Welcome back for Book Two: Searching for the Sky!
For those of you reading The Runesmith Chronicles for the first time I recommend starting with the first book, Oni and the Farmer. Mostly so you have a better understanding of how things like the magic system works and what's going on as I often reference earlier chapters/books.
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-Blu
Edited and proofread by Oldfart and 2muchdiggity
The Runesmith Chronicles:
Searching for the Sky
Chapter 1
The young man was led from the tiny 'greeting room,' where he had been checked for weapons, into the main kennel. The smell inside was oppressive, a mixture of urine, sweat, dried saliva, and sex fluids. The lack of ventilation made the pungent odors so strong it quickly started to burn the man's eyes. The disgusting excuse of a human who led him into this hellhole didn't seem to be bothered in the slightest. There was something almost poetic in his nonchalance; this type of environment was where people like him belonged. At the same time, it annoyed the man in the black cloak with its red trim. The wretch in front of him should be the one feeling like he was about to choke on the miasma within the room, not him.
"Oi, here's Sylus, our 'salesman' if ya will," the customer's dirt-smeared guide presented the man walking towards them. This new person seemed to care at least partially for his appearance, having only about half of the stains on his tunic than the greeter.
The smile on the approaching man's face was all too familiar to the cloaked figure, something he couldn't have said only a few months ago when he set out on this journey. He had quickly discovered that his upbringing in a small farming town had left him ill-equipped to deal with the intrigue of being in a city. It had only taken hours for him to have his magical bag of holding stolen, the ties keeping it on his belt deftly cut as he was receiving directions to a reputable inn from a street merchant. Thankfully, he kept a second coinpurse in a hidden pocket sewn into his cloak. He'd only had to wait until sundown before a small speck of light came flying in through his window at the inn and landed in his hand where it transformed into his bag of holding. The reaming he got from the bag's spritely avatar for losing her so quickly was deserved in his opinion.
Unfortunately, the young man was forced to learn most of the lessons of city life the hard way. Among the city dwellers, he often saw acts of kindness and altruism, but that was only between those who lived there. A stranger such as himself was not privy to their goodwill and often time was merely seen as a mark who needed to be relieved of his coin, be it through theft, increased prices, or force. Those who attempted the latter quickly discovered that while the young man was naïve, he was far from helpless.
Standing before him, Sylus's grin was identical to those worn by merchants convinced they were about to make a lot of money off a fool.
The salesman waved off the greeter and the foul man slunk back to his hole of a room to wait for the next customer he would need to check. The cloaked figure had hoped the man would take some of the stench with him when he left, sadly, the nauseating fumes lingered. "Welcome," said the man, extending his hand. "What breed of bitch would you be interested in good sir?"
The young man glared at the salesman's hand as though it were about to grow fangs. "I'm here for a dog, not pleasantries. Get on with it, the air here offends me," he said, sniffing in the man's direction.
To his credit, Sylus took the insult in stride. "Straight to business I see. We have a variety of bitches to choose from," he said leading the young man further into the room.
Lining the walls of the room were kennels that were more akin to stalls with wooden slats separating each of the occupants. The cloaked figure could see a small pile of hay used for bedding near the back while three buckets sat next to the iron grate doors. The first was filled with water and the second contained something that vaguely resembled food, the third bucket sat a small way away from the other two and seemed to be where the strong scent of urine was coming from.
Within each of the kennels was a woman, their canine ears and tails immediately marking them as dog girls. Wide collars attached to heavy chains anchored at the back of the kennel only allowed the girls to come within about a single pace of the iron doors. While most huddled in the backs of their cells, the most miserable of the girls were the ones who turned around and pressed their backsides up against the iron bars, looking over their shoulders with a mix of hope that one of the humans would state their body's desires and shame that they had been reduced to such behavior. Only those who appeared the most docile and broken showed little signs of abuse.
All of the girls were somewhere between their human and dog girl forms, which was odd from what the cloaked man had seen and read about. Dog girls were one of the species of monster girls with limited shapeshifting abilities. They were able to change their legs from human to canine, though they could still stand upright while their legs were dog-like. Their forearms could also lengthen slightly as their hands turned into paws, allowing them to walk or run on all fours. When changing, the affected limbs would also grow or lose fur. From what he knew this shift was always done completely, yet everywhere he looked they seemed to have stopped mid-transformation. A couple of them even had one leg that was human while the other was canine, giving them an awkward gait as they moved that was disconcerting to watch.
The young man's face was impassive as he looked at each of the dog girls in turn. He realized partway through his inspection that none of them were speaking, whimpers, barks, and howls were all that ever came out of their mouths. The man's eyes narrowed, he could tell that most, if not all of them, had the ability to speak, however, it was plain that they had been conditioned to not do so.
"… as you can see we have whatever stage you might desire from completely broken sex slaves, ready to offer up a warm wet hole any time you like, to the barely broken if you are wanting a bitch with a bit of fight left in them," Sylus explained. He motioned towards one of the girls presenting herself against the bars, "If you would like to test one out, some of them are more than willing." The dog girl he motioned towards was so deep in her heat that she began weeping when the young man shook his head and looked away.
"I'm not looking for a toy, I'm looking for a challenge," said the man with a voice as cold and hard as steel. "Do you have anything newer?" an evil grin split his face, "Something I can break myself."
The icy tone in the man's voice sent a shiver down Sylus's spine, he actually found himself feeling bad for whatever bitch this man ended up getting his hands on. The feeling passed quickly as he looked down at his arm and the recently healed scars that plainly came from being bitten. Returning the man's grin, he said, "I think I might have what you are looking for, follow me, good sir."
Dog girls howled and whimpered with loss as the two men made their way to the very back of the kennels. Turning right, Sylus led the cloaked man through a leather curtain and into some much cleaner air. Off to his right was a small desk with various ledgers and a set of scales. Just beyond the desk was a partial wall that separated it from the rest of the room.
Four large cages were situated just beyond the wall and occupied the remainder of the room. Steel bars had been sunk into large wooden beams on the top and bottom which were, in turn, held together by metal bands. An iron door opened up toward the central walkway.
