After having dinner and a couple drinks in the Ramblehouse’s dining room, Valbrand went back to his room. Kermit stayed downstairs, sipping tea with Cham, who had at least temporarily decided to swear off alcohol.
Alone in the room with his thoughts, Valbrand immediately began thinking about women, or the lack thereof in his room at the moment. There hadn’t even been any of note in the dining room, so it wasn’t like he could do anything about that at the moment. Well, that wasn’t entirely correct. Lucky Days was attractive enough, but she wasn’t an option after the letter he’d received that night.
For some reason, Rodd Rigez had specifically sent Valbrand a letter telling him not to make a move on Lucky Days. Something about it “interfering with Rodd’s plans for the girl”. Well, if Rodd Rigez had designs on her, then Valbrand wouldn’t get in the way. He owed the man his life. Least he could do was not go after the guy’s woman.
But that still left the large man with a problem. Two, both of which were very blue at the moment. After all, you simply couldn’t have a good fight and not go wenching afterwards. That’s just how things worked.
He considered the half-elf girl, Gwen. After all, she was definitely attractive. But she was also grieving. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem for Valbrand. Grieving girls needed comfort, after all, and that was a route into the girl’s good graces. But that girl was different. She looked perpetually angry, and it was clear that she didn’t like Valbrand. There was no way he was bedding her tonight. Not that the possibility wasn’t there for the future. After all, hatred was its own route to a girl’s bed.
But that wasn’t happening tonight. And the large man didn’t want to risk that samsarran cleric’s ire. He hadn’t made any threats. Not exactly. But he had lectured Valbrand and Kermit for well over an hour, and that was annoying. And he’d promised an even longer lecture if Valbrand bothered Gwen again.
So he needed another woman to go after. But who? And how would he find her? It had to be someone he could find easily. The first girl who came to mind was that girl, Brinya. She was attractive enough. But even Valbrand wouldn’t take advantage of a girl who had just lost her betrothed. Not the same day. Maybe a week later.
No, someone else. Maybe that girl who had been comforting her? Karna, he thought her name was. She was rather attractive as well. But where to find her? Would she be with Brinya, or elsewhere? If the former, she would be harder to pull away. But if the latter, she would be harder to find. No. That wouldn’t work.
Then it hit him. He remembered the priestess, and more importantly, that paladin who obviously hadn’t gotten with her despite trying. Valbrand considered just how awesome it would be to see the look on that smug paladin’s face after the woman he wanted had been moaning Valbrand’s name and that thought was even better than the thought of bedding the voluptuous priestess.
That settled it. He was going back to the Sanctuary.
First, he pulled back on his armor. He remembered well the fight with the wolves. If there were going to be more wolves, he wasn’t going out there unprepared. He was horny and very lightly drunk, not stupid.
As he made his way through the Ramblehouse’s main room, Kermit spotted him. The grippli hopped up and walked over to him. “Where are you going?” he asked the large man.
“I’m going to the Sanctuary,” Valbrand said.
Kermit sipped his tea. By the time he was finished, he had gleaned the entirety of Valbrand’s objective “Glenn, come, we’re going to the Sanctuary,” he said.
The man in the pelican suit looked over to where his master was and spotted Valbrand standing there. He sighed and put a coin on the counter to pay the hostess before drinking down his beer. It was going to be one of those long nights. He really just hoped he wouldn’t have to run from dogs. Or guards. Or guards with dogs. Again.
When they opened the door to go outside, Lucky Days was standing there, having just returned from a post-dinner run. “Hey! Where are you guys going?” she asked.
“To the Sanctuary,” Valbrand said.
“Oh, you need to pray?”
“Something like that.”
“Would you like to come along?” Kermit asked.
“Should I?” the girl asked in return. She still wasn’t sure where she stood with these two, or even why Coach had sent her to them. So, of course, she was unsure what she should do.
“Rodd Rigez probably would,” Kermit answered. “To keep Valbrand out of trouble.”
