Chapter 2

The healing prayers of the cleric, and a little food, soon had the two sisters feeling well enough to walk. Raptor formed up the men with the former captives and Cordain in the center, flanked by Rochelle and Christi. A shouted order started the group moving back toward the cave exit.

Either the company had managed to kill or drive off all the orcs, or the creatures simply decided that a fight with the effective company of mercenaries was not conducive to a long life. The journey through the underground passages was uneventful, and the group soon smelled the change in the air that signaled that they were close to the entrance.

Stepping out into the sunlight a little later, Christi smiled, knowing that she had performed well in the caves. Rochelle had already complimented her, and so she knew she had proven the trust that the woman had shown in her. Raptor came to a halt once everyone exited the cave, drinking in the smell of the outside world and raising his face toward the sun.

Turning back to the assembled sellswords, he laughed and confessed, "I'm glad to be out of there. Truth to tell, I don't like close spaces. Now, you all can relax a bit. Everyone performed well, and unless I see something that changes my mind, I'm inclined to take on the lot of you into the Hawks."

Shouts and whoops of pleasure greeted that announcement.

Cordain talked quietly with his sisters, and after a nod, turned to Christi and Rochelle. "I am inclined to offer the two of you my gratitude, specifically. You reacted quickly, and fought well, even when I made a rash and foolish decision to charge into battle unannounced. Rest assured that you will receive additional compensation from me for what you have done, and I thank you. And now, I must go speak with Raptor."

With a respectful nod that bordered on a bow, Cordain turned and walked toward the Captain. At the same time, the sisters approached.

The older sister, Celeste, spoke first. "We would like to thank you as well — not only for saving us, but for protecting our dear brother, whom we love."

Christi nodded, getting a good look at the women for the first time. While the magical lights were bright, the color was somewhat unnatural. Both women had long, sandy-blonde hair, and they were well blessed with ample chests and full hips. The sisters were soft, obviously unused to physical labor or strenuous exercise. Christi assumed that they certainly turned heads with their curvaceous figures and ready smiles.

Rochelle returned those smiles and replied, "Just doing our job."

"Thanks for that magic spell. It gave me the break I needed to get out of a tough two-on-one situation," Christi responded.

"You might not have been in such a difficult situation, had you not thrown that knife and prevented that monster from reaching us. So, the thanks still belongs to you," Celeste countered.

Christi laughed and relented. "Fair enough, then."

The younger sister, who Christi guessed was about sixteen, and just starting to flower into full womanhood, spoke then. "I wanted to thank you, too. I thought my broken leg was going to bring us both to disaster. Will you please offer our thanks to the rest as well? I'm a little frightened to, because..."

"They're men?" Rochelle supplied, guessing where the young woman was going.

Corrine nodded, her face flushing with color.

"Smart girl," Rochelle chuckled.

A shout from Raptor broke up the conversation. "Gather 'round!"

The company moved close, and Raptor announced, "It looks like we're not quite done yet. Our employer wants us to escort him and his sisters back home. You'll all get your pay when we get there. It should take about two days to get him home, so that's two more crowns when you get there, plus your bonus. Try not to drink it all up the first night." He laughed, and then continued, "Should be a nice lazy walk with no trouble, but I expect you all to be on guard, anyway. Let's get back to camp, strike it, then hit the road. Move out!"

The march proved to be exactly what they expected — a long lazy walk. Raptor set a slow pace, because he knew that the weakened sisters would have a hard time keeping up with the fit mercenaries, if they moved out at full walking speed.

The company followed a small stream — the water crystal clear and only a couple of feet deep. The shallow brook flowed from a tract of woods that steadily loomed larger in the eyes of the company as they approached. A cooler breeze stirred the hot summer air, making the journey far from an unpleasant one. Since they were earning pay as they traveled, it only buoyed their spirits more.

Corrine whispered to her sister for a moment once the woods was within a few more minutes of walking. When Corrine finished, Celeste nodded before turning to her brother and whispering in his ear as well. Cordain in turn, gave a short nod and said, "I will go speak with Raptor."

When he increased his pace to catch up with the Captain of the company, Christi asked Celeste, "Something wrong?"

Celeste shook her head and answered, "Nothing. We simply hope to bathe in the pool that feeds this stream before we continue on. I wish we had been able to retrieve our baggage, because we will be forced to put back on these soiled garments."

