Intimancer

At the western gate they found two people waiting for them.

The taller of the two, albeit barely, was of course Foltig.  The other was a woman clad in furs and loose clothing.  Her bare arms were tanned and well muscled, but not overly bulky like a weightlifter.  From her mane of auburn hair protruded two sharp points where her ears should be.

“And you arrived just in time!” Foltig called out in greeting.

“Oi, these the ones?” The woman asked in a thick accent.

The captain nodded and introduced everyone. “Indeed.  Sade, Rick, this is Tyrillian.  Tyr, meet Sade and Rick.”

Tyrillian crossed her arms and looked the two up and down with bright green eyes.  “I dun know Tig.  They look a wee bit scrawny, can the lad even lift a sword?”  Her voice had a husky timbre and her accent was close to a mild scottish brogue. While her voice was surprisingly pleasant to listen to, the contents of her words left Rick feeling a bit miffed.

Foltig gave a chuckle and waved for everyone to follow him.  “I wouldn’t underestimate those two.”  He said. “They managed to survive an attack that wiped out fifteen other people then hiked for four days all the way here.”

The woman eyed Rick and Sade with a critical gaze.  Her face said that she didn’t quite believe the captain on their competence.  If Rick was being honest with himself, he didn’t quite have confidence in his abilities either.  Not if they got attacked by anything more serious than a couple starving coyotes.

“Ya mayflies have far too much confidence in yerselves.”  She sighed, shrugging her broad shoulders. “But Da trusts ya Tig.  So I’ll do me best ta give ‘em the benefit of the doubt.”

“How magnanimous of you.” Sade replied icily.

Foltig placed an arm on her shoulder, his tone kind. “Do forgive her tone.  She means well.  Tyr may be young for an elf but you would find it hard to spot anyone under my command who can protect you both from danger better than her.”

Tyrillian’s cheeks reddened and she sped up her pace. “Yeah, well, they better pull their own weight!  Ya got it?”  She then sped ahead once more.

“Looks like we got ourselves a tsundere.” Rick said to Sade with a knowing smirk.

“A what now?” She asked in confusion and Rick mentally kicked himself.  Why would a resident of a fantasy world know a niche japanese word?

“Sorry, it’s a term that roughly means ‘someone who puts on a tough front but is secretly very caring’.”

Tyrillian swung around to face them from several meters ahead of them, her face livid. “I heard that!”

Foltig just roared with laughter.  When he recovered a bit he shouted back. “Careful now girl, it looks like they already have your measure!”  She just huffed in response and continued on her way.  Foltig just kept chuckling and even Rick and Sade were smiling at the young elf’s attempt to continue to put on a front.  It really did seem that Rick hit the nail on the head.

They all came to an uncovered wagon led by a single horse.  Inside were three packs and a few sundry supplies.  Two of those bags and one small pile of weapons looked familiar.

“So just the three of us are going in this?”  The big man nodded.

“Ya got a problem with that?”

Rick looked at the elf. “Nope.  Just confirming the situation.”  He stuck out his hand. “Hope we have a good trip together.”

She just looked at his hand as if she was unsure how to proceed.  Tentatively, like she was expecting Rick to suddenly pull his hand away at the last moment, she grasped it and gave it a firm shake.  A very firm shake.

The guard captain was pleased that the elf’s initial hostility had already cooled down.  “Excellent.  Now I believe Tyr will be taking you through the old road.  It is not as patrolled, but it will take far less time for you to get where you need to go.  I understand there is a bit of a time issue for you.”

Tyrillian nodded her head at Foltig’s confirmation on her route but Rick was slightly confused.  “If the journey is shorter, why is it patrolled less?”

“Oh, that is because the old road bypasses all the villages between here and Shatak.  While the direct route is nice to have, most traders understandably want to avoid it.”  The big man explained.  “So since we have less people using the road, there is less importance in maintaining or patrolling the old road.”

“I understand.  Thank you for explaining and for arranging this for us on such short notice.”  Rick said and shook Captain Foltig’s hand.

There were smiles all around and the three travelers were soon bouncing down the road to their next destination.  Soon the town of Valmic disappeared behind the thickening line of trees leaving them alone on the shaded road.  Their new companion seemed to visibly deflate like she was holding her breath the entire time and only now just released all the air.

