He gasped as the world dissolved around him. Then a familiar plane—one he’d only visited once before—coalesced around him. The dark scape and never-ending ground fog, rolled on for what seemed like forever.

Jace looked down at his feet, beneath the glassy ground, the inky dark waters of the void stared back at him. Every now and then, he spotted the outline of moment. Formless shapes mingling and merging, then parting and drifting away.

He felt eyes on him from above, and fought the urge to look up. But the attention from it was all consuming. Not the crushing pressure he’d felt previously.

Well, now I can remember being here more clearly. He remembered how the entity had spoken to him. It had been surprised to find him here.

You’re a strange creature. The voice drifted to him. Seeming far off, then hitting him in a ghastly whisper.

“How am I strange?” the words left him unbidden. And he remembered that it thought based speech here.

You still retain something of your former self. I can sense it. I never did chew my food properly. It seemed to sighed then, and the glass beneath Jace rattled with vibration. Oh well.

“What are you?” Jace asked and his voice echoed across the Wakeful Plane.

A boring question, it noted. I had hoped for more intelligent company.

Pressure began to build around Jace’ mind. He winced and tried to build his mental wall. Instead of visualising it internally, the wall he imagined began to form before his very eyes. It was a ridiculous brick wall and only face one side, in front of him.

It was about four feet wide, and seven feet in height. It formed out of the fog that layered the ground. Looking smoky and frail. The pressure in his mind doubled and the wall hissed and fizzled out. The fog dissipating.

Curious. The pressure eased up, but didn’t abate. Thinking quickly, Jace swept his arms and visualised internally on what he wanted. The fog around him bloomed into the air and began to swirl around his figure.

A shrill cry went up, and something thumped into the glass beneath. An oval barrier of grey fog stabilized around Jace. Its structure constantly changing and moving. The pressure in his mind ceased completely.

Well done. You are indeed a surprise. But you are not the first. They as well made the mistake of travelling so deeply here. As if to punctuate the entity’ point a loud crack split the air and roared across the plane. Looking ahead of himself Jace saw the glassy surface splinter in a spider web of cracks.

He had taken the fog from his surroundings to make his mental shield, but in doing so had exposed whatever dwelled beneath the glass.

Another thump reverberated through the glass and wobbled his legs. Jace wanted to run, but remembered Joanna’s warning. Maybe whatever is trying to break through, constitutes as something I’m not ready to face. Backpedalling Jace stumbled over his feet.

Careful. The entity mused and Jace looked over his shoulder. A sheer dropped three feet behind him fell away into a thick sea of grey clouds hundreds of feet down.

Crunch!

Crack!

“Sccccrrrrreeeeeee!”

Horrid little things. The entity commented as a terrifying screech filled the plane, and Jace clutched at his ears as it seemed to penetrate his mind. He screamed a short cry that was interrupted as the glass broke over in a geyser of black glass and dark fluid.

For a timeless moment the shards of glass floated upwards, seeming caught in some kind of fixed, frozen state. The dark fluid bubbling up towards the sky as if gravity had been reversed.

Then a bubbly black ooze arm, shot up through the crack stretching ten feet in height. Then the tips of its four fingers burst open and long wicked obsidian claws—that look similar to the glassy floor of the plane—shink out.

Then the arm slammed down into the glass and crunch it as its long claws pierce through.

“What is that thing?” Jace yelled loudly.

Disappointment, the godly being replied matter-of-factly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

My predecessors interpretation of evil. Such a convoluted illusion.

“So this evil god, or whatever it was. It made this?” Jace cried out, as a leg pounded through the glass floor smashing another hole and sending black shards spinning into the ether. The droplets of dark fluid raining into the thick cloud of sky above.

No. This is the consequences of a world left abandoned.

Jace looked around frantically, searching for anything he could use. He needed some kind of weapon. The steel panel in the centre of the wooden vambrace, was alight with silvery blue symbols, and on the panel itself was the image of a bow and arrow.

Now that. Is interesting, the entities voice boomed in surprise. The glass floor the black-ooze thing was trying to break through, completely shattered then. Jace’ entire mental barrier evaporated in a puff of mist and smoke.

The sky above him roared and Jace involuntarily looked up. An enormous kraken-like monster filled the dark cloudy sky.

Jagged purple bolts of lightning blasted the clouds illuminating the entities enormity. It was colossal. You’ve something of the reclaimer in your possession. How curious.

