theninjagoose

  When they awoke the next morning, Shiloh felt awkward. Well, not really awkward, but as if the dynamic of his retionships with the others had shifted. His girls were, somehow, even more affectionate with him. Little, lingering touches here and a whispered word there, a lingering eye or a breathy exhale as he passed. Even Twil was wearing a small smile for no discernible reason. It seemed like his taking control for a bit had really done a number on them.

  They still managed to get breakfast made in a reasonable time, and they went over their level-ups from the st round of Hephaestus' trial. Shiloh had also gotten two levels from the ensuing orgy, but he only got five stat points for each level now that he wasn't getting skills every level anymore.

  Shiloh SuttonCss: Cleric of AphroditeHP: 250/250Level: 24MP: 150/150Lust: 16010 Strength: 8Arcana: 0Finesse: 15Divine: 301Fortitude: 25Resistance: 25Endurance: 12Focus: 30

  Ara LittonCss: BerserkerHP: 2650/2650Level: 10MP: 0/0Rage: 164 Strength: 265Arcana: 0Finesse: 11Divine: 0Fortitude: 265Resistance: 132Endurance: 13Focus: 0 Matter over Mind

  Increase your Resistance by 50% of your Strength.

  Twil ReignoverCss: Temporal MageHP: 100/100Level: 10MP: 300/300 Strength: 12Arcana: 242Finesse: 10Divine: 0Fortitude: 10Resistance: 121Endurance: 8Focus: 15 Mana Well

  Your maximum mana and mana regeneration is doubled.

  My Brother's KeeperSpell

  Target any number of allies. Phase those allies outuntil you end this spell.Mana Cost: 50 mana per target per second

  Elnor LudgerCss: ToxophiliteHP: 100/100Level: 10MP: 0/0 Strength: 14Arcana: 0Finesse: 246Divine: 0Fortitude: 10Resistance: 10Endurance: 12Focus: 0 Keep Your Distance

  While more than 60 feet from your target,deal 50% more damage.

  Beck QuickfootCss: BulwarkHP: 3010/3010Level: 16MP: 10/10 Strength: 20Arcana: 1Finesse: 14Divine: 1Fortitude: 301Resistance: 30Endurance: 27Focus: 1

  KaterineSharvelCss: Ruination MageHP: 100/100Level: 12MP: 400/400 Strength: 11Arcana: 244Finesse: 9Divine: 0Fortitude: 10Resistance: 12Endurance: 11Focus: 20 Arcane ReprisalSpell

  Ward an ally. When that ally takes damage,the ward detonates and deals 50% of yourArcana to every enemy within fifteen feet.Cost: 50 ManaDuration: 10 minutes

  The Chosen's Viktora MarkovCss: NightstalkerHP: 1080/1130Level: 10MP: 1010/1010Blood: 0 Strength: 249Arcana: 0Finesse: 20Divine: 0Fortitude: 32Resistance: 25Endurance: 25Focus: 20 The Chosen's One

  When you directly drink the blood ofAphrodite's avatar, both of you gain20 points in your primary stats.Duration: 1 day

  Overlord

  Activate this skill to unlock your true form.While in this form, you take triple damagefrom silvered weapons. While in this form,your Strength is doubled.Cost: 300 HP per second

  Viktora's st skill brought a bevy of attention from the rest of the party. They couldn't believe the amount of power that was quickly being packed into the waif of a vampire. Already, she was the only one to surpass Shiloh, a man blessed by the gods, in primary stats. Now she was getting her Strength doubled on top of that?

  "We just need to make sure there aren't any enemies ready to handle vampires." Shiloh mused. "Are silvered weapons very common?"

  "Not since the vampires were exiled." Elnor replied. "They used to be a staple in any adventurer's kit, but we don't even have one ourselves beside my silver arrows, which I only have a dozen of."

  On the insistence of a demonstration, Shiloh used his Empowering Pool and his defensive aura to boost Viktora's Fortitude to four hundred and eighty-three. She activated the skill, and they all shrieked.

  Enormous wings made of shadows erupted out of Viktora's back, and more shadows seemed to ooze out of her like her own aura. She rose into the air and floated five feet off the ground. Her hair billowed out on an ephemeral wind, and her eyes turned completely violet and shone with an entrancing light. Her canines grew into fangs, and her fingers tapered at the end into true cws. Her breasts and her ass swelled to almost-indecent proportions, and her voice became a seductive purr.

  "Oh this feels gooood." Viktora sighed, looking at her changed form. "I look like a monster, though." She cupped and hefted the breasts she simply didn't have before, then stopped and blushed when she remembered everyone was watching her.

  "Don't be embarrassed." Ara insisted, a twinkle in her eyes. "I was going to do the same thing."

