TRC - Searching for the Sky Ch. 03

"It gets worse."

"What? How?"

Daxas chuckled at the look on the mage's face, "The smell of sex from fucking those in heat might set more of them off. Also, they laced our water with gondas extract to keep us from getting pregnant. Yesterday was my third day without food or water and my guess is that you won't be able to impregnate those in heat until the third day as well. Finally, I believe that the relief of being rescued coupled with your scent is what started mine, so there's that to consider."

"I was going to ask you about that, it seemed like a very odd time to suddenly get in the mood."

Daxas smiled, "I had a good feeling about you," she said stepping forward and pushing him back towards the bed.

Noting her destination, he looked at her in confusion as he backpedaled across the tent. His legs hit the side of the bed, toppling him over onto it, at the same time she grabbed his trousers and yanked them to his knees. He was suddenly very happy he hadn't put on his belt yet.

"I thought you weren't in heat anymore," he said looking up at her.

"I'm not, this just feels good," she said quickly stroking him to hardness before throwing a leg over his hips and sinking down onto his cock. "You fit so well inside me," she moaned, "besides, I'm an alpha now, and alphas get first pick of food and men. I'm going to enjoy you as much as I can before having to share you with the rest of the bitches."

The exquisite feeling as she began sliding up and down his length made it hard to argue with her logic.

------

The forest had reclaimed most of the old riverbed over the last fifty years but had left a path just wide enough for a carriage down the very center bordered by saplings, the trees getting progressively older as they approached where the river's banks used to be. The wolf girl and human stood in front of the natural corridor as Kal finished preparing for yet another high-speed trip. His haste rune shone above his bracer, spinning lazily and waiting for the mage to feed more fed power into it.

"Are you sure I can't come with you?" Daxas asked, her stern gaze showing her annoyance at being left behind.

"Sorry, no," Kal responded, his voice apologetic. "I'll be going too fast for you to keep up. If I slow down I risk not being able to set up the tent and get back in time to start the rescue. If I carry you on my back and run into something it might kill both of us."

The wolf girl was skeptical, "You think you can outpace me by that much?"

"Absolutely," his tone left little room for argument.

"Why are you doing this?" the asked, feeling slightly put off by his superior attitude. "The tent is in your bag you can just set it up when we get to the outflow."

"In a word: water," he replied, "I'm not sure how the magic works but I have to wait a few hours after the tent is set up before using the water inside. I would venture a guess that it replenishes its supply from its surroundings but without knowing how to read elvish, guessing is the best I can do. Regardless, we will all need to get clean as quickly as possible once we get out of the river, this gives the tent a chance to fill its reservoir, or whatever it has."

Daxas frowned, "After waiting that long I'm sure we could hold out a while longer. At the very least it would allow you to save your power."

Kal shook his head, "Admittedly, I'm just going by stories the city folk have told me, but nearly all of the people who have fallen into the river and done exactly what we are about to do are dead." Seeing the shocked look on her face he held up a hand to forestall any comments, "All of them made the trip safely, it wasn't until afterward that they would die of some pollution related sickness. There is one story of an elderly man that fell in whose friends raced him down to the outflow, he perished on the riverbank, retching until he finally passed away. We will be dealing with a bunch of women who are thirsty, underfed, and abused. A couple of hours extra may be too long, and I don't want to take that chance.

"The other reason is magic. Curing diseases is hard on my magic stores, I should be able to treat each of them once before I run out. That needs to happen just after they clean up or we risk the girls getting re-infected. That old man died in hours, if we don't do it right the first time it will take me nearly a day to build up enough magic cast the spell again."

The wolf reluctantly accepted his explanation, "How long will you be gone?"

"I should be back by dark, I'll be using this route to return Rose to her home so I'm going to make certain it's clear of any obstacles on the way, but that shouldn't slow me down much." Kal stepped up to the wolf girl and kissed her on the cheek. She was carrying his child and yet he didn't feel like he knew her well enough for anything as intimate as a kiss on the lips. "Stay hidden and stay close. I'll be coming back the same way." He waited for her slight nod before pushing power into his haste rune as he jogged towards the break in the trees. He only made it a few steps while the rune spun up then took off like a horse at a flat-out gallop as it activated.

