I was over the moon—moons—to see my camp again, though it looked nothing like I rembered it. Trent had really gone all out, expanding the earthen igloos into squarish adobe houses made of dirt, rocks and clay. He’d created an aesthetic of sorts, with three wavy layers: darker brown beneath, reddish clay above, and then a yellow-white top layer. In places he’d placed chunks of crystal or stone that looked especially cool. These had windows and doors with wooden shutters both inside and out. Not only that, but I noted cool skylights when I entered my new place. They had sohow gotten panes of actual glass, though it was the thick and bubbly kind you would see from dieval tis, since they were making the glass via Magmamander and the process wasn’t perfect. Still, a lot of natural light got in, and it kept the worst of the weather out.
I quickly relayed orders regarding Blake’s forr team. They definitely weren’t his any longer, not with him being a freaking Nakamamon. While Larelle, the Guardians, and the Rangers went off in search of Cinzy, Wizards, Drat and the others, Vellenia plastered herself against my body and hugged tight.
Trent stared at the gorgeous companion creature, and frowned down at his large gem Nakamamon, Garnet. I motioned him to continue the tour, and rely walked on until Vel detached herself from and held my hand like she would never let go.
Trent was beaming as I peppered him with looks of amazent and frequent complints.
“This thing has multiple rooms?” Once I had picked my jaw up off the floor, I continued. “Working plumbing? How? When?”
“Alan and I had a lot of ti on our hands,” he said. “The spells aren’t simple by any ans, and it took a lot of mana for to move that much earth and shore up the tubes with baked clay pipes. None of this is perfect, or even permanent, but water is drawn in here, temperature is regulated with these two crystals, and you have the choice of water pressure. Alan wanted to put those top down sprinklers because they’re modern. I nixed that; my mother had one of those installed and it super sucked.”
I blinked and shook my head. What was even happening? This building had a large area set aside for the laboratory, another study and sitting room with a small desk and several of the camp chairs, a bedroom, and a small bathroom.
We had been peeing in a quickly excavated ditch for the majority of our ti here. Now not only was there a toilet (ford out of white ceramic care of Trent and Larelle’s Magmamander) but I had a sink with running water, and my own shower.
He showed , amongst the clay tile floor of the laboratory, where the group of tiles could be lifted quickly for escape tunnel access.
“And these tunnels…”
“They all connect, but they only lead out. There’s a sort of doggy door that’s locked from your side. You couldn’t break into soone’s house during the night.”
We would see about that.
“You can also lock it behind you. You press the little gem in the ceiling and it will collapse the several feet of access. Took Alan and I a couple of days to work out the details.”
“I’m flabbergasted. I can’t believe the level of detail… and style. You’ve outdone yourself.”
Trent shrugged, though he was obviously pleased with his achievents. “There’s a stairwell on the outside of the building that leads up to the roof. I thought there would be a chance we could have cookouts or just lounge around up there if the weather is good.”
I peeked around the corner and saw the stairs leading up. Unbelievable.
“I an… don’t expect this level of workmanship everywhere we go. I’ll try to whip up this kind thing faster and faster going forward, but you’ve been gone for two weeks and we’ve had ti… before you changed up the orders we weren’t really sure what to do.”
Yeaaahhhh. I felt a twinge of guilt over this, but Trent didn’t seem to hold this against .
“That look says I’ve just said sothing wrong,” he said. “Uhh... no no, don’t be upset for running the show. I’m glad to be along for the ride. It’s a good team, it’s a good cause. These are good people. I like it here. And honestly, I’m getting a lot of practice with the stone magic.”
I clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Glad to hear that… because we’re about to take on a bunch more charges. Whenever you’re ready, we’re going to need a crude bunkhouse for at least seven. Probably more than that if my hunch is right.”
His eyes flew wide open. “Seven? Seven more?”
“Yep. I’ll add it to the orders nu. If Alan wants to work on it with you, great.”
Trent nodded and wandered off, already muttering specs and plans to himself.
After my ordeal and the lingering question of how to deal with Blake, I went imdiately to bed. Vellenia lay with , but didn’t ask any questions.
“It’s so nice to have you back,” she said, slithering onto so we could be touching in every possible way, from her head resting in the crook of my neck, to her foot looped as much as it could be around my ankle.
I reassured her by touch alone, and got down to the level up rewards I’d gotten from my Achievent: Completely Upend the Natural Order of the Known World.
Pretty sure that was the na of the achievent.
At level 20 in Healer, I’d received an attribute point and a single skill point. The obvious choice had been to put it into the sa place I’d ordered the team to put theirs: Divine Resistance, and though I’d wanted to branch out, it really was the best choice.
The attribute point had been harder, though my familiarity with magic was making think that Affinity was the right call. At least for now, being able to channel magic would help in all ways. I was beginning to see mana in casting form more plainly. I was getting used to the idea of a pool of magic sitting in my chakra points, and channeling that magic up to the center of my forehead, where it manifested in every imaginable way.
