TRC - Searching for the Sky Ch. 20

"What will happen to this lady friend when you get back?"

Kal smiled. "We will need to get a bigger bed, Kuto is one of my women as well."

"Then what of this Sera? You keep calling her a companion."

"Correct. Though we've become very close lately, she isn't specifically 'my' woman."

"Is she unworthy of being one of your women?" she asked.

"Not at all," said Kal, chuckling. "She just hasn't asked yet. They defer to my judgment as to who I bring into my inner circle, but I asked each of them beforehand and they've all given their approval should Sera ever approach me."

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "That sounded like you were talking about more than just two women."

"Oops."

"Like the other two, they are all okay with this?" her voice was tinged with disbelief.

Kal nodded. "In fact, it was one of them who prompted me to start taking on more mates. She's from a land far to the east of here where a man having many women is considered a sign of status and power. Were it not for her, I probably would have stuck with one woman. All of them have very active libidos, it gets hard to keep up when I'm back home"

Her expression went from skeptical to curious, "You aren't bragging."

From her tone, Kal couldn't make out if it was a question or a statement. "I'm... not?" he answered uncertainly.

"No, you aren't, and that seems strange. Just strange enough that I think I believe you." Her hand slid over onto Kal's leg, her fingers lightly tracing the outline of his prick. "You have your women and your companion. What about one," she gripped him through his pants, "or maybe two dalliances?"

The mage smiled. "You were kind enough to invite a stranger into your camp and even make him a meal. If that's how you'd like me to show my appreciation, I won't mind a bit."

"Mmm, wonderful," she said standing. "My father needs to learn to talk quieter, I overheard what he told you earlier." She hiked up her dress on each side, leaving the front hanging low enough to hide her sex as she hooked her fingers into her undergarments and pulled them down. "He does have a point though. I often run off for a night or two and have a little bit of fun. He worries terribly during those times. If I can take care of this now, then I can save him the worry later."

He started undoing his belt but she waved his hands away then had him lean back and prop himself up on his arms before bending over and doing it for him. Kal had to admit, the look of pleasure in a woman's eyes when they first saw his cock was something he'd never get tired of.

Gripping his shaft, she positioned her mouth above his prick and let a dollop of spit fall from her lips onto the head. She then used it to coat his shaft before doing it a second time. Kal hadn't had a woman do that to him before and it seemed odd, though it was fun watching her get him ready.

Hiking up the front of her dress so it didn't drag over his spit slickened prick, she knelt down, reaching beneath the skirt with one hand to guide him to her entrance.

"Wait," said Kal, "I don't know your name."

She thought for just a second before replying with a soft smile. "I'm not looking to become one of your women or one of your companions. I'm just needing a man to scratch an itch for a night or two, so let's leave the names out of it. It'll make it easier when we part ways."

After a few seconds, Kal nodded and the woman sunk slowly down onto him with a long moan.

As she started making small circular grinding motions, she looked down at him. "It's been a while. Last time was in Carriston, I've been making do with my fingers since then."

The motions sped up slightly and Kal realized that she was rubbing her clit on the area just above his prick. He was a little sad that her dress was covering where they were joined. He liked to watch.

"I've been there, had a run-in with some of the more unsavory elements of the town."

"Hmph... Kogen and his slave trade, the worst kept secret in the city. If you ran afoul of them, be careful if you ever go back. I understand he has the backing of some of the lordship and a long memory when it comes to those who piss him off. Now hush," she commanded as she closed her eyes and focused on the sensations coming from her sex. Kal was happy to oblige, the subject matter was threatening to make him go limp. Maybe he'd tell her later that Kogen was no longer an issue.