A heavy wooden door lay on the far wall directly in front of where they had entered. The young man had to guess that this was where new dog girls were brought in after being captured. Off to the left was an open doorway through which sounds of drunken laughter could faintly be heard.
The man sitting behind the desk filling out ledgers was the cleanest he had yet seen and was pristine compared to the greeter back at the entrance. The hawkish looking fellow raised his head from his work as they walked through the leather flap, giving Sylus and the stranger a questioning look.
"I'm going to show him the wolf," Sylus explained.
The man frowned, "The boss is going to be mad if you don't sell her for at least the trouble she's been worth." He wrote a number down on a piece of paper and handed it to the salesman, making sure the man in the black cloak couldn't see it. "Personally, I'd be happy to see that bitch gone, no matter what the price." The stranger had noticed that one of the scribe's hands was wrapped in bandages and was he now rubbing his injured hand as he scowled through the wall toward the cages.
Sylus smiled in understanding, "This gentleman is looking for something he can break himself, I have a feeling she will be exactly what he wants, and she deserves." Glancing at the piece of paper in his hand, he looked back at his customer. "I don't think this will be a problem."
As they stepped around the wall the stranger saw that two of the cages were currently occupied. The furthest on the right held a pretty golden retriever type dog girl, leaning against the bars and looking heartbreakingly sad. Once the man in the cloak peeled his eyes away from the golden-haired girl he saw that the nearest cage on the left, where the salesman was leading him, held a large but ragged looking wolf girl.
"She hasn't eaten in some time, so she's looking a bit rough at the moment. Boss didn't take too well to her nearly taking his money-changer's hand off," said Sylus while nodding towards the man at the desk. "Only a couple of the bitches out front have been here longer than her. Near as I can tell, by the time she finally breaks we will have spent so much time on her, it will be impossible to make a profit. That's not even including having to heal the men she's torn into," he said unconsciously rubbing his arm. "Better to sell her now and let you deal with the headache, especially since you are looking for one to break yourself."
The stranger walked up to the cage, 'ragged' was being nice. The girl lay on a sparse straw mat facing away from them, an empty watering dish and food bowl near her feet. There were multiple bruises on her back and legs, some recent, some nearly healed. The wolf girl's gray hair was dirty and matted from neglect and leather straps crisscrossed the back of her head. He could just start to see the signs of starvation from the way her ribs were beginning to show through on her back.
Sylus took a knife from his belt and rapped it against the metal bars, startling the girl from her slumber. "Wake up bitch! Someone is here to see you, with luck he'll be your new owner."
The girl partly rolled over, shooting hate-filled glares at the men, "Fuck off. How many times do you have to be told I will never be owned. Especially by scum like you," she said from behind a wire muzzle, her body jerking strangely as she spoke.
Sylus looked over at the stranger with worry but saw the man wearing a cold grin as he stared at the wolf. "Oh, she will be perfect," he whispered to the salesman.
The slaver grinned and turned back towards the cage, "Bitch! Come!"
The girl's twitching resumed as pain wracked her body while she fought the compulsion to do what the man commanded. An impressive amount of time passed before the woman finally stood up on canine legs and walked over to them, snarling the entire time while staring down the salesman with unfettered loathing. By the time she reached their side of the cage, her body was covered with a sheen of sweat from her ordeal.
"Heel."
The wolf girl's pain tolerance stunned the stranger as she stood in front of them even longer than it had taken her to stand up before finally dropping to her knees with a grimace of disgust. The entire time her eyes had stayed locked with Sylus's.
"Stay," said the man as he pulled a ring of keys off of his belt. The cloaked figure noticed that instead of using pain as a punishment for disobedience the girl now seemed to be locked into place where she was kneeling.
"I'd recommend leaving the slave collar on until well after she is broken. Punishing your bitch for disobedience is only one of the uses. 'Stop' will make their arms and legs go limp and 'Stay' will lock their body in place. Much better than manacles and chains. I'm sure you can figure out what 'Silence' does, however, for some reason the wizard who makes our collars can't figure out how to make it permanent like the other two. 'Come' will cancel 'Stop' and 'Stay,' likewise 'Speak' will cancel 'Silence'." Sylus opened the door of the cage as he explained all of this to the stranger. "Good bones, good teeth, muscles are still nice and firm even though she hasn't eaten in over a week." The salesman reached down and hefted one of the wolf girl's breasts only to jerk his hand back as she suddenly snapped at him "'Stay' does allow them to move their head somewhat," he said looking slightly embarrassed before continuing. "Tits are a bit saggy but those will firm up once you start getting some food back into her. Nice hips if you want her to have pups, maybe train them up the same way as mama here."
"How much?"
Sylus handed over the slip of paper to the cloaked man. The stranger looked at the number then back at the salesman, "No haggling? I know this was supposed to be the lowest price you could go."
The man just shook his head, "Not for this one. I just want to see her gone, as do some of the other boys she's hurt." A door opened in another part of the slaver's hideout and the noise of drunken ruffians got louder for a few moments before it slammed shut again.
"If this is all you want then let us be done with our business, the smell in here is vile," said the stranger.
Sylus smiled, "There's one last thing that needs to be taken care of." The man flipped the dagger he was holding into the air and deftly caught it without looking away from the man in the cloak. "Testing the merchandise."
The stranger's eyes narrowed, "Explain."
"Boss's orders. It separates the customers from the do-gooders. On a personal note, I want to see just what this bitch is in for, a little bit of poetic justice for all of the trouble she's been."
The man lifted the hem of his cloak and picked off a stray piece of straw, "Just what makes you think you're worthy of seeing me take my pleasure with her?"
Again, the insult seemed to roll right off of the salesman. "Like I said, Boss's orders. If you refuse then I can't guarantee you will be leaving here… unharmed." Sylus eyed up the stranger as he flipped and spun the dagger. Catching it by the hilt, his attention was suddenly on something behind the cloaked man. "Hey!" he yelled shouldering past the stranger and exiting the cage. "Hey! You leave that one alone! Boss's orders! You can't fuck with that one!" The man turned and saw the salesman trying to stop a very large slaver who was making his way determinedly toward the cage with the golden-haired dog girl. The large man's substantial cock was already hanging out of the front of his trousers and he was stroking himself in an attempt to overcome the large amount of alcohol he had consumed.
