Micah The Wanderer - Book 2: Going Home First - Part 2

Part 2

It only took the better part of a day to get to my home village after I left Tolkus in the clearing of the tree spirits. I looked around with new eyes as I entered what had been my home for almost sixteen years. It wasn't that I was better or more sophisticated now. I just had a different perspective than when I left. The village was nice enough but I couldn't see myself living here the rest of my life anymore. Not after seeing what I had seen during my journey. I knew that I had really not seen much but it was enough to whet my appetite to see more.

I greeted several of my neighbors as I walked towards home. I was surprised at how quickly I arrived at my father's house after entering the village. This place was truly just a wide spot in the road. I entered the house but my father was not there. That meant he was still in the forge and I moved through the house to the back door. As I entered the forge I could see my father's broad back standing over the fire pit.

He looked up as I entered and nodded towards me. "Pump that bellows for me will you lad? Timon left early to get ready for the spring festival."

Just like that, it was as if I hadn't been gone for nearly two months. I suspected that if I had been gone for two years my father would have reacted in much the same way. I grabbed the bellows and began pumping until my father held out his hand.

"Hand me that pack your wearing and I'll hang it up. You can pump easier without the extra weight."

I stopped long enough to hand him my pack then resumed pumping as he turned to hang it up. When he got back he used his tongs to root around in the coal bed and came up with a red glowing piece of iron.

I looked at the metal a moment before asking. "That looks like one of the hinges from the front door of the Compass. What happened to it?"

Father chuckled as he re-inserted the metal in the glowing coals. "Well, you know Argus who works over at the livery?"

I nodded that I did and he continued. "It seems that he has been seeing Mave behind her fathers back."

I was a little surprised by this news. Argus was the son of Harker who owned the livery and Mave was the daughter of Justin who owned the Compass. The fathers weren't enemies but they didn't really like each other much. Either one could drive away business from the other by raising their own prices. If livery charges were too high people wouldn't stay and the inn wouldn't get their business. If the inn charged too much people couldn't board their animals at the livery.

Each man had tried on numerous occasions to buy the other out but neither could really afford to run both businesses. An uneasy truce had been in place for years. To know that their children were seeing each other would have galled both men.

"What happened?"

"It seems that Argus and Mave had decided to sneak off to temple and get married on the sly. One of Justin's helpers had overheard and told him. By the time Argus arrived Justin had quite a bit of help on hand to stop him. Well you know Argus. He's a gentle soul but that soul is in a body that can lift an ox clear off the ground and not breathe hard. He is in love and he's not going to let anything stop him. They actually let him get inside the inn before they closed the door and jumped him. I think Justin was going to try to teach him a lesson but he wasn't the one who learned something."

He lifted the warped hinge from the coal bed, "This was the result of two men trying to go through the closed door head first. From that you can imagine what the rest of the inside of the inn looked like when he was done."

"You mean he won?!!"

"Let's just put it this way. Mave walked out of that inn with him and straight to the temple. She was furious with her father and told him what she thought of him before she stormed out. I hear Harker hasn't quit laughing yet and welcomed the girl with open arms. I also hear that Justin snuck down there a couple of days later to make peace with his daughter and Argus. Mainly because his wife made him I understand but that's better than not at all."

He looked up from the coals, "Now, how was your trip? Any adventure worth talking about or just the usual boring escort duty?"

The change in subject caught me off guard and I hesitated a moment. I gathered my thoughts and told my father a carefully edited version of events since I had left the village. We talked as he worked to straighten the hinge, me pumping the bellows, him beating the red hot metal. I avoided any sexual content that had anything to do with me but described the encounters and creatures I had observed. When I got to the part about Jarl giving me the emperor my father got a thoughtful look on his face but said nothing. I kept talking, continuing until I had covered everything up to when I had entered the forge.

When I finished my father kept working for a few minutes and then turned towards me. "This emperor thing, do you want to use it? Do you want to go to Imperial house and study?"

I had dreaded this moment since Jarl had given me that gold coin. I did not want to disappoint my father but I could not see myself working in the forge for the rest of my life.

"Well Father, Jarl did say he thought I would make a good Imperial and this is no small gift he has given me. I think I would like to try this."

My father stood there a moment looking deep in thought. He hit the hinge a couple more times as the heat faded from the metal.

He lifted it close to his face to inspect and grunted. "That should be good enough. If Justin wants better he'll have to pay for new hinges. There's only so much heating and beating these things can take."

He paused and then spoke again. "I guess it's a good thing that the spring festival is tonight. I can announce Timon formally as my apprentice and announce your scholarship to Imperial house at the same time."