“Oh. If it’s one of Coach’s obligations, then I guess I have to take care of it in his place until he gets here,” she said in a chipper voice. “Lead the way.”
They crossed through the town with little trouble, making their way to the Sanctuary. As usual for temples of that kind, the door was unlocked to allow the faithful to enter and pray at any hour, though an acolyte stood guard at the door. He waved them inside with a nod.
Once inside, Valbrand leaned his weapon, shield and helmet against the wall next to a bench and turned to the others. “Wait here,” he said. Kermit nodded and hopped onto the bench. Glenn and Lucky Days sat down next to Kermit while Valbrand crossed the room to the door at the far end.
The door led to a hallway which led back to the temple’s quarters, where he knew he would find the priestess. He even knew which door would be her chambers. After all, Temples of Iomedae were pretty standardized, and this wasn’t his first time in the back area of one.
The last time hadn’t involved a lovely priestess. Indeed, the head of that temple had been an elderly cleric with a hump on his back. No, that last trip in the back of such a temple had been to retrieve Rodd Rigez, who had been caught trying to steal the skull of the temple’s founder from the crypt below, and thus found himself languishing in a cell. The key was, of course, to be located in the quarters of the ranking cleric on site.
Luckily, he and Kermit had avoided alerting anyone else in the back aside from the surprised holy man, who had been quickly silenced by a swift blow to the head from Valbrand’s mailed fist. They then confirmed that the cleric was not dead, grabbed the key, overpowered the guards outside of the temple’s cell, and rescued their friend.
Valbrand never asked Rodd Rigez why he kept stealing skulls. At some point he knew the curiosity would overwhelm him and he’d have to know. But that wasn’t much on his mind at the moment. No, the priestess’ door stood before him.
He knocked softly. Everything was silent for a moment, then he heard a voice at the door. “Who is it?”
“It is Valbrand, priestess,” he answered gently. “May I speak with you?”
“It is a very late hour. Can this not wait until morning?”
“I do not believe so,” Valbrand said.
“Just a moment, then,” Tyari answered back. A few moments later, the door opened just enough for the priestess to step outside. She shut it behind her. Valbrand looked at her. Her hair was disheveled and it was apparent that she had thrown on her light robes hastily. She had definitely been in bed when he arrived. “So, what is it that troubles you, good Valbrand?”
“I’ve come to apologize,” the large man said.
“For what?” she asked, genuinely perplexed.
“I was rude to you earlier. It was uncalled for and I regret doing so.”
“Oh. I see. Well, good Valbrand, consider yourself forgiven. Is that all that troubles you?” She was obviously ready to get back to bed, but did not seem too annoyed by the intrusion.
“I wanted to explain. You see, I took to the faith of Gorum when I was a boy. Our priest was careful to drill into us just how great and powerful our god was, and how all others paled in comparison. At times, when I least want it, those teachings surface at the back of my mind and I mouth off to those who mean me no harm. And while Gorum has granted me great gifts of strength, prowess and stamina, that does not excuse my lapses in civility.”
She smiled at the man. He seemed truly genuine in his contrition. “We all have our burdens, good Valbrand. As long as we struggle to overcome them, the Gods understand our intentions and will not hold them entirely against us.”
“I’m relieved to hear that.” He reached into his bag and produced a fine bottle of expensive brandy – the spoils of a raid on a corrupt nobleman’s alcohol cellar spurned on by the request of the man’s put upon servants – and held it out to the priestess. “I brought this for you as an apology gift.”
She took the bottle. She wasn’t a connoisseur of expensive alcohols, but she could easily tell that it was extremely valuable from the craftsmanship of the bottle itself. “This is an amazing gift. It is absolutely unnecessary, though.”
“I want you to have it,” Valbrand said. “But if you feel it too great of a gift, perhaps instead we can open it and share a drink while you tell me of your goddess. I can also share tales of my adventures, if you’d like.”