  With that, Viktora grinned wickedly and activated All is Darkness. They all went blind for half a second before the spell was dismissed and Viktora stood before them, back in her normal form. They all blinked a couple times, looked down at themselves, and realized they were as nude as everyone else, besides the smirking little vampire. Each of them looked around at each other, then jumped Viktora and ripped the cloak from her shoulders before drowning her in a sea of her lovers.

  By the time they had finished "making sure she was training her Seductress skill", meaning they'd all had a ride on the vamp, they decided she was going to need to train it every day. She didn't seem to mind that arrangement at all, as she couldn't wipe the dopey smile off her face when Shiloh finally finished her off after everyone was done.

  They cleaned up, and Shiloh offered her a set of his common clothing for her to wear, instead of the cloak she'd had for the st day and a half. He was the closest in size to her, and she gratefully accepted the tunic and pants. Once they broke down camp, they started heading down the tunnel once again, heading for the small city they had come to know as home.

  ***

  When they finally emerged from the mountains, Aphrodite's Apostles found themselves in the ruins of an abandoned mining camp. They briefly looked through the building to see if there was anything of use in the dipidated buildings and, finding nothing, they took their midday repast before leaving along a faint game trail.

  They weren't more than half an hour outside the old camp when all hell broke loose.

  Elnor was in front, leading them through the thinning forest of the foothills when a noose trap closed around her ankle and, with a yelp of surprise, she was hoisted into the air, upside down. As soon as the trap was sprung, there was a shout from somewhere nearby, though none of the Apostles saw anyone else around.

  "Now!"

  Suddenly, each member of their party was being assaulted by multiple attackers. The onsught sted for only a second before the enemies' invisibility wore off and Twil was able to establish Domain of Chronos. In that brief time, Viktora was knocked unconscious, Katerine's leg had a huge gash carved into it and her back was id open with another wound, and Shiloh was cut deeply thrice across his arms. Beck was unurt due to her high fortitude, Elnor had escaped the wrath of their unseen opponents since she was dangling in the air, Ara had her legs knocked out from under her, and Twil had a dagger thrust into her shoulder as well as two arrows sticking out of her right thigh.

  With their opponents frozen and visible, Katerine acted swiftly. She cast Overcharge, then Emancipation, doubled up by Reign of Ruin. The enemies were dealt nearly four hundred points of damage, and most of them dropped to the ground, not moving. The ones who remained standing were released from Domain of Chronos as soon as the spells went off, and they started screaming in agony, rolling around and trying to put the fmes out that Fiery Ruin had started. They were unable to do anything to the magical fire, and three more of them expired before the burning stopped.

  "We surrender!" One of the grievously-injured men called out, and they all threw their arms to the ground.

  Without risk of further injury, Shiloh looked around and saw that the seven remaining attackers were all wearing red gauntlets, the same as their dozens of dead compatriots. He heard a vague recollection of Ara mentioning the leader of Chattery, Viceroy Chambers, negotiating with a group of bandits north of the city. The Scarlet Hands.

  Trusting that his allies would take care of any who tried to unch a surprise attack, Shiloh worked through each of his allies, burning through mana and Lust to heal them until it looked like the attack had never happened, save for the damage done to their clothing. Only when he was finished and his girls were all back on their feet did he turn to the bandits, who Beck had herded into a crowd.

  Shiloh called out to their group at rge. "Who is your leader?"

  "Me." The same man who had called out their surrender said, stepping forward. "I am Garth Firebrand. If you consent to take us prisoner until reaching Chattery, we will not resist or take up arms against you."

  Shiloh considered the man for a moment. His eyes seemed honest, despite his lifestyle of attacking random people. Shiloh spoke without looking away from Garth. "Elnor."

  He felt and heard more than saw his lover move to his side. "Yes?"

  "Can we trust him to hold to his promise?"

  "They don't exactly have a lot of choices." Elnor commented, looking around at all the corpses. "Unless they have grown radically in numbers, it looks like we might have just eliminated the Scarlet Hands."

  "The elf speaks the truth." Garth replied evenly. "When negotiations began with the viceroy to establish our own colony, a wave of deserters formed their own cabal. Since then, we lost many Hands to the predators of the woods."

  "How many of them left the Scarlet Hands?" Shiloh asked.

  "As many as you see before you, and of lower level than we are. You would have no more to fear from them than you had to fear from us. I knew it was a bad idea to attack any group of such small numbers who could wander boldly through these forests, but we've been starving for weeks."

  Shiloh saw exactly what the man meant. The seven bandits left alive were all knocking on Death's door, and it wasn't just because of the enormous amount of punishment they'd just taken. Their skin was graying and seemed loose around their gaunt faces. Their muscles were still toned from living in the wilderness, but it seemed their bodies had already cannibalized every ounce of fat they possessed. Their cheeks were hollowed, eyes sunken in, and the two who had vests instead of shirts were dispying their ribs prominently.

