A Journey Never Begun

Copyright (c) 2019 James Miehoff, All Rights Reserved.

This work may not be published whether for fee or free without this copyright.

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This is one of a series of stories set in the Land of Etherium, a place out of time where wizards channeled mana and a host of creatures we call fairy tales roamed the lands. It is said these tales occurred almost 27,000 years ago before a set of cataclysms shaped the face of the earth and the fairy folk retreated or we in our smugness, no longer saw them.

In any case, they are just stories after all, aren't they?

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Muddle yawned and looked at those gathered around him. His familiar, Mr. Frog, his handmaiden Daniell and the naiad Sparkle.

Daniell broke the silence by clapping her dainty hands and exclaiming, "That was magnificent. I had listened to tales of the tinker storytellers and the wandering bards we have hosted and never have I been so drawn in to a tale that I could almost see the wonders. You are a man of many talents Muddle."

"Re-deep! ('Excellent tale Master!')," said Mr. Frog.

Sparkle laughed and said brightly, "I remember the Day of Gifting. That was a special time. Thank you for bringing it back to me.

"But alas, I must be going. The waters are receding and I must return to my river bed. By morning, you should be able to get to the road and into the hills to rejoin the rest of your people. I bid you good night and safe journeys, until we meet again.

"And we will meet again."

A flash of reflection and a tiny splash were all that marked her passing.

Muddle looked out, but it was a moonless night and he could see Sparkle no more. The words of Daniell brought him back, "You seem to know the most interesting people."

Muddle looked at her and quietly asked, "How so?"

"I have heard tales of wizards and tree nymphs and water nymphs and earth nymphs and other folk of legend all my life," she said. "But you know them. In person. Just as I know Jonton and Salaish and Samisha. I have never heard of such a person in any of the tales. People meet one or two of the fairy folk just once in their life but you seem to meet them all the time." Daniell's voice had trailed off and she finished with her head down looking at her hands in her lap.

Not knowing what else to do, Muddle slid over and pulled Daniell to him, enfolding her in his arms as she silently sobbed into his shirt. Gradually her sobs got smaller and smaller until he realized that she had somehow managed to fall asleep. He leaned back to get comfortable, determined to watch and protect Daniell through the rest of the night.

The first rays of dawn coming over the hills stabbed Muddle's eyes like white hot pokers and he woke with a start. Daniell was still asleep in his lap. She had slid down and her hands formed her pillow as they wrapped around his throbbing manhood.

'I should just sit here enjoying what she is doing for me,' Muddle thought to himself, but the sunbeams were insistent and he gently caressed Daniell's cheek to wake her.

As her eyes opened and her hands continued to squeeze him, she said sleepily, "I was having the most wonderful dream. We were in a little house in the woods. I was baking and your wife was getting ready to do the laundry and I could hear you out in the shop banging on your anvil. And everything was right with the world. It was perfect."

She closed her eyes for a second then they flew open and Daniell sat upright with a start.

"We're alive," she said surprised. "I can't believe I fell asleep while you held me all night. I am so ashamed."

Muddle laughed and send gently, "Don't be. I fell asleep while I held you. You were so peaceful that I must have drifted off to sleep just after you did. And look. The water is almost gone. We can get going onto the road as soon as we check on the horses and their harnesses."

Daniell slid over and climbed off the wagon. "I don't know about you but I have some things to do before we go on. So no peeking!"

Muddle laughed and called out, "Only if you don't peek either."

He climbed down and went out behind some bushes began to pee. It had been a long night and he found that he had a lot of peeing to do. When he was done peeing, his morning wood had not cooperated and he was left with a raging erection. Taking matters into his own hands he let his mind wander back over the sight of Daniell's breasts as he peeked down her nightshirt, the exquisite body of Sparkle and the feelings her fingers had caused this morning. Before long he was shooting long ropy globs of his seed.

Muddle's eyes jerked open as he heard Daniell's voice from beside him, "I could have helped you with that. You just needed to ask."

Embarrassed, Muddle quickly shoved his manhood into his pants and stuttering he said, "I thought you said 'no peeking'?"

"I did," she replied, "But I didn't mean that I couldn't peek at you, silly." After a short pause, she continued, "And I really did mean that I would help you with that if you ask. I am your handmaiden after all."