The woman wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned forward, laying her cheek on his shoulder. Her hips sped up with their circular motion until she found a comfortable rhythm. Kal was enjoying this immensely, the swirling motion pressing on each side of his cock was extremely nice while still offering enough in and out movement. It only got better when the tiny moans started escaping her lips and the walls of her sex began squeezing him more frequently as she approached her release. After a slow buildup, she quite suddenly rose up until he was just barely inside her and slammed down onto him three times in rapid succession. Her fingers dug into his back and she grabbed the fabric of his shirt covering his shoulder between her teeth as she ground her clit into him. This only lasted a few seconds before she lifted up, her clit becoming extremely sensitive as her orgasm ran its course. Putting her forehead on his shoulder, she panted for a few minutes before looking up at him with a smile.

"Think you can go again or are you close?"

He grinned back at her, "I think I'm good for one more."

---

Kal crawled into the other wagon after putting out the campfire. The woman had worked herself up to another slow, grinding climax before switching to sliding up and down on him until he coated the entrance of her womb with his seed. She then retreated to the wagon her father was sleeping in after asking him to stop by the market and let her know which inn he was staying at.

The mage hadn't decided if he was going to take her up on that offer. While the experience was certainly enjoyable, and surprisingly intimate because of the way she clung to him the entire time, there was something lacking that he wasn't entirely comfortable with. Then again, the acknowledgment beforehand that this was filling a need, along with her refusal to give her name, offered a degree of disconnect that allowed him to appreciate the physical aspects of their tryst without worrying about the 'after.' He'd make that decision if he happened to see her at the market. Given the size of the city, it was entirely possible he might never lay eyes on her again.

He set up the bedroll they'd given him to use and looked out into the darkness. Kal wasn't terribly happy about the lack of vigilance, but the old man assured him that this close to the gates of Lantaris, there was no need for a watch. He explained that if the patrols they saw on the road caught a bandit, they were put to death on the spot without trial or chance to escape. Ruffians and scoundrels had safer prey elsewhere.

Thieves and cutpurses were still a hazard but Lantaran punishments for thievery were severe by almost any standard. The author of Kal's book on the city had the misfortune of witnessing one of these punishments. The thief publicly had his hands bound to a chopping block then severed with the swipe of a large sword. He was then cast out into the street as a warning to others. Unless a loved one took steps to save them, it was almost guaranteed they'd bleed to death. More disturbing was that the clerics officiating the proceedings refused to help, even though a small healing spell would have been enough to save the accused man's life.

Apparently, the love and compassion of the Goddess didn't apply to those who broke the city's rules.

And Kal was walking straight into all of this with runic tattoos on his back and a leather strip of spells hidden under his shirt. He must be insane.

Unfortunately for him, the area beyond Lantaris was known as the Death Plains, and the area it covered was equally insane. It was officially known as the Lantaran Plains but had picked up the nickname because being caught trying to enter them was punishable by death. Even if someone managed to avoid the Lantaran guard they were never seen or heard from again.

Thankfully, getting in wasn't going to be as difficult or dangerous as the name implied. The rim of the plains had a low rock wall all the way around it with outposts manned by archers and a small cavalry at regular intervals. The sheer cost of maintaining the wall and manning the outposts resulted in large unguarded sections further away from the city. Much like with the areas surrounding Lantaris, the church made periodic sweeps of the area just inside the wall to clear out any trespassers.

Once on the other side, there were weeks of travel just to go straight across. The problem, of course, was that he wasn't going straight across. While he understood that the northern edge of the Lantaran Plains ran along the edge of the mountain range to the north, he had no clue as to how far down the southern border went. Lantaris could have claimed everything all the way to the Southern Ocean for all he knew. Without having some idea where he was headed, it could take a year or more to find Prentas's tower.

That meant he needed a map. Tomorrow he wouldn't just walk into the lion's den, but straight into the lion's open and waiting maw just to get it.

Kal didn't sleep well that night.

---

"State your business," said the guard at the gate. The man looked bored already and they had barely started to let people in. Kal arrived early that morning and waited in line along with the father and daughter he camped with. Though they tried to get a jump on things, twenty or so carts and people were waiting to be checked by the time they approached the gate. If the guard was this exciting after only a few people, then Kal wondered what he must be like toward the end of his shift.

