TRC - Lord of the Glass Desert Ch. 12

The guard directly behind the cleric didn't get a dog-girl companion as Dax went over and gave Perra a hug, then made kissy faces at Talin before taking up a position next to Kahrin.

"You were not expected," said Elta over her shoulder.

"We take care of our own... Lady Elta," replied the wolf-woman, stumbling over the honorific.

"Revered Mother Elta," Perra corrected.

Daxas looked confused, "She has children? She's never mentioned them."

"It's the title of her rank within the church," explained Bren in his rumbling voice. Dax blushed heavily as he spoke. It was no secret that she loved Kal deeply, but something about Bren made the wolf weak in the knees. Kahrin wanted to play around with the wolf-woman before Kal came back and bonded her, but the third part of the innkeeper and strongman's triad, Deena, was still hesitant to share her lovers with monster girls. The large-chested waitress often got picked on for her reluctance since she had done more with monster girls than the other two combined, but Kahrin and Bren cared about her and were willing to wait for her to come around. Especially since there were rumors Deena might be carrying Bren's child.

The cleric saw the butcher's wife in the crowd with her son. Many in Telsin thought it odd that she didn't seem terribly upset about her husband's demise. The town's women slowly coaxed out of her that Baret considered her a poor replacement for his first wife and always held her and her son at a distance. She was honestly shocked to hear he tried to use her as a reason to spare him.

Perra offered to take care of the woman and her son, but the gesture proved unnecessary. Living with and helping the town butcher, she picked up much of the trade and quickly stepped into her late husband's shoes. As yet, her only issue was needing someone else's help breaking down the larger carcasses into pieces her smaller arms could manage.

Elta spied Orin and Silma approaching the rear edge of the crowd. Not much had been accomplished the past few days at the blacksmith's forge. Many thought it was because Silma kept Orin too preoccupied to work, but those who visited the blacksmith had a different story.

Despite the town's belief she would warm Orin's bed from the start, Silma slept in the apprentice's chambers alone. According to the blacksmith, she would have an invitation to his bed once she became a genuine help around the forge. Though he never said she couldn't find someone else to keep her company, Silma made it a personal challenge for Orin to be the first man in Telsin she slept with. Unfortunately for the salamander, she had never needed to warm something to a specific temperature. Silma just heated things until they melted or burned to ash. To the salamander, her powers were either "off," "on," or when she needed to kill a leviathan or lava tortoise, "very on." Heating a bar of metal to glowing orange was still "off" in her mind, and she was having difficulty learning the fine control Orin required.

Not that she was completely useless. The blacksmith found her ability to melt metals instantly a considerable help when casting. Some new kitchen wares and horse tack hung on the forge's walls thanks to the salamander. He especially appreciated Silma's ability to heat metal by touch. If his pour came up short, she could melt more in seconds and even reheat the metal in the mold if needed.

As such, the blacksmith and salamander arrived as apprentice and master, not as a couple.

The sound of flapping wings turned everyone's eyes skyward as Kuto descended with Ghoss and Ruce on either side like guards. All three landed on the platform, leaving Elta little room to move without stepping off.

"Do you have to do this?" asked Ruce, the harpy's stoic expression barely hid the anger burning in her eyes.

"It's not my choice to make. Kal is the head of this family. This was his decision."

"Kal's going to get an earful when he finally gets back," Ghoss growled.

"You can have whatever bones are left of the wizard after Perra gets done with him. You aren't the only ones unhappy with the man."

"Unhappy?" Ruce scoffed, "There's an understatement." Wrapping a wing around Kuto, she gave the smaller bird a quick hug, "I'm sorry, but Ghoss and I can't watch this."

"I understand," said the dejected-looking barn swallow. "Thank you for coming with."

Ghoss shook herself. When she stopped, her feathers all stood on end, making the large harpy look twice as big. "You don't have to do this, Kuto," she said. "We can fly away now, and if Kal wants to take a belt to your bottom, he can come find you when he gets home and do it himself."

Kuto shook her head, "I can't do that, and I know it's hard to understand, but I need this."

The hawk grunted, "I doubt it, there—"

"Trust Kuto," said Elta, interrupting the harpy, "and as hard as it must be right now, trust Kal. If you can't trust Kal right now, then trust Perra. Nobody, not even Kal, loves Kuto more than her, and if she hasn't put a stop to this, there must be a good reason."

