Crossroads Rules: Chapter 4

Posted: June 06, 2005 - 12:03:55 am



"No," answered Sid in answer to Ava's question about having killed the villain

of the adventure. He had not killed the man although he didn't expect the man to

rise from the floor anytime soon.

"Let's get out of here," the young woman begged. She was anxious to leave the

place where she had been held captive. Over the months, her captivity had become

increasingly more threatening.

Taking a good look at her, he noticed that she wasn't wearing shoes. In his

weakened state, there was no way he was going to be able to carry her through

the mud all of the way to the bank. He said, "You're going to have to put on

some boots. It's muddy out there and you definitely don't want to walk in it

barefoot."

"I don't have any," she replied looking down at her bare feet. Her captor had

taken her shoes. It was meant to slow her down if she tried to escape.

"Take his," said Sid pointing to the man on the floor. It seemed to him that the

floor was moving.

Ava went over to the unconscious man and pulled his boots off him. Although she

presented an attractive sight, bent over and pulling on the boots, Sid didn't

notice. He was too busy trying to remain standing. It felt as if his entire hand

was on fire. His fingers on the cut hand had stopped working. He was barely

aware of when Ava went to one of the chairs and sat down to put on the boots.

They were too large for her, but they were better than wearing nothing. Standing

up, she announced, "I'm ready."

Stepping outside, Sid paused to pick up his staff with his good hand. He wanted

to use it like a crutch, but knew it would do nothing more than sink into the

mud. He pointed towards the bank and stepped off the porch sinking to his ankles

in the mud. The texture reminded him of mashed potatoes.

Sid led the way to the bank with Ava following behind. She was happy to have

been rescued, but she was disgusted at the muddy street. As much to assure

himself as her, he said, "We're almost there."

When they reached the bank, Sid staggered over to the counter and emptied the

two coin purses on it. He examined the collection of coins on the surface,

noting that it included a couple of pinches, some quads, two shells, and even a

conch. The conch was worth fifty shells. Ava looked at the coins and commented,

"That's enough money to purchase a horse."

The bank-teller swept the coins into the bin and waited for Sid to put his

finger in the hole. When Sid didn't react, he said, "Put your finger in the

hole, sir."

"Oh, right," replied Sid wondering why his mind felt so sluggish. He stuck a

finger of his good hand in the hole. After a few minutes, the area around the

hole glowed with a green light. Sid hardly noticed. The pain in his hand had

spread up his arm and it now felt as if he had stuck his entire arm in a pot of

boiling water.

"That's one conch, three shells, a quad, and three pinches," said the clerk with

a tone of respect in his voice. A conch was a lot of money, representing more

than a year's wage by the average person.

Gesturing for the damsel to follow him, Sid staggered towards one of the

storerooms. On the way, Sid nearly collapsed and would have fallen if Ava hadn't

caught him. Worried that he was going to die before making complete her escape,

Ava asked, "Are you okay?"

"I don't know," replied Sid. He was beginning to wonder if he was actually going

to make it to the storage room. It dawned on him that he could have thrown the

coin purses, with coins, into the storage box and avoided wasting time with the

teller.

Reaching the storage room, Sid opened the door and gestured for Ava to enter.

Upon closing the door, he put his finger in the hole that would bring his

storage box. A few seconds later, it appeared on the table. He opened the box

and looked inside. The old sword and broken knife from his first trip were still

inside. He placed his staff and knives in the box. It still looked empty despite

the fact that he was slowly accumulating a cache of weapons.

Remembering that they couldn't take anything from Chaos back to Crossroads, he

looked at Ava and asked, "Do you have anything that you can't take back to

Crossroads?"

"No," answered Ava. Her time in Chaos had been spent primarily in captivity.

Whatever goods she had accumulated, Chirurgen had taken so that she wouldn't be

able to use them during an escape.

Satisfied by her answer, Sid closed the lid of the storage box. The storage box

disappeared followed a briefest moment later by their transferal to the portal

room in Crossroads. Barely able to control the pain, Sid stumbled through the

door of the portal room. Ava followed and steadied him so that he didn't fall.