Before anything could happen, the black ooze creature burst out through the glass floor in a spray of fluid. it hit the ground and screamed at the sky with a terrible roar.

Jace watched as its mercurial form oozed and split in two. Each half coalescing a full body. Now two black ooze creatures screeched there feral animalistic defiance.

“Shit!” Jace barked painfully in surprise and flinched his arm up. A searing white heat blazed through his forearm. Glancing down he saw that the symbol of the bow and arrow was now shining brightly on the panel in his vambrace.

Squinting at the symbol, Jace followed his instincts—which were telling him to touch it—and pressed his thumb against the image.

The white heated light burned even brighter and the vambrace oozed and liquefied. Its form sliding and remoulding into a new shape. On his right arm now, instead of a vambrace was crossbow. It was mounted primarily on his wrist, the wire tight string, seemed to be made of corded steel. He felt a trigger mechanism glide into place between his slightly bent fingers.

Rising the crossbow Jace took aim at the ooze creatures, and realised there wasn’t even a bolt loaded on the damn thing. Allow me, said a voice spinning across his mind. Then his aim rose higher and higher, until he was now aiming at the kraken-like entity, floating monstrously in the sky.

Be alarmed, the new voice warned, this may hurt quite a bit.

Before Jace could even parcel out what was going on, the ooze creatures shrieked and began to lumber towards him. At the same time, the entity summoned several hundred crackling bolts of purple lightning around itself. All of them aimed at Jace. Who sat there on his ass, scarred witless as his arm wavered in the air, aiming at the godly monster above.

White hot heat fried up his arm, and Jace cried out as what felt like thousands of bee stings struck somewhere deep inside his gut. Then he was lesser than he was previously. An emptiness space inside him, and Jace swayed nauseated. Then that congregation of… something pulsed and the burning pain in his arm was replaced by a blinding blue light.

The ooze creatures shied away and screamed angrily at the light now emanating from his arm. More specifically, from his wrist mounted crossbow. A bolt of iridescent blue manifested on the bow, and clicked into place.

The sky thundered with a cacophony of what sounded like the repetitive booms of shock waves. The hundreds of purple lightning bolts lanced down from the sky towards him.

You may wish to fire the bolt soon. I imagine those things the Fragment is shooting at you, could hurt. Hurt quite badly, in fact, this new voice in his mind mused seeming unconcerned.

Without further hesitation, Jace pulled the trigger and flinched. Nothing happened. “Hey- what the hell? this thing isn’t even-” he was interrupted when his arm snapped back and dislocated. The blazing blue bolt of whatever it was, launched into the air.

Blasting towards the Fragment.

“Shiiiiiit!” Jace yelled out, as his arm practically windmill out of its socket. The glassy floor beneath him cracked and Jace looked, fanning a bit of creeping fog away. A webbing network of cracks split all around him. Iridescent blue light shone through the cracks. Jace glanced upwards.

His bolt shot towards the entity like a brilliant shooting star, passing the several hundred purple lightning bolts forking down like thousands of arrows blocking out the sun. He lurched as the glass splintered and crunched under his weight. A cry pierced through the crackling air and Jace whipped his head to the right. One of the ooze creatures was sprinting on all fours directly for Jace.

Without any thought to what he was doing, Jace got to his knees and began to pound the fist of his left hand into the glassy surface.

Each successive strike deepening the cracks.

“Glass?” crunch.

“Who.” crunch.

“Gives.” crunch.

“A shit.” crunch again.

“ABOUT GLASS!” His fist smashed through the glassy surface and Jace cried out as brilliant blue light beamed into his face. Then the side of his chest burned hotly as the ooze creature connected with him. It’s claw scraping across his ribs, slicing into him as it then burst into a thick cloud of ash.

Everything jolted, and the ground rippled like a wave.

The first of the purple lightning bolt smashed all around him and Jace’ yell was muted as a booming shockwave blasted through the air. His bolt impacting the entity square on.

Jace fell into a sea of clear blue fluid, his mouth bubbling air in surprise. Below him he saw the dark plane and the brilliant display of lightning. Each bolt that impacted the blue sea, detonated on the surface. Yet the water’s were calm for Jace. It was as if he was on the opposite side of the glass now.

He began to float downwards. His feet pulled by an unknown force. He touched down on his feet at the precipice of the waters’ surface. Looking down, he saw the dark cloudy sky on the other side roiled as something thrashed angrily through it.

