TRC - Lord of the Glass Desert Ch. 12

The lure-woman looked down as she heard an unfamiliar sound coming from the bottom of her mouth.

During the sandworm's dive, the downward angle kept the old woman away from the ring of teeth but also bounced her around with the cat-girl's blades. One of the felines' throwing knives sunk into her leg as they dove, but the cat's dagger came to rest next to her hand once they stopped. Chuckling to herself, she held out the slave collar around her neck and sliced clean through it with the blade.

---

"He didn't just want to take out his killer. He wanted to take out half the neighborhood when he died," whispered Kashka, staring at the sandworm's corpse through the haze of dust lingering in the air.

Getting to his feet, Kal brushed himself off, "Whoever killed him would expect some form of trap and run. If he died normally the night we fought, we would all be dead. Across the street would not have been far enough away."

He looked down, "Keep an eye out. We still have one more."

Another loud thump made everyone's heads turn to see a much smaller patch of sand jump into the air just ahead of the caravan. A lone mote of light hopped out of Ria's bag and turned into the old woman's robe next to Kashka.

"Or not," he said and closed his eyes for a moment in silent thanks to the old lady. "Ria, did you get my staff?"

"Sort of," said the sprite, becoming visible again and storing the woman's robe at a motion from Kal. "I changed it, but the mote is stuck in the sand over there," she said, pointing at the base of the worm's corpse. "You'll need to dig it out so it can come back to me. Don't take too long. Motes that can't return to me or go back to their normal shape drain me quickly. If I'm forced back into my bag, your staff will vanish."

Kal breathed a sigh of relief, "Understood. I'm just glad it's not lost. Kashka, why don't you see if you can help Turam while I dig my staff out. Ria, stay with her and give her whatever she needs to help any injured. I shouldn't be long."

As Kal jogged back to the worm's remains, Kashka began walking toward Turam's entourage while attempting to figure out what was happening with the guards.

Several guards were on their knees in the sand, the armor piece covering their crotch tossed to the side as they either slowly masturbated or squeezed their dicks while looking back toward the caravan. Turam only employed a few females in his troupe and they were also masturbating. Unlike their slow-stroking male counterparts, their hands were a blur between their legs. As The cat-girl watched, a male guard holding his cock stepped over and said a few words to one of the females. She shook her head in response, and the man returned to kneeling in the sand to wait for whatever was coming from the caravan. The same scene repeated with another male and female guard, but she nodded and bent over in front of him as she continued to play with herself. As soon as he got into position, Kashka heard the rhythmic clanking of their armor as they fucked.

"Get those on the slave cart out here to help my men!" Turam bellowed. "Any customers willing to give up their pleasure slaves to help will get a free one the next trip!" he yelled over the front section of the caravan. Kashka made out one of his personal slaves furiously sucking the large man's cock as he gave orders and was genuinely confused about what was happening. Despite their self-control, she didn't think it was wise to approach the Caravan Leader or his men at the moment. The cat-girl turned toward the sound of footfalls behind her and saw Laika running up.

"Does Kal want me to help?" Laika asked.

"What's going on?" asked Kashka in return, indicating the masturbating guards.

"They were exposed to the worm's scent. Like us, they're trained to drop to their knees and masturbate if that happens. It's harder to run into a worm's mouth when you are on your knees. He only asks us to assist if the danger is gone. Would Kal want me to help?"

"You'll have to ask him. He's over—" Kashka pointed toward the worm's corpse, expecting to see a large hole dug by the mage as he retrieved his staff. Instead, he lay motionless on the ground.

"Kal?" the cat-girl called out, trotting toward him. "Kal?!" she yelled again, alarm tinging her voice as she broke into a run. A flicker of movement from the sandworm's tail jutting above the desert brought her to a skidding halt.

"Oh no," whispered the sprite from above her head.

Bozun wasn't done trying to kill people from beyond the grave. Green poison poured out of the sandworm's body and rolled across the ground in a thick, toxic fog. Kashka saw places among the creature's blown-out innards where green gas bubbled up through the worm's yellow blood, spreading across the Sulerin sand before flowing down the desert's gentle contour and away from the caravan. But the gradual slope didn't protect Kal standing right next to the worm's body.

