36

*First submission for 2020 already. As of this moment I only need to write four more chapters to reach 45 and complete the first version of volume 3, which I hope to get done in about two weeks.

The party fights alongside the harpies to catch the fishermen, and Ulric ends up making an important (and pretty much unavoidable) decision.

*

34 - Reverse Fishing

When Ulric woke up, queen Sawea smiled at him with a hint of amusement from outside the entrance of their sheltered resting place. 'There's certainly more to you than meets the eye.' she said softly in her pleasant singing voice.

He realised she was talking about the girls sleeping with their heads on his torso and he was glad Elzbieta's and Valdys's long hair covered him below and hid the sight between his legs from view. Susi stirred and yawned above his head, where she had curled up against him, and Trixy looked up from her spot in the side of his neck. He grinned a little. 'The luxury of being a warm pillow.' he whispered.

One corner of her mouth curled up. 'So it would seem.' she said and her wing tips swept lazily forward and backward. 'I wanted to inform you that the ones capable of using wind magic have gathered and can be instructed any time you're ready.'

'Thank you. I'll wake the others and we'll begin after a quick bite.'

Sawea gave him a nod and left, and he stroked Iphigenia's and Kaui's cheeks since they lay at his chest and held his arms against their chests. 'Wake up, my cuties.'

Kaui held his arm tighter and Iphigenia rubbed her cheek against his paw. 'I'm only waking because I can see you, Wolfie.' she whispered. 'Otherwise I'd prefer to sleep with you forever.'

He chuckled. 'If only there was a way to be together in our dreams as well.'

'There seems to be a tribe in some jungle that has control over the plane of dreams.' whispered Valdys and yawned, then stuck her nose in the fur of his abdomen and inhaled deep. 'I love that I can smell again and wake up with the scent of your fur.'

Kaui turned her head and smiled up at Ulric. 'I'm happy just knowing Master's here.'

He smiled and caressed her cheek. 'I used to hate waking up, but with you girls it's a joy.'

Elzbieta ran her fingers through his fur and stopped short of his balls. 'Yeah, we noticed just how joyous you sometimes can be when you wake up, darling.'

Iphigenia giggled. 'You say that as if it's a bad thing, while you never decline to take care of it.'

Elzbieta blushed. 'I'm only thinking of his health.' she muttered and drew circles in his fur with her fingertip. 'It's not good to suppress the release of pressure building up in the body. We should also make sure his healing power stays fresh.'

Valdys giggled. 'I'm only part of the family for a short while now, but I can't imagining a more fun bunch of people to be with.'

'Family is strange, but Susi likes new family as much as old family.'

Ulric smiled and scritched her cheek. 'A weird but lovable family.' he said. 'When this is over we should have a little party with food and drinks and enjoy just us being together.'

'Great idea!' said Iphigenia and stretched. 'All the more reason to get to work and get this over with.'

They enjoyed a light meal and stepped outside of the shelter just as Conchim passed it. Ulric noticed she seemed a little tired from her sleepy eyes and sluggish walk. 'Conchim, are you all right? Didn't you get any rest?'

She looked up startled at him, then averted her eyes when she couldn't get the events at the pond out of her mind. 'I, I just slept in a bad position.' she said as she had woken up at the rock just barely before. It had been a deep sleep but the hard surface hadn't done her any good.

'Do you want something to make you feel good again?'

She gazed at him with large eyes and stepped back covering her front with her wings. 'Ah! No!' she said with a hot flustered face. 'I can't do that!'

He raised an eyebrow. 'I'm sure it's no trouble for Kaui to whip up a concoction that'll give you a boost.'

It took a few counts before she could separate her imagination from reality, and sighed deep. 'Of course.' she said and looked at Kaui. 'I'd be grateful.'

Kaui gave her a big smile. 'I'll make you a strong herbal tea that I'm sure will do you good. It might be a little bitter to swallow but it'll fill you with energy.'

Conchim felt her cheeks heat up again when her mind interfered with her reason again and looked away. 'Thank you.'

'No problem. It'll take bit so if you want to freshen up at the pond first?'

An itch stirred her body. 'I'll go do that now, yes!' she said and hurried towards the big pond to take a dive in the cool water.

Iphigenia chuckled. 'She's a lively one. Maybe she should join us.'

Ulric snorted. 'I doubt she'd be interested, especially if she knew what went on between us. She seems a little too stubborn to accept being a familiar.'

