Champions

After dinner the trio retired to the tent, and David decided to surprise them with a small gift. He stopped them from climbing onto the sleeping mat, and banished it and the bedding. Then he methodically conjured a beautiful, king-sized, four-poster bed, and then finished the whole thing off with comfortable bedding.

Turning to see what his love and her new friend thought of his creation, he saw a mixture of pride, appreciation, love, and lust. Mission accomplished. Both women loved the look of the improved sleeping arrangements, and after the trio had changed and gotten into bed their praise for his work hit a new high. He figured they would love the memory foam mattress topper, and he was right. As the two happy women settled into either side of him, and they all began to drift off to sleep, Sapphire remembered something she had forgotten to do.

"David?" she whispered to him.

"Hmm?" he mumbled, already half asleep.

"Do you remember your 'magic dick' comment?"

"Yeah," he whispered back, more alert now.

"Are you interested to know if it is true?" she teased him quietly.

He thought about it for a moment. Was he going to get lucky again? He had been hoping for a repeat performance tonight, but when Laurena joined them on the bed he just figured it wasn't happening. Did he really want to have sex with her when Laurena was lying in bed with them? Would it be that much weirder than doing it with her sitting with them in the tent? Probably not.

His mind resolved, he slid his hand down her back and palmed her ass, massaging her firm globes. "Sure thing beautiful, what did you have in mind?"

"Behave," she admonished him, slapping his abdomen playfully. Then she began stroking his hard abs lightly, drifting lower and lower while she talked.

"Laurena and I discussed the issue of how our magic increased after the service in Exitibus. I agreed to test the idea that it was sex with you that was the cause, rather than the service. Are you interested to see what we discovered?"

"Are you saying last night only happened because you wanted to conduct an experiment?" he whispered, faux angry. He wasn't really angry. The sex with her was amazing, and he knew he would get plenty more. Whatever convoluted logic she had to come up with to make it happen was okay with him.

In response she lowered her hand further, and slipped it inside his underwear. None of them were naked, but they had all stripped down to more 'minimalist' sleepwear. Wrapping her fingers around his growing erection, she began to slowly pump her hand up and down it, mimicking the movements Laurena had used on him their first evening together. "Not really, but it did give me an excuse to play with my favorite toy again."

"Hmm," he replied softly. "What did you find out?"

"Nothing yet, I forgot to test my magic today to see if it had changed. Laurena," she called to the acolyte whose head rested on the other side of David's chest, "are you still awake?"

"Of course. You two are doing an admirable job of keeping the noise down, but I am right here," she replied, opening her eyes and smiling up from where her head lay.

"Are you ready to see if my magic got any stronger?"

"Certainly."

Sapphire moved her hand from David's happy manhood, and pulled it out from beneath the sheets. Raising it above them all, she cast the first spell she had ever taught David. The light was blindingly bright. It took all three of them a few minutes to adjust to the light, and then they all carefully inspected her hand. It was significantly brighter than it had been last time she cast the spell. But David wasn't sure if that was because of the service or because of last night.

"Well?" he inquired.

"It's official," Sapphire told them both after she had extinguished her spell. "You have a magic dick."

As David tried to wrap his head around that announcement he felt Sapphire's body shift to lay on top of him while her lips found his. He returned the kiss, deciding to worry about more important things for the moment.

*** Chapter 35: Christmas or April Fools? ***

300900MAR13 DW

Three Miles North of the Calavius Road, Erosius

The next morning the three companions greeted the day with renewed vigor. Like the other days they began their day with three hours of firearms training. David started by teaching them how to field strip and clean each of his firearms. The M14 and Mk48 needed little attention, as he had already cleaned them since their last usage, but the M4 and all three M9s got a thorough cleaning. David insisted that both of the women learn to disassemble and clean the weapons in the traditional manner, before allowing them to use magic to clean them in the future.

