Since there'd been no trail to follow from Lysandra’s glade, Saelia and I had to slip around bushes and weave through trees as we hiked through the wilds of the Forest of Embers. I still didn’t know where we were heading or whatever the warden had in mind. But, I trusted her not to lead me to my death, so questions about that could wait… “Care to tell me why you stopped me back there?” I asked. The warden traced her pale fingertips along the bark of a thick tree as she walked around it. “Stopped you from doing what?” Her messy black ponytail swished as she flashed me a teasing grin over her shoulder. “You know what…” I started to wonder if sadistic teasing was really the only reason she asked me to go with her instead of proceeding with Lysandra. She’s pretty good at hiding stuff. What if she’s actually upset about where things were going with Lysandra? “You asked me not to grab her ass and go with you instead. Why? You weren’t, like, bothered or something, were you?” Saelia
Saelia snorted at me, then hummed in feigned deliberation. “Hmm… I guess so.” “You sure? Not a lot of rooms in that cabin. If I can get her to fuck me, there’s a real possibility you’ll probably walk in on it.” “I wouldn’t mind.” When I saw heat starting to enter her expression, I had an urge to add kindling. “What about doing it right in front of you if you happen to be around? Like, how would you have felt if earlier I’d bent Lysandra over the dining table and fucked her in front of you?” Saelia’s smile grew wider with her arousal. Her dark eyes glittered in the warm light of the Forest of Embers as she glanced at me. “Did I not tell you I found the two of you flirting in my presence to be more arousing than I imagined it would be… What makes you think I wouldn’t join, or at the very least pleasure myself, at the sight of you taking Lysandra’s tight cunt?” “I have your vote then?” “You have it. I vote in favor of you fucking Lysandra to your heart’s content if you are able to m
Saelia and I crouched behind a bush. We peeked around its leafy branches to look at the monsters I was supposed to fight. In a village about fifty yards away, I saw over a dozen humanoid creatures with red skin milling around the center of town. They reminded me of goblins in how they were dressed in rags and would probably almost reach my chest if they stood next to me. Each of them also carried weapons of poor quality ranging from homemade clubs to nicked, rusty scimitars. The village only featured six buildings, all of which were centered around a dead bonfire of broken furniture and branches. All of the structures were in disrepair, but looked as though they’d been made for humans and other races of that size. Seeing these monsters stroll around like they owned the place sent a chill up my spine for how that might’ve come to be. “So, I’m guessing the people who used to live here didn’t just pack up and move away…” I said with a sinking suspicion as I took note of the weapons
“It was one of Passion’s temples,” Saelia corrected in a hushed whisper. “It’s huge…” I stared in awe at the cathedral-like stone building standing alone in the clearing of fiery grass and autumn colored wildflowers. “Is it normal for it to be only a couple minutes away from a settlement? I thought they were for orgies and stuff? I’d have thought they’d be more out of the way.” “Yes, most of her temples are situated near settlements so her followers don’t have to venture too far from home if they wish to speak with one of her priests or priestesses.” “Didn’t you say her temples were more about sex? I thought there was an implication they’d be far away from the settlements because of the children and people who weren’t into it.” “For non-salacious prayer and visitation, there is a large central chamber. From that chamber, there are doorways leading to rooms and places for more…” She glanced at me and her mouth curved into a suggestive smile. “Specific kinds of worship.” “So, the
The tip of the nicked scimitar missed the warden by inches. With a powerful kick, she planted the sole of her boot into the flame kroll’s chest and it went sprawling onto its ass. Saelia looked sharply down at me. “Rise! I will distract this one while you test your skills against its comrades!” Her pack bouncing on her back, the hem of her coat flapped gently as she took off and hopped over me. Her brisk command shook me free of the stunned surprise that’d taken hold of me and I scrambled to my feet, slipping out of my travel bag and letting drop to the ground as I rose. She stepped on the monster she’d kicked as she dashed over it. The movements of her boots in the lush grass were silent as she danced just out of reach of the retaliatory swipe of its weapon. It screeched with rage and sprang up to chase after her. Rabid snarling came from my right as more flame krolls emerged from behind trees about a dozen feet away. In rags, but armed with worn or improvised weapons, the
The gently glowing trees swirled in my nauseating agony, the forest's usually pleasant aroma of burning wood and untamed nature making me want to throw up. “Ngh…!” I hissed between clenched teeth, focusing on the warden’s familiar voice as I tried to push away the mind-numbing pain. Wait, I can heal myself! Terrified frustration erupted in my core like fireworks at seeing it’d take 50,552 spirit to fix myself. This ability is fucking worthless! Crouched next to me, Saelia pulled a vial the length of a pencil from the inside of her coat. In it was a red potion swirling with flakes of gold. “This will heal you, but the vial is not one you can swallow. I need you to lie flat and open your mouth.” Seething with sharp pulses of pain and terror, I latched onto her words like she was throwing me a rope to pull me free of quicksand. She placed a firm hand on my armored chest and pushed me flat on my back. After uncorking the vial with a hollow pop, she carefully emptied the contents
“Another day, certainly.” She rose to her feet and grinned down at me, the warm light of the forest highlighting her soft features. “Because, I intend to spend my time riling up Lysandra upon our return.” I got up and looked down at her. “Yeah, what better way to piss her off than watching us bathe together?” “You assume she would watch?” “Uh, yeah, am I wrong?” Her mouth quirked to the side as she considered. “There’s a slim possibility she might decide to smolder elsewhere, but most likely she would want to not just watch, but compete for your attention to try angering me.” The warden smirked at me. “You wouldn’t happen to just wish to see her nude body… would you, Bryan?” “I mean, you haven’t had sex with her yet. It’s not like I’d touch her or anything!” I said innocently. “But, uh, there wouldn’t be anything wrong with seeing her naked…right?” “No, there wouldn’t be, but there is one thing I worry about if such a thing should happen before I bed her,” she said teasingly.
After Saelia and I returned to Lysandra’s glade, the angelic woman had offered to wash me clean of the flame kroll’s remains herself. It had only been through the promise I made to the warden to not get handsy with Lysandra until she had sex with her – and the prospect of lavish sexual rewards – that I’d been able to resist. She’d ground her teeth with frustration when I’d politely flirted with her while maintaining a look, don’t touch policy, but eventually she showed me how to fill the bathing pool. Scowling, Lysandra knelt next to the edge of the bathing pool. The slap of her palm against the ring of blue encircling the magical hot tub bounced around the room. “Will it to fill and it will,” she muttered. At her words, water flowed from the holes in the walls of the bathing pool, light steam coming off the streams. “Yeah, that seems to be how everything works in this world,” I said with a chuckle. She rose to her feet and glared at me. Then without waiting for a response, s