Dungeon Walkers 3, page 11
“Got to get you on even footing with us,” Trish said, bumping her hip into Cammie.
“Slowly,” Cyra giggled when Cammie flushed.
“Wait… did…?” Nicole started, but trailed off quickly.
“Stern asked us to marry him last night, as you know,” Trish grinned, “but, this morning, we asked Cammie if she’d like to join our relationship, with a possible marriage in the future.”
Stern and Cammie were blushing, not expecting it to be broadcast the way Trish just did.
“Ah... that’s unexpected,” Jon said slowly.
“Nothing will change for the crew as a whole,” Trish said. “Just for us personally.”
“It’s sweet,” Nicole whispered. “It’s clear there’s affection between you all. I hope it works out.”
“So do we,” Cyra smiled.
Stern glanced at Cammie, who gave him a timid smile. He went to her side, taking her hand. “So do we.”
“Yes,” Cammie’s face was bright red, but she was beaming.
Chapter Fifteen
The rebirth finished, and Jay Pez was helped down from the altar. The sisters spoke with him before leading him up to the group.
“Your saviors,” the acolyte told Jay.
“Thank you,” Jay said. The middle-aged man looked haggard, which was unusual for someone who’d just been reborn. “Not surprised no one else is here for me.”
“Why?” Cyra asked.
“My crew and I didn’t exactly see eye to eye,” Jay snorted. “How long has it been?”
“Eight years,” Stern said.
Jay inhaled slowly, the news of the wait shocking him. “Oh... I’d thought maybe a year…”
“When crews fight, it’s terrible,” Trish said, “but them leaving you fractured for so long is worse.”
“Yeah...” he sighed. “Might have deserved it, though.”
Stern was very glad he had control of his empathy now— he was sure Jay’s emotions would’ve been hard to suppress. “What happened?”
“Long story short, I might have slept with both of their wives,” Jay said, looking away from the group.
“What?” Cammie asked.
“The bulwark’s and trap finder’s wives were both casters and in the crew with us. Well... we’d just finished our second run of the dungeon here and were all drinking a lot. When it was time for bed, both of the guys were passed out. The women were… getting handsy, and I didn’t stop them. The next day, they acted like nothing had happened, and I was all for letting that night be forgotten. I felt a little bad about it, but a couple of days went by without issue. When we started our third run… well… Mich yelled at Amy,” he exhaled noisily. “The fight escalated, and she said that at least I was a decent fuck, unlike him. It spiraled from there, and when Leo jumped in to berate me and defend Mich… Liz jumped to Amy’s defense, and the fact that I’d had a threesome with them came out.”
Jon shook his head. “That’s disgusting.”
Jay snorted. “I know. Should’ve turned them down when they tried, especially considering the problems they’d had with their husbands. I could try to blame the whiskey, but it was because really I didn’t stop them. Anyway, when we got to the boss, Mich didn’t use his normal perk to keep it focused on him. It went for their wives. Maybe he was trying to scare them? I don’t know. I took the brunt of the attack for them. I was down and bleeding as the fight went on... there was a lot of screaming and name-calling as I died…”
“They’re equally to blame,” Nicole whispered. “It wasn’t just your fault. They could’ve just gone to bed or not blurted out their infidelity when they did.”
“You died protecting your crew. Even if it was a bad crew, it was still a crew,” Stern said. “In the end, you did the right thing, even if they didn’t.”
Jay shook his head. “Thank you for pulling my shards. Guess I’ll go retire and try to find normal work.”
They were shaking hands with him, wishing him well, when someone came rushing into the temple. “Jay?!”
Everyone turned to face the infernal woman, who had a touch of gray in her hair. She was clearly hopeful as she stopped just inside the door.
“Amy?” Jay asked in surprise.
“Sorry... I was working. I just got off,” Amy said, brushing at her skirts. “Uh... welcome back. I…”
Jay took a deep breath. “The crew broke, then?”
“Yes. I had Liz’s shards pulled out last year. We’d both been saving up to go increase your shards to get you out, too.” Amy took a few steps toward him. “I’m sorry.” She looked up, tears streaming from her eyes. “I’m so sorry...”
Jay exhaled noisily. “They left you both?”
“In a way... Mich admitted to trying to get the boss to kill us. When I went to try to help you, he attacked. Liz and I panicked and tried to run, but Leo killed her before she could get to the orb. When I came out of the dungeon, I ran to the guard. Mich and Leo were arrested, and they were both condemned.”
“Shit...” Jay whispered.
“Liz and I... we’d like to give you a hand. You didn’t have to save us when you did. We felt bad for using you like we did, and then the fight… Please?”
Jay looked down and sighed. “Okay, but only until I get my feet under me.”
“Yes, of course,” Amy sniffled, a smile trying to stay in place. She looked at the group. “Thank you... Thank you for bringing him out. I brought the extra coin with me so I could—”
“Keep it,” Stern said gently. “Use it to help him.”
