A Dream of Empire Ch. 003

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A sorceress visits the island of Dun Aysla.
9.2k words
4.76
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Part 3 of the 27 part series

Updated 06/08/2023
Created 01/09/2018
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Alanna

Farport, Imperial County of Catriona

13th of Zenith, 1282 D.f.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Alanna and Talos had journeyed across the County of Catriona on horseback for the better part of three days, crossing the paved Imperial highway just yestermorn. The pair had briefly stopped in the town of Featherton to relay their sorrow of the lost woodmiller, and as well as a vague description of the events that had transpired that same day. They, of course, asked for no recompense for their actions.

Emmanuel had detached from the party in Featherton, giving them an outrageous excuse that a pair of loving maids waited for him to the south. In truth, he had only wanted to give Alanna and Talos some well-needed space during their vacation from home. Talos had given their address in Catriona to the bard, a future offering of drink and story if his path ever led him in that direction.

Alanna and Talos were now on the outskirts of Farport, a small town on the Catrionan coast.

Farport had an unfortunate history, being in the shadow of the great city of Catriona not forty miles to the south. In the pre-Imperial age, when the nations of humanity fought with one another, Farport had been an equally-powerful rival to the city of mages to the south. It's trade vessels sailed all across the world in that era, from the Empire of Masakrai in the far west to the fledgling colonies of Solais in the east. The King of Catriona had grown jealous of the successes of Farport, and had ultimately besieged and conquered the city a hundred years before the Empire had formed.

Remnants of its ancient splendor were obvious if one had a mind to look for it. The town was ringed with a large square foundation, a small jutting of stone all that was left of the thirty-foot-high walls that had once rested there. Gutted stone monoliths dotted the town between otherwise-unimpressive wooden buildings, their columns adorned with the capital letters of a language once-used.

The town, had, unfortunately, come unto ruin in the centuries since those temples and governmental buildings had been constructed. When Catriona agreed to join the Kingdom of Hayades in the establishment of the Empire, they had worked together to create the famed Imperial highway network. The limitless legionnaires of the Empire and the sorceresses of Catriona helped one another, to ensure each stone laid on that road would last a millenia.

And so the stones were laid; bypassing the town of Farport completely. Now that the town was a good day's ride from the Imperial highway, which was the main thoroughfare of all settlers and merchants, no one simply bothered to venture to Farport any longer.

But Talos hadn't brought Alanna here for a history lesson, of course, even if he'd originally wanted to mention all of this to her. Farport was the nearest settlement to his next destination, an abandoned elven ruin just nearby that had once been an imposing elven fortress. If Alanna had been absolutely amazed by the waterfall near Featherton, Talos feared she may literally melt at the wonderous sight of Dun Aysla.

"Oh, Dun Aysla! I've heard stories of that place," Alanna exclaimed out of absolutely no where, having read Talos' thoughts for the majority of their excursion.

"How can it compete with the wonder of the falls, though?" she asked the handsome man riding beside her, who had just grimaced and placed a hurried palm atop his face. Talos chided himself for letting the surprise slip through his thoughts. His hand eventually slid from his visage, and he replied a moment later.

"It's an island just off the coast, with some elven ruins on it. It's very pretty," Talos explained as nondescriptively as possible while hopefully maintaining her excitement. His words seemed to have the opposite effect, as Alanna had instantly pouted instead.

"An island? But Talos, you know I detest the sea."

"You only tried it once," Talos shrugged.

"And I hated it."

"Only 'cause you got sick."

"And I'll get sick again!"

The man groaned, rolling his eyes. "Alanna, you were carrying child," Talos replied, attempting to reassure the unhappy sorceress. "Besides, the journey will only take but a couple hours, even if you do."

"But..." Alanna whimpered.

"I swear it'll be worth it," Talos promised.

"Mmh," she whimpered once more, now meeting the man's gaze with pitifully-wide eyes.

Oh gods, not that look.

"Alanna," Talos complained.

"Talos..." Alanna whispered adorably before letting out an exaggerated sigh, knowing she would never get her way in the presence of his wanderlust. She conceded to him silently with a roll of her head, which the man responded to with a chuckle as the pair trode through town towards the docks. He spoke after a minute of silence.