Once the guns were reassembled he had them continue practicing everything they had been taught in previous days. They needed more confidence and familiarity with the weapons before he would risk teaching them anything more advanced. After lunch they moved to martial combat, working on stick/sword, knife, and unarmed techniques.

David had crafted two wooden short swords the same length as the escrima sticks, and was watching Laurena and Sapphire spar with them. He noticed Sapphire was comfortable fighting in close, but Laurena seemed to want more distance. He had an idea, and conjured two 1.4 meter (4 ft, 7 in) bo staves with solid cores and foam covers. Waiting for the two to halt their current set of drills, he leaned against one of the staves, which seemed oddly too short.

Deciding to get to the bottom of the issue he conjured a measuring tape. After a quick check of each staff he confirmed that they were the right length. Then he decided to check his own height. It was a less than precise measurement, and when he got a result of six feet four inches he double checked it. Then triple checked it. Then he just stood there.

What the fuck, he thought. Three times he measured himself and all three times he got the same result, six feet four inches. He had somehow grown four inches and hadn't noticed. I guess the package wasn't the only thing that got bigger, he thought. He was less than pleased with the changes, but his clothes still seemed to fit correctly and it would explain why his gear had started to seem lighter. With the increase in height came an increase in overall muscle mass, thus an increase in strength. Shrugging he added the issue to the long list of questions that he would ask Eros. It wasn't like he could do anything about it at the moment anyway.

Returning his attention to his two students, he called a halt to their practice and took Laurena's wooden sword, handing her one of the staves in exchange.

"This is called a bo staff, and you may be more comfortable using it," he explained. Telling Sapphire to rest for a few minutes, he began to instruct Laurena in basic staff technique. He was certainly no master with this weapon, but he knew enough to get her started.

Laurena was unsure about the much longer weapon at first; it was after all less than a foot shorter than her. But after David showed her the first few moves she began to feel comfortable with it, enjoying the extra distance she could achieve with the longer weapon. For the next two hours Laurena and Sapphire took turns sparing with David, and eventually with each other; he figured both women should learn how the length of an opponent's weapon would affect their own attacks and defenses.

That evening the trio again shared the bed he had conjured, and slept like hard-training, exhausted warriors.

***

They stayed for nearly a week more. Sapphire gained some competency with the M14, but it was simply too large of a weapon for her small stature to handle effectively. However, she quickly mastered the M4, occasionally out-shooting David in their now daily competitions. She also became quite proficient with the M9, but her skill with the pistol was far less than with the rifle. David wished he had something with a smaller grip than the overly large M9. He was certain that a SIG P229, a HK P30, or something else of similar size would be a better fit for her, and she would probably be a much better pistol shot if she had access to either of them. She was also progressing well with both stick and knife training. She was not nearly as skilled with them as she was with his M4, but she could now hold her own against most opponents. She could certainly beat any one of the shitty fighters that he encountered so far. Unfortunately her unarmed skills were progressing slowly. It might have been her size (she was barely above five feet tall and just over one hundred pounds) or simply a mental block, but she could barely defend herself with her bare hands.

Alternatively, Laurena was exceptionally skilled unarmed. She had not developed much in the way of striking power, but she was fast and light on her feet. Her joint locks and throws were a thing of beauty, and she was harder to hold onto than a greased pig when grappling on the ground. She had also picked up staff fighting quickly. In less than a week she was David's equal with a staff. Unfortunately her skill with stick, sword, and knife fighting was about as dismal as her shooting. She could hit the target most of the time at six meters with a pistol, and at fifty meters with the rifle; but past that her accuracy was less than 40%, worse than a coin toss. With stick and sword she was hesitant, trying to stay at range; and with knife she was fast, but had trouble with precision.

David wished their improvement across the board had been better, but he realized they were being taught a massive amount in a very short time. It was to be expected that individual differences in style would affect their progress. The important part was that each of the women would be able to protect themselves if the shit hit the fan, and that counted for a lot. The extra time had included more than one enjoyable night with Sapphire, and it also allowed him to finish his surprises; so on the final evening he presented them to the women as graduation gifts.

