“So… How am I supposed to get back up there?”
The water magician seemed to have heard and bowed to him, “I can return you to the wall… if you wish?”
Joe rose an eye at that but nodded, “If you could… that would be great! Oh… hey… can I have that slime core back?”
The guard with the tattered robe quickly nodded and stepped forward, bowing politely as he put forth the slime core in both hands as he bowed towards Joe, the tan muddy brown of the core reflective of the monsters original appearance. It was the sextuplet core, however, that caught his eye.
“Huh… six cores. Hmm,” Joe tossed the core into the air before he caught it. That was… quite a bit easier than I expected a six core monster to be. Maybe… it’s a … well, weaknesses maybe make a huge difference… guess it really did with the sparks… so, but... He squinted and looked closer at the core and noticed that that one core looked like a normal slime core, intricate and detailed in its three dimensional Celtic knot beauty, although it was an odder color than he was used to as it seemed to be a muddy brown color. However, whenever he tilted it or tried to catch a closer look at it, its color shifted oddly.
What really caught his attention, however, was that the other five cores were corrupted somehow. There were cracks and even holes within the core, held together by spit and string. That’s weird… did I hit it with mana infusion or something? Seems… really badly damaged… didn’t know it could damage just a few or one of the cores. Joe stared at the cores for a few more moments before he realized the monsters were pushing in and his backup wasn’t doing a good job keeping the line back. He ran out to his spoon spears, grabbing both of them before he returned to the water magician.
“Could I catch a ride up the wall?”
“Most certainly, eccentric,” the magician bowed quite deeply to Joe before turning away and heading towards the wall. Then water tendrils reached out and steadied Joe at his waist before a platform of water appeared under their feet and rose them up the wall, clinging to the wall somehow as it rose up.
“Thank you very much for the help. I really appreciate it.”
The water mage looked at him and bowed his head again, but dismissed his work, “I did almost nothing!”
“You kept me from melting to death,” Joe laughed as the rode up the wall, “And that is something quite important to me!”
* * *
Gwenvair watched as Joe rose up over the wall, his cloak he’d worn for his modesty now long destroyed but it seemed he’d found another cloak from one of the guards. He stood with a hand holding the cloak tight around his waist, offering a small amount of modesty while shifting uncomfortably in front of everyone when he made the top of the wall. Gwenvair found herself unable to move, staring at the strangeness of Joe’s body once again, drawn to it. It called to her in a way she couldn’t understand. She was certainly attracted to men. She always had been, but she’d never really found the physical form of a man truly attractive. A man’s character and strength were the primary draw for her, but Joe… Joe held a magnetic draw she struggled to resist. She glanced to Kilniara and found her also looking, her face a faint sheen of red from her blushing even as she quickly realized her own face was red.
Garnedell surprised her out of her trance as he ran forward, a cloak in his hand, and Gwenvair actually raised an arm to stop him. She saw her arm raise, questioned why it did so, then quickly realized she wished to see more… longer, and her face flashed a brilliant red as she turned to Kilniara. Kilniara glanced at her and her face flashed redder than Gwenvair thought possible for an Acokzau, almost so red as to be purple. The two looked at each other before they began giggling wildly… and in relief, grateful to find that their attraction was not so unusual.
Kilniara looked up at her, “Am I bad for wishing he didn’t put on the cloak?”
Gwenvair quickly shook her head, her own face deepening in flush before she replied, “No… no you are not! I wish to see as well!”
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
They both saw Garnedell rushing back to hide behind the protective magic of the rear wall and stifled a sigh as Joe worked the cloak. However, Joe did not wear the cloak as it should be worn. Instead, he used it to dry himself off before he wrapped it around his waist to cover his modesty, but left his chest… his glorious… but strange chest… quite visible. He picked up his bow and arrows and returned to the fight, although he did call out rather quickly at the beginning before he did so.
“Thank you, Gwenvair. That water mage was vital. Make sure to offer him my thanks. Chulnan, could I also get a heal? Just to check?”
Chulnan quickly nodded out in agreement, stepping forward carefully before healing Joe quickly. Gwenvair nodded, grateful for the man’s work, but wanted to be more certain as a clan healer would be much stronger and more capable. She quickly called for a clan healer, calling over mother’s private healer. The healer was quite quick with his check, although Joe completely ignored the process and the healer nodded to Gwenvair before leaving, whispering quietly.
