Chimera King Box Set Books 1-3

by Atlas Kane

  Cha nodded, seeming to agree with the idea. “You’ve been heard. We will hear all of your ideas and then put them to the vote. What else?”

  The woman who was called next was so small that a few villagers had to move aside for her to speak up.

  She was covered in chestnut brown fur, from head to very bushy tail, and when Cade considered it, had the aspect of a squirrel. When she began, her voice was too soft to be heard.

  “Speak up, and give us your name, creature!” Cha snapped, and a few of the villagers grumbled in disapproval.

  The woman didn’t seem to mind, however, and spoke louder. “My name is Tessra. And I’ve chosen the Seamstress Occupation. My hands are quite adept. Many of us lack sufficient or proper clothing, and I can only do so much with a bone needle and plant fibre cloth. I elect we create a Clothier Shop, if one is to be had.”

  A louder response was generated by this idea, and Cha scribbled it down on a bark tablet and called for another.

  In the hour that followed, Camp Casmeer’s new residents put forth ideas that ranged from the practical—forge, tannery, and improved housing—to the more sentimental—shrine, auditorium, and confectioner’s shop.

  If they had the resources, Cade would have voted for them all. Yet the fact remained, they only had a limited number of resources.

  When Cha had finished with collecting all the suggested ideas, Cade asked everyone to raise their hand for the propositions they most favored. With Pablo counting each vote, the top three suggestions that emerged were Clothier’s Shop, Greenhouse, and Forge.

  Everyone cheered when the meeting was adjourned, and Ronden screamed, “Turtle steaks and mead tonight!” The response was immediate and raucous.

  The mead, ale, and wine that had been created in the last week were quickly becoming the favorite aspect of life in Camp Casmeer. Mole, along with a few of his rotund companions, had volunteered to take on the Brewer Occupation.

  Mole himself had taken a dual profession, Brewer and Distiller. The first batch of booze was underway already. The choice had been considered a luxury by many, but when Cade found out that his own Alchemical Engineer and Apothecary Occupations could utilize the alcohol to craft more advanced reagents, the complaints ended.

  Cade headed out with the rest, and everyone ate together. The communal element of the ovens had continued to support socialization. Yet Cha and her enclave made it eminently clear they were on their own from the beginning.

  As usual, she waited with a cluster of villagers, then approaching the cooks and taking their share. They left to dine outside of Cha’s hut.

  Ronden made a comment that a few of the warriors laughed at. He teased anyone who seemed even a little stuck up or prideful.

  And that means, Cade guessed, that he’s just mentioned the palm tree wedged up Cha’s ass.

  Sure enough, Satemi nodded and laughed with him, watching the group of dissenters leave. Her guffaw was loud enough to call attention to the two, but Cha was wise enough to pretend not to notice.

  Watching the warriors together, Cade had the realization that he’d never been jealous of their relationship. Back on Earth, having his girl get so inexplicably chummy with another man—especially one so damn massive and charming as Ronden—would have caused feelings of discomfort.

  Maybe it was the way they stood like brother and sister, shoulder to shoulder watching the people of Camp Casmeer with critical gazes. He thought not though. Jealousy is not an emotion that runs on logic. He felt it might have had more to do with the newfound confidence he’d developed.

  When Minda walked by and winked at him, the charred wing of a hapless bird in her hand, he was reminded where much of that confidence had come from.

  Cade was considering whether he wanted another cup of mead or to seek out the company of one of his girls when something brushed against his leg.

  “Excuse me, Cade, sir. It’s a nervous habit,” Tessra said, the squirrel woman who’d suggested that clothing was a priority.

  Smiling down at her, Cade noticed she had a silken coat much like Minda’s, though rather than white, it was the same chestnut brown as her wild hair and tail.

  “It’s fine. What are you nervous about, Tessra?” Cade asked, observing the woman’s wide eyes. They were the color of lilacs. Her full lips, twitching, upturned nose, and wide hips made her as adorable as she was gorgeous.

