Divine Arsenal: Dual Weapon Cultivation

by Dante King

  The servant’s eyes lit up. They were a deep violet, nearly the same color as her plush, kimono-like robes. “Cultivators are always welcome at the Hungry Herb,” she said, clearly sharing her mistress’s hunger for knowledge. “I’ll prepare them rooms—or will the two of you be sharing one…?”

  I opened my mouth to tell her Anna and I could share a bed, when Lyra cut me off. “You won’t be as happy about our third guest,” she said, gesturing at the back.

  Kij’s violet eyes flashed with barely suppressed anger when she saw the figure lying among the remaining barrels of beer. “Her?” she asked, in a tone almost too impertinent for a servant. “Really?”

  “I know, I know,” Lyra said as she climbed down from the cart. She rubbed her ass as she descended, soothing away the bruises of the road. “Don’t worry, she’s in no condition to cause trouble. Hasn’t said a word the entire drive, actually.”

  Kij realized Hazel was neither moving nor speaking. “What’s happened to her?” the servant asked, sounding worried.

  “Got on Guildmaster Ji’s bad side,” Lyra said grimly. “She’s been severed from her Cultivation.”

  Kij threw a pale, slender hand over her mouth, wincing. “My Gods,” she said, looking utterly forlorn. “So terrible!”

  “Take her upstairs and get her settled,” Lyra commanded, brushing dirt from her dress. “Try and keep the others from seeing her. We don’t need any trouble in the Hungry Herb. Meanwhile, I’ve promised these two a drink—and I’d like to have it sitting in my garden. I’ve so missed it while I’ve been away—”

  “Thank you,” Hazel said, climbing out of the cart. “I appreciate you taking care of me.”

  All of us stared at her. The blonde warrior still looked like she’d been through hell, but it was a heartening sign to hear her speak. “Of course, dear,” Lyra said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “It was the least I could do. Go with my servant—she’ll take you somewhere you can rest.”

  Hazel did just that, following Kij to the side entrance. Only just before she stepped inside, she seemed to think of something. “Hey, Eric.”

  I turned. “Yes?”

  She left Kij behind, rummaging in her robes as she strode through the muddy street. As she approached Anna and me, I saw what she’d pulled from her pocket—the remaining two Beast Cores we’d looted from the squirrel attack. The others sat inside of my Black Core, waiting to be absorbed the next time I practiced Dual Cultivation.

  “I have... no need for these any longer,” Hazel said haltingly. For a moment, her expression threatened to collapse, tears welling in the corners of her dark, sad eyes. She mastered herself with an effort. “You should take these. Use them to increase your power.”

  “You could sell those,” Lyra said warningly.

  Hazel shook her head. “I should have given them all to Eric in the first place,” she said, slowly closing her eyes. “This is just making things right.”

  That wasn’t all I needed to set right. I took the Cores, but as she turned to move away, I caught and held Hazel’s gaze.

  “I will find a way to fix this,” I told her, meaning it with every cell in my body. “And once I do, we’ll get revenge on Guildmaster Ji. I promise you that.”

  At first, I thought Hazel hadn’t heard me. Then the ghost of a smile cut through her expression. It was like a beam of sunlight coming through the clouds on a stormy, dreary day.

  “If anyone could do it, it would be you,” Hazel whispered, giving me a look of such hope and devotion that my chest hurt. “I think I’d like to go to my room now.”

  As Kij led Hazel away, smuggling her to her new quarters, Lyra took me and Anna by the hand.

  “Come,” she said, smiling from ear-to-ear. “I’ll give you a tour of the place. Then we can sit down, have a couple drinks—and talk about this ‘Dual Cultivation’ of yours…”

  Chapter 12

  “There she is,” Lyra said proudly, gesturing around the nearly empty room. “My girl. The Hungry Herb Tavern! She’s not the prettiest lass in the land, no, nor is she the youngest. But when you’ve got nowhere else to go and feel that the whole world’s drawn up stakes against you, she’s a truer friend than most.”

