He felt his pride twinge slightly at that but kept his mouth shut, and finally, Druska agreed, wrapping him in a fierce hug and kissing him soundly before they parted. She showed Braden how they could use the translation necklaces as two-way communicators but only for a short time. He couldn't go until he had done the same with Leesha as well. He and Emma left the two women huddled together, working on their plans.
Braden and Emma talked as they hiked out of the forest, of her life growing up in the village, and then she peppered him with questions about his world. She was intrigued when he told her about hospitals doctors, nurses, and all the rest. Her mind was spinning, and she asked more and more incisive questions; how they performed surgeries, how machines that could view into the body worked. Braden did his best to answer all of her questions, but the girl was sharp and knew her healing, soon her questions were too sophisticated for him to offer insight. He had given her much to think about.
In the late morning, they exited the forest to find cultivated lands, dotted with farms, cottages, and the occasional herd of sheep, goats, or pigs. After they had passed through a small village at noon, pausing to buy a couple of meat pies, Emma asked for directions into Dalton.
“Just head over that there hill My Lady,” said the wide-eyed shop keeper. The man couldn’t keep his eyes off Emma. When he turned to see Braden, tall, powerfully muscled and with that massive sword watching him, he swallowed quick and averted his gaze. They strayed back almost immediately, and his jaw dropped again as the busty teen thanked the man and stepped away.
From the moment they entered the village, they had drawn stares. They were wearing matching outfits, of the same color, cloth, and similar cuts. Braden heard whispers of Bond Mage from people, and they were given deference wherever they went, based solely on their luxurious clothing and weapons. Emma drew stares with her silver hair and eyes, and unearthly innocent beauty. Braden could count on two hands the number of times a man or woman tripped, forgetting themselves when they caught a glimpse of the young healer.
Emma, for her part, was oblivious to the male attention but she was all too aware of the many women who stared at her Lord with unhidden avarice and desire. Instead of jealousy or worry they might try to trip him into their beds, Emma felt pride and her back grew straighter as they passed through the village. Looking over, she was struck by her Lord's handsome and kind face, plus those fierce blue eyes that seemed to look into the soul of whatever he regarded. His lean muscled frame was shown off to perfection in the coat and pants she and her mom had made, and in spite of herself, she felt her thighs press tight together, desire like a low heat deep within her.
They took the wide road out of town and crested the small hill, and before they spread out and down the low hills were a patchwork of farms and on the shore of a great blue lake that stretched out across the horizon, was a large town surrounded by a high stone wall. In the center of the city was a vast castle of soaring towers and snapping pennants. The gates were open, and a steady stream of carts and wagons rolled through and out into the surrounding lands.
Braden and Emma hurried along, covering the last couple of miles in a short time. They found themselves passing through the tall gate in the early afternoon with the sun high in the sky. The guards watched them with interest but didn't try to stop them from entering. Braden saw a guardsman whisper to a small boy who, after a nervous glance at Braden and Emma took off running up the crowded street in the direction of the castle.
Braden asked a shop keeper for directions to the adventurer's guild, and then the two of them slipped off into the crowded streets. The reaction in town was similar to what they had gotten in the village, and Braden was a bit uncomfortable by all the eyes tracking their movements and whispered conversation trailing in their wake. Emma linked her arm in his, and as he gazed into her loving and sweet face, he felt the unease settle down.
The town was crammed full of buildings and people. The wood and stone structures built practically atop one another, with the occasional narrow alley between linking streets. Braden felt at home in the press of people, having lived in a big city during his college years. The one thing that was hard to ignore was the smell. It smelled like a combination of stale sweat, shit, and mud, with shit being the dominant smell. Emma, for her part, was overwhelmed by the press of people and the scents, but her glowing eyes took it all in.
Chapter Six
It took a couple hours of backtracking and asking for directions before they arrived at the tall building. It was all of white stone, cut and fit neatly with a large arch over the door proclaiming it: The Illustrious Guild of Adventurers. Braden and Emma climbed the steps, and before he could reach to open the doors, they swung open by themselves.
