Ruby Mage

by Dan Raxor

  Targon arrived moments later and the Viscount’s advisor was all smiles.

  “Said no to Sir Rin?” Targon asked, watching them leave the hall. I nodded showing him the agreement. “He’s probably going to end up with seven wives in a posh estate anyway. Sir Nathanael’s a fine lad.”

  I picked up on the cue that he didn’t like Rin all that much. Parents and stewards always had their favorites.

  Targon shrugged, waving me to follow him. “Uh… so I got good news and bad news. The bad news is the humans looking for work are pissed and already scrummed the fey with a minor brawl. Not yer fault, but there was a broken arm.”

  “And the good?”

  He chuckled, amused by what he was about to say. “So, Jeb read out the contract that pretty much reads like someone from another realm wrote it. Paying fey good money to hunt is rare. You assure them they won’t be raped, get a nice home, food, and among their kind… well, they’ll just about bent the knee.”

  “Not my intent, but loyal troops are what I want,” I admitted.

  “I even said you’re a war mage, not to give away your true skills. They didn’t care and started down bidding their worth to ensure they got the job,” Targon said.

  I rolled my eyes. “Huh, no the current rate is fine. And yes, you can whisper this in your Lord’s ear. What you call wealth here is nothing for me in my realm. I really can bring lots of gold here, but… I need protection here. With that in mind, if Toony came to Pangea he’d never acquire what he wants. Anyway, as for the guards, I’d rather have well paid loyalists than back stabbing—”

  He interjected, catching on to my desire. “Aye, figured as much. Jeb didn’t budge but they’re hollerin’ at him,” Targon said and we crossed an arched threshold for a training arena.

  The training area was the size of a soccer field with a second and third floor viewing short walls. Large columns supported the upper floors, giving the area a very Roman feel.

  A loud whistle stopped the assembled fey from pestering Jeb.

  Targon inhaled deeply, puffing his chest out to bellow, “I present Master Mage Trevor of Realm Pangea. I saw him kill a man with barely a thought and then he asked to kill another.”

  I chuckled, reveling in the power as all eyes shot to me.

  There were rows of humans with slight animal feature. These potential recruits were probably fifty wide and five deep and there had to be over two hundred of them. The myriad of partial fey was staggering.

  Within the formations were wolfmen with chest hair puffing out of shirts. I spied a few sexy voluptuous females with wings. Pointy fox ears, rounded bear ears, and floppy bunny ears. There were long tails, short tails, and no tails or fit butts. These female fey sure were yummy looking.

  Even though these were fey people, it was like the human trait made the fey part extremely inferior and limited. There was always a human face with a standard torso, legs, and well, every single one of them was basically human. Except, hands, feet, ears, and tails were altered to reflect the fey lineage.

  “If you work for me, you’ll be paid handsomely,” I said loudly, approaching the formation. “You’ll refer to me as Master at home, or Master Mage Trevor when afield. I’ll bring you into battle where glory does not exist, but riches can. I’ll feed you until your ribs stop showing. I’ll train you until you're lethal as a unit. And I’ll ensure you have a much better life than you do now.

  “In exchange for all these offerings you will never be lazy. You’ll follow orders without question, and when it becomes pleasure time you will indulge in the flesh in a manner in which my realm finds appropriate. First test, strip naked.”

  There was no justification needed for why I wanted to see them nude. This was Lornia. A few expected this or wanted to show off as they stood nude already.

  I was shocked there were so many women. Maybe thirty percent were female, and this was supposed to be only hunters. My understanding of Lornia was that women were not often warriors and yet, here I was proven wrong again.

  I knew a few weeks in the field as the man would bring problems… such as lots of ladies wanting my attention. However, I’m not a huge fan of unwashed sex. My kinks are many, but foul odors are not one of them. It was only fair to elevate men as well as women to help be a part of my team. Shooting a bow wasn’t a “man only” job even in Lornia.

