TRC - Lord of the Glass Desert Ch. 23

"What else do you know about Emru?" he asked Kashka.

"Ratt told me that her kind are called whales. They are hunted by humans for the oils rendered from their body fat, and their numbers are dwindling. Those who became monster girls have a huge advantage over the non-magic whales, but as those become rarer, they turn more towards her kind."

"And she wants to bring a child into the world under the constant threat of being hunted and killed?"

"I asked the same thing. If Emru gets pregnant, she will help the Scarlet Bitch until she's ready to give birth, then swim south to warmer waters to calve. Afterward, she plans on staying away from the coastlines and out of the whale hunter's reach until her calf is weaned."

Kal closed his eyes and tried to focus on the sight of Emru. after a few seconds, her visage switched to the cold, predatory expression on the Sulerin sandworm. His stomach churned with revulsion, much like when the sandworm said she wanted to mate with him. He shook his head to clear the thought away. "I don't know if I can do this," he said. "I know that Scarlet, Tavorah, and a lot of the other crew were putting their hopes in me. But we're coming into port tomorrow, and I don't know if I can overcome the disgust I'm feeling in so little time."

"You managed to yelp Yalli in less than a day," the cat offered.

"But she also had days to mentally prepare, a strong desire to have a child, the support of the entire crew, and her nature as a monster girl to help her. I only have the support of the crew, and right now, I'm not very happy with a few of them."

"What about staying on longer? I know you've been thinking about it."

Kal glanced northward, his eyes focusing on something far beyond the cabin's wall. "I have. I looked at some of the helm's maps and think Ikuno's shrine is closer to the middle of Azumbaho. Staying on the Bitch would take a lot of time off our journey. If there isn't a port nearby, we can just ask them to sail closer to the coast, and we'll fly to shore."

A knock at the door interrupted them.

"Come in," the mage called, then raised an eyebrow as the squid girl, Naivoo, entered.

"Master Kal?"

"Yes?

"I came to ask if you were still willing to help Emru have a daughter. If you are, I could be your go-between, so you don't need to do anything with her directly," She blurted out before he could answer.

"What? How?" asked Ria.

"Because her human part needs to have sex, then she shoves it inside--"

"We know how they mate already," said Kal in a tone that told her to get on with it.

"My body is soft enough that I can slip inside her and put your seed right where it needs to go."

Kashka looked skeptical. "But she'll climax after you do that. Will you be able to get out in time?"

"Emru says that doesn't happen with her big body, only the small one. I'll be safe."

"I can tell this isn't settling well with you," said the cat-girl, "but it may be the best option."

Kal shook his head. "No. Go and tell Emru to give me some more time. I can't keep seeing her as something like a sandworm just because their lures look similar."

"Lures?" Naivoo asked.

"The sandworms use their human... appendages... to lure humans into mating with them, or when looking for their next meal."

"Oh, no. Emru sings when she's trying to attract a mate. You couldn't even fit in her big body's mouth. She mostly eats tiny fish, so her throat is very small. Emru couldn't eat you even if she wanted to."

The mage frowned. "That would have been nice to know before I met her."

"Wait. How would you even know that?" Ria asked the squid-girl.

Naivoo grinned and said, "Because I've been in there." She raised a hand that unraveled into two tentacles down to the elbow before making a short thrusting motion upward.

"You fucked her inside her mouth?" When Naivoo nodded, Ria turned to Kal, "That's a little weird but kind of hot too."

"Maybe for you," he replied, rolling his eyes.

"Actually, it was pretty hot," said the squid. "In the water, she's not all limp like when she's on the ship. Emru's a lot prettier then." Looking back at Kal, she asked, "So you want me to tell her to wait?"

"Yes, and let her know I'll be requesting to stay on board after our first port of call in Azumbaho. I'm not doing this for her specifically, but it will give me a chance to wrap my head around getting intimate with her."

"What about letting me help?" she asked before pointing at her open mouth.

"That's a little too impersonal for me when conceiving children. We'll use it as a last resort, but if this happens, I'd rather it be more natural."

Naivoo smiled, "I can understand that. I'll let her know."

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After arriving home yesterday afternoon, Perra sent out word of Sera's arrival and invited everyone to the farmhouse the next day to meet the gorgon.

