The Duelist

by Eric Vall

  “Really.” The gorgeous feline goddess cocked her head as she swirled idle designs onto my right pec. “In fact, I think I need to bathe because of how unexpectedly heated I became.”

  She slowly slid down the length of my body and trailed open-mouthed kisses that were hotter than melted wax all along my treasure trail. She then licked the ridge of my pelvic line, and I was fully hard again within seconds.

  Zoie giggled a little in a breathless way as she stroked me from root to tip, and I groaned as my thighs gave an involuntary flex.

  “Would you care to join me?” she purred.

  “Yes,” I hissed, and I knotted my fingers in her hair so I could give her a scorching kiss.

  I tried to pull her on top of me, but she suddenly slinked out of the draperies with a disappearing flick of her tail.

  “Come and catch me,” she teased.

  I gaped after her for half a second before I tore out of the bed with single-minded purpose.

  Needless to say, we didn’t even make it to the bathing room before I caught her, pinned her to the wall next to the wardrobe, and took her from behind until she was shaking and moaning.

  And then again as I let her ride me on the hard, stone floor until she begged for me to impregnate her.

  “Please, Alex!” she moaned as she kneaded her own breast with her left hand. With her right, she supported herself back on my thighs as she sought the right angle.

  “Fuck, Zoie,” I rasped. I was right on the edge of my second orgasm, but I needed something to push me over the top, so I flipped her over and pushed her legs all the way up to her chest before I sank back in.

  “Oh, th-there!” Zoie shouted as I thrust into her hot chamber. “Come with me, Alex. Give me your kits. I want more of your seed inside of me, oh!”

  I roared as my soul practically left my body, and even when I became oversensitive, I continued to pump my hips so Zoie could ride her crest for as long as possible.

  When I was finally spent, I fell bonelessly on top of her and hoped I wasn’t crushing her. My fears were unfounded, however, as she wrapped her limbs around me and held me so tightly against her I could feel our hearts thumping in a balanced tempo.

  “I hope you have as much stamina when I enter my season,” Zoie said as she walked her fingers up and down my spine.

  “Your season?” I asked as I raised my head to look at her.

  “If our exercises during the last day are not fruitful, I will soon enter a period of fertility,” she explained as I looked down at her, and she reached up to brush my hair back from my brow. “My body will demand I bear kits, so breeding instincts will take over. I will need you by my side until the mating urge is satisfied.”

  “How long does that usually take?” I shifted a hand under her head so she had something more comfortable to rest her head on than the stone floor.

  “It can take anywhere from three to five days for the fires of passion to fully dwindle,” she said with a high blush in her cheeks as she ducked her eyes away from mine. “It is a time of intense coupling that overwhelms the senses, or so I’ve heard… this will be my first time.”

  Three to five days of hot, barely contained sex was an intriguing thought that made my dick give a twitch of interest even though I was more than tapped out.

  “Well, I’ll be by your side when that happens,” I said and kissed the tip of her nose. “So, kits, huh?”

  “Um, yes,” she muttered with another attractive blush that swept down her throat and dappled her chest. “I want the privilege of giving you heirs. I admit I find the idea of you impregnating me arousing, but I do truly desire to bear your future children.”

  I considered her words as I pulled her up from the floor.

  Kits. Heirs. Babies.

  This was truly long-term stuff we were talking about now. For a while, I’d been coming to terms with the fact I might never return to Earth, and overall I had mixed feelings about the whole thing.

  On the one hand, everything and everyone I knew were all back home, but did that word really apply to Earth anymore?

  What was so special about Earth that I called it home anyways? Maybe the reason was everything there was familiar, but now the world of Aventoll was beginning to feel that way the longer I stayed.

  Actually, the more time I spent here, and the more people I seemed to collect along the way, the more I realized how uninspiring my life was before the mysterious woman at Leary’s handed me a magic pocket watch.

  I pulled a folded blanket off the loungey sofa thing in front of the windows, wrapped the soft fabric around Zoie’s shoulders, and then settled her down on the comfortable looking cushions.

