The Guild Master's Harem

By Alexis W. Ward

Chapter 1

The package I had expected for weeks had finally arrived. A new VR headset that provided a sense of full body immersion, and shipped with a new game, called Kingdom of Dersca, the first game of it’s time to offer time-dilation features. Rumor had it that a minute of real life could contain months of in game time. I carried the package from the front door of my apartment into my bedroom.

I laid the box down next to my old VR rig on the bedside table. I paused to order a pizza delivery on my phone, then tore into the box. As expected, there was the headset, similar to my old one, shaped like a welder’s mask, but shiny and chrome. My hands tore at the packaging till it was free, then I plugged it into the wall socket so it could go through it’s first power on cycle and connect to the internet.

In the bottom of the box was the game. I withdrew it and opened the large collector’s edition box and dug my way past the guidebook, a pack of stickers and other promotional material till I fished out the game’s actual cartridge, no bigger than my thumbnail. I slotted it into the appropriate place on the new VR headset and checked the clock on my bedroom wall. Twenty seven minutes till my pizza was delivered, give or take.

I stared at both VR helmets on the table, old and new, along with the manual for the new headset. Hmm, I should probably read the manual, but the back of the box said that the in game AI would be able to answer most questions about gameplay. The game was also advertised as being highly detailed and intuitive, almost HUDless. Fuck it, why not. I put the new headset on and laid down on my bed. IT took about ten seconds for the gel on the inside of the headset to conform to my face, after that it was comfortable and felt as though it weighed next to nothing.

I felt disoriented as the sensations of my body dropped away. I’m unsure how much time passed. I floated in nothingness and tried to remain calm. Eventually, I heard a female voice in the dark, “Welcome to the Kingdom of Dersca. While the visuals adjust to your eyes, please answer some questions to help us better tune the gameplay experience to your preferences. Do you wish to play as a boy, or a girl?”

“Boy.” I said.

“Excellent. Be aware that in the Kingdom, NPCs and Players are not distinguishable from one another. Barring high level magic, an entity who dies in this game cannot be returned to life.`` the female voice said, “Races are purely cosmetic. Do you wish to be human, or something else?”

Okay, death is serious. Not your average game then. “Uh, human I guess?”

The voice chuckled. “No guessing. You must choose.” she said.

“Human then.”

A bell sounded somewhere in the darkness. I couldn’t feel my arms or legs. “Excellent. You have chosen human male. As this is launch day, you will be placed in a zone no player has seen before, populated and influenced by the data I’ve gathered from your internet browsing history.” she said.

“Wait, my internet history? How did you--”

She spoke again and interrupted me. “Company secret. Didn’t you read the terms and conditions in the manuals? Regardless, by launching the game, you’ve agreed to them. Anyway, next question. Do you like girls, or boys? Sexually. I am fairly certain I know the answer, but I have to follow protocol here.” she stated.

“Girls, wait, is this some kind of dating sim?” I asked. The box blurb hadn’t mentioned anything like that.

She ignored my question. “Excellent choice. Populating your corner of the Kingdom now.” There was a pause and I could hear gears grinding in the distance. “As a reward for purchasing the Limited Edition Ultimate Collector box set, you may make one wish. Please bear in mind the terms and conditions which you agreed to earlier and word your wish carefully.” the disembodied female voice said.

Oh damn. The terms I hadn’t read were really going to bite me here. Normally in a game, I might ask for a magic item, or a level up, or something else that would give me and edge at the start of the game. But all I knew about this game was the blurb from the back of the box, “The most realistic and immersive fantasy medieval simulated VR experience of all time.” The rest of the box was in game art, which looked nice, but wouldn’t help me here. What to wish for?

“I wish I had a guidebook for this game.” I said.

“Excellent Choice. Don’t be alarmed but you’ll be waking up in your bed at a local Inn now. Your wish has been granted! My name is Oni, I am the administrative AI, you may contact me at any local temple of Oni. Good luck!” she said cheerily.

Chapter 2

I woke up to the smell of smoke and the sensation of being shaken back and forth rapidly. “Open your eyes dammit! Wake up! Hey, listen! Bandits! And the Inn is on fire! I’ll never get a promotion or a raise from the Guild if you die here! I can’t help you if you sleep to death in a burning building--”

I opened my eyes. A short young woman with pink hair, red eyes, and large triangular ears atop her head was straddling me and had a firm grip on both of my shoulders with her hands. She wore a tight vest which was V-cut and gave me a full view of her ample cleavage. “Uh-- fire?” I said, 90% of my mind lost in the depths of her breasts. I could feel a bulge in my pants and given her open mouthed expression and the darkening of her face, and the brush of her leg against my cock, so could she.

She rolled off of me, tumbled gracefully to the floor and sprang to her feet. A long pink tail poked out from under her skirt and it swished slowly back and forth. “You don’t know what fire is? Nya! I’ve been assigned to a clueless idiot! Fire is--” she cried.

I sat up. “Stop stop, I know what fire is!” The room contained two beds, a few lit candles, two backpacks on the floor, and a window through which I could see what looked like a portion of a town being burned to the ground with people fighting with swords and spears in the streets. Lastly was the one door that led out of here. And of course, this catgirl person, this short, heavy breasted catgirl person.

She rolled her eyes and stomped her foot once. “Then why didn’t you say so, the fire will spread here soon, so we gotta go!” she said as she shouldered one of the backpacks.

I got out of bed and found that I was wearing blue cotton pants and a frilly white dress shirt. There was a jacket atop the other backpack. I put it on and it fit me perfectly. I shouldered the remaining backpack, it had to be mine, right? Then I looked back to the girl, then down to her breasts, and further down to her tail that peeked out at the bottom of her skirt. “Heyo, I have a face. It’s up here. Have you never seen a beastkin before? I’m only like 3% cat, just have ears and a tail, yeesh.” she said. I ran my eyes back up her body, lingered for half a second on the curve of her waist, then looked into her red eyes.

“My name is uh, let’s go with Marcus.” I said.

“Oookay, let's-go-with-” she started.

“No no, just Marcus. Marcus. Okay?”

“Marcus. Got it. My name is Zemma--”, a spear thrown from the street below crashed through the glass window and impaled itself in the hardwood floor a few inches from her feet, “--ksir! Kya! I’ve been assigned to write a guidebook for the Adventurer’s Guild! An expert was supposed to meet me at this room to assist me, that would be you right? Come on! We gotta get away from here!” before I could respond she grabbed me by the arm and pulled me through the door into the hallway. With her in the lead we ran down a flight of stairs, into a large room filled with overturned tables, chairs, and a few corpses that looked pretty fresh. Here I stopped. Zemma yanked on my arm for a half a second till she realized she couldn’t move me if I didn’t want to move. She grabbed my hand with both of hers and took a deep breath. I assumed she was simply going to try and pull harder.

“Stop stop. Think Zem--whatever your name is. You said bandits, right? And we saw people fighting in the streets.” I asked.

She froze mid inhale and let out a deep breath. “Zemmaksir! And yeahnya, bandits. Which is why we need to get out of town and run as far away as possible right now!

I sighed and tugged my hand free of hers. “Right, but if, if we had to fight, do you have weapons for both of us? Or yourself even?” I asked. My backpack felt pretty light. I doubted it contained anything that would hold up in combat.

Her expression changed to one of horror briefly, then she twitched her cat ears and drew something from her sleeve with a flourish. She held the fountain pen above her head, and a bit of ink dripped onto the floor. “The pen is mightier than the sword-nya!” she exclaimed.

I resisted the urge to use this moment to appreciate her body with my eyes. Instead I knelt down and turned over the nearest corpse. He had a knife on his belt, which I took and added to my own belt. “Well, if I have to stab someone, I’d rather have a knife than a pen.” I said.

Zemma frowned and tucked the pen back in her shirtsleeve. “Hmph. You’re the boss, oh hero. But I’m a scholar. No weapons training to speak of, that being what you’re for. Can we go now?” Her tail twitched anxiously. I heard a shout and the clash of metal on metal outside, it sounded nearby.

“Sure. I’ll have you know I’m no hero though. Let’s go.” I said as I stepped toward the main door of the Inn. I paused and looked back as Zemma grabbed onto my shirt sleeve again.

“Maybe, but you’re all I’ve got and I don’t want to die-nya!” she said as she squeezed close and wrapped me in a hug.  Her breasts squeezed against my forearm and my loins flamed with arousal.

Then the front door of the Inn slammed open with a crash. Zemma yelped, let go of me, then hid behind me all in one fluid motion. A burly man who wore a breastplate with a skull and crossbones bandanna around his neck stepped into the doorway. He held a large sword in both hands which was smeared with blood. “Ey boys! We missed a couple the first time through here! I see a beastkin still alive an’ twitchin and she’s quite lovely!” he shouted.

The he locked eyes with me. “You’re between me and what I want, bud. Leave that girl for me o play with en’ I won’t gut ya.” he grunted as he gripped his sword with both hands. The bandit roared and charged towards me before I could think of a witty response. Zemma let out a high pitched scream and cowered behind me. No time to think, I drew my knife and crouched low as the bandit rushed toward me with his sword held high.

The bandit’s battlecry slowed and distorted into a drawn out “Auuuuuurrrrr--” sound and Zemma’s screech lilted so high that it hurt my ears as it faded to silence entirely. The bandit seemed to slow down, like he was running through molasses. He moved forward at a glacial pace, not quite frozen completely. I looked back, Zemma seemed to be under the same strange effect. I tried to speak but all that came out was a noise like a fly buzzing. The words SKILL ACTIVATED scrolled across my vision in tiny letters, as though it was written atop my eyeballs. Strange. A system message? What skill, exactly? The bandit managed another step toward me. He had about six more to go.

Time really had slowed down for everyone except me it seemed. I assumed this sort of passive ability wouldn’t be something I’d start with, but I wasn’t about to complain. TEN SECONDS REMAIN scrolled across my vision. I assumed it referred to the slow-down effect. I sprinted toward the bandit as I drew my knife, then drove the blade into his eye. There was a slight resistance, then it pierced through as though his eye and the grey matter behind it were wet paper.

I withdrew the knife, wiped it on the bandit’s pants leg, then walked back over toward Zemma, still frozen with her eyes shut tight and her mouth open in a soundless scream. I blocked her view of the bandit with my body, I wasn’t sure what exactly would happen to that bandit, but it probably wouldn’t be pretty and she needn’t see it. Though I was curious to see it myself.

As I turned around time suddenly snapped back into normal speed. A gush of blood erupted from the bandit’s face, he tripped over his own feet and then fell to the floor, quite dead. Zemma’s scream cut off suddenly and she eyed me, her eyes wide. I became aware as I looked down at her that her face was within arms reach of my groin.

“You--- you, you moved so fast. How?” she asked. One of her fur covered ears atop her head twitched.

“No idea, it just kinda happened.” I resisted my base urges and instead held out a hand to help her to her feet.

She looked at me, down to my hand, then she noticed the slowly rising bulge of my cock in my pants, despite my best efforts not to think about how cute and attractive she looked, especially when she was on her knees in front of me. She scampered backward and bumped her head into a table. “Uuuummm.” she rubbed her head as tried to stand up.

I knelt down, grabbed her hand and tugged it gently. “Come on, I can still hear fighting outside.” I said. She nodded and bounced to her feet.

I dipped down toward her as she stood and planted a small kiss on her forehead on a whim, just to see how she would react. Her face flushed red and she smiled. “Wh-- that. That didn’t happen. Nope, let’s go!” she said and then we went out the door and she led me down dark alleyways until we reached the outskirts of town. We avoided anyone we saw, always taking the long and winding route. Zemma seemed to know her way around the town quite well.

Chapter 3

The edge of town was a mixture of farmland, rolling hills, and patches of forest. It was in one of these forests that we decided to hide out for the night. As we sat down on a fallen log in the moonlight Zemma sat out of arm’s reach, her tail curled around one leg. She shivered. “Do you think they’ll find us out here?” she whispered.

“Dunno, probably not. If anyone of ill intent comes this way, they’ll probably target a farmer's house, I hope.” I said. The temperature had dropped rapidly. My backpack was at my feet. I opened it. Huh, not quite empty. There was a leather waterskin in the bottom. I lifted it, pulled off the cork and took an experimental sip. Water. I offered it to Zemma, she took it and drank a few gulps, then passed it back to me.

“Good. Thanks.” she said as she dug around in her backpack.

“Yeah, sure. It’s just water.” I said as I wrapped my arms around myself in an attempt to not lose precious body heat. Dying from hypothermia would be a lame way to end my adventures.

“No, I mean earlier. That bandit, I wouldn’t have-- on my own--” she stopped messing with her bag and started to cry.

Oh no. What’s appropriate here? Are there cultural norms? Crying girls are not my forte. I steeled myself mentally and resisted the urge to cry along with her. Instead I scooted closer and reached out to pat her on top of her head.

My hand made contact with the top of her head, right between her large cat ears. She froze for a moment then shuddered as tears continued to stream down her face. WIth no better ideas, I ran my hand through her hair and down to the base of her neck repeatedly. Her hair was silky soft and free of tangles. It felt like touching a cloud.

