Amdirlain's PoV - Quasi-Elemental Plane of Lightning
The battlefront flexed around them repeatedly. The pair were skipping about with Teleport, forcing their foes to chase them. Lightning Elementals’ blinding speed pushed to keep up with their sudden position shifts. Spells and arrows tore enemies apart while the black clouds around them started gaining tinges of green as the battle progressed and more Elementals joined the fray. Elementals crackled and faded, but more flooded towards them.
Warned by Amdirlain, Pit’s Teleport carried him away before a hand clamped onto the space he’d left. An Order filled Fireball exploded amid the Elemental swarm that raced after him. Fortunately, the explosion staggered the entire group before Amdirlain’s Teleport took her away from the grasping hand. The latest arrival’s form eclipsed memories of the Behemoth Lightning Golem in the Necropolis. The cloud bank that had swept towards them didn’t contain a group of Elementals; rather, it was an Elemental.
Yet even proximity to its attacks sent agony striking through her auras and searing flesh. Fists larger than trucks lashed out, and Amdirlain teleported away. Re-appearing amid a group of large Elementals, blades spun out from her sides and blackness extinguished the remaining energy within their broken forms.
“Focus on the others.” Amdirlain mentally warned Pit, and she shifted position again.
[Species: Ancient Quasi-Elemental, Lightning
Level: 650
Health: 136,750
Defence: 790
Magic: 975
Mana: 11,700
Melee Attack Power: 4,271
Combat Skills: Grab [S] (2), Engulf [S] (2), Strike [S] (12) - Various Spell Forms.
Details: An Elemental that has existed between five to six thousand years, or absorbed sufficient energy from other Lightning Elementals, can achieve this size. A living cloud bank, this ancient entity controls other Lightning Elementals within hundreds of kilometres of its location.]
A flurry of strikes left Pit almost flash blinded by the power washing across Amdirlain, battering at the auras sheathing her form. Breaking through the Elemental burnt swaths of flesh into ash, but Amdirlain continued casting spells. Protean sealed the injuries and started the healing process, yet more damage continued to roll in. Spell forms burst across the Elemental’s surface and exploded partially across others when its power fought against her own.
Her health bleeding away under the strikes, losing hundreds of health at a time, Amdirlain began skipping between Elementals. Every relocation had Energy Drain drinking health from among the biggest gatherings she could spot. Evading the Ancient’s grasp again, she slid Ki Infusion into a Primordial state and prepared a Spell to hold within it. Once ready, the Ki churned with the Spell’s power, and her Spell assaults resumed.
“Aggie’s summoning me,” Pit yelled over the top of the booming battle, hurriedly loosing a flurry of arrows at a Large Elemental rushing to attack. Weeks of practice meant every one of them struck true against the Elemental’s energy nexus.
“Hold on, darn it.”
The words slapped across Pit’s awareness. A semi-trailer formed of pure lightning raced towards her again, and this time, Amdirlain didn’t evade it, but lashed out with a palm strike against it. Her enemy’s blow struck through a black shape that appeared on her palm, and the Spell back lashed through its attack. A surge of power swept away from her, and the Spell’s eruption turned the cloud’s interior into an old fashion negative. The Primordial energy of creation cascaded through the lightning, grounding its energy into matter. A chain reaction continued through its mass to spear through the assembled forces. The sparking remains of the rest of its fellows quickly faded out before the cloud bank lost cohesion.
[Combat summary:
Small Quasi-Elemental, Lightning x54 (x50%)
Medium Quasi-Element, Lightning x 43 (x50%)
Quasi-Element, Lightning x 32 (x50%)
Large Quasi-Element, Lightning x29 (x50%)
Huge Quasi-Element, Lightning x19 (x50%)
Greater Quasi-Elemental, Lightning x 12 (x50%)
Old Quasi-Elemental, Lightning x4 (x50%)
Ancient Quasi-Elemental, Lightning x1 (x50%)
Total experience gained: 1,437,500
Fallen; +274,900
Scion: +274,900
Sora Master: +274,900
Sora Master Levelled Up!
Psion: +274,900
Psion Levelled Up!
Warrior Monk: +274,900
Warrior Monk Levelled Up!
