"Hey kid, you alive?" an abrasive voice woke Bell up. Dragging his eyes open, two women stood in front of him carrying torches. The first was an Amazon, her skin tan skill displayed beneath a dancer's outfit that hardly contained her assets. Long black hair glistened in the torch light. The second wore a cloak that hid everything.
"Yeah," Bell coughed. His throat felt like it was coated in dirt. Joints popping and muscles groaning, he forced himself to his feet. The movement was irritating the torn skin. He winced the sensation feeling similar to a terrible sunburn.
"You look like you went a round with Phyrne!" The amazon laughed.
"Aisha, that's not funny!" A feminine voice said as the cloaked figure pushed the Amazon. "Please forgive her. She has a terrible sense of humor," the figure said, bowing.
"My sense of humor is just fine," Aisha growled. "But this is the first time you have seen a man's chest without fainting! That calls for a celebration!"
Bell blushed, looking down at his chest. His breastplate covered him from the nipples down. Why would anyone faint at seeing a man's chest, he thought.
"You," Aisha pointed at Bell. "What's your name?"
"Bell, Bell Cranel,"
"Well, Bell Cranel, I am Aisha and this," the cloaked figure jumped and let out a yip as Aisha's hand came down on her backside. "Is Haruhime. In celebration of my little fox not fainting, allow me to buy you a drink."
"Is that really such a big deal?" Bell asked, glancing between the two women.
"It is in our line of work," Aisha replied with a wink.
"Aisha, I think he needs a healing potion," Haruhime stated. Aisha nodded, pulling a vial out of her bra and tossing it to Bell. Bell's face went crimson as he held the warm bottle.
"You're supposed to drink it," Aisha said with a huge smirk plastered across her face. He chugged the potion. His palms and chest tingled, demanding to be itched as the skin regrew.
"Let's go. Drinks await!" Aisha said, walking down the path to Riveria. Did normal women walk with as much sway in their hips as Aisha?
They made good time across the valley. Arriving in Riveria, they passed by closed-up shops before entering the town proper. Ryuu had always ensured they were out of town by nightfall, and now he was discovering why. Torches flickered across the main street, but nobody else moved under the light. Instead, figures scurried like rats avoiding the pools of light. In the darkness, people engaged in all sorts of activities. Many were drinking, some in various states of undress, others were fighting, and some well, the grunting and whimpering left no doubt about their actions.
The inn appeared at the end of the street, its sign hanging half off the building. Inside, the smell of mold, sweat, and spilled drinks assaulted Bell's nose. Against the back wall, several booths lay empty. Tables stood on wobbly legs, and the chairs were all of different heights. Following Aisha to one of the booths, he somehow got sandwiched between the two ladies. Haruhime pulled her cloak off, revealing long flowing blonde hair and a delicate face. Two fluffy ears the same color as her hair perched on top of her head.
"Drink up, you little fox! It's a big day!" Aisha said, wine sloshing on the table as she pushed mugs in front of everyone. "So Bell, what makes you so special?"
"What?" Bell asked, the wine burning his throat.
"Haruhime has never seen a man show any skin," Aisha replied, stretching her arms. "She always faints first."
He turned to stare at the blonde girl. Her face was buried in the mug, but her ears twitched madly. When she finally put the cup down, it was bone dry. Her face was a bright red, her hands twitching nervously in her lap.
"I don't understand," He replied slowly, taking another big drink from his mug.
"Never mind, though maybe we should see if Haruhime can return the favor after all you showed her yours," Aisha said, chuckling. Bell sputtered into his drink. Next to him, the Renard hid her face in her hands. "What happened to you anyway? I haven't seen wounds like that before."
"I fell down a fissure," he replied.
"You just stumbled down a fissure?" Aisha asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No, I helped some elves fight off an abnormal Minotaur. But one of them was injured and was in a side cave. I had to touch him to regrow his arm, and then I fell down a fissure," Bell answered. Did he already finish his drink? This stuff was delicious! No wonder Mia went through so many bottles of wine.
"You're a hero!" Haruhime slurred, swaying in her seat. She was quite the lightweight, apparently.
"Regrew his arm," Aisha repeated slowly, her eyes narrowing at him. "Haruhime, can you get us another round of drinks?"
The Renard made her way to the bar knocking over several chairs and tables on her journey. She struggled on her return trip, a tray loaded with mugs over her shoulder. The tray swayed with her until a small river of wine poured from the tray with every step.
"Oops," Aisha knocked her mug off the table towards Haruhime. Haruhime slipped on the mug, the full mugs flying off the tray and drenching both Bell and Aisha.