The man in the cloak looked back at the wolf girl. The woman hadn't expected to see panic in his eyes. Lifting one side of his cloak he drew a quick symbol in the air with his fingers, the rune glowing for a moment before drifting into the piece of straw he was holding. The man touched the straw to his throat before giving a hasty glance toward the arguing men, after which he reached out and brushed the wolf girl's dirty hair from the side of her head. He then stopped for a moment when he didn't find a human ear. With a small shake of his head, he placed the piece of straw in one of the wolf-like ears poking through her hair.
"I was sent here to rescue the girl in the other cage," said the man but no sound came out of his mouth and the wolf only heard it in the ear with the piece of straw. "I've decided I'm going to rescue all of the girls here, but I'm going to need your help. I'd do it now, but I understand the leader here is a very powerful man and I didn't know there was another mage here as well. I also didn't know that they were going to expect me to do something with you before they let me buy you. I'm so sorry to ask this, but I need you to play along with what I'm about to do."
The wolf girl tried very hard to keep the look of surprise off her face. She had resigned herself to die here in this cage months ago instead of giving in to the slavers, like so many of the other girls had done since she was brought here. The possibility of rescue had never occurred to her.
Suspicion crept into her mind. Could this be a ruse by the slavers in an attempt to finally break her? To give her hope then strip it all away? Her instincts told her no, and her nose told her that this man had the marks of several women on him, none of those smells were tainted with fear. Most canines were known to be good judges of character and the wolf was no different. As she looked up into the young man's face she got the feeling that this was who he really was, not the mask of a man buying a slave she had seen only moments ago.
Kal had to catch himself from letting out a huge sigh of relief when he saw her nearly imperceptible nod. Behind him, Sylus was shoving the inebriated slaver out of the room and he knew they didn't have much time, "Again, I'm sorry to ask this but how do you want to do this?"
When the slavers used her they never put anything in her mouth, the collar couldn't keep her from biting, as one of her first "Trainers" had found out. If this man was working with them they would have warned him away from using that particular opening. "Mouth," she said then immediately winced as a stab of pain raced through her body from the collar.
Seeing her body twitch from the collar's punishment he now understood why none of the girls in the kennel talked. Kal closed his eyes for a moment, formulating a plan. "Ria, I need the vial of Bea's dust, the inactive one," he said. A few moments later a speck of light floated out from one of the leather pouches tied to his belt and landed in his hand, turning into a small glass vial filled with silvery powder. "Again, I'm sorry we have to do this," he said, the vial disappearing into a pocket as they heard the footsteps of the returning salesman.
"Damn idiots are charmed by that golden bitch, an old wizard is supposed to be coming up with the money for her. I wish he would hurry up so I didn't have to constantly worry about one of the boys getting past me and fucking her." He stopped just inside the cage and looked at man and wolf, "I hope you haven't finished already."
"Don't insult me," Kal snarled, taking up his role of a man purchasing a slave. "Since you are so determined to see her suffer… take the mask off."
"Hell no, I already have scars from this bitch, fuck her ass or something."
"Weak minded fool," Kal sneered at the salesman as he produced the vial and held it up.
"What's that?"
"A powerful aphrodisiac, she'll become so aroused she won't be able to control herself but it leaves the mind completely clear." The mage grinned evilly, "when it wears off she will remember every moment of begging me to fuck her with crystal clarity. For strong-willed bitches like her, a single experience can be enough to break them. Hopefully, this one will last through a few doses."
Sylus's face soon held a similar grin. Unlike Kal's, his was genuine. "Perhaps we could talk about a trade for part of her purchase price? The Boss would be very interested in something of that nature."
"Go to hell," Kal told him as he sprinkled a little bit into the muzzle, making sure to get some on her nose. "Hold your breath all you want, you'll need air sometime," he said to the girl. A nearly transparent sprite-sized image floated across the edge of his vision. Turning back to the salesman, Kal dragged his attention away from the wolf. "This is too dangerous for the likes of you, if a man breathes it in they will fuck whatever they can until they die of exhaustion…"
As the man continued to speak about the dangers of the dust on her face, the wolf girl felt a small pressure on one of the straps to her muzzle. A moment later a tiny voice whispered in her ear, "I'm Ria, I'm with Kal. That's just dust from a butterfly girl's wings, dangerous to men but useless on females. You'll have to act like it's working on you." The presence then disappeared almost as quickly as it had arrived.
"… I'll pay the price you are asking for her. Don't bring up the dust again," said Kal while pointedly putting the vial back into its pocket right in front of the slaver. He looked down at the wolf, scowling, "It shouldn't take long once she quits holding her breath. The quicker I'm out of this place the better, I'll be lucky if my servants can get the smell out of my clothes. I may just have to burn them," he said wrinkling his nose.
Despite the voice in her ear, suspicion kept her from acting on Kal's blatant suggestion to hurry up. Looking up at the slaver's salesman she saw the obvious delight on his face as he watched her struggle to keep from breathing in the dust. A slight smirk came to her face. Whoever this Ria was, she had said it was dangerous for men and Kal had told the slaver it was dangerous as well. Turning towards Sylus she finally allowed the breath she had been holding to burst forth. The tiny cloud of dust that went flying at the man would have been invisible if not for the particles' shimmering nature.
The mage stared at the wolf girl in surprise, he hadn't been expecting that. Thankfully the salesman hadn't been able to notice the change in his customer's expression since he had nimbly darted out of the cage and was now carefully eyeing up the little cloud. Kal, however, had not reacted nearly as quickly and was now standing in a cage with a puff of dust he had just spent the last couple of minutes convincing Sylus was extraordinarily dangerous.
