Chapter 3: Chains and Swords

Given a heading by the imprisoned Pack members, Noah, Valia, and Shannon departed from Welindar, heading northeast on horseback, though Shannon preferred to gallop on her own hooves. With the Pack all but vanquished in the city and the poison arrows ready and waiting, now was as good a time as any to go out and search for the kidnapped horse tribe. Heading northeast, they dove back into the wilderness, crossing plains and forests. Their pace was quick, driven by Shannon’s eagerness, and Noah and Valia often had to call out to her when she raced too far ahead.

Autumn had taken hold, and the winds that crossed the plains had lost their sweet warmth. Soon, the branches over their heads would be bare, but they greedily clung to their remaining amber leaves for now. The sun was also quick to set, much to Shannon’s dismay.

“Are you sure we can’t keep going? There is still some light left,” she asked as they made camp.

“It’ll take half a month for us to get there, and no amount of desperation is going to change that timeframe. Besides, you need to rest whenever you can,” Noah reminded her.

They had found a wooded area to camp in, out of the wind and out of sight. Since the nights were getting colder, they brought tents, alchemically crafted out of mylar, which reflected the campfire’s heat. They were open-sided to provide a complete view of anything trying to sneak up, and Noah also set up an alarm system he built in Sylphtoria to alert them if anything came close to their camp. He even had some magic tools to conceal the smoke of their fire and any other scents that might give away their position.

Though Shannon was anxious to keep moving, once she sat down, all of her accumulated fatigue hit her, and as Noah started cooking a wild bird he caught, she became aware of her hunger. Not wanting to remain purely on the receiving end, she prepared soup to go with it, using the techniques of her tribe.

“I had never seen a city before coming to Welindar, and it was truly amazing to see so many buildings and people, but I much prefer it out here, in the wilderness.”

“I definitely know that feeling. As an elf, I feel truly at home among the trees.”

“I spent a lifetime living in a log cabin in a place called Alaska. It was beautiful, rugged country, with mountains carpeted in lush forest, and rivers and lakes winding across the land. The winters were brutal, colder than you can imagine, and there would be a whole month where the sun just wouldn’t rise, but the summers were just spectacular, and the sun would never set. It was a difficult life, but also very tranquil. Every night, if the weather would permit me, I’d sit outside on my porch, looking at the stars.”

“Did you have a wife?” Valia asked.

“No, I was alone, but I had befriended most of the animals in the area. An Alaskan grizzly won’t hesitate to tear open a suit of armor like a burlap sack, but if you know how to handle them and be patient, they’ll roll on their backs and let you rub their bellies. You have not lived until you given a bear a belly rub.”

Valia and Shannon giggled, and Shannon hugged her knees to her chest with a lingering smile. Though she didn’t dare to say it, more than simply enjoying being back in the countryside, she was happy to finally be alone with Noah and Valia. From when they traveled to Welindar to when they worked for the prince, there were always other people around: Uther soldiers who saw her as a nuisance and beastmen who saw her as a traitor.

Finally, she was away from that negativity, free to be with her friends. Noah, who had become her mentor, and Valia, who gave her courage; they were her heroes, her saviors, and her respect and gratitude towards them were beyond words. She had taken it upon herself to serve them loyally, and though she longed to be reunited with her tribe and return to her old life, part of her wanted to continue following them, aiding them with whatever incredible endeavors awaited.

After running all day, Shannon quickly fell asleep while Noah and Valia remained awake, gazing at the stars. Noah used his concealment magic to contain their voices so they could talk without waking her.

“Valon and I used to spend countless nights stargazing like this, searching for new runic constellations.”

“And you could just make new spells like that?”

“Rarely. The stars had to line up just right, and as they moved, the spells would weaken.”

“You know, this is the first world I’ve been to where I don’t recognize the stars.”

“Really?”

“It’s true. In every world I reincarnated in, the stars were always the same. I even learned how to tell the date by measuring the stars. It’s how I figured out I was always being reborn into the same time period, even if the world around me was more primitive or advanced. It was comforting to know I could always rely on them. No matter how different everything else was, they remained the same.”

“That’s so sweet,” she said, rubbing her head against his shoulder.

