Legends of Belariath

Jubal AskTari

Small Dark Mercies

The trouble with getting lost in one’s studies , mused Eadwyn as she glided down the stairs of the Lonely Inn, is that one tends to have trouble finding food or drink while wandering . The high elven scholar had made considerable progress in learning the correct pronunciations of a particularly tricky incantation, assigned to her by her mentor Aramis. However, hunger pangs and burning thirst had eventually forced her to put aside such work in order to seek sustenance. Fortunately, she lived in a room over an admittedly disreputable tavern, but one with a wide variety of excellent fare. Better still, meals are included in the price of the rooms, so as long as she and her master could afford to live in the inn, they would never go hungry. Unless we lose ourselves in study , Eadwyn thought ruefully.

Descending into the common room, Eadwyn gazed coolly about her, noting that there was a respectable crowd, although the entertainment was as yet rather tame. One of the reasons that she regarded the Lonely Inn as a rough place was the fact that, on any given night, there would be at least one or two scenes of fornication occurring somewhere in the open for all to see. More often than not, at least one party in the play would be an finding that in this place her beauty was more a curse than a blessing. She was tall, bare inches under six feet in her low slippers. Her body was lean and graceful, the swell of her hips and bosoms perfectly proportioned to her lean frame. Her sleek, smooth legs were not really visible under her blue silk dress, but it did cling to her torso, showing the curves of her slender waist and pert breasts. She wasn’t planning on going outside, so she had left her cloak up in her room, but she did wear the blue silk veil that concealed her face and her red-gold curves, revealing only her sapphire-blue eyes. A plunging neckline did show the upper swell of her breasts, however, between which hung a tiny heart-shaped pendant. Over that, a leather slave’s collar was secured about her graceful neck, looking somewhat out of place, but still she wore it gladly.

Eadwyn noticed no copulation on her way down the stairs, forced or otherwise. A bard, one of the cat folk, sang in one corner, a considerable crowd listening to him belt out a jaunty, ribald tune. Throughout the rest of the common room, other small groups idled around tables, at the bar, and perhaps in the curtained booths along the walls, though Eadwyn could not see into those. One figure, she noticed, sat by himself at a table most of the way away from the bard. He was dark skinned, black hair spilled about his shoulders like a mane. His face was a study in planes and angles, his nose hawk-like, his eyes dark and gleaming. He sported a long mustache and a short beard trimmed to a neat point. His manner of dress was simple - a linen tunic and trousers in earth-tone colors. Even though the face was more familiar to Eadwyn than anything in Beleriath, her heart still leapt to her throat when she saw him - her beloved master, Jubal Ask`Tari. He was sipping a cup of tea, a half-eaten meal before him on the table.

As impassively as she could manage, Eadwyn glided the rest of the way down the steps and across the floor of the common room to where her master sat. Catching sight of her, Jubal looks up. To someone who does not know him, his smile is imperceptible, more a creasing around the eyes than anything else, but it fills Eadwyn with joy nonetheless. He murmurs a short incantation and touches a spot on the floor, the simple spell causing the area to the front and right of his chair to suddenly become as clean as the day the boards were first put in and waxed. The gesture touched Eadwyn as she knelt before him to await his pleasure, just as it had every other time.

As it turned out, Eadwyn did not have long to wait. “Eadwyn,” he says warmly, “Go to the bar and bring yourself whatever refreshments you desire, then join me at the table and dine.”

Eadwyn smiled inwardly, glad that her master was in a magnanimous mood, and grateful that he had not made her wait on her knees indefinitely. Her heart singing, she ordered food and a pot of tea to go with it, bringing it back to the table on a tray provided by the ogress bartender, Fugly. She glided back to the table, placed the tray in the middle, and sat, her eyes carefully angled downward as he had taught her. She regarded him in her peripheral vision as she ate, Jubal looking at her with a certain benign possessiveness that she found both exciting and comforting.

“So, Eadwyn…” Jubal began, but what he had been preparing to say was lost in a sudden commotion as the outside door banged open, a terrified, high-pitched, feminine scream preceding a female sylvan elf being pushed into the common room, her left arm cruelly twisted behind her by male chirot, his bat-like wings furling to fit through the doorway, then unfurling again excitedly.

