Fantasy Seed of the Void

Authors Notes:

Isaen and Eris have escaped the Voidhold, but are they out of the Elves' reach yet? In their adventure to the far-off world of Minhaven, they must first survive the dark voyage on the patchwork freighter called the Gorgon. How will they pass the time and build their partnership?

Flight of the Gorgon

Small nervous mutterings distracted Isaen, as they slowly treaded deeper into the long corridors of the Gorgon. Eris was nervously fidgeting with her lower lip and muttering under her breath, as they were closed into the ship to the sound of hellish scrapes of metal made by the wharf hands riveting its many hatches shut. It was dim within, most of the magical power focused on warming up the engines. Dozens of occupants sat amidst the cargo, making for themselves small nooks of their own space with blankets, boxes, and their own baggage.

"The Gorgon is not a luxury ship." The gnome who had greeted them at the hatch wrinkled his nose, as the smell of the passengers wafted around the large cargo hold, they traversed. "Hey! You! Do not move the crates like that! You will mess up my ledger!" The terse gnome yelled at a man and his family adjusting some of the stock to give themselves some privacy. Whether they would listen as the small, red-pointed hat-wearing gnome passed would be another story.

When the corridor opened up into the much larger cargo bay, Eris looked a bit less green. Isaen saw her eyeing different spots to hide and recluse amongst the freight. It was sort of cute how her eyes were always on the exit. She would learn quickly how to use that instinct if she proved herself loyal enough.

"But your chip gives you access to the front half of the ship, nearest to the officers' quarters, and access to amenities."

It was surprising Callista had set him up as much, but according to her crazed father, he was the prized steer.

"Your cabin will be right this way."

They passed into another long, dim corridor, the muttering of the passengers in the cargo hold, wailing of babes, and general clamor, as the engines hummed to life, fading behind them. Eris held her arms across her body, shivering as they slipped into yet another confined space, only one way in or out.

She did need to learn to relax. Her nervousness almost looked suspicious. Isaen pushed her gently in the small of her back and rubbed the back of her neck between his fingers.

"Easy," he whispered into her ear.

Her eyes had lost a fair bit of their steeliness, like a trapped alley cat, she looked cornered. And cats, when cornered, tend to scratch.

"Peena." The gnome reached high above its head, rapping his baton on a wooden lectern where a figure lay their head asleep.

"Huh? Uh? Are we, are we leaving?" A sleepy-eyed Feralin rose with a groggy slur. The Feralin, while humanoid, had larger, pointed ears covered in colorful fur that ran to their scalp. This particular one had reddish-brown fur from ear-tip to nape, and amidst their more pointed teeth, had a long, dog-like tongue.

Perturbed, the gnome didn't stop rapping the baton against the lectern, annoyed with his colleague's laziness.

"You lazy slog, better for the petty officer to find you asleep, but here I always do. If this were my ship, you'd be draining the bilge."

Ripping the baton from the small gnome's hand, Peena the Feralin snarled, tossing the wooden stick to the other side of the room.

"This ain't your ship or your block. Don't you have an inventory to keep somewhere?"

"Toadwallop, don't you know not to upset the quartermaster?" The gnome scattered to pick up his baton and marched back towards the corridor he came from, with a huff. "We'll see the next time you ask for spares what you get."

"Yeah, yeah, deprive those here in the fore of the ship, I dare you, you little pisswallow."

The gnome dashed away angrily, his shouting at the other passengers in the cargo hold echoing around, as Isaen and Eris stood silent in witness to the exchange.

"Sorry about him, sir, ma'am. Surely, he is not too pleasant a steward to welcome you aboard."

"Don't come from pleasant, so it's all right."

"Right..." He looked over the dark, dispositioned man and the suspiciously nervous-looking girl beside him.

"Well, right this way, your cabin is ahead." He inspected the wooden chip as the whole ship rocked side to side. "Mind your feet as we pull off, maybe a bit of a bump, the help here on the docks looked less than capable."

Exchanging a look, Isaen and Eris silently agreed.

The halls of the forward section of the Gorgon, while not a cargo hold, were done up as best as the crew of a dingy freighter could manage. Barrels and crates were kept in every nook and cranny they could, the trio having to squeeze between them as they proceeded through.

"Ah, here." The Feralin nudged open a wooden door with his foot, as he brought his guests to their cabin.

