by Noah Layton
From then on people came out of their proverbial shells a little more easily, and our shopping list began to grow. Only a few of the items were decorative, and even then they revolved around lanterns for the outside of houses and lookout posts, and a few books that people had always wanted copies of.
What a freaking world where a person couldn’t get a hold of a book. That needed to change.
Before heading out I turned to the sacks of gold and took up several handfuls, depositing them into my inventory fifty to sixty at a time.
‘A plentiful bounty,’ Alorion said from my side, ‘but not exactly practical.’
‘You can say that again.’
It took me almost an hour to transfer all of the gold over to my inventory by hand, but once it was done the number stood firm in my inventory.
Over 25,000GP.
I marvelled at the sight of the supplies, then readied myself to get back to business.
Myself and the girls headed to the trading post together and picked up whatever was on the shopping list that we could find, then returned to the land with it all. We had spent less than a thousand gold pieces in the process, and had managed to equip all of the houses with tools, equipment, trinkets and decorations.
After the considerable travelling that we had done, we turned in for the night and awoke at mid-morning the next day. We all needed to rest, but when a payday like this came along the temptation to spoil my wives was a little too much.
And there was only one place in the area that a tribe master could do that.
The array of items available at Ichabod’s Cove was of a much greater variety. We arrived in the early afternoon and scoured the levels together, for once paying a visit for the purpose of pleasure and not just business
Even if my wives could all kick ass, they all still had an eye for jewellery and there was something there for all of them – bracelets, necklaces, pearls, you name it.
Comfort and business sometimes overlapped, though, as I imagined they might during the visit to the land of the sun-elves. If I was taking my wives on a trip over such a long distance, we had to do it properly.
On the second level of the cove I found a merchant selling carts and wagons, and purchased a large wagon with arched protection acting as a roof designed to be pulled by two horses that would seat six inside for 900GP after trading in the cart we had brought with us and transferring over our purchased goods.
We parked up the wagon and the horses on the bottom level of the cove by the entrance under the watchful eye of a pair of goblin attendants, and after sternly warning them that I had checked on the contents of the wagon, my wives and I continued our search around the Cove for another hour.
‘I think we’re pretty much set,’ I said as we looked out from the top level over the Cove at the end of our shopping spree. ‘The sun’s getting low, though.’
‘It is a damn good thing that we bought my apartment from Rook, then,’ Lara said. ‘What say we spend the night there?’
‘We might as well put it to use,’ Ariadne said. ‘That’s what it’s there for.’
‘Do you really think we’re all going to fit into that bed?’ I said. ‘We do fine back at the land but only because the bed is as big as the apartment here.’
‘We’ll make it work,’ Lara winked. ‘Do not fret.’
‘If you say so,’ I replied. ‘I’m just not being the one who gets kicked out onto the floor.’
‘I’m sure you won’t,’ Santana smiled. ‘There is just one more purchase we need to make before we head back.’
‘What’s that?’
‘Something for our dinner with the sun-elves,’ Ariadne said. ‘A few things, actually.’
‘And what would that be?’
‘That would ruin the surprise,’ Elera said, running a hand over my cheek.
I looked between my four wives, who were all giving me a knowing smile. They had obviously discussed this without me around.
‘I’m afraid to ask what you girls have got up your sleeves,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘As long as it doesn’t make me bankrupt and you’re not planning on killing me in my sleep, do what you’re going to do.’
‘Thank you, master,’ Ariadne smiled, heading off with the girls as they laughed at my expense. ‘We won’t be long.’
Yeah, I was definitely starting to be outnumbered by my wives, but that was never a bad thing in the bedroom – it just meant four unbelievably hot women fighting for my attention, and I was fine with that.
Ichabod’s Cove was still alive in the sunset that scattered across it, and without Alorion around I was left alone with an hour to spend on myself.
Being a tribe master was a full-time job with the running of the land always requiring my attention to be somewhere, and free time was a rarity. With everything purchased that we needed – aside from the girls’ mystery purchases, whatever they were – I could wander for a little while.
I made my way past the vendors, the occasional shopkeeper attempting to draw a last-minute customer like me in, but I had spent enough gold in the last day to last me a month.
I travelled down to the bottom level of the Cove, the point where the merchant ships resided. It was the same place where I had met Captain Archie, the sailor that had taken us downriver to the Black Patch where I had met Elera, and the very same spot where I had gotten rid of Coron, a young bandit who I had taken mercy on and given over to work on a merchant ship.
Neither the same merchant vessel nor Captain Archie’s tiny boat were in sight, but plenty of others were still docked up.
I made my way around the dock, keeping my hand rested firmly on the handle of my sword, and eyed the ships as I went. Some were smaller fishing boats, manned by deckhands reloading the final emptied fishing crates of the day, while others were a little larger, moving raw materials stored in chests up and down the river.
As I wandered, so did my mind. I hadn’t yet considered a definitive use for the land of the Gaalus Tribe that we had claimed. We could close up the mine and nurture the land, turning it into a secondary section for crop growth once it recovered, but there was no need for that right now considering our population. I needed more people.
