Chapter 4

Ariel had finished most of her cider. “I think I’m ready. Where are you taking me?”

“This way.” Hulda stood and walked toward the bar.

“Wait. Shouldn’t I put on pants?”

“Nah, ya’ll be taken it all off right quick.”

With some trepidation, Ariel stood to make her walk of shame. But as she stepped out from the table, nude from the waist down, she realized that any shame was only in her head. This was her triumph, not her shame. She had conquered her fears and earned the right to strut through the Pig. While she did not quite manage Hulda’s confident strut, she walked with her head held high. The tingle that ran up and down her legs was excitement not fear.

“Back through here,” Hulda said as she motioned Ariel behind the bar.

Ariel had never been behind a merchant’s counter in game. The Browns had a neatly organized bar. Plates and glasses were in easy reach. Goody Brown was polishing the hardwood bar with a rag. Hulda briefly placed a hand on her mother’s back as the two of them stepped behind the good woman.

“Into the kitchen?” Ariel asked.

“Through here leastwise,” Hulda said.

Ariel stepped into the Kitchen which took up most of the rest of the bottom floor of the Roasted Pig. The cook hearth and bread oven took up the back wall. A man stood near the hearth stirring a pot. “Pa, this is Ariel like I told ya,” Hulda said.

“Well met, Goodman,” Ariel said.

“Aye, well met.” Goodman Brown put down his spoon and offered a calloused hand. Ariel shook. She felt awkward being introduced in her state of undress, but the goodman didn’t even raise an eye when he looked down and noticed her lack of pants.

“Ariel, in here,” Hulda said. She motioned to a door off the side of the kitchen closer to the bar than the hearth. “Pa, like I said, she’ll be in there. If ya don’t hear her for a while, come an check on her, will ya? Wouldn’t want anything to go wrong.”

Goodman Brown laughed. “Hulda, are ya right sure you’re not asking too much of Ariel?”

Hulda considered Ariel. “You’re still doing okay?”

“Yeah, although awfully curious about your surprise.”

“In here an I’ll tell ya.”

Ariel stepped through the door into a small room. A warn mattress and coverlet filled most of the floor. Clothes were hung on a rod above three simple wooden shelves. Ariel recognized two of the leather tops Hulda wore when she plied her trade along with some utilitarian smocks and outer garments. Ariel sniffed and the room smelled strongly of Hulda’s spicy scent: the combination of her skin with a stronger element of the soaps she used.

Ariel turned to Hulda. “is this ... your room?”

Hulda shuffled and looked slightly down. “Yeah. I thought—” Hulda trailed off.

“Look, if you realized you’re not comfortable taking me here, it is okay.”

“Nah, not that.” Hulda shook out her shoulders and stood straight. “I thought ya ... well, when I come to being all done for the night, I come here an lie down about there”—she moved the coverlet aside with her foot and revealed a large stain—”an like as not, leak a good bit.

“Some days I’m tired an fucked out. Just wanna slip away, blissed out as the puddle of mind floats on the puddle of my body.

“An some days, I get back all worked up. Some client’s done gotten off and left me half up my hill. I ain’t gonna get no sleep til I do something about it.

“So there I am, frigging away, my hand in their mess. Sometimes there ain’t no come as good as that!.”

“Anyway, I thought ya might”—Hulda briefly caught Ariel’s eyes before looking down again—”well, while ya play with yourself and I get dirty for ya ... I thought ya might like being here.”

Ariel was speechless. This must be Hulda’s most private place. Hulda brought her here.

Ariel had to say something. “You took me to your dirty bed because I ... because you want to share your—”

“Ya don’t have to. I can take ya—”

“No! I’m honored ... I mean this is really special.” Ariel realized she was jumping to conclusions. “I mean, you do not do this often, do you? It’s okay if you do of course, but I just...” Ariel wasn’t getting out of the verbal whole she dug for herself.

“Ain’t no client been here before ya.”

Ariel swept Hulda into a hug. She tilted Hulda’s chin up until the whore was looking at her smile. “Thank you Hulda.”

“I’m glad ya like. I hoped ... walking in here, I was so nervous, hoping ya’d not be insulted.”

“Insulted? How could I be. I just hope you aren’t going to regret bringing me here.”

Hulda stood and thought. “Nah, I feel safe with ya here. Ya understand the difference between good dirty and bad dirty’s paper thin.”

That was true enough. Ariel nodded.

“Ya like the surprise?”

Ariel laughed. “I never would have guessed.” Truthfully, she wouldn’t even have guessed the game was this detailed with NPCs taking the time to frig themselves. She was going to be excited in a bit, but at the moment, she was still touched that Hulda would share something this private. “So, can I?” She pointed at the bed.

“Take off your top, an sure, go ahead.”

