Forbidden Arcana: Ariel Read online

  “It was her idea!” Terra said pointing to Jinx who tensed up like a terrified cat. “She insisted I show her how to masturbate and she wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

  “Really?” Jericho tried not to laugh. Ever since Raven’s, Terra and Jinx had developed an awkward relationship. Terra seemed to do almost anything Jinx asked of her, although this was the first time Jinx asked for anything sexual. He wasn’t really sure how he should react to it either.

  Jericho would be lying if he said he wasn’t somewhat jealous. He desperately wanted to fuck Terra but because of her rule about sleeping with players she was off limits. Yet Jinx, his familiar could do whatever she wanted with Terra. On top of that, he missed all of it but the ending. He glared at Terra judgmentally, “She has you wrapped around her little finger.”

  “I know,” Terra looked down shamefully. She knew how ridiculous it was. She tightly gripped the luxurious pillow covering her and paused. She looked up grinning. “Oh, I’m wrapped around her little finger? This bed probably cost ten thousand gold, not to mention the other furniture in this room is probably thirty thousand, not to mention the piles of clothing and the boxes full of jewelry. And you’re going to judge me?”

  “I,” Jericho paused realizing she’d got him. Jinx pretty much had him wrapped around her little finger as well. “Fair point.”

  “Are you angry with me? Thug. Villain.” Jinx shuffled her feet. He looked at the petite familiar and immediately noticed her heels and thigh high stockings. As his gaze moved upward, he noted the extremely short skirt that hung far too low on her waist. Naturally, he noticed her bare midriff and her perky breasts in a top ready to fall off any moment. He resisted the urge to cast a wind spell. Finally, he met her golden eyes.

  “Wow,” Jericho said ignoring her question. Not purposefully, he was just too distracted by her new look. “You look…wow.”

  “You like it?” Jinx smiled brightly and spun around, flashing her black lace panties. “If I dress like this all the time you won’t need to find some fairy bitch, right? Cheater. Adulterer.”

  “Right,” Jericho said repeating the last thing he heard before coming to his senses. “No, I mean that’s why I rushed up here to begin with. I think I know where to look for a fairy village.”

  “Really?” Terra said while sliding her panties back on and adjusting her top. “Where?”

  “No!” Jinx stomped. “I’ve been telling you for weeks that you don’t need any other familiars. Especially fairies! Idiot. Philanderer.”

  “Jinx,” Jericho smiled while pulling out a ruby bracelet he’d purchased. Jericho recently discovered Jinx’s agreeability could be influenced heavily with bribery. Although he used the technique sparingly because it was both expensive and temporary. “I brought you a present.”

  “I love it!” Jinx happily snatched the bracelet from his hand. “I suppose as long as you continue to care for me it doesn’t matter if you get a stupid fairy. But I don’t want to share my stuff! Lecher. Rake.”

  Jericho tried not to get distracted by Jinx’s outfit as she hopped around admiring her bracelet. He turned back to Terra. “It took a while to find since there is only one fairy NPC in the game and getting an audience with her is a pain in the ass.”

  “Primrose?” Terra asked while hopping up onto the large wooden dresser. “I thought she only spoke to high ranked nobility.”

  “Yeah,” Jericho sighed. “Marquis is the lowest rank she’ll speak to. So, you’re looking at the Marquis of Cila.”

  “Cila,” Terra winced. “Isn’t that the…” she paused and made a bunch of crawly gestures with her hand.

  “Yeah, the bug place,” Jericho shivered thinking about the insect people. Lots of games had insect tribes so it was natural for Forbidden Arcana to have them. But in a VRMMO the whole insect people thing was less endearing and more hellish nightmare. “It’s the only place where you can attain the rank of Marquis in a week.”

  “Smart,” Terra shivered. “But so gross.”

  “Anyway, I got my audience with Primrose and she refused to tell me anything about the fairies. But when I asked her how she ended up in a human city she mentioned that she was found injured at the Battle of White Rock during the last great war.”

  “So, Lesun?” Terra said. “That place is a decaying forest filled with high level monsters. And the worst part is,” Terra realized what Jericho had figured out, “Fuck, the monsters don’t drop items. They just vanish when defeated.”

