Dragon's Tale 14 (Patreon)

Ten minutes after the ambush, we were ready to move, though our situation was improved significantly. I was finally dressed as well, even though it was pants only, the shirts were ruined thanks to my overpowered wind blade. “We need to start moving,” I said after I finished the preparations, feeling more comfortable dealing with the survival challenges the forest might provide us now that we had some decent tools. 

“Yes, but where?” Lillian countered, still scared. “How can we know that they won’t be waiting for us at our destination,” she said. “Maybe I should send a message to my family, asking for reinforcements?” 

Her worry was understandable with her mysterious kidnappers revealing a reach much deeper than we expected, though that made connecting to her family unsustainable as well. “I wouldn’t say no to reinforcements, but it’s almost certain that they have spies in your family, and our enemies are much closer to our location. If we give our location, I fear that we will face our enemies before they could arrive,” I said. 

Lillian frowned. “Still, we need to do something. We have no money, no map, not even spare clothes. If we just continue to run, eventually we’ll get caught.” 

“You’re not wrong,” I answered, trying to placate her. She was getting antsy, and while I was more than happy to spend a month or two in the depths of the forest avoiding my followers, I doubted that Lillian could handle it. Even though she was managing admirably for the moment, she was a creature of comfort. Even worse, unlike me, she wasn’t used to the mental pressure, so being constantly hunted would frazzle her, forcing her to make mistakes. I needed something for her to focus on, something to distract her. “How about if we send your family a message, asking them to send a force to a fixed location, so in two weeks, we can meet with them there.” 

“Excellent idea,” she exclaimed gleefully as she gave me another hug. I decided to seal the hug with a short but searing kiss, even as my hands landed on her lithe bottom, cupping her ass under her short skirt. Since she wasn’t running around naked anymore, I needed to use my opportunities to enjoy her beautiful skin. While I kissed her, I watched Astrid from the corner of my eye, who looked at us with a scandalized expression and a large blush. 

I would have liked to extend the kiss into a horizontal dance, but we weren’t in a condition to waste too much time. So, I suppressed my instincts forcibly and loosened my grip on her tight ass. She stopped the kiss a few seconds later. “We don’t have much time,” I explained. “Quickly, draw the runes and send the message, then we can move.”  

“Why don’t we send the message after we traveled a bit,” Astrid asked. “Wouldn’t it be better if they didn’t discover the bodies.” 

“No,” I answered with a shake of my head, ignoring the smug smile Lillian sent to Astrid. “The bodies will be a good message for them, telling that their prey might not be as weak as they thought.” 

“Doesn’t that mean that they will be better prepared?” Astrid asked. 

“Yes, and that’s for our advantage,” I explained patiently. “First, they will be less enthusiastic in their search if they knew that a wrong step might end their life. And they will be forced to act in bigger groups, which will make their search more inefficient.”

They nodded before Lillian crouched on the ground, her expression twisted in concentration as she quickly drew several runes, her magic already flaring to stabilize. Astrid looked at her in no small amount of surprise, so much that she didn’t notice me walking toward her. “You seem shocked,” I said. 

She jumped, surprised by my presence, which made her delicious curves jiggle, forcing the limits of her new clothes. She was blushing as she looked at me, but I didn’t let my eyes dip to her chest no matter how appealing the view. I gestured her to walk with me as we walked toward the nearby rocks to take a seat. The silent walk calmed her down. “I didn’t expect her to be this good,” she said with a grudging admission. 

Her impression was justified, considering that until the moment, Lillian was doing her best to mess with her childishly. “Yeah, don’t let her fool you, under that vapid exterior lies a dangerous mage,” I explained. 

“I’m sure that you’re very familiar with what lies underneath,” Astrid said, a mocking smile on her lips. “No wonder you’re traveling with her.” 

“Nonsense, I’m helping her because I’m a kind individual,” I said with a mock glare, which melted into a smirk as I gazed at the bent-over figure of Lillian as she tried to complete her communication array. “However, I can’t say that I’m unhappy about the side benefits.” Astrid breathed out aggressively, showing her displeasure. I turned to face her once more, but this time, letting my gaze crawl over her body, devouring the contours of her body, which was under display thanks to Lillian’s exquisite tailoring. Her cleavage, in particular, was a spectacular gift to humanity, straining her top dangerously. “Yeah, I’m definitely not unhappy.” 

“Shut up,” she murmured, trying to sound angry but failing spectacularly as her whole body blushed, trying to imitate her striking hair color. I just smirked while waiting for her to gather her wits. “So, what’s the best way for us to follow,” I asked her. 

“Depends on where you want to go. If we’re going to go to the nearest port city-” she started, but I cut her off with a wave. 