Sally looked over at Sid with dismay. He stood swaying, white faced, sweat

covering his entire body, and his left hand covered in a white cloth that had

turned bright red from blood. His left arm hung limp and useless to his side.

She gave forth a little yelp and ran to him. Gesturing to Ava for help, she

said, "We've got to get you to the healing chamber."

He allowed her to lead him to the healing chamber, stumbling as he walked. The

incredible pain had spread to his chest. If the two women hadn't been holding

him up, he would have fallen. Even as Ava helped Sally, she watched Sid with

wide eyes barely able to believe she had finally been rescued.

Ava knew a hero had died trying to rescue her and she felt guilty about his

death. Her captor had been furious about the public exposure the hero had

brought down upon him. He felt that the people in town were looking at him with

expressions of disdain. Even he had become convinced that he couldn't be much of

a man if he had to hold a woman hostage to get her to marry him. With each

refusal to marry him, he had become even angrier.

Chirurgen had told her that if he couldn't have her, then no one would. At that

moment, Ava became convinced he was going to kill her before the week was over.

After the death of one hero, the odds that a hero would come to rescue her had

been slim. When she'd heard the fighting outside her door, she believed that it

had nothing to do with her. Then Sid had called out her name. Her heart had

fluttered as relief spread through her.

Ava bit her lip afraid that her hero would die. She prayed that he would recover

and watched as Sally stripped him of his clothes. The sight of his naked body

sent a thrill through her despite the fact that he was so weak. Sid was not a

pale wraith of a man even when injured so severely.

When Sally removed his bandage, blood started dripping to the floor. The wound

was a short slit that gaped swollen, red, and angry. It wasn't natural that such

a small wound would bleed so much. Afraid of losing him, she wrestled him into

the healing chamber. Peaceful oblivion settled over him when the door closed. It

was several hours later before he sat up in the healing chamber feeling like his

old self.

"I'll never be able to watch another action movie without laughing at the

ridiculousness of it. I'm going to go to Hollywood and cut every screenwriter

there. Maybe that way the hero won't run twenty miles after getting shot or

stabbed," groused Sid. He looked at his hand expecting to see a huge scar, but

there was nothing. It was as though he hadn't been cut. He flexed his fingers

and was pleased to see that everything worked correctly. Aloud, he said, "Wow,

I'm impressed."

Sally entered the room, feeling guilty that she hadn't been there when the

chamber had opened. She grabbed his hand and examined it with concern. Relief

spread over her face when she saw that it was healed without a sign of injury

and he was able to flex his fingers. Feeling much calmer, she said, "You made it

back."

"Yeah," replied Sid. The amount of pain and the blood loss didn't quite jive

with his experience of cuts. He expected some pain and some bleeding with a cut

of that size, but not quite so much. Puzzled, he asked, "Why did it hurt so

much?"

"The knife was poisoned," answered Sally. After placing him in the healing

chamber, she had waited to put Ava in the other chamber until after the

diagnosis of his condition had been displayed. When she saw his physical

condition displayed on the console, she was shocked nearly senseless. It was a

miracle he had lived long enough to reach Crossroads.

At the surprised look on his face, she explained, "It had a venom on it that is

both a neurotoxin and an anticoagulant. It paralyzes by causing all of your

nerves to fire rather than suppressing them. If he'd hit your arm, you'd have

lost use of it almost immediately."

"It hurt like nothing I've ever felt," said Sid. The memory of the pain was

still fresh in his mind. In a way, it was a relief for him to know that he

wasn't a wimp that couldn't take such a small cut.

"It would have killed you eventually if it hadn't been for the healing chamber.

I didn't know about it until I put you inside it," answered Sally feeling guilty

about the fact that she had sent him off on this adventure unprepared for such a

possibility. The villain had been far even more dangerous than she had thought.

She was relieved that Sid hadn't gone on this adventure on his first visit. In

hindsight, it was hard to believe that she had referred to it as a simple snatch

and run.