"You know, sailors and locals alike say the isle is haunted," he said softly, giving the sorceress a quick wink.

Alanna giggled, knowing she nor he would believe that superstition, either. The closest thing to ghosts that she had ever seen were illusiory manifestations, jests played between sorceresses at the College of Catriona.

"It keeps the people away, at least, so we'll have plenty of privacy," Talos explained with a smirk. "You could moan as loudly as you'd like there."

Alanna blushed. "Will you give me a choice?" she asked quietly. Talos leaned towards his saddlebags, producing the second bottle of wine with a grin.

"Absolutely not," he promised.

-=-=-

Talos felt like a haughty lord this glorious afternoon as he strode along the docks of Farport. He had planned for this excursion for quite some time, and had prepared specifically for this very day.

No sailor would dare anchor at the island he had wanted to travel to; or if they would, they surely wouldn't return to pick he and Alanna up. Therefore, a man had to find his own vessel to make the short jaunt across the waves. He'd requested a good two-hundred golden Imperials from his lover Casiama several weeks ago, a truly massive sum to the man. To rent a decent waterside townhouse in Catriona would only require three golden Imperials a month, after all, while a warhorse could be purchased for no more than twenty if you haggled. Today he would purchase something just that much more expensive.

He looked over the many boats of the harbor, pursing his lips as his eyes traveled over the disheveled vessels in port. He could afford to be picky today with the size of his coinpurse, but feared he might not be granted the opportunity. That is, until he reached the far end of the docks.

A newer ship, only constructed in just the last year, was anchored there. It was a cog, a small trade vessel designed to carry only several sailors and a moderate amount of goods belowdecks. It had a small cabin at the aft of the vessel as well, a useful addition for anyone that didn't feel like sleeping outside.

Talos eventually found the owner of said vessel, named what he was willing to pay for it, and the offer was immediately met with acceptance. Talos should have bartered, but it wasn't his coin he was spending anyway. He and Alanna visited one of the carpenters next to get several horse stalls installed belowdecks, as well as have the carpenter construct a larger gangplank for simpler disembarkation from the vessel without the existence of a dock.

With their work done for the day, Alanna and Talos now retired to an inn, drinking away the rest of the night while they waited for their new ship to be finalized come the morn.

Being in public with the buxom sorceress was always a test of patience. It was nothing she did purposefully, of course; Alanna had a kind soul, and her actions usually followed suit. It was the fact that, each time a man gazed upon the sorceress, a lecherous thought would typically flow through their mind. This thought would be relayed to Alanna, who had a nasty predisposition to scan for these 'compliments' in the minds of those around her. This thought would be, in turn, be relayed towards Talos, assuming he was bothering to peer into her. Which he often did.

Talos had never been a jealous man. Sure, he would have loved to inherit the County of Evora growing up, but he was never jealous of his older brother. And perhaps the man had wanted to own the finest armor and equipment available, but simply didn't have the coin for it before recently.

Drinking with Alanna in public, however, made the man feel his first pangs of jealousy. Perhaps it was greed. Maybe possessiveness, or possibly a sick mixture of the three.

Alanna was just in the process of removing her travel jacket, allowing her chest to breathe easier through the thin linen of her red shirt. Her massive jugs bounced heavily as she lifted herself from the table, stretching their cloth prison obscenely as they did. Alanna regularly wore her clothes revealing enough to display more than a hint of cleavage, as enchantresses were accustomed to do, being the high-maintenance individuals that they were.

"Oh Talos, don't think like that," Alanna admonished him, plopping down onto the wooden bench once more and producing another lewd jiggle of her pair of distractions. "I wear it like this for you," she lied through her teeth, leaning over the table on her elbows to allow him to gaze upon her sensuous tits in most of their glory.

The action, again made good-naturedly, exposed Alanna's curvaceous ass and the folds of her womanhood to the remainder of the hall behind her, albeit concealed beneath her leather pants. Alanna sat back down after the sixth lustful comment was made of her posterior.

"How the fuck do you live like that, Alanna?" Talos smirked, taking a swig of the piss-poor ale the inn offered this night. The sorceress giggled bashfully.

"Like what, my love?" she asked flirtatiously, wanting him to say it aloud now that she was four drinks deep. Talos read this, sighing before he answered.

