I thumped the walls with my hand. The sound producing a dull padded smack. “We insulated the hell out of the room too. For soundproofing and heat containment.” Then I reached down next to the cabinet and hit a little switch. It released a slide-out compartment containing a small anvil and a hammer. “Got you this too, so you can work on projects in here if you wanted to do things the old fashioned way,” I said. Just in case she got sick of using my magic for her work.

“Tisha, Jade,” I called out. “Hit it. She’s gonna want to see it in action!”

Instead of them answering, there was a high-powered hiss, and what we’d styled to look like a bed blazed into fiery heat. Hundreds of tiny little nozzles like chem-lab burners lit up in brilliant flame, inset below a metal mattress-style frame. Creating a temperature that Tisha told me would exceed even the furnace that Evelyn had for herself. I backed up to the doorway immediately, trying not to get torched.

“Oh, what?” Evelyn shouted. Checking her pockets one last time and hopping onto the flaming bed. The torches roared as she covered them with her body. Her enchanted clothes absorbed the heat without lighting on fire. “Oh wow,” Evelyn said. Her voice was low and relaxed. Closing her eyes and smiling.

She fell asleep instantly.

I stepped out quietly and closed the door. The heat faded fast.

I finished getting dinner ready and the girls milled around tidying up the ship and doing last-minute adjustments, setting aside the raspberry and chocolate pies I’d purchased earlier. Then, when I pulled the garlic salmon out of the oven, Evelyn popped her head out of her room on her own. Then she came out rubbing sleep from her eyes with one hand. “That smells amazing,” she said. The little box I’d seen her pull from her pocket earlier was in her free hand.

I’d taken the liberty of expanding the dining room outward so that we had some more room. We’d already modified the ship so much that it made total sense. The room was heavy with the scent of spiced food, and everyone was in a wonderful mood. The three ladies were chatting each other up as if they’d know each other for years. Tisha and Evelyn had gotten into it about different types of metals and their advantages. Which led to Evelyn racing off to get the flowers I’d made her.

She came back with them all. As soon as Tisha and Jade saw them they both practically lost their minds. Evelyn was beaming at me the whole time. Holding them close to her and barely letting go of them. After a few minutes I noticed that one of them was missing.

“Where’s the gold one?” I asked.

“Oh,” she said. “I’m using it for a special project. That was the last of the gold. Don’t worry. You’ll love it.” There was a hint of mischief in her voice. Almost like what Jade had in her tone when she was planning a prank. I sensed that something was going on, but things were going so well that I didn’t even care.

“Luis, can I ask you something?” Tisha asked. We’d all showered after the end of the day’s work—separately this time—and she’d changed into a tight white turtleneck. I thought maybe her intention was to hide her body, but the slim material only pronounced her luscious curves more. Jade was back in another set of pajamas—these ones somehow even skimpier, showing off her incredible lean and fit body.

“Go ahead,” I said, shaking my head and trying to clear it. Tisha was eye fucking me really hard, and both Jade and Evelyn were looking at me like they wanted some action. If I didn’t get some release soon I’d be lifting the damn metal table up on my end without my hands or my magical powers.

“How did you afford all of this?” she asked, gesturing around at the supplies and appliances. “It’s all top notch. You came here from another dimension and you got all this going?”

I took a sip of my water and finished my bite of roasted fish and mashed potatoes. Considering.

It was finally time to come clean.

“This body I’m in… Ajax Baylor. That was his name. He tried to double-cross his master, Buzzkillington. I don’t know the exact details, but it involved a boatload of platinum.” I waited. Seeing if Tisha responded to the name like the citizens of Clontikus had. She didn’t bat an eyelash.

Which I was grateful for.

Fucking Ajax Baylor. Gigantic pain in the ass.

“I found a lot of it and have been using it to stake out the future for the harem. I think with all of our powers we’d never be poor, but it’s Buzzkillington’s money. I figured we’d spend it kicking his family’s ass.”

Evelyn leaned back in her chair with a smirk and tousled her hair. The other two went silent with their mouths dropped open.

“How much plat are we talking, Luis?” Jade asked, stunned.

“More than we’ll need. It’s safe. I wouldn’t worry about much anymore. We should figure out some income in the long run, but for now we can focus on taking BK out without needing to hold down jobs or anything.” I looked over at Evelyn and echoed her own words earlier when I’d asked for the metal. “We should all pool our resources. You know?” She leaned her head back and gave me a warm smile. Putting her palm on her cheek.

