Wizardquest Part 23: The Journey Home Pt.2 (End)

Chapter 215

 

You depart the swamp early the next morning.

Selene, still in a foul mood after being so rudely interrupted, doesn’t even want to stay for breakfast provided by Madam Rapodaie in penance for her intrusion last evening. You know Selene is hungry, especially when her belly rumbles right in front of the Jaga-Jaga, but everyone thinks it best to ignore it and just forget the whole thing ever happened. You never did ask why they were spying on you, but you have a sneaking suspicion that it was Rapodaie’s idea.

Sighing, you look down at Delilah who once more is hanging at your belt. Apparently she spent the evening with Rapodaie talking about various voodoo curses and whatnot in between soothing her poor back. It seems like the Dullahan enjoyed her time there, but she was quite willing to leave with you as soon as morning came. She doesn’t say why, but you feel like she enjoys your company.

“So, Delilah, I heard that the Jaga-Jaga offered the body of that Danuki for you if you wanted it.”

The head somehow grows even paler and she makes an odd, shuddering gesture. “That would be a fate unimaginable. I politely told them no.”

You nod your head in understanding while Selene merely rolls her eyes. Truly, you had much to teach your, and it’s still odd to say, wife-to-be.

You prepare yourself for the next stop as you leap across the land, arriving in Derrick still early in the morning. The humidity of the swamp lessens as you come to the small river-port, its citizens making ready for the day. It seems the sleepy village ended up staying that way, even after their little scare with the forces of darkness, thank the Gods. You can take pride in knowing you did something right.

The area where the carnival was sits empty and forlorn, the tents and booths dismantled and removed as if they were never there. It seems as if no one wants to be reminded of the depravity and bloodshed of that evening. You barely give it a second thought as you land in the outskirts of town, people looking on with odd faces as the two of you arrive. Some people start to whisper as they notice you in particular, but make no signs to do anything about it, just letting you get on your way. 

“What are we doing here again?” Selene asks, looking around at the idyllic little port, its fishers and shop owners preparing to sell their day’s labors. As she turns about, you hear her stomach rumble again and she puts a furred arm over it, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

You chuckle and take her arm, pointing to a bakery with a sign of a little sheep dancing with a bucket of milk.

“We’re getting breakfast apparently.”

————————————————————————————–

You open the shop door, a small bell tinkling as you hold it open for Selene. A demure, feminine voice calls out, “Good morning, welcome to the Milky Ra-“

The voice trails off and you look up to see behind the counter a Dark Elf dressed in a maid’s outfit. Your eyebrows shoot up as you see a look of pure terror come across her face. She holds up her hands in a defensive gesture, backing up until she bumps into the wall, tears forming in her eyes.

From a doorway behind her a tall man in an apron covered in flour emerges, asking, “Everything alright Fran’cella?” He stops as soon as he sees her terrified expression and looks over at you with anger. He makes a step toward you but pauses, blinking for a moment before pointing a finger at you.

“Hey… aren’t you that sorcerer?”

You roll your eyes. Again with the sorcerer shit. “A Wizard my dear man, and if by that you mean the one who saved the town from that carnival and those Dark uh….”

Looking at the poor Elf, you sigh and pinch the bridge of your nose. “Anyway, yes, that would be me.”

The man takes a deep breath and then walks over to the woman, gently putting a hand on her shoulder. She looks up at him, shaking, and pulls in close, blocking your view of her. The man sighs and looks back over his shoulder at you.

“I’m sorry about all this, it’s been kind of hard for her after everything that, you know.”

You furrow your brow, confused. “I thought all of the Dark Elves fled or committed suicide after the carnival?”

“Aye, they did.” The baker replies, nodding his head, “A few days later they came back though, begging forgiveness. Seems the Lady they worshipped or something was killed and the poor girls had nowhere to go.”

He pats her head softly and then pulls her away, facing her toward you. Her brown face is stained with tears and she flinches upon seeing you, but the baker lightly taps her on the shoulder.

“Now, now, don’t be like that. Look, if you never face the man, you’ll never get over this, alright.”

The Dark Elf bites her lip before she takes a deep breath and then bows her head. “I- I’m sorry for everything we did.”

The baker beams and pats her on the back, making her cheeks and the tips of her pointed ears flush. You and Selene trade glances. Obviously she came into town, the man took pity on her, and now they’re boinking. Gods, the world is a strange place.

You sigh and rub the back of your head. “It’s fine, all’s well that ends well I guess.” You shake your head, “And I’m sorry I killed Victoria.”

The room grows deathly quiet and you look up to see the two staring at you with horrified expressions. They don’t so much as move as you look back and forth between them and Selene, who merely sighs and rubs at her forehead, muttering, “Idiot…”

You lick your lips carefully and then say, trying to roll again for diplomacy, “So… about that bread?”

————————————————————————————–

After a trip to a second bakery, you and Selene sit upon a park bench, munching on a morning meal as you watch people pass by. Every so often you see a Dark Elf traveling with someone, or working in town, their faces pleased with the effort of honest work. You wonder if they were the blood-thirsty, sex-craved whores at the carnival because of Victoria’s influence or if they just didn’t have any proper opportunities to be productive members of society. You’ll have to ask the Communion Matrix what they think about them when you log on next, you suspect.

As Selene polishes off another roll, you hear slow footsteps approaching and you turn to see an old man sit down on the park bench next to yours, a familiar smile on his face. You narrow your eyes for a moment before you notice him pull a pipe from his coat and you have a shock of realization.

“Heeeeeeeey.” You say, pointing at the man, only a few crumbs falling from your mouth. “You’re that guy with the pipe.”

The man looks at you, squinting, before his eyes twinkle and he chuckles, “Well I’ll be, if it isn’t the lad from before. How’s old faithful treating you?”

You blink, confused. “Old what now?”

“The pipe lad, the pipe.”

You’re about to answer when Delilah interrupts from your belt, “It’s wonderful, the greatest tool mankind has ever invented beyond pockets.”

The man looks down at Delilah, merely raising an eyebrow and nothing more as he smiles. “Well, look at you little miss, I take it you partake?”

“Of course.” Delilah replies.

The man chuckles and stuffs his pipe with some green herb before looking to Delilah and then to you. “Now lad, it’s improper for a lady to have to ask for her pipe.”

“Her pipe?” You say, raising an eyebrow and looking down at Delilah. The man shakes his head and fishes another pipe out of his pocket before stuffing it with green herb and placing it in Delilah’s mouth. The two of them look at you with expectant faces and you sigh, rolling your eyes as you wave your hand and both pipes alight. The two make a few puffs before sighing out small clouds of smoke.

“That’s some rich stuff good sir.” Delilah says, nodding.

“It’s good to see someone who appreciates the finer things in life.” The man responds.

“Even I’m only just a head?”

“Well, it’s not like tits and ass can enjoy a smoke, can they?”

The two laugh out and chat while you look at Selene, shrugging helplessly. She smiles and bumps your shoulder, whispering, “Come on, let her have this, she needs a little something to cheer her up. It’s got to be hard just being a head.”

You look down, frowning. “Yeah… I guess it is…”

You’re content to sit on the bench, Selene’s head on your shoulder while an old man peddling drugs and a severed head talk about the finer points of smoking.

What an idyllic day.

 

Chapter 216

 

The plains roll beneath you as you once more leap through the air. Having left Derick, you find yourself with little to do but watch the rolling river, small boats floating on by. You sigh, remembering how on this very river you met Harmony, and how she changed your life. What would have happened had you never reached out to the staff? You don’t even want to contemplate it. She’s just that precious to you. All of your acquaintances… no, friends on this adventure are.

Before you left Derrick, you had inquired as to the location of Captain Baha, but no one seemed to know. After dropping you off he had left off to Port Dorning, muttering about how he needed to find a good present for his wife. A shame, you wanted to thank him again, but perhaps that’s just how these things go, two boats passing in the night.

You began to wonder just how much time you saved on the boat ride as the water flies by, the boring landscape seeming to go on and on forever. You feel your eyes begin to drift closed within Selene’s warm embrace and, with a small yawn, you slowly drift to sleep…

————————————————————————————–

“Love… love, it’s time to awaken.”

You open your eyes, blinking a few times as you stir awake. Turning about, you find yourself laying down, your head resting on Selene’s lap as the land is covered in the softly fading light of early evening. You notice that you’re off in a copse of trees and bushes, obviously to have a little privacy. Sitting up and rubbing at your eyes, you yawn before you look to Selene, a confused expression on your face.

“Did I really sleep all afternoon?”

“Like a baby.” Selene says, smiling softly. She gently helps you to your feet before she points off into the distance. You follow her gaze and your eyes go wide as you realize that Sanctifrond, capital of the Kingdom of Deleor, is right before you.

“Well shit.” You say, rubbing at the back of your head. “We made it.”

“Sure did!” Selene says, grinning. “Of course, I don’t know how they’ll feel about us just walking in.”

You wave your hand dismissively, pulling at your [Pocket Dimension]. “Oh don’t worry about that, I have our ticket rigggghhhht here.”

————————————————————————————–

You roll into the capital on your wagon, pulled by the two-horse duo of Galahad and Mr. Ed, their hooves clopping against road in rhythmic patterns. You have zero difficulty entering the town as you have your ultimate gate key to get you through.

Blake Beauregard fucking Boudreaux.

You pulled the entirety of your party out of El Dorito and loaded them back up in the wagon before heading into the city. Veronica lays in the center of the wagon while the rest of you, your shiny new construct friends included, sit on the seats, watching as Blake uses his silver tongue and million gold smile to get you into town.

Though it had only been a few days, Veronica looks very pale, dark circles under eyes, cheeks a little sunken. She had apparently awoken once or twice, not saying terribly much, but was at least able to have a gruel made for her from supplies in the wagon. Mountain elixir is great and all, but not exactly what you’d want to feed the deathly ill.

You look down at the sleeping Aspirant and sigh as the wagon begins to reach the better parts of town. It’s amusing that the guards don’t even bother to check the contents of the wagon, or they would have seen Selene sitting next to you along with a curiously jiggling mass covered by a blanket. You lift the cloth up to see Saya rocking with the wagon, her adorable black ooze somehow giving off the impression that she’s not best amused with the situation.

“Just bear with it a little longer pumpkin.” You say, patting her. She shifts in a placated gesture and then blobs back down as you place the blanket back over her.

Tabitha is quiet as the wagon rocks back and forth, her legs uncovered and showing off the muscle and scales as they wave unconsciously. She sighs and catches your gaze, nodding to you in acknowledgement before looking back through the front. You were told that she didn’t seem as depressed in the past few days, doing her best to train her upper body while the others helped her, but you can tell she still has a hole in her spirit.

Hala, on the other hand, is busy munching on a heated bread pouch pilfered from El Dorito. She had developed a hearty appetite for the foods there, much to Hardinclouse’s pleasure and your surprise. How did she eat like that with such broken teeth? You would have wondered where she put all that food, but Bubs is nice enough to inform you that she dragged Blake off into the edible trees at every opportunity in a sugar and lust filled haze to uh, “burn off the fat.”

Your eyes drift to your construct friends who sit next to each other, muttering about something. When you brought the two in, the shock was only minor in the group. It seems that your antics have become rather blasé to people these days. Perhaps you should step up your game or something, because hells, Blake barely batted an eye when he figured out that Chaika was the soul imprint of Chakrandas. Of course, he was mildly off-put by her complimenting him on the taste of his semen when she first spoke to him, but he got over it.

Probably.

The wagon stops again and you hear Mr. Ed snort in annoyance as two men shout for identification. You look up to see Blake speaking with someone, a serious expression on his face before one of the men curses loudly and starts running. Standing up, you push your way to the front of the cart to see a Chantry soldier standing there, eyes fixed upon Blake like he’s some sort of crazed specter from the beyond.

The man takes a look at you and then mutters something before standing aside and opening the gate for the wagon. Blake merely nods his head and slaps the reins, starting the horses plodding into motion to the center of town. You look at Blake with a curious expression as you move into the city and he shrugs.