Resistance: Electricity [I] (30->33)
Angelic Aura [Ad] (18->20)
Ki Armour [S](17->18)
Ki Aura [Ad] (22->26)
Mana Critical [B] (13) -> [Ap] (2)
Clairsentience [M] (7->8)
Danger Sense [S] (6->7)
Mana Finesse [S] (9->10)
Telekinesis [Ad](10->11)
Zen State [S] (10->11)]
“And done. Have fun.”
Pit gave Amdirlain an incredulous look and let Aggie’s summoning draw him away.
“Aggie, got to love your timing. Buy Pit some new clothing, please; his got wrecked.” Amdirlain finished casting her Spell and burst into laughter at the storm, lashing the fragments against her aura. Telekinesis grabbed the Ancient’s lightning heart and brought it to rest above her palm. Energy compressed by a millennium of existence shone with the brilliant bluish-white of a lightning strike.
“That’s another thing off O’Nai’s list,” Amdirlain said happily, and noting the level ups, opened her Profile to check on the changes.
While the usual increases in her attributes were expected, the numbers in her cult made little sense, no matter how much she looked at them. She waited for the arm that had met the Ancient’s strike to regrow before Planar Shift took her home.
Sunlight of the Outlands washed over her, but Amdirlain didn’t take in her surroundings; rather, she teleported home to the valley’s ridgeline. There was no additional construction at the viewing point, and Amdirlain stopped to enjoy the view. Even as she took in the place’s beauty, her Domain’s closeness let her feel the thousands of Erakkö that were present within it. Their energy bled into the Domain’s Wellspring, strengthening it with noticeable speed.
“What have you folks been up to while I was away?” muttered Amdirlain, and Teleport set her a safe distance from the training ground where Ebusuku, Sage, and Solveiga were sitting.
The moment she entered the Domain itself, dozens of Lantern Archons swirled about on the edge of her awareness, surprising her with their existence. Mostly, they were Erakkö whose memories had faded during their stay in Judgement. However, Runa’s presence in the group wasn’t the biggest surprise—her presence on the Material Plane topped that.
“Runa, focus on your Oath link to me and think a message at me. Why are you on the Material Plane without training, young lady?” asked Amdirlain, pausing out of sight of the training ground.
Though she felt Runa’s surprise through their link, she didn’t receive any response; after waiting several minutes, she spoke again.
“I hope you’re okay, as I’m not hearing anything from you. When you’re back, we will get you trained properly before going anywhere again. That way, if you need any extra help, you can contact me.”
Rounding the last corner towards the training ground, she found Farhad training with most of her Hound Archons. Nearby, she spotted Ebusuku, Sage, and Solveiga sitting around a table looking over a drawing, with Sage busy making notes.
“Anything interesting showup?”
Ebusuku looked at her sternly and raised an eyebrow. “What time do you call this young lady?”
“Really?! You’re going there?” asked Amdirlain in amusement.
Sage smiled at her and set his notes next to the drawing of the canyons. “Torm dropped by and suggested it would be suitable.”
“Picking up more symbols, was he? I got no messages. I figured everything was under control,” declared Amdirlain. “Though Runa transformed into a Lantern Archon and skipped off to the Material Plane—she’s so grounded. Does anyone know anything more about that?”
“Pip grumbled there was a call for help, and Runa beat her to it,” Sage answered. “We hadn’t even known she’d transformed until Pip complained. Torm came to speak with you about checking on the Elves; It will take him some time to reach them by boat.”
“That’s good to know,” acknowledged Amdirlain. “How about the Erakkö waiting in Judgement? How many more are present?”
“Millions, but we’re just bringing them back in controlled groups. When we go through one of the Gates, we collect those closest that react to your symbol. Malnar’s been busy building places for them, but a lot of them do little besides sit under a tree or by the water,” replied Sage.
“At times, an Erakkö will fade out, and a new Lantern Archon will appear. Other times there is a ripple of energy, and they’re just gone,” Solveiga offered cautiously.
Amdirlain patted her shoulder and sat down beside her across from Ebusuku. “Not gone completely. Berronar warned me about it, but I wasn’t expecting it so soon. The newly dead keep their Mortal forms and stick to the familiar, but older Souls will either transition into Archons, move back on to be reborn, or join the Domain. If they join the Domain, it’s because they don’t wish to be reborn and yet don’t care about having a body. They’re drifting peacefully in the Wellspring’s energy, strengthening it with their presence.”
“Okay, that’s good to know,” sighed Solveiga. “I guess I’m too new to all this.”
