Druid Chronicle Ch. 05

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that if this is what Sherra is concerned about, I have nothing to be wary of."

"That's it?"

"Yes." Orren thought about that. "What were you worried about?"

"They are still your kind."

"We've been over this, and I would not interfere with you regardless." He reached up and pulled her down this time and kissed her on the lips even though that always left his lips numb and his thinking slightly addled. Then he walked off to his greenhouse.

"Interfere..." She said aloud. He turned and winked at her, enjoying watching her surprised reaction.

"You are wiser than you taste, druid." She said.

"Thank you, I think."

He looked around the greenhouse not entirely sure what he had come in here to do. He waited for the after-effects of kissing the alraune to wear off. He wasn't feeling particularly ambitious and his bed was occupied, possibly for a while. It was a warm humid evening, like nearly every evening in the jungle and the lazily swirling water of the terrace pool that now connected into the greenhouse was tempting.

He went back inside to his basement where he kept a couple barrels of wine in the cooler part of the house. He poured himself a healthy mug of it and returned to the greenhouse where he stripped off his clothes and climbed into the water.

The pool extension in here included a carved bench for someone like him, with legs and a reclining alcove for someone without them, like a mermaid. It was another impressive piece of work from the gnomes. He could sit, chest-deep in the water with his wine nearby just enjoying the evening.

Ephenome appeared to be closed up out in the courtyard leaving him alone to float about in the pool, occasionally revisiting his mug of wine. He was standing in the middle of the pool which left the water line on his neck just above the shoulders when there were ripples.

Antonella surfaced in front of him, her blonde hair plastered against her head. Her inner eyelids were still closed leaving her eyes a solid milky blue. She paused to let the water drain from her gills before her eyelids flipped open revealing the dark blue he was accustomed to.

"You are naked." She said.

Somehow, Orren had forgotten that and was immediately embarrassed. She noticed.

"I'm sorry. You're swimming, there's nothing wrong with being naked."

Antonella was not naked. She had a band of cloth wrapped around her chest and knotted in the back. She wore it sometimes on longer swims she had said and he had seen the style before.

"Is this a bad time? Should I go?" she asked.

He realized he still hadn't said anything. "No, no... please, you can stay. I just was not expecting to see you. Or anyone. It's been a long day."

"Oh?"

He recapped Karalie's appearance at the gate and most everything afterward. Antonella was thoughtful.

"I'd like to meet her. When she wakes up."

"Certainly. Do you have any ideas?"

She frowned, "I don't have ideas as to what to tell her but I have ideas for where to go to find more information."

He drifted back over to his bench and his wine.

"What is that?" Antonella asked after he took a drink.

"Wine."

"Wine! Really? Could I try a little?"

"Sure." He offered her the mug.

"I've never tried it. I've never tried any drink other than fresh water and my mother's milk."

She struggled briefly with the unfamiliar mug and took a surprisingly big drink and her eyes went wide.

"It might be an acquired taste?" He took the mug back from her while she worked on swallowing. "Can you become intoxicated from alcohol?"

"I don't know." She admitted. Merfolk would rarely be in a situation to test that. "Are you intoxicated?"

Orren laughed. "No. It would take a lot more wine."

It started to rain lightly outside. The greenhouse was under a slanted roof made of roped bamboo rods that could be pulled back during sunny days and let down to cover this room as it was currently. Antonella drifted about the pool in front of him and he found her slightly intimidating. He had not been in the water with her since the first day he met her.

"I love flowers." Antonella said this looking at some of the trailing vines here in the greenhouse. "We have nothing quite like them underwater."

Many of them had closed as it was dusk and the rain had picked up to a steady drone outside. Antonella settled along the bench next to him to be close enough to talk over the noise of the rain.

"May I try the wine again?"

He nodded and handed it to her, before sinking back down in the water to his neck. The rain had come with a slightly cooler breeze and the air circulation had made the floral scent considerably stronger. Antonella managed another small sip of the wine before putting it down.

"You're cold?"

"A little."

She moved closer so that her side was pressed up against his and he could feel her tail along the outside of one leg.