His mask kept him from inhaling any of the toxin, but from how he collapsed, it looked like his back was to the cloud when it began cascading down the worm's corpse. He probably didn't know about it in time to activate his Cure Poison rune, if he realized the danger at all.

"I need to get that mask off him, Kashka. He can't breathe unless it's powered."

Kashka walked forward while reaching into the pouch on her belt. She and Kal made antidotes for the actual poison as a precaution, but not the sleep agent. Instead of specific antidotes for the variety of methods for knocking people out, she carried a concoction that counteracted every non-magical sleeping poison. It also made sure she'd be wide awake until tomorrow, at the very least. Unfortunately, she only had one, and they couldn't find the ingredients to make more anywhere in the camel train.

"Laika, go help Turam's men," the cat-girl called behind her, "and Ria, take his mask off."

"I can't," said the sprite, "It belongs to Kal. Only he can order me to store it."

Putting all but three of the finger-sized vials back, she popped the stopper on one filled with a bright yellow liquid and downed it before doing the same with one of the bluish-green vials. Casting a glance at the guards, many of whom were being attended to by pleasure slaves, Kashka broke into a run. Taking off Kal's mask meant he would be in a similar state when he woke up, and for the first time, she didn't look forward to having him inside her.

Rushing into the cloud of green vapor, Kashka dropped to her knees next to him and quickly stripped off the leather mask. She stifled a cry of relief as he took a few long gasping breaths. He may have nearly suffocated because of his mask, but without it, the toxin would have already killed him. The cat-girl dumped the contents of the final vial into his mouth, making him cough and sputter for a moment before finally swallowing.

Kashka could feel the yellow potion in her system fending off the effects of the cloud's sleep agent and knew she had to get Kal away from there quickly. Grabbing one of his arms, the cat-girl tried to drag him out of the vapor, but he was easily twice her weight, if not more, and she seemed to be scraping gouges in the sand more than pulling him to safety. A stream of lights poured from Ria's bag, and a moment later, Ria in her larger form added her slight weight to the effort.

By the time they reached a safe distance from the toxic cloud, Kashka was drenched in sweat from dragging the heavy human across the sand. Pulling another vial from her pouch containing tiny white crystals, she removed the stopper and waved it under Kal's nose. For a moment, she thought the cloud's sleeping agent still affected him, but after a couple of seconds, he started coughing and sputtering. Almost as quickly as he opened his eyes, the mage began clawing at his belt and trousers, trying to free his cock.

The cat-girl calmly replaced the stopper on the vial and dropped it back into the pouch before straddling Kal's hips. Lowering herself, she pulled the crotch of her bottoms to the side and lined up his freed cock before firmly pressing down. She winced as the head slipped inside. She wasn't nearly wet enough for this but could see the desperation in his eyes.

Once fully seated inside her, Kal sat up and hugged her close, "I'm sorry, I can't..." he apologized in her ear as he tried to control his hips and not thrust harshly into her dry sex.

"It's okay, Master," she said, running her fingers through his hair. "Just cum quickly and it'll get better."

"If you were dry, you should have let me do that, Kashka. My body doesn't need lube like yours," said Ria.

"It's a servant's job to take care of her Master."

"Wait..." Kal carefully lifted the cat-girl off his cock, although his hands shook with the effort of not slamming her back down on him. "Ria, Cyrena's lube, or any lube, give it to her. Where the fuck is my mask?" he said, struggling to maintain his self-control.

Instead of going to Kashka, the mote flew to Ria's hand. She popped the stopper off the flask of blue-tinted gel and poured it over Kal's prick before setting it aside. Mage and cat-girl both sighed with relief as he slipped easily inside her pussy and began thrusting up into her. A few seconds later, he crushed her to his chest while emptying his balls in her sex.

The cat-girl rode out the small spike of pleasure she got every time he came inside her before speaking. "Your mask is still back there," said Kashka, glancing over her shoulder at the sandworm, "You'll need to have Ria fetch it unless you feel like doing this until the worm's aphrodisiac fades."