I sat there stunned for a moment. I had not expected this from my father. I opened my mouth to say something but could come up with nothing. My father looked at my expression and laughed.

"You must think your father is pretty dense. I could see that you did not wish to spend your life in the forge years ago. You know the metal but only in your hands, not in your heart. Why do you think I took on Timon two years ago? You have that wanderlust that your uncle had. I knew that someday this conversation would take place. Not particularly that you would be going to Imperial house but that you would be leaving to go somewhere. Well, are you going to sit there catching flies with your mouth open or are you going to say something? Blink twice if you understand me."

I closed my mouth and stood up. I still couldn't think of anything to say so I simply stepped up to my father and wrapped my arms around him in a hug. He laughed again and hugged me back.

After a few minutes he held me at arms length. "Know that I am proud of you no matter what you do from here out. Just to be offered this opportunity is a great honor. To actually want to attend is more than I could hope for. Now, go get cleaned up for the festival. I'm sure there are a few people you wish to say good bye to tonight. I will speak to a few of the older men and see what advice I can glean to help you along the way to Imperial house. We will work to have you ready to depart within a week."

He released my arms and then clasped my fore-arm. It was symbolic. It showed that he considered me a man, that I was ready to face the world. I turned and went into the house. I had all but forgotten the spring festival was approaching. It was pure chance that I had arrived back on the day it took place. I went to my room and started sorting through the clothes that I had left here. I was thinking as I worked. My father had known this day would come even before I did.

I decided then and there that no matter where or how far I went I would always try to stop by here as often as I could. I found something clean and nice enough to wear to the spring festival and went to get a bucket of water. I splashed myself with water from the bucket to knock some of the road dust off of me, dried myself with a cloth brought in for that purpose and dressed.

---

As I was walking out of the house it hit me. If I went to Imperial house this would be the last spring festival for me for five years at least. My father was right. There were people I wanted to say good-bye to tonight. One in particular would be especially difficult. I turned and headed towards the Compass. Mara was the same age as I was and had been helping her mother wait tables at the Compass since she was old enough to lift a tankard. She was the one girl in my village that I had come close to having a sexual encounter with and that had only involved my hand up her skirt. She and I had been spending time together when we could, some kissing and good natured groping through each others clothes, nothing more.

I entered the Compass and looked around for Mara. Several men from the village saw me and waved calling for me to come and tell them of my adventures on the road. I begged off saying I wished to see Mara first and that I would talk to them later. They grinned and nudged each other, stage whispering about how I was wanting a kiss for making it back home in one piece. I put up with this good natured ribbing as best I could until one of the men said they hadn't seen Mara but her mother, Sara, was in the back. I excused myself and headed towards the stock room.

Entering the dimly lit room I looked around. I could see shelves loaded with dried beef and salt pork, barrels of grain and flour along with kegs of ale and casks of wine. I was about to call out when I heard what sounded like a gasp, quickly muffled. I moved as quietly as I could through the shelves, listening intently for any further sound. I heard another muffled gasp off to my right and moved in that direction. I eased around a shelf and spotted Sara. She was sitting on a barrel with her back against the shelves. Her feet were propped on the edges of the barrel and her legs were spread wide with her skirt around her waist. One arm was holding a shelf support and she was using the other to muffle her own gasps.

The reason for her gasps was between her legs. Another female form knelt on the floor with her hands on Sara's thighs holding them apart with her face buried in the dark fur in the center. I could not see very well because of the lack of light and the position I was in but I could tell that the woman on her knees was Madeline, the other waitress in the Compass tavern. From where I was I could see her head moving up and down and the occasional flash of her tongue. Sara's gasps coincided with Madeline's head moving up towards the top of her slit.

This answered questions that I had been too embarrassed to ask the females that I had encountered on my trip. A woman's center of pleasure must be near the top of the opening of that magic opening. Sara's continuing gasps as Madeline concentrated on that particular spot confirmed this. Now I saw that I had been somewhat selfish in my recent encounters. If a woman could pleasure a man with her mouth and tongue as I had been on several occasions why couldn't a woman be pleasured in the same way. The fact that it was another woman in this case didn't bother me as much as it might have before I had left on my journey.

I eased back trying to move away before either of them saw me. As I moved away I heard a loud groan from Sara. I looked back and saw her bring her hand down on Madeline's head and start hunching her hips frantically as she sought her orgasm. I moved quickly away and was to the door of the storeroom before I heard another even louder groan and a faint gasp of, "Oh yes!!" I stopped at the door and stood there a moment. I was waiting for them to compose themselves before I announced my presence.

