Chapter 19

Welcome back!

A small step away from Kal and Sera in the beginning of this one but it accomplishes something I’ve wanted to do since Book 1

For those of you reading The Runesmith Chronicles for the first time I recommend starting with the first book, Oni and the Farmer. Mostly so you have a better understanding of how things like the magic system works and what’s going on as I often reference earlier chapters/books.

Edited/Proofread by - oldfart and 2muchdiggity

Deena bid farewell to the small group of merchants she had made the final leg of her trek with. As they pulled away to find a place beyond the houses to make camp, she looked around at the small town of Telsin. There wasn’t really much to see at the moment as the last rays of sunlight were fading quickly to darkness and the shops had all closed up hours ago. The one place in town that was still bustling with activity was the Inn. Shifting the pack on her shoulder, she steeled herself and made her way toward the largest building in town.

The familiar sounds of people eating, talking loudly, and chugging ale as a minstrel tried to sing over the noise washed over the woman, acting like a salve to her frayed nerves after her long journey. Looking around, she frowned. There were three servers tending to the customers already which was more than enough for a crowd this size.

“There’s a fresh face! Can I help ya lass?” said the woman behind the counter.

Deena’s nervousness came back full force as she walked over and took a stool. “I’m looking for ... Kahrin?” she said hesitantly, after so many weeks of travel she was unsure she’d said the name right.

The woman raised an eyebrow, “Yer speakin’ to her. Not often we have strangers showin’ up lookin’ fer me.”

“I’m supposed to tell you that Kal sent me.”

Kahrin’s surprise was evident. “Well now, this is odd.”

Deena’s face showed her worry, maybe the people of this town hated the mage because he...

“What exactly did he send ya to me fer?”

“I ... I was a barmaid at an inn where he and his ... lady friend stayed.”

Kahrin held up a finger then walked off for a moment to refill a couple of mugs and send them back out with the server. As soon as she was done, the barkeep came back over and leaned over, putting her elbows on the counter and resting her head in her hands. Her eyes shone with excitement, “So, how was it?”

“Um ... was what?”

“When he threw his cock up in ya? Only man I’ve had ta split me open better’n Master Kal is Bren. So, how was it?”

“Well, we—”

“Hold up...” said Kahrin, cocking her head to one side and becoming serious, “ye said ye were a barmaid. Did ye come looking fer a job?”

Deena was caught off guard by the woman’s sudden change in demeanor but slowly nodded.

“Git yer arse back here and let me have a look at ya,” she said indicating for the woman to walk around the counter.

The woman meekly did as she had been asked while Kahrin helped a couple of customers. She noted that neither of the men returned to their tables and were smiling wide as they looked between her and the barkeep.

“Alright, set yer things over there and lemme get a look at ya,” she said. The next few minutes consisted of Kahrin asking questions about how she ended up in Telsin while moving her into different positions and poses, some of which were blatantly bawdy and meant to show off her assets. At first, Deena thought Kahrin was putting her on display for all the men who had come over to watch but quickly realized from the woman’s lingering touches and flushed face that it was as much for the barkeep as anyone else. The barkeep had her raise her arms up over her head, thrust her chest out then push her hips back as far as she could and then told her to hold the position while she went and filled a few more mugs. The group of men ogling her had grown but that was unsurprising considering the show they were getting.

A small frown crossed the barkeep’s face as she looked at Deena’s chest, then at the pack sitting on the floor. “Ye can relax now, lass. Did ye bring any proper clothes fer workin’?”

“Not really, ma’am,” she said rolling her shoulders and stretching her neck a little to loosen up from the odd pose. “I was off duty when the sprite found me and told me about you. I stuffed what I could into the pack she brought me and ran out the door. My working dress was still hanging in my room.”

“Ada!” yelled Kahrin, making the woman jump.

“Wot?” came the response from out in the dining room.

“I need one o’ yer old dresses!”

There was a long pause, “Why?”

“‘Cause yer the only one with tits big enough to fit the new girl!”

“What?!” a few seconds later a blond-headed woman she had seen out on the floor when she walked in pushed through the throng of staring men. “Bloody hell!” she exclaimed looking at Deena’s chest. “Those are natural?” she asked, incredulous.

