TRC - Searching for the Sky Ch. 29

"Actually, yes. Aradelle did do something like that the nights I stayed with her in her bulb. You're sure it's okay?"

"I'm positive. Now, before I get the others I want to ask you some questions about your experience outside," she said, opening the journal and grabbing a bottle of ink and quill from a lower shelf. "You are only the second human to survive Kithana's trial, though Father's was an accident, not a trial. Any information you can give me about what you saw, heard, felt, or thought will be extremely useful."

Kal shook his head, "Girls first. After five days Sera will never forgive me if I sit up here and answer questions before seeing her, then I'll give you answers."

"I'll need to remember we are dealing with mortal timescales again. As you wish," said Oona before standing and going over to the door.

"Do you all talk like that?"

"Like what?"

"So prim and proper. You sound more like a scholar than what people would expect from a monster girl."

"Father prized intelligence. The first of us were so bent on sex they could barely talk, much less read. After that generation, we each needed to pick something to study when we weren't taking a turn in the forest. A millennia later, it's fair to say that we are all extremely well-read." The vine sheathing his prick gave him a small squeeze before releasing him and shrinking to the size of the other strands on her head. "I'll go get your companions."

---

When they arrived, Sera and Graff curled up with him in bed as he answered Oona's questions. Since both of his sides were occupied, Velt settled for a quick kiss and promise for some intimate time later before heading back out into the tower. Once she was done grilling the mage, Oona left them alone so he could get dressed for the big official announcement downstairs. After five days asleep he was only slightly weaker than usual but the faint glow from his strength rune had him back to moving normally.

Sera solemnly handed him Ria's bag, "She lasted two and a half days before she had to go back. She wanted to be there when you woke up. We can get things out of her but found out you are the only one who can summon her."

Kal took the bag and tied it onto his belt. He was pretty sure Ikuno could call the sprite but the scope of the oni's ability to use Ria was much broader than Sera's.

Ria immediately grew to her human size and threw her arms around Kal after he called her. Once she had settled down they made their way out to the tower's long spiral staircase.

"It's surprising how much the layout matches Kelthor's tower but I suppose there are only a few ways to set up a circular structure like this," mused Kal as he followed Sera and Graff down the steps.

The large bottom floor was set up as a receiving area for guests with lavish decorations, comfortable furniture, and a couple of bookshelves. Besides Velt, Senshu, Molo, Oona, and Kithana, nine other monster girls were situated in an arc with Kithana in the middle. As they reached the bottom stair, Graff went to stand next to the vixen while Sera took up a spot left for her next to Senshu.

"This looks a lot more official than I was expecting," said Kal.

"I can't do this," snapped a harpy with jet black feathers before storming out of the room.

"Veir, come back!" Molo yelled after the woman.

"Let her be," said Senshu, "we knew this would be harder on some of us than others."

The mage was starting to get nervous, "What would be harder? What's going on?"

Kithana held up a hand for silence before speaking.

"After Prentas cast the spell that created your companion's ancestors, we came up with the three challenges to make sure that whoever entered the tower was worthy of the honor. Of those who made it past Senshu and Molo, none managed to live through my test. Which was exactly how I wanted it.

"You passed a test that would have killed Prentas." There were gasps and looks of incredulity from some of the newer women around the room. "Do not think that makes you better than him!" the sprite snapped while glaring at Kal. "Prentas was a genius, while you, most definitely, are not." Kithana sighed, "But you survived all three trials," she flew down and picked up a ring off one of the nearby tables before holding it out to him. "Which means you are now the master of the tower."

A shorter woman with gray fur covering her body, mouse-like large rounded ears, and naked tail sobbed and turned around, unable to watch. Oona stepped over to console her.

"But... I didn't come here to take over the tower," Kal stammered, taking a step back. "I just wanted to finish my flight rune. I have a farm, and a family, and plans... and I have to meet Ikuno. I can't stay here to look after this place."

Molo looked up at Senshu. "Did he just turn down Father's tower for a farm?"

"From Ria's stories, there's more to it than that. But yes, I think he did," the lamia answered.

"No! Wait! I'm not turning it down," he said hurriedly. "You may be giving it to me, but I won't be able to be here to keep an eye on it. You may not see me for years at a time."