If I could expand the mine further and truly delve into the abundance of ores down there, then turning it into a more industrial area might have been better. Barracks, coal-powered furnaces, weapons – if we were going to grow into a fighting force that was going to be respected in the area instead of being hidden the entire time, then we would need to start building supplies to fuel that force.
As I looked at the ships, though, more thoughts came to mind. With the new livestock supplies we were going to invest in, as well as a potential mine, we could start moving meat and crops downriver to other docks and trading posts.
But I didn’t know a damn thing about the trade, or the dangers that were involved in it.
Fortunately, somebody did.
‘Master Jack! How are you on this fine evening?’
‘Still alive.’
‘That means you’re winning.’
To my surprise I finally Captain Archie’s boat docked on the very edge of the cove, hidden behind several much larger vessels.
He was a high-elf that strayed from his tribe in search of gold and glory, hoping one day to return to his homeland to earn the affections of a woman he loved.
‘You’re looking a little more well-kept than usual.’
‘I had a prosperous job recently, so decided to start cleaning up my act.’
‘What about the drinking?’
‘Let’s not get carried away.’
‘Right.’
‘Anyway, what can I do for you?’
‘I’m looking into expanding my tribe’s operation into shipments. I know you don’t transport cargo aside from people and whatever fish you pick up, but I was wondering if you could fill me in on-’
‘Say no more! As a sailor wishing to expand his own fleet, I have been gathering knowledge on the topic fo
r years. What can I tell you?’
If he really had been gathering knowledge for years, I wondered how long it was going to take him to actually build this fleet of his.
Everybody needed a dream though.
‘How much does a decent-sized merchant vessel cost? And how dangerous is it to ship produce downriver?’
‘The cost of a ship depends entirely on the size and quality of the vessel, but a standard ship may cost you… Perhaps 18,000GP? Give or take depending on your bartering skills of course.’
‘Right…’ I mused. Suddenly my new stash of gold didn’t seem so heavy.
‘And that doesn’t include upkeep costs. Water may give life to all beings in the land, but it wears away at a boat every second. You’d need to worry about maintaining this vessel of yours.’
‘I’m more worried about having arrows fired at me like we did last time we took a journey downriver. What are the dangers? Should I expect to be attacked by more stray wood-elves?’
‘Only near the Black Patch, as far as I am aware. The river itself is often occupied by merchant or tribal vessels, but they do not usually cause trouble to each other. Of course, if you were to stray off into the more obscure subsections of the river, you may find more remote and unpleasant places. I would recommend being well-armed either way.’
I had plenty to think about. I thanked Captain Archie for his help and continued my walk around the cove, picking up some fish to eat in the meantime from an evening stall and looking out over the peaceful scenery
We had spent plenty of gold, but it hadn’t made much of a dent in our supplies.
Even so, I couldn’t just rest on it. When I had first arrived in Agraria I had sold my gun for 1000GP and that had seemed like a fortune.
Now we were dealing with numbers almost twenty times that, and it was an amount that the sun-elves of Morelia had dropped for a freaking statue.
If that was what they were willing to fork over for something decorative, I could only begin to imagine just how much wealth they were actually sitting on.
Wealth meant a higher population, though. Artrix hadn’t mentioned the numbers that belonged to his tribe during our meeting, and considering the amount of gold he had casually dealt in I had little doubt how much he had stashed away.
It was a number I could aspire to, and eventually exceed. Agraria had recovered since the war that had decimated the land decades before my arrival, and now it was ripe for the taking.
Tribes were a shadow of their former glory, and now was as good a time as ever to take advantage of the land, to control it, to tame it, and to grow my wealth, my power and my population.
Excited at the thought, I spent a few more minutes dwelling on the future of my empire before heading back to The Drunken Steed. I had been wandering the cove for perhaps an hour now, and I had no doubt the girls would be back.
Come to think of it, four wives wasn’t that bad – sure, it was four times the trouble, but they could look after themselves in a group rather than it being one wife on her own, unprotected in a world filled with monsters.
The troll at the door stepped aside for me, knowing my face by now, and I headed inside. I gave Rook a nod as I passed, which he returned, then headed upstairs to the apartment.
Inside, the Elera and Ariadne were stripping down to their underwear and admiring their new jewellery. Elera was wearing white wrappings that barely covered her hips and breasts, while Ariadne was wearing black underwear that gripped her slim figure tightly.
‘Find what you were looking for?’ I asked, admiring their bodies as I closed the door behind me and began to undress.
‘Definitely,’ Ariadne smiled.
‘Where are Lara and Santana?’
‘Still searching for what they need.’
‘And what is it they need?
‘Well, that would ruin the surprise,’ Elera said. ‘We got something for you too, Jack.’
‘You did?’
‘Mmhmm,’ Elera said. ‘But as I said, it is a surprise.’
‘I’m not sure if I like surprises.’
‘We think that you will like this one.’
I gave up on asking. Elera and Ariadne were obviously feeling too mischievous to reveal it just yet.
‘As long as Lara and Santana are together,’ I remarked. ‘I don’t trust anywhere other than our land after dark, but they’re both more than capable of looking after each other, Lara especially.’
