, we can stay at this inn for as long as we want. For now, let's work on keeping it safe."

He kept the copper coins in two of the three snake wallets as bait or a decoy against pickpockets. The third wallet held the bronze coins and hung around Tin's neck. Noah hid the silver and gold coins in his jacket lining and his backpack's straps.

Soon after they finished, there was a knock at the door. "Here with your bathwater!" a chambermaid announced.

Noah let her in, and she placed a wooden tub on the floor, filled with steaming water and some rags. In this world, it seemed like outside of swimming, the only way to keep even remotely clean was with a simple washcloth. Noah tipped her, and she departed.

"Good, I've needed this," he said as he stripped down.

Tin, naked as he was, leaned against him. "Master, please let me wash you."

"What? You didn't do that before."

"Something which I beg your forgiveness for. I must show my gratitude for your kindness."

"You don't owe me anything for treating you like a person."

She embraced him from behind. "It is my duty to service my master. Please, allow me to continue not disappointing you."

"Very well. I appreciate your efforts."

She made a slight noise of relief, almost like a cross between a laugh and a gasp. "Please take a seat."

Noah sat on the foot of the bed, and Tin retrieved some of their leftover soap, then brought the tub next to him. She kneeled before him and wetted the front of her body with one of the rags, then with the soap, lathering up her breasts and between her thighs. He could tell she was excited.

Despite her perpetually expressionless face, he could see the slight curling of her lips and the shimmer in her eyes, signs of joy. It was an ironic combination; she had never known pleasure from contact with a man, and he was so numb that contact with a woman was one of the last few things that could give him pleasure.

She began by taking one of the washcloths and scrubbing Noah's legs, trying to remove the sweat and dirt from their days in the woods. Then, she started rubbing her chest against him, grinding against his legs like a stripper pole. Her breasts were far from ample due to her harsh life and poor diet, but what softness there was, she used to please Noah. She made sure he felt every cubic centimeter of fat as if the mass of her breasts equaled her loyalty.

She washed off the soap and then got on the bed to repeat the process on his arms. Her efforts gave him an amused smile. With her inner thighs nice and sudsy, she'd straddle his hands, letting him cup her womanhood in his palm and feel how wet she was. She was beginning to pant and whimper, her lust building up. Her frantic breaths in his ears were likewise exciting him. He had a few ex-girlfriends that would give him this treatment.

"Tell me, have you done this before or is this an idea you came up for me?"

"This is new. I've never felt so much gratitude to my master before."

She moved behind him, scrubbed his back, and then began smooshing her breasts against him in sweeping motions. It reminded him of washing windows. While she ground on his back, she washed his chest, and her hands naturally fell to his throbbing manhood. She stroked it lovingly as if wanting to memorize every detail.

She started rubbing against him with more force and jacking him off. Despite Noah being on the receiving end, Tin's efforts made her breathe heavily with an aroused whimper passing her lips. The feel of her breasts on his back and her masterful stroking were also getting to Noah. Despite his sexual experiences, he always enjoyed a little foreplay.

He didn't bother trying to resist and simply ejaculated, while behind him, Tin shuddered as if having a climax of her own. She greedily licked his cum off her hands and then got off the bed, kneeling before him again. Her gaze, full of drunken lust, was glued to his semi-flaccid manhood after its eruption.

"Master, you're so dirty. Let me clean you."

She began sucking on his member with worshipful dedication. Every drop of cum, she slurped off while savoring the taste of his sweat. Like the other night, she paid attention to his balls, either massaging them while his cock plunged into the depths of her throat or sucking on them and rolling them around her mouth while she jacked him off.

"My, my, you sure do enjoy servicing me, don't you?"

She looked up at him, a slave to him and her desires. "Yes, Master. My body feels so much gratitude for you." She couldn't resist playing with herself. "Especially down here."

She stood up, and he allowed her to get on his lap, shuddering in bliss as she felt him enter her. She was so wet, his cock sliding against her inner flesh without any resistance. There was no hesitation in Tin's movements, and she didn't need to adjust her position or let her body become accustomed to the feeling of being penetrated. As soon as she was down to the base, she began bouncing on his cock at full speed.

Noah laid back with his hands gripping Tin's ass. The effort she put in was commendable; she was fucking him like a pornstar. She didn't bother trying to conceal her moans of bliss. Instead, she was putting all of her strength into keeping up this rhythm, dropping all her weight onto Noah's lap so he could truly explore her body.

She couldn't allow him to exert himself. There were no fields to work, no livestock to take care of. She couldn't fight, couldn't hunt, couldn't do anything to repay her master for the kindness he had shown her. All she could do was offer her body for his enjoyment, to give him something to unleash his desires on.

Despite her efforts, Noah wasn't giving in. He retrieved one of the damp washcloths and wiped the soap off her breasts, making her nipples erect. He then sat up and began running his tongue and lips across her skin, kissing her areolas and sucking on their peaks. He often pulled his mouth away to join with hers, kissing her with skill she could only call art.

Rather than letting her continue bouncing, he implemented his own technique. Cupping her ass in his hands, he began gyrating her hips in one direction while he moved in the opposite direction with his hips. Now, instead of doing long, deep strokes, his cock was stirring up the depths of her womanhood like he was whisking some scrambled eggs.

The two-fold attacks were more than Tin could bear. "Master! Ah! Master!" she moaned. She let her voice ring out, escaping their room and being heard by everyone in the inn. She cried out like she was being stabbed, but it felt like Noah was going no less deep inside her.

She held onto his shoulders as a wave of climaxes rushed through her. Again, Noah fell back while pulling Tin down with him. Tin, lying across his chest, was given no time to rest. He lifted her hips and began bucking his own, driving up into her at maximum speed and depth.

There was no cruelty to his sensual barrage, no pain, yet Tin wondered if she had done something to enrage him. She would suffer beyond words if any other man tried to do this. She could feel his skill and experience with every move he made. He knew exactly what to do to not cause any harm, despite the intensity itself leaving her on the verge of blacking out.

"Master, it feels too good! You're going to break me!"

"Hold on, I'm almost there."

She held onto him for dear life as if a tornado had ripped off the inn's roof and threatened to pull her up into the sky. Soon, the storm passed, and Tin felt that final thrust as Noah emptied himself into her. The sensation of her master's seed flooding her womanhood, the heat of it inside her, made her moan a single crystal-clear note, like a bird call. Then, she collapsed on top of him, using the last of her strength to run kisses across his chest.

"Master, when you wanted to know the area and me and some other slaves raised out hands... thank you for choosing me." Noah didn't say anything. He knew this was a situation where one couldn't simply respond with 'you're welcome.' Yet after so many lifetimes, he still didn't know the proper response. "And at the waterfall... thank you for letting me stay by your side."

Then, she closed her eyes and fell asleep, snuggled on his chest like a cat.

Please comment! Tell me your thoughts!