Private Tales Upriver

[Rayth Keirn]

"This is the part..." he promoted towards Rayth.

"I love you Eislyn," he whispered, as taken aback by how quickly it was done. He crossed the space between them and kissed her gently, mindful of where they were.

It was not the only way the scoundrel would kiss her tonight.

Rayth wore a smile easily, even in the worst situation. This smile was different. It was just for her. It was relief and joy and love all rolled into one.

They were bound together now. A very deliberate step to admit that to one another. Yet their paths had wound around each other some time ago. Like two roses growing alongside one another, around one another for support. They could not be separated now.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

His breath a mixture of ale and that salty air scent that never truly left his skin. One she’d grown so close to being around as they shared beds, travel space, and campfires.

“I love you too.” Thoughts drifted briefly to her father. She was sure he’d never imagined his daughter married by dwarves at the entrance to the deep roads. He would no longer be able to sell her off in marriage to an awaiting monarch.

Thoughts didn't stay there long with Rayth before her. She leaned into him, forehead pressing briefly against his own.
“I can’t believe we’re here,” she said softly. “I never knew I’d be allowed to be this happy.”

“what do you want to do?” She continued after a moment. “Find some leather armor and a guide for tomorrow or head back to our room?”

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Rayth grinned and let his thoughts float on air for a little longer. It was an effervescence feeling, the nervous anticipation broken as easily as those words had been spoken. He had meant every word.

"We could go look around," he suggested. He swallowed as he smiled. He didn't want to seem overeager. It was just that he was. As per the traditions of most lands there was one step left to make this official.

"Are ye after a guide to the city then?" the dwarven cleric asked. Rayth almost jumped, having nearly forgotten he was there. Somehow the dwarf had found another tankard of ale for himself in celebration.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Only due to her years as a politician did she not let her emotions show about...tonight. Rayth knew she’d never...and there was that one time that Rayth’s touch brought up the memories from being assaulted. That was long in the past, though.

Still.

She knew Rayth had been with others before. What if he was disappointed?

She swallowed and looked to Harram. “Yes. We hope to head out tomorrow and do some exploring.”

The dwarf swigged the ale and winked at them. “Well then ye’in luck. Part time priest and full time guide right ‘ere. You’ll find no better price, neither.”

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"Well then, we will see you in the morning."

"Morning? Pah. Enjoy a lie in. I will be." And with that he stepped away to give them a moment alone. Rayth could hear his voice as he approached some visitors in the temple.

It was pressure they did not need, that she did not need. It was why Rayth turned to Eislyn and placed his hands over hers. There was time for more honest confession before they left this place.

"Eislyn, I know you promised the best night but you need to know...it is alright if it isn't. If its a little awkward and new then that's fine. Or if we ignore tradition entirely and just enjoy each other's company walking the city. It took us long enough to get here and we have the rest of our lives together. Alright? "

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Lips pressed together. Verdants lifted uncertainly. She was taken aback by his kindness. His patience. His rough, familiar hands soothed her own.

Was she so easily read now?

Fingers squeezed his hands back, grateful for the privacy. She’d always be a little more reserved than Rayth. “No, I want to. I mean, if you still do. But you’re right, it’s going to be new to me. I just dont want to disappoint you.”

A thumb running over the back of his hand.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"You won't," he assured her. "Just don't put too much pressure on yourself for just one moment. We have so much time for us. And I do intend to make the best of it," he said. The silly grin at the end was a flash of the old Rayth and a deliberate attempt to lighten the mood.

"Let's go back to the room?" he asked her. He didn't need to confirm what he wanted. It was writ plain as day in his expression. She was likely going to tremble with nerves, but he would be there with her.

He would always be there for her.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

That smile of his. Roguish. A flash of the devil in his eyes.

“Okay,” she squeezed his hand and held it all the way back to their room. Her skin seemed to flicker and glow with an ethereal light. It only showed more because of the darkness underground. She was literally beaming with happiness as she wove through the streets hand in hand with her...husband.

