The Chronicles of Dwynveia – A Slimeling LitRPG

Aki

Waking up next to my wives was something I really missed. My bed was a bit too small for the three of us, but we made do. And hey, the ability to just lie there hugging Lilyth like a gooey plushie was the best quest reward.

So soft and warm.

Bergia, all credit to her, let us sleep in, as we were all absolutely exhausted from the fight. She only came to wake the five of us up when Jaeilar came in to change our bandages. As Caei had some mana back now the two of them worked in tandem, and I could see my alabaster beauty was happy to have someone give her pointers. We decided to only heal the more serious wounds, like Ren’s knee, with magic. The minor stuff could heal naturally for now. Especially after we all decided to keep the wound dressings on to keep up appearances. Us having access to healing magic was dangerous knowledge to spread around. I was surprised that Jaeilar agreed to that.

‘People might get ideas,’ she sighed. ‘Better people not get used to something that won’t be here forever. Especially since I know folks who will go: “Oh… I don't have to be careful because there is a Life mage around.” Then you will leave, and someone continues to be reckless and they die. Still… if someone gets seriously hurt, I hope I can count on your assistance.’

‘I’ll be more than happy to help,’ Caei smiled.

After Jaeilar left, Bergia served us breakfast and we started making travel plans. We were supposed to leave that day, but decided to postpone it until the next. We all wanted more rest, but the day of the ceremony in Ror-Bhyk was fast approaching, assuming the timeline the Viscount gave us didn’t change, and we were afraid to miss it. Especially Rennie.

Since we now wanted to revisit the Murdergrove we decided we'd take Bergia with us to Ror-Bhyk and then go back with her to Dan-Hem. So there was one more place I wanted to visit - my old house.

I took only Lilyth and Caei with me there. It was much smaller than I remembered, but otherwise it was the same. The same three rooms, the same table, the same two beds, the same cupboards, the same stove, the charcoal markings mom was making on the wall to track my growth, the little scribble I made next to it of us two holding hands. The only thing that was missing was my mom. I missed her raven black hair and sea green eyes. Her gentle smile…

Before I realised it, I was weeping and Lilyth and Aki rushed in to comfort me. I was grateful they were there for me. I don’t think I could have done it alone.

‘This was a mistake,’ I said, finally.

‘No,’ my foxy plushie said. ‘It was necessary. You are just grieving. Probably always will be. You lost your mother after all.’

‘I miss her soooo much,’ I sobbed.

‘We know, my love,’ Caei cooed. ‘We know.’

As much as I hated the very idea of making changes in the house, if we were to live in it we needed some more furniture. I could probably replace my old bed with a new one, as I have long since outgrown it. Lilyth actually pointed out something about that though - me having my own bed and it being tailored specifically for a child seemed weirdly extravagant for a single mother struggling to make ends meet.

Another thing I can't ask my mom about.

The rest of the furniture we could probably use as it was kept in good condition. By the looks of it, someone looked after it over the years.

‘You know, all things considered, this is a perfect place for a young bride and her husband to move in,’ Caei remarked. ‘You have a marriage bed, a small one for a child and everything that a married couple would need to start a new life.’

‘I know this is a touchy subject,’ Lilyth picked up the thread, ‘but we may need to move your mom’s bed to your old room and use hers for us instead. I doubt your room is large enough for a three-person bed.’

That was a valid point. Still…

‘Don’t stress over it right now,’ Lilyth continued. ‘Just putting this idea out there so it doesn’t blindside you and you can get used to it.’

I nodded, trying to suppress tears welling in my eyes again.

‘Still, I think this is a subject for the future,’ Caei quickly interceded. ‘Last I checked, we were broke, and asking Rennie to buy us furniture would feel weird.’

‘I do have that money from Mer-Cas,’ Lilyth pointed out, completely missing the point of what Caei was saying. ‘I haven't had a chance to spend it yet, and I can't think of a better way to do so. That is a subject for later though.’

