So…

Me and Neph are in front of the palace doors. Well, me, Neph and about seven other people, but those other people are guards, heavily armed ones. And all of them are staring at me. Scary…

They’re wearing shining armor and they’ve all got their right breast exposed, except they don’t have an actual boob there. I think that’s part of some myth for the Amazons I’m not sure. I’m just concerned with the seven pairs of eyes staring at me. And let’s not forget about those spears..

I feel like that one meme with the girl sitting on the couch, I don’t think I need to elaborate on that.

I just glance to Nephele whose standing beside me, then glance back to them.

“H-Hi..” I squeak in front of them

One of them steps forward and leans her spear against her shield and slowly reaches out to me. I’m kind of terrified to move right now. She just grabs one of my ears lightly and pulls it a bit. Not enough to hurt though.

She moves her hand back to her spear and steps back to the other guards. She gives one of them a look and nods towards the palace. The one guard heads inside and we’re just left here. Okay…Just touch my ear like that yeah…

I’m guessing I just proved my authenticity?

“No need to worry.” I hear Nephele say

Well, my short friend, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t your ear that was just checked if it was real or something.

“I-Is there a problem?” I ask her

“Elves aren’t common. Nothing bad will happen, the palace guards take vows of silence if it makes you feel better.”

Nope. Not at all. Oh, god can they please just stop staring at me? At least they aren’t ogling me, but I think a death stare straight into your soul is worse. Yeah, much worse. I’m tempted to check if they will follow all my moves, but my gut says don’t try it.

The doors to the palace then started to open up. Finally.

The six guards then part and I think they’re allowing us entry.

Nephele starts moving forward and she isn’t getting stopped. I’ll just follow behind her.

Palace is something else. More vibrant than the markets. Lots of purple, not a bad choice for decorating honestly. You’ve got hints of red as well. No blue oddly, I expected blue. I mean, that might be because there’s no word for blue in the ancient Greek language, but I’m not sure as to how true that is in this world.

Now, where are we going? Because so far, it’s just straight. Lot of rooms in this place from the looks of it. It is a palace, but I’ve personally never been in one.

There’s the throne and on it is Otrera. Prime milf, nice. To her left on a smaller seat, well, I say smaller, but all three of those thrones are fucking huge, but, anyways, on the left is Penthesilea, a dark skinned beauty with stoic elegance. Pretty dark hair reaching down to her waist from the looks of things.

Otrera do be a brunette and holy mother of god both are muscle mommies. From here I can’t get out all their features, I can see that Paris has already started his “pleading”. I glance to the other seat on the right but it’s empty. So, Hippolyta isn’t around at the moment? Odd.

“That document has everything my father requested, Otrera.” I hear Paris say as we get close

Ooo, getting personal with the queen? Interesting tactic. We’ve even got a small crowd here. Something something ancient Greek politics I don’t get.

Otrera does have said document in her hands and is seemingly reading it.

“You wish for me to assemble my forces and have them leave this island and join the frontlines?” she asks as she reads

“This war affects all of Olympia, Troy has fallen. If we don’t unite we won’t be able to beat them back.” Paris pushes

“Your heroes should fare well enough without me.” She says rolling the document back up and puts it down “I will grant you sanctuary, but I will not send aid. Be glad that this is the kindness you receive from me.” She states “You brought men to this island, even under the guise of a noble cause.”

“Those men are dead. I’m the only one that remains…” Paris says, glancing to the ground

I know it’s fucked up of me to say this right now, but I feel like I’m in a little soap opera or something.

Otrera raises one of her brows and rubs two of her fingers together.

“How did you arrive here then?” she asks

Paris glances back to see us. He raises his open palm to me and Nephele and looks back to the queen.

“These two saved me and brought me here.” He says

Otrera’s gaze goes from Paris to the two of us.

“An Elf?” Penthesilea leans forward in her seat with a surprised face

Huh, she’s got a much more softer voice than her mother. Calming.

