《Summoned, but no one was there.》


 1 - Summoned

    I woke up in pain and confusion. Everything was dark and my memories were muddled. I knew my name was Matt Mardens, your average, ordinary 20-something college student. The last thing I could recall was walking along the sidewalk and being blinded by a bright, white light. My brain ached and for some reason I seemed to have the knowledge of a second language shoved into my head. It wasn¡¯t familiar to me, and I didn¡¯t even know the name of it. I had never taken a foreign language course and English should be the only language I knew. Groaning, I tried getting up, but my body wasn¡¯t responding very well. The ground was cold and damp with drops of water splashing nearby. A bright flash followed by a booming noise startled me. I recognized it as thunder and lightning which illuminated things briefly. The surroundings consisted of circular stone walls and a high roof. Part of the roof was missing which let rain in.


    As my eyes slowly adjusted to the dark, moldy piles of debris could be seen along the walls and the floor had several faintly glowing rune-like symbols carved into a circular pattern beneath me. Grunting, I managed to crawl away from the symbols and leaned against the wall farthest from the hole in the roof. The glowing symbols made me uneasy as I massaged my temple to dull the splitting headache. A puddle of water had formed beneath the hole and the sound of the wind howling outside could be heard along with more thunder.


    ¡°Hello, is anyone here?¡± I tried yelling but my throat was so dry it ended in a coughing fit. My teary eyes widened in surprise as I noticed the plastic shopping bag lying on the ground. I was on my way back to the dorm from the convenience store when the bright light enveloped me and luckily my purchase was still with me. Grabbing the bag, I quickly got a bottle of water and took a long sip. ¡°Hello, is anyone there!¡± yelling louder this time but there was still no answer.


    Sighing, I leaned my head back against the stone wall and looked up toward the ceiling. Curiously the glowing symbols continued in a line up toward the roof. Suddenly the hair on my arms started standing up and a blinding flash came from the hole in the roof along with a deafening boom, causing the hole in the roof to get bigger as chunks rained down. I screamed in panic and shielded my eyes, but I was already half blinded and my ears were ringing.


    Through the white spots in my vision, I could see blue arcs following the runes down to the circular symbol which started glowing brighter and brighter until I had to look away. A strange popping sound echoed in the room, and everything went dark again. I slowly turned my head back, but my eyesight hadn¡¯t recovered enough to see anything. I blinked several times and was finally able to make out something new in the room. A dark object was laying in the middle of the circle which hadn¡¯t been there before.


    Whatever it was, it wasn¡¯t moving. It appeared to be furry and was so dark it almost blended into the night. The furry object was curled up and was no bigger than a basketball so I thought I would be able to fend it off if it started attacking me. Still, to be on the safe side I made as little noise as possible and watched it warily. I also scanned the room for anything to use as a weapon but didn¡¯t see much.


    The lightning outside flashed rhythmically and the storm seemed to intensify. I worriedly glanced at the roof, thinking it could come down at any time. Soon the hair on my arms rose again and I swore, closing my eyes for what was to come. Sure enough, a flash of brilliance lit up the sky followed by a boom which shook the room. Once again blue arcs traced the runes down to the circle which glowed intensely followed by a popping noise.


    The dark, furry object was still there and unmoving but now a second thing was present. This time I could tell right away what it was, a squirrel. The squirrel was sprawled out and as unmoving as the first object. I still had no idea where I was but clearly the same thing that brought the squirrel here had summoned me as well. The implications of what had happened slowly sunk in. This had been no deliberate act and was purely an accident of the storm activating the circle which must be some kind of teleporter or warp gate. This could even be one of those summoning circles my buddy kept going on about from his favorite anime show.


    The structure was clearly a ruin going by the state of decay and there was definitely no princess to meet me and give me a grand quest to slay the demon king. Thinking of my friend made me realize I had brought other things with me as well which included my cell phone and Swiss army knife that I always kept in my pocket. I fished out the cell phone but of course there was no signal. The battery was fully charged thankfully, and I hurriedly turned the light on.


    I swept it over the room and my fellow summoned creatures. The squirrel was just an average brown colored squirrel and seemed to be breathing. The furry object turned out to be a black cat which was also still breathing. If it woke up before the squirrel, then the squirrel might not be breathing for long but I was too tired to worry about that. A wave of tiredness washed over me, and I could barely keep my eyes open. I managed to shut the cell phone off before passing out for the night. As I was drifting off, I belatedly wished I had brought a jacket, but it had been a beautiful spring day at the college.


    I woke up with a gasp and quickly looked around. Unfortunately, it hadn¡¯t been a dream and I was still in the summoning room. The storm was over and sunlight shown through the gaping hole in the roof. I shivered slightly as my body was numb and cold from leaning against the stone wall. Everything except my lap that is. I looked down to see the cat curled up on top of me. It opened one eye and seemed to glare for daring to disturb it¡¯s sleep. Gently shooing it off, I stood up stiffly and walked over to the beam of sunshine to warm up. My outfit consisted of jeans and a t-shirt with tennis shoes so I wasn''t exactly drerssed for an adventure.


    It didn''t take long to warm up and I noticed the humidity was almost stifling. Stretching with a big yawn, I surveyed the room again. The squirrel was nowhere to be found so had evidently scampered off. I didn¡¯t see any blood, so it probably hadn¡¯t been eaten by the cat. There were also no other creatures present so it was a good bet the squirrel was the last to be summoned. My headache was mostly gone but my body still ached. I was also hungry since I hadn¡¯t had any supper last night. I looked through the bag at my meager possessions which consisted of two bottles of water with one partially drank, an energy drink, a loaf of bread, a candy bar, and a bag of chips. I also had my phone, a knife, some change, and my wallet.


    I had been planning on making a sandwich when I got back but had been out of bread. Now I wished I had bought more as the convenience store purchases wouldn¡¯t last me for very long. My cell phone battery probably wouldn¡¯t last long either, so I decided to keep it off until I really needed it. If nothing else, the flashlight would come in handy. Scratching my head, I decided on the candy bar and part of the energy drink for breakfast. It wasn¡¯t very filling, but it was better to ration the food for now. The cat came sniffing around and received a bit of bread for its breakfast.


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    My parents never let me have a pet growing up, but I always wanted one. The cat had no collar or tags, so it was up to me to name it. Idly petting the cat, I tried to come up with something and finally settled on Shadow. ¡°From now on your name is Shadow.¡± The cat meowed which I took as her agreement. With that out of the way it was time to venture outside. I had already noticed a hole in the floor off to the side and upon getting closer was rewarded with the sight of stone steps leading down. I had also noticed what was left of a ladder going up to a roof hatch but there wasn¡¯t enough remaining of the ladder to be useable so while I was curious, I had to leave it for now. While carefully descending the tower, there appeared to be crystals set into the wall every so often. Some were cracked but most were still glowing and gave off enough light to see.


    With no windows in the tower, things would be pretty dark without them. I studied one of the crystals closer but couldn¡¯t decide if it was glowing because of the mineral¡¯s properties or if magic was at play. I considered myself a man of science and was studying to be an engineer, but the summoning circle had left open the possibility of stranger things afoot.


    There were two more floors before reaching the bottom. The first contained a steam punk like laboratory which was in shambles. I couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of what the equipment was supposed to do. I did pick up a bent metal rod that could be used for a walking stick or an impromptu weapon. The second was a living area with a broken bed, what was left of a desk, and some moldy shelves. I grabbed the remains of a sheet off the bed and made a crude sack out of it, placing my other items inside. There was nothing useful in the desk or shelves.


    I finally reached the bottom and walked over the remains of a heavy wooden door which had fallen off its hinges and was slowly returning to the earth. The sunlight made me squint as I exited the tower. Shading my eyes, I looked out at quite the view. The tower was perched atop a hill or maybe cliff would be more precise. Below the cliff was a vast ocean or sea stretching off into the distance with a few islands scattered about. I didn¡¯t notice the sea air inside the musty tower but outside it hit me like a truck. I had only been to the ocean once on spring break but had enjoyed it. Looking away from the water I gasped in surprise at seeing a large medieval looking port city nestled up against the coast. On the other side of the city was a vast jungle. When I looked up at the sky, my jaw dropped open. Hanging in the sky, almost twice the size of the moon was another planet. It had greens and blues like Earth but the continents were all wrong. I didn''t know if it was a habitable moon or another entire planet but one thing was certain, this wasn''t Earth.


    When the shock wore off, I tore my gaze away from the sky and back to the city. It got me excited at first, thinking I had found civilization and would be able to get a good meal, but my hopes were quickly dashed as I looked again. The first thing I noticed was most of the roofs of the buildings were caved in and the second thing was the eerie silence. It also appeared that the jungle was slowly overtaking the city with vines and foliage covering the city walls on the jungle side. The city looked to be as abandoned as the tower. This begged the question of why it was abandoned. A shiver went down my spine as a howling noise came from the direction of the city, followed by a few more answering howls. Shadow had followed me out of the tower and hissed at the sound with her tail puffed out.


    This was not good. I was no fighter or hunter, and my improvised weapon wouldn¡¯t do much against a wolf or pack of dogs or whatever the howls came from. Panicking slightly, I racked my brain to think of something and recalled that most isekai protagonists came to the other world with super powers or abilities. My body ached but I did feel a bit stronger for some reason, but I couldn¡¯t be sure. Maybe the gravity was lighter here or something. If I did have some kind of powers, I didn¡¯t know how to use them. ¡°Status¡±, ¡°Open Status¡±, ¡°Menu¡±, ¡°Crap, what am I doing. I need to get ahold of myself.¡± The old status trope didn¡¯t seem to be working and I didn¡¯t remember any gods giving me instructions. I took a few deep breaths to calm down.


    If I could use magic, I would have to learn how to do it myself. There had to be a library in the city somewhere or maybe a rich noble had a collection. That is if any of the books were still intact. With my implanted knowledge I think I could read and speak the language, not that there seemed to be anybody to talk to. I needed to get the depressing thoughts under control so clapped my cheeks. ¡°Ok Shadow, we need to find someplace safe with an intact door. A better weapon would be nice as well.¡± With that we started following the cobble stone path to the city. She looked to be still on edge but meowed and ran ahead.


    I seemed to be in the rich part of town as the residences were huge and ornate. I hadn¡¯t seen a castle or anything that looked like a king or queen lived here while up on the ridge. The tallest structure appeared to be a bell tower toward the center of the city. Shadow seemed to be having fun exploring but didn¡¯t wander too far away. We passed a few large estates but he houses were crumbling. We entered the nearest mostly intact mansion. Beyond the crumbling wall, the grounds were overgrown, but on the sides there seemed to be fruit trees. The fruit looked similar to apples but they were purple. I left them alone for now and really hoped they were edible as I made why way around the mansion. I briefly glanced in the backyard, which was also in a wild state and there appeared to be a well and overgrown flower beds.


    Next, we made our way inside. Shadow jumped through an open window but I used the large double doors. They were sturdy and intact. If I blocked off the window openings, this place could work. It didn¡¯t look like there had been glass in the windows and just wooden shutters which had fallen off and rotted away. I set down the sack and kept my metal staff at the ready in case there was anything already making the place its home. I listened intently but all I could hear was Shadow pitter pattering down the wide hallway in front of me. The hallway opened onto a great room with a staircase leading up to the second floor. There were holes in the roof letting light in which had also let in water which was puddled on the rotten floorboards.


    Shadow headed up the staircase but I decided to explore the first floor. There was a large dining room and what might have been a ball room and then a kitchen area. There was also a few closets or maybe they were servant quarters and a guest reception room with a couple sofas. The kitchen was the most interesting. There appeared to be a few magical type appliances that I wasn¡¯t sure about and luckily a regular wood stove. The pantry was empty with evidence of animals having gotten to it but there was bundles of wood for the stove. There was also a cellar door but when I peaked inside it was pitch black and full of cobwebs, so I decided against entering for now. I wasn¡¯t a fan of spiders in general and didn¡¯t want to find out how large they got in this world. To be on the safe side I wedged a chair up against the cellar door. Feeling a little better, I continued my exploration to the second floor.


    The stairs were surprisingly intact and I briefly saw Shadow still sniffing around. Most of the doors were open except the ones at the end of the long hallway. I slowly walked down the hallway, looking into each room on the way. One was a bathroom and the rest were bedrooms. I tried one of the closed doors but it wouldn¡¯t budge. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was locked or just stuck. The other closed door opened up to what must have been the master bedroom with a huge bed under a canopy. The room was in much better condition than the previous bedrooms since the door had remained closed. I decided this would be my new home.

 2 - Mansion

    I returned to the first floor and got to work securing my new home. I didn¡¯t find any tools so for now I just stacked furniture to seal the window openings. The front and back doors had a bar that could be placed across them to prevent them from opening. I wasn¡¯t used to the humidity so was sweating profusely. My water would be gone in no time at this rate. Shadow wasn¡¯t much help and had secured herself a padded chair where she was laying down and grooming herself.


    With water in mind, I headed out back to investigate the well. I wasn¡¯t too keen on drinking straight from the well so would need to at least boil the water to ease my worry of contamination. The well was a circular hole in the ground with stones around it up to waist height. I was happy to see a wooden cover still over the well although the rotted wooden bucket laying in the dirt was discouraging. I picked it up and the handle was still attached to the light metal chain from the overhead crank but the bottom was rotted out and it crumbled in my hands.


    I had to go back to the kitchen and found an appropriately sized pot to use as a bucket. With the new bucket attached I opened the lid and lowered it into the well. I hit water about 20 feet down and brought back up some clear looking water. It was tempting to drink the water right there but the thought of being sick without anyone to help or any medicine snapped me out of it. I brought it inside to boil but discovered my next problem. How was I going to start a fire? I didn¡¯t recognize anything in the kitchen that could be a lighter. It was possible one of the strange magical tools could but I had no idea how any of them worked or if they even would still work.


    One of the magical appliances looked like it could be a stove but after fiddling with it for some time I couldn¡¯t get it to work. I wracked my brain, then remembered seeing a video of how to start a fire using a bottle of water but had never tried it. Using my full water bottle and some dark covering material and stuffing from one of the padded chairs, I went outside to attempt starting my first fire without using a lighter or match. I put the materials in a tin I had found and then proceeded to try and use the water bottle like a magnifying lens. It took a lot of trial and error but after about an hour I finally figured it out and had flames coming from the tin.


    I miraculously got the stove going and the water was in the process of heating up. It would be a pain to keep using that method if I wanted a fire so I gathered up some of the candles spread throughout the house to light. The magical crystal lighting must have been fairly expensive as there were only one lamp in the master bedroom and the chandeliers in the ballroom and dining room that used the crystals. Everything else was good old fashioned wax candles. While the water was heating, I decided to try one of the purple apples. I was fairly sure they wouldn¡¯t grow poisonous fruit right next to their house but decided on just a small bite for now and would wait to see if anything bad happened. The fruit was juicy and sweet but tasted more like a peach than an apple.


    I let the water boil for a while and then placed it in another pot and repeated the process a few times. While I was picking fruit, I noticed the smoke coming out of the chimney. I was a little worried that it would invite unwanted guests but if there were only animals present in the city then it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. It was starting to get dark by the time I finished boiling water and had a good supply built up. I made sure Shadow was inside and then barred the doors.


    I held off eating more fruit for now and wanted to give it more time. If I still felt fine in the morning, then I would label them safe to eat. Instead, I broke out the chips and bread. I didn¡¯t know if bread was good for cats but she seemed to enjoy it. It wasn¡¯t much of a meal but all the work during the day had made me hungry. I had even managed to take all the sheets and blankets off the bed and shook them out. They were covered in dust but otherwise in good shape. Everything in the master bedroom had been in surprisingly good shape and there was even a small shelf of books.


    I idly pet Shadow as I ate and then retired to the bedroom. The bedroom had a shuttered window on one side, an attached bathroom, and a door that led out onto a balcony. I peered out the window and then out the door but there was no light to be seen across the city as expected. The mansion was located on a small hill so from the second story had a fairly good view.


    I started going through the books by candlelight, but there were no magic books. There was a history book about the kingdom in which the city was located. I found out the city was named South Port and the kingdom was named Mortix. I could only assume the rest of the kingdom lay to the north, past the jungle. There was no map in the book so I couldn¡¯t be sure. It was nice to be able to read the books however.


    The rest of the books appeared to be fictional stories split between adventure and romance, but I found one additional book in the nightstand. It was a well worn field guide to monsters. It included pictures and descriptions along with tips on how to defeat them. As I paged through the guide, my heart sank. It seemed the jungle was home to some seriously strong creatures. Since the jungle was overtaking the city, it was a good bet some of those monsters now inhabited the abandoned city.


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    My new goal was to find some weapons and armor before I ran across any of the monstrosities in the field guide. There had to be a weapon or armor shop somewhere in the city. Since it was a port city, maybe they would be closer to the docks. Unfortunately, my current residence was a long way from the docks. The locked door also itched at the back of my mind. I decided tomorrow I would try a little harder to get in there.


    The morning arrived and I found Shadow sleeping on top of me. I was definitely missing air conditioning and had been too scared from the field guide to open the window and balcony door. I had even shoved a chair up against the bedroom door for extra security. I yawned and gently moved Shadow off my stomach and opened the window shutters. It was another beautiful tropical day. I belatedly noticed I had forgot to light another candle and my original had gone out. I wasn¡¯t even sure how long candles lasted so was probably foolish to think one would last all night.


    I carefully opened the bedroom door and peeked out but didn¡¯t see or hear anything. I crept down the stairs and didn¡¯t relax until I had checked that everything was still secure. Shadow wasn¡¯t ready to get up yet and stayed sleeping in bed. I still felt fine so had more of the fruit for breakfast along with the rest of my energy drink. It felt weird sitting alone at the huge dining room table. I quickly finished breakfast and decided to get to work before feelings of being lonely and homesick took control.


    I had noticed a shed off to the side of the estate while I was exploring the yard yesterday so headed there to look for tools. The door to the shed was hanging open and debris had started piling up inside but there were still an assortment of tools hanging above a workbench. I wasn¡¯t afraid of a little rust and grabbed a hefty looking hammer and a long, tapered metal bar that was thicker than my walking stick. If I couldn¡¯t get the door open with these then I would have to give up.


    On my way back inside, I spotted Shadow stalking through the grass. ¡°Be careful and don¡¯t go too far.¡± I warned. She looked over at me and meowed and I swear she nodded her head, but I must have been imagining it. I was soon back in front of the locked room with the tools. I jammed the metal rod into the door where the lock would be and started pounding it with the hammer. After it sank into the gap between the door and wall, I grabbed the bar and pried with all my strength. I heard a snap and the door sprang open to reveal a lavish study. I used my phone light to pierce the darkness and saw an ornate desk dominated one wall and the rest were lined with bookshelves. The study was as preserved as the master bedroom had been and I thanked my lucky stars as I spotted a fancy sword hanging behind the desk.


    I opened the only window in the room to let in some light. If I was even luckier then some of the books would be about magic. I went to the sword first and took it off the wall. The handle and scabbard had gold fillagree and it was slightly curved. I was no expert but would call it a cavalry sword. I unsheathed it and marveled at the etching carved into the blade. It almost reminded me of the runes on the summoning circle so maybe this was a magic sword. In any case it seemed to be well made but seemed too light in my hands.


    Now that I think about it the pots of water and furniture I had carried around seemed too light as well. I did not exercise and had spent most of my time in front of a computer or the TV so had no muscles to speak of. I hadn¡¯t looked at myself in a mirror since being summoned but my arms did seem to be bigger and I could actually feel a six pack. Did my body get enhanced along with my mind? To experiment, I put down the sword and grabbed the metal pry bar to try bending it. I grunted and sure enough the metal started bending with a creak.


    I smiled, flexing my biceps and thinking I could get used to this. Going back to the sword I swung it around a few times and tested the edge. It was definitely sharp and not just an ornamental piece. I didn¡¯t really know how to use a sword but it was better than nothing. Also, if it was a magical weapon I had no idea how to activate it.


    I went through the desk and found a few coins and some parchment and writing instruments but not much else. Next I started looking at the book shelves and noticed some large rolled up scrolls on top. I unfurled them and they were maps. I smiled at the discovery and tossed them on the desk. I would study them later but for now was more interested in the books. Sure enough, I had hit the jackpot.


    A whole section seemed to be on magic, with one titled An Introduction to the Magical Arts. I pulled it out and placed it on the desk with the maps. There were a few books on martial arts as well but the rest seemed to be ledgers and accounting type books. I stopped as I heard a noise from the first floor. I grabbed the sword and went to investigate.


    As I peaked over the railing, I saw Shadow proudly marching around with a brightly colored bird in her mouth. She dropped it on the floor and looked up at me, meowing in triumph. ¡°Nice catch. Looks like you¡¯ll be eating good anyway.¡± I was about to go back to the study but had to do a double take as I noticed the bird had two heads. I scratched my cheek in confusion. I didn¡¯t know if that was normal or if it was some kind of mutant. Shrugging, I got back to work.

 3 - Study

    Back in the study, I sat at the desk and went through the maps. There was a magic crystal lamp in the study as well, but I didn¡¯t bother with it. The light from the window provided enough light for my purposes. Unfortunately, there were no maps showing the layout of the city. I did find one of the kingdom or country or whatever it was. It showed the capital city, also named Mortix, was indeed past the jungle to the north and there was another large city further north along the coast named East Port. It seemed the country¡¯s naming sense wasn¡¯t very good. There were various smaller towns scattered around but only the three large cities.


    There was supposedly a road through the jungle that ran to the capital but considering the shape of everything else and what I now knew about the beasts inhabiting the jungle, I didn¡¯t like that idea. There was a road shown between East Port and South Port, but I couldn¡¯t tell how far it was between the two cities from the crude map. I didn¡¯t know how to sail a boat and could barely swim so the road would probably be my best bet.


    That was assuming East Port wasn¡¯t as abandoned as South Port. If it was deserted, then it would be better to just stay here. I preferred to think positively and decided that getting to East Port would be my long term goal. It was important to have a goal to strive toward and keep my mind off the isolation. The other maps seemed to be surveys of the jungle. I didn¡¯t intend to go into the jungle, so they did me little good.


    Next, I turned my attention to the books. I casually flipped through the magic book, but it would take some serious studying to learn anything. Sighing, I decided I¡¯d better do some more work outside while it was still light out and save the books for later. There were some nails in the shed so it would be a good idea to put some planks over the downstairs window openings instead of the improvised furniture barricade.


    I tore apart the shed to use as donor wood and got to work. I kept one eye out since the pounding was making a lot more noise than I would like. I had secured the sword to my belt so felt a little safer with an actual weapon at hand. If I was fighting wolves or dogs though, it would be better to have a spear. I would add it to the list of things I needed. Shadow had finished her meal and was watching me work from on top of one of the crumbling walls surrounding the estate.


    I was just finishing the last window when Shadow started growling and hissing. I looked over and her fur was poofed out and she was staring at something on the other side of the wall. I dropped my tools and unsheathed the sword, my heart beating rapidly. I was on the side of the mansion and thought about making a dash for the front door, but something jumped over the wall first. It made a horrible growling noise and looked around wildly until settling on me.


    It reminded me of a monkey or gorilla but had green fur, only one large eye, and four arms. It only came up to my waist but had bulging muscles with sharp looking nails on its hands. It¡¯s mouth also showed razor sharp teeth. It glanced at Shadow briefly then back at me as I backed away with the sword pointed at the creature. It growled again and pounded its chest with its upper set of arms while thumping the ground with its lower set. It then kicked off the ground and charged at me.


    I tried to stay calm and sidestepped it while swinging awkwardly with the sword as the creature passed me. For some reason the creature seemed to be moving slowly or maybe it was me that was moving faster than I realized. My wild swing managed to slice off one of its arms at the elbow. I expected to feel some resistance, but it felt like I was cutting through butter. The creature howled in pain and turned around for another attack. I was faster and swiped down through its head and out the side of its chest. Again, I felt hardly any resistance. I didn¡¯t know if it was the quality of the sword or if I was just that strong.


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    The creature dropped to the ground in a heap of blood and guts. I was splattered with blood and was in shock at what had just happened. Shadow meowed from the wall and seemed to congratulate me. I took a few deep breaths to calm down and inspected my blood soaked clothing dejectedly. It wasn¡¯t like I had a new pair of clothes. I sighed and decided to just be glad I had survived my first encounter with a dangerous beast.


    I didn¡¯t want to eat the weird looking creature so decided to bury it in the yard so the body wouldn¡¯t attract more monsters. The shed had a rusty shovel, so I got to work. In no time I was done and ready to start cleaning up. Sighing again, I stripped down by the well. A bath had been on my list of things to do anyway but I didn¡¯t want to manually fill the bathtub. Instead, I was just going to wash myself by the well and hope no other creatures attacked while I was naked. I managed to find a towel that wasn¡¯t moldy in the master bathroom and there was even a bar of soap.


    There was an old fashioned clothes washing tub in one of the closets so I grabbed it as well. After washing my body and clothes I hung the clothes out to dry while I wrapped the towel around my lower half. Strangely I couldn¡¯t find any clothes left in the mansion. I managed to get some of the dirt and grime out of my clothes, but they were still stained by the blood. I also used an old sheet to carefully clean the sword before I put it back into its sheath. I went back inside to eat a lunch of bread and some more of the fruit. I really needed to find something else to eat. I kind of wanted to try fishing if I could make it safely to the ocean.


    After eating, I grabbed the magic book and monster guide to study while I waited for my clothes to dry. In this humidity I wasn¡¯t sure they would dry at all. First, I tried looking up the four armed gorilla in the field guide. According to the book it was simply called a Jungle Ape. You usually only encountered one at a time and they were fiercely territorial. The book warned of their tremendous strength and to not let yourself get caught in their grip.


    After perusing the guide, it was time for the main attraction. The magic book described something called mana which all living things contained. It was apparently all around like oxygen. It reminded me of fantasy role playing games. For beginners, it described the method to sense the mana within yourself and to control it. I couldn¡¯t sense anything at the moment so was worried I wouldn¡¯t be able to since I was from another planet. I guess I would just need to practice the stuff in the book and cross my fingers that it would eventually work. To be in a fantasy world with magic and not be able to use magic would be too pitiful.


    The techniques seemed to be similar to meditation, but it also mentioned that it would be easier if someone helped by stirring up the mana in your body while you paid close attention. Unfortunately, there was no one to help so I was on my own. I had no idea what mana was or what it felt like so after some fruitless meditation I gave up for now and idly flipped through it before checking on the clothes. They were still damp, but I was tired of wearing a towel so put them on anyway. I decided to go back up to the tower and see if I could figure out the best way to get to the beach. I grabbed a piece of parchment and a bit of charcoal to draw a crude map. I also found a ladder that was relatively intact leaning up against the mansion so brought it along. I wanted to see what was on the roof of the tower plus it would give me an even better view of my surroundings.


    Shadow trailed me as I walked up the path to the summoning tower. With my increased strength, carrying the ladder was child¡¯s play. Without that, carrying the ladder up the stairs to the top of the tower would have been a real pain. I kept an eye out for any more monsters but so far so good. The tower was just like I had left it. I really needed to fix the door somehow. It would be a great fall back position if worst came to worst. I mentally added it to the list of things to do which was getting pretty long.

 4 - Tower

    I carefully peaked into the tower and listened intently but didn¡¯t hear or see anything unusual. Shrugging, I started up the stairs with the ladder. Upon reaching the top, I placed it beneath the roof hatch and climbed up. The hatch was stuck and wouldn¡¯t budge, however. Cursing, I banged on it repeatedly before it finally popped open. I poked my head through the opening and witnessed several large birds flying off, squawking in protest.


    I climbed the rest of the way through and stepped gingerly on the roof, careful to stay well away from the hole. A thick metal rod was sticking up above the rest of the tower which is what must have caught the lightning. Stone crenelations that came up past my waist circled the roof. Other than a few bird nests there didn¡¯t appear to be anything else on the roof.


    I carefully went to the edge, testing the floor in front of me as I went, and looked out over the city. It was quite the view. It didn¡¯t take long to find my current residence. There were several other large estates surrounding it but mine had the most intact roof. It looked like the street next to my mansion ran toward a main street that led toward the center of the city. There was a wall separating the rich part of town from the rest of the city that I would have to make my way past. It looked mostly intact so I would either have to climb it or use one of the gates.


    From the center of the city a few large streets headed to the docks, but I did notice a few smaller streets that went directly from the rich area to the water. I tried sketching a rough outline of the streets on the parchment but it wasn¡¯t turning out very well. Then a sudden thought struck me, and I chastised myself for being an idiot while grabbing my cell phone and taking a couple pictures. The smaller streets looked promising since I wanted the most direct route I could find. The battle with the Jungle Ape gave me some confidence but I couldn¡¯t get cocky. I wanted to explore the center of the city as well but that could wait.


    Next, I surveyed the water but again didn¡¯t see any ship activity. There appeared to be a few shipwrecks with pieces sticking out of the water near the docks but that was it. There were no large intact ships at the docks, but I couldn¡¯t tell from this distance if there were smaller boats that I could potentially use. I then looked over the jungle but there wasn¡¯t much to see besides a green expanse that seemed to go on forever. I couldn¡¯t make out the road that led to the capital and the other side of the city was too far away to make out the road to East Port. I looked up and the nearby planet was still situated in the sky. I felt like if I brought a lawn chair up here, I could stare at it forever.


    I wanted to do something about the lightning rod, but it was too close to the hole in the roof and it looked securely attached to the stones of the tower so without tools I didn¡¯t think I could remove it. I didn¡¯t want anybody else to be randomly stuck in this world, so I wanted to take care of it as soon as possible. Before leaving, I noticed a few large eggs in the bird nests so grabbed them. They were about twice the size of chicken eggs and might make a nice lunch if I could manage to get the stove going again. I didn¡¯t know how they survived the storm or lightning strikes but the nests were on the opposite side of the roof as the hole and lightning rod. I could see the angry birds circling above the tower but luckily they didn¡¯t seem to want to fight me for disturbing their nests.


    Just as I was about to climb down, Shadow managed to pull herself up through the opening and started sniffing around the nests. She then jumped on top of the crenelations and made a lap around the roof. ¡°Quite the view isn¡¯t it but how are you going to get down?¡± I asked her playfully. She just meowed and jumped on my shoulder, sinking her claws in for stability. ¡°Ouch, ok, ok I get it.¡± I winced while carefully climbing down the ladder with the eggs and cat. She jumped off at the bottom and scampered away. ¡°Cats.¡± I muttered while following her out of the tower and back home.


    Getting a fire lit took about the same amount of time even though I had done it once already. It was a real pain but at least it was doable. The eggs were very tasty, especially after what my diet had been lately. I made an egg sandwich using some of the bread and of course gave Shadow her share. The bread was about gone but I was afraid it would start getting moldy in the heat and humidity anyway. I refilled my water bottles from the pots of water I had boiled and while I had the stove going decided to boil a couple more.


    While letting the water boil, I thought about trying to jury rig some weapons or a shield maybe but ultimately decided I wouldn¡¯t want to trust anything I made in the heat of battle. Instead, I decided to check the surrounding mansions for more supplies. They were in worse shape than mine, but I managed to find a few things including an intact pouch with a strap that I could sling over my shoulder, more candles, some pieces of clothing, and better yet a few jars of some sort of preserved food. At least I hoped it was still preserved.


    I didn¡¯t encounter any more apes but did get the scare of a lifetime when a spider the size of a dog came down from the ceiling in front of me. I screamed my head off and didn¡¯t stop running until I was back, safely inside my house. It wasn¡¯t my finest moment, but I really didn¡¯t do well with bugs of any kind. It didn¡¯t help that Shadow shook her head and seemed to look down on me in embarrassment from the top of the stairs. I just hung my head in shame, but it wasn¡¯t the first time that Shadow had seemed overly intelligent. It got me thinking that the summoning had increased her stats as well although I couldn¡¯t prove it.


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    With another day behind me I barred the doors and had supper which consisted of more bread and some of the preserved vegetables that kind of tasted like pickles but looked nothing like pickles. I then studied the magic book some more by candlelight and tried the techniques with no success. Tomorrow I would tackle the lightning rod and try to make my way to the docks without dying.


    I woke with the usual weight on my chest. I had taken to sleeping in my boxers and had thrown off the blanket due to the heat, but Shadow still preferred to sleep on top of me. I gently moved her to the side and got up. Shadow stirred briefly but was soon back to sleep. I got dressed and ate a breakfast of not apples. I had seen trees with the fruit at other estates as well so wouldn¡¯t be running out of them anytime soon.


    My first task of the day was to return to the tower with a few planks of wood and the pry bar. The tower was still the same as I had left it and upon climbing up, I placed the planks over the hole in the roof. I cautiously approached the lightning rod over the planks and they held my weight just fine. The birds weren¡¯t happy with my reappearance, but I ignored them. I made it to the metal rod and tried ripping it off the wall with my new strength. I strained, but the lightning rod seemed to be made of stronger material than I had seen yet and didn¡¯t budge. Next, I tried using the pry bar, but it was no use either. I swore in frustration but couldn¡¯t see any way to remove it so had to give up for now.


    Back at the mansion I took a short break before getting ready. I slung my pouch over my shoulder, strapped on my sword, and grabbed my metal walking stick. My pouch contained both bottles of water, a couple not apples, and the monster field guide. I also had my knife and cell phone in my pockets. I was as ready as I would ever be so headed out into the street. It seemed Shadow was up for exploring as well and followed me out the door. She had slept in and missed breakfast, but I was sure she would catch something on the way.


    We only made it a couple blocks before another Jungle Ape jumped down from a tree and roared at us. Shadow just sat down and looked at me calmly, seeming to say you got this. I sighed and dropped the walking stick while unsheathing the sword and started walking toward the ape. It charged me and I once again stepped to the side and sliced it as it passed, cutting off two arms this time. The ape stumbled in pain, and I followed up by cutting its head off. I even managed to not get much blood on me this time so was improving. I shook the blood off the sword and wiped it on a clean part of the ape¡¯s fur before putting it back in its sheath.


    Leaving the body in the street, we continued on our way. Shadow sniffed the dead ape on the way past but didn¡¯t take a bite thankfully. We soon reached one of the smaller side streets that would lead to the docks. I had to keep more of an eye out as the trees lining the narrow street were overgrown and could easily hide monsters. All of a sudden, Shadow dashed into the bushes and I could hear rustling before she came back out with a bird in her mouth. At least this one only had one head.


    I let her eat her breakfast before moving down the street. I stopped again when Shadow started hissing and noticed a large dark green snake hanging down from a tree branch. It blended into the leaves so I might not have noticed it until it was too late if it wasn¡¯t for Shadow. ¡°Nice one, you really saved me there.¡± I said, reaching down and petting her. She purred in appreciating and we carefully avoided the snake by going to the opposite side of the street. I thought about looking it up in the field guide but was pretty sure it would just be named Jungle Snake or something equally unoriginal.


    I could see the wall in the distance but before then, yet another Jungle Ape jumped down in front of us. The same tactics worked again and we quickly reached the gate leading to the next section of the city while leaving another corpse behind. The stone wall was at least 12 feet high and cracked in places but still intact. The heavily reinforced wooden gate was shut with a heavy wood bar across it, preventing anyone from getting into the wealthy district. Unbarring the gate was easy and it swung open on rusty hinges, making an entirely too loud creaking noise. I grimaced and waited in silence to see if anything noticed. When nothing immediately attacked, I proceeded through the gate.


    I saw my first skeletons on the other side. They were spread out around the gate, like they had been desperate to get inside. I hadn¡¯t seen a single body around the mansions which I thought was a little strange. My best guess was that the rich had somehow evacuated the city first from whatever disaster occurred. I couldn¡¯t tell how they had died as the bones were scattered around, most likely by animals. The skulls looked human which tracked with some of the paintings I had seen inside the derelict mansions.


    Although now that I looked closer a few did look a little strange and had ear holes toward the tops of the skull instead of the sides and there was some evidence of tails. ¡°Beast people maybe?¡± I muttered. Shaking my head, I made my way through the bones while trying not to step on any of the remains. On the bright side, it didn¡¯t look like I would need to worry about zombies or undead wandering around. I picked the first street heading south and we kept walking toward the ocean.

 5 - Streets

    I still seemed to be in a residential neighborhood although not as fancy as the rich estates. The buildings were made of bricks for the most part and much smaller. Very few were more than one story tall. There weren¡¯t as many trees but I was wary of the many dark alley entrances on either side of the road. Shadow was sticking to the middle of the street with me but ran ahead every now and then.


    It appeared the houses had been brightly colored at one time but little of the paint was left. Skeletal remains and broken carts littered the street. The remains of a few unidentifiable draft animals were mixed in with the debris. They didn¡¯t look like horses or oxen to me so probably some fantasy creature. I didn¡¯t bother going into any of the houses as it would be too dangerous and take up too much time plus I doubted I would find much.


    As we got closer to the ocean, the bird activity greatly increased. The houses and streets were covered in bird poop and the birds lined the roof tops. Most looked like a type of sea gull but more colorful jungle birds were also present. Luckily none of them looked dangerous and they left me alone although every now and then one of them would dive bomb Shadow.


    I could tell she was getting annoyed at not being able to catch any of them. So, the next one that dived down I was ready and swung the walking stick like a bat, knocking it out of the air in a cloud of feathers. Shadow was quick to pounce on it in triumph. The other birds made a ruckus but stopped dive bombing after that. I was kind of amazed I was able to hit it but like the ape they seemed to be going in slow motion compared to my movements.


    The houses started to look worse and worse as we neared the ocean. They turned from being mostly brick into exclusively wood and had all collapsed in on themselves. I caught glimpses of rats that were the same size as Shadow climbing through the rubble. Worse yet was the sight of giant roaches the size of my shoes skittering in the dark spaces. Shadow seemed big for a cat, but I was glad she stayed in the street and didn¡¯t try chasing after any of them. If she got hurt, there wasn¡¯t much I would be able to do for her.


    The street we were following connected to a wide street that ran parallel to the docks. Large warehouses were scattered around but the majority had collapsed. The ones still intact had been made of brick instead of wood. I had stopped and was surveying the area when I saw motion in the distance as something stepped out into the street. It was followed by more somethings. When one of them howled I knew we were in trouble. I stayed frozen as the pack of creatures ran across the road toward a huge brown crab that I hadn¡¯t noticed.


    I couldn¡¯t tell how big any of the creatures were from this distance, but the crab was easily twice the size of the wolf like creatures. I believed the green furred creatures were the Jungle Wolves I had read about in the field guide. The wolves harried the crab but didn¡¯t seem to be able to break through its armored shell. I heard a yipping noise as a wolf must have been caught by one of the crab¡¯s pinchers.


    While they were fighting, I slowly backed up and hid behind the partially collapsed wall of a nearby house. The wolves didn¡¯t seem to notice me thankfully and I let out a sigh of relief. Shadow had hid behind me when she heard the howling and was now on my shoulder with her tail poofed out and her claws sunk into me. I gently petted her to calm her down and retraced my steps back up the street. I didn¡¯t think I was ready to fight a pack of wolves yet, especially not out in the open.


    After taking some distance, I sat down on a stone bench beside the road to work on plan B. I grabbed my phone and studied the pictures I had taken of the city. Plan A had been to catch some fish to eat and Plan B was to find the shopping district and scavenge armor, weapons, and whatever else I could find. I wanted to leave the residential area behind so looked at the pictures for areas where the buildings changed. After studying it for a while I thought I knew where to go.


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    We backtracked some more and went down a different street that ran toward the center of the city. The residential structures eventually turned into what I was looking for. Unfortunately very few of the signs denoting what the shops had been were still attached or legible. ¡°This is going to be harder than I thought.¡± I sighed to myself. I had wanted to go into as few structures as possible to avoid any creepy crawlers but it looked like that wouldn¡¯t be possible.


    The shops themselves were also made of brick and were relatively intact so I was hopeful that I would find something useful. My hopes were quickly dashed as the first few I entered looked as if they had been ransacked. I was greeted with empty shelves and broken items strewn across the floor. I searched a few more and killed a couple rats and stomped a disgusting cockroach but had still not found anything worthy of hauling back.


    The shops were all two stories with the first floor being the shop area and the second floor being either a living area or a workshop. Some had a cellar, but I wasn¡¯t brave enough to venture underground yet. One of the shops caught my eye since the door was still shut and the windows were boarded up. I tried the door but it was definitely locked and my walking stick wasn¡¯t up to the task of prying it open. It had an actual key lock and I foolishly tried picking it with my pocket knife but had no idea what I was doing and gave up pretty quickly.


    Next, I tried prying loose the boards over one of the windows and had much better luck. They were partially rotted already and came off with little effort. I used the light on my phone to shine around the interior but didn¡¯t see any threats so climbed through. Shadow jumped in after me and started prowling around. I couldn¡¯t believe my luck, it was a weapon shop with a forge in the back and plenty of weapons and armor on display. There were a few empty spaces here and there but the majority was still present.


    As I looked around in excitement the first thing I noticed was that none of the weapons were as finely crafted as the sword I had found in the mansion. Everything looked pretty basic. There was a rack of spears in the corner, so I eagerly went to take a look. They all seemed identical, so I just grabbed one at random and set it by the open window. There was some metal armor, but I figured it would be too noisy and hard to move around in so looked around for something lighter. I found a stack of leather armor but thought that might not offer enough protection.


    Then I noticed another shelf with sets of leather armor with metal pieces sown in and thought that would work. I also saw some pieces of chainmail and put on a chainmail shirt. I put the reinforced leather armor over the top of the chainmail. The chainmail shirt was a little long and hung past my waist, but I thought that would be all right. It took some fumbling about to get the straps of the armor secured without any help. Now I wished there was a mirror to see how I looked. I would need new shoes to complete the look, however.


    I had found some leg guards that went from my ankle to my knees but unfortunately the store didn¡¯t have any boots. I kind of wanted a mace as well but didn¡¯t think I could carry everything back. Maybe if I found a backpack or something in one of the other stores but I would leave it for now. The weapon store had some bows and arrows too but since I had never used a bow it wouldn¡¯t do me any good. I looked behind the counter and there seemed to be a few empty display racks, so the most expensive items had probably been taken by the owner. On my second look at the shelves, I decided to grab a pair of leather gloves and some armor that went from my wrist to my elbow. I took a quick look at the forge in the back but I was no medieval blacksmith so it wasn¡¯t like I could make anything.


    I briefly looked upstairs, but it was just a living area and there was nothing of interest. I had noticed there were various helmets but in this heat I didn¡¯t want to wear one. The armor I had put on was hot enough. After taking a short break and drinking some water, I was ready to head back home. I wanted to get back before it got dark. I left my crude walking stick, grabbed the spear, and crawled out the window. Shadow jumped out to follow me home.


    We made it back just as the sun was setting without encountering any other creatures. I decided to bar the gate to the wealthy section as we went through. Since it was already late, I couldn¡¯t make a fire so couldn¡¯t use any candles. Instead, I just ate a meal using the rest of the bread and some more of the not pickles. I wanted to read but didn¡¯t want to waste any more of my cell phone battery. Sighing, I stared out at the dead city for a while before going to bed.

 6 - Fishing

    The next morning started the same with Shadow on top of me followed by a breakfast of not apples. This morning I would get in some practice with the spear before once again trying to make it to the ocean. I still really wanted to try to catch some fish. I didn¡¯t have a net or fishing pole but thought I might be able to find something close to the water. Fishing was one of the few things I actually knew how to do as I had gone on fishing trips with my father.


    I set up some crude training dummies out of some scrap wood and grabbed the spear. I of course had never used a spear before but there was a first time for everything. The spear was about twice as tall as I was with a sharp metal point fitted to the end of it. I stood in front of the dummies and tried a few different stances. I jabbed and swung the spear around trying to get a feel for it.


    I didn¡¯t know if it was helping or not, but the spear felt a little better in my hands anyway. Shadow was lazing around on the estate wall again and didn¡¯t look too impressed by my skill with the spear. I used a somewhat clean towel to wipe off the sweat from practicing and started putting my armor on. Unless I wanted a diet of only the strange fruit then I needed to find more food. I was pretty sure all the fruit was starting to give me the runs and trying to find an alternative to toilet paper that wasn¡¯t leaves was difficult. The bathroom didn¡¯t have an actual toilet and just a hole in the floor, but it was better than chamber pots. I was assuming there was a sewer system beneath the city but the streets were covered in leaves and debris, so I hadn¡¯t seen any actual drains.


    Once I had everything ready, I took off toward the same street we had used before with Shadow trailing after me. I had avoided the snake on the way home but this time I thought it would be good practice for the spear. Also, if I was going to use this route regularly, I didn¡¯t want to accidentally run into it. The snake looked like it hadn¡¯t moved much and was still in the branches. I carefully approached and tried to stab the spear into its head.


    The snake noticed my presence and moved its head, causing the spear to glance off its shiny scales. It opened its jaws, showing off its large curved fangs that seemed to be dripping with venom. I tried again but the snake wasn¡¯t happy and dropped down to the ground causing me to miss. It was longer than I thought it would be, at least 10 feet from head to tail and had the circumference of a basketball. It opened its jaws again and spit something at me.


    I was surprised, but still managed to dodge if barely. The snake then started to lunge at me. It was also much faster than I was expecting, and I was struggling to keep it at a distance. Belatedly, I realized I probably should have looked it up in the field guide. I could also use one of the shields I had left in the weapon shop about now. I could only guess that the snake could shoot out its venom. I didn¡¯t want to know what would happen if I let it hit my exposed skin. I wasn¡¯t good enough to use the spear one handed so didn¡¯t think I could use both a spear and a shield at the same time. I vowed to go back to the weapon shop with a wheelbarrow or something and grab the mace, a shield, and more armor.


