Chapter 21

I did not get back to sleep right away, my mind reeling with the idea that there could be another like Brenson out there and worry of what that person could do. Lillian kept me company for as long as she could, but after an hour, she fell back into a deep sleep, her rhythmic breathing lulling me to join her. Thankfully, there were no other dreams that plagued me, not that I could remember, so I was thankful for that.

When I next woke up, sunlight was creeping through the window and the sounds of birds began to fill the morning air. One body had left the bed, which I had to assume was Liza, while the other was still snuggled next to me. A quick check confirmed the strawberry locks of Lillian, her breathing still slowed, meaning she was still asleep. She had her head resting on my shoulder, her left arm draped over my chest and her left leg draped over mine. She was not idle though, as her left leg was rubbing up and down, with her knee grazing my morning erection. I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the pleasant sensations she was inadvertently causing.

With a deep breath, I began to carefully pull my body from under her, but she would respond in kind. Every move I made away, she pulled herself closer. I tried with no luck for nearly twenty minutes, until the door opened, and Liza came in with two plates of food. I gave her a pleading look, causing her to giggle as she placed the plates on the dresser.

She then walked over and gave Lillian a loud smack on her ample bottom, causing the redhead to moan. Liza and I looked at one another in surprise, but then she got a mischievous grin on her face and pulled her arm back to smack Lillian’s posterior once again. She let loose and smacked her hard enough that the whole bed moved with the impact. Lillian let out a scream and I could swear that my leg got a bit wet, but she woke up and looked about the room, startled.

“Who in the seven hells did that?” Lillian screamed at us, her left hand rubbing her bum. “I have never been spanked like that in my life, you could have just shaken me by my shoulder, instead!”

“Yeah, you are right, I could have, but you liked the first one I gave you, so I decided to give you another one. I did this one as hard as I could and it worked in waking you up, so I do not have any regrets.”

“You may not,” I said with a smirk, “but Lillian might. When you smacked her bottom the second time, the area of my left thigh, closest to her womanhood, got hit with warm, wet fluid. I think the strike and the surprise of it happening, caused her to wet herself a little bit.”

Lillian blushed a nice pink at my statement, then leapt out of the bed and threw Liza against it. She then lifted the dress that Liza had been wearing, exposing the blonde’s bare, uncovered bottom in all its glory. She then gave Liza a smack on each cheek that cause her to moan, much as Lillian had earlier. Lillian pulled her up and gave her a hug, saying they were now even. They turned back to me and began to giggle and whisper to one another, which had me wondering what they were saying.

“Looks like we are not the only ones that enjoyed that, Davik,” Liza said with a knowing smirk. “Your not-so-little soldier is standing at attention. Perhaps he is happy to see us? What do you think, Lillian, is Davik’s soldier happy to see us?”

Lillian only nodded, as she stared at the tent, I was making in the bed sheet, licking her lips in what could be called hunger. I reached under the sheet to adjust myself, making the obscene tent disappear, causing the girls to voice complaints.

“Quiet you two, we still have things to do before we head out today. Now, if you excuse me, I must go to do my morning business. Please move my food down to the dining area, I will eat there, once I am done.”

The girls nodded and giggled some more as I found some clothes and headed downstairs to start my morning routine. I took the time to dress while I was in the outhouse, as the boys had increased the size of it and even added one for the ladies. I returned to the house to find everyone eating breakfast, with my chair waiting for me. I enjoyed the feast Liza prepared and I am sure those who were remaining here did, as well. Though Trina was a good cook, her sister was in a league of her own and I was very glad that she was coming along. I know that she was glad that Jerreth would be coming and vice versa, as they both had a keen interest in each other’s cooking. I wondered what delicious meals they would create while we were gone, and I found my mouth watering as I thought about it. The rest of my housemates were locked with one another in various forms of discussion and I watched contently, wondering if I would be able to see this when I returned - if I returned. A sense of foreboding hung over everything and I worried that there was a very good chance that some people may not be coming back from this trip. I tried to push those thoughts from my head, instead, trying to concentrate on what was happening now, not what might happen.

I had just finished my meal when a knock came at the front door and Liza got up from the table to answer it. A few minutes later, Edgar and Jerreth entered the dining area, as Liza asked them if they would like some breakfast. Both accepted her invitation and she went to the kitchen to prepare two plates, while they sat down. Carl and the others gave up their seats and each wished me a good journey. They said they would have more projects completed that would impress me and make things easier for everyone here. I smiled and thanked each one as they shook my hand, before heading out the back door to the workshop. A few minutes later, Liza came out with full plates for both newcomers and both looked shocked at the amount of food on their plates, which caused her to giggle. I noticed a look pass between Liza and Jerreth and I had a feeling that by the end of this trip, they would be a couple.

Another knock had Janet and her soldiers arriving, which did not disrupt anything as Clive and his apprentices had finished and gotten up to leave. They, too, did the same as Carl and the others had done only a few minutes prior and I felt myself getting rather emotional. Trina got up and helped Liza prepare meals for everyone who arrived, and I could not have been prouder of them.