  The Hungry Herb Tavern was much like its proprietor—open and inviting. A little rough around the edges, sure, but clearly a lot of love had gone into the place. Lyra’s lust for life showed in every aspect of its design, from the broad tables for gaming and socializing to the ornate fountains and tapestries adorning the walls. There was even a miniature river running through the middle of the floor, protected by a pane of glass. As I looked down, a massive whiskered fish bubbled beneath, chasing after a morsel of food.

  “Nice place,” I said, meaning it.

  The temperature in here was cool and dry in contrast to the hot street outside, and the air smelled faintly of food, beer, and spices. My mouth had been watering from the moment we’d walked in and threatened to never stop unless I got something to eat and drink.

  Lyra led us through the tavern, pointing out this or that scuff from a bar fight or blemish from a courtesan getting too drunk and dancing on the top of the bar. Further back, behind a paper screen, was a VIP area with high-backed chairs and what looked like small sheltered booths for privacy.

  “Right here,” Lyra said. What looked like a section of wall actually had a hidden lever, pulling back with a slight touch. “This way to my garden, you two. Where I feel most at home in the world.”

  As soon as I saw it, I understood why. Lyra’s garden extended from the roof of the Hungry Herb Tavern, an elevated platform nearly brushing up against the wall of the settlement. The buildings on either side pushed in tight around it, leaving only this small square in direct sunlight. As a result, the garden was private, quiet: the perfect place to retire after a long, taxing day. Gorgeous flowering plants grew everywhere, filling the place with a thousand sweet smells.

  The only furniture turned out to be a small table and some very comfortable chairs. Anna and I sank into them, pushing ours together so we could put our hands all over each other. Now that we’d finally reached our destination, my girlfriend seemed more eager than ever to get some alone time.

  “Your friend will be well taken care of,” Lyra said, settling into her own deeply cushioned chair with a sigh. “Kij is one of my most loyal servants. She’ll see to the girl’s every need, and keep her tongue from wagging about it.”

  “I’m glad Hazel is talking again,” I said, trying not to think about the way Anna kept stroking my side. Right now, the need for food and drink kept the girl from tearing my clothes off and fucking me right here and now, but once we got some refreshment, it’d be hard to make it as far as our room.

  Lyra nodded. “She’ll recover, although it will take some time,” the older woman said. I wondered if she’d dealt with this kind of thing before. “Hazel has experienced a profound psychological shock—not to mention the physical damage from Guildmaster Ji’s spell. It’s not the kind of pain that leaves marks, but Hazel will be recovering for some time, regardless.”

  As if summoned by her thought, Kij stepped through the curtain and out into the garden. She carried a tray piled high with food, along with three oversized mugs brimming with beer. Froth spilled over the rim of one as she set the whole thing down on the table, flashing in the sunlight. My stomach roared like a hungry lion at the sight of all that food.

  “Perhaps we should dig in,” Lyra said, taking a plate from the tray. She grabbed a handful of sizzling potstickers with her chopsticks, handing them over to me with a giggle. “A Hungry Herb specialty—fried pork dumplings with spicy herb seasoning.”

  Anna and I dug in. The food was incredible—from the first bite, I knew we were in for something truly special. The beer washed the food down with ice-cold goodness, the liquid in the mugs frothing with ice from the freezing storage. Its slightly bitter taste had been masked with honey, like a cross between lager and mead. If anyone had tried something like that on Earth,
the result would have been practically undrinkable—here, it was ambrosia.

  For a while, conversation ceased. There was nothing but the sound of the three of us eating and drinking: at first, with manic hunger, then slower as our bellies began to fill. By the time I collapsed back into my seat, exhausted, Kij had brought us seconds of everything and what felt like a half-dozen refills of the rich, frothy beer. My head swam with a combination of fullness and drunkenness, the world warm and good.

  “That,” Lyra purred, crossing one leg over the other, “was worth waiting for.”

  Anna lay back in her chair, both hands on her belly like she was afraid it might burst. “Hoo boy,” she groaned. “I’m stuffed.”

  “Now we may speak,” Lyra said, sipping her beer with a smile. “For the next few days, you will be my guests, of course. The Hungry Herb Tavern is happy to welcome the both of you, and you’ll be treated to the full hospitality the old girl can offer. Don’t worry about your lodgings or your food—consider them my treat.”