I was also giving my own erection time to loose its rigidity. What I had seen had affected me on a very basic level and had produced a rock hard erection. I didn't want these two ladies that I had known all my life to think they had any reason to be embarrassed around me so I waited until my erection had faded.

I banged the door as if I had just entered and called out. "Sara. Are you in here?"

I heard a faint gasp and the rustle of clothes and then a voice quavered from the back of the storeroom.

"Who is it? Who's there?"

"Sara? It's Micah. I'm looking for Mara. Is she in here?"

Sara appeared around one of the shelves, her cheeks flushed and her skirt disarrayed. She smiled at me as Madeline appeared behind her. "Hello Micah. I didn't know you were back. Mara is at the cottage getting ready for the festival. Madeline and I were just checking the uh...ale stock. Wouldn't want to run out at festival time, heh, heh, heh."

The laugh was slightly forced and I decided to have a little fun.

"Some of those stacks must be pretty close together. Your skirt is all twisted around sideways. You should be careful. You don't want to rip your skirt or get any stains on it before festival."

Sara looked down at her self and flushed crimson. She grabbed her skirt and twisted it trying to get the front back in the front. She looked upset and I couldn't push it any further.

"Take it easy Sara. The skirt isn't stained just twisted. Straighten it out and no one will even know you were in the storeroom."

There was a double meaning there but they didn't need to know that.

As Sara continued to struggle with her skirt Madeline stepped between us and took my arm, steering me towards the door. "Why don't you run along and terrorize Mara? I'm sure she would appreciate it more than a couple of working women who still have a lot to do."

I allowed her to guide me towards the door but couldn't resist another dig. "I would be glad to stay and help. I'm sure there are some things in here that a man is needed to handle. Women just aren't equipped to deal with some things."

I glanced over my shoulder to see Sara blushing red again but when I turned towards Madeline I kept my expression carefully neutral. She studied my face intently for a few seconds, looking for hidden meanings in my words.

What she saw must have satisfied her because she smiled as she spoke. "I appreciate your offer but there's not really anything in here that we weak women can't handle."

I laughed. "Weak women? You two are probably the most self sufficient women in the village. I have sometime thought that you did not need men at all."

This last statement I threw back over my shoulder as I left the storeroom and I heard a loud gasp as the door shut behind me. I was sure that last gasp was from Sara. Madeline was too cool to let some teenager get the better of her.

I waved to the men in the bar as I crossed the common room to the front door. I turned up the hillside past the edge of the inn. A staircase carved into the living rock stretched up the side of the mountain. I began to climb the stairs but my mind was on automatic pilot. I was thinking about what I saw in the storeroom. At this point I realized that I have not described either Sara or Madeline in any detail. I will correct this now.

First off you should know that these women are not related. Many people who meet them for the first time think they are sisters. Madeline had actually moved here after marrying a village man that was later killed on an upland trail by bandits. She stayed even though she no longer had any ties to the village and became friends with Sara. How good of friends they were I had just found out today. Both women had raven dark hair. They were both about medium height with fairly nice figures. That was really where the similarities ended.

Sara had blue eyes; Madeline's were a beautiful green. Sara had a mole on her right shoulder that could be seen when she wore an off the shoulder dress. Madeline was rumored to have a mole on the inside of her left thigh that could be seen if anyone dared to yank her skirt over her head.. In other words no one had ever seen it. Sara had the larger breasts of the two but that didn't mean much as they were both rather small-breasted. Sara had a slender waist and narrow hips whereas Madeline had a fuller figure with a thicker waist and broad hips.

As I had pondered these things, I had navigated the stairs automatically. Sara and Mara's home was on a ledge separated from the rest by a section of shear rock that had to be traversed by a rope bridge. Years ago there was a section of the stone stair here but it had collapsed taking a section of the hill with it. Sara's husband was in the middle of the stair when it collapsed and his body was never found. She and Mara had been alone since then. She had refused to move off the ledge even after the collapse, so the rope bridge had been strung up. Madeline and her husband had built their cottage at the far end of the ledge and had helped Mara out with her garden and other things until Madeline's husband had been killed. Now the two women lived up here by themselves except for Mara.

As I traversed the rope bridge I wondered if the two women actually still lived in separate houses or if they had moved in together. Up here on the ledge no one in the village would be the wiser unless they told them. I chided myself at this thought. If they had moved in together I would have heard something from Sara. We had no secrets from each other.

---

I had arrived at their cottage and I looked it over as I approached. It didn't look all that large but I knew that the looks in this case were deceiving. The cottage had been built in front of a natural cave in the hillside.

