Free Web NovelLinhart had hoped to sneak into Octavia’s Laboratory before she left the Last Meal. He already knew where her devices were kept, and there were rooms he’d wanted to explore, but had never dared to enter while Thalia and Iris were around. He escaped the dinner hall before the doors were sealed, but he didn't count on Octavia activating a magical security system while she was out.
He had no key to the secret entrance, he had to make his way down the steep and confusing flights of stairs to the very base of the inverted pyramid of the Binder’s Nexus. There wasn't a soul around, and it was completely dark by the time he reached the stone archway that framed the entrance to Octavia’s underground lair. His bare feet crunched on the quartzy gravel floor, and he entered without a light, trusting that the fire would still be burning in the great hearth within. But that was as far as he would make it.
Walking down the long tunnel, he could indeed see a flickering light, like a great fire burning far ahead. The familiar scent of Laboratory chemicals and cleaners filled his nose. He walked for a long while, growing wary of the light that wasn't getting any closer or brighter. The end of the tunnel never came. Looking back, Linhart saw that the entrance through which he’d come was somewhere in the distance. Realizing his mistake, he felt panic rising up. Octavia had trapped him!
Linhart steeled himself. If he kept calm and waited, then eventually he would be freed. It was much better to keep moving than to sit down and rot in this dark passageway, and so he continued. As he walked, he thought about what he would do when he met with Octavia once again.
The last deal he’d made with Octavia, she had definitely gotten the better of him. He served as her slave for a week, sacrificing a piece of his heart and mind. He would never agree to being her slave again. But what else did he have to offer her? He didn’t have anything useful on the future of the war, other than that he would someday die in a raid on the Wizard Belfast’s Tower. And though he had no qualms about making up information and passing it off as prophecy, he knew Octavia had some way of reading whether he was telling the truth or not. No, he would have to find some other leverage to get what he wanted from her.
* * * * * * * * *
In the second or maybe the third hour of his walk towards the light, just as his feet were becoming sore, he finally emerged in the cave-like laboratory with its crackling inferno and sweltering heat. Linhart saw that Octavia was already there, standing near the center of the room, a metal examination table spread before her.
She had a set of tools out, and was hovering over a motionless form that was blanketed like a body in a morgue. Her focus appeared to be completely on her examination, though Linhart was sure that this was a show of how unimportant meeting him was to her. His message had left her on the defensive, and she was now reclaiming the power position.
Her act did not surprise him. In fact, he had expected her to play games like this. What he hadn’t expected was for another Stratega to be there with her. Standing behind her and a little to the side was the beautiful, but expressionless woman he’d seen sharing a table with her at Last Meal.
The Stratega Mage.
It was hard to judge her age. She looked young enough to still be a student, though the look on her face made her seem even older than Octavia. Unlike Octavia, she was not playing mind games. Instead, she watched him attentively as he approached, her eyes glinting in the low light, and dark hair shining like obsidian. She was slightly shorter than Octavia, and much slimmer, but she was every bit as elegant and feminine as the Stratega Binder. Linhart felt himself drawn to her.
“Hello, Mnemon,” Octavia spoke as he approached, “It’s good of you to meet me here.”
Linhart laughed to himself. So like her, to turn his invitation around. “Hello, Stratega Octavia,” he replied, “I should thank you for leaving the Last Meal to meet me, otherwise I would’ve been trapped in your laboratory entrance until tomorrow morning.”
Octavia smiled, saying, “I sealed it against intruders, which means… you , in this case.”
“Don’t be rude, Octavia,” the mage broke in, “He might think you don't want to talk with him.” She moved with a stately grace as she circled the table and came nearly within arm’s reach of him. She projected an expectant energy, like she was waiting for him to perform a miracle or attack her. “I, for one, am very interested in getting to know you.”
Her eyes studied his every movement, but she came no closer. He felt the same tension, sexual and powerful, building between them that he'd had in his first meeting with Octavia. These two knew nothing about him. He must seem mysterious and elusive to them. On the other hand, Octavia he already knew inside and out, while he could judge this mage quite easily. He could almost see her mind at work, weighing his value and how she could use him to better her situation. Perhaps her presence would be to his advantage.
Octavia was smiling now, acting cool and thinking she has the upper hand. She was prodding the girl on the table with a mana meter of some sort now. The thin white blanket peeled back and… Wait a minute, he knew this girl…
“Thalia! What happened, why is she unconscious?” Linhart exclaimed with genuine concern in his voice. That was enough to break Octavia’s mask of calmness.
“You know this girl?” Octavia demanded, “How is that possible? How much do you know, Mnemon?”
Linhart smiled. He had piqued her curiosity, but how would he convince her to help him? “I know everything about you,” he said with an air of truth and familiarity. “I know every pleasure that you seek, and every need that passes through your mind… We were once joined together.”
