“Well, guess we wait and see,” Karen said, pulling one of her daggers and checking its edge. “Going to need new daggers in a level or two. What was the name of that shop? Grimgar’s Weapons?”
“Grimgar's Weaponry?” Stacia answered in the form of a question.
“Stacia is right. He happens to be a friend of her family, as well.” Alburet supplied, watching the line move up. “He has good stock and gives decent prices. If you go, mention my name or Stacia if we aren’t with you. Oh, and you should exchange info with Stacia while I think about it, Karen.”
Karen blinked, “Wait, she can use a Mindstone?”
“Everyone in this world can, as well as Homestones.”
“Wow. That is kind of neat,” Karen said, fishing out her Mindstone and tapping it to Stacia’s. “So now I can send her dirty messages about innovative positions.”
Alburet face palmed, “What did I just do, ugh.”
Karen chuckled, “Gave me a way to see if she ever gets free of your grasp. If she does, I very well might have to snatch her up, for her massages if nothing else.”
“I will never leave master’s side,” Stacia said, linking arms with him. “He be the only thin’ I want in the world.”
Alburet shook his head, “Never going to let her get away. You might understand a bit more when we get out to hunt.” He smiled, then noticed his message icon blinking. Checking it he found a message from Fluffball.
Message from Fluffball:
Al, thinking of hunting again today. Are you up for joining me and if so are you bringing Stacia along again?
Alburet replied to her and got another message a few seconds later. He chuckled and informed the women with him. “So Fluffball wants to join us. I told her we’re at the portal guild already and that she needs to hurry.”
“Oh tha’ be nice, I like her master. Iffin she gets me Ma’ to help her she will be even better.”
“Is that the Lunari Berserker you’ve mentioned?” Karen asked as the line moved forward again.
“Yeah, she was with me and Stacia over the last two days. She was with us, Gerald and Marysue for the Chieftain, too. I can attest that she is good at what she does, though she is very reserved and blushes easily. So maybe kid glove her for a little bit until she gets used to you.” Alburet said, directing the last bit at Karen.
“We will see, though I normally don’t change who I am for anyone.”
They were only two people back from the front when Fluffball came hurrying up to them, “Oh, good, I made it. Sorry about the delay.” Fluff smiled at Alburet and gave Stacia a quick hug before greeting Karen. “I’m Fluffball. It is good to meet you.”
Karen tossed her an invite to the group, “Good to meet you, Fluffball. I’m Karen. I’ve heard about your adventures killing the orcs over the last few days. That’s where we’re headed now. Is that okay with you?”
“Oh, sure,” Fluffball said, grooming an ear. “Just glad to be able to hunt with my friends.”
Karen’s lips quirked up when Fluff groomed an ear, “Maybe I can be counted among them by the end of today, then.”
“Hey, no line cutting,” one of the people said behind them.
Alburet turned to meet the eyes of the man who had spoken up. “She is part of our group, she was just a tad late, is all.”
“Well if she’s part of your group I guess that’s okay,” the guy said with a shrug. “just no more additions, okay?”
Alburet and his group were the next ones to see the receptionists. “Not a problem,” Alburet replied, turning to the front. He motioned Fluff and Karen to the other receptionist first, as he and Stacia stepped forward to Kim.
“Morning, Kim. Looks busy today,” Alburet greeted the receptionist.
“Well, it’s the first day we’ve been open in two weeks. We remodeled to help mitigate the waiting times. To start with, we just need to set you up an account and have you deposit some coin in it. We then issue you a soul bound gem that is linked to your account. Once you have that you can follow the signs and use any portal you want; the cost is automatically deducted from your account. The cost of using each portal is listed on the door for that portal. You can check your account balance at any time by holding the gem,” Kim told him in a brisk voice, as if she had been relaying the same information all morning so far.
“Okay then,” Alburet placed twenty gold on the counter. “Set me and Stacia up please, Kim.”
Kim smiled, taking the gold as she picked up gem in her other hand. “Alburet a two-souled Summoner, account being opened with ten gold.” The gem seemed to pulse with light for a moment before she held it out to him. “Just accept the gem and bind it to you, once that’s done you are free to go.” Her smile was real, not the professional one she had been wearing when they had made it to the front. She repeated the same for Stacia, frowning slightly over the lack of a class for Stacia but ignoring the discrepancy when the gem activated as normal.
They accepted the gems and bound them, clearing the pop up notification. He noted Fluffball was done and Karen doing the same thing with the other receptionist next to him. He smiled at Kim, “Thanks, Kim. With this change it looks like we won’t be having the chance to talk as much anymore.” He saw Karen stepping past the desk to where Fluff waited and gave Kim a small bow, “See you later.” He dropped an extra gold piece on the counter as he left.
“Good hunting, Alburet, and you as well, Stacia,” Kim said as they walked by her before she turned to help the next person.
Stacia let out a relieved sigh, “Thank ya, master. I was hoping we would nay have an issue like the duel last time.”
“Duel?” Karen asked as they climbed the stairs heading for the portal rooms. “What duel was this?”