“Definitely not,” I answered. “Any place with strong trade ties to Londinium is a bad choice. Or any small place with a strong gang presence. We still don’t know about the exact reach of the enemy, but they managed to surprise me twice. I’m not willing to take the risk for now.” 

“Maybe we can ask help from one of the tribes,” she offered. 

I shook my head. “No, that wouldn’t work. Since they already have power over your tribe enough to force a leadership change, it’s very likely that they have a connection to the other tribes. That one-time use flame rune Grundi used on us was not a simple thing to give away, and I doubt they would bother if they are trying to control just one tribe,” I explained, and saw the disappointment in Astrid’s eyes. It was clear that she was also aware of those facts, but still wanted me there. 

I chuckled kindly before putting my finger under her face, and raising her head in an intimate pose. “I don’t appreciate you trying to manipulate me into your tribal battles,” I said in a kind, almost joking tone, but I also let my magical presence free for a moment, reminding her that I wasn’t playing a game. She blanched in shock, but I let the presence go just as quickly before patting her cheek playfully. “Now, do you have an idea where we can meet with Lillian’s family without falling into an obvious ambush.”

“Bibrax is the best place for that,” she said hurriedly. “It’s a city nominally under the Republic, but effectively, it's ruled by an alliance of the biggest Gallic Tribes. It’s not as rich as Alesia or other major cities, but it’s also close enough to the border to be ignored by most Romans.” 

I smirked, remembering my history. The lack of interest by the Senate was inevitable, considering the last time they tried to expand their powers by invading across the Rhine, they had been ambushed by their enemies and betrayed by their allies, losing seven legions in the process. In the end, they had to go beg the Eastern Empire for help, no doubt much to the dismay of the stuffy nobles back in Rome. After that, it was no surprise that they were acting like their border to Germania didn’t exist. “Not a bad idea, but it’s a bit far away. How much do you think it’ll take us to go there?” I asked. 

“Maybe three or four days if we use the river,” she said. 

“No, that would be too predictable. Nor we could use the main roads. Assuming we use the forests and the wilderness, how long?” 

“If nothing goes wrong, maybe two weeks,” Astrid answered. 

I nodded. Two weeks were not bad. It still gave us a margin of error if we faced a dangerous monster another stubborn tribe. Moreover, the place was distant enough that even if my suspicion about the spy was correct, there were too many paths through the wilderness for them to really block it. We started talking on the logistics of the journey while Lillian focused on finishing her communication array. And since I was an opportunistic brute, I used the opportunity to flirt with Astrid, slipping occasional compliment or suggestive comment, making her blush and fret. 

I had cut down the flirting when Lillian was about to finish her array, not because I was afraid of her response, but because I wanted her to think that it was Astrid that was coming on me. When she finished with the array and turned to us, she huffed loudly, unhappy with the distance between me and Astrid. Unfortunately for her, Astrid decided to react that by leaning forward and putting her hand on my forearm casually. 

I acted unawares as Lillian walked toward us angrily, and was positively surprised when she arrived, the first thing she had done was to grab my chin and pull in me for a heated kiss, all the while glaring angrily at Astrid. After she pulled back, she sent a regretful glare at Astrid’s clothes, realizing that her little prank might have unintended consequences. 

“Array is ready,” she said succinctly. “What should I tell them in the message.” 

“Tell them to be in Alesia in twenty days, and wait for another message from you there,” I explained, and when Astrid looked at me questioningly, I explained. “Just because we have options to avoid doesn’t mean we can’t reduce the risk a bit more. They can easily take a riverboat from Alesia to Bibrax, and since it’s deeper in the civilized lands, they won’t be running the risk of ambush,” I explained. 

“Are we going to Bibrax?” Lillian said. “That place is not that different from an overgrown village.” 

“Yes, and that means that we won’t be bothering about it. Go and communicate the message, and don’t forget to destroy the array after. They will still detect the location, but every minute after that counts. We need to move very fast after that.” 

Lillian nodded in understanding before walking back to her array, quickly composing the message, and destroying it after the message was sent. 

Then, we started our hardy trek, picking a hardy pace. Astrid took the point, as she was the one most familiar with the direction, Lillian stayed in the middle while I took the rear, ready to respond against any danger. And if I was getting an amazing sight as their mini skirts fluttered in their hurried dash, giving me a visual feast, well, that was completely coincidental. 

The first two hours were a frantic dash as we tried to put distance between us and our camp area. If we discovered too early, it would have ruined our plans. We took occasional breathers, or more accurately, Lillian took occasional breathers while Astrid and I made sure to lay several fake tracks and destroyed ours, making our followers' job even more difficult. 