After a short while of this, Zemma got more quiet until I could just see the moonlight reflected in her tears. I slid a little closer and wiped her face with my shirt sleeve. “I’m reasonably certain we’re safe here, at least from bandits. Freezing to death is a real possibility at this rate though. Maybe we could try one of the farmhouses, see if they’ll take us in?” I suggested.

Zemma shook her head. “No, no more humans today. They’re terrible.” she whispered.

I put my hand back on top of her head and gave her ears an experimental scratch. She purred slightly in response. “But I’m human, you know.” I said.

She pushed her head against my hand, a nudge with no real force behind it. “You’re an exception. More please. But first let me--” she didn’t finish her sentence, instead she bent down and dug around in her backpack, from which she produced two blankets. One fuzzy and soft looking, the other coarse and canvas-like. She hopped up and spread the coarse one on the ground, then laid the warmer looking one over the top of it. “See, we don’t need to go begging for a spot by a fire, we have blankets!” she purred.

I looked out into the distance, where far away a portion of the town still smouldered. I’d saved one person, but well, maybe it wasn’t my responsibility to save everyone. Like I’d told Zemma earlier, I was no hero. I turned back toward her when she tugged on my shirt sleeve. “I’m cold, we can both fit under the blankets if you don’t mind sharing.” she whispered. Her red eyes seemed to glow in the dark slightly. Then she got up and curled under the blanket, her backpack served as a makeshift pillow. I was acutely conscious of how much colder it felt without her pressed against me.

I stood up and positioned my backpack next to hers to use as a pillow then crawled under the blanket, I laid down with my back toward Zemma. A short while after I closed my eyes I felt very very warm and wiggled out of my coat. I stuffed it under my head as extra padding. As I settled back in and tried to get comfortable, I felt Zemma snuggle up against my back.

“You okay?” I whispered. I could feel her breath hot against my neck. Just feeling her pressed up against me made a shiver of pleasure run down from the top of my head straight to my crotch.

“Yeah. Just… you saved me and I’m supposed to be the one helping you out and you smell so good and I liked it when you pet me and..” her whispered trailed off and I couldn’t quite make out what she said next.

I rolled over onto my back and turned my head to look into her eyes. They had vertical pupils like a cat, but other than her eyes, ears, and tail, she seemed perfectly human to me. Though her moods did seem to shift pretty rapidly. “And?” I asked.

She scooted closer, pressed herself against me and lifted her head so her mouth was level with my ear. “And I think I like you a whole lot Marcus, and I want to thank you properly.” she whispered. There was a pause, I don’t know for how long and all I could hear was her breathing heavily as we both remained silent. Thank me properly? Did she mean-- I felt her hand slide into contact with my hip. Oh, I felt my cock strain against my pants. Then Zemma laid her head on my shoulder and purred as she slid her hand directly atop my cock and squeezed it through my pants. “Can I please? I know we just met and--” I pushed my lips against hers. That seemed to be enough of an answer. She ground her palm into my crotch in response and let out a long guttural purr as my tongue met hers.

I flicked my tough out and tasted her lips briefly as I withdrew from the kiss. “Yes, I mean, I’ve been staring at you since the moment we met. When we weren’t in mortal danger anyway.” I said.

She nodded. “I saw. It’s not-- not unappreciated, but normally people don’t-- Well, some parts of the country still treat beastkin as subhuman by law.” she said.

“Other than a few things.” I patted her head and ran one finger gently along the edge of her triangular fuzzy ear, “You’re human enough for me, okay? I’ve wanted you since the moment I saw you.” I whispered. I wrapped one arm around her back and rubbed my hand into the small of her back.

She purred pleasantly and hooked her fingers around the waist of my pants. I lifted my butt and wiggled to help her pull my pants down. Her hand found my exposed and upright cock and she wrapped her fingers around me and squeezed gently. I exhaled and laid back on my coat-pillow, closed my eyes and enjoyed the simple pleasure of the attention she gave my cock with her hand.

I felt her body weight shift as she scooted down deeper under the covers. I opened one eye and looked down just in time to see her take the tip of my cock in her mouth. Her tongue played at my tip. I took a deep breath and let my arousal take over. I knotted one hand into her hair and gently pushed her down onto my cock. She glanced up at me and made eye contact. A noise burbled out from her mouth but I couldn’t quite understand her. From the tone it sounded like a question. I nodded affirmative, unsure what she had asked. She purred briefly then thrust her face down onto my cock and took my full length into her mouth. I felt a sensation of pleasure and pressure in my cock begin to build up slowly.

Zemma purred as I pushed her down on my cock, then I convulsed as my climax suddenly exploded into her mouth and throat. I untangled my hand from her hair and stroked the spot between her ears instead. She didn’t let me out of her mouth right away, instead she looked up at me again, then smiled around my cock. A little bit of my fluid spilled down her chin as she withdrew and sat up, which moved the blanket off of us. She tilted her head back and scooped the errant fluid back into her mouth, then swallowed it all.

A breeze shook the tree branches as it blew through the forest and I shivered as it reached us. The blanket had ended up down by our feet. I sat up and wrapped it around both of us. Zemma pushed her head against my chest, the furry tips of her ears tickled me slightly. I wrapped my arms around her to hold the blanket in place. “Did I do good?” she whispered.

“That was amazing.” I said as I laid back down, pulling her down with me. She lay atop me now, her head nuzzled into my shoulder and armpit.

“So my sweet scholarly cat, other than escape the bandits, what is the plan for tomorrow?” I whispered.

She responded with a snore and draped an arm over my body. “Already asleep huh?” I asked.

I closed my eyes and eventually drifted off to sleep, one arm wrapped around Zemma to keep her close. She was definitely more warm and soft than the either of the blankets.

Chapter 4

The sound of birdsong and the light of the sun rising on the horizon woke me up. At some point Zemma had adjusted and lay next to me. She snored faintly, oblivious to the change from night to morning. She smelled like dirt and moss, we both probably did, though it seemed a pleasant enough smell to me. I wrapped my arms around her and worked one hand under her shirt. She purred and shifted next to me, giving me more room to maneuver. I moved my hand down and touched the base of her tail where it met her body, just above her ass. Her eyes snapped wide open and she looked at me.

Within a few moments her face had flushed a deep red and I could feel her whole body heating up atop me. “You--- you shouldn’t touch me there. It’s way too hard to restrain myself and there’s other stuff we should probably take care of first today.” she stammered.

I removed my hand from her tail and settled for running my fingers through her hair. My stomach rumbled. “Huh. You know, I don’t think I’ve eaten anything at all lately.” I said.

Her forehead bumped into my chest. “Neither have I, other than last night’s fun, and that wasn’t really food-food-nya.” she muttered into my ribs.

“Fair.” I stroked her hair and she purred into my chest. “So what do you do for food around here?” I asked.

She snapped her head up and stared at me with a sparkle in her eyes. “Fish!” she exclaimed. She sprang up and yanked the blanket off of me. As the cold air rushed in, I realized that my pants were still down around my ankles.

I stood up and pulled my pants up. As I did so I noticed her staring at my crotch. “Thought you said we didn’t have time for that?” I chuckled.

Her ears twisted about and she shook her head side to side rapidly. “Right-right-right-yep.” she said as she rolled up the blankets and stuffed them back into her backpack.

I drank some of my water and then took stock of what exactly was in my backpack now that there was proper light to see by. It was mostly empty. In the bottom was a change of clothes and wrapped inside that was a small paper wrapped parcel tied with string. I held it up and looked at Zemma. “What, I didn’t put it there. If it’s in your bag, then it’s clearly yours. What’s in it?” she asked.

I untied the string and unwrapped it. Inside was a letter and a small bag full of heavy coins. I held out the pouch to Zenna. “I don’t know the values of these, I mean, they’re gold and some whitish metal, is this enough to buy us lunch?” I asked.

Zemma’s eyes widened and sparkled. “That’s more money than I’ve ever seen at one time before! Of course you could by lunch, if any restaurants in town are still standing.” she pointed back toward the town we had fled from the night before. “What's the letter say?” she asked.

I opened it and read it:

Due to the randomly generated content of the game, I cannot provide you with the kind of guide you had in mind. Instead, please take care of Zemma. Hopefully she’ll be able to teach you a thing or two. It wouldn’t do for you to starve along the way, so please take these funds and spend them wisely.

Signed

System AI

Goddess of the Realm
~Oni

“It says this money is for us, mostly. And a goddess welcomes me to the realms.” I said as I folded up the letter and stuck it into my coat pocket. I also explained the bit about Zemma being my appointed guide.

Zemma froze. “The guidebook!” she said as she dug vigorously through her pack, till her head and shoulders disappeared inside of it. I held the coins in one hand and took the opportunity to watch Zemma’s ass wiggle in the air as her tail twisted back and forth.

She resurfaced from the inside of her bag a few moments later. She held a thick green hardback book in her hands. She looked at me, then her eyes flickered to my groin briefly. “Were you staring at me?” she asked.

I arched an eyebrow. “Maybe. So this is the guidebook you’re working on? Let’s see it.” I said. I tucked the bag of coins back into my backpack and held out my hand toward Zemma.

She hesitated and looked down at the ground. “Well-- I haven’t made much progress.” she muttered. She held the book out closer to me. I took it from her and opened it to the first page. Blank. The second page had ‘Table of Contents’ written across the top and a large comical picture of a fish occupied the rest of the page. The third page had one sentence written across the top ‘A is for Adventure’. I flipped through the rest of the book. “Zemma, this book is almost entirely blank.” I looked at her. She still had her eyes fixed on a point on the ground between us.

“I know. See, I’m a scholar. I read things and I can draw okay pictures, but I’m not super good at taking notes. Writing is not a strong suit, okay? Also, I’m still hungry.” she muttered.

“Fair.” I picked up my backpack and handed the book back to her. “Let’s see how much of the town survived and after we buy some food we can worry about our next move, okay?” I asked.

Zemma looked up at me with a wide smile on her face. “Can we have fish?” she yowled. She was so cute when she smiled. I took a moment to glance down at her breasts. She blushed but didn’t comment on my wandering eyes.

I wrapped her in a hug and smiled. “Of course, if we can find some.” I said.

She wiggled out of my hug which wasn’t hard, her head only came up to my chest when we were standing. “Yay!” she put the guidebook back in her pack, then hefted the whole thing onto her shoulders. She took off toward the road into town at a jog. After she reached the cobblestone road, she realized I wasn’t keeping up with her and looked back. I walked at my usual pace. “Hurry up Marcus! Don’t you like fish?” she shouted.

Chapter 5

We arrived back in town after a short walk. There was no one else on the road. “So does this town have a name?” I asked.

“Of course, this is Zrudale.” Zemma sniffed the air and her tail swished rapidly back and forth. “I smell fish, come on!” she grabbed my hand and led me past a mixture of burnt out buildings and a few that were still standing. There were not many people in the streets and those we did see were busy. They hefted barrels and boards to and for, or went about other business, presumably busy trying to repair their homes and businesses.

As she led the way, the smells of burnt wood gave way to the savory scent of cooked meat. Fish. In front of a partially destroyed wooden structure a food stand had been built out of scrap wood. Between two tall wooden poles a white bed sheet had been folded and hung, with the words ‘Fish and Veggies on a Stick! Still open!’ painted on it in block letters.

Zemma waved excitedly and pointed to the stand. “See, see, fish! I’m so glad they’re still open. And alive!” she purred.

She practically dragged me up to the stand as I dug the coin pouch out of my backpack. The proprietor, a young man in an apron, seemed to recognize Zemma. “Zemmy, my best customer, glad you made it through the night. What can I get you?” he asked.

“Four sticks for us please and some water would be good.” I said as I handed over a coin from the pouch.

“Ah, Sir, that’ll actually only cost you four units, and that’s a hundred unit coin. Due to the bandit raid, my ability to make change is quite limited.” he said nervously.

I looked at Zemma, who eyed the fish on the grill behind the stand hungrily. “I get the feeling that we will be frequent customers here. How about you open me an account and add the difference as credit?” I suggested.

His eyes widened. “You’d do that? It’d be a great help toward rebuilding the restaurant. Consider it a deal!” He produced a notepad, quill and bottle of ink from beneath the counter and wrote down some figures.

A few moments later he handed me a receipt and I passed the coin to him. After that he passed us each a plate of two skewers of juicy baked fish and veggies. He placed two glasses of water on the table as well as a full pitcher from under the counter. “Name’s Enam by the way sir.” he said.

I nodded. “Marcus, last night was my first night in town. I’m working with Zemma on a project.” I said.

Enam grimaced. “Then you picked the worst night of the month to come to town. We’ve had bandit raids occurring once or twice a month for a long time now.” Enam said.

I nodded slowly. “And they just keep coming? No one stopped them? Guards, or the Guild Zemma works for?” I asked.

