Out in the City

Morning arrived once more; bleary eyed and feeling something soft filling my palm, I breathed in the scent of Opal’s hair before at last finally forcing my eyelids upright. As the drowsiness of rest begins to clear from my mind, I see that the item that is filling my palm is in fact Opal’s left breast. Embarrassed, I quickly release my grip and sit up in the bed, noticing that we are both in our naked glory. I hear the soft breathing of the woman besides me, her chest slowly rising and falling as she lays on her front, my morning stiffness brushing against her rear cheeks as the flood of memory from last night engulfs me.

Opal stirs and turns herself over, displaying the impressive chest that I had been gripping in my sleep. She smiles at me and sidles her body closer to mine, “Morning Aucus” she says with a grin, her bare thigh brushing against my morning glory, “Last night was… wonderful” she adds as she plants a kiss on my lips.

Unsure where to place my hands on her body to push her back, I decide on her shoulders and gently make her retreat from my lips. The taste of her mouth still on me, I look at her for a moment before speaking, “It was, goddesses it was” I say, her thigh teasingly rubbing against me, “We shouldn’t though, not again. I want to, I do. But…” I trail off as I see her looking at me with those pale blue eyes.

“Aucus, it’s okay. I’m not going to be hurt if you don’t want to fuck me… no matter how much I want you to” she whispers into my ear, giving me another kiss on my cheek. She sits up, with her legs hanging over the side of the bed, her back turned to me as my eyes lower to the two cushions that her body rests upon. She reaches to pick up her undergarments, covering her assets from my view as she continues “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop trying, I’ll wear you down eventually”, she tilts her head and gives me a wink

I swallow and nod my head to her, seeing her getting dressed, I think that the time for me to make a mistake has passed. I get out of bed as well, Opal’s eyes following my nude state as I blush and extract a fresh pair of undergarments from the chest of drawers that I had been using. As I cover my lower half, Opal reaches for her dress and I find my clothes on the floor, the two of us getting dressed together.

At last, we are both clothed, though what Opal wears leaves very little to the imagination. I reach for the door handle but pause before I touch it, I glance back to Opal “They’re going to be out there, aren’t they?” I say, thinking of that morning yesterday where Korin and Bella saw us.

The older woman smiles and nods her head “Probably, you really don’t need to be embarrassed” she says and gives me another kiss. I stop in shock, melting into the pleasure for a moment before parting and taking a gasp of air

“Right, let’s get it over with then” I sigh, glancing back at her one more time before twisting the door handle

Only Bella is sat in the lounge area as we exit, she raises her eyebrows with a smirk as she turns her head towards the sound of the opening door, “You two have a good night again?” she asks, closing the book that she had been reading

“Ahem… uh… Yeah it was… good” I mutter to her amusement

The door to Korin’s room slams open, his eyes piercing into my red cheeks then to Opal’s dress. He examines us for a moment before turning to Bella, “Damnit woman, why won’t you come to my bed?! Why’s the little runt the one that gets all the fun in this place” he demands to know before turning to me “No offence lad” he adds in a far calmer voice

Bella looks at him and rolls her eyes before and speaking in a playfully scornful voice, “Oh little man, I just care about you too much to give you a heart attack” she teases. Relieved that their focus has moved from me, I quickly try to change the subject.

“So what are we doing today? More training? The test is tomorrow”

Bella frowns at me for a moment before sighing and responding, “Yes, I suppose Cothin wouldn’t mind training you some more. He did mention how much he enjoyed beating two sorry excuses for adventurers yesterday” she chuckles as Korin starts to say something in objection

Opal speaks up, “And once you’ve finished, I want you to find me” she looks at me, my face turning red as I imagine what she would want with me after my training, “Oh relax, I’m just going to take you into the city and show you around”

“Right, yeah of course” I say, trying to sound more confident about it than I feel. “Well, I’m ready to start training” I look at Korin still sidling over to Bella, “If you don’t have anything else planned that is” I say to his grumbling

