Introductions

It was a soft, comfortable morning when you awoke the next day. Martel was still in bed with you, stirring out of slumber himself. There was comfort in his presence. Though you had seen that most mortals, most of the time, could be trusted implicitly, this an explicit, vulnerable trust, in a vulnerable moment. Perhaps it was nothing to everyone else, you thought, merely what normal is or is supped to be. If so, you considered yourself blessed to have a taste of it. You brushed your hand through his bright red hair, hearing his soft moans. There was something about the simple moment that was arousing your spirit and your desire. Your other hand slipped down his chest, towards his groin. Gently wrapping your fingers around his shaft, he finally opened his eyes, smiling at you.

“Do you begin all of your mornings this way?”

“Hard to say” You said softly, smiling as your face drew closer to his “This is the first morning where I’ve found a man in my bed.”

“Lucky me than,” He lifted his head up to kiss your neck “is this going to be a regular thing, than?”

“Let’s just enjoy the moment for what it is, Martel” To seal the point, you leaned down and kissed him, lips to lips, tongue to tongue, your hand gently shifting up and down his morning erection. Soft moans filled the room. You felt Martel’s skilled hands on your skin, rubbing back and forth along your outer thigh, moving upwards towards your waist. Sliding across your ass, his fingers tried to dexterously part the way, to find their way to your pussy. It was a blind effort, and the young Elf seemed to lack the sexual experience to naturally intuit his way, which was fine with you.

Breaking the kiss, you lifted your body up till your arms locked, “I have an idea, since you’re so eager” Without another word, you lifted yourself up on all fours, taking the thin blanket with you, turning yourself about facing the far wall. Lowering yourself over him, your pussy hovered just inches over him, as you took hold of his wonderful cock.

“Well?” You asked teasingly, moving your hips side to side, knowing what he had talked about last night

“Wonderful idea” Martel grabbed your ass on both sides and pulled you down to his face, licking your wet folds slowly and gently. You paused what you were doing, arching your back as you relished the feeling of his tongue. Nobody had ever done this before for you.

“I’m going to need to make up for lost time” You said to yourself, biting your lip. That Martel had volunteered for it bode well for the future, should the two of you find the chance in the future. Focusing, you lowered yourself down, wrapping your lips around his throbbing cock, and went to work. Working from over made it easier to breathe than last night, and you found you could take more of his cock in your throat. Judging by the moans of your partner between your legs, that did just fine for him. The sound drew you in even further in your desire, wanting to provide as much pleasure as you could muster. Wrapping your thumb and index finger around his cock, just ahead your lips, you stroked his cock up and down as you sucked him.

Trying to match your increased fervor, Martel brought a hand in as well, gingerly touching and playing with your clitoris. Through your own fault, it was short lived, as the rush of pleasure drove you even further, pushing to take his entire cock. Voluntarily fucking your own throat with the head of his cock, Martel surrendered his effort, moaning loudly as you lost yourself in the pleasure you gave him. The sudden rush of feeling his cum fill your throat was addicting, though you weren’t ready for the immediacy of it or the amount, his precious seed spilling out of your mouth, dripping down his cock as you finished your work on him.

With a less dignified exit than when you got on top of him, you moved your body to the side, sitting up in the bed.

“Wow” Martel let out in understatement “That was amazing. I could get used to being your friend”

“I said before, this isn’t normal. I like you Martel, but don’t expect this to be a regular thing with us.” You gave a cheeky smile “At least, not just yet”

“I can work with that. Maybe one of these times I can repay the favor and finally let you cum too.”

“I’d like that, a lot actually.”

You both took a few quiet moments getting your breath, making yourselves decent for the day. There were a lot of errant looks at each other, focusing on how the other was getting dressed rather than themselves.

“I do have a question,” You finally broke the silence as you were both nearing completion of your task “You surely have plenty of other things to do, being a Pathfinder and everything. I’m thankful for your involvement, but I have to ask, why drop everything just to help me and my mission?”

“Well, you made a convincing case for it. Seems to me that if this play or whatever has been missing as long as it has, than it’s past due for someone to find it.”

“And, you know someone who can help me find it? And who’s willing?”

“Nope, I know someone is going to help us find it,” He took a few steps towards you and snuck in a kiss on the cheek “This is your quest, your mission, but I’m not letting you go it alone.”

“Just your glory than” You chided him playfully

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m hoping for that. There’s plenty of legends of daring, calculated generals and cunning swordsmen in great battles. Being the cultured hero who not only defeats the great horrors and evils of the world but is also a custodian and herald of the arts? Fewer people to compare against, plus everyone thinks you’re deep.” He replied with a jesting smile.

“I wouldn’t take anything from you though, or the guys I have in mind to come along. We succeed or fail as a team.”

