"Bibs is in, yes." He nodded, "Are you ok?"
I held up Gregor's helmet to him, "No. No, I am not."
"Ok, well, let's talk to Bibs." Kershka said, opening the door.
We both went inside and as soon as I saw Bibs I said, "I need help."
"What's wrong Ashtar?" He asked turning to look, and freezing. "Oh, that can't be good."
"Alex disappeared while on a early morning hunt with his twins." I informed him. "I found this below the second bridge East of here."
".. We should go see Tilton." Bibs said firmly.
Without any hesitation we all headed to Tilton's house. Bibs was the one to knock. When he didn't come to the door, we barged into the house, heading for his study. A portal was closing up as we entered.
Bibs threw something into the portal before it closed. "Well, damn. We were a little bit too late. But with that, it means they have everyone but us three. But hopefully that bobble will draw out whoever's behind it. Hopefully I'm wrong, but who knows."
"Then we just wait?" I asked.
"Well, I'd rather we have them come seeking us when we have more people around us, but I don't know who I would want being roped into this." Bibs replied.
"I can't think of anyone, either." I said.
Someone came into the house, slamming the door, and coming towards us. I turned to look, Kershka took a fighting stance and Bibs turned invisible whispering, "Be ready."
Who came into the study was little Isarial. He spotted us and looked disappointed. "I take it that Tilton is gone, too?"
Bibs appeared behind him. "Yes. He is gone as well. I assume this is an event you have seen?"
"I'm legitimately surprised Assmodeus isn't already in Tilton's chair with his feet on the desk." Isarial huffed. "But yes. I heard from Sienna and so came to warn Tilton. He didn't move so fast last time."
"Haah. I was hoping it wasn't him. But of course it was. Practically always is. You'd think he'd get bored of this at some point." Bibs said.
"No offense, but why did you come?" I asked. "You're just a baby, you didn't bring anyone with you."
"When you plan to face a devil, you don't bring friends." Isarial argued.
"Sound logic. But only if you can face the devil alone." Bibs said.
".. I can bargain with him." Isarial said. "He tends to not be incredibly annoying."
"Your definition and mine of annoying seem to be incredibly different. The constant harassment of your friends and family tends to cause that kind of reaction." Bibs grumbled.
"No, you're right. But he was once my cute snail, so I'd like to give him a chance." Isarial said.
"Cute snail.. know what? I'm not even really going to ask." Bibs said.
"He just needs a time out of sorts." The boy insisted.
"A time out, you know, as soon as he shows up, we need to tell him that. That he just needs a time out to think about what he's been doing." Bibs said in a serious tone.
"Why are you so serious about that?" I asked.
"I think it would be rather amusing." Bibs replied.
I heard Asmodeus saying, "Oh, well. Hello. I wasn't expecting everyone to be here already. It steals my thunder. Everyone leave and come back in."
Isarial snorted and walked forward, unconcerned. Bibs was next to him. "We're not going to leave the room Asmodeus. Return our friends."
"Oh, Bibsy, it hurts that you don't consider me a friend. We've known each other for years." Asmodeus replied, placing a hand over his chest.
"I didn't know you were so kind, Asmodeus. It's a good look on you." Isarial said in an amused tone. "But really, this situation is only going to go my way. Bibs isn't going to sign your stupid contract to allow you to torture him in hell indefinitely, and you are going to return Alex, Gregor, and Tilton to this room."
"Oh, am I now little one? Aren't you a cocky little thing? Who are you?" Asmodeus asked, appearing greatly amused.
"Isarial Hearthry. A future amusement for you." He answered.
"Future? Why not now? You certainly sound ready. And well versed in what I'd fine amusing." Asmodeus said. He left the pose Isarial said he'd be in, to lean forward with interest.
"Oh, I could keep you at my side for a time." Isarial replied. "But I'd rather you just comply."
"Comply, comply? You want me to comply?" Asmodeus said. "Child, I could throw you into the Nine hills and watch you try and run from a chicken. In fact. That sounds amusing."
As he raised his hand to snap his fingers, Bibs threw something down, and whatever Asmodeus had tried to do failed.
