[ - Author's Note - ]

Well then; it's off to Dayhill for us to meet the good lady Kaguya. I'm sure a lot of you have been awaiting this for sometime now and the last of the Seven is now here. With luck the last stretch of Act Two won't be overlong and have some good points, ne? At the very least I do have an ending in mind for Kaguya's section that should be interesting. So; what about this chapter?

Well we learn why exactly Kaguya was delayed, a bit more of what exactly Shamhaza was doing, more about the spawnborne in general and then we ride off to Ironport to deal with a minor issue. So rather then go on let's just get into it!

[ - Act II – Chapter XXXVII: Growing Issues - ]

She could hear the strange but familiar sound of the shakujo staffs around her; ringing then a pause then ringing once more. A traditional staff of the eastern peoples it bore a vertical loop at the top with a piece down it's center with a set of rings in each side of the loop; often three but not always. The sound made as they were lifted and had their butt dropped to the ground was iconic to her since she was little as it was the staff of monks, priestesses and other religious leaders across the east. The gods they gave praise to differed, the traditions they were a part of differed, who was allowed to use them differed; all depending on the nation it was used in. Some bore spell stones to be used as tools of healing and others tools of war.

Much like how central Sererus suffered in the First Age of Conflict so did the east; nations trying to impose their 'true way' over other nations, slay 'heathens' and 'heretics' according to whatever truth they subscribed to or just what they saw as 'lesser' cultures. So many differences to the Imperium and those that emerged from it yet so similar.

However in her faith of Seinaru Daichi no Michi (Way of the Holy Earth and often shortened to Seindai) the shakujo was used as staffs of mages and priests of high rank, monks and priestesses in some ceremonies and for weddings. And while she could hear them clearly seeing was another thing...

She was walking through a thick, thick fog with someone holding her left arm and leading her forwards. Only a few feet before her eyes was revealed; showing the grass under her feet as she felt them under her sandals. She couldn't move her head but only look ahead as if in a daze; led to traverse forth. She didn't know what was going on; she could only hear the sounds of the shakujo ringing louder and louder with each step; ring... ring... ring... ring... ring... Finally something could be seen from within the fog; hazy and blurred by the mist in the air; it was a figure in dark clothing but that was all she could make out.

Finally she found herself able to look to the one by her side. The clothing he wore was a fine, shimmering red outfit consisting of a short robe on the top of and hakama styled bottoms; loose trousers that seemed skirt-like. Over it all was an open haori long jacket on it that was white and bore an emblem over the left side of the chest; a simple, open paper fan that was striped with red and white; red on the ends. A simple one but at the joint of the handle was a white circle with a red edge; outlined in the same black as the rest of the emblem. On it was a simple, brown beetle with black highlights; the Seindai emblem...

She looked to the face now, under the kasa, straw hat he wore. There was a kabuki mask; brown in color and with elongated, white eyes and a red circle in the middle of the forehead. The mouth was a series of straight lines angling down from the sides of the cheeks, coming up to make small fangs before joining over the mouth. Slowly the figured turned to her and seemed to give a slight nod. "God..?" She let off softly; indeed this was the face and form of the Odd-Faced God took when he appeared before them He would look forwards once more and grant her another nod as she looked towards the figure in the mist; a male figure... And then the haze filled her vision...

Before Kaguya awoke; eyes snapping wide as she laid in the bed of the keep inside of Castle Dayhill. Blinking she sat up slowly and looked about; no longer asleep as she took a moment to recall what she saw. "Was that a dream... or a vision god?" She said as she looked to the window as she frowned in thought. "And if so... what is it to mean?"

The sounds of chirping birds were her only answer.

[-]

Of the four Blue States the Duchy of Dayhill is the most successful and it's current ruling House, Aquwis, is considered the leader of the lot. Like Ironport and Eastport they've acquired large amounts of eastern immigrants along with a smaller but notable halfling minority. Like the other Blue States they boast large amounts of trade across the lake; linking the east side of Eostia with the other lakeside nations and helps goods reach the Snake's Tongue River.

In addition it boasts an excellent series of shipyards including the Dawncall Dockyards which makes some of the best cog type ships on the lake; doubly so it's well regarded Lake Hawk class cog as well as it's more premium version the Lake Eagle. Much of what's needed to build ships is within the duchy itself; copper in the south west, zinc in the north and tin in the south to make bronze and brass, and various woods in the forests to the central of the state provides the bulk of the metal and wood; including groves of mahogany that was imported and grown locally. Additionally if more material is needed much of Ansur nearby is willing to trade and sell for them.

Further assisting it's fortunes is exports of linseed oil and they've developed a mixture that not only waterproofs wood but actively repels water; a formula that is kept a closely guarded secret; this mixture is highly expensive and when applied to the bottom and front of a ship it seems to allow for a faster travel time. Other oils for cooking and other applications are produced and exported as well from the duchy. It also boasts the largest military fleet of the Blue States; both to protect the shipping lanes but also to deter aggression from other nations like Nyaru. With it's importance to Eostia the Duchy of Dayhill leads the southeast; full sails ahead.

~Dominic James Pencraft, The Eostia Historia

[-]

The Magistracy of Thorn was in the far north of Thorn as a whole; only Hol'canna was further north then they were. Given the distances and that our journey was already going to take and the fact that starting the installation from Thorn meant we'd just come back the way we came it made much more sense to meet Kaguya in Dayhill. That said the fact something relayed her in Arrona was a tad worrying; sure it could have been nothing... but with my luck it might not be.

Either way; we traveled due north of New Attalax City the morning after I returned from the short trip from Port Bluekeep. Myself and Lulu both had a score of spell stones and despite her... distractions, Aeris had her own score of such as well. Riri and Cress had done well with the Quintet and all of them had actual clothing (With Alexia opting for black tights, a short, leather vest, leather cuffs with brass studs and leather boots making her look like a proto-goth... yeah...) and once we had a chance to say farewell Finlay and Edda began their escort... opting to start with a ferry along the Engvall River to take them to Perrious to bypass Jerius as best as they could. Yeah.

That said they all enjoyed a large meal of lake-caught fish; courtesy of Miria.

As for us we rode north, over soft hills and then flatter lands towards the capital of Dayhill; Fort Canal Cohortis; literally meaning 'Canal Guard'; There was a river that ended near the Ironport/Dayhill border at the coast that was filled by a series of creeks and streams that were all fairly small. Then the Imperium dug a long canal that was deep and wide enough for boats to traverse that led to this fort. Why? I don't know; if there's records detailing why I'm unaware. My best guess was they wanted to pull water closer inland as irrigation for farmland and opted to make it large enough for ship travel to both help with transport of food, goods and men as a means of killing two birds with one stone.

