Chapter 7: Aco and Aston

Aco stepped into the man’s waiting arms. When she looked up at him, she saw a smile and felt a wave of warmth and love wash across her mind. “Aco, I wish for you to be my wife when the time comes.” She nodded without a word. “We have much to do still before we wed and have children.”

“I know Aston,” she whispered, “but we can have a bit of fun before we do, don’t you think?”

“Oh, indeed I do, lovely one.” He looked at her face and saw a faint line of a scar across her left cheek. He ran his finger down it, looking questioningly at her.

“One of the agents had acid on his blade and caught me off guard after I had just put another of his down. It would seem the old wounds are still hidden just below the surface, waiting for a chance to resurface.” Aco was not self-conscious about the scar, but it did bother her that it didn’t heal with the rest of the injuries.

“I hope he paid for the injury he did you,” said Aston.

“Oh yes my love, he paid. When the shard was removed, he died from being dead already.”

“Dead already? How is that possible,” Aston asked. He had not had an encounter where he removed a gem shard from a living person.

Aco began removing Aston’s clothing as she spoke, explaining what had been learned about the agents, “It was found that when you remove the shard from a living agent, they go into a coma and their body generally dies a day later.”

Aston released his belt and his pants slid to his ankles, stepping free from them, “That is odd.” He removed his underclothing and was soon nude like Aco. “We thought so too at first. It is believed that once the shard is inserted, the mind of the victim is taken over and the person that was in the body is destroyed.”

Aco looked down and saw Aston’s member at full attention. It was good-sized in her view. She had limited experience from her time with the caravan so couldn’t judge if it was larger or smaller than most. She was certain that it was slightly smaller than the last man she had raped and killed in the slave camp. That man had been hung like a mule. Aston lifted her and laid her back on her low bed. He joined her and they kissed for the first time. It was a slow and gentle kiss, of two lovers getting to know one another. All talk of the trouble they had been facing ended as they came to know one another in a new and better way. The first time he entered her, she cried out as he opened her further than she had been in a long time. He froze and asked if she wanted him to stop. Her answer was her hands pulling him deeper into her.

Hours later as the sun was setting, they went to the dining room and ate a small meal. Aco took Aston to the bath’s where they took their time cleaning each other off. Back in her room, they silently undressed and climbed into the narrow bed, her on top of him. She adjusted herself and his newly re-awakened member slid into her. She didn’t move, just relaxed and soon was lightly snoring into Aston’s chest.

Aston held her, keeping still so as not to separate from her. The feeling was far more intense with this woman than any he had ever experienced in the past. He too soon drifted off to sleep, holding the woman he would soon find himself unable to live without.

While they slept, Aston dreamed and was with Aco in her dreams. She showed him her life, from before the acid burns, the suffering, the pain she had endured most of her life. He watched in amusement the scene with the rooster at Andrews home, the amazement at her exploits in foiling the palace coup in Terin’s Crossing. The other side of Aco made itself known to Aston as well. The Claw faced him and said nothing. He could feel the malevolent rage it felt for all men. Aco returned the Claw to her box and sent it away. Only time would tell if Claw would be a problem; Aston hoped not. The rest of Aco’s life showed him her healing, the rage, the Dragon. He knew that that part of her story was ended. The creature had been banished to oblivion for eternity. Nothing sent there ever returned.

Aco in turn saw Aston’s life. His training and skills with horses. She rode with him as he learned, experienced his first time with a woman as she taught him how to pleasure a woman every time. She wished she could meet with that teacher; Aston had proved to be an apt and able student of those arts. She could understand his amazement as his ability to speak with animals formed and grew as he traveled. The despair he felt when he was exiled was like a dagger in his soul at first. Over time he began to understand that other forces were at work in his life. His time in Rivers Bend had been fun until the Yard Masters wife had made her play for him. That event caused him to miss being blown apart when the coal bin had exploded, destroying that part of the city. The villagers along the way that had attempted to rob him, then the old road when he missed the proper turn-off. The underground explosion and collapse he escaped from. All these went towards making Aston Grey the man he had become. His travels down the Trade highway and his partially successful control of another person during a robbery was another important change for him.

