“So, I took off the, uh, sights – the old ones – and replaced them because they weren’t in the proper measuring system,” Phamen said, holding up her rifle. “Also, I fixed the little dent at the end of the muzzle, and I put a cleaning enchantment on the barrel. Next, I was thinking about playing around with enchanting the rounds themselves.”“That’s cool and all, Phamen, but what does that have to do with the infrastructure?” Lauren asked.Lauren had assembled he

 Through Grecinma’s streets, past its walls, off the road and into the hilly plains beyond, Melody carried Lauren over her shoulder, while Theresah jaunted behind. Both Melody and Theresah wore only cloaks, to have some decency in case they were spotted on their exit from the city. They gave Lauren no such decency. Out far from the roads and past any farms, only the rolling hills were in sight. Lauren’s one boon was that Melody and Theresah had wasted around two hours out of sev

 Lauren and company were departing the Trim Vine Farm. Franklin was staying behind to finish cleaning the mess caused by the Druid and to regrow Lauren’s pumpkins properly. Chels was staying with him to provide assistance on his coming mission, and Ash was allowing her to do so. Alba had left in the middle of the night, and she had returned at dawn with a signaling nod at Lauren. Melody was bringing Harmon with the main group, and Harmon told his goodbyes to Franklin and Chels, who we

 Although with dampened spirits, the eight travelers made swift progress. From the bandit camp of The Otter to a day’s travel from Lauren’s farm, the eight women took less than two weeks. Lauren’s thoughts were consistently on Nadalia and on Strea’s dealings over the death of The Otter. The rest of Lauren’s friends seemed content if minorly disappointed, except for Melody, who showed increased agitation and concern as the travelers drew closer to Lauren’s

 The nine were venturing toward the hypothetical location of The Otter’s main bandit encampment. Blades were sharpened, and ammunition was counted. Lauren and her friends strode forward with routine; Helith strode forward with confidence. The day was bright. Strea was licking her chops and loosening her trousers. Lauren missed Nadalia. The ground was wet from a pre-dawn rain shower. “Are there really more swords?” Helith suddenly asked Lauren, immediately creating an awkward

 After a day of trekking, a day of narrowing down possible locations of The Otter using the patterns identified by Helith and Strea’s insider knowledge, the group of ten were resting at early evening in the village of Cherry Grove (the village was, in fact, surrounded by and known for its cultivation of cherry trees). Helith had gone off to do personal meditation, in his own words, and Lauren and her friends were eating cherries in a variety of colors outside a prominent cherry farm/i

 Lauren returned to the inner bailey of Liggiwitharūs Keep, where Giselle was meeting up with Lauren’s other friends. Lauren strode over to them, and everyone but Nadalia barely acknowledged her, focused on Giselle. “That was unbelievable!” Theresah exclaimed to Giselle, tricorn removed from her head. “I’ve seen some solo stands, and you blew them out of the water,” Alba said to Giselle. “Who coulda expected a geezer to pull a massacre like that?” “

 “Cease, Giselle,” Lauren Greci commanded. Giselle did, and she knelt down with her head bowed, propping herself with Incisor. Lauren Greci let go of Incisor’s blade, her blue light reflecting off the equally blue metal. The Goddess was then looking the opposite direction, at Helithina. The Knight stayed ignored and panicking. Lauren Greci stared down at the speechless, sallow, shivering Abbess Queen – her blue sockets locked with full and lost eyeballs. Lauren’s

 “Cease, Giselle,” Lauren Greci commanded. Giselle did, and she knelt down with her head bowed, propping herself with Incisor. Lauren Greci let go of Incisor’s blade, her blue light reflecting off the equally blue metal. The Goddess was then looking the opposite direction, at Helithina. The Knight stayed ignored and panicking. Lauren Greci stared down at the speechless, sallow, shivering Abbess Queen – her blue sockets locked with full and lost eyeballs. Lauren’s

 And ten seconds later, Lauren was awoken by her throat being cut. Lauren punched the person cutting her throat in the ribs, unsure if it was one of her friends having a jape. The person flew back against the inn wall, losing their breath. Lauren sat up on the bed. In an orange flash, Nadalia was outside of Lauren, ready to send death as fire at Lauren’s assailant. Lauren was inclined to think that the exiled Featherkin Dissolver had escaped the Murk Realm to continue her fruitle

 After another day and a half of travelling, Lauren, her companions and Helith arrived in the capital of the Liggiwitharūs Holds: Liggiwitharūs itself. The opulent city was not as large in area as Grecinma, but its population nearly matched. Liggiwitharūs made efficient use of its land by use of circular infrastructure. A group of dwellings or one wide dwelling (both building types sometimes two to three stories and occasionally without rooves) would sit in comparatively shallow pits, wi

 The travelers were getting ready to depart Lauren’s farm. Lauren and Nadalia were trying to move people along. Giselle was idly flipping her rifle’s bayonet. Melody was obsessively checking over Harmon, to the Half-Kin’s resistance. Ash was unusually chipper, and therefore, Chels was relaxed. Rita, Strea, Theresah and Foa were simply waiting. Franklin was arguing quietly with a pumpkin down on his hands and knees. Valentina and Alba were impatiently smoking. “Are y

