Nigel expected her to come back, but Bel got up and ran away, toward the copse of trees.
"What the fuck is she doing?" asked Khoraja.
It took Nigel a moment to figure it out. "Scouting. Proving herself. Wait." As the ranger disappeared behind a hill and out of sight, he added, "Keep an eye out around us. I'll watch for Bel."
With the trees leafless, the thicket wouldn't provide much protection, but it was the best cover available to get close to the tower. So he scanned the thicket for her. He saw motion, but it wasn't human. Maybe it was a demon, or maybe a wild animal. Out here, any large predator was likely to be hungry. The demons and their friends were not the only danger. Still, there was no sign of Bel. They waited. The sun beat relentlessly on the shadeless hill. Goblins, wild animals, orcs, and demons had all beset them, but those dangers didn't make a sunburn more pleasant. Already his skin was looking red.
Emma put her hand on his shoulder, and the feeling went away. She then healed herself, and Khoraja.
Magic was damned useful sometimes.
"There she is," said Khoraja. Sure enough, Bel was walking casually from the trees left of the tower. Apparently she had followed the trees until she had gotten as close to the party as she could before heading over the hot desert. In a few minutes she rejoined them, gratefully taking the water skin Khoraja offered and drinking thirstily. Emma cast a heal on her, too, but it didn't seem like Bel was as effected by the sun as the rest of them had been.
"We're not getting in there," Bel said. "I know you think I'm a coward, but it's not happening. There are two big demons guarding the door, as big as the ones we faced in the ambush. About eight feet tall. They have four arms each, and each of them carries two large battle axes. The door itself is open, but -- I don't see how we're getting past those two guys without them sounding the alarm. My arrows do some damage, especially when I enchant them first. Khoraja's flame is --" she broke off.
"Close to useless, I know," said Khoraja.
"I don't think we can just plunk 'em from range, either," said Bel. "It'll take multiple hits to take 'em down, and whoever is inside will notice. We can rush them maybe -- the trees get dense close to the back of the tower. We'd still have fifty yards of open ground to cross to get to the tower. Then maybe we could work our way to the door and jump them. That pointed roof means there's no one up there, but that doesn't mean someone couldn't fire at us from the windows above. But I don't think we can take down two big demons fast enough, if at all, and then we'd be facing everyone in the tower once we were inside."
"And we don't even know Deluca is there," said Khoraja.
"We don't. But it's our only lead," Nigel said. He had the beginnings of a plan, but that plan wouldn't be executed today.
"It sounds hopeless," said Emma.
"Demons killed my family," said Bel. "But I'm with you, sister. I don't see how we will do it."
"We don't," said Nigel, causing everyone to turn to look at him. Bel and Khoraja looked disappointed, Emma relieved.
"Not today," he explained. "But we know where he lives now. We need to get stronger. Not just generally stronger, but we need to prepare for this particular fight. Come... let's get out of sight."
They moved behind the hill, and Nigel led them back toward Belden.
"Prepare how?" asked Khoraja.
"Well, for starters it depends on everyone here being in this for the long haul. Being willing to take Deluca and his demons down even if it means it takes time."
"I'm in. I can't fight demons alone as well as I can with friends," said Bel. "If you still want me."
"We still want you," said Nigel, hoping he was speaking for the others.
"You know I'll do what it takes," said Khoraja.
"We are bound," Emma said. "But what are we going to do?"
"Like I said, we need to become better demon fighters -- all of us. Emma -- your holy spells are extra effective against the demons, but you hardly ever cast your attack spell, so you're not very good at it." He checked her character sheet quickly. She'd leveled up in it, at least. Divine Blast was at a two.
Emma nodded. "I've always been a lover, not a fighter," she said.
"We need you to become more of a fighter. Khoraja, you've specialized in fire spells, but the demons are pretty much immune to fire. But they took damage from your ray of frost, or whatever that spell was, so you need to improve at that."
"Freezing Bolt. Fair enough," said Khoraja. "But if Emma is using her mana and her attention, casting attack spells, who handles the healing? Or do you have a plan that stops us from taking damage?"