  “Thank you,” I said, a little surprised. “That’s extremely kind.”

  Lyra snorted. “Kind? Young man, if I’d hired you and your girl to escort me through those Zones, I’d have had to pay you a lot more than a couple night’s room and board. I usually hire some low-level unaffiliated Cultivators to escort me, but they are expensive. Skilled Cultivators like yourself are in short supply these days—at least ones not tied up in the Hollow Frog Guild…”

  The drink in my mouth turned sour at the mention of the Frogs. “Bastards,” I said, gritting my teeth. “I bet they wouldn’t even help you if you paid them.”

  Anna was more contrite. “You have a very nice place here,” she purred, indicating the lush garden with its down-home wonders. “I’m surprised the woman who runs such a beautiful tavern troubles herself to personally deliver beer and spirits. Wouldn’t that be a task for your servants?”

  Lyra looked like she’d just had her hand caught in the cookie jar. “You’ve got me there, Anna,” she said, giving her a canny look. “Maybe I like a little adventuring in my old age. I’m certainly not getting any younger—and I’d hate to risk one of my cute little barmaids to some horny, warmongering bandits.” She let out a deep sigh. “Had I been born with the power to Cultivate, things would be different around here.”

  “You’re not old,” I said, blurting the words out without thinking. The beer was getting to my head. “You’re gorgeous!”

  A flush rose to my face as I realized what I’d just said. Lyra just laughed it off, good-natured as ever. “Is that the way he talks to you too, sweetheart?” she asked, pointing at Anna.

  “You have no idea the things Eric says to me,” Anna whispered huskily. Okay, the booze was definitely getting to her, too—making her even bolder than usual. Her fingers worked at my belt, hooking in the loops like she wanted to rip the whole thing off. “He might seem like a polite young gentleman in the streets, but get him into a room alone with a vulnerable girl like me and he turns into an absolute beast…”

  “I have no doubt,” Lyra said with a grin. “Bad boy!”

  “I was just saying,” I said, trying to get a handle back on the conversation, “that it’s not too late to have an adventure. Clearly you like to see the world. You could travel—move across Zones, open up franchises all over the world with this delicious beer…”

  Lyra watched me make a fool out of myself, her eyes sparkling with mirth. “Uh huh. And what do you want to do, exactly? You’re free to stay here as long as you like, of course. I could teach you what I know, and maybe you could even find yourself a place like this to purchase in another town or village—but somehow I think the life of a tavern owner is unlikely to excite you much. What are your long-term plans?”

  I had tons of plans in the forefront of my mind —but they all involved Anna, Lyra, and a bed that wouldn’t break easily. I sensed Lyra meant something deeper by the question—something more than just my next sexual escapade.

  “First,” I said, thinking it over, “I need to learn more Cultivation.”

  “Uh huh,” Anna purred, squeezing the bulge in my pants. “I bet.”

  I removed her hand. She pouted, but she understood. She could grope me in a few minutes—this part of the conversation Lyra took seriously. “I need to power up as soon as I can, which means I need to search this Zone for anyone or anything that can give me an edge. Then I’ll challenge Guildmaster Ji.” I took a sip of my beer, covering how completely insane that sounded.

  “Truly?” Lyra looked surprised, but at least she didn’t laugh. “What will that do?”

  I shrugged. “Get revenge for Hazel, like I promised,” I said. I didn’t need more motivation than that—a promise was a promise —but I added, “Then the Hollow Frog Guild will belong to me. I’ll toss out the slackers, reform the rest, and turn it into a Guild that actually helps people instead of extorting them. That should give me enough of a power base to expand across the Zone.”

  Lyra nodded. “And then?”

  And then? It already seemed like an impossible task. Little did I know the kind of faith Lyra already had in me and my ability to tear shit up.

  “If I somehow manage to do all that,” I said, chuckling, “I’ll start doing what Eliezer the Peak Supreme God asked of me. Work my way up the ladder to his power level, maybe even exceed it one day. From what you’ve told me, I’ve got hundreds of years to practice now. Maybe even thousands. So it doesn’t seem as crazy as it once did.”

