Welcome back to Bookworld Online! We hope your long time away has been beneficial to you and that you will enjoy another sojourn into this twisted fantasy world.
Previous book completion has unlocked special options for you to choose from this time around. Because of both the hardships and the triumphs your player character has experienced, personal modifications have also been added for both mental and physical benefits.
New starting characters have been added.
New starting areas have been added.
New social and political statuses have been added.
The normal choices are available for the main storyline as well as several branching storylines. You can even choose multiple options and play out each scenario as if it was an entirely different experience while also interacting with whatever character profiles you don't choose. It will be as immersive or passive as you want it to be.
Please make your choices.
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Starting Character / Area as a Male:
David Drake (Real Name James Addams) - Drake's Marsh
Markus Henrietta - Gulf Kingdom
Random Commoner - Random Area
Starting Character / Area as a Female:
Eludora - Kingdom of Fala
Falla Drake (Real Name Sarah Stevenson) - Eastern Empire
Random Commoner / Slave - Random Area
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I read over the options and saw that if I chose a named male character to play their story, I had much better options. If I chose a female, It was mostly slave or would become slaves eventually. That seems skewed towards keeping me male and was a bit concerning. Maybe because of my previous playthrough and how women were treated?
I shook my head and my eyes went to the guy I previously played. He had gone through so much and in the end, he lost everything because he had been only living for the now and dealing with all the consequences of his choices, most of which that resulted in everything good in his life being destroyed. He learned his lessons the hard way and the story was both great and terrifying.
But... but... what if... what if...
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Main Character chosen: David Drake.
Please choose any optional upgrades to move from passive to active (50 credits each).
Savant (Magic, all branches)
Perfect Body (potion modified with extensive training)
Knowledge Absorption (your mind is like a sponge for anything you are interested in)
Fantastic Lover (Noble, Commoner, Slave)
Inventor (defensive, offensive, personal and public)
Builder (defensive, offensive, personal and public)
Manipulator (emotional, physical, circumstance, business)
Extra Options not fully unlocked within story mode (100 credits each):
General Knowledge (includes schooling)
Medical Knowledge (includes physical and spellwork)
Spell Knowledge (includes math)
Farming Knowledge (ingredients, crops, animals)
Enchanting Knowledge (includes wards and runes)
Fighting Knowledge (basic, martial arts, street fighting)
Harem King (Ignorant or Intentional)
Story Save Areas (8, 1 previously unlocked)
Personal Map (physical maps mostly completed)
Quick Travel (known locations / properties owned)
Optional Quests (can be done at any time, repeatable, minimum strength required)
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Good Lord. I thought and read them all again. It was... well, game changing. If I started out with even some of those options... yeah, I am totally choosing as many as I can. The costs were negligible, considering the amount of credits I earned from the last time I played it. I should skip the Harem King option, though. Being ignorant of all the women trying to bed me was disastrous the last time.
With my choices made, I read the story intro and it was quite a bit different from the last time I had read it. I had still been sold as a sick baby and the Hag saved me and the farm, so my family prospered. She was still a sadistic cannibal that enjoyed the taste of my flesh, too. The difference was, because of the options I had chosen, my younger self fully embraced the Hag's way of teaching.
I was such a prolific student that she only fed from me once a week, because me being stronger both physically and magically, made me that much tastier when she indulged herself. On the plus side, she was still not a molester and kept her hands to herself. That hadn't stopped me from taking advantage of her, though.
With my unlocked knowledge, I knew a certain thing needed to happen for me to become even stronger. I was going to use her own perversion to gain what I needed to survive.
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Starting Story Mode. Options added. Knowledge unlocked. Personality blocks engaged at 50%. Previous knowledge of choices retained. Initiating... initiating... done.
Have fun, David! Kick everyone's asses!
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I opened my eyes and I was on a nice bed. That is, nice as it could be in the middle of a deadly swamp and being the apprentice of the Hag. She was a terrifying presence and I honestly thought it was endearing. The first time I called her cute when she was beating me for messing up her meal of meat by adding tubers, she had eaten the little finger from each of my hands and sealed the wounds.
My giggle and claim that it tickled had put an odd look on her face and she seemed stunned and at a loss for words. I had been five at the time and her eyes kept darting to my missing fingers and then to my smiling face. The crunching of my tiny bones between her teeth had been loud in the silent hut.
After that incident, her behavior was only slightly better towards me, even when I changed her protective wards to make them last longer. It was just an extra cut in the magic reserve channel and when she asked me why I did that, I said it was the same on the first one she ever did. The look on her face was blank, she slapped me upside the head, and then she charged it and left me alone.
I barely held in my laugh at the time and she kept at me over everything I did that was weird, as in making things a little bit better for the both of us. I pretty much thought she was wallowing in depression for some reason and if things started to improve, she felt either guilty or angry for enjoying her time in the marsh.
Like I said, it was endearing. She was trying so hard to be the bad guy that she completely missed all of the nice things she did for me, like protecting me from all the creatures and beasts that would have killed me. She even saved me from drowning once before she realized what she had done and then she intentionally drowned me and revived me, just so I wouldn't panic the next time I fell in the water.
