[ - Author's Note - ]
Well the response to the last chapter was... Interesting. I hadn't expected so much of the response to be negative. Really, it was meant to be just a fun chapter before the plot picked back up once more. Still, I do thank those that explained what they didn't like and why, it does help me get what people think of it.
The chapter wasn't meant to invoke NTR vibes, although I can see the reason why people would think that. Rest assured, I'm not a fan of NTR myself, and I don't plan on cucking my own main character. Part of the point of the chapter was they have their own wants and agency; they are more then sources of XP and pleasure for James. They all have their own wants, desires and considerations that don't involve James. While he is the main character I do not want him to become a Gary Stu around which everything and every character revolves around like a black hole.
I do understand what upset people about it, and I will keep it in mind in the future. Again, do not be afraid to comment on what you do and do not like. I'm a big boy, I can take some honest criticism.
As for this chapter I had intended to get further, but the chapter length was getting away from me again, at over fourteen and a half thousand words. That's fine; I can expand on it next chapter then.
Well, we'll be off to Ur in this chapter. And at the end I'll post the poll results.
Let us begin!
[ - Act I - Chapter X: A Royal Ur Example - ]
Once Merlin got settled back in we got back to work. Among the first things on the to-do list was finally putting the screws to Mandeville.
I was at a loss as to how exactly to do that, but my old man wasn't. He had a contact in Balanar who was a rival to Mandeville and a 'AboReformist', which referred to a Slavery Abolitionist who presented themselves as a Slavery Reformist as a means of getting rid of slavery. My father wrote a letter explaining what had occurred in Mungale during the old fart's 'visit', what he intended to do and how many men he lost and he put a hard emphasis on how many men Mandeville lost. In fact a full two paragraphs were written about the amount of men that were killed in his attempt, referring to it as 'wasteful', 'reckless' and even 'careless'. I hadn't understood why right away but then it hit me.
My father's contact would start spreading (Mostly true) rumors about what had occurred in Mungale and would spread the tale to the working, adventuring and solider classes with a focus on the losses Mandeville suffered. After all, Mandeville would need to replenish his lost manpower and would need to either hire seasoned adventurer's, retired and honorably discharged soldiers, or he would be forced to hire working class people and have to train them up from scratch. And all of the above did not grow on trees. Moreover all of them had options for work beyond just him. And when weighing choices of employers who did you want to work for?
Did you want to work for a man willing to get fifty people killed in an effort to kill a single, lone, escaped slave that got away five years ago?
There in lay the simple brilliance in his plan; he didn't need to convince some noble, royal or other person of note to do anything direct and just convince someone to spread rumors to discredit a man that he already wanted to discredit. It was very clever and I wish I had thought of it. Honestly, the old fart deserved that and more, but for now it would stall any attempts to recover his numbers in at least the short term and maybe even have some of his men walk out on him. The side effect of this was he wouldn't be able to bother us for quite some time.
Nice.
Meanwhile, Mother had examined the ice cream maker, turned it over, looked over the basic recipe and got to work. She got the idea of making multiple types of berry flavored ice creams and putting scoops into the same bowl and then making a single berry flavor mix of blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and elvenberries; a type of berry local to this part of the world that looked like tiny, gold colored jalapenos that had a sweet, honey sort of flavor with the slightest hint of a citrus tang. They were popular with elves who farmed the things like it was going out of style. Saxon's Berry Bonanza as it was now called was becoming the most popular flavor and was perfected by Regina. Regina had become the maid most interested in the maker and ice cream.
Regina had the idea of adding ice cream onto waffles like whipped cream and, on a whim, rolled the waffle around it, making a primitive ice cream cone. She's since modified a waffle mix to crate a more rigid waffle to wrap about the scoops of ice cream without things flopping about. She found she couldn't really wrap it as it was too brittle now, but she tried to cook the mix between two metal bowls to create an edible bowl. Last I heard she was trying to work out some sort of cone mold for her waffle mix, which she was still tweaking.
I'd also gone back to the guild along with my usual party, now with Tiffany in tow. We've been back doing jobs once more and it was good to get some XP flowing once more. She was indeed a boon to have around; her summons were now the point of our spear and let us engage our usual prey, goblins, with greater ease and safety although her healing skills had yet to be put to the real test. She was a bit, umm, bold still, but we all had our quirks.
The one downside of this was a few of the guys were getting visibly jealous of me having yet another hot girl tagging around with me; Rowdy's gang in particular. The Rowdy Boys were, supposedly, busy over the last week with a large job patrolling the northwest of Mungale for bandits and aberrant. Even if most of them looked like bandits themselves. Whatever. They weren't going to stir shit up at the guild; they could only get away with so much with Kara there.
Speaking of the guild, that brings us to what I was doing right now. I was kneeling on the roof of the Guild Building attaching a magically made device I created. It was mostly made of brass with a large, inverted V shaped bracket that secured to the roof. Four little arms came up from it to hold up a brass ring in which in turn secured a blue spell orb with a brass ring at it's top connected to the bottom ring with four straps of brass. The orb in question was roughly the size of a volleyball, smooth and over all looked like a large, blue piece of solid glass.
When making magical devices, weapons or such the preference was to use spell stones; a naturally formed mineral made of what seemed to be a type of smooth quartz that ranged from common to semi-common depending on where you were. The bulk of spell stones mined were small; half the size of a coin to a little larger then a coin were the common sizes. Something the size of a golf ball was rather rare and expensive to buy. Once you got to something baseball sized, well, you could buy a lot with what you'd sell it for. Like most of a castle.
The issue is when you needed a spell stone for your magical item but needed something larger then a coin the price went up. Like way up. I needed a spell stone the size of a large marble or an inch and a half. The cost of that would be around two hundred gold. Oh, and that's for a low quality spell stone of that size.
Spell orbs were the cheap solution as you got an equivalent amount of magical power for a fraction of the price. Spell orbs were magically made from sand that was, through heat and magic, fused into glass and imbued with magic using a specific spell. You could also skip the making glass step and infuse glass. The total power varied on the caster, quality of the glass and some other minor factors. However the total power was always lesser then spell stone. This volleyball sized spell orb was slightly more powerful then a spell stone of the size of a large marble but cost me fifteen gold.
Spell orbs were also a lot more fragile then spell stone (It was like comparing titanium to... Well, glass) so they were horrible for adding to weapons or armor. They could be used for parts of a castle or other defensive structures to add effects, reinforce the walls and so on but would have to be tucked behind the aforementioned walls. For the most part they were used for household things. Even so they were cheap when compared to spell stones of likewise power, but were still out of the price range of anyone outside of the upper classes. The middle classes might be able to afford an item or two at most, but that would be it.
Once I finished securing the device I used Levitation to fly off the roof and hover down to the ground. Kara and Miria had been waiting there, watching me as I worked. I sighed as I landed as I gave my sister a nod who pulled out a brass slab from her pocket. "Call Merlin." She let off to the device.
I talked to dad as he returned to Mungale fairly often. As it turned out the tinny quality wasn't a mistake of my own when making it; it cleared up as he got closer. I was surprised as I expected to make a mistake when making the device and the tinny quality was something I thought would need to be fixed. Turns out I didn't make a mistake in making it, I just didn't consider how much distance would effect the quality. Which was a mistake in and of itself. That was fine, as this new device would do two things; the first is it would act as a signal repeater for the communication devices and give them more range. Well, if we got more up we'd have more range then before; this would be a slow process I'm sure. As it was now the range would be boosted, but only by so much.
Miria's device gave a soft pinging sound as the one held by our father gave it's own pinging sound to alert him to the incoming call. I modified the device to accept voice commands so one didn't need magic to use it; Call coupled with a name to call someone, Answer to answer an incoming call, Com End to end a call, Zoom In and Zoom Out to adjust the view of the other person... I gave one to Miria, another to our mother, one to Riri and one to Ur'Akara. Sora and Gragory got one each as well. None could use arcane magic so all were great to test the vocal commands. I could then take their feedback and make adjustments to improve things.
