Origin ARS 4

by Scottie Futch

  Scott leaned in and gently kissed Rhea on the lips, and then nuzzled her nose with his. Her eyes fluttered opened gently and she looked at him.

  “Morning, Rhea.” said Scott softly.

  Rhea smiled at him in a dreamy-eyed manner then kissed him softly on the lips as well. “Morning, Scott.”

  “Did you have a good meeting with the fam?” he asked her, before slipping his hand down to gently stroke Ero’s lower back with his index finger.

  Rhea chuckled sweetly then nodded. “Yeah, fun as always. They picked on me a little, though.”

  “Oh? What about?” asked Scott.

  She smiled. “Mostly about you and I finally doing more than just blush and giggle like a couple of teenagers.”

  “Yeah we did.” He leaned in. Rhea closed her eyes gently while he kissed her softly on the side of the nose. Her cheeks became flush and she brought her hand up to clasp his cheek tenderly.

  Scott smiled at her for a moment, but then his eyes widened in surprise when she said something he had not expected.

  “What, seriously?”

  “Yeah, is it OK?”

  “Well, yes, but are you sure it’s a good idea? I mean... Meeting your family...”

  “They’ll love you. Though, we should probably finish our current mission and then do some level grinding first. It will take a little time for them to assemble as their avatars are scattered across ARS.” said Rhea.

  “Sounds good, we have to prepare things for the transfer and for Corpse Rat.” said Scott.

  “Yeah, those guys need a serious butt-kicking. Most of the rest of the family wants in on it, so we should be able to take them down with a little effort.” said Rhea.

  “Great. We can’t end them permanently, but we can make them pay for the crap that they pulled.” said Scott. Sadly, permanent death was not a thing for players in this world. The best they could do was kill them enough times to irritate the hell out of them, and to wreck their guild’s monopoly over Askrida.

  Rhea yawned softly then sat up. The movement provided Scott with an incredible view of many of the reasons why he was such a lucky man. Her delightful curvature intrigued her man-toy greatly, but the soft smile and the way the light danced in her eyes were far more interesting to the man.

  Scott reached up and placed his hand against her cheek. His thumb gently caressed her cheekbone while he reveled in the vision of loveliness before him. It was hard to believe that behind that extraordinarily well-crafted exterior was the heart and soul of a girl so innocent that she had spent decades pining for a guy like him. It was even more difficult to believe that it had happened solely because he had been nice to her and protected her one time.

  That sort of dedication, if nothing else that alone proved her inhuman nature. He could not think of anyone that he had ever met who could remain infatuated with anyone that long with no hope of ever meeting again.

  “What are you thinking, Scott?” asked Rhea softly, before she reached down and gently placed her hand against his cheek as well.

  A slight smile crossed his lips then slowly blossomed into one that was far more robust, and cheerful. “I don’t know how much time I have left. Things could go very wrong for me, in the future, but I am so glad that I met you.”

  Rhea’s eyes shimmered softly as she fought back the tears that threatened to fall. “I’m glad that I met you too, but don’t talk like something will happen to you.”

  Scott nodded. “No matter what happens, I’ll always come back to you.”

  “That’s... That’s much better.” said Rhea in a half-sobbed whisper. They had discussed the dangers in the classic server at length. There were few things that could cause a permanent death state for a player or someone like Scott, but they did exist and he would have to deal with them at times if he truly wished to protect ARS. There was a very real chance that she could lose him forever, that he would be destroyed so completely that even she could not bring him back.

  “Rhea... there are problems with me that I still don’t really understand how to deal with, but with you and Ero beside me, I can do anything.” said Scott.

  She leaned down and kissed him softly on the lips then whispered. “We’ll always be with you, Scott. You’ll always be with us, don’t you dare forget that.”

  It was Scott’s turn to become a little misty-eyed. “Have I mentioned that you’re sort of cute when you’re bossy?”

