TRC - Lord of the Glass Desert Ch. 12

Laika lifted her head from behind Kashka's, her expression puzzled, "That's unusual. Clients are rarely given a second slave, even in situations like this."

Ardwa again stared at Laika for a moment before answering, "She said Turam suggested the swap and told her how she could visit you before returning yesterday. I'm not sure exactly why he proposed it. You don't seem to be hurting for company."

Kal was just as confused as Laika. The man certainly wasn't pleased with him when they were talking, at least not at first. He couldn't understand why the Caravan Leader would want him to have a second pleasure slave.

"Master, may I go talk to Turam? I would like to find out what is going on," Laika asked. Kal nodded, and the woman carefully crawled over Kashka before grabbing her clothes hanging on the litter's uprights. Tossing one of the sheer wraps over her shoulder, she began winding the other around her waist as she made her way to the front of the caravan.

Kashka stretched once Laika left, her arms and legs switching to feline as she spread her toes and extended her claws. Kal leaned away as the claws came uncomfortably close to his thigh before everything reverted back to human limbs. After shuffling around for a moment, she found a new position then purred quietly for a few seconds before going silent as she returned to her nap.

Ardwa cringed looking at the cat-girl, "How does she still breathe with her front facing one way and her hips facing the other?"

Kal shrugged, "It's a cat thing."

---

A short time after Ardwa left, Laika came back looking excited and crawled up onto his lap while trying not to disturb the sleeping cat-girl

"So what's this all about?" the mage asked.

Her eyes full of mischief, the pleasure slave said, "You'll find out tonight."

Beside them, Kashka let out a half-hearted yowl and batted at something in her dream.

"I'm glad she doesn't switch to claws when doing that," said Kal.

"It's good to see her this way. You may not have noticed, but she didn't take midday naps like this at the start of this trip," Laika pointed out.

Reaching over, Kal scratched the cat-girl behind the ears. A smile came to Kashka's face as she began to purr.

---

"So you weren't trying to hit the big worm's 'mind'?" Turam asked Kashka.

"No. We needed it to go underground, and if I'd put my knife in there, the worm would have frozen like the other one," said Kashka, her eyes lighting up as she told the story. Of course, Turam already knew the details from Kal and was well versed on sandworm weaknesses, but it was hard not to smile at the cat-girl's excitement.

Kal raised an eyebrow at the Caravan Leader, wondering if he would try bedding the cat-girl again now that they were getting close to the turnaround on the other side of the Sulerin desert. He seemed to be uncomfortably attentive to her. Sighing, the mage figured he had no right to be annoyed after yesterday. Kashka saved his life, which meant her debts to him were paid, and he had no claim upon her. Really, he didn't feel like he had any claim to her from the start, but his feelings must have changed throughout the desert crossing. It could also be as the old saying goes, "You don't know what you have until it's gone," and he wondered if nothing had changed but his perception of her without the assurance of her 'debt.'

Something in Kashka's recollection of the sandworm fight segued into a story about Sir Stormhammer. Kal was confident he and Laika had heard nearly every tale ever told of the man from the feline. Many of them were retellings of stories he already knew but switched out the metal-legged human woman for a metal-legged cat-girl. According to Kashka, the cat-girl variant of Maris was the accurate version, but Kal figured she might be just a little biased. On the other hand, there were plenty of reasons to trade a cat-girl out for a human in the stories, but very few to do the reverse. He admitted it was possible Maris could have been a cat-girl. Whether human or cat-girl, she was the only companion of Sir Stormhammer who stayed with him throughout his years of adventuring.

Turam quickly lost interest when the cat brought up the minstrel's tale and soon excused himself, joining those retiring to their individual rooms. Before he left, he patted Kal on the shoulder and told him he was a lucky man.

Once the Caravan Leader left, Kashka sighed with relief, "I thought he was going to ask me to join him."