I do know it was a major city back in the Imperium days and possibly a provincial capital as well as the capital of the Trident Plutocracy (No relation to House Trident that I know of) that emerged in the First Age of Conflict and bordered the then Redlocks Alliance. I don't much more then that; most of my studies on the post-Imperium nations was focused on what would form Ur... including the once proud Kingdom of Eldgale. Yes, Eldgale. Mungale and Elddale were once a part of the same, small kingdom that was formed by modern day Mungale, Elddale and a small bit of Garan. Of course 'You-Know-Who' ended that and when borders were rearranged the names changed slightly; Eldgale became Elddale and Mungale was broken off and given to one Grimlock Durass until he was overthrown by Eric Noxdecus and along with his bride Belladonna; aka the daughter of Annabele of the Runes.

...

It was a bit wild to think that I was directly descended from someone like that.

(Funny enough she wasn't the only one of the Seven Legendary Shield Maidens I was related to; both descendants of Joanna of the White Cloth and Welsh the Mighty Smith had married in hundreds of years later. That said in terms of relations Prim was unbeatable; she could boast bloodline connections with all seven of them. Even Alicia only boasts five; missing Sulla's and Casta's lines. That said while being related to Joanna sounds like a big deal remember that it's been two thousand years since then. As well there's the fact that Joanna's grandson, Arnold the White Strike, was said to have slept with some two thousand women over his lifetime... and impregnated a good lot of them. Hence why he was called 'the White Strike'.)

Fort Canal Cohortis came into view finally; the fort was placed on a very wide if short hill; some twenty feet over the ground around it. Still a moat was set around the hill fashioned from the canal it guarded and bore two layers of whitewashed walls; one at the bottom of the hill and one at the edge of it's top. Both were sixty feet tall with the different placements making the inner one twenty feet taller by default. There were docks that were built around a very small lake made at the foot of one of the hills and inside of the walls to defend them. Additionally the towers flanking the dock's entrance were triple the thickness and width of normal to help defend against ships entering. Further more between the towers was a massive portcullis gate; tall enough to stand thirty feet over the water when dropped and thick enough to resist a ship ramming it.

Once at the outer gates we could see the emblem of the local lords set to the towers framing the gatehouse. The shape was like a police badge with a middle point at the top, points on the sides facing outwards and a wider, rounded bottom with a soft, bottom point. The trim was yellow with a thick outer outline and thinner inner one that were both orange. The background was cyan in the upper two thirds and blue on the bottom with waves atop it making it look like a bright day at sea. Two, white, gray outlined seagulls sailed overhead of a triple masted ship sailing before a large, yellow, orange outlined sun. At the bottom was a white, black outlined anchor with a chain wrapped about it; the emblem of House Aquwis.

We rode in and much like New Attalax City the city itself was a melting pot of styles and constructions although I noted that the old Imperium Roman, Eostian European and easterner Japanese styles were the three that were most common with a handful of Victorian styled ones about. Indeed; you could see a Roman built shop with a sign advertising fishing gear not far from a Japanese one that seemed to sell pottery.

Near the center of the city we would arrive at the local castle; Imperium era, whitewashed, seventy foot walls with statues carved into the gate's flanking towers bearing the banners of House Aquwis in their hands greeting us as the guards waved us in towards a wide, squat keep with a taller, square tower in it's center. A very pleasant courtyard and a well paved road upon it led us to the keep and set up there was a line of, what I could only call, plate armor that looked like an odd fusion of knight armor and samurai armor; colored breast plates with layered, samurai styled pauldrons and hips armors with some over the front and back of the groin. The armored boots and gauntlets were layered like a samurai's but bore the gloves and shoes of a knight's. The helm was also knight like in shape but the face plate was shaped like a human's much like normal samurai armor. In terms of color scheme it was largely yellow with white pauldrons, gauntlets, boots and and face plates; all with golden trim.

Kaguya was awaiting us with her hands folded over her lap and bore only one difference since I last saw her; a weapon and shield on her back; likely with enchantments keeping them there as I saw no straps. I had thought she used a staff or wand of some sort but no; it was a kanabo and a shield. What's a kanabo, you may wonder? Imagine a baseball bat with the shaft cut in an octagonal manner as opposed to rounded. Now add marble sized metal studs up and down all the sides. That's a kanabo. Moreover this one was stained a dark red with bronze colored studs up and down and a much larger, red, golf ball sized spell stone set at the top and a large marble sized, red one in the butt along with a metal ring through just short of the base. As for the shield it was a red tower shield but not as large as a Roman one; maybe three feet tall and a foot wide with three points on the top.

(Once I got a look at it I'd note it had a an inset white line along it's edge and a red and white fan design on the center top; one with a small circle at it's bottom and a brown/black beetle on it and bore a flattened spell stone inside by the handle. She said the shield was referred to as a 'tate'.)

In addition she had two figures with her and two banners flanking them on either side. The banner was an interesting one; it was round with a border of gold, bore a large, Celtic knot styled crescent moon with a curved line connecting the tips and a beak like point sticking out the center inwards slightly; it was blue with a yellow inside. Under it was a red sun with matching rays shooting off in all directions on a white circle; like those old Japanese flags. The sun to represent those of the east and the moon to represent their new home in the west; the banner for the Order of the Two Blades.

Once we had parked in front of them I smiled and stepped off the carriage. As I looked to her and smiled as I walked up to her, my friends following me over. "Kaguya; good to see you once more. Thanks for agreeing to meet us out here."

"It only made sense, James." She said, bowing slightly. "Forgive that I was delayed... Events have occurred; ones I should explain. But first; this is the Lieutenant of the Order of the Two Blades, Kiyono Kaido. The woman in question was some five foot ten in height with a modest C-Cup chest. Her hair was in a high ponytail that fell to her mid-back with bangs framing purple eyes. She wore stockings over her legs and a set of red shoes with steel plates over the toes and heel. Her body, meanwhile, bore a red jacket with wide, white fur trimmed sleeves and shoulder pads. The jacket was double buttoned with the opening on her right hand side and a circular brass plate over her left chest. A large, black obi styled belt was around her waist with a gold colored line down the middle and white fur trim on it's top and bottom. She would set her right fist over her hard and bowed deeply.

"A pleasure, M'Lord." She let off as she spoke, looking to me with purple eyes. "My only regret is I must act in the stead of our good commander."

(-)

Name: Kiyono Kaido
Title: Fist of the Two Blades
Class: Monk
Level: 30
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 33
Status: Healthy, Relaxed, Troubled

Romance Rating: 88
Corruption Rating: 9

Known Traits
[Barren Fields] You are unable to bear children or become pregnant.

[?]
[Fists Under A North Star] You have trained hard in the hopes of the heavens noting your dedication. +2% to Str.
[Iron Fist] Your fists are hardened from years of combat practice. +2% Damage to all Unarmed attacks with an additional +2% Damage to all punching attacks. Furthermore your hands and knuckles have their resistance to damage doubled.
[Kick Chick] Your kicks are well practiced and powerful. +3 Damage to all kicking and leg based attacks.