When I was ten years old, I finally had her relaxed just enough to get what I had been preparing myself for. I knew what she used as a catalyst for her potions and without it, they were just so much swamp water. Magic infusion or not, they wouldn't become an actual potion until she added her catalyst.
“I've groomed you for years to become the perfect restorative for me, Boy.” The quite beautiful Hag said after she had drank about a pint of my blood. The funny thing was, she preferred to be called Sorceress when she abandoned her Hag disguise. “Now strip off and get on the bed for me, while I go and get my tools.”
I did as she asked and waited patiently as she lovingly retrieved her things and came over to the bed. She was very precise as she sliced my leg up and didn't do as much damage as she used to. She knew if she dug too deeply, I wouldn't be as mobile as I usually am, even with the enhancements she had given me over the years.
The Hag finished chewing up a good portion of my thigh and handed me a healing potion. I drank it and my flesh and muscle grew back and the skin grew over the top of it. It left another patch of new skin among the scars and neither I nor the Hag mentioned it. I was covered with them and they didn't stand out any more than the others did.
“I forgot to use magic to make that taste better.” The Hag said with a frown. “Stay still while I get another piece to feast on.”
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You have a choice to make. Will you stick around for the Sorceress to continue feasting on you or will you finally make a break for it and risk your life trying to survive in the marsh on your own?
A) Do as she wants. B) Spit in her eye. C) Flee. D) Grab one of her tools and fight. E) Bargain.
This is what I've been waiting for! I thought with happiness. I choose E!
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I had to keep the smile off of my face or she would know I was up to something, not that she didn't know that anyway. I had been too compliant for her liking the last few years and she always expected me to attack her or to try and escape. I always made sure that she saw me completely reject the option when it presented itself, or when she gave me one, and this time was no different.
“Maybe I... um... can I ask for something?” I asked her, my voice tentative.
The Hag's eyes squinted. “Who do you think you are to demand anything from me?”
I shook my head several times. “Never. Never demand. I'm not stupid.”
That just made the Hag's eyes nearly squint shut completely.
“I saw something in the village the last time we were there.” I said and I wasn't lying. I really had. It would hopefully give me the opening I needed.
“What did you see?” The Hag asked.
I shook my head again. “No, not stupid.” I said and her searching gaze didn't change. “I'll offer first.”
“Offer? What do you mea....” The Hag's voice trailed off as my hand very slowly reached for one of her dissection tools. Her squinted eyed look changed to wide eyes as I intentionally let fear fill me and I took the scalpel to a clean part on my other thigh.
I hissed in pain as I cut a fairly large piece out of my tender flesh and made sure to get it nice and bloody for her. It hurt a lot, especially when I peeled the skin off to leave the tender flesh revealed. It also removed the tiny hairs and she wouldn't get them stuck in her teeth. I also gathered my minuscule amount of magic and infused it into the flesh as I held it out to her.
“P-p-please accept my o-offer, Sorceress.” I said, my voice shaky. I didn't even have to fake it.
The Hag's mouth was opened slightly and drool seemed to flow out unhindered. She didn't bother trying to hide her desire as she snatched it from my trembling hands and she munched on it as if it was the most delicious thing she had ever eaten. The thing was, it probably had been. I had made sure to research everything I could and observed her for years to figure out her favorite meal. A fearful me.
It took several minutes for the hag to come back to herself and she shuddered and shivered, then her eyes landed on my still bleeding wound. She fell upon my thigh and licked and sucked on it, her tongue almost lovingly lapped at my flowing blood. I made sure to keep myself deathly afraid of her, which was easy, because she could tear me apart in seconds to completely eat me whenever she wanted.
I felt her teeth on the edge of the wound and hissed for her and stiffened. She let out a soft moan and her sharp teeth left a perfect indentation in the flesh. She didn't bite it through like I expected, though. I let my surprise out and it showed on my face as she sat up and handed me another healing potion.
The Hag laughed her cackling laugh as I sat there and didn't drink the potion. “You expected me to kill you for trying to bribe me?”
“I thought... well... I was afraid you wouldn't stop.” I said and ducked my head. “I've never done... you're so strong and...”
“What is it you want from me?” The Hag said.
“That thing I saw in the village.” I said and drank the healing potion.
“Yes? Hurry up and spit it out.” The Hag said, her mood started to swing back to her default anger.
“It was this.” I said and leaned forward and kissed her.
The Hag gasped, which was perfect for me, and I jammed my tongue into her mouth. Before she could do more than that, I prodded the gland under her tongue and her catalyst squirted out and into my mouth. I swallowed as I continued to kiss her, to her shock, then she realized what had happened.
I felt her hands slam into my chest and I was flung backwards and tumbled away and hit the wall with my back. I was glad it wasn't my head, because I would have missed the next attack coming. I let my self-training kick in and I rolled to the side and her bare foot went through the wall of the hut.
She let out a strangled cry and yanked her foot back and dove after me. I ducked and she flew over me and hit the potion making table. I had already cleaned it off, so only the empty pot fell off the table and clattered to the floor.