  Rhea smiled at him softly. “I’m the boss. Accept it with your body and soul.”

  “Listen to this girl...” said Scott with a laugh.

  Rhea laughed along with him for a moment then said, “So, how will you show the boss that you’re serious about the job?”

  Scott slid his hand from her cheek down to her shoulder. He looked her in the eyes with a soft, but naughty expression, while he slipped his fingers further down to her back. Slowly, the tips of his fingers traced the gentle curvature of her ribs then continued down to stop at her hips.

  The light in Rhea’s eyes seemed to dance as her smile changed something more intrigued that joyful. When Scott’s other hand slipped down to conquer the other side of her body her eyes widened but when his hands rose up to claim her supple rear she gasped aloud.

  “I think the boss needs to understand more about my work ethic. She might need to watch me as I go through my daily grind in order to understand the depths of how long and hard I work.” said Scott casually.

  Rhea gasped softly once again as Scott’s hands moved down to claim yet another place that had never been claimed until he had come into her life. “Y-yes, perhaps a lengthy staff review session is in order.”

  Scott grinned at her. “I like how we do things together.”

  She laughed in a somewhat husky, but melodic manner. “If every staff meeting was like this, I’d like to go to work more often.”

  “My little Rhea would become such a workaholic.” said Scott lightly.

  “Since when am I little? Hmm?” She leaned down and pressed her nose against his.

  “I’m bigger than you.” said Scott simply.

  “Well, there is that...” she whispered hotly before pressing her lips to his.

  While Scott continued to state his claim with his exploratory fingers, Rhea did the same with her delicate tip of her tongue. They shared a warm and lingering kiss for a moment before a tiny little voice cried out for help.

  Rhea leaned back a little and both she and Scott looked down. Ero looked up at them while she gasped for air.

  The little fairy called out. “I nearly died again!”

  Scott tried his best not to laugh but he had to say what he was thinking. “Yeah, but what a way to go!”

  “You’d be ok with being smothered to death by Rhea’s giant honkers?” cried out Ero.

  “Yes, yes I would.” said Scott with a grin.

  Rhea’s face turned bright red and she shook her head slowly from side to side. “They aren’t that big.”

  “They’re still bigger than me!” exclaimed Ero.

  Rhea started to cross her arms, but Scott stopped her. He caught her hands and shook his head before he said, “Nope.”

  “Scott?” asked Rhea in confusion.

  “I’m not done with those yet. It would be unfair to try and take them away now.” he said lightly.

  “That’s just something you’ll have to learn to deal with.” she said softly without making any effort to close her arms again.

  “You can claim to be the boss of me all you like, but I’m the boss of these.” he said lightly before slipping his hands down to gently caress his new pillowy and bountiful subordinates.

  Rhea’s face began to burn with the embarrassment of the moment and turned her head away, but she relaxed a little after the moment passed. She had to admit that she did not hate what was happening right now. Masculine and sexually aggressive Scott was kind of nice...

  Of course, he ruined it a little with his customary goof ball antics. “I wonder if this is how Neil Armstrong felt whe
n he managed to step down on the moon.”

  “Huh?” asked Rhea. She turned her head back to look at him, confusion evident on her face.

  Scott continued to caress her gently while he said, “He’s the only other guy I know who’s ever been this close to a heavenly body.”

  Rhea blinked slowly once then froze up a little. Her face, already red from embarrassment, grew a little hotter then she looked down. She started to breathe heavily in and out for a moment then finally snorted and started to laugh.

  “Not gonna slap me around and tell me I’m stupid?” asked Scott in a slightly disappointed tone.

  Instead of doing that, she pulled him to her and kissed him sweetly on the lips before she said, “You’re the stupidest boy ever... but you’re my stupid boy.”

  Ero smiled softly at their antics. She was too small to properly join in at the moment, sadly, but she truly enjoyed seeing the two of them get along so well. “Hey, save some of that stupid for me.”

