TRC - Searching for the Sky Ch. 26

After a brief respite, my apprentice and I then offered the female prisoner to the sundew with similar results other than the olfactory attractant took longer to affect the woman. Please note the both of these prisoners were condemned to die by hanging prior to my purchase of them. Once trapped by the alarune, the plant woman leaned back and spun her prey around bringing the victim's genitals into contact with her mouth where the sundew appeared to feast upon the product of the orgasms brought on by the alarune's fluids. Due to the unique feeding position for the female, I was able to collect some of the digestive fluids and isolate the compounds within that induce the euphoric state.

Once the female had been completely eaten, my apprentice detonated a small packet containing a strong herbicide upwind of the sundew. Dissection began the next day. The upper body of the sundew contains no human digestive tract which explains why they do not choose the more efficient method of simply eating their prey. A single long tube runs from their mouth down into their bulb, presumably for the ingestion of human semen. The chest cavity contains twin bellows and the throat has a very human-like voice box for speaking, however, none of the other structures found within a human lung are present. The teeth are decorative and made of the same flexible material as the sundew's spines.

Upon trying to dissect the base of one of the spines my apprentice came into contact with some of the fluids and became exceptionally ill as a result. By the time he recovered, the sundew's body had decayed rendering any further study impossible on this specimen.

---

"Well... that was unpleasant," said Sera.

Kal smiled, "Yes, but you did a wonderful job getting through it."

"There were a lot of words I don't think I ever heard," said Graff. She and Velt were still where they had sat for supper but switched to lying on their stomachs while listening to the gorgon. "Like in-co-he-rent and what the hell is a 'fundament?' It sounded like he was going to put it in her ass but I've never heard it called that."

The mage chuckled, "Of all the books I have at my disposal this author is the only one to use that word and from reading his other studies I can say that you are correct."

"You don't want to be like him," said the gorgon quietly as she closed the book.

"What was that?" he asked.

The fox and rabbit were suddenly paying very close attention to the gorgon and mage.

"That's why you hate killing unless it's necessary, you don't want to be like him where another's life is just a means to an end."

"You're partially right. Closer to the truth is that I'm terrified of becoming like him."

"Sera thought for a moment, "I shouldn't have—"

"No, you absolutely should have said what you did the other day." He held out a hand on either side of her with his palms up. "When I set out on this journey I was here," said Kal as a bright yellow flame appeared in his hand. "The man whose study you were just reading is here." In his other hand, a second flame appeared but colored blue. "I can't stay like this or I won't be able to protect those I care about," the yellow flame bounced around for a moment, "but I'm scared to become like this," the blue flame did the same. "I need to find a balance," the two flames came together and turned bright green right in front of the gorgon. "What you said the other day did a lot to get me to a point where I can do what needs to be done but still be able to live with what I've become."

Graff cocked her head to the side, "What—"

"That's enough for one night," he interrupted. "Between the reading and the conversation, the air in here has gotten heavy. I think I'm going to check on what is happening in the alchemy room then turn in for the night." Gripping Sera around the waist, he lifted her out of his lap and onto her feet before standing himself to go check on the tests he was running.

"What does he mean, 'what I've become'?" asked Graff once he had left.

Sera gave her a weak smile, "When I first started reading, in a lot of the fairy tales the knight kills the villain and gets the princess, making him a..." she held a hand out, prompting them to finish the sentence.

"Hero?" Velt answered uncertainly.

"But even though he did it for all the right reasons, the hero still killed a man. Which makes him a..."

Velt and Graff looked at one another before the fox answered, "A murderer."

"Right, and that's what he's coming to terms with. He killed a couple of ant girls during a rescue and he's having a hard time dealing with this new aspect of himself. Like the hero, he did it for the right reasons, Kal just hates this new label he has." She shook her head, "They don't talk about this part in the fairy tales."

"It's time for bed, Sera."

The gorgon turned toward Kal with a yelp of surprise.