The wolf girl was carefully watching Kal as he frantically searched for a way to deal with the change in the situation. She was convinced now that he was there as a rescuer. He had made no attempt to protect the slaver from the dust and the young man's cold persona had dropped away as soon as the salesman ran out of the cage. The wolf momentarily felt bad that she might have made things more difficult for the man, on the other hand, seeing that bastard Sylus bolt in terror from her stunt had been extremely satisfying. By the time the dust had settled and the slaver reentered the cage the cloaked man seemed to have a solution and had returned to his act.
Kneeling down Kal leveled a cold stare at the girl, "I made that dust, do you think I would use something so dangerous without an antidote?"
"What about me?" whined Sylus.
Kal gave the man a sidelong glance, "What makes you think your life has any value to me?"
Unlike his previous insults, this one seemed to strike a nerve. "Get on with it," snarled the salesman.
"Once I know it's working, I prefer my dick right where it is and not down her gullet."
The wolf suddenly realized that he was waiting for her, he was actually waiting for some kind of permission. Her experiences since coming to the slaver's hideout had been unpleasant, to say the least, and her consent was never a consideration. She found that this simple gesture, even in this hellish situation, woke something within her that had been lying dormant since her capture months ago.
Kal relaxed slightly as the front of his trousers returned to how they normally felt. The compatibility spell that had been cast upon him didn't take kindly to forcing yourself on unwilling partners and took steps to make it physically impossible. When Sylus had told him he had to 'test the merchandise,' the mere thought triggered the enchantment and made his penis vanish, leaving nothing but his scrotum below. Saying it was an uncomfortable feeling was an understatement. Now that the wolf girl had decided to go along with his plan his missing cock had reappeared, much to his relief.
The wolf girl's face took on a lustful look and soon the flush that had started in her cheeks made its way down to the tops of her breasts. Her long tongue hung out as she started panting with desire. Kal couldn't help wishing that the circumstances were different, he felt bad knowing that he was going to greatly enjoy how that tongue felt.
The slaver took a step back as the man in the cloak reached behind the wolf's head and undid the straps on her muzzle. He needn't have bothered, the girl was giving the man a look that bordered on adoration. Kal was worried that she might be overdoing it but a quick glance at the man next to him showed that he seemed to be buying the ruse. To be honest, the mage was having a hard time believing that the wolf was only putting on an act, she was being extremely convincing.
"Ready?" Kal asked then immediately winced before checking to see if Sylus noticed. That wasn't something a slave owner would say. Luckily, the salesman's complete attention was on the change in attitude that had come over the wolf. "Release her, this is more effective if she has complete control of her body."
Sylus gave him a sidelong look then said, "Clear," to the girl, ready to bolt at the slightest indication of attack and leave the cloaked man to his fate.
The wolf girl scooted forward on her knees, her wagging tail cleaning a wide swath of the floor behind her. She choked back a laugh as her rescuer's mask faltered once again and instead of a looking down at the slave in front of him with contempt and disdain, it came across more as apologetic. Her mouth opened and her tongue lolled out in blatant invitation as she gazed up at the young man with desire, she was slightly shocked at how little she had to fake it.
Shooting a final scowl at the salesman who put him in this situation, Kal stepped forward and began undoing the front of his trousers.
The wolf girl nuzzled Kal's crotch making small whining noises as he got himself situated again. "Good enough?" he growled at Sylus.
His customer's words seemed to snap him out of his daze from watching the wolf girl suck the cloaked man off. That dust was potent! There was no way he could have told that the girl was under the influence of anything, she seemed to genuinely enjoy what she had just done and was now actively begging for more. He was already planning on a trip to the kennel later, thanks to what he had just witnessed, but right now he was trying to think of a way to get that vial off of this young man. "The dangers don't matter, I must get some of that dust. I'll give you the girl for that vial."
"I'm immune, and she's already under the influence. Ask again and you can find out personally if everything I said earlier was true. My answer is still no." Kal produced a pouch that clinked with the sound of coins and put it in the salesman's hand. "That is more than you were asking, now transfer ownership to me so I can be on my way."
The salesman scowled, "I'll have the money-changer count it to be sure," he said, bouncing the coinpurse in his hand a couple of times before walking away.
Kal looked down at the wolf once he was sure Sylus was out of earshot. "That was amazing!" he whispered, his eyes wide with astonishment, "I never would have thought that was only an act!" The wolf girl was just barely shaking her head from side to side while taking in deep breaths of the scent from around his groin. "That… wasn't an act?" he asked. Again, he got a slight shake of her head as a response. Kal decided to ignore the growing confusion in his mind until they had gotten out of the slaver's hideout and back to safety.
Kal took the vial out of his pocket, "Ria, trade me out for the modified dust." Specks of light switched out the vial in his hand with another one identical to the first. "All of the side effects but it won't make the man who breathes it lust crazy," he told the wolf girl as he pushed some magic into the shimmering powder, activating it. "The man who breathes this in is going to have an excruciating couple of hours. Are you done with checking the place out, Ria?"
"As much as I can," said the nearly transparent sprite as she sat on the shoulder furthest from the salesman and money-changer, "There are wards on the wizard and leader's quarters so I don't know what it looks like inside, but I have enough to put together a map for when we come back for the rest of the girls. I spoke to the girl in the other cage, she knows we will be back for her as soon as possible and said she will try to find out whatever information she can that might help us during the rescue. She did say that she doesn't know how much longer the leader's threats will keep the slavers from trying to do something with her, so please hurry." Ria peeked around Kal's head, "He looks like he's about done counting coins."
Kal gave her a tiny nod, "Stay close as we leave, they brought me here in a sealed carriage they will likely do the same on the way out and we need to know how to get back here."
"If someone had just let me follow them on the way in we wouldn't need to worry about that," said the sprite, sounding annoyed. "Anyway, try to get out of here as quickly as you can, staying see-through like this is tiring. I'll need to return to my bag soon," the sprite said just before flitting off at the sound of the salesman returning.
Sylus was holding a scroll in one hand and a lit red candle in the other. "Put your mark on the line at the bottom of the scroll, that will make the collar respond to your commands."
Kal signed the parchment then the salesman dripped some hot wax onto the rolled-up scroll before sealing it with a stamp. Kal had to keep a straight face when he realized that the stamp wasn't magical but just a runic-looking version of the word "Seal."
