Vannerbehn's Luck Pt. 05

Codyla was watching the ships. I saw three or four suspicious figures skulking about. Two of them, just off to my left, perplexed me. Adult males, much too large to be inconspicuous. They looked more like strongarm types, or muggers, than pickpockets.

And they were wearing cloaks.

It was quite warm, already, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The only possible reason for wearing a long cloak in this weather would be to conceal a weapon. But why here?

I glanced to my right. Two armed men. Pirates - I knew the type. But they were looking around, as I was, scanning for threats. Just behind them, an elderly woman was browsing at a wine stall, where an obsequious wine merchant was showing her his wares.

Beyond them, though, there were two more big men, wearing cloaks ...

I gently disengaged my hand from Codyla's, just as the two cloaked men to my left made their move. They swept their cloaks aside, and produced wooden clubs. A robbery, then - or an abduction. Not a murder.

- "Watch out!" I shouted.

As I cried out, I also quickly stepped forward, and elbowed one of the cloaked thugs in the head. He staggered. I probably should have drawn a weapon.

He recovered quicker than I would have predicted. With a snarl, he raised his club.

- "Daze, damn you!" I shouted.

It worked. While he was stunned, I drew my rapier, and hammered the pommel against the side of his head. Shooting him would have been more effective, but it was a public market.

The two pirates reacted very quickly. They drew cutlasses before the remaining cloak and club men could close with them. There was also a third pirate, their comrade, who quickly joined them.

One of the cloaked men died, very quickly. Another was subdued and captured. The fourth man escaped. The pirates didn't pursue very actively. As I'd suspected, they were bodyguards, watching over the old woman. Who was she, that she rated so much protection?

These pirates were efficient. Our little scuffle had cause quite a commotion in this end of the Old Fish Market. Two of them surrounded the little old lady. The third pointed his cutlass at me.

I slowly, carefully, placed my rapier on the ground, and held up my hands.

- "Twarn't 'im, Kero." said one of his friends. "That's the gent 'oo warned us. Took out that third fella, too."

Kero stared at me for another moment. He had that look. You know the one: kill first, ask questions later. Thick eyebrows, a scar on the cheek ... that's all I noticed. Then he lowered the point of his cutlass.

- "Thank you." he said. "Your timing was perfect."

- "Glad to be of service." I said.

- "We appreciate it." said Kero. "Mister ...?"

- "Vannerbehn. Kelsen Vannerbehn." These didn't look like the type of fellows one should lie to. "May I ask who it is you're guarding?"

- "No." said Kero. The old lady stared at me. Damned if she wasn't scarier than her bodyguards.

They left. I escorted Codyla back to Anson's. She had many questions; I had few answers. Another typical day in the Pirate City.

***

I spent another evening with Ludianne. She offered, as always, intelligent conversation and incredible sex. It was wonderful.

- "Why are you so good to me?" I was struggling, a bit, with the idea of our partnership. Was Ludianne sleeping with me - and being kind - because she felt some kind of obligation? Or gratitude?

- "I have had precious little sex, and almost no pleasant conversation, for decades. Then you come along, and provide both. Is it any wonder that I'm a little infatuated?" She saw my face, and laughed. "Relax, Kelsen - it won't last forever. A few more decades, at most."

She was perceptive, enough, too, to see that I was slightly off kilter. And kind enough to ask me about it.

"You should have laughed there, partner. What's bothering you?" she asked.

- "Malena. Sinker. The question of whether I'm taking advantage of you. What to do with myself. I can't go back to doing what I did."

Ludianne didn't brush me off. "Let's address those one at a time, shall we? You couldn't have prevented your friends' deaths - unless you had never spoken to them in the first place. We've covered that one. It wasn't your fault, Kelsen."

"As for me ... I've been a slave for centuries. Finally, a man - well, a half-elf - comes along and treats me as ... as a person. As an equal. And you think that I have grounds for complaint? Get serious."

"As for the final issue ... you're a bright lad, partner. Running a casino doesn't appeal to you, but you have too many talents to sit about doing nothing. You'll find something that motivates you. Trust me."

