Battlemage Nonetheless Book 5 AdvocateChapter 7
- 2 years ago
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"Did you get what you needed?" asked Lori as they left Chris's home
"Yes and no. I reported in and let them know what I found, but I know now even less about him than I did when I started," commented Dusty to Lori.
Lori realized that Dusty probably wanted some privacy to ask some questions. One being why Lindsey was here and another about Chris, and she was sure he didn't want an audience.
"Well thank god you came back when you did, we were running out of things to say to him while you were gone," said Rachel as she flashed what was lately becoming a rare smile for her.
Smiling back Dusty said "I'm glad too. They were in full pompous mode today," and as he and Lindsey both shared a quick smile and chuckle to themselves at that statement, and the other women were a little put out that they didn't quite get what that meant but Lindsey did.
"Let's have an early supper and compare what we know," said Marie.
As they filed into the Inn Lindsey's quick mind realized something. When she and Dusty shared a chuckle at what he said the other women looked confused. She realized that she could use that to her benefit.
When they sat down, they sat at a table that was large enough to seat six and Lindsey sat across from Dusty.
"So Dusty, tell me what stick do they have up their butts when you tried to talk to them. Did they spaz out on your or something?" asked Lindsey smiling.
"No not really, they just refused to answer my questions about Chris and they really acted like it some kind of state secret what he did for them. Sometimes that brain trust really gets on my nerves," said Dusty smiling back at her
As Lindsey nodded knowingly at him, the other women were looking lost among themselves. Stick and butts? Spaz? State secrets? Brain Trust? They were confused.
While they had no problem admitting as one that they had no idea what he was talking about, they didn't want to appear to be losing to Lindsey because she clearly did know.
"So Dusty, how are you adjusting to being here in our world," said Suzan suddenly. She was tired of feeling like the odd man out of their conversation.
"I'm liking it fine. I've found so many new and interesting things here that there is no way I would ever go back to my old life in my world," said Dusty to Suzan. It looked almost as if his eyes were twinkling.
As Suzan smiled back at him, almost for Lindsey's benefit as she watched them, she reached out and touched his hand as they smiled.
Lindsey was starting to get irritated by both his reaction to her and what he said. She still hadn't given up hope on getting him to eventually want to return to their world from this backwater one.
Right before she could start another conversation, where she could again exclude the other women from it, a man walked into the Inn and took a seat at a table not too far from them but closer to the door.
Normally Dusty wouldn't have given the man, or anyone for that matter in this world a second look, but he noticed that the man had managed to get Lori's attention, and she seemed to be trying to get an even better look at him, and that warranted him taking a second look himself.
No one ever got Lori's attention with trying extremely hard for it, and this man did it by entering the room.
Looking the man over Dusty thought he might see why, but he wasn't sure.
The man had a real rugged outdoor look about him.
He had muscle on him that could clearly be seen in what passed for a tank top in this world. It was hard to miss his broad shoulders or curly blonde hair and the full moustache and beard he was sporting. He seemed clean, like he was fresh from a bath.
The man nodded at their table while he was under their scrutiny, before he started minding his own business. As he turned back around to face the women Dusty realized that he had baby blue eyes. He absently wondered if Lori saw them as well.
Looking back at Lori he realized that she still seemed to be staring at him, and the other women were now looking back and forth between Lori and the man. Probably all trying to also see what the attraction she had to him was.
Only Lindsey didn't care about what was going on, but she seemed to be out of the loop as to why they were all so interested in the man suddenly. As far as she knew at the time Lori and Dusty were an item and the other women were spares for him.
Almost as if she suddenly realized what she was doing Lori, lightly jumped and tried to look around at everyone as if everything was normal. The only problem was she now had a light blush to her cheeks as she did.
"So Lori see anything interesting you might like to try. I mean from the kitchen, unless there is something else not on the menu?" asked Marie as she lightly joked with Lori.
While everyone else chuckled, Lori at first didn't get the joke, but once she did her cheeks turned redder as she opened her mouth to respond.
Before she could speak Suzan took pity on her and changed the subject to something else. And soon they started talking about everything they found out so far and Dusty brought them up to speed on his conversation with the council.
Throughout all of the conversations Dusty noticed that Lori wasn't carrying her side of any conversation that she was a part of and seemed very distracted.
Soon it was time to call it a night and everyone decided to get a start early on looking around town.
As they left Dusty noticed that the man was still sitting and enjoying dinner, and while that wasn't strange, what was strange was that Lori almost seemed to forget her normal innuendos to try and get Dusty up to her room as she absentmindedly headed to her own room for the night.
