Chapter 236: Awkward

Chapter 236: Awkward

Apologies were awkward. Triply so when there were three of you to do the apologizing. Still, Jadis dutifully sought out captain Willa, Lutz, and the rest of the soldiers to offer her apologies for her outburst the day before. Even the ones who hadn’t been directly involved, Jadis made sure to talk to. She didn’t want there to be any misunderstandings, not with how poorly she’d acted.

Most waved her off with simple acceptance. Willa was particularly formal, though her rigid response actually helped to settle Jadis’ nerves rather than worsen the tension between them. The captain made it clear that no personal insult had been taken, even if she had been unhappy with her on a professional level. The one conversation that had surprised her, though, had been when she’d spoken to Gunnar, the extremely muscular blue elf.

“How old are you?” Gunnar had asked.

“I, uh, we’re twenty-two years old,” Jay answered, surprised by the question. Gunnar was a quiet man and she’d barely spoken to him during their trip so far.

“You have a great deal of power and responsibility for one so young,” Gunnar said with a solemn nod. “How old would you take me to be?”

“Well, you look like you’re in your twenties, but I’d guess older since you’re an elf.”

“I am seventy-three years old,” Gunnar informed her with a small lift of one eyebrow. “As one much older than you, I can promise you that you are not alone. We all have our breaking point, and it rarely comes at convenient times. It is good you have so many loyal companions to support you and keep you centered.”

“We’re really lucky, yeah,” Jay smiled. “It’s been a rough trip. A rough few months, too. Lots of good and bad all at once, you know?”

“So it would seem,” Gunnar agreed. “Just remember to take the time you need to breathe, Jadis.”

“Yeah, we will,” Jay said with a brighter smile before nodding and starting to move away.

Jadis froze a moment later as she realized the name Gunnar had called her. It hadn’t been Jay, the self he’d been talking to, he’d called her Jadis. No one used that name but her companions, and only in private. The elf shouldn’t have known her real name. Jay slowly turned back to look at the man, her eyes wide.

“Did you just call me...?”

Gunnar looked up at her, his expression as calm as ever. He looked around to make sure no one else was near before moving closer to Jay and whispering to her so quietly that she almost couldn’t hear him.

“It would also do you well to remember that there are races in the world with excellent hearing. I do not believe anyone else knows of your true nature, but due to the volume of some of your conversations, I could not help but overhear at times.”

“Shit. Okay, yeah, uh, I’d appreciate your discretion, Gunnar,” Jay said, her mind reeling as she was caught off guard by the realization that the man knew her secret. “I don’t really want many people to know...”

“It is your personal business,” Gunnar readily agreed. “I of course respect your desire for privacy. I would ask, though, that you and your companions work on restricting the volume of your night-time activities. Some of you are... overly exuberant. The noise can make it difficult to sleep.”

“I’ll—I’ll make sure to keep that in mind,” Jay nodded dumbly, embarrassment welling up in her chest as it became obvious what activities the elf was referring to. “Does anyone else...?”

“Not that I know of on that account,” Gunnar shook his head. “But considering the open nature of the relationship between you and the others in your guild, the possibility is a frequent topic of discussion among the other soldiers.”

“...Of course it is.”

After that, Jadis left Gunnar’s side as quickly as she could, heat burning her face in an entirely non-magical way. Breakfast among her team became an especially awkward ordeal as she explained to everyone else what Gunnar had told her. Out of everyone, Eir and Kerr were the least affected by the information.

“There are times when we have been less than circumspect in our activities,” Eir mused as she daintily sipped pottage from a wooden spoon. “At least Gunnar has the tact to inform you in a discreet way before it became a bigger issue.”

“I would, too,” Aila agreed. “I just won’t bet our lives on the possibility they made a reasonable choice.”

As Jay, Aila, Kerr, and Bridget discussed the bandits, Dys and Syd worked to set up a nice barrier between their side of the camp and the soldiers’ side of the camp. She wasn’t about to bring it up directly with Willa or any of the others, but now that Jadis knew at least Gunnar was aware of their sex-scapades, she was going to try and take as many precautions against unintentional exhibitionism as she could. After all, they’d gone about as long as they could before their rituals needed recharging. Aila was out of her reserves as well, so there was a double reason for them to engage in some private time.