Over the years Mara's husband had expanded the cave until there were several storage rooms, another bedroom, a small upstairs area that he had been expanding for another bedroom when he died and an uncompleted tunnel burrowing down into the mountain. Mara's husband had intended it as an escape path in case the village was ever raided but he had died before he could finish that either. With the additional space inside the mountain this cottage was probably twice the size of any other single family residence in the village. Only Mara, Sara, Madeline and I knew of the chambers in the mountain. As my father would say, "A secret shared is a secret no more."

I knocked on the door of the cottage and heard Mara's voice muffled through the wood.

"Who is it? I'm busy."

"Well isn't that nice after I trudged all the way up here."

There was an audible gasp, several small crashes, the rustling of cloth and then the door was flung open and a black haired girl with blue eyes launched herself at me and clung to my neck.

"Micah! I didn't think you would make it back for the festival. I was getting ready to go by myself."

This came muffled from the girl whose head was buried in my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her in a hug.

"You know I wouldn't miss the spring festival unless it couldn't be avoided."

I held the girl at arms length looking at her. She was wrapped in what looked like a robe that she was holding up with one hand while the other was still wrapped around my neck. As I looked at her the cloth in front sagged and exposed a large pink nipple and a large portion of the breast around it. Although Mara looked almost just like her mother Sara they differed in one important point. Sara was rather small breasted as I had mentioned earlier. Mara who had just turned fifteen had already surpassed her mother in size and was still growing. The exposed nipple had a strong effect on me and I released her arm and reached for her breast. I ran my thumb across the nipple in a soft caress.

Mara closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh. Then her eyes snapped open and she jerked herself away from me pulling her robe up to cover herself. "Oh no you don't! Just because you've been gone a couple of months doesn't mean I'm just going to roll over on my back and let you do what you want. You have to earn my favors just like anybody else."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Oh really, and who has been earning your favors while I've been away?"

She flushed for a moment. "Well, no one really, but that's beside the point. You can't just show up after two months and start groping me in front of my house and expect me to be alright with it. You could at least say hello or something."

"I would have been happy to say hello first but I wasn't the one that nearly tackled the other one as soon as the door was opened. Besides that beautiful nipple was just begging for attention, hanging out there all alone."

"Beautiful huh, compared to what hmm? What have you been doing since you've been gone that you can make that kind of comparison?"

I chuckled and said, "I'll be glad to tell you at the festival. I'll wait out here and you can finish getting ready."

"Uh uh, as soon as we get down to the festival ever man in the village is going to want to drag you off to hear what happened to you on the road. I'll barely get to see you all night. You come inside and wait in the kitchen while I get ready. You can tell me what happened while I get dressed."

"Are you sure about that? If your mother suspected anything happened up here..."

"My mother is in no position to pass judgment on anything anybody does right now."

Her eyes flashed when she said this but they quickly became hooded and she bit her lower lip. This was a sure sign that she had said something she wished she hadn't.

"What's the matter? What has your mother done to upset you? You two have always got along so well."

"Nothing, never mind, quit trying to change the subject and come inside."

Saying this she spun around and stomped back towards the cottage. When she had turned the robe had flared out and her well rounded ass was visible for a second until the cloth settled back into place.

She entered the doorway and disappeared inside leaving the door standing open. "Well come on in. Don't stand around out there like an idiot."

I moved towards the house entering the door and closing it behind me. The kitchen where I entered was cut off from the den and bedroom by a blanket hung across the doorway.

One edge of the blanket slid back and Mara's head appeared around the side. "Have a seat big boy. I have to take a bath but I want you to stay put until I say so."

The blanket fell back into place and I heard soft footsteps moving away. I moved over to the nearest chair and sat down. I sat there a moment not really sure what to say. I heard the swish and swirl of someone getting in a tub and hearing that reminded me of my recent experiences with Bethany. My member, which was already on its way to an erection, hardened completely and I crossed my legs to hide it just in case Mara looked in on me again. I was concentrating so hard on this that her voice from the other side of the blanket startled me.

"Well? Start talking. Tell me what happened out there."

I thought a moment and started talking. I began from the time we left the village right up to the moment I walked back into my father's house. Like the story I told my father I edited this one too. I told of all the sexual encounters I observed but didn't say anything about my own. Mara and I were not hand fasted or anything like that but that didn't mean she wouldn't be jealous. I had glossed over the importance of the emperor and my decision to go to Imperial house.

I had been concentrating so hard on telling my story that I had not heard the movement coming from the other side of the blanket until it slid aside and Mara stood there in a green off the shoulder dress. Her black hair shone in the firelight and her eyes smoldered as they looked at me. She moved towards me in a pair of soft dancing slippers dyed the same color as her dress. She sat in my lap and put her arms around my neck, settling her head on my shoulder.