“Thanks,” he sighed.

“What’s wrong?”

“Using the tech in the lab, I managed to write a counter spell for my curse.”

“You did? That’s great!”

“Not really. It’s mainly just a proof of concept. The spell itself is incredibly simple, just supply a certain amount of power to completely obliterate the curse. It’s like moving a boulder; the spell figured out how much force would be required if you pushed it with just your hands. If I can add specifications, details, and algorithms to the formula, then I can lower the required energy, the same way you can use levers and pulleys to move the boulder easier.”

“Well how much power are we talking?”

“In its most basic, bare-bones form, the spell would require the power of dozens, perhaps hundreds of stars to break my curse.”

“I don’t understand what that means. How much power does a star produce? What even are stars?”

“I’ve told you about the Periodic Elements, correct? Well, the very first element is a gas called hydrogen, and there are vast clouds of it floating in the emptiness of space. Over time, gravity corrals them together, and the more hydrogen atoms gather, the greater their gravitational pull, drawing in more hydrogen, and so on. Eventually, they form masses of gas so large and dense that gravity forces the atoms to fuse together. Tremendous energy is released from this fusion, which we experience as sunlight.

Assuming this world and its sun is similar to the suns I’m used to, it has a diameter of 865,000 miles, over a hundred times the size of the planet we’re lying on, and during its lifetime, for every second it exists, it’s producing enough energy to obliterate this planet millions of times over. The stars continue fusing elements for billions of years until they eventually run out of fuel.

When that happens, they explode, releasing more energy in a single moment than in their entire lifetime. The elements forged in those stars are released into the cosmos, forming planets, new stars, and even us. All the matter in your body was crafted in the heart of stars. Each of us, every life form, is made of stardust.”

“Wow,” Valia gasped.

“Yep, and yet the power of our sun is just a fraction of what is required to break the laws of time. Even if I can rewrite the spell to require just one percent of the original power, it would still require a divine level of might.”

“You’ll figure it out, and Valon will help. The two of you have what it takes to break your curse. It’s only a matter of time.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Now please, keep telling me about the stars. I’m curious.”

“Well there are more stars in the sky than grains of sand in the world.”

“Ok, that, I refuse to believe. You’re talking to someone has spent a lot of time counting stars.”

“Even your elf eyes can’t see everything. If every star in the universe was equally distanced from us, it would be as bright as daytime. I swear, it’s true, and that’s not even the crazy part. Want to know how far away the stars actually are? It takes eight minutes for a light particle, a photon, to travel from the sun to this world. In a year, it can cross almost six-trillion miles. That’s a six with nine zeroes.”

“Nonsense.”

“It’s true. In astronomy, we use the term lightyear to measure distance. And the stars you see are so far from us, that it took the light millions of years to cross the distance. You are seeing the stars as they were millions of years ago. Perhaps that’s why you have such a hard time finding runic constellations. So many of the stars you see in the sky have already burned out and died ages ago, and their light is just now reaching us. The light of the stars is like the shadow of ghosts. The universe really is that vast.”

“Huh, I’m starting to see how Valon went crazy. This really messes with your head.”

“Yep, that’s cosmic horror for you. A long time ago, I was working on a space station orbiting the sun. I told you on Kisara Island about spaceships and colonies, right? Anyway, the station was circling the sun at a somewhat close proximity, and by that, I mean several millions of miles away. The station had gold paneling to reflect the sun’s energy so we wouldn’t be annihilated, and the windows had these thick filters on them so that you could look at the sun without going blind.

Some of the windows could be adjusted, and with just a few percentage points of exposure, you would be saturated with light, filling you up and flowing through you. Think back to the Star of Sylphtoria. The light, the warmth, it was incredible. You could genuinely feel the sun’s energy, the energy that nourished the earth, made plants grow, and turned winter into summer. I could just feel my body drinking in the light.”

“Damn, that sounds incredible. I don’t know how I’ll be able to sleep after this.”

“Well, I know one thing that will help you sleep.”

“Sneaking off feels like a bad idea.”

“Who said anything about sneaking off?”

Valia turned to him with a shocked look. “You can’t be serious. Shannon is right there!”