Triple the reason, when Jadis took into consideration that she just felt like she needed some good old fashioned sexual healing to help relax her after the stress of the past few days.

As Dys worked to set up a second bonfire on the far side of the wagon, as she planned on using the wagon as a divider between Fortune’s Favored and the soldiers, Sabina approached her with a tap on her side.

“Yes?” Dys glanced over at the smith, noting the glowing orange dagger she was holding in one hand.

“I thought you might want to hold onto this,” Sabina told her as she held out the weapon. “I noticed that it was too small for someone with hands as big as yours, not that you have weirdly big hands or anything, just that you are overall proportionally much bigger than everyone else so a dagger that fits in my hand won’t fit comfortably in yours. Anyway, I added some wood to it that makes the handle longer so you can hold it more easily. It’s not pretty, but it’s the best I can do out here without better equipment, though I doubt I could do better with better equipment because I don’t think I can alter the dagger without damaging the enchantment, but this isn’t really an alteration since it’s more of an addition.”

“Thank you, Sabina,” Dys grinned at the over-eager half-elf. “This is really nice.”

The malediction dagger that had once caused Jadis so much pain at the hands of Legs was now resting firmly in her grasp. The weapon really was too small for her, the blade about ten inches long and the handle little more than half that. A perfectly reasonable size for most any human or elf, but far too small for a Nephilim. To overcome the size difference, Sabina had carved a two-piece cover out of wood that went over the dagger’s actual handle, securing it in place with rope and the cross guard on the blade. It was a much better fit in her hands with the cover, though not exactly an elegant look.

“I’m not sure how often I’ll use this,” Dys mused as she tested the feel of the dagger in her hand, “but it’s definitely better to have it as an option than not.”

“That’s true!” Sabina chirped brightly. “I was thinking I might try to take it apart and learn from the enchantment once we get back to Far Felsen so I can possibly replicate the effect, but even a casual look at the runes tells me the craftsmanship is way, way above my level. Whoever made this weapon had some really, really high stats and was probably an expert enchanter with three classes fully dedicated to that field. Are you planning on having sex tonight?”

Dys had been nodding her head as Sabina talked, half-listening to her talk about enchantments as she continued to set up the bonfire. She blinked a few times as her brain caught up with Sabina’s unexpected question.

“Yeah, I was,” Dys raised one eyebrow at the smith. “I’m pretty sure everyone wants to keep their attribute buffs.”

“Okay, I thought so,” Sabina bounced on her feet happily. “That’s perfect timing then! While you and Kerr and Bridget and Willa and Jaxton and Landry and—okay, that was all of you, yeah. While you were all down in the tunnel, I made some progress with those enchantments I was working on! I didn’t bring it up last night because, um, the mood was kind of not good and I didn’t think you’d want to talk about it, but since everyone seems to be a lot less prickly now, I thought you’d want to give this a try!”

With a somewhat silly flourish, Sabina pulled a strip of leather from behind her back and presented it to Dys.

The thin piece of brown leather had several pieces of scales and bones arranged in three roundish displays, each one of the imperfect discs covered in a variety of etched runes. There was a simple clasp on the end of the strap, making it clear that it was meant to be secured in place.

“For me?” Dys asked, taking the strap between two fingers. “I mean, it looks nicer than the last one, but I’m not sure how comfortable those discs are going to be around my you-know-where.”

“You mean your cock?”

“...Yeah, that.”

“No need to worry about that!” Sabina grinned. “This one isn’t for you to wear, it’s to put on someone else! It’ll only work once, but if I did it right, it should make it so that whoever puts this on around their neck, they’ll keep from orgasming for one full hour, or until the collar comes off.”

“Huh,” Dys grinned back at Sabina, looking at the leather collar with a newfound appreciation. “Pretty damn cool, Sabina. Excellent work! Guess we’ll have to take the opportunity to test it tonight, huh?”

“Yes!” Sabina said happily. “I wonder who wants to try it out first?”