by Elian Tars
What would happen if I stayed? Once Tiara and everyone else were sound asleep, I’d be able to roam the castle, enter Caer De Bleit’s office, rummage through his papers…
Unclasping the brooch, I took off my cloak and put it into my inventory.
Chapter 14
My Wife
I was lying under the heavy blanket when two maids, who both cast slightly embarrassed glances at me, rushed out from behind the screen and disappeared behind the door.
Tiara and I were left alone.
“I hope, you’ll like it, my dear husband,” she said in a velvet voice, and her smooth, pale leg came into view from behind the screen. “I’ll try to make this night unforgettable,” she said, fully emerging from her hiding place.
The duke’s charming daughter, dressed in a floor-long, black, transparent, tulle dress, which didn’t hide a single curve of her naked body in the intimate dusk, was probably the best thing I had seen in this dark world so far.
“Unforgettable?” I asked. “And what’s with all the cries about a red stain? If you don’t mind me asking, do you have the necessary skills?”
“Does it surprise you, my dear husband?” she said languidly, coming to our bed. “I saved my most treasured thing,” her hand went over her stomach and further south, “for you. But I had to satisfy the need somehow, so I had to be creative. You understand, don’t you?” Like a snake, she slithered under the blanket at my feet and slowly moved upward.
I understood, and I got to see what she meant firsthand. For a moment I through that the worst thing that could happen to me was death, but ten percent of Rebirth Energy wasn’t too high of a price to pay for a night with a woman like Tiara.
I defended my actions by convincing myself that I was “gathering intel” and that I ended up in Tiara’s bed by happenstance…
Soon enough, all of my thoughts faded away, and I plunged into the whirlpool of passion that consumed us.
***
“How did you manage to find me blindfolded?” I asked during the second break, when I finally managed to recollect my thoughts.
“I’m telling you, I’m your Fate, my dear husband,” Tiara smiled sweetly, lying with her head on my shoulder and drawing patterns on my chest with her finger.
“And by ‘Fate’ you mean your patron? Who is it?”
“It’s impolite to ask such things, my dear husband,” she smiled.
“We’re married now, which means that there shouldn’t be any secrets between us,” I replied. “Well? I want to know more about my dear wife.”
“And I want to know more about you, my dear husband. Who’s your patron?” She propped herself on her elbow and looked me in the eyes. For a few seconds we stared at each other in silence.
“I’m sure you already know it, honey,” I answered, though I wasn’t sure how right I was.
Neither denying nor confirming, she kissed me passionately; her hands began to stroke my body.
“The night is short, let’s not waste time,” she whispered, lips on my earlobe.
I was lying on my back and could see the lovely curves of her swaying body perfectly well. I couldn’t say that I disliked the way I was spending my time. Part of me longed for this magical night to never end, but my paranoid core was slowly getting hold of the reins of my mind. It grumbled, angry at Tiara for being so restless. It wanted my wife to get exhausted and fall asleep, so that I could go looking for what I’ve came here for.
From time to time, those thoughts would disappear — Tiara was really good in bed. For the third time tonight, our passion reached its peak; Tiara leaned forward and...
A system message appeared in front of my eyes. It was enough for me to read the first lines of it to react.
Twilight Wanderer.
With a surprised squeal, Tiara dropped on the bed through my ghost body. Going up into the air, I went right through her. Looking down, I saw her clenching a curved, black dagger in her hands. She was looking around, searching for me.
“Well, where are you, my dear? Come back,” she muttered under her breath.
If I remained still, Wanderer would last for thirty seconds. Hovering above the floor, I asked the system to bring up the logs.
Attention! The sacrificial bond has been deepened. The priestess can now find you in any part of the world.
I glanced at Tiara again, who was now staring in the opposite direction. Even though there was nowhere that I could hide from her now, the Twilight was still beyond her reach.
So, I was an offering, chosen to be sacrificed in some ritual. Everything she did — crying on the streets about the upcoming wedding, the wedding itself, her virginity, and even the three amazing sexual intercourses — was a part of the ritual that a woman could make only once in her life. What was she planning to do?
“You ran away? How could you do that to your wife?” asked a tired female voice behind my back.
Turning around, I froze in astonishment. Floating by the door some ten feet away from me was a semi-transparent female figure. I had seen many Gods, so levitation and invisibility were nothing new, but the appearance of Tiara’s patron was striking — the woman had pallid skin, long, blood-red hair that reached to her waist, full, blood-red lips, and crimson eyes, from which blood streamed down her cheeks. From her thighs to her chest she was wrapped tightly into a cloth, either a dress or a towel, I wasn’t sure; her head and back were covered with a hood; blood-red, of course.
Goddess of Blood Magic, Mavia
“Your Follower failed to kill me, so you came to help her?” I asked, not sounding very intelligent, frantically trying to figure out what the best course of action would be.
Should I try to escape through the walls? Such a cheap trick wouldn’t work against a Goddess. What then? Teleport somewhere far from here? But Tiara would immediately know where I’d turn up. If I teleport to Berg, the duke’s guardsmen will surround us at once. If I return to the camp, I’ll be giving away our location…
“Why would I?” Mavia asked in surprise. “You turned out to be capable enough to avoid being stabbed in the neck. We can make a deal, if you want to,” she said and lazily shrugged her shoulders.