Dusty wasn't the only one who noticed that as even Lindsey, who through out the whole trip here had to listen to Lori's suggestive remarks, noticed that something was off with her.
For the first time since they started for this town Dusty left his room door open and Suzan snuck in and barred it from his side so they could finally have some alone time.
Someone else also tried to open his door in the middle of the night while they were making out, but who ever it was didn't knock, but choose to go back to their own room. Suzan thought it might be Lori, but Dusty was sure it was Lindsey.
The next morning they all split up and went their separate ways.
Dusty insisted that Lindsey stay at the Inn.
She wanted to go with Dusty but Dusty pointed out that she needed be where he knew she would be somewhat safe. As he had time to adjust to this would so far, she had not. Also they could over more area faster since they had all done this before.
She begrudgingly stayed behind, but she made sure he understood she didn't like it.
Because they really weren't in any danger they all went separate directions. Since all the attacks happened, or when the children went missing, were at night they felt pretty safe interviewing various people about what they saw during the day.
Rachel and Marie would walk around the outside of town, but staying in sight of it, looking for any signs of the creatures, and later they would talk to anyone they met.
Suzan and Lori would start in town talking to the people close to where they were staying.
The women opted to leave their armor in their rooms as they knew most of the men that they approached would be "very" forthcoming to them if they approached them in snug shirts and loose pants.
Dusty realized it on a different mission that men often would talk to the women more freely when he wasn't around than they did when he was with them. Any of the people that he talked to, if he felt they were holding back telling him something, he would later ask one of the women to talk to them as it often got better results.
Separating from them he started talking to various people on his own as he ran across them. It would take them all a while to talk to majority of the people and they would need to be interviewed at least twice by different people to make sure they got all the information they needed.
Soon it was time for lunch and Dusty felt his stomach growl, but he wanted to at least talk to the people in the last building in the distance, close to the stream, and since he was close already he would talk to them before he headed back to compare notes.
As he approached it he realized that he was at a mill. He could see the water wheel that was being turned by the water routed up to it. Also he could see the mechanism that was connect to it and in turned grinded what he thought might be grain.
Walking slowly he noticed that not too far away he could see everyone had stopped to take a break a little further up the stream in the shade, but the blonde man he saw the night before was a bit away from them doing what looked to be sword practice by himself.
As the man was closer to him than the rest he headed for him to interview.
"Greetings, may I have a word with you?" asked Dusty. He learned early on things like "Yo, Hey, and Howdy" only got him stared at. He learned what he needed to say to open a conversation, even though he still slipped up from time to time.
"How can I help you?" asked the man lowering his sword.
"My name is Dusty and I was sent her by the Mage's council to look around and see if I can figure out what is going on with the children and the attacks. You might have seen us last night at the Inn?" asked Dusty holding out his hand.
Taking it the man shook it and said "I'm called Mark. I saw you last night, but I've not run across any of the creatures, but I have been in quite a few of the search parties looking for them and the children," said Mark
As they talked further about different items, Dusty found out a few things.
One Mark was very intelligent, his father owned the mill, he had an older brother who would inherit it, and Mark hated working at the Mill. He craved excitement, but feared if he didn't get away soon he would be trapped here with now way out forever. But he had no real information on the children or the creatures.
"So how are you finding the sword to be?" asked Dusty changing the subject.
"I feel I understand the basics, I mean its use by everyone, but I don't believe I know enough to use it to travel with or earn my living with it," said Mark.
"We won't be here for long, but while I'm here a couple of the ladies I'm traveling with are expert sword users and quite good with them. I'm sure they could give you some pointers. For example," said Dusty as he took the sword from Mark.
Dusty's easy manner caused Mark to give up his sword before he realized that doing that to a perfect stranger might not be such a good idea.
"When you swing the sword you should relax you grip when you swing it here, but tighten it up again when you reach this point. That allows you get a greater range of flexibility and to get under someone's guard," said Dusty.
Looking shocked for a moment Mark asked "Are you also a sword user also?"
"No, but I've watched them often enough that I know what they do and how it works," answered Dusty smiling.
"Tell you what, how about I introduce you to them this afternoon? Say right before sundown? We can all have dinner together," said Dusty
"I'll be there. There isn't anyone in this town that isn't self taught and the chance to learn from someone who might be good doesn't come around too often," said Mark with a smile.