    I was sweating profusely and had to keep backing up, being purely on defense as it struck at me and tried to get around the spear. When it reared back and opened its jaws again, I took the chance and lunged forward, jamming the spear in its mouth and up into its brain. I pulled the spear out, stepping back as it writhed around on the ground. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and tried to get my breathing under control, thinking that had been much harder than I anticipated. Shadow jumped on top of the dead snake after it stopped moving and sniffed it. I idly wondered if snake meat was tasty.


    Since we were still close to home, I decided to cut off a chunk to try this evening. I used the sword and lopped off a good amount by the tail, staying well away from the venomous fangs and pool of venom and blood by its head. I had to strike it several times to get through the tough scales. As I hauled it home, I wondered if I could turn the scales into something like armor, but my crafting skills were nonexistent. There was a fridge like appliance in the kitchen and although I couldn¡¯t get it to work, it would keep the bugs off it until I got back. If I didn¡¯t catch any fish, I would at least have something for supper.


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    I also put some of the snake meat in a jar and the jar into my bag to use as fish bait. With that out of the way, we proceeded back to the barred gate and to the ocean. When we got to the dock area I hid behind the same chunk of wall and peered down the street. I didn¡¯t see anything moving and there was no sign of the wolves or the crab. I quickly crossed the street and went to the docks. Most of the docks were made of wood and were in terrible shape. There was no sandy beach in this area and only rocks.


    I could see colorful fish swimming around by the shore but still had no way to catch them. I was for sure not good enough with a spear to try and skewer them. I looked around and found what I was looking for. A smaller shed was off to the side with the remains of a small boat and netting on the outside of it. The roof was partially collapsed but I thought I still might be able to find something. I approached cautiously, on the lookout for monsters but got inside safely. I scared off some birds that just about gave me a heart attack but that was it.


    There was another rotting boat in the shed and some work benches along the wall including the prize I was after. There was a stack of netting but it was mostly disintegrated and not usable. What was useable was some bamboo like fishing poles and an assortment of metal hooks. The metal was all rusty and I didn¡¯t know if I could find any line that wasn¡¯t rotted but it was a start. Shadow prowled around the interior and I whispered for her to be careful. She just meowed and continued to do her thing.


    I grabbed two of the fishing poles and a selection of hooks before continuing to look around. I dug around for a while in the debris and was about to give up when Shadow meowed from a dark corner. I went over to see what she was doing and found her pawing at a small, sealed metal box. I thought there might be food in it from the way she was acting but when I opened it up there were spools of intact fishing line. I stared open mouthed as Shadow seemed to meow in triumph. After getting over my shock, I pet her while praising her for a good job. She definitely enjoyed the attention but how was she so smart.


    I peeked out of the shed to make sure the coast was still clear then sat down to work on getting a fishing pole ready by threading the line on and attaching a hook. There was no reel of course and I had never used a fishing pole that was so primitive but I could make do. I also wasn¡¯t sure exactly what the line was made from, but it seemed sturdy. ¡°All done.¡± I muttered after putting some of the snake meat on the hook. Shadow seemed to want some so I reluctantly gave her some from the jar. While she ate happily I went to the nearest dock and threw the line in the water.


    Within moments I had a bite and pulled in a good sized fish. I repeated the process a couple times before deciding I had enough fish. I didn¡¯t want to stay too long by the shore which was out in the open. I placed the fish in my bag and collected Shadow who had been scouting the rocky shore below the docks. We headed home with our catch. I didn¡¯t know what kind of fish they were but they seemed like they would be edible. The monster field guide didn¡¯t include fish and sea creatures and was more geared toward the threats in the jungle.


    Our fishing expedition didn¡¯t take too long so there was plenty of daylight left to start a fire and get to cooking our meal. I didn¡¯t want anything to go to waste so cooked up the snake meat along with the fish. I used my pocket knife to filet the fish. The weapon shop had knives and daggers as well but I didn¡¯t want to replace my trusty pocket knife just yet.


    Shadow was impatient but I made her wait until everything was done and we both enjoyed some meat in our diet. I wished I had found some salt or spices but it was on my list. Beggars couldn¡¯t be choosers after all. It seemed like fishing would be easy so next would be exploring more shops and getting the rest of the items from the weapon shop.

 7 - Company

    The next few weeks seemed to fly by. I kept track of the days by scratching marks on a piece of wood using my pocket knife as the days started to blend together. Shadow and I made several more trips into the city during this time. We ran into the wolves on a couple occasions and were even chased once but were able to hide in the various buildings and rubble. So far I didn¡¯t need to face them in combat but it was only a matter of time. If you were careful it was possible to notice them before they spotted you as they always ran in a group of at least three and were not the least bit quiet. Their main territory seemed to be farther east but if I wanted to get to East Port then I would have to face them eventually.


    I had managed to find some more preserved food but was mostly consisting off fish and other seafood. I still ate some of the fruit, usually for breakfast. I made a couple more attempts at removing the lightning rod and was now just chipping away at the rock that it was attached to. I thought about trying to chip away the runes from the wall or floor but they were somehow magically attached and the stone strengthened so I couldn¡¯t even scratch them.


    I thought in another few days I would have enough stone chipped away around the lightning rod that I would be able to move it. Luckily, there had been no other storms since the one on the night I arrived in this world. Today, I had planned on doing some more work at the tower. I had found a replacement door and wanted to get it installed in between chipping away more stone. I had procured a couple chisels and hammers from the blacksmith area of the weapon shop. You would think it would be easy to chip stone, but the stone of the tower was incredibly strong and I had gone through one chisel already.


    I yawned while walking out of the master bedroom. I hadn¡¯t been idle around the mansion either and had done some cleaning and even managed to fix the larger holes in the roof. I had turned the guest waiting room on the first floor into a storage room for loot. It included extra weapons and armor, tools, and anything else that I thought worth hauling here. I had always been something of a hoarder in video games.


    I had found a couple wooden barrels which now contained my drinking water. I had even hauled one up into the master bathroom to use for cleaning but I had only used the bath once since it was such a pain to fill up, especially if I wanted warm water. I had still made zero progress with my magic training. I just didn¡¯t know what I was doing, even with the books help. I remained undeterred however, and would continue trying.


    The previous day I had found a few more eggs so wanted some scrambled eggs for breakfast for a change. I got the fire going and soon the smell of the eggs cooking caused Shadow to finally get out of bed. We enjoyed our breakfast and were about to head out when a shout sounded from outside. This caused me to freeze, not knowing what to do. In all this time I hadn¡¯t seen anyone in the abandoned city so was shocked to hear a voice shouting.


    I wasn¡¯t sure if the voice came from someone that was friendly or not, but I already had on my adventuring gear as I called it. I cautiously peeked out the door but didn¡¯t see anyone. I then heard the shout again. It seemed to be weaker this time, but it clearly called out for help in a female voice. I went to the gate and looked out into the street. I was surprised to see two people collapsed in the middle of the street near the mansion.


    They were both dressed similar to me in protective armor but neither had weapons. It looked like the female had been dragging the male with a trail of blood marking their path. They were both injured but I couldn¡¯t tell the severity. I carefully approached and was surprised again at seeing wolf like ears and fluffy tails on the pair. The female had light grey fur on her ears and tail while the male had a darker colored grey. Other than the ears and tails, they otherwise appeared to be human. They were both covered in dirt and blood and their armor was scratched and torn.


    I was worried the blood would attract monsters so decided to treat them in the house. I first carried the female and laid her on the dining room table. Next, I picked up the male. The female seemed to weigh next to nothing, but the male was definitely heavy. My new strength allowed me to hoist him up without problems though and he joined the female on the table. I had water and some clean towels and cloth I had scavenged but that was about it as far as medical tools.


    I was no doctor, so this was going to be interesting. It would be terrible if the first people I meet in this new world both die on me before I can talk to them. The male was clearly in worse shape and I had to check twice to make sure he was even breathing. He had terrible looking slash marks through his leather armor and was bleeding profusely. I took off his armor and cut away the torn shirt. I used some water to wash the blood and grime away and winced at the ugly looking gashes across his torso. I tried to stop the bleeding but couldn¡¯t do much for him. His breathing got ragged and I sighed as it stopped.


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    I didn¡¯t have time to feel bad however, as I switched over to the girl. She had a gash on one arm and on her leg. The chest armor had been damaged but it must have been enough to stop the attack as it didn¡¯t look like it reached her body. She was bleeding but not as bad as her friend. I once again cleaned and dressed the wounds then took her to one of the upstairs bedrooms. I had cleaned one of them but hadn¡¯t gotten to the rest.


    Neither of the new arrivals had weapons or packs. I could only assume that they were lost in the attack as I couldn¡¯t imagine them getting here without supplies. For some reason I didn¡¯t think they had been living here and I just hadn¡¯t run into them. It was just a hunch, but I thought they must have arrived here somehow. Maybe they had a boat. When the girl woke up, hopefully she could fill me in. Her injuries didn¡¯t seem that severe and she may have just collapsed due to exhaustion.


    Another mouth to feed wouldn¡¯t be that much trouble as I had built a jury rigged smoker in the backyard and had been smoking some of the extra fish so they lasted longer. The fish were plentiful and there was plenty of fruit to be found as well. Shadow seemed to be indifferent to the new arrivals but it would be nice to have someone around to have an actual conversation with. Maybe she would be able to teach me how to use magic. While cleaning her wounds, I couldn¡¯t help but notice how cute she was as well. She looked to be about my age or a little older but it was hard to say.


    As I was deep in thought, Shadow started hissing. In my haste to take care of the injured beast people, I hadn¡¯t bothered to shut the door. I could hear growling coming from downstairs and was instantly on guard. I had left my spear by the front door but still had my sword which I quickly unsheathed as I peered over the railing. It seemed the injured pair were followed and I silently swore as first one and then another jungle wolf poked their heads into the foyer.


    Two of them went towards the dining room where the dead male was still laying on the table. A third and fourth entered after them and stared up at me, growling. I thought about grabbing Shadow and locking myself in the room with the injured girl, but the door wasn¡¯t in very good shape and I didn¡¯t think it would hold against the wolves. My best bet would be to hold them on the stairs where the space was narrow and I had the high ground. I really wished I had my spear.


    The wolves and I dashed for the stairs at the same time. Up close they had short, spiky greenish fur and were larger than the wolves from Earth. Only one of them could fit up the stairs at a time and they wasted valuable seconds fighting over who would go first, allowing me to get into position at the top of the stairs. The first wolf didn¡¯t see me as a threat and charged straight up the stairs. I tried to stay calm and waited until it lunged at me and brought the sword down on its head. As with the apes, the sword had no trouble cleaving through its skull.


    The dead wolf tumbled back down the stairs, bowling over the second wolf behind it. The angry wolf managed to get itself out from underneath its dead companion and howled. The sound was extra loud inside the house and I winced. The two that had gone to the dining room hurried out and growled after seeing me. After howling, the wolf started back up the stairs but slower this time. I waited with my sword at the ready.


    It stopped short and tried getting me with its claws while looking for an opportunity to sink its jaws into me. I was able to dodge and cut one of its paws, making it yip in pain. Then when it thrust its snout at me, with its jaws open wide, I jammed the sword straight down its throat and out the back of its neck. Unfortunately, as the dying wolf twisted around I started being pulled down the stairs and was forced to let go of the sword. The dead beast tumbled down the stairs to join its fellow in a pool of blood. The remaining two had waited at the bottom of the stairs and seemed to grin as I had lost my only weapon.


    I swore as the remaining two started up the stairs. Luckily as the second one tumbled down the stairs, I noticed the stairs had about reached their limit. I hadn¡¯t repaired the stairs so there were still rotten sections and the wolves had weakened it further. When they were halfway up the stairs, I ripped the wooden pillar that was at the top of the railing off and threw it with all my might at the steps in front of them. The pillar went straight through the rotten steps which cause the rest of the stairs to start falling in, taking both wolves with it. The wolves and debris broke through the first floor and landed in the cellar beneath the house.


    I sat down on my butt and breathed a sigh of relief. I was still a little shaky and covered in sweat as I looked into the hole but didn¡¯t see any movement from the wolves. Shadow peeked out of the bedroom where the girl rested and meowed, seemingly asking if it was over. ¡°Just stay put for now.¡± I told her and thankfully she just sat down and started licking her paws.


    I used what was left of the railing to traverse the hole and make it to the first floor to grab my spear. I was able to get my sword back and after cleaning it off, returned it to my waist. With the spear in hand, I returned to the hole as I didn¡¯t think that would be enough to kill the wolves. I groaned as I realized I would need to enter the cellar to ensure the wolves were dead. I went to the kitchen and groaned again as I looked at the cellar door that was barricaded shut. I really, really hoped the wolves were the only thing down there.

 8 - Cellar

    While contemplating opening the cellar door I suddenly realized I still hadn¡¯t barred the front door and it was hanging wide open. In a panic, I rushed back and quickly shut and barred it in case the howl had alerted other wolves.


    Thankful that my stupidity hadn¡¯t let any more monsters in, I returned to the cellar door. I remembered how dark the cellar looked and with no other light source, I was forced to use my cell phone. The problem was I couldn¡¯t hold the phone and use the spear effectively.


    I thought for a minute and decided to secure the cell phone to my forehead with a strip of cloth. I probably looked like an idiot but it should work. The goal was to get in and out as fast as possible to save the phone¡¯s battery. It didn¡¯t seem like I had used it much but it was already down to 60 percent.


    With a deep breath to calm my nerves, I opened the cellar door and entered the dark space. I was greeted by cobwebs that clung to my clothes and hair. Shuddering, I continued down the stairs to the cellar basement. At the bottom of the stairs the room opened up, but I couldn¡¯t see the hole made by the falling wolves. It seemed the cellar was split up into different sections, just my luck. The sides were made of bare earth that had been compacted and were lined with dusty shelves. A rack of wine bottles caught my eye but I needed to focus.


    The mansion was large and it looked like the cellar extended below most of it. The ceiling wasn¡¯t that high so I had to duck somewhat to avoid hitting my head on the wooden support beams in places. So far there wasn¡¯t any movement, but I kept moving my head around to illuminate the area. Wooden crates and barrels were stacked up and there was a wooden wall on the other side of the room with only one door leading out, so I moved toward it.


    The door was partially open but I couldn¡¯t hear anything from the other side. While listening intently I instead heard something from behind me. A slight skittering sound made me whirl around and my headlamp illuminated what I was afraid would be down here. It wasn¡¯t the size of a dog this time and only about as big as Shadow, but it was just as terrifying.


    The brown colored spider stopped momentarily as my light illuminated it but then continued toward me. I quickly brought the spear into play and attempted to stab the monstrosity. The thing was fast however and was moving side to side so it was hard to land a hit. I kept backing around the open room and at one point had to dodge webbing that it shot out at me. Miraculously I didn¡¯t knock myself out on one of the beams or lose the cell phone and finally connected with my spear. The spider zigged when it should have zagged and I was able to pierce its body. I didn¡¯t let up and pinned it to the floor where it slowly stopped moving.


    Getting the spear pulled back out of the spider almost made me throw up as the dead spider emitted some kind of rancid odor. It took a little while for my hands to stop shaking before I could proceed through the door. I really wasn¡¯t good with bugs. I peeked my head through the door and quickly pulled it back and shut the door. My heartbeat that had finally gone done was skyrocketing again.


    The good news was I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the wolves. The hole in the ceiling had illuminated the two wolves among the debris. One was already fully cocooned while the other was still in the process. The spiders must have taken advantage of the wolves being stunned from the fall and pounced. There were at least three more of the brown spiders on the other side of the door crawling on top of the wolves.


    I had enough trouble with one of the spiders so couldn¡¯t imagine taking on three at once. The spiders seemed to have some kind of venom that paralyzed or killed their prey as the wolves weren¡¯t moving. If it wasn¡¯t for the large hole, I would just lock the door and try and pretend they weren¡¯t there. Now, I would either need to deal with them or find a new place to live.


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    The door I was leaning against was made of solid wood that hadn¡¯t started to deteriorate yet which gave me an idea. My plan was to lure the spiders through the door one at a time and shut the door behind them so I wouldn¡¯t have to deal with them all at once. Luckily the door swung out toward me so I could hide behind it as one came through and it had a latch that would hold it shut.


    To further confuse the spiders, I decided to place the phone on a crate and have it pointing toward the door so when they came through the light would be in their eyes. I noticed one of the crates was full of pieces of coal, so I grabbed a few softball sized chunks and took my position. I slowly opened the door again and made sure they were still busy with the wolves. Then I threw the coal at the nearest monstrosity.


    It was a direct hit and the spider instantly whirled around and saw me in the doorway. It started crawling its way towards the door so I hurriedly ducked behind it. I could hear the skittering getting closer and held my breath as it passed the threshold. When it was far enough into the room, I slammed the door shut with my leg and jammed the spear into its body. The spider didn¡¯t stand a chance and was soon dead.


    I didn¡¯t waste any time as I knew the noise was sure to draw the attention of the other spiders. I kicked the dead spider off to the side and prepared to open the door again. Before I could, the door rattled as one of them tried to get through. I took a couple deep breaths and swung the door open. A spider jumped through which surprised me, but I managed to get the door shut right away before any others could get in.


    The spider went straight for the light with me trailing after it. I swore as it bumped into the crate which caused my phone to tip over. I jabbed my spear into its body just as the cellar was plunged into darkness. I kept hold of the spear until I could feel the spider stop struggling. I could just make out the glow seeping out around the phone so was able to find it and quickly swept the light around. Thankfully, the spider was dead and the door was holding. ¡°That was a close one.¡± I muttered, trying to calm my frayed nerves.


    I repeated the process two more times without any more mishaps until the spiders stopped coming. ¡°So there were four of them. I¡¯d better make sure the wolves are really dead I suppose.¡± I said hesitantly. There was always the possibility that some of them had climbed out of the cellar through the hole so I had to remain on guard.


    The area with the wolves contained more shelving and crates but that was about it. I had affixed the light back to my forehead and made sure to check the corners as I entered the room. The webbing was everywhere in here and I had to use the spear to clear the way. There were a couple smaller cocoons that might have been rats or birds, but I was focused on the wolves.


    I approached them cautiously, wary of the hole in the ceiling and stabbed each one through where I thought the head was. Both of them were now fully cocooned but they didn¡¯t so much as twitch. I hoped the cocoon would keep the stench down as hauling them out would be a struggle. I mused that the wolf bodies couldn¡¯t stink any worse than the spider corpses.


    I made my way back to the kitchen and did a sweep through the house looking for any stragglers. There was nothing so I wearily sat down on one of the dining room chairs. There was still a lot of work ahead of me. I had to bury the dead beast person and dispose of the wolf bodies that hadn¡¯t fallen into the hole. Then there were the broken stairs and hole in the floor to take care of. If I hadn¡¯t done so much work on securing the house already, I would say the heck with it and find another location.


    I took a quick break, drank some water, then got to work. Shadow had managed to get down the stairs and was standing on top of one of the wolves like she had defeated it herself. I didn¡¯t hear any more howling but was cautious when I went back outside. I surveyed the street but there was no sign of any more wolves. I grabbed my rusty shovel and dug a hole for the two wolves. I wasn¡¯t really sure what to do with the dead beast person so wrapped him in a blanket for now until the girl woke up. I wasn¡¯t sure if there was some kind of burial ritual or not so would wait to be on the safe side.


    There was a pile of scrap wood in the backyard which helped cover the hole in the floor and repair the stairs. I worked through lunch with only a few breaks to check on the girl and was finally done by late afternoon. ¡°So much for working on the tower.¡± I grumbled while eating a supper of smoked fish. I cleaned myself off by the well and put on some cleanish clothes that I had scavenged. I preferred my jeans and t-shirt but they were getting pretty stained and had rips and tears in them. The clothes I had found were plain cloth but were well made. The girl hadn¡¯t woken up yet but I was hoping she would by morning. Then maybe I would get some answers.

 9 - Guest

    The morning arrived with no change in the girl¡¯s condition. I didn¡¯t understand why she wasn¡¯t waking up. There didn¡¯t seem to be any injuries to her head. All I could do was change her bandages and wait. I didn¡¯t want to leave her alone in the mansion, so decided to explore the cellar some more.


    I wanted to double check that there weren¡¯t any egg sacks to hatch and surprise me later and I also wanted to see if there was anything useful. I had my eye on the wine for one thing. Wine would be a nice change of pace from only water.


    The survey of the cellar didn¡¯t turn up much. There was nothing that looked like egg sacs from the spiders and most of the shelves were bare. I did find a few more jars of preserved food and grabbed a few bottles of the wine. I still jammed a chair up against the cellar door to be on the safe side and for my peace of mind. I really wished I could take a flame thrower to the spider¡¯s lair but I would have to restrain myself. I set the wine bottles and preserved food on the dinner table for now. I wasn¡¯t much of a wine drinker but was curious to see what this world¡¯s wine tasted like.


    Shadow interrupted me as I was about to open one of the bottles by meowing loudly from the second floor. ¡°What is it Shadow? You want some wine too?¡± I asked, chuckling. She just kept meowing so I went up the rickety stairs to see what she wanted. I followed her into the bedroom where my guest was sitting up in bed.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re finally awake.¡± I said as Shadow curled up at the foot of the bed. The girl looked around the room, seemingly confused. ¡°You were in the street yelling and then collapsed so I carried you inside and patched you up. My name is Matt by the way, and this is Shadow.¡± I continued, pointing at the lazy cat. ¡°What is your name?¡±


    I waited, trying to seem nonthreatening but it took a while for her to respond. When she did it was in a language that I didn¡¯t recognize. She must have seen the confusion on my face. ¡°I..no..speak¡­old empire¡­good. You help?¡± She finally stated, looking nervous. I swore to myself, trying not to let my emotions show. It would be my luck that the language that was implanted into my head would be out of date. From the history books in the study, I thought she must be referring to the empire that came before the kingdom that the port city belonged to. So, the kingdom must have kept using the language from the empire and now people referred to the language as old empire. ¡°Yes, I helped. I¡¯m Matt and this is Shadow.¡± I said, pointing to myself and then Shadow. The girl repeated our names and I nodded in encouragement. ¡°Linterquezol¡± she said pointing to herself. ¡°Wow, that is a mouthful.¡± I thought to myself.


    ¡°How about I call you Lin? You Lin?¡± I asked pointing to the girl. She smiled and nodded in agreement. ¡°Where¡­.brother?¡± the girl asked, looking around again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, your brother didn¡¯t make it.¡± I replied, frowning. I wasn¡¯t good at this sort of thing. She just kept staring at me, not seeming to understand. I figured she would want to see him regardless so I offered her my hand so she could get out of bed. Lin grabbed on and tried standing up but her injured leg gave out. I caught her before she fell down and then just picked her up in a princess carry instead.


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    Lin was blushing but didn¡¯t struggle as I carried her downstairs. Shadow stayed curled up in the bedroom. Her brother was still wrapped up in a blanket but I had moved him from the dining room table to a couch in my loot room. Lin cried out and started shedding tears as she saw the covered body. I gently set her down on the couch next to her brother. She uncovered his face and then hugged him, still crying. I decided to give Lin some space and went to get her some food and water.


    I returned maybe 15 minutes later and noticed she had calmed down some. I placed the food which consisted of smoked fish and fruit and a glass of water on the table and urged her to eat something. She didn¡¯t need much coercing and quickly finished it off. While Lin was eating, I couldn¡¯t help but notice that her teeth were sharper and longer than a normal humans and her irises also looked different and more wolf like. When she was done, I decided to pose the question I had been wondering about. ¡°Do you want me to bury the body?¡± I asked, pointing at her brother and then pretending to dig with an imaginary shovel.


    She seemed to understand and nodded. I nodded in return and went outside to get the shovel. I had buried the dead animals in the front yard so decided to bury Lin¡¯s brother in the back by the overgrown garden. With my new strength, it didn¡¯t take me very long before I had an adequate hole dug. I returned inside and carried Lin to the freshly dug grave. I then went back for her brother and carefully placed him in the hole. Lin said some things in her own language before gesturing to me to fill it in. She cried some more as I covered the body in dirt.


    I didn¡¯t know what to say so just sat down next to her for a while until she seemed to be ready to go back inside. I carried her back to her room as she was looking tired and covered her up. ¡°Thank¡­.you. You¡­see¡­.others?¡± she asked, grasping my shirt as I was about to leave. This stopped me cold. ¡°Others, what others?¡± I asked, turning back to her. ¡°Rest¡­of¡­party.¡± She replied. ¡°Um, no. I will be on the lookout for them though. You get some rest now.¡± I said, shaking my head and gently taking her hand and placing it back under the covers before tucking her in again. She was soon asleep and now I had more to worry about.


    With the state Lin and her brother were in I didn¡¯t hold out much hope for her other party members but I still didn¡¯t know how many of them there were, so it was possible some had survived. I had no idea where they might be though, so it was best to get more information when Lin woke up again before searching blindly for them.


    I left Shadow and Lin sleeping in the bedroom and decided to get ready for a rescue mission. I would at least be ready to go when I got the information I needed. I grabbed a bag and started packing it with supplies I might need. Those included spare food, bandages, and water. I also made sure my weapons and armor were good to go. I would have to leave Lin behind, but she should be safe in the mansion. I wasn¡¯t sure if Shadow would go with me or not. She always did whatever she felt like and seemed to be fond of our new housemate. It was the afternoon already, so I didn¡¯t expect to go anywhere today as I didn¡¯t want to be caught out after dark. I always heard more howls and roars at night.

 10 - Search

    I woke up early the next morning and got breakfast ready. Shadow, the traitor, had slept with Lin instead of her usual spot on my chest. I still had a few eggs left in the kitchen so made them along with a few of the usual pieces of fruit. I brought the food into Lin¡¯s room where she was already sitting up in bed petting a satisfied Shadow. She looked much better today and not as pale.


    ¡°Good morning.¡± I said while placing a plate of food in front of her. ¡°How are you feeling today?¡± I asked, checking the bandage on her arm. ¡°Thanks¡­.you.¡± she said looking down at the plate. She jerked when I lifted the blanket to check the bandage on her leg. I had to cut the leg of her pants off to expose the injury. I tried to be as professional as possible while checking her wound but luckily there didn¡¯t appear to be any infection. I smiled reassuringly as I put the covers back over her leg. ¡°You seem to be healing fine but you should still try and stay off of it as much as possible.¡± I couldn¡¯t tell if she fully understood me or not but seemed to relax and started eating.


    I had made Shadow a plate as well and she eagerly dug in. When they were done, I removed the plates and got down to business. ¡°Where are the others?¡± I asked, looking her in the eye. She hesitated and then started speaking in her own language which I couldn¡¯t understand a word of. I thought for a minute and then pulled out my cell phone and brought up the pictures I had taken of the city.


    ¡°Does anything in these pictures look familiar?¡± I asked, showing her the phone. Lin had a shocked look on her face as I scrolled through some of the pictures. Then she pointed to one and I stopped to see what it was. ¡°Others.¡± she said pointing to a picture that showed the area around the bell tower. I nodded as I studied the picture as well. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll find them. You stay here and I¡¯ll be back in no time.¡± I replied, trying to use gestures to get my point across.


    Lin tried getting out of bed, but I stopped her and gently pushed her back down. ¡°You stay here. You¡¯re in no shape to rescue anyone.¡± I said, somewhat sternly. Lin frowned but seemed to understand. ¡°Shadow, you stay with her.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure if the cat would listen or not but left to put my gear on. I hadn¡¯t ventured to the bell tower yet as it was definitely in the wolf¡¯s territory.


    I hadn¡¯t explored much past the shops nearest to the docks as the number of wolves and other large creatures seemed to increase the farther east I ventured. I had caught glimpses of large boars with multiple tusks that were bigger than the wolves and a huge fur covered creature that might have been some type of bear. Who knew what other creatures might be prowling the streets of the abandoned city. In other words, I wasn¡¯t looking forward to the trip.


    I wasn¡¯t sure how Lin and her brother made it into the wealthy section of the city, but I decided to follow my normal route to get into the city proper. Once in the area of the shops I started to be more vigilant and slowed my pace. I followed one of the larger streets that headed toward the city¡¯s center and the bell tower, sticking to the shadows on the sides of the street.


    I stopped every so often to listen but didn¡¯t hear any signs of trouble yet. After several more blocks, I could see the bell tower rising above the buildings in the distance. Suddenly, growling from a nearby alley caused me to stop in my tracks. The sound was coming from an alley across the street from me and as I looked a dark shape jumped out into the street and the growling increased.


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    When I heard the growling I thought for sure a wolf had found me, but what jumped out into the street was only half the size of a jungle wolf. The creature had short, black fur and two thin tails that whipped around behind it, but the most striking thing was the six stubby legs. There was no Earth equivalent but looking at the wide mouth and sharp, dagger like teeth, it was definitely a predator. I pointed my spear at it with shaky hands, having no idea what it might be capable of.


    The creature charged at me in a flash, and I followed my instincts by jumping to the side. I barely managed to evade the beast and quickly realized it was much faster than the wolves. It spring boarded off the wall and kept attacking. I back pedaled to keep away from it while jabbing my spear. The creature ignored my spear thrusts and tried to bite my legs so I kicked it as hard as I could which sent it flying.


    The creature was solid muscle and it felt like I was kicking a brick wall. It regained its footing and growled some more. I didn¡¯t think I hurt it much, but it was staying put for now. I started backing away, hoping it had enough but then it started charging again. This time I met its charge and lunged forward with the spear. The spear plunged into its neck and I staggered as the creature¡¯s momentum was stopped. Blood sprayed out of the wound and I yanked the spear loose while backing away from the pool of blood.


    I didn¡¯t have time to rest as I heard a howl close by. I ran up the street and ducked into a dark alley as wolves descended on the corpse of the creature. I stayed still for a time and carefully made my way down the alley and to the next street where I continued toward my destination. I wanted to get the field guide out and look up the creature but needed to keep moving.


    The body should have attracted most of the wolves in the area so hopefully the way to the bell tower would be clear. As I neared the bell tower, I couldn¡¯t help but notice the shops in this area were larger and fancier than what I had seen before. I really wanted to stop and look in a few of them but I couldn¡¯t let my loot lust take over.


    As I reached the square that contained the bell tower I slowly peeked around the corner and surveyed the area. At first glance I couldn¡¯t see any monsters or signs of Lin¡¯s friends. I waited for several minutes then started walking around the square looking for any signs of a struggle. The area was overgrown the same as everywhere else with debris littering the ground which made it difficult to find anything. I was no boy scout or tracker so didn¡¯t really know what I was even looking for and just hoped I would know it when I saw it.


    I swore as I finished going around the square without finding anything. I contemplated expanding my search to the surrounding streets but then glanced at the tower itself. I narrowed my eyes as it looked like someone had barricaded the entrance. When I approached I could tell it had been done recently and was relieved that my search was over. The rubble making up the barricade had claw marks and gouges in it but had somehow held.


    Now the problem was how was I going to get inside without destroying the barricade. I surveyed the exterior of the tower but there was only one entrance. I did spot windows on the second floor, but I couldn¡¯t reach them. The chances of me finding a ladder in the area were slim to none. I looked around the area again and decided I would just need to make my own ladder.


    I had noticed a relatively intact wagon on one of the streets so pulled it underneath one of the windows. I then stacked a few crates up until I could just reach the window frame. I was trying to hurry since the noise I was making was sure to attract unwanted attention. One of the crates broke under me but with a grunt I somehow managed to pull myself up and flopped inside. I sat still for a while, breathing heavily but didn¡¯t hear anything. With a sigh of relief, I picked myself off the floor and started exploring the tower. With any luck Lin¡¯s friends would still be alive. Getting safely back to the mansion was another thing altogether but one problem at a time.

 11 - Rescue

    I found myself in a mostly empty room with stairs leading up and down. There were footprints and drag marks in the dust covering the floor along with a blood trail. Pieces of what might have been furniture were against the mold covered walls. I decided to start at the bottom and work my way up, not wanting anything to surprise me from behind.


    The first floor was gloomy with the only light coming from the stairwell and through the gaps in the barricade. There was enough light to see more scuff marks in the dust and a pool of blood. There didn¡¯t appear to be a basement so I retraced my steps back to the second floor.


    As I was about to go up the stairs to the third floor, I heard growling coming from outside. I cautiously peeked out the window to see a wolf sniffing the wagon beneath me with more wolves milling around the courtyard.


    I swore silently as I ducked back inside. There wasn¡¯t much I could do about it at this point so continued my search. The third floor was the same as the second with not much to see. The fourth floor was blocked off by another barricade at the top of the stairs.


    I approached the barricade which was made of broken furniture stacked together and listened but couldn¡¯t hear anything. I called in a low voice and waited but didn¡¯t get a response. I called again and finally heard some movement on the other side of the barricade.


    A gruff masculine voice spoke in Lin¡¯s language but I still couldn¡¯t understand it. I sighed, this was going to be harder than I thought. ¡°Hello, I came to help. I don¡¯t suppose you could let me in?¡± I asked, trying to sound friendly.


    The voice spoke again and I could hear another fainter voice that seemed feminine. It sounded like the two were arguing back and forth for a couple minutes until the female voice suddenly got closer. ¡°Who are you?¡± The voice asked.


    I was caught off guard but managed to spit out my name. ¡°Matt, it¡¯s great to meet someone that can actually speak this language.¡± The voice remained silent so I continued. ¡°Can you let me in? Lin found me and told me you were here.¡±


    ¡°Lin, do you mean Linterquezol? What about Ranterzoel?¡± The voice asked excitedly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but if that is her brother he didn¡¯t make it. Lin is fine though.¡± I replied apologetically. ¡°Now do you think I can come in so we can talk face to face?¡±


    ¡±Of¡­of course. Please wait a moment.¡± There was some more back and forth in the other language and a hole started opening up in the barricade. When the opening was wide enough a head poked through. She looked like a slightly older version of Lin with the same grey colored wolf like ears and pretty face.


    ¡°Greetings, my name is Anterquezol but I suppose you may call me Ann. Now please hurry through.¡± She said, making the hole just wide enough for me to squeeze through. It was a tight fit but I managed and found myself in another mostly empty room like all the rest.


    I was confronted with a tall, muscular man with the same wolf ears. He had a sword out but kept it lowered and had a scowl on his scarred face. He looked like the textbook grizzled veteran. I gulped and placed my spear off to the side, holding my hands up non threateningly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind him, that¡¯s our father Luxterzoel. Since he can¡¯t understand you anyway, you might as well call him Lux. I¡¯m Linterquezol¡¯s older sister. How is she?¡± Ann asked, while fixing the barricade. ¡°She was injured but is recovering at my place on the west side of the city. How is it you can understand me?¡± I replied while looking around.


    There were open windows around this floor as well which illuminated the room. There was a ladder that went up to a hatch in the ceiling that I imagined led to the bell itself. I also noticed there was a body along the wall that was covered with a blanket.


    Ann noticed where I was looking. ¡°That was our father¡¯s human friend Isaak. My healing magic couldn¡¯t save him.¡± She explained sadly. ¡°I¡¯m a mage and most mages can speak old empire. How is it you can¡¯t speak common?¡± She eyed me curiously.


    ¡°That is a long story which I can explain once we get out of here. Are either of you injured?¡± I asked, glancing at the pair. Ann was about my height, maybe even a little taller with shoulder length hair and was well endowed. Her father towered over me with huge muscles. They wore similar armor to Lin which was also heavily damaged by the wolves.


    Lux growled in his throat when he saw me staring at Ann a little too long. I turned my head away sheepishly and Ann smiled at the reaction. ¡°I¡¯ve already healed our injuries. We could use some food and water however. Most of our supplies were lost.¡±


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    I dug in my bag and gave her a bottle of water and two pieces of fruit. She drank some, marveling at the plastic bottle, and passed the water and one of the fruits to her father. Lux nodded his head at me after returning the water bottle. I hoped I had scored a few points with him. I definitely didn¡¯t want to get on his bad side.


    ¡°There are wolves around the tower so we¡¯ll have to get past them somehow. If you are a mage, can you shoot fireballs at them?¡± I asked hopefully. Ann laughed. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not that kind of mage. I can cast healing spells, strengthen party members, and cast temporary barriers.¡±


    I figured it wouldn¡¯t be that easy. I looked around for inspiration and noticed a bow and quiver of arrows next to the covered body. ¡°Can you or your father use a bow?¡± I asked, pointing at the bow. ¡°I was never very good with one but father is a hunter. I don¡¯t think there are very many arrows left though.¡± She replied then started talking with Lux.


    I went over and counted the arrows while she discussed things with her father. There were only five of them but it was better than nothing. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to make them count.¡± I muttered. There was a stockpile of arrows in my loot room but I couldn¡¯t use a bow yet so didn¡¯t bother bringing any. I had planned on practicing with a bow but just hadn¡¯t gotten around to it.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to check things out from the roof.¡± I said to Ann who nodded. I went over to the ladder and studied it before climbing up. The wooden ladder was fastened to the wall but it could probably be removed. I was betting Ann and her father could jump from the second floor windows with no problem but I didn¡¯t want to risk twisting my ankle and becoming wolf food. The ladder would make it much easier to reach the ground safely.


    With that thought in the back of my head I climbed up and through the hatch. The top portion of the tower held the large bell. There weren¡¯t any birds but plenty of bird poop. I hadn¡¯t noticed a rope on the way up the tower so wasn¡¯t sure how the bell was supposed to be rung but it¡¯s possible the rope had disintegrated.


    I looked over the edge and counted eight wolves. Because of the courtyard, there was a large clear area we would need to cross to reach the streets and alleys. We would need to whittle down the wolves numbers if we hoped to have a chance.


    If we made a commotion to get the wolves under one of the windows and had Lux shoot them with arrows while Ann reinforced the barricade at the entrance with her barrier we might be able to pull it off. That was assuming Lux killed a wolf with each arrow and didn¡¯t attract more wolves. There would also still be three wolves to deal with once we left the tower.


    I went back down the ladder and told Ann my plan. She then discussed it with Lux. He sheathed his sword and crossed his arms in thought before going over to the ladder and effortlessly ripping it off the wall and handing it to me. ¡°Thanks.¡± I said in surprise. Yup, definitely don¡¯t get on his bad side.


    I helped them clear a path in the barricade and carried the ladder down to the second floor. After looking out the window, it was decided that Ann and Lux would jump onto the wagon while I would lower the ladder and climb down. I set the ladder on the floor and Ann handed me my spear. She had a long staff with a white crystal on the end of it that must help her with magic.


    I eyed it curiously but now wasn¡¯t the time to be asking about magic. We all got into position with my job being to draw the wolves in. I wanted to get them to come over but not be so loud that it attracted other beasts. I started throwing chunks of broken furniture onto the ground by the wagon and sure enough the wolves started appearing.


    When there was a group of three below us, Lux methodically shot each one through the eye with the arrows. One more showed up below us but the others decided the best way to get to us was through the entrance. Ann cast her spell and the barricade was suffused with blue light.


    I could hear the wolves throwing themselves at the barricade but thanks to Ann¡¯s spell it was holding. Lux shot the fourth wolf dead but he didn¡¯t have an angle on the rest. It wasn¡¯t ideal but half of them were dead. I yelled for Ann to retreat and she sprinted for the second floor while I lowered the ladder.


    Without her presence, the spell quickly faded and the wolves started breaking in. Lux and Ann jumped out the window while I slid down the ladder. We made a dash for the nearest alley as the wolves entered the tower. One of the wolves jumped out the window after us but landed poorly and yipped in pain.


    A second one followed but Lux whirled around and shot as it hit the ground, killing it instantly. He threw down the bow and pulled out his sword while continuing to run. Ann and Lux were both faster than me and pulled ahead. Luckily, I was faster than the limping wolf.


    The remaining two wolves sprinted back out of the tower entrance and straight after us. We all reached the alley ahead of the wolves. Lux and I took positions in front of Ann who cast her strengthening spell on us. I immediately felt more powerful and my labored breathing went back to normal.


    The three jungle wolves reached the alley at about the same time but the alley was only wide enough for two of them. The injured wolf got pushed back and had to wait its turn. The two wolves wasted no time and lunged at us. I kept mine at bay with the spear, stabbing it when it tried to get closer.


    Lux was only using a sword but didn¡¯t seem to have a problem with his wolf and in no time separated its head from its body. I took longer but managed to pierce the wolf repeatedly until it slowed enough for me to stab it through the chest. The limping wolf tried attacking me while I was busy removing the spear from the corpse but Lux was ready for it. Soon the wolf pack was no more and we silently continued moving toward my mansion.

 12 - Reunion

    We had to hurry on our way since more howls could be heard in the surrounding area. The noise of the battle and the wolf corpses would be sure to draw more creatures. Miraculously none of us had been injured so we were able to make good time even if I did slow the other two down. I could tell Lux wasn¡¯t impressed with my slow speed, but Ann only smiled at me.


    I had us go back the way I came, and we ended up near the docks. We took a break near a rotten shed and I passed around the water bottle again. I was curious about the pair but remained silent while on the dangerous streets. We caught a few glimpses of beasts but made it to the small gate into the wealthy district without incident.


    I could tell Ann was eager to see her sister and informed her we were almost there. I also warned them about Shadow so there wouldn¡¯t be any surprises. The mansion looked the same. I hadn¡¯t been gone that long but for some reason it felt like it had been days instead of hours. I had left the back door unbarred so we used that entrance. I hoped Lin had stayed in bed to recuperate. Now that Ann was here, she should be able to heal Lin¡¯s wounds. I was interested in seeing more spells and maybe Ann could teach me how to perform my own magic.


    When we got inside, Ann immediately called out in common which got a response from the second floor. Ann and Lux rushed up the stairs while Lin limped out of the bedroom. A touching reunion was had by the family as they all hugged each other, with the girls crying. I stood awkwardly off to the side where Shadow joined me, seeming to be irritated by the noisy display.


    Figuring they would be hungry, I picked up Shadow and headed downstairs to get a meal ready. There were more mouths to feed, and I would definitely have to go fishing again tomorrow but should have enough for one meal. The sun was still up so I was able to get a fire going and started the stove. I would cook the rest of the fish and as a celebration broke out some of the preserved food.


    As I was in the middle of cooking the fish, I was hugged from behind which startled me and I almost shrieked. I was too used to it just being me and Shadow but luckily I didn¡¯t completely ruin my manly persona by screaming like a little girl. ¡°Thanks for saving my little sister and for helping us out of that tower. Lin told us what happened after we got separated. She had nothing but good things to say about you.¡± Ann said, giggling at my reaction.


    ¡°Oh, um, it was nothing. I was just happy to see someone else for a change.¡± I said, after clearing my throat. ¡°Shadow isn¡¯t exactly a great conversationalist.¡± I continued wryly, glancing at Shadow who was on the kitchen counter patiently waiting for the fish to be done. Ann released me and started petting Shadow who purred contentedly.


    Ann¡¯s fluffy tail started hitting me while she was busy with Shadow but I managed to restrain myself from touching it. I was glad I did as I turned my head to see Lux and Lin standing in the doorway to the kitchen. As I suspected, Lin had been fully healed by Ann¡¯s magic. Lin rushed over and grabbed my hand and bowed her head repeatedly while saying ¡°Thanks¡­.you.¡± over and over. Lux also bowed his head in my direction while I scratched my cheek nervously with my other hand.


    ¡°Please tell them I was happy to help. Also, you can pick whichever bedroom you like but I haven¡¯t cleaned them yet. Mine is at the end of the hall. The food will be ready shortly and there is a well out back if you want to clean up.¡± I said, looking at Ann pleadingly. She smiled and relayed my message and the wolfkin family left Shadow and I alone in the kitchen. ¡°It certainly has gotten a lot livelier around here.¡± I said, absently petting Shadow. She just meowed at me while looking at the fish.


    We sat around the dining room table and ate supper. For some reason the girls sat on either side of me while Lux eyed me suspiciously. I avoided eye contact with him while I finished eating then asked Ann what I had been dying to know - how they got to the abandoned city. She gave me a brief summary of their journey. They were hired by their dad¡¯s friend to get him to the city and back again. He was evidently an explorer and something like this world¡¯s version of an archeologist.


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    They came from an island nation and were dropped off along the coast to the east of the city. She said no captain would sail their vessel close to the abandoned city because the waters were cursed. I wasn¡¯t sure what they meant by cursed and chalked it up to superstition. They found the overgrown road that ran between South Port and East Port and followed it to the city.


    Monsters attacked them several times, but they persevered. Their father¡¯s friend was ecstatic when they arrived in the city and pushed a little too hard to explore. It ended up with them caught out in the open by a pack of jungle wolves which caused the party to be split up. I rubbed my chin in thought for a minute then asked ¡°Does anyone still live in East Port? The city farther up the coast?¡± Ann looked confused and relayed my question to the others.


    They talked for a little while before she answered. ¡°The only thing farther up the coast is a small fishing village amongst some ancient ruins. Compared to it, this city is amazingly preserved. We have to reach the village to meet the ship which stops there once a month.¡± Now it was my turn to look confused. From what I had read in the books both cities should have been from the same time period.


    ¡°How old are these ancient ruins and how old do you think this city is?¡± I asked, starting to get a bad feeling. ¡°No one knows for sure, but they are hundreds of years old at least. Only rumors of this being a cursed city persist and no one except my father¡¯s eccentric friend and us were crazy enough to visit it since all previous expeditions never returned.¡± My mind was reeling, there was no way the city was that old. I would have guessed it had been abandoned for maybe 10 or 20 years tops, not hundreds. Especially in this humid climate and with the tropical storms I could only assume there was some kind of preservation magic at play.


