Lifting the curtain away from his body to allow his nervous dwarven wife to pass he took in the richly decorated suite past the door behind the curtain.
Watching his Laurith, Mina, Nat, and Sabine seat themselves at a mirror-polished marble table he guided his slowly calming wife to the seat next to him and after pushing their chairs in with a push of power sat in his own between them.
"I believe we can offer..."
"I know what you offer Mage Cade and I want it all. Improved housing for the worthy and contracts for the mountain of mithril your business owns. I want it all, knowledge hoarded by those who would dole it out in sips to the few that would grovel at their feet and flying mounts impervious to all attack. These things I will take and the only price I require is your dick in me at least once a week. I will even allow you to keep your other... wives. I will make you my king and co-ruler of all that Ipatem is. All that you need to say is yes... and fuck my brains out tonight."
Glancing to his left and right in shock after Liraden's terms Cade couldn't say he was surprised at his wives response to the dark elf's little speech.
Beth who sat next to him was glaring at the black-skinned woman with murder in her eyes that was mirrored by Sabine's less scary but equally terrifying sweet death stare.
Mina and Laurith we're growling softly, claws extended and ready to rend the clearly insane elf limb from limb.
And his Nat, his little Natty had pulled a knife from somewhere on her person and was using a scrap of cloth to test its sharp edge.
Finding it to her liking she slammed one small green fist on the table and thrust the point of the blade at the shocked Liraden splitting an impressive string of orc curses her way.
Raising his hand for calm, which didn't come as Beth and Sabine still glared daggers at their host as Mina and Laurith clacked their claws on the marble table.
What his raised hand did do was quiet the still-growing string of curses from Nat to a dull roar as she sat back in her chair with her weapon still pointed at the target of her ire.
"Yes, she is a dumb bimbo but maybe a useful dumb bimbo? No? she needs to eat shit and die? fine, let's ask her one more question. Yes, I will make it quick, love you too."
Ending his conversation with Nat in her cute high pitched orcish he smiled at his pouting wife before turning his eyes to the crazy elf he had expected to find on this ill-advised trip.
"Let me be clear, you want me, pretty much the most powerful person in this room, to share with discount magic mike over there? Am I getting what you are saying correct?"
After the dark elf's excited nod he continued.
"Yea no. I don't share. at. all. If you weren't fucking nuts I might I might have decided to work with you, sans sex obviously. I would like to add that I have no problem with your harem of husbands, black kettles, and all of that. I am going to give you until my wives and I walk through those doors to sweeten the deal you made. The deal you wouldn't have had to make if you had kept your mouth shut."
Thoroughly irritated and done with the dark elves as a whole Cade followed his wives out of Liraden's rooms and "palace" without a word from the stunned dark elf.
Replaying the memory of his fierce little orc wife's last jab as they left the room as they neared their home Cade decided to test his orcish on Erot, for educational purposes only of course.
"Hey Erot what does... mean?"
Mimicking his Nat's growly last jab at the dark elf matriarch he smiled as a laugh exploded out of the tall orc.
"Where did you hear that, sounds painful?"
Shaking his head with the same smile writ large on his face he waited for his cousin to recover from his outburst.
"Let's just say the deserts to the east of here have found a home in a certain dark elf's nether regions, personally I would steer clear."
"I TOLD THE BITCH MY WARRIOR DOESN'T WANT TO FUCK HER DRY SANDY CUNT, should have cut the bitch while I had the chance."
Holding back his laugh as his Nat pouted after her outburst he landed Poppy in their garage.
Smiling as Erot clapped him on the shoulder and shook his head at the waste of time their day had been Cade nodded to the orc as he exited their garage to go to his and ensure his warriors had stored their vehicles properly.
"I told you it would get better didn't I?"
Chuckling as the orc made his statement before disappearing around the barrier that separated their garage he made to follow his wives into their home.
Catching up to them as they neared their room he wrapped his Natty in his arms with a kiss to the top of her head.
"If we can find a suitable replacement in the graven I will give you free rein on her sandy ass, sound good?"
Enjoying her bright smile he mouthed a "you too" to his dragon wife who blushed and nodded before she joined his other wives in the bathroom.
Following his loves and after collecting his kisses from his other wives he made a beeline to their huge shower to wash the crazy, idiocy, and fanaticism from his body, and if should so happen to enjoy a dip or two in his sexy wives all the better.