"Ghoss, Ruce, I will explain later," said Perra from her place in Bren's arms.

"You'd better," snapped the falcon. A small blue pendant around her neck glowed a moment before she leapt straight upward. A single pump of her wings took her almost to the edge of town, where she circled back to wait for Ghoss.

Kuto sidled up next to Elta as the larger harpy hopped from one edge of the platform to the other before springing into the air. Ghoss buffeted the crowd below as she beat her wings powerfully, gaining speed and altitude before winging off after Ruce.

As Kuto returned to her place, the cleric wished she could point out to the crowd that three harpies just landed in the middle of a town gathering and left without stealing a man or eviscerating anyone. Luckily other matters became more pressing as Kuto shrank away from all the human eyes turned toward her. Elta heard Perra sob behind her. Kuto's eyes flicked to the woman before she quickly turned away, ashamed that she was the reason her lover was in such a state.

The cleric raised her voice, "Kuto the Harpy, two days ago you nearly killed Lady Perra. While Lady Perra takes full responsibility for her injuries, you chose to attack Master Baret, leading to your claws nearly ending Perra's life."

Staring at the wooden boards below her, Kuto slowly nodded.

"Your punishment is one strike of the belt for each claw that pierced Lady Perra. You understand this is not dictated by the church."

Kuto nodded.

"You also understand this is also not dictated by Telsin's town council, but by Master Kal, whose family you joined last year. You understand that any ill will is to be directed towards him."

The small harpy's shoulders shook as she nodded again.

Elta pointed at the pillory, "Lean over against that and raise your tail feathers," she instructed while letting the belt unroll from her hand.

Slowly, Kuto turned and leaned over as directed, hooking her finger-claws on the holes meant for human wrists. Her body was too different to actually put her in the stocks, but Elta thought the location was more important to Kal than the wooden restraints.

When Kuto lifted her tailfeathers and exposed her backside, the crowd's low murmurs went silent.

Elta shook out the belt and reared back.

"Please don't," she heard Perra whisper behind her.

Leather whistled through the air and struck Kuto's bottom with a slap that echoed off the surrounding buildings.

The small harpy shrieked loud enough people clapped their hands over their ears. Dropping as though her legs gave out, Kuto spun around, covering her backside with her wings. She stared at Elta with fear in her eyes as her mind processed pain far beyond what she expected.

Small children began crying from the harpy's piercing scream, and several mothers hurried away from the crowd with kids in tow or in their arms. Quite a few of the townsfolk were rubbing their ears as well. Behind her, Talin also started crying, and Elta heard the wet nurse take him from Kahrin before hurrying back toward the Inn.

"Get up, Kuto," said the cleric.

As she came to grips with the startling reality of her punishment, Kuto stood and resumed her position.

The belt hummed before cracking against her bottom. Feathers drifted slowly to the platform as Kuto screamed, but she stayed standing.

When the third strike landed, Kuto's wail of anguish brought tears to Elta's eyes, despite her determination to be impassive. Behind her, Perra cried into Bren's shirt.

The fourth time the belt crossed Kuto's rear, Perra howled like she were the one struck as the harpy stood there and shook. Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out as tears dripped to the wood below.

Elta wiped her own tears from her eyes and drew back with the belt. Someone yelled, "Stop!" as the leather cut through the air and slapped against the harpy's bottom. More feathers came away as Kuto's legs gave out again. Finding her voice again, she leaned against the stock's post and bawled.

The cleric could hardly believe the words came from the crowd and not those behind her. "This is her punishment!" Elta yelled in the voice's general direction. "This was Kal's decision and agreed to by her," she continued, jabbing a finger at the crying harpy. "The town has no say!"

"She's had enough!"

"You're going too far!"

The calls to stop became louder and louder until Elta threw the belt down. Silence fell over the gathered people as the buckle clattered on the wood. "Fine, I'll stop. If Master Kal has an issue with the town interfering in his family's affairs, then I'm sure you will hear about it when he gets back."

She turned to her mother, "Lady Nina, your salve, please?"

Elta's mother stepped up onto the platform with a small jar in her hand. "For being my daughter, you can be a right bitch, sometimes."

The cleric sighed, "I know."

