TRC - Lord of the Glass Desert Ch. 11

The pleasure slave pushed him back in his seat and scrambled on top of him again. He looked up to see her face flush as her breathing quickened. "You're tired Master, let me take care of that for you," she said as her hands dropped to his belt.

"You're sure about this?" he asked, but the look on her face gave him his answer long before she spoke.

"Please, Master, I want this," she said. After working on his belt for a moment, Laika slid off his lap and slipped his trousers down. Planting her elbow between his legs, she wrapped her fingers around the base of his prick and began showering the head and shaft with tiny licks and kisses.

"If you keep that up, I'll be too hard to go," he warned.

Instead of answering, she covered his slowly hardening cock with her mouth and rested there. Shifting more onto her side, Laika lifted a leg and reached down with her unoccupied hand to play with herself as she waited.

Kal felt an odd sense of intimacy doing this with the pleasure slave. With Aradelle and Oona, they were very nonchalant about using them to drain his bladder. They also didn't use their mouth to do it. But with Laika, her excitement from the act was evident on her face. He still found it a little strange to think relieving himself in her mouth could bring her pleasure. But then, he had drunk down plenty of the salty fluid from women's pussies when licking them to a squirting orgasm.

There seemed to be a fundamental difference between the two situations, but Kal didn't dwell on it as he let himself relax. He eventually needed to push a little to get things going, as thinking about bringing Sera, Ikuno, Perra, and a few others to screaming, back-arching orgasms made him hard, but not overly so.

His stream hit Laika in the back of the mouth, and she squeezed the base of his cock slightly to keep from filling her mouth faster than she could swallow. The squeezing wasn't exactly comfortable, but that was likely a good thing as her moans and the sound of the pleasure slave's fingers flying over her extremely wet sex threatened to bring Kal to full hardness.

"She's really drinking it, isn't she?" whispered Kashka in wonder. Looking down at the woman's hand for a moment, the cat-girl shot an impish grin at Kal before scooting down by Laika's pussy.

The pleasure slave made a noise of dismay as Kashka pulled her hand away from her sex. Then Laika's eyes popped wide as the cat-girl dipped her head down and licked along the outside of her sex, carefully avoiding the sensitive inner lips and clit. After a second lick on the other side with her extremely rough tongue, Kashka put the slave's hand back on her pussy and grinned wide as the woman came almost immediately.

Kal was impressed. Laika kept her lips sealed around his cock and kept swallowing while in the throes of her orgasm. But the sight of her climax was enough to harden his cock the rest of the way. The stream trickled and stopped moments later.

Kashka sat back and savored her first direct taste of a woman's sex. The flavor didn't give her the same rush as when Kal came on her tongue, but it was still exciting.

Laika gently nursed Kal's cock as she breathed heavily through her nose. The outer lips of her pussy stung from the cat's rough tongue, but it was a pleasant sting that coupled wonderfully with the lingering taste of Kal in her mouth. He ran his fingers through her hair and lightly pushed her down on his cock. She began bobbing her head in earnest, trying to get him off, but the hand in her hair slowed her pace to something less urgent. Laying her arm across his thigh, she rested her head on it and settled in to give the mage a nice long blowjob.

Leaning his head against the raised back of the magic carpet, Kal let his thoughts drift to a large chested, blonde cleric taking Laika's place and nodded off to images of Elta wrapping her lips around his dick.

------

Turam's guards were doing their best to act normal the next day, but their shifting eyes and tight smiles gave their nervousness away to those paying attention.

Just before midday, Kal had Kashka put her belt and cloak on, this time insisting she don some of the clothes he bought her back in Fazal.

"Weren't you supposed to put this on me when I asked for it?" Kashka asked Ria as her belt appeared in her hand.

"For me to do that, you need to be perfectly still, and this thing moves too much," said the sprite, waving at the floating transport around them. "If you loosen up your belt a few notches, I probably could manage, but if it can't materialize around you safely, it will go to your hand."

"Then how does she clothe you?" the cat asked Kal. As she spoke, Kashka realized Kal had never asked Ria to clothe him in the litter. He always hopped off first before assuming a rigid posture with his arms out to his sides, then put his boots on once clothed since they appeared in his hand.

