Adventure of Rekka Ch. 09

She'd eagerly follow the man into hell just to see if he could trick the Devil out of his horns.

"That's good advice. If we'd had that choice I would have taken it. Never back a rat into a corner, you're in for a fight then," Bill said with feeling.

"Sarah is not wrong, Bill. The ones we label heroes.. they're blessed by gods from birth. They're stronger, far stronger than ordinary men. If they attract a valkyrie her training and presence will eventually raise that strength to, well, monstrous levels. They've held off armies on their own, beaten them even. They're the only reason we stood a chance against the Demon Lords," Scipio explained. He shared a look with Sarah, clearly relieved they were alive, and surprised it was so.

"They're pretty dumb though, huh?" Larry spoke, looking at the pile of armor with interest.

"Yeah, I think it's a requisite to being a hero, honestly. A smart man would have had that girl strafing everything that moves with that lightshow of hers while he stood outside the gates and killed anyone trying to leave," Bill said, "But then he wouldn't be a hero. Gotta give the people you can always beat in a fair fight their fair fight."

"What a bunch of assholes," Larry remarked, squatting by the armor and poking it.

"That's an understatement," Bill replied, wandering over to Larry to look down at the armor.

"I want you to take that chest armor and mount it on a mannequin. Then I want you to build something that will put a fist sized hole in the front, and a larger hole as it exits the backplate, and at a fair distance. Make sure it's something we can aim at anything that flies, too. Mount about ten of them on the walls, and if you can make it man-portable, have those dwarves make them until we're tripping over the damn things," Bill ordered.

"Great minds think alike. How'd you come up with it? I'll see if I can melt down the rest of it for something useful," Larry replied, trying to imagine how much force per square inch was required to pierce magical bullshit armor.

"Ok, let's head back. We'll carry the armor, ladies. I don't want it doing anything weird to you," Bill said, before he remembered something, "Oh, wait, I just remembered. Did anyone see a sword go flying when Rekka hit me? I want that, the fucking thing talks."

"I believe that is it sticking out of that stone, Bill," Scipio said, pointing.

"That's the one, wait here a second. Time to see if I'm King of England," Bill said, amazed with how far it flew. He'd have to have Helena check Rekka over, his ribs were making it painful to breathe, it worried him she might be in pain as well.

He spotted the sheath on his way over and snagged it up, laughing as he closed in on the trembling sword.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" Bill asked.

"Please sir! Pull me out, you don't know how this feels! Chuck me into a lake if you like, just get me out of here!" the sword begged in its sharp voice.

"Well, alright. Only because I've always wanted a talking sword," Bill complied, jerking the sword free, a few sparks shooting out with it.

"Hah! You're lucky, England. If I had plans to return you'd be in a hell of a lot of trouble," Bill said, grinning at the sword.

"Thank you, sir! May the steel bless you, sir! Those damn wizards and their damn rocks, it's criminal!" the sword cried, relief strumming through it.

"Well, don't thank me yet. I'm probably not going to use you for combat. I lost my last sword, but I mostly used it for cutting firewood and scaring unicorns," Bill explained.

"That explains the lack of calluses. It's honestly kind of nice, I've never been wielded by a woman, I imagine it would be something like this," the sword replied.

"Proper skin care is an important part of being a good husband," Bill explained. "You're a hell of a lot smarter than the guy who had you last, feel free to warn me if anyone tries to pull something like that on me, I won't ignore you."

"Yes, seems to be a required trait for those able to wield me," the sword muttered.

"How do you get your hands on a talking sword, anyway?" Bill asked, intrigued by the whole stupid hero process.

"Some god or wizard gets ahold of me when one of those useless gits dies and then puts me in a stone until someone worthy pulls me free. It's horrible. Imbue a piece of metal with intelligence and then trap it in stone for years and years until some farm boy comes along and discovers he's been blessed by some god. It's not right at all," the sword complained.

"I didn't have to be made intelligent and talk, you know, it's not as though it makes me sharper. They just did it because they believed it would be a neat thing for a sword to do. Rotten bastards, I never asked for this," the sword muttered, frustrated at his life's circumstances.

