Dexter chuckled, noting her choice of clothing was not only functional, but as the elven woman had once told him, also designed for making the fashion statement. The statement seemed to be one of promiscuity. “I’m not for knowing. It’s been a long time since I’ve had time for myself.”
“And here I thought you might have a mind to ply me with wine until you could have your way with me,” she said.
Dexter’s cheeks flared red. He had thought many times about her, his secret fantasies dancing about in his head whenever time permitted. He knew they would remain fantasies though — she was a member of his crew and that was a complication he was not willing to entertain. “Rank or not, I’m not for getting involved with my crew.”
Jenna slid from the chair she was in to one next to him. “What about your first mate and the cook?”
“What about them?” Dexter almost stammered. His eyes dropped down to her revealing vest and he felt the heat rush to his cheeks. He jerked his eyes up and wondered if more logs had been thrown on the fire; it was getting uncomfortably warm.
The sound of her musical laughter tortured him. “I have it on good authority that they’re sleeping with one another.”
Dexter could not help but chuckle. “Well, they’re married.”
“So there you are, two of your crew already involved,” she said, as though a problem had just solved itself.
“Aye, but I don’t get involved,” Dexter said after clearing his throat.
“I didn’t have any plans on involvement,” Jenna said, pouting. “Just a little fun is all.”
Dexter’s mouth opened and closed; he was at a loss for words. Unable to avert his eyes, he glanced down and he found her leaning forward so that the panels of her vest, which were hooked together with loose fitting fine chains, had fallen away from her body enough for him to see the full rise of her breasts and the pointed buds that stood out from them. Jenna grinned triumphantly, noting where his gaze had gone, and let him off the hook. “It seems I’ve had my fun now,” she said.
Before he could reply she stood up, leaning forward as she did so and giving him an even better view down her vest, and whispered in his ear, “I’ll see you back at the ship…Captain.”
Dexter watched her go, finding himself unable to speak and, even when he regained his composure, unable to stand up. He shook his head and promised himself to keep an eye on Jenna, well, sort of. He laughed at his own play of words and shook his head, ordering another ale.
“Captain Silvercloud?”
Dexter sighed, wondering what he was getting himself into this time. He turned and saw a beautiful red headed woman standing near him, a perfect smile upon her face. Somehow he managed to also note that she wore a green dress that had a low cut bodice, threatening to spill her breasts from it with a heavy breath. The skirt of her dress had cuts in the sides that allowed her long legs to slip through it with each stride, offering ethereal promises of the pleasures they could deliver.
“Uh… yeah,” Dexter replied as eloquently as he possibly could.
“My Master would like a moment of your time,” she said, her voice soft, sulky, and dangerous.
He cursed and took a drink of his ale, then smiled at her. “Time enough for him later, who might you be?”
“I am Jarnella,” she said. “My Master is Wizard Ormitor.”
“A wizard, you say?” Dexter said, reevaluating his designs towards Jarnella. Wizards were funny; there was no telling what they might be offended by. Especially since they seemed to know so much more than everybody else did.
He sighed, his plans of following in Rosh’s footsteps falling to pieces. “Well then, Milady Jarnella, take me to your master.”
She smiled at him and waited for him to stand. Dexter tossed a few extra pieces of silver on the table and followed behind her, his eyes taking in her gently swaying figure every step of the way.
Jarnella led him to another tavern, this one considerably nicer than the one near the docks where she found him. She directed him to a private booth where a man sat by himself, finishing off a goblet of wine. She slid into the booth next to the man and gestured for Dexter to sit across from them.
Dexter did as he was bid, and leaned back in surprise when a manservant delivered a tankard of fine ale for him. He thanked the man, then turned to his host.
“Dexter Silvercloud, captain of the Voidhawk, at your service,” he said, raising his tankard of ale in salute.
“I need to make a fast trip to my home,” Ormitor said without preamble. “What are your rates?”
Dexter blinked, surprised. “Well, you and Lady Jarnella? How much luggage will you be bringing?”
“She is no Lady,” Ormitor stated bluntly. “But we will require a single room, including my belongings. I have three other servants as well that will require a separate room.”
Dexter fought his distaste at the wizard’s caustic nature. He nodded and after only a moment of thought said, “Hundred and fifty gold is standard fare for you and your servants, but I’m afraid that does not make a trip to Port Freedom worth it, that’s several weeks journey and I can’t pay my crew on that.”
Ormitor sipped his wine at the same time that Dexter felt something brush against his leg. He glanced over at Jarnella and found her staring at him with a smoky smile on her face. The touch came again, sliding up the inside of his calf, confirming his suspicions that it was her foot, bereft of the sandal she had been wearing. Dexter quickly took a long pull of his own ale to hide the surprised expression on his face.
“There are hidden bonuses to taking on my patronage, Captain,” Ormitor said, the intent of his words intentionally clouded in mystery.
Dexter cleared his throat, secretly admitting that he had an idea what the wizard was referring to. Especially since Jarnella’s foot was passing his knee and seductively making its way up his thigh. “What sort of bonuses are those?” Dexter asked.
