by Noah Layton
We were still safe.
For now.
But if there was even a fraction of a chance, I couldn’t sleep on it without making sure that anything that came within twenty yards of our perimeter was blown to smithereens.
We spent several hours laying out additional explosives and traps, then barred and wedged the gates shut.
As our work came to an end, the last of the sunlight disappeared from the land.
I knew that I had to sleep before our battle tomorrow, but actually getting that sleep was another matter entirely.
And when I needed to quell my thoughts, there was only one person who could help me out; Eri.
‘I need a restful night’s sleep,’ I started, joining her in her kitchen. ‘My mind’s working overtime right now and I’m doubtful about whether I’ll be able to get a single ounce of shut-eye.’
‘The curse of the master,’ Eri smiled, boiling a pot on the stove. ‘Your mind is filled with so many thoughts that they are making your head heavy.’
‘Or just the same big thought,’ I smiled back, ‘danger, danger, danger, slamming against my head like a ringing bell.’
‘Some would say that is worse. Fortunately for you, I have just the thing.’ Eri uncapped a jar from the kitchen counter and scooped up a fraction of the contents into a small vial. ‘This is a special batch of moonseed I’ve been cooking up. I’ve been using a little lately to get proper sleep when this little one finally decides to have a nap.’
‘Smart,’ I nodded, taking the vial from her. ‘With taurem milk, right?’
‘With taurem milk.’
‘Great.’
‘How do you feel?’
‘Right now? Tired.’
‘I mean about tomorrow.’
I paused and thought for a moment.
‘As good as a man can feel before he’s about to go into battle. I’ll have my allies at my side.’
‘Good,’ she smiled. ‘Tormus wants to join you, you know?’
‘He does?’
‘Of course. This is his home. Our home. He wishes to defend it.’
‘And what did you say to that?’
‘I told him that even if he survives the battle, I’ll kill him when he returns home.’
‘I guess that makes your position clear,’ I laughed.
‘Would you like him to join you?’
‘You’re asking me? You’re his wife.’
‘I know, but you are our tribe master. At the end of the day, it is your decision. We must fight for our freedom.’
‘We must,’ I agreed, looking out of the window across the snowy crop fields. ‘But Oden must also have his father around. I’ve no doubt that Tormus would be a formidable fighter, but your son is not going to grow up without a father. He’s staying.’
‘Thank you for saying that,’ Eri said, hugging me tightly before drawing away. ‘Convincing him of that, on the other hand…’
‘You’re his wife. Better you to do it than me.’
‘Indeed. You know, I remember when we first met all those months ago, back when he and I were caged like animals by those damned bandits. You remember?’
‘I remember.’
‘I remember thinking what a strange man you were, sacrificing your safety to defend two people who you didn’t know. Now look where we are; warm houses, plentiful food, enough wealth to withstand a winter spell, and allied alongside other tribes in an effort to take down a tyrant. We’ve come a long way.’
‘I said the exact same thing just earlier.’
‘Because everyone knows it,’ she smiled warmly. ‘May that weapon of yours serve you well tomorrow. No matter what happens, just know that we will defend this land to the last.’
‘I know,’ I nodded. ‘Goodnight.’
‘Goodnight. I’d say sweet dreams, but that moonseed will empty your mind completely.’
‘I’m counting on it.’
It was starting to get dark by the time I left Tormus and Eri’s house. The fire in my home was burning bright and my wives were likely settling down for the night, but I had no intention of sleeping just yet.
Once I had indulged in this new batch of moonseed I would be out for the count, and there was one last thing that I had to arrange before hitting the hay.
I crossed the southern pasture and exited my land through the gates, moving into the snowy wilds until I reached the hidden cave.
This was my bastion of safety, the one place that I could clear my head, but I had no intention of relaxing right now.
That could wait until I was in bed.
I entered the darkened cave and set up a few torches, lodging them into the sand on the embankment.
After undressing completely and dropping my clothes and my new sword into my inventory, I crossed to the side of the cave opposite where I had entered.
The gentle current of the water flowed against me as I looked into the dark tunnel from where the water emerged.
I was headed upstream.
The tunnel was wide and tall enough to allow passage without feeling trapped, and its depths only rose to chest height, meaning that I could walk easily against it with a torch held above the surface.
After completing the journey I arrived at the familiar larger pool that awaited. I would need to duck under the water, which meant putting out my torch.
I could easily use my sword to light the way, but I didn’t need to.
Darkness didn’t worry me down here.
I put the torch out and dropped beneath the water, quickly diving until I reached the tunnel at the center of the pool.
I swam along the underwater tunnel, swiftly reaching the hidden air pocket. I climbed onto the embankment and moved into the chamber where the tunnel ended.
I had first discovered the power well that resided here in the company of Ariadne and Elera, back when we had explored the space beneath the waterfall to the north.
Since then I had returned on a few occasions to restore my power stones to their full capacity.
After the adventures that I had experienced over the past few days they all needed recharging.
I crossed to the well and produced the stones, plunging them into the water one after the other and watching their percentage markers tick up.
