TRC - Lord of the Glass Desert Ch. 40

Author's note: Sorry for the delay in getting this posted. Chapter 40 was flagged as AI Generated and sent back. I've recently begun using Chat GPT to help with grammar and punctuation. I do not let it add or make changes to my story aside from these two things, Admittedly, it sometimes has made changes that I did not detect until later (replacing cock and pussy for penis and vagina, etc. :P).

Regardless, I ran the chapter through a couple of AI Detectors, because those are a thing now. The best they could come up with was 2% and most of the sentences flagged were for the description of the Kraken, their biology, and ecology. Admittedly it is a somewhat clinical part of the chapter but even that wasn't written by AI (I don't even know how an AI could come up with an ecology for a completely fictional monster, but whatever).

I just want all my readers to know that I will never use AI generation to write my stories. Editing assistance? Absolutely. AI knocks down my editing workload by around 3/4. But no AI will ever write the stories I put here for you.

-Blu

P.S. Someone pointed out that I keep using Commandant instead of Commodore for Scarlet's rank. (Honestly, I should have just used something more descriptive like "Fleet Commander" instead of going for accuracy here, 'cause I've obviously screwed that part up, but it's too late now). Future chapters should hopefully be correct.

The tips of two enormous dark-green tentacles with white suckers rose up beside the ship and draped themselves over the deckrail. A few of the crew stumbled as The Scarlet Bitch swung around the kraken in a shallow arc before coming to a halt. Men and monster-girl alike gripped sword hilts and spears, looking nervously toward their Captain.

"Hold," said Ratt as the sound of smaller tentacles and excited voices drifted over the railing. The four squid-girls crawled up and over the deckrail, followed by what was becoming a disturbingly common sight to Kal, a pale woman hanging limply at the end of a tentacle attached to her back.

The squid's animated chatter died when they looked around and saw all the tense and scared faces of the crew.

"What's wrong?" asked their leader.

"You've brought a kraken to our ship," said Ratt through gritted teeth. "They have a reputation for destroying vessels like The Scarlet Bitch. We haven't attacked because she seems to be a friend of yours and Naivoo's."

The kraken's human avatar spewed water from its mouth before taking a long wheezing breath and saying, "The squid from the south said you wouldn't stab me," in an emotionless monotone.

"Promise not to sink our ship, and we won't," said Ratt.

Scarlet leaned over and whispered to Kal, "I hope you three are prepared if this goes badly."

Kal only nodded in response as Ikuno filled him and Kashka in on what she knew about krakens.

The monster was huge, as Kal could easily tell. It was as wide as The Scarlet Bitch was long, and with its tentacles extended, it dwarfed the ship's length. Unlike their smaller counterparts, the kraken couldn't change color but could make their skin lighter or darker. They also had a swim bladder to help them stay buoyant, unlike smaller squid, who had to constantly use their jets or fins to maintain their position in the water column. The creature's eyes were enormous, with the visible parts alone being bigger around than Ikuno was tall.

Poco represented the most common type of kraken, with a long tapered mantle and long fins on either side for steering and aiding with propulsion. The second family of kraken, found primarily in warmer southern waters, looked more like a bulbous octopus. Both kinds had sixteen tentacles instead of eight or ten, though these were thinner in relation to their body size than their smaller kin. Of the sixteen arms, the squid-style kraken had two much longer tentacles for catching fleeing prey, while the octopus variant did not, preferring to use its camouflage ability to sneak up and ambush its food at close range.

The southern octopus-style kraken was also responsible for most ship attacks. Researchers theorized this was because young krakens fed on the giant clams and oysters in the shallows before their size pushed them into deeper waters. Compared to clam and oyster shells, a ship's hull was hardly a challenge for its massive beak. Squid-like kraken hunted in the top and midwaters of the deep sea and typically ate very large fish or the occasional lone whale. The woody timbers of a sailing ship would be seen as too much bother for the handful of morsels inside.

Both krakens could be driven off if hurt badly enough. Even their non-monster-girl counterparts were known to be highly intelligent, and a ship only needed to cause enough pain to make itself not worth the effort. Unfortunately, most ships would have suffered fatal damage before reaching that point. Fire was particularly effective if used against the kraken's sensitive suckers. Krakens could regenerate lost limbs but could take months or years to regrow.

