Chapter 17 Once a Falcon
The sun rose over the eastern peaks. Its rays passed through a smattering of grey clouds. Aside from the stark surroundings, it was a pleasant morning. Despite having slept apparently peacefully during the night, David appeared exhausted when he awakened. His eyes were bloodshot and his skin was pallid. Weamar slowly surfaced from sleep, still tired but a lot better for the rest. Lynn woke up feeling a lot better. She removed her blindfold, pulled her hood back, and took a look at the mountains of madness for the first time. The blighted landscape spread about her but didn't seem to bother her. She felt through her ring and sensed Eliza faintly on the other side. The feeling filled her with hope and renewed strength. Lynn glanced at Marinae and Jonathan and seeing them together warmed her heart. Then she saw David and wanted to cheer him up. She took some food out of her pack and offered it to him."Good morning, David.", she said warmly, but avoided eye contact as she always did.
"Good morning, Lynn.", David replied. His voice was little more than a hoarse whisper. He took the offered food with his bandaged arm.
Lynn looked down at David's arm. She gasped slightly. "What happened?", she asked.
David's hands shook noticeably. "I, I'm not exactly certain."
"Did you fall?", Lynn asked. David shook his head.
Marinae spoke up. "Have you changed the dressing on that since last night?", she asked David.
"No, I haven't.", David replied.
"You've got a choice, then.", Marinae said. "Lynn can change it, or I can."
"You change it.", Lynn answered quickly. "I wouldn't know what to do."
"As often as we've been injured, you didn't learn it?", Marinae said jokingly.
"Seeing blood makes me queasy.", Lynn said apologetically.
"Got any whiskey or other alcohol?", Marinae asked David.
David reached into his pack and pulled out a small flask which he handed to Marinae.
"Excellent. I'll need to use a little of it to clean things off.", Marinae said, bringing her medical pouch over to him. "I don't suppose you have some leeches on you?"
David looked surprised at first, then he remembered Marinae's odd sense of humor. Marinae smiled and carefully unwrapped the bandages on David's hand. Running down the length of his forearm was a long cut which bisected several odd looking symbols. They bled a surprising amount for having been cut so shallow. As she pulled the wrapping away, some of the scab went with it and fresh blood oozed from the wounds. Lynn looked away.
"This is going to sting a good bit, David.", Marinae said holding the flask up. She then opened the flask, took a deep breath, and poured a little of the contents on his cuts. David grimaced but didn't flinch. He was used to feeling the sting of alcohol on his wounds. Marinae cleaned his arm as best she could, then wrapped a fresh bandage around it. Then she took a nip from the flask, winked impishly, and passed it back to him.
"What is that stuff?", Marinae asked, scrunching up her face. "Brandy?"
David put the flask back in his pack. "Something like that.", he replied.
Marinae continued, barely stopping for David's reply. "At any rate, I hate to waste it on this sort of thing."David nodded and wrapped his hand around his fresh bandages. "We should probably get moving.", he said, rising to his feet. The others agreed and they packed their gear and made ready for the trail.
As they walked Jonathan whispered to Marinae in elvish. "You have skilled and gentle hands."
Marinae smiled, pleased and somewhat flustered. "I don't think they're buying the inscrutable elf act, do you?", she said smiling.
"Nonsense, you're a consummate actress.", Jonathan assured her.
"Not so! Well, not last night.", Marinae replied.
David was exhausted. He trudged on without saying anything to anyone. In contrast, Lynn was happy and talkative all day. Weamar kept an eye peeled for the spirit, and kept an eye on David's mood as well. Marinae kept her eyes open, but didn't know what she was really looking for. When they took a break at midday, Jonathan spoke up.
"David, where did those marks on your arm come from?", Jonathan asked. "Not the new ones, I mean the ones on your other arm."
The young man seemed taken off guard by the question. He looked down at the scars on his arm. After an uncomfortable pause, he broke his silence.
"It was several years back in Falkovnia.", David began. "A few other resistance members and myself had come across a small farming settlement in an out of the way corner of the kingdom. There was no one there. The village was empty, or so we thought. We found a trail leading out of town. Many people had walked it in the last few days. Many people. A few miles out, we found a hole in the ground. It was about the size of a small home. Inside the hole were the bodies of the sixty or so people of the village. Those we could see bore wounds from blade and bullet. Burned into the ground in front of the hole was the symbol of the Falcon."