“Perhaps another time,” she answered. “I –“
But she didn’t finish the sentence. Instead, her door opened from the inside. “What’s taking you so long?” a woman’s voice asked. Valbrand turned to see a bemused – and very naked – Karna standing there. Her red hair seemed to glow in the soft light and the blue lock seemed to sparkle.
With a look like a panicked deer, Tyari did the only thing she could think of. She opened the bottle of alcohol and took a big gulp.
Valbrand immediately understood the situation. He smiled hungrily at the women. “I have stamina enough for both of you,” he said.
Tyari choked on the alcohol and coughed. Karna let out a laugh that chimed like a bell. “Perhaps we should not discuss this out here. Both of you, come inside quickly before someone else investigates the scene we’re making.”
Valbrand wasn’t going to argue. He immediately took a couple steps into the priestess’ chambers. Tyari had to be dragged inside by Karna, who shut the door behind them. Valbrand took his time drinking in the scene, especially the image of the naked woman before him. He had to admit that while he had seen a number of naked women before, he had only seen a few whose bodies compared to the one before him.
“Do you like what you see?” Karna asked him playfully.
“Very much so,” he admitted.
Tyari took another drink. “He shouldn’t be in here,” she said.
Karna smiled and walked over. She pressed her naked body against Tyari. The woman looked at her and Karna leaned in and kissed the priestess, tasting the alcohol on her lips. “That is quite delicious,” she said. She stroked Tyari’s hair. “Come now, lover, I know we were having fun, but I think in this case adding another will only make things even more fun. Try to imagine the possibilities,” she breathed softly in the woman’s ear.
The feeling of Karna’s breath on her ear sent a shiver down Tyari’s spine. She felt the woman’s small hand fondling her backside tenderly, gently and suggestively pushing her towards Valbrand.
“I… am sorry,” Tyari finally said. “I cannot.”
“It’s okay,” Karna said gently. “I understand. Sorry, big guy. As much fun as I think you would have been, I want her more than I want you, so I’m gonna have to side with her this time.” Her tone told Valbrand that she wasn’t turning him down, only postponing for a potential later engagement.
Valbrand knew he wasn’t going to succeed and he wasn’t one to force the matter. “I understand,” he said. “But perhaps I might trouble each of you for a single kiss to warm me on the trip back to the Ramblehouse?” he asked, making sure to tell Karna where he was staying so she could find him for any later discussions.
“That does seem fair,” Karna said. “Are you okay with that?” she asked Tyari.
“I… guess that isn’t too much to ask,” Tyari conceded.
“Shall I go first?” Karna asked.
“It’s okay,” Tyari said. “I’ll go first.”
The priestess walked over to Valbrand, who reached out his arm and pulled her into him. He then kissed her hungrily for several moments – allowing his hand to slide up her robe and linger upon her backside while doing so – before finally letting her go. He knew holding her any longer would only upset her.
He released her and the shocked looking priestess stepped back. Then it was Karna’s turn. Her kiss was far more enthusiastic, and as she kissed him, she gently pulled his hand onto her bare breast, letting out a soft moan as his fingers gently caressed her erect nipple. While they kissed, Valbrand felt a shiver run down his spine that gave him goosebumps and his lips tingled where hers touched them.
After their lingering kiss, they released each other and Valbrand began to walk to the door. “Thank you for your time.” He grinned. “Please enjoy yourselves – and the alcohol.” He then turned and reached out for the door.
“Wait!” Tyari whispered.
Valbrand stopped. “Yes?” he asked. He turned to see Tyari looking at him shyly as Karna held her hand.
“Maybe… it would be okay if you stayed,” she said.
Karna squeezed the woman’s hand appreciatively and gently kissed Tyari’s neck. “Go ahead and remove your robes,” she told the woman. “He’s gonna need some help removing his armor.”
Karna walked over to Valbrand and began helping him remove his mail. He took the opportunity to run his hands all over her lithe body. Once she had his mail and shirt off, Karna ran her hands over Valbrand’s hairy and well-muscled chest, then tiptoed up to kiss his neck. Tyari couldn’t believe just how hot she found the scene, her hands wandering over her own body unbidden, as if they had a mind of their own.
