New Rider 3

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This work of fiction is part of a series; if you did not already read the preceding chapters, please do that before starting this part of the story.

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~~~ Horse Trading ~~~

At breakfast, the captain informed me that the stable boy had come - in the middle of the night - to tell us that one of the horses had been stolen. When he had finished giving me the details, I shoveled the rest of my food into my maw and headed for the stables.

The young man met me at the door, figured out what I wanted and showed me to the empty stall. I thanked him and pressed a copper into his palm. The coin disappeared - and then so did he.

I got the scent of the mount and followed it - back through town to the stable behind the larger inn. I confirmed that the beast's rear hoof had the king's mark - that the captain had told me about. I took the horse's tack, put it on it, and began walking it out of the stall.

"Can I help you?" the stable boy asked.

"Just getting my horse," I told him.

I was a couple blocks down the street before the thief (and a friend) came riding up to claim that I'd taken his horse. I could see the stable boy watching from the corner by the inn.

"That's my horse," he called out.

I stopped and turned to face him.

"Looks like you're riding your horse," I told him. "This one belongs to me."

"You took that horse from the stable at the inn," he said.

"Only after you took mine in the middle of the night," I told him. "I like this one better. We're even. Fuck off or die."

"I didn't take your horse," he yelled.

"You know I'm telling you the truth. I followed your scent - and the horse's - to the inn back there." I looked at the other man and said, "I recognize your smell as well - so you both know that I can track you. Turn around and go back to your business or I'll have three horses - along with whatever goods I pull off of your corpses."

"Morning, gentlemen," a new voice said. "Everything okay?"

"Morning, peacekeeper," the second man said.

"Just doing some horse-trading," I told the newcomer. "These fellas took one of mine, so I went and collected one of theirs to take its place."

"You admit to taking their horse?" he said, smiling and moving his hand towards his crossbow.

"I took a horse to replace the one they stole in the middle of the night, yes," I replied.

"How are you going to prove whose horse is whose?" he asked, at least pausing to figure out what I was saying.

I pointed to the first thief and said, "There's a mark on the rear-right hoof of that horse - on the inside. That's my mark. That's my horse."

"What?!" the thief bellowed.

"Well, peacekeeper," I said. "It looks like the thief wasn't smart enough to check my mount before he decided to make off with it."

The thief climbed down from the saddle and examined the hoof. His eyes betrayed him. He knew it immediately when he saw our eyes looking at him. He drew a throwing knife and flung it towards the peacekeeper. A moment later, he pulled a second one and threw it at me. Both were good throws. Both knives hung in midair - halfway between the thrower and the intended targets.

The peacekeeper looked from the knives, to me, and asked, "You doing that?"

I nodded.

The lawman looked at the other thief and said, "You can choose to walk away now - or we can see if this fella here has any other hidden talents."

The second man looked from the peacekeeper, to me, to his buddy, and then turned his horse and trotted back towards the inn.

I turned the two knives to point towards the ground and began sliding them over to the constable.

He shook his head and said, "I think those are yours now - along with the horse."

I brought the knives to my hand and focused on the horse's reins. The leads pulled towards me, and the horse followed, walking over until I could take the leather thongs into my hands.

"You good?" I asked him.

"You wouldn't be willing to take his boots off of him and bring them to me, would you?" he asked. "He'll be less likely to run that way."

I used magic to knock the man onto his ass, yanked his boots off, and floated them over to the lawman. The peacekeeper laughed and shook his head as he took the boots in-hand.

"Craziest fucking thing I've ever seen," he said. "Let's go, dipshit. Have a nice day, my lord."

"And you, as well," I replied.

I mounted the horse I'd been walking. I rode back to the inn - leading our stolen mount along beside me.

I put the two of them into the empty stall, tweaked the king's mark to make it my own, and applied the new mark to the other four horses.

As I stood to leave, the stable-boy appeared.

"Give them all a few oats, please," I told him, tossing him another copper. "We'll be leaving soon."

"Five?" he asked.

"Yup," I replied.

I headed to find the others. The captain, his men, and the girls met me in the courtyard as they came out of the inn with our bags. I caught the stable-boy, told him to skip on the oats and keep the copper. He waved his thanks and disappeared again.

