Cleaning Up

Talia had Mary, Sam, Allie, and Sadie wait a few minutes so Laura, Isa, and Brooke could get their upgrades and leave the store without encountering Mary. The team had earned eight hundred Empire merit the previous day among everyone. They decided to use a little less than half to get Brooke up to par with everyone else, then give everyone but Mary two upgrades.

Brooke got mostly defensive upgrades. Even though she could fight, she was more useful to the team as a healer, and if she could protect herself, all the better, but she did get an upgrade to her rapier as well.

After those three left, Talia went and got her remaining teammates so they could both shop at the BP store and upgrade their equipment.

Talia passed out recommended upgrades to everyone wanting to get that out of the way before dealing with the BP Store, as she figured there might be some objections to what she was going to suggest Mary buy. Ultimately, Sadie upgraded her heels of speed; Sam got a stone to allow her to use her dragon breath more often; Allie got an upgrade to her armor and claws; finally, Talia upgraded the wand of magic missile twice.

Allie asked, “Why did I just get numerical upgrades instead of getting boots of speed or something else?”

Talia responded with a question of her own, “While you are raging, do you think you could remember to activate the item? The boots of speed aren’t passive and have a limited duration per day. If I thought you could make use of them, I would have suggested it.”

Allie frowned and then realized Talia was probably right; she had gotten caught up in the berserker frenzy of her class a few times.

Sam said, “Okay, so we have our upgrades, now what about Mary’s BP? If we don’t spend it all today, Cassandra gets to spend half of whatever is left tomorrow morning. Something tells me that the shop will stay open just long enough for that to happen to. Maybe even with a flash sale like last time.”

Talia replied, “Mary and I went through the shop this morning.”

Mary gave Talia a look that indicated that wasn’t really true. Everyone saw it and looked to Talia for an explanation.

Talia corrected herself. “I mean, I went through the shop while Mary distractingly played with my breasts instead.” Mary scrunched up her face as, while that was technically true, it wasn’t why she didn’t look through the shop. Talia simply smirked back, thinking, That will teach you to put blame where it isn’t due. “Regardless, I have several suggestions for Mary to spend her BP on.”

Sam stopped Talia for a moment. “Look, Talia, how many of them aren’t buying new TFs for various people?”

“Are we counting upgrades to TFs in that question?” Talia asked back.

“Unless they are fixing a problematic TF, yes, we are.”

Talia pulled a pad of paper out of thin air and flipped through it. When she finished, she replied, “Three.”

Allie narrowed her eyes at the pad of paper, “You flipped through like five or six pages of suggestions there, and only three aren’t new TFs?”

Talia shrugged, “Well, one of those three is a catch-all for consumables, as I didn’t really think I needed to enumerate each consumable. As for the other two, which are recommendations nine and sixty, respectively, both are for Sadie’s TFs.”

Sam asked, “Is Sadie really the only one you think had a TF that needs fixing?”

Talia shook her head, “No, but she was the only one I found suggestions for on our team since Mary can’t mess with the other team’s TFs, and even if she could, making such a suggestion would break the new rules as it would aid the other team. As for everyone else on our team, most of our TFs are actually quite manageable. With my confessional TF likely being the biggest issue, followed by you needing to wet Mark’s dick.”

Sam just realized something and paled, “Oh shit.”

Talia nodded, “Yeah, that is part of the reason why I mentioned that one. You don’t have access to his dick for almost a whole week.”

Allie replied, “Next time we see the other team, just blast him with your water breath. You just have to get it wet since it will always be clean, right?”

Sam nodded and, to herself, mentally added, Find Mark and blast him, to her to-do list.

Sadie asked, “So what are the suggestions, and why isn’t fixing TFs at the top of the list?”

Talia replied, “Fixing Fairy Lust at least a bit, and Think of a Happy Little Thought. As for your other question, the suggestions in front of Fairy Lust are because they are useful in another way or are a new TF for Mary to upgrade at the end of the round, as there aren’t any good targets for that upgrade, especially if we lose. Mary, here is the list I’ve ordered them based on my opinion.” Talia handed the list over.

Mary flicked through the first page of suggestions and then went to the second upgrade option for Sadie. Mary considered what to do. Hmm… I’d like to help Sadie out to make up for how I treated her earlier, but it would cost most of my BP to get both the fixes for her. Mary asked, “Sadie, if you had to pick between the two TFs to fix, which would you prefer?”