It looked like a churn battlefield. Then he flinch away as words were burned into the light blue glassy floor he now stood on.

I know all that you were and could ever be. You will never escape what you have wrought here. This pocket will only sustain you for so long. Until next we meet. Anomaly.

“Fuck,” Jace gurgled and bubble’s escape his mouth.

“Well and truly,” that newer voice shouted in Jace’s mind. He clutched at his head and howled a fit of curses.

“Sorry. Been a long while since I’ve done this,” the voice said dubiously.

“Done what?” Jace asked it in a spray of bubbles.

“You really don’t have to hold your breath you know. The whole abyssal plane is subjective to the individual. The deep-one—the bastard he was—did a rather bang up job of this plane. Anyway for now, your in desperate need of rest. You’re already back at Trager village. So I suggest you actually get some sleep.”

“I won’t come back here, will I?” Jace asked the voice worriedly.

“Nope. Not unless I pull you through. We’ll need to prepare yourselves to eventually face the Fragment once again. This is only a temporary pocket plane after all. It was right in saying this will not sustain you.”

“Okay… uh- what do I call you?” Jace asked.

Oh yes. I am Dexica. You may call me Dexi,” the voice informed him. “Now shoo. Go to sleep. I expended a lot of your mana protecting you.”

With that said, Jace immediately felt himself grow heavy and his consciousness sunk into a dreamless—travel(less)—sleep.

~*~*~*~

Athena grunted as Maypor clipped her legs with her spear and pulled her feet out from under her. She hit the cold pack ground hard. Air exploding out of her lungs. She instinctively rolled over and began checking her on tail. It was numb but nothing seemed broken.

Ever since the old woman and the pack of Saracae orc women had arrived back at the village with an unconscious Jace. Athena had asked Maypor to train her in combat.

She never wanted to feel useless ever again. This was to protect her baby. Speaking of her little girl. Apparently the Saracae women had taken a liking to Gabrielle instantly. Constantly petting and stuffing her daughter with treats and toys of carved figures made from wood.

The trove of loot they returned with, had contained the majority of orc women’s, fathers wealth. All of which now apparently belong to Jace. And, so did the Saracae orc-women.

Athena wanted to be like them and was admittedly jealous. The Saracae practically avoided Joanna like the plague. Though Athena felt it was more a weary suspicious of magic than her being an elf.

Marcia, Cain and Amadis, the oldest yet shortest of the orc women amongst the Saracae. Were currently setting up a temporary lab, where her aunt and hopefully Athena herself would begin fixing potions and helpful tinctures.

They were currently staying in Joanna’ home. Both Marcia, Joanna and her feeling it was better to stay besides Jace.

Joanna had suggested rather annoyed to the fourteen Saracae women now camped in her garden, that they should move some of their number over to Maypor temporary house.

Amadis and Deanna, Amadis’ younger—yet taller—sister, had firmly refused and replied that they would only move when their ‘Master’ ordered them so.

Athena had found that rather amusing. She’d never seen Joanna so quickly and firmly shut down before. Yet another thing she was beginning to be jealous of. Not only had Joanna claimed Jace before her. But now there were fourteen other women to contend with, not including her aunt Marcia.

It was strange watching Marcia faun over Jace as he lay unconscious. A part of her felt like she should’ve been annoyed that Marcia had moved on so quickly. But at night, she still heard Marcia crying for her father.

Love, sex, and relationships came quickly and rather forcibly on Aederon. Women without husbands or ties to a family were generally seen as inconsequential. Wealthy women, or those of considerable standing were viewed with distrust. Even by other women. Even when the gender ratio leaned heavily in the female corner. A woman without a partner was something to scoff at.

Men fought in duels to claim another’s wife. Yet the woman, even if she had power and money, had no say in the matter.

She felt like Jace would see this world differently if he knew the ins and outs of everything. For her own sake, for her life, and her daughter’s life. Athena would attached herself to him. Even if it meant sharing him. It was the way of things after all.

“Where is your head at, girl?” Maypor barked at her and Athena flinched away from her thoughts.

“S-sorry, May.”

“He will be fine,” Maypor told her softly, yet firmly. “You on the other hand, must be challenged.”

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

“Challenged?” Athena asked, feeling daunted by Maypors’ words.

“You have to fight for what you want. That young man in there killed eight Bidish slavers Yesterday. A feat even I am incapable of.”

