by Eric Vall
Once we were settled down, we ordered some food. The meat I’d smelled all day was freshly shot venison, and the mere thought of it made my mouth water in anticipation. We all ordered some of it, among other things. I had some amazing freshly baked bread and some vegetable chowder that was a bit too runny, but I didn’t mind it. And when the venison arrived… Maker I was in heaven, it was perfectly cooked and seasoned! That was rare for the wilds.
As we ate our meals, Maelor cleared his throat. “So, Gryff, you never told me what it is you’re doing all the way out here.”
I frowned and took a bite of the bread after I dipped it in the chowder. “Ain’t that obvious? I came to visit you.”
He scratched his beard. “Aye, that’s fair. But what about school? You know, shouldn’t you be in it?”
“It’s summer holiday.” I shrugged. “We have a fortnight off.”
“Ah, I see,” he said and then took a long swig of his beer. “I never put much stock into those stupid Enclaver holidays. Us hard workin’ folks don’t get days off.”
“No, we do not,” Cyra added with a raise of her glass.
“Hey,” Layla protested, “Regular people from the Enclaves don’t get days off either.” She chugged her drink and then kept on talking without bothering to wipe the beer dripping down her chin. “I’m from the slums, so trust me, we don’t buy into much of the religious hogwash that the military and nobility try to preach.”
Maelor grumbled with appreciation. “Good to see you’re a kindred spirit.”
Braden put up his hands. “Hey, we’re all humans, are we not? Enclaver or wilder, we should all be united against the monsters.”
“True, son,” Maelor said with a nod. “It’s the policies of the enclaves that I’m not always in favor with, but I appreciate those that fight for our safety. Like you three.”
That made my friends and me flush with pride.
A lull in the conversation followed as we took some sips of our drinks and ate our food. Once the quiet went on a tad too long, I deemed it time to break into talk again.
“So, Cyra,” I began. Her eyes blinked as she took me in. “Tell us about yourself. Where are you from? How d'you come to be with Maelor?” That might have been asking a lot, but she smiled anyway and didn’t seem bothered by my prying questions. Hell, I’d yet to see her frown at anything.
She leaned forward on her elbows and twirled her finger around the rim of her glass. “I’ll spare you my life story, but I grew up in Kalgon’quin Enclave, right on the sea.”
We nodded. It was obvious by her darker coloring that she was from the west. Her mass of wild curly hair was another obvious trait of the westerners. I wondered what it was like to live on the sea. I’d never seen that much water, but I bet it was a spectacular sight to behold.
“We’re pretty independent out there, not very fond of the military since the military in Kalqon’quin treats the common citizens like their servants even though the citizens' taxes are the ones who pay them.” She paused to collect herself, then continued. “I was the only one in my family with any magical ability. My parents sent me to the Kalgon’quin Academy so that I would have free room and board, and I’d be taken care of. I knew why they did it, and I don’t blame them for it. They were only looking out for me. I did have a desire to help people, still do, but I didn’t want to be... political and have to kiss the asses of bacqons to get ahead.”
“Bacon?” Layla asked with a questioning smirk.
“Bacqon,” Cyra said, as she emphasized the qon. “Much of the ruling and upper class of the west are nobility from the north and east, and they look down on us and… well, let’s say their policies aren’t the best. Bacqon is… it’s not a kind word, to put it lightly.”
“Ah, I see,” I said with my eyes on my drink. I knew that the western kingdoms had been reluctant to form Enclaves, even with the threat of monsters being ever present. I’d never known that so many of our rich had flooded over there to rule over them. That was a sobering and troubling thought.
Cyra sighed. “Anyway, the night before the Academy was to pick me up for my new life, I packed my things and left.” She drank her alcohol and sighed. “I’ve roamed the wilds ever since, taking odd jobs here and there. For almost a full year, I ran with a group of freelancers. We mostly solved crimes the local towns weren’t equipped to handle, dealt with bounties and bandits and the like.”
“What happened to them?” I asked with a sense that the story was about to turn grim.