 At sunset (too late an hour for them altogether to reach Lauren’s farm after their coming activities in the village), Lauren and company arrived in Opserg. High Priestess Giselle, Nadalia and Foa made plans to go to the local temple. Rita, Strea, Ash, Melody and Harmon made complicated plans to find secular shelter for the night. Lauren, Theresah, Valentina, Franklin, Chels and Alba made plans to visit the alchemy shop – for various personal reasons. Lauren led them to Cam

 Lauren and Nadalia were helping Foa decide on a new set of torso armor, picking straight from the Guard-Knight armories. Foa had requested Nadalia’s assistance in replacing her leather cuirass, reasoning that their recent battles had reduced its effectiveness (the tears, cuts and holes were apparent), and Nadalia had guided Foa up to the armories, where the Guard-Knight on duty helped lay out potential choices (before giving them privacy). Foa’s options were hung or strapped to

 “All right, we’re going to be doing something special today,” Lauren said to her friends. They were gathered at the least populated part of Grecinma. Lauren knew the next few situations were going to be complicated for her friends, but she was excited for them to have the experience. “Like, sexy special, or violent special?” Theresah asked. “Preferably not the first – right now,” Melody said, staring at Harmon. “Neither,” Lauren said. �

 Lauren sat at a long, ancient table with the High Priestesses, five other high-ranking clergy members, the Head Archivist and the Grand Scribe, the Protective Core’s High Scholar of Magic, Head Commander Phamen and three of her Commander Guard-Knights, Last Dissolver Jacobs, four high-profile nobles of Grecinma (one of whom functioned as the leader of the city’s major mercantile hub), the Top Captain of the normal guard and the lead Patrol Captain, four local, noteworthy smiths

 The travelers were on their way to Grecinma. Everyone was back at their proper sizes, proportions and clothing level.The morning Lauren released the mischievous quartet and Valentina, Rita had finished her new outfit, which consisted of a comfortable calve-length surcoat, a knee-length skirt beneath and a hooded cloak with fringes – inspired by the duster given to her in the Burning Realm – and boiled leather spalders, greaves and belt to hold the surcoat in place at her waist.

 “Nuts, I was really looking forward to a hitjob of titanic proportions,” Alba said, tapping the ash off her cigar. “No, please, get yourselves into more trouble on your own,” Valentina said to Lauren and Nadalia. “Excitement is the spice of life, but there is such a thing as over-seasoned.” “But Val, sharing is caring,” Lauren responded, making the most overtly friendly face she could muster. Valentina waved down. “Uh, personally, I’m glad I didn&rsqu

 Lauren – carrying Strea – Nadalia and Axy strode through one of the largest creations of the latter while the former two did their best to avoid staring at the latter. Their monumental organic surroundings were as labyrinthic as always. Their feet slapped wetly with each step; Lauren wished she was wearing shoes. Axy scratched his sides and his stomach a lot. Strea remained unconscious, and Rita un-there. “I had this plan and everything,” Axy complained. “You guys we

 Lauren drowsily awoke from unconsciousness. She yawned, and attempted to determine what part of Strea’s body she was in. As a whole, everything felt loose and sluggish to Lauren, which told her that Strea was still asleep. While Lauren was trying to figure things out, she realized that she could hear Rita. “Lauren!” Rita’s voice exclaimed. “Nadalia! One of you two… Oh, Strea… Damn it!” “Hey, I’m here,” Lauren responded. “What is it?” “

 Three-quarters of a league from Rita’s camp, far out anyone’s vision range, Lauren and Nadalia were alone. Lauren’s cloak was spread out over the ground. Both were nude. Nadalia was on her hands and knees, and Lauren was sitting behind her. Lauren lightly squeezed Nadalia’s buttocks. Lauren leaned forward and licked Nadalia’s vulva, making the naked knight shudder. Lauren pried her lover’s lower cheeks apart and licked Nadalia’s anus. Then, she stu

 “Are Amazons as durable on the inside?” Valentina asked Lauren. “I’m 63-percent sure Strea has her safeties on,” Lauren replied. “And, possibly.” Rita twirled a full circle on her heel, turning grass into mulch. She let out a happy sigh. Lauren and her other friends bore smiles. Rita stared down at them, smiling as well. “Oh, I’m going to keep her in there forever and ever,” Rita proclaimed. “I’ve missed her so much.” “Happy to se

 Lauren and company were surrounded by beds and half-dressed, armed Guard-Knights. The gray gate swirled behind them. Nadalia balanced her carry load on her arms and right hand and gave a twist of her left hand. The gate closed, right as Lauren was beginning to remember about radiation. “You vile Demons dare to infect your presence on this most holy ground?” a dull green-haired Guard-Knight addressed them, with a mace in hand. “Oh right,” Lauren said. “Duh.” “Lo