Laika, who had been curiously absent during Kashka and Turam's chat, draped her arms around Kal from behind and ran her tongue up his ear. "Give me a moment to prepare, then come into the bedroom, Master," she said in a breathy whisper before disappearing again.

Kashka's eyes now shone with a different kind of excitement. It figured that the pleasure slave let the cat-girl in on her plans. As he stood up, the cat bounced to her feet and darted through the canvas door ahead of him, then a moment later stuck her head back through and called for Ria.

"What the hell?" Kal muttered as the sprite cut short her conversation with one of the 'renters' and buzzed past him into the bedroom as well.

Pushing the canvas aside, Kal froze.

Two Laikas were standing naked in front of the bed, each with an arm around the other's waist.

"Hello, Master," they said in unison.

Kal's eyes flicked to Kashka and Ria, tittering off to the side at his shocked reaction. When he looked back, both Laikas were walking toward him with hunger in their eyes

"Wha... How?"

As they stepped up to either side and took hold of an arm, one said, "Master, I'd like you to meet my big sister, Bala."

"You're twins?" he asked, dumbfounded. He'd heard of twins but never seen a pair before.

"Yes, Master," said Bala as they began pulling him toward the bed. "Now, why don't you show me why my little sister couldn't stop talking about you earlier."

As the two women began stripping the shocked mage, Kashka looked up at Ria, "Can I get a chair? This is going to be fun to watch."

"Riiight... like we're going to just watch," said the sprite.

---

A few days later, Kashka was curled up on Kal's lap when Laika jumped from the floating carpet without warning. Grabbing her clothes, she bolted toward the front of the caravan, holding them to her crotch.

Kashka's eyes widened, "Is she okay? I smell blood... oh," she said lamely after realizing what happened. "And right here at the end of the trip too."

---

That night Laika returned as Kal set up the tent.

The mage's eyes narrowed in skepticism. "You aren't Laika, are you," he said. It wasn't a question.

"No, I'm not," said Bala, "but I will be with you until we reach the turnaround."

"Any differences I should know about?"

"I will do whatever you want of me, Master."

"I'm sure Laika explained my expectations. Same question, but an honest answer this time, or you can join your sister on the cart."

Bala regarded him thoughtfully for a moment before saying. "I don't have my sister's taste for piss, and I like more pain with my pleasure than she does."

"How do you mean?"

"Some tongue or fingers will get me started, but a couple of hard slaps on my pussy and I will soak your hand. Does that help?"

Kal smiled. "That's a little further than I like to go, but yes, it does," he said, inviting her into the assembled tent. "I suppose we should get to know each other better."

As she walked past him, her hand brushed the front of his pants, "After the other night, I'm looking forward to it."

---

The turnaround point for the caravan was a small city on the edge of the savannah with the singular purpose of unloading the goods from the camel train onto carriages better suited for hard-packed roads, then reloading the beasts for the return trip. The architecture mostly matched Fazal's, but houses made purely of shaped mud instead of the mud bricks dotted the town as well. The surrounding area was surprisingly green, but it only made sense to make the cargo trade-off near a water source.

With the town in the distance, Kal, Kashka, and Bala left the litter for the last time so the travelers could say goodbye to Laika. The pleasure slave was disappointed she couldn't give him a proper goodbye because of the padded bottoms she needed to wear for the next few days, but Laika did convince him to climb onto the slave's cart so she could get a final taste of him.

The slave cart's guard acted like he was about to stop Kal but returned to his post after seeing who it was.

"That shouldn't have happened," said Bala. As the sounds of an enthusiastic blowjob emanated from behind the white linen, she looked over at Kashka. "Without Turam's permission, customers aren't supposed to touch those on the cart."

After Kal emptied his balls in Laika's mouth, the woman beckoned Kashka over and pulled her into a passionate goodbye kiss that started out heated as they shared the contents of the slave's mouth but quickly devolved into a teary farewell. It was easily one of the most uncomfortable moments in the entire trip, and Kal honestly wished Laika had just swallowed.

