by G. R. Cooper
The goop usually flows in the other direction, chuckled Wulfgar, but I bet she’s not using her teeth on you, sport. He felt a wave of dizziness and nausea. He had six hit-points left, but felt far worse than he had with only one point after the nymphs. That had just been this morning, assuming it was still the same day. Time had lost its track since entering this plane. Confer was still cooling down, so it hadn’t even been an hour since he’d been captured.
He looked through the rest of his character sheet. He still had almost no mana at all. None had raised, even passively, since he had cast his Confer spell. Even without using Meditation, his mana pool should refill over time. Wulfgar thought back to what Tief had said - the bindings that Lilu used had blocked his magical powers. That must be the case for all of the chains in this place.
His wandering train of thought stopped at Tief for the moment. Wulfgar wondered if the demon would live up to its enforced contract. Would the old man who introduced himself be an ally or a danger? Both?
A thought flashed into his mind. Merlin, the legendary wizard of King Arthur’s court, had been a cambion; born of an incubus and a human mother.
He began laughing, choking on his own spit, I have a fucking Merlin! I wonder if there’s a lady living in my lake?
“You are no longer stunned!”
He shook his head, and immediately regretted it as it felt as though his brain swirled within his skull.
Getting screwed to death isn’t as pleasant as I would’ve imagined. At least, not always. He had to admit, the nymphs made a much more pleasant job of it.
He was brought back to the moment when Lilu once again appeared in front of him. The incubus grabbed his chin in one powerful hand and lifted the human’s face. The demon leaned in until their faces were almost touching.
“Your laughter is distracting. It’s time you were finished.” He paused and smiled, revealing short but terrifying fangs, “Do you have any last requests?”
“Reverse cowgirl while you tickle my balls?” laughed Wulfgar, spitting in Lilu’s face, his anger and revulsion overcoming his fear.
The demon smiled slowly, a long, almost prehensile tongue flickering out of its mouth and licking away Wulfgar’s spittle. He stepped back from the human and all Wulfgar could focus on was the gigantic demonic penis, the glistening head a few centimeters from his stomach.
Wulfgar sucked in his gut to gain as much clearance from the rod as possible, but Lilu turned and walked back to his throne. Sitting, he pointed at a succubus and motioned toward the human.
I guess this is it, thought Wulfgar, watching her slowly sashay toward him. As she reached him, she reached down between his legs.
“You want your balls tickled?” she asked, her voice low, rough and seductive.
Wulfgar just looked into her eyes, then screamed as her nails dug into his scrotum.
Wulfgar shrugged away from the succubus as she spread more of the blue liquid beneath his nostrils. He could do nothing to forgo his burgeoning tumescence as she turned against him, pushing her hindquarters against his crotch. She sighed as she spread her legs and, reaching between them, used her hand to guide him into her. Her tail, grotesque to Wulfgar, moved lightly against his stomach. He closed his eyes.
It was just a matter of time before she took his sperm and his life.
Holy shit, he realized as he felt a climax forming, I’ve never actually died in this world. For all of the combat he’d been in, for all of the dangers he’d faced, he had never actually needed to use a single resurrection. He was overcome with an unreasoning sense of dread; a fear of the unknown. Even realizing that there was nothing to be afraid of, that he would simply wake in a new body downstairs, did nothing to assuage his terror. He tried to block his thoughts, his feelings; to block his orgasm.
Think of baseball. Think of baseball. Think of old ladies playing baseball. Think of old ladies playing naked baseball.
Nothing was working. The succubus’ grinding and her magic potion were too much for him.
Fuck it. Might as well think of being the meat in a Karen Gillan and Natalie Dormer sandwich.
His body bucked and he felt the irons dig into his wrists as his knees buckled and he collapsed.
“You have taken seven points of damage!”
“You have died!”
The world collapsed into a singularity of darkness, and he felt as though he was pulled into it. All of the pain, fear, and exhaustion left him as he became detached from his body.