“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “We eventually had a banisher sign on with us. Thomys, the leader of our company, wanted to start taking down rifts. I didn’t want to be involved with that, so I quit. That was a month or so before I ran into the old man here north of Kallaron.”
Maelor chuckled. “Aye. I’d been hired to help a local mining company excavate a new vein of iron, but the rock was particularly tough, and it was taking far too long for my drillmoles to get through.”
“He was drenched in sweat and swearing up a storm while in an argument with the foreman when I strolled along. I offered my help, and we’ve been a happily married couple ever since,” she said with cheeky sarcasm.
We snickered at that suggestion, and Maelor shook his head with a smile. “Such a joker.”
I clapped a hand on his shoulder. “I’m glad you found some help. I didn’t mean to leave you to struggle by yourself.”
He scoffed. “Please, boy. I can handle yourself. Besides, I’m happy for you to be at the Academy, you’re going to do great things, going to change things for summoners and for everyone.”
Cyra seemed to know exactly what he was talking about, which of course she would for Maelor must have talked up a storm about me. “I’ll drink to that!” she exclaimed and raised her glass high with a smile.
Indeed, we could all drink to that, and drink we did.
Chapter 18
A few hours and many drinks later, it was time for some of us to retire for the evening.
Maelor was passed out at the table, his tolerance not as great as it used to be. I’d already helped Braden up to our room, a chore since he was heavy and only barely helped me with his legs. I practically had to drag him up the stairs, and he was out almost as soon as he hit the bed.
Now it was Layla’s turn. I carried her in my arms upstairs. She was light, so it wasn’t hard to carry her, but my body was warm with alcohol, so it was harder than it should have been. It also didn’t help that she was pretty tipsy and kicked her legs as she sang a song in my arms.
“I appreciate the ride,” she cooed with warm breath into my ear. “But I’d appreciate a different ride.” She grinned wide as I came to her room and nudged the door open with my foot.
“Oh?” I said as I laid her onto her bed.
“Yep.” Layla giggled hysterically. Her cheeks were flushed from the alcohol. “Gryff… let’s have some funnn.”
She began to take off her clothes and grabbed a fistful of my shirt at the same time. She failed spectacularly. I helped her out of her breeches, which in her state she was struggling with. Once her legs were free and bare, I tried to throw the covers onto her, but she protested with a pouty groan.
“C’mon, Gryffie, join me.” She patted the spot beside her on the bed. “If you do, I won’t mind if you go hit on that pretty summoner downstairs.” She gave me a wink.
I rolled my eyes. “You’re drunk.”
“Please, I’ve been much worse. I could take our term exams right now if I wished.” Her amusement melted into a serious stare. She snorted. “And I’m serious about Cyra, by the way. I’ve seen how you two look at each other. Trust me, if I had it my way, well, the three of us…”
“Are you being serious?” I raised an eyebrow at her.
“Of course.” She clicked her tongue. “I’m all about enjoying the finer things in life, and right now, that’s you.”
I laughed at that, my sides stitching from the mirth of it. A few tears glistened in my eyes
. That was the type of humor I loved from Layla. I tried to calm myself before answering as I gulped down a deep breath.
“Fair enough then,” I said with a smile.
Her lips curled up. “Good.” She sat up on her knees, grabbed me by the neck, and pulled me to her roughly. Then her lips smashed against mine.
As our tongues danced intimately, she worked at the buttons of my shirt. She must not have been as drunk as I had first thought because her nimble fingers undid the buttons free faster than I expected. I shrugged off my shirt. Layla broke off our kiss and let her eyes travel over the length of my body. Her hands glided over my torso, feeling my muscles, probing at my chest and abs, her eyes hungry with desire. Her fingers were gentle when they glided over the raised red flesh along my right side, arm and shoulder where I’d been burned in the monster attack as a child.
She smiled wide and upended me as she grabbed my leg and flipped me onto my back. Then she greedily yanked off my socks and trousers before ravenously pulling down my underpants. Her eyes grew wide with glee as she took me in fully.