It was Refia's turn for pup-watching duty, and she couldn't come, but Alina and Dax were there. Silma declined the invitation claiming the blacksmith's current order was too important for her to leave. Aradelle would listen in over the bond, but there was already an expedition to the north side of the mountain planned so she and Sera could meet in person.

Having met Sera the day before, Gerda and Bas remained at Felli's mountain. Shaping tons of rock for hours on end proved taxing even for monster girls as powerful as the golems. To avoid fatigue, they decided to take turns helping the dwarves.

They found a small cavern below the worksite with soil adequate for Sita to eat. The mushroom girl wasn't excited about the area's 'taste' or being away from Ikuno's cave. However, she understood that her normal feeding spot was too far away for the golems to keep her safe from subterranean predators.

While alone in the little copse of glowing mushrooms where Kal found her, Sita never needed to worry about predators. Gerda didn't think she was in much danger since few creatures that would see humans or other monster girls as food would find her fungal flesh tasty. The underground grazers who ate mushrooms, molds, and slimes were probably a greater hazard. But most moved slow not to attract predators and had mouths made for scraping the rock for food, not biting.

Elta, Bren, Kahrin, and Deena showed up shortly before noon and were the last to arrive. Ruce delivered the invitation as the cleric enjoyed a breakfast prepared by the Inn's kitchen and extended it to the innkeeper and strongman. Once Deena discovered Sera was there, she insisted on coming along as well.

A few townsfolk still found it jarring to see a harpy land in the middle of town or a dog-girl casually walking into a store. But each day, it felt more commonplace. The exploits of the town guard and Daxas's pack were a common topic of conversation and helped the monster girls gain acceptance. The naysayers discovered it hard to argue against the pack's usefulness when the guardsmen and dog-girls led horses of now-deceased robbers into town, then heard how Dax's pack gave the men ample time to ambush the bandits.

Bren's presence at the farmhouse nearly put Daxas in heat. Out of loyalty to Kal, she hadn't approached the Inn's strongman. But seeing the wolf-girl's lust for Bren nearly had Perra telling Dax to throw together a few silver and buy the man for a night. If nothing else, it would satisfy the wolf's curiosity before Kal came back and formed a bond with her, Alina, and Refia. On a personal note, Perra thought it might be nice not to have the place smell like aroused wolf-girl whenever they were in the same room. Thankfully she had the windows and doors open to let the breeze in, so Dax's scent wasn't overpowering.

Ghoss, Kuto, and Bea chatted with Veir off to one side of the living room while Thom and Tain enjoyed mugs of ale at the table and tried not to ogle all of the exposed breasts and bottoms.

The harpies were on the lookout for more of their kind now that Telsin had discovered their usefulness as messengers. In particular, Jurien and Nina greatly appreciated their help. For a couple of coppers, the apothecary could get medicines or salves to the outlying farms instead of delivering them himself or letting them sit on the shelf until his customer made a trip into town. This also meant he got paid quicker, worried less about his products going bad, and had more time for his wife. The blacksmith was slowly warming up to the idea of paying them to deliver repaired tools and parts, and even Tanner had grumbled about how handy the winged women appeared to be.

Medicine and goods weren't the only things they delivered. The harpies had also transported Elta to an injured person in time to save their life.

The first time happened as Ghoss delivered some medicine to a farmer's wife. While the harpy relayed Jurien's instructions to the woman, her husband was in a makeshift corral nearby, attempting to break a young mare. The horse threw the farmer, and the man landed square on his back, knocking the wind from his lungs. The mare continued to buck and kick, stepping on the farmer's chest before he could roll away. Ghoss heard the human's ribs crack where she stood by the farmhouse.

As the wife ran to her husband, Ghoss jumped into the air and flew as quickly as she could back to Telsin. A few short minutes later, the harpy returned with the very windswept cleric, who had her healing spells at the ready as soon as her feet touched the ground.

Later, when telling the story to the townfolk, Elta pointed out that if the farmer's wife jumped on a horse and galloped to town, picked her up, then raced back, her husband would have suffocated from the blood filling his lungs long before they arrived. Ghoss's presence and quick thinking were the sole reason the man lived.

A few weeks later, during another delivery, a very embarrassed farmer and wife invited the harpy into their bed in appreciation for saving his life. Ghoss thanked them for the offer but respectfully declined, telling them that Tain took care of her needs. The couple seemed confused that a 'sex-crazed monster girl would turn them down but at the same time looked relieved as she flew away.

