TRC - Lord of the Glass Desert Ch. 38

"It's still funny," she giggled.

Kal cleared his throat. "The trip across the desert was mostly uneventful until Perra nearly died on us."

Ikuno sat up a bit straighter. "What?!"

"Telsin has changed a lot. A salamander showed up looking for me, forcing Perra and Elta to reveal everything going on at the farm and my relations with monster girls. One of the men didn't take it well and got physical with Perra."

"I'll murder the bastard--" Ikuno growled.

"He wasn't the one to nearly kill her. Kuto came to Perra's rescue, and Perra threw herself in front of Kuto's claws."

"Kuto is the harpy from earlier and Perra's lover, isn't she?" asked Senza.

"Yes, she is."

"Then why would she do such a thing?"

"Because Perra thought that Kuto killing the man would undo everything she and Elta had accomplished and only increase hatred toward monster girls. I felt the attack through the bond and traveled through the astral plane to get to her. Elta was already healing Perra when I arrived, but it wasn't enough. Cleric healing heals the entire body at once," he explained for the sake of those listening, "but that makes it slow and wasteful. She needed my ability to direct the flow of magic toward Perra's wounds and ignore the rest of her body.

"Perra was fading fast until Elta offered herself to me."

"As in, you bonded with her?" Ikuno asked, incredulous. "But how could that help? Wouldn't a bond with you sever her connection with her goddess?"

"It did, but not until she released the spell. With her power and my direction, we saved Perra. Then the door slammed on Elta's power."

Ikuno's eyes narrowed as she studied Kal's face. "But she's not one of your women."

"No, I released her from the bond, and she got her powers back, though I'm not entirely sure how all that happened. That all happened in the astral plane, and my memories of that time get very hazy."

"I can imagine. You must have been exhausted."

"When I woke up, I was alone with Ria in the tent. Outside, sandworms had dug out the area around us as they tried to figure out how to eat me. They gave up and went chasing after the caravan, so I set up a distraction for the sandworms to draw them back, then spent the next few hours catching up."

Near the end of the crossing, the sandworms finally caught up to us. The sandworms and the caravan have an agreement. For a sacrifice, they leave the rest of the caravan in peace. There were two worms in this case, so there were two sacrifices. The caravan brings along volunteers--"

"People volunteer to be eaten?" asked Asahi.

"This will take a minute to explain. The volunteers are given treatment much like what I purchased. Then, if they run into a sandworm, one of the volunteers is chosen by lottery to be a tribute. The family of the unlucky volunteer receives a large sum of money when the caravan returns to Fazal. Fazal has enough poor and desperate people there is no shortage of volunteers."

"And if they aren't chosen?"

"They get a ride back and forth across the desert, fed some of the finest food Fazal has to offer, are attended to by some of the city's best sex slaves, and receive a few gold pieces for their time."

"That doesn't sound worth it to me," said Yamori.

"I doubt any of us have ever been in such a dire situation even to consider betting our lives like that," said Kal. "But there are others, like the lady who volunteered with me, who have other reasons. She was dying of sickness and old age and wanted her death to be a boon to her family instead of a burden."

"Wait, you volunteered?"

The mage chuckled. "Obviously, my plan was not to get eaten. I gave the old woman a modified slave collar and a knife to cut it. This was one of the collars from when I rescued the dog-girls earlier, but with a larger, flawless crystal. If the collar is cut or the slave tries to run away, a rune cracks the crystal."

"You turned an old lady into a bomb?" Ikuno stated, frowning.

"The lady went out there to die. I gave her the power to go out on her terms instead of being slowly digested."

"Hmmm, I guess. I'm still not sure how I feel about that."

"Moving on. The old lady went with one sandworm, and I went to the other.

Kashka's old master had one last trick up his sleeve. Upon dying, his body exploded into a cloud of poisonous gas meant to kill his killers, but Ria stored his corpse before it went off. She summoned Bozun's carcass as I approached the second worm, and I used the strength rune to throw it into the sandworm's mouth."

"Then he attacked it to drive it underground," Kashka added, "since we didn't want the poison to jeopardize the caravan.

"It mostly worked," said Kal. "The poison was expected. The explosion was not. The worm didn't get all the way underground, and with nowhere for the explosion to go, it blew the worm's tail off and sent most of its guts across the desert."