“She’s sound asleep, and my shroud is covering us, so she won’t hear a thing.”

“But what if she wakes up and catches us?”

“So what if she does? We stop, apologize for disturbing her, and call it quits. Is the idea of an awkward morning really so scary? Besides, this is the perfect test for my magic.”

“I don’t know about this...”

Noah got on top of her. “Yeah you do. You know you’ll love it, know that I’ll make you arch your back and curl your toes, know that I’ll leave you gasping for air, drained of all strength after you climax. All you have to do is kiss me.”

Part of Valia wanted to refuse, afraid of getting caught, but it was too late. Noah knew how to turn orgasms from a simple pleasure into an addiction. The more a woman experienced his skill, the more her body craved him like a drug. She gave in and answered him with a loving kiss, letting her tongue meet his.

Eventually, Shannon began to stir, awoken by their activities. She opened her eyes and was shocked by the sight before her. Noah and Valia were on their sides, facing her and the campfire. Valia’s leg was raised, and Noah drove into her with deep, steady thrusts. The campfire’s light danced on Valia’s exposed breasts, which Noah massaged to their mutual pleasure. So engrossed were they with their ongoing kiss they had no idea Shannon was watching them.

Unlike the other times when Noah and Valia’s joined voices would slip through his shroud, the two of them were silent, and it wasn’t a noise that had awoken her, but a smell, one that her instincts picked up on and sent a shiver down her spine. She realized what it was when Noah suddenly stopped his thrusts and gave a voiceless grunt. He pulled out of Valia, with his semen trickling from her gate, not the first or the last time of the evening. That was the smell, the mixed aroma of manly seed and womanly nectar, filling the air with pheromones.

They moved their mouths to grunt, moan, and talk, but Shannon heard nothing. For a moment, she thought she had gone deaf, but realized that she could still hear the crackling of the fire and the chirping of the crickets. They were using some trick to try and conceal their intimacy, and Shannon was glad it didn’t entirely work. After countless nights of hearing them have sex, she could finally see it.

As Noah sat up, Valia turned around and crawled over with a coy smirk. Shannon couldn’t hear what she said, as she was too preoccupied watching as Noah’s member passed her lips, and she greedily sucked him clean. Shannon could see the muscles in her throat and jaw working as she serviced him, could see the roundness of the head of his cock pressing against the side of her cheek, and could even see the mixture of saliva and cum dripping from her lip.

Once she returned him to full mast, she turned around and shook her ass, begging him to ravish her. Noah took her from behind, delivering the speed and force she so lewdly craved. Though no sound came from Valia’s open mouth, Shannon could still imagine her moaning as Noah threatened to split her in half. The way Noah fucked her could almost be considered brutal, but Valia relished it. She looked utterly disheveled, broken down by the pleasure Noah inflicted on her. After fighting alongside her in the streets of Welindar, to see Valia in such a state, on all fours and gleefully ravaged, left Shannon feeling twisted inside.

Watching them, she was utterly mesmerized. Their expressions and movements were so lurid yet powerful. They were almost beastly, but with the eroticism and perversity that only people possessed. Is this what it looked like when women and men lay together? Did the married couples in her tribe fornicate with such lustful ferocity? It scared her, but she couldn’t look away. She could smell the sweat evaporating off their bodies and their frantic breaths, and as their intensity climbed ever higher, Noah’s wavering focus let their voices leak out of the shroud. Though the sounds were muffled, Shannon could hear their primal whimpers and grunts.

After making each other cum, they again switched positions, with Valia on top. It was dawning on Shannon just how beautiful Valia was. Her body was perfection, her face a work of art, her hair like strands of moonlight, and her breasts put Shannon’s to shame. The sight of them bouncing as she rode Noah’s cock, their round fullness unbound by gravity, was burned into her soul. She gazed at her, not with lust, but envy and admiration. She wanted to look at Valia and never turn away, because wherever Valia was, that was the correct direction, like a beacon. She was an ideal to strive towards.

