by Logan Jacobs
“You don’t have a waterbed in your room?” I asked.
“No,” Lena said as she shook her head. “Though it does vibrate if you press a button.”
“Huh,” I mused. “I wonder what kind of beds the rest of the gang ended up with.”
“Is there something special about a waterbed?” Lena asked as she leaned back onto the bed.
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “I think they’re supposed to be fun.”
“Should we test it and find out?” Lena proposed.
I laughed and jumped on the bed next to her. A small wave bounced from side to side and Lena squealed again.
“Let’s do it,” she called out joyfully. She jumped on top of me and began a slow strip tease that soon had me growling in anticipation.
“Do you like what you see?” she asked as she ground down on me.
“I do,” I agreed as I ran my hands along her thighs. “Let me show you how much I like it.”
I pulled her down and plunged my tongue inside her mouth. She let me explore to my heart’s content and then she started kissing her way down my neck and torso. When she reached my groin, she fondled my balls and teased my penis until I had a rock hard erection. She smiled at me as she took me into her mouth and ran her tongue over my manhood.
“Oh, damn,” I sighed as pleasure flooded my body.
“Will you give me a child, too?” she asked as she sat up again.
“I will give you as many children as you want,” I promised.
“Then take me,” she replied as she plunged onto my dick.
I felt her shudder as I pushed into her, but she was already slick inside and she wrapped me so tightly in her heat that I thought I would explode in the first few thrusts.
I was able to keep control though, and I pulled her down even closer and drove as hard as I could. Her honey blonde tresses tickled my abs as she rode me, and I could hear her panting as she wrapped her fists around the sheet.
“Oh, please, oh, please,” she begged as I felt her tension start to build toward its climax.
I found her sweet spot, and she moaned as I gave her an amazing ride. When she suddenly arched back and cried out, I released myself, and pumped wave after wave into her body as she writhed in my hands.
I felt her body go slack, and she gulped in lungfuls of air for a minute. When her breathing was more normal, I slowly lowered her to the bed. She wrapped me in her arms and opened her legs, and I quickly accepted her invitation. I buried myself in her neck and her breasts and followed the trail to her clit. She was groaning again, and I smiled as I slipped a finger inside. She clenched around me, and her violet eyes found mine.
“Again,” she commanded.
“As you wish,” I laughed as I found her luscious lips again. I plundered her mouth once more as my erection found its home in her pussy. I started to pump inside her, eliciting another groan. Her eyes narrowed, and she let me set my own pace, her body obeying my every command.
I drove her close to climax and then pulled her back. I did that until she wailed in protest, and I finally succumbed. I pounded harder and faster, and when she felt like she was about to break in two, I filled her with what felt like a gallon of my cum.
“Yesss!” she hissed triumphantly as she wrapped her legs around me.
“Again?” I asked a short while later after she had time to recover.
“Oh, yes,” she said enthusiastically. “I think maybe I’ll get a waterbed of my own when we’re back in Ovrista.”
“I would highly recommend it,” I laughed as I ran my hands down her body.
She stayed the rest of the night, and we didn’t get much sleep. We were exhausted, though, when we did finally collapse for the last time I fell into a deep slumber. She was gone when I woke up but her scent was still in the sheets, and I smiled at the thought of our nighttime activities.
Merlin chirruped, impatient for his breakfast now that I was awake. I took advantage of the oversized tub, much to the puca’s disapproval. He kept sticking his head around the corner to see if I was done yet, and I shooed him away each time with a splash of water. Feeling reasonably revived, I found some mostly clean clothes and ventured back to the dining room.
In daylight, the place was all right. The flashing lights had all been turned off, and the animated figures were gone. The smell of frying bacon and toast filled the room instead, and I found Lavinia at the same table, nibbling on a piece of toast while she looked over one of Emeline’s maps.
“You look like you had a good night,” she remarked as I dropped into a chair and Merlin scurried under the table.
“Mmm,” I agreed. “It was.”
