Chapter 146: Fortune’s Favor

Chapter 146: Fortune’s Favor

According to imperial law, founding a mercenary company required a minimum number of members. Ten, to be precise. Jadis and her companions didn’t have those numbers, even if she were to be counted as three instead of a singular Nephilim, as most people saw her. Vraekae had been willing to temporarily waive that requirement and give Jadis special dispensation via her authority and the application of certain loopholes. She’d still need to recruit more members, but at least her little guild could be established sooner rather than later.

The speed at which Vraekae was able to cite those loopholes had been rather fast. Suspiciously fast, in Jadis' opinion, but at that point she didn’t care too much about whether or not Vraekae had been planning for the eventuality of her founding a mercenary company. While Jadis had balked at the idea of joining a mercenary company and thus being under someone else's control, starting up her own company and thus being her own boss had a much greater appeal. Even if it was playing into some plot Vraekae had been trying to manipulate her and her companions into following, that was, at least in this instance, acceptable. Jadis and Vraekae’s desires were aligned in this one thing, so it was a common ground Jadis could stand on, even if Vraekae might have sown a few seeds of her own making to make the land.

There were other aspects of founding a guild that had to be addressed, ones that couldn’t be skirted around. Writing a charter, establishing a power structure, assigning duties to individual members; there was quite a bit to be done. They even had to talk about where their guild would be based, since one of the requirements was they had to have a physical base of operations. Jadis and her companions ended up spending the rest of the day with Vraekae, most of it in the inn’s common room gathered around the one table. There wasn’t just the guild founding to do, either. Vraekae had wanted to hear the details of their trip through the cave system and had, unsurprisingly, asked a lot of questions. Jadis was mildly surprised that Vraekae hadn’t gotten much information of what had gone on in the tunnels from Thea, but apparently the guardswoman hadn’t been pumped for info as soon as she’d gotten back to town, just a general outline.

There weren’t many opportunities, but Jadis did manage to get her companions alone at different points throughout the day to speak with them privately, outside of Vraekae’s hearing, just to be sure that they were okay with what they were signing up for. It was an abrupt career change for them, and a drastic one for at least two of them. Yet, despite her concerns that they were making the choice under some sense of obligation or coercion, the answers she got were encouragingly positive.

Aila didn’t mind the change at all, considering she’d always planned on being in a mercenary company from the beginning. Founding one hadn’t been something she’d pictured, but the idea was fairly attractive to her. Something told Jadis that even if her name was on the books as the leader, Aila was going to end up having a greater hand in the practical decision-making side of things. Eir had little issue with it since it was actually fairly common for temple priests to join mercenary companies, at least temporarily, so that they could better serve both the people and the gods by healing those who needed it out in the field rather than only in the streets of a town. Besides, she had repeated, it would take an act of god to separate her from Jadis. Thea had been less nervous than expected about the situation, considering she was going through the biggest change. She had to resign from the military to become a mercenary, a huge deal for someone who had planned on the military being their whole career. But Thea had been adamant. She wanted to do the most she could for her country and felt she could do more by Jadis’ side than being Vraekae’s guard. Jadis valued her trust and hoped to prove her feelings were right, but also made sure to insist that Vraekae be willing to take Thea back into her service, just on the off chance things didn’t work out.

Kerr had been Jadis’ biggest concern, since the wild woman had made it clear to her that being in a mercenary company had always felt too restrictive to her. That she was willing to join one for her sake was a big deal, and Jadis had made sure to take her aside and discuss exactly what the move meant to her.

“So, my bar didn’t make it,” Kerr told Syd while they both stepped outside the back of the inn, ostensibly to stretch their legs. “That burning fuckface set the roof on fire. Most everything inside was fucked.”

“That’s so fucking shit,” Syd had exclaimed. “What are you going to do?”

“Join you, duh,” Kerr said, poking Syd in the stomach with a sharp nail.

“I meant—”

“I know what you meant,” she waved Syd off. “Hans made it out fine and I still have some coin to my name. That pay the blue bitch in there handed out means I’ve got enough to consider rebuilding the place, though I don’t know if I want to. It’d be a big investment to get it all back to where it was and I’m not sure I have the patience for it.”

“But enough patience to join a mercenary company?”

“Well, if it’s your mercenary company, sure,” Kerr toothily smiled up at Syd while resting a hand on her stomach. “I can’t imagine a world where any venture you’re involved in is boring or burdened with bureaucracy. As long as you don’t turn into some kind of tight-ass autokrat like most of the fuckers sitting pretty over in Eldingholt, then I’ll stick around. There are a lot of perks to keeping you nearby, anyway.”

The places Kerr’s hand had wandered from there hadn’t been acceptable for polite company and Jadis was glad the rear of the inn was private enough to afford them a few moments of indulgence.

