The Chronicles of Harold the Healer Ch. 08

"Mary Celeste was my great-great-grandmother," said Millie as she secured the flap with ties at the bottom and the sides. Her Mage Light flickered as she had to divide her concentration between the tying and the spell. "Tonight, I fulfilled my promise to her to help her home. I'd heard stories about her from my parents as I grew up. She'd been a Society woman back in her day, here in Svend," she continued as they removed their clothes. "Her falling in love with a sea trader Captain, even one who was well-off and prosperous, was Frowned Upon, but she didn't care. Love does that to people, it seems."

"Love has, and always will, make people do the strangest things," he mused as she dimmed her light. She was only a couple of inches shorter than him and her eyes that gazed confidently into his were hazel, rather than the usual blue for the area. Her hair, which spilled down her back past her shoulders, was wavy and on the brown side of blonde, and her nose and mouth were of a modest size, and all combined into an attractive appearance. She could somehow feel him survey her body, which was well-toned from all the work that she had to do, and linger on her firm, C-sized breasts that were topped by pale pink areolas and nipples that were hardening in response to his attention and the cool air inside her tent. To her surprise, and pleasure, she could feel a spark of desire in him, despite everything that he'd been through, though there was an undertone of apprehension.

She reached out and brushed her fingers down his rather hairy, well-muscled torso to the half-hard cock that twitched as she stroked it. "In case you're wondering, I just got off the rag two days ago and am not fertile. No tea is required for the next day or two."

"I am glad to hear that," he replied, and his apprehension vanished. "I don't want you to get knocked up at just the wrong time." The kiss that followed was warm and tender, rather than hot and arousing, which seemed to suit her fine for some reason.

"We should get into bed before we fall down," Millie suggested once their lips had parted.

"A most excellent idea." The sheet and light blanket were pulled back and they awkwardly got in, tucked themselves in, and cuddled up. "Mmm, there's nothing like a snuggle after a long day."

"I want a bit more than a snuggle," said Millie, failing to stifle a yawn, "but it will have to wait."

"Thank you, Millie, for the use of your bed tonight," Harold mumbled. They faded away in mid-smooch as their exhausted bodies and brains signed out for the night.

Such was his state of fatigue that it seemed like no time had passed between the closing of his eyes and waking to a familiar situation, namely being on his back with Millie (this time) sitting on him, sliding his cock in and almost out of the hot, wet sleeve that was her vagina as she rode him.

"Good morning!" she greeted him brightly, leaning down to brush her breasts on his chest and give him a long, lingering kiss. "I thought that you'd never wake up. You're still young enough that your cock wakes up before you do. Oh, oh, unngghh!" She closed her eyes and her body shook as an orgasm rolled through it.

"Young enough? You brat!" She managed a smirk at his reaction. He took advantage of her indisposition to roll them over so that he was on top. "Mages can use Magic in their bodies to do things," he whispered in the half light of the pre-dawn that was seeping through her tent's walls. "We can Heal ourselves of minor injuries, for example," he continued as he gently thrust in and out. "We can also gather little sparks and send them out of us, like from my cock into your clitoris." Her eyes widened as she felt little tickles of something warm teasing her already overstimulated bud, and her body responded by clamping down hard on his perfect cock and bucking, making his eyes roll up into his head and his cock start filling her up with a hard squirt of cum, followed by several smaller ones until he was empty and they were both breathing heavily. He stayed on top for another minute, his softening cock staying inside until it was finally expelled.

"Ugh, what a mess!" she groaned as he rolled off to stare at the top of the tent for a few moments before struggling to sit up and admire the view. "What have we done to my bed? Yikes!" she squealed as his Clean spell took care of it, both inside and out. He then flopped beside her and they basked for a few minutes in the afterglow. "The next thing that you teach me will be that spell!"

"Fortunately, it's not that difficult. You can practise it on some of the dishes after breakfast. The amount of effort required varies with the amount that needs to be Cleaned, but it's one of the spells for which a lot of the energy needed can actually be drawn right from the Magic field, instead of mostly from you. It's why I was able to deal with all the dishes last night without collapsing." She sat up.

