Dragon Slayer 2_A Pulp Fantasy Harem Adventure Read online

  Danikel stared at me as if I was insane. Clearly, he was having a hard time believing I’d accept the idea so readily.

  “Look, I know how crazy it sounds, but what other choice is there?” I asked. “If we don’t deal with Emroth, you’re not going to be able to send help to Whitespire, which means that Curym and Zaddrith are going to wipe them out. I’d take on a demon any day if it gives us a chance to win. And winning is what it’s all about, right? You can’t keep fighting a defensive battle, or else you’ll lose. After what happened to your army, this is the only way we can take the fight to the dragon.”

  “And Vozaath?” asked Danikel. “How will you deal with the demon that not even the oldest wizards could defeat?”

  “Why, with my secret weapons, of course!” I motioned to Arieste and Irenya with a grin. “I’m pretty sure dragon beats demon any day of the week.”

  “Perhaps,” Danikel said with a nod, though he still had a hesitant expression.

  “If you want to help, see if you can find anything I can use to kick the demon’s ass. And,” I added, almost as an afterthought, “where in this lost city we’ll be able to find the Circlet of Darksight. I’d rather not spend weeks wandering around.”

  “I can provide that information,” Enton put in. A tight little smile stretched his thin lips. “The Circlet is mentioned with the rest of the magical inventory of the wizards in the Iron Keep. The Iron Keep was the tallest tower in Ironfast, and the magical items should be stored at the top.”

  “An underground tower?” I asked. “Seems like kind of an odd combination.”

  “You would think so,” Danikel said with a grin, “but Ironfast was built in an enormous subterranean cavern, said to be close to three hundred feet at the highest point.”

  “Well, that ought to make things interesting.” Having Arieste and Irenya would make things a lot easier. I could just fly up to the top of the tower, swipe the Circlet and as many other magical items as I could carry, and be out of there in no time.

  “As for Vozaath, I fear I can offer you no information of use,” Danikel said with a sigh. He glanced at Enton, who shook his head as well. “If the wizards locked the door behind them, it means they found no way to defeat the demon.”

  “That dragon invisibility power would come in handy right now,” Nyvea told me.

  “I know. With the ability to camouflage myself, I could sneak through Ironfast and snag the crown without the demon spotting me. It’s a damn shame we’ve got to do this the other way around. A real Catch-22.”

  “A what?” Nyvea asked, sounding confused.

  “I’ll explain it to you another time.” Of course she wouldn’t get the Earth reference to the paradoxical situation.

  “How much do you know about Vozaath?” I asked Danikel.

  “Not a great deal,” the Councilor said with a frown. “As I said, this is the only written record to survive the exodus from Ironfast.”

  “Perhaps the priestesses can offer information?” Enton put in.

  The mention of priestesses got my attention, and I had a mental image of beautiful women wearing flowing, silky white robes.

  “Naughty, naughty hero,” Nyvea purred.

  “Hey, what can I say? I’ve seen a lot of movies with hot priestesses.”

  “You’ll find these aren’t quite like you’re imagining,” she told me.

  “An interesting idea.” Danikel’s words snapped me out of the conversation in my head. “Perhaps if we consult with the Servants of the Three, they will have something of value to offer.”

  “And no doubt they will want to beseech the Goddesses to aid you in your quest,” Enton added.

  I had heard people speak of the Three Goddesses, or simply the Goddesses, but I knew nothing about the religion of the humans here on Iriador. Now seemed a good time to find out.

  “Sounds great!” I wasn’t much of a believer, never had been even before I lost my parents in the fire, but I’d welcome any blessing or divine help if it made my quest easier to complete. Barodan’s help in the form of Nyvea and my tattoos had been the only reasons I defeated Frosdar and Riamod. Maybe the Goddesses could offer something equally useful.

  “Then I will make the arrangements,” Danikel said with a relieved smile. “You would be welcome to join us for the evening service, then we could speak to the Servants in private once the ceremony is complete.”

  “Sure.” The growling of my stomach reminded me I hadn’t eaten all day.