"You have money to spend on your friends, and to support the Gale - oh yes, I know all about that. You've been very lucky. Life can be very sour, Kelsen; enjoy the sweet, while you can."

Is it any wonder that I immediately took my Janni back to bed, and ate her into submission? Then I fucked her hard and fast, from behind. Give me good advice, will you?

The next night, Marius came to find me.

- "A customer asking for you, sir."

- "And?"

- "She claims that the cover charge doesn't apply to her."

I knew right away who that was. I made my way to the front entrance.

- "Welcome to the Narimac, Fhaernala." I said.

She looked odd, without her leather armour, or her bow. But she had brushed her long, striking, almost-white hair, and had also applied rouge to her lips and kohl around her eyes.

"Would you like a tour?" I asked.

- "A very brief one." she said. "And I would like to meet your Janni."

Fhaernala was mildly interested in the Narimac. It held her interest for almost ten minutes. Ludianne, on the other hand, she found fascinating. My partner was also somewhat intrigued by the elf. Thankfully, they eventually remembered that I was there.

- "Perhaps we could speak another time." said Ludianne. They were so utterly different: the pale, slender, white-haired elf, and the purple-skinned voluptuous Janni.

- "Yes. I would enjoy that." said Fhaernala. "But tonight I have business with Kelsen."

She was here to collect on my obligation to her. Before agreeing to help in the fight against Molun, Fhaernala had told me that she had a condition.

- "What kind of condition?" I asked.

- "I want what Pamna had."

- "I beg your pardon?"

- "What you did to her. Under the wagon. And all the way back to the city." said the elf. "I want that." I'd met elves before. Some were distant. Others were warm, and friendly. The wood-elves had a reputation for being light-hearted.

Fhaernala was in a league of her own.

- "You want me to ..."

- "Pleasure me. As you did Pamna."

At the time, I needed all hands on deck against Molun. I would have agreed to much tougher conditions. But this one was decidedly odd.

It's not that Fhaernala was unattractive. Far from it. Her face was ... exquisite. I would have paid for the privilege of just looking at her. She was just so ... distant. I had to find a way to break through that reserve.

With my partner's permission, I took her to Ludianne's room.

- "Well, you'll have to take some clothes off." I said.

- "Won't you do the same?" she asked.

- "Yes ... but Pamna always ... initiated our encounters." I was gambling here. Fhaernala had heard us, under the wagon. She might have seen us, too. But I didn't think that she had asked Pamna for intimate details. Somehow, I just couldn't picture that conversation.

- "I see. How much clothing did she remove?"

- "Sometimes all of it." I said. "But at the very least, she would show me her breasts."

- "Hmm." said Fhaernala. "My breasts are quite small."

- "Size is of no importance, when there are so many other considerations."

- "Are there?"

- "Why don't you remove your shirt, and I will explain it to you."

Honestly - watching the flickers of expression on Fhaernala's face, as she considered what I said, was enough to turn me on. By the time she reached for her shirt, I was already hard. When she lifted it over her head, I gasped.

Fhaernala hadn't lied. Her breasts were small. But she had neglected to mention that most of her breast was composed of puffy, erect nipple. Less than a handful - but certainly a mouthful. It was just about the only fat on her entire body.

She also had a small mole, just above her left breast. It drew my eye, like a magnet.

Then there was the expression on her face. I couldn't even begin to describe it. It wasn't vulnerability, or any simple need to hear a compliment. It wasn't indifference. Fhaernala was genuinely curious. What will he say? That's what she seemed to be thinking.

- "You have a spectacular body, Fhaernala." I said.

- "Do I?"

- "Absolutely." She couldn't have been more different from Ludianne. She made Pamna look buxom. Yet, slender as she was, the elf could not have been better proportioned. Her thin arms were nothing but muscle and whipcord. Her belly was flat, and superbly defined.

Her breasts were tiny. They were just barely a support platform for her incredibly erect nipples. I stared at them for a moment, mesmerized.

Fhaernala's legs mirrored her arms. Muscle, sinew and tendon. No fat. She had no ass to speak of. None. It was ... astonishing.