I explained everything to the captain as they mounted up. I put the girls on the new horse. I ducked into the inn, traded a copper for three apples and came back out. I twisted two of the apples in half and gave a treat to the soldier's mounts. I gave the new horse the remaining apple. He bumped me with his head and slobbered all over my boots.

~~~ Day 2 ~~~

"How the hell do you walk that fast?" Eryn asked me, as I kept pace with the horses.

I really wasn't working that hard. The horses weren't even at a trot.

"Lots of practice," I replied, grinning slyly.

"It's not possible," she growled.

"Neither is me following a six-hour old scent trail for a stolen horse," I told her.

She shook her head at me and laughed.

I finally remembered the throwing knives and pulled them out to show the captain. He nodded to one of the men and I eased over to hand them to him. He whistled appreciatively and tucked them away.

"That one's Nate," the captain said.

I pointed to the wanna-be brewer.

"Bree," he said. "The last is Laen."

"You boys doing okay?" I asked.

"Yessir," came the reply from Bree. The others nodded.

As we made our way down the road, I asked Bree if his father had shown him how to make mead. He said that he did. I told him that I'd collected a bee colony and would be setting it up when we got home. I told him that I planned to trade honey for mead if he was agreeable. I warned him that it might take a season or two for me to get a good production going and he laughingly assured me that it would take him time to get his shop established and remind his brain of everything his father had tried to teach him.

Nate seemed to think he'd like to try his hand at playing road-guard for traders. He said he wouldn't mind having a place to come home to. I told him we'd figure something out.

Laen's father had been a shop owner. After a discussion that carried us most of the way through until the afternoon, we had roughly decided that Laen would tend the shop while Bree handled the brewery and Arden crafted his barrels. Some of those barrels would, obviously, be kept for Bree's use. The three of them would keep an extra room for Nate for when he came to town. He'd trade loot or coin for rent.

That simplified things a great deal. We needed one good-sized shop - or two regular ones that sat close enough for the three of them to make things work. I had finally thought of the name of the town - Mire's Edge. We'd have to wait to finalize everything until we arrived, but I didn't expect it to be much of a challenge.

"I wish we could fly some more," Tala complained.

"You just like rubbing yourself on my spine," I accused.

Her only response was to lick her lips and eye-fuck my groin.

Eryn giggled.

"This is a lot easier to explain," I told her.

She frowned but nodded.

"What do our collars look like?" Eryn asked Arden.

I smiled - looking ahead as a wagon came into view.

"A simple leather band," the captain told her, "with a thumb-sized mood stone at the front of the throat."

Tala unconsciously reached up and brushed her fingers over the jeweled collar.

"I don't want anybody ..." I told her.

"I know," she said, interrupting me. "I understand why you did it. I'm thankful that Eryn and I can still see them."

"They're almost as beautiful as you," I told her.

She blushed and said, "Thank you, my lord."

"She's first tonight, Lord Striker," Eryn blurted out.

"Is that all you two think about?" I asked.

They looked at each other, grinned, and said, "Yes!" at the same time.

I shook my head. My simple-minded cock twitched in my pants, signifying that it agreed with the girls.

As soon as the wagon passed, I jogged ahead to find out how close the next town was.

I thought back over the changes I had made to the girls' collars. Not only did each jeweled piece now look like a fairly cheap ownership collar, I had imbued each one to stretch as the girls' bodies continued to grow.

The next town only had one small inn. I stepped inside of the door and caught the innkeeper's attention.

"Yes?"

"I'm traveling with a wood elf, a half-orc, and four guards. Do you have rooms for us?"

He swallowed hard.

"Do you have rooms for the four guards?"

"I only have two rooms, my lord. Singles," he said. "I do apologize."

"Four in the stable loft, with dinner and ale? Five mounts."

"Two silver, my lord?"

I pulled out two silver and three copper coins, "Oats for the horses?"

"Just a moment, my lord," he said, stepping behind the counter. He handed over several colored wooden tokens and accepted the silvers. "Give the tokens and the coppers to the ostler, if you please, my lord," he said. "He'll get the oats for you."

I nodded and stepped outside.

I didn't see the rest of my party yet but stepped towards the stables anyway. The stable-boy saw me and ran to get his master. I waited until the man came out. I handed him the tokens and the coppers.

"Four in the loft - and five mounts?" he asked.

"And oats for the mounts, please," I said.

He nodded to me - and then to the boy - who went to get things ready.

Captain Arden and the rest of the group came riding in a couple moments later. They rode up to me and stopped.

"Go ahead and dismount," I told them.

Once everybody was on foot, I motioned them over and explained the situation. I told the girls that we would be leaving the extra horse with the men. I planned to give Captain Arden enough coin for the rest of the trip to Mire's Edge. The girls and I would head into the hills. From there, I would change forms and we would fly home. I was growing tired of dealing with small-town inns and their complications.

The girls grabbed their things - as well as my bag. I helped the captain get the extra mount into the stables and stayed long enough to get it brushed down and make sure that it had feed and water. We walked out and rejoined the girls.

I took twice as many silver coins from my storage-item as I thought the captain would need and handed them over to him. He accepted them and told me that he'd give me an accounting when we got home. I told him that he could keep - and split with the men - whatever was left when they arrived.

