little creature, smart enough to pretend like he was asleep when she asked,
and for that I thanked him. I didn’t want her to be embarrassed, especially not
because a small lizard had seen us doing the deed.
I chuckled softly to myself, then looked back down at Kas’ sleeping
form. She was stunning. Her ringlets fell around her face, and her arm was
thrown carelessly over my torso. I leaned down and kissed her forehead
before I tossed another log onto the fire and drifted off to sleep myself.
The next morning, I awoke to the smell of fish, and I immediately sat
up with alarm. It was already bright in the day, and by the sun, it was mid-
morning at least.
“Morning, sleepy,” Kas chuckled, and I looked up to see she and Blar
were sitting on the other side of the fire with several fish on a spit.
“Morning,” I said with a lopsided grin, and I leaned up and realized I
was still shirtless from the night before. My pants were halfway undone as
well, so I quickly tucked my member back inside of them and threw my tunic
on.
“I figured you could use the rest after yesterday,” Kas said, but her
eyes roamed my body in a way that told me what she really meant was I
could use the rest after last night.
“Thanks,” I said. “I always appreciate a late morning. I see you caught
breakfast?”
“Blar and I went to the stream,” she explained. “I hope you don’t
mind.”
“Not at all,” I agreed. “Now that he’s disguised, it shouldn’t be a
problem.”
“He did eat one of the fish raw,” she informed me. “But I told him they
were better if they were cooked.”
“I’m sure he didn’t like having to wait,” I laughed.
“I also found some apples to snack on before breakfast,” she added,
and she reached down and tossed me a honey colored apple that felt crisp and
solid in my hand.
“And how many did Blar eat?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I gave him one,” she said as she averted her gaze. “But… he stole two
more.”
“Figures,” I chuckled and bit into the fruit. The apple was crisp and
sweet, so Kas must have had a knack for picking the ripest ones, and I was
happy to help in eating them. We’d given the ones she picked the day before
to Larena, but these were just as delicious as I’d imagined those were.
“So, are we finding another portal today?” Kas asked, and she glanced up from the fish to smile at me.
“I think so,” I said, and I looked at Blar, who was practically drooling
over the smell of the fish. “What do you think, Blar? Are we up for another
one?”
The little dragon smiled and nodded his little head, then turned right
back to staring at the fish, so both Kas and I laughed.
“That seems like a yes to me,” Kas chuckled.
“Me, too,” I agreed, then I thought for a moment. “I wonder… I know
you said you can’t see where the portals lead to, but is there any way we can
use magic to locate them?”
“We?” Kas asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.
“Alright, you,” I laughed. “Is there any way you can use your magic to
find them?”
“I hadn’t thought about it,” she mused, and she pursed her plump red
lips. “But there might be a way. We can give it a try after breakfast.”
“That would be great,” I said, and I smiled at the beautiful blonde.
She smiled back at me, and I couldn’t help but think about what we’d
done the night before. It was spectacular and just the thought of it got me
hard again, but I pushed the thought down and focused on the apple in my
hand.
Once I finished the fruit, I grabbed the loaf of bread Larena had given
us the day before and used my axe to cut off slices for each of us. I cut Kas
and I two slices each, but only cut a thin slice for Blar, since he’d already
stolen more than his fair share that morning. It wasn’t as if we didn’t have the
means to feed him, and I didn’t want to starve him by any means, but the
little creature ate so much and he grew so quickly that soon we’d have to
disguise him as a horse instead of a dog.
Kas announced breakfast was done a moment later, and she dished
each of us some fish on a large leaf, and I passed her the bread slices so she
could put them on the leaves as well.
Blar smacked his lips and stomped his little feet with excitement as
Kas set the leaf down in front of him, and then he dug in with enthusiasm.
I smiled and took my own plate from her. It smelled amazing, and I
thanked her and bit into the warm flesh of the fish. It was moist and flavorful,
though perfectly crisp on the outside. The bread was good, too, but then again
Larena’s cooking was always delicious. The loaf was firm but soft, and the
outside was beautifully browned.
“Thank you,” I said through a mouthful. “It’s delicious.”
“You’re welcome.” Kas smiled as she took another small bite of her
bread.
I ate my fish slowly and savored each bite, but every now and then I’d
glance over to find Kas’ violet eyes staring at me. Whenever I caught her,
though, she would blush and look away.
After we finished our breakfasts, Kas went over to her satchel and
pulled out the large red scale from my house, as well as the one from her
father’s shop. She also grabbed a jar of what looked like dirt and a piece of
paper.