  “Sure, how much?” asked Rhea with a grin.

  “Just a little bit. I’m not that big right now.” said Ero before she tilted her head to the side and smiled cutely.

  The trio shared a happy laugh at that, and then continued to chat freely. They spoke of life, love, business, size changing fairy BFFs, and Rhea’s epic elf boobs.

  As the conversation continued Ero smiled softly to herself. It was nice to hear them getting along, but she did not like what she had heard Scott admit earlier before the breast massages and other interesting conversations had begun.

  The idea that he might not make it through the coming days was greatly unsettling for her. A life without Scott was not something she wanted to contemplate, especially now that she had finally gotten to see what all the interesting fuss was about when it came to adult relationships. Rhea’s super boobs were not the only thing larger than life in this room, and she had enjoyed every bit of that masculine revelation.

  Chapter 8: Blood Tracker

  The mournful howl of the wind perfectly captioned the lonesome image of the lighthouse atop the cliff. It was an ancient symbol for seafarers, but it had been put out of use long ago. Now, it was only a haven for bandits and various other rogues who lived counter to society.

  Scott and Rhea waited patiently as Ero fluttered around the area in search of at least one of the bandits. The city council had determined that their good works of late merited this opportunity to acquire their desired Writ of Meritorious Service. However, they had spent the better part of the day in the area and had not found even a single bandit. They had been tasked with the discovery of where the bandit group threatening the village of Descendant’s Cove made their lair.

  Ero returned to the group then shook her head. “Sorry, I tried fairy hard, but I didn’t see any sign of bandits.”

  “Thanks Ero.” said Scott.

  Rhea nodded to the tiny girl. “Good job. But you saw no sign of bandits here, either?”

  “No, none. It looks like no one has been here in a fairy long time.” said Ero before she pouted in a cute manner.

  Scott leaned back against an old pine tree then rubbed his chin. It made no sense. If the bandit’s in the area were really in the area there should at least be some sign of them.

  Rhea tilted her head to the side. “You know, we haven’t checked on the slave trader in a few days.”

  “You thinking the same thing I am?” asked Scott.

  “Yeah, maybe...” said Rhea.

  “Tonight is the full moon. We’re a good distance from town.” said Scott.

  “Exactly.” said Rhea.

  “Full moon? Wait, but on the night of the full moon the mermaids want to do interesting things with any human who will have them.” said Ero.

  Scott’s eyebrows pressed together and a frown rose up on his lips. “A month, that’s how long he gave us, but isn’t that a little long? Maybe we should go check in with him.”

  “Yeah, I think so, too.” said Rhea. The beautiful elf maiden’s eyes narrowed. A visit to the slave trader sounded like the best thing to do right now.

  The trio decided to put off finding the bandit lair till the end of the full moon period. Something about the current situation did not sit right with them. They discussed their misgivings on the long trip back to town. The day ended long before they reached the outskirts of the city and the moon had already begun to rise in the background.

  They headed to the slave quarter straight away. Upon arrival at the massive tent, neither of the three was surprised to see a large crowd of people gathered around.

  There was a large stage set up just outside the trader’s tent. He stood atop it with a friendly smile and waved to the gathered people.

  “Greetings, greetings, and gather round! The finest show on ARS is about to begin!” called out the trader.

  “A fine show, huh?” asked Scott with venom in his voice.

  Rhea remained silent, but her expression spoke volumes about her thoughts. Was the trader really about to do what she thought he was about to do?

  Ero exclaimed something in surprise. Scott and Rhea turned to the side and saw someone they had not expected.

  “Gambol? What’s going on?” asked Scott. The ninja master did not seem like the sort of person who would frequent a slave trader’s auction.

  “Hmm? Oh! It’s you three!” called out Gambol. His body flashed briefly. He disappeared for a split-second before he reappeared next to Scott.

  “Hi Gambol!” cried out Ero.