I told them to make their way to Mire's Edge and find rooms - and then come to the cave. I would follow them back to town and we'd get the four of them settled. He nodded. I shook each of the men's hands and told them that I was looking forward to seeing them when they got to our home. They took their packs and headed in for their meal.

Tala's stomach growled. She gave me an embarrassed grin and said, "A little of your seed would be enough to tide me over until morning, my lord."

"And me!" Eryn squealed, wrapping an arm around the orc to tempt me with her fluttering eyelashes.

The stable-boy ventured out of the barn and called, "My lord?"

I waved him over and he came, no doubt hoping to earn some coin.

"I have a problem that I need help with," I told him. "At a minimum, I need dinner for my wives and me. A room with a clean bed - in addition to a hearty meal - would earn you a king's ransom."

The boy looked back and forth between the three of us and asked, "A moment, my lord?"

I nodded.

He disappeared like a wind spirit. The girls looked at me and I shrugged. Within a span of minutes, he came racing back into the courtyard, gasping for breath. He motioned for us to follow him. As soon as we picked up our packs, he darted off again.

He led us halfway back through the town - down a side-street - to a house where a woman stood in an open doorway.

"My lord?" she asked as we stepped up.

"My mam, lord," he said, as an introduction.

"My lady, I seek a bed for my wives and me for the night - and a meal if possible," I told her.

She looked at the girls, smiled, and said, "Two silvers, my lord?"

I took out four silver coins. I handed two of them to the boy, whose eyes widened. I handed the other two to his mother. She stared at him until he brought the other two over and handed them to her as well. I fished out two coppers and put them into his hand. He nodded his thanks and darted off.

"He'll lose them, my lord," she told me as she led us inside.

"I trust your judgement, good lady," I told her, "but I know what it's like not to have a coin in your pocket."

She looked at me hard and said, "I would guess it's been many a year since your pockets were empty, my lord."

I smiled, shrugged, and said, "One or two maybe."

She smiled broadly, shaking her head from side to side, and motioned for us to sit at the table. "Ale or mead?" she asked.

"Mead, if you have it, my lady," I replied.

"My lady!" she laughed. "Never in all of my days have I been called a lady."

"The inn was near-full," I told her. "I didn't want my wives sleeping on the ground yet again."

"The innkeeper's a bitter drunk and probably took exception to your wives," she replied.

"One at least?" I asked.

"I'll not judge," she said, but her suggestion was more than obvious.

"I should warn you that we are newly-wedded and may be a little boisterous before the girls take their rest," I told her.

Her cheeks pinked a little but she waved off my concerns and said, "It's been a year or two but, this roof has survived a few scream-filled evenings."

When I looked at her and arched an eyebrow, she tittered.

"You are wicked, my lord," she giggled.

"I love to see a lady smile," I told her. "It brightens the room more than any flame."

"Gods, it's been eons since I've heard such flattery. I'd ask you to stop but I think I quite like it."

I smiled and gave her a tender squeeze.

"You girls are lucky," she told them.

"We are, sweet lady," Tala agreed. "He is most gentle when he's around women-folk who don't mind a compliment."

"But turns into a real dragon when the men show up with swords and sharp demands," Eryn added, winking at her sister-wife.

Tala nearly spit out the sip of mead she'd just taken.

"Mmm," Eryn said, "this is lovely."

"It IS," Tala told the woman.

"Nothing better than good mead," our host said, winking, as she began working to prepare our meals.

Over the next half-hour, she chatted with us as we watched her work. While the stew cooked, she refilled our mugs and brought over a mug for herself.

When the food was ready, she dished up our plates and asked to join us. When I quirked an eyebrow at her, she admitted, "I've put on a pound or two. I was just going to skip dinner tonight."

"Please," I said. "There's no way I could eat in front of a hungry woman - especially one who has spent her evening preparing the food that I'm eating."

She brought a plate for herself and we tucked in. Tala and I had seconds. I could tell the cook wanted another helping as well but she and Eryn took their dishes to the washbasin while the orc and I finished a second small helping.

When she came to get our plates, I wrapped an arm around her and kissed her cheek.

"That was so good," I told her. "I am delighted that I asked your son for help with our problem."

"Let me just get your room ready," she said. "A bit more mead while you wait?" she asked.

"I don't think I'd better, thank you," I told her.

The girls declined as well.

When she came to take us to the room, I noticed that it appeared to be the master bedroom. "Are we taking your bed, good woman?" I asked her.

She waved off my concerns, telling me that she would sleep in her son's room - since he would be spending the night at the stables. After several reassurances on her part, I gave in.

The girls and I visited the outhouse and then slipped into the room and closed the door.

We tried to stay quiet but neither of my bond-mates - since Eryn insisted that that's what Tala was - was particularly discreet while I was hunched over them, pounding my aching cock into their tight, willing cunts.

Eryn held Tala's hand and accepted a kiss or two from each of us as I fucked the orc. When it was the elf's turn, the orc lay beside her and caressed and kissed us both as I rammed my prick in and out of the royal elven pussy.

Tala sucked the taste of the elf from my cock and we pulled the covers over, blew out the candle, and fell into a peaceful slumber.

