Asher's Futa Chronicles

Chapter 14

ASHER

"We've been in here for hours. How's nobody come in yet?" Remmi asked as she finished putting her armor back in place. She'd just shifted her body to ooze, moved into the armor and stood up. It took her seconds to do it.

Meanwhile, I was only a quarter of the way through getting my gear on and was still struggling with the buckles. I gave her an envious look.

"What, upset that we weren't interrupted?" I asked.

Remmi shook her head at me before noticing my predicament.

"Here," Remmi said and battled my hands away from the buckles. A dozen hands sprang from her body and quickly dressed me.

"Are you really OK?" Remmi asked.

I'd reassured her that I was good multiple times, but she wasn't altogether buying it. I mean, I was good. It had been fun...and weird...and sexy.

"We'll have to try it again later," I said with a grin, and gave her a peck on the lips.

She brightened and turned to the door.

I was wiped out and needed a nap already. No, I needed food. I was starving!

Meanwhile, Remmi was practically skipping towards the stairs. I wondered, not for the first time, if being a goo-girl gave her more energy or something.

The doors back to the guild's main room swung open, revealing a very crowded room who all turned to look at us.

"Finally!" a random voice bellowed from the crowd.

Remmi glanced at me, her eyes wide.

"WTF?" she mouthed.

"OK," Mabel's voice came from the counter where she was standing. "The training room is back open. Please proceed in an orderly fashion." Mabel pointed at a small man who seemed to be sprinting for the doors behind us. "That means you, Cass, don't make me dock you!"

The small man immediately slowed to a walking pace. I then realized it wasn't a man, but something that looked like an emaciated dog walking on two legs.

Remmi and I moved towards Mabel to avoid being run over by the mob now heading down the steps.

"I trust everything was satisfactory?" Mabel asked.

"It was excellent, thank you," Remmi said.

"It was my pleasure, Guardian," Mabel said.

A tall, dark-skinned man passed by us and tisked as he looked our way. He wore a set of fine metal armor, and what skin I could see had intricate patterns on it, like dark tattoos. The longsword he carried was battered and well used, but also well maintained--the sign of a working sword.

"Guardians," he muttered under his breath and shook his head in disgust. He had no qualms meeting my eyes and holding my stare before disappearing through the doors to the training room.

"What's his deal?" I asked.

Mabel looked uncomfortable.

"Not everyone...believes in the Guardians," Mabel said with an apologetic look.

"That's fair," Remmi said dismissively. "They...we haven't been around for over 1,000 years."

"I'm sure it will just take some time," Mabel said assuringly.

"Sure," I muttered, still watching the doors he disappeared through. "What's his name?"

"That's Dan. His real name is Daniel, but he prefers Dan," Mabel said.

"Does he now?" I asked. I mean, the guy wasn't bad to look at. The problem was, he probably knew it, and that was part of the reason he was acting like a jerk.

"Plus," Mabel continued. "He's one of the few high-ranking adventurers who came with us."

"Of course he is," I continued to mutter.

"I'm sorry?" Mabel asked, leaning towards me as if she hadn't heard me.

"Oh, nothing, sorry," then a question popped into my head. "Mabel, can things be created in the training room?"

"Magic is not prohibited from the room, if that's what you mean," Mabel said.

During Remmi and my "training," I commented on how I wished we could make towels appear like James had done back on Behemoth. Then a towel had appeared in the air in front of me.

At first, I was afraid to touch the thing, and Remmi ended up grabbing it before it hit the ground. She handed it to me, and I tossed it up like James had, and the towel disappeared.

I found that not only could I do it on demand while in the training room, but Remmi could as well. All we had to do was think about it, and it happened.

"No, I mean, just..." I tried.

"Will the room provide things on demand?" Remmi asked.

"Uh, no," Mabel said, frowning at us slightly. "We can provide you with pretty much anything you need. But, I can look into it, if you'd like." She beamed at us.

"Sure, thanks," Remmi said. "Mabel, when I asked for privacy, I didn't mean you had to block off the entire room for us. I appreciate it, really, I do!" Remmi said quickly when Mabel's beaming face fell. "But we don't need to be inconveniencing the entire guild. Especially if it's just for us."

"But it's no problem," Mabel said. "Guardians always have first priority, and it's easy to arrange private training time if you wish."

Remmi seemed to think about what to say, but my growling stomach interrupted her.

"Hungry?" Remmi asked with a chuckle.