Born to a minor noble in Thorn who had a love of the western women she is the fourth of his children and became neglected by him after a severe illness left her barren. Seeking a means of self worth and is what led her to taking up the martial arts; starting with karate and moving from there to the Art of Shishifunjinnoikioi; the Irresistible Force. While her father has yet to acknowledge her many has as she rose to the second in command of the Order of the Two Blades.

(-)

"Pleasure." I said with a nod. "I assume these events are why he isn't here?" I said as she nodded.

"Indeed. But rest assured; I am more then able to stand in his stead." She said with a nod. And then there was... ummm... The other woman... Ummm...

She wore a purple robe with yellow trim and inner liner with floral designs over it; yukata or kimono I guessed but only with a small, cloth strip holding it together and showing large amounts of her D-Cup breasts. At her hip was a lilac colored sheath with a katana within with a brass, floral styled guard, purple wrap over the handle with lilac under the gaps and a pink pommel with a brass ring between the handle and pommel. The woman was otherwise utterly naked with not even shoes, just a set of those wooden, geta sandals on them. She herself stood five six with a purple hair pulled back behind her head in a thigh length ponytail; tied with a thin, pink ribbon and some cyan cloth under it. Amber eyes watched me keenly as she had some floral item on the left side of her head.

"This is Jinhadaka no Chouko; or Chouko of the Naked Steel." Kaguya said to introduce me to the beautiful, under dressed woman. "The Jinhadaka is... an odd faith and a small one but an honestly strong and honest sort they make. She is not a part of Thorn's forces and operates more as a mercenary. I asked her to come along as extra assurance."

"A welcomed meeting Lord of the Spell and Blade." She said bowing softly. "As she said; I am Chouko. For now I serve as blade and guard." She said; her voice was oddly husky for a woman who looked fairly young giving her an odd air of experience about her.

(-)

Name: Chouko Hiyokudo
Title: Honest Follower of Jinhadaka
Class: Samurai
Level: 34
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 29
Status: Healthy, Relaxed, Controlled

Romance Rating: 109
Corruption Rating: 25

Known Traits
[Sword Master - Upgraded] You are a master of any sword set to your hand. +2 Damage to all one handed swords in your use, +4 Damage to all two handed swords in your use. Additionally gain an additional +2 damage and increase your Str, Dex and Agi by 4 if when using any katana, tachi, odachi, wakizashi or tanto
[High Fertility] You get pregnant easier then normal and giving birth is less painful. +1 to all Stats of all children you give birth to

[?]
[Unburdened] You fight best when not bothering with armor. +1 to all Resistances when not wearing armor. Additionally gain Dex, Agi and Lck equal to half of your weapon's highest damage value while decreasing the chance of a ranged physical attack hitting you by 5%.

Follower of the Jinhadaka, the Naked Steel, she is a fourth generation follower of the order. A master of the katana she is a fast, agile and is a master of several combat arts. She hires herself out as a mercenary as a means to both gain coin and combat experience. The lack of scars on her body is testament to her skill and ability as she waits to find a man's seed to claim.

(-)

...

I'm sure this 'Jinhadaka' isn't originally from Eostia but it still seems to Eostia. But more to the point is the fact Kaguya hired her to start with.

"Kaguya... what's going on that has you hiring a mercenary on top of an able order?" I asked her bluntly as she sighed.

"Let us get comfortable. I shall explain all to you." She said softly.

[-]

Duke Victor Aquwis (Yes, Victor; that name is far too popular) greeted me once inside and asked to speak more once I had the chance; it seemed he knew a bit of the situation and felt it best to let me be briefed before distracting me. Kaguya would take us to a sitting room and ensure privacy spells were up as we sat, were served tea and snacks before the maids were dismissed. It was a nice room; no windows, red carpet, white walls, oak furniture and more that my current concern had me ignoring.

"I will begin by explaining this is not common information yet but what we have suggests... a potentially significant issue." Kaguya said as she sipped her tea. She took a calming breath before speaking to me. "...We may have what back home we would call a Sanran no Tan... what you would know as a 'spawnborne'."

"You've gotta be fucking kiddin' me..." I groaned out as I slumped back in my own chair and rolled by head and eyes back. "No wonder you're worried." I let off as I looked to her.

"Indeed... Disgusting art this is..." Aeris let off with a deep sigh.

"This is another magic thing isn't it?" Miria said as my whole party turned to me to await an explanation; although they didn't press hard. My reaction was enough to tell them some of the issues to come.

"Okay... a spawnborne is another thing that comes about via transmutation magic; the technical name is mutatio artis or change craft. You all remember the Hog Queen, right?" I asked as I got nods from all; Cress was aware of the indecent as well and only Kaguya and her two aides needed a brief explanation. "Well if making a chimera is taking two things and fusing them together making a spawnborne is to take one thing and make it more... well, itself for lack of a better way of putting it. Have you ever heard of Belyy Klyk the Blood Bear?"

"The name translates as 'white claw' or 'white fang' or the like, I've heard." Miria let off with a huff. "But yeah; I know of it. It lives around northern Elddale and southern Blackshard and attacks anyone and anything it comes across... They say it's massive; the size of an elephant if not larger and has fangs a foot long and claws almost as big. Rumors state it hunts trolls for sport." Yes, she is right; an elephant sized grizzly bear with a sabertooth's dental work. You know that joke about how you don't have to be faster then a bear; just faster then the guy next to you?

Klyk will kill you both then pile the bodies before eating; because killing is more important to it.

"Yeah; Klyk is a spawnborne." I said with a sigh. "First you need the... sperm or egg of whatever you want to make as the basis of a spawnborn and apply the proper regents and enchantments. Following that you need to implant it into what will... host the extract. And by host I mean inside something that will contain it and offer nourishment while it grows and while an alternative to such may come someday there is only one such container around; a womb. And Klyk, based on what rumors we have, was implanted into a grizzly bear."

"O...kay..." Riri let off as she blinked. "That's... unusual, doubly so if the host is unwilling, but it doesn't sound that bad."

"The process leads to the subject growing several times it's normal size and depending on what's done that will exceed the womb's ability to contain it." I replied as I sighed. "These things aren't born in any normal way; they either come out via a c-section... or they grow to the point they burst out or tear their way out." Every woman in the room save those who already know went white and even those that did paled a bit. Yeah; you know the chest burster scene from Alien?

That, but from lower down.

"What you get is, generally, a bigger, stronger, meaner and mutated version of what you started with." I told them. "Supposedly you can pick and choose various traits of what you make but there's no one experienced in making these things... in part because, well, the practice is banned in most nations and even if you live where it isn't or don't care about the law... most get eaten by their own creation because no one is interested in making big, fluffy, tame and friendly bunnies. They want giant, horrendous, man-eating, rage infused monsters. And they get them."

