Mateo announces his class to the group, and they discuss battle tactics that may be helpful long into the night. Okami proposes that after Mateo completes a bounty and earns some coin he should buy a skill tome and some better apparel so he’s not walking around in Okami’s oversized robes.

The stars glitter with hope in the night sky as our small band of adventurers rest before finishing their journey to Heroldin.

The talons of the hoaram patter across compacted dirt as they approach the city. All the surrounding trees are filled with golden leaves that shine in the light of the sun. It reminds Mateo of the season fall in his realm. This is the natural color of the leaves though. Something that also reminds him that he is indeed, very far from home.

“If you like the golden forests of Heroldin, you should see the Sakura Willows of Satsuki,” Serenity says laying her head on Mateo’s shoulder.

“Terror thinks birds of love can venture there on honeymoon,” Terror says rolling his eyes.

“Is that jealousy I sense in your voice,” Okami asks.

“Jealousy, vampire elf couldn’t handle Terror.”

“Are you buffoons going to start comparing the size of your penises?” Serenity asks jokingly.

“I am curious as to see the size disparity between genitals of different races,” Okami replies.

Mateo sighs rolling his eyes.

“Well, everyone here has already seen mine,” he says.

“Ah yes, I do have a few questions that I haven’t been able to bring up in idle conversation,” Okami says a perverse wonder in his cerulean eyes.

“Terror thinks no time for that, we have arrived at Heroldin,”

“Well damn,” Okami protests.

Heroldin is a small village with traditional Japanese architecture. There’s a wooden wall wrapped around it to protect the inhabitants from rabid beasts.

Large gates open up to a small town of simple people. The guards wave the adventurers through closing the gates as they enter. Mateo feels out of place seeing as he has never been to Japan. That is soon drowned in an ocean of wonder as the simple towns people turn to otherworldly beings like Terror and Okami.

“There are so many races here,” Mateo says gazing around in wonder.

“Heroldin is a neutral territory, it allows for the intermingling of races unlike some of the larger cities, I often conduct my research in places like this, you should have sex with a few females from some of the other races while I observe,” Okami says pulling out a small notebook.

“What?” Everyone yells at the same time.

“Oh sorry, forgot I was traveling with such closed-minded companions,” he says tucking the notebook back in his pocket.

Okami is often shirtless displaying his silver fur with pride. He does wear pants though. His race is a little more reserved about displaying their genitals in public than Terror’s. His pants must be enchanted because he seems to be able to retrieve or store items of varying sizes in their seemingly shallow pockets.

“Okami, can I ask you something?” Mateo says.

“Is it about the pants?” He replies.

“Yes.”

“Briefs of holding, the pockets are enchanted, I can put whatever I want into them up to a certain weight, they are very handy, and surprisingly comfortable, though I have found when you are aroused, they do little to hide your arousal,” Okami answers.

“Uh, yeah, anyway I wish I had some storage,” Mateo says.

“You’ve got a pixie don’t you?” Okami asks.

Natalia appears above Mateo’s head squinting her eyes.

“Hey, I’m not some pants pocket, he can’t just shove strange objects of varying shapes and sizes in me,” she complains.

“But you can store his items?”

“Yeah,” she replies rolling her eyes.

“Terror thinks everyone shuts up, we arrive at snake girl’s place, Terror no like snake girl, Terror go find tavern for drink,” he says as the wagon comes to a stop outside a small shop.

There’s a large crystal sphere above the door advertising that it is an essence reading shop. Mateo steps up to the the door and Okami stops him.

“Chrissima can be a bit handsy, or tailsy, she’s very open to touch,” Okami warns.

“Thanks for the warning, but she’s going to need to touch me at some point to read my essence, isn’t she?”

“Indeed,” Okami replies.

Mateo opens the door to Chrissima’s emporium of the serpent. Jars with strange small creatures line shelves pressed tightly against the walls. Doorways are covered by beads instead of having doors. Burning incense fills the air and a very large breasted sapphire scaled Lamia slithers into the room excitedly.

Lamia are half snake half person creatures. Usually, the bottom half being that of a snake. Chrissima has this figure. Her top half being that of a young woman with massive breasts and long crimson hair. Scales cover her back venturing halfway over her cheeks. She’s got a long narrow forked tongue that pokes through her soft pillowy lips every so often to sense her surroundings.

Chrissima coils around Mateo pressing his face into her large suffocating breasts.

“Okami, what a pleasssant ssspecimin you have brought me,” she says with a smile, a gentle hiss to her voice.

“This is our new friend Mateo, he’s not from around here,” Okami says rubbing his head jealously.

“Help,” Mateo chokes out being smothered by her massive bosom.

Chrissima releases him seeming embarrassed.

“My apologiesss dear, being of the conssstrictor family I often find myssself wrapped around thingsss I want inssside me,” she says with a sly grin.

“There you go Mateo, you can shove your strange varying shaped objects inside of her instead of me, I’m sure she has plenty of storage space,” Natalia says pointing her finger at Chrissima.

“Ehem,” Okami coughs.