“I have no contraband or reason to avoid the Federation’s laws, if that concerns you,” he stated. “And a timely passage conducted professionally will earn further business from me. I have some freight, also legal, at my home that I need to have returned here. Freight that would bring a higher wage.”
Dexter found the deal sweetened, but still he was concerned at the wizard’s ambiguity. Jarnella’s foot, the toes drawing circles on his upper thigh, soothed some of those concerns away, however.
“That brings a shiny light to the deal, but still I can’t pay my crew on a hundred and fifty gold. I’d need to be finding some cargo to take as well to break even on it,” Dexter said. “And that may take some time, time that you’re not to keen on spending.”
Ormitor nodded, taking another sip. Jarnella’s foot pressed against Dexter’s groin in a way that promised all manner of hidden delights. Dexter spilled some of his ale as he raised it to his lips.
“Very well, promise me a journey of less than three weeks and I will pay five hundred gold,” Ormitor said. “But think not to trifle with me, Captain. You come recommended, but I have little patience.”
Dexter tried to think it over. Five hundred gold was a tidy sum, and certainly enough to split amongst his crew, especially with the promise of a larger paycheck to follow. Further thoughts were dashed when he felt Jarnella’s toes against his flesh. Without looking down, as he longed to do, he realized the woman had somehow managed to untie his breeches. Without a doubt she had proved she had a dexterity that was the stuff of legend.
“Five hundred gold will cover it,” Dexter said, his voice only mildly strained. Glancing at her he saw her expression had not changed, save that, if anything, she looked even more sexually alluring to him.
“Excellent. I shall have my equipment loaded in the morning. Now if you will excuse me, I have things to attend to.” Ormitor said with a thin smile.
Dexter nodded, finding speech a little too complicated at that exact moment. She removed her foot, letting it slide promisingly down his leg, and stood up a moment later.
Dexter nodded and waited for another ale to make its way over to him via the manservant. He took in a deep breath and, after several moments, managed to look down and see the results of Jarnella’s agile toes. He chuckled darkly and retied his breeches after repositioning himself. More than ever, he needed to find a joygirl to help relieve him of his troubles!
* * * *
The next morning Dexter found himself in the bridge, charting a course to Port Freedom. Without the complications of women to distract him, his mind was focused on the prospects the new job offered. Port Freedom was outside of Federation and Elven space, near the outer edges of the known void. There was no telling what sort of cargo an enterprising captain like himself might manage.
Dexter shook loose his musings and refocused on charting the ships voyage. Making it in less than three weeks seemed easy enough, provided he did not run afoul of too many Federation patrols. If their cargo was legal, as the wizard insisted, then he had no concern about being held up, but every time they had to rendezvous with another ship was time slipping away. That and, in order to make the optimal speed, he had to forego established trading lanes and, whenever that happened, all sorts of things became possible: uncharted asteroid fields, pirates, and other oddities of the void.
“Captain, we’ve got some people asking to come aboard,” Jenna said, walking into the bridge.
Dexter turned, ignoring her familiarity and lack of knocking on the door before entering. He stopped when he saw her though and felt a fresh tightening of his breeches. The elf wore a sash around her waist that was tied as a loin cloth, displaying her long, lean, limber, and tasty looking legs. From each hip hung a weapon as well, to her left was her rapier and to her right a short sword acquired from the pirate base. A dagger was strapped to one thigh while a pistol adorned the other. That completed the adornment of legs, since she was barefoot as well.
Even more distracting was her upper body. Instead of a proper shirt or even the revealing vest from the night before, she wore another sash. This was wrapped around her neck and chest in a manner that left him curious as to its engineering, especially since it provided a neat pocket for each of her breasts yet left them independent of one another as well. He nearly had to shake his head to force himself to focus upon her face.
“Um, yes?” He stammered, obviously distracted.
Ignoring his reaction, save for a faint smile at the corner of her mouth, she said, “the visitors, Captain?”
“Oh, yes, let them on. They’re passengers and we’re leaving as soon as they’ve stowed everything away,” he explained quickly. Then he appraised her clothing once again before adding, “For my armsmistress you seem kind of underdressed.”
Jenna smiled and laughed, taking him away to a happier place for a moment. “We’re docked,” she explained. “I still have my weapons on me… care to find out just how helpless I am?”
Dexter chuckled. He had sparred with her since she acquired the short sword and found her even more dangerous than she had been before. He doubted he could beat her one time in ten, armored or not. “No thanks, you’re too quick with those blades.”
“Who said anything about weapons?” She asked with an innocent look on her face that was anything but innocent.
Dexter waved her away, scowling in spite of his momentary urge to take her up on her offer. “Go tell them to board.”
Jenna laughed again, dissolving his scowl into a goofy smile. She turned to leave then stopped and asked, “Where are we bound?”
“Port Freedom,” he told her.
The expression upon her face was one of consternation. Dexter wondered what it was about, but it disappeared just as quickly as it had come. She nodded and turned to let their passengers aboard. Dexter glanced back at the course he had plotted a final time then turned and followed after her. He found himself wishing that he had followed her more quickly, for she was off the stairs to the main deck by the time he made it to them, and he would have dearly enjoyed the view.