  “Yep,” Jericho smiled. “I thought the same thing. Jinx said that fairies have mind magic and if mind magic means what I think it means, they create illusions.”

  “And players just ignore the place because they don’t drop anything and take forever to kill,” Terra said. “It’s a great hiding spot.”

  “Yeah,” Jericho laughed. “And I’d wager that somewhere in that forest there’s a fairy village.”

  “They don’t like people,” Jinx said while cozying up next to Jericho. “They’re not nearly as nice as me. They’ll try to hurt you. Jerk. Cad.”

  “Didn’t you kill the mage that summoned you?” Jericho grinned wickedly. “And the only reason you didn’t try to kill me was because I was your only way out.”

  “That’s different,” Jinx dug her nails into Jericho’s sides. “The mage that summoned me was stupid and rude and demanded I obey him. Tyrant. Despot.”

  “I get it,” Jericho said as he pulled her arms off him. “You’ll help right? You know I need you.”

  “Of course,” Jinx huffed. “You’re just a stupid human mage who only knows five types of magic and doesn’t even know them very well. And if the fairies kill you who’s going to feed me and buy me things? Cheapskate. Tightwad.”

  “I’ll help as well,” Terra offered. “I have nothing better to do.”

  “Still on everybody’s kill on sight lists I see,” Jericho joked. Normally Terra wouldn’t volunteer to help anybody unless there was something in it for her. After the revelation that she was the mysterious archer that’d been killing players for months, people wanted revenge. Several guilds put her on their KOS lists and some even put out bounties on her. “How much left to collect on you?”

  “It varies but somewhere around a hundred thousand,” she sighed. “The bounties aren’t really the problem as much as the KOS lists. I’m just happy Endgame didn’t put out a hit as well. Not that the bounties are particularly nice.”

  “I imagine not,” Jericho laughed. Bounty systems failed in most games for a variety of reasons. They didn’t pay out enough, exploitation, they were too expensive, and sometimes they just weren’t punitive enough to be worthwhile.

  Forbidden Arcana’s system was a bounty pool. Anybody could contribute however much they wanted and whenever the player was killed three times, the killer earned a thousand coins from the pool. Once the pool dropped below a thousand coins, the bounty would be removed until it was over a thousand again.

  This ensured the rewards were high enough to be enticing while still allowing players to contribute small amounts. Most importantly, the game could discern if people were friends or associates allowing it to prevent exploitation.

  “Anyhow, one problem at a time,” Terra said. “So, when we heading to this fairy village? Today? Tomorrow?”

  “Probably this weekend,” Jericho answered. “I’ve already blown through all the money we earned from Raven so I need to do some farming and some prep. Work for you?”

  “Sure,” Terra said as she walked toward the door. “Just let me know a time. And I think Jinx probably needs to be fed. Don’t worry, I warmed her up for you.”

  “Right,” Jericho laughed while turning his eyes on the petite familiar. “You’ve been a very naughty familiar, haven’t you?”

  “You said you weren’t angry. Beast. Bully.” Jinx stepped beck nervously.

  “Just because I’m not angry doesn’t mean you weren’t naughty,” Jericho grinned wickedly and sat on the chair. He gestured toward his lap. “A
ssume the position.”

  Jinx walked over to him and bent over his lap. Her skirt immediately rose up exposing her shapely ass and lace panties. Jericho took his time gently rubbing her ass. Jinx knew what was coming but half the fun was her not knowing when.

  “Ow!” she whimpered as the first slap struck her ass. He gently rubbed the spot he’d just swatted before swatting it again. He liked to alternate tender with harsh not to overdo it. He ran his finger between her legs to find it already damp, she shuddered. Terra was right, she warmed her up.

  “Did watching Terra turn you on?” Jericho released another hard slap on her backside before going back to gently stroking it.

  “Mmhm,” Jinx agreed while biting her lip. Jericho slid his finger beneath her panties and stroked her wet pussy directly. He smacked her ass again causing her to jump then leaned down and kissed the pink mark starting to form. Jericho continued to smack her over and over again, each time causing her to jump. Finally, he pulled down her lace panties fully exposing her.

