“You like the black pudding?” Alvin asked skeptically.
“It was okay. Not great, but it’s far from the worst thing I’ve eaten,” Becky replied.
“Want mine?” Alvin asked.
“No, I’m quite sated for now,” Becky said as she finished her coffee.
“I can’t finish,” Kuro said, sliding her plate, which still had beans and pudding on it, to the side.
“Nor can I,” Wintersbreath sighed, her plate empty of everything but the black pudding.
“It seems to be unanimous, then,” Alvin said, his plate still containing the pudding and some beans. “Jarvis, can you leave the pudding off next time?”
“I can,” Jarvis replied as he came to collect the plates. “It was optional under the recipe. I just wished to see if it would be well received.”
“I think we answered that for you,” Alvin chuckled.
“Quite, sir.”
“Okay, five minutes, then we hit the road,” Alvin said, getting to his feet. “Meet in the garage.”
Alvin had Becky hit the summon vehicle button when they got to the garage, and Ruffian appeared. “Good, I was hoping that would work. Now it can be repaired while we work.”
“I missed you, baby,” Becky said, patting Ruffian’s hood. “Rest up, we’ll be using you again soon.”
Wintersbreath eyed her questioningly, “Does it have an elemental residing in it?”
“It embodies the fastest beast to ever run,” Becky replied as she went over to the Humvee.
Alvin helped Becky put on her flamethrower after he did the same for Kuro. “Same as yesterday: passenger sides, gunner can join in. If we encounter trouble, we’ll back off, deal with it, then go back to changing the map. Any questions?”
“What if we encounter a necromancer?” Wintersbreath asked.
“Back off and kill him at range,” Alvin said. “Oh, Wintersbreath, this is for you. Mousie, help her get the radio on, please.”
“Why did you back in last night?” Becky asked as she climbed into the Humvee.
“In case they set an ambush for us. It’ll be better to be in drive than reverse,” Alvin replied.
“Good point,” Becky said, situating herself in the gunner’s position.
Once everyone was in, Alvin started the Humvee. “Okay, let’s see what today brings.”
When they cleared the portal, Alvin’s eyes widened fractionally and he switched gears suddenly, throwing the Humvee into reverse. All three women were equally surprised by the mass of undead that surrounded them and before they could do anything, the Humvee was back inside the base.
“God fucking damn,” Alvin breathed out. “That is not going to be good.”
“That many is a bit much,” Becky agreed with him. “I think they might be able to break the Turtle.”
“What’s your plan?” Wintersbreath asked.
“We’ll do it the American way,” Alvin said as he got out of the Humvee.
“All problems can be solved through the proper application of high explosives?” Becky asked.
“Damned right.”
“What does that mean?” Wintersbreath asked as she followed Becky.
Stripping off the flamethrower, Becky smiled. “It means he’s going to be looking at explosives. That means we have a little while, at least.”
Kuro finished getting her tank off, and helped Wintersbreath. “Matriarch, maybe we can show Champion Wintersbreath some of the items she had questions about yesterday?”
“I like your thinking, Mousie. How about it, Amara? Want a live demonstration?”
“Ladies, turn your mics off, please. You’re making it hard as hell to focus,” Alvin sighed.
“I bet we’re just making it hard,” Becky snickered as she killed her radio.
“I am very interested,” Wintersbreath smiled, letting her eyes trail over Becky’s figure. “It has been a long time since I let another have any control.”
Becky’s smile grew broader, “Oh, I’ll accept that offer.”
Alvin kept his eyes on the kiosk, fighting the urge to look at the women as they swayed past him. When they were out of the room, he took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes. This is going to take me awhile, and maybe playing a bit will help Gothy get it out of her system.
Alvin was proved partially correct an hour later. He finally finished his shopping and cost himself a little over fifty thousand XP. Jarvis helped him shuttle the stuff to the glowing portal in the garage.
“Thanks, Jarvis,” Alvin said.
“You’re welcome, sir. I caught a glimpse of the mass waiting for you. I knew briefly what fear was. I’m glad you were able to return without being attacked.”
“It was a close thing. I was torn between pushing through or backing up. I’m glad I chose what I did. Help me with the first batch of surprises. I’m going to bet I get no XP from this.”
“That is a smart hypothesis, sir.” Jarvis held out the first item to Alvin. “I believe the saying is, ‘Fire in the hole?’”
“That’s an accurate statement,” Alvin chuckled, taking the brick of C-4 and applying a detonator to it. He molded it to the gallon jug filled with napalm, and finished off by adding ball bearings to the exterior of the C-4. “Set this for thirty seconds, and then...” Whistling as he worked, Alvin set the detonator and tossed it through the portal. “I bet this gets fixed.”