“Apparently no one thought I was alive so I sort of scared the Hero stationed at the gate.” He sighs. “I believe we’ll have a welcoming party when we reach the Hero’s Hall.”

 

Chapter 217

 

Blake, as is sometimes often, is right. As soon as you approach the Hall, a throng of milling Heroes and Chantry soldiers start muttering amongst themselves. The gates to the place are wide open and you notice that Blake’s friend, the gatekeeper, whistles softly as the wagon rolls in, shaking his head as if he can’t believe what’s happening here.

When you enter the grounds of the Hall, you find that everyone in the whole place must have turned out for this, because it’s utterly packed with shirtless trainees, ordered hospitaliers, and even Chantry squires. In the middle of all of this stands Lord Commander Highfield, flanked by none other than Paladin Primaris Vincent and High Hospitalier Catherine.

Your wagon comes to a halt and Blake jumps down from the front, all eyes focused on him as he strides toward the Lord Commander. A silence descends over the Hall, the only sounds Blake’s footsteps as his boots crunch on the dirt packed road. He stops before the Lord Commander, and the two stare into each other’s eyes, a soft wind blowing across the courtyard.

Blake reaches to his hip and unbuckles Lionsedge before taking it in both hands, staring at the sheathed blade, and offering it to the Lord Commander.

“The Monster Lady is dead.”

Highfield looks down at the sword and takes it up. He pulls out the blade and looks at it, the reflective metal gleaming in the last light of the day. He looks it over and grunts, sheathing it again before pushing it back at Blake.

“Keep it. You’ve earned it, Hero.”

The whole courtyard erupts into furious shouts as the Heroes and hospitaliers start to cheer and rush in to congratulate Blake. They swarm all over him, patting him on the back and chanting words of surprise and encouragement while the hospitaliers chitter in giddy tones. The Chantry squires and Aspirants merely look on impassively although you swear a few of them are smiling when the others aren’t looking.

You step out from the wagon as people swarm by, standing upon the driver’s seat. Hala crawls up beside you, putting an arm on your shoulder as she looks out, showing a broken, toothy grin.

“Well, looks like he did it, huh?”

You stare at her impassively and she rolls her eyes before jabbing you in the side with an elbow. “I’m kidding, Gods, no need to look so serious.”

Sighing, you give her a little smile before you raise your hand and weave a quick [Amplify]. You take a deep breath and speak out, your voice washing over the crowd with near physical force.

“Hey, we’ve got wounded here!”

Everyone turns to face you with annoyed expressions, obviously not at all amused at your interruption of their joy. Well, almost everyone, because as soon as you say the word, “wounded” the High Hospitalier’s eyes shift from merriment to serious and she barks out a few quick orders, her radiant voice taking on a commanding tone. Heroes part like a knife through butter and the hospitaliers rush forward to the wagon.

The pause when they see your odd assortment of passengers, staring at Selene with open confusion (and envy) before Catherine barks out an order at them to hurriedly take the wounded. You have no idea where they brought stretchers in from, but they load up Veronica and whisk her away quick as can be while a smaller group helps Tabitha up from her bench and carries her over to the wards.

You calmly explain what happened to a young hospitalier, a cute little girl with eyes that had yet to truly face the horrors of the world, when you hear a sharp scream of terror. Readying your magic, you whip around to find one of the girls flat on her ass, staring in horror at Delilah, whom she had uncovered while searching the wagon.

With a groan, you hop up on the cart, shaking the woman to snap her out of it as a few Heroes arrive, weapons drawn. You hold up a hand to stop them in place and you growl out, “Stop, it’s fine, it’s just a severed head.”

You probably could have worded that better. The girl shrieks more and one of the Heroes movies to leap up onto the cart when his motion is arrested as Blake appears, holding his arm.

“She’s a Duallahan, and she’s with us.” He frowns and addresses Delilah. “Stop playing dead and scaring the poor girl.”

Delilah rolls her eyes and sighs. “Oh very well my little Blakey-wakey-poo.”

This only makes the girl squeal more and you pinch the bridge of your nose as Blake groans.

“Gods be good, Delilah, I told you to stop doing that.”

“Awww, is little Blakey embarrassed?”

Blake just ignores her and leaps into the wagon to help the girl up. She stands on shaky legs but is able to right herself before immediately tripping over something on the floor, stumbling again and knocking a blanket off the reclining form of Saya. The girl looks down at Saya, who jiggles in a friendly manner.

Thinking to nip this one in the bud, you pop in saying, “Don’t worry, it’s fine, she’s my daughter.”

The girl looks at you and then giggles once before her eyes roll back in her head and she faints in Blake’s arms. The Hero looks at the girl and then sighs before muttering, “Idiot.” You look to Selene for help but she just shrugs and looks away. So much for your wife-to-be saving your ass, damnit.

The Heroes take the poor orderly away and you rub your temples before Blake returns to tell more of the tale after your involvement. The two of them, with Hala hounding them of course, head off to the hospital wards, leaving you with Selene, Saya, the constructs, and Delilah. Oh and Bubs, but he’s just complaining that he’s hungry, the cheeky little bastard.

As the commotion begins to die down, mostly following Blake, you sit on the wagon and lay back your head, feeling an unconscious tension seem to melt from you. You made it here, so everything is going to be fine, hopefully.

That leaves the question though… now what? You had been moving toward one goal after another for so long that, now you find yourself suddenly without one, you don’t know what to do with yourself. For some reason you feel a little emptiness at having no more quests. You look down in consternation, not certain how to deal with that.

You feel a soft, furred hand touch your hand and you look up to see Selene holding your hand in hers, a reassuring smile on her face. Blinking, you then notice that another, slimy appendage is touching your other hand. It’s Saya, her black body becoming lost in the rapidly darkening night, but you can feel the sincerity in her touch. You smile at the two of them as Selene lays her head on your shoulder, Saya crawling up to ooze around your lap.

In the same moment, Chaika and Harmony slide on over, Chaika bumping into your free shoulder. You look around at everyone when Bubs pops his head out of your pocket and nods in a very sage-like manner, then pulling back down into your pocket. Everyone stares at him for a moment and then laughs, the rich sound echoing through the wagon.

Aww hells, how did you not see it before? You don’t need a damn quest, you already have plenty right here. Goshes, now isn’t that corny as the hells?

You hear a knocking sound and everyone turns to look at the visitor, which is none other than Lord Commander Highfield. He coughs lightly into his hand. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Oh thank Nerg, yes.” Delilah shouts, a look of relief on her face.

 

Chapter 218

 

You find yourself in the Lord Commander’s chambers, sitting in the same chair you were in last time you were here, Selene occupying the other. Delilah is with Chaika and Saya, though you elected to take Harmony with you as well. You reflect that maybe those aren’t the best baby-sitters you could have picked, but you doubt they’ll start any trouble, considering that Saya can eat them without much effort.

Highfield completes a circuit around Harmony, inspecting her body. She fidgets, obviously a little self-conscious about all of this. Honestly, she’s wearing metal plates at least, gosh. Although, she is a woman at heart you guess.

Highfield nods and then taps his chin. “Interesting, to think that the Staff of Gregory the Great held the soul of a Thunderbird queen, well what do you know.”

“Actually, I’m the imprint of her taken from power vested in a feather, a revenant to be precise.” Harmony says before she looks away, rubbing at her head. “Uhm, sir.”

Highfield laughs heartily before sitting at his desk and motioning for Harmony to do the same. She does so in another chair which she seems utterly fine with. You feel that if you had brought Chaika she might have had a heart attack… or malfunction.

“It’s fine, no need for formalities here dear.” He leans back, sighing. “It’s a night for festivities after all. I hear the chefs are currently making quite the celebratory feast, and I do hope all of you attend.”

Selene raises an eyebrow, “Even me, your lordship?”

Highfield nods his head. “Of course, why wouldn’t you be madam…?”

“Selene.”

Highfield pauses before looking up at her and furrowing his brow. “Selene you say?” He rubs at his chin. “Any relation to a certain Selene in legends, said to be the most powerful of the Temple Guardians and the sole survivor of her race? The one who destroyed an entire city, leveled the walls of Sanctifrond and once ate the heart of a Lord Commander of the Order of the Heroic Brotherhood?”

You look at Selene, mildly horrified. “You did wha-?”

She cuts you off with a gesture before flashing him a predatory grin. “What do you think?”

Highfield grins right back, matching her gaze. “I think that the Selene in those stories had nine tails and, if I don’t miss my mark, you only have eight.”

Selene’s smile grows even wider in delight as she throws her head back in laughter, which is soon joined by that of Highfield. You watch as the two of them laugh like madmen and you sort of… join in with your own little laugh, you know, just so you aren’t left out.

The two of them immediately cut off and stare at you like you’re crazy and you cough into your hand, trying to slink away. Why is that you could get so bold and then, in the span of a day, you end up finding all the damn noodles lining your pockets. It’s not right. Not right at all.

Highfield wipes at the corner of his eyes and leans back, putting his hands on his chest. “Well then, so as I understand it, Blake killed the Monster Lady?”

The two of you trade glances. Highfield notices and shakes his head.

“I figured as much.”

“Hey, hey look, Blake made what would have been a killing blow, walking right into a field of fire to stab her in the heart!” You say, trying to make him look good.

“However, you delivered the finishing strike?”

You sigh, “Technically, yes.”

Highfield nods his head. “I see. I thank you for your frank attitude about this Wizard, but more importantly, I thank you for looking after Blake on this quest. I… had feared this would be the end of him, but when I had heard he returned, my heart felt much at ease. Even if he had not done his duty, I was glad that he had at least survived.”

He hangs his head a moment later. “I regret making him do it though, caving to the pressure. If he didn’t then it would have been much worse I fear, should the war have begun.”

Selene nods her head. “The Hero is an idealist, someone who lives by a set of codes that wouldn’t allow him to operate how his superiors would want him to.”

Highfield nods. “Yes, precisely. I felt he would go against orders, perhaps try to form some sense of reason against all of this, and then be killed by his own people for doing so. At least being sent out he would have a chance for something else than an ignoble death.”

The Lord Commander smiles ruefully, “And yet, he returns victorious. I can’t express to you how proud I am.”

You close your eyes as you reply, slow and methodical. “Blake… started out this adventure without true conviction, without the resolve to guide his hand to do what needed to be done. Over our time together I feel we both learned from each other, whether through fighting together or amongst ourselves. In the end, he told me he would do what needed to be done, and he didn’t hesitate in the slightest to do it.”

You open your eyes, staring at Highfield. “You should be proud of him.”

Highfield is very quiet for a moment before he nods his head to you ever so slightly, a gesture of respect and acknowledgement. “Thank you…”

Selene takes a deep breath and then cross her arms underneath her breasts. “So, that can’t be all you brought us in for, is it?”

The Lord Commander chuckles and puts his elbows on his desk. “No, of course not. I was hoping to get a detailed report of what the Lady was doing up there before the festivities.”

Selene nods gravely. “I see. I suspect you’ll want to know about the Monster leadership now then as well?”

“Aye. It seems you have a knack for such things.”

Selene flicks back her hair with a tail and sniffs. “Well of course, you don’t get to be as old as I am without learning a thing or two about politics.”

“I see!” Highfield says, chuckling. He looks at you and Harmony, who both look like deer caught in a bear-trap. He shakes his head and then holds a hand out toward Selene.

“Perhaps the Wizard would like to check on the status of Aspirant Veronica?”

Selene looks at you and then rolls her eyes. “Oh, very well.” She says, a smile on her lips. You nod to her in thanks and move to rise when she pulls you in with one of her tails and kisses you before letting you go, licking her lips.

“I’ll catch you at the party, you better be there!” She says, winking.

You merely nod your head before motioning to Harmony who follows after you, the two being shown out by the guards, leading you to the torch-lit hallways of the inner sanctum. Harmony cocks her head and you shrug before the two of you walk together to the Hospital ward.