"I'm researching the area and looking to speak with the royal cartographers," replied Kal.

The guard nodded and began giving instructions in a dull monotone that people developed after saying the same things over and over hundreds of times a day. "Stop at the headquarters of the town guard located at the entrance to the inner city. Pay a fee and they'll give you a writ of passage. Then go to one of the cathedrals and state your case to the priest. You will need to have another writ of passage from one of them to get onto the palace grounds where you can speak to the cartographers. Spire on the left," he said jerking a thumb over his shoulder.

Kal thanked the guard but he was already speaking to those next in line.

The merchant and his daughter passed through the gates already and, to his surprise, they parked their wagons just inside the city to wait for him. With the time-sensitive nature of their business, this was a little unexpected.

The old man told him as they were cleaning up their campsite that morning that he and his daughter would break down their shop and be back outside before the gates closed in the evening. In any other city, this would be foolish due to the threat of bandits and thieves. In Lantaris the threat of merchandise being stolen was actually far lower outside and away from the shadowy alleys between buildings.

It had its drawbacks though. Each morning they would have to make their way through the gate, which meant that all the prime spots for traveling merchants were normally taken by the time they arrived. It also led to them often setting up in different places each day, making it harder for someone to return and purchase wares they were interested in but couldn't afford at the time.

The daughter hopped down out of the driver's seat of the second wagon as he approached. "I hope you'll come find me," she said, wrapping her arms around him. "I told him I might spend a couple of nights with you while we are here." She shifted slightly and brought the hand nearest the wagon down to the front of his pants.

Looking over the woman's head, Kal saw the old man giving them a beaming smile. "Your father seems a little too happy that his daughter may be running off to spend the night with me."

"He's getting old, he likes you, and he knows that I like you. He's just thinking about my future."

Judging by the look on his face, that seemed like a fair assessment. "It's a big city and I've never been here before. As much as part of me wants to, I can't make any promises."

"I understand." With a smile and a final grope, she pulled away and climbed up into the driver's seat of the wagon. A wave to her father, a tap on the rump of the horse in front of her and they were on their way into the city.

Kal adjusted the front of his pants. There was most definitely one part of him that hoped they'd run into each other again.

---

After taking a moment to reserve a room for the next few nights at one of the more reputable looking inns, which coincidentally came highly recommended by his book's author, he made his way through the busy streets toward the gate to the upper city.

"A writ of passage to the upper city without a note of invitation from one of the lords, ladies or clergy is two gold," said the guardsman.

Kal was more than a little stunned by the steep price. "It looks as though I'll have to return later. I brought money but nothing along those lines."

"Whatever," said the guard, in a tone that made it painfully clear he didn't think Kal would come back. "We can't have the riff-raff and rabble strolling onto the estates of their betters." the guardsman looked him up and down, it was obvious where he thought the young man belonged.

The guard scowled when he noticed mage's expression. "I'll be seeing you tomorrow," said Kal, smirking as he walked away.

---

The cathedral was far larger than Kal was prepared for. It and the others in the lower city had been easy to spot when he and Sera got their first look at Lantaris, but from such a distance there was little concept of how large the buildings were. Four shining white towers, two on either end, matched the spires next to the palace. The inside of the massive structures sported rows and rows of stone benches. Until now, the largest city he had been in was Carriston and he had a feeling that a significant portion of its populace could fit inside this lone amphitheater.

His book explained that, up until a few years ago, the cathedrals were open to the sky. A roof was attempted decades ago with the assistance of some skilled geomancers, but they discovered no degree of stonework mastery could support such a structure. The rock used to bolster the roof was formed around steel reinforcements, but during construction the immense weight caused one of the supports to crumble. Within seconds the entire roof came down, killing two of the geomancers.