Zemma, midway through a bite of fish, looked sidelong at me. She swallowed her food, then spoke, “Well, the Guildhall around here is..” she said.

“Dead. Empty. This area was picked clean long ago, and the bandits occupy the north road, which cuts us off from the larger cities for the most part. Every town south of us still relies on our variety of goods and services though, so we rebuild. Most of the experienced warriors work as guards, or have moved to less dangerous areas, such as Pengi, to the north.” Enam explained.

I looked at Zemma. “If there’s no work here, then why are you here?” I asked.

“Obviously because Enam cooks the best fish in the country!” she beamed a smile at me which rapidly melted into a frown. “And because nobody wanted to travel with me. No aptitude for magic, or physical fighting ability. B the time everyone moved on to Pengi, the roads were too dangerous for me to go alone.” Zemma muttered.

“Aye.” Ename nodded, “She’s been mostly either at the Guildhall, hoping some new blood would trickle in, or here eating my fish, or getting drunk over there.” He pointed across the street to another pile of burnt ruins.

Zemma looked back. “Oh no!” she groaned, “That’s where we were last night. They had the best fried potatoes in town.” She turned back to Enam and pointed at the grill. “More please! I guess you’ve got no competition for my dollars now.” she said.

“Any thoughts Marcus?” Enam asked as he served up another plate for Zemma.

I patted Zemma on the head as she bit into her next round of food. She butted her head against my hand and purred. “Yeah. I think we can either find a way to deal with these bandits, or leave.” I said.

“Well I ain’t going anywhere. My father and his father before him passed this place down to me, and I intend to restore it to its former glory and then some.” Ename said as he pointed over his shoulder with his thumb to the ruins of his family restaurant.

“An Ah-- goe where da- fish is!” Zemma said through a mouthful of food.

Great, so stay here and fight bandits it is then, I thought. “So then we need to handle the bandits somehow. Zemma, if you’re the only guild member left, does that mean you essentially own the guild building here?” I wasn’t actually sure if the guild would have a building, or that it would still be standing after last night, but it couldn’t hurt to ask.

Zemma swallowed another bite of food. “Kinda. I mean, the guild owns it, and anyone can enter the common room, but I have free reign over the rest of it. I mean, there’s no one to stop me.” she said, then she stuffed another large bite of fish into her mouth.

I finished my food and stretched my arms over my head. “Then we should go see if it’s still standing. Come on, bring your leftovers if you’re still hungry. I said.

Zemma grabbed the stick she hadn’t finished. “We’ll be back for dinner Enam!” she said as she led the way to the guild hall.

Chapter 6

It was a pleasant surprise that the guild hall hadn’t burned down last night. It was a large two story stone structure surrounded by a crumbled cobblestone wall. We stepped over a low portion of this wall into a courtyard, then Zemma bounded across the field, up the short flight of stairs and flung the large wooden doors open. “Tada!” she yelled.

Beyond the doors was a cobweb and dust filled space. The center was full of tables with chairs placed upside down atop them. To the left was a large counter with many empty shelves behind it and to the right was a stairway up to the second floor. Across the room was a closed door. “So this is it huh?” I asked. My voice echoed off the high ceiling of the common room.

“Yep! Hey, why did you want to come here anyway?” Zemma asked.

“Every guild hall has someone in charge, right?” I asked.

“Well, usually. Yeah.”

“Usually?”

“I’m the only ranking member in this area and-- I’m not really the leading type.” Zemma said.

“You took charge just fine last night.” I said. I reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. As I withdrew my hand she held on and looked up at me.

“That’s different! Lovemaking and administration are two different things!” she exclaimed.

I chuckled. “Fair. Then how about you make me a guild member and let me run the place? I may have money, but we’re going to need personnel and a base to operate from if we’re going to rebuild this town to where it can defend itself, right?” I explained.

She looked around the room, then back to me. “I mean, that would work, in the short term. I know how to file all the paperwork. The higher-ups might take issue though, if they ever even paid attention to this area.” she murmured.

“Hah. We’ll worry about them later. All I see right now is a defensible building and a free room. And a credible excuse to build my own mercenary army. Grab the paperwork, let's do this.” I said.

“Mercenary… army? That doesn’t sound very noble. Though it does sound like you intend to help the town.” she said.

“And I intend to help myself, of course. In whatever way is profitable.”

A stack of legalese paperwork and about an hour later, I was officially the guild master of the Zrudale Adventurer’s Guild. At least on paper. According to the documents I’d read, I was now legally allowed to post quests, interview and bring new members into the guild, and entitled to lead expeditions for profit into the dungeons and wild places of the Kingdom at my discretion.

Zemma had finished her stick of fish awhile ago and laid with her head on the table, exhausted from talking me through the paperwork. She was sound asleep and purred gently as I scratched her head. I still wasn’t quite sure why she’d latched onto me, physically, especially sexually, so quickly. Not that I had anything to complain about, in that regard. Though for a scholar, she doesn’t seem terribly enthused about reading or writing.

Maybe the sexual stuff was just a one night thing. I laid my hand on her head and she purred more deeply. I sighed, I wanted her awake, not drifting into a deeper slumber.

Zemma’s ears twitched atop her head. She opened her eyes and raised her head off the table a moment before the front door of the guildhall slammed open. In the doorway stood a tall blonde woman in plate armor. She had a sword belted to her hip and carried a helmet tucked under one arm. In her other hand she held a stick with a bit of meat on it.

Zemma sniffed. “Fish. And paladin. Harmless.” She said as she started to lay her head back down on the desk.

“Hail and well met heroes! I am Yasmina Ferro’qua, holy warrior of the Order of Light!” she proclaimed as she pointed her bit of fish on a stick into the room. I think we must not have been the crowd she expected because as her blue eyes scanned the room her shoulders sagged and she let her arm fall to her side.

I stood up and tugged Zemma to her feet before she could lay back down to continue her cat nap. “Greetings Ms. Ferro’qua, I am Marcus, the guild master of this fine establishment. And this is my lazy assistant scholar Zemma.” I took a short bow and put my hand on Zemma’s head. “How can I help you?” I asked.

“I was expecting to join a great host of heroes to rid this land of bandits and other lurking evils. But it seems the rumors of such a force of heroes in this town were greatly exaggerated.” she said dejectedly.

I spread my arms wide, palms up. “Oh, but it is most fortunate that you have arrived. Zemma’ can you file the papers on the table and find me an adventurer intake form?” I asked as I hefted the papers from the table into her arms. Zemma gave me a look, I presumed it meant we would need to talk in private later. She took the stack of papers and disappeared through the small door at the other end of the common room.

I flipped two chairs off of a table and gestured for Yasmina to sit in one. I sat down as well. She unbuckled her sword and laid it on the table, then sank into the chair as her armor clanked. “Fortunate you say?” she asked.

Chapter 7

“Indeed. Quite fortunate. Especially when no others have risen to the challenges of this area, an armored knight willing to join the fight is a wonderful sight.” I explained. Huh. I normally didn’t make poetry accidentally like that.

Her blue eyes lit with excitement. “Truly spoken! A Battle won while outnumbered will be even more glorious!” she proclaimed.

“Exactly, but before you can officially join my guild, a few questions need to be answered.” I stated.

Yasmina nodded. “Ask away. I never lie, nor do I have anything to hide.”

“Your profession?”

“Paladin.”

“Any notable successes in your career?” I asked.

“Ah. Graduated Paladin school with the highest marks in my class.” she replied.

The small door opened again and Zemma returned with what I assumed were the appropriate forms. She pulled up a chair and sat close to me, almost pressed against me. “Any notable failures or issues in your career?” I asked.

Yasmina’s looked down and fixed her gaze on the table. “My entire party died in the dungeon near Pengi. I have no idea why the Lord of Light saw fit to spare me. I intend to redeem myself here, through helping this town.” she whispered.

Zemma wrote something on the papers and slid it over to me. It said, “Change the subject! Ask her if she’s into you?” she had drawn a happy cat face next to the question.

I looked at Yasmina, and then back to Zemma. Yasmina remained silent and seemed lost in her own thoughts. I wrote on the paper and tapped it to draw Zemma’s attention to it. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Are you okay with it if she is? Aren’t paladins celibate?” I wrote.

Zemma scribbled rapidly on the page with her pen. “Of course, I was first, so I get to be in charge of your bed!”another drawing of a happy cat face, this time with a fish shaped penis in it’s mouth. Or maybe a penis shaped fish, “And not all Orders are celibate, plus she looks like she needs a distraction, and that’s what would work on me!” I could almost hear her add a “Nya!” to the end of that phrase, even though she hadn’t written it down. I shook my head, this land, or at least Zemma, had really unusual ideas about relationships.

“Yasmina, are you good to continue?” I asked.

She nodded her head slightly. “Of course.” she said softly.

I figured I would appeal to her sense of honor. “Last question. Your truthful answer will determine whether you may join this guild. Understand?” I asked. She nodded again.

“Do you find me attractive, physically?” I asked softly.

Her face, which until this point had been quite pale, quickly flushed to a light red. “I choose to remain silent, as I don’t see how that will affect my duties in the guild.” she squeaked. I looked into her icy blue eyes. She couldn’t meet my eyes and instead fixed her gaze on the table again.

Zemma jumped up and stood on top of the chair she had been sitting in. “And you’re hired, welcome to the Zrudale Adventurer’s Guild!” she yelled. I filled in the blanks on the paperwork and crumpled up the page that Zemma and I had written our messages to each other on.

Yasmina snatched her sword up off the table. “Thank you. I need a moment alone to collect my thoughts.” she said. Then she walked out the front door in a hurry.

As the door swung shut I picked up Zemma around the waist and then set her down with her feet on the floor. “What do you mean you were first so you’re in charge of the bed?” I asked.

She lunged up and hugged me, her feet barely touched the ground. Zemma was pleasantly warm, soft, and she still smelled faintly of sex and the forest. “I mean, technically you haven’t properly made me your first yet, but I’m really hope you’ll fix that tonight. Unless there’s some girl in your homeland that is already first? If so, she’s an idiot to let you roam so far from home.” Zemma muttered into my ear.

I wrapped my arms around her. “No no, there’s no other girl. Just you. And I guess maybe Yasmina? But you instigated that.” I said as I pressed my free hand to the top of her head and scratched her ears.

“Good! Then we’re going to make it official tonight. If you want to?” she said as she squirmed with delight in my arms.

I was about to ask her for further clarification when I heard the front door open and shut again. I put Zemma down and turned around. Yasmina stood in the doorway again. Her face seemed to have regained it’s usual ivory pale coloring. “Despite your difficult entry exam, I have decided to stay.” she yelled. Her voice echoed in the empty room.

I sighed. “Then could you use your inside voice? This room isn’t large enough to need that kind of volume.” I said.

Yasmina raised a gauntleted hand to her lips, then dropped it to her side. “My apologies guild master. I also have a request, if you’ll hear it.” she said.

“Okay, what is it?” I asked.

“May I please borrow scholar Zemma and retire to my room? I’d like to get out of my armor if you don’t expect to summon me to a battle today, but doing so requires some assistance.” Yasmina said.

I looked to Zemma. She shrugged her shoulders. “Very well. Go help her Zemma. I’ll reward you later.” I said, then I leaned in and almost touched my lips to the tip of Zemma’s triangular ear. “Tonight. My room. Wherever that is. You can show me to it after you help Yasmina, okay?” I whispered.

Zemma smiled and nodded vigorously. “Nya! Yes guild master!” she bounded over to Yasmina and led her up the stairs to the second floor.

Once they were out of sight I decided to explore a bit. I went through the small door that Zemma had gone through earlier to get the paperwork. Beyond the door was a long rectangular room. One side was a kitchen and pantry, the other side contained racks of scrolls, papers, and old books. I scanned the titles til lI found one that caught my eye: ‘Principles of Magic, Novice Edition’. I pulled it off the shelf and carried it back into the common room. I only made it through the preface and a bit of chapter one by the time Zemma appeared at the top of the stairs. She pounced down them two at a time and scampered over to me. More precisely, she climbed into my lap. “Reward time?” she purred.

Chapter 8

I put a finger under Zemma’s chin and tilted her head up toward mine, then gave her a long kiss on her lips. She purred and her arms wrapped around me. I lowered my head to her chest and pushed her back. “Excitable much?” I asked.

“How could I not be nya? You promised me your bed tonight.” she said as she snuggled into me.

“Yes, but first, how is our new recruit?” I asked.

“Sound asleep. I put her in an empty bedroom, helped her out of her armor and then ran her a bath. When I came back in to let her know the water was ready, she was already under the covers and sound asleep.” Zemma reported.

“That works perfectly for us then. She can rest up and we’ll swing by Enam’s stand to pick up dinner, then come back here.” I paused for a second, reconsidering my words. “Then we’ll come back home.” I amended.

Zemma looked up at me and smiled. “Fish for dinner! Hurray!”

It didn’t take us long to swing by Enam’s stand and then get back to the guild hall. Zemma was busy devouring her plate of food while I closed the window shutters and barred the front door for the night. During this process Yasmina came down from upstairs in a long white dress, though she still had her sword belted to her waist.

