Playing For Keeps (Alpha World Book 4)

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “Yes master?” Tiny queried as he appeared.

  “I’m summoning the upgraded version of Stacia, did you wish to be here for that?”

  Bowing his head, Tiny spoke, “Yes, master. She is your wife, as well as your minion. I am honored to be here for it.”

  “Thank you,” Bob clamored as he hugged Stacia’s leg.

  “It be only fair, me small friend,” Stacia smiled down at Bob.

  Dismissing her Copy first, Alburet turned to Stacia, “See you soon.”

  With that, Stacia vanished. Alburet felt a small knot of worry in his chest and he quickly summoned her back. “Come to me, my fiery Kitten,” he tapped his hip as he spoke.

  With a flash and puff of smoke, Stacia stood before him again. Her red hair was a touch more vibrant, and her form just as lush and supple as before. Her skin seemed a bit creamier, more radiant to him. He drank in her Succubus form before it shimmered and she resumed her Half-blood form.

  “So much more power,” Stacia purred as she stepped forward and kissed Alburet deeply.

  The kiss went on for a solid minute before the tent flap opened as Fluff and Karen came in. “With Bob and Tiny present?” Karen asked, snapping the lovers out of the kiss. “I didn’t expect that,” she chuckled.

  “Aww, you ruined it,” Bob huffed. “I was sure she was going to take him to the floor before he remembered we were here.”

  “You are dismissed, Tiny. You doubly so, Bob,” Alburet coughed as he got some blood back to his brain.

  “Goodnight, master,” Tiny rumbled as he vanished again.

  “Boo,” Bob muttered as he vanished a second later.

  “So Stacia is upgraded?” Karen asked.

  “Aye, it feels wonderful to have more power,” Stacia grinned as she looked at her new outfit. The set of leathers she now wore over her clothing was vastly different from her original set. She now wore leather shorts that ended just above the knees with boots that stopped just inches shy of meeting the shorts, leaving only a small gap. A sleeveless tunic hugged her ample chest. “This looks more normal than me first set of leathers.”

  “Yes, it looks good,” Fluff said softly.

  “We were about to head out for dinner,” Alburet told them as he stripped off his bag and non-set armor. He took off his gloves, but tucked those into his belt pouch.

  “We checked out the gear just in case any of it was worth nudging Gerald over,” Karen said as she stripped off her gear. “We’re walking through one of your memories tonight, right Al?”

  “Aye, it be a normal one from his past ta start with,” Stacia answered for him. “Ya want to Copy me again, master? Me other body can stay here in the tent an’ tidy things up a bit.”

  Alburet eyed her for a second, sure this was all part of some plan she was hatching. After a moment he did as she asked, Copying her. The second Stacia, in demon form, started collecting clothing and gear, arranging it in neat stacks.

  “I’ll be outside so Fluff can change,” Alburet told them as he watched Kitten, Stacia’s double, tidy up before he stepped outside.

  Outside the tent, he found Roberto at the campfire talking to some of his men. “How are your men doing?” Alburet asked as he walked over.

  “No deaths, so that’s good. We weren’t expecting mages to show up quite this soon. That first fight with them was rough, but after that we were ready for them. As quick as the mages appeared, I rather expect that tomorrow we might encounter Immature Sand Worms, which could be a problem for your guild. They target the weakest member of a party.” Roberto replied as he looked around at the low level Alpha Company groups in the raid.

  “I’ll let my people know to be ready for it,” Alburet commented as he looked at the mass of people around Gerald. “Seems everyone is interested in the gear that’s been dropping.”

  “The deeper in one goes, the higher level the mobs and the better the gear,” Roberto pointed out.

  “Good thing to know,” Alburet slapped Roberto lightly on the back. “You and the men are free to join in on the gear excitement.”

  “The men would be hard pressed to afford any of it,” Roberto told him.

  “Well, Gerald is in charge of that end of things. I have no idea what he’s asking for any of it.”

  “Dinner will be up in a moment. I’ll have a word with Gerald after dinner. Ah, if you’ll excuse me for a moment?” At Alburet’s nod, Roberto walked over to Banthor, who was watching the mercenaries around Gerald.

  “Here we be,” Stacia’s voice came from behind him.

  Turning, he beheld Stacia, Karen and Fluff all in matching dresses. Knee-length black silk accented their bodies, without quite being formfitting. Each wore a cut that accented her figure the best. His jaw opened slightly as he took in the trio. “Wow.”

  Stacia smiled broadly, Karen smirked and Fluff blushed, but only faintly. “Told you he would like them, Fluff,” Karen said as she lightly stroked Fluff’s ear.

  Alburet let his gaze linger on each of them, the flat sandals they wore laced up their calves. “You all look stunning,” Alburet finally managed.

  “Glad ya like it, Asthore,” Stacia murmured as she took his left arm. “Fluff was afraid the dress would nay look good on her.”

  Fluff looked away at Stacia’s words. “I just…”

  “Fluff,” Alburet said her name gently, but it was enough to halt her words. “You look amazing, fabulous and beautiful. May I escort you on my right arm to dinner?”