Sadie didn’t hesitate, “Fairy Lust. Dear God, Fairy Lust.”

Mary shrugged and went ahead and bought the option to make Fairy Lust more tolerable.

Fairy Lust: Sadie will become a Fairy just like Tinker Bell. In addition, she will feel one particular emotion extremely strongly, LUST. [Peter Pan - Wendy and Tinker Bell] Upgrade: Sadie’s feelings of **** Lust will get toned down in exchange; any intense emotions towards another person will cause lustful thoughts about them.

Sadie shuddered with relief as the effects took hold. Sadie asked, “Oh, that is so much better. Thank you so much, Mary, you to Talia.” Then came into her mind the idea of Talia doing to her what she had seen Talia do to Laura, the other night. Followed quickly by the idea of Mary or Mark pinning her down and screwing her brains out. Sadie asked, “Um… what exactly did the upgrade do? I can definitely tell it reduced the intensity with which I experience lust, but I’m guessing there was a trade-off.”

Mary nodded and showed Sadie the text of the upgrade. After reading it over, Sadie said, “Oh, that’s not too bad, I guess.”

Allie stifled an amused snort, getting her several curious looks. Allie said, “You say that now, Sadie. I wonder if you’ll feel the same after getting into a heated argument with Chloe or Mary.”

“Damnit!” Was all Sadie could say to that. Sadie then turned to Talia, “You suggested this just to annoy me, didn’t you?” Sadie got an image of Talia biting down on one of her nipples at her outburst.

Talia shook her head. “No. I couldn’t suggest something for that reason without having two very pissed off girlfriends.”

Sadie retorted, “You could simply lie about your reasons.”

Talia scoffed, “I really couldn’t. Every suggestion I made, Sadie, was something that I truly believe in the long run will be good for the person. With the exceptions that were explicitly noted next to the individual suggestion, which still would have a benefit of some kind. Not everyone is looking out just for themselves.” Talia seemed genuinely upset by Sadie’s accusation.

Mary saw that Sadie was going to continue and intervened, saying, “Sadie, drop it. Talia isn’t that type of person. I and, to some degree, Laura, might have turned Talia into a horny little gremlin, but she’s still a good person at heart.”

Talia chuckled. “No, Mary, I was always horny. You did turn me into a massive pervert who was open about said perversions, though.”

Mary rolled her eyes. “As for your other top suggestions. I’m going to have to decline getting a girl cock. Sort of wish you gave me these before Laura and Isa went off, since you’re right that they both have fairly limited good options for upgrades at the end of the round. Especially if I end up with fewer points than Mark.”

Talia shrugged, “If you’re worried about whether they would be upset, I’m confident Laura won’t be with the first two suggestions for her. Isa… might not be happy initially, but that’s just because she’s a tsundere.”

Mary read the options and found it hard to believe that they would have an issue with the TFs, but they might have an issue with her buying something for them without talking to them about it. Mary asked Slevia, standing behind the counter. “Do I have to buy stuff while I’m here, or can I use my phone or tablet?”

Slevia said, “Either works.”

Mary sent a text to Freya.

Mary: Freya, I’d like a reminder this evening to finish spending my BP. Please continue to pester me until it’s done.

Freya: As you wish.

Mary had a sudden foreboding sense come over her as she read Freya’s reply, and wasn’t sure why. Mary said, “Okay, I think we’re good. Unless anyone else has something they need to take care of?”

Sam said, a little hesitantly, “Are you sure you want to leave spending your BP until later? What if something happens and you can’t spend it this evening?”

Mary replied, “Freya is going to remind me, and even if something does happen… well, I’m not too worried about it considering what Cassandra bought with the BP she had today. She might be messing with all of you with the rulebook, but with the BP, she’s actually been downright helpful.”

Sam replied, “Reeeaally?”

Mary nodded, “She bought two TFs and a bunch of consumables. The TFs are for Kitty…” Mary paused as that was not the name she had intended to use. She continued, “And myself. I can now break ties in TF votes if I want. While Kitty… doesn’t have to worry about accidentally clawing someone’s chest and hurting them.”

