A Dream of Empire

The long sex scene with all the tags is halfway through the chapter.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Lord Talos of Evora

Tarin, Kingdom of Solais

4

th

of Starset, 1282

D.f.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The sun shone brightly over the quaint town of Tarin on this fine afternoon. The normally-quiet town was now bursting with neatly-placed rows of tents under a hundred banners, displaying the heraldry of knights and lords hailing from all over the Duchy of Sarum.

The trio of Talos, Alanna, and Tatiana were now attempting to travel in the wake of this host of knights, but the army's progress had been curiously slow as of late. Tatiana, anxious as to the reason, had just recently vacated the small room that the trio had rented for the night to figure out why. Her absence gave her companions the chance to do something they'd been eager to do for a while now.

"Put a baby in me, Talos!" Alanna sluttily moaned to the heavens as she was railed by her muscular love. A slight look of worry formed on Talos' face, and he jabbed at her cervix with his tool.

"That's still not funny, Alanna," he told her, who disagreed and giggled maniacally. Talos rolled his eyes before he resumed his fucking of the blonde enchantress at half-rate, and soon looked below her sparkling sapphires to her swaying, voluptuous breasts instead. He brought his hands to them for a squeeze, and she brought her hands to his shoulders.

"Ah, ah,

yes

! Talos,

Talos

, fuck meee!"

He plunged into the needy sorceress faster and brought his mouth to her nipple, then playfully bit it as they rocked with one another in bliss. Only after she'd yelped from the sensation of teeth on sensitive flesh did he switch to the other, groping it's twin in the process.

He could feel her tensing up both physically and mentally from his efforts, but something was preventing her from...

"Come damn you!" Talos ordered of the slutty sorceress. She bit her lip and shook her head as he drove into her drenched pussy.

"Noo! I'm waiting for

you

!" she squealed.

He playfully slapped Alanna's cheek as he drove into her at full pace, and she let out a gasp before bringing a hand to her face to soothe the reddened flesh.

"How

dare

you," she moaned with the angriest squint she could muster.

Talos glared at her in reply with his cock buried to the hilt. He then brought his thumb to her clit and quickly massaged it as he fucked her. Alanna arched her shaking knees, and pierced his skin with her fingernails as she groaned in pleasure from the dual sensation.

"No, no! Talos! I, wanna, come,

together

!"

"That's not how this works," he grinned.

"Oh

yeah

?!"

She wrapped her legs around his waist and clenched her inner muscles around his throbbing cock. Within an instant Talos erupted within her just as Alanna herself spasmed, drenching her insides with gift after viscous gift. He couldn't help but collapse on top of her. He found the will to rise from her after half-a-minute of shallow breaths, and slipped his cock from her gushing cunt.

Talos shook his head. "An orgasm spell? That's low, Alanna, even for you."

"It's not like I... guh...

goodness

. I feel as if I'm stuffed with a month's worth of seed," she giggled through her gasps for breath. He shook his head again before leaning in to kiss her, then sat at the edge of the bed.

"Mm. Except, well, you're not."

"Ah, that's

right

; how could I forget you coaxing a load on your own at the hotspring?" she cutely teased.

"Hey, you can't blame me for that," Talos chuckled. "He wouldn't settle no matter how many dead puppies I'd thought of. Besides, you saw her too. Good

gods

."

"Mhm! She sure is distracting, huh?"

"Definitely. Though, I still prefer your tits."

Alanna pushed her massive jugs together and giggled. "I'd hope so! Well, lover," she salaciously grinned, "you ready to take me again?"

"Not a chance. She'll be back soon," Talos dismissed with a wave of his hand, rising from the mattress to retrieve his gear which was haphazardly scattered about the floor.

"So we should invite her to bed! How precious would that be?"

"Alanna," Talos groaned. She rolled her eyes and fell back onto the mattress.

"

Fine.

But one day you'll give in, love. One day soon, I know it."

He believed her wholeheartedly, but put his clothes back on anyway. Today wasn't the day. He told Alanna to do the same, but she decided her modesty wasn't worth the effort after she'd put her panties on and snuggled into the pillows instead. He telepathically teased her again, and they shared a debaucherous and silent argument that could have no bad end until Talos was completely dressed. He made his way to the door after grabbing his blade, seeking to practice his swordplay and locate the aforementioned sorceress.