It took three pings before my father's face showed up in a small ball, projected by Miria's communicator. I needed a better name for these things... "Hey dad, James has it all set up." She spoke to the device.
"Wonderful!" He said with a smile and nod. "Well then, let's see if it lives up to my son's expectations." He said before the device cut out. We all then turned to look up at the roof.
On his end I knew what my father was doing; calling the device I had just set up with his communicator. Soon the orb on the roof glowed brightly before shooting up a beam of light skywards almost thirty feet over the guild building. I noticed people in the street pausing to look as the beam spread out and formed a large ball over it. At over fifty feet tall and wide the sphere would be seen far and wide; helped by the guild's central location in town. A moment later my father's face could be seen in the ball.
Yes, I had made a public address system. My father would be able to see around the town from the point of view of the ball in the sky while active. He looked down to us and I gave him a thumbs up. No matter the angle one looked at they'd see the face from the same angle; a part of the built in illusion spell. "Greetings, people of Argon City!" He spoke out, voice echoing a bit loudly but otherwise as I expected. I gave another thumbs up to let him know his voice was clear as he rose his face up to look out to the people. "I am sure this is a surprise, however I can explain, there is no reason to worry my good people. Thanks to the efforts of my son we have been blessed with this means of quickly and without pause addressing the public citizens of the city."
People around us murmured as they looked up at the sight. Some were confused, some were in awe. Many were pointing up at the face of my father smiling down at them as he kept speaking. "With this we will have a way to quickly warn the people of possible dangers, share important news or changes and spread information across the city. Please, be well and go on with your day!"
The face over the town vanished and I sighed. "Whew. Went off without a hitch..." I let off with a smile. A few of the people were looking to me now, some pointing and whispering, most looking impressed. I turned to Kara with a soft grin. "Thanks for letting us set it up on the guild roof, Kara."
"My pleasure. I'm sure the guild will be interested in your devices as well." She said, smiling back to me with a nod. "It will be nice to be able to share information at a speed faster then carrier pigeon." She said, giggling softly. Yes, carrier pigeons were the fastest, non-magical way of sending letters. There was a magical means to send letters as well, but it wasn't instant either and could also be intercepted.
"I've a bit of work before it's really ready to pass around, but we're getting there. In the meantime we should get home and check in." I told her with a nod. Miria agreed and with a wave of goodbye we left and turned to head home.
[-]
Outside of Argon City
On The Road Towards The Kingdom of Feoh
A carriage had stopped upon the top of the small hill; three of it's occupants having stepped out to view the sight of a giant head appearing over the city and addressing the people. Around them was a large escort of some twenty strong men on horseback. Two other carriages had stopped as well, each with it's own occupants; aides and attendants to the three watching on, themselves watching the spectacle from the windows of their horse-drawn transports. Two of the onlookers were women and one a man. The woman in front, the lone elf of the group spoke first, turning to the lone male. "What make you of this?"
"I am not fully sure. Illusion magic of a sort, clearly. But repurposed to a means to speak to the general public, I think. Hmm."
"I can say I've not seen anything like it, save for those recording devices some nobles use." The other woman spoke, humming. "But even so, this is clearly different then a recording." The first looked on with a calm, relaxed gaze before speaking to her companions.
"We will now make for Noxdecus Manor. I would ask Baron Merlin what it is he has made."
[-]
It didn't take us long to get home, laughing a bit along the way. We were excited and I was thinking of all the possibilities this had unlocked. I knew I was sent to save this world from something. What I didn't know yet, but whatever it was I'd need back up. And depending on what that something was that back up would be in the form of an army. And an army functioned a hell of a lot better when it could communicate quickly. The ability to send messages far and wide instantly would be a boon once things started to hit the fan. It would take time to spread this out a bit, but once it did we'd have a big advantage.
Father met us outside of the manor's door and smiled to us and asked us about the people's reactions and what they seemed to think. It seemed mostly positive and given how far away his face could be seen we knew it would let him rally people in a damn hurry if need be. My main focus was going to be adapting it for more non-magical people to use. After that, spreading it's use. I had one good, obvious way of doing that coming up; Prim.
Her birthday was due in five days now. We would leave tomorrow and, with luck, arrive the following morning. Mungale bordered Ur, so it wasn't a long distance to travel. Actually, it also bordered Feoh for that manner, and Alicia would be at the party for Prim's birthday so that was two Shield Princesses I knew who would back up my idea, Alicia in particular would see the applications. And through them I could reach a lot of the right people, maybe even the High Queen herself.
Or the wrong ones. I had to be a little careful still. We were about to head inside when a guard at the top of the keep shouted down to us. "Sire! A small convoy is coming towards the manor!" The man called down to us.
"Indeed!?" My father called back, craning his neck to look upwards to the guard in question. "Who is coming here!?" I shared a nervous look with Miria. Last time we had a convoy come by it was Mandeville. I knew he was in no position to cause us issues now, but it still triggered my nerves a bit.
"The carriage... It bears the seal of the High Queen! Celestine Lucross!" The guard called down as we all stiffened in shock. Speak of the devil...
"Th-the High Queen!?" My father was rarely at a loss for words, but now seemed to be an exception to that rule. Not that I could blame him; what warrants an unannounced visit to a (I hate to admit it) middling barony? It didn't take long for the carriage, one that made ours look cheap in comparison, pull into the manor grounds, it's escort parking directly outside save for two guards on horse back; both women in black stockings and arm length gloves with plate armor over their legs, the forearms, square shoulder pauldrons, a claw shaped set of gold colored bottoms that grabbed their groins from behind and two matching extensions coming from behind them to cover the nipples of their breasts. Clearly Mana Armor, more specifically that of the Dawn Templars.
The two guards would stop some distance ahead of the carriage which parked before us; colored white, trimmed with gold with a selection of spell stones set into it as both decoration and likely defense and a sigil on the side of the door; said sigil was a pale, gold floral circle with eight sky blue flowers set in the pattern and a trio of pale gold dots between each flower, the pattern in a line pointing towards the center. On a white background in the circle was a pair of green wreaths framed a blue, multi pointed star; sixteen points in all with the four aimed at diagonals a little larger then the others with a pair of yellow lines in them and the ones pointing vertical and horizontal a bit larger then that with a circle in the center with split prongs going down the points. A yellow ring with blue on each side of it sat under the four largest points but just shy of touching the smaller diagonal points.
The now halted carriage's door opened and three people started to step out; the first being one I knew directly. He was a man who stood at five foot nine in baggy yellow pants that had the bottoms tucked into tall, almost knee high, brown boots, a baggy green tunic with a red vest over it with extensions hanging down over the thighs. A tan colored Jacob's collar about the neck and a rolled up, white cloth with red ties near the ends draped over the neck and a brown beret on the head over gray hair. At his side was a black, leather pouch carrying a large spell book. A somewhat long looking face was framed with a set of glasses over gentle brown eyes and a small, well groomed mustache over the lip.
(-)
Name: Klaus Curtis
Title: Man of Learning
Class: Scholar
Level: 22
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 71
Status: Healthy, Curious, Calm
Known Traits
[Walk Softly] Your steps are naturally light and soft; increase Stealth by 5%. Decrease the odds of being the target of an attack over allies by 10%
[?]
[Tap For Mana] You know how to use magic to it's fullest. All magic costs 5% less mana.
[Doctor Feelgood] Your knowledge of the human body bolsters the effects of your spells; +20% Mag when using healing spells. +10% Mag when using attacking spells.
Born to legendary knight, Grave Levantine, Klaus found himself with no natural talent for martial combat. Instead he pursued the disciplines of learning, magic and healing; much to the disapproval of his father who wanted a son who could wield the sword like he did. So much so that Klaus was forced to take his mother's surname, despite his own wishes, even after marrying the woman Grave would adopt as a daughter. Despite this his knowledge, healing prowess and kind nature have made him invaluable to his friends and allies.