  Shiloh's heart broke for the men. They had been starved, betrayed, and hunted. One of them in the back, a younger man than the rest, had tears forming in his eyes. The others looked despondent, defeated, and discouraged. Shiloh strongly suspected that most, if not all, of them would rather be in a cell right now with a moldy heel of bread than in this forest. He motioned for Garth to return to his men, and he did so without compint.

  Shiloh strode to the edge of the camp and knelt in the dirt of the forest floor. He closed his eyes and offered a prayer. Lady Nemesis, is it wrong for me to show them mercy? They have attacked, wounded, and attempted to kill my lovers. They have been forced into this situation when they wanted to live peaceably away from the grasp of the city.

  Shiloh waited there for an answer. There was nothing forthcoming, so he offered another prayer, this time to Aphrodite. He didn't exclude the other gods, but he was looking for an answer from his love. Aphrodite, I pray, I plead, for these men to understand the love I am about to show them. Open their eyes, soften their hearts, and allow them to experience the same gratitude for these blessings that I have been.

  With his prayers offered, he remained kneeling for another minute before standing and turning around. He was stunned to see not just his girls offering Servitium et Fidem, but the bandits as well. The only person not kneeling was Beck, as she watched over the bowed bandits in their little group. His hopes rose as he crossed over to them, and he motioned for them all to stand.

  "We will take you to Chattery. We will report to the city guard, and I will insist only that you be spared capital punishment. Whatever crimes they may convict you of, whatever sentence they pass down, will be of their own volition. I simply don't wish for you to be put to death on my account."

  The eyes of the men grew wider with each sentence, and the young man openly began weeping. He pushed past the others and knelt, prostrating himself before Shiloh and kissing the ground between the Cleric's feet. He rose with many watery thanks, and the others followed suit, though more controlled in their offerings. Shiloh smiled at each of them when they rose, and waited patiently for them to finish. He did not want them to worship him in this way, but he would not deny them the right to show their thanks. It was what he had prayed for, after all.

  When they had finished, Shiloh began burning Lust. With Fuel for the Fire, he was able to turn five Lust into one mana, so he could cast Fast Healing for seven hundred and fifty Lust, restoring three hundred HP with each cast. He used it twice on each of the seven men, completely healing all of the damage that Katerine had inflicted upon them when they'd foolishly attacked the avatar of Aphrodite and his followers. The relief each of the men showed when he targeted them with the spell made him think that they were about to start kissing the ground again, but they thankfully reined in those impulses.

  "While you travel with us, you will be under my protection as long as you do not raise arms against us." Shiloh intoned, commanding the attention of all present. "Should you choose to flee, Elnor?"

  He ended the precaution as a sentence, and his elven lover materialized her bow. She knocked an arrow from Iris' Quiver, and loosed it at a tree two hundred feet from their group. The arrow crackled with electric power as it zipped through the air. When it impacted the tree, there was a mighty cracking sound, and the tall pine fell, scorched marks where it had split.

  The bandits nodded solemnly, realizing that it wasn't just one powerhouse that they'd happened upon. Shiloh smiled grimly.

  "Gd we could come to an understanding. Is there anything left in this forest that you need to collect?"

  Garth shook his head. "We travel with everything in our inventories. We used to have traps, but when the drakes caught our scent, we weren't able to retrieve them."

  "Are the traps nearby?"

  "They are, but they have not been checked in a week. If anything was caught in them, it has surely been eaten by other predators by now."

  "Are the drakes still following you?" Shiloh was beginning to formute a pn to feed the men.

  "Yes. We have been able to keep a half day ahead of them, but they will be here before nightfall."

  "Very well. We will set up camp here." Shiloh decred, and his girls immediately got to work. "If you have tents, you should go ahead and set them up."

  Garth raised an eyebrow, but he and his men did as instructed. Elnor's dispy had obviously given them the impression that this group of adventurers was more than up to taking down a few frost drakes. While the rest of them were setting up camp or collecting deadwood for the fire, Twil approached Shiloh.

  "Are you going to let them keep their inventories?" She asked quietly.

  "Hmm? How would we take away what we cannot hold?" He replied, curious and amused.

  "With this." Twil produced something that looked like a key, except its head, which was significantly rger than the teeth, was a rge, clear crystal. "It is an Inspection Key. It allows you to see the items someone is carrying in their inventory."

  Shiloh mulled it over for a moment. "Can you examine them without letting them know you're doing it?" He whispered.

  "Of course. I have already checked all of them for cursed objects or anything that might pose a threat to us. Nothing they have is a danger." She informed him, gncing once at the men still setting up their tents.

  "Let them keep what is theirs." Shiloh decided. "Do they have rations, water, or anything to eat?"

  "Three of them each have a single waterskin. None of them having anything edible in their inventories."

  "I suspected as much. I hope they like drake meat." Shiloh grinned.