Wars and Wealth - Bargains with Exiled Fae

Chapter 9

“Look at this. You know what we suspected before that there was more to it. Now look at it and consider the angles.”

Nyx looked down at the sheet, her chin resting on his shoulder. “Looks the same to me. Besides, mortal necks break easy enough with enough force. Why are you so obsessed over this one sheet? You have studied it for years. I am bored looking at it.”

“Then, find me a new one and we can study that,” David retorted. In truth, the imperial scribes had speculated that there had once been twelve such sheets. However, they belonged to the fae realm and only after some mad men had stolen six from a fae lord had they come into the mortal world. The only one still known was now in his hands, passed down from the Imperial scribes to him when he claimed the title of God of War.

While many of the Imperial army’s top fighters had studied this sheet, he had been the first to see and understand a second level of meaning. This was no simple punch, but one that had allowed him to shatter tree trunks.

Over the next week, David studied his punch sheet. His eyes marveled at the seemingly basic page as the motions came alive in his mind.

Each morning, he awoke and began his training routine. He spent time testing his ability on the rock walls, scaling them now with ease, even without the protection of a rope. He continued to chop dead trees into small logs with nothing more than his fist.

On the morning before the ladies were due to return, David felt a surge as he punched, and the air compressed around his fist in a concussive blast. The tree he was focused on shuttered but didn’t break like he expected. Instead, a second connected trunk behind the first promptly shattered into powder as the force of his fist lashed out.

David stared in wonder and examined the twin trunks. The one he had been punching was now soft, nearly mush and slowly began to fall after several minutes of swaying. The second trunk, however, was nothing but shattered twigs.

The force of his punch had gone clear through the first and decimated the second. Had this been done on a human being, David could only imagine the damage it would wreak.

The next morning, David was stacking the shattered logs into the cave when a feminine whistle sounded behind him.

“If I had known a shirtless hunk was out here all alone, I might have found some excuses to come back sooner,” called Hailey as she and Kat made their way down the trail, laden with packs and gear. A heavy cooler swung between them

“Ah, well it is always a pleasant morning when two lovely ladies come so far out of their way just to see me,” David replied with a smile. “I see you have quite a bit of gear this time. Are we embarking on a trip?”

Kat grinned, “So long as you are not afraid of the dark. Jake found me an old guide book that talks about the top level of the caves and has some of the collected lore surrounding it. Turns out, some suspect the deeper levels to have been a fae portal. Over a thousand years ago, there was some sort of monk order that guarded against what they feared would be an invasion from those mystical beings.”

Hailey smiled, “Sad that they dedicated their lives to such fairy tales. But it might be there are some cool relics down there if we can get deep enough. According to the book, explorers have only managed to get down three levels. Beyond that, it was too far for anyone to go in a single trip.”

“And what might make our trip different?” David asked.

“Well, for one, we can store more food with the cooler. Plus, most of them were not skilled climbers and needed to create hoist platforms. So long as all three of us are willing to make the climbs, we can likely repel down three levels in just a matter of a couple hours. We brought enough food for a week, and we have the gear to manage the climbs.”

“Do we have enough ropes?” David asked skeptically.

“I had Jake cut us ten lengths of parashoot cord. It’s thin enough to leave on the higher ascents and we can keep taking our main rope down with us.”

David looked around, “Well, I have nothing going on. Shall we?”

Kat grinned and tossed him a flashlight and a head lamp. “It gets to total darkness after just 15 meters.”

That wasn’t entirely true. David had explored some on his own over the last week, and found it indeed was very dark after the first bend, but his eyes were better than most. He had made it to 30 meters before total darkness set in for him.

It took them an hour to rig their gear and coordinate how to get everything into the cave but by lunch time, they were repelling down the second shaft, deep into the heart of the mountain.

The various chambers of the cave would wind through the mountain for over a mile before a new drop could be found. They marked their trail with a red spray paint at every turn and David hauled the cooler to the next ledge.

By the time their watches beeped at six pm, they had moved to a fourth level of the cave and were deep in the bones of the earth.

