by Byron Kings
“What do you want?” I asked. “There’s three of us. We’ll kill you in an instant if you start playing that guitar or try to charm us.”
“Guitar?” The man laughed. “I’m no guitar player, sir.”
“Again,” I said. “What do you want?”
“Baron Rando is already in the dungeon,” the bard said. “Do you want to know more?”
I lowered my sword.
“How much?”
“Just a quick jump in the hay with one of your women,” he said.
“Did you just disrespect me?” I asked, stepping forward.
The bard threw up his hands defensively while backing away.
“No, sir. I meant no disrespect. Baron Rando rents out his women, and I thought…”
“I’m not Baron Rando,” I said. “He’s a punk that’s going to get what’s coming to him.”
“Yeah,” Harper added.
“How long ago did he go down?” I asked.
“A couple hours,” the bard said. “I’ve been in the bushes...um, practicing…”
“We don’t want to hear about it. Did he have his full team with him?”
The bard nodded. “All his women. I hung around hoping he’d be camping after he clears the dungeon and gets the map.”
“You know about the map too?” I asked.
“Everyone knows,” he said. “Are you new to the game?”
“I’m Drake,” I said. “Remember the name.”
The bard slowly lowered his hands.
“I will, I will,” he said, repeating himself too much.
“We’re going after him. You want to join us?”
“No way,” the bard said. “I’ll be on my way.”
“We should kill him,” Morgana said, stepping forward.
I turned to her. “Yeah? Why?”
“He looks shifty,” she said, not taking her eyes off him.
“Maybe,” I said.
“Please don’t kill me,” the bard said. “I’ll give you all the gold I have on me.”
“Hand it over,” Harper barked, stepping forward.
She put out her hand, palm up. The bard reached for his belt.
“Easy now,” I said.
He unattached a pouch.
“This is all I have on me,” he said. “I swear.”
“Drop it and get out of here,” I said. “Now!”
I flexed my muscles and lunged forward, causing the bard to scurry away.
“Don’t you want to expand our group?” Morgana asked.
“Quiet,” Harper hissed.
“It’s okay. Questions are good,” I said. “He’s not the type of person I want around.”
Morgana nodded her head then replaced her sword on her back.
“We need a way down,” I said.
“Leave it to me,” Harper said. “I’ve got a spell.”
“Of course you do, but is it safe?”
“It’s safe enough,” she said. “It’ll cause us to gently fall down the hole.”
“We don’t know how deep it is, though.”
“It can’t be that deep.” Harper turned to Morgana. “You’ll go first.”
Morgana nodded then walked over to the edge of the hole. I followed as Harper cast her spell. A blue glow surrounded us. I waited and watched as Morgana jumped into the hole. She gently fell. I went next, followed by Harper. She spread her legs, giving me a good view as I stared up at her on the way down. Jumping off a cliff and fucking might be fun. I filed the lusty thoughts away as I glanced down. A light far below got brighter as we approached.
“Be ready for anything, ladies.”
The pit ended in an oblong chamber freshly dug. A tunnel led to the west. Several small cuerno bodies littered the ground, all of them stripped of any valuables. The creatures looked exactly like humans except for the huge horns sprouting out of their heads. In Battle Empire, the cuerno race played the role of NPCs. As such, they didn’t have the same rights as human players. This made life hell for the sentient beings.
“Maybe they’ll clear the whole dungeon for us,” I said. “No xp, but we’ll be closer to getting the new horn sword. If we get this map, we’ll be the only ones who have it.”
“That’s good,” Harper said.
“Come on,” I said, motioning for them to follow.
Torches every fifty yards or so were the only illumination as we sped through the dungeon. After stumbling onto a staircase down to a second level, we stopped.
“Something isn’t right,” Harper said. “I can sense it.”
“We’re getting closer to Baron Rando,” I said. “We got this.”
Harper shook her head. “No, it’s something else. I can’t put my finger on it.”
“You can put your finger in Morgana later, but for now, we’ve got to keep going,” I quipped.
I headed down the stone stairs, sword raised. The empty room at the bottom had been constructed better than the level above. I wondered how many floors we would have to clear before finding Baron Rando? We kept going, leaving through a door on the northern wall. A cuerno in dark black robes laid lifeless on the ground, a pool of blood next to him.
“Looks like we’re not the only ones killing today,” I said.
I followed a bloody trail to one of the two other doors in the room and kicked it open. More bodies littered the floor on the other side. Had Baron Rando already made it to the final boss and recovered the map? We needed to hurry. I walked over to another closed door.
“Slow down,” Harper said.
“We don’t have time. All the traps are likely disarmed, and new monsters haven’t spawned yet. We shouldn’t have any problems.”
After the second level of the dungeon, we proceeded to speed through the third and fourth floors. We stopped at a stone staircase leading down. The sound of clanging swords and yelling echoed up from below. I gripped my sword tighter. Time for some action.