“Come forth.” Otrera commands

Nephele steps first and I follow behind her. Both of us move next to Paris and Nephele kneels before Otrera.

“I am Nephele, farmer of the South.” She says, little liar

The queen turns to me. Oh, right, kneeling. I kneel as well and speak.

“Ynnessa, wanderer of the world.” Yeah, that works well

“Rise.” She says

Both of us do so. I glance between the queen and Penthesilea, she’s kind of staring at me. Alright, Ynn, get used to having people who’ve never seen an Elf stare at you. Just a weird thing you’ll need to get used to no matter how much you hate it.

Damn, should’ve picked up a minor illusion spell to hide the ears, that would make this much simpler.

“Elf.” She looks to me “How did you arrive on this island and how did you encounter the Prince?” she asks me

Alright, be calm, no need to worry, just answer honestly, shouldn’t be a problem.

“My ship was destroyed by….a storm and I washed up on your shores.” Best leave out the Stormlord part “I encountered the Prince when Nephele and I saw a group of Hobgoblins attacking his carriage on your roads. We beat them and brought Prince Paris here per request of his guards.” I explain

“They’re on the island?” Penthesilea asks

I just glance to her and nod.

“Mother-“ Penthesilea looks to her mother

“I know.” Otrera cuts her daughter off “Go and arrange what needs to be done. Have the shoreline patrolled.” She says

Penthesilea nods and leaves her seat and heads off. She’s got a look in her eyes that screams confidence. Well, best of luck to her.

“Do you intend to remain on this island?” Otrera asks me

I shake my head. Wouldn’t be my worst option though.

“I plan to leave with the next trading ship.” I tell her

Otrera beckons one of the women from the crowd to come to her and they begin whispering in each other’s ears for a few minutes before the woman moves back to the crowd.

“The next ship arrives at midnight. You may remain here as a guest until then.” She says

I just bow, that’s real nice of her.

“Thank you, Queen Otrera.” I express my gratitude

She turns to Nephele.

“What of you? Do you wish an escort to return to your home?” she asks

“I request permission to leave Themiscyra.” She says

Everything goes silent, the crowd starts staring daggers into Nephele’s soul and I’m just standing here awkwardly.

“You understand the cost of leaving our paradise?” she asks, her tone much more terrifying than before

“Yes, I do.” Nephele replies

Otrera looks to me again before looking back to her.

“You two will depart together and you may also remain here until midnight.” She says before standing from her throne “Show them their temporary residence.” She says before leaving the same way her daughter did “Prince Paris, come with me.”

Paris looks to me and Nephele.

“I thank you both for helping. Best wishes for you two.” He says

“Best wishes to you as well, Prince of Troy.” Nephele says

“Good luck.” I tell him

Paris nods to us both with a faint smile before leaving to follow the giant of a queen. Two surprisingly normal sized women approach me and Neph.

“Please, follow us.” They say at the same time, it’s the whole not twins but twins shtick, kinda creepy

Without missing much of a beat, the two of them start leading the two of us the opposite way the others went and away from the crowd. I glance to Nephele for a second.

“You think it was the best idea to announce that there?” I ask her

“Yes.” She simply replies

Okay…

I just nod and turn forward.

The two servants take us down a few different halls before stopping at one door. They both look to me and motion to the door. I glance to them and then Neph.

“Rest up. We will speak in the evening.” She says

I nod, guess she’s right, she has been the one driving for the past day and a half, I kind of feel bad about that, but I legit cannot drive at all.

I step aside the three and turn to the door and push it forward. Stepping inside I get to see this rich ass room holy shit this is fucking nice.

This is just a guest room? It’s fucking huge! Well..

Makes sense since most of the people here are about seven feet tall. But hey, that’s not my problem.

I rush to the bed and throw my stuff down, transfer my staff to my inventory and jump on the bed. Azura’s fat cheeks this is a soft bed. I feel myself yawn as well. Amazing. I roll onto my back and stare the ceiling, this is great. I blink a few times. I’m probably going to fall asleep. Not a terrible idea.

