Building harem town 9, p.7
Building Harem Town 9, page 7
“I don’t like the look of that mist,” Balabar said as he peered around his dragon’s neck. “It’s moving very strangely.”
“It might be waiting to become another monster,” Aleia said. “The clouds don’t look any more appealing.”
“It’s going to be okay,” I said. “The waterfalls are on the far side of this storm. We’ll take it slow and kill anything that tries to stop us.”
“Yes!” Lurk yelled. “Orcs don’t fear magic tricks.”
“Give us your worst!” Olwen spat in agreement.
I watched the black clouds carefully as we reached the edge of the storm, and purple lightning bolts snaked through them silently, and the entire storm was eerily quiet as the mist danced around in the air.
“Do we just go through?” Tobias asked suspiciously as the three dragons hovered.
“It’s the only way,” I said. “Come on, dragons. You can do this.”
The huge beasts didn’t seem as frightened as they had been with the other mist, and they began to slowly fly under the storm. I checked my map and saw there was a group of cloaked people standing in a circle far below on the ground. The mist hid them from view, but I knew they must be behind everything.
“There are sorcerers underneath us,” I said quietly. “They must be waiting for the right moment to attack, and I’m not going to let them hurt us. I’m changing forms.”
Tobias nodded, and Celeste moved her hands to grip the dragon’s scales while I switched. My buddy vanished from his physical body, too, and I studied the sorcerers carefully as the dragons continued to fly.
“What do you reckon?” Tobias asked. “Maybe they’re in a trance or something? They’re not moving.”
“I don’t like it,” I said. “They are way too fucking calm for how violent the sky above them is. This mist needs to fuck off, too.”
The dragons still had miles of storm to fly through, and I wondered if my new element powers could help with the journey. Maybe I could use my air skills to get rid of some of the mist?
“Here goes nothing,” I said quietly. “Let’s see if I can clear the path ahead slightly.”
“Good idea,” Tobias said. “I’ll keep an eye on our weirdos on the ground while you do that.”
I focused on the gentle breeze in the air and pictured it pressing the fog apart. It felt like I had phantom hands actually scooping away at the sky as I put all my energy into that image. Then the mist suddenly began to part for the dragons as a wide path was cleared for them, and the icy beasts sped up their pace.
“Fuck yeah,” I hissed.
“Uh,” Tobias said. “Jack. The sorcerers keep moving.”
I turned my attention back to the cloaked figures to see they still stood in a circle. But every few seconds, they would vanish and reappear a few yards further ahead. They were following the dragons.
“They can fucking teleport,” Tobias hissed. “How much further to go?”
“Not long,” I said. “Which means they must be about to attack. I’m going to try and speak to them. Maybe I can put an end to this before it even begins.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Tobias said. “If anyone can win round a bunch of cloaked creeps, it’s you.”
I focused on the hooded figures as they vanished and reappeared in the same position over and over. Their dark cloaks hid most of their faces, but I could tell it was a mix of men and women by the shape of their frames.
My new powers meant that I could speak with people who weren’t my followers, and I wanted to give them a shot at redemption before I fucked them up.
“This is the god Jack!” I called out. “I am passing through with my people, and I want to give you a chance to remain safe.”
The sorcerers broke out of their calm trance as they snapped their necks around looking for me.
“Let us pass through peacefully,” I continued. “We would love to welcome you into our army in the fight against evil. There are many of your kind in our ranks already.”
“Traitors,” a man hissed. “Magic Folk do not need a god! We are our own force of nature!”
“I know you have great powers,” I said. “Joining my ranks would not diminish that. I encourage my followers to grow and use their strengths to help protect the land. We can work together.”
“No gods,” the same man spat. “We don’t need you. Our land is for sorcerers only! Now!”
His last word was clearly an attack command, but I was already prepared. My offer of peace hadn’t worked, and I was ready to do whatever I needed to in order to protect my people.
The sorcerers flung their hands up as a roll of thunder filled the sky, but their magic was not about to win against my new powers. Mist started to close in around the dragons, but I focused solely on the most powerful tornado I could conjure. Fog spun violently as my vision bled out into the real world, and a twenty-foot cyclone of manic air appeared from nowhere.
“Holy shit!” Tobias yelled.
The sorcerers screamed as I flung my creation right into their huddle, and their bodies were violently flung around in circles through the air. Crunches and snaps were barely audible over the wind as their bones were broken, and I focused on the tornado easing up before it traveled anywhere near my dragons.
Then the bodies of the sorcerers fell to the ground with horrible thuds as the storm faded away completely. A blue sky replaced the black clouds, and the dragons were visible once more.
“Nice work,” Tobias chuckled. “You’ve gotten a grip on those new powers pretty fucking quickly. That was some serious ‘wrath of the almighty’ vibes.”
“Just learning as I go,” I said with a light sigh.
“Jack!” Celeste called. “I can see the waterfalls!”
The dragons were gaining on the edge of my land, and Penelope gasped as the tumbling water came into view. I shifted my focus to see massive cliffsides towering over the magic lands, and three blue waterfalls shone brightly under the sun. I studied the area as the dragons sped over the last stretch of their journey, and I noticed a cave entrance between two of the waterfalls.