  “Nothing, really. I’m a Svormi, a squirrelkin as everyone calls us here. We evolved to be nervous and for good reason. I’m fine, I just… I was wondering when the Clothier Shop might be available?”

  “I’m heading to the Town Interface tomorrow to purchase the new upgrades in the morning. Shouldn’t be long after sunrise,” Cade said, refusing to let his eyes wander to the insistent nipples that pressed into the fabric of her shirt.

  Tessra’s eyes lit up with excitement. “That’s wonderful news! I’m hoping to make Dan a fine pair of trousers. He’s a… a good friend of mine. And I was hoping to surprise him is all.”

  By the way she hesitated and then said this mystery man’s name, Cade knew he was a prospective lover. “Who is this Dan? I’d love to meet the lucky man,” Cade asked, hoping to get to know one more of the many villagers under his leadership.

  Quick as lightning, Tessra reached into one of the feathered whorls of hair on her head, plucked something out, and tucked it into her mouth.

  She looked about, trying to spot her friend, and crunched noisily on what Cade supposed was a nut.

  “There he is!” Tessra exclaimed, pointing to the tall lycan standing near one of the cook stoves.

  Shaking his head and unable to stop himself, Cade asked, “I’m sorry, did you just pull food from your hair?”

  Tessra laughed, a loud and almost disturbing trill that turned a few heads. “Of course! Svormi always have a little something tucked away. It helps for when you get hungry, or just plain nervous. You should see what I have in my tail!”

  Holding his hands up, Cade refused the bits of dried food she produced in the blink of an eye. “No thank you. I’ll take your word for it.”

  As they were speaking, the wolfkin, Dan, walked up. “Greetings, Cade. I am pleased we will have a forge. It can produce fine weapons and armor for us.”

  “I’m glad you’re pleased. I thought your idea of taller walls or siege weapons was a good one. Perhaps in the future. Tessra here told me your name is Dan?”

  The man smiled, his fangs protruding in an unintentionally menacing way. “Danhrranrrhrim, actually. But Dan is what most of you Antinians can pronounce.”

  They shook hands, and Cade realized that it wasn’t only Ronden who made him feel small. Dan was perhaps seven feet tall, and though his body was lean, he practically twitched with excess strength. His posture was slightly hunched at the shoulder, and most notably, the creature had silver-gray fur that reflected the campfire. It was metallic, and reminded him of Gemma’s hair.

  “Yeah, Dan will work for me too,” Cade admitted, and they shared a laugh. “In fact, I’m glad you came over. Tessra here was just getting bored of my company. She’d been admiring your coat from afar. I must agree, it is quite striking.”

  Tessra opened and closed her mouth a half dozen times in a handful of seconds. Dan’s eyes bulged momentarily, until he ran his huge hands down his torso. “My coat? Um… thank you Cade, or… Tessra. I have a good roll in the mud twice a week.”

  The three of them paused, the irony and awkwardness practically bristling. Then Cade slapped his new friends on the shoulders and grinned. “I’m off then! Nice to meet you both.”

  He managed not to laugh long enough so that neither of them would be offended.

  “That was a bit of evil,” Gemma said from a shadowed corner nearby.

  “How did—?” Cade went to ask, but he remembered her keen senses. She’d continued to level up and develop her class, and now could hear a leaf fall in a wind storm. Instead of finishing his question, he smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

&
nbsp; Grinning at his sudden affection, Gemma held up her own cup of mead, gesturing. “This drink. It is wonderful. I taste sunlight when I drink it and then… there it is, floating in my head. Now I am full of sunlight!”

  Cade laughed. The woman was fierce in combat, an uncanny hunter, and yet socially knew very little. “How much did you have, Gemma?”

  She shook her head, holding a finger up. “Only three. The big man, Ronden. He said I could only have three. I won’t listen to him, but Satemi gives me the sneaky wink, so I listen.”

  “Good. That’s probably a good idea.” Switching subjects and enjoying the sight of Camp Casmeer’s most deadly tiger shifter with a full buzz try to navigate casual conversation, he asked, “About the hunt. You saw nothing unusual with your party? No sign of the oddities?”

