Locum Tenens

~~~ Chapter Notes ~~~

Rilla had a close call and Loki did his best to help restore her peace-of-mind.

~~~ Furgrim's Kingdom ~~~

Rilla woke me up with a blowjob - and wouldn't let me up until she'd gotten me to nut in her - riding me slowly as she continuously told me how much she loved me, Kira, and the girls.

I finally got Kira to talk to her. The two of them sent mental messages back and forth for a bit and then Rilla came over and squeezed my shoulders and kissed my cheek.

"Better?" I asked.

"My sister-wife told me to get my shit together and keep my eyes open for more attacks. She said to quit focusing on past failures and future worries. She told me to make sure I get you safely back home so we can fuck the hell out of you together."

"I can live with that ...," I told her.

I wrapped my arms around her waist, squeezed her pert derrière, and kissed her lips.

We ate, topped off the fluids, packed up our shit, and hit the road.

We got back to the palace around mid-morning. I updated Furgrim on how things went with the goblins and then showed him the bodies of the assassins (or whatever they were). He said that they'd had some people taken along his northeast border but that they'd never had something like this happen in the middle of his kingdom. He worried that Zuun was trying to test me - possibly because I was the All-Father's champion. He warned me to keep an eye out for Zuun's chosen warrior.

We bid Furgrim a fond farewell and portaled back to the dragon's cave. We got her caught up on our adventures (minus the sex) and showed her the bodies of the assassins. The great mother suggested that I continue to practice the skill that I had started using at Furgrim's palace - to look through the eyes of my spirit-bird at the same time I looked through my normal ones. She believed that - despite my enhanced stealth capabilities - that I would not be able to detect Zuun's champion until he was already on me. She stated that she believed that my spy-bird would be able to see him.

The dragon matron agreed with Furgrim that the appearance of the assassins - on the path that Rilla and I had taken already - and would likely follow in order to return - seemed to indicate that I was being hunted.

We had chatted for several minutes when she sniffed the air and then told me to go hunting for something for her to eat. She said that she'd keep Rilla with her to chat. She told Rilla to sit next to her chest and lie back and relax.

My auburn-headed wife finally looked at peace - for the first time since the attack at the pit. I nodded my thanks to the dragon and headed towards the mouth of the cave. She called after me to practice using the spy-bird as I walked. She told me that venison sounded really good. She suggested that she sensed some to the east.

I brought the spy-bird out as a finch - flying five feet off of the ground in front of me. I really had to focus to keep from tripping on stuff on the ground while I was trying to see through the bird's eyes as well. I walked for probably a half-mile before I realized that it would be easier to find the deer if I was flying higher. I switched the finch to a raven and flew a couple hundred feet in the air - searching down through the trees - looking for deer that had bedded down until dusk.

I'd traveled another half-mile before I caught a glimpse of something moving behind me - and it wasn't a deer. It was an invisible foe. I turned back to look with my human eyes and couldn't see them. My spirit-bird's eyes could make them out, however, and they were definitely stalking me.

It occurred to me that the dragon had sensed the other warrior and had figured out how to keep Rilla out of harm's way - leaving me to fight this guy (or girl) one-on-one.

I decided to pretend like I didn't know he/she was there - and continued to act as if I were just hunting the dragon's dinner - all while trying to find the perfect spot to face my foe.

I finally arrived at a meadow that would leave little to hide behind. My logic was that I was a toe-to-toe fighter - and this guy/gal was stealth, using cover, and backstabbing. If I got them into the open, we should be more evenly matched.

I moved to the center, turned, and faced where I knew they were. I watched through the spirit-bird's eyes as they stood, watching me. Finally, they appeared to my human eyes.

"Well met," the wire-thin man said.

His voice was nasally and whiny-sounding. He was shirtless - wearing only pants that ended at his calves. His feet were bare as well. His skin had a gray hue to it. There was little about the man that I cared for - his appearance, his attitude, his voice, ...