"Ladies, you have done extremely well this past week and a half," he began, watching them both glow at his praise.

"Tomorrow morning we will resume our travels, and I have the utmost confidence that anyone who tries to way-lay us will regret that decision," he continued. "So tonight I have something for each of you, both as a reward for working so hard and as a thank you for taking this task so seriously. You have both been excellent students, and I look forward to continuing your training as time allows."

Surprised by his announcement, neither woman spoke in response as he reached into his rucksack and pulled two bundles from inside. The first bundle he handed to Laurena and the second, larger bundle he handed to Sapphire. Taking them, the women each unwrapped the cloth covers from their gifts and then stared at what had been inside in amazement.

Laurena held a six-inch wide leather belt, pure white in color, with intricately tooled designs covering its surface. It had a detachable pistol holster with one of his M9s in it, two detachable double magazine pouches with four full magazines, and a detachable sheath that held a double edged fighting knife; all of which were made of the same pure white leather and as intricately tooled. With the belt also came a pair of pure white leather bracers, with intricate tooling that matched the belt. Looking closer she noticed the tooling helped conceal the Enochian glyphs that enspelled the items. The belt carried the words strength, speed, health, durability, and cleanliness; while the bracers had simply strength, speed and high durability. Seeing her inquiring look David explained his gift.

"I'm not sure if it will work or not, but I figured I would try to create something that would make you a little faster and a little stronger. The belt will also repel dirt, and if I did it right everything else you wear with it will as well. The bracers should also make you a little faster and a little stronger, but even if that doesn't work the important part is that they cannot be damaged. They will block any attack, even a sword."

Shocked at his proclamation she looked back to her gift and drew the white handled knife, noticing the blade gleamed with a mirrored surface.

"It is called stainless steel. It is not the best material for a knife, but I thought you would like it."

Nodding at his words, her eyes started to moisten as she looked up and thanked him. It was the most wonderful gift she had ever been given, and if the power of the enchantments were even close to his full potential then they would be some of the most powerful magical items in all of Erosius. He just smiled and told her he was happy she liked the gift.

Sapphire missed the entire exchange because she was thoroughly engrossed in her own gift.

When she unwrapped her gift she had discovered a full set of clothing. There was a black coat with a blue liner and a hood that looked like it would reach mid-thigh on her, a pair of black leather breeches with some type of reinforced padding, a black leather bodice, a blue silk chemise, a pair of over-the-knee black leather boots, a pair of black leather bracers, and finally a wide band of black leather that was an odd cross between a corset and a belt. It had a holster for an M9 on the left side (cross-draw style), with pistol magazine pouches next to it. In the front there were pouches for M4 magazines, and sheathes that held four knives identical to David's custom Thunderbolt throwing knives on the right. In the back there seemed to be some kind of adjustment mechanism, as well as detachable shoulder straps that could attach in the front and back, crisscrossing between her shoulder blades. All of the leather had been intricately tooled with a multitude of designs. There were images of hearts and flowers, as well as dragons and weapons. Hidden within the tooling were so many Enochian glyphs that she simply couldn't begin to make them all out. Looking up at David he simply shrugged and said, "If you put it on it will be a lot easier to explain."

Taking a minute to think about it, she looked at the pieces as a whole and realized that it was actually a beautiful outfit. Except for the belt thing, the leatherwork matched the rest of the ensemble, but it was too bulky and unflattering with all the weapons and ammo pouches. Deciding to do as instructed she gathered up the bundle and took it into the tent with her to change. A few minutes later she came back out and both David and Laurena looked at her, stunned.

Laurena gathered her wits first, "it looks beautiful Sapphire," she exclaimed.

"Thank you," Sapphire replied, feeling better about the outfit.

"You look amazing my love," David finally found his voice.

"I know," she replied with a smirk. "Now I believe it's time for an explanation."