  Gemma shrugged, her brows expressing her distress dramatically. “The day was long and boring. More and more of the animals we rely on are being thinned out. We went to the Waterfall District, which has been a good source of meat. So, we brought back another few days’ worth of food, but we didn’t encounter any monsters.

  I did notice strange spoor though. One seemed to have a hoof and claws in the same track. My guess, it was another of the amalgamations,” she finished, spending several painful moments working through the last word.

  It was as he’d feared. Every action, especially one as devastating as blowing up half a city run on ancient tech and ether, had an equal and opposite reaction. It seemed that much of their time would be spent dealing with that reaction. “Okay. Well, we thought this might be the case. For now, please have your hunters go out in groups of four or more. We don’t need anyone else going missing.”

  The tigress nodded, running her hand through her long hair absently. Then her eyes widened and she turned back to Cade. “I forget! Satemi wants to speak with you. She told me that there is a surprise waiting for the new Archon on Camp Casmeer. You should go to our hut immediately. Tell her I’m sorry, but I think even three cups is too much.”

  Cade thanked the woman and left her, staring dubiously into the mead. The girl is as sweet as mead herself, but yeah… two beer limit for her, he thought, chuckling to himself as he strode through the party. He deposited his empty cup and snatched up one more steak from a serving tray. Then he wove through the villagers, giving a few nods here and there as he went.

  He passed Vrin, the stout commander of the Casmeer Guard, a newly recruited unit of villagers who took turns patrolling the town and keeping the peace. At this point, the role was largely a vanity. Cade suspected, though, that in time it might be needed. Vrin saluted with his spear, the matching pair of soul weapon bracers glinting in the dim light.

  That had been one of their first orders of business. The day after everyone had arrived, a meeting was held in which all those without soul weapons were allowed to take turns selecting new items from the pile. Cade had his axe, of course, and the ring and necklace about his neck. With three soul weapons, he neglected to grab a new one. Instead, he had the satisfaction of watching everyone else get one. Now they were stronger, and people walked about with two or three soul weapons apiece.

  As they’d discovered with the equipment retrieved from the spiders’ lair, many of the soul weapons found in Vormer’s hoard had limited skills. Not only were some of their previous uses no longer functioning, but as several of the villagers had leveled up, they’d discovered that many of the old soul weapons wouldn’t gain new skills either.

  Despite these limitations, it was worthwhile having them. They were the most powerful asset they had in Last World.

  The thought triggered a most uncomfortable memory in Cade’s mind.

  Absently, he ran a hand over the back of his forearm where he had worn his buckler for so long.

  Whatever Vormer had turned into could destroy a soul weapon in a single attack. The monster’s claws had raked across the buckler, and in an instant, the weapon had crumbled and fallen away.

  So much for indestructible.

  Coming around a corner, Cade saw Satemi leaning against their hut. It was the same one Minda had enchanted when they first arrived, a circular hut made of intertwining trees grown to twist together. Since then, Satemi had insulated the walls by packing moss and lichen between each gap on the outside, then draped skins around the entire structure. Inside, several inventions and modifications had been added as well, including a few chairs, a low and springy couch, and improved lighting.

  “Gemma finally found you?” Satemi asked, a bit of humor coloring her words.

  “She did. Barely. I’m not so sure about her drinking.”

  They laughed briefly, but then Satemi’s eyes grew solemn. The expression was strange coming from someone who’d been so jovial all night. “Cade, I am going to be serious, but only for a little, okay?”

  Shrugging, he responded, “Sure. What’s the deal? Is everything—”

  “All is well,” Satemi said, cutting him off with a finger pressed to his lips. “All is well, mighty Archon. But it’s been a long day, a long week, and a long month. It is time you are rewarded.”

  Cade could only grin. When it came to the “rewards” he was given from the women in his life, he’d never had cause to complain. “Okay, you got me. What is it?”

  Satemi’s mouth pulled back into a fierce grin, her teeth shining like a predator. She held up a strip of cloth and pressed it to his face. “You’ll find out soon enough, Cade. But first, let’s see about this blindfold.”