    I was silent for a while, lost in my own thoughts while the others spoke to each other in common. ¡°If the kingdom has been gone for so long, why do mages still speak old empire?¡± I asked curiously. ¡°Most of our magical knowledge comes from the old empire so of course we still speak it.¡± She replied. ¡°Are you a citizen of this city that survived somehow?¡± she asked excitedly. I had to put a stop to her enthusiasm and explained how I was summoned a few weeks ago from another world. It had the opposite effect and if anything, she seemed even more excited while she repeated my story to the others. They had shocked looks on their faces and asked questions here and there during my story which I tried to answer.


    I decided to move the conversation to the study where I pulled out the map of the kingdom. When everyone found a seat Ann spoke up. ¡°There are legends of summoned heroes, but I never thought I¡¯d get to meet one.¡± She smiled happily. Lin looked excited as well, but as usual Lux had a scowl. Lux studied the map while the two girls were busy studying me for some reason.


    ¡°Ahem¡­I¡¯m not much of a hero but as you can see, this city is called South Port and the ruins you described must be East Port. The capital lies beyond the jungle.¡± I said, pointing at the map while trying not to be embarrassed at the fact that they thought I was some kind of legendary hero. The girls finally glanced at the map. ¡°To think there was another larger city deeper in the jungle, it¡¯s amazing.¡± Ann said excitedly. ¡°Yes, but getting to it would be tough and who knows if it is preserved like South Port or an ancient ruin like East Port.¡± I replied.


    ¡°Do the legends say why the cities were abandoned?¡± I asked. ¡°No, just theories like a war or natural disaster. No one really knows.¡± Ann replied glancing at the books in the study. I grabbed the introductory magic book and placed it on the desk. ¡°I¡¯ve been studying this book but can¡¯t seem to get any spells to work. My world doesn¡¯t have magic. Do you think you could teach me some spells?¡± I asked sheepishly. ¡°Of course, leave it to me. I¡¯m sure a hero such as yourself will learn magic in no time.¡± Ann replied, grinning widely. I could only hope I met her expectations.


    With the remaining light, I helped clean out two more bedrooms. Ann offered to just sleep with Lin but I figured we might as well clean enough out for everyone. In any case, it didn¡¯t take long with everyone helping. I also carried up another barrel of water for the second bathroom. Lux seemed surprised at my strength which was understandable as I didn¡¯t think I looked particularly strong.


    After that I checked that the mansion was secure and said goodnight while retreating to my bedroom. I left the door cracked open in case Shadow wanted in. Tomorrow would be another busy day. I felt exhausted so it didn¡¯t take long to fall asleep. When I woke up, I felt a weight on my chest and opened my eyes expecting to see Shadow. Instead, I was greeted by a sleeping Ann who had her head on my chest with her arms hugging me. The rest of her was covered by the blanket. I was shocked and didn¡¯t know what to do. I frantically looked around the room, but we were alone with the door firmly shut. I breathed a sigh of relief as I¡¯m sure her dad would kill me if he saw us together. This could certainly complicate things.

 13 - Storm

    Ann must have snuck into my room during the night, not that I minded since she was a beauty. My only concern was her hugely muscled father who could probably snap me like a twig. Oh well, I would just enjoy the sensation for now. I managed to free my arm and gently rubbed one of her fuzzy ears. It was just as soft as I imagined. She moaned cutely and slowly opened her eyes. ¡°Good morning.¡± I said, smiling at her. ¡°Why exactly are you in my bed?¡± I asked, still smiling.


    ¡°Well, the storm last night scared me. Lin went in with father which left me all alone so I decided to come in here. You don¡¯t mind do you?¡± She asked, batting her eyes at me. ¡°Of course not but I also don¡¯t want to get murdered by your father. Wait, did you say storm?¡± I replied, bewildered. I must have slept like the dead if I didn¡¯t hear a storm go through. I didn¡¯t notice Ann sneaking into my bed either. ¡°Yes, the thunder was really loud. I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t wake up.¡± She continued, still hugging my shirtless chest.


    Then I suddenly remembered the tower and sat up, spilling Ann off me. This was the first storm since I arrived and I hadn¡¯t managed to disable the summoning circle yet. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Ann asked, untangling herself from the blanket. She was using one of the pieces of clothing I had scavenged for pajamas which consisted of a tan shirt a few sizes too big for her. It was quite the sight to say the least.


    I struggled to pull my mind out of the gutter and started putting my clothes on. I had only been wearing my boxers to bed and I could feel Ann¡¯s eyes on me as I changed. It made me blush slightly but I had my back to her so hopefully she didn¡¯t notice. ¡°I have to go check the tower. Lightning is what activated the summoning circle which brought Shadow and me here. I need to see if anything else was summoned during last night¡¯s storm.¡± I replied while hastily getting dressed.


    I left Ann in the bedroom and went downstairs. Lux was already up and sharpening his sword by the dining room. I gulped when I saw him but pretended everything was normal. On my way I noticed there were no puddles on the floor so my roof repairs must have held up. Lux gave me a questioning look as I started putting on my armor. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I just have to go check on something. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± I knew he couldn¡¯t understand me, but I was hoping I got the message across with my gestures.


    ¡°Wait, I want to come with you!¡± Ann yelled from the top of the stairs. She had changed and was on her way down. I sighed and waited for her to get ready. ¡°We¡¯ll have to find you some replacement armor.¡± I commented while watching her don her damaged gear. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be a problem. It looks like you already have quite the armory.¡± She smiled, gesturing to my loot room. I smiled as well. ¡°Yes, I do like to collect things. You can tell Lux there is more fruit in the kitchen if he and Lin are hungry. We can eat when we get back.¡±


    Ann relayed the message and presumably told him where we were going. She followed me out the door and we made our way to the summoning tower. It wasn¡¯t a very long walk, but I always made sure I had my armor on and was armed when going outside. There seemed to be less beasts around the wealthy district but there were still some present. It was especially humid after the storm with puddles everywhere. I still couldn¡¯t believe I had slept through it.


    As we approached the tower, I could see the lightning rod was still in place high above. The tower looked the same as every other time I visited it. I stopped inside the doorway and called out but didn¡¯t hear anything. We made our way up to the top with nothing seeming to be out of place. In the back of my mind I kept thinking there was no way I was the only person to be summoned here and all the rest must have died in the city or somewhere in the jungle trying to escape. Admittedly I had barely scratched the surface of exploring the city but so far had seen no signs of anything from Earth.


    We reached the summoning room and I breathed a sigh of relief at finding it empty. Either lightning didn¡¯t strike the tower or it just summoned some kind of animal that took off already. I figured we would have run into someone on the way if another person had been brought here. ¡°So this is the summoning circle.¡± Ann mused while kneeling down and looking at the symbols on the floor. ¡°Amazing, you¡¯ll have to tell me about your world sometime.¡± Ann said tracing some of the symbols with her finger. ¡°Sure, we should have plenty of time to get to know each other.¡± I said, winking at her. I was rewarded with a smile and she even blushed.


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    We heard footsteps and soon Lux and Lin came up the stairs to look around. They both seemed impressed by the summoning circle and Ann talked with them in common for a while. Lin joined her sister kneeling on the ground, running her hand over the circle. Then I had an idea. ¡°Ann, can you ask your dad if he could take a look at the lightning rod? I¡¯ve been trying to remove it but haven¡¯t had any luck.¡± I asked, pointing up toward the roof hatch.


    Ann relayed my question and Lux nodded while heading toward the ladder. I followed him up and soon we were on top of the tower, scaring more birds into the sky. I pointed at the lightning rod and Lux went to inspect it. After looking at it, he grabbed onto it with both hands and heaved. I could see the veins popping out on his arms and he started turning red. There was some movement in the rod and a creaking sound. He kept straining but only managed to bend the rod a little bit. What was that thing made of? He was breathing heavy but braced one leg on the stone and tried again. The rod bent a fraction more but that was about it. Still, it was better than I was able to accomplish.


    Lux had to sit down after his exertion. I smiled and gave him a thumbs up before heading back down the ladder. ¡°Tell your dad it was a good effort but he shouldn¡¯t strain himself too much. I don¡¯t want him getting hurt.¡± I told Ann after I got back down. She nodded and climbed up to deliver the message. Lin stood up and grinned at me. ¡°You¡­.hero.¡± She said gesturing at the summoning circle. ¡°Ha, ha, not really. I¡¯m just a regular guy.¡± I answered still somewhat embarrassed. It seemed like she wouldn¡¯t take no for answer however, and grabbed my hands while looking at me worshipfully. ¡°Ann, get down here. Your sister is being weird.¡± I called out, trying to free myself from Lin¡¯s vice like grip.


    Ann came down the ladder and laughed at seeing my situation. ¡°Can you tell her I¡¯m not really a hero.¡± I pleaded. ¡°Now why would I do that? You were summoned so are clearly a hero.¡± Ann said playfully. ¡°I bet you even have hero like powers, we just need to unlock them.¡± She continued, grabbing one of my arms while Lin grabbed the other. These sisters were really a handful. I was saved by Lux who barked something while climbing down the ladder. Both girls immediately took their distance while Lux glared at me. I just smiled back sheepishly. ¡°Well, I think we are done here so can go back to the mansion for some breakfast. I¡¯m afraid all I have left are some fruit. We can go fishing later to try and catch some lunch and supper.¡± I said, leading the family out of the tower.


    After a quick breakfast I showed them the loot room and told them to take whatever they wanted. I did have a few extra pieces or armor but I wasn¡¯t sure if anything would fit. Lin grabbed a couple knives and a short sword while Ann and Lux looked for pieces of armor that might work. I would need to take them to the weapon shop or maybe with their help I could find a better one. None of them had packs or supplies which must have been lost. Before we left, they all gathered around the grave in the backyard and said a few words and placed their hands on the mound of dirt.


    It seemed like Shadow was going to accompany us and took the lead down the street. She never missed a day of fishing. I took them to my usual fishing spot and gave them my extra fishing poles. While we fished, I asked Ann what they planned to do. They were welcome to stay at the mansion of course but I was curious if they wanted to stick around for a while or were planning to head straight back to the fishing village.


    I would be more than happy to travel with them but wanted to finish disabling the summoning circle before I left. They would also need to get better equipment and supplies for the trip. Ann thought for a moment and talked with her family. ¡°We will stay here for now if you don¡¯t mind. We are in no shape for the journey back yet and if we went back without anything to show for it then the lives lost would be a waste. Not to mention we would be broke.¡± Ann said while pulling in a fish.


    I then told her my thoughts which she seemed happy about. We continued fishing while I regaled the family with stories about Earth. I don¡¯t know if they really believed me or could understand everything I told them but I had a good time. I caught Lin frowning a few times when Ann and I were talking and laughing so I asked Ann about it. ¡°She is jealous that I can speak with you like this. I¡¯ve taught her a few words in old empire but she only knows the basics.¡±


    ¡°Where did you learn old empire? Did you attend a magic school?¡± I asked curiously. ¡°Ha, no we aren¡¯t wealthy or nobles so I couldn¡¯t attend the university. I apprenticed with a local mage and she taught me.¡± Ann replied wistfully. ¡°You¡¯ll have to teach me common so I can be a functioning member of society when we get back to civilization.¡± I said grinning at her. ¡°Sure, I can do that. I¡¯ll teach you magic and common. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll learn in no time.¡± Ann replied catching another fish. I had taken a Spanish class in high school but didn¡¯t get very good grades so I didn¡¯t know how learning common would go. We fished until we caught a good amount and Lin even found some seaweed that was edible. It had been a good day.

 14 - Magic

    When we got back to the mansion Ann watched me try and start a fire and laughed while she showed me how she could materialize a flame in the palm of her hand. She also showed me how all the magical appliances worked. All the devices were drained of mana so she just had to infuse some of her mana into them and they started working again. I still didn¡¯t know how mana worked so would need to wait for her to show me. It seemed like Lux and Lin could do it as well even though they weren¡¯t mages. I guess everybody had mana in this world.


    Lin and Ann insisted on making the meal this time so I was forced out of the kitchen. Lux was doing some kind of sword practice in the front yard so I grabbed my spear and decided to practice also. I had some training dummies set up so started jabbing them. When I stopped for a break, I noticed Lux had been watching me. He gestured for the spear so I handed it over and he began to practice with it. It seemed he was proficient with the spear as well as the sword.


    I watched him closely and tried to remember what he was doing. Lux was certainly light years ahead of my poor skills. Soon the girls called us in to eat and the fish smelled amazing. I thought I was a decent cook, but the girls put me to shame. I complimented their cooking between bites and they both looked pleased. They sat on either side of me again and it might have been my imagination, but I thought Lux wasn¡¯t glaring at me quite as much this time.


    After the meal, Ann and I went to the study for my first magic lesson. Lin and Shadow followed along seemingly to watch. I was both nervous and excited and hoped I didn¡¯t embarrass myself too badly in front of the girls. I couldn¡¯t help worrying about the possibility that I couldn¡¯t use magic since I was from another world. The fact that my body and mind seemed to have been enhanced when summoned made me slightly hopeful that I would be able to do it.


    We sat down and Ann took my hands. ¡°The first thing you need to do is feel the mana inside you. I¡¯ll transfer some of my mana into you to cause your mana to move around. Now, close your eyes and concentrate on the feeling.¡± Ann explained while closing her eyes. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as well. At first, I couldn¡¯t feel anything but then a strange sensation, almost like a feeling of vertigo along with getting a chill down the middle of my back took place. Then I could feel something in my chest slowly starting to rotate, it was a very odd feeling.


    ¡°I can feel something. It¡¯s rotating in my chest.¡± I said in wonder. ¡°Good. Keep concentrating and see if you can make it rotate faster.¡± Ann instructed, letting go of my hands. I did as I was told and tried to will the strange energy to turn faster. I almost lost it a few times but finally was able to get a feeling for it and make it do what I wanted. ¡°Ok, it¡¯s working. Now what?¡± I asked, still concentrating.


    ¡°Good. Now make it flow up your arm and visualize a flame on your palm.¡± She continued. I tried to visualize a flame like I had seen Ann perform earlier and opened my eyes to see an orange flame resting a few inches above my hand. ¡°Wow, I did it!¡± I exclaimed. The flame wasn¡¯t burning my hand and it just felt a little warm. ¡°Um, now how do I get rid of it?¡± I asked staring at the flame dancing on my palm.


    Ann just laughed. ¡°Just will it to go away and move the mana back to your center.¡± I tried it and the flame poofed out of existence. I blew out a sigh of relief. Ann went to the bookshelf and started examining the other books. ¡°Now that you can move your mana, the introductory magic book should be a piece of cake for you. That book is fairly common, but I¡¯ve never seen most of these others. There could be lost spells contained in them that no one has seen in centuries.¡± She added excitedly.


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    She talked to Lin who was sitting down in one of the chairs petting Shadow. The discovery seemed to excite Lin as well. ¡°Does that mean the books are valuable?¡± I asked, glancing at them. If I could get through the introductory book then maybe I could learn some of the spells in the other books as well. ¡°If they contain new spells then they could be priceless.¡± Ann said, pulling a couple of them out. ¡°We should look for more in the surrounding mansions then.¡± I said. I had stopped exploring the mansions after the run in with the dog sized spider.


    ¡°I think this might be a magical sword also, but I don¡¯t know how it works.¡± I said, pulling out the sword to show the girls. They both oohed and awed over it so it must be special. Ann carefully took the sword and seemed to concentrate and the blade started glowing blue. ¡°It¡¯s a magical sword but I¡¯m not sure what its enchanted with. We¡¯ll have to test it.¡± She said, handing it back. ¡°To activate it, you just need to push the mana out through your hand like you were making a spell but continue to push it into the sword instead.¡± She instructed. I followed her example and sure enough I was able to make the blade glow blue as well.


    I put the sword aside for now and concentrated on the books. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you learn any offensive spells?¡± I asked as we flipped through the books. ¡°My master didn¡¯t know any. Spell books are hard to come by if you don¡¯t attend the university and mages guard their secrets even more so than master craftsmen.¡± She replied. I nodded in thought. If that was the case, then these books really were priceless and Ann would be learning along with me.


    Ann explained that for more complex spells, incantations were required unless you had memorized them and knew them intimately. This is where the books came in which showed the spell forms and incantations. I hadn¡¯t noticed Ann doing incantations which meant she was a better mage than I thought. It would be a while before I was able to learn anything complicated but I was motivated now to get through the introductory book as soon as possible.


    Lin had a frown on her face while she watched us conversing so I tried including her. ¡°Lin, would you like to learn magic as well?¡± I asked. Ann translated and Lin shook her head no and said something in common. ¡°She says she isn¡¯t smart enough to learn old empire.¡± Ann said, frowning. ¡°Why hasn¡¯t anyone translated the old empire spell books into common?¡± I asked curiously. ¡°The same reason spell books are hoarded and jealously guarded by mages. They don¡¯t want to share their secrets and power.¡± Ann replied, still frowning. ¡°I¡¯m not even sure if the spells would work if you spoke them in common, some of the words don¡¯t translate over very well and you have to be very precise in your pronunciation to get the spells to work properly.¡± She continued.


    For the rest of the day I studied the introductory book while Ann looked through the other magic books. I occasionally had questions for her but as she said it was pretty straight forward after I was finally able to feel my mana and somewhat control it. Lin got bored and left with Shadow to find Lux. Tomorrow I wanted to tackle the lightning rod again before the next storm hit. I had seen other lightning rods on buildings around town and at first just figured it was standard for protection but the talk about the city being preserved got me thinking that maybe they served a bigger purpose.


    If the summoning circle was powered by electricity then maybe whatever was slowing the city¡¯s deterioration was also being powered by lightning. The next time I went by one of the buildings with a lightning rod I would inspect it. The city might be falling apart slower but it was still falling apart with the jungle and wildlife taking over. With my new houseguests help I wanted to continue to explore the city and it sounded like they wanted to as well. If Ann and I could learn some powerful spells that would go a long way toward making things easier for us. Who knows, I might need a bigger loot room.

 15 - Scavenging

    The following week flew by like a blur. I worked on the lightning rod part of the day and studied with Ann for the rest. With more people around I didn¡¯t feel the need to put a door back on the tower anymore so removed that from the list. Lux and Lin explored the neighborhood, scouring the other mansions for useful items. My loot room was definitely filling up and they even found more books. By the end of the week, I had finally chipped enough stone away that Lux was able to rip the lightning rod off the tower, taking a huge weight off my shoulders.


    We added the rod to the loot room since none of us knew what it was made of. Hauling the heavy piece of metal out of the city was probably unrealistic however. When the food supplies started getting low, we would return to the docks for more fishing. I finished the introductory book and could do some simple spells. In addition to the small flame, I could produce a small stream of drinkable water or ice cubes, and small stone pebbles. This world seemed to have the standard magical spells for each element I was used to in games consisting of fire, water, earth, and air. There was another category that encompassed healing, space, and any other magic that wasn¡¯t one of the main four.


    Ann thought my mana pool was larger than usual, especially for just starting out. The book indicated that the more you use your mana the bigger it will get. There wasn¡¯t any side effects from using all your mana like I was expecting, you just couldn¡¯t cast any more spells until your mana pool recharged. The book mentioned high mana areas that could recharge your mana faster which the city was apparently one. Ann told me it took twice as long to recharge her mana outside of the city.


    Most people could do a few simple spells to help them in their everyday life, like the fire spell. That was where I was at right now. Next would come the more complex spells and I had already decided on my first real spell. I picked healing since it would be essential for my survival, especially if something happened to Ann. Since she already knew it, she could also help me out. Ann had spent the week learning the stone arrow spell she had found in one of the books. At first, she had wanted to learn the flashy fireball spell, the staple of most offensive mages. I talked her into stone arrow first since fireball might be a little too dangerous in the city or jungle. There was a lightning spell in one of the books Lin and Lux had found which she had her eye on as well.


    During the week I had also started my language lessons with Ann. It was going better than I expected, maybe due to the changes to my mind or because I already knew old empire. There were some similarities between the two languages. I could already speak a few simple phrases and Lin seemed particularly pleased at my progress. There had been no more storms during the week, but I had still woken up to find Ann in my bed a couple times. I think Lin had started to suspect something but as usual I hadn¡¯t woken up to notice so was totally innocent.


    I wasn¡¯t against a relationship with Ann but didn¡¯t want to cause problems between the sisters and for sure wanted to avoid getting on Lux¡¯s bad side. He rarely spoke but we had trained a few more times together where he showed me how to wield the spear and sword. He was as impressed as the girls with the magical sword and had helped test it out. When it was activated, it could cut through anything. It had sliced through one of the dead trees in the yard with no resistance. The wielder had to keep supplying it with mana which was a struggle for Lux and Lin who didn¡¯t have much mana to begin with. Ann and I could use it longer but still had to take it easy or we would run out of mana in no time. If it had any other effects, we hadn¡¯t found them yet.


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    Now that Lux and Lin had finished searching the wealthy district, they were antsy to continue exploring other parts of the city. Today was going to be the start of our group exploration. Our target was the high end shop area I had noticed while searching for Lin¡¯s family. Specifically, we wanted to find another weapon/armor shop to finish outfitting everyone. I had showed them the other weapon shop which they were able to patch together some armor and equipment, but it wasn¡¯t ideal. Several of the fancy shops had been boarded up so I was hopeful we would find something good.


    We got an early start with Shadow in the lead. She had continued to sleep with Lin and had gotten up early like the rest of us for a change. I think Ann was jealous that Shadow wouldn¡¯t sleep in her bed. All the family members spoiled Shadow rotten, even Lux. I had caught him more than once petting Shadow and giving her scraps of food when he didn¡¯t think anyone was watching.


    As usual, we used the small gate to get into the city proper and made our way toward the shopping district. Lin acted as a scout and carried a bow across her back and short sword along with some knives. Lux was more of a tank although we didn¡¯t have a shield for him. The poor selection in the weapon shop were all too small for him and he opted to go without for now. Instead, he used the biggest sword we could find and stayed toward the front. It was a long, two handed sword that was plain but sharp.


    I took up position in the back next to Ann, ready to protect her. She had a short sword as well but kept her hands free for now to cast spells. This would be the first true test of her stone arrow spell. It produced a sharp, narrow piece of rock which was about the size of my spear head that she could shoot off like a bullet. She was still getting used to aiming it, but it packed a punch and should easily be able to penetrate most monsters we would encounter.


    Up ahead Lin waved for us to stop as she was peering around the corner of a brick wall. Shadow was with her and just sat down and started licking her paws so it must not be anything too dangerous. She motioned us to come up so we all cautiously approached, trying not to make any noise. We each took turns looking around the corner and could see one of the large boars trying to dig through the rubble along the street. Lin wanted to see if Ann could hit it with her spell.


    It might make a decent meal if we could kill it without causing too much damage. We had been eating nothing but fish for a while so the thought of boar meat made my mouth water. Ann started chanting and soon the rock formed in front of her and then sped off toward the unsuspecting boar. Her aim was a little off and she only managed to hit one of its legs. The leg in question was blown off however and the boar fell down squealing in pain. The rest of us jumped out and charged the wounded beast.


    It tried getting back up but was having trouble and we were able to reach it first. Lux and Lin were the first to arrive and it didn¡¯t take them long to finish it off. Now came the problem of what to do with it. We had just started our exploration so didn¡¯t want to haul the body all the way back to the mansion. It was decided to tie it up in one of the nearby buildings to let the blood drain out while we continued on our way. We picked one with an intact door and blocked it so hopefully nothing would bother it until we grabbed it on the way back.


    We started seeing shops and split up to cover more ground. Ann and I went into one while Lux and Lin another. Both of them were missing doors and as expected there wasn¡¯t much to see. The shop we went into seemed like it had been a clothing store but there was nothing usable besides some scissors and needles that Ann found in a drawer. Anything made out of cloth had not survived. Lux and Lin came out of a shop that looked like a general store without finding much either. From then on, we stuck to buildings that had been boarded up to save time. I was still hopeful that we would hit the jackpot.

 16 - Loot

    We went another block before running into one of the boarded up shops. Ann got excited for some reason, but I couldn¡¯t tell what kind of store it was from the broken sign. She informed me it was an alchemy shop which made me confused. I doubted any of the ingredients or potions would still be good. Ann must have seen my confusion so enlightened me.


    ¡°Old empire potions had incredible preservation magic added to them. If there are any potions still intact, they would be worth a fortune. Also, alchemy shops sold magical tools so who knows what could be in there.¡± Ann said excitedly. ¡°Don¡¯t current alchemists make potions? What makes old empire potions so valuable?¡± I asked, still confused. Technically everything here was from the kingdom but it seemed everyone just called it old empire since the kingdom copied everything from the old empire. I had stopped trying to correct Ann and just went with it.


    ¡°Alchemists do make potions, but they are only half as potent as the old empire potions. Not to mention no one has figured out how to make some of the potions.¡± She replied, heading straight for the shop. I just shrugged and followed her. If she was right, then this could be a real find. Lux and Lin seemed excited as well and followed along.


    Ann stood back and let Lux rip the boards off the door. Lin and I kept a lookout in case the noise drew any creatures. I was somewhat surprised the battle with the boar hadn¡¯t elicited any howls, but it had been over quickly and we hadn¡¯t gone very far into the wolves territory yet. Ann was the first in followed closely by Shadow and I could hear her oohing and aahing. I chuckled while I let the others in first and followed behind.


    There weren¡¯t any windows overlooking the street so I assumed it would be dark inside, but I was mistaken. More of the glowing crystals I had seen in the tower were along the walls, creating plenty of light to see the contents of the store. There were lots of wooden racks containing clear bottles of different colored liquids and a couple tables of items.


    If it wasn¡¯t for the dust, it would look like the shop could still be open. I wandered around but didn¡¯t really know what I was looking at so decided to just guard the door and leave it to the experts. I heard a muffled shriek behind me and spun around, thinking something was wrong. Instead, I saw Ann jumping up and down in excitement.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it, enchanted bags and there are three of them!¡± Ann exclaimed, almost shrieking in delight again. Lux tried to get her to calm down without much success. I didn¡¯t know what enchanted bags were, but they must be good from Ann¡¯s reaction. I returned to watching the door, figuring I would get an explanation later after she calmed down.


    I was hoping the bags would let us carry the potions since I didn¡¯t know how we would transport them without all the bottles breaking. From what I could see all the potions looked to be intact and still had their labels. Whether they still worked or not I couldn¡¯t say. One of the books I read mentioned potions so I had a general knowledge about them.


    There were your standard healing potions, ones to cure poisons and different afflictions, ones to enhance your strength or speed for a certain amount of time, potions to replenish your mana faster, and the list goes on. There were different grades to the potions as well to make the effects stronger or last longer. It was all very fantasy like and kind of made me want to dabble in alchemy.


    I could hear the family talking as I waited but I still wasn¡¯t fluent so didn¡¯t know what they were saying. I then heard glass bottles rattling against each other so turned to look again. Lin was tossing potions into one of the bags as fast as she could. Ann had another bag and was behind the counter shoving more items into hers and Lux was on the other side of the shop shoving even more potions and items from a table into his bag. As I suspected, the bags must use some form of space magic that allowed you to store way more items than would normally fit into a bag that size. I guessed it was similar to an item box in video games. I idly wondered how they worked or how many items you could shove in them.


    It was something seeing item upon item being shoved into the bags without them filling up. I just shook my head and continued watching the door. So far I hadn¡¯t seen or heard anything from the street, except the chatter of the birds that was ever present. The birds made a good warning device as they would quiet down or even take off if creatures showed up.


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    Soon, they finished and we all went back outside including Shadow who appeared satisfied with her exploration of the shop. Everyone had smiles on their faces including me. I was burning with questions but needed to wait until we finished exploring since we still had to be on guard. Lux and Lin had their brown, leather looking bags slung over their shoulders. Ann¡¯s was black and in the form of a backpack.


    It took some searching but we found more boarded up shops a couple streets over. One of them was another clothing store which the clothing didn¡¯t survive very well even with the shop boarded up. We were still able to find a couple pieces of new clothing and the store had some shoes so I was able to find a pair of boots that fit reasonably well.


    The next shop was a more up scale type general store. I was hoping to find some more preserved food, but the closest thing was bags of seeds. I hoped we weren¡¯t stuck here long enough to grow a garden from scratch, but the girls still took some of the seeds. The only item I picked up in the shop was a fancy looking magical compass that I thought might come in handy. Ann said all I needed to do was pour mana into it and think where I wanted to go and it would point in that direction. It only worked for places I had already been to though, so it was less than ideal. I tried thinking of Earth but the needle just spun in circles. When I thought of the mansion, however, it pointed in the right direction.


    The girls each grabbed a decorated brush, a hand mirror, and some jewelry. I didn¡¯t like wearing rings and such so didn¡¯t bother but Lux dumped some of the more expensive looking pieces of jewelry into his magic bag. Lux probably had the right idea if we ever made it back to civilization so with that in mind, I looked behind the counter for any money and put some coinage in my pockets. Shadow seemed interested in the brushes so I decided to grab one I could use to brush her fur.


    Once we were done with the general store, we saw one more store on that street that had been boarded up. Unfortunately, it looked like the store had already been broken into or the boards had just rotted and fallen off. Lux seemed excited this time and I shared his excitement as we had finally found another weapon shop.


    Lux lead the way and we all went to the weapon shop. We had long abandoned splitting up at this point since everyone was so excited about the contents of the boarded up shops. It was probably better to stick together anyway. When he was about to enter, Shadow hissed and Lux stopped and brought up his sword. A growl came from inside the shop and Lux dodged out of the way after one of the six legged creatures charged out.


    A second one charged out as well and we all jumped out of the way. The creatures didn¡¯t seem to be dissuaded by our numbers and turned to charge again. Lux tried to bring his sword to bear but the creatures were so fast they were giving him problems. Lin was the fastest of the group and was able to keep up with the creatures, doing acrobatics and easily evading and counterattacking. Soon the one she was fighting was dead and I helped Lux keep the other one at bay while Ann tried hitting it with stone arrows. Shadow stayed in the back with Ann with her fur puffed out.


    It was able to dodge her spells with little effort but couldn¡¯t get past our weapons. When Lin joined us the fight ended quickly. We all breathed a sigh of relief and carefully entered the shop but didn¡¯t see any more of the six legged creatures. One of the windows was open so between it and the door I could see fairly well. The good news was there were still items in the shop, the bad news was most were in rough shape.


    It was evident the store had been open to the elements for a while. Most of the weapons had rust on them and anything made of wood or leather was in rough shape. There were some on display shelves or behind the counter that were of higher quality and had resisted the corrosion. They were definitely fancier than the rest and seemed to be made of more exotic materials.


    Lux found a better great sword and a matching shield that were still in good shape. The girls were looking at short swords while Shadow sniffed around the back. None of the spears were better than what I already had, and nothing looked as good as my magic sword. The girls did seem to think some of the fancier weapons might hold enchantments so just grabbed all of them. It was amazing watching them store the longer weapons in the small bags, like watching a magic show as a kid.


    Shadow meowed from the back room so I went to see what she had found. Similar to the previous weapon shop, this one had a smithy along with storage at the rear of the store. Shadow was sniffing around in one of the small storage rooms. It was darker in the back, so I conjured a flame to see. I had brought my phone just in case, but it was better not to waste what little battery life it had left. I had briefly showed Lux and Ann the phone after Lin had mentioned it but wanted to keep its use to a bare minimum. They were duly impressed and thought of it as a magic tool.


    My light illuminated what looked like this world¡¯s equivalent of a safe. It was made of thick metal and had two key holes. I thought about using my magical blade to slice it open but was afraid I would damage whatever was inside. Instead, I called for Ann and Lin. I thought maybe Ann had a lockpicking spell or maybe Lin knew how to pick locks. I was excited to see what the safe might hold.

 17 - Lust

    Ann and Lin came over and both looked excited by the safe. Ann didn¡¯t know any lockpicking spells but Lin thought she would be able to open it. She took out a few tools from a pouch at her waist and started on the locks. Shadow sat on top of the safe and watched while Lin worked. Ann assured us there weren¡¯t any magical traps on the safe.


    While we waited, I explored the rest of the smithy. It looked like the creatures that attacked us had used part of it as their home. Sticks and other debris had been collected into something like a nest with some bones scattered about. The back room contained the normal blacksmith tools I expected to see and various ores and metal bars ready to be fashioned into weapons or armor.


    I was no blacksmith so wasn¡¯t too interested in any of it. Lin said something excitedly and when I looked over, she had already started on the second lock. Lux and Ann stood behind her, anxious to see what was in the safe. Smiling, I could understand their feelings and soon enough Lin had the safe open. I hurried over to look inside while everyone crowded around.


    There was the expected money which consisted of gold and silver coins but also a few pieces of jewelry and a dagger which even I could tell must be magical in nature since it had runes up and down the blade. I also noticed several ingots of different colored metal. A couple were obviously gold but I wasn¡¯t sure about the others.


    There was blue and green ingots and I heard Ann gasp and mutter the names of familiar sounding fantasy metals like mithril and adamantite. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure about the nature of the metals but knew they must be valuable so we eagerly emptied the safe to add it to our pile of loot. Everyone returned to the main room to poke around for armor and weapons.


    A few pieces of armor were still usable so were snatched up. I wasn¡¯t sure how much more the special bags could hold but I was already impressed. Everyone seemed to be finished looking around and it was getting late in the day so we decided to head back home. I considered the trip a major success as we had found a lot more than I thought we would.


    We didn¡¯t forget to grab the boar on the way home but when we got closer we could see the building we had stashed it in was being attacked by a large bear who was clawing at the door. It had greenish fur, similar to the jungle wolves so I was sure it was called a jungle bear. It was at least 10 feet high as it stood on its back legs and tried to get batter down the door we had blocked.


    I wanted to forget the boar and just go home but Lux seemed to be fired up. I didn¡¯t know if he really wanted to eat that boar meat or if he just wanted to try out his new sword and shield. In any case it was decided to kill the bear even with my objections. Ann gave us a few buffing spells before combat and then she and Lin would stay in the back and shoot it with spells and arrows. I would back up Lux. Shadow stayed with the girls and sat down to watch the fight.


    The buffing spell was incredible. A light yellow glow appeared over me and I could feel myself getting stronger. It was a strange feeling but I didn¡¯t have time to relish the sensation as Lux charged the bear. Lin and Ann¡¯s shots hit the bear before Lux reached it as the bear was turning to face us. It roared in pain from the double blows and tried to take a swipe at Lux. He brought up his new shield and then retaliated with his sword.


    I wasn¡¯t as confident as Lux so hung back and tried to jab the bear when I saw an opening. The bear was quickly amassing wounds from Lux¡¯s sword and my spear. The metal kite shield was holding up well and the bear couldn¡¯t get past Lux. It wasn¡¯t giving up however, and continued trying. It soon ran out of steam, probably due to blood loss and Lux was able to finish it off. I was shocked that the bear had been dealt with so easily since if I had been by myself I would have been killed instantly.


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    We left the dead bear where it lay and hurried to get the boar and get out of the area before anything else showed up. To give us an incentive, a howl could be heard in the distance. Lin had wanted to take the bear¡¯s fur but there wasn¡¯t time. Evidently the magic bags had some limitation on what could be shoved into them as the items had to fit through the opening.


    The rest of the trip back was uneventful although Shadow got tired of walking and jumped up on my shoulder. She was definitely getting bigger, or maybe just heavier. When we got back to the mansion I helped the girls with the boar while Lux emptied the bags and started putting away the loot and then started taking care of his equipment. Shadow went to take a nap. All in all, it had been a good day. If we could get somewhere where we could sell all the loot, then we would certainly be rich.


    The boar meat meal was amazing, especially after just eating fish for so long. I could understand now why Lux was intent on fighting the bear for it. After the meal I checked on my equipment before wiping myself down at the well. I was too tired to try and fill the tub up. I returned to my room to discover Ann already asleep in my bed. I could only shrug and get in bed next to her. She had snuck into my room so often I should be used to it by now.


    Even though I was tired I had trouble going to sleep. I don¡¯t know if it was the presence of Ann or not. Usually I fell asleep first and she snuck in without me noticing. As I lay awake I heard my door open and I was instantly on guard, waiting for Lux to attack. Instead the door closed again and I could feel someone getting into bed on the other side of me. ¡°Lin, what are you¡­¡± I began to ask but she put her finger to my lips, not wanting me to wake up Ann. She just smiled and hugged my arm while snuggling up next to me. The presence of both girls in my bed didn¡¯t help me get any sleep that night.


    Both girls were in a good mood in the morning but I needed a nap. Ann didn¡¯t seem to mind finding Lin in my bed for some reason. I thought it was strange but maybe it was just my Earthly sensibilities. I really had no idea what the culture was like in this world as the books I had read didn¡¯t go into those kinds of details. I wasn¡¯t much of a lady¡¯s man back on Earth so wasn¡¯t used to all the attention. Of course, me being the only eligible bachelor around probably had something to do with it.


    I thought both girls were cute but if I was going to get closer with Lin it would help if we both spoke the same language. That would take a lot more studying on my part. I was still tired but luckily there wasn¡¯t anything too strenuous planned today. Ann and Lin wanted to inspect all the items we recovered while Lux and I smoked the rest of the boar meat so it would last longer. There was plenty left even after the big meal last night.


    As I helped Lux with the boar meat my tired mind wandered. I didn¡¯t really know either girl that well so couldn¡¯t say I loved either of them yet. My guess was my hero status from being summoned also had something to do with their affection. I still didn¡¯t feel very heroic and Lux was way stronger than me. Seeing him fight that bear was something else. I didn¡¯t know what he would do if he found out I was dating one or both of his daughters. I still didn¡¯t know if I wanted to date both of them at the same time. It sounded like a bad idea to me and I didn¡¯t know if I could handle two girlfriends.


    I never did understand how harem protagonists did it. It had been a while since I was in a relationship and that one hadn¡¯t lasted very long. If I screwed something up it wasn¡¯t like we could separate very easily since we all depended on each other to stay alive in the survival situation we found ourselves in. My head started to hurt from all the questions running through it so after we finished with the boar meat I vowed to rest.

 18 - Learning

    The next couple weeks continued in much the same vein. We went fishing some days and hunting other days. We explored more shops but were never as successful as the first time. The number of boarded up shops wasn¡¯t as large as I first thought and the shops that were open to the elements had either been ransacked or the contents were in poor shape.


    During this time Shadow had continued to get bigger and I thought she was at least twice as big as when she was first summoned. She regularly went hunting by herself and usually came back with a bird or two in her mouth. She would still sleep with Lin but when Lin would move to my bed then she would move to my bed as well. At first she slept on my chest like old times but then the weight was too much for me and I had to shoo her off so she reluctantly slept by our feet instead.


    The sisters also continued to sneak into my bedroom at night. Sometimes I was awake for it and sometimes I slept through the intrusion. I was convinced that Lux knew what was going on but so far he hadn¡¯t done or said anything. It was confined to cuddling for now and they were always close to me during the day. We traded stories about each others worlds and I got to know them better.


    I learned their mother had died of an illness several years ago and the family had pulled together to eke out an existence as what I would consider adventurers. Doing odd jobs like guarding caravans, hunting, and monster subjugation. Ann had been lucky enough to be the apprentice to a local mage while the other siblings were trained by Lux. The girls had been too busy for romance so had never had official boyfriends although I thought Lux might also be the cause of that.


    Lin was more of a tomboy while Ann was a bookworm. Ann was delighted whenever we found more intact books and could spend hours reading them. Lin loved the outdoors and hunting so was excited every time we went out. Both girls had been letting their hair grow longer. We were all wearing better clothes as well that we were able to find in the shops. When we weren¡¯t out exploring in the city, Ann liked to wear summery dresses while Lin preferred shorts and a loose top.


    Ann hinted that she and Lin might need my ¡°assistance¡± during mating season. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure when mating season was, but it was evidently something all the beast type people went through. She didn¡¯t mention what they had done in the past during mating season, and I didn¡¯t ask. I was actually a little afraid of seeing both wolfkin girls in heat and I was also afraid of their father finding out. Now that I thought about it, did the males go into heat as well? I decided I didn¡¯t want to know.


    If it wasn¡¯t for my enhanced body, I don¡¯t think I would have been able to handle the sisters. They were both very strong and when they hugged me, I could feel my bones creaking. I didn¡¯t seem to have a choice in the matter the way both girls looked at me so just hoped I was up to the challenge. I could also now have intelligible conversations with Lin and Lux, not that Lux ever said much. My learning speed frankly surprised me, and I was able to pick up the common language quickly. It didn¡¯t hurt that Ann was a great teacher and Lin even helped out.


    My magic was coming along nicely as well. I had learned two spells while Ann learned one more. In addition to improving her stone arrow spell, Ann had learned a lightning bolt spell. As the name implied, she could shoot out a bolt of lightning that could fry or paralyze her target depending on how much mana she put into it.


    With Ann¡¯s help, I learned the healing spell then wanted something I could use in a fight. The healing spell wasn¡¯t all powerful so I couldn¡¯t bring someone back from the dead or regrow limbs, but I could heal most other injuries. Ann made sure that I was aware it didn¡¯t work on poisons, paralysis, or curses. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure what curses were, but I would think it would work on poisons and paralysis but evidently there was a separate spell for that.


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    After perusing all the magic books we found, I settled on the wind blade spell. I could use it for attacking at long or short range and similar to the lightning spell, the more mana I put into it, the more powerful the blades would be. Ann and I practiced every day to improve our aim with the spells which wasn¡¯t easy. I had no experience with shooting guns besides those in video games but felt it might be similar. As I practiced, the distance that I could hit things reliably increased much to my satisfaction.


    The next spell I wanted to try was a little more complex. It was an earth spell similar to Ann¡¯s stone arrow but more versatile. It was called earth manipulation and was for manipulating the ground to produce various objects out of the soil/rock. With it, a person could build structures, produce spikes that shot up from the ground to attack, produce an earthen wall for defense, or whatever else I could think of.


    Unlike the stone arrow spell which conjured rock out of pure mana, the earth manipulation spell only modified the existing ground. I still thought it would be useful, but it would take a lot longer than the healing spell or wind blade spell to learn. Lin had tried learning more magic as well but was still struggling with the old empire language. Ann and I helped her but she just couldn¡¯t get it and finally gave up. We found a fancy looking bow on one of our latest scavenging hunts which cheered Lin up and she has been practicing with it nonstop.


    Lux still helped me practice with the sword and spear and now that we could talk, I got more out of it. The training sessions were also more intense for some reason. I still didn¡¯t improve my fighting skills as much as my language and magic but I was getting there. There was discussion about taking what we could haul and returning to the fishing village. I could stay here for months learning new magic spells but getting back to actual civilization would be nice.


    There was still one structure we wanted to explore but it was closer to the north side of the city which was mostly taken over by the jungle. From what we could see from our birds eye view in the summoning tower, it looked like a temple of some sort. At least that was Ann¡¯s opinion. It was a large circular stone building with a domed roof. Angelic statues circled the domed roof which was about half as tall as the bell tower. I was curious about it too, but the closer you got to the jungle the more monsters there were lurking around.


    We had avoided the northern areas of the city because of that but the mystery surrounding the building was too much. By now we all had better armor and weapons and even stronger magic spells so it was decided that we would go straight to the temple, look around, and then head straight back. That would hopefully expose us to the least amount of danger.


    Preparations for the trip were made which consisted of packing supplies and making sure all our equipment was in good shape. We would start in the early morning so we would make it back before night so went to bed early. Unfortunately it stormed that night and the following day so we had to stay in the mansion. Both girls were already in my bed and hugged me tighter than usual. I thought I might die a few times when they were scared by the thunder and lightning and hugged me especially hard.


    Somehow I managed to survive the night but didn¡¯t get much sleep and my ribs were sore in the morning. We spent the rainy day playing some simple games I had shown them from Earth. Lux turned out to be quite the intense player, but I didn¡¯t go easy on him. It probably wasn¡¯t the best idea, but I was getting him back for the harsh training he had been putting me through. Lin and Ann seemed to be enjoying the competition but fought when we played games that required two versus two and they both wanted to be on my team. It was a fun time but made me miss my home which I tried not to think about too much.

 19 - Temple

    We started off the following morning now that the storm was over. There were puddles everywhere and the humidity was oppressive. Shadow took the lead as usual, carefully avoiding the water puddles. We went out the usual gate into the city but then started heading north. The farther north we went, the more vegetation there was. Thick vines and moss covered most of the structures and trees were starting to grow through the streets.


    We moved slower than usual due to the thick undergrowth and the increased number of places creatures could be hiding. The vegetation was a lot thicker than I thought from what we could see from the top of the tower. Lin had us pause a few times when she caught sight of something but so far we didn¡¯t have to fight anything.


    That changed when a snake larger than the one I had previously killed surprised us. Even Shadow didn¡¯t notice it evidently. It dropped down from a branch as Ann was walking past. Lux was faster than me and pushed her aside while bringing up his shield. The green scaled serpent smashed into it, but Lux held his ground. I knew from experience that its scales were extremely tough so dropped my spear and grabbed the magic sword.


    Lux tried hitting it with his sword, but it barely made a scratch. I quickly infused my sword with mana and struck, chopping the snakes head off with one swipe. Lux helped Ann to her feet as Lin ran back to see what had happened. The whole fight only lasted a few seconds. Luckily everyone was ok and we continued traveling. As the vegetation got thicker, we were forced to use our swords to cut a path.


    I hadn¡¯t seen anything like a machete in this world but the swords worked just as well. Lux, Lin, and I took turns clearing a path and slowly made progress. We took a break around noon to eat. I thought we must be getting close but it was hard to tell from all the vegetation. While we rested, Lin climbed a nearby tree and was able to spot the temple in the distance, its domed roof sticking through the jungle canopy.