I guess me - not responding - must have pissed him off. He scowled, threw two throwing knives at me, and vanished. The spirit-bird couldn't see him - which meant that he had teleported. I teleported closer to where he had stood. I couldn't quite reach the spot - which meant that my teleportation range was less than his - but I got close. I immediately spun to see where he appeared.

He showed up at a point that would have been on my left. He threw two more knives as he reappeared - but I was no longer where he'd aimed. He found me quickly, corrected, and threw two more knives. He immediately disappeared again.

My cool-down timer was still counting towards reset - so I couldn't teleport again. I waited to see where he showed up this time. He appeared two feet from where he had just been - looking back to where he thought I would show up. He shifted to his left when he saw me waiting - obviously trying to figure out if I had saved my teleport - or if I was on cooldown. I didn't wave my hands at him or anything but sent a spear of magical damage at his chest.

The sneering assassin with grey skin disappeared. Immediately, I felt a sharp pain in my back - spearing through my heart - and erupting from my chest. The blade retracted and he jumped away to watch me die. I healed the damage and sent it his way. He shrieked in pain, pulled out some talisman, and rubbed it between his fingers, chanting. The wound sealed shut - leaving a scar on his bare chest.

He disappeared again and I shifted forward and left. He reappeared, spotted me, disappeared, and stabbed me in the back again - leaving his blade inside this time. He reappeared in front of me and studied me. I needed the blade gone in order to heal. I could heal it where it was - sealing it within - but it was tainted or cursed or something - so I needed it out. I couldn't reach it. It was just beyond my grasp. The longer I struggled, the wider he grinned.

"Having troubles, friend?" he sneered.

I looked through the eyes of the raven, high above, seeing the assassin standing there - watching me.

I suddenly remembered that I had been able to get the bird to manipulate and move the pen. Leaving my human form as it was, I swooped down to my back, locked my beak around the handle of the blade, pressed my clawed feet against my back, and wrenched the tainted dagger from between my shoulder blades.

As soon as it was free, I healed the injury and sent his attack back at him.

He hissed and writhed and grabbed for his talisman again. I sent a slashing wound through his wrist - causing him to drop the healing charm. I sent the raven to grab it from where it had fallen.

The bird swooped in, grasped the talisman, and headed my way. He threw a knife through its body - turning it to smoke - but the talisman landed on the ground a few feet in front of me. I pulled a cloth from my storage, grabbed it up, and stored it away.

He screamed at me.

I began walking towards him - with fire in my eyes.

I pulled the necrotic blade from my storage and stabbed myself in the neck. I healed the damage and transferred it to him. He clawed at his neck as the curse began to eat his flesh.

I stabbed the blade into my chest - piercing my heart. I pulled the tainted blade free, stored it away, and sent the damage to him - restoring my flesh and making it whole again.

"You fucking ..."

He never gave voice to whatever he was going to say. He died on his feet. The curse continued to eat away his flesh. I pulled a tattered blanket from my storage, wrapped him in it, and stored him away.

I took out my waterskin and took a long hard pull on it - the water was cold and clear. I stored it away, called the raven back, and went hunting for a snack for the venerable mother.

I found a small herd several minutes later, took down a stag that was past his prime, field dressed him, and threw him across my shoulders. I raced back for the cave.

The dragon complained when she saw the carcass. She told me that I'd thrown away some of the tastiest parts. I laughingly told her that I didn't think that gastrointestinal organs were anything close to delicacies. She asked me to remove the antlers. I placed the body in her open mouth and she chewed up her treat and swallowed it down.

"Thank you, child," she said.

"Thanks for keeping my wife out of my hair while I dealt with Zuun's assassin," I told her.

"What?!" Rilla gasped.

The dragon simply chuckled as I related the story to my wife.

We sat, visiting with the mother dragon, until Kira interrupted to say that they were going to use her portal-stone to return to the capitol. We said goodbye to the Great Mother and held hands to travel as well.

We arrived at the courtyard shortly after the others. I shook Sveth's hand and kissed his girlfriend's knuckles. The two headed off for the kitchens to report in to Mila. Hatch rolled onto her back to do a little sunbathing while the rest of us headed for the receiving hall to update Kira's father and brother on our trips.

