Chapter 2: Recruiting A Hero

Daniel started. “All my life I have been a nerd. While in college, I was a charter member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. I fenced in high school, and when the SCA was founded, I expanded into all sorts of medieval weaponry. I became super nerd.”

“When I was a little older than you are now, I was recruited,” he paused for effect, “by a smooth talking guy who said that my knowledge could be put to rewarding uses. I could never have known how rewarding! And now, I’m going to recruit you.”

He looked at the women seated on either side of Pete. “The girls have heard all this before. In fact, it’s one of the reasons they are so heavily involved with martial arts.”

With that statement, Robyn began to weep. Weepy women, that’s just what Pete needed, but he hugged her to him and asked, “What’s this all about?”

“I’m becoming La Belle Dame sans Merci! I’ve been using you, and it’s not fair.” Robyn wailed, “I want to go so bad, and I can’t without a Hero. I should have been born with a dick, and now I’ve ruined it all.” She buried her face in Pete’s neck, miserable.

Pete patted, then rubbed her back. “Go where? Why do you need a hero? I’m totally confused here.”

“Not hero. Hero!“ stated Miriam firmly. “As in a White-Knight-in-Shining-Armor, un chevalier blanc, a knygt erraunt, un caballero andante, a Have-Gun-Will-Travel freaking Paladin - you!”

“Granddaughters! Stop! Now!” Daniel demanded. “If you let me get on with it, he’ll understand.”

Robyn was silent, save for an occasional sniffle, but she continued to cling to Pete, and he continued his attempt to comfort her. He sensed that Miriam was equally needy, so he shifted to tuck her in as well and turned his attention to Daniel.

When Daniel finished, it was dusk and well past dinnertime. They had missed lunch and stomachs were speaking loudly. “If you young folks can set the table, I’ll organize chilidogs and slaw,” Daniel proposed.

Pete and the two women worked on setting the table, chopping onions, fetching condiments, and popping caps off a local brewery’s hefeweizen beer. They ate in a pregnant silence.

Replete, the four reassembled in the parlor. This time, Pete sat alone facing the others perched on the soft leather sofa facing him.

“If I understand you,” Pete started to summarize, “there are at least four worlds - Earth, Crossroads, Chaos, and Cassandra.” The three nodded in unison.

“Cassandra’s population was drastically depleted in a devastating war, and the male population was rendered virtually sterile - at least with Cassandran women. Right so far?” Again, three nods.

Pete continued, “It was discovered that Earth’s males could impregnate fertile Cassandran females. Chaos was apparently created for the sole purpose of allowing select Earth males to meet, rescue, and ‘win’ select women from Cassandra, then fuck them silly until they become pregnant. The same mysterious power created a terminus on Crossroads that allows some people to cross between these worlds.”

Pausing, Pete shook his head. “This whole operation has overreaching, almost magic technology, but Chaos is forced to stay on a medieval level, its population apparently having descended from kidnapped Earth peoples. On top of that, the Earth Hero gets a stunningly beautiful helper who also fucks him silly while he is on Crossroads.”

Pete looked directly at Daniel. “This all sounds like an adolescent male’s horny fantasy. Remind me again what you do for a living.”

Daniel returned the look steadily, “I write adventure novels. Most are based on my Chaos travels.”