Playing For Keeps (Alpha World Book 4)

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “He seems like a good guy,” Karen added. “You two really hit it off.”

  “He has kind eyes,” Fluff added softly. “He had relationship problems himself, didn’t he?”

  Alburet nodded once, “An ex-wife he was fighting with for partial custody of their daughter.”

  “I was goin’ to show snippets of the two of you meetin’ up for the first time away from the table.”

  “Not tonight, please, Kitten. This was hard enough,” Alburet told her as he squeezed her tight.

  “Aye, we be stoppin’ for the night then,” Stacia kissed his cheek gently. “Sleep well, me love.” As she said that the room dissolved around them, and the trio of women came to their senses beside the still sleeping form of Alburet. Leaning forward Stacia kissed his brow again, “Sleep deep and well.”

  Karen stretched, “Well, that took about four hours so we don’t have a lot of time for the party now.”

  “Ya be wrong, that was an hour,” Stacia grinned as she got to her feet. “The mind processes much faster than ya think.”

  “His friend, David,” Fluff asked from where she sat with her hand gently touching Alburet’s leg. “Did he get custody of his daughter?”

  “Aye,” Stacia replied. “Tha’ be a story for another time. Tonight, we be doin’ girl talk and mayhap even a pillow fight.”

  They joined Kitten, who was sprawled on their bedrolls. “I’m not moving,” Kitten grinned at them from where she lay.

  Karen’s face split into a smile, “Oh, I think you will be.”

  A pillow fight broke out, Karen leading the attack. True to her promises, Stacia and Kitten even attacked each other occasionally to give Fluff a more realistic sense of a four-way fight. After a while, they collapsed into fits of laughter and the girl talk started. Alburet would have been really interested in that conversation, if he hadn’t been unconscious in the corner.

  Chapter Seven

  Alburet woke without remembering any dreams, for which he was thankful. Too many of his dreams of late were nightmares. Sitting up, he saw that the four women were all curled up together in the middle of the tent. Stacia and her Copy bookended the other two, Stacia holding Fluff from behind while the Copy held Karen from behind. That left Karen and Fluff facing each other only inches apart.

  Stretching quietly, he watched them sleeping peacefully, which made him briefly wonder what they might have talked about last night while he had slept. After a few minutes, he got to his feet, feeling refreshed and ready for the day. As he finished dressing a soft knock came at the tent post, followed by one of the guards informing them that breakfast would be ready soon. The voice didn’t seem to disturb the women so he carefully crept over to them. He hadn’t woken before Stacia at any time that he could recall so he knelt down, careful not to make noise. Leaning over her sleeping form, he gently eased her face to him before kissing her softly.

  “Time to wake, love,” he whispered as he broke the kiss.

  Stacia’s eyes fluttered open, a languid smile filling her lips. “Hmm, is it to be breakfast in bed?” she asked as she gently disengaged from Fluff to reach for him.

  Leaning back, he took her grasping hands in his, “That wouldn’t be fair to our friends.”

  “You can feed me breakfast in bed as well,” Karen murmured as her eyes came open slightly. “Fluff would enjoy it as well, I’m sure.”

  Fluff was still purring contentedly, blissfully asleep with a smile on her face. Alburet felt his own lips twitch up as he looked down at her sleeping form. “Very well, as you’ve both requested it of me, I’ll serve you breakfast in bed, at least this time.” He kissed Stacia’s hands before letting them go as he got to his feet. “Rest until I return.”

  The camp was in full swing, everyone coming out of their tents to have breakfast at once by the look of it. Giving a nod to the people who greeted him, Alburet made his way over to Roberto and Banthor. “Gentlemen, are you considering changing anything today?”

  “Nay, it be workin’ well. Yer guild mates though will be at risk today iffin we run across the worms. We’ll be posting a good group next to ye lowest leveled peoples iffin ye can tell us who they be.” Banthor stroked at his beard absentmindedly as he talked.