Seeing how quickly he was receding into the distance she had to admit, his cockiness about being faster than her looked to be warranted.

As she made her way towards the forest to wait for Kal's return, she ran a hand over her belly. With all this talk of the river's pollution making the bitches they were rescuing sick, what of her? More importantly, what of her child?

------

The old riverbed meandered some but stayed true to running southward. Kal occasionally jumped high into the air with the help of the strength rune, checking the terrain ahead then flaring out his cloak to steer himself into a safe landing. Only a couple of times did the trail veer far enough to the side after these jumps that he ended up crashing through the forest canopy to the ground below. Between the feather fall rune for slowing his descent and his various protections, it was a small matter of dusting himself off and making the short trek back to the riverbed before spinning up the haste rune again.

Despite those couple of incidents, he made good time. Wild game and the occasional traveler had kept the path free of obstructions and there were only a few sharp turns, at his speed at least, that he needed to slow down for. It still took almost two hours to reach where the river came out from its underground channels. Kal left Carris forest behind only moments before coming to a stop at the edge of what used to be a waterfall. Below him, the subterranean river lazily flowed out of an enormous cave just beneath his feet. Kal had expected an odor along the lines of sewage or the bite of urine from the city's tanneries, instead, the smell had a sharp metallic tang.

He looked out over the small plain just beyond the plateau he stood on, what he saw turned his stomach. On either side of the river were large swaths of barren ground, the grasses along the edges either dead or dying. Bones littered the dry, cracked ground ranging from herd beasts to predators, he could even make out the remains of smaller animals like rabbits from his vantage point. The ones that hurt him the most were the bones that resembled humans.

Kal groaned in disappointment before making his way east to where he had been told of a rockslide that would allow him to get down safely. Not that he needed it for himself, but he wanted to know where it was for after the rescue and getting the girls back up into the forest.

Kal shook his head as he left the river behind. Carriston had recovered from the incident with the river largely on its advanced metal crafting industry, seen as second only to the dwarves in quality. A fact he rarely noticed because his wanderings about the city were typically on the western and northern sides, near the inn he stayed at, the markets, and Lord's castle, whereas the metalworkers were located on the southern edge of town.

As the rockslide came into view an errant breeze brought the strong smell from the river wafting by. Kal stopped as the scent triggered the memory of a conversation he had with Ikuno many months ago.

"No," he said to himself, "I can't do this, I'll kill them all." He now understood why all those others had died and why the local temple wasn't able to help them, they were treating the wrong thing. Dejected he turned around and headed back to where Daxas was waiting for him, thinking.

------

"So, you've decided on Cure Poison?" asked the oni. The large blue woman was leaning over his shoulder inspecting the rune Kal had been working on over the last few hours, using his ability to see magic to make slight changes that increased its strength and efficiency. The young mage was using a form of telekinesis to keep the ink for the rune floating in front of him

"Yes," Kal responded, trying with little success to ignore the stiff, bare nipple brushing across the back of his arm. If there was one thing the oni loved, it was getting her young lover so riled up he had to put down whatever he was working on and spend the next hour or so inside whichever of her holes he was in the mood for; or all three, she certainly didn't mind.

"Good choice," Ikuno said, smiling down at him, "Poison traps are frightfully common and, if I'm not mistaken, should you come across a monster girl who you aren't interested in getting your cock into, Cure Poison should cancel out any aphrodisiacs they might use on you."

Kal nodded, if he was going to have sex with women, specifically monster girls in this case, his compatibility enchantment offered him certain immunities to effects such as extreme heat or freezing, digestive juices or other acids, and aphrodisiacs or toxins. Having an extra layer of protection from the most common weapon in a monster girl's arsenal couldn't hurt. However, that did beg the question...

"You seem pretty confident that I'm going to be sleeping with every monster girl I see once I get out on the road."