The chamber was illuminated by the blue light from the well. When I had first discovered this place it had been a mess of bones and dust, not to mention skeletal attackers that had tried to take me down.
They would have done it, too, if Elera and Ariadne hadn’t been around to make short work of them.
During my return journeys to the chamber I had tidied the place up, ridding it of the rocks and bones and returning it to its former glory.
The blue glow that filled the chamber was strangely similar to that of my sword, but the more I considered it, the more it began to make sense.
Magic, I thought to myself with a smile as my final power stone moved closer to full charge.
In the peaceful calm of the chamber I let my guard down and allowed my mind to relax.
And through the peaceful haze, I felt something new.
The power well’s water felt different now. There was a pleasant burn to its touch, not corrosive but welcoming in its warmth.
It was enough to make me relax even more.
And just as I did, footsteps sounded behind me.
My final power stone ticked up to 100% and I spun around, ready to attack.
I might have been completely naked, but that didn’t affect my capacity to kick the ass of whatever was sneaking up on me.
I was a second away from throwing a round of Arcane Fire at the entrance to the chamber when I registered the two pairs of furred ears perched across the heads of my visitors.
‘Please tell me that’s the only weapon you’re wielding,’ Ariadne said, throwing up her hands in a don’t shoot motion.
‘Not the only weapon, by the look of things,’ Talia added, raising an interested eyebrow and glancing between my legs.
T
hey had both dressed down to their underwear to make the swim through the tunnels and now they both stood before me, their bodies dripping with water and their wet hair scooped over their shoulders.
Ariadne’s body had been a marvel to witness ever since we had first been together in this world. She had closed the door of the treehouse behind her on one of our first nights on the land, happily submitting herself to me.
That was months ago, and somehow she now looked better than ever. Her perfect frame and confident posture only served to accentuate her round breasts and curvaceous behind. Her tanned skin was practically glowing in the blue light of the power well that shed its shine all across the chamber. Her luscious dirty blond hair was scooped from her shoulders and over her back, baring her full, beautiful features and hazel eyes.
Talia stood a few inches shorter than Ariadne, sporting a similarly incredible figure. The delicate, pretty features of her face were complimented by her perky breasts, toned navel and slender body. As I had learned from my first time with her, her firm behind was by far her most perfect asset, matched only by her large green eyes that seemed to stare into my soul.
She had practically driven me crazy with her moves during our time together in the watchtower on the eastern side of my land.
I stood naked before them both by the power well, but they didn’t bat an eye.
If I had been in this situation back on Earth I would practically be fighting to cover myself.
Here? I didn’t bat an eye either.
‘You two scared the crap out of me,’ I panted, dropping my power stone into my inventory. ‘What are you doing down here?’
‘We saw you leaving the land,’ Ariadne replied, lowering her hands and placing them on her slender hips. ‘We didn’t want you to do anything stupid.’
‘Stupid?’ I replied with a smile. ‘What did you think I was going to do?’
‘Nothing deliberate,’ Talia grinned, ‘Just something accidentally stupid. Alorion was more than emphatic about just how many times he had stopped you from being blown up, killed by beasts, killed by enemies…’
‘Look, it’s not that many times,’ I laughed. ‘His knowledge of this world was better than mine when I first got here. He knows how to stay alive, and that’s helped me stay alive. He’s blown it out of proportion… No pun intended.’
‘Of course,’ Ariadne winked, crossing to me. ‘We’re not forgetting that I’ve played witness to a lot of these events. I have been a member of the Orakin Tribe for almost as long as you. After all, husband. I have witnessed our entire history.’ She smiled cheekily at me before changing the subject. ‘Have you recharged your power stones?’
‘I have, but it’s strange,’ I started. ‘The power well feels different this time. It’s like… I can feel its energy running through me…’
‘Really…?’ Ariadne said curiously. She crossed to me and ran a hand over my muscular back and up to my shoulder, peering into the swirling blue waters of the power well at my side. ‘What in the name of the gods…?’
I turned to her and saw it. Her fingertips were glowing with a slight, blue shimmer.
‘How did that happen?’ I asked.
‘I’m not sure. I simply touched your skin… This feels… Strange.’
‘Strange bad?’
‘No… Good. Talia?’
She crossed to us and pressed a hand to my abs.
The briefest of blue glows rose to my skin at her touch. The same glow appeared at her fingertips as the one that had appeared on Ariadne’s.
Within seconds the glow had disappeared from their fingers. They pressed their hands to my torso again. The glow didn’t return this time.
‘How peculiar,’ Talia said.
‘You’re right,’ I said, registering the sensation, ‘that did feel good.’ Ariadne and Talia continued to massage their hands over my abs and my chest, rubbing the water into my skin. ‘Are you two trying to make it happen again?’
‘It would be nice,’ Talia smiled, looking up to me and gazing into my eyes before dropping her voice to a seductive whisper in the silence of the chamber, ‘but we really came here to have you to ourselves.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Today we came close to death,’ Ariadne continued, ‘you saved us both from such a fate. Tomorrow we may come ever closer, and you need to be healed of your exhaustion before then.’
