Chapter Five
I thought about my options. I could interrogate her to figure out exactly what she was doing here, but I already had a pretty good idea. It almost didn’t even matter what I said since I could always restart if I messed up.
I made a new save point, and then I crossed the distance between us in a few short steps. Eva blinked in surprise at my sudden closeness, but then I leaned in to steal a kiss. I brushed my lips against hers and crushed her naked body to me, and then I went all in. I melded our mouths together and sent out a searching probe with my tongue.
“Mmmm…” the woman moaned into my mouth as her tongue urgently pressed against mine, and I reached down with both my hands so I could squeeze her tight butt cheeks.
For a few seconds Evangeline’s moan grew more intense and passionate as I felt every part of her ass, but then her hand shot up, and she pushed me away from her.
“W-What was that…” the duke’s daughter murmured as her hand leaped to her lips.
“I just wanted to see what it would be like to kiss you.” I grinned. “Don’t worry, you won’t remember it.”
“Of course, I’ll remember that!” Eva exclaimed.
“Because you liked it?” I raised an eyebrow.
“I… I…” She blinked her gray eyes, and her pale skin turned red. “Are you always this… so… forward?”
“That’s answer enough for me,” I chuckled. I’d gotten over my compulsion to kiss her, so I was satisfied, so I reset back to my save point
Chime.
Eva blinked at me in surprise, and we stood staring at each other for a long silent moment, but then she reached for her clothes with a lightning-quick flash of her arm. The next thing I knew, she held her clothes over her torso, and she blocked her flesh from my view.
I was a little disappointed since the air had a chill to it which was causing goosebumps to rise on her skin, and I was enjoying the view while it lasted.
“What are you doing?” she demanded hotly. “Sneaking up on a lady while she bathes is beneath you, Great One.”
“Hey, I saw a shadow sneaking around the campground,” I argued back. “I went to investigate. The better question is what are you doing here? I specifically remember your father telling you no.”
“Forget what my father said,” Eva said as she lifted her chin stubbornly. “I am a warrior, a fighter, and I have earned the right to make my own decisions.”
“I still don’t think the duke would be very happy about this situation,” I said as I cast a glance down at her person. “Do you?”
“Please turn around so I can get dressed,” she requested with a frown. “Stop staring.”
“Don’t give me something to stare at, then,” I countered with a grin, but I obliged her and turned around anyway.
I listened to the sounds of the forest, Eva moving through the water, and the nearby noise of the men around the campfire for a few moments. Then Evangeline tapped me on the shoulder.
“Alright, you can turn around now.” Her voice was so soft, it was almost a whisper.
I turned back around to face the duke’s daughter, and she’d pulled on the red tunic included in the guard’s uniform. Her legs were still bare, and I pictured my hands sliding up the skin of her muscular pale-white thighs. Evangeline’s short-cropped blonde hair stood at odd angles like she’d pulled on the tunic in a hurry, and the pale skin of her face was flushed a soft pink.
“You looked better before,” I teased.
That earned me a slap on the shoulder, but Eva had a twinkle in her smoky-gray eyes.
“I’m sorry for disguising myself,” she apologized in a low voice. “I couldn’t think of any other way to get what I wanted.”
“And what is it that you want, exactly?” I cocked one eyebrow and folded my arms over my chest.
“Adventure!” Eva exclaimed, and her eyes lit up with passion. “Heroic deeds, close calls, scrapes, and falls. I want to live, Great One. My family has a long warrior history, and I don’t want to spend my time cooped up in some moldy castle.”
“It’s a very nice castle, though,” I pointed out in a teasing voice. “Lots of windows, good carpets…”
“It’s a glorified prison if you’re female,” Eva argued in a flat tone. “I’m trapped there, and my father is the warden. You heard him talk about how I should just enjoy knitting.”
“Why is he so protective over you?” I asked in a thoughtful tone. “He didn’t seem to feel the same affections for his sons.”
Eva sighed, and her gray eyes looked downward. “Perhaps I’m the son he wishes they were, but he won’t admit it.”
