“Yes, sir,” Alburet said, saluting the sergeant again before leading the way out of the fort.
“Why don’t we hold onto the chit until we are done for the night?” Marysue said. “Sell off everything all at once and get the bonus for it all.”
“Good call,” Gerald chuckled and gave her a one-armed hug.
“I learned from you,” she smiled at him.
“Two hundred gold each, plus what we looted off the mobs. Adds up fast out here.” Alburet shook his head, “I need to see about upgrading my weapon again, and some of my non-set armor pieces. I’m thinking I’m out for hunting tomorrow, but you guys feel free to go out. You need to catch up to me anyway.”
“Sounds good to me,” Karen replied. “I wouldn’t mind closing the gap some. Those four quests pushed me along pretty well.”
“Marysue and I both hit twenty one,” Gerald added.
“I’m over halfway through it,” Alburet told the others. “I think we should hit the other zones when we hook back up. If we do those quests, it should speed us up more.”
“That’s probably how some of the other players have been leveling as quickly as they have been,” Gerald muttered, “skipping around and doing all the easy quests.”
“So, four or five more hours of Langistor farming today,” Fluff said. “Snowblind Hills next?”
“Maybe we should backtrack all the way to the goblin villages,” Marysue said, looking thoughtful.
“That makes sense,” Karen nodded, “make sure we’ve got the guild achievements before we really out distance those areas.”
With a plan in place the group headed back out for a little more than four hours of Langistor farming. When they finally called a halt for the day and headed back to the fort, the bonus chit for the Quartermaster wound up netting them an additional 10% for the loot they sold, an additional 5 gold each on top of everything else. They said their goodbyes, and used their Homestones to return to Stormguard.
Alburet and Stacia spent the rest of the night quietly at home, just cuddling, snuggling and canoodling. They finally fell asleep, exhausted but happy.
Chapter Fourteen
Alburet woke to Stacia leaning over him, “Master, breakfast be ready.”
He snagged her and pulled her into bed, wrapping her up and snuggling her to his chest. “Shh, sleep is good. Comfy body pillow does not talk.”
Giggling, Stacia struggled lightly against his grip, “I do like bein’ ya pillow, but Rolland and Kim will be waitin’ for us iffin ya do nay get up.” She let out a small moan, “Iffin ya do nay get up in a different way than tha’.”
Alburet chuckled, “So my insatiable little kitten is saying no?”
“Let me go and find out,” she said in a throaty voice, wiggling against him.
“Nope. You’ll run away. I’ll keep my pillow a bit longer and dream of what could be.”
She reached back as far as she could and began to tickle him. Laughing and squirming, he tried to hold her, but she slipped free easily enough from his grip. “Without ya gear, I be the stronger of us.” She pinned his arms down gently and gave him a deep passionate kiss then stepped back. “Ya breakfast is waitin’ for ya, go rinse and meet me in the main room. When we get back from the quest later today, ya can pay me back for pinnin’ ya to the bed.” She left him with a wink and a grin.
Alburet watched her sway out of the room and shook his head. She was pragmatic at times, much more than he was. Other times she was a little ball of sex that demanded more. He just couldn’t seem to figure out which was likely to be which and when. Then again, he mused as he got up, if any man knew that they’d be able to charge a fortune teaching others. Chuckling to himself, he rinsed with cool water and donned his gear. Stacia was just finishing up her bowl of frumenty when he made it to the main room.
He came up behind her and pinned her to the counter, “I think I can pay you back a little right now.” He chuckled as she squirmed, unable to break free now that he had his stat enhancing gear on. He gave her ass five hard swats, getting a yip from each. Her legs slid further apart with each spank, and her ass rose up to meet his hand. He spun her around once he was done and gave her a kiss. When he broke the kiss, he leaned his forehead against hers, “Naughty little fire kitten.”
“Aye. Master. I be the way I be. I am blessed ya accept me for who I be,” she laid her head on his shoulder with a sigh. “I be wantin’ more, but ya need to eat and then we need to be off. I do nay think keepin’ the Dark Lord waitin’ be a good idea.”
“As you wish,” he said softly before letting her go.
“Tha’ be the line from the play ya was tellin’ me about? The Princess Bride?” Stacia asked as she followed him to the table.
“Very good memory, Kitten,” Alburet grinned and began to shovel the frumenty into his mouth. She’d put a dash of cinnamon and some honey in it this time. It was cool and had started to thicken up, but it was still tasty.
“Ya do nay have to inhale it,” she laughed, watching him.
“Don’t want to keep anyone waiting,” he said around a mouthful of food.
Shaking her head, she took her cup to the washtub and cleaned it. She glanced back to find him scraping the last bits from the bowl. “Ya are a handful,” she chuckled.
He swallowed the last bite as he brought her the bowl, “So you tell me. A handful, a mouthful, more filling than a...”
Stacia grinned at him as she took the bowl, “Aye, just as I like it. Ya should check an’ see iffin they be waitin’ for us. I’ll be out in a moment.”
He grabbed her, giving her one more kiss, “Your wish is my command, dear Kitten.” Grabbing his bag, he headed out. He found Kim and Rolland over in the guild hall, chatting with Erin. Rolland was wearing soft leather armor in blue, and Kim had dark grey hardened leathers. “Elementalist I get, but what is your class Kim?”
“Trapsmith,” Kim laughed. “I was just telling Erin about one of the chests we found once out in the Webbed Woods.”
“Stacia will be with us shortly. You both sure you still want to go with?” Alburet asked.
“Of course we do,” Rolland replied. “If Sir Jones had known about this, he would be here as well, I do not doubt.”
“Maybe I should have told him and extracted a favor,” Alburet laughed. “Goodness knows having favors from those near the top is always useful.”
“It would be a bit late now,” Kim told him. “It’s not like any of us have a way to contact him directly.”
Alburet considered it for a moment then shrugged and pulled out his Mindstone. He sent a quick message outlining his plans before putting it away. Kim and Rolland both watched him with raised eyebrows. “I just happen to have his info. I sent him a message. But I really doubt he’s going to just drop everything he had planned today to join us.”
“Who be joinin’ us?” Stacia asked, slipping up to his side.
“Sir Jones,” Alburet told her. “Rolland mentioned he might be interested in joining us, so I sent him a quick message. I was just telling them that it’s very unlikely…” He cut off as his message icon started flashing.
Message from Ioaniss Jones:
Alburet, where and when is your group meeting?
Alburet pulled out his Mindstone again to reply. Jones’s message arrived seconds after he’d sent it.
Message from Ioaniss Jones:
I will meet you there in ten minutes, don’t leave without me.
He sent a one word reply then put the stone away again. “Huh, funny that.”
Rolland blurted out his question that the others were all thinking, “Well?”