"Hey, you can't know everything," said Sid turning his attention to the

distraction that was Sally's body. He didn't even know what to call her outfit,

but it was the sexiest thing he had ever seen. Now that he was feeling healthy,

his cock reacted in the predictable fashion.

Sally smiled at seeing his reaction to her. To her it was an honest compliment

of the highest order, since in Cassandra men didn't get erections just from

looking at a woman. Tilting her head, she said, "Ava is ready for you."

"Looking at you drove all thoughts of her from my mind," replied Sid overwhelmed

by her beauty. Her concern and expression of worry for his welfare sent sexual

thrills through his body.

"Well, let's get you clean and fed so you can drive her to sexual heights few

women of Cassandra have ever known," she said with a smile. Praise from two

women about his sexual prowess wasn't enough to establish a reputation

throughout Cassandra, but it was a good start.

"I fear that I didn't really take a good look at her. If I recall correctly,

she's a red head," said Sid trying to remember what Ava looked like, but drawing

only a fuzzy memory of her.

"Yes, she's a red head. A very pretty one at that," commented Sally as she led

him out of the room by the hand. She looked forward to teasing his body to a

high state of sexual arousal during the bath. Ava, concerned about him being

able to perform, had requested that Sally attend to them during her experience

with Sid in the bedroom. She giggled at the idea that Sid would need any help

performing in bed.

After preparing Sid for his tryst with Ava, she led him into the bedroom where

Ava was relaxing on the bed. At the sound of their entrance, she had turned and

looked at the pair. Her eyes widened at the sight of his hard erect cock unable

to believe that he was already erect. She glanced over at Sally and saw the wide

grin on her face. She couldn't help wonder what kind of man he was that he was

able to get so excited and remain that way without coming.

Sid took a moment to examine Ava wondering how he had missed her obvious beauty.

The redhead, the bright patch of red hair between her legs left no doubts that

she was a natural redhead, was lying on the bed. She had not meant to look sexy,

but her relaxed pose was the epitome of sexy. A lock of her long hair curled

around her lush breast drawing attention to her puffy pink areola topped by a

small hard nipple. Her fair skin, lightly freckled, looked as though it had

never been touched by the sun and begged to be caressed. Her red lips, parted

sensuously, demanded to be kissed.

The reaction of seeing her had the expected effect. His cock throbbed at the

idea of making love to her. Seeing it, Sally smiled and winked at Ava. Pressing

a hand against his back, Sally pushed Sid towards the bed as she said, "Give her

pleasures she has never dreamt possible."

Grinning, Sid approached the bed and climbed onto it. On hands and knees, he

crawled to her like a cat stalking a mouse. The aggressiveness of his approach

sent thrills through Ava. Her eyes widened in amazement that a man could or

would take such an active role in sex. In a soft voice, she said, "Oh my

goodness."

For the next thirty minutes, Sid kissed and stroked every inch of her body. For

a while, he played a game of connect the freckles with his kisses. It was a game

that sent shivers through Ava, bringing her to a small orgasm that took them

both by surprise. Sid followed that up with attention to her breasts, stroking

the nipples with feather-light touches before kissing them. When he gave her a

little love nip, she gasped as another orgasm took her by surprise.

Sid took his time so that he could fully enjoy the experience. He lost himself

in her body, exploring every crevice. By the time he reached her pussy, the

scent of her excitement hung heavy in the air. It was amazing how wet she had

become in anticipation of being entered. He lapped at her juices like a kitten

at a bowl of milk. His tongue explored every complex fold of her pussy. The

outer lips, swollen in excitement, spread open to reveal her inner lips. The

entire area was coated with her juices giving her a flavor that he appreciated

and desired.

Ava gasped each time she came until he brushed his tongue over her clitoris. Her

gasps turned to screams that only got louder when he finally entered her. With

each thrust, she screamed out her pleasure unable to believe that a man was able

to provide it and in such quantity. Her pleasure reached a crescendo when he

came. It was so intense that she lost consciousness. Her fair skin had changed

from white to red demonstrating a full body sexual blush.