Meeting with the dark elf matriarch had been a bust but the prospect of what he could provide for the graven gave him a little hope he could avoid a little genocide.
Daddy to the rescue
Dropping quietly onto the tundra Quince ducked behind a low bush.
Huddled there he stayed stock still as he listened for any indication he had been followed on his circuitous route to the goddess of changes little trial world for her prospective husband.
His mission given to him by his master Damtrith under the orders of the chaos god was to contact the most powerful and dangerous denizens of this planet, dragons.
As the God of prosperity, his master had given him cart blanch to secure their assistance in eliminating the threat Cade Willmartin posed to his plans by any means necessary.
Though the tone of his master's instructions indicated he was not happy about the task that ran contrary to Unbolge's orders to the god and his compatriots to not interfere with the godlings trial.
"Complete this task without being discovered by god or moral alike and your reward will be beyond your wildest expectations."
A shiver went down Quince's spine that had nothing to do with the frigid air his body barely felt.
Such an open-ended offer from the god of prosperity was something he couldn't pass up.
His previous experiences in infiltrating other more inhospitable worlds to secure contracts and make offers to those his master decided to go into business with were one reason he had been picked for this task.
Merchant thought he was he didn't limit himself to the safer missions his master doled out, unlike his other compatriots.
The experience and knowledge gained from those tasks along with his own special abilities gave him a leg up on others his master employed.
Spying a herd of two-toed ungulates in the distance he wrapped his body in illusion and walked over to join them.
Mimicking the smell of the animals a smile crossed his face as they began to meander off in the direction towards his eventual destination.
Seeing the peaks of the snow and tree-covered mountains in the distance Quince let visions of his eventual reward keep him company as he patiently followed his living cover.
Snacking on some sort of rodent days later a dull roar in the sky above his head caused his heart rate to rise drastically.
Excitement mixed with a small amount of fear ran through him as he followed the heads of his moving cover to locate the direction the roar of the dragon had come from.
Still searching for the giant beast he was taken by surprise as a house-sized member of their scaly race landed not one hundred feet from where he was enjoying his meal.
Not waiting for the snowstorm the green dragon had caused to settle he swapped his animal disguise for one that matched the small copse of trees he had been on the edge of.
Waiting for the large creature to begin tearing into h
is meal Quince used his hard-won stealth skills to sneak towards the distracted animal.
Grateful for the strong winds that blew across the snow-packed ground around him that took the sound of his gentle footsteps away from the feasting dragon he stopped next to the beast and began the next step in his plan.
Slowly pulling out a small but heavy medallion from his cloak he whispered the activating words to the enchantment placed on the bauble by his master as a reward for a successful mission long ago.
Finding purchase on one for the armored scales with his fingers, Quince was grateful for the speed at which the enchantment worked as his body shrank down in less than a second.
Huddling down under an overhanging scale edge he pulled his legs further into the shallow cavern as a massive claw slid past his hiding spot as the dragon scratched at the spot his hand had just vacated.
Riding out the dragon's shake of relief he pulled out his tiny snack and enjoyed his ride to the dragon's territory, his eventual reward so close he could taste it.
Shaken out of his sleep by the tumbling of his hideaway Quince had a few moments of confusion as his tiny body flew through the air.
Landing relatively lightly next to a boulder he tried to recover his wits and figure out where he was before a shadow blocked out all light and he was covered in pitch-black darkness.
"Come out little one, I will give you this one warning before I kill you for invading our home."
As the ground finished rumbling under his body Quince's eyes began to adjust to the darkness around him and he saw the faint outlines of scales on the "ceiling" above him.
Hoping he could gain the upper hand in the negotiations that were about to take place he released the enchantment on his medallion and as his body grew to fill the space between the red claws he could now see next to his head and schooled his face into a smile.
Giving a small nod of his head to the red slitted eye that stared down at him he marshaled his courage and spoke to the red dragon currently holding him captive.
"Greetings great one my name is Quince and I have traveled far and along dangerous paths to bring an offer to you from my master Damtrith the prosperous, may I have a few more moments of life to deliver his message?"
Keeping his breathing even by force of will alone as his heart hammered in his chest he waited patiently for the dragon to examine his pale face before a long nod signaled his willingness to hear the man under his claws out.