The dresses that the women wore were indeed filthy, and certainly smelled none too sweet. Only some creative pinning prevented Corrine's from becoming indecent. The sleeve had torn at the seam and would have almost revealed the swell of her breast, were the material not pinned closed.

Rochelle looked at Christi for a moment, and then said, "Some of your things might fit them, Christi, if you have anything to spare."

Christi shrugged, and then turned to the other pair of women. "I should have enough for you to get by, but it's not going to be anything you're accustomed to, I'll tell you that."

"If it is clean and not falling off of me, it will be an improvement," Corrine disputed. "The pins holding my dress together are pricking my bosom."

Celeste smiled and admitted, "We only dress as we do because of our caste. In this situation, I believe it will be acceptable for us to be a bit more daring. The two of you and our brother will protect us from unwanted advances, I'm sure."

Christi winked and teased, "What about wanted advances?"

Both sisters giggled and their cheeks flooded with color. Corrine exclaimed, "Don't talk so when Cordain can hear. I would die of embarrassment."

"I promise," Christi agreed, coming to a halt with the rest of the company just short of the trees. She could barely see sparkling hints of the pool that the sisters had mentioned through the thick foliage and undergrowth.

Raptor called out, "Our guests wish to bathe, and this spot is as good as any to make camp. You lot of stinking dogs could probably do with a good washing as well. You men follow me, and we'll start setting camp. Crimm, Rochelle — take the ladies to the pool."

The two mercenary women waved in acknowledgment of the order, and then led their wealthy counterparts toward the wood. The rest of the company moved a short distance away to set camp.

A barely visible, winding trail snaked from the entrance of the woods to the pool, which was spring fed, and just as clear as the stream the company had followed here. The pool was shallow on one end, gently sloping into a deeper spot. In the deep end of the pool, the water churned from the source beneath the surface. It looked like a perfect place for bathing.

Rochelle knelt down and dipped a hand into the water, but she immediately snatched it back. "Damn — that's cold!"

Already removing her dress, Celeste explained, "We have bathed here before. It is quite shocking at first, but if you stay in the shallows near the edge, it is actually quite invigorating."

"If my smell wasn't turning my own nose, I'd skip a bath until we found a nice warm lake out in the sun, or a tub somewhere," Rochelle remarked as she loosened the straps on her armor.

Christi laughed as she took clothing out of her pack that she and the sisters could put on once they had bathed. She chose the most modest tops and longest skirts she had — things she didn't often wear anyway — for the sisters. "I'd rather have a nice warm lake in the sun too, but I'll take what I can get."

Having needed to remove only their dresses and underclothes, Celeste and her younger sibling were nude long before the two mercenaries could get out of their armor and the clothes beneath. Celeste held her dress at arm's length, wrinkling her nose. "If mother would not be cross with me, I would burn this." Tossing the garment over a rock, she turned to the two mercenaries. "You would bathe in the open, with so many men about?"

Rochelle shrugged and replied, "You normally don't get much allowance for modesty in our line of work. You just get used to it."

She then pulled off her blouse and revealed her breasts, which despite their size, sat high and proud, thanks to her musculature. Dark nipples and areoles blended with her tanned skin, the firm globes obviously having seen their share of sun. Christi finished removing her armor and turned to look when her comrade-in-arms spoke. The sight caused Christi to wonder just what had prompted the woman to be topless beneath the sun.

"I fear I would have to endure my smell, were I forced to bathe in full view of any prying eyes," Corrine admitted.

Christi turned toward Corrine and her sister, both of whom were stepping into the pool now, and said, "Well, you're lucky you knew about this place. You won't have to worry about that here."

Both sisters had small nipples and large areolas on their large, somewhat pendulous breasts. It was obvious that Corrine's breasts would match her sister's in time, as she was not much smaller up top, even at her younger age. Both women's labia were puffy, hiding the pink middles between them, with carefully manicured, closely cropped hair surrounding their sex.

"Let's get this over with. I'm already shivering," Rochelle declared as she stepped out of her skirt. Her mound was shaven bare, save for a thin strip leading from her hood to just below her navel.

Christi felt a little tingle run through her body, and closed her eyes tight for a second as she pulled off her blouse. She didn't know what caused her eyes to drift toward other women's bodies, but it disturbed her. Those thoughts were rapidly chased away by a twinge of embarrassment. She would be a stark contrast to the other women, with the wild tangle of dark hair between her legs.

