Their forces so diminished by their foolhardy assault, the army of the Theocracy of Ulsfarh decided to head home. However, they neglected to officially surrender, and so they found themselves harassed every step of the way. They took especially heavy losses at the Arthu-Ja’an river on account that they no longer had a bridge to ease crossing. Their march turned upriver so that they could try their luck crossing where the waters were easier to wade across. Pinned against such an obstacle, the defenders of Berkerin inflicted heavy casualties on the dwindling enemy forces. Not even the daftest of souls found themselves ignorant of the wrath of Berkerin towards foreign invaders, and for many, that became the last observation they ever made.
Many levies simply surrendered, perhaps even forsaking those they left in their homeland to their own fate. Others, upon observing that the defenders of Berkerin mostly targeted officers and more elite units, tended to fumble longer than usual in getting into formation for combat, much to the detriment and untimely demise of the more elite units. All told, estimates suggest that at best, two in five of the enemy made it home, and at worst, one in five. That meant that between 30 and 40 thousand troops had perished in addition to any camp followers. Their retreat exposed many to capture and much of the baggage train was simply abandoned because there were not enough people to transport or protect it. The whole retreat took eight days, and to say that the campaign was a complete disaster would perhaps be an understatement. No doubt, heads would roll for such a disgraceful failure, and no doubt the blame game was already well under way.
However, Berkerin did not come out of the war unscathed. Of the 427 Gold Adventurers that had participated, 135 had died, with another 28 grievously wounded. Likewise, of the 83 Platinum Adventurers, 12 died and 3 were grievously wounded. Of the city militia and garrison forces, some four thousand people died with plenty more wounded. Dozens of nearby towns were razed either as part of a scorched-earth policy or from enemy raids. In short, Berkerin had suffered noticeable losses and remained vulnerable to further raids from neighboring lands. Such fatalities would give rise to a great number of funerals and bones shipped southward.
After-action reports became my life for a few days, both writing my own and reviewing those from other people. When not doing that, I found myself stuck in meetings and briefings. It appears that most of the Gold Adventurers that died disobeyed orders or overextended, much to the surprise of no one. Such overconfidence and lack of discipline was a huge dividing line between Gold and Platinum, a reason why many otherwise powerful individuals could never make the transition to the higher tier. The Platinums just got focus-fired down, since each individual was famous enough to be known, recognized, and explicitly countered. The Silver and Coppers fared rather well, all things considered, for they were mostly placed in support roles or to guard less strategically important locations. Still, they each took about twenty percent casualties, of which the reports did not specify between dead and wounded.
Most older Adventurers took it all rather well. For them, this was just a reality of life and the price paid for a privileged lifestyle. However, many of the younger ones showed clear signs of grief and trauma, for which the mind healers were overwhelmed with managing their numerous patients.
I had gathered some like-minded Adventurers, and together before a post-war council with all the nobles and the upper crust of society, we petitioned a voluntary charity to help rebuild, especially for the outlying villages and towns. I had donated my entire savings from Adventuring, the stash I could not spend on myself, right then and there before everyone. With such a generous pledge, around 150 platinum coins, donated by a single Adventurer without lands or titles, the nobles would look weak and avaricious if they too did not try to at least match my contribution and downright evil if they opposed the petition at all. That action garnered me more than a few dirty looks as coin purses found their strings begrudgingly loosened.
Word got around quickly of my generous donation and how I had pulled one over on the nobles. Combined with my impressive military feats, I became the talk of the town, with ample drinks bought for me, and, more importantly, countless artisans became more than eager to teach me the basics of any number of professions free of charge.
Grand Duke Archibald Melwyrr Fylthern could not afford to ignore me, nor my contributions, but honestly, I do not think he intended to. As busy as I had been, he had been busier, but finally I received a summons for a private audience. The man appeared to be genuinely pleased with my efforts, and after some conversation, we worked out a deal concerning myself and the dragon. The northern mountain around Berkerin had been undeveloped for generations due to the dangerous beasts and monsters lurking nearby and the relatively safer and more lucrative resources of the other two mountains. I hashed out a deal to acquire ownership of said territory with the dragon as a legally protected entity. That was the deal made behind closed doors, with the more official version made public with all the fanfare that goes with a formal summons from the Duke. I’m pretty sure I got a title or two to go with it, not enough to gain peerage of nobility, but enough that I could tell the nobles to fuck off if they stepped onto my turf. Basically, I became a noble in practice for how I was granted rights as a landowner, but not one for any rights of peerage to hold public office.
The days bled into one another and I defeated the army of paperwork and meetings, but after about a month after this whole war began, I finally found myself reunited with Chooka where we could actually have some time to spend together. We had bailed out early on a celebratory party of our victory that also doubled as a wake, for Adventurers tend to be more upbeat than dour about such things. We slowly perambulated our way home, in no hurry to arrive, just enjoying the crisp night air and the joy of each other’s company. The Boys waddled behind us, content to go wherever we wanted, with even the newly sprouted Diogenes behaving himself despite his normally confrontational demeanor.