“Was it an elf?” she asked as she studied my face.
“It was,” I replied.
“Thought so,” she said with a smirk. “She did look rather pensive after that meeting last night.”
“Lavinia--” I started and then stopped as I tried to think of how to say what I wanted to say.
“I’m going,” she snapped.
“The baby--” I started.
“So, you’ll be having this same discussion with Yvaine?” Lavinia demanded.
“I will,” I insisted. “It’s just that…”
“I’m pregnant,” Lavinia finished. “Yes, I’m aware of that. I have a child growing inside of me, not some tumor.”
“But that’s just it,” I protested. “It is a child.”
“Our child,” Lavinia snapped. “I have a say in this as well. And if you think I’m going to try to raise this child without you, you’re crazier than I thought.”
“I’ll be back to help you raise the child,” I quickly assured her.
“Do you really think you can survive the journey across the steppe without all of us?” she asked. “We’ve all helped you get this far, and you’ll need all of us to make this last leg.”
“Okay, okay,” I protested. “I was just worried.”
“We all are,” she replied. “This place we’re going to… a city that doesn’t exist anymore, a land that makes everyone sick, all while a pack of manipulators closes in on our trail. You should be worried.”
“I just thought I should ask,” I said quietly.
“Thank you,” she finally said. “For being worried about me and for asking. Most men would just order me to stay here and threaten to kill me if I didn’t.”
“They wouldn’t dare,” I replied.
“Well, they might dare… the first time,” she admitted with a small grin.
“Dare what?” Dehn asked as he pulled up a chair.
“Dare to threaten Lavinia,” I replied.
“Who’d be dumb enough to do that?” Dehn snorted.
“Why, halfling, was that an almost compliment?” Lavinia asked.
“Yeah, yeah,” Dehn said as he looked around the dining room. “Don’t get used to it. Breakfast smells good.”
“It smells like bacon,” Lavinia pointed out.
“Which always smells good,” I added. “You know, on my world, there’s actually a perfume that smells like bacon.”
“Ooooh, I’d wear that,” Dehn declared.
“Just think of all the evil trolls you could attract,” Lavinia laughed.
“Just setting them up for the kill,” Dehn replied.
“This certainly sounds like a fascinating discussion,” Imogen interjected as she and Cat pulled up seats. “By the way, you’re losing your blond hair.”
“And my facial hair is growing at a normal rate,” I replied.
“Too bad,” Lavinia sighed. “I was going to cut a lock of it for myself, to tie to my belt.”
“Like the warrior women of Nivan,” Imogen said approvingly.
“The warrior women of what?” I asked.
“Of Nivan,” Lavinia explained. “They carry the beards of their lovers with them into battle.”
“I’m assuming the rest of the lover’s head isn’t still attached,” I remarked uncertainly.
“Not if he’s still al
ive,” Dehn added.
“Lovely,” I sighed. “Where’s our waitress?”
On cue, a willowy blonde floated to the table with a pad and pencil at the ready. She wrote down our orders and then walked slowly to one of the other tables.
“It might take a while for the food to actually make it to the table,” Lavinia warned.
“You could have told us that before we ordered,” Dehn complained. “I would have stayed in my room and eaten some of that dried fish.”
“And miss out on your sizzling ripostes?” Lavinia sniffed.
“Back me up here, elf,” Dehn grumbled.
“I don’t know,” Cat replied as he watched the waitress glide around the room. “The view’s pretty good in here.”
“Didn’t you sleep with the woman at the desk last night?” Imogen asked.
“Lorelei,” Cat said. When he grinned, he looked like, well, the cat who’d gotten into the cream.
“He’s as bad as you,” Lavinia sighed as she nudged me. “At least Dehn is loyal to his lady friend.”
“She’d kill me if she thought I was sleeping with someone else,” Dehn sighed.
“Who’s going to kill Dehn and can I help?” Aerin asked as she arrived at the table.
“Dehn’s girlfriend,” Lavinia replied. “But only if she thinks he’s cheating.”