    She estimated we should get there in another hour which I was happy to hear. I was getting tired of slogging through the undergrowth. It seemed like it took longer than an hour but we finally made it. If we took the same path back, it would be a lot faster since we already cleared the way. The temple was an anomaly as the jungle didn¡¯t touch it. There was a cleared area of around 50 feet that surrounded the temple where the vegetation was absent.


    None of us knew what could cause such a thing but it made the temple even more mysterious. The angel statues ringing the top of the dome all had a different kind of weapon in their hands with stern expressions. There were large wooden doors situated around the circumference of the temple with carvings of the angels on them so we went to the nearest ones. All the doors were still closed and I was afraid they might be locked as the angels didn¡¯t seem very welcoming. However, when Lin pushed on them, the doors opened with no problem.


    I was surprised the doors didn¡¯t even make a creaking noise as they swung open. The interior was dark but as we stepped inside, crystals started glowing brighter and brighter. They illuminated a mostly open interior with something sticking up in the center. Stone columns dotted the open space and as we stepped closer, we could see the center was sunken into the ground with stadium like stone seating surrounding a central alter like structure. The inside of the temple was spotless with no deterioration or even any dust that I could see.


    The alter had a pitch black obelisk carved with runes sticking up toward the roof with a stone slab next to it. The runes glowed softly but I couldn¡¯t tell what was powering it. The interior was eerily quiet after the noise of the jungle bugs and birds. The obelisk was ominous looking and I didn¡¯t want to go near it. Ann was more curious however and approached it while we spread out to search the area. On her way down to the center, she called out after seeing something. We all went to see what she had found. When we got closer, I was surprised to see a mummified corpse collapsed on the stone seating. All the other bodies I had seen previously were nothing but skeletons.


    The next surprise was that the corpse was wearing Earth like clothing and clutching a cell phone. It looked to be a male but I couldn¡¯t tell the age by the state of the desiccated body. It looked like their leg had been badly injured at some point and their clothes were dirty and torn. There was a bag and short sword lying next to the corpse. I carefully pried the cell phone loose but it was dead as expected. It was an old flip phone model that I didn¡¯t recognize.


    I was hoping for a journal or diary in the bag but there was nothing but a knife that looked like it had been picked up in the city, some rags, and a battered umbrella. I wished I could charge the cell phone so I could see what was on it, but I couldn¡¯t even charge my own phone. I looked for a wallet but didn¡¯t find one, so couldn¡¯t even tell what his name had been. My theory that others must have been summoned as well proved to be true and I was doubly glad we had been able to disable the summoning circle. ¡°He was from your world wasn¡¯t he?¡± Lin asked. ¡°Yes, it would appear so. That could have been me if I hadn¡¯t found you guys.¡± I replied.


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    The girls both hugged me while Lux scowled. I offered a silent prayer to my fellow Earthling and we continued looking around. Lin, Shadow, and I went to check the alcoves that seemed to be spaced around the outer wall of the temple while Lux accompanied Ann down to check out the alter. The alcoves turned out to be small rooms. Some held beds while others seemed to be storage rooms.


    ¡°Look, I think this is a food pantry.¡± Lin said excitedly. I followed her into another room filled with shelves of jars and sacks. The jars held preserved food and the sacks appeared to be flour, sugar, salt, and other spices. We had been out of spices for a while now, so it was a welcomed find. I wasn¡¯t sure what kinds of foods were in the jars but they all seemed to be intact.


    ¡°That is a good find, see what you can fit in your bag.¡± I replied, still looking at the items on the shelves. Shadow was sniffing some of the sacks and sneezing which made me smile. Lux and Ann came back after not finding anything. The stone slab didn¡¯t have anything on it and Ann couldn¡¯t make out the runes on the obelisk but could tell it was radiating mana.


    I didn¡¯t like the sound of that so urged everyone to hurry up so we could start back home. They continued exploring the other rooms while Lin started putting jars and the smaller sacks into her magic bag. Soon I could hear Ann squealing in delight so Lin and I went to see what she had found. We entered a larger room than the others and saw what looked like a library.


    Books lined the walls and shelves that ran down the middle of the room. ¡°No wonder Ann sounded so excited.¡± Lin commented, smiling. Ann was eagerly going from shelf to shelf looking at the book collection. She looked like she was in heaven. I wasn¡¯t sure if their bags were large enough to fit all the books but I¡¯m sure Ann would try. Lin went back to join Shadow in the food pantry while Lux continued to explore the other rooms.


    I stayed with Ann as I was interested in the books as well. I scanned the shelves and could see books on history, magic, and the sciences. There was also a section on adventure and romance stories which I thought was strange to be in a temple if that¡¯s what this was. I stopped short upon seeing books on summoning. There were only three of them and I grabbed them right away.


    The first book was very thick and was on how to summon people and things. I flipped through it but didn¡¯t understand much. There were a lot of sketches of runes in the book and I wondered if there was a separate book about runes that would let me understand them. My main question was could I get back to my previous world. I would have to study it more but if the answer wasn¡¯t in the book, then I would need to destroy it as I didn¡¯t want anyone trying to summon someone else.


    The second book wasn¡¯t as thick and pertained to the summoned. Detailing the powers granted to them during the summoning and how to make use of them along with the best way to train. This was exactly what I needed, and I looked forward to going through it. The last book was even thinner and detailed how to control the summoned and how to dispose of the summoned once they were no longer needed or if they got out of control. I was shocked at the contents of this book and it put the kingdom into a whole new light. It looked like it was a good thing no one was around when I was summoned, or I would have been made into a slave.


    I slipped the three books into my bag. I decided not to show anyone the summoning books before I had a chance to go through them. ¡°Did you find something good?¡± Ann asked from across the room. ¡°Oh..yeah..there is a section of magic books over here.¡± I replied, pointing at the magic related books. ¡°There are some over here too, isn¡¯t this amazing. I¡¯ve never seen so many books in one place before. This might even rival the library of the magic academy.¡± Ann said, still excited.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure you¡¯ll be able to fit all of these books so you¡¯ll have to pick the most important.¡± I cautioned but Ann seemed to think between all their magic bags that they would be able to take most of the books. It was a shame we had not found a fourth magic bag for me to use but it couldn¡¯t be helped. Lux returned without finding anything else of interest and Lin finished up with the food and returned with Shadow.


    We all attacked the library and shoved books into the magic bags. Lin¡¯s was already half full of food items so wasn¡¯t able to fit that much more. With all of us working, except Shadow of course, it didn¡¯t take long before the shelves were nearly bare. There was a pile of accounting and record keeping type books that Ann wasn¡¯t interested in that were left behind. Otherwise, the rest of the collection was split between the three magic bags. It really spoke to how much stuff the bags could hold, especially Ann¡¯s.


    Now all we had to do was get back home with our loot. Ann was excited to start going through the books after we got back. I kind of wanted to bury the mummified body but we didn¡¯t have a shovel so decided to leave it as it was. I said another silent prayer for the departed and we headed out.

 20 - Ambush

    As we were about to leave, I thought of something and ran over to take a few pictures of the runes on the obelisk with my cell phone. I figured one of the books might be able to tell us what they meant. We then left the temple and started following our path back the way we came. Something felt wrong, however.


    At first I couldn¡¯t place it, then I noticed it was too quiet. I had gotten used to the quiet inside the temple and now that we were outside there should be the sound of birds and bugs again, but it was still quiet. Shadow started hissing and her fur poofed out and Lin held up her hand to stop us. I couldn¡¯t see anything, but something was definitely wrong.


    A roar came from close by which sent shivers down my spine and something burst forth from the bushes. It headed straight for Lux for some reason, ignoring the rest of us. Lux quickly swung his shield around but it was batted out of his hand and he screamed as the arm holding the shield was severed at the elbow.


    The rest of us were shocked and didn¡¯t move. Standing over Lux was a creature about the same size as the bear we had dealt with before but it gave off a much more dangerous aura. It had the usual green fur but it was a darker green which turned to black toward the belly. I could only compare it to pictures of Saber Tooth Tigers I had seen in school.


    It was cat like and had long claws on its four paws and two saber like fangs coming out of its broad mouth. It also had two tails with barbed ends which swished around violently. Ann was the first to break out of our paralysis and fired off a stone arrow before rushing to heal Lux.


    The creature jumped back to avoid the stone arrow and as Ann rushed to Lux¡¯s side, I sent off a wind blade to keep it busy. Lin also pulled out her bow and fired arrows at it. The large cat didn¡¯t like being bombarded from two sides so jumped back again, giving Ann room to work.


    It roared again as one of my wind blades managed to gouge its side. It was avoiding Lin¡¯s arrows but seemed to be having a hard time seeing my wind blades which I capitalized on. I fired them off rapidly to keep it off balance but that meant I wasn¡¯t putting that much mana into them, so it wasn¡¯t causing much damage to the creature.


    Ann reached Lux and began to heal his arm which soon stopped bleeding. Neither of us could restore his arm with our magic but I was betting one of the potions we had scavenged might be able to do it. We would need to get him back to the mansion first.


    The jungle cat must have figured out I was the one shooting wind blades at it because it turned and charged me. I didn¡¯t have any defenses to speak of since I hadn¡¯t learned the earth manipulation spell to make a wall yet. I charged up the strongest wind blade with what little time I had and fired it at its head while diving to the side.


    Its claws still managed to rake me across the side of my chest which sent me flying. My armor was instantly shredded and deep gashes were torn in my skin, spraying blood. My scream was cut off as the wind was knocked out of me from bouncing off the ground and hitting a nearby tree. I groggily tried healing myself as I lay bleeding but it was hard to concentrate.


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    I didn¡¯t know what happened to the jungle cat and expected to be finished off any second. I was finally able to heal myself somewhat and opened my bleary eyes to see Ann shooting more stone arrows into the beast while Lin shot regular arrows at it. It looked like my last wind blade had taken out one of its eyes and left a large wound on its head, slowing the beast down. A few arrows were stuck into it, so Lin managed to hit it a few times.


    I wanted to help out but was still too weak and just continued to heal myself. Ann switched to lightning which caused the jungle cat to freeze up and Lin was able to shoot an arrow deep into its undamaged eye. The beast swayed and finally collapsed, hopefully dead. Ann then rushed to my side and added her healing magic to my own.


    ¡°Matt, are you alright?¡± Ann asked in concern. ¡°I¡¯ll live but my armor and clothes have seen better days.¡± I assured her. ¡°What about Lux?¡± I asked. ¡°Father will be fine. We have several bottles of elixir back at the mansion that will regrow his arm but it will take a couple days.¡± She replied. I thought she was being a little nonchalant about the grievous wound but being adventurers they were probably used to injuries.


    Lin went to the beast and cut its throat to be sure it wouldn¡¯t get back up. I was soon back on my feet but still felt a little weak. Lux was back on his feet as well which was good because I didn¡¯t know how we would carry him otherwise. His shield was crumpled so we just left it as there was a replacement in the loot room.


    Lux went over to the jungle cat and ripped out both of its saber like fangs with his good arm as a souvenir. I just smiled at the show of strength. Shadow came out from the bushes where she had hid during the fighting and sniffed the jungle cat¡¯s body. She turned up her nose and returned to Lin¡¯s side. We didn¡¯t wait around and continued on before any more creatures were drawn to the area.


    We moved at a slower pace since Lux and I were still a little weak but didn¡¯t run into any more trouble on the way back. I felt relieved once the mansion was in sight. It was good to be home. Ann immediately found one of the elixirs and gave it to Lux. She said it would take a couple days to fully heal so we all could take a break in the meantime.


    Lux went to lay down and I found a comfortable seat to watch Ann unpack her book collection. The loot room was overflowing so she used the large dining room table to set out the books. She looked as happy as a kid in a candy shop while lovingly placing each book down after quickly thumbing through them.


    Lin laid down on a couch and started messing with the old flip phone I had giver her. She was fascinated with my cell phone so had given me puppy dog eyes when asking if she could have it. I couldn¡¯t charge it anyway so readily agreed. I was guessing the battery in my cell phone would last another month at best if I refrained from using it and kept it off. Before then I needed to make copies of the rune pictures but that could wait.


    ¡°Let me know if you see any books on runes.¡± I told Ann which she just hummed in return, fixated on the books. I had taken pictures of the symbols in the summoning room as well so it would be nice to know what they all meant. After watching Ann for a while I decided to go and start getting a meal ready as I was getting hungry.


    Lin put the phone down and helped me in the kitchen, getting closer than necessary and bumping hips with me. I¡¯m not sure why she was in such a playful mood but didn¡¯t mind. Her fluffy tail was swinging happily but I tried not to stare too much. These sisters were definitely a handful.

 21 - Relationships

    We used some of the scavenged spices in the meal which made a huge difference. I had to let Lin handle the spices since I wasn¡¯t familiar with them. The food was delicious and everyone praised the meal but I had to give Lin all the credit. She was pleased by the attention and blushed cutely.


    After the meal, Lux looked tired and returned to his room to rest. His arm was bandaged so I couldn¡¯t see the healing progress, but Ann had mentioned that his body would be weakened while his arm regrew. Ann and Lin both exchanged mischievous glances with each other which I couldn¡¯t help but notice. I raised my eyebrow quizzically while they both stood up and each grabbed one of my arms.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± I asked curiously but the girls didn¡¯t respond and proceeded to drag me to the master bedroom. I was beginning to be worried about my chastity. ¡°Um, is it mating season already?¡± I asked sheepishly. ¡°No, we are just celebrating.¡± Ann replied seductively while taking off my shirt.


    ¡°But aren¡¯t you worried about getting pregnant? We still have to make it back to the fishing village?¡± I tried arguing. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it is hard to get pregnant between the races plus one of the potions we found keeps you from getting pregnant for a month and we both took some.¡± Lin replied while taking off my pants.


    ¡°What about your father? Aren¡¯t you worried about him barging in and killing me?¡± I asked frowning. ¡°We put some sleeping potion in his drink so he should be out for quite a while.¡± Lin replied smiling impishly. My jaw dropped open in shock, what was it with these sisters.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you like us?¡± Ann pouted. ¡°Of course I like you. You are both beautiful.¡± I hastily replied. I couldn¡¯t think of any more arguments as both girls took their tops off. It was a sight to behold. Ann was a ¡°C¡± cup while Lin was more of a ¡°B¡±. Lin was more muscular, but they were both slender with curves in all the right places. I didn¡¯t know if I would survive both girls, but I was willing to try.


    The next morning I woke up extremely sore. My body ached all over and I could barely move. The sisters had their way with me. I tried to keep up at first, but they had way more stamina than me so soon I was at their mercy. Still, I had a smile on my face. Two naked, beautiful girls were sleeping on either side of me, with our limbs intertwined.


    I had learned a couple things during the night¡¯s activities. The wolfkin¡¯s fluffy ears and tails were very sensitive and the girls loved it when I stroked them. Lin liked to bite my shoulder and the marks still remained which I rubbed absently. I would have to remember to keep Lux from seeing the marks. Speaking of Lux, the girls and I would need to have a conversation. They couldn¡¯t keep spiking his drink every time they wanted to sleep with me and Lux would figure it out eventually if he hadn¡¯t already.


    It would be much better if our relationship was out in the open and I could gain Lux¡¯s approval. I still felt weird dating two sisters but chalked it up to the other world¡¯s strangeness or maybe it was a wolfkin thing. Some of the books I read hinted at nobles and high ranking individuals having multiple wives so it probably wasn¡¯t all that unusual considering my summoned hero status.


    I tried extricating myself, but it proved impossible as the girls hugged me tighter. I sighed, giving up and started to run my hands through their hair and rubbed their ears. The girls moaned cutely in their sleep which made me chuckle. Ann was the first to wake up and smiled while she leaned in for a kiss. Lin woke up shortly after and wanted her own kiss.


    ¡°Good morning.¡± I said to the sisters after kissing them repeatedly. ¡°I have a question. What can I do to get Lux to approve of me?¡± I asked. The girls were silent for a minute and I started to get nervous. ¡°You could beat him in a duel.¡± Lin replied slowly. I sat bolt upright. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! Isn¡¯t there another way?¡± I asked, looking at both of them.


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    ¡°Our father has told us that any suitor would need to beat him which is why neither of us thought we would ever have a mate. But if it is you, it may be possible.¡± Ann replied, sitting up and shrugging. I didn¡¯t want to keep fooling around behind Lux¡¯s back but I didn¡¯t think I could beat him in a fight either. Even with him injured and only having one arm, I had no doubt that he could wipe the floor with me.


    Heck, I doubted I could even beat either of the girls in a fight. They were stronger, faster, and had been trained for years. I was just a beginner, learning how to fight. I flopped back down on the bed, sighing loudly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll protect you if father tries killing you.¡± Lin said, grinning. ¡°Thanks, but that isn¡¯t very reassuring.¡± I replied, frowning.


    I had a lot to think about. There must be some way to convince Lux without having to fight him. I did save his daughter and got them back together. That had to count for something. I was also a summoned hero, that should give me some clout. As we got up, I was thankful that Lux hadn¡¯t gotten up yet. The sleeping potion must be really potent as Lux was usually up early.


    I offered to fill the tub in the bathroom for the girls to wash up but they didn¡¯t want to wait and we just took turns washing off by the well. They wanted to wash my back, but I was afraid that Lux could come out any minute so declined. We then went to the kitchen to make some breakfast. Lux finally came down after the food was ready but still looked tired. Shadow followed him down. I wasn¡¯t sure if Shadow had slept with Lux or in one of the girl¡¯s bedrooms.


    He didn¡¯t say anything unusual as he ate his breakfast and I wasn¡¯t ready to talk to him about my relationship with his daughters. After we finished eating, Lux returned to his room. Ann went back to looking through the books and Lin started organizing the items from her bag, placing them in the kitchen¡¯s pantry.


    I decided to go to the study and continue trying to master the earth manipulation spell. Shadow joined me and lay down on the desk. I absently pet her while I studied the magical text. I read the book for about an hour but couldn¡¯t concentrate. My mind kept wandering back to the sisters. They didn¡¯t seem to mind sneaking around Lux but for me it was a dangerous game.


    I had grown quite fond of them but couldn¡¯t say it was love. I definitely didn¡¯t want to marry them yet. Come to think of it, I didn¡¯t even know what marriage entailed in this world. I could only assume the different races had their own unique ways of going about it. Maybe one of Ann¡¯s books dealt with the subject. I didn¡¯t want to ask either of the girls since they might get the wrong idea.


    First, I needed to convince Lux to date his daughters and then I could worry about marriage and everything else. Unless I had to promise to marry them in order to date them, but they hadn¡¯t mentioned anything about that, so it probably wasn¡¯t the case. There was too much I didn¡¯t know. I wish I knew Lux better for one thing, but he rarely spoke and certainly didn¡¯t talk about himself.


    I decided to start with asking the girls about their father. I didn¡¯t think asking the man himself would do any good as tight lipped as he was. When I went downstairs Ann was still going through her books, but it looked like Lin was free, so I joined her on the couch. ¡°What can you tell me about your father?¡± I asked her. She looked surprised by my question at first. ¡°Trying to find some advantage for your big duel?¡± Lin asked, teasing me. ¡°Well, kind of. I¡¯m hoping to talk him into accepting me without a fight actually.¡± I replied, smiling. Lin snorted and Ann chuckled from the kitchen table.


    ¡°Good luck with that.¡± Lin answered. ¡°Let¡¯s see, where to start. Well, our father was in a mercenary company for a while until he met our mother. Then he quit and they started working together. They settled down after they had us and we stayed in one place for quite a while until my mother got sick and passed away. Then we started moving around doing jobs after Ann finished her training with the mage. That led us here where we met you.¡± Lin explained, hugging me tightly.


    I grunted in pain from my sore ribs. ¡°Anything else?¡± I wheezed. ¡°Hmm, he likes to drink but I¡¯ve never seen him drunk if that makes sense. He also has a strong sense of honor, probably from his days with the mercenary company. I heard they were very famous and all the nobles wanted to hire them.¡± She continued. I didn¡¯t know if her story helped me out or not but it gave me more things to think about anyway.

 22 - Duel

    How did it end up like this? I was currently facing Lux who wanted to fight me to somehow prove my worth as he put it. We were in the backyard training area with the sisters at the side cheering me on. Shadow was sitting next to the girls licking her paws, unconcerned with what was going on. Lux was fully healed and had his sword and shield while I had my spear in my hands, my sword at my hip, and magic.


    It had been a week since I had talked to the sisters and built up enough courage to talk to Lux. I tried to persuade him to accept my relationship with his daughters without a duel but it didn¡¯t work. Instead, he wanted to immediately fight me with the sisters making him wait until his arm was fully healed.


    This allowed me to finish learning the earth manipulation spell which was the only thing I had going for me. Lux hadn¡¯t watched me practice the spell so it would be a surprise for him. I didn¡¯t think it would be enough to beat him, but the girls were hopeful.


    Lux had also somehow made sure the sisters didn¡¯t sneak into my room for the past week. I¡¯m not sure what he did or said to them, but they had stayed in their own rooms at night. When I asked them about it, they acted peeved but wouldn¡¯t say what happened. I found I had grown accustomed to one or both of them snuggling up to me at night so missed the company.


    I had also spent the last week coming to terms with my feelings. Not too long ago if someone had given me the choice to either fight Lux or leave his daughters alone, I probably would have taken the easy way out. Now, I might not want to fight him, but was determined to make him approve of me. If this was the only way, then so be it.


    I wanted to continue seeing the girls and build more of a relationship. Since I was stuck in this world, I decided to find whatever happiness I could and grab onto it. I didn¡¯t have much dating experience, but the girls were both easy to get along with. I had asked and there didn¡¯t seem to be any problems with dating between the different races and it was fairly common to see mixed couples.


    We slowly circled each other, neither making a move yet. I had the reach with my spear but doubted I could make it past Lux¡¯s shield. Lux had been the one training me with the spear so knew all my moves. My only chance was using my magic and I only had two spells to attack with. For whatever reason, the wind blade spell took slightly longer to cast than the earth spell. Ann thought it was because I had a better affinity with earth-based magic.


    I somehow didn¡¯t think Lux would give me enough time to cast the wind blade spell. I started things off by making a couple jabs with the spear which Lux was able to easily block. Next I tried using earth magic to enclose Lux¡¯s feet and prevent him from moving. It worked momentarily and I was able to circle around to his back but before I could land a hit, he was able to rip his feet free and dodge.


    I quickly backpedaled as he took a swing with his sword and came after me. Lux was faster and I was forced to put up a wall of earth to block the next sword swing. The wall of earth also blocked his line of sight for an instant which I used to cast a wind blade. Somehow, he was barely able to block the wind blade with his shield after cutting through the earth wall and then plowing through it.


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    This put him off balance however, and I capitalized by jabbing with my spear at his exposed legs. He jumped backwards to avoid the spear thrust, so I also backpedaled to give myself enough room to cast another wind blade. I made the next one more powerful and I could hear Lux grunt as it impacted his shield. Lux charged again to prevent me from firing off any others.


    I used another earth wall and then waited until Lux cut through it before casting earth spikes which were basically just spears of pointed rock that I could make come up from the ground. He was in the process of jumping over the remains of the wall and didn¡¯t notice the earth spikes until it was too late. The spikes tore at his feet and legs before he used his shield to crush the remaining spikes. He then rolled over the shield to launch himself past the spike trap and get to me.


    This caused him to let go of the shield but I couldn¡¯t capitalize since he was quickly in range for melee combat. I frantically tried to bring my spear into play, but Lux easily cut the spear in two with his sword. I dropped the broken spear and rolled to the side, trying to get away. Lux turned to face me and I opened up a hole in the earth where his foot was about to step.


    This caused him to stumble and I made the hole bigger and deeper, making him fall into it. By this point I was out of mana and panting from exertion. I unsheathed my sword and took a stance over the pit, waiting for Lux to make the next move. Without mana, I couldn¡¯t bring out its true power but it was still a sword.


    I was only able to make the pit slightly deeper than Lux was tall and I could see him standing at the bottom looking up at me with what I could swear was a grin. I thought I must be delirious since Lux wasn¡¯t known for his smiling face but then I caught the sound of laughter which got louder until it was a roar. I slowly lowered my sword as Lux put his away.


    ¡°Well done boy. You might only be a human, but you have earned my praise. I put my daughter¡¯s lives in your capable hands now. I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t let me down. Now, help an old man out of this godsforsaken pit.¡± Lux said from the bottom of the hole. I reached down and helped him out as both girls ran over.


    I was crushed in vice like hugs and showered with kisses from the sisters. Ann used her healing magic on both of us, not that I needed it. After that we had a bonfire and celebrated into the night. The celebration continued into the bedroom where I didn¡¯t get much sleep that night. I woke up with a sore and bruised body but was happy nonetheless.


    After the duel was behind us, we had to prepare for the trip back to the fishing village. That meant deciding what to take and what to leave behind. The magic bags were great, but they still had their limits. Ann wanted to bring the whole book collection but that wasn¡¯t possible. She wasn¡¯t happy but was finally persuaded to go through the collection and take only the most important books.


    While I had been training and practicing my magic for the last week, she had been going through the books. At least now she seemed to have a good grasp of what was included in the collection so it would be easier for her to decide what was most important.


    All of us would be carrying regular bags in addition to the magic variety but still a large portion of the loot in the loot room would need to be left behind. In addition to loot, we had to bring food and supplies for the trip. I didn¡¯t know the value of anything so had to leave it up to Lux and the girls to decide what to bring.


    I helped out where I could and enjoyed the lighter mood in the mansion. It was nice that we no longer had to hide our relationship and could openly show our affection for each other. The girls took full advantage and one of them was always close to me. I thought I might feel smothered having two girlfriends or that they would fight over me but we all got along and I enjoyed their company. Lux seemed happier as well, but it might have just been my imagination. It was hard to read the man. He definitely didn¡¯t go any easier on me during training. Just like that, it was nearing time for us to leave the mansion we had been calling home.

 23 - Journey

    It took half a week for the loot to be sorted and the magic bags filled to capacity. Most of that was due to Ann finding it difficult to decide which books to bring. All the remaining potions were packed since they didn¡¯t take up much space and were very valuable. Also, all the magic related books were a must. After that she had to decide on which books were the next most valuable and so on.


    The magic bags contained all the loot and valuable items while the regular bags contained the food and camping supplies. We picked out the best weapons and armor to equip ourselves with and left the rest. Ann stared longingly at the pile of books that would be left behind. ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll come back here someday and you can grab the rest.¡± I said, hugging her from behind.


    ¡°Hmm, I hope so.¡± She said wistfully, putting her hands on mine. Everything was ready and it was time to leave. We closed the doors for the final time and made sure everything was secure just in case we did come back. There were plenty of things left that we couldn¡¯t take. Before heading out, everyone gathered around the simple grave in the backyard and we had a moment of silence.


    Ann and Lin said their brother would have liked me but would have probably made me fight him as well since he was very protective of his sisters. Lux was the first to break the silence and moved toward the street. Shadow was already there waiting impatiently. The rest of us followed soon after and we started the journey to the fishing village.


    We went out the usual gate to leave the rich quarter and then followed the docks toward the east side of the city. This way we would hopefully skirt the majority of the wolf territory. There were a couple large crabs but we ignored them and they ignored us. We had tried fighting one once but its armored shell was too thick and its claws too dangerous so we gave up. Now that Ann knew a lightning spell, we might have a chance but now wasn¡¯t the time.


    I had asked if they wanted to try and sail to the fishing village since we had seen a couple of smaller boats that looked intact during previous fishing trips. Evidently the water was infested with monsters, so it was too dangerous to use small boats and none of them were sailors in any case. I didn¡¯t know much about boats either so could understand their reluctance. It did make me wonder if there were less monsters back when the city was alive.


    There were a few howls in the distance but there were no incidents on our way east. We reached the eastern wall of the city around midday. The jungle was slowly creeping over the wall but it wasn¡¯t as pronounced as the north side of the city. Lin led us to the eastern gate they had used to get into the city. The huge gate was wide open and I could just make out a road paved in stone leading out into the jungle.


    The road was quickly swallowed up by the jungle and you could barely tell that a path had been cut through it when they had first come to the city. There were the remains of a couple wagons along the road as we started off. It would have been nice to bring a cart with us to haul more of the loot but getting a cart through the thick jungle would have been tough and would have slowed us down considerably.


    We hiked along the remains of the road toward our destination. As we got farther from the city, the only way you could tell it was a road was that there was slightly less vegetation down the middle of it. We didn¡¯t have to do much clearing as the path was still mostly present that they had cut through the jungle the first time. This meant we made good time until it started getting dark and we stopped to make camp.


    We had heard plenty of activity in the surrounding jungle but so far nothing had tried attacking us. Still, it wasn¡¯t safe to sleep on the ground. Instead, we had to secure ourselves with rope to tree branches high above the jungle floor. Even then, we had to take turns keeping watch. Before that we broke out the food which consisted of smoked meat.


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    The girls made it look easy to scramble up the trees, especially Lin. I had a lot more trouble but finally managed it, causing giggles from my girlfriends. Shadow of course had no problems and managed to even beat Lin up the tree. The branches weren¡¯t very comfortable, making it hard to sleep. The jungle noise also didn¡¯t subside at night and if anything got louder. I was already missing my bed and we still had several more days to go.


    The night was uneventful and I managed to get a couple hours of sleep at least. I was still tired but ready to continue on after we ate a quick breakfast. The road was fairly flat with no big hills or valleys but the humidity and swarms of bugs within the jungle canopy made for an unpleasant trip. Once we got past the point where they started on the road then we would have to clear a path as well which I wasn¡¯t looking forward to.


    The second day included a couple encounters with the local wildlife. The first was a large boar that didn¡¯t take kindly to our intrusion. It charged us from the side but was easily dealt with by Lux. We didn¡¯t bother butchering it and kept going, wanting to get out of the jungle as soon as possible. The second was a jungle ape which was also dispatched quickly, using magic from a distance when it appeared on the road.


    While we travelled, we kept silent to avoid attracting any unwanted attention. This made it rather boring and monotonous, not that I wanted more monsters to attack us to spice things up. Beneath the jungle canopy things were dark and gloomy and sometimes fog swirled around our ankles. We were still fairly close to the sea so caught a whiff of salty air every now and then.


    We made good time that day and Lin thought we were getting close to the point where they had first entered the jungle. It would be nice if the boat would pick us up from the nearby beach, but instead we had to reach the village. We had to stop when it started getting dark and spent another unpleasant night in the jungle canopy, sleeping on branches.


    That night Lin was on a branch close to mine so we whispered back and forth. I asked her something I had been wondering about. I was curious how well they could see in the dark. I could barely see anything since so little light got through the thick canopy. She giggled and indicated they could see a little better than humans but not well enough to fight effectively in the dark, especially in the jungle.


    The next day Lin was right, and it didn¡¯t take long to reach the point where the path previously cut through the jungle ended. We took a break from the jungle by going to the beach they had landed at. It was a relief to leave the claustrophobic embrace of the jungle and see the sky for a change.


    The beach was a short stretch of pristine sand along the coast. The ocean spread before us with sea birds circling in the cloudless sky. I sat down on the sand while the girls took off their boots and waded into the water. Lux reminded them not to get too far out because of the sea monsters.


    We were roughly halfway there now but the next stretch would be harder since we had to cut a path. After resting for a while and soaking up some sunshine, it was time to wade back into the jungle. We each took turns clearing the way through the underbrush while trying to follow the old roadway. I had to be corrected a few times when I started to veer off course. It was extremely hard to see what was left of the road.


    Another two days of hard work and trudging through the jungle finally brought us to our destination. We had encountered a few more jungle beasts but nothing we couldn¡¯t handle. At this point everyone was tired, dirty, and drenched in sweat. I would kill for a bath and a real bed.


    The first clue that we were close was the appearance of crumbled stone ruins near the overgrown road. The number of ruins increased as we went on and soon we could see a break in the jungle ahead of us. We stepped out into a cleared area with the village in the distance. Ruins could be seen sticking out of the ground all over and the villagers had turned much of the ground into small fields.


    The village was small as Ann had said and consisted of small wooden huts clustered together among the ruins. The ruins of the east port did look ancient and there wasn¡¯t much left intact. The villagers had used stone blocks from the ruins to make a short, crude wall around the cleared area to separate it from the jungle. We rested on the wall while Lin went ahead to find one of the villagers.


    I stretched and enjoyed the sunshine. Shadow walked along the top of the wall, curious as ever. Somehow she had managed to keep herself clean during the trip. I sighed as I took a drink of water from one of the water skins. Our journey through the jungle was over but we still had a voyage across the water ahead of us. I just hoped I didn¡¯t get seasick.

 24 - Village

    I didn¡¯t know much about the village and didn¡¯t bother to ask so was surprised to learn it was populated by what Ann called lizard folk. Lin came back with one of the villagers in tow. She was a head taller than Lin and muscular. She had long arms and legs with an equally long tail. Her outfit consisted of a colorful fabric wrap around her chest and another wrap around her waist. She had dark green scales on her mostly exposed body and her face looked like that of a reptile.


    When she got closer I could see she had reptilian looking eyes and when she opened her mouth I could see razor sharp teeth and a long snake like tongue. ¡°It is good you made it back. You are the first to ever return from the cursed city. Oh, I see there is a new face and a couple faces are missing. I am sorry for your loss.¡± The villager said, bowing. ¡°Matt, this is the head of the village, San. San, this is Matt, he rescued us when we got in trouble.¡± Lin said, doing the introductions.


    ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you.¡± I said, bowing my head slightly. ¡°That certainly sounds like quite the story, you will have to tell us all about it while you wait for the ship. You are in luck since it should return within a few days if they are on schedule.¡± San replied, looking at me curiously. ¡°You may use the same huts as last time. Now, you must be tired so I won¡¯t bother you anymore. Rest and get cleaned up. We will have a bonfire tonight to celebrate your return.¡± San continued bowing once more before leaving.


    I had half expected her to sound like the stereotypical lizard person with hiss sounds thrown into her speech, but she sounded normal. Ann explained that they had stayed at the village to prepare before starting their expedition. Lin led the way to two huts a little way away from the rest that looked somewhat run down compared to the others. ¡°They are just some unused huts that they let us use. It¡¯s better than sleeping out in the open, especially if it rains.¡± Lin explained, seeing my curiosity.


    We left our gear in the huts and the girls dragged me down to the beach to wash off. Lux stayed to guard our possessions and would take his turn when we were done. I had to remind myself that we were carrying extremely valuable items that people would certainly kill us to have for themselves. We couldn¡¯t take any chances and even aboard the ship would need to be careful.


    The beach was just as nice as the last one but was much bigger. There were more of the lizard folk wandering around who waved to us. Their smiles were a little scary with the sharp teeth, but they seemed friendly enough. We waded out into the water and started rinsing off. We all were stripped down to our underclothes and Ann had grabbed some soap.


    Our clothes were filthy as well but we had changes of clothes in our bags. After scrubbing ourselves in the water, Lin led us away from the ocean to a well where we rinsed off the salty water. I had trouble keeping my eyes off the beautiful sisters as their white underclothes were now see through. The girls noticed me staring and both grinned mischievously while flaunting their assets.


    I gulped and tried to keep my hormones under control. The cold water from the well certainly helped. The girls giggled to each other as we returned to our huts and got dressed. Upon seeing us return, Lux went off to get clean. I wasn¡¯t sure what the sleeping arrangements would be like but evidently the sisters had already decided they would both sleep with me in one hut while Lux took the other.


    The huts were circular and had plenty of room inside for the three of us. There was place for a fire in the middle with a chimney going up toward the sloped roof. The rest of the area was empty except for our belongings. Lin laid out our blankets and the girls pulled me down. It wasn¡¯t dark yet so it seemed they wanted to fool around before the festivities began.


    Soon it was time to eat around the bonfire which was in the middle of the village. The food was grilled fish and other seafood, some of which I couldn¡¯t identify but all of it was good. The villagers were dying to hear about the cursed city and our adventures. Ann and Lin were only too happy to tell the tale, with many embellishments thrown in. San even broke out a supply of alcohol for the celebration. It was a kind of wine that they had traded for.


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    The party lasted well into the night by which time both girls were drunk. I had stayed sober as I didn¡¯t care for the wine. Even after they got tipsy, the girls made sure not to mention any of the treasures we had found which was a relief. Lux had drunk some wine but seemed to be sober as well. I guided the sisters back to our hut where they promptly passed out. I stayed awake for a while, still not fully trusting the villagers. They seemed friendly enough but I didn¡¯t want to take any chances.


    I saw Lux go into his hut a while later and we nodded at each other. I was out front, looking at the stars and the huge planet hanging in the sky. I hadn¡¯t seen the sky in a while since the jungle was so thick. I still didn¡¯t know how it could be so close but chocked it up to magic like everything else. I had asked Ann and she said the planets were called the twins. Ours was called Attax and the one hanging in the sky was called Ottax. There were several myths and legends about Ottax and even heroes being able to go there but nothing concrete.


    I didn¡¯t have any abilities I knew of that would allow me to travel to another planet, even one so close, so it was probably just another folk tale. I noticed the bonfire was dying down and the villagers were heading back to their huts. I had the feeling of being stared at and noticed two lizard folk standing in the shadows of one of the nearest huts. I waved at them but they didn¡¯t respond which started making me nervous.


    About that time Lux came out of his hut and stretched. He glanced at the two lurkers which made them turn around and leave. I breathed out a sigh of relief. ¡°I¡¯ll take first watch, you get some rest.¡± Lux advised. I readily agreed and crawled back into the hut. I slid in next to Ann who immediately grabbed onto me and started using me as a hug pillow. I didn¡¯t mind too much and soon fell asleep.


    Lux woke me up what seemed like minutes later. I yawned and somehow managed to extricate myself from Ann. Both girls were snoring peacefully. ¡°Any problems?¡± I asked as I made my way out of the hut. ¡°No, but keep a lookout. I trust most of the villagers but there are a few bad seeds.¡± Lux replied returning to his hut. I glanced around but didn¡¯t see anything. The village was quiet except for the background noises of the jungle. Ottax acted as a bright moon so there was plenty of light for me to see.


    I had asked earlier what keeps monsters away from the village. The wall they had constructed only went up to my waist so wouldn¡¯t stop much. I was told they concocted a type of monster repellent from one of the sea creatures and spread it around the wall that encircled the village. I didn¡¯t notice anything but Lin said she could smell it and that monsters didn¡¯t like the smell so stayed away. They had used some on their way to the city but then lost it with most of their belongings during the attack that separated them.


    Supposedly there was still at least one guard that patrolled the village at night but if so I couldn¡¯t see them. I made myself a chair using earth magic and sat down. The night was pleasant and the sky clear. It was hard to not stare at Ottax but I needed to focus. I managed to stay awake and nothing happened so it was an uneventful night. Lux was the first to get up followed by the sisters who were embarrassed that they had gotten drunk and made us take watch without them.


    We ate a quick breakfast and wandered around. I was somewhat tired but didn¡¯t think I would be able to fall asleep. Instead, I wanted to get a better look at the ruins. Ann and Lin accompanied me while I explored. I had also brought the map with me that showed the road between East Port and the old capital. It was supposed to be along the north side of East Port so I wanted to see if we could find it. I¡¯m sure we could have asked one of the villagers but it was something to do instead of waiting around. Plus I didn¡¯t want the villagers to know about the map.


    The ruins were a disappointment with not much to see besides stones sticking up through the dirt. They were in such a sorry state that I couldn¡¯t tell what they used to be even knowing the layout of South Port. We followed the ruins to the north and searched around until Lin finally find what had to be the old road. Like the previous road we had followed, this one was completely covered by the jungle but the trees didn¡¯t grow down the middle of the road so it created a path that could be followed.


    The road between East Port and the capital was much shorter than the one that ran between South Port and the capital. Maybe one day we would see if we could find the old capital. If it was intact like South Port then who knows what we could find. From what Ann said, it didn¡¯t sound like anyone had attempted to reach the capital since they didn¡¯t know its location. That adventure would have to wait for now though.

 25 - Ship

    That night the girls slept with me and Shadow slept with Lux again, at least that is what I assumed since she wasn¡¯t in our hut. Shadow had been being lazy and just sprawled around the huts all day, not even accompanying us when we explored the ruins. The villagers mostly ignored her although a few of the children were curious. Shadow wouldn¡¯t let them get close enough to touch her however. I idly wondered how well she would handle the ship voyage.


    Speaking of the ship, San came over to us towards the middle of the third day to let us know a ship had been spotted on the horizon. The girls had been sunning themselves while Lux and I stayed in the shade of the huts. I had gotten quite the tan from my time in South Port so didn¡¯t need anymore sun.


    The previous day had been pretty boring. After wandering around the village for a while, I decided to start studying my next spell. I figured since I had already learned the earth manipulation spell, the stone arrow spell would be a cinch. Ann had contemplated learning the earth manipulation spell after seeing what it could do but went a different direction. Instead, she started learning a telekinesis spell. It sounded interesting so I was excited to see it in action.


    We went to the beach but I couldn¡¯t see anything. Ann and Lin said they could see a black dot that must be the ship which proved once again their eyesight was better than mine. With nothing else to do, we returned to the huts. I continued flipping through the magic book inside the hut, away from prying eyes. The stone arrow spell had some similarities to earth manipulation so learning it was going fast as I had hoped.


    It took a few hours before the ship finally reached us. It set anchor in deep water parallel to the beach and dropped a rowboat into the water. I was surprised to see the ship had no sails. It didn¡¯t seem like it was a steam powered ship either so I immediately realized it must be another magical creation. Other than the lack of sails and masts, it looked pretty much like what I had envisioned a large wooden ship to look like. It even seemed to have cannons along the sides.


    As the rowboat headed for the beach, I asked Ann about the ship. She confirmed my suspicions and told me the ship had a large magic crystal which powered devices that produced jets of water and propelled the ship forward. The cannons were evidently magical in nature as well. It made me wonder how fast the ship was. It had to be faster than a regular sailing ship anyway.


    When the rowboat hit the beach, I could see it was manned by mostly lizard folk with one muscular human in the mix. They all had swords at their waists but didn¡¯t have much else for clothes besides pants that only went a little past their knees or maybe they were just this world¡¯s version of shorts. All were bare chested and looked like body builders.


    One of the lizard folk sailors clasped hands and greeted the village chief while the rest dragged the boat farther up the beach. Lux went to greet the sailors while the rest of us stayed back. After seeing the ship, I was excited to get onboard and look around. Previously I had only ever been out on a small fishing boat so this would be an interesting experience.


    I knew they would be loading up supplies and trade goods from the villagers before they would set sail, or no sail in this case I guess. They probably needed some shore leave also and it was already the afternoon so I guessed we wouldn¡¯t be leaving until tomorrow at the earliest. The lizard folk sailors ignored us in favor of the villagers but the human came over to say hi.


    He seemed to know the sisters already and grinned widely. ¡°Hah, you two are a sight for sore eyes. I¡¯ll have you know I was one of the few who bet on anyone returning alive, so I don¡¯t mind buying you a drink when we get back to port to celebrate.¡± The sailor said, eyeing the girls up and down lustily. I definitely didn¡¯t like this guy already. He seemed like he might be a few years older than me and was about my height with way more muscles. He was cleanly shaven and wore a brightly colored rag around his seemingly bald head with long scars on his broad chest.


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    ¡°Hmm, no thanks.¡± Ann said. Lin just ignored him altogether. His grin faltered and he was about to say something else when I stepped in between him and the girls. ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Matt.¡± I said holding out my hand and smiling. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m Rex. Sorry, I don¡¯t seem to remember you.¡± Rex said, frowning. ¡°That¡¯s because I met the girls on their journey to the cursed city.¡± I replied, shaking his hand. He had a firm handshake but didn¡¯t try to overpower me. ¡°Is that so¡­¡± he muttered, still frowning.


    I didn¡¯t bother explaining further and instead gestured at the ship. ¡°That¡¯s a nice looking ship, I can¡¯t wait to board her.¡± I said, changing the subject. This seemed to brighten his mood and he was about to sing its praises before he was cut off by being called back to work. I breathed a sigh of relief as both girls came up and each grabbed an arm. ¡°Thanks, but he isn¡¯t the only one that tried bothering us the last time. Luckily father and brother kept them from annoying us too much.¡± Lin said, squeezing my arm between her breasts.


    ¡°Well, who can blame them with two beauties like you around.¡± I replied teasingly. Inwardly I was worried the voyage might not be as peaceful as I thought but with Lux around hopefully it wouldn¡¯t be too bad. Both girls giggled cutely as we made our way back to the hut. During the rest of the day things were brought from the ship to the village and vice versa. There seemed to be only one rowboat, but it was a good sized one. It still took several trips however.


    That night the villagers had another bonfire party to welcome the sailors. This time I made sure the girls didn¡¯t drink too much and Shadow even slept in our hut for a change. Most of the sailors were lizard folk and I heard Lux mention that a lot of them originally came from the village. A few humans and beast folk were mixed in but the crew wasn¡¯t as big as I was expecting. I suppose since there were no sails and rigging to worry about, they didn¡¯t need as many hands on deck.


    The next morning after breakfast we packed up and were ready to go. Half the sailors had stayed to sleep in the village while the rest slept on the ship. We said our goodbyes to the village chief and got in the rowboat. I carried Shadow so she wouldn¡¯t get wet. The sailors seemed surprised that we didn¡¯t have more luggage, not realizing three of the bags were magical artifacts and stuffed to the gills with loot.


