by Logan Jacobs
We entered the sanctum for the final time, and I listened to the lich lord’s monologue again. I remained silent so I could focus on the undead horde, but I didn’t have to wait long for the battle to begin.
As soon as the undead appeared, I ushered Elissa forward, and she roared out her battle cry and swung her mace over her head while she charged toward the closest undead. I danced around her and removed the heads of two undead who always tried to get behind her. Then I turned and stabbed the undead who always attacked Mahini in the back, which gave her the opening she needed to behead it.
Elissa would always look over her shoulder to grin at me, and this instance was no exception. Except this time, I knew there was an undead that would take advantage of her distraction to attack her, so I grabbed her, swept her off her feet, and planted a quick kiss on her soft pink lips before I set her down behind me.
“Thanks,” I chuckled, and then I had just enough time to swivel around with my feather sword and relieve the undead of its head.
Elissa giggled and bashed in the fallen undead’s skulls, but three more edged toward us.
I trotted into their ranks and zipped in between their arms to cut throats, sever heads, and remove limbs. Then Elissa followed in my wake to smash in their skulls while Mahini guarded the rear.
We continued forward into the room closer to the dais where the lich lord sat and watched us, and then there were only two undead left.
I quickly disposed of them both in a single movement with a wide swing of my feather sword, and Elissa appeared at my side to smash in their skulls. When the undead had all fallen, I scanned over the girls for injuries, but I found none.
“Wow!” Elissa gushed as she looked at the carnage around us. “That was easy!”
“Yeah… easy,” I chuckled, and then I made a new save point before I turned to judge the lich lord’s reaction to his horde dying at my hands.
He didn’t look happy.
He was glowing with arcane power, his eyes were a deep, angry red, and the jagged iron crown on his head slid down his scalp a little as he rose from his throne and towered over us.
You dare destroy my minions! the lich lord roared. You will pay for your crimes.
Then he crossed the distance between us in two great long strides, and he grabbed me by the throat and lifted me off my feet like I was a newborn puppy.
Chime.
You dare destroy my minions! the lich lord roared. You will pay for your crimes.
I had to think of something, and fast. The lich lord obviously had an immense amount of power, and I didn’t think I could beat him in single combat, so I needed to get the upper hand somehow.
I tried to throw my daggers, but they merely bounced off his ancient armor before he strangled me again. Next, I borrowed Mahini’s bow and shot arrows at him, but I could never damage him enough to keep him from grabbing me.
After several failed attempts, an idea finally struck me, and I reset to my save point in a hurry.
Chime.
I dropped my pack and rifled inside for the inferno wand.
“Get back,” I warned the girls in an urgent tone. “As far away as you can! Run!”
Then I turned, pointed the wand at the lich lord, and flicked my wrist to activate the spell. A fiery orange, red, and blue inferno exploded out from the tip of the wand and shot across the distance between me and the undead king. It splashed against his armor and melted the metal instantly, and a moment later the lich lord was engulfed in flames.
Nooo… the dying undead king moaned as he crumpled to the floor.
The flames spread across the dais and threatened to fill the chamber, and I backpedaled as fast as I could toward the iron door. I didn’t know how long the spell would last, and I wanted to get as far away from the powerful flames as I could.
Then I ran into Mahini and Elissa, who were huddled up next to the wooden door. We seemed to be out of reach of the blaze, so I let out my breath and surveyed the damage the wand had caused.
The throne was black with burn marks, and the room was filled with the smoke from the lich lord’s decayed flesh. As the smoke grew denser, it seemed to materialize into a blob above the undead king’s body.
Then it began to glow.
I inched forward to get a better look, and as I moved, the flames began to dissipate until all that remained were the blackened marks on the stone. The blob of smoke did not vanish, though, and it solidified while the glow increased until it formed the shape of a large turtle.
You have defeated the source of the lake curse, the turtle said telepathically.
I wondered for a moment if it was a ghost, a spirit, or something else different entirely.
“What just happened?” I asked as I made a new save point, and I looked down at the wand in my hand in awe. The inferno spell had been powerful enough to defeat the lich lord, but now the wand was useless. I wondered if I could repair it, or modify it in some way. It was worth keeping, in any case.
You broke the curse, O Great One of Legend, the turtle said like this was obvious. A poor soul was trapped inside the undead king, and now it is at peace.
“And who are you?” I stuck the wand into my belt and ushered the women forward with a wave of my hand.
I am the Guardian of the Lake, the turtle explained, and he did a little roll in the air. The thing had a playful energy to it, and it reminded me of springtime. The scent of water lilies came to mind, and ferns growing along the side of a lake. You have freed me, for I came to keep the poor soul company during its imprisonment inside the undead lord.
“What poor soul? Was it one of the eight boys who came from Lake Balerno?” I swallowed hard. I didn’t like the idea of killing one of the kids who’d started the curse, even if there had been no other way around it.
He was long dead before you arrived, the lake guardian explained in a kind voice. You did nothing other than free a trapped soul. He is now at peace, my child.