The training with Cothin was much the same as the previous day, having had little opportunity to improve since my previous beating. Cothin wielded his blade like an artist, gliding through stances regardless of the weight of his armour as the flat of the blade slammed into my ribs, into my thighs, into my wrists, and leaving me as a bruised and bleeding wreck. The shining piece of metal slammed into my wrist once more, Cothin gave me an impressed look when I managed to maintain my hold on my sword. Finally came Korin’s turn, the old man sighed when the dwarf showed the same lack of desire to protect himself from the blows. This time however, when Cothin’s sword began to dance, Korin was able to evade the first few flurries before the adventurer changed his technique and began to elicit laughter from the short, red-haired mad man as he beat him bloody.

Opal came outside and sat beside me on the bench as I wallowed in my agony, watching Korin’s punishment. “Poor boy” she said, looking at my wounds and stroking my hair, “We’ll get you to Bella and she can work her magic on you” she adds, her hand twirling my locks of hair with a finger. Too exhausted from my beating to react, I simply nod my head and grunt in response.

Opal leads me into the grand chamber of the temple, where Bella is sat at a table with an obsidian haired elf, by her sharp and seemingly delicate features I can tell that she is a full-blooded elf. “…ing me out west, said she wants a hundred of us. Something’s happening out there” I hear the last lines of their conversation as Opal pulls me by my hand

“Mylaeria, are you off again?” Opal asks, seemingly happy to see the elf, though her chest hardly measures up to Opal’s, the way her clothes and armour cling to her body though seems to make her smaller curves seem more impressive.

The elf nods to her, “Yeah, Royal contract” she says, as though that explains it all, “This Sephi’s kid?” she asks, tilting her head towards me

“Yeah, this is Aucus” she says smiling as she gives me a gentle push forwards, “speaking of which, Bella? Do you mind?” she adds as she gestures to my wounds

Bella nods her head as she rises from her seat and lays her hands on my wounds, I feel a warmness spreading through my body as the pain subsides and my strength returns. I let out a quiet gasp at the sensation “Ah- thank you Bella” I say as the swells lose their colour and the cuts begin to scab over.

The woman nods her head to me, “Aucus, this is Mylaeria. She kind of trained us when we became adventurers, your mother as well” Bella mentions. She sits back down; the effort of healing apparently having taken something out of her “She’s older than she looks” she adds as she sees the doubt in my eyes

“Hi, nice to meet you. Sorry, my mother didn’t tell me a whole lot about her time as an adventurer”, I give her a little wave, the muscles in my arms beginning to relax

She simply nods her head again, “That is okay”, clearly not a woman of many words. Korin comes in during our conversation, a wide grin across his face as the red hair of his beard hides the blood that trickles into it.

“Bella, a little help if you don’t mind” he says loudly, glancing at the elf with suspicion

“I’m all out, try me later” she says with a smile as she looks at the dwarf’s pain, though it is hidden beneath his smile

“Well then” he declares as he claps his hands together and sits next to Bella, “Ah suppose I’ll just have to wait with you until you’re ready. Sorry Opal, you’ll just have to show the lad the city be ya-self” he says, grinning at Bella. She rolls her eyes

Showing little disappointment, Opal took me into the city. Wearing the most modest dress that I had seen her in, a blue dress that did not show any cleavage and fell beneath her knees, it seemed to be made of a cheaper material than the others she had worn. I suppose that her usual attire may attract unwanted attention during our trip into the city.

The tour began with the market, an expansive array of stalls and buildings, displaying everything from clothes to foods, from time pieces to carpets, the buildings of master craftsmen billowing smoke as forges burn and lights pouring from the windows as they focus on the more intricate details. The people mill around, chattering and bellowing their prices and deals as shoulders shove me from side to side, the dashing of orphans as they run below the crowd reappropriating the purses of unwitting customers. Following the display of the main market plaza, Opal took me to the adventurer’s market, where more rugged and worn customers browsed the weapons, armours, potions, and magical artifacts that would help them in their contracts. I couldn’t help but look in awe at the steel and leather that made up the bulk of merchandise, there was no doubt that the children from the main market would not dare to attempt a robbery on these customers.

