The Traveler

by Xander Jade

  They didn’t comment.

  “Tianna, how about Tia for your nickname? And for my feline beastkin, how about Lina?”

  They smiled and nodded before kissing my cheek. I rolled my eyes and was leaving as Talia was bringing over some samples. Walking out the door, I got up onto the wagon and spoke to my ward, “William, head inside to get fitted for new clothes.”

  “You… you will buy me new clothes?”

  “Yeah, man. You need new clothing, what you’re wearing is worn out. Get some shoes and boots as well.” I handed him another gold coin and advised, “Give this to Lily just in case.”

  He pocketed the money. “Thank you, Dom. Can I get a knife and dagger too?” The teen looked around to make sure no one was around before whispering, “Then you can enchant them as well?”

  Taking a breath, I replied, “I will head over to the blacksmith and see what they have.”

  William smiled and thanked me before heading inside. I had the Jutlands take me, and the two reined horses, to the livery. I had the woman on duty feed and water the horses. My thoughts went to Bella and not knowing how to proceed yet, I made my way to the blacksmith.

  Chapter 15

  Seeing the sign that let me know I was in the right spot, I walked inside to see multiple rows of weapons. I walked straight over to the knives and daggers, grabbing eight of each. The ones I picked weren’t special, not yet. I purchased sheaths for them as well and headed out with my bag of purchases. Taking them to the livery, I hid them in the secret spot within my wagon.

  I had found a spot under the seat that was 10” wide by 2’ long and 8” deep. Observing the hollow, I thought it would be a good spot to hide items of importance. So, I inscribed runes on the seat and under, then inside the hollow, making sure no one had access to it but me. When the runes were activated, the seat wouldn’t move. The wood around it wouldn’t bend or break either.

  I took a moment to gather my thoughts before making my way towards my next destination, which was the town hall.

  When I entered, I got directions to the right department from the receptionist. Making my way down the hall, I noticed people looking at me funny. Not caring, I made it to the door and went in. I signed in and sat down to wait. Again, people were looking at me strangely. Ten minutes later my name was called, and I got up and followed the gnome with blonde hair to her office. Sitting down, she introduced herself as Mara.

  “Hello Mara, I’m here to get a patent, charter, or copyright on some creations and inventions of mine. I don’t know what you call it here in Capena.”

  She stared at me for almost a minute before speaking. “We can set up that for you here, Mr.…?”

  “Oh, I’m Dominic.”

  “Mr. Dominic. We call them copyrights, but you may call them patents. Whatever you prefer. Do you have the designs with you? I will give you the proper paperwork to fill out to make this official.”

  “I do. And to ask a dumb question, will this be in the database for the continent and not just around here?”

  “Yes, sir. Our database is continental, but it is also worldwide. We have locations in each city, and they’ll have these in their system when the process is complete,” Mara replied.

  That was mind-boggling. I wondered how they achieved that. I guessed it must be some kind of magic.

  I nodded and handed her my designs. She then handed me the paperwork. Looking it over, I filled in the blanks on the document and before handing it back to her, I glanced over the pages again. I had to fill out one for each item in question. We discussed the procedures and she let me know that it would take a week to get everything completed and processed. I handed her two gold for the fees attached to the copyrights.

  “By the way, who is the best trader in town?” I wanted to see if I could make a deal with them on production.

  The gnome didn’t hesitate, “Corrina, she’s across the street, four doors down.”

  “Thanks.”

  I was about to stand up and leave, but Mara cleared her throat. “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure.”

  “Um… where are your women?”

  “Getting items that we need. They didn’t have to come along. I can take care of myself.”

  She nodded, unconvinced, and handed me a receipt and a copy of the paperwork. “Okay, have a good day, Mr. Dominic.”

  “You too, thanks for the name.”

  I left and walked back to my wagon to put the paperwork in the secret section with the daggers and knives. I had told Mara the truth, except that the primary reason they weren’t with me was because I didn’t feel like explaining where I got the ideas and designs from. Eventually, I would let them know, but not today.

  Grabbing a copy of my designs, I walked over to where the gnome had directed me and stopped in front of the building. After taking a moment for myself, I stepped into the store and looked around. A few people were purchasing items, so I stood in the back and waited for them to get done.

  Ten minutes later, a female voice spoke out, “Can we help you, sir?”

  I turned to see a gorgeous female with red hair staring at me. She couldn’t be over five feet, which told me she was probably a dwarf. She was wearing brown trousers that were tight on her shapely form, and a blue halter top that barely covered her d-cup breasts. When she turned for a moment to put away some paperwork on a shelf behind the counter, I saw that the beautiful woman’s long flowing hair reached down to her pear-shaped ass.

  Trying to focus on the matter at hand, I replied, “Yes, ma’am. I would like to discuss some business with Ms. Corrina.”

  Over to my right, I noticed an elf with dark hair watching me.

  The dwarf turned her attention back to me and didn’t respond for a minute, but narrowed her eyes, “I’m Corrina. How did you know my name?”

  “Mara gave me your name. I’d like to talk to you about some new items that I want to sell. They are new ideas and I believe they will be a big hit and make a substantial amount of money for us. Basically, I would like to see if you want to become partners.”