The rain became torrential and Orren wondered what would happen if there was lightning. He could simply get out of the pool. Where would Antonella go? Presumably back through the underground river to the deeper water.

They had to wait for the rain to lessen before they could talk again. When it did, Antonella was giggling. He had never heard her giggle before.

"You OK?"

She nodded.

"Oh, the wine? But you hardly had any."

Her face seemed flushed as well. Could that little wine affect a mermaid?

"I don't think so." She said. With an effort she composed herself. She was breathing deeply and her breasts, just at the surface of the water were noticeably going up and down. He found himself staring at them for a moment. The individual water droplets were visible on the curved skin. It took him a second to realize she was speaking.

"Can I ask a very strange question?" She was rather close to him.

"Sure?"

"What is it like having all your genitals outside your body like that? Do they get in the way?"

He stared at her, slightly aghast. It was probably a legitimate question for a mermaid to ask but he found himself hot and blushing again.

She laughed. "Sorry."

"So Mermen..."

She shook her head and her drying hair flared briefly around her. "Only for mating. Well. Sex." She giggled after saying that. Something was definitely off.

They were so close together, touching still at points and he was having a hard time focusing on anything other than her lips. He tried to meet her eyes but found himself on her lips again which were closer and closer and then he was kissing her.

It was several seconds before he remembered her serrated teeth and wondered if he should be concerned. He pulled back from her. As soon as he could see her again, he wanted her.

"Ephenome", he said.

"What?" Antonella was leaning towards him.

"The scent she gives off even at normal levels, they're powerful aphrodisiacs. They seem to affect you too."

Her hand was on his leg now. "Maybe."

He could push the effects away from clouding his own mind a little bit but Antonella's closeness had its own effect. Her hand slipped over the top of his thigh to the inside.

"So, a human woman would know when a man was interested in her." The back of her hand brushed lightly across his cock.

"Well, ummm. Interested in that way, yes. If he was naked."

"Which you are" she muttered. Her hand latched on to him and she kissed him again.

He slipped both arms around her back and she pressed herself against him. He wasn't sure when the cloth wrap around her chest had disappeared but it clearly had.

"They say humans are much bigger than mermen." She murmured it almost directly into his mouth.

"They do?"

"They do." She repeated. He felt like he was bigger than any merman at the moment.

"Ummm." He was feeling slightly guilty. "The pheromones are quite... strong."

"Yes. How do you handle them normally?" Her hand was stroking him slowly while her upper body was draped against him.

"I use magic."

"Ah."

"Do you want me to umm, dispel them."

"Would you like that?"

He stared into her big blue eyes from just inches away. "No."

She smiled back showing her sharp teeth.

"But would you?" he asked.

"If I wanted to avoid it, I'd go underwater. Like this."

She slid slowly down, her breasts dragging across his arm as she eventually slipped back under the water. Her hand had not yet let go though. Momentarily she pressed against the inside of his knee, pushing his legs apart. Then he felt her tongue and her lips.

"Oh!" he said to nobody in particular.

Some part of his brain was worried about those teeth but Antonella seemed to know what she was doing. He slumped down further into the water. The only sign of her now was some of her hair floating on the surface. He thought he heard a slight noise out in the rain. He squinted into the darkness and was almost certain Ephenome was watching. Smiling. Maybe even winking. That figured. He didn't care.

When Antonella stopped it was several seconds before he even realized it. She had come back up out of the water and was floating in the center of the pool, watching him closely.

"Come here."

"Yes." He agreed instantly and pushed off the bench into her arms. Their bodies met and he spread his legs slightly to allow room for her tail. It occurred to him that he didn't quite know how to do what he now wanted to do and he really didn't know how to ask about it. Luckily, she was still in charge.

Her hand found him again and guided him against her.

"Slowly." She whispered.

That was hard. For one he didn't want slow. For another there was nothing to brace against except her. He wrapped one arm around her lower back and did his best at slowly. Her eyes were vivid even in the near-darkness. She slowly exhaled against him.

When he could feel her body pressed against his hips he started to pull back slightly, looking for a rhythm.

