WinterWhereof

7.109 - Emporium VI

After Natalie paid for the item, the automaton glanced at the growing pile of discarded gear. "We'll purchase those at market price, by the way," she said, gesturing. "It's a service the Emporium offers all its clients, if you're interested."

Natalie blinked. "Seriously? For the same price I bought them?"

"Yes, Mistress."

"Then yeah, absolutely." The gear was cheap by the standards of these mythicals, but a refund on her temporary gear was a nice perk. "Y...

7.59 - ❤ Victory

Maddy was given one last opportunity to resist. As she went cross-eyed looking at the fat shadow-cock draped across her face, hot and pulsing and so incredibly tempting, she tried her hardest to remember her duty.

Wayfarer. Teammate. She should contest the shard at every opportunity, not let its host fuck her into mindless submission.

'Fuck her into mindless submission.'

Why did that sound so appealing? Why was that all she could think about, despite her ...

7.108 - Emporium V

After Malice's [Capture Core Upgrade Frame], and to a lesser extent the [Kinetic Catalyst Mallet], Natalie's expectations had been set high. So [Primordia's Embrace] didn't exactly make her jaw drop. Still, it was a mythical piece of gear, so she was more than a little excited.

She appreciated that the 'major' boost was to Tenacity, both physical and magical, providing an all-around boost to defense. While she was specializing in a damage-tank style, she was...

7.58 - Defeat

Their fundamental mistake, Maddy reflected, was relying on that conclusion they'd subconsciously come to earlier, despite Rosalie's warning.

They'd thought that hitting Delta's main body with a Confusion Bolt would affect both of her bodies, but no—her shadow had been immune to that gambit. Rosalie had pinned down Delta, and Maddy had unleashed a burst of magic toward her, all according to plan. Then Maddy had been stabbed in the neck by Delta's shadow, who'd kept ...

7.107 - Emporium IV

The automaton mulled the question over, metallic eyes drifting up and to the right as she came to a decision.

"Hm," she said. "I think so? It's vague. Usually our problem is that you give us something too specific, not the other way around." She bit her lip. "I … I have an idea. I think it was meant for you. This is your request?"

That obviously made Natalie furrow her brow. "It was meant for me?" she asked leadingly.

"Is that your request?" the automat...

7.106 - Emporium III

Her hostess disappeared, giving her time to think. Getting the best possible weapon was undisputedly within her top three priorities, so she didn't second-guess herself there. She had a budget replacement weapon for now, but it was weaker than [Valentine], and she'd felt that painfully over the past several days.

The next two options were deserving of closer consideration, though. With the automaton searching the Emporium's inventory, she had time to straighten out w...

7.57 - Second Duo

When Maddy woke inside a cramped box, she panicked a little. Claustrophobia wasn't a huge thing for her, but she doubted anyone liked waking in strange places barely able to move. Thankfully, the lock yielded after an adrenaline-induced full-body shove upward. Wood splintered and the top crunched open. She popped up, breathing fast, but razor-focused on whatever she might find.

The room was calm. To her side, another woman had torn through the box's lock and...

7.105 - Emporium II

The automaton led them through the arched doorway and into the Emporium proper and quickly took a left turn down a smaller hallway. By then, Natalie had worked up the nerve to ask.

"Were you human once?"

The bluntness was deliberate. She didn't know what she expected—maybe a shocked look that would give the truth away. But the automaton slowly turned to blink at her, confusion obvious on her face.

"Mistress?" she asked questioningly. "I am an automaton....

7.56 - Relic

She and Astrid made a solid duo—definitely better than the last shard Zoey had been split up for, where Maddy had been her partner. Two backline mages weren't an ideal combo, but a tank and a damage-support hybrid? Nearly perfect.

Despite the strength of their opponents, a Bolstered Astrid was all but unkillable. Sure, she probably wouldn't be able to literally stand there and let a monster do whatever it wanted, but the huge bonuses in speed, strength, and durabil...

7.104 - Emporium I

Natalie walked through the shopping district of the City of Eros with growing anticipation. She'd been wondering what sorts of treasures might be found in the Emporium for close to two weeks now. Every citygoer wondered what was inside the most exclusive of shops, when the basic ones sold epics.

