Dungeon Walkers 3, page 13
Cammie’s hand touched his knee gently. “I really am. You make me feel special.”
“You are special, and not just to me.”
“It’s odd,” Cammie whispered, her hand lightly stroking his knee. “The idea of all three of you wanting me...? I’m not special, and I have no right to be accepted by any of you, much less all of you.”
“Special is in the eye of the observer,” Stern chuckled. “To us, you’re special. You could’ve stopped when your brother did. Instead, you came with us because you cared for us, and secretly hoped for more, even.”
Cammie giggled. “Not sure it was very secret.”
“Well, as secret as it could be with me,” Stern said softly.
“Or when I drunkenly told Trish how sexy she was?” Cammie whispered.
“True,” Stern chuckled. “Then, you wanted to cook for us, and all your actions to show how you were equal to all of us on the way here.”
“Was it that obvious?” Cammie asked, her emotions surging with embarrassment.
“Yes, but it was cute, too.”
“I… like being cute for you.”
Stern kissed the top of her head again. “I think you always will be.”
Silence fell between them. It was a comfortable silence as they cuddled in the warm summer night. Stern didn’t react when Cammie’s hand lightly petted his knee— he was happy she felt comfortable enough to do it. After a minute, he began to caress her arm where his hand rested on her.
The driver brought them to a stop at a corner of a park. A clear path started at that corner, wandering into the park. The setting sun cast long shadows as Stern helped Cammie down.
“Sir, if you follow this path and stay with the blue markers, it comes out on the far side,” the driver said. “Should I circle around and wait for you there?”
Stern gave Cammie a questioning look.
“Please?” Cammie asked.
“We’ll be there, but we’ll be taking our time,” Stern said.
“Understood, sir. I will be there when you arrive. You’ve more than compensated me for the evening.”
“We will see you there,” Stern said as he offered Cammie his hand.
Cammie took it, smiling happily as they began a slow walk down the path while the sun set behind them. She felt light as she walked— she’d always wanted to do a sunset walk with a boyfriend. Stern had no idea how perfect the moment was for her, but she was sure he felt her joy.
Stern gave her hand a light squeeze as her happiness grew. “This is nice,” he said softly, watching others walk away as the sun set. “Never thought I’d have a woman in my life. Now, I have three and get to experience moments like this. I’d always thought of my life as cursed before I met Cyra.”
Cammie giggled. That giggle became a chuckle before turning into a full-blown laugh. Stern stopped walking with her as Cammie doubled over, laughing. His eyebrow was up, but all he could feel was deep amusement from the dwarf. After a couple of minutes, Cammie began to calm down.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes,” Cammie gasped as she caught her breath.
“What caused that?”
Cammie giggled again. “You found your lucky rabbit’s foot. Both of them.”
Stern blinked at her, then laughed along with her. It was a terrible joke, but her laughter helped make it funnier. He held his hand out to her again.
Cammie wiped her eyes, removing the few tears that had escaped, before she took his hand. “It was in terrible taste, but it struck me and I couldn’t help it,” she snickered. “I won’t tell her.”
“You should,” Stern smiled. “Cyra will giggle, and Trish will probably fall over like you did.”
The path split ahead of them. Stern checked the marker, keeping them moving down the blue path. Dusk came to the park, darkening as they slowly walked.
Cammie slowed further, then stopped. Stern stopped with her, looking down at her.
Licking her lips, she glanced up. “Kiss me?”
Stern turned, bending as he wrapped his arms around her. Their lips met for a soft, lingering kiss. Both felt happiness as the moment drew out.
That happiness was shattered when coarse laughter filled the quiet night. Stern stood up, turning to face the sound, and saw a few young men coming their way.
“Kissing a kid? That’s just wrong,” the one in front snickered. “I mean, she has to be a kid for your heights to be so off.”
“She ain’t no kid,” another guffawed. “She’s got a nice set of tits.”
“Hey, toots! You want a real man instead of a freak?” the third asked with a leer. “Me and my buddies can fill your needs.”
Cammie’s happiness turned into rage, rage at these idiots for shattering her perfect night. Before she could snap at them, Stern pulled her to his side. “From the look of the jug you’re carrying, I’d say you’ve drunk enough,” he said tightly. “Just leave us alone.”
“What was that, freak?” the third man snarled. “You want us to show her her mistake in choosing you?”
“Stern isn’t a mistake!” Cammie spat.
“Hey now, shorty,” the first man sneered. “Just because you have a daddy issue doesn’t mean you should date someone twice your height.”
Stern began to walk again, holding Cammie to his side. That was bringing them closer to the trio, but he didn’t have much choice in the matter if he wanted to get to their driver. “We’ll be leaving.”