I’d hidden most of it underneath my house. As deep as my powers would allow. I’d buried another portion of it underneath a specific spot in the woods outside Clontikus. A sizeable chunk of it was worked into various parts of the jet. I’d be able to pull it out whenever we needed funding.

I was grateful that my powers allowed me to manipulate non-magnetic metals because I wouldn’t have been able to draw it out of the ground or my hiding spots otherwise.

They were full of questions, but I raised a hand and got everyone to quiet down. “First things first. We need to find an airship to target. My plan is for us to be comfortable living in the jet, but it’d be nice to have more room. Especially if we want to haul around any heavy equipment. Or even carry an army if anyone wants to join our fight.”

I waited patiently for anyone to speak. Tisha looked like she had something to say, but she was fighting it.

“Tisha. You have any ideas?” I asked.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Well, yeah. Sort of anyway. It’s nothing concrete,” she replied. Placing her hand on the collar of her turtleneck and pulling on it.

“Okay, shoot.”

“There are major trade winds. Routes that run from the Capital on down through Titanus and Featherton. Lord Manageer—”

“Buzzkillington, or BK,” I interrupted. “I’m sick of saying this fucker’s title. Screw him.”

She gave a shy little smile. Then said, “All right. BK.” The new nickname got her smiling fully. Her face reddened a little at the act of rebellion. “His airships are heavily mobile with their propellers and rockets, but they’re not stupid. They move with the winds as much as they can to save energy.” She moved some objects around the table. Setting up a basic map with salt and pepper shakers, along with some cutlery.

“Here’s the Capital,” she said, pointing at the salt. It was furthest to the south. “Then the ships run up north.” Her hand cruised up past the plate of green beans. “Well east of us at Clontikus, trending west to Titanus.” Evelyn gave me a loaded look at the mention of Titanus. I figured she was just making a callback to my tight anus joke about it the last time we raided the city.

There was something more in her eye though.

She was definitely planning something.

What the hell was she planning on doing with that gold?

“Luis?” Tisha prompted. Seeing me space out. Evelyn bit her lip and stared at me. I dragged my attention back to the diagram Tisha was working on.

“Go on,” I said. “I’m listening.”

“From Titanus they move on up to Featherton. Then circle back on down south back to the capital,” Tisha finished, tapping the table.

“Or Corporate? I heard someone call it that,” I said. Trying not to roll my eyes. The goddess Jodi had told me that BK was obsessed with work culture, but I still found it insane the way he named everything.

“Yup, that’s what it’s called,” Tisha said.

“It didn’t used to be named anything?” I asked.

“There wasn’t a city there before,” Jade said. “Used to be called Cyclicite Valley though. Before he conquered it. Ogres and all kinds of wild creatures guarded the place. Not to mention the local orcs. There was a ton of natural resources there, but no one ever had the guts to go and claim it.”

The name Cyclicite Valley seemed to ring some bells.

“What… state are we in? You all have states right?” After all we were in some version of the United States, as far as I could remember through conversations with Jade.

“California,” the three of them said at once.

“Really?” I said, looking toward where I would have put a window in a normal home. As if looking out at the landscape would prove or disprove what they said. “What’s this area called?”

“Clontikus,” Jade and Evelyn responded at once.

“Never mind,” I said with a shake of my head. Deciding to discard all the geography I had stored up. It wouldn’t serve me well. “I’ll want a map. I want to leave tomorrow night.” That was a call I’d just made. “So we’ll get some rest tonight, and I’ll give the three of you some spending money. You can get whatever you want for the ship before we take off.”

My ladies both flitted their eyes to Tisha. She had her thin lips pressed into a thoughtful line.

“Assuming you’re comfortable coming, Tisha,” I said.

She leaned forward on the table. Tapping her dish with one of the spoons she’d picked up. The movement mashed her breasts up against the hard surface like a push-up bra. Jade was staring at them even more than me.

If I got Tisha in the harem, a three-way with her and Jade was going to be absolutely insane.

I shifted in my chair, willing myself to relax again.

“We’d all love to have you, Tisha. I’m not sure we’ll be able to find anyone else who knows their way around engines as much as you.” I trailed off. Letting her think about the ship for a second before I really leaned into it. “And that airship engine has got to be something else. Based on what we’ve seen I bet it’s big enough to climb inside.”