"I will take that under advisement," Muddle said, his face as red as the red paint on Samir's wagon.

Trying to change the subject he continued, "In the meantime, why don't you check inside the wagon and lash down anything that may have come loose in the shaking we took and I'll check the horses and the harnesses."

She nodded and turned to carefully walk back to the wagon.

Muddle just watched her walk away, and stared at her form as she delicately stepped around the puddles left by the massive flood. Shaking himself, he stomped off to check the horses.

"Good morning Master Zuzzu and Lady Clamile," Muddle said gently as he stepped up in front of the horses. Both of them acknowledged him with a head bob and a brief knicker.

"Do you mind if I check the lady first, big guy," said Muddle while patting Zuzzu on the shoulder. A quick shake of the head and a gentle neigh was the answer, so he bent down to check on the injured leg.

The bones had knitted well overnight and the other damage had mostly healed. Checking the other leg, Clamile pulled back a little when Muddle touched the muscles near her hip. He pushed some mana and a healing charm into the area and she bent her down and rubbed her cheek on his head by way of thanks.

Next he checked the harnesses and the rigging and none seemed the worse for wear. Stepping back he looked at both of them and asked, "Are you ready to go when Daniell is finished?" Not surprisingly both of them bobbed their heads and he reached up and rubbed both of their cheeks.

Going around the side of the team, he saw Daniell coming forward from the back of the wagon. "We lost the bread and some other wood got wet and the bottom of the bed is soggy, but we fared very well," she said.

"Good. The horses are ready and wanting to get moving," he replied. "Shall we go?"

"Yes," she said swinging up to the driver's bench with practiced ease.

'Someday,' Muddle thought, 'That will be me,' as he climbed clumsily up behind her.

Letting Daniell take the reins, he cautioned her, "It will be muddy, so be careful. We don't need to get stuck before we make the Great South Road."

She nodded and flicked the reins, urging the horses to slow walk.

As night was starting to fall, they saw the lights of the fires ahead and the outline of the wagons that had gone before them.

"HALT!" cried out a voice from their right. "WHO ARE YOU?!?"

Muddle pulled back on the reins stopping the horses.

Judging that this was a tinker sentry as a gypsy sentry would probably have shot first, Muddle called out, "I am Muddle of the clan Ton by marriage and this is Daniell of the clan Rog."

"Dammit!" cried a voice from the left.

"Shut up Tirpon, they weren't supposed to know you were there," the first voice called out loudly.

"But Kripan, I have a 12 piece of silver with Slivotz the gypsy that they were washed away," said the second voice.

By this time Daniell had recovered and lit the lamp on the front of the wagon so that the sentries could see that they were who they said they were. Not that they were paying attention, so engrossed were they in their argument.

As they passed Tirpon, Muddle reached in his pocket and pulled out a silver coin and flicked it spinning at him as he called out, "Here my good man, I can't have you losing money on my behalf."

Tirpon deftly snagged the coin out of the air and stood open mouthed as Kripan soundly chastised him for his 'damnable luck'.

At a respectable distance both Muddle and Daniell could hold their laughter back any longer and their peals of laughter announced their arrival at the camp.

When they had stopped their wagon, word of the identity of the newcomers spread like dragonfire and the tinkers and the gypsies surrounded the wagon. Muddle and Daniell were plucked from their seats and were passed from person to person helplessly as they were hugged and kissed relentlessly. Finally, their heads spinning, they found themselves standing in front of the main campfire face to face with Samir and Jonton.

The two leaders each hugged the traveler in front of them and then switched and hugged the other. Muddle was so overwhelmed (and out of breath) that he fell in a heap after Samir released him.

"We were so worried about the two of you," Jonton started.

"We sent scouts back but we could find no trace of you," Samir continued.

"What happened?" they said together.

Muddle held up his hand to hold the questions while he gathered his thoughts. Finally, he stood up and walked over to a log near the fire to use as a chair. The crowd moved with him like a single enormous animal hanging on every word.

"There is not much to tell," Muddle began, ignoring the snorts of disbelief that arose from the crowd and the two leaders.

