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Crossroads Rules
Chapter 4

"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.