“So, you two are close?” I felt like I could get her to open up, and I had a sudden urge to learn everything about her. Her past, her dreams, the sound of her laughter, the way she smelled after making love, and her taste.
“I suppose so,” Eva said with a shrug. Then she turned away from me, moved over to the stream to sit down, and looked over her shoulder expectantly. “Lucian was the favorite son, but that’s not saying much.”
I moved to sit beside her, and I lowered myself onto the stream’s edge. There was a drop of a couple of feet before my boots splashed into the water, but my legs were longer than Eva’s since her bare toes dangled above the small creek without getting wet.
“What about Tobias?” I pressed as I cast a sideways glance at the duke’s daughter.
"Duke Junior, you mean." Her eyes darkened, and her gaze flicked anxiously across the water. “My older brother follows directly in my father's footsteps. He has no mind of his own.”
“He seemed fine to me.” I thought about my interactions with the eldest son of the duke, and I shrugged my shoulders.
“He’s fine,” Eva sighed, and she shook her head to emphasize her words. “He is a great warrior, but he has no urge to see the world. Sometimes, I wish we could swap bodies.”
“Well, you managed to pull off being a man for an entire day,” I pointed out in an encouraging tone. “Not many could do that.”
“It was so hard to avoid you all day, Great One,” Eva said in a pained voice. “There are so many questions I have for you, so many things I want to talk to you about. You’ve seen the world, yes? What’s it like out there?”
“Whoa, slow down,” I laughed. “First off, I’m not originally from this world, so I haven’t seen as much of it as you would think.”
“You are from another world?” Her gray gaze was full of curiosity as she looked at me out of the corner of her eye.
Her suddenly demure demeanor was incredibly attractive, and the sensation of our lips pressed together and the firmness of her ass returned to the forefront of my mind. I shook my head to dispel the thoughts of a moment she didn’t remember, but I made sure to tuck it away for a better time.
Being the God of Time was pretty awesome sometimes.
“I was summoned here,” I explained in a godly tone. “It is my destiny to save your world.”
“I think it is my destiny to join your cause,” Eva pressed with intensity in her smoky-gray eyes. “Please, Great One, you have to let me stay with your party. It is the only thing I’ve ever wanted.”
“What about what your dad wants?” I countered, and I folded my arms over my chest. Just because we’d talked for a while didn’t mean I’d forgotten about the bit of drama in the audience chamber after she’d asked to come with me. “I think he’d prefer it if I sent you home.”
“You don’t know how frustrating it is to not have a choice in your own life,” she murmured in a disappointed tone. “Being the only girl is the worst thing that could have ever happened to me.”
“Don’t say that,” I replied. “I like that you’re a girl. You’ve got all the right parts.”
Her cheeks flushed again, and I chuckled.
“Look, I’d love to help you out, but my main goal is to get to the king as soon as possible,” I sighed and raked a hand through my hair. “I don’t have the time it would take to turn back and take you home myself, but maybe I can get one of the men to travel with you.”
“Please, Great One,” Eva pushed, and she grabbed my hands in hers as her eyes pleaded with me. “Let me prove my worthiness to you.”
“Your father will be royally pissed at me, though,” I reminded her, and I was unwilling to be swayed by her emotional argument.
“I wrote him a letter, it’s fine,” Eva assured me. “Don’t you want all of your followers to be happy? I already worship you, so you’ll only be hurting yourself by losing a member of the group.”
“I never needed ten men to start with,” I pointed out with a frown. “Your father insisted I have an escort, but it will add weight to my presence when we go to see the king.”
“That’s wise,” Eva said, and she inclined her head.
Suddenly, Mahini and Elissa burst through the bushes with their weapons up, and their eyes widened when they landed on Eva and me.
“Great One,” Mahini gasped. “There you are. We’ve been looking for you.”
“We thought something bad had happened, Bash,” Elissa explained, and she shot a questioning glance at Eva. “Isn’t that the duke’s daughter? What is she doing here?”
