Champions

Yes, there were now two additional options in his mind. He could be dead, and this was some version of the afterlife that he didn't understand yet. Or, it could actually be real. He had struggled hard all night with that thought, but had realized it was steadily marching to the forefront of likely answers to his circumstances.

He had no explanation for it; no idea how or why he got from his world to here, but everything he had seen, heard, and experienced since waking on the side of this mountain yesterday seemed too real to be easily dismissed.

He needed to make a decision. If this was a coma he should be trying to wake himself, but he wasn't sure how to do that. If he was dead, he was stuck here until someone came and explained things to him. If this was real...well he wasn't sure what to do if this was real.

Packing up his weapons cleaning kit, he stowed it back in his ruck and slung his rifle across his back. He would go with girl, he decided. He could easily wander around these mountains aimlessly, but with what purpose? She was offering to take him to her god, Eros, who seemed to be the Big Cheese around here. Maybe that guy had some answers for David.

Besides, he thought to himself ruefully as he quietly approached her sleeping form; she is definitely easy on the eyes.

Reaching down, he gently touched Laurena's shoulder through the sleeping bag's thick surface. She shifted but did not wake at his light touch. Grasping her shoulder a little more firmly, he gave her a small shake. She rolled from her side to her back, and blurrily opened her eyes. He greeted her gaze with a comforting smile.

"Good morning. The sun is rising, and we need to get moving soon. Are you rested enough to move out in an hour?"

Nodding her head, she closed her sleepy eyes muttering, "Just a few more minutes."

Smiling with tolerant amusement, David decided to give her a few minutes before he tried again. It didn't take that long. Less than half a minute later, her eyes shot wide open and she sat upright quickly. Clutching his sleeping bag about her shoulders to ward off the chill morning air, she looked around the cave carefully but quickly.

It was true; she had actually found the Champion. Every night since her god's nocturnal visit, she had dreamed of finding Eros' Champion. Each dream was different, but in all of them she found him wandering the lands and escorted him to Eros, whom granted her different boons in appreciation each time. Waking this morning she first thought yesterday had just been another of her dreams, and definitely her worst one so far. But she was wrong. The Champion that she had dreamt of for days - David - was crouched over her, having just woken her from sleep. He was no longer wearing his strange helmet, and he had donned the unusual fur jacket in the night. The rest of his equipment sat in an orderly stack where he had placed it the night before. She saw her saddle and bags stacked next to it. Turning her head, she saw Meadowgrass sleeping nearby.

"Decided against the snooze bar, huh?" he inquired of her with a smirk.

Turning back to him questioningly she ask, "What is a snooze bar?"

Snorting, he gave a barely perceptible shake of his head, "Something from my world, don't worry about it."

Accepting his words she tried to wriggle her way out of the bag; but between her robes and the soft thickness of the spacious bag her movements soon had her hopelessly tangled instead. She turned to David with a plaintive look. He gave a soft chuckle and offered to help.

"Hold still. Let me unzip the bag and you'll be able to get out easily."

Reaching over to her, he unsnapped and unzipped the bag.

"There you go."

Her body suddenly free of the tangle, she slid herself from the bag and stood. It was much colder outside of its warm embrace. Reaching back to the mess, she extracted the cloak that she had used as a pillow during the night, and wrapped it around herself.

"I will prepare us a quick meal, and we can be on our way," she stated. "Unless you would prefer to eat your own food this morning?"

Thinking about the two MREs he had in his rucksack, he shook his head. "If you can spare the food I will graciously accept it."

Laurena moved to her bags and prepared their breakfast, and David gathered up his sleeping bag while considering what he knew of their route. They were planning to travel west, and he had gotten a look at the terrain in that direction. He figured that they would be able to find a path back to the main trail, and be clear of the mountains by that evening. He had noticed a large river off to the south, and assumed the road would be near it. She had said it was a day and a half ride to Wolfsvale, but with him on foot it would probably take closer to three days now.