“Is there anything else you need?” I asked.
“I don’t think so,” she said, and she started to lay out the objects on the
ground. She put the paper down, and I realized it was blank. Then she opened
the jar of dirt and poured some on the paper before she placed the two scales
on either side.
“Do you always carry blank paper with you?” I chuckled.
“It should be in every sorcerer’s spell kit,” she said with a smile.
“Remember, there’s no guarantee this will work.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I appreciate you trying.”
“There’s also no guarantee there are any portals up right now,” she
added, and she bit her lip.
“Hm, right,” I agreed, though I hadn’t considered that. Her father said
they popped up randomly, though, so if that was the case then it would make sense they weren’t always there.
But even if we had to wait, I was glad I had Kas and Blar to wait with.
Blar came up to me, then, having finished his food, leaf and all, and he
plopped himself down into my lap and lifted his chin so I could scratch under
it.
“Alright,” Kas announced after a moment, “let’s give this a try.”
“What do you do next?” I inquired.
“I just have to say the spell,” she said. “And we’ll see if it works.”
“Okay.” I nodded and continued to scratch under Blar’s neck.
Kas rose up onto her knees in front of the paper, and she put her hands
on each of the scales to the side of it.
I couldn’t help but notice her cleavage as she bent over, and I
remembered the taste of her nipple in my mouth, but then I forced myself to
focus on the work at hand. I wanted to know more about how th
ese spells
worked. If there was some sort of magic in me, then maybe I could learn one
day, too, but if not, it was still good knowledge to have.
The blonde closed her eyes and muttered something under her breath. I
never knew what she was saying when she did spells, but I watched as the
scales lit up bright red under her hands, and the dirt on the paper began to
dance around.
After a few seconds, the dirt started to swirl around the page as Kas
muttered faster and faster, but then she stopped, and all the dirt fell onto the
page with a crinkling sound as the paper wrinkled.
“Did it work?” I asked as I inspected the paper. I didn’t see anything
different about it, and she said it might not work, but I couldn’t help but feel
slightly disappointed.
“Let’s see,” she told me with a smile, and she leaned down and blew
the dirt away from the paper.
On the page, I could suddenly see a map of sorts. It was rudimentary,
and lacked any level of detail, but it was there. It showed a small fire pit,
which I assumed was where we were, then it showed the line of trees at the
edge of the countryside we had camped near, and the rest of the map I
assumed was supposed to be the countryside itself. From the fire pit was a
small dotted line that went through the trees and into the countryside, and the
line ended with a small “x” I presumed was where the next portal was.
“It worked,” I said with a shrug.
“Barely,” Kas sighed, and she bit her lip. “I’m sorry, this spell isn’t
really my specialty, I’ve only done it once before.”
“It’s okay,” I assured her. “This is more than we had before.”
“That’s true,” she agreed. “But I wish the map had more landmarks
that would make it easier to find.”
“Will the map light up as we walk?” I asked.
“No.” She shook her head, and her curls danced around her face. “I’m
afraid this is as good as it gets.”
As much as I’d always dreamt of having magic when I was younger,
and as much as I’d thought it would solve all my problems, I was slowly
realizing even sorcery had its shortcomings. Kas was no master yet, though
she’d definitely proven her worth, but it seemed if you weren’t proficient in
certain types of castings then you ended up with a poor result. The map was
more than we’d had earlier, but not by much. Still, I appreciated her trying,
and I wouldn’t let her know I wasn’t too impressed with what she’d
accomplished, especially since I knew she was quite gifted in other areas.
With some practice, I bet she’d be gifted in areas like this, too, and with her
newfound role in the group, I figured she’d have plenty of opportunities to
practice. Soon enough, the maps she created would probably be more detailed
than we even needed.
“It’s great,” I said, and I reached out and put my hand on her shoulder.
“I really appreciate you doing this for us.”
“It’ll be better next time,” she vowed with a determined nod. “I just
need more practice in this area.”
“I figured that might be it.” I smiled. “I’m sure in no time your maps
will be spectacular.”
“I don’t know about spectacular just yet,” she chuckled. “But they’ll
definitely be better than this.”
“Would it help if we went and saw your father again?” I asked.
“Maybe he could give you some pointers.”
“I’m sure he could,” the blonde agreed. “I don’t want him to know
what we’re doing, though, not yet at least.”
I personally didn’t see an issue with telling the old man. He was odd
and definitely a rule breaker, and something told me he wouldn’t tell anybody
what we were up to, but that was Kas’ father, and I’d let her have the final
decision in that area, at least until I thought it necessary for him to know for
some reason. For the time being, though, I didn’t mind experimenting with
her and using terrible maps. I had confidence we would be able to find the
portal on our own.
