Critical Misclass - Ch. 25-27

CHAPTER 25 - Detour Force

I ended up taking the third watch, which I hoped would be as uneventful as the first two. It was the longest, uninterrupted, period of time with just me and my brain, with no distractions, that I'd had in ages. That included my time before Fielende: even on the most boring days at work, I had ways to keep myself busy. Puttering around in the small ruin while Ves and Thia slept made me wish I had at least an old magazine from some doctor's office.

Instead, I found myself concerned about every new noise, every sudden movement in the distance, every remotely potential threat. It would have been bad enough if a bandit, or a bear, showed up, but I kept expecting Red Gauze to just walk through the entrance and mutilate everyone without effort. I took a little solace in the fact that Ves and Thia were as horrified by that man as I was, which told me that people like him weren't commonplace in this world.

The rain stopped about halfway through my watch, but since the flooding would take longer to clear out, going through the former dungeon was still our best method of progressing towards Vanndrenvar. I was definitely looking forward to entering a real dungeon, even if it wasn't technically a dungeon anymore. Just the fact that it used to be, with monsters, traps, and treasure, was exciting. Thia had explained how the Starting Cave didn't meet all the qualifications to be considered a true dungeon, despite the cave rats that spawned there.

After waking up my party members, we ate some dried travel rations that Ves had purchased in Perrenbrook. Although it made us feel hungrier, we couldn't help but talk about the food we were missing out on at the inn. Any inn. I also did my best to describe the worst continental breakfasts I'd experienced at subpar hotels. Partway through attempting to describe miniature perforated cereal boxes, I wondered why I wasn't instead embellishing my past to impress these beautiful women.

The reason, I realized a bit later, was because they made me feel good about myself in the present, and gave me hope for the future.

When we grabbed our gear and decided it was time to head down the stairs, Ves held out her hand and created her mote of light - with only a bit of effort. "I'll handle this." She looked very serious about it, which almost made me laugh. (I'm glad I didn't.)

The cracked stone staircase went straight, leading underground, for nearly 50 feet. At the bottom was a large, reinforced, wooden door, the top half of which appeared to have been partially burned. I noticed just the very edges of a carving that had survived the fire, but it wasn't nearly enough to be able to tell what it once was. The door didn't seem to have any kind of lock or barricade, which I mentioned to my party.

"The door is not meant to keep anyone out - or trap anyone within," Thia explained. "It simply prevents wild animals from entering."

I opened the door with some effort, its loud creaking echoing throughout the dungeon. My breath caught in my throat, excited to see what would lay ahead, as Ves made her light float several feet ahead of us. I exhaled with a disappointed sigh.

Rather than a series of rooms, maybe even a maze, all I could see ahead of us was a long, straight, stone tunnel. Remnants of former walls could be seen along the sides of the tunnel at various intervals, along with doorways and other entrances that had been caved in. "This is it?"

Thia looked around the tunnel. "Yes, it appears so. Many sanctified dungeons are altered for convenience, and to prevent anyone from using the former rooms as living quarters or for any other purpose."

"Damn... I really built this moment up in my mind."

Ves gave me a quick side-hug. "You'll see more than enough dungeons sooner or later."

Regardless of my disappointment, I made sure not to lower my guard. If Red Gauze - or anyone, or anything - showed up suddenly, I wanted to be ready. While we moved forward, I continuously looked all around for anything out of the ordinary.

I noticed that there were multiple sections of the walls in which sections of the stone had been removed or broken. The sections were anywhere between one and three feet in diameter, and reminded me of how a similar-sized portion of the door had been burned.

If I had only seen one or two of these, I probably wouldn't have thought twice about them, but I kept seeing these missing or broken parts of the walls over the course of our walk through the tunnel. I asked the others if they knew what might have happened, but neither had any idea.

"You're probably overthinking it." Ves took a closer look at one of the missing sections of wall, revealing nothing but earth. "Anything could have happened here. Maybe the dungeon's inhabitants did it, maybe adventurers did it, maybe it happened by accident when it was being broken down and sanctified."

Figuring that she was probably right, I tried to forget about it. The trek through the tunnel only took us about ten minutes, which probably made for a pretty damn sizable dungeon if it still had all of its rooms intact. There was another large door at the far end.

Something caught my eye before we reached the door. I split off from Ves and Thia, moving towards one of the caved-in doorways to the side. Up close, I wasn't quite sure what had stood out to me. My eyes darted all over the rocks and dirt, until I found it.

"Hey! There's a chest in here!"