Then the little girl, Weena came to him. He had somehow brought out the hidden, latent talent in her. He could still hear her if he listened. The most recent contact was she had reached the northern pass of the Ramparts. The ice and snow had melted, and she was able to see down into the Ice Spine region from there. The image she sent looked like a giant inland sea had formed as far as she could see. The vision faded and both slept the rest of the night in peace.

Brena

Brena looked up from the papers she was reviewing when her office door burst open and a man in a very expensive suit walked in. He pulled around a chair and sat across from her, glaring in a manner that just annoyed her to no end. He brushed back his greying black hair and waited for her to acknowledge him.

Brena finished reading the report and closed the folder it was in. She looked up at the man and finally asked, “What can I do for you Chancellor?” When he didn’t answer right away, she started to reach for the next file on the pile.

“Alright, damn it,” he snapped. “What do you want from us so you will call off the thieves guilds raids.”

Now she smiled faintly. She had them now. “As you know the undercity was completely destroyed in the flooding.” She waited for him to acknowledge that statement. He nodded in agreement. “Good, you finally understand the problem then? Over three thousand people in this city have lost their homes because of the flooding. That is not those lost when the dikes failed and everything along the river was destroyed a full two miles out from the banks.”

“Yes, we are aware of the damage and the losses. I also know you want the undercity rebuilt. The cost and time would far...”

“I am aware of that. My own people have come to the same conclusion.” She pulled a cylinder out of the lowest desk drawer on the left and handed it to him. “Here is our proposal. Read it first, then take it to his majesty.”

He opened the case and pulled out the pages and began reading. Brena knew she had him when his eyebrows went up and he smiled. He rolled them up and sealed them in the tube. “That plan will work, and it will cost the kingdom far less. The damage reports we have begun to receive from over the Rampart are frightening in the extreme.”

“I know, I have my own network and word is not good, all the way to the desert coast.” She opened another folder and turned it to him. The main road over the Rampart will be out for at least another year unless we can throw enough bodies at it. I have about a thousand folks that could use work and homes. The area directly to the east is not going to be viable as farming lands for at least ten years according to the estimates I’ve seen. The winds salted the soil heavily with seawater. Do you agree?”

“Yes, I have seen the same reports. What do you have in mind,” he asked warily?

“It has been proposed that the folks from below build a new town out that way. The crews that maintain the drainage tunnels would be close enough to come in for extended periods, then have a relief crew take over while they rest. As to the rest, do you need road crews? There you go.” She looked the chancellor in the eyes, daring him to object.

He thought about it, then it sank in, no new underground city. The cost-savings alone made what she suggested sound good. “I will need to take this to higher to see if they approve.” He looked at her, then almost begged, “Call off the guilds war on the city coffers please.”

“Make sure that his royal senile ass sees this and approves it. I will call off the dogs for one week. Don’t let the court slow this to a crawl as I know some of them would like.” Brena was cold. She had already sent warnings to several of the higher court members that if they continued to interfere with rebuilding and repair efforts, the other side of the coin would step in and settle the matter.

“I think that will be easy enough.” He stood and held his hand out to her. She stood and took it in a firm grasp and shook. He left and Brena began cleaning her desk off, putting files in baskets for the night. She had had enough for one day. She stepped out into the main office of the above-ground headquarters and looked around, Not seeing who she wanted, she asked the woman next to her door, “Have you seen Andrew?”

The woman, a girl still really of sixteen at the most looked around and noted several others back at their desks. “Last I saw of him he was headed out at a near run with five of the older women hot on his heels.” Brena sighed, “I warned him to be careful in here.” She grabbed her cloak from the hanger and went outside. She thought she knew where he would have gone to escape those man-hungry harpies. As she suspected, he was hiding in a nearby tavern, sipping a mug of whatever was at hand. He was slumped down, keeping his face from showing.