“Because your old?” Athena blurted out and then winced.

“Because I’m old,” Maypor agreed and smiled. “You must learn your own limits. Now again!”

Athena firmly gripped both of the doubled sided axes in hand, and circled the older woman.

Then she darted forward and twirled, her body fluid as she followed each of her swings through with another. Battering away at the old woman’s precise and deft attempts at blocking and countering her attacks. Athena thought back to her father.

Douglas had been in with the Oedrin town guard for several years before the riots that had claimed her mother. In that time, he had also helped to train the new recruits that joined the barracks. Now Athena wished that she had asked her father to train her as well.

She knew a few of his movements and steps, simply from memory. But that fact that she was a woman, made them harder. For one a few of the steps she’d seen him practice, didn’t take into account that Athena’ breasts were huge.

Which was made even more obvious, when the sheathed tip of Maypors spear smacked across her chest.

“Owww,” Athena grimaced and stopped fighting to rubbed her left boob.

“You need tighter clothing, girl. And something to wrap your chest properly.”

Athena blushed a bright red at the old woman’s words. “Not my fault, nobody here is of a similar size,” Athena shot the woman a dirty look.

“The Saracae are close enough in size to your ridiculous chest,” Maypor retorted back and smirked as Athena blushed even deeper. “Come, let’s take a break. We’ve been going for a while.”

Athena followed Maypor over to a pair of stools behind Joanna’ home. Inside they could hear to muted discussion coming from the kitchen area, where the alchemy equipment was being set up.

They sat in silence for a time. Simply listening to the daily bustle of village life. It was louder than what she had been used to the last couple of months.

Yet something kept tripping her senses. It was the lack of natural sounds. Those that came from animals—oh, there were a few in the village itself. But the forest, where was the chirping of birds calling in the early hours of morn?

The scurrying of insects and other animals?

Even the wind seemed silent.

Everything other than the noise in the village seemed … muted. And that prickled Athena.

“Well need to leave soon,” she murmured quietly. Her gaze shifted over to where Gabrielle rode on the shoulders of an orc-woman.

~*~*~*~

Jace groaned as he woke by slow degrees. He gazed blearily up at the now familiar ceiling of Joanna’ bedroom. The soft sinking feel of the elven woman’ bed making his whole entire body feel heavy.

He heard what sounded like wooden sticks clacking from the back of the house. The hush of conversation coming from the kitchen. Sitting up partially he wiped at his groggy eyes. Trying and failing to stop them from closing.

He was drained beyond belief. He remembered Dexica’ words about him needing rest. That thought alone hauled Jace back from the brink of sleepiness.

He’d remembered the whole damn thing.

The fucking godly entity-monster that had tried to kill him.

The fucking ooze-men creatures that started as one being, then split into two.

He looked at his right arm, and saw that the vambrace, was still just a vambrace. Did I dream all of that? he rubbed at his temples as they began to throb painfully.

Taking slow measured breaths Jace recounted the whole thing in his head. Internally filing it away scene by scene, and processing what had happened.

“Dexi…?” Jace asked aloud and tentatively. No reply.

Dexica? Again nothing came back to him.

Rotating his right arm, he felt no pain nor burns. But as his arm flopped back to the bed, it brush the side of his chest, and he howled in stark pain.

There on the right side of his torso, running vertically over his rib cage, were three long cuts. A black mucus substance oozed across the surface of the claws wounds.

The inch-deep slices, pulsed with waking pain. As all three suddenly flared dreadfully and Jace cried out collapsing off the bed and rolling onto the floor.

The foul tainted ooze, burst out and began to dripple down Jace’s side. “Jace. What’s wrong?” came a concerned voice.

“Stay back!” Jace ordered and threw his hand out stopping them. Sitting up on his knees, he grimaced and clenched his teeth. The long slashes bubbled and popped a continuous stream of black inky ooze. “J-Joanna?”

“What is it?” the mender replied, staring in horror at the dripping wound.

“I need some- Argh, FUCK! -Something to clean this out with.”

“On it,” Joanna gasped and dashed out of the room. Marcia and the short orc girl entered more fully then.

“Jace?” He heard Athena as the entrance to the house banged open. A ruffled and sweaty Athena barging in, Maypor close behind her.