(-)
The second was a woman in mana armor. It was somewhat like those of the Dawn Templar guards but clearly of higher quality. The armor over the calves were rather form fitting with gold trimmed knee pads and a vertical, dark silver, raised bar over the thighs. The back of the forearm bracers had gold trimming and an armored piece of the back of the hands. The pauldrons were heavier and larger and trimmed with a dark, silver color. A metal, gold trimmed collar was around the neck and a headpiece featured a gold part over the forehead and a steel colored bit framing the face. Two extensions dropped down over the nipples of her breasts rather then from behind like the Templars, and rather then a claw like sort of bottoms there was a metal band that reached around her hips, but didn't meet in the front with gold colored panels hanging off it. The only thing covering her sex was a tiny, and I do mean tiny white g-string that was a set of strings holding a small length of cloth to her sex that matched the, slightly baggy, sleeves over her arms that connected over her shoulders; like a shirt cut off over the chest.
The woman herself was a little shy of five-nine, about the same height as the man and had a heavy broad sword at her left hip in a sheathe. She stood proudly, a set of large F-Cup breasts on all but full display. Her face was mature, kind but had a commanding look to it; the only blemish was a small mole under the back of the left eye that only added to her appeal. Her hair was light brown and tied back in a tight bun behind her head. Like the man, I knew her as well.
(-)
Name: Claudia Levantine
Title: Wise Shield Princess of Geofu
Class: Crusader
Level: 44
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 67
Status: Healthy, Calm, Observant
Romance Rating: 79
Corruption Rating: 3
Known Traits
[Loyal Wife] You are loyal to your husband; naught but force, coercion or widowing will make you cheat. All Romance Values for people not your husband is treated as 0, no matter the situation
[Defender of the Weak] When defending anyone of a lower level your abilities increase. +15% to Con, Str, End & Agi when protecting allies at least ten levels lower.
[?]
[Mother to her (Wo)Men] You inspire others under you to greater heights. +10% all stats to all allies you are leading who are a lower level then your own.
[?]
Orphaned at the age of two she would grow up and join the militia in Geofu at the age of thirteen to be of service; to help others not become orphans themselves. During one training session the legendary Grave Levantine was on inspection of the militia and took note of her. Seeing potential he decided to train her himself and by the end of the year adopted her into the family, giving her his family name. She would join and rise up the ranks of the Dawn Templars before finally becoming it's commander as Grave finally retired.
(-)
The pair stood to frame the door on either side before the final figure stepped out and I gulped deeply. Holy Jesus fucking Christ shit. I saw her once, back before I was sent to this world, before I was asked to make my new... Body,in that little 'intro cut scene' thing had her there but it didn't do justice to the real thing. It helped that I was becoming resistant to the half nudity of all the women, but it didn't help with her.
She was a tall woman, standing at five foot ten. Her figure was hourglass with a set of breasts that were much larger then Double D. H to J Cup I would say off hand. Her body also boasted wide hips and a modest waist, adding to that hourglass figure. Her hair looked like spun gold and was long enough to brush her ankles and heels. Bright, emerald eyes looked over us set into a calm, serene face framed with two long bangs over pointed, elven ears framing her visage. Over her forehead was a gold circlet shaped like a wreath with an actual, green wreathe set to the top of her head.
Her neck had a golden choker around it that had a small bit of cloth attached to it. At it's bottom at her collarbone was a gold ring holding up two pieces of cloth that cupped her breasts, connected to each other by another ring under the breasts and wrapping about the back to connect there as well. From each side of her from behind two lengths of cloth fell out, one resting over the front of the arm of that side, one wrapping about the leg once about the thigh. Despite how impossible it was for it to naturally be like that they clung to her body, likely by magic. From the ring under her breasts was also attacked a black, leather strap that fell down and attached to a gold pendant just over her knees; eye shaped with a blue spell stone in it's center and two smaller ones on either side of it with a small, fan of gold spread under it; it was the only thing covering her sex as she was obviously not wearing panties of any kind. Unless she hid a C-String under there.
On each foot was a set of sandals that held no heel to them. A trio of gold bracelets were on each arm, a gold band over each bicep and an earring of fine gold chain hanging off the left ear at two points. She offered a soft smile and I felt a soft blush hit my cheeks and a soft tightness in my pants. Hell, I glanced at Miria and I could see her blush as well with her nipples perking up under her clothing.
I think if you aren't sexually attracted to this woman at least a bit then you are dead. There is no other explanation.
(-)
Name: Celestine Lucross
Title: Heavenly Reborn Shield Princess of Ken
Class: High Sage
Level: 56
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 34
Status: Healthy, Calm, Collected, Curious
Romance Rating: 75
Corruption Rating: 0
Known Traits
[High Queen Standards] The Romance Rating for both sexual activity and claiming as a bride/concubine is increased by 40 each.
[Most Beautiful Woman] You are considered sexually attractive to everyone to some degree. Opponents distracted by your beauty lose 5% to all stats
[Stupid Sexy Celestine] Straight women and gay men find you oddly attractive. Chances to be distracted by your beauty is increased by 15%
[Queen's Grace] Your healing and defensive magic and abilities are increased in power by 35%
[?]
[Blessing of the Goddess] Your Holy Magic is potent due to your divine connections; +7% to Mag & Mnc when casting any holy magic
Born over eight hundred years ago very few know how she became the High Queen of Eostia. One of three reincarnations of the Goddess Larentia she is considered the main figurehead of the Larentian Church even though she has little official power over it. Her main concerns are the well being, protection and prosperity of the people of Eostia. To this end she has three main goals; ending the war with Garan, the end of slavery in Eostia and to ensure peace in the region. To this end she has created the Seven Shield Princesses to aide her in these goals.
(-)
The three of us started to kneel but Celestine quickly lifted her left hand up and spoke. "No. Do not take a knee at your own home. I am but a guest, and an unannounced one at that. I should not be given such deference in your own place of living, Baron Merlin." She lowered her hand, folding it into the other over her lap which had the side effect of having her biceps press into the sides of her breasts, pushing them together and for a second I thought her boobs would pop out of their cloth containers. "Be at ease."
My pants were quickly becoming anything but at ease.
"As you wish, Your Highness." My father still gave a shallow bow despite her desires as he stood up straight. "What brings you here? Are you taking a rest? I imagine you're all off to Ur to see Prim given her birthday is soon." That was a reasonable assumption I thought, but it sounded a bit off to me. Could Celestine afford to spend so much time at Ur? It was five days away from the party and if she rode hard she could be there by tomorrow morning; she would be there for four days if that was the case; a long time for the nation's leader to be away from her seat of power. As I expected she shook her head.
"Nay. We are riding to Feoh, specifically Cauldona." She said, naming one of the Baronies at the border of... ohhhh, Dominius. Now it made sense to me. "I need to see with my own eyes our border and see the reports of our people first hand. The Dominius Civil War should not be a threat to us, but I do worry about it all spilling over into our borders. Given the characters of some of the combatants I must know the situation first hand. We shall not stay long there; we will be attending Prim's party, not to worry. No, what has caused our diversion is what we saw not long ago." Oh, I should have guessed... "Baron Merlin, by what means have you conjured up to address your people in such a fashion? I've not seen a means to address so many people at once before."
"Thank you for your attentions to such efforts, but I have conjured up nothing of the sort." My father said, setting a hand to my shoulder firmly; I managed to not jump or stiffen from the surprise of the contact. "It is the work of my son. I am sure you are not antiquated, but this is my heir, James. He is the one who created the means of public address, based off another creation of his."
"Pleasure to meet you, Your Highness." I got out without a stutter. How I did not stutter I don't know. Her head turned to look at me and then she tilted her head slightly to one side.
"Indeed. Well met, James. I do note your idea and contribution and wish to know more." Celestine said as she turned to look at my sister. "And you are, young lady?"
"A-ahh! M-Miria, Your Highness! Miria Noxdecus!" She got out, more nervous then I thought she'd be. Celestine seemed confused for a moment before my father spoke up once more.
"My wife and I adopted her several years ago. A decade really." Merlin said with a proud smile. "She's a bit of rascal, but she's been a loyal child to us. She couldn't be closer to us, even if she shared our blood."
I had to bite my tongue. Ooooh yes, I was close to my sister...