"I see something that needs a cleaning," she said with a wicked gleam in her eyes, quickly moved herself around and pounced on his flabby cock, which was glistening from her juices and drooling a bit of cum onto his belly. He groaned weakly as she sucked it into her mouth and made sure that there was nothing left to leak out. "Why do you taste like strawberries?" He grinned and winked at her, earning a scowl. "Mage silliness! I have to go out to help with getting breakfast ready, since it's my job," she added dryly, standing up and giving him the full view.

"Even though you'd much rather sit on my face while I eat you out into yet another orgasm?" he inquired, waggling his eyebrows and making his cock twitch. She stared at his prone, naked form on her bed with an almost palpable hunger.

"Don't believe for a moment that I don't want to," she replied, bending down to retrieve her clothing and making no attempt to dodge his hand that gently squeezed and fondled her left breast, stimulating her nipple into a hard nub that sent little shocks directly to her pussy. Very reluctantly, she pulled herself away, then jumped when he hit their clothes with the Clean spell. "Thanks. That will make me more presentable." She looked down at herself in response to his look at her breasts, and saw that they were glowing faintly. "Why are my tits glowing like your cock was?" she asked.

"It's what happens with female Mages. Our erogenous zones get a glow when we get aroused. Sky blue and silver is a very pretty combination. Don't worry, they'll fade out as you return to your normal state. Unless, of course, you'd like to make them fade out the fun way." He leered and waggled his cock with his right hand, which responded by getting longer and harder. The heat of her stare only accelerated the process and she watched as his glans emerged from his foreskin and his organ's glow intensified. She looked down and could now see that her crotch was glowing, as well as her breasts.

"You nasty man," she growled, hands on her nicely curved hips. "If I don't, I'll be thinking about it all the time I'm supposed to be working, it will be obvious, and they will be laughing at me." She closed her eyes concentrated, and relaxed a bit, and Harold's eyes widened as she started moving her fingers and her glowing patterns shifted with them.

"You know, on second thought, maybe we should just get dressed, go to the privy, and get started with the breakfast prep. I've done more than my share in the Army, and can help out. Erk!" Her hazel eyes had a wicked glint that he had seen only a few times before, and she was on him before he could react. With a quick adjustment from a hand, she sank onto his hot, hard, glowing cock right to the hilt.

"I think that I understand about the Magic within me," she purred. "Am I getting it right?" She concentrated on moving some magic into her vagina and then sending a little into his cock. His moan was all the answer she needed. "My body is young and wants to fuck, Mister Mage. Before we get on the ship tonight, we will stop at a Tea Shop, where I will buy a box," she continued, now nose-to-nose with him as she slowly rode him, squeezing hard and putting little sparks into him. "During the day, you will teach me stuff that I need to know about the Mage School, and at night I will have you shooting all of the sperm that your overworked balls will be able to generate into me," she whispered, kissing him gently.

"If you're looking to ruin me," he said hoarsely and a little wild-eyed, "I'm taking you down that road with me." There was no shortage of lubricant at the base of his cock, and he scooped some up with his right middle finger and moved his hand to rest on her left ass cheek. "Lusty young women are susceptible to a little extra stimulation here." His lubricated finger circled around her anus and she gasped, eyes wide. "Lots of nerve endings here," he whispered, allowing a few sparks to slip from his finger into her sensitive pucker.

"No fair, you awful man! Unngghh! I'm going to ruin you before you ruin me!" Unsure how to coordinate her actions, she still managed to put sparks into his cock, and into his chest from her nipples, even as he was quickly eroding her concentration with his sparks on her clitoris and anus. She didn't care that her conquest had somehow switched things around on her. No fuck had ever felt like this and all that she wanted was more, but when the circling finger pushed its way in, that was it. Her entire lower body clamped down and his smug smirk changed to wide-eyed ecstasy as his cock pulsed inside her and finally delivered a squirt of cum. She collapsed on top of him and he had to quickly roll sideways so that he could breathe, and they lay there, side by side with his quickly deflating cock still inside.

"Is this what ruin feels like?" she mumbled, barely able to get the words together. "If it is, sign me up." They lay in each other's arms, basking in the afterglow once again.

