by Eric Vall
“Nicola, you can’t say that to a god,” Penelope sighed. “How often do I have to ask you to be polite?”
“Nicola is right, though,” I admitted.
“But still,” the naiad protested. “She doesn’t have to say everything out loud.”
“Maybe I do, sister.” The brunette stuck out her tongue at the blue woman. “Until Jack tells me he wants me to stop, I’m not going to.”
“You’re fine,” I laughed. “You know how informal I am.”
The women walked back up to the kitchen, and Penelope laid the fish down on a grate atop the coals.
“I want to close this,” Nicola announced as she grabbed the flashlight and headed over to the trap door. “We don’t need any enormous spiders crawling out in the middle of the night. Aleia, will you help me?”
“Of course,” the fairy responded, and she started to walk over to the large hole in the ground.
“So, what do you think the key unlocks?” Penelope asked as the two other priestesses swung the trap door shut.
“It might be to the door to the tunnel down by the creek,” I speculated.
Nicola held the silver key up in the air, and while it was tarnished, it appeared to be totally intact. If the key locked the tunnel from the inside, the interior space would be even more secure for the women, although not quite perfect yet. The trap door was hard to open, though, and the third, most secret entrance was hidden out in the woods for the time being.
“We could store anything down there we need to keep hidden,” Aleia said. “It would be secure.”
“It could be completely locked,” I agreed. “We may have to look into securing the trap doors, since you were all able to pry the one open with some effort, but then, if anyone ever attacked the convent, you’d have a perfect place to hide.”
“I can’t imagine why anyone would attack a convent of yours, master,” Penelope sighed with a frown. “You’re too glorious and benevolent to warrant such a hateful attack.”
“We can go try the key from the outside,” Nicola said in a decisive voice. “That is, Aleia, if you want to carry us down to the creek again.”
“That was fun,” the fairy snickered. “I’ll do it any time.”
“We can worry about that tomorrow,” I said. “For the time being, I would say it’s time to eat dinner and go to bed.”
“That’s what I need,” Nicola yawned. “Food and sleep.”
“And dreams,” Penelope giggled.
“Who gets Jack tonight?” the brunette asked. “I’m prettyyy sure it’s my turn.”
“But you just said you wanted to sleep,” the naiad protested. “That means I get him.”
“Do you want him, Aleia?” Nicola asked, and both of the other two priestesses looked at the fairy with curious little smiles.
“Of course,” the strawberry-blonde said in a casual tone, and she somehow managed to keep the blush off her cheeks. “He’s my god, so naturally I want to spend time with him.”
“Naturally,” Nicola murmured before she turned her attention back to Penelope. “Sister, you know I’m always happy to share, but if I can’t have my turn tonight, that’s just the way it’s going to have to be.”
“I wish we could all be together again,” Penelope giggled. “Don’t you, Jack?”
“Of course,” I replied. “That was fucking amazing.”
“Well, I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see,” the naiad told the group with wide eyes and a tiny smirk on her face. “I, for one, will be pleased if our lord visits any of you, although I am feeling especially amorous due to… hormones.”
“I would always be pleased, like I said,” Aleia said in a prim tone. “The fish smells good, though.”
I inwardly chuckled as I admired the fairy’s forced casual expression, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love to see it. Even when she was trying her best to act natural, she was a blatant virgin, and it was one of the cutest things I’d ever seen.
“I think it’s done,” the naiad said as she poked the trout with the tongs. “Come on, sisters, let’s eat.”
As the women ate their dinner in silence, I realized I finally had a moment to check my interface now that I wasn’t so distracted by the priestesses’ naked bodies.
And if everything was in order, I’d also be able to try and read what that strange article said about me.
All Languages Acquired!
Convent: Level 8
Next Town Quest: Save gnome baby from goblins
Reward upon Quest Completion: Visit convent in physical form for 5 hours
Five hours in a body was exciting, and now that I’d supposedly gotten the ability to read all languages, I definitely needed to check out that newspaper again. I was about to ask one of the women to shine the light on the paper for me, but then I realized I’d missed something.