The king finished with the petitioners and we headed for the private meeting room. Rilla and I listened in as Kira shared her information. Once she was done, the king looked at me. I motioned for Rilla to tell the story. She blushed and Kira's dad chuckled and told her to go ahead.

I thought her retelling of the difficulty in making our way over the mountain peaks was far too brief - and lacked the moments of harrowing near-missteps. Kira told me that I was being overly dramatic.

Rilla told them about me fidgeting impatiently as we waited to meet with Furgrim. She told them about me listening in on his conversation with his advisors, and then about me seeing the advisor communicating with the cook.

I thought that her story of how things went in the dining room painted me as taking too many unnecessary risks and I started to object but Kira warned me that it was probably my version that was the skewed one. I decided to pick my battles - and not die on this particular hill.

Rilla told about traveling to the front, fighting across the heights, and destroying the goblins and hobs. She skipped over our battle-sex but I think Kira's lusty looks at me filled in the missing pieces for her father.

Rilla's story about fighting the assassins, however, was grim and graphic. She got teary-eyed and Kira hugged her, congratulated her on putting her fears down, and helping get me safely back to the cave.

She left the story about Zuun's assassin to me. The king called for the mage and I brought out the three bodies of the assassins - followed by the talisman (still wrapped in cloth) - as well as the body of the champion - which immediately started decaying again when I pulled it out of storage.

The mage took no tissue samples or anything. He looked over the scars that they had cut onto their bodies, wrote a few things down on a piece of paper, and then informed me that I should probably burn the corpses well away from the city. I stored everything and he cast a spell to purify the table of any lingering issues.

Finally finished with our reports, we asked the king about the status with Valeri's husband. He informed us that the guards had found the man at a tavern. The man had already spent a goodly amount of her coins - but they caught him before he'd started spending it on more than just strong drink.

The king informed us that - though he understood the venom in our judgements - that killing the man was little short of murder. Kira, Rilla, and I informed him that we were happy to take the blame for his death.

Kira's dad begged her not to kill him over a matter that was little more than a marital dispute. I got a little pissed off at that point and asked him about Valeri's rights. He informed me that she was simply out, divorced, on her own - with whatever her husband gave her. He remarked that her treatment wasn't that different than most others. I told him that it was bullshit and that - if he didn't release the man to us - I'd just go down to the dungeons and kill him there. I warned him that I had enough experience healing poisons that I could make it slow and painful and look like he'd died naturally. I also offered to just take his head and be done with it.

While the king and I were arguing, Rilla caught my elbow and held it. I stopped to look at her. She whispered and asked me to send a mental message to the mother dragon, asking her if she would hear the case and make a decision between the two.

The dragon responded that she was willing to do it. I informed the king about my request and her response. He nodded and said that he liked this course of action better.

He had guards bring the husband up. Zima went to find Valeri. When everyone had been assembled, I portaled us from the receiving hall to the cave.

We arrived with Valeri, her husband, two guards, Kira, and me. The dragon studied our group and then had me return Kira and the guards back to the king's hall. We waited about ten minutes and she called us back again. We returned to find Valeri's husband dead on the floor of the cave - with no signs of what killed him.

"I was questioning the two of them when his heart stopped working," the dragon reported. "Inform the king that I was not able to pass judgement because he died naturally before I'd learned enough to make a decision."

I asked Valeri if she was alright. She just said that it had happened so fast that she couldn't believe that it was over.

I returned everyone to the king's presence. We told him what happened. He said that he would write out a writ of judgement that the shop would remain Valeri's until her death and then would pass back to the husband's family. Whatever monies were held at that time would become theirs as well.

Valeri said she was happy at the palace and that she was done with the shop.

The king gave her the money that was left and wrote out orders for the shop to be returned to the dead man's parents - along with the body.

Valeri hugged and kissed us and then went back to her room in the palace workers' quarters.

As Kira's father slipped away, her brother asked us if we had a moment to talk. We said 'yes' and he ushered us into an empty side-room.

"I want to see if you'd be interested in switching quarters," he said.

Kira grinned and asked, "Things getting serious with Dora?"

