Intimancer

The building was small and unassuming.

Sade supposed that was almost entirely the point.  It would not do to have common rabble try to take up the valuable time for Shatak’s most premiere antique broker.  The money gained from their more select clientele was more than adequate to provide for their means.

She knocked on the ordinary wooden door lightly.  Barely a few moments later, a well dressed gentleman opened the door and welcomed her inside.  Sade was led to a familiar office where a short beastkin man in a well made suit was sitting behind a large desk loaded with papers.

“Ah, Miss Sade!  I’m glad you came, please sit and we can discuss a few things in regards to the artifacts you brought to us.”  The man said, gesturing to the empty seat in front of the desk.

Sade did as asked and rested her weight on the cushioned leather.  Once she was comfortable, the man spoke again.  “Now, If I may ask, the antique coins that you wanted auctioned off this past week, do you perchance have any more that you would be willing to sell to us?”

Sade could feel her hackles rise at the man’s question.  Eager questions like his led to dangerous situations.  She would have to choose her words carefully.  “I take it the auction went well?”

If her minor deflection bothered the man, it did not show on his dark, furry face.  “Indeed it has!  We of course brought in an appraiser to verify your claims that the coinage was minted prior to the current founding.  Once that was confirmed, the coins were auctioned off individually just yesterday.”  The broker’s face practically glowed with joy at the news.  “After we, the auction house, and the crown of course, all took our modest cut of the earnings, here is what you have earned.”

He slid a small paper over the desk towards Sade.  She carefully opened up the folds and read its contents.  She had to forcefully stop herself from shouting when her eyes glanced over the number written on the sheet.  Sade hoped her features were schooled enough to not show any surprise, but she doubted that her efforts were completely successful.

“That is quite a sum.  I can see why you would wish to acquire a few more.”

Five.  Out of the hundreds of coins they found in those sacks, she had only given the broker five gold coins to bring to auction.  She looked down at the number written on the paper, there were more than five zero’s in the sum.  Her heart hammered in her chest, this was an absolutely beautiful number.

This was an absolutely deadly number.

She took a deep breath with as much subtlety as she could muster.  With the exhale she tried to adopt a bored expression, as if the amount of gold wasn’t enough for people to murder her and her lovers on the spot just to obtain.

“You have a copy of the appraisal for me, I assume?”

“Oh!  Yes, yes, of course!”  He beamed and handed over a small stack of paper bundled together with string and sealed with embossed wax.  “Now, about my earlier question.”

Fuck!

Sade wanted to scream.  She was completely out of her depth.  Nothing about this situation was going to plan.  She just wanted to turn a few coins into a few hundred, not a few thousand!  Now the broker’s earlier exuberance made more sense.  She was extremely grateful she didn’t answer him right away.

But how to answer?  If she told the man she had more coins and word got out, she would have a giant target on her back for anyone looking to score a huge payday.  On the other hand, if she told him she didn’t, that would close the door to further business and she would have to find someone else to deal with the ancient gold if they somehow needed more funds in the future.

Her powerful mind processed all the decisions and consequences in the span of an eyeblink.  She smiled politely.  “I am actually not too sure if there are any more.  I inherited an old estate out in the countryside and while cleaning it out, we found the handful you have seen so far, but there could be more hidden in all sorts of nooks and crannies.”  She shrugged.  “If any more are found, or some other odd trinket, I take it you would still love to do business?”

The lies tasted bitter on her tongue.  It disgusted her how they poured out from her mouth with sickening ease.  Disgust with herself grew with each word uttered, but it was necessary.  By keeping the option for more rare gold open, she could acquire more capital for her and her lovers.  By keeping the possibility both ambiguous and difficult to acquire, she hopefully created a shield that would protect her from would-be treasure thieves.  If only the gigantic number written in her pocket didn’t burn with malicious implications.

The man nodded his head with great enthusiasm.  “Yes!  Please do!”  The two shook hands and moved on to the matter of payment.  “It will take a bit of time for the auction house to collect all the gold from the buyers.  I estimate about a week at the earliest.  I will write you a promissory note so that you can collect your earnings from them when they are ready.”

Sade nodded and he started drafting the letter.  Once that was complete both of them signed it and added a drop of their blood to the verification seal to imprint their mana into the document.  This meant that if anyone other than her presented the document, they would be detained and questioned immediately.  Mana seals were only for the most important of documents, and were treated as such.

“Thank you.  I do hope I can count on your discretion on the matter of the source of the artifacts?”  Sade asked with the most pointed stare she had.  The information she gave the man would help protect her and her friends, but his silence would protect her even more.

He gave her a wide grin.  “Naturally.  Client trust is paramount.  It would be exceedingly bad for business if that trust was broken for any reason.”

Satisfied, Sade bade the broker a good day and made to leave.  It was only after she was led out the door by the manservant and several turns down random streets and into a side alley later that Sade finally let out the breath she was holding.