And they may have enough time to Pikachu face before said face is clawed or bitten off.

"In the east this a more tolerated practice but supervised and limited." Kaguya explained to us. "With some negotiation our ancestors spoke with the Spellcaster's Guild and Celestine both to carry on ancestral practices on insects." She let off as I gave her a rather horrified look; they were making those here!? "I understand your reaction; but the process we use is to hollow chicken eggs, fill them with dried meats, plants and berries and infuse an egg into them before gluing it back together with a paper wrapping. Additionally we limit the sizes of the beasts to the size of rabbits." She let off as I blinked. So... there was a replacement for chest/womb bursters?

"Ummm... any spiders?" Miria asked nervously as Kaguya blinked at her.

"A few; we farm them for their silks although we prefer the aurora caterpillar for this; they are easier to manage." She said. "The red footed spider is used only for religious cloths. Is... there a reas-"

"She doesn't like giant spiders." I injected quickly.

"Nightmares of my childhood." Miria added as Kaguya nodded.

"I won't ask; but such spiders aren't venomous but are troublesome to handle and as such are limited in numbers and only interacted with by skilled handlers." She said before looking to me. "No, the bulk of what we raise are beetles and, more recently, honey bees."

"So... why do you have them?" I asked.

"Sport." Was the single worded answer as I blinked. "In the times of old beetles were raced and placed into small arenas to fight and were raised and trained for these reasons. Sanran no Tan allowed for larger, easier to watch contests and carriage pulled races as well. As such we have learned to raise and tame these insects as well. We've also built an aviary to test the viability of raising bees in such a manner for their honey; of course we avoid creating a queen of the species just in case. Although spawnborne are usually if not always infertile to start with."

"My father raised a beetle as well." Makoto said as I turned to look at her. "And yes; I can vouch for how tame they can be. It would cling on my back as I ran errands and would lick my hair clean. I only saw it take an aggressive stance one; when a man from another town pushed me once."

"I think the reason insects and other bugs are used by us is that they are easy to keep tame." Kaguya injected once more. "At the behest of the Spellcaster's Guild we created other types of spawnborne as an experiment; to see if tame ones could be formed. The focus was on smaller, easier to handle animals; mice, rabbits and frogs. The results were... not encouraging. The mice became aggressive and had to be put down, the frogs tried to hump every woman in the room and while most of the rabbits were slain when they lashed out one bit off a samurai's hand and managed to escape to the woods."

"Wait... are you saying that Blood Moon Rabbit is..." I let off blinking as Kaguya nodded.

"Yes, Buraddomuun no Usagi is a result of our testing and we did make an effort to see them as friendly as possible..." She said and sighed deeply. "And we got the direct opposite." She said as her eyes shut. Yeah... The Blood Moon Rabbit... How do I put this... You know the killer rabbit of Monty Python fame?

Imagine a white, red eyed rabbit the size of a husky, meaner then a pitbull and with a jaw strength that puts both to shame. The only good thing is it eats plants so it doesn't go after humans unless it's threatened. That said if it is... well it's named for it's coloration after it's done with a threat.

"We believe insects having more simple minded brains and operating more on instinct then other animals makes it more pliable to changes to personality and temperament." Kaguya said with a nod. "To a point anyway. As mentioned spiders will retain some aggressiveness as will scorpions and some species of ants but beetles, caterpillars, ladybugs and such will behave tame. However while this is a worthwhile discussion we are becoming distracted from the crux of the briefing."

"Of course; I apologize." I said as I took a sip of my own tea. "Still; it will help with context if a spawnborne, as you said, is involved." She nodded once before speaking.

"Indeed. Let me begin with the events as they happened." Kaguya began. "As we had just left Hol'canna we were called south to Arrona. I spoke to Baron Daichi Kabutomushi over the voxlux as his daughter, Rei, had been kidnapped. Details are scarce but she was meeting a potential suitor in Blackcut when her convoy was struck. By who we don't know but while her escort was small it was formed by four highly skilled samurai and an able mage. The guards and driver were slain, nothing stolen and the carriage broken to pieces; only Rei was missing. We were asked to help with the search efforts and despite knowing my duty to you I felt the need to help to some degree."

She sighed then kept going. "A search party was sent out but she was missing for five days and two when we arrived to help until another call came; a small village called Forestpeak was gone. Most of it's buildings were demolished, it's populace missing with only blood strewn about as a clue to what happened. All farm animals were gone as well with only blood left as a clue they were ever there; both noting seemed to have been stolen. We eventually found tracks of a single person and... something or somethings that we're unsure of; it was single file anyway. We followed it to a cave and found Rei... and her womb was burst open from the inside." I winced as I looked to her. "We believe she survived the... extraction of whatever was in her but she died not long after. I hope it wasn't long however; she clearly suffered in the process."

"Fuck..."

"There is more." Kaguya let off after I swore and I nearly banged my head into the table hearing that. "We were able to show an expert in raising the spawnborne images of the magic circle left behind in an effort to devise a clue as to what happened; we have gain three bits of knowledge thanks to this; one is that magic was fueled into the beast through the circle cut down the time spent growing the beast. Normally it takes weeks to make a spawnborne but this took days and he thinks this circle accelerated the growth by several times. Second; the beast is likely being fed to further it's growth; however large it was it will be several times larger now. Third; some of the runes in the circle are unique to a group we thought dead; the Shinkami no Shi."

"I know enough to understand Shinkami should mean 'new god' but I don't get the rest..." I let off as I frowned.

"Cult of the New God." Kiyono filled in.

"Yes; a group that calls itself a cult..." I groaned out softly. "I already dislike them but I'm guessing I'm about to dislike them more."

"You likely shall." Kaguya sighed. "They are a faction that split off from my own Seinaru Daichi no Michi faith, or Seindai if you wish a shorter name. We worship what we call the Odd-Faced God." She said as I blinked. They called it what? "We do consider calling a god by their given name sacrilegious and he choose the moniker himself. God, it seems, has a sense of humor I will not question. But the Shinkami are under the belief that they can replace god... with one that they will create."

"Wait..." Chouko let off as she set her tea cup down... and exposed a breast by accident. She didn't seem to care. "Can you make a god?"

"I'm sure you could make something and then call it a god." I said as I tried to ignore Chouko's flashing. "But I could also put glasses on Miria and call her a scholar; that doesn't make her into one."

"Agreed." My sister said with a snicker.