Deena nodded, thinking how could they not be?

The blonde looked down and hefted her own breasts. “The only reason mine are this big is ‘cause they’re milk-heavy.”

“Better stop that or Ellis’ll get pissed wit ya again,” warned Kahrin, eyeing up the men surrounding the blonde.

Ada looked up at the men around her. “These are for Jasem, and don’t none of ya forget it.” A moment later she wiggled her way back through the group of men and headed for the back of the inn.

“Now, before she gets back, I’m guessin’ that Kal told ye how things work around here. It’s ladies’ choice if ye want to join one o’ the lads or ladies fer the night. If’n ye never open yer legs ta any of ‘em, yer still hired.

“That bein’ said, Telsin’s come into some good coin lately, thanks to Lady Perra, and the lads here pay well,” she looked at Deena’s chest, “especially for those. One of our other girls did somethin’ back when she started and we’ve turned it into a bit of a game.”

Kahrin filled mugs of ale as she explained. “The boys who want to play will line up and hide ye from the rest o’ the room. Mind ye, if there were any young’uns here tonight we wouldn’t be talking about this. Then each of them puts their hand down on the counter, there might be a copper underneath, there might be a silver, or there might be nothing, it’s the risk ye take.

“In return, ye change yer dress right here behind the counter instead o’ goin’ into a room.”

“And they all watch me?”

“Aye, and the better you make the show the more likely ye are to get a silver.”

“If I say no then...”

“Ye go back in the back, change into yer workin’ dress, and git yer arse out on the floor. Ellis would appreciate havin’ his woman back a bit earlier than usual.”

Deena looked away for a moment while she thought. Her old employer just assigned her to a customer after they paid him, there was no consideration for whether or not she wanted to. If she wanted to keep her job, she did as she was told. Without a brothel in town, it was pretty much expected of the girls working there. In her old boss’s defense, he did explain this all before she began working for him.

Now the power to say yes or no was hers without fear of losing her ability to take care of herself. The feeling was exhilarating. Not only that but the looks Kahrin kept giving her along with the appreciative looks of all the men had her panties soaked. The barkeep lightly brushing or touching every sensitive spot she could reach when posing her earlier probably had a lot to do with that. Besides, she had done stripteases before, just never for this many men at once and never in such a public place.

Ada came walking around the counter with a dress that looked like it might fit her. Deena was slightly worried since she had a bit more meat on her bones than the young blonde, despite them having nearly the same size chest.

Taking the dress from the woman, she turned and looked at Kahrin. “Okay, I’ll play.”

A cheer erupted from the men watching, startling the inn’s newest employee. They arranged themselves into two rows, the men in the back blocking the gaps created by those in front sitting on the stools so she couldn’t be seen from the dining room at all. A couple of them backed out for not having the extra coppers while a few others talked of saving their silvers for a more personal show later on.

“Remember,” said Kahrin, “only go as far as yer wantin’. If ye just strip down and get dressed again, ye can do that and the lads here’ll have to be happy with what they get to see. Personally,” she produced a silver coin and showed it to her before slapping it down on the back counter where they mounted the barrel of ale and kept the money, “I’m just wanting to see those things in all their glory.”

A staccato of similar slaps came from the front counter and she turned to see a row of hands, one for each man. A pinging sound came from behind her and Kahrin reached up to catch the silver piece that flew over Deena’s head. “I’m believin’ Bren’s wanting ta see those magnificent tits as well,” said the barkeep.

The new barmaid turned to look behind her for this ‘Bren’ person. The large man raised his tankard when he saw her looking, which was a good thing since his clothes blended in quite well with the wall behind him.

With a squeak of surprise, she spun back around. “That’s Bren!?” she hissed at Kahrin, her eyes wide. The man was huge!

The woman chuckled. “Ria told ye about him did she?”

“Y ... Yes. She suggested I...” Deena pushed her breasts together and moved them up and down as if stroking something between them. A number of the men muttered their approval and about how lucky Bren was.

“Oh ... I could kiss that little sprite right about now,” said Kahrin, her face flushing at the idea. “Ye might want to get goin’ before I drag you and Bren back to our room so I can see exactly what that looks like.”