Once inside the small city's walls, the mage planned to say goodbye to Bala and strike out right away. Ahead of them was a little less than a week's travel across the savannah, followed by a shorter stint through dense jungle. Beyond the jungle lay the port town where they would catch a ship to Ikuno's homeland. However, Turam asked them to wait a little while before leaving as he wanted to speak with the mage.

As the Caravan Leader took care of the paperwork and got his men working on shuffling cargo about for the return trip, Kal, Kashka, and even Bala, after they got permission, wandered around the market surrounding the loading and unloading area. Their first stop was a weaponsmith to replace the daggers and throwing knives Kashka lost in the fight with the sandworms. Afterward, they sat down for a meal at a small eatery Turam recommended, saying he would join them as soon as possible.

When they were done with their meals, Bala explained that after two round-trips, the pleasure slaves were given two months off where they stayed in a building Toba owned near the succubi's brothel. For those two months, they were pampered like the King's concubines, and no demands were put on them. But if they wanted to make some extra money towards their debts, they could take overflow clients from the brothel.

"What do you mean exactly by debts?" asked Kal.

Turam answered as he walked up behind the mage, "Five times their purchase price, plus what it cost to have them trained by the succubi. Toba also adds on their meals and servants when they aren't out here with me," said the Caravan Leader before pulling a chair from an empty table and sitting down across from the mage. "Once they reach that amount, they can choose to go free or stay on with the caravans until they build up the money to set out on their own. Most of the women and a few of the men end up concubines."

"If you free them after they work off their debt, then they are indentured servants, not slaves," Kal pointed out.

"Not so," said Turam waving down a server, "If someone buys Bala before she pays off her debt, then she remains a slave for her new Master. However, the succubi frown on their trainees spending their lives as slaves. The ones in Fazal are surprisingly compassionate for demons, from what I've heard. Occasionally Toba will sell one because the deal is too good to pass up, or better yet if a customer falls in love with one of them and takes the slave as a spouse. The sex demons seem to enjoy hearing about those stories. But those instances are exceptionally rare as Toba has to maintain a good relationship or risk them refusing to train future pleasure slaves.

"That brings me to the reason I asked you to wait. I have a proposition for you. One I'm certain you are sick of hearing."

Kal was already glaring at the big man, "It's not for sale," he said, his voice just above a growl. He was sick to death of people trying to buy his tent from him.

Turam poured himself a glass of wine from the bottle brought by the server. They must have recognized him since he didn't even need to tell the waiter what he wanted. "Hear me out, mage. I have heard some of the offers you have turned down for that amazing piece of magic. I have also been in contact with Toba." Plucking a note from behind his armor's chest piece, he handed it to Kal. "He's willing to offer you this for your tent."

The mage was surprised his eyes didn't fall out of their sockets upon seeing the number. After taking a moment to collect himself, Kal handed the paper back. "It's not for sale."

Turam held up the note, "That amount and Laika,"

"What?!" Bala shouted, unable to believe what she just heard.

He took a deep breath, "It's not—"

"And Bala."

"WHAT?!" the pleasure slave shrieked, rising up out of her chair.

Closing his eyes, Kal sighed. "I'm sorry, Turam. Your offer is very tempting, but the tent is not mine to give. It belongs to one of my lovers. If she did sell it, I will tell you that we have access to enough gold and jewels that money doesn't interest me. As far as Bala and Laika, you wouldn't be giving me pleasure slaves but women I would immediately set free—"

Turam tucked the paper back into his chest piece, "Why do you think the succubi approved this? I wrote a long note about you after speaking with Laika once they switched," he said, nodding toward Bala, who was still staring at him in astonishment. "Toba would never sell two of their girls at once otherwise."

"I see. But as I was saying, if we were to sell her tent, instead of money, my lover and I would want a part of the business you have going on here and a part of the profits."

Turam grunted, "You're more shrewd than I gave you credit for, mage. I'll speak with Toba about your proposal and perhaps have a better offer for you when you return. Thank you for taking the time to listen to me. I won't keep you from your journey any longer," he said, raising his glass. "Bala, why don't you see them to the edge of the market then return here for your next assignment. Good fortune in your travels, young mage."