"No, I don't have a plan that stops us from taking damage. In fact, it sounds like my job will involve absorbing the attacks of two big demons with four battleaxes. I'll need some heals. But they don't have to all come from Emma, if Bel works on her healing ability."
"I become better at fighting demons by working on healing?" asked Bel.
"We become better at fighting demons by everyone learning to be better at what they are weak at."
"And what are you improving?" asked Bel.
"Getting hit. I can't cross the Burning Wastes in a bunch of armor, but I can put it on just before the fight. We'll loot Garrett's body on the way back, for starters. And I'll practice fighting in it while all of you are practicing magic. Getting a magic sword will help, too."
"Those don't exactly grow on trees," said Bel.
"No, they don't," Khoraja said. "But he knows a guy who can get him one, if Nigel will do him a favor. I see where you're heading with this."
"Yeah. We can practice on them," said Nigel.
"Them?"
"Wyrmkin east of Belden," Nigel explained. "I've been offered a--" he nearly said quest, and changed his mind "--job to kill a bunch of them. With a magic sword as a reward." He didn't want to do one of Windstar's quests, but they needed to get better fast, and improving quickly on Aldrya meant using skills in combat. The magic sword was icing on the cake.
Nigel expected Bel to react badly to the lack of any prospect of demon targets. But Bel just shrugged. "Wyrmkin, eh? I think we can handle them."
#
Garrett's armor was where they had left it, fortunately, and the trek back to Belden was uneventful, which suited everyone but Bel. They got back after sundown. After a hearty meal of ham hocks and spiced potatoes, Khoraja invited Bel to join them in their room, but Bel declined and excused herself.
"Why did you do that?" Nigel asked Emma.
"You like her, don't you?" asked Khoraja. "I mean, physically."
Nigel didn't answer right away, and he noticed Emma smiling at his discomfort. "There's no reason you shouldn't have variety, husband," Emma said, putting her hand on his.
"I like Bel fine," Nigel said. "And yes, she's sexy."
"Then why shouldn't I have asked?" asked Khoraja.
"Because she already made it quite clear she wasn't interested."
"Watching you in action might have changed her mind."
"What she saw was a disaster," Nigel retorted. "Nothing she saw about that fight looked good, and if she hadn't run away and then counter-ambushed -- and I know it wasn't a plan, just a happy accident -- I think we'd all be dead."
"Or worse than dead, in my case," said Emma.
"Still, she might have changed her mind," Khoraja said. "Besides, this way when you ask her to your bed, she'll know I'm fine with it."
Nigel shook his head. "The two of you are plenty for now."
"For now," Khoraja said.
Nigel rolled his eyes. "She said no, and no means no, Khoraja. It doesn't mean keep pushing until someone says yes. Particularly when she's still feeling bad about running during the fight."
Khoraja chuckled. "I see sometimes humans can be patient in matters of love and lust, too. One learns something every day."
"I'm not being--" Nigel protested, but Abby came by with a pitcher of ale, and he didn't want to continue the argument in front of her. Patient, he'd meant to say. He'd meant w
hat he said. He had his hands full, and he had no designs on Bel. He appreciated her lithe form aesthetically, but he didn't intend to bed her.
Not that he wouldn't enjoy it if it happened.
"Maybe Abby would like to join us?" asked Khoraja.
"Join you for what?" Abby asked. She leaned over to refill their mugs, and Nigel couldn't help but notice her large, half-exposed breasts.
"No," said Nigel. "I'm sure she wouldn't."
"Do you not feel up to doing your part to entertain our lover?" Emma asked Khoraja.
Abby blushed. She opened her mouth as if to talk, closed it, and then opened it again. "You adventurers are all alike," she said, and spun away.
"She would have said yes," Khoraja said. "You're a hero in this town."
"What has gotten into you?" asked Nigel.
"I'm just being practical," Khoraja said. "I still want to know if that power of yours works on everyone you have sex with."