“I am going to kill you!” The Hag growled.
“That girl didn't react like that when the guy did that!” I shouted and crawled under the bed.
The bed suddenly disappeared and the Hag's hand slammed into my head before I could dodge completely. Thankfully, she had only slapped me, so my head was only rung like a bell and hadn't been torn off or mulched by her fist.
“Stupid, stupid, Boy!” The Hag said and grabbed me by the neck and lifted me up, her hand chocking me only slightly. “Do you know what you've done?”
I made myself blush and intentionally avoided her eyes. “I... I... I love you.”
The Hag froze as still as a statue and she wasn't breathing.
“You took me in when I was sick and fixed me. You took care of me all this time and you taught me everything to survive in the marsh. You're strong and powerful and you can do magic.” I said and lifted my eyes to look into hers. I let her see my desire to learn as well. “I want to be strong and powerful, too.”
The Hag held me for several minutes and didn't say anything, then she did something I never would have expected. She opened her mouth and kissed me again.
I felt the flood of catalyst flow into my mouth and I eagerly swallowed as much as she was willing to give me. Apparently it was a lot, because the flow slowed down and stopped and the gland she had was quite empty. I then felt a flood of magic flow though her tongue and I didn't hide my moan as my own small amount of magic eagerly latched onto hers and sucked it down.
The flood flowed through me, all through my limbs and torso, and then returned to my head and I shoved it out through my tongue like she had just taught me. It was the Hag's turn to moan and her hand around my throat disappeared and she hugged me close to let the kiss linger for as long as the magic flowed.
I could feel my reserves grow and the Hag must have as well, because she suddenly stopped sharing and our magic settled down into their normal sedate states. She broke the kiss and the look on her face was a mix of both shock and need. It was an odd look to see on her normally angry face.
“I do not love children.” The Hag denied, quite vehemently.
My hand reached up to cup the side of her unwashed face. “I won't always be a child.”
The Hag shivered and gave me a squinted look. “You are going to be in agony for days.”
“You'll always look cute when you make faces like that.” I responded.
The Hag growled and tossed me across the hut to land on the wrecked bed, then she was on me and had my right foot in her mouth. She slowly chewed off my little toe and I let fear and a little terror fill me as she did her work. She took one from each foot and then she sealed them, stood to give me a blank look, then she tossed me a potion I had only seen once before.
I drank it right away and she gave me a nod and left the hut. I started to scream as the fortifying potion flowed into my stomach and mixed with the catalyst that had been thoroughly infused with magic. I had just barely started using my boosted magic to start disseminating the potion throughout my body when my voice gave out and I started shaking uncontrollably. I blacked out half an hour later.
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Body modification has begun. Physical enhancement at 50%. Training bonuses have doubled.
Time for bonuses to expire: 11 months, 29 days.
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I woke up and I felt strong. It wasn't the strength potion feeling, though. I felt like I was better, more efficient, and mentally prepared for what was to come.
“Get up, Boy.” The Hag said and I hopped to my feet. She looked surprised for only a second and her face went back to anger. “Here. Read this.”
I caught what she threw at me and my eyes widened. Basic Spell Casting and Invocation.
“Ask me if you have any problems.” The Hag said and walked back towards the entrance to the hut. “And get supper started.”
“Yes, Sorceress.” I said and bowed my head with respect. I saw her look back and see me and hid my own smile at the slight smile on her face.
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Montage Mode engaged. Time compression for repetitive tasks enacted. Skipping miscellaneous details. Done.
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It was my seventeenth birthday and the Hag surprised me by throwing herself a little party. It involved quite a lot of alcohol, several poisonous frogs that caused hallucinations when liberally added to tongue licking and rubbing on intimate parts, and finally giving in to her repressed sexual desires.
I had to admit that the woman sure knew what she was doing when she took my virginity. She didn't hold back at all as she had her way with me and told me exactly how she wanted me to treat her. I pounded her into the bed for hours and she screamed her pleasure to the heavens, just as she had waited years for, and her last conscious thought was that I had become the perfect mate for her.
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You have a critical choice to make. Will it be the right one? This will change the entire course of the story.
A) Do something stupid. B) Do nothing. C) Do what you always wanted to do.
There's not much of a choice there. I thought with a smile. I choose C.
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My enchanted blade slid through the Hag's twisted heart and into the bed below her, because that was what I had been aiming for, and the Hag died with a smile on her face and my expulsions and her blood leaking out of her.
I didn't drink any of her blood or tried to eat any of her flesh, because I knew she was a corrupting influence. The power up would have been worth it if it didn't give me her constant hatred that she had barely any control over, not that she tried hard to keep it contained. The residents of Ester's Village could easily attest to that.
I prepared the acid potion and carefully added her in bits and pieces to dissolve her away and removed the evidence that I had killed her, not that I was going to tell anyone that she was dead or that I had done it. I wasn't an idiot. I also wasn't going to say anything about her disappearance, mainly because I was also going to disappear.
