Chapter 21

I woke with my head pounding. I tried to recall what had happened last night, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember anything past getting seated and talking for a bit before our food arrived. We must have drank more than I expected and now I was paying for it. As I looked at my sides, I saw Amenthia and Entivala in their usual positions, though looking a little worse for wear. They had smeared makeup on their faces, along with what looked to be dried cum. They weren’t lying on my arms, for once, so I could easily move around in the bed. Lifting the covers, I could see all three of us were naked, but I noticed cuffs on their feet and hands. I got up and saw Kat’ilth’ana asleep in her bed, seemingly untouched compared to the others. On the table was an open box and I saw many of the various toys I had ordered.

The pads and some of the other vibrating toys were either still in the box or on the table. On the floor of Entivala’s side of the bed lay the strap on, a bottle of lube and one of the ball gags. Glancing over to Amenthia’s side, another bottle of lube and the other ball gag lay on the floor. I shifted a little and was happy that, in my drunken state, I didn’t allow them to try the strap-on on me. I did wish we hadn’t been so drunk that I couldn’t remember, because images of one woman helping me fuck the other was filling my head. I felt slightly grimy from the dried sweat and probably other fluids that covered my body. I grabbed my robe and some clothes and headed off to the shower. As I reached the door, I noticed that Katie was up and looking over at me.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” I said with a sheepish grin. “I hope you slept okay. I don’t know about you, but I definitely drank too much last night.”

She nodded, “We all did, though you three more than I did. I figured one of us had to be sharp, just in case. Thankfully, I think I was asleep when you guys started your fun, because you were passed out in your clothes when I went to sleep.”

“Well, that is good,” I replied with a curt nod. “The last thing I would want to do is make you uncomfortable by making you watch our debauchery. Can you do me a favor, though?” I asked, to which she gave a nod. “Someone keeps stealing my used boxers. I tracked them up to the next floor, but I couldn’t get up there. I am hoping you can stake out the entrance and catch them in the act.”

She agreed, so I grabbed my used undies from last night and headed off towards the showers. I took my time and enjoyed myself, soothing any aches that still remained from our fights and sex yesterday. When I left, my boxers were indeed gone, and I stepped outside to find Katie pressing a young woman against a wall. In her hand was my underwear, and she was desperately fighting to free herself from the Dryad’s grasp.

“Well, what do we have here?” I asked quizzically. “Kat’ilth’ana, it looks to me like you have found someone leaving the showers with my personal property, and while I was washing myself no less.”

The girl struggled and spat. “You better let me go, or there will be hell to pay. Just wait until Tyr finds out you have done this to me; he will punish you again!”

“I see,” I said solemnly with a nod. “Well, how about we call him here, and we can find out what he thinks for ourselves? I am sure Tyr should be able to rectify the situation rather quickly.”

I saw true panic in her eyes then, and to be honest I loved it. I had meant to simply scare her straight, but I figured I would end this shit before it got worse. I closed my eyes to say a silent prayer and a second later my eyes opened in time to see Tyr appear behind the two women in a flash of light.

“So, this is the person who has been apparently stealing from you?” Tyr asked, crossing his arms. “Velya, I am surprised that you are the one who has been doing this. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“He should have been my charge!” She yelled with ichor in her voice. “I went through the training and yet she got chosen! It is fucking bullshit!”

He sighed and said, “You know the rules as well as I, Velya. You have a set amount of time to wait for a rebirth to arrive, otherwise you are returned as a regular adventurer.”

She struggled against Katie again. “If it weren’t for the fucking oath we had to make, I would have told everyone about your lies and hypocrisy. Telling the masses that they lost their memories and need to be instructed once again in the ways of our world. Forcing blood oaths on initiates so that if they return to the pool of adventurers, they are unable to talk to anyone but their patron about it.”

Energy crackled behind Tyr’s eyes. “No one is forced to take the oath. You are given the option to leave and return to the Pact House. If you choose to participate and learn more, then you choose the oath. You can’t make a choice willingly and then complain about it because you don’t like the result. Move past it and move on Velya. If you cannot, and you continue to do things like this, then you will suffer the consequences!”

“Always protecting your precious Rebirth bastard, aren’t you?” she spat, her anger only growing. “All I did was take his used undergarments. You would just supply him with more. You had us trained in battle and sex for our charges, yet not expected it to affect us. Yeah, so what if I use them for my own gratification? It isn’t hurting anyone, and I can’t seem to even come close to finding any pleasure with anyone but him.”