"Power?" asked Emma.
"Something he calls a character sheet," Khoraja said.
"I think if he has a power working on me I should know about it," Emma said.
"I think you should know a lot of things," said Nigel. "So lets finish up our food, and I'll explain why I can bond with you -- or at least, my best guess."
They ate the rest of their meal. Nigel saw Abby shooting him glances now and then. She'd turn shyly away whenever he looked her way. He suspected Khoraja was right, that Abby would say yes to joining him in bed. But Khoraja had a better way to test if sex activated his ability to see character sheets. Maybe he could see Emma's because she was his wife. Wife. That was still strange, but Emma clearly felt the bond wedded them as well as any ceremony.
Once upstairs, Emma sat on the bed. Khoraja peeled off her dress, revealing her shapely naked body, and danced. For the serious discussion that Nigel intended to have, that was distracting, and he suspected Khoraja knew it. Probably she didn't think it was a good idea to tell Emma, but it didn't seem right to him to keep it a secret from her at this point. He tried not to watch the sexy elf.
"I'm an ascendant," Nigel said.
Emma's mouth dropped. "Oh!"
As he'd expected, Khoraja gave up trying to distract him, and leaned up against the door instead. She didn't get dressed, though.
He explained the character sheet "power" as best as he could. Emma was fascinated, and wanted to know all her stats. And all his stats, for context. He noticed that his one-handed sword skill had gone up to 6.
"And you can see this because you had sex with me?"
"Well, I first noticed it after that. I could see yours and not Khoraja's, even though you were both in a party with me." He tried to explain being in a party. Bel was still in the group -- so he wouldn't have had any way to see Abby's stats, since the interface wasn't designed to allow over four people in a party group. He didn't know how to kick someone from a party, or how to include them.
"You two should totally fuck," said Emma, looking back and forth between them.
"Fine," said Khoraja.
"Huh?" said Nigel.
"I said fine. I'll have sex with you. Emma, go see if Bel will let you sleep with her."
"But you watched us," Emma protested.
"I did. And this is different."
"How?"
"Because I said so," Khoraja said.
"Please, can I stay?" Emma asked.
Khoraja shook her head. "Give us two hours, and then you can come cuddle."
"Two hours?"
"I don't intend to let him come right away." Khoraja grinned.
"You wicked girl. I'll go check on things at the temple." Emma got up from the bed and gave the surprised Nigel a peck on the cheek. "Have fun," she whispered. "And let me know if her fire is as good as my Sexual Healing."
She was gone by the time Nigel realized that she was asking about Khoraja's magic abilities, not making some kind of strange sexual innuendo.
"So," said Khoraja. "What are you waiting for? Get naked."
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Nigel woke up in the morning with a soft naked girl to each side of him. Emma snored softly. Khoraja was so still she was barely breathing. He thought of waking one or both of them up. Just having them there was enough to make him hard and ready for another round.
But light was already coming in the window. He'd always had trouble sleeping if it was light out and there was stuff to do. Deluca hadn't been idle, and there was no assurance he'd wait in his tower while they gathered their forces. In fact, if he learned who took control of the orcs and killing the goblins, he might even target them, but Nigel doubted it. He seemed to have lost personal interest in the orcs once they'd provided his diversion. Still, time mattered, and Bel was possibly waiting downstairs for breakfast.
But first he wanted to indulge his curiosity. Character Sheet. Party View. Khoraja.
A stream of information popped up.
Strength 9
Dexterity 13
Intelligence 19
Constitution 10
Wow, 19. That was even better than his Strength. He kept reading.
Racial Advantage: Increased lifespan, c. 300 years.
Racial Disadvantage: Slower learner, 50% experience points.
So, experience points existed, even if he couldn't see them. Fighting and possibly other things got you experience, and it then got distributed to increase skills you'd used. Which was more or less perfect for his plan of getting better by fighting the wyrmkin. He skimmed the other stats.