“Stay back,” he ordered again. Clenching his teeth, Jace scanned around for his dagger. His insides were screaming at him to carve whatever this was away, and off his flesh. Like it was disease, or more aptly put, a corruption. And this corruption was trying to taint him. “Dagger!” He barked and the three women jumped, but Maypor pushed them aside and thrust out a sheathed dagger.

“Here.”

Taking it, Jace ripped the sheath off and frowned down at his chest. Breathing slowly he grimaced. “Can someone get the fire going, please.”

The orc girl jumped into action, rushing around him and stepping warily over to the hearth. After a second of finding the tinder box and stacking the chopped wood. The orc-girl had a tiny blaze building.

“I have bandages!” Joanna rushed in, skidding to her knees and fumbling with the clean white cloth as it rolled across her bedroom floor. Snatching up a strip, Jace pressed it just beneath the drooling slices, wiping up the corruption already running down his side.

“Fire is done, Master,” the orc girl chirped to Jace. Twisting around and wincing as the slices seemed to grind together, he passed his dagger over to the orc girl. Without even asking what he meant, she immediately spun about and thrusted the dagger over the fire. It began to heat, the metal burning hot, its surface colouring yellow, red, orange and blue.

Turning back Jace saw that Joanna had divided the bandages into three separate stacks, like she had just retrieved her washing from where it hung on the line to dry.

“Two stacks for cleaning. One for bandaging afterwards,” Joanna informed him. Jace nodded, and grabbing the bandage he already had in hand. He began to run it lightly over his wounds. Getting a hold of another strip of cloth, Jace made sure not to get any of the ooze on his hands. Placing the second cloth above his wounds, Jace began to pressed downwards as the cloth in his hand underneath the wounds, started to press up.

Biting off his howling scream and curses, he drummed his bare feet on the floor. Ooze started to spill thickly out of his three long claw wounds. The amount was horrendous, and utterly surprised Jace. Gazing at the women around him, he saw similar looks of revulsion.

The unnatural primal substance slowly dribbled out as thick globs started to fall onto the bandage beneath. “Master?” A voice said, and looking to his right he saw that the orc girl had his dagger, the blade nicely heated.

Nodding his head dumbly Jace panted for a breath of air. The scent of rot and shit hit him strongly and making his nose twitch. He threw the bandage he’d placed above his wounds into the fire.

Ignoring the eerie screech that emanated from the hearth, he retrieved the heated blade. Taking in deep sucking breaths and trying not to gag, from the stench. Jace dug the tip of his dagger through the skin at the top of the first slice.

This time he couldn’t hold back his pain filled shriek.

~*~*~*~

Two or so hours later, Jace had finished slicing off the wounded areas. Leaving him with a large deformed map of bloody tissue and exposed flesh on the side of his chest. Each bandage coated in the substance was burned. The screams haunting as they filled the small house.

Yet almost none of them took notice pass the first few.

The area beneath the sliced off skin, was a tumorous mass of the black slimy ooze. They had dealt methodically with it by cutting the pustules out and swiping the heated blade of the dagger across his gory side, cauterising the area.

Several times Jace had passed out. Only to awaken and find Joanna or Marcia working across his wound. They had gotten the hint rather quickly. The foul black shit was bad stuff. Not to mention that it screamed when they burnt it.

Athena and the orc girl took turns swiping Jace’s face of sweat and keeping him hydrated. Maypor stood at the back, her expression the entire time was one of horror and disbelief.

Then, they were done. All of them panting and sweaty. Their clothes soaked down to the skin, their eyes all shining with an exhausted intensity.

They cleaned the wound and the area around it as best as they could, and then bandaged Jace.

Ten or so minutes later, and he was once again back in bed. As Athena slowly fed him spoonful’s of porridge. He took the time he had to explain what had happened to him.

The shock was raw and plain across their faces.

“You, where at the Fragments plane,” Joanna gasped and looked to be on the verge of passing out.

“No idea. It was the same place you sent me to originally,” Jace shrugged.

“No, Jace I never sent you that deep. I’d simply opened the possibly of travel, and helped you along. That- what you’ve described, of that thing in the sky. It has only been recorded once.”

“Three hundred years ago,” Jace guessed and Joanna confirmed by nodding. “Yeah…I figured that Cthulhu-fucker had something to do with that, and my summoning. Just don’t understand why,” he shook his head. Ignoring the sharp intake from everyone, except Joanna and Maypor who already knew.