Although I had other designs for myself, the expedition I was on was not about only . I needed to consider the thousands of Nakamamon who we were turning aside from Glumpdumpkin and telling to head back to their points of origin. The people still in the town were a wild mix of maniacally, sleeplessly going about their work, stumbling around as if drunk, completely comatose, or the psychic aspects trying to live their lives like nothing was wrong.
The result was still an even spread, ranging from a Physicality of 5 to an Ingenuity of 8. I’d always been more of a generalist at heart. Of course I wished for more attribute points, but they were only coming ever 3 to 4 levels, and that was that.
Now, level 21 of Healer and level 19 of Pleasure Seeker both yielded the sa result: 3 skill points. It felt like Christmas, suddenly having so many, though I knew I could very easily empty out this bank account.
I was pleased to see my shiny new Stealth skill, as well as a bump in Physical Diagnosis, from 3 to 4, without having to spend any points. The levels could co from enough practice, and I sure had gotten plenty of practice working on the Wizards over the last two weeks.
The first point had to go into Divine Resistance. No question there. As for the others… Adaptability ant helping Chrysta with her wish for aningful physical contact. I put one point in there. Next, I threw a point into Develop Cure for Small, dium and Large. The hope was that this god in Glumpdumpkin wasn’t going to be a huge one. Still, cross fingers, Hard At Work would see through this, because at level 20 in Pleasure Seeker, I’d just replenished all of my Tokens.
Finally, I wanted one more in the nine Qualities that made up my second class. I hadn’t touched several of these, and I wanted to see if any of them would help in my journey, such as the Pleasure Seeker journey was. The nine were Load, Refractory Period, Length, Girth, Stave Off, Flexibility, Tongue, Pheromones, and Adaptability.
“Refractory period,” I breathed.
“Mmm?” Vellenia asked, half asleep. I was getting there too. Rather than answer, I stroked her cheek and she hugged tighter against .
Refractory period was the length of ti between being able to generate another load. It also shortened the ti in between climax and being able to get hard again. I couldn’t imagine that…but I was also twenty years old.
Flexibility seed like a pointless choice, as I was already pretty flexible. I couldn’t touch my toes to the back of my head or anything, but who needed to?
It was only when I read through Pheromones more closely that I understood. Now, my assumption was that Pheromones were going to be kind of… coercive. Gross. Like ‘oh Fletcher, I’m not really interested in you’ and then I’d raise my arms so the sll could waft out of my armpits, and I’d go ‘oh yeah, I think you’ll find that you’re feeling pretty attracted to after all’ and that sounded like I was taking soone against their will. Gross. No thanks.
Because we all know what pheromones ans. Ants use them to communicate to one another. Mammals use stank trails to warn off competitors or attract mates. That’s the aning of pheromones. There is no way I could justify having them, and then have the conversation after sex that involves ‘why did I agree to this? You’re not my type, and I would never do you.’
And then I read the description.
The Pheromones skill allows you to pass on your other Pleasure Seeker Qualities to your intimate partners. For each level of Pheromones, one available point of your Qualities is passed on to your partners while engaged in intimate acts.
“Hold the phone,” I said. “Hold the fracking phone.”
Would this… give Regina so Length and Girth? That wasn’t possible. Staying power, like Stave Off? Or would it always default to Tongue? I had a lot of questions, and the description only added them. If I initiated with Chrysta, would she gain Adaptability also? There was also the question of threesos… I had had a number of these, and thanked my lucky stars every ti, but there was more I didn’t know regarding this Pheromones situation.
I sank a point into Pheromones right away, fully intending to see whether this skill applied to a single romantic partner at a ti, or would apply to both if I were, say, involved in a threeso with a couple of romantically involved female Guardians, and whether it would enhance their tongues for more exciting oral adventures.
Hypothetically speaking.
“Hmm,” Vellenia said, and snuggled in closer.
Eventually I drifted off, and when I awoke it was to a great big party happening in my command building.
I shot up in bed. “Wha—”
Everyone was now in my… house. Trent had literally made a house. Not a tent, not a lean-to, not a hastily cobbled together and drafty shack. They had transford the laboratory into a party. The workbenches were decorated first with ribbon and bunting, and topped with plates of nachos, cookies, cakes, bowls of punch, and… cans of beer? Not many, mind you, but enough that each of us could have at least two.
“How did you guys…”
Tara sighed heavily, and explained that, once again, we didn’t have the anti-magic dicine to stave off whatever happened as our bodies accumulated too much mana… which I now understood would cause us to beco actual Nakamamon. After failing to search for my whereabouts, she agreed to head back to HQ and pick up so things, and she was much quicker about it. Also, there was no longer a danger of having her backpack—and the rest of her clothes—vanish on the return journey.