“I’m afraid I have to ask Martel, do they feel the same way?” You inquired a slight concern “You’re doing a lot of speaking for them, before you’ve even spoken TO them.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, It’s a done deal.”

You pressed your lips together as you pushed your questions down. Martel could be overconfident at times, but you have yet to see him actually fail. Knowing more people than you, especially of an adventuring sort, and with a lack of better options, you conceded you don’t have much other choice. Redirecting for a hopeful prognosis, you asked a different set of questions.

“So, who are these fine heroes you’re hoping to rope into this?”

“You’ll see. So many questions.” He shook his head in an amused dismissal.

“This is my mission, Martel,” you began, standing, out of the bed “I don’t like the feeling that I’m about to be pushed into the background.”

“And you won’t, I promise.” He walked up slowly and reached for your hand, raising to his mouth to kiss them. “Trust me, it’ll be great. You’ll see when you meet them.”

“And where and when should that be?” You inquired.

“Gimme about two hours, and back at the tavern from last night”

“That sounds fine” You stewed in your malcontent quietly as you prepared for the adventure to come, with Martel having left to fulfill his obligation. You have no reason to actually doubt him, but you were still annoyed at his secrecy and insistence on keeping you in the dark. It reminded you a bit too much of home, you realized, where everyone was worried about possible betrayals. You were not immune to that either, it would seem. This wasn’t going to work long term, if you couldn’t talk with him candidly. Hopefully, you said to yourself, this was just a one off to show his capability and an over eagerness to keep you from worrying.

Having packed your sack with everything you think you’d need, and with plenty of time to spare, you decided to not waste time merely lounging at home or lurking in the tavern. There were better uses of your time. You navigated your way through the small city to where a number of the Shrines and Holy tributes were placed. Among them was Draenysis, the Fifth of Six Sisters. Goddess of the Halflings, she was the most humble and unassuming of the group, and her places of worship matched that. Simple, small shrines that could be built near anyplace in the world. A handy trait, you learned in retrospect, as she was also the Goddess of Luck and of Roads. Traders, adventurers, pilgrims, and more besides would often pray or make offerings at these shrines, often placed immediately inside or outside the periphery of a town. It seemed only prudent for you to do the same. Though the culture of your homeland had been antagonistic against most Gods, Varissa in particular, you couldn’t help but find yourself on the opposite spectrum, with a newfound respect and devotion to the divine that at times stopped just short of the clergy or the holy Champions.

You placed your hand on the stone shrine; shaped in an elliptical form, reminiscent of the upper half of a bird’s egg, placed on a larger wooden column. Closing your eyes, you made your heartfelt plea

“Draenysis, Fifth Sister, please hear my prayer. I thank you for leading me here, to this great city. I surely could not have escaped the Hunters who pursued me for daring to leave without your grace, and would not have found myself here without your blessed paths,” your mind paused on the chases you had, having seemingly lost your pursuers a few times before being regained. Their haunting hateful faces would be etched in your mind forever, as one of them was your own flesh and blood: your Father. It was only through sheer dumb luck, you reckoned, that you managed to pass by a veteran Pathfinder who had distracted them and fought them back, scurrying back to the depths. You were too timid and afraid of the people of the surface world to stay and thank them.

You pushed the painful image and memory down, focusing on the present moment, and a hopeful future “I go now on a mission to help find a treasure most prized by one of your fellow gods, Zrajil. I ask for your blessing of good luck and safe travels, that we might see a swift and successful end to our mission. And I humbly ask that I may find the Pathfinder who saved me, that I may at some point properly thank them.”

“___, he’s the best sleuth, investigator, and researcher I know. He’ll be up for this just for the challenge.” Martel replied eagerly, causing a slight smile of your own. Like does seem to attract like.

“He sounds a lot like you in that way. I’m sure he’s a good friend, and that absolutely sounds like the type of skills that we’ll need.”

Your prayer concluded, you opened your eyes to a sudden and nagging feeling of being watched. Turning, you saw your suspicion was correct, as a Halfling shopkeeper of the store the shrine was just in front of, had watched and presumably listened while sweeping the dust and dirt off the short set of stairs into her establishment. She was an elderly lady, the color long since gone from her hair, now matching the color your hair had always been. There was a tough spirit about her, unflinching and uncaring that she had been so obviously caught dropping eaves on you. Though the hard years had worn on her face, it couldn’t hide the warmth and kindness in her. She gave a slight smile with a nod of her head, as she paused from her work to put her left hand over her heart and make a slight bow. Feeling her quiet gesture of approval should be met in kind, you placed your hand over your own heart to mirror hers, before retracing your steps back towards the tavern. The silent conversation buoyed your spirit; whether it was the Fifth Sister’s blessing, or that smile of that old Halfling, the weight of your pack was as nothing.