“You will be resurrected at your last binding point in ten seconds.”
“Nine.”
“It has been nineteen (19) days and you have gained five (5) levels since your last resurrection.”
“Well done!”
“Six.”
“Five.”
“You have enough wealth to cover your insurance cost.”
“Three.”
“The cost of re-insuring your items is sixty-four (64) silver and three (3) copper.”
“One.”
Light blasted for an instant as he dropped onto the cold wetness of the stone floor. He felt the damp wood of the trapdoor creak underneath his back.
That wasn’t so bad, he laughed at himself. There had been nothing to be afraid of, and the confirmation of what he instinctively knew to be true was more risible than anything else.
Nineteen days since his last resurrection just before he first entered this world on his first day.
That was more a birth than a resurrection, he mused.
He stared up into the darkness and reflected on how far he’d come in two and half weeks.
“Incredible,” he muttered, sitting up. He activated Illumination from his now full mana pool. His Clandestine Slippers were on his feet, his pants fully buttoned and covering his ass. He felt behind; Shepherd’s Bite was in its sheath, his cloak and cowl were in place, the Sack of Herbs hung from his belt. All was well, he was fully healed and restored and all of his items were where they should be. The only think he was out was around the two-thirds of a gold-piece insurance cost.
“Cheap at twice the price,” he groaned, standing and moving to the stairwell. He took the stairs two at a time until he neared the store-room, then slowed, listening. Just out of the light, he made sure he had both doors in view.
Fuck! he thought. He realized that the Clandestine Gauntlets were gone. Loaned as they were by Rydra, that man’s insurance had first been placed on the gloves, so when Wulfgar died they dropped back into the thief’s pack. Fuck! He was now at level seven Stealth instead of the fourteen that the paired Clandestine items had given him.
He was now down to seventy-seconds of Stealth instead of twice that.
“It’s a good thing I didn’t die while I still needed to Confer Stealth onto Nop and the prince,” he whispered into the stairwell. As it was, he could now only give the skill at level three or four, depending upon whether it rounded up or down. Thirty or forty seconds.
He turned off Illumination and waited.
“Bray,” whispered Wulfgar. Hearing his name, the boy jerked, looking up toward Wulfgar, startled. He had just finished dragging Wulfgar’s corpse into the store room and pushing it onto the low table.
“Bray, it’s alright. I’m a friend. Jif sent me.”
“Jif?” asked the boy, his eyes wide in fright.
“Yes. And Jewel, Portis, and Semma. They all sent me to get you. They’re safe. They’re not here anymore. I’m going to take you to them.”
The boy looked fearfully, through the still open door into Lilu’s throne room.
Wulfgar walked out of the shadows and in between the two tables. He glanced down at the frame on the table. His body. His corpse. He felt disconcerted, looking down at his own form. It was naked but for a loincloth, all of the gear having been transferred to Wulfgar’s fresh body.
“It will be alright,” Wulfgar repeated. “I’ll get you out. I’ll keep you safe.”
He smiled down at the boy, hoping he was right. His plan requ
ired that he be able to use Stealth while carrying the child, and have that skill work to hide the both of them. Everything he carried, whether short sword or backpack also disappeared from view, so there was no reason that he could see that it wouldn’t transfer to Bray. He hoped.
Wulfgar finished circling his corpse’s table, and knelt in front of the boy. He whispered, “I need you to trust me. Do you?”
Bray nodded fretfully, but looked into Wulfgar’s eyes. Steady.
Wulfgar smiled and stood, then took the boy in his arms. Walking quickly toward the door, he activated Stealth. Bray turned into the same grayed diaphanous outline that the rest of Wulfgar’s body did. He hoped that meant that the boy was hidden.
He walked out into the throne room and, instead of making directly for the staircase went to the far wall, as far from the center of the room as he could get.
