“Your grace, excuse my intrusion,” I said with a bow. “They did not tell me where the portal was spawning.”
“Gryff? What?” he grumbled while internally thinking about what to do. He made up his mind with stern eyes. “Court is dismissed,” King Ptera said to murmuring dissent from the side bleachers.
“I apologize, King Ptera, my slight was unintended.” I said retrieving my gear.
“Ah, worry not, I’ve been meaning to talk with you anyway. I like the collection,” the king said, pointing at the bundled staves. “Seems you went shopping.”
“Something like that, I should have a very anxious family to get home to,” I said with a smile. He waved for me to follow him to the airship docking. I saw my familiar was tucked into my core again. Oh, neat. No idea what happened, but I was glad it was back. “Anything interesting occur since I was gone?”
“Ha! I’ve held court for the past month. Not a peep from Riza Stronghold, didn’t even know you were gone. I would have sent you with a list if I’d known you were going core shopping. I hate jumping a dozen planets to get to the easy to buy legendary stuff,” Ptera said and I shrugged. “You know I’d trust you to buy items for me.”
We arrived on the balcony with a stiff wind hitting us. The smells of the city below wafted up, a mix of burnt wood and cooking food. King Ptera went ahead of me as he walked across a bridge of planks and rope to get onto his personal blimp.
The rope connecting the walkway cinched tight making an odd creaking noise while the planks echoed with each step. While it was morning in Loona, in Remi, there was a setting sun. The entryway to the blimp built by the dvaren was guarded by heavily armored rhinorcs.
A set of mages perched on balconies above the stern faced warriors watched us intently. Ptera had added extra security ever since the negative attention of missing spies was directed his way. Probably because he knew sacrificing people under his castle would stir questions and problems, especially if he ever got caught. Killing people on a non-combat planet was a huge no-no.
We headed up a stairwell until we arrived in a fancy lounging area with numerous tables with cushioned half-moon benches. The captain, identified by a silly hat, was sitting at a table, sipping a steamy beverage with his crew. Upon Ptera’s arrival the captain looked up with a friendly smile.
“Captain Yeen, Riza Stronghold please, and do me a favor. Take off before the entourage hounds me,” the king asked politely instead of ordering the captain. We sat at a private booth where tea was served. “So where did you go shopping? I thought you were broke?”
“So… how much do I owe you?” I asked, rummaging for my coin purses.
“Mysti came by yesterday and paid off your debt, something about a grand adventure and the fact you guys were in the black again. Congrats on the hard work paying off,” Ptera said, sipping his tea.
“Oh, well, that is good to hear. I… we… had a grand adventure. Dib, my cook betrayed me. Kicked me out of the back of my blimp seconds before it portaled,” I said and his eyes widened. I frowned while bobbing my head as if to emphasize the shock. “I spent the next two days dodging Justicars… Well, killing them.”
“Huh?” Ptera said, shifting to look at the staves. “How many did you kill?”
“Hundreds. It really -”
“Tell me you jest.”
“Uh… no, I killed hundreds. I can spawn an army now. Those orbs are almost as overpowered as my spear and physical superiority orb,” I said with a sip of hot tea.
He grunted in frustration. Tapping the table as he contemplated what to say. “Did you know I was offered a necromancy staff?”
I almost spurted my tea onto the table. I blushed but still blurted, “You gotta be kidding me.”
“Zoey said… eh, you should talk to her yourself. Probably best if you handle internal matters on your own.” There was a drumming of fingers on the table as he paused. A servant cleaned up my spurted tea and when she left the king resumed. “I guess fighting Justicars was inevitable. Please, regale me your tale while we travel,” the king said and so I told him of my tribulations to get home.
∞∞∞
“Gryff!” Nicole ran into my arms. My face was smothered in kisses. Zoey and Mysti attacked my cheeks next, while a calm Gemini puckered her lips to mine when the duo gave me space.