  “How rude of me!” Danikel’s eyes went wide. “Of course, you must want to rest and refresh yourselves from your travels.”

  “I don’t know about rest, but I could use a good meal,” I said, and Arieste nodded her agreement.

  “A steaming bath for me,” Irenya said. Her eyes flashed to mine, and a hint of an inviting smile played on her lips.

  “Of course, of course,” Danikel said. “I will see to it that your desires are met. And I will send someone to escort you to the Goddesses’ Temple for the evening ceremony.”

  “Perfect.” I bowed to Danikel and Enton, and they returned the gesture before walking out of the chamber.

  True to Danikel’s word, a servant appeared less than a minute later and instructed us to follow him. He led us up to a pair of rooms on the second floor. He motioned for Irenya and Arieste to enter the first, then opened the second door for me to enter.

  The room within was small and simple, with a comfortable-looking bed, a small two-person couch, and a low wooden table. The servant closed the door behind me as I dropped my pack onto the bed and tested it. It was a bit stiffer than I liked, but the wool-stuffed pillows were soft enough to make up for it. I lay down with a sigh of delight. Between a lack of sleep the previous night, the hours-long ride on Arieste’s back, the hike to Windwall, the trek through the city, and the meeting with the Council of Four, I was running out of steam. Thankfully, I’d have about an hour to rest before we had to leave for the evening ceremony.

  Before I could relax too much, a knock sounded at the door and another servant entered with a tray of food. He set the tray down, bowed, and retreated without a word.

  My stomach rumbled as I reached for a piece of rosemary garlic flatbread. It tasted a lot like an aromatic naan and went perfectly with the spicy meat and vegetable sauce. I didn’t touch the brightly colored pickles beside the plate but instead went straight for the steamed green beans. The people of Whitespire ate a lot of meat, and I found I’d been missing green veggies. For dessert, I crunched my way through something that resembled a bright blue nashi pear. A small ceramic bottle of something I discovered was juniper wine washed it all down.

  The food made me sleepy, but I caught a whiff of myself and knew there was no way I could attend any sort of fancy formal event smelling like this. I stripped out of my armor, laid it out on the bed, then shed the rest of my clothes. My room had a small bathing chamber, though with a bucket, scoop, and stool instead of a bathtub. Thankfully, the water in the bucket was hot, so I managed a warm, if slightly awkward, shower.

  I strode naked from the bathroom and rummaged through my pack to find a clean outfit. I had brought just two changes of clothing, one of which was slightly nicer than the other. The cloth tunic was a deep navy blue, and it went with a pair of black trousers that tucked into the tops of my steel-toed boots.

  Back in the Fire Academy, every one of our instructors had emphasized the importance of caring for our gear because our lives depended on it. I spent a few minutes checking the little plates of my scale armor for any sign of damage, then gave the straps and cinches a thorough once-over. Once I was done, I put the armor on the room’s couch since I shouldn’t need to get all suited up for a night at a temple. Then I moved on to the leather gambeson that served as both padding and an added layer of protection. Finally, I checked both the blade and pick sides of my axe

  The axe had been factory-sharpened back home, and I’d hardly had any call to use it. The blade was free of nicks and dings, but my battle with
the rock trolls had dulled the pick end. I spent a few minutes with the whetstone given me by Master Krastin, Whitespire’s armorer, to sharpen it. If I were going to face a demon, I’d need every possible edge, literally.

  A knock sounded at my door, and I set the axe down beside my bed before walking over to open it.

  Then I drew in a sharp breath as I caught sight of the figure standing there.

  Arieste wore one of the fancy dresses Princess Selene had given her. Though it wasn’t as elegant as the ball gown she’d worn the night we returned to Whitespire, it was wonderfully snug and accentuated her long lean figure. The white dress covered her shoulders but exposed most of her chest and then dipped dangerously low between her rounded breasts. I followed the lines of the hem down, past her shapely hips to her long legs.

  “Da-yum!” I breathed.

  “Thank you, Ethan,” she said with a little smile, and I noticed a hint of color on her cheeks.

  “No, thank you.” I chuckled. “And just when I thought my day couldn’t get any better. I’d say I’m the luckiest man in Windwall.”