Nina coaxed the suffering harpy to her feet and began applying her salve to Kuto's backside. Per her daughter's instructions, the balm only protected the damaged skin and did not provide any numbing or relief. Kuto howled and began crying harder from the older woman's touch.

"Heal her, heal her!" the crowd began chanting.

"I will, tomorrow," Elta called out. Inspecting the harpy's bottom, she was happy the people of Telsin stopped her when they did. Another hit with the belt might have broken the skin.

"Do it now!" a few people yelled.

"No," said the cleric. "If I do it now, she has gained nothing. Kuto will suffer today, and I will heal her tomorrow. That is final. Now go about your day."

As the crowd dispersed, Nina looked over her work with a frown. Glancing up at Elta, she tilted her head toward the Inn.

The cleric stepped over to the sobbing harpy and scooped her up. The woman's light body made Kuto easy to carry, even if her bird-like legs and not touching her salve-covered rear made things awkward.

"Do you need us?" asked Daxas as Elta stepped off the platform with the harpy.

"No, but thank you for coming. I was worried when you first showed up, but since none of the villagers threw a fit, I'm glad you were here."

Dax nodded and turned toward the platform. "Girls. Time to go home."

Following the wolf's gaze, Elta saw two of the dog girls extricating themselves from beneath the arm of the nearby guardsman. Their eyes were puffy and red from crying as they formed up behind their alpha.

Turning back to Bren, Kahrin, and the others, she noticed Perra had fallen asleep at some point. After losing so much blood, the woman tired quickly, and Elta imagined she simply passed out from exhaustion.

"Let's continue this at the Inn," she said.

---

Bren laid Perra in her bed at the Inn then stepped aside so Elta could lay the harpy next to her. Nina situated Kuto on her side and began applying the salve again as the bird-woman whimpered.

Elta leaned over the bed and wrapped her arms around the harpy. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she whispered as tears ran down her face.

Kuto lifted a wing and swung it around to lay it across the cleric's back. "It's okay, you did good, and now maybe I can forgive myself for hurting Perra."

"Is that what this was all about?" Nina asked.

Sliding out from beneath Kuto's wing, which the harpy then laid over Perra, Elta wiped her eyes and stood up. "When Kal and I were saving Perra, Kuto felt so guilty he had to block her from the rest of us. He thought if she didn't have some form of penance or punishment for hurting Perra, she might choose to punish herself, or worse."

Kuto rested her head against Perra's shoulder, "I thought about just diving into the ground or running into a rock face more than once these past few days. If not for knowing today would happen, I might have done it. Now I've done my penance, and it was an awful, horrible experience," she glanced over her shoulder at the other people in the room, "but I don't hate myself for what I did anymore."

Nina sighed, "I suppose that makes sense, but it didn't make it any easier to watch." She looked over at her daughter, "I know you called out to Kal when healing Perra, but, 'Us?'"

"At the time, yes. I needed Kal's abilities to save Perra. He cut the bond afterward. Once I let go of the healing spell, I could no longer feel the Goddess's power."

"Yer soundin' disappointed," said Kahrin.

Instead of answering, Elta blushed bright red while remembering how she threw herself at the mage on the astral plane. Though she was happy to connect with the Goddess again, there was some disappointment when he severed their bond.

Everyone looked to the bed as Perra shifted and groaned, but the woman didn't wake up.

Kahrin tugged on Bren's arm, "She'll be back up soon. Let's get some food for when she wakes."

As they walked toward the Inn's counter and the kitchen entrance beyond, Deena made a quick detour to give them both a kiss on the cheek before going back to watching the Inn while Kahrin and Bren were busy.

"It's a good thing Kal isn't here, or I'd be hard-pressed to not punch him in the face," said Bren as they approached the counter, "but if he planned what just happened, the man is a proper genius."

"What're ya meanin'?" Kahrin asked.

"Since I came to Telsin, I never expected to see the townsfolk come to the defense of a monster girl."

The barmaid could see his point but burst into laughter moments later. "I doubt they'll put 'Tannin' Kuto's Arse' in the history books as the reason fer human and monster girl finally learnin' ta tolerate one another."

Bren chuckled, "You're probably right."

---

The following morning, Kal was enjoying the feel of Laika straddling him and grinding her pussy against the front of his pants.