  Her hand came up slowly, but she took the offered arm. “You really think it looks good on me?”

  “Good enough to eat,” Karen replied before Alburet could, as she gently took Fluff’s other arm. “Shall we?”

  Glancing at Karen while biting her bottom lip, Fluff nodded, “Okay.”

  Dinner was a simple stew again, but everyone was happy to eat it. Conversation was almost nonexistent during the meal. After he finished eating Alburet sent out a guild message letting everyone know that Immature Sand Worms might attack tomorrow.

  “They be the ones tha’ come up through the sand to swallow ya whole,” Stacia told them. “The small ones only be able to target a single person. Da’ told me about the big ones he fought tha’ can swallow a whole group.”

  “How do we fight them?” Karen asked as she handed her empty bowl off to the guard who was collecting them.

  “Iffin ya be outside them, ya can attack them normally. Iffin ya be the one swallowed ya need to inflict as much damage as ya can to get out. Ya will be takin’ damage the whole time ya be inside them.”

  “Not fun, then,” Alburet added as he imagined being swallowed with the pain sensors on max. He shuddered slightly at the imagined pain, “Glad my pain sensors were turned down some.”

  Karen winced at his words, “Oh, right? That would be really bad otherwise.”

  Stacia got to her feet gracefully, “Come, Asthore, we need to prepare ya for the night.”

  Alburet got to his feet, “Okay.”

  “Can we come with?” Karen asked as she got to her feet with Fluff.

  “I’ll be stripping down…” Alburet began.

  “I don’t mind,” Karen interjected, cutting him off. “Do you mind, Fluff?”

  Fluff looked at Alburet then away, shaking her head once. “If Stacia is okay…”

  “Aye, then we go as a family,” Stacia took Fluff’s arm. “Come on, ya friends be waitin’ on ya,” she said over her shoulder to Alburet as she led Fluff towards the tent.

  Karen grinned, “Come on, stud, you’re just going to give her a brief glimpse of the goods.” She swayed ahead of him, following the other two.

  Lips taut, Alburet wondered if that was a good idea as he followed after the trio. Gerald stopped him briefly before he reached the tent. “Alburet, I sold off half the gear and they would all like to buy more. I gave the coin to Kim, since she’s in charge of the guild funds. On that note, have you looked at the coin we’ve been getting?”

  “No,” Alburet said trying to
get his mind on the track of what Gerald was talking about. “Are we okay?”

  Laughing, Gerald shook his head, “The mobs are dropping gold, even with the coin being split raid wide, it’s adding up to a fair chunk of change. In the last two days we’ve gotten as much per person as you normally get from quests, even after the guild tithe.”

  “Nice. That means the next twelve days will help get us back to solid ground again,” Alburet nodded. “That is good news.”

  “Are you good with me selling off half of everything we collect minus the jewelry?” Gerald asked.

  “Sure, we’ll need the funds. Oh, grab me a two-handed weapon while you’re at it. I can use anything,” Alburet added with a grin.

  “Yeah, with your gloves that get around stat minimums. Wish I had something like that. I’ll keep an eye open, but I already sold off all the weapons we had to this point. The strength requirements on them were pretty high.”

  “Cool, thanks again.” Alburet started to turn away, but paused as another thought occurred. “How are you and Marysue doing? Are things progressing for you guys?”

  Gerald looked over at Marysue, who was talking to Violet. “We’re doing okay. Taking it slow, though. I don’t want to fuck anything up.”

  Clapping Gerald on the shoulder, Alburet smiled. “Glad to hear it. Have a good night.” With that, Alburet ducked into the tent.

  Inside, he was startled to find Karen, Fluffball and Stacia all in matching silk pajamas in red and black. The outfits were a simple shorts and top combo cut in a conservative style, but still flimsy and clingy enough to accent their figures enticingly. Alburet paused for a moment as the tent flap closed behind him, and Kitten began tying the simple leather straps closed to make sure they wouldn’t be disturbed. “This is different,” Alburet managed to say after a second, his uncertainty about the situation clear in his tone.

  “Do you not like them?” Fluff asked nervously, one of her hands moving up to groom an ear.

  Seeing the nervous twitch, Alburet felt a sense of ease wash over him. “The outfits look really good, Fluff,” he told her. “All of you look very nice in them, each in your own way.” His eyes tracked over Stacia’s shapely curves before flickering to Karen’s smaller, more athletic form. Eventually he looked back to Fluff, who was pink, but smiling. “I bet Stacia picked them out, considering the color scheme.”

  “Aye,” Stacia replied with a hint of triumph to her smile as she glided forward. “After all, do friends nay have slumber parties in ya other world?”

  “Pillow fights, pajamas and girl talk,” Karen answered the question. “Only ever went to a few of them for some of my friends in school. They were never allowed at my house.”

  Fluff’s face seemed to fall slightly as she looked down at the ground, “I never did.”

  Karen slipped over to the suddenly sad Lunari, “We’ll have one tonight. Can we do it after Alburet goes to sleep?” Karen asked Stacia with a raised brow as if trying to ask more than the question seemed to imply.