David touched the mark on his forehead. Marinae hissed in anger. Lynn was totally engrossed in the tale.
David continued. "We learned later that the village elder had refused to grant Lord Drakov his usual yearly tribute of grain. The Talons, the elite guard, were dispatched to deal with the situation. It was growing late. We couldn't travel in the pitch black, so my men and I returned to the abandoned village to find shelter. When I woke the next morning, I was standing over the pit and my arm was bleeding from these."
David ran a finger along his old scars.
"What do they say?", Lynn asked.
"I don't know.", David replied. "I've never seen them anywhere else."
Marinae looked at the scars. She had no idea what language they were in.
"I've seen them before.", Jonathan said quietly.
"Where? Can you read them?", Marinae asked.
"I don't know what they say.", Jonathan added. "But I know that they aren't good." Then Jonathan took a deep breath and said, "Kendra could tell you."
Silence fell over the group. Then Marinae somberly replied, "She certainly has her hand in quite a few pies."
David sighed and rose slowly to his feet. "Let's not stay here too much longer.", he said.
The mood of the afternoon's trek matched that of the morning. Eventually they come to an acceptable camp site. Luckily, the wind was not as fierce as it was the previous night. They made camp, ate, and set up watches. Night fell and Weamar, Marinae, and Jonathan slumbered while Lynn took the first watch. Even though he was exhausted, David couldn't sleep, and he sat against a rock, spinning an old lock pick across his knuckles.
"What are you going to do when this is all over?", David whispered to Lynn.
"Go back to our cottage in Dementlieu.", Lynn said wistfully.
"What's it like there?", David asked.
"It's wonderful.", Lynn answered. "We fixed up a little cottage in the countryside with a garden and a patch of wildflowers. In the summer it's warm and green. In the fall the leaves all turn beautiful colors. In the winters everything is white with snow. And it's cold, so we stay inside in front of the fire."
"It sounds like you were happy there.", David said.
"I didn't want to ever leave.", Lynn replied. "But Eliza wanted to see Marius again and so we returned to Sturben."
David paused, wondering whether he wanted to hear anything more about Lynn and Eliza. "How did you and she meet?", he asked hesitantly.
"In Sturben.", Lynn explained. "I had been hurt by some wolves and she healed my wounds. We fell in love."
David fell silent, still twirling his pick. Lynn's words felt like she had closed a door in his face. Of all the things he'd ever done in his life, letting her leave was the thing he regretted the most. Now he felt as if the fates were playing a cruel joke on him, dangling the woman who he'd never been able to forget in front of him but keeping her just out of his reach. He almost wished that Lynn had never come back into his life, instead remaining as he always remembered her, the most beautiful woman in the world…and one who loved him with all of her heart.
"She loves to hear me sing.", Lynn said in a sing-song voice. Then she remembered her promise to him. "I'll sing for you, anytime. Just ask."
David rested his head again the stone and looked up at the sky. "Would you sing for me now?", he asked.
"Yes.", Lynn said softly.
Lynn moved over and sat next to David against the rock. She turned her head towards him and began to sing a quiet, sad song about loneliness. Lynn's words filled the cool night air. The song was sad but it made the desolate land feel a little more like home. David sat quietly and listened. He kept watching the sky. The wet trail of a stray tear was reflected by the enchanted light of the glowing stones. It fell down his face from his good eye.
Lynn finished her song. "It's been a long time since I've done that.", she said. "I haven't felt like singing since Eliza..."
Lynn saw the tears in David's eyes and her heart went out to him. "I wish that we could share more.", she said softly. "But my heart belongs to another."
David wiped his face and whispered, "I know."
"Would you like to hear another?", Lynn asked.
David nodded and Lynn began another song, one about change, fear, and hope. David listened as though enthralled. He set down his lock pick and slowly curled his fingers around the hilt of the dagger at his side. Then, with a swift and silent motion, he brought the blade to Lynn's throat. Lynn stopped singing and her eyes opened wide. Wrapped around David's wrist, she could see the ghostly form of another hand. She quickly reached up and grabbed David's arm with both hands.