"I'm so sorry, here I can help" Haruhime dropped the tray to the floor with a clatter and lurched forward, pulling her cloak off as she moved. Her knees hit the edge of the bench, and she tumbled down, landing half on top of him. Her green eyes were inches from his own as they lay across the bench.
"Get a room," Aisha laughed before getting up. "I'm going to get us an actual round," Haruhime sat up, pulling Bell's head into her lap.
"Did you really save those elves from a Minotaur?" Haruhime asked him, bundling her cloak up, the course cloth wiping the wine off his face before moving to his head. Her hands focused on his hair, his head gently swaying with each push of her hands. He sighed, his muscles relaxing into the gentle ministrations.
"I did,"
"Why?"
"Because I had to save them," he replied, pulling the cloth off his head. Haruhime was staring, her green eyes glistening.
"Would you save -" she was cut off as Aisha slammed three mugs onto the table.
"All right, bottoms up, and I mean the mugs, not her!" Aisha said, pointing at Haruhime before draining her mug in one swoop. Bell followed her lead. When he emptied the cup, he felt thirstier than before. The wine was much sweeter this time.
The drinks kept coming. Several others walked into the bar, each wearing the same cloak as Haruhime. They made a line for their table but veered off when Aisha sent them a glare. Picking a table halfway between Bell's group and the door, they removed their cloaks. They were all Amazons. They quickly got drinks before bursting into a conversation, laughs drifting across the room.
Aisha slipped him another mug before getting him to repeat the entire minotaur story. Haruhime clapped several times as he embellished the fight.
"So that healing, what exactly is it a developmental ability or a spell?" Aisha asked.
"I don't know. Maybe it's an ability since there is no chant," Bell slurred. Next to him, Haruhime slumped her eyes, closing her head resting on his shoulder. The smell of Lily's coming from her a welcome respite from the bar air.
"Say have me met before," Aisha's words were not slurred at all. Had Bell looked, her mug was full of water. "It would have been two years ago, give or take."
Bell's face scrunched up thoughts kept slipping from his brain. "I only met one Amazon before yesterday. She was in the dungeon on the third floor. Was that you?"
"Yes, and you were with an elf, correct?"
He meant to nod his head, but somehow his head landed on the table instead. A hand gently pulled him up and against the Amazon. The Renard was now lying across his lap, her head on Aisha's lap. Very unfeminine snores emanated from her.
"Phryne, can I help you?" Aisha asked.
"I need a man," the deepest, most manly voice Bell had ever heard responded. Opening his eyes, he recoiled, pushing further into the Amazon's warm side. A talking toad stood at the end of the bar. Its eyes were the size of softballs, and her mouth stretched from one side of her face to the other. Layers of fat jiggled from her chins when she spoke.
"Well, then I suggest you go out and find one," Aisha shot back, her arm wrapped around Bell's shoulders.
"Hand him over, Aisha," Phryne struck a pose, one leg on the table, fat undulating back and forth on her leg. "He deserves to spend the night with a real woman."
"I doubt he could even get it up," Aisha chuckled. Get what up, Bell thought. "Even if he could, he is going right to Ishtar. He is the one we have been looking for."
"You have been looking for me?" He slurred, trying to focus on Aisha as the room spun.
"Hmm, once we get to the surface, I'm having Rabbit," Phryne said, licking her lips. How did any human have a tongue that long?
"We have. My goddess Ishtar would like to thank you for saving my life," Aisha answered softly. "Let's get you two to bed. Can you walk? We have a camp about halfway down the valley."
"I feel great," Bell said, following behind Aisha as she stood up, Haruhime tossed over her shoulder like a flour sack. Why did all this furniture keep getting in his way? The sound of giggles all around as he fell over another chair. Finally, they made it out of the inn. The other Amazons formed a loose half circle behind them, all of them now wearing their cloaks as they made their way out of town.
Every tree branch and root seemed to have a vendetta against him. He struggled to keep track of the torch in front of him as it vanished behind pillars of blackness. Trees, his drunk mind supplied. The earth disappeared beneath him as a large sweaty hand wrapped around his mouth.
"Not a sound," Phyrne's voice said, cold metal pressing against his neck. A shiver wracked his body. The appendage wrapped around his mouth smelled like cheese left in the sun for three days. He gagged, not breathing as the horrid stench burned his nostrils. The sounds of crunching branches and whispered voices moving further and further away.
The metal was removed from his neck, and air poured into his lungs as he prepared to scream. The scent of Phyrne's body odor caused his abs to tighten and his stomach to heave. Acid and wine exploded out of his mouth, covering his captor's hand before dripping down his chest.