"Firstly, thank you Bibs. Though I would have simply escaped, again. Secondly, I think that's the end of negotiation, hm?" Isarial said, taking out a scroll and activating it. "Snail."
As soon as the magic circled Asmodeus, he looked enraged, started to stand, seemed to resist the magic, but failed and appeared to vanish. The boy ran forward towards the chair, as a portal popped open and poured the three me into the room. They looked a little disoriented, but healthy.
Isarial, meanwhile, began to laugh like a little deranged demon, "What do you think, Bibs? Can I keep 'em?" He walked around to Bibs, showing a small red and black snail in the palm of his hand.
"Is this.. Asmodeus?" Bibs asked.
The men were untangling themselves from one another. The boy continued to laugh, "Uh huh. Scroll of True Polymorph. You can't say I didn't try first."
"That is ingenious, but no, you can't keep the Lord of the Nine Hells." Bibs said. "Honestly I never expected something like that to work. I never thought to try it."
"Right? His mind will start slipping in less than a week. Can you talk to him to keep him sharp? Even if he's a prick.. losing yourself.. isn't something you should face. As long as he isn't killed he'll remain a snail." Isarial explained.
"Then his mind.. hm. I will certainly try to keep him alert." Bibs said.
"I kept him as a pet snail for a little over three and half months before his daughter smooshed him. I've actually missed talking to him." The boy grinned. "Snails like to eat a variety of things, like lettuce and.." he tilted he head and looked amused at the snail, "Good luck on that, Snailmodeus. They eat fruits and vegetables. But they also need a moist terrarium and calcium."
"And what did Snailmodeus say?" Bibs asked.
"Disembowelment." Isarial shrugged. "And some less than creative torture methods. He's kinda just shouting at me mentally, since I mind linked to him." He rolled his eyes, "And he's taken offense to my words. I could make the terrarium for you."
"Oh, why not. We might as well let him live out as long as he lives his snail life out in comfort." Bibs said.
"He could live for twenty five years as a snail in captivity." Isarial said.
"Oh, doesn't that sound nice. Twenty-five years as a snail.." Bibs asked Snailmodeus.
"He said, 'Oh, yes. Twenty-five years as a snail sounds amazing, I get to live as one of you peons'." Isarial repeated what he heard. "He's.. devolved into a tantrum."
The snails eyes waved around as Isarial started chuckling again, which seemed to shut the snail down. I checked on Gregor, touching him lightly, before looking at Alex.
"You're twins are a touch traumatized." I told him.
"Oh, their mother is going to kill me. And it's not even my fault. What am I going to say? The snail did it? 'Yes, everything was fine, Honey, until the snail took me away'." Alex rambled.
"I told Sienna I'd return you. You're expected home. I did say you'd be kidnapped in the future." Isarial commented looking at the snail, "At least Gregor's stupid helmet wasn't lost this time, the masochist."
"I'm sorry, masochist? What did I do to deserve that title?" Gregor asked, while Alex took off.
"To keep your head from being messed with you have that stupid helmet that squeezes your head constantly at different increasing pressures. Then wonder why your head hurts." Isarial replied, looking at him.
"Well, to be fair I quit wondering that a while ago." Gregor responded.
"Did not, or you wouldn't have said, 'Why does my head hurt so damn much.' While leaning back in your office chair. Though, to be fair, Fish having a crush on you and Lana flashing her tits at every breathing thing probably didn't help." Isarial said with a shrug. "Do you want his terrarium to be portable?"
"I don't know any of those names." Gregor replied.
"Um. Sure. I can carry him around." Bibs said.
"You aren't going to be able to bite me, you know? A humans skin is too thick for a garden snail to bite. But sure, you can soften the calluses I'm developing." Isarial rolled his eyes. "Round or square for the terrarium?" After a hesitation, "Then what do you want? Keep it to what your master will allow." Another eye roll. "Well. Since Bibs will keep you as a pet that makes Bibs your master." Pause. "Heh. You'll have to be able to keep you mind. And you won't. I already saw this once. Although.. I do think I'd like him returned before his son, Kain takes over. Asmodeus can be reasoned with. Kain is just a stupid ass."