 

Chapter 219

 

You see people of all types of the Hero’s Hall chatting eagerly, a sense of excitement about them. People give you interesting looks as you pass by, with the occasional wide-eyed stare of meeting a celebrity. You smile a little but don’t stop until you reach the Hospital wards, where you are shown inside immediately.

The place, as before, stinks of death and herbs, the cloying sensation pressing on your senses. After meeting Nerg, it doesn’t smell nearly as bad, so you walk inside, looking for Veronica. You happen to run into Tabitha first however, sitting on a bench, her shirt off as two hospitaliers look her over. She waves to you as you approach and begins to speak as she’s fussed over.

“Hello Wizard, fine night we’re having here.” She says, not seeming to care that she’s half nude. “Did you know that my spine is damaged? That’s what these fine ladies are saying, right?”

One of the hospitaliers gives you a sad look before she goes back to her duty. Tabitha shakes her head, smiling. “Well the rest of me is fine, tough Lizardman hide and all, but apparently I’ll never walk again.”

She sighs, hanging her head. “I guess I came to terms with that already though…”

You put a hand on her shoulder in reassurance and she looks up at you, chuckling. “Ah, now we aren’t going through this again. You better check up on Veronica, she’s worse off than I am.”

You look to where she points then, seeing a group of people milling about and you nod your head before moving in close. “Listen, there’s something I’m looking into. I can’t say it’s much of a hope or anything but… well. Anyway, don’t beat yourself up over this.”

She gives you an odd look before sighing and shaking her head. “Hells, I bet I could still kick your ass from this odd chair with wheels they said they’ll give me.”

“A wheelchair?” Harmony asks.

Tabitha gives her a flat look before smirking. You merely shake your head and pat the Lizardman’s shoulder before moving into the crowd which makes way for you as soon as you approach.

As you get closer, your eyes widen when you see the High Hospitalier sweating in concentration as she moves her hands over Veronica’s abdomen, muttering while channeling magic. You flip on your [Mage Sight] and see her weaving incredibly complex magics, doing her best to fix the damage caused by both Third and you. Doing a [Fast Scan] as well, you see that there’s areas of rot which weren’t there before being quickly removed by her magics.

“Ugh, who the fuck thought it was a good idea to cauterize this whole thing?” Catherine snarls in an uncharacteristic manner. “I can’t repair that which was burned like this!”

You cough into your hand. “That uh… would be me.” As you say this everyone looks at you, making you feel self-conscious. The High Hospitalier pants some, her eyes a little wild, before she looks back down at Veronica and grunts again.

“I guess you saved her damn life, but I don’t think she’ll ever quite be right again.”

You frown and ask, ‘What does that mean?”

“It means,” Catherine begins, frowning, “That her intestines are a little bit of a mess. She probably is not going to be able to eat like she used to and if she tries to have a baby, it might very well cost her life.”

You look down, shock hitting you. You… you did that by trying to help?

“But… from what I gather, what you did helped keep her alive. I don’t know if I’d be able to fully treat such a serious wound like this without divine intervention.”

“I think… I think that’s exactly what happened here.”

Catherine looks at you again before chuckling darkly and getting back into it. “We’re almost done here anyway, so if you’d like to…” She’s cut off as someone shouts and an orderly bursts in.

“Madam! We got a prostitute here who’s throat was cut in a bar-fight! She’s barely hanging on!” He shouts, obviously trying to get her help.

“Damnit be to Solos! I can’t leave her during this delicate work! Get sister superior Ashley-“

“Her heart stopped!” A female voice cries. You run over to the scene to do what you can, but it’s too late.

Laying on a stretcher in a pool of her own blood is a half-dressed woman with a body intended to please men. She has a look of utter terror on her face as she twitches and spasms in her death throes, blood draining from her mouth and neck where a vicious wound cut her throat open. Based on the jagged cut, it was problem something like broken glass.

The orderlies shake their heads as a young hospitalier pinches the bridge of her nose muttering, “Gods damnit…”

The orderly from before walks up and sighs, “A damn shame. Poor girl didn’t have a family and you know how it is in Madam Bugnast’s brothel, she doesn’t pay for the burial rights of dead girls.”

The hospitalier grits her teeth. “Ugh… mass grave it is then. Gods damnit…”

You look at the corpse, so freshly killed, it’s neck vibrant and open to the world. Narrowing your eyes, you look to the floor before groaning. Solos is a God who does not intervene, but Nerg has been known to nudge things. There’s a chance this was an accident, merely a chance death from a dangerous profession, but you know better.

You walk up to the Hospitalier and do your best to explain why you need this corpse.

 

Chapter 220

 

“So… you took the corpse of a hooker from the Hospital, and you want me to finish taking the head off?” Selene asks in flat voice as you meet with her near the stables, the commotion of the celebration starting to begin. The area near the stables is practically devoid of life and the only ones there are you and your companions, minus Blake and Hala who are off hamming it up or whatever. The life of a Hero.

“That’s basically the gist of it.” You say, shrugging. “Look, you have to admit that it’s basically a gift from Nerg.”

Selene narrows her eyes, “It’s a dead hooker.”

You sigh, shaking your head. “I know… I know, but… but Delilah she… she’s been through too much as it is. She can’t stay a head forever, I can tell it’s killing her inside and Nerg wanted me to…” You take a deep breath. “I want her to have this. Please?”

Selene looks at you, then at the corpse before sighing and quietly slicing the head off in one motion, making the wound clean and even. She lifts the poor girl’s head in the air before incinerating it, not wanting to look at her lifeless stare any longer. Even Selene, mass murderer, couldn’t stand that.

You nod and walk over to the wagon. Looking inside, you see Delilah floating around on top of Saya, moving in little undulating motions on your daughter’s body. You blink as you see this, and Chaika waves a hand at you in greeting.

“Well look who came back.”

At this, Saya stops moving around Delilah who frowns and makes a disappointed sound. “Darn, I was having fun too.”

You cock your head, giving Delilah and odd look before you shake your head and sigh. “Hey, Delilah, think you could come with me for a second? There’s something I wanted to show you.”

The Dullahan and Chaika look to each other before Delilah rolls her eyes. “Oh very well.” Saya slides her over to you and you nod, then hold up a hand as Chaika rises.

“Ah, could you stay here for abit? Just one last thing to do real quick.”

Chaika, unable to frown, makes an annoyed gesture and sighs before sitting down and staring at Saya, who jiggles at her. “Don’t take too long.” She says, impatient.

You think she just wants to be part of the party, how cute. Regardless, you take Delilah over to the secluded section where you stowed the headless corpse of the hooker, which sounds horrible said like that.

Delilah goes stock still, which isn’t hard for her, when she sees the corpse, staring at it like a farmer being gifted an ox. Her voice tremble some as she whispers, “W-what is this?”

“It’s your new body.” You say quietly.

Delilah stares at it, then back up to you before she licks her lips slowly. “Where…?”

“Dead prostitute, bar fight gone bad.”

She nods. “Ah. I see.” She takes a moment to take a deep breath, although again, you don’t know why.

“Well? Don’t you want to try it on?”

Delilah blinks and then starts, as if suddenly remembering something. “Oh! Y-yes, of course!”

You and Selene both smirk as you place the Dullahan head atop the corpse and then step away, watching in fascination as the head doesn’t topple to the ground. Instead, the body shivers and shakes as a purple light appears in Delilah’s eyes while the place where the two parts meet begins to release a small cloud of dark smoke that leaks down the side of the body.

The arms twitch first, seemingly at random and then slowly reaching toward the neck, feeling as if for something missing before the torso heaves, as if trying to bring in air and failing. Last, the legs rise, shakily standing before twisting and sinking to their knees, the whole affair looking as if the body is trying to come to terms with what is happening to it. You watch with fascination as the skin begins to fade from a light pink to pale white, matching Delilah’s face. The body stops fighting soon enough and slowly sinks down, the smoke stopping as a purple light flashes from the neck and then dies down, plunging you once more into darkness.

You and Selene trade glances, looking down at the kneeling figure of a pale woman with supple, lewd curves as she sits there, motionless. You make a move to poke her, to see if she’s still undead when a hand snatches your arm and you pull back in shock.

Delilah lifts her head, looking up at you with a wicked expression. “Ahh… to once more have a body. Truly, I can once again go and spread the glory of Nerg…”

You feel your heart start to beat faster in fear as Delilah stares at you, restored to her power. The tension in the air pulls at your soul and you grunt, realizing that you might have made a huge mistake here when the hand suddenly goes limp.

Delilah sags, sighing out. “That really took a lot out of me, I don’t have any energy left.”

You and Selene trade glances again as you ask, confused. “You uh… mean like…?”

“Semen, and a lot of it would be nice.”

You look into your [Sack of Holding +1] and see that you’re fresh out of old, stale semen and you sigh, standing up. “Well, I suppose I could probably find a Hero around here who would love to just…”

“Love, it’s fine, just give her some of yours.”

You and Delilah both look to Selene as she stands there, shrugging. “What? It’s not like you can’t make more, and it’s just a one-off thing.” She gives Delilah a fierce smile. “Isn’t that right?”

Delilah licks her lips. “Well…if you insist…”

Rubbing the back of your head, you sigh. “Are you sure Selene? I mean…” You shake your head and move to remove your belt, dropping your trousers as you begin to work yourself up. “This still feels kind of wrong.”

Selene rolls her eyes and then kneels down, grasping you with a furred hand and licking your balls with her delicate tongue, the sensations making you get hard much faster than you would have on your own. You grunt as she chuckles. “Does this make you feel better?”

You don’t respond as she begins to trail her tongue over your shaft, working her way to the tip, teasing you gently. Your hips tingle at the pleasure, and you notice then that Delilah is watching the whole affair, mouth slightly open, a small string of drool coming from her mouth.

Selene looks up at you, mouth open, and follows your gaze to Delilah. She seems to consider something before sighing and shifting over slightly. “Come on, before I re-think this.”

You and Delilah look at Selene in shock as she begins again and you see the Dullahan lose her battle of self-control, moving forward in jerky motions to come in contact with your cock. She stares at it for a moment before looking up at you and then leaning forward, touching her lips to the tip.

You feel a wave of cold shudder through you at her touch, but instead of deflating your erection, it somehow makes it even harder. She takes this as consent to continue, dragging her cool tongue around your head as Selene gently sucks on one of your balls, the gentle pressure sending a little wave of pleasure through you as they assault you from multiple angles.

Your hips shudder as Delilah begins to slide her tongue down your shaft, Selene moving up the other side as the two traded places. Selene licks at the pre-cum that begins to dribble from your tip though you clench your jaw when she starts abuse your head with her tongue as Delilah’s cold embrace sends shivers of pleasure through your testicles.

Together, their actions bring you to a climax faster than you would have expected. Selene’s eyes flash as you get close and she lets loose her hold on your head. Delilah looks up and smiles before the two of them play with the tip at the same time, their tongues occasionally intertwining as they seek to pleasure you. A pale hand a fluffy tail work around the shaft and the mixture of sensations from so many sources send you over the edge. You orgasm, sending your seed spurting out.

Selene gets some of the initial blast, but she quickly moves out of the way and you watch in fascination as your white, milky semen covers the Delilah’s face in a sheet, droplets falling to her new breasts, covering the pale skin in even paler secretions.

When it’s over, you take a deep breath to slow your beating heart, the assault upon your nether regions leaving you nearly out of breath.

Delilah wipes the jizz from her face, licking it from her fingers and moaning as she does so, savoring the flavor. She does this for a few, solid minutes before she licks her lips and sighs, looking to Selene.

“Oh, you got yourself a keeper.”

Selene flashes her a smile before jabbing a finger at the Dullahan’s chest. “Yes, and we understand this will never happen again, I trust?”

Delilah nods, smirking and standing up, her range of motion far improved. “Oh of course. I’d rather not lose this new body so soon after receiving it.” She shakes her head and then pulls it off before doing a stage bow, tendrils of smoke drifting from her neck.