“Oh, that’s easy enough,” Aerin smirked. “We’ll just say he’s been sleeping with Purple Polly. Or maybe that Duchess that dated Schlomo.”
“I suspect that her urge to kill might include the alleged paramour,” I declared.
“What?” Aerin queried.
“She’ll kill the woman he slept with as well,” Imogen explained.
“Oh,” Aerin said in disappointment. “So it would have to be someone I don’t like.”
“Besides, she wouldn’t believe you if you said I was sleeping with someone other than another halfling. Halflings only sleep with other halflings,” Dehn said with a smirk.
“Except for Cousin Schlomo,” I added.
“Well, yeah, there is that,” Dehn conceded.
The rest of the Shadow Foxes finally made it in for breakfast as the first round of bacon and eggs was being consumed. Despite the long night and the dangerous journey ahead, everyone appeared to be in good spirits. I gave up on the idea of asking Yvaine and Lavinia to remain behind and just enjoyed the good company.
Still, we had a later start than usual. We all moved a little more slowly as we neared the steps to the other side of the chasm. There were quite a few warning signs posted here, many prominently featuring a vomiting cartoon character with X’s for his eyes and stink lines emanating from his body. The vomit, for some reason, had a happy face.
“So, we’ll all smell bad when we come back?” Dehn asked curiously as he eyed one of the signs.
“I think it’s supposed to be a warning about poison, or something,” I replied as I pondered the drawing.
“Well, I think the main point is that you’ll get sick,” Yvaine said. “Or that your breakfast will turn into some strange puke creature that will cause you to smell. Truthfully, I’m not quite sure what’s going on.”
“Okay,” Emeline interrupted as she waved one of her maps. “I found a really old map in the Academy library that showed Augustine and all the major roads that ended there. We should be near one of those roads, and if we can find it, we’ll have a straight shot into Augustine.”
“Great,” I replied.
I noticed two of the tourist groups had gathered on the edge of town, which meant they would be heading for the stairs soon.
“Let’s get going before we have to deal with the mid-morning traffic jam,” I suggested.
Emeline started up the stairs, and the rest of us fell into line behind her. She tripped twice and nearly knocked down Yvaine a third time. Yvaine patted the panthera on her back while she slipped the map from the panthera’s hands. I’m not sure what Yvaine said, but Emeline nodded and started up the stairs with her gaze focused on each step. Yvaine held onto the map until we’d all made it to the top.
“This is it,” I warned. “Last chance to turn back.”
No one made a quick retreat to the stairs or even took a last look at the town below. I nodded to Emeline, who retrieved her map from Yvaine. After studying the map, she set off towards the east.
I’ve heard places described as a barren wasteland before, but the country we passed through would surely be the image used in any dictionary. It was nothing but an unending brown dust bowl. Every so often we would pass the stubby remnants of a tree or the skeleton of some unfortunate creature but that was it. Nothing moved, not even the dirt that crunched under our feet.
We made good time, at least in the beginning. As the hours dragged by, however, we were starting to fade. My own steps became heavy, and I felt exhausted even though we’d been walking across flat land since we climbed the stairs. I felt thirsty all the time as well, and the waterstone did little to help.
Merlin spent much of the morning soaring over the plains, but when he finally dropped onto my shoulder near noon, he almost tumbled to the ground. He had just enough energy to return to his puca form, and I dropped him into my bag and tucked his favorite frogskin around him.
“We need someplace to stop,” Yvaine said. She was sweating heavily, and her hair hung in damp strands around her face.
“If I stop, I may not be able to start moving again,” Lena protested.
“Yvaine’s right,” Maruk replied. “This place is draining us. We need some time to gather our strength.”
“There’s a mesa up ahead,” Emeline noted as she brushed her damp hair from her eyes. “We might be able to find somewhere to sit down.”
“At least it will be a change of scenery,” Aerin pointed out.
