A Weapon and a Meal

A loud retort echoes across the shooting range you have set up as you pull the trigger on your crossbow. Beside you, Strabo and his chosen veterans are watching with rapt attention.

“This is a crossbow” you begin “I believe the Imperial Army had a version of this called the arcuballista at some point, but I can’t find any information on it other than some paintings.” you explain as you turn to face them. Strabo gave your weapon an analytical gaze as you held it. “To reload the weapon is simple, though perhaps not as simple as a bow” you say as you tuck the back end of the crossbow into your sternum. “Simply grab the bowstring on either side of the stock, place the crossbow into your sternum, not in that order, and pull back into you until the string clears the rolling nut” you explain, letting the string go once it had been locked in place. You then place a bolt into the stock and put the crossbow to your shoulder, aimed it at the target fifty paces away and pulled the trigger, another sharp retort echoing through the field. It was amazing how loud the crossbow was considering the modern opinion was that crossbows are silent. It wasn’t as loud as a gun but it wasn’t quiet either, you definitely wouldn’t be able to kill someone silently with it.

With your explanation done, you hand the weapon over to Strabo who turned it this way and that as he studied the weapon. You watched as he balanced the weapon in his hand and gave the strings an experimental tug before he copied your actions. Placing the weapon into his sternum and cocking the weapon, he loaded it, shouldered it and pulled the trigger. A sharp retort echoed across the field as the bolt flew and struck the target.

“I want every soldier in the army to be able to reliably hit a man sized target at fifty paces” you say as Strabo turned to face you. “Try them on further ranges as well and pick out the sharpshooters for additional training” you add and Strabo nodded. “I’ll leave this in your capable hands, there’s a stockpile in armoury tent three, try not to break them” you conclude and again Strabo nodded before turning around and handing the weapon to one of his fellows. With that concluded you leave them to it.

Once out of sight of the training field, you teleport back to your new house in Tarentum, casually walking down the stairs as if you had been there the whole time.

“Morning dear” you say to Artemis, already busy in your first floor kitchen cooking up a storm. The girl in question flashed you an amused grin while she worked before replying.

“Morning” was her reply, her attention focused on a pot full of soup. “Have fun with the boys?” she asked.

“Sure, was showing them a new toy of mine, a crossbow” you say as you gently take the stirring spoon from Artemis’ hand and carry on on stirring the pot while she dashes off to whip up a bowl of porridge. There were already customers that had come to eat, mostly because this was one of, if not the, places where one could get porridge and not thin gruel. You watched as she carried two bowls to the outside sitting area where a mother and her three kids sat. they shared the two bowls amongst themselves.

“It breaks my heart every time I see that” Artemis says as she returns to the kitchen. She was wearing her silvery tunic again which was great as it only covered a third of the way down her thighs. This gave the impression of her being only half dressed to your modern sensibilities.

“I know what you mean, still can’t get over the look on people’s faces when I tell them the soup is on the house” you say as you watch the silver goddess get back to work. You cast your attention to the girl’s tunic as she bent over a charcoal fired stove as it threatened to reveal more than it absolutely needed to. With a glance at the customers and noticing that none of them were looking your way, you stride over to the goddess and slip a hand under her tunic, forcing the garment to ride up and reveal her nude arse to the shop. Artemis gasped as your fingers dived straight into her snatch but managed to cover up her response before anyone noticed. You grin as you pump her a few times before taking your fingers out of her and returning to your soup.

“Naughty, naughty boy” Your silver haired lover whispered, having followed you so she could whisper into your ear.

“Want to take over stirring the soup?” you ask, a mischievous grin on your face. The stove that the soup was being cooked on was facing the customers and tall enough that you could almost fuck Artemis without them knowing. Artemis bit her lip in thought, casting a glance at the pot of porridge and then back again.

“Better idea” The goddess replied, her eyes glinting with mischief. “The dough needs needing” she said. You’d introduced what was effectively a proto-mini-pizza which would have cheese layered on top in sheets after it had come out of the oven and would partially melt. All that was needed was for the bread to be kneaded into flat disks and then baked. They might be small but really tasty.

“I like the way you think” you grin back and soon Artemis was busy on the countertop, her tunic hitched up her back and tucked under her belt. You kept stirring your soup occasionally with your right and, with your left, you played with your lover’s snatch. Occasionally you’d have to stop playing with her to deal with the porridge that was near constantly being cooked, served and taken out to the many people that came in, but this only had an added effect on the goddess as the denial added up. You found it cute how she attempted to hide the signs of her mounting pleasure from being heard, licking her lips to disguise moans, putting her body weight into the bread she was kneading to hide the tense-ups. Finally, the girl rose up onto her tiptoes and curled herself over the counter in an attempt to stop herself from visibly arching as she came, a moan escaping from her clenched lips. Her body shuddered and she bit her lip as she tried to get herself under control before she sank to her knees, a small puddle of orgasmic juices pooling under her. You licked your fingers clean with a smirk and conjured a towel for Artemis to clean herself with.

“Some days” Artemis began with a sigh as she shakily stood up “I wonder why I made that oath in the first place,” she said “Silly hubris” she muttered.

“You know, I can make it so no sound leaves the kitchen” you say with a grin as a customer came up to the counter. Thankfully the smell of all the good food covered the scent of Artemis’ recent orgasm.

“Can I get a bowl of porridge please?” The woman asked, behind her you see a rather hungry looking girl who was clutching at the woman’s dress.

“Just one?” you ask while Artemis finished her work with the bread and took them off to be baked.

“Yes thank you” the woman replied, a haunted look in her eyes. You smile and walk over to the porridge pots bubbling away, finding one that was done already and tipping it into a vat on the front counter. This way it would stay warm longer and be more easily served. You scoop out a bowl’s worth with an extra bit to it before sliding it along the counter to the woman and sticking two spoons into it. The woman slipped some silver onto the counter, not quite the normal price for a bowl of porridge but still, you take the money. You weren’t going to begrudge the woman her pride after all. That being said, you shoot a look over your shoulder at Artemis who had pulled some more cheese bread out of an over and was putting the cheese on them. A nod was your answer from the silver goddess and one cheese bread mini-pizza knockoff was provided which you slipped to the woman.

“I didn’t ask for that” the woman said, attempting to push it back to you.

“I like returning customers,” you say, “I’m sure you’ll pay me back eventually” you add. The woman looked at her daughter who was giving her mother puppy dog eyes, the most heinous of techniques and the most vile of magics available to the cute.

“Thank you” she whispered, taking the proffered breaded good and bowl of piping hot porridge. The bread worked its way into the hands of the little girl who gave a childish cheer and tore into it with glee, attracting smiles from anyone who was currently watching.

“I love that” Artemis said from beside you, wrapping her arms around one of yours and pressing it into her chest.

“Ever thought about changing exactly what you manage in your sphere?” you ask you divine companion as she snuggled into you.

“Yeah” Artemis sighed, “Every time I see things like that,” she added.