“And me,” the other woman burst in suddenly, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around his arm. “How much do you know about me?” Her voice was high and musical. This was the kind of woman who was used to being at the center of every conversation. Her grip held his arm firmly between her sternum. Her pointy nipples, clearly visible now as her robe slipped down, were like nubile charms. Their soft caress on his vest disarming his caution and pumping his libido. He couldn’t shake free of her, even if he’d wanted to.
Linhart couldn’t help but stutter at the touch of such an erotic woman, “I- I- I don’t even know your n-n-name, Stratega Mage. What should I call you?”
The woman laughed, her voice was like a songbird. She bowed ever so slightly back at him, saying, “So, you wish to know my name? Or is it my true name, my secret, that you wish to know?” Each word brought greater joy to his ears, and his dick hardened accordingly. “My name is Celes, and if you wish to hear my secret name, I shall share it in private for the cost of a favor.”
Octavia cleared her throat, breaking the heat of the moment. “Well, since you know both of us now, it is only fair for you to introduce yourself.” she demanded sourly. She was not happy about Celes’ involvement here.
“Mmm?...” Linhart grunted, tearing his eyes away from Celes’ marvelous display. He snapped to attention and launched into a perfect Fighter introduction, “My name is Linhart Aetherion, Stratega. I am a freshman Fighter, Stratega. I hope to grow powerful with your help, Stratega…” He stopped, realizing that perhaps a confident and earnest Fighter introduction would not go over well with these two casters. “I mean… as I mentioned before, I need your help, and I’m willing to help you in return.”
Octavia’s expression was inscrutable. She glided around the sleeping Thalia. Approaching from the left, she embraced his other arm and held it to her ample bosom. He was trapped between these two sexy women. His leverage was slipping away as his body softened under their steamy expressions and feminine charms.
“I will help you, Mnemon Linhart, but it will cost you… Tell me of any dangers in the weeks to come.”
Celes’ warm fingers on his chin turned his attention to his right. Her face was even closer than before. “No, tell me why you didn’t recognize me. Is there another Stratega Mage that you know of? Who is it? Who will be the next in my position?” Her words were all business, while her body language was enthralling. “Tell me what I want to know and I will pay you in riches beyond your comprehension.”
“It’s not that simple,” he replied heatedly, taking one step away from both of them. Careful not to reject them outright, he took a deep breath to clear his head. “I cannot tell you anything without understanding the circumstances of this timeline first… so tell me, Octavia, why is that student lying unconscious here?”
Octavia’s eyes opened wide, and he realized too late that he’d used her name too casually. But she did not scold him. Instead, she attached herself to him one more and steered him to Thalia’s sleeping form.
“She is suffering, Mnemon Linhart,” she said with a tinge of sadness, “Her partner died of mana strain while they were connected. She experienced every moment of his death and lived through it. Now… she lives with the pain of death in her mind.”
Octavia paused and looked deep into his eyes. He felt her gaze prod him like an unopened puzzle box. “Memories can be a terrible thing. Don’t you think so, Linhart?”
He looked down on the round-faced girl with the auburn curls. He’d never seen her look so vulnerable. He wiped a tear that was falling from her sleeping eye and he weighed Octavia’s words. “It's not death that pains her. Being killed is surprisingly liberating, and also the greatest lesson of any that I’ve learned.” He looked back to Octavia now, “It’s the loss of her partner that hurts so much. In another timeline you introduced us a week from now, by that time she had mostly recovered from her loss.”
“She paired you with this simple girl?” picked up Celes, seizing onto his right arm once more, “Your memories of other timelines are more valuable than gold. If you come with me to the Mage’s Spire, I’ll pair you with a mage who will teach you more powerful spells than this Binder could even imagine.”
“Mages don’t teach others for free. You’d be forever in her debt if you go with her,” Octavia countered, pulling him back to her side. To Celes she growled, “If you interrupt my conversation with the Mnemon once more, I will compell you to leave.”
“If I leave here empty-handed,” Celes replied tartly, “Then I’ll have to report this meeting to Commander Dawnsigil, or even High Commander Warminister. Perhaps they would see this as collusion with the wizards, Octavia?”
She leaned across his body to speak directly to the woman, and as she did the low neckline of her robe dipped down once more, giving him a long peek at her pretty little nipples. A surge of energy running up his spine. Now was his chance to strike a deal, while the two of them were vying for the knowledge he did not even have.
“He is not a wizard,” Octavia said indignantly. “I would have detected his power when he entered the Nexus.”
“Perhaps not yet, but his eyes say he has started along the path. Would the Commanders approve of you hosting a meeting here?”
“Stratega, please stop,” he demanded with as much confidence as he could muster. “I am not a wizard, nor will I ever become one. I will offer my services to whichever of you who can best satisfy my request.”