‘You know… that money is for you to spend on yourself,’ I said. ‘No… I think we should all chip in for that. It will be OUR bed after all.’

‘Works for me,’ my wife shrugged.

‘Yeah,’ Caei agreed. ‘And we will be going to Ror-Bhyk soon. Get yourself something nice there. We do have some other trips planned too.’

As there was no other comfortable place for us to cuddle, both beds were off-limits, so we sat down against the wall and started making wild plans about places to see, mysteries to chase and people to meet. Veenaya, who I could swear got slightly fatter during our stay at Bergia's, was lying in my lap, purring softly.

‘We need a couch here too,’ I said.

Our Lumizu let out an arf.

‘Some comfy bedding for Veenaya as well,’ Lilyth chuckled.

Our pet’s purring grew louder and more content, so I lifted her into my arms, tightly hugged her, and kissed her on the forehead. Veenaya looked up and licked my face in return causing us all to start laughing.

Yeah. I never dreamed of my life turning out so fun.

When we were back at Bergia's for dinner, she broke some potentially unwelcome news to us. Apparently, Dhelmir and some men decided to go check out the Murdergrove earlier in the morning. They were back, and the word about us managing to cleanse it was beginning to spread around Dan-Hem, so if we wanted to grab our things from the inn relatively unmolested, now was the time. Ren already had her things so it was just Lilyth and Deirdee who had to go pack. I offered to go with them, supposedly to help Lilyth. I may or may not have had other motives for that in mind, but I cannot confirm or deny whether they were related to Caei having Lilyth to herself for a week.

‘What do we do with Taros's things?’ the former assassin asked before we left.

‘You can bring them here for safekeeping,’ Bergia offered.

‘We’ll help you pack them,’ Lilyth said and we were off.

At Jirrin’s inn, we have discovered that the demigod’s belongings were gone, as if they were never there to begin with. This was made weirder after we learned that Taros had not been seen in the village since our departure towards the Murdergrove. Needless to say, we were all seriously spooked by this.

After we finished investigating the room, I took Deirdee aside and told her about my plans.

‘I’ll wait for you downstairs after I am done,’ she laughed and gave me a conspiratorial wink.

I acted the moment the door to Lilyth's room closed. I glomped her and pushed her onto the bed. Our lips locked, and for the next few moments, nothing else mattered.

Deirdee - Now

Deirdee couldn’t help but be amused by Aki’s “evil” master plan. On some level, it made her sad, though, as it was another reminder of a life she never got to experience.

Still, it doesn't mean I won’t be able to get into my own crazy hijinks, she thought while sitting at the bar and sipping some of the swill the locals claimed to be whiskey, but seemed to be heavily watered-down grain moonshine, and not a well-made one either.

I think it was pure alcohol with a minimal amount of actual grain added. Good thing Serrated Blades are made somewhat resistant to toxins. Hopefully, it will be enough.

It felt weird to her to see Jirrin be actually really friendly to her this time around. The last time did not go nearly as well, but that was on a different Dwynveia and it was a different innkeeper from the one that threw her out. The whole thing was caused by a villager named Zanis. He was dating… or engaged to, Deirdee never got the specifics, to a girl called Milla, who, as she learned recently, was Aki’s childhood friend.

When she arrived in Dan-Hem, Deirdee received a bit of a cold shoulder from the locals, as this was fresh after Aki’s adoptive father was executed. Zanis swooped in and offered her a welcoming hand. They went for a drink in Jirrin's tavern and ended up getting shitfaced and having a drunken one-night stand.

That got her labelled as a whore, which Zanis didn't help by putting all the blame on her as “damage control”. Jirrin said it would be better if she left the village, but Deirdee still managed to get some payback.

Deirdee - Day 5 of Lilyth's stay on Dwynveia

As she headed to the exit from the village, a girl in a grey dress and dirty auburn hair tied by a green headkerchief stomped towards her. She had golden eyes and freckles.