"I hope that nobody was nearby when we came," Harold slurred. "When Mages come, they send out a wave of orgasm energy. Anybody who isn't asleep who gets caught in it will get horny, with the amount related to the, uh, inverse square of the distance. Just like Magic."

"I'm the only one in the immediate area who works in the kitchen. Which is where I'm supposed to be real soon, no thanks to you," she growled at his innocent look. It took several tries to disentangle herself from him and stand up. She pointed to her dripping pussy and he managed to get enough brain power together to Clean both of them again. "Whoa, that woke me up!" She only fell down once trying to get dressed. "Damn it, I feel like I'm drunk!" she complained as he blatantly ogled her, and made complaining noises when she put on her underwear and bra. "Feel free to join us in the kitchen area, if you can get up," she glowered at him, and after a quick brush of her hair to make it presentable, she undid the ties to her door flap and slipped outside.

He lay sprawled on the bed and would have drifted off to sleep except that his bladder started complaining. Unwilling to use her chamber pot, he got up and, after an unusual amount of effort, managed to get into his clothes, grab his staff, and make his unsteady way to the privies in the pre-dawn light. He almost fell asleep on the seat, but managed to rouse himself, Clean his hands, and wander over to the kitchen area. It was all he could do to not drool at that most heavenly of smells, baking bread, as well as coffee being brewed in an industrial-sized coffeemaker. The kitchen staff were all there, including Millie, and all had large mugs of coffee on the tables next to where they were working.

"Good morning," Mara greeted him, giving him the once-over from her seat at a table close to the action. "Did you sleep well?" she asked innocently. Kelsey, sitting opposite to her, snickered.

"I slept like a rock," he replied truthfully, slumping into the seat with her to his left. "Were it not for my bladder, I'd be sleeping right now. Oh, thank you," he said to Millie, who had brought him a steaming mug unasked. "Just the nourishment that I needed. Being killed and brought back takes it out of you."

"Be sure to ask for sausages. They're very good today," Kelsey dead-panned, making Millie blush a bit and Harold avoid her gaze. "So, you really want to leave us here in the sticks for the hustle and bustle of the Capital?" she asked Millie, who nodded.

"I'm really sorry for the lack of notice," she apologized, apparently not for the first time. "Magic School is what I've been looking for all this time without realizing it. Healer Harold has agreed to take me there, and there's a ship leaving this afternoon that will get us there much faster than over land."

"We definitely will miss you," said Mara. "Don't worry about leaving us in the lurch. We were talking to someone yesterday who wanted a job in the kitchen. We'll get you your pay and you can be on your way to town by lunch time." Millie smiled gratefully and scurried back to the kitchen, where pancakes and breakfast sausages were being mass-produced and a large bowl of strawberries was being processed.

"How are you feeling, Harold?" Kelsey asked. "You looked like you'd been put through the wringer last night after you sent Mary through the door." He drank some coffee and managed a grin.

"I think that I did a big favour for the local God, and he repaid it by saving my life," he replied. Their eyebrows elevated. "I never thought that I'd need Magical brain surgery. I hope that whoever it was that slammed the door on me gets a good, strong reprimand," he added grimly. "Oh, hello Mooch," he said as the dog appeared from the ground-level mist, came to his side and demanded an ear scratch, which he provided with his non-coffee-holding hand.

"Come and get it!" called a male voice from the kitchen area. The three of them, plus three other early risers migrated to a long table that had toast, milk in large pitchers, berries, pancakes, and sausages in plates and bowls, along with plates, mugs, and glasses to transport the bounty back to their tables. Arthur showed up exactly on time for this event, filled a plate, and joined them.

"It looks like you have me available for the morning," said Harold, eyeing Mooch's award-winning performances of "Starving Pup", despite ample evidence to the contrary, as he wheedled some treats from the people at the table, who just couldn't say no to sad, soulful eyes, a paw on the leg, little whines and shivers. "I can give the rest of the horses some Worm Buster to clean them out. These berries are big enough to hold the spell, and I'm sure the horses will eat them."

"They will eat practically anything," Arthur grinned. "You'll have your hands full making sure they don't try to eat all of them at once." They all chuckled and Mooch wandered off, tail wagging, to tax the generosity of the people at another table.