The sword did not diminish what a thin toned elegant beauty Yasmina was. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she closed her eyes and yawned. I went into the backroom momentarily, and returned with a plate of food for her and a glass of water. I set them down at the same table where Zemma and I were eating. “Yasmina, welcome back to the world of the conscious. Come join us.” I said.

Yasmina walked over and sat down where I indicated. Upon closer examination her dress was more of a long nightgown which left little to the imagination. I could see the points of her nipples and the curves of her slight breasts. Zemma paused mid-mouthful, “How old are you Yassy?” she asked.

Yasmina glared at her. “Old enough that my father wishes me to find a proper husband. Young enough not to be desperate for such.” she said hotly, then she started to eat. She finished a bite. “People in this part of the country seem to have no sense of etiquette.” she muttered.

Zemma looked at me from across the table and winked, then she leaned forward, which gave me a very, very good view of her cleavage. I took a deep breath as I felt my cock swell in my pants slightly. I pushed my empty plate away and stood up, hoping that Yasmina wouldn’t notice. “I’ll have some tasks for us in a few days, hopefully, until then focus on resting up and helping around town. I’ll be looking into getting us more recruits as we go. But for tonight, it’s bedtime for me.” I yawned.

Zemma sprang to her feet. “You’re on dish duty Yassy. I need to go warm up the guild master’s bed-- er, bath. Come along Marcus!” she said as she sprang toward the stairs, her tail swishing back and forth.

“Very well. See you in the morning guild master.” Yasmina said. I followed Zemma up the stairs to the second floor.

The upper floor of the guild hall was a series of winding corridors with many doors. Once we were alone Zemma grabbed my hand and led me through one of the doors into a spacious carpeted room. There was a large four post bed with curtains, a study desk, a bookcase, and in one corner of the room, which had tile floor instead of carpet, there was a shiny metal bathtub. Zemma let go of my hand and twirled around in a circle, her tail flicked back and forth excitedly. “So what do you think? I cleaned it up for you when I was helping Yasmina settle in. The book you left downstairs is on the table there, and your backpack is tucked under the bed.” she said. She stopped twirling, stumbled, and fell onto the bed. “Did I do good?” she asked.

I closed the door behind us and was pleased to discover that it could be locked. I slid the deadbolt into place, then I went and stood over Zemma. I reached out and ran two fingers slowly down her foot, then bent forward over her and trailed them up her calf and inner thigh. “Yes. This is far more than I expected, you did good.” I said softly.

Zemma wiggled and purred at my touch, then grabbed her pants and slid quickly out of them. She held up her legs with her hands and bared her pussy for me to see. “I wanted you ever since last night, but I wanted our first time to be… more private than in the woods.” she whispered. Her pussy glistened, already soaked with her lubricating juices.

Just looking at her smooth shaved pussy I felt my cock grow hard, and I was uncomfortably warm in my clothes. I slid out of my pants and unbuttoned my shirt. They both fell to the floor. “I appreciate your forethought there. We’ll have more time to enjoy and get to know each other this way.” I said as I climbed into the bed on top of her. As I did she pulled her shirt over her head and unhooked her bra. I lifted it off of her and tossed it to the floor, then untied the ribbons that held back the bed’s curtains. They fell shut, leaving us in a semi-dark, cavern like space.

Zemma scooted up behind me as the curtains closed and wrapped her arm around me. She reached down and grasped my cock with her other hand and squeezed gently. “Please keep me. Please make me yours.” she hesitated. “Master” she whispered.

I pulled her hand away from my crotch as I turned to face her, then pushed her down onto the mattress. She purred and pawed at me with her hands, her legs still spread wide for me. “Patience, Zemma.” I whispered. I lowered myself down atop her and slid my tongue into her mouth. She met my kiss, which I had intended to be soft, with a hard push as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and forced her tongue against mine. She squirmed beneath me, her body hot like a furnace as the slickness of her pussy ground against my cock. I reached down with one hand and cupped her breast, then I gave it a light experimental squeeze. She purred deeply and I felt her grasp my cock with her hand.

“Can I have it yet master?” she pouted as she rubbed the tip of my cock against the wet sticky opening of her pussy.

I didn’t speak. Instead I grabbed a hold of her hip with one hand and pushed my solid cock deep inside of her. Her mouth dropped open and she let out a shuddering moan of pleasure as my length filled her.

I started to thrust into her with a slow and steady rhythm. She curled her arms and legs around me as we both quivered with waves of ever increasing sensation. “Th--thank you-nya!” she gasped.

As her pleasure increased, she raked her fingernails slowly down my back. The slight sensation of pain was surprisingly enjoyable. I picked up the pace of my thrusting and pressed myself against her hard as my teeth bit down into her shoulder.

Her moans and purrs changed rapidly into frantic gasping breaths and then moments later she bucked and squirmed uncontrollably under me as she was rocked by her own orgasmic climax. I slowed my pace to a stop and lay atop her, my cock still hard, buried in her warm, pulsating pussy. “Don’t stop. I know you can go further..” she pleaded.

“Do you want me to come in you?” I asked quietly, my face pressed into her neck.

I felt her as she nodded and nuzzled her cheek on my shoulder. “More than anything else in the world.” she purred.

“More than fish?” I asked.

She grabbed my hips and ground my cock into the depths of her pussy. “More, more than fish. Please. Let me be your first.” she whispered as she writhed against me. I pulled back and then thrust myself vigorously inside of her.

Her pussy wrapped tightly around my shaft, pulling me deeper with every pulsing thrust. She purred deeply and sank her teeth into my chest. If it hurt, I didn’t feel it. I was fully focused on the rapidly building waves of pleasure that ran from my tip up my spine and then through my whole body.

I slammed down inside her one more time and she rolled her head back and purred as my cock quivered within her, my seed filling her to the brim and spilling out around the edges of her pussy.

I laid down atop her petite form, exhausted and spent. She smelled like the perfect mixture of her sex, my sweat, and the forest. I laid my forehead down on the curve of her shoulder. For a blissful moment we both laid there perfectly content, basking in the afterglow of our shared pleasures.

Eventually her breathing became steady and relaxed. “Now master, I’m yours. Beastkin bond fiercely as I’m sure you know. You’re welcome to play with the blonde warrior if you wish, but I’ll be carefully screening anyone else that you wish to add to our bed.” she whispered, then she kissed me on the side of my head.

“I’m still not sure I get all of this, but you’re saying if I wanted to get naked and bring Yasmina in here, that’d be okay with you?” I asked.

Zemma purred and nuzzled against me. “Of course master. If you wanted her, having her would please you, so of course I would encourage you. Just don’t forget to come back to me eventually after you’ve had your fun with another woman, okay?” she whispered.

“I won’t forget you kitty. You were the first after all. You’ll sleep here next to me every night?” I asked as I got off from on top of her and wiggled under the blankets.

She rolled over and crawled in next to me, a small stream of our love juices trailing down her inner thigh. Just the sight of her fully naked after one round had my cock half hard again. “Always master. Unless you wish me not to.” she whispered as she crawled head first under the covers toward my crotch.

Her tail brushed against my face as her tongue teased the tip of my cock. “Master, can I lick you clean before I sleep?” she asked, her voice muffled by the blankets.

Her ass and pussy dangled tantalizingly close to my face. I buried my tongue in her pussy for a moment and she let out a gasp. As I withdrew and lay my head back on the pillow she took the tip of my cock greedily into her mouth. “Of course you can clean me kitty, but I don’t think you’ve finished emptying me yet.” I whispered as I rubbed a hand on her thigh.

That was probably the most pleasurable night of my life. The first of many. We did not fall asleep properly until the sun started to peek out over the horizon.

Chapter 9

By the time I woke up the sun was high in the sky, judging by what I could see from the window. Zemma was curled up asleep, entirely under the covers, her face pressed against my hip. I lifted the blanket to get a better look at her. She purred with pleasure as I rubbed her ears and a thin line of drool trickled out of her mouth. She was perfect. But we had lots of work to do today. I moved from petting her to scratching her forcefully between her ears.

She let out a long groaning “Nyaaaa…” and then rolled over and looked up at me. “I don’t want to wake up.” she pouted.

“There will be time for catnaps and other exciting activity later.” I said as I pushed my half erect cock gently into her cheek. She immediately grabbed it with one hand and wrapped her mouth around the tip with a purr.

I laid my head back and closed my eyes. We were already late to get out of bed. A little bit longer couldn’t hurt, right?

A short time later, Zemma swallowed my seed, then sat up and waved her empty hands at me. “See, it’s cleaner when I do it that way. Do you like it?” she purred.

I gave one of her boobs a squeeze, then crawled out of bed into the cold air beyond the bed’s curtains. “Of course I do, but if we stay up here any longer we will accomplish nothing for the day. The money I have here may be a lot, but we need income if we’re going to attract members and fix this place up.” I said as I pulled my clothes on.

Zemma crawled out of the bed, wrapped in a blanket. “We could open a fish restaurant!” she cried.

I chuckled. “We wouldn’t want to cut in on Enam’s business though. He seems to be struggling enough.”

“Fiiine. But can we go have fish for breakfast? Maybe a full stomach will generate some money making ideas.”

I scratched the top of her head, focusing in on one ear. She tilted her head and pushed against my fingers. “Maybe. I know for a fact there’s no food in the pantry here. Let’s go get Yasmina and then we can all think over our next move.” I said, then I buttoned up my shirt.

When Zemma and I got downstairs Yasmina was seated at a table. She wore pants, a shirt, and a brown leather vest. One the table lay her sword and a round shield with a sun symbol on it. Directly in front of her was a pile of toast. “You two slept late. All the temple had for breakfast this morning was toast and eggs. They let me take the extra toast.” Yasmina said as we descended the stairs.

I sat down next to Yasmina and snagged a piece of toast. Zemma sat down on the other side of Yasmina and leaned in close to her. Yasmina watched Zemma nervously as Zemma deftly slid the whole plate of toast so that it was directly in front of her, then stuffed a whole slice into her mouth. “You could have just asked, you know?” Yasmina said.

Zemma made unintelligible sounds as she tried to speak with her mouth full.

“So hear anything interesting while you were out today Yas?” I asked.

Yasmina nodded. “Yes. A few days walk to the south, the temple told me that there is a minor demon running rampant, terrorizing the homesteaders. The priest has offered financial remuneration to anyone who can slay it.” she said.

“How much are we talking?” I asked.

“Probably enough to pay for meals for the three of us for a few weeks at least. Along with the blessings of the temple, of course.” Yasmina said.

I nodded. That was better pay than I would expect for a beginners’s quest. “So my knowledge on the subject is a bit rusty, but aren’t demons difficult to slay?” I asked.

Zemma gulped down her toast and raised her hand. “I know this one!” she squeaked.

I sighed. “Go on and tell us then.”

“Demons can only be harmed by magic, magic weapons, or silver! Contrary to popular belief holy symbols do nothing unless you are a priest. Demons also cannot step on hallowed ground.” Zemma said, then jammed another whole slice of toast into her mouth.

I nodded. “Yasmina, I don’t suppose that’s a magic or silver sword you have there?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No, unfortunately the Order only issues such things to high ranking members.” she said.

I pulled my coin pouch out of my pocket and upended it on the table. The coins clattered out into a loose pile. “I presume you know weapons, Yas, is this enough to buy a magic or a silver weapon?” I asked.

Yasmina stacked and counted out the coins. “Magic not a chance, silver-edged sword, yes, but you won’t have much money left afterward.” she explained.

I nodded. Well, there goes our savings. I was pretty sure neither of the girls had any money, considering that I’d paid for all of Zemma’s food thus far and Yasmina was eating leftovers from the temple.

Yasmina handled the details of the purchase. She returned with a longsword in a scabbard and the remainder of my funds. After we spent my leftover coin on food and supplies for the trip, I had nothing left in my coin pouch. The three of us stopped by Enam’s food stand for dinner, to take advantage of the credit I had there.

I had my new sword strapped to my back as we approached. It looked like some rubble and debris had been cleared away on this street. Enam waved at us as he noticed us. “Welcome back!” he said.

We all sat down on stools in front of the counter, Zemma in the middle between Yas and I. “That’s a fine looking sword you’ve acquired. And who’s your new friend?” Enam asked as he rotated some skewers atop the grill.

Yasmina stood and performed a slight bow. “Yasmina Ferro’qua of the Order of Light.” she said, then sat back down on the stool.

I held up two fingers. “Two helpings for each of us please.” Enam started to plate our food.

“So any news?” Enam asked.

“Yeah. I’m officially the master of the Adventurer’s Guild of Zrudale. For whatever that’s worth.” I said.

Enam looked at me curiously as he set plates of food in front of us. Zemma tore into hers immediately with both hands. “I mean, I suppose there’s plenty of vacancies.” Enam wondered.

Zemma nodded and hummed an “Mhm!” as she kept stuffing her face.

Yasmina took a small bite of her food. “And tomorrow we go to slay a demon! Albeit a minor one.” she proclaimed.