Shannon was just as focused on Noah. Like Valia, his body looked like it had been sculpted. He was powerful and robust, radiating vitality. Though he put on the airs of someone who relied on brains over brawns, it was clear that his physical strength and abilities were top-class. His sweat glistened on his muscles, muscles she wanted to touch. She wanted to enjoy his arms around her, lean against his chest, and feel small compared to it.

Seeing them so immersed in each other, her respect and admiration for them grew. She longed for what they had: their strength, their confidence, their passion, their energy. The Sword Goddess and the Wandering Spirit, she wished to bask in their light like a flower beneath the sun. The longer she watched, the more her own body reacted. She desperately wanted to reach down and calm the storm around her legs, or would that exacerbate it? Either way, she was afraid to move, lest they notice. Every time they turned in her direction, she’d close her eyes, not wanting them to know she was watching, afraid they would stop. In time, though, their fornication came to an end. They eliminated all traces of their lustful cavalcade and went to bed, leaving Shannon to wallow in her tumultuous feelings.

The next day, Shannon did her best to act like everything was normal and not give off awkward vibes. They continued riding northeast, and occasionally, some prairie predator or rogue fiend might try to pick a fight, but nothing crossed their path that they couldn’t handle. As she galloped, Shannon focused on saving her tribe, reminding herself that every step brought her closer to reuniting with her friends and family. However, once night fell, and the trio made camp, her heart fluttered with lecherous desire. She pretended to go to sleep early that evening, but though she closed her eyes, Shannon couldn’t drift away if she wanted to, and soon enough, she again got to watch Noah and Valia go at it again.

As the days passed, it became harder for Shannon to focus on the mission. Every time she looked at Noah and Valia, she would feel a stirring within her, and her tail would start to swish, same with an excited twitch in her ears. Shannon tried to calm these feelings with work, fulfilling every small task and chore that needed to be done. Maintaining equipment, tending to the horses, gathering firewood and water; she did everything that would let her feel helpful to them, indulging her desire to serve her Lord and Lady.

Halfway through their journey, the topography changed, and they reached a dry canyon area with mesas and cliffs as far as the eye could see.

“That looks like some rough terrain. What do you think, should we try going around?” Valia suggested.

“According to the map, it’s a belt of desolation stretching all the way to the Paleon Channel. It’s just not feasible,” said Noah.

“My people can’t wait that long. Please,” Shannon insisted.

“Then I suppose we might as well. Let’s just be quick about it.”

They descended into the canyon, watching their footing on the crumbling sandstone. The cliffs were steep, and there were no established paths, so they had to take their time in picking the correct route. Often, Noah and Valia had to dismount and lead their horses through treacherous areas. Even Shannon would revert to her two-legged form, afraid of the ground coming out from under her feet. Valia sometimes scouted ahead, climbing and jumping with elven acrobatics to find safe passage.

Despite the danger, it was breathtaking scenery, these great stone walls and pillars shaped by water, wind, and time. Game wasn’t abundant, but they found enough food to get by. Each night, the autumn air would sink into the canyon, but as long as they were between a campfire and mylar tent, Noah and Valia continued to give Shannon plenty of evening entertainment.

On their third day in the canyon, Valia seemed tense, keeping her head on a swivel, and Noah knew why. “How many of them are there?”

“I can’t tell for sure, but I definitely sense something moving around,” she said, scanning the surrounding cliffs.

Noah held out his hands and formed a six-round grenade launcher. “If someone is watching us, then this will either flush them out or scare them off.”

He began shooting bombs in all directions, raining them onto areas he couldn’t see. Each grenade burst with a convincing flash of illusory fire and smoke. Once he dispelled the weapon, Valia listened intently.

“That definitely got them moving. And you were right, it didn’t scare them off, but it did flush them out.”

Upon her words, a volley of arrows fell upon them, coming from the nearby mesa.

“Let’s move!” Noah shouted.

He and Valia set their horses in a gallop with Shannon behind them. They fled the coming storm of arrows, racing through the canyon to escape their attackers. Looking over her shoulder, Shannon spotted numerous figures running and jumping behind them.

“I see them!” she exclaimed before she drew her bow and launched an arrow, striking a pursuer in the chest.