The other still behind me, I crept down the stairs. At the bottom, we entered a huge hall. Humans and cuerno both battled on the far end of the grand space. I rushed forward, scanning the battlefield as I ran.
Baron Rando, dressed in his ridiculous pink chain mail, chopped off the head of yet another horn-mage. A shrill shriek filled the air as the body fell to the ground, flopping around. Two dozen women stood nearby, chanting and dancing. I kept running, sword in hand.
“Die!” I shouted as I swung my sword, hitting him in the left arm.
“Ladies!” he screamed.
A swarm of women surrounded him defensively. Several of them shot bursts of fire shot from their hands. One of the fiery bolts hit me, doing minimal damage and not slowing me down.
“Take them out!” I yelled.
Morgana ran forward and stabbed through two of the women with her giant sword. At the same time, Harper cast a flurry of green energy bolts at the women in front of Baron Rando. Several more of them fell to the ground. With them out of the way, I charged forward to attack Baron Rando again. He held up his sword, but he was no match for me. My blade plunged deep into his stomach. He screamed as blood spurted out.
The rest of his women swarmed around him, throwing up a defensive energy shield. I struck it with my sword and got damaged. Still above half health, I struck it again with the same effect.
“Stop!” Harper yelled. “Get back!”
I retreated a few steps as she cast another spell. A lightning bolt went through the energy shield and hit the first women in Baron Rando’s group them spread to the others. None of them died, but the protection spell faded, giving me opportunity to attack. I swung my sword like a baseball bat with all my might, cleaving one of the women in half.
“Surrender now!” I swung again.
“Retreat!” Baran Rando shouted
The women all chanted then turned their palms toward Baron Rando. A giant pink cloud appeared, engulfing them. When it dissipated, they had disappeared.
<< Battle complete. >>
<< +5,000 xp >>
&n
bsp; << You have 12,305,000 xp >>
<< 295,000 xp needed to level.>>
I closed the notification screen and turned to the two most important women in my life.
“Everyone okay?” I asked.
Morgana nodded slightly as Harper rushed forward and threw her arms around me. I briefly squeezed her tight then pushed her away.
“We’ve got time for all that later. First, we need to find this map.” I glanced around the room. “Let’s check the bodies.”
As the other two looted the bodies, I walked over to a wooden chest in the corner. No more than a few feet across, it couldn’t be holding much. Maybe a map? I grinned as I stared down at it. A thief would have been nice to check it for traps, but we didn’t have one. I nudged it with my boot instead, hoping it didn’t explode. When it failed to ignite or turn into a fucking mimic, I reached down and lifted the top. A pile of gems sat inside.
“Found the map!” Morgana said from behind me.
I turned around. “Good. Anything else?”
“Some rings, a wand, and a few potions,” she said.
“Take it all. I don’t want to stick around here too long.”
I reached down and picked up the chest with both hands. We could count it later. After Morgana walked over, Harper used the second part of the teleport spell to recall us to the city. We appeared in a smoky haze behind the wizard’s rundown shop on the edge of the market district.
“Do you want me to carry the chest?” Morgana asked.
“No.” I shook my head and grinned. “You’re gonna need all your energy for celebrating tonight.”
Harper smiled. We made our way to my house on the other side of the city. Thoughts of celebrating with her in the sack put a bounce in my step. She never failed to delight me.
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CHAPTER 4
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Forget the Map for Now
“Go translate the map,” I said as we sat in my living room.
Morgana sat on the floor, tallying the worth of the gems.
“Can’t it wait til later?” Harper whined. “I want to fuck you.”
“We can do that later,” I said. “You need to translate that map, so we can go get my horn sword. Wouldn’t you rather fuck a king?”
She smiled, her lust for power her weakness, the reason I held so much sway over her.
“Okay,” she groaned.
I watched as she retreated to her study in the back of the first floor.
“How are you doing down there?” I asked.
Morgana glanced up and smiled.
“It’s so much,” she said.
“Aren’t you glad you joined me?”
She nodded as my eyes traveled down to her breasts.
“How glad?” I asked.
“Glad enough.”
I grinned, liking her even more.
“Glad enough for what?” Harper asked from the stairs.
“We were just getting to know each other better,” I said.
“Uh huh.” Harper walked over to us. “I can share.”
I glanced at the two of them, knowing things would be getting even better when I retrieved the newest horn sword and took my own kingdom.
“Time to clean up then sleep for me. Are you going to stay up and finish translating the map?”
“If I can,” Harper said. “I needed a break.”
“You can do it,” I said. “You’re the smartest woman I know.”
I turned and left. Back in my bedroom, I fell asleep as soon as I closed my eyes. Well, what passed for sleep in the game. Away from the game world, I spent some time checking email from the real world. Nothing other than a few spam messages. The rest of my in-game sleep consisted of boosting my skills with paid hacks.
I could get potentially booted from Battle Empire if I got caught, but everyone did it. The mega corporation that ran the game made a ton of money off it which is why they didn’t enforce their own policies too well. Each night of sleep in the game, I could train one of my basic skills to the next level for a reasonable amount of real world and in-game currency.