Returning his ECWS sleeping bag to his rucksack, he reviewed the gear he had in light of his current situation. He had spare batteries in a Ziploc bag for all of his electronic gear, but he was carrying a few things he definitely didn't need any more. He pulled out the papers and cell phones he had taken from the PSD, his GPS, and Mother's radio. They were all useless. Unfortunately, they were also things that probably didn't exist in this world. Turning to Laurena he asked her about it.

"Laurena, do you know what any of these are? Have you ever seen anything like them in your world?"

Surveying the electronic devices in his hands, she shook her head. "No Champion, those objects are foreign to me. Are they important?"

Shaking his head he explained, "No, they are actually pretty useless right now. They would be important on my world, but here they won't work. No satellites, no cell towers, no other radios to talk to."

Unfamiliar with the objects in his hands, and clueless about the other things of which he spoke, she just shrugged her shoulders. "If they are of no use, why do you keep them? Are they trophies?"

"No. I just haven't had the chance to get rid of them yet. I'm going to do that now."

Reaching back to his rucksack, he opened a pouch on the side and removed his E-Tool (Entrenching Tool, small folding shovel). Then he tossed the cell phones and GPS into a cargo pocket, tucked the radio into his back trouser pocket, and carried the E-Tool with him out of the cave. Looking around, he found a patch of grass and dirt amongst the rocks to his right, and figured that should work for what he needed.

He unfolded his E-Tool and began to dig in the ground he had chosen. It was still somewhat rocky, but he was able to dig out a foot deep hole in a few minutes. Pulling out the cell phones, he opened their backs and removed the batteries and sim cards, tossing the pieces in the hole. Next he tossed in the GPS, without batteries it would be a mystery to anyone that might dig it up. Lastly he pulled the radio out, and removed the antenna and battery from it. He didn't really want to bury it, but 'ounces equal pounds, and pounds equal pain' is a lesson he learned quickly in the light infantry world of the 101^st Airborne. When you had to carry everything you needed for four days of fighting on your back, you started to learn that a little bit of extra weight meant a whole butt load of pain by the end of the day. With a resigned shake of his head he tossed the radio parts in with the rest, and filled the hole back in.

Walking back to the cave, he folded up his E-Tool and returned it to its pouch. Turning he met Laurena, who had finished preparing their food and was holding out his portion in a bowl. Taking it from her, he sat down on the cave floor and inspected his meal. It looked like creamy oatmeal, with small bits of off-white colored fruit in it. Taking a cautious bite, he confirmed his suspicion. It was some kind of oatmeal, with what tasted like dried apples in it. It was good. Eating their breakfasts in silence, David began mentally organizing the logistics of their trip; while Laurena continued plotting her seduction of Eros' Champion.

She knew she was irresistible. No man had ever hesitated to receive Eros' Blessing from her, and she knew many that came to services at the Great Temple solely because of her. Yet the man beside her had resisted her attempts to sway him the night before. She had decided that it was because he was oblivious to her subtle attempts, and she would need to be more overt in her temptations today. Thinking of all the methods of seduction she had learned, she began to consider and discard most as not direct enough for the oblivious man beside her. There were only a handful of things she knew that were obvious enough for her purposes, and she began to grow aroused thinking of implementing them. Turning to look at the target of her plotting, she realized she could begin now, before they even finished their meal.

"Champion, I just noticed your head is bandaged. Please allow me to inspect and heal the wound."

David jerked his head to look at her. He had been lost in thought, and apparently begun to nod off without realizing it.

"Huh? What did you say?"

Pointing at the bandage wrapped around his head, Laurena repeated herself, "The wound on your head, I will heal it for you."

"Oh, that's ok. It'll be fine," he said, not wanting to imagine what kind of weird crap her pre-medieval medicine thought was the proper treatment of a head wound. Probably leeches, it's always leeches, he thought with a shudder.

"Champion I assure you that it does not look fine; and while my healing magic is not as powerful as it should be, it is better than the nothing you seem to be using at the moment," she said with a smirk.