“He remains in excellent health. Some minor damage left over from the previous healer which I repaired, but he is perfectly healthy.”
Gwenvair nodded to the healer, dismissing him, but stored the knowledge to pass on to Joe before returning to staring at Joe. Several moments passed before Kilniara leaned in close to her.
“Why… do I want to look at him? He claims this is… somewhat normal for healthy men, but I have… never seen. I’ve seen my brother… but he … Is he … are you… I don’t…” Kilniara flushed and Gwenvair finally grinned herself, finding Kilniara’s flustered state humorous.
“So… a nice view then?”
Kilniara flushed even redder and leaned into her to whisper in her ear, “You aren’t even looking at me!”
Gwenvair flushed red at that and forced herself to look at Kilniara, “He is … difficult to look away from.”
They fell silent for a bit before Kilniara began again, “Have you seen others like him?”
Gwenvair shook her head, “I have seen many base humans… many of all peoples… and the men, even in base form… There is something about him… I am drawn the same as you.”
Kilniara looked over at her, losing her teasing look a bit and smiled up at Gwenvair, “I know I’ve teased you quite a bit, but…”
Gwenvair’s smile grew but she said nothing and the two fell into silence as they stared at Joe for a while. He continued firing, and the ripple of his muscles was so alien to her yet simultaneously fascinating.
It took a while before she blinked and shook herself clear from her fascination and glanced around with embarrassment, seeing Kilniara still staring. She glanced around quickly and noticed that the two boys were not nearly entranced, chatting amongst themselves at Joe’s fight they’d heard second hand from the clan water mage who’d accompanied Joe.
Gwenvair snuggled into Kilniara again, but she didn’t really notice except to glance at her before smiling brightly and turning back to look at Joe, staring at him. He’d settled back into the fight, completely unconcerned of his state of dress, the cloak tied around his waist protecting his modesty. His chest, however, was all angles and planes that rippled as he worked his strange weapon and fired surprisingly effective mini spear after mini spear into the monsters.
Why does his body ripple like that? None of the soldiers ever … and why… Gwenvair breathed deeply, her breathing hitching as she took her breath. Her face flushed and she shivered. She felt a hand on her arm and looked over at Kilniara, seeing her smile both sympathetically and mockingly. Gwenvair smiled back, laughing at Kilniara’s antics.
“Hey… it’s not fair. You were able to get used to this … up close and personal. It’s only my second time!”
Kilniara nodded with her own smile, “True. But welcome to my torture.”
Gwenvair giggled in reply and said nothing, but the two held hands and turned to look at Joe. His hard chest and oddly rippled stomach were now glistening for some reason, water or oil now all across his torso. I thought he dried himself off? When did he make himself wet again?
* * *
Joe sighed, unhappy with his current situation. The cloak wasn’t really a problem, but without a shirt, his sweat beaded up and dripped down his torso. The shirt he’d gotten so used to obviously had something special to it as he’d never noticed issues with sweat before. In any case, he was even more grateful for the clothing now. The sweat was dripping down his arms a bit but he was able to still keep it from his hands and grip.
The rest of the day continued without incident and Joe was able to keep the monsters at bay pretty easily, soon returning to his typical protective line while allowing the valuable monsters through for the crafters to butcher. The sun set and this time Joe was aware of the shift change and the setting sun. He chose to switch shifts along with everyone else, heading back for the evening. He found himself joined by both Gwenvair and her mother tonight and he was much more aware of his surroundings, allowing him to join in the conversation. Despite this, he stayed relatively free from the conversation, both the Matriarch and him walking silently while the other four chattered incessantly. The girls were quiet, whispering to each other while glancing at him and giggling. The guys were much more boisterous, both excitedly recounting Joe’s fight with the giant slime. It seemed that a mage of some kind had recorded and displayed the fight, showing almost everyone on the wall. Joe had found that piece of information a bit embarrassing.
They returned to the same place they’d slept the last night and standing in front of their door was a young woman of a species that Joe almost immediately recognized: tall, graceful, and incredibly beautiful. Dude! She’s an elf!
* * *