What Sava lacked in experience, she made up for in aggression and enthusiasm. She nearly had me pushed against the wall when I threw my weight on her, pinning her to the ground. She smiled lustily as I overpowered and pinned her beneath me. My strength had grown dramatically with these past few days of consuming life-zeal infused food. I was starting to develop muscles like I never had before. I should have been clumsy because of all the growth, but instead I was more nimble than ever.
Our lips parted only for the instant it took me to grab at the thin straps that held her one-piece shift on. Sooner her perky exposed nipples were pressing against my bare chest.
I kissed and licked her chest and torso, really making love to her for the first time. Her nipples were hard, and I flicked them with my fingertips. They bounced and twitched as Sava moaned with pleasure.
Then I started moving my attention lower. I kissed the insides of her thighs and ran my tongue up and down her body.
I didn’t need to do much teasing, based on the fountain I found between her legs she must have been denying herself this opportunity for weeks. Probably in the name of collecting more of my fluid for her experiments.
“Yes… yes! Let me experience what the matriarchs of great clans do!”
I looked down at her. “Are you sure?”
Sava nodded her head vigorously. “Yes! I’m sick of these small provincial elves like Katania, dreaming small dreams and tearing down anyone who gets closer than they are. Using you, I could become someone important, someone powerful. So do it, Theo! Take me!”
I obliged, thrusting my member in and out of her while she moaned with delight. Soon I felt the muscles inside of her pulsating and sensed an orgasm was coming.
“ooOOooh!” She moaned as she came.
I was able to keep going thanks to all the milking she’d done on me. in recent days. By the time I finished, she’d had four orgasms I collapsed limply into my arms. A dumb, content grin was plastered on her face and she looked truly happy for the first time I’d seen her. Her eyes were distant as she fantasized about her future.
CHAPTER TEN
I woke up to the feeling of something warm squirming in my arms. I blinked awake, startled at first, before my memories of the previous night came back.
Sava was sleeping next to me. I shook my head and blinked, wondering for the thousandth time when I was going to wake up from this dream. I even slapped myself, but when my cheek stopped throbbing the beautiful elf was still lying next to me. This was real.
Sava rolled over towards me. Our faces were practically touching. “As much as I’d like to experience last night again.” She said, “There’s work to be done.”
“Surely hunting for ingredients can wait a few minutes.” A asked with a grin.
Sava shook her head in reply as she pulled herself free of the hammock. “No, I need to buy new glassware. Especially now that I’ve got a junior herbalist in the tree house as well. I don’t want you messing with my stuff, so it’s best to buy you a cauldron of your own.”
“That’s not something you can get with merit points from your tribe I take it?” I commented.
“No. The Riverweed tribe doesn’t have the infrastructure to produce such materials. That’s why I’m going into town.” Sava began reapplying her chest wrapping, which the female elves used instead of bras. It had been discarded on the ground since I had tossed it aside the previous night.
“Usually, Queenshold wouldn’t have the supplies either, but with the tribal gathering coming up, I’m sure the town Gronk stocked up on new inventory. I could wait until the whole tribe goes, but if I wait he might sell out beforehand.”
Before Sava could say anything more I seized my opportunity. I had to go along with her for this trip. A town would have people, and people would have more information. Information that could be the key to really setting myself up in this world, and to figuring out how to use this spellheart. I couldn’t wait to start casting magic, flinging spells left and right.
Before Sava could protest, I’d already stood up and started getting dressed. No doubt she would have insisted I stay here so I didn’t bother asking.
“I’ll pack some of last night’s beans and rabbit.” I said, heading towards the thin strips of meat I’d set up to smoke the previous night. Treating meat was a new skill to me, but preservation of food was an important skill in a society without grocery stores, so I made sure to practice it as much as I could.
Sava didn’t bring up the obvious until we were both packed and ready to go.
“You can’t come with me.” She said.
I frowned. “I’ll be good. Promise.”