The barman saw her come in and gestured, she nodded at him, so he turned to the wine cask to draw a small mug of wine for her. He knew Brena’s preferences and was always ready to serve her when she stopped by. He had seen Andrew almost dive in and run for the back corner, so he figured Brena would show up sooner or later. He wasn’t expecting the five huntresses to come in, stalking prey like hungry cats. Andrew was out of sight now, so he made sure they left as quickly as he could make them while not being rude about it.

Brena joined Andrew and he looked pale. Fighting knights, slavers and other evils was easy. Being hunted and stalked by five women was not something he enjoyed. Had he not had Brena, he knew he would have done his best to leave the five tired and sore in a big way. Brena knew this as well but loved him for being true to her. “So, running from the pack again?”

“They don’t take no for an answer,” he said. “If it was a man chasing them, they would be screaming their fool heads off.” He threw back the last of the ale and smacked the mug down. He looked at Brena, “I will not be unfaithful to you Brena, but those creatures will not stop until I have put babies in the lot of them. That is their stated goal with me.”

Brena raised an eyebrow at that, “Now that is the first I have heard of that.” She sipped her wine, set the mug down then continued, “Maybe you should give them what they want.” She watched his expression as his eyes went wide and he looked ready to bolt. Brena grabbed his arms and prevented him from standing, “I’m kidding Andy, I’m kidding.”

Andrew sat back and glared, “Ever since I returned from the disaster of the Knights school, I have felt like I am being stalked. I know it is just a bunch of over-sexed women, but I am sworn to you alone.”

Brena didn’t say anything right away. Since his return, they had had exactly no time alone. The issues with rebuilding and managing the mess the guild was in had kept her busy non-stop. She dropped several silvers on the table, finished her wine, and stood to leave. “Come on, I have to send out a few orders.” He stood and followed her out, looking all around in case the hunters were lying in wait to pounce on him.

Brena took him back to the Guild office and was surprised when she stepped in and called for everybody’s attention. “As of right now, call in the dogs for the next seven days. If the king meets my request, then the war is over. If he refuses the proposal, well the Kingdom will never be the same. Get the word out now.” A dozen runners took off in various directions and began spreading the word to call off the thieves.

Brena looked around and spotted the five and said loudly, “This man is mine, keep hunting him and I might just let him give you what you want. He won’t be gentle.” She grabbed Andrew by the elbow and dragged him out before he could react and spoil the moment. She could also hear the snickering of Bloodrend in her mind. He thought it was hilarious that the big warrior was afraid of a few women.

The walk would take an hour to return to the Broken Sword, so she began dragging him along. “Brena,” he said, “This city needs a horse carriage service to speed up travel.”

“I agree, but who would clean up all the horse shit and piss,” she asked.

“How about some of the under-city folks that lost their employment.”

“And who would pay for it?” she asked.

Andrew frowned as he thought. “That would be considered a city service so the crown would have to pay them.”

“And do you think the idiots in the court would cough up the coin to pay for the services? What about the additional taxes that would be levied to help pay for the service?”

“I can think of a few ways to convince them to pay. Of course, it would be a messy way to get the point across,” he said. “Though I don’t see the population being happy with increased taxes.”

She gave him a sideways glance, “What, collect the mess and dump it on their steps?”

He smiled, “Something like that, yes.”

“I can see that working, but it could also backfire rather badly in the long term.”

“I can see that too.” They walked on in silence for a few more minutes. Andrew was thinking about other ways to get around the city when a man ran past them, making a grab at one of the pouches that Brena wore on her belt. Brena started to protest but stopped when Andrew sprinted off after the cutpurse. He saw the man duck into an alley and Andrew followed him in.

Andrew slid to a stop when five men stepped out of the shadows in front of him. Three more behind him blocked the way out. The only thought Andrew had right then was, ‘You have got to be kidding me.’ Bloodrend chuckled, ‘Dinner time.”

Andrew wanted to defuse this before he would be forced to kill them. “Guys, you really don’t want to do this.”

“Hear that boys? He says we don’t want to do this. Well, I have bad news, we are going to be moving in and taking over. The guild is wrecked, the stupid whore that is running it now can’t even get things straight.”