I could barely hear her as she whispered. "You're leaving aren't you?"

I was worried how she would react but we had always told each other the truth.

"Yes Mara, this is an incredible opportunity for me."

Mara shoulders started shaking and I thought she was crying. I groped for something to say when she sat back with her hands on my shoulders. Her eyes sparkled but not with tears.

Her lips curled up in a smile. "I'm so happy for you Micah. You were never meant to work the forge in the village for the rest of your life. Do you know when you're leaving?"

I had to shift gears rapidly. I was afraid there would be some tearful scene where Mara would run into her room and refuse to come out. Now it looked like she was not only ready but willing for me to leave. It was a little upsetting.

"My father said within the week. He wants to find out as much as possible about the way to Imperial house before I leave. You're not upset?"

She chuckled and punched me lightly in the shoulder. "Of course I'm upset. You're the only friend I have around here."

She leaned towards me until our lips nearly touched. "In time I am sure we would have been more than friends. Maybe we still can when you come back through here. From the story you told of your trip I'm sure we will probably have something more than tracking and hunting to talk about. But you were never meant to stay in one place long and I would never dream of trying to hold you here. Tonight however you will act the part of my escort and keep your grubby hands to yourself."

I made a show of looking at my hands. "Grubby? I just washed these. They are not grubby."

"You know what I mean. Behave, act like a gentleman. I know it's a stretch but try for my sake."

I smiled at her a moment. "Very well, I'll behave. Now do you want to tell me what you and your mother are at odds about? It pains me to see you angry with your mother this way."

She jumped up from my lap and stomped across the room, the impact of her feet doing interesting things to her ass as she moved away. She yanked down the blanket to show the den and beyond it the door to the bedroom.

She folded it with quick sharp movements. "Nothing, it's not your concern."

"Really? Since when have we had secrets from each other? Your mother is my friend. So are you. If you won't tell me I'll just have to ask her."

"No!! I mean, no, I'll tell you."

She took a deep breath, and then looked over at me. There was hurt in her eyes. "I think my mother is sleeping with one of the men of the village. I don't know who but there is definitely something going on."

I must have looked blank because she continued.

"Don't you see?! There are no single or unattached men in the village except your father and I know it isn't him. I asked him. The rest are just boys. That means mother is having an affair with a married man or someone that is engaged. She could destroy someone's family, become an outcast, lose her job. We would have to leave the village. I would like to see more of the world myself but not as a pariah."

I groped for something to say for a moment. "How do you know she's having an affair? You obviously don't know who the man is so you haven't caught her at it. What are your clues? What are the facts?"

She held up a hand and started counting on her fingers. "First, she used to be so quiet after my fathers death. She wasn't somber but some of the sparkle had gone out of her. Suddenly that sparkle is back. Second, she has been working late at the inn, or so she says. I asked Justin if there had been an increase in traffic and he said no. He also said that mother hasn't been working late. And third, she leaves at night and I don't know where she goes. She waits until she thinks I'm asleep and slips out."

She waved her hand, "I tried to follow a couple of times and it was like she vanished. I waited a minute to let her get a little lead but by the time I get to the rope bridge she's gone. I don't know how she gets across the bridge and down the stairs so quickly in the night but it's like she sprouts wings and flies away."

I sat thinking a minute. It took me a moment to fit them into the pattern but all the pieces fit.

She must have seen something in my eyes. "You know something or you figured something out. Come on talk."

When I had formed the idea I looked up at Mara.  "First, if I show you that your mother is not having an affair with a married man will you promise never to tell your mother about what I know?"

She looked at me suspiciously for a moment and then nodded.

I proceeded to tell her about what I had seen in the storeroom of the Compass. Her eyes got wide as I described her mother's position and what Madeline had been doing. She got a thoughtful look on her face as I continued through the end of the story.

She questioned, "That still doesn't explain the way she disappears in the night?"

"Yes it does if you think about it. You give her enough space so she can cross the bridge before you follow but that's not where she was going. She was just walking up the ledge to Madeline's cottage. By the time you came out she was probably already inside where you couldn't see her. You had the idea that she was having an affair so you never considered her going that way because there is no man over there."

She stood in thought for a moment. "What do you think about this?"

"You mean about your mother and another woman?"

She nodded.

"I think it's none of my business."

"Come on Micah, that's an evasion. I'm sure you have an opinion, especially after watching them like that."

She had a mischievous glint in her eye as she stepped back over towards where I sat.

