“Me too,” Karen said as she appeared, leaning over Stacia, “please.”
Fluff giggled, “So demanding.” Her steps were almost skipping as she went over and knelt to kiss first one, then the other, both kisses just as passionate as the one she’d given Alburet. “It might take me a few days to fully integrate these new urges and thoughts…”
“We will be here to help,” Stacia murmured as her hand ran up Fluff’s side. “Do nay doubt tha’.”
“Stop that,” Fluff said, bopping Stacia on the nose before freezing in place. “Err…”
Karen started to laugh, “Oh, she is going to be commanding. Means we’ll all tag team you, Stacia.”
Stacia’s eyes had gone wide at Fluff’s bop, but became heavy lidded when Karen finished speaking. “Promise?”
Fluff seemed to relax as she realized that Stacia wasn’t upset. “Maybe… give me a few days first, please.”
“As much time as you need,” Alburet said softly from behind Fluff. “We need to start getting ready for the day, though.”
“Darn, I was hoping to spend the day letting Fluff kiss and ravage me,” Karen mock pouted.
Fluff shook her head, a soft giggle slipping from her, “You’ll never change, will you?”
“I might, but if I do, it’ll be because of you three and will only be for the better,” Karen said seriously, standing and helping Fluff to her feet. “People change, but if you love them, you can accept it and continue to love them.”
Fluff looked down. “Thank you.”
“Of course. My first wife should always feel love,” Karen said softly as she embraced Fluff. “So, about that bet when we reach the city of Peace, still up for that?”
“Yes,” Fluff replied instantly, eagerness radiating off her. “By then, I’ll be more than ready.”
“Good. I’ll make you earn it,” Karen said as she let go of Fluff and began to grab her clothes.
“As will I,” Alburet said as he pulled his pants up. “All of us, you said, so I’ll jump back in. You have better sustained damage than I do, but if we fight for more than three hours, I’ll get two Imp Storms.”
“Iffin I control the right people, ya all will lose to me,” Stacia said as she dressed, “so do nay count me out.”
The fire of competition began to burn in each of them, all four wanting to win. Stacia was ready first, and Alburet Copied her while he finished grabbing his gear. Kitten blew him a kiss as she and Stacia left the tent.
“How long until Bob upgrades again?” Karen asked as she got her backpack in place.
“Level 81,” Alburet said as he summoned Bob and Copied him. “Ready for another day, Bob?”
“Yes,” Bob grinned. “Waiting to summon Tiny until we leave the tent?”
“I don’t see a point in making him shuffle around on his knees,” Alburet chuckled.
“Hehe, but maybe he likes that kind of thing,” Bob snickered.
“TMI, Bob,” Alburet laughed. “Get outside.”
Bob and BJ skipped over to the tent flap, following Karen out. Alburet watched them go with a shake of his head. “Silly fucker.”
“Al?” Fluff said. “Can I ask you something?”
“Always, Fluff. What is it?” Alburet said as he settled his backpack in place.
“When your different shards began to return to you, did you feel different?”
“There were a couple of days when I felt a little off,” Alburet said. “Is that what you’re feeling?”
“A little,” Fluff said as she took his hand. “It’s mostly the impulses to do things that I wouldn’t have considered before, or ones that I would have immediately discounted.”
“Like taking my hand without thinking about it?” Alburet asked as he let his fingers tighten around hers.
“Yes,” Fluff said. “But at the same time it feels completely natural, like it’s what I’ve always done.”
“You’re integrating a part of you,” Alburet said softly. “It will feel a bit odd for a while. It would take years of help, normally, to do what you’re doing right now. Kind of like my mind becoming whole again, Fluff. Alpha World makes it possible, and the love we have helps make it easier.” He pulled her closer and kissed her cheek. “Now, are you ready to go feral and rip apart our enemies?”
Her skin flushed red and her claws shot out of her hands. “Yessss.”
“Damn, that’s sexy,” Alburet said as he briefly kissed her lips. “That feeling is one that you’ll get used to. You’ll learn when and where to temper it, though.”
Fluff had frozen when he kissed her, but now nodded. “The rage feels even more natural now.”
“Because you accept it for what it is—a part of you. I have that same rage inside me. It’s not unusual or wrong. Now come on,” he gave her a gentle tug, “otherwise they might think we plan to stay in here alone.”
“Karen would come right back in to join,” Fluff giggled.
“Stacia wouldn’t be far behind,” Alburet added as they left the tent.
The fight that morning was the same sets of undead they’d seen the day before, allowing the group to easily respond to them. During the fight, Alburet noticed Fluff moving with more fluidity than she had previously.
While the bodies were looted, he went to Fluff’s side. “Fluff, did you feel different during that fight?”
Fluff nodded and chewed her lower lip. “Yes. I felt looser, and I was reacting faster than before.”