I open my inventory and take out the Cleanse spell book. I’m going to learn this first. I crack open the first page and begin reading it. I shouldn’t doze off too soon.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

I feel myself blink twice, I reach to my eyes and rub them a bit and turn over. Glancing out the window I notice that it’s night. I yawn again and slowly sit up. I’ve got all the spell books I bought on the bed, huh. I look inside each of them, seems like I managed to learn them all before falling asleep. Wait, no. One still has words in it.

It’s the Summon Spirit Warrior one. I grab it and open it to see if I missed anything or if I even started reading it. The second I split the pages a pop up appears asking me a question.

Summon Spirit Warrior: Standard

Summon Spirit Warrior: Fury

Fury? I know what the standard looks like, but I’ve got no clue about the Fury thing. Standard is the safe option, but let’s go with Fury. Picking the Fury option, the notification disappears along with the words in the book. I place the book back into the pile and sigh, glancing out the window. Night, huh? I slept long.

It was like noon or something like that when we arrived. I grab all the books and transfer them back into my inventory. Well, that was productive and sort of fun. I haven’t slept that well in fucking ages. But I guess this is the time to try out Cleanse.

I glance over at my boots which I didn’t remove before laying down, oof, dick move from my part. I raise my hand towards them and cast Cleanse.

All the dirt and dust slowly evaporate from them. Nice and clean. I look to the dirtied sheets and do the same. Nice and clean. I fall back to the pillows and sigh with relief. Should’ve offered up my services as a court mage or something, I could get used to this fancy living. Cast a few spells and sleep all day. Boring and fun.

I should get going and find Nephele. I roll onto my side and glance down at the backpack I threw down. Sorry man, didn’t mean to be rough. I pull myself up and summon my staff back up and lean it against the large bed. I lean down to grab the pack and put it on. I need like Pocket Treasury for more space.

I grab my staff and push myself up from the bed. I do a nice little stretch, my spine cracking in seven different places. That was nice. Now I have to put up with ship beds for the next few weeks…

I just hope to Azura it will not sink. I don’t want to see the Stormlord again personally.

I move to the door and take a glance back at the room. Going to miss you temporary five star hotel room. I’m going to miss you dearly. I pull the door open and step outside into the quiet hall. Well not exactly quiet, I do hear something in the distance.

Now.

Um..

Which way was the main hall again? Because I’ve got no clue..

Maybe I’m not a fan of huge palaces anymore..

So big..

But based on the night light outside I’m guessing I have a bit more time till midnight. I mean, it would be pretty awkward if I missed my ride. I have enough trust in Nephele that she’d wake me up just in case. I need to find a way to open her up a bit. She’s a bit closed off.

Not that I’m a social beacon, but I feel like if we’re going to travel together, we may as well get to know each other to some degree. I guess we can work on that in due time. Right now. I just need to find my way.

What the hell is that noise? Sounds like a person or something. It’s getting louder as well, but I can’t pinpoint where it’s coming from.

You know maybe it’s my time to steal right now…a devious lick, fantasy edition..

Hmm..

Maybe I’ll pass. Half tempted to head back to that shop and get more spells, but let’s not for now. Spend in moderation. Responsibility, blah, blah, blah. Ignore the addiction.

Alright, I should actually move before someone sees me standing here like some weirdo. Let’s go that way.

I turn right and then left, moving down one of the many halls of this place. Most of these doors look the same to some degree. Are they all like, guest rooms? Or some other stuff. Wonder if Otrera got her own private bath, that would be a nice sight to see.

Alright, let’s not start creeping around like some pervert. I’ve got no balls for such a thing even if I was a stealth build. The fantasies in my head are a different case and I will never speak of them.

I shake my head, alright, focus on this goddamn maze of a home. At least they could have some guiding line on the ground that leads you to different areas of the palace. Alright, now I’m just complaining to myself.

I mean, walking right now at least everything is symmetric, that’s nice design. Looking up to the ceiling they’ve got many, many skylights. I can’t see the moon though, don’t know whether that’s a good sign or not.