Walking over to the reptilian woman, he leaned down and kissed her on the nose before saying, "Don't forget to put the book back before you join me."

As Sera ran off to return the book to its shelf, Graff leaned over and let her ears flop across Velt's head, earning a half-hearted scowl from the fox.

"Bet you a tongue in your pussy he heard every word," said the doe.

The vixen waited until Sera had run across the room to Kal and the gorgon's bedchamber before answering.

"You're on, but you can't collect tonight. I agree with Kal, things feel too heavy for me to be in the mood right now," said the fox as she stood and made her way toward her and Graff's room.

"Yeah, I think you're right," said the rabbit before pushing herself up and following her lover. "Some intense snuggling might be nice though."

---

"Good day, Revered Mother," said the knight as rode his warhorse up next to Elden's.

The priestess smiled, "Good day to you as well, Sir Balthus. I heard rumors you were among the soldiers but thought it curious that you were not leading them," she said, dipping her head toward the young captain overseeing the positioning of his soldiers.

"As an instructor, I am using this opportunity to merely observe my charges. An added benefit on this trip is that I needn't travel far from home. The wife has been quite keen on making sure that I know exactly what I'm missing when I'm away from the city nowadays. Perchance could we speak in private for a moment?"

"Most certainly." After informing the captain she would return in a few minutes, she and Balthus rode a short distance away from all of the preparations. "Is something wrong?" she asked once they were out of earshot.

"I understand that we have a common friend now, the Abbot said you defended those you were with quite heatedly after you came back from your expedition."

"Yes, that would be accurate."

"Before we left I received a report of a magic-user matching the description of this young man escaping into the plains with a fox and rabbit monster girl as well as another unknown woman."

"Likely his companion he spoke of. Why bring this information to me?"

"I was curious what your response might be and it appears that the company he keeps does not bother you. I've been hearing rumors among the order. As you know, many of them have spouses or partners within the clergy and there have been reports of odd dreams, each of them identical. Your calmness leads me to believe you were well aware of this."

"I am. I've had the dream myself and it is undoubtedly from the Goddess."

"I understand that none of the high priests have had the experience while many of the lower ranks have. Do you know why this might be?"

"The Abbot and I discussed this at length the other day after I had the dream. He believes that it requires a degree of mental flexibility before the dream is bestowed upon you. Something sorely lacking in the upper ranks and in myself before my expedition with Kal."

"Care if I ask what he did to leave such an impression?"

She flipped part of her skirt back revealing a smooth thigh. One of her first goals after returning with Kal and the others was to relearn the clergy's version of the mage's acclimation spell so she wouldn't have to hide her body under thick furs again. She ran a finger over the creamy skin, "Though you can't see it, there's a scar there that runs all the way around. Only the Abbot and my assistant know this, but the ants cut my legs off. Kal saved them and gave them back to me. Every step I take for the rest of my life will be thanks to him." Elden noticed that the knight was leaning slightly, his eyes on the area just above what she was showing him. "As well as every time I wrap my legs around a man." The priestess shifted the fabric again and reached down, pulling her undergarment tight against her sex. "Your wife is an inactive member of the clergy if I remember correctly. I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you needed some relief later and joined me in my tent later tonight. I may not take care of you personally, but my assistant has procured a young woman for me with fantastic oral skills."

Balthus looked up from the outline of Elden's sex in the material. "My apologies Rev—"

"Abbess. We can save the 'Revered Mother' title for more formal settings," she said while getting her skirt situated again. "And please don't apologize, I quite enjoyed that."

The knight smiled. "As you wish. However, we seem to have gotten off track. For a mage to reattach someone's legs is quite a feat."

"It's as though no one told him that healing is the realm of the priests and priestesses. Not only that but he did it hours after it happened, something I don't believe I or anyone else within the clergy could have done. It's what makes the dream all that more disturbing."

"I've heard secondhand accounts, would you mind telling me what you saw?"