Nodding, she stepped a little further behind the counter but stayed where Bren could see her. Closing her eyes, she thought of a slow and sensual tune she’d heard once and began gently swaying back and forth as she reached up to unlace her bodice.

Over the next few minutes, Kahrin played her body like a finely tuned fiddle, walking around Deena during her slow striptease and using the same light touches and brushes to get her worked up to a fever pitch. It didn’t take long before she completely forgot about her audience. The more clothes she removed, the more intense the barkeep’s touch became until she was silently begging with her eyes for the woman to do ... something. Her mind was so deep in a haze of lust by that point she couldn’t even tell the woman what she wanted

Kahrin seemed to know and twisted her hand in Deena’s hair before directing her to bend over the back counter with her rear toward her audience. A couple more minutes of the woman’s light touches on her sex, bottom, and inner thighs had her shoving her arm in her mouth trying to keep from moaning. Even more frustrating was that Kahrin hadn’t even touched her clit and she was so lost in the moment it didn’t cross her mind to reach down and do it herself.

When her legs began trembling from being so close to climax, the barkeep pulled her up by the hair and spun her around. Maintaining her grip, the woman pulled her head back, making her back arch and proudly displaying her large breasts. While Deena shivered with excitement, Kahrin’s fingers traced their way from her shoulder down to her sex. The feeling of the woman’s fingers fluttering across her sensitive nipples made her entire body jerk.

As the barkeep’s fingers arrived at her sex, a much larger hand pressed against her back as a second one came up and covered her mouth. She’d barely leaned against Bren’s offered support when Kahrin’s fingers began flying over her clit. Deena’s only respite was a moment when the woman dipped her fingers into her sex to wet them and taking the brief opportunity to rub that special spot just inside her pussy. I felt like only seconds later that Kahrin pressed Deena’s head into Bren’s hand in an vain attempt to keep the orgasming woman silent. She was certain if it weren’t for the big man holding her up that she would have collapsed.

Breathing heavily through her nose, Deena’s face went bright red as she realized what she had just done. Her anxiety spiked at the idea of looking up and seeing all the men who just watched her have one of the biggest orgasms of her life and only got worse as she realized that there was no way that the inn’s other patrons hadn’t heard her. The woman’s thoughts were interrupted by a chorus of ‘aww’s from her audience and a slight sucking noise above her. Opening her eyes, Deena saw Kahrin’s fingers coming away from Bren’s mouth. She didn’t think it was possible, but somehow her face got even redder.

Looking down, the large man noticed her peering up at him and pulled his hand away from her mouth. “Are you good?” he asked. His deep voice felt like it made her bones vibrate and she swore she could feel the floorboards beneath her feet buzz as he spoke. Deena nodded, she was immediately grateful for his assistance when standing back up, her legs were still very shaky.

The new barmaid had expected the men to disperse after her little show but nearly all of them were still watching her expectantly. In two places there were small piles of coins where some of the spectators had left. Kahrin reached down and plucked Deena’s small moneypurse from her belongings, collecting the piles and dropping them inside before putting the small bag back down with her clothes.

“Don’t be offended, lass. Those two probably had messes they needed ta clean up,” said the barkeep while making a loose fist town by her crotch. Moving her hand down she splayed out her fingers. It was easy to tell what kind of messes she was hinting at. “Not that I think any o’ the boys here could blame them.” Kahrin’s comment met with murmured ‘no’s and shaking of heads. “A lot o’ these men’ll be yer customers, if yer inclined ta take ‘em. But fer some o’ these gents, this’ll be the only time they’ll ever get ta see that beautiful chest o’ yours.”

Deena pulled the plain white shift over her head then let Ada’s dress drop down onto her shoulders. After a moment of hesitation, she reached into the unlaced bodice and pulled out both of her breasts for the men to look at while she cinched up the waist of the dress. “Only time?” she asked. “You don’t do this often?”

Kahrin shook her head. “Ye won’t be doin’ this again. We’ve nearly shut the place down fer yer little show so those out there who don’t want to see something like this don’t have to. We canna afford ta do that much, so we decided that new girls do it once if they want and that’s it. We’re not a brothel after all.”