“Join the club! Meetings are the first Tuesday of each moon, but you’ll need to bring your own drinks,” quipped Amdirlain.
“What?” asked Solveiga, and Amdirlain gave her a shoulder bump for her look of confusion.
Ebusuku sighed and tapped the drawing. “I think it’s safer not to ask. Can we get back to this?”
Amdirlain looked over the map they’d put together and pointed to two circles marked on it to the north. “What are those?”
“The one closest to the mountains looks like an Elven City,” Ebusuku said, pointing to the inland circle before gesturing to the second on the coast. “The species from the canyons inhabited the coastal city.”
Amdirlain looked at Ebusuku in surprise at her news. “Elven City? Lots of undead there as well?”
“Not a single one that I could find,” replied Ebusuku. “Lots of broken skeletons, some mummified corpses, and various slain creatures, but not a single undead. Lots of relatively recent damage to the city though; traces of scorched and wind etched damage to structures that are otherwise unmarked by weather.”
“The servant said there aren’t Mortal inhabitants,” offered Amdirlain.
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“I’m not sure then. The spells were potent enough to damage stone unweathered by thousands of years, not something I’d expect on an abandoned world. Tens of thousands of remains marked with concentrated Chaos strikes,” countered Ebusuku. “The Elven city is actually near a natural Gate to the Outlands. I was checking for a pathway to the Abyss, and my Planar Sense helped me find it.”
“Have you been using that now?” Amdirlain asked, and Sage nodded.
“You trying to teach me how to be subtle?” Ebusuku added and reached across the table to poke her arm.
“Yeah right, zero chance of that,” refuted Amdirlain. “It seemed like asking for an ambush, that’s all.”
“Exactly why we’re not using it,” agreed Ebusuku. Amdirlain went to ask a question but got cut off as Ebusuku continued. “What level did you push Pit through to?”
Waving her off, Amdirlain jumped to a matter that had been niggling at her. “That’s his business, back to the subject of ambushes though; Aleko, did you find anything out?”
“I sent a message to Sagga and Rika; they’ve passed the details onto Moke to investigate,” Solveiga reported.
Giving a nod of thanks, Amdirlain moved on to the issue that had brought her back to the Domain. “Have you heard anything about why in the last two weeks I suddenly have a ton of missionaries and new locations with followers?”
“I’ll speak to some of the recent Petitioners, see if they know anything,” said Sage and he packed up his notes.
Amdirlain waved Sage to stay put. “It’s not super urgent, just when we get time. I’d like to know what happened. “
“The platoons must have finally mustered out,” Solveiga stated, and Amdirlain motioned for her to continue. “The King’s council kept finding reasons to extend their service. Some recent Petitioner from among them said they were planning to settle in various places and spread the word by example.”
At her mention of the King’s Council, the relaxed look vanished from Amdirlain’s face. “No one mentioned issues with them to me.”
Solveiga gave her a casual shrug. “That’s because you shouldn’t need to handle everything yourself; and it’s Mortal politics, which doesn’t go well with you.”
“Okay, you have a point there,” agreed Amdirlain reluctantly. “Not happy that they were putting pressure on the ladies.”
“Well, sounds like it’s come back to bite them at last,” smirked Solveiga. “I know Gellamel, among others had discussed it occasionally even while I was alive.”
Creating a set of paper and grease pens, Amdirlain wrote a few notes of her own. “As I told Ebusuku, I wasn’t happy with the mixed messages I was getting from the Norse temples. Solveiga can tell you how only a few were quick to help; the rest had to be persuaded. The King’s Council is split between Jarl’s representatives, a trio of the King’s advisors, and senior priests. Either a majority of temples agreed, or the Jarls voted in a bloc. The King only had a reluctant agreement from them about hiring the platoons initially for a year—a few Jarls declared it was an extravagant expense.”
“That changed about a year after you left,” Solveiga said. “First it was three years, then five, then it was until further notice that same year after the five-year increase. Gellamel had them commit in writing to large bonuses to be paid each member; those bonuses increased for every year after six years.”
Amdirlain winced at the ladies kept in combat service for so long. “Were they-“
“It wasn’t the length of service, Amdirlain,” reassured Solveiga. “Lots have nowhere to return to; the platoons became their family, though we’d been putting our lives together. Gellamel refused to let the council take our service for granted, especially after all the crap Eysteinn’s family pulled.”