The inside reminded Braden of a bank. There was a small desk in the middle covered with a few stacks of paper, quill and ink bottles, and in the back was a long counter where several young women sat furiously filling out forms and paperwork. Off to one side were three small offices, and in one, an older gentleman with spectacles was questioning a massive brute of a man with little beady dark eyes flanked by a pair of twin men, with coldly beautiful faces. The three turned as one and watched Braden and Emma enter, the men's eyes tracking Emma with clear avarice and dismissing Braden.
Braden felt his hackles rise as they walked through the hall, feeling not just the men in the office but other hidden eyes tracking their every move. He walked up and stopped at the small sign that read 'Wait Here'. After a few seconds, a cute girl with a black bob hair cut raised her head and smiled, waving them over. As they got close, the girl's head tilted curiously.
"Greetings, you two are new here," she said with a smile, "I'm Elzith. How can I help you today?"
"We want to get registered with the guild," Braden said, pulling out the scroll from his pack that, "I have a writ from an Imperial Clerk that I believe explains our situation."
"Oh perfect," the girl said, taking the paper from him and unfurling it. She skimmed it, noting the signature at the bottom, "Just one moment while I get the roll book." The girl hopped up and walked to the back, conferring with an associate and then came back with a hefty tome which she opened to the middle.
"Now, who will be the leader of your party?"
“I shall be,” Braden said.
"The Guild Fee is one gold Ducal, to be paid either in full now or in monthly installments of 10 silver, how would you like to handle that?" Braden shook his head at the universality of bureaucratic fees and paid the gold piece.
"I will need your signature and a thumbprint in blood here on this line. Then we will go over the bylaws and responsibilities of a guild member." Braden dipped the quill in the inkwell, awkwardly and scratched out a signature that looked like the work of a child, as he used the unfamiliar writing instrument. He pressed down on the small tack the woman provided and placed his thumbprint in the empty box.
"Perfect!" She said, setting the tome aside to dry, then pulling out a separate scroll, she began to read in a voice so fast Braden had trouble keeping up with her. Like an auctioneer, her words rang out rapid-fire.
“These Bylaws are created pursuant to and in accordance with Article VIII of the Imperial Bylaws Regulating Committee which states: "The Guild may adopt its bylaws and operating procedures, elect its officers and representatives ("Guild Officers") and establish its agenda in consultation with the Board Chair and the Director, subject to any rules or policies adopted by the Board from time to time. Any action taken by the Guild or Guild Officers, which is legally binding on the Adventurers shall be subject to the Authorizations Policy…" Her words rattled on and on. Braden was doing his best to memorize the most critical points, such as the annual dues, protections from destruction of property when in pursuit of a quest, the establishing of a charter if one wished to claim property rights for any ruins they cleared out, and many others.
“Do you have any questions?” The woman asked when she finished.
“A dozen, but I’ll keep it t
o just one,” Braden said, holding up the flyer Druska had found, "I wanted to inquire about this."
"If you look down this hall here, over along the wall," she indicated a narrow hallway to the left side of the room, "you’ll see the quest postings, all the information you require is there. Remember that if you complete a quest, a debriefing is customary if you wish to receive the reward."
“What does fete by the Duke mean?” Braden asked as he was standing.
“He likes to throw parties,” the girl said, “hasn’t had the title long you see, married the former duke’s widow. He is always throwing balls and parties, him and Bond Mage Helga. Thick as thieves they are.”
"Thank you very much," Braden said, and then he led Emma over to the wall.
There were over a dozen different postings, and he read them over with curiosity. Most were excursions into the forest, and one was a murder mystery, another spoke of a pack of pirates that had been terrorizing a trade route in the vast sea. Then he found a great one. It was bordered in red and at the top of the heap. It was a twin to the flyer they had seen before, but at the bottom were several paper tickets, like the parchment had been sliced up from the bottom in a dozen places evenly spaces. Two of which were gone already. The tickets had a minor enchantment that would allow an adventurer past the safety barrier placed over the arch's portal. Braden tore off a ticket and saw instruction on it for finding the arch just to the west of town. Just as he was slipping it in a pocket, he heard the heavy tromp of boots behind him.
