by Erik Weir
Baaldir’s blank expression shifted to mild amusement. Glossy black antlers shined in the evening light as his black and green goatee glowed with ethereal light. A fur loin-cloth covered his godhood while a golden spear stood straight up, the god’s fingers curled along the shaft.
“Welcome, Champions of Vala,” Baaldir’s voice boomed.
Victor took two steps forward from Lily and Dawn. Stabbing his Bone Sword into the ground, the Blade cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted back.
“Not nice to see you, asshole!”
Baaldir’s smile remained. “Courteous as ever.”
“You should fire the general who came up with your plan! Who puts their forces at the bottom of a valley? You don’t have the high ground!” Victor shouted and fought the urge to smile.
Baaldir eyed the Blade as he held out his hand. A demon war wolf brought a head to his god. Baaldir took hold and lifted it up for all to see. Victor’s smile diminished as he saw it was Luka’s severed head, eyes rolled up and mouth hanging open.
“Luka and her tribe paid the price for not killing you,” Baaldir bellowed.
Hundreds of war wolves lifted up severed heads, showing them to the champions.
Victor’s mood darkened. Lily and Dawn stared down, humor bleeding to anger.
Baaldir threw the head to the ground before lifting up his arms. “You think I am at a disadvantage. You are mistaken. Even from this standpoint, we hold all the power. My Devil Wolves are the perfect combination of nature and corruption. They know no pain and are loyal to their dying breath. They are stronger than any force across the realms!”
Victor’s eyes narrowed as he let his hands fall to his sides.
“He wants us to think it’s just strength. I think he wants us to fight our way down so he can play an ace card,” Victor whispered over his shoulder.
Victor shook his head. “His strategy doesn’t affect the plan.”
Baaldir kept his gaze on the three Champions. “Tonight, Vala’s chance at resurrection dies with you.”
“You would like to think that you murdering son of a bitch,” Victor growled before he cupped his hands around his mouth once more. “Cassandra,” the Blade shouted.
The air rippled behind the Champions. Across many realms, The Keeper fell to her knees as she raised her hands, power pouring forth. Time and space shifted and twisted. A wide portal appeared in Vala’s realm, acolytes standing with rune covered weapons and determination etched in their brows. Marching, they stepped into the portal and appeared in the Tempest realm. Three dragons lurched forward, after the main force. When everyone was through, Cassandra cried out and closed the portal, her body falling to the floor.
Acolytes stood at attention. A blue, green, and white dragon flexed their wings while slyths, succubi, war maidens, angels, several undead, two gargoyles, hellhounds, a demoness, and a team of altered humans with plasma weapons stood, eyes filled with fierce determination.
Baaldir chuckled. “Is this rag-tag force here to overcome my power in my realm? Even if Vala herself were here, you would still be at a disadvantage. This will be a fitting end to this weak attempt to bring Vala back.”
Victor rolled his head, flexing his neck. Hand reaching down, he pulled his Bone Sword from the ground and held it at the ready. Lily and Dawn stepped closer to his side; eyes sharp.
“I have been stressing out about this whole mess between gods and realms. It really brought me to a dark place. But the thing I kept forgetting was we have love on our side. I know it sounds corny, but it touches all of our lives at one time or another. Right now, love is what’s driving us to bring Vala back.
“Baaldir, you murdered your child. There’s no coming back from that. When Vala returns, maybe she will forgive you. As for me, I hope I’m there when I slice your head from your neck and kick it into a black hole where it belongs!” Victor shouted with a snarky edge.
Victor turned to the gathered acolytes. “Tonight! We complete Vala!”
The acolytes shouted and roared!
Victor smiled as he turned around and bent at the knees, confidence in his eyes.
“WAKANDA FOREVER!” Victor shouted and charged.
Victor, Lily, and Dawn charged down the sloping valley edge. The acolytes charged as well, voices rising up like a hurricane. Devil Wolves growled before they charged. Like a sea of monsters, they surged forward, claws flashing and legs propelling them like the incoming tide.
