breath and, after several moments, managed to look down and see the results of Jarnella’s agile toes. He chuckled darkly and retied his breeches after repositioning himself. More than ever, he needed to find a joygirl to help relieve him of his troubles!
The next morning Dexter found himself in the bridge, charting a course to Port Freedom. Without the complications of women to distract him, his mind was focused on the prospects the new job offered. Port Freedom was outside of Federation and Elven space, near the outer edges of the known void. There was no telling what sort of cargo an enterprising captain like himself might manage.
Dexter shook loose his musings and refocused on charting the ships voyage. Making it in less than three weeks seemed easy enough, provided he did not run afoul of too many Federation patrols. If their cargo was legal, as the wizard insisted, then he had no concern about being held up, but every time they had to rendezvous with another ship was time slipping away. That and, in order to make the optimal speed, he had to forego established trading lanes and, whenever that happened, all sorts of things became possible: uncharted asteroid fields, pirates, and other oddities of the void.
“Captain, we’ve got some people asking to come aboard,” Jenna said, walking into the bridge.
Dexter turned, ignoring her familiarity and lack of knocking on the door before entering. He stopped when he saw her though and felt a fresh tightening of his breeches. The elf wore a sash around her waist that was tied as a loin cloth, displaying her long, lean, limber, and tasty looking legs. From each hip hung a weapon as well, to her left was her rapier and to her right a short sword acquired from the pirate base. A dagger was strapped to one thigh while a pistol adorned the other. That completed the adornment of legs, since she was barefoot as well.
Even more distracting was her upper body. Instead of a proper shirt or even the revealing vest from the night before, she wore another sash. This was wrapped around her neck and chest in a manner that left him curious as to its engineering, especially since it provided a neat pocket for each of her breasts yet left them independent of one another as well. He nearly had to shake his head to force himself to focus upon her face.
“Um, yes?” He stammered, obviously distracted.
Ignoring his reaction, save for a faint smile at the corner of her mouth, she said, “the visitors, Captain?”
“Oh, yes, let them on. They’re passengers and we’re leaving as soon as they’ve stowed everything away,” he explained quickly. Then he appraised her clothing once again before adding, “For my armsmistress you seem kind of underdressed.”
Jenna smiled and laughed, taking him away to a happier place for a moment. “We’re docked,” she explained. “I still have my weapons on me… care to find out just how helpless I am?”
Dexter chuckled. He had sparred with her since she acquired the short sword and found her even more dangerous than she had been before. He doubted he could beat her one time in ten, armored or not. “No thanks, you’re too quick with those blades.”
“Who said anything about weapons?” She asked with an innocent look on her face that was anything but innocent.
Dexter waved her away, scowling in spite of his momentary urge to take her up on her offer. “Go tell them to board.”
Jenna laughed again, dissolving his scowl into a goofy smile. She turned to leave then stopped and asked, “Where are we bound?”
“Port Freedom,” he told her.
The expression upon her face was one of consternation. Dexter wondered what it was about, but it disappeared just as quickly as it had come. She nodded and turned to let their passengers aboard. Dexter glanced back at the course he had plotted a final time then turned and followed after her. He found himself wishing that he had followed her more quickly, for she was off the stairs to the main deck by the time he made it to them, and he would have dearly enjoyed the view.
“Bekka, is the helm fully charged?” Dexter asked up on the deck. Bekka replied that it was, then fell silent as they watched the parade of passengers come up the plank and onto the deck.
Dexter fell silent as he watched. Ormitor was in the rear directly behind Jarnella. He carried only a small chest under one arm. Jarnella was preceded by his other three servants, each of which was arguably as beautiful as Jarnella was. Each also carried an assortment of items, from medium sized trunks to large and small sacks to backpacks. The weight of some of the items looked staggering, forcing Dexter and the others to wonder how the women managed it effortlessly.
“Captain,” Ormitor said by way of greeting, stepping foot on the Voidhawk.
Dexter looked at the wizard, forcing his gaze away from the parade of fashionably dressed women before him. He returned the wizard’s smile and said, “Right on time! If you’ll follow me I’ll show you to your rooms.”
He led them to the aft stairwell and took them down to the cargo deck. Once there he showed them the two staterooms. “You’ve got both of these rooms to use as you see fit. They are, however, short on beds if there are five of you. If you’d like I’ll have some spare blankets brought to you to rig up sleeping pallets.”
“These will suffice as they are, thank you,” Ormitor said, dismissing the issue. He then proceeded to order his girls as to where they were to place the loads that they carried.
“If you need anything, feel free to ask any of us, or seek out myself or Kragor, my first mate,” Dexter said, gesturing to the dwarf who was standing beside him. The rest of the crew had followed as well, with Rosh, in particular, gaping at the wizard’s servants.
“Thank you again, Captain. I suspect we will mostly keep to ourselves,” he said, then shut the door behind him.
Dexter turned to the others, who regarded him expectantly. He shrugged and led the way back up to the main deck. Once there he looked at them all again. “Okay, that’s our fare. Make ready to cast off, Bekka can you take us out please?”
“Aye, Captain,” the half-elf said, already turning and heading towards the bridge. The rest remained standing, lost in thought as to their strange passengers.
“You heard the captain, make ready to launch!” Kragor snapped, bringing everybody back to their senses. Dexter hid his smile and then had to chuckle when Kragor turned to him and rolled his eyes. The rest scattered to their positions.
“Don’t be thinking anything,” Jenna warned Rosh as they made their way to haul up the rope that would raise the mainmast.
“Me?” Rosh asked innocently. “What would I-“
“I know that look. I’ve beaten many men senseless for staring at me like that,” Jenna hissed.
“Ain’t looking at you,” Rosh said.
“I know,” she said, giving him a glare that made him stop and think. “I think I’d be more merciful than they would.”
Rosh stared after her as she walked across the deck to the rigging. He scratched the scruff on his chin, then grinned and followed, once again envisioning any one, two, three, or all four of the wizard’s servants in his bed.
The trip to Port Freedom was remarkably boring. Dexter and Rosh, in particular, kept hoping to catch sight of Ormitor’s servants. Unfortunately for them, it was only in his presence that they appeared, and he seldom came out of his cabin. All five of them stayed in his cabin as well, while the other room was typically used for storage of his personal effects.
In whispered conversations they all wondered at what took place behind the doors of the wizard’s rented room, with Rosh typically stating the most decadent and hedonistic of opinions.
“You think they all be sleeping in the bed at once?” Kragor asked a few days out as he, Jodyne, Bekka, and Rosh sat around the galley eating a mid day meal.
“I’m not for thinking they do much sleeping, if you know what I mean,” Rosh said, grinning from ear to ear.
“There ain’t room enough for the five of them!” Jodyne said reproachfully.
Rosh shrugged, then a new idea came to him. “Maybe he just watches?”
Kragor snorted the water he was drinking, which drew a cuff in the back of the head from his wife. Rosh laughed at his own joke.