The energy subsided and Tyr relaxed his arms, “I will send you to your trainers for help on these matters. Perhaps Freyja and Aphrodite can come up with something to alleviate the issue so that you can function normally. I will suggest they reach out and see if others are reacting as you are. I don’t like theft in my house, but I hate the unintended suffering of my charges by choices that the gods make.” Tyr then turned to me and said, “There is always something interesting with you, isn’t there? If this happens again, let me know, and I will look into if further.”

He walked forward and placed his hand on the woman. She turned to glare at me just before they disappeared in a flash of light. I shook my head in disbelief at what had transpired, and it got me thinking. What if some of those who are part of this plot were former members chosen to be partners to a rebirth. They didn’t end up with a rebirth and have become disillusioned at the silence that was forced upon them after all they went through. That could easily cause deep resentment towards the Council, especially when a rebirth appears just after your time to be chosen has ended. I wondered if there were any others that felt that way, and my mind drifted to Jonta.

Could he have been one selected who became disillusioned by the systems in place? Or did he simply get recruited because of his skill and demeanor? Perhaps they lulled him into their midst with promises of power and the freedom to do or take whatever he wanted. I realized I was letting my mind wander into the ‘what if’ territory a lack of information causes. We didn’t know enough about what was happening to have an idea of their motives, what kind of people their ranks were comprised of and how they were recruiting new members.

Happy that this was dealt with, for now, I returned to the room and found my ladies waking up. Both were groaning as they stretched, complaining of sore muscles and being far too tired to get up. A smack on the ass of both of them got their attention and I simply told them, “Too bad”. I had a feeling they were the ones, specifically Amenthia, who started last night’s debauchery and should now pay the consequences. I am not a total monster, so we would forgo the Dungeon, but we would do training in the afternoon.

“Katie, could you please take these two to the showers,” I asked the Dryad while still looking at my uncomfortable ladies. “Set them up to have a soak to ease their sore muscles. I am not sure if there is anything that can be added to the water to assist in this, but if there is, please do so.”

Kat’ilth’ana nodded and helped both of them up, one by one. She gave them their robes and selected the appropriate undergarments for when they were done. I figured we were looking at an hour or two. Katie would help them get back here, so I had some time to myself.

I began thinking of one thing I could use in battle, but I wasn’t sure what I could do about it. I needed the ability to use some kind of offensive magic. I could send out a blast or two as I was closing the distance on an enemy, then engage them in close quarter fighting. Perhaps I could go and ask the ladies at the Knowledge Center. They could either sell me the magic, as they did with the animal speaking spell, we got for Amenthia, or they could guide me to someone I should speak with.

I left a note telling them where I had gone just in case I hadn’t returned before they did. I popped into the dining hall to grab an apple for the road and then went over to the atrium. A few minutes later, I found myself in the familiar room of the Knowledge Center. Saga was behind the counter, dealing with someone, while Vor and Snotra were nowhere to be seen. Due to the endless shelves they said the Center contained, they could be anywhere within this place. I waited for Saga to finish with the current visitor and then went up to greet her.

“Good day, Saga,” I announced with a friendly smile, “I hope you and your sisters are doing well. I was wondering what kind of magic I might be able to learn from you.”

Saga smiled and replied, “Good day to you, too, Pathios. I hope you are well, as are your lady friends, as I see they are not with you today. As for your request, there are various magics you can learn from us. They will, of course, grow with you and allow you to learn more powerful versions as you progress. As you know from your last visit, they will cost you gold and the price will be dependent on the rarity of the spell. If you cannot use a particular spell due to lack of skill or any limitations, I will tell you of it. For now, let me get you the list of spells that you can choose from.”

She left to go down one of the nearby aisles behind her and returned a few moments later with a small book. It only looked to be a half inch thick, but I had no doubt the list would be extensive.

“This has every spell we can give out for sale here,” Saga said with her usual warm smile. “The pages are broken down by spell type and average level for effective use. If your stats or level are too low, you can suffer spell failure. This could be a harmless fizzle of the spell, or, depending on the spell, could cause damage to the caster. I’d like to tell you there is a special list of spells for you to choose from, due to your unique status, but there isn’t. The past adventurers would either be a spell caster or a fighter and rarely deviated from that. That said, only two ever chose the path of a spellcaster, due to the limitations caused by how they activate. They didn’t like the idea of being too ‘squishy’ as they liked to call it for some reason.”