Save gnome baby from goblins.
What the hell?
The words seemed to blaze in my vision as I read them three times over, and several things occurred to me at once.
The first was that Roza was the only baby gnome I knew about, and the second was how crushed Penelope would be if something like this were to happen to the little baby. The third thing I considered was what the fuck a bunch of goblins could possibly want with a baby gnome, and I was just starting to wonder if they were evil enough creatures to actually kill the child when I heard the sound of footsteps running around the convent wall.
“Nicola?” Balabar’s voice called. “Penelope?”
“We’re in the kitchen!” the naiad yelled out to the gnome.
“The gate is locked!” the young man said as he shook on the wood. “Please, let me in!”
Penelope ran to open the door, and then she followed the gnome back into the kitchen with fear in her pale blue eyes.
Balabar was out of breath, his hat was askew, and his eyes were wild.
“It’s Roza!” the gnome gasped. “She’s gone!”
Chapter 17
“What?” Penelope immediately blanched and dropped her food on the ground. “L-Little Roza is… is…”
“She’s been taken!” the baby’s father wailed. “I swear, we just put her down for a second, and the next thing we knew, she was missing from her cradle.”
“What were you doing at the time?” Nicola asked as she narrowed her eyes in thought. “Who was supposed to be watching the baby?”
“Don’t make him feel bad,” Penelope hissed. “I’m sure it wasn’t their fault.”
“That’s not what I meant at all,” the brunette assured everyone. “If someone was nearby, they could give us information about anything they noticed.”
“Morrick was supposed to be keeping an eye on the younger children,” Balabar explained as he hopped from foot to foot and anxiously wrung his hands. “But Nissa was gardening, and the boy went to help her with her plants. Roza was in her cradle in the children’s tent… It was just starting to get dark out, and the shadows were strange. No one saw anything at all, but we did hear the faint sound of hoofbeats.”
“Hoofbeats!” Aleia gasped. “It must have been the goblins! They were the last ones seen on horseback, right?”
“Yes.” The small man nodded. “We suspect it was goblins, and there was a note left in her cradle, but we can’t understand it.”
“A note?” Penelope breathed as she leaned forward and stared at the gnomish man. “Why can’t you understand it?”
“We assume it’s a ransom note,” Balabar told the women. “And it’s in a language we’ve never seen before.”
“A different language?” Nicola asked with a furrowed brow. “That sounds like the strange paper we found earlier.”
“Paper?” the gnome asked. “Could anyone read it?”
“No, we couldn’t,” the naiad said in a sad voice.
“Tell the gnomes I can help them,” I told the priestesses. “I think I can read the note.”
“But you couldn’t read the paper earlier,” Penelope whispere
d. “I don’t understand.”
“Let’s just say sometimes my god powers are stronger,” I muttered. “Can you please ask Balabar if I can take a look at the note?”
“Yes, my lord,” the naiad said with a bowed head, and then she turned to the gnome, who had started to pace in circles around the fire. “Balabar, will you hold out the note so our lord can read it?”
“Of course.” The young gnomish man held out the piece of paper near the fire, and I zoomed in on it.
The writing was in a different foreign script than the newspaper had been, and I wasn’t even sure if I was supposed to read it from left to right or right to left. Then my eyes began to scan the note, and to my surprise, I could actually understand what it said.
These level ups were getting so fucking cool.
I read through the note carefully at first to be sure I wasn’t imagining things, but once I was certain the language computed, I started to read aloud to the priestesses.
We have taken your child. If you want her back, deliver 500 gold coins tomorrow to our cave in the mountains.
Robert and Orm
“Ugh,” Penelope shuddered.
“What is it?” Balabar asked as his rosy cheeks paled.
“You were right,” Nicola replied as her lips pursed into a thin line. “It was Robert and Orm who took Roza.”