That got Ves's attention. Her footsteps echoed as she ran in my direction. "Where?? Where is it?"

I pointed to what I had found: just a small part of the corner of what must have been a wooden chest. "See it? Must have been caught up in all this rubble when they filled in the rooms."

"Nice find! Let's get it out."

Thia walked over to us. "Is that going to be possible without making a mess?"

Ves was already removing loose stones from around the chest. "Don't worry about it..."

She casually tossed a rock behind her, which I caught with quick reflexes. "We'll at least try to keep everything close by." I dropped the rock by the wall. "How does that sound?"

Thia took a deep breath. "I suppose it will be fine. I doubt it will affect the purpose of the detour, after all."

Ves and I carefully removed rubble, trying to avoid having large sections come crashing down on us, while Thia practiced the cleaning spell to move dirt and smaller rocks so the mess was closer to the wall. We spent more time working on this than we did crossing through the dungeon, but eventually, I was able to see a handle on the side of the chest.

"You two, move away! I'm going to try to pull it out." I pulled lightly on the handle, to see if it might break, but it was pretty sturdy. I used the handle to shake the chest while pulling on it, to help dislodge it from the rest of the rubble.

"You've almost got it!" Ves clapped her hands together in excitement. Thia warned me to be careful.

With one final pull, the chest popped out, but the disruption caused a lot of the rubble and dirt to collapse and slide into the tunnel. I looked at the top of the doorway - whatever area was behind it was still almost completely filled with earth, so we hadn't actually done anything to mess with the tunnel. Except make a mess. I gave the chest, which wasn't much larger than the toaster I had in my apartment, to Ves to open while Thia and I did our best to straighten up the rubble with magic and good old fashioned pushing-stuff-with-our-feet.

"It's locked," Ves groaned. She picked up one of the rocks that had spilled out onto the floor and bashed the lock open. She giggled - well, cackled might be more accurate. "Look at me! I'm a Rogue!"

That just made me wonder if lockpicking was included as one of my class's talents, and then I remembered that Kael had let me keep the set of lockpicks we found on Gev's body. Ves had the right idea, though: why risk breaking the lockpicks when you can just break the lock?

"Ah, damn." Ves held up an old book with pinched fingers, like it was a rotting fish. The cover was entirely black, without any kind of title or images. "No treasure."

I reached out to take the book. "Maybe it's, like, a spellbook, or a collector's item, or something." After wiping off some dirt and dust from the blank cover, I opened it up and carefully flipped through a few pages. It appeared to be someone's journal: most of the pages were still empty, with only a quarter or so of the pages having any amount of writing on them. The language used was completely alien to me, using an alphabet or maybe coded symbols that I had never seen before.

With the book opened, I showed Ves and Thia one of the pages with writing. "Can either of you read this?"

Thia shook her head, and Ves squinted her eyes and looked closer. "Looks made-up to me." She inspected the now-broken, empty chest one more time before tossing it on the pile of rubble.

"Huh, weird." I checked some more pages, in case there was anything else. Maybe the equivalent of a twenty-dollar bill stuck between two pages. The only thing I noticed was a symbol being doodled in the margins of some of the pages. While it didn't look completely identical each time, it was clearly meant to be the same symbol. The frequency, as well as consistency, of the symbol increased as the entries progressed. There didn't seem to be any more doodles after the final entry.

The ladies didn't recognize it, either. I briefly removed my pack to carefully wrap the book within the blanket. "With any luck, it'll be worth something."

The door at the end of the tunnel led us to another staircase. Unlike the first one that we used to enter the tunnel, this one must have been added around the time that the dungeon was sanctified, as part of the conversion into a detour. While it didn't look new, it was clearly less aged and worn than the other staircase. The shelter-like structure that it led to aboveground had a similar appearance.

It was still mostly cloudy, but it hadn't started to rain again. The air smelled wonderful with the mixture of rain and trees. We had to be careful not to slip on some of the wet undergrowth, though.

We followed a sign that pointed us to the nearest road, which turned out to not be the same road we were originally traveling along. It went north-to-south, but another helpful sign on the side of the road informed us that it intersected with the road to Vanndrenvar a short ways to the north. That wasn't a terrible detour. Wonder if it was here when Tabur moved to Perrenbrook.

The north-to-south road had seen much more use than the Perrenbrook-to-Vanndrenvar road we had been taking. I asked the others if they knew much about where it led, and Thia replied. "As it happens, if you follow this road north long enough, you will reach Karneissdran."

"Oh, that's your hometown, right?"

