Chapter 6

“One shell, one quad, and three pinches?” asked Sid when he heard the offer for his sword.

The bearded man sat, tailor style, on the rug on which he displayed his wares. His wares consisted of a handful of knives, an old sword, and an axe head. He replied, “It’s in bad shape. I’ll probably have to melt it down and have it turned into knives.”

Sid considered his circumstances and decided to keep the sword. He dropped the parts of the knife that he had taken from Clem and asked, “How much?”

“You want coin?” asked the man with barely a glance at the rusted blade. At Sid’s nod, he answered, “One pinch.”

“I’ll take it,” said Sid. This shopping experience, his attempt to turn the weapons into money, frustrated him. Most of the vendors didn’t like to deal in coin, preferring to barter goods for goods. Coming from a money-based economy, the lack of interest in coin threw him for a loop. He accepted the pinch from the man and put it into his coin purse.

As they walked away, Sid asked Jennifer, “How does this market work?”

Smiling at his obvious frustration and understanding his confusion, she answered, “What you typically do in a market like this is to first purchase some item that can be broken down into smaller items. You trade the smaller units for the other things that you need.”

“How’s that again?” asked Sid shaking his head.

“Let’s say you buy a basket of apples for a pinch. Now, you don’t need a whole basket of apples. What you do is go to the next vendor and swap a couple of the apples for some flour. You keep swapping apples for what you need until you have run out of apples,” explained Jennifer.

“So what is the money for?” asked Sid.

“It’s just a little more portable than trade goods,” answered Jennifer.

“So do you mean that I could walk into town with a couple of logs and trade for food?”

“Sure. Most people come to the market with trade goods. Very few people use money all that often in their day to day lives. Even a pinch is too much for most things that you want,” answered Jennifer. She shrugged and said, “You use it to pay wages, although people can trade labor for goods.”

Nodding his head, Sid filed that information away realizing that it could come in handy in the future. He looked down at the nicked and pitted blade, wondering what to do with it. He frowned at the realization that he was going to have to get a storage unit at the bank no matter what choice he made. The knife taken from Smart Art was too good to trade away. He looked over at Jennifer and asked, “Are you ready to go?”

“Sure,” she replied excited about what was going to happen when they returned to Crossroads. Her body shuddered in anticipation of bedding Sid.

The pair headed to the bank. Stepping up to the counter, Sid said, “I need to open an account and rent a storage box.”

The young man behind the counter looked up at Sid in surprise. In two years of working at the bank, he’d never had occasion to rent a storage box.

Flustered, he said, “Let me get the manager.”

The reaction of the clerk surprised Sid. He thought that the rentals were a common practice. He looked over at Jennifer and she seemed just as surprised. It was a minute later when a well-dressed man walked over to the couple and said, “Follow me to my office.”

Sid walked beside the man to the office with Jennifer following behind them looking at the fine wood paneling of the bank. It seemed out of place with the quality of workmanship that she had seen elsewhere.

On reaching the office, the manager turned to Sid and asked, “Did I understand correctly that you want to rent a storage box?”

“Yes, is that a problem?”

“No, it’s just that very few people ever rent a storage box, particularly a young man your age,” assured the manager. Normally, a box was rented by an established businessman who wanted to get some item of great value from one place to the other without the risk of getting robbed during the trip. He gestured to the chairs in front of his desk as he stepped behind his desk. He took a seat while Sid and Jennifer sat down.

After rummaging through the drawers of his desk for a minute, he pulled out a tablet and examined it. With a smile, he asked, “What size box?”

“An arm wide, a foot deep, and a woman in length,” answered Sid as he made gestures indicating a size that was about three feet across, a foot deep, and five feet long. It was a large container considering that all he had to store was a knife, a sword, and a staff. However, Sally Caretaker had suggested that size so that he could store his weapons and armor in it when he finally acquired some.

The manager nodded as he made a notation on the tablet and said, “One that size would run about two shells a year.”

“Fine,” answered Sid, “I’ll also need to establish an account with the bank.”

“Of course. You’ll want the rental deducted from your account automatically, I assume,” said the manager as he made another note on the tablet.

“Yes,” answered Sid.

The manager took out a small box and placed it on his desk. With a smile, he said, “Put your finger in this device and we’ll set everything up for you.”