“A deal?” Now I was the surprised one. Mavia looked more like a runaway lunatic than a formidable Goddess. Stop! Don’t forget how deceitful appearances can be. Tiara’s her “Follower.” I doubt that my “wife,” hell-bent on performing such a difficult and unordinary ritual, would follow a worthless patron.
“Are you surprised?” Mavia chuckled. “You think that only Rugus can make deals?”
“No, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you…”
“And you wouldn’t have been able to even if you tried…”
I felt that Wanderer was about to end. I better “land” and continue the conversation normally.
“Ah, there you are!” Tiara exclaimed. As soon as I materialized, the girl rushed at me at once.
“Stop.” Mavia appeared between us. A wave of unbearable pain swept over me, and her Aura made me lose HP.
The pain disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. I looked around — Mavia was gone, too.
Tiara and I were the only ones in the room. Naked, save for the rings and pendants we both had and the dagger in her hand, we stood in front of each other in the center of the room.
“Hmm,” she drawled. “What should I tell my father?”
“That the wedding was a total success?” I took my underwear out of my inventory and, without taking my eyes off her, began to dress.
“I won’t deny it, my dear husband, it really was.” Swaying her hips, Tiara disappeared behind the screen. “Except that we haven’t achieved our goal. The Great One allowed me to tell you what it is. To make a long story short, had I sacrificed you, I would’ve gotten access to everything you know and a weapon of incredible power that would’ve been absorbed by the ritual dagger. I promised that power to my father, as it’d tip the scales of war with the Duchy of Oruel in our favor.”
“So, Mavia and you,” I said, checking if the scaly armor fit tightly, “were supposed to get my knowledge?”
“That’s right,” came the reply from behind the screen.
“So she doesn’t want Guer-Shui, your father’s patron, to know where my Parts of Zurtarn are?”
“And the Shard of Unity,” Tiara added.
“So what does she want then?” Fastening the vambraces, I glanced at the screen. It was a pity that it was made of opaque material — I would’ve loved to feast my eyes on her silhouette.
“Hmm… From you?” She let out a thoughtful chuckle. “I suppose that she now wants you to find the rest of the Parts.”
“We have the same goal then. But we need to learn from the duke where to look for them.”
“My father doesn’t know,” Tiara replied with a snicker. “We’ve spread this lie on purpose to lure you into the city. We were afraid that you wouldn’t have come personally, and that Rugus’s minions would’ve come instead. Luckily, it all worked out well. Here you are. And here I am.” Having put on a beautiful jade dress and a cerulean cape without any assistance, she walked out from behind the screen and approached me. I clasped the brooch on my cloak, and finished getting dressed. “And it so happens that I can help you. Though, I need one of your Parts to do it.”
“This all sounds very suspicious, to put it mildly,” I said, screwing my face.
“Do you think that I’ll deceive you?”
“I think that’s possible. You’ve done so already.”
Tiara sighed heavily and, shaking her head, sat on the edge of the bed.
“It hurts to hear such things from my husband. Haven’t we had a deal that there should be no secrets between us?”
“A deal?”
“Let’s call it so,” she nodded. “And to prove that my words are true, let it be known that you and I are connected not only by law, but also by the ritual. It hasn’t been completed, just put on hold. I can finish it whenever if I want to. Our bond won’t disappear over time. Also, if you turn out to be a Gleam, you won’t resurrect. This is a very powerful ritual.”
“In addition to all that, you can also feel where I am?” I asked thoughtfully, wondering if I should trust her blindly. There was only one way to check if her words were true, and that was to finish the ritual, which was out of the question. The only reasonable thing that I could do was to make a deal with her.
“Right.” Tiara nodded and glanced at the table, on which were an untouched jug of wine and a pair of empty mugs. She turned to me with a sweet smile.
“Well, I think that I don’t have a choice then,” I said, coming to the table and pouring the wine into the mugs. “Can you locate the rest of the Parts right now?”
“Thank you.” Taking one of the mugs from my hands, Tiara sent me a kiss and sipped her wine. “I can’t do it at this very moment. I need to go somewhere. It’s not far. Shall we go?”
“Let’s go,” I answered, trying to look calm and relaxed.
Emptying half of her mug, she jumped to her feet, took my mug, and put it on the table. Turning to me, she snatched me by the wrist and dragged me to the door.
I didn’t struggle.
“Gentlemen,” Tiara smiled charmingly when we went out of the bedroom. Six aristocrats, including her brother, were sitting not far from the doors on the benches and drinking wine. I was surprised to see them, but Tiara soon provided me with an explanation. “The sheet with the stain is where it’s supposed to be. You can see it for yourselves; everything is as it should be.”
While the puzzled men stared at us blinking, we quickly walked past them and rushed to the stairs.
“Tell my father!” I heard Lord Corry’s voice behind us, addressing the guardsmen that were standing nearby.
