The Smith is another minor god, often worshiped by craftsmen who focus on utility alone. Even then, he is only worshiped by humans and is distained by elven and dwarvish craftsmen. Both laughing him off as a lesser version of their own deities. While he is not well liked outside of the Althaen people his mark of approval is still recognized as noting an item to be above the usual level of human skill by the other civilized races.

Adrian

It is almost dusk by the time that I reach the wooden wall around Daerth with my canine companions. The gates are closed but they are small, just wide enough to let three or four men through at a time. A single man stands in front of the wooden gate with two more standing on the wall itself. They are in leather and each has a crossbow and a blade.

The guards ignore the three of us until be are almost at the gate. At which point, the man in front of the gate says “state your business.”

“We’re passing through to the north” Ria answers for us.

“You sure you’re not going south? You look like runaways to me. Not that it matters to me so long as you pay the toll.”

So he wants a bribe? Though the existence of an entry toll could be real.

“How much is this toll?” I ask.

“Depends on how much you have. It’s a percentage of goods toll. You do have some possessions on you don’t you? You must if you’re planning on buying what you’ll need to hop the border. . .”

“And does this toll happen to apply to nobles?”

“Of course not, but you’re. . .”

I cut him off by crafting a small dragon out of light as I warp reality between the palms of my hands as I cup them together and blow. The light construct flies around for a few seconds according to my will before I allow it to fade away. The guard seems stunned for a moment before he asks, “of which house are you mage?”

“One that would be rather upset at being delayed longer than necessary” I answer.

He eyes me for a moment before looking at Kythia and Ria. Then he says, “perhaps you could loan us one of your attendants, . . .”

He stops instantly as K draws her blade and rests it against his leather covered chest. Not where she could easily kill him, at least if it wasn’t for the abnormal strength that she possessed as a lycanthrope. As the guard is clueless to that detail, while surprised at her speed where she could have inflicted serious harm he is not afraid nor are the two guards on the wall pointing their crossbows at us.

“Is he an enemy to kill?” Kythia asks half playfully with a smile.

“Not at the moment” I answer her while gesturing towards the gate.

Either from the intimidation or the appearant arrogance, the three guards seem to accept me as someone of importance and open one side of the gate. On the other side is a continuation of the dirt road though it has more rocks in it than outside of the small 'city'.

We enter and begin to walk down the main street, which is mostly empty at the moment. Now that I am within the walls I am not sure that this should be classified as a city or even a town. I can see the eastern gate even as I stand at the western. If there were not buildings in the way I am fairly sure that the same would be true for the northern and southern walls as well. This is not a city or a town, a village perhaps but there is not enough farms around it to be self sustaining.

Half of the buildings on this road seem to be shops while the others seem to be either barracks or inns. There is a large military presence on the street but none of them are more than glancing at us. I scan the street for the nicer inns and pick one at random.

I may as well be as comfortable as possible when we stay the night. The others would not expect us back tonight. Actually, Abagail might be but everyone else should have come to the conclusion that we would arrive late and for just the appearance of being normal travelers would require us to spend the night.

As the three of us walk towards a building named Corpulent Cyrus's. The sign hanging in front of the building over the door features a bed and tankard below the name.

The interior while not up to modern sanitation is fairly clean. The saw dust used on spills seems like it is regularly swept up. The tables are in good condition and the bar maid looks clean. Then a tall bald man who looks to be almost as wide as he is tall walks into the common room from what must be the kitchen.

“Oh more customers? Welcome to Cyrus’s Inn and Tavern. What can I get for you?” the morbidly obese man says taking a breath between each sentence.

“I thought this was Corpulent Cyrus’s” Ria asks with a smirk.

“I am not fat! I’ve lost at least a hundred pounds!” the fat man yells, a few of the patrons snicker.

“A hundred pounds?” K repeats not recognizing that unit of measurement.

“A Terran unit of measurement. How did you manage not to be used as fodder?” I answer K before asking a question to Corpulent Cyrus.

The fat man glares at me before saying, “I happen to be a very good cook, regardless of my prior noble patrons' death.”

“I was asking how you managed not to be made a soldier on the front line.”

With that the fat man smiles as he says, “oh, well I was cooking when I was brought here. Some of the food came along and some guy in robes tried it. After that they wanted me to cook for them.”

I nod and then ask, “how much for a room and three meals?” with no concern over how he slipped that his prior noble patrons are dead.

“Depends, do you want the larger room?”

“Of course” I answer.

“Two silver for the night and five coppers per meal. Alcohol is extra.”

I pull out several of the silver coins from Void Cache and place them on the counter as I say, “keep the food coming, and if you have any liquor distilled from dragon's blood I’ll take it.”