“Thought I wouldn’t find you again, didn’t you, cunt?” the chirot snarled maliciously as he forced his struggling captive forward, into the center of the common room. The elf he was chivvying along was not very big, barely a hand’s span above four feet, chestnut brown hair cut boyishly short doing more to accentuate rather than conceal the delicately pointed ears. Her eyes were large and brown, doelike in their innocence and evident terror. She was lean, with a slender waist that flared out to a dancer’s hips and legs, bare feet hardly touching the floor she was forced across. Her small breasts, concealed under a garment that appeared to be made of woven leaves, rose and fell rapidly as the elf panted in fear.

“Bad guess,” the chirot taunted as he dragged the terrified elf to a spot on the floor where a chain terminating with shackles on each end was looped through a sturdy iron ring. The elven lass was thrown to the floor and struggled feebly as the bat-winged male snapped her wrists into those shackles, securing her firmly to the spot. She immediately tried to jump right back up, but the chain was not quite long enough for her to be able to stand upright. Desperately, she tugged against them a single, futile time, then sank to her knees and looked fearfully about the common room as the chirot announced smugly, “Just as before this little bitch got away, I now offer her to anyone who would take her.”

The noise in the common room dropped somewhat at the chirot’s proclamation. Many of the Lonely Inn’s patrons were too jaded to take any notice of this matter, but most conversation subsided as others heard and considered. Eadwyn noted that her master had turned in his chair, and was regarding the scene in the center of the floor with a thoughtful frown, absentmindedly tugging the lobe of his left ear with one hand. Evidently, he swiftly came to his decision, because he rose from his seat. “Stay here,“ he commanded Eadwyn, and, to her astonishment, crossed the floor to stand before the elf and the chirot.

The chirot looked up at Jubal as he approached, a nasty grin on his face. “So, you want this little strumpet first, eh?” he leers.

Jubal placed his hands over his heart and bowed slightly to the chirot. “If I have your leave, then yes, I would be first to take the elf,” he said impassively.

The chirot smirked, furling his wings contentedly. “Be my guest,” he said with a half-bow, stepping aside for the desert warrior.

Eadwyn knew that Jubal had not given her leave to look up at him, but she cannot help but watch as he approached the elf chained to the floor. Pausing at a nearby table, he took an unoccupied chair and dragged it in front of the restrained maiden, seating himself upon it and leaning forward. This did not bring his eye level down to the elf’s, but it did close the distance enough for them to have a face-to-face conversation. “What is your name?” he asked the frightened lass.

“T…Tika,” the sylvan elf stammered, great brown eyes looking up at Jubal fearfully.

Eadwyn coudn’t see the expression on her master’s face as his back is to her, but she did see him nod. “Tika,” Jubal said to her in a low, even voice, “What is going to happen to you here is as inevitable as the coming of night. I will do what I can to make it easier for you, but you can no more stop what will come to pass than you could keep the sun from setting. You understand this, do you not?”

“P…please!” the sylvan elf…Tika pleaded, tears welling in her large brown eyes, “J…just let me go, and I’ll never bother anyone here again!”

Eadwyn sees Jubal’s shoulders rise and fall as he shrugged and sighed at Tika’s request. “Only the gods can set you free now,” he told her. With that, he rose, one hand seizing Tika by her short chestnut-colored hair and forcing her to rise as far as the chains will allow. With his other hand, he grabbed the chair and pulled it forward, dragging Tika up onto the seat and bending her over the back. He then drew his dagger from its sheath behind his back, and calmly sliced away the small sylvan elf’s garments, stripping her naked as she struggled futilely against both his grip and the chains. Her eyes widened like a panicked animal as her clothes fell away, leaving her exposed and vulnerable before the entire crowd, some of whom, Eadwyn noted, were beginning to watch with interest now.

“No! Please milord…NO!” she screamed, but Jubal seemed to pay no attention as he re-sheathed his knife and stepped to one side, giving Eadwyn a clear view of Tika. He still had a grip on her hair, keeping her bent over the back of the chair. Her knees found the seat, taking some of her weight off of the chair back driving into her slender waist. Her small breasts dangled from her frame in a way Eadwyn imagined any male would find enticing, her nipples larger than she expected, areolas the size of a mehrial coin. Indeed, as she glanced about the crowd, she saw eyes widen and mouths upturn.

