HK: Chapter 5

Not one hour after returning to Apsadanam Village, announcing that the cause of the Migration had been dealt with, and being showered with praise for bringing spoils back to the village while also dealing with the problems, I found myself whisked away into the Palace of the Chief of Apsadanam Village to meet with Amala's Father and Sahstri Tripathi's son, Lord Arjun. A pair of Hunters in Marsh Hunter Armor came to get me and take me over to the driest part of the village, where the palace stood. Furthermore, as they arrived, I also noticed there was a large, Dhow-style, river-going vessel with the banner of a Golden Moon flying from the mast tied up at the docks.

I frowned, looking back at the Captain of the Yavana Ship that had brought my spoils and I back to the village. Captain Demosthenes had been one of the Hoplites in the Battle with the Romaka, commanding a section of one hundred men. Right now, however, he was not wearing his armor, simply a Zoster-style leather belt with bronze fittings and leather pteurges, and his helmet, made of worked bronze with a red crest. Captain Demosthenes turned and shrugged at me as I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"My Orders from Kerounos were to ferry you back here, unload your spoils, stay for at most two days to trade, then return via the river. I know nothing of what is going on currently, though that ship there looks to be the personal ship of Lord Prakas of Vipani." Intoned Captain Demosthenes.

"The Lord of Vipani is here?" I questioned.

"He is the Prince of that City, the firstborn son of their King Ikawala." Nodded Captain Demosthenes.

"Interesting." I mused.

"Be careful, Hekatondroktonos. You may be a Demi-God Warrior of no small skill, but The Vipani Prince is crafty and has powers of his own, as does his Bodyguard, the Champion Sangai." Warned Captain Demosthenes.

"Should I be that worried?" I queried.

"It depends on what they're here for. I'd be careful either way, were I you. The Prince has been known to maneuver people he doesn't like into duels and then championing out. The Champion of Vipani is known as an even more formidable warrior." Cautioned Captain Demosthenes.

"Duly noted. Anything else?" I asked.

"If you need to leave the territory of these Vedics, come find me within two days' time. Otherwise, you'll be on your own." Answered Captain Demosthenes.

"All right." I nodded.

Then, turning to the pair of Hunters, I made my way over to them and told them to lead me to the Palace. They turned about and started walking, and I followed after, leaving Captain Demosthenes, his ship, and the warehouse full of Battle Spoils behind me. As I followed after the pair of Hunters, I noticed we were heading further away from the Gadah River and the built-up residential area and marketplace surrounding it. I had followed the river to leave Apsadanam Village and hadn't even realized that this section had been part of it, but separated from the main village by a winding pathway up a hillside, past an Altar dedicated to Lords Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, was a palace at the top of the hillside.

The Palace of Apsadanam Village was made of a combination of intricately carved wood and stone, unlike the rest of the village, which was made entirely of wood and was mostly unadorned. Next to the Palace, a pond with lotus plants floating in it formed a pool. As palaces went, though, it wasn't exactly large. At roughly sixty thousand square feet with another twenty-five-thousand square feet of grounds, it could barely be considered suitable as a Mansion by High Society in the Modern World. Hell, Buckingham Palace in London was around ten times this size, and it was considered small compared to some palaces in places like India or Southeast Asia, which could run in the millions of square feet. By the standards of even something like the seventeenth-century European Nobility, this was tiny. It was clear, however, that on this Island, it was respectable enough to have the one who lived here speak for the Marsh Communities of Vedic Indians.

As I entered, I was shown to a hall with a number of carved wooden pillars, where four people sat and one stood. Two were familiar to me, Shastri Tripathi and Amala. Three were not. One, I took to be Champion Sangai by the way he was standing behind one of the seated people, and wearing a bronze breastplate and vambraces, with an iron sword sheathed at his waist. This man was brawny and had a full beard and mustache, along with a red Kurlra-style Turban of the Kind that was described in the Rig Veda. That meant the Mustache-sporting Man he was standing behind, in the red and gold silks with a green peacock feather in his own crimson Kurlra, and wearing enough gold to buy an army, must be Prince of the Vedic Merchant City.

