Chapter 400: Horny young idiots

Mason woke when Becky did, his lover smiling and cuddling closer on their shared couch, stretching like a cat. She shook with a laugh.

"Did I hear the girls say they were on a sex strike?"

Mason just wiggled his eyebrows, and Becky grinned.

"So I've got you all to myself. For hours."

"Aren't you tired?"

Becky blew air through her lips like he was an idiot.

"I can outlast you any day, city boy."

Then they were tearing at each other's clothes, and Becky went about proving why she deserved to be called cowgirl. Mostly Mason just lay back and enjoyed. And enjoyed. And enjoyed...

Sex with Becky was getting more and more athletic all the time, as she seemed to be getting more comfortable with her ever-enhancing body. He certainly didn't mind. What it lacked in emotional intimacy, it definitely made up for in porn-like enthusiasm, and she rode until she was covered in sweat.

But as many of the equally dangerous creatures of the new world had discovered—'outlasting' Mason wasn't really a thing.

He left her unconscious on the couch a good two hours later. His mind and body were calm and satisfied, and he put on his 'business casual' clothes, admiring Becky's nakedness one last time.

It made him realize he missed all his girls with him together. Especially Naya. It just wasn't quite right without her there now, those dark eyes looking up at him, her courage in the face of natural and cultural shyness.

And the girls definitely would have loved to have her help over the last couple days…

His libido was becoming ridiculous. He'd now left four women in a completely exhausted mess in his hotel room, one of whom had a kind of superhuman body. If he had a week off with nothing to do, even adding Naya wouldn’t be enough. So how many damn women could he exhaust, exactly? And what happened when Haley (and maybe others) got so pregnant they couldn’t contribute that much?

He decided he’d probably have to go get Calypsa from the tree...

At least managing women physically was a hell of a lot easier (and more enjoyable) than managing them….emotionally. For the moment, kind of unbelievably, it all seemed to be working out. But how many women in a kind of harem could Mason really manage?

He tried not to think about it—the other women he might add. But his mind was already going there. Becky’s friend Aila topped the list, the dark-haired, pale-skinned nurse from Finland. Then of course there were the other elven women…especially a particular elf woman, who also happened to be his mother in law. That was definitely not a place his mind should be...

Purpose. Mason needed purpose. And fighting. A lot of fighting.

He rushed out to the teleporter/elevator, wanting to talk to his players, and probably Sylvie (who was managing the bazaar in Haley's absence).

Killing and dying, even if it was fake, on top of constant intensity without sleep—it was hard, even on Mason. There was a decent chance some of his players were breaking down.

He found almost all of them back at the promenade on their reserved balcony. Some were sleeping there in cozy looking bags. The others sat around eating and drinking, talking in subdued voices. Most smiled and nodded when they saw Mason.

"How are we doing?" he said, sitting down next to Carl.

"We're alive," said the older man, gesturing at Phuong with his chin. "Sombitch fought one of them eastern council boys. Tough fight, but...well, you tell it."

Phuong shrugged but was obviously pleased.

"A kind of rogue, much like Carl. He was able to create darkness all around us, and I believe used some kind of mind powers. But I am no stranger to fighting blind, or under duress. He was caught by a stun and didn't last long after that. I expect he was mostly offensive in nature. He had a black blade I'm very pleased not to have felt."

"Well done." Mason smiled, then looked at the others. A few players told their own stories of difficult or interesting matches. Everyone but Tommaso and Alex had won all their fights (and John, of course, who'd fought the emperor, and Seamus and Garet, who'd fought Mason).

Their teams were all undefeated, except to Blake in the threes.

"So far so good," Mason said, knocking on the table. He was about to go find Sylvie before remembering he could probably just talk to Carl. "How's Sylvie doing at the bazaar?"

"Oh. Real good. Mining stuff sells like hotcakes. We're picking up all kinds of tools, nice-to-haves. Clothes are pretty cheap so the women are probably going overboard. They're getting jewelry, make-up, all that kind of crap." Mason waved a hand to move on and Carl nodded. "We're getting quite a lot of recipes, which is good."