“Rat fucker, what did he do?” growled Amdirlain.
“Not him, them, the Jarl replaced him with his son not long after your run-ins with him. The Steward handles tax assessment on properties and businesses for the Jarl. The Daughters paid through the nose frequently, and he hit the properties of the Thralls we freed or caused pain for individuals dealing with us fairly.”
Amdirlain ground her teeth and wondered why it hadn’t been mentioned. “The others just let this go?”
Maybe because I just poured oil on the fire every time I spoke to him.
“Oh, he never crossed the letter of the law, just applied assessments on the upper threshold of what was allowed. Had new laws set up around legit trade problems, but then used them to bump assessment against merchants dealing with us as well,” Solveiga replied. “They did everything according to the law, even if it was older laws, rarely applied to anyone else in a similar situation. Someone with the King’s ear got other laws added that they gleefully applied against us.”
“And while you can provide evidence he’s applying them to the Daughters if it’s all legal, what are the grounds for your complaint? That he’s not applying it to other people? It would be harder to get evidence that there is no one else he’s applying it to, especially if he is using it as a weapon against allies of ours. He’ll have some justification for each decision to apply it written up, I’m sure,” commented Amdirlain.
Solveiga nodded glumly. “That’s the issue as I understand it, but Gellamel was dealing with them. Yngvarr and Verdandi were providing her advice and backup for appeals.”
Rubbing her face with her hands, Amdirlain tried to accept the churning in her guts instead of locking it away. “You mean I took all her backup away?”
“Yeah, Yngvarr moved to Duskstone, but Verdandi would still be there to help her,” replied Solveiga calmly.
Amdirlain shook her head and took a moment before replying. “Verdandi moved to the eastern border of Greece to undermine the Greek Gods.”
“Get someone not known to them to set up an apparently separate operation. Then get them to document the lack of the rules being applied,” Sage suggested.
“One exception doesn’t make a rule,” Ebusuku said. “There are likely conditions in the laws that let the Steward decide when it’s applicable.”
Amdirlain contemplated the matter for a moment. “I’ll get Eivor to compensate the Daughters for the expenses from my looting of the temples. Maybe we can get someone trained up to be a better candidate for Steward than one of Eysteinn’s relatives.”
“How are you going to get the Jarl to replace him?” asked Sage.
“Money,” Amdirlain said flatly. “I’ve got literal tons of it in the Clan Gildenshield account. I’ll not put up with his family screwing with us.”
Aggie’s PoV - Stoneheart
The Spell stretched on and left Aggie wondering if something had gone wrong, when a Hound Archon suddenly appeared before her. Though she expected to look up given their height difference, her gaze still only met a washboard stomach covered with badly charred clothing. Looking further upwards, she had to tilt her head right back to meet Pit’s gaze. The Hound Archon’s shoulders nearly pressed against the ceiling, hunched over as they were under the three-metre-high roof.
“What has she done now?” Aggie asked breathlessly.
Pit shifted position carefully, but the abused cloth of his shirt cracked, and a sleeve slipped free, turning to ash before it hit the ground. “Lady Amdirlain calls it 'power levelling'. The clothing I had before would change form with me, but it didn’t share my Resistance. She’d had to make me new clothes between bouts of fighting.” replied Pit. “Do you perhaps have a cloak I can borrow? These garments don’t change size with me.”
Aggie paused as Amdirlain’s message whispered in her ear and nodded solemnly. “Does she know you call her Lady Amdirlain?”
“I address her as Amdirlain, but when I talk about her, it doesn’t seem respectful to be so casual,” admitted Pit ruefully. “We’re all allowed our choices, right?”
“What level are you now, Pit?” Aggie asked and held out an enchanted cloak drawn from her storage amulet.
Pit gave her a grateful smile and carefully put the cloak around his shoulders, its enchantments causing the cloak to expand in a rush of cloth. He quickly pulled it closed, but his shirt, belt, and pants joined the sleeve, turning into ash. With his bow clutched in one hand, he couldn’t quite avoid flashing Aggie.
“Sand rash!” growled Pit, juggling bow and cloak. He put the bow away into storage and transformed into the Basteti form he had planned. The enlarged cloak struggled to re-adjust quickly, hiding him beneath an impromptu tent formed by its folds.
“Pit, what level are you?” Aggie asked again. “I think I can change my travel plans.”