"I see. Well met, Miria. May you know happiness and health as the years ware on." She said, smiling to her with a nod. Claudia then stepped forwards to speak next.
"It's a pleasure to see you once more, Merlin, James. And nice to finally met you, Miria." She said, smiling before looking to me directly. "Your father said this is a spin-off of something else you've made?" I nodded once and turned to Miria.
"Run inside for a moment. I think it'll be a good way to show it off." My sister nodded and turned, quickly walking into the manor as I pulled the communicator from my pocket. Once the door shut behind her I showed it to them and then held it up for me to look at. "Call Miria." I didn't need to use the vocal commands, but it would get the point across. The device pinged twice before Miria's face appeared over it.
"Here I am!" She called out as I turned the device over for the trio to see.
"My word... Ranged, instant communication?" Klaus let off, eyes wide as he all but zoomed in to look closer at what I held. "How does this work?" He asked, blinking at it.
"It's a bit of an explanation, but it sends out a signal of sorts that targets another device. It then uses an illusion spell to project the image of the other person and an image of you to them." I explained. "Sound is carried through as well. We used it while father was in Roxford on talks; the quality dropped quite a bit but it was still clear enough to be understood."
"Roxford? That far?" He let off as Celestine stepped in towards me and softly took the device from my hand and, er, I looked down to her breasts.
I didn't know the Grand Canyon was in this world too...
I snapped my eyes back to her face as she looked over the device as I coughed into one hand to control myself. "If you can use arcane magic you can control it with that, but I added vocal commands for those without that. Additionally the address system I made is meant to double as means of boosting their signals. No idea how far yet, we're still testing things out." I admitted. She smiled and passed the device back into my hand before clasping it in both of hers and, ooh dear god penis, stay in control!
"Had we the time I would ask you to tell me more. Alas, we are on a schedule and we are now delaying it. When time allows we shall discuss this further." She said letting go as she stepped back. "Until then, pray, continue your good work. James." She said nodding to me before looking to the device in my hand. "Miria." She gave another nod before turning to my father. "Merlin. Thank you for your time. Enjoy your day." She said before turning and moving to the carriage and her hair parted in the middle enough to showcase her ass to us; and that ass was on near full display with her locks framing her rump. The only covering it had was a leather strap matching the one in the front, but it swayed and bounced with her steps; showing off her crack in a teasing manner.
All three of us (Including Miria from the device) watched it go. It was hard not to. It jiggled just right.
Celestine climbed into the carriage before Claudia and Klaus followed her in, the first saluting us and the second bowing softly. Soon the carriage began to ride off with escort in tow as we watched on. I turned my head to look at my father who coughed into his hand before he quickly turned to the manor. "I... I need to go see your mother. For a few hours." He said before (power) walking inside.
"Sure thing Dad." I said back as I sighed, trying to control myself. Dear lord, that woman had an effect on you. Without trying. Beyond that outfit.
"Oiy, James." I jumped slightly and looked to the device in my hand, still on, Miria's face still shown off by it. "My room. Now."
"Agreed." I replied as I turned to walk in as well.
I'd be busy for an hour.
Or three.
[-]
Next Day, Mid-Afternoon
Road to Ur
The Noxdecus Convoy was on route towards Ur Fortress; it consisted of two carriages, eight escorts on horseback and one additional guard riding ahead as a scout. The wheels turned on the road as they closed in on their destination. Kelly Connors was the one in lead of the escort, front left of the convoy. Inside the first of the two carriages sat two girls; Tiffany and Makoto.
Set between the two was a table with a chess board on it; the girls peering down to it as each took a turn to move a piece. Makoto huffed as she frowned, mirroring her foe's bright and confident smile; Tiffany was in the lead on the board and kept out maneuvering her. The pair were among the guests James was bringing with him; both of them acting as bodyguards even though the road was well patrolled and Ur Fortress was famed as Sererus' strongest fortress so there was little worry of attack. The only other guest along for the ride was Miria, riding with James in the other carriage.
The other girls weren't joining them for the trip; Aeris was remaining with Baron Merlin to train and learn. Riri was doing likewise under Sora, even though she protested and wanted to stay by her master's side. Sora overruled her; James would not need an attendant while in Ur and as Riri was with him so much when he was around she would be the heir's last line of defense and Sora wanted to be sure it was a good one.
Makoto hummed and moved a Bishop up and to the right. She wasn't sure if it was a trap or not, but she saw a possible opening. "What think you of this party?"
"Hmm... I don't know Prim directly, but I know a few people who do. They say she's really nice." Tiffany replied, moving her white Queen to chase the black Bishop. Makoto moved the Bishop one space to move it just out of the Queen's range. Tiffany moved a Pawn forwards in response to pressure the Bishop into moving. "A real sweet girl, you know?"
Makoto nodded as she slid a Rook one space to the side. Tiffany hummed at the stall as she moved her Pawn ahead a space. "I have heard such things. I do know James knows her quite well." Her Rook was moved once more by a space. "By the sounds of it he has reason to be fond of her." After Makoto spoke Tiffany's Pawn moved once more in position to capture the Bishop now. If the Bishop took the Pawn her Queen would take it in turn. If she retreated it she could re position to threaten more of the board. Either way she would benefit in the end.
Makoto moved her Rook one more space. Tiffany's smile faltered. That was... That was not an option she thought Makoto would take. Was the swordswoman baiting her into something? Had she seen that both moves led to a disadvantage and chose no move? Or hoped no move would disrupt her plans enough to reclaim an edge? She bit her lip in thought. "Well, Prim is often considered the second most beautiful of the Shields. Although I think only Maia and Lulu aren't in the running for that title." The blonde mused for a moment.
In truth, each of the Shield Princesses were popular with men for their looks alone.
Lulu might have been the least popular, but was considered the peak of beauty for a halfling woman. Even then, most of the men who weren't attracted to her were those who had trouble overlooking how childish halfling women could look; some just couldn't help but see a child which was frustrating to most halflings. Even so, Lulu was proud of her looks and was considered the most beautiful halfling alive.
Maia was a recent addition to them; a former merc who's butch, brash nature was what kept some people from finding her feminine but others loved that about her. Honest and blunt, some men just liked a girl who told you a straight answer and didn't make you wonder if no meant yes. She was considered the least sexy of them (Aside from Lulu depending on who you asked) and even then she was considered a picture of beauty and strength.
Kaguya by contrast was the exotic woman; and considered to have one of if not the best ass of the Seven Shield Princesses. Even then only one would be said to best her in that area and no one was surprised by it. Calm, serene and polite she seemed to be one of the furthest out of reach for the common man as she was devoted to her god to the point of a seal over her sex, sometimes made out under the panties she wore.
Proud Alicia Arcturus, meanwhile, was a more classic type for men to lust for; the iconic, blonde lady knight; beautiful, strong and graceful. Many a knight, warrior and solider yearned for her attention for even a moment. The young knight was believed to be an excellent leader although the truth was she was still learning. Still her combat skill was said to be second only to her trainer, the leader of the Dawn Templars...
Commander Claudia Levantine was that leader and the only one of the Seven out of reach by rite of marriage, and a happy one at that. Many were jealous of her husband and would give much to be in his place. Mature, elegant and wise she was the strongest swordswoman in the land. In fact it was said the only two men could possibly best her in single combat, one being her adopted father. She was a pillar of strength and in many men caused a pillar of lust in their small clothes.
Prim Fiorire was the newest and youngest of the Seven, but considered the most beautiful human in the land. Short but busty, curvy and with a sweet, polite personality she was considered the Jewel of Ur and Eostia both. Many a man would confess love for her upon first sight of her innocent face and fall deeper upon meeting her kind charms. In all of Eostia only one could be considered more lovely...
High Queen Celestine Lucross of Eostia. For centuries the elven woman was considered the standard of beauty for every woman in Eostia and Sererus at large; and all fell short. Her massive mammaries were legendary and every man (And woman) wanted to touch them, but none dared for risk of offending the goddess reborn. Men would give much and more to bask in her presence for moments. Should a man lay claim to her then he would be the envy of all.