I meant it; Lara had spent most of her life living in the cove.
‘Maybe we can see them from here,’ Elera said, heading over to the open window and bending over before it as she looked out over the sunset view of the cove. I couldn’t resist the sight of her perky behind perched up as she arched her back. ‘Come take a look, husband.’
‘I trust your judgement,’ I replied. ‘Besides, the view’s fine from here.’
‘I think it could stand to get better,’ Ariadne said, stroking the glimmering gems at her neck.
‘How is that?’ Elera asked, looking over her shoulder at her.
Ariadne smiled playfully and sauntered the few steps over to Elera. She dropped to her knees gracefully and ran her fingers into the wrappings around Elera’s waist, then pulled them down to her ankles, exposing her round, firm ass.
I could already feel myself getting hard at the perfect sight of my wives together, but seeing them undressing each other always drove me crazy.
With a supply, beckoning finger, Ariadne ushered me over to join them by the open window.
I wasn’t one for public exposure, but as I reached the girls, where Elera remained bending over and Ariadne stayed on her knees, slowly undoing my belt and pants, the open view onto the cove below sent a wave of excitement through me.
A few traders and citizens were still going about their business, completely unaware of what we were up to in the secluded apartment.
Ariadne finally pulled my throbbing cock from my pants, taking me in her hand and jerking me lightly before pressing her wet tongue to the base of my shaft and running herself all the way to my tip.
I groaned out, my sounds of pleasure finished off as Elera joined me with a light, low moan. Managing to drag my eyes away from Ariadne wrapping her soft lips around the head of my cock, I caught sight of my nymph, running a hand between her slender blue legs as she touched herself in anticipation.
Ariadne moaned at my taste, her furred ears twitching as she took me deeper into her mouth, soaking my ridges.
She took me inch by inch until I could resist her no longer. I ran my hands into her hair and thrusted into the mouth as she ran her soft hands up my hips beneath my shirt, caressing my abs while I fucked her mouth.
With a final thrust she took all of me, lapping hungrily at my shaft before I pulled from her.
She breathed deeply as she laughed, and I couldn’t wait to have her again, but she and Elera had a different plan.
Ariadne guided me over to Elera’s firm ass, almost leading me by my cock as my throbbing hardness touched the wetness between her legs.
My nymph moaned out loudly as I entered her from behind, commanding her hips in my hands.
There was no way that somebody hadn’t heard us down there yet, but as my nymph shook her ass on my cock, begging me to take her, I realized that I didn’t care.
Soaked in the wetness of Ariadne’s mouth, I pulled out of Elera and pushed back into her, feeling her tight body in my strong hands as she arched her back further than I even thought possible.
‘Yes, husband… Yes…!’
Her moans were like a drug as she gripped the ledge of the window. Her walls grew tighter around me, gripping my shaft desperately as I fucked her how she wanted it.
I felt a soft brush against my back as Ariadne stood, running her hands over my body from behind.
Enveloped in the bodies of my wives, I closed my eyes and revelled in the soft press of their warm, firm bodies against me.
Having my body battered and cut was the cost of triump
h in this land, but my wives made it worth it.
Ariadne pulled away and moved to Elera’s side, bending over before the window next to her and pulling her underwear down, exposing her round ass.
As I fucked Elera, I slid a hand over to Ariadne’s behind and felt the smooth curve of her body.
I slowed in taking Elera and pulled myself from her, sliding into Ariadne’s tightness and thrusting into her in the same way.
My wives all felt different, but every one of them was an expert at pleasuring me.
‘Gods…’ Ariadne moaned, lowering her head before Elera raised it again with a touch of a finger to her chin.
They smiled at each other before kissing passionately, the sight of them only driving me wilder with desire.
‘Fuck…’ I groaned. ‘You girls are going to kill me…’
‘Please remember to share, husband,’ Elera moaned. ‘Give us both your seed…’
The pleasure of their walls wrapped around my cock was enough to finish me in seconds, but Elera’s smooth voice was more than I could take.
I pulled myself from Ariadne as I felt myself about to finish. In a smooth instant, Elera guided both she and Ariadne to their knees before me.
They kissed passionately, their naked bodies pressed together as I finished myself onto them uncontrollably, covering their faces as they kissed.
By the time I was finished my body was shaking with the aftermath of the ecstasy and adrenaline that had exploded through me.
Joined in passion, Ariadne and Elera licked up my juices, looking me in the eyes intensely as they did so.
‘Still alive, husband?’ Elera asked.
‘Just,’ I breathed.
Suddenly the door opened behind me. I turned to see Lara and Santana entering the room.
‘Oh, my…’ Santana smiled, her cheeks going red. ‘The things that we stumble on…’
‘How dare you start without us?’ Lara said jokingly. ‘We need your seed too, you know?’
‘I am afraid that our husband may have given it all to us,’ Elera laughed.
‘Well, that will not do,’ Lara said, crossing her arms and looking me up and down.
I was in for a long night, but it was one that I would never want to end, just like every other night with my wives.