“I’ve been looking forward to tonight for some time now,” I admitted as we continued along our way, giving her a little squeeze with my arm around her waist. “Despite being in the city for over a week now, I have been too busy to even make it home, and I apologize for my absence, for I truly missed you.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“I missed you, too,” she replied as she leaned down towards me to whisper into my ear, her arms squeezing me in reciprocation. “My other lovers could only treat my symptoms, but they could not cure the loss I felt from your absence. I tried all of them, but none of them worked. I guess that makes you pretty special.”
I stood a little straighter at that compliment, that an accomplished [Courtesan] would consider me to be her favorite.
“I could have just as easily walked into any other guildhall when I first arrived in town, and I don’t think we would have met and bonded as we have had I done so. I feel as though I am the luckiest man in the world to have picked the guildhall I did. I don’t expect to spend all 432 days of a year with you, but I still count each one as a blessing.”
Apparently that pushed the right buttons, for Chooka squeezed me tightly as she nuzzled her head into mine before planting a few kisses on my head. She seemed to be as happy as a clam now that we were together again, and she spared no time for other matters not related to expressing such enthusiasm. I had to pry her off for a second so I could get a word in edgewise before she engaged in public indecency.
“Much has happened, and much has changed, and I will tell you all about it, but there is one thing I must do first,” I told her as I held her by the waist far enough away from me that we could make proper eye contact.
“And what would that be?” she asked as a coy smile spread across her face.
“You!” I whispered.
Before she could come back with a lewd reply, I swept her off her feet and began a swift jog home, mindful that The Boys were not well known for their overland speed. That maneuver elicited a squeal of joy and a few giggles from Chooka as we hastened our way home. The Boys made their way to their pond as Chooka and I headed for the house, which itself looked much the same as we had left it last. Well, almost the same as I paused briefly near the door to comment on the changes I noticed.
“There are weeds in the flower bed. You have been lax in tending the garden, I see.”
“I have been a bad girl,” she replied with mock guilt. “I suppose you will have to punish me for my carelessness,” she continued as she eyed me suggestively with what manner of punishment that could possibly imply.
With a grin on my face, I carried her up the stairs, and before long, we found ourselves entwined in each others’ arms as we expressed our affection for one another by indulging all our favorite pastimes together. It was after our third such tussle in the sheets that she paused long enough to cuddle for a moment, Chooka clearly intent on another bout soon enough.
“There have been some developments as of late, some of which are rather permanent.”
She lifted her head from my chest to look me in the eyes, her interest piqued by my sudden admission.
“But I think you will enjoy what I have in store for us,” I told her as I sat upright.
Chook sat upright to look at me, not entirely certain as to what I was getting at, but trusting that it would be something good and curious as to the answer. With a snap of my fingers, Skull transitioned out of my shadow and appeared before us at the side of the bed. She wore her own version of lingerie, which included a frugal amount of rather sheer black cloth and a lot of bones to outline her figure. She even had the whole arrangement of skeletal hands to hold her breasts in place, and upon closer inspection, I became convinced that those were indeed real bones. Around her neck she wore a leather collar, and from that, a leash extended to my hand.
“I answer my master’s call,” she stated plainly yet firmly as she crawled onto the bed. “I may wear this collar for now, but it is you who will be on your knees wearing it by night’s end,” she exclaimed defiantly to Chooka as she crawled over and on top of her.
“All you have to do is obey the master,” she whispered into Chooka’s ear as her lips gently brushed against it, “and all the pleasures of the world will be yours.”
Okay, that whole bit certainly had not been in the script, but I liked the energy and the improvisation. Chooka looked at me, then at Skull, then back to me, before she came up with a reply.
“What is my master’s bidding?” she asked submissively as she bit her lower lip in anticipation.
“Well, for starters…”
I won’t go into the full details, but rest assured that Chooka was quite pleased with the new dynamic. Her black book had more than a few updates and at one point we ran out of rope and honey. I ended the night in the middle of a double snuggle as we all caught up on some much needed sleep.
The demand for work for Adventurers was rather lacking in the following days. More people were focused on rebuilding, not acquiring rare ingredients from beasts and monsters, and said creatures were scared away by the war and a large army stomping through their territories. Thus, they were not causing too much of a fuss to warrant any pruning of their numbers. I tried to obtain lessons from various artisans, but most found themselves bereft of materials to practice their trade, especially for wood, stone, and metal.
And so, with tools in hand, well, in pocket dimension, I set out into the wilderness to collect such materials. I had no way of knowing that such a simple willingness to pitch in would set me down the path to divinity, but that is perhaps a tale for another time. Thus the first steps of my life found their conclusion, but many more yet remain to be told.
If you stick around, dear reader, I will share more tales with you. Long is the road, but the journey is worthwhile to those that dare to tread every step of the way. I will not bore you with each and every thing that has happened in my life, but rest assured, things were about to become a whole lot more arduous for my younger self. Soon, I will even be able to tell you my tale from other points of view, but you would have to stick around to find out why that is and why I have not done so thus far. And so I raise this question to you:
Do you dare to tread the path of The Dragon of Roads?