Penny the Conqueror Ch. 04

"Are you nervous, Penny?"

Penny flicked up her eyebrows. "I mean...yeah. I'm glad you're with me."

She and Oola were led into the council chambers. The three members of the Synod of Wisdom were seated behind their large table, the Pillar of Light burning behind them.

"Come forward," commanded the lone female on the synod. Penny walked forward and stood alone while Oola stayed near the back of the room.

"You have been summoned to fulfill the first of the Four Feats," the female member of the synod continued. "The first selected is the Feat of Cunning. You must prepare for a long journey to Mount Obris. There, you must deactivate the sentient computer, Arbratax. The computer has made self-repairs, and will soon pose a threat to the planet if not stopped."

"Can I take a guide?" asked Penny.

"You are permitted one companion for this journey," one of the male synod members stated. "It will be arduous, taking several days. There are many dangers in the vale."

Penny turned to the back of the room. "I'll take Oola with me."

"She will be a fine companion," the other male synod member agreed. "However, as she did not have to face Arbratax for her own feat, she will be inexperienced with this assignment."

Penny turned back to the synod. "She'll be a great companion." She waled over and took the electronic map to the mountain, then gave a graceful bow as taught by the current queen. Penny and Oola exited.

"Thank you for your confidence, your greatness," Oola commented.

Penny gave a playful slap on Oola's large bicep. "Just don't lose me out there. No one will believe you didn't kill me."

The two of them got in a good meal that night, then got to bed early. They needed to get enough distance going before the hot sun would take its toll on them.

Penny had arranged a land vehicle for them, a treaded lightly-armoured car with a domed front. There was a small laser cannon mounted on a turret on the roof.

Oola came out in her own armour, a pair of leather pauldrons and a chain mail covering her breasts. She also had some knee-high boots and leather gauntlets. Oola believed in the leather of the alligator-like beasts of the southern swamps, since they were almost as tough as steel but were lighter.

Penny looked at Oola's body as it glistened in the sun. The orange of her skin showed off her sinews and muscles nicely. "Hey, how come you don't cover up your belly?"

Oola rubbed her hand over her taut abs. "I want my enemies to know how powerful I am. Besides, they will never have a chance to kill me."

The two of them loaded up the last of the provisions into the landcar, then headed towards the vale.

"How is a computer supposed to be a threat to the whole planet?" asked Penny. "Just turn it off or whatever."

"It was designed nearly two centuries ago," Oola explained as she focused on driving the car. "Nobody knows who made it, but he--maybe even a she--must have been a titan of intellect. The computer was designed not only to self-repair, but to grow."

"Grow how?" asked Penny.

Oola shrugged. "Would you like to listen to some music?" She switched on the music file player, and on came what sounded like a series of conch shells playing. "They are the palace's own symphony! Is that not wonderful?"

Penny winced. "Something else, please!" She pushed at the buttons until another song came on, this one sounding like a string quartet. Penny tried again, until she heard some synth music. It sounded hypnotic and soothing. "Ooh, that's better."

Penny and Oola chatted and laughed as they went along. It was hard to believe that just a few weeks ago, they were ready to kill one another.

They stopped after several hours of driving to have dinner, then Oola had Penny do several muscle exercises. Oola also trained with her heavy sword, while Penny practiced her boxing.

After a while, Penny noticed large figures in the sky. "Those look like dragons!"

Oola took time from her push-ups and gazed at the sky. "Those are harshafs--reptile gliders. They do not fly, but they are able to soar for a great deal of time."

"They look so cool!" Penny wandered out into the open, holding her hand above her eyes. "Do they breathe fire?"

Oola scratched her shaved head, save for the brown ponytail at the top. "A creature that breathes fire? Ooh, Penny---please be warned! Those creatures can be dangerous."

Penny sputtered. "What can they do way up there?"

It was just then that Penny was knocked to the ground, unsure of what hit her. Her head felt heavy and she was having trouble seeing. She stumbled up, then went and touched her head. Whatever it was felt like tar, and it was mashed into her hair.

Then the smell hit her. It was like rotten fish and pickle juice. She was feeling nauseous the second it hit her nostrils. She managed to turn her head to Oola, who stood there with her hands over her mouth.

"Oh, Penny," Oola started. She was fighting back the laughter as best as she could, then it just came out of her. "I am afraid," she managed, "I am afraid that the harshaf has...relieved himself all over you."