“Those bastards!” the gnome man swore. “How many times are we going to have to show them we’re not to be tested? We’ve banished them from our camp more than once, and we drove them out of the woods, but they still managed to sneak in and steal my daughter.”
The small man put his head in his hands and started to wail, and Aleia walked over and patted him on the back. It was surprising to see the gruff gnome so worked up, but I honestly respected him more for it. At least he wasn’t as coarse about this as he was with his wife sometimes.
“We’re going to find her,” the fairy assured him. “They’ve asked for five hundred coins, and if we bring it to the mountains--”
“Five hundred coins?” Balabar gasped as he stared at the petite strawberry-blonde. “Wh-Where am I supposed to get that?”
“I saw the treasure you had in your tent…” Nicola spoke up in a hesitant voice. “Don’t you think there are five hundred coins there?”
“Yes, I suppose,” the gnome huffed. “We prefer to keep our liquid assets, in case of an emergency, but-- what am I saying? No. I’m not giving any money to those bastards. They’ve done wrong, and they’re not getting what they want for it. I’m going in there myself and getting my daughter back, that’s what I’m doing. And those stinking goblins aren’t getting a single copper.”
“That’s very brave of you,” Penelope admired. “But isn’t it quite a ways for you to travel?”
The gruff gnome tapped his chin with a plotting glint in his eyes.
“That is true,” the small man admitted. “They’re several miles away from here, and we’re so slow on foot. I wish we had some sort of carriage, or even a horse, but it would take my family a really long time to travel to the cave, and if Roza is in serious danger out there--”
“Well, we’ve sworn to protect you,” Aleia reminded him. “And that includes little Roza.”
“Poor baby,” Penelope said as her eyes filled with tears. “She must be so scared right now. But I’m sure she’ll be fine, Balabar. All of us will go to rescue her.”
“Oh, that would be so wonderful,” Balabar responded, and he smiled a little for the first time. “I’m so-- I’m so scared for her, she’s just a wee… little… tyke.”
Balabar broke down into a blubbering sob, and the three priestesses gathered around the small man and hugged him.
“It’s going to be alright,” Nicola said as she knelt down to meet the gnome at face level. “Orm and Robert are nothing. We can easily take down those scrawny little goblins.”
“There are a lot of goblins up in those mountains, miss, but I’m glad you said that,” Balabar sniffled. “Nissa is beyond upset, of course. And Morrick is devastated because he was supposed to be watching her.”
“Of course they’re upset,” Penelope said. “Do you want to go back to your camp and tell your family we’ve agreed to help?”
“Yes, maybe I should do that.” The gnome nodded, and his hat fell off his head. “Shit! Oops, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say that in front of such pure women and your god.”
“It’s alright,” Penelope assured the small man as he readjusted his pointed cap. “We don’t care about that sort of thing. All we care about is Roza, and we’re going to go find her. We should address this immediately”
“Yes, we should,” Balabar agreed. “I’m going to run back to our camp now and settle Nissa down. Will you meet me there?”
“We’ll come straight away,” Nicola replied with a nod. “We only need to talk to Jack for a minute.”
“Yes, of course,” the young man said as he bowed his head and clasped his hands together. “I’m sure he will help. Thank you for your blessings, Jack.”
I could hardly believe what I was hearing, but with his hands together like this, it almost looked like Balabar was… praying to me?
“Wow,” Penelope said as she stared at the gnomish man with wide eyes, but then she came to her senses and waved goodbye. “We’ll see you soon, Balabar.”
“Thank you!” the gnome called out over his shoulder as he turned and dashed out of the kitchen. He started to pant loudly as soon as he reached the uphill stretch of grass, but he didn’t slow down.
“I think Balabar just prayed to you, Jack,” Aleia marveled. “I didn’t expect that.”
“Me neither,” I agreed.
“But what are we going to do about Roza?” the fairy fretted.
