TRC - Lord of the Glass Desert Ch. 14

The gnoll leader chuckled. "I'll give you credit for trying, but that bluff isn't going to work." She turned to her warriors, "Get them."

---

The girls heard the crash as Kal ran into the first gnoll but could not see what happened from the ground. Chaldi witnessed everything from where she stood on the wagon seat and immediately ordered them to go help. Melir, Rhim, and Coovie looked on with fear, then wonder, as the band of gnolls moved toward Kal and Kashka.

From their vantage point on top of a small rise, they saw most of the gnolls' front line collapse, clutching their throats. Those who survived were quickly met by purple arrows Kal summoned as he mimed drawing a bow. After the first volley, they watched Kashka brandish her daggers and rush forward, cutting down gnolls in a whirlwind of blades. On the other side, Kal did the same but instead sent the beasts flying with crushing blows from his twirling staff. Melir shook his head and turned back toward the road.

"You're leaving?" asked Rhim.

"Yes. The safest way to deal with the dogs would be to stay back and fire his magic bolts as the cat cut them down. That he rushed in at the same time... they are toying with the dogs, they don't need my spear," said Melir before jogging back. Even though he wanted to stay and watch, his first task was protecting the merchant and his wife.

Chaldi and Soonu looked at him in confusion when he returned. "What happened? Why did you come back?" Chaldi asked.

"I'm sure they will thank you for sending me to assist them, but I would have been more burden than help." Chaldi moved over so he could crawl back into his seat. Once settled in, he sighed and looked at his employers. "After what I just saw, I believe they are the ones who killed the sandworms."

---

The sun disappeared below the horizon, dimming the landscape as Kal approached Kashka with one of the gnoll's spears in his hand. Ria had stored his staff earlier before returning to her bag.

"You're terrifying, you know that?" he said.

"Terrifying? How so?" the cat-girl asked as she peeled up a piece of leather armor from one of the dead creatures. She cleaned her blades with the cloth padding beneath before returning them to their sheaths.

"You don't parry, or duck, or dodge. Or maybe I should say that you do, but it's always in the form of another attack."

"It helps when you can see where their attacks are going before they do."

"Can you tell the future now?" he asked. It certainly seemed like it. The last of their opponents stabbed at Kashka with a spear, and the woman barely moved to avoid it. As she closed in, the creature lifted a leg to catch her in the stomach, but the cat-girl put a hand on its knee and used it to vault herself up and over its head. The assassin landed silently behind the gnoll as it grabbed at its neck, trying to stop the blood flowing from a thin but deep cut.

"No, just using my ability differently. Instead of only using it for my own attacks, I'm using it to judge where my opponent strikes as well."

"As I said, terrifying. Out in the desert I thought about sparring with you to pass the time and keep my skills sharp. I'm glad I didn't. You would have made a fool out of me," said Kal as he bent down by the gnoll leader's head. His shield flashed, and the dead beast's head rolled free.

"Hardly, you are far more skilled than any of these," she said, waving at the gnoll corpses.

"That's good to know," he said as he took the butt of the spear and shoved it into the head's exposed windpipe before lifting it into the air.

"What are you doing?" Kashka asked, but Kal just held up a finger for her to wait.

The first gnoll Kal crashed into didn't survive the encounter, but he merely knocked the second unconscious. It may be alive, but he wouldn't be surprised if it had more than a few broken bones from the impact. Though the mage was only guessing, he figured its position toward the group's rear indicated low status among the other gnolls.

Kal shoved the spear into the ground next to the creature then roughly kicked it until it finally woke up. The gnoll snarled at him until he jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the troupe leader's head.

"That's what happens to those who threaten to kill and eat one of my women," he said in an icy tone. "Congratulations on your promotion."

---

"I don't get why you let one of them live," said Soonu as they set up camp for the night.

"Blame it on foolish pride," Kal replied as he tossed his tent out and said the command to set it up. "I like to believe I'm a good person, and that gnoll was out cold before it had the chance to raise its weapon. Technically, it never attacked Kashka or me, so I let it live. Hopefully, it will have a healthy fear of humans going forward."

Once the grass around their campsite was trimmed and scraped down nearly to the dirt, Melir declared it safe enough to build a small fire. Stray sparks were more dangerous toward the end of the wet season as they could erupt into flash fires, but the guard didn't see the need to take chances. Coovie and Rhim both thanked him profusely, and Rhim even managed to kiss the man on the cheek before scampering away.

