Battlemage: Book 2 - Scarlet Redemption
Chapter 1

Copyright© 2009 by Risq

Fantasy Sex Story: Chapter 1 - Aric has left the only home he's ever known. After inadvertently having his power activate on a battlefield, Aric was now trying to flee the Battlemage's curse without realizing it. But why after having come to the City of his mother's birth, and having hid from the curse for almost three years, is a red haired weapon master, a prodigy able use any weapon created, so intent on now drawing him back out into the open once more?

Caution: This Fantasy Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa   Consensual   Romantic   Fiction   Slow  

"Wow what a cesspit," thought Brianna. "I would have thought in a city as large as Mariners Deep there would be more enlightened people, but I couldn't have met this many stupid men if I tried. Why is sex the only thing on their little minds?"

"If they aren't trying to find the right words, no matter how crude, to get me to warm their bed, they are challenging me to a fight they can't win. I know the guild said that I'm supposed to journey and observe people, but I don't understand what I going to learn from any of this. I can't wait till my time is up and I can go back to the guild, " she continued thinking to herself.

As she traveled along the water front she found herself in front of a tavern called the "Hidden Keep" that seemed cleaner than most of the others she passed.

She decided to go in and have supper. She always seemed to get better information about a city from sitting in the darkest back corner of the room watching people as they came and went. It always helped kill a few hours during the day too.

As she entered the tavern she noticed it was better lit than most of the other taverns, and while it was packed with people, it seemed really clean. She didn't see any trash on the floors and the tables didn't seem to be caked with dried food on them. In all, the tavern seemed to be kept up really well.

Then an aroma drifted to her from the cooking pit and it made her mouth water. She looked around and managed to find a table in the back where she sat down and waited. If the staff was any good they would notice her sitting there, she thought.

Even though they really seemed busy, the one thing that seemed to draw her attention was the bartender. He wasn't that much taller than average, but he wasn't quite as dark skinned with the "sun kissed" tan look the locals sported.

He had thick dark curly hair, and seemed to be wearing very baggy clothes to hide his frame. Brianna thought he did seem rather young to be a seasoned bartender, and she would have estimated him at no more than twenty or twenty one seasons at best.

Why he suddenly drew her attention, she didn't really know. Maybe what did it was that she couldn't help but notice that every time a serving girl went to up to the counter to get their order filled, they didn't just read it to him or reach it to him over the counter, they all went behind the counter and took each and every opportunity to touch him while they talked to or waited for him to fill their order.

She guesstimated about ten to twelve girls were doing this from time to time in all.

They would either touch the sides of his face, his arms, or stand next to him with their arms around his waist. They were clearly flirting heavily with him.

"I wonder what makes him so special. Bet he's already either bedded most of them or is leading the rest of them on somehow. Men are nothing but scum who spend most of their time waiting to get their rocks off, " thought Brianna darkly.

One thing she was curious to note was that while he would look directly at them when they did that, he would only smile shyly and quickly look away.

"Strange, that smile never seems to reach his eyes. And he seems nervous that they keep flirting so heavily with him. I bet it's an act though, " thought Brianna.

"But it's a really strange one if it is. I've never seen a man who had women, any women, all around him and who were making very obvious they were interested in him, and who didn't have either his tongue or his pecker hanging out. It's almost like he is oblivious to what they want from him. I guess he is attractive enough, but what makes him so special to them?" she wondered.

Even while she was still lost in thought, she couldn't fail to notice a drunk staggering up to her. When she first noticed him standing up from across the room she hoped he would head for the door, but she guessed that would be too much to ask for.

She sighed inwardly, preparing herself for a fight once again. She would either have to half kill, or kill, some man who couldn't keep it in his pants yet once again.

"Hayya pritty lady do youse want me to buy youse a drink?" said the drunk rather loudly as he swayed from side to side.

"No, no thanks. I'm good," said Brianna as she looked pointedly to her left, away from the drunken man standing in front of her table. She was hoping if she looked away he would take the hint and move off.

Instead he seated himself at her table.

"Waasshaa matter, you tood good to have a drink with me. 'm just trying to get to know youse better that's all," said the drunk.

Brianna, who was still making it a point not to look directly at him, said "Look I'm just minding my own business here and I would just like to be left alone. Please respect that."

This seemed to anger the drunk who drew himself up to his full height from the slouched position he was sitting in and said "I was just trying tood be neighborly and make a neeeww friend by offering tood buy youse a drink. I didn't mean anything else by it. I bet youse just some man hating dike."

It seemed as if all conversations stopped in their area of the tavern.

Anger flashed in Brianna's eyes as she hissed "DAMNIT, I DON'T HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THIS. And I SHOULDN'T have to take this from such a stupid and lowly creature as you!!"

As she leaned forward to physically vent her frustration further, she suddenly noticed the bartender standing by the table. She barely had time to register that he was there, and that made her nervous.