Parting ways Dusty headed back for lunch and to check on Lindsey.
But as he headed to the Inn he had a thought that Lori might enjoy Mark's company more than anyone else and it would make it easier later to tell everyone of his choice to be with Suzan.
But Dusty should have remembered the paraphrased comment "Men make plans and the gods laugh at them" because the meeting that night went far worse than he ever might have thought possible.
Not having said anything before hand about dinner plans and his guest, Dusty caught everyone off guard as he called out to Mark and waved him over to their table.
Mark walked up next to him and shook hands with everyone at the table except Lori. Lori refused to even acknowledge him except to nod his way when Dusty introduced her to Mark.
Dusty was struck by how cold Lori seemed to be acting towards Mark, but what was even stranger was that she didn't comment much at all that night. No sexual comments for him or joking around with the other girls.
She was acting almost like she was the first time he met her.
But Mark didn't seem to notice as once he was introduced to Suzan, Rachel, and Marie they started talking about weapons and their usage. Mark was really interested in asking the three of them questions and seeing them in action.
Even though Dusty was the one to bring him there, he felt like odd man out or a fifth wheel while they talked, but he started to speak with Lindsey about what had happened since he was last in Indiana.
What was missed by Dusty was that Suzan, even though she was talking to Mark, didn't miss the fact that Lindsey's face lit up when she started talking to Dusty about their home and as she did she had his undivided attention.
Lori seemed to be bristling the longer both conversations went on that she wasn't a part of.
Soon it was getting late and they all needed to call it a night.
Mark agreed to come back early and do some weapons practice with the three of them first thing in the morning. While normally he would be at the Mill he told them he would tell his parents he was getting some limited training and would be late a few mornings.
When Rachel suggested that he might stay over and talk to her for a bit in her room, Lori stood up, slammed down her empty plate on the table with out saying a word, and left the dining area headed for the stairs leading to her room.
Everyone was quiet until she left, and while they all noticed what she did, Mark seemed to ignore it as he thanked Rachel for her offer and said that he needed to get home and talk to his parents. Rachel told him that the offer was open any time.
That night Dusty thought Suzan might visit, but she never came and he fell asleep while he was waiting.
Early the next morning found the four of them practicing and teaching Mark some of what they knew about swords and staffs.
Mark seemed to be a quick learner and Marie praised him for his usage. While she was a staff user primarily she had been an assistant instructor with her father and was versed in the usage of various weapons, including the sword.
When Marie commented on his ability to keep his sword relaxed when needed, Dusty smiled as he went through his own training.
Eventually Mark noticed what he was doing and asked. Dusty told him it was Muay Thai fighting, but he wasn't surprised when Mark called it Moo-ay-Tie like everyone one else.
Not too long after they started Lori came out and watched everyone. Having missed his training with her the night before Dusty asked her if she wanted to do it now.
Missing was her jovial nature and her comments. And quite a few times she appeared distracted and Dusty had to correct her on things she got wrong. It was obvious to him that her mind was elsewhere and so he called a stop to it before one of them got hurt.
Mark seemed impressed that Lori and Dusty could do magic, but Lori seemed to be ignoring him as he spoke, and so Mark switched to exclusively talking to only Dusty.
Lori eventually left and Dusty invited Mark back to dinner with them. Dusty said that he realized Mark must sometimes have dinner in town and it didn't make sense for him to sit alone while they were there. Mark accepted.
During the day they interviewed more people.
Even though it was a large town they had roughly something like 15,000 people to see spread out in the town and the surrounding countryside. At night they had dinner and compared notes.
Chris never seemed to be around. It was like he was avoiding them while they were there. Marie voiced the concern that Chris might feel like his toes were being stepped on by the council sending them there. Dusty didn't say anything, but he did keep his eyes open.
They had a setup a pattern for their days that week. Dusty noticed that the few times Mark tried to speak to Lori her comments were often short and to the point, and she didn't expand on them. Eventually Mark quit trying to draw her into the conversations.
A couple times she got short with Mark for apparently no reason, but he took it in stride and refused to rise to the bait.
Sometimes he did ask his own questions in response to that right after she did this, and that only seemed to make Lori angrier. While his questions back to her weren't malicious, they did seem to be worded in such a way to make Lori think about her uncalled for outburst. Almost all of the time when he did it stunned her into silence.
Sometimes Dusty thought Mark was refusing to respond to her any other way as some form of Passive/aggressive approach to her showing off. But he had to admit no one else did this to Lori and he was sure she didn't know how to handle it.