“Nobody does, handsome. All we know is that its happened before, and only speculation of what happened before that. As you know the last time didn’t work out so well,” Joanna informed him.

“Maybe…” he shrugged, deciding to remain doubtful that a group of people protecting the world from evil, would simply get up and decided to betray everyone one day. Is it even a betrayal? Maybe they just couldn’t win, and compromised. Found a temporary alternative. One that didn’t result in a gross loss of life.

“So yeah. The Fragment- the uh…evil god thingy, lives in the Wakeful Plane. For now I’m safe, but soon… I imagine something to what happened this time. I’ll fall asleep and end up there all over again.”

“Then it is time you train, Master,” the orc-girl—whose name Jace still hadn’t gotten—said.

“Yes. Starting later tonight. We will begin your Magi training,” Joanna clapped eagerly.

“Yeah- good. I was going to ask you about that anyway,” Jace smiled weakly. His wound throbbed sorely, but Jace tried his best to ignore it. “How is the village?”

“Not great,” Maypor sighed. “We have sturdy wall, but they don’t encompass the whole village. Nor are they manned.”

“The food stock is dwindling as well,” Athena commented from where she sat beside him on the bed. “We’re running out of fresh produce. And any hunter that goes out returns empty handed. It’s like the forest was been abandoned.”

“Weapons?” Jace inquired.

This time it was the orc girl, who chipped in. “The Saracae have gone through your full stock of weapons and armour, Master. I wanted to wait, until I asked you whether we can carry our weapons once again.”

“Sure. If you all know what you’re doing, then that’s fine with me. How has the village been treating the Saracae?”

“They act as if we do not exist,” she shrugged, “It is better that way. I must soon introduce my younger-sisters to you as well, Master,” the orc-girl said.

“Okay. I uh, never actually did get your name?”

Soon all of them left, leaving only Jace, Joanna, Athena and Marcia in the bedroom. Jace was surprised that one of the orc-women had marched into the house and requested to Athena, if she could play with Gabrielle.

He shook his head. Women were strange. Orc women were even stranger. Speaking of women. He glanced nervously between the three faces. They were all silent starring at him.

“Is there…um, something on my face?” he joked as the corners of his mouth ticked up. All three women blinked, and seemed to come out of some trance they were in. They looked at each other and then back to him.

“We’ve been speaking,” Athena said started softly.

“Uh-oh,” Jace whispered under his breath. His instincts were hollering at him to get the hell out of there, and fast. “About what?” he asked instead.

“You obviously don’t understand the customs and rules of this world fully yet,” Joanna noted, and he nodded. No sense in denying what is true. Of course there’s the obvious stuff, like don’t go around slaughtering rabbit-women, because it was wabbit season. Are there rabbit-women? something to explore.

“-for us Magi. We live a really, really long time.” Joanna had carried on, not realising Jace had been fantasizing about rabbit-girls. With ridiculously long lean legs, and tall floppy ears. He shook his head and refocused.

“Not because you’re an elf?” he asked, his mind wondering back to what they were talking about.

“No. Elves don’t live long,” she blinked at him dumbly. “We rarely touch on eighty. Look, what I’m trying to say is…”

“We want you,” Athena blurted out. Then blushed deeply from her neck to her cheekbones.

“All…three of you…?” he asked sceptically, and eyed Marcia who had been quiet the entire time.

“Yes. I- I wasn’t nice, nor was I welcoming to you at first. And after Douglas…” Marcia took a heaving, shuddering breath and shot a glance at her niece. “Well, it took Athena to talk some sense into me.”

“Women of status aren’t view favourably by others,” Joanna picked up, “it’s why I moved out here. The gender ratio is vastly unbalanced on Aederon. Women are more numerous than men, so marriages and relationships tend to be more polyamorous. With a man and multiply women partners.”

“Oooookaaaayy,” Jace breathed, his head felt like it was swimming, and the pain in his side was all but forgotten. “Firstly, why me? I’m not saying no. That just- isn’t even an…option…”

“Gabrielle loves you,” Athena started timidly, “you’ve noticed how she calls you Dah-Dah?”

“Yes,” he replied cautiously. Fuck. I’m getting an actually fucking harem. Where the hell did my talking sword get to?

“Well, she only uses that for you. It’s sound similar to Dada to me.” All three women smiled at that and nodded slightly.

“You are going to be an extremely powerful Magi,” Joanna noted. “That will have benefits for all us.”

“How-so?”