But it was her face - the sharp features, the prominent, pointed ears - that set my blood coursing to the mid-southern extremities of my body. If you had described her in advance, I would have shaken my head, and gone to bed early - alone.

Now that I stood there, looking at her naked glory, I heard Ludianne's voice: 'Enjoy the sweet, Kelsen'.

- "Pamna and I would kiss a bit, first." I said.

Fhaernala knew how to kiss. Oh, my goodness. I sat her down on the pillows, with my arm around her, and kissed her lips.

It didn't take long for me to realize that for her, this was some sort of experiment. Fhaernala was curious. Intrigued, even. But it was as though she was a spectator, or an observer, watching what was going on, rather than participating.

Then I had a thought. A very good thought.

- "Would you excuse me?" I asked her.

- "Of course."

I ran down the stairs, and quickly located Ludianne.

- "What is it?" she asked.

- "I need hot massage oil. Right now!"

Ludianne grinned. She told me later that it was the high point of her evening. Sometimes, I think my partner missed her calling. Instead of running a casino, she should have been a madam, supervising the brothel next door.

I got my warm oil, and brought it back to Ludianne's room.

- "On your stomach." I said.

Fhaernala looked skeptical, but she acceded to my request. I promptly gave her the Ludianne / Janni treatment. It was so different. Where Ludianne was voluptuous, and ripe, Fhaernala was ... well, it was more like polishing a table than massaging muscle.

At first, I was rubbing oil into the sharp planes of her shoulders and shoulder-blades. Her lower back was equally tight. To my surprise, her non-ass had a little bit of flesh - and my elf friend seemed equally surprised. I thought I heard a soft moan.

- "What was that?" I asked.

- "Nothing. Carry on." she said.

She enjoyed the leg massage. It was a muscle massage, unlike the sensual rubbing that I had done for Ludianne. But my subject was beginning to respond. She seemed to enjoy having the arches of her feet rubbed.

- "Was that a moan, Fhaernala?"

- "No. But you can keep going - if you wish."

Oh, I did. I was probably more amazed than she was. The elf's slender but muscular body was as responsive as any I'd ever had experienced.

- "You can turn over now." I said.

Fhaernala actually groaned. But she rolled over.

Ludianne might have protested, but I started at the top. I rubbed oil into the elf's shoulders, and then massaged her upper arms. I didn't neglect her breasts, and I dipped my head to kiss and lick that intriguing mole. But other than a quick brush over her nipples with my thumbs, I didn't linger.

Her belly and hips were surprisingly sensitive. When I grasped her hips in my two hands, Fhaernala moaned. But when I bypassed her pussy, to rub oil into her thighs, she groaned in frustration.

I spent an inordinate amount of time on her legs, and her delicate feet. She enjoyed it; I knew that for sure. But I was teasing her, and it was working.

By the time I lowered my head, and breathed on her pussy, she was well beyond recall. And then she was mine.

You see, I really like oral sex. Giving, even more than receiving. I gave Fhaernala exactly what Pamna had experienced - my undivided attention. I took my time, and focused on her pussy like it was the centre of the universe.

I reached up, and tweaked her nipples - and Fhaernala came hard. As I'd suspected, she'd been trying to force to prove myself. She'd been resisting - but we'd crossed that barrier.

- "So that was what you did ..." said Fhaernala.

- "That was how we began, sometimes. But that was only the beginning."

- "Oh?" said the elf. I stood, and dropped my trousers, revealing my erection. "Oh!" she said.

I lay on my back. "Your turn to move a bit." I suggested.

She hesitated only a moment. Then Fhaernala sat astride me, held me with her fingers, and sank down on my shaft.

- "Ahh ..." said someone. I think it was me.

She rode me slowly, patiently, seeking her own pleasure. She ground herself against me. Then Fhaernala placed her delicate hands on my chest, and began to slide her hips back and forth. She closed her eyes.

Fhaernala came again, grinding, and sagged down onto my chest. I gently rolled her over, and entered her from behind as she lay on her side. It wasn't long before I pulled out, and shot my load across her back.