Dusty was amazed how well he took her abuse though, because he was sure that he would have done it differently, but last year when he met her he had to admit he put up with a similar attitude from her for so long because of his intense attraction to her.
Once Dusty thought she was going to have a stroke when Rachel and Mark started talking and Rachel asked if Mark had anyone in his life and Mark said not currently. That he had a few girlfriends and a few were interested in marriage, but he wasn't ready yet and wanted to do more with his life than work a mill day in and day out.
Before lunch had been served Dusty had already spoken with the King. Even though he tried hard to keep the crystal phones they created a secret from the public, the King while bragging about them, had shown his off to a few of the nobles and visiting dignitaries. That was enough to spark a huge interest in them. Suddenly it was seen as a favor to the crown to have a few people outfitted with them, and a few others tried to curry huge favors with him to get one. Dusty and his friends kept...
While Kat had waited that morning for the three of them to arrive quite a few men had tried to "chat her up" as they passed by her going either into the city or as they left. Even in her generally loose fitting travel garb they saw the gem that she was. Somehow she managed not only to talk to them in a friendly manner, but she also managed to get some useful information while not offending anyone or giving the impression that she was willing to go to bed with any of them. Even though she...
The four women entered the large city and quickly blended in with the rest of the inhabitants. Suzan was just a little unhappy Dusty wasn't with her though it had only been a little over a week since she left Dusty and headed out for the mission. Although she missed her husband, she was also really charged up to be here and was well ready to take on a new mission like this. It took them several days of travel by ship and a few more days of hard riding and just barely stopping for anything...
Amber came into the house and kicked off her boots. She then put her pack down beside the door, took off her twin swords, and then leaned those swords against the door next to her pack. Her parents would be around somewhere, and after she found something to eat she would go find them. She had dropped Logan off in town, as he wanted to visit, but she only wanted to go home and unwind. As she walked down the hallway she had the same thoughts she usually did when she passed through...
Dusty felt like he was submerged in warm water. It was strange because while he couldn't see, he could feel everything. The feeling made him feel like he was surrounded by nothing and yet at the same time by everything. He could feel shapes, colors, sounds, even smells. He could sense everyone around him and as strange as it sounded he could sense himself. It was like he was looking at himself but he wasn't looking at himself. As Dusty was trying to puzzle that out, he felt child like...
Dusty and Suzan reached the double doors that lead to the council chambers. They had passed a few offices that the council members and others made their own. Now they were at their destination. There was a single desk outside the council chambers, and at it sat a very striking and attractive red haired woman. She looked to conceivably be in her mid-thirties, but with mages that didn't mean anything. She was dressed in similar robes as the guard out front with the same sash over her...
Nathan and Ariel were at the city of Lake's End walking around and speaking with the various people who lived there as they waited for their contact to get in touch with them. Someone had sent a work request notice to the guild about a two person job that needed to be done, and they requested the two of them by name. It was a simple escort job, but the request that accompanied it asked that both of them come a few days early before hand and discuss the job, as it was private and sensitive...
Wolfgang wouldn't admit it but he was really looking forward to Kat's visit shortly. She had just called to say that she was close and would soon be at his home, and once they broke the connection he found he was rotating the crystal phone around in his hands and staring at it as he thought about her. Ever since Dusty's phones started to be the rage it had made his life far easier. Of course he wished he had access to these phones a long, long, time ago but Dusty wasn't born during the...
Dusty and Suzan quickly made a few plans between them, agreed on them, and then set about separately doing them. First thing Dusty wanted to do was make sure the kids were taken care of. He knew that getting DJ started on his training was important right then and so he made a quick call to Lori. Talking as fast as he could Dusty then explained what was going on and why he needed to send the kids to her home. Telling Lori he had the emergency covered he made the plan to send their kids,...
Dusty, Suzan, Daniel, and Rachel all suddenly appeared on the pad next to Lori's home. The pad was large enough to accommodate five riders on horseback, but it was the four of them standing next to Dusty and Suzan's horses. Waiting while Dusty and Suzan took their horses to the stable, the four of them returned to the front of the door and knocked. "Lori seemed pretty excited when I called her, I wonder why," said Suzan as they waited "Bet she's discovered something new again. She...
"Thank you for the horses," said Marie as she looked over at Seth smiling. "I'm happy to loan them to you all. I'm just sorry how you received them, but not that you have them," said Seth. "I am too. I wished those men didn't have to die while helping others as they did, but I know those people in the town appreciated their sacrifice," said Marie to Seth. Seth just nodded as he rode. They rode in silence while they were sticking to the main roads in the forest so that they could...