Tisha’s cheeks turned completely red, and she placed her hand on her chest. Jade’s eyes bugged out and flicked over to mine. “I’ll come. I’ll come along,” she said almost instantly.

“Great,” I replied, having learned long ago not to keep selling once the sale had been made. “So it’s settled then. We’ll keep planning tonight and then take tomorrow to finish getting the ship ready and getting supplies.” I pointed at the table where Tisha had been working. “Barring any crazy problems with the ship, we should be fine. I’m going to spend most of tonight after dinner seeing how much weight I can displace. Most of my magic should be recharged by tomorrow night.”

I looked around, taking a final tally of the last things I wanted. “Tisha and I found six parachutes in the airship intact. So that’s handled. I’d like to figure out some way to make viewing ports though. It’d be great to see where we’re going.” I was going through plans to find some tempered glass when Tisha raised her hand.

“I think I can handle that, Luis,” she said.

“Oh?”

“I know a lot of basic utility spells. Also have some of my innate abilities. Like you all got. I can phase through most material. You’ve seen that. I can also shift things a bit so they’re transparent.”

“So you could give us windows?” I asked, sitting forward, in sudden disbelief at how versatile the powers in my crew were getting.

“Should be pretty straightforward,” Tisha said with a shrug. “We can’t put that chameleon paint on them though. It’ll block the light coming through. I’d guess, anyway.”

“So the main cockpit window would have to be visible? I guess that’s not the end of the world. It would’ve been if we’d had glass anyway. I’d feel a lot safer with the three of you fully enclosed in metal. That sounds great. Tisha, can you handle that tomorrow? I’d like to have a few viewing ports actually. We’ll be moving so fast that it won’t matter much anyway.”

“Sure thing, hun,” Tisha said casually. Then she stopped cold. Her body going rigid as she gave timid glances to Jade and Evelyn.

“Relax, sweetie,” Evelyn said. Putting a calming hand on Tisha’s shoulder. “You’re fine.”

Jade put her own hand on Tisha’s shoulder and chimed in, “Say whatever you want. We don’t mind.”

Tisha licked her lips at the contact. Then she settled back into her chair. Evelyn took her hand off, but Jade’s lingered a moment longer.

“Just a few more things then,” I said. “We can get into full details about the sky jacking later, but I have a special project I’d like to put to the team.” I pulled a piece of paper from my pocket that I’d been sketching on earlier. “It’s really bugging me that we can’t communicate in battle. I don’t know anything about this world… but is there a way for us to have something like a radio?”

“Radio?” Jade asked, her forehead wrinkling up toward her horns. They were definitely getting longer. I was sure of it now. Was our sex having some kind of transformative effect on her?

“Yes,” I said, pointing at the diagram. I’d doodled a few walky talkies and a radio tower. Drawing layered curved lines to mimic radio waves—which wouldn’t help a damn bit if none of them knew what a radio even was. Evelyn pointed a finger up in a be right back gesture, then bounced away from the table, her bushy tail swishing behind her.

She came back shortly with the box I’d seen her set on the shelf in her room.

“I think I have a solution,” she said, sliding the box across to me. “It’s not exactly what I got it for, but it should do.”

I looked at the box tentatively. Wondering what the hell it was.

“Go on,” she said. “Open it.”

I hinged the box back and was surprised to find a large green crystal cradled in a little metal housing. “What is it?” I asked, not willing to touch it yet without understanding what the hell it was.

“It’s a vibrometer. A charmed crystal that can relay vibrations. What did you say it was for, Jade? I mean, normally used for?” Evelyn asked.

Jade piped up, grinning deviously now. Apparently having successfully participated in the surprise without me even knowing. “Industrial mining. BK’s teams use them as warning systems for earthquakes and cave-ins. Some of them found their way into public stores. They’re not useful for much unless you’re doing specialized work. They’re still expensive though.”

“Can I?” I asked, pointing at it.

“It’s safe,” Jade said. Waving her hands at me.

I picked the crystal up. It looked surprisingly like an emerald. Tapered at the bottom and fatter at the top. Like any gem you’d see in a video game. “That’s neat,” I said. “But what are we planning to do with it?”

“Evelyn?” Jade prompted. I saw the two of them lock eyes in anticipatory silence. Deferring to the others to deliver the news.

“We can use it to make an amplifier. And microphones,” she said, beaming at me with her golden eyes.