"Gonna go find her," Talos told his love with his hand already on the doorknob. He swung the door open, only to quickly extend his arms to catch an unexpectedly-falling Tatiana. Had she been listening in?

"Well, that was easy," Talos smirked. Tatiana fought her way from his arms, and spun about wearing a nervous pout.

"I-I-I, th-this isn't at all what it looks like! I-I only just arrived, I s-swear!" Tatiana stammered through the entire justification for her voyeurism. Her eyes were nervously darting between the smirking Talos and the naked Alanna, who made no move to cover herself. She did bring a hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh, though.

"Uh huh," the enchantress teased. "Inside or out you two, just

please

shut that door."

Talos reasoned that he wouldn't allow Tatiana a chance to decide for herself. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside before shutting the door to the room. He released her after she let out an anxious gasp, and he raised a hand at Alanna in command for her to cover up. She finally pulled the bed sheet to her neck. Talos then sought to calm the shaking Tatiana.

"Relax, Tatiana," he softly said to her. "Did you learn anything on your walk?"

She snapped her eyes shut and drew a deep breath, then nodded in reply. "Y-yes. The force will move out in the eve to intercept the main Orc band to the east. They're only awaiting the King's presence before they do," she breathlessly explained.

Talos pursed his lips. "Huh. The man must be mad to travel all this way merely to do battle with some lowly Orcs."

Tatiana reopened her eyes only so she could safely slump against a wall. "Mad, or-or perhaps diligent. I overheard no ill words of their King Alfred."

"Nor would they utter any to an Imperial, I reckon."

"

Overheard

," she repeated. "I spoke to no one."

"Right, right, overheard. Guess we'll ride out on the 'morrow's morn', then. Did you

overhear

a destination too, perchance?"

"Castle Eastwatch," she flatly answered, crossing her arms. Tatiana's visage made her appear as if she were only seconds away from turning him into a newt, or perhaps a lizard, and Talos decided on some fresh air.

"Thanks, Tatiana. I'll be outside for a while; see if I can still swing a sword about," he said with a thumb over his shoulder, slowly retreating towards the door.

"I'll join you?" she quickly offered.

"Well, uh-"

"-actually Tatiana, I was wondering if

we

could spend some time together," Alanna sweetly proposed instead, knowingly saving Talos in the process. For whatever reason, Tatiana looked to Talos for guidance; he gave her a nod.

"Great idea. Behave, you two. Oh, and I'll know it was you if the inn burns down," he smirked, pointing at the sorceress in black. He pretended to ignore Alanna on the bed, who was now whistling a tune as she played with a conjured flame betwixt her fingers, and hastily made his way from the room before Tatiana could stop him.

-=-=-

Talos ventured to the western gate of Tarin for swordplay atop his chestnut stallion, Spirit. He'd given the horse the name due to his excitable nature, and knew the beast would be appreciative of being on the move even if it were only for a couple of minutes.

To Talos, the town of Tarin appeared on edge due to the massive army it now hosted. The force was now five-hundred strong and entirely mounted, which was quite the intimidating host no matter the location. Only one-hundred souls resided in the town of Tarin full-time, and Talos knew it wouldn't have been able to sustain the knights and their retinues for long if their King were to arrive any later.

He also noted that the commander of the army ran an incredibly tight ship. Soldiers weren't permitted within the town proper without reason, and were forced to camp within tents rather than in one of the town's three inns. Other than the occasional patrol, Talos didn't cross paths with any soldiers on his way to the western gate.

Besides the sporadic taunt from a patrolling knight or man-at-arms, Talos practiced the blade in peace and without rest for an entire hour. He stopped when the second bead of sweat hit his brow, and then reached for a crossbow on his back that wasn't there. He then realized he left it at the inn during his haste departure from the room, and returned to town atop his stallion to retrieve it.

-=-=-

The undeniable shouts, squeaks, and screams of two squabbling sorceresses were obvious as Talos trudged up the stairs towards the room, although he couldn't make out the specifics of their argument.

Great.

He could finally make out Tatiana's words as he neared the door. She was halfway through a stinging sentence that Alanna surely didn't deserve.

" ... met you before me, enchantress, else you would have

never

been granted a second glance by his gaze."