“The last fight pushed me to fifty-nine,” admitted Pit, when he’d gotten the cloak sorted out.
Aggie rubbed her forehead. “Fifty-nine, all four of-“
“All five, if you include my Species levels,” interjected Pit. “Lady Amdirlain suggested I add Scout as well to boost my Intelligence since I didn’t want to be a Wizard. Though I’ll need to practice skills, I’ve not had time to progress properly. I’ve had plenty of practice in Perception, Archery, and even sniping with my bow, plus loads of practice with Danger Sense.”
“Would have thought Scouts would be more Quickness than Intelligence,” Aggie mused, not being shy about admiring Pit’s new form.
His fur was almost pure black, broken up by infrequent silver-white tufts and a solid section of white fur in the shape of a flame in the hollow of his collarbones. Instead of the solid appearance, he’d had previously, now there was a whip-lean grace about him even standing still. Though the cat-like Basteti was far different in appearance, she recognised Pit’s energy.
“I felt the option when I chose it, and it’s been working out so far,” said Pit. Pulling the cloak together more firmly as it threatened to gape.
“Black fur is going to draw a lot of attention; depending on the community, well, it’s viewed as extremely lucky,” Aggie noted. “You’re going to have eligible females prowling around you trying to tempt you to stay if we drop by one.”
Pit grimaced slightly at her words. “I spoke with a Basteti Petitioner while I was considering taking this form, but they didn’t mention that. Though they gave me some advice and taught me a few things about their people’s customs. Where can I get some clothing?”
“That’s going to be an issue. You’re not exactly close to Dwarven. I can open a Portal to Eyrarháls after we get outside the wards,” Aggie replied.
His grimace disappeared at her suggestion, and Pit nodded happily. “Sounds like a plan, or did you just want to Portal somewhere in the Kingdom of Darius instead?”
“The Daughters of Hope have contacts in Eyrarháls for clothing, and they laid in lots of clothing with all the slaves that Amdirlain freed. They might have spares that can fit. I’d like to introduce you to a few of those running the Daughters and Hope’s Bastion,” explained Aggie.
“I know about the Daughters, but what is the focus of Hope’s Bastion?”
“The Daughters take care of training the Wizard’s cadre and helping people that need immediate help. The folks from the Bastion focus on keeping people’s choices available to them. Intervening before people become enslaved—or once freed, they provide training to improve their lives, and a fresh start. Anything to make sure they have the help to stay free,” explained Aggie. “They’ve started doing more work in Greece. Most people become slaves there because families sell the children they can’t afford to support.”
“Lady Amdirlain said there were three sects,” said Pit. “Are those two of them?”
Considering the question, Aggie eventually answered. “I’d say so, but that’s just a guess. They follow the same tenets but focus their efforts differently.”
Pit nodded thoughtfully in response. “What’s the third sect?”
“I’ve honestly no idea. Maybe it’s me, or it could be the folks working with Moke. They don’t wait to hear that someone needs a hand,” Aggie answered and gave him a grin before she finished. “They’re always poking their nose into places to find trouble that needs putting down; rescuing some of them contributed to several levels.”
Isaac’s PoV - Mountains - Cemna
Laying on my side, I enjoyed the breeze off the mountainside brushing along my currently wingless back. For the first time in this existence, their weight wasn’t present. The forest’s music sounded cheerful under the warmth of the summer sun. It’s light sparkling tones, not entirely hiding the groans and grumbles of things that prefered the cooler seasons. The disharmony between them was simply a fact of life; Ilya’s gentle poke on my shoulder brought me back to myself, and I realised I’ve been echoing the shadow’s songs.
“Isa, you’re not allowed to sing along to the sad shit. We’re only here because you’ve been glum; sing the lively stuff. Or didn’t you enjoy your present?”
“All the presents were wonderful,” I replied, wiggling into her touch. “I’m worried that Summoner will try again; I can’t figure out how she knew my secret, except options that are impossible or horrible.”
“Not telling me what she said, are you?” Ilya asked grumpily, her music equally part wary and curious.
“I have my secrets, and you have yours; it’s safer only to share where there is need.”
The words came out softly, but I winced when her music gained sharp cutting notes. They’re not mine, and the sudden notes made me regret returning them to her.
“Not sure I want to play it safe some days,” Ilya murmured too softly for most to hear.