That left only the Last Man. He had a full beard and mustache and wore more gold on his person than the Champion of Vipani, but not as much as his Lord, who seemed practically weighted down with the stuff. The Last Man's gold was also supplemented with pearls, and his Kurlra was golden in color. However, accenting the Gold was white colors, similar to the more sedate garment that Shastri Tripathi wore, though unlike Shastri Tripathi, he did not bear the facepaint of a Holy Man. This had to be Chief Arjun, the Lord of Apsadanam Village and first amongst equals of the Marsh Communities of Vedic Indians.

"Ah, Lord Trito joins us. Come, come. Tell us all of your victory." Grinned Shastri Tripathi.

"Yes, I had been curious about that. It seems that today is a day for momentous news. Daughter, be a good hostess and introduce our latest guest, will you?" Questioned Chief Arjun.

"Yes, father. May I present Lord Trito, Deva of the Storm and Sea, Warrior of the Upper World, and apparently, Vanquisher of the Romaka. Lord Trito, this is my father, Chief Arjun, Lord of Apsadanam Village and First Chief of the Marsh Communities. Next to him, is Lord Prakash, the Deva of the Shifting Image and Warrior of the Swift-Flying Bolts, Heir to the Throne of the City of Vipani. Behind him is his Champion Sanjay, Deva of the Many Lengthening Arms and Warrior of the Bronze-Body." Intoned Amala, gesturing to each man in turn.

"Indeed, well met. I had come to inform Chief Arjun of the Romaka that were the source of the Impending Doom of the Marsh Communities in the hopes that he would raise his hunters, and those of his allies in the other villages, to join the war. However, it seems as if you have neatly resolved that problem. That puts us in something of a bind, I'm afraid." Nodded Lord Prakash.

Apparently, Captain Demosthenes had difficulty pronouncing the names of the Prince and Champion of Vipani. Likely, it was something about the variant of Archaic Greek that the Yavanas spoke that didn't translate well over to Sanskrit. As I recalled from the Marco Manfredi memories, the Koine Greek used in the Hellenistic Period also had that problem. Regardless, I could speak both languages with the fluency of a native, as well as Classical Latin, apparently. I had little trouble swapping from the Archaic Greek I had spoken to Captain Demosthenes in to the Sanskrit I was using now.

"What sort of trouble?" I queried.

"We have been pressed hard of late. The Romaka have been stalled somewhat against the Yavanas, so they have largely shifted the focus of their attacks in the past fortnight to us. As part of that, they erected their fortress near where the Marsh meets the Plains to begin slave raids and raids to capture animals in the marsh, hoping to feed their thirst for slaves and arena beasts while also weakening our efforts to resist them. I had hoped to enlist our cousins in the Marsh Communities to aid us." Informed Lord Prakash.

"You won't need to now. That fortress has been demolished, and the Romaka have been defeated and forced to withdraw in disgrace. According to the Yavanas I spoke with, it is unlikely that their Commander, Marcus Claudius Cestus, will survive whatever punishment duty their Senate tries to levy against him. This front of the war is effectively over, and your captured citizens have also been set free to return to their homes." I pointed out.

"Still, we had hoped to use those troops in the war. We can break the Romaka if we have enough force." Pressed Champion Sanjay.

"Perhaps there is a compromise to be had here?" Asked Shastri Tripathi.

"How so?" Questioned Chief Arjun.

"Perhaps by lending Lord Trito to the War Effort instead?" Queried Shastri Tripathi.

"Would you take such help, Lord Prakash?" Asked Chief Arjun.

"I would." Confirmed Lord Prakash.

"Wait a moment. I am not a slave to be sent wherever. While I don't disagree in principle to aiding the War Effort, I had other plans on how to do it." I interrupted.

"How?" Questioned Champion Sanjay.

"Well, for one thing, I brought back a lot of military spoils from the battle. Fifty sets of Romaka Iron Armor, Fifty Romaka Shields, Fifty Romaka Iron Swords, and One Hundred Romaka Iron-tipped Javelins. I could equip your hunters with them, train them in tactics, formation fighting, and the use of their new equipment, and lead them into battle myself." I offered.

"You brought back so much equipment?" Queried Amala.

"I did." I nodded.

"It is a tempting offer, but by the time your force is ready, the war may yet be over. Besides, fifty troops, even so equipped, trained, and led by a Deva, will not matter as much as the three hundred that the Swamp Communities can field as an offensive force." Intoned Lord Prakash.

"It shouldn't take too long. I have certain abilities that will aid in the training." I insisted.

