After making myself feel good, and made Dana's voice hoarse from yelling my name over and over, we both slept for a good amount of time. In the morning, I made breakfast and served it in bed, which Dana apparently really liked, if her quite enthusiastic oral sex afterwards was any indication. I was pretty sure she was joking when she said she wanted more milk for her tea. She never takes milk in her tea.

I gave her a tour of the rest of the Sanctuary, including the potions labs. For some reason, she said she wanted to have sex in there, so I obliged and gave her what she wanted. I also asked her if she used the potions I gave her and she sighed and wouldn't say what happened. I thought about dosing her with truth serum and decided against it. If she couldn't tell me because it was work related, I wouldn't force her.

We met in the cafeteria for lunch and the others were there waiting for us, fully prepared to get back to work. So, we took the food back to the meeting room and did just that. We worked right up until suppertime as we refined the plans and the route I would take. My modification of Dana's plan for resource visits in certain areas, to have multiples in different areas instead of only having one travelling all the time, was readily accepted.

Dana stayed over again and claimed that she had access to me for another day and she wasn't going to waste it. So, we went to bed again that night and had a lot of fun. I hadn't really had that before, since it was usually something I did to make a woman feel pleasure. Dana showed me how important it was that I enjoyed it too, and I appreciated that.

The next day, we set up the supplies and the carriages with beds inside, with armed guards, just in case. It was nearly a full day's work, considering how much territory I planned to cover as quickly as possible. I also made up another batch of truth serum to show Dana how easy it was and the ingredients it used. She cursed at me for telling her and then she tore off my clothes and had her way with me.

Dana also promised that she wouldn't give the recipe to anyone else. Not that I cared about that. It was a preventative measure, because no one could take me away and lock me up, if other people knew how to make it as well. We slept in bed again that night and Dana seemed a little desperate in the morning as we had sex once more. The bath afterwards was just as sex filled.

“This might be the last time I see you.” Dana said as she dressed.

“I'll eventually come back for you, if that's what you want.” I said and she looked sad.

“David, it's not that I want you to. Do you want to?” Dana asked.

“I'm not coming back to stay at the capital. I want to go home.” I said and she sighed. “You won't leave your life here, either.”

“No, I worked too hard to...” Dana stopped talking and looked at me. “Oh. I see.”

I finished dressing and walked over to her to hug her. “I'll come back in the late fall for the academy.”

Dana shook her head. “No, that's not the same thing as coming back for me, David. I can't really put my life on hold and hope that you'll somehow make it back here without being hurt during this quest of yours, only to not have you come back for months because you choose not to.”

I thought about that. “I also don't want to put my return to my life on hold and come right back here. I've spent too much time here, done too much here, to have this place be anything but hard on me.”

Dana huffed. “One good girlfriend wasn't enough to counter all the horror and death you've been through?”

“Counter? No.” I said and gave her a long and tender kiss for several moments. “Get me through the worst of my breakdown so far? Yes.”

“So far.” Dana whispered.

“I fully expect to lose it when I'm close enough to Ester's Village. Either just before I get there or just after. It all depends on if I sense her there.”

Dana nodded. “You know she's there. You told me before that she was waiting for you.”

“I won't be holding back against her anymore. I've always been afraid of her, always fearful of what she would do if I defied her.” I said and gave her another tender kiss. “Now I know. She took it all away from me. My wife. My son. My life.”

“David, she... your life...”

“Now I'm going to take everything away from her.” I interrupted. “She wanted to set the mages guild up to wreck the Gulf Kingdom and rule. I'm taking that away from her. Mages will no longer have the ear of the royal family, because I have it. Mages will no longer have power to dictate conditions when they are there, because everyone doubts their choices now. They can't even have their own gathering places, because I fixed that.”

“You really are exterminating them.” Dana said.

“Only the bad ones. The corrupted, the greedy, the ones that believe they are entitled to lord it over the common people and some of the nobles. The ones the Hag has ensnared in her scheme to bring the Gulf Kingdom down.” I said and she nodded. “The others, if they are smart, will accept the way things are going to be. If not, they will go the same way as Mage King's husband. No dissent is allowed and I will hunt them down.”

Dana gave me one last kiss and stepped away. “Then you better get started.”

“You, too.” I said and she turned her head to look away. “Pick up a case or two more of the green potions and a case of the immolation potion on your way out.” I said and went to the safe as I took out the multiple small bags of gold I had left there and attached them to my belt. I also put on both the royal ceremonial sword and my own, both for easy draws from their sheaths.

“David, I... the case of truth serum is enough. I told you to not give away something so valuable.”

I stepped close to her again and gave her a big smile, Hope's favorite smile, and she caught her breath. “You are under the assumption that I think those potions have any value besides their use.”

“By... by the Father's Grace.” Dana whispered. “You... you really...”

“I've been able to tell when someone lies to me since I was a child.” I said and gave her a quick kiss before I walked to my room's door. “That potion is less valuable to me than air.”

Dana stared at me and I waved at her, then I left the room and went down the stairs.

“Everything is prepared, my lord.” Jensen said.