Victor spent five points of Strength to increase his strength and speed. Bone sword sliding back into wrist, he smiled as he led the charge. Lily and Dawn stayed at his sides. The Blade held out his open hands behind him, Lily reaching out and taking one hand while Dawn took the other.
Baaldir simply smiled before he nodded his horned head. Along the valley cliffs, men and women emerged from their camouflage, raising longbows and notching arrows.
“I knew it,” Victor grinned.
Vindrel, Izy, and Mildra took flight and separated. The blue dragon took the cliff to the right while the green and white dragons took the cliff to the left. Bows lifted up and aimed at the approaching dragons when an orb of darkness appeared high over the valley. The orb grew bigger with streams of purple energy blending with it. From the orb, an elf in a black robe appeared.
Night held out her hands, incantations spilling from her lips and a moment later, shouting at the sky. Clouds appeared, filling the sky with a menacing darkness as the dragons reached the tribes along the edge, lighting blasted down from the heavens. Bodies were blown apart or thrown as the lightning struck down from the sky.
Vindrel took a deep breath and unleashed her lightning breath. Izy and Mildra did the same. Gas, ice, and lightning lit up the area before a handful of arrows left their bows. Mildra’s dragon head laughed as the arrows bounced off her scales and fell to the valley floor.
“Not enough,” Baaldir said before nodding again.
From a mile away in each direction, pterodactyls took flight with riders on their backs. The stormy sky was filled with winged dinosaurs as they banked and made a straight line for the dragons and floating elf.
Victor, Lily, and Dawn charged at the incoming line of Devil Wolves.
“Victor,” Lily said as the monstrous wolves closed the distance.
“No one dies today,” Victor reaffirmed before spending five points of his Charisma and activated his Shadow Walk ability.
Victor wasn’t sure how exactly it worked but he had an idea when he used a single point earlier on Vala’s Mountain and appeared at her temple to test it.
The Blade stepped onto his shadow and fell in, taking Lily and Dawn with him. The trio held each other as they ran through the gloom, clawed feet above them in some ethereal dimension. Victor laughed as they pushed on, the greater effect already starting to weaken. When they saw the bottom of the posts stabbing into the darkness, Victor took a breath and jumped up.
From the shadows of a post, Victor, Lily, and Dawn rose up and stood on solid ground. Baaldir turned his attention to the three, raising a single eyebrow.
“Keep them busy,” Victor shouted as nearby Devil Wolves turned their attention to the trio and bared their teeth.
Dawn smirked as she tapped at a spot on the straps. The backpack shifted and changed, two plasma cannons unfurling from it and moving in different directions. The cannons picked their targets as the elf aimed her rifle. In a moment, a wall of muscle, teeth and claws came at the three. In a blink, cannons and rifle roared to life.
Baaldir watched as Dawn’s body shifted her stance, the cannons acting independently and blasting holes into the incoming monsters. Rifle up, she pulled the trigger, each bolt slamming into a Devil Wolf and exiting out their back to slam into another wolf’s face. The carnage played on like a mad symphony as Dawn blasted holes in anything that got too close.
Lily rushed to a post. Claws flashing, she cut at the ropes. A woman fell, but was quickly grabbed by the Shield. Lily put the woman’s arm over her shoulder as she mov
ed to the next post. A green-haired woman looked up and smirked as the demon cut the ropes.
Victor raised his hands, one pointed to the ground near them and another pointed behind the acolyte army. Vala’s forces slowed, smiles appearing as the devil wolves charged up toward them. There was still a hundred feet before Baaldir’s forces would clash with them.
Victor calmed his mind and heart as he spent fifteen points of Wisdom and activated his Portal weaving ability. He wasn’t sure he would have the power to create two portals at the same time and of varying power but he was damn sure he was going to try. Behind the acolytes, a wide portal unfurled while not far from Victor, another small portal appeared.
Night controlled the storm until she saw Victor’s portals. Changing incantations, the elf held up her hands and weaved her own. Vindrel barreled down on a large group of men when a portal appeared before her and swallowed the dragon whole. Izy and Mildra flew along as they eyed the incoming pterodactyls when a portal swallowed their bodies. Night winked at Victor before opening a portal and disappearing from view.
