by Zack Finley
Tobron was purring by the time the last dish disappeared. I was glad to see that final dish; I stuffed the last two tidbits into my mouth and swallowed them through sheer grit and determination. How Argon kept up was a mystery.
"I knew what was coming so I only nibbled on each one," she sent with a vision of me naked with a bulging stomach. "Some were so tasty; even I ate the whole morsel."
Inoa cleared the last plates and waved away Argon's offer to help. She returned with a pot of steaming chee and a crystal decanter of some liqueur.
I took my chee straight, but Argon accepted a dollop of liqueur in hers. Tobron and Inoa drank their chee with generous pours from the decanter.
I was still adjusting to life in my new body and had no urge to try any mind-altering substances tonight.
Argon alerted me when Inoa dropped some of her mental barriers. I was so used to the complete silence I wasn’t checking my mind-reading app.
"My mate tells me you have made him an unusual offer," Inoa said. Tobron and I were still locked up tight, but Argon opened her shield proportionately.
"We need someone of integrity with substantial talent and contacts," Argon responded. "I am confident we will find someone who meets our needs, but once I met Tobron, I knew he was perfect. If he is interested and willing, we would be honored for him join us."
This was true, and we knew the other couple had sufficient truth sense to verify it.
I was surprised when Tobron completely dropped his main mind shield. I wasn't the only one, as Inoa glared at him in disbelief.
Argon immediately responded by dropping her own, protecting only her relationship with Shala, details of our mission and our own special place.
Inoa poured another shot from the decanter into her chee cup and said aloud, "I guess the job interview is over."
This nudged everyone to restore at least a fig leaf of mental cover. Argon helped me lower my shields enough to allow mental communication amongst the four of us, and she raised hers to allow her emotions to shine through but to keep private thoughts hidden. The mental core we shared together with Allo remained behind a solid barrier. I reminded Argon if we were going to be sharing mind magic with others I needed to learn how to divide my messy thoughts into public and private ones.
Inoa had eased her barriers enough, so her annoyance with her partner came through, but I was relieved to see her displeasure seemed more an issue of tactics than the outcome.
"What I have to tell you now cannot be revealed to anyone outside this room unless we, collectively, determine it is needful," Argon sent.
Tobron and Inoa signaled their agreement.
"My goddess has charged us to build a place of refuge and fill it with mages and mundanes to get ready for a dire prophecy foretelling the end of the world. The prophecy predicts a period of massive earthquakes and volcanoes followed by decades of bitter cold," said Argon aloud. "As with all prophecies there are no guarantees it will ever come. If we are lucky, we will never need the refuge, and we will just have created the most awesome steading in the world. "
Argon paused to see if anyone had questions, but they were still digesting her statement.
"This is why we are in a hurry to acquire a suitable property and get it operational on an impossible deadline. Our goddess provided us with a list of potential cities to locate our steading near. Klee is but one of them.
"If we cannot negotiate a suitable site here, we will shift to other cities on our list. We chose to start here because I’ve heard very positive things about your king and believe his leadership will likely save many from the prophesied calamity.
"My goddess believes others are trying to reduce the scope of the disaster and we truly hope they succeed; but regardless of their efforts, she charges us with building a self-sustaining community of mages and mundanes who can help our world recover," finished Argon.
As troubling as I still found the whole subject of prophecies, in this room, I was the only true skeptic. Inoa and Tobron followed Argon's recitation carefully, and they knew she believed everything she told them. What was puzzling to me was how they could accept a prophecy as true based solely on a stranger telling them about it.
I pulled Argon toward me. She nestled her back against my chest and pulled my arms around her. She barely relaxed, but my touch comforted her. Tobron also had his arm around his mate and Inoa was weeping quietly against his chest.
"I wish I could discount what you have told us, but there have been indications for some time of approaching darkness. Part of me would have been happy not to know this," Tobron said. "And, yet, knowing, I must do what I can. We have children and grandchildren. Some will bravely embrace the challenge, and some will refuse to see the problem until it is too late. We will continue to hope the prophecy is false.
"As comforting as this hope might be, I pledge to do whatever I can to create this place of refuge whether here in Klee or across the continent," Tobron bowed toward us and hugged his wife in a tight embrace. "My mate shares my commitment, but right now all she can think of is the pain and suffering to come. I have been a man of war and learned to steel my heart. I am sorrowed my loving mate must now face this dire prophecy."
Tobron and Inoa clearly needed some time to adjust to this important news. It was too raw to begin strategizing this evening.
We agreed to return for breakfast to discuss the next moves. Inoa then excused herself. We knew Tobron wanted to be with her, so we left quickly.
The emotional spillover from Inoa had affected Argon and me deeply. We twined together on the bed wrapped in a mental cocoon. Allo felt the distress and snuggled closely against Argon's back. The night had a different intimacy as we tried to crawl inside one another. Sex might have brought release, but we both needed time to process the shared sadness.