“Thank you, Wizard. You don’t know how much everything you’ve done, the good and the bad, has meant to me.”

You cock your head, confused. “That sort of sounds like a goodbye.”

Delilah smiles wanly in the moonlight. “Of course it is. I can’t stay with you forever, no matter how interesting that would be. At the end of the day, I still have a duty to do.”

You frown as Delilah snaps her fingers and a suit of armor like the one she wore before seems to materialize out of thin air around her, a wicked scythe appearing in her hands. She looks down at the armor and then nods her head before turning around.

“W-wait!” you say, holding out a hand, the other trying to pull your pants up. “Will we see each other again?”

Delilah turns her head around and smiles. “Of course, dear Wizard. All men see death eventually.” She takes a few steps forward and then stops. “Sometimes though, they see death more frequently than others.”

You smile as Delilah trudges off into the night, becoming lost in the darkness.

As you finish putting on your pants, Selene sighs and shakes her head. “How the hells is she going to get out of this city anyway? Is she just going to walk?”

Shaking your head, you pull Selene in close and the two of you make your way to the wagon to prepare for the festivities. You sigh, somehow feeling content as you say to Selene, looking up at the stars.

“Death… finds a way.”

 

Chapter 221

 

Say what you will about Heroes, that they are stuffy, brutish, on some kind of pedestal, whatever, but at the end of the day they know how to hold a celebration.

You and Selene walk into the mess hall to see the whole place packed with people. Long tables are shoved to the side and filled with all sorts of foods cooked by the chefs of the Hero’s Hall, people swarming over them eating with abandon while a section in the middle of the room is cleared, obviously for dancing. A small band of musicians, which appear to be Heroes and a Paladin, are warming up instruments in the corner, preparing to play for the room.

You take Selene’s hand and lead her into the rising shindig, many people giving the two of you odd looks. You understand, it isn’t everyday that a man in robes walks into the Hero’s Hall with a Monster on his arm. Of course, some of the stares are of a more leering nature, and you feel a mix of pride and jealousy as their stares fall upon Selene.

She’s wearing the dress that Veronica had worn before, stolen from the wagon before you came over. When you asked why she couldn’t come in her usual outfit, she said, “I’m not going to go to a party wearing those old rags.”

Regardless, she looks amazing in the dress, and the two of you walk through the party to the food tables, drawing tons of stares. You left Saya behind with Harmony as her babysitter, the Thunderbird not wanting to be near so many people. Sadly you couldn’t bring your daughter with you in her current form. You’ll just have to make it up to her later.

Of course, Chaika couldn’t help but come, but she’s off chatting up, or harassing, some Heroes in the corner. You seriously hope she doesn’t try to sex any of them up, because you know for a fact that she can’t, and if she does try anything, she might make a eunuch of the poor man.

Reaching the food table, the two of you, the picture of suave and high-class members of society, load your plates with all sorts of foods, heaping far more than is proper and shoving some into your mouths before dashing away to more strange looks. You end up at an open table near the back, chowing down while watching as the musicians start up.

Heroes trickle to the dance floor as men and women pair up to begin dancing. It’s interesting to see the practiced ease which they glide along in ballroom dance. Maybe that’s part of their combat training?

You and Selene look to each other and shrug, chewing on food. She’s a Monster and you’re a Wizard. Like either of you listen to music that’s popular with normies. You both watch a little longer until you hear a solid clunking sound and look up to see Blake and Hala smiling. Despite not seeming to notice her broken mouth beforehand, she now smiles at you with a brand new set of wooden teeth put in place by the hospitaliers, painted to look like real teeth.

Blake is dressed in a formal military suit like the other Heroes, the cut of which fits his body so well that you notice multiple Heroes and a few Chantry women looking at him with fiery eyes. Of course, those eyes grow even more fiery when they see Hala, her shapely form dressed in a gown that Blake had found somewhere. Her striking form is made even more so by the fact that her hair is actually washed and brushed, hanging loose across her shoulder with a Gods damned bow in it.

Of course, some of the illusion is ruined by the giant pile of food she slammed down onto the table. Without any sense of table matters, she tears into it, forcing Blake to sigh and put a hand to his forehead.

Selene chews on a piece of chicken slowly, her eyes narrowing as Hala downs a large piece of beef. The Wolf Girl picks up a slab of ham, licking her lips before she notices Selene’s stare and the two lock eyes, their gazes narrowing into slits. You and Blake look at each other and shake your heads as the two of them begin to have an eating contest.

“Dear, we talked about this…” Blake says, shaking his head.

“Uhm, Selene, do you really think now is the time for…?” You say, at once proud and embarrassed.

The two women glare at their respective men and both of you shrink away as they continue. You give Blake a consoling look before you notice a commotion on the dance floor. Turning around, you see people moving on and off as the band begins a new tune. Blake looks back and forth between Hala and the dancers. Taking in a deep breath, he jumps into the wolf’s den and grabs Hala’s hand, dragging her to the dance floor. He narrowly avoids having his hand bitten off before he gets there, the poor wolf looking distraught as her food is taken away from her. To add insult to injury, Selene takes a piece of food from her plate and eats it, the helpless Wolf Girl watching before people fill in the gap.

“Really?” You say to Selene, sighing. She shrugs her shoulders and then pulls you in close with a tail, smiling at you.

“Aww, don’t worry too much about it. It’s a cat and dog thing.” She says, polishing off the piece of meat with perfect delicacy and poise of a refined woman of culture. You shake your head and sigh, looking to the dance floor.

“He really does love that girl, huh?”

Selene’s ear twitches and she shrugs. “Of course he does, we’ve been over this. I bet once this all dies down, he’ll propose.”

“You think?” You say, perking up some.

“Sure, of course, if he had rings it might be faster.”

You frown, tapping the table. “Well, sure. I guess tomorrow I can work one something and…”

You feel a rustling at your side and look down to see one of Selene’s tails rifling through your [Sack of Holding +1]. You blink in confusion as she pulls out something from your bag and you realize that she has two wooden rings, carved with intricate designs of wolves and men. You look up at Selene who smirks at you.

“Selene… when did you make these?” You ask slowly.

“Oh, you know, when you were asleep.”

“Wait but… you were jumping and…” You say, staring at the intricacies of the carvings. The damn wolves have teeth!

She shrugs. “It’s not so hard. Killed the time since Delilah was fairly quiet while traveling.”

You shake your head and then sigh. “Well, these are lovely and I’m sure they’d adore them, but I mean, you did all of the work and…”

Selene uses one of her tails to gently twist the rings in your hand to show a small area where nothing iss carved, a hole in which to fix something faceted. You look it over before looking up to her. She smiles, waving at you to do something.

You look down, thinking about it for a moment before you realize what you should do. You quickly open your [Sack of Holding +1] and pull out a cloth wrapped object, which you unwrap, revealing your spare piece of [Galmathorian Glass]. Looking it over in your hands for a moment, you nod your head and grab one of Selene’s fluffy tails, holding it at the point of the blade.

“A-ah!” Selene squeals, her cheeks reddening as you grip the tail. “U-uh, love, what are you, ah, doing?”

You raise your eyebrow at her as her cheeks flush. “What? Is there a problem?”

“No, but uh…could you be a little more delic…ah…ate?”

You feel the corner of your mouth quirk up as you slowly rub her tail in your hands. She grips the table, biting her lip as you do so, glaring at you. She does not, however, move her tail away from you.

“You’re going to get it later, you know this, right?” She says, her eyes a mix of lust and embarrassment.

“Eh, I might deserve it.” You say, going back to using the tool on your love’s tail to carve two small crystals off the glass. With some effort, you quickly cut them into gems, Selene maybe giving you a little (a lot) of help here and there. You look at them critically before delicately carving runic symbols into them, weaving magic into the crystal as you do so.

Selene looks over your shoulder as you work and she sighs out, a warm smile on her face.

“Oh, now that is lovely.” She says, cooing.

 

Chapter 222

 

As you finish your work, a wave of clapping comes from the dance floor. Selene nudges you, pointing at the area where you see a ring of people around Hala and Blake. You cock your head and she rolls her eyes before taking your hand and walking you out onto the floor toward your friends.

As you approach the two, they move back together, his arm around her waist. They smile at you as you approach and Hala cackles, giving you a wolfish grin.

“Showed that stuffy bitch our dance skills, didn’t we?” She says, pumping a fist.

“Yes, yes dear, you’re the queen Bitch.” Blake says jokingly. As a reward, he receives an elbow in the chest which forces him to cough violently. Hala pats him on the chest and he waves at her to which she chuckles,

“Alright alright, let me get something for you to drink, Mr. Dancer.” She gives him a light kiss on the cheek before swishing off into the crowd.

Selene elbows you in the chest as well, a little less forcefully, but good enough to make you wince. You rub your chest and look at her with narrowed eyes before you sighing and reaching into your robes to pull out the two rings.

He raises an eyebrow and gently accepts them, appraising them before looking at you with a curious expression. “What’s this?”

“Well…” You begin before coughing. “It’s… a gift for you and Hala and…”

Selene sighs. “Honestly, I thought you got over the awkwardness.”

You roll your eyes, “Fine, look, they’re a present for you two, when you get married, alright?”

Blake looks up at you sharply, his mouth hanging open. Licking his lips, he looks back down at the rings with a serious expression and then sighs, frowning deeply.

“Marriage, huh…?” He turns the rings over in his fingers, the larger one cut to fit Hala’s furred fingers. He looks up sharply as he notices Hala returning with two drinks and pockets the rings as she approaches. She smiles at him and offers a mug filled with frothy beer.

He looks at the mugs, then up and Hala before taking in a deep breath and falling to a knee. Hala looks at him curiously when someone in the crowd notices and shouts out. The entire room goes deathly silent in mere moments, the only sound the shuffling of feet as everyone turns to face the two.

You look around awkwardly when Selene pulls you back, giving them them space. Hala looks at the crowd, confused before looking down at Blake again. “Uhm… what’s going on?”

“Hala…” Blake begins. “Do you remember when we first met?”

“Yeah, I was half dead and about to eat a Kitsune.”

“Well, when I first saw you, I thought you were one of the most beautiful women I had seen. At first, I only wanted to help you after your tragedy, but when you came to me, I found that you were a strong, powerful woman with such a vibrancy of life.”

She starts to flush as he continues “You might be a little rough around the edges, lack table manners, and have an insatiable, ah… appetite, but when I think about the future, I don’t think I can imagine it with anyone else.”

Hala’s eyes go wide with understanding as Blake pulls out the ring sized for her finger and holds it up, looking into her eyes.

“Hala, will you marry me?”

The mugs tumble from her hands, clattering to the floor as she puts her paws up to her face, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. She nods her head enthusiastically and Blake stands, taking her left paw and slipping the ring on it. She stares down at it, eyes twinkling with tears before she sniffs and hugs Blake, kissing him violently.

The crowd claps again, cheering with much more enthusiasm this time as the band starts up. The couple looks each other in the eyes and then pull up, ready to dance while others walk onto the floor to dance as well, joining in the merriment. They begin to line up and you make to walk out back to your table, when you feel Selene once again nudge you.

You look over at her and she nods to the dance floor. You frown and shake your head. She pouts. You stare at her. She puts on sad kitty eyes. You sigh.

She smiles and pulls you to the floor, her tails forcing some people away from the two of you without her even trying. She takes up your hand, placing it on her waist. You cock your head and she smiles at you as the music starts to play.

You grow concerned, but she leads you through the motions, more or less in time with the others. It feels a little odd to you, but she’s smiling, so that’s what’s important, right? You marvel again at the grace with which she moves, and as the music plays you see a sparkle in her eyes. Hells, even you begin to move with the music, only blundering half the time!

By the time the song ends, the two of you are smiling, hearts beating quickly from the excitement.

“Where did you learn to dance?” You ask Selene as she adjusts her dress some.

She shrugs, “You live around long enough you…”

“Pick up a few things.” You complete. She smiles at you but looks up as another song starts to play. The two of you look down at the floor and then shrug, you taking up her hand again.