  Just then the curtain swished open, breaking our conversation. Kij emerged, her violet eyes flashing with mirth as the servant busied herself removing dirty dishes from the table.

  Lyra sighed happily. “One more round of drinks, I believe, Kij. No more food for now.”

  The servant retreated, flashing a wink as she ducked through the curtain.

  “Kij will be back one final time to bring us an after-lunch round, but she’ll leave us in privacy after that. She’s a good servant that way.”

  “Definitely,” I agreed, finishing off a final potsticker. “My compliments to the chef, too.”

  Lyra’s smile turned into a smirk. “You think she’s attractive, don’t you? Kij?”

  The last bite of potsticker went down a bit funny. I coughed to clear it, completing the process with a big swig of beer. Kij was a good-looking girl, to be sure, with something enticing in those piercing, violet eyes. But I sensed a trap hidden in the question.

  “All barmaids are attractive,” I said, favoring her with a smirk. “Otherwise, they wouldn’t be barmaids. But her beauty pales in comparison to yours, Lyra.”

  She let out a laugh at that. “Goodness! You’re not half-bad at flattery, young man. Keep that up, and you might wind up warming my bed on one of these cold nights.”

  Now, I thought. She’d given me and Anna the opening we were looking for—all I had to do was be bold enough to seize it.

  “Why wait for a cold night?” I asked, confirming with a glance at Anna. “Anna and I are more than willing to retire to your bedchambers whenever you’d like.”

  “Give you a hands-on demonstration of exactly how Dual Cultivation works,” Anna added with a wink.

  It was a cute thing, seeing Lyra thrown so far off balance. The older woman sputtered incoherently, her mouth moving around nothing at all as she tried to find the words to respond. Just then, Kij emerged from behind the curtain with a new round of drinks. Sensing her Mistress’s distress, she placed the beers down quickly and withdrew.

  “Dual Cultivation,” Lyra mused, recovering her senses. “That is quite the story, isn’t it? A lost power, capable of granting Cultivation to those born without it.”

  I felt my eyebrows drawing together. “You don’t believe me?” I asked. “You saw Anna transform—”

  “Indeed I did,” Lyra said with a heavy sigh. “But that could just be an aspect of her Cultivation. It proves that she has powers, yes. But not that she was born without Cultivation, or that it was granted to her
through sexual magic.”

  I frowned. “I thought we’d built up a rapport,” I said, a little hurt. “I was so sure you believed us…”

  Lyra looked pensive. She grabbed her drink and downed nearly the entire thing in one long gulp, the slender muscles of her throat contracting in a way that made me want her even more. She came up gasping, wiping her mouth with her hand.

  “I don’t know what I believe,” she said, a drunken sheen in her eyes. “I think I need to see it for myself.”

  Anna’s hand tensed inside the loop of my belt. She’d been playing with me there for some time, as if begging me to let her undress me and slide her face into my lap. Now she gasped.

  “You want to see Dual Cultivation,” I said, knowing what that meant. “Meaning you want to watch Anna and I…?”

  “Yes,” Lyra said, nodding like a bobblehead. “I want to see it with my own eyes. Then I’ll believe you.”

  I felt a big, dumb smile spreading across my face. Suddenly it was hard to hold back laughter.

  “What, like right here, right now?” I asked, sliding a hand between Anna’s thighs. She lifted her ass from the seat with a gasp, nibbling her bottom lip. “We could do that…”

  Lyra was scandalized. “Not in my garden!” she said—though her shoulders rose and fell faster at the idea. “Your rooms should be ready by now. I could take you there, and then you could give me a… demonstration. Assuming the two of you are willing and able, of course.”

  “Oh, I’m more than willing,” Anna giggled. Clearly she too was feeling her liquor—I’d rarely seen her this loose and ready to go. “Just to be clear though, Lyra: are we talking about a show, or are you planning to join in on our demonstration?”

  A shadow passed over the garden. Eagerness still filled Lyra’s face, yet I thought I could detect a hidden nervousness beneath the placid surface of her smile.

  “Just watching... for now,” she said thickly. “I need proof, you understand? I can’t just take this whole Dual Cultivation on faith…”