Sephara was on my bed, on her knees, grinning her mischievous grin. My eyes bulged when I saw what she was wearing. A skin-tight dress that had slits for each of her legs. Thigh-high stockings. And the look in her eyes said it all.
She curled her finger. “Come here, Earthman,” she said. “You’re going to be gone for days. I’ve arranged it so we’ll have some time to enjoy each other before you leave.”
I grinned at the gorgeous Mananymph as she ran her fingers through her silver, moonlight hair. “I think that’s the best suggestion I’ve heard all day.”
There was a sudden, small, jealous twinkle in Sephara’s eyes. “That high elf is lucky Pandora was around to keep me from impaling her,” Sephara said. “But ever since Bella told me what she’d done, I’ve been dying to remind you just how special a Mananymph can be in bed, Earthman.”
I put my hands on her hips and pulled her toward me. “Remind me?” I laughed. “That suggests that I could have forgotten in the first place.”
I brushed a lock of silver hair from her eyes and she caught my hand then kissed it. Her hands danced over my shirt, where she began unbuttoning the buttons. I ran my fingers over her gorgeous elfin ears then kissed her.
She moaned softly as our lips came together then slipped her hands inside my shirt to explore me. I ran my hands down her back, to where the slits opened for her legs, and enjoyed the firm softness of her bare skin.
She looked up at me with those sparkling eyes and I saw a naughty glint just before she began kissing my chest.
“Sephara,” I gasped softly as she kissed her way down my belly, snickering deviously to herself as she deftly undid my belt.
I threw my head back when she took me inside her mouth, clenching my fingers in her hair. Her mouth was so small, so tight and warm and sweet that I knew I wouldn’t last very long if she kept this up.
I growled like an animal, kicked my pants off the rest of the way, then pushed her onto the mattress. She moaned and slipped out of her dress, tossing it aside as she lay there for the taking.
I buried my face between her legs and ate her delicate sex until she screamed. She caught me around the neck with her thighs and dug her fingers into my hair as I lapped up her dripping honey.
I brought her to climax almost instantly. She kept me stuck between her legs like a snare trap as she dug her fingers into my shoulders and cried out my name, over and over, like she wanted the entire castle to know how good I was.
“Yes, Earthman, yes!” she cried.
Darkness had overtaken the sky by then. With the hearth crackling across the room, I took her by the firelight.
I kissed her long and deep, with one arm wrapped around her waist. Positioning myself between her thighs, I stared deeply into Sephara’s glimmering eyes as I slid into her.
I winced in a pleasurable sort of pain when I felt her fingernails dig into my skin. She wrapped her arm around my neck and pulled my face against her throat as I began thrusting in and out of her.
“Earthman…!” she gasped.
The fire from the hearth cast our shadows upon the wall. Our sweat-slick bodies grinded against one another and the legs of the bed were squealing as the bed inched across the floor with every thrust.
“Sephara!” I cried out, then pinned her wrists over her head, nearing the brink.
The Mananymph beneath me wrapped her legs around my waist, locking her ankles behind the small of my back, pulling me deeper inside her.
Sephara looked up at me with the pleasure growing in her eyes, a blissful sort of pressure that was about to explode.
She gasped and shuddered. Her legs locked tighter around my waist and her slick sex snapped tight around me as she came.
She would have screamed but, by then, she’d lost her voice, and all that came out was a sweetly ragged little rasp as she convulsed in orgasm.
Just seeing the satisfaction in her eyes would have been enough to make me burst, but the slickness between her legs was so warm and welcoming that the intensity burning down in my belly threatened to make me explode.
Finally, I let go, gritting my teeth and squeezing her wrists as I released myself inside of her.
When I finished, neither of us could so much as move a muscle. It felt so good, laying there on top of her, keeping myself inside her slick nook.
I gazed down at Sephara, running my fingers gently down her smooth cheeks, and she looked up at me with a drowsy smile. “Stupid elf could never make you feel that good,” she whispered, her voice hardly audible.