We trudged onward towards the promised mesa, and I tried to cheer when it came into view. My voice didn’t cooperate though, and it came out in more of a rasp. Lena probably spoke for all us when she managed to clap her hands.
“I see caves,” Imogen called out.
“And they’re not too high,” Lavinia added. “We can get inside without too much trouble.”
“I have some herbs from the alchemist,” Lena said. “I can try to ease some of the exhaustion.”
No one said another word until we stood among the flat-topped hills. Imogen and Lavinia led the way towards the caves they had spotted, which on a normal day, we would have clambered up to without a second thought. Exhausted, dehydrated, and starting to itch, the climb was not easy. Even Imogen slipped as she struggled over the rocks and the rest of us tumbled inside the cool air of the cave with more than our normal share of cuts and bruises.
“I didn’t realize how hot it was on the steppe until just now,” Aerin sighed as she dropped to the floor of the cave. “This feels so much better.”
“It’s not really that it’s hot,” Cat mused as he draped a frogskin over his head. “It’s more like… like Maruk said. Like something’s draining us.”
“Unbound mana,” I murmured.
“Sounds like the title of the latest romance novel,” Yvaine replied with a small chuckle.
“I’ve been thinking about the descriptions of the sickness,” I explained. “And how similar it is to radiation poisoning. Radiation is basically energy, and too much of it causes the same kind of symptoms. I don’t think anyone set off a nuclear bomb here, but they might have unleashed the mana in the area.”
“What do you mean, unleashed the mana?” Aerin asked.
“Everything and everyone here has mana,” I stated. “And it’s normally contained by your physical self. Everyone draws on their mana although most people don’t realize they’re doing it. Lavinia uses her mana whenever she uses her bow. Maruk does the same whenever he uses his shields. Mages and healers seem to be more aware of their mana and so have some ways to control it.”
“You think the mage spell that destroyed Augustine somehow unleashed all that mana,” Aerin mused.
“And it drains the mana from anyone who encounters it,” I added.
“So does this mean you can fix it?” Dehn asked. “Or at least us?”
“One thing at a time,” I sighed. “First, we still need to find Augustine.”
“Here,” Lena said as she handed each of us a small cup filled with a brown liquid. “This should help with the exhaustion and any nausea anyone may be feeling.”
“Well, now that you mention it,” Dehn said as he scowled at the cup. “Maybe there is some sort of puke creature trying to get out of me.”
“Just drink,” Lavinia ordered. “I have no desire to see what kind of creature lives inside of you.”
Lena’s latest brew tasted like flavored mineral water but without the bubbles or the fun. The flavor was more along the lines of twig and earthworm, but everyone was too tired to complain. I pinched my nose and gulped it down in one shot, and I noticed quite a few others in our group do the same thing.
“So how much further?” Imogen asked.
“There should be a junction just on the other side of these formations,” Emeline replied as she checked her map. “Augustine is really close.”
“Define really close,” Yvaine demanded.
“Um, on a good day, we could probably be there in an hour or so,” Emeline replied.
“Is that all?” Aerin asked sarcastically.
“We should get going,” I prodded. “Before we become a permanent part of the caves.”
“Right,” Maruk agreed as he heaved himself to his feet. “I, for one, am anxious to complete this journey. I have season tickets for the fall season of the ballet and I’d like to be back for the opening performance.”
“And I have a girlfriend who will kill me if I don’t get back soon,” Dehn added.
“Ooh, then let’s tie Dehn up and leave him here,” Aerin suggested.
“Sometimes you can be really mean,” Lavinia sighed as she helped Dehn to his feet.
“Sorry,” Aerin replied. “I’m just tired and cranky. Dehn knows I’m only teasing. But, well, sorry, Dehn. I just feel so sore.”
“So do I,” Dehn said. “Even my bones ache. But I’d rather you left Alicia out of your jokes.”
“I promise,” Aerin agreed.
“Let’s just save our touching moments for later,” Imogen suggested. “Like when we’re feeling alive again.”