  “Let me draw you a bath,” I said, but Zoie caught my wrist so I sat back down and let her envelop us both with the blanket.

  “You are my future, Alex, and for the first time I can actually hope for one,” she said as she curled up against me. “You talked about starting our life, and I want to know more about this moon’s honey before we embark on our journey.”

  “You mean honeymoon?” I chuckled.

  “Yes, honeymoon,” she said as she rolled the unfamiliar word around in her mouth. “Is this a traditional custom your people engage in?”

  “Yeah, when people get married, they usually leave town for a while, visit exotic locations, and have lots of great sex,” I said with a waggle of my eyebrows.

  “Then I suppose our honey’s moon is going well so far,” Zoie said, and I almost laughed at how serious her expression was.

  “It’s not really a checklist or anything,” I said with a grin, but she just looked at me with a slight frown.

  “I just want you to feel as if there is still something of your world for you to hold onto,” she said as she curled her soft fingers around the back of my neck, and she pulled me in to rest my forehead against hers. “I don’t want you to feel like you’ve given up everything.”

  “I gave up a low-paying job, a shitty apartment, and a life where my only friend was some dude I would occasionally spar with at the gym on Fridays,” I said and then lifted her chin so she could look at me. “Trust me when I say I’ve gained a lot more in being here.”

  My words must have worked because the storm clouds in her sapphire eyes cleared away, and she gave me a beautiful smile like the sun after the rain.

  “I think I’m ready for that bath now,” she said and then giggled as she raked her nails back through my hair so it stuck up like a rooster. “Join me?”

  After Zoie and I got clean in a bath, where we only bathed this time, we then left our suite together to go check in with Jenner down at the barn.

  “Good morn!” Jenner smirked and tweaked his monocle as we entered the barn together hand-in-hand. “Or, rather midday.”

  “How have things been since I left, Jenner?” I asked as I surveyed the various crates and parcels currently being organized under the hayloft by Arvid.

  “Things are splendid!” the koala-man said as he consulted the sheaf of papers that had the itemized list on it. “I’ve made an accurate tally and description of the Lord Asher’s generosity. Among them are seeds, tools, food, and a variety of the finest clothing from formal wear to functional battle attire.”

  “That’s really amazing, actually,” I commented.

  “Indeed.” Jenner winked and then went over to a small box and pulled out a tiny canvas sack. “Zoie, I believe this might interest you.”

  Zoie’s ears pricked forward as she held out her hand so Jenner could shake something into her palm. A purple ball the size of a marble rolled out from the sack, and Zoie’s whole face transformed into an expression of wonder.

  “A pappa sweet?” she said with reverence as she examined the gumball-looking candy.

  I watched as she first touched the tip of her tongue to the candy’s shiny exterior, and then I almost drooled a little myself when that tongue curled around the little ball as she drew it into her mouth.

  “How is it, my dear?” Jenner asked with
an indulgent smile on his face. He reminded me of an old grandpa with boiled sweets always in his pockets for spoiling his grandchildren.

  Zoie’s eyes rolled up into her head, and she swirled the sweet around to her other cheek before answering. “It’s wonderful.”

  “Good,” Jenner said and gave her the little bag of candy.

  “Try one,” Zoie urged and held one up to my lips.

  I gave her a playful grin and sucked the candy from her fingers.

  And then coughed as a flavor more sour than sucking on a lemon hit me right in the back of the throat.

  “Ugh, ahem, woah,” I spluttered as I tried to keep the candy in my mouth.

  “Give it a few seconds,” Zoie giggled as my eyes watered and my tongue burned as if I’d just licked an electric fence.

  “Oh,” I said as the intense sour flavor mellowed into something sweet like one of those Warhead candies I would eat by the bag full as a kid. The taste reminded me of strawberries, and I crunched down on the hard shell.

  Like everything in Aventoll, even the candy came with unexpected surprises, and I licked my lips as something that reminded me of rich dark chocolate coated my tongue.

  “See?” Zoie said with a pleased swish of her tail.

