Isekai Life in D&D

[NoMoshing]

Chapter 44: Daily Life & Voss

Voss was glad to be back. He joined us leaving the audience hall, and we were glad to have him back. The Theodore Esche Royal Harem was a pretty exclusive club, and I got the sense that as much as Enna found all the debauchery amusing to watch from the outside, it would eventually drive a wedge between her and the rest of us if she was the only one left out. Voss being in the mix made us a team which happened to include the harem, rather than the harem plus Enna.

Bekker not counting in this calculus as he was more or less mine and Katriana's personal servant, of course. I didn't forget him, he's just in a different situation.

Enna and Katriana had to support Voss coming back to our little courtyard, though. He got too tired to walking unassisted about two thirds of the way, and made jokes about how this was payback for Enna standing on his shoulders in the catacombs that one time. You wouldn't have known he was weak by the time dinner got served, though. We were served two roast chickens, steamed vegetables and fresh bread, and Voss ate most of a roast chicken just on his own.

It turns out he didn't remember much of the actual dying. “One moment, I was flying through the air,” in his own words, “Then the next I woke up in the temple of the All-Father. Nothing in between that I can recall.” The priests and priestesses were kind enough in nursing him back to health, although he was able to confirm that nobody who had died by fire was able to be resurrected, including the Lord Paramount's family. I guess they weren't that close, if Hawkins didn't seem particularly troubled, but I suppose that Hawkins mind have been covering for his emotional pain. I did know for sure that Sir Sylvan should thank his lucky stars that it was the impact that killed him and not the flamestrike.

Voss was also the first one to get his reward. Later that night, after he had gone to sleep, a servant came and dropped off a large shield, tinted dark green with a maroon hawk, wings outspread, emblazoned across it. Calliope did her thing, confirming that the shield was magical. Ashryn had a look, and said, “I don't recognize that combination and symbology. I think it was probably the personal heraldry of some adventurer, but whoever it was they're long forgotten.”

I guess heraldry is useful when it comes to deciphering symbolism and omens.

That night, I asked Katriana to join me in bed, and we enjoyed a long, slow session of lovemaking together. Giving her the gift of her choker didn't go as planned, though. I had saved the present for after, when we were lying in bed cuddling in the afterglow of our sex.

Her collar was inlaid with a simple geometric pattern on the black satin, and set in the centre with a green peridot, to match her eyes like the others. But when Katriana saw it, as I dangled it over her chest, she sighed. “I was hoping you didn't have one for me.”

I blinked, shocked. “Uh... sorry? You don't want to same kind of gift I gave Ashryn and Calliope?”

She rolled onto her side and looked me in the eyes. “Think about it, Theodore. You've been introducing me as your sister. We've agreed that it's best to hide the fact that you took your sister as a lover, and eventually a wife. You've also given Calliope and Ashryn these collars, implying your ownership of them, and if I happen to wear a matching one....”

“...It implies that we have a sexual relationship, or at least I have a very un-brotherly ownership of you.” I nodded glumly, “Yes, I understand.”

She took the choker from me, sat up in bed, and used the room's small wall mirror to put it on. She looked at herself wearing the choker admiringly. “It's really too bad, because my prince has excellent taste.”

I allowed myself a smirk. “In women or in jewellery?”

“Yes,” was her only answer as she lifted her thigh to straddle me, starting up a second session.

The night started a pattern. Katriana chose to take control of my sex life, to a degree, and the following night sent Calliope to spend the night with me. I didn't really mind, of course- I had three beautiful women who loved me, and if Katriana wanted to take responsibility of choice from me, well, that kept me from showing to much favour or fomenting jealousy. And so, from there it continued for awhile in that Ashryn-Katriana-Calliope order.

It wasn't always sex, either. Ashryn was insatiable- she was fine taking the “night off” if we were up too late or I was tired, but every night she was with me she wanted to have sex. Katriana was nearly as bad, but some night preferred to just lie in bed, dreaming together of our future together and discussing our plans of where to go next. Calliope liked having sex, sure, but she also liked discussion, talking about magic or catching up on what had happened to either of us since I left the Academy. She was interested in the history of our house, and actually had a suggestion regarding the choker situation.

I was talking... okay, I was complaining about what Katriana had said one night, as she sat in a nightgown, reading a book borrowed from the palace library, when she replied with, “Wizard's Mark.”

“Pardon?” I said.

“You clearly have some desire to mark us as your property,” she continued, a blush spreading on her face, “Which, I don't really mind... but rather than giving us chokers to show our allegiance, why not learn Wizard Mark, and put a sigil somewhere on our bodies in a discreet place?” She shifted a little, “It even seems naughtier that way, to me, as the Mark lasts a long time, and it's in a secret spot. We'll know we belong to you, but it'll be hidden from others.”

I gave what she said some thought. As a power gamer, Wizard's Mark always seemed idiotic- why would you waste a precious spell slot on a cosmetic vanity? But what she said did make sense, and it held a certain appeal. All I needed was a teacher.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The day after our audience with Hawkins, a servant came and dropped off three scrolls. One was the written royal pardon for Enna. The other was a signed and sealed missive absolving the Starlit Order of anything wrongdoing on Mariska's part. And the last was a treaty, promising military support to House Esche from “the Lord-Paramount of Tresens”, a bit of future-proofing on Hawkins' part that I appreciated.

For mine and Voss' part, our days were spent idly. Voss wasn't quite up for joining Katriana on her morning calisthenics and drilling, so we spent a lot of time hanging out, wandering around the city to help Voss build his strength. Of course, all of us made sure we only left the palace in pairs- after all, there was still an entire Thieves' Guild who were probably still cross with us, in spite of our being honoured guests of the Lord Paramount.

Everyone else though was fully engaged with wedding preparations. Evidently, Katriana shopping for a dress was an all-hand-on-deck activity that not only required all three of my fiancees, but Enna and Bekker as well. The only responsibility that had been offhandedly foisted onto me was gathering the rings, something which I already had well in hand.

Two days after receiving the treaty from Hawkins, Voss turned to me after dinner and said, “Hey, let's go out tonight. It's been awhile since I've been able to go out and enjoy myself, and I think you could use it, too.”

I shrugged. I didn't particularly not like being a guest of the Lord Paramount, although some days could get a little slow, but I didn't quite know what Voss meant. “I guess so, sure. At least, I shouldn't leave you alone.”

He grinned, then turned to Enna. “You're coming too, right? I bet you'd know all the best drinking spots.”

Enna smirked back. “Aye, I suppose you'd be needin' someone to babysit ya. Let's go.”

And so, we went.

---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche
Race: Human
Class: Transmuter
Level (XP): 2 (4608/5000)
Hit Points: 5

Ability Scores
Strength 11
Dexterity 17
Constitution 8
Intelligence 17
Wisdom 13
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming

Spells Per Day:
1st Level- 3

Spellbook:
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog

Spells Prepared:
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent

Money: 100 gp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, 1 additional.

Companions: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & fiancee), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Calliope (Level 1 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 3

Storage Chest: Runed Greatsword, Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, Magic Arrows (12), Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues, 299 pp, 4187 gp, 4 ep, 15 sp, 50 cp

[NoMoshing]

Chapter 45: Daily Life & Wedding

We started our little drinking party at the Lazy Ox. The innkeeper there recognized us, though he was not ecstatic to greet us. I suppose the number of times we returned to his inn bloody, dirty, smelly, or what have you didn't endear us to him, despite our coin. Still, we were able to sit down, have some wine, and enjoy the music and revelry around us.

I was keeping my drinking light. I didn't really have any desire to go on some kind of huge bender like Voss was implying he wanted. I realize that, over my time in this new world, that I had changed in a few subtle ways. Being around people seemed less of an issue. I wasn't sure how much I enjoyed just going places and drinking with strangers, but Voss and Enna- two people who, in my previous life, I would have nothing but contempt for- were my two best friends. Well, at least the two best friends among people I wasn't sleeping with.

But big booze-fueled pub crawls still weren't my cup of tea. Or, I suppose, mug of ale. I went along with it for awhile, as I was building a fine case of cabin fever over the last few days and just being out and about was refreshing. After the Lazy Ox, we went to a place called the Red Moon Tavern, an upscale establishment that featured glass mugs in place of the usual pewter tankards, and from there we visited the Blue Gryphon Inn, which was rancorously noisy because of a locally famous bard playing choice folk tunes in honour of the new Lord Paramount.

I was when Enna and Voss started discussing where to go next that I feigned a yawn. “Well, it's been interesting, but I think I'm going to head back. I suppose I still tired pretty easily.”

Enna and Voss shared a significant glance. “Yeah, you probably should,” Voss allowed, “Here, we'll walk you back to make sure there's no trouble, before we head out again.”

Better safe than sorry, I suppose. What I was mildly surprised at was Bekker greeting us at the palace gates upon my return.

“Everything is prepared, Sir and Lady,” Bekker said with a bit of a bow when we approached, “My Prince, forgive my deception.”

“Deception...?” I replied with a bit of surprise, only to have Enna nudge me in the back towards the gates.

“We'll be out enjoyin' ourselves with my boy Bekker 'ere,” she said with a grin, “You go an' 'ave fun with your ladies.”

Apparently my servants and fiancees have been involved in some kind of conspiracy against me. But, if I was being deliberately left alone with my three girls, that was incentive enough to make me go along.

After my three non-harem servant waved goodbye and departed, I headed through the palace to our little courtyard, nodding at the guards as I went. They knew us for the Lord Paramount's guests pretty well at this point, and so I was able to make it through, unmolested.

When I returned to our little courtyard, it was well past dusk. Dozens of candles littered every place where they could be made to stand, bathing the courtyard in a pale yellow glow. Ashryn stood at the centre, holding a book and a bell, her silvery holy robes glimmering in the light. Katriana and Calliope were nowhere in sight.

I approached Ashryn, who smiled brightly when she saw me. “Uh... what's all this?” I said when I was close enough to talk in a normal tone, “Hawkins might be upset to find out that you've stolen all his candles....”

Ashryn beamed a smile at me. “We didn't steal them, silly,” it wasn't clear whether or not my joke went over her head, “This... is a wedding. Your wedding, you know?”

I blinked, then gave an uncertain grin. “You know... there didn't need to be a surprise, Katriana and I were planning to get married soon anyway....”

“Well, she wanted to do a surprise wedding anyway,” Ashryn explained, “Don't question it, you're better off leaving us girls with our flights of fantasy.”

With that she rang the bell, which sound clear and bright in the otherwise quiet night. Right on cue, as if she was waiting for it, the door to Katriana's room slid open, and Calliope stepped out into the courtyard, wearing her finest robe. Smoothly she stepped aside, holding the door for Katriana.

It's strange how you can think a loved one is beautiful, but then they wear something special or even just out of the ordinary, and you learn all over again just how lovely they are. Katriana's pure white wedding dress was all one piece, a tight bodice that clung to the curves of her waist and chest and left her arms bare, ending at a high-low skirt that hung to her knees in the front and down to her ankles in the back. She carried a small bouquet of pink roses, and her dress dazzled with bits of crystal sewn into the embroidery.

I was stunned at how lucky I was to have such a woman, even my sister, willing to commit her entire life to me, even satisfying all my perverse desires. I know this is my “Heaven”, but for a person like me, having the attention of not just this girl, but two others who were just as lovely (and here to take part in the wedding!) was not my usual state. Before this, my usual response to smiling at a girl was for her to frown and walk away....

Katriana tapped me on the nose. “Are you with us, Theodore?” she said with a giggle. I abruptly realized that I was staring the entire time. I shook my head, realized what I was doing, then nodded instead. “Sorry, I'm here, I was just....”

“I think I have an idea of what you were doing...” she said, giving me a slow, shy smile. “I can't believe this is happening... I'm going to marry my sweet, gentle little brother, and be his queen....”

I swallowed hard. “You can't believe it? I can't believe that someone like me is going to marry the beautiful, incredible woman he's been crushing on for most of his life.”

Katriana giggled again. “Well, at least we agree that this is unbelievable.”

I shared an awkward laugh with her, while Calliope and Ashryn shared a smile at our general dorkiness.

“Ah, wait!” I said, suddenly. I reached into my sleeve, feeling for one of the hidden pockets that wizard's robes were always lined with. In it were a couple other things I happened to buy at the jeweler, what seemed like forever ago- two rings, one plain golden band for me, and a golden band set with a small red spinel for her. I slipped the ring onto Katriana's finger, and she gave me a smile in return, examining the ring closely as I slipped on my own.

“Alright, are we ready to begin?” Ashryn asked. Katriana bit her lip and nodded. I smiled and nodded as well, reached forward to wrap my hands around my sisters'.

The ceremony was relatively short. First Ashryn rang the bell again, shaking it while she circled Katriana and I, going three times around us. Probably to “scare off evil spirits” I guess, I was still a little fuzzy on a lot of religious lore of this world. I guess old!Theodore was similarly disinterested in gods and such.

When Ashryn returned to her original position, she intoned several prayers, asking the gods to bless our union and look kindly after our health, prosperity and fertility. Katriana blushed and fidgeted at that last part. Even Calliope had a part to play, in a sort of “witness” role, and having to circle around Katriana and I with a lit candle.

To be perfectly honest, I somewhat tuned out of a lot of the specifics. I only had eyes for my bride.

Soon enough, it was time for the vows. Katriana lead, looking me deep in the eyes as she spoke her vows.

“With all my heart, I, Katriana of House Esche, take you, Theodore to be my husband.
I promise to be your lover, companion, and friend,
Mother to your children,
Your ally in conflict,
Your supporter and comrade,
Your comfort in sadness,
Your strength in times of need.
I will listen with understanding, and trust you completely, all the days of my life.”

I felt sort of lightheaded and tingly, hearing her say those words. I managed to get out my own vows without stammering, basically just a gender-reversed version of what Katriana had said, and with that it was done.

Ashryn smiled brightly and said, “You may kiss your bride.”

And I did. I was going for a relatively chaste, usual sort of kiss, but Katriana was having none of that, and practically pounced on me, seizing me by the shoulders and mingling her tongue with my own.

Calliope took Ashryn by the wrist- the silver-haired elf was watching us kiss with a bit of a hungry look- and said, “Well, we won't get in the way of the bride and groom. Won't we, Ashryn?”

“No, I guess not,” Ashryn sounded a little disappointed, but left with Calliope, headed deeper into the manor.

“Um...” I wasn't sure what to say. This whole situation was new to me- new to all of us, I suppose. Goodbye, fellow harem girls, I promise I'll marry you both later? Ah, but already Katriana was tugging me towards my bedroom.

“I hope you're not expecting me to carry you over the threshold,” I quipped, suddenly nervous. She gave me a smile in return.

“Carry me? No, I want you to save your strength, my prince,” she said in a saucy tone, “I want you to take me in every way a man can have a woman. I want you to claim me completely. Tonight is all about us, and I don't know when we're going to have this level of privacy again, so I don't want to waste a single moment.”

Just as soon as my robe was off, she pushed me down onto the side of the bed and knelt in front of me. I was already hard, and she sent a naughty smile my way. “Excited already?”

“Well,” I replied, “That was the sluttiest thing I've ever heard you say, so....”

“Was it?” she said, teasingly, as she took my cock in one hand, licking along the shaft. “I wonder if I could top that, tonight...?”

I lowered myself back onto my elbows, so I was a little more comfortable and would watch Katriana a little better. “I mean, you could try... don't let me stop you.”

Katriana set her mouth to work in a different way, at first. She engulfed by rod with her soft, moist lips, bobbing her head and making me groan with the sensation of her tongue running up and down my shaft. For someone who was a virgin only a short while ago, she had gotten good at pleasuring me, fast.

Her blowjob was wet, sloppy, and luxurious, but unfortunately I didn't get to enjoy it for very long. I looked at her, somewhat confused, when she lifted her head off of me, strands of saliva connecting my cock and her lips.