"The cult rose not long after I was chosen as God's Avatar." Kaguya said with a sigh. "I was barely able to walk when our faith came to Eostia and what once numbered hundreds of thousands had been reduced to a few thousand when we finally arrived. Much of our priesthood were slain by the tyrants when we were forced to flee and as such many unready ones had to be raised to positions they were ill suited for. Some answered the challenge well, some less so but when certain... secrets about god became clear when the previous Avatar died the less certain broke off and attempted to claim God's power for their own. We struggled with them until some four years past and brought them to heel... save for... one... Shamhaza..."

"I've... never heard of him..." I admitted as Kiyono huffed.

"I know little of him myself." She began. "He is a fighter and mage both and very dangerous. He was supposed to be killed at the end of the Shinkami's uprising but the body was never found and so we never considered him dead. We think he fled back east; at least for a time."

"He was... a friend once." Kaguya said as she shut her eyes and sighed softly. "And a protector of myself growing up. But certain truths of God were... unacceptable to him." She opened her eyes to look at me. "He rose in the Shinkami's ranks quickly and by the end of their time was their leader. My guess is he is still seeking to create a new god."

"A... bug god?" Cress let off blinking as Kaguya nodded. "Well... I mean isn't those who survived the Age of the Gods taking different forms now? I mean the God of the Wind is said to reincarnate as a sparrow." That was true; there were several gods that lived and died in the Age of Gods. It's known that all eight of the elementals survived at least.

We had Larentia the Goddess of Light who came back as the Knight, the Sage and the Wanderer and Ardenox the God of Darkness who came back in a form only called the Scholar who is said to try and learn all he can. The other six's names were unknown however but it is said the Goddess of Wind came back as a sparrow, the Goddess of Fire came back as a salamander, and the God of Lightning as a dragonfly. Meanwhile the God of Water as a dolphin who could breath water, the God of Earth a beetle and the Goddess of Ice as a snow fox. Of course aside from Larentia and Ardenox how true any of that is is up in the air.

"I bring this all up for two reasons." Kaguya said as she looked to me. "The first is if we come across Shamhaza or his spawnborne beast we must stop then both and destroy the spawnborne. This is in the interest of the public good but as an offshoot of the Seindai it is a responsibility of myself and my faith to bring Shamhaza to justice; or failing that seeing him to a grave." There was a hint of sadness in her eye but she also bore determination to do as she had just said. "Second is there is a chance that he will wish to attack me and claim the Power of God. As such we must be braced for such an occurrence." Ah... Yeah... Makes sense...

"Yeah; we'll be ready when he attacks." I said with a sigh.

"Understand there is no guarantee he will-"

"He will." I cut Kaguya off with a huff as she blinked at me. "That's our luck; he'll attack. Every time we've entered a new region something has happened and we end up attacked by someone. Let's just brace for impact." I said as she blinked once more and nodded.

"Very well. We will ready ourselves for what may come." She said as she smiled softly. "We do not know what species he choose so we must be ready for it; if I am right the size of the creature will be comparable to a human if not a bit larger." A human sized bug?

Well I've faced worse.

[-]

Of the four Blue States the Barony of Ironport boasts the smallest coastline of the lot but also boasts large iron deposits in it's north. This along with an excellent metal working industry has kept the barony relevant financially over the centuries and has caused House Trademan to apply to have a county status four times; and each time only just missed the mark.

While they boast the smallest naval force of the four they boast one of the best armed land forces; mostly as their northern borders sit alongside Nyaru's and the Lords of the Mountain Lions have laid claim to their territory several times in the past. As such much time and effort has been made in defenses along that border; Forts Oxpath and Highreach among the most important. They also keep a handful of mercenaries on hand to further bolster their forces near the border; currently the most notable group of these is the Brass Hounds.

Beyond this the barony has started hosting the Golden Sail Race; challenging any captain with a boat to race from Port Sevenstones to Port Saint Carter in South Point. Further more they've been focusing more and more on building high end lanterns and lamps; pioneering what is now called 'a barn lantern' that uses a unique design that's designed to function well in wind weather.

However you look at it Ironport is one of the most stable territories in Eostia and has had a slow but steady climb upwards.

~Dominic James Pencraft, The Eostia Historia

[-]

As we rose hard to the northwest Kaguya was keeping in touch with many of her contacts with her voxlux. She's been trying to keep tabs on whatever Shamhaza was doing but thus far; nothing; at least not yet. If that was a good thing or a bad thing I can't tell but the Commander of the Two Blades was apparently searching for him personally. That said we did have a chance to talk more about the spawnborne; or as she said the east calls them 'Nasu Kyojuu'; although even among easterners in Eostia spawnborne is the preferred term. No idea what it's meant to mean. Most of the focus was on the animals themselves; I did not want to know more about the magic around making spawnborne then I needed to. Just... eeessshhhhh...

Too close to transmutation and chimeras for my liking...

We would arrive to the capital of Ironport, Alba Petra City. As one might have guessed it was an Imperium era city complete with dual walls; sixty foot outer and seventy inner, both whitewashed. One oddity was that the inner towers bore drawbridges built into the sides to grant access to the inner walls; my guess was it was a means to keep invaders from taking the outer walls in a siege if they slipped through the first layer of gates.

Once more there was the local lord's banner over the gate; House Trademan. It was interesting; it was nearly fully square but with the bottom curving in near the bottom and going down to a slight point in the middle. There was a black outline to it and the background was quartered; lighter blues on the upper left and lower right and a grayish blue to the others. In the center was a an odd emblem; four anchors fused in their ends with the bottoms pointed up, down, left and right with the hole at the shared end was red. Honestly... I liked it.

Once more the buildings were mixed; the bulk a mix of European, Japanese, Victorian and Imperium. We would ride off to the keep within; another set of fifty foot walls within with a moat around it; filled with multiple Aqua Create enchantments to keep it filled. I had guess it took a lot of stones or a few good ones to manage that. I did my best to relax as we rode onto the courtyard but even so the idea of Shamhaza and his monster was in the back of my mind. Honestly; there was room for concern.

And then seeing a massive amount of servants, guards and more on the courtyard as they looked to the keep with worried expressions gave me more room for concern. Our convoy slowed down but stopped much further from the keep then usual. We climbed out as I looked to Kaguya who shook her head. I nodded; likely it wasn't Shamhaza but that was still possible. "What is going on here!?" Kaguya called out as she stepped forth as I walked beside her. Given that she was the Shield Princess it was best to let her take the lead.

"Lady Kaguya! Thank goodness!" Turning to face us was a very lovely, blonde noblewoman. She was maybe five foot four and had golden locks that reached her waist, long bangs framing blue eyes and DD-Cup breasts as well as fair skin. A soft blue tube top with stands connecting to a matching, cloth patterned collar was on the top, semi transparent sleeves on her arms and an ankle length, double slit skirt with small, gold designs upon it. Light blue shoes were on her feet; also with gold designs on it.