Free of the knife, Jubal’s other hand slapped Tika’s upturned buttocks and fondled the firm, tan flesh. “Nooo!” Tika moaned, but his hand was already sliding from her cheek to between her legs, beginning to caress the small sylvan elf’s sex. She bucked wildly in an attempt to get away, but her efforts loosened neither Jubal’s grip nor the chains binding her wrists. All she accomplished was to have her knees slip off the seat of the chair, driving her down onto the back, driving the wind out of her. Her legs flailed and her knees found the seat again as Jubal continued to work her sex, but when she was able to gasp in enough air to moan again, the character of it was different. There was still fear in her voice and in her eyes, but Eadwyn could also hear and see the beginnings of desire forming as well. The high elf knew full well the skill of her master’s hands at arousing and fulfilling passion, and felt herself moisten between her own legs as she imagined that Tika would not long be able to resist his manipulations.

Eadwyn’s speculation proved to be correct, as the sylvan elf soon found herself lost to the skill of Jubal’s hand. Her eyes were still full of fear, but increasing desire was also evident in them. Her cries changed in timbre until they were the moans of a female in the throes of mounting lust, the hardening of her nipples betraying the desire she felt. Involuntarily, she began to grind against Jubal’s hand, even as she cried out, “No! Don‘t! No!” Tika’s eyes filled with shame at her wanton action, but she was no more able to control her reaction than she was able to pull free of the chains that bound her. Seeing this, Jubal released her hair, his other hand imprisoning her just as effectively with Tika’s own growing need.

Eadwyn was unable to take her eyes away as Jubal moved behind Tika, the two directly facing the high elf. Tika closed her eyes, trying to shut out what is happening to her. Jubal wore an impassive mask as his free hand unlaced the front of his trousers, allowing his erect manhood to spring forth. He removed his hand from between Tika’s legs, glistening with the nectar of her lust, and used both hands to grasp the elf girl’s hips. The sylvan elf’s eyes popped open in horror as she felt Jubal maneuver his cock into place against her vulnerable slit. She twisted around as much as she could, trying to face the desert nomad behind her, but his hands on her hips kept her in place.

“Please!” Tika begged desperately, “I’ve…ooohh! I’ve never…!”

“I know,” Jubal told her brusquely, and with one quick thrust, rams his shaft into her to the hilt, drawing from Tika a shrill shriek of pain. Eadwyn’s breath caught, she imagined she could hear a ripping sound, and she let out an involuntary cry as the scene before her reminded her of the time that Jubal took her own virginity. However, the high elf’s maidenhood had been a gift freely given, Tika’s a prize taken against her will.

The captive sylvan elf squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth, tears flowing freely down her tanned cheeks, expecting Eadwyn’s master to begin pounding her right away and doing what little she could to brace herself for it. Jubal, however, froze in place after his initial thrust. Rather than begin to pump the captive elven lass right away, he reached a hand around her slender waist, once again sought the point between her legs, and expertly worked her sex. His other hand found one of her small breasts and fondled it, fingers tweaking the erect nub they found there.

Surprised, Tika’s eyes opened once more. Tears still flowed from her brown eyes, and she began to cry out, “No! Stop! P…please stop!“ However, her protests were soon interspersed with wanton moans as Jubal’s attentions once again had her panting with desire. She began to involuntarily grind herself against Jubal’s impaling cock, which the desert human took as his cue to begin to fuck her. He started with a slow rhythm, easing his shaft slowly in and out of Tika’s honeyed slit. At first, Tika groaned in agony, but eventually passion overwhelmed pain, and she was soon moaning wantonly once more. Jubal gradually accelerated the pace, fucking Tika more and more vigorously until she could barely catch her breath. Her face grew red with her building lust, her cries became staccato yips loosed in time with each thrust of cock into her cunt. Eadwyn watched, outwardly impassive but with mind roiling, as Tika gasped once more, stiffened, and shudders uncontrollably, a hoarse, surprisingly low moan escaping her lips as ecstasy wracked her body. Tika’s orgasm triggered Jubal‘s, the man behind her sucking in a deep breath and half-closing his eyes as his hot seed shot deep into Tika’s womb.

For a moment, as the two of them were locked together, Tika seemed to forget where she was and what was happening to her. Then, her shuddering passed, and awareness returned to her eyes as Jubal withdrew from her. Wiping his cock down with a rag and discarding it, he returned his manhood to his trousers and laced them up again as the chirot who brought Tika into the inn cackled evilly. He began to walk around Tika and back to the table where Eadwyn sat watching.