You know me," said the oni, smiling, "The more the merrier. Even so, I imagine there will be women out there even you won't be interested in like Sir Michael's pitcher plant girl or," a shiver seemed to run through her, "a slug girl."

"Ewwww," Kal looked appalled.

"Honestly, I've never met one, but just the thought of a slug and all that gooey slime... yuck!"

"Now wait a second, you mentioned that you would really like to have a slime girl added to my harem."

"Slime girls are a completely different story. You could fuck her, and she could make three copies of your friend down there and use them to completely fill me up," Ikuno licked her lips as her cheeks flushed with arousal. "If she was old enough you could fill up all of your women at once."

Kal seriously contemplated setting the rune in front of him into parchment and wrapping his lips around the hard, dark-blue nipple that rose and fell next to his face with each breath Ikuno took. Before he could decide, the oni shook her head, blowing out her breath in a low whistle and fanning herself with a clawed hand.

"That was a pleasant little fantasy," she said looking down at him, "you definitely need to get with a slime girl."

"Aradelle isn't good enough?" The alarune had strong vines that could fit the same purpose and had before... sort of.

Ikuno chuckled, "I love 'Dell but when you're inside her she can't control those vines very well. Besides, she only has two she could do that with, and she can't change their shape. Since it isn't possible for you to completely fill me like that, I'll take a slime girl's copies as long as you are deep inside her at the same time. Don't do a blue one though, a nice emerald or jade slime would look amazing sliding into me" Kal looked back at his work, shaking his head. Sometimes sex-crazy didn't seem like an adequate description for the blue-skinned woman.

After a short wait, Kal heard a quiet sigh of disappointment as he continued adjusting the rune in front of him. Looking slightly miffed that she hadn't been able to tempt him, Ikuno sat in the chair across from him at the table in her small library, "The Cure Poison spell is extremely effective and will probably save your life many times, but it's not foolproof."

"How do you mean?" he asked, taking the rune and placing it onto the parchment in front of him. This seemed important.

"There was an incident in a small village back in my homeland, everyone suddenly started getting sick and no one could figure out why. They summoned healers, who tried a number of things to help the people but could only alleviate the symptoms for a time before the sickness returned. Worse yet, the healers started getting sick as well."

"That sounds grim, what was causing it?"

"Metals in the water."

"Huh? How could a metal get into water?" he asked, confused.

"As you learn more about Alchemy you will find there are a number of things that can dissolve metal. One of those compounds is made when the gasses that come from deep within the earth mix with water. It turns into something that stings your eyes and makes it hard to breathe."

"Like the yellow gas Gerda and I encountered when we made Perra's pendant?"

"Exactly that, however, there are other things as well, there's a green gas that's even worse." She shook her head, "I'm getting off track, the important part was that a fissure had opened up and a tiny amount of one of these gasses were leaking into their water. Not really enough to notice by itself but enough to start dissolving the metals in the rocks of a nearby silver mine and washing them downstream into the village's water reservoir.

"They diverted the stream away from the vent and mine then went about curing everyone. Within a short time, the symptoms came back. The spell made them feel better, but Cure Poison doesn't see metals like iron or copper as 'poisons.' Because of that it never removes the metals from the body, and the people kept getting sick."

"If they are able to make you sick and act like a poison why doesn't the spell take care of them?"

Ikuno shrugged, "I really don't know but I imagine there must be a reason. Otherwise, the spell would have been changed to include them. One of the Emperor's Visirs took an interest in the incident and did some more research. He found out that most metals became toxic if people took in too much. If exposed to substantial amounts, some of his subjects became extremely sick and even died within a few hours."

"Subjects?"

"Prisoners."

"Remind me never to get thrown in jail if we ever visit your homeland."

Ikuno's grin was vicious, "They'd have to go through me first. Wait... would you like to visit my homeland?"

"I don't see why not, especially if I can finish the flight rune. I could finally see your shrine as well."

Quite suddenly the oni began breathing heavily and flushed dark purple all the way down to the tops of her breasts. A hand slid over one of her hardened nipples and slid over her belly on its way towards her sex.