“She has never lain with a man before,” Karna whispered into Valbrand’s ear. “Be gentle with her. And make sure you climax within her.” Her tone was mischievous.
Valbrand nodded slightly. The former request was easy enough, and the latter was simply what a man was supposed to do. “Do not fret,” he said. “I will have more than enough to fill both of you.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” Karna said hungrily as she undid his belt. “But we shouldn’t leave our poor virgin priestess waiting on us too long while we flirt.” She looked at Tyari and smiled at the woman’s awestruck reaction as Valbrand’s pants fell to the floor, then led him over to the bed where the priestess waited, looking like she might begin shaking with nervousness.
Karna climbed into bed next to the nervous woman and began kissing her to distract her as Valbrand joined them, though Valbrand’s arrival certainly did not go unnoticed for long.
Nearly an hour – a very vocal, very enthusiastic hour – later, Valbrand had finally finished with Tyari, who lay exhausted upon the bed beneath him as he turned to look at Karna. “Give me one, no better make that two minutes, then it’ll be your turn for my full attention.”
She smiled appreciatively. “I can wait a couple minutes. Our priestess seems like she needs some cuddling, anyway.”
Valbrand got up and took a seat on a nearby stool and grabbed a drink of water from a pitcher of water. He then poured a bit of the rest in his hair and stood. As he did so, he walked over to where Karna was kissing and whispering to Tyari.
As Valbrand approached, a look of horror appeared on Tyari’s face as the euphoria faded and realization of what she had done truly set in. “Please, go!” she whispered, staring at Valbrand.
Confused, Valbrand turned to Karna. “What’s going on?”
The woman was smirking. “You should probably go. The full situation finally hit our little priestess, and she’s gonna need some time.”
“But shouldn’t I give you your turn?” Valbrand asked.
She pulled Tyari’s crying face to her breast. “Oh, you’ve given me plenty, thank you. It’s not like you completely ignored me, and your hands are as adept as they are large. You can put your armor back on by yourself, yes?”
“I can,” Valbrand said. He still wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but it was his first head priestess after all. Maybe they were weird. “Feel free to visit me if you want to continue this later,” he said as he got the last piece of his clothing on.
“Oh, I will definitely be visiting you,” she agreed.
Valbrand walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. In the hallway stood the paladin from earlier, Brantos. His eyes shot daggers at Valbrand. It was clear that Tyari had gotten more than sufficiently loud enough for him to hear.
Valbrand gave a smirk of his own and pushed past the man, bumping into him with his shoulder, whistling as he rejoined the others. “Did you get the blessing you were looking for?” Lucky Days asked innocently.
“I did,” Valbrand said, giving her a wide smile. “More blessing than I had planned on.”
It had been a good day.
At least, it had been a good day for Valbrand. Jazier was having an annoying day. He had watched the three leave while he was sitting down for dinner. Cham came and took his order, then promptly forgot about him. So Jazier sat in the corner of the common room waiting for dinner for over an hour before calling for Cham’s attention and being tended to. He was used to this. It was just another aspect of his curse. Things just happened in the most annoying way to inconvenience him. He did not blame the halfling.
Of course, his magnanimity was tested to its limits when the halfling returned, tripped and covered Jazier in soup. The only saving grace was that the soup had not been too hot, and thus Jazier only had to use a bit of magic to clean himself off, much like he had with all the graffiti earlier.
Cham apologized profusely, of course, and got him a new bowl of soup at no cost. But Jazier just waved off her apology. It wasn’t her fault. It was simply his luck. She was merely an instrument of his fate, and his fate was to suffer. At least until he found his brother and paid him back for his role.
After supper – bland, tepid pork soup with beans – Jazier returned to his room to continue his reading. The journal was mostly asinine, filled with poetic drivel and a hope to bridge the divide between the half orcs and the other residents of the town, but it did have interesting bits about his investigation into the Plague House.