I couldn’t help but laugh at her jealousy. “I’m sure glad you specialize in restoration magic,” I said. “Because if you specialized in destruction, I’m pretty sure you would have burned the castle down today.”
We laughed and held each other, and within a few seconds, we’d both fallen asleep.
*****
We started out at dawn. Robbin and Piper led us by torchlight through the secret passageways beneath the duke’s chamber. Me, Bella, and Pandora were all wearing hooded robes to help conceal our identities before we used the enchanted amulets Bella had created. Sephara walked along beside us to see us off.
“We’ve seen to your supplies, Macklord,” Robbin said. “I assure you, you three won’t want for a thing during your journey. Unless, of course, Piper made a mistake, which he often does.”
“I-I-I’ve made no mistakes with your supplies, Lord Gamelord,” Piper said.
I yawned, sipping on a mug of black coffee that I’d brought along. “I’m sure you guys did a fine job,” I said. “The horses are just outside, right?”
Robbin nodded. “Two horses, right at the exit of these secret passages, Earthmack,” Robbin said. “Well-watered and healthy.”
The horses were tied up just outside, as Robbin had said. I gave Sephara a long kiss goodbye. Next, Bella threw her arms around her sister and held her tight.
“Our reunion was cut far too short, sister,” Bella said.
Sephara smiled and hugged her tighter. “You’ll be back before you know it, sister,” Sephara said. “The Earthman will keep you safe.”
“Just make sure you don’t kill Therena while I’m gone,” Pandora said, grinning.
Bella looked at the horses, then back to Robbin and Piper. “Squires, it appears as though we’re short one horse,” she said.
I cleared my throat. “Uh, no, two is fine,” I said.
Bella looked at me quizzically. “But there are three of us.”
Pandora laughed. “The Earthman is an honorable hero and a good fighter,” she said. “But if he tried mounting a horse on his own, well, the Necromancer’s job would be made a whole lot easier.”
Bella snickered sweetly into her palms, her face burning bright red.
I laughed as well. I didn’t care if I was the butt of every joke, as long as I got to hear that sweet laughter again.
We mounted, with Bella on one horse and me taking my usual spot with Pandora. I waved goodbye to Sephara and the squires and we started off at a trot. It was early, and the sun wasn’t even a hint on the horizon yet.
Just to be on the safe side, we avoided other travelers when we could. Once the sun was up, they became more common. We all kept our heads down when we passed them. Plus, I kept the Soulguard tucked under my robe, out of sight. We didn’t want the wrong people to see us heading north. And I wasn’t just thinking about Imperial spies, either.
Sir Lucien had a good point last night. If the Dark King knew that we were going to be gone almost a week, I had a bad feeling that he’d use the opportunity to launch an attack. I wasn’t sure if the Necromancer had many informants among the civilians in the Empire, but I wasn’t about to risk it.
The road up to Silverton was uneventful. We passed a few shady-looking characters in the Silverhome woods, but they didn’t try anything. Now that Sir Lucien and his counterpart in Silverton had regular patrols out again, no potential bandits reared their heads.
“It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen S
ilverton,” Bella said as we entered the city. Everywhere she looked, there was someone with a silver necklace, or a soldier decked out in bright silver armor. “I’d nearly forgotten how it shines.”
I laughed. “Yeah, it’s kind of cool,” I said. Of course, the only time I saw the inside of Silverton was right after the Spriggan King’s attack. Duke Elfblood had made sure the city was back to normal, though, and there was so much silver in the streets that you had to shield your eyes when the sun hit it.
As we approached the Silverton castle, I saw a soldier I recognized from the siege. I trusted him, so I took the opportunity to pull him aside.
“Hey buddy, remember me?” I asked.
The soldier grinned when he saw my face. “How could I not, Game—”
“Do me a favor and don’t go announcing that I’m here,” I said. “We’re trying to fly under the radar.”
The soldier understood. “I understand, commoner,” he said loudly, just in case anyone had gotten suspicious. He lowered his voice. “You seek Duke Elfblood?”
“Yeah. She told us to stop by the next time we were passing through,” I said. “Is there any way you can arrange a meeting with us? You know, away from prying eyes?”