  3

  The More You Eat

  “Alright. So it smells good. It… it smells really good,” Cade tried again. He’d never been known for his descriptive abilities. He’d never become a writer and didn’t have the patience for it anyhow.

  Minda sighed beside him. “Come on, Cade. How does it smell good? What does it smell like?”

  Her voice was supplicating, just short of coy, and for that alone he tried to humor her. Minda was adorable when she pouted. “It smells like… shit, honestly, I smell three women tucked into a single tent, and it is starting to turn me on. I smell your hair, your sweat, and your—”

  “Okay, take the blindfold off!” Minda commanded. “He doesn’t want to play, then who cares about fun surprises.”

  The blindfold came off and he saw Satemi, Ketzal, and Minda sitting across from him. Between them, the low table Satemi had crafted sat with an oil lamp burning merrily. Beside it, a hollowed fruit husk steamed, a yellow, milky liquid inside.

  “That’s the thing you wanted me to smell? It looks pretty gross, to be honest,” Cade admitted.

  Ketzal gave him a patient smile. “Sometimes, Cade, we don’t want you to be honest. This is the fruit Minda spotted, the fruit we almost died trying to retrieve. We’re going to enjoy it together, okay?”

  Cade laughed. She was patient enough to watch a dozen pots come to boil. “I’m game. You know I am. So, is that it then? You blindfolded me so we could eat some fruit? I’m still not getting it, am I?”

  Satemi reached out a hand and cupped his shoulder. “If we waited around to explain everything you don’t get—”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Cade shot back. “But seriously. What is it?”

  The warrior woman glanced to Ketzal, who was sitting farthest away. With a nod, the demoness reached behind her and lifted a leather sack. Then she threw it to Cade.

  It struck him in the chest, the object inside heavier than he’d originally thought. He gave them all a quizzical look but only pursed smiles were granted in return.

  Looking inside at last, Cade gasped.

  He pulled it out, and as people have done for generations, he showed them his gift. Which is a weird thing to do, he thought. They know exactly what they gave me.

  It was a helmet. Thick, scaled hide wrapped around the side and rear of the skull. The front fell to just above the brow. A circlet of steel, melted down from remaining armor taken from the Silver Guard most likely, ran around the top. Three threads of steel fell from the brow and joined toge
ther to bolster the bridge of the nose. And rising from the circlet around the crown, four horns protruded upward.

  “Evil. As. Fuck, you guys!” Cade announced, and the girls all patted their legs in excitement. “This is a big deal! Thank you, but shouldn’t Gemma be here?”

  Minda rolled her eyes. “She’s coming. Or at least she said she was. Has a surprise of her own, she said. Though she helped in forging this as well, so Gemma’s here in spirit.”

  “Doesn’t quite feel right still,” Cade said, fumbling with the helmet. “As long as she’s coming soon, I’m good. This feels like a big deal though, guys. Thank you.”

  Minda extended one of her feet and poked him in the thigh. “Put it on, Cade. Don’t pretend to be so damn modest. We want to see what the Archon looks like with his crown on.”

  Rather than squabble or hold off any longer, Cade inspected the helmet, then placed it on his head. He read the information as he worked it in place, making it as comfortable as possible.

  Nilgathi Battle Crown

  Quality: Superior

  Description: Provides moderate protection against slashing, piercing, or blunt damage to the head.

  Mods: Nilgathi Hide - Grants a slight boost to battlefield awareness. Tanrial Steel circlet - when fighting beside all four of your champions, the party gains a similar awareness of one another’s locations and intent.

  It fit perfectly. He glanced around at the women before him, and saw they were pleased.

  “You look wise and handsome, Cade,” Ketzal cooed.

  Minda giggled and added, “It isn’t hurting your appeal. Almost as much of an improvement as when you grew taller. Still need to thank those Kotani Apes.”

  I laughed, recalling the Kotani blessing I’d been given for having returned one of their sacred artifacts. I’d been a little over six foot before, but now I was a solid six and a half feet, if I were to guess. The girls had all enjoyed the change, and I even noticed the other villagers glancing at me with more admiration.