Looking at her he glanced down at her still bruised wrists, and then back up at her un-bruised, flawless face. He had forgotten about the magic. He really was tired. Also, while his previous migraine had lessened to a more manageable pounding headache, the pain still challenged his ability to organize his thoughts. Curious to see what magic was like firsthand, he nodded his acquiescence.

"Okay. After breakfast is finished you can do your thing to my head."

Smiling at her victory, Laurena returned to her meal. It was only a few short minutes until they were both done eating. Once he was finished she took both of their bowls and cleansed them with her magic. Returning the dinnerware and utensils to her bags, she returned and knelt before his seated form.

"Let's see what you have here," she said, gently pulling his head to her chest to inspect it. She knew it was not necessary to do such an up close inspection of his wounds to heal them. She also knew it was not standard practice to treat head wound patients by thrusting their faces in her cleavage. She didn't bother to mention either of these deviations from normal care to David. At least unwinding the bandage from around his head was easier due to his proximity.

"How did this happen?" she asked him after she had removed the wrappings and began inspecting the wound. It looked bad, and had not been cleaned before being wrapped, but it was a superficial wound. Whatever had struck him had barely scraped off the top few layers of skin.

"Mmomph imm ma hemph," was his response from between her breasts.

Giggling she pulled his face from her cleavage. "Sorry, what was that?"

"I said I got shot in the helmet," David replied. God she had amazing tits! He had no idea what her medical expertise was, but her bedside manner was awesome.

"I see. Then you truly are lucky the arrow didn't pierce your skull. I need to get a closer look at the back," she said, moving closer and straddling his waist; returning her attentions to the wound and his face to her chest.

"Mummeph."

"Hmm?" she inquired, adjusting his face back just enough to speak.

"Bullet. Not an arrow. And yes I am very lucky," came his muffled but now intelligible words. Really, really lucky, he thought to himself as he carefully wrapped his arms around her waist. She smells wonderful! And her body is fucking amazing! Please God, let this take a while.

Her breath quickening from the vibrations his words had sent through the valley of her breasts, and the gentleness with which his arms encircled her waist. She could only nod in agreement. Lifting the hair that covered the back part of his wound, she not-so-subtly pressed his face firmly back between her luscious peaks. Taking her time now, for she wasn't done teasing him yet; she slowly eased the hair away from the length of the wound and inspected every part of it. It was within her ability to heal most of the damage. Her magic wasn't strong enough to re-grow the hair, but she could seal the wound and knit the skin back together.

Sparing a moment of attention for her 'helpless' captive, she noticed his breathing had quickened and deepened. It seems her cleavage was not easy to breathe through. Grinning she realized he was enjoying the discomfort, as his hardness grew across his hip and began poking her in the inner thigh.

"Just a few moments longer, I am almost done," she told him.

He moved his head with the barest hint of a nod. He refused to say anything again. Every time he spoke she drew his face away from her delicious tits. No way would he separate from them again willingly. Hell, he thought to himself, it'd take a damn crowbar to pry me away at this point.

Deciding her teasing had done its job; she focused her will, and sent her magic into his wound while chanting the spell of healing. The bloody furrow in his scalp knit itself closed slowly, and the enflamed skin around the wound began to lose its reddish color. Soon the only indication of the wound was a strip of scarred skin devoid of hair that sliced its way from the base of his skull to just behind his right temple, yellowed slightly as though from a few days old bruise. Pushing a bit more of her magic into his head, she felt the pounding headache he had been hiding, and sensed the raging inferno of his passions. Grinning even wider in satisfied triumph, she pushed a little more of her magic in and cured his headache. She drew her magic back from him and completed her chant.

Leaning back to look him in the eye, she noticed he separated from her chest with great reluctance; and he kept his arms encircling her waist.

"The wound is nearly healed, but there is some minor bruising that was beyond my skill. Does your head feel better?"

Nodding his head, he struggled to draw forth words around the lump in his throat. It felt nearly as big as the lump she had created in his pants. Clearing his throat once, and then again, he spoke, "Much better now thank you."