"I wanted to come across last so that I could encourage the water nymph, Sparkle to hold the waters back as long as possible. We came across the widow Samisha who had a lame horse and Daniell knew she would not make it across to the foothills in time. So she unhitched our Zuzza and traded her for Clamile. Clamile was hurt but with the help of Zuzzu , she was able to get us out of the river bed before the waters came back. By the way, did Samisha make it?"

A cry came up from a portion of the crowd with one voice carrying over the others, "Samisha is right here, safe and sound, thanks be to you and Daniell."

Muddle dipped his head briefly and wiped a tear. "Thank you," he called back to the crowd with a choked up voice. "Daniell and I were worried that she would not make it."

He took a deep breath and then Daniell continued the story, "When we heard the roar of the waters, I knew we would not make the foothills. In fact, I was pretty sure we were dead. But Muddle kept his head and drove the horses to stop us on the back side of the old bridge stones. The waters rushed all around and even over the old stones but they held and acted as a breakwater so we got wet, but we didn't get swept away.

"I was so scared I nearly peed myself, but Muddle just walked out on the harness and calmed the horses and then came back and calmed me down. Without his quick thinking and staying calm, we would have been lost."

Muddle interrupted then and for those close enough to see, his face was red from blushing, "We got lucky," he said. "The rocks formed a breakwater to keep the water from washing us away. I don't know why the rocks didn't wash away and take us with them, but they held and we are here.

"It was not easy getting here. The road is a mud pit now. We must have gotten stuck a dozen times. But Daniell told me what kind of logs to look for and we were able to pry ourselves out of the mud until we reached the solid ground of the foothills. An hour's gentle walk up the road and we were here to be stopped by your sentries. The rest you know."

Jonton looked at Samir then at Daniell who nodded slightly and finally looked straight at Muddle. "The gods were with you today. If there is anything you need, we are at your disposal. And now, you must be tired, please take care of your horses and prepare for the night. We will talk again in the morning."

He turned to the crowd and said loudly, "Good people. Our friends and family are tired and must get some rest as must all of you. Please go back to your wagons and prepare for the evening. Tomorrow we will have a special dinner to give thanks to the gods that we have all arrived safely and to make plans for our departures on the following day. Thank you and good night."

A ragged chorus of "Good night" wishes came back to Jonton from the crowd as they dispersed.

Jonton turned to Muddle and Daniell and said softly, "Samir and I will come help you with your team and to get your wagon settled for the night."

Muddle just nodded and he stood up to follow Daniell who had already started waking to the wagon. As they walked the short distance, several people came up to both of them and offered to provide them with any help they needed. Muddle and Daniell thanked each of them and asked them to come back in the morning.

It was a very short time later that Muddle and Daniell lay down on the bed and were asleep instantly.

They were not aware that both Jonton and Samir assigned some men to guard them and to make sure they were not disturbed in the morning.

It was well past first light when Muddle opened his eyes. He gazed over at Daniell sleeping next to him and he was once more struck by her beauty. Carefully he swung his legs over the side of the bed as quietly as he could so as not to wake Daniell. Of course he fell flat on the floor.

Of course she sat up quickly and instantly regretted it. Every muscle in her body felt like it was on fire.

She carefully rolled over to look at Muddle on the floor and gently asked, "Are you alright?"

"No," was his reply. "My body refuses to work this morning after all the prying and pulling we did yesterday to get this wagon out of the mud. My legs gave out on me when I tried to stand up. I'm sorry I was trying not to wake you up."

Daniell gave out a small laugh which was followed by a louder groan. 'It hurts to even laugh,' she thought. "How about if I rub your legs and you rub my back," she said. "I think I can fall on the floor without hurting you."

"I would be happy to," he said while pulling himself into a sitting position.

Daniell didn't quite fall off the bed but it was a near thing. Shortly, she was sitting with her back to Muddle, between his legs starting to rub his feet. He began to rub her back and push mana with healing and pain relief cantrips as he massaged her neck and shoulders and back.

'He can't be hurting that bad,' Danielle thought with a smile. 'I can feel his manhood prodding my backside.'

At the same time, Muddle felt the beginnings of his arousal and tried to scoot back a little, but Daniell continued to back up and press more firmly against him.

"Can you rub me a little lower and on my hips, please?" Daniell asked.