I shook my head in awe at what just happened. Some of the boys must have made it this far only to fall to the lich lord, who stole the souls of all its victims. I wondered if one of the undead had been the others in the coming of age party. I’d found five bodies out of the eight boys, but the other three could have made it this far and turned into some of the zombies we’d killed. There was no sense in worrying about it now, though, it was like the guardian said. They were gone, their souls were now at rest, and the curse on Lake Balerno had been broken.
Our quest was a success.
You deserve a reward for your efforts here this day, the lake guardian said after a long moment of silence. In the chest in the corner you will find a magic staff. Take it and do as you will.
Then the ethereal shape dissipated and vanished from sight like it had never existed to begin with.
I let out my breath and made a new save point right away.
“It looks like we can head back to Lake Balerno,” I explained to the two women who were giving me curious looks.
“It’s gone?” Mahini shot anxious glances to the spot where the lake guardian had appeared like she expected it to return.
“What did it say to you?” Elissa asked in an awed tone, and she rubbed her arms against her shoulders as she shivered in the chilly air.
“It just explained how the boys from the town had started the curse,” I said in a casual tone. “Let’s scavenge whatever we can find and get out of here.”
“That sounds like a good plan to me,” Mahini agreed, and her piercing blue eyes lit up. “I am ready to breathe the fresh air again.”
“Me, too,” Elissa added.
I scanned the room until I found the chest the lake guardian told me about, and I was thrilled to find it unlocked. Inside, just like the turtle had said, laid a wooden staff with a glowing white stone at the top.
I touched the crystal at the tip of the staff to activate the stats.
Durability - 95%
Weight - 1 lbs
Quality - High
&nb
sp; Magical Aspect - Negate
Magical Ability - +5 Minor magic deflection
I wondered what the plus five meant, like could I deflect five spells or one level five spell? It was hard to tell without some experimentation, and to do that I would need to find a magic user not intent on killing me.
Maybe I would find everything I was looking for at the duke’s castle.
We searched through the rest of the room, but we didn’t come across anything else of note, and then we made our way back through the labyrinth. It took us a couple of hours to reach the entrance to the sanctum, but I was so excited to breathe the fresh air I practically ran the last leg of the journey back to Lake Balerno.
It was growing dark out, which meant we’d been inside the sanctum for most of the day, but it had still taken less time than I’d expected. Still, the walls of Lake Balerno were a sight for sore eyes by the time they came into view. The people were rejoicing in the streets as we approached, and they all turned to us and cheered when they noticed our arrival.
“Our savior!” a woman cried out.
“The Hero of the Lake!” another person shouted.
“You healed the water!” a third hollered in an excited tone.
I made my way through the crowd, and I shook all the hands of the townspeople as they thrust them at me. Everyone wanted a piece of me, and they all reached out to touch any part of me they could reach as I passed by.
Then I turned to look at the lake, and as if some magic had been performed, the waters were transformed from their gloomy, low levels, and the shore had risen several inches already. The sun was setting, and reflections of light flickered across the now clear waves. Frogs hopped along the banks, crickets chirped in the distance, and the air smelled less like death.
I’d broken the curse and saved the town, but what else could you expect from a god?
“Thank you, stranger,” Atticus greeted me with a broad smile stretched across his face. “You have saved Lake Balerno. I don’t even know how this is possible, who are you?”
“My name is Sebastian, the God of Time,” I explained. “I heard about the curse and wanted to help.”
“He is the Great One of legend,” Elissa added with a proud lift of her chin. “And my husband.”
“You have done us a grand favor,” Atticus said as his eyes opened larger than dinner plates.
“Just another day in the life of a god,” I returned with a smirk. “I met the lake guardian, and he’s a good guy. He really cares about the people who live here, and I’m sure he’s glad to be back where he belongs. Still, no one else should ever return to the sanctum. It’s cleared out, but better to be safe than sorry.”
“Why, I don’t know what to say!” Atticus looked flabbergasted by my statement, but no disbelief showed in his eyes. “How can I reward you for your bravery?”
“Bastianville is in need of a few more supplies that I couldn’t locate in the smaller towns we have travelled through,” I explained. “Perhaps a team of oxen and a plow to help us till the fields.”
“Done!” Atticus clapped his hands together and beckoned me to follow him into the main street of Lake Balerno. “And anything else that you wish! Name it, and it is yours, Great One.”
“Please,” I insisted. “Call me Bash.”
“Bash, of course, Great One,” Atticus replied absently, and then he led me through the town to the tavern. “Please, I wish to buy you a drink for your troubles.”
“Very well,” I said with a grin. “I’ll let ya.”
Elissa giggled from behind me, and Mahini just gave me a wry smile, but I knew they were both in need of refreshments after the long day we’d endured.
We had a few drinks with the mayor, and then we headed to bed. We were so tired we didn’t have the energy for any naked fun, but I promised myself I would pleasure them until they were begging me to stop first thing in the morning.
I also wanted to visit some of the craftsmen in town to see what else I could learn before we left, but we were in no hurry. If the duke sent an army to Bastianville, we’d hear about it before it reached my small little town. There had been no word about the duke in any of the villages I’d visited, so I assumed we were still good on time.
