Dao 4 Chapter 15 (Patreon)

Dar was up early and picking through their wares of food as he realized that Tami could probably make the enchantments so that they could have a refrigerator since she had the dao of cold.

He came out of the pantry with some dried bison and goat cheese that still smelled good.

“Milord. I could have prepared breakfast.” Marcie had her arms crossed.

“Woke up and knew I was hungry, heading out of my inner world.” Dar shoved the items in his hand out of his inner world and his consciousness with them, finding himself wake up in the bedroll with Amber.

“Morning Milord.” Amber blinked at him, clearly wide awake even if she was laying with him.

“Morning.” Dar grabbed the cheese and meat, breaking off a hunk for Amber. “Where is everyone?”

“Cherry took Valdis out of your inner world early this morning. The two of them went scouting.” Amber took the meat and then took a piece of his cheese.

Marcie popped out of his shadow with a loaf of bread.

It was a little crunchy, but Dar had certainly had worse and deep in the foothills, it was probably the best food around for miles.

“So. We’ll wait for them to get back. Tami is still sleeping?” His maids managed everything for him, so he knew they already knew the answer.

“Yes. She exhausted herself.” Marcie replied, sitting down next to Amber and taking some of her cheese to pinch together with her bread.

Dar frowned. “What’s Neko been up to?”

The maids looked at each other and shook their heads. “Training. She’s been restless being cooped up, and last I saw she was in the orchards tormenting Cherry while Cherry tried to tend to the trees.”

Dar nodded, realizing that Neko may need to get out and move. A restless Neko could get into trouble.

She’d just been on such a kick for kittens, Dar wasn’t sure she’d take the chance to move around and not cling to him trying to distract him. 

“Thank you.” Dar would have to figure out something. Neko was important to him. He wanted her to feel as cared for as all his women.

A thud sounded outside of the hut Dar had created, and Valdis shook the snow off of her before stepping in. “It’s always so warm around you.”

“I pretty much carve tiny heat runes into everything.” Dar joked. “You went scouting?”

“Yeah. After yesterday, I thought it wise to see if there were more groups. Good thing I did too. The foothills are crawling with demons looking for you, Dar.” She sat down and Marcie offered her some of the bread.

Dar shook his head. “Damnit. Of course they are.”

“Good news is, they are probably going to get stopped later today. There’s a huge storm on the horizon. It looks like it might run itself all the way to Frost’s Fang.” She said between bites.

“I’ll go wake the other two.” Amber bowed before slipping into Dar’s shadow.

“What about Cherry?” Dar looked around, waiting for the spirit to show herself, but she never popped up.

“Went to get close and listen to some of them. Should be back soon.” Valdis shrugged. “I wouldn’t worry too much about your little dryad. She’s pretty capable in her own right.”

Dar knew that, but also didn’t want to move on without her. “Are we in any immediate concern?”

“Hard to say. I didn’t see anyone around here, but a little black shack will stand out in the snow if anyone gets near.”

Amber came back with Neko and Tami in tow.

Dar sat, working to form a plan. “We could wait it out for the storm, and I could try to sneak past a lot of this amid it.”

“You are going to walk up the frozen mountain in a blizzard?” Valdis looked at him like an idiot.

“Why not? Hell, if the wind is going the right direction, I’d make a sail and let it carry me. I’m pretty durable. I’d rather take on a storm than have to kill more demons before meeting The White.”

Valdis looked around the circle for someone to support her and found no one.

“Tami, could you frost the outside of this shack?”

“Even then, it’s going to stand out.” She frowned. “Can you sink it a little into the ground?”

“Just leave enough open that we can get fresh air and then hide?” Valdis finished the idea for her.

Cherry would always be able to find him; he didn’t have to worry about her not being able to find her way back to her tree.

Dar held out his hands and his little stone shack groaned and rattled as he pushed it down into the ground. He pushed it down until there was only maybe a foot of it above ground still and then he opened a hole in the top big enough for Tami to get out.

The deer demon was eager to help and pulled herself out, getting to work frosting over the side of it by spreading ice from the snow.

“Not bad.” Valdis nodded. “She just started learning those, and she has a greater dao over frost.”

Dar had to agree she was making fantastic progress.

Cherry wiggled her way out of his back and perched herself on his shoulder.

“Glad to see you back safely. Any news?”

“The demons in the area are doing a big push to find you before the storm comes in.” Cherry looked around the group and realized her words didn’t surprise anyone. “Damnit Valdis.”