"Yes, it probably would be best." Bibs agreed.
"I understand that you are advanced, but you shouldn't you fowl words." I scolded Isarial. "And I do appreciate you coming, and all, but your parents are surely concerned."
"Not yet. Snow hasn't cast her spell yet, but I should return..." He agreed. "Last chance, As, tell me what you'd like and I may make it so." Pause, "Circular it is. If you ask nicely, I'll come talk to you." Another pause. "That's fair, but you see, I learned this tactic from you." An eye roll, "Yes, well. How about I share a memory with you of the last time, hm?" The boy chuckled. "I'll show you." He picked the snail up by the shell and offered him to Bibs.
Bibs accepted the snail. "As odd as this situation is going to be, I think it'll be alright."
"Yes, I'll send you the terrarium shortly." Isarial said, starting to leave. "Thanks again, Bibs."
"Not a problem." Bibs replied.
I shook my head, "I don't think I can get used to that boy. How are you both feeling?"
"I'm feeling... actually quite good." Gregor said.
"Indeed, I feel.. stronger." Tilton said.
"You both look a might bit younger." I said, tilting my head. "Yep. Positive. Tilton doesn't have the slight scowl marks at his eyes, and Gregor doesn't have any singular white hairs in his beard, nor any of the lines on your face."
"Haah. I worked for years on those." Tilton huffed.
Gregor poked himself. "I do indeed feel much better."
I hugged Gregor tightly, pressing my face against him and said, "Glad you do."
"I'm sorry bout this. It seems I'm not making it to the Capital today. How about we head home?" Gregor asked.
"That was two days ago." I informed him.
"Ah. Well then. You know, I'm beginning to wonder if that was even an actual letter." Gregor said.
"We can go home for now and see about it tomorrow." I told him, still holding onto him.
He picked me up, "Alright, let's go."
He carried me all the way out of Tilton's house, I'd waved at them as we left, and to the Guildhall. My sleepless nights were catching up to me, but I fought it off. He didn't say much to anyone, just nodding at them, and took me to our room.
He laid me down in the bed. "You look exhausted. Would you like to get a little sleep? Or should I exhaust you further?"
"As long as you're touching me, I don't mind what we do." I said.
He began with kissing me gently, which soon turned more passionate. He had a feral feel to his kisses once more, only the need in him was much more intense. His hands were quick to undress me, he pulled his own clothes off as well. Lifting me, he took my nipple into his mouth, teasing sucking, licking and scraping the nipple with his teeth.
One hand roamed to caress my other breast, toying with me. He layer me back on the bed as I moaned, kissing his way down my body before burying his head between my legs. I cried out in surprise, my hands gripping his hair, as I wriggled and groaned. He didn't restrict my movements, as he licked and nibbled at me. Until he inserted a finger into me during his teasing.
My back arched and I tried to smother my cries, though I found that utterly impossible as he growled and bit my thigh, reaching up and pulling my hand away from my mouth. Pleased with hearing me, he returned his torturous mouth to my center. Unable to resist the mounting pleasute, I called his name and shook as I came.
He wasn't done. He kissed his way back up my body and claimed my lips as he slid his member inside me. There was little gentleness in his wild thrusts, the movements so deep and rough, I could scarcely catch my breath. Our bodies were hot from the merging and sweaty with need and desperation. My thoughts stopped entirely.
All I could do was moan and hold onto him, even once we came. He kept kissing me, and I returned them. After a couple minutes I felt him growing hard inside me again, which began the frantic fucking once more. His kisses were just as wild and uncontrolled as the rest of his movements. He reached one hand between us to tease my nub, sending me over an edge I hadn't known existed.
My body went wild, as intensely as he drove himself inside me, I thrust my body against him. Our moans and kisses were uncontrollable until our worlds seemed to explode simultaneously. If not for his arms around me, I'd have dropped back against the bed. I hadn't even realized he'd held me in his lap in an upright position. I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. With him filling my insides, I fell fast asleep. I woke up, tucked up against him.
"I missed you." I mumbled.