The acolytes on the ground turned their direction and ran back to Victor's large portal, Devil Wolves on their heels. Chaos bloomed as the tide of wolves rushed after the fleeing acolytes, only to see them reach the portal and dive in. Vala’s force leapt into the open portal until everyone was gone from sight. A Devil Wolf rushed ahead to leap in after them when the portal closed and he crashed face first into the ground.
Baaldir looked down at Victor in incredulous astonishment. “This…this was supposed to be our final battle!”
Lily threw an acolyte into Victor’s portal, followed by the second one. Dawn blasted at Devil wolves, their bodies littering the area around them. Victor moved to Lily’s side as the demon swiped her claws against the post and grabbed the last acolyte. They both took hold and pulled her to the portal. Lily took it from there, stepping with the last acolyte and disappearing into the portal’s swirling power.
“Dawn,” Victor said and the elf started to backpedal to the portal, rifle and cannons blazing.
A golden spear struck the ground near Victor’s boot. The Champion looked up to see Baaldir’s heaving shoulders as he glared down.
“You…cheated!” The god’s voice boomed.
Victor smiled. “More like played to your weaknesses. Just because you’re here doesn’t mean you can do anything. I know the rules, gods can’t attack unless a mortal attacks them first, right? Well, no one is going to touch you so you just stand there looking stupid while we take Vala’s chosen home, K?”
Dawn backed up until she was close to the portal, cannons keeping the wolves at bay.
Baaldir took a menacing step forward, “I will tear Vala to pieces! I will drown you in her blood! I will…” the god stopped when an envelope appeared over Victor’s shoulder.
The Blade looked to the floating invite, eyes widening. “Are you fucking kidding me! Your ex-boyfriend is invited to the resurrection?”
The invite floated up and Baaldir grasped it in his large hand. “It seems our dance shall continue, Blade of Vala,” the god chuckled.
“I’m going to have to have a long talk with Vala. It seems like everyone is invited, even the trash,” Victor shouted as he stepped back to Dawn’s side.
Dawn stepped backwards into the portal. Victor reached in but looked back at Baaldir’s amused smile.
“This isn’t over,” Victor shouted like a supervillain before stepping into the portal and disappearing in its rotating swirls.
Baaldir clutched the invite in his hand as the portal collapsed on itself. “No, it is not.”
***
Victor stumbled out of the portal. A cheer rose up as he was mobbed by acolytes. Lily and Dawn were at his side as the crowd smothered him. Cassandra stood off to the side as Yex helped her to stand. Sunlight bathed the mountain village with warm light as the crowd surrounded Victor, Lily, and Dawn.
Victor laughed as the cheering grew louder. “We did it!” filled the mountain air, the chant growing louder by the second.
“I can’t believe that worked,” Lily smirked as she held onto the Champion.
“I know, right?” Victor laughed.
Hands grabbed at the Champion and he could do nothing as he was caught in their hold. All he could do was laugh, the weight of the crusade reaching the end and that much closer to raising Vala from her celestial grave.
“We did it!” Victor chanted with all the smiling acolytes.
Cheers roared louder, screaming to the bright and sunny sky.
“We did it,” Cassandra smiled from a short distance, her heart lifting in her chest as a goddess smiled over all of them.
Fifteen
Excited chatter filled the hot springs as a single moon hung high in the night sky. Acolytes sat in each of the pools, some engaged in discussion while others touched each other in intimate places, gentle moans filling the air. The mood was light and full of energy. The thrill of knowing the crusade was reaching its end affected everyone and they reveled in it.
Victor sat in one of the pools, surrounded by beautiful acolytes while one with green hair faced him, sitting in his lap and taking his manhood with each slow move of her hips. Bliss spiraled as her moans grew in intensity. By their side, Lily played with Dawn with a devilish smirk. The elf cooed her affection as the demon kissed her neck.
At the edge of the hot spring, Cassandra sat, robe parted and legs in the water. She watched Victor and the last acolyte as their song was reaching its zenith. The Keeper’s heart swelled, watching Victor with a small smile on his lips and eyes drinking in the moment Vala would be free.