“You've turned your sweet older sister into a dirty little tart for your pleasure, my prince,” she said softly as she pushed the bodice of her dress down, freeing the soft, ample flesh of her breasts. She leaned forward, taking my slick, wet cock into her cleavage, and began moving slowly up and down in a succulent titjob. “I've been so distracted lately, thinking of the next time I would get to see your magnificent cock. I don't even need to touch you myself. I love watching your expression while you get pleasured by Calliope or Ashryn. The other night I touched myself just thinking of watching you get pleasured by them licking and kissing your- oh!”

That was enough, the physical stimulation combined with what Katriana was saying to trigger in me a powerful orgasm. I gripped the sheet tightly as my cock twitched and spurted, sending hot jets of semen to splash on my wife's chin, neck, and chest. Some even dripped down onto her dress.

“Oh, I'm sorry,” I said, after I recovered a little bit, “I got your dress dirty....”

“We can't take it with us, my prince,” Katriana replied, idly stroking my softening cock, “It's a little sad, I guess, but at least you can do whatever you want to me, get the dress dirty, rip it, tear it off me, whatever you like. It makes no difference.”

She then bent down once more, taking my cock into her mouth. It only took a little bit of get attention to get me rigid again, but this time Katriana didn't stop or let me go. She bobbed her head over my lap, the warm wet sensation of her lips and tongue on my shaft causing me to sigh with pleasure. Even though I had already just cum, soon enough I had to seize her my the hair, and force her mouth up and down at the pace I wanted, using her mouth as a sex toy until my cock exploded. I filled her mouth and throat with my cum, as I shuddered uncontrollably with the strength of my orgasm.

After such hard work on her part, I finally let Katriana have a break, bidding her to come and lie back while I fucked her pussy. The sight of her, wedding gown dishevelled, spattered with semen, was erotic enough, but she kept pushing herself to say increasingly filthy things as I fucked her.

“Oh, yes, my prince! Please, fuck your dirty, lewd sister! Fill my womb with your seed, and make me your queen! Oh, yes, I love being so slutty for you, Theodore! I want my brother to cum inside me!”

We climaxed together, and I held her tight as I came for my third time, deep in her pussy. Of course, I barely came at all at this point, but what I lacked in volume, Katriana made up for in enthusiasm. It was her first orgasm of the night, after all.
We lay in each other's arms for a time, and I just listened to Katriana's breathing.

She was the first to break our silence. “I can't believe we did it. I married my brother. I'm going to be a queen.”

“Well, we did it,” I said, “We're in it now. To hell with the rules, we're king and queen.”

Katriana chuckled, and stroked my hair. For a time we were silent, and I could feel myself drifting.

“Thank you, Theodore, for choosing me,” was the last thing I heard before I faded completely.

---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche
Race: Human
Class: Transmuter
Level (XP): 2 (4608/5000)
Hit Points: 5

Ability Scores
Strength 11
Dexterity 17
Constitution 8
Intelligence 17
Wisdom 13
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming

Spells Per Day:
1st Level- 3

Spellbook:
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog

Spells Prepared:
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Golden Wedding Band, Small Tent

Money: 100 gp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, 1 additional.

Companions: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Calliope (Level 1 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 3

Storage Chest: Runed Greatsword, Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, Magic Arrows (12), Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues, 299 pp, 4187 gp, 4 ep, 15 sp, 50 cp

[Khaos]

I can't understand the Dnd part of this novel , But I do love the whole thing , Keep it coming!!

[NoMoshing]

Chapter 46: Isekai Life & Circus

Two months have passed following my marriage to Katriana. Our days were generally slow-paced and idle, sometimes to the point of frustration. To the modern ear this sounds weird- what's so bad about not having anything to do for a month?- but in a world without easy access to video games, the internet, and everything else, it was remarkably difficult to find things to fill the hours.

The week and a half it look for Calliope's new spellbook to be written were the hardest. The combination of having servants to address our every need, our having explored the city fairly thoroughly during our adventures, and the added spice of the possibility of ambush from the Dwarven thieves' guild all combined to give us little reason to leave the palace.

We attended some court events that the Lord-Paramount held, just out of pure boredom. A couple of balls- Hawkins wasn't married and had need of an heir, after all- the official coronation, sometimes just sitting in on the court as Hawkins laid out pronouncements regarding laws and such. The latter were most interesting to me- while it had started out of idleness, watching Hawkins in action showed me just how little I actually knew about managing and running a nation. If I wanted to be a good king, I'd have to learn.

The most difficult were the balls, as, well, Katriana, Calliope and Ashryn were good looking women, and it was generally known that Katriana was also my sister. While, according to Bekker, rumour seemed to have it that both Ashryn and Calliope were my lovers, that didn't stop a great number of the eligible knights, functionaries and even well-to-do merchants of the city asking all three of my wives and fiancees for dances or to join them at table. They couldn't refuse too many however- it would create a lot of rumour, and we didn't want to become the target of other people's curiosity. It was a little hard for me to watch, even though I trusted the girls not to be seduced or fall for another man, but it was easier for my lovers to be polite-but-uninteresting eligible bachelorettes of the court than for them to refuse everyone and for us to become more of a curiosity. I had plenty of dances of my own from them, but we had to maintain a certain facade.

I attracted little notice myself. I suppose it was a cultural thing- the women here were looking to marry upward in status, while the men just wanted to secure a beautiful bride. I suppose you could say that almost no women seeking me out was a good sign. Either way, I generally ended up wallflowering with Voss and Enna. Once Enna received some basic instruction in formal dance from Calliope following the first ball, she ended up taking Voss and I for a spin or three on the dance floor.

When we finally received Calliope's copy of the court mage's spellbook- a heavy-looking tome of freshly pressed paper bound in silver-stamped leather- we all agreed that we wanted to leave shortly, so that we wouldn't overstay our welcome. Immediately be began making preparations to leave.

Katriana had long since picked out a warhorse from the Lord-Paramount's stables, a towering grey stallion that had sort of a haughty nature, and certainly didn't like me, aiming kicks at me every time I walked behind. He came with chain barding and a massive war saddle, all of which we had to ask for a second chest just to carry around with us. The animal came with the ridiculous name of Shadebolt, as if whoever named it couldn't decide between which story to pay tribute to between the children's cartoon and the fantasy epic. He liked Katriana though, and she was very pleased with him, spending a lot of her spare time riding throughout the city and stableyard.

As for outfitting the rest of the party, Bekker and Voss went to the edge of the city and came back with seven horses, of a certain variety. For him and Enna, Voss had procured a pair of smaller, strong and quick warhorses, suitable, he said, for light cavalry. Unlike Shadebolt, who was built for shorter engagements where he'd need to be strong enough to carry a fully armoured warrior queen, the lighter horses wouldn't tire very easily, and could easily be used for hunting and scouting in the field. He took the energetic painted brown, who he named Stout, while Enna received a more even-tempered black horse.

We then had the challenge of teaching Enna how to ride the creature. Despite not having the proficiency for it, I at least could recall the basics of riding and had a decent muscle memory for it, a little bit like the dancing. Enna had never been on a beast's back in her life save being trussed across a donkey one time when she was arrested. Calliope spearheaded her education, and starting her one of the porter donkeys in the palace, quickly worked her up to having a practical knowledge of riding. Enna wouldn't be charging into battle anytime soon, but she could at least ride her stallion, who she named Coal, without the beast getting too out of hand.

For the rest of us, Voss brought in a trio of smaller geldings, fit riding horses that were easier to control and use but would be more likely to panic in close combat. Calliope took the worst-tempered of the lot- a cream-coloured little guy hat was fairly placid but liked to nip. She named the horse Buttermilk, maybe hoping that a sweet name would help make the horse's bad habit more tolerable.

Ashryn named her grey-streaked brown gelding Polaris, which was an odd name for such a peaceful, lazy animal. My horse turned out to be a tall, leggy silver who didn't seem to care about anything, having the same expression and attitude whether I was riding or not, and really only reacted to the offer of molasses treats. I ended up naming him Snacks for this, and also because I was pretty sure nobody else would ever name their horse “Snacks”.

The last horse was a big, wide-shouldered piebald draft horse. We purchased a small wagon to go with him, the intention being that we would put most of our baggage in the wagon and Bekker would pilot the lot. The term “piebald”- referring to the big horse's irregular splotches of brown and white- was new to Ashryn and gave her the giggles, so she ended up named the big horse Custard after her favourite kind of pie.

All this cost us nearly one thousand gold crowns, which I was less enthused about. We still had plenty of money, so I suppose it was all well spent, but I wasn't expected that level of investment. It was another almost seventy gold to get provisions, and to gather all these things, plus Enna's riding lessons, took a week to get together. But finally, we were able to make our goodbyes and hit the road.

Ricard Parett had left ages ago- just after the wedding, in fact- but when he left he reiterated his invitation. So, after some discussion, we agreed to take him up on his offer. He didn't live all that far from Tresens, and we might get a better of idea of where we want to go afterwards by paying attention to rumours on the road.

The road to Parett's vineyard was northwest, through the mountains and into a region known as the Lakelands, where much of the water draining out of the mountains formed a series of rivers and shallow lakes all throughout the lowlands on it's way to the sea.

The day that we loaded up the wagon and mounted our horses was unseasonably hot and grey. High, grey clouds clung to the mountain peaks, not quite threatening rain and seeming to trap the heat down here in the valleys. As we set out, and got up into the hills, the temperature cooled to a pleasant level, and intermittently in the heights we would get sprinkled with a refreshing drizzle of rain. Our road out of town took us by the tomb of Malgarath worshippers which we investigated during our very first quest in the area, which felt oddly nostaglic to me.

For three weeks we travelled from town to town. After all, we were travelling a well used overland trade route to Tresens, and so the road was pretty safe, at least through the mountains. It seemed every valley and vale had their own little village, and most days we were able to spend nights in an inn or at least as some remote farmer or goatherder's guests. Some lucky days we would lunch in one village then make it over the next rise to rest in another.

Eventually, the road began to slope down one final time, and the great, wide vista of the Lakelands open out before us. A massive river- flowing from a different source and destined for a different ocean than the Islingquet- came out of a distant valley and shattered into the lowlands, creating a land where you couldn't be sure whether it was one river with a multitude of thousands of islands or a wide plain crisscrossed with hundreds of rivers. Lakes gathered, it seemed, wherever the rivers crossed, seeming to shine silver in the sunlight.

It was the first time Enna had seen any geography other than mountains and city, so despite the city awaiting below us, we stopped for our midday meal on that overlook, taking in the view. For her part, after staring in naked wonder for awhile, she seemed to recover and gave the vista a curt nod. “Uh, that's pretty flat,” she eventually commented, “Looks wet, too.”

We climbed down a winding mountain road into a large city at the very foot of the mountains. Though not more than third as large as Tresens, Osgoode Gate was sizable enough to have a city guard run by a captain-general instead of a mere shire-reeve, and a ruling class that straddled the line between nobility and merchant instead of a single knight or mayor. We had our choice of five different inns, and settled into a cute little place called the Duck's Foot Inn near the centre of town.

We were getting the horses settled in the stables. Enna and Voss were wrestling our chests into the rooms we had rented, while Katriana, Calliope and Bekker we brushing and patting down the horses. I was supervising, I suppose. I know that sounds silly or unfair, but I was concerned about the possibility of Katriana getting kicked by one of the horses and wanted to be on hand.

Suddenly, Ashryn came charging into the stables. “There's a circus!”

I goggled at her a moment. “What...?”

“There's a circus in town!” she said excitedly, “With a menagerie, too! Oh, please say we can go, Theo!”

“Oh, that's no problem,” I replied, “Just let's finish unpacking for the night first.”

From there, Ashryn went around recruiting a team to go visit the circus. Bekker and Katriana said they were too tired, and Calliope wasn't interested, but soon Ashryn, Voss, Enna and I were heading off through the town to go see the circus, with Ashryn skipping out in front of our group as excited as a schoolgirl.

...Which she kind of was? I don't know how old she is in human years.

Most of the circus was profoundly boring to me. Clowns, puppeteers, fire-eaters, acrobats... I grew out of that stuff a long time ago because it wasn't a luxury to me. Seeing a tightrope walker, for the last third of my life, was only a click away. Same with most of the creatures in the menagerie- most legit monsters are too dangerous to contain, but elephants and giraffes were nothing new to me. It was pretty great seeing my first owlbear, though.

It was near the back of the show, tucked away in a corner, we found the cage containing the “Incredible Dragon Girl”.

The first thing you noticed was the smell. The floor of her wagon cage was scattered with mouldering bread, putrid vegetables, and rotten meat. The “Dragon Girl” herself was seated against the far wall of the cage, legs crossed in the lotus position. Her midnight blue hair was matted and filthy, and her eyes were closed. Her ears were wide, webbed, flesh-coloured frills, and delicate, branchlike blue horns rose out of her forehead and swept back over her scalp. She was fascinating to look at... but she wasn't beautiful.

The reason for the spoiled food was obvious. She was starving herself. Her arms and legs were grotesquely thin, and her skin was cracked in bleeding in places. Her breasts- she was totally naked- hung against her chest like deflated balloons, and her ribs and cheekbones stood out like poles in a collapsed tent. It was a pitiful sight, to say the least.

“What the fuck?” Voss asked upon seeing her, “What did they do to this girl?”

“I don't think it's them doing it to her,” I said, covering my nose with my sleeve, “I think she's starving herself. They're treating her like an animal.”

“You want me to get 'er out of there, boss?” Enna asked, “We could let 'er go, easy.”

“She wouldn't get very far if it's that bad,” Ashryn replied, “Oh, the poor thing....”

I sighed. “Voss, go grab someone who works here, tell them I want to see the owner to make an offer on one of his... exhibits. Don't be afraid to swing for the fences either, if they don't take you serious mention that I'm a royal on vacation, and you're one of my knights.”

“Uh... swing for the what now?”

I winced. Forgive me, Dog. “Just do your best, okay?”

Soon enough the ringmaster, a scrawny-looking woman with braided hair and a permanent scowl.

“What, you want to purchase the Dragon Girl?” she asked, incredulous, “Forget it, she is one of a kind.”

“Not for long. She's starving herself,” I replied, “And I'm not purchasing her. I want to know how much I need to pay you to let us take her without complaining.”

“I don't care what kind of prince you are, you don't have enough.”

“You know,” Enna broke in, examining her fingernails, “I wonder 'ow the town guard would react if they knew this 'ere circus had a thinkin', feelin' girl starvin' 'erself because some asshole stuck 'er in a cage.”

The ringmaster's scowl deepened. “Five hundred gold.”

“Done,” I said, mostly because I was annoyed and wanted to be done with this miser who pretended not to have a price. “Enna, open the cage. Voss, go fetch the coin from the inn, and a cloak while you're at it. Ashryn, why don't do you go buy a couple of those meat pies from the front gate.”

Enna got the lock open in short order- an act the ringmaster wasn't the least bit pleased by, and we had finally attracted the attention of the Dragon Girl herself, who would glance from her newly open cage to Enna and myself, her light coloured eyes glittering in the reddening late afternoon sunlight.

Voss and Ashryn returned, the annoying ringmaster was paid, and I took the cloak in my hands, and nodded at Enna. “Open the cage.”

It was firmly in my mind that I didn't know exactly what the Dragon Girl was capable of, or whether her self-imposed starvation had any real weakening effect on her. I wanted to help her, but she might not actually want to be helped.

“Uh, hello,” I said as I approached her cautiously, holding the cloak out like I was some kind of bullfighter. “Um, you're free to go. We can help get you clothes and food, if you like.”

“You're wasting your time,” the ringmaster snapped in the middle of counting her coin, “She doesn't understand common.”

I edged to within a couple feet of the Dragon Girl, and offered the cloak. “I come in peace, I promise,” I said, nervously.

For a long, tense moment, she just stared at me. Then, slowly, she rose on shaky legs, and stumbled towards me. I was able to catch her with the coat- noticing that her skin was made up of tiny flesh-coloured scales, edged with silver- and together, we made for the open cage door.

Once we were outside, Ashryn beamed at the Dragon Girl, and offered the meat pies. Tentatively, as if she couldn't quite believe what was happening, the Dragon Girl took them, but once she had a small taste, quickly devoured them.