"Not like that." She told him. "You don't want to cut yourself on my scales."

She was right, he did not want that. She guided him fully back inside her, then slowly she started to undulate her lower body and tail. Her stomach and everything below it were naturally muscular. The sensation was different but definitely alluring. The rippling of her muscles moved up and down along his cock.

"Ooh." He said.

"Yes." She replied, her voice strained.

Her motion was moving them across the small pool. As they approached the wall he had to put both hands on the rocks to steady them. She in turn wrapped her arms around his neck to hold her head out of the water. Her tail was generating plenty of force to keep him above.

She started to move faster, breathe faster. Her inner eyelids flickered. He was pushing hard now to keep them in the water and off the wall. Her fingers clutched at his back and his neck. He was close and he had no way to slow things down. She, however, came first. Her muscles tensed against him. She let out a surprisingly melodic wail and inside her muscles squeezed him vigorously. He reacted by cumming as well. Her tail jerked erratically between his legs and it was all he could do to keep his arms straight against the wall. When she finally stopped he let go, exhausted. Both of his shoulders ached. She caught his weight in the water easily and supported him. He rested against her for a moment before he realized how quick and exaggerated her breathing was. He pulled away from her finding his legs enough to stand on his own.

"Are you okay?"

She was panting but managed "Yes."

He wrapped an arm around her and guided her back to the section with the bench where he gratefully sat down and held her.

After a while her breathing slowed to a more normal pace. "I've never done that above water before." She managed to say. "I've never exerted my lungs like that."

"You were amazing." He said, immediately feeling stupid for not coming up with something better.

It was enough though, she beamed back at him. She bent forward to kiss him briefly and then relaxed back in the water floating on her back. With one hand he kept her in front of him. Her breasts caught his attention. Her whole body was accessible to him, should he try more?

"I don't, uh... entirely know your... anatomy."

She laughed, it was musical and fetching and reminded him briefly of her cry a few minutes earlier.

"More lessons will be in order then."

He wondered if the small amount of wine somehow played a role. He was fairly sure Ephenome had played a role, he looked in her direction and was not that surprised to find her looking back. After meeting his stare, she moved back into the greenhouse. Antonella had followed his gaze and was watching the alraune as well.

"Get what you wanted?" Orren asked her.

"I think we all did."

"But why did you want that?" The mermaid wondered.

"You're the only one who can leave." Ephenome said as if that explained it all.

"So?"

"The rest of us are rooted here. Myself and Neive literally. You can get bored of this place and leave any time you want to."

"I don't want to."

Ephenome smiled. "I just wanted to make sure."

"Pushing that upon us could've backfired." Orren pointed out.

"I didn't push very hard." Ephenome said. "You are oblivious to what is right in front of you, yet again druid. It's cute in a way but also infuriating."

"Does this make you more likely to stay here?" He asked Antonella.

"I was not planning on leaving." To Ephenome she added, "Why do you want me to stay?"

"We need you. What you do from the water would be irreplaceable if lost. You are quite likable. Also I have a much better water supply thanks to you."

Antonella was quiet and thoughtful about that.

"And you keep him here as well." The alraune added

"You are enough to keep me here." He replied immediately. "Are you still worried about Sherra?"

"She is your kind."

"We have discussed that. I cannot renounce my species. This is my home. You would do well to remember I was committed to that before you were here. Before I met Neive. The three of you are a bonus... an amazing incredible bonus. I am beyond lucky."

Antonella was still in front of him and he trailed one finger down her back and along the underside of her tail slowly.

"What about Karalie? Do we need her as well?"

Ephenome glanced briefly towards the house. "I don't know. I feel instinctively we need to increase our power here. She increases it. Perhaps though, she is the reason why we need to do that. I am uncertain. Solving her mystery should be a priority."

"It was going to be, but now I'm in love with a mermaid and everything else will have to wait." He struggled to keep a straight face. Antonella splashed him with a simple flick of her tail and it was like an ocean wave.

When he could see and hear again she was laughing her musical laugh. "Honeymoon's over."

He thought about making a diving grab for her but that was nearly certain to end in failure. She was far too nimble in the water.