Noah and Valia looked around, realizing they were flanked on both sides. At first glance, from the way they moved on all fours with tails whipping behind them, it looked like they were being chased by animals, but their clothing and the armor on their backs gave them away as beastmen. They sprinted with remarkable agility, able to climb and descend any surface and cross any chasm as if gravity was theirs to control.

One pursuer landed before them, brandishing gloves with steel blades extending like claws. He had the head of a mountain lion and a tail to match, and his legs had transformed to let him run on all fours. He snarled, flashing his teeth, and lunged towards Valia. She fended him off with a slash, and Shannon shot him with an arrow. These weren’t fiends, so the poison had no effect, but he staggered back in pain, and Valia finished him off.

More attackers were coming from all angles, climbing down and leaping off the cliffs. They all had mountain lion traits and could keep up with the galloping horses, regardless of the terrain. Valia rode in the lead, cutting down any beastmen that tried to stand in her way.

Behind her was Noah, wielding not a bow or sword, but another illusory gun. Any time one of the beastmen jumped into the air, he’d strike them with mana bullets, and though they couldn’t cause harm, they broke the attackers’ focus and made them stumble in the air, turning graceful leaps into bone-breaking landings.

Shannon was in the back, picking off the beastmen running behind them. Like all members of the centaur tribe, she had learned at an early age how to gallop and shoot at the same time. She could run at full speed while twisting her upper body around and nailing enemies behind her.

They were racing on winding paths along the edges of cliffs and under stone arches, with every step a risk. Their fortune turned when they were flanked from above while circling a hill at the edge of a ravine. The beastmen sprinting down the crumbling slope set off a small landslide, and though Valia and Shannon managed to avoid it, Noah’s horse got swept up in the falling rocks, and he was sent tumbling down into the ravine.

“My Lord!” Shannon cried out.

“Shannon, take my horse and find a way down to us!” Valia shouted before leaping from the saddle. “Zodiac: Sandulam!”

She slid down the hill perfectly balanced, like riding an escalator, and reached Noah, half-buried under gravel and pinned by his dead horse. She pulled him out, though, from how he hissed and gasped in pain, his leg was clearly broken. The beastmen had them surrounded, circling their wounded prey.

“Leave them to me,” Valia said coolly.

“I’ll join you in a moment,” Noah replied as he drank a healing potion.

The beastmen snarled and closed in, brandishing claws of both steel and bone. They attacked as a group and were knocked back in pieces. Valia’s sword swerved through the air so fast it was almost invisible, deflecting the marauders’ blades and slicing through their flesh in the same stroke. Despite the attacks coming from all angles, she stood her ground and rotated like a turret, able to intercept anyone who came close.

That said, these beastmen were fast, powerful, and driven. They pounced like real mountain lions and could attack and defend with cat-like reflexes. While she had her back turned, one of the beastmen activated a spell and conjured a pair of jaws that appeared in the air around his head. Made of mana, the apparition resembled a massive bear trap, and he leaped towards Valia, ready to close it around her throat.

Before he could reach her, a mana bullet struck him in the throat and interrupted the spell, and Valia beheaded the incoming warrior. Noah was back on his feet, brandishing his sword and gun. The two fought back-to-back, carving down any beastman that got close. They fought with unparalleled skill and perfect coordination, severing heads and limbs with remarkable grace. Before they could even think to turn around and run, the last few beastmen were riddled with arrows, courtesy of Shannon galloping over with Valia’s horse.

“Are you two all right?” she asked.

“A little dusty, but that’s about it,” said Noah, patting himself off.

“It’s a shame your horse can’t say the same,” Valia said, petting the slain creature and murmuring an elvish hymn. As a member of the horse tribe, Shannon joined her, her hands clasped as she prayed to the spirits.

“It is unfortunate. We’re going to have to rethink things if we’re going to maintain a good pace. Valia, you and I can share your horse, while Shannon, would you mind carrying our gear?”

“I’d be happy to, Lord Noah,” she said with a bow.

Thus, they rearranged their possessions, loading everything Noah and Valia’s horses carried onto Shannon’s back. Her people were used to traveling this way, so it was no issue for her. The problem came when Noah tried to get up on Valia’s horse with her. It began throwing a fit, refusing to let him on despite their best efforts to calm it.