Sid rolled off Ava and looked around for Sally. Other than the two of them on

the bed, they were alone. Sally had left the room once she had known that Ava

was enjoying his attentions. He looked back at Ava. There was a smile of

satisfaction pasted on her face. She regained consciousness, looked at him

licking her lips, and then drifted off to sleep. She cuddled next to him and

cooed in her sleep.

It was several hours later when Sid woke to find that Ava had wrapped herself

around him. She was hugging him with crushing force and rubbing her pelvis

against him. She gave forth a gasp identical with those had accompanied her

orgasms previously. It took Sid a moment to realize that she was still asleep

and dreaming about her sexual experience with him. He wondered if she had just

experienced an orgasm.

A giggle from Sally made him aware that she was in the room. He turned his head

to look at her. It was easy to see that she was enjoying the show. She handed

him a glass of restorative and whispered, "Drink this."

"Thanks," he whispered back. The restorative worked its magic on his body.

"Wake her up, now. You know how to do it," she whispered while making a little

gesture involving an extended finger on one hand and the curled fingers of her

other hand. It was delightfully obscene and brought a smile to his face.

"Join me," he begged.

"Later," promised Sally with a wink. She wanted Ava to know without a shadow of

a doubt that it was Sid who provided the joy ride to sexual heaven.

Sid turned his attention to Ava to break out of her grip and mount her. Her eyes

flew open when he entered her, sleep and pleasant dreams replaced by an even

pleasanter reality. The only sounds she made were the gasps emitted whenever an

orgasm washed over her. Ava was as limp as a rag doll by the time Sid achieved

his climax.

Afterward, Ava stared at Sid incredulous at what he had done to her. She

wouldn't have believed that a man could be so active in bed. Awed, she asked,

"How is it that you are so feminine?"

"Excuse me," begged Sid shocked at being labeled feminine after his last

performance. He sat up and stared down at her wondering if he was supposed to be

insulted.

"You're so aggressive in bed," she replied confused by his reaction.

"Being aggressive in bed is a feminine trait on Cassandra?" asked Sid

incredulous at her statement.

"Of course, men just lie there in bed doing nothing. If women didn't initiate

things, there'd never be any sex in Cassandra," explained Ava with a sigh. She

much preferred how Sid acted in bed.

"How is it that women from Cassandra are so quick to come?" asked Sid. It was

unnatural for a woman to respond so quickly to the least little attention to her

body. He knew that he wasn't some sort of sex god who could drive women wild

with ease. His uncle had always reminded him that he had to be honest with

himself. Once a man started lying to himself, then it became easy for everyone

to lie to him.

"I don't think we come so quick," countered Ava.

The door of the bedroom opened and Sally entered. She glanced at Ava and saw the

satisfied smile on the woman's face. Looking over at Sid with pride, she asked,

"Is there anything you would like?"

Uncertain that he had the quote correct, he said, "A loaf of bread, a bottle of

wine, and you."

Ava looked confused and said, "That's a strange thing to want."

"It's supposed to be romantic," replied Sid deciding that he had blown the

quote. He made a mental note to look it up when he returned to Earth.

"Really? Why?"

"Uh," he stuttered, "I don't really know how to answer that. It is a line from a

very famous poem about love."

"Oh," replied Sally with a confused look on her face. She wasn't sure how she

felt being put in the same category as bread and wine. Why not steak and eggs?

There had to be hundreds of things that were better than bread and wine.

Sitting up, Sid said, "I'll bring the whole poem. Maybe that will explain it."

"So what would you really like?" asked Sally.

"I'd like a little something to eat, to drink, and the chance to relax with the

two of you in my arms," answered Sid.

Brightening, Ava said, "Oh, I get it. You wanted to enjoy her company without

worrying about being hungry or thirsty. That way you can concentrate on her!"

