Chapter 30

As we entered the large room, I looked around to see who else might be there. I wasn’t surprised to see the gods and selected parties for the five other Pact Houses spaced out through the room. There also seemed to be servers and also others whom I didn’t recognize intermixed within the room. The five Council members were present mingling with the various groups of people, and I noticed Jupiter’s eyes on me. The distaste I could see in his eyes was palpable, but I wasn’t concerned about his displeasure at the moment. I continued to look around the room, noticing that both Aphrodite and Freyja were present at the festivities. I locked eyes with both of them for a moment before their focus went back to whomever they had been talking to. There was no formal setting in the room, with everyone stretched out. There were no tables, save for the long one in the center and it looked like it was set up as a standing buffet style lunch. There were cured meats, cheeses, fruits, and vegetables to choose from with stacks of plates placed in between the various platters.

As I looked around the room, it seemed that each of the participant houses was keeping close to their own, with the other unknown people filling in the space between them. They talked quietly to themselves while casting worried or suspicious glances at the other groups in the room. I could feel the tension in the room and knew that the next few days or weeks would be trying for us all. There was too much distrust showing between the various participants, and time would tell how that would affect things.

“Is there always such animosity between the houses?” I asked Tyr. “I would have assumed at least a neutrality between us during an event like this.”

He sighed, “You would think so, and normally that is the case. The Champion’s Challenge is an excessively big deal and that brings with it much higher stakes. It means a lot of prestige for the winning house and rewards to the victor. The participant houses get to add from the general population, without needing the choosing. Placement determines how many openings are given. First place could see our ranks grow by a hundred and our grounds would be upgraded to allow for the new members. As you know, members bring cash flow and notoriety to their houses. Some are humble, others greedy or arrogant. Keep on your guard and trust no one outside our group.”

As Tyr explained all of this, I eyed Freyja and Aphrodite, wondering what their roles in all this would be. They were at different sections of the room, talking to some of the participants of the other Pact Houses.

Freyja and I have had many dealings within the dreamscape she had pulled me into on occasion. As I watched her move and gesture as she talked, I tried to see signs of her pregnancy. I knew that it was still too early, but I still found myself looking for it. As my eyes returned to her face, I noticed that she was once again looking at me and I saw a knowing smile.

Aphrodite was still an unknown element to me, and I wondered what her goals were. I had only dealt with her that one time we went to her sex shop. I know that Freyja had said that Aphrodite had shown a similar interest in possibly sharing a bed with me. I couldn’t recall if this Greek goddess had also shown an interest in a possible child thrown in, but I wouldn’t put it past her. Still there was no telling what was going through her mind, though I could barely say the same of the women I was familiar with. The ringing of a fork against the side of a glass caused all talking to cease and everyone to focus on the source of the sound.

“Welcome one and all! Tomorrow will start the first session of the Champion’s Challenge,” Odin announced over the murmurs of the audience. “The first Challenge will be a mock battle, each different than the last. Each Pact House will be pitted against an unknown enemy made up of creatures from the Dungeon. You will not know the terrain of the colosseum or what your enemy will be before the conflict. This is to test your ability to think on the fly and deal with unknown situations. Of the six Pact Houses, only four will make it to the next part of this Challenge, so rest well, for tomorrow it begins. Our first Pact House chosen will be the Pact House of Set. Rest well and be ready in the morning.”

Once the announcements were concluded, we stayed for a while longer to eat before being directed to our rooms. I noticed that each Pact House left through a different corridor to ensure that we wouldn’t accidentally cross paths. When Katie was offered her own room, she politely refused and simply pointed to her collar. The guard nodded and gestured for us to continue to follow. I was slightly surprised by her choice, since there was no longer a punishment given her by the collar for us being too far away from one another. As I entered the room, I gave it a quick glance and was surprised to see that there was a door on the left wall. Based on what I remembered in the corridor, I assumed that the door would connect to the room beside us, but that had been given to Darius. Curious as to the purpose of the door, I walked over and opened it and was shocked to find it open to our armory. I was instantly glad that we would be able to use our own equipment and weapons during this event. I looked at the time on my bracer and saw that even with the opening ceremony, along with the announcement brunch, it was only a little past the mid-day meal. Normally, with this much time left in the day, I would want to get some time in the Dungeon or at least some training time in. I checked with Kat’ilth’ana and she too wanted to train some more in before tomorrow. I opened my door and was shocked to see that there was a guard posted there.

“Excuse me,” I said, causing the guard to turn towards me. “Um, why are you standing guard outside my door?”

“Given the events of recent months, the Council felt it was prudent that all participants of the Challenge should be guarded at all times. There is a fear that one or more participants could fall victim to the shadow organization that has become more known as of late.”

I nodded in understanding, “Okay, then could you answer a question or two for me, please?” He nodded and I continued, “Is there somewhere that I could do some training? Or is there a way to spend the rest of the day since the Challenge doesn’t start until tomorrow?”

“Yes, there is,” He replied curtly. “Just let me know and I will escort you to your selected training grounds. Each Pact House has been given their own area to train. This is to prevent the possibility of one house trying to cause injury to another in the hopes of gaining an advantage.”

“Thank you,” I said with a smile. “Also, how will the evening meal go? Do we eat in a common area? Do you bring it to us?”