"Yes! However, we took a shorter route that had us enter Perrenbrook from the west. This road is used more often, as it facilitates travel between my city and other large cities, including Vanndrenvar."

Ves chuckled. "Yeah, not many people have much reason to go to, or through, Perrenbrook."

We reached the intersection of the two roads before long. Sure enough, there were more footsteps and wagon tracks going to the north and to the east than there were going west, back towards Perrenbrook. Something else caught Thia's attention as we turned east. She suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Is that blood?"

"Is what blood?" Ves sniffed the air, looking side to side. I also stopped to look around us, but didn't notice anything immediately.

"I-- I was certain I saw it, somewhere in this vicinity. But now, it seems-- oh! There!" Thia pointed to some tall weeds growing on the side of the road to the southeast, close to the intersection.

Once it had been pointed out to me, I could clearly see a dark stain going into the weeds. "Damn, I can't believe you noticed that. Looks like you tapped into the Rogue senses." Thia smiled proudly. More evidence that class abilities, both those that were natural to our classes as well as the ones we were "borrowing" from each other, worked best when we weren't actively trying.

Thia was pleased with herself for noticing the blood, and her excitement was infectious. I moved in to hug her, and she happily reciprocated, but Ves interrupted before we could linger. "Weird reaction to finding a big bloodstain, but okay."

I laughed at myself. "Right! Let's be cautious." My words didn't have the gravitas I had hoped for, as I was still amused at myself for getting distracted in the moment.

Ves and Thia spread out to my left and right, respectively, as I approached the bloodstain. Despite all the noise we had been making, I made sure to move stealthily to not startle anything that could be in the weeds. There was no sound or movement coming from the side of the road, even when I reached the bloodstain, and I looked around carefully. Ideally, I wanted to find a dead animal, or even nothing at all... but unfortunately, I found a further trail of blood leading further away from the road.

I let the ladies know, and they moved closer, still keeping a look around to avoid any potential surprises. We removed our packs, stashing them in a nearby bush so that on the off-chance anyone passed by, they wouldn't find our stuff.

The trail of blood wasn't especially obvious, so whatever had been injured hadn't just been gushing blood everywhere like something out of a hyperviolent video game. It was difficult to see the stains at certain points in the undergrowth, preventing me from trying to look far ahead to get a better idea of where it was leading us.

Before long, it led into some thick bushes. I crouched next to them, motioned for my party to get close, and spoke as quietly as possible. "I'm going to find a way around the bushes. If there's no way to do that without going through them, or if it looks like the trail goes on much farther, I think we should call it quits and just continue walking. I don't feel comfortable being off the road any longer than we need to."

Ves and Thia nodded, although with some apprehension. There was really no reason for us to be checking this out in the first place, especially since there didn't seem to be any immediate threat to us anymore, but I was enjoying the thrill nonetheless. The "dungeon" had been a bust, so I suppose this was my way of finding some excitement, as well as a chance to practice my Rogue talents.

My calico companion touched my arm, concern on her face. "Don't do anything stupid. Just yell if you see anything weird."

It was difficult to separate myself from these two at the best of times, and seeing their faces up close was making me rethink my original plan. "Maybe trail behind me at a distance, if you can. I've heard people say 'never split the party' before, and now I'm starting to really understand why."

"We will. And this will allow me to attempt to move quietly, like you can." There was a fire in Thia's eyes - she was still feeding off of the confidence she had just gained by spotting the bloodstain.

"Good idea, but keep in mind that the stealth ability only lasts for maybe half a minute or so. Not sure how long it takes before it can be used again. So only try to use it if you absolutely need to move closer without being heard." Thia wasn't in the Cave with Ves and me when I had learned that the hard way, and I would prefer she not have to go through that experience herself.

I had to go now, or else I'd never be able to do it. Turning away from the others with slight hesitation, I began moving quietly around the bush. My goal was to use stealth for as long as possible, then stop for the same length of time, and see if that was enough to be able to use stealth again. As before, it only took about half a minute before I could hear my feet stepping slowly onto the muddy ground. After counting one one-thousand, two one-thousand in my head until I reached thirty, I took a cautious step... and could still hear myself.

I counted to thirty again, but I was still unable to activate the ability. This definitely tracked with some of the games I'd played before: stealth wasn't something that could usually be repeated as often as one might want, and needed to be used only when it was absolutely necessary. Still... I wonder if using it more often might improve it.