"I'm sorry I was gone for so long. To me, it was.. well, not long at all." Gregor said.
"Your stupid bed is too stupid big and cold without you." I complained, pouting.
"Well, I'm sorry, I could speak to one of the Dwarves and ask if it could be split into two." Gregor suggested, teasing me.
I pulled on his beard lightly. "Just take me with you next time."
"I promise." He replied in a gentle voice.
"I love you." I said softly.
He looked shocked, then his face softened. "I love you, too. I hope to never put you through such emotional stress again."
I kissed him and wrapped my arms around him. "D'you think anyone heard us..?"
He opened his mouth, froze, closed his eyes, then looked at me, "I'll answer your question with another question... What did you think about getting a house again?"
"It could be a good idea." I replied, snuggling him.
"I'll look into it." He said, lifting a hand to cup the back of my head.
"Was it really surprising to hear?" I asked, "That I love you?"
"Those just aren't words I've heard in a long time." He said.
"We're sticky." I noted.
"A bath is in order I'd say." Gregor agreed.
"I don't wanna get up." I protested.
"Well, we can get up and bathe. Or lay here and be sticky. We can't do both." Gregor said.
I kissed him, nipping his bottom lip. "I love you, Gregor. We can bathe."
"I love you, too. Let's go get a bath." Gregor agreed. I could hear the affection in his voice.
We got up and went to the bathroom, much to my surprise, my legs were weak. He ran the bath and we got in together. It was a lot easier to tolerate being in the water, when I was cuddled up to his chest. I told him about what I'd been doing the last couple of days. Which wasn't much, but I'd promised to stay close to town.
He listened, making comments where is was proper. It was still difficult for me to get my face and hair wet, but his hands being right there helped to keep me centered through the process. It was a great change if pace. I was still a bit sleepy, but not as exhausted as I'd been.
Once we'd finished our bath, we dried off and got dressed before heading to the tavern for a meal. As it turned out, I'd slept through the day after our early day sex. He'd stayed with me because I was a big baby that preferred to keep him right next to me, any time we had sex. Especially if I fell asleep after.
He didn't seem to mind my clinginess. I was glad no one seemed to be mentioning our loud love making from earlier. I leaned my head against his shoulder while we ate our meals. We generally got the same meals when we came to the tavern. You'd think we'd get tired of it, but it really was good food.
"Are you tired at all?" I asked.
"No, I feel very refreshed, which is concerning to me on its own. But, it should be fine, I hope." Gregor said.
"Hmm. We could climb the mountain and see if the dragon lives there still." I suggested.
"Sure, we could go see a dragon maybe." He agreed.
We finished our meals and returned home to grab my bag, then we headed out towards the mountain. On the way, I said, "There should be an old gold dragon around somewhere. He and Tilton used to argue a lot, Bibs scarcely kept the dragon from making Tilton into Barbeque. But it should be a white dragon up there."
"A white dragon?" He asked.
"Yep. Only slightly younger than the gold one. The Dwarved really did have a long standing fight to claim the Mountain. The dragon wanted it, and neither wanted to share. It settled on the top of the mountain and the Dwarves took the belly of the mountain." I explained.
"Oh, sure. Let's see if we can't run into an ancient white dragon. It'll be fine." Gregor said.
"Lost your confidence?" I teased him.
"No, no, no. It'll be fine." Gregor replied.
"I could protect you." I continued to tease him, wrapping my arms around his as we walked.
"Then I feel more safe than ever." Gregor said.
"Excellent." I said. Poking his belly.
"What you poking me for?" He asked.
"Acause you aren't a bear." I grinned.
He growled at me.
I reached up and rubbed my fingers along his jaw in his beard. "I'm not afraid of you, my lovely man."
He smiled, "Good. But I can try to be scary. Grr."
"Go for it. Acause I'm not afraid of being bedded by you anymore, so I don't think there is a thing you could do that would scare me." I replied, poking his belly three more times.
"Oh, just give me some time. I'll come up with something." He teased.
"Well, I guess there was something anyways. Acause I found your helmet under the second bridge and that terrified me." I noted.