He shook his head, grinning, and said, "We're still taking it slow but ..."

"Are you keeping the orphans where they are now, or are we moving them with us?" she asked him.

"I'd thought to leave them where they are. I would move to the room you're in - Dad's old room - and Dora would take the guest room."

"You mean that's where you'll say she sleeps. We all know where she sleeps."

"Hush," he said, grinning. "I've become accustomed to having the little ones around ..."

"... and those will be your quarters when you're king," she said firmly.

"I ... uh ... actually hadn't even considered that," he said - his face turning serious.

Kira looked at me and Rilla.

"I'm good with whatever," I said. "You, I, and Rilla need a room. It'd be nice to have a room for Monika or Nella to use."

I looked at my girls.

"We can share a room," Zima said easily. "She farts a lot but I'm used to it."

"I do not!" Hanna gasped.

Zima giggled and hugged her.

"My quarters has a large bedroom and four rooms for attendants or servants," he said.

"Plenty for everyone," I said, nodding.

"It's towards the back of the palace," he reminded us.

"It's not that far - and I think I'd like to try the rear for a change."

As soon as the words came out of my mouth, Kira and Rilla started laughing. Kiro facepalmed and I blushed. I looked over to see Hanna blushing and Zima laughing.

"You're grounded, young lady," I told Hanna.

"I don't even know what being grounded means," she said, with tears in her eyes.

"He's just embarrassed that you've been listening to the chatter on the street again," Rilla told her, hugging her shoulder. "Ignore the brute."

We headed to our rooms to find servants waiting to start helping us pack. Mila was standing at the back of the group with a huge smile on her face.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" I asked, accusingly.

"It's nice to see you too, not-husband," she said, laughing. "The sooner I get you settled in, the sooner I can negotiate for my free night."

"Free night?" I asked, looking at my wives.

"We need to talk," Kira said, completely unflustered.

We took an hour's break for dinner but - by bedtime - Kiro was moved into the king's old apartments and we were in the back - with the king still nestled snuggly in the rooms to the middle. He shook his head and smiled as he watched servants bustling back and forth but he didn't say anything.

I saw Mila with her head stuck together with Rilla and Kira and went to find out what they were clucking about. They shushed it up before I got close enough to hear much but I thought I picked out Valeri's name.

I liked the woman. I still thought of her as my official welcome wagon to this world. She was almost old enough to be my mother - and I already had Nella and Monika for whenever I wanted a mature woman with full breasts and a thick bush to explore.

We got everything settled and Mila and the servants disappeared. I wasn't too surprised, however, when she showed up just before bedtime.

We had just returned from visiting with the orphans - where Hanna had pulled out her notes and told the girls the story of our battle with the hill giants. They were already chomping at the bit to hear the rest of her chronicles of our adventures.

I opened the door to our rooms and the girls came tromping in - Kira, Rilla, Zima, Hanna, ... and Mila. She grinned, groped my crotch, gave me a peck on the lips, and headed straight for the bedroom. I chuckled as I closed the door. I didn't bother locking it. The guards were still at their posts.

I followed the girls to Zima's room. Hanna had asked to sleep with her tonight - until we got used to the new layout. They both grinned up at me. I told myself that I needed to talk to Valeri about having some flannel pajamas made for my daughters.

I bent down, kissed both of my daughters on the forehead, and told them how much I loved them. I blew out the lantern and eased the door shut.

I opened the door of my bedroom - which - the day before had been Kiro's bedroom - expecting to hear all manner of debauchery in progress. Instead, it was deathly quiet - the kind of quiet that fills you with dread. The lanterns had been blown out. Only the night vision that came with the skills I had picked up from Kira allowed me to even make out what was happening in the room.

Three women lay in the bed, side by side, with the covers pulled up to their necks. They were all grinning from ear-to-ear. Mila was in the middle. Kira was on her right. Rilla was on her left.

I walked to the foot of the bed and stopped, waiting to hear ... something. They were obviously planning something - and obviously completely in agreement on whatever it was - and I could only hope that I came through it with all of my parts still intact and functional.