“Really?” said Andrew. “You think Brena Sizemore can’t run the Thieves guild?”

The apparent leader looked around at his toughs and laughed, “As I said, more of us are coming and we are taking over the Thieves, and the Brotherhood.”

‘Are they BQ’s’ Andrew thought to Bloodrend.

‘No Master, just a bunch of idiots looking to die today,’ replied the sword, ‘though something is a bit off on all but the leader.’

Brena had stopped just out of sight outside the alley and was listening. “Brena, I have a group of freelancers here.” He knew she was there. “Judgement?”

“Kill the leader then bring out the rest for questioning,” was the woman’s reply.

The leading thug didn’t seem to hear the judgment laid upon him, “Now you just hand over that fancy sword and all your money, and I might see about letting you get out of here with your balls still attached.” He and the rest laughed, all pulling out knives and short blades now.

Andrew drew Bloodrend, “Well my friend, you get to feed on one of them at least, shall we begin?”

‘Indeed, we must,’ said Bloodrend.

Andrew waited to see if the leader would strike first or send a minion ahead. The leader was thin but well-muscled. His rough yellow, blond hair needed a good cleaning and cutting. His orange-colored clothing needed repairs and a good cleaning. The nameless man charged Andrew, letting out a scream as he attacked. Andrew noted it looked like the man had drawn long dog whiskers away from his mouth and nose. His boots clattered on the cobblestone, and he yelled as he charged. As he entered striking range, Andrew swiped Bloodrend across the knife arm. What hit the stones a second later was an empty, dry husk. Every drop of blood had been drained from him in an instant. Andrew picked up the blade that the man had held. It was an odd weapon in its diamond shape.

Andrew looked around to tell the others to drop their weapons, but the alley was empty. They had simply vanished as soon as Bloodrend had touched the man, killing him. Brena looked in and saw Andrew standing alone.

“Where are the others,” she asked?

“Gone, as soon as he died, they vanished.” Bloodrend chimed in, ‘Illusions, maybe?’

Andrew considered, “With the power restored, odd talents may be cropping up all over the place. He may have had the ability to create shadow copies of himself.”

“Makes sense,” Brena said. “Now that the matter is settled, let’s continue on our way.” She paused and spotted her stolen pouch. She tied it back on her belt and checked to make sure the pebbles it was filled with were still there.

“He said more like him are coming, what do you think he meant by that Brena,” asked Andrew as they continued on their way. She didn’t answer right away and a woman that she knew as one of the messenger runners for the Thieves approached them.

She stopped and started talking, “There has been a report of a group of freelancers working in this area. So far, nobody has been able to catch them, they just seem to vanish.” She paused to catch her breath a little more. “Word is out that some individuals are starting to exhibit unusual talents that before the Flash would not have been possible. Rumor is some can go invisible while another seems to make copies of himself. Other rumors are less provable, so word has gone out to keep eyes and ears open.” She didn’t wait for orders; she took off to deliver her next message to wherever she was going.

Brena smiled, “I think we can close this shadow clone case out for them.”

“Maybe. There may be more than one with that talent,” Andrew said quietly. They walked in silence for a few more minutes. “Brena,” he said.

“Yes Andy?” she said.

“What if more come and begin to try to take over the Thieves and Brotherhood. Think of it, Brena. That one could create shadow copies of himself. What if someone could become invisible. Or perhaps step from one point to another without crossing the space between. Think about it, Brena. Ledger may have helped Gardallen survive, but what else has been unleashed with the sudden return of power?”

Brena didn’t reply. She was deep in thought at what Andrew had suggested. She knew she had some ability, but it was still hidden from her. In time she hoped it would prove to be something useful in her duties. Andrew hadn’t hinted at any new skills or abilities so either he was staying quiet, or he was not going to have any. Halfway back to the Broken Sword, they stopped and had some wine and bread. This would hold them until they reached the Hotel and could get a real meal for the first time in a week.