Back at Kal and Perra's farmhouse, most of the arrivals were wary of Sera and her snakes, especially Ghoss, since Ruce and Kuto had already met the gorgon and knew what to expect. Deena was the exception, walking right up to Sera and hugging her tight while Bren and Kahrin hung back, looking uncomfortable.

"Thank you so much for sending me here," the waitress said once she finally released the gorgon. "Without you, Kal, and Ria stopping at my Inn, I would have never found my way here. I've never been happier, and now I have a little one on the way."

"Little? With Bren the father?" said Perra, smirking.

"Fair enough," Deena laughed, followed by a rumbling chuckle from the big man.

"Speakin' o' little ones, where's yours?" Kahrin asked.

"With Ruce, Lada, and Adalena at the bunkhouse."

"Aww, I was hoping to see them."

"Me too," Elta chimed in. Now that Ruce's chick had begun to talk, the cleric had been promoted to 'Auntie Elta.'

"Unfortunately, meeting Sera was not the only reason for calling all of you here." The room's chatter quieted as Perra's somber tone got everyone's attention. "There was an incident shortly after Sera's arrival--"

"I should've asked you to stay and fly me here," Sera said to Veir. "We could have avoided this mess."

Nodding in agreement, Perra continued, "As we reached the main road from the dwarven camp, we met a knight and cleric sent from the capital to investigate the dwarves' activities." Her eyes flicked to Elta and saw the woman's lips drawn into a tight line. "We tried our best to avoid a confrontation but the cleric pulled Sera's hood off her head as we parted ways. We tried to run as they prepared to fight..." Perra looked over at Sera.

"...but we wouldn't have gotten far," the gorgon finished. "So, I turned them to stone."

Most of the people assembled knew of Sera and how her power worked, only Deena, Thom, and Tain seemed confused.

Seething, Elta marched over to stand in front of Perra. "Tell me you did everything you could not to kill them," she barked.

"We did," Perra replied calmly. "But Sera is right. Bonn could never have outrun their horses, especially the knight's warhorse."

The cleric's anger faded slightly. "If you turned them to stone, what about the statues?"

"Bas took them deep underground, then shattered them and spread the pieces among bedrock."

"She wanted to add them to the gravel of the dwarves' road," Sera muttered and quickly earned a glare from Perra and a look of shock from Elta. "But Perra wouldn't let her.

"I promise we did what we could to avoid this," said Perra, getting the cleric's attention again. "Their belongings are here with me, and their horses are with the dwarves."

Elta sighed. "Given the circumstances, I guess I can't blame you. But I'm still not happy you killed a follower of the Goddess."

"That makes two of us," said Perra. "This means we have a bigger problem now. When these two don't report back, there will be questions back at the capital and more sent to find out why they disappeared."

"Yer a fool, Perra. This ne'er shoulda gone further than you and yer new friend. Now all o' us are in on yer secret, and o'er time somethin'll slip out," Kahrin piped in with a rumble of agreement from Bren.

"You three were unexpected, and that's absolutely true in your case. But everyone else here needed to know what is going on and be prepared for whatever may come. There is little more than a month to go before Ikuno comes back, and it will take months more for her and Kal to return home. We can't depend on them to suddenly appear out of thin air and help us. We also can't expect Elta to raise her staff against the capital's knights and clerics. The king may see it as an act of aggression from Lantaris. When we dropped off the horses, Chief Ordle made it clear he won't put his men and women in danger if this situation sours. They're workers and engineers, not fighters."

"That's a load o' shite. It's 'cause Kal didn't pay 'em to fight. Throw some more gold their way, and ye'll have a troop o' dwarven mercenaries at yer beck n call."

"Kahrin, we are not starting a war with the capital. They have an army, and we have--"

"A gorgon, a salamander, two golems, and a tower full of monster girls with eons of strategic and military knowledge, all willing to defend the loved ones of the tower's master," said Veir.

Perra stared at the harpy in shock.

"Don't look at me like that," said the raven. "I'm not suggesting all-out war, just pointing out that we are neither defenseless nor alone. Against an army of humans and clerics, my bet is on the girls from the tower."

"Cyrene could probably take out most of them by herself," Sera added.