Taking a deep breath, I decided to continue on without using stealth, and just progressing even slower than before. I could imagine Ves giving me a hard time for crouching in one place for over a minute without doing anything.

When I was finally able to move around the bush, I first took a peek to get an idea of what I might be heading into. There was a small clearing, with a few bedrolls around an extinguished fire, along with some packs. Everything was soaked, looking as if no one had been here since sometime before the storm began the previous day.

My first instinct was to call for Ves and Thia, but I caught myself, realizing it would be better to check everything further before potentially announcing myself to anything else nearby. My second instinct was to yelp with surprise when something pulled my leg, making me fall onto my back.

CHAPTER 26 - Ambushed

I was too damn focused on trying to be quiet, and on the camp itself, to pay any attention to what was going on around me. When my back hit the damp ground and I realized what was happening, it was clear that my heightened Rogue senses were screaming at me.

Whatever was grabbing onto my leg kept pulling, dragging me across the bedrolls and scattered supplies. I shouted to alert my party. "Hey! I need help!"

Ves and Thia rose from behind the bushes, each exclaiming in disbelief. They ran towards me, with Ves going in the same direction I went, and Thia taking the other way around the bush. Just as Ves reached the spot where I was grabbed, she jumped back, as if evading something. "Shit--" She slipped on the wet undergrowth, but narrowly managed to avoid falling.

Thia drew her sword and swung it hard at the ground in front of me, where it stuck into the ground. The tight grasp around my leg loosened, and I was no longer being pulled. As I scrambled to my feet, I saw a green tendril flailing around before it whipped back into another bush like a tape measure being released.

Next to my feet was the part that Thia cut off. I gave it a light kick to see if it was still alive, but there was no reaction. "It's... a plant?"

"Looked like a vine." Ves moved closer, looking all around. "There's more. I just barely dodged one over there."

I drew my daggers, and Thia held her sword in front of her with a determined expression. Ves and I flinched as Thia's sword suddenly burst into flames.

The burning sword reflected in her large eyes."It worked..."

"You beat me to it!" Despite hoping that magical flames would engulf my daggers right at that moment, I wasn't so lucky. I held my daggers in a cool pose - well, at least it looked cool in my head - but nothing happened. My heart beat faster. These things can attack us at any second. Stop fucking thinking about using the spell, and just do it.

"Give me one!" I looked at Ves, who was impatiently holding out her hand. "I don't have any weapons to try that on."

I offered a dagger, remembering at the last second to turn the blade away from her hand. Ves accepted it, and it immediately became covered in flames, almost burning me in the process.

"Oh, damn!" The netharri's eyes widened with excitement. She spun back around, towards the direction in which she was nearly grabbed, holding out the dagger threateningly.

Still no luck with my remaining blade. Not the end of the world. Thia cut one of the vines before her sword was enchanted. But why won't this work?!

There was a rustling noise to my side. It had come from the bush where the severed vine had retreated. I hissed Thia's name and nodded towards the bush, and she took a few slow steps closer to me. Now we were nearly back-to-back-to-back.

Ves spoke quietly without looking away. "Just heard the one over here. What should we do?"

That was a good question. Do we wait for the vines to attack us and defend ourselves, and hope that we eventually cut them all, or do we go on the offensive and risk something worse happening?

It was time for another game strategy. "Let's focus on one at a time. That way, we're not separated, and we can avoid being surrounded... like we probably are now."

Thia pointed ahead of her with her sword. "Let us start by finishing the one I already severed."

"Works for me. Ves?"

"Let's do it!"

Thia ran straight ahead, brandishing her flaming sword. I told Ves to position herself on the other side of the bush, to flank whatever exactly was hiding in there. I stayed on the side, between the others. I wasn't sure if I could sneak attack this thing, but having its attention drawn by the two women with burning weapons couldn't hurt.

Our sudden movement had an effect on whatever was lurking in the stems and leaves. The plant rustled, and I could see a small form within, but only barely.

"I think I see it."

Ves inched closer. "Me too."

"I cannot!" Thia squinted, lowering her sword partway.

"Just attack," Ves hissed.

With that, she jabbed the fiery dagger into the foliage. Thia swung her sword down cautiously - as she couldn't see the creature, her priority must have been to just avoid Ves.

The plant was singed by the flames and the creature's movements became more erratic, although it didn't squeal or make any kind of animal noises. Two vines whipped out of the bush towards Ves and Thia, striking them both with a crack. One was noticeably shorter than the other, thanks to Thia's earlier attack.