  “Mr. Jenner, Mel and Bodin want to let you know they’ve finished the western fence--oh, hi, Asher Alex!” Rylan said with all of his whirling dervish energy.

  “Hey, Ry,” I greeted and took another sweet from Zoie. “How are you settling in?”

  “Great!” Rylan grinned and wiggled a little where he stood. “I got the biggest room in the servants’ quarters that looks out over the whole estate, and I have two whole blankets along with an actual bed!”

  “That’s good, buddy,” I said and tossed him the purple candy.

  “Oh, thank you, sir!” Rylan gasped as if I’d just handed him a rare priceless diamond. He tucked it into the pocket of his trousers for safekeeping, and I made a mental note to myself to make sure no one on my estate would ever lack for the basics like food or beds.

  “Rylan,” Jenner interjected. “Tell Mel and Bodin that if they are finished with the pasture, they can get started on the fences in the eastern fields. Arvid will meet them there with more wood.”

  “Yes, sir!” Rylan said and ran back out of the barn.

  “Who are Mel and Bodin?” Zoie asked.

  “They are the farmhands Lord Mec sent us to help around the estate, but you’ll meet them later,” Jenner said as he tucked his thumbs into his waistband. “Now, what can I do for you both?”

  “We’re thinking of taking a trip,” I said and wrapped my arm around Zoie’s shoulders.

  “Oh?” Jenner blinked, and his gray face creased in a frown. “But there is so much we need to prepare for, are you sure, Mr. Alex?”

  “Jenner, Alex and I need a map to the Ruins,” Zoie said, and Jenner’s expression fell in shock.

  His mouth moved soundlessly for a moment and then just hung open at a loss.

  “Whatever for?” he finally asked.

  “We need to raid the Ruins for gold so I can afford someone to enhance my weapon for when I fight Ren,” I explained rapid-fire with a not so convincing “trust-me-it’s-fine” grin.

  The koala-man looked back and forth between Zoie and I with a flabbergasted look on his furry face.

  “Well, I suppose we need to consult my study for a map,” he said.

  Zoie and I followed him back to the manor where he took us to a small cramped room that looked like it used to be a broom cupboard. Papers, inkpots, and just about every book Jenner had managed to get his hands on seemed to be crammed in there and stacked up to the ceiling. A rickety looking desk with taper candles burnt all the way down to their waxy puddles lined the top edge, and a wooden chair with another thick tome on the seat sat in front. It was clear he spent a lot of time in here, if the dusty pallet bed on the far wall had anything to say about it.

  We both stood in the least unoccupied corner of the study as Jenner rifled through stacks of papers he’d stuffed between book pages and in the drawers of the desk.

  “Aha!” the gray-eared man exclaimed as he plucked a yellowing scroll from a collection of them arranged in a copper vase like a bouquet of roses. “I believe this is the one you want.”

  All of us clustered around the tiny desk as Jenner stepped up onto the chair and unrolled the scroll. Then he took off his monocle and used it as a magnifying glass as he hovered over a symbol that looked like a fortress.

  “We are here in Mec Valley, and the Ruins of Crater Ridge are here,” he said, and I tracked his monocle as it traveled north to magnify a dark and ominous series of cliffs just on the outside of Nata Isle’s massive wall. “It should take you four days to get there and back. I’m assuming you will be going on foot?”

  “Yes, Prosper is too recognizable to take,” Zoie said with a nod.

  “Okay, I will have Rylan pack a pair of traveling rucksacks for you both,” the little man said.

  “Are my weapons still in the barn?” Zoie asked.

  “Yes, my dear, I would not do something so foolish as to move your weapons,” Jenner chuckled and patted her elbow. “I’m not likely to make that mistake twice.”

  “I will go gather what we might need,” she said, and once she was armed with a task, she whirled out of the study with a few scraps of paper flying in her wake.

  “She’s eager,” I laughed. “By the way, what happened the last time you moved her weapons?”

  “The Lady Zoie did not take kindly when she thought her collection was sold along with the rest of her belongings,” he said and arched a single eyebrow. “She let me know how much my ‘help’ was wanted when I found this place completely rearranged and all my charts and notes organized.”