"Those at the tower wield that much power? How did you resist the temptation to use it?" Elta asked.

Veir shrugged. "We are defenders, not attackers. Besides, instead of killing them, Cy would much rather strip off the army's armor and try to fuck them all to exhaustion. That is what we were created to do, after all."

"Sex isn't the answer for everything," the cleric snapped.

"I'm not saying that Cyrene couldn't kill them, only that she wouldn't want to. If we needed to fight, then Senshu is worth a hundred trained soldiers, Molo can kill with a touch, and if absolutely necessary, We could place Graff upwind and have you cast a fertility spell to put her into heat. It's hard for humans to fight when all they want to do is fuck. But that all feels unnatural to even think about. Like I said, we were made to be defenders. And before anyone says anything, convincing us that the best defense is a good offense does not change anything."

"There's also the question if Kithana would get involved," said the gorgon. "I wouldn't count on it, but no army could stand against a Fae."

"Kit refused to get involved when Te'thalas fell. I doubt she would help us."

Perra's eyes were wide with disbelief. "Kithana sat by and watched as a city was slaughtered?"

"Fae are not supposed to become involved in the conflicts of the 'Lower Races.' While we think of Kithana as all-powerful, because to us she is, there are Fae who would have punished her had she stepped in."

"But she could have saved an entire city!"

"You're thinking like a human, not a Fae. To them, the entirety of your life is like the snap of a finger, over in an instant. In the eyes of a Fae, those humans just died a little quicker than they would have otherwise. Kit says the punishment for getting involved in mortal matters could last hundreds or even thousands of years. Compared to that, a city's worth of snapped fingers doesn't mean much. I believe her tune has changed over the past millennia, but I still don't think she would step in."

"What punishment could be so horrible that it would frighten a Fae?" asked Sera.

"You know how Fae reset their minds and start over new? It's bad enough that many choose to reset after a few decades."

"They choose to die instead?"

Veir nodded

"I thought Fae were immortal," said Elta.

"Their bodies are, but they can wipe their minds and start over from scratch. The punishment is considered complete when they do this since the person who earned the sentence is now, in essence, dead. After Prentas cast the spell that created the monster girl's ancestors, Kit was visited and questioned by three other Fae about her involvement in developing and casting Prentas's spell. She was visibly shaken for weeks after they left, and I doubt she is willing to chance another run-in with them."

"It's been a thousand years," said Perra. "Surely, they wouldn't be watching that closely."

"Again, you are thinking like a human," Veir replied. "If a human's life is the snapping of fingers, then a thousand years is like a... day or something. Or maybe just a few hours. I haven't really thought it out before."

"I don't even know why we are talking about this. We are NOT going to war against the king."

"Who is the king here anyway?" Veir asked.

"King Garvol," said Tain, raising his tankard of ale.

Kahrin shook her head, "Garvol died last year. His son had the crown fer a few months 'fore bein' assassinated. Now it's one o' Garvol's nephews by the name o' Koert."

"Shows how much I pay attention. It's not like the capital ever gives two shits about us out here," said Tain before draining his mug. "I'm happier tending fields and tending to my woman than worrying about the going-on's of royals."

"Hear, hear," said Thom before finishing off his ale as well. "Mevaria can rot away and leave us be for all I care."

"Mevaria?" Sera asked.

"The name of the capital city and the kingdom we belong to," Perra explained. "They mostly just collect taxes and be a pain in the rear. It'd be different if they offered soldiers to protect Telsin and the surrounding area, but we only see the Mevarian military if we don't pay our tithes to the king."

"Ah, I see."

"While we are talking about money, Kahrin, have you given any more thought to Chief Ordle's offer?"

"Bren and I are goin' to visit 'em tomorrow night and see what the dwarf has in mind. I'm thinking of seein' if Naidah's interested in joinin' us."

"The town whore? You might upset a few of her regulars if you take her along," said Elta.

"Aye, but she's a good woman, and Ordle is offerin' good coin fer our services. I'm thinkin' she deserves the chance."

"Hmph. A few of her regular's wives could do with remembering what their man's cock feels like. Frigid bitches." Everyone in the room stared at Deena, surprised by her uncharacteristic outburst. Looking around sheepishly, she said in a quieter voice, "Naidah's my friend. She tells me things."