While the creature's attention was focused on the others, I knew this was the perfect chance for a sneak attack. Crouching down, I thrust my dagger towards the plant, scratching my hand on some thorny branches. The dagger made contact with the erratically-moving form inside the bush, and the blade promptly burst into flames. Finally!

The creature's two vines thrashed wildly in the air. Although it seemed impossible to tell where they were going to move, Ves and Thia were able to dodge with ease. It definitely helped that the vines didn't have the element of surprise any more. The women slashed at the tendrils, with Thia cutting off small pieces of it with each slice, but Ves was having a more difficult time with her much-smaller weapon.

I pushed my dagger further into the creature, then cut through it. The vines dropped to the ground, still thrashing around, then quickly shot towards me, each one wrapped tightly around one of my arms. At the same time, the creature burst from the bush.

It was small, only about two feet tall, and looked like a tangled mass of thin branches, with knotted roots on the bottom in a vague approximation of short legs. The larger vines that had been attacking us originated from somewhere inside the jumble of plants. Two horizontal branches separated, revealing lines of thorns, like a toothy maw.

"STOP!"

The vines loosened their grip on my arms and whipped towards Thia. She ducked just in time for one to go flying over her head. Swinging her sword at the other vine, she made contact, but didn't quite sever it. The brief contact left behind a burn on the tendril.

With my arms freed, I pierced it with my dagger again, putting my weight into it. The plant monster was pinned to the ground as dark smoke seeped from the wound. Ves ran up, grabbed the nearest vine, and cut through it close to the creature's body. The remaining several inches of vine waved around impotently, until the creature stopped moving entirely.

I placed a foot on the dead monster so I could more easily withdraw my blade from its body. More smoke wafted from the open wound. I got back to a standing position, and smiled at Thia. She was removing the creature's other vine, which had wrapped around her wrist while I was finishing it off.

"Thanks for distracting it... Was that a Defender ability?"

"Yes, Defenders are able to command attention from foes. This was actually my first time attempting it on a monster. Before now, I had only practiced it with other humanoids, and supposedly it is much less effective on intelligent beings."

"Good to know," Ves said quietly, stepping between us. "But there's still another one in that bush there, remember?" She pointed to the bush that was closer to the road, on the other side of the small camp.

I sighed. "Well, at least we know they're not too dangerous. Let's get in our positions again."

We slowly moved towards the other creature's hiding place. I noticed a fairly large pot near the center of the camp that had collected a good bit of rainfall over the last day, and an idea popped into my head. I motioned for the others to stop, and beckoned them closer.

After explaining my idea, we approached the bush, with Ves and I on either side of Thia. We weren't going to be making the first attack, like we did before. Instead, we simply held out our flaming weapons and touched them to the foliage.

It took a little longer than I expected, on account of the remaining moisture from the storm, but eventually we saw smoke and then the bush caught on fire. I suggested that we keep our weapons held out to help the flames spread faster.

"Okay, I hear it moving around. Step back and get ready!"

We all did as I ordered, holding our blades in more defensive positions. The creature was moving frantically within the bush. I nodded to Thia.

She pointed towards the creature and called out to it in her best commanding voice. "STRIKE ME!" Nothing happened for a moment, but then two vines burst from between the branches and leaves, grabbing one of her ankles and an arm.

I grabbed one of the vines and sawed through it with my dagger, while Ves did the same on the other side. The severed tendrils flailed around, and I gave the order to move back again, out of their reach.

Before long, the creature itself emerged from the bush, singed and smoking. We were ready for it. Ves and I maneuvered around its sides to prevent it from escaping, and Thia brought her sword down, cleaving it in two.

"Yes!" I pumped my fists. "That was great!"

Ves smirked. "Yeah, we just need to make sure we can do a trial run before every fight."

The next part of the plan actually had me a little more concerned. I took the blanket out of my pack, and dunked it in the pot to absorb some water. We spread the blanket, taking different corners, and placed it over the bush. It didn't fully cover it, but we mostly just wanted to prevent it from getting worse. We also took the rain-soaked bedrolls from the camp and used them to further suppress the fire.

After that, we took the rest of the water from the pot - and any other makeshift container that had collected rainwater - and poured it onto the blanket and any parts of the fire that weren't covered.

The final step was to try and put out the rest of the fire with magic.

None of us knew a specific water-creating, or fire-extinguishing, spell, but I reasoned that if the flaming weapon spell could also make the flames stop... why couldn't it work on fire, in general?

Ves had a theory. "I'm guessing that the spell would only let us put out a small amount of fire. Like the amount that would be on Thia's sword."