Sally smiled at the explanation and said, "I set up a fire place in the living

room. How about cheese and fruit with some wine in front of a nice fire?"

Sid followed Sally and Ava out of the bedroom. He enjoyed the view that

following the two naked women provided. When they reached a soft rug placed in

front of the fireplace, Sally said, "Fire in the fireplace, please. A plate of

cheeses and sliced fruits please. Three wines."

A fire appeared in the fireplace and the other items showed up on the table.

Looking down at the rug, she said, "Soft pillows for floor."

A pile of pillows appeared on the floor. Sally gestured to the pillows. They

made themselves comfortable in front of the fire with Sid sandwiched between two

lovely women. He put his arms around both women pulling them to him. He sighed

and said, "This is heavenly."

Ava asked, "Is he always that good in bed?"

"Oh, yes. Sometimes it is almost too much for me," answered Sally as she feed

him a piece of cheese. With his mouth full of food, Sid couldn't make a comment.

"You're a lucky women," said Ava with envy.

Sally held a piece of fruit to him, but he ducked around it and kissed Sally.

After a minute, he turned to Ava and kissed her. Both women were breathing hard

when he broke off the kisses. Once he had their attention, he suggested, "Let's

talk about something else."

Sally, amazed at his humility, said, "I can't think of anything I'd rather talk

about than you."

Searching for a topic of conversation, Sid said, "According to the rules, I'm

supposed to help find new heroes. What can they expect to happen when they come

here?"

Surprised by the question, Sally answered, "He will be greeted by a Hero

Greeter. She'll help him select a caretaker in the same way that Elizabeth

Caretaker helped you."

"Is there anything special that I should look for in a hero?" asked Sid

wondering if there were any religious or racial preferences.

Grinning, Sally said, "He probably shouldn't be as good in bed as you. I'd hate

for you to have competition in that area."

Giggling at the idea that anyone could be better in bed than Sid, Ava said,

"Yes, it would probably kill the damsel that he rescues."

"I'm serious," said Sid amazed at the turn in conversation. These women seemed

to think about sex as much as men.

"So are we," Ava replied with a giggle.

Allowing Sid to change the subject, Sally said, "He should be well trained in

the martial arts and have the character appropriate for a hero. After all, he

needs to be able to survive the adventure."

"True," said Sid nodding his head. Chaos was dangerous for the unprepared. He

said, "I don't know of anyone who could have survived that knife wielding

villain back on Chaos. He was the most dangerous person that I've ever seen."

"Why was he so dangerous?" asked Ava.

"His expertise. There is nothing more dangerous than a knife fight. I'd rather

go against a thug with a gun than a man with an edged weapon," answered Sid.

Sally sat up and looked at Sid on hearing the seriousness with which answered

the question. She had assumed that a gunman would be more dangerous. Frowning,

she asked, "What do you mean?"

"A knife is a slashing and stabbing weapon. A knife cut can easily go to the

bone severing veins in the process. You'll bleed to death in a few minutes. With

cut muscles and nerves, parts of your body become useless making you vulnerable

to the next attack. A knife can be used to stab and destroy critical organs.

Death can be nearly immediate," answered Sid. It was also a very personal form

of fighting. He had been able to see in the man's eyes that he wanted to kill

Sid. He sighed as he added, "You can even win the fight and still die."

"Is that why you were so worried about that mission?" asked Sally. She had been

afraid because the man had killed another hero. She hadn't appreciated the true

degree of danger that the adventure had represented.

"Yes, I had doubts that I could over come a trained knife fighter," answered

Sid. He decided that he was going to have to change the emphasis of his

training. He'd had formal training in the oriental martial arts along with

Olympic style fencing. At the insistence of his uncle, he had also trained in

some of the styles taught by the Society for Creative Anachronism. It had been

the later experience that allowed him to survive his encounter on Chaos.

"Doubts?"

"I fully expected to come back maimed, if I came back at all," said Sid.

"Why did you take it?" she asked.

"Ava was the damsel in the most trouble," answered Sid with a shrug.

