Champions

Sapphire thought about what her mother had said. It was true that as a Champion David could easily outlive the both of them. He could also die tomorrow. It was a dangerous responsibility, and she really didn't like that. He was also determined to leave Erosius the first chance he got. But, she also began to imagine what their children would be like. At over six feet he was a lot taller than the average Erosian man (who were usually around five and a half feet) and broader in the chest as well. He was also very smart. Their sons would be strong and capable, and their daughters would be beautiful and kind, and both genders would be very intelligent. She grew a bit wistful thinking of him holding a child of theirs in his arms. She imagined he would be a good father.

She also thought of what other advantages his size might give him. She had never lain with a man, but had heard from other women how wonderful the experience was. She imagined what sex with him would be like, and she had a very active imagination.

Seeing her daughter lost in thought, Zaffre decided she had done her best. She believed her daughter was wrong to distance herself from happiness, but she understood her reasons. Yet, if the small smile that was creeping onto Sapphire's face was any indication, she may have gotten through to the young Dracian.

"This is not something you should try to decide on in a night, but just know that I think David is a wonderful man. You could be very happy with him," she told her daughter gently, and then added with a grin, "And if you decide you don't want him, be sure to bring him back here soon. I would be happy to take him off your hands."

"MOM!"

*** Chapter 22: On the Road Again ***

190900MAR13 DW

Sapphire's home, on the road to Exitibus (Day 6), Erosius

The trio left the next morning. Zaffre hugged each of them warmly before they departed, and stood on her front porch to watch them leave. Their time with her had been important to them; but now it was time to continue their journey.

The next three days were uneventful. Laurena discussed Erosian religion with David, Sapphire discussed magic and the relationship between Eros' love and sexuality, and David worked on improving his magic, enchanting his knife, and crafting a few new items.

After his fight in Wolfsvale he realized he needed to carry more firepower than he used to. So he crafted a second drop-leg holster for his left thigh, and he worked for a few hours to recreate his inside-the-waistband (IWB) holster that he used to wear for concealed carry back in the states. Just like the name implied, the IWB holster tucked inside the waistband of his pants and clipped to his belt. The grip was the only visible part, and he could wear his Multi-Cam jacket or fleece to easily conceal it. He also made two additional folding knives, (which took a long damn time to get the mechanics right on), and a set of six nine-inch Thunder Bolt throwing knives with custom handles, which in his opinion were the perfect mix of throwing and fighting knife. With custom para cord wrappings around the handles to give them a more comfortable grip when used for fighting they were his favorite type of knife. He also made sheaths for them that attached to the front of his vest.

Sapphire mood had greatly improved, and on the first night had insisted that all shared her tent from now on.

"My tent is huge," she had stated. "Why don't you both sleep inside?"

Both David and Laurena agreed, and it wasn't long before all three had their own spot on the floor of the tent. Sapphire claimed that her cot was too big for her to fit in the tent with them, but David suspected that she had ulterior motives. After he woke up the first morning with her snuggled up next to him, his arm draped over her sleeping form, his suspicions were confirmed. He wasn't going to complain about it, even if she had accidentally awoken him up doing it three hours earlier. He had pretended to still be asleep. He may have also moved his arm from where she originally placed it around her waist to tuck it into the top of her leather vest, cupping her breast. She didn't bother to move it, and it wasn't his fault what his hands did while he was asleep, right?

The big surprise was the next morning, when he awakened to Laurena's body pressed against him. He'd had the second guard shift that night, and had been lying close to Sapphire, with his arm around her waist. Laurena's summons for his shift was gentle, but her expression was strained when she saw how closely he held the other woman. He had expected it to be an issue, so he was surprised when instead he was roused in the morning with a face full of her golden locks, and her glorious scent invading his nostrils. His arms were not around her, thank God, but his hardness was bracketed firmly by the luscious buttocks that she had pressed into his crotch. Sapphire didn't seem to take offense at this when she woke them, but instead smiled warmly at him and Laurena and offered to cook breakfast.