Kraken beaks, claws, and pen were highly prized by weapon makers but not so prized as to be worth trying to hunt them. When Kal questioned her about claws, she sent back an image of the end of a tentacle but with cat-like claws nearly as long as his arm extending from the center of the suckers. She then explained that the pen was a long, clear, bone-like formation that gave the squid-kraken's mantle structure and was not present in the octopus kraken. In an actual squid, the 'pen' was stiff but flexible, whereas in a kraken, the pen was about as strong as good steel while still slightly flexible. Blades made from the pen were easier to enchant than steel. Its formation inside an enormous magical creature made it naturally attuned to magic, and there was no need to circumvent iron's magic-draining properties.

Ikuno finished by mentioning that kraken ink was highly sought after by mages for the same reason as its pen. The fluid was rarely used since only a few leviathan-class predators posed any threat to a kraken.

Kashka's next question mimicked Kal's when she inquired what creatures could be a threat to a kraken. Ikuno responded with images of a whale, fish, and shark, all with a kraken in their jaws, then followed it with a giant sea turtle with an entire island on its back, whose mouth could take in all four of the leviathan creatures at once.

Kal glanced over at the cat. "Are you sure you want a life of sailing?"

"Focus, please," said Scarlet.

Despite the plethora of information relayed, the exchange only took a few seconds over the bond, during which Poco appeared to be thinking carefully about Ratt's words.

The kraken scanned the crew and began reaching forward with a tentacle. "I will take this one," she said as the appendage stretched toward a male sailor. The sound of steel clearing scabbards swept across The Scarlet Bitch's deck.

The mage activated his speed rune as the tentacle began to move and shouted, "Hold!" as he dashed across the deck. "Ria, staff," he muttered while darting through the forest of blades that had appeared. The crewman Poco targeted had raised his sword to slice at the approaching appendage. Kal's staff appeared in his hand, and he shoved the sailor roughly out of the way before turning to face the oncoming threat.

The tentacle paused for just a moment as its target stumbled away. "You will do," said Poco before it continued forward.

"Swordstaff. No, I won't," said Kal. His staff shortened drastically as the platinum cap expanded to become a full-sized broadsword, complete with a crossguard.

Poco looked over at Ratt. "I have not damaged your ship. You said you would not stab me."

"Are you blind, woman?" asked Ratt, waving her drawn dagger at the steel brandished by the crew. Aye, you haven't cracked the hull," the Captain replied, sheathing her two curved daggers in ornate scabbards on either hip, "but my crew is a part of my ship, and taking one of them hurts us all. When you and Naivoo spoke, what did she tell you?"

"That there were men aboard that I could have in exchange for pulling you toward the western current."

Ratt raised an eyebrow. "Is that exactly what she said?"

Poco thought for a few long moments. "No, I think she said there were men who would have me, but that doesn't make any sense. She must have mixed up the men and me when she said it."

"On any other vessel, it wouldn't make sense," said Ratt, a flicker of relief crossing her face, "but on The Scarlet Bitch, man and monster girl get along, and all are valuable crew members. If you are in need, I'll ask the men of my crew to take care of you. If they accept, I humbly request you tow us to the other side of Azumbaho. If not, then you are under no obligation to help us, and all I ask is that we part ways as friends."

Poco seemed confused. "You're going to... ask them?"

"Aye. Many of the women aboard were once slaves, and I'll not order my crew, man or monster girl, to mate with you."

"I'll do it!"

"Kolas?" Kal asked, lowering the swordstaff in surprise as the man strode past him.

"Ye can't be savin' our arses every time we get into a tight spot, mage. You took care o' the whale. I'll take care o' this one." The former Captain sighed, "Though your whale friend was looking a might bit prettier than this one."

"Staff," said Kal, reverting the weapon to its normal form. "If Poco agrees, maybe we can work with her like I did with Emru."

"So, we have a man willing to take care of you," said Ratt. "Is that a good enough trade for assistance across the calm waters?"

"You would be with me by choice?" Poco asked Kolas.

"Aye. There'll be a couple of rules like we do it here on the deck because I'm not getting in the water with a kraken, and ye need to keep yer other arms out of sight so I don't think you're trying to snatch me up and run off."

Poco turned to Ratt. "That is... acceptable."