“He’s going to try and travel during the storm.” The death spirit pointed an accusing finger at him.

“So? He can just bulldinger through.” Cherry said.

“Bulldoze.” Dar corrected her.

She shrugged. “Maybe I meant bulldinger. What’s Tami doing?”

“Camouflage. We are going to hide until the storm, and then you are all going to hang out in my inner world while I see how much progress I can make.” Dar thought it was about high time that he practiced with the runes that covered his body more.

Tami came back over and jumped through the hole. “Done.”

Dar tightened the hole. “Someone needs to make sure that the snow doesn’t clog those and I run out of air.”

“Consider it done.” Amber declared. “All of you into his inner world before you use up the air here. You can converse there just as easily.”

Dar took the last of his meal and stuffed it in his face, realizing he’d barely eaten much of it. And he’d come out of his inner world for some time to eat.

The rest of them rode with Cherry or Marcie as they were drawn back into his inner world. “You know, it is getting convenient that I don’t have to ferry everyone in and out.”

“Yes. We are becoming more and more attached to you. If Sasha could, she would turn herself into silk and let you wear her.”

The idea popped into Dar’s head followed by the high likelihood that Sasha would be naughty. The image of Sasha turning herself into his silken clothes and using it as an excuse to tease him all day long.

“Always the lewd thoughts with you. Go spend some time with the girls before you bulldoze your way through the blizzard that is coming. If anyone gets close, I’ll take care of them and hide the evidence.” There was a dangerous glint in Amber’s eyes as she brushed the bottom hem of her skirt.

Dar crossed his legs and breathed deep as he let his mind descend down into his gut and back to his inner world.

The girls were separating and going to practice. Tami had a look of determination that told him not to interrupt her.

It was Neko that looked a little lost, and she was the one he’d been looking for anyway.

“Neko, come with me.” Dar hooked a finger and headed towards the orchard.

He’d thank Amber and Marcie later for helping him keep track of his harem’s needs.

“Kittens?” She molded up against his side with a sly grin.

Dar chuckled, rubbing her head between her ears. “No. It won’t work here anyways. Maybe when we have some comforts outside we’ll give you another shot at kittens.”

He walked out through the orchard with her until they reached an open space. There, Dar summoned lava and cooled it into two rods. “You have too much energy, and I need to knock off a little rust.”

Dar tossed the rod to her and she caught it with a spin as she grinned and slunk low to the ground.

“You want Neko to knock off the rust?” She wiggled her eyebrows playfully.

“Yeah. I was sloppy earlier. Come at me with the best you’ve got.” He waved her forward.

Neko fought dirty and was already sweeping his feet.

Rather than just brute force his way through it, Dar jumped, swinging his own rod down at Neko’s head.

The jaguar demon rolled out of the way, throwing her rod at him like a spear.

He knocked it aside, but she was behind it, claws of mana appearing over her hand as she swiped at his neck. Neko was a vicious predator when she wanted to be.

Dar leaned back while he was still recovering from his previous swing.

Neko grazed his chest and spun around midair to plant two feet in his chest and launch herself away from him. “Very rusty. No dao?”

“There are going to be some opponents where I don’t have that advantage.” Dar replied, thinking of the Mo. There were going to be some that he just couldn’t use his dao on. For those he needed to get his combat back in shape.

Although he did have his standard brute force methodology to fall back on. That was a favorite.

“Then Neko fight filthy and Dar only uses rod.”

Dar kicked over her rod to start again and swung his around.

Neko kicked her rod up to her hands and tucked one end under her arm to brace it as she charged with a feral scream.

Swinging out with his full length, he tried to ward her off, but Neko hunkered down and leaned into the charge, her eyes lighting up with predator instinct.

He hit her hard enough to knock her away, but not before her rod slammed into his chest.

“That was a suicide attack.” Dar rubbed at his chest.

Neko was rubbing her arm. “So? I only have to kill you. My life doesn’t matter, not if you are practicing to fight the Mo. They will come back if the tree does not eat them.”

She had a point. “So, my goal is to kill you while yours is to stay alive and defeat me.” She gave him a slightly feral smile.

Dar grunted and readied himself again. “Come on.”

His practice with Neko had attracted some of the others. Valdis and the maids were looking on with interest, but Tami seemed content to work on her dao.

Dar knew in a way that Tami was trying to grow closer to him by finishing the grand dao. She wanted to improve herself for him.

Now it was his turn to improve himself so he could protect them all.

“Again.” Neko screamed and charged once more.

This time Dar was forced to retreat and smack her rod aside.