The couple's fire turned out to be a small pile of rocks with a flamestone, much like the ones Kal made for the stove and fireplace back at his farmhouse, tucked in the middle.

Soonu also brought out a tall pole with a metal spike on one end and an enchanted stone on the other. He stuck the pole in the ground a short distance from the 'fire' and said, "Luma." Rhim and Coovie seemed fascinated by the brightly glowing stone. They certainly found it far more interesting than Kal's light spell.

After supper, Chaldi retrieved her pot of beeswax and finished up the canteens by removing the beans then brushing the outside with the melted wax. She ladled some inside and poured it out as she slowly rotated the leather bottle before plugging them with a stopper and handing two each to the gazelles. The leatherworker laughed at their looks of confusion before fetching a couple of soft belts for them to hang the canteens from.

"What are the extras for?" Rhim asked Kal.

"For you to teach others what we learned and for them to teach others and so on."

"Remember watching Kal and me your first night with us? Kal has given you the knowledge to have that for yourself. Spreading that knowledge to others is how you will repay him."

Coovie looked down at the leather bottle, "So, what are these for?"

"To practice measuring your mating scent," said Kal, "But also to cheat if you feel the need. Fill it to the top and then pour it out upwind to get the reaction you want without using too much."

"Speaking of which..." said Chaldi while casting a sultry glance at her husband.

Soonu slapped his knees and started getting up from where he was sitting, "The wife has spoken, time to clean up and get ready for bed."

---

Coovie wrinkled her nose as she peered into the neck of the leather bottle. "It's just below the top," she stated.

"Good job, now stand upwind and pour it out."

The gazelle nodded and walked back and forth across the far side of the road, drizzling the bottle's contents at arm's length. Kal wasn't sure when it happened, but the wind primarily came from the south now, instead of west like he was used to.

Coovie shook out the last remaining droplets and replaced the stopper before trotting back to Kal, Kashka, and Ria.

"Now we wait for them to give us a signal if it worked or not," said Kal.

A few minutes passed, but instead of a specific yes or no, they heard soft, rhythmic moaning from the merchant's wagon.

"I think we call that a success. Let's head inside so you can get your reward," Kal said to Coovie. The gazelle shot him a brilliant smile before sprinting to the tent ahead of them. The mage looked around and asked, "Where's Rhim?"

Kashka put a hand on his back and pushed him after Coovie, "Don't you mind where she is. You have two women who need your attention already."

Kal chuckled, "Yes, Mistress."

---

Melir growled in frustration. He knew this would happen, but that didn't make him feel any better about the erection straining to get free of his shorts. His employer's wagon was shaking from their energetic lovemaking, and the wife's moans were just making things worse. The mage and his women had all retired to their strange magical tent, leaving him alone to keep watch.

With a final look around the moonlit savannah, Melir pulled his pants down and groaned with relief as he began stroking himself. It didn't take long before he stood there panting as he approached his first climax.

At the sound of soft footsteps, he spun away, gripping his prick. Glaring back over his shoulder, he saw the other gazelle-woman walking toward him. Melir bit back his sharp words as Rhim knelt down in front of him. Without a word, she looked up into his eyes and opened her mouth.

After a moment's hesitation, Melir turned back toward the gazelle-woman. Rhim glanced between the cock inches from her face and his eyes a few times before finally looking up again and extending her tongue. As the guard began stroking himself again, the gazelle's hand drifted over and began teasing her clit.

He had been so close moments before her arrival, it only took another minute before Melir grabbed Rhim's hair and held her in place as he began shooting his seed into her mouth. She flinched as a stray spurt landed on the side of her nose and forehead. The gazelle brought her other hand up and scraped the guard's seed down into her mouth before swallowing it all down. Her fingers on her clit sped up, and Rhim moaned as a small orgasm washed over her. When she opened her eyes again, Melir's prick bobbed in time with his heartbeat right in front of her. She looked back up at him and opened her mouth again in invitation.

Kashka peeked out from the door of Kal's tent. She nearly cheered as the guard slowly fed his cock into Rhim's mouth.

"Not bad, Kashka. Not bad at all," whispered Ria from her shoulder. "You are definitely putting Laika's teachings to good use."

"Thanks," the cat-girl replied as she closed the flap and Ria sealed the tent. "But now it's time to get my reward," she said, stripping off her clothes as she walked over to the bedroom.