"Shit, you really do have it rough. Well, I'll probably forget you on a mantle somewhere, so you'll be safe from wizards and stones if I get killed doing something very unheroic," Bill said while walking back to the group.

"That doesn't sound so bad. Try and forget me near a window, unsheathed a bit so I can see. That's the worst part of the stones. Can't see a bloody thing," the sword requested.

"You got it, buddy," Bill replied, slinging him over his shoulder as he jogged back over to Rekka.

They gathered up the armor and shield, amazed at its lightness, then returned to the walls. They stopped before Teresa while Bill considered the best way to finish this.

"Scipio, I'll take that plate. Would you mind running to the closest private house and kicking out whoever's in there? These two are going to need it," Bill requested. The man nodded, jogging off to see it done.

He'd have been happier tossing them into the brig, but they'd tried putting the ogres in there and they'd immediately ripped all the bars and doors out. They didn't leave, they just wanted to break something. Bill should probably have been more specific about giving them a time out. "Stay in here until I decide to let you out." had a lot of leeway for someone that really didn't want to do as they were told. Bill was almost impressed. Hell, they used the place as a clubhouse now. If there was a highschool bathroom around here they'd be smoking in it.

"Alright, stand up, keep a hold of him. We're going to set you two up in a nice cozy cottage. Follow," Bill ordered.

As they entered the gate Bill tossed all the plate down and ordered a few of the orcs and their communal husbands to guard it, warning the orcs not to touch it just in case. Larry kept the chestplate, nodding and running off to secure it in his vault, Tabitha following. Bill, Rekka, and Sarah continued with the angel following along.

Scipio was standing outside the house, Menius and his werewolf wife next to him with their few personal belongings at their feet. Bill felt bad, but this was important.

"Sorry Menius, Nadia. I'll make sure you get the next available. It's a bit of an emergency," Bill said, shrugging.

"No worries, Bill, happy to help. Good job keepin' us all alive, hey? Damn, look at him. Big fella for such a little lady, eh?" Menius joked, elbowing his wife in the ribs while she laughed.

"Yes, not a problem, Bill. We'll stay with Millie until something comes up. Thank you. I thought.. I thought everything was over," Nadia said, pulling closer to Menius.

"Don't worry, once again Evil lives another day to hold their loved ones and try to make their way in the world. Good has been thwarted from killing a town full of, who'd have believed it, actual people with hopes and dreams. It's a crying shame, isn't it?" Bill asked, looking at Teresa.

The angel seemed to be out of sorts. This place was supposed to be a den of evil. It looked like a happy community, men and demons working together, or simply strolling hand in hand. There were no cries of terror, no sobbing and beaten slaves. Everyone seemed happy, content. Everyone that wasn't looking at her. She did not enjoy the looks of fear and hatred sent her way, the way monsters and men would draw together for comfort as if she was the demon. Worst of all, they looked at the vile man responsible for this great evil as if he were the hero.

"It's a damn shame, hey? Look at all this glory slipping through your fingers. All this fame. Look at that woman over there, the little harmless unicorn. How much acclaim do you think Marky there would have gained by cutting her throat?" Bill asked.

"Answer me," Bill ordered.

"A unicorn is a rare prize, the horns can be used in any manner of magical accessories. Healing potions can be made with their blood," Teresa responded, ashamed that she was feeling shame for defeating the vile enemies of mankind. The unicorn had been too far to hear her speak, and gave her a worried smile of comfort. Teresa felt ill.

"Good to know that my friends are so valued for their body parts after you slaughter them. That's useful knowledge for us evil monsters. Weird that we'd never heard this before, huh?" Bill asked, not expecting an answer. Sighing, he looked at Teresa.

"We killed no one when we took this place. It's true, the mamono don't give these men a choice, but they don't have much of a choice themselves. This was done to them. If you were real heroes you'd be looking for a way to help everyone. Clearly I'm no hero, but that is exactly what I aim to do. Don't throw the end of the world at me, there's always an end of the world coming around. You've had a lot of time to sort this out, apparently. You failed. Now it's my turn. If deep down you really want peace and a future for everyone, you would join me," Bill said, wondering if the woman could even be reached in this way. She only stared at him with sullen anger, though she'd had the decency to look ashamed when Helena had smiled at her.