    The captain greeted us when we got onboard. We had been introduced during last night¡¯s festivities and he seemed like a nice enough guy. I couldn¡¯t really tell the lizard folk apart but the captain had a bunch of gold chains around his neck and rings on his fingers. He had also seen a few battles as there were old scars on his chest and arms but most of the crew seemed to have those. I wasn¡¯t sure if they got them battling pirates or sea monsters. I just hoped we wouldn¡¯t run into any.


    We were shown to our quarters below deck. The rooms were small with two narrow bunks to a room and not much else. The girls immediately started fighting over who would get to sleep in my room but when Lux cleared his throat, they decided to take turns. I could only smile and shake my head at their behavior. We returned to the deck to watch the village recede in the distance. The weather was good and the water calm. I couldn¡¯t really tell how fast we were going but it seemed like it was a good pace. The magical engines didn¡¯t make any noise so it was quiet except for the sailors who would occasionally yell at each other.


    I was told the engine room was off limits which was a disappointment. After watching the water for a while, we returned to our rooms. It was Ann¡¯s turn first evidently and we both studied our spell books. Since Ann was with me, Lin had grabbed Shadow. A round window let enough light in for us to see and so far the boats motion wasn¡¯t bothering me too much. If the seas got rougher, then I might have a problem.


    Ann said the trip back would take two days. Before then I should easily be able to learn the stone arrow spell but wouldn¡¯t be able to practice it on the ship. After thinking more about it, I decided I could probably just shoot the spell overboard into the water and it wouldn¡¯t cause any problems. With that in mind I continued learning the spell.

 26 - Voyage

    I slept peacefully that night. Ann had wanted to snuggle so we had pushed both bunks together. The following day the seas were rougher and I was starting to feel sick being belowdecks. Instead, I started practicing using the stone arrow spell off the back of the ship. I had managed to learn it before I went to sleep last night.


    The sky was cloudy and it was windy which was making large waves. I tried not to think about the rocking ship and instead focused on the spell. Ann was with me, but Shadow, Lin, and Lux had stayed belowdecks. Ann was fine and didn¡¯t seem to even notice the rocking. I was a little jealous. She was still working on learning her spell so just watched me and gave me pointers since she was already proficient with it.


    Like with my earth manipulation spell I was able to fire it off quickly. I wasn¡¯t confident about the aim though. The stone arrow spell materialized the stone out of thin air instead of requiring earth like the manipulation spell. That was a good thing since otherwise I wouldn¡¯t have been able to practice using it on the wooden ship.


    The sailors seemed curious about what we were doing but most left us alone. The few that came over were the non-lizard folk who tried hitting on Ann. They were all quickly shot down. Luckily none of them tried picking a fight. I didn¡¯t really blame them. The sisters were cute and were the only girls on board. We weren¡¯t given food during the voyage so were living off the rations we had brought. We had resupplied ourselves at the village and made sure to pay them handsomely for the huts and food they had given us. Lux handled that which I think he gave them some of the coins we had found.


    I wasn¡¯t familiar with the money situation in this world, but the villagers didn¡¯t seem to mind being paid with the ancient coins. They were made with gold and silver so even melted down would hold some value. A yell from the sailors interrupted my practice. Ann and I looked over to see some of the sailors pointing off into the ocean. I strained my eyes and thought I could see some spouts of water.


    The captain began yelling orders and soon the cannons on that side of the ship were manned and ready to fire. I wasn¡¯t sure what was going on. I guessed it was some kind of sea monster which was Ann¡¯s assumption as well. She said they hadn¡¯t come across one during their last trip across the water. The captain let the water spouts get closer before giving the order to open fire.


    The magical cannons were relatively quiet and I could only hear a muted popping sound as barrages of blue light flew toward the sea monster. The blasts exploded once they hit the water but must have missed as the captain ordered them to fire again. This time the sailors started cheering as the water turned a dark color. I never did see the monster but there were no more water spouts so it must have been the only one.


    I went back to practicing but then it started raining so we heading back to the room. Lin was waiting for me with a smile on her face. Ann clicked her tongue but went into the other room, leaving us alone. Lin patted my cot and I sat down. She immediately hugged me and started kissing me which led us to start fooling around. It didn¡¯t last long however as I started feeling nauseous. Lin quickly found a bucket and I vomited much to her dismay.


    The storm lasted for several hours during which time I was violently ill. It finally settled down as did my stomach. For some reason healing magic didn¡¯t do anything for motion sickness. Lin was happy that I was in better spirits but now our room smelled like vomit. I washed up and we opened the port hole to let things air out. It was getting toward evening when Ann stopped over to see how I was doing and to see if we wanted to eat together. I still wasn¡¯t feeling very hungry so Lin went over to eat with her family while I rested. She snuggled up to me during the night and Shadow even came to visit, sleeping on top of me for a change. I was the only one that had gotten sick, even Shadow had been fine. How is that fair? I cursed at the isekai gods.


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    The sun was shining on the second day and I was fully recovered. We stood by the railing and enjoyed the sunshine. It sounded like we would be getting to the port in a few more hours. I was excited to finally see real civilization. The village was nice and peaceful but didn¡¯t really count. I had to admit, I was a little nervous too. Ann and Lin had told me some things but I still wasn¡¯t sure what to expect.


    I didn¡¯t know if I was ready for big crowds of fantasy peoples. In addition to various kinds of beast folk, there were elusive elves, typical sounding dwarves, different kinds of lizard folk, and even stranger people like merfolk and arachnids (people with human like upper bodies and spider lower halves). I didn¡¯t know if I could handle seeing an arachnid in person. Just the thought of it sent shivers down my spine. Luckily it sounded like they were a rarity on the island nation we were going to.


    Soon enough one of the lizard folk sailors yelled after spotting land. I still couldn¡¯t see anything of course. Was everyone¡¯s eyesight better than mine? Did I need magical glasses? We went below to inform Lux and grab our possessions. Besides the storm and the brief sea monster attack there hadn¡¯t been any problems. Some of the sailors had been annoying but nothing major.


    When we went back to the railing I could finally see the land and even columns of smoke rising up which must be from the city. Ann and Lin were excited to get the loot turned into money. The first thing they wanted to do was buy a big house like the mansion that we could all live in. It sounded like a good idea to me. I would be following their lead since I knew very little about this world and what little I did know was obsolete by several hundred years at least.


    Before going on their expedition they had just moved around and mostly stayed at Inns. I didn¡¯t know if that meant we would be going to another city or if we would be staying in this one. It didn¡¯t really matter to me one way or the other. I saw a few jealous looks from sailors as both girls were hugging my arms excitedly. Sorry fellas, better luck next time.


    As we neared the port city, many more ships could be seen coming and going. It was a very busy port. Most looked similar to our ship but there was a wide variety of sizes and shapes and even some enormous ones at least twice the size of ours. I stared slack jawed as we passed by one of the behemoths. Our ship docked at one of the numerous wooden docks that stretched out into the water. I idly wondered if South Port had been this busy as well.


    A gang plank was lowered and we joined the line of sailors exiting the ship. It felt good being on solid land again. I didn¡¯t think I was cut out to be a sailor. We all said our goodbyes to the captain who was smiling after Lux gave him the rest of the money for the passage (half upfront and half when we arrived had been the deal). The girls wanted to show me around the city which was called West Harbor. What was it with the naming conventions of this world?


    Lux interrupted the girls and made an executive decision to find an inn first. I was carrying Shadow since the streets were crowded with people but she didn¡¯t seem to be too bothered by all the commotion. I couldn¡¯t help but be mesmerized by all the colorful clothing and strange sights. Humans seemed to be in the minority in West Harbor but I didn¡¯t get any strange or hostile looks. Ann had mentioned that slavery was outlawed but there were plenty of poor people begging for food or money by the wharf.


    Lux led the way while I gawked around like the tourist I was. There were a lot of lizard folk by the docks but I could see several different races. After we left the docks, the majority of people changed to beast folk including wolf types like the girls, cat types, and several others. Lin smacked me for staring too long at a couple cat girls. I apologized sheepishly but got smacked by Ann this time for staring at a busty bunny girl.


    We made it to the inn without me getting smacked any more times thankfully. Lux looked like he had been amused at my predicament but I must have been imagining things. The inn was one they had stayed at before called the Light House and seemed nice enough with nautical themes throughout. Lux got us two rooms, one for him and one for me and the girls. They didn¡¯t want to take turns again evidently. I had the feeling I wouldn¡¯t be getting much sleep but I was OK with that.

 27 - West Harbor (Part One)

    I woke up in the morning sweaty, with the girls snuggled up on either side of me. My body was sore and I was drained of energy. Not only was I tired from staying up most of the night, but the girls had drained me dry so to speak. I could really use a health and stamina potion. A shower would be nice as well, but the inn didn¡¯t seem to have a bath or even running water for that matter.


    The communal restroom for the inn consisted of a couple holes in the floor and a bucket of water. I had noticed when we arrived that there was a definite odor to the city. The odor wasn¡¯t really a sewage smell, it was more like a faint undertone of garbage beneath the overpowering smell of fish and the ocean. There appeared to be a sewage system beneath the city that I assumed just drained into the ocean so I was sure that helped keep the smell down. No sewage running down the streets was a definite plus.


    The first order of business was entangling myself from the sleeping beauties beside me. Ann was gently snoring while Lin was drooling. This proved to be impossible since as soon as I tried to wiggle free, both girls only hugged me tighter like sexy boa constrictors. I didn¡¯t want to wake them up, but my bladder was nearing its limit.


    ¡°Girls, can you please wake up?¡± I wheezed while being squeezed like a body pillow from both sides. ¡°Ann, Lin, time to get up.¡± I tried saying louder. I couldn¡¯t even move my arms at this point but luckily Ann finally started to wake up. She let go of me and stretched while yawning. With one arm free I was able to pry Lin off my other arm.


    I threw on a pair of pants and scurried off to relieve myself. When I came back both girls were bleary eyed but awake, sitting up in bed. ¡°Good morning. Do you two want to eat breakfast first or find somewhere to wash up?¡± I asked, smiling at their appearance. They both had messy bed hair and sleepy eyes. This did not diminish their beauty as the morning sunlight shown on their naked bodies through the one window of the room.


    We all got dressed and decided to get breakfast. Lux was already downstairs with Shadow waiting for us. The inn served breakfast which we took advantage of. ¡°Are there any bath houses in the city?¡± I asked, while munching on bread. It was good to eat real food again. ¡°Baths are only for nobles or rich merchants.¡± Ann replied. ¡°We are definitely getting a bath when we buy a house. The bath at the mansion was great.¡± Lin said wistfully. ¡°I totally agree.¡± I replied, smiling.


    ¡°The inn has a well out back we can use to clean up.¡± Ann said between mouthfuls. ¡°After that, we can show you around the city.¡± She continued. ¡°I can¡¯t wait.¡± I replied, grinning. We got towels and soap out of our bags and went behind the inn to a paved courtyard with a well in the center. The courtyard was surrounded by a wooden fence for privacy.


    The girls immediately stripped and started washing themselves using a bucket and rag. I was a little self-conscious about someone coming into the courtyard but the girls didn¡¯t seem to mind. I had already gotten the feeling from them that modesty wasn¡¯t that big of a deal in this world. I still hadn¡¯t gotten over my modern sensibilities however so kept glancing around to make sure no one was watching us.


    Lin offered to wash my back which I gladly accepted then I proceeded to wash each of the sisters backs as well. I was a little worried Lux might join us in washing up but luckily he returned to the rooms to guard our belongings. After washing ourselves, we put on clean clothes and were ready to hit the streets.


    Shadow was being lazy and went back to the rooms to sleep. The girls were going to give me the tour while Lux went off to send a letter to his friend¡¯s family about his death. He was then going to a money changer and see about trading in some of the ancient coins. The fishing village and ship captain might have been ok with the coins but we would have a harder time with them in the city. I was clueless about the city so would have to leave it up to him and the girls. I was worried it might make us look suspicious, but Ann said the coins weren¡¯t that rare to see. We just had to make sure not to drop too many at one time.


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    It would be harder to sell the rare potions we had. There weren¡¯t very many alchemists in the city evidently and no auction house. The closest auction house would be inland at a city named Ashen which was at the base of an extinct volcano. ¡°Is Ashen the capital city?¡± I asked as we traveled down what looked like the main street. ¡°No, the capital is on the east side of the island.¡± Ann replied. ¡°Let me guess, it is called East Harbor.¡± I commented dryly. ¡°Yes, how did you know?¡± Ann asked, surprised. ¡°Just a lucky guess.¡± I replied, shaking my head.


    The main streets of the city were nice and clean but I noticed the narrow side streets were covered in rubbish and trash. The buildings were made of wood with thatched roofs and painted in vibrant colors. Most were only one story but there were a few two story buildings scattered around. The clothes people wore were colorful as well although they didn¡¯t wear much. It was still a tropical climate so most men went shirtless and the women had a cloth covering their chests or something similar to a sports bra. Both wore shorts with the women sometimes wearing a short skirt. It wasn¡¯t quite as humid as it had been on the continent which was a blessing.


    Most had tanned skin and it took all my willpower not to stare at all the lovely ladies that were on the streets. Was there something in the water that made everyone good looking? It was baffling. Ann and Lin didn¡¯t lose to any of them of course. There were a few in adventurer garb like our group but most seemed like normal civilians. The few humans I saw were also good looking. I wondered how I compared but then put it out of my mind. Ann and Lin were fine with me so that was all that mattered.


    I had wondered if polygamy was the norm and Ann mentioned that it was fairly common among the beast folk but she wasn¡¯t sure about any of the other races. We had all our gear with us since it was too risky to leave it in our room. It was decided that we would be staying at the inn for a week while we got things sorted out. Today we were just window shopping since Lux had all our money. The thought had crossed my mind that the family could ditch me at any time, but I didn¡¯t think they were that kind of people. I decided to put my trust in them and hope for the best.


    Both girls showed me their favorite stores. Ann¡¯s of course was the book store while Lin liked the weapon shop. Walking around town and in the stores made me realize I still had work to do. I could speak the common language but couldn¡¯t read it. Aside from magical texts, the books were all in common as were the signs. The store signs had pictures in addition to writing so I could still figure out what they sold easy enough.


    I would have to ask Ann for some more lessons. I needed to decide what spell I wanted to learn next as well. Ann was still working on telekinesis which was going more slowly than she liked. Here I was in another world and still had to study constantly. At least the subject matter was interesting, and Ann was a good teacher.


    There wasn¡¯t much to the city, no grand buildings or castles. It was similar to South Port in that it was surrounded by a jungle but this jungle was pretty tame from what the girls told me. There were no dangerous beasts unless you got very deep into it and even then an average adventurer would have no trouble with them. Ann mentioned something about mana density but I would have to take her word for it. The land around the city had been cleared for farming and the jungle started at the edges of the fields.


    After wandering around for a while we met back up with Lux and Shadow at the inn and went to find someplace to eat. The city¡¯s specialty was sea food but I was kind of sick of that and wanted something different. I had wondered why the ship would bother hauling sea food from the fishing village. Ann explained they were rare fish but didn¡¯t know all the details. ¡°Is there a restaurant that serves something besides sea food?¡± I asked hopefully. ¡°I know a place!¡± Lin exclaimed and we all followed her.


    She led us to a seedy looking establishment that was a bar/eatery. When we went inside we got a few stares from the rough looking customers but they soon ignored us and went back to what they were doing. ¡°They serve the best meat pies here.¡± Lin said happily. I wasn¡¯t sure what kind of meat was in the meat pies but figured it was better not to ask. After we sat down and ordered, Lux informed us that he had successfully changed part of our pile of coins. Between the mansions and stores we had scavenged, we had found a good amount.


    To afford the size of house we wanted, we would need to sell off the potions or some of our other loot. The best place seemed to be an auction where we wouldn¡¯t attract as much notice. That meant we would need to prepare to travel to Ashen. There was a large auction house at East Harbor as well but Ashen was closer and just as good according to Lux. I didn¡¯t mind and was kind of excited to see Ashen. Lin excitedly mentioned that there were hot springs. My imagination was kicked into overdrive at the mention of hot springs. Maybe we would buy a house in Ashen instead.

 28 - West Harbor (Part Two)

    Since we had already paid to stay at the inn for a week we used the time to look around and prepare for the trip. West Harbor was only about half the size of the cursed city and a lot of the trade goods that arrived were sent inland. There were still a variety of shops to look at and with spending money we did more than look this time.


    A couple days were spent shopping and relaxing. Lux went around the bars to see if there was any juicy gossip but didn¡¯t find out much. There was talk of some new ruins being discovered on the island but that was about it. A few people recognized Lux and the girls and said hello but it didn¡¯t seem like they had any real friends here.


    I still hadn¡¯t figured out what spell to try next. All of the books were still in the storage bag and I wanted to peruse them before deciding on anything. I wasn¡¯t sure how the magical storage bags worked but it was possible to take out certain titles. The problem was I didn¡¯t know what the titles were or what I wanted. Instead I tried helping Ann with her spell but wasn¡¯t very helpful and Ann shooed me away.


    I hadn¡¯t exactly mastered the stone arrow spell and still had trouble aiming. So instead of bothering Ann, I had Lin accompany me to the jungle for some target practice. She had her bow to do a little practice shooting of her own. ¡°Follow me, I know a good spot. I used to practice here on occasion.¡± Lin said, guiding me to the edge of the forest. Shadow must have been bored so went with us for a change, scampering ahead.


    I followed her to a small clearing close to the edge of the jungle. The foliage was about waist height, so we did some cutting with our swords first. With that done, we each picked a tree and started practicing. It was clear Lin didn¡¯t really need any practice as she was an expert shot. All of her arrows stuck in the tree in a close groupings. Shadow sat down and watched us for a while before exploring the area. I warned her not to go too far but she only meowed at me.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen any other cats in West Harbor. Are they rare?¡± I asked. I had seen a few stray dogs running around and the occasional normal sized rat but that was it. ¡°There have been others that have made pets out of jungle panthers, but you don¡¯t see them very often.¡± Lin said, nocking another arrow. ¡°Wait, do you think Shadow is a panther?¡± I asked, surprised. ¡°She¡¯s not?¡± Lin replied, confused. ¡°No, I think she is just a regular house cat. She may be starting to get a little bigger than normal for some reason, but I don¡¯t think she will get as big as a panther.¡± I explained.


    Now that I thought about it, I couldn¡¯t even be certain Shadow came from my world. I had chocked up the differences to the same weird magic that modified my body and mind but they could also be explained by her not being from Earth. It was worth thinking about at least but wouldn¡¯t really change anything unless she suddenly started talking or something. About that time Shadow came back and meowed at us before laying down in the sunshine. We both looked at her and shrugged our shoulders before continuing to practice.


    We had a couple more practice sessions during the week and I was finally feeling pretty confident about my aim. I had also enjoyed my one-on-one time with Lin (Shadow didn¡¯t count). We had mostly talked about inconsequential things. She asked me more about Earth and I asked about the island. I don¡¯t think she quite believed everything I told her which was amusing.


    I still wasn¡¯t clear on how big the island was and hadn¡¯t seen a map of it yet. Ann had mentioned maps were hard to come by. In addition to the three cities I had previously heard about, there were various towns and villages scattered around. There was a fourth large city along the north side of the island called Lake City because it was situated on a freshwater lake. I was just glad it wasn¡¯t called North Harbor.


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    I thought it would be fun to visit all the cities eventually. Well maintained roads connected everything, so it wasn¡¯t too hard to get around. You could also take a ship from East Harbor to West Harbor, but it was cheaper to take the land route if you weren¡¯t in a hurry. Lin said the north coast of the island had sheer cliffs so there was no dock there. Instead of jungle, the north had grasslands and was where the majority of farming was done.


    We weren¡¯t hurting for money so planned on renting a carriage to get us to Ashen. The trip would take us about a day and a half. There wasn¡¯t much we needed to do to get ready, mostly stocking up on more rations. The girls thought we all needed new clothes which is what brought us to a frilly looking clothing store. It wasn¡¯t the kind of place I would normally go into but the girls insisted it was the best clothing store in town.


    I had to admit our old clothes were a bit tattered and stained. Also the ones we had scavenged in the cursed city were no longer in fashion evidently. Lux didn¡¯t look like he wanted to be there either but went along with his daughters wishes. Shadow had come along for a change and was soon prowling the store. A friendly looking Elven store clerk welcomed us in. I had noticed a few elves around town, but they seemed to be in the minority like humans.


    She had golden hair and was just as good looking as all the other women I had seen around town although I thought Ann and Lin had her beat. ¡°We would like new clothes for all of us.¡± Ann said enthusiastically. Lin had already started perusing the racks of colorful clothing. I didn¡¯t really like to wear bright colors so was a little nervous about what they would pick for me.


    The girls went first while Lux and I just sat down on a bench that was in the corner and watched helplessly. ¡°Which one do you like better?¡± Ann asked, holding up clothes right before Lin came up and asked the same thing. I knew the dreaded question would come sooner or later. They were all summery dresses in different vibrant colors which all looked the same to me. I never did have much of a fashion sense so just picked ones at random.


    They seemed happy with my choices and went back to the racks. After picking an armful each, they went to the changing room and gave Lux and I an impromptu fashion show. It didn¡¯t really matter which ones they picked as they looked good in anything as far as I was concerned. When the girls finished, then it was my turn. Clothing had already been picked out by the pair for me to try on, so I just sighed and got on with it.


    Ann and Lin squealed with delight as I changed into the different outfits. They couldn¡¯t decide which one was better so decided to get all of them for me. I couldn¡¯t help noticing Lux smirking but soon it was his turn. He looked highly embarrassed as the girls had him try on the clothes and spin around in front of them. I tried to hide my amusement, but I think some of it leaked out as I saw him glaring at me.


    I coughed and went to find Shadow. In the end we spent a good chunk of change at the store, but the girls were all smiles. Their clothes had to be modified for their tails and would be picked up tomorrow. Unfortunately, I got the privilege of wearing a set out of the store. It consisted of a bright yellow open vest which showed off my bare chest with matching yellow cargo like shorts. I felt like I stood out a little too much and was glad my physique had been improved upon coming to this world or I would be even more embarrassed.


    After we picked up the clothing the following day we would be taking off for Ashen. Lux had already lined up a ride for us. I asked about any dangerous beasts or bandits along the road but it sounded pretty safe. The roads were patrolled regularly and bandit attacks were rare. I thought we could handle ourselves well enough but I didn¡¯t have any experience killing people. I hoped I never did get any experience with that particular subject.

 29 - Road Trip (Part One)

    The day of our departure arrived and we were waiting by the east gate of the city for our transportation. Something had been bothering me since the previous day however. ¡°Do you get the feeling we¡¯re being watched?¡± I whispered to Ann. ¡°You just now noticed? We¡¯ve been spied on for the last few days?¡± Lin responded nonchalantly. I was once again reminded how much worse my senses were than my girlfriends.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t anyone say anything?¡± I asked trying not to glance around. ¡°It¡¯s not like we can do anything about it.¡± Lin replied. ¡°We didn¡¯t want to worry you either.¡± Ann interjected, hugging my arm. There were only a couple reasons I could think of why someone would be interested in us. Either someone noticed Lux and the ancient coins, or someone knew about the expedition.


    ¡°Did anyone know about you going to the cursed city?¡± I asked, trying not to get distracted by the sensation of Ann rubbing up against me. ¡°Well, it wasn¡¯t exactly a secret, but we didn¡¯t advertise it either.¡± Ann replied. ¡°If they try anything, they¡¯ll regret it.¡± Lin smiled evilly, playing with her dagger.


    Lux grunted as our coach arrived. There was regular transportation between the cities of the island, but he had splurged and rented a private one just for us. It had an enclosed compartment with a couple windows to look out and was pulled by a horse like creature with six legs. I wasn¡¯t that familiar with horses but thought this beast was probably twice the size of a regular horse. Ann called it a Gazax.


    The interior was spacious with soft cushions to sit on. There was a bench on either side with the door to get in at the back. The driver sat on a shaded platform at the front. He looked to be a regular human in his 30¡¯s. There was even an opening at the front to talk to the driver. None of the window openings had glass but they could be shut using sliding wood panels. Luggage could be secured to the top of the coach but since we didn¡¯t have much thanks to the magical bags, we stored everything inside.


    The girls sat on either side of me along one side while Lux sat on the other with our bags and gear. Shadow was snuggled up against Lux¡¯s leg which I thought was amusing. I was still a little nervous about being watched but Lin was right that we couldn¡¯t do much about it and didn¡¯t even know what their intentions were. I had a bad feeling about the trip and just wanted to get to Ashen safely.


    As we started off, I was surprised at the speed of the Gazax. The road was flat and well maintained but the wooden wheels of the coach still found all the bumps. The coach didn¡¯t seem to have much for suspension which made for a rough ride. The padded seats helped but I wasn¡¯t liking it already and saw a sore posterior in my future. I just hoped I didn¡¯t get car sick or coach sick I guess.


    I tried to relax and watch the trees speed past. The area on each side of the road had been cleared back to make a barrier between the jungle and the road. Ann pulled out her magical tome and continued studying the telekinesis spell. Lin looked like she was going to fall asleep while leaning on my shoulder. Lux sat with his arms crossed and stared straight ahead with a scowl on his face which was a little disconcerting.


    We had started out in the morning and continued until nightfall with only a couple breaks during the day. As I thought, I was stiff and sore as I got out. We had stopped for the night at a popular rest spot which looked like a park. There was a large clearing with several circles of stone for campfires scattered around and even a few wooden picnic tables. We weren¡¯t the first ones there as two other groups were already set up.


    One group was a convoy of three wagons loaded with freight in wooden boxes and the other was a passenger carriage not quite as fancy as ours. We ignored them and started a fire going on the other side of the clearing while our driver took care of the Gazax. I helped the girls get a meal going while Lux kept a watchful eye on the other groups. Shadow scampered around, exploring the clearing.


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    We would be sleeping in tents we had brought, one for Lux and a larger one for me and the girls. I wasn¡¯t sure which Shadow would pick. It looked like the driver had his own small tent he was setting up. Food was shared with the driver who was appreciative and then we decided on who would be keeping watch. Lin volunteered to go first since she had napped most of the way.


    The night was uneventful and we got an early start in the morning, beating the other groups. Ann thought we should arrive by noon which was good news. Around midmorning our luck changed. Shadow suddenly started hissing and the girls looked at Lux who started putting on his gear. The girls grabbed theirs as well. ¡°Somethings wrong, we can smell it.¡± Ann explained. I couldn¡¯t smell anything unusual but quickly put on my sword belt and other gear and got prepared. For what, I had no idea.


    The coach suddenly lurched to the side and the driver started yelling. The coach shuddered again and started tipping over. Lux turtled up with Ann while I grabbed Lin and jumped out the back. Or that is what I would like to say but it was actually Lin that grabbed me and threw me out the back while she jumped after me. I didn¡¯t know what was going on, but immediately put up an earth wall around Lin and I after we hit the ground.


    I could hear several thumping sounds hitting the earth wall and realized we were being pelted by arrows. Lin stood up and returned fire. I peered over the wall and saw the wreckage of the coach blow outward as Lux stood up and freed himself and Ann. We were surrounded on two sides as enemies were firing at us from the treeline on either side of the road. I started firing stone arrows at the opposite side of the road from Lin to give Lux and Ann time to get to safety.


    It looked like the Gazax had broken free and was running off down the road, trailing pieces of the wreckage that were still tied to it. I didn¡¯t see the driver or Shadow anywhere but didn¡¯t have time to worry about them at the moment. I shook my head to clear it and extended the wall closer to Ann and Lux who ducked behind it and came up to us. Ann used healing on everyone just in case while I continued shooting into the trees. I couldn¡¯t tell if I hit anything or not but soon the arrows ceased firing at us. I glanced over and could see Lin had hit at least one of the bad guys and the arrows had ceased on her side as well.


    Then laughing could be heard coming from Lin¡¯s side which then started on my side as well as people started slowly coming out of the jungle. My first thought was these weren¡¯t your typical bandits. Instead of the mismatched rusty armor that I envisioned bandits to wear, there were gleaming pieces of armor and high-quality weapons. They looked more like mercenaries than bandits which was probably the case.


    I had expected the old tree across the road trick, but these guys weren¡¯t messing around and had fully intended to kill us first then loot our dead bodies. I counted about five on each side but there could be more hiding in the jungle. ¡°Well done. Now, throw down your weapons and valuables and we might let you live.¡± A large cat kin said from Lin¡¯s side of the road. He wasn¡¯t quite as large as Lux but still had plenty of muscles.


    We stayed crouched behind the wall and I nodded to Ann who grinned and winked at me. She charged up her spell and gave our answer to the supposed leader of the mercenaries. She unleashed a powered up lightning spell at the cat kin who had no chance at dodging. The spell hit him straight in the chest and burned a hole straight through his body. The discharge also affected his friends that were standing on either side of him who were zapped and left stunned.


    The mercenaries probably knew of everyone¡¯s abilities except me but weren¡¯t aware of Ann¡¯s new spells. Lin quickly finished off the two mercs who had not been stunned by the lightning but were still staring with wide eyes and shocked expressions at their dead leader. She then moved on to kill the remaining two with an arrow to their heads while I released the wind blade spell I had been charging up.


    Lux stood up with his shield to cover the rest of us as the ones on my side started firing arrows again. My wind blade spell hit two of them who had their legs cut off by the charged up spell. I shot stone arrows at the remaining three but they ran back into the jungle so I didn¡¯t think I hit them. Then a concussive force hit the earth wall, destroying the wall and throwing Lin backward.


    Ann crawled over and started healing her immediately. ¡°That must be what hit the coach. Looks like they have a mage hiding in the trees.¡± Lux said calmly, covering Ann while she worked on Lin. I couldn¡¯t tell where the shot had come from or what spell it might be. All I knew was that we were sitting ducks since my earth wall was no match for the force of the spell.

 30 - Road Trip (Part Two)

    I had to think. The screams from the mercs that had their legs cut off didn¡¯t help me concentrate. I was afraid my wind blade wouldn¡¯t penetrate their armor so had aimed for their legs instead. The sounds reminded me of what I had done and bile rose up in my throat. I forced it back down, it was them or me. I didn¡¯t have time to feel bad for my enemies, not if I wanted to live. The first thing I did was make the walls higher to better shield us from the mage¡¯s vision. I then called the family over for a quick planning session. Lin was up but still groggy.


    ¡°Anyone have any great ideas for how to handle that mage?¡± I asked hopefully. Just then the wall blew apart where Lux had been standing a minute ago, underscoring our problem. ¡°I think I could take one of the blasts on my shield.¡± Lux said, not sounding too certain. ¡°We need to do something before the archers Matt scared off get their courage back and start firing at us again.¡± Ann said worriedly.


    ¡°We need to make it to the trees if we are going to have a chance. Ann and I will follow behind Lux and make a dash for the jungle. If Lux can block at least one shot, then we will have enough time to make it before they can fire again. Lin, you stay here and guard our backs in case the archers come back.¡± I said, laying out the rough plan I had thought up.


    I made an arrow slit in the wall for Lin to watch the other side while we concentrated on the mage. It sounded like everyone was ok with the plan. I could tell Lin would rather come with us, but she was still unsteady on her feet so didn¡¯t argue. Before making our charge, Ann cast some spells on us to increase our speed and one on Lux to increase his defense.


    Yellow light enveloped us and my skin tingled like it always did when Ann cast buffing spells. I removed the wall in front of us and Lux charged forward, holding his shield in front of him. Ann and I followed behind, trying to keep Lux between us and the trees in front of us. We knew the general area that the spells had come from so headed for it.


    We didn¡¯t get very far before a blast tore into Lux. He tried bracing himself but was still blown backwards, the shield dented and blown out of his hands. We avoided him as he tumbled on the ground, but it looked like he was ok. Ann and I put some space between us and raced for the jungle. We made it safely and ducked behind some trees to catch our breath.


    Now that they were at the edge of the forest it was easy to see several paths of destruction from the spell. I unsheathed my sword and slowly crept toward the mage. Ann started to build up a spell as she followed me. Soon I could hear cursing. The vegetation in the surrounding area had been mangled from the fighting so I had a clear view of the mage and his two escorts standing on a small hill with a good view of the road.


    He immediately pointed in my direction. ¡°Get down!¡± I yelled to Ann as I dropped to the ground. The spell went over my head and hit the tree behind me which sent splinters everywhere. I grunted in pain as several pieces hit me. I got up again and charged forward. His two protectors already had their swords out, ready for me.


    I could hear Ann following behind me. ¡°I¡¯ll handle these two, you take out the mage.¡± I said while shooting stone arrows at my opponents. One of them had a shield which he used to block my attacks but the other didn¡¯t. He took several hits to his body and fell backwards. I could hear Ann release her spell but concentrated on the guard with the shield.


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    I poured mana into the sword and swung it at him. The guard still had the shield up and expected to block the sword like he blocked the stone arrows. He didn¡¯t anticipate me having a magical sword however. The sword sliced right through the shield and his arm with little resistance before going halfway through his chest. As I pulled the sword out, he crumpled to the ground spraying blood everywhere.


    I almost puked but held on to check on the other guard and the mage. Luckily Ann¡¯s spell had already fried him and the guard was definitely dead. With no more enemies in sight I bent over and emptied my stomach. Ann patted my back while keeping an eye out. I was a little embarrassed but didn¡¯t think Ann would hold it against me.


    She took a towel out of her bag and helped wipe some of the blood off me and pulled the splinters out of my back. She had some splinters in her legs as well which I helped her with. Lux came up to us not long after and surveyed the scene. ¡°Good work.¡± Was all he said before heading back to Lin. I continued cleaning up while Ann checked the bodies. Once the splinters were out, I used healing on myself which made me feel a lot better.


    Ann found a few coins but nothing else of interest. We then went back and checked the bodies on either side of the road. It seemed the legless soldiers had bled out before anyone got to them. I was hoping for some clue as to who was after us but no such luck. The leader had a little bag of coins and some rings that we helped ourselves to but that was it. None of them seemed to have magical equipment, not even the mage. He had a robe which had been ruined in the lightning blast but no wand or staff.


    Lin and Lux went to chase down the remaining mercenaries so hopefully they would be able to capture one of them alive. I was relieved to see Shadow show herself after the fighting had died down. I didn¡¯t know where she had been hiding but it didn¡¯t look like she had even received a scratch. We went to check on the driver, but he had taken a couple of arrows to the chest and was already dead. I felt bad but there wasn¡¯t anything we could do but report the incident when we reached Ashen.


    Ann¡¯s ears perked up and she looked down the road in the direction we had come from. I followed her gaze and could see dust in the distance and a few minutes later the passenger coach that had been at the rest stop sped by, slowing slightly to get around the wreck of our coach before speeding up again. I tried waving at the driver to get them to stop but was ignored.


    ¡°They probably wouldn¡¯t have room for us anyway.¡± Ann remarked, sitting down on the grass. ¡°It¡¯s not that far to Ashen so we should be able to reach it before dark without too much trouble.¡± She continued. We waited a little while until Lux and Lin returned with frowns on their faces. ¡°Did you find them?¡± I asked. ¡°Of course we found them, but they refused to surrender and fought to the last man.¡± She sighed. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped.¡± Ann said, getting up.


    We were about to start walking when more dust could be seen in the distance. It was the convoy of wagons which pulled up and stopped by the wrecked coach. ¡°Looks like you found some trouble.¡± The driver said jovially while guards in the back of the wagon eyed us warily. ¡°You could say that.¡± Lux replied. Some of the guards jumped down to inspect the bodies while we waited, trying to look nonthreatening.


    ¡°Looks like they are all from the Red Fang Mercenary Company.¡± One of the guards reported. I had noticed the men we killed all had red marks on their armor but I didn¡¯t know what it signified. That seemed to mollify the guards who relaxed. The mercenaries must have a bad reputation or something. I would ask the girls if they knew anything later. ¡°Well, I can give you a lift the rest of the way to Ashen for a few coins if you like.¡± The driver reported. We all looked at each other before Lux grunted and went to negotiate the fare. ¡°Greedy merchants.¡± Lin growled under her breath. We weren¡¯t exactly poor and it would beat walking so I didn¡¯t mind.


    With the deal worked out, we all found empty spots in one of the wagons. I grabbed Shadow to make sure she wasn¡¯t left behind. As we started moving, I realized how wonderfully smooth the ride in our coach had been compared to the wagons. I immediately regretted our decision and thought a stroll through the woods would be a nice change of pace about now.

 31 - Ashen

    As the scene of the battle receded into the distance, I once again felt bad about the dead driver. I had wanted to take his body with us but there was no room. We were barely able to squeeze on board the wagons the way it was. Instead, I made a simple grave using my magic so animals wouldn¡¯t disturb the body. Once we reached Ashen, we would inform the authorities and hopefully they would send someone to investigate and hopefully retrieve the body for a proper burial.


    We reached the outskirts of Ashen by noon. I thought we might run into the loose Gazax but it must have taken off into the jungle. We had been slowing traveling uphill for a while and I could catch glimpses of the volcano through the trees every now and then. Supposedly it was extinct, but I couldn¡¯t quite bring myself to believe that. When we broke out of the trees I could see it much better as it rose up into the sky with the top obscured by smoke or haze, I couldn¡¯t be sure. It was mostly barren rock with clumps of greenery here and there along its sides.


    Sitting at the base of the old volcano was the city of Ashen. The jungle stopped a few miles away from the city with rough, boulder strewn ground leading up to it. Farmers had cultivated small chunks of land between the larger rocks. There was no wall around the city and no real planning from the look of it. Buildings seemed to be scattered haphazardly around and it appeared to be roughly twice the size of West Harbor.


    Shadow had been laying in my lap the whole time and I gently picked her up as we stopped by the checkpoint leading into the city. I gingerly made my way down from the wagon, feeling like an old man. It felt like my whole body was sore from the rough ride. The girls and Lux seemed to be perfectly fine which only made me sigh louder. Lux and the merchant went up to the guards while I hung back with the girls.


    I didn¡¯t have any identification but it didn¡¯t sound like that would be necessary. We would just need to pay an entry fee to get into the city. The main priority was informing the guards about the ambush by the mercenaries and the death of their driver. Lux beckoned us over as we each had to give statements to the guards about what happened. We got some weird looks, especially me since I was still covered in dried blood. The rest were just dirty and all our clothes were a little tattered from the battle.


    The guards wore leather armor with chain mail and held spears. One was an older human with a beard while the other was a blonde-haired elf. I couldn¡¯t tell how old he was and idly wondered if they lived a really long time like in the fantasy stories back on Earth. They separated us and talked to us one at a time. I was a little nervous talking to the guards although they seemed friendly enough.


    It didn¡¯t take long and after the guards were satisfied we continued into the city, parting ways with the merchant. The guards seemed to believe us, especially after the merchant¡¯s testimony. Since the mercenaries weren¡¯t actually bandits with bounties on their heads, we wouldn¡¯t be getting any rewards. We still didn¡¯t know who had hired them, but Lux knew some people in town and would ask around. I kept on the lookout for anyone with the mark of the Red Fang but so far there was nothing.


    Our next priority was going to the auction house. The sooner we handed over the items for the auction the safer we would be. ¡°After the auction house, I want to find the nicest inn and take a long hot bath.¡± Ann said tiredly. ¡°Sounds good to me, any suggestions?¡± I asked. ¡°We never had enough money for any of the fancy inns so I¡¯m not sure. We¡¯ll have to ask around.¡± Linn replied. ¡°I¡¯m sure someone at the auction house can recommend a good place.¡± Ann continued. ¡°It has to have a hot spring though.¡± Lin commented.


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    We followed Lux who was the only one that knew where the auction was. The streets twisted and turned, and I was soon hopelessly lost. The buildings were similar to West Harbor except the roofs had wooden shingles instead of thatch. Everything was just as colorful including the clothing of the pedestrians. With a name like Ashen, I half expected the houses to be painted in shades of grey. There were slightly more humans than I had noticed in West Harbor and again everyone was good looking.


    I carefully avoided staring at a gorgeous tanned brunette that we passed since I could tell Ann and Linn were watching me like hawks. ¡°Definitely something in the water.¡± I mumbled. I was a little afraid I wouldn¡¯t measure up to the standards of this new world. Sure, my physique had been improved but it was still my original body and face which I thought was pretty average. I tried to banish my insecurities as Lux led us to a large three-story brick building.


    There were lizard folk guards in heavy armor on either side of the entrance that eyed our shabby appearance suspiciously. Lux ignored them and walked inside with thankfully no reaction from the guards. The exterior was fairly plain, but once we got inside there were decorations and finery on display everywhere. There was a large reception area with a stone counter that we approached.


    Lux explained our purpose and we were ushered into a side room by the smiling cat girl receptionist. ¡°Please wait here. We will have an appraiser look at your items shortly.¡± The receptionist bowed before closing the door and returning to her counter. There was a large ornate table in the middle of the room with plush couches along the sides. We started taking out the items that would go in the auction and putting them on the table.


    Previously we had decided what would sell in the first auction. We would keep a few of the health potions for ourselves and the girls kept a couple of the birth control potions. Half of the remaining potions would go in the auction. Half the gems and jewelry would also go in the auction. Depending on what the summoning lightning rod was made of, it would be put up for auction as well.


    With any luck, the perpetrators would think this was all our loot and leave us alone. Then we would sell the remainder in a future auction. We also had a few ornate weapons that would go in the next auction. The hope was the first auction would give us an idea of what things were selling for. If things went too low then we could try selling the next batch in the auction at East Harbor.


    I had never been to an auction before so was looking forward to it. According to the sign by the reception desk the next auction would be in two weeks. Lin had to read the sign for me as I still couldn¡¯t read common very well. I would have to redouble my studying. I really wanted a magical bag to match the others so maybe I could find one at the auction. Ann made it sound like I would be unlikely to find something like that at one of the stores in town.


    After about 15 minutes an elderly looking dwarf in a fancy dark colored suit came in. I assumed it was a dwarf anyway by his short height, long beard, and muscular body. He had a monocle over one eye that shimmered so I assumed it was some kind of magical tool. The receptionist had worn a kind of business suit as well which contrasted greatly with the casual skimpy clothing of the people on the streets.


    ¡°I hear you have some items you wish to place in our next auction.¡± The dwarf said as he entered. When he got close to the table he did something with his hands and the table lowered to his height. ¡°If they pass muster then there shouldn¡¯t be a problem. We only accept the highest quality items in the auction.¡± The dwarf continued. His eyes seemed to light up after seeing what we had laid out for him.

 32 - Hot Spring

    ¡°Hmmm. What is this? Amazing! Wonderful!¡± The dwarf muttered as he started looking through our treasures. We all sat on one of the couches, smugly watching him work. Everyone except Shadow of course, she was asleep on Linn¡¯s lap. They probably hadn¡¯t seen this many old empire items in quite a while. ¡°Where did you find this wonderful collection?¡± The dwarf asked, not pausing his inspection of the loot. ¡°We just got lucky.¡± I answered, winking at the girls who smiled in return.


    We weren¡¯t about to disclose that we had gotten them from the cursed city. It was possible we may go back someday and didn¡¯t want a rush of people descending on the city to pick our honey hole clean. I was sure some would put two and two together and figure it out but there was no need to advertise it. ¡°You have a selection of perfectly preserved high grade potions, old empire jewelry, and exquisite gems. Those pale in comparison to this however.¡± The dwarf said, indicating the lightning rod.


    ¡°We weren¡¯t sure what that was made of, but it seemed valuable.¡± Ann replied. ¡°It is indeed. What you have here is a rod of orichalcum with a core of mythril. This could be forged into legendary weapons if you found the right smith.¡± The dwarf answered, stroking the lightning rod creepily. I cleared my throat and the dwarf snapped out of his daze, removing his hand from the orichalcum treasure.


    ¡°That is good news.¡± I said, trying to sound excited. I had heard of the fantasy metals but didn¡¯t know how rare they were in this world or their properties. Lux and the girls had huge smiles on their faces so they must be worth a pretty penny. I didn¡¯t want to sound like an idiot in front of the dwarf so would ask Ann later. It was an impressive piece of metal. It was longer than the table and as thick as my forearm. I had to chuckle when taking it out of the bag as it made me feel like a magician performing a magic trick.


    ¡°So, I take it that you find our items acceptable for the auction.¡± I continued, smiling along. ¡°Of course! I don¡¯t mind telling you that they will undoubtably be the star of the auction.¡± The dwarf replied, looking like he wanted to continue fondling the lightning rod. After that the receptionist returned and we had to fill out some paperwork and discussed the finer details of the auction. The auction house would of course take their expected percentages and fees. On the plus side they were giving us a V.I.P. booth to view the auction.


    I grabbed a pamphlet that detailed the items that were already scheduled for the auction. The list would be finalized one week before the auction date. I would have one of the girls read it to me later. My fingers were crossed that there was a magic bag on the list. We left the auction house feeling pretty good. The receptionist had even pointed us in the direction of a good inn so that was where we were headed next.


    Lux led the way once again through the confusing streets. I was glad someone knew where to go. I doubt I could have found the place, even with the directions from the receptionist. Soon we found ourselves in front of the Ash Inn. I rolled my eyes as we walked into the establishment. It did look rather up scale from the outside, notwithstanding the horrible name.


    The inside was even fancier, it was good to be rich. We booked the usual two rooms although the beast kin lady behind the counter acted like we wouldn¡¯t be able to afford it before Lux plopped down enough coins to silence her. I suppose our appearance left much to be desired. A nice soak and a set of clean clothes would alleviate that problem.


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    The rooms were huge and luxuriant as to be expected from the hefty price. Shadow immediately jumped onto the oversized bed and made herself comfortable. She meowed and looked at me, seeming to say where are you going to sleep. I chuckled and headed for the attached master bathroom. There was a good sized tub and a sink with tile flooring. It was time to clean off before heading for the hot spring. I was so filthy that I wanted a prewash before going to the actual hot spring, especially at such a fancy establishment.