“That’s okay.” I shrugged. “Whenever you want to swing by the shop,
just let me know. For now, though, are you ready to find another portal?”
“Let’s do it,” she replied with a grin.
“Come on,” I told Blar, and I gently lifted him from my lap and put
him down onto the ground.
He looked slightly bigger than the day before, but at least he hadn’t
grown as much as he had within the first day. He was still definitely small
enough to pass for a dog, which made things a lot easier.
The little dragon yawned and stretched out, and I leaned down and tied
the makeshift leash around his neck.
“Ready,” Kas said, and I turned to see her standing in front of me with
her red satchel back on her hip.
The strap sat between her ample breasts and reminded me yet again of
the night we’d shared together, and she somehow looked more beautiful than
she had the day before. Her blonde hair was slightly messy, and the curls
seemed more voluminous. Her red lips were plump and full, and I wanted to
lean in and kiss them, but I wasn’t entirely sure where we stood at the
moment. If she wanted to keep things professional between us, then I could
before, then I was on board for that as well.
Then a curl fell down in front of her face, and I instinctively reached
out and pushed it behind her ear.
Kas blushed and looked down, but then she looked back up at me
through her eyelashes, so I leaned in and kissed her before I could stop
myself. She immediately sighed into my mouth, and I reached back and
grabbed a handful of her curls as I kissed her deeper.
It seemed she wanted to continue what we’d started, and that thought
not only made me smile, but made me want her again right then. I pushed the
thought away, though, and pulled my lips back from hers.
“Let’s go,” I murmured.
“Let’s go,” she echoed, and now her red lips were even more plump
from our kissing.
We quickly put the fire out, and Kas held out the map and led us
through the trees. We tried to follow the dotted line on the paper to the best of
our abilities, but it was difficult when there were no landmarks to go by, and
no key to tell us how far in distance each dot represented.
Blar didn’t seem to mind the walk, and he trotted along in front of us
and stopped every now and then to smell the flowers or try and eat something
off the ground. I’d never owned a dog before, but I’d been around Larena’s
dogs plenty of times, and I had to shake my head at how similarly to them
Blar behaved. It was almost as if the dog disguise we’d chosen was the true
Blar, and the dragon was the imposter.
The morning was warm and bright, and the countryside was abuzz with
Aesir. There were families out picking fruit and playing, and lovers sitting on
the hillside watching the families down below, no doubt discussing how one day that would be them. People smiled at Kas and me as we walked by, and I
realized how popular having a
dog made you, especially with families. The
small children always wanted to pet Blar, and the little dragon ate up the
attention. It was rather comical, too, to see the children pet this little blue
reptile when I knew they saw him as a clone of one of Larena’s dogs. They
had no idea they were petting a dragon, but maybe one day they would, and it
would be commonplace among the Aesir. Or at the very least not feared or
frowned upon.
“It should be right around here,” Kas said as we came to a spot in the
countryside that was fairly empty of people. The breeze smelled of lavender
from one of the nearby trees, and I glanced around to see if I could spot the
swirling air that would indicate a portal was there.
“Will they all look the same?” I asked, suddenly unsure if I was even
looking for the correct thing.
“Yes,” the beautiful sorcerer assured me. “They’ll all look the same,
but I just don’t see it anywhere.”
“We have to be right in front of it, right?” I asked.
“That’s right,” she said, and she looked down and frowned at the map
in her hands. “Stupid thing.”
“It got us this far,” I chuckled. “I’m sure we can find the portal on our own from here.”
“Alright,” she sighed. “Let’s look around.”
“You head to the left,” I directed, “I’ll take the right.”
“Okay,” the blonde agreed. “Remember to look both ways, it could be
anywhere, but you won’t see it unless you’re in front of it.”
“We’ll find it,” I assured her with a smile, then Blar and I headed to
the right of where we stood, and I started to comb the area.
It seemed nearly impossible to locate something you could only see if
it was right in front of you, but now that I knew the portals existed, I’d be
able to see one if I stumbled across it, and I planned on finding it sooner
rather than later. We only had a certain amount of time before the portal
would close, and we had to assume it cropped up sometime during the night
since it showed up on the map this morning. That meant we had less than
twelve hours to find it, get in, look for eggs, and get back out. If we got stuck
in another world, there was no telling how we’d get home. We’d probably
have to find the entrance to the Bifrost, and that would come with a lot of