“Well, Maypor showed me the runes diagrams in your brush-case. One of those runes is a binding rune. It’ll share a portion of your power with those you bind. But it is permanent,” she warned.

“How does work exactly?” Jace rubbed at his face.

“You’ll have to learn how to even tap into your Mana first. Knowing now is pointless to the discussion. Suffice it to say, there’re benefits to both side from our joining. Just note that flesh runes are illegal.”

“Well, thanks…” Jace sighed. Good to know. He looked to Marcia last, and the older fox-woman smiled thinly at him.

“We- I will need someone of status beside me, if we are to return to Oedrin,” she relented.

“Oh?”

“Yes. Amaya and I, were renown for our apothecary when we lived there.”

“Amaya?” he asked.

“My mother,” Athena smiled.

“Right. Please continue.” Douglas, you dog you.

“If I am to return, the nobles and lord will take notice. They weren’t pleased by our escaping Oedrin. A lot of nobles and even Lord Dakic, had several prescriptions with us. And the detail of their afflictions, and ailments are all noted in the recipe book.”

“So they’ll either perceive you as a threat, through potential blackmail. Or they’ll welcome you open with arms,” Jace finished for her, understanding where she was heading. “And, if I become a Magi of some power, they’ll be likely to think twice.”

All heads nodded.

“Okay, quick question. Must I absolutely hide who and what I am? If so, is there anyone in Oedrin we can trust?” he asked looking to Joanna.

“Yes to the former question. At least until we understand more on the implications of you being who you are, and the other summoned. As to the latter … I’m unsure, something I’ll have to think about.”

“I agree,” Marcia nodded. “If the other summoned are likely to start appearing, well a town riot will be the least of our problems.”

“Okay then. I agree, to be your husband- boyfriends or whatever it is that you name it here,” Jace said and moved to sit himself up a little straighter. Athena helped him, and squeezed his hand.

“Good. This’ll make our relationship a lot easier,” Joanna sighed happily.

“It will, will it?” he asked the elf coyly.

She grinned at him, showing her small-white needle-like teeth. “Of course. Now we are equals. We’ll talk through the marriage rights tonight.”

“Do I need a ring?”

“A ring, handsome?”

“Yeah, you know. To propose?” All three looked at him and titled their heads in an almost condescending way.

“No. Jewellery is always acceptable as a mandatory marriage gift. But the binding rune should cover that between us. Now, Athena will lay with you after the ceremony is done. As I’ve had my fill of your seed already, I’ll go last.”

Jace blinked as the world spun for a micro second. Marriage? What have I…agreed to? His mouth was suddenly dry, and it felt as if all the water and oceans in the world, would not quench his thirst.

Seriously. Talking sword… hello?

~*~*~*~

As his women left, Jace began shaking. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to be sick, or jump for joy. Just as his thoughts turned to getting some rest, the front door banged open, emitting a cold draft.

Amadis walked in, with another orc woman behind her. Now that he knew that Amadis was actually in twenties, he could see why she was the speaker for the Saracae. She’d swapped out of her piss stained dress into a form fitting leather and suede outfit that fit her short and petite frame perfectly.

The orc-woman behind her had dark almost purple hair like Amadis. Except she wore hers in a comb of cornrows that trailed down to tickle the back of her muscular neck. Their eyes were similar as well, a striking yellow that to Jace looked more like twin suns burning angrily.

The orc women, weren’t bulky or obesely muscular. They were tone and lean, like that of an athlete. Yet they roamed in differing builds of muscle. This woman’s body was on full display for Jace. The only clothing she wore, was an iron breastplate that barely covered her breasts that rivalled Athena’.

This left her tone abdomen on display. Over her lean muscular legs she wore a fur skirt that hung over a pair of skin tight dark brown leather breeches. She stood taller than Jace by almost half a foot, reaching over six and a half feet. compared to Jace’ 6,2” frame.

The two of them standing there was almost comical to him. One is Arnie, the other is Danny.

“Master, this is my sister, Deanna.” Amadis waved towards her sister. The orc woman said nothing, but gave Jace a grave nod. “She doesn’t speak kingdom yet. Maypor and I have begun to teach both her and the rest of my sisters.”

“Well… its-uh, a pleasure to meet you, Deanna,” Jace said and returned the nod back. Returning his attention back to his, what were they to him again. His Saracae warriors?

“What’s up then?” he asked Amadis.