After some debate, it was decided that Enna would carry the Dragon Girl to the inn- the Dragon Girl was very unsteady on her feet and couldn't support herself, and there was little Ashryn could do to heal her malnutrition. Voss would lead the way and keep the crowds off, and Ashryn and I would follow.

As we were walking, the Dragon Girl couldn't keep her eyes off of me, to the point it was somewhat unsettling. I found myself glancing at her frequently. Eventually, I just gave in, and decided to do the obvious thing.

I smiled uncertainly and tapped my chest. “Theodore,” I said.

The Dragon Girl opened her mouth, and coughed gently, a moment. Then, in a gravelly, strained voice, she replied.

“Yua.”

---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche
Race: Human
Class: Transmuter
Level (XP): 2 (4608/5000)
Hit Points: 5

Ability Scores
Strength 11
Dexterity 17
Constitution 8
Intelligence 17
Wisdom 13
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming

Spells Per Day:
1st Level- 3

Spellbook:
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog

Spells Prepared:
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent

Money: 100 gp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, 1 additional.

Companions: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & fiancee), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Calliope (Level 1 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 3

Storage Chest: Runed Greatsword, Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, Magic Arrows (12), Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues, 299 pp, 2636 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp

[NoMoshing]

Chapter 47: Isekai Life & Baby Talk

Such as they were, introductions were completed when we got Yua back to the inn. While Bekker, Calliope and Katriana were surprised at the sudden new dragon-person in their midst, nobody had a problem with what I did. Yua was obviously in a bad way, and none of my friends, lovers and retainers were cruel enough to complain about the price of having essentially freed a slave of an unknown race who we know nothing about and who might disappear the second we're not looking or hold a grudge against humans in general. Until she ran off or murdered me in my sleep, though, Yua seemed pretty content to eat all the food we put in front of her and get doted on by Ashryn.

We spent a week in town, replenishing our supplies, nursing Yua back to health as well as getting her clothes and other such things that she might need on our journey. It wasn't long before Yua was recovered enough to be able to walk on her own, but we stuck it out just to make sure that she wouldn't collapse on the road or anything. Bekker ended up proposing that, for now, she could work her way as a servant with the same expectations he operated under- she would pay her way with work until she left or she she knew enough Common to negotiate something else. So, Bekker would train her as a servant the best he could.

The day before we were going to leave, I took her down to the stables, and showed her the wagon and horses. “Tomorrow at dawn,” I began miming sleep and then waking up, “Once everyone is awake, we're continuing our journey,” I mimed a pair of legs with my fingers, walking across an imaginary horizon. “You'll be riding in the wagon with Bekker,” I said, patting the bench on the wagon.

Yua mutely watched this whole show, then responded in her own language, following it up by gesturing with her open palm, then making a tight fist.

I shrugged. “I hope there won't be trouble,” I said, shaking my head and making a warding gesture with my hands, “But if there is, Katriana, Voss and Enna are strong fighters,” I finished by miming drawing a sword, “And Ashryn, Calliope and I can use magic,” I finished by doing the gesture for Burning Hands, hoping that maybe magic is universal to a degree and Yua would be familiar with it.

She gave me a puzzled look for a second, then replied in her own language, mimed gripping something in front of her with two hands, and then swung an imaginary sword in the air.

“Well, I don't know how much of a warrior you are,” I said, shrugging, “But maybe you ought to wait a little longer before asking to carry a sword,” I finish by reaching over and tapping her too-skinny arm on the bicep.

She gave me a furious look, turned on her heel and stalked off. I could only sigh- who knows what she was really going on about? Maybe in her culture unwelcome touching is a grave insult or something. I could only hope that she didn't hate me over the exchange.

From Osgoode Gate, it was another week of travel across the Lakelands to get to Ricard Parett's vineyard. Despite our last exchange, Yua willingly rode alongside Bekker in the cart, and we were able to make good time despite the winding and occasionally confusing path we had to take.

Finally, our two-month journey came to an end, as we entered a village known as Pendleton, and a few hours beyond that, the Parett estate.

He must have spotted us riding up, because Ricard himself was there to greet us at the estate gate. Smiling broadly, clad in an embroidered doublet with a longsword at his side, he stood by as a pair of servants wrestled the wrought iron gate open. “Here I was thinking that nobody was going to take me up on my offer,” he said as I dismounted to lead Snacks through, “Now that I see your whole entourage, I can see why. It must have taken forever to get that cart through the mountains.”

“It wasn't as hard as you'd think,” I replied, “Though we were laid up in Osgoode Gate due to unrelated business.”

“Of course, of course,” he grinned, then turned away from me and bowed. “My lady,” he said, stepping forward to take and kiss Katriana's hand. She smiled wanly, and seemed a little pale.

“Lord Ricard, thank you again for inviting us,” she said, “Traveling through the Lakelands has been lovely. Your home is rich in natural beauty.”

“Thank you, although I'll leave the credit to the gods,” he replied with a laugh, “Come, allow me to introduce you to the lady of the manor.”

He lead us onto the estate and showed us to the stables. Bekker and Yua busied themselves with unsaddling and putting away the horses, while the rest of us moved on to the main building- a large but not ostentatious plantation home, that looked comfortable and luxurious for a small family and some servants. The majority of the estate, though, was functional- the vineyards themselves covered most of the property, and there were half-dozen buildings of various sizes for the winery itself.

At the front entrance of the manor, waiting for us, was an older woman, perhaps just starting the edge one her sixties. “Theodore, Katriana, and friends, this is my wife, the sorceress Mia Parett,” Ricard introduced ostentatiously.

“Oh, please,” Mia said, waving a hand, “I haven't cast a spell in anger in years. Ricard has done a good job of keeping us all safe... although I have you all to thank for keeping him out of trouble, I hear.” She stepped forward to start shaking hands.

“It's no trouble at all, my lady,” I replied when it was time for her to shake my hand, “Ricard was the first person to hire Katriana and I as adventurers, so it seemed that not letting his soul be devoured was the least we could do.”

From there, we were ushered inside, and shown to our rooms. “Unfortunately, we only have two guest rooms,” Mia said as she showed us two large rooms each with a pair of double beds, “You'll have to a get a little cozy, we weren't expecting quite so many of you.”

“Oh, I'm sure we can make do,” Voss said with a grin, then clapped me on the shoulder. “Enna and I ought to go help Bekker get the luggage up here, we'll be back.”

Mia then showed up where the bathhouse was and we were given time to wash up and get changed ahead of dinner. You don't really appreciate the modern convenience of paved roads and fully-enclosed vehicles until you've ridden a horse down dirt roads for months and found how quickly the grime accumulates. Unfortunately, their bathhouse was similarly small, with a pair of tubs separated by a screen. We had to go in shifts, Voss and Bekker, Katriana and I (Ricard knew us as brother and sister, after all, and not husband and wife), Ashryn and Yua, Calliope and Enna.

I was enjoying a good long soak in the hot water, when I felt someone poke my arm. I opened my eyes, to see Katriana standing over me, naked except for the towel she had folded over one arm.

“We need to talk, Theodore.”

Is there any other sentence that a woman can say to a man that would cause more anxiety? I sat up in the tub, and she slipped in herself, sitting at the other end facing me. It was a little cozy, but I didn't mind. Despite my concern, a certain part of me started to stir at the prospect of what sharing a bath with Katriana might mean.

Katriana didn't seem so aroused though. She studied me face a moment, before she sighed, looking away. “I think I'm with child.”

Rather than attempt to lie, I just leaned right into it. “I know.”

She tilted her head and looked back at me. “You do?”

I nodded. “You've been getting nauseous really easily lately, especially in the morning. You've also been eating more, you haven't been putting your armour on, and get really tired in the evenings... and the same with Ashryn,” I replied, “So I've suspected you've both been pregnant for a little while.”

Sorry for lying, my darling wife, but telling the truth in this situation would be worse! I had been scouring both girls for what I vaguely remembered as the early signs of pregnancy just for this moment, and it wasn't easy coming up with things.

Katriana put a hand on her stomach. “Ashryn, too... our child is going to grow up with a brother or sister.” She smiled. “I'm glad. Our child will have a sworn protector, just like me to you.”

I smiled back, but then braced myself. “Well, you're going to like this less... I'd like you to stop adventuring until the baby is here.”

Katriana's smile vanished. “You want me to what?”

“You and Ashryn both,” I explained, “I have more than enough protectors in Voss, Calliope and Enna, and I don't want any harm coming to you or our children.”

“Theodore, I swore! While you were still in the cradle, I-”

“I understand, Katriana,” I said, reaching over to pat her thigh, “You've protected me my entire life. But now, we have something we both need to protect. Something more important than either of us.”

My wife still looked uncomfortable. “You're asking a lot.”

“I know,” I replied, “But I think it's time you stopped being my protector and started acting more like my queen. We are going to have a heir, now, and child that is born of our love for one another. And we've got to do what's right for them.”

Katriana turned in her seat,came up between my legs and laid back, leaning against me. She took my hand and laid it on her stomach.

“Our child,” she said, simply. Then, “Do you want a boy or a girl?”

I thought about it a moment. “I want what you want,” I said, finally, “I'm probably going to have more children than I can count, but you're only going to have a twelfth as many, so I'd rather you get what you want. That said, things are a lot simpler if only you have boys.”

Katriana sighed. “Well, we're already going to be breaking all the laws to make our marriage, and all your other marriages, legitimate,” she replied, “We don't have to keep male primogeniture, either.”

“I suppose so,” I said, “But you're going to be my high queen, right? I only want your children to be in line for the throne.”

Katriana giggled. “We're talking about a throne we don't even have yet, you know.”

“We will, someday. We might be taking it with our child armed and armoured next to us, but we will, someday.”

---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche
Race: Human
Class: Transmuter
Level (XP): 2 (4608/5000)
Hit Points: 5

Ability Scores
Strength 11
Dexterity 17
Constitution 8
Intelligence 17
Wisdom 13
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming

Spells Per Day:
1st Level- 3

Spellbook:
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog

Spells Prepared:
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent

Money: 100 gp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, 1 additional.

Companions: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & fiancee), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Calliope (Level 1 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler), Yua (Servant)

Sexual Partners: 3

Storage Chest: Runed Greatsword, Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, Magic Arrows (12), Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues, 299 pp, 2636 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp

[NoMoshing]

Chapter 48: Isekai Life & Party Split

Breaking the news to Ashryn was a lot easier in comparison, and it didn't involve any disappointingly non-erotic bathtub conversations.

While she was getting dressed after her bath, I broached the subject with her.

“You're pregnant, aren't you, silverheart?”

This made Ashryn grow a small smile. “Yes, I've thought so for awhile now. It's lovely, isn't it? Is it okay if I imagine it happened the first time? It's probably not true, but it would be more romantic if it were.”

Oh, how little you know.

“I think that's just fine,” I replied, “It's not like anyone would be able to prove us liars, so let's agree that its true.”

Ashryn's smile widened. “I'm carrying my beloved prince's child. I don't know if I'm ready for this, but it's exciting anyway. I wonder if it'll be difficult to continue travelling with a baby?”

“Well, about that,” I began, “I'd like you and Katriana to take a break from adventuring until the children get here-”

Ashryn's eyes went wide, and she jumped up, clasping her hands. “Katriana and I are going to be mothers together!?”

Katriana got up from where she was sitting, curled up on a lounge chair, and gave the ecstatic elf a hug. “Regardless of what happens, we're going to be a family together, so let's support each other as mothers.”


“So you're okay with taking time off from adventuring, then?” I asked Ashryn.

“Well, I'm a little worried about you being without healing magic,” she replied, “But we have to do what's best for the children. Just... promise to keep your eyes open for a healer you can recruit, even if its only temporary.”

“I promise,” I said with a smile.

So, that was done.

When we were all washed and dressed appropriately, we joined the lord and lady of the house for dinner.

The food was fish and vegetables, generally, and almost everything had grapes or wine in it. Wine-baked fish, a wine-based fish stew, salad made with grape leaves, grapes and nuts, grapes and cheese to eat with your hands, and more. As a lifelong grape hater, I didn't love the dinner, but I found things to enjoy about it. The stew especially was nice.

Conversation over dinner was dominated with a discussion of Ricard and Mia's old adventuring tales, peppered with bits of advice on this and that aspect of travelling the world and making your way as wandering adventurers for hire. I was somewhat fixed on my own problems, though. Ashryn had made a legitimately good point- could we continue travelling with babies in tow? Or was it healthier to settle down somewhere for a time?

I was startled out of my reverie by Ricard clearing his throat suddenly. “Actually, it's fortuitous that you all arrived when you did. Three days ago, I had received a messenger who begged for my help investigating some strange occurrences in the Lakelands, but I've sworn off adventuring for good. However, knowing that I was expecting you or possibly the knights from Tresens as guests any day now, I promised to pass the message along.”

Calliope frowned. “Strange occurrences? What kind?”

Ricard put his cutlery down. “Mass disappearances. Villages robbed of their citizens along the northern edge of the Lakelands, gone without trace or sign of struggle. Hearthfires still burning, tables still set with meals, as if everyone just walked into the night and disappeared. According to the few survivors, a mist rolls in at nightfall, and something within that mist... takes people.”

Calliope and I exchanged glances. “Obviously this sounds magical in nature....” I began.

Mia nodded in agreement. “It could be some kind of sorcerer using a combination of summoned fog and mass hypnosis, but I can't be certain without going and checking myself.”

“Or it could be something worse,” Ricard added, “Potentially a Mist Dragon. What's important is that someone needs to investigate before any more people disappear. Now, the towns and villages of the Lakelands aren't strongly affiliated, but I've since contacted some of the mayors and landed knights of the area. They will be sending me rewards to hold in trust for your success, and I will match every penny they donate out of my own treasury, in either magic items or gold.”

Wow, that's actually pretty good, depending. It kind of sucked not having an exact figure on it, but Ricard seemed like a decent enough person that he wouldn't let the Lakelanders screw us.

“Well, there is another issue,” Katriana interjected, “If we were to help... not all of us can go. We were discussing it earlier today, but Ashryn and I are with child. We decided that until the child are here, we can't be involved in combat, and ought to travel as little as possible.”

Now it was Mia and Ricard's turn to exchange glances. “I suppose we can host some of you while your investigation takes place,” Mia replied, “That way you can determine for yourselves when the reward money starts accumulating, rather than simply entrusting it to us.”

I gave it some thought. “There's the possibility of the mist arriving here while we are investigating. I'd like to, ultimately, leave four people here. Ashryn, Katriana, one of our more able fighters, and one of our servants. That's half of our party, a lot to ask of you, but we won't need two servants on the road, and I'd rather my sister and fiancee be protected while we're away. Would that be acceptable?”

“Certainly,” Ricard replied, “That sounds very fair. Handling the additional guests would be a lot easier with their own servant to take care of them.”

I nodded. “Well, unless there are any objections, then I think we will undertake this quest, for the people of the Lakelands.”

Why was I so eager to get started? Well, some of it had to do with being idle for so long. Some of it had to do with how much money we had spent- purchasing Yua aside, we had spent hundreds of gold just on inns and supplies during our travels, and our war chest was dwindling at an alarming rate. Finally, magic items- despite our luck with drops- were supposed to be pretty rare, and a chance at an experienced adventurer's personal hoard had the potential to be pretty great... even if that adventurer was still convinced that a Ring of Delusion was an item of great power.

There were no objections, so I pushed forward. “We'll need a map with locations of the missing towns, if that's possible.”

“Certainly,” Mia replied, “I can dig up a map and mark which towns are missing. I'll bring it to you as soon as I can.”

And just like that, dinner was adjourned. As we headed upstairs to await this map, I grabbed everyone's attention, and we met up in Voss, Enna, Yua and Bekker's room to discuss our plans.

“So, just like that, half of us are staying behind?” Voss said bitterly as soon as the door was shut. I winced, but was glad he didn't try to speak out against me in public. Quiet support in public, but unafraid to question orders in private- that was surely a good quality in a knight.

“Just like that,” I echoed with a sigh, “Ashryn and Katriana need to stay out of combat for the next seven months or so. Someone needs to be around to protect them, and four of us don't need two servants, one of whom is over sixty. Sorry, Bekker.”