Andrew wanted to have a talk with Ledger as well. He needed to discuss the sudden advent of new talents never seen before. He knew Robin could do things with her voice from what she had hinted at the previous week. Now he wondered how much power her voice really had. Another thing came to mind. The vial he had seen at the Brotherhood’s temple. ‘Bloodrend, when we visited the Brotherhood, you had a very bad reaction to the vial with the red and green mist in it. What is it, and would the change in power caused it to gain strength?”

Bloodrend remain silent a full minute before speaking. As it spoke, Andrew was drawn into a vision.

Andrew saw an image of a thin, well-muscled woman. Her hair reminded him of Tara it was so red. The creature was ripped from her body, then she vanished into the mist. The energy creature flowed and fought but it couldn’t escape as it was drawn into the prison. The voice in an unknown tongue spoke and the prison cell vanished, taking the being with it. He heard a deep and evil-sounding chuckle and the vision ended.

As the vision faded and Andrew found himself on his knees in the middle of the road. He stood, dusted off his pants, then Brena asked, “What happened Andrew. You were a total blank for a moment. I was worried when you stumbled and dropped like that.”

“Bloodrend just showed me something from a time so long ago it isn’t even a myth or legend.” He started walking to get away from the onlookers that had stopped to see if Brena needed help with the big man. “Do you remember the glowing vial in the Office of the Brotherhood’s priestess?”

“I recall seeing it. I had other matters on my mind then, so I didn’t look at it too closely, why?” she asked as they walked on.

“That vial is a prison for something, not really so much as evil, but a creature of chaos.” He pulled Brena out of the stream of walking people, pausing in a small alcove next to a vendor’s stall. “Brena, I think you should arrange to have it moved to the vault. If it is stolen and opened, there will be trouble for all of us.”

Brena thought about it before answering, “I don’t think the Brotherhood will allow that to happen. They are the ones charged with guarding it.” She pulled him by a hand back into the flow of the crowd and continued towards their destination. She held onto him, walking in silence. As they walked, she saw a small Inn being repaired from damage caused by the rains. The floods had not reached this part of the center city. She had a thought, “I wonder how Jessa and the Rusty shovel faired through all of this?” she asked.

Terin’s Crossing, Rusty Shovel Tavern, and Inn

Jessa and Betty stood in the street and looked at what was left of the old building. When the Flash happened, they were lucky to be outside away from the old Temple in the old Inner city. Whatever it was that caused time to be strange inside, broke, and went crazy. A sphere formed around the temple, it being in the very center. Looking in from the outside was safe. Attempting to enter it was an instant death sentence. A few folks had not seen it form and died instantly, their bodies rotting away, bones turning to dust in seconds. Jessa and Betty watched as half the old building was on the inside of the sphere. The Shovel was mostly wood so had rotted before their eyes and in a few minutes was gone. Thankfully, the sphere had not grown any larger. They could see time was racing many times faster inside. It was like time inside was trying to catch up with the rest of the world. The old ways were crumbling, the streets had fallen in and not a single tree remained.

The only thing they could do is wait. Jessa was able to enter the half of the Inn that was outside and recovered her and Betty’s belongings. At least those had remained on the outside. Her cash box on the other hand was on the inside. It was kind of funny, all the Golds and Plats had survived. A small pile about ten feet inside the sphere, giving truth to the story that gold and plat are eternal. Nobody from the Brotherhood would explain what was happening. ‘More likely they haven’t a clue either,’ thought Betty. A nearby inn had rooms so the two women and a few of the other serving girls moved there until matters could be straightened out.

The flooding had been bad enough all around, but the bubble of time just added to the misery. The flooding had driven the Brotherhood and thieves from their tunnels, so topside was far less safe than it used to be. Folks wanted to leave, but the road west was still wrecked, the roads east only slightly better. They too would wait and hope things would settle down here soon.

Elsewhere

The Judge looked at the mess the time rift had caused. She had tried to stabilize it beyond what Ledger had managed, but it was not going to move or change. She briefly considered bringing Ledger back in to look at it again, but that would require restoring all his memories. That was out of the question. All she could do was keeping it from expanding any further.