Sava shook her head. “I’m more worried about other people’s behavior than yours. Just seeing you would tempt many a desperate elf into doing things they otherwise wouldn’t dare to do. Besides, I want to keep you to myself. If only for a little while longer.”
“I’m not staying here. I’ve been cooped up in your tree house long enough” I said firmly. Before she had the chance to make up her mind for good I offered a compromise. “I‘ll wear a hood or something. Nobody will be able to see me.”
I sensed Sava considering the possibility.
After a long moment, she sighed and shrugged. “Fine. But stay close to me.”
***
I half expected to ride into town on horseback, old-west style. That was silly. I’d been living with Sava for over a week now and I hadn’t seen hide or hair of a single beast of burden. Granted, I hadn’t seen much of anything having been confined to Sava’s house, but I’d judged the surrounding world to be at a feudal era level of technology. Possibly far earlier, though it was hard to pin a time period on it, since the elves didn’t have iron but used something just as good, in addition to having access to magic.
When Sava brought out a small one-person cart, I fully expected a horse, or at least a donkey, to be the one pulling it. But Sava didn’t have a donkey. The best she could do was me.
The dirt packed road was tough, and the wheels on the cart I was dragging behind me were warped so that every couple step they’d bump and slow my momentum. Even so, with my newfound bodily strength I barely felt the thing. In fact, I was somewhat excited to test the limits of my new body. Just breaking into the world of cultivation had given my body strength that it never had before.
I’d been shedding old body fat that I’d clung to for years, and in its place bulging new muscles were forming. Sava was as surprised as I was. Normally, an elf would only really feel a difference when breaking through to the first stage. It seemed cultivation was particularly beneficial for my body, which made scene since unlike the native creatures of this world my cells had to be tough enough on their own to survive without any zeal enhancing them. With it, I was even stronger.
As we walked, Sava told me about the place we were visiting. It was a royal settlement named Queens hold by the locals, presumably because it was the local bit of land owned by the queen, and where the tribes of the Hearthwood forest went to pay tribute to their ruler every decade. The queen didn’t show up to a minor province like this, but one of her lower vassals did. Over the years, it had developed into something of a trading fair, since all the tribes of the forest were bringing their valuables to present to the queen anyway. Most of the time the place was virtually empty except for a few traders who stuck around waiting for the population boom that came every ten years from all the surrounding tribes gathering to trade and give tribute.
When we finally pulled the cart into town, I got a few odd looks from the mountain of fur blankets I had wrapped around me. I was dressed for a blizzard, and under the heat of the midday sun I must have looked more like a woolly mammoth than an elf. Sava hopped off from where she had been lounging on top of the pile of potion vials she was haling in the wagon and started directing me down a specific path. She also motioned me to keep my head down, despite the fact that my features were thoroughly obscured. I still didn’t quite believe her tales that chaka were so rare
and valuable here that people would actively try to kidnap me.
Soon enough structures recognizable as buildings loomed up before me. Honestly... it was kind of disappointing. The town was a loose cluster of a few hundred buildings, though only a couple dozen had multiple floors. Thatched roofs seemed to be the norm, though there were a few clay tile roofs as well. It had more of a medieval vibe than a magical one. I just had been expecting better from elves.
But then again Sava’s people didn’t call themselves elves. In fact, she was wholly unfamiliar with the term. But hey, I see pointy eared people, I call them elves. I certainly wasn’t going to keep calling them Sa’Kasuri Hara or whatever it was Sava had told me was her people’s proper name. She’d never heard of Homo sapiens before either when I asked.
Off in the distance, towards the opposite side of us, I could see row after row of tents being set up. Many of the tents had a red colored dragonfly painted on them. Some of them had that same dragonfly painted over by a crimson dragon.
“It looks like the Crimson Dragonfly tribe is setting themselves up early.” Sava commented. “All the better that I decided to grab some good supplies before they’re gone.”