David trembled and whispered, "No. No. No. No." Faintly, as though from a great distance, Lynn heard another voice whisper. "Yes."
"Marinae!", Lynn shouted. "Help me!"
Marinae and Jonathan jumped awake and both looked towards Lynn. They saw David and Lynn sitting together against a large rock. David was holding his dagger to her throat and they could also make out the faint outline of a person holding David's wrist and whispering in his ear. Thinking quickly Marinae cast a spell at the spirit. The spirit fought back, but in the struggle it weakened its grip on David. David's eyes fluttered and the spirit shimmered and wavered for a moment. Then, with great effort, David opened his hand and the dagger fell into Lynn's lap.
Marinae glanced up at the spirit and saw two pinpoints of light flare where the thing's eyes were. Then it faded from sight with a hiss. David's eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped into unconsciousness. Lynn set him down gently.
"What happened?", Marinae asked walking over and kneeling next to her.
"I was singing to him.", Lynn explained, still shaken from the ordeal. "One moment he was fine and the next he had a knife at my throat."
"I wonder if his ghost was what made him black out at that village?", Marinae wondered out loud. "He didn't seem conscious, did he?"
"He did.", Lynn said. "I feel that that part of him was the only thing that held him back."
Weamar was slowly waking himself up. He stumbled to his feet, grabbed his sword, and looked around but saw nothing.
"Our friend was just here.", Marinae explained. Weamar nodded and sat down on a nearby rock, rubbing his eyes.
"I know what that was.", Jonathan said sitting down next to Marinae. "It was the spirit of a dead man. Whoever it was, in life they must have hated him a great deal. So much so that they would strike a deal with who knows what lower power to be granted the secrets of those symbols."
"Wonderful.", Marinae moaned.
Lynn shrunk away from David's sleeping body.
"But we can change them.", Jonathan said. "Deface the symbols and they may lose their power."
"Change?", Marinae replied. "How? You mean carve on him some more?"
"Yes!", Jonathan said in a half-ecstatic, half-exasperated tone. Kiri was finding it hard to stay in character. "It's sooo obvious. How could Marinae be so stupid?", she thought to herself. Kiri vowed to do something nasty to her the next time they were alone together.
"Do we wait until he wakes up?", Marinae asked. "I've got his dagger."
Jonathan swallowed hard and relaxed. "I don't want to wait until he wakes up.", he said calmly.
Weamar fetched some rope and they tied David up.
"Adventure, excitement, ghosts, werewolves, vicious little talking lizards, evil oozes. Yeah, why not graffiti, too?", Marinae complained in her sarcastic style.
"Lizards?", Jonathan asked.
"Kobolds.", Marinae explained. "We had to go into this cave. They weren't very happy to see us. One of the little creeps put a hole in my boot with his pike."
Lynn couldn't watch. She stood on the far side of the camp and looked the other way as Marinae cradled David's head in her lap. Lynn put her hand on her katana and tried not to think about what was happening. Instead she stood guard, listening and watching all around her.
"We just need to change the symbols.", Jonathan said. "Add some lines and stuff."
Weamar tied David up as best he could and held his arms in place in case he woke up. Marinae handed Jonathan the dagger and he began making random shallow cuts on each of the fresh symbols. Soon the markings were unrecognizable. Surprisingly, David remained unconscious for the entire ordeal.
Jonathan wiped the blood from the blade. "Hopefully that will help him.", he said with less confidence than the others would have liked.
Lynn hoped that David would be alright. She kept looking and listening for the thing that was controlling him. She didn't see or hear anything but a chill ran over her spine that raised the hairs at the back of her neck. She wondered if she was being watched or if it was just the wind. Lynn closed her eyes and saw the campsite in her mind.
Jonathan stood close to Marinae and asked, "Perhaps we should bind him just to be safe?"
"Good idea.", Marinae replied, and they got to work tying up David's arms.
As she focused her thoughts away from her sense of sight, Lynn's other four senses were magnified. The aggregate image in her mind gave her a feeling of something out of place on a boulder that overlooked the camp. Lynn concentrated on it. The breeze that flowed from the spot was colder and the sound around it was distorted in a subtle fashion.