I then stop in my tracks as I hear a loud burp. Huh. Not what I expected.

“Dammed wine..” I hear a voice say

From the corner not too far from me a woman appears. Pure Amazonian, fuckin muscled goddess, short white hair, caramel skin. Hot.

Wait a second that’s Hippolyta. She’s got Ares’s Girdle on her, that’s a legendary item from the game. Wait, was she the one that burped? Well, oh! Now I remember, she’s the fiery one and her sister is the stoic one, makes sense, makes sense. She’s also carrying a flask with herself.

She scratches the back of her head and sighs before opening her eyes and seeing me. She stares at me for a brief second and walks towards me. I can see a slight grin forming on her face as she gets close. She shakes the flask close to her ear and sighs again and tosses it away.

“You’re the day’s guest?” she asks, her voice rougher than her sister’s but it carries the same if not more authority

I just transfer my staff to my inventory and look side to side. I’m getting nervous right now.

“O-One of them..” I tell her

“Oh?” she stops in front of me and leans down “Is the other one anything like you?” she asks

I just shake my head.

“Human, native.” I answer her nervously

“That’s dull.” She says

Hippolyta extends her arm and places a finger under my chin and lifts it slowly.

“Where’s your gift for the queen and her daughters?” she asks me in a much softer tone

I can smell the booze in her breath, but it’s not the bad kind of breath, just a clear indicator that she’s drunk. But, uh, what’s this about a gift? I just give her a confused look.

“G-Gift?” I ask

She takes a step forward, I take a step back moving away from her hand, but I feel my back hit a wall. She places her palm against the wall above me and continues staring into my eyes. She moves her other hand back under my chin.

“Gift, yes.” She chuckles “Something to show your gratitude since my mother allowed you stay here.” She says

I..

Hmm…

I don’t know if I’m getting robbed right now or hit on. I wonder..

I may as well try this. what’s the worst that can happen?

I summon the statue of Aphrodite and just hold it out to her. She has a perplexing look on her face and glances between me and the statue. She reaches to take the statue and inspects for a second before she transfers it to her inventory.

Hippolyta leans back in and stops an inch or two away from my face. I can feel myself beginning to sweat lightly.

“Bare my offspring and marry me.” She says in a drunkish and seductive voice while lightly blushing

Wait a second.

Hold up.

I’m sorry.

WHAT DID SHE ASK ME?

She places her hand on my face and gently begins caressing it. I’m a bit too stunned to speak at the moment.

“Have you ever been with a real woman?” she asks me

I just gulp before I feel something poking at my thigh. Okay, do not look down, do not look down, do not look down. Jesus christ that is something else.

Hippolyta moves her hand down from my face to my sides and slowly moves it down to my waist.

“Finding any sort of long lasting here fun is so hard. And beauty is subjective, my mother wants me to produce heirs being the eldest.” She leans to and kisses me

Oh my god this is weird. So much tongue…

I’m kind of enjoying it. But I have to decline her offer in marriage.

I try to get free, but I physically can’t.

She pulls away a little and both of us are breathing heavy. I’ve never felt what I’m feeling currently. What is this?

“My sister is so jealous because I have a gift from our father. But think about it, stay with me.” She whispers to me “The strongest warrior needs the most beautiful wife.” She chuckles

Whatever is poking at my thighs is getting harder…

I don’t know what to do right now honestly…

I’m trying to process everything, but I can’t form any words I want to say. But as I come close to forming anything with my mouth Hippolyta gets struck in the head with the flask she threw away just a minute ago. She actually goes tumbling a few feet away from me. High velocity headshot.

I glance to where the flask came from and see Penthesilea looking a bit pissed off.

“You drunk.” She says coldly

“Lively is a better word for it.” I hear Hippolyta chuckle

Penthesilea gets closer and stops in front of me. She glances to me with a look that I can’t really describe. It could be pity, could be disgust, maybe just a look of disliking someone. She points behind herself.