“She disguised herself as one of the guards,” Mahini informed the tiny goddess as her piercing blue eyes flicked to the armor laying in a pile behind us. “Bash must have caught on to her treachery and unveiled her.”
“It’s true,” Eva sighed. “You have sharp eyes.”
“I miss nothing,” Mahini assured her with daggers in her eyes. “Try to trick us again, and you’ll regret it.”
“At least there’s another woman in our group,” Elissa pointed out. “It was getting a little overcrowded on the men’s side.”
“She’s not joining us,” I said in a firm voice.
“What?” Mahini’s eyes widened with surprise. “Why not?”
“Because her father said no.” I shook my head. “It’s not worth the drama.”
“The duke would never think of getting upset with you, Bash,” Elissa reminded me. “He was so impressed with your power he almost peed his breeches, remember?”
“I remember,” I laughed.
“I don’t understand,” Mahini said in a confused tone. “Why can’t she join us? She obviously wants to, enough to sneak into our party.”
“That’s one vote for me staying,” Eva said with a bright smile. “What was your name again? Probably something exotic and beautiful, huh?”
“It’s Mahini,” the desert goddess replied as a smile twitched up the corners of her lips.
“And I’m Lissy,” my wife said, and she stuck out her hand.
Eva took it cautiously, but I could see an amused twinkle in her gray eyes.
“It’s a pleasure to be formally introduced,” the duke’s daughter said in a tone befitting a noblewoman. “When I saw the two of you in the audience chamber, I was inspired. My father told me there weren’t any women fighters, but you two expose his lies with your very existence.”
“I am a Golden Sword mercenary,” Mahini added in a kind voice. “But I’ve encountered lots of women who fight. It is not unheard of, just rare.”
“I’m still learning,” Elissa admitted. “You seem like you would be fast.”
“I am fast,” Eva replied with a grin. Combined with the refined lines of her face, and her large eyes, the flaw was more adorable than unappealing. “And stealthy, too. At least, when I’m not trying to avoid a god, that is. The Great One found me right away.”
“Please, call me Bash already,” I groaned playfully.
“Are you certain, Great One?” Eva’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “That is a high honor to bestow upon me before I prove myself worthy.”
“Everyone calls me Bash.” I shrugged. “It’s not a special honor, it just makes me feel better.”
“Well, then I will do my best, Gre-- er, Bash.” Eva blushed again, and I found it fascinating how she was an even mixture of badass and princess. She was a mystery, but I had a feeling it was a secret I would soon unravel.
“Alright, back to the matter at hand,” I said as I clapped my hands. “Namely, you getting back to Bullard so I can sleep soundly at night.”
“I would never think to disturb your sleep, Bash,” Eva insisted in a worried tone. “I will keep watch every night to ensure nothing interrupts your slumber. I swear it.”
“Ooh, I like her,” Elissa giggled. “She’s sassy.”
“Takes one to know one,” I teased with a wink.
“The little one is right,” Eva interjected. “I have spunk and fire. I would be useful during your journey. I can take care of myself, and I pro--”
“You aren’t coming with us,” I repeated for what felt like the millionth time.
“Please, reconsider, Great One,” Mahini murmured, and she furrowed her dark eyebrows. “She would make a good addition to our party.”
I shot her a sideways glance to communicate how little she was helping the situation, and I saw the amusement in her piercing blue eyes. I would find no allies in my women, and I sighed in defeat.
“One more day,” I cautioned after the girls’ faces lit up with excitement. “I’ll allow one day for a trial period, but if you don’t impress me within twenty-four hours, then it’s back home you go.”
“Yes, Great One!” Eva squealed with delight, and she threw her arms around my neck to squeeze me tightly. “Thank you so much! I won’t disappoint you, I promise.”
“You are wise to allow her a chance,” Mahini said in a pleased tone.
“This is going to be fun!” Elissa giggled, and she took a seat on the other side of Eva. “I like the idea of having more women around. It’s like sisters I get to fight alongside with.”