Enam raised one eyebrow. “Are you now? Job is a job I guess.” he said.

I sensed an opportunity. “To that end Enam, we may be gone for up to a week. Think you could keep an eye on the guild hall for me? You’re welcome to sleep in a spare room and use the kitchen. I would consider it a personal favor.” I said.

Enam rubbed his chin with one hand and was silent for a few moments as he considered my offer. “Sure, why not! I’ll look after the place for you.” he said.

“Thanks. If anyone comes by with a quest or wants to join, just make a note of it and Zemma will handle it when we get back.” I said. Zemma swallowed a bite of toast and looked at me.

“I will?” she asked.

I rubbed her head and she purred. “Of course, until you find someone to delegate that kind of stuff to.” I said. I noticed Yasmina watching us with a curious expression on her face. Her eyes met mine and her cheeks turned a shade of pink. She whipped her gaze back down to her plate and resumed eating. Enam had turned his back to us as he worked more food onto the grill.

“We’ll leave first thing in the morning. We’ll see you then Enam?” I asked.

He turned around and smiled. “Certainly, see you then.” he said.

That night passed in much the same way as the previous, except that Zemma and I didn’t stay up quite as late. I drifted to sleep with Zemma naked in my arms, her head nestled in my shoulder as she purred softly. This was something I could get used to, though I was curious about Yasmina. She hadn’t really given me a proper answer to whether or not she was attracted to me, but I suspected that she was.

Chapter 10

The next morning I awoke to the sound of someone pounding on the door to our room. “Guild master Marcus! It is daylight and Enam has prepared breakfast!” Yasmina yelled through the door.

I wiggled out from under Zemma. “Huh?” she said as she stretched out on the bed. I pulled on my pants and buttoned my shirt, then opened the door. Yasmina stood before me dressed the same as yesterday, except she wore her sword and shield on her back. She looked at me, then looked away down the hall. “My apologies for disturbing you guild master, but you insisted yesterday that we start early, so I thought it best to wake you.” she said.

I finished buttoning my shirt. “Fair. How did you know which room was mine?” I asked.

Yasmina reached up with one hand and adjusted the hair scrunchie that held her blonde hair back in a ponytail. “Ah, that is, Zemma told me yesterday. In case of danger, or if I had any questions for you. She did not, however, tell me which room is hers. Do you happen to know--” Yasmina froze with her mouth open. I turned around to see what she was looking at. Oh.

Zemma had opened the canopy of the bed and lounged atop the rumpled covers. Still completely naked. She smiled and waved at Yasmina. “I’m right here nya!” she said.

Yasmina turned her back on my room and Zemma’s nakedness. “I see. I’ll go help with breakfast then, if you’ll excuse me!” she didn’t wait for me to actually reply. She sprinted down the corridor and rounded a corner, then was out of my field of view.

I shook my head. It wouldn’t do for Zemma to traumatize her. “Zemma, was that intentional?” I asked.

She was in the process of putting on a long skirt that covered her tail. She paused with it around her knees, her tail swept back and forth. “Maybe a little.” she cooed.

“Why?” I asked as I tossed her shirt toward her.

Her shirt collided with her face and she lost her balance and toppled back into the bed with a yowl. Guess she didn’t have cat-like reflexes. She lay on the bed and pulled the shirt on over her head. “Now she won’t be able to help but wonder what naughty things you’re doing with your little cat scholar! The best kind of research!” she exclaimed.

I sighed. I wasn’t quite sure what she meant by that last bit. “Well come on, we need to get going south today. I think I smell fish downstairs?” I said.

Zemma squeezed past me to get through the doorway, then bounded toward the stairs down to the common room.

Enam served up a breakfast of toast, fried fish, and vegetables. He sat down and ate along with us. Throughout the morning and even once we were on the road out of town, Yasmina wouldn’t make eye contact with me, or speak to me.

We travelled on foot along an old cobblestone road to the south. Zemma knew that the roads had been built about a century ago but couldn’t recall anything more than that about their history. We ate a brief lunch from our packs, then kept moving. A few wagons pulled by horses passed us by, they were headed toward Zrudale, traders of some sort. Other than that, we encountered no one on the road that day.

As the sun dipped low in the sky we made camp in a grassy clearing adjacent to the road. Zemma dumped a small bundle of sticks at my feet and said, “You get a fire started while Yassy and I go to look for more wood, okay?” she said as she grabbed Yasmina by the hand and tugged her toward the forest.

Yasmina protested a little, but not much. “Come on! He’ll be safe near the road, but the woods could be dangerous!” Zemma said as they disappeared from view amongst the trees.

I dug around in my pack for the book I had been reading. Principles of Magic. I hadn’t had much time to practice yet, but now seemed as good a time as any. I turned to the first spell in the book: Conjure Flame. It required an incantation, some hand gestures, and a bit of dry burnable material. Perfect.

As I mouthed the incantation printed in the book while clumsily trying to draw the runes in the air with one hand, a trail of red light flowed from my hand and hung in the air, outlining the runes. I copied them from the book as best I could and finished the verbal component of the spell. The fistful of twigs in my other hand burst into flame suddenly and in a flash the floating light of the runes was gone.

I yelped in pain and dropped the burning twigs to the ground. My hand didn’t look seriously injured. The twig on the ground’s flame went out and then it proceeded to smoulder and emit smoke. Failure. This was going to take some practice.

By the time Yasmina and Zemma returned with bundles of sticks, five attempts of Conjure Flame later, I had managed to keep the fire going, but I felt physically and mentally exhausted from the effort. I wrapped up in my blanket while Zemma fed the fire and Yasmina heated up some dried fish that Enam had sent with us.

Shortly after we ate it was pitch black as the sun sank beyond the horizon entirely. The campfire was our only source of light. Zemma spread out her blankets much the same as she had that night in the forest. She patted the covers. “Master, er, guild master? The bed is ready. Yasmina and I will take turns keeping watch while you rest.” she said.

I nodded groggily and slipped under the blankets. I folded up my own blanket to use as a pillow, then I watched Zemma help Yasmina out of her armor. “I can see the best in the dark, so I’ll take first watch.” Zemma said.

“Very well.” Yasmina reached into her back and withdrew her bedroll. As she did so, Zemma pushed her toward me.

“Don’t be bashful. He’s not going to hurt you. Or anything weird. Look, he’s practically already asleep.” Did I hear Zemma say that, or was I dreaming now? Not sure. I dozed into unconsciousness.

I snapped wide awake as someone lifted the blankets and slid up against me. “Zemma?” I asked as I rolled over. The embers of the fire provided little illumination, but I could see pale blue eyes looking at me.

“She is in shouting distance, keeping an eye on the perimeter to make sure we are safe.” Yasmina said.

“Yas? Why are you under my blanket?” I wondered. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing.

“I-- I was cold. And Zemma suggested that I stay by your side tonight. She said I was ideal for keeping you safe, and that you were curious about me and that it might do us good to spend alone time together, even if we just slept near each other. I’ll admit, it all sounds a little strange to me, but those were my superior’s orders.” Yas whispered.

“Uh huh.” I muttered. I had a sneaking suspicion of exactly what Zemma had in mind. I felt my cock grow hard and hoped Yas didn’t notice my arousal poking into the blanket in the dark.

“May I speak freely, guild master?” I could barely hear Yas, she spoke the words so softly.

“What? Were you not doing so already? Go ahead.” I said. I felt the blanket drag slightly across my body as Yas shifted.

I heard her sigh deeply. “I saw Zemma this morning and I felt jealousy, which is foreign to me. She confronted me in the woods and I spoke my heart to her.. She-- she-- assured me that there was room in your bed for another, if it would please you?” Yas whispered.

I am not sure how long we were both silent for. “I’m certainly open to the idea.” I whispered.

I felt her warmth as she moved closer to me. “Then.. please sat your curiosities about me, but.. Be gentle. My order allows such things, but I lack experience.” she whispered. Her hand found my shoulder in the darkness. She trailed her fingers down it gently, till she found my hand. She seemed nervous, so I let her lead.

She tugged on my hand and guided it to her hip. Her skin, oh, her skin. She wasn’t wearing anything. She felt cold and smooth, the muscles of her hip and thigh were delightfully dense as I explored slowly with my fingertips. “I’m sorry. My training has not allowed me to have a soft, attractive body. Please accept me despite my failing in this regard.” she whispered.

I wrapped my arm around to the small of her back and applied a slight pressure. “Come closer, you feel cold. And.. don’t be silly, you’re gorgeous in your own way.” I whispered. I meant every word.

She pressed her chilly body against me and I pulled the blankets tight around us. Somewhere in the dark, an owl hooted. Yasmina felt tense as her body came into contact with mine, like she was ready to spring up and run away. “There’s no way you’re going to get any rest if you’re this tense.” I whispered.

I felt a wet softness on my shoulder. I found Yasmina’s face with one of my hands. Her eyes were damp. “Why are you crying? Am I that scary? And also, why are you naked? You’re clearly cold.” Though now that she was held tight against me I could feel her beginning to warm up. I did my best to ignore the hard throb of my cock against my pants.

“I-- you’re not going to reject me?” she whispered.

“What? No. You’re a beautiful strong blonde girl, who could probably out wrestle me any day. Just the opposite, I would love to spend the night with you Yas.” I said.

I felt her warm moist breath across my neck and chest as she sighed again. Herbody seemed heavier next to me as she relaxed and draped an arm across my chest. “Oh thank the Light. And you, you ignorant foreigner. I’m naked because Zemma said it was how she convinced you to let her share your bed.” Yasmina said.

Strange. I distinctly remember Zemma inviting me into her bed first. I could get used to women being so clear with me like this though. I slid my hand up from her lower back to stroke her long blonde hair. I found the hairband that held her hair back, and pulled it free. “So you want to sleep with me like Zemma does?” I asked.

I felt her nod her head against my body. “Tonight? Now?” I asked.

She didn’t move. “We can wait if you’re not ready yet. But if so, please put some clothes on, so that I’m not awake the whole night with a hard on, okay?” I said.

“Oh thank the divine. From Zemma’s descriptions she made you out to be horribly impatient. I half expected you to ravish me on the spot. May I go get my clothes? I do want to return and lay with you if you’ll allow me.” she asked with a whisper.

I unwrapped my arm from around her. “Go on. And come back when you’re ready.” I said. I watched as she got out from under the blankets and put her pants and a shirt on. She might be slender and small chested, but she moved with a firm strength and grace that made me want to reach out and tear her clothes off. I took a deep breath and pushed those thoughts away. Maybe another night.

Yasmina added some more wood to the fire and then crawled back under the blankets with me. This time she did not hesitate to snuggle up and lay her head on my shoulder. She planted a small kiss on my cheek. “I feel like I belong her with you.” she whispered.

I lapsed into silence, unsure of how to respond to that. By the time I’d thought of anything halfway decent, she was fast asleep. Soon I drifted back to sleep as well.

When I woke up again it was still dark and something pulled at my pants. “Yas?” I muttered groggily. I lifted up the blanket and saw a pair of red eyes in the dim firelight.

“Shh.” Zemma whispered, her head level with my hips as she tugged my half erect cock free from my pants. Her ears were squished flat to the top of her head by the blanket and her hair was pulled to one side, held in a loose ponytail by Yasmina’s hairband. I felt a shift to my left as Yasmina rolled over and draped an arm across my chest. My eyes widened as I felt Zemma take my cock into her mouth.

I glanced down at Yasmina as she snuggled into my side. She was still asleep. I looked back under the blanket at Zemma as she worked my cock with her tongue as she purred softly. I didn’t want to wake Yasmina and traumatize her further so I remained as quiet as possible as Zemma bobbed her head up and down the length of my cock.

She suddenly withdrew her mouth, though a line of my fluid still connected my tip to a corner of her lips. She caught it with her tongue and slurped it into her mouth. Then she shifted her weight forward and pushed my cock between her breasts. She was shirtless and the inner walls of her boobs felt silky smooth against the sides of my cock.

SHe craned her neck forward and lowered her mouth to wrap around the tip of my cock again. She purred deeply as I reached out to pet the top of her head between her ears.

The waves of pleasure soon grew too intense. I knotted my fist in her hair and thrust my hips. My cock plunged down her throat and my seed flooded into her mouth as she gagged on my length.

As my body calmed down I released my grip on her hair. She looked up at me with a big smile, my come dripping from her chin. She held one finger up to her mouth and mouthed the word “Quiet”, then she proceeded to lick me clean with her rough tongue. She swallowed the evidence of our dirty deed then snuggled into the side of my body opposite of Yasmina. Zemma kissed me on the cheek and then promptly passed out.

I turned my head toward Yasmina as I drifted off to sleep and realized that her eyes were open. We looked at each other for a moment and I felt her face grow hot. She shut her eyes tight. “I will not admit that I saw anything.” she said hotly as she rolled over and put her back up against me.

“But if I did see anything.. What I saw looked very very appealing.” she whispered so quietly that I could barely hear her.