"How long?" Asked Champion Sanjay.

"Perhaps two to three weeks." I answered.

"While I would benefit, it seems a perilous choice to make for just fifty warriors." Mused Chief Arjun.

"Indeed. I am unsure if we can wait that long." Intoned Lord Prakash.

"What about a duel?" Questioned Champion Sanjay.

"I'm sorry?" I queried.

"A duel. You against me. Should I win, we will do things the way My Lord wishes, you fighting for Vipani immediately. Should you win, we will do things the way you wish, waiting for you to train and equip the fifty hunters and turn them into warriors." Explained Champion Sanjay.

"When?" Asked Chief Arjun.

"Not today, surely? Lord Trito just returned from battle. He deserves a brief respite." Spoke up Amala.

"My granddaughter has a point. We should allow Lord Trito to savor his victory over the Romaka." Agreed Shastri Tripathi.

"Agreed. You would want us to do the same for you, after all." Affirmed Chief Arjun.

"Tomorrow afternoon then." Suggested Lord Prakash.

"Done." I confirmed.

"I will see you then." Intoned Champion Sanjay.

And with that, I was led out of the Hall and shown to a guest room in the Palace. It seemed that I was going to be fighting a duel tomorrow to decide whether or not we would do things the way that the Prince of Vipani wanted, or if we would do things the way that I wanted. Of course, I had the sense that my way would make for a more easily won war, but I couldn't expect anyone else to realize that. Especially not the so-called Deva of the Shifting Image and his Champion. Idly, I wondered what the epithets were all about. The Prince of the Vedic Merchant City had an epithet that suggested some sort of Holokinesis. Light Manipulation of some sort, Illusions, and Lasers most likely. Meanwhile, his Champion seemed to be able to harden his body to the consistency of bronze and possibly grow arms of varying length as well.

It meant that I was probably going to have to do some crafting. Fortunately, I was able to do something to enhance my chances. Out of the bags of holding I had crafted, I pulled out enough Tyrannosaur Leather to craft armor with, and then sent a servant to the Market for seven Ser of Bronze, which was roughly seven kilograms or just a hair under fifteen and a half pounds. I gave him roughly two hundred square feet of tanned Megafauna Leather and inside a bag of holding to sell, instructing the Servant to pay for the Bronze with the profits of it and bring me whatever excess there was. Of course, that left just enough megafauna leather for me to begin work on my new suit of armor.

Using my powers to reforge items, my power to craft medieval-age equipment, and my Alchemical Magic, I was able to treat the leather with an ointment that should toughen it using common herbs found in the kitchens of the palace and some of the megafauna organs that I had taken. This would toughen the leather further over the course of twelve hours, and render it proof against heat and flame, just in case the Prince of Vipani decided to interrupt the duel by shooting lasers at me. By the time the basic leather armor was finished, the Servant had returned, bearing not just the Bronze Ingots, but also a bag heavy with coins. Looking inside, I saw eighty large, seventeen and a half gram, or a bit over half an ounce, silver coins with the emblem of a snarling Cave Lon's head stamped on them.

Apparently, the whole lot had been purchased by a Yavana Merchant from Naukressos, one of the four Poleis that made up the Yavana Greek Hellenic League, along with Embattled Pantikleon, Kerounos' home of Pelesthenes, and the previously unmentioned Sinos. They'd bought it all because the League was in need of leather for Armor and Sandals and were paying top price for it, along with any other war materials they could get their hands on. At the same time, the Merchant bought the Bag of Holding because a magic item was worth its weight in gold, war or not.

When the servant left, I set to using the bronze to reinforce the leather with a borrowed metalworking forge that was normally used to reshape broken iron weaponry purchased or scavenged from elsewhere and cast bronze items. The Vedics here weren't able to forge Iron from scratch. Apparently, they hadn't worked out that they needed to use both charcoal and a flux to get decent iron out of the ore, and their iron was impure enough that it shattered with use. They could reforge stuff that was already pure, but there just hadn't been enough sources of iron that they could get at in order to make investing in forging Iron from Ore a priority.

