TRC - Searching for the Sky Ch. 08

"How long of a journey?"

"Three days to Sandy, seven more to dwarves."

"Ten days... that doesn't give us much time together."

Gerda sighed, "I'll be coming back after meeting Sandy. Perra is getting big, can't expect her to take care of Eludora." She turned and looked up at him, "Do you have to go?"

"Not really, but I'm curious now and even if I don't end up helping the dwarves with their snake lady I want to speak with them about my plans for the Roc's nest. Why does Sandy think I will have more luck than all of the others?" he asked.

"Sandy thinks the other humans hated monster girls, you like us."

Kal thought for a moment, "That sounds like fair reasoning. How soon do we need to leave?"

"Soon," said Gerda sighing and making like she was going to stand up.

Kal wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back into him with the help of the strength rune, laughing at the rock girl's exclamation of surprise.

Gerda tried to pull away a couple of times, but he held her firmly in place. Finally, she relaxed against him once again, smiling. "Later is fine too."

---

"So, if you block them out it feels like you died to everyone else?" asked Kuto, who happened to be lying on her back across the foot of Perra's bed.

Perra nodded, "Kal did it for a few hours after his mother passed away. I wasn't bonded to him at that point, but judging by Bea, Aradelle, and Gerda's descriptions, saying it was unpleasant doesn't really do the experience justice. Regardless, I wasn't about to do that while they were in the middle of having their fun."

"Still seems messed up that he won't come here," Kuto said, scowling.

"I understand, and I wish he would come back too, but he needs to do this. Ikuno was his first in a lot of ways and he loves her dearly..."

"More than you?"

"No, if Ikuno were sitting here talking to you and I was the one in a far-off land remaking my body, he would be out there just the same. Please understand Kuto, this is my decision as well and it was a hard one to make."

"How is him not coming home for the birth of his baby your decision?"

Perra gave the swallow a gentle smile, "You got to know Kal for the few months before he left. If I asked him to be here when our baby is born what do you think he would do?"

Kuto returned her gaze before answering, "Okay you made your point, he'd turn Felli's mountain to rubble if it stood between you and him."

Perra nodded, "Enough about me, how are things going with you and Corben?"

"Not well," she replied, frowning and looking down at the breasts jutting out from her chest," I haven't seen these in a couple of weeks. It didn't seem like it at first, but I think Corben is having a difficult time with Ruce and Thom's chick. We've all caught him glaring at the little girl when he didn't think anyone was watching and he keeps talking about how great it would be if we were able to give them sons as well." The harpy stared blankly up at the ceiling, "Then the other day Ruce was at home with her chick while Ghoss and I went to work on Felli's caves and she heard Tain and Corben arguing. She didn't hear everything they said, but Tain told Corben to go fuck a human girl if his firstborn just HAD to be a son then threatened to kill him if he fucked up what he and Thom have going with their girls. That happened a while ago, and he hasn't spent the night with me since."

"Kuto, I'm so sorry. Do you want me to talk to him?"

The swallow shook her head, "The time since we came here has been like a dream come true. I hoped it would last forever but I didn't expect it to. If Corben leaves because I can only give him daughters then there's nothing I can do about that, it's just how we were made." Kuto rolled away from the other woman and lay there silent for a few moments before Perra noticed her shoulders shaking as she sobbed silently.

Crawling down the bed, Perra gathered up the smaller woman next to her side and gently rocked her as she cried.

---

Instead of just covering his arm with rock, the golem had devised a type of harness for him to keep in contact with her. She grew the rock from her stone arm around his shoulders and upper arms then created a small platform on the floor for her to stand behind him. Kal looked up at her from where his head now rested between her breasts but quickly saw from her serious expression that she probably hadn't positioned him there for any playful or sexy reasons.

Gerda fused the harness to her body and made a finger thick collar that formed around his neck but was open in the front. One of the nice things about the bond was being able to trust someone absolutely with this type of thing, he couldn't imagine allowing Sandy or Marble to put each piece of stone around his neck like this. He and Sandy would be traveling together for a full week and something similar to Gerda's harness would be needed but they would have to come up with some other way to maintain contact with his skin. Kal didn't think direct contact was as essential as Gerda believed, after all, when he just held her hand all of his clothing and such came along without her needing to touch it. Perhaps Sandy could do the shoulder harness but make it so she could hold his hand the way Gerda usually did.