"Lots of practice," said Kal, "I've been plenty of places where people are hostile toward magic users and needed to change fast."

"The tricky part is getting his boots on him. Which is why he wears those even if he has commoner's clothes on," said the sprite pointing at Kal's feet. "Even dropping the height of his boot's sole is enough to leave him standing naked holding his clothes in his hands."

Kal chuckled, "Don't get the wrong idea. Ria works quickly and has me dressed and ready to go in just a few extra seconds when that happens."

"Except for the boots?"

"Yes, except for the boots."

------

Hours passed, and it was mid-afternoon when they heard the blast of a horn from the back of the caravan repeated up the entire line, bringing them to a halt. Guards all rushed to the outer perimeter, pulling down metal visors that snapped into place over their nose and mouth. The front of the visors lit up with a rune familiar to Kal. It matched the one on the mask currently hanging around his neck for purifying air and breathing underwater. Turam explained to him later the visors were painted to match the color of their armor but were made of more magically conductive brass instead of steel.

Knowing that sandworms were coming, Laika prepared for their arrival earlier in the day by retrieving two linen masks lined with wool and a small vial of scented oil from the storage box. The oil reminded him of some of Lady Nina's salves back home and not in a good way. The pleasure slave claimed the strong vapors canceled out the sandworm's aphrodisiac but at the cost of an icy sting in your nose and throat. She dabbed some of the oil on the masks, then helped Kashka tie hers on before donning her own. Laika then began masturbating. She warned them earlier that climaxes lessened the effects of the aphrodisiac for a time and that all of the pleasure slaves were required to bring themselves to orgasm once everyone's masks were secured. Since they were the last to put on their masks, masturbating was a precautionary measure if they breathed some in.

A cry came from one of the litters to their side. Looking out, they saw a naked man with a mask tied but hanging around his neck. He was trying to crawl in their direction with one free hand as he stroked himself with the other. His female client looked on in shock, crying out for help, but all the guards were on either side of the caravan, preparing for a battle they hoped would never come. Waving for Kashka to follow, Kal jogged over and picked the man up from behind, placing him back on the litter as the cat-girl fixed his face covering.

"I'm sorry!" said the woman, "We just finished, and I wanted to see if the worm's scent would get him hard again."

Kal and Kashka stared at the woman for a moment, stunned by either her stupidity or complete lack of caring for the man's life. Afraid he might slap the woman if he thought about it too long, Kal turned his attention to the male pleasure slave. The man kept trying to crawl off the litter's magic carpet as he tried desperately to answer the sandworm's call. The entire time his hand kept stroking his cock, trying to cum.

The woman said they just finished, which probably explained his difficulty getting off. Though he wasn't overly excited about needing to do this, Kal reached under the man and cast his rejuvenation spell. He barely got his hand out of the way before the naked man sprayed jizz all over the ornate carpet beneath him.

The woman looked at the puddle in disgust, "How dare you come without my permission."

Kal openly glared at the woman and was about to speak, but the pleasure slave held up a hand, stopping him. "You may discipline me as you wish, Mistress, but not until the sandworms are gone."

"Then your cock is worthless to me. Return to the cart. I have no need of you," she said with a dismissive wave.

"Yes, Mistress," said the man before climbing off the litter and walking toward the front of the caravan, masked but otherwise naked.

Hiding his amazement at the woman's horrid behavior, as well as the pleasure slave's calm acceptance, Kal looked over at Kashka. "Well, he has another two shots before he'll go soft again. At least the girls back at the slave cart will get to have some fun." It wasn't much of a dig, but it was the only one he could get in on the awful woman. "Let's go see if we got lucky, and only one worm showed up."

Laika was probably the least relaxed he had ever seen someone after an orgasm when Kal and Kashka checked in on her. Seeing she was okay, they continued to the outer edge of the caravan before making their way forward.

"Have you come up with anything for the second one?" Kashka asked.

"Maybe. The way the mask hung around that man's neck reminded me of something I haven't used in a very long time. Your aim might be exactly what we need to make it work too. Ria, come out here, please. How many of the slave collars I tinkered with do we have left?"