"Lady Griet." Kaguya said with a nod to her. She gave me a glance. "This is Grier Trademan; Baroness of Ironport." She said as she looked back to the woman in question. "But where is the Baron Ken?"

"He's trapped! In the keep! You must help us!" She let off; beautiful or not panic was clear on her face.

(-)

Name: Griet Trademan
Title: Lady of Ironport
Class: Noblewoman
Level: 5
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 23
Status: Healthy, Worried, Panicked.

Romance Rating: 76
Corruption Rating: 5

Known Traits
[Loyal Wife] You are loyal to your husband; naught but force, coercion or widowing will make you cheat. All Romance Values for people not your husband is treated as 0, no matter the situation

[Face of Love] Yours is a face of impeccable beauty. +10% to attractiveness

Daughter of a merchant in the Kingdom of Akulla she met the then heir of Ironport, Ken Trademan, when he arrived with his father for trade talks years ago. Taken with him she would sail to Eostia to be by his side and would become his bride. While known mostly for her lovely visage she is also an able business woman and, as needed, quartermaster.

(-)

"Please; calm yourself." Kaguya said firmly as I looked to the keep; eyes narrowing. "What is trapping him in the keep?" She asked as Griet look right at her.

"Slimes." She said as I resisted the urge to swear. "Pink ones." She followed up with. My resistance broke.

"Shit..." I let off as I pinched my nose. "Aphrodisiac Slimes..."

"What!?" Griet let off as Kaguya turned to look at me.

"You are versed on the subject of slimes?" She asked me; blinking.

"I had reasons to become well versed." I was sure Miria was shuddering behind me somewhere. "The good news is no one is danger of dying to them; at least not straight away." I began, turning to face both women. "They're also called 'Lust Slimes' and they generate a potent aphrodisiac and once the skin is coated by it's substance or ingests it they'll think of nothing but sex until they can't physically go at it anymore and then go more when they recover enough. The slimes are a rare breed that doesn't feed on any sort of liquid but mana discharged by those in the passions. They'll die of thirst and hunger eventually so we can't sit on hands forever but we've the time to plan our assault."

"But if what you say is true..." Kiyono began as I looked to her. "Then those still in the keep are as like to jump us as not."

"You're right. They'll be so lost in passions that if we threw a pig in there they'd try and fuck it if they're able and rested enough." I said with a shiver. I heard of a case of a series of Lust Slimes getting into an Aberrant camp that had no women in it. The group that saw it applied a lot of fire; both to kill the Aberrant, the slimes... and as a way to purge the images from their mind. "So we'll need to both destroy the slimes and do our best to incapacitate the people within with minimal force if they're active. That said; slimes don't infest and overrun a keep for no good reason. Which means someone got them in there or they had the smarts to sneak in. And if they snuck in on their own..."

"A Royal Slime." Kaguya let off as she huffed. "Defenses to the aphrodisiac?"

"In theory a spell such as Ease Toxin will work." I said as I frowned. "And I can enchant stones to cast it on someone consistently although it's less effective then casting it. However that's in theory."

"Better then no theory." She said giving me a look. "Prepare some stones."

"Magic and magical weapons are all we have to hurt them." I said; patting the blade at my hip. "Even a base enchantment will give a weapon the power needed. That means anyone holding an enchanted weapon can go in. Cress and Miria should watch the door; in case anything gets loose."

"Of course." She said as I moved to grab a series of spell stones. I grabbed a lot of marble sized ones and got started. This would take a bit of time; auto heal enchantments were always annoying to make. Mostly because over-healing was possibly as dangerous as leaving a massive wound unhealed. The general rule was don't use them unless you can control them and even then there were headaches; rule of thumb was potions were just easier and more reliable. Because having a regenerative spell on you all the time is more complicated then it should be. An Ease Toxin spell shouldn't have the same issue unless you were trying to get drunk all the time. That said there could be side effects I was unaware of; this would be short term only..

It took the better part of an hour and by then the courtyard became more crowded. As it turns out Griet hadn't been sitting on her hands in the courtyard since this shit started; she sent someone out to the Adventurer's Guild to grab as many magic users as possible and when they arrived Kaguya got them up to speed. Chouko would assist in guarding the courtyard as would Kiyono who drew out a pair of brass knuckles out; each with a small spell stone set into the base near the palm; both red. There was nervous looks as I came back and starting passing out the spell stones; explaining what they did and they were all loaners. I pocketed my own and Kaguya drew her own weapons.

"All right. We'll clear the castle out." She declared as she pointed to the keep's doors. Normally she'd be in the second line due to a lack of armor but arcane robe should be resistant to the slimes eating it and more importantly armor wasn't a defense to something that could drip into it and effect you anyway.

"Keep an eye on the ceilings; they can crawl along any surface." I let off as Kaguya nodded before turning to the doors. I drew the Unicorn's Horn and my parrying dagger with the spell stones in it. Two Ironport knights pulled the door open and...

I used an Arctic Orb to freeze the first batch of slimes coming out with other spells spilling out to the door; mostly ice but lightning and wind as well; all good options for the situation.

The guy who chucked a Fireball was chided and reminded that risks of casualties was present.

The slimes then slithered away from the door as I clicked my tongue. "Damn... There must be a Royal Slime..." A younger female mage let off. I had to concur.

"If we can deal with it we'll be able to clean up the rest easier." An older mage let off; a large oak staff in his hand. "It'll be wherever the largest collection of people is."

"Is that going to be up or down?" Another younger, male mage said.

"Could be either." I called out. "We should collectively search the first floor then split to two; one checking the cellars and one the upper floors. That'll help ensure the slimes don't maneuver around us."

"Agreed." Kaguya said as she led us in. A half frozen slime leapt at her only to be backhanded with her kanabo and smashed into bits as it died. "Sadly with the spells inside of the keep we're unlikely to use scry to find them faster."

"...Maybe not." I said as I pulled my voxlux out. "I made it so the voxluxs can be tracked if needed. If Baron Ken had one on him I can track it. If it's still with him-"

"Do it." Kaguya said as I was already doing it. And where did it point me..?

"Ahead. The throne room." I said, pocketing the device quickly. Kaguya nodded and we moved down the hall towards the throne... in time to see a pink slime slithering under the room to slip inside. She frowned as she looked back to us.

"This will become... difficult. Mind your spells." She said as she lifted her weapon over her head before slamming it forth and casted a Hammer of Smite; or something like it that was shaped like a golden kanabo. Either way the door burst open as we charged in and...

Pink hell...

It looked like a massive, multi-person orgy where everyone had moving blobs of pepto bismol squirming over their clearly exhausted bodies and others forming circles around the large gangbangs and another batch forming what I could only call a defensive line. Meanwhile in the back of the room...

"Ara, ara, ara... You humans are so weird..." The thing let off. "You like allllllll the pleasures but you refuse them too often..."

Oh...