That made sense. I looked down at the book and asked, “Will the book list what limitations there are for the spellcaster, based not only on stats but equipment as well?”

“Yes, it will,” She replied, “You will see the spell, mana cost, type of spell. A description of the spell. Minimum stat and level requirements for the spell, as well as armor restrictions. Take your time to peruse the book and think on what you want to do with the spells you have available to you.”

I began looking through the various spells that they had to offer, recognizing some based on either the name or description of the spell. All were based on D&D spells though those were all available and not limited to a class. I was unsure of what to pick, when one spell in particular caught my eye.

Divine Blast

Call forth a blast of divine energy, gifted to you from your Pact Leader. This blast will be discharged from your Pact bracer, shooting a burst of divine energy at any chosen enemy within three feet of the caster. The target is damaged by the blast and is stunned for one minute, making it more susceptible to attack. Damage and stun duration increase every five levels, ex: levels one to five, Damage: x 1, levels six to ten, Damage: x 1.25...

Damage: Wisdom + Magic x 1

Stun duration: 30 seconds x 1

Mana cost: 30

Looking at the damage and description, it reminded me of the guiding bolt spell given to Clerics. It would be useful in most of our outings, and, based on the current mana cost, I should be able to get a few off each day. It would be a useful addition to my arsenal, especially if I kept getting enemies put in my path that were vastly stronger than myself and those with me in my party. It would set me back around twenty thousand gold, but it would be worth it. We had more than enough to cover the costs of our room, and, now that we were one level five, we could take quests there or on level three to build up funds and prestige. With my mind made up, I closed the book and brought it back to Saga. Snotra had joined her, and they were talking to one another when I approached.

“Ah, Pathios,” Saga said as I approached the counter. “I would guess that you have decided on a spell you would like to use?”

I nodded in response and replied, “Yes I have. Sometime soon, you should explain to me the spells that are only available to rebirths. I figure they won’t be cheap, so I will return for that conversation after I accumulated more gold and prestige.”

I explained to her which spell I wanted and provided her with the required gold to finish our transaction. She nodded as she handed her sister the book I had been given and Snotra headed down one of the aisles behind them. She returned with a small piece of parchment that had a crystal in it. She placed it over the crystal in my Pact bracer and began to speak in Icelandic.

“Ó guðir sem skapa og stjórna þessum heimi, láta mátt guðdómsins varpa frá þessu verkfæri, til að tortíma þeim sem kúga og ógna öðrum.”

Which roughly translated to: “O gods who create and rule this world, let the power of the deity cast off this tool to destroy those who oppress and threaten others.”

A beam of light was emitted from the page, connecting to my crystal, and causing it to flash. Snotra pulled the page away and I watched as my mana bar, which had been empty before now, began to fill with blue light. A quick check of my stats showed that I now had a hundred and twenty mana to utilize, giving me four shots of my Divine Blast before I would have to refill my mana. I thanked them both and told them I hoped they had a good day before heading back to the entryway to return to the Pact House.

As I walked, I tried to feel for my magic. When the transfer happened, I could feel a change in my body, but I couldn’t home in on it. I had seen each of the ladies in my party channel their abilities when they needed to cast their spells. It felt like it was just out of reach, then I remembered the basis for the spell. I stopped walking, closed my eyes, and tried to connect with Tyr. When I opened them, I saw the Pact bracer and the jewel inside it were glowing. I drew away from the connection and watched the bracer return to normal. I reached out two more times, watching the bracer, and seeing the glow when I was successful.

A quick glance at my clock showed I had only taken an hour. I returned to our room and saw they had not yet returned. A glance at my map confirmed that all three were still in the showers. I didn’t want to eat without them, so I decided to head to the outdoor training area and test my new ability. I found a training dummy that was being unused and popped open my stats page. The spell combined my wisdom and magic stats to display the damage. Currently that meant it was at fifteen and would only grow as I used it. I reached for the magic and stretched out my hand towards the dummy. Confident that I was pointing at the target, I called out “Divine Blast” and watched as the glow of the bracer grew and a pulse of energy blasted from it towards the dummy.