She collapsed against a stone wall behind her and rubbed her face with her hands.  She hoped that she made the correct choices back in that office.  The lies still made her gag, but it was too late to take back the words.  What happened, happened.  With luck she could get Rick alone with her for a few minutes so he could pound the feelings of terror and trepidation right out of her while laying on the sheets of their shared bed.

A warmth tickled through her loins.  A pounding was indeed in order.  Perhaps she could even bring Tyr into the mix and demonstrate the new spell she discovered.

She licked her lips in anticipation.

Sade brushed away the pink tinted thoughts with a mental wave of her hand.  She needed to reach home safely before any sort of fun could be had.  While her magic was a great equalizer, she was still a lone woman walking the streets, and unless she shared quite a few of Tyr’s magnificent features, she would always be considered a target.

With a sigh, she removed herself from the wall and started walking towards the coast and where her companions were waiting.  Perhaps she was being paranoid.  The stress from school, hunting, and now this sudden windfall were all affecting her mental state.  She needed some way to decompress.  Maybe have someone press up against her, hard.

She stopped.  Those thoughts were indeed insidious.  Perhaps Rick’s worry about addiction was warranted.  Or she really was just pent up.  It had been a couple days.  And the past events at the antique broker were not doing her mental state any favors.

Movement caught her eye.  Sade whipped her head to face the possible threat, mana surging through her veins.

There was no one.

Blood was roaring in Sade’s ears, nearly drowning out all of the nearby sounds.  Yet nothing came close, no danger to her became apparent.  Her heart was beating like a war drum, her breath coming in great gasps.  Still, she held her magic at the ready.

Sade moved through the alley towards the main boulevard.  She needed to get lost in the crowd, she needed to get home, she needed to be with her friends.  The sound of her boots rapping against stone echoed within the narrow passageway as she strode boldly to her destination.  If anyone was to follow her, there could only be so many places to do so.

There!

Sade whipped around once more and let the magic finally spring forth.  A ball of fire formed in her open palm, steadily growing as she pumped more and more mana into the spell.  Both she and Rick were still deciding what vocational skills to choose, but when Sade saw that ‘overcharge’ was on the list available for them, she immediately recommended they both take it.  While dual-casting seemed to come to her almost naturally, finding a way to feed a spell with more than intended mana for greater effect remained elusive.

But after selecting the skill her body knew what was needed.  The final bit of insight sprang forth in her mind, granting her even more tools to ply her trade.  And right at that moment, her new ability was intimidating whoever it was that decided to follow her.  The spell she was channeling was a simple variation of the ‘flame lantern’, almost completely harmless.  But with the glowing ball of fire swollen to the size of her head, even mages knowledgeable in the spell would think twice before approaching.

The moment Sade turned, the figure ducked into a side alley.  Even with her overblown lantern’s light, she couldn’t pierce the shadows that lurked around the corner.  She let the magic fade.  The message was sent, if they continued to harass her, she would retaliate.  With a huff, she turned on her heels and stormed into the rushing river of bodies that slowly meandered its way to the coast.

After taking the long and winding way back to her inn, Sade finally let out another large breath.  There had thankfully not been any further trouble to plague her before she could jump into the strong arms of her lovers.  She practically ran up the stairs before throwing open the door to their humble abode.

“I’m back!”

She was greeted by Rick, Tyr, and to her mild surprise, Lilie.  The shaytoni still looked a bit nervous around the group.  Understandable, joining an already ongoing sexual relationship with three current members would always be awkward.  Sade made sure to give the other woman a friendly smile.

Sade had no real feelings of jealousy towards her.  Both Rick and Tyr had been amazing lovers these past few weeks, and adding another wasn’t the worst thing to deal with.  She knew full well Tyr didn’t care.  Her tribe had no concept of exclusivity or even monogamy.  Rick was apprehensive, much like when Tyr first barrelled into their lives and relationship.  Perhaps soon Sade will develop similar feelings like she did with the pointy eared menace.

She eyed Lilie’s form.  The young woman was most certainly beautiful, especially after she filled out and no longer looked like skin and bones.  She was cute even then, if Sade was being honest, but she was certainly stunning at that moment in time.

Sade ran to Rick and nearly tackled him to the bed.  “Whoa now!  What’s up?”  He asked into her hair.

“Today has just been a bit too much to handle.”  She sighed and nuzzled deeper into his embrace.  It was warm and snug, her perfect place, where all the problems of the world melted away when he wrapped his increasingly stronger arms around her body.

“Would you like it if I rubbed your shoulders?”  He asked softly in her ear.

“Oh, yes please!”  She purred and slid off the bed.  She parked her large rear on the floor between his legs so he had easy access to her back.

Rick chuckled behind her and got to work.  Sade couldn’t help but stiffen as his strong fingers pressed and kneaded every tense cluster of muscles along her spine.  The group started to talk again, but she couldn’t focus on anything other than the bliss of tension slowly leaving her body with each delicious caress of his fingers.  She may have been piling too much weight on her shoulders, and not just the oversized breasts.  It was when his thumb found a particularly dense knot that he couldn’t help but let a low moan escape from her throat.

