Go North

As fun as a visit to the brothel sounded, you weren't about to risk your good standing with the First Enchanter on an unscheduled detour. The fear of ending up on Vivienne's bad side and never again getting to fuck her was motivation enough to keep you in line.

With that, you follow orders and head north toward Beaunoir. Unfortunately, Beaunoir is a bit farther than you originally thought and you find yourself with still a ways to go as night falls.

Before you know it, everything is pitch black. Wandering this darkened trail, you start to feel a creeping sense of dread as if someone or something was watching you.

"Oh yeah..." you smirk, suddenly remembering you're a mage. Kneeling down, you search the ground for a makeshift torch. Finding a branch of suitable length and girth, you make every hand gesture you know for conjuring fire. It takes a few tries but eventually you get the torch to ignite. Instantly, it’s warm light scours the area around you.

It's here that you're presented with the unfortunate fact that you're surrounded by bandits.

Panicked, you drop your torch and reach for your staff in self-defense, only to find it’s been stolen from your back as two of the bandits restrain you by grabbing hold of your arms.

“Well, well, well….look who’s out of his Circle.” one the bandit's snarls. You can only assume he’s the leader of this band of thieves judging by the way all the others are looking at him.

Stepping towards you, he plucks the coin purse from your belt. “Maker’s balls…” he curses, opening the bag and eyeing its rather sizable contents. “This mage is fucking loaded!

The bandits react excitedly, eager to soon be drinking and fucking whores with your money.

“Well, you’ve got my gold…” you try to bargain. “How's about letting me go?”

The bandit leader bursts into a fit of belly laughter before eventually, all his men join in.

“Don’t work like that, magey boy,” he says before drawing a sharp dagger from his belt.

You wriggle and squirm but the bandits hold you in place as their leader approaches you. You can’t believe this is how it’s going to end. Things were just starting to go right for you and now you’re going to be killed by some two-bit thieves.

Suddenly, your whole life is flashing before your eyes. Or at least the part where you were in Vivienne’s office and her lips were wrapped tightly around your prick. Pulling her mouth off your shaft, she rises to her feet before bending over her desk and inviting you to fuck her.

As fun as the near-**** fantasy is, you can't help but feel you probably should be dead by now.

You open your eyes to discover the bandit leader frozen in place. Suddenly, he falls dead to the ground, revealing an enormous axe embedded in his back. From the shadows, a giant beast with gray flesh and sharp horns emerges. The other bandits drop their weapons and flee in terror.

“C’mon!” the beast taunts the men as they scatter. “That the best you’ve got, you cowards?"

The beast chuckles as he saunters over to the fallen leader and retrieves his ax from his body.

As he wipes away a bit of the excess blood, you’re still not sure whether you’re out of the woods yet. It's possible this monster only stopped those bandits from killing you so he could have the pleasure of doing it himself.

Finally, the giant turns to you before giving a wry smile. “First time out of the Circle, my mage friend?”

"It is, actually," you whimper. "How could you tell?"

The horned man scoops the coin pouch from the ground. Weighing it in his giant hand for a moment, he tosses it back at your feet. "No smart traveler carries this much gold alone..."

“I'm starting to see that." you chuckle nervously. Picking the sack from off the ground, you gather up any loose pieces of gold before tying it back up and reattaching it to your belt.

“You’re just lucky I was passing through...” he smirks. “I really saved your ass.”

“You have my thanks, uh...” you pause, unsure what to call your new friend.

"The name's Iron Bull." the beasts growls, pounding his own chest.

“Well, Iron Bull." you laugh. “I’m not sure how I can ever repay you.”

“Tell you what…” the Bull smiles. “There’s an Inn a couple miles up the road with cheap ale and even cheaper women. Why don’t we head there now and lighten that coin purse of yours a bit?”