by Alexis Ward
Her breathing came in ragged gasps as I continued to thrust into her, pushing myself over the edge of my own climax. She slumped down atop me as I spasmed and spilled my seed deep inside her pussy. She lay atop me, breathing quietly. I was still somewhat exhausted from the journey we had just had, and passed out with her splayed out atop me, my cock half hard inside her.
Chapter 5 - Trouble on the Way to Town
I woke up with Tabitha still snoring atop me. I could hear Sasha doing something in the kitchen just beyond the door to my room, and a scent that smelled meaty, spicy, and delicious blocked out any other smells. I put one hand on the small of Tabitha’s back. She opened her eyes, looked up at me, then snuggled against me. “No no no, it’s time to be up. Don’t you smell breakfast at all?” I said.
Tabitha shrugged, and rolled off of me, then curled up against my side. I sighed and threw the blankets back. She curled up into a ball reflexively and glared at me as the cold air wafted over both of us. I got up and got dressed, then left for the kitchen as Tabitha was busy snuggling back under the blankets.
Another large pot of stew sat on the middle of the kitchen table. Sasha stood nearby, adjusting the intakes on the wood stove. “Well you were up late.” she said.
I looked out the small window. “But it’s not even daylight yet!” I said as I picked up the ladle and made myself a bowl of stew.
“Not right now. I mean last night. The internal walls are thin you know. I heard you pounding away at our guest.” Sasha said with a roll of her eyes.
“You’re not unhappy about that?” I asked.
Sasha chuckled. “Not at all. I mentioned it was an option to Tabitha yesterday, if she happened to be feeling lonely or in need of comforting. You are happy, and I assume she pleased, so what is there for me to be unhappy about?” she asked.
“Alright. That’s just a bit different from how things worked… where I came from.” I said as I worked on eating my stew.
“Then you must have lived in a truly barbaric place. Do you miss it?” Sasha asked. I heard the door to my room open and Tabitha emerged, naked. She froze and looked at both Sasha and I as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, then she stepped into her room and closed the door. My eyes lingered on her large breasts and the slender curve of her hips.
My eyes snapped back to Sasha as she sat down. “Ah, no not really. Especially during wartime it was a gruesome existence, not knowing when someone close to me would be blown away in an instant.” I said. My mind drifted back toward my final moments. Staring at the smoking artillery shell less than a foot away from my face. I still couldn’t remember anything beyond that.
“Well, that’s good I suppose. I’m glad you’re adjusting well to this. Though some days it’s about as dangerous as you describe your old life as.” Sasha said. Tabitha emerged from her room, wearing deerskin clothes similar to Sasha’s, and took a seat at the table. Sasha poured her a bowl of stew.
A short while later we snuffed out the candles, put out the fire in the fireplace, and shouldered our packs. The three of us stepped out of the house just as the sun peeked over the treeline. Sasha was in the lead with her spear and bow on her back. Tabitha brought up the middle. Sasha had given her a small knife, but nothing else beyond the contents of her pack. I carried my rifle, all my spare magazines, and the same knife I had brought along on our last excursion.
As Sasha had assured us, the hike was mostly downhill, and by evening the air felt a little warmer and the trees were a bit larger. Big enough around that I wouldn’t be able to wrap my arms around them. Underbrush was scarce, and the branches overhead prevented snow from covering the entire forest floor. Patches of moss and fallen logs stuck out among the uneven coating of snow. Suddenly Sasha froze and tilted her head. A moment later I heard the sounds that had caught her attention. The clanking of metal and the rough voices of multiple men coming from the direction in which we were travelling.
Sasha crouched low, Tabitha and I followed suit. We moved as a group to huddle behind a fallen log as the voices got louder, closer. I peeked over the top of the log and got a glimpse of eight armored men, with a mixture of red and green to their clothing tromping up the hill toward us, along with a man in no armor, bundled up in a thick green coat with decorated with vertical red stripes. “Ugh. Poachers or tax collectors. I have no love for either. Stay here and out of sight you two.” Sasha said as she stood up, her spear in hand.
She sprang up onto the log and I heard the men come to a halt. “Stop trespassers! You walk now on Viscount Trevarthan’s property. State your business.” Sasha said loudly.
I peeked out from over the log again and saw the man in the long coat step to the front of the group to address Sasha. “We are unaware of any claims on these lands, Viscount Trevarthan has not attended the Council of Lords in a decade. His claim has lapsed. I am Sebastian, a tax collector and land assessor from the town of Doubel, a few days from here. We are simply here to assess the values of these lands, and whether or not they are resource rich enough that we could claim plots to sell to homesteaders.” he said.
Sasha chuckled. “Yet I am the last daughter of the Viscount. My claim holds by the King’s law whether I attend the Council or not. You will leave and return with a representative of the King, and then perhaps we can discuss this matter.” she said with an icy smile.
Sebastian remained silent for a moment. “That is-- technically true. I will see to it that Baron Hightower hears of this. Men. About face. We’ll be back.” he said as turned and stomped off back down the hillside.