"Marinae.", Lynn whispered.
"Yes?", Marinae whispered back.
"The boulder overlooking the camp.", Lynn whispered to her. "I sense something weird about it."
"There's something weird everywhere we go.", Marinae mused. "Times like this I wish I were a priestess or something."
"I feel that it's hiding there.", Lynn added.
Marinae looked at the boulder as if she was just looking around while getting David's arms where she could wrap a bit of rope around them. She saw nothing out of place.
"I see nothing.", Marinae replied.
Lynn sighed and kept concentrating on the camp.
Jonathan closed his eyes and whispered an incantation. He glanced where Lynn indicated. "It's there.", he said quietly.
Marinae frowned and cast the same spell. Kneeling on the boulder she saw the shimmering form of a young man. The air around him glowed with tainted energy. His eyes, filled with constant rage, flitted between David and Lynn. The only other oddity was the gaping stab wound in his abdomen. The blood oozed forth at a steady pace. It too was laced with necromantic magic. Marinae gasped.
"Shit! I see him!", Marinae hissed, then she described the young man.
David stirred and pulled at his bindings. From his position on the ground, he couldn't see anyone. "What's going on? What happened? Why am I...", he called out. "Oh gods, no. What did I do?"
Marinae and Jonathan could see that the ghostly fellow on the boulder was enjoying David's confusion and distress a great deal.
"He's laughing at you. Right now.", Marinae told David.
David twisted around and was relieved to find Lynn well.
"We're hoping that altering the marks on your arms will deny him power over you.", Marinae tried to reassure him.
"I can't see him.", Lynn said, hoping to draw the ghost to her. "I can't see anything."
The phantom watched Lynn for a moment before sliding down the boulder and approaching her. Lynn readied herself, but she didn't know what for. She wondered if her katana would even hurt the phantom. Then she felt another chill across her skin. The sensation felt like a hand gripping her throat. She heard a faint whisper.
"I've waited this long. I can wait longer.", the deathly cold voice hissed at Lynn. "I can wait until there are no friends to save him. I can wait until there are no wards to protect you. I can wait."
Lynn was shaken, but not enough to stop her from doing what she felt she had to do. She drew her katana and slashed at the thing. As she did so the vague form of a man shimmered and glowed as her blade passed through it. A mocking laughter filled the camp.
"Your sword can't get to me anymore, little girl.", the spirit howled.
Marinae maneuvered so that Lynn wasn't between her and the spirit. Then she threw forth her hands and summoned her favorite enchantment. Several spheres of light streaked from her hands towards the ghostly man. They made contact just as Lynn slashed at it again. The missiles exploded in a flash and arcs of energy raced along Lynn's blade. The man cried out in pain and a baleful howl rang in Lynn's ears as the spirit fled into the night.
Lynn gasped and steadied herself. "Is it gone?", she asked.
"Yes. Wow.", Marinae said. Then she realized what she just said and glanced at Jonathan to see his reaction.
Jonathan stared at Marinae with his eyes wide open in shock. Marinae started laughing.
"I've been living among non-elves for too long.", Marinae said, trying to stop herself from laughing but failing. "You should see your expression!"
Jonathan looked frazzled and confused.
"In human languages, it's an expression of surprise, amazement, that sort of thing.", Marinae explained.
"It works.", Jonathan replied.
"Indeed it does.", Marinae said with an innocent smile, pretending there was no subtle double meaning an elf would pick up on.
Weamar sat down and took some food out of his pack. He offered some to David who found a way to eat it despite being tied up.
"I didn't hurt her, did I?", David asked in a concerned whisper.
"No, not quite.", Weamar consoled him. David lay quietly as Weamar told him what happened. David was horrified.
Lynn kept her eyes closed until she was satisfied that the spirit wasn't coming back. Then she went back into the camp and sat down next to David. "It's gone.", she said.
David looked down at his tied hands. "I'm sorry.", he said, full of shame.
"It wasn't you.", Lynn replied, surprisingly calm. "It was the thing."
"Still, I almost killed you. I don't know what I'd do if...", David let the sentence die on his lips.
"You wouldn't.", Lynn said confidently. "I could feel it."
"So, more dancing lessons?", Jonathan said to Marinae quietly with a grin.