"Wide and far have the tales of your race spread throughout the cosmos, your strength and power unmatched by the mortal races. I bring to your attention a threat to your superiority, there is a mage far to the southeast who has been running a campaign to conquer the world you rightly rule over. My master and I feel this inversion of the status quo is aberrant and cannot be left to follow the path to its inevitable conclusion. The human mage named Cade Willmartin has abducted one of your race into his crusade to subjugate this world and make its denizens bow to his whims. My master..."
Cut off in his speech by the sound of solid rock being turned to gravel next to his head, that venue of death paled in comparison to the prospect of being roasted alive by the flames trickling past the dragon's scaly lips not but a few feet from his body.
Trying and mostly succeeding in keeping his body from betraying his fear his back vibrated as the dragon growled out a question laced with rage.
"What is the name of the dragon this CADE has captured?"
With terror choking his voice for several seconds the renewed sound of rock being crushed right next to him loosened his throat and made him squeeze out her name past his suddenly dry lips.
"Laurith, Laurith the black. She is both thrall to the mage and broodmare for his spawn. My master is willing to produce any amount of wealth to both aid and reward you for ridding this world of his stain."
Finishing his answer and losing the battle with his fear as his body shook uncontrollably with terror after his answer as the grinding of claw against rock didn't cease but increased in intensity pelting him with innumerable pebbles as the black claws cracked the ground beneath him and the dragon raged quietly above him.
As the sound of the dragon's claws rending the rock beneath him was drowned out by a deafening roar that was swiftly followed by a massive pillar of fire that erupted from the maw of the massive creature that thankfully was pointed towards the rocky ceiling of the cavern around them Quince's bowels turned to water as he saw the dozens of dragons that surrounded him and the red one holding him captive.
"M.m.my master wishes to provide aid to you in any c.c.capacity he can, all that is r.r.required for his g.g.gracious help is m.m.my release to d.d.deliver your t.t.terms to him."
Losing the battle with his body Quince voided his bowels as the attention of the dragon returned to him with a glint in its massive eye that told him he wouldn't be making it out of this cave alive.
"Ketoth the red does not need your master's assistance in destroying this Cade, though I should thank him for providing a tasty snack for the trip to Kandar. The journey is long even for one of my kind. Quince the messenger of Damtrith I thank you for your sacrifice that will bring my daughter back into our nest. Be proud of your accomplishment in invading our home, many have come close but none have made it to our inner cavern."
Holding his hands up to try something, anything to save himself Quince tried to use the medallion in his grip to shrink himself and escape but the flood of fire that erupted from the dragon's maw turned his body to ash before he could even begin to use the trigger phrase.
"Come my four strongest we fly to recover my daughter from her forbidden servitude and punish this Cade Willmartin for daring to collar one of our race."
Striding out of their massive underground nest Ketoth was followed by the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth strongest dragons of the nest, and giving his second a fierce glare and growl he left Grimdath to keep their nest safe in his absence.
"Stay vigilant Grimdath others may be sneaking around keep the nest safe and when I return with my wayward daughter you will be allowed to be the first to fight for the right to be her mate after I destroy the abomination growing inside her."
The large black dragon's nod of ascent was followed by the gale of wind caused by Ketoth's massive five hundred-foot body being propelled from the ground by his gargantuan wings.
Leaving the smaller of his group behind with each pump of his wings Ketoth angled his body towards the continent of Kandar and more specifically towards the city of Mustef.
If anyone knew where his Laurith was located the shrewd merchants would know.
"Fool girl captured and bred by a human, don't worry my daughter your father is on the way."
Home for the infirm
Enjoying a relaxing night in bed watching movies with his wives a week after their disastrous meeting with the dark elf matriarch Cade sensed someone approaching their home.
Irritation at the continued invasion of the peace of his home was muted by the languid feeling in his limbs still present even after an hour after enjoying his wives affections.
While their unwanted guest wasn't a surprise, his days had been filled with multiple messengers from Liraden requesting another audience after her bid to have him share her with her harem of husbands had blown up in her face, the elf's presence still grated on his nerves.
Keeping a small portion of his attention on their visitor he maintained most of his focus on the movie they were currently enjoying.
"Why would the commissioner send all of his officers into the sewers, even half of them would have sufficed?"
Atomic Mage 3 Page 25