"Ready?" the golem asked from above him. Kal looked up and nodded. His feet sank into the floor as the small pedestal Gerda was standing on sunk back into the stone below. The mage continued looking up, confusion apparent on his features. The golem needed her hands to manipulate rock but they were still busy checking over things up around his neck and shoulders.

He opened his mouth to speak but before any sound came out they both dropped into the rock below like a pebble dropped into a lake. A moment later they were speeding off to the west.

---

Kal forgot to ask about her lack of hand motions earlier since the first couple of stops were just to answer the calls of nature and they were off again. The third was to let him catch his breath after discovering how Gerda dealt with large underground cracks and fissures. Specifically, she ignored them.

The human was completely unprepared to suddenly find himself hurtling through the air and took a couple of seconds to recover from the shock before instinctively activating the feather fall rune on his bracer. He had just managed to pierce the resistance from the leather the rune was printed on and begin feeding power to it when their trajectory brought them to the other side of the ravine where Gerda phased them into the rock as if they hadn't spent the last few seconds plummeting toward the ground.

The golem turned sharply upward and sought out a suitable cave so she could check on her human companion. She knew he didn't like traveling like this but the feelings she was getting from him were only a step away from terrified panic. It took three tries before she found a cave that connected to the surface and had air for her passenger. Once he could think straight and was breathing normally again he explained that large voids like that wouldn't be a problem as long as he had some kind of warning first.

At Gerda's request, he got his mask out and hung it around his neck so she wouldn't need to waste as much time finding places where it was safe to take him for their breaks. She also suggested that Kal take off his pants so if he needed to urinate he could just do it as they traveled, however, Kal couldn't get behind the idea of rock and stone flowing around his naked prick, even if it did save them time. He recast the darkvision spell on himself since he didn't actually know how long it had been since they set out and they were off once again.

Their next stop was so Kal could get a bite to eat. The tunnel he and Gerda entered was part of a larger system and Gerda closed off their rest area with thick walls before vanishing into the surrounding stone to find herself some form of sustenance. As he made a small magical fire in the middle of their impromptu room, Ria produced a couple of small venison steaks for him to cook. He regarded the meat with a little bit of sadness as he lifted it into the air with the telekinesis cantrip and floated it above the flames.

Since they didn't wear clothing other than their hunting knives on a belt, Dax's pack had no way to store the excess meat they had hunted. Knowing that he had a long journey ahead, the wolf decided to leave the spare food with him. She also felt it would be good for the girls to get used to hunting for their food daily and understanding that sometimes it might be a couple of days before the next meal. The bitches who lived closely with humans had yet to experience any of the hardships of living out in the wild.

He had just finished eating and sat chatting with Ria when the golem finally returned. Aside from the softer minerals, he didn't know what other kinds of rocks she ate and was offered no clues as she appeared through one of the walls and popped a stone into her mouth before he could make out what type it was. The room was soon filled with a loud crunching that made Kal's hair stand on end. He didn't get to think on it long as the floor beneath him rose up along with a small column on the other side of the fire where Gerda sat as she swallowed down the rest of her meal.

"How did you do that?" he asked indicating her seat, again she hadn't needed to use her hands to create their stools.

The golem smiled, "After you first went to mountain, Ikuno didn't like you using your hands for earth magic. Said it wasn't necessary." Gerda's expression became sad, "Started with tiny rocks, found she was right but not until she was gone."

Kal walked around the fire and comforted the golem girl. She and Ikuno had become very close before the incident with Azrin, and Gerda still missed her terribly. Aradelle had Bea and Adalena to keep her company but the rock girl in his arms only had occasional visits from Perra to help with the loneliness of Ikuno's disappearance. He had wanted to suggest that she come with him but knew she would never be able to travel above land. He also knew that there would be no way he could spend so much time underground moving through the rock the way they had been.

"Can you teach me?" he asked trying to get her mind off of the past.