  “Next time you decide to make Terra do something make sure I can be there,” Jericho gave her another swat on her bare ass before inserting his fingers into her pussy. With his other hand he reached beneath Jinx’s top and began fondling one of her breasts while slowly fucking her with his fingers.

  “Okay. Miscreant. Lecher.” Jinx whimpered as Jericho inserted a third finger into her small pussy and began massaging her g-spot. He took his time adjusting his pace and pressure while she shivered on his lap. She let out a soft moan indicating he’d found the perfect motion.

  Before long, her trembling became more intense and her whimpers became whines and moans. Within a couple minutes, Jericho felt her juices release onto his fingers making her even wetter than before. He lifted her off his lap and yanked her panties completely off.

  “Fuck you’re hot,” he removed his pants revealing his massive cock. He grabbed Jinx by the waist and pulled her forward until she was straddling him on the chair. She gradually began lowering herself onto his massive member.

  “Fuck,” panted Jinx as she made it halfway down his thick cock. “It’s too big. Jerk. Boor.”

  “You can take it,” Jericho said while tugging her top. As expected, it fell right down revealing her round perky tits. He leaned in and took one in his mouth and began licking. She continued to take him deeper into her pussy. After a few moments her warm pussy had completely enveloped his cock and Jericho let out a gratifying moan, “Damn you feel good.”

  Jinx wrapped her arms around Jericho’s neck and began rocking up and down on his cock. Each slow slide up and down made his dick throb uncontrollably as he eagerly waited for her to do it again. Gradually she got faster and her pussy started to pulse. He was getting lost in pleasure as the speed of her smooth wet pussy increased. He almost missed the change in her eyes, almost.

  “You like that? Fucker. Asshole.” Jinx asked as her golden eyes constricted. She honed in on Jericho like a predator latched onto its meal. Her nails hooked behind his shoulders and dug into his flesh sending a jolt of pain through him. A terrifying smile formed on her lips.

  “Fuck,” Jericho grunted as Jinx thrust down powerfully onto him before bouncing back up. Her crazed eyes fixated on him as she quickly worked his cock rapidly moving up and down. A hard slap stung his face.

  “Answer me. Bastard. Snake.” She growled menacingly. One hand dug deeper into his back while the other gently rubbed the spot she’d slapped. She took his cock to the base and held it there swirling her hips, the entire time staring at him wild eyed and waiting for his answer.

  “Yeah,” Jericho panted out. She quickly moved her hand from the side of his face to his hair. She gripped it tightly as she bounced on his cock. Jinx pulled his hair back and leaned in to lick his neck over and over again while her slick pussy squeezed his cock.

  “I love you. Dick. Prick.” Jinx moaned out between licks and instantly Jericho felt his cock throb uncontrollably as he began to release inside of her. Jinx drove herself down, completely enveloping his cock as he came deep inside of her. She let out a long moan before collapsing on his chest and wrapped her arms around him. She growled and began squeezing him tightly.

  He sat there for what seemed like forever as she twitched on his cock. Each time he attempted to shift his body he was met with a growl warning him not to move. He found himself reminded once again that Jinx had him wrapped around her little finger.

  Chapter 3

  A Forest and a Fairy

  Jericho, Jinx, and Terra sat on the border of the Lesun forest changing their gear and sorting their inventories. Jericho looked out at the rotting wasteland littered with rocks and half petrified trees and questioned whether they’d actually find any fairies.

  While traveling to the border, four separate groups of players attempted to collect the bounty on Terra and failed. Jericho and Terra were both slightly irritated that the gankers damaged some of their equipment and forced them to waste potions.

  “This place is a shithole,” Terra grumbled as she finished getting dressed. Her brown leather cuirass didn’t leave much to the imagination. It dipped down her center and barely supported her breasts, but magical armor wasn’t really known for being modest. To Jericho’s surprise she’d also opted out of thigh-highs and a skirt in favor of short boots and tight leather pants. “God, I can’t wait to get back to a city to change into something more comfortable.”