 

Chapter 223

 

A few hours later a general call is made for people to head back to their barracks, marking the end of the celebration. You and Selene find yourself sitting at a table as people file out, both of you tired from the dancing.

“You know, I never would have pegged you for a dancer.” Selene says, watching people move to clean things up.

You shrug, drinking some beer from a mug. Sure, you gave up alcohol, but beer isn’t liquor, so that’s kind of- fine, you’re a hypocrite, whatever.

“Well, it’s fairly easy when you have a good partner.” You say, trying to be smooth. You actually succeed for once, because she smiles and takes a sip of her drink, which is just water… you think. You look around the room again and sigh.

“That was fun though, but as the night went on, I began to wonder why the Paladins well… didn’t really seem to want to kill you or Hala. They actually seemed kind of, I don’t know, nice?”

Selene shrugs, “The Paladin Primaris probably talked to them.”

“Uh, doesn’t he hate Monsters though?”

“Oh yes, very much so, but he’s not an idiot. After our discussion, the Lord Commander spoke with him, told him about what we spoke of.” She shrugs again and takes a drink. “It wouldn’t be in his best interest to do so.”

You cock your head, “What, are you the new Monster Lady and it would be a political nightmare?”

She furrows her brow. “Hmmm, something like that.”

You’re about to say, “That’s not an answer,” but you’re interrupted by the appearance of Blake and Hala, the latter’s dress rather disheveled by this point. They both smile at you and you wave for them to sit down, but Blake declines, waving a hand gently.

“We were about to be off, but we wished to say good evening and thank you for these rings.”

Hala nods, smiling widely. “Oh Gods yes, they’re wonderful! I mean, I’ve never worn jewelry, but it’s so shiny!” She admires the ring before wrinkling her nose. “What’s with the scratching on the crystal anyway?”

You blink and then snap your fingers, “Oh right! Yes, I forgot about that.” You lean over and look at Hala’s ring and then tap it gently for a few moments before releasing it. The ring shimmers as within the crystal an image appears. Hala looks down at it before gasping, putting a furred hand to her mouth.

Blake looks at you oddly then taps his ring, the same thing happening. He blinks and then looks down at it before smiling softly. “It’s an image of Hala…”

Hala smiles up, “Whoa, it’s Blake!”

Selene nods her head, crossing her arms. “The Wizard layered specific runes into the reactive glass, embedding an image into the crystal. When activated, it shows the image he embedded.” She shoves your shoulder, “He’s surprisingly thoughtful when he tries.”

You smirk, shrugging. “It lets you see an image of the other, so no matter where you are you may see them.”

“It’s a lot like embedding runic images into the Communion Matrix.”

Blake and Hala look at the rings until the images fade before Hala gives you a big hug, which thankfully Selene doesn’t care about, because she did threaten to take her head off once. Blake gives you a powerful man’s handshake, the two of you locking eyes as you to do, a manly meaning between the glance.

“Thank you… for all you’ve done.” Blake says softly, bowing his head to you.

“It’s fine, what are friends for, right?”

Blake smiles again and puts an arm around Hala’s waist. “So, what’s next for you two?”

You and Selene look to each other and smile before you reply, “Well, I think we’re going to head back to Havenforth and settle down for now.”

Blake nods, smirking. “Ah, I see, so you two are…”

Selene rolls her eyes, “Oh, he hasn’t yet, but he will, you count your ass on that.”

Blake nods and chuckles, “Sure, sure. If you head through Feldergrod, can you… can you tell Misha for me?”

“No.” You reply quickly.

Blake blinks, taken aback and you chuckle, “Only because you’re going to do it yourself, and come to visit.” You raise a finger, “I expect an invitation for the wedding!”

Blake smirks and shakes his head. “Only if you’ll give me the same courtesy.”

The two of you chuckle and shake hands again before Selene gives Hala and Blake a hug. You look at both of them and nod your head slowly.

“It’s been an adventure you two. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Well, maybe not that business in Cair.” Blake says, coughing.

You wave a hand, “Let’s just pretend that didn’t happen.”

Hala laughs, “Agreed. Thank you again Wizard, you changed my life.”

Blake puts a hand around her shoulder and pulls her in close, “Both of our lives. You two go and be happy, alright?”

You and Selene nod your heads, holding hands as the couple heads off out of the hall. You watch as they go and sigh with contentment, only tinged with a little sadness. It’s hard to watch someone who had been so influential in your life leave, but everyone has their own lives to live. They have theirs, and you have yours.

You are about to say something to Selene when Chaika walks up, hand on her curvaceously metal hip. She sighs and asks, “Are you two done yet?”

The two of you blink and you ask, surprised, “Chaika! I thought you’d be off trying to gangbang people.”

You get the distinct feeling that if she could roll her eyes, she would have. “Ugh, no, although I did jack a guy off outside. Honestly, the lack of holes or, you know, sensation, is kind of a downer.”

“Chaika, you were a knife.” Selene says dryly.

Chaika holds up a finger, “Yes, but before that I was a bone, which is precisely what I’d liked to get.” She sighs, “Oh well, I’ve accepted my limitations here. Anyway, we should probably leave, those lads over there are giving us dirty looks.”

Sure enough, a few trainees are glaring, wanting to clean and be off on their business, except one who stares at Chaika with a delicate expression, shifting uncomfortably. Might as well go and get some sleep before your big journey tomorrow, so the three of you head back to your quarters, where you had left Harmony and Saya.

 

Chapter 224

 

The next morning, you, Selene, Saya, and the revenants make preparations to leave. Bubs ate way too much last night and in a food-coma, so you let him sleep in your pocket again. Despite not wanting to do so, you figure the best way to get to Havenforth would be to have the others stay in El Dorito as you travel. Truthfully, using the river would have been fast enough for everyone, but you had discussed with Selene about going through Varruck. It… it’s a very powerful place for you.

Before you leave however, you all take a trip to the Hospital wards to check on your friends. Tabitha had been given her wheelchair and she already gained a mastery of rolling about with it. She doesn’t seem to be overly bothered by the whole affair, but you can tell she still has the sadness within her as you relate last night’s events.

“So, Blake proposed to her, huh…” Tabitha says with a far-off expression. “I guess I always sort of knew that I wouldn’t end up being with him. I just hoped that…” She shakes her head. “Well, never mind the rantings of a crippled Monster.”

You grab her shoulder and look her in the eyes with a fierce intensity. “Tabitha, I will do my best to help you with this condition and you are going to kick my ass teaching me spear-fighting, you hear?” You wave a finger before her, “I won’t take no for an answer.”

Selene nods, “We’ll both work on it, together. A friend of my love is a friend of mine.”

Tabitha turns between the two of you and then looks down, taking in a deep breath. “When this adventure began, I never could have seen myself where I am today. Even with this… injury, even with the loss of Blake…” She looks back up, tears in her eyes, “I wouldn’t trade the experience for the world.”

You lean down and hug her, to which she hugs back fiercely. The two of you stay like that for quite some time before she pulls back and wipes tears from her eyes.

“Thank you, Wizard. I’ll not lose hope that you’ll find something.” She puts on a small grin then, “And if you can’t, I’ll still kick your ass with weapons.”

You both laugh while Selene rolls her eyes, though she has smirk on her lips as well. “So, what are you going to do?” She asks as the two of you die down on the laughter.

Tabitha shrugs, “Continue to train, continue to fight.” She takes on a faraway look, “I suppose if Blake wasn’t truly my destined husband, then there’s someone else out there worthy.” She shakes her head before nodding off to the side.

“I hear Veronica was conscious recently, want to go speak with her?”

You nod fiercely and the three of you head over to the intensive care area where an orderly lets you in for a quick visit. Veronica awake is, her eyes sunken and tired, staring off to the side. She snaps her gaze to you immediately when you approach however, and her expression softens as she smiles weakly.

“Well, if it isn’t the savior himself…” She says in a tired voice.

“Hey now, don’t strain yourself.” You say, coming up to the side of her bed and taking a seat on a stool there. Veronica smiles still, looking into your eyes.

“They say you saved me… royally fucked up my insides, but I guess that’s all you could do.”

You bow your head and say softly, “I’m sorry.”

“Heh…” She says before coughing. “Don’t worry about it. I would have been as good as dead otherwise.” She sighs, “I remember the pain of being impaled and then a soft, soothing feeling spreading through me followed by a bright light… I walked toward it and saw a beautiful woman standing there, holding her hand out to me.”

“She said it wasn’t my time and that she would take it from here.” Veronica shakes her head weakly after that. “Next thing I recall is waking up in some soft, warm place. I thought I was in heaven, but when I next awoke, I was here and in a lot of pain.”

“Not heaven?” You say, trying to be funny.

“Not heaven.” She says, a smile touching her face.

Selene walks up to Veronica and places a hand on her shoulder, bowing her head. “You were brave, brave beyond belief to do everything you did. Thank you for all you’ve done. This fate of yours is not fair.”

“Well… I’m not dead yet.” Veronica says weakly. “Might not be able to eat a big steak anymore, but don’t count me out. I’ll be stronger than you can believe when they let me start walking again, you’ll see.”

Tabitha nods her head, smiling broadly. “You and me, both casualties of war huh? How about we get back on our feet together?”

Veronica blinks, looking at Tabitha before a fierce determination fills her eyes and she holds up her hand, which Tabitha grasps, the two women staring at each other with an unwavering resolve.

“You bet your scaly ass we will.”

You and Selene look to each other before smiling. You say, addressing both of them, “Alright, we need to be going I’m afraid.” You hold up a finger, “I expect both of you to come visit us, alright?”

Veronica looks between you and Selene and looks a little confused. “Us?”

Selene snuggles up close to you, “Oh, you didn’t hear? The Wizard and I are lovers.”

Veronica’s eyes go wide and she croaks, “WHAT?!” before going into a coughing fit. The orderly pops in and pushes all of you out. You stand there as a hospitalier comes by and stabilizes Veronica. All of you look to each other, a little worried before Tabitha shrugs.

“I’ll explain it to her later. You to be off, alright?”

You nod in thanks to Tabitha and take her hand before she turns back to speak with an orderly. With that, you turn and leave the Hospital.

 

Chapter 225

 

“So…” Selene begins as the two of you dash off out of Sanctifrond, getting a few very odd looks as you do so. Not like they can stop you or anything.

“Saya and the others are in El Dorito… Delilah is gone…”

Her tone makes it fairly obvious what she’s implying. You smile, putting the extra piece of [Galmathorian Glass] you had acquired from the stockroom before leaving, much to the overseer’s annoyance, back into your [Sack of Holding +1]. Looking up to Selene, you give her innocent expression while wind rushes past your face.

“Whatever could that mean?”

Selene smiles devilishly and lands in a clearing near the road, dashing off into the bushes. She nearly throws you down onto the grass, breathing heavily from exertion and pent up lust. As she moves to tear at your robes you both hear a high-pitched squeal and look down to see Bubs popping his head up from your pocket.

{Geez Big Guy, can’t you be quieter? I’m trying to sleep here!}

You and Selene look down at the rat. Selene grits her teeth before looking back at you and pressing you in for a long, fierce kiss. When she tears away, she growls, “Fuck it, the rat can watch.”

Bubs quickly crawls out of your robes and hides as you peel them off, Selene immediately tearing at your pants to free your beast from its prison. You were basically on your way to being erect already, but Selene lovingly caresses your dick with her mouth, tenderly kissing it and savoring the flavor with moans of joy. You prepare for her to begin sucking it as before, but instead she merely peels out of her clothes, which is quick considering how little there is. She stands above you, tails whipping behind her as she looks down at you in her nude glory.

You gulp. feeling yourself get even harder as she sways her hips before you, placing a hand on your cheek. She gently kisses you on the lips before whispering, “This time, we get to please each other.”

