A Dream of Empire Ch. 018

Barnabas was just now returning to the table to pour their twelfth round of drink. Talos looked on him with a hint of concern, finally feeling nervous that he had, in fact, consumed too much drink this night. But then Barnabas chided him for being a woman in skirts, and so he acquiesced to the idea of another round against his better judgment. He took his cup.

"A'right, a'right, one last one. To..." Talos glanced towards his sorceresses, who were now leaning against one another, "to sexy bitches!" he bellowed with sword raised. Barnabas guffawed, and the men honorably drank their final round as Tanya brought a palm to her face. Once finished, Talos stumbled over to the table whilst twirling his blade, setting the cup down.

"Good gods, man. This shit is... shit's... shit! Amazing shit!" he boisterously declared, pointing his sword at the old man who, again, laughed heartily. "Best hooch in Solais, the half-man says! Hah! Prolly the... the best hooch in the world!" he continued, slurring his words as he swung his sword at an invisible opponent.

"Honey, put that away before you hurt yourself," Alanna teasingly suggested, worrying about absolutely nothing at all. Talos then pointed the sword at her, and defiantly outstretched an arm.

"Take it from me if you can, wench!" he challenged. The enchantress silently accepted, and with a casual wave of her hand did she force Talos to instantly drop the blade. He looked on it with a frown as it clanged against the floor and muttered, "ah. Fuckin' mages."

"Mayhaps better that way, Talos," Barnabas chuckled, pointing a finger at him. "Because ye lost track of yer story. Ye went back to the Oracle, and then...?"

"Oh yeah! So then I goes to her, right? I goes to her, and she says, 'Talos, my love, I's pregnant with your kid. And I's gonna name her Cassandra, and you're the best lover in the world.'"

"No she didn't," Alanna giggled. Talos gave her an exaggerated groan.

"Fine, well, she said summin' like that. Anyway!" Talos shouted, plopping down on the wooden bench beside Alanna. "Anyway, then Tatian- Tanya comes about, and says 'Casseses in Solais, an' she might be a goddess!'"

Barnabas glanced at Tanya with wide eyes, and she confirmed Talos' story with a smile and nod. He returned his attention to the slurring swordsman. "Cass being your... unborn daughter?" he asked with a raised brow.

"No! Cass being the elf! Pay attention man. Anyways, then we sailed to Solais, saves the Kingdom, an' now we're here," Talos finished, condensing the greater part of two month's travel in ten seconds. He then leaned his head against Alanna's shoulder, and found her comfortable enough to rest his eyes.

"Supposedly saved the Kingdom," a sober Tanya clarified. "The King was likely only being kind to us for saving him a couple of days' effort. We helped him contain an Orc raid earlier this month."

"Ah," Barnabas nodded, as if it was commonplace. "And now ye's hoping yer Casiama is here. With the elves to the east, I s'pose?"

"That's right," Tanya confirmed with a smile. "We're to meet her by the straightened shore. Tell me, Barnabas, have you encountered any elves of late?"

The old hermit tapped his chin. "Why sure I has, but none whom appeared like that Casiama. Their caravans stop by every now and then, to trade their foodstuffs and medicines for hooch. Elves really like the stuff, apparently. Although..." Barnabas cast his gaze to the fireplace, "none've come by since the Jade Moon..."

"Hm," Tanya pouted. "Hopefully it isn't connected, Barnabas."

Barnabas chuckled, still gazing into the fire. "If there's one thing I learned on my travels Tanya, it's that everything is connected. The sky, the moon, the men and the elves. All o' it. An' if the Oracle of Selphyse sent ye three here, then I can only assume there's trouble to be had in the near future. Talos. Hey! Wake up, ya dolt!"

"Mm? Yeah man?" Talos groggily replied, opening his eyes. Alanna pushed him off of her shoulder.

"Jus' wanted to say that I hope ye find yer Casiama, and that ye won't find satisfaction with yerself at the bottom o' a bottle... and if ye truly love her as much as ye says ye did, then ye gotta keep going man, or ye'll regret it the rest o' yer life. Even if she ain't at the shore. Trust an old man's words on this Talos, an old man who's been in yer place once before," he encouraged him all-too-sadly.

Talos rubbed his eyes awake. "An' I do. An' I plan to. But..." he took a deep breath, "I'm scared, man. I'm scared of what I'll find when that day comes. 'Cause... she's gonna be a different person at the end o' all this, even if she ain't a goddess. And I... I'm still the - the same," he hiccuped. "Still the same person she left behind."