“Oh good, I thought I was the only one who noticed,” Karen said as they began moving to the northeast again.
“Before, even when I was using Rage, attacking felt a little off, like my brain was reacting to things a little slowly, and sometimes I would do something other than I had intended… I guess that was the other part of me trying to help, but not wanting to fully come out?”
“Aye, tha’ be most likely,” Stacia nodded. “Ya seem to be integratin’ faster than even I had thought ya would.”
“It’s a little scary,” Fluff said her voice not wavering as it would have in the past, “the idea that I wasn’t fully me for so long.”
“You’ve always been you. Now, you’re even more you,” Karen said giving her a side hug.
“I know what she means,” Alburet said softly. “Finding out that your mind has more than just you in it. That realization can be scary. Thankfully, I had all of you to help me, and now Fluff has us to help her.”
A small smile formed on Fluff’s lips. “Yes. I’m very happy that we have each other.” Her arm slipped around Karen’s waist. “Now we just need to make sure we can stay together.”
“If he completes the quest, we will,” Karen said quickly, remembering that Fluff had been asleep during the conversation with Vicky. “When you slept after accepting your other self, Vicky showed up and confirmed what the boon would be.”
Eyes wide, a couple of tears spilled from Fluff’s eyes. “Really? We can stay together, even in Delta World?”
Alburet stepped behind her, wrapping her in his arms as they kept walking. “Yes, Fluff, we can stay together in Delta World, if we finish the quest.”
“The Overlord even said she can promise me children in Delta World, iffin we do the quest,” Stacia added, a bright smile plastered across her face.
Fluff’s lips twitched up and down. “Yeah, kids.”
“She might let us have kids with Alburet in Delta World, as well,” Karen said softly. “Would you like having a passel of rug rats that we can all love?”
“Yes!” Fluff said the word from her heart. “Yes, I would love for that to happen.”
“Then we need to focus on the quest ahead of us,” Karen said. “We’ll stay together and have a family.”
“But…” Fluff trailed off as she thought of Alburet’s body, laying in a pod somewhere. Turning her head a little so she could see part of Alburet’s face, she asked her question. “Do you think Vicky would be able to make it so we could see you during the transition from here to there?”
/> “She seems to have an enormous amount of control at Mindblown,” Alburet murmured, “so it might be possible. We can ask next time we see her.”
Nodding, Fluff pecked his nose with a kiss. “Thank you, Al. All of this… started with you, for me.”
“He started it for all of us,” Karen chuckled. “He caught all of our eyes, then our hearts, and now here we are, together and happy.”
“Aye, he be special,” Stacia said as she ran a hand down his back.
“I’m just me, I’m not special in any way,” Alburet objected.
“Ya helped each of us realize a dream we had, master,” Stacia said, ignoring his objection. “That makes ya special to us. Ya brought Gerald and Marysue to a point where they be takin’ steps. Alpha Company, which was made by ya, be amongst the movers and shakers of society in Stormguard. Even the Dark Lord has taken an interest in ya. Yet ya still insist ya be nay special?”
Shaking his head, Alburet sighed, “Fine. When you say it like that, I guess it could be taken that way.”
“You should know better than to argue with your wives,” Karen said.
“I’m not arguing,” Alburet objected.
“That sounded like arguing to me,” Fluff added with a straight face.
“Et tu, Fluffball,” Alburet said.
“I’m not Fluffball anymore, just Fluff,” Fluff said with conviction. “If I could change my in-game name…” A brief light of white and black stripes flared around her, making everyone blink.
“What the fuck?” Karen said in shock.
“Ya be Fluff now,” Stacia said simply. “The Dark Lord works in mysterious ways.”
Fluff tapped at her UI to bring up her character screen. Her name had indeed been changed. “Umm… I don’t think it was him. I have a title added to my name. Fluff, Champion of Bastet.”
“What the fuck?” Alburet echoed Karen’s earlier statement.
“Maybe we’ll find out, later?” Fluff said after a moment.
“Our group be blessed by multiple gods,” Stacia said in wonder. “I do nay know of another family tha’ can say so.”
“We can ask Ioaniss tonight,” Alburet said finally, as they kept trudging across the desolate sands, trailing after the others.
Chapter Thirty-eight
The second fight was the same as the previous one, and was just as easily dealt with. Fluff again seemed to flow with the combat, several times avoiding attacks that would have hit her before.
When they set up camp for the night, the group was in decent spirits, but tired from the days of traveling as quickly as they could. Again, they’d caught occasional glimpses of a large group of Infernals miles ahead of them that seemed to be finding and killing most of the mobs in their path.
While changing, Alburet was aware of Fluff eyeing him subtly, but he didn’t raise the point. When they exited the tent after changing, Fluff took his hand and walked with him to the fire. Alburet smiled and let her lead him along.
Sala was finishing the pork stew when Vladimir joined them at the fire. The meal was silent, with no small talk, and when Vladimir, Renful, and the Shamans had finished eating, they each dispersed to their tents.
