[pre-story]So! As I was agonizing about being unable to finish the current By The Horns chapter in time to get paid, I remembered I had this- I actually submitted this to the Sex & Sorcery 2 collection as a single huge chapter like two years ago, (you can still see the whole thing in there if you can't wait for more) and in looking back at my emails, I was technically free to do whatever I wanted with it as of last April. So, here it is, finally, for everyone to enjoy!
I decided to break it up into four parts, because, as I said, it's kinda huge, and also, this will buy me some time so I won't be desperately scrambling to get the current stuff done in a rush. I'm not quite sure on the release schedule for the rest of it, yet, but it'll probably be, like, one chapter every two weeks? Sooner, if I suddenly start making good progress on the patron-requested stories I'm currently working on. It might be nice to actually have, like, a buffer of finished stories instead of always trying to rush.
Anyways, this is a much more emotional and story-heavy than a lot of my other stuff lately. No sexiness in this part, but I think it's pretty funny. A human warrior learns something new about his elven partner, and things get heated. As always, if you like what you see, [redacted] Enjoy![/pre-story]
Partners: Chapter 1
The Sultry Sorceress Tavern was packed, tonight. It was rarely all that quiet, but tonight, the handful of townsfolk that were regulars found themselves amid a crowd of at least a dozen outsiders, strangers of strange descriptions. A mature, full-figured beauty with long, flowing dark hair tended the bar, pouring and mixing drinks one after another, just barely managing to keep up with the orders coming in. A trio of buxom barmaids bustled around the room bearing trays full of drinks and empty mugs, all three dark-haired and bearing a striking resemblance to the bartender, even the halfling. A gnome with unnaturally colorful hair and tie-dyed robes had climbed up to sit on the edge of the stage where the local bard played, a pint in one hand as he sang along with surprising skill, though his words had a bit of a slur to them. A muscular, heavily-scarred orc wearing what looked like alligator hide leaned against a wall, arms crossed under her impressive emerald bust as she eyed one of the human barmaids wolfishly. A dwarf in flowing silk robes sat at the bar, looking painfully bored a snifter of brandy in one hand. Beside him, three humans argued emphatically about weapons, the dark-skinned bald man with a braided goatee touting the sheer power of a hammer, the fair-skinned blonde woman with her hair in a bun extolling the virtues of a fine blade in well-trained hands, and the freckle-faced male with curly copper hair claiming spears to be severely underrated.