"I wasn't watching them. I just stumbled onto what they were doing while I was looking for you."

"Uh huh and how long did you stand there after you stumbled upon them? It must have been a little while considering the detailed description you gave of my mother and the position she was in. I'm sure it took you a couple of minutes just to tear your eyes away from a sight like that. My mother is very beautiful."

"Yes, I may have watched more than I should but I am only mortal. No man could have resisted looking. At least I did turn away before they realized they had been found out. As for what I think about her and another woman. Well, you said that she has a sparkle she had lost. She's happier than she has been since your father's death. What does it matter in whose arms she finds that happiness? I hope they both find what they seek in each other. Yes she is beautiful too. You may not realize it now but someday soon you will surpass her in that, in looks as well as with your figure."

She moved between me and the table and scooted back to sit on it. She still had that mischievous glint in her eye. "How can you say that when you haven't really had a chance to make a comparison?"

She lifted her feet from the floor and set them on the edge of the table. She pulled up the hem of her skirt and revealed that she had no underwear on. The dark thatch of her pubic hair glistened in the lamplight and her labia were slowly pulling apart as she spread her legs further apart. My eyes were riveted between her legs and my shaft throbbed in the constraint of my breaches.

"Well what do you think? Do I compare well with my mother?"

I looked up to her face and still saw that look of mischief but I could also see an edge of anxiety. She had never revealed herself to a man before and she was nervous about what would happen next. I smiled up at her and scooted my chair closer to the table.

I could smell the clean musk of her as I looked her in the eye. "I'll have to make a closer inspection to be fair in my comparison."

"Well how close did you get to my motherrrrr...Oooooooohh!"

The last part of that sentence was caused by my plunging my head between her thighs and digging my tongue into her already moist slit. I slid up to the top of her slit as I had seen Madeline do to her mother and felt the small bump at the top of it. I flicked it with the tip of my tongue and her whole body shivered.

She grabbed my hair and held my head against her crotch. "Oh Gods!!! That feels good. Please don't stop. Not yet."

I started lapping and laving at her sex, experimenting at what got the best reaction from her. I would alternate between long slow strokes and short rapid thrust with my tongue while using my fingers to hold her labia apart. I took the small bump at the top of her slit, I didn't know what to call it at the time, between my teeth and lightly bit it while I swiped at it with my tongue tip. Mara nearly pulled my ears off and let out a groan that I felt all the way to my fingertips. I continued to vibrate the tip of my tongue against this bump as I clamped my mouth down around it and sucked.

Mara's breath caught in her throat, her legs stuck straight out from the table and she started a keening noise that built until it hurt my ears. Her hands clamped down on my head and her hips started banging her damp patch against my outstretched tongue. She suddenly froze for a moment, and then shuddered all over. Her body went limp and she started to fall over backwards onto the table. I stood up quickly and wrapped my arms around her, keeping her from falling.

She weakly wrapped her arms around my waist and I heard her voice muffled in my chest. "That was incredible. I've never felt anything like that. If that's what Madeline did for mother then by all means she should continue. No one should be denied that."

She leaned back in my arms looking me in the eyes. She was smiling but looked tired. Her legs dangled from the side of the table and she had lost one shoe sometime in the last few minutes.

I broke the silence, "I guess we need to get going to the festival. We don't want to be late. People will talk."

She gaped at me as if I had lost my mind. Her mouth opened and closed several time before she could find the words for what she wanted to say. "Are you insane? I'll be lucky if I can walk after what you just did to me much less dance. I'm staying here and going to bed."

"No you're not. This will probably be my last festival for the next five years and I am going to dance with the prettiest girl in the village before I leave. Come on."

I pulled her to her feet. She wobbled slightly but regained her balance quickly. I left her propping on the table as I looked around for the lost shoe. I found it on the far side of the den where she had kicked it to in her orgasmic throes. I knelt to slip it on her foot.

She grinned, "Just like the fairy tales."

"Sorry, I'm no prince. Lets go before you mother comes looking for me with a butcher knife."

We left the cottage and headed towards the rope bridge. I looked at Mara as we walked. She had a glow that had nothing to do with the setting sun. I hoped her mother wouldn't get the wrong idea about that. It's kind of hard to explain that you didn't sleep with her daughter; you molested her in another way. I needn't have worried. She herself was still a little flustered when we got to the festival.

Mara approached her and spoke to her. Her mother seemed startled at first and them she grabbed Mara in a hug. They walked a little way off talking quietly together. Apparently Mara had proffered an olive branch and her mother had snatched at it. Mara had been right.