The village hated the Hag, mainly because she was such a hateful evil bitch. They also abused her nature and used her desperation for food and supplies, namely alcohol, to essentially rob her blind for the potions they needed to stay alive so close to the marsh. Since I was not an idiot and had been the one doing all the work the last few years, I was leaving and letting them reap what they had sewn.
I packed up everything I had gathered up over the years. The five books from the Hag, dozens of crates of fungus powder, dozens of crates of number ten potion, dozens of crates of various others that I thought would be essential for my survival out in the world, and entire sections of peat moss and bog with various ingredients that I loaded into the huge barge I had built for that exact purpose.
I could pretty much go anywhere in the world and set myself up to live well and I would never have to come back to the marsh. I would eventually, because it was my home. I just had to get it registered with the Gulf Kingdom as the sole resident first. If that didn't work, especially with the way that land titles were handled, I might have to take a few drastic measures.
I loaded my own boat with all of the various animal horns, antlers, pelts, and tusks that I knew would be much more valuable in a much bigger town than Ester's Village. It brought my mind back to last year when I had been making a potion delivery to Mack's store and he asked Diane to prepare for a trip to the next town to get more supplies, so I knew they bought their products from elsewhere.
I charged up the protection runes on the house and the surrounding lands and then hopped into my boat, secured the large barge, and used the movement enchantment to propel the boat and barge down the waterway. I used a long metal pole to whack the head of the waterbeast that tried to come near my boat and it flopped over onto its belly.
I swung the pole and smashed the jumping death spider that tried to enter the boat from the above trees and it's mangled body landed on a mass of tangling vines. It wrapped the remains up and soon they couldn't be seen anymore.
I kept up my vigilance technique for the entire trip into town and fought off several snakes, a handful of death spiders, and another water beast. It wasn't until I reached safer waters that I realized I had forgotten to make a protection ward for the boat and barge and hadn't stopped anywhere to grab a wildwood tree.
I sighed at being so shortsighted, because it was only me and I had a packed boat and a huge barge filled with lots of expensive and important things. It was just luck that someone I had met years ago saw me and waved from the shore by the dock.
Shelly Phelps was only twelve and she waved happily. “David! DAAAVID!”
I had to chuckle at her enthusiasm. Unlike nearly everyone else in town, she didn't hold the Hag's reputation against me. Yes, I was dirty. Yes, I was smelly. Yes, she liked me anyway. I pretended to use the pole and brought the boat and barge over to the dock and carefully bumped against it.
“What is all of that stuff?” Shelly asked and pointed to the piles and piles of things.
“It's just a bunch of things the Hag didn't want hanging around the hut.” I said with a shrug. “It took me all day to load it up and I'm looking to sell some of it to rent a room.”
“A room? What for?” Shelly asked, her eyes roaming over the animal parts she could see. She sucked in a breath and pointed. “Are those near-rabbit pelts?”
“Yep! All tanned and prepped for making things.” I said, a bit proudly. The tanning potion was a particularly ingenious modification of mine from altering the fortification potion. It worked near instantly when it was applied and saved weeks of normal prep work and drying.
“Can... can I have one?” Shelly asked, her eyes giving me a wide and sad look.
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You have a minor choice to make. It will affect your interactions with the Phelps family.
A) Hand it over. B) Tell her she's cute. C) Bargain. D) Kiss her to thrill her. E) Say no.
Damn, that's some odd choices. I thought with a chuckle. It worked the last time, so let's do C.
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“That depends.” I said and she perked up to listen as I picked two of them up from the huge pile. “How much is a room at the inn and can you sell one of them for me to get the money?”
Shelly looked thoughtful for a minute and then she started to smile. “Wait here and I'll be right back!”
Before I could ask her what she was going to do, she was off the dock and had run inside the side door of the building there. Like an idiot, I stayed right there as she ordered and waited. It took her ten minutes to come back and she brought her mother with her, Michelle Phelps.
“My young and impressionable daughter seems to be under the impression that you can buy her for a few silver coins.” Michelle said, her voice angry.
“MOM!” Shelly gasped.
I couldn't help it and laughed. Shelly saw my smiling face and blushed in embarrassment. I held a hand up to non-verbally ask them to wait and took several moments to calm down. Michelle's angry face had lessened some as well.
“Please forgive me. I didn't mean to laugh so hard.” I said and took a deep breath and let it out. “Firstly, I offered her a near-rabbit pelt to sell another one for me.”
“I told her that.” Shelly whispered.
“Secondly, even if I sold everything I have on my boat, and there's a lot, I still couldn't afford the bride price for the prettiest girl in the whole village whose mother is the most beautiful.” I told her.
Michelle's anger fled from her face and she looked shocked, while her daughter Shelly looked like she was about to faint. Both of them started blushing when they realized I was serious.
“I need actual money to rent a room to get clean. Shelly was nice enough to offer to help me, that's all.” I continued and Shelly nodded and took her mother's arm to pull her away a few feet. She whispered to her and I did my best to not let on that I could easily hear them talking about taking both pelts and offering me a room themselves. As the only boat builders in the entire village, they were fairly well off.