The first time she only picked the charge right back up. It was the second time that he hit her rod hard enough to knock her off course and he was able to step in, twirling the rod and leveling it at her chin.

The demon had a mischievous glint as she didn’t stop, sweeping his legs and pouncing on him. “Neko got Dar.”

“Cheater, I had you.” Dar kissed the demon on the nose.

“No. If this scenario is that she’s a Mo, that wouldn’t be enough to put her down. You need to go big and then keep going.” Valdis said. “If you didn’t have an opposing dao to the one we just fought, you might not have been able to survive.”

Neko kissed Dar’s cheek and rolled off him before tossing Valdis the rod.

Valdis twirled it like a pro before leveling it at Dar. “Get up. We are going to see just what you can do, then we are going to hammer in what you can’t do.”

“Get him. Rules are Dar only uses stick, you have dao and stick. Fight dirty.” Neko reiterated the rules and joined Cherry at the side.

Dar wanted to scold Neko. The whole reason he brought her over to the area was to get some of her energy out, but she’d handed it off to Valdis.

“Oh. I can use my dao?” Valdis glowed a deathly green. “Pay attention.”

Dar stared at her. She couldn’t be serious. Her dao was more deadly than most, literally.

Dar blocked her first thrust conservatively, not wanting that dao anywhere near him.

“Come on. Fight me.” Valdis closed in on him, swinging up the butt of her rod to try and catch him.

He wasn’t playing. His runes lit up all over his body and he moved faster than his mind could register as he smacked away her stick.

“Oh. Just because you can get glowy, you think you can take me? I was born amid a battle, lived and breathed combat until Lilith found me.” Valdis flowed from one strike into another flawlessly, her body truly becoming a master of death.

Dar only kept up because he was moving faster than her. When he tried to use his strength, he found his rod diverted. It slammed into the ground, creating big divots in the field.

Valdis was calm and unmoving, working him over with her rod.

Her death dao licked him as it rippled off her rod. He panicked lightly, swinging hard to drive her back.

Valdis only grinned when she let him smash her stick away and stepped forward to kiss him. Her firm lips captured his.

And she didn’t go for a quick peck. She pulled his lower lip between her teeth as she caught him and let her hands wander across his chest.

Dar realized he had lost, but also won. He let himself sink into the moment, his adrenaline still pumping from the exchange.

He leaned into her, returning what she gave. He cupped her ass and pulled her close enough to grind against him.

Her tongue entered his mouth for a single lick, taking with it a little bit of blood from where she’d bitten him. “The kiss of death.” She sighed, taking a step back. “You’re toast. Let’s hope none of the Mo come out as sexy hot women.”

Dar was stunned for a moment as Valdis tossed the rod back to Neko.

“Not bad at all. Though, you are cheating with those runes. Neko, make sure to push him to the point he has to work hard or he’ll just slack off.” Valdis laughed at Dar as he shook his head, still working to get back into the battle headspace.

“Neko understand.” She got her rod up and Dar dismissed his runes. “Why stop? Neko just as dangerous as Valdis.”

“No you aren’t, kitten.” Valdis’ taunt only made Neko narrow her eyes more.

Neko smiled, putting her hands behind her back as she slowly took off her top.

Dar watched with interest, loosing his focus for just a moment.

Neko took the opportunity. She charged like before, but when Dar swung, she stopped in her tracks and twisted her grip to a throw and hurled the rod at Dar.

He had to let go of his rod to knock hers aside, giving her the opportunity to pounce on him. And she took it. Her topless chest pushed into him as her dao of sharp pricked him in several spots as she landed.

“See, Neko just as dangerous. Runes or I’ll cut you.” Neko smirked and kissed Dar once before rolling off and working to put her shirt back on.

Dar shook his head. He could get behind strip fighting.

Valdis and Neko regrouped, preparing for the next round. They continued on with Dar, helping him work to regain some of his battle moves, but their styles were different.

Valdis was a seasoned warrior. She knew the proper stances and moves to disarm opponents. But Neko was a wild predator, and part of her power came from unexpected moves. Together, they prepared Dar for what was to come.

AN - sorry only 1 dungeon chapter this week. But I think I'll wrap up Dao tomorrow at 31-32 chapters and 2 epilogues. That means I'll just do a day or two of dungeon this week as a palate cleanser before I dig into dragon 6. I'm putting in some solid word count though these last two weeks. A little behind my 1.5 books target for Oct, but I'll hopefully catch some wind with a new project, the early chapters of dragon are always fun.