"And the old lady?" Ikuno asked.

"The other sandworm did get underground, and a few seconds later, we heard a loud thump and saw the sand ahead of the caravan jump."

"An honorable death," said Ichiro.

"I think so too. A few days later, we reached the other side of the Sulerin desert and crossed the savannah. We made a few friends, but nothing exciting happened until we arrived at the Boordus Jungle and met Anika.

"Some ex-pirates had taken over the ruins she called home, so Kashka and I helped her wipe them out. Some of the pirates' captives stayed with Anika to set up a trading post, while the rest came with Kashka and me to Calfera."

"Ruins in a jungle on the opposite side of a savannah from the Sulerin desert," Ikuno mumbled, seeming lost in thought. "I feel like I visited there before."

"Anika would love you forever if you could shed some light on the people who built the temple where she lives. She's been exploring for years now. Besides, I think you'd find Anika interesting. She's a spider-girl, or maybe a spider-taur? I understand other kinds of spider-girls are more human but have four extra spider legs coming out of their backs."

"Ewww," said Yua, making a face. "Giant spider bodies. No thanks."

"She really is very sweet," said Kashka.

"I've killed enough giant spiders in my adventures that I don't think I could see past her body long enough to care about her personality," said Ichiro.

"You fucked her, didn't you?" Ikuno asked.

"Many times, and it was quite fun," said Kal. Once the pirates were dead, we moved on to Calfera, dropped off the captives with us, and found passage to Azumbaho aboard The Scarlet Bitch, a former slaving ship turned into a merchant vessel after the cargo escaped and took over the ship.

"Unfortunately for them, the former owner wasn't willing to let them go. Unfortunately for him, Kashka and I were there when he tried to retake the ship. In a moment of either genius or stupidity, I made him give everything he owned to me in exchange for his life, which was witnessed by the captains of The Scarlet Bitch and The Dauntless. By the customs of the sea, an agreement witnessed by two captains is as good as law. Enough so that Ria took his robe right off his back."

"Then Roka killed him," Kashka explained, "and since Kal was never part of the Scarlet Bitch's crew, the deal is still binding."

"So, now I own a small fleet of slaving ships I need to re-crew and turn into merchant ships under the command of Scarlet, the captain of The Scarlet Bitch, some offices in Silvermoon, and, from what the former captain of the Dauntless told me, two large estates south of Silvermoon. Oh, and because of Silvermoon's customs, I inherited a wife."

"I was on board with saying you had a stroke of genius until you said that," said Ikuno. She closed her eyes and looked away from him with an overly-dramatic pained expression. "Now look at me... having an affair with a married man. I am now... the other woman."

She peeked back at Kal to see skeptical looks on Kal and Kashka's faces before breaking down into giggles.

"Just curious, are you done with all the heavy stuff? Because I'd really like to continue." Yua asked, pointing down at where she and Ichiro were still joined.

"We arrived at Soma. I gave Scarlet command of my ships because I'm neither merchant nor sailor. Set up Roka to train new sailors. Made my way to Sayaka, meeting Ming, Dioga, and Zakku on the way--"

"Dealt with a cat going through a particularly intense heat," Kashka added.

"That too. We met Ichiro, Asahi, and their brother Nao. I entered the tournament, defeated Nao, and passed the days to your arrival with my new friends. Was that quick enough for you?"

"That works," said Yua, sighing as she sank down into Ichiro's lap. The pika immediately frowned and looked back at him. "You went soft."

"You couldn't tell?" asked the caretaker's wife.

"She's so tight I never slipped out," said the eldest brother as he pressed his stiffening cock further into Yua's sex.

The caretaker's wife slid off her seat and crawled over to Yua and Ichiro, her eyes locked on where the pika was starting to raise and lower herself on the brother's prick. When she could almost rest her head on Ichiro's knee, she looked up at them, her question plain in her eyes.

"Go ahead," said Yua, using two fingers to expose her clit as Ichiro nodded his assent. Both of them moaned as the woman's tongue went to work.

"She's very forward," Ikuno said to the caretaker.

"She loves this part of serving a spirit of love," he replied, watching his wife fondly. "Like you, we cannot have children. Before you ask, neither of us wants children. We enjoy our lives here at the shrine, serving you, and taking care of the needs of any travelers who come to call. Little ones would change all that, and scenes like this would become a thing of the past."