"Before I do, I need to do my staff practice and some meditation. The God did some major repairs on my brain last night, but I need to finish the job if I want to have a hope of being useful again. I'll get started once I finish my..." he looked down at his suddenly empty plate, "... breakfast. Hey, where did the food go? I swear there was food on my plate only a few minutes ago," he added plaintively, checking his coffee mug and sadly noting its emptiness.

"Horses aren't the only creatures who eat like horses," Kelsey observed mildly as he burped more or less politely, grabbed his staff from where he'd laid it, and stood up.

"I'll be under that tree over there. Excuse me." It was a large, mature silver maple tree that was to the right of where they were sitting, and about halfway towards the kitchen.

"This should be interesting," she continued as they finished their meal.

The Healer was definitely feeling rough around the edges, and it was one of those feelings that meditation and its reconnecting him with the world around him would smooth out. There had been two major Schools of the Art of Quarterstaff Combat that had been prevalent in the Capital at the time he had been a student in the Mage School, one of which was taught in the School, and a rival that was based about half a mile away. The majority of the students did the bare minimum to pass the Staff portion of the Self-Defence Curriculum, but there had been a dozen or so, Harold among them, for whom the Staff held great appeal, and they had kept on going. To make a very long story short, he decided to take the best that both had to offer and fuse them together with the assistance of the others, creating the Third Discipline in the process. The hostile disapproval of the other Disciplines had forced them to refine theirs into the form that it is today.

He closed his eyes under the rustling leaves of the tree took two long, deep breaths to clear his mind and moved carefully through the First Form, which leads its practitioners through the elementary attack and defence positions. Their safe, easy familiarity restored order to his unsettled mind, and as he moved his battered ash staff and his battered self, he began to repair his disrupted internal and external connections. He reached out to the Magic that was all around him and brought it back in to finish the Healing that the God had started. It took twenty minutes to go through the Ten Forms, and when he was done, his external awareness reasserted itself and he realized that he had had an audience watching him in fascination. He looked down and realized that he was glowing in his colours of turquoise and forest green, not just in his crotch, but his whole body.

"Remember when I told you yesterday to not let him sucker you into a fight when he has his staff?" Mara said to Kelsey in a normal conversational tone, but it carried because of the silence of the Fair's employees. "That's why. How are you feeling, Harold?" she asked as the people resumed eating their breakfasts. He was aware of Millie's attention from the kitchen area, and he smiled at her.

"Much, much better, thank you," he replied, with Respectful Bow #3. "I really needed that. If there is anyone here who needs some Healing, please let them know that I'm ready to help." Arthur moved forward with a bowl of strawberries.

"If you cast Worm Buster on these, I'll make sure that the horses get them," he said. "You may not have time, otherwise." Making sure that Millie could see what he was doing, he performed the motions and said the words to cast the spell, making Arthur jump a bit when it hit the berries. "I'll round up my helpers and we'll make sure those oversized pigs get some," he said, waving and marching off towards the paddock. The fair workers were a generally healthy bunch, getting good meals and lots of exercise, so most of the Healing that Harold spent the next two hours doing while they cycled through breakfast was related to strained muscles, unwanted items on the skin, including a melanoma that he caught in an early stage and removed, which caused him to remind people that since they spent a lot of time out in the sun, they had to be mindful of melanomas and what to look for. The man who'd given the little girl a stuffed Bunny at the ring toss yesterday had a couple of fingers on his left hand that had been broken in an accident some years ago and had not healed properly, so he fixed them.

After everyone had had breakfast and the dishes had been cleaned, again by Harold, who demonstrated the spell to Millie, Kelsey brought a new person to introduce to the kitchen crew and Millie went to her tent to pack her stuff. Their mood was generally glum because the rain that had been heralded by the onshore wind and fog last night was going to take a big bite out of business for a good part of the day. The wind had picked up a bit under the overcast sky and the smell of rain was in the air.

"Can we get a taxi-cart to take us into town?" he asked Millie. They were in her tent, and she was just finishing the process of packing a backpack that was as large as his with her clothing and various personal effects. Life on the move discouraged the accumulation of stuff, as he well knew. The furnishings belonged to the fair and would go to the next occupant, probably the new kitchen hire.