Who was this man who was able to get under her guard so quickly, quietly, and easily? No one had done that since she was a small child! She was always aware of her surroundings.

He leaned in close to the drunk, placed one large hand on the drunk's shoulder, and said as quietly as he could "Melt, trust me on this one, you don't want this trouble you're about to buy for yourself. Just play along with everything I say out loud and I'll take care of the cost myself later, ok?"

The drunk went wide eyed and nodded.

The bartender leaned back and said rather loudly "Well ok, that would be great Melt."

Then he turned to the rest of the room and said "Melt feels bad for disturbing this young lady and everyone near her, and has offered to pay for a free round for everyone in the tavern."

The room erupted with a cheer as some of the closer patrons lifted Melt up and took him to the bar.

"Hey Trish, would you pour out the drinks and keep total so we know what the total tab is?" called out the bartender.

An attractive brunette winked his way, said "Sure thing honey," and started giving out drinks.

Once he finished, he turned back to the lady sitting at the table. He was obviously blushing, and said "Sorry about that disturbance, what can I get for you this evening," as he wiped his hands on his apron.

The woman sat smoldering as she stared up at the bartender. She was so mad she was shaking.

Before he could say another word, she said "How dare you. How dare you come over here believing I needed saving by some big strong man because I wasn't capable of handling myself, as if I was some helpless woman who needed someone to hide behind! Who in the hell do you think you are?"

Brianna was angry that he had intervened. She knew she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She had been doing that for seasons. But she was also angry at herself. It didn't fail to register on her if he had been an assassin instead of bartender she would have been dead already.

For all she knew he could still be one.

Standing before that heated tirade the bartender held up his obviously well calloused hands, to stop her mid rant, and said "Whoa there, I wasn't trying to come to your aid and save you, my whole plan was to try and save Melt."

Brianna was pulled up short at that comment and appeared to be confused.

"Excuse me, what was that again?" she said in shock.

The bartender sat down across from her with both of his hands flat on the table. He knew this was a sign to show her he meant her no harm.

"Hmmm, where to start," he said. "First, while I'll admit a lot of men noticed when you walked in, only Melt had the courage, and I also admit it was liquid courage, to approach you."

"The first thing they noticed I'm sure was that you are dressed in a leather outfit, and that peaked their interest. It's hard not to notice a woman in leather. One who is wearing a leather vest and a pair of leather britches, if I'm not mistaken?

"But, I'm sure most of them failed to notice the chain mail undershirt you're wearing. It's not hard to see that the leather vest swings back and forth like flowing water over you, so something within your shirt is moving it.

"Meanwhile, the leather you're wearing is worn, patched well in a few places, and fits loose enough on you that you can wear chain mail under it and it doesn't restrict your range of movement.

"That means it's not new outfit or something you rarely wear, you're young enough that it can't be that old, and even if you had it for seasons in a closet somewhere, it probably wouldn't fit you as well as it does if you had to grow into it.

"And you really don't seem to be struggling under the weight of the chain mail. So you're not out on the town looking for a good time with some man, well not if you are running around with clothes over your chain mail underwear," said the bartender with a smile.

"Then there are your swords. Both of them are stored in a pair of very well used wood and leather scabbards at your side. Those scabbards appear to be pitted, scratched, and scared in quite a few places with burn marks that make them seem like they've been set near an open fire or two in their time.

"Since most people don't set their swords too near fires in buildings, it would have had to have been while you were camping outdoors. Most people keep weapons close in case of danger. Again this says to me that they aren't for decoration.

"And even if I wasn't so sure about them, then there is the well worn leather grips of your swords pommel that says they've been handled a time or two themselves before.

"As I sit here I can see all the nicks and scratches on them. Not to mention that when you got angry you dropped one of your shoulders and started to cross your arms and draw your swords. I bet to kick or shoulder the table at Melt so that you would be shielded as you drew your swords. All those factors together that told me that you aren't a novice with swords," finished the bartender.

Brianna leaned back in her chair studying the bartender before her. Suddenly she found that she couldn't really read him. He couldn't have all this knowledge from tending bar. He might have gotten it from just watching various customers, but the itch in the back of her mind said that wasn't the case.

"You got all that from across the bar?" asked Brianna with a raised eyebrow.

"Not all of it. I took in your appearance when you came in and thought with the lack of obvious scars or missing appendages, you might be really good with your weapons. I have a memory that lets me see something once and I remember it in complete detail, so I only really needed a glance at you and I processed it while I was working," said the bartender.

"But the part about your scabbard and how you started to draw your swords came to me as I hurried to the table as fast as I could to try and save Melt's life when I saw you look away the first time and Melt didn't take the hint. You probably didn't see me jump the bar to try and get over here quickly did you?" asked the bartender.