“We came for an Essence reading,” Mateo says gasping for air.

“Of courssse, jussst have a ssseat and I’ll join you at the table, ssseing you have a pixxieee I assssume you’re a realm traveler,” Chrissima says pulling some items off one of the shelves.

“Yes.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

They gather around a small circular table covered in a dark cloth that seems to be an image of the night sky. Strangely the stars on it move about the cloth. Chrissima joins them at the table placing a small crystal ball on it. She reaches her hands out pulling Mateo’s to the ball as her pale-yellow eyes stare into his.

“What do I do?” Mateo asks.

“Clossse you eyesss and empty your mind.”

Mateo closes his eyes and tries to draw a blank. It’s hard with everything that’s happened in the past few weeks. Traveling with strangers that he now sees as friends. Being defenseless in the face of danger. Finding himself in a different world completely. And then suddenly, nothing. His mind becomes a blank dark and endless emptiness.

“How interesssting,” Chrissima hisses.

“What, what essence does he hold?” Okami says excitedly.

“All and none, thisss ssspecimen hasss the essssence of the void,” she replies.

“A void essence, are you saying he’s a Voidwalker?” Okami says his eyes wide with wonder.

Mateo retracts his hands from the sphere and Chrissima moves her elbows closer pressing her large breasts together.

“Would you mind fertilizzzing me, a few fledglingsss of the void would be wonderful,” Chrissima says with a seductive hiss.

Mateo glares over at Okami.

“This is why you didn’t let Serenity come isn’t it.”

“More or less,” Okami replies.

“Sorry Chrissima, I’ve got my eyes on someone else,” Mateo replies nervously.

“Thatsss good and well, young love isss good love,” she says looking over at Okami, “your letter ssstated you were conducting a manner of resssearch that might interessst me?”

Okami stands and we head to the door. He hands me a small coin purse and I look at him confused.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“Serenity is at the tavern with Terror, I’m going to stay here, got some interspecies research to conduct,” he replies with a sly grin.

“You dog,” Mateo says with a smile.

“A woman’s best friend,” he says with a gentlemanly bow.

The streets are filled with the fragrant aroma of food. Natalia appears floating beside Mateo taking in that aroma with desire in her eyes.

“We’ve got some time, why don’t we get a bite to eat?” Natalia says resting on his shoulder.

“You know, we haven’t done anything together besides not die, that sounds nice.”

Mateo steps up to a small stand filled with roasted sticks of meat and pulls a few coins out of the purse. The cook hands him a few sticks of skewered boardrel and vegetables soaked in a salty soy type sauce.

Boardrel is a large boarlike creature native to Heroldin. It’s a common beast amongst the realm of Gottes, but the ones in Heroldin are supposedly leaner and juicier.

The second stall is selling a pasta that resembles ramen. For her size Natalia seems to be able to ingest a lot of food. Something the townspeople also notice.

“Is that a pixie?” A stranger asks.

“Natalia, no, she’s more of a tiny backseat driver,” Mateo replies.

“Hey, is that an insult, you know I can read your mind to see if that is an insult,” Natalia says angrily.

“I’m Mateo, what’s your name stranger?”

Mateo holds out his hand with a smile.

The stranger’s face turns to a scowl as they draw a short blade.

“I am an Archon of Drakvania, pixies are an insult to her malevolence.”

New quest- An Archon of Drakvania has become aware of your pixie and seeks to kill both you and her. Don’t die.

The blade cuts through the air above Mateos’s head as he draws his dagger. He sidesteps as it comes down on him vertically, splitting the stool he was sitting on. A crowd forms around them as Mateo prepares himself for a fight.

“I don’t know who you are, or what you want, but I’m not going to let you hurt Natalia, so show me your worst,” Mateo says clenching his fingers around the hilt of the dagger.

His blood fizzles and the length of the blade increases.

“Mateo, we should run,” Natalia says floating behind him.

“No, he wants to kill you, if I can’t protect you, then what can I do?”

The archon charges him, and he blocks the attack with his dagger. Without any training it won’t be long before the archon finds an opening. Obsidian and steel clash as the onlookers gasp.

“He’s holding his own against an Archon, who is this man?”

“Sloppy footwork, but he isn’t dead,” another says.

Minutes pass and the Archon presses him back. Their blood-soaked blade glances off his grazing his cheek. Mateo steps back as warm blood runs down his face.

“You are a poor swordsman, and an even lousier opponent, you might as well fall on your sword,” the Archon says raising his blade to strike.

“I’m not a swordsman,” Mateo says holding out his off hand, “I’m a Battlemage.”

Slender violet bolts of electricity surge around his fingertips ready to be fired like projectiles. Mateo closes his eyes and his blood turns from a fizzle to a rolling boil as he unleashes a barrage of violet lightning bolts at his attacker. The crowd gasps as cold steel clanks against the ground and ash blows in the wind.

Quest Complete- An Archon of Drakvania has become aware of your pixie and seeks to kill both you and her. Don’t die.

Reward- Notoriety amongst the cult of Drakvania.