Inside, it was dark, but with a flick of flint, a set of lanterns was lit to give the space a rather homey feel. There was little in the way of true furniture. The tables were crates of more cargo, the bed was on planks atop another series of crates, and some shelves were made up of barrels stacked with metal sheets. The two chairs at the center of the room were the only true furniture. But it was, at least, private and secure.

"It's better than the cargo hold, or worse, the aft. Quiet here, too, hmmm." He scratched his furry ears while tossing Isaen the key to the room. "It's yours till we make Minhaven. Food is in the galley near the cargo bay, you get the privilege of five rations a day. I don't see anything about her..."

"She's a slave, I'll give her the scraps." Isaen didn't want their host to look too much into the girl.

"Ah... 'kay. Well, chow... got that... there is a bath further towards the bow. Just give me a heads up and I'll have it drawn for you."

A bath... after all that he had been through the past several days, from the pit to the streets. Eris looked like she could hardly believe one was so close, her eyes looking to Isaen, questioning whether he would even let her see it. Of course, he would... but that was his selfish wish.

"Enjoy, don't get in the crew's way. This, after all, is a freighter primarily. Everyone is just cargo; you just happen to be..." he waved his hands around the cabin "... more precious cargo."

With a deafening whine of seizing metal hinges, the door came to a close. Their ears popped in the newfound quiet with the change in air pressure, and Eris stumbled amidst the lurch of the ship. It was quiet up this way, aside from a faint ringing that tormented Isaen, most likely the magical field keeping all the air on the ship and not being sucked into the void that resonated at such a frequency. Standing awkwardly, Eris looked around like a scared rabbit, ready to scurry to a hole should she find one. But aside from a few barrels and crates she could hide behind, this was it. She was locked on this ship with him. No matter the deal they struck, she still looked leery of him, after all, he did just fuck her in the alleyway without so much as an invitation.

A young woman would naturally feel uneasy being alone in a dim room with a dark stranger. But they had a deal, she worked for him. Sliding off his pack, he dropped it behind a set of crates to at least partially conceal it. Then he found a stool at the table, all the while staring at his new partner as she held completely still.

"You gonna sit? Or something?" He crossed his arms across the table and leered at his little minion in her short green dress.

"Something..." She held her arms close to her chest.

"Make yourself at home."

Home was such a foreign concept to her. Eris never really had a home.

"Sure..." She similarly slipped off her bag and hid it behind a barrel. But instead of sitting down, she stood, guarded.

"You know... you did good back there." Isaen decided she needed some encouragement.

Her eyes shot back and forth, still looking for that hole to scurry in.

"I was wondering how committed you were, but you turned out to be made of solid stuff." He kicked back, picking his teeth, unsanctimoniously.

"I've done what I've had to, to survive." She felt the green velvet of her sleeves as if she were cold.

"And you still do now. Getting on a ship with a stranger, off into the void." He smiled, amused with her contradictions, and smiled more, knowing just how wrapped around his finger she had become.

The thought of it made her look even more nervous.

"What is it you are so afraid of? Sounds like you've been around the block to survive."

"But I've never been a slave..." She shuddered, looking at her master with big, welling eyes. "No matter the sacrifices I've made to survive, I've always been able to walk away from them." The four corners of the cabin felt smaller to her, as she perceived them as her cage.

"Oh... is that what this is about." Isaen leaned in intently. "You know I just had to say what I had to say to get 'em off our backs." He shrugged.

"But you said I work for you now... anything you want me to do."

"Yeah... work. I said there would be rewards. Hardly makes you a slave."

"Doesn't sound very free."

"You think anyone is free, girl?" The screech of his wooden stool on the metal deck echoed around the cabin as he stood and walked over to her. Several heads taller, he loomed over her small frame, taking her chin in his hand, which he gave willingly. "We are all slaves to this life... it's just about what you get out of it."

Her eyes followed his as he lectured; silently, she clenched her lips.

"Unlike a slave, you're gonna get some benefit out of this arrangement." A gold coin appeared between his fingers, which he twirled between them in a glimmering dance that stole the girl's eyes. "Like I told you, stick with me and I'll give you a good adventure... and reward." He strummed her small pink lips with the gold coin until she relaxed them enough that he inserted it between them, letting go and letting it hang there in her mouth.

"That's just part two of your starting bonus." He walked away, leaving her to ponder the gold coin she dropped into her hand. "Now, I bet you were interested in that bath as much as me." He stepped towards the door, preparing to peek out and find the Feralbin... Farealine... Feralin... whatever. "Let's go freshen up."