"And when I have her completely trained and no longer need your collar?" asked the mage.
"Bring her back here and the wizard that makes them will remove it."
Kal's eyes narrowed dangerously, "You'd best be joking."
"My apologies, but no, I'm not. He makes them and puts them on the bitches when they are brought in, as far as I know, he is the only one who can take them off."
"Bullshit," snarled Kal, "Either you are lying, or you are a poor excuse for a thief, surely you must have heard something." Kal paused for a moment, "Wait, I know what your game is, you are wanting this," he said, pulling the vial out of his pocket. "The vial for the secret of the collars, so I don't ever have to return to this stinkhole," he offered.
The slaver's eyes were glued to the glass container in Kal's hand, something in the back of his head was telling him that this was wrong, it was too easy. However, that voice was silenced by the image of the stranger's fantastical silver dust. This hadn't been his plan, he even felt foolish for letting the cloaked man think of it first, but that didn't mean he wouldn't capitalize on the situation. Besides, it's not like he would be disappointed if he never saw this wolf bitch again. "I've heard there's a tiny mana crystal that powers the collar and it has a thin silver wire wrapped around it that takes the magic from the crystal to the spells that make the collar work. Cutting the wire or removing the crystal should turn it back into a regular collar."
Kal pulled his hand back as Sylus reached for the vial, "Where in the collar is the crystal?"
"Right behind the buckle, where the collar doesn't twist."
Kal handed over the stoppered tube, "It's time to leave."
Sylus nodded absently while staring at the small vial as if it were filled with diamonds.
A solid black boxed in wagon bounced along the roads just outside of town. The only light inside was given off by a small magic orb mounted in a bracket that had once held a torch judging by the scorch marks on the wood above. As another bump nearly threw the box's occupants off the wooden bench mounted on one of the sides, at least one of them was wishing for the added springs found on regular carriages.
Kal had seen similar boxed-in wagons while in the city, they were often used to transport dead paupers and beggars found on the streets to a mass grave outside of town. The main difference between those and the one he and the wolf girl were riding in was the extra coating of pitch applied to the outside that prevented any and all light from reaching inside. With no way to get his bearings, and therefore find his way to the slaver's den, Kal was counting on Ria to figure out how to get them back so they could rescue the rest of the dog girls.
The wagon came to a shuddering halt and a few seconds later one of the doors on the rear was opened by one of the slavers. As the man swung open the other side Kal could see that he was carrying a crossbow in his other hand. Kal wondered for a moment what kind of threat the man hoped to pose with the weapon unloaded and un-cocked, right now it was effectively an expensive club.
"Out wit' ya's," said the slaver in a gravelly voice as he brandished the crossbow. "An' ifs we sees ya's tryin' ta follow us we'll use ya's fer target practice."
"Shut up," snapped Kal as he stepped out of the wagon. He was feeling bruised and battered from the ride and after all of the stress of infiltrating the slaver's hideout, he was done with their bullshit. He put a hand on the end of the slaver's weapon and held it in place as he spoke. "If this bitch doesn't work out and I need to return for another one I will be expecting better treatment for myself and my purchases," The end of the crossbow crumpled and snapped as Kal squeezed. One the limbs whipped about on the thick bowstring as it came loose from the body, nearly hitting Kal in the face. Through sheer force of will and an intense desire to look intimidating, Kal managed to not flinch away. When the splinters and crossbow parts had finally come to rest the young mage was left holding the mangled end of the weapon, the slaver had let go and thrown his hands up in front of his face.
Kal sighed inwardly, so much for looking intimidating. On his forearm, beneath the leather vambrace that had been flipped upside down, a barely noticeable red glow faded away
Tossing the man's ruined weapon off to the side he motioned for the wolf girl to follow him. Some quiet experimenting as they were sitting in the wagon waiting to leave the kennels proved that the collar only really responded to vocal commands. As such, he was going to try using hand gestures as much as possible until they figured out how to remove it.
Turning back to the slaver he saw the man staring in shock at the pile of kindling that used to be his crossbow, he snapped his fingers in front of the man's face to get his attention again. "If I catch you following us you'll end up like that," he said waving at the weapon's remains before stalking off in the direction of a forest edge that was about a half-hour walk away. A few seconds later they heard the man curse in their direction just before a whip cracked as the slavers went on about their business.
Off to the west, they could see the city of Carriston, named for the Forest of Carris to the south, which they were currently walking towards. A short distance to the east, a small shack just off the road marked the final resting place of many of Carriston's poorest residents. Kal had heard that at one time the shack and its corresponding grave had been on the western side of town. It only took a week of dealing with the smell before the pauper's grave was moved to the eastern side and, more specifically, downwind. North of the road they had just been on was a large plain that had been sectioned off into fields that grew food for the city. The burial site was far enough out of town that by the time someone reached it, all of the city's farms had petered out.
The closer they got to the forest the more excited the wolf girl became, bounding about Kal's legs on all fours like a puppy. Once they had gotten far enough from the road as to not be seen, he beckoned her over.
"What has gotten into you?" he asked as she crouched down and scooted towards him nearly on her belly. When she reached him she flipped over onto her back. Bringing a paw up she tapped her lips then pointed at the collar. Kal crouched down and brushed off the bits of dirt and grass that had collected on her nipples, getting a lusty moan from the wolf. "Oops, sorry," he said then placed a hand on her shoulder. As he prepared to activate the healing rune located on his back the girl's hands switched back to human and she firmly moved Kal's hand from her shoulder back to her breast.
Kal looked on in confusion even as he began healing the girl. His answer came immediately after noticing the wet spot on her wagging tail. Soon after, a pungent, but not unpleasant, smell reached his nose. It felt like a bolt of lightning shot straight through him from his nose to his groin making him hard in an instant.
He looked down at the wolf girl who was still on her back with her legs splayed, giving her an incredulous look, "You're in heat?"
The wolf stopped examining her body where the bruises had disappeared and blushed fiercely before nodding.