And all would be in one place to honor one of their own. Finally snapping back to the game Tiffany slid another Pawn forwards, not sure what Makoto had in mind and watched as her Queen slid in front of her Rook, now a threat to her own Queen. And with the Rook behind it if she took the opposing Queen she would lose her own. She huffed and moved her Pawn, taking the Bishop. Another piece of Makoto's lost; she would soon win the game and-
Makoto slid her Queen all the way up the board. "Checkmate."
"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?" The blonde let off looking to the board. Makoto's Queen had slid to the back and was now threatening her own King. Said King was hanging back behind her Pawns; she could move it side to side a space but not forwards out of the way. She could take the black Queen with her own Bishop, but Makoto would just take it with her Rook. She'd be right back in the same situation and she had no way to block or capture the piece then. Sighing she reached out and flicked her white King over as she fell back into her seat. "I haaaaaaaaaaaaad you..."
"You did. But then you got sloppy. In truth, if it wasn't for that I would have failed." Makoto said, smiling back. "It was a good match."
"Hoooo, Mother does tell me I get too cocky time to time..." She said, pouting a bit. "Good match... Hmm..."
"What is it?" Makoto asked, tilting her head as Tiffany sat up straight.
"What do you think James and Miria are doing to entertain themselves?"
"Reading perhaps?"
[-]
Myself and Miria groaned together as she dropped her sex onto my cock. We read for a good part of the trip so far, but Miria decided she wanted to fuck, so fuck we did. She dropped herself onto my dick, both of us bottomless as she moaned and mewled into my shoulder as she rocked her hips up and down. She wanted to set a slow, firm pace and I let her take the lead. I groaned back in return as I moved to kiss her lips softly, giving her ass a firm smack. She moaned into my lips as she started to pick up speed. Finally I leaned back as I came, pumping a load up into her as she quivered over my dick.
We panted for a long moment, holding each other as we came down from a mutual high as I stroked her ass softly, the two of us relaxing. "I've been thinking of something recently." She started. Well, that could be good... Or horrible.
"Should I be worried?" I asked half teasingly as I leaned back to look at her. She gave me a slightly annoyed look as she slapped my shoulder. "Sorry... Serious, huh?" I asked as she nodded with a sigh.
"So... I banged Tiffany not that long ago." She began with a phrase I hadn't expected. "It... Got me thinking..."
"Huh, didn't think you'd go and seduce her." I let off, surprised and tilted my head as I looked to her.
"Well, more she seduced me but same effect." She said, sighing. "We both know this isn't going to... Um, go into a marriage or anything, right?"
"I mean... I don't think so..." I let off, leaning back as I thought about it. "I mean, even aside from the siblings thing there is the the problem with, ugh, the Council of Lords to consider."
"Y-Yeah... Fuck..." Miria let off, her ears drooping to her head. That was a source of problems to consider.
The Council of Lords met every six months, barring disasters or war and was made of the various Barons, Counts and Dukes of Eostia. It was a chance for them to mingle, exchange information, talk about the threats to Eostia, further trade and business and bring forth their grievances. It was one of the few ways for the collective lords to challenge Celestine on her stances and leadership of the nation. However because nobility is nobility there's a lot of people on the council who were petty, corrupt, lazy and so on. Oh, and a bit racist. Presumably when Miria's adoption got out there was a small uproar at the following Council led by Count Blitzhaus.
'A catalan barbarian? As a noble lady? Egad! No, just no! We are the Nobility and we are human or elven or maybe halfling or maybe dwarven, but never catalan. Catalans are good as mercenaries, hunters and whores and little else. I mean reeaaaaaaaaaally, it's like adopting a goblin! Is she at least house trained? At least she'll be entertained; just get her a big ball of yarn. Just make sure she doesn't claw the furniture. Daughter? Bah! More like a pet, right? That's what you meant, a catalan pet?'
Yeah, that was the general sentiment I heard that a very vocal minority held at the Council. Okay, maybe a bit paraphrased. It was apparently almost as bad as a nineteen forties white millionaire couple adopting a black girl because they felt like it and the KKK decided to raise a stink over it. Yeeeesh.
Needless to say Blitzhaus wasn't a fan... And asked for a motion to consider the ruling Baron and Baroness as incompetent for adopting a catalan child and to give the Barony of Mungale to another house.
I. Wish. I. Was. Joking.
But I sadly, am not. Not in a bit. The motion died as most of the nobles present didn't give enough of a damn to get involved in that pissing contest, didn't care at all, disliked Blitzhaus or didn't mind that Noxdecus' new 'pet'.
Still, over a quarter of those gathered backed the motion. From what I'm told, usually Celestine and the other Shield Princesses over see the Council but the High Queen wasn't present; Claudia oversaw it in her place and did what she could to brush the topic under the rug to avoid my parent's being the center of more trouble. Still, the message was clear; Miria would not be widely accepted by the nobility at large. Most just considered her a pet, the 'heir's future whore' or something along those lines and not a member of our family. At best she was a curiosity to them and not a person.
If I had taken her as a wife then all hell would break loose at the following Council and there would be a lot more people who cared. Hell, I've had a few other nobles expressly said that taking her as a concubine would cause a stir. Effectively Miria's marriage options was limited; anyone within the nobility would have to be well away from the line of succession of whatever house and throne they were in line for or someone from below the noble class. Otherwise Blitzhaus could bring up the issue once more and find himself with a lot more backing. While I'm sure Celestine would veto my father's removal if it came to that the fact was that could still cause a lot more problems down the line. Cries of favoritism, a rally to isolate Mungale from trade from other provinces and so on... Over a person being adopted.
Needless to say that aside from a taboo on siblings hooking up (Adopted or not, although the adopted bit softened the taboo a lot) we were told out right we couldn't marry, why and that we could set an example to try and turn things about. We had accepted that the relationship wasn't going to a marital point at all.
"Yeah. Fuck, even concubine is off the table." She said, slumping down on my lap firmly as she sighed. I gave her hip a soft pat.
"Miria, you shouldn't have to be someone's concubine." I said softly. "You should have a husband to make you happy someday. And... We both know why that can't be me." She sighed and after a moment smiled softly as she shook her head.
"I know, and I don't think can I see myself walking the aisle with you. Mind, I'll have a hard time to find a man as good in bed as you are." She added the last bit as her smile turned into a smirk.
"Your only comparison to me is another girl."
"Point stands." She said proudly. "Besides, we all know there's one girl out there who's hoping to be your blushing bride, and we both know she's more of a catch then me." She said referring to Prim. I wanted to refute her claim, but really couldn't.
At the end of the day Prim was a princess by birth and a higher social status then my own. The only reason my family wasn't pushing me to marry her was they wanted for my happiness above status. That wasn't to say that marrying Prim would be all sunshine and roses; it would cause us a different kind of trouble that would need resolving. "True, but that doesn't tell me what you want. You started this talk, after all."
She shifted about on my lap (I mostly ignored the pleasant sensations it caused; I was still in her after all) as she sighed. "...I don't really have too many good options here, do I? For marriage." I sighed softly in response, slumping a bit. It... Wasn't a lie.
There were good men to pick from for her, but most of them didn't interest her and those that did were engaged, married or with a flaw that stuck out enough that she couldn't overlook it. One of my cousins was an option for her and the one my parent's favored for her but, well, he lacked a bit of spine. That was a deal breaker for her.
I pulled her into a hug, stroking her back. "You'll find someone. There's a lot of people who aren't stuck up about these things around. Even if those that are are positioned in places to really annoy us."
"Shit rises with the cream, eh?" She let off, sighing as she hugged back, leaning into me. "...Promise me something."
"What is it?" I asked as I moved to kiss her cheek as her smile returned.
"However many girls you get to marry you or agree to be a concubine for you, love them all. Love them all, care for them and make them know they are special." She said, kissing my cheek in turn. "One or one hundred; treasure them all."
"If I had that many girls, it would be a full time job." I joked, chuckling a bit before smiling to her. "Yes, Miria. I promise. Don't worry." I told her, giving her ass a pat. "And you promise me whatever else happens, you find a guy that will treasure you."