Lillian requiring several breathers was understandable, considering that unlike us, she wasn’t unused to extended physical exertion. Of course, that affected our fledgling group dynamics quite a bit. When Lillian asked for another rest, Astrid was ready to give her opinion. “How surprising,” she whispered while making absolutely no effort to keep her from being overheard, sharing a vicious smile. 

Lillian was nonplussed. “Not everyone is a wildling that spends all their day running around in forests, some of us had more important things to do,” she countered, leaving Astrid to scoff angrily. I said nothing even though technically Lillian’s insult also hit me, choosing to watch them insult each other with a smirk on my face. It was good to have entertainment.  

After several attempts to insult Lillian, however, Astrid decided to take a different approach to annoy her, and walked toward me. “Marcus, can I ask for your help?” she asked demurely while also pushing her chest out. Her ploy was obvious, but the sight of her cleavage was sufficiently amazing —especially since it stuck on her sweaty body, revealing the contours of her spectacular breasts— for me to ignore her simplistic plot. 

“Of course, Astrid,” I answered casually, earning a glare from Lillian. “Go ahead.” 

“I’m feeling a slight pull in my leg,” she said shyly as she put her hand on her left leg, a place on the edge of her skirt, which, considering its length, meant it was quite high, enough to be classified as obscene. “Can you massage it a bit?” 

“Of course,” I answered even as Lillian sent me an angry glare over Astrid’s shoulder. Not exploding into a wild cackle was a challenge, though. When I encouraged the rivalry between them —partially for my amusement, partially to distract Lillian from the morbidity of her situation— I didn’t expect to become the tool to resolve them, not that I was unhappy with the chance of putting my hands on the busty beauty without taking a single overt action. 

At this moment, I was willing to believe that the gods loved me. 

I sat down on a nearby trunk while gesturing her to close in. Astrid only did so after sending a smug glare to Lillian before strutting toward me. It wasn’t the most elegant walk I had ever seen, I had to admit, but there was a charm in her wildness, helped a lot by the way her breasts were jiggling at each step, making me gulp. I had no problem showing my desires overtly. The more heated the rivalry between them, the more enjoyment I would get. 

Still, when I gestured her to put her leg on the same rock I was sitting, she hesitated, realizing just how compromising the position would be. Her stillness extended until Lillian realized her fear and made the mistake of scoffing dismissively, goading Astrid into action. She raised her leg on the side, which lifted her skirt and put me face to face with her underwear. It was more utilitarian than sexy, but still exciting. 

“Now, take a deep breath,” I said as I put my hands on her thigh, one to outside at the point where she pointed, the other on her inner thigh, dangerously close to her most precious spot. She gasped, but I ignored it in favor of softly massaging her surprisingly soft skin considering her lifestyle, making me suspect that she had a magical skincare routine. I enjoyed the sight of her pale thighs as she squirmed under my touch, and whenever I raised my eyes to catch her gaze, her beautiful green eyes shone with desire, and her lips curled in confusion. All the while, Lillian was throwing daggers with her eyes. 

That stretched for almost a minute before she opened her mouth. “Um, I think it’s okay now.” 

“Maybe, but it’s better if we make sure,” I answered even as I let my fingers dig deeper into her flesh, the ones that on her inner thigh climbing even further, until the edge of her underwear. A little damp spot appeared in the middle of it, the best evidence that my tactics were working. 

“I feel fine,” she murmured before forcibly pulling her leg away and took several steps back. 

Lillian was still angry, but seeing Astrid pull back in panic, she let out an amused chuckle before moving forward and standing in front of me. She leaned forward, uncaring the amazing cleavage the move created —understandable considering we spent several days in our birthday suits— and caught my lips in a searing kiss. 

The kiss was different than everything else we had shared. It was confident, aggressive, and most of all, violent. Her teeth sank into my lower lip hard enough to make me taste my own blood while her eyes burned alight with her satisfied jealousy. She wanted to act possessive. 

I didn’t react, because, at that moment, all I could do was to suppress the sudden surge of violent instincts, begging me to teach the arrogant female about the cost of challenging the alpha. Worse, I was tempted to exactly that, not only to assuage my pride, but to push things until Lillian was crawling on the floor in ecstasy after her submission was complete, something I was sure that she would enjoy immensely. 

I didn’t do that, because I was afraid that following those instincts at the moment would waste all the progress I had managed to accumulate. Instead, I let Lillian pull back and gave me a smug smile that conveyed her warnings. “Let’s move,” she said, meeting Astrid’s jealous glare with confidence. I let her arrogance slide, well, mostly slide as I landed a spank on her tight ass before we started moving, punctuating it with a smile when she turned to look at me. 

However, when we started moving, I pressed my hands together before turning my magic into thunder once more. Sooner I could temper my magic, sooner I could punish her for her arrogance in a way we both would enjoy.