Chapter 39

As I slowly rose out from the depths of my sleep, my senses were touched with familiarity. Smells and sounds helped guide me awake, and, as I opened my eyes, I saw my loved ones looking down on me. A quick glance around told me that we were in Freyja’s dreamscape, and I smiled at the trio.

“Hello, my lovelies,” I said as I stretched out some sore muscles. “I am happy to see you, especially after the first round of the challenge has been finished. Tomorrow will be a big day, where we find out our next step in the semifinals.”

Entivala pulled me into a kiss, then said, “You guys did amazingly on your challenge, but I do understand your concern. The next round could be even more intense than the first one was, not to mention what they have planned for the finals.”

“I wouldn’t worry,” Amenthia said with a knowing smirk. “I have faith in you and the others you are teamed up with. You put in a lot of time increasing the versatility of the group, along with building up your teamwork together. I am fully confident that you will not only make it to the finals, but that you will win and come out as the champions.”

I pulled my blonde supporter into a kiss to thank her for her support. When the kiss broke, I saw Freyja standing in front of me. There was slight hesitation coming from her body language. I reached my hand out to her and watched her unease fade and a happy smile light up her face. I turned to see Katie still asleep in the bed and found myself unwilling to wake her. I slipped out of the bed, and we walked over to the table nearby. It was lined with my favorite foods, both here and from earth.

“I wanted to treat you with some of your favorites for doing so well in the challenge,” Freyja explained. “I knew you would love it, plus it would give your ladies an opportunity to try foods they would never otherwise experience.”

I smiled and gave Freyja another kiss before sitting at the table and looking at the bounty before me. There were the staples I had grown to enjoy here like meaty stews, glazed meat, and such. There were also containers of Popeye’s chicken, what looked like an assortment from Taco Bell, as well as a few other fast-food joints. The food that caught my eye was the assortment of sushi and Korean food. I hoped that there would be a grill, to have a proper Korean barbecue and Freyja didn’t disappoint. With a snap of her fingers a second table appeared with a grill in the center. I gestured for the others.to join me there and proceeded to cook and serve the various meats that were provided.

Over the next hour, we enjoyed all the foods that Freyja had provided. Katie woke to the smell of the meat cooking on the grill. They all enjoyed the Korean food, but they had other particular likes and dislikes. Amenthia and Freyja enjoyed the sushi, but the other two didn’t like fish and thus had no interest in it. Katie was fond of the fried chicken, loving both the spiciness of the skin and how crispy it was. Enti enjoyed the burgers, specifically the meatless ones that Freyja ensured were there for her consumption.

We enjoyed the meal and I especially enjoyed being in their company. There were a few more days left, and I was missing them terribly. Freyja had ensured that I wouldn’t have to be bogged down by missing them during the Challenge, and I was thankful for that. I realized that unlike me, the rest of the group may not be able to contact their loved ones as readily as I could. Even if I didn’t have these visits each night, I still had Katie to share my bed, which was more than the rest of them might be able to say. I made a mental effort not to touch base with everyone and see how they were doing.

Amenthia and Entivala regaled us with their exploits of the day while we ate. Other than the day our challenge had occurred, both of them had been working in the lower Dungeon levels. Cassandra was also having a hard time, so to keep busy the trio would go collecting materials and orbs. It helped them stop worrying or missing us as much, and they had been making a decent profit. Cassandra had told them that she had been writing Darius each night, which was helping her through it. She had also gained some new runes to use in her smithing which she was eager to try.

When the meal was done, we retired to the bed. I took my time giving each woman their own special attention, despite some of their objections. It was thrilling to make them writhe and squirm from my touch as they begged for me to let them cum. Only when their body was flush with arousal and covered in a sheen of sweat. Even then, I took my time making love to each of them. When each was satisfied, we lay together, enjoying one another’s embrace. I wished I could just stay, but I has a Challenge to win for them.

I awoke to find myself in bed alone, which didn’t surprise me. A quick look at my bracer showed that Katie was showering. I quickly grabbed some clothes and went to shower myself. As I neared the showers, Katie stepped out and gave me a quick kiss, before heading off to our assigned dining room. My shower didn’t take long, though I enjoyed the warmth of the water on my muscles. I arrived just as everyone else was sitting down to eat, so I grabbed a plate of food and joined them.

“Good morning everyone,” I said with a smile as I sat down. “I hope you all slept well and that you are ready for whatever may come today.”

There were various murmurs and acknowledgements from the group while in various stages of eating.

I chuckled and then asked, “I was wondering how you all are doing? We are away from those we care about, participating in something that could end up to be fairly dangerous. I know I am lucky enough to have Katie with me, but I am worried about the rest of you.”

“Thanks, lad,” Dilbar replied after finishing a tankard filled with some liquid. “I am currently between partners, so I am not feeling the lonely bug me self.”

Ilthvana shrugged her shoulders, “There is nothing waiting for me at home. We Corthol are very selective of whom we choose to pair with. We don’t partake of others simply for the pleasures of the flesh, for when we mate with someone that bond is everlasting. Corthol only have one mate and one bond for life. If that mate dies, then we mourn, but don’t seek out another one.”

“So there is no one you miss right now?” I asked, causing everyone to focus on her. “Not even friends that you are used to seeing every day?”

She shook her head and replied, “All my friends are here and there has been no one I have considered a decent prospect for a mate.”

I nodded and turned to our orc companion, “What about you, Grishta? Is there anyone you have been missing since coming here?”