“Can you see over that boulder? I think it’s blocking the next chamber?” Hailey asked.

David directed his headlamp to the spot and could only make out the black void at the top of a nearly 4-meter-tall stone.

“No, but I can give you a boost.”

Hailey grinned and came to stand in front of him. David squatted down and Hailey sat on his palm. David playfully gave her a light squeeze before standing in one fluid motion.

Once he stabilized his body, Hailey placed a foot on his shoulder and stood, placing her right foot into his raised palm.

“There is another chamber here. I think we can all get in… it will be a tight squeeze for the cooler but I think we can manage it. Let me see if I can set some gear in the cracks so we can haul stuff up.”

While it took time and effort, all three soon were in the hidden chamber. While she didn’t make herself known, David could sense that Nyx had joined them at some point.

Her fae scent hit him and David suppressed a grin. Nyxi was horny, and two attractive women in a secluded cave had her practically drooling with anticipation.

After having worked through so many layers of cave and been climbing all day, the group decided to set up camp and eat dinner.

A fire was sadly impossible as they could not have effectively moved wood so far into the cave but Kat pulled out a small tripod with gas burner and they were able to cook a stew with the food from the cooler.

“While the cave is dry and we don’t need a tent this far down, it would be nice to have more than just a sleep pad.” Kat said, looking at the rock floor. They had brought three inflatable lightweight pads but even that might not make for a comfortable night’s sleep.

David looked around the dark cave and noted two cracks opposite each other in the walls. He walked over with several of the climbing anchors and checked for a secure connection. After a few minutes making sure they were secure, he attached the adjustable strap to his travel hammock and strapped it into place across the cave.

“At least it’s off the ground.”

Hailey and Kat eyed each other, “I think I would be willing to share if it meant getting off the ground.”

David reached into the pack and pulled out two more. “Jake was prepared.”

Thankfully, Jake had also made sure these were the larger size. It would be far more comfortable and stable than some of the smaller hammocks he had seen in the store.

Kat and Hailey shared a look but didn’t pursue the issue for now.

After dinner was finished and they had set up their camp for the night, both ladies moved towards the hammocks and then turned off their lights.

The whole cave went pitch black.

“David, I wonder if you could help us.”

There was a rustle of clothes that told him all he needed to know.

“Need help getting in those hammocks, hmm?”

David grinned. These days, it was rare that a woman could truly sate his needs but perhaps two could. And the hammock presented some interesting possibilities.

The next few hours filled the cave with the sounds of energetic moans and the creaking of the hammock straps. When both women had finally collapsed in fits of quivering ecstasy, David set them both in their respective hammocks and slipped off to a cool corner of the cavern.

 David doubted they would be able to stand for at least a few hours. Sadly, he was not fully satisfied.

His current cultivation level was too high to be content with a mere few rounds, and an aching heat still remained deep in his loins in the aftermath. How could it be that even two very enthusiastic women would be unable to quench his fire?

It seemed the more he studied the ancient fae martial arts, especially his special fist punch spectrum, the more it took for women to keep up with him.

He made his way to a far corner of the cave and relieved himself while waiting for the remaining desire to fade away. Feeling that his situation was not much different from those countless nights alone, David sighed inwardly, and began running though his mental meditation to channel his energies.

After a failed half hour of attempting to reach the calm state he needed to cultivate deeper, he made his way back to his own hammock. As he lay back, a lithe body slid into the far end of the hammock with him and down between his legs.

He let out a groan of pleasure before running his fingers through the curly hair of Nyx. He let her continue for half a minute before pulling hard on her hair and yanking her head at a sharp angle.

"You didn't ask or bargain, little fae," His voice was slightly hoarse and breathless, as the heat that he had worked so hard to cool surged once more in his abdomen.

"All that unsatisfied vigor, all that pent up energy you have to hold at bay… How can I resist? I am helpless when I see you like this." Nyx laughed seductively, leaning into his grasp with the breath of an enchantress. Her fingers continued where her mouth could no longer reach.