Sasha remained standing atop the log until they were out of sight, then dropped back down beside us. She sighed. “Ugh, politics. This is precisely why I live so far out in the woods, yet I’m still surrounded by difficult neighbors.” she said.
“Aye. Sounds touchy. So you’re royalty then?” I asked.
Sasha shrugged. “Something like that. Only because my parents are gone and there were no other viable heirs. I’ll only retain the title if I never marry. If I do, it passes to the male. Luckily the waves of suitors stopped along time ago, once I decided to stay at the ‘summer home’ even during winter.” she explained. Tabitha and I nodded.
There was a short pause. I wasn’t really sure what to say next. “Well, nothing to do for now but make camp. Let’s get a little ways away from here. I doubt we’ll see those guys again, but better to be careful.” Sasha said.
That night, and the following, neither of the girls tried to have sex with me. Instead they each cuddled up against me on opposite sides. I slept in fits, waking up whenever one of them shifted, or whenever I heard unusual sounds in the dark. The further we got away from Sasha’s home, the more clear it was that we were not alone in this world.
Chapter 6 - Welcome to Doubel
Around midday on the third day of travel, after emerging from the forest and crossing a great open plain, we arrived at the walled town of Doubel. The wall was a wooden palisade, with a portcullis that swung open and shut on a large hinge near the top of the wall, via a rope and pulley system. Two men in metal breastplates, wearing green and red clothes much like the men from yesterday waved us through the gate without talking to us.
The town itself was a ramshackle thing. It reminded me of an old western movie. A main dirt road, and a cluttered mess of one and two story buildings. The streets smelled faintly of manure, mud, and pine tar. The streets were teeming with people, horses, and carts, all moving around each other haphazardly, teetering on the edge of chaos. “Stay close. Hopefully we can get this done and be back into the forest by dark.” Sasha said as she wound her way through the crowds, she seemed to know exactly where she was going.
We arrived at a one story building somewhere off of the main street. The crudely painted wooden sign by the door read ‘Duriet’s Trading Place’. Sasha pushed open the door and motioned for us to follow her. “Duriet, you old bastard, where are you?” she said.
The interior of the store was piled high with furs, barrels, cr
ates, books, bottles. In nooks and crannies all variety of things were stuffed. Twigs, crumpled bits of paper, small knives. It was the kind of place where if you looked long enough and dug deep enough, you could probably find anything. There was a crashing sound and a muffled yell from out of sight, followed by another rumbling sound. A short man with a big bushy black beard rounded the corner. He seemed comically short, but extremely wide and muscular. It also looked as if someone had recently dumped a bag of flour atop his head. He patted his body all over as he tried to clean up as best he could.
He stopped and eyed Sasha, Tabitha and I curiously. “Haven’t seen you since Autumn girly. Nor you two at all in my life if I’m not mistaken.” he wagged a finger at Sasha. “Always rely on that one to interrupt a fellow when he’s up to something important! So, what ‘ja bring me this time girly?” he said to Sasha.
“ Tabitha and Clive, my new companions. This is Duriet, a dwarf and the most perceptive trader this side of the mountains. I got furs mostly. And some gemstones I found in a cave.” Sasha heaved her back onto a table that was already covered in paper and small barrels. She gestured to the table and Tabitha and I added our overfull packs to the pile.
Duriet opened the packs and started sorting their contents in a way that didn’t seem to make sense to me at all. He didn’t match color, or size, or texture, but seemed to be stacking them haphazardly in a random fashion. “Hmm. Not bad. And the gems?” he asked.
Sasha reached into a pocket and held out three golf-ball sized blue stones. Each was somewhat opaque, but they practically glowed in the palm of her hand. “These. From a cave weeks north of my home. I assume they’re worth something?” she asked.
“By the gods of stone girl, those are blue diamonds. You could by my whole shop with that. You could buy enough land to become a baroness. I mean… I don’t even have enough coin on hand to buy those from you. Though I gladly will, even if it takes me whole life savings.” Duriet exclaimed with a deep breath.
I looked at Sasha. She seemed to be trying to keep her face carefully neutral. “Interesting. How long will it take for you to raise the money?” she asked.
Duriet cocked his head to one side as he thought. “I think I can have it all by tomorrow.” he muttered. It was at that point that he noticed my rifle slung over my shoulder. He eyed it curiously.
“And what pray tell is that strange piece of equipment?” he asked.
I shrugged. “A gun. A weapon. They seem quite rare in these lands.” I said.
“Interesting. Powder cartridges? Shoots a metal ball?” he asked slyly.
I nodded. “Something like that. You’ve seen it’s like before?” I said.
He shrugged. “My third cousin’s brother is an archeologist. He dug up some things that look similar one time. Was trying to make them work properly last I checked, but that was last summer, before the snows closed the pass.” he explained.
“Huh. Interesting.” I said. There was a pause where nobody spoke as Duriet wordlessly counted out coins into Sasha’s palm.
“There, that’s all I can spare for today. Gonna close up shop and work on getting the rest. I’ll see you all tomorrow morning?” he said.