Brianna cocked one eye brow at that comment, shocked how observant he was. Though she was curious if a man his size really ran around jumping over countertops.

The bartender continued "Melt, Melton is his given name, on the other hand is a baker. The most vicious thing he's had to fight lately was probably a misbehaving dinner roll."

Brianna tried hard not to, but she couldn't help but smiled at that.

"Melt is a good man, but he lost his wife to the fever last season. He owns a bakery close by and he has his good days and his bad days, but he really loved his wife more than life itself. Today is her birthday and they both would have been twenty two today.

"On his bad days, when it gets too bad, he comes here to drown his sorrows and I take him home and put him in bed. I was just didn't want you to make his two young children orphans after losing their mother so soon at such an early age, all because their father did something stupid in grief, only because he misses their mother."

Now Brianna sat across from him at a loss for words. She was unsure how to handle all this new information.

"Anyway, let me bring you some dinner. We have Ham and bean stew and a short beer on the house to make up for the disturbance would that acceptable to you?" asked the bartender.

Still staring at the bartender in shock and surprise she just nodded.

He smiled a warm smile and got up to get her some supper.

As she watched him make her a plate she was suddenly very aware that all the serving girls, four of them in particular, were now all staring very intently in her direction. After he returned with her plate, and a large piece of bread, he smiled warmly again, nodded, and resumed his place behind the bar.

From time to time she noticed all the women were still looking in her direction, but the bartender went back to basically ignoring her.

She also couldn't help but notice that all of them at some point kissed his cheek or touched him in some way as they passed him, but he just blushed and kept on working.

As Brianna ate she replayed what happened in her mind, she was still at a loss for words. Most of the times, if a man could manage to get her in a conversation, he couldn't shut up about his various exploits as he tried to impress her.

But this man after explaining his actions backed off and gave her, her own space. He didn't flatter or try to praise her. He treated everything as matter of fact with her, and afterwards went back to work as if breaking up fights like this was an everyday occurrence, and for a shipping port city they may have been.

He didn't give the impression he thought of her as just another trophy or notch on his belt. She wasn't sure how to react to that.

After all the serving girls were satisfied that nothing was going on between Brianna and the bartender, they went back to laughing and talking with the various patrons, but never failed to glance her direction from time to time.

"I guess they are marking their territory, " thought Brianna as she smiled and remember them all kissing him when he returned back to behind the bar.

After about an hour, another very pretty lady came in. She was probably in her mid to late thirties or possibly early forties. She still had quite an impressive figure that was build so well that it would have done a woman in her teens to early twenties proud. The only thing that would tell someone that she wasn't in her twenties was the extremely sparse sprinkling of a few grey hairs in a deep sea of jet black.

Once she got to the bar she and grabbed an apron and started tying it on. Brianna noticed that the bartender said "Welcome back Gemma," leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, and then said "I'll have to settle up with you for a meal and a round of drinks in the morning if that's ok?"

Gemma smiled and said "You know you can do it at any time."

The bartender said thanks and it was time to get Melt home to his children. And even though he put the drunks arm over his shoulder, his feet never touched the ground as the bartender put his hands around the fellows waist to lift him up so they could leave.

And with that he was gone into the night.

Brianna had a stray thought of "How could someone that large, be that strong, and yet move that silently?"

A few minutes after his exit, one of the serving girls wandered close enough to Brianna's table so she could call her over. The serving girl seemed to have a forced smile while standing before Brianna.

"How can I help you?" she asked.

"Well I just need some information to be honest, and then I'm on my way. Why did your bartender leave before closing time?" asked Brianna.

The serving girl stiffened at that question and the smile left her face.

"Why do you need to know?" she asked giving her a wary look.

Brianna held up both hands and said with a smile "He bought my meal because your Melt person caused a commotion. I refuse to allow anyone to pay my way, but I wanted to thank him for trying."

The serving girl stood silent for a minute, searching Brianna's face. Finally she came to decision

"He doesn't work here. Well he does, but he won't take any money for it, and only to fill in for one of us if needed. Tonight the owner wanted to visit a friend of hers and her daughter over in the next town so he came in to help her out. Last week it was for Madelyn when her child was sick and she needed to stay home," she said.

"He works for us and passes the money we would have earned on to us so we don't have to do without it. He's pretty observant, because something one of us may say or do he'll remember, and when we need him he'll show up. A just few times he'll just show up for a meal and conversation, but mostly it's to help out," continued the girl.

"Do you need anything else?" she asked, and when Brianna shook her head no, the girl moved off to another customer.

"He helps people and doesn't ask for anything in return. He's that selfless? This is too good to be true, he must have an angle. I bet he does it to butter up the girls to eventually get them in bed. But if that was the case, it's clear they are willing to do it at anytime he asks. What's he up to?" thought Brianna.

Closing time found her still sitting in the corner trying to figure him out.

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