“It’s been a while since we’ve done this,” she said with a sigh, hands on her hips.
I laughed. “It’s been about a week.”
Layla shrugged. “Yeah, like I said, it’s been a while.”
We both giggled at that while I helped Layla out of her underwear. I took my time and allowed my hands to probe her slender frame, to run the length of her smooth golden skin. I planted kisses all along her stomach, her breasts, her thighs.
She inched her head up and planted a long tender kiss to my lips, her eyes holding my gaze seductively. Then she plopped onto her stomach and shook her ass at me. Her smile was as mischievous as I’ve ever seen it.
“Come on, Gryff, fuck me.”
“Oh, I intend to, Layla.”
And so I did. I gripped Layla around her hips and thrust my cock inside of her, and then we went at it. So far, our stay in Tallington was turning into a very memorable one. I certainly wasn’t going to forget my stay anytime soon.
The alcohol must have finally gotten to Layla, for she passed out with a smile on her face only a few minutes after we finished. She snored lightly, something she didn’t usually do, but for the moment it was adorable. I pulled the covers over her and kissed her forehead. Then, I pulled my clothes back on.
I smiled as I left her room and closed the door before I entered my own room to check on Braden. He was passed out on the floor of our room, certainly not where I’d left him, and he snored loudly and smiled in his sleep. I tried to help him to get back onto his meager little bed, but even if I wasn’t slightly drunk, I didn’t have the strength to lift his bulk. He didn’t budge from my prodding. He was dead weight, too heavy, so that was that.
With nothing else to do about it, I left him laying there and returned to the common room.
Maelor was also passed out at our table, glasses of beer all around. Cyra sat across from him and kicked her legs back and forth while she nursed a pint of mead. When she heard my footsteps, she turned her gaze to me and waved, something she did a lot, I noticed.
I sat next to Maelor and grabbed the half-drunk pint in front of him. As I took a sip, I looked at Cyra who looked back at me while she chugged her drink. We both finished at the same time, burped, and broke down into fits of laughter.
“He thinks the world of you, you know,” she told me as a warm smile played across her lips.
I look at Maelor’s snoring form next to me, and a wistful smile played across my features. “Yeah, I know.”
“Not a day goes by that he doesn’t talk about you fondly.”
“I’m sure he also tells both embarrassing stories and makes fun of me too,” I scoffed.
“Oh yes, yes he does.” She nodded vigorously before she let out a chuckle. “But it’s obvious that he loves you.”
I knew Maelor loved me. Neither of us was particularly great at articulating that in words or showing it, but I knew, and he knew. Still, hearing her say that so plainly… it made my chest lurch. It made me realize how much I missed and appreciated the simple life I led with Maelor. The helping people, the wilds, the traveling, I loved it all.
But it didn’t compare to my new life too and the people in it. I wouldn’t change a single thing. One day, maybe, I would settle down and go back to Maelor and my old life, but I had goals to accomplish first. Even then, a piece of me would miss the Academy and the thrill of summoning in combat. Nothing quite compared to that.
“I appreciate your kindness,” I said with a smile. “I’m glad Maelor was able to find a helper as reliable as you.”
Her face glowed with pride. “Thanks, I enjoy working with him.”
We sat there for a while and enjoyed the ambiance. There were only a few patrons still up, a couple of men drinking at another table. The bard still played his lute, bathing the air in a sweet melody. We ordered three shots of moonshine each, which we downed immediately. The warm burn of the alcohol tingled my throat and spread through my limbs, making me smile.
Finally, Cyra sighed and perked up with an excited gleam in her eyes. She stood and came to be next to me.
“Hey, I want to show you something,” she urged me.
I raised a brow. “What is it?”
“You’ll have to follow me and see,” she replied coyly.
“Alright, fine.” I snickered and shook my head. “Lead the way.”
She didn’t need to be told twice. She strode out of the inn without so much as another word, so I followed her. She waited outside with a mischievous grin and beckoned me on. As I tried to keep up, Cyra skipped ahead of me before she veered around the back of the inn to the woods beyond.