Penny looked at her hand, coated in a green and white slime. She started to let out a loud moan in agony. "This is dragon shit! Fuck! FUCK!"

Oola had brought along her special cleanser, a full jar of it. Luckily there was a nearby pool of water with lush green grass growing nearby.

"Get into the water, Penny," ordered Oola. "I shall follow."

Penny tried her best to wrestle off her tunic, as it was almost fused to her skin. The dragon poo was like tar, and it pulled at her roots. She finally got fully naked and waded in, feeling gross and tired.

She finally got deep enough to dunk her head under, then tried her best to get the goop off of her. At least now the smell was subsiding, but the gunk worked into her hair was still stuck there. She popped out of the water, some of the shit still stuck in her wispy blonde arm hair. "Fuck. I mean...fuck!"

She turned to find Oola, who had slipped out of her armour. She was completely nude as well, and it was at this point that Penny realized what a massive, strong woman she was looking at. Oola's tits were almost like a man's chest, but she had large nipples poking out. She had nice rounded shoulders and well-defined biceps, and her leg muscles had great definition.

Oola headed to the water with her jar of cleanser. "I normally use this to take stains out of my armour," she mentioned, still getting a small chuckle in at poor Penny's expense.

Penny swallowed her pride and found a spot in the lake where the water came just below her shoulders while she sat on the lake bed. She turned around as Oola opened the jar and poured a generous amount on Penny's head, then worked it in. The cleanser felt gritty and smelled a bit like oranges. "Ooh, this isn't bad," Penny said.

Oola worked away on Penny's blonde hair, getting down to the scalp. Penny felt relieved getting the heavy slop off of her head, and the wash was doing its job well.

"Penny, we must remove the rest from your body as well," Oola ordered. Penny groaned, then got up as requested. She was now thigh-depth in the water, and feeling self-conscious. Oola's strong physique made her feel weak and ugly.

Oola took Penny by the shoulders and got her to spin around, so now they were facing each other. Oola had nipples that you could hang your coat on. She insisted on rubbing hard on Penny's arms and shoulders to get the last remnants of dragon shit off of her.

Oola had her arms right around Penny as she stroked her back. "I will not tell anyone of your embarrassing episode, Penny," she assured.

Penny rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Oola. I trust you."

Oola pushed on Penny's chest. "Dunk down." Penny did so, getting the rest of the lather and debris off of her. She emerged from the water slicked up and feeling clean.

Oola got out some more of her cleanser. She rubbed up Penny's tits, then reached down and got out Penny's pussy. Penny shut her eyes and leaned forward, holding onto the broad shoulders of her protector. "Jesus, woman," Penny whispered. Oola then reached around and grabbed onto Penny's ass, kneading the flesh roughly.

Penny just about went in for a kiss as Oola turned and walked out of the water. Groovi had a gorgeous rounded ass, but Oola had a more squared and firm one, and Penny liked it a lot. She took her time watching as Oola slipped on her leather boots, pulled on her shorts, then got her leather and chain mail on. It was enticing just watching her getting dressed.

Penny never counted on any of the various feats being so much fun, but here she was, almost like she was on a road trip. It was a little like when she and her girlfriends drove over to Chicago just to see Vampire Weekend. They would pull off when it was getting dark and set up a tent. Oola's snoring was tolerable, and she surprised Penny by wearing incredibly skimpy underwear to bed.

After three days of travelling, the two of them made it to the edge of Mount Obris. The mountain was actually a semi-active volcano, with the last eruption recorded several hundred years ago. The two of them got out of the landcar and had a look around before venturing into the constructed cave.

The cave entrance was huge, maybe a hundred feet high. "They must have been flying ships in here," Penny guessed. "This doesn't look like anything we see in the Boccan capital."

"Perhaps we should have studied this structure before we came," Oola ventured.

"No time to beat ourselves up over it," Penny replied. "Let's move."

"I cannot beat myself up, Penny," Oola said. "This is a silly expression."

Penny gave a half-smile and shook her head while the two of them made their way down the hall. The two of them were on guard for any signs of Arbratax.

Out of nowhere, a small Boccan girl appeared in front of them. She was maybe six, holding a stuffed myxlo to her chest. She had a sweet face and looked afraid.

Oola drew her sword. "Stay back, greatness. This could be a trap."