The entirety of my army was staged as if ready to march to war. Our arrival had attracted a lot of attention. Ptera said a quick farewell to go drinking with the dvaren in some shitty inn where he was just another soldier, and not a king. Which left me with my wives and an ornery general.
With the kissing over I hushed the ladies of their nonstop questions. “General Groz, are the troops assembled to rescue me?” I asked and he nodded.
“Dismiss them,” I said and held up a finger before the whole bloody lot of them fled away. “Tell them to stay close, I’m paying out a bonus…” I checked the skyline. “Yeah, tomorrow. Before lunch. That is all.”
The general executed an about face and I was left alone with my ladies. Zoey was digging through the loot, whistling as she inspected my gains.
“Damn Gryff, where did all this come from?” Zoey asked with raised brows. “Most of these orbs are auction only.”
Gemini picked up a healing staff and an area orb. She smashed the staff down and cast a heal so large it enveloped the entirety of the stronghold. I let out a grunt that was followed up by a smirking approval.
“Show off,” Mysti said playfully.
“Okay, let me go first,” I said retelling my story again. When I finished, all eyes turned to Zoey, who was not wearing black. She had dyed her hair blonde, and she was without her necromancy staff. “So…”
“They are looking at me because things went about fifty shades darker than they should have when we learned you weren’t in the blimp,” Zoey said with her red eyes staying focused on mine. “I… Well, Gemini has a truth orb. There wasn’t a long investigation required. Dib had a letter from the Justicars. Saying his capture was worth a hundred platinum.”
My eyebrows shot up at this. Light lordy that was a lot of coins. My gasp stopped and I said, “Wow that is a lot. Where did you trade him for it at?”
“I didn’t. I flayed them with a short torture session. I knew it would be hard to catch them again after your blimp vanished during our reentry to Thur. So, they suffered a bit before they died,” Zoey admitted and I gulped. She held her hand up in an ‘oopsies’ gesture. “When I got home Mysti asked for me to spend a half day without the staff and with our children. Yeah… The staff was warping my mind.
“About four hours away from it helped. When I cradled my sweet Caity and Beyona, well, it cleared my mind. It was startling how little I cared for them until I was away from that evil tool. I haven’t found it a new home, but… I found my home. My calling is to be a mother, not an executioner. After freeing myself of the pull of the weapon… I feel infinitely better.”
“So that is why our lovely lady dyed her hair, shifted her appearance, and is beaming at being a mom,” Mysti said proudly. She looked at me with tears being held back. “You were missed husband.”
“So much so. If you two will excuse us, we have matters of estate and war to discuss. Come Gryff we -”
“Hold up, Zoey I am insanely proud of you. I know something like this isn’t easy, and I promise to help you transition however you need me to,” I said sincerely, halting the breakup. A massive grin spread on my face. “We can’t skip the most important part. How are my babies?”
“Ha! Told you,” Zoey said with a finger wag. “We wondered if you would pull a me.”
“You mean, divert work from family. I try to balance them, even if it is tough at times… Which leads to, how are Archer, Saffron, Caity, and Beyona?”
“Healthy, sleeping a bunch, and waiting for you when you finish your meeting. We will have a family dinner ready and a cozy fire for you to play with your children by,” Mysti said and I went to ask
the most important question. “Yes Gryff, there will be a bear skin rug for you five to play on.”
My fist pump brought giggles. We said another round of goodbyes when Nicole slid her hand into mine, dragging me for a war room near the barracks. I noticed Gemini near my other side, head held high.
“Alright, that was a bit of a shock,” I admitted.
Nicole nodded and said, “The staff is evil, Frooska said as much. It is also insanely valuable. Not that we're hurting for money now that we have Beargor. I sold off all the trash loot, the extra meat and bear skins. We’re back sitting on an excess of coins again.”
She was certainly happy about that, the last month had been tough. No one liked borrowing money, especially Nicole since I complained endlessly about doing so.
We entered a command building and ducked into a side room. Gemini flipped the sign to occupied, and we sat at the table meant for eight. The room was lit by a few candles and the table crafted by dvaren. My seat was at the head of the table and I made myself comfortable.