  “That would be Deirdre Crowley’s group,” Alburet pointed to her tent just as Chris Eveningstar came out of it. “Chris, there, is the tank of the group. Maybe we should have them walk with us. I finished my rounds talking to everyone yesterday so we’ll be staying put today.”

  “We can do that,” Roberto replied. “I’ll let them know.” He glanced back towards the tent Alburet came from, “What about the women?”

  “They requested breakfast from me,” Alburet told him with a wry smile. “I owed them a favor, and today they called it in.”

  “Three women is just asking for trouble,” Roberto snorted lightly. “I hope you know what you’re in for.”

  “I have a feeling that no one could prepare for the three of them,” Alburet said as he joined the lineup forming at the cook fire. “See you after breakfast.”

  Alburet drafted one of the guards to help him carry the bowls back to the tent. Having the guard wait at the flap, he slipped in with two bowls. The quartet of women were lounging in the bedrolls. “Ladies, your breakfast is served,” Alburet said as he handed Fluff the first bowl, then Karen the second. “A moment for yours,” Alburet told Stacia as he backed towards the tent flap. He took the bowls from the guard with a thank you before he entered the tent again.

  He mentally dismissed the Copy before handing Stacia a bowl. He then took a seat next to her, “Breakfast in bed for three lovely ladies.”

  Fluff blushed faintly pink as she began to eat. Karen smirked at him as she took a seductive bite of her food with a slow wink. Stacia giggled softly, “Do nay tease him too much, Karen.”

  “Spoilsport,” Karen replied.

  “Did you all enjoy your ladies’ night?” Alburet asked as he ate his porridge.

  “Aye, we had a proper pillow fight. The talk after was even more enlightenin’ at points,” Stacia glanced at Fluff as she said the last few words.

  Fluff looked down, the pink of her cheeks deepening, “Yes.”

  A single eyebrow went up as Alburet looked at the trio with a bit of suspicion. Karen and Stacia exchanged a shifty look that made both of them giggle. Fluff looked up at them at their giggles, looking back down quickly with her cheeks still pink. Alburet watched the exchange, then ventured to ask, “Is it safe to ask?”

  “Nope,” Karen grinned, “girl talk, and you are totally not qualified in that category.” She waggled an eyebrow.

  Coughing on a mouthful of porridge, Alburet barely managed to swallow. “Fucking mynx, almost made me choke on that.”

  “Tha’ be what she said…?” Stacia deadpanned, directing the comment at Karen with a questioning lilt in her voice.

  Laughing, Karen nodded as Alburet’s jaw dropped, “Yes, that is exactly the time for that line.”

  “Oh gods,” Alburet finally muttered as he shook his head. “Are you going to teach her mom jokes next?”

  “Of course not, I have some taste,” Karen frowned. “‘That’s what she said’ is always a funny joke, right?”

  “They can be funny,” Fluff agreed.

  His bowl empty, Alburet stood up with a sigh, “I fear what might be next.”

  Stacia extended her empty bowl to him, “We’ll be out in a few minutes. Can you summon me Copy before you go, please?”

  Alburet did as she asked, Kitten appearing next to Stacia. He took the empty bowls from the other two as well. He paused at the tent flap, giving them all a small bow, “I hope you enjoyed your meal. I’ll be back to grab my gear in a moment.”

  Gerald and Marysue were dropping off their own empty bowls at the cleaning station when he came out of the tent. “How are you two this morning?”

  Marysue turned around, a brilliant smile on her lips, “Doing well.” She wasn’t quite glowing, but she did have a beatifi
c expression that was clear to see.

  Gerald looked a little awkward, “Today is good.”

  Alburet paused, aware of a somewhat new dynamic between the couple. Feeling a bit of empathy with Gerald, Alburet did his best to ignore it. “Remind everyone that today we might encounter Immature Sand Worms. They need to be ready for attacks to come at us inside the circle.”