"Let's?" Eris was stuck on the plurality of it.

Having opened the door slightly, he shut it again. Crossing his arms and leaning against the bulkhead, he offered a slick smile. "Listen... you're fast and have great sleight of hand and you're a survivor, like me. But if I wanted a solid companion for my travels, I would have gotten some mercenary lingering in the streets. I picked you because you are cute."

He, of course, didn't mention that since she was a girl, it gave him good cover and access to more women to breed, but he would leave that detail out for now.

"And because you are cute... you are going to have some extra duties."

Eris' eyes dimmed, the girl looking a bit hollow.

Isaen sighed, approaching her and placing his hands on her shoulders. "I'll treat you good. And I won't let anyone else touch you." He lifted her chin to stare into her eyes. "I don't think that is a half-bad deal, eh?"

She looked to a far corner, as she thought about it.

"What was that back there then?" She thought about the wharf and how he nearly made her suck off several wharf hands.

"Just a test."

"No more tests then?" She looked at him with intent.

Isaen grinned, he liked this girl a lot. "No more tests." Though truthfully, he couldn't promise anything.

With a momentary agreement, they accepted their arrangement, each with their own concerns and hopes for the partnership.

"Estel-Loch, we are observing the departure of several voidcraft, each with its own orientation." The Fae-Ion, hand atop a glowing pinkish stone, uttered in a voice that echoed through the very void itself. Through magics, the stone would carry his words to sister stones nearby; harmonized together, they enabled the elves to communicate beyond the trappings of the air within their lungs.

His fingers felt the energy of the stone as he grasped it, several long breaths keeping his focus as he waited for a response; meanwhile, his eyes observed the rickety voidcraft of the lesser beings sliding through the black sea of the void away from the Tamberan Voidhold.

"We have yet to find the subjects of our charge, though they have left their stench upon the trail of our pursuit. Search the outgoing vessels, perhaps the vermin have grown complacent now that they make their flight." A voice, one only the Fae-Ion could hear in his thoughts, responded. It was that of Marthion, the Estel-Loch of the elven Inquisition.

"It will be as charged, Estel-Loch," he said aloud, prompting the attention of his cadre on the bridge. Looking to his Maethors, his curled lip issued orders. "Send forth barges, warn the outgoing vessels of our search. They shall comply or be subject to the judgment of the Ethereal Empire."

Slipping through the black of the void, a half-dozen ships, large and small, made their flight from the Tamberan Voidhold as they would on any normal day. Some, at the sight of the glistening white hull of the elvish Vintelor Blacktide, made haste. The Gorgon, being the largest among this group and furthest from the Tower, was hardly warm enough to make the final push through the vacuum in the direction of Minhaven when white daggers from the belly of the Blacktide emerged.

Swiftly, silently, these voidcraft fashioned by the most adept of the elvish voidsmiths cut through the stars to intercept their targets. Dodging around smaller asteroids amidst the field of debris the Tamberan Voidhold resided in, it would be no time before the first of their targets were in range. With stones similar to that within the grasp of the Fae-Ion, they ordered the craft to heave to and prepare to be bordered. Most complied, but those keen to make a swift jump out of range of the elvish pursuers met a fiery end at the hand of mana beams cutting through their hulls.

Searches were made, suspicious subjects consolidated to be brought for questioning on the Blacktide, and the final approach on the largest target, the Gorgon came to pass. Sleek daggers of white would latch onto its hull, warning the large freighter that the Ethereal Elvish Empire cared not how many mortal souls were aboard.

They only cared about compliance.

Before they even got near the bathroom they had begun to sweat. The boiling pipes of the ship were clearly the source of the warm water to allow them such a bath. Peena led them to another private room, inside a large metal basin connected to several iron pipes steamed at the center.

The Feralin's eyes looked at the man and girl, his shiftiness judging the pair as he slipped out behind them.

"Enjoy." The sentiment was less than enthusiastic, as the hatch came to a close.

Isaen wondered about that one, debating whether he should keep his bag on him or if that furry-eared character was going to rifle through their things as he was distracted here. For that matter, he didn't want to take too much time here. Shedding his outer layer, he felt the steam across his dirty skin for the first time in ages. So much pain and strife since the last time he had such a bath. The cost alone for such a thing was prohibitive, but even since he had a river to bathe in, it had been a while.