"The Demon Lord isn't here, isn't that his goal? Why did you come here?" Bill asked her directly.

"Marcus needs to acquire experience with less organized monsters. He's not ready to face a Demon Lord. He needs to prove himself and gather allies that hear of his name. If we simply tried to cut our way to the Demon Lord now we would be brought down by sheer numbers," she explained.

"Yeah. That's probably true. It would be pretty heroic if he tried, though. Not taking the easy way out and killing a bunch of people that are pretty much the equivalent of average civilians, not soldiers, just to prove yourself. What do I know, though. I'm just the bad guy," Bill replied, shaking his head.

"Anyway, I order you to go in there and all that, take him and put him on the bed," Bill ordered, waving his hand. He watched as she did, waiting for her to turn and look at him.

"I order you to keep him in here. The only thing you cannot do to enforce this order is harm him. If he makes it out of this building, I order you to do everything you can to defend us and assist those returning him here with excessive gratuitous violence. Other than that, have a good time. Enjoy yourselves. You won't be disturbed unless you disturb us," Bill said, slamming the door.

He turned around, knowing what he'd just done to the angel had almost certainly damned him. It was unlikely they'd let Rekka through the pearly gates, so he didn't much care.

Larry had arrived while he spoke to her, shaking his head at what he'd heard.

"Damn, dude. Maybe we are the bad guys. You know what she's probably going to do if he decides he wants a chance at killing you so she can be free, right?" Larry asked, not entirely comfortable with forcing her. The mamono doing it wasn't quite the same. Clearly they had very little control over their urges as well, spurred on by whatever magic bullshit the Demon Lord had wrought.

"They wanted a Demon Lord, well they got one. Those two need a change of perspective, and if all it takes is my own personal damnation I'm more than ready to pay the price. It's time they understood exactly what they're fighting," Bill stated, shrugging at Larry.

"Besides, she has plenty of other ways to keep him in there. If what I've been taught about angels is true, she'll have no problem doing so without sacrificing her morals or his trust in her. Something tells me she'll take the selfish way out," Bill explained. He looked his friends in the eyes a moment before speaking again.

"I don't know if we're the bad guys. All I know for certain is they're not the good guys."

Looking through the window he laughed.

"Well, we're a little bad. Sarah, post up by the door if you would, do your thing. Gambling is fun, but it's more fun with weighted dice. I'm going to take a seat on that barrel over there. Marcus will have a real clear view of me from the window. If the rest of you will move away, I think I'll make a pretty inviting target."

-

Teresa watched Marcus sleep, praying he would stay that way. She could just kneel here, watching over him. Watching his perfect body. She had never noticed before how good he smelled, for some reason it excited her. Her toga was making her uncomfortable, scraping against her nipples which were pointing out as if she were cold. She could not understand it, the room was warm, almost uncomfortably so. A funny, fluttery feeling was coming from her belly, or somewhere lower. His smell was making her feel things she didn't understand.

She spied a bead of perspiration on his forehead, it would soon roll into his eyes. She had better wipe it from him, or it could cause him pain and wake him. She reached for it, delicately brushing it away. For some reason she could not remove her hand, and she began running her fingers through his hair. She should stop, this was not proper, she was his guide, his teacher. No, she was his partner, his protector. She was comforting him, he would sleep easier if she calmed him in this way.

These feelings were not entirely new to her, but she had always been able to ignore them, push them away. It seemed impossible now. Watching over Marcus as he trained had always filled her with a feeling of.. need. It had been easy to suppress it, she did not know what it meant but somehow she knew it was improper. She found nothing easy now. Her eyes fell on Marcus's abs, spotting a drop of perspiration forming. She was trying to convince herself that it would be no different than touching his forehead when Marcus shifted and moaned.

"..resa? What? Where are we?" he asked, looking around with a pained expression that quickly brightened. "You beat them! I knew they were no match for you! What inn is this?"

"I'm sorry Marcus. That man.. he's some kind of demon himself. We're beaten. I can do nothing, and I cannot allow you to leave this room. Forgive me," she whispered, touching his shoulder.

