TRC - Lord of the Glass Desert Ch. 19

The entrance glowed, signaling they could enter, and he pulled Kashka inside before sealing the tent behind them. After setting Ria down on the marble, he returned to where the cat-girl stood hanging her head.

"You're mad at me," she said in her 'little girl' voice.

Kal frowned. He hadn't heard her talk like that since she first joined him. "No, I'm not. I'm worried. What's going on in that head of yours?" Looking across the bond as he asked the question, Kal wasn't sure if she could even answer. Her thoughts were a maelstrom of emotions that flipped from intense, blinding love for him, to panicked fear she had disappointed her master and he was angry at her. Underlying the chaos, she felt guilty for taking so many human lives.

Kal tried to project calm toward the cat, and it seemed to help, if only a little.

"I'll be okay," she said after a few minutes. "It's been a long night. I'm exhausted. And now that I've relaxed, what she said set me off. Laika took being a slut as a compliment and told me many times I shouldn't be ashamed to share my body and enjoy its pleasures, especially with a man I love." Kashka took a deep breath, "It doesn't help that I was looking forward to a good, hard fuck followed by some cuddling and much-needed sleep when she said it."

"I understand but don't relax just yet. We still have the male servants to deal with, and I don't know which way they'll jump once freed."

The storm raging in her mind abated as he felt her latch on to Kal needing her calm and collected a little longer. Kashka nodded and flashed him a weak smile, "Maybe I couldn't handle killing all those men as easily as I thought. "

"You were forced to become an assassin. You didn't do it because you wanted to or liked killing. I'm actually relieved that you weren't completely unaffected, even if the Reavers deserved what they got. With luck, you'll never need to do that again. Let's finish this so Anika and these people can start rebuilding their lives." The mage cringed, "When I first heard about the Reavers, I thought we would come in, kill them and move on. We may need to stay a little longer to ensure everyone is taken care of."

Kashka chuckled, "One of the things the stories of Sir Stormhammer never talk about is the cleanup that comes after being a hero."

---

Anika and the three girls joined Kal and Kashka at the door to the servants' quarters. The building was the smallest of those still standing in the ruins. Anika believed it was once grain storage because of the lack of windows and thick walls. Its newly constructed roof seemed out of place atop stones set thousands of years ago. After clearing away the guards' bodies, Kal asked the girl named Saida to go back to Anika's room and find something a little more modest. Much as he appreciated her charms and willingness to show them off, he didn't feel it appropriate garb for freeing a group of men from slavery. Most of which had not experienced the touch of a woman for a very long time.

The door appeared sturdy enough despite the shoddy metalwork. The thick wooden bar set in metal brackets on either side was certainly enough to keep them contained, even if all the men threw their weight against it at once.

The arachne lifted the bar and tossed it off to the side with ease that startled the former pleasure slaves. When Kal asked Anika to greet the men, she seemed confused and worried she might scare them. The mage seemed unconcerned, explaining that their fear would help solidify this was her home and that they should look elsewhere to settle.

Backing away from the door, Anika called out, "Come out, prisoners of the Remnant Reavers. The Reavers are dead, and you are free."

"We wear their mark, but we are not Reavers." A voice from inside yelled through the door.

"We already know and promise you are safe," said Kal. "We can also remove the Reaver's marks."

The door opened slightly, then immediately slammed shut again.

"They saw Anika," Kashka reported, both her ears trained on the door. "A few of them sound panicked."

Kal nodded and raised his voice. "The spider-woman you saw is the reason you are free. She is the one who killed both Gaboh and Tavik."

"What are you doing!" Anika hissed, glaring at him. Kal responded with a grin she didn't seem to appreciate.

"The tone is changing, but a few are still panicked. One sounds like he is trying to calm them," murmured Kashka.

A few moments later, a lone man slipped out the door and closed it behind him. He quickly took in the scene before him, then strode over to Kal and dropped to one knee. Staring at the ground, he said, "Milord, my name is Jagi, and I thank you for my freedom. However, I was the manservant of a powerful Fazalan merchant and have never known a life of freedom. I offer my service and abilities to you."

"Wrong person," said Kal, his annoyance clear in his tone. The mage pointed at Anika. "I said, she's the one who killed Tavik and made sure we knew you weren't Reavers. If you offer your services to anyone, it should be her."