“No offence taken, your grace,” the old butler replied, “I appreciate your concern for my wellbeing, if you are being a touch overprotective.”

“Great, so the rest of us will just walk into danger at half-strength,” Voss complained, “So who's getting left behind, then your grace.”

“Well...” I thought about it. If this mist thing is magical in nature, it would help to have both Calliope and I there to deal with it. As for which of our other knights will accompany us....

“'Scuse me, your grace, but I'd like to volunteer to protect my queen and Ashryn.”

Enna has stepped forward and knelt in front of me, one hand over her heart and the other on her shortsword. It was a little bit comical given our relatively informal circumstances, but I understood- she was trying to be serious. Oddly, I noticed Yua's eyes go and wide and she took a step back.

“Lady Enna of Shafttown,” I said, matching her formality, “Why is it that you put yourself forward like this to protect the queen and the bearer of my children?”

She shifted a little, anxiously. “Well, your grace, Lady Ashryn's been teachin' me my letters, an' I'd hate to start missin' lessons just as I was gettin' good at 'em.”

Well, that was something new- I hadn't realized Enna was illiterate. “Very well, you may undertake this duty and continue your lessons,” I replied, then looked over and made eye contact with Voss and Calliope. “Lady Calliope, Sir Voss, will you accompany me on this quest?”

Calliope smiled and gave a firm nod, but Voss matched Enna dropping to once knee and putting a fist over his heart. “Yes, your grace, if this is what you ask of me.”

“Alright, at least that is settled....” I began, when suddenly Yua stepped up beside Voss, fell to both knees, and pressed her forehead to the floor. She said something completely unintelligible in her own language- she had picked up a word or two here and there of Common, she knew yes and no, and seemed to understand phrases like “come here” and “take this”, but her own tongue was still a complete mystery to the rest of us- and judging by the length, it was quite a rant.

I was stunned, even as she finished up, and couldn't think of anything to say. I did catch Calliope putting a hand to her mouth to suppress a giggle, however, and looked to her.

“She just realized that you don't just lead us all, but you're our prince,” she said with a smirk, “That must mean something to her.”

“Ah, right.” I knelt in front of Yua, and gently took her hands in mine, and helped her back up to her feet. “You don't have to kowtow like that, Yua,” I said gently, “I know you don't understand, but they're my knights, so it's their job to do that. Until you know enough to swear to me, I can't accept any vow you make.”

She looked absolutely dumbstruck by this gesture, and looked down at her hands in amazement. I shrugged. “Maybe where she's from, the kings are worshipped like gods?”

“I doubt you'll be able to convince her to remain behind now, though,” Calliope replied, turning to Bekker, “Take care of my sister-wives, alright? Their every need should be seen to.”

The butler bowed. “Of course, Lady Calliope.”

Our party was set... now we just needed to know where we were going.

---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche
Race: Human
Class: Transmuter
Level (XP): 2 (4608/5000)
Hit Points: 5

Ability Scores
Strength 11
Dexterity 17
Constitution 8
Intelligence 17
Wisdom 13
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming

Spells Per Day:
1st Level- 3

Spellbook:
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog

Spells Prepared:
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent

Money: 100 gp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, 1 additional.

Companions: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & fiancee), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Calliope (Level 1 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler), Yua (Servant)

Sexual Partners: 3

Storage Chest: Runed Greatsword, Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, Magic Arrows (12), Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues, 299 pp, 2636 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp

[NoMoshing]

Chapter 49: Isekai Life & Last Goodbyes

When the map was delivered, lacking a table, we unrolled it on one of the beds. The map was of the Lakelands only, with the northwestern edge being dominated by the coast touching the Sapphire Sea, which all these lakes emptied to. Osgoode Gate, from which the mountain path to Tresens began, was near the southeast corner. While the map didn't have an official measurement, considering Pendleton was in the bottom-left, we had some idea of the distance- three-quarters of the map was about a week's travel. A little less than three-quarters, because Pendleton was further north than Osgoode Gate.

Other towns sprinkled the map. The three northernmost towns- Temple Meadow, Birchen, and Felldarrow- were circled in red, and including Pendleton and Osgoode Gate, there were about a dozen others. Unfortunately, the closest of the circled towns appeared to be at least a week's journey away, meaning that this wouldn't be a casual trip.

Calliope tapped part of the map. “What's the 'Misty Kingdom'?”

I looked where she was tapping. The northwestern corner of the map was vaguely shaded in with green, bordered by mountains, and labelled the Misty Kingdom.

“Must be some settlement or town or something that they don't allow outsiders in,” I mused, “But that title is certainly concerning, considering what's happening. If they have some special power over fog, it's worth investigating.”

I glanced over other points of interest on the map. The land was dotted with circles of stone, some near towns, some not. There was a barrowlands noted near the centre of the map, and an island fortress near the coast. South of the island fortress was a noted shipwreck, and finally, the southern line of the map, was noted something called “Tallyman's Stand”, with no indication of what that might be. All of them were possible dungeon locations, and all were probably worthy of checking out if we had time.

“So,” I began, “Our first step, I think, is to head north, crossing the Lakelands to Birchen.” I tapped the red-circled town immediately north of us. “If we don't find the answers we seek, it will be across the north, visiting Temple Meadow, then Felldarrow. One of these places has to have some kind of clue as to what's going on.”

“Alright, so when do we leave?” Voss asked.

I rubbed my chin and thought about it. “As soon as possible,” I decided, “Travel time is going to be a pain. We're going to lose so many days in the saddle, I don't want to want any being idle if I can help it.”

Excitement over finally doing some real adventuring had replaced the earlier dismay on Voss' face, but Ashryn and Katriana looked disappointed. I could hardly imagine why, their lover and husband going off so suddenly after deciding to leave them behind.

I rolled up the map and handed it to Voss. “We're going to need more information the Misty Kingdom and Tallyman's Stand if you don't mind hunting down Ricard.”

Voss took the map. “No problem, your grace.”

I then looked at Bekker. “We'll need provisions for a two-week journey for four.”

He knuckled his forehead and bowed in acknowledgement.

I then turned to Calliope. “Come on, we need to decide what else to pack.”

Enna left with Bekker to help the old man scare up some supplies, while me and four beautiful women (okay, three beautiful women and one girl who who recovering rather nicely from malnutrition) went back to the other room, where I slipped the key out of my sleeve and clicked open my storage chest.

We had long since organized our stored wealth into bags of about 250 gold pieces (or equivalent) each. It was four of these purses I removed from the chest. I then regarded our magical items. I grabbed the pouch with the three magical potions, mostly because they were easy to transport and you never know what you'd need as an adventurer.

Katriana indicated the sheaf of runed arrows. “Voss has a shortbow, you might need those.”

I glanced at her quizzically. “I gave them to you, though.”

Katriana frowned at me. “I'd rather a live husband than some arrows. Take them, alright?”

It seemed a little dramatic of her, but I shrugged and added the arrows to the little pile I was making. Finally, I took up the black steel broadsword. Hopefully, its magical properties would help make up for any untrained penalty.... I stood and turned towards Yua, offering the sword to her handle-first. “I know this is probably strange to you, but I'd rather-”

Yua shook her head. “No.” She pointed to the chest and said something in her own language.

I glanced at the chest, where the two larger swords were lying. “They're going to be really heavy compared to this one.”

“No,” she repeated firmly.

I returned to the chest and started to lift out the bastard sword, only for Yua to sigh in exasperation, and repeat herself again. “No.”

Hesitantly, I raised the greatsword. Yua nodded solemnly, and told me something in her her language again.

“Alright, then,” I said, putting the broadsword back. “I hope you know how to use this, because the bigger ones aren't always better.”

When I rose, Yua knelt, raising her open hands above her head to accept the sword. I laid it in her hands carefully, half-expecting her still too-think arms to be unable to support it, but she seemed fine. She chanted something in a way that seemed ritualistic, before rising and giving me a deep, straight-backed bow.

Katriana, meanwhile, was already going through her chest and bringing out bits of her old splintmail. “Yua's hips are wider, but this should help a little, though when you have time you ought to find someone to alter it for her.”

“I was just giving her something to defend herself with....”

Katriana turned, hauberks in hand, and help it up to Yua's chest, gauging the size. “Did that whole ringamarole with the kneeling make her look like an untrained warrior?” Katriana asked, “Give her a try. In the worst case, you have to protect her like you already intended to.”

I could sense some flaws in her argument, but looking at Yua in the context of this being my Heaven, what she said made sense. Yua was probably intended to be another party member. I needed to stay aware of my meta-play, it was getting too easy to just wrapped up in the setting and missing out on these clues.

After that, everything had been delegated away. Katriana was busy trying to fit Yua into her old armour. Bekker and Enna were gathering supplies, Voss was gathering information on the map for us. I had divvied out the gold and magic items I thought we'd need, and Calliope volunteered to distribute them.

Ashryn came over to me, and kissed me gently on the neck. “You're going to say goodbye properly to Katri and I tonight, right? We're going to miss you dearly....”

I slid a hand down Ashryn's back, and softly stroked her ass while I watched Katriana fuss over Yua. She sighed appreciatively, wiggling her bottom to encourage me. Soon, Calliope was back after dropping off the gold and arrows for Voss, and settled in under my other arm. “Don't forget me, we've haven't had a good featherbed for a week and we're leaving on the morrow....”

I sighed theatrically and helped myself to a handful of Calliope's bottom as well. “I'm sure we'll have plenty of time for everyone.”

But now I was praying for everyone to finish up soon.

Voss was the first to return, handing the map back to me. “Tallyman's Stand is an old battlefield, said to be haunted,” he replied with a shrug, “Mia think it's an old wives' tale, though the battlefield is real. The Misty Kingdom is a community of forest elves that keep to themselves. They have some kind of enchantment of the woods they live it that gives it the name, might be a coincidence, might not.”

I nodded. The Misty Kingdom just might be suspect, then. “My instincts tell me that they might not be involved, as being known as the 'misty' kingdom then attacking within a fog is kind of a giveaway, but elves are known for employing warriors who are both fighters and mages, so that could just be a kind of combat tactic from them. Still, worth checking out.

“Now, if that's all, do you mind heading off Bekker and Enna, and making sure that we're not disturbed?” I asked, tentatively, acutely aware of how... cuddly Calliope and Ashryn were being in front of Voss.

He seemed to get the picture, and broke out in a wide grin. On his way out, he collected Yua from Katriana, promising to help the dragon-girl sort out her new armour in the other room. When Katriana glanced over at the rest of us and realized why he was in such a rush to leave, she flushed bright red.

“I hope that's not you trying to be be subtle, becau-”

I seized her by the waist, pulled her into my arms, and gave her a deep, searching kiss. I could feel her initially flinch away from my tongue as it explored her mouth, but she soon accepted it, and even teased her way into my mouth a little. I broke off with her, and, leaving one hand arm her waist, seized Calliope by the back of the mage's neck and pulled her in for a similar kiss. By the time I released them both, Ashryn had moved in like an excited puppy, and I kissed her deeply, too.

While I was locked with Ashryn, Calliope started to undress me while Katriana shrugged her way out of her own clothing. Abruptly, I realized I was being lead away by Ashryn, and when I felt the edge of the sofa she helped me down onto it.

Ashryn got up on the sofa next to me and leaned in, kissing my neck. Calliope began shrugging out of her robe, but Katriana put a hand on her shoulder. “Your princess demands time with your prince first,” she said gently, giving me a naughty smile, “Although, if you treat us well, maybe he will choose you next.”

Calliope looked disappointed, but offered a small curtsy. “As you wish, your grace.” My court of lovers is very polite in private, it seems.

Ashryn had been busy, stroking my cock until it was rigid and ready to receive a woman. Katriana turned and spread her legs, before sending a hand to gently pull apart her labia and ease my entrance as she impaled herself on my rod. I could feel a shiver run through her, as she settled back, my manhood pressed inside her to the hilt. She was wet and ready and deliciously soft, but inside of riding me right away, she settled back against my chest first. Gently, she took my hand and pressed it against her abdomen.

“Your heir is growing in here,” she said softly, “You poured your seed inside your unmarried sister, you naughty prince, over and over again until it took, and now I'm carrying my brother's child.”

“Well, except my sister is married, now,” I replied, sliding my hand downward ever so slowly, “But does that bother you, to be carrying your brother's child?”

“Not in the slightest,” she moaned as my finger found their way to her clit, “Nobody in the world has a love like ours, and I hope I can give you more heirs, all the children you want.”

“Well, maybe not right away,” Calliope added, “Travelling with a child is going to be difficult enough without you getting knocked up all the time, your grace.”

But if Katriana was listening, she gave no sign. My teasing of her clit finally got her moving, and she was starting to ride me, her moist tightness running up and down the length of my shaft. Giggling, Ashryn leaned in a continued peppering my neck and upper chest with soft kisses.

It was Calliope who did the most surprising thing, though. She finished getting out of her clothes, sank to her knees in front of me and Katriana, lowered her head and started licking my balls and shaft, including, more than a little bit, running her tongue over Katriana's labia. I had no idea Calliope was so into having group sex that she was willing to lick my wife's pussy, especially considering that she seemed reluctant to begin with.

It drove Katriana wild, though. Between riding my iron hard cock, my teasing of her clit, and Calliope licking at us both, Katriana was riding me harder and harder, the room filling with the sounds of our sex and her moaning. I found myself wrapped up in the sensations myself, with one fiancee kissing me, while my wife rode my cock and another fiancee licked us both.

Katriana came hard, seizing the arm of the couch with one hand and Calliope's head with the other and shuddering with the force of her climax. The feeling of her orgasming on my cock triggered my own climax, filling me with pleasure as I filled her with cum.

She collapsed back into my arms for a moment, resting. She turned her head to kiss me and look into my eyes. “That was incredible, my prince....”

“I'm glad you enjoyed it, but are you willing to do the same for Calliope now that it's her turn?” I replied sternly.

Katriana's eyes widened. “Um... Well, I guess I could try....”

I glanced down at Calliope, and ordered, “Go lie on the bed.”

It took a bit of arranging, but soon Calliope was lying with her legs spread on the bed, while I knelt between them. Katriana was on all fours, over top Calliope, her head oriented towards me. Both girls looked nervous, but Ashryn tried to soothe them by stroking their hair and telling them how beautiful they looked.

I took my cream-covered cock, and placed it's head at Calliope's slit. “Are you planning to breed me too, my prince?” she asked, teasingly.

“Do you want me to?” I asked in reply.

“I'll perform whatever service my prince asks of me,” she moaned as I teased her, “But, I am a little jealous of your other lovers, having gotten so much attention....”

She got cut off with a moan as pushed my cock into her welcoming pussy. As I thrust into her, I pushed Katriana's head down. “Now, do what Calliope just did for you. Lick her while I fuck her.”

Katriana made a resistant face, but after a moment she obediently snaked out her tongue and lapped at the place where my cock met the top of Calliope's pussy. Calliope responded with a moan, hips bucking to meet mine as I drilled into her. Ashryn, not to be left out, came up beside me, pressing her breasts against my arm while she kissed me.

In retrospect, with two party members already on the bench due to impending pregnancy, I probably shouldn't have creampied Calliope, but in that same situation, I challenge you to show any restraint whatsoever.

After leaving Calliope and Katriana exhausted on the one bed, Ashryn and I wrapped up the evening together by moving to the other bed. She had me lay back, and, gently taking hold of the cock that was already slick with two loads of cum and two other women's love juice, slid it into her own pussy. I was pretty exhausted at that point, But Ashryn was understanding and took control, easing me into a third orgasm as she pleasured herself on my rod.

After she was spent, we fell asleep cuddling together, and for the a long time after I wouldn't feel so safe and warm.

---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche
Race: Human
Class: Transmuter
Level (XP): 2 (4608/5000)
Hit Points: 5

Ability Scores
Strength 11
Dexterity 17
Constitution 8
Intelligence 17
Wisdom 13
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming

Spells Per Day:
1st Level- 3

Spellbook:
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog

Spells Prepared:
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues, 350 gp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, 1 additional.