He had no shame in getting nude in front of Eris, the girl looking shyly away as his man-meat hung low. She was well acquainted with the feeling of that part of Isaen, but had not looked at it much since she was cleaning it with her mouth.

"Don't take your time, I don't trust that Feralin." Dipping one leg at a time in the basin, he slipped into the water with a deep exhale.

Eris stood, still clothed, near the door.

"Tsk, common, didn't we just talk about this? You've been on the streets how long?"

"A while."

It was so evident she wanted in, but sharing it with a man-sword was her only reservation.

"You've had to do some things to survive, now you have to do some things for a little bit of pleasure." He looked her up and down. "Tell you what. I won't touch you, just get in." He raised his hands as proof of his innocence.

Eris looked unsure whether she could trust him to keep his hands off. Especially since he called the shots.

Her brows furrowed as she glared at him, communicating her mistrust.

"Ok, I'll put it this way, I won't touch you during THIS bath." He nodded his head matter-of-factly.

Despite its implications, it sounded like a much more honest statement. "Fine..." she sighed, kicking off her boots.

Isaen, of course, didn't say he wouldn't look at her. Each bit of clothing she slipped off was a stirring sight. Her stockings, panties, cape, and then dress, all fell to the iron deck before the bright skin of the girl was revealed. She was just as sweaty as he was. Her petite body was weary from its endeavors throughout her difficult existence. Surely, they would both sleep well that night. But for the moment, Isaen was wondering how he would get to sleep close to such a handsome yet feral thing. As she neared the tub, his leering became more evident, but Eris endured it, struggling to lift her short leg into the basin, and giving him a good view of her hairy slit between her legs.

"Here." He held a hand for her, to help her in.

She gritted her teeth knowing what he was looking at, but accepted the help anyway.

"We'll have to take care of that later."

"Care of what?" she snapped.

"Oh, don't worry about it." He sat back, keeping his arms on the side of the basin, holding on to it as if to prevent them from having a mind of their own and groping her.

As the water quieted, the newly minted companions settled into the heavenly warm liquid, washing away the grime of the world around them. There were no words shared for the longest time, both simply shifted their eyes around, stealing glances at each other that they didn't dare admit with a linger to be caught.

Silently, Eris contemplated her situation. While immeasurably better than her life scraping off a living in the streets of the Tamberan Voidhold, she then had to wrestle with the unknown factor of her new benefactor. It was evident, in part, what he wanted from her. She had hoped to avoid such an existence, but she knew that with each passing day in the Voidhold, it was becoming more and more likely she would turn up dead.

The stiff confliction on her face was telling to Isaen. It was something they both had in common, a rough past. He could sympathize with that, and knew she understood that only through making deals with the devil could they survive. She made her deal with him, and he had made his own deal with Cicero and Callista. She was right, in part, when she equated her situation to a slave-- both of them were slaves-- it was just a matter of how much value they could derive from it.

As the steam washed away the pain and muck that had been caked on them, their bodies melted into the warm waters of the basin. It wasn't entirely large enough that they had no contact. Isaen could feel her bony hips between his legs, an electrifying feeling he wasn't shy about. Eris seemed to ignore it, holding herself at neck level in the water, looking at a far corner of the room. Washed, with her hair wet and less knotted, he was starting to see she was a rather beautiful lass. Her large eyes, flowing wet hair, and alabaster skin were contrary to her sharp, witty, and jaded personality. Seeing her this way, he realized just why she kept herself in such a ragtag condition in the streets-- being pretty and alone was a death sentence in the Void.

But like a siren, she still presented an unknown quantity and danger. What exactly was he going to do with her? Aside from the fun stuff, and perhaps the odd job that fit a woman of her skills in thievery, sneaking, and agility, how would he put it to use? She was a great disguise, better than any hood he could wear. Dark figures rarely traveled with cute girls at their side. It would grant him access to circles of people he would have stuck out in before. Yet, would she listen to him? Would she run at the first chance? There was a hidden danger behind those big eyes.

"So..." He swished the water as he leaned further back, looking at the soft cheeks of her face.

Eris looked at him, in a way that Isaen couldn't decide was meek or resolute.

"How did you end up in such a place? A girl like you?"

"Like me? What does that even mean?"

Struggling to come up with something elegant, he motioned his hand at her as he grasped onto the air with his lips, trying to find the descriptors. Her eyes glared across the tub at him.

"Pretty."