Regardless, I continued to craft my armor, using the bronze to reinforce the leather and then using runic and alchemical magics to strengthen the bronze to be as tough as modern steel and resistant to heat and flame, while also being lighter and more flexible. By the time I was finished, I had a suit of armor that would shrug off most blows that didn't have the kind of Brute-rated Strength behind them that would allow a Parahuman to punch through twenty millimeters of galvanized, hardened steel, which effectively made this armor bulletproof against all small arms that weren't fifty caliber anti-personnel rifles or something like that. All this while weighing only six kilograms or roughly thirteen and a quarter pounds and being as easy to move in as a leather jacket would be.

By the time dinner was ready, which was a minor banquet of three courses, complete with mead and Yavana Wine, I had finished work on my new armor and was as prepared for the duel as I was going to be. Honestly, the banquet was actually fairly good, consisting of a course of Wetland Rice and Spices for an appetizer, followed by a lemon and spice fish dish for the main course, with Sweet Yoghurt and Fruit for dessert. The mead and imported Yavana wine flowed, and I probably partook of a bit too much of the stuff, leaving me to stumble back to my rooms to bed. I would not be sleeping alone, however. Amala was waiting for me in a sheer, loose robe that was barely tied.

"Does your father know you're here?" I questioned, slurring my words slightly.

"He does not. I wanted to thank you for your aid." She Answered.

"Thank me?" I queried dumbly.

"Yes, I'm sure you can imagine what I mean." She Smirked.

"I might have had a bit too much to drink. What are you talking about, exactly?" I asked.

The Princess of Apsadanam Village simply dropped her robe then, revealing that she wasn't wearing anything underneath the sheer garment. I couldn't help but blink in astonishment at that, as what she had meant finally managed to penetrate the buzz that I had going on.

"Oh. That's what you meant." I grinned.

"Come claim your reward, Lord Trito." She Nodded.

Warning: NSFW Scene Starts Here

I growled deep in my throat, surging forward and practically ripping the robe I'd been given off by main strength, tearing the tan linen to shreds as I did so. In a few steps, I'd crossed the room toward the Princess, capturing her lips with my own in a deep, passionate kiss. To my surprise, she wasn't hesitant in the slightest, kissing me back with as much vigor as I kissed her. We kissed for a good long while, my hands roaming all across her chestnut colored skin, tweaking darker, toffee-colored nipples even as she undid the leather belt keeping my pants up. She moaned into my mouth at that as I shucked off my pants before stepping back out of them.

I took in the sight of her then, light brown skin, smooth and supple. Full breasts that had to be at least D-cups, tipped with darker-colored nipples that jutted out like Chocolate Kisses. A flat, toned stomach, not as muscular as someone who did manual labor every day, but enough that it was clear that she lived in a village that was carved out of the wilderness and thus kept herself in decent shape even though she lived in relative luxury. That stomach trailed down to pleasantly curved hips and a heart-shaped ass in the back, and a moist slit with a thatch of dark black hair above it, going down shapely legs to the feet with red-painted toes. The sight made me want to do this even more, though the rational part of my mind, still functional through the haze of hormones and alcohol despite all odds, was insisting that this could backfire on me.

As I shucked the loincloth I was wearing under my pants, revealing a turgid, eight-inch member, I weighed the pros and cons of fucking the Princess. On the downside, it could cause a political clusterfuck. On the upside, it was sex. Plus, I could probably handle whoever her father sent after me anyway. Apsadanam Village didn't even have any Elite Warriors capable of taking down Parahumans in groups, and I was betting the rest of the Swamp Communities were the same. Besides, I hadn't had sex at all the entire time I'd been alive here. I was due, at least in my mind, anyway. When you added it all up, the ultimate end result could be summed up in four words. Doesn't matter, had sex.

"Don't keep me waiting, I need you now." Spoke up to my current partner.

That refocused me back on the Princess. Amala was lying back on the bed I'd been given, legs apart and clearly ready for me. She smirked at me and cocked an eyebrow in a way that stirred something within me.

"Are you coming or not?" She demanded.

"Not yet, but I will be." I growled.

Then I surged forward and almost literally pounced on her. My fingers teased, and my mouth sucked, licked, and nibbled. For a while, all I did was practically devour her, planting kisses from her thighs up to her breasts and then back down again, thrusting fingers into her and pressing the button that all women had, which really got them going with my thumb as I did. The Princess let out a series of gasps and moans as I did this, and I realized that any other partners she might have had probably didn't even do foreplay, let alone were able to find the clit. She was a lot more keyed up than I'd thought she would be for me, especially for what was clearly supposed to be reward sex.