“That way is where you will go, now.” She tells me

Yeah, alright, I’m not getting between these two. I just start moving that way.

“Come ooon!” I hear Hippolyta “Stay a bit more with me, we could have some fun!” she calls out “Maybe you’d like my sister to join us?” she asks

I hear a loud and forceful slap from behind.

“You idiot.” Penthesilea says “Everything you do disappoints father.” I can hear the sound of someone being picked up

Yeah, just don’t look back, just keep walking.

I wipe my mouth, lots of…fluid. Hmm, that isn’t my first kiss here, technically first drunk kiss. I’m…I’m just weirded out right now. I am so glad I did not look down, holy shit. But hey, I don’t think many Elves can say that the daughter of the Queen of Amazons basically wanted to marry me after I gave her a statue of a goddess.

I might actually miss that statue, but I think I’ve overstayed my welcome for the moment. I summon my staff again and pick up my pace. I can actually see the main hall not that far from me. You have no idea how tempted I am to turn around to see Hippolyta getting carried away. But if I get jumped scared by a horny princess I might just die from a heart attack.

Can’t believe she offered a threesome. Um…I won’t even indulge that idea…like, I’d get fucking destroyed hundred percent. How about I just look at the floor now? Just until I get to the main hall.

It doesn’t take me long to get back into the main hall where I see Nephele standing around. I start heading towards her and she turns around towards me and nods.

“Did you rest well?” she asks me

Yeah, I did. Pretty good nap. I give her a nod.

“Have you ever been on a ship?” I ask her

She glances away for a moment and taps her foot a few times before answering.

“No..” she admits “Not even a small fishing boat.” She adds

Well hopefully this trip will be better than my last one.

“It isn’t that bad. How much time do we have?” I mention

“The ship arrived an hour ago and they should be finishing unloading their cargo, then taking anyone that wants to leave. You came at a good time, let us head off.” She says

I nod, makes sense, you don’t unload a big ass ship in a few minutes, gets me wondering at the size of the crew.

Nephele starts moving towards the doors and I follow behind. I do dust myself off with my hands but feel that some places on my robes have what I’m guessing is spit from that sloppy kiss with Hippolyta. It’s weird to admit it, but that kiss was kind of…exciting.

Okay, don’t think about that right now! Just keep walking with Nephele.

We exit through the big doors and go past the guards that have probably been standing there since when we arrived. I have no idea how they can bear the heat. I guess they’re just built different.

I wonder what place the ship is headed to. I might have to resort to some basic adventuring. The good old board request for adventurers from goblins to missing cattle and such. That actually sounds nostalgic.

We start moving down the steps and I glance to where the port might be, but thankfully it isn’t a difficult thing to spot, the ship itself is in view and it is far from Greek design. It’s your basic European style merchant ship. I actually smile at that, feels like I’m prepping to fast travel for the first time.

“Are you nervous?” I hear Nephele ask me

“No, well, not yet. I don’t know the destination of the ship.” I tell her

“What do you mean?” she glances to me

“Some places are more friendly than others.” I mention

“I..see..” she actually sounds nervous

“it’s nothing to worry about.” I try and reassure her

She just nods to that. I think in good faith no merchant ship would come from a place like Carcass Coast or something. Terrible place, do not recommend, filled with fucking necromancers, the worst kind.

We reach the bottom of the stairs and from here it just looks like a straight walk. We continue on walking. I should try and make some small talk, but since she’s never left the island and I’ve got no idea what to ask. Maybe about her guild?

“Do you plan to make contact with other branches of your guild?” I ask her

“I’m sure you know where to find them?” she chuckles

I just nod with a light chuckle, she’s not wrong. I could easily find all their bases. Lore advantage baby!

“But,” she starts, I glance to her “I will send a seal of availability to the nearest one, then if you ever wish to take a job alongside myself we can do so.” She says

“It might be fun.”

“Fun?” she just chuckles “Perhaps.”