Eris huffed.

"I guess they forgot to check my pretty when I arrived."

This girl was going to give Isaen a headache for sure. But as he pinched his nose, he remembered this little bitch worked for him, he didn't need to take her crap like he was married to her.

"Listen... cut the shit, or this is going to be a long trip."

Eris stirred in the water, her arms stretching close to her body.

"Pft... what does it matter?"

"You'd be amazed at how much small talk does not matter. And even more so amazed how long things feel when there is no small talk." He jabbed her side with his big toe as she gruffed.

With a roll of her eyes, she looked into a far-off corner, staring resentfully into her past.

"I honestly don't remember much. I'm from some far-off place, Vetus maybe. I was young, I don't recall it being a good time. I just remember being brought to the Voidhold, and from there, I bounced between bad situation to bad situation. Until I was on the street doing what I could to survive."

Isaen nodded his head as he listened.

"There really isn't much to the story. Just the gutter, scraps for a living, and doing a little bit of everything I could to survive."

"That's how it is."

"Oh? Just like that?"

"Tsk, don't think you're the only downtrodden one in this Void, girl." Isaen let his head rest on the edge of the basin. Eris' nostrils flared, as he dismissed her so readily.

"Well then, what's your story? What are you even about? Why were the elves looking for you?" She leaned forward, mistakenly brushing against a very erect cock beneath the surface. She meeped before quickly sitting back.

"Careful, girl, do that again and I may go back on my word."

She sank into the water with a glare. "You're greedy, I see."

"Yes." He lifted his head, looking her dead in the eyes as he leaned forward.

She cowered backward into the metal basin, sinking into the water further as her eyes furrowed at the man looming over her.

"That's exactly what I am... greedy. That's my story, that's what I am about, and that's why the elves are looking for me." He sat back, his own spiteful glare at the girl.

"Life is greed, my sweet lass. Either you hold and acquire more of the things you desire, or you die. In that vein... you are greedy, too." He reached over, poking her nose with his index finger. "And, as I told you, stick with me and I'll show you how to put that greed to use."

"To use for you."

"Yes. That's why greed works. Do you think I am without a master?"

Eris became more contemplative.

"Who?"

"That doesn't matter. For now, at least. To follow your greed, you need to do as I say, and if I deem fit, maybe you'll understand exactly how I am following my own greed."

There was another long period of silence, but this time, they freely looked at one another, eyes unsure of the other's intent beyond the words they heard.

Rather than more sparring of wits, the silence was instead broken by the Gorgon rocking to port and starboard in a rather uncontrolled fashion. While it was not very violent, the rumble certainly caught Isaen's attention. And the subsequent rang of the klaxons spurred him out of the bath.

"Get your clothes on."

The graveness in his tone and the fact his lecherous eyes were not fixated on her as she rose from the tub instilled the seriousness of the matter, as Eris left the warm water. It had been nice while it lasted, but the pair quickly donned on their clothes and rushed into the corridor.

Looking in both directions, the crew seemed to be hastening, but still put together. Shouting and commands were coming over the sound pipes, as the ship vibrated more and more.

"Return to your cabin!" One crewmember, donning a helmet, yelled to them.

Pushing Eris in the small of her back down the corridor, Isaen felt it best they heed that advice.

"Move, rat." An elegantly crafted spear shaft wiped the feet out from under a ship's hand as he lingered too long in the corridor. Three towering elves, in a hurry to move through the narrow corridors of the ship, stepped over the man as if his body's macabre crunching meant nothing.

In the main cargo bay, it was all cries and wails of terror as the elvish boarding party entered, the scurrying of mortal folk like a wave that was in opposition to the elvish presence.

"You are all to comply, we shall search this hulk from bow to stern," a booming, haughty voice declared, amidst the white armor and red ribbons of the elvish uniform.

"Milord... what is it you seek, perhaps we can help--"

A gnome petty officer recoiled at the sight of the back of the elf's hand, meant to strike him should he speak further.

"Help from such beasts as yourselves is unneeded, we shall find what we are looking for."

Yards away, near the entrance of the corridor that flowed into the fore of the ship, Isaen and Eris watched and listened as the elves hurriedly and destructively searched. Haphazardly, and with little care for the mortals around them, they overturned crates, dismantled hammocks, and emptied luggage. The gnomish quartermaster was probably losing his mind right about then.