“Excuse me, everyone,” I called out, my voice cutting through the conversations. “Before I leave today, I want to acknowledge the amazing work and efforts of two people I care for deeply. When they first arrived, they had heard of what I had done on my first blood moon here and came to my house to offer their services. They indentured themselves to me, knowing the laws of the province on the matter, and since that day, they have done far more than I had ever expected. They created a beautiful garden behind the house and turned it into a source of revenue, supplying fresh produce to the town. They have expanded that business further then I had hoped, and it is my hope that they will continue to do so in the future.

Because of this, I hereby award both lovely women their freedom. Both can continue to live here, though I have a feeling that Trina will soon be living with Curt. I can see the love that is blossoming between the two and, when he finally gets up the nerve to ask, I hope that they are truly happy together.

“Liza, I have no doubt that someone may come into your life that will sweep your heart away, as Curt has for your sister. I do hope that you will continue in your role with the business and running my household, as I cannot imagine you not doing so. I hope you accept this gift and enjoy the freedom you will now have to make your life your own.”

A stunned awe was on every person’s face, even those who had recently joined our table. Liza and Trina had tears in their eyes, as they ran over to me and both hugged me tightly and kissed my cheeks repeatedly. I looked to Curt to make sure he would not be upset, but he had a happy smile on his face. A glance at Jerreth showed a hint of jealousy, that only confirmed my suspicions as I thanked the girls.

“Now that I have gotten that out of the way,” I said, causing everyone to chuckle, “let us turn our attention to the matter at hand. We have a long trip ahead of us and we will be working on a tight deadline, so we must be very careful. While I do not expect to be attacked on our trip, we will create a guard schedule for when we make camp. No one is to go alone into the woods, a buddy system will ensure that no harm happens by accident, as well as make kidnapping less likely. My hope is that one person trained in combat will go with a noncombatant.

“No one will be allowed to travel alone in Retvan either, for the same reasons. We have no idea the contacts Brenson has in the town, or the minions he may have there. Retvan was were Brant ran into him for the first time, it was also where my father and Ruben had been heading when they were attacked. It is for these reasons, that these rules will be in effect and I expect everyone to follow them.

“Make no mistake, ladies and gentlemen, I am the one in charge on this trip. What I say goes and if you do not like it, you can remain here. Also, the only horses that will be going on this trip will be the ones pulling the wagons. If you brought yours here expecting to take them, feel free to put them in our sable and my men will see to it that they will be taken care of.

“We have more than one goal on this trip, however, and I will go over those tasks now.

“First and foremost is to find any information pertaining to Brenson and hopefully where he is located. The next would be to find out if he has any people working for him that frequent the town, as we may be able to follow them back to Brenson’s lair. We have no idea who might be changed, so tread lightly on this as we will be arriving a few days before the next blood moon.

“The third is to meet with the merchant’s guild and set up shipments of ore to be sent to Curt. They are our best bet to create a steady stream of materials, unless we somehow stumble across a metal-rich area we could mine.

“The final task is to see if there is a chance that Violet has passed through there, as we have still not found a trace of her. Given the necessity of the other tasks, this has been given the lowest priority, because if she is not found, it may be Brenson and his people have not found her, either.

“Now, once we finish our meals, we will load the equipment and supplies that Janet and Jerreth have bought with them. Once that is concluded, we will decide how the people will be split between the wagons and head out.”

Everyone muttered their affirmatives and went back to their food or got up to follow my instructions. Liza and Trina moved back to the table to start collecting the various empty plates and cups. Edgar finished his food and thanked them for the lovely meal before walking over to where I had been standing. I reached out my hand and he shook it with a smile, before his face took on a more serious look.

“Revar is out putting his things in the wagon. When he is done, I will have him come in for some food. I investigated the deal made to bring in the metal work and it is with someone called BR Smithing. I would not be surprised if it was a company that was run by Brenson, not unlike the various ventures you currently have going on. Brant could have messed things up, but he was lazy, and he did not finalize the deal. As such, it never became binding and allows us to cancel the deal. Revar will have my seal and documents that will identify him as my representative, so please make sure he is with you at both meetings. I have also asked him to watch your back, as we are still not certain about these soldiers from Vishant and only Janet gave a blood oath.”

“I appreciate it, though you know that I should be fine,” I said with a grin. “Still, an extra set of eyes cannot hurt, plus your documents will go a long way to help solidify this trade I am proposing.”

“I have a document for you as well, one that identifies you as the official officer of trade for Cartha. This will give you the authority to set up any trade deals you want, in an official capacity for Cartha and you will receive a share from the profits made from your trade deals.”

I looked at Edgar with shock, as I had not expected this to happen and being made an officer of any aspect of a town was a tremendous honor.

“Thank you, Patron,” I said, as I shook his hand. “I will make sure your faith and trust in me are well deserved.”

“I know they will, Davik, and please, call me Edgar. I know that you did that at first, to snub your nose at my position, because of the arrogance that I showed when we first met. Now though, I do believe that we are becoming allies and even possibly friends.”

I thanked him again and he made his way out the back, no doubt to see Revar. Jerreth took the opportunity to come up to me after handing Liza his plate.

“Hello, Jerreth, I hope I can learn some more about you on our journey. By the way, Liza likes tulips, and will no doubt adore anything you cook. But, if you ever hurt her, they will never find your body. So please, you have my blessing and I hope that you can bring her the happiness she deserves. Take your time over the course of this trip to spend time with her and show her your interest.”