Battlemage Nonetheless Book 5 AdvocateChapter 7
- 2 years ago
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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 in one of the mansions of one of the wealthier merchants.
Seeing as how pissed Suzan was at him before, Dusty tried to make sure he talked to everyone and didn't have any conversations where any of the girls were exclude whenever any of them came near him, and he introduced them to everyone.
The Ladies in question all seemed to be dressed up in different forms of light summer floral print dresses and they were all trying to appear casual without trying to out do each other.
Even Lori didn't seem to be trying to seduce him, or anyone else for that matter, as she was scowling in the corner by herself scaring off all would be suitors who looked her way.
Once Rachel caught her eye and she collect her scowl from Lori as well. Rachel just chuckled and pulled Mark closer to her while his arm was linked in hers.
Dusty was thankful they decided on something simple to wear since the last party that they tried to attend was something that still made him hard when he remembered all of their dresses. Lori's green dress and Suzan's blue one were most often what he used as fodder during cold showers long after that party ended.
Of course there were quite a few times Rachel and Marie's dress appeared in those fantasies as well, just not nearly as often as theirs did though.
Chris even showed up at the party and mingled for a bit but after an hour he seemed to have disappeared. At first Dusty didn't notice when he had left, but he wanted to talk to him more in depth about the sleeping children and what he had done up to this point, but when he tried to find him he noticed that he was gone.
As the party started to get into full swing Lindsey, who had been trying to get Dusty off alone somewhere the whole night, came up to him and asked him what was the dish they had just set out. She was starting to feel frustrated that she couldn't draw him out like she had been able to previously do. Dusty even refused to talk over old times anymore.
She said that it looked like Pizza from their world and she thought about trying it but in the end she didn't like how it looked. She knew that she shouldn't be picky but for some reason she thought it also kind of smelled off to her. She said she had been told it was a delicacy and brought as a gift by a merchant.
Curious what she was talking about Dusty decided to go have a look at it. Even though she was just trying to make conversation he was curious what she was talking about.
He reached the table and realized that more than three fourths of it was gone, as he could see some of the servers were still handing it out in bite sized pieces, but he agreed with Lindsey, it did smell off for some reason to him as well.
It was a green and looked to have what appeared to be tomato seeds in it. It was baked in some form of pie crust. And she was right in that it could have passed for some form of green deep dish vegetable pizza.
The dish was baked in what looked to be at one time a pan that was almost foot in a half in diameter. Enough was there so that everyone could get at least seconds if they wanted it.
About ten seconds after he looked at he dish there was an outcry from the corner of the room where Lori was.
Heading that way, with Lindsey in tow, he came upon a scene of Lori slapping the dish in question out of the hands of everyone she could reach as she went around the room. Behind her was a server whose tray was now face down on the floor with the same dish in question also spilled on the floor.
While Dusty was shocked, he wasn't shocked enough to not try to stop her so he could ask her what she was doing.
"Lori! What are you doing? Why are you assaulting people?" asked Dusty harshly.
Lori's bad mood was beginning to get on his nerves. Getting to the point where she was hitting people for no reason irritated him.
"Dusty help me, we have to quickly find out who's all been eating that," said Lori frantically as she tried to pull away from him.
Grabbing her by the shoulders Dusty made her stop as she started to reach for someone else who was still eating the green dish, as there was a crowd forming around them now trying to find out what the commotion was.
Even Suzan, Marie, Rachel, and Mark had joined the crowd around them and were now also looking at them. All of them were frowning at the pair.
As he held her still he saw that the four of them had all had been eating some of it as well.
"Lori what are you going on about?" asked Dusty as he held her in his hands.
"Dusty that dish was made with the Nicotiana Capsaicin plant. I recognize the odor because I've seen and smelled it before. We have to stop everyone from eating it. We have to stop them now!" said Lori frantically.
"Why, is it toxic or some how poison?" asked Dusty, as he realized that all conversation in the room had stopped.
"Eventually yes," said Lori as she looked at him desperately.
Confusion broke out as everyone tried to talk at once as the words "Eventually" spread around the room.