Amy nodded as she stepped closer to Jay. “Are you ready?”
“I want to go by the Walkers’ hall first,” Jay said. “I want to officially close that portion of my life.”
“Of course,” Amy nodded. “I’ll take you.”
The group watched the two leave.
“A little torn on that,” Jon said. “The cheating and fighting were awful… but…”
“She came back for him,” Nicole whispered. “That’s good.”
“Excuse me, Walkers,” the acolyte said, approaching them. “We’ll be starting the next rebirth. Will you be back tomorrow?”
“We will,” Stern said. “Thank you and your fellow sisters for your work.”
The acolyte smiled softly. “We do the Goddess’ work. Have a good day, and thank you for also doing her work.”
As they left the temple, Trish let out a deep breath. “Okay, I’m going to get the leather we need to see about upgrading Nicole’s armor to match yours. I’ll make sure to grab the items Jon asked for so he can make sure our edged weapons are in the best condition, too.”
“Jon and I will go see about a new shield,” Stern said. “Meet back at the inn?”
“We’ll see you there, lover,” Trish grinned.
Jon kissed Nicole’s cheek. “We’ll be back soon.”
“They’ll keep me safe,” Nicole replied, kissing his cheek back.
After walking for a while, Jon glanced at Stern. “I’m a bit curious. How will you manage? Two seems like a big task, but three women?”
Stern chuckled. “Funnily enough, my father has three wives. I’m sure he’ll be laughing his ass off when he finds out.”
“Ah, so you know how much work it is.”
“Every relationship is work,” Stern said. “I have a huge advantage in being able to feel their emotions. That’ll make it easier for us to stop major problems. Even with that, I do worry about keeping them all happy.”
“I worry about that with just Nicole,” Jon snorted. “Thank you, by the way. I know I was kind of a dick when we approached you. Normally, people are excited about having us until they know more about Nicole. It hurts her every time.”
“We won’t,” Stern said. “I understand some of what she’s dealt with, considering our conditions. I’m curious, though, about how you two met.”
“I was working at a shop in Bloodstone, getting experience with an uncle. Father insisted I go to learn and be away from home. I was supposed to run the first three dungeons, too, but had been putting it off for a few years. Then, she came into the shop…” Jon trailed off, a distant look in his eyes.
“First time you saw her?” Stern asked after a moment.
“Didn’t see her. She was huddled in a cloak and wearing a sack with eye holes on her head,” Jon said. “She’d come in to find out how much it would cost for a staff. I was intrigued and began to explain the differences while trying to learn why she was dressed like she was. She was going to be joining the new class when it started later that month. It took a bit, but I found out she had barely anything to her name, but she knew she’d need a weapon.”
“Smart woman,” Stern murmured.
“I saw her pale skin. She didn’t wear gloves back then. It shocked me, and when I asked about it, she ran out of the shop.” Jon snorted as he recalled the moment. “That did it… I was hooked. I went to my uncle and told him it was time. I enrolled in the same class, and brought a staff with me.”
“Now that’s sweet,” Stern chuckled.
“She was shocked, but accepted my kindness. That started our journey together.”
“I think there’s more, but this is the shop,” Stern said. “Let’s pick up a shield and head back.”
~*~*~
There were no more conversations about Jon and Nicole during their brief shopping trip, gear maintenance, or over dinner. Trish suggested Stern take Cammie aside after dinner and discuss his family with her.
With dinner done, Stern went with Cammie to her room, not wanting to tell Jon and Nicole yet. It felt awkward, and Cammie was a mix of hope, lust, and sadness. Stern could understand her emotions.
“Just going to tell you about my family. There’s not going to be… more. Not tonight,” Stern said gently.
“I know,” Cammie said. “I also know you can feel my emotions, so you understand.”
“I do, which is why this is awkward,” Stern chuckled nervously.
“A little,” Cammie agreed. She took a seat on the edge of her bed. “Okay. Go ahead.”
Stern exhaled slowly, sitting in the single chair the room had. “Might as well ease into it. You know my family is rich and or powerful enough to arrange for your mother to be retrieved.”
“It was shocking, but yes.” Cammie was all soft love as she stared at him; she was very grateful to him.
“This is always harder than it needs to be...” he exhaled. “My family is entwined with the Rescue Squad. It’s why I insist on pulling shards. It’s who they are, and who I always wanted to be.”
“I agree with it. You know why my brother and I became Walkers.”
“Yes. Uh... okay... My father is Seamus Masterson, head of Rescue Squad. My birth mother is Stacia Masterson.”
Cammie stared at him, her eyes slowly widening. “That’s why… you’ve spoken with all of Darkhand before…? They’re your parents?”
“Yes. Sorry for keeping it from you,” Stern said.