“Freaks should leave,” the second man snorted. “You should stay, babe.”
His hand reached for Cammie’s arm as they went to pass him. Cammie reacted immediately— she grabbed his arm and pivoted, sending the man flying.
“Don’t touch me!” Cammie hissed.
“Oy now, you fucking bitch!” the first man snapped. “If you want a blighted, we wouldn’t touch you anyway!”
The third man’s hand twitched toward his back, and Stern’s fingers and wrist flexed through multiple patterns. A heartbeat later, Zasha— enlarged and stone-plated— appeared in front of the third man. He’d just pulled out a dagger, but froze.
“We’re leaving,” Stern said firmly. “If you continue this, he won’t hold back.”
“Fine, fine. Just leave,” the first said, his face pale as he stared at the massive stone dog.
Zasha growled at the third man, who dropped his dagger and began to back away from the growling dog.
Stern took Cammie’s hand, leading her quickly down the path. Zasha stayed to watch the men before trotting after Stern.
At the next crossroads, Stern paused, exhaling noisily. “Sorry, Cammie.”
Cammie sniffled. “It was so perfect… and then…”
Stern turned to her, going to one knee as he pulled her to him. Holding her tightly, he comforted her. “It’s still a good night, no matter if those idiots interfered. Tonight will always be a bright spot for me because we were together.”
Cammie sniffled, holding him back. “Thank you...”
Zasha came to a stop a few feet away, looking back the way they’d come.
“Thank you, Zasha,” Stern said.
Cammie glanced at the dog. “Thank you... Stern, why him and not Pawly?”
“Zasha has a bigger presence. A giant stone dog inches from your face gets your attention fast. Pawly would have attacked right away, too. She gets very aggressive when I’m upset.”
“Oh...”
“I was upset because they ruined a perfect night,” Stern said gently, then he eased her back a little. “Can we try that again?”
Cammie met his eyes, her lips twitching up slightly. “Should we tempt fate a second time?”
“For you? Always,” Stern said. He pulled her gently back in, kissing her.
Cammie melted into the embrace, kissing him back. Their encounter with the idiots was forgotten in the moment of his love for her. Cammie’s heart beat faster, and she prayed that this night would build until she could stand beside Cyra and Trish as an equal.
Chapter Eighteen
A few days passed; Trish finished modifying armor for Nicole, then joined them for a full day of training. Jon went over all of their weapons, but particularly over every edged weapon, getting them into the best shape he could. Stern made sure their travel gear was looked over as well, along with restocking their salves and other odds and ends.
They were able to be there when the second person they’d pulled shards for was reborn. Doni Durham was an older woman who’d started running dungeons later in life. There was no family there for her, as she’d never married or had children. Her brother lived in Brightstone, so she thanked them and told them she was going to see him.
Cammie went on dates with Cyra and Trish on separate nights. All four of them went on one together, too, boosting both Stern’s and Cammie’s hope that everything would work out. He hadn’t felt any jealousy from her that entire night— only happiness and hope.
Sharp Ears pulled Max Pellant’s other shard out, earning praise for their crew and an emphatic thank you from the reborn man. Stern made sure that all drinks were covered for that celebration at the Walkers’ hall.
With everything ready to go, the crew finally decided to head out. They’d had a feast the night before to celebrate Jon and Nicole joining their crew. Stern was glad that Jon started to relax more. Nicole smiled a lot more over the last week, too, happy that she’d found a group of friends that didn’t disparage her.
~*~*~
Stern let out a deep breath when he got out of bed. “Do you think they were okay last night?” Stern asked Cyra, who was getting dressed.
“Yes. Trish would’ve joined us if something had gone wrong.”
“True... I’m still a little surprised that Cammie asked.”
“I doubt they went all the way,” Cyra giggled. “I’m sure it was more a passionate make-out than actual sex.”
Stern considered that as he got his clothing on, though he had to slam the doors on the images his mind kept trying to supply. “That would make sense. Testing the waters to see if she’s really attracted to women that way?”
“And Trish is a better teacher than I am,” Cyra added. “It would’ve been very awkward if Cammie had asked me.”
“It would’ve been sweet, if hesitant, you mean,” Stern corrected as he strapped his armor over his clothing.
“That does sound better,” Cyra smiled, doing the same. “Though, since we’re going into the wilds, it means no more fun until we reach Goldwood.”
“It’s for the best. I’m sure we’ll be off the roads and questing on the way. We’ll check the boards before we leave.”
“It was good to see Sarah again. Her crew made it through a second run yesterday,” Cyra said, changing the topic.
“Just glad they’re all making it out. They’re a good crew.”
“They’ll be a few days behind us. She said they decided to leave their third runs open. They’re offering those to Rescue Squad.”