  She smirked and it enhanced her beauty. “Oh? Is that right? Before we get ahead of ourselves, will you tell us your name?”

  She clearly didn’t believe me, but she probably heard this kind of thing all the time.

  The elf came up behind Corrina.

  “My name’s Dominic,” I offered.

  “Dominic, nice to meet you. To my right is my colleague Nancy.”

  I nodded, and the dwarf went on, “Now that we have the introductions out of the way. Where are your women? You shouldn’t be alone.”

  I sighed loudly and was about to go on a rant, but calmed myself down and gestured to the sword on my back. “I can take care of myself, ladies. Don’t worry about my women, they’re nearby. Now, can we speak about my proposal or do I need to leave and go somewhere else?”

  The duo glanced at each other and smiled. Corrina shook her head. “No, that won’t be necessary. Are these ideas still in your head? Or do you have some kind of design for them?”

  I reached into the slot on my harness that housed the documents and handed them to her. The elf was curious and looked over Corrina’s shoulder. Both gasped after a few moments when they figured out that I was serious. It didn’t take long for them to open their eyes wide. They looked through the designs at least three times before they had one of those silent conversations with their eyes. Damn, can all the women of this world do that?

  Corrina cleared her throat before speaking. “These are some great ideas. Especially the sleeping bags. What kind of terms are you looking for?”

  “I’m not sure, but they are patented.” I didn’t want to say anything that would get me less than what was due to me.

  She nodded and thought carefully about what she wanted to say. “How about this? We have the exclusive rights to sell these items and will give you thirty percent.”

  Tha fuck? Does she think I’m stupid?

  “I’m hoping that was
a joke. If that’s your best offer, then I will leave right now.”

  Corrina smiled. “You can’t blame a girl for trying. Okay, how about this…”

  We haggled for almost an hour; they had customers to deal with, so I waited for that. We finally came to an agreement on each item. Her people would be in charge of production. I advised them that my women were setting up a booth in Capena and Strongfair to sell some of these products. The ladies didn’t bat an eye at that, they wouldn’t be hindered since they could go all over the continent. The only items we didn’t agree on were the healing items. I took those off the proposal. We would sell them in our booths. They got the exclusive selling rights for the sleeping bags. She didn’t give me the percentage of profit that I wanted for them, but I couldn’t really complain since they would do all the work. Corrina proposed to give me 33 percent on them, but she gave me 42 percent on the other items.

  Corrina asked, “Do you have an account with the banking system?”

  To tell the truth, I didn’t even think about it.

  “No, not yet. Do they have locations in other towns?”

  The dwarf nodded and replied, “Yes, all of the banks are linked across our continent, so you’ll be able to deposit or withdraw from any of them. Of course, the smaller towns may not have a branch available.”

  A continental banking system, that’s convenient. Must use the same kind of process that the town hall uses.

  I wondered what they called the government, a regime maybe? Or administration? Directorate? I needed to ask one of the girls about that.

  “Alright, I’ll open an account today.”

  She handed me a document. “Good. Give this to the one who opens your account and she will give it to Hanna, the account manager, to let them know our partnership is legit. We will also talk with Hanna regarding our partnership, and she’ll be able to transfer the funds to your account every week. Also, we’ll give you a statement to look over every two weeks.”

  “Sounds great. It’s a deal then.”

  I shook hands with the two of them and left.

  ~~~~~~

  Nancy watched her lover stare lustfully at the handsome man as he left. She smirked and asked, “Are you aroused, hon?”

  Corrina turned to the dark-haired elf with a flushed face. “Yes, I am. And if you really want to know how aroused I am, join me in the back and I’ll let you take off my soaked panties as you lick my dripping cunt.”

  Nancy’s eyes widened. “Damn, girl. I’m all for that. I haven’t seen you like this for a long time.”

  “It was the way he looked at me. And he didn’t back down on anything that I threw at him. I could tell that he knows how to take care of himself. That got me dripping, but the way he stood his ground when we bargained over his designs, had me gushing. Not to mention how much money we’ll make. Goddess! I need my cunt licked, now!”

  Nancy looked around and hollered out, “Dana!”

  A gnome with blonde hair came from the back to see what was going on. “You rang?”

  Nancy snorted. “Yes, please watch the front for a bit. Corrina’s horny, so we’re unavailable for a time.”

  Dana giggled when she looked over at Corrina. “One of our customers got you hot and bothered?”

  The dwarf sighed and nodded, “Yes.”

  “He was definitely a handsome man.”

  Corrina and Nancy nodded as they hurried to the back where a private room with a bed was located. Dana could hear their soft moans from the front counter as she waited for the next customer to come in.

  ~~~~~~

  As I walked out, I looked around the area and found the bank, then headed that way. Coming through the doors, I stopped until my eyes picked out an elf coming my way.

  “Good morning, sir.” As usual, she looked around for my women.

  I sighed. “They aren’t with me. They’re doing errands for our family.”

  She nodded and smiled. “What can I help you with?”

  “I need to open an account, please.”

  “Of course, my name is Lydia. Follow me.”