~~~ Day 3 ~~~

We awoke to the smell of a hearty breakfast. Despite how much I had eaten the night before, my deceitful stomach rumbled. The girls laughed.

We got dressed, Eryn did her best to fix the bed, and we slipped through the house to take our turns in the outhouse before settling in at the table.

Our host brought watered juice and a full breakfast. We chatted and visited as we ate together. My stomach was bulging by the time she let me tell her that I was finished.

"It has been so much fun, having you here," she told us, collecting hugs from each of us. "If you are ever passing through again, please stop to see me. I won't charge you nearly so much next time. It's been an absolute delight to have such entertaining company."

I held up a gold coin.

"Absolutely not, my lord!" she gasped.

"I'm afraid I must insist," I replied.

She crossed her arms and shook her head.

"Hold her," Eryn ordered Tala.

The orc wrapped the woman in a hug while the elf took the coin from my hand and slipped it into a pocket in the woman's housecoat. The two of them then planted kisses on each of her cheeks and released her.

When Tala stepped back, she harrumphed at them but offered each of them another hug - which they both accepted. I got a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

As we stepped to the door, she took the gold coin out of her pocket, stared at it and shuddered. A tear came to her eye.

I thought she was still considering how to return it when Tala dropped down onto her knees beside the woman and asked, "Would silvers be better?"

"You have been so good to me," our host said, softly.

Tala turned to me and said, "If she shows up at a shop with a gold coin, they'll wonder how she came to have it."

I dug out ten silvers and handed them to the orc. She held them out to the woman in the palm of her hand. The woman kissed her cheek and traded the gold for the silvers. Tala stood and handed me the gold, which I slipped back into my storage-ring.

With misty eyes, the woman looked up at me and said, "You are most gracious, my lord."

I dropped to one knee, took her hand in my fingers, and kissed her knuckles.

"Oh, gods, girls!" she exclaimed. "Get this man away from me while I still have my clothes on! This old heart can't take it."

The two of them giggled at her, pulled me to my feet, and pushed me towards the door.

"I mean it," she called from the doorway as we stepped into the street. "Come stay with me again if you're back this way."