Victor looked up to Tyress as her body bobbed in the water. The Blade smiled as his energy grew with each stroke from the beautiful acolyte. Glancing over to the other two women they saved from Baaldir, the grey-haired one was named Nyx and beside her, the blue-haired one was named Leeza. Nyx and Leeza relaxed by the edge, soaking in the healing energy of the pool after having the Champion first. Nyx would glance over to Victor while Leeza would glance at Tyress and frown. Victor found it odd since the mood was so infectious, but he stayed at the task at hand, the urge for release calling out like a siren on the rocks.
“I…I feel Vala’s touch,” Tyress moaned before her eyes rolled into her head.
Victor felt the squeeze of the strong woman before he too could not hold back Vala’s song. The moment Tyress slid down to the base and squeezed again, Victor’s manhood swelled. The opposing forces meeting in the middle caused the Champion to groan while Tyress bent her head back and let out a long moan. A wave of bliss crashed into their souls as they held each other. Hips didn’t stop as they milked each other, come spurting into the beautiful acolyte while her orgasm blasted sensitive nerves. Magical fireworks filled them and not long after, Tyress settled down and leaned onto Victor, keeping him inside and in place as her hips moved barely an inch, enjoying the comfort.
Cassandra watched as the last piece of Vala was released, energy only she could see, shooting into the sky and vanishing. The tall Keeper slipped off the edge and stepped deeper into the pool, her open green robe floating behind her as she made her way to the Champion.
Victor looked up to Tyress’s satisfied expression before glancing to Leeza’s frown again. “Is everything alright between you and Leeza?” Victor asked.
Tyress gave a sultry smirk. “It’s fine. We’re friends, but we don’t like each other,” the acolyte whispered.
Victor raised an eyebrow.
Tyress gave a small giggle. “Nyx is the hub between us. She keeps us in line.”
“Why don’t you like each other?”
Tyress leaned her lips close to Victor’s ear. “It’s because we’re shapeshifters and in the wild, I would be hunting Leeza.”
Victor’s lips parted, even more questions filling his mind when Cassandra waded to them and touched Tyress’s bare shoulder.
“May I have a moment with Victor,” the Keeper asked with a polite smile.<
br />
Tyress nodded before slipping away and swimming backwards, her spirit light as air. Cassandra sat down next to Victor, her robe soaking in the hot water while she pressed her chest to his side. Victor looked over, face nearly red from all the activity and hot water.
“It is done,” Cassandra said softly.
“What do we do now?”
“Seal Vala’s resurrection with a kiss,” The Keeper smiled before she leaned in.
Victor and Cassandra kissed, energies glowing from within their hearts. Victor wasn’t sure what was happening, but the kiss was like distilled ecstasy. Lost to the touch of their lips, power swelled until it struck its zenith and exploded outward. All acolytes turned their heads to Victor and Cassandra as a delicate shockwave passed through them. The moon shined just a little brighter and Vala’s realm sighed.
Cassandra pulled back as Lily and Dawn swam closer. The four of them basked in the loving energy before the Keeper began to speak.
“It is midnight. In twelve hours, Vala will resurrect in the temple. We must rest and prepare for her arrival.”
Victor nodded before glancing to Lily and Dawn and looking back to Cassandra. “I don’t have a good feeling about inviting Vala’s enemies to her resurrection. I’m sure we all feel the same way.”
Cassandra nodded. “Neither do I, but it is her request. Certain events among the pantheon require witnesses. I’m not sure, but Vala maybe be following the laws, ensuring her resurrection is known to those selected so they can spread the word.”
“Please tell me there’s a plan if they get out of line? I can understand some of the invites but Baaldir isn’t just going to stand there and let it happen?”
Cassandra stayed close to the Blade, her hand stroking his thigh. “Vala’s power is growing even as we speak. I can feel it as my own power is growing with hers. When Vala’s guests arrive, they must follow the laws governing her realm. If any of them step out of line, Vala’s power will force them from the realm instantly. Baaldir will not have enough power to resist it, not now since all her pieces have returned to her.”