  As if to emphasize how fortunate I was, Irenya exited her room. She wore a deep green dress that brought out the vivid red of her hair, and it made her tanned skin look even more alluring. The cut of her dress bordered on scandalous, and it hugged her body to showcase her hourglass figure in tantalizing detail. It took all of my willpower not to stare, and her lips curved up into a pleased smile when she saw me appraise her.

  A man hurried up the hallway toward us, but I was surprised to see it was Captain Daxos instead of a servant.

  “Sir Ethan, I trust you and your companions are ready?” he asked, and I noticed he was having an equally hard time keeping his composure around the two bombshells beside me.

  “We are, Captain.” I held an arm out to Arieste. “Shall we?”

  She took my arm with a smile, but the smile wavered as I offered my other arm to Irenya.

  Captain Daxos gave a little bow. “Then let us depart. The evening ceremony begins within the hour.”

  We followed Captain Daxos through the corridors, down the stairs, and, to my surprise, out into the training yard. The soldiers no longer trained, but I saw a steady stream of well-dressed people flocking toward the building on the western side of the yard.

  “Is it just me, or is it kind of weird to have a temple right next to a barracks and training facility?” I asked Nyvea.

  “Windwall was not built like Whitespire,” she told me. “Instead of erecting buildings of stone and wood atop a flat land, the ancient people carved it from the very stone of the mountain. As they once lived in stone dwellings deep beneath the surface, so, too, they wanted to live in the safety of stone after they were forced to flee. Only stone could protect them from the wrath of the dragons.”

  It made sense. I’d seen the damage Riamod’s fire had done to King Obragar’s palace in Whitespire. Against the buildings of solid stone, fire and ice would have little effect.

  “Long ago, Riamod once laid claim to the mountains around Windwall,” Nyvea told me, and I couldn’t help shooting a glance at Irenya. “Until Emroth came, and her endless armies of ghoulins and other minions drove back Riamod’s fire goblins, ogres, and rock trolls.”

  Once again, I was struck by how odd it was to hear of anything that could stand against the powerhouse that Riamod had been. The people of Whitespire spoke the name with such fear, and even Arieste had said Frosdar was afraid of the fire dragon.

  “Emroth must be pretty bad-ass if she pushed Riamod back.”

  “Emroth’s strength lies in her cunning,” Nyvea said. “As the red-haired woman said, she never reveals herself to her enemies, but sends her minions to fight in her stead.”

  “We’ll have to do something about that,” I told her. “Once we get that Circlet, she’ll have no choice but to fight.”

  “Then you can defeat her and take her power. And maybe,” she purred, “turn her into another one of your mistresses.”

  “They’re not my mistresses,” I protested as I glanced at the women on my arm.

  “Remind me what you and Arieste did the other night?” Nyvea asked, and her sultry laughter echoed in my mind. “She’s totally smitten with you. She said it herself, she’s drawn to you. To your power and to your magical penis.”

  I couldn’t help blushing. “Fine, but that doesn’t make her my mistress.”

  “She serves you, and you have sex. I fail to see how that doesn’t qualify.”

  “It just doesn’t, okay?” I told her. “Back on Earth, we have a different way of doing things. Guys don’t just tell women ‘you’re my sex slave.’ It’s a whole thing with dating and marriage and all that.”

  “How boring,” Nyvea said in a sharp tone. “It’s so much more fun here, especially when the women are as gorgeous as these two.”

  I wouldn’t argue with her on that score. The platinum-blonde and red-haired women beside me truly were stunning.

  “You’ve already charmed Arieste with your huge… personality,” Nyvea purred, “and I’ve seen the way Irenya looks at you. She wants you just as much as Arieste and I do.”

  I glanced at Irenya. She seemed not to notice my eyes on her, but I saw an extra sway in her hips as she walked. Maybe Nyvea was right.

  Our arrival at the black stone building saved me from having to continue the conversation.

  “Here we are,” Captain Daxos said as he motioned for us to enter ahead of him.