Companions: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & fiancee), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Calliope (Level 1 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler), Yua (Servant)

Sexual Partners: 3

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 1636 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp

[NoMoshing]

Chapter 50: Isekai Life & Lakeland Travels

I woke up to the feeling of something warm and moist enveloping my morning wood. At some point last night, it seems, I had kicked off the blankets sometime last night, and Ashryn had nestled herself between my legs and was busy bobbing her head up and down over my cock. I somehow turned myself away from the image of my silver-haired fiancee's blowjob and glanced around the room- Katriana was curled up and asleep in bed, still, but Calliope was nowhere to be seen.

Noticing I was awake, Ashryn released me and crawled up beside me. She put a finger on her lips, to bid me to stay silent, before lying back, opening her legs, and spreading open her labia for me.

Who am I to ignore such an invitation?

I rolled over to be above her, and guided my penis into her with one hand. She was wet, warm, and welcoming, and when I started to thrust, she wrapped her arms around my neck, sealed her lips to mine and wouldn't let go. Her tongue intruded on mine, while my cock thrust into her over and over, and her quiet moans into my mouth soon echoed my assaults on her body.

It didn't take long for our hushed, hurried lovemaking to reach it's crescendo, and I felt Ashryn clutch me close, shuddering, while I poured a fresh batch of semen inside her.

People who look down on missionary position sex are idiots, as far as I can tell. There's nothing wrong and a lot right about a woman wrapping her legs around you and kissing you deeply while you fuck. I guess it helps to have a beautiful elven priestess to do it with, though.

“That was wonderful,” she whispered after we had time to catch out breath. She the kissed me lightly on the nose. “I just wanted one little bit more before you had to leave.”

I nodded. “I will miss you, silverheart,” I said, burying my face in her neck as I held her, my softening cock still buried in her sex.

I could feel her stroke my hair. “Keep an eye out for another cleric while you're gone, one who will be friendly to us,” she replied, “I want to be married before the baby comes, if it pleases my prince.”

I nodded. “It does, silverheart,” I said as I rose from the bed, finally disentangling myself. “I'd better get a bath in and get ready to go. It seems the others might already be prepared.”

Ashryn smiled decadently. “Go ahead. I'm going to stop distracting my love and sleep in, and enjoy the feeling of his seed still inside me.”

It was all I could do to actually tear myself away and go suit action to words. If I had any poorer willpower, I'd never get anything done. Maybe I should rethink this “dozen wives and many lovers” thing. Still, I took a moment to squeeze Ashryn's hand, and took the time to kiss the sleeping Katriana goodbye.

By the time I was dressed and ready to go, with my bag packed, my pockets of spell components refilled, and a simple brown travelling robe on, everyone was already ready to leave. Snacks, Stout and Buttermilk were all saddled and bridled, the wagon packed with our belongings and Custard in his halter, idly grazing on some grass in the yard. Ricard, Mia, Bekker, and Enna were out to see us off, and I started by going to them.

Enna offered me a hearty shake when I walked by. “Don't worry 'bout a thing, Theo,” she said with a grin, “Your girls are safe with Lady Enna of Shafttown. I'll protect 'em with my life if I 'ave to.”

“I'd rather you protect them with your skill and weapons, and save your life for yourself, if it's all the same to you,” I replied jovially, but then Enna tugged me closer.

“Well, just see to it 'at you come home safe for 'em, too,” she commanded in a low voice, “All our 'opes are riding on you, an' you're gonna be a father soon, right? So maybe be careful, yeah? I won't be there to drag you away from whatever dark god you get mixed up with this time.”

“I'll take care of myself, Enna,” I promised, and the short and wiry woman tugged on my arm again and pulled me into a brutal hug. She squeezed my shoulders so hard, I expected to be feeling it the next day.

Bekker was a lot more polite, offering me a bow, and murmuring something about caring for Ashryn and Katriana. I hardly heard because he kept his voice low and refused to look me in the eye, I guess because he didn't want me to see the disappointment on his face. It can't be easy to be told you're too old to follow the person you swore to serve. I clapped him on the shoulder, thanked him for his service, and moved on.

Mia was next, giving my hand a shake. “Be careful, young man,” Mia cautioned, “The Lakelands are beautiful, but deadly for the unwary. The towns and villages only patrol a day or two down the main roads, and less in the wilds.”

Good advice, I hadn't realized that. But then, random encounters are the usual for an adventurer. I promised to be careful to both her and Ricard, and then I really had said all my goodbyes.

Voss and Calliope were already mounted by the time I was done, and Yua was fidgeting at the helm of the wagon in her ill-fitting mail. “Took you long enough,” Voss said with a grin, “I though you were going to sleep forever.”

“Sorry,” I said, mounting Snacks and grimacing as my robes bunched up around my thighs. It was an unfortunate reality of riding a horse in robes- Calliope and Ashryn both gave up at some point and had their robes tailored to end at the mid-thigh, and protected their modesty with stockings, which, for me, at least, didn't seem very modest at all. It would look ridiculous on me, and for the thousandth time I promised myself that I'd invest in actual proper clothing next chance I got.

“Birchen, here we come,” Voss said, and heeled his horse towards the gate, “It should be about a week, right?”

“Yeah, seemed that way to me, from the map,” I said, “You made sure to pack it up, right?”

In response, Voss patted one of his saddlebags. “I had time to triple-check everything while you were crawling out of your pile of sexy women.”

I glanced back. Calliope was riding alongside the wagon, acting as rearguard, I suppose, and with the sound of the horses she should be well out of earshot. I pushed Snacks into a brief trot to catch up with Voss, and asked in a low voice, “You're not jealous or anything, are you?”

The other man heaved a bit of a sigh. “You know, I thought I wouldn't be, but it really is hard sometimes. Last night is a prefect example- I'm fine with being your right-hand man if you need time with your ladies, but it's hard not to be bitter when you're busy getting laid and the rest of us are standing around waiting for you to decide you're done.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I think I can empathize. I'm sorry, I'll try not to let that happen again.”

“All that I ask is that, if a woman shows genuine affection towards me, that you give us some space, okay?”

“Of course,” I replied, and paused a moment. “You and Enna aren't...?”

He shrugged. “It's not that I'm not interested in Enna, but she doesn't seem interested in me. At least she's not in interested in you, either, apart from teasing you every so often.”

“Oh.” I guess that was on me, assuming that there would be some kind of “pair the spares” situation.

Eventually we came to Pendleton, where we stopped at the dry goods store long enough to buy rations for two weeks' travel, then we turned to the north road out of town. From here on out, it was all open road and wilderness until we reached a town called Rhymer's Cross that was roughly the midpoint between Pendleton and Birchen.

The first two days of travel were pretty dull, all things considered. The Lakelands were very beautiful, and everywhere we went teemed with life- the croaking of frogs, fish darting through the waters, songbirds and squirrels scampering through the trees and grass. The first night, we camped at the side of the river, where Voss attempted (and failed) to fish, The second day was just as quiet, and we camped that night in an aspen grove, the leaves sheltering us from the harsh morning sun.

About halfway through the third day, storm clouds rolled in without warning, and we were forced to make camp early and shelter in our tents as a sudden thunderstorm thrashed the area. It was gone as rapidly as it came on, though, but we lost the afternoon's worth of progress. We travelled a little later than usual to compensate, pushing until we couldn't see the path beneath our horse's hooves. We were rewarded, though, by travelling across a wide field, through which wild horses frolicked in the aftermath of the storm, their hooves sending up showers of rainwater that sparkled in the fading light of the evening.

We camped that night on the edge of a fen, as the meadow gave way to marshland. By the light of foxfire and torches, me made our camp for the second time that day, and, as usual, set up our watches. We didn't trust Yua to understand what was being said, so we left her out of it, instead leaving it up to Voss, Calliope and I. It wasn't much trouble- Calliope and I hadn't had need of our magic in weeks, so we didn't need the full night's rest to memorize more spells- though obviously that wouldn't last.

Voss drew first watch, and Calliope drew second, leaving me with the third and final watch. After a meal of bread and cheese, I crawled into my tent, lamenting how Calliope and I being in the watch pool had lead to a sharp decrease in my nighttime cuddle time. I had trouble sleeping, though, and it seemed I ended up staring up at the ceiling of my tent for hours. Then had the effect of, hours later, when Calliope shook me awake for my watch, I was not only tired, I had barely slept at all.

“Are you going to be okay, Theodore?” she said, sleepily, “You look beat.”

“Yeah, I'll be fine,” I said, as I rubbed the sleep from my no-doubt bloodshot eyes. Calliope was too tired to argue, it seemed, as second watch involved getting two bouts of three hours of sleep and was the hardest of the three watches to deal with. She crawled into my tent, and when I protested, she waved me off. “It smells like you in here,” she muttered, “Jus' let me....”

She was already asleep.

I sighed, and sat by the dwindling fire, tossing a few bits of kindling to keep it going. It was going to be a long three hours until dawn, and I was already wondering if I should ask Voss to lead Snacks while I napped in the wagon.

A hand on my shoulder shook me awake. It was still dark, and the fire had died completely. I couldn't see a thing. But I could hear something moving around the camp, and a low growling coming from somewhere nearby.

Something in the darkness flashed blue above me, and suddenly a torch blazed to life. It was Yua, and she held the torch out for me, and I took it, numbly, not quite realizing what was going on. That's when I saw the eyes reflecting from the darkness. We were surrounded.

---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche
Race: Human
Class: Transmuter
Level (XP): 2 (4608/5000)
Hit Points: 5

Ability Scores
Strength 11
Dexterity 17
Constitution 8
Intelligence 17
Wisdom 13
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming

Spells Per Day:
1st Level- 3

Spellbook:
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog

Spells Prepared:
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, 1 additional.

Companions: Calliope (Level 1 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 3

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp

[NoMoshing]

Cosmology of the Isekai Life in D&D World

The universe began as a scattering of dust in an endless void. In time, the motes began to cling together, spinning together and gathering more other motes. In time, that gathering of dust formed an egg. Dwelling in the void were creatures, curious beings who gathered around this thing in their midst, the first physical thing any of them had seen. The wan heat of their bodies incubated the egg as they crawled and slithered over it, and eventually the egg cracked with a sharp sound. This, the first sound ever to be heard within the void, scared the void-dwelling creatures, and they fled the egg.

From the egg hatched Ekion, the All-Father, the highest of the Gods, he who would create the universe. But when the All-Father tried to look about him and see where we was, his eyes could not penetrate the darkness. So he created the Celestial Light to see with, and looked upon the void, and the loathsome void-dwellers who cowered on the edge of the light. Seeing that he had no kinship with the crawling dwellers, the All-Father formed the Celestial Light into the form of a woman, a companion for him in the darkness, and breathed a portion of his life-energy into her, and named her Lathlys, the Celestial Goddess.

For a time, Lathlys and the All-Father were happy together, and their coupling produced a multitude of children, and whose own couplings produced even more. Each of these gods and goddesses appear as celestial bodies, even the least granddaughter being a shining, tiny star.

The grandchildren of Lathlys and Ekion are known collectively as the Ysiphine, who ensure the proper movement of the heavens, and enjoy watching the lives of the mortal folk on earth, sending them omens, portents and warnings in the movement of the stars.

The last child of Lathlys produced for the All-Father, long after they two had begun to become estranged, was Suleyar. Neglected by his father, and often overlooked by his mother, Suleyar was quiet and kept to himself, choosing to gather secrets and listen rather than speak. Thus, Suleyar became the God of Secrets.

Ekion came to desire a passionate, lively companion, in contrast to the cold and distant Lathlys. So out of nothingness he formed Asanke, the Goddess of the Ocean, a tumultuous and wild bride for him to enjoy. And for a time, things were good in heaven. The neglected Lathlys turned to doting on her children, and the All-Father and Asanke produced a new generation of deities from their wild lovemaking.

But even that one day came to an end, as Ekion's attention drifted. Eventually he left Asanke, and created a third wife, calm and dependable, having the best qualities of both Lathlys and Asanke. This was Cyona, the Earth Goddess.

[NoMoshing]

Chapter 51: Isekai Life & Night Ambush

“Voss! Calliope! To arms!”

Our ambushers did not like me shouting a warning, and began edging out of the trees. Squat, pale green humanoids armed with rusty knives and simple wooden clubs- goblins. Stupid but cunning, they are not to be underestimated, especially in great numbers. And this group had an obvious sergeant, a slightly larger, raggedy goblin with filthy leather armor, a shield and a shortsword. Worse, they had friends- taller forms with glowing, yellow night-eyes slinking in the dark. Worgs, evil direwolves that worked with goblins on occasion.

I heard the horse whinnying somewhere behind us, and I cast the thought out of my mind. As much as I liked our horses, they'd have to take care of themselves for now. We had bigger problems.

I mentally tallied our forces. Unfortunately, our current party configuration swapped most of our most useful party members in favour of our weakest, overall. I knew Calliope was still level one- we've used enough incidental magic since leaving Tresens that I knew she still had only two spell slots- and Voss was never as strong in combat as Katriana. Worse, our two casters were dead tired, and our fourth party member couldn't communicate, just great.

I chose to buy time. “What do you want?” I growled in the guttural language of the goblins, “This camp ours, you go. We have big magic.”

A few of the lesser goblins hesitated, but when their sergeant started cackling the whole crowd picked it up. The sergeant gestured for silence and answered, “Biggus heard that before, human. We want meat, slaves, steel and women, and if you not slave then you meat. Make choice.”

Behind me I heard Voss curse and scramble out of his tent, with similar sounds coming from my tent. I switched back to common, ordering, “Voss, when those wolves hit us, you've got to distract them and keep them off us, okay?”

“What wolves? I don't-”

“Enough talk!” the sergeant, howled, “You die!”

I heard Calliope intoning her Shield spell. Good, I thought as I tossed the torch aside, stepped in front of Yua and made the Sigil. Let's see how these goblins burn.

The sergeant screamed as he scrambled back, flames licking up his arm. Of the two goblins on either side of him, one went up like a candle and died screaming, the other hissed and sidestepped my flames, horrifically burned. As soon as my fire guttered out, though, the sergeant scrambled towards me and stabbed wildly with his sword, the blade deflecting off my unseen magical armour just an inch from my body.

Voss shouted a warcry of, “For Prince Theodore!” as he lunged forward, taking advantage of the surprise to skewer a goblin and flick the dying vermin in a smooth two-motion movement, only for a second goblin to scramble onto his shield and strike home with it's dirk, causing Voss' sleeve to darken with blood. But I was soon distracted- the goblins surged forward everywhere, and bounding out of the shadows came the worgs, snapping with jaws full of brutal fangs.

There was a flash of light from behind me and I turned to see Calliope's magic missile explode a goblin's head, but she was surrounded by five others. I canted and threw a pinch of sand in her direction, and all the goblins there fell over, asleep- but Calliope also clutched her head groggily and slipped to the ground, collateral damage of my spell.

Of course, if it wasn't laughably weak it would end up being too effective.

I felt a tug on my sleeve, and was hauled back, twisting to see the sergeant's arm rearing back to strike again with his shortsword- only to have shining steel strike downwards, slicing the back of the goblin's skull off with a ringing sound, clear as a bell. Yua spun, kicking the goblin away with a back kick, ad came up sword in a protective stance to ward off on oncoming worg. The worg was too cunning by half, though, and ducked under her blade to savage her in the thigh.

I snatched up the fallen torch, and waved it at the beast, warding it off long enough for Yua to recover, slamming the runed greatsword into the beast's side and scattering it with a yelp. The beast darted in to nip at Yua again, but this time she slid aside nimbly. I jumped forward into the gap, swinging the torch, not harming the worg but keeping it from getting within Yua's striking range, giving her the time to smoothly step forward and behead the worg with a single stroke.

We turned and saw Voss struggling with the other worg, bleeding from half a dozen wounds. I jumped forward, shouting and waving my torch, and the worg danced away, growling- straight into Yua's sidehand swing. It was able to dodge from Voss's spearthrust, only to get run through by Yua's counterstroke.

And just like that, the violence was over.

Still standing: Myself, unharmed. Yua, bitten by a worg. Voss, fucked up by multiple goblin and worg wounds.