Training to improve my sexual prowess would’ve been nice, but I went for battle skills. We’d gotten the map to the new sword relatively easily, but Baron Rando would be coming after me with all his resources. He didn’t have too much, but he had enough for me to be cautious and prepared for retribution. I spent five full hours improving my basic sword skill.
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CHAPTER 5
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Mild Wild Magic Shoppe
The next morning, I opened my eyes and found myself back in the game world. Neither woman had returned to my bedroom the night before. Or had they gotten up already? I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed. After standing and stretching, I went downstairs to find them and check on the progress with the map.
Morgana, standing next to the cooking fire in the kitchen, smiled as I entered. “Good morning.”
I grunted and sat down at the round, wooden table across the room.
“Where’s Harper? Did you make coffee?”
“Harper’s upstairs working in her study,” Morgana said. “How do you like your coffee?”
“Black. Did she finish translating the map yet?”
“No, she stayed up all night. I think she’s about to crash from exhaustion.”
“She’ll be fine,” I said. “She’s a strong woman.”
I leaned back and admired Morgana’s body as she brought me a mug of coffee.
“You’re not bad yourself,” I said then lightly slapped her ass.
She smiled. “Thank you. I’m happy to be with you and Harper. She means a lot to me.”
“You’ll have to tell me the story sometime,” I said. “For now, we need to get supplies for wherever the map is going to send us. Do you want to come with me? That’ll give Harper more time to finish the translation on the map.”
“Sure, I’ll come with you.”
“Great.” I stood then gulped down the last of my coffee. “Let’s go.”
Morgana took off her white apron then followed me into the living room. I thought about going upstairs to check on Harper, but I decided she would be okay and needed to concentrate and finish with the map before Baron Rando came after us.
Outside, I locked the door to my house then turned. Players and NPCs both walked up and down the street, all living their own lives. I smiled, in love with no longer having to worry about the real world. Morgana at my side, I walked toward the nearest shops.
“It’s good to have you for battles too,” I said.
“Thanks. Being in here full-time is so strange.”
“I’m loving it. When we get to the shop, make sure you let me do the talking. I want to stop at a magic shop first.”
“That’s fine with me,” she said.
We walked a few blocks in silence before stopping at a curious adobe tower in one of the rougher neighborhoods. I disregarded the warning signs posted on the door and pulled it open before going inside. An old man with a long, gray beard looked up from behind a counter on the far side of the room. He sat up on a stool as we approached. No horns meant he was a player.
“Welcome to the Mage’s Pickle.” He grinned as we approached. “Best trinkets this side of the Apolloton Mountains.”
“I’m not looking for junk,” I muttered.
He cleared his throat as I stopped in front of the glass counter.
“I’ve got better items if you can pay.”
“This work?”
I tossed a handful of the least precious gems on the counter.
“Not bad, not bad,” the mage said.
He picked one up and examined it.
“I need sex magic items,” I said. “Something to build my group quickly.”
The old man looked up, a grin on his face. While Empire Online dealt wi
th battles and death, the sexual side of the game was important too. The politics of love and sex could collapse or form new empires. I’d seen it happen numerous times over the years.
“I see, I see,” the mage replied. “I’ve got some stuff in back. Follow me.”
He waved for us to follow as he walked along the counter. After stepping out from behind it, he led us to a room in back. Shelves covered the walls of the cramped room. All of them had various adult-themed magic items. Cock Rings of Power? Check. Bracers of Stamina for lasting all night long? Oh yeah. Ring of Charms to sweet talk women into my group? Yes. All that and so much more. I glanced around, taking it all in, before picking up two of the glowing cock rings.
“I’ll take both of these,” I said.
“You don’t have enough gems to pay for them,” the shopkeeper said.
“How much more do I need?”
“A couple thousand gold, at least.”
“I’ll be back,” I said. “Keep the other gems for a deposit. Don’t sell these rings.”
“Fine, fine,” the shopkeeper said. “Do you want the lady to stay here too?”
He leered in her direction like a king.
“Keep your eyes off her,” I snapped.
“Okay, okay,” the man said, still annoyingly repeating himself.
“Come on, Morgana, let’s go.”
I walked out of the room and into the main shop, not stopping until we’d gone back outside. A gang of men across the street from the magic shop caught my eye as we paused in front of the entrance. They all straightened up as we walked out.
“Get ready to fight,” I said, not taking my eyes off the men.
Morgana drew her sword. Fights in the streets weren’t forbidden, but some private security contractors could be zealous if the battles happened in certain areas of the city. Fortunately, the Mage’s Pickle shop wasn’t in a good neighborhood. The six men, all holding swords and wearing leather armor, stepped into the middle of the street.
“Oi!” one yelled as he pointed a dirty finger at me. “We’ve got a bone to pick with you!”
“Fuck Baron Rando!” I shouted as I pulled my sword.