"Are you okay Ikuno?" Kal asked with a concerned look. The woman seemed to be at a constant low-level smolder, so it didn't take much to stoke her arousal. However, this reaction seemed extreme even for her.

Her hand jerked away from her sex and she blinked rapidly, taking a moment to lose the faraway look she had. "Sorry, the thought of you making love to me in my shrine hit me kind of hard."

Kal looked down at the parchment with the rune he had been working on. He could come back to it later, from the looks of his blue-skinned lover, she needed him now. Standing, he turned the chair sideways before undoing his belt and letting his pants fall to the floor, the enchantment upon his cock making it grow to a size more suited for the large woman. He then sat back down and crooked a finger at the oni in invitation.

A wide grin appeared on her face as she slid out of her chair onto all fours and began crawling around the table.

------

"Daxas!" Kal called as he slowed down, allowing the haste rune to spin down but not canceling it.

"Kal?" came a voice from the thicker forest off to his right. He jogged a short way into the trees, looking about for the source.

"We have a problem," he said when he saw her casually leaning against a tree. "We can't float down the river, it's far dirtier than I had expected, and I won't be able to guarantee everyone's safety."

The haste rune finally disappeared now that he had found her but the relief on the wolf's face made him pull up short. "What was that look for?"

Her hand went to her belly, "I'm finally getting to have a pup, with how you were talking about making everyone sick I was worried about her."

Kal's shoulders slumped, "Daxas... I'm so sorry I didn't explain. Ria, I need my mask," he said speaking to the bag of holding at his side. A moment later the speck of light touched his hand and turned into a triangular leather mask that with runes set into it, just large enough to cover the mouth and nose. "Part of the reason we can't use the river is that I wouldn't be able to help any of the other girls if they got into trouble. This collects dirty air from outside, cleans it, then blows it out on the inside," Kal explained, turning the mask in his hands and pointing to the runes as he named their function. "I was going to have you wear this during the float down. However, it needs power to work, which meant that I would always have to be with you. If a girl got deathly ill on the trip I wouldn't sacrifice your health and especially our child's health to save her."

The wolf girl fought down a sudden surge of emotion welling up inside her and threatening to burst forth, she couldn't even place what it was she was feeling just that it was extraordinarily strong. She took a deep breath to steady herself and focused intently on the current situation.

"What's the plan then? Do you have any idea how to get them out?"

"I... don't know," he admitted. "When you are running that fast there isn't much room for idle thoughts or planning."

Daxas was suddenly glad she wasn't as swift as the mage, running was one of her great joys in life. His version, not so much.

"My first thought had been the box wagon they brought me in but that will be a lot of bodies in a very small space, worse yet, it's sealed. There's also the issue of driving it through town until we can get it out of one of the gates. That's a lot of eyes watching, and it would only take one person to sound an alarm. Carriston's official law is that it's illegal to have monster girls inside the city, I could just as easily be arrested by the Town Guard or Constables as be chased down by Kogen and his slavers.

"The other issue would be after we got out. Wagons don't go that fast, especially if loaded down. Also, if the girls go by foot..."

"Paw."

"... go by paw. The trail we leave will be easy to follow for someone who loves to hunt, like Kogen."

"What about a boat?" asked Daxas, "We can't swim in the water but what if we take a boat?"

"That still leaves the problem of the fumes. Trust me, the smell is enough to make us sick."

Instead of answering, Daxas just pointed at the mask in his hand.

"But I can't make enough of them by tonight, even if I could, I can't power all of them at once.

The wolf girl stepped up to him, "For someone who comes across as being so intelligent, you certainly can miss the obvious," she said, lifting a side of Kal's black cloak and holding it over her mouth and nose, then taking a couple of deep breaths through the fabric.

"You aren't the first to say something along those lines," he replied, looking sheepish that such a simple fix had escaped him. Masks for the girls, now to figure out the boats. It sounds like they must have brought the new girls in by the river. but we have no way of knowing where those boats are being kept or how big they are." Kal closed his eyes for a moment as he thought, "We don't have the resources, skills or time to make our own out of wood." A smile crept across his face, "but we can make one out of stone."