  “Is wearing pants really that bad?” Jericho asked as he buttoned his grey mages coat. Jinx had suggested that they wear armor fortified with general magic resistance and intelligence enchantments. They ended up having to purchase gear and take care of the enchantments themselves since magic resistance armor was fairly rare.

  “I like my outfit. Idiot. Dolt.” Jinx spun flashing her red panties. She was the only one who they didn’t need to purchase anything for. Jericho had purchased her closets full of clothing so she simply picked a black lace dress and Jericho enchanted it. She’d chosen a loosely fitted sundress that looked more appropriate for a cocktail party than a trek through a wasteland.

  “I hate these pants,” Terra complained while adjusting her belt.

  “Why’d you buy them?” Jericho asked while staring at her shapely ass in the tight pants.

  “Utility,” Terra sighed while equipping some daggers, a short sword, and a few bombs to her belt and thigh straps. She caught him staring at his ass, “And yes, because my ass looks great in them. So, what’s the plan here?”

  “Plan?” Jericho shook his head. “We go in and see what happens. I only had a general location.”

  “Wow,” Terra scoffed. “Well, this is going to be a fun way to spend my day.”

  “You don’t have to come with you know,” Jericho grinned. “You can always head back to the city. Oh, right. There are patrols of players out looking for you. You either need to stick to safe zones or down potions of invisibility like they’re water.”

  “Don’t be an asshole,” Terra tried not to smile. “And don’t be so cocky about the money you’re making selling me potions. You can’t pull off cocky. Anyway, let’s head in if that’s the case. We should probably head to White Rock as a starting point, right?”

  “That’s what I was thinking,” Jericho answered.

  “Alright,” Terra said sprinting toward the forest. As an elven ranger even in a dead forest her stats would be significantly increased. She’d reach the destination well ahead of the others. “I’ll meet you there!”

  “Wait! Numbskull. Fool.” Jinx rushed forward. Terra stopped giving Jinx an opportunity to get in front of her. Jinx drew her new shiny silver claws and with one quick punch, stabbed into a hollow trunk Terra was heading toward. A loud hiss emanated from within. Jinx deftly pulled her claw out, it was stained with blood.

  “What?” Terra asked while pulling out her sensory orb, an item that vibrated when hostile enemies were near. “How did you detect that before me?”

  “Spirit magic,” Jericho answered while
catching up. “It’s also how she sensed the soldiers in Rend. I can sense things within about thirty feet in any direction, basically a small house. Jinx can sense things from much further away but how far varies. The smaller the spirit the closer she needs to be.”

  “So why can’t she just sense the fairies so we can head toward them?” Terra asked in a huff.

  “It doesn’t work like that,” Jinx snapped. “And even if it did this entire forest is one big ball of spirit energy. It’s a jumble. Jericho will see when we get inside. Dunce. Moron.”

  “You’re not kidding,” Jericho said while getting closer to the edge. He sensed moving spirits everywhere, like everything was being put through a blender. “It’s basically one giant ball of static.”

  “Figures it wouldn’t be that easy,” Terra sighed. “I suppose we need Jinx to lead the way then?”

  “No,” Jinx huffed. “Jericho needs the practice. He’s a complete failure at spirit magic. Dolt. Dummy.”

  “Fine,” Jericho said stepping in front of Jinx. He felt his spirit surround him and commanded it to relax. Within moments it spread out through the forest picking up movements and creatures. If another spirit walked into his, he’d know it. The hard part was dealing with all the interference. He needed to separate individual spirits from the blend. “There. You won’t get much warning though. My range isn’t great. Let’s go.”

  “That’s why you need practice. Slacker. Layabout.”

  Jericho led the way while pointing out various serpents and insectoids hiding in hollowed logs and in the decaying trees. Unlike the illusions they’d heard about, they were all real monsters albeit weak ones. Jinx and Terra dispatched them easily with a quick stab or slice. Jericho couldn’t join in since he was focused entirely on detection.

  After a half hour they’d reached White Rock, a miniature marble mountain at the center of the petrified forest. Corpses of soldiers bearing the crest of Dawn surrounded the monument.