"How is that any different from what you told Perra and Kuto and all your other monster girl lovers?" Ria chimed in.

Kal was at a loss for words, "Not much I suppose." He got the impression the avatar chose her words carefully from the way some of the women were looking among each other in surprise. One of those was the mouse who had turned around and was looking to the three mortal women for verification.

Kal stepped up to Kithana. "Just so everyone understands that not much is going to change around here." He picked up the ring and gave all the original monster girls a stern look, saying, "I may be master of the tower, but that doesn't mean that I'm the master of you."

The women stared at him for a moment before Senshu threw her head back and guffawed. Many of the others tried to stifle their titters and giggles.

"I appreciate what you are trying to do, as do the others," said the sword maiden while glancing at those around her. "But if a king conquers a new castle then he gets the wall around it and whatever catapults or ballistae were left behind. We were made to be the defenders of Father's property, owning it includes owning us."

"I don't like this... I had to take control of some dog girls for a rescue and I hated being their master, even though it was only for a few hours."

"I've heard enough," came a voice from the door.

"Veir? I thought you left," said Oona.

"I did, but I knew this was happening with or without me," snapped the harpy, striding over to Kal. Using the three fingers situated at the joints of her wing, she snatched the ring out of his hand with one and grabbed his wrist with the other. Without any fanfare, she jammed the ring onto one of his fingers. By the feel of it, the ring nearly took the top layer of skin along with.

Spinning around. she made her way to the door followed by the stunned gaze of everyone in the room. Lifting a wing she said, "Be sure to come back once a year at least so we don't have to wait for ages between getting some dick." Stepping outside, she slammed the door behind her.

A moment later the crystals embedded in the ceiling came to life, brightening the room as the lock on the door clicked.

"Well!" said Ria, loud enough to make a few of them jump. "Now that that is all taken care of, which of you ladies is going to be the first to bounce on Kal's dick?"

The mage covered his face and groaned.

---

"No, Kal, you have to walk before you can run. You aren't Prentas," snapped Kithana. The beginnings of the mage's flight rune were laid out on the library's large central table and surrounded by open tomes and grimoires.

Prentas's library looked much like Kelthor's except for being bigger and not having the handy search globe in the middle. Were it not for the fact that Kelthor commissioned his tower himself and Prentas's was built over a thousand years ago Kal would have sworn the same people designed it.

"I know damn well I'm not Prentas. You remind me of that fact at least three times a day," replied the mage through gritted teeth.

"If you do not learn these spells, runes, and glyphs then you will be flitting over some mountaintop when your magic runs out and all your work will be for nothing when you end up a smear on the ground. Now quit arguing with me and study the damn spells!" said the sprite, pointing at the book in front of him.

"How do you know so much about this rune anyway? You can already fly, what reason would you have to even look at something like this?

"Because I gave it to you, you ignorant twit! Specifically, I gave it to Ikuno. It was embedded into the compatibility enchantment she put on your cock. She must have seen quite some potential in you to cast that spell."

"Actually, no," he mumbled.

"What was that?"

"It was only the second time I went to see her and offered my services as her 'servant.' At the time, I think she just wanted a man more suited to her size. I understand she had been making do with the occasional bandit and I can't see her wasting the spell in a man condemned to die."

"So... you didn't even know magic yet?"

"It was the day I asked her to teach me. It wasn't until a while later that I had the vision of the flight rune." The mage scowled at the parchment laid out in front of him, "I knew it wasn't mine... dammit."

"How did you know?" asked Kithana.

Kal tapped a spot in the rune, "I've never seen these glyphs before."

The sprite hovered over the parchment, looking down where he was pointing. "Ah, those are important, they will let you fly during winter and fly higher. The higher you go the colder it gets, and those runes keep you from freezing."

"'There is no cold, only an absence of heat,'" quoted Kal.

"That didn't sound like you."

"It wasn't, it was from a cryomancer. She and I did some work for the same man but at separate times. She told it to him, and he told it to me." Kal looked away for a moment, "At least I think it was a 'she.' Now I can't remember if he called them a man or woman. Anyway, it felt like there was something important in what they said but I've been having a hell of a time figuring it out."