"What do we do?" asked Dusty as he saw people dropping the dish on the floor as if it was, well, poison.
"We can't let anyone who had any leave. Their life depends on it," said Lori
Lindsey was behind her shocked as she watched it play out. She was glad this time that her unwillingness to try something new may have saved her life.
Rounding everyone up and securing the doors so that no one could enter or leave they quickly questioned everyone and found out that with the exception of Lori, himself, and Lindsey, all the other guest had tried the dish at least once.
Dusty got together with his team, along with Lindsey, and met with the Mayor in a side room to try to decide what to do next.
"Lori what are the symptoms of this and what is the end result?" asked Dusty
"It's a plant that stimulates a range of emotions and feelings in the human body if eaten, and the concentration depends on how fast you would run that range of symptoms before you eventually die," said Lori
"How did everyone end up eating it?" asked the Mayor
"Do we know who brought the dish? Have we checked with the kitchen?" asked Marie. She wasn't happy to have been poisoned.
"I already did that and they said that a few of the merchants brought gifts of food with them when they came, but no one seems to know who brought this one. In the confusion to get everything ready no one thought to check all the food," said Rachel.
"This was deliberate, but the problem is that this plant is a magical one. It's not native to this area. It's commonly called the "Dragon fern". It's normally found in caves and on very high mountainsides near dragons, as they like to munch on it as it gives them a unique high," said Lori.
"You have dragons here? And this is their form of catnip?" asked Lindsey.
"Of course there are dragons! Why would you ... oh yes I forgot. Yes we do, Lindsey," said Lori as she started to get angry before she remembered that Lindsey wasn't from there.
"First things first, what are the symptoms?' asked Dusty.
"Because it plays havoc with the human body it stimulates different things you feel. At some point there will be increased excitement and a physical rush. The victim will feel the desire that they can do anything. They won't be able to sit still and they look almost as if they are bursting with energy.
"The next symptom is intense pain. The will feel like they have stomach cramps, but far worse. They won't be able to stand up and they will feel like they have a fire in them, and it will drive them crazy. They will have a mild fever and will be sweating like crazy. Most will start to collapse about this time.
"The final symptom is sexual euphoria. They won't be able to help themselves. They will find that they will have renewed energy once more and it will drive them so hard that they will appear to try to use it to have sex with anyone or anything that moves. They will work themselves into a frenzy trying to sate that unquenchable lust. If they fight it too hard, they might go crazy, but they'll end up doing it anyway.
"Some if they managed to have vigorous enough sex during the last stage might work it out of their system and survive, as that is the only thing that will be on their minds, but that rarely works.
"So unless we're ready to unleash the mother of all orgies on the outside chance it might work in the next room I'd not suggest it. I doubt most of the marriages and business alliances will survive if we do and it did work.
"But even then that's a long shot. We need to try and find some kind of antidote if it exists around here or at least something we can use. Otherwise their bodies will run out of control, racing their system, trying to start the cycle all over again and again until their hearts can't take it any longer and it gives out," finished Lori looking around.
"Oh god, it sounds like it messes with the body's production of endorphins," said Dusty as he looked at her.
"What about the couples that are married or involved?" the Mayor asked.
"If we take too long in finding something they can slow down the eventual end result by their having sex may help, but won't stop it completely. The reason Dragons like it is because it is so powerful and gives them that eventual sense of euphoria. All the symptoms I mentioned are nothing to their large bodies and physical make up, but will eventually kill a human if left untreated," said Lori
"What do we do?" asked Suzan.
"We leave Lindsey here to make sure that no one manages to talk their way outside where we can't help them, and if they do we need to know who got away. Dusty and I need to go right now and look for any plant that I can find that might help," said Lori
"What about Chris? You said it was a magic plant, think he might be able to help?" asked Dusty.
"We can ask, but it so rare that my master only had the one plant and he kept it for study. He was primarily a Green mage who specialized in herb lore, but also had enough skill in Blue to teach me. It wasn't something normal mages kept lying around. My master was always researching it to find why it affected people the way it did," said Lori.