"Promise. Now, less heavy topics..." She said as she adjusted her self and lifted her hips up before dropping them back down. "I think we need to do something to forget our worries for awhile."
I hope we didn't rock the carriage about too much. Best the drivers not notice.
[-]
We stopped just past the Ur/Mungale border in a small town called Creekwood in the late afternoon. There was a good inn called the Lumberjack's Rest to stay at; cozy and warm with good meals of beef on noodles, a salad and garlic bread for dinner. Breakfast the next day was eggs, sausage, bacon and garlic toast. We were back on the road early in the morning and finally arrived in the City of Stonewall, capital of the Grand Duchy of Ur at around mid-morning. It was a sight compared to Argon.
The city walls were huge and well protected by towers and gates, washed white but with various gold colored trimming along the top. Inside of the walls many buildings were white washed as well with some trimming of various, bright colors. People went about their business, getting their daily bread in the shadows of structures three to four stories tall, if not more so. Not long after we were through the whole city and past another gate and on our way to what was beyond it; Fortress Ur, the Heart of the Grand Duchy and strongest fortress in all of Sererus, or so they say.
The fortress was built next to a river, not a large one but one with water coming through it all the time. Over the course of decades that river was dug out to be wider and with a branching path that would encircle the fortress fully as a moat. It was the first obstacle any attacking force had to overcome. Then there were the walls. Twenty feet thick and fifty feet up, they were made of solid stone sandwiching a mortar that was like concrete between them; smashing them down was nigh impossible. Crenellations, the bits of the wall that stuck up higher then normal, lined the edge on both sides to give archers cover and there were twelve towers along the walls plus another two framing the gate, each with heavier weapons to bombard foes. Said gate bore a drawbridge made of solid oak with bands of steel around it. Behind that a portcullis, a metal gate made of latticed bands with points on the bottom, providing another layer of protection. Fifteen feet behind that a second portcullis with arrow slits at the sides of the gate and between the two portcullis to allow defenders to fire missiles into any attackers, plus a grate above them in which boiling oil or other heated liquids could be easily poured down. So just getting your foot in the door could have you losing said foot.
Our carriage was let through once the guard confirmed who we were and waved us in. Our carriage would go through the gates and turn to the right to ride between the first and second wall. Yes, second wall. This wall was ten feet taller then the first and just as thick and boasted twelve of it's own towers and another two around it's gates. The left side of the first gate was connected to the second wall forcing all coming and going to go around the length of the castle walls; ample opportunity for defenders to send more arrows down. And given how much area the fortress covered it was a long ride. And for an attacking force it would be an unpleasant one. Soon we came to a second gate; just opposite of the wall next to the first gate. It boasted a drawbridge and two portcullis gates. Said drawbridge didn't fall over a true moat but rather just a dug out pit that was filled with water. Upon entering the second gate we turned to the left and rode between the second and third walls.
Yes, third walls. Fifteen feet taller then the second and another five feet thicker, ten towers plus two more framing the gates. We rode around once more; as much as it extended the journey it drove home why Ur Fortress was the most powerful of them all. The time, money, effort and consideration in building it was staggering. More so when you considered the anti-magic defenses.
A caster like myself would make a joke of medieval defenses. I could fly over them, use illusions to sneak in, fireball a gate down, bombard defenders from the air... And don't get me started on what my Father could do to them. As such defenses were made and applied to counter opposing mages. For starters the towers all boasted spell stones that reinforced the walls further and prevented earth based magics from being used on them. In addition they casted a field over the air of the fortress that was designed to disrupt any flight based spells. Try and fly into the fortress and you'd end up going splat on the top of a wall or tower at best.
Spell stones set under the walls hardened the earth under said walls. Not only did this help prevent the heavy structures from sinking into the ground it also made earth magics hard to use to prevent tunneling and sapping the walls. Even if you wanted to do it the old fashioned way with shovels and picks the hardened earth would make that difficult at best; it'd be like carving a stone with a rusty spoon.
On top of that one of the weapons mounted on the towers were ballista, huge crossbows that had to be mounted to be used. Powerful and accurate they were able to kill black trolls which had some of the toughest hides of the Aberrant. More to the point some of the bolts that could be loaded in were called Mage Hunters; once fired they would sail straight to any gathering of mana; in other words any mage casting a spell. And that's the start of the defenses on offer for Fortress Ur.
Finally we went past the third gate, with it's own pair of portcullis gates and drawbridge over a water pit and laid eyes on the keep in the center of the walls. It was square and boasted four, huge towers on each corner that reached eighty feet up. It was an impressive sight to say the least. The grounds around the keep were large as well. Most of it was a meadow of various flowers with paths cutting through it to let people get around. Behind the castle was a large hedge maze that was magically imbued and would routinely shift around to make even the owners confused about the directions inside of it. I wasn't sure why they had it, but they did.
While well decorated the keep's gate was also powerful; solid steel and with spell stones set into it to further reinforce it, a portcullis gate behind it and set into ten foot thick outer walls. Above the gate, like each gate up until now, was the seal of House Fiorire; a wide shield with bevels on the sides, three points at the top with a yellow border with gold trim. Another, smaller shield was set in the center of the first over yellow lines that split the shield into quarters. The upper left and lower right were colored a pinkish red with a gold star placed over it. The upper right and lower left bore a purple background, each with a white, flying dove facing to the outside of the shield. Finally the center shield was white with the yellow border and gold trim, a single pink rose resting in it's center. It was a proud shield for a proud house, all in all.
[Ongoing Quest: Prim & Proper]
[(⸜∕ ) Arrive in Ur in Time for the Party]
Oh, hello quest! I almost forgot about you.
Once the carriages were parked I dismissed the guard so they could go relax as myself, Miria, Tiffany (Who grabbed the ice cream maker) and Makoto walked inside the white washed walls of the keep. The Fiorire Family emblem framed the top of the stairs... Which had it's own portcullis gate. The keep alone was a pain to take as well, clearly. The banisters on the upper balcony looked sturdy and were a set of decorative panels that overlapped with the Fiorire crest sticking up every now and then which were there both for ascetics and to take cover behind for any defenders. There was a reason Ur was also the most expensive of the fortresses after all. A couple maids and servants milled about, giving us greetings of course, but it was a familiar voice that drew my attention next as we moved near the stairs of the foyer.
"James! And M-Miria! Ah, I did hear your carriage was coming in!" We turned and saw someone half jog up to us. "I-It's nice to see you two once more! E-especially you, Miria."
"Cress. Been awhile." Miria half sighed out as she crossed her arms under her bust.
(-)
Name: Cress Bijoux
Title: Sweet Boy From Iron Road
Class: Singer
Level: 4
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 69
Status: Healthy, Aroused, Bashful
Romance Rating: 75
Corruption Rating: 9
Known Traits
[Dude Looks Like A Lady] Your appearance is very feminine. This puts women more at ease with you no matter the situation. Romance Values raise 10% faster. 15% chance for male opponents to be distracted by you or underestimate your strength.
[Exotic Attraction] You find species not your own to be more attractive then your own. -5% to all stats when fighting an attractive person of another species
[It's A Trap!] You are sometimes mistaken for a girl. Because of this men who would not normally be attracted to you may lust for you. -5% Stats to all male foes who are attracted to you
[Bi The Way] You are bi-sexual and are willing to play the field. Your Romantic and Corruption Values are treated as the same as if you were a female.
[?]
Born to a minor house of nobility, son of Fredrick Bijoux and Karen Noxdecus Bijoux, he is the nephew of the current rulers of Mungale. Despite wishing to emulate his very masculine father his appearance and body structure are fairly feminine which has gotten him quite teased and bullied over the years. Coupled with a somewhat overprotective mother he has a noticeable lack of confidence despite his fathers positive, if stern, encouragement.
(-)
Ah yes, my cousin. Whooooooo boy, where do I start?
He was on the shorter end of things for a guy, some five-foot-three. He had neck length, brown hair that was loose with two bangs framing his face and grey-blue eyes. His body was slender and graceful looking with smooth skin... And had a very feminine set of legs and wider then normal hips for a boy. Not to the point of being 'curvy' but he had a bit of a bubble butt to him. He had been mistaken for a girl more then once and had men try to woo him time and time again.