"Treat Kolas nicely, and you might get a few other men to give you a run as well." Ratt looked around the deck. "The rest of you, good job being at the ready, especially our new girls. Now sheathe your weapons and get back to work! Scarlet, I think the rest is on you and Kal."

Poco stared at Ratt in disbelief as Kal and Scarlet approached the kraken's avatar. Behind them, the crew slowly put away their swords and daggers, but Kal noted that everyone kept their weapons close by as they returned to work.

"I am Commodore Scarlet. With me is my, and the Captain's, employer, Kal. I have several ships under my command. Would you be willing to make a similar deal with them as you did with Captain Ratt?"

"You have... more men who would be with me?" Poco asked.

"It's entirely their decision. Like Captain Ratt, I won't order any man to have sex with you, but they may choose to help the ship out... Kal, maybe we could offer the men who take care of Poco a bonus to their pay as thanks for getting us through these blasted calm waters quicker."

"As long as it's never explained. I don't want to insult our new friend by making her think we are paying the men to be with her."

"I don't mind," said Poco.

"Right now, you don't, but if this agreement lasts for a long time, you may begin to resent it," said Ikuno, joining them on the main deck. "I don't think you should reward the men since the girls on board will have little to no chance at earning something similar. Besides, the men are already getting their balls drained. Isn't that reward enough?"

"The other day, one of the crewmen said on his next shore leave he was going to buy a whore just to sleep next to him without wanting to fuck," said Kal. "Most of the men aboard are already taking care of multiple women on top of their normal duties. While their situations may be pleasant, you can see in their faces it's wearing on them. It may be less a matter of desire and more about having the extra energy to take care of Poco."

"Alright then, maybe a reward is in order," the oni conceded, then turned to Poco and bowed respectfully. "I've been on this earth for a very, very long time, and you are the first kraken monster-girl I've ever met. It is an honor."

---

Kal snuck away once the initial deal was struck and left the rest of the dealings to Scarlet, Ratt, and Ikuno. Although he wasn't excited about it, the mage would likely be spending some intimate time with Poco in exchange for some of her ink. Ikuno would make the proposal in his stead once the Captain and Commodore hashed out the details of their agreements with The Scarlet Bitch and his fleet. Curiously enough, Ikuno was there to make sure the kraken got a fair deal and didn't let a master haggler like Scarlet run roughshod over the monster girl.

But at the moment, Kal was extremely curious why Kolas had decided to put his life on the line and offer himself up to the kraken. He caught up to the former Captain belowdecks in the galley.

"Hesta, I have to do this," Kal heard the man say as he entered the ship's kitchen. "They're not going to forget I was captain of The Dauntless and forgive me."

The sheep girl scowled at Kolas before she and another galley worker picked up a large iron pot containing the midday stew and waddled toward the ship's firebox. The firebox was an interesting piece of a sailing vessel's kit. The Scarlet Bitch's consisted of two square steel barrels nested in one another. The larger barrel was lined with brick before inserting the smaller barrel and filling it about a quarter of the way with coarse sand. Angled vent pipes around the bottom allowed air to flow in and up through the sand while firewood or even coal was tossed in the top for fuel. Attached to the ship's timbers above the firebox, a heavy notched bar protruded that allowed pots hung there to sway freely with the motion of the ship. A metal duct on the ceiling extended out to both sides of the ship, protecting the floor above from the firebox's heat. Either side of the duct contained a flue that could be closed to prevent wind from blowing the exhaust back into the galley.

Fire was dangerous on a ship made of wood. The wall behind and the floor below the firebox were lined with metal, likely tin, and slate tiles, just in case an ember escaped.

The sheep girl and her helper grunted as they lifted the heavy pot up and hung it on the notched bar. Kal remembered Hesta visiting him on the trip to Azumbaho, but she was one of many who were only interested in appeasing her libido, and he couldn't recall any meaningful conversations with her besides a heartfelt thank you.

Aware of the tension in the room, Hesta's helper hastily squeezed past Kal and and exited the galley while avoiding eye contact with everyone. The sheep waited until the woman left before answering. "No, they won't, Kolas. I think I'm starting to love you, and even I cannot forget your past." From where Kal stood, he could see the man's face fall. "However," she continued, "I can see the man you're becoming and the sadness in your eyes when you think about your past as a slaver, now that you understand what you were doing from our perspective. Because I can see all that, I've forgiven you." The sheep-girl frowned, "But forgiving you doesn't give me say in who you sleep with. Men willing to take care of a monster girl's needs are too rare for me to keep you to myself."