The Archon, so ignorant with their power. Thought Mateo a powerless victim so they didn’t bother to use a ward against his magic attack. A fatal error. Mateo falls to his knees finding the attack has drained him of mana.

Void spell- void lightning, cost, high mana, effect, project bolts of lighting from the void at your opponent obliterating them without remorse.

“Mateo!” Serenity yells hurrying to him.

“That guy just obliterated a fucking Archon!” Someone yells.

“Mateo, what just happened?” Serenity asks wiping blood from Mateo’s cheek.

“Some Archon of Drakvania tried to hurt Nat, I stood up to him,” he replies.

Mateo falls back into Serenity’s arms, and she picks him up cradling him. There are more wounds on him than just the cut on his cheek. At some point the Archon impaled him with his blade. He is in dire need of healing. The only thing keeping him alive right now is his pixie, Natalia as she struggles desperately to heal him with her limited power.

“Where’s the healer you fucking buffoons!” Serenity yells.

A young woman adorned in robes of ceremony steps through the crowd. A flowing white robe with two embroidered holes sashes hanging over her shoulder. Gold stitching and accents on white robes are common apparel for healers. Her essence seems a pleasant glow as she moves toward them.

“I am Silvia Theodin, Archon of Revival, if you will allow I will grace him with the blessing of health.”

“You’re Silvia Theodin, I know you from the coliseum,” Serenity replies.

“So you do, decide on his fate fast for he does not have long,” she replies.

“What are you waiting for he’s going to die!” Natalia yells desperately.

“Help him,” Serenity replies.

Silvia holds her hands over Mateo and a warm glow erupts from them penetrating his flesh. Warm light swirls around them and a deep gash exposing the inner organs of his belly closes. Blood still stains his clothes, but the pain dissipates as the wound disappears.

“Thank you,” Serenity says laying Mateo on the ground to rest a few moments.

“Lady Everbold, I was sorry to hear about your brother’s demise, we enjoyed some time together, my heart is filled with infinite sorrow at his passing, as I’m sure yours is, if you need the services of Revival know that you are welcome, however, if you for some reason align yourself with the church of Drakvania, know you are an enemy,” the young woman says with a bow before disappearing into the crowd.

Mateo wakes in the bedroom of a tavern. Serenity is sitting in a wooden chair, her head resting on a small wooden table. Mateo sits up and she too rises grunting tiredly.

“Mateo, you’re awake, I was worried,” Serenity says with a quaint smile.

“What happened?” He asks.

“You fought an Archon of Drakvania, I won’t say you aren’t foolish, but don’t do that again without our help.”

“Not sure I had a choice, he was after Natalia,” Mateo says running his hand over his stomach.

“Blade went straight through you, not sure how you kept fighting, witnesses said your fighting style was lacking,” she says sitting beside him.

“I don’t have a fighting style, I was just swinging my sword wildly like a mad man until I realized I could use a spell, something about the danger and desire to protect Nat drove my instincts.”

“Just be more careful, the world is a dangerous place,” she says pecking him on the cheek.

Terror steps into the room adorned in some casual attire. A loose-fitting off-white shirt and sack pants. He’s also carrying a plate of what looks like sweet treats.

“Terror knows you obliterated an Archon, tell Terror of this great battle,” he says his voice in the usual low grumble as he lays the plate of sweets on a wooden stand.

Serenity sighs as Mateo laughs grabbing one of the sweets.

Okami leans up rubbing his paws over Chrissima’s large breasts. She wipes small beads of sweat from her brow with a soft cloth taking deep breaths.

“So how was it?” Okami asks.

“Invigorating,” she replies.

“Do you think the eggs will be fertile?”

“Okami, why do you want this so bad that you’ve devoted your life to it, I’m just a worthless snake girl,” Chrissima replies.

“Not to me, I’ve been a beast my entire life, lived through the prejudice of it, called a monster, a freak, werewolf, demon, eyes still glare at me with resentment as I walk through town, you’ve been through the same, and I admire you for staying in spite of it, the beauty I find in you is far deeper than your scales, when we were younger I promised you a family, I will give you that,” Okami replies.

“And here I was hoping you were going to be a good boy,” she says rolling on-top of him.

The chambers of the Archons of Drakvania are vast. Loud footsteps penetrate them as an angry figure approaches a large, scaled beast at a brisk pace. The figure drops to one knee bowing as the scaled beast rises slightly.

Dark scales cover an unusually large reptilian figure. Majestic wings spread out before retracting behind it as it rises to greet its underling.

“Archon, why do you seek me?” It asks its large gnashing maw showing disdain.

“Lord Dios, an Archon attempted to snuff out a pixie but was met with complications,” the Archon replies.

“He’s dead then, mortals are worthless, and what of the pixie, does it still live?”

“Yes Lord Dios, I have sent additional Archons to investigate,” the Archon replies.

“Withdraw them, our prey will come to us in due time, there are other matters that require our attention until then,” the dragon says lowering its head to return to an eternal slumber.

“Thy will be done my lord,” the man says exiting the large chamber.