The man glanced at Anika and his back stiffened. "But Sir... she's a spider girl."

"Yes, with strong physical needs which you may be asked to help with. You were forced to deal with the ape-women's desires, but I have shown her the benefits of an active and willing partner and doubt she would force herself upon you."

"You... slept with her... and lived?"

"Many times over the last few days," he said, nodding. "She even bit me once in a moment of passion, and as you can see, I'm fine. At worst, her bite will put you into a lust craze, but I believe she is putting that style of mating behind her."

"Kal! Why are you telling him all this?! I don't need a manservant," said Anika in a loud whisper.

"Kashka and I can move many times faster than he can. He wouldn't do anything but slow us down."

"But your speed spell."

"Then he's just an unnecessary drain on my mana reserves."

Jagi slowly got to his feet and walked stiffly over to Anika, where he knelt again. "Misstress, I offer my knowledge and... services... to you if you would have me."

The arachne stared down at the human, "But... Why? We're setting you free. Why would you do this?"

"Because freedom can be scary to someone who has only known a life of servitude," said Kashka. "If you accept him, you agree to provide a full belly, a roof over his head, and a purpose. What he offers may look like slavery, but it's very different."

"The cat speaks the truth. Those born free can never understand how the uncertainty of freedom scares us," said Jagi.

"I--I don't know what to do," Anika stammered, looking over at Kal and Kashka.

"Accept him," said Kashka. "If he is unhappy in your service, you can always set him free, or in his case, it might be better to trade him to a merchant since he is familiar with that life."

Jagi nodded without looking up. "Indeed, Milady, if you choose to make this place a trading post, I have much knowledge. If not, I can still effectively manage your estate here."

"Um, I don't really have an estate," the arachne told him

"You do now. The Reavers gave you one," said Kal as he stepped up beside the kneeling man. The mage drew a rune in the air and directed the magic toward the tattoo on the side of Jagi's neck. "When it was just you, this area was overgrown," he continued as the ink seeped out of Jagi's skin and formed a floating ball that Kal tossed away. "But now you have the Reaver's entire compound to call yours. Unless you are planning on letting it all go back to the forest and living alone again, you will need a little help." Kal inspected the light scarring left by the Reaver's mark. It had faded enough that the pattern wasn't immediately obvious.

"Then... I accept?" said Anika hesitantly.

"Thank you, Milady," replied Jagi as he stood up. Kal noted there was still a little bit of fear in his posture but nothing like when he first knelt in front of her.

When Jagi stood, five more men slipped out and stood in front of the building. "Can we trust them, Jagi?" one asked. "We didn't suffer through the Reavers only to become a spider's meal."

"I don't eat humans," she said with an exasperated sigh. "I eat monkeys, pigs, birds, and all the stuff humans do."

Kal approached the first of the five men. "I have firsthand knowledge that if you end up in her mouth, it will be a delightful experience," he said as he began removing the man's tattoo.

"Kal! Would you stop!" Anika shouted, blushing.

"Just letting them know you aren't as scary as you look," he said, moving to the second man. "As with most monster girls, humans focus too much on the monster and not enough on the girl."

"Forgive me, Sir, but there's a lot of monster there," said one of the men.

"True, but that's because creatures that looked like her already existed. The magic that created her ancestor used a formula that already worked. Had it been up to the spell that made the ape-women or her," Kal pointed at Kashka, "her body would probably have been more human. Maybe a with a chitin shell that opens like the other insectoid girls I've encountered."

"How would I spin my web, though?" the arachne asked.

"I don't know, maybe you'd shoot it out of your wrists or something. Regardless, her ancestor's human parts were patterned after real, human women, and I think that's an important thing to remember."

Kal continued down the line until the last man shied away from his hand.

"I don't think I can do this," he said, "I'm sorry, Jagi. You saved my life many times with your patience and advice when I first arrived, but I can't sleep with that... thing."

Jagi shook his head in disappointment. "That's fine, Charl, you aren't--"

Kal put a hand on top the Charl's head and forced it upright. "First, "he said, speaking loud enough that the men inside the building could hear, "she's not a thing, she's a woman, and her name is Anika. Second, we understand some people won't be as open-minded as I am about monster girls. Third, you are free regardless of whether or not you bed her. It is not a condition. Last, you owe her an apology for calling her a 'thing,'" Kal held his hand beside the man's neck. "And I won't remove this until you do."