"Excuse me?!" he heard Alanna squeal. "You forget that you're only given a chance to lay with him because I

let

you."

"Oh, you

let

me?!" Tatiana thinly exclaimed in reply. Talos never realized Tatiana's voice could be raised so high. He stood outside the door for a moment before entering, if only to get an idea of what he was walking into.

"That's right! He only denies you for

my

sake! And without

my

allowance, he'd refuse you until the end of time! And I could have him ask you to leave right now,

transmuter

, so you best know your place and

stand down

," he heard Alanna tearfully yell.

Tatiana cackled defiantly. "For you?! No no no. He

denies me

for the princess Casiama. You? You're merely a blight on him, a parasite he refuses to remove because he believes it beneficial. If he knew life without you-"

"He has no life without me, churl!" Alanna exclaimed. "Get out! Get the fuck out!"

"Gladly, you ignorant wastrel!" Tatiana shouted on her way towards the door. Talos crossed his arms in preparation.

The door swung open a second later, and an indignant Tatiana was stopped in her tracks by a wholly-unamused Talos. Her angry expression gave way to an instant fear, and she took a step back.

"Get on the bed," Talos commanded through his teeth.

Tatiana obeyed after a moment's hesitation, and stumbled over to sit three feet away from a now halfway-dressed Alanna. He ambled towards them silently, never letting his glare remain on either of the frowning girls for more than a moment. Neither of them deserved that. Not to mention that, like most things in life, Talos had already anticipated this turn of events. He even had his battle plan lined up and ready to go.

She start it?

Talos asked with a glare.

Yes. Again.

Alright. Play along.

He remained quiet for another half-minute before speaking, knowing that silence could be the most powerful tool in one's arsenal. He turned his glare towards Tatiana.

"Calm yourself, Tatiana, then port back to Redstone with Alanna," he flatly told her. Talos untied his meager coin pouch filled with silvers and coppers and tossed it to Alanna. "Alanna, use that to get to Evora once you've arrived. You're to take the babe with you and stay with your parents and sister. I'll return with Cass on my own time."

Alanna softly cleared her throat. "But

honey

, w-we're here for your sake... to help..."

"And I no longer require your assistance," Talos gruffly declared. "Alanna, this kind of thing is precisely what I warned you of when you asked me to seek her companionship."

"Talos..."

He returned his attention to Tatiana. "And you. This is precisely what I warned

you

of last week. And if you cannot stand Alanna's company, then you will absolutely perish in Casiama's. Alanna's a gods-damned saint in comparison."

"I... I, I..."

"Calm yourself, then port back to Redstone with Alanna," he repeated once more. She gulped, nodded, and decided to remain silent.

"You know, both of you are undeniably intelligent, but neither of you are wise," Talos continued. "One can only hope that the coming years will be kinder to the two of you. In either case, I'm not dealing with this type of childish nonsense out here at the edge of civilization. I can't afford the distraction."

Talos paced towards the door, retrieving his crossbow from the ground as he did. He turned towards them with his hand on the knob. "I don't want to see either of you until this matter is resolved, or until I locate Cass. And I expect both of you to be gone before I return."

The lack of a time frame on his threat was important. It required Tatiana to work in haste to meet his demands, not to mention that she should now believe that Talos was an unfair man who practiced absolute group punishment. He gave each of them another silent glare before departing the room with crossbow in hand.

-=-=-

Talos returned to the western gate for crossbow practice after purchasing a dozen clay bowls as targets. He specifically wanted to practice his quickdraw, and so he threw the first bowl into the air, unstrapped his loaded crossbow from his back, leveled it, aimed, and squeezed the trigger before the bowl could reach the ground.

He missed.

Talos justified it as a bad throw. His confidence returned to him when the next five bowls he tossed were struck, shattering into several pieces mid-air when bolt met clay.

A squadron of mounted knights cantered past him as Talos was retrieving the seventh bowl, and one donned in white-and-blue with a black raven on his chest broke off from the formation. Talos recognized him as the knight he'd spoken to outside of Sarum, and dropped his next make-shift target into the grass.

"Hail, Imperial," the knight greeted him as he neared.

"Sir Knight. Hail."

"Mannfred of Morgen," the knight warmly corrected, leaning from his saddle to offer his arm in greeting.

"Var - er, Talos of Evora," Talos replied, taking the knight's forearm as Solaisians were known to do. They released after a moment.