◆◆◆
Chapter 12
I woke up with Happy and the Boys doing a happy dance as Argon slid her mouth over his tip. She sent a soft paralysis spell to keep me still while she slid more of his length into her hot wet mouth. One hand helped guide my length, and the other found the soft down covering the Boys irresistible.
I found the combination mind-blowing. When she determined I was ready, Argon moved her hips above mine and slid my fully engorged length deep into her moist scorching depths.
I broke the paralysis and pulled her down to rub her breasts against me, and I thrust my tongue deep into her mouth. I then rolled us over and began driving into her trying to bury myself in her so deep I would never come out. I still didn't feel this was enough and pulled out.
I flipped her over onto her stomach and raised her onto her knees at the edge of the bed. I held her up with force magic and thrust into her from behind, driving harder and harder until she ignited and convulsed in a release. She quivered through another release, and this pushed me over the edge, and I lost it in her tight sheath.
I released the force magic, and we both collapsed on the bed, thoroughly spent.
"I didn't know that was possible," gasped Argon. "I was so frantic when you withdrew from me and rolled me away. I knew you weren't rejecting me but our minds were so jumbled I couldn't tell what was going to happen. I never expected you to mount me from behind. When you drove into me, I went wild."
I pulled her toward me, claiming her mouth with a fierce possessiveness that surprised me. "You are mine," I whispered, "and I am definitely yours."
"I know," came the response.
Even the afterglow of a mind-blowing love session does not stop the need to pee.
I was back in the kitchen in time to catch the first cup of chee, as Argon disappeared into the back. I put on the undershirt and pants which go under my armor. I was grateful Argon had stuffed both of our under armor sets in the refresher before we left to meet with Tobron.
"Thanks for washing my things," I said dropping hers on her lap. "But I think I need at least two more sets, so I won't smell like dead basas if we don't have time to wash them."
We ag
reed to take care of this and a few other incidentals after breakfast with Tobron and his mate.
Argon had modified our mental barriers, adding a shared space for our two new partners to join us. This would allow us all to share information and communicate without jeopardizing our overall mind blocks to the outside world. We could also add others as our group expanded, though we would all have to agree to add them. Argon felt that Tobron and Inoa had sufficient mind magic we should be able to communicate with them from anywhere we traveled.
It was not a step to take lightly, as there would inevitably be a shared intimacy because of the new link. It would be impossible for us to lie to one another without it being obvious. While we could withhold information, the others would recognize we were doing it.
Argon and I decided this type of link would give our team a leg up on getting started quickly. As long as we were all honest about the areas we would not share, and held to it, it should be okay.
Tobron met us at the door, and we converged on the kitchen where Inoa had made chee and was finishing dishing up breakfast. The situation felt awkward, but before long, we were seated around the table sharing breakfast.
Argon opened the new shared mind space and invited Tobron and Inoa to join us. Tobron clicked in immediately. His presence filled the space as he looked significantly at Inoa. Inoa sighed and slipped in as well.
Tobron's focus was on creating the refuge, but Inoa was still reeling from the heartache and suffering the event would cause. I was stunned to learn the prophecy didn’t surprise Inoa. Argon had merely confirmed something Inoa already suspected.
"While I cannot embrace this enterprise with the enthusiasm of my mate," Inoa said with the love she felt for Tobron apparent to us all, "I, too am committed to creating a refuge, not for myself, but as a way to mitigate the calamity."
With the final piece in place, we started our planning session in earnest.
We agreed Tobron would continue at the library, using his time and the resources there as needed. "I can run errands and deliver messages and deal with the mage guild until we are ready for me to quit."
We offered them money, but both declined, saying they were fine for incidentals but would need access to funds once we got the project rolling.
"I may have a lead on the problems at the chamberlain's office," Inoa offered. "I work in the king's offices and made some inquiries yesterday after Tobron told me of your offer. There are no pending requests from the guild. While I could set up a meeting directly with the chamberlain, he will pay more attention to a request from the guild. He has so many people clamoring for his attention that he grants very few of them an audience. He takes even fewer to the king. Once the chamberlain refuses to take your case, he is so stubborn he will die before he changes his mind."
Tobron countered, "It might be easier to take the issue directly to the king. Chamberlains handle routine matters. It is a unique opportunity to turn a dead weight into a productive asset for the kingdom. The king leaves his keep many times each week. I will work on gaining an audience."
"We need a local headquarters in town," I proposed. "While we may not be ultimately successful at locating the refuge here, we have allies here, and we need a place to start. I now believe we should establish a business presence in each of the key cities to recruit and gather resources across a wider region."
"We will also need a warehouse," Tobron said.
There was a consensus on the proposals.
Tobron would concentrate first on locating a business building suitable for our initial headquarters. While the need for a warehouse was not as urgent, Tobron thought he could look into it without delaying the main building.
Tobron would develop a comprehensive list of supplies needed to maintain 1,000 people during a one-year siege. We would all then review it and add items to it as we thought of them.
The list would serve only as a basic survival unit, which we could scale up as needed.