One matter that took a bit of discussion had been the naming of the guild. A few different suggestions were floated around, though initially none had felt quite right to Jadis. Eir had thought a holy name appropriate, The Divine Arms of Destarious and Lyssandria. Kerr had immediately countered with The Nephilim’s Sluts. Both were rejected. Eventually inspiration struck and Jadis had decided on a name she felt encapsulated both her nature as a chosen avatar of D, god of luck, as well as her penchant for bold action.

“Fortune’s Favored,” Vraekae mused, signing the last of the guild application paperwork. “That does feel like a fitting name. What inspired it?”

“Fortune favors the bold,” Jay informed the Magistrate with a grin. “At least, that’s how I always saw it.”

“So it would seem,” Vraekae nodded. “I will have to remember that. It is certainly an interesting and, from what I have seen of you, generally accurate bit of advice.”

The meeting hadn’t gone on much longer after that. There were still many things left to do before they were an official mercenary company, but there was only so much paperwork Jadis could handle before her skin started to itch. Vraekae had left just before nightfall, heading back to the mountain of responsibilities that had been waiting for her all day. Everyone else stayed for a quick dinner made by a well-compensated innkeeper, though afterwards Thea and Kerr had left to attend to their own business. Left alone with just Aila and Eir, the priestess had leaned over in her chair to whisper into Dys’ ear. The question she had asked had instantly perked Jadis’ interest.

“Would you be willing to help me with my first ritual?”

“So, this ritual would normally need three people,” Dys pointed out from where she sat to the side on a comfortable pile of blankets and cushions.

“Good thing it seems tailored for someone with your unique skillset,” Aila mused from her seat on Dys’ lap.

She was, of course, as naked as Dys was. With Dys’ dick sticking up between her thighs in a familiar position, Aila was ready to enjoy the show her lover was going to put on, while also getting to sit back and idly toy with and be toyed with back by her lover.

Once again, Jadis had to say that she loved having multiple bodies.

“Go slowly,” Eir warned, her breathing already coming faster. “I need to recite the full Devotion to Destarious. I cannot botch the wording while I do so or we’ll have to start over.”

“Okay, but you can’t put me in this position and expect me to not want to taste you,” Jay said with her face pressed into Eir’s lap.

Eir let out a delightful squeak as Jay’s long tongue dipped between her thighs. A second later she gave her a light tap on the back of her head.

“Please!” she said, “I need to concentrate!”

“Alright, I’ll be good. Just tell me when to start.”

Eir took a deep breath, then nodded slightly.

“We can begin.”

Easing into Eir’s tight wetness was made especially difficult because of the angle Syd had to maintain. Putting one hand on Eir’s waist and using the other to guide her cock, she firmly pressed into Eir, eliciting a soft gasp from the elf once Jadis’ cockhead finally popped inside. A moment later, Eir began to chant.

Whatever language Eir was reciting her prayer in, Jadis couldn’t understand a word of it, but to her it sounded Nordic or Scandinavian in nature. As Eir spoke, Syd moved, driving her shaft deeper into her. It didn’t take long before Jay felt something bump against her head and, from Dys’ perspective, she could see that Syd’s cock had filled Eir up enough to create a bulge in her flat stomach.

To fulfil the requirements of the ritual, Eir stiffly held her kneeling position, her lips the only part of her to move as she chanted. As Syd pumped in and out of her pussy, her voice caught and her words hitched at times, but she persevered in her part of the spell.

As the ritual continued, Jadis could see the effects of Eir’s magic appearing on her. When Jadis performed a ritual, a white glow manifested from within her, lighting her up so that by the end she would literally glow. For Eir, it was different. The divine glow she displayed when healing was there, but that warm light mixed with a faint purple haze that, as time passed, morphed into something more like translucent fire. The purple flames were outlined with the glow of divine power and didn’t burn at all. Instead, as they grew in size to envelope Eir completely, Jadis found that they only tingled pleasantly against her skin wherever they touched her. Which, unfortunately, only made it harder for Syd to control herself as she gently fucked her elven priestess.

“So beautiful,” Aila murmured from her seat on Dys, one hand running idly up and down Dys’ slick shaft.

Jadis had to agree. The eroticism of the display paired with the scintillating flames made for an amazing sight.

Eventually, the ritual reached a peak as the purple flames practically licked the ceiling overhead. Eir’s chanting came to an end right as Syd couldn’t hold off any longer, her pumping having turned somewhat erratic. She released her seed within Eir just as the priestess unclasped her hands and put both palms down on Jay’s head and uttered one final word that rang in Jadis’ mind like a bell.

All went white, then complete and utter darkness. Everything was silent as Jadis floated in nothing, all the sensations from before having disappeared. She was alone.

Except.

“Well hey there, little gal. It’s been a while.”