"FOOD!" I called.

"OK," Remmi said and turned back to Mabel. "Thank you, Mabel, for all your help today. We're going to grab breakfast. We may check in later."

"Sure thing!" Mabel said enthusiastically. "We're here for you whenever you need us. Have a good meal!"

Mabel stood and waved at us until we escaped back into the main dining room.

"Just a slight case of hero worship there," Remmi said, holding her fingers up, barely apart.

"Who cares, food!" I said.

***Ω***

ASHER

"Jesus, slow down, Asher, you're gonna choke!"

I ignored Remmi and continued to shovel food into my face. I was on my second helping of breakfast and was still starving! I didn't understand why, but I couldn't seem to get full.

I glanced up to see Remmi staring at me over her mug of tea, eyes wide in shock. She'd just finished her meal, only one meal, by the way. Meanwhile, I was about to order my third.

"You feeling alright?" Remmi asked.

"Just hungry!" I said around a mouthful of food.

"I can see that," Remmi said and flicked something off her shirt. "Just try and keep it on your side of the table, huh?"

I paused long enough to notice I was indeed making a mess and tried to slow down. I couldn't be wasting food like that.

"What's the plan for today?" I asked, trying to change the subject to something other than my eating habits.

"Well, we need to restock our traveling supplies," Remmi said. "Food and water from the kitchens, check in with Patty for fresh med kits. Who knows when we'll get dragged off on a moment's notice again."

"We should probably have Patty take a look at us as well," I said as I signaled for another plate of food.

"You don't say," Remmi said wryly.

"I mean, we were gone for two months. We went through God knows what, both mentally and physically."

"Well, it couldn't hurt to get a check-up," Remmi said. "We should also run our gear by Larisa for a once-over."

"Good idea," I nodded as my plate was delivered. "I wanted to check in and see how she was doing anyway."

"Remind me to ask Patty to check you for a tapeworm," Remmi said as she watched me begin to inhale another plate of food.

"Well, while you gorge yourself, I'm going to go grab a quick shower," Remmi said as she stood from the table with her mug. "Try not to bite your own fingers off, OK? I need those," she teased.

I nodded at her, my mouth too full to answer and watched her head upstairs. Typically, we'd hit the showers after a workout before we went for food. But today, I was too hungry to wait.

"Mind if I sit?"

I looked up to find a tall, lanky man standing over me with a plate and a mug. I glanced around. There were plenty of empty tables, but he'd chosen to sit here with me.

I motioned to the chair, still chewing.

"Appreciate it," he said and sat. He took an honest-to-God cowboy hat off and put it on the table before digging into his plate.

As he ate, I gave him the once-over. He had a few days' beard, but a full-blown mustache. He was wearing light leathers and a large duster. If the guy was going for the cowboy look, he was spot on. He even had what looked like guns on his thighs.

He noticed me staring and nodded.

"Yeah," he said with a knowing sigh. "I'm a steam slinger. Name's Mondy, by the way."

"Asher," I said after swallowing. I couldn't see the man's lips move because his mustache was so bushy. Kinda reminded me of a Muppet or something.

"So I've heard," Mondy said and took a drink. His voice had a slow Southern drawl to it. He was a walking stereotype. "Mind if I ask you a question?"

"I figured that's why you sat down," I said.

"I dunno," Mondy started. "Can't a man just want to have a meal with a lovely lady like yourself?" His grin was infectious.

"You're the first to venture this close," I said, smiling back at him.

"Well, that's a shame," Mondy said. "Good thing you've got yourself that pretty little counterpart to keep you company."

"Alright," I said, fearing where he might go if I didn't steer the conversation. "What's your question, Mondy?"

"I was wanting to know if that temple up there would be willing to give a guy like me a try," Mondy said.

"A guy like you?" I asked.

"A steam slinger," he said.

"Why wouldn't it?" I asked, taking another bite.

"Well," Mondy said, scratching his head. "It's been my experience that my type aren't too welcome anywhere."

"Why?" I asked, slowing down my eating out of curiosity.

"Do you know what a steam slinger is?" Mondy asked.

"Not really," I said, shaking my head.

"We use offensive mechanical devices, usually steam or arcane powered," Mondy said, watching for my reaction from behind his mug.

"Well," I started. "Maybe try being less offensive?" I smiled at him.

"A shower does tend to go a long way around here," he said, liking what I said enough to give me a chuckle.