  Within a few seconds I was ready to start my inspection. I carried my staff off to the side to see who would reactively see the dazzling. The first pass was only to get an idea of what was available and find the hidden mages.

  The very first person in line had a broken arm. Bone protruded from the grisly wound. With determination his jaw was held in a grimace. He had antlers that had me wishing the female variation had the same thing.

  The only thing better than pigtails were actual handlebars.

  Instead of spinning him I peeked around to see a little cottontail above his butt. So alien, and he seemed like a stout man that might grab Lidia or Krissy’s attention. The man was young, hunky, and certainly not a quitter since he stood proud with his busted arm.

  He was on the accept list for sheer determination. I gave him a nod and he smiled, straightening his back with a wince from the sudden movement. Maybe he wasn’t the brightest.

  Down the line I went. The first flying fey was a female fairy. She had small tits, thin hips, and lean muscles. She gasped at the sight of my gem. I pretended not to notice her. If I asked if she saw the gem others would catch on and pretend they did too.

  Walking down the line I noticed both sexes were very skinny. A few buckets of KFC would fix that right up.

  After passing the first row, there were only two who saw the gem. There was one disqualifier among the group. A big man with a lion mane around his neck that growled as if I wanted to fight him.

  The second row held a tall eagle man who sneered at me from down his nose. Disappointing to see this yet again.

  I sought strong women I could bend to my will, not men I would have to fight. This row also revealed twin men with leopard spotted manes and thin tails, both were eyeing the gem. They were shorter than most men and even slightly smaller than me.

  Definitely on the list. I passed a few hanging rail thin women that didn’t appeal due to their open disdain for my lingering inspection. I was the boss here and judging these altered people to fit my needs, which were more than looks.

  A trip down the third row resulted in a pair of sisters, not twin, wolf women. Lean fit muscles lead to firm breasts. Yup, I’d be that packs alpha fur certain. My pun had me giggling to the point I almost missed the short half dwarf that spied the gem.

  Interesting how many had magic. I was under the impression these would have already been sought out.

  The last two rows resulted in a curvy bear female, a nature dryad hybrid man, and then three more females who could see the gem: a bunny girl, a raccoon hybrid that I had to ask about to find out her fey type, and a fox.

  I walked back to the front of the formation. “You,” I said pointing to the deer man, “go stand over there.”

  Call me crazy but even wounded he looked like he could handle himself.

  “The rest of you get dressed. You're going to shoot a bow. Line up. If I pull you out of the formation it's because you passed a special test. The rest of you are competing for the other slots with archery skills.”

  Targon snapped to a side attendant, going to help set up the rotation. I walked among those competing to be in my employ. The fairy girl, the twin leopards, the half dwarf, the bear babe, the bunny, raccoon, and fox fey were all put beside the antlered man. The fairy girl helped him back into his trousers.

  I approached him, looking up into his rainbow colored eyes knowing Lidia would definitely lose her shit. “In my realm, there is no instant healing but that will heal quickly without pain where we’re going.”

  “Yes, Master Mage Trevor,” he said bowing his head.

  I spun to watch the firing. So… listing yourself as a
hunter was a super exaggeration for most of these fey. A few missed the target completely. Their shame resulted in downcast eyes as I stared intently at their abject failure.

  Since I stepped into this training atrium, I’d never felt more powerful. Over a hundred fey desired to serve me as if I were a god. Internally, I shivered in delight. Externally, I kept a stone cold face, showing I was about business.

  After the first round of archers, I’d seen enough, but there were a few who were nervous. I allowed anyone wanting a second shot to take it. Two of the nervous ladies hit bullseyes. One was a doe with small breasts and the other was a thick boned beargal.

  One thing I noticed is there were no dogs (other than the wolves) or aquatic fey, while Joseph’s book mentioned them a few times. He had a siren wife, and a faithful retriever gal.

  I shrugged off the notion that I was somehow missing out, I had to realize we were far from the ocean and Trimi was considered small.