Marinae smiled and nodded. Jonathan cuddled Marinae and blew into her ear. Marinae shivered as a thrill ran down her spine.
"I want you.", Jonathan said breathlessly. "I can't stop thinking about you."
"I find myself likewise afflicted.", Marinae said in a poetic courtly manner. Then grinned widely. "That sounded better than 'me, too'."
"Let's find a place to dance.", Marinae added breathlessly.
Jonathan took Marinae by the hand and looked around for a quiet spot.
"Going for a, walk. Fresh air and all that.", Marinae said to the others with a polite cough.
Marinae managed a nod at Weamar before Johnny dragged her offstage. Once behind a large rock, Jonathan held Marinae tightly, running his hand through her hair and kissing her with barely controlled passion.
David looked sidelong at Lynn and then spoke to Weamar. "I want you to hold my weapons until we reach the tomb."
"Okay, though I think it might leave us alone now it knows that we can hurt it.", Weamar suggested.
"It may be more cautious but I don't believe it will be so easily deterred.", David replied.
"Aye, but if it can convince you to do things you wouldn't normally, who should hold my weapons?", Weamar asked.
"You don't have any marks.", Lynn said matter-of-factly.
"I presume David didn't originally, either.", Weamar pointed out.
Lynn paused. She knew that Weamar was right. They might all end up with marks like David's by tomorrow.
When they got behind the boulder Jonathan's hands were all over Marinae. He was burning with desire and he pulled at her clothes to undress her as quickly as he could. Marinae peeled him naked in return and practically tackled him. When she was undressed Jonathan took a long look at Marinae's nude body.
"I've waited all day to see you like this again.", Jonathan said smiling.
"I've been naked all day long, under my clothes.", Marinae quipped. Jonathan laughed.
"There's something that I...", Jonathan began, then he hesitated.
"Yes?", Marinae replied desirously. She moved closer to him and started to slow-dance, skin-on-skin.
"You're so beautiful.", Jonathan said quickly. Then he paused again. "Please don't be offended."
"I'm the 'black sheep', remember?", Marinae smiled. "Tell me."
"Is it okay if I put it in your mouth?", Jonathan said cringing a little.
"Was it just you with the marks?", Lynn asked David. "Or did all the men have them?"
David seemed a bit uncomfortable when asked that question. "Only me.", he answered."So maybe we're safe.", Lynn said. But she didn't seem serious enough to comfort David or Weamar.
"What did it say to you?", David asked her.
"It said that it could wait.", Lynn replied. "That its waited a long time and it could wait longer." Lynn thought to herself for a moment, then thought out loud. "Maybe it was someone that you killed."
David frowned and without any humor, said, "That doesn't really narrow the field all that much. But why would it want to harm you, if only I wronged it."
"Because that would hurt you in return.", Weamar answered.
David nodded. "Yes, it would."
"It laughed when it saw you tied up.", Lynn explained. "It enjoys making you suffer."
"Maybe it's right to.", David admitted.
"Don't be silly. You're right to fight against Drakov.", Lynn consoled him.
"Against Drakov, yes.", David answered. "In war, however, not everyone who dies is a soldier."
"Did you...", Lynn asked, then she lowered her voice. "Did you ever do anything, you don't feel good about?"
David matched her tone and answered, "To put it mildly, yes."
Lynn wondered whether she wanted David to tell her about it. Then she decided that she wanted to know, whatever it was.
"Was it, bad?", Lynn whispered.
David nodded. "Yes. I never told you how I came to join the resistance did I?"
"Tell us.", Lynn replied, hoping that it wouldn't be as bad as David seemed to feel but fearing that it was worse.
Marinae was relieved. She was half expecting Jonathan to ask for something bad. She looked him in the eye for a moment to tease him, then, continuing to dance, moved down, down, down and then gave his cock a long lick.
"Oh, oh yes.", Jonathan said, filled with a mixture of relief and pleasure.
"I should warn you, though, I'm going to want some in return!", Marinae said as she started going down on him.
"Oh yes. I'll do whatever you want. Mmmm.", Jonathan moaned with pleasure.
