by Cheek, Jason
“Was there a Julie connection?” Domenic asked, getting a faraway look in his eyes as if he were thinking back to something that happened earlier.
“More or less,” I said with a shrug. “He didn’t say much, but he’d learned about me from her.”
“You won the lotto with that one,” Domenic sarcastically said, as I rolled my eyes. Seeing my reaction, he got back on topic. “We need to find out everything we can about that Psionic shit.”
“Yeah, I’m already planning to look into it to see what I can find,” I said, not explaining further since Domenic knew how I was with shit like that.
“If you’re done with quests tonight,” Domenic said letting out a yawn, “then I’m logging.”
“Go ahead,” I said without hesitation, “I’m right behind you as soon as I wash up.”
“You know, I didn’t want to say anything, but,” Domenic let out a bark of laugher. “You stink to the high heavens.”
“See you in the morning,” I said, shaking my head as I started walking to the baths with Helgath and Neysa following close behind me.
“Smell you later,” Domenic called back, as I flipped him off over my shoulder.
Chapter Thirty-Six
(Second Assault Group: Star, Helgath, and Neysa at the baths)
“My name is Zoe, Overlord Ironwolf,” the pretty maid said, as she greeted us at the entrance to the keep. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to the baths.”
I internally cringed as we traipsed through the keep’s pristine halls leaving trails of sticky bloody footprints. The World developers must have made some unannounced changes, because I didn’t remember the blood and gore staying on people after a fight. I was a hundred percent sure that it had disappeared in the first week of game play.
Thinking back to our fights and the condition of my various friends, I realized that the change was probably based on your game level. I could clearly remember John not being covered in bloody gore after all the fighting we’d done against the Orcs. If anything, he looked clean a few minutes later after a fight, which had been the same as it had been for me. The rest of my friends with the Advance start did get dirty, I thought, thinking back to the Devil Dogs after we’d made it to Palnisdale. They’d clearly been through a battle and were obviously dirty, but the added viscera and gore was not there after five minutes or so like it was for me.
It made me wonder if other players could see how dirty and disgusting I was or not. Was this something visible to the people of The World and myself or could other players see it too. Thinking back to a few of Kenzie's more coarse comments, I decided that Nightmare players’ dirtiness could probably be seen by everyone. Wasn’t that wonderful, I thought, as I looked back at the trail of bits I was leaving on the floor. Couldn’t they have made it the same for everyone?
We headed down a wide set of stairs to the lower levels of the keep. It was something extremely ornate and decorated with beaten metal and intricate designs. Truly a masterwork of art all by itself. Talking about feeling completely out of place. It was like I was some blue collar American that had won a trip to Vienna, Italy and was staying at a ritzy five star hotel for the first time in my entire life but, you know, coming in after I’d taken a dip in the local sewer first.
Walking into the bath parlor, I was shocked to see a number of male servants waiting for me. I swear there were like eight of them eagerly standing at the ready. Well, eager until they saw Helgath walking next to me. I swore the head guy was going to say something rude, until Neysa’s massive form padded in behind us. Talk about a bunch of stricken faces. I almost laughed out loud as the maid politely turned to me and bowed.
“If you need anything else, please let me know, Overlord Ironwolf,” Zoe pleasantly said, as the valet behind her opened and closed his mouth without anything coming out.
“Please take these gentlemen with you,” I said, indicating the group of men that were behind her.
“Mi-milord, we cannot possibly go,” the man began to stutter out, as I held up a hand. Instead of stopping as requested, the pompous man overrode my obvious objections without hesitation. “We are here to serve your every bathing need-”
The men disappeared in the blink of an eye, when Neysa let out a deep growl that shivered the granite like tiles. Even poor Zoe momentarily froze in place at the rumbling sound. As the door closed behind the valets, I breathed a sigh of relief as I turned back to the maid.
“Thank you again for showing us the way,” I apologetically said, slipping a silver piece in her hand as Helgath and Neysa casually walked past her. Neither gave her a second look as they went further into the bath gazing around in awe.