"Well then stand up, so I can clean you and your clothes before we leave. You are a very dirty man right now," said while slowly adjusting her body to stand. She purred the word 'dirty' as she ground her womanhood against his bulge. If what she had just felt growing in his trousers was any indication, she would really enjoy Blessing this Champion.

Clearing his throat again, David rolled to his side and crouched up to one knee. Reaching down he tried to adjust his engorged member to a more comfortable position as stealthily as possible. He need not have bothered. Laurena saw his movements, and felt a strong swell of pride at her success. She was right. All it would take was more of this obvious teasing and flirtation. He definitely lusted after her; he just needed the proper amount of motivation.

David rose to his feet and stood before her. He wasn't sure what she meant about cleaning, but he hoped the words 'sponge bath' were in his future. Instead he watched as Laurena chanted quietly, and his body and clothing suddenly felt refreshed. It was as though he had just stepped from a shower and put on clothes straight from the dryer. It was amazing, but he was a little disappointed when he realized that he was not getting a sponge bath.

"That was a surprise," he stated with amazement. "More magic?"

"Yes, it's a spell of cleansing. It is one of the first we learn in our studies, and extremely useful," she replied to his inquiry. She was amused by his naivety towards magic, and still a little flushed from the feeling of his body pressed against her.

"Well I like it. It's beats waiting in line for a hot shower and an open washing machine any day of the week."

Not recognizing what he was speaking of, but growing used to his talk of the unusual world from which he came she just nodded in agreement.

"Can you help me saddle my horse?" she inquired of him.

"Certainly, but I've been thinking. We should load all your bags and my gear onto the horse, and walk," he said. "It will be faster in the long run, and you would have to slow to my pace anyway if I were to carry my rucksack and walk while you rode."

This sounded like a terrible idea to Laurena. Walk all the way to Wolfsvale? That wouldn't do at all. She was wearing riding boots; which were comfortable enough when mounted, but would be murder on her feet if she had to walk any distance in them. And the dirt. Her spare robes were long and flowing. While they were not as beautiful on her body as her other robes, they were still excellent at emphasizing her glorious form. They were finely crafted robes meant to entice and enflame as they flowed about her smooth legs while walking the flagstone streets of Sanctuary Port. They were not meant to be dragged along the dusty trail to Wolfsvale. She thought about how unpleasant the walk would be, and decided she would have to convince him to change his mind.

Walking close to him she reached out and rested her hands on his shoulders, pressing her succulent form to his body and tilting her head back to look at him through seductively hooded eyes. "Please Champion? Are you certain there is no other way?"

*** Chapter 10: Are we there yet? ***

111300MAR13 DW

Western Foothills of the Abatinus Mountains, Erosius

Laurena had been walking for hours, and her feet were killing her. They had just now left the narrow Snow Gap Pass, and were following the road to Wolfsvale as it paralleled the snowmelt fed Dracian River west out of the mountains. Her boots were causing painful blisters, the bottoms of her robes were dirty and travel stained from the road, and her legs were burning painfully from David's ridiculous pace. She cursed the man for the hundredth time.

She had begged him, she had pleaded with him, she had teased him with her body, and flirted with him; everything she could think of to convince him to allow her to ride Meadowgrass instead. But he had remained adamant that they could not overburden the horse, and he would not be able to travel at a reasonable pace with over weighted pack. He seemed to handle the rough terrain and long distance with ease, but she was miserable and it was entirely his fault. She was determined to show him how miserable she was the entire time she had to walk down this horrible dirty road.

David could no longer stand the whiny bitch. She may be the hottest woman that he had ever seen, heard off, or imagined existed; but she was also the highest maintenance. For the last six hours he had been forced to listen to her piss and moan about her rapidly dirtying robes, her sore feet, her aching legs, and now her hunger. Initially he had been sympathetic, even offering to lend her his best pair of socks to wear once he realized the ones she had on under her boots were barely thick enough to deserve the name. They were more like hosiery. But even after he had gotten her to wear them she just started to complain that they made her boots too tight. Nothing he did seemed to make the slightest difference to this fucking princess. She was lucky they were out of the mountains or he might have been tempted to toss her ass off a cliff by now.