This time he smiled, “There is also an assigned dining room for each Pact House. For the evening meal, you will be brought to that room for your meal. This will be done with each meal during the duration of the Challenge. If you are at the training area, you will be escorted from there.”

I nodded, “Very well, could you please take us to the training room? We would like to get some practice in before things begin tomorrow.”

He nodded, escorting Kat’ilth’ana and myself to the training area assigned to the Tyr Pact House. It was about half the size of the training room in the Pact House, but it had everything we would need for practicing close- and long-range combat. Given that there were only the six of us, this was more than enough room. It seemed that I wasn’t the only one that had this idea, as Darius and the others soon entered the room. I greeted them, even though we had only seen each other a little while ago, and we started working on various things. I did have Katie and the others who were still working on their ranged attack skills, focus on that. The feat she had taken had increased her accuracy and skill with the crossbow. There was a confidence to her that wasn’t fully realized before. The feat seemed to bolster her resolve and she no longer doubted herself. Darius and I decided to spar. I enjoyed having someone who could keep up with me, so to speak. He still was unaccustomed to my ability to almost sweep past his defences, but he was learning. There would always be limitations to his fighting style compared to mine, due to the weight of his weapon.

We lost track of time in the ensuing battle between us. We stopped only when a weapon breached a fighter’s defences and tapped a part of the body. It was fun to fight with wild abandon, while still maintaining precise control of our strikes. When the weapons struck one another, missed the person striking only air, or hit the ground, our attacks moved at full force. When we came to striking the other person, we slowed down at the last moment to be a slight tap. Both of us had large smiles on our faces as we tested and pushed each other. We were about to clash yet again, when the sound of someone clearing their throats filled the air. I turned to see Katie smiling at me while the others were just staring at us.

“Are you two done comparing weapon sizes?” she called out, causing Dilbar to bark out a laugh. “We would like to have dinner if you are all right with it.”

Darius and I turned and looked at one another, giving sheepish grins before returning the training weapons. We were then escorted to the dining room and arrived to find a buffet waiting for us. I didn’t realize how in the zone I had been, fighting Darius, until we started eating and the fatigue set in. The meal and atmosphere was enjoyable as the night drew to a close.

We retired to our rooms for the evening, anxious as to what would transpire tomorrow. The first time we had entered, I hadn’t noticed that there was only one bed in the room.

“Don’t worry, Pathios,” Katie said with a warm, disarming smile. “As you know, I don’t require much sleep. Besides, we both know that you won’t do anything you are uncertain of.”

I swear I could see some mischief in her eyes as she lightly bit the corner of her lower lip. I could feel a part of me starting to respond and realized that she had been paying attention to my ladies. They had the same way of teasing me that was subtle but obvious. Katie seemed to be doing the same, though adding her own flair to it. There were times I would look at her and she would remind me of the femme fatale Poison Ivy, though without the poison lips. Amenthia had a naughty streak that reminded me a bit of Harley Quinn and Entivala’s use of powers and her beautiful red hair reminded me of Mera. I shook my head, unsure of what to do about it at the moment and got ready for bed. Normally I slept nude, but that was when my ladies were with me. This would not be the ideal time to do such a thing, so I stripped down to my boxers. I climbed into bed and got comfy, but my eyes didn’t leave the Dryad. She turned away from me and began to undress, starting with her boots then moving to her clothes. I watched as she slowly took off her shirt, followed by her pants. I was only mildly shocked that she was wearing the same underwear that my ladies wore on occasion, though I didn’t expect her to strip down. She turned to face me, and I couldn’t help but drink in the body that was on view before me. While her breasts weren’t nearly as large as Amenthia’s (or Entivala’s for that matter) they were still bigger than most. The bra accented and enhanced her cleavage, increasing the allure of the ample flesh in view. She had the same lithe and toned build the other two had, though like them, kept the soft curves that were so appealing to me. The pale red underwear contrasted well against her skin and rode high on her hips. She slowly made her way towards the bed and climbed into it, her eyes never leaving mine.

“You never sleep without the warmth of a body,” she said, in a matter-of-fact tone, though there was a hint of something else. “As your bound servant, it is my duty to ensure your comfort when away from home. Please don’t worry and allow me to share this bed as your ladies would.”

My mind drifted to imagery of how I would take my women in our bed. Sometimes slowly and sensually, letting them bask and enjoy the love I am sharing with them. Other times, rough and wild, allowing the raw lust they induce in me to be expelled from me. However, at this moment, Katie appeared as the focus of those images. I felt my arousal growing with those images, especially the rougher ones. I shook my head free of those thoughts and closed my eyes. It took some time for me to fall asleep, as I had to fight off the sexual images of Kat’ilth’ana appearing in my mind’s eye, along with willing down the erection her state of dress and proximity was causing.

When I did finally succumb to pulls of sleep, I wasn’t fully surprised to find myself waking in a familiar room. I was surprised to find that I wasn’t alone in the bed, as the form of a curvy brunette was pressed up against me.

“I am sorry, Pathios,” Freyja said, in a soft but content tone. “After seeing you today, and knowing you were close by, I had to bring you here. It is both for my own selfish reasons and for your protection as well.”

I smiled, “I will not begrudge you wanting to lie next to the man whose child you will bear. As for the risk, I am aware that something is more than likely going to happen during this event. I just don’t know what and when. I am not even sure that I am even going to be the target, this time, as this group has attacked others in the past, even before I arrived here.”