"Right. My helmet. Forgot I wasn't wearing it. And you really shouldn't have given me a clue as to how I could scare you. That's cheating, I don't feel I'll use that." Gregor said.
"You're really handsome." I commented.
"And you're absolutely gorgeous." Gregor replied.
I giggled and squeezed his arm. We continued walking North for a while, chatting, until we reached the mountain. It was a hard climb for the most part. The exercise felt good, though. The den of the dragon was empty when we reached it, though. There were no signs of the dragon even living here now.
He looked around. "Well, it doesn't appear the dragon is here anymore. I haven't heard of any flying around.."
"It preferred fishin'." I replied. "But yeah, I guess he left. How strange."
"Well, we could ask around. Maybe the Dwarves have seen it? At least more recently than us." Gregor suggested.
"Dunno. But it was a fun walk out here." I said.
"Indeed, it was nice to get out and away from the desk." Gregor said.
"You know, you could probably take a day off a week, and we could got places or play around." I said.
"I think I will. A few days of a month won't hurt anything." Gregor said.
"To be clear, I've been satisfied.with how things are. I'm not complaining. I like you being easy to find." I grinned.
"Well, we can't have that. My predictability was probably one of the leading causes of my capture. I will have to be more spontaneous." He kissed me then smiled.
"I'm pretty sure you'd have been captured anywhere. Alex was taken while hunting early morning with his twins, after all, and Tilton was taken from his office. Then Asmodeus got turned into a snail." I leapt at him, wrapping my arms and legs around him and snuggling him. "Ahh, so warm."
He laughed, placing an arm around me, and began the walk down. So, I sang him a song about winter wolves, how they're born when wars break out and how they fade away when wars are over. Their coming brings sorrow and woe, while their parting means peace at last.
"That sounds a little sad. That would bring hate to an entire species for no reason other than a warning." Gregor said.
"Never fought a winter wolf? They're difficult to deal with. But you are right. They end wars. I don't know why that's considered bad, except that they don't differentiate between sides. Any combatant is their meal." I said. "So said Nan."
"Much like the crows. The side doesn't matter, a body is a body." Gregor said.
"Yep." I said rubbing my cheeks on his face, "D'you know how wonderful and warm you are? Incredibly." I squeezed him with my legs and gave him kisses. Probably making it difficult to see where we were going.
"You are a toasty little orb of beauty yourself, but we may fall over at this rate." Gregor said.
"You can let me down, then." I said, smiling at him.
"How about this?" He moved me around himself and onto his back. "Comfy?"
"Mmhm, that mean you don't want to let me go?" I teased him, wrapping my arms around him and snuggling his neck.
"No, not ever." He said, bluntly.
"That'll be difficult to get any work done." I pointed out.
"Eh, I'll figure it out." He said gently.
"Have your priorities changed, then, Dear Heart?" I asked.
"I suppose a little." He answered.
"That's alright." I said. I kissed his ear. "I'll still distract you."
"You keep that up, you'll make me have to pull out the portable tent." He warned.
"Are you not sleepy at all?" I asked.
"Hmm. I could be made to be more tired." He said.
I squeezed his body with my legs again, and started rubbing his scalp with my fingers. I wasn't used to seeing him without the helmet. Or looking so vibrant. I hadn't realized how tired he'd looked till now.
I kissed the back of his neck after a few minutes of playing in his hair. "What kinda house is it gonna be?"
"Hm. I been thinking. But I haven't been able to answer the most important question." He replied. "Should it be bigger than Tilton's? Just to irritate him."
I laughed. "Would it? Isarial's mansion is bigger. Always has been. It was only three floors back when Dueling Rivers was farm land."
"True, but that mansion was abandoned for a while." He said.
"Well, how come?" I asked.
"Well, it belonged to the previous mayor and we, um, took him out of power. He was not a good person." Gregor answered.
"Oh, okies." I said. "Was there any questions I can help with? I think if it's big it'll have to be outside town, which isn't a big deal to me."
"Oh, I had definitely intended to have it built outside of town. Would you like a balcony?" He asked.
"That might be nice. What do you want?" I replied.
