After spending maybe fifteen minutes explaining the birds and the bees to someone who was fifteen years older than her, Jadis found that the mood had fled the room. While there was still a great deal of attraction between them, the heat was gone and it felt more than awkward to try and rekindle it straight away. Jadis couldn't blame Severina for feeling embarrassed about her lack of education, though she hoped that the Seraphim would be interested in continuing her lessons in a more hands-on fashion sooner rather than later.
Despite not continuing their lewd activities, Jadis had still hoped that Severina would stay the night. Sex didn’t have to be on the table for her to want the Seraphim’s company. She truly was attracted to her, which meant just talking with her would have been well and truly a wonderful way to spend the rest of the evening. Severina, however, chose to take her leave. While she had openly declared her interest in Jadis, in more ways than one, she wasn’t as comfortable with the idea of sharing a bed with Jadis’ other lovers. She didn’t mind that Jadis was already in a committed relationship with eight other women; Severina understood and respected the dynamic. She wasn’t even necessarily opposed to being involved in such a relationship. However, jumping right into a more physical interaction with Jadis and her lovers wasn’t something that she felt ready for.
Considering what Jadis had just learned of Severina’s experience, or lack thereof, she completely understood.
When Jadis offered to escort Severina back to her family’s home, the paladin firmly refused the offer. What she didn’t refuse, though, was a final kiss at the door.
“Will I see you tomorrow?"
“I will try to visit you,” Severina replied, her hot breath warming Dys’ lips. “However, I do have some official duties to attend to.”
“Come by if you can,” Dys said as she held her Seraphim lover around the waist, keeping her close. “We’re going to be trying a few experiments with Sabina’s latest iteration of our new transport vehicle. I think you’ll like it. Plus, we need to pick up where we left off.”
“If possible,” the paladin replied with a rosy-cheeked blush. “My duties take precedence over any… recreational activities.”
“Hey, it’s not just about the pleasure,” Dys grinned. “This is a duty, too. I’ve got a species to repopulate.”
The scowl that Severina gave her made Jadis laugh, though she didn’t push her teasing further. Instead, Dys gave her a final kiss before setting her back down on her feet.
“I’ll see you later,” Dys told the beautiful paladin.
“Without doubt,” Severina replied with heat in her voice before composing herself in a picture of formal propriety. “Until then, Jadis.”
Dys watched the woman disappear down the dark street for a few moments before shutting the door with a sigh. Turning around, Dys folded her arms and gave the dim dining area a flat look.
“Thank you for waiting until she left,” Dys said to the darkness. “I don’t think Sev’s pride could have withstood any teasing from you at the moment.”
“Me? Tease?” Kerr’s voice echoed in the open hall. “You must be thinking of some other strong, sexy, amazing therion woman. I would never!”
“Sure,” Dys rolled her eyes. “I’m actually shocked you didn’t try to sneak into the room and watch.”
“Why would I spy?” Kerr answered her accusation with mock indignation. “I’m not Thea. Had to tie her down in one of the spare bedrooms, though. She was practically drooling at the thought of what must have been going on up there. I’ll let you imagine from which lips.”
“Will you come out where I can see you, please?” Dys demanded as she tried to spot the vulgar archer. “Using Sorcha’s wand is cheating.”
“Cheating? I heartily disagree, mon chéri,” Kerr spoke with a grin in her voice. “Though if you want to punish me for my perceived naughtiness, I won’t argue.”
“I can’t give you the spanking you deserve if I can’t see you,” Dys dryly admonished.
“Ah. Good point.”
A moment later, Kerr casually strolled into view from behind one of the many potted plants that Tegwyn had placed inside the guildhall. Well, “view” was a debatable word. Kerr was halfway see-through thanks to the spell that Sorcha had cast upon her, making the stealthy woman extremely difficult to see in the dim light of the barely illuminated room. The ghostly effect was a little chilling, though Kerr’s next words dispelled any sense of spectral menace.