“Thank you, Overlord,” Zoe curtsied, before leaving us to our own devices.
Walking into the immense room, I was surprised to see that food and drink had been laid out for us, which of course was where Neysa had immediately to. There were plenty of uncomfortable wooden seats much like the antique furniture you’d see in castles and palaces on earth located near us. It was all delicate stuff that looked extremely uncomfortable and like it would break if I sat in it with my armor on. They were arranged before a massive stone fireplace that was burning away nicely.
On the other side of the room was the actual bath itself. It kind of had an Asian-fusion feel to it. A mix of Japanese bathhouse meets European spa. There was a wooden stool sitting area where the servants, if we’d kept any, would wash you down from a large copper tub of hot water. Then, about ten yards away from that area, was a slab of granite that led into a natural bath area. Oddly enough, the water seemed to be steaming as if the fireplace was somehow transferring heat into the pool-like bath.
Without hesitation, Helgath came over and started helping me strip off my armor and gear. Over the last few days, this had become such a regular occurrence between us that I didn’t feel the least bit self-conscious anymore. Everything came off with a stickiness that you’d expect if you’d bathed in blood in the real world. I didn’t even think as I removed my helm for the first time in what seemed like forever. As Helgath piled our gear on the floor together, I went to take off the heavy amulet from around my neck, when a system window popped up before my eyes.
Warning! You are trying to remove the Dark Amulet of Summoning while it is in use. Removing the amulet will release five of your currently Summoned Pets. Are you sure you want to proceed?
I froze as I read the message a second time to make sure I understood what it meant. Quickly pulling up my Character Sheet, I realized what was wrong. I’d removed my gear with a chunk of my Intelligence bonuses. The worst culprit being the Helm of Inaxidor with its plus 100 to Intelligence. I hadn’t really noticed it too much with the rest of the armor because altogether the Intelligence bonuses had only added up to an extra forty-four points. That had covered the three pets I’d lost during the fight with Grimblood DeKhayed. Whatever, I could still enjoy a good scrub and a hot bath while wearing my bling, I thought with a laugh, as we got down and started scrubbing our gear clean.
The process went relatively quickly. Once finished, we submerged the pieces in the pool-like bathtub, before heading back to the washing area to take care of ourselves. I was walking through the middle of the room, when my perception suddenly triggered and I saw a long-faced Neristhana dutifully keeping watch in the corner. I didn’t say anything, since I was strutting around with my junk hanging out. Taking a seat in front of the copper tub, I grabbed a bar of soap and began washing the stench off of me while Helgath came up behind me to help.
‘She’s been doing that ever since she ran away from the Ogres,’ Helgath mentally said, as I wordlessly nodded back.
‘I’m sure Neristhana feels like she let me down,’ I replied back. While a part of me wanted to be upset at the intrusion of my privacy, in my heart, I knew she meant well and was dealing with something personal that she hadn’t shared with me yet. Though it took a moment, I let out a heavy sigh as I came to a decision.
“If you’re going to
be guarding my back in the bath,” I said out loud without turning around, “you might as well clean up yourself. Besides, Neysa says she can smell you from the other side of the room.”
‘Hey,’ Neysa said, lifting her head up to look at me in annoyance as she complained. ‘Don’t put words in my mouth like that.’
“I guess there’s no sense in hiding in stealth around you now that you have that Perception Skill,” Neristhana grumbled as she popped out of Stealth.
“Eh, works for everyone else around me,” I said with a shrug, as Helgath let out a small cough and Neysa whined softly. “Everyone but my soulmates.” I corrected myself as the Gnomeling walked up behind me. There was an odd squelching noise as dirty pieces of Neristhana’s armor and clothing began piling up around me.
“You’re going to wash up right here and now?” I yelped, as the Gnomeling’s undergarments joined the pile.
“Isn’t that what you just offered?” Neristhana said, as she pulled up another stool and sat next to me and began washing. Looking at my blushing cheeks, she shook her head at me in exasperation. “You’re acting like you’ve never seen any tits and ass before?”