Most of my evening was spent telling the men of the village about my trip. I did get a chance to dance some; twice with Mara, once with her mother and even once with Madeline who had a smug smile and a mischievous glint in her eyes. Many people were stunned when my father made the announcement about Imperial house and Timon's apprenticeship but several recovered enough to congratulate me. I could see Timon with his arm around another girl of the village named Rose. He fairly glowed with pride at his new status as apprentice smith and she stared up at him with adoring eyes. That convinced me more than anything else. He wanted this more than I ever could. It was a great evening all around. I would be sad to leave here but the road beckoned. I couldn't turn my back on that siren call.

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The next week was full of activity for me. My father had me talking to every man in the village who had ever traveled in the direction of Imperial house. I learned about villages along the way, which ones to stop in and which to avoid. He was also trying to sell off a few things to get me some traveling money. Many of the people didn't know what to say to me. They weren't sure if they should congratulate me or have sympathy for me. I think many of them thought I was setting myself up for a terrible disappointment.

You would think that I would be spending more time with Mara before I left but now that she knew that her mother wasn't having an affair with a married man she was trying to make up for the way she had been treating her. Her mother of course had no idea why her daughter had been acting the way she had been and was only happy that they were back on speaking terms. Seeing the two of them laughing and talking together in a corner of the Compass' common room was great. I didn't have the heart to intrude just because I was feeling a little melancholy about leaving the only home I had ever known. On more than one occasion I saw Madeline standing off to one side watching them. She usually stood in the shadows so it was hard to see her expression but she seemed to be smiling.

One day as I was turning to leave Madeline came darting out of the storeroom and grabbed my arm before I could go. "It seems that we have both been left to our own devices for a time. Would you come to my cottage this evening after sundown? I would speak with you before you leave the village."

I glanced over at Mara and Sara. Then I looked back at Madeline. "They are both working tonight. They will not interrupt and they need not know we even spoke."

She had aroused my curiosity so I nodded my head in agreement. I left the Compass and headed back to the forge and my father's house. I wondered what Madeline wanted as I walked. From evidence of my own eyes I knew that she did not desire me. I put the question aside as I entered the forge.

My father stood by the fire pit stripped to the waist working the bellows with one hand while he turned something among the coals with the other. He glanced up at me as I took the bellows handle from his hand and started working it. The heat from the pit caused me to begin to sweat right away. My father threw up his hand to show he wanted me to slow down.

"Easy son, this is silver I'm working. Too hot and it's just a puddle."

I slowed my pumping until he nodded then held it at a steady speed. I couldn't see through the glow of the coals what he was working on but he seemed to be pleased and pulled it from the fire with his tongs. I caught a brief glimpse of something circular as he turned to the anvil. With his back to me he raised his smallest hammer and tapped lightly on the glowing metal several times. He raised the metal to look at it, grunted in satisfaction and turned to plunge it in the water trough. He set the tongs down on the anvil, hung the hammer up and turned towards me where I was still pumping the bellows.

He looked me over as if judging me for the first time. "You can stop now. I am done for the day. Those few taps were the finishing touches for that piece."

He grunted again. "You leave the village day after tomorrow. I have had you speak to everyone here who could offer advice. I have a little money to offer you to feed you on your way. Now I have two final gifts for you to take with you."

Turning he walked over to the corner and came back with a bundle of cloth about three feet long. He laid it on the workbench and started to unwrap it. When the wrappings fell away I saw what appeared to be two short-swords. He lifted them up and I could see that they were fitted into a harness where they would lay crossed over the wearers back with the pommels sticking up on either side of his head.

He clutched them, "I have never told you much of your heritage. I thought as long as you stayed here it didn't matter much when you were told. Now I will tell you a little of your ancestors. You should know that your ancestors were nomads from the ‘plains of misery'. There was a dispute in our tribe and it was divided. Several decades of war followed between the two halves of the tribe until our side was nearly decimated. Your great-great-great grandfather fled north with his wife and two sons. When they reached the border of Samisand one son deserted his father and fled east. The rest of the family worked their way north to this village."

He continued, "The village smith had suddenly died of the pox and no one would work the forge because of the fear of contagion. Your grandfather looked around and saw that the well was too close to the privy. Being from the plains people he knew the importance of clean water and keeping it separate from contamination. He dug a new well and moved into this house with his family. He knew how to work a forge so he took it up as a profession. The people of the village waited to see if the pox would strike down the whole family. When nothing happened they took it as a good omen and accepted the family into the village. We have lived here ever since but we have not forgotten our heritage."