“Hey, what do you think of Sorcha using one of her remaining wands to come up with something that makes me see through while we’re fucking? I mean, aren’t you curious about what’s going on in there when you shove your cock in so deep it’s tickling my throat? What if we could actually see it with some kind of modified translucence spell?”
“I do not need to see what magic is doing an excellent job at obfuscating,” Dys laughed at Kerr’s crude thought process. “Where is everyone else?”
“Waiting in one of the spare rooms,” Kerr replied with a shrug. “Talking about whether or not you and the paragon actually did the deed.”
“Except for me…”
“Fuck!”
Dys practically leapt out of her skin as Alex whispered the words next to her ear. Whirling around, she saw the Demon hanging off the wall over the door, just as translucent as Kerr but even harder to see thanks to her inky-black color. The neon-blue parts of her body barely showed thanks to the spell’s effect, which helped Alex blend into the background with startling success.
“I swear, if you weren’t the mother of my child…”
“Punish me… Too…” Alex purred in a perfect imitation of Kerr’s sultry tone.
“Hey! I’m the one getting punished by her!” Kerr snapped as she quickly leapt into Dys’ arms and wrapped her legs around her waist. “You wait your turn, squid butt!”
“Share…” Alex continued in her sexy voice as several see-through tentacles wrapped suggestively around Kerr’s body. “Or I will… Tell Aila…”
“Well fuck me,” Kerr grinned wickedly between Dys and Alex. “I guess I better learn my lesson about how to share big fat cocks with sex Demons before a leggy redhead punishes me, huh? Why don’t you help me with that, big stuff?”
“It’ll be my pleasure,” Dys grinned back.
The next morning was, predictably, a late one. Not that Jadis would have changed a thing, but she had originally planned to get up early to help Sabina with her preparations. When Jadis and most everyone else did finally rouse themselves, it was already past the tenth bell. Sabina had not slept in, though. Not even a night of rigorous lewd escapades could stop her from waking up at dawn. The smith had already been down in her workshop for hours by the time Jadis and everyone else had come down the stairs. Alex had apparently chosen to go with her, as Jadis saw when she had glanced out one of the windows to see the Demon helping Sabina and her young assistants carry various supplies from the workshop to the modified Behemoth wagon.
“Will you be leaving the city today?” Gunnar asked as Jay grabbed a few small loaves of bread and hunks of cheese for her breakfast.
“Yes,” Jay told the man after swallowing a mouthful. “We’re going to head out to the open pastures to the south of the city. Not far, but the place is maybe an hour or so out. We want to avoid causing a commotion, so we don’t want to be too close to the city.”
“I will let any who come calling know you will be back this evening, then.”
“Thanks,” Jay smiled at Gunnar. “Hold the fort down.”
After wolfing down a quick breakfast, Jadis set about helping Sabina with her preparations, as did most everyone else. The only one of their group who didn’t was Eir, who instead of offering physical labor took the time to pen a letter in response to Wilhelm’s two letters that had arrived the day before. Jadis called out her responses to the priestess while she worked, not worrying about anyone overhearing the dictation. Nothing she was saying was sensitive information, just as nothing the Hero had written was anything that needed to be kept secret.
The first letter had been a short report regarding their progress on hunting down the cultists. They had arrived in Leath some weeks ago and while they had found some initial success thanks to Valtar’s guidance, their investigation had frustratingly stalled out. The Sparrow’s Wing had turned out to be the name of a local ale house, and when Wilhelm and his party had searched the place, they had found a tunnel leading to a secret underground hideout beneath the building.
Valtar had been quite literal when he had said, “You will find the trail you seek under the Sparrow’s Wing.”
The Hero and his companions had managed to root out the small sect of cultists that had been operating in the city, though not without a good amount of damage and chaos along the way. The Hero’s party had been in Leath for some time for their investigation, and the letter was mostly to let Jadis know that they had done all they could in the city. While they had captured or killed all of the local cultists, their mission wasn’t wholly successful. Unfortunately, they hadn’t managed to find the head of the cultists who had fled from Eldingholt, though they had a trail to follow at least. Wilhelm’s letter did not expressly state where the trail led, which made some sense. Letters weren’t always the most secure means of communication, and Jadis was sure that Wilhelm didn’t want to risk the news getting out if the letter happened to be intercepted.