Michelle gave my near-deer leather outfit several inspecting glances before she looked at the piles of very nice pelts. “I think we can come to a better deal.” She said and smiled. “Shelly gets her near-rabbit pelt, I buy the other one, and you throw in one of the near-deer skins to stay in our spare room for the night. You can even dock your boat and barge in the private area where we launch boats.”
I was not going to refuse such a great offer, especially since it eased my worries about leaving the boat unguarded. “Thank you very much for the offer. I accept.” I responded and half-bowed to her.
Michelle blushed at being shown so much respect. “Y-you don't have to do that, Marsh Man.”
I stood up straight and smiled at her. “The Hag's not here to yell at me, so you can call me David.”
Michelle seemed to realize something and she turned her head to nervously look over the boat and the barge. “She's not? Really?” She asked and looked at me. “She rarely lets you go out on your own.”
I forced myself to bark a laugh to not lie too much. “She cracked open two barrels of Mack's liquor last night.”
Michelle gave me a surprised look. “Two barrels? Why?”
“It was my seventeenth birthday yesterday.” I said and Shelly gasped.
“I'm sorry! I didn't know!” Shelly said, almost desperately. “I would have said something if...”
I held my hand up to stop her again. “It's okay, Shelly. I didn't know until yesterday, either.”
Both Michelle's and Shelly's faces looked sad.
“Pole your boat and barge around the dock and over to our area, Marsh Man... I mean David.” Michelle said and waved over to where to go. “We'll meet you over there and we can finish our bargain.”
I nodded and picked up a pole and used the movement enchantment carefully as I pushed the dock away and pretended to pole the boat and barge around and over to where she wanted me to go. I made sure to struggle a little, so it didn't look too easy for me, and saw her and Shelly opening up the entire end of the building.
I hadn't noticed that the building jutted out into the water and brought my boat and barge inside. “I'm really relieved that you let me do this.” I said and tied the boat to the side where she told me to. Shelly tied the rear line to the corner of the barge for me and I smiled and nodded to her.
“You do have a lot of nice things with you.” Michelle said and her eyes went over the boat again.
“It was all in piles scattered around the hut and I cleaned the place up.” I said, downplaying exactly how much everything was worth. I picked up the two near-rabbit pelts I was going to hand over and looked at them closely. I decided they weren't nice enough and went back to the pile.
I searched through them and found two that were nearly identical and brought them over to Michelle. She looked quite happy at me doing that, as did Shelly, because she snatched them up and hugged them to her face. I went to one of the piles of treated leather pieces and looked through a few of the near-deer pelts to pick up a nice large one from a buck.
Michelle's breathing sped up at the huge skin and her hands almost shook as I handed it to her.
“That one was a twelve pointer.” I said and pointed to one of the larger sets of near-deer antlers.
Michelle made an odd sound and clamped her mouth shut to stop herself.
“I hope you can put it to good use.” I said and she nodded several times. “Can I get a bath before going to stay in your extra room? My camouflage isn't needed when I'm not in the marsh.”
Michelle and Shelly gave me surprised looks.
I had to hold in my laugh at their expressions and looked down at the water by the front of the flat-bottomed boat. I held onto the side of it and quickly dunked my head into the water and used my free hand to lightly scrub my hair. I popped my head out of the water and flung my wet hair back over my head.
The both of them stared at the mostly mud-free dark hair I had and how nice it could look when it wasn't caked with dirt.
“Shelly, run the bath and I'll get the warming fire going when it's half-full.” Michelle ordered and Shelly nodded before she ran off. “If you wait here, I can give you something to wear in my house besides the... rather smelly outfit you have on.”
I had to laugh at that. “I planned to strip right here anyway. I feel bad enough I'll be going in without bathing first.”
Michelle blinked her eyes at me and watched as I started to undo the various ties and strings of my clothing. She didn't say anything at all as I pulled off my gloves, my boots, my backpack, or my chest armor. When I reached for my undershirt, she shivered slightly and stayed quiet.
I pulled the thin cloth off and she made an odd sound that sounded both happy and sad. When I reached for my pants and started untying the rope around my waist, Michelle sucked in a sharp breath and quickly walked away.
“Mom, it's half full.” Shelly's voice said from just outside the room and then made a squeak sound.
“Back to your own room.” Michelle's voice ordered.
“But, mom! I want to help David...”
“Go. Now.” Michelle ordered and Shelly's sigh echoed around me.
I chuckled and pulled off my pants and left my loincloth on. I was tempted to take it off, only I was sure I was already pushing my luck with the woman already. She probably hadn't seen a man strip off in front of her since her husband died last winter. I thought and looked back down at myself. The loincloth started to push out as I thought about asking Michelle for help bathing me.
Michelle's distinct gasp came from nearby and I lifted my eyes from my partially exposed crotch.
________
You have a minor choice to make. It only affects you relationship with Michelle and possibly Shelly.
A) Act confident. B) Act innocent. C) Take off the loincloth. D) Show off. E) Do nothing.
That's not really a choice because I have to cover up being with the Hag. I thought. I chose B.
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“You wouldn't happen to know why it's doing that, do you?” I asked her and her eyes widened. “I've never been undressed around a beautiful woman before.”