  “Hey again, Ero.” Gambol smiled at the overly enthusiastic girl then looked to Scott and Rhea once more. “You don’t know what’s going on?”

  Scott glanced at Rhea then back to Gambol. “We thought this guy might be selling the mermaids despite telling us he would take care of them till we could claim them properly.”

  “Well, if he said it, he probably meant it. He’s a fairly honest guy, except when it comes to his obsession with his sister.” said Gambol.

  “What do you mean? He seemed to want little to do with her.” said Rhea.

  Gambol laughed. “They’re rivals of a sort. I’ve only met his sister once, recently. It had to do with your job actually, but I’ve met this guy a few times. Every time, he’s had a different story about her that couldn’t possibly be true.”

  Scott openly stared at Gambol. What kind brother and sister rival issues did the guy have to make up a story like the one that he had told them? “Well, if he’s not selling the mermaids into slavery, what is all this?”

  “Oh? It’s the grand auction! Once every three months he holds an auction where his current roster of premium slaves all step up on stage and try to convince people to buy them.” said Gambol.

  “They actually want people to buy them?” asked Scott incredulously.

  “Sure! High-end slaves are well-trained in various arts and can command a considerable price. Some of them even take pride in it for some reason. Of course, there’s also another reason for that.”

  Rhea looked at Gambol then rolled her eyes. “Oh, now I remember what this really is...”

  “What is it Rhea?” asked Ero.

  Rhea laughed softly then sighed. “The mermaids are probably fine. This has nothing to do with them.”

  “What is it then?” asked Scott.

  Gambol grinned at him then held up a sack of Fayth. “I came prepared...”

  Rhea snorted at him. “What would my sister think?”

  “Depends on the kind of deal I get.” said Gambol.

  She laughed a little. “Probably. She doesn’t get jealous that easily.”

  “I wish she would. It’d make it easier to know if she actually liked me.” said Gambol.

  Scott looked back and forth between them, uncertain what to say. Ero did not speak either. She was too busy fluttering up and down while trying to get a better view of the stage.

  “So, one of you was about to tell me what all this is really about?” asked Scott.

  “Oh, yeah.” Rhea leaned in close an
d whispered to him so that the crowd would not be able to hear as easily. “This is probably a player auction. Basically, players who want to role-play being a slave or starting their lives enslaved.”

  Scott blinked twice. That was both absurd and entirely practical. It was like starting out an adventuring career in prison. You start with nothing and move from there. It was decidedly strange and more than a little disturbing, but if that was really what was going on here, it was not necessarily a bad deal.

  Ero fluttered over to Scott then stood atop his head. “Why didn’t I think of this before? This is the perfect spot.”

  Scott leaned his head back to look up and Ero stepped forward just enough so that she could bend over to look down. They smiled at each other briefly then straightened up.

  Ero happened to look to their left and spotted an oversized bee hanging out near one of the auction-goers. She tapped on Scott’s head with her foot then directed him toward it.

  “That bee is bigger than you Ero.” said Scott lightly.

  “I know, right? It would make two of me!” replied the fairy.

  “Bee?” asked Gambol.

  They pointed to the giant bee and both Gambol and Rhea checked it out. The overly large insect buzzed merrily around a man who wore a crown of pink flowers.

  A few other oddities caught their attention, such as a Shar-Shar selling fish-on-a-stick, and a man who had to be at least twenty feet tall. It seemed like all manner of people had come out of the woodwork for this event.

  Whatever was about to happen, Scott was certain that it would be interesting. Though, it did seem to take a while to set up.

  Two hours passed, and the crowd had grown larger with each passing moment. The slave auction was an event that drew people from all over Eizen and from points even further away. Some of the strangest people had appeared during that time.

  Finally, after the moon had risen high in the sky, the trader stepped onto the stage once more to begin to festivities. “Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, we have our premium slave auction. I hope that you brought your money, because this time we have a few truly unique items for sale!”