Sava lead me around the corner. My head was kept low, but my eyes darted around under the hood, eagerly taking in all the sites. Knowledge is power, after all. Eventually we came to a stop in front of what looked to be a small shop. It was a single-story building, and I was afraid that I’d bump my head on the ceiling if I walked inside standing upright. These elves were a good deal shorter than me. Sava pounded on the thin wooden door with a fist, causing the door to creek like it was on the edge of falling apart.
“Grotkins, I’ve got more potions for you!”
There was a grumbling sound inside the building. Without warning, the door was yanked open and something green and bony stumbled out.
It was a goblin! At least, that was what first came to mind. Maybe it was just the green figure and the short squat stance combined with a long, hooked nose, but the first thing my brain said when this creature came around the corner was ‘goblin’. Apparently, the translation system that was embedded in my head agreed, since that’s what I got when I analyzed the being.
Uroth ‘Gronk’ Grotkins (Level 5)
Merchant in the town of Queenshold
“Elf.” Uroth Grotkins started roughly. “A bit early in the season, isn’t it?”
“Gronk.” Sava returned the terse greeting. “Nothing for it. Need more supplies.”
Uroth Grotkins winced as he heard the term ‘Gronk’ and muttered something under his breath about elves. I got the distinct impression that Gronk was a somewhat derogatory term for a goblin. Maybe even a racial slur. I decided I’d use his real name when addressing him.
Grotkins glanced at my direction. My hood would have obscured most people’s vision, but Grotkins was quite a bit shorter than me and had a light source by his side, so he was just barely able to see into my hood. He made eye contact and squinted, probably thinking my unusual features were a trick of the shadows. Now, if I knew anything about goblins, showing weakness would be a bad idea. Instead of tugging the hood lower and shielding my eyes, I held his gaze steadily for a long moment. We stared at each other, neither of use blinking. He broke eye contact first. I turned my head to hide the victorious smirk.
“Who’s your friend, elf?” Grotkins jerked his thumb in my direction.
“Just a traveler. She was she’s helping me for a time to earn her keep.”
Some long-forgotten impulse that I hadn’t felt since I was an elementary schooler with hair six inches too long bristled at being addressed as ‘she’. If Sava’s paranoia held any truth to it at all though I could put up with it for safety’s sake.
Soon after exchanging greetings, Sava and Grotkins quickly began the lengthy process of haggling over several containers of liquid and the leaves of plants Sava had been growing. Some of the potions were transferred to new containers so Sava could keep her better jars and vials. Grotkins wanted Sava to measure out one-person doses for him, since he didn’t want to poison his customers and doubted the average elf had the knowledge to not drink way too much of any particular potion. The last time someone fell unconscious after drinking something he sold them he’d gotten the whole pitchforks and torches routine.
Instead of sitting in the corner like a toddler waiting for his mommy to finish shopping, I turned to the cramped quarters of Grotkins’ shop, gazing at the many knick knacks lined up on the various shelves and analyzing each one. I had to stoop uncomfortably low inside the place, since the room was built for Grotkins’ height, with a ceiling just big enough to comfortably accommodate the Sava, who I took to be slightly taller than average for an elf. In comparison, I was nearly giant sized, though my stooped posture and the heavy cloth I was wearing helped conceal this.
Earth-shattering Howling Winds Elixir (tincture)
Builds a storm inside the cultivator’s body, allowing them to absorb vast amounts of air zeal.
Bloodfiend Viper venom antidote (brew)
Can save the life of someone who’s been infected by the venom of a bloodfiend viper if ingested prior to death.
Nightstalker blood (elixir)
This blood contains the essence of shadows. It is an excellent cultivation resource for shadow cultivators.
It seemed that most potions came in a variety of grades, from brew, to tincture, to elixir. most of Sava’s creations tended to be elixirs and based on a cursory examination elixirs seemed to be the highest grade. Or at least seemed to contain the most zeal per the amount of volume they took up.