That sounded fine to me. "Good thing there are three of us who can cast it."

As usual, trying to force the spell to work was fruitless, and this wasn't the kind of situation where we could just accidentally make the fire vanish. We had to find the right balance of wanting it to happen without trying to make it happen. And then we'd likely have to do that multiple times to extinguish all of the fire.

We'll never know if any of us was significantly better or worse at doing this, since we were all trying it simultaneously, but over the next couple of minutes, the fire stopped growing, and then slowly shrank, until all that was left was smoke.

We congratulated each other, and Ves turned to the abandoned camp and snooped around. "Probably a safe bet that these people were killed by the monsters, right?"

Thia cocked her head in consideration. "That might explain the bloodstain by the road, yes."

"Then let's check for any bodies in case they were adventurers with identification coins!"

I crossed my arms. "Ves, maybe lower your excitement over finding dead bodies."

We didn't want to waste too much time here, and a brief search of the surrounding area turned up exactly zero bodies. None of us were sure if this type of monster would, or could, devour clothes or armor, but it felt like a bad idea to go even farther from the road.

Ves was, of course, eager to check for any valuables in the camp itself. All of the supplies had been ruined by the storm - not that there was much to begin with - but she did find something else that was noteworthy.

"Holy crap." Ves had been digging through the last of the backpacks, and pulled out a hefty sack. "Holy CRAP! It's full of gold coins!"

Thia and I looked at each other and rushed over to Ves. She was giggling maniacally.

I could hardly believe it. "Whoa..."

Thia leaned in to get a better look at the sack. "It reads 'Imperial Bank of Vanndrenvar.' Why would these travelers be on foot if they possessed this much gold?" I didn't know, and Ves didn't really care. Thia continued. "I find it strange. In any case, we should make sure to return it, in case they have any next-of-kin who may inherit this."

Ves's ears flattened. "Where was this wet blanket a minute ago?"

CHAPTER 27 - Past our Limits

It didn't take long for Ves to be convinced that it was better to return the money to the bank than keep it, and potentially put an early end to our adventuring careers. That doesn't mean that she was exactly thrilled with the idea, though. More than anything, we all just wanted to continue on our journey without any more unexpected breaks.

Not far past the crossroads, we came across another inn. Just as this section of road saw much more traffic compared to the road to Perrenbrook, this inn appeared to be hosting many more travelers than the Paddorn Inn.

Since it was still very early in the day, I didn't expect that we would need to stop, but I wanted to verify that with my companions. "Do either of you need a bite to eat? Or, like, a nap?"

Ves waved the idea off. "Nah. Kinda wish we didn't have rations for breakfast, but now there's no reason to stop and spend money."

Thia nodded at the netharri. "Agreed. I feel perfectly well, on account of our healing magic. With that said, mayhaps I should ask the innkeeper how far it is to the next inn or village."

"Good thinking." I looked up and down the road, as if expecting Red Gauze to be lurking around a tree, waiting to get the jump on us. "Let's all go in, though. Just to be safe."

Ves teased me a little, but eased up as soon as I held her hand as we walked towards the inn. The carved sign out front informed us that the place was called the "Tremril Inn".

Inside, there was no one standing at the front desk. I opened my mouth to speak when I saw a harried young man carrying a stack of folded sheets, but he rushed by us without even making eye contact. He definitely had my sympathies.

Thia tapped the bell on the front desk, making a pleasant ding. A few minutes passed without anyone coming by to help us, even after Ves dinged the bell a few times out of irritation. We saw a number of guests going in and out of the dining area, which sounded like it was bustling. I caught a glimpse of a server rushing around the tables and decided I didn't want to bother them.

I shrugged. "Maybe they should hire some of the Paddorn daughters for extra help?"

"Oh, they'd like that, wouldn't they?!"

The voice wasn't familiar to me. I spun around to see who had spoken and saw a partially-hunched over man, teetering over the edge between "middle aged" and "elderly", with thinning grey hair and a bitter expression.

He continued talking. "You-- you can tell those halflings that 'no deal' means 'no deal'!"

Forcing my best "of course, sir" grin, I quickly replied. "Oh, sorry! I'm, I mean, we're not with the Paddorns. We just stayed there last night, and--"

"They're trying to buy me out! My mother ran this inn, and her father ran it before her, and they just want me to sell it to them!"

Sounds like the Paddorns are eager to expand. "Anyway, we're just passing through on our way to Vanndrenvar. Could you please tell us how far it is until the next stop?"