“Indeed,” Jarvis said, handing over the next block of C-4.
“They need to go back to making the gates invisible to anyone not in the party.
Otherwise, things like this can happen, where we get pinned down.” Alvin explained out loud as he set the next charge. “I’m just glad the right items were in the store, otherwise we’d be using plain old grenades.”
“That might take a long while to accomplish anything useful,” Jarvis said.
“Yeah. But with C-4, ball bearings, and napalm, we’ll have us a nice clear area,” Alvin chuckled. “Also means we’ll be staying in for a bit.”
“I shall arrange for snacks, though I do believe the ladies are keeping themselves entertained.”
Alvin paused as images of what the three of them could be doing flitted through his mind. “I’m sure they are. Ah, well... once we chuck all this through the gate, I’ll go poke my head in.”
“I am betting the miss will want more than just the head, sir,” Jarvis said drily.
Laughing, Alvin tossed the next improvised explosive out the portal. “Damn, I didn’t see that coming. Well done, Jarvis.”
“I’m learning, sir.”
By the time the two of them finished, Alvin was ready for a break. “If they’re done, maybe we’ll watch a movie.”
“I’ll have drinks and snacks ready,” Jarvis said, heading for the kitchen.
Alvin heard moaning from the dungeon when he opened the bedroom door. “Or, they could still be thoroughly engrossed.” Closing the bedroom door behind him, Alvin went to the dungeon to see what was happening.
Wintersbreath was bound to one of the benches face down, her face pressed into Kuro’s dripping slit while Becky took her from behind with a strap on. Alvin’s body responded instantly to the erotic sight, making his pants uncomfortable.
If you can’t beat them, join them, Alvin thought as he let his clothes vanish.
~*~*~
Tired but pleased, the four of them finally left the bedroom to be greeted by Jarvis. “I have juice and tea for you, as well as some refreshing snacks.”
“Sorry for the delay,” Alvin grinned, clearly unrepentant.
Jarvis didn’t respond, pulling out chairs for Becky, Kuro, and Wintersbreath in turn. “I hope you enjoy this midday break.”
“It’s already noon?” Becky asked.
“It is just before noon, miss. You’ve been a bit... involved, so it’s not surprising that time got away from you.”
“More than a bit,” Becky snickered. “See? Nothing bad happened with letting Amara join us, Hero.”
“I’m qu
ite happy that I was included today,” Wintersbreath said as she picked up a deviled egg. “What is this?”
“Deviled egg,” Alvin chuckled. “Give it a try.”
Wintersbreath did as he suggested, then quickly picked up a second one. Becky snickered as she took some wheat crackers and cheese for herself. Kuro was piling some of the diced fruit onto her plate while Alvin poured himself some apple juice.
“If you need anything else, just let me know,” Jarvis said, retreating into the kitchen.
Minutes ticked by as the group replenished some of the energy they had spent. Alvin’s mind drifted back over the last two hours. She certainly is very flexible, Alvin snickered to himself. Gothy seems to see it as a one-off kind of thing, and Mousie seemed okay with Amara being there. Maybe this will be okay as a short-term thing. Wait and see, I guess.
“I never did get to ask how your project went before you joined us,” Becky said around bites of food.
“Used napalm jugs wired with C-4. The area right outside the gate should have been destroyed, but we’ll find out for sure when we go to leave. The fire should be out by now,” Alvin told her.
“Are you sure it’s going to be safe enough?” Wintersbreath asked.
“Nope. Won’t know until we go. If need be, we’ll retreat just like before.”
“If that’s the plan,” Wintersbreath said, “I can’t gainsay you. You’ve been the only bright spot in fighting these things over the last few days.”
“Can’t gainsay Hero, anyway,” Becky said. “He’s in charge.”
“I answer to the Queen first,” Wintersbreath said simply, “and while I wouldn’t mind giving him his lead sometimes in the bedroom, I won’t let him be in charge of me all the time.”
Becky’s smile faltered, but she nodded. “I thought you might say that. I guess we can enjoy what we have for a day or two more, at least.”
“That I’m more than willing to accept,” Wintersbreath beamed. “If any man I knew was half as well-endowed as him, I might be more willing to entertain the idea of them being in charge every so often.”
“I still can’t believe that the men of your world are built like you said,” Becky said. “I mean, size isn’t everything, but it takes a long damn time to cross the ocean in a rowboat.”
Alvin almost choked, but managed to swallow his drink. “Wasn’t expecting that,” he coughed as Becky giggled and slapped his back.
“Let’s finish this up and head out. The sooner we kill the forest, the sooner we can get our quest reward,” Becky snickered at him.