"Y'know," he said, glancing towards her shirt absentmindedly, "showing off your... assets to the world."

Alanna giggled again, bringing a dainty hand to her mouth. "But I've always lived like this. How's a girl to grow out of it? You should know that it becomes normal, after awhile."

Talos rolled his eyes. "And I suppose if you went a day wearing a modest dress, you wouldn't be able to sleep that night knowing no one had desired you."

Alanna tsked twice, smiling playfully. "Don't be a curmudgeon, Talos. You know it rarely affects me these days. It's only new to you."

"Yeah, about that. Why don't you girls think the same way about men?"

"What's to say we don't?" Alanna smirked.

"Because-"

"You don't hear any of you?" Alanna interjected with a wink. "Well that's simple to answer, Talos. I don't scan the thoughts of women, therefore you would never hear of them."

"Hah! And why not? I know you're into womenfolk," Talos accused correctly, Alanna agreeing with a nod.

"Yeeeah, but that only goes one way. Most of their thoughts have me jealous instead, and who wants that?"

Talos squinted at her, shrugging his arms indignantly. "Did you just agree with me?" he asked. Alanna parted her lips to respond, raising a finger which was soon set on the table once again.

She decided on a different tactic, lifting herself from her seat and bounced over to his side of the table, to look over the hall of the inn. She nodded towards a table with two couples enjoying their night, all aged in their twenties.

"Go walk by that table, then," she said. "Get us some more drink from the bar."

"Why?" Talos shrugged. The ale here was quite possibly the worst in all the Empire.

"Just do it," she sighed.

Talos did as she asked, sauntering towards the bar of the hall to purchase another two mugs of the repulsive ale. Alanna, meanwhile, projected the thoughts of the two women seated at the table towards him as he strode past, then the thoughts of a serving wench as she almost stumbled into a table when she too looked him over. Talos returned to Alanna two minutes later holding the two mugs of ale and a wide grin on his face.

"You know, that's actually pretty awesome," he said, sliding one of the mugs across the table.

"See?" Alanna replied with raised brows, taking a drink of her new ale. Talos' mind was already fixated elsewhere, and stood from the table a moment later.

"Fuck this piss water, Alanna. Let's go to our room," he offered with a smirk. Alanna hastily accepted, sensing his need of her.

-=-=-

The following morning, after Alanna had declared her love of Talos' manhood to the entire town of Farport during the night, the pair had set sail for the isle of Dun Aysla.

Alanna had worn her black slitted skirt and red corset once again, knowing the day would belong to just the two of them. She laid lazily on the deck of the vessel, pretending to read a book as Talos ran between bow and stern, performing the actions of three men. She watched him work instead, finding his masculine efforts appealing. Alanna stood and reached out to him after an hour of this, wanting conversation from the man she lusted over.

"So, when did you learn to sail?" Alanna asked loudly over the rush of a calm wind. Talos didn't immediately turn towards her.

"Back in my mercenary days," he answered truthfully. "It's, uh, not really something you forget." He glanced over his shoulder towards her, both souls smiling when their eyes met. "Do you want to learn?"

"No! No, that's alright," Alanna hastily replied, before feeling a pang of regret at her answer. "Unless you, um, need my help with something?"

Talos almost told her no, but fortunately realized she was subtly reaching out to him. "Yeah," he replied instead. "You'd save me a lot of running if you took the rudder from me."

"The what?"

"The-" Talos paused, pointing to the horizontally-laid wheel at the stern of the vessel, "rudder, over there."

Alanna ambled towards the destination her lover had pointed out, finding herself just as perplexed when she had arrived. She tapped a finger against her chin while pursing her lips, examining the four-spoked wheel before her with the utmost confusion.

Talos? she thought to him, a silent cry for help really. He skipped towards her with a grin, finding a sudden giddiness in his step at the thought of teaching her to sail. Alanna turned towards him as he hopped up the steps, and Talos wrapped his arms around her.

"It's easy," he promised warmly. "If you want the ship to point starboard, you spin it towards port. If you want to sail towards port, spin it starboard."

"Uh huh. Starboard," she replied with a confused smile. Talos pointed over his shoulder, while Alanna pointed in the opposite direction a second later. "And that's port," the sorceress added adorably.