  “And organizing your study was a bad thing?” I glanced around this pack-rat’s wet dream and then back to the koala-man as he squinted back at the map.

  “She messed up my highly esoteric system, and I couldn’t find anything for days,” he said and then tapped another area on the map with his monocle. “For the night, I suggest you stop in Gatetown since the pair of you… slept in so late.”

  “Right,” I said, and I could feel my ears warming as I took the rolled map from Jenner. “I guess I wasn’t so tired after all this morning.”

  “Ah, yes.” He rocked up and down on his feet and smirked at me. “I’m sure after two helpings of Omite wedding porridge, you were off to the races.”

  “What is Omite wedding porridge?” I asked.

  “It’s a potent traditional dish popular with Arvid’s people,” he said, and his smirk bloomed into a full wily grin typical for any old coot. “How do you think they get around to making little Arvids?”

  “It might take a while, yeah,” I said as I rubbed the back of my neck. “Can’t really procreate if you fall asleep before the main event.”

  Jenner then threw back his gray-eared head and gave one of his anime barking schnauzer laughs as he clapped me on the shoulder.

  “Right you are, lad!” he huffed, and then he hopped down from the chair as he wiped the tears from his eyes. “I apologize that I didn’t warn you better, but it’s Arvid’s way of saying welcome to the family.”

  I smiled again and ducked away from Jenner’s knowing gaze. I really didn’t have words to describe the odd feeling blooming inside me when Jenner mentioned the word family. Maybe that was why I didn’t really miss Earth because even though this world has tried to kill me at every turn, I somehow still managed to fall into this ragtag family unit with a big estate that needed some love and care.

  My whole life, I’d always operated as a lone wolf, but being a part of this band of misfits was… nice.

  “Thanks again, Mr. J,” I said and tucked the map away into the wide waistband of my leather belt. “For everything, not just the map.”

  “Of course, my boy,” he said as he picked up a few of the papers scattered on the floor and began shoving them into the overflowing bo
okshelves in an order that apparently made sense only to him.

  Finally, he turned to me and cleared his throat.

  “I know why you are going to the Ruins, even though I don’t like it. I do hope you and Ms. Zoie take care on your travels.” He then extended his furry paw-like hand for me to shake.

  “I’ll take care of her, don’t you worry,” I said as I shook his hand and then headed for the door.

  “Please bring yourself back unharmed as well, Alex,” Jenner called out with his hands inside his pockets. “It’s been a long while since I’ve been proud to serve a master here at the manor.”

  I was hit with another round of speechlessness at this declaration, so I simply nodded once and went to go see if Zoie needed any help.

  The next few hours blurred by as Zoie and I prepared for our journey, and my gut felt like a washing machine on spin cycle as my excitement grew.

  I wasn’t going to lie, a tiny bit of fear was threaded through the excitement. We were on our way to raid a demon’s nest after all.

  But this was an actual quest like in Zelda or D&D, and the fifteen-year-old inside of me was kind of stoked to be doing an actual dungeon dive.

  A little while later, we all met up behind the barn in the late afternoon sun as Rylan and Jenner saw to our final preparations.

  “I suggest cutting up through the forest instead of heading down hill toward the road,” Jenner said as he struggled with handing me my heavy leather pack. “It will save you an hour, and has the added benefit of keeping you out of sight.”

  “Word travels fast around this island, so that will be best if we can move around without a fanfare,” Zoie said and side-eyed Rylan when he handed her a pack that matched mine.

  “What about our new farmhands?” I asked Jenner.

  “They’ve been very eager to earn their keep and have already fixed the fences around the pasture and the east fields with the help of Asher Mec’s resources, but you will meet them when you come back,” he reported, and then he tied a small velvet pouch to my belt. “There are over sixty tithe stones in there. Tovish the innkeeper of The Gate’s Inn is from the Isle Eng, so he looks like me. Mention me by name, and he will let you pay for a room with tithes instead of gold.”