Kithana grabbed a small piece of parchment and began scrawling a rune onto it which was quite comical the first time Kal saw it since the quill was nearly as tall as she was. "Summon a flame in one hand," she said as she put the final touches on the spell. As Kal held a small ball of fire she put the parchment in his other hand. "That's just regular ink so try not to pop it. Use those eyes of yours and see if you can figure out what is going on."

Kal carefully charged and activated the rune but the paper around the low-quality ink began turning brown immediately. Kal continued staring at the spot above the paper long after the rune crumbled to ash and the bright blue glow of the spell vanished.

"How...?" he asked Kithana, glancing between his hand holding the flame and where the sprite's spell had taken effect. For the flame, air was constantly drawn into the place where the ball of fire formed before becoming excited enough to create the flame. Above the sprite's spell, the magic flowed in and just... stopped, there was no movement at all that he could see. A small ring formed around the area that appeared to maintain the shape but magic always did something when he used it, whether creating a shield of healing a wound, he had never seen magic do nothing before.

Kithana pointed down at the book in front of him, "Walk first."

---

Kal met Velt by the door to the guest quarters, she was looking a bit haggard with small sticks and bits of leaves stuck in her coat. She must have just come in because she normally didn't keep her fur while inside.

"Hi there, stranger," said the vixen.

"Hi yourself," he said holding the door for her. "I apologize that I haven't seen much of you since we got here. How are you Graff doing?"

"After a week, the wonder of all this is starting to wear off. We are planning on going back and opening up our new home in the next few days. There will still be some cleaning that needs to be done before you and Ria can unload all our stuff. Also, one of the girls has offered to help reinforce the shell we made and make it waterproof," she explained as they entered the guest rooms' large communal bathroom at the end of the hall. "Isn't that right Cyrene?"

A female head that looked like it was made of light-blue tinted water popped up out of the large, polished granite bath taking up the back wall. "What was that?" asked the slime.

"That you offered to help make our home waterproof."

"Yes," she said cheerfully. The water level inside the bath sank as she rose to her full height, forming into a voluptuous naked woman with eyes, nipples, and sex slightly darker than the rest of her body. "I can take all of the stuff for her cement below ground and add a thin layer over what you made," she explained to Kal, "Did you two want to take turns or go together?"

Velt cast a sidelong glance at Kal, "Together?"

"Sounds good to me," said the mage before starting to strip. While waiting, Velt brushed a few of the larger twigs and leaves out of her coat.

"You can leave those, I don't mind," said the slime.

The vixen stepped over the lip of the bath, her feet sinking into the portion of the slime's body she wasn't using to make her human shape. "But I do, there is something I want to try."

Kal joined her a minute later, the vixen reaching out and beginning to stroke him to full hardness as soon as he entered the tub. "Pick me up," she asked. As soon as her feet left the ground the slime's body deformed and flowed behind her back to offer support. Velt closed her eyes in concentration as she reached down and guided Kal to her entrance. "Down," she whispered.

Kal did as asked, slowly lowering the fox-girl onto his cock until he was fully sheathed inside her. He looked down at the vixen, "This is certainly different," he said. She still had all her fur.

"After we killed the boar, I think I would have frozen to death before we finished if you hadn't cast that spell you always use on Sera. I wanted to see if it was even possible to keep my fur." Opening her eyes she smirked at him, "Just in case it happens again."

"So, this is a success?"

"Sort of." Putting her arms around his neck, she started moving up and down. After only a few strokes, Kal felt the vixen's hair vanish, leaving only her ears, tail, and the hair on her head. Sighing, she relaxed against him. "It takes a lot of concentration," she said pulling back. The fox glanced down, frowning. "That's why I was coming here," she said, seeing the dirt and dust on her skin left behind by her fur.

"Let me take care of that," said Cyrene. The slime's body flowed up and around both of them leaving only their heads uncovered.

Kal had a bath and shower in the master's chambers but he hadn't used it since the slime's arrival a few days ago. Cyrene was the original monster girls' preferred method of bathing and they were all extremely excited when she showed up after getting the news about Kal.

Once he had seen some of the others go through her 'cleaning' process, he decided to take the plunge. The slime quickly proved it was as pleasurable as it had looked with the women.