Jonathan started moving back and forth in and out of Marinae's mouth slowly. Marinae tried to remember the things she learned hanging out with the girls back home. Sex was a subject that didn't come up when she was in mage school and she regretted not knowing more. Jonathan tried to push himself all the way in to her but he was too big and Marinae had to back away to keep herself from gagging.
"So I'm doing it right?", Marinae said hopefully.
Jonathan caressed Marinae's face. "I think so. It feels really good."
Kiri frowned as Marinae got back to work. "Pbbbt. You stink.", she thought to herself. She'd had a lot better, but she didn't mind so much. She kept thinking about her evil plan to humiliate Marinae.
Jonathan gasped in pleasure and held Marinae's head tightly, trying to push in a little too far once more. Marinae gagged again and pulled away, but she kept working his large cock. She brought him up to the edge a few times, but always held off to let the tension build. Then Marinae took him deep into her mouth again. Kiri smiled and decided that the time was right. As Marinae took him up to the edge Jonathan suddenly grasped her tightly. With a groan he started to cum down Marinae's throat. Then just as suddenly he let go and pulled himself out of Marinae.
"Oh shit, oh shit.", Jonathan said as he spurted cum all over Marinae's face, her neck, and the ground. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry.", he moaned. Kiri could barely keep herself from laughing.
Marinae didn't want to hurt Jonathan's feelings, so she just giggled. "I think we both need practice, and um, towels."
Marinae fished her underwear over to herself and cleaned herself up a bit.
Kiri couldn't control herself any longer and so Jonathan started giggling as well. He pulled a handkerchief out of his clothes and helped Marinae clean up.
"This is not a story we can tell out grandchildren, you know.", Marinae confessed.
Jonathan smiled, and Kiri wondered what other things she could get away with.
"For years I've tried to shut out that time. After I left my village, I joined the Falkovnian military." David braced for the reaction to that admission, expecting the worst.
"Oh no.", Lynn said softly. "You didn't."
Weamar raised his eyebrows in mild surprise at David's remark.
"I had nowhere else to go.", David confessed. "I was shunned by the others and I couldn't stay. I needed money and I believed that I needed to be toughened up."
Lynn felt a wave of guilt move through her. She felt that it was all because of her. "I understand.", she said with a hint of shame.
"I signed the papers and underwent training. Eventually I was assigned to an active unit.", David continued as Lynn listened quietly. "At first it was easy, simple things. We patrolled the major roads and kept them clear of wild animals. Then we received new orders. We were to collect overdue taxes owed by a farmer in one of the outlying communities. He'd already paid every copper piece that he had but that didn't matter. We were to extract payment in whatever way possible."
Lynn looked away for a moment, then turned back. She wanted to hear the whole story, no matter how bad it was.
"I stayed towards the backed and watched while some of the older soldiers dragged the farmer's daughters and wife into the room and forced them over the kitchen table. The man tried to fight but my captain held a knife to his throat. He made the man watch as the soldiers, as they..." David swallowed, unable to finish the sentence. Then he added, "I couldn't watch anymore and I ran out the door."
"But you didn't do anything bad.", Lynn said.
David hesitated and continued. "I was confronted by the farmer's son. I don't think he was much older than sixteen. He stared at me while the sounds of vulgar brutality came from his home.", David said, his voice shaking. Lynn swallowed hard as David told the rest of the tale. "He just stared at me for moment. Without warning, he charged, brandishing a small knife. What came next is a bit bleary. It was all reflex, I did as I was trained. Before I could even blink, the boy was on the ground. My sword was still in his stomach. He died. Later, my captain found me there. I was still standing over the then cool body. He pulled my blade from the boy and handed it to me. 'Job well done, lad. You'll make a fine Talon, yet.', he said to me."
Lynn was silent for a long moment. "But it's like you said.", she said, trying to find an explanation. "You did as you were trained."
"I chose to accept the training.", David said, resisting the urge to wash his hands of what he'd done. "I chose to follow along to that farmhouse. I chose to do nothing while those soldiers had their way with the women."
"What's the penalty for desertion from the Talons?", Weamar asked.
David looked to Weamar. "Depending on the circumstances the best one could hope for would be summary execution. The worst, well, Lord Drakov can be very creative."
Once the last of the elf-goo was cleaned up, Marinae jumped on Jonathan and took him to the ground.