    The girls were in agreement and decided to share the bath with me. I wasn¡¯t sure how to fill the tub so Ann had to show me how the magic crystal controls worked. The tub was big enough for all three of us so we took turns washing each other¡¯s backs. We didn¡¯t stay in long as we had just wanted to wash before heading to the hot spring to soak.


    The hot spring facility was located behind the inn through a connecting hallway. It was mixed bathing evidently as there were no separate baths for men and women. I had somewhat expected this but was still shy and had to be ushered in by the girls. Shadow had stayed curled up on the bed and it looked like Lux had beat us to the hot spring. It was a shock to see the musclehead relaxing in the water with a towel over his head. Evidently we didn¡¯t have to worry about thieves at the inn and Lux mentioned it would be safe to leave our belongings in the room.


    I carefully looked away, not wanting to be scarred for life. Speaking of scars, he had quite a few. The place was mostly empty at this time of day with only a couple other people besides us. The girls and I found a spot and slipped into the water. I let a sigh escape my lips as the heat soaked into my body. This was more like it.


    I glanced over and the girls were also sighing in contentment. We had submerged ourselves with only our heads poking out of the steaming water. My sore body slowly relaxed and I could feel the girls scoot closer to me on either side. Their naked bodies were pressed up against mine with their heads on my shoulders. If this wasn¡¯t heaven, I didn¡¯t know what was.


    They had each put their hair up into buns to keep it out of the water, which exposed their delicate necks. I put my arms around the girls, giving each one a kiss. The girls giggled cutely at my affection. I could definitely get used to this. Relaxing, I looked around at the hot spring. We were currently in the main pool which was inside but there was also an outside pool you could get into. I would have to try it later. There were several smaller pools with different temperatures or so we were told and they even had a sauna room. I didn¡¯t know how to tell the difference between the smaller pools besides just testing the water but was content to stay in the large pool.


    The other guests were at the opposite end of the large pool and looked to be a couple who were relaxing together. A steward stood by the door in case any of the guests required anything. The hot spring was as upscale as the inn with statues of marine life here and there and even a fountain in the corner. As I relaxed, I idly wondered how expensive it would be to have a hot spring installed in our future mansion estate. I was probably getting ahead of myself, but it was fun to dream.


    I wanted to stay in longer but was getting kind of lightheaded from the heat so decided it was time to get out. I was also starting to get hungry. The girls looked kind of red and agreed it was time to cool off. Lux had beat us in and left before us as well. We grabbed our clothes and headed back to the room. Instead of putting them on, the girls just wrapped a towel around their torsos, leaving their chests exposed. It was distracting to say the least. If you¡¯ve got it, flaunt it I guess. We would definitely be back, hopefully every day that we stayed at the inn. Too bad Shadow didn¡¯t like water, she didn¡¯t know what she was missing.

 33 - Auction

    The two weeks waiting for the auction flew by. Ann and Lin gave me a tour of the confusing city and we bought some clothes along with doing some window shopping. Ann was right and there were no magic bags to be found and unfortunately the auction didn¡¯t list any either. On our walks through the city, we had quickly noticed that we were once more being followed.


    This time the members of Red Fang didn¡¯t try to hide themselves and just followed us around openly. We ignored them even though it was annoying. They didn¡¯t try anything and seemed content to watch us from a distance. Our guess was that they were now waiting for us to get paid by the auction before robbing us and getting revenge.


    Lin was itching for a fight and had to be talked down from confronting them in the street. There was no need to cause an incident and find ourselves in trouble with the city guards. Speaking of the guards, they had noticed the Red Fang and were keeping an eye on them as well. According to Lux¡¯s contacts, our report had been verified and the mercenary company had to pay reparations to the family of the coach driver.


    They had claimed it was a rogue party and some higher ups were shielding them from more severe punishment. That was a good indication of who had hired them in the first place. Once the auction was over it would be best to head to Lake City or East Harbor although I would miss the hot springs. Our daily soaks were addicting.


    While not wandering around the city, Ann and I continued studying. She was getting close to finishing her telekinesis spell while Lin and Ann were taking turns teaching me how to read and write the common language. I hadn¡¯t decided yet which spell I wanted to tackle next. I had looked through some of the books from Ann¡¯s collection but nothing had peaked my interest.


    Similar to learning the common tongue, I was quickly picking up how to read and write the language. The girls claimed it was due to their excellent teaching and who was I to argue. The day of the auction we dressed in our best clothes and went to see how rich we would be. The VIP area was equipped with snacks and drinks with a server waiting on us. There were a few richly dressed people already there who ignored us as we were clearly not fancy enough for them.


    The auction room had stadium seating leading down to a central stage where the items would be shown. The VIP booth was along the top in its own area. There wasn¡¯t anything in the auction list that any of us was interested in so we would just be watching and not bidding. I had studied up on the local currency which was about the same as the Old Empire knowledge I had. There was a large gold coin followed by a quarter sized gold coin and then it went to silver and copper with 10 copper making up one silver and so forth.


    Lux and the girls had done all the paying so I didn¡¯t have a real good sense yet of what goods and services were worth. The auction started filling up and was soon filled to capacity. That bode well for our items achieving the most money. A scantily clad bunny girl was placing items onto tables atop the stage. Most of our items were toward the end of the auction. Saving the best for last as the saying goes.


    We watched with interest as the auction got underway by a well-dressed elf auctioneer with the bunny girl holding items up for the bidders to see. The first set of items were some ornate weapons. The bidding was fast and furious. I hoped they saved some money for our items. As items went by one after the other, we snacked on the buffet style food and talked amongst ourselves. The rich snobs still ignored us or it could be that Lux was too intimidating.


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    Finally, our first items went up. It was some of the jewelry we had scavenged. ¡°Here we go.¡± I murmured. All the jewelry sold at about the same price as other items that had been sold so no premium price for being Old Empire which was disappointing. The selling price was still decent so there wasn¡¯t too much to complain about.


    After that more of our items sold until it was time for the beginning of the potions. We expected these to do really well due to their popularity and rarity. They were being sold in small batches of the same variety. I could sense a definite stirring in the crowd when they were brought on stage. The first batch was of healing potions and the bidding seemed to be never ending, finally stopping at a ridiculous amount.


    All of the rest sold much the same. We were speechless at first, all of us in shock at what the potions were selling for. Soon the girls broke the spell by celebrating and hugging me tightly. I could only stare dumfounded at the auction stage. The rich snobs stared at us in contempt but we were too happy to give them any attention.


    With the potions done, it was time for the main event. The bunny girl brought out the lightning rod we had removed through much effort. Ann had told me that both the magical metals that the lightning rod was made of were very rare to find in large quantities like what was present in the artifact. Both materials conducted mana extremely well and were very hard to damage with the mythril being light weight.


    Like the appraiser said, it would most likely be made into magical weapons. I had asked Lux and the girls if we shouldn¡¯t save it and get them outfitted with weapons similar to my sword but they weren¡¯t interested. They were happy with the weapons we had found in the cursed city. It would take a skilled smith used to dealing with such materials to turn it into a legendary weapon. As you would imagine such smiths were hard to find and their services expensive.


    There was even more murmuring in the room as the artifact was placed on the table than when the potions were brought out. ¡°Good gentle sirs and ladies, we have finally come to what I¡¯m sure you have all been waiting for. This seemingly plain piece of metal has been verified by our experts to be pure orichalcum with a core of pure mythril. I don¡¯t need to tell you how rare these magical metals are or what they can be used for. Please let us not dither any longer and let the bidding begin!¡± the auctioneer called from the stage.


    I had already noticed there must be some form of magic amplifying his voice to reach the rear of the room. I couldn¡¯t see any devices in use so just chalked it up to more magical tomfoolery. The auctioneer had started the bidding off high and it just continued to climb. After all the money that was thrown at the potions, I had been a little afraid that they wouldn¡¯t have enough left for the lightning rod. It seemed my concerns were unfounded.


    We were once again in shock at the astronomical value that the artifact finally stopped at. There would be no problem buying a mansion now I was sure. The real problem would be to keep our newfound wealth safe. There was no banking system on the island evidently, so it was up to the individual to keep ahold of their funds. That isn¡¯t to say the local guards would condone theft, but it was a big city and they couldn¡¯t be everywhere.


    After the auction concluded, we were ushered out of our VIP room and back to the front desk. There we were given a paper showing the results of the auction. We would have to return the following day to receive our money as the winning bidders still had to pay the auction house. The auction would take their split and the rest would be ours.


    We would use that time to make sure everything was ready to secure our wealth. The Red Fang weren¡¯t the only mercenaries in town and Lux had history with a few of the outfits. Things wouldn¡¯t go as easy for the Red Fang as they imagined, of this I was sure. If anything, it will be fun to see the looks on their faces.

 34 - Slaughter

    We came back the next day ready for battle with our armor and weapons strapped on. I made sure Shadow stayed at the inn as I didn¡¯t want her to be put in danger. The plan had been hashed out before even visiting the auction house to sell our items. The easiest thing would be to have our hired guards escort us back to our inn but that wouldn¡¯t solve the main problem. It wouldn¡¯t be feasible to have Lux¡¯s friends guard us forever, so it was best to take care of things now.


    The inn was safe because according to Lux, it was connected to the rulers of the city who wouldn¡¯t tolerate any trouble. A thief or troublemaker would face serious repercussions if they dared to tarnish the sanctity of the inn. No moves had been made against us at the inn so I could only assume our adversary didn¡¯t have enough pull to do so. The inn definitely got 5 stars in my book even with the corny name.


    The auction receptionist led us into the same room as before and counted out our money in private. It was a good thing we had made room in the magic bags since we had earned enough gold to fill up an actual treasure chest or maybe two. We weren¡¯t ready to sell the rest of our loot even though the receptionist practically begged us, hoping for more treasures for the auction.


    After our current troubles were behind us, we would decide if we wanted to use the same auction or try our luck in East Harbor. I didn¡¯t know enough so would leave the decision up to Lux and the girls. There was a back door to the auction, but we would be walking out the front. Our Red Fang tail had followed us here so there was little point in trying to sneak out the back, plus that wasn¡¯t part of the plan.


    I still didn¡¯t know my way around the crazy streets of Ashen, so Lux had come up with our route. The rest of us just had to keep up. As we walked out of the auction house, I could already see Red Fang members standing in the street waiting for us, quite a few of them. Lux didn¡¯t waste any time and ducked into a nearby alley with the rest of us hot on his heels.


    I heard a shout behind us but had to concentrate on keeping up with everyone. Needless to say, they were all much faster than me. I could tell Lux was taking it easy which I appreciated. We had a head start plus we didn¡¯t want to lose them completely so didn¡¯t need to go all out. I followed along the twists and turns and was soon lost, trusting entirely in Lux¡¯s excellent sense of direction.


    When I first heard the plan, I thought it may be a little too obvious and that we should have at least one or two guards with us to make it more believable. Evidently Lux was right, and the Red Fang wasn¡¯t the brightest of the mercenary companies. We entered an alley that ended at the back of a warehouse like building ¨C a seemingly dead end.


    Our pursuers poured into the alley which was about two cart lengths wide. They started grinning and laughing at our predicament. We turned around and faced them with our backs to the wall. The mercenaries advanced on us four abreast with weapons out. There were no orders to drop our loot but there were jeers about what they were going to do to the girls after they killed Lux and I.


    When it looked like the last of them had entered the alley Lux whistled loudly. The mercenaries looked confused at first but when nothing happened, they just grinned wider and continued advancing. Their grins were wiped off their faces as warriors appeared on the building roofs behind us and along the sides of the alley.


    The same thing happened behind the Red Fang members as several warriors appeared as if by magic, cutting off their escape route. I counted roughly 15 members of the Red Fang. Our forces numbered around 20 all told. A particularly rugged looking individual dropped down by Lux and nodded at us briefly. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking forward to this for a long time.¡± He said to the startled Red Fang members. They seemed to recognize him and started swearing amongst themselves.


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    The moment was broken as the Red Fang members charged toward us screaming. The warriors on the roofs started firing arrows into them and we joined in. Lin with her bow and Ann and I with our magic. A few of the Red Fang had shields which saved them from the arrows but soon Lux and his friend entered the fray as did the warriors behind the Red Fang.


    I stayed back with the girls and tried to pick targets of opportunity. The ones in the lead were quickly killed by our magic but then we had a tougher time as Lux jumped into battle. I was still able to fire off a spell here and there, but it was over pretty quickly. The Red Fang stood no chance, it was like shooting fish in a barrel. Lux and his friend waded through them like they were harvesting wheat. Not a single Red Fang left the alley alive.


    I had been a little worried that we might get into trouble for such a one-sided slaughter. Lux assured me that the city guard had no love for the Red Fang who constantly caused trouble in town. Lux¡¯s friends would also vouch for what happened. I couldn¡¯t argue that it would certainly send a message to not mess with us in the future. With this, we had now wiped out the majority of the mercenary company or so I was told. When I heard the plan I thought that I may feel regret at having to kill so many but after saying they were going to rape Ann and Lin, I felt nothing but satisfaction.


    I breathed a sigh of relief. It didn¡¯t look like any of our side had been seriously injured. I watched as they picked over the bodies of the Red Fang members, not leaving any valuables behind. I guess they were mercenaries too, so it wasn¡¯t that surprising. Lux and his friend came back over to us. ¡°I would like you to meet Narsus, we go way back.¡± Lux said. His friend was a hulking human, about the same height as Lux and equally muscled and scarred.


    ¡°Hi uncle Narsus.¡± The girls said together. ¡°This is Matt, my daughters¡¯ mate. He¡¯s the one I told you about.¡± Lux continued. ¡°You two look as lovely as ever. I¡¯m glad to see your old man hasn¡¯t lost his touch. Nice to meet you son, I didn¡¯t think this old fossil would ever allow anyone near his daughters. You better take care of them now or you¡¯ll be hearing from me.¡± Narsus said cheerfully, clapping me on the back.


    ¡°Oof. Of course, although you¡¯d probably have to get in line as Lux would want to kill me first.¡± I replied. His strength was no joke. I¡¯m sure he could snap me in half just like Lux. I was a little taken aback by the mate comment, but I suppose it was true. To my knowledge we hadn¡¯t officially been married yet. I didn¡¯t know if wolf kin had ceremonies or not so I may be mistaken. Maybe Lux accepting me was all that was needed? Something else to ask the girls later.


    ¡°Ha, Ha I like this kid. Now, let¡¯s get you back to your inn and you can buy me a drink.¡± Narsus said, smiling. I had learned earlier that Lux was friends with the leader of one of the other mercenary companies in town who all competed with each other. If I remembered right, his was called the Silver Comets. Their members all had a mark consisting of a silver colored shooting star on their armor.


    We picked our way through the bodies and made our way back to the inn. On the way we met the city guards who had been notified of the battle and were on their way to investigate. We had to give statements then were allowed to go on our way. They didn¡¯t seem too surprised or upset about the slaughter. They knew where we were staying and told us not to leave town until the investigation was over.


    At the inn, Lux started drinking with Narsus while the girls and I retreated to our room. I was ready for another soak in the hot spring but the girls had other ideas. It seemed the battle had got their blood going and they weren¡¯t done letting off steam yet. Shadow must have chosen to sleep in Lux¡¯s room which was a good decision. The bed was soon occupied by our sweaty bodies while the girls ravaged me. It had been another exciting day.

 35 - Lake City

    It took a week to wrap up the investigation of the alley battle. During the week we continued being pampered at the inn and enjoyed the hot spring. We had been found innocent of any wrongdoing with the one-sided slaughter labeled as self-defense. Better yet, the Red Fang had been forced to pay a fine for the attack. What was left of the mercenary company wouldn¡¯t be bothering us for a while.


    I had also gotten to know Narsus better during the past week. We had several meals together and he told stories about the mercenary company and Lux. The island was evidently famous for its mercenaries even though there wasn¡¯t much need for them on the island itself. Their services were always needed on the continent as wars and other conflicts were common.


    It was a slow period with not many conflicts ongoing which was why most of the mercenary groups were back at the island for R&R and training. Ashen was home to the Red Fang and Shooting Comets while the bigger outfits were based in East Harbor. West Harbor and Lake City didn¡¯t have any permanent mercenary companies calling them home for some reason.


    I was still wrapping my head around being rich. Back on Earth I was certainly not rich, being in the middle of middle class. Beyond figuring out where we wanted to live and what house to buy, I wasn¡¯t really sure what we would do with all the money. I hadn¡¯t seen anything in the shops I wanted too badly, and I already had the best two girlfriends a guy like me could hope for. I was still secretly hoping for a magic bag of my own but would need to locate one first.


    I liked the hot springs but nothing else about Ashen was very pleasing to me. Between Red Fang being based in the city, the horribly confusing streets, and the close proximity to the volcano it just wasn¡¯t for me. After some discussion it was decided, we would head to Lake City next. When we wanted to sell our next batch of items, we would visit the capital. Lake City was supposed to be picturesque and relaxing which sounded good to me.


    After checking out of Ash Inn and saying goodbye to Narsus and the Shooting Comets, we headed north. This time instead of a coach we decided to walk. The girls were tired of the city and wanted to stretch their legs, especially Lin. I could tell Shadow was happy to be on the road as well. She hadn¡¯t done much in the city, preferring to stay at the inn. She had definitely gotten bigger again but I still had no trouble picking her up. If she got much bigger, she would be the same size as a large dog.


    Lake City wasn¡¯t too far. Only one day by coach or a couple days by foot. The road to Lake City started out by going through the jungle after leaving the cultivated areas outside Ashen. The road itself was pretty much the same as the previous road we had traveled down which meant it was easy going. We weren¡¯t in a hurry and took our time.


    Wagons occasionally passed us going between the cities. We didn¡¯t run into any problems during the journey from either bandits or wildlife and camped by the side of the road the first night. Shadow took off now and then to explore the jungle and usually came back with a trophy to show us her hunting prowess. After we made camp, Lin and Lux went off to do some hunting as well. They came back a while later with our evening meal. The second day had us breaking out of the jungle and onto the open plains.


    Beside the road we started seeing farm after farm. Fields stretched out into the distance to where I could just start to see the huge lake. I was told it was just called ¡°the lake¡± since it was the only large lake on the island. When we got close to the city, I could see it didn¡¯t have a wall around it and was very rustic looking. It gave me an Old West kind of vibe with dirt streets and elevated walkways alongside the wooden buildings.


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    The dirt road went all the way around the lake with the city following the road on either side of the lake. The buildings only went three quarters of the way around the lake, making the city u-shaped with the lake in the middle. This meant there was still plenty of lake front property available. Wooden docks covered the shores of the lake with lots of small boats out on the water. Apparently there was even a boat taxi service.


    Ann mentioned we could make our money stretch farther if we moved here as land and food prices were cheaper compared to the other cities. There weren¡¯t as many amenities or shops though. ¡°We are finally here. I¡¯m ready for a bath.¡± Ann said, stretching her arms over her head. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, doesn¡¯t look like much has changed though.¡± Lin replied.


    ¡°We¡¯ll head to our usual inn.¡± Lux commented, leading the way. There would be no hot spring unfortunately and it didn¡¯t look like there would be any fancy inns. I suppose I had been spoiled in Ashen. The people in Lake City dressed a little more subdued with drab work clothes being prominent. I guess it made sense with most of them being farmers, ranchers, or fishermen.


    The inn Lux guided us to was simply called Lake Inn. I should have known, rolling my eyes at the lackluster name. It looked clean enough and was a two-story wood structure painted white. The receptionist seemed to remember the trio and in no time we had two rooms rented as usual. The rooms were plain but decent enough.


    There was a communal bathing area on the first floor that consisted of a sunken bath although there was no hot water. A nearby well was used to wash off before entering the large bath. It still felt good to get clean and soak in the water after our journey. After cleaning up we ate a meal at the inn and relaxed in our rooms since it was already getting dark.


    The next day the girls wanted to show me around the city. It would take all day to walk around the lake which is why there were boat taxis. Most businesses had their own docks which was convenient. We mostly walked but did take one boat trip to a weapon shop on the far side of the lake that Lin was excited about. Shadow and the girls accompanied me while Lux went off on his own to start researching houses and land for sale.


    If we had to build a house it would take quite a while or so I imagined. With magic around you never knew. On the one hand it would be nice to design the layout ourselves but on the other hand I didn¡¯t really want to wait and have to stay in an inn for that long. I decided to let Lux worry about that for now and we would see what he was able to find later.


    Most of the boats were simple row boats with only a few larger sail boats. On the trip across the lake I could see several fisherman with their poles in the water. Ann explained that in Lake City, there were usually only freshwater fish to be found since they had no easy access to the sea. Occasionally they would get a shipment in from one of the other cities, but most residents preferred the freshwater fish anyway so there wasn¡¯t much demand.


    Speaking of the sea, the lake seemed to be only a few miles off the coast. With the steep cliffs it was difficult to reach the sea itself and there were no sandy beaches, only jagged rocks. There was one lighthouse situated in the distance, overlooking a point. It rose a good three stories so was the tallest structure around. Some kind of magic crystal lit up the top of the tower which could be seen even in the daytime. ¡°Since we will be in the city for a while, we should check out the lighthouse sometime.¡± I mentioned as we crossed the lake. ¡°I don¡¯t mind. The view is amazing from the cliffs.¡± Lin replied while Ann nodded in agreement.


    The weapon shop seemed pretty normal from my inexperienced eye. Lin and Ann knew the owner however, so that had something to do with why they liked the shop. I didn¡¯t see anything I needed in particular so just looked around. Lin and Ann looked around briefly as well but mostly chatted with the middle-aged human lady who ran the shop.


    After that we didn¡¯t have much else to do so walked back to the inn while window shopping, finding Lux sitting at one of the tables. ¡°I found a few listings for homes that are for sale. We can check them out tomorrow.¡± Lux announced. We all agreed and looked forward to house hunting in the morning.

 36 - House Hunting

    The girls were excited as we started out in the morning. There were no real estate agents in the new world, so Lux had just gone to the town hall like building and was shown what was available. We didn¡¯t mind a fixer upper. Although I hadn¡¯t really noticed any vacant buildings when we were walking around so thought our options would be limited.


    Shadow was feeling lazy and wanted Lin to carry her. Lin didn¡¯t seem to mind and absently stroked Shadow¡¯s fur as we walked. The first property was fairly close to our inn, so it didn¡¯t take very long to get there. It turned out to be a one-story house that had been recently listed for sale. It seemed like it might be a little small and it wasn¡¯t lake front property.


    It being situated on the lake wasn¡¯t a big deal for me, but the girls insisted. They wanted their own dock. Therefore, we didn¡¯t even bother looking inside the first house. The second house did have a dock, but it also had a lot of fire damage. In fact, it was half destroyed and would probably need to be torn down and rebuilt from scratch.


    The third house was located at the far end of the lake, where new construction had been going on near the undeveloped area. The previous owner had started to build a mansion but had run out of funds before it was completed. The mansion was about 80 percent complete from what I could see. It was two stories with lots of rooms, situated on a large lot with a dock.


    There was enough finished that we could theoretically move in, but it would probably be best if we waited until the construction was completed. It was also not furnished so we would need to buy a lot of furniture. Shadow jumped out of Lin¡¯s arms to explore the mansion while the girls oohed and awed. It was a nice place with a lot of the best materials used.


    We peeked into the completed rooms and walked around the property including the dock. From the look on everyone¡¯s faces, I thought we had found what we were looking for. It looked like Shadow seemed to like it as well, probably reminding her of the old mansion we used to call our home. Still, we tempered our enthusiasm and kept looking at the remaining properties.


    As expected, the few remaining on the list weren¡¯t very impressive. The incomplete mansion was by far the best of the bunch. We stopped by the town hall so Lux could complete the purchase and inquire about workers. Afterwards we celebrated at one of the best restaurants in town. We were all excited to move in but would have to stay at the inn for the time being.


    The next day we met some carpenters at the mansion to get it finished off. Luckily, we were able to hire the same crew that had worked on it previously. All they needed to do was finish their work, with a few changes here and there. The biggest change was to convert one of the rooms into a library for Ann. There would be built in shelving and a reinforced door with a magic lock. Her collection was priceless so we wouldn¡¯t be taking any chances.


    Lux stayed at the mansion to supervise the work while the girls and I went to see about furnishings. Shadow stayed at the mansion with Lux, continuing to explore the grounds. I didn¡¯t really have any preferences so just went along with whatever the girls wanted. It was a long day, but I think we managed to get everything we needed. The items would be delivered later to the mansion, so we didn¡¯t need to worry about transport.


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    Buying the house, hiring the workers, and getting all the furnishings we needed cost us roughly half our fortune. I was fully expecting it to cost more, especially a mansion that size. We were able to find everything we needed locally so didn¡¯t need to have anything shipped to the city and things did seem to be a bit cheaper in Lake City compared to Ashen or West Harbor. That meant we were still sitting pretty good money wise and didn¡¯t need to sell anything else for the time being.


    It only took a week for the workers to complete the mansion. By that time, we were all itching to move in. The day finally arrived, and we started getting settled into our new home. We each had our own rooms although I was pretty sure the girls would spend most of their time in mine. The furniture was rearranged more than once until the girls were satisfied.


    I helped Ann put away her books. The way she lovingly placed each book brought a smile to my face. I also helped Lin get the kitchen and pantry in order. Lux was busy working on the yard. During the past week we had also purchased our own boat which was now tied to the dock. It was nothing too fancy and similar to what most people used.


    The mansion even had a large basement which we had turned into a sort of training/testing area. The yard didn¡¯t have a fence or wall which would have obstructed the view of the lake so we couldn¡¯t practice there. It was best to keep our spells secret. When we learned even more power spells, we would have to find a suitable place in the wilderness as the basement would get damaged. Lin also had us set up some targets for her in the basement. She could practice archery in the yard but wanted to practice along side us, not by herself.


    Once everything was settled, I hoped to finally have the time to decide on the next spell to learn. I also wanted to look through the books for clues on the runes we had seen on the strange obelisk. We hadn¡¯t delved deep into any of the books so who knows what could be in them. Ann had only briefly looked at the books before storing them away as she didn¡¯t have much time to choose what to take and what to leave behind.


    I also hoped there was more information on the kingdom itself and hero summoning. Why did they feel the need to summon people in the first place and what were the heroes expected to do? Any clues as to how to get back home would be nice as well. Although I had a feeling that would be a long shot. I wasn¡¯t dissatisfied at the moment anyway and wouldn¡¯t want to leave the girls behind.


    The girls had told me some of the legends they knew about heroes but they were pretty vague, having been passed down through the generations. Essentially just overpowered individuals from other worlds who somehow or other saved the world. What they saved the world from wasn¡¯t clear except it was some great evil.


    The last thing I was hoping to find in the books was more information on the capital. We had a rough map of how to get there but would it be intact like West Port? Did it have a summoning tower as well? There was no doubt that it was a much larger city than West Port had been. Also no one had visited it after all these centuries. While West Port was known as a cursed city there were only rumors about the capital and the location was previously unknown.


    I had asked some of the villagers about the remains of the road we had found along the north side of the ruins of East Port. They were aware of it, and some had followed it but never far enough to find anything. The jungle was a dangerous place after all, so it was best not to stray too far away from the relative safety of the village.


    Ann had mentioned there had been an expedition mounted to follow the road back when the ruins of East Port were still being explored. The expedition had never returned, and no others had been sent so it was a similar story to the cursed city. The road to the capital from East Port was longer than the road between West Port and East Port and it went through the heart of the jungle instead of skirting the coast. I could only imagine what kind of dangers there might be.

 37 - Plans

    It had been about a month since we had moved into the mansion. During that time, we had fallen into a kind of routine. In the morning we would all train in the basement. Ann and I practiced our magic while Lin practiced Archery. Lux would then instruct all of us with the spear and sword. After lunch Ann and I would study magic while Lux and Lin fished or went out on hunting expeditions to the jungle. Shadow usually accompanied Lin or just lazed around the mansion grounds.


    Ann and I had chosen and learned our next spells. I decided on a mana sensing spell which would allow me to locate potential threats. Ann focused on a concealment spell. For practice I tried to sense her while she tried to hide her presence both from visual as well as magical means. It worked surprisingly well, and we both progressed rapidly.


    We were in the middle of learning yet another spell after the last ones. This time we were each learning the spell of the other. I really liked Ann¡¯s lightning spell and she wanted to learn the mana sensing spell after seeing it in action. It was progressing rapidly with each of us helping the other figure things out. Soon it would be time to pick a new spell.


    Ann and I would run out of spell books pretty soon or at least the ones I considered powerful spells. A lot of the books contained spells that were fairly mundane, utility like spells. Spells to clean your clothes or to mend them, spells to boil or cool water, spells to help plants grow, and so on. Useful for sure, but not really what we were looking for.


    Our money was holding out which was good because none of us had jobs. There weren¡¯t any adventurer type jobs in Lake City to speak of. Eventually we would need to start making some money or auction off the rest of our treasure. I could also tell Lin was starting to go stir crazy living in the city and longed for more excitement. The jungle close to Lake City wasn¡¯t very impressive as far as dangerous beasts went.


    Then one day while going through the books I found what I was looking for. It was an old journal from someone who had visited the elusive capital city, detailing their time there. The handwriting was hard to decipher but it had lots of good information in it. Ann helped me with it and soon we had the gist of what the capital held.


    As I suspected, it did indeed have a summoning tower of its own. There was also mention of a temple of time which may be similar to the temple like structure with the rune covered obelisk we had discovered in West Port. Ann was more interested in the mentions of a grand library. If there was an intact summoning tower there it was possible more people from Earth had been summoned and trapped in the city. The chances any of them had survived was slim.


    I was under no illusions that I could have escaped West Port on my own. It was hard enough just exploring a small portion of the city much less making it through the jungle. I now had a strong desire to make it to the ancient capital city, if for no other reason than to disable the summoning tower. I knew it wouldn¡¯t take much to convince the rest of my new family.


    Lin was longing for some excitement and Ann couldn¡¯t stop daydreaming about the grand library. Lux would go wherever his daughters went. A new expedition would take a lot of planning and preparation. Hiring a few trusted members of the Silver Comets would be a good idea. Having more people would make things a lot safer. I was also not going on another long trip without a magical storage bag of my own. For that we would have to go to East Harbor.


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    I decided to broach the subject while we were on a little bit of a vacation away from our usual routine at the mansion. We decided to take a day trip to finally check out the lighthouse which was around an hour¡¯s walk away from the city. It was a beautiful sunny day and I had packed some food for a picnic later on. I was looking forward to seeing the view from the cliffs and checking out the old lighthouse.


    I learned that there was a lighthouse keeper but they didn¡¯t actually live at the lighthouse. The only thing they had to do was come to the lighthouse every couple days to refill the mana crystal that powered the magic light at the top of the lighthouse. The lighthouse marked a dangerous stretch of water near the cliffs. Ship traffic between West Harbor and East Harbor traveled around the point on a regular basis.


    We strolled leisurely along the dirt path leading to the lighthouse. Shadow ran ahead of us, excited to be out of the mansion. The girls took turns holding my hand or linking arms, both smiling happily. I was smiling as well, who wouldn¡¯t with two beauties by their side. Instead of the usual adventuring type gear Lin liked to wear or scholarly mage robes Ann liked to lounge in, the girls were wearing matching light blue spring dresses. It was a rare treat to see them in such clothing.


    Soon we reached our destination. It wasn¡¯t as impressive looking as the summoning tower and not too different from pictures of lighthouses I had seen on Earth. It was made of reddish brick, three stories high. The lighthouse was of secondary interest as the girls raced to the cliff¡¯s edge. I followed after them and the sight was truly incredible.


    There was no railing, so I didn¡¯t want to get too close to the edge but looking first down at the turbulent waves crashing against the bottom of the cliffs and then to the ocean stretching out into the distance was breathtaking. The girls were silent as well, just taking in the view. They had been here before, but it had been a while. I was a little worried about Shadow getting too close to the edge but she stayed well back.


    Lin dragged me over to show me a set of rickety stairs that used to lead down to the water below. There wasn¡¯t much left of them, certainly not enough to actually use to get down. After that we wandered around the base of the lighthouse and along the edge of the cliff before finding a nice level spot to eat. I spread out a blanket and then unpacked our picnic lunch. Shadow snuggled up in Lin¡¯s lap, seemingly wanting Lin to feed her.


    After the meal, it was time to discuss our future plans. I went over what Ann and I had found with Ann commenting every now and then. ¡°So, I know we haven¡¯t been here all that long but I want to start preparing for an expedition to the ancient capital if everyone agrees.¡± I said, looking around nervously as everyone remained quiet for what seemed like a really long time. Ann was the first to speak up. ¡°I¡¯m in, I want those books.¡± She replied, clenching her fists in determination.


    ¡°Another expedition does sound fun. Why not.¡± Lin replied, smiling wolfishly with a dangerous glint in her eye. ¡°Then it is decided. However, there is much to do and prepare for. We know what to expect this time so must plan accordingly.¡± Lux replied. ¡°Of course. I was thinking of getting your buddy or some of his men on board for some extra protection.¡± I said, looking over at Lux who seemed lost in thought. ¡°That would be wise.¡± Lux replied. ¡°I also want us to try and get more magical bags so we won¡¯t have to leave anything behind this time.¡± I continued.


    A lengthy discussion was had and we returned to the mansion with plenty on our mind. Our first order of business was to hire a housekeeper to look after the place while we were gone. Then we would begin preparing to go to East Harbor. While passing through Ashen, we would pay a visit to the Silver Comets. Once in East Harbor we would head to the auction house and sell the rest of our treasure while hopefully buying more magical bags or anything else that might help us on our expedition. Lux would pass word to see if the same ship would be available to take us back to the fishing village. We had a lot to do but there wasn¡¯t any particular hurry so it was best to take our time and do things right, leaving nothing to chance. We would also need to be careful not to tip off our mysterious enemy about our plans.

 38 - East Harbor

    Finding someone to watch the house was relatively simple as Lin asked one of her friends to do it. I had seen Lin hanging out with the fox kin girl who was about our age. Lin had introduced us but other than that I hadn¡¯t had too much interaction with her. She seemed nice enough though and I had no objections.


    I had kept my head down for the most part while we had been living in our new home so hadn¡¯t met too many people around town. I was still lacking common knowledge about the new world I found myself in and didn¡¯t want anyone finding out I was from another world. Also, the girls were very protective of me to put it mildly. They glared at any strange girls that came near me and never left me alone while we were out in public. I had more or less gotten used to them clinging to me by this point.


    We would be taking most of our valuables with us so the main thing we were leaving behind were the books in the library. The library was made as secure as possible and with someone looking after the place, I felt reasonable safe leaving the city. So with that done, we said goodbye to Lake City and headed to Ashen.


    It was decided that we would take carriages between the cities this time to get there faster and hopefully make it harder for our enemies to react to our movements. Lux¡¯s meeting with his mercenary buddy wouldn¡¯t take long and then we would go straight to the capital. Ann had looked into the next auction and would get us there just in time to include our items.


    I hadn¡¯t noticed anyone spying on us while we were at the mansion. Lux and the girls hadn¡¯t mentioned anything either, but it was better to be safe than sorry. It wouldn¡¯t be that hard to spy on us with all the boat traffic and traders coming and going. I was sure we would be noticed once we got to Ashen.


    The trip to Ashen was uneventful but I wished we had time to visit the hot spring before leaving. Sadly, we wanted to get to the East Harbor as soon as possible. We had taken our time planning and preparing for the trip. Ann and I had even finished our latest spells. Now we had to stick to our schedule to make the next auction and to reduce the risks of being found out and attacked.


    The girls and I waited in the carriage to keep out of sight while Lux met with his mercenary leader buddy. I didn¡¯t think Narsus himself would come with us as he had to lead the Silver Comets. I was just hoping he could spare someone reliable. The meeting didn¡¯t take long and Lux soon joined us back in the carriage. He gave us a thumbs up as he got in and we sped off toward the capital.


    It seemed Narsus was tasking two of his members who would be joining us in the capital after they made their preparations. Lux wasn¡¯t sure who yet, but we would meet them soon enough. Lux trusted Narsus to pick the right people which was good enough for me.


    The ride to East Port was thankfully uneventful as well and we soon reached the outskirts of the capital city. It was larger than the previous cities on the island and comparable in size to the cursed city. Unlike the previous cities of the island nation, the capital actually had a wall around it.


    Our carriage got in line with the others waiting to go through the massive wooden gates of the city. Looking up, I could see the occasional guard walking along the top of the stone wall. We got through with no problems and headed straight to the auction house. This one was much larger than the one in Ashen and just as fancy.


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    I noticed most of the buildings in East Harbor were taller than in the previous cities of the island, with most being two or three stories with some even four stories tall. The auction house was situated in the business district but was closer to the rich part of town where most of the nobles lived. The surrounding businesses also catered to the rich and were all suitably impressive. I was looking forward to doing some shopping. I had my fingers crossed that we would finally be able to find more magic bags either in the fancy stores or in the auction itself.


    We entered the auction while the carriage waited for us. The interior was very similar to that of the previous auction house. A repeat of last time happened with us ushered into a private room while the employee eagerly looked through our treasure. Our items were quickly approved for the auction although we made sure to save enough potions for ourselves.


    On the way out we grabbed a list of items for the upcoming auction. Since it was the last day to submit items, the list should be mostly complete. Unfortunately, there were still no magic bags on the list. Our next stop was an inn. Lux knew of a nice one with good security, so we headed there. It was getting toward evening so we would have to look at stores tomorrow.


    We got the usual two rooms with Shadow deciding to stay in Lux¡¯s room. Probably a good choice as the girls were rather rambunctious that night. I still managed to get some sleep but not nearly enough. After a lavish breakfast we hit the streets of the capital city. Lux was the one most familiar with East Harbor so he led the way. Shadow had chosen to sleep in.


    Our inn was fairly close to the business district, so we just walked. The streets were already crowded so it was difficult to see if anyone was following us or not. We had given our treasures over to the auction house but still had the magic bags themselves and plenty of cash on us. The others didn¡¯t seem too concerned, so I put it out of my mind.


    The first few stores we went to were busts. There were plenty of expensive items but nothing that I wanted or needed. We had dressed in our nicer clothes so the upscale businesses wouldn¡¯t turn their noses up at us. The girls¡¯ dresses were especially cute, and I wished they would wear them more often. The streets were too crowded for me to hold hands with both of them at the same time, so they had to take turns.


    Finally, we found a store that was actually selling magic bags. There wasn¡¯t much of a selection. In fact, there were only two of them. Neither were the larger backpack style ones unfortunately, but I was still excited. The two shoulder bags would work just fine. I was originally hoping for just one bag but seeing two of them in front of me there was no way I was leaving without both of them. They were expensive of course and we were now scraping the bottom of the barrel as far as cash was concerned.


    The girls thought it was funny how excited I was at finally having a magic bag of my own. I couldn¡¯t keep the grin off my face as I hung the bags over either shoulder, with the straps making a cross over my chest. They were each brown leather and reminded me of the classic Indiana Jones style bag. The extra bags would go a long way for what we could bring with us and more importantly, what we could haul back.


    With that out of the way, we got something to eat and went back to the inn to change into our normal clothes. I gave Shadow some food I had saved for her, but she still didn¡¯t want to leave the room. We then left the posher part of town and went to where normal people shopped to get supplies for our trip. We would need to wait until our loot sold to be able to afford all the supplies we needed since the magic bags had been so spendy. We could still do some window shopping and place some orders in the meantime.


    We would have to stay in the capital until after the auction. Hopefully in that time Lux would hear back from the ship captain and our mercenary escorts would arrive. With any luck the ship would be able to meet us in East Port and we wouldn¡¯t have to make the trip all the way back to West Port to board. The longer we stayed in the capital, the more time our enemies had to make their moves.

 39 - Capital Auction

    After our shopping was done, we stayed out of sight in our high priced inn until the day of the auction. It was kind of boring but lazing around with the girls wasn¡¯t so bad. By this time in our relationship I knew all their weak spots, especially how sensitive their ears and tails were, and took full advantage. Even though they were still stronger than me, they ended up putty in my hands. At least that is what I would like to say but it never lasted very long before they got back at me. They knew all my weak spots as well unfortunately.


    Lux only left the inn once to meet with our mercenary companions. They were going to stay in a much more modestly priced inn. The rest of us would meet them later when we were ready to leave the city. The only thing Lux would say was that they seemed competent. I trusted his judgement so left it at that.


    Soon enough auction day arrived and we sat in a V.I.P. booth to watch the proceedings. Shadow came with us this time and sat on Linn¡¯s lap. The auction room¡¯s layout was the same as the previous auction house only on a bigger scale. Once again it seemed our items would be the star of the show. Even with a ton more seating the place was crowded. With any luck, the last of our loot would make even more money than the previous sale.


    The rest of the auction items didn¡¯t interest me too much. Magical weapons were nice, but I didn¡¯t see any that were better than my sword and there was nothing that would fit the rest of my party¡¯s needs. The expensive looking jewelry and clothing seemed to at least partially interest the girls, but that wasn¡¯t why we were here. I made a note to myself to get them something nice as a gift later.


    We had worn our good clothes so fit in pretty well with the rest of the crowd. Once again the bidding on our treasures was impressive. From what I could tell things were selling higher than before but I couldn¡¯t tell by how much since they were going by so fast. It looked like we would easily have enough for all our trip expenses and then some.


    After the auction, we collected our earnings and headed back to the inn. I still wasn¡¯t sure if we were being watched or not. If so, they weren¡¯t bold enough yet to make a move against us on the crowded streets of the capital. Just in case, our mercenary friends met us outside the auction house and escorted us back to the inn.


    The two mercenaries were an odd pair. Torg was a heavily muscled human that seemed about my age but was almost as tall as Lux. He had short cropped, military styled brown hair and was clean shaven. He had already acquired an impressive amount of scars, telling of previous battles. I could tell he would get along with Lux just fine as he didn¡¯t say much.


    The other was a short, slender cat eared girl with shoulder length black hair. Her ears and long tail had white tips at the end. Her name was Nix and she was insanely cute while also seeming to like to chat. My current girlfriends/wives couldn¡¯t help but notice the look on my face and became instantly jealous. I tried to calm them down but Nix winking at me didn¡¯t help.


    I could already tell it was going to be an interesting trip. I just hoped she got along with Shadow. I also secretly wondered if cat kin and dog/wolf kin got along with each other in general. I didn¡¯t know enough about the world to know how the different races interacted. I hadn¡¯t seen any other housecats or dogs for that matter since being in this world, but the girls didn¡¯t seem to find her too unusual. Shadow was starting to get pretty big for a housecat though.


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    Being from another world, I was always excited to see different peoples. It was hard not to stare at the different varieties on the crowded streets of the capital. I was especially interested in the fae like folk that were definitely in the minority and of course the elves. Like the dwarves, the fae were shorter than the rest and had translucent wings like that of a dragonfly. I didn¡¯t know if they could actually fly or not.


    The elves were always taller and skinnier than humans and beast kin with different vibrantly colored hair and the traditional pointed ears. The fae had vibrantly colored hair as well so I wondered if they were somehow related. From what Ann told me both the fae and elves lived long lives but only a couple hundred or so more than the rest. So it was unlikely any of them had lived long enough to remember the old kingdom¡¯s capital.


    I wasn¡¯t sure why they were in the minority on the island. They didn¡¯t seem to be looked down upon or harassed. I wished we had more time to look around East Harbor but that would have to wait until we returned. In the meantime, I would have to ask Ann about the elves and fae. I¡¯m sure she probably has a book on the subject.


    We returned to the inn safely and made plans. Lux had received word that luckily the ship would be able to pick us up in East Harbor but it would be a couple more days until it arrived. Until then we would collect the rest of our supplies and finish preparing for the voyage. Our new mercenary friends would deliver the payment for our supplies which would be delivered to the dock. At the same time, we would visit a local restaurant to keep any potential eyes on us.


    Aside from that we would be hunkering down in the inn and keeping out of sight as usual. I was still itching to explore the capital but it was not to be. The girls thought they had caught sight of stalkers while we went to the restaurant. I didn¡¯t notice anything but trusted their keener senses. The mercenary duo had no trouble getting our payment to the respective shops that had our orders. They would continue staying in their own inn while we waited for the ship to arrive.


    The day arrived for us to met the ship at the docks. The previous day a fight had broken out at the front of the inn where some people had tried forcing their way inside. The staff had handled it until city guards arrived to haul them away. I was sure it was related to us but couldn¡¯t prove it. My guess was that someone was getting impatient as we hadn¡¯t moved.


    The mercenary duo met us at the inn and we all headed to the docks. The ship would be leaving as soon as possible since they were just here to pick us up. They did their normal trading at West Harbor. It seemed they were a little too unsavory to be able to do business in the capital. As soon as we left the inn, even I could tell we had followers.


    They were no longer trying to hide their presence. Several rough looking individuals in adventurer type gear appeared around us out of the crowd. I wasn¡¯t sure if they were trying to rob us, kill us, kidnap us, or just prevent us from leaving the capital. We quickly hopped in our carriage and sped off before they could surround us. It was a ways to the docks so it was a good bet that wasn¡¯t the last of them.


    Sure enough, once our carriage turned down the main road to the docks we came upon two carriages blocking the street. Once our carriage came to a stop several more armed individuals stepped out from behind the roadblock. It looked like we would be hoofing it from here on. We quickly piled out of the carriage and took off down a narrow side alley.


    Getting bogged down in a battle in the middle of the capital wasn¡¯t a good idea. All we had to do was make it to the ship and we should be home free. We had of course already planned for this eventuality and had studied the street layouts beforehand. We just needed to make it to a certain warehouse where our escape plan would unfold.