She gently lowers herself onto the grass, positioning on her hands and knees, waving her wondrous ass toward you as her tails part, as if inviting you into their embrace. You walk up close and slide your hands over her buttocks, her silky-smooth skin allowing your rough hands to slide over it without friction. You feel a deep longing to be inside this woman, and your manhood throbs to prove itself worthy after so many years of denial.

Unfortunately you don’t know the best way to do this, so once again you default to your eastern theatre, and take a healthy amount of saliva before applying it to your cock. You figure she pretty much would have raped if you didn’t take her offering, but as she wiggles her hips, awaiting you, you immediately go brain-dead, allowing things to go on auto. Taking her ass in one hand and your cock in the other, you then close your eyes, guiding yourself into her, prepared to feel the full pleasures of sex.

Hrm. You feel yourself against her entrance and it feels… well it feels kind of small and less wet than expected. You press upon it and hear Selene gasp, which must mean you’re in the right place. Taking it as a sign to continue, you push harder until you feel yourself begin to enter a very tight, very warm space. You get about halfway in when Selene cries,

“Wizard, what the fuck! That’s my ass!”

You open your eyes and look down, seeing that indeed, you had penetrated her anus. Oh dear, you really do spend too much brainpower on eastern theatre.

“S-sorry, I’ll pull it out and…!” You begin when Selene shudders, sending a ripple through your cock and thus your body.

‘F-fuck it, just fuck my ass, hurry!”

You uh, you don’t feel like causing trouble, so you decide to just roll with it, sliding yourself further into Selene, feeling the tight walls of her backdoor clamp down upon you. It’s like nothing you’ve felt before, the way her body moves in time with your thrusts, the power of it sending shivers through her and reverberating up your own body. It’s tight, really tight, and a little rough, but not terribly unpleasant. In a bid for more of this sensation, you continue to thrust, plunging your cock into her in a rhythm that makes her gasp with every sliding of your member.

“Gods, I had, ah! Not thought abo-ou-ou-out, doing this quite yet, but it feels so much better than I remember.”

You should have taken exception to knowing that another man had been inside your love, but that was before you were even alive. It will probably haunt you for quite some time, but you know that she does love you, and this feels really, really fucking good.

“It’s good for me too.” You say, thrusting again, grunting as you feel yourself twitching within her.

“G-good.” She says, lowering herself further into the grass, anchoring herself with her tails. “Then go harder, really get in there!”

“This is a fresh new side to you.” You say, pulling back. She laughs as you plunge into her deeply, causing her to exhale a moan before you begin to piston her ass. Some part of you feels that something in this situation feels off, but Gods damnit, is it good.

You continue to hammer into her, your balls slapping her firm ass that you have squeezed between your hands and feel yourself coming to your limit. You grunt out, “I’m almost there!”

“Well don’t fucking take it out!” She says seriously as you feel yourself go over the edge. You grasp her firmly, and slam your full length into her, your hips rocking as you release your seed into the wrong hole, going against the flow of nature. You don’t even care as you cum more than you think you’ve ever done before, and she gasps, shaking with every spurt, the warm, sticky fluid filling her up.

When you finish, you stay there for a moment, catching your breath before pulling out of her, your semen running out of her stretched ass like water from a pipe. She collapses to the ground momentarily before reaching back and feeling there, taking a small amount of semen on her fingers and feeling it before sighing and rolling onto her back, her face flushed red.

You lay down beside her and she presses her naked chest onto you, still breathing heavily.

“Well, it wasn’t bad for your first effort.” She says, tracing a finger down your chest, her nail making a little red mark on your skin. “Next time though, I’m making sure you get it right.”

You smile and kiss her as the two of you lay out, shaded by the mid-morning sun, catching your breaths before you prepare to venture down the last roads toward home. You catch a small shape moving in your vision and see Bubs appear, radiating smugness as he shakes his little rat head.

{Big guy, you’re hopeless.}

You smirk back as your reply before rolling your head to nuzzle Selene.

 

Chapter 226

 

The two of you clean up and resume your journey soon after. Bubs goes back to sleep after munching on a Bubsy snack, although you have no idea how he just keeps eating. He had to have engorged last evening on the food there, but good Gods, he just keeps at it.

Such a little scamp.

You leap over the landscape outside of the city, down the idyllic road heading to Varruck. At first you see a fair number of merchants, travelers, etc etc, but the farther south you go, you see less and less. It seems people haven’t been up through Varruck terribly much yet, but you seriously hope that will change.

Passing by familiar stream, you look to Selene, who smiles softly. This is the place where the two of you left last time, where she told you that you would stop the Monster Lady. At the time you found it so daunting, but now it just seems so long ago. You were still an awkward fool of a Wizard, doing your best to get your glass and go home. How times have changed, huh?

“Hey Selene, think we could make another stop?” You ask as she leaps a rise, wind rushing through your hair.

“Oh? What, do you want to stop and talk with that Frog Girl who was all over you?” She asks, giving you a predatory grin.

You gulp at that and shake your head, “No, no I just wanted to talk with another Wizard who lives near here is all.”

Her eyes twinkle at the joy of messing with you. “Oh very well then, I’ll indulge you.”

————————————————————————————–

Franklin didn’t bother to change out his wards and you casually silence them before they go off, feeling like surprising the guy. You don’t, however, turn off the one for the painting of the faggot cat, and when it comes down, Selene yelps and blasts it with a bolt of power. She’s furious to find that it’s just a trick, and she mutters darkly the rest of the way about how that isn’t funny. You assure her that it was totally funny though.

As you enter the final clearing to Franklin’s household, you’re relieved to find that it’s exactly the same as before. A small column of smoke from the chimney heralds that someone is home. You smile, walking up to the door, preparing to knock before you notice something odd near the side of the house. It’s small pond, recently dug and teeming with various plant-life. Huh, guess Franklin decided to branch out or something.

You shrug and knock on the door. A few moments later you hear the tiny pitter patter of canine feet before Charles opens his doggie slot and looks at you with his same, polite expression. He stares at the two of you and then huffs, rolling his Corgi eyes before closing the slot and opening the door for you.

Stepping inside, you reach down and pet the little butler dog who sits there and takes it before chuffing and looking off to the side as footsteps echo down the hallway. You stand up and prepare to greet Franklin when your eyes go wide in surprise as you see a familiar, yet unexpected, female figure.

“Whoa, like, visitors? Charles, you know what Frankie says to visit-“

Croakly stops, staring at you with wide eyes of her own. “Dude, no way.”

Your mouth hangs open and you stare as another figure enters, this time Franklin. He stops in the hallway, looking between the two of you before grunting. “How did you get past my… never mind, what’s going on here?”

You shake your head, putting a hand to your temple. “Franklin, you and Croakly and…?”

Franklin nods his head sagely, “Oh, yeah that’s probably super confusing isn’t it. I didn’t know that you knew Croakly though.”

“I think I need to sit down.” You say, Selene holding your shoulders as you’re overwhelmed with emotions.

“Oh, whoa, like, over here.” Croakly says, helping bring you to a couch. You sit there, still trying to piece this together when Charles comes over with a glass of mountain elixir and offers it to you. With shaking hands, you take it and drink, the sweet and delicious liquid managing to calm you down.

“Feeling better?” Franklin asks, to which you nod your head slowly. He sighs and rubs at the back of his head, “So, I bet you’re wondering why there is a woman in my house.”

You nod your head again.

“So, remember when you came here and uh…” He looks to Selene and frowns. “Wait, who is this?”

“His soon to be wife.” Selene says, smiling. Franklin just makes an “ah” expression before continuing.

“So you came and told me about that thing, and I decided, hey, I’m a strong Wizard, I can totally find it, right?” He obviously means the Ultimate Elixir, but you don’t feel like interrupting him at the moment.

“As soon as you left, I headed out on my own little adventure and got pretty far north, living off the forests with my Biomancy.” He sniffs, seeming pleased about himself. “I did pretty well for myself too.”

Charles barks from the kitchen and Franklin rolls his eyes, “Oh fine, Charles helped.” A smug return bark comes and Franklin waves a dismissive hand. “Anyway, so there I was, traveling in this swamp when I get jumped by this Dark Elf. Now, see, I had everything under control, and I gave her the ol’ [Irate Frog Song] when this one here,” He waves to Croakly, “Comes out of nowhere and kicks the bitch in the face.”

Croakly shrugs, “Like, I mean, the guy still has some rough edges on the song, but it was totally rad.”

Franklin nods his head, “Indeed. Well after the darkie was driven off, I was left with this frog here who was giving me the bedroom eyes and I thought, ‘Well shit, now I have to fight her.'”

Croakly laughs, “But I totally didn’t try to rape him either!”

Franklin shrugs, “Which is fine by me. I thought that was that, but she kept following me, saying I reminded her of some other Wizard she met.”

He furrows his brow then. “Oh, it should have been obvious it was you.”

“Well duh, didn’t you read my cyan rune story?” You say, shaking your head.

He frowns, “We actually just got home yesterday, I had quite the backlog.”

Selene smiles and cocks her had, “So, why did you stop your quest?”

“Cause like, it got too cold for the dude there.” Croakly says, rubbing his head. “To be fair, it was a little too cold for me and my crew too. I figured he was a cool dude, we’d fought some bitches together, and we lived near each other, so might as well travel back together, right?”

You give Franklin a knowing look and his cheeks flush. “She’s just a friend! I will not give up my Wizard hood!” He blinks for a moment and then sharply looks to Selene as if he just realized what the fuck was going on here.

“Wait a second, she said ‘soon to be wife’? Did… did you lose your…?”

You shake your head, chuckling, “No, no, things have changed Franklin. The restriction is gone, we can have sex and keep our powers!”

Franklin stares at you with wide eyes and an open mouth before he slowly turns to Croakly who has a massive smile splitting her face.

“That’s totally rad.”

Franklin looks away, coughing into his hand. “Uhm, so, wow, that’s… that’s something isn’t it?” His face goes red as he fidgets some, seeming incredibly awkward. Charles walks into the room and looks between the two before huffing and jumping onto the couch to push Franklin into Croakly.

The two fall into each other’s arms. They look into each other’s eyes before Franklin looks away, but doesn’t pull away. You and Selene look at each other knowingly and, as Charles passes by, he slaps tails (not that he has much of one, being a corgi) with Selene before walking away for some other task.

You cough into your hand and the two look at you. “Well, I think it’s about time we headed out. It’s been a pleasure to see you two again, and I hope you have a very good future together…”

You stand and take Selene’s hand when Franklin interrupts you, “Ah, wait!” He sits up, shuffling as Croakly takes his hand, still beaming, although her eyes have a little more of a… predatory look to them. He doesn’t seem to notice yet as he continues.

“What about the uh… you know?” He says, trying to be coy.

You shrug, “Oh, the Ultimate Elixir? I found it and threw it into a bag full of heated bread pouches. It was better that way.”

Franklin’s mouth hangs open and he looks down, shaking his head. “You… you found it and… so my quest was for nothing?”

You hold up a finger and point to Croakly, “Now, I wouldn’t say nothing.”

You and Selene leave and soon after furious crashing sounds from behind you. Charles gives you a flat look before barking once in goodbye and walking back in, prepared to clean up the soon to come mess. Selene just shakes her head and sighs, crossing her arms.

“I think you may have just done that man a terrible disservice.”

“Maybe.” You say, taking her hand and walking back down the path, “But at least she’s raping him and not me, right?”

Selene cocks her head and shrugs. “Works for me!”

 

Chapter 227

 

You sigh with contentment as Selene dashes across the land, and soon enough you see signs of civilization in the distance. It’s odd seeing it from this side, but you know that it’s the little town of Varruck. You land on the outskirts of town a little before noon, much to the dismay of a farmer hauling some wheat into town. The man looks at you oddly before his eyes go wide and he dashes into town ahead of you. Both you and Selene just look at each other and shrug, used to this, before you walk into town, everyone staring at you with wide eyes of recognition.