With that Dusty and Lori quickly set up for the country side that night leaving behind a room full of people who weren't sure if they were going to see the coming morning, even though Lori said it would take about two days before it became a problem for them.
They stopped by Chris's house, but Chris wasn't home and there were no lights on. Not wanting to take too much time they set off for the woods. They were sure it was a futile search, but they both were desperate to make sure that not one of their friends died from this attack.
Having daybreak come and go and now into early afternoon Lindsey was starting to get nervous as she tried to watch everyone around her in the building.
Her job was to try to keep people here because everyone was told what would happen with the symptoms, and she was to notify Dusty and Lori of the ones who insisted on leaving. Everyone knew that Lori and Dusty left to find the antidote and if they left they might not survive.
She had already seen the first stage not too long after they left.
During the night everyone was twitchy and seemed to be irritated. Thankfully someone suggested that they dance and that seemed to cause them to burn off some of the extra energy. They seemed to have no bottom to it.
That went until early morning when some of the people started sweating and cramping up. They all seemed to drop where they were and start to clutch at their stomachs. The moaning was awful to hear and Lindsey wasn't sure she could listen to it much longer.
But by the very early afternoon she started to see the beginnings of the third stage and was starting to get scared.
At first everyone started to slowly come out of the groaning and painful cramps, and soon after they seemed to be renewed with energy as they started to slowly get amorous with everyone around them.
She saw people starting to touch or kissing one another, at first it was when they thought no one was looking at them, but later it started becoming more obvious as they started to throw caution to the wind.
Not sure what to do Lindsey went to find the Mayor, who had his wife straddling him on his lap and they were making out hot and heavy, and asked if he had any suggestions, realizing that he was also being affected as well.
Thankfully he did. The building that they were in had plenty of bedrooms in it so Lindsey suggested that the ones who could pair up to do so and they took the party to their rooms.
She did have a heck of a time making sure that husbands went with wives and people who came to the party with a date went into the same room with them, but she was able to get everyone where they needed to be eventually.
During this time Lindsey watched Marie, Rachel, Suzan, and Mark, and she saw that they were all now starting to act pretty twitchy themselves.
As they tried to stay away from the people who were slowly loosing control, a couple times Lindsey did see Mark groped or felt up at different times by the three women.
Suzan came the closest to losing control and almost pulled him into a clinch for a kiss and Mark looked to be leaning in for it, but almost as if they realized what they were doing they all snatched their hands back and put them at their sides, and seemed to momentarily gain back their senses.
Marie quickly suggested that they bolt themselves in some rooms, separately, until Dusty and Lori returned. She wasn't sure she wasn't going to start giving into the desire soon as well.
While this seemed to fix the problem of an unintended sexual encounter for everyone, later when Lindsey went around checking on everyone to make sure that they stayed in their rooms she was quite sure that she heard the sounds of Marie and Rachel very vocally pleasuring themselves from behind their doors as they started to slowly lose control over their bodies.
Even though Lindsey had been here for less than three months every time she thought she was figuring out what was going in this world someone threw a new curve at her.
Meanwhile daybreak found Dusty and Lori starting get frustrated.
Dusty was because he didn't know what type of plant to look for and he really wasn't getting a good idea of what was needed from Lori.
Lori meanwhile was desperately looking for something that she might recall from that time long ago that could help, and she couldn't tell Dusty what to look for because she didn't know what she was looking for yet.
As she frantically dug around everything she could find she looked like she was getting close to a break down, and it appeared as if she might start crying at any time.
Her problem was that if she had the plant she might be able to figure something out, but that would also mean they had a dragon problem in this town as well. She was desperately trying to remember any her herb craft from her youth.
As they continued to look around suddenly they heard a chuckle behind them and a male voice said "My god were we ever really that young?"
"Obviously we were, or we wouldn't remember any of this," said a female voice with a hint of merriment to it.
Getting up and turning quickly around Dusty and Lori found themselves face to face ... with themselves.
It was obvious that it was the two of them, but they appeared older than they were currently.