 40 - On the road again

    We had passed word to the city guard that the warehouse in question held smuggled goods. It was a run down building full of cobwebs and empty boxes covered in dust. If we were in luck the guards should be at the warehouse already, searching for the supposed contraband. There was a good chance that our group would be accosted before we reached the docks, so we had made this plan just in case.


    Luckily the roadblock was fairly close to the warehouse, so it didn¡¯t take us long to arrive. We were all armed but were wearing our fancy clothes except for our two mercenary friends. It would make the next part easier if they thought we were rich merchants or nobles.


    We stopped to let our pursuers get closer before throwing the rear door open and running into the warehouse. For some reason it was decided that I would do all the talking. The city guards were indeed already in the warehouse breaking open boxes. They all reached for their weapons as we suddenly ran inside.


    ¡°Oh thank goodness! Guards you have to help us, we are being chased by thieves!¡± I called out as we continued to run past them toward the entrance of the building. The guards looked at each other in confusion before the first of our armed pursuers burst through the back door. At that point they all drew their weapons and ordered them to halt.


    Our pursuers were extremely surprised to see city guards right in front of them and foolishly ignored the guard¡¯s orders. They tried getting past the guards, but the guards weren¡¯t having it. The two sides started fighting with the guards easily overpowering our would-be attackers. We had stopped at the front of the warehouse to see what would happen.


    I had originally suggested we bribe some of the guards to see us safely to the docks but was told that there was no way to know which guards could be trusted. Corruption was evidently rampant in the capital so we had to be sure the guards wouldn¡¯t just side with our pursuers. Luck was again with us as these guards fought on the side of the law.


    This wasn¡¯t all of the ambushers though, so I had to use my acting skills again. It didn¡¯t look like any of the guards had been seriously injured, which couldn¡¯t be said of the other side. There were a few that were still kicking and being taken into custody. ¡°Thank you. I will be sure to tell your superiors how well you fought today. Also here is a small pittance for your troubles.¡± I said as I gave who looked to be the leader of the group a bag of coins.


    ¡°There is more where that came from if you can spare a couple men to escort us safely to our ship.¡± I said. The middle-aged guard captain smiled after receiving the coins and immediately called out the names of two of his men. I handed over another bag of coins and we quickly departed. The ambushers would no doubt think twice before attacking members of the city guard.


    We let the guards go first who led us back toward the main road. As expected, a line of rough looking individuals were blocking the road. ¡°Get out of the way if you know what¡¯s good for ya!¡± One of the guards yelled. The ambushers frowned and looked at each other before reluctantly getting out of the way. We walked by grinning and waving at them.


    They didn¡¯t look happy but unless they wanted the rest of the guards in the city coming down on them there wasn¡¯t much they could do. We reached the docks safely where I again tipped our escorts. Bribing sure was expensive. The captain of the ship was waiting for us, and we got on board. He informed us our supplies had already been stowed, so we were able to quickly get under way. I was worried that they might have a pirate ship or something that would try stopping us, but Lux didn¡¯t think it very likely.


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    We relaxed on deck, watching the capital recede in the distance. It felt good to finally be on our way. After a while we were sailing around the point and I could see the lighthouse near Lake City. It was interesting to see it from this perspective. We returned to our cabins and rested for most of the rest of the trip.


    Our mercenary friends got to know us a little better during the trip. There weren¡¯t many rooms so they were forced to share one even though I got the impression they weren¡¯t a couple. Torg was still mostly a mystery as he was the strong, silent type. He seemed nice enough though and I did see him sharing war stories with Lux on occasion.


    I was a little afraid at first that the sisters might find him more appealing as I still didn¡¯t think I was much of a hero. To my relief they barely paid any attention to him. They were definitely being overprotective of me when it came to Nix however. I didn¡¯t really mind though and tried not to let my eyes wander.


    Nix on the other hand loved to gossip and flirt. She was slowly winning over the girls even though they glared at her whenever she tried flirting with me. I was perfectly fine with just the sisters, but the sexy cat girl didn¡¯t seem to want to take no for an answer. Shadow didn¡¯t seem to mind either of them and Nix seemed to be intrigued by our lazy mascot.


    The captain of the ship was well paid, and the crew left us alone. In no time we found ourselves back at the small fishing village. There had been no signs of us being followed by another ship, so it looked like we were in the clear. It was possible the captain or crew would let slip our secret whereabouts but once we were on our way it wouldn¡¯t matter too much.


    I couldn¡¯t tell if the villagers were happy to see us or not. They did seem surprised to see the boat as they weren¡¯t expecting it as it was sooner than their usual schedule. They still had an impromptu party to celebrate its arrival which went on well into the night. We stayed that night in the same abandoned hut that we had stayed in before. It was almost nostalgic.


    I didn¡¯t sleep much, but it wasn¡¯t because the girls kept me up. Mostly it was due to me being anxious to be on our way although the loud party also contributed. I had no idea how long it would take us to reach the lost capital but we were well supplied. We woke up early, had a quick breakfast, and headed out.


    We started following the remains of the north road we had discovered at our last stay at the village. Lin and the Nix took the lead to scout the way forward with Shadow doing her usual roaming. Torg guarded our back. The going was easy at first but soon we had to start clearing the undergrowth. It was still less dense than if we strayed off the old road.


    The first beast attack came about an hour into our trek. A jungle ape appeared in front of us which was quickly taken down by Lin and Nix with arrows. It was likely the smell of blood would draw more beasts, so we quickly put some distance between us and the carcass. After that the attacks continued almost regularly. It was the same kinds of beasts we had seen before so nothing we couldn¡¯t handle.


    It gave Ann and I a chance to utilize our offensive spells which made for good practice. Sometimes it was hard to hit the beasts but I was getting better. We stopped before it got dark and set up camp. Our supplies included some expensive warding stones that would supposedly keep the monsters away from us. I didn¡¯t know how they worked and was fairly skeptical about their effectiveness. The others must have felt the same as we still took turns keeping watch throughout the night.


    There were plenty of howls and growling sounds during the night, but nothing attacked us. Somehow, I managed to get some sleep. We woke up early and after a quick bite to eat we were on our way again. Everyone¡¯s spirits were still up and the weather was good, if humid. I just hoped our luck would hold.

 41 - Jungle

    The next few days were much the same. The only change was I could no longer tell where the road had been. Our scouts could still follow it but at this point I had to take their word for it. We were still being attacked regularly but although the number of attacks was high, the actual number of beasts attacking us each time was low.


    After a week of traveling the jungle had grown much denser and our progress had slowed considerably. It took time to hack our way through the undergrowth with each of us taking a turn after an hour or so. It would have been nice to know how far it was between East Port and the capital but the ancient map wasn¡¯t that precise.


    We could only keep going. It was a good thing we had our magic bags and plenty of supplies. The number of beasts attacking us had increased along with the jungle density. Between clearing a path and fighting off monsters, we were all getting plenty of exercise. The expensive monster repellent stones were proving their worth and so far were successful in keeping the beasts at bay when we set up camp.


    I had been worried that as things got more difficult our mercenary friends would decide to turn back. I was pleasantly surprised as they hadn¡¯t even uttered any complaints. Nix continued to flirt with me and I had gotten in trouble a couple times for staring when she took off her armor after we made camp. The humidity was as horrible as I remembered, and her clothes were soaked through and sticking to her lithe body.


    I had the feeling she knew exactly what she was doing as she always got a twinkle in her eye when she knew I was watching her. As the days wore on Ann and Lin seemed to get used to Nix and were less mad at me for the occasional wandering eye. I was curious how wolf/dog kin and cat kin got along in everyday life but was too afraid to ask.


    Shadow didn¡¯t seem to mind the long journey or the humidity either. She loved exploring the jungle and often wandered away from the group. I was worried at first but somehow, she was an expert at avoiding danger. So far, she hadn¡¯t even gotten a scratch. Sometimes she would walk with us but even when wandering she would always come back once we made camp.


    She proudly showed off her catches every day. It was usually brightly colored birds but occasionally she would catch smaller lizards or mammal type creatures. Some she ate herself and others she just dropped at the camp site. We made use of the ones she didn¡¯t want and always congratulated her with pats and belly rubs. She was now the size of a large dog. Picking her up and carrying her would be a problem. I idly wondered if she continued to grow would I be able to put a saddle on her and ride her like a horse? Shadow must have caught on to what I was thinking and glared at me while hissing.


    It continued like this until we ran into a problem. Lin was at the front and stopped suddenly, staring intently in front of her. The rest of us froze and looked around for any danger. ¡°What is it?¡± Nix whispered, silently heading to the front. ¡°The road splits into two forks.¡± Lin answered. Nix studied the path in front of us and concurred.


    We decided to make camp while we investigated the situation. There were stone ruins close to where the road branched off which was the only thing I could make out. I couldn¡¯t see evidence of either of the roads. We figured the ruins must have been some sort of inn but there wasn¡¯t much left of it. We had been heading northwest and one road continued to the northwest while the other went southwest.


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    I pulled out the old map but the only place it showed the road splitting was where a road from West Port met up with it and continued to the capital. If this was that road or not I had no way of knowing. It seemed likely since the road continued to the southwest in the direction of West Port. It was decided our best bet was to continue following the road to the northwest.


    If it really was the road to West Port then according to the map we were three quarters of the way to the capital. If everything continued to go well then we should reach it in another week by my rough estimation. I was really missing a real bed and a hot bath at this point.


    The last stretch turned out to be the hardest for us. The creatures got bigger and nastier and were powerful enough that our warding stones no longer worked to keep them away. We were all tired and irritable from the lack of sleep and the oppressive heat and humidity. It is a good thing the map showed we were getting close or we may have turned back already.


    The beasts came in all shapes and sizes and unlike the more colorful birds, were all colored in shades of green to blend into the jungle. The largest we had seen was a rhino like beast that was the size of a truck. Trees were no obstacle to it as it plowed right through them. Its hide was also tough as swords and arrows just bounced off. It was up to Ann and my magic to deal with it. Luckily so far no one had been seriously injured.


    I had brought along the monster reference book so I was able to identify most of them but surprisingly there were a few that I couldn¡¯t find in the book. I didn¡¯t have the energy or leeway to add entries to the book unfortunately. Maybe on the way back I would get the chance.


    Finally we started seeing evidence we were getting close to the city. More stone ruins started popping up amidst the jungle and I could start to see the outline of the road again as the jungle thinned slightly. This immediately elevated the mood of the party. Although it was hard to see any change in the two usually stone faced members. The rest of us were all smiles as we neared our destination.


    Not long after the jungle thinned out even more and intact structures could be seen. We had been walking uphill for a while and came out of the jungle on a hill looking out over the capital city. I was expecting to see a typical circular city but instead the large city was in the shape of a triangle. Tall towers stood at each of the points of the triangle with an even taller tower sticking up at the city¡¯s center. Surrounding the middle tower was an impressive palace that shone silver in the setting sun.


    The capital seemed to be in even better shape than West Port with most of the roofs remaining intact and the jungle went up to but had not extended over the city walls. There did appear to be some overgrown parts of the city from parks maybe but nothing like West Port. From our vantage point I could see a similar temple to what was present in West Port. I was certain one of the towers had to be a summoning tower but I wasn¡¯t sure which one. Surely they couldn¡¯t all be summoning towers could they?


    The city was surrounded on all sides by the jungle. I had to wonder why they would make their capital here of all places. It was quite far from the coast and the map didn¡¯t show anything else besides small villages and towns scattered about. There would be nothing left of those at this point. It was just another mystery that we would likely never know.


    From this distance I couldn¡¯t tell if any of the towers had lightning rods or not. The city was easily two or three times as big as West Port. Since it was getting dark, we decided to camp outside the city for now. Who knew what dangers were present within the city. The walls of the city seemed to be intact. However, we could see the gate on this side of the city was wide open.


    I think all of us were excited to start exploring the city in the morning. We still kept watch, but nothing bothered us in the night. We did hear some strange howls and other beastly sounds so had remained vigilant. There were no signs of fires in the city not that I expected there to be any survivors. It would take quite a while to make our way through the city and explore the towers but I was looking forward to it.

 42 - Emilys Story Part 1

    Emily woke up to another lonely day. Her companions had been gone for a week now and she was pretty sure they weren¡¯t coming back. She had been ten and a half when the strange bright light had whisked her off to this new world. One minute she was at the skate park with her friends and the next she was in a medieval tower. She might even be eleven now, but had lost track of how much time had passed since she had woken up here.


    She had been in shock for the first day or so after being found by her two companions. They were an older man with a greying beard called Richard and a brown-haired young man in his late teens/early twenties called Tony. Richard was nice enough, but Tony gave her the creeps. He always seemed to have a crazed look in his eyes and she had caught him staring at her lustily more than once. He had told her she looked mature for her age and that her accent was sexy which grossed her out.


    Richard had noticed the problem and always made sure she wasn¡¯t alone with Tony. They had occupied the palace that surrounded the tower she had arrived in. Richard called it a summoning tower and it was what had brought them to this world as well. Richard had been here the longest and had found Tony and then her. They had both been from different corners of the United States while she had been from Australia.


    The medieval looking city was empty of people but monsters roamed the streets. Their group always stayed in the palace at night and only came out during the day when the creatures were less active. Richard and Tony would go out scavenging for food and supplies while she stayed put. She had wanted to go but was told it was too dangerous.


    She had seen the city from the top of the tower but had never ventured out into the streets. The alien sky and city unnerved her. She had grown up in a modern city and had never been camping so all of this was new to her and she didn¡¯t like it. The palace was nice and the beds were intact but they couldn¡¯t get anything to work. They were forced to make a fire in one of the courtyards to cook with and found a well that they could get water from.


    She missed her home and her parents but couldn¡¯t dwell on it or she would break out into another crying fit. Tony always yelled at her when she started crying but sometimes she couldn¡¯t help it. Richard and Tony often got into arguments about Tony¡¯s attitude and what to bring back from their supply runs. Richard liked to grab books and claimed knowledge was power. Tony thought it was a waste of time and gravitated towards different weapons and armor. She had seen them practicing with the weapons and neither was very good in her opinion.


    The only thing in the books that got Tony excited was magic but so far they hadn¡¯t figured out how to use it. Tony got frustrated easily and soon gave up on it. Richard kept trying but never got anywhere. She had looked at the books as well and was surprised that she was able to understand the language. She also seemed to be stronger. Richard and Tony mentioned they thought they felt stronger as well which helped them fight the creatures that roamed the streets.


    She hadn¡¯t seen any of the monsters, but Richard and Tony told her stories of what they had encountered. Richard had told them the city was surrounded by a dense jungle so there was nowhere to go and they were essentially trapped in the abandoned city. Tony wanted to try and follow one of the roads leading out of the city but when Richard showed him a map he had found, Tony gave up on the idea. It seemed the jungle extended to the coast which seemed to be a long way away. There were sure to be even more monsters in the jungle with nowhere to hide.


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    It had been a day like any other when Richard and Tony left on their latest expedition. They went out a couple times a week so it was nothing unusual. They almost always came back before dark. There was only once or twice where they had come back the following day. As usual there was not much for her to do. She tried to be helpful by tidying up and washing the dishes but mostly just wandered the palace or looked out at the city from the top of the tower.


    A lot of the doors in the palace were locked so they couldn¡¯t explore everything. Richard and Tony had tried breaking into a few rooms but weren¡¯t able to. Richard thought it had something to do with the magic they weren¡¯t able to use. He was sure the palace had a library and Tony spent hours looking for a treasure vault but neither could get past the locked doors so whole wings of the palace were left unexplored.


    Her room was next to Richards and she always locked it at night in case Tony tried something. As the weeks wore on he seemed to get more and more unhinged. Anymore she just tried staying as far away from him as possible and it was almost a relief when they left to get supplies. She had very few possessions. The only thing she had when she arrived was her cell phone which was low on batteries and had died soon after her arrival. Since then Richard had found her some medieval type clothing and some dolls. It was nice of him but she had outgrown kids toys.


    Lately she had started practicing with the collection of weapons in case she needed to defend herself from a monster or from Tony. She didn¡¯t know what she was doing but figured if she swung a sword enough times it would at least build up her arm strength. She also practiced with a bow and arrows which she found she enjoyed. She was even starting to hit the target now.


    When they didn¡¯t come back after two nights she started getting nervous. Richard had a lighter they used to start the cooking fire. Without it she had no way to start a fire. She tried rubbing two sticks together but nothing worked. She still had plenty of food in the form of sealed jars and some weird looking fruits. Luckily there were some fruit trees on the palace grounds that they had been harvesting.


    The meat from the last beast Richard and Tony had killed was going bad so she was forced to throw it away. They had containers of water they had collected and boiled, but it wouldn¡¯t last forever. Richard thought the well water looked good, but they still boiled it to be on the safe side. Without access to fire, she would have to drink it straight from the well eventually.


    After a week had passed she was sure something had happened to them and they weren¡¯t coming back. She didn¡¯t know where they were planning to explore on their latest trip. She thought Richard had mentioned going to one of the other towers but she wasn¡¯t sure which one. The three smaller towers were along the outer wall which was a good distance from the palace. Still, it shouldn¡¯t have taken them this long to get there and back.


    She had to face the fact that she was alone now. She had cried herself to sleep the previous night but needed to be stronger. She refused to give up. Maybe the summoning tower would bring another adult that could help her. It only happened during storms. Richard said lightning was what powered the summoning circle but there had been no storms lately.


    She didn¡¯t feel capable of exploring the city on her own. That felt like a death sentence. All she could do was wait, read books, and practice with her weapons. With nothing better to do, she decided to try and figure out how to use magic from the few magic related books Richard had found. She considered herself a good student and always got straight A¡¯s in school. She hadn¡¯t been much of a fan of fantasy books or movies, preferring comedies and romances instead. She understood magic could definitely help her out in this situation though.

 43 - Emily鈥檚 Story Part 2

    Emily spent the next two weeks focusing on the books and magic. In that time her supplies steadily dwindled. She thought there was maybe another month¡¯s worth of preserved food left. It went a lot farther than she thought but then again she was the only one eating and was trying to ration it. There had still been no sign of her companions. The palace¡¯s orchard had plenty of fruit left, but she was getting tired of eating the same thing every day.


    Then she stumbled upon a book about the various plant life surrounding the capital. They had been aware the palace contained an overgrown flower garden, but Richard told them not to touch anything since they didn¡¯t recognize any of the plants. The book allowed her to identify what was edible or useful. It turned out there were many magical plants used to make potions contained in the garden along with lots of things that she could eat which would improve her diet.


    The orchard and garden were contained within the walls of the palace. It seemed like there was some kind of barrier that kept pests and monsters out as they had not seen a single bug, mouse, or creature when they were inside the palace grounds. It was nice having a safe place to rest but Emily wished the barrier had extended over the rest of the city.


    For a short time Richard had been interested in how the flowers could thrive without bees to pollinate them, but other matters were more important, like their survival. With her food situation somewhat better, she returned to her study of the magical books. She thought she was close after comparing a few of the more basic tomes.


    Richard had mentioned it before, but she thought he was correct that whatever brought them to this world not only made them stronger and gave them the ability to understand the language, but made them smarter as well. Emily didn¡¯t think her old self would have been able to understand the magical texts otherwise.


    Finally one day she was somehow able to feel the mana in her body that the books talked about. After that her progress went quickly. The first thing she learned was a simple fire spell so that she could make a campfire again. She still didn¡¯t really have anything to cook on it but being able to make fire put her in a better mood. She had tried cooking some of the edible plants in the garden but they were better eaten raw.


    The one thing she could do now was boil water. She had run out of the water they had boiled previously so had been forced to drink straight from the well lately. This hadn¡¯t caused her any harm, so she decided to not waste her time with boiling more water. One of the books was on alchemy which she wanted to try out by making a healing potion. All the materials she needed were in the garden, unfortunately that would have to wait as she didn¡¯t have any of the equipment the book said was necessary.


    As she was taking a break from studying by walking around the palace, she decided to randomly try one of the doors again. It wouldn¡¯t budge like usual. Then she thought about what Richard had said about needing to use magic. Emily tried the door again, this time forcing mana into the door handle. She was caught off guard when the door swung open with a click.


    Crystals inside the room started glowing which illuminated an office type room with a few desks and shelves. She went inside but didn¡¯t see anything useful. That didn¡¯t bother her as she quickly returned to the hallway and grinned while looking at the numerous doors she could now open. She couldn¡¯t wait to start exploring.


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    Emily opened door after door. Finding bedrooms, ballrooms, more offices, storage rooms, meeting rooms, dining rooms, until she found the palace¡¯s library. If only Richard was still around. The library was massive with two stories connected by winding staircases. Book shelves made almost labyrinth like paths through the large space. She was speechless for a time, shocked by the sheer number of books and the extravagance of the library itself. Golden statues and paintings decorated the place and everything was as perfectly preserved as everything else in the palace.


    Richard hadn¡¯t been sure how long the city had been abandoned but going by how intact everything was, he didn¡¯t think it had been very long ago. She stopped gawking and got down to business. Her goal was more books on magic spells. The few she had were very basic with only weak spells. In addition to the fire spell, she had managed to learn a light spell that conjured a floating ball of light that followed her around.


    Both were impressive to her nonmagical mind, but she wanted more. She needed a way to defend herself and kill the creatures that had taken over the city. She would need to leave the palace eventually and she wanted to be ready. It took some doing but she eventually found the section she was looking for and it was as impressive as she was hoping.


    Now the hard part became which spells to choose. First, she catalogued the spells using some paper and a quill she had found. After that she decided which ones sounded the most interesting and would be the most useful. It would take her a while but she had plenty of time. While exploring she had found more preserved food which should last her for quite a while. She had also found the kitchen and figured out how to use the magical appliances. No more open flames for her.


    Another thing she found was a laboratory like room which contained the equipment that she needed for making potions. She happily grabbed the supplies she needed and got to work. It took a couple tries but she was able to successfully make a healing potion. She tested it by cutting her hand and then placing a drop of the potion on it which healed the cut instantly.


    For the next month she made different potions, studied spells, and practiced them using the training hall she had found. It included practice weapons and dummy targets. Throwing herself into work helped her keep her mind off being homesick. She missed her parents, her younger sister, her grandparents, and her friends. She was still extremely lonely and sometimes cried herself to sleep. In the morning, she would always psyche herself up for another day.


    There had been a few storms since Richard and Tony had left but no other people appeared. She eagerly checked each time but found nothing. It was getting depressing but she kept it up, trying to stay hopeful. In the back of her mind she didn¡¯t really expect anyone else to show up. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, she focused on her training in order to save herself.


    It had been a while, but she finally felt ready to leave the palace grounds. Her bow was strapped across her back and she wore pieced together leather armor with a knife tucked in her belt. She still had plenty of food stashed away in the palace but needed to do this. For her first outing she didn¡¯t want to go far, just a quick trip before heading back to prove she could do it.


    Her potions, extra food, extra water, plenty of arrows, and other camping supplies were contained within a magic bag she had found in one of the storage rooms in the palace. It was better to be safe than sorry so she had packed it with everything she might possibly need. It functioned just like in the video games she had watched her friends play. There was even still plenty of room left in it for anything she might find on her adventure. Emily hesitated at the gate leading into the city before taking a few deep breaths and then walked through the gate.

 44 - Capital City

    We entered the city early the next day. I was in high spirits until we stepped through the massive gates and I saw webbing everywhere. The streets and nearby buildings were covered in thick webbing. None of the others seemed overly concerned however. Was I the only one that hated spiders?


    I gulped while nervously looking around. We would need to cut our way through the webbing like we did the jungle which I wasn¡¯t looking forward to. It was decided we would follow the widest street that wound its way toward the large castle in the middle of the city.


    It soon became clear that hacking the webs with our swords wasn¡¯t going to work. The webbing just stuck to everything. ¡°Everyone step back, I¡¯m going to try something.¡± I called out. The surrounding buildings looked to be made of bricks so hopefully my spell wouldn¡¯t catch the city on fire.


    I was about to let loose with my flamethrower spell when a chittering sound came from above us. I looked up to see a giant spider on top of the nearest building. Our hacking of the webs must have alerted it. My mouth dropped open in shock as I was momentarily frozen in fear at the sight of the horse sized monstrosity looming above us.


    It was a good thing the rest of my party didn¡¯t hesitate. Lin and Nix immediately fired arrows at it which stuck into its body but did little damage. Ann fired off an earth spell which knocked it to the ground where Lux and Torg hacked it to pieces.


    I shook my head, a shiver going down my back as I finally got over my shock. I looked around but didn¡¯t see anything else. Sighing in relief, I got back to work. A spout of flames erupted out from my open hand as I waved it side to side down the street. The fire quickly burned up the webbing, opening up a path for us. A building roof started smoking but Ann was ready with a water spell to put it out.


    As I cleared the way past the first building we opened the door to carefully looked inside. It appeared to be a large open warehouse although it was dark and also full of webbing so hard to make anything out. Several cat sized spiders scurried toward us from out of the darkness so we swiftly shut the door. If all the buildings were full of spiders, trying to salvage anything would be a huge pain in the ass.


    The next two warehouse buildings were much the same. Good thing the spiders didn¡¯t know how to open doors. My guess was they had gotten in through windows or already open doors. Finally on our fourth try we found a warehouse that wasn¡¯t full of webbing. Ann sent a glowing orb inside to illuminate the interior. We cautiously stepped in while Lux kept watch at the door.


    The glowing orb cast eerie shadows but nothing seemed to move inside the building. Stacked along the floor were piles of cut lumber and blocks of stone. It looked to be all building supplies with nothing too interesting. With just a quick look we continued on our way down the street.


    The warehouse district turned into various inns, gambling establishments, and bars but the webbing persisted. I had to be more careful now that there was more flammable material around. At an intersection we were once again set upon by spiders. Cat and dog sized arachnids came at us from out of the webbing while larger varieties appeared on the surrounding roofs. I used my flame spells to keep the smaller ones back while Ann and the other girls attacked the larger ones.


    My flames made short work of the smaller spiders so I turned my attention upwards. At that moment Lin and Nix shrieked in unison as they were caught in webbing that one of the horse sized monsters shot at them. Torg went to cut them free while Lux stayed with Ann who had already finished off one of the larger spiders using earth lances and lightning.


    I used my own earth spell to knock down the spider that had targeted the girls. It soon righted itself but Lux was already next to it and with a powerful slash, cut it in two. Ann finished off the last one while the girls were finally cut free of the webbing. I looked around but that seemed to be the last of them for now. Thankfully it looked like the webbing was starting to lessen.


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    We made note of the fanciest looking inn that looked to be web free on the inside. It would make a good home base while we continued to explore. Plus, why not sleep in luxury whenever possible. After the inns we entered a business type district with numerous shops.


    I carefully cleared us a path completely through the webbing before we stopped for a break. I was getting tired from using my spells for so long and we hadn¡¯t looked inside any of the buildings I had uncovered yet. It was past noon so time to eat anyway.


    I couldn¡¯t help being impressed with how intact everything was. There wasn¡¯t even any signs of looting or bodies like what was present in West Port. It did give me a sense of unease at what had caused the city to be abandoned in the first place.


    We entered one of the shops that didn¡¯t have webbing in it and after we were all inside bolted the door. Crystal lighting came on once we were inside which illuminated the contents. Lin went to the back to secure any rear entrances while Nix checked any windows. The shop appeared to be a clothing store with a large variety of clothing on racks.


    Shadow had scampered off once we entered the city but must have sensed it was lunch time as she appeared out of nowhere and ran inside the shop just before we bolted the door. She jumped up on the counter and meowed, demanding to be fed.


    Everything was intact and in good shape. Now that I thought about it, we could all use a change of clothes and a bath for that matter. I was too tired to look at anything and just grabbed a nearby chair. Ann cleared off the counter and started getting out the food, petting Shadow while she was at it. It was just jerky and other preserved food as we hadn¡¯t hunted anything recently. I didn¡¯t know if the spiders were edible but didn¡¯t want to find out.


    Lin and Nix came back after verifying the shop was safe. Lux and Torg stayed by the door. Soon the girls handed out the food and we all relaxed while eating. It was still hard to believe we had really made it to the capital. Even after being attacked by monstrous spiders we still had smiles on our faces. Or at least the girls and I did. Torg and Lux were stone faced as usual. Shadow seemed satisfied with her meal and curled up on the counter.


    After eating the girls giggled as they cheerfully looked through the racks. They made me stay sitting while they put on an impromptu fashion show, trying on different dresses to get my reaction. For some reason Nix was doing it too. I didn¡¯t mind since they were all gorgeous and it was rare to see the girls in dresses. Lux and Torg ignored the foolishness and picked out some utilitarian clothes for themselves.


    Next it was my turn as they had picked out some clothes for me to try on. They were a lot fancier than I was used to wearing which made me a little uncomfortable. The girls oohing and aahing over me didn¡¯t help and made my cheeks red. Lin and Ann seemed to be getting along much better with Nix. Before they would have never allowed her to join in on ogling me. After getting their fill, we put on new set of casual clothing under our armor and left the store. The fancy clothing they had picked out went in one of our storage bags. Shadow wasn¡¯t done with her nap and ignored us so we just left the door open for her to follow when she was ready.


    I was feeling a little better after our short rest and we were now out of the webbing so could move faster. We were still in the commoner part of town so were unlikely to find anything too valuable in the shops. The shops closer to the castle would likely have the treasures we were looking for. We still peeked into a few of the shops on the way but as expected it was pretty basic stuff. They would still be useful, we were just after the more high dollar items.


    After the business district there was a residential type area with a park. The park was overgrown and as we got closer we could hear animal noises which made us slow down and take caution. Several wolves ran out of the park, growling at us. After making short work of the wolves we continued on. There were still noises coming from the park but we stuck to the street.


    The houses we passed I would consider middle class and were nice enough, but it would take forever to search them all. We all had our eye on the castle and the noble district that surrounded it. By the position of the sun, I didn¡¯t think we would make it there today. We went a few more blocks before calling it a day and started heading back to the inn. I didn¡¯t want to be out on the streets after dark and we still needed to secure the inn.


    There was no rush and we planned on exploring the city for a while. I still needed to make it to the towers to see if they held summoning circles and we all couldn¡¯t wait to explore the grand castle looming in the distance. I was excited to uncover some of the mysteries and treasures of the capital city.

 45 - Inns

    We retraced our steps back to the fancy inn without any trouble. It was a two-story stone building called the Gold Dust. The interior was decorated in gaudy gold decorations. Of course, none of it was actually gold since this was still not part of the noble district. Still, it was far better than the surrounding inns.


    We split up and cleared the building after securing the entrances. There were only a couple large cockroaches and a giant rat that needed killing. After that we picked out our rooms. The girls claimed the largest room on the second floor for ourselves.


    Even though they were getting along with Nix, they refused to let her sleep in our room. She pouted cutely as she was barred entry and had to find another room. Part of me was disappointed while another part was relieved. She was a beautiful cat girl, but I already had my hands full with the sisters. I honestly didn¡¯t think I could handle another rowdy beast girl.


    At first, I had thought Nix and Torg were a couple but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. They got along well but neither was romantically interested in the other. Shadow must have sensed that Nix was lonely so went to curl up on her bed down the hall.


    Luckily, the inn was fancy enough to have a tub in each room. We were all in desperate need of a bath by this point. The bathtub was luckily big enough for two people. I immediately offered to let the girls wash themselves first. They each wanted to take a bath with me however, so it evolved into a back-and-forth argument. I finally resolved the fight by offering to take turns and bathe with each of them. They did rock, paper, scissors to decide who went first.


    Lin won and immediately stripped down and jumped in the tub, dragging me along. While they were arguing I had already filled the tub with hot water using my magic. Ann just sighed and got out the soap, reluctantly waiting her turn. Lin had more than washing on her mind as she started to playfully grope my body, but I didn¡¯t mind. I had a feeling Ann would do the same. We hadn¡¯t had many opportunities to be intimate during our long jungle journey.


    After we all had our fill of fooling around in the tub, we finally got dressed in the new clothes we had found and went to find something to eat. The rest of our party was already in the dining room on the first floor of the inn. ¡°Took you long enough.¡± Nix commented jealously. I blushed and rubbed the back of my head, but the sisters just smirked. It was good to see everyone else had cleaned up as well.


    Lux had gotten the kitchen going so we helped him make supper. We used some of our best ingredients that we had been saving to celebrate our first day in the capital. Using that and meat from the wolves we had defeated made for a very enjoyable meal. After eating we went over our plan for the next day.


    We would continue toward the noble district and castle. To avoid backtracking too much we would scout out an even fancier inn from the noble district to make our home base. From there we would start exploring all the high-end shops and mansions in the area before turning our attention to the castle.


    The next morning we started early. The girls worked me hard last night. Our tub session hadn¡¯t been enough to satiate them, so we continued our love making in the large bed. I was still a little sore and tired but wasn¡¯t complaining. Nix noticed and started teasing me. She was just mad she wasn¡¯t able to join in.


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    We passed the park again and were greeted by a couple more wolves which we handled without issue. After the wolves were quickly put down a large number of birds took off from the park area, seemingly disturbed by the fight. Birds were a constant presence in the jungle, but none had tried attacking us. That was about to change.


    The birds were a dark color, black or perhaps dark purple. Usually the birds we had seen were brightly colored but I still didn¡¯t think much of it. The number of birds taking off from the overgrown park was impressive, almost like a swarm of angry bees. When the swarm started heading in our direction I began to be concerned.


    ¡°Um, what kind of birds are those?¡± I asked nervously. ¡°Not sure but maybe we should take cover.¡± Lin replied with her eyes on the birds. We were all spread out across the wide street. Lux and Torg raised their shields while Lin and Nix quickly got behind them. Ann and I unleashed our fire magic at the birds that were dive bombing us.


    The birds in front of Ann and I were engulfed in flames while Lux and Torg were hammered by the flock. I got a closer look at some of the birds that fell down after getting their wings singed. They were about the size of a pigeon and had razor sharp arrowhead like beaks.


    After the ones in front of us were burned up the rest decided to switch targets to Lux and Torg. There were so many of them that several birds managed to get around the shields. At times like this I wished that Ann and I had found some barrier type spells to learn.


    I frantically looked around and saw a nearby building with a solid looking door and no windows. ¡°Make a run for that building.¡± I yelled, pointing. The majority of the flock of deadly birds was now circling back around to have another go at us so it was the perfect opportunity to escape.


    I was closest to the building so led the way, throwing the door open. Everyone else rushed over while I held the door. I made sure I was the last one in, slamming it shut and locking it. I breathed out a sigh of relief before looking around. We still had to be careful since we hadn¡¯t secured this building yet and I didn¡¯t know how hurt everyone was.


    Ann fired off a glowing orb that illuminated what appeared to be a storage shed for one of the businesses. There were rows of shelving containing various objects but no magical lighting. Ann and I had come through unscathed but the rest had various wounds on them. We went around healing all the cuts and gashes from the sharp beaks.


    A few thuds could be heard from the door before the birds gave up on us. We all caught our breath and waited another 15 minutes before peeking out. The coast was clear although I didn¡¯t know where they had gone. There were even a few dead birds stuck into the wooden door. Those birds didn¡¯t mess around.


    We cautiously resumed our journey, making sure to stay quiet as we passed the park. Similar to West Port, the noble district had its own wall which we needed to go through. The gate for the noble district was wide open so we were able to walk right through. The buildings on the other side of the wall were taller and of better quality than that of the previous side. Elegant statues lined the well-maintained road. It was at least two or three steps above what I had seen in West Port.


    I began to feel excited about what me might find in the fancy stores and palace. Our first priority was finding the next place to stay so we scouted the area for another inn. There were several close to the gate, but the girls were feeling picky. We kept watch while they decided which one was best. I didn¡¯t really care myself as I¡¯m sure any of them would do since we are in the noble district after all.


    It seemed like there was some arguing before they finally settled on one farther down the street. It did seem larger than the rest and was called The Pearl. It was bright white and looked to be made of marble with five floors. We all went in to secure it which with five floors took a while. The girls then had to pick out rooms before we could move on.


    Finally, we could get to exploring the expensive shops. If they were the same as all the other buildings we had entered then everything should still be intact and we would be very rich. I still hadn¡¯t forgotten about the towers, but the pull of loot was too strong. I just hoped there would be enough room in our magic bags.

 46 - Shops

    We ate a quick meal as we were all excited to start exploring the area. All of us except Shadow that is who promptly went to sleep on one of the luxurious beds on the first floor. It was decided that we would stick together instead of splitting up. We still didn¡¯t know what kind of monsters might be lurking around, so it was better to be safe than sorry.


    As we reached the street, I couldn¡¯t help staring at the large castle in the distance. It was closer than ever and a tempting target, but we couldn¡¯t get ahead of ourselves. All in good time. We passed more inns and some restaurants before reaching the shopping district. I started toward the nearest shop when Lin held up her hand and we all froze.


    She pointed toward an alley between two buildings, but I couldn¡¯t see anything. Suddenly a long thin creature shot out of the alley toward us. At first I thought it was a snake but soon realized it was a giant centipede. It was probably as long as a car and extremely fast. Nix and Lin were still able to get shots off at it, but the arrows just bounced off its carapace.


    Torg and Lux readied their shields while Ann and I both went with fire spells. The fire seemed to work as the centipede turned away from us. It didn¡¯t leave however and tried circling around us. Lux wasn¡¯t having it and yelled while launching himself at the creature with a giant swing of his sword. The sword cut the creature in half with a cracking noise.


    I thought that was the end of the battle, but the centipede had other ideas. The front half writhed in pain before charging forward once again, leaving the back half behind. It went for the closest person in its line of sight which was Nix. She had a look of shock on her face while still managing to shoot her bow. The arrow hit one of its eyes.


    The arrow sticking out of its eye didn¡¯t seem to have much of an effect and she had to dive to the side, narrowly avoiding its massive pinchers. Torg was the next closest and took a swing, cleaving through its head. The centipede twisted and turned for several seconds before finally stopping. I let out a sigh of relief. Looking around, there didn¡¯t seem to be any other creatures. The carcass might draw other monsters though, so Ann and I used our fire magic to burn it to ashes.


    With that out of the way, we entered our first high class shop. The shop happened to be a high-end mercantile store. There were a lot of household items like silverware, plates, bowls, pots and pans, and other cooking supplies. There were also mirrors, paintings, some furniture, and even a section on magical tools. We had to secure the store first which didn¡¯t take long.


    Lux and Torg stayed by the door, surveying the street from the window to make sure nothing was attracted from the recent battle. I let the girls look around as I wasn¡¯t too interested in the store items. I was sure everything was expensive, but it wasn¡¯t quite what I was looking for. I didn¡¯t want to waste space in my bag.


    I wasn¡¯t quite sure what the magic tools were used for, but the girls seemed to know and even grabbed a few of them. I just shrugged my shoulders and waited for them to finish. Soon we were off to the next store. This one held all glassware. Even the girls weren¡¯t that interested, so we didn¡¯t stay long.


    Unfortunately the next one we went in was a clothing shop. It looked like this would be all the exploring for today as the girls shrieked in delight and immediately started trying on clothes. Their reaction was more intense than the last clothing store which I guess had to do with the quality of the clothing. There was no way this would end soon so the male folk all found somewhere to sit down and patiently waited.


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    As before, the girls gave me a fashion show, wanting my opinion on the fancy clothes they tried on. Honestly, I thought they looked good in anything but made the appropriate comments on each selection to make them happy. When Nix came out in sexy black lingerie I couldn¡¯t help getting red in the face. The other girls quickly threw a blanket over her and ushered her back into the changing room, chastising her.


    The incident seemed to give Ann and Lin an idea and they came out in sexy lingerie as well. Lux immediately made Torg turn his head away from the beautiful sight. My cheeks got instantly red again and I truly appreciated the sight of my nearly naked wives. As expected, the fashion show continued on into the afternoon.


    It was late afternoon by the time we exited the clothing store. All the girls had stocked up on more clothing. They had tried to get me to model again but I refused. They still got me several sets of clothes they assured me would look good. I could only shake my head. Since it was getting late it was decided that we would return to the inn.


    We didn¡¯t run into any trouble on the way back and once at the inn, we started making our evening meal. After the meal, everyone retreated to their rooms to clean up and rest. The girls took turns bathing with me again much to my delight. The fashion show must have worn them out since we went straight to bed and fell asleep instantly.


    The next day started the same, and Shadow was being lazy again so stayed put. We went back to the same area after having breakfast to continue hunting for treasures. I was still amazed that none of the shops were boarded up or had any evidence of looting. Also everything was in such nice shape that it was like the citizens left yesterday. It was kind of creepy actually, but I put that out of my mind to focus on the sweet, sweet loot.


    Nix opened the first shop door of the day which turned out to be a mistake. The sign said Moxi¡¯s so there was no telling what kind of shop it was. She shrieked and jumped straight up as a flood of disgusting giant roaches poured out onto the street. We quickly got out of the way, killing any that got too close. After the rush subsided, Ann and I finished them off with fire. Nix had managed to jump high enough to get onto the roof of the establishment. Beast folk were something else.


    Nix jumped down and peeked inside only to pull back while covering her nose, trying not to retch. A rancid smell came out of the open door which I could smell from the street. I covered my nose and went to look for myself. There were a few tables suggesting it might have been a caf¨¦, but the roaches didn¡¯t leave much behind besides filth and detritus. We closed the door without going in and continued down the street.


    Nix made Torg open the next door which it appeared to be a weapon shop, so he was more than happy to. Luckily there was no bugs or other creatures hiding inside. Finally, something I could get excited about. Ann took sentry duty by the door while the rest of us eagerly looked around. Torg and I browsed the large selection of weaponry while Lin and Lux went straight for the best items behind the counter. Nix went to look at the armor.


    Everything was made out of rare monster and magical materials as to be expected from a high-class weapon shop. I could tell everything was worth a lot of money but didn¡¯t have the experience to know how much. Torg showed a rare smile as he examined a large sword that was hanging on the wall. Even Lux seemed to be in heaven while he dug into the items behind the counter.


    Lin and Nix weren¡¯t as restrained, and both squealed with excitement at every new find. I gravitated towards the spears and wizard like staffs. Ann had told me about magical staffs improving your spells and making them more efficient thus using less mana but I had never seen any for sale. This store seemed to have a wide variety of them. I could tell we were going to be in this shop for a while.

 47 - Danger

    I needed Ann¡¯s input on the magic weapons so we just used earth magic to bar the door so she could look around as well. The door had a lock but needed a key which we didn¡¯t have. She explained that generally the larger the magic crystal and the rarer the material the wand or staff was made out of, the better it was.


    I didn¡¯t have an identify skill or knew any magic spells that would let me identify things so had to rely on her knowledge. We looked at several before she found one that she thought would work the best with what spells I knew. The type of crystal and material also influenced how it would affect spells evidently.


    It was similar in length to my spear but instead of a spear tip, it had an orange-colored magic crystal held in place by an intricate metal arrangement. The metal was silver in color while the shaft was a grey. She picked out one for herself as well although her crystal was red.


    Lin had found some magic arrows which supposedly had different effects while Nix scored a magic bow. They looked jealously at each other¡¯s finds but soon continued hunting for more treasures. Lux had found a large magic sword while Torg was inspecting an enchanted shield.


    After looking around for a while we ended up throwing anything that looked interesting in our bags. We could decide what to keep and who got what later. We were burning daylight and there were plenty more shops to explore. As we were just finishing up, a loud thump came from the front door.


    We all stopped and looked at each other. Nix quietly made her way to the nearest window to look out as a second thump sounded and shook the door. It seemed like we had been too noisy in our excitement over the magical weapons. She looked out and grimaced at what she saw, while motioning us to use the back door.


    The thumping picked up in pace and volume as we all retreated to the storage room in the back of the store which had a second door that exited to the alley beside the building. ¡°What is it?¡± Ann whispered. ¡°A giant bear, I would rather not fight it if we don¡¯t have to.¡± She whispered back. Fighting a bear inside the store would be a problem.


    Lin slowly opened the door and peeked out. ¡°It looks clear.¡± She whispered as she ducked out. We all followed her and quickly shut the door as the sound of the front door could be heard splintering into pieces. We followed the alley down a few blocks to put distance between us and the bear. We ducked into a nearby store and stayed quiet, listening for any sign of pursuit.


    After waiting nearly 30 minutes and not hearing anything we figured the coast was clear. The store we hid in was empty of threats but full of decorative items that the rich might like. There were fancy mirrors, lamps, some paintings, and other things I wasn¡¯t really interested in. We didn¡¯t stay very long before leaving the store for greener pastures.


    We made sure to be quieter this time, having to remind ourselves that we were in hostile territory. The streets may look wide open and safe but danger could be lurking around any corner. Speaking of which, the next street we turned down was full of webbing. I cursed under my breath, trying not to be too loud.


    The webbing was like what we had seen previously. It covered the entire width of the street and the surrounding buildings. I nervously searched the rooftops but couldn¡¯t see any spiders. I was sure they were hiding somewhere so didn¡¯t let my guard down. We didn¡¯t feel like trying to get through it at the moment so turned around to go down another street.


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    A loud roar startled us and we all looked in the direction it had come from. Standing upright in the middle of the street was a giant bear. It must have been at least 8 or 9 feet tall. Presumably it was the one that had tried breaking into the store, but I didn¡¯t know how it had found us. It had green tinged fur similar to the jungle wolves and wicked looking claws.


    I sensed some movement behind us and cursed as spiders started appearing, seemingly drawn by the bear¡¯s roar. Now we had a giant bear in front of us with webbing and giant spiders behind us. Nix and Lin started shooting arrows at the bear while Torg and Lux roared back at the bear and charged toward it. We had to get past the bear as getting through the webbing would take too long.