As the five of them worked their way through the dungeon, they were surprised that they no longer found any opposition. There just didn't seem to be anything that approached them or tried to attack them. That bothered Dusty. They had just gone from having wave after wave of ghouls attacking for over an hour to an eerie quiet. The only thing that made it worse was the occasional dripping sound of water from somewhere in the distance as they made their way deeper into the dungeon. "This is...
Melkin had to admit that Dusty was coming up in the world. When he brought him here he was someone who had nothing and had to start at the bottom. The council thought that this was the best way to do it and that it would make him more dependant on them for things he needed to survive while here. But not only had he started with nothing and grown, but he had been knighted, received a title and land, and was now turning a pretty decent profit. No one had expected him to be able to prosper...
"With us not finding any trace of what's happing during the day it looks like we're going to have to venture further into the woods at night," said Suzan as she looked at Dusty and Seth. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean we've still not found a single trace of what is taking off with the people from around here," said Dusty as he turned to look at her. "I say we give it at least one more day, maybe two tops, before we go looking for any danger that we may not need to buy for...
The next morning Dusty got up very early, before the sun was even close to coming up, and started packing his pack for the next mission. As he pulled out clothing to take with him he noticed the suede leather jacket and jeans that he was wearing when he arrived here hanging in the wardrobe in the corner of his room. Seeing them once again took him back to when he first appeared in this world just under over a year ago. A lot of things had changed. First of all he now believed in magic. It...
Dusty started to run into the room, but he stopped and took a good long look around first looking for traps. As he stepped into the room he saw Galvin as he basically finished hanging his wife next to Daniel and Rachel from a hook by a chain around both of her wrists. When Galvin stepped back he could see that her shirt was ripped badly in the front and one of her breasts was in danger of spilling out of her already heavily overworked bra. He watched Galvin seem to take a good long look at...
Two men stood looking at the prone form of their leader. They just received the report that the man wanting to join them, a Christopher Jones, was just killed by someone a very powerful. It didn't look like magic that killed him, but they also had no idea at this point how he died. The men weren't too broken up about it because they felt the fool was wrong to be experimenting on children and they wouldn't miss him. He contacted them before with a deep desire to join their ranks and said...
"Mmmmmmm ... do you really need to get up and go work out so soon? The sun isn't even up yet. You really should come back to bed. I need you. I mean I really need you. You could just as easily work out with me instead you know," said Suzan softly but in her deep raspy voice. Even with just barely opening her eyes, she knew that she had her husband's complete attention. They had gone to bed the previous night in the buff and she could see his response to her request instantly. He was...
During the first week that Dusty and the others had left Marie and Seth had met with the King and Marie trained in the yard to keep up her skills, tone her body, and generally keep busy. The King gave her one of the outer rooms that faced the parade yards so that she was well away from the other nobles but close enough that she could work out in the yard and visit with Seth. King William gave her a knowing smile as his secretary briefed her where she would be staying. Marie smiled back at...
Once out of the chamber Dusty smiled and raced down the hall to grab Suzan's hand as she was still storming down the hallway, and pulled her trembling frame into an embrace. As he did he noticed that her face was unreadable, but he could see as he did this that she was still very much pissed off. While pulling her close he buried his face in her hair. "I'm sorry honey, but should have told you that you broke nothing. If I hadn't been so caught up in self pity I would have spoken up...
"Well my dear it has been almost two weeks, I don't believe they are coming back before the time limit," said Queen Morigan as she looked over at Rachel while she stood apart from the other women. Rachel was sitting and trying to look at ease, but it was an effort with all the various other Lady's and ladies in waiting around. All the various forms of nobility were hanging around the audience chamber making light conversation about nothing and gossiping. As Rachel tried to look like she...
Dusty arrived with his friends at the kingdom of Stelmore. The first thing they did on entering was to head straight for the castle to talk with King Roland about the attacks. Reaching the city gates it was obvious that the city was on high alert. On trying to enter the capital city they had to get off of their horses at the gate and lead them into the city. The guards then separated them, and two guards checked them one at a time. One held a serviceable pike on them as the other one...
A bloody and very upset Suzan and Anita made their way back to the palace just as the Sun was cresting over the horizon. They had already made the stop by Tabitha's mother's house the night before to inform her of what happened. Needless to say it wasn't something they wanted to do, but knew that they had to and it was something they owed the only real victim to pay the ultimate price. Even though Suzan felt she should tell her, Anita insisted that because her death was her fault she...