As the two slowly advanced on the two older versions standing before them, a few key differences became apparent.
Dusty's older version looked roughly the same as he did now, but he had a touch of grey at his temples. Not a lot, but it was just enough to notice. But as young Lori looked at it, she thought it made him look distinguished.
Lori's older version looked just the same as she normally did. She still had that incredible figure she was currently now sporting, but her dress appeared tighter around her waistline, if that was even possible and her breast line fuller somehow.
The neckline on the other versions dress plunged a bit more and her midnight black hair was half way down her back almost to her hips instead of just being just past her shoulders.
She also now had a streak of white in her hair, in the front, where the older version had split it so that it was now on both sides of her head, framing her face.
It did nothing but create a new pull that made you even more curious when you saw her. Young Dusty could feel the familiar stirrings he hadn't felt since he first saw her.
If anything the new "older" versions of themselves that now appeared before them seemed older and wiser but were obviously were here for a reason.
"What ... what is going on?" asked Dusty.
Turning to Lori he asked "Is this one of the symptoms? Did we get into something as well?"
"And now you believe you're sharing the same hallucination?" asked older Lori as she chuckled at his question.
"God, I have to remember I don't know what I now know. I have to remember that I at the time believed that either I must be drugged or drunk, but it couldn't be real," said older Dusty.
Startled young Dusty looked at him as he realized that was just what he was thinking.
"And I'm wondering why I'm here, why I'm preventing us from finding that cure, and if I've actually had a nervous breakdown from the stress of trying to pretend that I'm not really divided in what I really want," said older Lori as the younger version looked at her startled as she realized she just covered her thoughts as well.
"How is this possible?" asked young Dusty.
"Time travel," said older Dusty.
"Excuse me, but what are you all blabbering on about?" asked young Lori irritated.
"Our Dusty here has figured out how to travel around in time. Pretty the much the ability to go back to any point in time that has already happened. But we can't do it often.
"It takes a lot of power to do it, a lot of calculations, and he has to know what is going on where that he wants to be, but he can do it. I don't fully understand how it works, but he said it based on some theories he learned from his world in his math, science, and engineering classes.
"But this is the last time we can do it because of the power requirements and we don't want it to get out that it is possible. So after this trip we're no longer doing it. We've destroyed all the notes on how he can do it and anything that suggest how to perform it," said older Lori as she leaned close to older Dusty and rubbed his chest.
"This is big. If you, we, I, whatever ... if I could do it then I could fix a lot of things," said younger Dusty. "I could..."
"No, think about it Dusty. If you change too many things in the past then you can re-write your own existence and create an alternate time line where you can't get back to any point you know.
"All we're doing is making "small" changes right now. Remember all the theory you learned in school," said older Dusty. Then he smiled and said "Not to mention what you saw in the Back to the Future movies."
"Why are you here?" asked younger Lori sounding irritated.
"My god was I really like that? Did I really treat you like this when I first met you? How could you stand me? How did I ever convince you to marry me based on how I used to be?" asked older Lori looking at older Dusty.
Chuckling older Dusty answered "Yes you were and you're lucky I found you so irresistible that I could see past how you used to be. Of course I've always had a thing for you so it wasn't like it was an issue at the time. You will never know how close you came to getting me to almost bedding you all those times you tried so hard."
Stroking his face softly for a moment, she then turned to young Lori and said "Walk with me for a moment please," and she turned and walked away without checking to see if young Lori was following her.
After a few seconds young Lori turned and went after her.
As they both watched them walk off into the distance a bit, both of the women cutting quite the appealing figure, young Dusty turned to older Dusty and said "So I married Lori instead of Suzan?"
"Lord no, what gave you that idea?" asked older Dusty turning to face his younger version.
"Lori called you, us, her Dusty. She was flirty but familiar with you. She also said we were married now. I just thought..." started Dusty.
"No, you're right. We are married now, but long after Suzan and my marriage was long over. I still think of Suzan and our family from time to time and those were some of the happiest times in my life. We had such a long life together and I and the children still miss her sometimes," said older Dusty wistfully.
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...
"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...
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...