The dumb duke was probably assuming the Loser Lord was enjoying his new bride, and he wasn’t worried about his son’s absence from the castle yet.
I fell asleep with that wishful thought in my head, and I slept deep and dreamlessly. The sun looked eager as it shone through the curtain the next morning, and I stretched out with a yawn.
“Are you ready for another wonderful day?” I asked the two beautiful women curled up at my sides.
“We should see if Lake Balerno has a blacksmith,” Mahini suggested in an eager tone.
“Oooh, I want my own armor!” Elissa squealed with delight and bounded out of bed. “Come on, let’s go!”
“Slow your roll,” I chuckled. “Come back to bed for just a little while.”
I curled my finger invitingly, and Elissa giggled before she hopped back onto the mattress by my side.
“Yes, Bash, whatever you wish,” she murmured as she nuzzled her nose against mine.
“That’s right,” I murmured back, and I slid the palm of my hand along the delicate line of her jaw before I pulled her face to mine and seized her mouth in a passionate kiss.
This started a several hours long love making session that ended with the three of us in a sweaty pile of limbs.
I sighed with contentment as I stretched again, but this time I felt more ready to vacate the bed, so I crawled over my two lovers and made my way to the bathroom to relieve myself. The action sparked my memory that a master tanner lived in Lake Balerno, which had been my original reason for visiting the lakeside town anyway.
There was lots to do today, but we had all the time in the world to do it.
After we had a small breakfast, the three of us went on our shopping trip. We stopped at the blacksmith and had a custom set of armor designed for Elissa. The blacksmith was overjoyed to assist the Great One who’d broken the curse, so he insisted on doing the work for free. I wasn’t going to argue with the man, but I was more than excited to see Elissa in the sexy new gear we’d came up with for her to wear into battle.
It would protect the important parts, but it wasn’t going to leave much left to the imagination, and that was just the way I liked it. Elissa seemed pretty pleased with the design herself, and she giggled as she looked over the sketch.
There was fur lining the shoulders that ran along the back of her neck, and a leather strap ran across the bustline to protect her assets, but the abdomen was left exposed. Metal covered the arms and attached to her gauntlets, and she had designed a pair of thigh high boots to go along with the ensemble.
It didn’t take the blacksmith very long to work the metal into the pieces we needed, and a short while later we were trotting out of the shop with the finished product packaged up in my wife’s arms.
“Father is going to die when he sees me in this,” she said as she tossed her fiery curls over her shoulder. “It’s perfect.”
Then I spent some time with the master tanner, and he taught me a little bit more than I’d managed to learn from Cliff. I was far from a master myself, but I’d gotten a lot closer.
Everywhere we went, the villagers heaped gifts and food into our arms until we had to get one of the children to follow us around with baskets for the people to put stuff in. At the end of our exploration of Lake Balerno, I gave directions to Atticus on how to get all the goods they’d given us back to Bastianville.
I wanted the town to be thriving by the time I returned from my adventure.
We headed out in the afternoon, and the road was lightly populated with some other travelers. I didn’t expect any trouble, so we kept an easy gait, and I scanned the road ahead of us while we walked.
I made a new save point while the walls of Lake Balerno were still within view, though, just in case.
Elis
sa began to sing a sweet melody, and the birds in the trees started to call back to her as we passed. It was beautiful and majestic to hear the back and forth between my wife and the wild animals, like something out of a Disney movie.
“Arrrgh!” Several men in light leather armor suddenly came running out of the trees with swords raised, and from the raggedy looks of them, they were probably bandits. They yelled out battle cries as they came toward us, and Goliath’s ears perked up at the sound.
The poor warhorse had been left out of our last adventure, and he was ready for some action.
I drew my feather sword and clicked my heels against my steed’s flanks, and he charged forward with gusto. His head bobbed, and his mane flew in every direction as he ran straight into the first bandit. The second one ate my blade mid-yell, and the third parried the blows of my weapon a couple of times before he also fell by my hand.
Mahini was having the same kind of luck on her end, and her mule Warrior had kicked one of the bandits into a tree. Another one caught an arrow in the eye, and I whooped out a cheer when I saw him fall.
Elissa had dropped her horse’s reins, and Star swiveled around in a circle to keep the bandits away from the tiny goddess on her back. My wife pulled out her mace, but it was difficult for her to maneuver it from her steed, so I rushed over to help her.
It didn’t take us long to kill all eight men who had ambushed us, and none of us were injured, but something about it didn’t sit right with me.
The God of Time shouldn’t get ambushed. If I knew all, then surely I would be able to foresee the attack and prevent it. If I wanted to show the full extent of my power, then I needed to know ahead of time before danger appeared, so I reset back to my save point.
Chime.
The walls of Lake Balerno were still visible behind us, and the road ahead was dotted with fellow travelers, but I paid them no attention and instead called for my women to come within ear shot.
They steered their horse and mule closer to Goliath, and they both gave me a questioning look as they came up to my side.