  When I set aside those I thought worthy, I had nine females and fifteen males. I yearned for them all, but twenty four was more than enough to get started.

  Targon handed me a list with the names highlighted for me to approve. As requested, none were under eighteen, and none were married or primary parents.

  Gabriella - fey ¼ wolf - hunter - 18 - female - unmarried – no children.

  Ryleigh - fey ¼ wolf - hunter - 20 - female - unmarried - no children

  Those were the sexy wolf sisters I wanted to do naughty things to. From repressed to feasting on the flesh, dreams do come true. I approved their contracts. Everything was looking good until…

  Of course, the bearmen were the problem. While I was straight, I could see the appeal. They looked like football players that should be on the cover of romance novels. I sure hoped they wouldn’t be a problem. However, one of them had a primary child…

  “Hadri,” I said loudly and the shortest of the three bearmen stepped forward. “Where is your child? How old?”

  “With the gatekeepers, Master Mage. She is two, and a hellion,” Hadri said honestly.

  I tossed my head left and right having angst with my thoughts. Coming to a decision, I waved him over to speak in private.

  Reaching into my robes I extracted two gold coins. Which was almost a year's worth of work for a peasant. I pressed them into his meaty palm and he looked at me in confusion.

  “You’re my information source for Trimi and Lornia. Keep your daughter fed. You’re to still work the fields. If anyone asks, or you’re discovered, I felt bad for you, pitying you to the point I gave you charity. Send your reports to Torgrin in Riverten,” I said and he nodded. “You do so because you hope I’ll hire you. When I have a fortress in the aspens, I promise that I will.”

  I never got our terms in binding, but I felt he would honor the agreement.

  When he left, I picked out a few decent bowmen who were also big enough to serve as infantry. The process went quickly as I pull those aside I wanted.

  With the men done, I went over the women.

  They were all young. Probably still clinging to the hope of becoming more than a breeding tool for men.

  I grumbled at the elf I felt I had to pick. Rivinia was like ten times hotter than the rest. She had pink hair that went to braids about half way down her body. She had gorgeous red eyes, a nice bust, and sexy features. Elves sure did make some pretty daughters. While I was a smidge smitten, she also could fire a bow like a goddess.

  To prove a point she shot from further back while running to the side and still hit the bullseye. When you’re applying for an archery position, being a badass was enough for me.

  Gazing at the rest of the recruits left me confused. I hadn’t gone down the proverbial rabbit hole of understanding how there were no one quarter wolf, one quarter puma, and half bunny mixes yet. My guess was there had to be some genetic magic mumbo jumbo at play that required humans to be involved.

  Looking over my twenty four new guards I saw no uniforms, no armor, no bows, and a whole lot of motivation. I could work with that.

  These twenty-four were eager to be a part of my team.

  I smiled proudly at their exuberance.

  When I headed for the carriage, they followed, listening to me intently. Their eyes danced with excitement when I started telling them how amazing my Montana Mansion was.

  I knew one thing was certain. Lidia and Krissy were going to be in for a hell of a shock.

  CHAPTER 18

  Lornia - Trimi

  216th day of the 1st year of King Partel’s Reign

  Crazy Lim’s Magical Emporium was not in fact owned by a crazy man. An asshole, absolutely, but not crazy.

  “Enough of your bullshit!” I screamed at him.

  He grumbled, likely cowed into submission by the fact Targon was at my side. As awesome as my recent power felt, this man knew nothing of it. He did understand that with the Viscount’s guide here I had some sway.

  Lim was that over the hill man who seemed to be in a constant sneer. There was a crown of hair missing and his robes smelled like month old sex. The entire small store at the bottom of an iconic wizard’s tower was filthy and made my skin crawl.

  Upon our entry there had been a full fey fox-kin bent over a stool by the counter. With no shame he went at it until we disturbed him. No one wanted to see a portly naked man sexing his fey.