“Thank you, my friend.” I said and took his hand to shake it. “Have fun with everything, love your wife and your upcoming children, and be good to our people.”

Jensen chuckled. “Don't be a stranger, my lord. We'll see you again when you come back to attend the academy next year.”

I nodded and let his hand go. “Goodbye, Jensen.”

“Goodbye, David.” Jensen said.

A loud chorus of goodbyes and shouts followed and I turned to look at all the people on the ship and gathered around it. Everyone had come out to see me off.

“I'm going to miss hearing you all laugh at me when I make stupid mistakes!” I said and they all laughed.

“Good luck!” “Kick their asses!” “Burn it all!” “Make them pay!” “YEAH!”

“They won't know what hit them.” I said and they all cheered. “Goodbye.”

“GOODBYE, MY LORD!” They all yelled, one a little louder than the others.

I looked for her and saw Hanna being hugged by an older lady that I hadn't seen in months. Nana stood there looking sad as she held the younger woman tenderly. I thought about saying something to her, maybe apologize to her for Hanna ignoring her while she was spending so much time with me. Then I realized that wasn't my fault.

It wasn't my job to make sure other people around me maintained their friendships or relationships. I nodded to her and she nodded back. “Jensen, send a message to Jinelle for me. I would go myself if I thought she would let me leave afterwards.”

Jensen laughed. “Of course, my lord. What's the message?”

“I sincerely apologize for my behaviour. Please find it in your heart, that's behind your delicious and perfect breasts, to forgive me.”

Jensen looked surprised. “David, are you sure that...”

“Word for word, please. She'll accept the message if she knows it's really from me.” I said and he nodded as he wrote it down. “Thank you.”

“Good luck, my lord.” Jensen said.

I climbed into the tank to more cheers and drove off towards the relocated gates and out into the street. I activated the stealth and hiding enchantments, even though it was still early and no one was really out on the streets. I didn't want to cause another panic or slow my progress out of the city.

What followed was several weeks of the oddest military campaigns that anyone had ever seen. It was an internal one against our own military. One warning was given to surrender, then everyone that didn't, was slaughtered. The mages were first, of course. They were the most dangerous. If they were powerful enough, they could potentially disable some of the enchantments on the tank.

I wouldn't allow that, though. I layered them on top of each other, putting innocuous ones at the very forefront. The fire suppression and magic detect ones. Ten layers of them, in fact. It was laughable as they tried to use spellfire to overpower the tank's enchantments, as if they could get through the fully charged mage shield enchantment buried under the others.

As I travelled on to each new site of battle, I gathered up the valuables and stashed them in large sacks attached to the back of the tank. When they were full and I needed a resupply as well, I would divert my course and meet one of the many resupply carriages and exchange the loot for food and ammunition.

I also had to stop a few times and administer truth serum before slaughtering the mages. A few of them had given up after attacking and I needed to check if they were really repentant or just pretending. I was never surprised when they were just pretending to try and save their own lives to attack me later when I relaxed. I always told them I never relax when I'm working and then beheaded them.

I continued on and on, doing the dirty work of cleaning up the army's messes and the corruption from the mages. I hadn't known how easy it was to just bribe people to do what you want. If I had known that years ago, and had money, I could have paid off the villagers and made them accept me without any fuss.

That thought made me chuckle. I wouldn't have been attacked, killed someone, or been sentenced to death and given to the army. I wouldn't have learned how to kill people in so many ways or earned a lot of money doing what I did anyway while hunting for food, namely harvesting the parts for use later. My life had changed so much and it was getting fuller and fuller. I hadn't realized it at the time. It wasn't until it was all gone that I saw what I had lost. What the Hag took from me.

My anger flared and I was glad that I was out in the open and interrogating several mages when it happened. I didn't even have to direct it as it lashed out at the mages and they screamed as they suffered magic burn. Having too much magic shoved through you wasn't a pleasant experience and their skin cooked and blistered.

A moment later, their magic blew and their bodies exploded. I was glad that I had my medallion on, because having six people around you blow up, was a little messy. On the plus side, the nearby army outpost that had been monitoring me and waiting their turn to be assaulted and interrogated, surrendered immediately.

I only had to kill the command structure and the officers ordering the men. Also a few of the soldiers. They had grand plans for taking over and that wasn't going to be allowed. I got rid of their friends, too. Plotting revenge on me and then taking over wasn't a good idea, either. I didn't loot the outpost and distributed the officer's pay to the troops, which made them happy.

I kept track and documented everything, because I knew that Melanie would want as much paperwork as I could make for her during this hunt. I was okay with that, because even someone like me needed time to stop, eat, look around the town, and take a break. Dana had taught me the benefit of that. I remembered her from the day I had left and grew hard for her.

I wasn't going to be able to work like that, so I went to the local inn. The man behind the counter looked a little high class, so I approached cautiously. “Excuse me, I wish to rent a room for the evening... and perhaps, if it is agreeable and available... acquire the services of a personal maid or a lady of the night.”