Mason quirked a brow.

"Don't we have access to like...the entire database of human knowledge? In the system archives or whatever?"

"Yeah," Carl said. "Earth shit. But this is...'new physics' recipes. That's what our crafters call post-earth natural laws. You know, fantasy mixed with science. Anyway, stuff that shouldn't really exist but does. So we need new moulds, ingredients, compounds, metals, you name it. We can convert all kinds of crazy shit. Our mines are incredible, so many uses for that stuff we didn’t know about. Anyway, we're still being careful with money, like you said. We try to just spend what we make from the ore and so on."

Mason sighed, looking at his House 'balance' of points, seeing it was hardly touched. It was pretty clear their settlement was rich. All these small purchases didn't make any kind of dent at all. And he obviously hadn't realized how much useful stuff they were going to be able to buy.

"OK," he said. "Austerity is over. Tell Sylvie and the crafters they can buy anything they want until we're out of here."

Carl raised an eyebrow. "You sure? The eastern types will figure out we're rich pretty quick."

"Let them." Mason shrugged. "The emperor already wants us conquered. I'd rather show his civilians things are pretty good on our side. Go ahead and start telling them things, too, even if it's one way. I don't care what they know. Be nice. Be open."

"OK, Boss." Carl winked. "Sylvie and the girls will be happy. It'll be like a bunch of college girls with someone else's credit card. Almost literally."

Mason rolled his eyes and went to stand again before pausing. He had another thing he wanted to take care of and didn't see why he should wait.

"I also need to assign some...court positions, or whatever the hell they're called. I've made some decisions, but...well, obviously people can say no." He met Carl's eyes and smiled. "I need a Chancellor. It's like a second in command...I know you and Phuong have sort of been sharing it, but there's only one role. And anyway..." he nudged Phuong, "I have another job for you. I need a Minister of War. Figured an old soldier made sense. Emphasis on old."

"While it is most unwise to insult a man who mean to honor...I humbly accept." Phuong grinned, eyes glazing as Mason clicked his name into the prompt. "Ha." The swordsman slapped Carl's arm. "Look here. In a time of war, I can overrule you. That should be just about always."

"Well that...depends how you define it," Carl grumbled, his eyes glazing, too. "Anyway, it says 'in military matters', so let's not overstate things. I'm still in charge of the city. And the Nexus. And...Jesus." He blinked and looked at Mason. "You sure about all this, kid? That's a lot of responsibility."

"Yeah. That's why I'm giving it to you. Good luck, you poor bastard." Mason winked and stood with a stretch. "It'll get worse, I expect. If we start taking more civilians. Speaking of which, I still need a Minister of Tomes, and the Treasury, and…a High Priest, apparently. I have a few ideas, but I'd love your thoughts. Sylvie is probably right for the Treasury."

Carl nodded, then frowned.

"What are you making Haley? Nothing much fits here. I realize she doesn't need an official title, but it would probably help. Especially as we get new faces who haven't been around and don't know how things are."

Mason took a breath and sighed, agreeing with all of that. But he'd already figured out the answer.

"Baroness would give people the right idea."

Carl grinned, looking at the others as he gave Mason's face a mobster-style pat.

"Ehh. You hear that, boys? Our fearless leader's getting married. To a woman he doesn't deserve. And maybe that elf lady. Wasn't that the plan? And can we get some kind of package deal? Sylvie's bugging me, too."

Mason shrugged, about to answer before Jason cleared his throat.

"Uh, me too. I mean, my girl. Anna. She's pregnant. And Catholic." He shrugged like the man of few words he was, and a few other players were perking up and looking ready to add their own feminine problem to the mix. Mason laughed and held up a hand.

"Maybe we can have some kind of…group ceremony. Pacify a bunch of women at the same time."

"And piss off a bunch more," Carl said, "you horny young idiots."

Mason (and a few others) drooped at the thought. Carl burst out laughing.