  “Will do,” Gerald said, the gratitude in his voice palpable. “Come on, Mary, let’s go make sure everyone is ready for today.”

  “Of course,” Marysue took Gerald’s arm, smiling at Alburet. “See you all soon.”

  Watching them go, Alburet smiled after them. Marysue was walking closer than she had before and her grip on Gerald was more possessive than it had been. Seeing two people he had grown to call friends finally start to accept their love for each other warmed his heart. He dropped off the bowls and went back to the tent, finding the women all dressed and ready to go for the day.

  “We’re going to chat with folks until it’s time to go,” Karen said as she moved to follow Fluff out of the tent. “See you when it’s time.” Alburet nodded at her as he started donning his armor.

  Stacia gave him a quick kiss, “Make sure ya bring the tent with ya.”

  Alburet rolled his eyes at Stacia, but he was smiling as she followed Karen out of the tent. He was glad to see Stacia starting to bloom, learning new things and becoming even more subtle in her playful teasing. Her friendships with the others were helping her grow, Alburet was sure. She was becoming more apt to tease him in nonsexual ways, as well as showing small bits of affection without making his blood boil. As he finished getting ready and slung his pack over his shoulder, he turned to find Kitten still in the tent. She had tied the tent flap closed and was kneeling before it.

  Laughing, Alburet shook his head, “I had almost thought maybe you were starting to not want something all the time.”

  “Ya silly man, I be always wantin’ to reaffirm our physical love. Will ya deny me, or will ya let me do this quickly?” She licked her lips, her demon eyes heated with lust.

  “They’ll be waiting for us, so make it quick,” Alburet conceded as he stepped towards her.

  A few minutes later Alburet got his gear squared away for a second time, then summoned Bob and Tiny. They followed him out of the tent, where he paused to press down on the scrollwork that caused the tent to revert to its Tentstone form. He dropped the small stone tent into his belt pouch, happy to see that he wasn’t quite the very last one to do so.

  “Asthore,” Stacia called to him, a mostly suppressed grin on her face. “Come on already, we been waitin’ on ya.”

  One of his brows raised slightly as he met her eyes, knowing full well that she was deliberately taunting him. “I’m ready now. Took me a bit longer than it should have. I was taking a moment with my minions.”

  Karen’s eyes narrowed slightly as she looked from Stacia to Alburet, then her eyes slid to Kitten, who winked at her. Lips quirking, Karen winked back, “So everything was ‘handled’?”

  Alburet couldn’t completely suppress the slight wince at her choice of words. “Yeah. I wasn’t expecting the issue that popped up, but it was handled deftly and should be fine now.”

  “What issue?” Gerald asked, having missed the byplay.

  “It’s not an issue anymore,” Alburet quickly stated, brushing the question aside.

  “Everyone,” Roberto called out to the raid, “we are ready to go. Remember, we will be attacked almost as soon as the Campstones are picked up. We also expect to find Immature Sand Worms today. If you get swallowed, or someone near you is swallowed, attack quickly as best you can, damaging it is the only way to get them out.”

  Deirdre was standing near Stacia as Captain Roberto made his announcement. She looked nervous at the prospect of dealing with the worms. She spoke quietly to her sister, “Captain Roberto told me that I will be one of those most likely targeted.”

  “I promised your father I’d keep you safe,” Alburet replied just as softly, as Roberto motioned to his men to pull up the fires. “We’ll be keeping you safe, and Chris as well.”

  Head cocked to one side, Chris Eveningstar grinned at Alburet, “I might take that as an insult, but keeping Deirdre safe is the most important thing.”

  “Keepin’ me sister safe also means keepin’ her heart safe,” Stacia added with a nod to Chris. “We will be keepin’ an eye on ya as well.”