The man looked affronted for a moment. “Sir! I assure you that we do not offer those kinds of services...” He leaned in close to whisper so the others in the lobby couldn't hear. “...for no less than fifty silver. The room included.”

I put a gold coin on the counter and he snatched it up. “A bath would not be remiss.”

The man smiled and stood up straight as he handed me a key. “The second room on the right. I'll have the wench prepare the tub for you.” He said and walked over to a door. “Wench! Second room! We need a bath run!”

I turned and waited, my hearing easily picking up their whispered conversation.

“He's paid a gold for you tonight, so make sure you don't mess this up again. Give him a good time and maybe he'll tip you a few silver.”

“Can't I just knock him out and tell him I did him?” The woman's voice asked.

“That only works on the drunks, you idiot.”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry boss.”

The man chuckled. “He looks like he has money and is used to it, so you might not have to do more than suck on him a little before he blows.”

“Ha! I can charge him extra if he wants to keep going.”

“That's the spirit.” The man said. “Put on the nice maid dress and get up to the room. I'll send him up in a few minutes and you can give him a little show.”

“That's a great idea, boss! He might even blow from just seeing my panties when I'm bent over!”

The man laughed. “Get going, you!”

“Yessir!” The woman said and went out another door.

The man walked back over to me and smiled. “Sir, it'll just be a couple of minutes and you can go on up.”

“Thank you.” I said and put another gold coin on the counter.

The man stared at it and then looked at my face.

“I reward prompt service.” I said and walked over to the window.

I counted in my head for three minutes as I looked out at nothing in particular, then I turned and nodded to the man before I went up the stairs to the room. As I knew would happen, I entered the room and the maid was bent over the side of the tub. Her too short maid outfit didn't give her any cloth at all to provide modesty and it barely attempted to hide her backside. They did look like nice panties, though.

“Is that a glimpse of heaven I see?” I asked as I shut the door and locked it.

She made a little 'eep' sound from being startled, then she fought to not turn and look at me. “My... my lord, you... you have... caught me in a precarious position.”

“Would you like to stay in that position?” I asked and she moaned a little. I hadn't even touched her yet. “No, that would be uncomfortable for you.” I said and walked over to the tub.

She turned her head slightly, leaving her ass hanging out, and looked up at my face. She sucked in a sharp breath and licked her lips. “My... my lord. I think... wherever you want me, I would be happy.”

I smiled one of Hope's smiles and she seemed to lose strength and sat down on the floor to stare at me. “I need a bath before I can do anything else.” I said and started to strip. I watched her as I did so.

She was drooling a little as I pulled off each piece of clothing until I was down to just my underwear.

“Since you're already down there, can you get my underwear off for me?”

“Y-y-yes, m-my l-lord.” She stammered and her slightly shaking hands took hold of them and she slowly pulled them down. Her face was a little apprehensive until she saw me hanging there and she moaned.

I stepped out of the underwear and into the tub. “You may use the cloth. Lather it up and begin.”

She bit her lip and did as I asked, then she spent an inordinate amount of time caressing my muscles and not really washing me.

I refrained from laughing at her actions as I washed myself around her roaming hands to get myself actually clean. I was done long before she was and she seemed to be happy just rubbing her hands over my arms and chest.

“Thank you for the bath.” I said and she jumped a little.

“It's over?” She asked, disappointed.

I didn't say anything and stood up to put my crotch right in front of her face. “You may dry me and perform the ritual.”

She moaned and had to wipe off her mouth, then she used a towel to barely dry me off before she abandoned the towel. Her hands and mouth were on me instantly and she quickly got me hard. She moaned loudly and really got into sucking on me. In fact, her enthusiasm made her actions almost frantic, as if she needed to get me off as soon as possible.

I didn't fight the feeling as I approached orgasm and tapped the top of her head. “Here it comes.”

“Mi moh.” She mumbled and kept sucking and moving her head.

I let myself go and she moaned loudly as I poured myself into her mouth. She swallowed several times, not stopping her movements or sucking action, and she kept going. I gave her a questioning look and she mumbled something, then closed her eyes and ignored me. I didn't mind if she wanted me to shoot again. I grabbed a towel and dried myself off.

After she sucked me off the second time, she seemed to relent her hold on me and slid her mouth off with a smacking sound. “I guess you're satisfied now.” She said, clearly disappointed.

“Whatever gave you that idea?” I asked and she looked up at my face. “I paid for the whole night, not just for a bath.”

“The... the... the night. The whole night.” She whispered, awe on her face.

“I've never done anything halfway.” I said and reached down and picked her up.

She let out an 'eep' sound and then she clung to my neck like a death spider.

I took her over to the bed and laid her down on it. “Please lay back and relax. It's your turn for the bath ritual.”

“OHHH!” She gasped and soaked her panties.

I laid down between her legs and pulled her panties off.

“A noble is going down on me! I can't believe it!” She exclaimed, then she moaned when I buried my tongue deep inside of her.

Ten minutes later, she said almost the same thing as I buried my manhood deep inside of her.

“A noble is having sex with me! I can't believe it!” She exclaimed, then she moaned continuously for the rest of the night.