“That would be amazing,” Eva breathed with wide eyes.
I shook my head with a wry smirk, and I envisioned the kind of shenanigans the two women were bound to get into. It looked like it was already shaping up to be a close friendship, and I only hoped Evangeline would show me something substantial so I didn’t have to separate them again.
“Are you prepared for this adventure?” Mahini asked me as a smile twitched across her lips. “Or is it more than you can handle?”
“Oh, I can handle one more,” I assured her with a confident tone. “The question will be can the three of you handle me?”
Mahini nodded firmly, Elissa licked her lips, but Eva merely blushed and looked down at her feet.
“Come on,” I said as I rose to my feet and held out my hands to Mahini and Elissa. “Let’s get to bed.”
“It is almost my turn to keep watch,” Eva said with a rueful smile. “I suppose I need to hurry if I still wish to bathe first.”
“We’ll give you some privacy,” Elissa said as she dusted off her bottom and took my hand. “But you’ll want to hurry if you want some venison for dinner. I’m bound to eat all of it.”
“I had some trail food earlier,” Eva replied with a small smile. “Thank you for the warning, though. I’ll remember that if I’m ever hungry around you.”
“Sleep well, Evangeline,” Mahini said with a wave before she took my other hand.
“Goodnight,” I said, and then I led my women back to our tent and left Evangeline alone in the woods.
The meat had finished roasting by the time we made our way back to the campground, and the three of us dug into our portions greedily until grease dripped down our chins. I lovingly dabbed Elissa’s face clean with a rag, but Mahini merely rubbed the grease off on her elbow.
“What?” she asked as I gave her an amused smile. “I’ll bathe in the river before we leave.”
“It’s more like a puddle if you ask me,” Elissa said with a wrinkled nose. “I’ll wait until we have hot water!”
“You might get pretty stinky if you wait that long,” I warned her.
“As long as you can stand me.” Elissa shrugged.
“It doesn’t matter how nasty you get,” I said with a grin. “I’ll devour you anytime.”
After dinner, we crawled into our tent, and we snuggled up in our favorite position. Both girls sighed in contentment once their legs were tangled up in mine, and their heads laid against my chest.
“What a long day,” Elissa observed in a sleepy voice, and then she yawned wide and loud. “I’m ready to sleep.”
“Me, too,” Mahini added as she joined in the red-haired beauty’s yawn. “Tomorrow will be another long day of riding, so get your rest.”
“I hope you both sleep like a baby,” I said, and then I kissed each of their foreheads.
“Babies don’t sleep very well,” Elissa informed me as her eyebrows furrowed. “Why would you wish that?”
“I suppose you’re right,” I chuckled. “Then I suppose I hope you sleep like a childless woman.”
“I hope I am not childless for long…” Elissa’s voice turned thoughtful.
“I do want the Great One’s child,” Mahini said with a small shake of her head. “But there is too much adventure left to be had.”
“You can’t go on adventures when you’re a mother?” Elissa sounded disappointed, but then she shrugged. “Oh, well, being a mother would be amazing, so I think it would be worth it to stay home with the children. I can always go on more adventures later.”
“I’m glad you both want to have my children.”
“Don’t you want to?” Elissa lifted herself up onto her elbows, and she blinked her emerald eyes at me hopefully.
“Of course,” I replied, and I rubbed her back soothingly. “That’s kinda why I’ve been making love to each of you every night and pouring my seed deep inside of you both. I want each of you to bear me many beautiful children.”
Both women smiled at me with adoration, and no one spoke for a few moments.
“Eventually, we will be back home in Bastianville, right?” Elissa sighed with pleasure.
“Sure.” I grinned. “After we go see the king, we are free to head home whenever we want to.”
“I am probably pregnant already, but if not, I think we should focus on having babies once we are back in Bastianville,” Elissa declared with a firm nod. “My father would love to have some grandchildren before he leaves this world, after all, and Torya would help me. She’s always stood in the place of my mother when I needed someone.”