“Wait!” the sylvan elf croaked weakly. Jubal stopped and turned. Eadwyn couldn’t see his face, but she could see Tika’s tear-streaked visage as she looked up at her master. The sylvan elf did not speak, but her expression was both accusatory and pleading, her brown eyes seeming to simultaneously say, in equal measure, “How could you do this to me?” and “Please don’t leave me alone with these maniacs!” Jubal seemed to lock eyes with Tika for a moment, but another moved behind her and placed his hands on her upturned ass. Despair washed over the sylvan elf’s features, and Jubal turned and walked away as she closed her eyes once more.

Eadwyn remembers herself and directed her gaze down as her master rejoined her at the table. She tried to fix an impassive mien over her features, but her heart roiled with confusion. The signs were so subtle, any other being in creation would have missed them. Her master, however…

“You have questions,” Jubal stated calmly, “Ask them freely.”

Eadwyn blinked and nodded, taking the liberty of looking up at Jubal’s face so she could read his eyes. “Master,” she breathed in her soft contralto, “Do you grow tired of…me?”

Jubal’s gaze softened immediately, and an icy fist Eadwyn did not know was there unclenched from her heart. “Then…why?” was all she could manage to ask, confusion ringing in her voice.

Jubal sighed and turned his head slightly, as if to look behind him, but stopped as fresh moaning from Tika reached them. Eadwyn looked past him to see that the sylvan elf was being pounded unmercifully by the one who had taken Jubal’s place, and others had started to gather for turns at her as well. “Consider the life that one has in store for her,” mused Eadwyn‘s master, “She is likely to spend the rest of her existence as a slave, the plaything of the depraved and the cruel. She is to be shorn of all her hopes and dreams, her life a waking nightmare where she continues to exist only at the sufferance of her captors.” Jubal paused and turned to face Eadwyn again, his brown eyes locking with her sapphire gaze. “In the time to come, she may look back on this day, and remember that while the man who took her virginity was not a husband or a cherished lover, but rather one who took her against her will, he was not unkind to her, and gave her at least a modicum of joy when he could have more easily simply taken pleasure and given her pain. In time, she may come to recognize it for the kindness that it was intended to be. I could not rescue her from her captor - indeed, the law here would take his part over mine, but I could give the girl that one kindness.” Jubal stopped and his gaze grew distant, thoughtful. “Albeit,” he added quietly, “only such a small, dark mercy as this place allows.”

Jubal grew silent, and Eadwyn took time to digest his words. Unknowingly, her gaze returned to where Tika was being ridden by any male who wishes to step up and take her. More individuals gathered around her, a not-inconsiderable crowd forming to take their pleasure from the captive sylvan elf. As Eadwyn watches, a richly-dressed male high elf stepped out of the crowd and in front of Tika, cruelly grabbing handfuls of her short dark hair. The view was occluded by his body, but Tika’s cries cut off, replaced with choking sounds, which allowed Eadwyn to guess what was happening to the sylvan elf.

Eadwyn reflected upon what her master has told her, considered how easily Tika’s place and hers could have been reversed. Tika might now be sitting at this table with Jubal, and she herself could have just as easily wound up chained in the middle of the common room floor, a toy to be used by any who would do so. How precarious was fate! she thought, suddenly more grateful for the man who sat before her than she could ever express. Smoothly, she came out of her chair to kneel before her master, wrapping her arms around his calf and pressing her face lovingly into his thigh.

“Eadwyn?” Jubal asked, surprised by the high elf’s sudden, spontaneous act of obeisance.

“Master?” Eadwyn breathed, “May I return to our rooms…and make myself ready for you?”

Jubal only paused for a heartbeat. “Go,” he replied approvingly, “I will follow momentarily.”

Eadwyn nodded and rose, gliding gracefully up the stairs to the upstairs rooms, pausing only once at the door to look back. Tika looked very small as the one that took her after Jubal stepped away from her, and another took his place, the one in front of her sadistically gagging the small sylvan elf with his cock as he rammed it deeply down her throat. The high elf’s hand rose to her collar, tracing its outline with one delicate finger. She realized that this, too, had been a small dark mercy, but she thanked all of her master’s gods for it nonetheless.

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