On the ground: Calliope and five goblins gently sleeping. Two dead worgs, eight dead goblins including the sergeant.

Well, okay, four sleeping goblins. Three. Two. Okay, Yua really doesn't like goblins.

“Aren't you concerned?” Voss asked, “That was the goblin language you were speaking, right? You could interrogate one of them, get them to tell us where their camp is.”

I weighed my desire to extract more goblin-related information against my desire not to have a goblin loogie spit in my face.

“Hey, help me get Calliope back in the tent,” I replied, “She'll wind up with a sore back if we just leave her out like that.”

Voss and I moved Calliope where she could sleep comfortably, then he sat on a fallen log while I fetched the old sewing kit and started to clean his wounds and at least prevent him from bleeding everywhere. The fighter was pretty messed up, and it look some doing. Add to that the darkness and my sleepiness, and the process took awhile.

“Ow! Hey, careful with that needle!”

“Sorry, sorry....”

Yua, for her part, went and checked on the horses, then turned our single torch into a respectable campfire. From there, she stood vigil over the campsite, standing at the edge of the firelight, facing the darkness, sword drawn and held against one shoulder. I found the time to go over to her and tell her, “Thank you, we would have died without you.” She bowed her head in response, as if to say, “Just doing my job”.

As soon as we understood each other better, we'd have to have a discussion about her sudden prowess with a sword.

As we were cleaning up the campsite of the assorted gore and corpses (for which I got to use Tenser's Floating disc for the first time, yay), I was lost in thought. These goblins didn't seem like a regular random encounter. While the presence of the worgs didn't necessarily mean anything, the rules-as-written goblin encounter was 4d6 goblins with no worgs in sight. Similarly, worgs come in 3d4 packs with only a one-line mention of goblins.

But, the AD&D Monster Manual had rules for determining the size and population of a goblin community. First, you start with 4d10 multiplied by ten regular goblin warriors, giving you a number from forty to four hundred. For every forty total goblins, there will be a lieutenant and four sergeants with slightly more HP. For every two hundred goblins, there will be a sub-chief with 2d4 bodyguards- so it's highly unlikely there would be more than one, if there is one. Then every tribe had a goblin chief with 2d4 bodyguards of his own.

Then you had the fun extras. A flat 25% percent chance that 10% of their total forces would be mounted on worgs, and have about 1d4 times ten unmounted worgs to use. Another 60% of the time they would have 5d6 worgs guarding their lair, and a 20% chance that they would be working with 2d6 bugbears. Goblin shamans have less fixed rules, simply being said to be “rare”, but their capabilities are described, so we'd have to keep our eyes out. Finally, there would be 60% of the total male goblin population as females (or, I noted, as slaves and craftsgoblins, I suppose- judging by the gross floppy tits on some of the goblins that attacked us, this tribe was somewhat more egalitarian) and a number of goblin children equal to the total adult population of the goblins.

After washing my hands and setting the goblin pyre ablaze with Voss, I fetched my ledger out from the back of the wagon and jotted down a few figures. Potentially, we were dealing with a goblin population as high as four-hundred, though the most likely based on the bell curve was two hundred twenty.... In the most likely instance, assuming every one of the tribe generation rolls matches the bell curve perfectly, there were a total of 820 goblins, with a possible cap of 1528. I noted down that we were attacked by 11 goblins (including one sergeant) and two worgs. A dreary figure in comparison to the total challenge, but less than a quarter of them were actual fighters.

It occurred to me, that there might be some... ethical concerns about killed defenseless goblin children. I shook my head to banish those thoughts. We'd have to figure that out when we come to it. Maybe we'd get lucky and they'd vanish into the wilderness and die of exposure or something. Either way, there was no point in addressing such concerns on less than half a night of sleep.

“What are you thinking about so intensely?” Voss asked with a yawn, “You should get to bed. We'll have to sleep in late, then make a real push for Rhymer's Cross so you and Calli can recharge your spells in safety.”

“I'm thinking about goblins tribes, Voss,” I replied, “This party wanted to capture us and take us as slaves. Ten goblins with four human-sized prisoners, they wouldn't be able to keep us in check for long.”

“Meaning...?”

“Meaning their settlement is within a night's walk from here, probably closer,” I said, shutting my ledger with a snap. “We've got to wipe them out.”

Voss looked confused. “But isn't the mass disappearance situation more worthy of our attention? That's what we're getting paid for.”

“Sure,” I allowed, “But some goblins can use magic, and they'd be cunning enough to summon a mist then use it as cover to escape with their captives.”

“But what about the lack of signs of violence?”

I shrugged. “Ricard had his information third, maybe even fourth-hand. I wouldn't be surprised if the details got mixed up.”

Vos shrugged. “I guess. Well, you're the boss.”

“You're right, though, that we need to make Rhymer's Cross soon,” I allowed, “We'll need a base to operate from, a method and plan for hunting them down, and any allies that are on offer. Even a small tribe has hundreds of goblins in it, and for now it's just us four.”

Voss glanced at Yua. “Well, between the magic and our hidden talent swordmistress over there, we're a hell of a four... but I understand what you mean. I could do with a whole company of halberdiers and crossbows right about now.”

And to think I held some of our party's MVPs back because I was worried about a couple births that wouldn't happen for seven months... I was sure hurting for Katriana's skill, Ashryn's support magic, and Enna's stealth skills right about now. “We'll just have to hope that good fortune provides,” was all I could respond with.

The thing that troubled me most of all- that set my guts to churn with anxiety, to be honest- was what the goblin had said. Slaves, women, meat. It was the first time that Corgiel implied that rape and cannibalism were elements that were definitely on the table for this “game”.

Slaves, women, meat.

The last roll to make for a goblin tribe was to determine how many slaves the goblins had.

---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche
Race: Human
Class: Transmuter
Level (XP): 2 (4829/5000)
Hit Points: 5

Ability Scores
Strength 11
Dexterity 17
Constitution 8
Intelligence 17
Wisdom 13
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming

Spells Per Day:
1st Level- 3

Spellbook:
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog

Spells Prepared:
(1st Level):

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 144 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, 1 additional.

Companions: Calliope (Level 2 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 3

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp

[NoMoshing]

Chapter 52: Isekai Life & Night Counter-Ambush

Despite the smell of burning goblin flesh, Voss and I were both so exhausted that we fell asleep almost immediately, leaving Yua on guard duty. I don't know what had caused her to wake up when she did, but she seemed the most rested out of all of us, and even her wounds weren't as bad as they first appeared for some reason. I guess her race bleeds a lot?

Since my tent was occupied, I took Calliope's, and I have to admit she was right about something- it is quite relaxing to fall asleep on a pillow that smells like your lover. I drifted off almost immediately, and slept peacefully this time.

I woke to find it was already late morning. Voss and Calliope were both awake and striking camp, while Yua napped in the wagon seat. I did find I was rested and alert enough to be able to focus on my spellbook. I re-memorized Sleep, of course, and then found myself with a bit of a problem. I wanted to memorize Burning Hands twice, but I wasn't entirely sure how one would go about “memorizing something twice” in a practical sense. Instead, I tried to memorize it for twice as long as I needed to, and hoped that worked.

When she saw that I was done studying my spellbook, Calliope approached me. “Voss informed me of the plan. Are you sure you want to take on a whole goblin tribe?”

“I know it sounds weird, but I think there's a pretty good chance these goblins are responsible for the mass disappearances,” I replied, then shrugged. “Even if they're not, they're going around capturing slaves. Those people deserve to be freed, or avenged.”

“Yeah, okay,” Calliope hesitated, hewing her lip, then decided to continue on regardless of her anxiety, “It's just.... We can't possibly save everyone we come across, you know. We'll be solving petty disputes and hunting monsters until we're old and grey and the chance to take back your throne is long behind us.”

She had a point, I had to admit. “I understand. Believe me, we're not just going to go frivolously solving problems for people. But favours from the powerful, treasure, magic items, even gratitude and reputation are all things that we're going to need, in time,” I explained, “While I appreciate you are worried about us losing focus, don't. Katriana and I are more motivated than anyone to see this through.”

Calliope paused and considered what I had said, then shrugged. “Well, I just hope we haven't bitten off more than the four of us can chew. Have you considered whether we're gong to push straight through, or will we camp?”

“Eh?” I was genuinely surprised, I hadn't really considered that we would make it to Rhymer's Cross today.

“We lost half a day yesterday to the weather, and half a day today for you to catch up on your rest,” she explained, “We don't have an exact idea of how far down this road Rhymer's Cross is, only that it's 'about' halfway between Birchen and Pendleton, and that trip is 'about' the same as Osgoode Gate to Pendleton, seven days.” She then crossed her arms protectively before continuing. “We might be able to push into the night and reach Rhymer's Cross, but we don't have a precise idea of where it is. But if we make camp for tonight, we're doing so in what we know is occupied territory, and another ambush by goblins is likely.”

“Well, you're not wrong,” I answered thoughtfully. “What if we were to flip the script?

“What does that mean?” she replied.

“We know we're going to be ambushed,” I said thoughtfully, “At least, we probably are. So what if we ambushed the ambushers? We set up traps, or something like that, and we prepare for a fight. Only two people sleep at a time, maybe even have two camps within sight of one another, so they either split their forces or open themselves up for attack from behind.”

“That splits our forces, too,” Calliope pointed out, “But maybe there's something that can be done. We'll need time to prepare, though, so we may as well travel while we have daylight.”

We did so. While Calliope and I rode together and discussed our plan for the night, Voss scouted ahead by about fifty meters, and Yua came up from behind with the cart.

Eventually, we came to a bridge that crossed a shallow but wide river, and Calliope nodded. “This will have to be it,” she said with a sense of finality. So, we started making our camp and engaged our plan.

First of all, we'd be camping on the actual road. The hard-packed dirt road would make for uncomfortable sleeping, so instead we partially unloaded the wagon, so that two people could sleep on a hard, flat surface as opposed to the hard, bumpy one. Then, we had Voss go and collect branches, dozens of them, while Calliope, Yua and I started the fire and rubbed down the horses.

We set the wagon across the entrance to the bridge. This gave us a “wall” of sorts that gave us something to set our back to. Then, we had Voss stake the two sides of the camp on either side of the road, creating a rough triangle, which our camp sat inside, with an open tip facing the way we came. While not all of the “stakes” were entirely sound- some had signs of rot- they were sharpened and presented the appearance of defences, and were spaced close enough together that they shouldn't be able to overwhelm us.

Finally, we played two bundles of wood soaked in lantern oil on either side of the opening, which we could easily set alight with mine and Calliope's Burning Hands.

So, our basic idea was to pair up mage-fighter, with the fighter “holding the line” with mage support until the other pair were awake, and then if necessary, we would rotate our situation so that Yua was in the prime spot, and Voss could fall back and provide ranged support with his shortbow.

We communicated this as best we could to Yua, even having a “dress rehearsal”, where we led her through the plan a couple times until she seemed to understand what we were getting at. It wasn't a perfect plan, I wouldn't even necessarily call it a great plan, but it was what we had.

Fuck, why did I ever overlook the Alarm spell?

Voss and Calliope drew first watch, so while they stayed up, I tried to bed down with Yua. The cart wasn't really crowded per se, but it was awkward- for some reason, Yua was stiff and uncomfortable looking, and flinched whenever I accidentally touched her. Somehow, though, I managed to get some sleep.

I slept dreamlessly, as usual, only to be woken up by the sounds of battle and yelling, and the flickering of flames.

For the most part, the goblins decided to take the bait. The sergeant this time was sitting back, driving the other goblins- much more of them this time- forward with a whip, while just beyond the firelight, worgs paced in the darkness, waiting for the goblins to soften us up before driving in for the kill. Voss was there with his spear, attempting to drive back the goblins but already bleeding from some wounds, but one of the bundles was already alight and the crumpled burning forms of some unfortunates scattered around the entrance.

The sergeant cracked his whip, which had the effect of startling me into action. Yua was already scrambling over the edge of the wagon, snatching up her sword in the process, so I did the same, landing heavily enough on the ground that it made my teeth click.

Voss drove his spear into a goblin's gut before kicking the body away for the unfortunate to bleed to death somewhere on the ground, while Calliope cast her Magic Missile spell, sending a magical dart to blast apart one of the gobbos rushing forward to pile in.

“Voss, fall back!” I yelled as I recovered myself, raised my hands and made the Sigil as Voss moved out of the way. None of the oncoming goblins saw what was coming as they were engulfed in flames and died. With some kind of battle cry in her own language, Yua surged forward, swinging her sword in a wide arc, failing to connect but holding the green horde at bay. Calliope chose to pick up Voss' bow and quiver, trading him for his spear as he vaulted onto the wagon for the best sight lines.

A goblin ducked in and cracked Yua right across her thigh with a knobbly club, but I moved froward, keeping Yua out of my angle of fire as I cast Burning Hands once again, raking flames across the goblin crowd, which by now was thinning quite nicely. Yua struck, beheading an unfortunate gobbo entirely while Voss sank an arrow deep into the sergeant's chest.

And then the worgs were upon us, one of their jaws closing on Yua's wrist even as she struggled to strike again. The remaining goblins cackled at us, but I was prepared for this.

I cast Sleep, focusing on a spot just behind the two worgs. Immediately, the two massive wolves, as well as all three remaining goblins, fell over in torpor.

I turned to Calliope, and pretended to blow smoke off a finger pistol. She gave me a small smile in return, even as Yua set about the bloody work of coup de grace-ing the sleeping enemies.

I stayed up long enough to stitch and bandage up Yua and Voss again, and then help with the pyre. As I did, I updated my tally- fifteen more dead goblins for a total of twenty-five, two sergeants and four worgs. They were grinding us down, though- Voss looked beat up as hell, and even Yua was beginning to look worse for wear.

“This was a normal patrol,” Voss mentioned after, “Roughly the same layout as the other one. I don't think they realize yet that the other patrol isn't coming back.”

I nodded. “Makes sense, after all, they're not known for being intelligent. We might squeeze out another night before they get wise and start sending hunting parties for us.”

Voss nodded, the calmly started moving burning sticks from our “trap” to the pyre.

We decided to go back to a single person on watch, leaving the newly-wounded fighters to have the cart alone while Calliope and I tried to get enough sleep to be able to memorize spells on the hard ground. We were trading relative comfort for relatively more sleep.

Sleep proved elusive, however, for more than just the hard ground. Our fighters were on our their last legs, and if we had to fight more before we had a chance to heal, someone would probably die. I didn't want that to happen- no, I couldn't let that happen.

As I finally drifted off, I couldn't help but notice a slight tugging sensation, as if I was being pulled back somehow.

I awakened to an explosion of confetti.

“Congratulations! And like always, welcome back!”

---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche
Race: Human
Class: Transmuter
Level (XP): 3 (5121/10000)
Hit Points: 5 + ?

Ability Scores
Strength 11
Dexterity 17
Constitution 8
Intelligence 17
Wisdom 13
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming

Spells Per Day:
1st Level- 3

Spellbook:
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog

Spells Prepared:
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 332 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, 1 additional.

Companions: Calliope (Level 2 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 3

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp

[NoMoshing]

Chapter 53: Isekai Life & Spell Debate

I was once again floating in the void with Corgiel, before the table with the fated d4 on it. Everything was as usual, even the yellow-green confetti, except....

“Uh... is your dress shorter?” I asked.

“N-no...” she seemed to blush and look away.

“And your chest, it's....”

“What kind of a way is this to greet your friend!” she yelled, covering up her chest with her arms, “Could you at least say hello to me! Jeez!”

“Oh, right, sorry,” I said. But, in my defense, it was a pretty stark difference, like Shoujo Lily becoming Tsundere Lily between scenes or something.

“Jeez! I was excited, too!” she said crossly, “It's a pretty important level up for you!”

Oh, right, of course. Level three. I would be getting a new spell level, and so, because I'm a specialist wizard, I'd be getting a brand new spell for free. Generalist wizards would be left hanging out until they stumbled upon or paid to learn a second level spell- unless the DM said otherwise, of course- but not me, I'd get a freebie.