“Gnomish Drakeflame Whiskey is five silvers a glass.”

“How many bottles do you have” I ask instantly.

“Two and. . .”

He goes silent as I let a small pile of a nearly a dozen golden coins fall from my hands onto the counter from Void Cache. He stares not believing the sight before his eyes. He then asks, “is there anything else I can get you? If I don’t have it myself I can send one of my staff to get it.”

“Actually yes. If you could get the rest of any draconic liquor in town I’ll buy it. I could also use some supplies . . .” I answer with a smile before listing off the items we were supposed to retrieve in town.

I know that it’ll cost more this way but it will save me time. Time I would rather spend with my two canine companions in our room than out shopping.

The fat man nods and says, “I’ll send someone out right away, though your deposit may run out before everything is gathered.”

“I’ll give you the difference before we leave then. Do make sure to get some receipts though.”

“Of course now please take a seat. Fernilda will bring your stew right away and I’ll get working on a main course. Steak, pasta or fried chicken?”

“Steak” both K and me answer while Ria says, “the chicken” while the three of us move towards a table.

As soon as we sit down though, K asks, “where did you get all those gold coins? They’re not from the Pack are they?”

“No, they’re mine. I found them in Void Cache” I answer her.

“You’re spending your personal money for the good of the Pack?”

“No I’m fronting the money and as soon as we get receipts, I’m taking that part from the funds Kylana gave me. This meal and the room is all I’m paying for.”

We pause for a few seconds as the waitress sets down a hardy bowl of stew in front of each of us along with three cups and a bottle of Drakeflame Whiskey. Ria stares at the glass for a second before saying, “can I . . .”

Before she finishes I answer, “sure.”

With a smile she turns to the waitress and asks, “could you get me something a little fruitier to drink?”

The waitress nods as she says, “right away.”

K however frowns slightly before saying, “why are you getting the fox anything?” as I pour myself a shot of my Drakeflame Whiskey while frowning at the clearly not dwarf-approved cup.

“She asked. If you want something do the same” I answer before downing the cup.

Not quite as good as I remember, glass really does make a better shot glass than clay. But now isn’t the time to focus on that. I need to talk with K and Ria.

I take a spoonful of the stew and eat it, enjoying the well seasoned meats that were thrown in, thinking for a moment about just how to word the next thing I need to say.

“Kythia, you are the dominant female in our den. You should at least make an effort to become friends with Ria.”

“Are you really going to lecture me about this in front of her?”

I look over to Ria and see that she is not even paying attention to the current conversation as she eats her stew before answering, “only because she isn’t paying any attention to us right now.”

I pour a second glass and drink it before asking, “what’s your problem with her anyways?”

“Kitsune aren’t trustworthy, they’re cowards who’ll trick you and run away from a fight rather than meeting on the field of battle regardless of if they’re friend or foe.”

“Has Ria done that to you?”

“She’s a fox, her kin have to mine.”

“But she hasn’t done anything. She’s been with the other me for weeks” I say taking a third glass.

“You should slow down on that stuff, it’s strong and toxic” one of the nearby patrons say and I laugh.

“Don’t worry about me” I say to him.

Kythia

Around an hour has past since the meal began and my mate's words on judging the fox by her actions rather than her kin have long since become messy and repetitive as he has downed both of the large whiskey bottles. It has been amusing to watch some of the other males in the tavern lose as they try to beat my mate in some sort of competition.

Ria has long since finished her food and like me limited herself to only a bit of drink. At the moment she is just sitting here at the table, content to wait for something. I don’t know what but it’s probably for some attempt to take up more of my mate’s time.

As my mate looks into his second empty bottle, he frowns and looks around the table for a third before Ria stands up and whispers something into his ear. He get a big grin on his face and then stares at her with his eyes following her swaying hips as she walks to the back rooms.

“You better not be thinking of spending the night with her again tonight” I say agitated.

“But K we could . . .” he starts slowly.

“No, it’s bad enough that you’re keeping a fox in our den. . .” I start before my curiosity gets the better of me and I ask, “why did you just call me K?”

“Because the first time I met you, the other time, I didn’t catch you name. But why not? It’ll be fun.”

“I can’t think of anything fun I would want to do with you and the fox.”

My mate pauses for a moment before starting up again, “not even hunting? I think you'd like taking turns with Ria being hunted down.”

Involuntary images of running through the woods, tracking the fox down and then being mounted by my mate in celebration flash through my mind. An instant later another of me being the prey follow. I blush at the idea and manage to almost completely keep just how much fun that sounds like out of my voice as I say, “that isn’t what you’re wanting to talk me into.”

“I didn’t hear a no” he says before standing up and pulling me into his chest. Nibbling on my ear before he whispers, “I want you both tonight.”