Sade moved up to sit next to her.  “Is everything alright?”

The elf sat poised for a moment before she furiously ran her hands through her mane then audibly sighed. “Yeah, everything is just… ugh! I’m sorry!”  She gave them both a look of genuine regret. “I just… I dun know why I act like that around Tig.”

“So it was our dear captain’s fault, eh?  Do you have feelings for him?” Sade teased.

Tyrillian looked thoughtful for a moment. “Yes, no, maybe?  Ugh! We’ve known each other fer twenty years.  I dunno what ta think.”

The rest of the wagon blinked at her statement. “Not to be rude, but how old are you exactly?” Rick asked as delicately as he could.

“Hm? Oh, Sixty-four summers.  Why d’ya ask?”  Rick was dumbfounded at her casual age drop and struggled to find the right words.  Thankfully Sade pipped in.

“He has not met many elves.  I myself am curious on what age your culture considers an adult.  Considering Captain Foltig called you young.”

Tyrillian waved away their concerns about being rude. “Nah, it’s a good question.  Unlike those prissy ‘high elves’,” She said the last part with a mocking high pitched tone. “Which don’t leave their mam’s nipple ‘till one hundred.  My people decide fer themselves when they are of age.”

One hundred years until an elf could be considered an adult? Rick’s head swam with the implication.  He tried to imagine his whole life stretched out over the span of an entire human lifetime.  Try as he might, it just seemed too unbelievable.

“Fascinating! How does that work?”  Sade asked with eagerness, dragging Rick back to thoughts about forest elf culture.

“Oh ya can’t just pop out between yer mam’s legs and then go ‘I’m ready fer a pint!’, there are a couple things that need doing.”  She held out her hand and extended one finger. “First, ya got to have yer body be all grown.  That takes about fifty summers or so.”  She counted a second finger. “Then ya got ta show yer independence.”

Rick blinked after she stopped talking. “That’s it?”

She threw her hands into the air. “It’s a might harder than it sounds! Ya can’t just tell people yer all grown up.  Ya got ta do it!  Most elves try ta figure that out right when they're grown.  Some get it down right away, others take a while.”

She sighed again and Sade put her arm over the larger woman’s muscled shoulder. “And it has taken a bit longer for you?”

Tyrillian nodded and then seemed to wiggle herself free of Sade’s embrace.  “Bah! That’s why I’m here.  Both Tig and me Da think that a summer or two in the city would help me figure things out fer myself.” She seemed to compose herself and a bit of her earlier haughty attitude creeped back to her expression.

“Enough about that.  What I want ta know if ya two are fuck’n.”

Her obvious attempt at changing the subject still worked like a charm.  Both Sade and Rick’s faces grew heated and Tyrillian cackled with glee.  “Oh, ya dun have to worry.  The two of ya just reek of each other's scent!  I could smell the sex before ya even turned the corner!”

The two humans' faces flushed with embarrassment.  The elf however, had the gall to actually wipe a tear from her eye from her laughter.

She eventually calmed down enough to continue her inquiry. “So if ya already found a mate, why are ya heading ta Shatak?”

Both of the humans started blushing even more furiously at the implication they were married.  Sade somehow recovered first and coughed as if to center herself. “I am going to attend Mya University to study magecraft.”

Tyrillian looked confused.  “I thought he was the mage.” She said, hooking a thumb at Rick.

Rick was surprised she knew.  But thinking about it for a bit longer he suspected that Captain Foltig must have confided in her, since he and a few guards were the only people who they told or were there when the innkeeper had his episode.

“I have some inherent magic, yes, but neither of us know much about it.  What we do know is that my magic is not a combat focused branch.  At least not that we could figure out anyway.”  Rick felt that honesty would probably be best in this situation.  He wouldn’t tell her everything, but letting her know his limitations when it came to combat was good for everyone.

The elf gave an “Ah.” in understanding and then continued with another question. “Well what can ya do?”

Rick shrugged and picked up his spear that was laying on the floor by his pack.  “Stick them with the pointy end?”

This caused all three of them to erupt in a fit of giggles.  Tyrillian clutched her stomach “Aye, fair enough.  That’s something at least.  So no offensive spells?”