"Hold your breath," said Cyrene. Kal and Velt both did as asked and the woman's fluid body quickly covered their heads. It then gradually peeled back starting at their mouth, taking any dirt or grime with it until their heads were free again. The sticks and leaves pulled away from Velt's body quickly dissolved while the sand, dirt, and dust moved through the slime's body toward the drain.

When they were done with the cleaning process Velt started moving her hips while Kal tried to help but there wasn't much leverage within Cyrene's body for thrusting.

"You two relax and let me do the work. Velt? In the back?"

The vixen though for a moment before nodding.

"Kal?"

"Thanks, but I'll pass."

"You really need to try it one of these days. Other men have said it feels amazing, especially with how slippery I can be."

Kal smiled, "Maybe I will someday, but not now."

"As you wish, now just close your eyes and let your bodies go limp," she requested, tilting Kal back a little then coaxing Velt to lean back as well. The vixen gasped as Kal felt something slip into Velt's rear and expand slightly. A moment later he was enjoying the wonderful tightness of the fox-girl's sex as the slime started moving them back and forth.

"This is certainly different," said Kal. Plenty of times he had just laid in bed and relaxed as one of the women did all the work, but the lack of straining muscles on Velt's part seemed strange to him.

"Uh-huh," agreed the vixen, already starting to breathe heavily. "I wouldn't mind doing this for the next hour or so, but you are rubbing a good spot with her in the back too."

"Do I need to take it out?" Cyrene asked

"Don't you dare," she said with a smile. "I'll let you know if I can't take anymore."

They continued like that until Velt shuddered through her third orgasm. Even with as tight as the fox-girl was, Cyrene's pace was just a little too slow for Kal's liking. Once the vixen stopped shaking, he asked the slime to put them down outside the bath.

Velt leaned over in front of him, placing her hands on the edge of the tub and widening her stance a little. Looking over her shoulder with a flirty smile, she flicked her tail in his face, "I think she stretched me out enough, it's your choice which one you want."

He was tempted at the offer of her ass but stepped up and slid back into her sex, "I'm good here." Before he started moving, Cyrene leaned out over the vixen's back and reached out, her hand losing its definition and taking on a more phallic shape as it snaked towards Velt's bottom.

The vixen moaned loudly as her backside was filled again before saying, "I may learn to enjoy this as much as Graff if you keep that up."

Kal chuckled as he grabbed ahold of her hips and began thrusting hard and fast. The fox-girl's cries of pleasure bounced around the room as he quickly built up to his own release. Slamming into Velt's pussy, he felt a watery hand caress his balls while he proceeded to empty their contents into the panting vixen.

Pulling out, there was a sound of rushing water as the slime's color darkened to a deep blue and her surface became more skin-like. Snaking beneath the recovering fox, Cyrene positioned herself so her head was right beneath Velt's sex.

"Can I have some too, Velt?" asked the slime-girl, though she was looking up at Kal with a mischievious smile.

Kal watched as the vixen strained slightly, pushing out some of his seed. It slid down to hang briefly on the fox-girl's clit before dripping into Cyrene's open and waiting mouth.

"I think he liked that, Velt," said the slime while staring at Kal's cock. It was valiantly trying to come back to life after the women's little display.

"I most definitely did, and I would love to act on it, but I've already spent a lot more time here than expected. I need to get back to the library," he explained with disappointment.

"Aww..." her body flowing out from beneath the vixen, she returned to the bath. "Velt?"

The fox had sunk to her knees, resting her arms on the side of the tub before laying her head on them. "Four is enough for me, I think I'm going to go back to my room and take a nap."

Kal stepped over and kissed the slime girl on the cheek, "you seem to have been forgotten in all the fun. I'll be back later to take care of you," he said before stepping away from the bath and starting to dress.

As he left the slime-girl sighed, "I could get to like him." Her only answer was soft snoring coming from the vixen. Shaking her head, the slime flowed out of the tub, taking on her darker and more solid form, people didn't like it when you left wet spots with every step. Shaping her arms carefully around the sleeping fox-girl to not disturb her, the slime-girl picked her up and followed Kal out the door.