Kal sighed, "We need to get to my camp, so we can try getting that collar off and you can tell me what's going on." Gritting his teeth against the pleasure even the slight rubbing of his trousers was causing, he continued on towards the forest with the girl in tow.
They made their way into the trees far enough that the forest edge and the plains beyond were no longer visible before Kal stopped. Drawing a small rune in the air, a faint, wispy light, visible only to him, appeared and pointed in the direction of his enchanted tent.
A frown came to Kal's face as he remembered how the amazing magical item had come to him.
"Peasant! Who the hell do you think you are to order me about?! You aren't my master!" Yelled the little green man standing on an equally small green cloud. A couple of hand widths below the floating cloud, a nondescript leather pouch lay on the table in Ikuno's library.
"Ikuno is gone, she's rebuilding her body as we speak. You may have items I need for the journey to go bring her back."
"Rebuilding her body? Does the peasant boy expect me to believe that you are invoking the right of victory?"
"No, I'm invoking the right of ownership. Ikuno gave herself to me completely. According to her, that also meant everything that she owns, including you." Kal and Ria had talked about how to deal with the snarky little avatar of Ikuno's bag of holding. After a lengthy discussion, Kal offhandedly mentioned to the little sprite that, according to Ikuno, Dai belonged to him already. Ria seized on that, telling him that if what he said was true then all he needed to do was inform the bag's avatar if it's change in possessor. Judging by his reaction, the little green man was far from happy with this turn of events.
Dai's eyes nearly bugged out of their head as he stared at Kal. His built-in ability to detect lies had already confirmed that the mage was telling the truth, however, that didn't make the bag of holding's avatar feel any better. "That bitch…!" anything else the little man might have said was cut off as Kal backhanded him across the room. The bag's avatar faded out as he flew, returning to his bag before he hit one of the bookshelves. The magic user's eyes glowed bright blue as he stared in the direction the ghostly figure had gone.
"Dai," he called. Long moments went by as he waited for the bag of holding finally give in to the summons. As soon as the ghostly green man began to appear the mage reached out and grabbed him around the chest, pulling the avatar up so they were nearly nose to nose.
"How did…"
"Shut up, qiu-Dai," Ikuno had told Kal at one point that despite all of his bluster about serving nobility his name literally meant 'bag' or 'sack'. After a particularly nasty encounter with the disagreeable little fellow, Kal offhandedly asked Ikuno what the word for 'ball' was in that language. Kal was quite certain that the translation was likely off but from the look on Dai's face, he knew quite well that he had just been called a ball sack. "Ikuno gave her life to save me. If I hear another unkind word about her out of your mouth I will keep her promise of filling you full of manure and leaving you at the bottom of a lava lake to rot for the rest of eternity."
The little man's eyes were wide with shock, partly because of what the mage had told him and partly because this man was somehow preventing him from returning to his bag. Not to mention that the human shouldn't have been able to strike him in the first place. Kal opened his hand once Dai had nodded his head that he understood.
"Ria," the mage called and a moment later a ghostly image of a sprite appeared next to his own bag of holding that was tied to his belt.
"Yes, Master Kal?" the avatar said cheerfully before shooting a knowing glare at the other bag of holding, she had heard some of the tales concerning her green counterpart.
"I need you to store everything that Dai is going to bring out." He turned back to the little man standing on the cloud, "Dai, transfer everything you have to the floor out there," he waved towards the layered furs by the bed that Ikuno used as an area rug. "Let's start with the items that will be the most useful on a long journey."
Kal and the wolf girl were now approaching the first item Dai had produced, a magical tent made for elven nobles in a long-forgotten age. It was believed that the tents were created in the same era as the bags of holding, however, Kal's special sight made him think otherwise. The bit of reading he had done on Ria, Dai and others like them suggested that the items placed in a bag of holding were stored in a tiny pocket dimension. The tent, on the other hand, appeared to warp the space around it, shrinking down to a piece of folded cloth only a little bigger than his hand or stretching, when set up, to the size of a large room on the inside. There was also the small fact that Dai and Ria both could put the tent inside them but could not put the other bag of holding inside themselves. When Kal asked about this Ria attempted to explain something about pocket dimensions within pocket dimensions, he had her stop when she started talking about tearing a rift in the dimensions and possibly destroying the universe.
The tent changed its appearance according to the owner's wishes and ranged from bright white with gold trim, plain white or gray, to doing it's best to hide wherever it was placed. The wispy light Kal was following looked like it disappeared into the forest ahead, the outline of the tent remaining nearly indistinguishable from its surroundings until they were nearly on top of it.
Kal unsealed the flap and moved to the side allowing the wolf girl to enter first, "It's magic, watch your step."
The woman gave him a quizzical glance before slipping past the mage and entering the small shelter. The wolf immediately stumbled down the three steps going down just inside the entrance, catching herself before she fell face first on the lush green carpet inside. Kal sighed as he stepped inside and sealed the flap behind him. His own first time entering the tent had been similar, hence the warning which had obviously gone unheeded.
The wolf girl stared about in amazement, hardly able to believe her eyes that this was the small camouflaged tent she had seen from the outside. The room she stood in was enormous by her reckoning, The soft green carpet ran off on all directions until it met with walls that looked to be an off-white canvas material. In the very center was a circular area where the carpet gave way to marble tiles with an indentation in the middle where a smokeless magical fire burned.
Though there were no walls besides those surrounding the room the mage had dedicated areas here and there for specific tasks. To the right, a set of shelves holding magical ingredients while various concoctions and potions bubbled away on a nearby table marked the wizard's alchemy laboratory. A little way further on, numerous bookcases with a table and chairs set before them made up a small library. On the table, a bird of prey's leg rose up from an ornate wooden base and gripped a brightly glowing crystal orb. As she looked about, the girl paused briefly on the plain wooden pedestal near the entrance holding a book with a cover the same color as the carpet. The flowing script on the front was pretty but wolf packs rarely needed the ability to read so it was typically only taught to those destined to become alphas and betas.
The other side of the room only held a bed and another set of shelves containing a variety of foodstuffs and cooking implements.