The two sisters settled into the pool with a sigh and a shiver as Christi pulled off her pants and panties. Rochelle simply strode into the pool and sat down with a sharp gasp, not wanting to prolong the experience by easing into the water. Christi did much the same, but as an effort to hide her untamed patch of hair, rather than reluctance for the cold water of the pool.

Once she settled into the water, she realized her haste was useless. The water was so clear that every inch of the four women was visible, with only the ripples from their movement masking what lay beneath the surface.

As they bathed, Christi kept finding her eyes on the other women's bodies, no matter how hard she tried to avoid it. She was thankful that none of them seemed to notice, because she had no idea what she would have said if one of them had confronted her. She couldn't explain her actions, because she didn't remotely understand them, herself.

Shaking the thoughts out of her head, Christi turned all of her attention to scrubbing the grit off her body, and out of her hair.

All four women felt a great deal better once they were washed and in clean clothes. Celeste remarked that her brother would be completely scandalized when he saw how much skin the borrowed blouses and skirts revealed, even though the garments were quite modest by Christi's standards.

Cordain indeed looked stunned and uncomfortable when the four stepped out from the trees to walk toward the camp. He immediately encouraged the men setting up his large tent to hurry, so that his sisters would have somewhere to hide from prying eyes.

Christi and Rochelle went to help set the camp, and a couple of men took advantage of the pool, now that it was free. Very few of the other men decided to bathe when they heard how cold the water was, though. The sisters frustrated their brother by sitting outside the tent under the awning that spread out from its front door, claiming that the heat inside was stifling. Cordain made it his personal duty to stare down any man who even looked in the direction of the two young women.

Those who had drawn the duty started supper, and watch was set as night slowly crept upon the camp. The sunset that evening was particularly stunning, spreading warm bands of color all across the horizon. Christi appreciated the beauty of the event, but not as much as the two sisters, who were positively delighted.

As the camp prepared to bunk down, Cordain approached Christi and Rochelle, who were laying out their bedrolls in Rochelle's tent.

"I would appreciate it if you would share the tent with my sisters this evening. I have asked Raptor to excuse you both from the watch rotation so that you might watch over them," Cordain requested of them.

Christi raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Excused from the watch, and not being cooped up in this tent — I think I can live with that," she laughed. "What about you, though? Where are you going to sleep?"

Cordain smiled back and responded, "Your tent will not be nearly as confining for one, if I may use it?"

Rochelle laughed and replied, "Be my guest," making a gesture toward the tent.

Cordain nodded his acknowledgment and walked toward the wagon that carried his supplies. Christi and Rochelle picked up their bedrolls and walked toward the tent, where the two women sitting in front of it were yawning, and appeared to be prepared to enter the tent and bed down.

"Looks like we're bunking with you tonight," Rochelle announced when they reached the tent.

"I'm glad," admitted Corrine, "Some of those men were looking at me a lot. It felt good in a way, but it was somewhat disquieting as well."

Rochelle laughed and pointed at Christi. "I've seen how she deals with rude men. We'll be fine so long as she's around."

Celeste pulled back the tent flap and held it open, inviting the others in. Once they were inside, she said, "I will be taking a wagon — and guards — the next time I decide to travel. I have learned my lesson about traveling alone, and this is far superior to the small tent we slept in."

Christi dropped her bedroll, started to roll it out, and said, "Same here. Your brother didn't seem too put out, considering he's stuck with our tent."

Celeste pulled off her clothes, as did Corrine. The sisters' bedrolls were already prepared, and they obviously had decided to sleep nude, since they didn't have any nightclothes to change into. Celeste responded, "Cordain brought this tent for us, actually. When he travels, he uses a tent much the same as yours."

Christi shrugged, purposely keeping her eyes locked on her bedroll as she straightened it. "Well, I'm not too proud to take the comfort, that's for sure."

Rochelle chuckled. "Me either," she agreed as she pulled off her clothes.

Christi fought her wandering eyes, and this time she won. She stripped down as well and settled into her bedroll, as did the other three women.

Keeping her eyes from wandering did nothing to keep the disquieting thoughts from creeping into her mind, however. Even though she had consciously avoided looking at the other women, she was still thinking about them nude.

It took Christi a long time to quiet her mind enough to sleep, and she did so with an ample amount of wetness and a needful ache between her legs.