Also, I had a new nonweapon proficiency coming my way. That was also kind of neat. Right?

“I'm really sorry for saying that stuff, Corgiel,” I ended up saying, “That was really disrespectful of me. It's just, you seem to have changed your appearance. And, well, I found it really noticeable, that's all.”

She still pouted. “You're paying attention to Theodore.”

Huh?

“You're paying attention to Theodore,” she repeated, “You're picking up on his etiquette skills, that's all~”

Huh. I guess I was. I mean, etiquette at it's core was treating people with due respect. The signs and symbols that you express yourself may vary from culture to culture, but in AD&D the Etiquette nonweapon proficiency is entirely divorced from exposure to other cultures, so at it's core it becomes an act of expressing due respect to individuals.

So... that's a thing.

“This whole situation isn't some kind of secret test of character, is it?” I asked, “I'm not going to wake up in my old body having learned enough lessons about how to be a good person, am I?”

Corgiel grinned. “Nope~! If you choose to be a good person in your Heaven, that's your decision~”

Hmm, alright. I guess she hasn't lied to be yet.

I raised my hand and opened my mouth, but Corgiel pointed at before I could speak. “You have questions! Well, go ahead~!”

First things first, let's find out how deep the hole I've managed to screw myself into. “Is Calliope also pregnant now?”

“Hmm, I wonder~”

“Well, be coy if you want, but since you told me last time, I didn't think it would be a problem this time.”

Corgiel made another pouty face. “Someone's being mean today~”

Oh, come on, it wasn't that mean!

“I was just teasing you last time~ So from now on it's super secret~”

Well, that was disappointing.

“Well, okay. Would the size of the goblin tribe I'm about to start fighting be a surprise to most people in the setting? Like, is it larger or smaller than normal?”

“It's about average~ But not many people would know how big a goblin tribe is, so any size could be surprising~”

Okay, good to know, I suppose.

“How are Katriana, Ashryn and everyone doing?”

“Hmm, I wonder~ No, that's kind of mean to say~ They're doing fine, but just because you left them behind doesn't mean they're completely safe, okay?”

That makes sense. I mean, I wouldn't expect them to be completely, one hundred percent safe. I just have to solve the mystery before anything bad happens, right?

“What is Yua's class and level?”

“Oh, you want to know about Yua, hmm? I don't want to tell you, because you'll figure it out eventually~ But she's about on par with Calliope in terms of experience~”

Not exactly 100% what I wanted to hear, but okay.

“So, that's it for my questions. Where do you want to start with the level up process?” I asked.

“Wow, that was fast compared to last time~ Where do you want to begin?”

I gave it some thought. Corgiel seemed to have recovered, and is in a good mood now- though answering as few of my questions as possible might have something to do with it. Maybe I should try the tricky things first?

“Well, about my nonweapon proficiency... I have a question about the nature of alchemical steel in this universe.”

“Yes?”

“If I were to take the Blacksmithing proficiency, could I recast the metal and still have it retain it's properties?”

“Yes, I guess you could.... But weaponsmithing is still a Warrior nonweapon proficiency~”

Shit, that's true. Damn. I was hoping to get some use out of those spare alchemical steel weapons.

Land-based riding would be a good choice... if there wasn't a hard rule against mounted casting. So, why not head towards crafting in a slightly different way.

“I'll take Seamstress/Tailor, then,” I said. I could sew my own robes and them enchant them. That's pretty good, I think.

“Hmm, okay~”

“So now it's my free specialist spell, right?”

“Sure~ What would you like?”

Similar to first level, there were a lot of duds. But there were many real winners on this level, too. But now I had a conundrum. I had intended to take Knock, a very famous second-level spell that automatically opens any door you cast it on. It has the side effect of completely obliterating one of the special class powers of the Thief- unlike the Open Locks skill, Knock was always 100% effective, it just couldn't be used more than you had it memorized, of course.

But... my most pressing issue right now were the goblins. Goblins received a penalty to attacking in bright light- and the Continual Light spell specifically stated it was bright enough to trigger that kind of reaction. It would also help with having enough light to see by, and if cast on a durable enough object, could last for literal decades.

Then again, with such a long duration, Continual Light would only need to be cast once, maybe twice depending on how many objects I needed. That's a lot of useless spell slots while I struggle to find another new spell.

No, I should stay the course. I started this by saying I'd plan the long game, I should persist in that philosophy.

“It'll take Knock, please.”

“Okay~ Enjoy your new spell!”

I picked up the die, and Corgiel seemed to get excited. I guess rolling my hp was pretty climactic, all things considered.

“Hang on,” I said coyly, playing with the die a little in my hand, “I still have a language pick outstanding, don't I?”

Corgiel tilted her head to the side. “Well, yes, I guess that's true~”

“I want to be able to speak Yua's language.”

“Hmm, really? But it hasn't been all that long for you to learn it~”

“Well, I am Intelligence 17, I think I'm a pretty quick learner.”

“I guess so~ Well, if it makes you happy, okay, you can know Yua's language~”

Excellent. I gave the die a roll. It seemed to rolling in slow motion, tumbling across the smooth surface on the table, before coming to a halt.

“Hmm, too bad~”

I had rolled a 2. Honestly, I was just relieved it wasn't another 1. I wish it had been higher, but I'd take it. That first level gave be a bit of perspective on my HP meter.

“Well, I guess that's it for now.”

“Yeah, I'll miss you too~ But have fun in your adventure~”

And with that, Corgiel gave me an energetic wave goodbye, and I settled into the void of sleep.

---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche
Race: Human
Class: Transmuter
Level (XP): 3 (5121/10000)
Hit Points: 7

Ability Scores
Strength 11
Dexterity 17
Constitution 8
Intelligence 17
Wisdom 13
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:
1st Level- 3
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog
(2nd Level): Knock

Spells Prepared:
(1st Level):
(2nd Level):

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 332 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Ryujin

Companions: Calliope (Level 2 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 3

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp

[NoMoshing]

Chapter 54: Isekai Life & Arrow Trail

I awoke to the smell of cooking porridge and the sound of whickering horses. I was stiff in all the wrong places, and my entire upper back felt fused into a single board that burned whenever I shifted. I attempt to push myself up, but that proved to be an ordeal that had me hissing in pain.

Yua appeared above me, bending over to gently take me by the shoulders and ease me up into a sitting position. I had to grit my teeth against the pain, but she got me up there, and then onto my feet. I was then lead, limping, to the back on the wagon. Yua jumped up to sit at the edge of the wagon, thighs pressed tight together.

“Come lie down,” she said in her own language, gesturing with her hands, “Put your head here.”

Without saying anything, I took her hand and climbed up into the wagon, and lay down, placing my head facedown in her lap. My nose filled with her scent, which, even though we had been travelling and saw plenty of battle, was not unpleasant.

Yua then started attacking my back. I know it was a massage, but it was the most aggressive massage of my life. She jabbed her fingers so deep into my muscles that every poke felt like agony... but it was effective, and everywhere she worked loosened up and felt something approaching normal. Then, when she was done with my back, she forced me to sit up and did the same for my shoulders and neck.

When she was finally finished, I got up and bend over experimentally. I was still a little sore, but at least my back wasn't completely locked up.

“Thank you,” I told Yua, in her own language.

She eyes shot wide open in surprise. Then, she bowed her head and looked away. “You're welcome,” she replied, also in her own language.

I opened my mouth to say more, but then I remembered Corgiel's rules. I couldn't let on that I know this world ran on D&D, which meant I couldn't let on that I suddenly had new skills after leveling-up. Or even implying I had a level-up. So, I left it for now. There would be plenty of time to talk, later.

Besides, I had an important date with my spellbook.

I sat down by the fire with Calliope, and cracked open my spellbook. The second my eyes lit on a blank page, I snatched up a bit of charcoal from the fire and started writing like a man possessed. I couldn't control myself, it was as though I was seized with sudden inspiration and just had to get it out.

When I was done, I had the instructions for the Knock spell written out completely.

Calliope raised an eyebrow at me. “Sudden fit of inspiration?”

“Something like that, I guess,” I said, uncertainly. I didn't expect the free spell on level up thing to express itself in that way.

Calliope nodded. “I guess you attained a new plateau,” she mentioned, as she bent back over her own spellbook, “I'm a little jealous.”

I searched my memory for what she as talking about... and came up blank. Guess that knowledge is tied specifically to the Spellcraft proficiency. Or at least, I slept through that class. Either way, it would make sense for there to be an in-character reasoning as to why specialist wizards suddenly had knowledge of new spells every once and awhile.

For my spell selection that day, I went with Burning Hands, Sleep, and Wall of Fog. Outrunning and defeating goblin patrols was shaping up to be our new normal, at least for now- Burning Hands and Sleep were instrumental battlefield tools, and Wall of Fog might come in handy for obscuring our trail. As for my two new second level spell slots, I had but one option, so I just spent a lot of time carefully going over my freshly-written Knock instructions, in hopes of memorizing it twice.

At least it would save me time memorizing spells in the future.

I was so lost in my spellbook, I didn't even notice how much time had passed. Soon enough, Voss was poking me in the shoulder. “Daylight is wasting, Theodore. We have to get moving, or we may as well not go anywhere.”

I nodded numbly, and stowed my spellbook. An hour and ten minutes I wasted memorizing new spells, at the usual rate of ten minutes per spell level.... We would be lucky to make much progress today.

The day's ride passed, for the most part, without interruption. We hurried along the road, hoping against hope that today would be the day we'd make it to the next town.

The only thing that was out of the ordinary were the arrows.

We spotted the first arrow an hour out of camp. It was a simple pale wooden arrow with black fletchings, stuck in the ground. Voss hopped out of his saddle to retrieve it, and examined it. “Too long for one of those goblins to pull,” he said with a shrug, adding it to his quiver, “Guess there's someone else hunting these woods.”

“I hope the goblins didn't get them, too, then,” I replied.

A half hour later there was another. Then, a half-hour after that, another, all stuck point-down in the middle of the road.

“Two might be coincidence, but three is a pattern,” Calliope pointed out as Voss picked up the third arrow.

“And they're all fletched the same way, too,” Voss pointed out, thoughtfully, “The question is, why?”

“Maybe there'll be clues further on,” I urged, “Come on, we have to keep going.”

And so it went, on and on, until Voss had a half-dozen new arrows. They were spaced roughly evenly along the road, twenty or thirty minutes apart at the rate we were going.

Then, the pattern changed.

We were coming through a wooded area, where the ground was relatively dry. An ancient, disused cart path, almost overgrown, split off from our trail, heading northwest. And right at the edge of the long grass, at the mouth of that cart trail, was an arrow.

While Voss picked it up, Calliope and I exchanged glances. The implication was clear- go this way.

“It could be an ambush,” Calliope pointed out.

“Yes, but this doesn't seem to be, well, a goblin's style,” I replied, “And I don't think bandits or other likely ambushers would coexist with a goblin tribe as well-supported and organized as the ones who have been hunting us.”

Calliope gave me a sour look. “I don't know... this still seems fishy to me.”

“There don't appear to be any tracks around here,” Voss mentioned, “So whoever is doing this, they're a pretty good shot, to be this precise....”

“All the more reason we might want to avoid them,” Calliope remarked.

“It all comes down to, do you want to roll the dice that this new person is a friend, or do you want to fight more goblins tonight?” I replied,

Calliope grimaced. “The dice, then?”

“We can't keep going on as we have,” I replied, “Crawling towards civilization while we bleed every night. Our fighters are wounded, and none of us has slept more than a few hours in days. So yes, I'm inclined to roll the dice.”

I signalled to Yua to take the cart down the overgrown little cart path. The tall grass, thankfully, didn't last for long, and soon the wagon was bouncing over stones and hard-packed earth as the path became more of a game trail. About a hundred yard away from the road, the cart path turned sharply around a grove of six big oak trees, and eventually crossed a small but deep cut brook where the timber mounts for a long-vanished bridge could be seen poking up out of the water. At the end of the path, right before the brook, there were two more arrows, stuck into the ground at an angle to form an “X”.

“I suppose we're here,” Voss said with a sigh, “This grove should provide a cozy place to rest, and we're shielded from the road.”

We began to form camp, hobbling the horses to graze, filling our waterskins, and setting up tents. Calliope and I backtracked to the main road, to try and set the long grass to rights and hopefully disguise the signs of our passing. While it was mostly out of sight, we helped hide the cart by piling brush around it.

Things were quiet for most of the evening- we were all so tired from the previous nights that nobody was up for any talking. Instead, I unfurled our map and tried to figure out how close to Rhymer's Cross we were.

Such a small brook would not be on any map worthy of the name, but I thought that this side path might be. It took some time, but I managed to locate a line that might have been a road a scant half-inch away from Rhymer's Cross. If that was where we were, we were close- and ought to come to farmland soon.

After evening meal, we doused the fire. Our sleep would be cold, but the light could be seen by the road. There would be plenty of rest to go around, at least. We set the watches- Calliope, Voss, myself, then Yua in the morning- and set down for the night.

I was so exhausted that I seemed to drift off as soon as my eyes closed. My sleep was dreamless as usual...

...But I was woken up by the sound of moaning, and a familiar wet squishing sound.

---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche
Race: Human
Class: Transmuter
Level (XP): 3 (5121/10000)
Hit Points: 7

Ability Scores
Strength 11
Dexterity 17
Constitution 8
Intelligence 17
Wisdom 13
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:
1st Level- 3
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog
(2nd Level): Knock

Spells Prepared:
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Wall of Fog
(2nd Level): Knock, Knock

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 332 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Ryujin

Companions: Calliope (Level 2 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 3

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp

[NoMoshing]

Chapter 55: Isekai Life & Safe Haven

I sat up in the moonlit darkness, careful not to disturb Calliope where she had cuddled up against me, and leaned from our tent to glance around, looking for the source of the noise. The campsite was mostly still, and I could see where Yua was curled up in the fetal position, cocooned in her blankets.

I caught movement from the corner of my eye, and when I realized what I was looking at, my eyes went wide.

Voss was sitting with his back to me, leaning against a fallen log. Three completely nude girls- elves, I noted by their ears- with long, unkempt hair surrounded him. One was sitting in his lap, riding him- presumably with his pants down, although I couldn't see from where he was sitting. Another was to one side, licking somewhere on his chest (his nipple?) and another was nuzzling his neck.

I had no idea where they had come from. Immediately, my mind went to possible threats- were they vampires? Succubi?

I scrabbled my way out of the tent and stood, pondering my options. Voss was tough, but with his injuries I didn't want to hose the whole area with Burning Hands and apologize later... also, that would be a dick thing to do. I was calling to mind the words to the Sleep spell when a gentle hand touched my arm.

Standing behind me were two other elf maids... except they weren't. A sweet scent, like that of tree sap, invaded my nostrils, and this close I could see the rough texture of their skin, striated with subtle lines here and there. The girl on the left had hair down to her waist, small, pert breasts, and her large eyes appeared almost luminous in the moonlight. The girl on the right had her hair in a shorter bob, and her body was curvier and more womanly, with more pronounced hips and bust.

They were also completely naked.

The slenderer of the two elf-maids tugged on my elbow. “Come, we have things to discuss,” she said, in the lilting, musical language of the elves.

Still wary, I let myself be led away. I suppose, if they really turned out to be dangerous, I could always just yell and wake the girls.

They lead me to a tree at the edge of the camp, and sat me down, resting my back on the trunk. The two girls knelt on either side of me, looking at me curiously while the sounds of Voss' lovemaking continued in the background.

“What is it?” I asked, looking from maid to maid, “What do we have to discuss? I don't even know who you are....”

“We are the fey spirits of the trees that shelter you,” said the curvier one, “I am called Asitrise. This is my daughter, Melica.”

Dryads, I immediately thought. In the dim light I couldn't see enough colour for the green of their hair or the bark-like duskiness of their skin, but that's the only thing that fit the description. Although, they were a departure from the Dryads I was used to in AD&D. In any version of D&D, Dryads are largely solitary creatures, not keeping to family groups or any sort of organization- if they appeared together, it's because they just so happened to inhabit trees near each other. Also, the category “fey creature” didn't really exist until fourth edition... but nonetheless, Corgiel's version of the creatures would seem to incorporate that element into the older edition.