The second letter had been a hasty update that had been penned maybe a day or two after the first. Apparently, Noll had shown up in Leath. The powerful mercenary had been given the task of hunting down the Greater Demon that had escaped the initial attack on the capital. His own search for the centipede monstrosity had taken him to the city of Leath, so he had temporarily joined up with the Hero’s party to aid them in their mission. They hoped that his aid would help them to finish the hunt soon, since the longer the Hero and his companions were away from the front lines, the harder things were on the soldiers who were fighting against the demonic invasion.
Dictating her response to Wilhelm’s letters reminded Jadis of the letter Elodie Brunholt had sent her. Once she had finished her thought and Eir had written down the last of her own update for the Hero, she asked the priestess to write another letter.
“Can you please let Elodie know that I am not able to attend her tea party?” Jay called over her shoulder as she carried a large bundle of black cloth to the wagon. “In suitably polite terms. I don’t actually want to piss her off, but I’m just not interested in dressing up and sipping tea with her and a bunch of noble ladies.”
“I will be kind in my rejection,” Eir smiled as she began writing the response. “I’m certain that she understands you well enough by now that she did not actually expect you to come.”
“Then why bother?” Bridget asked as she and Kerr stacked crates off to one side. “Seems like a waste of time.”
“Because it’s her way of letting me know that she wants to talk to me about something that she can’t send by letter,” Syd informed the orc with a wry smile. “I’m getting way too used to the way courtly intrigues work around here. We really need to get away for a while.”
“I will invite her to come visit in three days’ time,” Eir said as she penned a far more elegant response than Jadis could have managed. “I do not believe that her concern is urgent considering her letter’s wording.”
“Whatever you say,” Bridget shook her head. “That’s all way over my head.”
Eir smiled and opened her mouth to retort but paused instead as she tilted her head and wiggled her long ears.
“Ah! I believe Tegwyn and his squad have returned from their mission.”
“Yup, I can hear them,” Kerr confirmed as she leaned an elbow on top of the crates. “Sounds like they were successful, too.”
“Good!” Jay exclaimed. “I’ll go see what they found.”
Making her way inside, Jay soon heard what her lovers with better hearing had already picked up on. The sound of Teg’s Team had filled the main hall, a bustle of voices that sounded both eager and upbeat. Passing through the kitchen, Jay was met by a chorus of shouted greetings from the group.
“Jadis! Good news, my friend!” Tegwyn called out with a broad smile on his face. “We have returned victorious! Demons have been slain, villagers have been saved, and we have even been paid!”
“That is good news,” Jay laughed as she approached the group. “Especially that last part.”
While Fortune’s Favored wasn’t in any danger of going into the red, they had been relying almost exclusively on their previous savings as well as rather generous aid from the temples to fund their various projects. It was nice to start earning money again.
“We have also managed to accomplish your secondary objective,” Nevan, the charming gnome, said with a dramatic flourish and bow. “Twice over, I might add!”
“One strangling crawler, suitably contained,” Orla, the sexy gnome, explained as she tapped her fingernail against the top of an ironbound chest. “And one possession Demon, removed from the body of a cow,” she continued as she indicated a smaller wooden box that had been wrapped in iron chains.
“It was not easy finding it, let me tell you,” Terrance, the former city runner huffed as he waved a hand at the box.
“You’re going to have to tell me all about it,” Jay grinned. “Nice job, everyone! Get yourselves cleaned up and take a rest. Having just passed through the kitchen, I can confidently tell you that Hans is almost done preparing lunch.”
Nevan and Orla headed off to their shared room right away, strolling hand in hand as they happily chatted to each other. Following right behind them were the three newest members of the company, all three of whom had their own rooms on the second floor.