Seeing the bed, the girl immediately ran over and crawled on top of it swaying her hips back and forth sensuously while her tail made the nearby air thick with her musk. She looked over her shoulder as her rescuer approached, her eyes lidded with lust as she whimpered with need.
Kal took a moment to appreciate that the change to canine legs started at her upper thigh leaving her rear delectably human. Gritting his teeth he fought down the urge to drop his pants and take her then and there. "No," he said, "before I do anything else with you we need to get that collar off."
The wolf whined in disappointment, which quickly turned to anger at being denied. The growl that escaped her lips was cut off by a yelp of pain as the collar punished her for turning on her master.
The human shook his head, "I don't want to have to worry about you getting hurt every time you do something I may not like. Collar first, then we can take care of your needs."
Attacking one's master, even if it's for pleasurable activities, elicited one of the worst punishments the collar could mete out. Despite the fire in her body, the jolt she just received was enough to convince her that the human's way might be wiser.
Kal motioned for her to turn around and lift her chin, still wary of what the collar's magic might consider a command. The wolf girl reluctantly did as he asked while giving him a mournful look that tugged at the mage's heartstrings. The young wizard suddenly found himself wanting to give in, not because he was horny but just to make her happy once again.
Kal shook his head to clear away the thoughts, catching a faint flash of disappointment on the girl's face in the process. He'd have to be more careful in the future, none of the books he had read on dog girls mentioned anything about this ability. This was his first major interaction with a monster girl since he left home and he was already finding things that the scholars had missed. Then again, if it weren't for his capacity to see the magic emanating from her as the feeling came over him, he might have dismissed it as just feeling sorry for the girl.
"Ria."
A ghostly form coalesced next to the leather pouch on his belt and a very tired looking sprite floated up in front of Kal's face. "Sorry, Master Kal, I held out as long as I could. I made it part way out of the area before having to give up but I'm not sure where in the city we were, I didn't think to fly higher until I started fading."
"That's fine, Ria, we'll figure it out later. More pressing is getting this girl's collar off. Do you think you might be able to store it?" Kal asked.
"Since you are the official owner now I should be able to, but not right now," said the little avatar.
"What? Why?"
"I'm too tired right now to transfer anything, in or out. I'll need a few hours of rest before I can even try. Sorry, Kal."
"Damn… can't be helped I guess. I'll call you in a couple of hours." As Ria faded away, Kal adjusted himself in his trousers and looked over at the wolf girl. "Neither one of us are going to last until she's ready, are we?" it was more of a statement than a question. As the implications of his words sunk in, a huge grin split the woman's face and she quickly turned around, presenting herself once again.
The young mage smiled to himself as he began to undress, this wasn't how he had wanted this to happen but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy it.
Kal slowly woke up as the fire in the middle of the tent brightened. The shelter seemed to be able to read his mind to some extent, dimming the magical fire when he went to sleep and brightening to wake him, either in the morning or, as in this case, when he just wanted to take a short nap. He had a feeling that all of this was explained in detail by the green book sitting on the pedestal by the entrance. Unfortunately, he couldn't read elvish other than what he had needed to figure out the command for packing the tent up.
The wolf girl curled up against him whimpered in her sleep when she felt him move but didn't wake completely. While most of the women he had been with took some pleasure in cleaning him up after sex, his groin had never received a tongue bath quite as extensive as what the wolf had given him before pressing her back against his chest and nodding off.
The wolf girl's pheromones had an aphrodisiac effect that was relatively mild compared to those he had experienced from other monster girls. They also did not have the ability to keep him hard for ages like the Aradelle's powder or make him produce huge quantities of semen like Bea's dust. In fact, once Kal decided that he was going to take care of her, the effects of her heat on him were completely canceled out by his compatibility enchantment and he had to resort to the rejuvenating spell Ikuno had taught him just to last long enough to finally sate the woman.
He was sad to admit that waking up with another person made him miss the women he had left back home. Perra, Gerda, Bea, and Aradelle; he'd spent a final night with each of them before leaving and those had been the last times he'd slept in a bed with someone since he left. Closing his eyes, he focused on the bonds he shared with each of them. Distance dimmed their presence and the responses he received were much like someone waving back at him from across a canyon. Even Bas, who lived far east of his hometown and for the longest time had been the closest to him in his travels, had started to fade
Perra, however, was slightly stronger because of a second connection they shared through a pendant he had made for her birthday. She was able to convey her annoyance at dealing with morning sickness before letting him know that Eludora, he and Aradelle's daughter, was doing well. It still caught him as strange at times that his eldest child was currently a sapling in a small clearing out in the forest, then again, he was the one who decided to have a kid with a plant girl. Sadly, he was too far away to check up on his other daughter, Adalena. Her mother, Bea, didn't have the help of something like Perra's amulet.
He was still saddened by the one voice that was missing: Ikuno's. The large blue-skinned woman had been attacked on the astral plane, but her attacker had made sure she was still able to move her body. Unfortunately, Kal had been sleeping next to her at the time and ended up taking the full brunt of her razor-sharp claws as he desperately tried to heal himself. She'd nearly killed him by the time her enemy let her return to her body completely. In order to save Kal's life, she fed her own lifeforce into her healing spells, using it to replace the blood and tissues that she had unknowingly ripped away moments before.
Ikuno wasn't dead, however. She was a type of nature spirit called an oni that originated from a people far to the east. The shrines that house their spirit make oni effectively immortal, as long as their shrine stands they will return to it and begin rebuilding their body instead of dying. That's what Ikuno was doing now, building up her strength so she could come back to life.
The wolf girl stirred, distracting him from his somber thoughts. Reminiscing could wait, there was a girl who needed a slave collar removed lying in front of him.
"Ria," he called out softly. The little sprite appeared in the middle of the pile of his clothes laying on the floor where he had undressed. She nimbly stepped over one of his trouser legs before taking to the air and flitting over to hover in front of the mage and wolf.
"How can I help you, Master Kal?"
"The collar, can you remove it?"