“We need to iron out a few rules, Master.”

“Alright, shoot. Not like I’m exactly going anywhere.”

“Good,” Amadis smiled, and strutted over to sit on his bed by his legs. Deanna moved to stand stoically at the foot of the bed. “First of all. We would like to bring several matters to your attention.”

“Go ahead.”

“Right. Firstly, this village isn’t a viable base of operation. If this is the eclipse cycle, we need somewhere more defensive. With high walls, and escape tunnels.”

“Oh, I know. Has anyone told you about my theory.”

“The one concerning the possibility that the wretches are purposefully driving the occupants of Trager forest towards Oedrin, Master.” She said it so quickly and utterly without her usual accent that Jace had to blink several times to process what she had said.

“Yeah- yes. Though now I’m starting to worry that there is something of importance in this forest that the Dwellers need.”

“The Nigh Dwellers were said to be masterful tactician and manipulators,” Amadis partially agreed. Her accent seemingly forgotten. It was throwing him off completely. That’s what she wants. She and her sisters may owe me a life-long debt. But they’ll try to milk it for everything they can get their hands on.

Which wasn’t really that bad of thing, when he considered what they are. The Saracae were some form of highly trained elitist royal guards- or something.

“My next point, Master, is one of contract. We know- my sisters and I, that you’re not of this world. Correct?”

“Uh-huh,” Jace replied warily.

“We do, as we’ve all agreed, owe you life-long service. But that service does not extend to slavery, or a possession of that of a dog, or servant. We’re sand-hardened warriors, Master. The Nunucana desert, between the kingdom of Dimere and Biddan, is a hard and desolate landscape. We ask that you allow us the full-freedom to be what we are.”

“Within the terms of service?” Jace asked her. Deanne grunted from where she silently stood. Her yellow predatory gaze constantly ticking back and forth between him and her sister.

“Precisely, Master.”

“And what exactly are the terms of your life-long service to me?”

Amadis smiled coyly then. “The terms of our debt are rather simple. My sisters and I are free to the extent that we serve you as guardian and protector. We will not fetch your meals, unless we wish to. Though one of my sisters will taste and check for poison. We will not unwillingly share your bed, unless we wish too. You have no say in that,” she added hurriedly. Jace cocked a curious eyebrow at her.

“It is our way. You are our Master. Children born from your seed, will bare a great many traits that my sisters and I find acceptable. One of us will come to you weekly when she wishes it. Your wives will have no say in the matter.”

“Oh, how do you figure that?” Jace asked her, though the thought of fourteen orc-women wanting his ‘seed,’ stirred his loins. Jace wasn’t about to be a victim of death by snu-snu.

“Why I’ve already talked to them of course,” Amadis’ eyes twinkled merrily as Jace muttered, “figures.”

“A man who has his own Saracae will gain quite the reputation. A man who willingly lays with his Saracae will deserve that reputation.”

“Okay. So I’m unable to deny any who come to me. But I am able to allow it? he mumbled; the confusion properly evident in his voice. Doesn’t sound like I have much of a choice now does it? Not that it’s a hard choice.

“Something along those lines,” Amadis coyly agreed.

“You must provide us a ceiling to sleep beneath. Equipment to arm ourselves and better protect you.”

“So the necessities,” Jace agreed.

“Oh, it’s all necessary, Master,” she purred.

“Alright- anything else?” he grumbled.

“Yes. From now on you are to train with us, be taught by us, and in turn teach us as well. You must learn to fight alongside us, and if so, against a band of Saracae should we encounter one.”

“Is that likely?” he asked her.

“No. Not unless we were to travel through the Nunucana desert, and into another tribes territory,” she informed him and stood up off the bed. She was short to the point that standing by the bed brought her eye level with Jace.

“I’ll take my leave now, Master,” Amadis said, her accent seemingly returning. “Deanna is here to relieve you of your ills and consummate our new service to you. Good luck.” With that the short orc-woman waved coyly to him and left the room. A second later he heard the door bang open and shut.

His attention though was riveted on the orc warrior woman, as she began to unfasten the straps that held her breast plate.

Damn. Death by snu-snu it is, he thought warily. Though in actuality, Jace was completely turned on by the idea of what was about to happen.

This novel is the work of Rhys Thomas. If you are reading this and it has not been published by Rhys Thomas, then this work has been stolen. Please report this to Amazon and me at email: [email protected]