“Such engaging traveling companions,” Rolland said with a straight face.
“Sir Dracon normally has better manners than this,” Ioaniss said with a frown. “Whatever his goal is, it must be quite serious.”
“Sir Jones,” Karen said, side-tracking the conversation, “what can you tell us about Champions of Bastet?”
Pulling out a flask, Ioaniss took a sip. “It depends on just what information you’re looking for.”
“How does Bastet choose her Champions?” Karen said.
“Hmm,” Ioaniss said, taking another pull on his flask before putting it away. “She doesn’t choose a Champion often, but when she does, it is someone who embodies at least three of her major ideals for the Lunari people.”
“Can you elaborate, please?” Fluff asked. “What are her ideals?”
Ioaniss squinted as he studied Fluff for a moment before nodding. “I see. Well, now that I know why you’re asking, I can try to piece together what you want to know. Bastet is a fickle goddess at times, very much like her idol, a cat.”
Alburet snorted and reached out to rub Fluff’s ears, earning him an elbow and a pout from Fluff. “Sorry,” Alburet chuckled.
“Faithfulness to family, fearlessness in combat, knowing oneself, and willingness to protect those around her at the cost of her own life are some of the traits she values.”
“Which makes sense,” Stacia nodded.
“Being a Champion means she will be keeping an eye on you and that if something comes up that she wants taken care of, she will let you know, since she can’t come to this plane anymore,” Ioaniss said. “I’m curious as to what has happened since the last time we talked that precipitated this change.”
“Life,” Alburet said. “Fluff has grown, in part due to Stacia’s abilities.”
“That is another topic I would love to talk about at length,” Ioaniss said.
“It might negatively impact her family,” Alburet replied stiffly.
“I understand. Family is precious,” Ioaniss said. “If you decide otherwise, I promise to keep what I learn private.”
“I do nay mind tellin’ ya, Sir Jones, as ya have likely figured it out yaself. Iffin ya wish to visit our tent, I will tell ya the story.” Looking at Rolland and Kim, she smiled. “Ya both be welcome to come as well, since ya have been good friends to us.”
Rolland’s lips pursed, but he nodded. “Of course.”
Cody and Sala exchanged looks as the others left them at the fire. “Sala, I never did catch your family name,” Carter said, trying to start a conversation.
“Davies-Rhys,” Sala replied with a tip of his fez.
Closing the flap behind him, Alburet looked to Stacia. She was quite calm, not nervous like he’d been expecting. He seated himself beside her, and Stacia squeezed his hand as she began telling the story of her family.
Everyone sat in respectful silence as she told her tale. When she finished, she looked at Ioaniss. “Does tha’ answer ya questions, Sir Jones?”
“Yes, and it is exactly as I had thought,” Ioaniss nodded. “Your family has always been loyal to the Crown, so it matters not in the least to me that your mother is a Succubus. As I said earlier, I will keep that story to myself, but it is nice to know I was on the mark.”
"You heard my quest, earlier,” Rolland said, “and the promised reward of learning the history of my bloodline. My unusual abilities have been in my family for as long as we’ve kept records. We’ve kept them secret as much as we could, so as not to draw unwanted attention—especially during the days when Necromancers and Summoners were persecuted.”
“Understandable,” Ioaniss replied. “I would love to know more, once you find something out, Rolland Magiblood.”
“Since Stacia shared her story, I feel it is only right to share mine,” Kim said softly. “It isn’t horrible, but it isn’t exactly something to be proud of either. Most of my family, down the years, have tended towards necromancy. It’s only been in the last two generations that we’ve really started to break away from that Class.”
“I thought ya had a similar look to some of our patrons at the inn,” Stacia nodded.
“Yes, my mother is from the Nightcrawler line,” Kim said. “Do you know the history of that family?”
“Yes,” Ioaniss nodded, “at least I know it from the point when Stormguard was founded. They appeared out of nowhere, which has always been a bit of a mystery. I’m even more curious since the book from the Keep didn’t mention them.”
“The reason for that is that they’re an offshoot of the Stein line. They split away three generations before Peace was sacked,” Kim said looking down. “The speculation in our records is that our patriarch at the time might have had a hand in the city falling.”
Ioaniss rubbed at his chin. “That would be very hard t
o prove either way. Still, depending on everything going on, maybe we can find evidence to that while we are there.”
“I would rather we didn’t,” Kim said, raising her eyes to meet Ioaniss’. “I would like that to stay dead and buried.”
Bowing his head a fraction, Ioaniss gave her a small smile. “I will do as you say, in deference to your honesty in admitting the story.” Glancing at the others, he let out a short laugh, “It seems we all have reasons to go to the ruined city of Peace. I somehow doubt it will live up to its name when we get there.”
The Path to Peace Page 33
