Quest For Annies Gold Ch 03

Annie and the Crossroads

Prester was bad news. Star didn't like the vibes coming off the crowd, no matter how pleased Massha was that she'd sold off almost all her coffle of field-slaves. From her vantage point atop the wagon, the faces of the townsfolk assembled in Prester's market square did not paint a pretty picture. Star, and Massha's other pleasure girls, were dressed in simple white linen chitons. They kept to the safety of the wagon-top where they could serve as advertisements, and be out of the way of anyone who might have tempted their ring of mercenary guards to cop a free feel.

The dryad (who's name Star had never quite caught, but whom Annie kept insisting on calling "Muffin") sagged against the railing and looked like she was indolently basking in the early autumn sun.

Annie, for her part, had no inkling of any bad things on the horizon but instead gawped at the view of the town. "I had no idea there were so many people! Or buildings! Is this the biggest city?"

Star's eyes flicked from the crowd to the windows of the buildings surrounding the square. "Prester is two mud puddles connected by a bridge. This whole town is a glorified toll stop on the river." Star also didn't like the looks they were getting from Prester's resident prostitutes, currently glaring at them sullenly from the whorehouse directly across the square.

She moved to the front of the wagon, where she could see Massha haggling with some local grandee, probably a merchant she intended to replenish their supplies from before making the next leg of their journey south. "Boss lady," she said, as low as she could possibly make herself heard. "We need to move soonest, here."

Massha gave up her negotiations, which were not going as smoothly as her last transaction. "Are you going to keep doomsaying all day?" she boomed back. "Are you going to buy us enough food to stuff your pampered faces? No one in this town can afford to buy you. So, leave the business to me, and if you don't like the mood of the crowd, you and the other sluts flash those boobies until they're happy again!" The slavemonger turned on her heel and stalked off to find another sutler in this godsforsaken town.

Star sighed, and obediently pulled her top down and let her breasts sway in the breeze. Annie, noticing what she was doing, giggled and did the same.

There were no corresponding cheers from the crowd, just angry faces getting angrier.

~~***~~

The sun was nice. The awful stink of the human town was not. Myfwyn stayed where they'd put her, grateful for the warmth, at least.

She was so dry. No matter how much water she drank, it was never enough. Star had done her best to nourish her during the trip, but the two-spirit girl's semen, no matter how delicious and full of life, wasn't enough to sustain her. Eventually, her attempts to communicate had succeeded through a certain amount of pantomime that cum was the only food that she could use, and the other two girls had leaned on the slavers' leader to let her make use of some of the guards.

This had apparently been taboo to the big woman for some reason Myfwyn didn't understand, but by degrees she relented and made it know that if her men wanted their cocks sucked, the exotic girl was no longer off-limits to them.

They weren't as pleasant as Star, either in their appearance, or cleanliness, or especially the taste of their seed. Myfwyn knelt and beckoned them forward anyway, one after another, every few days when they camped. The men seemed excited by this at first, but when it became clear that their pleasure was not at issue as the dryad greedily slurped down their spend, some became reluctant.

Myfwyn was past caring. It was becoming clear to her that she might never see the mother grove again.

Annie was her main comfort. She still didn't understand why the sun-haired human girl made her feel so at ease, even now. But her touch was the only happiness she had left.

~~***~~

Feeling the sun and breeze on her skin made Annie happy. She shook her shoulder a little and let her tits wobble heavily for their audience before pinning her chiton back in place. When Star had told them that they had clothes to wear for their entrance into town, Annie had experienced a strange swirl of emotions: after weeks being nude all the time, she should have been grateful for the opportunity. Instead, she'd felt a little sad.

But the dresses were nice--nicer than anything she'd worn in the village, even for festival days--and all the people watching made her as wet as she'd ever been playing with herself.

Neither of the other two seemed to be enjoying it the same way, somehow. Muffin had been tired for days now, and hadn't been happy about the business of being put into clothes at all. Annie stepped up to her and helped her flash the crowd, pulling down the front of the chiton so her petite handfuls could be seen.

Star remained as gloomy as most of the crowd, for reasons Annie didn't quite get. She disguised it with a smile, but it wasn't the sort of smile that would fool anyone up close. Star's eyes roved the crowd, restless as a caged dog.

"Maybe they need more of a show!" Annie said, suddenly. "Maybe they just need to see what they're missing."

Star shook her head. "They're ready to run us out of town as it is. I doubt they'll be impressed."

Annie had the hem of her chiton in her hands, ready to flash everything else she had when Star's words registered. "What? What did we do?"

"I'm not about to interview the mob and make sure, but I can guess. Somebody bought themselves a bunch of new farmhands and are about to upset the livelihoods of all the other farmers who don't have the means to compete." Star looked as if she wanted to spit over the side. "And rather than take it out on them, they're looking at us up here with our asses hanging out."