    Ann and I turned around and started shooting spells at the spiders to keep them back while the rest of the team handled the bear. Unfortunately, there seemed to be more spiders than last time and they just kept coming. ¡°This isn¡¯t looking good. We have to get out of here!¡± I cried. Ann was about to answer me when she was hit by webbing which knocked her to the ground.


    I swore and put up the largest flame wall I could manage. Hopefully it would last long enough for me to get Ann untangled. The webbing had stuck her arms to her sides and glued her to the ground. I took out my magic sword and started cutting. I managed to get her unstuck from the ground but was having trouble getting her arms free since I didn¡¯t want to injure her.


    My flame wall was keeping the spiders back for now, but it wouldn¡¯t last much longer. I spared a glance at the bear to see Torg being thrown, skidding on his back by a swipe of the giant bear. The arrows from Nix and Lin didn¡¯t seem to be doing much. Lux managed to get a few cuts in but it was taking too long. We needed to get rid of the bear before the spiders swarmed us.


    Ann was still too tangled up to run properly or to cast spells. I threw her over my shoulder while using my free hand to reinforce the flame wall. Unfortunately some of the spiders were starting to go around the wall by traversing the nearby buildings. I ran toward Torg who was just getting back on his feet. ¡°Take care of Ann for me.¡± I said as I passed off Ann to him so I could concentrate on the bear.


    Nix and Lin had switched to firing arrows at the spiders sneaking around the flame wall to keep them contained. I ran up to get in range for my spell as Lux was sent flying. With him out of the way I had a clean shot and used earth spikes to stagger the bear before raking him with my flamethrower spell. ¡°Now¡¯s our chance, everyone get out of here!¡± I yelled, keeping the flames going on the bear.


    The bear was howling in pain but wasn¡¯t going down yet. Torg rushed by carrying Ann while Lin and Nix helped Lux get back on his feet. He seemed to have injured his leg and was limping. The girls helped support him as they moved toward a side street past the bear. ¡°I¡¯ll meet you back at the inn, now get out of here while I hold them off!¡± I yelled, continuing to shoot spells at the bear and spiders who were now getting around the flame wall.


    Ann was yelling something, but I couldn¡¯t make it out and had to concentrate on the fight. I managed to put the flaming bear between me and the spiders and was backing down the street. The bear was down on all fours now and shaking its head back and forth. The flames didn¡¯t allow it to see much which had allowed us to get around it.


    I wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up my attacks much longer as my mana was just about spent. The bear finally collapsed and seemed to be out of the fight which left the swarm of spiders. Did I mention I really hate spiders. The flame wall was starting to go down again which let even more spiders through. I was able to take out the nearest ones and then made a run for it before I got overwhelmed. I ran for a different alley to lead the spiders away from the rest of the group.


    I barely dodged a stream of webbing before ducking down the alley. Cold sweat poured down my back as I kept running as fast as I could. If I got hit by webbing that would be it for me. I was running blindly, twisting and turning down alleys in the general direction of the large castle. My plan was to circle back after I lost my pursuers but sometimes plans don¡¯t work out the way you think.

 48 - Running

    This new body of mine was much better than my old one from Earth, but it still had its limits. I had been running for a while now, hoping to lose the spiders who had been following me and was starting to get tired. If it was my old body, I would have collapsed long ago. On the one hand I was glad they were following me and not the others but on the other hand I thought I would be able to lose them by now so was starting to get nervous.


    My breath was coming out in ragged gasps. The bastard spiders were following me from the street level and from the building tops. I could hear their chittering and the sound of their many legs on the cobblestones but dared not look back or I might fall. The only good thing was my mana had replenished a little bit while I had been running so I could cast a few more spells now. Something about being in the lost city made it replenish almost twice as fast as usual.


    Luckily, I hadn¡¯t run into any more trouble during my mad dash. I had startled some giant rats and cockroaches that were scurrying around the alleys, but they headed for cover as I ran past. I had thought about ducking into one of the buildings but didn¡¯t want to get trapped inside. Although I couldn¡¯t keep running forever either.


    While running for my life I noticed manhole like covers in the road every so often. I figured they must be part of the city¡¯s sewer system which was impressive for a medieval type of city. The current alley I was running down was pretty narrow which gave me an idea. I formed my flame wall spell and shot it right behind me. I wasn¡¯t very precise because I was still running and got the flame wall a little too close for comfort.


    It had the desired effect however and stopped the spiders on the ground. I skidded to a halt and spun around to shoot the spiders on the buildings to give myself enough time to escape into the sewers. I didn¡¯t like the idea of going into the sewers since who knew what monsters lurked down there. The sad truth was I was out of ideas and options at this point.


    I was successfully able to knock the giant spider on my right-hand side down from the rooftops with a wind spell. It landed somewhere behind the flame wall. Quickly I switched targets to the one on the left side and fired off another wind blast. Just as I released the spell, I was hit by something sticky that blocked my vision and threw me backwards.


    I stumbled and fell down, landing on my butt. I couldn¡¯t move my right arm or see what was going on. I thought I had hit the spider but couldn¡¯t be sure. In any case the flame wall wouldn¡¯t last long. Panicked, I tried getting up but fell down again. Using my good arm, I frantically searched around on the ground for the sewer cover. It should be close but for some reason I couldn¡¯t find it. Swearing, I continued to feel around.


    When the flame wall ended, I was good as dead. To say things were not going as planned was an understatement. My hearing was muffled but I thought I heard something behind me. I swore and pointed my good arm in the direction of the sound and was about to release a spell when something struck me on the head and I lost consciousness.


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    I awoke with a gasp. Bright light shown through the nearby window. I was somehow in an unfamiliar room. It reminded me of the fancy inn we were staying at but if anything was fancier. I still had all my clothes and armor on, but the webbing had been removed. My magic bag and weapons were also missing for some reason. I really hoped I didn¡¯t lose them during the fight with the spiders. I was very confused but happy to be alive and in one piece.


    I even felt good despite having been knocked unconscious with all my cuts and bruises healed. I instantly assumed that the others had managed to save me. I would have to thank Ann for healing me later or maybe they gave me a healing potion. It was daylight but I didn¡¯t know what time it was. My stomach rumbled telling me I was most likely out for a while.


    I got out of bed and glanced out the window on my way to the door. The sight made me do a double take. I was several stories up with a great view of the city spread out below me. Going to the window I looked out and swore as I realized I was inside the castle. My head was spinning. How did I end up here? The chances that my party would have taken me to the castle since we hadn¡¯t reached it yet were slim to none.


    Were there still survivors alive in the city? I wasn¡¯t locked in the dungeon and had been healed so they seemed to be friendly. I quickly went to the door, but it was locked. I banged on it and shouted but there was no answer. It seemed like I was a prisoner after all.


    I surveyed the room but there wasn¡¯t much to see. A large bed, a writing desk, and a wardrobe. With nothing better to do I started searching the room for anything that might be of use. The wardrobe just had some miscellaneous clothes in it while the writing desk had some blank papers. I even looked under the bed but there was nothing else. I had really been hoping my bag and weapons had been stashed somewhere in the room but no luck.


    I went back to the window to see if I could climb out. I could open the window, but it was a long way down with no handholds. I thought about tying the sheets and blankets together but there was no way it would reach all the way to the ground. I wasn¡¯t quite that desperate yet. Plus, with my luck I would fall and break my neck.


    The door looked sturdy, but I was guessing I could blast it open with my magic if I tried hard enough. I didn¡¯t want to piss off whoever saved me though, so I held off for now. I was really hoping whoever it was would bring me something to eat and drink. The next thing on my list would be a chamber pot or I would have to resort to peeing out the window.


    I did want to get out of here as soon as possible though. The girls must be worried sick about me right now. I didn¡¯t want them doing anything dangerous just to find me. I had no idea how much time had passed but I guessed it was probably the next day at least. I was hungry but wasn¡¯t hungry enough for it to have been several days.


    I sat on the bed and tried to wait patiently for my captor. I figured I would give them an hour or so before I tried breaking the door down. It wasn¡¯t easy and I ended up pacing back and forth across the room with nervous energy. I had no idea who or what waited for me on the other side of the door. It had to be better than spiders though.

 49 - Meeting

    Luckily, I didn¡¯t have to wait long. My banging must have alerted my captor and soon I heard footsteps outside the door. The door opened to reveal a hooded figure in brown mage type robes. With the hood pulled over their head I couldn¡¯t tell the gender, but the individual was shorter than me. I was momentarily taken aback but when the person didn¡¯t speak or come into the room, I said what was on my mind.


    ¡°Um, thanks for saving me but I¡¯d like to go now. My friends are probably looking for me. Also, I¡¯d like my bag and weapon back if possible. Thanks.¡± I said, trying to appear non-threatening. I started off by speaking the normal language I talked to the girls in, forgetting that if it is a survivor they might not be able to understand.


    When they didn¡¯t reply I swore and muttered ¡°Wrong language huh.¡± in English and then repeated my statements in old kingdom. ¡°Did you just speak English?¡± the robed person finally asked in an excited feminine voice. Also replying in English. ¡°Yeah, so you must be from Earth too huh.¡± I answered, intrigued. ¡°Yes.¡± She replied pulling back the hood.


    It turned out to be a brown-haired girl who looked to be in her teens. I couldn¡¯t say for sure with the robes concealing her figure, but I guessed she was a couple years younger than me at least. She had a pretty face with freckles and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She looked happy to see me, but I was still wary of the situation.


    ¡°My name is Emily, what¡¯s yours?¡± she asked, sticking out her hand for a handshake. ¡°I¡¯m Matt, it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± I replied, shaking her hand. Her hand was soft and smooth in contrast to my rough and callused one. I was guessing she didn¡¯t do much fighting with weapons. ¡°So Emily, how long have you been here and is there anyone else around?¡± I asked, pulling out the desk chair for her to sit on while I sat on the bed.


    ¡°A few years at least, I stopped keeping track. And no there isn¡¯t anybody else. I kept waiting for someone else to be summoned but aside from a few animals there was nothing. What about you?¡± She replied, taking a seat. ¡°I haven¡¯t been here that long. I was summoned in a city called West Port which was in way worse shape than this place. Luckily, I found a few friendly locals to help me out.¡± I was about to elaborate but was interrupted by my stomach growling again.


    ¡°Oh, sorry. We should get you something to eat. Follow me.¡± She said getting up and going through the door. I was a little embarrassed but followed her out, interested in seeing the rest of the place. We made some idle chit chat while walking through the wide halls. The castle was lavishly decorated with paintings, statues, and even suits of armor lining the hallways.


    It was a little spooky however, with our footsteps echoing off the walls. Thankfully the corridors all had magical lamps keeping the darkness at bay. After passing many closed doors, she led me to a large dining room. The long table had several place settings with each one having a different stuffed animal sitting in front of it. I tried to keep my expression neutral. I had found people fairly quickly, so it was hard to imagine spending years all alone.


    She had apparently forgot to put them away and quickly turned a bright shade of red, stammering out an apology. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± I replied, pretending to study a nearby painting. I could tell she was flustered and embarrassed. She quickly moved to put the stuffed animals away. By the time I turned back around they were all gone. I wasn¡¯t sure where she had put them but figured it would be best not to ask.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I ate already so I don¡¯t have anything warmed up.¡± She said, bringing a tray over to the table. ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± I replied, smiling while sitting down. Emily¡¯s face was slowly coming back to a normal shade instead of that of a ripe tomato. She took the lid off the tray to reveal several pieces of fruit that reminded me of the kind I had found in West Port. She sat down in her chair and grabbed one of them and bit into it.


    I grabbed my own and started eating. After I finished off a couple of them, we started talking again. We both told our stories. As I suspected, mine was a little better than hers. She had been trapped alone in this city since nearly the time she arrived. I felt sorry for her and hoped she would come with us. It would be good for her to meet some new people and start living instead of just surviving.


    ¡°So, how did you manage to find me? Thanks again for saving me by the way, however you did it.¡± I said after a pause in our talk. ¡°It wasn¡¯t too hard with all the flames you were throwing around. I was afraid the city was on fire.¡± She said chuckling. ¡°As to how I saved you, well I have gotten very good at magic over the years.¡± She continued, smiling.


    ¡°Good thing too. I thought I was a goner after I split up with my party.¡± I replied. ¡°Speaking of which, I really should be getting back to them so they aren¡¯t worried about me. If you want, you could come meet them.¡± I continued. ¡°Sure, I would love to!¡± Emily exclaimed excitedly. I told her the inn we were staying at which she seemed to know.


    When we went over our stories, I didn¡¯t go into any details about my party so figured I¡¯d better tell Emily so there would be no surprises. I described each of my party members and told her about my relationship with the girls. I couldn¡¯t help but notice that she frowned when she found out I wasn¡¯t single or maybe it was the fact I was seeing two girls who happened to be sisters. I really hoped she didn¡¯t have a problem with the fantasy like races of this world.


    I did tell her our plans for coming to the city and that we would be leaving after a while to go back to our house in Lake City. I also told her that I would have to check with the girls but there was plenty of room in our mansion if she wanted to stay with us. It would be nice to have another earthling around. She seemed excited by the offer and I think just wanted to get out of the empty city and back to some form of civilization.


    Before we left, she pulled my items out of seemingly thin air. She saw my shocked expression and pointed at a ring on her finger which was evidently an extremely rare storage ring. I had never seen one but had heard about them from the girls. From what they said only royalty had access to such a thing. I was just happy to have my bag and sword back.


    Emily led the way since I only had a vague idea of how to get back to the inn from the castle. Emily had been exploring the city for years so knew the best routes to take without running into trouble like the spiders. I thought she might be a little wary around me after hearing her story about the creep, but the years of isolation must have made her yearn for companionship.


    I just hoped she could get along with everyone. The plan was to meet up with my party then relocate ourselves to the castle. Emily indicated that there was some kind of barrier around the castle grounds that kept the monsters out. If that was really the case then it would be perfect. The inn was nice but we still weren¡¯t completely safe there. We were making good time toward the inn. I had to struggle sometimes to keep up with Emily she was moving so fast. She continued to impress and I was glad she was so friendly. Still, I wouldn¡¯t be able to fully relax until we were all back together again.

 50 - Reunion

    I thought Emily would stay quiet and concentrate on our surroundings but that wasn¡¯t the case. She continued to chat like we were still back in the safety of the castle. It seemed like she was indifferent to the dangers of the abandoned city. I couldn¡¯t help wondering how powerful a mage she actually was.


    It didn¡¯t take long for me to get lost with all the twists and turns she was taking through the streets and alleys of the capital. I just had to trust that she knew where she was going. Finally, the surroundings started to look familiar. Soon enough we reached the inn we had been using.


    At first I didn¡¯t see anyone around. It could be they were still all out looking for me. Then I heard a meow and saw Shadow sitting on a nearby wall. I was about to go over to her when Emily beat me to it. She shrieked in excitement while rushing over to the startled cat. Before I knew it, she had scooped Shadow up into her arms.


    Shadow seemed concerned at first but as the petting began, she was soon purring loudly. ¡°This must be Shadow, she is so cute and fluffy.¡± Emily gushed, smiling brightly. She then began to talk to Shadow like a baby. ¡°Um, yeah that¡¯s her. I¡¯ll go check inside.¡± I replied, leaving the pair to bond.


    Before I could reach the door, Nix came out with weapon in hand. ¡°I wondered what all the noise was about. Good to see you safe and sound.¡± She said, surveying the area before putting her weapon away. ¡°You really had your wives worried about you. They are still out looking with Torg and Lux. I¡¯ll signal them that you came back.¡± She continued, pulling out a metal rod and firing it into the air.


    It was the magical equivalent of a flare gun which shot a colorful burst into the sky that could be seen for miles. ¡°There, they should see that and come back running. Now how about you introduce me to your new friend.¡± She said with a wink while gesturing at Emily who was still cuddling with Shadow.


    ¡°Sure. Emily, I¡¯d like to introduce you to Nix. She is one of the members of our party.¡± I said, walking over to her with Nix by my side. Emily had been too busy with Shadow to notice Nix but when she did it was another big reaction. ¡°Wow, a real-life cat girl. Amazing!¡± Emily exclaimed, going around Nix while looking her up and down intently.


    I was afraid that Nix would get offended when I translated what Emily said but luckily she seemed amused. ¡°And where did you find this one? She seems fun.¡± Nix asked, chuckling. ¡°She found me actually. She saved me then took me to the castle.¡± I decided not to go into too much detail until everyone was back so I wouldn¡¯t have to repeat myself.


    ¡°Oh, I can¡¯t wait to get a look inside the castle.¡± Nix replied, with a greedy look in her eye. Emily continued looking over Nix and even tried grabbing her tail but Nix skillfully kept it away from her. ¡°You¡¯ll need to get to know me a lot better before I let you play with my tail.¡± Nix said suggestively. I didn¡¯t know if she was into girls too or just teasing. In any case I told Emily to calm down.


    Shadow had enough of being in Emily¡¯s arms so squirmed and jumped down before rubbing against my legs. This made Emily pout cutely while Nix just laughed. We all went inside the inn to wait for the rest of the party. We didn¡¯t have to wait too long before the girls came charging through the door. They made a beeline for me, ignoring Emily and Nix.


    I could see the relief on their faces as they hugged and kissed me. That didn¡¯t last long however, and soon I was being chastised for being too reckless. About that time Torg and Lux entered the inn as well. Both smiled at my predicament which then turned into curious frowns as they spotted Emily.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    For her part Emily seemed overly excited again seeing my wives. She followed their swishing tails with eager eyes. I just hoped she could control herself. My wives finally noticed the stranger in our midst and gave her a once over. Afterwards they both rounded on me with raised eyebrows, demanding and explanation.


    ¡°So, now that we are all here I¡¯d like to introduce Emily. If it wasn¡¯t for her, I¡¯d be spider food by now. She was summoned here just like me but has been alone longer than I was so you¡¯ll have to forgive her excitement at seeing people again. She also can¡¯t understand your language yet.¡± I explained.


    I translated for Emily while introducing her to everyone. Then she seemed to remember something. ¡°Oh right, I always wanted to try that spell out.¡± She said while mumbling some incantation to herself. She was then bathed in light for a few seconds. ¡°Can you understand me now?¡± she asked. Whatever she had done worked and she was now speaking the same language as everyone else.


    Ann was intrigued. ¡°Was that a language spell?¡± She asked curiously. ¡°Yup, I learned it just in case but never met anyone to try it out on. I¡¯m glad it worked.¡± Emily replied happily. ¡°If you are all alone how did you learn any spells?¡± Ann asked moving closer to Emily. ¡°Oh, I learned from books in the library. It was a lot of work but fun. When we go back to the palace I can show you.¡± Emily replied.


    At the mention of the large castle in the middle of the city, everyone¡¯s eyes lit up. For Ann it was probably the mention of the library though. It was quickly decided to move ourselves to the castle before nightfall. Everyone went to their respective rooms to pack while Emily waited with Shadow who she had managed to grab again.


    After everyone was ready Emily began leading us back to the castle. It looked like she was taking the same route we had taken before which made sense. We hadn¡¯t encountered any problems on the way so hopefully going back would be the same. She chatted the whole time with the other girls while us guys brought up the rear.


    Emily hadn¡¯t let go of Shadow during our trek and kept petting her lovingly. I could tell Shadow would rather be loose exploring though. I couldn¡¯t really tell what the girls were talking about but every so often they would look back at me and giggle. It made me feel very uneasy. I asked Torg if he could hear what they were saying but he just smiled at me.


    We reached the palace as Emily called it without incident and she began to give us the grand tour. She hadn¡¯t shown me around yet either so I was just as curious as everyone else. First, she showed us to rooms we could use which were similar to the one I woke up in after she saved me. Then it was to the large dining hall and kitchens.


    After that she guided us to a fancy training hall which we would definitely try out later. She even showed us to the old throne room. It was empty of course but lavishly decorated. I had half expected to see a skeleton sitting on the throne with a crown on its head. There was also a vault but unfortunately she hadn¡¯t figured out how to open it. We practically had to pry Nix away from the vault door.


    She could tell Ann was getting antsy so finally showed us to the large royal library. It was certainly impressive. I had a feeling we wouldn¡¯t be getting Ann out of it anytime soon. The rest of us were getting hungry so headed to the kitchen and dining room. On the way she showed us some of the larger storerooms filled with various goods. She didn¡¯t neglect to show us how to open the seemingly locked doors.


    Emily was all smiles as she gave the tour. I would say she was very happy to have company after all this time. My group seemed to be getting along with her fine, especially the women. Maybe a little too fine if you asked me. I still didn¡¯t know what they had been talking about but nothing was off limits to these girls.


    It would be extremely embarrassing if they had been talking about our love life. I could feel my cheeks getting red just thinking about it. Emily chose that moment to look over at me. For some reason she gave me a wink and giggled. I didn¡¯t know what that was about but had a bad feeling.

 51 - Palace Life

    It took us a while to get accustomed to the palace. It seemed Emily had been right and no monsters were able to get into the palace grounds. At first my party was a little skeptical and had even kept someone on watch duty but it was soon evident that the barrier did exist even though we couldn¡¯t see it.


    All of us had picked out rooms for ourselves. Most of the rooms were spacious and pretty much identical to each other so it didn¡¯t really matter that much. There were some smaller rooms meant for the staff of the palace and one other notable exception. That being the royal chambers.


    I had figured Emily would have used that for her bedroom. Instead, hers was just a normal one although it was the one closest to the library so that made sense. I then assumed that Ann and Lin would want us to use it since it had the biggest bed.


    I was wrong again as Lin thought the room was too gaudy and Ann thought it was too far away from the library. We had settled on a room a couple doors down from Emily¡¯s. In truth, the beds in the normal rooms were plenty big enough for us.


    Nix ended up taking a liking to the royal bedroom and declared that she was finally sleeping in the luxury that she deserved. Shadow seemed to agree and when Emily didn¡¯t have her in her clutches, she would laze around Nix¡¯s plush room.


    I had to keep a watch on Ann or she would read right through meals and the night. I wasn¡¯t much better so most times Lin had to wrangle both of us. The library was very impressive. Emily spent a lot of time in the library as well but had already read most of the books.


    I think she was rereading her favorite ones. She seemed happy that Ann and I were so interested in the books and had fun acting as a librarian. There were books on any subject you could think of but we were focused on the magic books of course. There was a large collection of them. Just going through them to figure out which to focus on first was time consuming.


    Lux, Torg, and Nix were more focused on the training rooms and treasure vault. It wasn¡¯t like a bank vault with a tumbler, it was just a massive piece of magic metal that defied all attempts at breaking through it. Lux had a theory that the king should have an item that allowed entry into the vault, like a scepter or ring or something.


    It was possible that it had been lost or taken when the city was abandoned but the treasure hunters wouldn¡¯t be deterred. The throne room and royal quarters were checked first. Several items were found that had the potential to be the key. How the key might work was anyone¡¯s guess. Unfortunately, Emily hadn¡¯t found any reference to the vault in the many books of the library.


    The other thing that had to be considered was if the object was tied to the king so even if someone found it, they wouldn¡¯t be able to use it. The only thing to do was experiment. Emily had an identify spell that was helpful although once again it was unknown if it would actually say that it was the key when identified.


    It was decided that Emily would be the one to try the various items that were found to see if they would open the vault. She seemed excited to do it and there was no reason not to let her. She said she had always been curious to see what was in there but beyond that didn¡¯t try very hard to open it as it wasn¡¯t all that important to her at the time.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    All the items found were identified. They were all valuable but there was nothing to indicate they were the key. Emily studiously tried using each object on the vault door but there was no reaction. Everyone was disappointed but not dissuaded. I think we all figured it wouldn¡¯t be that easy.


    By this time, we had been staying in the palace for a week. Everyone was still getting along with Emily who was always all smiles. We had meals together and at night Emily broke out the games she had found to play. Most of the games were familiar to my party but a couple were new. They were all new to me so I had a lot of learning to do.


    Ann and Emily were the champs of most of the games but Lux was king of the chess like game. I wasn¡¯t very good with any of them but I had company as the rest were about on par with me. Lin was something of a sore loser so I had to comfort her when she lost too many times. The comforting usually led to the bedroom so it worked out well for me.


    My party was starting to get a little antsy though and we were ready to get back out into the city for more exploring. I was aimlessly wandering around the palace while everyone else was getting ready for the expedition. I already had everything taken care of so had time to spare. I eventually found myself in the throne room.


    For some reason Shadow was there as well. Knowing her I figured maybe she had been sleeping on the throne. She was sniffing at a portion of the wall behind the throne and was meowing for my attention. I went over and kneeled down. ¡°What is the matter, are you starved for attention or something?¡± I asked as I started petting her. That didn¡¯t seem to be it as she started scratching at the wall while continuing to meow.


    The wall didn¡¯t look any different from any of the other walls but from the fantasy movies I had seen there could be a secret door of some kind. I knocked on the wall but again it didn¡¯t sound like it was hollow or anything. Shadow was pawing at a particular spot so I picked her up to see what had her so interested.


    There was some kind of indentation at the bottom of the wall. It was barely noticeable, blending into the rest of the wall. I carefully pushed it but nothing happened. I was surprised as I was sure that would work. Then I remembered how Emily told us you had to push your mana into some of the door handles to get them to open.


    I tried again, using my mana this time. I was rewarded with a clicking noise but nothing else. Shadow jumped out of my arms and started rubbing herself on my legs. I wasn¡¯t sure what I was supposed to do now and Shadow didn¡¯t seem to be of any more help. I idly pet her head while I stared at the wall. Tentatively I put my hands on the wall and pushed.


    A section of the wall moved inwards then rotated out of the way so fast I almost lost my balance. Before I could stop her Shadow raced into the dark corridor and out of sight. There was no way I was going in there alone so went to gather everyone. I was sure Shadow would be fine for a little while.


    Everyone was excited by the news. They were already armored up so it was just a matter of walking to the throne room. Emily sent a light orb floating down the darkened tunnel and we followed after. The tunnel was wide enough for two people to walk side by side.


    The tunnel opened up into a kind of armory. There were weapons racks along the walls and some stands for equipment. Nix lit one of the torches that were set into the walls of the room to give more light. All the racks and stands were half empty with some of the items laying haphazardly on the ground. The extra light also illuminated another door in the opposite wall.


    Shadow was prowling around the room sniffing at the discarded equipment. The weapons looked to be good quality but nothing magical in nature so we moved on to the door. The door was sturdy but unlocked and Nix slowly opened it. It revealed another dark tunnel so Emily sent her orb again.


    The corridor led to a replica of the royal bedroom except there was a trap door in the corner which led underground. I was guessing it must eventually lead outside as some sort of escape tunnel but we would need to keep following it to be sure. The room¡¯s magical lights came on as we entered and Nix gasped and pointed. We all looked at what she was pointing at and more gasps could be heard. On a small table near the bed rested a large golden key.

 52 - Vault

    After the key was found, thoughts of continuing to explore the rest of the escape tunnel were forgotten. We closed up the doors and entry to the secret area and made our way to the vault. Emily was handed the key and given the honor of opening it.


    With a big smile on her face, she proceeded to touch the key to the vault door and pour her mana into it. The key glowed brightly which caused a glowing pattern to appear on the vault door. Soon, loud clicking noises could be heard and the vault door swung open by itself.


    The interior was dark at first but then crystal lighting started coming on illuminating a modest sized rectangular room. I had expected a huge treasure room with enough overflowing treasure for a dragon to sleep on so was a little disappointed. The room wasn¡¯t empty though and from the entrance I could see rows of ornate shelving filled with items and stands with armor and weapons.


    We were about to rush into the room when what I thought was just another set of ornate armor suddenly stepped forward. It raised its sword and shield and shouted ¡°Password!¡± in old kingdom. We were all surprised at this turn of events. ¡°It wants a password. I don¡¯t suppose anyone has found anything like a password written down anywhere?¡± I asked.


    We looked at each other and it didn¡¯t seem like anyone had any idea what the password could be. ¡°Password!¡± The guardian said again and took another step forward. Emily let out an eeep and quickly shut the vault door. The guardian stepped back as the door shut with a thud.


    ¡°Well, without the password it looks like we are going to have to defeat that golem or whatever it is.¡± Lin said. ¡°I wonder if we could split up and have someone draw it off while the rest of us loot the vault.¡± Nix idly wondered, tapping her chin. ¡°I doubt it will move very far away from the vault since it is supposed to be guarding it.¡± Emily replied.


    ¡°Do you think we can defeat it?¡± I asked Lux. He just grunted in return which didn¡¯t give me much confidence. ¡°I can always shut the vault door again if we get in trouble right?¡± Emily responded. ¡°Do you have any spells that might work against that thing?¡± Ann asked Emily. ¡°Hmm, I have a few I could try.¡± Emily answered.


    All of us still had our weapons and armor from when we were exploring the secret exit so we were about as ready as we could be. Emily went to open the door again while the rest of us took battle stances. Lin and Nix had arrows notched while Ann and I were ready with spells. Lux and Torg had their large swords ready to go.


    As soon as the door opened we didn¡¯t even let the armored golem ask for a password before we started attacking. The arrows and spells were the first to hit it but they just bounced off some kind of barrier in front of the guardian. I had tried an earth lance while Ann tried a lightning spell but neither got through its defenses. It intercepted Lux and Torg¡¯s attacks with its shield and was able to push them back.


    After opening the door, Emily stepped back and prepared her own spell. It seemed to be a concentrated wind spell that although it didn¡¯t seem to penetrate the barrier, it still pushed the golem back and away from Lux and Torg, its swinging sword only hitting air. She then rushed to close the door again, sealing it inside.


    ¡°Well, that could have gone better.¡± Ann said. ¡°At least now we know it has some kind of barrier around it.¡± I replied. ¡°Any ideas on how we can get through the barrier?¡± Linn asked. ¡°When Torg and Lux attacked it defended using its shield instead of the barrier. Maybe the barrier doesn¡¯t work for close attacks.¡± Nix guessed. ¡°Let¡¯s try a few more spells and attacks to see if we can learn anything else.¡± Ann suggested. It was a good idea so Emily opened the door and we tried again using different spells and different attacks.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    At some point Shadow showed up and just sat and watched as our futile attacks bounced off the guardian before Emily shut the door and we tried again. Our spells seemed to be useless and it was very skilled with its sword and shield. During the latest round, Shadow shot across the floor and into the vault just before it closed.


    The rest of us were in shock at what had just happened. Emily¡¯s pale face must have mirrored my own. ¡°Hurry, open it back up!¡± I yelled at Emily which seemed to snap her out of it. She quickly set about opening the vault door. I was almost afraid at what we might find. I didn¡¯t know what had gotten into the crazy cat.


    When the vault door finally opened, we were shocked into silence once again. Shadow sat atop the remains of the guardian, licking her paws as if nothing had happened. I couldn¡¯t help noticing the large claw marks that were gouged into the metal armor with broken armor pieces lying around.


    Emily ran over to Shadow and scooped her up, looking the cat over for injuries. I quickly joined her but it looked like Shadow was completely unscathed. ¡°What were you thinking, don¡¯t do that again. You nearly gave us hear attacks.¡± I scolded the cat. Shadow just ignored me and squirmed in Emily¡¯s embrace.


    ¡°What kind of cat is that anyway?¡± Ann asked, glancing warily at Shadow. ¡°I thought just a regular one, but at least she¡¯s on our side.¡± I grinned back. It just reinforced my idea that Shadow wasn¡¯t from Earth like I originally assumed. I wondered what other surprises she was hiding.


    With the guardian taken care of we were able to enter the vault to look at the gleaming loot. I didn¡¯t know what a lot of it was but it all looked very expensive. We were definitely rich. The gals were oohing and awing over some jewelry while the guys were drooling over the weapons and armor.


    I decided to wander the rows. I wasn¡¯t really drawn to anything in particular until I saw an ancient looking book sitting atop a pedestal. It looked to be a type of spell book. ¡°Ann, Emily, check this out.¡± I yelled. I was afraid to touch it as it looked a little menacing.


    I knew it was no Necronomicon but it was better to be safe than sorry. Emily seemed to have no such worries as she let Shadow go and grabbed it off the pedestal while starting to flip through it. Ann joined her and they both studied the book. ¡°Well, what is it, is it any good?¡± I asked after a couple minutes of them looking through it in silence.


    ¡°It is definitely a spell book but I can¡¯t decipher it.¡± Ann replied. ¡°I can¡¯t either but I think using some books from the library we should be able to figure it out.¡± Emily said, handing the book to me. I gingerly took it and opened it up. They were right, I couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of the strange writing. It had to be something good though to be stored in the vault so I was excited to see if the girls could translate it.


    We went back to searching the vault and picking out things we wanted. I was guessing most of it would come with us in our magic bags but some would be improvements to our gear. A lot of it would need to be identified to see what kind of magical effects the items had.


    There was a whole case of different rings which I¡¯m sure were magical artifacts. We even found a couple more magic bags so now each of us had at least one of them. Nix found a chest of gold coins and bars of different types of precious metal. Lux and Torg found some weapons and armor they liked.


    Ann called me over to look at some magical robes. Her and Emily had already picked out ones for themselves but they wanted me to try on a few. I had to model the robes for the girls until they agreed on which one looked best on me. I didn¡¯t mind too much since the robes were extremely comfortable and I¡¯m sure had amazing enchantments on them.


    They settled on a dark blue robe with silver accents. Ann had a red robe with black accents and Emily had a silver robe with gold accents. It would take quite a while to identify everything before we knew what we truly had. Although not huge, the vault was packed with quite a bit of treasure. More than enough for all of us to live the rest of our lives comfortably anyway. We just had to get it back safely.

 53 - Enemies

    Artax was in a foul mood. They had been following the trail of their prey for over a week now and had already lost a quarter of their men. He knew he shouldn¡¯t have agreed to go on the mission but the pay had been too good.


    That and he had beef with Lux. The old mercenary had caused him plenty of problems in the past and now he finally got an opportunity to repay the old bastard. With luck he would be able to have his way with Lux¡¯s daughters while the old man watched before killing him nice and slow.


    From the small village it had been easy to find the trail that Lux¡¯s party had made but that is where their luck ended. Their employer had not been generous with the equipment for the expedition and most of the ward stones had stopped working after half a week.


    Their large party was like a magnet, drawing in monsters from all over. They were under almost constant attack. Without enough ward stones, they were hardly able to rest during the night either. Watch rotations were set but they weren¡¯t able to handle the number of monsters so usually everyone had to pitch in to defend the camp.


    To speed their journey, they followed the narrow trail left by Lux¡¯s group which meant they couldn¡¯t use their numbers to an advantage. They were strung out in a long line down the trail, only two or three people abreast.


    With only a few hours of sleep if they were lucky and constant fighting, morale was low and the men were exhausted. Every man lost meant the survivors had to work that much harder. They were starting to run low on medical supplies and potions as well.


    Their stingy employer had only packed the bare minimum thought necessary which they had already gone through within a week. Their quarry had a big head start on them and there was no telling how much longer it was until they reached the fabled ruins that Lux¡¯s team was hunting for.


    Not only that but during the night men just disappeared. More than likely dragged into the forest to be devoured although there were mutterings about desertion that had grown as time went on. Artax had put a stop to that with cold hard facts. No one would survive the trip back to the village without the rest of the party.


    After that had been dealt with more rumblings started up. This time it was about how their prey must already be dead and they were wasting their time and risking their lives for nothing. This one was harder to quash as Artax had these same feelings.


    With their difficulties it was hard to imagine Lux¡¯s group surviving. They were still following a path though so it was clear Lux had made it at least this far. There was nothing for them to do but continue to follow until the path ended.


    Artax thought that they would find the end of the path any day now but he doubted they would find any bodies. If they were lucky, they would be able to locate some weapons or armor to bring back as proof but he doubted they would even find that.


    Their employer wanted Lux and his group dead with no survivors but he also wanted them to find the ruins if possible. Artax didn¡¯t hold out much hope of finding anything in the cursed jungle. It was easy enough to follow the trail Lux had left but if you got off the trail the thick jungle was almost impenetrable.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Days passed and by the end of the second week they were down half their men to the monsters of the jungle. The survivors were all wounded to some extent. Even so the trail they were following kept going. Artax could do nothing but curse Lux once again.


    If they turned back in their weakened condition, they would likely never make it back to the village. Artax was afraid that continuing would result in the same fate. To make matters worse they were also running low on water. There were plenty of monsters so food wasn¡¯t a problem.


    Even with fewer men, constant fighting in the high heat and humidity of the jungle had depleted their supply. Unfortunately they hadn¡¯t found any stream or lake to replenish their water. Artax was starting to accept the fact that they would die in the cursed jungle when a shout from the front caught his attention.


    It seemed the jungle was starting to thin out and ruins were starting to be seen scattered among the trees. The men quickened their pace and soon found themselves out in the open. Many dropped to the ground in relief.


    Artax continued on to a small hill which looked over a magnificent city. The sight took his breath away. They had actually found it, the lost city. Somewhere in that city Lux and his party were busy exploring. Artax would give them quite the surprise. His grin turned feral at the thought.


    That would have to wait however as they were all exhausted. They would need time to recover. It was decided to make camp outside the city walls and send a small group inside to locate a well or some other source of water.


    Out of 40 men that had started the expedition, they were down to 16. Once they recovered it would still be more than enough to finish off Lux and his group. There would be no one to save them this time. After killing Lux, they would explore the city and loot its treasures.


    They would all be rich men if they could survive the trek back to the village. Now that they knew exactly how long it would take, they could plan accordingly. The city should have everything they need to make the trip back safely.


    With these thoughts in mind, they got to work. Seeing the city had given the men a boost of energy and their morale was finally improving. The camp was prepared and a group of five men were selected to scout for water in the city.


    After waiting for more than an hour Artax was getting angry. What was taking those fools so long. He was about to send another group in when finally the first group showed up or what was left of them. It seemed only three had returned from the mission.


    Luckily, they had managed to find a well fairly close to the gates of the city but they had also found a nest of spiders. Two men had been captured by the spiders and another man had been poisoned. Artax had to rally the men and secure the well. If the two men weren¡¯t dead already, they would be rescued as well but that was a secondary concern.


    The hours rest had helped the beleaguered group but they were still not in very good shape. They would need to use their numbers to overwhelm the spiders. The uninjured scouts guided them to the location of the well which was in the middle of a small courtyard covered in spiderwebs.


    Upon entering the gates of the city, he had been impressed by how intact everything was. Artax was now sure they would be rich. A greedy smile appeared on his face and a quick glance showed that he wasn¡¯t the only one that realized the potential profit.


    The spiders were still stirred up and immediately started attacking. There were more than Artax had expected but they were still able to secure the area and kill the swarm of giant spiders. One more man had been poisoned and they had found the cocoons of the two missing scouts.


    Both were still alive but injured and poisoned. They didn¡¯t have any cure potions left so it was a toss up on whether or not any of the poisoned men would survive. They did have a healing mage but he didn¡¯t know any cure poison spells and was always reluctant to heal anyone unless it was a severe injury.


    It was possible they might find some potions in one of the stores but Artax thought if they did it would be too late for most of the poisoned men. At least they had secured a viable water source and the men were currently drinking their fill.


    After the men recovered, they would start hunting for Lux. He couldn¡¯t wait to get his hands on the bastard. This was going to be fun.

 54 - Hunting

    It was decided to put our trip on hold. For the next few days we figured out what the magic items did and tried out our new equipment in the training rooms. Everyone was happy with the new items and itching to go out into the city to try them out on actual monsters.


    We decided to split up with Emily telling us the best places to go. Emily went with Torg and Lux while I went with Nix, Lin, and Ann. I may be wrong but I thought that Emily might be starting to have a crush on Torg. I tried asking the other girls but they wouldn¡¯t say anything and chided me for prying into a woman¡¯s business.


    The signs were there though. I had caught Emily staring at Torg on more than one occasion with a slight blush on her face. She also liked to sit near him whenever possible. I couldn¡¯t tell if he liked her in return as he was too much like Lux. He rarely spoke or expressed himself, having a stone face most of the time.


    I couldn¡¯t help but wonder what would happen when we made it back to civilization and there were other eligible men around. Would she still be infatuated with Torg then? In my heart I was still rooting for Torg though as he seemed like a nice guy.


    Shadow was being lazy again and stayed at the palace, not deigning to grace us with her presence on our expedition. After the trove of riches we found in the vault, we didn¡¯t really need anything from the vacant shops so were mostly going to test our new equipment against monsters.


    I did still want to check the other towers to make sure there were no other summoning circles. Emily admitted she hadn¡¯t been to them but thought the one in the palace was likely the only one. I had already investigated the one in the palace tower. At first, I thought the chances of us disabling it were slim to none.


    It was much stronger and fancier than the one in the tower I had been summoned from. Of course, my tower was in pretty bad shape already while this one was pristine. Even so, the materials in the palace were on a whole different level than the other summoning tower.


    With our upgraded equipment it may be possible now. When we got back, I would have a go at it. Emily had been confused about me wanting to disable the summoning circle at first. It was understandable since she had been hoping someone else would be summoned to help her.


    She had also thought she might be able to use the summoning circle to send herself back to Earth. After studying the books in the royal library this dream was quickly shattered. There was no known way to send anyone back. That wasn¡¯t what they were built for after all.


    This didn¡¯t stop Emily from doing her own research though. She had even experimented with making her own modified circles but was never able to get any of them to work. Finally, she had given up on the whole idea. When I explained my point of view, she readily agreed to help disable it so no one else would get kidnapped and trapped here.


    After crossing the invisible barrier of the palace, each group went its separate way. I wasn¡¯t keen on fighting more spiders yet so Emily had told us where a pack of wolves usually hung out. The girls wanted to get some payback on the spiders but I convinced them we would do it another day.


    Truth be told it would probably do me some good to face my fears but I was procrastinating. I had even been having nightmares lately after my close call with the last spiders we faced. I promised myself next time for sure we would go spider hunting.


    The streets around the palace were relatively clear of creatures. I didn¡¯t know if that was a residual effect of the strange barrier around the palace. We did catch sight of a rat or two scurrying down alleyways but nothing tried attacking us.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    I was tempted to stop at some of the luxury shops along the way. We were definitely in the heart of the richest area of the capital. The girls were too excited to test out their new equipment though so just pulled me along whenever I fell behind staring at something. I was excited as well but would never be comfortable fighting monsters the way my companions were. If I never had to fight again, I would be ok with that.


    I bet if we found a bookstore, Ann would demand we stop to check it out. That got me to wondering if the city had a library. The royal palace had one but was there one for the common folk? Or maybe there was some kind of academy which would surely have its own library. I would have to ask Emily when we got back. If there was one, I¡¯m sure she had been to it or knew where it was.


    After a few blocks we all stopped when we heard a howl in the distance. I decided to pay more attention to my surroundings and stop my idle thoughts. Nix went to scout ahead and then motioned for us to join her at a nearby intersection. We stayed hidden behind an empty carriage as she pointed out something in the distance.


    My eyes weren¡¯t quite as good as my companions but I did see some movement a few streets down. ¡°Wolves, I count at least five of them.¡± Nix whispered. ¡°Make that six.¡± Lin said, pointed off to the side. I would have to take their word for it. ¡°All right, we will each pick a target and fire when Matt and I are ready with our spells.¡± Ann said, taking command.


    We were all wearing enchanted armor but it was best not to let the wolves get too close. Ann and I were wearing our new robes. With the material they were made from and the enchantments, they should be better than steel armor. Nix and Lin also had pieces of enchanted armor but in their case, it was in the form of leather type armor.


    I¡¯m not sure what exotic monster they were made of but they were both light weight and very strong. Their armor was also enchanted similar to our robes so we should all be well protected. Nix and Lin took out their new bows which also had enchantments on them and they were even using special arrows.


    Ann and I used our new staffs and prepared our spells. I decided to go with a modified stone arrow spell that tracked movement. Since I had trouble seeing my target from this far away it would hopefully hit my designated wolf.


    When we were all ready, we all released when Ann said go. I had aimed for the lone wolf that was off to the side which was a little closer to us than the rest. The arrows were faster than our spells so hit their targets first, instantly killing two of the wolves.


    My spell managed to hit the wolf but didn¡¯t kill it. Ann had used a wind blade which cut the head off her target. The two unhurt wolves spun in our direction and howled before charging us. Lin fired at the wolf I injured to finish it off.


    Nix fired again and another wolf dropped to the ground. The last wolf decided that maybe it had made a mistake and tried to escape down a nearby alley but Ann and I both fired at it. The shots both hit, ending the last threat. Or that¡¯s what I thought anyway.


    The howls of the last two wolves must have alerted others as a new batch came running at us from down the street. They were spread out across the street, charging at us at full speed. There must have been at least a dozen of them.


    ¡°This is the perfect opportunity to try out my new spell. Let me handle this.¡± Ann said confidently. Nix and Lin had their bows ready just in case. I was also on guard in the event any of them got through. I thought I knew what spell she would be using and was interested to see the results.


    Ann stepped forward and pointed her staff at the approaching wolf pack. Soon wind starting swirling around in front of her and in no time a small tornado appeared. It got bigger and bigger as it swept down the street toward the approaching wolves.


    The wolves tried to stay to the sides of the street to get around the tornado that was barreling toward them down the middle of the street. It was a good idea but by the time it reached them the winds were already too powerful. The wolves were sucked up along with a bunch of other debris into the swirling winds.


    The winds lasted a few more minutes before dying down and dropping what it had sucked up onto the ground. At least half the wolves were dead while the rest were injured. We picked off the survivors from a safe distance. It had been almost too easy. Ann had a big grin on her face. I was glad she was on our side.