"You know, I was never a spirit of love. That's a title the people of Sayaka gave me."

"But you helped so many people come together," said Chihiro. "Your influence has touched every person in our town."

"That's because I'm selfish, not a spirit of love."

"That's a strange way to be selfish."

"Not really. I said earlier that I cannot have children. This is a part of every immortal's nature. But I always wanted kids of my own. So, I started bringing people together, and if their union bore a son or daughter, I considered that child to be just a tiny bit mine."

"Kind of like Eludora?" Kal asked.

"Aradelle and I had been lovers for years before you came along, and I held her in my arms as you and she conceived Eludora. She is the closest I have ever gotten to having my own child and means so much more to me." She flashed Chihiro an apologetic smile. "I mean no offense."

"None was taken, Great Ikuno. I would be a horrible person to feel insulted."

"Please, call me Ikuno when we are alone or surrounded by only friends."

---

Ming said goodbye to everyone the next day and left to chase the tournament troupe. Dioga and Zakku were sad to see her go but understood that she had found a place where she was wanted and appreciated. The lantern-girl spent most of the night trying to convince the slime and mimic to join her, but they were unswayed by her insistence she 'could find a place' for them.

"If things don't work out, remember I have a place for you. It may be on the other side of the world and will still take a few years to get up and running, but it's yours if you want it," said Kal.

Ming kissed him on the cheek. "I'll keep that in mind," she said before floating over the shrine's wall, heading south after the troupe.

Zakku and Dioga decided to stay at the shrine until Ichiro and Yua returned to Soma, where they would resume offering a healing soak to passing travelers.

At the end of the first week, Yamori and Asahi departed for the gecko's home north of Sayaka. The couple spent several nights in the caretaker's house until Yamori felt comfortable with Asahi's proclivities toward both sexes. The middle brother also finally convinced Ichiro and Kal to spend a night with the gecko-girl, and Kal had to admit the feeling of her sex was vastly different from most other women. He finally understood what Asahi had meant by 'feeling more.'

By the time Ming left, Ikuno could already look Kal in the eye. When Asahi and Yamori said goodbye, she was nearly a full head taller than him.

Kal finally relented and gave Senza the daughter she wanted. Making love to the pangolin-girl seemed tricky at first, as her scales ended in sharp ridges. His worries melted away as he began kissing and caressing the woman. As her arousal grew, Senza's scales shrank and faded away, much like the armadillo-girl, Yalli's, had.

Though the pangolin knew within a few hours that Kal's seed had accomplished its goal, Senza stated that she planned to remain at the shrine with Ikuno until she reached her full power. At the time, the oni's horns were only partly gold, and Ikuno expected it to take just under two more weeks for her to be back to normal.

"Why are they taking so long?" Kal asked, running a finger over one as they recovered from passionately making love the last few hours. "I don't remember them taking so long to refill before, especially after making love."

"A lot is going toward rebuilding my body. When I return to my old size, they will work like you remember again."

Chihiro did her duties faithfully but often needed Ikuno to goad her into doing more with the oni and mage.

"Take him in your mouth Chihiro," Ikuno instructed one day after Chihiro finished wiping down her and Kal. "Sex with Kal helps me regain my power quicker. Get him ready for a second round."

Kal laid back and smiled as the woman did as instructed, giving him a hesitant, but still pleasurable, blowjob. She was so focused on the cock in her mouth Chihiro missed the look shared between the mage and oni. Minutes later, Kal began bucking his hips, driving his prick into her mouth. Before she could pull away, a large hand held her head in place.

"Good girl, Chihiro. You've done an excellent job. Now take his seed in your mouth but don't swallow," Ikuno whispered in the woman's ear. Mere seconds passed before Kal grunted, and the woman's eyes widened as his spend splashed across her tongue. The mage flashed her an apologetic look as she clearly didn't care for the flavor.

"Come," said Ikuno as she rolled onto her back and kicked her legs up and over until she bent nearly double with her toes resting beside her head. With her bottom pointed straight up, she pulled her asscheeks apart and held her sex open. "Put his seed in me," she breathed.

Kashka sidled up next to Chihiro and whispered, "Remember, you're putting on a show."

With her lips held tightly closed, the human nodded before moving over to the oni.