But she moderated her expectations. The Palace Basement Vault was even more exclusive than the Emporium, so compared to her last haul, she likely wouldn't be finding anything...

7.103 - Loan

The City of Eros expedition continued as before. There were only two events to look forward to now: the Coliseum and the Emporium. And it would be highly illogical to enter the Emporium without first gathering as many Tokens as possible.

Over the following days, she familiarized herself with [Insatiable Strikes]. A part of her wanted to keep the skill hidden from Elida, but that would be too much self-sabotage. Plus, there was wisdom in showing Elida the ski...

7.55 - Labyrinth

In the hallway exiting the protective artifacts room, they found a large red shield and a wooden staff leaning against the wall.

"That's a relief," Zoey said. "Shard didn't leave our armor, but we get our weapons at least."

Astrid hefted her dragon scale shield up, nodding to herself in satisfaction. She would have been the more disadvantaged between them. As the guardian of the team, her role was especially reliant on having a wide, durable shield to swing aro...

7.102 - Homing

Though Natalie was excited to discover what her level-up had given, she put off checking for a bit longer. Instead, she dragged a complaining Vanetta to the shower. She hadn't intended to end up with her fingers inside her, but in retrospect, showering with a naked girl meant it was all but impossible to keep her hands away—and she ought to return the favor anyway.

Dried off, they returned to the bedroom, the warm humid air pouring through the bathroom doo...

7.54 - Protections

While the possibility of Rosalie becoming possessed and wreaking havoc was realistic, it probably wasn't a doomsday scenario. And they didn't know how possession worked in the first place. So while there was cause for concern, after the initial spike of worry, Zoey calmed. Rosalie was an incredible fighter, but not unbeatable.

Then again, possession seemed to empower the user, seeing how in the murals the possessed had fought one-versus-four and won.

An empower...

7.101 - Stealth

Falling asleep when she knew new skills were on the horizon was no simple task. Thankfully, wringing herself dry—in a few meanings of the phrase—meant she was properly exhausted when she collapsed onto her bed. Though her thoughts raced for a quarter of an hour afterward, the comfort of her sheets and the exhaustion in her limbs eventually won out, lulling her to sleep.

She woke some time later not thanks to the natural rhythm of consciousness, but because of a s...

7.100 - Gearing Back Up

"The Emporium keys are one-time use," Natalie said as they headed for the shopping district. "That means we should hold off until the last day, right?"

"Unless we get another set, yeah."

"Just feels like a waste of tokens, buying gear outside. We should be saving up."

"I'm not disagreeing," Vanetta hedged. "But it's not cut and dried. It's probably better to buy cheap gear to hold us over until the end of the second week. That way, we'll be going...

7.53 - The Scenario

Zoey woke to a dark, enclosed space. Her hands shot out, and she traced the interior of a stone box just large enough to hold her.

A coffin?

After taking a second to calm herself, she thought: how nostalgic. Unlike that first shard, though, she wasn't crammed inside with another girl to keep her company. Nor was she so weak that she couldn't break out. Flexing and pushing upward, the stone cracked and groaned, holding for a long, precarious second before explod...

7.99 - Emerged

Despite 'tempting fate' as Vanetta had accused her of, they weren't subjected to any ambushes while lugging their earnings back. Once more, she held her breath as she passed over the inert mass of vines, only releasing it after they'd cleared the hallway without being scooped up and stuffed with aphrodisiac.

Reaching the stairway leading up and out of the Basement, Natalie hovered and came to a stop.

"There's gonna be people up there," she said, turning. "They ...

7.52 - Fifth Advancement Shard

Zoey had to admit, she had gotten a better deal out of this than she'd hoped for. She had thought Rosalie would jerk her off onto Astrid at most—but getting milked by her girlfriend's thighs and watching her paint Astrid's face as if it were her own cock doing the job had been a delicious upgrade.

Coming down from the high, they were left with the reality of the situation: their thoroughly painted teammate breathing hard, red-faced with one of her eyes glued shut b...

7.98 - Vault IV

Vanetta stuck the ruby earrings in without complaint or wince—apparently, she already had her ears pierced. Then again, she could easily grit her teeth and bear an impromptu piercing, so the more relevant indicator: there was no blood.