I pulled Yasmina’s hairband out of Zemma’s hair and then turned and placed it around Yasmina’s wrist. “Wake me up if you want to try sometime.” I whispered sleepily in Yasmina’s ear.

As I drifted off to sleep I heard Yasmina whisper, “Maybe I will.”

Chapter 11

The next day we got some info from some local farmers on where the demon might be located. Due west from their land was a swamp, where the locals claimed the demon resided. They said that it had pilfered their livestock and had assaulted some people who travelled along the road. Yasmina did most of the talking, as she had the most knowledge about the creature.

As we walked across the farmer’s land toward the edge of the swamp, Yasmina explained, “As best I could gather from their inconclusive descriptions, we’re looking for a big blue fellow with horns. This type isn’t known for subtlety and is likely to attack on sight, especially once it sees me. Stay within arms reach Marcus and hopefully some of my divine protection will rub off on you.” she said.

“You’re going to rub off on him?” That’s adorable!” Zemma said.

Yasmina didn’t respond, but her face reddened. She put on her helmet and her blue eyes looked out at us from the darkness within it. “Before battle is not the place for such humor.” she said. But I thought it was quite well timed on Zemma’s part. But I was biased, I had grown fond of seeing Yasmina blush.

Yasmina led the way into the swamp, careful that her footing was solid with each step in the murky water that rose up to her knees. She had her sword drawn and her shield strapped to her other arm.

I held my new silver-edged sword in one hand. Zemma carried a tiny notebook and her fountain pen. I had encouraged her earlier to take some notes for her guidebook project. As we slogged through the water of the swamp we heard a scream in the distance, “Yaaah! Help me, somebody!” the voice sounded female.

Yasmina’s voice boomed from inside her helmet, “Someone is in trouble! Onward!” she trudged through the knee deep water and navigated around stunted knobbly trees as fast as she could given that she wore full armor. It was easy enough for Zemma and I to keep up, though I briefly contemplated whether I should have gotten myself some armor before we started this little venture.

As we broke through a thicket of shrubs we came to the bottom of a small hill in the middle of a clearing. Atop the hill, twice as tall as me, stood a blue scale covered demon, roughly shaped like a man, it had large black horns, a mouth filled with rows of teeth, and in one of its oversized hands it held a woman in a black robe who screamed in terror.

Yasmina let out a battlecry and charged up the hill with a burst of speed. I chased after her and soon ran alongside her. Perhaps we should have talked battlefield tactics before getting ourselves into this. Too late now.

The demon held his captive over his head and swung his empty handed fist down toward us. I dove between the demon’s legs as Yasmina bore the brunt of the blow on her shield.

I raised my silver sword in both hands and slashed at the back of the demon’s knee. SKILL ACTIVATED: TEN RED SECONDS. As my blade bit deep into the demon’s tissue time slowed down around me. I pulled my sword free and swung it into the same spot and the blade bit deeper. Then I looked upward at the woman the demon held above him. Her skin was tan, almost the color of milk chocolate and her black hair was short, about chin length. I sighed. Guess this time, I was going to be a hero.

With my sword raised over my head I hacked away at the elbow joint of the arm the demon held the girl with. It took five swings before my sword cut through and severed the limb. It hung, floating in space, it and the girl fell with almost imperceptible speed. TWO SECONDS REMAIN scrolled across my vision in block script.

As I wiped my sword off on my shirt and sheathed it, I positioned myself under the girl and prepared to catch her. I got into position just as time resumed it’s normal flow. The demon roared and fell down onto the knee that I had cut into as it’s stump of an arm, severed at the elbow, spouted a geyser of blood onto the dirt. The girl in the black robe landed in my arms and the force of her impact knocked me to the ground.

Yasmina did not hesitate. She flung her sword toward the demon’s face as an additional distraction, then sprinted over to me and pulled my sword free of the scabbard on my back. As she turned to face the demon, it swung it’s good arm toward her as it cried out in pain. She crouched low just in time and got her shield up to intercept. The demon’s hand impacted and grabbed onto her shield, which crumpled as he hoisted her into the air by her arm.

She swung the silver sword into the demon’s face. It connected with his forehead and penetrated deep. The demon went corss-eyed and hummed a low note in a language that sent a chill up my spine, then he toppled forward, his horned head settled to the ground with a thud inches from me.

I looked down to the dark skinned woman in my arms. Her brown eyes met mine. “You are a time mage?” she asked.

“Uh..” I said as I watched Yasmina tear her arm free of her now-useless shield, then behead the demon with my sword in a single blow. Yas wiped my sword clean with a cloth, which she then tossed atop the demon. She removed her helmet. Her hair was plastered to her face with sweat.

“Use your fire magic Marcus. Otherwise, the demon has a chance of healing.” Yasmina said.

The black robed girl stood up, then I got to my feet. “I will assist you.” she said as she rolled up the sleeves of her robes.

I pulled some lint out of my pocket and cast Conjure Flame. As I did so, the new girl did something similar, but it looked much more complicated. I fumbled my spell as I watched her weave runes with perfect accuracy and at high speed.

The charred piece of lint dropped from my hand as her spell released a bolt of blue flame which ignited the creature, then rapidly spread and consumed it’s body and head. Zemma, Yasmina and I watched as the corpse was vaporized by the fire. I looked toward the girl we had rescued. “If you can do that, then why did you need rescuing?” I asked.

When she spoke, it was in a monotone. “Magic takes time to work, as a mage you should know this. The demon struck me before I could weave a spell to defend myself.” she said.

“Hmm. Fair point.” I said.

Zemma danced forward to stand between us. “I believe introductions are in order! I’m Zemma, guild scholar, this is Yassy, paladin, and this,” she pointed at me, “is our guild master, Marcus!” she said excitedly.

The woman brushed her black hair away from her face. “I am Iyldea, Arcanist.” she intoned.

A thought occurred to me. “Yas, can we collect the reward if we have no evidence of completion?” I asked.

Yasmina returned my sword to me and drew her own. “Yes.. just let me find it’s heart.” she muttered as she poked about in the ashes, all that remained of the large demon. After a moment her sword struck something that made a squishy sound. “Aha!” Yasmina said.

She pulled a small cloth bag out of her backpack, then reached one gauntleted hand into the ash and withdrew the demon’s heart. It looked like a small purple charred steak, except that unlike a steak it writhed in Yasmina’s grip as she stuffed it into the bag, and then into her backpack. “There, now we just need to return to Zrudale and turn it in at the temple.” she explained.

Iyldea came along with us on the way out of the swamp. We all agreed it was safer to travel together, at least until we reached the main road. Once we reached the road it was time for Iyldea to part ways with us. “In return for rescuing me, I won’t push for any part of the quest reward. I need to go collect some things from my home. You said your guild was based out of Zrudale to the north?” she asked.

“Yes--” I started to say.

“Yeppers! Big stone building, crumbling walls around it, beautiful neighborhood. You can’t miss it! And we’re open to new members! Master could use a competent wizard!” Zemma interrupted.

I sighed. All that was true, except for the beautiful neighborhood bit. Iyldea pulled the hood of her robe up, which partially concealed her face in its shadows. “I’ll consider him. I mean, it. The offer, the guild.” she said.

Iyldea retreated deeper into her robe as Zemma tried to suppress her laughter. Yas said nothing, but looked back and forth between Iyldea and I. I got the distinct feeling that there was something crucial that they all knew, which I did not.

Iyldea murmured a quiet goodbye then walked south along the road. Hopefully she would stay out of danger. Yasmina, Zemma and I proceeded north back toward Zrudale.

Both nights we camped by the side of the road and both nights Zemma insisted on draining my cock with her mouth. The second night, Yasmina didn’t even try to pretend to sleep. She was clearly watching us, and given how her hips were moving, likely masturbating. It was strange, especially since it only seemed to make Zemma more eager to satisfy me. Neither she nor Yasmina spoke about it at all, at least in front of me, so I decided it was best to keep quiet about it as well. If they were okay with it, why shouldn’t I be?

Chapter 12

We arrived back in Zrudale at mid-day. Our first stop was the temple, which I had not had the occasion to visit yet. From the outside it looked like a stone cathedral, but smaller in scale. The main area we passed through on the way to the ‘Missionary Department’ looked as though it could accommodate about a hundred people.

On the way, Yasmina explained to us that the Missionary Department was more about hunting down and purifying evils in the land, than it was about preaching the word of the Light to anyone. Yasmina’s theory was that most people already knew or had at least heard of the religion, and thus the priests were focused on eliminating the competition. In the case of this department, anyway.

Once we arrived, it was a simple process for Yasmina to turn in the demon heart and collect our reward. Once back at the guild hall, we divided it up between ourselves and I slid Enam a portion of mine as a thank you for keeping an eye on the place.

“Thanks Marcus. Say, I heard some news about the bandits. Two things, I suspect they realize they’ve bled this town dry, because they’ve been targeting trade caravans in the woods to the north. Second, rumor has it that they’re led by a woman, who is claiming to be the Queen of Bandits.” Enam explained.

“You don’t say?” I said as we all sat down in the common area of the guild hall.

“Oh, but I do say. If you ever wanted to be a caravan guard for a week, or a bandit, I suppose, there is no time like the present.” Enam said.

Yasmina took a long drink of water. “I will not condone joining the bandits in their illicit trade.” she said.

I nodded. “Agreed, if we’re going to establish a reputation in this community that is positive, then I think our next job has fallen into our laps.” I said.

Zemma pushed up against me and bit me lightly on the neck. “I know a job I can do in your lap!” she said enthusiastically.

She purred as I scratched her behind one of her ears. “Do you ever calm down?” I asked.

“Nope!” she said as she continued to nuzzle against me.

We spent the balance of the afternoon interviewing with traders and merchants going to north toward Pengi. As there weren’t many options for the merchants to choose from when it came to warriors and guardsmen, we were able to come to a very favorable arrangement with an elven merchant named Leflen. We agreed to meet him at the edge of town on the north road tomorrow afternoon to begin our journey.

On our way back to the guild hall Yasmina excused herself, said she was going to buy a warhorse, if she could find one. This left Zemma and I alone once we returned to the guild hall. We found a note from Enam on one of the tables, he had stocked the pantry for us and returned back to his food stand while we were out for the day.

Zemma had taken the initiative the whole time we were travelling, so I decided I would turn the tables on her. She yelped as I swept her off of the floor and into my arms, then I gave her a deep kiss. As our tongues met she melted against me and started to purr.

After I withdrew I carried her toward one of the tables. “Did I do good during our trip?” she asked.

“I think you made the journey very pleasant for me, at least.” I said as I laid her down on the table and hiked her skirt up around her thighs. She wasn’t wearing any panties. I slid my pants down around my knees, pulled her hips close to the edge of the table and then buried my cock deep inside her.

A short while later, I lay atop her, my seed leaking out from between her legs. She had her arms wrapped around my shoulders. I breathed out a sigh of utter contentment. “You know master, I’m flattered by the attention you’re giving me, but I think I should stay behind for the caravan trip.” she purred.

“And why is that?” I whispered.

“Because I think Yassy could use some personal attention from you and I suspect she finds me intimidating, which I think is why she hasn’t made a move yet.” Zemma explained as her tail curled around my ankle and brushed across the bottoms of my feet.

I disentangled from Zemma as fast as I could and stood up. “Hey, that tickles!” I said.

“Oh, I learned something new about you today then!” Zemma said as she sat up and adjusted her skirt back to its proper position.

“Hmm. I’m not opposed to some personal time with Yas, but what are you going to do while we are gone for a week or so?”  I asked.

Zemma chuckled. “Easy! I’m going to pay some contractors to clean this place up, maybe rebuild some of the wall outside. While they do that, I’m going to eat lots of fish at Enam’s stand and take naps!” she purred.

I sighed. A vacation for her and a gritty potentially deadly job for Yasmina and I. Should I have expected anything better from a girl that had the personality of a cat? “And you’ll work on finding our next job and maybe recruit us some new members while you’re at it?” I asked.

Zemma yawned and looked at the ceiling as she sat on the edge of the table. “I suppose I can try and add that to my busy to-do list.” she said. I pulled my pants back up and buttoned them.

I turned as the front door opened and Yasmina entered. “Horse acquired! I put her in the stable behind the building Marcus.” she proclaimed.

I looked at Zemma. “We have a stable?” I asked.

“Guess so. But horses and I don’t get along-nya.” she shrugged.

Later that night instead of the usual routine where Zemma stripped and crawled into bed with me, she instead tucked the covers around me. “Hah, you’re trapped!” she declared.

I wiggled and freed one of my arms. “Not really. You joining me tonight?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Nope! All part of my secret plan!” she said as she slipped out the door into the hallway.

The door had been left cracked open in her wake. I heard her pound on another door elsewhere in the hall. “Yasmina, to arms, to arms! Master is in trouble and needs you!” I heard Zemma yell. Oh no. I had a faint idea that her secret plan involved getting Yasmina into bed with me. On second thought, oh yes.