Some of them even after learning he was a dude.
He wore a red double buttoned jacket with coattails with brass buttons and a white shirt showing under it, a blue Jacob's collar about his neck. White gloves on his hands, black, short boots on both feet. However it was his pants that were interesting. Said pants were white with a red stripe going down the outside of both legs and were tight. As in he had to shoehorn himself into them, or even paint them on by the looks of them. From behind that meant his feminine ass (Something he was very embarrassed about) was on even further display... But so was a noticeable bulge in the front of his pants. How 'large' he got I didn't know, but damned if he wasn't trying to call attention to it. If you looked like a girl and wanted everyone to know that 'no you weren't' showing off your cock was a good way, I guess.
Although before using observe on him I did not know he was bi-sexual. Not sure I wanted or needed to know that...
What I knew of him before is that he had a huge crush on Miria and was the person my parents favored for marrying her. He was a decent guy and I heard he was taking some jobs at the Iron Road Adventure's Guild. Iron Road, for the record, was the second largest city in Mungale and was at our border with the County of Ferra in our southeast and close to the border of the Duchy of Ur. His parents were minor lords that helped oversee Mungale; our mothers were in fact sisters as well.
The thing is, well, he wasn't the bravest guy around. I wouldn't call him a coward persay, but he had a hard time standing up for himself or being assertive at all. Which was Miria's main issue with him; she found him cute and nice enough, but the lack of a spine was a deal breaker for her. He wasn't a bad fighter mind you; his archery was pretty good (Not at Miria's level, but good) and so was his sword work (Better then Miria, but not on my level) and had a small group of his own from what I knew. In short he had a lot of growing to do but he was trying. "It's good to see you Cress." I said smiling to him as he came closer, the two of us shaking hands. Miria shook his after me, smiling slightly but trying not to act too friendly with him.
"It is good to see you as well, Cousin. Who are your new companions?' He asked me as I nodded and turned to the other girls. I was about to speak before I was interrupted by a shout.
"James! You're here!" I turned and looked up. Running along the upper balcony was our hostess and upcoming birthday girl. Her dress (With it's weird cut out at the front of the skirt to show off her panties. This world was weird with it's fashion) and was soon running down the stairs in a fashion that seemed reckless to me; I was worried she'd trip as she went. And then she did something that gave me a near heart attack.
She jumped.
Arms open and legs spread she jumped at me, a wide smile on her face as her eyes sparkled as she dropped down towards me. I just managed to react in time and reached out, catching her around the hips and grunting as her weight hit me; she was light (Top heavy jokes aside; those had to be Double D's! And Prim was tiny, making them look even bigger!) and ended up pressing her generous breasts into me as I bent my legs a bit to cushion her impact. A hand slid to her ass without meaning too, but she made no signs of minding as she hugged me, arms around my neck. Finally I got my hands around her waist, hugging her back as I sighed.
"Prim, don't do that! You gave me a spook, jumping like that!" I let off finally setting her to her feet as she let go of me. I stood up fully, towering over the tiny (Just under five feet!) girl who smiled up at me. "I don't want to see you hurt yourself because I missed a catch."
"You weren't going to miss catching me; I trust you." She said, smiling up to me, clasping her hands over her chest and, dear lord, I had to look down at her and those titanic tits were in my view no matter what I did. "I missed you so much!" She let off, hugging me around the waist tightly.
(-)
Name: Prim Fiorire
Title: Girlish Shield Princess of Ur
Class: Wizard
Level: 23
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 78
Status: Healthy, Joyful, Smitten
Romance Rating: 110
Corruption Rating: 11
Known Traits
[?]
[Tap For Mana] You know how to use magic to it's fullest. All magic costs 5% less mana.
[Rough Control] Your magic is more powerful then normal; but it's harder to control as well! +15% to Mag. Spells may increase in power by up to 15% at random. If so increase the spell cost by 2.5% per 1% power increase
[Virginal Maiden] You are a full on virgin, ignorant in the ways of carnal love and lust. Your first time will determine your sexual tastes. If your first time is with consent to a lover who seduces you then replace this trait with [Ethical Slut]. If you offer yourself up to someone you desire then replace this trait with [Love Means Lust]. If you are raped then replace this trait with [From Victim to Deviant]. If you are blackmailed or coerced into sex with someone you do not desire replace this trait with [Cock Addict]. If you are blackmailed or coerced into sex with someone you do desire replace this trait with [Conflicted Desires].
[Protected Princess] All of your allies desire to protect you. +5% Con, End & Lck to all nearby allies, in addition to +1 Resistance to all Physical Defenses and +2 Resistance to all Magical Defenses. If you are incapacitated these bonuses double
Daughter of Samuel and Primrose 'Rose' Fiorire she was spoiled by her parents quite often at a young age. Despite this she grew up to be a sweet, loving and giving woman. Wanting to be more independent and capable she trained under several master spell casters and they found that her magic is unusually powerful, if also difficult to control. Her power caught the eye of Claudia Levantine and through her High Queen Celestine Lucross. Seeing Prim's potential Celestine brought her into the Seven Shield Princesses to both further her growth as a mage and as a leader.
(-)
"It has been awhile, yes. But you don't need to jump at me like a puppy." I told her, one hand setting to her head as I ruffled her hair a bit making her yelp. As my hand moved away hers moved in to smooth her hair back into place.
"The puppy would be easier to catch, for starters." A new voice let off. Looking up at the top of the stairs Prim's bodyguard Carmen Shard followed the blonde woman who was speaking. "But not that much more excitable."
"Alicia, please..." Prim let off pouting as her cousin and best friend calmly walked down to greet us. The blonde knight smiled and looked over to me as I tried not to look at her panties every time her skirt moved enough to flash them.
Alicia giggled a bit as she looked over to me. "James, been some time. You're doing well, at least you seem stronger then last we meant."
"I can say the same for you too, Alicia." I said as Prim stepped aside as Alicia came over as we shook hands; her grip was firm but still gentle. Then she gave a side glance to my sister and before I could greet Carmen...
"So, keeping the cat hairs out of the couch?"
Oh, here we go...
"Better then keeping your sweaty odor from filling each room you walk in." Miria shot back; blonde knight and catalan archer giving each other a smirk. I kinda forgot, the two had a small, friendly rivalry together. The type where you can rib each other and call one another names that would be offensive if it wasn't them saying it. Neither spoke with malice as they turned to size each other up before finally shaking hands for a moment before pulling each other into a firm, warm hug with wide grins.
(-)
Name: Alicia Arcturus
Title: Noble Shield Princess of Feoh
Class: Knight
Level: 28
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 57
Status: Healthy, Happy, Calm
Romance Rating: 97
Corruption Rating: 2
Known Traits
[The Best Defense] Half of the average of your armor's defense resistances is added to your weapon's damage bonus
[Unshakable Faith] If the cause is just you can fight on! +10% to all stats but Lck when fighting for a cause you believe in
[?]
[Beacon of Light] You are an inspiration to allies and intimidating to foes. +5% all Stats to allies with a Corruption rating of 25 or less. -5% to all Stats to all foes with a corruption level of 50 or higher.
[Secret Romantic] You try and hide it or deny it but you are more interested in romance then you care to admit. Gain Romance Values for someone you desire at a higher rate then normal
The Princess of Feoh and born to Aston and Catherine Arcturus, she was raised with a sword in hand almost from the crib. Hailing from a long lines of knights she proudly carries on the tradition and sees Claudia Levantine as the shining example of what a knight should be. Training under Claudia she quickly became one of Eostia's most notable knights, considered a future legend and is the leader of the Knights of Iris.
(-)
"Ahhhh, I missed you, you sweaty butch!" Miria let off as she giggled, yelping as Alicia pulled her into a headlock.
"Sweaty butch, huh? What would you know about that, you lost stray?" Alicia countered with a grin as her hand ruffled my sister's hair.