Sam raised her eyebrows in surprise, as did Allie and Sadie. Only Talia didn’t seem phased.

Sadie said, “That does seem oddly helpful.” The way she said it, it was clear she thought it was some sort of trap Cassandra was laying.

Mary sighed, “How about this then, if you’re still worried. Slevia, can I give conditional approval for a purchase?”

Slevia said, “Depends. What do you want?”

Mary selected the two TFs in the store, one for Laura and one for Isa, and showed them to Slevia. “I’d like to give permission for Laura or Isa to spend my BP to buy the appropriate TF for themself in case I’m not able to talk with them before the end of the day.”

“Ah.” Slevia nodded. “Yes. That’s doable.”

“Great!” Mary beamed, “There now, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’d really like to hit something.”

Allie bumped her hip against Mary’s, “That’s just because you got your ass kicked by Brooke, isn’t it?”

Mary didn’t dignify that with a response.

Talia said, “Well, I have good news for you. If we are grinding CP, the most efficient way, besides the infected areas, is to fight the orcs conducting raids. So you’ll have plenty to hit.”

Mary just grinned as they headed out the door.

Isa, Laura, and Brooke were headed south, riding on Sif’s back. Isa had made sure to get a magic saddle and storage cage like Sadie had for Bertha, while they were getting Brooke some magic gear.

Isa was also annoyed as Sadie’s statement about Brooke losing her pants hadn’t come to pass despite the upgrades she got. The only changes to Brooke’s armor were that her leather pants became skintight and the top half of her armor was now just a breastplate, leaving her midriff exposed. Isa said, “This is blatant bias, I’m telling you.”

Brooke chuckled into Isa’s ear as she was sitting behind her in the saddle. “Or maybe it’s because one of us would be embarrassed to be wearing your outfit, and the other wouldn’t.”

Isa turned her head slightly to glare at Brooke, but it wasn’t particularly effective.

Laura said, over the wind, “I’ll make sure to let Mary and Sam know that about you, Brooke. I’m sure they’d both love to see you in something similar.”

Brooke shrugged, “Doesn’t seem to really bother you. Anyway, how much longer before we get to the first hotspot?”

“Another ten, maybe fifteen minutes,” Isa said.

“So what exactly is the plan here?” Brooke asked, “This seems far less organized than what I did yesterday.”

Sif started to slow down as they could see the city walls in the distance.

Laura said, “It likely is, but unless the other team ambushes us, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Isa twisted her body and looked at Laura like she was crazy. “Perhaps you are forgetting the last infected area we went to, but that didn’t turn out all that well. I distinctly remember us fleeing with our tails between our legs.”

Laura rubbed the back of her neck, “That… was for two reasons, and partially my fault. To be honest, I could probably solo this. The travel time, hunting down stragglers, and the actual removal of the plague are the biggest hurdles. Incapacitating all the infected, not so much.”

Isa continued to look at Laura like she was crazy, “Care to elaborate?”

Laura shook her head, “You’ll see. Plus, I can fly now.”

Sif came to a full stop about a ten minute walk outside the walls. The three dismounted, then Isa turned to Laura. “I’d really like to know what you are planning, since you seem so confident.”

Laura sighed, “Look, I… I might not have been putting forth my best effort in this challenge.” Seeing Isa glower at her, Laura continued. “It isn’t like I haven’t tried at all, but you might have noticed that, for the most part, I’ve just cast my lust bolts. Sure, they’ve been enhanced, but that’s it.”

Isa growled while clenching her hands into fists at her side and standing up on the balls of her feet. “Are you telling me you have more spells?”

Laura held up her hands placatingly. “Just the other two that I’ve told the group about. That’s sort of my point, though. The shop has quite a few other options, but I don’t even know what most of them do because I didn’t really care. I do want our team to win, but I care about the others too.”

Brooke said, “Okay, that makes sense. A little surprised to hear this from you, though.”

Laura turned to Brooke and defensively said, “Brooke, you don’t know me. You know who I was back in college.”

Isa was still scowling as she said, “So now you aren’t going to hold back because of the rule, right? That’s why you think this will be easy?”

Laura nodded, “Pretty much. While you were getting your upgrades and helping Brooke pick out some of her own, I got another one for my staff, and… well, with everything else… It’s a doozy. Isa, if you and Sif could just keep Brooke safe in case I miss a few while she goes through and cures people, I’d appreciate it.”