"Ho, friend!" Came a loud greeting. When he turned, he saw the massive man with the big bristly black beard. On the man's back was a huge black-hafted battle-ax and twin throwing hatches hung from his hips. His companions both had crossbows slung over their shoulders, and Braden felt a hum of magical energy about the twins.
"Greetings to you and especially to you, my lovely," he said with an awkward bow for Emma. The girl pulled closer to Braden uncomfortable under the predatory stares of the three men.
“Greetings,” said Braden, “and you would be…”
"Forgive my rudeness! I am Captain Henry the Hairy, and this here is Jun and Elio my First Mates," he held his hand out.
"I am Braden, and this is Emma, pleasure," he took the proffered hand and felt the bigger man cinch down, trying to crush his hand in his meaty grip. As he did, both Jun and Elio stepped forward, menacing looks on their faces.
Braden glanced over to the counter and saw the girls who had been working at their desks casting nervous glances in their direction and crouching down behind the thick wood. Now that he looked, Braden saw scars and gouges across the floorboards and walls, and faint tell-tale stains on the walls and floor. Evidence of past battles in these halls.
His icy blue eyes turned to Henry and bore into the man. The magic trickled into him, and he empowered his grip, his smile appearing slow and easy as his hand matched the enormous man, power for power, then he began to tighten his even harder. The big man's face, so filled with greed and certainty, turned a sickly shade of green as his hand crumpled, bones straining just on the point of snapping beneath the handsome man's iron-hard grip. His companions sensed something amiss and glanced at their boss, wary.
"Was there anything else I could help you with?" Braden asked. The men smelled of salt, brine, and sour sweat. Their battle gear showed evidence of heavy use.
“No!” The big man said and gasped in relief when Braden released him, clutching the hand to his chest. The twins glanced at one another and them back to Braden, eyes narrowing.
"You have a good day then," Braden led Emma out into the street, glancing back just as the doors closed to see the three men glowering at them, and the leader looking curiously at the quest they had taken.
Putting the encounter out of his mind, Braden led Emma back through the quickly darkening streets. The sun set before they got to the gate and cursing quietly to himself, Braden began searching around for an Inn where they could find a room. They wouldn't be able to leave the town until the gates opened at dawn. Not unless he wanted to cause an uproar by flying over the walls or something, and he wasn't even sure he could do that. Not yet, at least.
They saw glowing lights from an inn shining out into the street, and Emma laughed in joy when they headed in. Pausing outside, Braden sent a message to Druska informing her of their status and that he planned to leave the city at dawn.
“I’ve always wanted to see a big city inn!” Emma whispered in his ear, her excited voice causing him to smile.
"Well, let's make a night of it then," Braden said as he pushed open the door. The room was full of patrons but not crowded, and he found a small table in the back corner. Most in the common room turned to look at the well-dressed hero and his gorgeous woman, but the musician was excellent and the player beautiful as well, so they turned back, giving the couple a measure of privacy.
As Braden sat and looked around, his gaze froze on a small woman, bobbing and dancing to the music in her seat. At first, he thought she might have dwarfism of another malady he was familiar with, but then he realized she was an actual Dwarf. Her chubby round cheeks and vibrant red hair glowed in the lantern light, and she laughed with her companions and downed a big tankard of ale in one gulp. There were other non-human races as well, a small halfling man dressed like a merchant, and a tiny giant nosed gnome with clockwork goggles on his head, all spinning gears, springs, and levers. The gnome intrigued Braden, and the engineer in him longed to pull apart those goggles and see how they worked.
He even saw an elf seated along a far wall. The tall, imperious male was handsome and looked down his nose at all the other patrons. His foot tapped out the rhythm of the music even as he scowled. On the other end of the room was a slender woman with a long yellow tail that whipped up near her cheek, and tall perked golden ears.