“By the Son's Light.” Michelle whispered and held out a bath robe. “P-Put th-this on.”
I accepted it and put it on, then reached inside and undid the tie for the loincloth and dropped it on the other clothing I had stripped off.
Michelle's eyes went right to my crotch and she looked both hopeful and disappointed. “F-follow me, please.”
I nodded and stepped off the boat onto the dock and followed her. I kept a small smile on my face as Michelle looked back at me. She wasn't looking at my face, though. Just like she apparently wanted, the tip poked out between the folds of cloth and her face went red and she quickly looked forward again.
“Th-the soap is on the small bench and the cleaning cloths are under it.” Michelle said and waved me into the bath room. She also avoided looking at me.
I opened the robe a little and gave her my most innocent face as I spoke. “Could I bother you for an extra pair of hands for a few minutes? I can't reach my back or see the back of my head.” said and ducked my head a little. “I could fully clean myself with your help.”
Michelle's eyes dropped immediately to my crotch and saw me poking out a lot more than I had been. “I... I... I think...”
I pulled off the robe and dropped it to the floor. “Thank you.” I said and took her hands. She didn't resist as I brought her over to the bath. I put the soap into her hands with a cloth, helped her lather up, and I climbed into the bath and put her soapy hands on my chest.
Her eyes went to her hands and then to my face. I kept the innocent look on my face and smiled warmly at her. She sighed softly and started to scrub. I had a lot of dirt built up after not bathing for a long time and she had her work cut out for her. I helped, of course. I made sure to let out little pleased moans when she scrubbed me well and I let her hands brush me a few times and really moaned.
Before I realized the anger of the beast that I had unleashed, Michelle had kissed me passionately and had slipped my rock hard erection right into herself. Her moans were muffled into my mouth and she used herself to clean off the thing she desperately wanted more than anything else. She had thrown away her own self-respect to have me and I did my best to not let her regret it.
We somehow made it to her bedroom and I gave her exactly what she needed. I could almost hear her thoughts as she begged and pleaded with me to go faster and to make her feel good. She didn't want a pounding like the Hag, though. Her thoughts were more along the lines of a good workout instead of going all out, so that's what I did for her.
My vigilance technique told me that we also had an audience, so the least I could do was give Shelly a good show. I made a bit of a spectacle of myself and pulled out at the last second to spray myself all over Michelle's belly and chest. The moan she let out at seeing it was fairly loud and hid Shelly's own at seeing it.
I stood up from the bed and looked down at the thoroughly satisfied woman and smiled. “I think we need another bath.”
“Y-y-y-essss.” Michelle said and moaned at the thought.
I easily picked her up and she cuddled into my chest. I walked slowly and let Shelly retreat, then went into the bath room and gave Michelle a bath and took one myself, then did her again. She had expected it, so I gave it to her. I dried her off and brought her back to her room and tucked her into bed. She gave me a happy smile and whispered a thank you before she drifted off to sleep.
I left her room, still completely naked, and went into the spare room. Shelly was there and her face was bright red and her eyes looked at the thing hanging between my legs.
“You know we can't do anything like that.” I whispered and she nodded. “Do you want to cuddle...”
“Yes!” Shelly interrupted and slipped under the blanket.
I smiled at her and slipped under the other side of the blanket. She slid over to me and rested her head on my chest and fell asleep almost immediately. I put an arm around her shoulders and held her as I let myself drift off just enough to sleep and stay vigilant. I had learned years ago to never fully go to sleep because it was too dangerous to leave myself vulnerable.
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Repetitive or redundant actions will be sped up to nearly instantly pass.
________
I woke in the morning and realized I needed clothing. I slipped out of bed and Shelly didn't react. Funnily enough, she hadn't done any groping or playing, even though I knew she wanted to. She had seen her mother have a lot of fun and looked so happy that it had made her want to do it, too.
I went to Michelle's room and saw she was sprawled out on the bed as if searching for something, so I slipped into her bed and her hand grabbed me like a waterbeast grabbing an unsuspecting boat. She had me rolled over and buried inside of her a moment later and she kissed me passionately again, just like she had the night before when she had let herself go.
After a quite nice time together, Michelle promised to take the money she was going to pay me for the second near-rabbit pelt to go and buy me a normal set of clothes. Neither she nor I wanted me to dress in the marsh-appropriate leathers again. They wouldn't be needed where I was going. When she returned, I was a little surprised at the higher quality garments and even nice boots.
Michelle blushed and leaned in to give me a kiss. “Yes, it's a lot more than a pelt was worth.”
“Michelle...” I started to say.
“I wanted to make up for what happened last night and this morning.” Michelle said. “I couldn't control myself and I took advantage of you. I feel really bad about that and...”
“Hush.” I said and kissed her. “I had a great time learning what sex was and you're a wonderful teacher.” I pulled her onto the bed and she looked eager and reluctant. “You're supposed to be busy, aren't you? You took time off from work to help me.”
Michelle sighed and nodded.
“Then, we'll have one more go and I'll help you before I leave.” I promised.
“Wh-what? No, I... you don't know what...”