“Bekka, is the helm fully charged?” Dexter asked up on the deck. Bekka replied that it was, then fell silent as they watched the parade of passengers come up the plank and onto the deck.
Dexter fell silent as he watched. Ormitor was in the rear directly behind Jarnella. He carried only a small chest under one arm. Jarnella was preceded by his other three servants, each of which was arguably as beautiful as Jarnella was. Each also carried an assortment of items, from medium sized trunks to large and small sacks to backpacks. The weight of some of the items looked staggering, forcing Dexter and the others to wonder how the women managed it effortlessly.
“Captain,” Ormitor said by way of greeting, stepping foot on the Voidhawk.
Dexter looked at the wizard, forcing his gaze away from the parade of fashionably dressed women before him. He returned the wizard’s smile and said, “Right on time! If you’ll follow me I’ll show you to your rooms.”
He led them to the aft stairwell and took them down to the cargo deck. Once there he showed them the two staterooms. “You’ve got both of these rooms to use as you see fit. They are, however, short on beds if there are five of you. If you’d like I’ll have some spare blankets brought to you to rig up sleeping pallets.”
“These will suffice as they are, thank you,” Ormitor said, dismissing the issue. He then proceeded to order his girls as to where they were to place the loads that they carried.
“If you need anything, feel free to ask any of us, or seek out myself or Kragor, my first mate,” Dexter said, gesturing to the dwarf who was standing beside him. The rest of the crew had followed as well, with Rosh, in particular, gaping at the wizard’s servants.
“Thank you again, Captain. I suspect we will mostly keep to ourselves,” he said, then shut the door behind him.
Dexter turned to the others, who regarded him expectantly. He shrugged and led the way back up to the main deck. Once there he looked at them all again. “Okay, that’s our fare. Make ready to cast off, Bekka can you take us out please?”
“Aye, Captain,” the half-elf said, already turning and heading towards the bridge. The rest remained standing, lost in thought as to their strange passengers.
“You heard the captain, make ready to launch!” Kragor snapped, bringing everybody back to their senses. Dexter hid his smile and then had to chuckle when Kragor turned to him and rolled his eyes. The rest scattered to their positions.
“Don’t be thinking anything,” Jenna warned Rosh as they made their way to haul up the rope that would raise the mainmast.
“Me?” Rosh asked innocently. “What would I-“
“I know that look. I’ve beaten many men senseless for staring at me like that,” Jenna hissed.
“Ain’t looking at you,” Rosh said.
“I know,” she said, giving him a glare that made him stop and think. “I think I’d be more merciful than they would.”
Rosh stared after her as she walked across the deck to the rigging. He scratched the scruff on his chin, then grinned and followed, once again envisioning any one, two, three, or all four of the wizard’s servants in his bed.
* * * *
The trip to Port Freedom was remarkably boring. Dexter and Rosh, in particular, kept hoping to catch sight of Ormitor’s servants. Unfortunately for them, it was only in his presence that they appeared, and he seldom came out of his cabin. All five of them stayed in his cabin as well, while the other room was typically used for storage of his personal effects.
In whispered conversations they all wondered at what took place behind the doors of the wizard’s rented room, with Rosh typically stating the most decadent and hedonistic of opinions.
“You think they all be sleeping in the bed at once?” Kragor asked a few days out as he, Jodyne, Bekka, and Rosh sat around the galley eating a mid day meal.<
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“I’m not for thinking they do much sleeping, if you know what I mean,” Rosh said, grinning from ear to ear.
“There ain’t room enough for the five of them!” Jodyne said reproachfully.
Rosh shrugged, then a new idea came to him. “Maybe he just watches?”
Kragor snorted the water he was drinking, which drew a cuff in the back of the head from his wife. Rosh laughed at his own joke.
“Watches what?” Bekka asked naively.
Rosh and Kragor both looked at her, surprised. Jodyne shook her head and got up from the table, starting to clear the plates. “Watches the girls with one another,” Rosh elaborated.
Bekka smiled as understanding hit her. “Oh!” She said, feeling a little silly. Then she shrugged. “Sounds like fun.”
For the first time in his life, Kragor let food escape from his open mouth. Jodyne smacked him in the back of the head again, which reminded him to shut his mouth and mumble something about needing to be off to do some work on the ship.
Rosh stared at her as well, unable to come to terms with what she had said. “I meant them was pleasurin’ one another,” he said, not believing she understood him in spite of what she had said.
“Of course, what else would they be doing?” Bekka responded.
“An it sounds like fun to you?” Rosh asked.
“Why wouldn’t it?”
Rosh’s eyes bulged and he looked at Kragor, who was shaking his head as he left the galley and headed to parts unknown. Rosh looked back at her and saw her focusing on finishing her food, a faraway smile on her face as she appeared to be thinking about it. He finished his water and stood up. “I’m,” he paused, wondering what he was going to do before finishing his thought, “gonna relieve Jenna.”
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