"Please, Master," she begged, "I said I was sorry for fucking Turam's guards."

A playful grin crossed Kal's face. He knew she felt no more regret for what she did than a nurse would for bandaging a wounded soldier. The slave considered her actions yesterday as just tending to a stricken guard and a part of traveling with the caravan. The idea of having sex with the same indifference as treating wounded felt strange, but when dealing with something like the sandworm's potent aphrodisiacs, the attitude made sense.

Kal didn't hold her actions yesterday against her, and Laika knew that, but the game was fun.

Kashka laid next to them, on her side with one leg raised and bent at the knee. A hand gently brushed across her sex in preparation for when Kal finally gave in and let the pleasure slave ride him.

Noticing someone approaching, she tapped Kal's leg and pointed.

Peering around Laika's naked body, the mage saw a woman walking toward them sporting a black eye. Though curious what she might want, he never got to ask. The woman's eyes locked onto Kashka, and after snorting in disgust, the woman turned on her heel and returned the way she came. They later discovered it was the wife of the man eaten by the sandworm. Her black eye was courtesy of the guard who knocked her out, so she didn't end up worm food as well. She came to thank him for avenging her husband but was too disgusted that he had a cat-girl slave, which he obviously used for his pleasure.

Once the woman left, Kal asked Laika about the guard's behavior yesterday. Although a few female guards were willing to help their male counterparts, very few men took them up on the offer. Laika giggled and told him that, for many guards, that was their only opportunity to experience a succubus-trained pleasure slave. She then showed him some of the tricks she used to make them cum quickly. After the past few weeks with her and knowing what a fantastic lover Laika could be, he almost felt bad for the men she took care of after the battle. They didn't get anything even close to the pleasure slave's best.

Intense? Yes. Amazing? In its own way, yes. Fast? Yes. But her best? Definitely not.

Their next visitor proved far more interesting. The woman who Kal took the place of in the Lottery stopped by during midday rest. When she walked around the side of Kal's litter and saw Laika napping with her arms wrapped around the smaller cat-girl, she stopped and stared in confusion.

"Can I help you?" Kal asked. Her name was Ardwa, if he remembered correctly, but he only heard it the one time. She was surprisingly young, probably only a few years older than him, and dressed in the fine silks given to the Lottery participants.

"I—I wanted to thank you for taking my place. When we left Fazal, I thought I wanted to be like the old lady and give up my life for my family. But when he called my name... I wasn't as ready as I thought I was. Thank you for giving me a second chance."

"You are very welcome. I hope you make good use of the time you were given," said Kal. He then bit back the words he wanted to say.

Kal spoke with Turam at length after the battle. The Caravan Leader was unhappy with the mage for the loss of money and what happened to his men. Luckily for Kal, the more affluent travelers were stingy with their pleasure slaves and only a couple took Turam up on his offer of a free one next trip, so the caravan wasn't out an extravagant amount of money. Since there would be no second desert crossing for Lottery participants, they were required to give up their pleasure slaves in these situations.

Turam was delighted to hear the assassin's trap drained the magic from his men's filters and their failure wasn't a flaw in the armor or some new technique employed by the worms. Citing only a small loss of money and none of his guards getting killed while Kal fought the sandworms, the Caravan Leader quickly forgave him.

During the conversation, Turam let him in on a secret. Since Ardwa's name had been pulled and revealed, she couldn't be picked again. The slips with the Lottery participant's names were written in disappearing ink back in Fazal, and there was no way Vule, his bag of holding, could pull hers at random even if Vule stored it again. Ria confirmed the man's words, explaining that the blank ones were all categorized the same but having the name revealed moved it into a separate category.

Kal was glad to hear the sprite's affirmation. Picking the only other female in the Lottery besides the old lady had aroused his suspicion, but Ria assured him the system they used was truly random.

Turam was also adamant this bit of knowledge never get back to those in the Lottery, and it took a huge act of will on Kal's part not to tell Ardwa she was safe from becoming worm food on the return trip to Fazal.

"I plan on it," said Ardwa. "My pleasure slave suggested I trade her for the old woman's male. She has been a wonderful companion and lover, but I have wanted some male company these past weeks. She also mentioned that if I switched, then she could come to visit you as a roundabout reward for saving me."