"Kal, you don't need to do that," said Anika.

"Yes, I do. I understand that he can't bring himself to be your lover, and I don't fault him for that. But I won't just stand here while he insults one of my friends." Kal leaned in closer to the man's face. "Apologize, or wear the mark of a murderer and pirate for the rest of your life. This should be an easy choice."

The man glanced between him and Anika before saying, "I'm sorry, Ma'am. I was wrong to call you that. It won't happen again."

Kal nodded and began removing the tattoo. "Good, just keep that in mind going forward."

Four of the initial five moved over to stand beside Jagi and Anika as the arachne stared daggers at the mage. Charl moved off to stand by himself.

Soon after, the rest of the men began creeping out. Most moved to stand beside Charl, but not all of them. Two more chose to side with Jagi expressing some form of thanks. Kal gleaned that the manservant used his knowledge to help others deal with their imprisonment and keep from drawing the Reavers' ire. Judging by the apologetic looks shared between a few in Charl's group and Jagi, there were more who would have joined him if not for Anika.

One of the former servants exited the building, and Saida dashed forward, yelling "Papi!" with her arms outstretched. The loud crack as Saida's father slapped her to the ground froze everyone in shock.

"Whore!" he screamed as the nearest men grabbed him from behind. When he couldn't free a hand to strike her again, the man spat on Saida and started trying to kick her, shouting, "How many of them did you spread your legs for! How many sullied your worthless cunt! Whore!"

Anika reached Saida before Kal or Kashka and pulled the woman into her arms. Backing away, she stared in shock at the enraged man. Kal opened his mouth to speak, but another of the former servants stepped in front of Saida's father.

"My wife, my son, and my daughter all died when the Reavers attacked," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "Your daughter is alive, and this is how you treat her?" The man's fist smashed into Saida's father's face, dazing him as blood poured out of his nose. Other grief-ridden men dragged him to the ground and began punching and kicking Saida's father as he curled into a ball and tried to protect himself.

"Enough!" yelled Kal, amplifying his voice with magic. The men jumped back in surprise as Saida's father whimpered on the ground. "There's been enough death here today," he continued more quietly.

"Kal, Saida offered herself into my service before Jagi. This man attacked one of mine. He must be punished," said Anika.

"Saida?" Kal asked the girl.

"I thought my father was dead this whole time," she replied distantly while staring at the whimpering man on the ground. "I guess I was right."

Kal walked over and dragged the girl's father to his feet. "Then we'll let the forest decide his fate," said the mage while healing the man enough to stand on his own. Kal shoved him toward the edge of the building and pointed at the jungle beyond. "Leave."

"But I have no food or water!" the man whined.

Kal stepped to the side as a dagger spun past him from behind to stick in the ground next to Saida's father's feet.

"You should have thought of that before raising a hand to your daughter. If you don't start running, there will be more death today. Even if it's against my master's wishes," snarled Kashka as she casually flicked her other dagger in the air and caught it.

The man's face paled, but he had the sense to reach down and grab the weapon at his feet before bolting for the forest edge.

"That was mean," said Kal as he turned to see Kashka holding up fingers and counting before pointing at the empty scabbard. The air above the scabbard warped before the dagger blinked into existence nestled within its sheath.

"I am honestly too tired to care right now," she said.

As Kashka and Kal cleared out the Reavers dealing with the ape-women's traps, a bandit pulled Kashka's dagger from his dying friend's chest and turned to face them. The weapon vanished from his hand a moment later, and he watched as the cat-girl drew the same dagger from its sheath. The last thing the Reaver saw was the blade spinning toward him.

After this discovery, Kal literally had to fend the cat-girl off since she wanted to thank him then and there for letting her buy the enchanted weapons.

Back by the servant's quarters, they heard a yelp of dismayed surprise from Saida's father that brought a smile to more than one face.

"Are you okay?" Anika asked the trembling girl in her arms.

"I just found out my father has been alive this entire time, only for him to greet me like that. No, I'm not okay," said Saida. The girl looked up at the arachne, "You said I was yours. Does this mean you accept me?"