“Ma’am,” Humbert bobbed his head in a subdued greeting as he passed Jay by.
Humbert was a thick-jawed orc who had joined Fortune’s Favored about a week after the attack on the city. The orc wasn’t particularly tall for his people, but he had exceptionally wide shoulders and a heavy build that reminded Jadis of a bulldog. He was a quiet man, friendly enough but serious and not prone to small talk. He had been a dock worker and had been one of the people who had survived the attack on the river dock in the undercity. He’d actually managed to kill four Demons on his own with a pole hook. Humbert didn’t have any kind of tragic backstory stemming from the attack; his family was safe and most of his friends had also survived. Still, having been directly involved in the attack, Humbert felt as though he had been given a sign that he needed to contribute more directly with the war effort and had thus immediately applied to both the military and several mercenary companies. He had been rejected by everyone else because he was already CLR twenty-four and both of his classes were non-combat in nature. Jadis, however, had happily welcomed the man. So far as she was concerned, anyone who had the kind of drive Humbert had displayed despite not having a combat class was a valuable addition to the crew.
“Good morning, ma’am,” Villum said a second later as he followed on Humbert’s heels.
Villum was a young elf with skin the color of a purple grape and bright red hair he had pulled back in a tight ponytail. The elf had actually unlocked his primary class the night of the attack on Eldingholt, mere hours after helping his neighborhood defend against the Demons that had been attacking the guard barracks. Villum had always planned on becoming a mercenary and had been training for it for most of his adolescence, so he had immediately chosen a combat class as soon as the system unlocked for him. Likely due to his direct involvement with the defense of the city, Villum had been granted a higher-tier class that was well above what was normally offered to most aspiring fighters called Spear Striker. While he was only CLR six at this stage, Aila considered the young and inexperienced man to be an excellent investment in the future, an idea that Jadis wholeheartedly agreed with.
“You don’t have to call me ma’am,” Jay told the two men as they passed by. “You’re literally older than me, Humbert! My name is fine!”
“Lady Jadis, do you think there will be enough time for me to bathe?”
Jay turned her gaze down to meet the hazel eyes of Cora. The pretty priestess was smiling up at her, hands clasped together in a picture of innocence.
Cora was one of the priestesses from Lyssandria’s temple that Jadis had taken a liking to. Ever since the curly-haired human had lent her the erotic book, Jadis had enjoyed some simple flirting here and there with the pretty woman. She had been assigned to Fortune’s Favored as a field healer once Jadis had moved out of the temple, a practice not uncommon for young clerics and priests who were trying to increase their levels. Cora had a proper Priestess of Lyssandria class and therefore did not have the kind of immediate healing spells that Eir did as a Cleric, but she was still a strong healer that excelled at regeneration rituals.
“You’re doing that on purpose,” Jay accused the brunette.
“Perhaps,” Cora answered sweetly.
“No, I don’t think so,” Jay answered the coquettish woman. “But I’m sure you won’t offend anyone if you want skip lunch in favor of a bath.”
“Perhaps I will delay the bath for now and wait to take it at the temple bathhouse, if you and the others are going there tonight?”
“We’ll see,” Jay told the priestess as she continued past her. “It’ll depend on how late we get back from our trip this afternoon.”
“Oh, is today the day of the test?” Cora turned back to face Jay. “Will we be allowed to watch?”
Jay saw that the others had also paused to look at her, all ears once talk of the test run had come up.
“Anyone who wants to come is free to join us,” Jay announced for everyone to hear. “We’re leaving for the south fields after lunch.”
The new members started moving a lot faster after that. A general air of excitement and anticipation had hung over the guild for weeks as Sabina’s grand experiment had neared the point where it could be put to a full test. Everyone was eager to see if the mad smith’s enchantments would work.
“Let’s put these two somewhere secure for now,” Tegwyn said as he lifted the heavy chest up while Terrance picked up the smaller box. “I imagine the whole grove is going to want to see this.”
“For sure,” Jay nodded her agreement. “Who wouldn’t want to see the world’s first flight?”
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