Following the hustle and bustle of the markets, I was then escorted to a hill decorated with the few trees that could be found in the city, an assortment of flowers and water features were strewn across the landscape, and a bench was placed atop the peak. As we sat and gazed at the expanse beneath us, Opal pointed out the landmarks to me. The shining gold and white marble of the Temple of Soras, the dark stone of the Temple of Tallaque, and the circular building of the Temple of Cleonora topped with a clear glass dome. Beyond the triarchy of the temples, seated in the very centre of the capital was the sharp spires of the citadel, puncturing from the ground and piercing the sky, the elegant design of it drawing the undivided attention of anyone whose eyes rested upon it for a moment. It almost seems impossible that I will be entering that building tomorrow, it simply looks to be above everything else, set apart on a separate plain of existence. Stretching out past the lands that my eyes stroke with their gaze is the sprawling colours of Alynthir, the coloured tiles upon the rooftops, the smoke rising from chimneys, the bright clothing hung out to dry on rope, taught between two buildings. The sight of it all is enough to steal my breath.

We simply sit in silence as we look for a while, the two of us taking in the view before we leave to return to the temple of Soras. As we walk through the streets, passing one road that seems to be entirely full of taverns with drunks already hurling their spew over the cobblestones of the street before the sun has even departed from the sky.

I see someone I recognise and look again to make sure, “Sara?” I ask, seeing the blonde-haired girl walking with a plain auburn-haired woman in the outfit of a barmaid, the white blouse with frills tucked into a long skirt.

“Aucus?! It’s good to see you” she says as she wraps me in a hug, when she releases me, she turns to Opal at my side, “And who’s this? Making friends already I see” she adds

I smile, happy to see the girl that I had travelled with, “Oh, right. This is Opal, she’s a friend of my mother’s. Korin and I are staying with her until tomorrow” I say before glancing to Opal, “This is Sara, the girl that I came here with”

“Its nice to meet you Opal” Sara says, glancing at the older woman’s figure and does she blush? “This is Alira, my friend that I’m staying with” she reminds me, gesturing to the auburn-haired woman who gives a shy wave to us.

“Well, I’m sorry but I need to get her to work on time” Sara says after we make some small talk, “I’ll see you tomorrow, I hope you bond a spirit. You’d make a great adventurer” she gives me a little smile as she holds her friend’s hand

“Right, yeah of course, uh you too. I’m sure there’ll be stories about you in no time” I reply as Opal takes my hand and leads me back to the temple

“Nothing I need to worry about there?” she asks with a sly grin, glancing back at Sars

“Wha-“ I begin and **** on my words, “What? No, no we’re just friends” I say before realising what she said, “And, we’re not… not…” I hold my hands up in exaggeration, not knowing what to say. Opal simply lets out a particularly evil chuckle.

As we arrive back at the temple, the sky is painted red from the setting sun, the lower timbre of bells clanging in the distance, squawking of birds fluttering from their perches in the city. Opal escorts me back to her rooms where we are served a meal that Bella had been cooking with a “dwarven twist” that appeared to simply be an overabundance of spices. That night, however, Korin for once seemed to abstain from drink and to my relief everyone else seemed to join him in their abstention. When I asked him why he wasn’t drinking, if something was wrong or if he was nervous about tomorrow, he simply looked at me with a puzzled expression, telling me “Of course I’m not drinking, it’s the 83rd day after my birthday” which he seemed to think was a suitable explanation

As we finished our meal, Opal and Bella shared some more details of what to expect at the citadel before we retired to our beds at an earlier hour than usual. Korin seemed confident enough, though I still had my worries, what if a spirit doesn’t choose me? I can’t stay with Opal and Bella forever. I tried to put my concerns to rest as my head hit the pillow and, to the relief of my cheeks, Opal did not invade my room that night.