"A faceless golden-haired woman robed in white and holding the Goddess's flaming sword aloft. With her is every creature of the land, sea, and air. Behind her is a mountain with its base wreathed in plants that sway in the wind..." the priestess trailed off.

"There is something else in the descriptions I have heard."

Elden gave the knight a hard look. "The woman stands atop the shoulders of a man in a black cloak."

"You believe, as I do, that the man in the cloak may be our young friend."

Not trusting her voice, the priestess nodded.

"Revered Mother! Preparations are complete," the young captain called out.

"Perhaps we can take this conversation up later tonight?" He glanced down toward her sex then back up, "I may need to take you up on that offer if the young lady is willing."

Elden smiled, "No worries, she will be." Turning her horse, she guided it over to where the captain waited. A moment later Sir Balthus took up a position on her other side.

She tapped the sapphire pendant hanging around her neck. Though she spoke in a normal tone, her voice boomed over the soldiers and clerics before her. "This is not a battle! This is not a war! This is an extermination! Wait until one of them emerges before calling down the Goddess's flames! The rest of you strike once the first spell is cast!"

Boulders that blocked holes had been rolled aside, exposing the entrances to the ant-woman colony beneath. A cleric able to cast the flame strike spell stood nearby behind a ring of lower-level clerics all maintaining spells to protect them and those around them from the heat of the coming fire. Encircling the clerics was another ring made up of soldiers wielding long spears so they could protect the clerics from attack if needed. Nine of these formations were set up at each of the entrances they could find. Several clerics and soldiers were on standby as Elden wasn't sure how many holes there would be.

The first of the workers attempted to pour out of the holes and deal with the large enemy that was upon them but the noise of such a mass gave them away and the priest was already well on his way to casting the spell before the first one appeared. Only a handful ended up on the point of a soldier's spear before a large gout of flame appeared above them and blasted down into the ant's den.

Elden watched with a grim expression as eight other columns of fire joined the first.

Balthus leaned over in his saddle and quietly said, "They took your legs, yet you don't seem to be enjoying this."

"No, I'm not."

Nodding, the knight looked back at the scene before him, "Good."

---

The workers wailed in despair as they felt the rumble of the flames in the corridor outside the gardening chamber, soon followed by the loss of their queen. It was as though a thread they didn't know existed had been cut as their matriarch's presence vanished from their minds.

"What will we do!?" cried one.

"The colony is dead! What CAN we do!?" said another.

"We will choose a new queen and start again," said a third looking around at the other seven in the room who managed to survive the attack.

"Who should be the next queen? You?" the first sneered.

"No, the one who tried to warn the others when the humans started arriving, the one who saved us by barricading the door, and the only one the humans spared the last time they were here," the worker answered while turning toward the sister she spoke of.

The worker backed away. "But... I was a coward! I ran! That was the only reason they spared me! The soldiers even punished me!" she said, pointing to where one of her antennae had been cut off.

"You survived, and because of you so did we. You should be the next queen."

Even as the worker shook her head in denial she felt the bond snap into place between them. The other ant-girls in the room immediately relaxed as they felt the connection restored while the new queen was suddenly flooded with information hidden away in her memories. A moment later she discovered there were other survivors left deeper in the colony as they cast about in panic for a new leader and eventually locked onto her.

"What is your command, my queen?" asked one of the workers.

After taking a moment to center herself in the whirlwind of events that happened in just the last few minutes, she turned toward each of them, "Eat, and eat well. With the colony destroyed, we can become soldiers by the amount and quality of the food we eat, and only soldiers can grow wings."

"Wings?" one asked.

"Yes, wings. In the spring we will leave here and start a new colony far from human lands. I won't repeat the mistakes of my predecessor." A small colony, with only a few dozen workers and none of those awful royal guards. Something easy to sustain. The only problem would be males, but they could worry about that later, once they were established.

The new queen winced as she felt one of her subjects down below pass away. Yes, they would get far, far away from these humans.