It was a surreal experience for the soldier, and by the afternoon of the third day he had begun to think that the two of them were competing for him. He just couldn't figure out why. He had made it damn clear days ago that he didn't want anything to do with the blonde acolyte, but she just kept trying. Meanwhile the raven haired Dracian kept her contact and teasing subtle. He got the impression that she wasn't ready for him to progress any further with her at the moment, but was enjoying her current level of closeness to him. She also did not seem offended by the unsolicited contact that he received from Laurena. He had come to genuinely care for Sapphire, and really wanted a relationship with her; but the few times he tried to discuss it with her she shut him down. This just made it that much harder to resist Laurena's advances, which were slowly eroding his resistance. After all, he hadn't had sex in a long time, and the blonde had a body that was built for sin.

He hoped he could figure out a way through this mess before they reached Exitibus. He knew when they arrived Laurena would want him to join her for worship services again, and if he didn't start to see hope for a future with Sapphire he doubted he would have the will power remaining to fight the acolyte.

***

Darius sighed as he steered his cart along the road to Calavius. He had lost half a day in Exitibus waiting for the new sheriff's representative to complete his registration. The old priest of Eros in the crossroads town had been killed, and the young priestess that remained had enlisted the aid of a powerful sorcerer, appointing him to a newly created position of sheriff to help restore order. The sheriff was nice, but his damn requirement that all travelers register in the town had cost him half a day. It was already a long journey to Calavius, and now he was running late.

The old priests' murder was as shocking to the town as the lack of information about his killer. That was part of the reason for the registration; they were trying to find the person. Unfortunately in the last two months they'd had zero luck doing so.

The trader, lost in his ruminations, barely noticed the man step out from the road side into his horse's path. He was able to stop the horse in time, but it was a close call.

"In the name of Eros good man, be careful! I nearly ran you down," Darius exclaimed.

"My pardon sir," the unknown man apologized. "Might you be Darius the Trader?"

"That I am my friend. What can I do for you?" Darius replied.

The arrow that suddenly sprouted from the trader's throat interrupted any response the stranger would have offered. Moving swiftly to grasp the horse's reins, least it bolt with the cart attached, the man watched calmly as the trader died.

***

"Your men do good work Shadowmaster Hood," the first cloaked man said to the second. The two men stood in a back alley of Exitibus, deserted but for them.

"Thank you Shadow Lord. It was an easy assignment; the fool didn't even realize his fate until the arrow took his throat."

"Will there be any problems unloading the cargo?" the Shadow Lord asked.

"None," responded Shadowmaster Hood. "The fool didn't mark his goods, so we can have one of our men slap a crafter's mark on them and claim them as our own. We don't even need to send them to Lexia."

"That is good," he replied. "The Night Lord becomes...annoyed...if he has to wait long for his taxes."

Shuddering at the thought of offending the Night Lord, Shadowmaster Hood had to agree that it was fortunate. He would pay the taxes from his own funds rather than risk offending the Night Lord, but he was glad he didn't have to. The previous Shadowmaster Hood had tried to skim from the Night Lord. His death had been...memorable.

"Tell the Night Lord that his taxes will be on time and paid to the coin," Hood told the Shadow Lord.

"I shall. He instructed me to send his compliments on your men's increase in productivity. Your taxes have nearly doubled your predecessor's, and you have managed to surpass both Shadowmaster Blade and Shadowmaster Whisper in earnings," Shadow Lord said, passing on the message. "The Night Lord was concerned that the change in leadership might result in a loss of productivity amongst The Hoods. He is pleased not to have to make anymore...restructurings."

Initially proud of the praise, Hood's good mood vanished upon hearing the poorly veiled threat. He chose a nod of his cloaked head as his only response. He feared any words he tried to speak would not pass the sudden lump in his throat.

"If there is nothing else, then I shall bid you good night. The list of targets will be sent in the normal way tomorrow," the Shadow Lord dismissed Shadowmaster Hood.