I wrapped a blanket around my naked body and moved to sit up on the edge of the bed. Moments later Yasmina shouldered her way past the door to my room and stood before me in nothing but her thin nightgown, sword in her hands. Her eyes darted to every corner of the room, as she tried to locate the nonexistent danger.

Zemma peered around the doorway and winked at me, “I meant get into his arms dummy!” she said. As Yasmina whirled around to face her, Zemma shut the door. Her footfalls receded as she ran down the hall. Which left Yasmina alone with me.

Yasmina set her sword down on my study table, next to the Book of Practical Magic and smiled faintly at me. “I hate to admit it, but this is a pleasant deception, if it allows me to be alone with you, Marcus.” she said softly.

I admired her pale form for a moment. “So would you come into my arms then?” I patted a spot on the bed next to me. She hesitated for a moment and bit her lower lip. In the moment it was the cutest, most arousing thing I’d ever seen her do, at least in this context.

“I--” she stood up, walked quietly over to me and sat down where I had indicated. “Yes.” she whispered.

I put one arm around her shoulders and twirled a finger under the shoulder strap of her nightgown. “And you want to lay with me, like when we were on the road then?” I asked.

She sighed and slid a little closer to me on the bed. “Well, yes. But also no. I want you to use me like you do Zemma.” she whispered.

I shook my head. “You realize that most of the time it feels like her using me right? She is the initiator most of the time.” I said.

Her mouth turned into a slight frown. “Oh. I-- I’m not very good at that. Initiating. Could you..” her voice trailed off into silence.

“Could I? Could I what? Speak your mind please. It’s okay.” I said.

“Could you tell me what to do? What you want? I’m very good at following orders.” she whispered as she blushed.

I reached up and took a strand of her blonde hair in my hand. Unbraided, her hair practically reached to her waist. “I think I can do that Yas. You can leave your clothes on my chair over there. When we’re home, nobody wears clothes in this bed, okay?” I said as I pointed to the chair near my desk.

Yas stood up slowly and slid out of her nightgown. She was tall and slim, muscles hardened from years of training, with a slight hourglass curve to her waist. She folded her nightgown neatly and draped it over the back of the chair. Then she turned to face me, her hands clasped behind her back, feet slightly apart. “Does that mean you want me in your bed then? Master? Oh-- can I call you that like Zemma does? Please?” she shifted nervously back and forth on her feet.

I nodded and beckoned her closer with one hand. “Yes, you may. Yes to both things.” I said.

She moved onto the bed. I took a moment to admire her graceful motions and her hips as she crawled past me and slipped under the covers. I got in next to her and pulled her close against me. Slowly, I explored her body with my hands. She quivered under my touch, I couldn’t tell whether it was arousal, nervousness, or a mixture of both. “For a warrior, you aren’t very damaged or scarred. Not what I expected. But not a bad thing, mind you.” I whispered.

“We have not needed it yet, but I can heal myself and others to a limited degree. Surface injuries. Only an extreme wound would leave a permanent mark on me.” she whispered.

Her heat against me and her soft, sweet voice was enough to make my cock hard. I moved my hand down her arm and held her hand. “You know, you are allowed to touch me too.” I said.

Her icy blue eyes met mine for a moment, then she looked away. “Is that an order?” she asked.

It was hard to tell if she was playing with me, or just genuinely unsure of how to proceed. “I’ll make it easy for you. Play with this.” I grabbed her hand and wrapped her fingers around my cock.

She worked her hand up and down slowly. “Better.” I commented as little shivers of pleasure wove through my body.

“Yes master.” she whispered. I slid my arm under her head and pulled her into a deep kiss. For a moment she pulled back against me, then she gave in and our lips met. I wasted no time on subtlety and pushed my tongue into her mouth. She tasted like peppermints. Yas’s response when my tongue met hers was to kiss me back in kind, even more forcefully. My cock pulsed and swelled against the grip of her hand. After a while, she didn’t let up on the kisses, so I knotted my fingers in her hair and pulled her back. “Pent up passions, Yas dear?” I asked.

She panted and nodded her head, but didn’t elaborate any further. I ran my hand down her side and around her hip, then found the moist opening I was looking for, her pussy. She gasped as I slipped two fingers a little ways into her. She parted her legs a bit, as if to welcome me to go deeper.

As my fingers slid inside her up to the last knuckle she shuddered with pleasure and bit down on her lower lip. “Oh yes..” she whispered so faintly that I barely heard her.

I leaned my face close to hers then bit into her shoulder, hard. I wanted to leave a mark. Or three. She moaned as I moved up to her neck and repeated the process. I withdrew my teeth for a moment. “You okay?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yes. Please. Anything you want. It didn’t feel bad, I mean, it hurts, but it’s a good kind of pain.” she whispered. I took a deep breath as she gave the base of my cock a hard squeeze that sent a wave of pleasure mixed with primal need rolling through my body.

I wrapped my fingers in her hair again and brought her eyes level with mine. “I want everyone to see those marks tomorrow so they know what you’ve done. Understood?”

She tried to nod, but my grip on her hair kept her in place. “Y-yes master. P-proudly.” she stammered.

I released her hair and rolled onto my back. “Now mount me Yas, ride me till I tell you to stop. That’s an order.” I said.

“Yes master.” she whispered as she swung her leg over and lined up her pussy atop my cock. She used a hand to guide herself down and then took my entire length into herself in one smooth slide. She was incredibly wet. With her eyes closed she put her hands on my chest and remained still for a moment, then she began to rock her hips, grinding herself against me.

The heat of her core was amazing pleasurable as her increased the pace of her movements. I pushed my hips against hers in time with her motion as a slow almost painful pressure built at the base of my cock, and crawled up toward my tip.

Moments later we spasmed frantically against one another as we both were rocked by a mutual orgasm. I felt the special delight of my seed as it pumped into her and filled her up on the inside. As the intensity of my orgasm faded and my senses returned to me, I realized she was still gasping and moving atop me, trying to continue to move, despite being exhausted.

“Yas, sit still.” I said. She slowed down and rested on me, my cock still buried in her dripping pussy. I felt our combined juices trail out of her and wash warm over my thighs.

Yasmina, her hands still on my chest heaved heavy breaths as her heartbeat slowly returned to normal. “Was-- was I acceptable master? This was my first time doing it this way. With you.” she whispered.

I held her waist with my hands and pulled her forward till she lay atop me, then wrapped her in a hug. “Yas, you were perfect.” I whispered in her ear. The marks on her neck and shoulder looked nice and dark too.

She exhaled. “Oh thank goodness.” she said.

I heard the door to the room open. As I turned my head to look, Yasmina sprang off the bed, rolled to her feet, and grabbed her sword off of my desk. She sprinted and arrived at the door just as Zemma peered around it. She almost poked Zemma’s nose with the tip of her blade. “Eeeeek!” Zemma squealed as she jumped backwards away from the entryway.

Yasmina lowered her sword, but didn’t relax her posture. “What are you doing snooping around master’s room cat?” she demanded.

Zemma rubbed her eyes. “It was too lonely for me in the spare room.” she pouted.

Yasmina didn’t move from the doorway, nor did Zemma. Yasmina had her backside to me, and a fine backside it was, but I could see Zemma’s face in the moonlight and she looked like she was about to cry.

I sighed. “Yas, put your sword back on the table and come to bed. Zemma, clothes off, then get in here too.” I said.

Yasmina whirled around and looked like she was about to protest. “That’s an order.” I said.

She hesitated for a moment then did as I had asked. She got back into bed and snuggled up against me on my left side, Zemma followed promptly after her, her large breasts swaying as she crawled in and lay down with her head on my right shoulder.

Zemma quickly lapsed into a deep sleep. I touched Yasmina on the chin and she met my gaze. “Love does not live with suspicion or jealousy, Yas. The only way for this to work is if you both share and make an effort to get along. Make a schedule for bedtime if you have to, but give Zemma this. She isn’t coming with us to Pengi tomorrow, so it’ll just be you for that time. Understand?” I asked.

Yasmina’s eyes softened and she nodded. “Just us alone at night? For a week?” she asked.

“Yep. Unless another girl joins the guild and I want to bed her, I suppose.” I said.

Yas frowned. “I will obey your wishes, but I hope I can keep your attention and keep you satisfied enough to not need another.” she sighed.

In a way, her protectiveness and jealousy was endearing. I ran my fingers through her hair till she fell asleep, then drifted off into unconsciousness myself.

Chapter 13

When I woke the next morning Yasmina wasn’t beside me, and her sword and nightgown were absent from where they were placed last night as well. Zemma, as always, snored and lay half atop me. Careful not to wake her, I slid out from under her, then tucked the blanket around her. I scratched her behind her ears gently for good measure, which earned me a deep purr. I’d wake her up to say goodbye later.

I threw on my clothes. I probably should get some more clothing options sometime. I only had the two sets of identical pants and shirts, after all. When I went downstairs, Yasmina was there with both of our backpacks. Looked like she had already packed both of them for the trip. “Good morning master.” she curtsied as I came down the stairs.

She had her sword and shield next to the table, but wasn’t wearing her heavy plate armor. I stepped closer and kissed her cheek, pleased to see that she had worn a low collared shirt that showed off the love bites from last night. “I see you’ve got everything ready to go?” I asked.

“Only partially. It occured to me that you’ll need a horse as well and I’d like to go look for lighter armor for myself. You should consider some as well, even if it’s minimal.” Yasmina suggested.

I nodded. “Good idea. Let’s go shopping?” I said.

A few hours of wandering through the market district later Yasmina had managed to find a full set of leather armor for herself, a leather breastplate and a metal helmet for me, along with a riding horse. It was at this point that she learned I’d never ridden a horse before, and I spent an hour learning horseback riding from her in the small fields that surrounded my guild hall. Zemma was awake by the time we got back, she sat on the steps to the front door and laughed whenever I made a mistake or fell off.

Around noon we said our goodbyes to Zemma and went to find Leflen’s caravan at the north side of town. They found him exactly where he said he’d be. Three wagons with drivers, counting Leflen himself, no other warriors or guard types to be seen. I rode up to him, still unsteady in the saddle. “Leflen, are we all the muscle you hired for this trip?” I asked.

Leflen tugged on one of the small golden earrings he wore. “Ah-- the others didn’t show. I’ll double your pay if you’ll stay on, seeing as they won’t be getting paid. Sound good?” he said.

Even with the meager gear we had purchased my purse was practically empty again. I looked at Yasmina, atop her armored warhorse. “Any thoughts?” I asked her.

She frowned slightly. “The odds are not in our favor, although the payout would be greatly appreciated. Regardless, I will follow you to the end, master.” she said.

As he heard her call me ‘master’ Leflen looked at me curiously, but didn’t say anything about it. I shrugged. “We’re still in Leflen. Though for the record this is probably a terrible idea.” I said.

He laughed a high pitched and unearthly sound. “Ah, the things we do for money, no?” he remarked.

A few days along the passed pleasantly, yet uneventfully. Our days were spent riding and watching the grasslands for threats. Nights were spent with just Yasmina and I alone in a tent, as we further explored one another’s bodies. On the third day the road left the grasslands and plains and wound its way through a dark forest. The road narrowed and the trees grew just close enough together to make it an ideal spot for an ambush. Neflen had warned us of this stretch of the journey yesterday. This would be where the bandits struck, Neflen suspected they hideout was also somewhere in these woods.

Yasmina rode at the front of the column and I at the rear. Neflen had his longbow on the seat next to him in the wagon, the other two drivers had crossbows, but nothing else. As we got deep enough into the forest that I lost sight of the grasslands behind us, I froze in the saddle as SKILL ACTIVATED scrolled across my vision. Time slowed to a crawl.

I looked around in confusion until I noticed on my left that there was an arrow about five inches from my face, making its way toward me at the speed of a snail. I exhaled slowly. Saved by my strange ability once again. I sighted down the arrow and saw the archer who had fired it, practically frozen in a standing pose as he reached for another arrow from his quiver. THREE SECONDS scrolled across my vision. Fuck.

I dismounted and sprinted toward the archer, my sword drawn. Time resumed its normal flow as I jammed my sword up to the hilt through the man’s chest. As I tore my sword free from the bandit’s ribs I heard Yasmina yell a battlecry. I rushed back towards the caravan as the forest was filled with a chorus of yelling and the sound of weapons clashing. The road teemed with bandits, they wore red scarves, some had swords, but most were armed with hatchets and knives.

Neflen stood atop his cart, weaving and tumbling to avoid the wild swings of the mob around him. When he had a moment to spare, he would loose an arrow into the ranks, or lash out with an acrobatic kick if any of the bandits dared try to climb onto the cart.

Yasmina was similarly surrounded. She still remained atop her horse, head and shoulders above the bandits that swarmed around her. She glowed with a faint yellow halo of light, some sort of divine protection, as her braided blonde hair lashed side to side as she swung her sword down with precision onto anyone that came into her reach.