"Who are you two?" asked Rory quietly as he stared at them. "Rory we're still your friends, but we're also different people than who you know. I promise I'll answer all your questions later. I'll meet you back here in about an hour or so. "Watch over Terrance. I don't believe he'll die, but if I'm wrong come get me. But for now I need to hurry and get Ariel to our room. I'll explain why I need to do this as fast as humanly possible when I return," said Nathan quickly. Moving...
"Everyone, you are here for a reason and it is something that has an effect on your lives both in the past and the future," began Brianna as they were all seated around the living room. As the last to arrive, once Matt and Rayne showed up it was time to get started. As they looked around at their children and their spouses, they both couldn't believe how much the boys took after their father, even down to having the same silver forelock now in their hair as well But knowing this would be...
Galvin sat on the cliff side with his legs dangling as he sat overlooking the city. It was a very prosperous city that originally had been a town that was built against the side of a cliff so that it could only be raided from one direction, and all the defenses had been developed to protect from that direction. But over the years the town had grown, as well as changes in modern warfare. Now if someone wanted to give the city a good pasting they could do it in relative safety from where he...
Aric was sitting the table mentally going over preparations for dinner. It was his week to cook. While Brianna was coming along with her cooking, he was still far better he thought with a smile. But she was getting better, and she was better at cleaning and laundry so he had no complaints. He was glad they took turns switching on and off each week. Even though he tried to stop it, his mind kept drifting back over the last few seasons. After Brianna and Aric were settled in they traveled a...
"And that all happened just a little over ten seasons ago?" asked Nathan slowly. The way this young man was acting he thought it was all recently at least in the last couple of seasons. Not something decades ago. "I left the city and I've not returned. Not even to see my family," said Elliot nodding yes. "But what happened to Kathryn after you left or the man she was with? Did you ever find out? Did you even want to know?" asked Nathan. As he thought about it, he realized that he...
Suzan could tell by the rising and setting of the sun that she had been here at least a week and a half so far. She wasn't sure what was going on with Dusty and her friends, but she really wanted to see them again. The first few days she was there she refused to eat, though after awhile she decided starving herself before she found a way out didn't make sense. But she refused to eat with the Queen and Prince under any circumstances. She just flat out refused to see them. Everyday she...
Once they came to the city they asked for directions and they headed for the address they were given. They found themselves in front of a very large museum with rod iron gates that were swung wide open. They entered and were shown into a very nice, but a very cluttered office. There were books stacked on every table. But at least the center desk was clear. As the secretary showed them in she smiled big at Dusty and offered him her hand as she showed them all into the office. And once he...
After making their way to the address in question they noticed that there was a light coming from what looked to be a cellar door. As they opened the door they saw there was a lantern lit by the door but the others close by it were out. But a few feet after those the rest were lit again. Marie said she was going first, and they followed her down a narrow passageway that seemed to go down for about two stories then leveled out. As they leveled out they realized that they were headed to a...
Dusty and the others made pretty good time over the last day and a half to the huge mountainous expanse in the desert. Dusty would never have expected this if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. It didn't make sense, but he was still learning things. There was one point when Kat called them close and said they were being followed. Dusty leaned over his horse, using just one stirrup to support his weight, reached into an inside pocket, and then hung like that as he buried something close...
Dusty got up early the next morning and found that not only was DJ up, but he already finished some light stretching, completed a run around the house a few times, and was now seated at the kitchen table entertaining himself as he waited for everyone else to get up. Laughing to himself he found it interesting that the boy had similar habits as himself. "I see your up early, any reason for that?" asked Dusty as he got a cup of something out of the icebox and then leaned against the counter...
"Hi welcome to the Winters, Taylor and Owen law firm. How may I help you?" asked the extremely beautiful young lady coming down the hallway. As Dusty stopped to get a good look at her he found his breath taken completely away. She was about 5'9" in some nice shiny black four inch Patten leather pumps. It didn't appear she was wearing stockings, but her legs were tanned and very well formed, but he was trying not to stare and only took a very quick look at them as she approached...
Early the next morning found the group of six riding away from the castle as they hurried to the Kingdom of Patella to speak with the Queen and see what was going on in that land. As the rode down the road, Dusty started talking about something that was on his mind. "Was it really wise to leave Marie alone with Seth?" asked Dusty to everyone as they rode their borrowed horses towards the Kingdom of Patella. He waited until they were well away from the capital city before he asked so no...