"What the hell," Phyrne said, pushing him into a clearing in the forest. The light from the overhead crystal illuminated the glade in a soft, gentle glow. Bell grabbed the canteen off his belt, swishing the water in his mouth. A hand smacked his cheek, and the water ejected from his mouth.
"I'm going to show you what a real woman can do," Phyrne said, licking her lips. She grabbed him by the neck, his feet dangling off the ground. His chest plate fell with a muffled thump. The cold metal moved down his side. The cool air now harassed his bare chest as his tattered shirt fell away.
Her hand grabbed at his belt buckle. He flailed, kicking his feet. They hit solid muscle under her layer of fat as he struggled to breathe. "I love it when they struggle," she said, her hot breath washing over his face. He thrashed even harder. His strangled gurgles made her grin even larger. "Here, this should help get you in the mood!"
She pulled out a red vial. "Open wide," her eyes twinkled. Bell clenched his jaws. She pinched his nose shut. His lungs began to burn, and his fingers were going numb. His jaw opened, desperate for air. "Bottoms up!" she shoved the potion into his mouth, the sweet liquid tingling down his throat.
"Bell Cranel!" A male voice spoke from behind him.
"Another man looking to see my hot body, I normally charge to watch, but if you want to join in, I am sure I could be persuaded," Phryne stared at a figure behind him fluttering her eyebrows.
"You dare talk to the captain like that! I'm going to rip your head off!"
Bell coughed as the pressure on his neck vanished as Phyrne threw him to the grass. The ring of metal on metal filled his ears. Tione and a Plum chased Phyrne around the clearing. Yelling filled the air as more amazons began pouring into the clearing. The sound of battle attracting more members of Tione's familia.
Bell stumbled to the edge of the clearing avoiding the mass of fighting bodies. Looking behind him, twice as many Amazons were in the clearing as members of the other familia. The Amazons paired up as they attacked the new familia. Phryne being the only exception, he watched as Tione and the Plum each landed on strike on the toad's stomach, propelling her out of the clearing.
"We need to get out of here," Aisha appeared next to him, her sword in her hand.
"Get away from me!" he swung. His fist connected with Aisha's chin, a loud crack as one of his knuckles popped. Aisha rubbed her jaw, her eyes narrowing. She leaped forward, her hand gripping him like a vice pulling him behind her.
"Let Bell go!" Tiona yelled, jumping straight at Aisha from the fray in front of them. The arm released him as Aisha engaged Tiona. Phryne rushed back into the clearing, bowling several adventurous of both familia's over like bowling pins. Her large eyes zeroed in on him. Bell ran as fast as his legs could go. His lungs were screaming, his legs burning. But he kept running. Cuts collected on his face and hands as his alcohol-slowed brain failed to give his limbs directions in time.
"I got you," Ryuu's voice tickled his ear as arms encircled him, pulling him to a stop.
"Ryu-"a hand covered his mouth. The smell of dish soap filled his nose. He wrapped his arms around the elf, shoving his face into her stomach. "I need you to be very quiet Bell. There are more of them around us," she said, slowly stroking his hair. He nodded into her stomach.
He stumbled behind the elf as graceful as a bull in a china shop. The elf, clearly having enough after he fell for the fifth time, motioning him to jump onto her back. Wrapping his arms around her, he rested his head on her shoulder. The rhythmic pounding of her heart, the smell of home, and the wine lulled him to sleep.
Ryuu ran, Bell unconscious over her shoulder. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of his breath. Wine and a lot of it were likely the reason for the vomit on his chest and his stupor. But underneath it, a cloying sweetness to his breathing smelled wrong. I know that smell but from where Ryuu thought.
She made it to the fifth floor before she heard the rushing wind behind her. A tornado of blonde hair landed in front of her, and the girl pulled a rapier from her belt as she blocked their exit. Aiz's head cocking to the side as she stared at the boy on her back.
"Who are you," Aiz asked.
Ryuu ensured her cloak and hood were carefully secured before drawing her weapon. Why is Bell's dagger poking me?
"Nobody," Ryuu replied. Her ears twitched at pounding feet coming from behind the blonde.
"Where are you taking Bell?"
"I am taking him home," Ryuu replied. I hope it's Ishtar familia and not Loki that's coming.
"Get them!" Amazons appeared from the direction of the surface, surging forward in a tidal wave of bodies. They are so close they won't even be able to swing at us without hurting each other, Ryuu thought. Aiz spun around, forced to meet the mass of adventurous. Each time she swung, one of the Amazon's was sent sailing through the air. She was a one women wall. The Amazons forced to face Aiz first or risk being caught between Aiz and Ryuu.