"If they are so desperate to find you, why don't they just blast the whole ship to bits?" Eris whispered, hanging on to Isaen's shoulder as they watched.

"Not really the elvish way. That would be a misuse of their resources to do so."

"Their resources?" Eris seemed perplexed.

"They view anything not Elvish as their resource in some way or another."

"Churls..."

"Yeah... well, you going to stop them?"

Eris didn't have much to say to that, only a purse of her lips.

"That's my point, girl. With their power, they can make any reality theirs. We are just all pieces to move for them."

The ravaging of the cargo bay was coming to a close, as the elves made quick work of the last nooks and crannies of the open space.

"Come on, we better get back to the cabin before they find us lurking."

"What then?"

"Just come on."

Sneaking back through the littered corridors, both hoped that the elves wouldn't make it this far in the search. But both knew they wouldn't leave a crate unturned. Once inside, they did their best to keep things dim, Isaen cleaned up most of his things to be out of sight.

"What are we going to do when they get here?" Eris looked panicked, hearing the shouts coming closer down the corridor.

Isaen had a plan, he didn't like it, but he had a plan. And it relied heavily on Eris being loyal to him. Though he had little choice.

"You, look at me, you are traveling alone, your father is a merchant sending you ahead to Minhaven to establish an estate."

Eris looked flustered. She was just ripped off the streets of Tamberan and here, she had to sew a ruse of being a rich girl.

"Whaa-- what?" She watched as Isaen cracked open a crate and slipped inside. "You just told the other person I was a slave!"

"New ruse! They are looking for a man like me, if they only find you then it isn't as suspicious." He lowered the lid, looking at Eris through the crack. "Listen, girl, if you want to understand how different you are from a slave, just think about this situation. Whether you have my back or turn me in, it is in your hands. Just remember, I have a lot of upsides, the elves will only use you."

There was no use hiding the power Eris held in her hands. She was a smart girl and would have figured it out herself. Better that Isaen get her thinking on it then before the elves came barging in. Hopefully they didn't have a copy of the passenger manifest when they came...

She huffed, crossing her arms as she heard the torrential shouting and rampaging of the nearing elf boarding party. She did her best to look casual, sitting in a chair as she looked at the crate Isaen so conspicuously hid in. It did feel good that she had some power in this relationship. Things didn't feel so one-sided, right then.

Powerful raps on the door broke her train of thought. With little hesitation, she answered, peeling the door back softly to find two large elves high above her doorframe.

"Hello," she nervously purred, looking up at their keen eyes.

"Inspection. Move." They shoved past her, their terrifying gaze trained on every nook of their cabin.

"Are you alone?"

"Yes... all alone." Her voice was a much higher whine than normal. "My father has sent me away to Minhaven. Seems I am to be isolated there."

Isaen then wondered what this girl was on to, surprised by the impromptu amendment of her back story.

"Have you seen a shadowy figure? A man of ill repute?" The elves looked down at her, her green dress fluttering amidst their swift entrance.

"A man? Oh my... I wish."

Oh no... Isaen sensed she was going far off script.

"My father has sent me away, too many men have soured my reputation."

The elves' lips curled, looking down at the small human, as she neared the crates that were her bed.

"I am to be locked away here in this cabin till Minhaven." She lifted herself up on the bed, ensuring to keep her legs open and allow the elvish warriors a prime view of her panties. "To keep me out of trouble... but fancy two such noble beings should find me... alone..." Her hands slipped under her skirt to tug at the straps of her undergarments.

Both elves recoiled. One pushed the other back and covered his nostrils as the scent of her sex filled the air.

"Unclean, brother," he said, shoving his comrade towards the hatch they had entered from.

"Mortal whore," the other rebuked, his hand flashing across Eris' face with a sharp yelp from the girl.

The elves retreated swiftly, the stench of her slit, while aromatic to most, was acrid to the immortal beings. Whimpering, she lay on the bed with a bloodied upper lip, holding her face as it felt he had knocked it clean off.

Once they had gone, Isaen quickly slipped out of the crate and came to her side, grasping her hand to see her wound.

"Gods, girl, you were amazing..." he said, looking her in her teary eyes, and she giving a rare Isaen half-smile.

"Stop that..."

He let go of her hand, a rare contrition to her request. "Stop?"

"Stop calling me 'girl'. If I am not a slave, I have a name."

Isaen nodded, walking to his bag which he had hid behind a crate, and producing a bottle of healing potion, after checking the label thrice.