“Good for them,” Stern smiled. “I heard snippets from other Walkers about them starting to pull at least one shard out per run to help the fallen. Maybe that will catch on more so people don’t linger as long.”
“That would be nice,” Cyra smiled, too.
The bedroom door opened, making them both turn toward it. Trish wore a wide grin as she shut it behind her. “Good morning to you both,” she said, swiftly collecting kisses from both of them.
“It went okay last night?” Stern asked.
“Fabulous,” Trish wiggled her eyebrows. “Seriously, though, we only had a hot and heavy make-out session. It was about half of what I’d do with you two, but she was… eager.”
“That’s good,” Cyra smiled brightly.
“Yes, it is,” Stern nodded happily. “I worried that she’d not be as interested in either of you, and it would cause a wedge in things.”
“Nope. She’s fine on that count,” Trish smirked. “I have to get armored up so we can head out. Jon was going down to get breakfast sent up, so I’ll be out as soon as I can.”
“I’ll try to make sure Pawly saves you some food,” Stern chuckled. “She slipped out when you came in.”
“You let Pawly stay the night in the room?” Trish asked, a little surprised.
“He summoned her back after… when we were ready for sleep,” Cyra started, then amended her sentence.
Trish snickered. “That makes more sense.”
Stern and Cyra left Trish to finish getting her gear on. Nicole was seated at the table, petting Pawly, who was sprawled out on the table to get affection.
“She loves being the center of attention,” Stern chuckled. “Ready for the journey?”
“Yes. Jon said we’ll be taking quests and not staying on the roads. We did it with the other crews before, but when we traveled without them, we stuck to the roads.”
“Not a bad plan if you have the money,” Stern said. “The quests between cities help keep them safer. If no one clears out the monsters, then swarms and wild bosses happen more frequently. That makes even travel by road uncertain if left long enough.”
“Oh... I had no idea,” Nicole said.
“Good morning,” Cammie said as she came out of her room.
“Good morning,” Cyra beamed back.
“Morning, Cammie,” Stern said, turning to look at her.
Cammie was in her armor and placed her bag by her door. She wore a smile, blushing when she met Stern’s gaze. “Sad to be leaving already, but we have to push on to keep advancing.”
“We do,” Stern agreed. “We’ll have downtime in the next city, though.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” Cammie said, her face reddening a bit more as she sat beside Stern. She reached out to pet Pawly with the other two.
Pawly purred even louder, rolling back and forth slowly to make sure they could all reach her. With her eyes closed and a happy little smile on her feline face, Pawly was very content with the adoration.
Cammie lowered her voice, leaning a little toward Stern, “Thank you. I was worried about things, but Trish helped show me that I had nothing to fear.”
Stern’s face burned as he nodded. “Good.”
“When we reach Goldwood,” Cammie whispered even softer, “I’m hoping that I might... get a night with you?”
Now, his face blazed. He coughed, not looking at the others as he joined them in petting Pawly. “Sure.” His whisper back was nearly a croak.
Cammie giggled, seeing his matching embarrassment and the edges of his smile. “Good. Trish said it’d be okay, but wasn’t sure.”
Stern took his hand from Pawly and placed it on Cammie’s knee. “It is, even if we both look like tomatoes right now.”
Cammie laughed, looking up at him. She glanced over to see Cyra and Nicole watching them, and her face burned brighter. Stern’s was just as red, but he smiled, as things felt good.
~*~*~
Trish was the last to join them for breakfast, but she hadn’t been far behind Jon getting back with their food. Because of that, she didn’t have to worry about Pawly taking all of her breakfast. With that done, they grabbed their bags and headed out of the inn. The staff wished them safe travels, as did the few patrons in the taproom. Stern was smiling happily as they walked over to the Walkers’ hall.
It was quiet inside; most of the people were over at the dungeon already, going in or trying to get added on to a crew to go in. The group went up to the quest board, looking it over. They had a selection to choose from, but only a few that made sense if they were heading to Goldwood.
“They have the dark willow shoot collection quest again,” Cyra pointed out.
“It’s a staple in this area,” Stern said. “Get it. We’ll find some, at least, so might as well have the quest for it.”
“Golden wolves,” Jon said, pointing to another. “Simple kill quest.”
“This one asks for their hides,” Nicole added.
“Get them both,” Stern chuckled. “‘Combo quests,’ as Dad called them, are always worthwhile.”
“We could take the kill quest for mistweavers?” Trish suggested. “We’ll still be in the Mist Wood for a couple of days before it turns into the Gold Wood. Just says to notify the Walkers’ hall.”
“We’ll be killing them, regardless, so we might as well,” Stern said. “That’s four. Should be good there.”