Bowing, Hood gratefully hastened from the alley, moving quickly in the opposite direction of the Shadow Lord's departure. After traveling a short distance from the meeting, the Shadow Lord stepped into a doorway and spoke softly, "Am I to assume you heard everything Lord?"

Naturally, rumbled the deep bass voice in his head.

"Is there anything else you wish me to do tonight?"

No Shadow Lord. You have done well this night. Our plans are progressing on schedule. The new Shadowmaster Hood is much better than that fool Merrick was. But remain vigilant; another lesson will certainly be necessary again. These fools have such short memories.

"As you command my Lord," the Shadow Lord spoke quietly, sighing as the presence finally slid from his mind. He hated the feeling; it was like someone was submerging his brain in oil. But it was far better than risking a face-to-face meeting with the Night Lord. The last two men to hold his post as Shadow Lord had died mysteriously, and he still remembered the words that had echoed from the Night Lord's masked face. "Curiosity can be very dangerous." He had decided right then to avoid ever being in the same room with the Night Lord again if he could.

Resuming his walk, he returned to the main road and traveled along it until he reached a fairly nice tavern. Not the best one in the town, but certainly tied for second. Walking to the back of the building, he entered the kitchens and hung his cloak on a hook near the door.

"Everything well at home Cassius?" the cook asked the man.

"One of the little ones has a cough again," Cassius explained to him. "The wife is worried so I told her if it wasn't better by morning we would take him to the temple. I swear if I had known that fatherhood was going to be like this I would have married a woman with powerful magic instead of my Agnes."

"That's the problem with marrying such a beauty. You can only pull yourself from inside her long enough for the next child to pop out," the cook laughed. "But you do own one of the best taverns in all of Exitibus. You can afford to feed all those mouths."

"That is true," he replied laughing. And Cassius, owner of the Traders' Rest Tavern and secret Shadow Lord of Exitibus, walked through the kitchens into the main seating area, greeting his customers warmly.

***

David and the women arrived within view of Exitibus without incident. If you believe that waking every morning pressed to the succulent body of one of two gorgeous women was not an incident. He believed it was. He had been unable to figure out a way of extricating himself from the mess. It would be a lot easier if he could just convince Sapphire to discuss their feelings, and commit to him. But she wouldn't, and he had lost the will to fight Laurena's attentions. She was just so damn hot! He had no desire for her beyond the carnal, but he was absolutely determined to 'grudge fuck' the ever loving shit out of her if he got the chance.

Laurena was pleased with the progress she had made. She had been worried about Sapphire growing increasingly closer to David, but as the days of travel grew and nothing more developed she saw her opportunity. Every evening she slept as close to the Champion as she could; and whenever possible she made sure to press her body against him. She could see how her actions were wearing his resistance down, and she hoped to persuade him to attend an Erosian worship service in Exitibus. She would need to convince the local priest or priestess to allow her to bless only David during the service. It would be the first time she had only one partner for worship since her first, but she knew it would have to be that way if she was to have any chance of being with him.

Sapphire was truly conflicted. She had finally realized that she wanted a relationship with David, but she had no experience with relationships. She had never lain with a man before, and she was clueless how to proceed. Worse, every time David had tried to discuss the possibility with her, she got nervous and changed the subject. She was worried she would be terrible in bed, and with the more experienced Laurena trying so hard to gain the Champion's affections it would be easy for him to discard her if she couldn't perform well enough. She would have given up the cause as lost if he hadn't continued to show her so much attention. She knew he cared for her, but she needed to do something soon. While she was first in David's mind right now, that position slipped further and further each time she avoided his desire for a commitment from her. She was also having nightmares again, ever since killing Lucius. They had been constant after her father's death, but had come less frequently since.