“I shouldn’t have said it, Ilya, but remember, trusting to Luck is my role,” I countered. Turning towards her, I touched my fingers to her lips, not liking the hurt notes in her song. “I want you to keep your plausible deniability. Now, if you want to pray to Luck, I could help you there.”
Her purple bow-lipped mouth curved softly at my touch. The strange sunlight here lent extra warmth to her olive skin, but it was still far colder than the heat in her dark bedroom eyes.
“Would it be your altar I give homage to in my prayers, or a dice table?” Ilya asked. Her fingers danced up my thigh sending electricity through me, even before her warm lips brushed my palm, and little licks made me groan.
I tried for a teasing tone, but my words contained too much heat under the temptation of her tongue. “I think you’ve tended to my altar enough today.”
“But I left it all messy. It needs a proper polishing,” protested Ilya playfully, each word accented by a kiss and teasing lick further along my arm. Her hand brushed my pussy’s lips, turning my groans into a gasp.
“I will bite you,” I tried to growl but moaned instead.
“Promises, promises,” Ilya sighed, sliding a single finger along my wet folds, tracing a circle that made me twitch.
“Bad Ilya, didn’t anyone ever tell you not to play with your food?” I barely managed, still feeling overstimulated from our last round.
“Only you,” murmured Ilya, her words obstructed as her tongue pressed harder into my skin. Little quick licks traced my muscles towards the soft skin in the elbow’s crook, harder licks along my arm accompanied the motions of a finger teasing between my folds. Sliding into my wetness, her finger hooked inside me and pulls at me, making spasms burn through my core.
The spasms rippling through me had me leaning into her touch, and breathy words were all I managed. "How long is the veil in place for?"
Ilya smiled, drawing my face towards her chest. “It will last until sundown, Isa.”
“Mercy, that’s hours away.”
Her fingers sliding suddenly deeper stole my playful objection away, and I lavished kisses upon the curve of her breast.
“I know,” Ilya purred.
Another shift in my position was enough to turn her music triumphant. Her free hand ran through my hair, and I lightly licked a nipple in time with her motions. Teasing her other nipple with my fingers earned an excited cry in response. Her palm rubbing my mound while her fingers teasingly pump within my pussy, got me rocking to her rhythm.
Sliding free from her fingers, I took my time moving along her body, landing kisses as I roamed across sun-warmed skin. Finally positioned between her legs, the soft grass tickling down across my sensitive places had me wiggling. Enjoying the silken feel of her skin, I slid my hands beneath her to cup her bum, the lifted peach-firmness feeling tight in my palms. I just held her carefully, feeling her anticipation build before I massaged her arse cheeks softly. Every motion had Ilya flexing her hips towards me, and I teased her by dropping more kisses along her inner thighs.
Taking my time, I eventually brushed her pussy’s outer lips with the softest of kisses, enjoying the groans I received in response. The aroma of her excitement was intoxicating, even before teasing her excited pearl with my tongue. Delighting in her moans of frustration, I brushed a slow lick across her glistening inner lips. Fiery notes arose in her song when quick teasing flicks of my tongue rewarded me with gasps of delight.
Her motions, erratic with desire, pressed hard against my mouth, and I moved in time with them, sliding gradually deeper between lovely wet folds with my tongue. A flood of juices and a sweet shift in her saltiness announced her first orgasm, and I didn’t let up. Alternating long slow licks with frantic flicks to prolong her pleasure, my fingers helped me conduct her song; I remained careful of its tempo. Long fingers entwined in my hair tugged me towards her in time with every lick. Focused on her music, I held her at the orgasm’s edge, adjusting my pace to keep her music from losing its crescendo. Before it became too much, I let her balance tip, and she bucked hard against my face, her screams of pleasure resonating in muffling protections of the veil.
Her trembling gradually easing, I kept going with slow and gentle licks.
“We’ve put off looting another city for years. It can wait a day,” Ilyia panted.
Sitting back on my heels at Ilya’s words, I couldn’t stop the laughter that erupted. The pleased smile my laugher earned matches her music. It’s a simple decision to make, and I settled down to cuddle against her. Enjoying the feel of her arm around me, I ran a hand down the sensual curves that conceal a leopard’s muscular grace.
“With Luck’s blessing, we’ll find something to bribe Coordinator Makaro, to sign off on your request to take a Prestige Class,” I murmured, nuzzling her skin.