  That moment taught me something vital. The female foxy fey was slamming into that nasty old man with unbridled desire. It didn’t matter who or what he was to her, and my lightbulb moment of why humans had sex with fey was answered. Full fey were animalistic in their desires.

  As we waited for him to go to a back room, I inspected his wares. I only sensed magic in three of the potions and if I had to guess, those weren’t even done by him. Hence our argument after he returned that was coming to a conclusion.

  “Look, Master Mage with your big body and self-proclaimed tiny fireballs, all these potions are genuine,” Lim said defensively.

  To me, it was only a matter of time before I ran into this. I expected to find some who were resistant to my presence. Plus, Lornia had been somewhat nice to me, mostly due to my gold and power.

  “You disgust me,” I said to the man whose sneer went into a smile. He was about to thank me when I said. “We can still do business. These three potions of endurance, and those two books.”

  There were two books he had set behind his counter as valuable. They were imports from somewhere and looked old. Even if the interior was fiction I could hopefully rule stuff out. Targon set the bottles on the counter.

  “Three gold,” Lim said and Targon leveled a finger at him. “Fine, two, but take the idiot out before I encase him in ice.”

  This is horseshit! I learn another mage knows ice and has to be this worthless scum. So much for asking lessons.

  I took the books and potions in a small crate after handing off the coins. Lim was a con artist who was going to use my coins to make half fey babies apparently. I understood the small tufts of fur on a sexy fey’s body as unique and appealing, but not the whole body covered in animal fur.

  Targon led the way to the carriage. We had to wait on Norlan who was saying his goodbyes to his family then getting his own supplies. Lim’s shop had been planned as a nice distraction to kill some time. I inhaled the fresh air, thankful to be out of there.

  Targon and I walked because my carriage had been moved inside the Viscount’s staging area where the new recruits were waiting.

  Giving Susanna gold to go crown shopping was going to do wonders for our estate. Apparently, the desperate are cheap because her gold went much further than mine did. She acquired thirty three more souls. Eighteen were males, and fifteen were females.

  Her selections were based on the beautiful, and handsome, those who would transition well with a male lord. I saw more half races, dwarves, elves, dryads, and even a mixed orc. I think she picked out more fighters specifically to help protect me.

  Susanna and Targon explained tha
t time in the crown’s servitude, while needing new buyers to free them, was a rude awakening. You were treated as poorly, if not worse, than a prisoner. Meaning never ever take a binding you didn’t think was the right fit for you. And yet that was not how Lornia worked.

  If they struck out in a rebellious manner again, they’d go somewhere much more diabolical than my lavish estate where they cleaned, swept, and cooked.

  A few of them could easily be converted into warriors meaning Norlan would have his hands full with all the training.

  Of course, they were all starving. The very last of my gold went to Lim’s after I bought some bread and lamb to feed the fifty seven people.

  While Targon and I walked for the Viscount’s fort there were two looming questions.

  The first was the magical drain by transporting so many people. Did the trip consume the same amount of energy each time, or was that on a per person basis? Was it based on mass, or the number of people transported? I wouldn’t know until we tried it.

  The next question was, where the hell had Pima gone? That spoiled child had vanished. Susanna said she shopped for a while, picking out the best available that would fit the needs of our home.

  I did enjoy her calling it that. Not sure why, but it felt delicious to know she was one of my loyalists. Actually, I did understand why it made me warm inside. The power.

  Targon and I held small talk, enjoying Trimi while walking the streets filled with content people going about their day. This… this I could get used to. I liked the cobblestones, the spired architecture, people parting to make space, and the fact I was respected, if not feared.

  On Earth, the most I could attain is hidden power. Sure, a big yacht was still on my to-do list, and maybe expand the mansion, but I’d never be able to flaunt my magic. I’d never be able to get people on Earth to willingly bend the knee and mean it.

  While I daydreamed of expanding my influence and power on both planets we saw Kellum with Pima outside of the Viscount’s gates. The father did not look happy as he loomed near his daughter. Pima was terrified and I rolled my eyes.