Deena reached down and picked up her undergarments holding the soaked strip of fabric up by one side before turning around and rooting through the pack the sprite had given her for some new ones. She was enjoying how the men weren’t acting like a bunch of lechers, so she flipped the skirt of the dress up onto her back while she searched. Grabbing a new pair, she stood and turned back to the men but was instead looking at the cloth in her hand.

“Kahrin? I’m still ... wet. Do you have anything I could wipe with?”

“Tongue or towel?”

The question caught her off guard for a moment. “T ... towel,” she stammered.

“Oh phoo,” said the barkeep. Grabbing a folded towel from the back counter, she gave Deena a mischievious grin. “You or me?”

With a slight smirk, the woman glanced at the men and pulled her dress up in the front.

“Thinkin’ I’m gonna like you,” said Kahrin as she brought the cloth to Deena’s pussy and thoroughly, perhaps more thoroughly than necessary, dried off her sex and inner thighs.

The guys got one last little treat when she asked Kahrin to help her put her panties on then bent over the back counter with her dress again flipped up onto her back. As expected, the woman was happy to help but couldn’t resist taking a long lick all the way from her clit to her pucker before pulling Deena’s panties up and hiding her bottom from view. When she stood up and turned around there was another small stack of coins without a hand covering it on the counter.

As she tucked her breasts back into her dress and began lacing up the front, the full implication of what she had just done slammed into her. It wasn’t nearly as bad as she expected. Yes, she was embarrassed, and she was also shocked that she had been so bold. But she didn’t feel ashamed, and that surprised her. Looking up at the men, she noticed that while hunger burned in quite a few of their eyes, there was genuine appreciation on their faces and not the piggish leering she was accustomed to. That probably had a lot to do with it.

As Deena finished situating herself, Kahrin went down the counter and collected the coins under the men’s hands, sliding them off into the barmaid’s coinpurse. She explained later that in the past, one of the men had lifted his hand and hadn’t left a single coin. He nearly ended up getting beaten by those around him right then and there. Now, the only way someone knew how much a man offered up was if he left before the girl was finished.

After collecting the coins, one man asked if he could buy Deena’s panties. Soon after, another asked about the towel Kahrin had used. More coppers went clinking into her moneypurse while Deena blushed fiercely.

With the show over and their money taken, the men slowly dispersed as she finished adjusting the dress. Tugging the arm of the dress down, she tied the cuff into place around her wrist, thankful for the long sleeves that hid the teeth marks she left from trying to be quiet earlier.

Kahrin called her over to the back counter when she finally had her dress in order. Deena’s eyes threatened to bulge out of her head when she saw an impressive pile of coppers and a surprisingly large stack of silver coins lying in front of the barkeep with her moneypurse next to them.

“I’m not sure how much ye had aforehand, but nearly every one of them must’ve left ye a silver unless a couple o’ the gents left ya two.” Taking two silver pieces off the stack, she grabbed the rest and squatted down, opening the small safe down by her legs. The barmaid’s heart sank, she figured that the inn would take a cut. Sadly, she wasn’t even surprised at the amount, it was only slightly more than her old boss would have taken. She stared as the barkeep stood back up and put a gold piece on the counter next to the remaining silver pieces.

“There ya go dear, and well-earned I’d say.”

Quickly recovering from her surprise, she hesitantly asked, “How much do I owe you?”

Kahrin raised an eyebrow. “Nothing, and if’n you decide ta spend a night with a customer we don’t take any of that either, even though Bren’ll be keepin’ an ear out ta make sure yer okay. Also, if ye choose to make some extra money then me or whoever is workin’ the bar will take yer purse once they’ve paid ya. I’m bot havin’ one o’ our girls getting beaten so some arsehole can get his coin back. Payment upfront only, no exceptions.”

“How much is my room and board then?”

“Again, nothing. The flip side o’ that is that what ye get paid likely isn’t what other inns might offer, and yer room isn’t much more’n a large closet. Yer biggest issue is that it’s me old room so it’s right next to mine and Bren’s, meanin’ ye might have ta learn how ta sleep through me wailin’ and Bren trying ta break our bed ... again.”