Then before I can answer he picks me up and very quickly carries me to the back where the fox was going.

SC

I don’t struggle on the way back to our room, enjoying the dominance my mate is showing. His hands slipping into my clothes as he kisses my neck.

It does not take long for the two of us to arrive at the bedroom where my mate drops me on the bed as he strips me of my tunic while kicking the door closed. His eyes alight with the lust that my now nude upper body brings him.

“So who are you having first?” a voice from my left says and the two of us look over to a very naked kitsune.

My mate pauses for another moment before grinning widely as he picks me up and whispers in my ear, “sorry but we can’t do the hunting thing tonight.”

With that he rolls me over and I almost squeal into the bedding as his hands run down my sides before suddenly stopping at my waist and grabbing ahold of my hands. A moment later his strong grip is replaced with something cold and hard before he whispers, “be a good girl or I’ll make you wait longer.”

I smile, remembering how we’ve done this sort of foreplay before. Restraining me and making me submit to him even if he’s only held me down before. My legs rub together in anticipation for his rough hands to spread them but I find another far less desirable thing happened instead. My mate sat me up before kissing the fox in front of me, his hands running over her form before she begins helping him strip.

I can’t help but keep watching as the fox undresses my mate as he plays with her beasts, her tails swaying faster and faster as she receives more of the attention that I should be getting. I’m the dominant female of the den and it’s still the first moon of our pairing.

I continue to glare hatefully at the fox as her hands rove over my mate before focusing on stroking his manhood. I can’t help but watch as it quickly rises to its prodigious size. My center aches to be stuffed full of it’s womb stretching girth. I struggle against the slowly warming metal that holds my arms behind my back only to find that it is much harder to break than how he usually hold me down for the dominance I love so much.

They actually start to hurt as I struggle against them before my mate separates from the fox for a moment bite my ear and saying “bad K” without the usual licking of my ear that sends shivers down my spine.

I cease my struggle for a moment before he allows the fox to guide him down on his back as she says, “I’ll take care of the first round.”

The two of them kiss for nearly a minute before the separate again. The fox then slowly raises her hips above my mate’s as her hands wrap around his fleshy pillar to guide herself down around it. My mate’s hands run down from her breasts to her hips as she is spread wide.

My mate let’s out a groan of approval as she begins to move more, up and down his length; half guided by his hands as she pleasures him. She does not try to take control but puts forth almost all of the effort in their act.

I can see the light of her eyes as she slowly mates with my mate. As he guides her to do things that he enjoys and how she enjoys every moment of giving herself to him. They take their time before my mate graces her with the seed that should be in me. How he holds her tightly against him and her own pleasure follows his.

They breathe heavily for a moment before my mate rolls the two of them over and kisses her before licking her ears and whispering something to her before he begins thrusting between her legs. Rutting himself on her but not with the rough need that I enjoy so much. He takes her softer, gentler and oh so agonizingly slowly as I am forced to watch them.

The whole time I glare at either the fox’s face or her union with my mate. Angry at her for stealing away my mate. The only condolence that I have is how he is not taking her with the same ravenous need that I’ve gotten every time we’ve mated.

Finally the torment is over as my mate separates from the fox and watches his excess seed spill from her depths. He whispers something to the fox I don’t catch before she clears the bed with wobbling legs but I soon forget she is there as my mate pushes me back down onto the bed.

My face lands in the puddle that spilled from the fox’s loins but when I start to say something I feel my pants vanish to my mate’s magic. My legs are forcefully spread and he sheathes himself in me.

I let out a scream of surprise and the feeling of being split before I had expected it. My face rubbing into the pool seeping into the bed as my mate begins thrusting into me hard as he holds me in place, not once stopping or slowing as I scream into the bedding loving every moment as he forces me to submit and be bred more than any other night in the half moon of our pairing.

Even as I begin to move to help him as he ruts himself on me, driving me to waves of pleasure as my body tries to pull his seed from him, he does not slow and only get faster and harder as I become more and more lubricated as he just keeps going.

Then he slams harder into me and grunts “mine” as he floods me with his seed for the blissful eternity of seconds as I once more cry out into the bedding in my own pleasure.

The two of us then collapse on the bed before he rolls my face out of the smear that was once a puddle and licks my ear and whispers, “I love you.”

I whisper the same back, completely forgiving and forgetting about the fox until she crawls in between us. My mate pulls the three of us into a hug as he drifts to sleep and I follow soon after, too pleased and sore to bother with the fox save to note that she does make a comfortable pillow.

My last conscious thought being how maybe having a fox in the den is not as bad as I thought, that and my mate goes way further when he's drunk.