The black-haired girl makes a look of distaste as Master (oh god, I’m even thinking about him in those terms now!) tells the two other girls to go down on eachother for entertainment while he deals with me. As he passes behind me, I feel his hands pulling at my arms that were trying to shield my body, placing them behind my head. He moves my feet shoulder width apart, and then commands me not to move, locking my body in place.
And then I see a sign of a new debuff come up on my HUD. ‘Selfish Lover’? And no duration? That means it will last until canceled? What the—
CRACK! The whip sings in the air before it cracks across my butt. I moan in pleasure, though I notice a red -2 and a green +3 come up. My HP bar hasn’t changed at all. So I could literally be about to die of pain (well, pleasure for me) and I still wouldn’t be able to die. Sick bastard.
Another crack, another moan. And again. And again, and oh GOD, it is so good! I can’t take it! It feels like I’m going to burst any moment now. But why can’t I cum?
After what seems like hours, but my HUD tells me is only twenty minutes, I’m panting hard. I can’t see straight from pleasure, but I still can’t cum! And then I see that, sometime while he’s been playing with me, he managed to undress. And I see the largest cock I’ve ever seen outside of virtual porn.
I can see my HP drop as he slams into me. Not enough to worry about. My regen will take care of it shortly. It should hurt, but Master’s figured out how to use my traits against me. I feel nothing but bliss as he pounds me, to the point where I can barely even think any more. And then, he leans forward, and whispers in my ear, “I AM Torgan!” Then the debuff goes away, and my mind flew away.
Chapter 19 – Preparing for a Journey
The next morning, my pets and I had gathered in the Inn’s common room to enjoy a nice breakfast. It was simple fare, just some eggs, bacon, bread with butter, and mead to drink with it. Tasty as hell, though. Too many people go and try to make things ‘fancy’ and end up overcomplicating things. There’s a time for fancy dishes, but a simple meal can do a lot to help a person’s mood. And I was in a good mood. I found that you get a small amount of XP for performing acts related to your profession. So me training the girls last night gave me a couple hundred XP. Not much, but still something.
While we were eating, the Princesses came down. I smiled when they came over to my table, and we began chatting about how we’d spent the last couple days. The fact that I’d gotten to rank E in my initial assessment by the guild was impressive to them. I also mentioned that I’d taken a couple quests out towards Wyrmwood, so we’d be able to start moving before too long.
As for what the priestesses were up to, they had been training, it seemed, so that they could better defend themselves if trouble came up. We agreed to check in with eachother tonight at dinner, but be prepared to leave the city tomorrow, if need be.
Of course, leaving on a journey isn’t exactly simple. We needed supplies, and preferably transportation. I had considered buying horses, but strong horses, capable of carrying a rider over long distances would not be affordable just yet. But a wagon and a couple draft horses just might be. And then there was the issue of supplies. Food, water, and feed for the animals. Plus, survival gear like tents. Lots of stuff to buy.
After breakfast, we returned to the marketplace. This time, however, we visited more of the ‘mundane’ shops. The Princesses would take care of their own supplies, but that still left me with the burden of paying for the rest (after all, any funds my pets had made since I got them went directly to me). Fortunately, I wasn’t without resources. And by resources, I mean a gamer’s ability to sniff out cheats.
A bit of asking around told me that Brum Farshade and his wife, Airhy, were trying to have a child, but things were ‘difficult’ since Airhy had been injured early in life. A bit more asking around (and a couple drinks), and I found out that Airhy was actually sweet on this guardsman and had been taking an alchemist’s work to keep from getting pregnant. Now, none of this was my business, but Brum was the guy who ran the stables, and so when I introduced myself as a servant of Sharess, who had come after hearing of his difficulties, I was able to get a discounted price on a pair of draft horses, a wagon, and harnesses, in return for the blessing of the Goddess upon their bed. I cast Fruitful Passion on the husband, and told him that, so long as he lay with his wife, and no other, before the new moon, then he would have the child he sought.
After that, a trip to the general store was in order. A lot of haggling ensued, and my Negotiation skill went up to Beginner 6. But I managed to get rations and feed for ten days, canteens with water for 4 days (which we could refill along the way), tents, bedrolls, a healthy supply of rope, and other sundry supplies. Honestly, boring stuff.
Anyways, all the supplies cost me 10 GP. But we’d be ready for pretty much anything that happened. After that, I went to talk to my two contacts for the quests. Hard to deliver goods or escort merchants without speaking face to face, after all.
I started with Hunter Becket. Becket, as it turned out, was a Halfling, a half-human. Looked like his other half was goblin. He also was missing the better part of his left leg. But whatever. He was most happy to talk to me once I explained I was here about the quest.
“Ah, good! I was supposed to source ten Black Forest Wolf pelts for the leatherworker, but got caught in a storm, and my wagon wrecked. I was barely able to save the furs. Then more wolves attacked me, and I ended up in this state. A merchant brought me to Falon, and now I’m stuck doing chores at the temple until I can save up enough for some healing.”