Muddle nodded and moved his hands to the requested parts of Daniell's anatomy. This did not help his arousal problem at all.

Just then Daniell released her grip on his calves and turned around to face him. "That's as far as I can get on your legs facing that way," she said. "If I sit here facing you, with my legs over yours, I can get your upper legs and you can get mine."

As she arranged herself as she had described, Muddle was treated to a breathtaking view down the front of Daniell's tunic. 'Her breasts are amazing,' he thought. 'I just want to hold them and play with them, but they are not mine to enjoy."

As she began to massage his thighs, Muddle winced and closed his eyes and when he opened them he was once again looking straight down her tunic and when she pulled back, he could see that the bottom of her tunic had ridden up and he had a perfect view of her femaleness on display. Neither of which helped the growing problem in his trousers.

To try to get control, he closed his eyes and reached out to try to massage her legs. When he did so, the soft silky smooth feeling of her skin was enhanced by having his eyes closed and rather than helping to control his erection it, enflamed his passions. It also didn't help that her ministering hands were nearly to the cause of all this.

He pulled his hands off of her legs and gently pulled her head towards him and kissed her forehead softly. "Thank you," he said gently. "You have done wonders for me, but I think I need to try to stand and walk around to get rid of my stiffness."

"Are you sure?" she asked with a tinge of regret.

"I think so," he said. "If you can stand, then I will try to stand."

She nodded and the little magic he had worked on her made her muscles much better and she had no trouble standing. She had to help Muddle to his feet on the other hand.

When they were both on their feet, he gave her a big hug, which caused her much regret regarding that lump in his trousers, and he thanked her for ministering to his aches and pains. He pulled on his boots and stepped out of the wagon.

Sitting on the ground waiting for them was Samisha. When she heard the door open, she looked up and then ran over to meet Muddle when he stepped down to the ground. She squeezed him in a big bear hug hard enough that it caused him to wince in pain. While she held him she whispered, "You saved me and my children when no one else would. My life and my body are yours and Daniell's."

Stunned, Muddle said nothing, which was exactly the right thing to say.

Muddle found that walking around helped. The pain forced his manhood to retreat and the walking although painful at first helped his muscles to relax.

When he found Jonton, he asked if he could talk with him alone.

Jonton agreed and said, "Let's walk."

To which Muddle replied, "Slowly. I am really stiff this morning from all the work we did getting the wagon out of the mud yesterday."

Before they had gotten 10 steps, a young woman came running up and grabbed Muddle and kissed him very passionately on the lips. When she broke the kiss, she pulled his head down and whispered, "Samisha is my cousin and as thanks for saving her life, my body is yours anytime." She then turned and ran off.

His face bright red, Muddle turned to Jonton and said, "That is part of what I want to talk to you about."

Jonton grinned and said, "Yes. I see. I think we do need to talk."

Before they were able to leave the camp, Muddle had three more offers. One from Samisha's other cousin, one from Samisha's brother's wife and one from Samisha's husband's second wife.

Shaking his head, Muddle looked at Jonton for help. "I don't understand this. Daniell tried to explain that for tinkers there is a difference between love and sex. But where I was raised, you have sex with the one you love. And please don't tell anyone, but I have never had sex with anyone, at least not with a human woman. "

Seeing Jonton's eyebrow raise, Muddle lowered his head and continued, "I have had a couple of water nymphs play with me until I spurted my seed and I once was foolish enough to let a pine tree nymph play with me. That was a lesson I'll not forget. It took me weeks to get all of the splinters out."

When he looked up he saw Jonton fighting a losing battle to contain his laughter.

"A wood nymph," Jonton said through his laughter. "What were you thinking?"

Muddle just nodded his head and said quietly, "I deserve that and more, I guess."

Jonton wiped the laughter tears from his eyes and slapped Muddle on the back. "My boy, you have a lot to learn about the ways of the tinkers," he said.

An hour or so later Muddle turned to Jonton and asked, "So they really won't hate me for turning them down?"

"No," Jonton replied. "They have asked you in good faith and on their honor. If you take them up on it, as long as you do it honorably and never mention it or ask them for more, it will be over and done. But if you do not come up with a good reason for not taking them up on it, then all bets are off."