Isa looked at Laura like she was joking again, “You’re serious? You’re going to solo this?”

Laura nodded, “At least the combat part, yeah. Again, you’ll see. Give me say, a two or three minute head start.”

Laura summoned her wings and took off into the sky, staff in hand. She started flying towards the city walls. When she got close to the walls, Isa, Brooke, and Sif started to make their way towards the wall themselves. Then Isa and Brooke started to see what Laura was talking about. Laura simply hovered in midair as she extended her staff, and what looked like a wave of pink came forth from her staff.

Bolts flew from her staff at a rapid speed. Thanks to her most recent upgrade to her staff, the bolts had an auto-targeting and a partial tracking feature. The infected also radiated a lustful hunger so Laura could sense them all, as a goddess of desire. She proceeded forth, staff outstretched, continually raining down lust bolts. Isa couldn’t tell if Laura looked like a vengeful or merciful goddess as she moved forward, incapacitating all in her path.

Isa did find an occasional straggler or two that she or Brooke had to dispatch, but considering the sheer number of people that Brooke was curing, there being only a couple of stragglers was astounding.

An hour later, Laura flew back to the others, who were still working methodically, curing everyone else. Laura landed, seeming tired.

Isa said, “You okay?”

Laura nodded, a little out of breath, “Just used up a bunch of mana. I’m down to ten percent after that.”

Isa nodded, then angrily said, “I want you to know this is bullshit! Also, prepare to get an earful from Allie later, because I’m most certainly telling her about this.”

Laura nodded as she looked around. “We’ll need to clear the buildings too, but that can wait for a bit.”

Brooke said, “The hardest part is determining who’s infected and who isn’t with them ****.”

Laura asked, “Why are you leaving them ****?”

Brooke shook her head, “I can’t remove incapacitation, apparently. Which is totally fair.”

Laura sighed, “Guess, I’ll be running along with you, instead of getting a breather. I can sense their hunger even while they’re ****.”

Isa let out a sigh too, “This is going to be a long day.”

Then the three of them went to work systematically curing the whole town.

At first, the group of five had stayed together when dealing with the orcs, but it was quickly determined that having two dragons was more than a bit overkill, with Talia also time-bubbling any targets that could deal with aerial enemies.

After the third forward encampment near the capital they had destroyed, Sam proposed an alternative plan.

The group had landed, and Mary and Sam reverted to their human forms. Sam said, “So, Allie isn’t really participating all that much, and I think sticking together is a bit counterproductive.”

Talia said, “I really don’t like the idea of splitting up more than we already have. The other team could ambush us, which has been our biggest issue so far.”

Sam nodded her agreement. “It has. Not going to argue that. The thing is, we have Ellen right now. So they are down a team member. With Brooke on our team now, we are effectively at plus two combatants.”

Mary said, “That still doesn’t solve the issue of Kitty just sneaking up on us and incapacitating one of us. Or Hilde dashing in and doing the same.”

Sam nodded, conceding those points. “Honestly, this is the greatest risk to Allie, as Mary, you can just carry Talia and Sadie on your back at all times and be up in the air. That should eliminate the risks of **** before we can respond at least.”

Talia asked, “Am I understanding correctly that you want to go off alone?”

Sam nodded, “You said you thought their base was in the south. The map this morning confirmed that their base was for sure not between north-northwest and north-northeast, thanks to the temples we have completed. The movements of the orcs have been to take up positions primarily in the south and west. I was thinking I could head south. Blast some orc camps when I detect them while also searching for the other team.”

Talia replied, “It seems unlikely that you would just happen to come across them.”

Sam retorted, “You mean like how we just happened to come across Ellen yesterday? I can fly fast, and the detection range on this is big.” Sam held up the amulet. “I’m substantially ahead in points, so I thought I’d let some of you get a larger chunk. At the moment, I’m more concerned about us winning the primary objective than placing first. That and Mary beating Mark’s score so we get better TF upgrades.”

Sadie asked, “What if you do find the enemy team and they decide that you look like a nice juicy target?”

“If I find them, they’re toast,” Sam said detachedly with a little bit of steam seeping out of the sides of her mouth.