“It’s going to be hard for us to travel to the mountains, too,” Nicola sighed. “I know we’re a lot taller than they are, but it still might not be an easy trip.”
“If it makes you feel any better, these mountains aren’t really that big,” Aleia informed us as she gestured to the horizon. “They’re nothing like the range north of here, anyway.”
“One of the goblins said the mountains are a half a day’s ride away,” I reminded the women. “But their horses were pretty small.”
“Even if it’s just ten or fifteen miles, that’s a long way to walk to go rescue Roza,” Penelope fretted. “I want to be there with her right now!”
“I know,” I said, and then something popped into my head. “So, you might think this is crazy…”
“What is it, my lord?” the naiad asked. “I know you will come up with a wise solution.”
“If Aleia carried you two down to the entrance to the tunnel, she could carry you all the way to the mountains,” I explained. “It might be a little awkward, but Aleia, you carried rocks from the quarry that had to be way heavier than Nicola and Penelope.”
“That’s true,” the fairy mused. “I suppose it might work. It’s certainly better than having my sisters walk while little Roza waits.”
“We’ll look so strange,” Penelope giggled. “But I’ll do anything to help my sweet baby Roza.”
“Aleia, I think what I’m going to have you do for the moment is go ahead to scout out the mountains,” I told the fairy. “If you fly really high and arm yourself well, I think you’ll be safe on your own. Penelope, Nicola, I want you to go to the gnome camp. They said they used to live in the mountains, so they probably have more information. Maybe Aleia should carry the two of you over to the camp as a test run.”
“Yes, master,” Aleia said with a nod, and the other two priestesses nodded as well.
“Let’s go, then,” Penelope said to the other women. “What do we need?”
“Aleia needs a sling and a bow to use from the air, of course, and Nicola needs a bow and her sword,” I began, “but I think we should ask if the gnomes have swords for you, too, Penelope and Aleia. How do you feel about using a large blade like that?”
“Um… great,” the naiad gul
ped.
“Sounds fun to me,” the fairy said with a shrug.
“Good spirit,” I told the women. “You should bring spears for the time being, but I’m really hoping the gnomes will come through with swords. Penelope, Nicola, you can each hold a bow while you’re flying with Aleia.”
“I can do this,” the fairy said with a solemn look on her face. “I just can’t believe this is happening. I didn’t expect to have to perform a rescue tonight.”
“It is surreal, but you’ve got this,” I said. “Now, go get the weapons, and then we’ll practice the flying trick.”
Aleia grabbed a bow for each of the other two women, and Nicola put her sword on her belt and grabbed the flashlight.
“And I’ll carry the spears, too,” Penelope offered before she gazed off toward the mountains. “Oh, Roza, I’d do anything for you. Let’s go, let’s go!”
“So, how am I going to pick you up?” Aleia looked with a furrowed brow at the other two priestesses. “I suppose you can stand next to me, and I’ll grab you around the waist?”
“I’m ready,” Nicola said in a grim tone as she walked over to the fairy, and Penelope followed. “Let me just get my bow ready.”
“I really hope you don’t have to use it on the way to the gnome camp,” Penelope moaned.
“I doubt she will,” I said. “It’s going to be a fast trip.”
“I’m going to count down to picking you up,” Aleia announced to the other women. “Three… two… one!”
The fairy took hold of both Nicola and Penelope’s waists, flapped her lavender wings rapidly, and rose a couple feet off the ground.
“Sister, my feet are still dragging,” the brunette complained. “I wouldn’t exactly call this comfortable.”
“Sorry,” the fairy giggled. “I forgot your legs don’t float like mine do. I’ll go up a little higher.”
“Can you not squeeze my ribs so tightly?” Penelope gasped.
“I don’t want to drop you,” Aleia sighed. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”
The strawberry-blonde rose up into the air as she clasped a priestess tightly in each arm, and Nicola and Penelope gasped.