"Tha's more a problem of perspective than anythin', Talos," Barnabas softly replied.

Talos shook his head. "But it ain't just that. I dream of her every night, man, and yet... I'm already forgetting things. I'm forgetting the little things that I loved about her, and the little things were what made her so great. I don't even know if my dreams are... even what she looks like, anymore. An' this's the first time in my life, the first time man, that I've felt as if I can't ever recover from a loss. Y'know, like, mentally. I've lost a daughter, I've lost a father, and those stung man, stung a great deal, but this..." Talos dropped his head into his palms, "I dunno. This is good hooch, Barney."

"Thanks. Ye want my advice?" Barnabas softly asked of him. Talos nodded into his hands. "Get a good night's rest tonight, 'cause yer no good to the world as-is. But tomorrah, when ye wake, ye go look at yerself in the stream and tells yerself that worryin' of the future is the stupidest thing ye can do. Live in the fookin' moment, love yer women, an' promise yerself that ye won't let yer dreams haunt the now. 'Cause that's the only way ye'll have the right heart when ya find her. And when ya do find her - 'cause ye fookin' will, man - then ye can love her too, or ye can put it behind yerself if she's truly some divine like yer Tanya says. But don't ye dare dwell on this sob story. Yer too good for that, and yer women don't deserve it. Don't allow a single good thing to go undone because o' some unrealized fear. That shit breaks a man, y'know?"

Talos nodded into his hands again, then wiped his eyes clear before lifting his gaze. "Damn Barney... how the fuck are you still sober?"

Barnabas smiled at him. "Because, unlike ya, I stopped lookin' when it came time and settled for drink instead, and now I've the tolerance of a giant. Anyway, I'll brew some coffee for ya on the morn'," he groaned, rising from his chair, "and yer gonna get yer rest."

-=-=-

A pulsing thunderstorm of despair, centralized entirely within his own skull, woke Talos from his slumber the following morning. He groaned, tossed a bit, then brought a hand to his forehead; and only a moment had passed before he felt a far softer hand meet his there.

"Good morning, love. May I?" Tanya quietly asked of him. He groaned his consent, and the thunderstorm washed away in a matter of moments. He praised the gods for sorcery then, before he opened his eyes to meet a smiling sorceress in blue.

"Thanks," he croaked out, clearing his throat. "Alanna?"

"She's outside, washing the remainder of our clothes at the stream. I took the liberty of dressing you in clean underclothes," she explained before scooching his way and kissing him on the cheek. "Let me go get you a cup of Barnabas' coffee. It smells wonderful."

Talos turned on his side, gazing into her eyes. "Just use your magics, Tanya. I won't rise otherwise." Her delicate hand had never left his forehead, and so she cast the requested spell without delay.

Talos blinked his eyes awake. He then rose, but only so he could pin Tanya to the bed. He leaned in to kiss her deeply on the lips before hiking her dress up her legs.

"Watch yourself, love; you might make Alanna jealous," she giggled happily, smooching him back. Talos soon grabbed her panties when they were revealed to him, and Tanya squinted into his eyes. "Oh no. If you dare rip my panties one more-"

He daringly ripped Tanya's panties one more time, then nonchalantly tossed them over his head. Tanya could only shake her head in reply, losing her squint to instead giggle for him. "Gods damn it, Talos," she mewled. Talos spread her legs for her.

"You'll learn to go without them soon enough," he smirked, revealing his morning wood. He brought a thumb to Tanya's button to prepare her as he leaned in to kiss and bite her neck.

"I'll... mmh... more than likely purchase a belt of chastity instead," Tanya moaned. "So my man will stop taking me every chance he gets."

"You've other holes to use," Talos dryly jested between kisses and bites. She squirmed under him, loving every attention she received, and was soon slick enough for her lover's manhood. Talos positioned himself accordingly, gripping the underside of Tanya's thighs to lift her ass just a bit from the bed, and lined his cock up with her slit.

"I love you, Tanya," he softly said, pushing only the crown into her at first. She shivered in delight, bringing a gloved hand to his face.

"And I love you, Talos. Let's be quick about it," Tanya murmured, pushing herself against his cock. He slowly thrust into her, and the pair shared a moan of pleasure as they rejoined once again in their morning ritual. Tanya bit her lip to silence herself as her eyes fluttered shut, and as Talos kissed her neck, her chin, her cheek, and her lips as he fucked her in earnest.