“It must be in there!” I called. “Holy shit! I’m going to check out what’s inside.”
I focused on the inside of the cave, but my focus didn’t switch there. It felt like I was running against a brick wall in my mind as I tried to access that part of my land.
“I can’t get in,” I said quietly to Tobias. “But this is my territory?”
“Seriously?” Tobias asked. “That’s fucking weird. Let’s check it out in person.”
We both appeared down on the ground in front of the cliffsides, and the sound of falling water thundered around us. A massive lake stretched off into a wide river that had a beautiful, turquoise glow along the surface. Huge fish with golden scales swam along lazily as the dragons circled around before landing.
My people climbed down from their steeds as I made my way over to the mysterious cave entrance.
It was thirty feet tall and pitch black inside. The only clue to go on was an old etching just above the doorway. Tobias stood next to me as we craned our necks up and read the ancient text.
“The Labyrinth,” I read with some confusion. “Well, the Oracle is in there, but why the fuck can’t I just switch my focus?”
“It must be part of the quest,” Tobias said. “We can’t even get close to it until we face whatever is inside there.”
The priestesses hurried over to us just as something deep inside the cave roared loudly. It sounded like the noise came from miles away, and I wondered what the fuck was lurking inside.
Whatever it was, we had to take it on for Tobias. This was a challenge I had never faced before, but I was ready. Nothing was going to stop me from saving my friend, and I was prepared for whatever was waiting.
I gestured for my soldiers to hurry over so we could make a plan.
We were going to walk into the unknown, and I was going to claim the Oracle for good.
Chapter 5
My soldiers stood behind me as I faced the labyrinth, and another distant roar echoed out of the darkness. I turned to see a mixture of curiosity and excitement on my fighters’ faces as they peered into the gloom.
My map was bizarrely blank when I tried to scan the inside of the cave system. It was like it was some restricted section that I wasn’t allowed to look at. Like one of those internet paywalls was up and blocking my view of the content.
“What do you think is inside?” Celeste asked as she stroked the hilt of her sword. “I think I’ll go into battle bird form for this one.”
“That’s a good idea,” I agreed. “We don’t know what’s inside, but I do know that it’s going to test our fucking limits. This is a challenge that is meant for the strongest gods and their followers.”
“Good thing we’re here.” Nicola grinned. “Look at this group! We’re unstoppable!”
“Just tell us what to do.” Olwen nodded. “We’re here to fight, Jack.”
The dragon-men all flexed their biceps as they stretched, and the gnomes snarled from about hip height on their companions. The orcs were standing perfectly still with the darkest glowers on their faces, but somehow, the stillness of their bulging muscles only made them that much more intimidating.
“We need to stick together,” I said as I paced in front of the cave entrance. “This is still the magic lands, and I have a feeling there will be tests of wits as well as strength.”
“It’s very dark,” Aleia said with a slight tremble in her voice.
“I can fix that,” Celeste said as she flew upward and began to switch forms.
Her ivory skin was replaced by fiery feathers as a beak sprouted from her lengthening face. The harpy’s sharp talons curled as her wings stretched out, and she spun in the air before she hovered back down. Her talons had little flickers of fire licking them as she held a fireball without releasing it for attack. It was the perfect lantern, and the cave was more than wide enough for her to fly along with us.
“That’s our light source sorted,” I said with an appreciative nod. “Awesome work. I’m going to walk in front with Tobias, and Celeste can fly just behind with her light.”
I studied my fighters, and I was pleased with the mixture of different skills and strengths we had.
“Dragons!” I called. “I need you to patrol the entrance. Make sure you alert us if anyone else arrives or seems prepared to follow us inside. Remember, we’re dealing with gods, so do not put yourselves at too much risk. Just let me know I’ve got company alright? Roar as loudly as you possibly can.”
The huge beasts flared their nostrils as they bowed to me, and Nieva gave me a nod to say they understood.
“We’re going to keep the ranks mixed,” I said. “I want an orc, dragon-man, gnome, and priestess in each line. That will keep our strengths spaced out amongst the group.”
The army hurriedly arranged themselves so they were in rows of four, with Celeste flying above the first. My women helped the orcs find their spot as the gnomes counted their bolts.
“We walk together!” I called. “If you see anything that you think could be important, then call it out. Even if it turns out to be nothing, I would rather you spoke up.”
“Got it!” Penelope nodded as she gripped her sword.
“We are going to find that Oracle,” I said. “I couldn’t ask for a better army to have on my side, and we’re going to fucking slaughter whatever is waiting for us in that darkness!”
The crowd cheered as the orcs beat their chests, and I turned to face the Labyrinth.
“Let’s go get that little sphere,” I said to Tobias. “Ready?”
“Hell yes,” my buddy said. “Let’s do this shit.”
I stepped into the cave, and my army started to follow behind as Celeste’s fire lit up the tunnel. It was made of dark stone with enough room for there to be twice as many soldiers walking side by side. A faint smell of damp lingered in the air, and dark moss lined the cracks in the ceiling.