"I'm not really sure. I've never planned on having a house. I don't even know what to put in it." Gregor said.
"Hmm. Same, but we'll figure it out. Should we bother to have a kitchen in it?" I asked. "I mean, I guess we could simply hire someone to cook for us, that'd help give someone steady employment.. What do you think?"
"Hmm.. a personal cook. I could ask around about it and see who people suggest." He said.
"Mhm. Just an idea. Acause I do like the tavern's food." I told him.
"I enjoy the tavern quite a bit myself. But variety is the spice of life I hear." He replied.
I kissed his ear and said, "I love you."
"I love you, too, my little Backpack." Gregor said.
I bit his shoulder lightly and said, "You coulda put me down."
"Coulda, didn't wanna. Not my fault I like feelin' ya." Gregor said.
Content, I just snuggled against him for the remainder of the way down the mountain. It'd taken us a bit to get there, and would take a little less time getting back, because he was faster than me. When I about fell asleep, I decided to keep myself awake by massaging his shoulders. By now, I knew how to work them well. Asides, his hands were supporting me and keeping me where I was.
"You tryna make me fall asleep while carrying you, or something? Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying it." He said.
"I'm just helping you feel good." I said, "And keeping myself awake."
"Oh, falling asleep are we?" He asked.
"Mhm. You're warm and comfy." I said.
"Indeed, I am. And I wouldn't wanna trade that for the world." He said.
I laughed and said, "I haven't much thought about houses.. but I'm sure any place with you will be a perfect home."
"You just trying to butter me up? 'Cause it's working." He said.
"That's all because you're so easy to flatter." I teased him.
"Well, when you don't hear flattery too often, it's easy to be flattered I guess." He said.
"Aw, are you saying I don't show you enough love?" I asked.
"I'm just saying it's something that's been missing from my life for quite a while." Gregor said.
I kissed the back of his head, "Tilton always said flattery is insincere and not worth minding. But even still, he generally seemed pleased with compliments."
"That's because only a fool wouldn't be." He replied.
I reached around his shoulder, gently cupping his jaw and turning his head to steal a kiss. "Does your shoulder bother you still, or has that been fixed since you're return?"
"You know, amazingly enough, I feel great. I keep expecting to just fall apart since it was an Asmodeus joke." He commented.
"It could have just been an unexpected side effect he didn't consider before taking you. I mean, even Tilton looked younger." I pointed out.
"I'm going to go with it's a happy little side effect. But I swear he used to be so much worse before.. it's like he's lost his edge, not that I'm going to say that." Gregor commented.
"Maybe it's because I treated him nicely?" I said. "I dunno. Isarial once said he was the kindest companion to him formerly."
"Who knows. Maybe he got tired of being cruel and now he's just trying to be.. annoying?" Gregor suggested.
"Well, maybe he's just bored and trying to find fun by doing something different." I shrugged.
"It's entirely possible. Still not a fan of it, but it's entirely possible." He said.
I yawned a little and said, "Well, I know leopards don't change their spots. I suppose a proper training room, and a crafting room would be good. What do you think?"
"Yes, I believe those would be very good rooms for us." Gregor agreed.
"Maybe a basement for a safe room type of thing." I said.
"You know, a safe room wouldn't be all that bad. It's not something I ever thought I needed, but I did just get kidnapped." He said.
"We'd have to storm and spell proof it." I noted.
"And put in a puzzle lock. Never under estimate the power of a simple puzzle lock." He said.
"Hmm. Sure, Dear. Locks only keep honest people out." I said.
"And the unskilled. Helps you gauge what you're up against." He pointed out.
"You're up against me." I pointed out.
"Should I consider you grappled then?" He asked.
"Mutually." I agreed.
"I still feel I hold the advantage." He said.
"Mm, no. I think I do." I replied.
"I think I'm gonna have to see your advantage here." He said.
I placed a hand in between us, against his spine, below his shoulder blades and applied pressure beginning to rub. He always enjoyed this.. a lot. To severe distraction.
"Well, that's just cheating." He commented.
"Whose got the advantage?" I teased him.
"You do... for now." He said.