Ariel decided to remove her top without resorting to the interface. The blouse was easy. She fumbled at her bra: She had never unhooked a bra that was on her own body. It was a lot harder than taking one off someone else. At least Phoenix Rising provided anachronistically modern fasteners and stretchy material. Eventually, her breasts sprang free.

Ariel dropped to hands and knees, her nose pressed to Hulda’s stain, her ass in the air. She sniffed deeply. It smelled of Hulda and must. Of itself, Hulda’s dirty bedding was not going to turn her on. Sniffing it here with Hulda watching ... that was another matter entirely. Hulda offered something intimate, and now Ariel was literally rubbing her nose in it.

“An here I thought ya was gonna lie down.”

“Once you showed me, I was going to sniff it. Once you left the room, there was no way I could resist something that nasty tonight.”

Ariel continued, “Then I thought about you standing there. It seemed wrong to hide what I was doing from you, and it’s humiliating to get down like an animal and stick my nose right where you’ve been. But a good kind of really naughty humiliating, and well, um, yeah!” Ariel licked her lips.

“Uh huh! Ya enjoy sticking your nose there. I come back, and your nose an tongue’s gonna be in a lot dirtier places than that.”

Ariel whimpered. “Yes,” she hissed.

Ariel lay on the bed, her head on Hulda’s pillow. She reached to stroke herself.

“Nah, not so fast.”

“I thought I was going to touch myself while you went off and did your thing?”

“Yeah. This is still your first frigging, ain’t it?”

“Yeah, crazy isn’t it?”

“Yeah! I had a body like that an I’d take her for a ride quick enough.

“Your first time shouldn’t be a frig an come. Learn her, touch her everywhere. Tease an caress.

“Feel good. Feel relaxed. Only then get horny and frig like the Great Lady’s riding ya.

“Ya got an immortal time interface?”

Ariel said she did.

“Then give yourself 25 minutes before ya even think of touching the naughty bits.”

“Yes.”

“Ya heard me talking to pa? about checking in on ya, you’re too quiet? Better come and moan like ya mean it.”

“Your pa would not actually barge in on one of your clients, would he?”

“Who’s to tell? Ya certainly can’t be sure can ya. Ya enjoy yourself like ya ought and no one needs to know what he’d do.”

“If I told you to go out there and make sure Goodman Brown wasn’t coming in here, you would, right?”

Hulda knelt on the mattress next to Ariel. “Yeah. Anything you’re not ready for ain’t happening. Want I should do that?”

“I don’t ... no, I don’t need that. Knowing I could, though ... that’s important.” Even though Ariel would be completely embarrassed if Goodman Brown actually did pop in to check on her, knowing she had control made it something she could face. Knowing that he knew what she was doing in here would be a turn-on, as would the possibility that he would take Hulda’s direction seriously.

Hulda said, “Uh huh, it is. You’re doing great.” Hulda squeezed Ariel’s hand. “One final question for ya.”

“What?”

“Want I should tell them I’m making a big cream pie an getting all dirty for ya? Want them to know what ya earned out there?”

“Fuck no!” Ariel felt herself get wet just thinking of how humiliating that would be. “I mean, that would be hot, but I couldn’t live down shame like that, could I?”

“Ain’t no shame in being who ya want to be. Are ya letting your fear hold ya back?”

“I don’t think ... at least not just fear is holding me back. Do you trust everyone out there to make this the good kind of dirty?”

“Ah! Good point. Ya trust me to share it when they’ll understand?”

Even that was big, but Hulda was putting herself out there too by sharing this. Still, if she ever came back to the Pig, she might end up at a table with people who knew she got off on their sloppy seconds. She might not even know who knew. In the version where it was a shared dirty secret, rather than opening herself up to being degraded by strangers, that would have her wet every time she came here. “Please be careful, but if you’re careful it could be really hot.”

“Yeah, I’ll take care.” Hulda hugged her. “Ya come a long way bold Pathtreader.”

Hulda stood. “Have fun with yourself.” She left and silently closed the door behind her.

Ariel relaxed on Hulda’s bed. She had the chance to really get to know her body. She hadn’t done that. Outside of her time at the Roasted Pig, she’d been adventuring, dressed in armor.

She’d seen Ariel in the character creation wizard of course. Ariel started out with just a hint of brown in her skin. David had decided to go with that random start, darkening it somewhat to something that might be called pecan. David figured that if he was going to let his fantasies ride wild, he might as well size up the boobs. Without significant support from her garments, they were easily defeated by gravity. Instead as Ariel twirled in the character creation wizard, they formed beautiful curves sloping down her chest as they merged into the curves of her belly. The goddess spinning in the creation wizard certainly did have an ample belly—ample for cuddling, for hugging, for enfolding in softness. While her bottom was not as pronounced as her breasts, it was by no means small. Ariel was tall for a woman, over 170 centimeters. Her hair was thick, but of necessity short.