"As far as I know, Mondy, all are welcome to try the temple," I said, then leaned forward conspiratorially. "But the real question is, why you wanna go up there?"

"Well," Mondy sighed. "My family's been passing down stories of the Guardians for generations. Apparently, the Guardians helped my family out of a tight spot back in the day."

"Oh? So, you're looking to pay the Guardians back or something?" I asked.

"It's as good a reason as any, I suppose. I've been an adventurer for 20-some years now," Mondy said. "In all that time, most of what I've done is bring justice and order to the lawless."

"Sounds more like a sheriff," I said.

"Tried it," Mondy said. "Was never one for staying in one place too long, though. The family's always had the wanderlust. Besides, if you stay in one place long enough, it tends to get all civilized and boring on ya."

I was starting to like the man and gave him a smile.

"Mondy, I'm not allowed to say anything about what waits at the top of that mountain," I started, which was true. "But, as far as I know, all are welcome to try their fate. Just understand the stakes." I cautioned.

"Yeah," Mondy said and let out a loud sigh. "I've been sitting around here for a couple of weeks now, trying to muster the gumption to head that way."

"Well, I'll tell you what," I said. "If you're still around in a day or so, maybe you can show me some of that steam slinging you mentioned. I'd love to see what you got." I stood from the table, my third plate scraped clean.

"Anytime you'd like, ma'am," Mondy said as he half stood from the table.

His courtesy surprised me and made me smile.

"See ya round, Mondy," I said and headed upstairs.

***Ω***

ASHER

Restocking at the kitchen was the easiest part of the day. We told them what we needed, and they handed it to us a minute later. I think they were looking to get us out of their hair as they prepared for the lunch rush.

Patty's was a whole other story. Her small waiting room was full to overflowing with people waiting to be seen. So much so that people were even waiting outside. Being an adventurer was dangerous, but it wasn't just the guild members who were here. There were people passing through, and even townsfolk who'd come all the way from Laghold to see Patty.

At least Patty now had a clerk to man the line. Not only that, but she also had a young man training under her. I didn't know how much he knew, but he was glued to Patty, watching everything she was doing.

We left our request with the clerk and said we'd check back later when things had calmed down a bit.

As we were leaving, I glanced inside Carfen's chapel next door and was surprised to see a few people inside. Curious, I stopped and stuck my head in.

Carfen was in the back of the room talking to two older men who were enraptured with whatever he was saying.

"Carfen's looking well," Remmi said.

I looked and sure enough, his clothes, while not new, were clean and mended. Either someone was taking care of him, or divine intervention had stepped in on the drabby priest.

"He is well," a voice said from beside us.

"Cr'eon!" I gasped in surprise. The eight-foot-tall Daemon was standing just inside the door, and I'd somehow missed her! I mean, how do you miss a giant red-skinned lady like that?

"Welcome back," Cr'eon said and nodded to each of us. "Sinjin told me of your successful trip. I'm pleased you were able to return."

I glanced at Remmi. That was about as emotional as I'd ever seen Cr'eon, and I'd seen her in combat.

"As opposed to the alternative," Remmi said.

"Obviously," Cr'eon said.

"What's he doing?" I asked, nodding at Carfen.

"The man on the left is a priest in the guild," Cr'eon said. "Don't ask me his name or rank, as I forgot it as soon as I heard it. It's not important. The man on the right is a high priest of the capital. He's also not really important except for the fact that he's here to learn more about Carfen's teachings."

Carfen was a follower of the old religion. The one that was intertwined with Daemons, Guardians, and the administrator. In the millennium since their heyday, the religion of the Gray Benefactor of the Protectorate Moons had nearly faded from existence. Only a few were still versed in the ways, and Carfen was one of them.

"Seems all those people who once called Carfen crazy are coming, hat in hand now," Remmi said.

"Indeed,' Cr'eon said. "Was there something you needed, Guardians?"

"You don't have to call us that, Cr'eon," I said.

"But that is what you are," Cr'eon said.

"Yeah, about that," I started, dropping my voice to a whisper. "Back in Laghold that night we rescued Angela, did you know calling us Guardians could get us killed?"

Cr'eon took a moment to look at both of us before answering.

"You would have been killed right then and there had I not acted," Cr'eon said. "Dead then or possibly dead later, I made a choice. Would you have preferred I chose differently?"

"No!" Remmi and I said in unison, loud enough to attract the clergy's attention.