“Aye, I think I can,” he said. “The duke’s likely to be having breakfast at this hour. Let me go find her. I’ll come back after I talk to her and tell you where to meet her.”
“Thanks buddy,” I said, and the soldier dashed off toward the castle.
An hour later we met Duke Elfblood behind a rough-and-tumble bar in the working-class district in Silverton. It was a miner’s bar, and the city guards let a lot of things slide in there. “The miners bring Silverton its wealth,” that soldier had told us, “and the duke knows well enough that they work hard enough to earn some leeway from us.”
The duke was there waiting for us, disguised as a commoner, with a cloak pulled over her face. I shook her hand warmly. It didn’t surprise me that she’d come to one of the rougher parts of her city without any escort.
“It’s good to see you, Earthman,” Duke Elfblood said to me. She nodded to Bella. “And, as always, I’m glad to see one of your kind walking free.”
Bella gave her a curtsy. “You honor me, Duke Elfblood.”
“We’re headed north,” I said. “To the Imperial City to talk to the head librarian.”
“And you’ve come faster than I thought you would,” Duke Elfblood grinned. “At this rate, we’ll be storming the Emperor’s wretched throne room in no time.”
I laughed. “I do what I can,” I said.
There was a scuffle nearby. Two wood elves were getting into a shouting match over a barmaid. The duke just laughed at them as they began to throw haymakers at each other.
“Those are the miners who’ve just finished the overnight shift,” the duke said. “They tend to be the most quarrelsome of the bunch, which is why we rotate shifts. Otherwise they’d bash each other’s heads open with their pickaxes every night.”
“My grandpop was a coal miner back in the day,” I said. “So I get where they’re coming from.”
“Ah, but we can talk about the trades some other time,” Duke Elfblood said. She slipped her hand into her cloak and pulled out a ring. “If you’re interested, I can cut your journey to the Imperial City short by several days.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Well shit, I’d love that,” I said. “I don’t like leaving Homehold behind, not with the Necromancer trying to marshal his forces.”
She dropped the ring in my hand. It was nothing special, just a little iron bauble with a crude eagle etched into it.
“Keep on the road north until you pass Woodkeep Village,” she said. “At the intersection, turn west. You’ll be looking at a long stretch of nothing for several miles, but eventually you’ll come across a large cottage in the country. I’ve got a friend there. He’ll get you to the Imperial City in no time at all, just show him that ring and tell him that I’ve sent you.”
“Is he a friend of the rebellion?” I asked.
She threw back her head and laughed. “More than a friend,” she said. “When the day comes that we take the Imperial City, he’ll be there, making sure we own the skies.”
This made me pause. “Wait, what do you mean, own the skies?”
Pandora chuckled. “I know this man Duke Elfblood speaks of,” she said. “I hope you’re not afraid of heights, Earthman.”
I paused, my heart jackhammering, with little beads of nervous sweat breaking out along my forehead. Because it just so happened that, no, I wasn’t terrified of heights, but I was absolutely terrified of flying.
“Why’s this ring got an eagle on it?” I asked.
Duke Elfblood looked at Pandora. The two of them broke out in hysterical laughter.
The duke clapped me on the shoulder. “I’ll be seeing you soon, Earthman,” she said.
The duke walked away.
“Why is there an eagle on this ring!?” I shouted, but she only laughed at me again.
Chapter Twelve
When we donned Bella’s enchanted amulets, we looked nothing like ourselves at all. Instead of an Earthman and two Mananymphs, we became just three ragged-looking traders. Surely, our disguises would arouse no suspicion.
On the road north of Silverton, we passed lots of traffic, both civilian and a few Silverton guard patrols. None of them so much as batted an eye at us.
I looked to Bella and grinned. “Great job, Bella,” I said. “With these amulets, I bet we could walk right up into the Emperor’s throne room without anyone noticing.”
She looked away from me, blushing. “It’s an honor, Champion,” Bella said.