  I did, and she handed me some paperwork to fill out. I completed it and handed the papers back to her with my opening deposit of ten gold. That surprised her, but she took it in stride and gave me a receipt. Lydia also advised me about using the branches in the other cities and handed me my account number.

  “I also have a business partnership with Corrina.” Grabbing the paperwork, I handed it to the elf.

  “Very impressive to get a deal with her. I will put this on your account and advise Hanna, our account manager of this.”

  “Thank you. Corrina said she would talk to her as well.” Lydia nodded, and I bid her goodbye.

  When I came out of the bank, my mind went over what I needed to do. My errands were almost finished. I took a few deep breaths. Time to face the blonde bombshell.

  When I got to the wainwright building, I took another deep breath and walked in. There were four women in the vicinity. Two I knew, they were the young women I had come to see. The other two were talking off to the side, so I made my way over. The duo finally saw me and gasped before hurrying my way.

  Not realizing their plan, I was caught off guard when Julia threw herself at me and wrapped herself around my waist. Abby wasn’t far behind.

  “We’re so glad you’re here,” Julia gushed while still hugging me.

  “You are here for my mom, right Dominic?” Abby asked.

  “Yeah, is she outside?”

  “No. She quit a couple of weeks ago, said she couldn’t handle being around the people here,” Abby replied in a whisper.

  “Really?”

  Both let go of me and Julia replied, “Isabella has taken it hard, Dominic. She won’t fix herself up anymore, nor really eating anything. If something doesn’t change, we don’t know what will happen.”

  Abby voiced her concern, “Mom won’t go out either. She won’t be able to pay rent if she doesn’t find work. I will help out as much as I can, but I’m not sure it’s enough.”

  I closed my eyes and waited for a few moments before opening them. “Is she at home?”

  Abby smiled and nodded. “Yes, sir. I will let you in,” turning to her best friend she asked, “cover for me?”

  “You know I will,” Julia said and stood on her tiptoes to kiss me on the cheek. The teen blushed and rushed away.

  Abby snickered and shook her head. “She’s infatuated with you. We both are.” The teen led us outside to head over to the boarding house.

  I scoffed and said, “And why is that?”

  She answered with a shrug. “Look around you, Dominic. What do you see?”

  I stopped and scanned the area.

  “Families are coming and going.”

  “Yep, but the main thing to take note of is that none of the males are walking by themselves. Think about that, stud.”

  I rolled my eyes and grunted.

  She continued, “You have women now, I’m aware of that since we saw that lady with you. But you’re coming to see my mom, maybe help her if I’m reading your intentions correctly. I’m blown away at that. Not one of those other males you can see would do that. So yes, Julia and I are enamored with you. Both of us have dreaded the day we have to join a family, especially since Felicia has joined with Helen’s. If we could join with someone like you, then our worries would go away.”

  Not knowing how to respond, I waited to see if the teen mage would speak again, but she said nothing else. We got up to the floor where she lived and opened the door. It was dark inside. Abby led the way and had me stay in the front room while she went to the bedroom.

  Opening the door, Abby announced her presence, “Mom, you have a visitor.”

  A muffled voice called out, “I don’t want to see anyone.”

  “They came a long way to see you.”

  Bella replied, “Tell them some other time, please.”

  Abby was at a loss. She threw up her hands. “She doesn’t want to see a
nyone.”

  “Well, it’s worse than I thought.”

  I walked towards the room. Abby called out, “She hasn’t taken a bath in a few days.”

  Nodding, I opened the door and walked into a dark room. The smell wasn’t roses inside, but it wasn’t too bad. I strode over and heard a rustling sound. Sheets maybe. Either that or blankets.

  “Who’s there?”

  “A friend.”

  Isabella gasped and whimpered, “Go away, please.”

  “Why?”

  She replied in a low voice, “Because I asked you to. Why are you here?”

  “Abby told me you needed help. It would seem that’s the case.”

  Bella groaned and said, “I need nothing, go away.”

  “Don’t make me get you up.”

  “Please, Dominic,” she sobbed and put a pillow over her head in embarrassment.

  I went over and pulled the covers off her. I grabbed her arms and gently pulled her up. She had pajamas on. When I had the blonde mage out of bed, I forced her to walk out of the bedroom. Abby was still there, so I made my way towards the door. “Get your mom some clothes together, she’s going to take a bath and get refreshed. Where are the baths?”

  Abby smiled and said, “The first floor, on the east side of the building. I’ll meet you down there.”

  I nodded and pulled her out into the hall to head down to where the baths were. Bella tried to get me to stop and pulled away, but I pretty much forced her all the way, and then inside the door to the baths.

  “Clean yourself up, Bella. We’ll talk when you’re somewhat normal.”

  All she did was grunt and grabbed a towel off the counter before closing the door. I sat down in a chair outside the room and waited for the teen. It didn’t take long before she came down.

  She gave me a sack of Bella’s clothes.

  “Not sure what’s going to happen, but I heard that Helen’s family was trying to get Bella to join them.”

  “Stupid bitch won’t leave her alone,” Abby responded with venom in her voice. “She even has Felicia trying to push her to join.”