"Is it my turn?", Marinae grinned.
"What do I do?", Jonathan asked.
"You're fine where you are.", Marinae replied, easing herself back a little, straddling Jonathan. Then she reached behind her to guide him inside and slowly began moving up and down on him. "This time you're not going anywhere, lover."
"Ohhhh, yes.", Jonathan moaned. He ran his hands over Marinae's waist and breasts. "I want to do this all night long. You're wonderful."
Marinae made little moans, sighs and gasps and looked forward to the day when she didn't have to keep so quiet. "When, oooh, I retire from all this adventuring, ahh, we're going to open an inn, unh, our own little room, ohh, soundproofed."
Jonathan rubbed Marinae's breasts and her back and watched her as she rode him.
"Just think, mmmm, in the winter months, ahh, few travelers on the roads, oh yes, plenty of rooms for this, unh, taproom, ohh, root cellar, ooo, attic, unh, on the hearth next to the fireplace.", Marinae continued. "Just don't let me drink too much ale."
"Mmmm, by a warm roaring fire.", Jonathan added.
"We'll, OH!!, make our, ah, own fire, unh, I can't talk!", Marinae moved faster and faster.
"Oh, fuck me, fuck me, fuck me, fuck me, fuck me.", Jonathan whispered in Marinae's ear. Kiri was impressed. Marinae was getting better. Kiri now rated her as a better than okay fuck.
Marinae held on to Jonathan frantically, and was never more happy that her legs were in good shape. Jonathan held Marinae close as she went crazy on top of him. Marinae tried to gauge Jonathan's approaching climax, feeling her own building, but Jonathan didn't seem to be near the edge. Marinae slowed down a bit.
Jonathan traced Marinae's lower lip with his thumb. "Kiss me."
Marinae did so, slowly, deeply, and passionately.
"I adore you.", Jonathan said. "Do you love me?"
Marinae looked into his eyes for a long moment "Yes.", she answered with all of her heart.
Jonathan rolled Marinae over onto her back as she squeaked with delight. "My turn again.", Jonathan said playfully. Then he scooped Marinae's legs up with his arms and thrust himself deeply inside her.
"Nonetheless, even if it would have cost my life, I should have done something, anything more.", David said with conviction.
"And you have.", Weamar replied, trying to keep David from feeling so guilty for things that were out of his control. "There was nothing you could have done to save the women that night, and I doubt the boy would have lived either."
"We all make mistakes.", Lynn consoled David. "You're making up for yours."David became quiet and stared at the barren earth. After a long pause he spoke again. "Once we retrieve the hands, I'm going back to Silbervas. I've ignored my responsibilities there for too long."
Lynn sighed. One side of her wanted everything to go back to being how it was, but another side of her was enjoying the sweet sorrow of their journey. She began singing a quiet lullaby. David's eyes grew heavy and he began to fall asleep. Just before slipping into unconsciousness, David whispered, "You're an angel." Then gravity took control and as David's body slumped and his head fell to rest on Lynn's shoulder. Lynn's heart beat a little quicker, and then she gently placed David's head against the rock and kept singing softly to him. She imagined she was in the cottage again, singing to David as he lay peacefully by the fire. She knew that he would be safe there with her and Eliza to protect him. She felt that if she brought him happiness that she could keep the spirit away forever.
Jonathan thrust hard and then gently. His face was full of pleasure and joy. "Oh, Marinae. Oh, Marinae.", he moaned.
It was music to Marinae's pointed ears. "Now I know what people mean when they say that hearing one's name whispered by a lover is like a symphony.", she thought to herself.
Marinae relaxed and let Jonathan set the pace. Jonathan went faster, then slower, then faster again. He was almost too big for her, but he felt so good inside her that Marinae didn't care. Then he started thrusting faster and faster until he could hold out no longer.
"I'm not going to last all night.", Jonathan said apologetically as he felt himself starting to cum.
"You don't need to.", Marinae assured him.
Jonathan held Marinae tightly, and thrust into her hard as he groaned with pleasure. Marinae had been holding herself back for the moment and let herself go completely. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and held on. The both quivered and moaned for what seemed like ages. Then, completely satisfied, they embraced each other and spent the night in each other's arms.