It didn't take long before she was practically flooded from her first orgasm. I was able to push in with the main event shortly afterward, first using slow strokes to get her used to my size, before picking up the pace. As I kept up a steady rhythm, her breathing began to quicken, and I felt her clenching around me, muscles contracting involuntarily as a second orgasm crept up on her. We switched positions then, with her no longer on her back, but on all fours, bent over the edge of the bed. Then we continued. It took a lot less time with slow strokes this time to get going. Fifteen minutes after starting, I felt a third orgasm hit her, muscles contracting once again. We continued for a bit longer afterward, though the Princess was clearly coming up to the end of what she was willing to tolerate from her grunted words to me.

Seventeen minutes after starting, I felt my own Orgasm sneaking up on me, shortly after she contracted and came a third time. Not wanting to risk a pregnancy with the Princess of Apsadanam Village, I pulled out ten seconds later, shortly before it all became too much, spurting my load on her back. Then I collapsed into the bed next to her. We stayed like that for a while, snuggled against one another, breathing heavily and basking in the afterglow. As we cuddled, she nestled into my chest and we lay like that, with me as the big spoon, for a decent while. Eventually, we both drifted off to sleep, both definitely satisfied.

She would be gone when I woke up. . .

End of NSFW Scene

XXXX

When I awoke, it was after noon. Apparently, I'd been asleep the entire morning. Apparently, I'd rolled onto my back at some point in the night and propped myself up in bed to find that Amala had left at some point prior to me waking up. Likely sometime before dawn, in order to avoid causing problems politically from a random outsider having sex with the Princess of Apsadanam Village. Powers or no Powers, Savior or not, I very much doubted that would have gone over well at all. Still, my head felt clear and my body felt in top shape. Honestly, I felt great after the long night's sleep I'd apparently gotten, despite overindulging in enough alcohol that a normal, athletic person would probably have blacked out from.

That was all to the good, because I had a duel today that I definitely wanted to be in top shape for. Getting out of bed and stretching, I frowned and looked out of the window. Judging by the position of the sun, I only had enough time to bathe and dress before needing to show up for my duel with the Champion of Vipani. Thankfully, some thoughtful servant had left a plate of figs and what looked like cashew nuts on the nightstand for me that I could easily and quickly eat. Doing so was easy enough, and I devoured the stuff, including the odd powder that was on the dates, which I took to be some form of sweetener. Then I went about my day.

Of course, it was as I was dressing in my armor that I realized that the stuff that I thought was supposed to be a sweetener was actually a type of poison. As I felt my stomach revolt suddenly, a flash popped up in my vision showing a simplified image of me, like some sort of video game status screen. It warned me I was suffering from a mild case of Alkaloid Poisoning from powdered seeds of something called the Sea Poison Tree. Apparently, my symptoms were reduced thanks to the same powers that allowed me to breathe underwater, while one of my physical powers, the efficient autonomic systems power, meant that it would pass out of my system in five minutes.

My stomach lurched then, cramping, and I realized that this was likely an attempt by the Prince of Vipani to render me either unable to fight his Champion or hamper me in doing so. With that in mind, I decided to take a leisurely stroll back to the Hall in order to run out the clock on the poisoning. I would arrive with just a single minute to spare before the duel was scheduled to take place, but I still arrived, technically early, much to the Vipani Prince's Dismay, though he hid it well enough. I was fluent in Body Language, though, and he couldn't hide everything. When the duel commenced, I would be at my full capabilities despite his backstabbing.

As it would turn out, I would need those full capabilities to pull off a victory. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we have the next chapter, including the first NSFW Scene, which I have marked with lines of italic text in case you guys don't want to read it. In that case, you may want to scroll down past it to where it says End of NSFW Scene. Aside from that, I have also set up things with Vipani and the Prince of that City, along with a duel to decide Trito's next steps regarding the Romaka War.

I have tried to limit repeating names outside of dialogue lines in keeping with some of the feedback I have gotten in this chapter. Let me know if it's too confusing and you guys would prefer I return to my prior way of writing.

At any rate, the duel will occur in the next chapter, after which will be an interlude showing some things in Brockton Bay, as two more SIs from Trito's batch of Drawbacks show up to make a splash in the Bay. I'll also have a couple more images out before then as well.

Stay tuned. . .