"Then why are ye so upset?"

"Because it's a kraken!" Hesta shouted, picking up a wooden spoon beside the firebox, rounding on the man, and waving it in his face. "She could snatch you up and run off, and there's nothing anyone could do about it! Not Kal," she said, pointing the spoon at the mage, "or Kashka, or his new woman could save you!"

Kolas glanced where the sheep-girl indicated, finally noticing Kal's presence before chuckling. "And here I thought ye were mad I was sticking me cock in another woman."

"Pffft," Hesta scoffed before stirring another smaller hanging pot with the spoon. "Come back to my bed every night," she sipped the broth and tossed a pinch of salt into the pot before continuing, "and make sure you save a little for me, and I don't care where your cock has been during the day. I do care if a giant squid decides to fuck you to death and turn whatever's left into a snack."

"I understand your concerns," said Kal, stepping further into the galley. "But I agree with Kolas in this case. Many female crew hate that we have the Dauntless's men aboard. As a former Captain and liaison for the men, I think much of that hate gets directed toward him. He also allows the girls to shift blame from the once-slavers, whose company they enjoy every night, to their former commander."

"If it keeps my men safe, then it's fine," said Kolas.

Kal raised a questioning eyebrow. "You hardly sound like the man we sailed out of The Spine with."

"Aye," he said, nodding. "As a Captain, hiring good sailors is an investment. If I lost a man, it was unfortunate but mostly inconvenient and costly, 'specially if they were new to the crew. You and Scarlet made my life depend on me men's behavior. I suddenly had to actually give a shit about my crew, their troubles, and their happiness, or I could end up feeding the fishes like Darrow and his mercs. That," he glanced at Hesta, "and a little forgiveness helped open my eyes. I can't say I like what I've seen."

"How so?"

"My life's been turned on its head. Now, I work beside and take orders from the very women I transported. Instead of slaves, I see 'em for the hard-workin' women and sailors they are, and that's shown me what a proper piece of shit I was. Facin' that isn't easy."

"And now you're taking a chance on becoming a kraken's dinner for what? Atonement?" Hesta snapped, still seething.

"Nay. My past is my past, and I'm leaving it there. I won't spend the rest of me life trying to right those wrongs. Instead, I'm looking forward to a new job, a new employer, and possibly a new command, preferably with a good woman manning the galley. Doing this will get me a step closer to that last one."

"But she's a kraken," the sheep-girl pleaded.

"If there were no risk, then sex with Poco wouldn't mean much to the crew," said Kal, "and even less to Scarlet and Ratt."

"I heard over and over that once you have your own command, you can never go back to bein' crew. I understand what that means now," said Kolas. "This is important to me."

The sheep growled in frustration. "Fine... but I don't like it."

Kolas stepped across the galley and wrapped his arms around the woman. "I know, and thank you."

"I came to ask you a question, Kolas, but I think I got my answer. I'll leave you two alone," said Kal.

"Oh no, you don't," said the sheep girl, pushing away from the former Captain. "Take him with you, or I won't have midday meal done in time. Besides," Hesta's strain and worry were apparent in her smile as she looked up at her lover, "I believe he has a rendezvous with a kraken."

---

Poco, Scarlet, Ratt, Ikuno, and the leader of the new squid girls had all moved up to the ship's bow to continue their conversation by the time Kal and Kolas climbed the stairs to the forecastle. The kraken's avatar stood on the deck with her head up and shoulders squared in front of everyone but the oni, who sat leaning against the deckrail sipping her morning tea. Ikuno told him over the bond that she had perused Kal's memories of Emru and given Poco similar instructions on how to look more appealing.

"I believe it would be best to have you or one of your friends stay with Poco. She can approach the other ships first and explain that Poco is a kraken and that she is a friend here to help without scaring the life out of them," Scarlet told the squid-girl. As she spoke, the kraken's head and shoulders slowly began to droop. Ikuno grunted, and Poco's eyes flicked toward the oni as her posture improved.