Still, the bits of poetry far outweighed the interesting bits, and it wasn’t long before Jazier found himself dozing in his chair. He was so out of it, he didn’t notice his door open slightly and only barely caught the sight of movement right before the attack.
A red haired woman with dark skin flicked her wrist, causing a blade made of ice to harden in her hand. It was an alchemical device, a liquid blade – a favorite of assassins and any who needed a weapon that was easily smuggled past authorities.
Jazier fell out of his chair in an attempt to dodge, taking a heavy slash to his chest that only narrowly missed his heart. He stumbled over to the window, attempting to escape his assailant, but the glass was shut tight. His hands, covered with blood, would be unable to work the latch. So instead, he quickly cast a spell, causing lightning to appear in his hand.
He reached out to zap his foe, but the nimble woman dodged backwards. She prepared to attack again when the door opened, Cham standing there. “I’m sorry to bother you, Mister Jazier, but I want to apo- AHH!!” the halfling screamed as the assassin struck at her.
Down in the street below, Valbrand was returning, whistling a tune, when he happened to glance towards the Ramblehouse. He spotted Jazier standing in the window, his bloody hand leaving a smeared mark on the glass. “He’s in trouble!” Lucky Days said, having seen the same. “I’m going!” she shouted, dashing away and holding Sakura-chan ready to attack.
“Valbrand!” Kermit shouted.
“Right!” the big man said, picking the grippli up and hurling him with all his might straight at the glass.
“GUYVER!” Kermit shouted, powering up as he flew through the air.
Back in the room, Jazier reached out, making contact and zapping the assassin, who cried out in pain. She turned to face him and missed the arrival of Lucky Days, who slashed her in the back, causing her to stumble forward. Then, with an explosion of glass, Kermit crashed in through the window. He immediately took stock of what was happening and reached out a clawed hand.
The powered up grippli grabbed the head of the assassin and slammed her into one of the wall’s wooden beams. The assassin died with a sickening crunch as the back of her skull came crashing out of the front of her face.
Cham took one look at the imposing form of Kermit and let out a scream. “AAAHH!! KILL IT!”
Kermit, convinced that there were no more foes, powered down, his suit disappearing in a cloud of mist. “It’s okay. I’ve already killed the attacker,” he said.
That was the final straw, the part that broke Cham’s ability to cope. “Ababwa. Hibbe ga,” she stammered. Her eyes then rolled back in her head and she fainted.
“Champ!” Lucky Days gasped. She picked up the halfling and carried her over to the bed.
Kermit looked at the halfling. “She’ll be fine,” he said, trying to reassure Lucky Days. “What of you?” he asked Jazier.
“I’ll be fine,” the wizard said with a cough as he rubbed devil’s blood between his fingers as he cast a spell. His pupils became bright red and his sclera became black as his wounds began to heal.
Lucky Days glanced out the window and spotted movement. “There’s another one down there!” she said, pointing at the man downstairs dressed in similar garb to the assassin trying to escape. She ran over to the other side of the room, grabbed Sakura-chan and vaulted out of the shattered window.
Kermit looked at Jazier. “I’ll be fine!” the wizard said. “Go!”
The grippli nodded. “Glenn! Valbrand! We’re chasing another one outside!” he shouted as he leapt out of the window to follow the energetic girl.
In the hallway, the man in the pelican suit sighed, his shoulders drooping as he turned around and began running down the stairs. Luckily for him, Valbrand was behind where he had been, so he didn’t have to move to get out of the large man’s way. And at least there weren’t any dogs.
Lucky Days pursued the assassin down the streets. It was clear that there would be no outrunning the young woman, who was at least twice as fast as he was, so the assassin headed toward the predetermined fall back point and dashed halfway across the bridge before spinning around and readying his liquid blade.