“What do you want to do with all this loot?” Nicole asked.
I looked to Gemini. She held up a finger while digging through the bag. “What’s your level?”
“4912,” I said and Nicole gasped. Gemini snickered out a chuckle. I smiled with a proud shrug. “I killed a lot of Justicars. They really should have left me alone.”
“How long can you summon the army orb of Beargor for?” Gemini opined.
I frowned. “Two minutes give or take.”
She joined me in a frumpy face.
“Don’t sell the legendary staves. They all have special abilities. Which leads into the fact that these need to go into the hands of special soldiers and spread out. That is for another conversation later, let me finish talking about the loot first. Here Nicole,” Gemini said handing over the purses with coins. “We sell these orbs.
“The Justicars love their trinkets, and while they help, they don’t always win fights. Does it make sense to die in your best gear, yup, it really does. At the same time. A legendary fire orb like this one, can buy a hundred mythic.”
“I can get behind selling the orbs to buy orbs for the army, it would make the most sense. I really was just trying to survive and I’m the worst at leaving loot behind.” I hesitated on this next part. “I’m conflicted on what to do next.”
Nicole put a hand over mine and said, “We want you to take a few days off. Spend some time with the kids. It’s not like you don’t deserve a day or two to recover.” She paused to see my reaction and I nodded. We were in this for the long haul. “Also, you know someone will come visit to question you about Beargor. I’m surprised Warg isn’t here impatiently waiting. We saw Beargor’s army despawn. Hell our whole army cheered when the magic happened. Such excitement until we were in the portal, traveling for home without you.”
Gemini nodded and added, “Machew is not a fool. He will have heard of your escape and these losses will be measurable. Justicars don’t fight losing battles, not if they can help it. They are very mindful of their engagements. If there wasn’t a full scale war happening your defeats of those troops would have sent ripples across the universe that someone is reaping Justicars.
“By doing so with an army orb you're going to send shockwaves through the entire guild. I wouldn't be surprised if we see smaller guilds drop the Justicar alliance over the perceived threat. The threat of the harbinger carries true fear. Also, there will be more than Warg wanting that orb. I still think you should sell it. Let us increase our armies might and add to our ranks.”
“I think these orbs are ordained for others. Moving forward, do you want to hit more dungeons instead of fighting the Justicars?” I asked with a long exhale.
“Absolutely. You have god powers with orbs that defy the physics of the universe. Well, we mere mortals cannot rely on such methods, and the levels and size of our forces matter. I want an armada of real war blimps. Troops to operate them, levels to handle proper spells. Gryff… it was beyond frustrating to have you go MIA and I was unable to even mount a party to rescue you.
“Harmony doesn’t have a blimp. We don’t have anything besides the dingy scout ship. With this loot, we can buy half a war blimp. In case you were wondering, you can’t fly half a ship. We can build one but we're talking months. The siege engines are online and we can buy a transport blimp but that will cut into -”
I paused her to finish her thoughts. “How about we get with Ovaria? Have her sell everything we want sold, and then figure out our finances from there. If we are taking a few days off, I’d rather be discussing this while bouncing a baby. Unless you girls have something pressing,” I said and Nicole winced.
“After Dib, we put everyone to interrogations. Kata has been providing information to Ptera, but he never asked for secret stuff. Just a back channel in case things between us and him deteriorated and they haven't. Harmony was approached by Warg to feed him information. She gave him a one-time dump of info that we’d been doing nothing of import. Those were the ones we let slide.
“We dismissed seventeen Inquisitor spies who have fed information back to the guild even after they quit it. Another thirty were supposed to, but really just wanted a new home and have said nothing to handlers. They’ve been moved to no essential jobs for now. We released another seven with Justicar ties. A few others were cut for their spying with smaller guilds seeking information. So we purged a bit of the ranks.
“But our lives should be safer. The troops are happy for the success, pissed you were left behind, and eager to move onto the next challenge. Hmm… Oh, and congrats on knocking Gemini up.”