"Galen? Galen? Yes I know of him. He's one of those mages who seated themselves on their useless council. Don't you know that his meeting you was no accident? He was assigned to watch you. He also wanted to make sure that you didn't go power mad and crazy. While you may be stronger he's always hidden his true strength from you. "And you do know the reason that he took so long to help your son and his wife when her powers truly activated was because the council really didn't want to...
While still stunned from Gemma's story, Brianna looked down at the table and said "But, but, I don't know if he even likes me back. What if he doesn't think I'm attractive enough? All the other women here are so beautiful, and I'm not that special. I don't know how to walk around like they do or how to flirt with him. And I don't really know how to cook very well. Everyone else is better than I am at everything." Gemma, looked at her stunned for a moment, paused and then started to...
Andrea sat next to the bed looking down at the face of a sleeping Daven. It was hard to believe watching him that this was the same face of the young man who was the terror of husbands and fathers alike. Likewise it was hard to believe this was the same face of the young man who was well known as well for his uncommon attractiveness. If it wasn't for his barely hidden arrogance, that few who got close enough to him could see, she herself might have found him more attractive. He always...
DJ slowly came to, and as he did, he tried to get his bearings based on the last thing he remembered. The last thing he clearly remembered was hitting the ground hard and then ... nothing. While DJ lay there trying to figure out what was going on, he noticed a couple things. One he could hear an argument going on in the distance. He tried to focus on it, but he was distracted because his head was at an odd angle. It wasn't the fact it was unpleasant or anything, but he was lying on...
When everyone arrived in front of the home of Lori and Mark Miller, DJ was suitably impressed. To him it pretty much screamed mage from the start when you looked at it. He had seen lots of movies, books, and animations, and some of the designs gave him that impression. Their house was what he would have called a one story ranch style wrap around that had the front door and porch in the center of the structure and what looked to be separate rooms, or wings, on either side of it. It wasn't...
Reaching the edge of the city, just past the market square that she often visited, Suzan and Anita noticed that hardly anyone was around the homes there. Looking around as they reached the edge Suzan could see that something had gone horribly wrong. There were doors that were broken in, overturned stands, and destruction everywhere. Trash and broken items littered the road. Still in shock Suzan asked "What happened here, what is all of this?" "This is what happens when Trolls raid our...
DJ, Amber, Logan, Marilyn, and Jason reached the last city just outside of Lori's home without too much of a problem. They would soon be at her home to start DJ off on his training in magic. The trip was eventful with many men who kept asking after Amber and Marilyn to do everything from sitting with them, asking for a dance, to the blatant request to visit their room. Some didn't even want to wait for nightfall for that to take place. Marilyn often got most men to leave her alone by...
"Are we ready?" asked Marie Seeing everyone nod at her they started out of the gathering hall and headed down the road in the general direction of the city that they would eventually start their assignment. Marie knew that this mission was one that was given to Dusty by the council, via their guild, and she knew like always he would fill them in. He always shared all info with the team, but away from prying eyes and ears. As they walked Dusty was surprised at how Marie didn't seem to be...
Almost seeming to leap over the mess she had just made by the door, Lindsey jumped for Dusty and he just barely caught her before she tackled him. Dusty suddenly found himself holding a hysterically crying Lindsey as she seemed to break down in his arms. Not sure why he did it, Dusty couldn't help but notice that she was dressed in the same short brown outfit as the rest of the serving girls. She couldn't have been there all that long as her tanned and well formed legs only made the...
The night of the party was amazing. Somehow the ladies knew just who to see to get outfits for the party. Most missions didn't even include a party so they didn't pack dresses, but were still happy to find some to use to get dressed up for the occasion. Even Lindsey was happy with the outfit for her. It wasn't a large party or even a grand one, but it was a chance for them to talk to others and let their hair down for a bit. It was being held at the summer home near the edge of the town...
As soon as Marie closed and barred the door to her room she started to sweat again. Even though she was sure that at the time the cramps would kill her, she was used to getting the mild form so she was able to endure, but now she thought she was going to crawl out of her skin. She had to have sex and she needed it now! That was the only thing she wanted to do right now. That drug in her system was making it slowly her sole desire and the only thing her mind focused on. She couldn't...