Iphigenia brushed the back of his head with her fingers. 'I was stubborn at first.'

He smiled. 'True, but I don't want her to suffer a deadly poisoning to change her mind, even if it brought me tremendous luck in your case.'

She smiled softly. 'Not just you.' she said softly and leaned closer to him.

Elzbieta cleared her throat. 'Not right now, you two.' she said from the corner of her mouth. 'We don't want the harpies to get even stranger ideas about us.'

Iphigenia giggled. 'Oh, yeah.' she said and smiled at Ulric. 'I'll go with Val to assist her with teaching the new wind magic.'

He chuckled. 'Good luck with that, girls.' he said and watched them go towards a small group of harpies at one side of the clearing before turning to Elzbieta. 'I guess we'll wait for Conchim to return to discuss the plans with the rest of the harpies who'll fight beside us.'

Elzbieta nodded. 'I know some simple fighting techniques that I can teach them.'

'Don't forget me. Thanks to this bloodwolf body and the ingrained instincts I managed so far, but I never fought before in my world. I need to learn what I can to make full use of my capabilities so I'm counting on you to teach me what you know.'

A glint sparkled in Elzbieta's eyes and Ulric though he saw a teacher's smile appear on her face. 'Be ready to have me drill it thoroughly into you then.'

He held up his paws. 'Remember I'm just a beginner!'

She put her finger against his nose and gave him the sweetest smile. 'Also a bloodwolf, so I'll make sure to adjust the training for that.'

He swallowed. 'Whoo boy. I'm going to die.'

***

Sawea watched the two groups of harpies with pride as they were instructed by their visitors. A few already grabbed the basics of using their wind magic to cut the twigs and loose feathers that Iphigenia threw up in the air, and the group taught by Elzbieta were training in pairs to dodge the sticks they threw at each other while flying. Seeing Ulric duck and jump in a panic because Elzbieta forbade him to use his extra abilities while she relentlessly attacked him with her sword made her giggle. She almost felt sorry for him when he yelped when another hit landed on him, but she suspected the elf would sooth his bruises afterwards. Conchim paying more attention to the bloodwolf didn't escape her attention as well and she hummed in amusement. 'Well, well.' she said softly to herself, and went to check up on Kaui, who was busy brewing something to counteract the invisibility cloaks with.

'Yow!' cried Ulric when Elzbieta hit him with the broad tip of her sword on his behind.

'Too slow, darling!' she said and twirled around to intercept his move to the side with a low hit. 'You can't take your time when it comes to fighting!'

'And it's all right to be quick at something else once in a while as well, Wolfie.' giggled Iphigenia over the link.

He chuckled and jumped to avoid another low swing. 'Don't distract me with that! I might get ideas and attack Elz right here!'

Elzbieta turned her sword around instantly and hit his rear again. 'I'll slap those perverted ideas out of you before you even get close!' she said with flustered cheeks.

Conchim, who trained dodging with another harpy, glanced at the bloodwolf getting a beating from the elf and couldn't match it with what she'd witnessed between the two. "What's it to me anyway?" she thought and focused on her opponent just in time to barely dodge a stick.

***

Elzbieta and Valdys called a break and Sawea and Conchim joined Ulric and the girls. 'How does it look?' the queen asked.

'I think they'll be sufficiently versed in the new cutting wind technique by the end of the day.' Valdys said. 'The nets should pose no problem unless they're made of something else than the tough rope that we assume.'

'Although crude, my group gets the basics of dodging in mid-air while attacking at the same time.' said Elzbieta. 'They might not be able to fully dodge all attacks but it should lessen the chance of fatalities by a wide margin.'

Sawea nodded. 'Thank you, I'm glad for any improvement and advantage we can get.'

'Lucky them.' said Ulric as he lay on his stomach. 'I feel no improvement at all. Only a disadvantage.'

Iphigenia giggled and stroked his behind gently. 'I'm sure Kaui has something that we can massage your sore bum with.'

'I made plenty of different salves and potions to cover the worst outcome of the fight, Master.' said Kaui. 'You won't have to worry about that.'

'That's the least of my worries at the moment.' he chuckled.

'Indeed.' said Elzbieta. 'You should be most worried about your performance in battle, darling.'

'I was thinking of the consequence though.'

Valdys chuckled. 'If it helps, there are several books about martial arts you can read after Elz is done with you.'

'That's more my kind of thing, a written course in fighting. The worst injury I could get is a paper cut.'