  Five low stone steps led up to a set of double doors, which were flung wide open to allow the stream of people to enter. We stepped into a large room that was a perfect circle roughly a hundred feet in diameter. Lamps in wall sconces around the chamber provided enough light to make out the fifty or sixty people sitting on simple stone benches. All of the benches faced a triangular pillar in the center of the chamber.

  As we approached, I realized it wasn’t just a pillar, but a statue, and I squinted against the dim light to get a better look at its design. It was carved from the same black stone as the Windwall and the temple itself. As we walked closer, I began to see the features of a beautiful woman cut in stone. As Captain Daxos led us around the perimeter of the circular room, I saw that each of the three sides bore a different face.

  “Ah, Sir Ethan and guests, welcome.” People’s Councilor Danikel waved at us from a bench on the far side of the chamber. “Come, join us.”

  Beside him sat a woman roughly the same age as him, with greying hair and age lines on a face that must have been truly stunning in her younger years. A teenaged boy sat slumped on the bench, a disinterested look on his face. I recognized that look because I’d been the same way when my parents dragged me to services.

  “Father,” Captain Daxos said, and he bowed to the Councilor.

  “My son.” Danikel returned the bow, then drew his son into a quick embrace.

  For the first time, I noticed the resemblance. I kicked myself for not seeing it sooner. Captain Daxos looked like a version of People’s Councilor Danikel twenty years younger.

  “Sir Ethan, you will be pleased to hear that the healers tell me Jian will make a full recovery,” Danikel said as he returned to sit beside his wife.

  “He is the one who saved our Jian?” the People’s Councilor’s wife asked.

  “He is.” Danikel nodded.

  The older woman took my hand and stared deep into my eyes. “Thank you, Sir Ethan. You will never know what your actions meant to my family and I. We are forever in your debt.”

  “There’s no need for that,” I said as I squeezed her hand. “Before I was a knight, I trained as a healer. It was just instinct kicking in.”

  “And yet, Sir Ethan,” Captain Daxos said, “you have our thanks, nonetheless.” He held out a hand to me.

  “Maybe you’ll return the favor someday,” I said as I shook his hand. He had the firm grip of a man accustomed to war and weapons.

  “I will endeavor to do just that as I accompany you on your quest to Ir
onfast.”

  “You’re coming with us?” My eyebrows shot up in surprise.

  “Yes,” Captain Daxos replied. “Though my father would rather someone else watch your back, he understands the necessity of sending men with you.”

  “Men? Plural?” I asked and turned to the Councilor. “You’d risk their lives facing a demon that not even the old wizards could kill?”

  “You are risking yours,” Danikel said simply. “What manner of men would we be if we did not share the peril?”

  “Listen,” I insisted, “I appreciate the sentiment, but as you said, you have no idea what I’ll be facing down there.”

  “Which makes it all the more imperative that you have keen eyes to watch your backs and strong arms to fight beside you.” The People’s Councilor shook his head, and his jaw took on a stubborn set. “Besides, you have no idea what lies in the depths of Ironfast. There may await more dangers than just Vozaath. And, perhaps you will be glad you had companions to share the trail. Unless your magic eliminates the need for sleep.”

  I had opened my mouth to argue, but Danikel’s logic held merit. My magical powers made me a bad-ass, but I still needed to eat and rest like a regular human. I’d have Arieste and Irenya to watch my back, but it might be handy to have a few extra people. More people meant more supplies and more eyes to watch for any signs of danger.

  “Don’t say I didn’t try to talk you out of it,” I said with a sigh.

  “It will be an honor to travel with you, Sir Ethan.” Captain Daxos bowed from the waist. “You have my word as a Blackguard of Windfall that I will do my utmost to help you carry out your mission successfully.”

  “Then it’s good to have you, Captain Daxos.” I returned the bow.

  “Come, take your seats,” Councilor Danikel said. “The ceremony is about to begin.”

  I took a seat with Arieste and Irenya on either side of me, but before I had settled, the temple was suddenly dark, and all the torches extinguished at once. A hush descended on the crowd and everyone became absolutely silent. For long seconds, I heard nothing but the pounding of my own heart and the quiet breathing of the women beside me.