He turned now to Octavia. “I came to you Stratega Octavia, to receive your mutual bond and to ask that you give me ID bracers. I wish to bond with other people who will be of great importance in the coming years.” His voice was steady, and he hoped the half-truth would go unnoticed by the perceptive woman. His harem would be of great importance… to him, at least. freewebnσvel.cøm
“Well, it seems that you desire something that only I can provide,” she said with great satisfaction. “I will bond with you free of cost, however you must pay a price for the ID bracers. They do not come cheap.”
“Not so fast,” a burst of light and energy appeared, and Linhart felt a force twist his head painlessly in the other direction. “I have something you may find even more useful. Mages do not bond, but we use glamor and we can charm. You can make a deal with me instead, and I will bind these people to you more thoroughly than Utility magic ever could."
She pauses and ran a finger over his jawline, grinning. "Is that not the reason you want these bracers… to seduce and control those around you?”
Linhart flinched. Could this woman read minds, or was it just a lucky guess?
“I have heard of mage charms. If they are as powerful as people say, I will take your offer. But are they devices or spells?”
“They can be either… mages wear necklaces or other jewelry that bond a spell to the wearer. If it's necklaces that you want, how many would you need?”
He was overjoyed, and felt her proposal taking hold on him. “I want enough for ten girls.”
“Oh my, so many girls under your power… Perhaps you want to do dirty things with them? Bend them to your will and have them serve you hand and foot?”
Their faces were so close now… Was Celes using a charm on him right now? Or was her lovely face and perfect features just so alluring that he couldn’t look away? Another snap of light cleared his head suddenly, and he saw that Octavia had inserted herself between him and Celes.
“I can provide you with ten ID bracers, or I can offer you bonds with ten freshmen from the Binders’ class. We have an excess of young girls this year. You can have your pick of any of them."
Octavia was pouring on her natural charisma, and likely casting Honey Jar on him as well. Her dulcet voice made his body tingle all over. "Beautiful girls with big breasts… Much softer than those hard-bodied Fighters you’re pairing up with.” She punctuated her last line by lifting her own massive tits in her hands and jiggling them up and down.
“Hmm… I must say both offers are so tempting.” Linhart paused to think as he watched her pale breasts stretch and bump against each other.
Unable to copy the action with her meager chest, Celes stepped up beside Octavia and gave him an unreadable expression. “I cannot promise you ten mages, but I can promise you one that is perfect for you. A girl of such brilliant beauty that you will no longer hold an ounce of interest in these chubby Binders.”
“And she’ll be a frigid bitch with a flat chest,” said Octavia, using surprisingly course language. This conversation was getting too heated. Linhart had to bring them to an agreement.
“I know now what I want. I would like to partner with both of you,” he declared.
Both of them looked upset at this suggestion. He would need all his luck to win them over now. Raising his hands, he clasped them around Octavia’s, though hers were still resting on her boobs, “ Octavia for your bond and five of your ID bracers.”
Then his hands moved to hold Celes’ delicate hands, a buzz of energy flowing from her to him. “And Celes for a mage to tutor me in Casting, and for five pieces of enchanted jewelry.”
He clasped one hand on each of them now, “I will offer you both my services, my knowledge, and in addition, I can boost your score in Fighting, Magic, or Binding. Or all three if you prefer. Does that deal interest you?”
The two women exchange a look. He knew that neither wanted to take the first deal that he offered, instead negotiating for more from him. But each one was afraid that the other would gain the advantage if they did. Octavia was the first to speak.
“Can you tell me more about these services? And about your power to boost Binding skill?”
“And Magic skill,” added Celes in her high-pitched voice, which she filled with indifference.
“Well, if you honor this deal in this timeline and future timelines, I will promise an oath to empower you more and more as I gain power. I’m sure by now you both know that I am fairly weak for a Mnemon.”
“Yes, Binding is your only respectable score. Tell us, how did you advance Binding higher than Fighting? It is a much harder skill to advance.”
Linhart grinned at Octavia. Her childish curiosity was showing once more, and he wanted so badly to kiss her. “You trained me of course, my darling Stratega!”
Her glasses slid down her nose and her face turned red. A rare slip of her sophisticated outward act. ‘Oh!’ was all she could say in response.
“And your power to boost Magic…?” Celes asked impatiently.
“Well, I can’t go into detail until you agree to my terms… but I should let you know that for me to boost any of your scores, you and I would have to… have sex.”
Celes looked doubtful for a moment, wondering perhaps if she’d misheard him, or if he’d misspoken.
Linhart clarified, “You and I… we would have to have intercourse… For me to boost you score, we would need to fuck.”
Celes’ face was unreadable. Her lovely voice was like a sleigh bell tinkling. “In that case, I agree to your terms.”
Octavia spoke just a beat later, and with more enthusiasm. “I do as well! I agree to your terms.”