"Right," he muttered to himself, moving forward to describe his creation. "The jacket is reversible, so it can wear it with either the black side out, or the blue side out. It is also enchanted to be comfortable against your body, but resistant to damage. I've tested it, and it can take a full strength strike from a sword without a single blemish. The space between the two layers is padded and enchanted to reduce the force of any blow that falls upon it, as in no broken bones. It will also stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

"The pants have similar enchantments, hence the reinforced padding. I used 1/8 inch neoprene for the padding and a silk lining for comfort because I know how sexy you look in skin tight leather, and I wanted to keep seeing you in it," he said with a grin.

She huffed and playfully slapped his arm, but her faux outrage was quickly betrayed by a triumphant little smile.

"Moving on," he said, laughing, "the boots are enchanted the same as the coat and pants, with an added enchantment for strength and speed. If those work the way I want them to it will make your kicks and knee strikes more powerful, as well as making you faster on your feet. The bracers are similarly enchanted. The bodice has the same enchantments as Laurena's belt, which are strength, speed, health, durability, and cleanliness. It should work the same. The shirt has no enchantment; I just thought the outfit needed a little something extra so I added it last minute. The whole outfit can be worn with or without it."

He stopped here, allowing both women to process what he had said. Sapphire had not worn the utility harness with the rest of the outfit, so he decided to wait to tell her about it until she asked.

After a few minutes inspecting their gifts, and each others, Sapphire finally went back to the tent and retrieved the harness. Holding it up for David to see, Sapphire told him, "This was very thoughtful, but it really doesn't fit. Everything else fits me perfectly, and looks amazing on me. But this just doesn't fit right. I'm sorry."

Smiling David reached over and took it from her, then leaned in kissed her gently. "It's ok beautiful, I just need to show you how to use it." Turning her around her helped her shrug out of her coat, and then fitted the harness around her waist. Tightening the adjustment harness in the back, he made sure that it was a secure as he could make it without hurting her. Then he adjusted the shoulder straps so they overlapped the bodice straps, blending in with them. Then he stepped back and whispered a word in Enochian.

The tactical harness flattened, and molded to Sapphires trim figure.

Staring in amazement, she ran her hands across it, and could feel all the pouches, knives, magazines, and the pistol, but looking at the harness it appeared painted onto her bodice. Looking up in amazement she saw David grinning in triumph.

"What did you do?"

"I modified the enchantment that your mother put on your saddlebags so that everything on the harness only takes up a space that's 1/8 inch thick. You can still feel everything normally, take things out and put them back in like normal, but the casual observer will just think it is an overly decorative bodice."

Looking down at it again, she realized that all the leather tooling on her clothes did in fact help to conceal the outlines of the pistol and knives. The magazine pouches weren't even noticeable.

"It can also be worn on the outside of the coat, but it will be more obvious if you do. It carries all of the same enchantments as the other pieces, with the additional enchantment to compact itself activated by the command word [speaking Enochian] beautiful."

Nodding she spoke the word, and saw the harness change back to normal. Now that it was fitted to her it really was not that unsightly, but with the enchantment it was practically invisible. Noticing movement in her peripheral vision she looked back up to see David walking back from behind the tent. He was carrying another bundle that was about five feet long. Once he reached them he opened it, and drew forth two weapons.

The first was a short sword. Handing it to Sapphire she noticed that the sheath was made from the same leather as the rest of her ensemble, with the same detailed tooling as well. Drawing the blade she saw that it was enchanted with the same Enochian glyphs as David's knife. It was only 26 inches in overall length - the exact size of the escrima sticks she had been training with - but seemed a perfect fit for her. Giving it a few test swings she was amazed at how light it was, and how fast it moved. Turning back to her love her face beamed sunshine and happiness at her final gift.

Returning her smile he leaned over and kissed her, and then drew forth the last gift of the night from the bundle. It was an intricately carved white ash wood bo staff, with a multitude of designs and motifs along the entire length, which cleverly concealed a few surprises. Handing it to Laurena he told her, "This is for you, and I have no idea how well it will work."