"Thank you... Eris," he said, dabbing a bit of the potion on his finger and wiping it along her cheek. The warm fluid seeped into her pores, and for the time being, stopped the bleeding at a very sensitive spot on her face. It might bruise, but it would heal before long. "You could have sold me out. But you stuck with me and that means a lot."

"Don't you forget it" she huffed, her lip pouting as she closed her eyes amidst the strokes of his potion-covered thumb along her cheek.

"You'll be fine before too long. So don't feel sorry for yourself." He pinched her chin and walked to the door. Sticking his head to the hatch, he listened for more commotion, hoping this room would be left unmolested.

"At least I know that all I need to do is keep your snatch nice and exposed to ward off elves," he sneered, looking at the girl lying flat on her back.

"It's a useful trick," she had to acknowledge.

"Were you so sure it would cause them discomfort?"

"I was not sure what was going to happen... they could have partaken for all I know."

Isaen was at a loss with that revelation, wondering if this girl was truly serious.

"What? I've always wondered if their dicks were as shiny as their noses," she snickered, looking mischievous.

"This is the small talk I meant." He smiled, sitting down on the stool and leaning back. "We'll have a lot of fun together."

"Oh yeah... it's been 'fun' so far." Her sarcastic tone jabbed at her older boss.

"Just you wait, more lies ahead of us on Minhaven."

Eris lying back and looking at the metal overhead, wondered just what Minhaven would be like. Meanwhile, she could feel Isaen's eyes on her, lingering along her long, slender legs slipping out from her lifted skirt.

The Klaxons silenced, the Gorgon shifted back and forth as the elvish barges left, and the magical engines roared to life as the freighter lurched forward through the void. They seemed to finally be underway, free of elvish molestation. Isaen breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he truly had escaped. Though something told him that would not be the last of the elves he saw, if his suspicions about his new employer were correct.

Then, his attention was moving to his partner, the young Eris, who lay on the edge of the bed, kicking her bare feet while eating a bit of jerky.

"Hey gi-- Eris, finish that rasher up and get dressed for bed." He slapped her calf affectionately.

"Dressed for bed?" she said with a mouthful of meat, blushing yet again.

"Yeah, you can't wear your soiled clothes to bed, bad enough you're lying on it with them." He looked at her as she innocently lounged.

"Where are you going to sleep?" Eris looked around the room and realized there was only a single bed.

Isaen looked at her incredulously. "Where do you think?" he said, looking deeply into her cute big eyes.

"Oh..." she relented, standing up and understanding her fate. While they were working on the more causal part of their partnership, the sexual part had yet to be defined. What would he expect out of her then?

As she stood there, prepared to undress, Isaen casually kicked back on his stool, eyes on her.

"So, are you just going to watch me disrobe?" That little bit of attitude she had came back.

"Better get used to it." He took his own bite of jerky, as his eyes lingered around her lithe form.

Resentfully, she tossed up her arms to rid herself of her dress, throwing it aside-- no wrappings or undergarments shielding her flat chest and budding nipples beneath. Neither did she intend to hide herself. Her resilient expression undressed without shame almost in spite of him. Her panties found the floor as her hairy muff aired out in full view.

"That's the spirit." He clicked his tongue, watching her bend over to grab a simple cotton gown from her bag. Her eyes snapped back to him with fire, as he kept his own on her womanhood.

"Do I even bother getting dressed?" She held her gown in her hand as she stood resolutely, her full nude body faced him indignantly.

"Wow... brazen." He nodded approvingly, eyes still on her body, just like his assessment of her before. She was a hint on the malnourished end, her bony hips and ribs slightly outlined beneath her smooth skin. But with regular meals, she would fill out nicely. "I'll give you a pass tonight. I know you are tired. So slip something warm on, but forgo the panties... for now."

Eris' lip curled, as she threw the beige gown over her head and let it fall down her body. Why he didn't want her wearing panties was beyond her.

"What's that about?"

"What?"

"The panties."

"Oh, ha." He ruffled through his own bag. "Maybe I like the smell."

"Ew." Eris crossed her arms, wondering if he would permit her to sleep that night.

"Come here, Eris." He patted the table, or rather, the crate used as a table before him. He seemed to want her to sit upon its edge, maybe intending to eat her as a snack that night. "Sit down on the edge," he beckoned her.

There was a long hesitation. "Why?" Eris first questioned.