There was a faint trail cut into the woods, so minuscule that you could easily miss it. She waved for me to follow as she started up the trail. The bushes and branches around it had been hastily cut and obviously hadn’t been attended to in a long time as some of the foliage had grown back and made the trail even more obscured.
“Come on, Gryff!” Cyra giggled and pulled me along when my strides slowed. I laughed too, the alcohol making me giddy. I stumbled after her, my footing not exactly sure, but I kept up. We pushed through the overgrown brush of this trail, the thorns and sticks grabbing at my trousers and arms, but nothing cut me. If it did, my dulled senses just ignored it.
After a minute of jogging, giggling the whole way, we arrived at a shallow pond in the middle of the forest. I came to a halt before it and stared. It was serene and completely still, a mirror that reflected the majesty of the heavens. The unfettered stars of the wilderness sparkled in the clear sky, and the nearly full moon shone over the glossy surface in a brilliant blue light. It was an image I wanted to savor, a scene an artist would have killed to paint.
It sobered me. It was a beautiful sight, and so was Cyra.
She padded toward the water and, without saying a word, began to undress. She undid the drawstring of her trousers and then shimmied out of them, nearly tumbling backward into the water with the effort. That made her laugh. Once she shed her shirt, she waded into the pond, interrupting the magical stillness of it.
That would have upset me if not for the beautiful naked woman right in front of me.
She sighed as she sunk neck deep into the water. “This feels amazing,” she called. “Join me!”
Oh, I intended to. I tore off my clothes with quickness and bounded into the water after her. The water was cool in the summer humidity, the perfect temperature. It soothed my skin and made me want to melt into it. Cyra was right, it was amazing. We floated beside each other, our heads nearly touching. I took a deep breath of the cool night air and exhaled. Bliss.
“Hey Gryff?” she asked, her voice light.
“Yeah?”
“Would you like a surprise?” Her tone became low and alluring, and I could almost picture the grin I was sure she had.
I smiled. “I love surprises.”
She chuckled, a sound that I found enchanting. “Goo
d, now close your eyes and don’t peek.”
I was pretty sure I knew what the surprise was, but I wasn’t about to spoil it. I closed my eyes. She shifted in the water behind me, the water gently lapping in her wake. I could feel the press of her breasts against me. I felt her body relax as she leaned down, and then her luscious lips are on mine, enveloping me in their warmth. It was a small kiss at first, but then her tongue implores my lips to open, and I allow it to explore my mouth as I explored hers.
This was certainly a welcome surprise.
She pressed her hands to my cheeks, steadying me in the water as her kisses grew hungrier. She moaned through our kiss, the sensation vibrating through my body and sent a tingle down my spine. Suddenly, she pulled back and pressed her breasts to my face, and I leaned my head back in the water so I could suck on her nipples.
After a few moments, I quit laying on my back and stood in the water to face her. She was a gorgeous sight. Her eyes glowed in the moonlight, and her wet mahogany skin shimmered in the near darkness. She was like a moon goddess, wild and magnificent. That might have been blasphemy if I’d been around a priest of the One True Maker, but I wasn’t particularly one for any kind of stuffy religion.
“Wow,” I said, breathless. “You are beautiful.”
The relative darkness didn’t give it away, but I could tell from the way her eyes fluttered that she was probably blushing.
“Thanks, you too are handsome.” Her smile was nearly as bright as the moon.
She waded out to me and placed a tender kiss on my lips, then traveled down my jaw to my neck, then my collarbone, her slender fingers down my chest and stomach. They continued down and down into the water until she gripped me. She let out a gasp.
“Oh my, I’m impressed,” she breathed excitedly.
I snickered. “I’m glad you think so.”
She stroked my cock and leaned into me, her breasts pressed against my chest. She inched her head up so that she could whisper into my ear. She bit my earlobe playfully. “Fuck me, Gryff.” Her words tickled and sent a shiver throughout my entire body.
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” I replied.