“What’s going on?” Noah asked.

“He doesn’t want you to ride him,” said Shannon. “He knows what happened to your last mount, and is afraid of the same thing happening to him. He can smell your dead companion on you.”

“I had no idea horses were so superstitious,” said Valia.

“I’m not walking the rest of the way,” Noah sighed.

Neither of them was aware that Valia’s horse was following Shannon’s instructions, and now that she had the opportunity she’d been wishing for, she spoke up. “My Lord, you can ride on my back.” Her voice trembled as she spoke, and she averted her eyes in embarrassment. The intent in her words was not lost on Noah and Valia, who exchanged a glance.

“Isn’t it forbidden in the horse clan to let outsiders ride on your back?” Valia countered.

Shannon clutched her hands bashfully. “I’ve already pledged my loyalty to you both, so this is fine. You need a steed, and I am of the horse tribe, so it’s natural for me to offer my talents. I am bound by oath and honor to serve you with my body however I can.” She then blushed as she realized what she had just said. “Oh, uh, I didn’t mean it like that! I meant, uh ... I just meant that I want to be helpful!”

Noah and Valia exchanged another glance, conversing with nothing but their eyes.

‘She’s fallen for you, hasn’t she?’

‘I told you this would happen.’

‘Have you been flirting with her?’

‘The opposite. I was hoping that all the scary stuff in my lab would keep her from developing feelings for me, but I was wrong.’

‘Great job with that.’

‘You’re the one who picked her up.’

‘Not so she could become a part of your harem.’

‘Are you sure she’s not part of yours?’

‘I don’t like where this is going.’

‘And I don’t like the idea of spending the rest of this journey on foot, but your horse hates me and she’s offering.’

‘Fine, but I’d better not catch you feeling her up. I don’t care if you fall off another cliff, I won’t tolerate any “accidental” boob grabs.’

‘Yes, dear.’ Noah turned back to Shannon. “Thank you. Your support is most welcome.” They moved all their belongings around, and Noah put his saddle on Shannon’s back. “You ready?” he asked, putting one foot in the stirrup.

“Y-yes, My Lord,” she replied, trying to contain her excitement.

Noah climbed up and sat in the saddle, and Shannon inadvertently bit her lip and sighed. She was used to carrying all kinds of cargo on her back, but the weight of a man was unique, almost overpowering, and having him so close, every breath was filled with his scent.

Valia’s sharp elf eyes did not miss that reaction. “Let’s get moving, before the smell of blood draws anything.”

They set off at a gallop, wanting to escape the battle scene. Valia also didn’t want to give Shannon time to enjoy her new position, but unfortunately, their pace had the opposite effect. Noah was rising and falling as she ran, and every time his weight dropped, it reminded Shannon of all the times she had watched him fuck Valia from behind, when he’d drive his cock deep inside her with all his strength, like a battering ram smashing against a castle gate.

The pace he’d use, the rhythm of his movements, they were almost exactly the same. Every time she felt him drop, she imagined his manhood driving into her, and every time he rose up, she could picture him pulling out, only to force it back in. She lamented wearing a saddle, preventing her from truly feeling him pressed against her.

Despite the inconvenience of Noah losing his horse, the trio managed to escape the canyon and return to the plains. When night fell, they stopped to make camp. Shannon was blushing and gasping for air, but it wasn’t from fatigue.

“Are you all right?” Noah asked, pretending not to know why she was all worked up.

“Oh, yes, thank you, I’m fine. I’m ... uh ... I going back to that creek was passed by to get water for tea. I’ll be right back.”

Noah and Valia said nothing, even when she forgot to bring a bucket or canteen. Rather than visit the creek, she needed to satiate the maelstrom within her.

Over the following days, they continued their journey, and Noah and Valia were careful how they acted around Shannon. It was too late to give her the cold shoulder, and it was hard to create distance when Noah spent all day on top of her, but they did what they could to avoid encouraging her feelings. That said, the damage had already been done. Whether it was as Noah’s assistant or Valia’s squire, she had adopted the servant role whole-heartedly and now tried to protect them from every minor chore or task, refusing to let either of them lift a finger, all while amorous feelings bubbled in her eyes.