The sprite blushed, which made the ghostly figure's cheeks momentarily turn transparent. "Sorry! I forgot! I was still pretty groggy the last time you summoned me." She flew over to the girl and hovered around the collar, inspecting it from all sides. "It doesn't seem to be warded so there shouldn't be an issue. I'm surprised you didn't just crack the crystal powering it with geomancy instead of waiting for me."
"The thought crossed my mind but I felt this way would be safer if the collars end up being trapped."
Ria stared at him, as did the wolf girl once she had turned a bit and could look him in the eyes. Their expressions indicated that the thought hadn't occurred to them.
"Why would you think that?" asked the bag of holding's avatar, "did you hear something back at the kennel?"
"Nothing specific, I just felt it was odd that the wizard who made them needed to take them off as well. Almost as if he needed to do something more involved than just snipping a silver wire or snapping a shard of crystal. Besides," Kal shrugged, "if I were running that type of operation it's what I would do. Those who follow the rules get charged a second time for removing the collar. Those who don't, never get the chance to tell anyone."
"If that's what you would do as a slaver then I'm happy you are one of the good guys," said the sprite, the woman in front of him nodded in agreement.
"Store the collar, please," he asked the bag of holding's avatar, the looks both of the women were giving him were making him feel uncomfortable, there was no reason they should need to feel wary around him.
Ria waved her hand, just like every other item she had stored the collar turned into a speck of light and floated over to the leather pouch still laying in Kal's pile of clothes. Ria raced it back and held the pouch open as the shimmering mote floated inside.
The wolf girl brought a hand up to her neck, feeling around gingerly as her face took on an expression of elated disbelief. "I'm free?" she said, wincing in reflex to pain that she expected but never materialized.
"Yes," said Kal, smiling. He had expected the girl to jump up and cheer in celebration of her newfound freedom. Instead, she rolled over and buried her face in the pillow, quietly sobbing in relief.
A ghostly looking sprite fluttered in Kal's face. "Hold her dammit!" hissed an irate looking Ria before zipping away.
The sprite's suggestion was better than what he was doing, which was just staring at her in confusion. Kal slowly turned the distraught woman towards him and held her to his chest as she cried through emotions that ranged from disbelief that her ordeal was over to grief for the rest of her family/pack that she was taken from and were likely far, far away by now.
Eventually, she cried herself to sleep, waking a little over an hour later, once again in the throes of her heat. This time her and Kal's lovemaking was more sensual and much less frantic than the first.
He was surprised when about the time they finished up the fire in the middle of the tent died down to almost nothing, he could hardly believe it had gotten so late so quickly. Casting a glare in the direction of the book and pedestal, he knew that the secret to changing the tent's 'bedtime' had to be in there but was still beyond his knowledge. Even though he had spent a good portion of the day in bed and even taken a nap earlier he knew that it was mostly worthless to try to get anything done in the darkness. Despite the nap, the day had been draining, both physically and emotionally. He didn't complain when the wolf girl pressed her back to his chest again, her breathing quickly becoming deep and even.
Kal was woken up by his morning wood being sheathed in something warm and very wet. The hormones had built up overnight and the wolf girl was nearly as frantic as their first time yesterday. Once he had filled her up yet again she leaned over him, catching her breath while he softened inside her.
"I'm sorry," she said, catching herself before she winced. Seeing the confused look on Kal's face she continued, "Yesterday you rescued me and now you've been forced to deal with my heat. It hardly seems like a fitting reward."
Understanding dawned on Kal's face and he burst out in laughter moments later, it was now the wolf's turn to look confused. "I have many women back home and only a few of them are humans. Aradelle is an alarune; Bea is a butterfly; Gerda, Bas, and Sandy are all rock golems; Silma is a salamander; Ikuno is an oni," he held up a hand and ticked off his fingers as he named them, "only Perra and Kahrin are humans and Kahrin isn't really mine she just likes to play around with me and Perra when she can.
"I guess what I'm saying is that I don't have anything against monster girls like some men, so you don't need to feel bad."
"But our scent…"
"Doesn't work on me, I have an enchantment that cancels out anything like that.
"So when we…"
"Yup, that was all me. Well, I did need a little magical help yesterday but that was just to make sure you were satisfied."
She stared down at him, "You are a strange human."
"And you are a horny wolf. What of it?" Kal asked with a smile.
She thought for a moment before shrugging, "Nothing I suppose, it just seems odd."
The wolf girl dismounted his hips then leaned over and started cleaning him with her tongue. Kal relaxed and enjoyed her ministrations until her stomach complained about its lack of food. The mage suddenly felt like a fool for not giving her something to eat yesterday. As his own belly noisily answered hers, he realized that she wasn't the only one he'd forgotten to feed.
"Food?" he asked
"Please!" she answered emphatically.
Kal bounced up out of the bed and pulled some pants and a shirt on before grabbing some ingredients and pans off the nearby shelves. As he turned around four metal poles with chains dangling from around their midpoint rose up out of the marble tiles and came together over the center of the fire. A metal grate that was normally hidden by the flames floated up and attached to the chains just as he crossed from the green carpet onto the smooth white stone.
Curious, the wolf girl got up and walked over to see what the human was doing, she'd seen humans cooking their food before but never up close.
Kal was throwing some veggies into the heated pan when he heard a gasp from behind him. Turning around, he saw the wolf girl staring at him in shock. "What's wrong?"
Her hands went to her belly, "My heat… stopped." A look of wonder spread across her face, "I'm going to have a pup!" Seeing the frown on his face her mood immediately soured, "Not that I'd expect a human to be happy about that."
His frown turned into a glare, "I have two daughters already and three more children on the way, four if what Ikuno said about Silma is true. Only one of them is human so you may want to rein in your normal ideas of humans when it comes to me. I was unhappy because that means I got you pregnant without even knowing your name." Kal turned back towards the fire and angrily stirred the veggies to keep them from burning.
There was a long uncomfortable silence between them with the only noise coming from Kal's cooking.
He felt more than heard her step closer, "My name is Daxas" she said, sounding contrite. "The sprite girl has said your name a couple of times, but you haven't actually introduced yourself yet."
The mage sighed, letting his annoyance with the girl drain away before turning around.
"Kal… My name is Kal."