Tanya scooched her ass closer, to line her most sensitive area with Talos' cockhead as he drove into her. She couldn't help but moan then, no matter how she bit her lip, and she soon came beneath him only four minutes later. Talos didn't last a minute after that, and filled that perfect beauty with his cum whilst kissing her on the lips.

The pair was up and off the bed not a moment later, laughing and playfully slapping one another in jest. Tanya knelt down to retrieve her underwear and quickly repaired them with a white burst of magic. She slipped them up her legs, adjusted her hair appropriately, then took Talos' hand in hers as they walked out into the hall of Barnabas' house.

They found the old man staring out one of the anterior windows, which faced one of the streams flanking his house. Tanya squeezed Talos' hand before letting him go, deciding to get him a cup of coffee. Talos walked up to Barnabas in the interim to see what was so interesting outside.

What he found didn't at all surprise him when he gave it a moment's thought. It was Alanna, who was kneeling into the stream with her ridiculous ass thrust out behind her as she beat against various articles of clothing. Her dress was currently on the washboard, and so her clothing was currently limited to her underwear. Talos would never blame the old man for looking.

"Quite the sight, huh?" Talos smirked, deciding to take a gander himself. Apparently he'd come as a surprise to Barnabas, as the old man then cleared his throat and instantly turned his gaze. Talos shrugged indifferently.

"Quite that indeed, Talos. Ye sleep well?"

"Mm," Talos nodded, his eyes glued to the jiggling behind of his enchantress. "Gratitude for the hospitality, Barnabas." Barnabas, noting that Talos obviously didn't care where he looked, decided to do the same.

"Yer welcome. Ye remember of what I said yesternight?" he asked.

"Mhm. Fook the future."

"Mhm," Barnabas concurred with a grunt.

Tanya soon stepped up beside Talos, handing him a cup of coffee. He took it and eagerly sipped, finding the drink lukewarm yet undeniably delicious. Tanya then decided to spy on the curvaceous Alanna as well.

"It's as if she has no idea," she murmured with a smile, shaking her head.

"Yep. Except she absolutely does," Talos chuckled. He waved at Alanna when she tilted her gaze their way, thrusting her tongue out at them before returning to her chores. "Some sorceress's game that's actually quite addictive," he continued, answering the unasked question on Barnabas' mind.

"Ah. How'd ye end up with so many mages anyway?"

Talos nodded outside, smirking. "I suppose you can say I got lucky, as she fancies women far more than she does men. As for Tanya... who knows?"

She playfully nudged Talos' arm, who almost allowed some of his drink to spill onto the wooden flooring, but otherwise didn't reply to his jest.

"Hm. And yer elf?" Barnabas continued.

"Mainly guilt," Talos reticently answered, taking another sip of coffee. Tanya giggled, believing his words to be in jest, and wrapped her arms around Talos' back. She leaned against him contentedly as he woke to the day with light conversation and to a glorious sight.

The trio soon left Barnabas' cottage not an hour later, after a brief goodbye and a promise from Talos that he would return to see the old man once he'd found his elf. Talos made sure he visited the stream just before departing, where he solemnly swore to himself to be ever mindful of the now. With that, they were off.

-=-=-

Talos set off in high spirits that day, a positive energy which subsequently passed on to both Alanna and Tanya as they rode over the hills and through the streams of Solais. He didn't even particularly mind when their progress was slowed, as the wide open plains before them slowly transformed into a sparsely-wooded forest, nor did he care when he noticed a lone gray wolf trailing their horses' prints.

In fact, Tanya didn't even have a chance to bring out her spell tome for study this day, as she was entirely distracted by her companions instead. Talos spun her many a tale, and Alanna told her many a joke. Tanya even shared stories of her favorite off-world realms, and was more than pleased when Talos remained interested and asked many a question, even if his hand remained on the pommel of his sword for most of the way.

They ate a midday meal of rabbit stew when they reached the boundary of the forest, and rested atop rocks or against trees as their horses rested in turn. Talos, being the impetuous man that he was, challenged Tanya to a race then; he declared that he and Spirit were the faster pair, and that she and her King's-given stallion were simply no match for him. He didn't believe any of this, of course, but only wanted to see how fast that steed truly was. Tanya happily agreed to his challenge with a bit of a skip in her step and a kiss of his lips. They mounted their horses and met at the edge of the clearing, throwing playful insults towards one another the entire way.

Just before the race, Talos leaned in from his saddle to murmur encouragements into Spirit's ear.