“What race is that?” Braden asked his eyes round as saucers as he saw a creature out of his imaginings.
"Those are the animal-kin, they’re a rare sight in human lands, but you see them often in elven villages, or so I hear, that’s the first fox-kin I've ever seen.
"There are different types of animal-kin?" Braden asked, "Maybe… cat-kin?" He strained to keep the heat from his voice as he asked. Catgirls has always been a secret kink of his back on earth… to think they might exist in this world.
You have three gorgeous women at your beck and call you greedy bastard, he thought to himself, get over it.
"Oh yes," Emma said, not missing the too-casual tone of her Lord, "cute little cat girls are quite common, or so I hear," she gave him a sidelong look and then burst out laughing at his strained expression and rosy cheeks.
The serving girl came and took their order of ale and a plate of food for each, and when the mugs had arrived, Braden leaned back in his chair as he sipped the amber ale. It had a citrusy taste, like oranges or tangerines, and he sighed in pleasure. Looking over at Emma, he laughed softly when she grimaced at the taste and pushed her mug aside.
“Not a fan of ale?” He asked her.
"It's strange," she said, shaking her head slightly, "I used to love ale and wine whenever my mother let me drink it, but it just tastes of poison now."
"I wonder if that is an effect of… what took place at your home," he said, careful not to say anything that might end up in a spy's ears.
“I believe so,” she looked down into the mug and got a look of concentration on her face, then her hair pulsed faintly with silver light, and she smiled broadly and brought the mug up, sighing in contentment as she drank deep.
"Emma," he said, glancing around as the several patrons who had noticed the glow. They were whispering to companions as word got out.
“I removed the poison,” she said with a cheerful grin, “it’s delicious!”
What’s done is done, he thought, and they listened to the bard sing songs of good times and bad. Their trenchers of gravy, meat, and vegetables arrived, and they ate. The meal was hearty, and filling and Braden enjoyed another ale alon
g with it and would have had another few and taken this gorgeous woman up and danced with her. He was enjoying the warm atmosphere and the light buzz he was feeling immensely. However, this was a strange town, in a still strange world and he couldn't get too comfortable or flashy.
Chapter Seven
After they paid for a room, the two of them headed up and locked the door behind themselves. It was a tiny space with a small chair and a narrow bed. Braden went to sit down, but Emma stopped him running her hands over the mattress and sheets. He saw her hair pulse dimly and then again, and the girl stood and smiled.
"Just give them a minute or two, my Lord, and then we can rest."
"Give who?" Braden asked, but then he saw the small line of bugs crawling across the wooden bed frame and down into a crack in the floorboards. He shuddered in revulsion and then thanked the heavens for Emma and her powers. He began to unhook his baldric when Emma's hand stopped him.
"My Lord," the girl said softly, "please allow me." Her smile was gentle and shy, but her tone would brook no argument, so he let his hands drop, and she removed the weapon, setting it reverently against the wall within easy reach of the bed, then she began to remove the rest of his clothes, her soft fingers playing across his flesh, leaving goosebumps in their wake.
"I have not had a chance to thank you for bonding me properly," she said, her shy eyes meeting his, "you have given me a gift beyond my wildest dreams. Not just the powers, although they are a miracle, its Druska and Leesha as well. They are my sisters and wives, and I feel as though I could love them, just as I love you," her voice dropped at that, and she went on quickly, "Now sit and relax, let me take care of your needs my Lord."
She pressed him back onto the mattress, pulling off his boots, socks, and finally drawing down his pants. Her gentle smile grew decidedly sexy when his massive iron-hard manhood rose into view. Then she stood and watched his face as she slowly undid the buttons on her apron and dress, letting the garments slowly slide to the floor. His eyes widened as her incredible eighteen-year-old body came into view. Her pale flesh was smooth as silk, and her weighty curves caused his mouth to water. She set the clothes neatly beside his on the chair. Then giving him a grin that was not shy at all, she dropped to her knees between his legs.
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