"Why don't you go ask your precious Paddorns how far it is? Why, I--"

A woman burst out of the dining area and rushed over to the older man, putting an arm around his shoulder. "Dad, you're supposed to be laying down. The apothecary won't be back for another couple of weeks, so you can't risk another... incident."

She silently mouthed an apology to us as she escorted the muttering man through a door behind the desk, and soon returned. "I'm so sorry about that. My father's been having a difficult time lately..."

I shook my head. "No, no, it's fine. No harm done. We were just wondering how far it was to the next stop before Vanndrenvar."

"Oh, as it happens, the next stop on this road is Vanndrenvar itself! But most folks leave a bit earlier if they hope to get there before nightfall. I believe we have a spare room, and I'll give you a discount for, oh, my father's little outburst."

I chuckled. "I appreciate that! But our time is limited... although..." If it had just been me, I would have easily declined the offer, and pushed myself to get to the city before dark. But I didn't want to speak for my party members... and there was that lingering worry about something, anything, happening to them when we least expected it.

Turning to Ves and Thia, I asked them what they wanted to do. Ves gave me a confused look, and Thia smiled demurely, as they both told me that they had no intention of essentially taking the day off to try and get a slightly earlier start tomorrow.

"Looks like we should get moving, but thank you again for the offer. Good luck with your dad."

She scoffed, but seemed amused. "Oh, I've been dealing with that man for my whole life, and I'll probably be dealing with him for decades to come. But let me get you all something to eat on the road, at least."

With the knowledge of how long it would take to regularly get to Vanndrenvar by foot, we all agreed that we should pick up the pace and at least attempt to get there by night.

That was much easier said than done. It was only a couple of hours before there was an unspoken agreement between the three of us: don't say that we should have stayed at the inn. I thought that we could at least use magic to heal our fatigue, like Ves did for me the other night, but that was also easier said than done. We quickly found out that the spell had diminishing returns: the more we used it, the more energy it took from us, and it restored less of our stamina each time. Useful for an extra boost in battle - or bed - but not so much for a long trek.

We took a short break for lunch, and enjoyed the berries and apples that the innkeeper generously gave us. She also offered some of yesterday's bread, which we were more than happy to accept. We ate in silence, trying to save as much energy as possible.

Although the forest had felt almost endless, the closer we got to the city, the more the trees thinned out. Once we reached farmland, indicating that Vanndrenvar wasn't much farther away, we got our second wind. Unfortunately, the sun was already setting by that time.

Beyond the farms was a residential district, reminding me of Perrenbrook, but denser: less space between the homes, and more people moving about. Of course, with more people comes more smells, but after days of walking, the smell of civilization was downright welcoming.

While some buildings had small lamps or lanterns, it wasn't enough light for newcomers like us to find someplace to finally settle down for the night. Ves made her small mote of light appear, floating just in front of us. Luckily, we didn't have to stray from the main road (or travel farther, into the actual city) to find an inn.

The bearded dwarven woman who greeted us inside could immediately tell we were ready to crash, and offered us a room with three beds. None of us had the energy to ask if there were any other rooms available. Hell, we didn't even feel like having a meal.

My body felt heavier with each step up the stairs, but finally, we reached our room. I hadn't realized that Ves didn't extinguish her light; it was just dim enough to be effectively invisible when in lamp-lit rooms. She had the light move to the center of the ceiling, and increased its brightness enough to shine low light around the room.

Compared to the rustic style of the Paddorn Inn, with its intricate and beautiful wood carvings, this inn's room was downright spartan. There were three small beds, each one against a different wall, an unadorned stone table, and a simple dresser against the back wall. I bet the wi-fi sucks here, too.

"This must be the luxury suite." I removed my bag and placed it near the door. "We've got a window."

"Ah, yes," Thia chuckled wearily as she pulled a curtain over the window. "This certainly conforms with the details I knew about Vanndrenvar..."

Ves yawned, stretching her body. "Fantastic. Hope we can actually learn something about the rune here so we can get the hell back to Perrenbrook."

Each of us gravitated to a different bed, not caring who got which one. We all cast the cleaning spell on ourselves, removing dirt and sweat from our clothes and bodies. I felt a little lightheaded afterwards, but only momentarily. As the ladies removed their dresses, I found myself distracted by seeing their sexy bodies in only their undergarments, and nearly became lightheaded all over again.

These weren't like the sexy lingerie Thia was wearing before we left the village - these were simple and got the job done. Not unlike the room we were in. But these were women who could wear anything and look outrageously arousing. I knew we were all too tired to actually do anything, but the idea of not being closer to them while undressed was painful.