"I know I'm going to smell like an armpit for the rest of the day!" Miria let off as she tried to pull out of the lock, the pair turning about as they roughhoused a bit. Prim and I seemed to sigh at the same time.
"Should we just tell them to kiss and get it over with?" I asked Prim, turning my head to look down at her. I heard Cress gawk and sputter beside me as Prim giggled and shook her head.
"No, this is funnier, don't you think so?" She replied, smiling up at me with another giggle as her hand covered her mouth.
"Lady Alicia, must you play with the rabble in so childishly a manner?" Annnnnnd instant wet blanket on any good mood we had going on here.
Coming down the stairs now was the butler of the fortress and House Fiorire, Halbert Oxford. The black haired, well dressed man's mustache twitched as he looked down at us. Yeeeaaaaaaah... Not who I wanted to see, at all. Halbert was a loyal butler to Prim and her family and dutiful but dear every god ever he must have had a log up his ass to be such a jerk.
Alicia let Miria go as both looked up at him, well more glared up at him. My sister most of all. No surprise, when we first visited Ur and I ended up saving Prim from her near rape experience (According to the memories I got from this world, anyway) he acted like I had been the very goblins who came close to raping her. And when Miria tried to tell him off his first response was to ask 'where did the mongrel come from?' Needless to say we were not fans of the bastard butler.
"Halbert, is there an issue?" Prim asked. I could hear both the annoyance in her voice and a warning tone to him as she stepped in front of me and between myself and the older man. He sneered at me for a moment bit seemed to think better at making another remark to speak to Prim.
"A carrier pigeon arrived, Mi'Lady Prim. Lady Maia reports she's stuck in Hakla; an unexpected band of Aberrant was in the area and she'll be delayed by at least a day." He told her, setting his cane's tip to the floor as he reached our level, both hands set to the top. Despite speaking to Prim he was glaring daggers at me as if judging me and finding me lower then a rat. "Not that she's... ideal companionship."
Pleasant man as you can see.
(-)
Name: Halbert Oxford
Title: ?
Class: Performer
Level: 19
Alignment: Hostile
Reputation: 0
Status: Healthy, Annoyed, Aggravated, Hateful
Known Traits
[?]
[Former Pugilist] You once studied the art of fisticuffs and remember them well. You can equip the equipment of the Pugilist class and may use that class' skills
[Focused Fury] When angered you can focus them to a useful ends. +5% to Con, Str and End when angered but in control. -5% to Con, Str and End when angered but not in control.
[?]
Seventh son of a minor noble house, Halbert found his family's fortunes being wasted and misused by his parents, as was the land they managed. Overly high taxes and abuse of the common folk finally caused a revolt when he was eleven. The uprising peasants managed to hire a band of passing mercenaries, the Howling Hounds a mix of orphans and outcasts that included dark elves, catalans and even a handful of goblins. Together they burned down the Oxford Manor and killed most of the House. Only Halbert, one of his sisters and his aunt survived and escaped to the Ur Grand Duchy and were taken in by another house of minor nobility. He rose up as a Butler for House Fiorire but recalls his once higher status.
(-)
I managed to not show it somehow but that Observe gave me a shiver down my spine. A hidden title? On this guy? The last time that happened was when I used it on Mandeville and his batch of mercs as well as Wesland. I had alarm bells ringing in my head right away from that.
"Thank you, Halbert. Kalkal, would you mind seeing our guests things to their rooms." She said turning her head to address a blonde, halfling maid who bowed and moved to leave and get some help with the task. "Please let my parents know of our guests, Halbert." She told him as he tried to hide a frown but I still saw his mouth twitch downwards. He turned on his heel and moved to leave down a hall. Only once he was out of sight did I relax.
"No, he's never had his attitude improved." Carmen let off, one hand moving to her hip as she sighed. "The Fiorires have tried to make him change, but he's refused to alter his ways."
"If I may ask..." Makoto began, bringing attention to her. "If his attitude is as such why has he not been let go?"
"Umm, sorry, who are you?" Alicia had asked. Until Makoto spoke up I had forgotten introductions haven't been done yet, but with everyone here I'd only need to do it once.
"Allow me." I began, pointing to Makoto first. "Makoto Taihei; an eastern swordswoman who was traveling about. My parents made her my bodyguard." Makoto bowed to the princesses as I pointed to Tiffany next. "Theophania Embercoat, or Tiffany as she likes to be called. She's staying with us for a time at the behest of our guard captain's former teacher." Tiffany curtsied slightly with one hand (Device still under the other arm) as I turned to my companions as I pointed to Cress next. "Cress Bijoux, my cousin. His parents are minor lords and live in Iron Road and help manage Mungale." Cress bowed as I turned to the dark-skinned girl next. "Carmen Shard, bodyguard to her Highness, Princess Prim." It was Carmen's time to bow next and she gave me a soft wink. I set a hand on Prim's shoulder next and smiled a bit wider. "Said Highness, Prim Fiorire of Ur, youngest of the Shield Princesses." Prim blushed as she curtsied slightly. "And lastly, Princess Knight Alicia Arcturus of Feoh, another of the Shield Princesses and Prim's cousin." Alicia smiled and turned to give everyone a nod.
"And that jackass in the suit was Halbert Oxford." Miria said, huffing. "I swear, I'll turn his backside into a pincushion one of these days." She hissed under her breath.
"Enough about that." Prim said, clasping her hands together with a soft clap. "We are here for happier things and to enjoy the company of each other. Let us focus on that. Ah, and Tiffany, was it?" Prim said as she turned to the twin-tailed blonde. "What exactly is that thing you are holding?" She said pointing to the device under the blonde's arm. The blonde in question grinned and lifted it up, holding it in both hands.
"It's a little device James made to make a... Dessert called Ice Cream." Tiffany replied as Makoto nodded along with her, smiling as well. "We all thought it'd be a nice idea for him to a make a second for you and your family."
"Ice Cream?" Prim and Alicia let off at the same time as they both tilted their heads to one side.
"Perhaps it's better to show you then tell you." Makoto suggested as she looked to Tiffany. "To the kitchen?"
"To the kitchen!" Tiffany bellowed out.
[ - Author's Note - ]
Whew. This was a fun one to write, despite the barely there sex. I think I managed to expand a bit on things. And I'm sure no one was expecting over half of the Shield Princesses and almost half of the main girls to be introduced in one episode, huh? Well, the Birthday Arc is starting and it will mark the end of Act One of this story. In addition the seeds for Act Two have also started to be lain and planted.
Hopefully it also helps smooth over some of the negative response from the last chapter. The racism angle was one hinted at earlier, as well as the politics of the realm hinted at in this chapter.
For the record, I made the manners for House Fiorire and Celestine myself, although you'll need to read the AO3 version to see them.
Oh, and we meet Halbert once more. Yay..?
Now, for the poll results. We had a nice turnout on this one; 73 total votes! That's awesome! Okay, let us begin. The poll question was 'Which of the (Canon) Kuroinu Girls would you want to see with James the most?' What do we have?
At last place we have Claudia Levantine with 2 votes (2.74%). Maybe because she's married? To be fair, last chapter we had a big blow up over NTR, so...
At eighth is Maia with 3 votes (4.11). Maia does feel like the most overlooked of the girls, huh?
Tied for sixth & seventh are Prim Fiorire and Lulu with 5 votes each (5.48%). Maybe the former because everyone sees it coming and Lulu because of her body type?
At fifth is Alicia Arcturus with 5 votes (6.85%). I'm surprised she didn't get more votes, really.
At fourth is Kaguya with 8 votes (10.96%). I imagine it's the ass that got her up this high.
At third is Chole with 12 votes (16.44%). For a good chunk of the voting she was in second place. No, really.
At second place is Olga Discordia with 16 votes (21.92%). I wasn't surprised at how high she was, but I was surprised that Chloe had an edge on her for a while.
And at first place is Celestine Lucross with 19 votes (26.03%). I wasn't surprised, nor was I surprised that Olga was the only one nipping at her heels.
I'll make up a new poll for the next chapter. Thank you to everyone who voted!
Until the next one...
~~Eostian Scribe