Sid eyed the device and asked, “How’s it work?”

The bank manager shrugged his shoulders and answered, “It’s magic. No one understands it except perhaps a wizard or two. Just like no one understands how the storage boxes work.”

Sid suspected that the same people who built Crossroads were responsible for the banks and that it was technology at work, not magic. He put his finger in the hole of the small box. He felt a pin prick as though it were taking a blood sample.

After a moment, the top of the box glowed green and the manager said, “You can take your finger out now.”

Sid pulled his finger back and examined the tip where he had felt the pinprick. There was no sign that a blood sample had been taken.

He commented, “Odd.”

“Yes, it is a strange sensation,” commented the manager. Standing up, he said, “Follow me. We’ll set up your account and then I’ll take you to the room where you can examine your storage box.”

Sid and Jennifer followed behind the man to the counter. The young man behind the counter accepted the coins from Sid and dropped them into a bin. After a few seconds, he said, “Put your finger into the hole.”

Following directions, Sid wondered if there was something sexual about all of this putting his finger into a hole. After a few seconds, the area around the hole turned green and the bin emptied. It was clear to Sid that the young man didn’t think much of the amount when he said, “Your balance is fifteen shells and five pinches.”

“Thank you,” answered Sid. He wondered why the charges for the storage box hadn’t been deducted.

The manager said, “I’ll take you to the storage area. Once you claim your box, the amount will be deducted from your account balance.”

They followed the manager to a room that was identical to the one in which he had arrived in Chaos. This one had a small table and was barely large enough to hold three people. On the wall above the table was a small hole. The manager pointed to it and said, “Put your finger in the hole.”

When Sid did as requested the area around the hole glowed green and a box appeared on the table. The manager double-checked the size of the box and then said, “Two shells have been deducted from your account. I must caution you not to put anything living inside the storage box. The result can be rather horrible.”

“Really?” asked Sid wondering why that might be the case.

“Yes, really. When you’re done, close the box and it will be put into storage. I’ll leave you alone to place your goods inside it. Thank you for using our bank,” said the manager as he backed over to the door.

“You’re welcome,” replied Sid waiting for the man to leave the room. When the door closed, he opened the box and placed his sword, knife, and staff in it. Jennifer watched in silence, wishing that he would hurry up and finish.

Satisfied that all of his goods were in the box, Sid winked at Jennifer and closed the box. A second later, the walls of the room shimmered and they found themselves in a richly colored room. There were blue carpets on the floor, floral wallpaper, and a crystal chandelier. Smiling at the surprised expression on Jennifer’s face,

Sid said, “We’re back at Crossroads.”

Even as he spoke, the door opened admitting them to the nicely decorated waiting room. Sally Caretaker was waiting for them on the couch and rose gracefully when the door opened. She smiled at Sid and Jennifer. As far as Sid was concerned, her smile lit up the entire room.

Looking totally sexy, Sally approached him. Her movements were smooth, hips undulating with sexuality, and the look on her face seductive. Her gown, a pale transparent blue barely exposed the treasure that was her body. Holding his breath, he watched transfixed, unable to take his eyes off her. Embracing him, she held him tightly.

Whispering in his ear, she said, “I missed you.”

Turning to Jennifer, she said, “Welcome to Crossroads, Jennifer. I’m sure that you are happy to be here.”

Happy was not the word that Jennifer would have used. Now that the moment was upon her, she was nervous and excited about making love to Sid.

She replied, “Thank you.”

Sally took Sid and Jennifer by the arms and, guiding them towards an open door, said, “Let me take you both to the restoration tank for a minute.”

Although he had taken a few blows in the sparing match the previous night, Sid said, “We weren’t injured.”

In a soothing voice, Jennifer said, “It’s a standard procedure.”

Sid went to the restoration tank and lay down. When Sally closed the cover of the tank, he lost consciousness.

It was as though his mind had been switched off when the cover was closed. When he woke, it was hard to tell how much time had passed. One look at Sally Caretaker looking down at him with a welcoming smile on her face made the time immaterial.

Sally was so proud of Sid that she didn’t know how to express it. Instead, she relied upon her duties to carry her through the moment.