"What? No.. Teresa, no one can beat you. No one. What's happened? Just tell me what I must do! I'm ready, you said so!" he begged, covering her small delicate hand in his large callused one. He'd never really been this close to her without attempting to hold her sword or fists at bay, and found she smelled simply divine. He realized she wasn't wearing her armor. Her sheer toga left very little to the imagination. A very natural reaction to this made him aware that he was similarly unarmored.

"Where is my armor? Where.. where is yours?" he asked, sitting up with his hands on his lap. He wished he had not, he now had a very clear view down Teresa's toga. The curve of her small pert breasts were making it very.. difficult to see her as the untouchable guardian figure he had taken great pains to view her as. He was certain if she knew how beautiful he found her it would not go well for him. Gods, she smelled good.

"He ordered me to remove my armor.. yours as well. I cannot summon it again unless he orders it," she replied. Marcus was covering himself for some reason as she kneeled directly in front of him. She hoped he was not injured. Looking into his eyes, his beautiful blue eyes, she tried to make him understand.

"There is nothing we can do, Marcus. I can only obey him. If you try to fight, I will be forced to defend him. Perhaps in time we will find a way to free ourselves. While there is life, there is hope," she said, placing her hands just above his knees, trying to reach him.

"If I could just reach him, I could end this. Can you not fight this? Only if for a moment. Surely he'll come by soon to gloat," he begged, forcing himself to look at her eyes and nowhere else. They were a pleasing gold tinged green, he had always loved her eyes.

"No. The moment you move to attack him I would throw myself at you with everything I have.. I could not hold back if I wished, I would even.. hurt you more than would be necessary. He has ordered it so. If you were to leave this room I would be forced to hurt you terribly, and defend them from you until we managed to return you. That man has been very thorough in his orders," Teresa explained, feeling depressed. She was shocked to see that she had been caressing him above his knees. He had not objected, so perhaps this was not something improper, though she felt it might be. Marcus was holding his hands between his legs with much pressure now, worrying her.

"I-I see," he replied, shivering at her touch. She had never put her hands on him without trying to hurt him before. Her hands were cool and incredibly soft. He hoped she wouldn't notice how she was affecting him. Turning away he looked out the window, his eyes widening.

"He's right there! Damn him. He's smiling at me, the fiend! He has my sword!" he leapt to his feet, forgetting she was kneeling before him until he.. bumped her face.

"Oh! What is that, you're all swollen!" she said, rubbing at her cheek.

"Um, nothing, do not worry, it does that sometimes," Marcus replied, surprised she did not know about such things. "Teresa, look! He's right there! If I could reach him I could crush his skull, I'd have my sword! We could cleanse this evil place!"

She managed to rip her eyes from the unexpected and very interesting thing before her with some difficulty and speak, "No, you must not, please. Marcus, you are very strong.. but you are not yet faster than I. I'm sorry, I failed you. I did not focus on unarmed combat, I never expected we would find ourselves in this situation. You.. you would not be able reach him before I could defeat you."

She was so ashamed, she now knew it had been her pride. Her skill with martial arts had impressed her own teachers, she was able to defeat all her sisters with ease. She had felt such happiness when Marcus praised her. She had wanted him to praise her more. He might not when his superior physical abilities allowed him to defeat her.

Suddenly she knew! She knew exactly how he could defeat that man, save himself, save them both!

"Marcus! He ordered me to keep you in here, but clearly he did not wish it so! He ordered that I could not harm you to keep you within! He wants to see me torture you. His cruel nature will be his undoing! Quickly, you must disable me, knock me unconscious or break my bones! Yes! We can do this!" she cried, thankful she had seen the evil man's mistake.

"What? No! I could.. I could never hurt you, Teresa! Please, there must be another way!" Marcus replied, backing away from her as she hobbled forward on her knees, hands clasped in supplication, eager for him to beat her.

"It's ok, Marcus. You would be saving us both, I would heal in time. Come, let us begin!" she said, turning her cheek. Still, she was touched by his feelings. She was also a little frustrated he was resisting her commands. She had agreed he was ready to attempt his first act of heroism, but he was still under her training!

"Teresa, no! I cannot! I could not hit you, not you! I would rather try to reach him, and take what pain will come my way. I could never ruin your beauty.." he said, bumping into the wall as she herded him. She placed her hands on his thighs, looking up to him with wonder on her face.