The night her father died, the men that attacked them were initially content to just rob them. Then they had gotten a good look at her beauty and decided to rape her as well. She fought back when they came for her, using her magic to throw three of them into nearby trees, but there were just too many. Her father had attacked one of them to defend her, and that was why they had both been beaten; her to the cusp of death, and her father all the way. She had never spoken to anyone about why they attacked them, because her guilt wouldn't allow it. If she had just given them what they wanted her father wouldn't have died that night. The nightmares started the night after she woke up from the attack, and they were always one of the same two. In one she was crying and being held down by four men while the fifth tried to rape her, and the other three beat her father beside her. In the other she was the one beating her father, screaming at him for being a weakling. She loved her father, and would have accepted the first nightmare every night of her life if it meant she never had to have the second. But she knew he was dead because of her, and that nightmare was her punishment.

Thus all three were buried in their own thoughts as they rode into the city that day. So it came as a great surprise to them when a man wearing the livery of the Temple of Eros over a set of leather armor stopped them at the entrance to the town. Laurena and Sapphire noted the Mark of Servitude on his neck, while David was oblivious.

"All visitors in Exitibus need to register with the sheriff's representative before they can enter the city," the man told them politely but firmly.

Sapphire was surprised at this announcement. She had been traveling these roads for many winters, and she had never seen or heard of such a thing before. She told the man such.

"The senior priest of the temple was murdered two months ago. The junior priest requested aid from members of the town in maintaining order, and created the office of the sheriff to do that on the clergy's behalf. Registration only takes a few minutes, and it is as much for your safety as it is for the safety of everyone in the town," he explained with benign indifference.

His words received different responses from the three. Sapphire exclaimed "a murder?" Laurena exclaimed "the priest was killed?" and David asked "how good's the beer here?"

Both women, and even the guard, stared at him in shock at his comment.

David looked back into their stunned faces. "What?" he asked.

*** Chapter 23: Exitibus ***

231500MAR13 DW

Exitibus, Erosius

The trio was escorted to the sheriff's office by another guard, and went through the registration process for visitors. It was fairly simple; they gave their names, occupations, purpose for visiting, and listed any weapons they carried to the sheriff's representative. Sapphire and Laurena gave David a confused look when he reported only carrying his knives as weapons, but they held their tongues. When Sapphire explained their reason for visiting was to travel to Calavius for trade, Laurena moved to argue, but David subtly grasped her elbow and stepped on her foot. She was annoyed with the both of them after that, but kept her peace. The representative offered to give them directions, but Sapphire thanked him and assured him that she was well acquainted with the city.

After they left the office Laurena demanded an explanation for their deception.

"My weapons don't exist in this world," David whispered to her quietly. "I have no idea what he would have done with that information. For all I know he has the authority to confiscate them, which would be dangerous for us and for him."

Rounding on Sapphire, Laurena demanded of the woman, "Well what about you?"

"Assuming he even believed that David is the next Champion of Eros," the Dracian explained, "do you really think that man would accept that a Champion traveled with nothing but a few knives?"

"I do not like these deceptions," Laurena complained.

"I don't like the idea of a town killing their priest," David replied, deadpan.

Laurena had no response for that, so she dropped the matter and insisted that they travel directly to the temple. Neither Sapphire nor David had any complaints with this plan. Traveling through the city David was surprised at the economic disparity he saw. There were a few nice homes scattered amongst many in disrepair. Mentioning this to Sapphire she tried to explain it to him.

"Exitibus is a crossroads city, which means most of the day-to-day population is reliant on traders and travelers for their income. In the last few decades the amount of travel through the city has increased greatly with the completion of the Calavius road, but many of the people who moved to the city to find wealth found stiff competition instead. Those that couldn't compete, but had the skill to be successful elsewhere returned to their home towns, and left their houses to others. The aging homes you see are owned by those with scant magic. They have little skill to do anything else so they scrape by here, but don't have enough magic to care for their own homes. In a smaller town, friends and neighbors would help with these issues, but here most of the buildings fall into disrepair because there is no shared history or strong sense of community. My father told me it was because the old priest in charge of the temple was a poor leader of the faithful."