“Come with me, Sid. I shall bathe you, feed you, and then lead you to your bed where you may claim your reward.”

Sid followed her, his eyes locked on the mesmerizing sway of her hips. All thoughts of Jennifer had vanished from his mind. He wasn’t even aware of how he reached the bathroom. He ‘rose to the occasion’ as she stripped off her gown. She smiled down at what had given her such pleasure and said, “Not yet.”

With gentle touches, she pulled him into the bathtub. It was filled with warm water. He stood in the center of the bath, lost in gazing upon her amazing body, as she lathered his body with a soft sponge. She talked to him while she worked.

“Oh, my wonderful man. It is hard to tell you how much I missed this magnificent body of yours.”

“You are so beautiful,” said Sid.

That was all that he could think of to say. It was all that he wanted to say and based on her reaction, it was all that he needed to say.

She filled a pitcher with water and rinsed the suds from his body. The water cascading down his body felt incredible, but paled in comparison to the sensations of her hands touching him.

She led him out of the bath and dried him with a fluffy towel. Her touch was soft and had become almost torturous by the time she finished. After covering him with a robe, she led him from the bathroom to the dining room. She wore a white lace robe.

A huge feast of finger foods was laid out upon the table. Sally led him to a chair and waited for him to sit. She sat in the chair next to his and began to feed him. Using her fingers she placed individual bites of food into his waiting mouth. When it came time for the slices of fruit for desert, she used her mouth to pass the food to his mouth.

Sid had realized in the bathroom that Sally was seducing him. Every touch, word, and act was designed to fuel his desire. By the time dinner ended, Sid was ready to pick her up and take her, right there on the table.

When he started to make his move, Sally said, “No. I want you excited for her.”

“Her? Who?” asked Sid looking into Sally’s eyes.

Sally giggled at the question and said, “Jennifer. She’s waiting for you in the bedroom.”

“I want you,” explained Sid unable to take his eyes away from hers.

“You must make love to her. She has risked her life for this moment,” countered Sally stroking his hair. She leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. Moving back, she said, “I want you to satisfy Jennifer like no other woman in history. I want you to make her scream so loudly, that they’ll hear it on Cassandra! Jennifer has to lose consciousness; and when she wakes, I want you to do it to her again.”

Surprised by the emphasis on Jennifer, Sid said, “I want you.”

Sally said, “And you shall have me, when she cries out that she’s had enough.”

“Why?”

“It is my pride that you take your pleasure from her and give her pleasure that other women of Cassandra can’t even imagine,” answered Sally with a smile. She wanted Jennifer to return to Cassandra singing the praises of Sid Jones. All of Cassandra must know that she, Sally Caretaker, was caretaker to the greatest lover of all time. She knew it wouldn’t be hard for him to overwhelm Jennifer, as he was the greatest lover of all time.

As Sally led him to the bedroom, she whispered, “I want you to love her to unconsciousness. She has fantasized about it, but the reality will exceed her fantasies. Oh, my strong man, take her to heights undreamt of by women. Bring her the passion that women of Cassandra so desire.”

By the time she closed the door behind him, the drive to perform in the manner she desired beat strongly in his veins. Jennifer’s eyes widened at the sight of him, and she licked her lips. As he moved to the bed with the grace of a panther stalking its prey, she held out her arms to welcome him. She watched fascinated as he took the initiative in bed.

When he reached her, he lowered her back to the bed and covered her mouth with his. Jennifer could not believe what Sid was doing to her. She had heard that heroes were active in bed, but this was incredible. It took only several minutes till her eyes rolled back into her head and she lost consciousness.

He lay down next to her and rested a hand on her stomach. With a glance at the door of the bedroom, he hoped that he had satisfied Jennifer well. After a minute of wondering about her strange behavior, he fell asleep exhausted from the energy that he had put into the loving.

Waking, he saw Sally watching him with a smile in her eyes. Seeing that he was awake, she pulled up and whispered, “Wake her. Do it to her again.”

He started to protest, but she put a finger to her mouth and eased off the bed. With a huge smile on her face, she backed out of the bedroom leaving him throbbing. As the door closed, he turned to examine the woman beside him. With a smile, he bent down and kissed her. She moaned and then her eyes shot open in amazement.