"Ria, store my mask. What knocked me out?" he asked, panting slightly. He peered around Kashka to see the vapor pouring out where he was about to start digging. "Oh."

Looking over to the other side, he saw what looked like a small orgy of Turam's guards and pleasure slaves. "Is that Laika?" he asked. Laika and another pleasure slave with a similar build were hugging and teasing each other's nipples as the caravan's guards took them from behind.

"Please don't be mad, but I sent her to help. Turam called for pleasure slaves to assist his guards with the effects of the sandworm's scent. He said those who allowed their pleasure slave to help would get a free one on a future crossing. I thought you might appreciate it for the trip home, and Laika looked like she wanted to be useful."

Kal didn't have the heart to tell the cat-girl he wasn't planning on joining a caravan during his next crossing. Now that he had a good idea of the Great Desert's dangers and knew that his tent was a safe haven, he couldn't justify wasting either the time or money traveling with the caravan. "I think I know what happened to his men. I might be upset if not for what just happened to me, but for all of the sex going on over there, none of it feels very... sexual."

"Considering how this started?" she said, pointing down to where he slid in and out of her sex, "I doubt it is."

"What happened when you noticed I was out?"

"I took the antidote and went into the gas to give you the other one. After that, Ria said you couldn't breathe with your mask on while unconscious, and I had to take it off. Then she and I pulled you out. You're a little heavy for someone my size."

Speeding up his strokes, Kal held Kashka tight again as he shot another load of cum deep inside her. That they were doing this because of the sandworm's scent stole any enjoyment from the moment. The cat-girl kissed and nuzzled his cheek until the climax passed and he began moving again. The mage was happy the urgency to get off faded a little, though he couldn't make himself stop thrusting yet.

"Isn't your compatibility spell supposed to take care of aphrodisiacs?" asked Ria.

"Only if I want to have sex with them," he replied. "I didn't even want to touch one of those things, much less fuck one. That makes me just as susceptible as anyone else. Mask, please."

After giving him the leather mask and helping him get it situated on his face, Ria said she would go dig out his staff since she was still in her larger form and couldn't care less about Bozun's poison.

Kal tilted his head to the side and smiled at Kashka, "I suppose this means your debt is paid."

The cat-girl was just starting to get some pleasure from what they were doing and moving her hips a little. She froze at his words.

"I—I don't want it to," she said, her expression worried. "You treat me well, and I like being your servant. I've watched how you treat Laika, and I think I would like to be your slave if you wanted."

Kal chuckled, "Here I'm trying to free you, and instead, you sink your claws in and refuse to be let go. You realize the reason Laika enjoys being my pleasure slave is that I don't treat her like one?"

Kashka looked away, "I know, but I've been owned for most of my life. Being free scares me. Somewhere in my heart, I want to be free, but if you owned me, I know you would treat me right."

"'Treating you right' effectively means setting you free in all but name."

She shook her head, "But there's more to it than that. I... I can't explain it. If you own me, then... I know you will always be there and that I will always be yours. It makes me feel safe, and I don't want to lose that."

"You're describing something a little different between a man and a woman than slavery," he said, smiling.

"But you said you own other women."

"I own other women because they have given themselves to me, but none of them are slaves."

"Couldn't you own me the same way if I gave myself to you?"

Kal groaned, partly because she squeezed his cock with her already tight sex and partly because it didn't seem like he was getting through. "No, I can't. One of them has hundreds of years of experience traveling the world, and the other had a few relationships before we met. You have only been with me, and after living a life of captivity, I don't think it's fair to claim you without first letting you discover what the world has to offer. I think you should go out and try a few other men, and possibly a few women, then maybe see if you find a profession that excites you. If you still want to be my woman afterward, we can talk. But again, even if I own you, you will never be my slave." He looked down to where they were joined, "I have far too many serious conversations like this."

Kashka rolled her hips, "I don't mind. It reminds me that you want me even though you are telling me to try new experiences. Do you think one more will get you back to normal, Master?"

"You're not—"

"I'll be your servant until you send me away," said Kashka, her eyes intense while a hint of pleading crept into her tone.