The new barmaid mulled over Kahrin’s words for a moment, wary that the situation was quickly becoming too good to be true. “I don’t understand. Every inn I’ve worked at I was only ever left with a couple of coppers in my pocket and I always felt like I was locked in my situation. You sound like you are leaving the door wide open for me. With what I’ve made tonight, I could run off and live well for a long time.”

“Aye, ye could, lass. But what then? What happens when yer coin runs out? The fact o’ the matter is that I don’t expect ya ta be a barmaid fer the rest o’ yer life. One o’ the boys in town may take a shinin’ to ya and start properly courtin’ ya. Or maybe ye decide ta take up with one o’ the shopkeeps here in town and start learnin’ a trade. I understand the blacksmith, tailor, and the new weaver are currently keepin’ an eye out fer helpers and bedmates. Or maybe ye just want to collect what ye’ve made, gather yer things and see where yer feet take ya.

“All o’ the other inns I worked at were set up much as ye described yer old one. A prison o’ circumstance instead o’ iron bars. Ellis gave me the chance at freedom and hoped I’d stay. Now I’ve been here fer years and the arse has me runnin’ the bloody place.”

“And I have to listen to her cry about it every damn day,” came a voice from behind them. Kahrin and Deena both spun around, startled. An older man was sitting at the counter next to the blonde from earlier. The new girl vaguely remembered the blonde saying something about coming back with Ellis after dropping off the dress but hadn’t seen their arrival. In her defense, she had been a little bit distracted at the time. “Come off it, Kahrin. You took the silver from under my hand, no need to pretend you’re surprised.” He looked at Deena. “Much as you are enjoying your bounty, lovely performance by the way, tomorrow you will need to take some of that to the tailor and have him make you your own dresses for work as well as pick up any creature comforts you might want for your room.”

“We also might be callin’ on ya one of these nights if you’re willing,” Ellis and Kahrin both looked at Ada in surprise. “Wot?” she said, “You love stickin’ it ‘tween my tits but haven’t done it ‘cause now we get milk everywhere. B’sides,” she put a hand under each of her breasts and pressed them together before looking down at her cleavage, “I’ve only seen it from this angle. I’m curious wot it looks like.” Twin wet spots appeared over each nipple. “Bloody hell,” she muttered before heading toward the back of the inn.

Ellis watched her go for a moment before turning back to the women behind the counter. “Wish she hadn’t mentioned that,” he said staring at Deena’s breasts for a moment. The inn’s owner glanced at Kahrin then over where Bren was sitting before heaving an exaggerated sigh. “Maybe if she feeds Jasem first it won’t be quite so messy,” he muttered before following Ada back to their room.

Kahrin smiled as he walked away then turned to Deena. “I believe that means she’s off the floor fer the night, which means you’re up. Yer first customer is Bren,” she said filling a tankard from the barrel and pushing it into her hands. “He and the midwife Lulen are the only ones who don’t pay. The rest of them pay you when they order then you pay me when you pick it up...”

Kahrin spent the next minute or so rattling off prices and how they did things at this particular inn before sending Deena off toward Bren with a pat on her rear.

The inn’s newest server hesitantly made her way over to the strongman’s table, the pouch on her hip containing a few coppers while the rest was locked away in the safe. She wasn’t entirely comfortable with the arrangement considering she just met these people, but it did make her less of a target for a cutpurse. She set the mug down and picked up the empty one as Bren slid his hand across the table toward her. The sound made it clear there were coins beneath.

“Kahrin said you didn’t have to pay,” she said confused.

“For the ale, no.” He lifted his hand revealing the silver pieces beneath, “But I was hoping you might be interested in joining Kahrin and I tonight, half of that is hers.”

“You’re ... asking me? And paying me?” This was very different from her previous experiences.

Bren nodded and took a sip of his ale before answering. “We’re both in the same business, occasionally a woman will come along who wants to buy my services for the night. Because of that, if I come to you an ask you to join me, I offer up coin. However, any time you come knocking at my door after your shift then Kahrin and I’ll be happy have you spend the night with us.”

Deena stared down at the silver pieces before pushing them back toward the big man.

The disappointment on his face vanished when she said, “I’ll be knocking later.”

