A fortune in gemstones

"Wait, don't do this." Her voice comes out in short gasps as you continue to kiss the sensitive skin on the side of her neck. You pause briefly expecting her to offer you her slaves to fuck. It would be a nice gesture on any other day, but on the day that her city's gates are breached, you don't want a just a ****.

"I can pay for my passage." She gasps softly as she tries to pull away from you.

"I told you already," your hard cock feels great against her ass and her wiggling only adds to your pleasure, "That chest with all those coins just weigh too much. Your only hope now is that you'll be a good enough fuck for me to want to take with me when I fly out of this cursed city." It would be good to leave Athenapolis with at least something of value, and a pretty young noblewoman fresh from the fallen city should be worth a fair bit of coin, especially if you fly her to Helios.

"No! I have something else." This time she is able to twist in your arms until she is facing you with her arms wedged in between your bodies to give her a little space. "I can pay for my passage with gems. They're small and light, so that would work right?" As much as you hate to, you pull back a little in a token of good faith. Why in Hades didn't she start with that offer?

As you watch Relia reaches into her tunic and pulls up a small pouch that must have been dangling between her breasts. Holding your hand in hers she pours out just some the contents of the sack out into your palm. Five or six perfectly cut gemstones glitter in the sunlight streaming in from the window.

Two clear blue-white diamond, a teardrop ruby, a dark blue sapphire and a square cut emerald almost as big as the tip of your little finger are clustered together like candies in a jar and the bag is still more than half full - damn. That one bag might have as much value as the entire chest of gold and silver, all for the weight of a small orange.

"Is this be enough to convince you that I'm serious, Rider?" There her eyes are wide with fear, and you realize that these jewels are her hope for the future. She must really need to get away from the city, although if you demand all of the bag she'll have to find a way to support herself in here new life. You wonder how many days she could get by before she'd have to give up her precious body to pay for food or a place to stay. If you left her a few of the cut stones she might be able to put it off for a month or two, but eventually a noblewoman like her with no income, no family, no skills and no influence will end up on her back. She might do better to be sold as a **** here in Athenapolis. Still, the gemstones in that bag are a fair price to pay for her safety.

"All right, Lady Kiriakolis," You release the trembling woman as you wrap your fingers around the hard jewels in your fist. "I will keep this as a deposit and take you with me out of Athenapolis when I leave. Once we are out from under the coverage of the United Armies high wings, in exchange for the rest of those pretty stones, I can either fly you to a nearby city, or land you in the foothills to the west and let you make your way back to your Lord Marshal." Instead of thanking you for saving her, Lady Relia shakes her head firmly.

"No Rider, it would take too long for me to make by way back on foot." Most women would be terrified of being dropped off in the middle of the wilderness, but instead of worrying about rough terrain, lack of food and water, beasts, and the bands of outlaws that roam those untamed lands Relia is concerned about her timeline. Her fingers clench tightly around the pouch, "Once you've brought me to see the Lord Marshal, you can have them the rest, and more from him if you still aren't satisfied." Staring at the noblewoman in surprise you wonder if she's even considered the possibility that you might just take the pouch by ****? You watch her carefully return the leather pouch back to its home between her breasts shaking your head sadly.

Free-Riders are known to be scoundrels with questionable morals. You've certainly done your share of looting and pillaging and have even captured your share of free-women to be handed over and sold into slavery, but you are not a thief. One of the most fundamental pillars in your own personal code of honor is that if people treat you fairly, then you do the same.

"I can't risk it, Lady Kiriakolis." You turn away from the noblewoman and wander back to check the status of the drake-wires that block any chance of your escape. The South tower wires are down already, you see the drakes circling down as their Riders pick likely target to raid, but over your part of the city the wires are still present. You're not going anywhere, not yet anyway. "You seem to believe that the Lord Marshal will welcome you and the information you have for him, but remember that less than a month ago I was defending Athenapolis from his forces. I shot at his drakes, I may have even killed some of his Riders, if I am taken by the United Armies, all my possessions including Swiftwing, my gear and these-" you wave the fist clenching the gems under her nose "-will be taken from me."

You can see organized groups of hoplites moving deeper into the city and perhaps even more worrisome, gangs of mercenaries are advancing well ahead of the regular lines looking for plunder on their own. It's going to be a close thing, but in a way that helps make you make up your mind. Turning back to Lady Relia you offer her a compromise.

"I'll take you with me when the drake-wires fall. If I have a clear shot to the mountains, I'm taking it and once I know I'm clear I'll circle back with you as close as I can." You see Relia's eyes narrow and offer her a small bit of hope, "However, if the bastards stay above me I'll fly you to the United Armies camp like a good boy and hope to Hades that you are right about your news." You see Lady Relia weigh the odds and come to the conclusion that this is the best she can hope for. Before she agrees you add one more condition to your offer.

"I'll need one more thing to seal the deal." You grin wolfishly. "If I'm going to die, I don't want to cross the river Styx with blue balls." Judging by Lady Relia's puzzled expression, it is clear she's never heard that expression so you spell it out for her.

"I haven't had sex in almost two weeks; I need some pussy, and I need it now."