“That all sounds great,” I said in a cautious tone, “but babies are a lot of work, and they take up a lot of time.”
“I would take care of everything,” Elissa insisted, and her emerald-green eyes burned with passion. “You wouldn’t have to lift a finger. I just want to cradle a baby with your face.”
“Any baby with your eyes would be gorgeous,” Mahini pointed out with a half-smile. “I would love to be Aunt Ni-Ni.”
“Oh, that’s adorable,” Elissa giggled. “See, Bash, we can do this. Bastianville will help us, too, I just know it.”
“Alright, alright,” I laughed and held up my hands in surrender. “Once we get back to Bastianville, we can have all the babies you want. Same for you, Mahini.”
“Thank you, Great One.” Mahini blushed and looked down, and her jet-black locks slid across her face. I tucked them back behind her ears with a gentle sweep of my finger, and the desert goddess leaned into my touch.
Elissa squealed and showered my face with kisses, and then she plopped back down by my side and snuggled in close.
“You’re amazing, Bash,” she murmured in a sleepy voice. “Thank you for being my hero, my husband, my lover, and the father of my babies.”
I woke up before the sun rose, and I slipped out of the tent while I pulled my shirt on over my head. Evangeline sat on a log next to the smoldering remains of the previous night’s fire, and even with her back to me, I could see the strong lines of her neck and shoulders. My women were right, she would make a fine addition to our little crew, but I had to know it would be worth the duke’s anger.
Eva had to prove herself worthy, and I was beyond curious to see how she managed to do it.
“Good morning, Great One,” Eva greeted without turning around.
“Morning,” I chirped as I took a seat on the log next to her. “How did you sleep?”
“I didn’t,” she replied, and I noticed the deep bags beneath her eyes. “After my watch shift was over, I grew hungry again, so I decided to eat.”
“At least you can take care of yourself,” I replied, and I bumped my shoulder against hers. “But that’s not enough to prove your worth to me.”
“I know,” she sighed, but then she fixed me with a determined expression. “I cannot go back to the castle.”
“We will see,” I said in a vague tone, and then I lifted my gaze to scan the campsite. “It doesn’t look like anyone else is up yet.”
“I am,” Riondale’s voice said from the shadows beyond the smoldering embers. The young lieutenant stepped into the light and took a seat on a log on the other side of the firepit. He nodded at me, but then his eyes fell on Eva, and his mouth fell open in surprise. “Miss Evangeline, what are you doing here?”
“I apologize, Lieutenant Riondale, I paid off your man, Banner, to let me switch places with him,” the duke’s daughter explained in an apologetic tone.
Riondale closed his mouth, and his face turned beet red. “I see, my lady.”
"The truth is,” Eva continued in a soft voice, “I disguised myself as one of your men so I could join the expedition to the palace. I knew my father would never allow it, and I felt compelled.”
“Did you know about this, Great One?” the lieutenant asked in a shocked tone.
“Of course,” I laughed, and Evangeline’s eyes shot to my face.
“You did?” she breathed.
“Yeah, I knew all along.” I shrugged my shoulders. “You couldn’t look me in the eyes back in the audience chamber if I remember correctly.”
“You’re right, I couldn’t,” Eva gasped, and her hands covered her dainty mouth as her eyes widened with surprise. “This whole time you let me believe I had tricked you!”
“You can’t trick a god,” I pointed out in an amused tone.
“So… When you followed me last night…?” A blush crept up the blonde’s neck.
“I knew it was you the whole time,” I lied.
“I should have known.” Eva shook her head, and she cast her gray eyes to the ground. “Forgive me, Great One.”
“Nothing to forgive,” I replied cheerfully. “Now, if you fail to impress me today, that’s another story.”
“I will not fail you,” she insisted, and when she lifted her eyes to mine, they were full of fire.
“I’ll rouse the men,” Riondale said in an awkward tone, and I could tell he felt like he was intruding on something private.