“It’s huge…” Aleia whispered.
“That probably means something big lives here,” Nieva muttered.
“Agreed,” I said. “So let’s keep those weapons ready. Priestesses, be prepared to use your powers.”
My women had recently learned how to combine their skills to create powerful weapons, and it had unlocked new possibilities for fighting. I just had no idea what kind of skills we would need to use yet.
We stayed silent for a while as we walked deeper into the tunnel, and the path brought us down a slope. The cave entrance vanished from view as we were led underground, and my eyes darted from side to side as I looked for any signs of movement.
Every time I checked my map, it was like looking at a blank sheet of paper. It was strange to be relying solely on my human instincts again, but I reasoned that it would be the same for every god. It must be part of the challenge to dull our senses and make use of our minds and brute strength.
“This is so weird,” Tobias muttered as we reached the bottom of the slope. “Not being able to scan the map is insane.”
“I know,” I said. “I forgot what it was like to not be able to see everything around me.”
The cave system curved around to the right, and my eyes spotted a glint of white on the ground just as Tobias stepped on something that crunched loudly.
“Bones,” I said as I held a hand up to stop the army. “Those are human-sized.”
We scanned the floor to see shards of splintered white were strewn over the ground. But there were several recognizable chunks of femurs, skulls, and pelvises that made me certain something big had eaten a good meal here, and it clearly had no problems devouring people.
“Weapons ready,” I said. “I think we’re about to step into a den.”
We walked further down the cave as more and more bones appeared under our feet. Then a noise rang out that sounded like something huge being dragged over the ground.
I pulled out the Wrath of Jack as we crept over the cave floor and tried to avoid any shards of bone.
“Jack!” Celeste hissed. “On the right!”
My eyes darted to the side to see a huge nest that was wedged under a small overhang from the wall. The circular structure was made of broken branches with some bones shoved in for good measure. Four pink eggs were inside, and they were each about four feet tall.
“My lord!” Olwen hissed. “Those are basilisk eggs!”
“The snake thing?” I asked, and Tobias nodded quickly.
“I’ve heard of these,” he whispered. “There was one that lived under Rosie’s old home town. They’re incredibly rare but fucking deadly. If you look it directly in the eye, you turn to stone.”
“Seriously?” I asked. “Is that true?”
“Yeah,” Tobias said as his face paled. “It happened to one of Rosie’s relatives before it was finally driven out with fire. Not to mention, they have venomous fangs.”
I spun around to address my people as the dragging noise got louder, and I realized it must be the basilisk slithering around.
“This is going to be deadly,” I said hurriedly. “The basilisk will kill you if you look directly into its eyes, and you also have venomous fangs to avoid.”
“How are we meant to not look at it?” Aleia asked. “We’re bound to see its eyes if we’re fighting it!”
“Keep your gaze on the neck,” I said in a firmly reassuring tone. “Make sure you’re still watching its movements, but do not look at its face.”
I quickly scanned my priestesses to try and work out if their powers could work in our favor. There had to be some way they could protect everyone from seeing this fucker’s eyes.
“Nieva,” I said. “Can you create a storm cloud without the sky?”
The Dragon Queen glanced up at the rocky ceiling and bit her lip.
“I’m not sure,” she said. “I always use the elements around me.”
“You need water,” I said. “Penelope, can you summon a stream for her?”
“Of course,” the naiad said, and she closed her eyes as she raised her arms up slowly.
Blue sparks danced around her fingertips as a swirling mass of liquid started to rise up from the ground. Turquoise water spun in a fluid tunnel, and Nieva focused her snowstorm eyes on the stream.
The Dragon Queen held her hands up to the water as she muttered to herself, and I had to hold in a yell of excitement as a cloud began to form. Penelope’s water dissolved into a gray mist that started to merge together into a mini storm. Then Nieva raised the cloud up with a flick of her wrist until there was a fully formed, dense cloud above us.
“Fucking amazing,” I breathed. “Nieva, can you move that in front of the basilisk’s face when it arrives? Can you do that without looking into its eyes?”
“I know I can,” the Dragon Queen said.
“Good,” I said. “Because I have a feeling we’re about to need it.”
The slow dragging sound drew closer, and a dull hiss filled the air.
“You said fire drove Rosie’s one out?” I asked Tobias, and he nodded.
“It scares them,” he clarified. “But I don’t know how badly it actually harms them.”
“Good thing we have a harpy,” I said. “Celeste, we’re going to need as many streams of fire as you can conjure up. Shoot them right into the bastard the moment we see it.”
“Understood,” Celeste said.
“Jack,” Tobias said. “Do you think we can look at its eyes? We are gods after all.”
“I really don’t know,” I said. “But I say we don’t risk it. This place is going to be filled with shit to really challenge us, and I’m not going to drop at the first hurdle.”
“Got it,” Tobias said. “No eye contact. Just to be safe.”
We walked past the nest, and my heart thudded against my chest as the basilisk got closer. I held my sword tightly as I prepared to swing it into some snake skin. There was a corner coming up in the tunnel, and I saw the shadow moments before the monster appeared.