“I've helped the Hag for all my life. Show me what to do once and I'll learn.” I told her.
“David...”
“It's part of our bargain. An equal exchange.” I said and she looked guilty again. “Let me do that thing you like and then we can get to work.”
Michelle blushed again before she pulled her skirt up and pulled her underwear aside for me. I dove in there with my tongue and Michelle moaned and came right away. She must have been on edge for a while for her to get off so fast, so I stayed there for about ten minutes and got her off a bunch of times.
After we had sex again, we went out to the main area of her boat business and she showed me a few things about working on boats and what she had to do. I easily adapted to it and didn't try to offer any of my melding potion to help. If she knew I could finish building the boat completely in a few hours, she would never let me leave.
Most of the day passed by in only moments and we ate two meals, one of which I used some of my smoked meat. The near-rabbit melted in your mouth after it was cooked with some tubers and smothered in gravy. Both Shelly and Michelle let out pleased sounds as they ate it, which made me smile warmly at them. I hadn't treated it with magic fungus powder, so it was safe for them to eat.
I decided to stay for another night when Shelly offered to help me write up all of the things I had on my boat and my barge. Michelle had kissed her forehead and thanked her for coming up with a good reason for me to stick around. Shelly looked happy and her eyes went right to me as she smiled. I nodded and silently agreed to let her cuddle me again.
I took another bath, did Michelle again, took her to bed and we had sex again, and I went back to my room. Shelly hugged me tightly and wished I could stay around until she was old enough to have that kind of fun with me. I promised to come back when she was of age and have fun with her, which made her so happy that she clung to me and kissed me like she had seen her mother do it.
It was a little awkward until I gave her some pointers and helped her do it better, then she pretty much pretended to be a barnacle on me and moaned softly before she broke the kiss and fell asleep.
The night passed like a cloud of smoke in a strong wind and I spent the day helping Michelle and Shelly make a long list of everything I had. I hadn't realized the extent of the items I had for sale and Michelle was shocked at the sheer amount of pelts, animal parts, and potions I had. She knew it was worth a lot of money and she almost pleaded for me to return as soon as I could.
I didn't promise her like I did Shelly, because I had plans and I wasn't sure if they would include either of them. However, I wasn't going to let them suffer, so I left them some death spider juice to save them if they were ever bitten and told them how much to use and how often.
Michelle had cried after I gave her the six vials and Shelly was the one to tell me that her father had died from a bite. When I asked how big the bite was, Michelle showed me with her fingers four inches apart.
“Then he couldn't have taken it.” I said and they both looked surprised. “He turned green almost right away and was dead five minutes after being bitten.”
“How... how did you know that?” Michelle asked.
“That's what happens with that much venom in your body. Even people like me and the Hag that have some resistance, would only have a moment or two to try and suck out most of the venom and take several potions as we hoped to not die when the venom reached our hearts.”
Both Michelle and Shelly gave me fearful looks.
I did not tell them I had personal experience with that or that a spider any bigger would kill you instantly when it bit you. I spent the remaining evening with them and told them a few things I did while in the marsh and they listened and hugged me the whole time. Michelle didn't want sex later when I took a bath and I went to bed, only to see that Shelly wasn't there, either.
In the morning at breakfast, both of them were a little distant and wished me well. I could almost see the thoughts on their faces about them not wanting to become too dependent on my touch.
________
You have a minor choice to make. It won't change much, except how quickly you return.
A) Ignore their antics. B) Point it out. C) Kiss them. D) Just leave.
I want to do a couple of them. I thought and read the options again. Screw it, I'll choose C.
________
It annoyed me a little that they were already pushing me away and I hadn't even left yet, so I made sure they were going to remember me for a while. I stepped close to Michelle and I kissed her as if she was the last woman in the world and she seemed melt into my arms and lost most of her strength.
I let her go and saw the look of loss on her face, so I knew it worked. I turned to Shelly and her face looked afraid, which was perfect, because I pulled her into a hug and kissed her the exact same way.
Michelle gasped and stared at us. Surprisingly, she didn't try to interrupt.
I broke the kiss and smiled. “Now you know what it will be like when you're old enough.”
Shelly looked at her mother's shocked face and back at me. “I think I can wait that long.”
I nodded and walked over to the barge to untie it, then did the same for my boat. I tucked the list of items into my old backpack that I had washed and picked up a pole. I waved to them and pushed the boat away from the dock and out into the water. I wasn't as careful with my movement enchantment and showed off a little as I poled away from them and out into the waterway.
When I was out of sight, I sat down and put the pole down. As long as there was no one looking, or other boats nearby, I could use the enchantment as much as I wanted. So, I did. I arrived at the next town three hours later and it was huge in comparison to Ester's Village.
I found a good spot that was partially hidden behind a larger boat and used a small fog spell to hide the rest of my boat and the barge. Because it was still early in the morning, the fog didn't look out of place and I left a marsh snake to guard my things, just in case. I walked around the docks to look at everything, because I hadn't been anywhere but a small village.
“Hey, you there!” A man's voice shouted and I stopped walking and turned to look at him. “Are you the one that brought in a huge barge filled with pelts and things?”
