Chapter 328: What’s a barbecue?

Chapter 328: What’s a barbecue?

Mason slept without dreams, and woke before the dawn. His bed felt strange. Too soft and comfortable, with warm, soft flesh pressed against him.

He was beginning to think of the forest floor as the norm—the settlement of Nassau as the 'temporary'. He wondered how long until mortal danger became the standard, with peace and civilization little more than a pleasant fiction.

Maybe it was always the case. Maybe humanity had just gotten too rich, too soft.

He crawled out of bed, smiling as he set Haley and Naya down and pulled the sheet over his naked wives. Their long hair spilled together, two streaks of light and dark mixing like paint. Mason wished he was a poet, that he could capture the image and feeling of his women still deep asleep after a night of lust with him. But he was a man of a different kind of talents.

And it was time to sort out a whole host of things.

Some he would delegate, others he needed to deal with personally. He realized he needed to meet with all his players, and maybe the whole settlement, and talk about the Nexus and the changes to come. He didn't know 'exactly' what was going to happen, but he knew it would be a big deal.

The outside world was about to come to Nassau. Maybe it would just be central 'communication beacons' and pretty easily controlled. But who the hell knew. Maybe every single house was going to get some kind of ability to talk to others, like a post-apocalyptic telephone or video system. And then there was teleportation.Discover new chapters at novelhall.com

Again maybe this would be extremely limited and easy for Mason and his 'officers' to keep a handle on. Or maybe people were going to be able to swap around from settlement to settlement. For all Mason knew, there were whole classes out there, whether civilian or player, devoted to traveling around.

However many humans were alive, and however large their numbers, they were about to do what humans did: search for opportunity. The other settlements and patrons would be sniffing around Nassau like a hundred packs of dogs, if they could. And the people of Nassau needed to be ready.

Was Mason being paranoid? Maybe. But the paranoid survived.

He woke Carl and Phuong, first. The former came out grumbling and wiping at his eyes, the latter bathed and alert with a small bow.

"Good morning, Patron."

"It's not that good." Carl yawned. "It's getting bloody cold at night. I expect winter won't be that pleasant."

"I'll tell all the drivers there might be ice on the roads," Mason said. Carl grinned. Both of Mason’s ‘player leaders’ waited for instruction, knowing he wouldn't have bothered them unless it was important.

He took a moment to appreciate the loyalty and competence of both—and the strange, warm feeling in his chest at not being alone. Then he remembered his brother was still in that God damn tower playing house with orcs and goblins.

"Fucking Blake," he muttered.

When the men raised their brows he shook his head.

"Nevermind. It's Nexus day, gentlemen. And we need to be ready for..." he shrugged, "pretty much anything. I don't want to spend any patron points until it's up, because maybe there's something we can do with them. But I want every player available and...shit, I don't know..."

"Fighting fit," Carl suggested, and Mason nodded.

"For all we know it sparks some kind of challenge. Or maybe demons attack us from the sky. Or...well who the fuck knows, it's roboGod."

"Good idea." Mason looked between his (human) women (and Lexi) and smiled, trying not to imagine each of them the night before. He mostly failed. Haley seemed to understand and gave him a slightly tilted-head look, coming closer as if to give him a taste of something.

"You talked to Becky and Rosa? We haven't mentioned last night."

"There was...a little talking."

Haley glanced back at the others and shifted her weight.

"Oh why did I have to fall asleep."

"Because you could barely move, and I'm pretty sure you needed it."

"No fair." Haley let out a breath. "Where's my superpowers?"

"Trust me, you have your own version." Mason grinned, and Haley stepped forward and put her slightly messy hands around his neck and kissed him with increasing passion.

"Hey! Some of us are workin' here. There ain't no time for that," Becky said from a bowl of dough. Haley shot back a glare, then sighed.

"She’s right. We have a lot to do. And since you hate speeches this must be a special occasion."

Mason nodded, then walked towards the others, giving Lexi a friendly nod. He grabbed Becky from behind and turned her head until he could kiss her, too, just giving Rosa's ass a good, hard slap.

Without another word he walked to the bedroom to find Naya still splayed across the bed, surrounded by pillows. She sighed, eyes fluttering as Mason walked in. Then she blinked and glanced at the window, realizing how much light there was.

"Did I oversleep?" she asked, scrambling a little as she pulled herself up, the sheet covering her dropping to show she was still completely naked. Mason wasn't sure what he'd planned, but he scooped up his new elven bride and set her in his lap without a word.

He kissed her until she melted into his arms and moaned, his hands all over her body.

"Good morning," he said with a smile.

"Good morning, husband.

She stared intensely into his eyes, as if all she wanted was to stay in bed with him all day. Just the thought was enough to get him going.

"Normally you'd have...wifely duties," he told her, running his hands down her back. "But I need you to gather the elves in the town square. They're invited to a barbecue."

"Yes, husband," she said, obviously enjoying using the title. She kissed him again to the point he knew he had to get out or give in, eventually sending Naya back to the bed with a little shriek as he stood.

"Later," he promised, adjusting his now slightly uncomfortable pants.

"Oh, um, husband?" Naya pursed her very kissable lips. "What is...a barbecue?"