We all raised a beer to Airaconda, whose head poked in through a window, and proceeded to party. Throughout the next few hours, Airaconda received a lot of pets and head scratches. As Tweedle Dee, Garnet, McCauley Skulkins, and even Muppin joined the party, there was a lot of yipping, chittering, and belly rubbing happening.
All the Wizards were there, and Cinzy as well. While so of them got out spells for ghostly sounds, Cinzy did an amazing job harmonizing with herself and playing her oboe, which she had promised never to play, if I recalled correctly.
Still, sohow the oboe continued playing itself when she took it from her lips, and she grinned at before beginning to do a kind of beatboxing I didn’t know was possible. She literally made the sounds of the rest of the band with her vocal cords.
And it was like laying down a track on repeat: the beat, the bass, the accompanint from the oboe and a flue, a bit of funky guitar, and then she began singing. Sohow she managed all that at the sa ti.
“It’s Tokens,” Regina said from beside .
“Huh?”
“She’s using abilities. That has to be it.”
We’d already hugged it out, but I turned to find myself in another hard embrace.
“I’m so glad you’re back,” she whispered.
“Oh yeah?”
“I’ve been spoiled for sex for the last several months,” she breathed. “Then suddenly starved for weeks. Don’t ever go and do that to again.”
I chuckled, and she let go. As she did, I caught sight of Cinzy giving a questioning look. I twitched a hint of a smile at her and shrugged just the tiniest bit, as if to tell her she’d made promises. She said she wanted no matter what, no matter who else might be involved.
The mont of distraction allowed Tara to wrap herself around in another huge hug.
“You idiot,” she said. “No going off by yourself again. That’s an order.”
“Oh, you think you give the orders around here?”
Again I locked eyes with Cinzy, and this ti her questioning look held a bit of incredulity. I mimicked the earlier hint of smile and shrug. Her eyes widened.
She had caught with Isabelle and Ivy… and now she knew how deep the rabbit hole went.
Vellenia stood in the corner, where one of the Wizards was attempting to talk with her. She brightened as soon as I took her hand, apologized to the flirty Wizard about my bondmate being uncomfortable outside the marshes, and took her to the dance floor.
“Are you certain?” she asked.
“Am I certain of what?”
“Are you certain… you wish to spend ti with alone? Your other partners wish to mate with you. I have heard them complaining without cease about the lack of Fletcher.”
“Have you been… listening in on their conversations?” I hoped they were just complaining about how they didn’t have a dedicated Healer.
“Oh, no… they seem to disregard my presence. Tara and Regina talk about your…” she looked down at my pants, “um, I am not supposed to refer to your genitals in open conversation.”
I burst out laughing.
“It is much the sa with Ivy and Isabelle,” Vellenia confessed.
“Oh boy,” I muttered. I had not wanted to get in between those two and cause relationship problems.
The music changed tone and beca more of a slow dance, so I twirled my partner and briefly enjoyed how her billowing dress flared out like a gigantic flower. Then I pulled her in tight. She imdiately rested her head on my chest.
“Ivy needs the deep dicking,” Vellenia whispered.
“I probably shouldn’t be hearing this at all,” I muttered, chuckling.
“Oh!” Vellenia said. “If I am being inappropriate, I can refrain from sharing their desires.”
“Just make sure you only ntion it when other people can’t easily hear us.”
“As you wish,” she said.
For so reason those words really struck . Vellenia was here to help fulfill my wishes.
This is Christopher feeling that everything is right with the world.
Christopher Fletcher
Healer - Trainee 21
Pleasure Seeker - Novice 20
attributes:
Affinity 7
Durability 6
Ingenuity 8
Likability 6
Physicality 5
Healer Skills:
Diagnosis (physical 4, spiritual 3, magical 3, ntal 3)
Treatnt (potions 4, salves 3, tinctures 3, elixirs 3, unguents 3)
Develop cure (swarm 4, small 5, dium 3, large 2)
Develop cure (unique) 7
Administer Cure 8
Pleasure Seeker Qualities:
Girth 1
Load 1
Stave Off 2
Length 1
Tongue 1
Adaptability 4
Pheromones 1
Other Skills:
Identify 5
Hiking 3
Cooking 1
Persuasion 1
ditation 4
Divine Resistance 5
Stealth 1
Mana Affinity 1
All other skills unranked
Unspent skill points: 0
General Special Abilities:
Hard At Work III (Uncommon, Passive)
Wild Lore II (Uncommon, Active)
Beastmaster (Uncommon, Passive)
Stalwart II (Common, Passive)
Fierce II (Common, Passive)
Healer Special Abilities:
Healer’s Endurance II (Common, Active)
Healer’s Resistance (Uncommon, Active)
Healer’s Breath (Uncommon, Active)
Verdant Rejuvenation (Uncommon, Passive)
Pleasure Seeker Special Abilities:
Blissense II (Rare, Active)
Post Sharing Clarity (Rare, Passive)
Drive In Deeper (Uncommon, Passive)
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