Penny got down, still keeping distance from the girl. "Hi! I'm Penny, and this is Oola. We don't want to hurt anyone. We just want to know what's going on here."

"I am Cursor," the girl said. "I am a remnant of a program that was left in the central processing generator."

"Who made you?" asked Penny.

"His name was Kifallus Venetor, the last man to disable Arbratax," Cursor went on. "I am meant to warn you--Arbratax cannot ever be destroyed. It can only be damaged."

"We'll do what we can," Penny replied. "What do we need to know about Arbratax?"

"It will not harm you, at least not directly," Cursor cautioned. "It will say and do what it needs to in order to survive. It can read your mind. It will attack your vulnerabilities. These are all illusions you will encounter, but they will feel real, and will get stronger the close to the central computer. Please be careful."

Cursor faded out. Penny got to her feet and turned to Oola. "We might be in bigger trouble than we thought."

Oola re-sheathed her sword. "I will be prepared for anything."

The two of them made their way farther down the hallway, when they started to hear laughter of children echoing throughout the chambers.

"Penny?" Oola sounded strangely worried. "Why are there children down here, and why do they sound so joyful?"

"It must be Arbratax," Penny guessed. "It's gonna do a lot of these mind tricks on us, girl."

"I do not want to think that children are being harmed," Oola said.

"You got a bit of a mothering instinct, don't you?"

"People who wish to harm the innocent make me angry," Oola replied. "If they harm children, I will destroy them."

The two of them made it to a larger room, which looked like some sort of repair bay, although there were no vehicles. The room was still lit up, and felt sterile.

"You might have been right about the purpose of this hallway," Oola said.

Out of nowhere, there was a scene of a gunfight. Several Boccans appeared to be blasted by laser weapons by men in strange grey suits.

"No!" Oola cried out, then drew her sword again. "Stop what you are doing!"

"Oola, relax," Penny cautioned. "This isn't real. Look." The Boccan men would fade out as soon as they hit the ground. "This might be something that happened a long time ago. Maybe even centuries."

The two of them continued through the hangar bay. Random explosions would happen near them, and were every bit as loud as the real thing, only there was no heat or shockwave. They made it to the other end of the hangar and continued down another corridor.

"Are you getting scared, greatness?" asked Oola.

"I could do without the explosions," Penny replied. "This is just gonna get worse the farther down we go. Just remember that we can't get hurt, of at lest that was what Cursor said."

Several spiders were seen crawling all over the roof of the tunnel. Oola studied them with interest. "These do not appear to be lifeforms native to this planet."

"No, they're from Earth. It must be an illusion."

"I do not care for these creatures," Oola said with a sour look on her face.

They made it into another chamber, which looked more like a lounge. There were neon lights along the floors and several tables and booths, along with a bar along the far end. The floor had a soft carpet, and the lighting was bright and friendly.

"This does not appear to be a hangar," Oola observed.

"It looks like a bar," Penny countered. "It looks pretty clean for some place that was abandoned for centuries, though. Maybe there are robot cleaners, or...?"

Penny's speculations were interrupted when the entire room as filled with over a hundred naked bodies. They were Boccans, all shades of red with mostly silver hair, and they were all fucking each other with incredible heat and passion.

Penny gawked as she saw men fucking women, women sucking cocks, men eating pussy, tits getting sucked, asses getting pounded. The moans and screams were everywhere, and everyone was fucking on the floor, up on the tables, and two women on the bar satisfying each other.

"My goodness," Oola whispered. She looked down at her boot, seeing a woman grasping at her ankle while she got railed from a muscular man. She stepped away, only to have another woman grasp at her calf. "Penny! The illusions are starting to become real!"

Penny felt a hand touch her back softly, and she pulled away as well. "Cursor said we wouldn't get hurt, but don't trust anything!"

Penny and Oola got back to back, watching the show. Oola focused on two large muscular men, one butt-fucking the other. She admired the physical prowess of the men, and the idea of two men having sex intrigued her. The man in back's balls were slapping hard into the other's ass as they both stared at Oola. They appeared to be trying to coax her over.

Penny took Oola by the hand. "Let's get out of here." She dragged the barbarian woman out of the room, leaving the orgy behind.

Penny let go of Oola's hand. "God, what the hell is wrong with this stupid computer? Imagine trying to psyche us out like that!"

Oola wiped at her forehead. "Did you see, Penny? Did you see that there were two men engaged in the deed?"