"Correct," Talos confirmed with a smile. "And, not to put any pressure on you, but if you beach her we'll need to walk home. Or swim, depending on how fortunate we are. Just ensure we're as far away from the shore as we are now, and keep her pointed out of the wind. I'll be a little more specific when we reach the island."

Alanna nodded, just that much less perplexed, while a dozen more questions popped up in her mind. She decided on the obvious, first.

"But Talos, we're pointed into the wind now."

Talos, somewhat nervously, glanced towards the telltales, two straps of linen flapping in the breeze mounted towards the bow of the ship. He shook his head and turned back towards the befuddled sorceress, who, having read his thoughts, was now looking in the direction he had been.

"No, we're fine. As long as we're not pointed directly into the wind, about this much," Talos explained, holding his hands out to form a rough forty-five degree angle, "then she'll still sail forward. You just need to alternate between starboard and port occasionally to maintain course."

"Like a zig-zag?"

"A what?"

Alanna giggled. "I feel as if we're speaking two different languages, Talos," she said warmly. "But I think I get what you're saying."

Both souls smirked at the same time, and Talos wrapped her in his arms once more and smooched her lovingly on the lips. He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb when their lips unlocked.

"I'll be over there, dealing with the damned sails," he explained gloomily, at least feeling fortunate that it could not have been a simpler day to sail. The pair had gotten lucky, as it hadn't once rained for their entire vacation away from Catriona.

Alanna giggled and saluted her lover poorly, with the wrong hand even. "Yes, captain!"

Talos grinned, leaning in to kiss her again. He had almost walked off before Alanna questioned him once more.

"What will you name it?" the enchantress asked, referring to the ship.

"The Alessia," Talos replied immediately. He had given his old flagship the very same, a name which had been requisitioned from his first lover almost two decades ago. He figured a vessel should always have a feminine name, as it just felt wrong otherwise.

"You can't name it after another girl!" Alanna exclaimed, sticking out her tongue when she read that the name originally came from an ex-lover.

"Already did. What would you name her? Ocean?" Talos replied gruffly with a smirk, getting slapped in the process. Alanna was, truthfully, going to suggest Wind, before suddenly realizing that she wasn't at all creative with names. Heck, her mare was even named Cantrella, and her son had the same name as his father.

"Shut up, Talos," she giggled, turning towards the rudder wheel.

-=-=-

Alanna and Talos anchored at the isle of Dun Aysla just after the sun had reached it's zenith, not five hours after they'd departed Farport in the morning. Alanna had, miraculously, not gotten sea sick on the journey, and had surprisingly enjoyed assisting Talos in his efforts of sailing the vessel.

Dun Aysla was an extraordinary locale. An ancient elven fortress, Dun Aysla had been one of the final settlements conquered in the Imperial-Elven War three-hundred years ago, on account of its impressive defensibility. Tall, white walls rose prominently in the center of the island, surrounded in their entirety by a thick copse of trees. Cliffs rose sharply along much of the shoreline, which only allowed a couple ideal landing locations for ships.

The citadel of the fortress stood tall on a small peninsula on the eastern side of the isle; a gigantic, ten-story tower that had fallen to ruin as of late. The citadel had doubled as a lighthouse when it was whole, and was decorated with a massive crescent moon carved directly into the center of the tower. The moon stood betwixt the white stone as if suspended in mid-air, holding the two halves of the tower together as if by magic.

Much of the top half of the citadel had recently fallen into the sea; its smooth, pointed tip now replaced with one of haphazard shapes of decay. Many of the walls of the fortress displayed similar signs of neglect, on account of the many ghost stories surrounding the island. No human Emperor had seen the need to recolonize the island in three centuries, and so it stood solely as a unique but uninhabited landmark for passing vessels.

Alanna and Talos let their horses off of the ship, tying them to a nearby tree with plenty of feed, water, and long leash. The horses wouldn't be required to travel through the island whatsoever, what with the tall white walls of the fortress rising not a mile off the coast, so they would be left here as their masters explored on foot, carrying a small backpack each.

Alanna's eyes were mostly fixed on the gorgeous citadel to her right as they traveled, although the rest of the elven fortress was also impressive in its own way. Elven architecture, especially of the era, was regularly ornamented with majestic flowing lines and intricate, detailed stonework, even if they what they constructed was a fortress of war.