"Oh no," I repeated. "I'm still grateful for your help, thank you!"

"We should get," Remmi said, eyeing the clergy men on the other side of the room who were taking an interest in our presence.

"Good idea," I said. "Catch you later, Cr'eon!"

Remmi and I made our escape into the courtyard before the clergymen could catch up to us. I wasn't really prepared to debate dogma or anything just yet. As a matter of fact, I really didn't know much about it.

"Remind me to get with Carfen later," I said to Remmi.

"With Carfen?" Remmi said, making a face. "Really?"

I gave her a sour look.

"To talk about religion, you dork!" I said.

Remmi grinned at me.

"You? Want to talk about religion?" Remmi said in disbelief. "You wanting to sleep with him is more believable."

I didn't bother to reply as we headed towards the forge.

The small shack next to the forge had expanded. It was a decent-sized building now with a second story.

I glanced at the forge where the sound of metal ringing could be heard, but I didn't see Larisa. Instead, there were two teenagers working. One was holding a piece of metal while another hammered away at it with a rhythm you could practically dance to.

A small group of what looked like adventurers was coming out of the building just as we got to the door. We waited for them to leave before stepping inside.

"Be with you in a--" Larisa started until she saw us and froze. "Asher, Remmi!" she cried and hurried around the counter to us. "I heard you guys got back," she said as she gave us both brief hugs.

"Hey, Larisa," I said between hugs.

"I would have come to see you, but things here have been...busy!" Larisa said, releasing an explosive breath on the word busy.

"So we can see," Remmi said. "This is new." Remmi motioned about the room.

"Yeah," Larisa said with a bit of embarrassment. "After the guild moved in, things kind of exploded."

I glanced around at the large selection of weapons and armor in the room now. There wasn't a lot of room, so things were scattered everywhere. Even the small back room Larisa used to sleep in was gone, making way for more merchandise.

"You sleeping in the inn now?" I asked.

"Me? No," Larisa shook her head and pointed at the ceiling. "Had a second story put in and sleep up there now, along with my apprentices!"

"Yeah, I saw. Those two outside are yours?" I asked.

"Right? Me, with apprentices!" Larisa's eyes flashed excitedly. "There's so much work now, the forge runs nearly all day and night."

"Are they local?" Remmi asked.

"My apprentices? No," Larisa shook her head. "Came in with the guild. There's a master smith on the ship they'd been training under. But when they got here and the smith found out who I was, he asked if they could study under me for a while. I think he wanted to go into Laghold to see dad," Larisa seemed almost giddy at the prospect of her new students. "You know me, I'm not about to turn down free help! Plus, they're actually pretty good."

I didn't know the airship was still here. We'd come through the forest yesterday evening and hadn't seen it. Now that I knew it was here, I wondered who I'd have to ask to get a tour. I'd never been on an airship before.

"Now, were y'all just saying hi, or did you need something?" Larisa asked.

"Well, we'd love it if you could give our gear the once over," Remmi said. "It's been through a lot."

"I'll bet," Larisa said, nodding towards the side door to the forge. "This way."

Just before we got to the door, she stopped and turned to face us.

"Don't worry, I'll handle your gear personally," Larisa said and then glanced at me. "What? No snide comment?"

"She's growing up," Remmi said, grinning.

"I'll say," Larisa said as she gave me elevator eyes.

Larisa and I had fooled around for a while before Tara, Larisa's dream Daemon, had joined her in bed. Since then, Larisa hadn't shown any interest in fun times with me, so I'd given up on her as off the market.

Watching Larisa now, I wasn't so sure.

"Anyway, don't worry," Larisa began. "I won't let the newbies anywhere near Guardian armor. Besides, I'd never pass up getting my hands on your...gear." Larisa glanced at me again. "Really? Nothing?"

I glanced at Remmi, who shrugged.

Then I turned back to Larisa, who was still watching me from the door, disappointment on her face. I took two steps towards her, closing the distance quickly.

Larisa backed up into the door, her eyes wide.

"Do you wanna?" I started, turning my sex kitten on to full power. "I'm game right now...if you wanna..."

I could see the effect I was having on her as her pupils dilated and a flush crept up her neck and into her cheeks.

"I...uh..." Larisa swallowed hard and tried to clear her throat. "We...uh..." Her hand clawed at the door behind her, trying to find the handle.

"Your bed's not on the other side of this door now, is it?" I purred at her.

She literally froze before taking a step towards the stairs to her room.