“I’m surprised they haven’t instituted a quest system yet,” Alvin muttered. “It’s much easier to get people doing things if you give them goals to hit. Hell, I know of a plethora of books that would help the devs plan this out better.”
“We should get some for the base,” Becky said. “Jarvis, can you make a list for me to look at later?”
“I will make sure it is ready upon your return, miss,” Jarvis said.
“Finish up, ladies. We head out in five,” Alvin told them as he stood up.
“Always so demanding,” Becky winked at him.
“But we like him that way,” Kuro murmured.
“It is a bit exotic,” Wintersbreath finished.
Shaking his head, Alvin headed for the bathroom. “If you’re late, you won’t get any fun later tonight,” Alvin said as he walked away.
~*~*~
Double checking that they were ready, Alvin finally put the Humvee into drive. “Here we go.”
The moment they cleared the portal, the Humvee dropped into a dip, but there was no mob waiting for them. Climbing out the far side of the depression, Alvin whistled. The area surrounding the portal was a mess of small craters. The forest near them had also been burned haphazardly.
“I think they learned their lesson, but no idea how many we killed,” Alvin sighed. “We didn’t get XP for them while inside the base.”
“That would have been really broken,” Becky reminded him. “I hope they do something about being ambushed when leaving, though.”
“We’ll see,” Alvin said. “Okay, back to forest duty. Who’s up first?”
“I got it,” Becky said, triggering her flamethrower.
“Where did the bodies go?” Wintersbreath asked.
“They were probably looted by the necromancers,” Alvin said. “Since we weren’t here to get the XP, the bodies were open loot for anyone.”
“That’s too bad,” Wintersbreath sighed. “I was looking forward to getting some extra items.”
“Seems like you’re well on your way to becoming a murder hobo,” Alvin snickered.
“Murder hobo?” Kuro asked in tandem with Wintersbreath.
“Mousie, take over,” Becky said.
“As you command, Matriarch.”
“I’ll field this question, Hero,” Becky said.
“Have fun.”
Becky explained what a murder hobo was as the Humvee rolled slowly along the forest's edge. The day went by without another attack, and Alvin began to worry. When he summoned the portal for the evening, a mighty blaze roared behind them.
Where did they go? What are they plotting for us tomorrow? Backing the Humvee into the portal, Alvin sighed as he tried to think what the necromancers would do next.
Chapter Forty-six
Another day of sex and forest burning came and went. All of them were on edge when they set out the following day, wondering where the opposition they had been facing had gone to.
The sun rose higher in the sky, and Becky spoke up after a long while of nervous silence. “Hero, I can see a gigantic tree. The thing has to be a hundred yards or more around.”
“That would be the forest heart,” Wintersbreath said. “I wonder why it hasn’t defended itself? It should have been throwing everything it could at us by now.”
“We’ll find out today,” Becky said. “If we keep circling in like we’ve been doing, we’ll get there before sunset.”
Everyone felt the tension rise the closer they got to the heart of the forest. The sun was low in the sky by the time Alvin called out to stop their burning. A thin ring of trees separated them from the buildings that had come into view, built right next to the trunk of the massive tree.
“I guess this was where they lived,” Alvin said, his shoulder blades still itching over the lack of aggression for almost two full days. “I’m going to drive us up to the buildings. We’ll make a circuit. If we don’t find anything, we’ll have to go in on foot to search them.”
“Where did they all go?” Kuro asked.
“I think they bamboozled us,” Alvin finally said. “I think the majority of their forces moved out on the first day. The ambush was to stop us from chasing them.”
“They’re going after other towns,” Wintersbreath said, getting what Alvin was saying. “We need to go. Now!”
“Another few hours won’t make a difference,” Alvin told her. “If we can find out why the forest didn’t defend itself or what they hope to accomplish, it will be worth the delay. Your people will just need to hold them off a bit longer. We’ll be able to make it back to a town tomorrow, easily.”
Wintersbreath snarled as she glared at Alvin. “You will do as I say.”
Alvin slammed the brakes on, setting the brake and turning in his seat enough to meet her angry eyes. “The deal was you listen to and abide by my decisions. If you don’t like it, get the fuck out.”
Teeth clacking together and hands clenching in anger, Wintersbreath seethed but looked away. “The delay is pointless. My people need us.”
“Hero has his reasons, and he has a very valid point about needing to know what the necromancers are really planning,” Becky added.
“They are right, Champion,” Kuro added.
“Fine!”
Putting the Humvee back in gear, Alvin completed a circuit of the massive tree and the buildings, but nothing hinted at there being any life in the area. Coming to a stop at the biggest
building, Alvin set the brakes again.
“This looks like someone’s lived here recently. We’ll just search for clues, then burn everything before we go.”
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