Some fae blood? Deirdee wondered.

The girl blocked her way and, to Deirdee's surprise, tried to slap her. Reflexes honed by thousands of hours of training in the House of Serrated Blades worked without a fault and Deirdee effortlessly intercepted the attack. She had to stop herself from throwing the girl to the ground and stabbing her.

‘Milla, I presume,’ she said instead.

‘And you are the slag who seduced my Zanis.’ the girl spat at her. ‘You got him drunk, and used him!’

She looked around and saw Zanis standing behind one of the houses, looking very embarrassed.

So the reason he bolted almost immediately after we woke up was ‘damage control’. And the twerp decided to blame the whole thing on me. Very well… if they think I am a whore…

‘I didn't hear him complain last night,’ Deirdee lied. ‘In fact, his stamina wore me out after the fifth time we went. But he was sooo good, I just couldn't refuse him.’

Milla looked mortified.

‘I wonder if you will be able to satisfy him the way I did. No… I am sure you’ll do fine. There is no way he will keep coming back mentally to me every time he fucks your sorry ass.’

Milla looked close to tears. Good.

Deirdee heard approaching footsteps, probably Zanis coming to his love’s defence, so she let go of her arm and resumed her walk. As her “lover’s” paths and hers crossed she managed to get one last bit of revenge. Zanis clearly wanted to say something to her, but she lost all patience for him and the village. So, when he opened his mouth to speak, she punched him in the stomach, and when he was bent over from the strike, she followed up with a knee to his groin. As the man writhed in pain on the ground, she whispered to him:

‘Best of luck with your Milla, Zanis.’

The last thing Deirdee heard before leaving the village was the girl calling her, now likely former, fiancee a “lying son of a whore”.

Deirdee - Now

She wasn't quite sure whether Zanis staged this whole incident to get into her pants or was it all an honest misunderstanding made worse by the man being a spineless wretch. Deirdee decided to watch the man. If she noticed Zanis being unfaithful… She had ideas for some actually evil plans of her own to enact.

It is a bit of shame I am no longer the great “Harridan of Dan-Hem”, though. I wonder if that is what I was really called, or did Tee make it up?

Deirdee hated to admit it, but she really missed the demigod and hoped this was all a massive misunderstanding.

Oh, Tee.

To get her mind off things she decided to gather some intel on her potential quarry.

‘So…’ she caught Jirrin's attention. ‘Milla’s fiancee, Zanis, I heard stories about him and since she is Aki’s friend…’

The “I heard stories” gambit was always a bit risky, because if there weren't any it was difficult to recover.

‘Those are probably exaggerated, lassie,’ the innkeeper shrugged. ‘Zanis is certainly sometimes… overtly friendly with women he finds attractive, but this never goes anywhere. If anything, after the incident with Lady Lilyth he quietted down.’

Lilyth never mentioned any incidents.

‘What happened?’

‘Since you are on familiar terms with her, I think it is better that you ask he… no. Perhaps not. Best not to pick at that wound. A quick version is… You have likely heard about what happened to her in Mer-Cas. She has been downplaying that, but most people knew well enough not to pry. Not Zanis.’

Oh no.

It wasn't as bad as she originally feared, but it wasn't good either. The man tried a “let me buy you a drink” move on the worst person to do so on, made the mistake of touching her and nearly lost an arm as a result. It was further evidence for an alarming pattern of behaviour, but it wasn’t decisive enough.

I’ll be watching that weasel up close though.

Suddenly, Deirdee noticed something in the corner of her eye. When she turned towards the shape, she thought saw a brief glimpse of a silver-haired young woman in dark blue robes, but then Deirdee blinked and the image was gone.

She looked suspiciously at her glass of “whiskey”.

Did Jirrin cut it with something in addition to watering it down? Oh well. I've had worse.

Deirdee shrugged, finished the drink and ordered another.

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