Pandora laughed. “You flatter him, sister,” she said. “Keep talking to the Earthman like that, and his head will get so big that it’ll threaten to burst.”
We rode for most of the day. Suddenly, I got a surprise notification.
ENCHANTMENT SKILL INCREASED +1
That was awesome. I’d forgotten that enchantment could act as a passive skill. Merely wearing the constant-effect amulet was slowly raising my enchantment skills.
Though I was nowhere near being an expert enchanter, the couple of skill levels I’d gone up in the enchantment school of magic had already given me plenty of boosts. I wondered…
I grabbed the amulet in my hand and inspected it.
BELLA’S AMULET OF DISGUISE
EFFECT: DISGUISE, CONSTANT-EFFECT WHILE CHARGED
CHARGE: 4800/5000
While I was in no danger of exhausting the amulet’s charge, I wanted to see if I was good enough with enchantment to recharge an item’s Mana. Corvus Gavrus had made it look easy. But hell, how hard could it be?
I held the item in my left hand, closing my fingers around it, hoping that the Soulguard would magnify my abilities through its inherent enchantments. I shut my eyes tight, focusing, and I found that I could sense the amulet’s magical energy.
There was a tingling in my hand, then a silent burst of energy that rippled through my fingers. Next, there was a slight vibration from the amulet as I transferred my mana into it.
BELLA’S AMULET OF DISGUISE
EFFECT: DISGUISE, CONSTANT-EFFECT WHILE CHARGED
CHARGE: 5000/5000
Not bad at all. I pulled up my mana stats in the Second Sight and frowned. Just recharging the amulet by a measly two-hundred points had gobbled up a quarter of my mana.
So, recharging enchanted items wasn’t all that complicated, but it was thoroughly expensive. At least now I knew the tradeoff. Anyway, the road was quiet and there didn’t appear to be much chance of running into any enemies, so instead of drinking a restore mana potion, I just took it easy and let my mana restore itself on its own.
Just like everything else, I knew that, with enough practice, I’d be able to restore enchanted items far more easily. But even more tempting than that was the idea that, at some point, I’d be able to enchant my own items.
Now that would certainly make life more inte
resting.
It was well past noon on the road toward the Imperial City when I caught a new sight, one that put a bad taste in my mouth.
So far, the only soldiers I’d seen were Homehold or Silverton troops, generally decent men with decent leadership. Largely trustworthy and honorable, for the most part.
But farther up ahead on the road, I saw the traffic coming to a standstill. And it was no mystery why.
There were a dozen Imperial Legion troops up ahead, shaking down travelers for ‘toll money’ or whatever. I grit my teeth in anger when I spotted them, wearing their gaudy Legion armor and looking down scornfully on the passing commoners.
“Come on now, pay up, pay up!” their officer said as he watched the affair play out. He had the face of a rat, with rotten teeth, and a greedy look in his eye. “Only filthy rebels don’t like to pay this here toll! Don’t make us go hang ye for being a traitorous seditionist!”
“Fucking assholes,” I said.
Bella cocked her head. “What does this word mean, Champion?”
“It’s an Earthmen term that means ‘a petty bastard,’” I told her.
She squinted, narrowing her gaze on the soldiers. “Yes, assholes indeed, Champion.”
“We have nothing to fear from them,” Pandora said. “As much as I’d like to give them a pleasant surprise, our plan is to stay hidden, not to spark open rebellion on this long road.”
I laughed. “I reluctantly agree,” I said, then reached into my pack to grab enough coins to pay them off.
We got through the Imperial Legion troops without much hassle. They hardly gave us a second glance when it came time for us to pay the ‘tax.’ It was comforting to know that, if shit had indeed gone south, they’d have absolutely no idea what we could have done to them.
I grinned when I thought about unsheathing the Dayfire blade and hacking the rat-faced officer’s head off while Pandora went backflipping off the horse, dragontooth daggers in hand.
Anyway, an open confrontation with Emperor’s lackeys would have to wait. It took the better part of an hour to get past them, what with the glut of travelers backed up on the road, and we were burning daylight.
Monstergirl Quest Book Two Page 10