Bren went back to his room shortly before her shift ended. Kahrin explained to Deena that she and Bren had taken over running the inn a while back when Ellis had fallen ill and everyone believed he was on the verge of death. Kahrin took care of things out front while Bren took care of the paperwork and most of the other things that happened behind the scenes.

“How did Ellis recover?”

“That’s why Lulen gets free food and drink, she and Master Kal saved him somehow and from what I heard, Lulen chanced losin’ her life ta do it.”

“‘Master’ Kal?” Deena asked. Now that she thought about it, Kahrin had called him ‘Master’ earlier as well.

“Aye, he’s the town’s only wizard and was the only magic-user ‘til Elta arrived.”

“Does he get free food and drink as well?”

Kahrin laughed. “Oh hell no! The man is more than rich enough to pay for his own ale.” The barkeep looked over at a candle with evenly spaced marks on the side. “It’s getting’ late,” she said reaching under the counter and pulling up Deena’s travel pack. “Yer purse is in there. Ye must’ve made a hell of an impression fer Kal ta give ya his pack. He’s had that fer as long as I’ve know him.”

“Um ... actually it was the sprite from his bag of holding that gave it to me. I’m sorry to say that I don’t have any stories about sleeping with him. I think he was saving up for his lady friend. He said they were going to be quieter when they continued later but he has some strange ideas of ‘quiet.’ Plus she...” The barmaid let the thought trail off, unsure whether she should mention that the woman she’d kissed wasn’t human.

“Well, that’s a shame. Maybe if you’re still here and unattached when he gets back ye can give him a tumble. It’ll be worth it,” she said with a smile. “But fer now, head through the door to the kitchen and keep along the left wall, right on the other side o’ this one.” She said pointing at the wall behind the back counter. “That’ll take ya to the worker’s rooms. There’ll be a wide gap between a couple of the doors, your room is the second on the right o’ that. Ada’s old room is empty too, it’s the one to the left of the gap, but you don’t want that one.”

“Why not?”

The barkeep grinned, “‘Cause me and Bren’s bed is on that side.”

When Kahrin finally finished her business with the night shift clerk, she was treated to the sight of Bren on his back in bed while the new girl straddled his face and leaned up against the headboard. Like earlier, she had an arm shoved into her mouth in an attempt to keep quiet.

“How many so far?” asked the barkeep. Bren held up one finger. “That just won’t do,” she said, smiling. After quickly disrobing, she gingerly removed the large stone phallus she had inserted earlier to stretch herself for the big man tonight. Kahrin wasn’t actually expecting to need it, but better to be ready just in case.

Stepping over to the bed, she reached over and pulled Deena’s arm from her mouth. Quickly inspecting the teeth marks, she sighed a little in relief. Some women bit a knuckle to keep quiet, this one stuck her whole arm in her mouth. To each their own. But if that was the case then Kahrin was about to waste the woman’s efforts.

Looking down at the big man a thought crossed her mind. Reaching out to tease one of the woman’s nipples, Kahrin grinned evilly and said, “Hum a tune fer me, Bren. Make her sing.”

Deena’s eyes darted over to the other woman in confusion as the man lapping at her pussy chuckled. Pressing his tongue against her sex, a low rumbling hum began emanating from his throat that seemed to run and straight through the soft appendage and into her clit. Kahrin’s head came down and bit lightly on the nipple she’d been teasing and a second later Deena’s eyes rolled up as she came, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Bren was thoroughly enjoying the feel of thrusting into the valley between the new girl’s soft breasts as she lay on the bed. Kahrin was having the time of her life, switching between eating the woman out, sitting on her face and licking the head of Bren’s prick as it peeked out from between Deena’s breasts. The big man let out a low grunt, indicating it was time to finish things up. Sliding his cock out from between the soft mounds, he pulled the new girl up into a sitting position. Without any prompting, she immediately pressed her breasts together and wrapped her arms around them, holding them in place and remaking the channel of soft flesh for his cock. Bren didn’t waste any time, slipping between the woman’s huge tits and thrusting as fast as he could. Every time the head of his cock broke through the top of her cleavage it was met by soft lips or a wet tongue.