Annie instinctively huddled closer to the both of them, all the pleasant feeling she'd built up suddenly gone. "What do we do?"

Star gave her biggest, fakest smile yet. "We hope Massha hurries up and finds what she's looking for. Maybe before those toughs gathered around the stocks over there decide to test the guards."

Annie thought. "If they're angry, then surely we can make then less angry. When Poppa came in from the markets, sometimes he was in a bad mood. But sometimes we'd go down to the creek and I'd let him use my mouth, and I'd swallow all his stuff, and he'd be happy again!" She smiled wistfully, and then the smile faded, and she added, "For a while, anyway."

Star maintained a carefully neutral expression. "That," she said eventually, "is a very sad story, and I am definitely going to have trouble getting hard for a while. No, I don't think we can fellate our way out of this problem. Which is a shame, because I think more disputes should be solved that way."

"Your dryad is dying."

Annie blinked, unsure where this new voice had come from. She and Star looked around until she noticed a tall woman in finer clothes than the sullen townsfolk.

"Pardon?" Annie said.

"The dryad," the woman said, pointing. "She has to be returned to the woods she came from."

"Would you like to buy her?" Star piped in. "I'm sure something could be worked out with our owner."

"I am an agent of the sorcerer Lord Amqueth," the woman said, "and he would not like to buy anyone."

Annie leaned over the rail. "Please? You're the only one we've met that knows anything about her!"

To Annie's surprise the woman didn't say no, but she didn't look pleased, either.

~~***~~

Star wasn't sure what Annie's angle was in this, but she obviously had one--and if one of them found a buyer and brought in some coin from this nowhere burg, it might improve Massha's mood on the road in the near future. Star shrugged and followed Annie's lead.

"That's right! Your master has obviously hired someone with a discerning eye. Who better to right this obvious wrong with the leverage of a little silver, yes? You wouldn't want a rare specimen like this to perish when you could swoop in, on you master's behalf, of course, and present him with this living jewel!"

Commotion in the crowd from across the square heralded Massha's approach; Star could hear her swearing her way through the press of the crowd. Time to work fast.

"Now, just between us ladies, we all know that no matter how chaste they appear, no man with power would turn down the chance to own something like this," she continued with a flourish, whipping the chiton off of the dryad in one practiced motion.

The forest girl didn't complain, as she was still only semi-awake anyway and hated having been put in the dress in the first place. Star presented her like the reveal of a wonder, and even the surly faces in the crowd were riveted by her red-brown skin in all its glory.

"She's a champion fellatrix as well, let me assure you. And enjoys the back door as much as the front! The old fellow will love her." Star didn't have to lie about that one. The dryad would readily bend over and spread for her when they had been training on the road, her greedy sphincter devouring Star's cock all the way to the hilt without so much as a wince. It made Star wonder what she got up to out there in the woods.

"Please save her!" Annie blurted, kind of ruining the show mood.

The sorcerer's woman pinched the bridge of her nose as if she was experiencing a severe headache. "Fine. Fine. I'll buy all three of you, just shut up. Where's your purveyor gone to?"

Star gestured over the heads of the crowd. "Here she comes now, just follow the yelling and profane words."

The noise and profanity reached them before the woman could make much headway towards the source. Massha dropped her harangue of whichever merchant across the square had displeased her and instantly locked eyes with the sorcerer's agent.

"I know that look," Massha said, hand going to the handle of her whip. "Why are you talking to my girls, and why aren't they on top of the wagon where they belong?"

"This one says you're selling," the woman said, nodding a tiny amount towards Star. "And I have money."

Massha strode two giant steps up to Star and clamped a hand, hard, on her shoulder. "You don't have enough for this one, no matter what."

The agent stood her ground. Star tried to ignore how tightly she was being grabbed, and looked at the two women face off like swordsmen before a duel.

"All right," the sorcerer's woman said. "I'm primarily interested in the dryad."

Star looked over her shoulder, watching Massha's face undertake a complex and tightly suppressed journey. Star understood. There were several things to weigh--how much the forest girl would fetch here vs. where they were going, the expenses they'd burn through getting there, and the likelihood they'd never even get to leave the town in one piece if the locals were angry enough, just for starters.

"She's representing a wizard," Star whispered, just so Massha could barely hear. "Give Annie her chance."

If Massha heard, she gave no sign. "Let's see this money of yours," she said instead.

The woman shrugged off her pack and reached into it. The guards did not quite reach for their weapons, but clearly flinched a little. She brought out a finely-made lacquered box holding it flat from the bottom as one might have held a pie. With her other hand, she drew back the lid, and let the reflection of the afternoon sun light Massha's eyes from the metal within.

~~***~~

Annie hadn't been sure of what was about to happen, but inside the stranger's box, stacked edge-up in neat little rows, was more money than she had seen added up in her entire life.

"Ganya's sacred cunt." Massha said, once her jaw started working again.