Rick held out his hand and conjured fire with the only spell he knew.  Before he could even blink, the tall woman whipped her hand out like a viper and slapped his hand with enough force that the flame winked out and his hand slapped back to his chest.

“Are ya daft!  Why would ya ever use fire ta defend yourself in a forest?!  Do ya want ta turn a fight into a funeral pyre?”

Rick didn’t quite know how to answer the question.  So he just shook his head and remained silent.  He looked at Sade, her expression looked as ashamed as he felt.  It seems she didn’t consider the consequences of reckless spellcraft either.

Tyrillian sighed “Look,” she began with a bit less anger in her voice. “Fire ‘n lightning in a forest is a very, very bad idea.  If ya have ta use magic fer some reason, use something like this.”

She tossed the reins to Sade then stood on the bench.  Her arms shot out, fingers splayed and curled like claws.  She then leaped into the tree boughs above them and swiped her hands through the thick wooden branches, as thick as Rick’s thigh, as if through paper rather than solid lumber.  She landed back in her seat.  One of the limbs crashed down to the forest floor below to the side of their wagon.  In between Tyrillian’s fingers were a couple smooth wooden disks the size of small dinner plates.

Sade gasped. “Tyrillian, was that-” 

“Bah!” The other woman interrupted “Call me Tyr.  Me full name’s a mouthful.”

Sade nodded and spoke again. “Tyr then, what was that spell?”

Tyr beamed as she tossed the disks to the back of the cart, took the reins back, and sat back down.  “If yer thinking that was the ‘elven claw’, ya be right.”

Rick was excited to see more magic.  “Can you teach us that spell?” He asked with anticipation.

“Of course! I’ll show ya both tonight and ya can practice tomorrow while we ride.” She said with no hesitation whatsoever. 

“Elven claw is not a secret technique?” Sade asked and Tyr shook her head.

“Nah.  The spell’s no great secret, just few outside of the elf clans bother ta learn it.”

Rick was curious. “Why not?”

She grinned and began to explain. “The spell is like a very fancy dagger.  So think about all the places that could be more useful than a sword, bow… or even a fireball.”  She added the last with a pointed look.

He considered that for a few moments.  While a fancy dagger would be nice and even useful, when compared to the other examples, it lost most of its appeal during combat.  “So it’s a very situational spell that works best in places like a forest?”

Tyr gave a hum in confirmation.

The three of them continued to make small talk as they traveled through the day.  Tyr was a treasure trove of information about the forest and the creatures that lived within it.  Rick started to realize that his high luck stat was pulling double-time in order for him to survive those first nights in the wilderness.

When the sun was nearly over the horizon they made camp on the side of the road.  The plan was to set up a tarp over the wagon so that they had protection from the elements as they all slept inside.  Provided that the weather was just as nice as the last week had been, they would tear it down in the morning before heading back out.

Tyr set a watch rotation and took the first turn as the other two got comfortable inside.

While the forest was relatively safe for Rick and Sade on their hike from the destroyed caravan, neither of them argued with the elf on making sure nothing nasty snuck up on them while they all slept.  After all, they still didn’t know what attacked Sade and the rest of her caravan.  Rick didn’t quite know what types of monsters lived in this fantastical world of magic, but even that scene of carnage was beyond the pale.

Sade and Rick looked at each other before looking outside where they could see the elf standing sentinel by the fire.  Rather than dealing with the potential horrors that lurked beyond the light of their fire, they faced an altogether different problem.  For the past week, the moments just before sleep would normally be the time they made love to each other.  Not wanting to make their new traveling companion uncomfortable, both silently agreed that having sex in front of company was probably not the best idea.

And thus, Rick finally understood the concept of blue balls.

Both he and his chosen partner wanted to screw each other silly, but couldn’t.  He briefly wondered just how they would handle four more nights of forced abstinence.

Come on man!  You went nearly your whole life without sex, you can handle a few days.  He mentally chided himself.  It was painfully ironic that he got so used to having sex after only a week since popping his cherry.  Now, he couldn’t imagine himself without Sade naked in his arms.

Eventually he fell asleep, thinking of all the coital energy he would give Sade when they were finally able to be alone.