Oh fuck...

"What is that...?" The young female mage from earlier let off. What were we looking at?

Imagine a giant puddle of pink goop.

Now imagine a seven foot woman sticking out of that goop and made of that goop with a visible crown on her head and long, long tendrils in the place of hair.

Now imagine around it the goop made for her a throne to sit on and several tendrils; four of which were pleasuring four human women on their hands and knees before her.

What you now have here... is an Empress Slime.

(-)

Name: Empress Aphrodisiac Slime
Title: Collector of Lustful Pleasures
Class: Monster/Slime
Level: 32
Alignment: Hostile
Reputation: 1
Status: Healthy, Hungry, Lustful

Romance Rating: 999
Corruption Rating: 999

Known Traits
[Slime Body] All physical damage is reduced by 99%
[All Is Lust] Lust is all. Lust is everything. Lust is all that matters... to you anyway. +999 to all Romance and Corruption Ratings to everyone

[?]
[?]

In rare cases a slime goes beyond a mere Royal Slime and emerges as an Empress and this slime made to feed on the mana generated by lust she thinks only of lust and wanton pleasures. To generate and cause such is all she cares for. Lust is her domain and food.

(-)

"There is a difference between choosing to engage in pleasures and forcing it on them." Kaguya let off as she pointed her weapon at the Empress Slime. "I would demand your surrender but I am well aware you will not care to."

"Well... you can surrender... to pleasure!" She let off... As Aeris acted and shot a massive wind spell straight up as I casted a Frost Thrower into it; freezing a dozen and change slimes to the ceiling as they slammed into it. "Hey!"

"Wow; slimes really can crawl on ceilings..." A younger male with a blade boasting a spell stone in the pommel let off.

"If you don't want to join my Court of Pleasure..." The Empress let off as she stood; her throne melting into the pile as she slithered forth with her piles of goop; the women she was pleasuring collapsing in exhaustion as the boss music picked up as my view shifted to her smirking face. "Then you will be made to join my chorus!" She let off as she made a pose as she formed a massive spear made with an oversized tip.

_Collector of Lustful Pleasures_
Empress Aphrodisiac Slime

My vision returned to normal as the slimes charged first as I grit my teeth. I made sure I had room to move as the first slime leapt at me; I cut it with my blade and was splashed on the cheek with some of it's leftover gunk as I tried to ignore it; I had to trust my enchantments and more leapt at me and I slashed them down; ending them. The Empress laughed like a loon (Comeplete with Oh-hoo-hoo-hooooo laugh) as Kaguya, Riri, Kiyono, myself and every other person with a viable magical weapon slashed or slammed weapons into them; splattering them about. Normally this would be a risk but we had to mind our spells because of everyone here; those using spell were using close range ones to limit potential damage.

"Yes! Yes! Drown in my lotion of lust! Join me in pleasures and..." The Empress began... before noticing we weren't effected. Guess my little enchantments were working. Her eyes went wide... Then she snarled. "YOU DARE REJECT MY LUST!" Oh...

She mad now...

She lunged while turning into a giant mass of goop and no one was ready for the speed of it. Kaguya barely got a shield spell up as she brought her tate up to channel the spell through and even then it wasn't a strong one due to how quick she had to cast it and it broke quickly. Only a hard swing of her weapon knocked a tendril back only to have to blaok another with her (Physical) shield and go skidding back several feet as several spells was peppered into her from the mages; Magic Missile, Arctic Orbs, wind and lightning spells and more. She roared out and swung a tendril in an arc (Either knocking people back or forcing them to dodge) out before giggling... and jumping back into a pile of naked bodies and covering them in a huge blob before pulling them into her as she retook a form. The effect was... weird; she grew to a fourteen foot tall humanoid with long limbs and human bodies within them between where the 'joints' would be... it was kinda horrific really. On top of all of that she absorbed the lesser slimes into herself as well along with calling the rest into the room to do that same.

"WANT TO KILL ME!? THEN KILL THEM TOO!" She let off as she kept the heads of the men and women out of her slime but otherwise held them in her with the last slimes in the room merging into her.

"Baron Ken!" Kaguya let off as she grit her teeth; which one the baron was I couldn't tell off hand. I clicked up tongue, sheathed my parrying dagger and called mana to my hand. Well I had tested it out a lot before now...

"Kaguya... I'll need support to catch them." I told her as golden orange flames collected in my hand.

"What!?" She let off as she looked to me wide eyed. "You can't! You'll kill them!"

"HE HE HE HE! AND YOU CAN'T DO THAT CAN YOU!?" The Empress let off as she grinned at me... as I grinned back.

"Kaguya... I need you trust me; okay?" I said as I looked to her with a wink before I moved to walk towards the Empress as I used my new spell (Ready but not fully tested; sadly) to my blade as orange, golden flames came to it...

(-)

Holyblaze Weapon [Lvl I] (0/1000)
Magic Type: Holy/Fire Hybrid
Cool Down: Low
Mana Cost: High

Imbue a weapon with a Holy/Fire Hybrid Element; the weapon gains Holy and Fire Elemental Damage each equal to a quarter the weapon's damage (Rounded Up), increasing the overall damage by half. Additionally it will not damage those the caster does not wish to be harmed (Although the weapon itself can do harm).
(This Combat Art is also considered a Magic Spell)

(-)

"You will join me... In LUST!" The Empress let off as I pulled my hand back.

"James! Don't hurt them!" Kaguya let off as I threw my spell, Holy Flare into her center to everyone's shock... Including the Empress who screamed out in pain as two people from her upper arm and chest started to fall from her.

"Kaguya, catch them!" I called back as Kaguya went from dumb founded to rushing forwards and sticking her kanabo forwards and casted; the two people falling out being pulled to her; it was a holy spell called Rescue which yanked someone towards you; so long as their mana was relaxed enough to do so; like if they were exhausted. So no mid-combat 'Get Over Here's, awesome as it would be. They still fell to the floor but much softer thanks to her.

"My word... They're... unharmed!?" The elder male let off as he looked to the men as Kaguya pounced; the nude men might have jumped someone if they regained the energy to do so but a spell helped drive the aphrodisiac from them (Remove Toxin; Ease Toxin's bigger, badder brother) as I readied a second spell.

"You... how!?" The Empress whimpered... and once Kaguya was done casting I nailed her with a second Holy Flare. Three more fell from her but Kaguya was quick to pull them away with Rescue. "GRRRAH! I WON'T LET YOU, YEAAAAAAAAH!" She let off as a series of ice spells impacted the ground next to her (I'd later learn a younger spell caster slammed a spell called Scatter Frost into the floor beside her as a means of limiting her movement without causing harm. Smart lad) making her jump and flinch to the side. As Kaguya finished I planted one more Holy Flare on her face and as the Shield Princess pulled those who fell out the Empress collapsed into a pile of goop and started to flee towards a back room.