"The need is fading," he said, smiling as a speck of light streaked toward them from the direction of the sandworm and vanished into the bag on Kashka's hip. "One more will do, I think. Then I need to mound up some sand along the side of the caravan just in case the wind changes."

---

Telsin's stocks were nothing impressive. A small, raised platform had been built near the well since it was the one place everyone in the village needed to go at some point during the day. On the platform stood a pole running through the boards and into the ground below. Mounted on top was the standard, three-hole, split-board pillory seen all over the neighboring lands. Next to it sat a low bench with the actual stocks for restraining people by the ankle with the most minor offenses for a few hours. They had seen a slight increase in use now that the hamlet had a town guard.

Many men had spent a day or two with their head and wrists trapped in the pillory for being a drunken nuisance. In each of the councilmember's storefronts were other pillories chained to the wall for women, as they needed a guard to keep amorous fingers away from delicate parts. The stocks were also the place where, on rare occasions, one of the village folk committed a crime bad enough to warrant a public lashing, or in extreme cases, a whipping.

Elta had never seen a whipping here in Telsin, but in Lantaris, she witnessed the punishment of a man branded as a heretic. After securing the heretic's arms and legs to the corners of a rectangular wooden frame, the executioner arrived with a frighteningly long bullwhip. The sharp cracks followed by the man's chilling screams shook the initiate cleric. They made the clergy's lashings with their forearm-length, soft leather scourges seem like a light swat on the backside.

The cleric knew their bite well. Her libido earned her quite a few punishments, which explained why she turned to her church-given scourge to help control her urges. Hefting the belt borrowed from the stablemaster in her hand, Elta wished Kal had let her use her lash instead. It would hurt less.

A surprising number of people turned out to watch, and more continued to file in as the appointed time drew near. Never before had something like this happened in the small town. Plenty of punishments had been handed out, but none to a monster girl.

Behind the cleric, Bren held Perra in his arms. She wore a simple shift since he carried her there straight from her bed. Kahrin stood next to the large man holding Talin, keeping the boy close enough to hold onto his mother's finger. On Bren's other side, the wet nurse tasked with feeding Talin held her own son.

The clergy had spells to start milk production but could also stop it. Upon waking, Perra was furious to learn Elta stopped her milk to let her body focus on replenishing the blood she lost. After passing out in the middle of yelling at the cleric, she conceded Elta might know best and resigned herself to a few days of letting others nurse her son. Letting someone else feed Talin was nothing new, but that had only been for a meal here and there, not days at a time.

That night Kahrin called Elta to the Inn where the cleric held Perra as she cried herself to sleep, sobbing because she couldn't provide for her boy.

Elta wasn't comfortable moving Perra back to the farmhouse right away. If something went wrong, she wanted to be nearby, at least until the mage's woman was back on her feet. Ellis acted happy to give up a room for Perra's recovery but accounts quickly leaked out of Kahrin and Ada badgering him to do it for free. Thom, Tain, Ruce, and Ghoss all gave their assurances that the farm would be in one piece when she was well enough to return.

At the cleric's request, town guardsmen took up positions around the platform, one on each side. After the story of the butcher getting dragged into the ground made its way around town, the cleric wasn't expecting any problems, but better safe than sorry.

A gasp ran through the crowd, and people pointed off to the side, but it wasn't Kuto as Elta expected. Instead, Dax and half her pack walked around the corner of a building and made their way toward the platform. The only pack members missing were Alina and Refia since they would be watching over everyone's pups. The cleric pursed her lips in an attempt to keep from smiling at such a somber moment, but all the dog-girls were nursing, and several townsmen were trying to not stare at the monster girl's large breasts.

Perra had mentioned to the cleric these three dog-girls were acting restless. They considered Kal to be Dax, Alina, and Refia's mate, not theirs, despite having a pup with him. Elta didn't think it a coincidence the wolf brought these three along. Daxas directed them to take up positions near each of the guardsmen. Once in place, each faced the crowd with a hand on the lone knife hanging from their belts. They'd been specifically instructed to not use the blades, but the people of Telsin didn't know that. Elta tensed, anticipating a strong reaction from the gathered crowd, but other than some muttering, they appeared to take the arrival of armed monster girls in stride.