“It all makes sense now. Why the Hand of Law went to Bloodstone, and why my mother was retrieved so easily... You asked your family to pull her out?”
“I asked them to arrange it. It’s the only request I’ve made to them in the last year.”
“For… me…?”
“For you and Vulk,” Stern said softly. “After what happened with Bloodcoin… I wanted Vulk to have the chance to stop. It worried us… that you might stop, too.”
Cammie shook her head slowly. “You wanted to be your own person... all the money you paid us to get shards?”
“They made sure we all had money and told us we could follow our hearts. My heart was set on getting to the Goddess to find out why she cursed me. They made sure I had coin to make my life easier, but also to help me pull shards, and for my crew to be compensated for doing it.”
Cammie stared at him for a long moment. “You... still…? Me?”
“I know what you feel, what they feel, and I’m hopeful. You’ve been a great friend, open and willing to see me as a person from that first day. Finding out you… might want more… well, that was a bit shocking to me.”
“You’re a good man,” Cammie whispered. “Such a good man... Thank you for giving me this chance to be with you all, and for telling me.”
“If you want to be with us, you need to know, especially if this works out. We’ll eventually be meeting my parents.”
Cammie’s eyes shot wide open. “We will?! When?!”
“In time,” Stern laughed. “Calm down. I hope that you’ll all be equal by then so I can proudly declare all of you.”
Cammie’s heart melted. Licking her lips, she stood suddenly. She crossed over to him, stopping just short of the chair. “Can I… kiss you?”
Stern gave her a soft smile, glad that Trish had told him hugs and kisses would be okay. Cyra had agreed, erasing any doubt. He opened his arms and Cammie stepped into them. She ended up straddling his leg and, with him seated, they were nearly the same height.
Cammie’s heart raced as she leaned into him. Her hope and lust flared when she closed her eyes and kissed him. Stern’s heart was racing just as much as her emotions hammered into him. His own emotions had been the same, if not as intense, so they meshed in unison as their lips met for the first time.
It was tender and sweet, a moment of gentleness as the two awkward lovers wanted to savor the moment. They broke the kiss and restarted it a few times over the next couple of minutes. It never grew fevered, never demanding, always gentle.
A knock came on the door, and Cammie went to pull away, but Stern held her to him. She looked down to find him smiling at her. The door cracked open, and Cyra’s head appeared around it. Seeing them together, she smiled brightly and slipped in, with Trish following her.
“Umm...!” Cammie swallowed.
“Easy,” Stern whispered. “They just wanted to kiss you goodnight, too.”
“Oh…” The word was relieved, but had a twinge of regret, as well.
“We don’t move that fast,” Trish chuckled. “Tomorrow, after training, Stern’s going to take you on a date, just you and him. The day after that, you’ll get to go out with Cyra and I. We want to make sure you’re comfortable with all of us. If that goes well, when we get to Goldwood, maybe we can see about something more.”
Cammie’s breath caught, and she began to nod vigorously. “Okay.”
Stern let her go, standing up. “Good night, Cammie. See you for training tomorrow.”
“Night,” Cammie said, but suddenly Trish had her in her arms. “Uh... night?”
Trish chuckled before she dipped the dwarf, kissing her soundly. When she stood back up, they were both a little red in the face. “Night, lover.”
Cyra giggled, slapping Trish’s arm lightly. “Terrible.” With a hopeful smile, she approached Cammie. “May I?”
“Please?”
Cyra beamed as she hugged Cammie, then pulled back enough to kiss her lightly. “We’re all different. Hopefully, you like that as much as we do.”
“Yes,” Cammie smiled softly, then leaned in and gently kissed Cyra. “Thank you.”
Cyra was beaming. “Good night. Training and a date. Tomorrow will be a busy day for you.”
“It’ll be a good... no, a great day.” Cammie felt like she was floating in pure happiness.
With one more round of goodbyes, they left her alone. Cammie giggled happily as she started to get ready for bed.
Chapter Sixteen
Cyra and Trish were happy all night, giving him ideas for a date he could take Cammie on. Their enthusiasm helped calm any lingering doubts he had at the time. But now, at breakfast, Stern felt awkward again. Cammie kept glancing at him, blushing and smiling, making him do the same.
After breakfast, they’d gone to the dojo to train, minus Trish. She stayed behind, needing to work to get Nicole’s armor finished. The receptionist at the dojo was happy to take Stern’s money and give them a room rental for a few hours.
Once they were in the room, Stern exhaled. “We start with stretching. These are the ones we do every morning if possible, and always on the morning of a run. The trick here is to not push too hard. You want to push until you just start to feel the muscle stretch, then hold and release. If you push when you feel it, you’ll probably strain your muscle.”
“I’ll do my best,” Nicole said as she set her cloak aside. It was the first time they’d seen her without it. She was built like Stern; pale thinness that made her look nearly skeletal. None of them were exactly surprised, having been around him for so long.