Dusty and Lori managed to get to the farm in question and find what they needed. After convincing the farmer and his wife they weren't nuts and they did have a valid reason for why they wanted the stuff, they managed to get them to help them distill plant into a pure liquid form. Dusty promised that the Mayor would take care of the cost and that they just needed to let him know what to pay Asking for the use of a horse and wagon to carry back the large barrel, it was well into the...
The event in question was the night Dusty and Lindsey went to a summer party two months ago at one of their mutual friend's house. To be honest Grace was more Lindsey's friend than his, but he got along well with her husband Peter. Their friends had setup a barbeque pit, games, horseshoes, volley ball, among a few other games, and they had a very large turn out. Dusty was talking and hanging out with some of the guys he felt more comfortable with even though he really didn't know anyone...
The next morning as Dusty slowly awoke he noticed that a slender arm was now draped over him from behind as he faced the window. It wasn't like he didn't know who it was without turning over. He would have to start locking his door at nights it would seem. As he got up he could see that Lindsey had fallen asleep next to him and had obvious worn only her towel into his bed from the night before, and now it had now fallen open. Without meaning too, he looked and was disgusted to realize...
Eventually Dusty was able to find and move into his new apartment. Regardless of how he looked like on the outside to anyone, he was finding it hard to stay civil when every fiber of his being wanted to throttle Lindsey whenever she was near, and it was slowly starting to get to him. Going to the gym and getting into a good scrap at first seemed to help with his frustrations, but lately as the months drug on that was starting to not be enough. There were times during that last month that...
"I'm going to kill that old man," thought Dusty as he groaned painfully and rolled over. When he came to, he found himself face down in a field of grass. He looked around, and he could see what looked to be a dirt road to his right and trees off in the distance. As he stood up he realized that it looked like he was no longer in the city of Indianapolis anymore. He couldn't see anything like skyscrapers or building in general. All he could see was a big open field with a tree line off...
Three things happened after that first night they all spent in an Inn. First as they traveled during the day Lori came out of her shell and would talk with Dusty. Even though she still had her quiet moments, she no longer scowled at him and now that they traveled together Dusty found that she often would walk beside him, look up at him, and inquire about his life before he met them. She would sometimes even smile at him from time to time. Second was that while Suzan would still play pranks...
"OH MY GOD! WHAT WAS THAT!" thought Dusty as he waved his hand around at the dust in his room. "Did a bomb just now go off in here?! If so it was a bad one, it only took out the wall." There was a very large hole in the wall where his bed used to be and the bed was now a pile of heavily burnt and damaged kindling. But Dusty was without his towel and he was standing there on display as naked as the day he was born. Lori might have appreciated the view if she wasn't staring stunned at...
"Yes right there, right there Dusty. Oh my god yes! That feels wonderful. You really are as good as you said," moaned out Lori as she smiled down at Dusty. Lori was lying on the bed completely naked and looking unbelievable as she played with her large breasts with both hands as Dusty toiled on. Dusty smiled up at her as he was working hard at pleasuring her. He was hitting all the right spots and he knew that she was enjoying herself immensely it seemed. As he felt her twitching and...
The museum was having a party a week before the showing and Dr. White decided to allow the guild members to come as guests. Marie thought he really must be desperate to have them work for him since normally the help wasn't invited to these things. The main surprise was that the museum paid for them to all get new outfits for the night as well. Dr. White said that it was so they wouldn't feel pressure to find something. He just told them to mingle and meet new people and see what the museum...
"Tell me again what you say you saw?!" asked Dr. White shocked. This was the first time anyone had any information on the deaths. Dusty had gotten the girls up as he headed to Dr. White's room. It was on the second floor of where they were staying. Dr. White came down to view the room then he sent word to Dr. Carmichael that there was another attack and he took everyone to his office, and while he waited Dusty covered what he saw again. "Like I said, it was a wolf made of fire. But...
"So it went well?" Suzan asked as she sat and brushed her hair at the vanity. She could tell by Dusty's large smile that he had a good testing. The vanity was the only furniture she had brought with her when she moved into Dusty's room and it was small enough that it took up no real space in the corner. Dusty always enjoyed sitting and watching her work on her hair. While she only wore makeup for some of their special times together he still enjoyed watching her movements. To be honest...
As they approached the castle they were struck by how "clean" it was. Most castles Dusty had come to notice were really dusty, dirty, old buildings. Since everyone who lived or worked at some of the various castle didn't have private bathrooms or running water to their rooms, an idea Dusty was still wrapping his head around, they often threw things they didn't want into the moat surrounding the castle. They did this for "convenience" instead of heading to the bathroom in the middle of...