That gave me an idea: just one more thing I needed to do before going to sleep. I pulled my bed away from the wall - somewhat more easily than I expected - and then pushed it partway across the room. She and Thia were surprised by me suddenly rearranging furniture, until I pushed the bed against Ves's, which was by the back wall.

Thia grinned and began moving her bed, which I joined in to help. With the three beds together, I pulled out the sheets and blankets, and removed my armor and clothing. I laid down so that I was horizontal across the beds - it seemed like the best way to prevent them from moving apart in the night, dropping at least one of us to the hard, wooden, floor.

Ves climbed into bed (well, beds) on my right and kissed my cheek. Thia, still standing next to the bed, grinned and removed her underwear, letting them drop to the floor before she crawled over to my left side. I felt movement to my right, and turned to see Ves removing her own underwear from under her blanket.

I gave each of my girlfriends a soft kiss on the lips, put my arms around their shoulders, and held them tight. The pleasant vibrations of Ves purring against me lulled me to sleep within seconds.

"Something tells me this room doesn't have soundproofing enchantments like at Paddorn..."

Still naked, Ves straddled my upper body. The view of her breasts from below was fucking phenomenal. "Are you saying that I'm too loud? And is this the right spot?"

"Closer to my face, and no, I'm just giving you both a heads up." I grabbed Ves's soft, round, ass and encouraged her to move. Her calico-colored bush reached my mouth, and I was desperate to taste my pussycat's pussy. Still holding onto her ass, I held her crotch against my face, and licked her folds. Ves gasped, leaned forward, and clutched onto my pillow. The taste was different than Thia's, but I wouldn't be able to pick a favorite with a gun to my head. Both were just delicious.

"I thought I was the one giving you a heads up?" Thia gave my cock a lick from base to tip, then swirled her tongue around the head.

"Oh, shit," I groaned. "Call that whatever you want, as long as you keep doing it."

My bronzed beauty lapped up some precum, then stroked my shaft gently. "I had believed my days of sneaking around and having to keep quiet to spend time with men were over..." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "But this is thrilling in a different way."

I released one of Ves's cheeks so I could pet her furry tail. She shivered and lifted her hips, moving away from my mouth. I took the opportunity to check in with her... it was her first time receiving oral, after all. "How are you feeling?"

"It's good, it's good," she whispered, eyes closed.

"Just let me know what feels best."

I pulled her back down and continued exploring her pussy with my tongue. Thia had correctly guessed that I'd be finished quickly if she spent much more time on my cockhead, and was planting kisses on my balls and shaft. I reached out to stroke her hair, or caress her cheek - some non-verbal way of expressing my enthusiasm for her endeavors. My hand touched something solid, and it took a second for me to realize that it was one of her horns.

Like her scales, the horn was cool to the touch, but not nearly as smooth. It was more textured, and felt surprisingly rigid.

Ves squeaked out a moan before catching herself. Thia was right... this is kinda thrilling. Her hand released my pillow and grabbed my hair. I took that as a good sign, and focused on that spot. Her breaths quickened and her body tensed.

With Ves being taken care of, I reached out to touch Thia's other horn. She was now taking my cock as deeply as she could, using her tongue at the same time. I slid my hands up and down her horns, getting a feel for them, and then held them firmly. Thia increased her suction, and I grimaced as I tried to hold back a loud moan.

She slid her mouth up and off my cock with a wet pop, but kept her head close enough to me that I could maintain my grasp on her horns. Looking up at me with a fiery intensity, she hissed "Oh, fuck... take my horns and use me."

Having given me the most desirable task in any universe, she lowered her mouth onto my cock again. Using her horns to guide her, I moved her head up and down. I noticed her bring a hand to her crotch and finger herself as I used her for my own pleasure. Despite her best efforts to hold back, I could hear her moan, and the feeling on my cock was bringing me to the edge.

Ves was just about there, as well. It only took a few more seconds of licking her clit for her to grip my hair harder and release a loud moan. At the same time, I pulled Thia down farther and harder than before. She gagged and gulped as I shot my load straight down her throat. With that, I let go of her horns, and Ves fell over to my side, panting. Thia's eyes shut as she reached orgasm. I pulled her arm to get her attention, had her move her hand up to my face, and sucked her juices off of her fingers.

Someone in the next room pounded on the wall. Almost instinctively, Ves grabbed her pillow and threw it, but it hit the wall with virtually no sound.