"Yes, but not now, when we stop for me to rest."

"You mean when we stop so I can sleep?"

Gerda shook her head, "You sleep when moving. Wasting time already watering rocks and eating."

There was a scrabbling noise coming from the other side of one of the walls followed by the angry hiss of a strong acid eating through rock. Moments later noxious fumes drifted into the room through one of the tiny vent holes in each wall near the roof of the tunnel, which Kal had made just before he created the fire.

Gerda stood up, frowning at the wall and saying, "Beetle. Time to go."

Ria faded as the golem took his hand and pulled him in the direction they had been traveling, reattaching the stone harness around his shoulders on the move.

---

Kal awakened to the feeling of rock flowing around his body. After eating, he and Gerda made their way west the rest of the day, making occasional stops to let Kal catch his breath, he still couldn't do long bouts of traveling like this. When she suggested he sleep while on the move, he thought it would be impossible, but exhaustion finally overtook him and he drifted off.

Not long after he awoke, Gerda began looking for a cave that she could rest in, something not connected to a tunnel system so they wouldn't have to worry about predators but had a supply of clean air for Kal. The first cavern that fit her criteria turned out to be a dud. While there was no chance of large predators the cavern was filled with bugs and small crabs turned white from generations of never seeing sunlight. While his curiosity was piqued, seeing so many things creeping about the floor, walls, and even ceiling of the chamber was making his skin crawl. As they phased back through the wall he caught a glimpse of what looked like a bone from a larger creature, for a moment he even thought it might be a human bone but there were no entrances or exits large enough for more than the cavern's current occupants.

The next cave was about the same size as the last but deeper and without a floor crawling with insects. Kal thought it was quite pretty with a copse of tree-sized glowing mushrooms taking up a third of the cavity.

Gerda released him and retracted the shoulder harness back into her arm. Need sex, then rest. Then sex again," she said matter-of-factly before raising a column out of the ground and leaning over it.

Kal was a little taken aback by her directness, "No working up to it like last time?"

Gerda looked back at him and shook her head, "Missed you before, wanted to make love. I get magic from earth. You give me magic and help me get it faster, same as Ikuno. Would like to make love again, but no time." She shook her ass at him and smiled, "Still feels good and I do want it."

The mage decided it was hard to argue with that kind of logic and reached for the buckle on his belt.

A feminine screech came from the tall mushrooms on one side of the cave. The panicked tone sounding like a woman was in trouble or being attacked. Kal and Gerda immediately bolted in the direction of the noise.

Weaving between a couple of the thick fungal stalks they quickly came upon a terrified female, who happened to be glowing. Looking more closely at the girl who was trying her best to disappear between the rock face and the trunk of one of the mushrooms, he quickly realized she wasn't human. If the glowing skin hadn't been a dead giveaway, the lack of feet most certainly was, her legs from the knee down looked much like the stalks surrounding them only without being attached to the cavern floor. Her hair reminded him of a fashion that went around among the women of Telsin a while back where they would put their hair up in a brightly colored woven net, only this woman's was smooth like the top of a mushroom and when she moved her head he could see a mushroom's gills tucked away underneath.

"Mycon," the golem grunted and began making her way out of the tall fungi.

"Wait, Gerda! How did she get here?" he called after her. The glowing woman babbled incoherently at him, terror still etched on her features. He could feel the pearl in his mouth that held the translation spell buzzing as it tried to make sense of what she was saying, whatever language she was speaking the spell was having a tough time figuring it out.

"Probably made here," she answered. "Come, I need you, then rest. We can talk later."

The woman appeared to be terrified of him, so he slowly backed away before turning and catching up to the golem. "Made here?"

Gerda sighed, "Mycon get old, shrivel and leave tiny mycon behind. Keep going till they find a human. After human, make new small mycon. If enough mycons, old mycon dies. If not, leaves tiny mycon." They reached the column and the rock girl leaned over it once again, "Come, I need you, then rest."

Kal looked around, "Shouldn't we take her somewhere she might at least have a chance of finding a mate?" he asked as he undid his belt.

The golem shook her head, "Safer for her here. She doesn't know dangers outside, will be killed quickly."