"I want to see it go in," said Ikuno, her breath labored from arousal as Chihiro's face hovered over her pussy.

The woman nodded and let a small amount of Kal's seed drip from her pursed lips. The oni moaned as it splattered on her clit, then a second time as the human swiped her finger across it, collecting the white liquid and bringing it to the oni's opening. Chihiro adjusted, and the rest of Kal's seed dropped directly into Ikuno's waiting sex.

The oni shivered as Kal's cum set off a small orgasm, then gasped as Chihiro bent down and placed a lingering kiss on her clit.

"Don't stop," Ikuno panted.

The woman kissed and nibbled on the oni's pearl for the next few minutes until she exploded in another, stronger climax. Before she could run off to get the warm towels and washcloths, Ikuno rolled onto her side and gathered Chihiro up in her arms. She whispered to the human that she did a wonderful job of pleasuring her and Kal and that she looked forward to returning the favor later.

Her opportunity came a few days later when Ikuno invited her to join her and Kal's lovemaking, and it ended up being Chihiro and Kal's first time together. When they finished, Ikuno pulled the woman up until she straddled the oni's face, then licked the cum from her sex before bringing the human to another wailing climax.

Afterward, Chihiro made it clear to the other girls that she wasn't interested in women other than Ikuno but hinted she might be willing to join Ichiro and Yua for a night.

Kashka stayed mostly in the background, helping where she could and occasionally joining Kal and Ikuno's lovemaking. Unlike Chihiro, the cat made no effort to engage with Ikuno and focused mostly on Kal. Her distance from the oni had nothing to do with jealousy but instead came from guilt. Having sex with Ikuno made Kashka feel like she was cheating on Ratt. The cat knew this was silly and that being exclusive to only Ratt and Kal was never a consideration when they parted ways, but she still couldn't shake her feelings. Ikuno understood all of this thanks to the bond and assumed a supporting role when the mage and cat made love, doing what she could to heighten their pleasure without triggering Kashka's feelings of guilt.

Dioga and Zakku spent a few days after Ming's departure alone but soon joined the rest of them for their campfire talks. The next day, Kal found Ichiro and Asahi's guards enjoying a cleansing soak with the mimic and healing slime once the shrine's gates had closed. After Asahi and Yamori left, it became a common sight for at least one of the guards to be relaxing in the tub at any given time, and they were occasionally joined by shrine-goers from Sayaka or travelers stopping in for a blessing.

---

The first time Ikuno gave a passing traveler a blessing surprised Kal.

"Something happened between you and them," he said after the small merchant wagon exited the shrine. "It was faint, but I saw it."

"The magic of a spirit's blessing is subtle," the oni explained. "If a rockslide happens on the path you're walking, it won't create a shield to deflect the boulders from crashing down on your head, but you might suddenly find a flower beside the road extremely interesting and beautiful for a few moments, enough for the rockslide to come down in front of you instead."

"So your blessing just increases their luck?"

"As a man who has come close to death so many times in your short life, tell me what a little bit of extra luck is worth," she asked, fixing him with a challenging glare.

"I see your point," said the mage.

"Not good enough. You insulted my blessing. Now you need to make it up to me," she reached down and groped his cock through his trousers, "with this."

Kal glanced at her hand before smirking at her. "Lead the way."

---

After Asahi and Yamori left, Kal split most of his time not with Ikuno between researching the clear ink he wanted to replace the tattooed runes on his back with and chatting with Ichiro about possible business ventures in Soma.

Though Ichiro rarely acted like the heir to a powerful Azum house, their conversations informed the mage that his lessons about business and ruling had not fallen on deaf ears. More than once, Kal had to ask Ikuno to elaborate on business concepts he needed help understanding. During one of their talks in the tent's library, Kal half gave up.

"I think you need to talk about all this with Captain... er... Commandant Scarlet. She's been running The Scarlet Bitch for a while now and must have a good business acumen not only to stay running but make a bit of profit with a crew full of monster girls."

Ichiro chuckled. "Filled your head too full, did I?"

"That happened days ago. But I don't want you to stop. Everything you've told me will likely be important and useful in my future endeavors. Also... I think I'm starting to understand a little of what you are telling me. At least the general concepts."

The brother smiled. "Fine then, since you are interested in planning for the future, let's talk about trading on futures."