There was a quiet close of the door behind them as they entered the privacy of the room, a warm glow coming off the sconces in the walls.
“No more looking at the walls,” she teased lightly.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"No more doing my best to look at anything else," he agreed. Rayth hadn't missed the glow to her skin he had long stopped thinking she was about to cast her magic when it happened. She simply was.

"I'm nervous too," he admitted quietly. He felt it was important that she knew this. Not as much as what else he had needed to say back at the Chapel, but sill important.

"All this time learning to throw my voice off of walls. Wasted."

Rayth laughed and smiled, but there was an inevitability about this journey now. Her tugged her along in his wake, gentle to guide her though unfamiliar waters.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Every belt buckle unlooped and every button undone held with it a heady anticipation. The last of her clothes were lost to the floor. He hadn’t seen her completely nude before - that she knew of! She couldn’t vouch for any looks he maybe have sneaked.

And there she stood in the warm glow of the cave room’s light. Completely his as much as he was her’s. He’d see every dip and valley now. Curve, blemish. Golden hair rested freely down her back, just above her waist.

And for the first time, she allowed her eyes to travel down the entirety of his nude form. Every curve of his muscle. Scars and contours of his body. Any moment of vulnerability didn't last as they embraced. Mouth caught up in his and then a mattress and sheets beneath her.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

She stole his breath as she had his heart. Eislyn was more bold than he might have expected, but he still fulfilled his promises. He was slow and gentle as the mutual exploration began. He let her gaze roam and then her hands.

Her golden hair was a halo as she fell to the sea of sheets. The light inside made her an angel, his angel. His pulse raced, his chest tightened. There was no space between them at all now, every part of her moulded to his form.

Just as they had changed over the last few months. His rough edges hadn't meshed well with Eislyn at first, but now they fit together so well. Rayth had never felt as close to anyone as he did to Eislyn.

"Are you ready?" he asked her softly, when their lips finally broke. He offered himself for her to brace against. She would be his and he would be hers. From this moment on.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

She gave the swashbuckler a quick nod as the tickle of his beard eased away from her face. Fingers fell around him. Heart quickened in her chest.

She couldn’t help the sounds that left her mouth.

Fingers tightened around him. A flicker of pain across her face. Then a feeling like she couldn't describe. She thought she and Rayth had been close before. But this made that notion seem like saying one side of a canyon was as close to the other.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Soft sighs filled the room. Rayth was as tender as he had promised, taking his time and showering her with affection. He kissed her as if she was the only thing in the whole world that mattered to him, and in those moments that was true.

"I love you Eislyn," he whispered in her ear, "My wife."

He loved her with his words, his voice and the way they moved together as one. Until they were left gasping for air and clinging to one another desperately.

Silence filled the space for some time after that. He pressed his forehead to hers and waited for his heart to settle back down. His lips brushed gently across her lips.

"Do I get that shared shower now?" he asked softly, lips twisting into a smile.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

“And I, you, husband.” Husband. The word tasted sweet on her lips and she liked the way it rolled off her tongue. She was curled against him, legs entangled. No bedrolls or shift between them.

Perhaps she liked the word wife coming from his mouth even more.

“Oh,” blonde brows rose mischievously. “Would you say you have enough stamina left for a shared shower?”

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"Careful now," he laughed, "Walk before you can run." Or lie down before you tried standing up, something like that.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

As soon as he asked, he hoped that she wouldn't ask it back. He didn't know how to describe what he felt right now. Whilst the feeling had settled down it had been overwhelming at the time.

All that she was to him combining into a light as bright as her magic.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Eyes closed. A smile curved on her lips. Fingers idly traced a path along his skin.

“Where I’m supposed to be,” she mused quietly. Eyes cracked open. “I had no idea it would be like...that.” Fingers stopped their trail. “And I’m glad we have the rest of our lives to be like this.”

His warmth and touch? She felt like she’d never be able to get enough of it to fill a thirst he only knew how to bring on.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

He watched that smile grow, enjoying that she didn't know he was looking. His free hand was softly exploring everything that had been off limits for so long.