  Stacia nodded, “Of course we can. First, we be walkin’ through a memory of his, then we’ll stay up and have our own party.”

  His lips twitched as he watched Stacia and Karen rally to help raise Fluff’s spirits. “Guess I should lay off to the side, then. That way I won’t be in the way of the epic pillow fight. Stacia, Kitten is not to help you during the pillow fight.”

  Karen’s lips quirked, “Thank you for the thought, Al. As long as she promises to attack herself equally, though, it’ll be fine.”

  “Tha’ be acceptable to me,” Stacia grinned with a wink at Karen. “We need to get him ready for bed first, an’ all tucked in. We’ll visit his memory then have our girls’ night in.”

  Alburet carried one of the bedrolls to a corner and spread it out. He stripped off his clothes, keeping his back to the women and feeling rather awkward as he pulled on his own pajamas. Once he was changed he slipped into the bedroll. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes briefly before turning to look at Stacia. All four of the women, including Stacia’s Copy were watching him intently. His cheeks heated as he realized that they’d been watching him the entire time. Even Fluff, though her gaze wasn’t as steady as the other three.

  “Well, didn’t mean to give you all a show, but I’m ready now.”

  Kitten lounged on another bedroll, keeping her eyes on Alburet as the other three arranged themselves beside him. She blew him a kiss, smirking flirtatiously. Alburet looked at the others, a moment of uncertainty making him wonder if this was a good idea. Stacia and Karen smiled at him with positively predatory expressions that didn’t make him feel any better. Fluff seemed nervous, but excited.

  They knelt beside him in a line, with Stacia bookended by Fluff on her right and Karen on her left. Stacia leaned forward to deposit a gentle kiss on his forehead, “It is time, me love. Do nay worry, I will nay do anythin’ tha’ will cost me ya bein’ here with me.” As she finished speaking she began to sing a lullaby.

  Shortly after she began to sing Alburet’s eyes grew heavy. As he felt himself slipping away into slumber he whispered, “I will always trust you.”

  Once he was asleep Stacia kissed his head again. Sitting up, she glanced at the other two, “We will be lookin’ at how he met his best friend.”

  Stacia guided Karen and Fluff, putting their hands on her shoulders and on Alburet’s sleeping form. Once they were ready, she began to sing again, pulling them with her into Alburet’s mind.

  The four of them stood in a large room dominated by a twelve person table. Eight people were in the room when the group appeared. A moment later, Seamus walked into the room talking with an older woman.

  “Thanks for letting me come back, Lora,” Seamus was saying as he entered the room.

  “We are glad you’re moving on from her, Seamus. We weren’t sure about her when you stopped coming to over.” Lora looked over at her husband Harry, who was seated behind a Dungeon Master’s screen at one end of the table. “Seamus is going to be joining us again.”

  Harry got up to greet Seamus, then introduce him to the new players that had started coming after he had stopped gaming. Seamus shook their hands in greeting before saying hi to two of the players who were still around since he had last played.

  “Good to meet you all, new and old alike,” Seamus told them as they all took spots at the table.

  Harry slid him a character sheet, “I updated your old character. We’ll get you in, no trouble.”

  The tabletop game started, with Seamus watching and listening to the other players. He was able to quickly place each person into stereotypical gaming niches, which included the girlfriend who didn’t really want to play, but was there with her boyfriend who did.

  As the first combat started the couple got into an argument, which derailed the game for a moment. Seamus wandered out of the room as he didn’t want to hear it, it would only remind him of his last relationship attempt.

  David came into the kitchen after him shaking his head, “I hate it when they do this.” He grabbed a coke from the fridge, offering it over to Seamus who took it with a nod. Grabbing another for himself, David leaned against the counter. “I take it you’re the guy who used to play the druid?”

  “That’s me, angling for a certain prestige class,” Seamus admitted.

  “Hierophant of the Arcane?” David questioned with a grin.

  “It’s a bit overpowered, but so much fun,” Seamus admitted.

  “Kind of like my rogue going for Spell-thief,” David laughed.

  “Those two classes in the same game,” Seamus grinned broadly. “Harry must not have thought ahead again.”

  “He loves his modules,” David chuckled. “You up for a bit of teamwork?”

  “Sounds good. And you’ve been one of the most active roleplayers, to boot. I guess it will come down to how well we can mesh the characters.”

  “I got that,” David said as he watched the arguing couple walk out of the house, one after the other. “We
ll, there they go again, which means the game is back on.”

  When the game continued, the newly minted team starting to take over the table. Between their abilities and sheer personality they quickly started leading the adventure. When the game broke up a few hours later the two guys walked out of the house last, still talking over strategies for the next game.

  As they exited the house the memory paused. Alburet was looking after himself and David, silently crying. “He is a good guy and the best of friends,” Alburet finally managed to say as he wiped at his tears. “But I’ll never get to see him again.”

  Stacia hugged his ghostly form with her own, “Ya know tha’ he thought the same about ya, dear heart.”