"And you in yours," said Kal, standing up and bowing slightly before leaving with Kashka and Bala.

---

Bala stopped at the edge of the staging area and turned to Kal, "Would you have really set us free?"

"Yes."

"What if we chose to stay with the caravan after you freed us?"

"That would be your decision, but Turam and Toba would need to pay you for your service."

"I see, and what if we wanted to continue working as "Slaves" under you instead of Toba?"

Kal was dumbfounded, "I... I really don't know. I hadn't thought about that. Why would you want to?"

"Security, safety. You should think about it for when you come back. Laika and I only have a few years left on our debts before we are free.

"I've been expecting you or her to say something along those lines ever since I learned of this system of paying off debts. This wasn't quite how I expected it to happen."

Bala laughed, "It's as Turam said, Laika and I are succubus trained and essentially guaranteed a life of luxury in some noble's harem if you choose not to. Either way, we won't live out the rest of our lives in misery. Your way just sounds more interesting. As a last little thought, you seem to be collecting quite the harem from the sounds of things."

"Yes, it has turned out that way."

"Just imagine what Laika and I could do if you brought home some doe-eyed young woman into your harem. In a short time, we could teach her how to worship your cock and take care of your every need," said the pleasure slave.

Kal opened his mouth to say that he really didn't need anything like that but then remembered Gerda after their first time together and the mushroom girl who was still only interested in getting his cock in her pussy and nothing else. The pleasure salve's 's idea had merit, but at the same time, exploring and discovering what his women did and didn't like was part of the fun.

While he was lost in thought, Bala stepped up to him and kissed him on the cheek, "These last few days were a lot of fun. I can see why my sister likes you so much, and I hope we are here when you come back."

After giving Kashka and Ria hugs and kisses goodbye, and Ria had flown back to bid Laika farewell, Bala ran back to Turam as soon as they were out of sight.

"Did Toba really offer Laika and me as trade for a magic tent?!" she asked when she reached his table.

Turam set his glass down, then dragged the woman onto his lap, positioning her so she leaned forward slightly and her rear hung off the side of his thigh. "Know your place, slave," he said, giving her a hard swat on her vulnerable bottom. "Keep in mind, Toba also offered a substantial amount of gold."

Still groping the slave's rear, he took a long draw from his wine and began refilling the glass before speaking. "The mage fell behind the caravan, and the sandworms couldn't reach him while inside that tent of his. According to him, they even tried burrowing underneath and couldn't. I know from others who own one that it can produce food, which means the people inside would be safe even during an extended attack. Not that I would ever allow that to happen.

"Now the caravan offers safety with the Lottery and my guards. Imagine what we could charge if we offered customers comfortable beds and absolute security at night and during midday rest. It might take a year or so, but we would make back what Toba offered reasonably fast."

Draining his wineglass again, he looked her in the eye. "For the trip back, there are no nobles or dignitaries worthy of yours and Laika's skills. Go and tell your sister to come to my tent once she finishes bleeding. You both will be joining me for the return crossing."

The Caravan Leader cupped Bala's chin and held her ear next to his mouth as his hand slipped beneath the wrap covering her waist. Collecting some moisture from her sex, he pressed a finger into her rear. "I want to see you and your sister's asses stretching around my cock as often as I can. I have a hunch I may lose the chance sooner than I had expected," he said.

Enjoying the sting in her bottom as well as the shocked looks of the eatery's patrons, Bala pushed back on his finger slightly and moaned, "Yes, Master."

---

Yes, the sister's names were intentional. XD

Next releases will be a two-part story prompted by Vivienner0se so keep a look out for Goldilocks and the Three (Were)Bears (Yes, I went there). Those who also read The Witch's Offering will see some familiar themes and concepts as it takes place in the same "Universe."

Thanks for Reading!

-Blu