Even if Bray was covered by the Stealth as well, Wulfgar didn’t want to risk that he was somehow easier to detect, so he crept along the wall once he reached it, walking slowly and as quietly as possible to the staircase. He didn’t look to the center of the room as he began climbing. He could tell from the sounds and the movement out of the corner of his eyes that his last contribution to Lilu’s line of succession was being passed from wife to husband.
He held his breath as they got to the top of the stairs and, crouching, he pushed through the tapestry and into the hallway. Once they got through, he set Bray down and deactivated Stealth.
The little boy smiled up at him and Wulfgar returned it, saying, “You did great, buddy. Are you ready to leave this place forever?”
Bray nodded, “Can I get my blanket?”
Wulfgar was overcome with emotion. The boy had nothing in the entire universe that was his own, except for a ratty, thin blanket that lay in the room he shared with the only friends he’d ever known.
Wulfgar was going to make sure that Bray and the rest had a lot more than a threadbare blanket before too long.
“Sure thing, buddy. Let’s get your friends’ blankets too.”
“Congratulations! You have completed the quest Children’s Crusade!”
Wulfgar breathed a sigh of relief upon discovering that dying hadn’t lost him the quest and, Bray’s hand in his own, stepped from the dank grove and into the morning light. The night had passed while he was in Lilu’s lair. His friends were camped around a smoldering fire, rising with the day. Wulfgar smiled. He hadn’t received anything from completing the quest. No treasure. No apparent reputation boosts. Just experience. He hadn’t even received any bonus for having completed a quest on his oath. None of that worried him. He was, in fact, happier to have received no further reward than the simple rescue of the children, four of whom were happily sitting near the campfire eating breakfast.
“Bray!” yelled Jif, standing and running to the newly arrived pair.
As Bray dropped his hand and ran to greet his friends, Wulfgar reached out to the ancient oak and the world flashed green as he re-bound himself to this spot. The last thing he wanted to do was die and be reborn in Lilu’s lair.
Wulfgar looked sheepishly to Corwin, Connor and Gar, looking up at him from the campsite. “Hi guys. So, how was your night?”
“You mean after drowning?” asked Corwin, frowning.
Wulfgar just smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s probably a good thing that Nop came out first, and explained everything to us,” added Gar.
“Sorry, but I really thought it was the right thing to do.”
“It probably was, as it turns out,” conceded Connor. “I just wish I didn’t have to die twice to figure it out.”
“Twice?”
“Yeah,” continued the ranger. “After the first drowning, we rushed back down to try to force our way through again. We were sure you were in trouble, for some reason. As I got to the door, I saw your sign and tried to swim back up.” He shrugged, “I didn’t make it.”
“Sorry, I tried to come back through the door when I found out, but it was a one way portal.” Wulfgar repeated. He thought for a way to change the subject, “Hey, did you guys get in on the Children’s Crusade quest?”
He smiled at the nods from the others.
“Good. I was hoping that you’d still be close enough to get credit.” He wondered just how far that could be pushed - after all, he’d accepted the quest in an entirely different plane of existence from this one.
“It’s probably part of a chain made by the Prince in Peril quest,” mused Corwin, “so since we were grouped closely when we accepted that, the grouping rolled over when you grabbed the other.”
Wulfgar nodded. That made perfect sense. He sat among the others, “Corwin, can you, Bael, Gar and Nop take the kids back to the village while Connor and I escort the prince home?” He smiled at the dark man’s nod, “And can we take your horse?”
Corwin shrugged, “Might as well. I’m certainly not going to ride it while the kids are walking.”
Wulfgar smiled thanks and reached to the stack of packs near the fire. He pulled out the one he’d found in the lair and opened it. He put the two flasks of blue liquid - which he assumed were the powerful perfumes that the succubi used - into his inventory next to the pair of chains that had held Tief, which he’d pried off of the wall as he and Bray left through the birthing room. Wulfgar assumed that a pair of binders that would hold a magical being might come in handy some day. He pulled out the lute, walking stick and silver sword.
