Building Harem Town 3, page 10
“Can’t we talk for a little bit first?” Nicola asked in a pleading tone. “You look so… handsome.”
“Handsome?” the gargoyle asked. “Of course, I am. But if you’re really beautiful, show me.”
“I’ll show you… right now!” The brunette loosed an arrow, and her aim was spot on. The projectile hit the gargoyle directly in the abdomen and embedded itself a few inches into his stony skin. It wasn’t much, but a faint black trickle of goo started to spill from the wound, and the creature briefly winced.
Then he reached down and pulled the arrow out of his belly like it was nothing, and he looked down with a smirk at the gooey arrowhead in his hands. The clearly unhurt monster snapped the arrow in half and threw it on the ground, and then his eyes flashed to stony gray before he drew his own arrow and aimed it in Nicola’s general direction.
The brunette hunched down further behind her rock, and Penelope scooted back further into the bushes with the red angel in her arms.
“I’m getting my fucking bird,” the gargoyle snarled as he stared down at the ground with blank, gray eyes, and he pulled his bowstring taut.
But then Aleia’s rock blasted him in the center of his forehead, and his face shattered in two.
The gargoyle’s stony visage cracked in half to reveal his hollow interior, and as his body fell into another tree, pieces of granite began to crash down to the forest floor.
“Run!” I told the women as I scanned the lair one last time for approaching gargoyles. “Get back to the convent before anyone else comes after you!”
Penelope switched off the light as Aleia descended, and the women stood stock still as they tried to get their bearings in the sudden, startling darkness.
“Which way should we go?” the fairy asked. “I’m lost, my lord.”
“Turn right to head back toward the path,” I explained. “And be fast.”
Aleia reached down and plucked the bird-woman from Penelope’s arms, and then she dashed through the forest with the human and the naiad close behind her. The terrain was rough, and I was more grateful than ever for the women’s new boots as they crunched over sharp sticks and clambered over rocks. As usual, none of the three brave priestesses cried out in pain as they headed back down toward the main trail, and all of them kept sending anxious glances at the limp woman in Aleia’s arms.
“Are we going the right way?” Aleia gasped. “I’m worried I’m going to hurt her running like this.”
“Yep,” I confirmed as the women approached the path. “It’s about to get a lot easier once the path is open. Go!”
The night now seemed completely black in the absence of the flashlight’s glow, and it was silent other than the sound of racing footsteps and panting.
Then the bird-woman began to cough and gag, and she started to thrash around in Aleia’s arms.
“You should fly ahead,” I told the fairy. “I don’t want you to split up, but you’re right, it doesn’t sound like she’s handling the run well.”
“Go, sister!” Penelope implored. “Save her!”
The fairy shot up into the air and soared toward the convent, and Nicola and Penelope followed on foot as they quickened their paces.
“You’re really going to need the stream after this,” I told the women.
“Tell Aleia to take her straight there,” the naiad gasped. “She may be able to heal her in the creek.”
“Good idea,” I praised the blue woman. “All of you should meet down at the water.”
I looked back over my God Vision, and I could see the two gargoyle guards still engaged in conversation. I didn’t see any light coming from the gargoyle tower other than a few random torches, and I was more than relieved that the women appeared to be temporarily in the clear.
Penelope and Nicola still held their weapons at the ready the whole time they ran just in case, but as I eyed Nicola’s bow, I began to wonder if it was adequate enough.
I didn’t like how her arrow had barely penetrated the gargoyle in his animal form, and if those were the kinds of assholes we had living near our convent, I was going to have to come up with new weapons for the women. I could get any tool I wanted, so there was no reason I couldn’t get more creative arming my loyal priestesses.
Aleia was almost to the edge of the woods with the bird-angel in her arms, when suddenly, something flashed across my field of vision.
Level Up!
Chapter 7
Holy shit, if I’d leveled up, this meant my brave priestesses had actually rescued the woman in trouble.
But our scarlet bird clearly wasn’t out of the woods yet.
Aleia flew down to the banks of the stream as our ward laid totally still in her arms, and she gently set the bird-woman’s body down on the ground.
The woman’s cheeks were ghostly pale, and her eyes weren’t even fluttering. She laid completely motionless on her bed of leaves and pine needles, and the fairy anxiously leaned over her body.
“Is she okay?” Aleia breathed. “She isn’t moving at all. I don’t want to put her all the way in the stream when Penelope isn’t here, but maybe I could put a little water on her.
Aleia removed her boots and waded a foot or so into the creek, and then she cupped her hands to scoop up the blessed water. The water dribbled between her fingertips while she stepped out of the stream, but she had enough left to pour some onto the bird-woman’s chest. Then the fairy sat down cross-legged next to the mystery woman and rubbed her wet palms on her ashen cheeks.
For a moment, nothing happened before a strange gurgling sound came from the bird-woman’s throat. It almost sounded like she was going to choke, or throw up, but the noise gradually subsided to a cough. She kept coughing for several seconds while Aleia stroked her face and cooed to her in a gentle tone, and her frail body shivered all over from the effort.
Then the bird-woman bolted upright and stared at Aleia with huge, amber eyes.