"Just do it, girl. I'm just as tired as you." While he had just slept for an extended period at the Board and Bard, the pit would exact its toll on him for a long time after.

Eris was half-seated on the edge of the table, her feet still on the deck as Isaen pulled his chair forward and put his legs on either side of her.

"Sit back."

"Why."

"Gods, girl..."

"Hey, what did I say..."

"Fine. Gods, Eris, I just want to take care of something that's bugging me. I ain't going to molest you, least not tonight."

It was hard for Eris to believe that since she was pantiless as ordered, and sitting on the edge of the table like his meal. But she supposed he could continue to hold her down when he wanted her, and he was not doing that as of yet.

Placing her small romp on the table, she was startled when he picked her feet up and rested them on his own legs. Tossing up her gown, he then had a direct view of her pussy, served up for him in all of its hairy and tight glory. Catching her balance with her hands behind her, she quivered as he stuck his face closer.

"Waaaa... what are you? HEY NO WAY!" Eris made to shove her gown down, as Isaen produced one of his shiny and sharp knives.

"Easy... I'm just going to trim you up a bit. You are a bit gnarly down there, you know. I'd prefer a clean look on you is all."

"Oh, so you are the lord of my lady's gown then?"

"Yes... yes, I am." He looked at her directly.

"Well then, sire... I'll have you know, if you nick me, my knees will take revenge."

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of nicking such a beautiful thing up."

Eris blushed as he referred to her in such a way. A sensation of cold water and steel soon found her lady bits. A scrape followed the grain of her hair, as he smoothed out the skin of her mound and labia to make precise passes of his blade. Legs spread wide, she cast back her head and tried not to think of what he was doing down there. His eyes were so keenly exploring her, as were his fingers as he dressed her labia up and cut away the excess hair.

Isaen was keen to see her shaven down to the grain, smooth as he kept his own face on the regular. For the time being, he sported a stubble, he wanted to prioritize neatening up his plaything before the long voyage across the Void got too far along. Pushing and gently tugging at her folds, he scraped the last bit of hair away from her with just steel and cold water, her skin reddened and was irritated, but intact as it was before he shaved her.

"There, see. Not half bad at all, smooth as can be." He patted her pussy, a wet plop from the shaving water echoing around the room as he smiled and stared at his work.

Eris looked down, flustered, to see her bits bare. She could even make out her labia where it parted as it slightly winked at Isaen with her legs spread so far wide.

"All right, as promised, you can get in bed now. Put on whatever you want." He made to scoot himself back, but his girlish partner did not budge with her legs spread before him.

Biting her lower lip, she stared at Isaen, bashfully.

"Gods, girl, give me a look like that and a man may forget his word."

She kept staring, red in the cheeks, as she waved her knees a bit open and closed.

"Are you... heated right now? Did that do it for you, girl?" He looked at her dead in the eye, in disbelief.

Eris didn't respond, simply the act of not closing her legs was telling.

Isaen sprang forward, pushing his pet onto her back and diving face-first into his work. Sucking, slurping, and lapping, he tasted her sweet nectar selfishly, to the tune of her whimpers and wails. No edge of his face was spared a moment with her warm folds. He felt her smear around his nose and lips as eagerly as a hound rolling in the mud. His tongue tickled every conceivable bit of hers, as she cried out mercy from the pleasure.

On and on, he serviced her with his mouth, ensuring that she wanted for no ounce of pleasure as he enjoyed his own perverse tasting. It was a feast of his own making, ever since the ally wondered what such a fresh pussy tasted like across his lips. Her sweet, blushing skin and pink hole like a troth of pleasure, as he sloppily made passionate love to her cunt, orally. Only when her back jolted in orgasm and arched with a long cry of pleasure, did he cease. Coming up for air, and he laid kisses across her stomach as she writhed beneath him in climax.

"There... that's the payment of loyalty." He pulled himself up and looked her in the eye as she lay back on the table, breathless.

Shedding his own clothes he climbed into the bed, nude, as he preferred to sleep, leaving enough room on the mattress for Eris to join in due time.

"Come and get sleep, girl, while I am feeling generous."

Eris seemed to be keenly aware that by all rights, he should be rearranging her guts right about then. His devotion to a moment of pleasure for her, the first of its kind for her orally, bought him just an iota of loyalty, and trust, even.

Slipping beneath the sheets, she didn't bother with panties, her cotton gown the only thing separating their flesh that night, as they fell into a slumber close together.