Andrew and Brena

The sun was setting by the time the pair reached the hotel. Once in their room, they stripped and showered together. This turned into a full session of lovemaking that required another shower. In the dining room, they ate and spoke of little things, avoiding the issues that would be their main cause of stress and worry for months, maybe years to come. Back in their room, Brena stripped and presented herself to her man again. Only this time she turned and leaned forward on a dresser. She opened the top drawer and pulled out a jar she had placed there earlier. When she handed it to Andrew, he seemed confused at first. It was a slick oil used to make skin smooth.

“Do you want me to rub this on your back,” he asked?

Brena turned to face him, “Jessa didn’t teach about the back door, did she?”

Now he was even more confused, “Back door?” It took a few more seconds, then it clicked. “Are you sure about this Brena? What little I have heard about that it is painful for a woman to take a man that way.”

“I get to talk to all sorts in my job as leader of the Thieves Guild. One of the subgroups is the streetwalkers and the Houses. I get to talk to them all. When I asked a few about it when I heard a discussion on the matter, some love it, others hate it, but all charge three times the normal rate for it.” She turned back to the dresser, reached back, and spread her cheeks. “Lube me up and do me, I want to at least know how it feels before I decide on any complaints.”

Andrew opened the jar and saw it was more of a jell rather than a liquid. He set the jar aside and stripped down. He dipped some of the cool jell out and began rubbing it into her back exit. She groaned, not in pain, but pleasure. As he worked more in, she pushed back at him a little. He didn’t feel anything on the inside waiting so he worked a second finger in deeper. Once he figured she was as ready as she was ever going to be, he wiped some of the jell on his excited member and prepared to position himself. He spread his legs, so he was low enough to reach. He slid the head up and down the crack a few times until he felt the pucker. When he thought he was centered, he began to push into her. The jell made this slippery enough the head popped in with little resistance.

Brena had lowered her head onto her hands in anticipation of pain. She felt him enter her and a sudden, sharp pain as her pucker was stretched beyond its normal limits. She let out a sharp yelp and he froze in place. “Brena, do you want...” “NO, keep going, but slowly.” He took her hips in hand and began to push into her. He felt her shiver and the low groan was not one of pleasure.

“Are you sure Brena?” “I’m sure. Now, ram it all the way in, hard,” she snapped.

Andrew didn’t want her hurting, but he knew to not do as he was told in the current situation, he found himself was to beg for trouble later. He pulled back a little, then lunged forwards, driving his cock into her backside as far as it could go in one push. She reacted by throwing her head back and letting out an ear-piercing scream. When she ran down, she was panting hard. “Finish, pound me hard, and finish.”

Andrew pulled his legs closer and lifted her on his embedded member. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her head back to him. He bent over enough to get his mouth on her neck and began sucking and biting, leaving a very deliberate mark that would last for days. He began pumping and he knew he wouldn’t last long. Just as he started to pump his seed into her rear, he stood up, taking her with him, her weight forcing her body down on him even further. He reached around and gave her clit a pinch and she went off into a screaming orgasm half the city must have heard. When he felt the last of his fluids pump into her, he held her up as he began to deflate. He continued to hold Brena like that until he popped out of her. Right away, her body expelled the air he had pushed into her, a long, loud, wet fart that sent his fluids and the jell spraying all over his legs.

He lowered Brena and turned her to face him. He could see that she was still in pain from the stretching. He kissed her forehead and picked her up to carry her to the washroom. He was concerned he might have torn her open, but he didn’t see any blood as he washed her off. Brena did need to sit and push out the rest of his seed as well as she could. When she thought she was done, she joined him in the sitting room, not bothering to dress. She could see he had taken the time to clean himself off as well.

Brena sat on his lap and gave Andrew a kiss. “That my love, that will be a very infrequent thing for us.” She shifted a little, she was hurting. “It felt like you split me open towards the end when you let me sink down like that. Then the pounding ... A very rare thing. I don’t think I will sit straight for a week after that.”