Ryuu backtracked even with Aiz being a tier one adventurer; it would still take her time to defeat the amazons. Ryuu made it out of the dungeon and to the hostess without seeing another soul. Slipping in through the back door, Syr was waiting for them, her foot tapping on the ground, looking for all the world like an angry parent.
"What took you so long," Syr asked, following Ryuu up the stairs.
"Ran into both Loki and Ishtar familia. They were not happy to see each other or me," Ryuu said, gently putting Bell down in his bed.
"Oh, but it looks like Bell must have been VERY happy to see you," Syr giggled. Both of their eyes glued to a specific part of Bell's anatomy. Ryuu's sucked in air, her stomach summersaults.
"Smell his breath," Ryuu grabbed the other waitress pushing Syr's head down until her nose was almost inside Bell's open mouth.
"A lust potion," Syr said slowly. "Well, that explains that, but don't worry, Ryuu. I'm sure you could get that reaction from Bell too!" Syr giggled, dragging the elf out of the room. "Sweet dreams Bell!"
"How did Bell ingest a love potion," Syr asked, following Ryuu into Ryuu's room.
"I'm not sure I arrived after it happened. One of the Amazons, she was the one from two years ago. I think she is the one that got Bell drunk," Ryuu spoke from her bathroom. "She seemed intent on getting Bell. It is fortuitous Tiona her grab him, or it may have been much worse."
Syr nodded, her silver eyes glazing over before she left the room. I can't believe I thought that was a dagger, Ryuu thought, collapsing onto her bed.
Ishtar looked down from her throne. The wine swirled in her glass, the soft aroma of flowers releasing from it. Her children were lying on the plush carpet of her throne room, many of them covered in bruises.,
"So you lost Bell?" Ishtar asked. When none of her children could meet her eyes, she shook her head. "How did you lose an adventurer, a boy no less! Do I need to retrain you all in the art of seduction?"
"My goddess," Aisha spoke with a lisp, her bottom lip swollen. "We were taking him back to our camp. He was too drunk to escape and seemed very comfortable with Haruhime and me, but Phryne grabbed him before we got to camp."
Ishtar frowned. Where was that toad?
"So Phryne took him for a spin. That does not explain how he escaped."
"Phryne took him to a clearing without notifying us. Loki Familia snuck up on her and attacked. The sword princess and Aiz took off after him. We believed she brought him to the surface. It wasn't until we reached the party you sent down to support us that we found out Aiz was covering his escape. The sword princess held off our surface party while another member of her familia returned him to the surface."
The glass shattered, embedding itself in her palms. Loki Familia he was was a part of fucking Loki Familia! How in the deeps would she get him now!
"We did manage to follow several members of Loki Familia. Most of them returned to Twilight Manor. But several have taken up positions across from the Hostess of Fertility. When he was drinking, he mentioned that he was working there," Aisha said.
"Fix this," Ishtar started at Aisha's visible eye. "Whatever it takes but get Bell Cranel to me."
Loki sat on the circular table. Her executives surrounded her, several nursing bruises and all with large bags under their eyes.
"Ishtar familia," Tione said. "I wouldn't have guessed she had gotten her claws into him. Why does she allow him to stay at the hostess?"
"I don't think he belongs to Ishtar," Finn replied. Tione immediately began to nod her head in agreement with him. If you don't grow a spine, he isn't ever going to fall for you, Loki thought. "He was drunk, and what Phryne was doing certainly didn't look like something Bell wanted."
"This whole thing stinks," Loki said. "Someone charmed us, gods, my brothers and sisters aren't stupid. We would have found wine boy long before now. I sponsored his release and didn't put it together. Ishtar is one of only two goddesses with the power to charm gods." She left unspoken the other.
"Then what do we do?" Riveria spoke quietly. "Even if we did know which familia he was in, it certainly isn't like he will embrace us. Alicia and Kelroy have ensured that."
"If he is with Ishtar, then Phryne likely did more damage than our two elves," Loki replied. "Freya may be involved, but she likes to show off her toys. I find it more likely this was an inter familia spat. They likely were trying to protect him from us."
"He was trying to run from the Amazons as well, and he said he was a member of Hestia Familia," Tiona said. Aiz nodded from her seat before adding, "It wasn't Ishtar familia that carried him out of the dungeon. It was an elf."
"He isn't part of Hestia Familia. His Falna is sealed," Loki replied with a deep exhale. "Well, at least we know where they took him. Keep an eye on the hostess. If he is a member of Ishtar, they will likely send someone to check on him."
Then we challenge those hoes to a war-game