It being early in the morning, the tavern was unusually dark, with only a few windows at the long end. This seemed a feature more than a mistake of the building’s construction, to help ease the patrons who suffered from their choice of excess of drink. A few such souls were found here, a distinctly different class of soul than Martel and those he brought along with him, just as he had promised.

“Margot, allow me to introduce you to my good friends, and the strapping heroes who help get to the bottom of the mystery,” Martel was all too proud to had come through on his word, and you allowed him his confident triumph. By appearances, they were all human men, of a comparatively similar age as you and him; just slightly into their adult years. Most striking to you though was that although they were clearly all different manner of professions by their wardrobe and outfitting, they were all decently handsome. You had to wonder to yourself what he may have said or promised to have their involvement, considering your scandalously intimate behavior with him in the past half of a day.

“Gents, may I introduce you to the most loving and beautiful Drow in all of T’sara, both inside and out, Miss Margot Mallekin”. You felt slightly embarrassed in his telling and the attention now on you, in a way that stage fright had never affected you, warm and flush in the face. “She’s already an accomplished performer, and has all the makings of a promising bard.”

Speaking on behalf of his friends, he pushed your back towards them to make introductions one by one. The first was a human, by appearance the most senior of the group. His brown hair was windswept, his green eyes showed a deep intensity, along with the creases underneath of long nights and hard time on the body “This is Doate, he’s the best sleuth, investigator, and researcher I know. Helped find and put a stop to a ring of smugglers running through the city. Trust me, he’ll be up for this just for the challenge.” Martel replied eagerly, causing a slight smile of your own. “Like does seem to attract like”, you thought

“He sounds a lot like you in that way,” Turning to the human directly, extending a hand “I think I’ve heard your name before, I’m sure we’ll grow to be good friends, and we’ll absolutely need a man of your skills.”

Turning to a man in a series of decorative robes, with small plates of armor around the major areas, his head covered in a simple white cloth. “This is Misha, all the way from the Northern half of Cygia. He’s a dedicated follower of Skolm, God of Writing and Memories. Not bad with a sword and shield either. In the unlikely event anyone may get in a jam, he’s the most sure one to get us out.”

“Thank you for helping” You bowed slightly with your handshake, out of a nervous sense of obligation “I have so many questions to ask you of the Gods.”

"I have good number for yourself as well, but all in good time" He replied. "This should be an enlightening journey for all of us. For the world, if we're successful"

"This rugged fellow is Kelmethorna, but everyone just calls him Kel," He patted the man's shoulder, which was sizable. He was at least full head taller than any of the others, and a good deal wider too. He was wild and unkempt in his appearance, and from the weapons you saw at his side, you imagined that applied to his fighting as well. Seeing the number of cuts or bruises in his flesh, you suspected that fighting was frequent and harsh "Comes from out West from Guragz. Don't let his stature or the scars fool you. He's really a sweet guy. Wouldn't hurt a flea"

"Unless the flea has it coming" Kel contradicted, with a quiet laugh from the group.

"Sure looks like you've had to deal with bigger problems than fleas". You remarked with an understated comment.

"Nothing I couldn't walk off. Better me than you, anyway. I was born ugly. Would hate to see such a beautiful thing like you get ruined." Your eyes went wide in surprise at his bluntness, especially in front of Martel, who likewise had a flustered reaction.

"Okay, that's enough of that" He practically shouted to end the conversation there. He practically shouted to end the conversation there. You couldn’t help but smile at the whole idea, and at seeing the group that the Elf assembled. Having met them, you could see how these men would be good friends of Martel, and why they would join along.

“Well, I just want to thank you all,” You began, feeling a sudden swell of emotion “I’m actually a little speechless. That you all would be willing to help, put yourself in harm’s way for someone like me,” You left your race and the challenges of your Drow heritage out of your lips, but was first in your mind “It’s unexpected. I couldn’t do this on my own, and I really appreciate you all being so willing.”

“Pathfinders don’t care who needs help” Doata spoke up for the first time “It’s in our charter. What matters is that we’re supporting the right cause. When this is all over it would be impossible for any soul to argue that you don’t belong as a Pathfinder yourself.”

“You’re both getting ahead of yourselves” Kel mentioned, pouring some cold water on the conversation “From what Martel told us, this is far from certain. Even if this play or whatever can be found, it’s not going to be easy for any of us, least of all you, young lady”

“Ever the optimist” Martel sarcastically quipped.

“Blind optimism gets people killed.” Kel sternly countered “Don’t get me wrong, I’m hopeful for the future. I want us all to succeed. Part of that is knowing what our odds really are.”

“Well, whatever those odds are, they’re not going to be any better waiting around here,” He sneaked a wink in your direction “With everything ready, might as well get going now”