Eventually, Antonella settled into the slot in the pool that Hallem had fashioned for her. She held him against her chest which left her mostly underwater and him mostly on the surface.

"This is difficult for me." She murmured sleepily to him.

"Sleeping above water?"

"That, also being in this small pool and this small niche. It has taken me some effort just to be in these pools, they feel so confined."

"You're in no danger here." He was exhausted and he didn't want her to move.

"I know that but my instincts still don't like it."

He fell asleep like that and woke later. It was dark, the insects were humming along and the rain had stopped. He couldn't see Ephenome from here, he was still propped on Antonella but he had to slide off her which caused her to stir.

"Sorry, I don't think I can spend the whole night in the water."

"That's okay." She mumbled.

He climbed out of the pool and lay dripping and naked on the floor of the greenhouse. He had brought a towel and he pulled that over him as an insufficient blanket and lay along the edge where he could keep a hand on Antonella's arm. It wasn't terribly comfortable but he was still tired enough to fall asleep like that.

The next time he awoke it was dawn and he was quite stiff and Antonella was gone.

He sat up groggily thinking of staggering in to bed before he remembered Karalie was in his bed. Oh well. He limped inside with a sore hip from sleeping on the flagstones. He went to his workshop instead where he had a long padded bench and he went back to sleep there.

His day started for real hours later when the sun was high. Karalie had not made an appearance yet and Ephenome informed him that she was still inside. He still had no idea just how much information she could gather from a root trailing down an inside wall but he believed her when she told him that.

He walked his fields along the river and then the coast hoping to spot Antonella somewhere but there was no sign of her. Instead he continued walking the perimeter and found a disturbing area. When he completed his circuit and returned it was early evening as that hike required most of a day. Still no Karalie, which was fine, he was looking for Ephenome.

She was alert as she often was towards dusk. She watched him enter the courtyard with her bright green eyes. "Yes?"

"Someone is coming and going."

"Something would be more appropriate." She corrected him.

"Should I be concerned?"

He was concerned of course; he was just trying to be nonchalant and non-confrontational about it. He got a steady stare in return.

"I have a friend, you know that."

"I had sort of thought your friends were flower nymphs and other trees and such."

"Have you ever tried getting useful information from a flower nymph?"

"No." Whatever Ephenome had spying for her had come via a tunnel, he had seen that much. "You don't have to tell me who 'someone' or 'something' is. That's your business. You have to tell me if that tunnel is secure."

She folded her arms on her flower and leaned forward. A pose that generally meant she was feeling comfortable. "Very secure."

He nodded. He really wanted to ask her more but he had put her in charge. He had no choice but to trust her.

There was a cacophony above them, a small bird being harried by a larger black bird. He realized the smaller bird was a bluebird and sent a magical gust of wind above it causing the larger bird to bank away. The blue bird landed ungracefully clinging to his shirt. He took its message, cast a simple calming spell on the frantic creature and then set it on a nearby branch that happened to be part of Ephenome.

"They tickle." She said.

"You'll be fine." He opened the paper and found a series of runes. Ephenome could see it too but she could not read. He had to dig around in his memory to come up with what they meant.

"The first rune is for 'danger' or 'warning'" He explained to her. "Then the symbol for the element of earth. The next symbol I might need to research but it's a combination of the elemental symbols for air and water."

"And the last mark?" she asked.

"Something like, 'to you, at you, towards you'. Which would in this case be me. Which might be a way of signing the message?"

"Or it means three elemental creatures are on their way to you."

"Unlikely."

"Unless they're tracking Karalie."

"Tracking?"

Ephenome said nothing. The bluebird was singing happily again and she was eyeing it as if she was considering eating it.

"Don't hurt it, I need it. I need to repay her too. Tell me something I can share."

"Chimera."

"What?" he said, alarmed. "That's what you think this means?"

"No. Chimera will go to town."

He processed that for a moment.

"For revenge?"

No answer. So that was a 'yes' implicitly.

"There was a chimera living in that part of the jungle?" He was really thinking about himself when he asked and his idle stroll into the heart of it with his horses and his cart.