Everywhere you look, you see people and Monster working together. They don’t seem to have the same, hollow eyes as before and, despite the whisperings, they seem rather happy. You even see some wagons in the market square with people who obviously look like they aren’t from town, speaking with the inhabitants.

As you enter the square, you hear a commotion and look over to see Frederick Sal, mayor of Varruck, walk up with open arms and a wide smile.

“My goodness, if it isn’t the Wizard himself.” He smiles to you and then bows to Selene. “Ah, and who might be this lovely woman be?”

“Selene, his… ugh, I’m getting tired to saying ‘soon to be,’ so I’m his wife.”

Frederick smiles widely and claps his hands together. “That’s wonderful, wonderful indeed!”

You look around again before smirking and nodding your head, “Things seem quite lively around here.”

Mayor Sal nods, “Oh indeed, indeed. Things were a little tough at first, but people wanted desperately to go back to the way things were before Lady Chakrandas was here. They wanted the harmony, and I have done my best to open up to the Monsters of the forest.” He holds up a finger, “I even spoke with a man from the capital recently. Sure, it would mean taxes again, but people would start to travel though here and it would make up for it.”

He looks up with sort of a sad expression. “I hope I’m doing the right thing. I know that in my heart, this is what the mayors before me wished, but… ah well, we must do our best to work for the future.”

You finger your [Pocket Dimension] and frown, about to say something when you feel a mighty pair of arms circle around you and lift you into the air, crushing your chest.

You gasp and Selene growls, her tails lifting to strike when you hear a rumbling voice say, “Ahhhh, Wizard! It’s good to see you again!”

Coughing, you do your best to look around, turning your head to see the face of the Bear Girl you had saved before, Gelphie, her arms currently crushing you. You gasp and try to get her to let you down, which she does, only once you reach the point of almost passing out. As she lets you go, you tumble to the ground, panting for breath.

She blushes, rubbing at her arm, “Ah, sorry about that. I forget my own strength sometimes, although I am feeling a little weak currently. Maybe I’m sick?”

You probably would have been killed had she not been under the effects of the plague…

You cough and stand, rubbing at your chest. “Th-that’s fine. You seem to be doing uh… well.”

Gelphie laughs and pounds her chest, in much better spirits than before. “Well, once you came through, those midnight walkers vanished and Mayor Sal here began to ask people to come into the town.” She shakes her head, “We thought, you know, it was a trick, but soon enough someone came into the town and found it was really quite nice and… well.” she shrugs, “I can’t remember it being like this for a long time.”

Mayor Sal nods his head, “That’s what I strive for. It’s all thanks you to, albeit being a rather… bloody way to going about it.”

The Bear Girl nods her head to you. “Well, I need to be off. Things to do and all! Don’t be a stranger, alright?”

She waves back to Mayor Sal before lumbering away. You watch her go for a moment before the Mayor coughs into his hand. “She’s a lovely one, but now, where were we again?”

You cock your head before snapping your fingers, “Ah, right!” You look around, seeing all the people before you sigh. “Could we go to the manor? There was something I wished to show you.”

————————————————————————————–

Frederick Sal is on his knees, looking up in wonder as tears stream down his cheeks. “My… my Lady mayor…” He whispers.

Chaika, in her construct form, stands before Frederick, a hand on her hip. She watches as he cries before sighing and gently patting his head. “Freddie… calm down.”

“But… I thought you were… I buried you myself.”

“Aye, and I thank you for that courtesy.” She bows her head. “I am not truly Chakrandas though, but an imprint of her spirit.”

“I… I see.” He says, looking down. “It is still good to see you again, my Lady, I-” He closes his eyes and clenches his fists. “I am so sorry I failed you.”

Chaika kneels down and hugs the man. “Shh. You didn’t fail me at all. It was Samantha who did that to me, you couldn’t have known.” She pulls back and, if she could smile, she would. “Freddie, I’m proud of what you’re doing here, I truly am.” She shakes her head,

“My only regret is that I never saw your potential when I was alive.”

Frederick wipes at his eyes before looking back up to her. “My Lady, you could return. I would step down in a heartbeat if you asked it of me.”

Chaika stares at him, or at least you think so, being that she doesn’t technically have eyes on her faceplate, but she soon enough shakes her head.

“No.”

The man’s eyes widen. “Are- are you certain?”

She nods her head slowly. “Yes… I’m sure had I been asked this only a few weeks ago, I’d say yes, I would. I’d probably be horrible again, hurting people and making my own little empire once more. But now seeing what you’ve done, I feel that I have no place here.”

“That’s not true!” The Mayor says, holding up a hand.

Chaika shakes her head. “No, it is true. Besides, I have somewhere else I’d like to be.” She looks up to you and you feel a sort of contentment course through her.

The Mayor nods his head and stands slowly before taking a deep breath. “I see…” He looks to you and Selene and bows. “Thank you for letting me see her again. It, it has given me a sense of closure.”

Chaika folds her arms and chuckles some before the mayor wipes at his eyes. “Well then. Please, let me get some rooms ready for you to stay the night.”

You hold up a hand of your own, “That’s quite alright, we needed to be off as it os.”

Frederick frowns, “Please, I insist-” But he’s cut off my Chaika who shakes her head,

“Freddie, it’s fine. We’ll visit again.”

He looks back and forth before sighing and shaking his head. “Very well then. Please, be safe on your travels then, and… thank you for everything.”

You shake the man’s hand and leave the manor, walking down the street to get to a good point to allow you to cast [Destination Dorito]. You begin to weave the spell when Chaika hugs you tight, throwing off your concentration and hurting your damn chest again.

“Thank you, Wizard…” She says, emotion in her vocal unit. “I- that meant a lot to me.”

You gently pat her on the back and she breaks away, steadying herself. “Alright, you make this trip quick so we can get out of there, alright?”

You nod to her and she enters the portal to El Dorito again, leaving you alone once more with Selene and Bubs. Selene bumps you with her hip, giving you a sideways glance, and you roll your eyes. She is seriously a jealous woman, isn’t she? Regardless, she picks you up and you go to dashing through the forest.

 

Chapter 228

 

Despite spending so much time in the Varruck forest and having so much adversity there, the whole place flies by without incident. You feel like you got the raw end of the situation, but at the same time you now have the chance to marvel at the true beauty of this forest without looking over you shoulder.

It’s early afternoon by the time you clear the forest, and off in the distance you see the walls of Feldergrod. The two of you stop and stare, smiling at each other before leaping off to the town, the last road-stop on your trip back home.

When you arrive at the gate of the town, a bored looking guardsman holds up a lazy hand, “Alright, that’s far enough there, state your name and-” He narrows his eyes at you. “Wait… aren’t you that guy who killed Franz Jakovitch?”

“Yes.” You say bluntly.

The man blinks at you before frowning. “And you really want to come back in here, huh? You got balls, don’t you? Do you even know what happened after you left?”

“Nope.” You say again, with the same amount of blunt force.

The man grunts, “Fuck me… look, personally I didn’t care for that fucker, but things have changed around here, and you might not get the kind of welcome you’d expect.”

You and Selene look to each other before shrugging. “We can take care of ourselves. Besides, we were just passing through.”

The man frowns again before sighing. “I don’t want any trouble, alright? I’m just going to forget I saw you, but if anyone asks, you snuck in, alright?”

You nod at him with a grim expression before heading in through a small gate, putting on your [Plague Doctor Mask] to avoid being recognized. As soon as you step inside however, you notice a few things. One, the city is very, very clean, and two, there are a lot of Centaurs and Minotaurs.

There aren’t as many as the people around, but there are still many more than you remember. They all appear to be armed and wearing that looks like uniforms as well. You trade glances with Selene before walking through the town, trying to get a feel for the place.

You both travel in silence until you reach the Lamia’s Nest and enter the little inn. As soon as you do, you hear a rustling from the front counter and a familiar face pops up from below, holding a bottle of wine. Misha frowns at you and then says with a hiss, “No masks in here.”

You look to Selene before pulling off your mask and taking a breath of fresh air. Misha’s eyes widen at seeing you.

“Well, if it isn’t the Wizard!” She says this over before looking into her common room and then nodding upstairs. The two of you hurriedly head up as Misha slithers behind you and leads you into a room, the same one you were in before, closing the door behind you.

You sit down on the bed you slept on so long ago and wave a hand at the Lamia. “Long time no see!”

She crosses her arms and sighs, “Where’s Blakey-poo?”

Selene mouths, “Blakey-poo?” but you ignore her, shrugging, “Oh, you know, living the life of the man who helped kill the Monster Lady, preparing for his marriage, you know.”

Misha’s eyes go wide and her mouth drops, “M-marriage? He… he’s getting married? To who?! To what?! Why didn’t he come tell me!” She fumes, her tail whipping around dangerously.

You hold up a hand, “Now now, he’s currently in Sanctifrond with Hala, who is a Wolf Girl, and we’re just passing through. I’m sure he’ll send you a message in the near future.”

She huffs and crosses her arms under her breasts, “He better!” She looks to you and then to Selene. “Who’s the…?”

“Selene. Wife.” Selene says rolling her shoulders and sighing. “It’s fun to say, but it’s tiring every time we meet someone you’ve seen before, love.”

Misha purses her lips. “Now, I thought you said you couldn’t have sex.”

You raise a hand, “Times have changed, times have changed.”

Misha sighs, “Well damn.” She raises an eyebrow at Selene. “So, how is he?”

Selene shrugs, “He accidently got me in the ass, but he’s not weaseling out of the good stuff next time. Regardless, he’s still worth keeping.”

Misha nods her head, “Ah, I see, I see.” She sighs and looks at the window. “I’d offer you a room, but if you’re passing through, it might be for the best.”

“What exactly happened after we left anyway?” You ask as Misha coils upon herself.

“Well, with the death of Franz Jakovitch, his underlings felt they needed to assume control with a heavy hand while they fought for a new leader. The Centaurs took exception to this, so we had a little war in the town.” She sighs, “There were battles that occurred in the streets for a few days, people were scared.”

Holding up her hand, she continues. “Things would have been bad, very bad, had a certain young man not taken the reins of the goons and negotiated a standoff with the Centaurs. I don’t know how he did it, but he managed to make a deal with them that allowed the Centaurs to be the town guardians while the goons keep their business under the radar. Officially it’s illegal, but everyone is just fine with the peace.”

You frown, thinking. “This young man you speak of?” Misha describes him for you and your eyes widen, “Well no fucking wonder, that’s the princesses’ lover!”

Misha’s eyes widen. “How do you know this?”

You wave your hand and pull out the [Centaur princess charm.] “I helped save the lad from having his head caved in. I got this for my trouble.”

Misha whistles, looking at the charm. “Hells, wear this on your breast and you can go just about anywhere in town without trouble. Why were you hiding?” She reconsiders that before holding up a hand, “Don’t answer.”

You chuckle and shake your head. “Anyway, thank you for letting me know how things are here. I was afraid that… it would be worse.”

Misha shakes her head, “Nah, actually in some ways it’s much better, people just haven’t seen it yet.” She smiles and nudges your shoulder. “Thanks for letting me know about Blakey-poo. I’m a little sad to hear he found a girlie, but at the same time I’m proud of the kid, he’s grown up so much.”

“You’ll see just how much at the wedding then, because knowing that guy, he won’t half-ass it.” You say, smiling. She smiles back and taps your shoulder.

“Well, I have an inn to run, and you two best be off, hmm?” She winks at Selene. “I’m sure you two are looking to ah… ‘get busy’ yourself, hmm?”

Selene smiles back wickedly, pulling you in close. She looks at the bed with a thought before Misha clears her throat.

“This room is currently reserved.”

Selene frowns and shakes her head before sighing. You take her furred hand in yours and she looks to you with a longing expression.

“Later, love. Later.” You whisper.

 

Chapter 229

 

Selene knows where Havenforth is, and she blazes through the countryside without regard for, well, anything. You see Minotaurs and slimes out in the countryside, but you don’t stop for either. As the sun begins to set, you see the little town of Havenforth, docile and pure, awaiting you in the distance. You tell Selene which house is yours and she and leaps and bounds through everything, causing people to shout and panic until she lands before your door and lets you down gently.