There was a brief discussion about budget and Tobron advised us to open a business account at the mage bank.
"It will be more effective if you set it up," Tobron chuckled, "enough of a deposit will light a fire under the mage council to move your petition forward, but too much will bring the wrong kind of attention." Argon and Tobron determined a suitable sum, and we agreed to take care of it this morning during our visit to the guild.
Inoa would also explore potential meeting opportunities with the king and look into other large royal holdings that might be available. She also planned to meet casually with their children, giving them a chance to take part in the creation of a new steading. Should any agree, she intended to bring them forward for a formal introduction to the group.
"I expect some of our children will jump at the chance to be part of a new enterprise, while others are rather set in their ways. I hate hiding the prophecy from them, but I would prefer to shield them from that burden as long as we can. They will sense the weight on my soul, but I will keep the cause from them until it is time."
"I think Steve is right about expanding our search to other cities," Argon added, as we wrapped up the planning meeting and agreed to meet here for a working dinner. I pulled out the large map of cities and shared the list with our partners. "I have teleports to each one, so we can easily visit a second city this morning and establish another guild membership, there."
Tobron suggested we try Augun or Losan first as they shared a robust trade with Klee. Augun produced superior leathers and cloth, while Losan specialized in fine armor and swords. Losan was south of Klee, and Augun was north.
I really wanted to look at the armor and swords, so we agreed to visit Losan first.
Argon told the group she and I planned to continue our afternoon training sessions. The plan surprised no one, based on the knowing nods from Inoa and Tobron. "Yes, those heady days following one's mind meld, the new magic, the new intimacy," Tobron said suggestively, only to receive a mental thump from his mate.
"Don't mind him, he is just a lecherous old man," Inoa said, "but you are right, you need to master these new magics quickly. We can help in this area, but that discussion must wait until this evening, we all have work to do."
We dispersed with Tobron 'porting directly to the guild. We 'ported to our inn room, to check for intruders. Our wards were undisturbed. Argon modified them to record evidence of any serious probes and to notify us if the paralysis field activated.
We walked purposefully to the guild, maintaining the illusion the inn was still our main base of operations.
"Is there a way to record who probed our defenses?" I sent.
"I don't know, I just figured out I could use force magic to notify us of an intrusion," Argon answered, and I could tell she was already working on my request.
"Can everyone tell we are mated," I asked.
"Anyone with strong mind magic will detect our link. They shouldn't be able to penetrate the shields we have in place now, but our link is quite raw," Argon answered. "It is still growing and changing. It will be casually detectable until it stabilizes. Long after it stabilizes, it will still be readily apparent to anyone we add to our enterprise link. I am hoping the barriers I've built between us and the shared zones are strong enough to keep even the mind-blowing sex from this morning from crossing over."
"Any observant being should also be able to tell," Argon sent as we walked into the mage bank. "We are always touching," sliding her hand into mine, "and mages avoid touching anyone they don't share a significant bond with."
We opened a bank account; quietly amused at how smoothly Pernet, a more experienced banker, seamlessly edged aside the eager young assistant we started with. Pernet stepped in when the size of our transaction became apparent. Pernet enthusiastically accepted a stack of certified bars to open the main account and set up an escrow account to appraise our gems.
The escrow account held gems or other expensive items awaiting appraisal. We still owned anything in the account until both parties agreed on
the value of the assets. Then we’d get the currency, and the bank got the gems. We provided Pernet with two appraisers Tobron recommended. The appraisers were also acceptable to the bank, and Pernet assured us we should have suitable appraisals by day's end.
Argon was masterful with Pernet letting him know these funds were mainly for a few minor local properties we expected to purchase for our new business. We still hoped to negotiate a new estate directly with the king's chamberlain.
She expressed disappointment we hadn't received notice of an appointment with the chamberlain, citing Alanna's unfulfilled promise the guild council would make an immediate request. Argon asked if Pernet had a contact on the council we could work with, to expedite our business.
He agreed to speak on our behalf to other members of the guild council.
We exchanged com-cards and left for the armor shop. By the time we met up with Tobron at the library, we had more clothes for me.
Tobron already had books about Losan and Augun on the table waiting for us. By agreement, I focused on Losan and Argon on Augun.
Losan was a coastal kingdom anchored by the city of Losan. The city occupied the northern bank of a large river and harbor. It began as a trading village and was now a sprawling metropolis. There were vague references to other towns in the kingdom, but few details about the region. The book was a disappointment, containing very little of value to us. Most of it was devoted to the succession of kings, their queens and their various claims to fame. One of the kings could easily have commissioned it as a genealogy project.
Argon had a little more luck, quickly summarizing what she had learned.
Our bank experience amused Tobron. He confirmed Pernet was one of the senior bankers.
In the short hour, we'd spent at the bank, Tobron had already located two potential business properties in the old town and a host of others outside the wall. We agreed to concentrate first on the old town prospects, sharing our findings with Inoa.