  Eleven seconds after the last Campstone had been picked up the sands around the raid shifted, revealing six groups of skeletons encircling the raid. The tanks, who had been waiting for the attack along with everyone else, immediately taunted the casters which kept the Forgotten Elementalists from targeting those near the center of the raid group.

  As the tanks took the aggro, the damage dealers began to unleash their attacks and spells upon the monsters. After a few days of working together, the groups were starting to find a rhythm to their movements. It only took a minute or so for the last of the mobs to fall. Once they’d been looted the raid began to move east again.

  Roberto came to walk near Chris as the raid moved out, striking up a conversation, “Are you still interested in joining the Stormguard Guard, Eveningstar?”

  Shaking his head slightly, Chris answered the Captain, “No. I have found a place here with Alpha Company that I think will suit me well. They have been very accepting of me and Deirdre.”

  “Fair enough. I would have vouched for you, if you had been,” Roberto replied.

  “I am sorry Captain, a little. It was me who persuaded him not to pursue a career with the Guard,” Deirdre told the Captain. “We’ve settled in nicely here with family and friends.”

  “Alpha Company has been making quite a name for itself,” Ioaniss added, joining the conversation. “This expedition will only help spread that name.”

  With a grin, Karen’s steps became bouncier at Ioaniss’s words, “That is what I hope for. I want us to be known around Alpha World, and hopefully respected as well.”

  “The Stormguard Guards respect Alpha Company,” Roberto told them, “though Alburet lost some standing once knowledge of his change came to light. Old hatreds still run deep for some,” Roberto said with a hint of sadness.

  “Change comes at the cost of time or blood, normally,” Ioaniss opined. “Sometimes one person will make enough of a difference to circumvent that, but hoping for that is normally folly.”

  Marysue glanced at Alburet, then to Gerald as she took his hand. “Change for the better is the real trick.”

  Ioaniss laughed, “Indeed, which is even harder to do as most people fight change, even if it is for the better.”

  “Alburet has helped most of us with small changes,” Fluff commented. “He’s been helping me with confronting my past. He’s been key to helping Marysue and Gerald take a step forward together. He found love with a native of this world and introduced some of her sisters to the people they found love with as well. That led them to finding their classes, which had long been a concern for their family. The Forgotten Prison has been found, House Theron might be ascendant again…” She trailed off, becoming aware that everyone was looking at her with surprise.

  “Aye,” Stacia commented as she took Fluff’s arm. “Ya be nay wrong, me dear friend. Even the Dark Lord has taken interest in me husband. He be special, indeed.”

  “You’re making me out to be some kind of key figure in a book or something,” Alburet snorted. “Save me from that fate, please. Those poor bastards always have bad things happen to them.”

  Before anyone could reply, the sand shifted around the raid again revealing more skeletons. This time, there only three groups of skeletons, but each group had multiple mages. The mercenaries had been watching for the next attack, and surged forward eagerly, engaging with the mobs to make sure they had aggro. Once the tanks had aggro, everyone else pitched in with what damage they could do at range. The mobs didn’t last under the barrage, allowing the group to loot and move on.


  Just as they started to move again a small tremor shook the ground near the group with Deirdre. Roberto reacted instantly as he felt the motion, shoving Deirdre hard to the left, throwing her into Chris’s arms. A fraction of a second later the ground where she had been erupted upwards. As the sand cleared an Immature Sand Worm came into view. Deirdre and Chris stared at the monster that had erupted where she’d been standing.

  “It swallowed the Captain,” one of the guards on the other side of the worm called out. “We need to get him out before it burrows, otherwise we’re likely lose him entirely!”

  The words were enough to break the moment of surprise for those next to the monster. Gerald, Tiny, Karen, Fluff and more converged on the Worm. Fluff let out a leonine roar as she launched herself at the mob, her skin flushing red as she triggered her Rage ability. There were too many people crowded around the monster for Alburet to be able to get into melee range, so he stepped back next to Chris and Deirdre and began casting Fire Blasts at the Worm.