"You are supposed to be here," he affirmed. "It gets better you know. Though now I have to wonder what you thought it would be like."

He didnt waste much time in letting his touch sink until he could show her even more of what she had been missing out on.

"Shower can always wait," he sighed, kissing her shoulder.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

“I’m not sure what I expected,” voice hitched in her throat as his fingers traveled. Eyes widened slightly. Head tipped back and a tremor went through her body.

Toes curled. Chest heaved. Fingers tightened slightly in Rayth’s hair.

She gasped.

“Rayth,” she breathed. “You never told me you were a mage with your hands.”

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"Its going to be a good few days," he grinned. Not affording her the slightest reprieve.

They did not make it down to the inn for breakfast. Rayth emerged from the door and called down not long before midday and had some food brought to their room. After a long read hearty dwarven pie was a welcome change. And nice cold drinks for tired, tired bodies.

It was late afternoon when they emerged from their rooms and stepped out into the majesty that was Belgrath. The last great dwarven city of old. It was a fraction of its former size, which was why they were joining an expedition into the deeper roads that had been lost. To set eyes upon halls that had been forgotten for hundreds of years.

"Where you you want to go and see?" he asked, a spring in his step.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

She'd never eaten so much food in her life.

She had a glow about her cheeks - not from magic. Arm was looped around his own. Any shyness she'd felt earlier had vanished since they'd spent those long, intimate hours together.

Head swiveled.

The city was larger than it felt at first. So many shops carved into the walls, several stories up. Forges seemed to pop-up everywhere with dwarves and their crafts hard at work and on public display. Plenty of taverns on every street corner.

"Well," head tilted back to find Rayth's face. "I want to find some leather armor. And perhaps a sword...or some other weapon. If...you think you can teach me?"

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"Enough to swing a sword at any beastie down in the darkness that comes for you," he said. "It's not too hard to aim the pointy bit at the thing you want to hurt."

"I'm not sure we've got enough money for me to get a mail vest, but perhaps some padded armour will do. We didn't wear mail on the ship because...well you try swimming with that weight on your back," he mused.

It was like all cities, in a way. Everything was quite tightly packed and it was quite difficult for an outsider to find their way.

"You think for a few coins our cleric might know where to get a good price?"

 

[Eislyn Gray]

"It was bad enough to wear a royal dress with a corset to swim," she commented dryly, thinking back to the cave. "Were you surprised that I could swim?"

Verdants flashed with amusement as she looked over at him.

"And that's a good idea. We should...," before she could finish a familiar voice shouted behind them.

"Well, well, well. Looks like ye two lovebirds 'ad a good night. Or should I say night and day?"

Eislyn blushed.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Rayth didn't blush. He turned sharply. If anything he wore a prideful smile. One he tried to hide quickly when he saw Eislyn's expression.

"Time to explore the city a little," Rayth said. "And I was surprised you could swim," he whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

"We were actually after an armourer?"

"Err. Look what the two of you..."

"For joining an expedition into the dangerous tunnels..."

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Eislyn did not blush because she was mortified of the events from last night. Or because she regretted them in any way. She was just, by nature, a more private person. Even if a part of her wished she and Rayth had stayed in that cave-inn room for another fornight.

The dwarf eyes them like he didn't believe them before bursting into a huge grin.

"Oy, just the alley ye'll find an Orc named Thelma. Best deals and quality down 'ere. Steel and leather. Hope ye find what ye're looking fer." He offered a wink to Rayth.

Eislyn's eyes widened and she choked out. "Thank you!" She began tugging Rayth away.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"I...did not expect a dwarf in Belgrath to turn us towards and orcish Smith," he said as quietly as possible to her.

It was not as if he couldn't imagine an orc who had talent at the forge. It was more surprise at the dwarves, so proud of their craft, to point towards another.

Perhaps, he thought to himself, this Thelma gave much better prices on that account. To balance dwarven pride with value for money.