The prince gasped upon seeing the sword.
Wulfgar asked, “Do you recognize this blade?”
“I do. It’s an heirloom. It’s been missing for hundreds of years.”
Wulfgar looked to Nop, who nodded. Wulfgar smiled, he had to remember to pay back the werewolf, big time, for this - the Canis Arcturus had found it, after all. It was his loot.
Wulfgar held the sword out to the elf, “With the compliments of Marchstone, its king and people.” He handed the lute and cane to Corwin, to transport back to the village.
The prince took the blade, looking at it as though it were a holy relic, then looked up to Wulfgar and nodded, his face somber.
“You have gained a great deal of Reputation with the Elves. They now hold you in Suspicion.”
Wulfgar laughed inwardly, all that increase in reputation, and they’re still suspicious of me. Friggin’ elves! He wondered what he’d have to do to actually gain the next level up.
He looked to the rest of the group, “Shall we begin motivating today? We need to get back to the elven woodland and you’ll probably want to get back to the village before lunch.”
“King Wulfgar?” asked Jewel timidly, “What will we do?”
He looked to the child. As far as he knew, none of the kids had any experience outside of the incubus’ hell-hole. He was determined that they would have to worry about nothing, ever again. For as long as they lived.
“You’ll live in my town. You’ll live and play and learn.”
You’ll actually get to be children, he thought.
“You’ll be my family,” he said, hugging her. He looked through the rest of the kids, “Wulfgar’s wolfpack!” he laughed. They smiled and nodded.
Wulfgar smiled broadly as the elf king embraced his son, the prince. The glade deep within the sylvan wood glowed with a green light that shone beautifully over the grass and trees. A weight had been lifted off of the forest with the return of the prince and the solution to the problem.
“Congratulations! You have completed the quest Prince in Peril by the Elf King!”
“You have gained in reputation with the Elves! They now respect you!”
“Congratulations! You have gained a level! You are now level 6! You have 2 Attribute points to spend!”
“Your Alignment is now Neutral Good!”
“Your have gained Reputation! You are now considered Mighty!
“Your reputation grants you +2 Personality! Folk are drawn to you and treat you with deference!”
Wu
lfgar immediately fed his inner greedy pig, dropping one point into Intelligence and the other into Agility. He felt his Hit Points, Stamina and Mana all increase slightly. Then he looked to the king and bowed.
“Your majesty,” he began, then straightened.
The elf nodded, something of a smile momentarily flickering across his lips, “Your majesty,” he replied.
Wulfgar continued, “My people are happy to have been of help to yours. I resolve to do what I can to prevent any recurrence of the predations of the incubus. I will have a sorcerer place strong spells upon the glade, to prevent its use as an entry point for this plane. In time, I will build a stone keep, a roofed wall, that will trap anything that does manage to break through.” And maybe a trading village around it, he thought, to take advantage of the new deal he’d made with the prince on their ride back.
As they’d traveled through the morning, Wulfgar had sounded the elf out about what sort of long term deals they could establish. He’d remembered what a steady bonus to his income that his trading routes with the Canis Arcturus home-world had been.
It turned out that the one thing that they required was a steady supply of fresh food. When Wulfgar had suggested that he assumed the problem was that farming within a forest was difficult, the prince had quickly corrected him.
“Elves don’t farm.”
Wulfgar had agreed to dedicate enough acreage within Marchstone to cover the elven needs. The income would be substantial, especially compared to the cost of setting up and managing the farms. He had been quite pleased with the deal.
He was brought back to the present by the king’s voice.
“And my people are grateful for the service you have provided.”
“Your Fortune increases the value of your reward!”
“Thank you, Corwin!” muttered Wulfgar to Connor out of the side of his mouth. Apparently the cumulative Fortune score of the group was enough to counteract Wulfgar’s pitiful rating.