Fireball 8
Fire Spray 6
Fire Shield 1
Freezing Bolt 1
Bandaging 3
Dagger 2
Interesting. Khoraja was more powerful than he, and the stats reflected that. But her Fireball spell wasn't as powerful as Emma's Sexual Healing, even though it was better than any other attack they had. Since she skilled up slower, she'd probably had Fireball at a five or a six when he met her, when he'd just had swords at a one, but he was catching up fast.
He felt a hand on his cock, and he wasn't sure whose it was. It was a pleasant confusion.
"Khoraja, our lover needs attention," said Emma. "Shall we pleasure him together?"
Khoraja went from sleeping like the dead to wide awake in a literal blink of an eye. "We can do that." She slid under the covers, and Emma did too. A moment later he could feel two tongues licking up his very hard shaft.
I can't believe I'm thinking of passing this up. But there's stuff to do. Nigel threw the covers off, thinking he'd rouse the girls out of bed. Instead, he saw Khoraja's lascivious grin as she licked him languorously. Her eyes twinkled, as if throwing the covers off was foreplay. The sight of their naked bodies only made him harder. Emma's generous curves were on full display as she bent over him, and Khoraja's slender body wiggled sensuously on the other side of the bed as she changed her angle of attack.
Okay, I'm not passing this up.
"I take it you had a pleasant night?" asked Bel when they finally came downstairs. She had a plate full of crumbs, and a bored expression on her face.
"Sorry we're late for breakfast," Nigel said. "Yesterday was a long day."
"And Nightwolf woke up with a hard problem we had to solve." Khoraja smirked.
"What kind of hard -- oh!" said Bel. "Can you two, or three, keep it in your room?"
"I think that's a good idea," said Nigel, trying to cut off more innuendo. He didn't want to make Bel uncomfortable. He waved at Abby.
"Bacon, eggs, and bread today," Abby announced. "Will that do it for you?" She panned the table with her gaze, ending in a shy smile at Nigel.
"That will be fine," said Nigel.
"Anything else?" Abby asked him.
"No, I'm well taken care of."
"I could take care of you better," Abby said.
"A round of ale," Emma said.
"A round of ale it is," Abby said, looking disappointed. She walked away.
"Which reminds me," Khoraja said. "That
experiment last night...?"
Bel sighed. "I don't want to know. Can we talk business? Someone should take these demon parts to sell in Lionguard."
"That'll take two days, won't it?" asked Nigel.
"If we get horses and head out this morning, sleep overnight there, we could be back by tomorrow afternoon," Bel said. "I checked, and there are two horses in the stables we could buy, if someone has a dozen silver to spare. I don't, myself."
"The wyrmkin are another day's travel," said Khoraja. "Do we need the money? But if we go to Lionguard I could get a scroll to learn a new spell. Holy magic would be difficult for me, since I'm no priestess, and shadow won't work against demons, but I can probably find something."
"That might be worth it," said Nigel.
"It will take a while for the Blacksmith to fix your armor, anyway," Khoraja pointed out. "Let Bel and I go. As a human, she'll get better prices."
"I think it would be better if Emma went, actually," Bel said. "If you're willing, that is. I have... some skills to sharpen that I think I'd best take care of on my own. And I'm awful at bartering."
Emma nodded. "I can talk to High Priestess Sivestara. I'm sure she'll appreciate an update. I'll try to get another one of those resurrection amulets, too. No promises, though."
Nigel nodded. It would leave his bed empty, but it was a good plan.
"Here's your ale," said Abby, who walked around to the side of the table opposite Nigel. She leaned over to distribute the drinks, offering the usual view of cleavage.
"Thanks," Nigel said.
"My pleasure." She held the lean a fraction longer than she needed to and then straightened. "Food coming up shortly," she said, and sashayed off.
Hmm. Possibly my bed wouldn't have to be empty. But Abby, despite being plenty good looking, didn't appeal to him. She'd be a bedmate, but never a lover. Emma and Khoraja shared the bond of fighting alongside each other, and that made sex with them better. He'd sleep alone and wait for the good stuff.
Ascendant of Aldrya Page 17