Natalie donned her emerald necklace, and the cold metal settled comfortably between her breasts. She felt a supernatural question enter her head—which?

She pointed the effect to [Carnal Harvest] and felt the bond tak...

7.97 - Vault III

Like with the potion, a tingle went through her when she touched the loincloth, no doubt signaling that the item had bound itself to her.

The loincloth had a primitive design. A dark-brown string with two lighter tan cloths drooping down: one for the front, one for the back. Thankfully, it was soft to the touch; it wouldn't be uncomfortable to wear. Wrapping the new piece of gear around her waist, she felt a rush of Furor and Tenacity.

Vanetta equipped her item...

7.51 - ❤ A Leader's Role II

Astrid watched, enraptured, as Rosalie d'Celestin—leader of her team and heiress to one of the most powerful polities in the world—pumped her girlfriend's cock with both hands, a lewd, distracted look on her face.

Astrid's breath hitched as she watched those small hands work along that massive cock, fingers barely able to close around the shaft. The sight alone was overwhelming. Rosalie, usually so regal and composed, now kneeling with her lips parted, even more ...

7.96 - Vault II

Natalie grabbed the prismatic potion sitting on the pedestal. Bringing the flask closer to her face, she studied the swirling multi-colored liquid inside. A tingling sensation went through her, probably a side effect of the item binding to her. Now that she had touched it, the item belonged to her and her alone; it couldn't be traded no matter what she did.

Presumably, she would still be able to give doses of the potion to others. It was hers to use; she just couldn'...

Taking the week off

Sorry! I’m taking a bit of a breather since I fell behind schedule. Chapters will resume next Monday.

7.50 - ❤ A Leader's Role

Thinking back, Astrid had no idea how this had made sense to her. There had seemed to be logic behind the conclusion she and Rosalie had mutually stumbled upon: That while she wouldn't have minded going off with Zoey on her own and taking care of this 'skill requirement', Rosalie's presence would alleviate some of the awkwardness. The two were girlfriends, after all, and Astrid could simply help as needed.

Watching Zoey stand from the bench and Rosalie subsequently d...

7.95 - Vault I

Halfway through their kiss, they were interrupted by the metal restraints giving way and popping off the vault door. With nothing holding her in place, Natalie fell forward, and Vanetta had to catch and steady her.

Behind, the vault door shuddered and fell silent. Something had changed; it had probably been unlocked.

She pulled away and looked at Vanetta. Vanetta looked back, hesitant. Natalie laughed and kissed her.

"Well," she announced. "That was a fun...

7.94 - ❤ Trials VI

Despite having been the one to loudly declare that they "should get this over with", Vanetta found herself frozen solid as she looked down at Natalie's cock nestled between her own legs. The red-haired girl had been secured to the wall in such a way that she was slightly lowered, her legs spread out and bent, waist at a level that her equipment was easy to access. So Vanetta had no problem nuzzling the girl's hot, saliva-slick tip against her entrance without having to sta...

7.49 - A Team Leader's Role

Zoey's daily training involved more than purely spellcraft. While something would have to go terribly wrong for her to be forced into melee combat, Rosalie considered basic physical skills, up to some minimum level of competence, a necessity for every wayfarer. Thus, Zoey often found herself being advised by her teammates on topics other than magic.

Today, she was training with Rosalie and Astrid.

Like how Zoey had enjoyed the ring-tossing game with Maddy becau...

7.93 - Trials V

Vanetta wondered how the hell she'd ended up here.

It had hardly been a sudden development. Her corruption—and yes, it was corruption—had been slow and steady, a chipping-away at her defenses over the course of a week. In jumps, but the groundwork laid over time, incremental assaults she hadn't been able to resist.

She didn't even place much value in sex, so she hardly cared about 'corruption' in the first place. In fact, she knew she was being dramatic by ...

7.48 - Fourth

They spent a while recovering on the bench. Park-goers passed by, but while they made for an odd sight—three girls sitting shoulder to shoulder, all of them red-faced and breathing hard, the middle one catatonic from a mind-erasing orgasm—they weren't so conspicuous that they received more than lingering, vaguely suspicious glances.

"I didn't actually break her, did I?" Zoey asked, nudging the half-conscious girl to her side. "You good, Maddy?"

Mad...