"She must be lonely," he said dropping his trousers before looking down at his unresponsive dick. "Hmm... he doesn't seem to want to play anymore."

"Use spell, need you to help get magic back or will take extra day getting to Sandy. Play with mycon girl when I rest."

"Play?"

"Fuck. If lucky she makes small mycon. Won't be so lonely, stays safe."

"She doesn't seem too interested in having sex at the moment," he said as he cast the rejuvenation spell bringing him up to full hardness within a couple of seconds.

Gerda looked over her shoulder and glared at him, "Small cave, man scent?"

Kal gave her a sheepish look, "Oh."

Gerda let out an unusually loud moan as he slipped the head of his cock between her lower lips and pushed home. Kal quickly forgot about the fungus girl as he found a good rhythm to quickly get them both off, the golem beating him to orgasm by only a few seconds.

The rock girl stood once he had softened and pulled out. Reaching between her legs she wiped some of their combined fluids off with her human hand then whipped it in a large arc towards the glowing mushrooms, in the low light Kal could barely make out the tiny droplets that flew out from her fingers.

Walking to the far side of the cave she made herself a stone replica of Ikuno's bed before lying down. "Take care of her, have fun," she told the mage, smiling as she cleaned the wetness off her hand with her tongue before making a stone cocoon around her bed, leaving him alone with a woman who was terrified of him.

Kal looked down at his damp prick and sighed, realizing that he had been spoiled by his women cleaning him after sex. He also realized that Gerda hadn't just forgotten something she did every other time they had been together except for the first. Shaking his head, he considered calling Ria and getting a cloth but decided not to bother. If the golem wanted him to sleep with this woman, who was he to complain?

Looking towards the tall mushrooms he saw the girl's face peeking out at him with a look of curiosity, it was actually somewhat difficult to tell what her expression was when her skin glowed a uniform blue-green color. He carefully watched as he pulled his trousers back into place and caught a tiny flash of disappointment. The mage smiled, the motion drawing her attention upward. Seeing him looking at her she made an odd squeaking noise and disappeared among the fungi stalks once again.

Kal walked after her, his arms out to each side and hands open in an attempt to look non-threatening. He eventually found her in the same corner, still scared but not to the point of panic anymore. Instead of approaching further he sat down on the bed of moss beneath his feet and leaned back against a nearby mushroom.

The woman was babbling again but the translation spell couldn't make anything of her noises, translating them into growls, grunts, and hoots instead of actual words. Ikuno had said that it could translate any living language, while it made things a bit more difficult, if Gerda was correct than this woman never had a language to work with.

"I'm not sure if Gerda is correct in saying that you are better off staying here," he said to the woman, ignoring that she couldn't understand him. He couldn't help but shudder at the idea of waking up in a cave and living out your entire life in solitude only to pass away and leave your next generation to the same fate. The image of the human-like bone in the other cavern crossed his mind and the implications made him cringe. How many monster girls came to being only to die a swift and painful death or ended up like the glowing female across from him and living a life of seclusion. How many had instincts that didn't translate to a humanoid form and starved to death, how many suddenly transformed into monster girls while in an underground den or scuttling through a crack in the stone. The thought hit him harder than he expected, and he felt himself start to tear up. He hoped that the mushroom girl's circumstances were rare and that Prentas thought of all of the other scenarios, adding safeguards into the magic that would account for the horrible situations running through his head.

Unfamiliar noises came from in front of him and he blinked away the wetness in his eyes to see the mushroom girl had left her nook and approached him with a look of concern on her face.

Empathy? That seemed strange for a creature that had never met or even seen another humanoid in her entire existence. Could it be that this was something ingrained in all monster girls going back to their creation? It seemed more and more possible the more he thought about it but that was only in his own limited experience. Kelthor had mentioned that there were only a couple of carnivorous monster girls that fell into the category of inherently evil and that was supported by what he had read from the books in Ikuno's library. Aradelle's ancestors had decided to move away from killing their males unless necessary. Perhaps the pitcher plant girl Ikuno knew had done the opposite, her forebearers shedding their empathy for the sake of survival.