Mannfred's eyes widened with amusement at the mention of Talos' name. "Of Evora? Cousin?" he asked. He was inquiring into Talos' personal relation to power, of course.

"Son. Well, brother now. Father'd kicked the bucket by the time I'd last visited. You?"

Mannfred tsked. "Brother as well. How unfortunate, men like us - so close to the throne, with neither the luck nor the dedication to seize it."

"Mm. I find the reverse is true, Mannfred. To be given a throne is to be given a life not easily refused. We, instead, were given the chance to create our own through deeds and experience. I'd have it no other way."

"Spoken like a man who's come to terms with being born second," Mannfred chuckled. "So, Talos, ye sure seem to have a fascination with riding beside our army. Are you a spy perhaps, or a man looking to offer his skill?"

Talos smiled. "Neither. I'm waiting for you lot to distract the Orcs so I can venture east unimpeded. Sure is taking you long enough."

The knight sighed. "It is, and I don't like it much either. While we remain here, the Orcs have that much more free reign to do as they will... but, all those in service to the King are obligated to sit idle for him, just as much as we're obligated to make war. He'll be here anon."

"I've heard. He a good King?"

"Never known another to compare him to. If you asked if he were a good man, though? I'd say yes a thousand times, Talos of Evora, and even then it'd be too few."

"I'll avoid the question then, Mannfred of Morgen, lest I cause you to miss his arrival," Talos smirked.

"My gratitude," Mannfred chuckled. "Well, I'll let you get back to massacring those bowls, but know there's always room with us if you decide ye'd rather shoot at Orcs instead. Gods guide you out east."

"Same to you," Talos replied, beating a fist against his chest before holding it skyward. Mannfred returned the goodbye gesture as he turned his stallion about, then trode back off into town.

Talos took a deep breath when no one was around to see him do it. He suddenly realized how suspicious he must look; a dangerous-looking man with a dangerous-looking shot, standing beside the road into town just before the King had arrived. He supposed he should cut practice early, and looked to gather his bowls. He'd never travel with them, of course, as he couldn't spare the space nor the weight in his pack, but Talos usually wasn't one to leave a mess outside the battlefield.

Perhaps the girls have already made up?

Talos mused. He could know the answer in an instant if he wanted to cheat, but he practiced patience instead. Talos believed his plan, and by extension Alanna, would be successful.

He strapped his crossbow to his back and sauntered off towards the inn once more.

-=-=-

Talos pressed his ear to the door when he'd arrived at his rented room. It wasn't a surprise to him that the girls were still here, nor was that fact the one that had given him pause. What

had

stopped him from immediately entering the room were the faint moans of... well, of Tatiana, he supposed, as Alanna was far too boisterous to emit such a cute noise.

He curiously pierced Alanna's mind for inquiry and instantly tasted fish. Talos suppressed a gag, then another, then disabled the connection. He knew

that

taste.

He wasn't surprised that the girls had made up, since Alanna was known for that sort of miracle, but this was far more than he'd expected; though, he supposed Alanna had used the same method on Casiama once or twice. Talos squinted in concentration as he listened in on the pair and remained glued to the door. His second brain would allow him nothing else.

The sloppy, wet noises from Alanna's efforts suddenly ceased. "Talos is outside the room," he heard her quietly and anxiously say. Tatiana gasped.

"Oh no! Alanna, we're not supposed to

be

here! And especially not like

this

!"

"Maybe it's a good thing? How could he be mad if he found us this way? I could even bring him in, if you want," Alanna salaciously suggested.

"Oh, I don't... uhn... I don't...

ah

..."

Alanna let out a series of muffled giggles.

"Okay!

Yes

! Do it," Tatiana exclaimed through a lustful moan.

Talos rolled his eyes. There was

no way

that he-

Talos decided to open the door, and he nonchalantly made his way inside before shutting it behind him. He unclasped his sword belt in an instant, letting it clang noisily against the floor.

Two sets of eyes were thrown from a guilt-ridden passion when he entered the room. Alanna, completely naked except for a pair of panties, was kneeling atop the bed, with her face buried in the crotch of the other sorceress, who was completely naked as well as she laid on her back. Tatiana had her hand wrapped in Alanna's blonde hair, and was utterly speechless at the sight of Talos.