The church was understandably upset, swiftly judging the remaining mages and sentencing them to death. The geomancers resorted to begging for their lives, offering to rebuild the church to its former state. Because of the extreme cost of rebuilding with conventional means they were granted a stay of execution until the work was done. The earth wizards vanished days before completion. The quick reconstruction had swayed public opinion in the geomancers' favor and the church was tight-lipped about their disappearance. Rumors quickly circulated that a group of priests had rounded them up and quietly killed them. The church never confirmed or denied the allegations, even to this day. With his own knowledge of geomancy, Kal suspected that the earth mages escaped instead of chancing a second hearing.

The book went on to mention that Lantaris had been one of the first to adopt the new type of steel that was recently developed. The new material proved to be strong and light enough to be used for the soaring beams that held up the ceiling.

Kal vaguely remembered something about the tub Talin was born in being made out of this newer version of the metal. While interesting, steel and iron didn't get along with magic very well, so he hadn't given it much thought. Seeing the gigantic supports arcing overhead to create the domed roof made him think he had been too hasty in his dismissal.

The exterior of the amphitheater's covering was plated in gleaming copper, but the underside was painted white and lit by brightly glowing stones set along the beams. Kal asked the acolyte acting as his guide about how the stones or whatever they were produced so much light. The man explained that they were actually bubbles of glass, coated on the inside with a white powder that was laced with mithril. The mage tucked that tidbit of information away for later use when he started needing to light the caves up in the mountain. The stones he and Ikuno had scattered all over the floors up there were only slightly brighter than a torch.

"What business do you have up in the main church?" asked the priest. He appeared to be around Ellis and Jurien's age and was dressed in his full white and gold regalia even though the daily sermon had concluded hours ago. His office in the back of the cathedral was lavishly adorned with various expensive-looking trinkets revolving around his faith. The large desk he sat behind was made from a dark wood with an expertly carved mural of the goddess on the front. Large bookcases that reached all the way up the ceiling had been set into the walls on either side of the room and were made of the same wood. The contents of the bookcases drew Kal's attention more than all the decorative baubles made of gold and ivory scattered about the room. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of interesting knowledge might be hidden within those pages. Behind the priest's chair, a stained-glass window depicted the goddess in flowing white robes looking kindly down upon the people at the bottom who all appeared to be praying. The window shone as if sunlight were striking it but Kal was certain they were facing east and it was well past noon already.

"I'm doing research on some of the local myths in the area and their origins," replied Kal. "I'm especially interested in the lost city of Montar which used to be where Lake Montar now sits."

The priest's eyes flicked to the lid of a gold box he had opened as Kal sat down. The mage suppressed a frown as he guessed it was some means of detecting lies.

"Research of Lake Montar has been going on for many years, there was no city there."

"I've run across some accounts that say otherwise." Kal watched closely as the man glanced at the box again, a scowl momentarily flitting across his expression. "I'm of the understanding that the Montaran army met its end out on the Death Plains. I'd like to speak with the royal cartographers to see if I can figure out where that occurred."

"I doubt the cartographers would appreciate me sending them someone looking for an imaginary city's imaginary army lost out on the plains." The priest leaned forward and his expression turned cold. "Young man, I follow the Goddess, I love her, I praise her, I live by her ideals. Listen carefully when I tell you that there was no city where Lake Montar currently is and that repeating such nonsense within these walls will get you jailed... or worse."

"Fair enough," said Kal, shrugging. "That was more or less what I expected but I wanted to take the more diplomatic route first. Let me ask a more honest question, whose palms do I need to grease to access the maps I need of the Death Plains?"

The priest sat back, "I'm not certain if I'm insulted or impressed by your boldness. The fact is that politicians might be swayed by such offers but you won't get as far with the clergy. The vast majority of our needs are taken care of by the church. Unless the amount you are offering is exorbitant, bribery won't get you very far. However, since you are interested in the Death Plains, I'm going to send you to the Revered Mother Elden in the western cathedral. She is the priestess currently looking into a problem we've been having out there. If you are willing to assist her, then she might be willing to help you out."