I couldn’t blame the kid since I’d pretty much forgotten he existed while I looked into the smoky-gray depths of Evangeline’s eyes. Time lost all meaning when she was so close to me, and I waved goodbye to the lieutenant absentmindedly while I inhaled her aroma.
The duke’s daughter smelled of wildflowers and evergreen trees like she’d just finished rolling around in the woods, but that suited her nature well. Evangeline was wild and untamed, but there was a naivety about her I found highly appealing. I wanted to show her the world, but I didn’t want to risk the duke’s anger without a good reason to. I knew the duke wouldn’t publicly speak out against me since I was a god who’d saved his town, but my life would be much easier if the duke continued to see me as a savior instead of someone who’d killed his son and then kidnapped his daughter.
“Would you like some breakfast?” Eva asked with one raised eyebrow, and her words pulled me away from my thoughts.
“Sure.” I grinned, and my stomach rumbled at the thought of food. “I could always eat.”
“Good to know,” the blonde laughed, and she pushed herself up from the log and walked toward the horses.
I stared unabashedly at her ass as she departed until she shot a glance at me over her shoulder, and then I smirked as she caught my eye.
Eva smiled, and she wiggled her fingers before she slipped through the trees and out of my sight.
“There you are,” Mahini said as she came up from behind me.
“You woke up early,” Elissa observed when she joined us a moment later.
“Good morning,” I greeted my two lovely ladies with a broad smile. “Eva is fetching some food. Come sit with me. We’ll head out after we eat.”
“Of course,” Elissa said, and she sat to my left.
“She’s always hungry,” Mahini said with a sly smile as she took the place to my right.
Eva returned a short while later, and she brought enough to feed all of us. We ate a cold breakfast of fresh berries, nuts, and dried meat, but by the time we were done with our meager meal, the rest of the men had finished taking down our campsite.
I was impressed with the speed and efficiency of their work, and I wondered if it had anything to do with Riondale’s leadership. The young man was right in the thick of things, unfastening tent straps, loading horses, and lending a hand wherever it was needed.
The lieutenant appeared at my side a few moments later, and he snapped a salute before he sat down on one of the logs that circled the firepit.
“We are ready to depart at your command,” he informed me in a clipped voice, and his eyes flicked to Eva. “In whatever direction you choose.”
“We continue toward the king for now,” I replied, and I saw the duke’s daughter’s shoulders slump with relief.
“Yes, sir,” Riondale said, and he saluted again before he stood up. He barked out a few commands to the men standing nearby, and then they all mounted their horses.
Mahini, Elissa, Evangeline, and I did the same, and then our small party was ready to head out onto the road again. Eva and Elissa rode side by side and talked non-stop as we passed beneath humongous evergreen trees, and Mahini glanced over her shoulder at them every so often.
“I like her,” Mahini said in a conspiratorial tone.
“I know,” I laughed, but then I narrowed my eyes. “I hope she finds some way to prove herself.”
“She will,” Mahini insisted firmly. “She has to.”
We rode in silence for a while after that, and I lost myself in observation of my surroundings.
This was certainly a beautiful world.
The sun rose higher into the sky, and it began to warm up my neck and shoulders as we headed in a general north direction, so I guessed it was around ten in the morning. The trees reached over the top of the road, so the ground was layered in zigzags of shadows, and the air smelled fresh and clean. The path itself was made of a finely ground rock, and it was wide enough in this spot to ride three abreast, so we’d manage to travel a good distance already.
“Are you hungry, Great One?” Jorgen asked as he trotted his horse over beside Goliath.
My massive warhorse huffed and tossed his head at the proximity of what he considered a lesser horse, and I patted his neck comfortingly.
“Easy, boy,” I murmured to the steed before I replied to the proficient hunter of our group. “I could always eat.”
“The food the duke sent with us is trash,” the man snorted. “I wouldn’t think one as powerful as you should eat such things.”
“The venison last night was pretty good,” I pointed out.