Kal saw Turam and his entourage on mounts beside the camel train as the sprite appeared and flew up to his shoulder. "Four," she answered, "but you set those up before your fight with Kogen. If you want them to pop as soon as they get in the creature's mouth, you'll need to be a good distance from it. No offense Kashka but I don't think your arms are big enough to throw a heavy leather collar from far enough away."

"If one got inside its gizzard-thing, cracking the mana crystal would do the job for us, but we don't want one dying and let the other go on a rampage. If that happens and the worm doesn't kill us, Turam will," said Kal as they walked up to the caravan leader.

Turam nodded in acknowledgment of both their presence and the truth of Kal's words as the mage and cat-girl approached, then returned to watching down the side of the caravan for signs of the sandworms. "If you plan on killing both of the worms, I think you may make someone very sad," said Turam.

"What?" Kal had no idea what the man was getting at.

"We have a volunteer."

"Someone volunteered to get eaten by a sandworm?" asked Kashka in disbelief.

Turam nodded, "It's more common than you might think, but almost always older folk which doesn't make the worms very happy. Unfortunately, a couple and their camel fell behind the other night, so these two are well fed already."

"How do you know the sandworms killed them?"

"I have my ways," he said cryptically while continuing to scan the desert.

"There's one," said one of the guards, pointing.

Kal could barely make out the tiny piece of the desert moving as the worm burrowed beneath the surface. Seconds later, a sand-colored tail flicked into the air, releasing a plume of reddish-brown dust."

Turam's eyes narrowed, "The whores, they're looking for more to eat."

"How?" asked Kal.

"That dust is the reason we all are wearing these damn masks. That plume is going to float over the caravan and try to... get anyone who isn't wearing it right," he finished lamely as a man burst through the line of Turam's men and ran into the open desert. A desperate scream came from a woman restrained by the guards to keep her from chasing after him.

"Idiot," muttered the Caravan Leader as the worm turned towards the man.

"You're just going to let this happen?" asked Kal.

"Beyond the line of my men is not my concern, same as any other part of our journey."

"What about it releasing more of its scent? Why is that not considered an attack against the caravan?"

"Mostly because it's so rare, and even more rare for it to be successful. Of all the people in this caravan, only one is about to become food. The fool probably didn't use the oil we provided. The masks by themself are not enough."

The moving mound of sand sunk for a moment as the man approached. The restrained woman's shrieks ended abruptly, and a quick glance showed the woman lying unconscious while the guard who struck her with the butt of his spear resumed his post. They likely did her a favor as the ground beneath the man pushed upward, revealing the five lobes of the sandworm's mouth. The man quickly vanished as the sand he stood upon drained into the creature's stomach. Still under the aphrodisiac's effects, he didn't even scream before they heard the sickening crunch of bones as the worm devoured him.

Kal heard Turam snarl as a second loud crunch reached their ears. The sandworm's mouth closed as it fell over and burrowed into the sand again. This time, it made a line straight for them and was soon joined by a second worm.

The mage swallowed hard as the worms breached the surface and came to rest a good distance away. Up close, they were much larger than his reading, or even the furrows they left around his tent, led him to believe. Both mouths slowly opened, and the woman-shaped lures descended on their tethers from the double-sized top lobe.

"That was one of my merchants!" Turam yelled.

"He came to me, Caravanner. You know the rules. Besides, I'm going to be a mother soon and need all the food I can get," the worm-woman called back, rubbing her belly.

"Well, that was almost enough to make me vomit," muttered Turam. "Those in the Lottery will be here shortly."

Barely a minute later, the Lottery participants shuffled out in front of Turam and his entourage, each wearing a simple white robe with a guard on either side to prevent them from running. The exception was an older woman who appeared to be in severe pain with each step. Instead of guarding her, the men were helping her walk. Kal was certain he knew who the volunteer was.

Turam raised his voice, "One of you has volunteered, but the other must be chosen. Each of us in the caravan thanks you from the bottom of our hearts for your sacrifice and assures you that your family will be taken care of upon our return." He looked down at the pouch on his belt, "Vule, a name, please." A lone speck of light floated up from the bag and into Turam's hand. The Caravan Leader held it out to the crystal keeper. Seeing Kal's curious expression, Turam said, "The names are written with disappearing ink. If Vule," he pointed at his bag of holding, "doesn't know what's on them, we can't be accused of playing favorites." As he spoke, the crystal keeper fished a small mana crystal out of a pocket and touched it to the paper before handing it back to the Caravan Leader. He then hastily retreated behind the line of guards.