Conchim sighed. 'I thought he was supposed to be a strong demon but it sounds like we're counting on a mouse to help us.'

Iphigenia chuckled. 'Wolfie is usually just a puppy.' she said and smiled at him. 'But when needed, he'll take on any number of enemies.'

'Really.' said Conchim.

He nodded. 'True. Except those pesky demonic squirrels. I hate those.'

Iphigenia laughed out loud and Elzbieta nearly snorted her drink of water through her nose, and Iphigenia explained the fight at the beginning of their journey for the amusement of the rest. Trixy hopped on top of his head and chittered triumphantly and he puffed up his cheeks. 'Don't tell me you're one of them.' he huffed.

Sawea smiled. 'It's good to know we have Trixy to fall back on when things go bad.' she said and Trixy chittered her agreement.

'Susi help too!' she barked.

Ulric stroked her head. 'We'll need you to keep an eye on Kaui and maybe need your nose at the end.'

'Yes!' she barked confidently.

Conchim watched the strange party of companions while they discussed previous fights and strategies they could use to capture the fishermen, and she wondered if she could fit in. Again, she chastised herself for thinking about useless things and hoped the whole ordeal would be over soon so she could get back to her normal life as it was before the trouble began.

***

The next morning all the harpies that would join the hunt gathered with Ulric and the girls at the main tree. Queen Sawea looked at them with pride, and confidence in their victory radiated from her presence as she spoke in her clear and melodic voice. 'I won't need to say good luck because I've seen what you accomplished in the last day, and because I have no doubt you'll capture those thieves with the help of our new friends. The only thing I'll say is, come back soon so that we may celebrate the return of our peaceful days.' She spread her wings upwards and the harpies whistled cheerfully.

'You have their location?' asked Ulric from Valdys.

'Trixy confirmed it with the spirits a short while ago.' she said and pointed in the direction they had to go.

'Excellent. Let's catch ourselves some fishermen.' he said and the group left quietly.

Trixy went back and forth to spirits in the forest to keep up to date on the whereabouts of the thieves while the group moved cautiously through it, and they halted when she reported they were getting close. Ulric pet her head while she sat on his arm and he turned to Elzbieta, Iphigenia, and Valdys. 'It's time to spread out. Tell me as soon as your groups are in place.'

The girls nodded and each took several harpies with them as they headed deeper into the forest with a big detour around the targets. Conchim muttered while she waited with Ulric and Kaui's group. 'As the queen's daughter I should be capable of leading a group.'

He chuckled softly. 'Silent communication at a distance is essential for our strategy to work.'

She poked the ground with a talon. 'I would've allowed a temporary bond.'

Ulric looked up at the sky when he thought he heard fluttering in the distance. 'We did explain that it doesn't work with everyone.' he said as the excuse they came up with to avoid anyone suggesting linking with him for the day.

'How do you know if you didn't try?'

'I know, trust me on that.' he said and glanced at Kaui. "Things turned out great with the girls, but I doubt you'd want anything to do with us if you knew the truth."

She didn't pry any further but she knew something was off, and the thought she might be envious of a secret shared between him and his lovers didn't improve her mood. "Stupid!" she scolded herself. "What does it matter? There are more important things to focus on right now."

'We're in position, just outside of their view.' said Iphigenia over the familiar link.

'We're here as well.' said Valdys.

'Good.' said Ulric. 'Then all we need is to wait for Elz to arrive.'

'We should be there soon.' she said.

Ulric turned to Kaui and Susi. 'Are you two ready?'

Kaui gave him a reassuring smile and pat on the two satchels hanging at her hips. 'I am, Master. I can go in at any time.'

'Susi will protect Kaui, daddy!' she said and wagged her tail.

'All right, my cuties. I'm counting on you when they try to get away.' Ulric said and pricked up his ears. He looked at Conchim. 'Is that the sound of fish coming this way?'

She flew up for a moment and came back down. 'Indeed, I saw a school heading this way.'

'Girls, we'll use the moment they shoot their net at the fish coming this way to attack. It should provide a little more distraction.'

'All right.' said Iphigenia and Valdys.

'We're at our position.' said Elzbieta. 'We'll be ready.'

Ulric sensed the tension of all the girls over the familiar link and his own heart beating a little faster in anticipation because despite his confidence that they'd take the fish thieves down, he still wasn't used to fighting people.