“I agree,” Jorgen said with a nod. “I went hunting after I saw the rations we had. I wasn’t about to let you eat dried berries for dinner.”
“So, you don’t think it will last us a week?” I asked with a frown.
“Not unless we supplement with some fresh meat,” the avid hunter pointed out. “I was thinking you and I could hunt for a while, and then catch up to the group at sundown. What do you say?”
“Sounds fun,” I replied in a thoughtful tone. I thought this over for a moment, and then I reached into one of my packs and pulled out the map the duke had given me. I unrolled the paper until I could see our current location, and then I traced the trajectory of the path ahead a little. It looked like the road curved around before it entered a valley, and it would be easy enough for us to cut across and still catch up to the group by sundown, so I gave Jorgen a decisive nod. “Let’s do it.”
We informed Riondale and my women of our plans, and then I pulled Goliath away from the road, and we entered the underbrush. We fought through the jungle-like growth for a while, and then it vanished and left only a forest floor bathed in pine needles. The smell was amazing, and I paused for a moment to breathe it in.
I made a new savepoint just in case I embarrassed myself in front of the skilled hunter, and then I pointed Goliath’s muzzle in the same direction Jorgen had urged his horse.
“Look,” Jorgen said in an excited voice. “Deer tracks already.”
He pointed to a spot on the forest floor where a stick had been broken by a passing hoof, and I grinned.
This was going to be easier than I thought.
We followed the deer trail for about half an hour as it veered west, then south, and then finally back to the north. I was almost ready to give up when Jorgen lifted his fist to signal a stop.
We both dismounted as quietly as we could, and I lashed Goliath’s reins to a tree before I inched over to Jorgen’s side.
“What is it?” I hissed in a low voice.
The hunter merely pointed to a spot between the trees, and I squinted to see what he’d indicated. About a hundred paces ahead of us stood a majestic stag with so many prongs on his antlers, I lost count.
Jorgen pulled his bow out, and he nocked an arrow to the string, but I held up my hand to stop him. He nodded silently, and then he stepped back a couple of paces to allow me to take his spot.
I crept forward, and then I stood up as quietly as I could so I could get the full range of my new bow. I nocked an arrow on the string and pulled back the string on the obsidian weapon until the feathers grazed against my cheek. Then I zeroed in on the buck, released my breath, and let the arrow fly.
The projectile zoomed between the trees, but the sound alerted the stag, and he bounded off through the woods. The arrow grazed his backside as he kicked out his legs, but the trickle of blood wouldn’t be enough to kill it.
Chime.
This time, I pointed out the deer trail to Jorgen, and the hunter’s eyes widened with surprise.
We followed the trail for about half an hour before I spotted the stag, and Jorgen was again impressed with my sight.
He jerked his chin to silently give me the go-ahead, and I dismounted Goliath as quietly as I could. Then I crept forward through the undergrowth, and I pulled my bow from my shoulders once I was about a hundred feet away from the stag.
Again, I loaded my obsidian bow and took aim. My arrow flew quieter this time, and it struck the buck on the front shoulder, but it wasn’t a lethal shot. Jorgen moved to my side as the stag bounded away, and he pointed to the trail of blood left behind.
“This will lead us straight to it,” he explained in a reassuring tone.
I didn’t want to have to track down my deer, though, so I reset to my savepoint to try again.
Chime.
I went through numerous attempts until my aim began to improve with my new bow, and my shots grew faster yet quieter. Shooting a live target was harder than motionless ones, and I was still getting accustomed to the feel of my obsidian bow in my hands, so while I had already gained some proficiency with the bow, I still needed several tries to get it right. It was hard work, and my shoulders ached from the motion of pulling the string taut.
I missed a lot, but as my shots improved, I landed more hits. After doing this for a while, I managed my first kill, but the buck still ran off before he collapsed. I wanted a one-hit kill through the eye, and I wasn’t going to stop until I got it.
Chime.
Chime.
Chime.
I practically darted through the trees to get to the deer’s location, and Jorgen struggled to keep up with me.