“They were expecting a different outcome,” Tiara said without breaking her stride. “And it wasn’t my blood they were interested in. It’s pretty funny, though; it’s like we’re in Ishiria, where a whole crowd of relatives hovers over the newlyweds with candles.”
“And nobody seems to care here,” I chuckled.
“Well, that’s not entirely true,” Tiara smiled. “You don’t know our traditions, do you? If I had a highborn groom, his parents would’ve brought their healer to examine me before the wedding. In our case, things were a little bit different. But nevertheless, you, as they say, ‘popped my cherry,’ ” Tiara smiled slyly and pecked my cheek.
I got a very unusual, strong willed and free wife. Girls of this world seemed to have more freedom than their “real world” counterparts during the Middle Ages (according to history books, of course). I was more and more convinced that the emancipation of women in this world was connected to the existence of Goddesses. If your patron was female, you stopped seeing women as weak and helpless creatures, whether you wanted it or not. Not to mention that Gods could easily make a woman their Disciple or a Gleam. A common Follower had no choice but obey their master, regardless of gender.
This was probably the reason why parents weren’t so strict to their daughters. Then again, maybe I was wrong and Tiara was a special case. From the duke’s point of view, his daughter was a Disciple of a patron different from his own. As Mavia wasn’t hostile, the duke probably thought that he could use some of her powers through his daughter.
While I was busy speculating, we got to the entrance of the castle’s prison. Tiara ordered the guardsmen to let us in, close the door behind us, and not let anyone else in. Her order was fulfilled without further questions, as if this wasn’t the first time she had requested this; though, they looked at me with distrust and disgust.
“Well, well,” Tiara muttered under her breath, looking at the prisoners through the bars. When they saw my beautiful wife, they turned away, pressing themselves close to the walls. “I’ve enough material for now…”
“Material for what?” I asked, already guessing the answer.
“For magic,” Tiara smiled contentedly. “This is where I get my strength,” she declared proudly, stopping at the furthest wall of the dungeon, in front of the last cell. Its door, as well as the walls, were made of vertical metal bars and were wide open. Inside the cell was a dirty, shaggy man, suspended by chains and naked from the waist up. He was hanging so low that his legs, which were bent at the knees, were touching the floor. Had he had enough strength, he could’ve stood up, instead of hang lifelessly, which made his shoulders be pulled out of their sockets. But he had no strength.
Bouyon, the Rusty Hatchet
Level 52
HP: 100/975
“Don’t ask who he is. It’s not important,” Tiara said, going into the cell and stopping a couple of feet away from the poor man.
Chapter 15
The Duke
Standing beside Tiara, I caught myself thinking how I’ve become too relaxed. Not even twenty-four hours had passed since I got to Urhon, and in that period of time I’ve already made a deal with Glozeysk, almost became an offering in a blood ritual and began cooperating with Mavia. I never wanted to be a pawn… I’ve let the Old Man guide me, but I wasn’t about to let other Gods do the same. No way! However, that was exactly what had been going on the whole day today. What happened to my caution and discretion?
To hell with Glozeysk, that damn God of Knowledge and whimsical ally. I could live with the fact that my actions helped him, but this whole marriage charade was a disgrace. They led me to the altar like a lamb to a slaughter, and I was happy to walk obediently after Tiara.
Or was I? The situation was difficult to analyze. I was under the impression that I had the situation more or less under control. I hadn’t died and I managed to save myself at the very last moment. Did that mean that everything was all right? Not to mention that I was about to find out the location of the artifacts that I needed. Did this mean that I was doing everything right after all?
At the same time, I was walking on the edge. I had apparently become too vain due to my unusual powers. I couldn’t say that that was a bad thing — a
man should be proud of things that he had accomplished and things that he could do. One shouldn’t always stick their head in the sand, right?
So what should I do next? Should I risk again if I find myself in a similar situation? Would that be necessary or would it be borderline stupid?
Although, in Tiara’s case, one could claim that the potential victim would lose their ability to think rationally. However, I had no evidence to back up my theory, and even if I did, it wouldn’t have changed anything.
I shook my head. I had to calm down the storm that was raging in my mind and sum it all up in one cohesive thought. As long as I’m able to analyze the situation, I can more or less control it, which is something that no pawn can do. I also need to do something big on my own and soon, otherwise they’ll stop bothering themselves with me. Luckily, I had an idea.
But, before anything else — Zurtarn.
“And who’s he?” Although the amount of thoughts that were rushing through my head was enormous, it took only a few seconds for it to pass, during which time Tiara materialized her black, curved dagger.
Standing close to the poor guy, she turned her head and looked at me.
“What? Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts.” She fluttered her eyelashes, and her gaze cleared up. “Who’s he? I told you not to ask. But if that’s so important to you, I’ll tell you. He’s one of Rugus’s minions. We’ve captured a couple of his Followers that were pillaging our villages.”
I frowned. I could imagine what awaited Bouyon. I had no desire to watch an ally die.
“Do you have problems with that?” Tiara chuckled, attentively watching my face. “I need people that are at least level fifteen. I’m sorry, we’ve long gotten rid of the local brigands,” she said, waving her hand around the prison. “Petty hooligans are useless, so I had no other option.”