Alburet gave her the quick rundown as they looked for the correct portal. He finished as they found the one they wanted. A plaque next to the door listed the portal as the Orc Grasslands, with the cost being a single gold. “Huh, so it’s as cheap as if you had a full group. Nice they aren’t gouging us.”
“I thought for sure it was going to be the two-gold fee like it was if you went alone,” Karen said. “Are we ready to go?”
The others agreed they were ready. Karen stepped onto the rune, followed quickly by Fluffball. Alburet snagged Stacia for a hug, “You ready to let them see you in a different way?”
“As long as ya be with me, master,” Stacia replied, a hint of nervousness to her voice as she held him. Alburet shifted them both onto the rune, so they appeared in front of the fort still in the embrace.
“Okay, now that everyone is here let me go grab the quests for this area real quick.” Karen said before she darted away into the fort.
“Stacia, go get some jerky and tea from the quartermaster,” Alburet said, giving her ass a playful slap. He watched her hurry off with a smile before he turned to summon his other minions. He summoned Bob and had to dismiss the prompt asking if he wanted to change minions. “Heya, Bob, welcome back. Ready to kill some orcs?”
“It has been awhile master, is everything okay?” Bob asked, looking around a little nervously.
“Yeah. The bridge between worlds was down for a bit. You okay there? You seem a bit nervous.”
“Are you going to replace me master?” Bob asked bluntly, while looking at Alburet directly.
“Nope, not going to happen. I take it you’ve heard about the option, though.”
“Yeah, the IRS held a meeting and informed us that it was being offered to all Summoners. Then you didn’t call on me or Tiny for almost two weeks, so we were getting a bit nervous.” Bob replied before letting out a deep breath, “Now I feel much better, having heard it from you.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. You are one of my family Bob. I am not going to get rid of you. Now let’s call Tiny up and reassure him.” Alburet turned and summoned Tiny to the world. “Hello Tiny. Welcome back, sorry for the delay, and no you are not being replaced.” Alburet said as he dismissed the prompt asking if he wanted to replace
his current minion.
“Thank you master, it is good to be able to protect you again. I was not worried, though Bob was getting a bit frantic over...”
“No I wasn’t,” Bob huffed as he puffed out his chest. “I was not getting frantic at all and how do you even know that word?”
Alburet chuckled, “Enough, guys. I’m sorry for the delay but I’m back now and we have a new addition to the family. Are you ready to meet her?”
Bob and Tiny both nodded that they were indeed ready. Alburet smiled as Karen and Stacia came out the gate and over to the group. “Well, now that we are all here, let us walk a bit away from the guards before I summon my last minion.”
The other seemed a bit puzzled but followed him. After a few hundred yards he stopped and turned to the group. “Fluff, Karen, Bob and Tiny, it is my pleasure to introduce you to my last minion. Stacia, if you would please.”
Stacia shimmered followed by a puff of smoke. When it cleared she stood there in her full Succubus form. “It is a pleasure to meet ya all in me other form,” she said, but her words were distinctly tinged with worry.
Tiny was the first one to speak, probably as Bob would have pointed out that he was too dumb to be surprised. “Welcome to the family, Stacia. It is good of you to join us in helping the master.”
Stacia giggled, “Thank ya, Tiny.” Her relief was evident when she spoke.
“Buh, what?” Bob finally got out. “But a half blood can’t be a minion.”
“We aren't sure that she is a half-blood anymore, Bob,” Alburet said. “Even the people over at the Infernal Retinue Service don’t know how it happened.”
“So, that patch note was your fault?” Karen said.
“It seems that way,” Alburet shrugged. “I wouldn’t trade her for anything, though.”
“Well duh, not with the massages she gives. Wow, that is so cool.” Karen said taking a step towards Stacia. “Can I touch your wings and tail?”
Stacia smiled, nodding quickly, “Aye. Thank ya for not rejectin’ me friendship.”
Karen paused as she traced the tip of a wing, “Why would I?”
Fluff interjected, “Half-bloods are barely tolerated in Stormguard. Full blood demons inside the walls are almost unheard of. No doubt she was worried we would spurn her as a friend now that we know.” Fluff stepped forward and gave Stacia a hug. “I will never reject a friend just for being themselves, Stacia. I was happy to know you before and I am even happier to know you now.”
Stacia sniffled as she returned the hug, her words soft, “Thank ya, Fluffball.”
Karen wrapped her up in a group hug from behind, “Me, too. If anything, you look even sexier now. Makes me want to see what round two would be like now.”
Stacia giggled a little, “Master likes me this way, too. I was so nervous when he first summoned me, but he has quashed all me doubts.”
Alburet smiled at the women all hugging, “So there we have it…” he cut off as he noticed Stacia was no longer in the group. “Wait, why is she no longer in the group?”
Karen jerked back quickly checking her interface. “I didn’t remove her, hang on I’ll reinvite her.” After a few second Karen shook her head, “It gives me an error saying minions can’t be part of a group.”