Sadie said, “Sam, perhaps you aren’t remembering the last time we fought them.”

Sam shook her head, “No, I remember. I also remember that I didn’t want to do certain things, as I didn’t want to create hard feelings or terrify those on the other team. The rulebook makes that a moot point.”

Sadie looked skeptically at Sam.

Sam sighed, “If I prove the point to you, Sadie, will you agree to my plan?”

Sadie nodded, and the next moment she was on her knees, trembling, clutching at her heart, in utter terror. A moment later, the overwhelming pressure she felt lessened as Mary stepped between her and Sam. Mary was frowning at Sam, who looked apologetic.

Sam said, “Sorry. To you, Sadie, but also to you, Mary. I’m sure you don’t like that I plan to do that to the others, but I really don’t have a choice in the matter, as I’m not finding out what Cassandra will do to us for violating the rule about trying our best to win.” Mary was scowling but didn’t say anything as she clearly understood Sam’s position, no matter how much she didn’t like the facts. Sam continued, “Mary, you have to realize Laura is going to do the same thing. Talia and I saw her use her aura yesterday at full blast, and it was intense.”

Mary looked to Talia for confirmation. Talia nodded, saying, “It was, though, I’m essentially immune to her aura unless she specifically targets me, since I’m her high priestess. Though it’s still captivating.”

Sam looked at Sadie, who was panting and still on her knees. Sam apologized. “Sadie, really, I’m sorry, but…” Sam stopped as she saw Sadie vigorously nodding while not speaking. “I guess I should go.” Sam transformed and flew south to begin her hunt for the other team.

Mary knelt and wrapped her arms around Sadie’s small frame. It wasn’t long before Sadie was breathing normally again, and Mary helped her to her feet. Mary asked, “Are you okay?”

Sadie shook her head, “Still terrified, which is triggering my new upgrade, so I’m also horny.”

Allie couldn’t help but chuckle, “Ah, the good old scaroused.” Sadie just nodded to that.

Sadie looked at Mary, “Can… can you do that?”

Mary tilted her head from side to side. “Sort of. I think Sam’s been practicing and she’s got a bit more ruthlessness in her than I do.”

Allie raised an eyebrow, “A bit? Mary, you’re a marshmallow compared to Sam. Okay, not physically, at least not right now, but inside? You’re all gooey.”

Talia said, “That seems a harsh way to talk about your girlfriend, Allie.”

Allie shrugged, “Sam’s military. I’m not going to deny who she is and what she’s done. Sam is built differently than Mary. Nothing against either of you, but it’s true. To answer your question, Sadie. Mary likely could do something similar, but wouldn’t. Honestly, Sam likely wouldn’t have either if not for that rule.”

Sadie nodded, “I’m sort of hoping that she doesn’t find the other team now. I guess we should get back to our own task.”

Mary nodded and shifted back into her dragon form so people could climb on her back.

Sadie flinched back from Mary and fell on her ass. Sadie said, “I think I would prefer to just ride on Bertha for a little bit. At least until my heart slows a little.”

Mary nodded as Talia climbed on her back. Sadie got Bertha out of her cage, and she and Allie climbed on the back of Bertha. The four set out to continue their rampage across the countryside.

Sam was flying south, unhappy with how things had gone down with Sadie. Damnit, that felt wrong.

From a small corner of her mind came the thought, But it also felt really good to have that kind of power.

Sam shook her head, trying to clear it of the distracting thought. That’s my dragon instincts talking. I can’t treat the others that way. Not that I’ll have much of a choice there either.

Sam sighed. She had felt the tug of the rulebook once she came up with the idea. She knew not voicing it would mean deliberately holding back on what she thought was a better plan. The others hadn’t really given any convincing counterarguments either. Sam detected an orc camp up ahead and slightly off her current course. She veered left slightly and launched a couple of breath weapons, devastating the camp she came across.

I’ll have to make it up to Sadie later. Hopefully, I didn’t traumatize her.

It didn’t take long before Sam’s thoughts were no longer of the previous encounter with Sadie. Instead, she was reveling in the pleasure of letting loose as a dragon. After another camp where she just did a fly over, Sam decided to use tooth and claw to savage the next four groups of enemies.

Sam stopped for a breather, which was when something demanded her attention.