“Who are you?” the stranger croaked. “Who…”
The angel collapsed back down into Aleia’s strong arms, rested her face on the fairy’s shoulder, and began to sob, and the red-and-yellow feathers on her arms swayed back and forth as her crimson shoulders shook with tears.
“It’s okay,” the strawberry-blonde priestess murmured. “You’re safe now. I’m Aleia, and… I know how to protect you. Those gargoyles can’t get you anymore.”
There was no response from the red-haired woman as she nestled even closer to Aleia’s chest.
“Jack, she’s gone from very cold to very hot,” the fairy whispered. “I think she might have a fever.”
Penelope and Nicola came skidding to a stop on the banks with Thunder at the brunette’s heels, and they both stared with gaping mouths at Aleia.
“What happened up there?” Nicola gasped. “How did you actually bring a statue to life?”
“Jack did it,” the fairy explained. “He told me how to read words that were carved into the stone under her, and she turned back into a real woman. Oh, sisters, it sounded like she was in so much pain as it happened. Her cries were so awful and sad. It was the worst thing I’ve ever heard.”
The bird-woman’s white robe was dirty and now sodden with tears, and the hem of the skirt was dotted with blood from the places where her ankles had gotten cut during the trek through the woods.
“You’re under Jack’s protection now,” Penelope said as she knelt down next to the two women and began to stroke the angel’s red feathers. “No harm will come to you anymore. He is our beneficent savior.”
The redhead collapsed even further down Aleia’s chest, and her sobs grew quieter and quieter. Her head fell down toward her neck, and her mouth fell open a little, and when she grew completely silent, I wondered if she’d passed out again.
“I think we need to get her in the stream,” Penelope said in a nervous voice. “How should we do this? Do we take her robe off, or…?”
“I don’t know,” Aleia fretted. “We don’t know her at all. Can we just undress her?”
“She is sick,” the naiad countered. “We need to keep her warm and dry. The stream’s magic waters shouldn’t give her a chill, but just in case, it doesn’t seem like a good idea to keep her in her wet clothing.”
“You’ll need blankets for her,” I said. “She’s going to need them to stay warm when she gets out of the water. Nicola, can you run up and get some?”
“Yes, that’s a good idea,” Penelope agreed as the dark-haired woman headed back toward the living quarters. “She’ll feel nice wrapped up in a blanket. Get her one of the nice ones Elowise gave us, Nicola! You can take it from my bed.”
“That’s so generous of you, sister,” Aleia praised. “And now I’ll help you get her in the water.”
“I’ll just leave her robe on for now,” Penelope said. “I know we’ll have to dress her in a little bit, but if she wakes up naked in a stream, she’ll certainly be frightened.”
“I think that’s a good plan,” I agreed.
When the redhead’s chin drooped forward onto her chest, Aleia immediately scooped her up. Then the fairy walked down the banks and into the blessed stream with Penelope at her heels, and she laid the woman out onto the bank as carefully as she could.
I marveled at the way her feathers spread out in the current, and her crimson hair floated behind her like a wave of fire. She had bright, feverish spots on her cheekbones now, and her eyes were closed again. Her breathing was rough and hoarse, and she coughed every few seconds.
After a couple moments in the water, though, the redhead’s breathing started to calm, and her complexion began to take on a more natural tone. Her cough stopped rattling her chest so deeply, and the lines on her face softened.
“I think she’s feeling a little better,” Penelope sighed. “Her cough was worrying me for a bit.”
“She looks better, too,” Aleia agreed. “Her face isn’t quite as pale.”
“She’s so beautiful,” the naiad sighed as she gazed down at the stranger’s perfect face. “She must be here to worship you, my lord. Why else would we have found a woman this incredible? She must be strong, too, to have survived being imprisoned in stone.”
“Well, I don't know about all that,” I demurred. “But I am glad she’s doing a little better. The magic of your stream gets stronger and stronger, Penelope.”
Nicola returned to the banks with the blankets, and she stood to the side of the stream and watched the two other priestesses bathe the bird-woman.
“I hope we can heal her, Jack,” the brunette said quietly. “I hope she feels more comfortable, at least.”
“She was in so much pain,” I told Nicola. “I’ve never heard anything like those cries before.”
“That’s awful,” the dark-haired woman responded with a solemn expression, but then a sly smile spread across her lips. “She is beautiful, isn’t she, Jack? Do you like the color red?”
“I’m not worried about that right now,” I chuckled. “I just want her to heal for the time being, but I do like her feathers.”
“I’m not sure what kind of creature she is,” Nicola said as she pursed her lips to the side. Her dark eyebrows furrowed as she thought, but finally she shook her head. “She’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. The only thing I can think of is…”
“What is it?” I asked. I was dying to know more about the mysterious woman.
“The only cross between a bird and a human I’ve ever heard about is a harpy,” the brunette explained. “But they’re supposed to be old and ugly, or at least, that’s what the fairy tales say.”
“A harpy…” I mused. Old and ugly sounded right from my vague knowledge of the myth, but the creature in the stream was anything but. “You’ve heard of them before?”
“Yes, but whoever she turns out to be, I bet you hope she’ll become a priestess,” the dark-haired woman laughed. “I know how you think.”