The red headed woman stared at Sid and asked, "Do you mean that you went there

knowing that your chances of success were slim just to rescue me?"

"Sure, what kind of person would I be if I didn't try to rescue you," answered

Sid. He looked down at his left hand. If it hadn't been for the poison, he had

come out of the fight in much better condition than he had expected. The cut

could even have been avoided with the use of a small hand shield. He hit his

forehead and shouted, "I'm so stupid!"

"Huh," asked Sally.

"I spent all of my time trying to figure out how to create some sort of cheap

armor. I should have thought about a cheap shield," groaned Sid. Even a pewter

cup smashed flat could have served as a simple hand shield. The handle would

have allowed him to hold it.

Sally nodded her understanding even though Ava looked confused. Seeing the

confused expression, Sally explained, "If you can't block an attack, then you

are left having to scramble to avoid it. A small shield would have given him a

lot more options."

Sid was about to make additional comments, but Sally put a finger over his lips.

There was a time and place for reviewing the events of the adventure and this

wasn't either. She said, "We'll go over the mission later. For now, you are

supposed to relax."

Looking to his left and then to his right, Sid appreciated the view presented by

the two women. No healthy male could resist such a sight. A dark Asian mystery

to his right and a Celtic fire to his left, Sid was in fantasy heaven. He

replied, "How can I relax surrounded by such beauty?"

The statement made Ava look down at his erection. She gasped and, wide-eyed at

the sight of his throbbing erection, said, "You're ready to go again! My God, I

can't believe it."

"Believe," said Sally as she pulled the pillow out from under Sid so that he was

lying flat on his back. He winked up at her and licked his lips in an obvious

invitation. As she climbed to straddle his face, she said, "Don't let that

erection go without comfort for too long or I'll use it."

Ava didn't need to be told twice. She mounted him and rode with a tentativeness

that conveyed her fear of triggering an early orgasm in Sid. She screamed when

he started thrusting up into her. Giving over to the demands of her body, she

relaxed and rode him for her pleasure.

Under two attractive women using his body for their pleasure, Sid was in heaven.

By the time he came, his pair of beauties had exhausted themselves. Ava fell of

to the side and didn't move. Sally fell forward almost smothering him with her

body. Sid extricated himself from under the two women and looked at them with a

smile. Going to bed with women who were so easy to satisfy was really great for

the ego, but he wondered if he'd ever be able to satisfy an Earth woman again.

Two weeks passed in an orgy of sex, food, and conversation when Ava came out of

the bathroom one morning and announced, "I'm pregnant."

"Congratulations," said Sid going over to give her a hug. It was a bittersweet

feeling. On one hand, he knew that he was helping repopulate an entire planet.

On the other hand, he wanted to be more then a sperm donor for these women and

children. Worst of all, he knew her announcement meant they would both have to

leave soon.

The women hugged for a moment and then Ava walked out the door. Sid watched her

go with sadness at having a lover walk out of his life for good. He knew the

rules and so did Sally. Turning to face him, Sally said, "You're going to have

to go now."

"I need the manuals," said Sid looking around the room for them.

Sally stepped over to a table and returned with the stack of pamphlets she had

prepared in anticipation of his departure. Sid took them from her with a heavy

heart knowing that the time for good-byes was growing short. The increasing

tension in his stomach told him that it was time to separate. She smiled and

said, "Come back in two weeks."

"One week," countered Sid, "I want to rescue the Damsel from slavery."

"Okay, one week," said Sally opening the door to the portal.

Just before stepping inside, Sid kissed her farewell. It was a long passionate

kiss intended to make them both remember their parting. As she closed the door,

Sid stared at her naked body memorizing it once again. It would be only a week

before he saw her again, but it would be a week too long.

There was a flash and Sid found himself in the closet back at his house.

Stepping out, he glanced at the atomic clock on the desk and saw that exactly

fifteen minutes had passed. He looked down at the pamphlets in his hand and was

pleased to see they had come through without a problem.

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Posted: 2005-06-02

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