He lifted the swords again and pulled one from its sheath. The blade was about two and a half feet long with a pommel for a single hand and was slightly curved. The blade was about three and a half inches across with a glistening sheen along the honed edge. It was engraved with what looked like feathers fanning out from the flat blade back towards the edge.

As I watched my father pulled the other blade and held them out at arms length. Suddenly he began cutting and slashing in an intricate pattern where the blades seemed to actually pass through each other. He dodged and ducked, weaving the blades around in the most fluid display of swordsmanship I had ever seen. He kept this up for several minutes and then suddenly stopped with his arms crossed over his chest and the blades rising up above his shoulders like the wings of death.

I stood there and gaped at my father. I knew he could use a sword, any smith worth his pay can, but this was a display of skill that was hard to fathom. My father turned and set the swords on the bench. Taking a rag from his pocket he mopped his brow and grinned at me.

He was breathing heavy and sweat was pouring off of him. "I'm a little out of practice. Come over here."

I stepped over to the bench looking down at the twin blades. They were both beautiful. Close up I could see the details of the etching on the blades. Each feather was detailed in every line as if a real feather had been dipped in silver and attached to the blade. I could also see that the blade wasn't just curved on one side but that the whole blade followed the shape of a bird's wing. The pommels were some dark wood that sucked up the light with only a slight glint to them. The end piece of the pommel was in the shape of a bird's claw holding a semi-precious stone of amber.

My father signalled with an open palm. "These are Hawk Wing swords. These are the traditional weapons of the warriors of our tribe, the kindred. I began making these about the same time I took on Timon as a helper here in the forge. I hoped that you might wish to learn to use them."

I lifted one of the blades and held it at arms length. It was incredibly light. I picked up the other one and held it out as well. I figured that the two blades together weighed a little less than a standard broadsword.

Holding them, I looked at my father. "How long would it take you to teach me to use them?"

My father just shook his head. "I'm not going to teach you. I'm no warrior. Part of Imperial Houses reputation is that they train each warrior in the traditional weapon of their people if they wish it. You shall carry these with you to Imperial house. Carry them bundled up. Don't wear them openly. Until you are trained in their use never wear any weapon openly. There are those that will challenge you simply because you wear a certain type of weapon. Understand?"

I nodded and he proceeded to rewrap the swords. He handed the bundle to me and then turned towards the quenching trough. He reached down into the water and came up with the circlet he had been working on. He was running a rag over the surface of the piece to remove any char from the forge. When he turned towards me I could see it was a torque. The ends were stylized representations of striking hawk with the wings blending back into the torque. The inside curve of the torque was etched with a wreath of a twisting vine pattern with small serpents twined through it.

He explained, "This is the torque worn by our tribe. I have not worn mine since your mother passed when you were born. The hawk is our clan symbol. The twisting vine is a symbol of the path we walk through life and the serpents stand for the supposed slyness of our people. We were said to be extremely devious. It was said that if a kindred met a fox on a path that the fox would walk away without its pelt and never know it."

I looked at my father in disbelief. He was renowned as the most straight forward man in the area. What he said could be carved in stone. It was that reliable. My father was about as devious as rain. It went from the sky to the ground. He said what he thought and it was the truth.

My father blushed slightly. "Not all of us follow that path. I could never get my mind around a deception enough to make it work. Now this is how you open it."

Holding the torque outstretched in his hands he pressed a spot in the center of the curve. A small pin concealed there pivoted up and the torque opened up. He placed it around my neck and pulled it closed. I felt rather than heard the pin retract back into place. I reached behind my neck and tried to feel the spot to touch.

"Here, let me show you." Father took my hand and guided it to a certain spot on the torque where I felt a slight indentation.

I wouldn't have found it if he hadn't guided me to it. I pressed and felt the pin pop up again. I moved the torque back into position and felt the pin close again.

My father put his hands on my shoulders and looked in my eyes. "Your mother would be very proud of you. She always felt you would have that warrior's blood from your ancestors. Tempered by hers that is. She would have been thrilled that you are going to Imperial house. She would have probably made me take you there myself but I think you can make it on your own."

I reached up and placed my hands on his shoulders. "Thank you, father, I will wear the torque with honor and I will be proud to learn to use the swords of my ancestors. Now I have somewhere I need to be. I will put the swords in my room until time to leave."

I took the bundle and went into the house. I set it in the floor next to my pack. I had packed and re-packed this several times as I debated what to take with me. I finally had decided to leave it as is and take my chances that I had forgotten something. This decision alone had eased a lot of my anxiety about leaving the village. It wasn't so much the leaving as not knowing if I was prepared.

I looked out the window. The sun was setting behind the mountains. It was time to start towards Madeline's cottage.

Continued in Part 3

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