“Uh, I am called Theodore,” I said in reply, “You're what we call Dryads, right?”

Asitrise nodded. “Yes. The birds and the buzzing insects have brought us word of you, and your quests, Prince Theodore. You need to know, the goblin tribe you seek to destroy is a danger to many, but it is not what caused the disappearances of so many humans.”

I blinked in surprise. Well, that was settled quickly. “So, if that's the case... what is, then?”

“Something very old,” Melica replied this time, “Something ancient beyond imagining. We Dryads have lives as the trees do, and even so this enemy was old and it's origins forgotten in the days of my grandmother's mother, you understand?”

That had to be close to a millennium, damn. I nodded.

“The Lakelands... or something in it... hates humanity,” she continued, “Every few centuries, all human life is wiped from this area. That is why the land is ripe, and fertile... but no kingdoms have risen here. No ancient empires have their roots here. Once it was part of the Misty Kingdom, long ago, but the elves have long since entered the autumn of their race, and they can no longer claim this land.”

Ah, so that's what the Misty Kingdom is. “But the goblins have no part of it?” I asked.

“Only that the humans being destroyed occasionally gives them room to thrive,” Asitrise replied, “These goblins are taking advantage of the fear spreading among the human communities, but they themselves are not responsible for the disappearances.”

“Well, alright,” I said thoughtfully, “But if that's the case, why tell us?”

“We do not want to see death on such a scale,” Asitrise replied, “Even if these people are not our own, we are still creatures of empathy, and we cannot ignore such suffering.”

“The goblins threaten us, as well,” Melica continued, “For now they fear our magic, but in time they may come in numbers, with fire and axes. But they are a distraction from your goal.”

“So, you planted those arrows, to lead us here?”

The two dryads looked at one another, surprised. “We do not carry weapons,” Asitrise said carefully, “It was you who chose to camp under our boughs, although we do thank you for not making a fire.”

Now it was my turn to be surprised. I had assumed from the start that the dryads had lead us here for this discussion, now....

“Who could have lead us here, then?”

“There are other powers at work in the Lakelands who know of our grove,” Melica replied, “Druids, the elves of the Misty Kingdom... perhaps it was one of them.”

A mysterious friend who saw how slow our progress was, how injured and tired we were. If only this person or persons would help us feather a few more goblins, we might start making real progress.

I couldn't help but notice the way Melica was playing with the belt to my robe. She began to undo it, gently pulling open my clothing to expose my underclothes. “Uh, what are you doing...?” I asked. After such dire warnings, I wasn't exactly in the mood.

“This information does not come without a price,” Asitrise replied gently, as Melica freed my cock and started to stroke it to attention, which wasn't difficult- the fact that these dryads were naked and sexy did not escape me during this conversation. “Do not worry, we only need mortal seed to start the process of growing a sapling. The results of your coupling wouldn't truly be your child.”

As if that would be my only problem with this situation!

I glanced back to where Calliope was, but she was still sound asleep, tucked into our tent. Asitrise gently laid a finger on my chin and brought my attention back to Melica as she was straddling my hips and guiding my rod inside her.

“You belong to the wizard girl?” she said, quietly, “Do not worry. Our magic keeps her asleep. Just think of this as... a pleasant segue after a prophetic dream.”

I suppose I was already not remaining faithful to either my wife or my fiancees, and they already knew that there would be nine others. Katriana had agreed to let me have other lovers, as well. So, what of it if I decide to help fertilize a new tree or two?

Melica's pussy was soft and firm as flower petals, and wet with nectar. She accepted my cock with a happy sigh, pausing only to mention to her mother, “It's bigger than you said it would be....”

Thereafter, our sex was a primal thing. Melica wasn't wild, and in fact was very delicate, riding me gently as she moaned, and accepting my hands running over her dry, barklike skin, feeling her curves and the weight of her heaving chest, somehow denser and heavier than a mortal woman's. But she was quiet, just moans and motion, and my teasing attempts at pillow talk smiled at and unanswered.

When the orgasm came over me, she went perfectly still, where my other lovers had trembled and sighed Melica simply held still and took in my seed.

“That was... better than I expected,” she said as she raised off of me, seemingly not a branch out of sorts despite our lovemaking.

“Glad to be of service,” I said, dryly. On on level, I wasn't surprised. Of course having sex with the personification of a tree would be very different from a flesh-and-blood woman. But I didn't expect everything to be so... perfunctory. “Was it at least good?

“Give her a moment,” Asitrise said softly, “We don't make love in quite the same way as mortals do. But if it was successful you should-”

I was cut off as Melica erupted in a load moan and writhed on the ground. It seemed that all the sensuality that was absence from the act of sex suddenly came over her like a wave. Her back arched, she rubbed her thighs together, and her hips twisted and turned. Then all once, she relaxed, lying on the ground, panting.

Then the realization dawned on me- When I initially protested, Asitrise was focused on the outcome of our coupling because the functional part of the act for these dryads was the insemination. Melica didn't orgasm from the act, she orgasmed because I successfully impregnated her.

I didn't know if it was that knowledge or just watching the younger dryad sensually writhe- probably a bit of both- but I felt Asitrise grip my cock, and realized that I was rock hard again. “Ah, good,” she purred, “I was hoping you'd be capable... I am not so old yet that I would be infertile.”

When Asitrise mounted me, it was a lot better. The more experienced dryad seemed to have a better understanding of what a mortal man seemed to want, and her technique was a lot wilder, bucking her hips more, speeding up and then slowing her pace in a way that enticed and excited.

Also, Melica cuddled towards me, and kissed me with her soft lips, and accepted my probing tongue. She tasted faintly of honey, and my kisses were hungry and passionate while her mother rode my cock. When I came to orgasm, Asitrise was much more active, continuing to bounce up and down on my hard rod while I pumped spurt after spurt of semen into her. Even after my own climax, she continued to ride me, coaxing me back to hardness as she went, and when she came from being successfully fertilized, I shuddered with a third orgasm.

After that, I began drifting off immediately. Whether it from the sex or their magic or just sheer exhaustion, I could not tell. “Remember, Theodore,” Asitrise spoke gently as I drifted, “Stay your course or not, just do not get confused. Your true enemy awaits.”

---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche
Race: Human
Class: Transmuter
Level (XP): 3 (5121/10000)
Hit Points: 7

Ability Scores
Strength 11
Dexterity 17
Constitution 8
Intelligence 17
Wisdom 13
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:
1st Level- 3
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog
(2nd Level): Knock

Spells Prepared:
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Wall of Fog
(2nd Level): Knock, Knock

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 332 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Ryujin

Companions: Calliope (Level 2 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp

[NoMoshing]

Chapter 56: Isekai Life & Morning Problems

“Oh, what the hell, Voss!”

I was woken up by Calliope's shout. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and yawned.

“I, uh, I must have fallen asleep.... We needed the rest anyway, right?”

“That's no excuse!”

I crawled out of the tent and got uneasily to my feet.

Voss was standing at attention, while a furious Calliope jabbed him in the chest with a pointed finger. Even Yua was giving him cut-eye from where she sat over a small fire, boiling porridge.

“Whether we needed rest or not is immaterial! You agreed to take first watch, and if you were too tired to see it through, you should have told somebody!”

“Well, I though that I-”

“It's not his fault,” I interjected, “I didn't realize it at first, but this grove is enchanted. Use your magic to see for yourself, if you can.”

I didn't think she would be able to- we had armed ourselves for battle, so to speak, just yesterday afternoon, and hadn't had any opportunity to use our magic since. Instead, she eyed the trees suspiciously and asked, “How do you know?”

“They are dryads,” I replied, “I, uh, they talked to me.”

Voss stared at me, eye goggling. “So that was... they're real!?”

Calliope crossed her arms and fixed me with a glare. “And what did they say?”

“I, uh....” I swallowed, my throat dry. It occurred to me that Calliope never wanted to fight goblins in the first place, and if I pointed out that the dryads seemed to think that the goblins weren't the true threat, she might insist that we abandon our course and leave the goblins for later.

But to defeat the true threat, we would need help. A base of operations, where we can rest. Allies to help us. New party members, too, as we were really feeling the loss of Ashryn's healing magic. And the fastest way to do that seemed to be helping Rhymer's Cross (if it still stood), defeating the goblins and winning over the folk of the Lakelands.

Also, I wasn't eager to bring up what I had done with the dryads... or what Voss had done, for that matter. It really wasn't anyone's business what he had done with whom.

“They said we would be safe, and that they would protect us from goblins,” I ended up saying, “And that they were also worried about the goblins showing up to burn down their grove.”

It wasn't a lie, just not the whole truth. That's okay, right?

Calliope still gave me a skeptical look. I could tell just from her expression that she didn't buy it... but at least she didn't question me further. “Dryads or no dryads, we need to be posting watches while we camp in the wild,” she said with finality, then whirled and stabbed Voss with a finger again, “And don't think you're off the hook. A knight needs to have discipline, and you're going to start acting like a knight even if I have to whip the discipline into you myself.”

I idly wondered if Voss would mind that. All the big man did was glumly nod, promise to do better, then walked off muttering something about the horses.

Calliope then turned back to me.

“I don't know what secrets you're keeping, but I can tell you're keeping them,” she said, crossly, “You shouldn't cover for him. He's a brave fighter, to be sure, but....”

I bristled at that. “He's sworn into my service, and he gave his life for our cause,” I said angrily, but keeping by voice low, “I think you owe him more respect than that.”

Calliope gave me a searching look. “All I'm saying is that you both need to remember who the prince is and who the knight is,” she replied in a restrained way, “You're liege and vassal, not friends. You shouldn't be conspiring like schoolboys.”

She turned on her heel and went to pack up our tent.

I could only sigh, and head over to Yua for breakfast.

The dragonborn girl handed me a bowl of porridge and raisins. I thanked her in her own language, and took a seat on a nearby fallen log to eat.

“The spear warrior should be ashamed he fell asleep on watch,” Yua said quietly, “He should have offered his life to his lord in repentance, and allowed his lord to show magnanimity by giving the warrior mercy.”

I blinked. I haven't heard Yua talk so much since that day in thee bedroom where she did that... fealty ritual or whatever she did when she realized I was royalty. And it was my first time hearing her speak so much while I was understanding her.

I point to where Voss was hitching Custard up to the wagon. “Voss.”

Yua followed my pointing hand with her eyes, and nodded. “Voss,” she repeated.

I then pointed at our other companion. “Calliope.”

“Calliope.”

I lifted up a spoonful of porridge and let it splat back into the bowl. “Porridge.”

“Porridge,” she said with a nod, then, in her native tongue, “Breakfast.”

What could I do but smile and repeat it back to her. I was beginning to realize how difficult a process this might be. I could understand her perfectly, but that also meant I had to play along when she made that kind of mistake, thinking I was referring to the meal in general rather than the specific food.

This was going to be a long and frustrating process.

Soon enough, everyone was fed, the horses were prepared, and the fire was carefully stamped out. We did what we could to hide the signs of our passage- I didn't want to accidentally lead goblins right to the nice, pretty dryads that were willing to trade safety for sex.

Our day's travel was peaceful and surprisingly ordinary, compared with the stresses that we were under coming north. There were signs of the goblins, to be sure- tracks, crude campsites, skulls left on sticks to bleach by the roadside. But we weren't being chased, and we had all day to travel. We were not out of danger, but the pressure was off and we were well rested.

I ended up doubly thankful for the dryads and our mysterious archer friend when we finally got to Rhymer's Cross. As it turned out, our estimates were off- we only got to the beginning of farmland around the town by the time we would normally be looking for a place to camp, and decided to push until we managed to make it. By the time we finally saw the walls, it was twilight, and close to midnight when we finally were close enough to hammer at the gates.

The town itself was not large, as towns go, but larger than we had come to expect in the Lakelands- about halfway between Pendleton and Osgoode Gate. It was surrounded by a twenty foot tall wooden palisade, but one made of lumber and not just rough logs- the wall had been there for awhile. We couldn't see the bridge that gave the town it's name from where we were standing, but in the quiet of night we could certainly hear the river, somewhere off in the darkness.

Voss pounded on the gates for upwards of ten minutes, long enough to cause me to eye the surrounding wheat fields nervously. The moon and stars were providing generous light, and I could see for miles, but neither the goblins nor the townfolk had thought to slash and burn the fields. A whole host of goblins could be hiding out there in the lazily waving fields and we would never know.

A harsh voice came down from the top of the wall. “Alright, who's there? We don't have any room for more mouths to feed, if you're seeking shelter.”

I raised my eyes. Above us, at the top of the wall, were two crossbowmen- judging by the silhouettes they made against the sky, anyway- and a third man squinting down at us with a lantern.

I cleared my throat, and heeled Snacks forward. “We are a group of adventurers from the south. This is Sir Voss, a knight of Tresens. My lady Calliope and I are wizards, and our servant Yua is driving the cart. We have heard of your troubles from down in Pendleton, and rode here seeking to offer our skills in dealing with the goblin threat.”

I could hear the gate guards conferring, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. Eventually, the lantern-guard shouted down, “You say you're wizards, right? Do something magic-y.”

Calliope and I exchanged glances at that. This certainly wasn't the welcome were were expected. I mentally ran down my list of prepared spells- nothing stood out to me as particularly helpful. I could cast Burning Hands, but they might take that as a threat. I could try summoning a Wall of Fog, but they might write that off as the weather. I could Knock their gate open, but even if the gate was small enough to be within my level limits it might still be construed as a threat....

Calliope ended up being the one to cut the Gordian knot. “You're asking for us to use magic, right? You're taking responsibility for that?”

“Yeah, sure, we need proof that you're not just more refugees.”

Calliope nodded, lifted her finger and invoked a Magic Missile to shatter the guard's lantern.

Force of the blast knocked out the flame, at least, but the guard was understandably startled. I could hear him swear, and closed my eyes against the bits of brass, broken glass and lantern oil that rained on us. Snacks startled, and trotted away for a few steps before I was able to calm him down and wheel back around.

“Are we magic-y enough for you?” Calliope shouted back at the guards.

In response, the gate opened, and a thickets of spearheads was waiting on the other side for us.

The soldiers didn't spread out or try to surround us, they only lowered their pikes and planted themselves, preparing to prevent our entry at all cost. The soldiers themselves were in mismatched armour- here a greathelm worn by a man all in leather, here a pair of heavy gauntlets on a man otherwise clad in chain.

I quietly reminded myself to remind Calliope of the virtue called patience.

A short woman stepped between a pair of pikemen, bearing a torch in one hand and a curved sword in the other. She peered at us in the dim light, and I could see she was exhausted. Perhaps once she had been pretty, but her cheeks had a familiar hollowness, and her eyes were bruised and bloodshot.

“Aye, I know old Rayger can be a bit of an oaf,” she eventually said, “And maybe he deserved what you just did to him. But if we let you in, will you go making trouble for us? We have problems enough as it is, and I need my soldiers to have all their bits attached.”

I bowed in the saddle. “Please pardon my lady. We're had a long, exhausting ride, harried by ambushes, and we were not prepared to have our intentions questioned. Of course, we should have expected you to be cautious.”

The woman gave a significant nod at Yua. “What's her story? I never saw a woman with antlers like that before.”

“She is a from a people foreign to us,” I explained, “From very far away. She has little grasp of Common, so I couldn't really tell you much about them.”

The woman gave a nod, as if deciding something. “Well, I'll gladly take the extra hands. If you're so eager to starve with the rest of us, you may as well get in here so we can bar the gates. I bid you welcome to Rhymer's Cross.”

---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche
Race: Human
Class: Transmuter
Level (XP): 3 (5121/10000)
Hit Points: 7

Ability Scores
Strength 11
Dexterity 17
Constitution 8
Intelligence 17
Wisdom 13
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:
1st Level- 3
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog
(2nd Level): Knock

Spells Prepared:
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Wall of Fog
(2nd Level): Knock, Knock

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 332 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Ryujin

Companions: Calliope (Level 2 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp