CH7

Benjen barely dared to breathe in front of the strange man. There was an air of danger as brutal as the fall from the mountainside and as unforgiving as the cold. Strange contraptions were stacked in the snow at the feet of the man and a woman with straight red hair dressed for southern parties. Kissed by fire, the wildlings called it, but never had he seen hair the color of a heart tree's leaves. Was she an old god here to meet with the fire sorcerer? Why was he allowed to climb to the top?

He was no fool. Benjen doubted he would have reached the top of the mountain if these beings had not allowed it. Then there were his words. What does a man with a bow do when he climbs a tree during a war? Benjen disliked the implications.

There was a war going on, and he was unaware.

"My lord, I suppose a bowman in a tree can fire upon important targets." The man nodded and stared in the distance at a heart tree. "Why would you want to destroy a heart tree? What enemy makes its home among the old gods?"

"Some allies are worse than enemies. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

"No, my lord, I cannot guess your meaning."

"Be nice. He climbed all the way here. Should I get one of the weapons from Devola's stockpile?"

The sorcerer shook his head. "No, he would have difficulty carrying it down the mountain. It would be a waste if he fell and the Wight Walkers found it. Could you imagine if they armed their forces with those weapons?"

Benjen fit the broken vase back together. They shared an enemy with the others, but there was an ally that might as well be an enemy.

"I watched the timeline as well. The three-eyed raven claimed to be the history of the world." The woman's face shifted into disgust.

"He did make that claim. Only any green seer can access the roots of the world and gain as much knowledge as he can. What we saw and heard and what happened were two very different situations."

They were talking of things beyond him. "Tell me, Benjen Stark, maybe you will see this the same way as I do. Your nephew Bran will fall from the broken tower in Winterfell and become crippled." Benjen felt his heart skip a beat at the news and how the sorcerer said it as if it had already happened. The old god beside him didn't refute it.

"Zack, please use a little more tact. Humans care deeply for members of their families, and hearing news like this can affect their mental stability. Besides our presence, this is no longer what will be but what might be. We will stop it if we can."

"If not him, the raven will try for Jojen Reed or some unknown backup. It's best to end the creature before it can move to a new body." Zack said.

Benjen decided to take the argument at face value. Everything he heard was the unvarnished truth.

"Lord Zack, can it be avoided? Can my nephew be saved from becoming a cripple and that thing taking his body."

"Take me with you to Winterfell, and I will give your brother a weapon to change war as it is known." The old god elbowed him in the side. "I will also gift these same weapons to the night's watch. With them from a fortified position, no enemy can overcome them."

"You wish to see the king," Benjen said.

"Yes, I heard he is quite the man. However, this is a business mission, and the North is the best candidate to receive these weapons. I plan to negotiate for more resources to be sent north for the war in the winter. Well, I will negotiate, or I will send my wife. She has far more experience in these situations than I do." Zack said.

His opinion of the sorcerer fell a little, or perhaps the man's wife was someone of note. Benjen couldn't recall any woman, God or not, whose domain was negotiation.

"You know she would only drink him under the table and beat him up when he tries to grope her." The woman said.

The man only smiled. "Let's try my new design." The man raised his hand, and an ice tube shaped like a drill rose from the snow. A fiery orb was at its head, and strange symbols covered its shaft. Four fins, almost like fletching, stuck out from its back end.

It shot off, and then a light at its end erupted in flames before it vanished from sight. "That one was a bit faster than the others. Benjen saw the black spots like bites out of the land surrounding the tree in a complete circle and watched as the long weapon erupted. It was like the tales of volcanic explosions from Essos. A blackened crater appeared closer to the tree than any of the others before it.

A lecherous grin spread across the sorcerer's face, chilling Benjen to the soul. For the good of his family and the realm, he had to take this dangerous entity to Winterfell. By the old gods, he hoped his brother would understand. They would need this sorcerer if they were indeed about to be at war with the others. Benjen stared off at the distant heart tree. Perhaps he would need to get a second opinion.

…

Zack wanted to laugh, smack his hand with his fist, and cheer. He wanted to crow to the heavens. Every week, he shortened the distance to his goal. In only a few more weeks, Zack would be ready to start turning up the heat. He raised his hand, and five balls of fire appeared instead of four. It happened naturally, and after so much practice, he was halfway to 10.

He smiled at the tired, disheveled man, half covered in melting frost and shivering. It must be quite the sight for a guy from such a primitive world.

Zack felt like a pioneer of magic missile technology. These weren't fireballs or ice sickles. Zack was firing missiles at his enemies. He was glad he learned how to manipulate soul ice; it was a solid element for crafting. He needed to go through other branches of technology before he could step up to the next level.

He also needed some viable short-range techniques besides mini fireballs. Missiles would work well for long-range enemies. He could stretch that range out enough to cover whole planets with enough time, but that was way into the future. Zack also needed many more soul elements before heading in that direction. Soul water wasn't even a part of his arsenal yet.

The contractor watched the leaves from the excellent heartwood crinkle like Tsunade's puckered asshole. Around the explosion, the snow melted and wept down the far-off hill before freezing back to ice.

How many elves could he sell to the company? Zack licked his lips as the locals would say it was like a maiden vault with the door open and the guard asleep. Only potential mind magic from the green seers stayed his hand. Would purchasing defenses be worth it?

Leveling up wasn't the only way to grow stronger. It was okay to slow down and take things a little at a time. But when the opportunity presented itself, he would snatch an enemy king piece off the board.

"When will you need me to meet you at Winterfell." Benjen hesitated.

Well, travel was unpredictable. "I would prefer if you met me at Castle Black in two moons. I will be prepared to leave by then," Benjen said.

Zack clapped the man on the back. Then, for good measure, he warmed the man up and locked the heat around him by breaking off a soul strand and looping it around him. "That should help with your climb," Zack said.

"Thank you, Lord Zack," Benjen said.

He wanted to make a face but smiled instead. It was forced, but how else would he reassure the man? Zack could make it to Winterfell in a few days since the blizzard wasn't holding him back. That was while sightseeing. Castle black would take a few hours at most.

Chakra was a game-changer.

Back in his sweet home, he stared at his whiteboard. Different elements were circled with question marks on them. He didn't know what he could learn to use. Maybe two elements were it, but from what he could tell, two factors made a difference. If the component had some magic, it would be easier to mimic. Magic elements stood out to him more.

He could make soul wood with enough study if he got his hands on some magic wood. Every element extended what was possible. Only it felt pointless when up against his nightmare.

Devola opened the door to his room and shut it quickly behind her. She smirked and approached him wearing lingerie. The white flower in her hair was as prominent as ever, reminding him of the parasitic flower of Drakenguard 3. That was something he couldn't forget. Devola and Popola were android intoners; perhaps they could even surpass them.

He learned his lesson well. There was always another enemy and a reason to grow stronger. Chakra was another area he needed to succeed in.

"Metal and electricity should be next. Maybe we should go by Star Wars. Let the emperor blast you a few times and strike him down." Devola said.

"I tell you what, if we have a sci-fi world among our next mission selections, I will choose it," Zack said.

She jumped into his arms, and her big sexy butt threw his papers on the floor. He ignored them and made out with her.

…

Benjen rose from his bedroll, tormented by visions of a madman burning the world with bolts of ice containing fire. He traveled days out of his journey to get a second opinion but felt the manipulation. The first ranger approached the tree, a massive thing appearing all the stronger after surviving the destruction surrounding it. He knew the truth. It survived to test the sorcerer's weapons. "We have been waiting for you, Benjen Stark. My name is Leaf."

His eyes widened at the sight. A child of the forest in the flesh was talking to him. "The sorcerer names you an ally worse than an enemy," Benjen said.

The child hissed, exposing pointed teeth between plump lips on an angular face. They looked nothing like children. Cutting out the awe, he was left with a dark-skinned woman with a plump bottom. She looked the type of woman the new brothers would chat about at night to keep warm.

That Leaf girl has a mouth on her, but looks at that bottom. We don't pay whores for sex. We pay them to leave after. It was a ridiculous thought in an absurd situation. He would meet the sorcerer Zack in two moons.

"We call ourselves Earth Singers, and we keep the history of the world. Never has a creature like a sorcerer existed, not in the time of old Valyria or the old night? He wields ice and fire outside the song that has yet to be sung. We believe he is an agent of the great enemy."

"Magic is a sword without a hilt. Sorcerers wield their power and cut themselves to death in turn. He knows nothing, only the twisted visions his blood sacrifices grant him. Only a green seer knows the world's truth, so he seeks to destroy the last one. He waits for you, Benjen Stark, the man with a thousand eyes and one. Only he knows what must happen to win the sorcerer, an outsider who knows nothing."

"No, you convinced me of the sorcerer's true nature. I need to take no more of your time. There is little time I must warn my king of the foul sorcerer." Benjen said.

Benjen had dealt with false arguments and flagged words since he was a boy. Lyanna, old gods keep her soul, had taught him to sniff out an appeal to authority. It felt like the earth singers wanted him to do what they wanted because they knew better. The sorcerer tried to give them weapons, and what sat on the wall and blasted the others with his devices. Zack had also used his fear, but it was to inform him of an event that could happen well in advance. The lady Benjen was more and more sure that she was an old god whom the earth singers lost the favor of.

He remembered reading about an oath broken by the children of the forest. Benjen saw a picture forming: a group breaks their oath and harbors an enemy, a body snatcher who was clearly considered abhorrent to the old gods. They were left to their own devices until the war of the long night loomed over the horizon. This was merely clipping loose ends and caring for disloyal lords to ensure no dagger stabbed them in the back.

The child of the forest used words he understood. They were attention-catching words he had heard throughout his life. Benjen needed time to think and compare his meetings.

…

Roots lavishly dug through the dirt beneath his feet where no elves panicked in a press of flesh beneath his feet. The order broke with his first step through the burned ground. Only a single earth singer stood tall while her people quivered in the dark, humid depths.

A week in his sweet home allowed the contractor to cool down and focus on what was needed. He purchased mind, body, and possession defense at the cost of 35 credits, a price he hoped to get back. It all depended on how many children in the forest were in the caves.

Zack trained and sparred with Tsunade. He was well below her level of power but getting better every day. She ended their fights before he could bring a missile to bear or gain any distance. Mini fireballs were swatted away like flies, flamethrowers were sidestepped, and missiles took far too long to form. Speed and planning seemed to be his biggest weakness in combat.

He was trying to follow a basic possible plan. Slightly more advanced technology could be used competently by many people quickly. They would allow even peasants to take down nights in battle. Give them to the North, the people who would believe that the others were coming, and then let them defend the wall and kill the Southern by the score.

Not planning meant planning to fail, so he preferred to do something basic that was easier to adjust. His big overarching plan was to give people muskets and hope they wouldn't kill themselves. With mind manipulators everywhere, it was doomed to fail. That was okay; he planned to learn and do better next time. Zack wasn't attached to this world.

Wolves howled in the distance before attacking in great packs numbering in the dozens. Mad strings pulled tight enough to snap, turning a deadly pack into a murder orgy of blood, fur, and wolf cum.

Sometimes, it was better to put them out of their misery. He pulled a kunai from a pouch on his belt. Zack moved like a reaper, cutting the wolves apart. Their bodies cooled in the snow as Zack paraded his clean body before the tree, never breaking his stride. The tree's barrier shattered as he closed the distance.

Zack wrapped his arms around the last sane earth singer and sucked on her pointed ears; he ran his hand through her white hair and turned her head to stare into her slit yellow eyes. Her body lurched to charge where she had seen him last, claws raised before his fingers slipped between hers. Her ears twitched as he put his kunai away. This was fun. He stamped her over the womb before tiptoeing his fingers down between her legs. "You ruined everything."

His hand left her hair, grabbed her throat, and yanked her off her feet. "I am a contractor. Let me show you what that means." Zack flipped her and wrapped an arm around her waist. He jammed his fingers into her snatch, and her legs kicked out as he swirled his thumb around her pitch-black hole. It was genuinely terrifying when it accepted him to the knuckle. "You like it rough, huh? How long has it been, maybe thousands of years, since you had a nice fat human dick down your throat?" He reached down and grabbed a handful of her hair. She squirted like a geyser as he pressed the tip of his cock against her mouth. She moaned and opened wide as he shoved his cock deep into her throat. Leaf gagged as he used his new sex object.

When he was done, he tossed her aside like a used toy. He made his way beneath the tree. Zack stamped every single one he saw. The elves were everywhere, screaming and fucking like it was the end of the world. Brendon Rivers stared with as much shock as a single eye could reveal.

"You did something to them."

Zack concluded that Bendan Rivers was not in fact the three eyed raven. That meant he would need to interrogate Leaf and figure out what was going on.

"This is what an end-of-the-world party looks like." Zack counted a little under 200. At ten credits each, it was going to be quite the haul. He wouldn't sell Leaf; he liked the feel of her throat. She was a nice toy.

So he would keep her.

Leaf stumbled in, coughing up cum as she nearly tripped inside. Zack turned to her and tossed his stamp. "Tap anyone who I missed. I'm sure you can smell who I stamped."

"I love you," She was cum drunk. His stamp glowed over her womb, and he concluded that it counted as a confession. Zack spanked her bottom and had her go. Stamping the ones he couldn't get to.