“Can you do the magic thing on others?” I asked.
Nicole bit her lip while nodding excitedly. “Part of the plan. Tonight will be filled with lots of fun. I waited so long to live like this. Selling, shopping, and then more adventure. The next adventure I’m going with you so you don't have to hold a healing staff.”
“Uh… it super saved my life. I know, I know. I begrudged my time trying to be a healer. However, it literally came through clutch more than a few times,” I admitted. Gemini gave me a long stare. “What?”
“Keep the staff on you, they are literally a life saver. Now, let's help Zoey forget that she slipped into a madwoman. She is being the best mom she can be and we should be there to encourage that,” Gemini said and I couldn't agree more.
I was happy to be home, excited to see my kids, and then prepare for more kickass adventures.
That and I really wanted to put babies in my wives again. Especially if I got to watch it happen.
CHAPTER 11
My triceps bulged as I held myself in a hover over Nicole’s body. Her silky smooth skin glistened with sweat. Large milk filled breasts tried to smack her in the face as I drove my cock deeper into her. Her hands traced over my body until she latched onto my hips. She pulled me down hard a few times, causing a slapping sound.
I grunted from the pleasure. She pushed me back as I was driving myself toward a release.
“Pull me to the edge of the bed,” Nicole said, sliding up to shimmy my cock out of her. I frowned but her delightful smile and bouncing eyebrows convinced me she was up to something. “I sense you're close.”
“Well, yeah, you feel so tight, and your squeezing is amazing,” I admitted with a winning grin. I hoisted my lovely lady by the back of her knees and pulled her to the edge of the bed. Gemini rose from a recliner to sit down beside us. Her hourglass figure sauntered seductively in a thin robe.
While Nicole was retrieving a pillow, the tip of my cock teased her entry by swirling around her swollen lady lips. Both ladies smiled while I had my playful fun. When I was ready to go back in, Nicole grunted as she tightened her pussy to pleasure my seed out.
Gemini cast her spell above Nicole’s flat stomach. I slowed my thrusts while I watched the magic reveal the tip of my penis sliding into her vagina. I became enthralled as my cock hit her cervix.
Nicole propped herself on her elbows to watch. I came out of my daze at seeing my cock in her vagina to pump for victory. Gemini thrummed Nicole’s clit as I slammed my hammer home. I hilted myself in tandem with Nicole’s hip swings. She bit her lip to focus while never taking her eyes off the process.
The visual effect was amazing. Her tight little pussy tugged on my cock. “Cum for me,” Nicole moaned out. She was nearing climax from my smooth strokes combined with Gemini strumming her clit. We went at it for only a few more pumps and after a half hour of sex I exploded into her.
I watched my seed fill her uterus. There were gouts of cum spurting into her as if my balls had magically overfilled. I watched my sperm swarming toward her eggs. We both saw a single little circle pick a sperm and combine. I was amazed by the process all over again. Nicole’s eyes widened as she watched the magical process.
“Oh Gryff,” Nicole moaned with a long pleasurable exhale. “That was incredible.”
I watched the baby grow in her belly with a smile. A see through impregnation would never get old.
“Good morning!” I said, slipping out of her. As expected she cried for joy and I held her tightly. She had even cried thinking about seeing us conceiving our next child. I kissed her tenderly and whispered in her ear, “I love you, Nicole.”
A few minutes later she let me get out of bed. I stretched, feeling amazing. It had been two days of being at home, and I was reveling in my return. Gemini mentioned the spells were on a-one a day-cool down, so Mysti went the next morning after my return and this morning was for Nicole. Tomorrow would be Zoey’s turn assuming we were back from shopping.
Ovaria had left yesterday to sell the looted orbs on Ostri. She should be back this morning with a bunch of platinum in hand for us to go shopping. I wanted to free some slaves, Gemini wanted to shop for airships. Springing some desperate souls would really make my day; far more than a simple wooden ship we could build on our own with time. I did understand my feel good needs came second to the mission.
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