Fluffball pursed her lips in thought for a second, “Stacia, shift back to human please.” When Stacia did Fluff turned to Karen, “Try again.”
A second later Stacia was back in the group, “Right. Now that is weird,” Karen muttered.
“Stacia, can you shift back to demon form?” Fluffball asked.
Stacia did and as soon as she shimmered she was kicked from the group. “Oh, I get it now,” Alburet said. “As long as she’s in human form she can pass like anybody else. If she goes full on demon, though, it treats her like a minion. Good thinking, Fluff.”
“It was the only thing that made sense,” Fluffball replied, as she groomed her ear, with a small smile.
“Well, there we have it. Stacia is my succubus. I am going to ask that you keep it amongst us though, please. She doesn’t want any backlash at her family because she’s a minion now. They’re worried what others in the city would think if they found out,” Alburet informed the others. Both Karen and Fluff agreed to keep it between them.
“Now that we’re ready, can we go hunt?” Karen asked.
“Sounds good to me. What do you think, two imps, two destroyers, or two succubi?” Alburet asked.
“Two succubi, they can crowd control both orcs in the patrol groups. We can go through them one at a time starting with the wargs.” Karen replied, her eyes lighting up, “That should make it easy as pie.”
Alburet turned to Stacia and used Copy on her, and a second Stacia appeared. Unlike the previous times he had used Copy on Tiny or Bob, this time the copy wasn’t a washed out version of the original. The second Stacia was just as vibrant as the original. Both Stacia and her copy wobbled on their feet for a moment and Alburet steadied the two of them. “You okay, Kitten?”
“Yes, master,” both versions of her said in unison. Brows furrowed, a moment later only the one answered, “It is weird. I am getting vision, hearing and the rest from both bodies at the same time. I think I have it under control now.”
“If Stacia is okay, let us commence with the slaughter,” Karen said as she began to move further into the grasslands followed by the others.
“Two succubi. Double the pleasure and double the fun,” Bob chuckled.
Alburet rolled his eyes, “Oh, you so funny, Bob.”
“I want to try tha’,” Stacia said as she walked along on either side of Alburet.
Bob cackled at her words, making Alburet sigh, “Enough, Bob. We will discuss it later, Kitten. Do you know instinctively which one of you is the first you, by the way?”
The one to his right raised a hand, “Aye. I can even separate me thoughts enough to make my bodies do separate things easily.”
Bob broke up laughing at her comment. Before Alburet could say anything though Tiny spoke up.
“First pack,” Tiny rumbled as he took the lead.
Alburet darted forward and buffed him, “Okay. Tiny, take the warg first. Stacia, you know what to do with the orcs.”
Both Stacias began to sing a wordless song and the two orcs who had turned towards Tiny stopped dead, eyes going vacant as she sang. Tiny met the warg head on, blocking the first attack with his shield before hacking at the mob himself. Karen appeared and stabbed the warg in the flanks as Fluff leapt into the fray with twin axes flashing. Alburet blinked a little in awe of how fast the fight went as the warg quickly died.
“Wow, that was awesome,” Alburet muttered before shaking his head. “Stacia, we’ll be taking the one on the left first. Go ahead and join the others in melee once it breaks out of the daze, but keep the other one locked down.”
“Aye, master,” one of her answered as Tiny moved to hit the one he had indicated.
A minute later the combat was over and Tiny had barely been scratched. “That was so sad,” Karen chuckled. “I am so tempted to suggest we move off to the gnoll area instead, even if they are level twenty.”
“Hmm that’s a bit of a level gap there for me, much less you, Karen,” Alburet replied.
“Tomorrow would be okay for that area though, if we can get her a level or two,” Fluff put in.
“That still leaves all day to farm these orcs, so let’s do it hard and fast,” Karen said winking at Alburet. “If you can keep up with all of us women, that is.”
Fluffball went crimson at Karen’s double entendre, ducking her head and grooming her ears, while Stacia giggled as she pushed both of her bodies against Alburet. “Okay, this is not going to help us get Karen a level,” Alburet said before slapping Stacia on both of her asses. “Come on, we are going to grind like hell.”
“Promise, master?” Stacia giggled as she ran out of his reach. “Karen, he promises to grind us hard if we get ya a level.”
“Incentive, I like it,”
Karen said, taking each Stacia by the hand and running off towards the next closest patrol. “Come on Tiny, we need you.”
Tiny jogged after them while Bob skipped along behind, laughing all the while. Alburet sighed, shaking his head then looked over at Fluff who stood frozen in place. “Sorry, Fluff. This is the way Karen is all the time. She gets worse, it seems, when Stacia is around.”
Shaking her head to clear it, Fluff looked at Alburet. “It… it’s okay. I can handle it.” She gulped as she followed along behind the others, “Maybe I should talk with Lilith soon.”
Alburet gently touched her shoulder as they started after the others, who had already started the fight. “If it gets bad let me know and I’ll rein in Stacia, okay? I don’t want to cause you distress, so just let me know. Okay?”
Forming the Company (Alpha World Book 2) Page 5