I just smile and look forward, seems like we’re basically here. I can see some men moving around carrying crates. This is the only place they can step foot on, can’t even rest for an hour. Wonder what they are carrying.

I see one older man spot the two of us, he turns from the hustle and bustle of the crew and comes to us.

“Excuse me, can I help you two?” he looks a bit surprised at me, well, more surprised at me than Neph

He’s I’d say in his early forties, human, tanned skin, well kept beard, green eyes, brown hair, has a few bags under his eyes.

“We’ll be joining you in your departure.” Nephele says

“Ah.” He chuckles “We got word about that.” He extends his hand to Nephele “I am Aton, captain of the Daywalker.” He introduces himself

Nephele shakes his hand, and then he looks to me as well and extends his hand and I shake it. Nice dude.

“The crew is mostly human, but we do have a few non-humans, mostly our guards that we hired in case of pirates. I won’t be able to give you the details right now since we can’t stay too long. Step onto the deck and find a tall orc, he’s in charge of security and he can tell you most of the details, reliable man.” He says before stepping away, returning to assist his crew

Alright, simple enough. As I walk towards the plank that’s been set up to get on board I glance at the ship. I can’t tell if it’s larger or smaller than the one I was on. Daywalker is a cool name though.

I step on the plank and get on board, Nephele right behind me. I turn towards the city.

No idea how long I’ve been here, it was a partially traumatic stay to be honest, but I did come out stronger from it. I can’t exactly call myself that pathetic girl from the prison anymore. I’m still not sure what I want to be, but I’ve got on the path for it. That’s good progress, right?

“Lady Ynnessa!” I hear a familiar deep voice

No, no, no, that voice, that can’t be.

I turn around to see him. It’s fucking Bob the Orc! Holy fucking shit! He’s here?!

He’s wearing a decent set of refined iron armor and that’s a steel Warhammer on his back. He’s done pretty good for himself all things considered. And that head of him is shining even under the moonlight.

He approached me and pulled me into a huge bear hug. My god is he strong. The hug lasts for about a minute until he lets me go.

“By the grace of Abara we meet again!” he says

Honestly, even though he basically speaks in exclamation points, it’s nice to see him. I partially forgot about him.

He glances down to Nephele and kneels down in front of her.

“Pardon me, my lady, I am Bob, faithful paladin of Abara.” He introduces himself to her

Abara, huh. That’s an interesting pick for a scripture of justice paladin.

Nephele gives him a nod of acknowledgement.

“I am Nephele, companion of your friend.” She says

“Welcome! Both of you!” he glances between the two of us “You shall be joining us then?” he asks

Both of us nod.

“Splendid, splendid. The Daywalker is heading towards Aethel’s Point which a few weeks of travel from here. Aton told you that I am in charge of guarding this vessel and her crew if pirates were unfortunate enough to attack it.” He says

Both of us nod again. Aethel’s Point, not a bad spot, rich with markets, might be able to score some special stuff there if I look hard enough. It’s not that big of a hub for adventurers, but I can work around that.

“The main crew isn’t large, almost everyone has their own cabin, albeit small. Some prefer sleeping between crates, but with freed space there should be more room down there if you wish to rest there. Unless, either of you prefer the crows nest?” Bob is one well spoken man

“I wouldn’t mind.” Nephele mentions

I glance to her in surprise, guess she isn’t afraid of heights then. Bob points to the mast and tells her a quick description of what the crows nest is and that someone might be up there already, but it shouldn’t be an issue.

She glances to me.

“We will speak later.” She said before leaving

Huh. I’ll need to talk with her later. That was a bit odd.

Me and Bob watch her leave. He turns back and glances above me and rubs his chin and looks proud.

“You have grown indeed. A fine staff that is as well. You have become a formidable opponent then?” he asks excited

“I’m not defenseless anymore.” I say with a light chuckle

He nods with a smirk.

“Let us have a meal and swap tales!” he says with a big grin on his face

That’s actually not a bad idea, I haven’t really eaten since getting to the city.

“I’d like that.” I tell him with a faint smile