“Isabella has been writing to me every day,” Grishta responded with a blush. “We have been together for about two years, but this is the first time that I have been away from her since we started living together.”

I smiled, “Well I’m sure that she is watching us and rooting for our success. I would ask you Darius, but since your girlfriend kind of works for me, I am aware of how she is doing and thus how you are in that respect.”

Darius gave a sheepish grin and nodded with a slight blush on his cheeks. I hoped that I hadn’t embarrassed him, but I didn’t think of that before I spoke. We continued breakfast in silence before heading towards our box to find out what would be the next challenge. We didn’t have to wait long after taking our seats before the display shimmered into existence in front of us. We could see the Council and once again Jupiter wasn’t there with the rest, and I wondered what they would choose to do.

“Welcome back, everyone,” Odin called out to the crowd and those spectating via the displays. “So far, we have spent three days, watching the six chosen Pact Houses compete to finish the challenges they had been tasked. Four have made it to the next round and now we are here to see what will happen next. The next two days will see the remaining Pact Houses vying for the two spots in the finals. To ensure that there will only be two, the Pact Houses will now fight one another to move on.”

There were gasps in the crowd and I glanced at the rest of the group to see that they were just as shocked as I was. The question now would be, who would fight whom and if their wounded would be able to fight.

“The pairings have already been decided,” Odin announced to all who watched. “For today, the combatants will be the Enlil Pact House against the Fujin Pact House. Tomorrow we will watch as the Quetzalcoatl Pact House fights against the Tyr Pact House. The rules are simple, the last Pact House standing will be the victor. Combatants can either yield, by using their stone, or being rendered injured enough for it to activate on its own. Given that the Enlil and Fujin have one member each who will not be able to heal before the challenge, we felt that it would better balance. The field will be changed with a special energy that will dampen the effects of magic and dull the weapons used. This will ensure that the victors of both rounds will be functioning enough to compete in the finals. We will give them two hours to prepare, then we will see which two of these groups will make it to the next round.”

The display shimmered away, and I felt my stomach drop. This was completely different, given what we had seen through the other challenges, how the others fight and solve problems. All their magics would be fully recharged and some of them are rather potent. Though it was daunting, the challenge ahead was not what worried me. Rather, I was worried about how this could be messed with by the shadow group that had shown their faces during the Challenge.

I turned to our Pact House leader and said, “We will need to ensure that everything is checked by those trusted by the Council to ensure this shadow group hasn’t done anything to mess with the battlefield or the field of energy that will be used to dull our attacks. I have a feeling that if they place crystals in the field then they could negate the protection of the stones, and the field causing us to irreparably harm each other. This would allow them to show their ability to affect things that were made by the Council to the whole world. I have no doubt that their stunts have been limited in their exposure to the populace, but this would bring them to the forefront.”

“You are quite right, Pathios,” Tyr said with a furrowed brow. “They have already manipulated one of your challenges, so who is to say that they won’t do it again with the next one. Odin was angry that they were able to infiltrate the challenge like that and imbed that crystal within the worm. They still aren’t sure if it was planted in the creature to cause harm to any of the houses, or you are specifically. There were a few other challenges that could have been chosen for the groups and they are now inspecting any of the creatures and weapons that were brought in to ensure that nothing else has been tampered with.”

“So then why don’t we talk about the elephant in the room,” Darius said with a sigh. “We need to come up with a plan to deal with the Quetzalcoatl Pact House. Due to their challenge being underwater, there was little to go on for how fast they move and fight.”

Ilthvana nodded, “They also have talented spell casters, so we need to keep them in mind when we are fighting. We still don’t know the full range of the spells they have in their arsenal.”

“They don’t look to have any druids in their ranks,” Grishta added, scratching her head. “If they did, they could have turned themselves, and possibly the group, into a pod of dolphins or something like that.”

Darius took a large gulp from his flagon, “The heavily armored one will be a fight for sure. It may be bulky, but I will bet he will move quite quickly for someone in such armor. The woman will have some defences from her breastplate, but she will be much more maneuverable. What do you think, Pathios?”

“The spell casters need to be our first targets,” I said, partially lost in thought. “Their ability to create powerful magic that could decimate our group makes them the highest threat. One has some kind of chainmail under their cloth armor that doesn’t hinder spellcasting. Then we split our focus to have half of the group going after the archers and the other half going after the armored fighters. Now this is just a basic idea that will no doubt change based on the field we are placed to fight in, as well as how they react. If you have any tricks or weapons that you have been keeping close to the chest, this next round will be the time to use them. We have no idea what will happen tomorrow, but we have to fight as if it is our last round in this thing.”

Dilbar looked at me a little shocked, “You don’t think that we can win this thing, Pathios? I didn’t expect to hear that from you.”

“I do think we can win this whole thing, Dilbar,” I answered. “When there are insurmountable odds, groups fight harder and with a ferocity that you don’t normally see. If it is not life or death, then the fear of losing isn’t as strong. We know that if we fail, we just get teleported out. We heal and then return, because the threats don’t become real until we reach the highest levels. From what I have heard, those levels can make adventurers quit or burn out. They can wind up injured or maimed because they were not careful. I never want us to ever be in that mindset and with the red crystals appearing and fucking with everything, now it is even more important. I want to make sure that all of us make it home in one piece. If we win -- great, if not, we did our best and made sure we came out of it in one piece.”

The rest of the group became lost in thought, and I saw another smirk on Tyr’s face as he stood quietly looking over the balcony at the spectators below.