"They're not going to like this," grumbled Turam before calling out, "Ardwa!"

A woman collapsed into a pile of white robes and dark hair, wailing as her name was announced.

"No!" shouted the sandworm, "You will give us a male! Take the old woman back and choose another!"

"You will take the people offered, per our agreement. You know the rules," Turam shot back.

"No! You will give her a male," she called out, pointing at the other sandworm, "or I will go straight through your line of humans, crushing all I can!"

All around them, the caravan's guards readied their weapons. Sitting up on his camel, Turam opened his mouth to bellow a retort.

"I'll go," said Kal.

The Caravan Leader deflated like he had been punched in the gut, "You will?"

"Yes, I will, but get me a little time to prepare," he said quietly.

"As you wish, but don't fail, young mage," he said. Calling out to the worms he informed them they had a male volunteer, he just needed a few moments to get his affairs in order and say his goodbyes.

Meanwhile, Kal turned to Kashka, "Follow me out there. One gets the modified collar, the other gets Bozun. I'm hoping your cloak will keep you hidden until it's too late for them to react. Ria, I'm going to try to knock Bozun into its mouth with my staff, but I don't know how close his trap is to going off, so I'll need him to appear as I swing—"

"Young man."

Kal turned to see the old woman who volunteered tottering toward them, "Turam warned me you might not be happy if I killed the worms."

"I appreciate trying to save me, but I have been living in pain ever since I lost my husband fifteen years ago in the same attack that gave me these." She opened her robe to reveal she was nude beneath. Kal, Kashka, and Ria all gasped at the large scars on her side where significant chunks of her body were missing. They ran from her knee all the way up to the bottom of her ribs. "A few months ago, both my sons died to thieves while leaving their shop at the Grand Bazaar. Their wives are nearly destitute, and I am merely a burden to them. This way, I can assure my grandchildren a good future. Don't take that from me."

Without thinking, Kal reached out and brushed his fingers over one of the scars, drawing it back quickly when she winced. "How are you even alive?"

"A group of adventurers killed the creature and saved me but were too late to save my husband."

The mage sighed, "I have a potion that softens scars. It may help—"

The old woman shook her head, "If you had offered it to me ten years ago, I would have accepted. But after living in pain for so long, I've made my peace with this world and want to move on to the next."

"There's no way I can talk you out of this, is there?"

The woman shook her head.

"What would you say to helping me then?" asked Kal. "Instead of being slowly eaten alive, I can make it quick and painless. You would also leave this world knowing you avenged three people besides yourself."

She looked up at Turam, "If I help him, will it count?"

The Caravan Leader shrugged, "If the worm takes you and you die, that's good enough for me. How long it lives afterward and the exact method of your death is not my problem." His eyes shifted to Kal, "It also lessens the chance of another parlay with these two on the way back."

"How much longer?!" one of the sandworms called out.

"Almost ready!" Kal yelled. Turam called over one of his guards and the man removed the collar worn by the Lottery participants from the old woman. Meanwhile, Kal retrieved an explosive slave collar and pulled out any residual magic from its crystal before placing it around the woman's neck. He made it as loose as possible, so it hung down like a huge necklace and would be easier for Ria to put on her. Placing a finger over an area of the thick, hardened leather, he recharged the mana crystal embedded within.

"They won't let her close to them with that on," said Turam. "Sacrifices must be nude."

"I gathered that from her lack of underclothes," Kal replied. "What's your name?" he asked the old woman.

"You don't need to know, young man. It will only make this harder on you."

The mage stared at her for a long moment before nodding. "Ria, add this woman to my party." Addressing the old woman again, he said, "The collar will activate if the worm takes you too far away from me but will also go off if cut open. These were never meant to be worn again, so they will also activate if you undo the buckle. Now, you need to ask my little friend to store your collar and to give it back as the sandworm taking you closes its mouth."