I nearly bumped into a tall glass cylinder with coils of what looked like copper inside of it, with various rings of glass ascending a column and a big bulb at the base. It looked like something straight out of an alchemist’s laboratory.
Distillation Apparatus. Useful for making hard alcohol.
Finally! Something I recognized! Good distillation equipment like this that could make hard liquors cleanly was probably quite valuable in this society. Especially considering the glass it was made from was significantly more transparent than anything I’d seen Sava use. Glass seemed to be rare around here, and even Sava who needed it for her profession treated it preciously. It was easy to guess that in a society such as this fine glassware would be quite expensive. I gently tilted the delicate glassware back onto the shelf where it had been before I bumped it, and as I did something red and sparkling tumbled out.
“Easy there creepy hooded elf. Some of that stuff is valuable.” Grotkins glanced at Sava. “Keep your over sized and overly clumsy friend under control, before my shop gets wrecked. Otherwise I’ll take it out our next trade.”
“Theo can you — ”
“Sava look at this!” I interrupted her. In between my hands I held a glittering little ruby red gemstone.
“Hey, hey! What did I just say? Oh, how did that get in there? I’ve been looking for that.” Grotkins said as he spotted the little stone in my hand.
Sava glanced at it. “A fire aspect spellheart. Of a decent size too. I’m surprised you left it out front.”
Grotkins snatched the spellheart from my hands. “It shouldn’t be, but my latest helper doesn’t know the difference between spellhearts and rocks, apparently.”
“How do you use it?” Insight into this fire spellheart might help me figure out the death spellheart I’d been so puzzled by recently.
Grotkins glared at me. “Waddya mean, how do you use it? You pick it up and it either works for you or it doesn’t. Since you didn’t burn my shop down I take it you’re not meant to be a pyromancer.”
My heart sank. So that’s how it worked? If what Grotkins was saying was true... it meant no necromancy magic for me. Or fire magic for that matter. That was an outcome I couldn’t accept.
“There has to be a way.” I insisted. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the black spellheart.
Grotkins’ eyes widened.
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“Put that thing away!” Grotkins hissed as he rushed to the door, shutting it.
“Ishi!” Grotkins called, and wide-eyed elf girl who looked to be barely eighteen years old — if she were a human — appeared glancing between me and Grotkins. “I’m going to head in back with these two. Keep anyone who shows up to buy something busy until I’m back.”
Ishi silently nodded.
Sava looked at Grotkins curiously. “I wouldn’t expect a goblin to take in strays. Especially stray elves.”
Grotkins snorted derisively. “There are a lot of things you don’t know about goblins. We value family and rarely are our families bound by strictly by blood. Besides, the streets are no place for a child. I should know. I’m just taking care of her until she’s old enough to know what line she hatched from. Once she finds her feet she’ll be on her own.”
Sava nodded along. I stood there confused. Hatched from? I’d have to ask Sava to give me the birds-and-the-bees talk latter. I hadn’t even considered that reproduction might be different for elves than it was for humans. But I had more important questions for the moment.
“I’d gathered that these things were valuable from Sava, but do they really warrant hiding in your...” I glanced around the room trying to identify it. I failed. “Back here?”
“I take it you haven’t heard the queen’s latest decree?” Grotkins glanced back and forth between Sava and me. Sava shook her head.
“Well.” Grotkins continued. “Apparently she’s quadrupled the price on those things. They were already worth a dozen times a fire spellheart of equivalent size. Now they’re worth even more. On top of that, she’s made keeping them from the crown a minor crime, but if you turn one in you can earn a pardon for anything less than murder. In short, there’s a lot of people who’d be more than happy to steal one of those things, whether for the coin or the pardon, and you can’t go to the queen’s guards here in town for help if somebody decides to take it from you, since they’re illegal to hang on to in the first place. You can get arrested for having them anywhere except on the constables table when exchanging them for the reward. Silly elves don’t know you have to carry the darn things to the table to get them there…”
Zeal of the Mind and Flesh Page 12