"To be precise, one thousand fullweight silver crowns, twenteen gold half-moons, and you can keep the box. But I want the blonde too."

Massha swallowed heavily. "You tell your devil-speaking warlock master that his custom is no longer welcome after today."

"I shall pass that along."

Annie felt numb. Just like that, she'd been sold. She hadn't had to demonstrate her talents or display her body or anything. Muffin was going to be saved. But Star...

Star took both her hands. "This is it, Blondie! You've got the dream shot! A wrinkled old tired man to impress and keep you in soft cushions. Just remember all the things I taught you."

Annie felt herself tearing up. She couldn't understand why. "I'll miss you," she said. "I wish we'd fucked."

Star gave her the biggest, most genuine smile she'd ever seen. "Me too. Knock 'em dead, kid."

Annie didn't really remember much of the trip away from the town, walking as if in a dream.

Massha had objected to giving up the dress, claiming it wasn't part of the bargain, and the woman shrugged and hadn't objected. Annie stripped down in front of the crowd after all, and finally they jeered and laughed just like the people in her home had. A few men opened their breeches and stroked their cocks at her as she passed. She couldn't really cover herself with her hands as she was busy walking Muffin along, who leaned heavily against her like a drunkard.

The sorcerer's agent had a cart, pulled by a tired-looking donkey, and she and Muffin rode in it, the forest girl sleeping fitfully in the back.

"And now that we're away from the prying eyes," the woman said. "Let's get those off." She waved her hand, and Annie felt the collar pop free from her neck. "Take that thing off your friend, and throw it as far as you can. It's not doing her any favors."

Annie pulled the lodestone from where it lay across Muffin's throat, now loosened like her own and gave it as good a toss as she could sitting down. Muffin stirred a little, but didn't waken. "Is that all that was hurting her? A magic stone?"

"No, but like I said, it wasn't helping. You said you know where she came from?"

"I think so. It was near my village."

"All right. Which village? How many days have you been on the traveling?"

Annie had never heard her home called any name other than "the village," and so rather than give up the embarrassing admission that it might be too small to have a proper name, she concentrated on the other question. "A ten-day and five," she said after some thought. "All solid traveling from first light to just before sunset."

"Shit," the woman said, though resigned and not angry. "She'll never make it back. We'll have to plant her here."

Annie clutched Muffin tight, trying to protect her. "I thought your master could save her!"

"We can. But she'll have to have a new home grove, and there's magic that can make that happen. When I said 'plant' I meant it literally"

"And Lord Amqueth can do that?"

"Yes, Lord Amqueth can. I'm sorry I don't have anything you can cover up with. I'm sorry those two-legged animals back there made light of your predicament on the way out. I'll find you some clothes once we reach the tower."

"I've been naked since I left home. She's been that way her whole life. Any travelers we see on the road will just have a story to tell. Promise me he can save her."

The woman looked over her shoulder again. "I promise. It's an unusual friendship you two have. I've never seen a dryad and a human so attached."

"We've just been through a lot together."

"So I sense."

"Are you Lord Amqueth?"

"What makes you say that?"

"You magicked our collars off like they were nothing."

"Ah, all it takes is one slip-up. You're smarter than one would expect for a pleasure slave. Yes, I am actually the sorcerer in question. But these rubes wouldn't abide a woman owning land, so I have to pose as my own factor when I go in to buy supplies or take messages to the other nobles."

Annie examined her new owner. She was older than she'd assumed, but still very well-preserved. Tall, and angular like a man in some ways, Lord (Lady?) Amqueth wasn't what she'd call beautiful, but striking. Dark hair piled in a complicated knot atop her head made her seem even taller, and the bronze of her skin hinted at foreign ancestry.

"Mistress," Annie began.

"Please, no. 'Amqueth' is fine. I only have the title because it allows me to keep land, I'm not a proper noble."

Annie absorbed that for a moment. "Why did you buy me? If all you wanted was to save her? Also, why did you want to save her? If I may ask."

"Polite, too! Yes, you may ask. As for your friend, I have an obligation to pay. The Queen of the Forest does not rule her daughters very much, but probably still doesn't want to see them ripped up like weeds. As for you, I did it mostly because I took a dislike to that slaver bitch and wanted to stick her. I've never owned a pleasure-slave before. To be honest, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with you."

"I've been taught to please ladies," Annie said. "I can show you."

Amqueth laughed, head back and loud. "I have no doubt. But then we'd never make it back by sundown, and your friend there is suffering."

Annie felt bad for forgetting, and held on to Muffin more tightly.

"Let's save any pillow fun for later, after we've gotten things in order. But until then, "she said, standing in the cart as it bumped along, "I have a mind to join you." She seemed to shrug inside her long, elegant robes, and they fell off her body as if they'd only been scarves laid over her. She sat confidently back down, and the little mule-cart trundled on into the dusk, now with three nude women instead of two.