“Oh, you know what I’m thinking, do you?” I teased. “A mere mortal knows that much about a god?”
Nicola looked up at the sky with a smirk on her face.
“Am I not being devout, my lord?” the brunette asked with her dark eyes hooded.
“You know how I feel about you being disrespectful,” I snickered. “But as for her being a priestess, I have no idea.”
“She could worship you with those feathers,” Nicola purred with a devious look on her face. “I bet they’d feel nice on your skin…”
“Enough!” I laughed. “My only hope right now is that we can bring her back to health.”
“I wonder how long she was a statue,” the brunette said and shuddered. “Just the thought of being trapped like that is so scary. I didn’t even like being confined in the underground tunnels.”
“I know,” I responded. “The gargoyles are really, really evil. They had more than one of these statues on top of the lair, and it didn’t look like the other women lived through the treatment.”
Nicola’s frown deepened, and she shook her head in disgust rather than responding.
I focused back on the stream, and I tried not to look through the bird-woman’s now transparent robe, but it wasn’t an easy feat.
“How’s she doing?” I asked Penelope and Aleia. “Is she looking better?”
“We can’t get her to respond to us at all,” the fairy said in a sad tone. “Her color looks better, but she won’t open her eyes. No matter what we do, she won’t wake up again.”
“But at least she’s not coughing anymore,” Penelope pointed out. “That’s one good thing.”
“That is good,” I agreed. “Why don’t you go ahead and get her out now, and then you can get her changed and wrapped up in a blanket? You have something for her to wear, right?”
“I have extra robes,” the naiad answered. “She appears to be about my size.”
“Thanks, Penelope,” I responded. “I appreciate that.”
“I have the blanket,” Nicola said from the banks of the stream as she held up a large, velvety, deep-blue quilt.
“Okay, I’m going to take her out,” Aleia announced, and she slid her arms under the soaking wet woman and climbed out of the water.
Penelope followed, and then the three priestesses all looked down at the woman in the fairy’s arms with thoughtful expressions.
“I think we will need to undress her now…” the naiad mused. “We can put her clothes back on when we get her to the living quarters.”
“I’ll look away,” I told the women.
“Why would you look away from her when you’re a god?” Nicola asked. “You could see this woman laid out, and clearly she’s beautiful. Her breasts--”
“Nicola, stop it,” Penelope cut in. “Jack likes to see our bodies because we are his holy followers and are devoted to him, and he also loves us. We don’t know anything about her! Our lord wouldn’t gaze upon her nakedness, would you, master?”
“Of course not,” I laughed. “What Penelope said is exactly right. Just go ahead and change her, and I’ll think about something else for a few minutes.”
I averted my eyes toward the convent walls and considered the fight the women had just been through. They’d held their own as always, but the gargoyles were tough fighters, and I was worried we weren’t through with them yet. The guard in the woods had seemed pretty excited about his precious trophy, and I wasn’t convinced they weren’t going to come looking for her.
The convent walls and the dog were good protection, but we needed better.
Especially if we had winged enemies in the area.
“Thunder!” I heard Penelope giggle. “Don’t lick her on her face!”
“You can’t wake her up that way, silly,” Nicola’s voice said.
I was glad the priestesses were cheerful again, but I only wanted the bird-woman to be safe. The quest to rescue her made me feel incredibly protective of this “woman in distress,” but even though I’d leveled up, it didn’t seem fulfilling to consider her rescued unless she was healthy again.
This notion reminded me I hadn’t checked my display yet after leveling up, but now that I’d spoken with my women about our feathered ward, I was beginning to wonder if I might find some interesting information in my interface.
What if this new woman really was a priestess of mine?
Before I checked my new level-up information, I quickly flipped through the section of my interface that was dedicated to the women. To my disappointment, there was no one new listed. I wished it would tell me her name, or anything about her, but nothing was there.
To placate myself, I decided to check my other information.
Daily Tool Replication (4) acquired!
Convent: Level 10
Next Town Quest: Build guard towers within convent walls
Reward upon Quest Completion: Gain ability to grant +2 strength points to one priestess in battle for 30 minutes. Power regenerates at midnight each night
Holy shit.
The convent was at level 10? That seemed like a massive accomplishment. Had I really been here this long and completed this many difficult tasks? I had to pat myself on my virtual back, and I realized it was no wonder Penelope’s stream was healing the new woman so effectively. We’d all advanced so much in our short time together.
Also, a quest to build guard towers would be a new way to protect the convent, like I’d been thinking about. Sometimes it felt like this simulation read my mind without any effort on my part at all.
Or maybe I was starting to get the hang of this new god life.
The strength bonus was interesting, too, but I wasn’t crazy about the way the new reward made it sound like battles were going to be a regular thing. On the other hand, there were different ways to apply it. I could boost extra-strong Aleia even further, or I could bring Penelope up closer to the level of the other women. I hoped we wouldn't need to use the boost every twenty-four hours, but it was good to know it was available.
Now, I decided to check the priestesses’ stats.
First, there was Aleia.
Strength: 8
Endurance: 3
Intelligence: 2
Perception: 3