After a few mindless pleasantries, I received the 10 furs, and stored them in my inventory.
Oddly enough, I found Silas Horneby at the slave market. Turns out, he was a traveling slave trader, moving ‘goods’ from one area to another. We actually had a good chat over lunch in a private room. The guy wasn’t a cruel bastard. Most of the people who were put in his keeping were sold to pay off debts, or because they’d broken some law. He tried to find them good owners, and had actually developed something of a reputation along those lines.
For my part, I simply told him stories of my adventures back in WoD. The game settings said that Travelers came from another world, so that’s what all the NPCs believed anyways. Made it so I could tell some of my early adventures without drawing too much attention.
Small talk out of the way, we agreed to move out tomorrow morning.
“I hope things will go smoothly. These bandits on the road lately…”
“Yeah, I heard about them. Are we expecting trouble? More than the usual?”
“Well, one of my cargo is the son of a bandit leader. The little prick was caught trying to raid one of the storehouses here in the city. City leaders want him gone, and they paid me double the normal rate to try and get him elsewhere.”
“Ah, so we can definitely expect trouble, then. My pets and I have stocked up on supplies already, so we’ll be ready to go in the morning. Do any of your slaves have combat training? If we come into a tight spot, it’ll be good to know how many blades we can rely on.”
“A couple. But the only one worth talking about is my personal slave, who is practiced in defensive magics.”
“Right. Hopefully we won’t need it, but it is good to know that there’s someone strong behind us, in case we get attacked from both sides. We’ll have to assume that they’ll lay ambushes.”
“Yeah. Fortunately, your group aren’t the only guards. There’s another party of adventurers who also accepted the quest.”
“Excellent! Then let us hope that we’ll have enough numbers to keep the bastards’ heads down.”
After agreeing to meet at the city gates the next morning just after breakfast, we went our separate way. Pets in tow, I headed to the training hall. Why? Because I wanted to grind my skills some more. My Sword skills were already quite good for my level, so I started raising my other masteries, with the Dagger, Whip, and Bow. The others were also working on their weapon ski
lls, even Della. We’re going out into the wild, so we need to be ready for things.
Honestly, apart from grinding my masteries, the practice was really for Yukiko. From what she had said, she’d been enslaved directly out of the tutorial, and it was only by doing a LOT of service-based quests that she’d managed to get to her current level. So she had no combat experience in this world. And even in WoD, she was a Blacksmith first, and fighter second, so her combat skills needed the work badly.
Finally, it was about time for dinner, when I had promised that we would meet the Princesses again to discuss our plans. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to return to the inn directly. Why? Because some idiots had noticed my good fortune (three female slaves following a guy around attracts attention), and decided it was their place to make me share the wealth, either by giving them the girls, or paying them with my deep pockets. I used Observe on them, and laughed.
Thief
Human Male
Level 8 Rogue
There were seven of those, but the eighth proved to be much more interesting.
Zephara Void
Half-Elf Female
Level 15 Flame Sorceress
Title: Chainbreaker
Bounty: 500 GP
This wasn’t an NPC leading these goons, but a player! And that Chainbreaker title sounded like the opposite of mine. Probably meant she went around freeing a bunch of slaves. And no doubt killing a bunch of people along the way. No other way a Level 15 gets a 500 GP bounty on them.
The group tried to cut us off, four ahead and four behind, with the sorceress behind us. Poor bastards. Then this Zephara spoke. “So, this is how it is. You give me the girls, and I’ll make your death quick. You resist, you burn slow. Either way, I’m going to kill a sicko like you for taking slaves.”
I simply laughed, and said, “Oh, really? I’m so going to enjoy this. So tell me, how many innocent slave owners have you killed?” I didn’t really care. But her talking was convenient to me.
“Innocent?! You ba—MPH!!!” See, this is why you don’t monologue. Wannabe freer of slaves just got a mouth full of tentacle, with the other two binding her in place. Level is important in this game, but skills and control are more important. This idiot hasn’t even mastered silent casting, it seems, since no fire comes out when she struggles against the tentacles.
“Yukiko, keep the three behind busy. Severa, help her out. Della, buff and heal them. Let me know if the cocky bitch gets free or starts using magic.”
“””Yes, Master!””” All three reply at once. Severa especially looks to be happy to have something to take her frustrations out on.
I turn back to the four in front, and decide to make it quick, rather than play around. Don’t give your enemies openings they can exploit! With a cry, I leap at the closest of the four and perform a beautiful iaijutsu slash, if I do say so myself. While the thieves may be a decent level, they’re glass cannons, focusing mainly on DEX. The thief didn’t even have time to know what happened, as his head separated from his body.