I found a towel, and wiped her off. Elves don't sleep, but Fhaernala was content to lie quietly on the cushions, deep in thought. She let me doze a little.

- "Can you do that again?" she asked.

I could, and we did.

- "I see now why Pamna kept coming back to you." said Fhaernala, afterwards. "Thank you. I enjoyed the experience."

- "So did I. Thank you."

She left in the early hours of the morning, just before the Narimac closed.

***

Two nights later, I was doing my duty as part-owner of the Narimac. In other words, I was circulating, and letting myself be seen. Death by inane conversation.

Marius came to find me. "Sir, there's a woman outside who says she needs to speak to you." He sniffed. "I don't believe she could afford the cover charge, Sir."

That could describe the vast majority of the city's population. It might be one of my contacts, though.

It was Aliona.

She wore a cloak, despite the heat and humidity. Lovely as ever.

- "Kelsen?"

- "Why did you come here, Aliona?"

- "You ... you haven't come around for a while. And I heard ..."

- "That I might have been killed? Leave it, Aliona. You made your choice."

- "I made a mistake. I know that." she said. "But isn't there a chance ...?"

- "No. Go home."

- "It was a mistake, Kelsen. I'm sorry."

- "You should be. Go home, Aliona."

She heard the finality in my tone. As she turned to go, I called her name.

"Aliona."

- "Yes."

- "If I'm ever in the Dolphin again - for whatever reason - you let someone else serve me."

She didn't answer.

***

The next night, I was too exhausted to pretend to be nice to gamblers and glad-handers. Ludianne had worn me out, during the daylight hours, all in the interest of furthering her philosophy of 'Enjoy the Sweet'.

But it was impossible to sleep at night. The Narimac was a marvelous source of profit; unfortunately its inverted hours were wreaking havoc with my sleeping habits.

My malaise went deeper than that, though. I didn't know what to do with myself. Yes, I can hear your heart breaking in sympathy for me: lucky bastard survives dragon, wins casino, sleeps with fabulous Janni. What was I crying about?

I wasn't a thief anymore. I couldn't run a successful con anymore, when everyone with money knew who I was. And why steal at all? It hardly made sense to steal a few hundred from some rich man's house when I could rob him repeatedly when he came to the Narimac.

I would just have to find something to do. Something consistent with the kind of life I liked to lead. Well, you know what they say: be careful what you wish for.

Ludianne herself came to wake me, only to find me idly perusing a scroll.

- "Oh - you're awake." she said.

- "Honestly, Ludianne: could you sleep through this?"

- "Janni do not sleep, dear." she said. "Did that great shout wake you up?"

- "What great shout?" I hadn't heard anything but the usual bedlam, with a thin layer of music over the top.

- "Someone tried to duplicate your feat. He put five thousand on a single number." she said.

- "Don't tell me ..."

- "No." said Ludianne. "He lost. And no, I did not cheat."

- "Sorry I missed it."

- "You are not. But I'm glad you are up. I have a small favour to ask of you."

- "Really?" This was almost a first. There wasn't much that I could do for a semi-omnipotent being, other than provide interesting conversation and the occasional orgasm.

"What can I do for you?"

- "I would like to speak to those spellcasters you met when you fought the dragon. Fhaernala told me about them: Taliesine and Syrava. Could you possibly ask them to come here?"

- "Syrava doesn't like me." I admitted. "But I'll ask Taliesine. Umm ... she's a bit ... odd."

- "She is a wizard, Kelsen. Odd is just the beginning. And could you come downstairs with me, now? We have visitors."

- "Someone I need to see?"

- "The men we pay protection money to. The real ones. But they want to speak to you."

I knew that it was trouble right away. For one thing, there were only two of them. For another, they looked distinctly uncomfortable. They were twitchy. Fidgety. They kept trying to touch weapons that weren't there.

They were both barbarians. I mean, born and bred in the hills, along with their head-hunting parents. Growing up, they had probably helped Grandpa file his teeth and make drinking bowls out of their enemies' skulls. There was only one Pirate Lord who employed savages like these.

- "The Wolf wants ta see ya." said one of them.

Oh, shit.

Inavar.

*****