“I am.” I said and he smiled.
“I've been waiting for another shipment for months. Diane said she would have something for me soon and my clients have been restless waiting.”
“Are you Steve?” I asked and he nodded. “I'm David. Diane said something about a secret mission...”
“Ha! I just knew you were the one to talk to. Those rural clothes really stick out.” Steve said and waved for me to follow him. “I'm a clerk at the shipping warehouse two streets over and I usually offload a bunch of stuff to her father to sell for cheap and she sends me any rare animal parts she can get her hands on.”
“I'm the one she usually buys them from.” I said and his smile grew bigger. “I had too much for her to handle this time and I came right here.”
Steve's smile almost split his face. “Then step into my office and we can work out a mutual beneficial deal that should make us both very happy.”
“Are you sure? I have a lot of things to sell this time.” I cautioned him.
“It's no problem. I've got connections all over.” Steve said and sat down behind his cluttered desk and motioned for me to sit on the chair across from him. “I'm not going to ask you a stupid question like if you can read and write...”
“I can.” I interrupted him and he chuckled.
“Do you have any idea what stock you have?” Steve asked. “I can't really spare a lot of time to sort through everything.”
I smiled and pulled out the extensive list from my backpack and handed it to him. He stared at the several pages for a second before he eagerly read through them. He made odd sounds when he read a few of the items and then almost choked when he saw the full marsh panther pelt.
“David, I think you and I are going to be great friends.” Steve said. “I can't touch the potions legally, unless you gave them to me, and we both know they're too expensive to even consider that. The trade laws don't cover them.”
I nodded in agreement.
“Let me get some of the guys together and a couple carts...”
“You'll need six of them.” I told him and his eyebrows rose. “Five for the barge and one for the boat. The near-deer antlers alone will take up most of a cart by themselves.”
Steve chuckled. “We're about to make some men and a lot of women very happy, my friend.” He said and stood. “I've got two carts and horses, so that's three trips. We'll have you on your way by lunchtime.”
________
Montage Mode engaged. Skipping miscellaneous details. Done.
________
Making the trips to the docks and going through everything seemed to pass by in a flash. Steve was a very happy man and after we shook hands, I was left with a large secured metal trunk full of gold and silver coins and all of my crates of potions. I no longer needed the large flat bottom barge and I sold it to one of the businesses near the docks for moving cargo from ship to ship.
With quite a bit of money and only my single small boat to control, I easily left the larger port and easily followed the water route map that Steve had given me. I knew I had made him at least five times as much money as he gave me and he admitted he was, mainly because some of it he had to store and not flood the market with so much product at once.
That was smart, because it meant more money for him in a steady stream instead of one lump sum like he gave me. If I had stuck around, I would have gotten more as well; but, I couldn't waste time like that. I had an important appointment in the capital to get to.
I stopped at a small town when night fell and made sure to stay out of the way of other boats and floated there as I lightly slept. I chewed on some smoked meat in the morning and then took off at my best speed when no one could see. I had to use the pole when I was in more populated areas and no one questioned how I could still go as fast as a rowboat by just pushing with a pole.
I arrived in the capital and tucked my boat with my crates of potions into a small inlet and covered it with local branches and the light fog spell to hide it. With a bit of luck, I could come back quickly to retrieve them and safely store them. I set the snake again after feeding it a nice mouse and used my stealth techniques to make my way along the trees to the road into the capital.
It didn't take me long to get to my destination, the Mages Guild. The Hag had told me about the easily influenced and greedy mages, so I needed to figure out the best way to infiltrate them.
________
You have a minor choice to make. How will you proceed?
A) Just go in. B) Sneak in. C) Steal someone's robes. D) Kill them all.
I chuckled. That's a little dark, but okay. I'll do C, since that would be less obvious.
________
Surprisingly, killing one of the low ranked members and putting on his robes worked like a charm.
He was a grunt that worked wherever he was needed and today he was assigned to clean the area where the Mages Council worked. That was great for me, because I could find out how to become a part of their society without bringing attention to myself.
Half an hour later, I knew exactly what I needed to do. There were several options, most of which would be terrible.
________
A) Join the Guild as a grunt. B) Join the army. C) Go to the Mage Academy. D) Go home.
That's not much of a choice. I thought. I'll choose C.
________
The only real choice was to attend the Mage Academy and become a mage. It was easy to get a copy of the proper forms for an application and I forged the Grand Mage's approval by putting the empty application on his stack of papers to sign and then filled in the details myself.
I had to make up a last name for myself and chose the name of the marsh where I came from. I was going to be David Drake from now on and I was going to become an accredited mage. Before I left the main offices, I saw some land acquisition forms and I was tempted to fill one out and have the Grand Mage sign it, except then it would become property of the guild and not mine.
I didn't want anyone else to own my home, so I took the form and would have to look into how I could get someone in authority to sign it and not have them claim it for themselves.
I left the guild building and took off the mage robe to put into my backpack. It might become useful later.
Paypal
Yay!
Caught a typo.
She didn't say anything at all as I pulled off [mt] gloves...
my
Already caught, thanks!
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