Both the voices and his magical rubbing stopped.  Sade had no desire to be embarrassed, to fall back on the defensive, she had been doing that all day.  She turned her head and looked up to Rick’s flustered face from her position between his legs.

“Harder…”  She begged in a soft, sensual tone.  He could see her eyes, see the glint of mischief smoldering within, he knew she was teasing him like always.  And yet, his face flushed scarlet all the same, he quickly went back to his wonderful work on her sore muscles.  She smiled to herself as she turned and faced the others.

“So… what do ya think?”  Tyr asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“No idea, I honestly was not listening to a word anyone said.”  Sade admitted with no shame whatsoever.  “I do apologize, could you start from the beginning?”

“We were just discussing what we should do moving forward.”  LIlie said with mild trepidation.

“Ah… well I may have something to contribute to that discussion.”  Sade fished out the folded paper she was given and handed it to Tyr.  “This is also why I am a bit stressed at the moment.”

The elf opened the tiny slip in her massive paws and saw what was inside.  “What’s this?”

“That,”  Sade replied simply. “Is how much money we now have.”

It was quite comical seeing the gigantic woman’s eyes bulge out of her head at the news.  For what felt like the first time Sade could remember, Tyr was too stunned to speak.  It would be a memory she would cherish forever.  Rick gestured to see what was written for himself, and his reaction was nearly as overblown as Tyr’s.

“T-this… this is…”

“Indeed.”  Sade said.  There were only six little numbers written on the note, but they represented a catastrophic change in their lives from this moment forward.

“Um… can I?”  Lilie asked.

Sade snapped the note out of Rick’s frozen fingers and passed it along to their newest member.  “You are one of us now.  No reason to hide something that affects all of us like this.”

While the shaytoni looked at the not so small number, both Tyr and Rick exploded with shouts at the same time.

“This is amazing!”

“This is trouble!”

Tyr rounded on the man.  “Why the fuck would all this money be trouble?”

Rick stood his ground, figuratively speaking of course, he still was pleasuring Sade with a wonderful massage from his position at the front of their mattress.  “There is quite a difference between having a bit of spare money and having too much money.”

Before Tyr could retort with something silly, Sade raised up her hand.  “He is right.  The situation has become more dangerous than advantageous.”

At the ranger’s disbelieving expression, Rick tapped Sade on the shoulder.  “Mind if I try to explain?”  She nodded, eager to see how he would go over such a complex problem.  “So, have you guys ever heard of the ‘lottery curse’?”

As all three women shook their heads, Rick continued.  “Right, so where I’m from, the government runs a small gambling game called the lottery.  Essentially anyone who wants to join, pays a small fee for a ticket with some numbers.  At the end of the week, random numbers are drawn.  If they match your ticket, you win.  If no one wins, then the money collected is added to the next drawing.  This usually adds up to a gigantic prize pool by the time someone usually wins.”

“Why would the rulers of your country do this?”  Sade asked.  The whole concept seemed absurd to her.

“No clue.”  Rick shrugged.  “The point I’m trying to make is that around one in three winners end up dead or in a worse situation than before they received a ridiculous amount of money.”

“Dead?”  LIlie gasped.

“Yes.”  Rick affirmed.  “See, when a person, usually poor, receives a huge sum of money all at once, everyone around will try to get a portion of it by any means necessary.”  He turned solemn.  “The deaths are often at the hands of loved ones too.  When enough money is involved, even those close knit bonds can’t hold back the greed in people’s hearts.”

“That’s disgusting.”  Tyr spat.  Everyone nodded their heads at her assessment.

“Yes.  Winner’s usually have to give out their names and appear in person to collect, so many people have started to wear disguises or find other ways to hide themselves from friends, family, and neighbors alike.”  He looked each of them in the eye.  “We, in essence, just won the lottery.  This means that every scammer, criminal, or two-bit entrepreneur with a ‘big idea’ will do their best to separate us from our newfound wealth the moment they realize we have it.  And that’s assuming we don’t spend it all trying to live like kings for a few years.”  He chuckled at his last sentence, but then grew a tad more serious.  “We’ll have the wealth of nobles, but none of the power or protections that title offers.”

Sade was impressed.  Rick had essentially the full grasp of their situation.  If she didn’t know any better, she would guess he was from some noble house.  But the facts just didn’t line up, and there were hardly any human nobles left in the kingdom.  Sade was all too aware of that fact.

“Well… guess my name fits my station at least.”  He joked.

“Yer name?”

“Ah, right!  Richard, my full name, means ‘a wealthy man’.”  Rick smiled.

It was indeed fitting.  In many, many different ways, Sade had to admit.  She wiggled her shoulders against his knees to get him to resume his delicious rubbing of her back.  “I have a proposal for what we should do next.”  She said once he returned to his duties.  She had to bite back a contented purr at his touch.

“And what’s that?”  Lilie asked.  Sade noticed a small glimmer of envy pointed her way.  She ignored it, Lilie will get her turn soon enough.

“Simple… we go shopping for a house.”