“That’s not what I meant,” I grumbled, as I went back to washing the grime away.
“Oh, I get it now,” Neristhana said, standing up to pose in front of me. “You’ve never seen such a sexy Gnomeling like me before.”
“Actually, I’ve seen you naked before,” I said, looking her in the eyes as she blushed slightly. “I’m just not used to bathing naked with friends.”
“Oh, yeah, I forgot that you saw everything when you rescued me from the Mortician Brothers,” Neristhana said in a subdued tone, as she sat back down and began washing. “On the Wind Dancer, we always bathed together once our watch was over.”
“Makes sense,” I said, nodding thoughtfully. As Neristhana dumped a bucket of hot water over her head to wash the suds away, I discretely gave her a once over, before casually commenting. “Though, I will say you look much better now.”
“You pervert,” Neristhana squeaked in surprise, as she wiped the water out of her eyes and smacked me in the arm. “You checked me out while I wasn’t looking.”
“Of course I did,” I laughingly agreed.
“Gah!” Neristhana screamed in mock outrage, as she jumped up and shoved me off my stool.
“Very sexy!” I managed to call out, before she dumped a bucket of cold water over my head.
It wasn’t that I was particularly interested or disinterested in Neristhana, but I’m a guy and so I looked. As I expected, she was a tight little package. Narrow waist, small chest, and a surprisingly meaty ass, not bad at all. Besides, I didn’t have to tell her that I hadn’t really looked the first time.
While I enjoyed the mini-show and the laughing, the main goal of all of this back and forth wasn’t sexual in any way. It was about getting Neristhana to relax enough to get her to talk to me. Pushing myself up into a sitting position, I glanced up at the Gnomeling standing over me with her arms crossed over her chest and nodded for her to sit back down. Seeing the confused expression on her face, I met her hooded eyes.
“I was wondering if we could talk about what happened earlier today with the Ogres?” I asked, as the Gnomeling plopped down onto the stool with a frown. “Look, there’s nothing to be ashamed about and I trust you with my life. I just wanted to know what happened in your past to cause you to-” I paused looking for the right word, when Neristhana spoke up.
“For me to be so terrified about them,” Neristhana said, completing my sentence.
“Your words, not mine,” I said, as she nodded in understanding. I wasn’t about to give anyone shit for being scared of those massive assholes.
So Neristhana told me. She explained about her parents being slaughtered along with most of her family in a battle with a group of Ogres at sea. It was a similar situation to how we’d been caught by surprise at sea on our way to Darom. It was why the remaining members of her Lightouch clan had chosen to join with the remaining members of the Shortankard clan. As Neristhana came to the end of her spiel, I got up on a knee before her to look her in the eyes.
“Never be ashamed of your past or your failings,” I said in no uncertain terms. “We’ll work together to cover each other’s weaknesses with each other’s strengths.” I held out my hand. “Deal?”
“Deal,” Neristhana agreed, as we shook on it.
“Now, I need your help,” I said, standing up and giving Helgath a nod as the Half-Orc slowly made her way to Neysa’s other side.
“With what?” Neristhana suspiciously asked, as she got up to follow me.
“Giving Neysa a bath,” I said, as I leaped for the Silver Dire Wolf. Instantly, the fight to wash Neysa down was on.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
(Second Assault Group: Fylreh at the smithy)
Fylreh’s hammer rang out as she worked the iron ring back into shape, while Rocky wobbled around on his short little paws checking everything out. The Earth Shock Wolf Combat Pet seemed to be interested in everything. Out of everything in the smithy, he seemed most interested in the burning flames whenever she worked the bellows. This smithy was a lot easier to use than the portable one she lugged around for her repairs.
At first, she hadn’t been interested in having a Combat Pet, but after hearing about how Star had raised Neysa from a pup, she’d been more open to the idea, especially after seeing how deadly the Silver Dire Wolf could be. Though, it wasn’t until she’d made the soul connection with the little beast that she truly understood what it meant to have a soul companion. It almost made her able to forgive Star for hurting her by taking on Helgath as a soulmate.