I nodded. “Yep.” I said.
“A pleasure as always. I’ll just hang onto those till tomorrow then.” Sasha said as she held out her hand toward Duriet.
“Ah, the stones. of course.” Duriet said as he withdrew them from a pocket and handed them to Sasha.
After that, we stepped back out into the street, leaving Duriet to close up his shop and go about his day. Sasha led us back to the main strip, to a weather worn two story building with a hanging sign that read: ‘The Creaky Barrel Grill & Inn’.
Inside was a large main room, with a staircase on the far wall that led upstairs. The bar area was packed with patrons and smelled faintly of tobacco and vomit. There was a brief pause and a stretch of quiet as the three of us came in the front door. Then someone at a game of cards let out a cheer as he dropped his cards on the table, and everyone returned to their previous level of noise and enthusiasm. Guess nobody recognized any of us, which was okay by me. Sasha didn’t move as she looked around the room. “This is a little more than I’m comfortable with, Clive, could you…” she said as she pushed a few coins into my palm.
“Uh. Okay. I can do the talking.” I said. Tabitha nodded and Sasha smiled weakly at me. I led them to a table in a more empty, quiet corner of the room and we all sat down. Across the crowded room, I eventually caught the eye of a waitress and waved her over.
In short order I had spent most of the coin that Sasha had given me, the three of us had eaten a decent dinner, and then checked into the only room they had left available. It was not particularly spacious, comprised of only two rooms. A sleeping room with a bed more than large enough to accommodate all three of us, and a small bathroom with a metal bathtub. Tabitha pulled clean clothes out of her pack and went straight for the bathroom, while I busied myself double checking my equipment, and maintenancing my rifle. Sasha seemed content to sit on the floor near my feet and watch me work. She seemed fascinated, especially by the things that were from my previous reality, the rifle, my metal canteen, etc.
“See something you like?” I asked.
She nodded. “You, of course, Though your gear is pretty nice, better than anything I’ve seen. How can a smith produce metal like that?” she said.
“I’m not sure if people around here can reproduce this stuff. We probably have to talk to your dwarf friend’s relative. So what’s all this about you being nobility or whatever?” I asked. From the other room, I heard the sound of a faucet being turned off, and a slosh of water that was likely caused by Tabitha slipping into the tub.
Sasha sighed. “I figured as much. And… I was hoping my history wouldn’t come up. But technically my family is of noble blood. Nowhere near being reasonably in line for the throne of the kingdom or anything. My grandfather abandoned the ancestral castle and withdrew from politics. My father and I followed suit as we came of age. Unfortunately there were no male heirs, so I hold the title of Viscount until a proper suitor comes along. Lucky for me, most of the other nobles have no interest in a stretch of mountainous land, despite the plentiful lumber there. It’s too much of a logistics issue, when there are coastal forests to be logged for one tenth the cost in transportation. But if Hightower has taken an interest, all that changes now, pending on how serious he is.” Sasha paused for a moment and stuck her hand in her pocket.
“There’s also the issue of these, which I found in a cave on my land. What I didn’t tell Duriet, is that there are quite a few more where these came from.” she held up the three opaque blue stones for a moment, then put them back in her pocket.
“Aye. What do you intend to do with the money?” I asked.
“Well, I’m not really sure yet. It would be nice to not have to hunt for a living, though I would still do it for personal satisfaction. We should also be getting more than enough that we can have the best of anything we might want. Clothes, food, weapons, which will be nice. Any thoughts?” Sasha said. There was another slosh of water, and a few moments later Tabitha emerged from the bathroom in nothing but a short towel that barely went down to her mid-thigh, followed by a small cloud of warm steam.
I thought for a moment. The sun was low in the sky, and Sasha moved about the room lighting candles that were set into little wall alcoves. “I mean, how likely is Duriet to keep quiet about those stones?” I asked.
Sasha finished her task and sat back down on the bed next to me. Tabitha dropped her towel to the floor and crawled into the bed and slid under the blankets so just the top of her head was visible. “He’ll only stay quiet if it’s more profitable for him. Likely he’ll purchase them from me, and he probably has a buyer in mind. Usually with luxury goods, such buyers will want more, sooner rather than later. I suspect Duriet will be asking about more stones, or where I got them, by the time we next come to town. Now that I think about it, that could be
problematic on a number of levels.” Sasha said.
“Right. Word is going to get out that your land has value. Which means you’re likely to get dragged into politics whether you want it or not. Your neighbors don’t really seem a civilized bunch.” I said. I felt Tabitha shift behind us as she scooted closer and pressed her back against me through the blankets.
“True. Probably some measures will have to be taken to defend the borders of our home.” Sasha said.
“Our home?” I asked.
“Of course. Where else would you go? You and Tabs are both useful, so why wouldn’t you stay?” Sasha said as she stood up.
I nodded. “Very well, our home it is then.” I said.
Sasha stood up and looked down at Tabitha and I. “Well, I think it’s bath time for me. I’ll try and leave you some hot water.” she said as she went into the bathroom and closed the door.