Anika blushed bright red and chuckled nervously. "I did say that, didn't I? I can't go back on my word, I suppose."

Kal watched the girl sigh deeply in relief and relax into the arachne's arms before he turned to address the Reaver's former servants. "You are all free. However, it didn't sound like the road was cleared of traps before we killed the last of the Reavers. My companions and I will be disarming the traps on the way to Calfera. However, one of us needs a few days to recover, so we won't be leaving immediately. Unless you can disable expertly hidden traps, you will need to make the best of things here until we are ready to go."

Kal turned to the men standing by Anika. "Jagi, you said you could run Anika's estate here, so you are familiar with assigning and managing personnel?"

The manservant nodded. "Yes, Sir."

"Assess the men here and find jobs for them to do until we are ready to set out. Then, tally up all the Reavers' remaining food and resources and present them in a report to Anika. Also, Anika exclusively eats meat. You'll need to put together groups of hunters or those willing to learn. Kashka and I will teach them what we know as our friend recovers. Unfortunately, the first order of business will be cleaning up the Reaver's corpses. Since Anika, Kashka, and I have been fighting and hunting down the remaining Reavers all night, we are leaving that to you," he said as he beckoned the first of the larger group forward and began removing his tattoo.

"Kal, what is he supposed to report to me? Even if he tells me everything you said, I have no idea what it means. Besides, this wasn't part of the plan," said Anika, indicating the men standing beside her. "I just wanted my home back and to continue studying the Ancient's Labyrinth. I don't need servants, or a trading post, or whatever."

"Don't talk to me about unwanted servants," the mage replied, jerking a thumb as Kashka. "You know perfectly well how this has turned out. But I'm sure Jagi will be able to explain what his report entails in short order.

"As for making this an outpost, I think you should give it a try. The Reavers cleared out a fair amount of jungle, and from Kashka's exploration, you have a good supply of medicinal plants for trade. Build a stable and an Inn, and this could be a stopover for traders between Lassedo and Calfera. Do well enough, and Calfera might finish that tunnel through the western ridge."

"Um... Sir Wizard?" said Saida, gently removing Anika's arms from around her to stand before him.

"Just call me Kal."

"Kal... can I ask a favor."

The mage glanced over as he removed another tattoo. "Go ahead and ask. The worst I can do is say no."

"I'd like the mark of my new mistress put right here," she said, pulling up her top and tapping a spot near the top of her left breast.

The man Kal was working on nearly choked when he heard the girl's request. The mage couldn't blame him, he was just as surprised.

Kal finished with the former servant and turned toward Saida. "You were just given your freedom, and now you are giving it away again? You only met Anika a few hours ago. I've spent the last few days with her, and I don't feel I know her well enough for that kind of trust--"

A hand on his arm stopped him. A flood of emotions from when Kashka insisted on entering his service flowed across the bond.

He looked down at the cat. "I wish I could understand why you think like that."

"You don't need to understand," she said, smiling up at him. "Not everyone can find happiness in servitude. Just accept that this is who we are."

"I think I would have an easier time accepting if I could understand it a little better. It's one of the reasons I had you play mistress for a while."

"But for you, that was a game. You never felt like pretending I was your mistress had any bearing on your next meal or a roof over your head. It's a little bit like marriage."

"What have you gotten me into?" asked Anika.

"After listening to us, you think I have a clue?" he replied with a questioning look. "Before I do this, do you really want to mark this girl as yours?"

The arachne looked over the small crowd of men and saw more than one staring lecherously at Saida's exposed breast. "Yes, I do," she said, then glared at the men around them. "This means if any of you touch her without my explicit permission, you will answer to me."

Kal shook his head again at the elated expression on Saida's face before beckoning the next man forward. After pulling the tattoo from the man's neck, he turned to Saida with the floating ink ball. Much like when testing runes, he shaped the ink into a spider and then started making minor adjustments until it fit the image in his mind. Glancing over at Anika, Kal smirked and began making a design in the middle of the spider's body. Once satisfied, Kal floated the ink down and touched it to Saida's breast before quickly drawing the rune to set it. The mage suppressed a chuckle when the girl hissed from the itchy feeling caused by the spell pushing the ink into her skin. When he finally stepped back, the girl looked down at her new tattoo before giving him a beaming smile.