Working with Black Coral was much different than any other material she’d ever worked with in her past. The bent iron ring was disrupting the coral’s natural repairing process. As Fylreh hammered the metal back into shape, she’d have to dip the Black Coral into a barrel of water so she could gradually ease the shield back into shape. It was hard work and already sweat was streaming down her chest from the heat of the furnace and the effort of working the metal.
In-between working the iron ring, Fylreh crafted iron arrow heads. She used her own personal molds for the process. Normally, she would’ve been able to recover her arrows from the battlefield or hunt, but with the running fight they’d been in, that hadn’t been possible. By the time she’d finished repairing Star’s Black Coral Iron-reinforced Defender, she’d managed to pour a hundred arrow heads.
Banking the fire, Fylreh knelt on the ground and began packing her tools back into the bags across her lower back. Rocky immediately came up to her for pets and treats. Laughing softly as his rough tongue started lapping the sweat and grime off her chest and face, she pushed the Earth Shock Wolf pup away and offered him some dried strips of meat for dinner. Greedily tearing the chunks of meat apart, he happily slurped the chunks down in-between dancing around back and forth for more.
Packing the last of her gear away, Fylreh joined her soul companion, chewing on her own piece of the tasty dried Cuttle meat as Rocky finished his meal. It was a surprisingly enjoyable time as she petted his coarse fur. She was just standing up to head back into the keep, when angry voices mentioning Star’s name caught her ears. Turning around abruptly, she began trotting towards the main gate as the voices became more distinct.
“I’m telling you, Overlord Ironwolf will want to talk to these Iron Falcon Mercenaries himself,” A rough looking group of humans heatedly argued with the group of Royal Guards at the gate. Though the men were dirty with worn uniforms, they stood with pride and argued their point. “I personally heard him say that to Sir Anon himself as they passed.”
“Get out of here, Gregor,” Guard Group Leader Inman snarled, “before we’re forced to beat on you for being a dumbass. Besides, there’s no way some Overlord wants to speak to a homeless shit stains like you.”
“Come on, Skirmisher Leader Carter,” Guard Sub-Group Leader Cooper sneered, as he thumbed h
is armored gauntlets together. “Let’s see how tough you really are.”
Fury coursed through Fylreh’s veins as she got her head around what was happening as she made her way up behind the group of ten guards blocking the gate. Star had left specific orders to Guard Leader Cleaver for any word of the Iron Falcon Mercenaries to be brought directly to him. She felt Rocky pick up on her anger as the little Earth Shock Wolf let out a squeaky growl.
“Let them through and send a messenger for Overlord Ironwolf now!” Fylreh commanded in a no nonsense tone, as both groups looked over at her in shock.
“Who in the Dark do you think you are, Beast-Girl?” Guard Group Leader Inman snarled out.
“What’s a Horse-girl doing in the keep?” One guard asked.
“Do they always have their udders hanging out?” Another guard asked.
“Are you a complete virgin, Baker?” A female guard snapped, smacking the male guard in the back of the head. “I knew you’d never seen a naked woman before.”
“Shut it, Seales,” the guard snarled back angrily.
“You’re in for it now,” Gregor said with a grim laugh, “that Centaur is part of the Overlord’s party.
“Shut your mouth, shit stain,” Guard Group Leader Inman shouted back over his shoulder, “before I shut it for you.”
Guard Group Leader Inman stared wide-eyed at the massive tits thrust out and jiggling in front of his face. He didn’t see the vicious dog-sized monster trailing behind the Horse-Girl that caused several of his subordinate guards to step back in alarm. His eyes were firmly locked onto the magnificent orbs before him. Even though Beast-Kin were part of the Royal Forces, he and many others didn’t accept them as equals. Surprisingly enough, Inman typically found the Beast-Kin females to be immensely desirable. Though, the idea of taking orders from one was frankly unbelievable as far he was concerned.