Penny stuck out her tongue. "God, yeah! I mean, I don't have anything against the gay guys, but like, I don't want to see it! Wasn't that gross?"

Oola blew out a breath. "Yes. I agree. Terrible."

The two of them went farther down, until they came to a bright room. Inside were rows upon rows of black cubes with strange blue lights zipping back and forth along their tops. Eventually they found a red orb in the centre of the cubes.

Oola got her sword out. "This must be the brain." She swung her sword, but was hit with a sharp jolt of power. Oola dropped her sword as she fell to the floor.

"Oola!" Penny ran to Oola and dropped to her knees, helping Oola off the floor.

"There is a shield," Oola panted. "I am all right." She got up slowly off the floor as Penny gave an assist.

"We gotta figure out how to get that shield down," Penny said. "Maybe if we--"

Penny had to stop. There, standing maybe ten metres away, was a woman in lovely thigh-high stockings, a short black skirt, a sleeveless top, and the gloves extending to her elbow. The freckles on her nose, her fine cheekbones, and her generous bosom were all unmistakable.

"Vitala?" Penny stepped forward, although she was hesitant.

"Penny Leighton, I have found you!" She took those cute little tiptoe steps toward Penny. "I had to come back for you. I was so sorry that I had to leave you here."

Oola picked up her sword. "Penny, please be cautious! Remember the warnings about illusions."

Penny looked her all over. "Vitala! Oh my God. I missed you."

"I feel the same way," Vitala responded. "I am so sorry that I had to leave you, but I have completed my mission."

Penny scanned over Vitala's face. If it was an illusion, it was the finest she had ever seen. Small wisps of Vitala's hair danced in the gentle breeze within the central control room.

Penny twisted up her lips, and thought hard about the number 123. "What number atom was in the sapphire?"

"A hundred and twenty-one," replied Vitala.

Damn. She was good. "How did you get in here?"

"I was informed at the palace," Vitala said. "I am resigning my post as trader. I want to be here with you."

Something seemed off to Penny. "Why would you do that?"

"It is all for you, Penny, Leighton. I wish to be with you forever!"

Oola held her sword up. "Allow me to dispatch of this impostor!"

Penny held up a hand. "Cool it, Oola." She moved over to Oola and placed a hand on Oola's shoulder, leaning into her ear. "We still don't know what this computer is capable of. It might just decide it can go ahead and kill. I have an idea." She turned back to Vitala. "I have a feeling that you're just my own memory of Vitala. You're not real."

"Penny, please! It's me," Vitala pleaded. "You may touch me and see."

Penny thought about something, then took Oola's dagger from her boot. She threw the dagger at Vitala's feet. "Here. Prick your finger and show me the blood."

Vitala poked her finger, and blue blood came out. She held up her finger. "See?"

Penny leaned into Oola's ear. "See? I thought that her blood would be a blue colour, but I don't even know if it's the true colour of her species."

"I confirm it is not," Oola whispered back. "Their species have red, like yours and mine."

Penny nodded. "I have another idea." She took the back of Oola's neck and kissed her deeply.

"Penny!" Vitala screamed in shock. "What are you doing?!"

Penny threw a leg over Oola's thigh and kissed harder, then touched Oola's chest. Oola went down to Penny's neck. "Ooh, I wanted to do this for a while," Penny gasped.

"Please! Stop this!" Vitala looked frantic, crying and stomping her feet. "I love you!"

Oola took off her armour, exposing her chest. Penny licked at Oola's nipples while Oola massaged Penny's back.

"Noooo!" Vitala collapsed on the floor, then the hologram broke into thousands of voxels and faded into oblivion.

The energy shield protecting the central processor crackled and then disappeared. Oola tore away long enough to pick up her sword, then swung it at the orb. The processor shattered, then made a small explosion.

Oola placed her sword on the floor, then walked over to Penny. "That was an excellent ruse, your greatness."

"It wasn't a ruse," Penny said sweetly. "At least, it wasn't only that. I was wanting to do that for a long time." The two of them embraced again and kissed. Oola undid Penny's shirt and helped her out of it. The two of them kissed as Penny backed up against one of the black cubes.

Penny turned around and put her palms flat on the cube. Oola stooped down to pull off Penny's pants and underwear, then reached up and put two fingers inside Penny. Penny braced her knees as she felt the sensation. "Oh baby, that's it!" Oola's powerful hands worked their magic on Penny's pussy.