“This way,” I called over my shoulder after I’d hitched Goliath to a tree.
“How do you know?” he asked in an incredulous tone. “You barely even glanced at the tracks.”
“I know all things,” I replied in a godly voice.
Jorgen shook his head with wonder, and he followed obediently behind me. Once we reached the grove of trees where the stag always stood, I held a finger to my lips before I pointed it out to the hunter.
Then I nocked an arrow to my bow, and I aimed carefully for the animal’s eye before I released my breath. The projectile launched through the air with deadly velocity, and it landed with a thud right where I wanted it to, in the deer’s eye.
“Excellent shot, Great One!” Jorgen gasped as the massive stag instantly collapsed. “You are quite the master with a bow!”
I grinned, and I rested the butt end of the bow on the ground while I leaned against the shaft.
“Just another day of being a god,” I explained in a casual tone.
“I’ve never seen anything like that firsthand,” the hunter continued in an excited voice. “Just wait until the rest of the men hear about this, they’ll be begging you for lessons before the day is over.”
“Just as long as everyone is fed, I’m happy,” I replied as my smile broadened.
We quickly field-dressed the deer, and then we cut the carcass in half to distribute its weight evenly between both of our horses. The steeds didn’t flinch as we approached with the dead animal, and I supposed they were used to this sort of thing, but it was all still new to me. I’d never been hunting back in my old world, so I was glad I finally got a chance to take down a huge buck.
“Do you think they’ve made camp yet?” Jorgen asked as he eyed the sun. It was tilting toward the western horizon, but there were still hours remaining until it would get dark.
“No,” I laughed and shook my head. “They should know better after yesterday. They’ll ride until the sun goes down.”
“If you say so,” Jorgen chuckled.
I made a new savepoint before we left just in case we ran into any trouble on the road, but I didn’t expect any bandits this close to Castle Bullard. We hurriedly returned to the road, and then we raced at breakneck speed for a couple of hours. The sun threw orange rays toward the sky as it made its final descent, and I stopped to appreciate the view to the west for a moment.
Jorgen trotted his horse up beside me, and the hunter pulled his steed to a halt.
“There’s a town up ahead,” he informed me in a cautious tone. “I suppose the men stopped there for the night.”
“How do you know?” I asked as I turned to scan the road ahead.
“See those faint lights on the horizon?” Jorgen said as he pointed to the northeast. The direction he indicated was to the left of the road, and I’d been looking to the right since it seemed like it would keep going straight.
I finally noticed the distant haze, and I smelled the faint aroma of wood smoke in the air.
I didn’t want Jorgen to think I needed any assistance, though, so I took my new information, and I reset back to my save point.
Chime.
“Let’s hurry,” I said with a wide smile. “The others are stopping in a small town for the night.”
“How do you know that?” Jorgen asked as his jaw dropped.
“I know all things,” I replied with a wink, and then I clicked my heels against Goliath’s flanks to urge the warhorse into a run.
We rode down the road until the glow of the town grew brighter, and Jorgen shook his head in awe when the village came into view.
“You truly are amazing, Great One,” he said in a hushed whisper.
I grinned in response. It looked like I had another loyal follower. I would need to name my religion soon, but I wanted it to be called something awesome, so I planned on taking my time coming up with it.
Suddenly, I heard a name screamed in alarm coming from the village, and I urged Goliath to pick up the pace. The horses ran into the middle of the small town, but all I could see was the sobbing woman standing in the middle of the road holding a small teddy bear.
“Bella, where are you?” the woman wailed.
“What seems to be the problem?” I asked as I pulled Goliath to a stop beside her.
“My daughter!” the woman exclaimed, and a fresh round of sobs wracked through her body. “S-She’s missing! I-I’ve been looking everywhere, but I just… I can’t find her.”
My heartbeat thudded inside my chest, and I felt the woman’s pain as my own. Something had happened to an innocent child, and her mother was distraught. It was up to me to save the day, and that’s exactly what I planned to do.
What else would the God of Time do?