They ran their hands harder over my body, their nails grazing against my skin. I slid my hands over theirs, feeling the gentle curve of their backs before descending to their firm behinds and indulging in the pleasures of their bodies.
‘We wish to be close to you, husband,’ Talia spoke. ‘Would you like to be close to us?’
‘More than you can even know,’ I whispered back.
Talia pressed her hands gently to my stubbled cheeks and brought her lips to mine, kissing me passionately. Her tongue teased mine as I already felt myself growing harder and harder at the simple touch of their hands against me.
They pulled off their underwear, letting their wet clothing sink to the ground around their ankles.
Ariadne pressed her naked body up to me, her hands grazing over my abs as Talia kissed me, finding my hardening length.
She took me in a firm but gentle grip, pleasuring me with an expert touch that sent pangs of ecstasy through my body.
Talia’s hand soon joined Ariadne’s, my wives working together to satisfy me as I kissed them both, unable to help myself from moving back and forth between their full lips.
‘I can feel it now…’ Talia moaned, kissing at my neck as my lips brushed passionately over Ariadne’s. ‘I can feel the energy that you speak of… I need more…’
Talia sank to her knees before me, taking my length in her hand and wrapping her lips over me.
I moaned in pleasure at the feeling of her tongue against my hardness, my head almost dropping back uncontrollably as my eyes fluttered to a close.
Ariadne quickly brought me back into the moment, lifting my head to face her and pressing her lips to mine.
I caressed her body as Talia pleasured me, running my hands over her firm breasts, indulging in the feeling of every inch of her as Talia took me deeper and deeper.
‘I can feel it now,’ Ariadne said in a whispering moan, ‘the energy… What is that?’
‘I don’t know,’ I said, ‘but it feels pretty damn good.’
‘Yeah it does.’
Talia’s motions were enough to drive me to my limits, her tongue teasing me in tantalizing strokes as she pleasured me with her mouth.
Her large green eyes gazed up at me with feverish desire. She would be able to finish me with that look alone, but in my own eyes she could see me nearing.
‘Not yet,’ Talia said, drawing her mouth slowly from me and moving me lightly with her soft fingers. ‘I want to truly feel this power…’
Talia moved to stand in a single, graceful motion. She eyed me seductively, positioning her beautiful, naked body over the edge of the well. She gripped its edges and arched her flexible back, presenting her behind before me.
I couldn’t resist for a second.
I moved behind her, savoring the anticipation of her body for a few seconds longer until I could wait no more.
Her incredible tightness pressed against my shaft as I filled her slowly. Talia’s whole body tensed with pleasure, swiftly relaxing as she shook her ass tantalizingly against me.
‘Take me, husband,’ she said in a whispering moan. ‘Take me now…’
I took her hips in my hands and moved into her, working into a perfect rhythm, our bodies pleasuring each other relentlessly.
At my side, Ariadne pressed her body up to mine, grinding her breasts up and down against me tightly and pressing her hands to my cheeks.
She guided me to her in a passionate kiss as I took Talia, our bodies completely intertwined with each other.
‘I can feel it now,’ Ariadne moaned through our kisses. ‘Gods, I can really feel it…’
/>
I was lost completely to their bodies, feeling the press of Ariadne’s firm breasts against my side, her smooth hands running over my body, her lips grazing my neck, and all the while Talia’s round behind bouncing before me, taking my length over and over as I took her faster and faster.
‘Yes, husband… Yes!’
‘Finish in her, husband…’ Ariadne whispered in my ear, tempting me like a succubus. ‘Give her your seed…’
My wife’s words were like a spell, compelling me to do as she said.
I filled Talia with my length, pressing her firm, tight body to mine, feeling the flexible curve of her back against my chiseled torso as I came deep into her.
Talia moaned out in pleasure, her high groans echoing all around the chamber as the blue lights of the pool danced across our bodies.
The heady, magical scene felt like a dream that I didn’t want to wake up from.
‘Gods…’ Talia moaned as I slid myself from her. ‘That was incredible… It felt incredible.’
‘I felt it too,’ Ariadne agreed. ‘I have never felt such a thing before…’
‘Maybe it’s something to do with the power well,’ I suggested, catching my breath and steadying myself before I looked into the swirling waters.
‘A side effect, perhaps?’ Ariadne said, moving to my side and peering into its depths. ‘Coming together has always had healing effects. The presence of the power well could boost such an effect.’
‘Maybe,’ I said curiously, pondering on the matter briefly.
‘Let us get back to the land,’ Talia said. ‘This well may have boosted our strength, but we still need all of it for what awaits us tomorrow.’
***
Lara, Santana and Elera were already sleeping when I returned to the treehouse. Ariadne and Talia joined them inside while I took one last look out over the land for a few minutes before heading into my home and closing the door.
I stoked the flames in the stove that heated our home, staring into their flickering feeding of the logs.
I pulled my sword from my inventory and slid it slightly from its sheath, the blue glow seeping from the edges and spilling out immediately.