You gaze upon your house, the place you hadn’t stepped foot out of for years and realize that it feels like you’ve been gone for ages. Nothing had changed about the place, but it feels… so very small, compared to that of the larger world, a place you had only just barely tasted on your journey.

You gingerly slide your hand across the rough door, feeling your spell still upon it. A tear wells up in your eyes as you dispel the lock and gently push the door open.

You look inside your cozy little house, filled with all of your magical implements and everything you had ever known. Selene puts a hand upon your shoulder and she smiles at you, whispering,

“Welcome back.”

You take in a deep and then whirl to pick Selene up in your arms. She gasps as you do so, but doesn’t fight, instead looking up at you with a fierce smile. You return it before shaking your head.

“It’s not just welcome back… it’s welcome home.”

You cross the threshold with your love in your arms, closing the door behind you as you make your way to the bedroom, ignoring the old pieces of Galmathorian glass that lay upon the ground. You finally finished your quest and did what you set out to do: Return home with the most important thing in your life.

And you most certainly had.

————————————————————————————–

Of course, Selene isn’t just going to let you get away with a cheesy line like that. The moment the door closes behind you, she grips your sleeve, staring fiercely into your eyes.

“We’re making love. Right. Now.”

“Yes dear.” You say, shaking your head, continuing to carry her to your bedroom. As you do, she uses her tails to shed you of your gear, your [Sack of Holding +1] falling to the floor, followed by your [Pocket Dimension]. By the time you make it to the bedroom, your belt is off and your pants are slipping. Selene giggles as you almost trip on yourself attempting to lay her down on your bed.

You succeed however, and she sighs, arching her back sensuously as you remove your boots, then your robes. Bubs had long since leapt for cover out of your pocket, hiding somewhere in the house. Fully removing your trousers, you drop your clothing to the floor. You stand there, naked as your birthday and look up on the bed to see that Selene had done the same. With one of her tails she makes a “come hither” gesture, and you shake your head, grinning before walking to the bed and leaning over to kiss her.

Her soft lips practically attack yours with a hunger and you follow in suit with your mouth, not wanting to become devoured by her. She reacts to this with a delighted little sound, striking out with her tongue, to which you counterattack with yours. As the two of you tongue-tango, you reach forth with your left hand to caress her breast while the other runs along the curve of her hip, drawing a delicate line across her firm backside.

She pulls back, eyes on fire, her breath coming in gasps in time with your hand motions. She uses one of her hands to grasp the decent amount of chest hair you have and pull you in again, making a gleeful sound as you continue with the kiss. You squeeze down upon her malleable chest and she shivers in delight as you play vigorously with her tit.

Your manhood rises in size as it brushes against her soft skin, a tail coming into contact with it a moment later. The furred appendage suddenly constricts around you and you pull back, gasping as the fluffiness begins to, well, fluff you up. You grit your teeth and then look back at her before going to town on her breasts in retaliation, not that she’s complaining mind you.

She stretches as you run your mouth over her as before, a soft chuckle echoing from her lips as you do so. You feel her tail leave your member and you look up at her, confused. She stares at you with a devilish grin, motioning you to the bed. You cock your head to the side and she sighs before forcefully grabbing you and throwing you onto the bed, your back bouncing from the impact.

Before you have time to react, she’s upon you, her backside facing you as she grasps your manhood with a hand before sliding her tongue around the head. You shudder in pleasure at the sudden wave of sensation and look up to see her beautiful ass shaking delicately in your face, both of her holes before you. You think once again back to your wonderful eastern theatre, and what they would do in this situation. Of course, last time you did that, you ended up fucking Selene in her ass, so maybe defaulting to that trash is not the best idea. Still…

You reach up and firmly grasp her buttocks with one hand and she chuckles, her hot breath playing across the top of your dick.

“Ara ara… took you long enough.” She squeezes on your shaft, making you grunt in response. “Now then, you have two choices, and you better get it right this time.”

You gulp and slowly move your hand to what is obviously her dripping wet snatch, the pink folds inviting you like a light in the darkness. You gingerly run your finger along the outside of her slit and she shivers, whispering, “Good boy,” before she returns to her labors upon your dick.

Gulping, you continue to play with her, using your fingers to explore the warm, sticky hole that had captivated your attention. Being a little more adventurous, you begin to probe inside, feeling her walls and Selene gives a tiny sound of pleasure as you do so. This emboldens you to continue forth, and you begin to slide your fingers in, two at a time, up and down inside her, feeling as her tightness suckles at your fingers. You almost begin to sweat, thinking about how it would feel to slide your cock in there and feel her wrapped around you…

You pull your fingers out at look at the sticky juices, marveling at the sight before. Smirking, you set out to see how good you can make her feel as you explore once more. As you do, you find a tiny little something that you hadn’t noticed before, a little nub that you gently run your finger across.

As soon as you do, Selene bucks, her whole body going rigid and you blink in shocked surprise as she moans, one of her tails impaling itself into your bed. She turns her head to look at you, her face almost red enough to match her hair. Her eyes shimmer with lewdness as she looks at you before she goes back at your manhood an increased vigor.

The familiar sensation of climax begins to well up in you, but you don’t release yet, instead deciding to fight fire with fire. You run your fingers around that spot, pinching it, whatever, each action causing Selene to shake and moan with greater intensity. As you think of what else you can do, something sparks in your mind and you move your face up to gently lick at her clit.

She gasps and takes her mouth off you, pressing her face down close to the bed as you do your work, mostly flailing about with your tongue, lashing her with your warm mouth. It’s sloppy, but it still manages to make her grip the sheets tight and once again impale your bed with another tail, thankfully not stabbing you with the others. You hear her start to moan curses as you pleasure her until she cries out, her body going rigid for a long moment, accompanied by an increase in her lewd juices.

Pulling back, you see Selene laying before you, breathing little heavily as she looks at you with the lewdest expression you’ve ever seen, causing you to get far hotter under the collar than before. She licks her lips slowly, her hips shaking as she detaches her tails from the bed and turns about to lay on top of you, her body radiating heat as she stares into your eyes.

“W-well done! Sloppy but… I haven’t felt that in… ha…haha…” She looks back to your cock and smirks. “Ara ara, I’m afraid I haven’t finished you off in my excitement, allow me to ah… rectify that.”

You blink, wondering what she’s going to do when she pulls back to straddle you, grasps your shaft, and raises her body before gently pressing your head against her dripping wet opening. She looks at you with a smoldering expression before she purrs out,

“Time to lose your virginity, Mr. Wizard.”

Before you can so much as utter a retort, she herself onto you and your eyes go wide at the sensation. You feel a warm, wet, tightness spread over your manhood, and you can barely describe the feeling as her walls tighten down upon you. You both stay in place for a moment, adjusting to the position, the two of you now locked into the ultimate expression of love, the true taboo of your calling, and that which you had waited for so long to attain.

Selene closes her eyes and moans before smiling wickedly. “I’m going to move now, alright?”

You try to reply, but when she raises her hips and then lowers them again you shudder in delight, merely grunting instead of using actual words like a civilized creature. She smiles wider and then continues to move in undulating motions, your cock writhing in pleasure within her as she clamps down upon you from all angles, lewd slapping sounds accompanying each time she lowers herself onto you.

You’ve never felt this hard, or this good in your life as you stare up at Selene, her arms thrown back, chest thrust out as she rides you. Moans escape her as she uses you to derive the ultimate pleasure of her race. The build up from before and the sensations begin to eat at you and you feel your hips rocking into her motions without your bidding, a pressure building within you.

Selene’s smile grows wider as she looks down at you, “I can you feel you twitching inside me, oh Gods, are you about to cum?”

“Y-yeah.” You manage to say and she laughs, leaning forward to take your hands in hers as she increases her pace. As you stare into her eyes you feel yourself go over the edge and you grunt, your buried member releasing semen in massive waves as you spurt inside of her, coating her walls with your own sticky liquids, claiming her for your own.

Selene shudders and gasps with every shot into her, reaching deep within her body, perhaps even penetrating her womb. You have the dim realization that you may have even impregnated her, but somehow that fact makes you shudder again in an aftershock and you sigh out in relief as the sensation dies down. The two of you stay locked together like that for a while before Selene sighs and gently raises herself off you with a slight sucking sound. She presses a finger to her abused opening, trying to keep the torrent of your seed from flowing out of her.

She lays beside you, snuggling her feverishly warm, naked body up to you as she smiles up at you. “Mmm… that was well worth it…” She purrs, nuzzling your neck.

“Hells yes it was.” You say, feeling pleased beyond belief and yet a little tired at the same time. Maybe a lot tired actually, but you aren’t going to admit that to Selene. You look over at her and she smiles softly before looking down and running a soft, furred hand over your chest.

“You asked before what I had said to Saya and what I wanted to say it in Cair, but… I don’t know, I guess I was a little afraid to even ask it.” She bites her lip, looking more vulnerable than you had ever seen her before as she struggles to say something.

You take Selene’s hand in yours and lift it to your mouth, kissing it delicately before whispering, “You can tell me anything Selene, you know that.”

She looks up into your eyes before blushing. She takes a deep breath and says, “I… I told Saya that I wanted to give her sisters.” She looks up at you with what you now recognize as a little bit of fear in her eyes, “Do… do you?”

You close your eyes and take a deep breath of your own before you roll to your side and lift Selene’s chin to yours, kissing her softly and delicately on the lips. She melts into the embrace and you hear her weeping gently before you break off the kiss, staring into her eyes.

“I think if we want to keep that promise, we better get to work then, shouldn’t we?”

Selene’s eyes go wide as you move off the bed and stand over her, your member still stiff as stone despite cumming so soon before. How could you possibly not be hard when you’re filled with the desire to pack this woman so full of your seed that she would have no choice but to be pregnant? She smirks and slides herself on her back. You lean forward atop her, guiding yourself toward her cunt, gently placing your cock into her opening before looking up at her. She smiles and you nod, continuing the insertion until you’re all the way in.

Selene shudders at the sensation, and the bravado from before melts as you perform the lewdest of acts: sex in the missionary position for the express purpose of procreation. She wraps her legs around your waist, locking you into place as you lean over her

You take that as a sign to start thrusting.

Though you don’t have a set pattern or rhythm to the motion, Selene doesn’t seem to care, making small gasps or moans with every thrust, calling for you to go faster or slower based on the moment. You feel her tails start to coil around your naked back, their fluffiness making you writhe in added pleasure before their points begin dragging across your back, increasing in intensity until they start to draw blood.

Selene’s body rocks with your thrusts, her breasts heaving forward and back, and you begin to lose yourself in the pleasures of the motions. You feel one of her more curved tails bite into you as you make a particularly sharp thrust, and she gasps out, your cock smashing far into her, perhaps even pressing upon your ultimate goal, the place where your daughters would be born. The thought spurs you on, gives you vigor, and you thrust faster and faster, a furious need within you to give Selene what you both want.

Her breaths come in ragged gasps as you move, her hips shaking and rocking in time, body lost in the pleasure. As you too grow more passionate, you once more feel the sensation of finish washing up within you.

“Selene… here it comes.” You say. She nods her head fiercely in reply, tightening her grip on your hand as the waves of pleasure rock your very core. You release inside her once more, a stream of sperm jetting into her already messy cunt. This is the third time you’ve come today, but it feels like the first time as you continue to fill her up, both of you burning with the desire to become pregnant. That wish drives you on until finally, spent, you pull yourself out of her and collapse, feeling as if you had just cast the most powerful spell of your life.

You both lay there, breathing heavily in each other’s arms, feeling each other’s warmth as warm blood trickles down your back while semen slithers down her thigh.

You never thought this would be your life, never dreamed something like could happen to you, and looking back, you can barely believe it. Your quest is over, but perhaps with this little event, this could be where your life truly begins.

And if this time isn’t enough, well, you can always try again.

>The End.

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