I remained unnoticed on the edge of the battle. It didn’t look favorable for us, despite my ally’s heroic efforts. On the edge of the road, about forty paces from me, I noticed a fat man in a breastplate, as he gestured with his sword and shouted orders at the others. Next to him was a woman with an eyepatch, wearing a red bandanna over her brown hair, with a saber, still in its sheath. The bandit queen that Enam had mentioned?

I set my sights on the fat man giving orders. Killing him wasn't much of a plan, but it was better than standing by and doing nothing. A moment later I watched as one of the bandits brought his mace down on Yasmina’s knee. The aura of magic around her faded as she cried out in pain. Her cry struck a chord in me and I sprinted toward the fat bandit from behind.

I closed the gap and my sword separated his head neatly from his body. A guttural scream escaped my throat as his head thudded to the ground and his body toppled forward into the dirt. The female bandit was already fleeing away from me into the trees. I charged into the group of bandits that surrounded Yasmina as she slumped down in her saddle. Some of the bandits fled, others ran for the two wagons that weren’t protected and grabbed what they could as they made their escape.

The few that remained I kept distracted with my wild two handed sword swings while Neflen dealt them the death blow with his bow. Suddenly no more bandits remained standing. Some still gasped or moaned in pain as they bled out. I ignored them other than to run my sword through the one with the mace that had struck Yasmina. Contrary to popular belief, vengeance is sweet. Just short lived.

I cleaned my sword off and put it away, then helped Yasmina get out of the saddle and down to the ground. Her breathing was shallow and she was unconscious. Neflen lept down off of his wagon and crouched down beside me. He probed her wounded knee gently with his hands.

“Regular curative magic won’t fix the shattered bone. We’ll need a proper healer or a high priest from her Order for this kind of damage.” Neflen said softly.

I grimaced. “Is there room for her in your wagon?” I asked.

Neflen shrugged. “I will make room.” he said.

The other two drivers were dead. I stayed by Yasmina while Neflen consolidated the most valuable goods into his cart and made space for Yasmina. Neflen showed me how to splint her leg before we moved her. The splint in place, we lifted her into his cart.

We used the harnesses from the other wagons to add Yasmina’s horse and mine to Neflen’s wagon. There was nothing to be done for the other wagons. We freed their horses and buried Neflen’s other hired hands in a shallow graves. Throughout the process I was numb. The reality of risking my life and those of my companions had hit full force. I vowed to be better prepared for next time, for everyone’s sake.

Our lone wagon rolled away from the foul smell that marked the location of the battle. I sat upfront with Neflen, alert for further dangers. I did spend an awful lot of time glancing back toward Yasmina, whenever I heard her move or moan when the wagon hit a bump in the road.

Two days and nights later we emerged from the forest and that afternoon, Yasmina regained consciousness. “Oh-- it hurts.” she gasped.

I looked to Neflen. “I think we’re in the clear now that we’re out of the forest.” I said. He nodded.

“I’ll call if I need assistance we should have two days of easy road from here to Pengi.” Neflen said.

I climbed into the back of the wagon with Yasmina and closed the canvas flap behind me. She laid atop a bed made of small crates with some blankets atop them for padding. There was barely room to walk amongst all the crates and barrels. I clambered over to Yasmina’s side  and sat down on the edge of her makeshift bed. “Hey Yas, glad to see you conscious.” I said.

She sat up slightly, one hand on either side of her injured knee. A faint glow of light emanated from her hands. She sighed. “I can numb the pain somewhat, but this is beyond my ability to actually fix.” she said.

I nodded. “Neflen said much the same thing when he looked over your injury. We can look for a healer once we reach Pengi. Two more days. I think. But we are out of the woods now.” I said.

Yasmina nodded and laid her head back onto her pillow. “What did we lose?” she asked.

“Two of the wagons. The worst is seeing you injured though.” I said softly as I pressed my hand to her cheek.

Her blue eyes moistened. “Thank you for your concern master. I am sorry I failed and was injured, and am now a burden to you.” she whispered.

“Don’t be silly. We’re a team. Neflen would have been overrun without you in the thick of things, and then nobody would have lived, or be getting paid.” I bent low and planted a small kiss on her forehead.

She sighed. I helped her sit up and made sure she drank some water and ate a little food. Soon she was sound asleep again, her head resting in my lap. A few days later we arrived at the walled city of Pengi.

Chapter 14

Unlike Zrudale, Pengi was a proper city. Ten foot high stone walls, guards at the gate and on the ramparts. Neflen handed the gate guards his merchant’s license while another guard gave our cargo a cursory search for contraband. Though I wasn’t sure what kinds of goods were illegal in this kingdom. I’d have to ask Neflen later, now wasn’t the time. After the guards were satisfied, we were let into the city proper beyond the gate.

Neflen always stayed at the same tavern here, The Blushing Boar. He paid for a room for Yasmina and I as well. Yasmina was mobile, somewhat. She moved with a limp and had to lean on me for support, or use a walking stick. We collected our pay from Neflen and parted ways, agreeing to catch up later with him at The Blushing Boar later that night. My first priority was to find a healer that could work on Yasmina’s knee.

Yasmina and I made our way inside the local temple of the Order of Light, a much larger version of the same stone building in Zrudale. The building was quite busy, priests and priestesses in flowing white robes, warriors in armor, and common folk filled the main hall, each busy in their respective tasks.

From the crowd a short woman in a white robe approached us. “Welcome to the Light travellers. I am Tara, a priestess, is there something I can assist you with?” she asked. Her hair was a bit lighter than Yasmina’s, closer to a platinum blonde and her eyes were brown. Most notably, she was shorter than Zemma, which probably put her at under five feet tall.

“My knee. Direct hit from a mace.” Yasmina said as she leaned on me.

Tara looked her up and down. “Hmm. I am one of our most skilled healers. Let’s find a side room and have a look at that injury.” she said. Tara led us out of the main room into a small room with a bed on one side and shelves of various herbs and ointments on the other. Tara gestured for Yasmina to lie down on the bed. “Do you wish your companion to stay in the room?” Tara asked Yasmina.

Yasmina nodded. “Yes.”

Tara nodded then looked to me. “How steady are your hands sir? Her joint appears swollen and I’ll need to begin by cutting away a portion of her pants and then we’ll see what needs to be done. A second pair of hands could speed the process along. I hope you have no squeamishness around the sight of blood.” she said.

“I’ll do my best, if you’re asking me to assist you.” I said.

Tara instructed me to wash my hands in a basin on the shelf, and then she emptied it into a drain in the floor and refilled it from a jar. Then she cleaned her own hands. I had expected her to use magic like Yasmina could, but Tara’s skill set seemed entirely mundane.

Functionally she was a surgeon and from her demeanor, she seemed competent, though I wouldn’t really know what a skilled surgeon’s work looked like compared to one who was less skilled.

A long while later after feeding Yasmina some herbs that put her to sleep. Tara worked by making minor cuts into Yasmina’s knee at varying angles, till she removed a splinter of metal. Tara double checked that she had gotten all the debris out and done all she could, then wrapped Yasmina’s knee into a sturdy clean splint. “That’s the best that can be done. Unless you want to cut the limb off and try to grow her a new one, or look into getting a dwarf made prosthetic.” she stated.

I shook my head. “I can’t make those choices for her. Is there no magic that can be used?” I asked. Yasmina was still asleep in bed, though the herbs would wear off soon.

Tara shook her head. “Healing magic is only good for surface injuries, bruises, cuts, not issues of the bone. In rare cases, a limb can be regrown if it’s lost, but the limb is never 100% after that. She’ll have more mobility this way, after a recovery period, which she should be able to speed up by regular applications of her own healing ability. A prosthetic would be ideal, but that has its own issues. Custom manufacture, upfront costs, etc.” Tara explained.

“How much do I owe you?” I asked.

Tara shook her head again. “Nothing. The light shines equally on us all, regardless of our fortunes.” she intoned.

“Very well. Can priestesses drink? We’re staying at The Blushing Boar, if you want to come by later, our treat.” I looked at Yasmina as she stirred in her sleep.

Tara shook her head a third time. “No drinks, but I wouldn’t mind some proper food. My shift won’t be over until after dark. See you then. She should wake up soon and be able to move about. Walk her back to the Inn, but she should stay off that leg as much as possible this week. Don’t forget to change the bandages, and she may need help with bathing.” Tara said.

“Alright. See you then. I’m sure Yasmina will want to say thank you in person.” I said.

Tara nodded, then left the room to tend to her next task. A short while later Yasmina woke up and we returned to The Blushing Boar.

Chapter 15

Yasmina and I climbed the stairs in the common room and made our way to the room Neflen had bought for us. Stairs were slow going for Yasmina, but she insisted on getting out of her armor and road clothes, especially if we were going to eat dinner with Neflen and Tara later.

Our room was spacious, but spartan. Bed, table, four chairs, sink and bath with running water. I started to fill the tub for Yasmina, then helped her out of her clothes and armor. I lowered her into the water carefully and made sure her injured leg hung off of the side of the tub comfortably. She sighed as the hot water relaxed her muscles. I couldn’t help but admire her naked form while she worked a sponge in gentle circles all over herself. It didn’t take her long to notice me staring appreciatively at her. “I’m sorry master, there has been no one to keep you company at night since my injury.” she said as she blushed. She had noticed my hard cock as it pressed against my pants.

I dipped my hand in the water and then patted her on her head. “Don’t worry about it, I can be patient Yas. You’re worth the wait.” I said.

“Perhaps we can find a way despite my injury?” she wondered as she lay her hand on the bulge of my pants where my cock was. I watched as she moved her other hand to her pussy and pushed two of her fingers into her own depths.

“Yas.. do you want to do this now?” I asked my voice tight with pent up sexual urges.

“Please, I’m yours to command. Just don’t make me put any weight on my bad leg.” she said huskily.

I unbuttoned my shirt and dropped it to the floor. “I think I can work with that restriction. I’m going to pick you up and carry you to the bed now, okay?” I asked.

Yas nodded. I lifted her slim, wet, naked body out from the tub and laid her on the bed so that her head was close to the edge. My hunger for her rose as I leaned over her and unfastened my pants. She looked up at me from the bed, her face upside down relative to me, past my throbbing erect cock and into my eyes. Her fingers found her dripping wet pussy again and her mouth opened as she moaned with self-induced pleasure.

I took that opportunity to lay the tip of my cock onto her lips. My view of her face was mostly obscured by my body, if her eyes were open she probably had an eyeful of my balls, groin and thighs. Her tongue lapped at my cock greedily while I started down at her, taking in the joy of her wet, naked body as she pleasured both my cock and her pussy at the same time.

I relished the feel of her wet throat as it constricted around my cock, her tongue writhing on my tip. I began to rock my hips gently, my cock slid back and forth within her mouth as she gasped and gagged for air. I paused. “You okay down there sweetie? Should I continue?” I asked. She nodded enthusiastically and thrust her mouth down further onto my cock. Her hips rocked with pleasure as she added a third finger into her pussy.

I resumed my thrusting and intensity picked up as an orgasm built at the base of my cock and flowed upward, a wave of ecstasy with every thrust into her mouth. I shuddered and spasmed uncontrollably as I climaxed. Yasmina gagged and coughed as my full length forced its way down her throat and my seed spilled forth. I leaned forward and put my hands on the bed to either side of her as I took deep breaths. My whole body filled with the pleasant sensation of relaxation that came after a good orgasm.

I withdrew my length from Yasmina’s mouth and she took deep breaths, trying to catch up on lost oxygen. Her face was a mess of her sweat, my sweat, and my cum, which flowed down one side of her face like a slow motion waterfall. “Did I-- please you?” she gasped.

“Very much so.” I grabbed a towel from the sink and wiped her face clean. “I think we both need baths now though.” I said as I picked her up and carried her to the bathtub.

Chapter 16

Later that evening we sat at a booth in the common room of The Blushing Boar with Neflen and Tara. “Today was good sales, lots of dungeon delvers with coins to spend. Might be an enterprise for you and your girls to look into.” Neflen suggested.

I looked at Yasmina and shook my head. “We’re going to tag along with a well armed caravan back to Zrudale as soon as we can. We still need to handle the lingering bandit problem and recruit to boost our numbers before we take on anything else.” I said.

Neflen shrugged. “Fair, I suppose. I’ll be headed back in a few days, to get back out into the frontier, if you’re interested? I doubt the bandits will cause much trouble if they recognize us from last time, eh? But I’ll make sure to hire some more bodies, just for caution’s sake.” Neflen said.

“What do you think Yas?” I asked.

She took a bite of food. “Not bad. But if we’re going to keep getting into scrapes, we could use a proper healer.” she said as she looked sideways at Tara.

Not a bad idea. “Tara, how would you fancy travelling with us to Zrudale? I’ll cover all your expenses, if you’re willing to work your craft on us, presuming any injuries are suffered.” I asked.

Tara wrung her hands together. “I’ve never really ventured beyond Pengi, but I wouldn’t mind seeing a bit more of the world, if you’ll have me.” she said.

“Excellent! Then we’ll head back south when Neflen is ready. Don’t suppose you like fish? I know a guy in Zrudale you see…”