The fish passed overhead with the cacophony of their many wings and Ulric raised his hand. The harpies stood ready to take off. He pointed his ears towards the fishermen and the faint voice of their leader counting down. 'Get ready, girls.'

'Three, two, one, fire!' said the leader and Ulric thrust his hand forward at the same time. 'Go!' he said over the link.

35 - High Reward

Brun and his bowmen watched the net go up at the fish and fold around the school, then fall down and the harpies appear out of nowhere behind them. 'Harpies!' he shouted and the bowmen around the second net aimed at once. 'Two, one, fire!'

The net shot up in the air but before it reached the intended prey, two harpies slashed the air with their wings and the net fell apart in several pieces.

Brun held his breath in surprise at the unexpected defence. 'Fire at will!' he shouted, then heard the flapping of wings surrounding him and his crew.

'Where'd they come from!?' shouted one of the women and shot her arrow at the harpies coming from one side.

'Shoot! Shoot!' said another as he shot at the first harpy he saw.

'Next net!' shouted Brun and four bowmen loaded their crossbows with the launch bolts. As soon as they aimed at the harpies in front of them he shouted 'Fire!'.

The net deployed in front of the group but this time three of them slashed with their wings and the net went down in pieces.

'Shoot them! Damned!' he shouted but the harpies evaded the arrows and even cut some of them as they flew towards them.

'Demon!' cried another and Brun spun around to see a snarling bloodwolf pounce one of his men hard to the ground. The next moment the first harpies came down, and knocked their opponents back or slashed at them with their talons. A black one was especially fierce at stabbing at one of the women who tried to fend her off with her sword.

'Hide!' he yelled and wrapped his cloak around him. The others did the same as soon as they could and vanished one by one, and he thought they could get away with minimal damage. Until three women appeared from all sides and threw jars around.

Clouds of white dust exploded and the invisible men and women became visible as faint ghostly images. The next moment a blonde pig orc rushed onto the scene flanked by another smaller bloodwolf, and threw green leaf balls at the exposed thieves. The balls burst open, a blue liquid splashed all over the targets, and within several steps of the fleeing men and women, their cloaks began to dissolve and their invisibility properties faltered.

Brun froze for a moment at the utter annihilation of their perfect strategy of hunting the flying fish and getting away. He gnashed his teeth. 'Shit!' he grunted and dodged harpies and humans fighting as he fled to the side and into the trees.

Several others fled the scene and rushed through the trees. "I got away!" thought one of the women but her attention was suddenly drawn to a pale creature in front of her. She stopped as soon as she recognised it as a ghostly squirrel, took off to the side, then shrieked when a horde of animal skeletons and spirits rushed at her.

Valdys grinned a little deviously at the cries of fear coming from the trees in different directions. 'I almost feel sorry for them.' she said.

Ulric chuckled while he caught the sword of his opponent in his armoured paw. 'I can imagine how they must feel.' he said and spun the woman in front of him around and slapped her so hard on her rear that her knees gave out and she cried out loud as she held her bruised behind.

Valdys chuckled. 'I, on the other hand, feel very sorry for her.'

'Yeah, but it's the only way I can fight a woman.' Ulric said and hoped Kaui had enough salve to avoid leaving a lasting impression on her.

The rest of the thieves surrendered to the overwhelming force of the harpies and the unexpected fighters, and Ulric looked around. 'Where's the leader? I don't see him.'

Conchim came up to him. 'Did he get away?'

'Hang on.' he said and sniffed the air while passing the men and women sitting on the ground, then went around in a circle until he smelled the missing scent. 'He went this way! I'll catch him!'

Conchim ran after him. 'I'm coming with you!'

Ulric tracked the scent as it led them through the trees and stopped when it spread out in an area thick with undergrowth. 'He did something to throw me off of his scent.' Ulric whispered. 'Be careful.'

They moved cautiously through the trees and the bushes until Ulric saw a tunic on the ground. "He took off his clothes to spread his scent." he thought and spun around when Conchim cried out.

Brun gripped a handful of her head feathers in one hand and held a long dagger at her throat. 'I don't know what you are, but you're going to release my men or this little birdy gets it.'

Ulric noticed Conchim lifting one foot. 'Yeah, I don't think so.' he growled low.

'I'll ki-' Brun began loudly but cried out in pain when Conchim's heel talon pierced his foot. Ulric bolted forward and pierced his lower arm near the elbow with a spine on his fist, and Conchim spun free and punched him hard in the face.