The death broke the thieves’ stupor at the sudden onslaught, and they began to attack. In the back, one of the thieves looked to be trying to free the sorceress, but unfortunately he was hampered by the presence of a dagger in his throat and kidney, care of Severa’s de-stealthing form. The other two tried to get to her, but were blocked by Yukiko’s blade, which took off one thief’s arm in the first swing. The other managed to slip his blade into Yukiko’s side, but the wound was healed almost instantly by Della.
As for my three? Well, they were having even less fun than those guys. Instead of the Sun Blade, I held my Sacrificial Dagger in my off hand, and buried it in the chest of one of the thieves. I crouched into a spin, missing a sword aimed at my neck, and slashed out with Munsuraisa, taking out the remaining two at the knees. A moment later, each had been slain by the dagger.
By the time I was finished, my pets had ended their play, as well, leaving only the sorceress to deal with. And I knew just what to do with HER! Reaching into my inventory, I pulled out one of the cheap copper chain necklaces I’d stripped from the cultists, but never sold. The reason I never sold them was because they made good for nice, classy slave chokers. When I slipped the necklace around Zephara’s neck, a flurry of messages appeared, as combat had ended.
From sacrificing your enemies, you gain 8 DEX!
You have defeated Thief x7! You gain 800 XP!
You have defeated known outlaw Zephara Void! You gain 1000 XP!
You have defeated a target with a bounty on their head! You gain 500 GP!
For enslaving a registered Adventurer, you gain 98 PP, 6 GP, 7 SP, and 5 CP from the enemy’s Guild Card.
For continuously enslaving, sacrificing, and eating people in a short time period, your alignment has changed to Chaotic Evil.
Smirking as I dismissed the windows, I looked at Zaphara, and with a snap of my fingers dismissed the tentacles. “Poor Zaphara. Picked the wrong person to fight, didn’t you?”
“You BASTARD! I’m going to kill you!”
“Zephara, strip naked, and hand all your belongings to Della. I forbid you from logging out.” Honestly, I wasn’t sure whether that would work. Surely the company would have put in some kind of safeguard? Well, charm and enslavement magic does work on the character’s mind, I’d found that out from Yukiko already, so it just might keep a player from logging out. There’d be the forced log out if they stayed on long enough to risk their health, but then they’d still be in the same trouble once they logged back in. They would be forced to either live as a slave, make a new character, or quit the game entirely.
Zephara kept up a constant stream of abuse as she got naked, but was unable to log out, even though I saw her trying to make the motions to press the button on her menu, but stopping herself each time. “Zephara, place your hands behind your head, fingers laced with one another.” That shut her up as she was forced to present herself for the whole city. “Now, you’ll be happy to know that this will be streaming very shortly. But for now, it seems I have more business before dinner. And do not speak until told otherwise.”
When I led her to one of the local brothels, she looked panicked, and tried to beg as much as she could with her hands clasped behind her head and being unable to speak. This particular brothel enjoyed the patronage of many of the city guard. Given that she was a notorious outlaw who (until recently) had a high bounty on their head, she was sure to be popular. So I was happy to get another 50 GP for her.
Della looked puzzled as we walked back to the inn for dinner. “Master, why didn’t you just keep her, or at least rape her before selling her?”
“Well, unlike Yukiko here, I doubt she enjoys the thought of being a slave, especially as she was going around freeing slaves all over the place. Now, that wouldn’t bother me, but Travelers can be an annoying bunch, especially when they’re pissed off. So it would be more trouble than it was worth to keep her. Especially since once she is forced to return to the world we Travelers come from, she most likely won’t be back, at least not in that form. She may still return to try and cause trouble, but it will take her a very long time to catch up and find us, and she’ll be far weaker for it.”
“As for why I didn’t rape her? I don’t want to spoil the experience for her clients. You might not have noticed, but she probably wouldn’t be quite the same after I took her.”
“You’re evil, Master!” Yukiko giggled.
“Actually, yeah. Seems all my killing, slaving, and sacrificing has caused my alignment to change. Go figure. Anyways, let’s head back to the inn. That fight worked up an appetite.”
Chapter 20 – Setting Off
Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy. We did cause a bloody mess in the street. So we had to answer a few questions from the city guards, but seeing as how they were trying to kill me and steal my property, there weren’t any real problems.
By the time we finally got back to the inn, dinner had started. Smiling as I saw the Princesses,
I went and joined them at their table. “So, ladies, how was your day?”
Looking at him, the sisters giggled, and Esyae said, “Well, we went to the temple to talk with some of the people there. Setting some affairs in order, since we likely won’t be able to leave the Wyrmwood for some time after this.”
Aravae nodded. “We normally would go traveling every few years, on diplomatic missions to the neighboring kingdoms. Unfortunately, the recent events mean we won’t be able to do that for a while, not until we get stronger again.”
“Again?” Oh, so they were originally stronger? I’d thought that their levels were pretty low for royalty.
“Yes, we were originally much more powerful, as were our guards. But poison and cursed drink weakened them and us, leaving us as you found us.”
Rules-Free VRMMO Life: Volume II - Beginning the Journey Page 5