And the elder mage's ice spell slammed into the door; freezing it solid and cutting her off her escape in time for another Holy Flare to slam into her backside. "RAGGAHGAHAGHAGAHAGGHHHH!"

"Oh go on, please tell me how you really feel." I quipped at her as I readied yet another Holy Flare... only to have her spring at me; but making her body into one giant spear! I threw my spell and hit her head on and while she screamed she was still heading right at me point first. I had a very large 'Oh shit!' moment...

A golden glow was the first thing that warned me that Kaguya was moving to assist and she stepped between us in a flash; shield discarded and both hands on her kanabo with the weapon pulled back behind her head in a baseball batter's stance; all the studs glowing bright with Blessed Weapon and then when it came in range Kaguya swung for the fences. No, really...

I almost heard the Super Smash Brothers 'Ping' Sound Effect in my head with that home-run strike when she hit it with enough force to splat into the ceiling... and freeze on the frost that was still there from myself and Aeris; spread out over the still frozen mass.

"Grahhhhhhhh..." The Empress let off as her form warbled weakly. "B-but... the pl-pleasure..." She let off before her form gave up the ghost; bits falling off the ceiling as the rest stayed up there as the boss music came to an end.

I let off a sigh of relief and patted Kaguya on the shoulder with my free hand. "I owe you one."

"Perhaps you may wish to tutor me in that odd spell of yours then? Once we have mopped up here.

What else could I do but agree? In less then an hour the collection of mages had the keep cleaned tip to tip and top to bottom of slimes.

All in a days work...

[Defeated List]

55 Aphrodisiac Slimes x 105XP=5775XP
Empress Aphrodisiac Slime=3120XP x 1.25 Kill Bonus=3900XP
+20% Dark Horse of Eostia Bonus
Gain 11610XP Total

[-]

Once the keep was saved and the rest of the castle guard could enter we started to work out a single question; how in the hell did the slimes get in? As it turns out the answer was both simple and confusing; the sewers. That makes sense as slimes are, well, slimes and as such can push into anything that isn't water tight. Grates and drains for, say, excess water or waste water from cleaning or the bathroom. And of course there were pipes and wells to collect water from as well; also an entry for slimes. But people were generally aware of this problem and made counters; usually enchantments with slime repelling spells.

One of the maids (Once she recovered enough from being used as a unwilling cock sleeve and the man fucking her recovered from being an unwilling pussy warmer, anyway) explained she saw them rise up from a drain in the bathroom. Checking it I found that... the spells were working as intended. I was confused a bit as I reported it to Kaguya and a recovering Baron Ken. It was something that stumped us for awhile before Chouko, who was also present, spoke up.

"Scissors beat rocks." She let off as I, Kaguya and most everyone in the sitting room we were speaking in conversed; getting our attention straight away and my own confused look. "A blade sharp enough, made of a metal hard enough and swung with enough force will cut through a rock."

"...I have no better explanation." I let off with a huff. Yes; Eostia knew of the old game of Rock, Paper Scissors. Yes; what she said made sense. "Most enchantments is designed to ward off normal slimes. Even Royal Slimes are reluctant to approach them but an Empress slime could force herself through it while exercising enough command over her horde to force them to follow or holding them in her own form and pulling them through."

"I have no better explanation..." Now no longer nude and dressed; although just in a simple, blue silken robe Baron ken looked to us with gray eyes. He was a tall man; some six foot two with short, blonde hair and a well kept beard. He was a fit man, all in all. "I'll request anti-slime defenses to be increased within the keep. But I cannot thank you all enough; you particularly Young Noxdecus. I am in your debt... I just hope Griet can forgive how many maids I've slept with under such influence."

"Wait..." The blonde in question said as she blinked at him. "You weren't sleeping with them before?"

"I am happily married dear!" He let off as he looked to her. "You thought I'd cheat?"

"...Maybe hoped... The idea is... Rrrrawr..." She let off with a shiver and a giggle as he blinked at him. I sighed and shook my head.

"Look; invite a maid to bed and let her watch." I suggested as I picked up a teacup. "If she hates it; stop doing it. If she loves it do it more."

"Ah... perhaps... No time soon though..." Ken sighed deeply. "I fear I am... I may need sometime to recover from this and not merely physically." He said as I winced.

Yeah; foot meets mouth moment there. "Sorry; I should have considered the situation more before I spoke." I said as he shook his head.

"No harm done. Well, not by you, anyway." He said with a sad smile. "Please; stay as long as you need; I owe more then mere hospitality."

"We cannot stay overlong; sadly." Kaguya said for me as she looked to him. "But we thank you for the offer. Let us all be glad one more monster is gone from this world..." Of course that reminded me...

That another monster awaited us... Somewhere...

[-]

Southern Barony of Blackcut
Near the Joint Borders of Blackcut, Ferrosica and Ironport
Outside the Town of Ricewell
Early Evening

He could see them from where he stood, standing there upon the small hill inside of the woods that overlooked the modest town. Men ending work for the day or moving to a place to start drinking for the night. Eastern. Western. A mix of the two. Men and women and children. Indeed; life thrived here; human and farm animals both. What did they think of their daily toils? Did they see themselves as cogs in a machine? Part of a whole? Did they wish for more? To go out to the world with weapon in hand to earn coin or find work in 'the big city'?

Shamhaza huffed softly. What did it matter? They would all serve a greater purpose now. A greater good. "My creation, behold. A meal awaits you." He didn't bother to look; merely listening to the rustle of the spawnborne as it clambered through bush and brush as he lifted something from his hand. "I should have the time to use these." He said looking into the small, glassy orbs in a jar he held.

Each was fashioned from a specially made jelly that functioned like an egg for the insect eggs to be grown in. So long as he had a few cattle he would be able to apply them all; and his creation would leave him what he needed.

If he had the time to grow them and raise them to be of worth was the real question however.

"Kaguya... I will make you see... The Odd-Faced God is weak... A parasite compared to what I can make..." Shamhaza let off as he grinned wider. "And when it comes... The Storm of the Black... you will be the mother... Of a new god!" He gave no hint of glee or anything as he spoke; if an emotion could be applied it would be conviction.

[ - Author's Note - ]

Well that happened. Been awhile since we've dealt with slimes; eh? Well it gave James a chance to show off what Holy Flare can really do at least.

We also learned a bit more on the spawnborne and Shamhaza himself who is prepping for the battle to come.

I do hope you enjoyed it all. Once more the Best Banners of Ansur Strawpoll is up; either directly at strawpoll(Dot Com)/polls/wAg3ADLmMy8 or can be found up on Twitter via eostian.

Next stop; Eastport and the placement of the next Booster... as Shamhaza's shadow stays cast...

Until then.

~~Eostian Scribe