The girl slashed him just as he turned, dropping him as a crossbow bolt from the assassin that had been hiding next to the bridge hit her in the back. She yanked the bolt out – it was a shallow but painful wound – and charged the female assassin with the crossbow. The pain caused her to miss as she winced.
Hearing the sounds of the others coming behind her, the female assassin knew she couldn’t stay to fight, but she had also seen the girl run, so she knew outright fleeing wouldn’t work either. So, thinking quickly, she dropped her crossbow and quickly reached out, yanking the girl’s skirt down around her knees before dashing past her.
Lucky Days was startled by the action and hesitated, unsure of what to do. Then she spotted Valbrand rounding the building, just behind Kermit, and reacted instinctually. “NO!” she shouted. “Don’t look!” She dropped Sakura-chan as she covered her panties with her hands as best she could.
After a few seconds, she realized that Valbrand was far enough away that she had time to pull up her skirt, so she quickly did so, grabbed Sakura-chan and chased after the fleeing assassin. But she was too late. Once the assassin was out of sight, she managed to hide and completely evade Lucky Days’ pursuit.
The girl returned to the bridge, where the others were standing over the fallen assassin. “He’s alive,” Valbrand was saying. “I’ll heal his wounds and you can help me make him talk.” Kermit just nodded.
“Oh, right,” Lucky Days said. “Um, I think I got hit,” she said, wincing in pain.
Valbrand turned to her. “Where?”
“On my back.” She turned around to show him. Luckily her shirt left her midriff bare, so the arrow had not pierced it. “Is it bad? Will it leave a scar?”
Valbrand examined the wound. “No, you will not scar if I heal it promptly. But this might hurt a bit.” He firmly but gently placed his hand upon the wound. The girl winced in pain but said nothing as he cast his spell. As the wound mended, her damaged nerves cried out in pain, causing a few tears to form in her eyes. But after a mere few seconds, the pain was gone, leaving only a dull soreness not unlike that she encountered after a good workout.
“Thank you,” she told the large man.
“Any time. Now try to look menacing. We’re going to interrogate the prisoner.”
Kermit sat on the man’s chest and carefully closed his hand around the man’s throat, applying the barest of pressure. Valbrand touched the injured man’s shoulder and cast his spell again. The man woke with a start and screamed at the sight of Kermit’s glowing eyes inches from his face.
“Don’t be so dramatic,” Valbrand said. “My friend’s just mad that your accomplice escaped.”
“Asha, that bitch!” the assassin cursed. “Look, it’s nothing personal. It was just a job.”
“She pulled down my skirt and made it personal,” Lucky Days said angrily as she struck the man’s shoulder with the butt end of Sakura-chan.
“Just take me to jail. I don’t want to die. It was all Asha’s idea. I only met the boss once.”
“So you did meet him,” Kermit growled as he squeezed the man’s neck ever so slightly harder.
“Please!” the man gasped. “I have a wife and kids at home!”
“No,” Valbrand said with a smile. “You have a widow and orphans, unless you tell us everything you know.”
“Okay! Okay! The man who hired us was a half orc! He said his name is Katrezra!”
“What else do you know?!” Kermit growled.
“That’s it! I swear! He just wanted us to kill the wizard in the turban!”
“You’re lying!” Kermit said, squeezing hard enough to cause the man to begin to choke as fire burned in the suited grippli’s eyes.
The assassin’s eyes rolled back in his head as his brain began to suffer from lack of blood flow. “Kermit!” Lucky Days said in alarm, pulling at his shoulder. The grippli choked the man a few seconds more, until he was sure he was unconscious, then released him.
Kermit looked up and saw Glenn arrive. “There you are. Tie him up and bring him back to the inn,” he told his servant.
Glenn sighed and reached into his knapsack to find some rope. Valbrand clapped Glenn on the back and laughed. “Don’t worry, friend! I will help you carry him!”
From a nearby rooftop, a shadowy figure who had been watching the whole thing chuckled to himself as he watched Lucky Days leave. “So, they’re pink, huh? Very interesting.”
0 Comments