"Alright Spirit. You and I are a great team, and that's far more valuable than his size and noble upbringing," Talos said, referring to Tanya's horse. "And I have full confidence in your ability to win this. But, if you don't, I'm gonna call you 'Supper' instead."

Spirit snorted.

"I know, I know, I don't like it much either," Talos smirked with a pat of Spirit's neck. He leaned back and turned to Tanya. "Ready?"

"Wait on, Talos," Alanna giggled, cantering to the fore. "I'll count down. All you'll do is cheat."

He squinted at her. "Fine," he acquiesced. Perhaps I was.

Alanna turned to Tanya, who was already low in her saddle, appearing absolutely prepared to win this wager-less race. "Get ready!"

She glanced towards Talos and raised a hand. "Get set!"

"Go!" Alanna cried, shooting a burst of flame into the sky.

The horses charged off at full pace past Alanna, Talos' steed whinnying whilst Tanya's remained silent, as if getting kicked in the flanks was the natural order of life. The two were neck and neck for the first forty yards, and Talos felt a whisper of hope that he might actually be victorious.

His optimism was soon dashed against the rocks, however, when Tanya's stallion found a second burst of speed halfway to their pre-designated finish line. Tanya quickly carved out a sizable lead for herself, and ultimately finished the challenge several horse-lengths in front of Talos.

"Another victory for womandom!" Tanya happily declared with a raised fist and far too much enthusiasm.

"It's okay Spirit," Talos murmured to his horse as he ruffled his mane, "I wasn't gonna call you Supper anyway." He leaned up from his saddle and pointed at Tanya. "That was no victory for womandom. You cheated."

"Excuse me, vile man?" she pompously teased with a hand on her waist. "I cast no spell during our competition. No Talos, you were defeated by the better rider is all."

"The better rider? Hah. I've been riding before you were born, Tanya. Nay, you cheated because you weigh five stone less."

Tanya's other hand met her trim waist, and she looked on him with a glare. "Only five stone?"

He scanned her, shrugging. "Six?"

"Closer to ten, I'd wager."

"However many stones. The true test comes when we trade horses," Talos gruffly mused.

"As if Twilight would ever let you ride him," Tanya scoffed with a shaken head. Talos glanced towards her black stallion, and actually somewhat believed her.

"Twilight? How original. Soon you'll have a pet named for every part of the day," he dryly jested.

"At least I don't threaten to name them after meals," she smirked. Talos shrugged.

"Yeah, well, if Breakfast were still with me I'd have surely won."

Tanya couldn't hold her glare, giggling at his jest. "Gods, Talos, did no one ever teach you humility?"

"Sure," he dryly answered. "I'm humiliated right now."

Tanya giggled louder. "That isn't what I meant, my love."

"Uh, guys?" Alanna interjected as she neared them, getting in between the lovebird's quarrel. She pointed over her shoulder. "There's a wolf back by our things, spying on us, a-and I cannot enter him," she frowned.

"Ah, yeah. He's been following us for half the day," Talos casually replied, turning his horse about.

"And you didn't tell me?!"

"Shouldn't have to," he shrugged. "Besides, it's only one wolf. What's he gonna do?"

Alanna didn't dignify his offhand remark with an answer, instead only glancing towards the giggling Tanya. "Do you see how he ruins me?"

"That's our man," Tanya happily replied with a pat of her stallion's neck. Alanna moaned, shaking her head, and the trio soon turned about to canter on back from whence they came.

The wolf Alanna had mentioned awaited them by their packs, laying down in the grass by the treeline. A curious enchantress attempted to pierce the wolf's veil once again as she neared, only to be rejected a second time. She then worried that her powers had suddenly waned, and so she looked towards Tanya's stallion and entered him for a brief moment, and found all was still well. Talos rode right up beside the wolf, and only then did the beast get to all fours.

"Shoo boy. You're scaring the wenches," he said to the wolf, who only looked up at him and wagged his tail in reply. Talos glared at him for a quarter-minute, sighed, then dismounted to trudge towards his pack instead.

"I don't get it," Alanna whispered to Tanya as they watched on from afar. "Why can't I enter him? Do you know?"

"No," she pouted. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I'm... fine. I think I'm fine?"

You're fine, Alanna, Talos silently assured her as he listened in on their conversation. He pulled a cut of jerky from his pack then made his way back towards the wolf. "Are you hungry boy? Do you eat this crap?"

The wolf whined for a moment, but Talos held out the food for him anyway. Talos bit into the jerky another moment later when it wasn't taken.